After leaving Eve's room, I followed Amy's directions once again.
The atmosphere changed noticeably as I approached Mark and his brother's recovery ward.
These two needed more careful observation, they will survive, their nature as half Viltrumites will make sure of that especially with the available healthcare I am offering.
Mark was still unconscious. His bones had been realigned and stabilized back together using an advanced gel-aid the medical tower in [SU] came up with.
He just needs nutrients and rest and he will be back again stronger.
The kid on the other hand was in a medical pod filled with with nutrient-rich fluid.
We had to check his blood first for any specific rejection his body may encounter but all checked positively in the end.
His body isn't just recovering but also growing and strengthening at a ridiculous pace. Whatever his race is, this hybrid situation is quite fascinating to observe.
Even his skin tone was shifting, the deep purple gradually lightening toward a more pinkish shade. When fully matured, he would likely resemble normal human/Viltrumite skin color.
It's still sad somehow how young he is, but the readings I am receiving from him tells me he doesn't just grow in the physical sense only but his brain and cognitive patterns reflect the same acceleration.
His intelligence is higher than average, not quite genius-level yet but he could be with discipline. It's just that his attention shifts rapidly as if his mind couldn't settle before his body pushed it forward again.
By the time he is interested in something he will lose it fast and start to focus on something else unless he has a specialized environment suited for his growth rate.
I looked back at Mark then at Oliver and shook my head.
Unlike Oliver, Mark looked his age.
A teenager who had been forced to stand against a monster far beyond him. First his own father now this. And there's more of them to come.
———
I left their room and took a walk through the rest of the occupied rooms to check on the progress in some and the bad news in others
There were too many rooms with too many people.
Some I could help. Some I couldn't.
Amy guided me through the corridor as I moved from one room to the next.
In a few beds, humans who should not have survived under Earth's medical standards were now stable. Their readings confirmed steady recovery.
In others, there were some who lost atleast a piece of themselves. In the physical and metaphorical sense of the words.
Those awake smiled weakly through the pain but most were crying or lost. Despite my pragmatism and logical thoughts the sight of a little child holding their dead mother's body tightly managed to struck a chord with me.
I sighed at that, even if I wanted to give my all to help them. I still had my limits.
There's no bringing back the dead.
———
By the span of less than a week everyone was standing again in full health... maybe not everyone really but most.
Cecil rearranged to transportation of the humans back to the city or their temporary homes since it was still under reconstruction.
He has been insistent lately on adding some of his personnel and doctors in my facilities to 'make sure' everything is alright.
I naturally refused and told him he can check on them after they are out. I may tolerate the man and let him think he's important but that is as far as I go with my generosity.
When that didn't work for him he started asking about Conquest again and it took involving Rudy aka Robot and us both explaining how they could never contain him no matter what they tried with the resources they had.
If they wanted to extract any useful information out of him anyway, they could still bombard his brain with sound frequencies and make it explode as a mean to an end.
Cecil aside the rest of the Hero team were fine Holly was up and going and proving it in the bed too.
I told Eve about her need to stabilize her body and mind for her powers and the need to start, not from zero but with foundations – so to say – again.
I provided her with suitable training facilities and the right diet and threw her at it as part of her recovery process.
I had a talk with Mark and his brother that can be summed to what happened? Where is Conquest? And how strong are you really?
Safe to say Oliver was the excited easygoing type teenager he is growing into while Mark has the signs of stress and responsibilities he's too young to shoulder.
Both went to check on their mother the moment they were healed.
In the meantime just because something as big and devastating as Conquest happened didn't mean the planet stopped spinning.
There was still work for heroes to do and many threats and villains to stop especially now after Immortal retired and went to live a quiet life – surprisingly or not – alongside Dupli-Kate.
It was a sad event for Holly as now she is the only available GoG left of her old acquaintances. She naturally understood his decision and suppoerted him as she herself was thinking about disappearing from the scene and spend more time accompanying me as she shared with me privately.
For now she just want to make sure her absence won't be missed and that there are other heroes available to take the mantle off of her.
That takes us to today's meeting where Holly dragged me with her to the Guardians headquarters to meet everyone and Cecil and discuss some issues even if it had nothing to do with me.
"Nice to meet you again Zane" Robot greeted me as we arrived alongside him was Monster-girl Amanda,
"Hey big guy were have you been?"
Black Samson who nodded and gave me handshake, "Zane"
I nodded back and met Bulletproof and Darkwing Jr and Shapesmith the Martian then finally the new and current team Leader Brit.
I heard about him before and copied his powers already but it was nice to talk face to face although he had this stoic hardened face that say it all about his military service.
And finally Cecil was also here "Zane" his tone was as serious as his expression. I just nodded along and sat with them to hear what they had.
Which wasn't much beyond the normal aftermath talk and other issues they had to deal with. I really shouldn't be here but by the hand clenching mine it is clear Holly wants some emotional support at her side.
I didn't talk or say anything and just listened and observed how they do their thing.
It was only by the end when the discussion came back to Conquest that I had to contribute.
"Is there anything you can tell us about Conquest and the Viltrumite Zane?" Cecil was still insisting on having what it take to deal with him, he is being uncharacteristicly stubborn about it.
It's not like I don't want to hand him over, I already got everything I would need from him from his memories to body samples and to finally able to test my measures against beings of his physical might.
But if I did and he escaped, and I am sure he will, who knows what he will do? For all he cares he may fly through the planet and send everything to kingdom come.
I may not care too much but it is still Holly's planet and home.
"Yeah he was surprisingly open, the old man has only battle and destruction on his mind by this point he was very happy to share that even with his failing another Viltrumite will simply come and..." I shook my head remembering the mad grin the old man had while talking to me then looked back at the people present.
"... you had a Viltrumite visit before him right?" I asked since Conquest mentioned a 'diplomate' coming and that he was what comes after diplomacy.
Cecil nodded and confirmed with a frown as if remembering the event "She called herself Anissa, she was trying to convince Mark 'gently' to continue his father's mission"
Mark was doing his heroing time at the moment and was not invited, there is tension between him and Cecil I suppose.
Not that he was the only one by the look of the messing people in this team.
Holly frowned at the sarcasm in Cecil tone but that was not what was bothering her "why weren't we informed of this Cecil, what were the Guardians doing at the time?"
Huh! Figured he will keep something as embarrassing hidden I suppose, I wonder what actually happened.
Cecil sighed deeply and had to press his fingers to his nose "you were all busy with other things and it happened fast, we have no means to deal with them yet so I didn't see the reason to drop the mood any worse."
That is reasonable in my opinion, shouldering the devastating truth and keeping his hope and the morals up.
More words were exchanged about what happened while others were filled on what they have been missing and I continued my 'report', "now that he failed, the Empire will take this seriously as Conquest never failed a mission before which is total annihilation by the way, and they will assume him dead as that is what failures to them are."
Everyone got serious and the mood dropped down noticeably.
"The good news if they were any, I would say that you are not dealing with an empire full of thousands of Viltrumite but at max what amount to fifty"
That got some eyes widen, they are still a threat even if they were mere fifty but it beats dealing with an intergalactic empire of millions of Viltrumites.
"Only fifty?"
"And they call themselves an empire?"
"I mean they are still a threat but fifty is a low number!"
Cecil didn't know wether he should relax or frown but he looked at me, "anything else we should know?"
"Yes actually, as you know you don't go around conquer planets and treat it's native as slave and get to have a good PR. They are literally everyone's enemy. It won't help much but the biggest thorn on their side is the Coalition of Planets" I went on to describe what the coalition is from what Conquest memory told me.
He didn't know much and everything in his view was mere insects and worms so he didn't pay them any mind beside hearing about them.
But if even he heard about them then it should mean something.
After that I told them about some Viltrumite hierarchy, customs, level of power amd finally about Thragg their regents.
The room descended in talks and worries about what to do next and how to move forward and so on.
"What do you think can be done love?" Holly's question quieted the room down as everyone looked back to me.
I internally sighed, this was why I didn't want to come nor interfere with others. There was hope in their eyes and I would have to crush that for them.
I shook my head and answered as nice as I could "I don't want to be that guy but, there's nothing you can do!"
And I almost heard the schock and hope fractures in their being
"But!" That got their necks almost cracking as they focused back their attention.
"You are not entirely defenseless either, the Empire no matter what won't just spread themselves thin by sending more than one here. It will send the wrong message.
As for how to deal with it well, I'm sorry to say that but your only hope lie in Invincible and his brother and maybe some others who can help with some training"
Of course not everyone was happy with that answer but this is the bitter truth and there's nothing they can do about it.
"I am willing to offer a hand if anyone need training and help with their powers, I am already starting with Eve since her powers need to be stabilized after what happened last time. You too" I turned to Holly at the end and she smiled.
Cecil was all 'I will see what I can do' and the matter moved ok to other issues.
"By the way did you know that your sewers are filled with alien parasites?"
———
AN: I am really not feeling it in this chapter, I don't know I want more meaningful drama and scenes not boring ones. I will try to make it better next time.