"Mom, are you alright?" Mark asks as he sees his mother sitting at the kitchen table with tears in her eyes.
Debbie hasn't been the same since Ethan left for the Flaxan dimension. She was worried about him, more so than she was for Nolan when she saw him hurt. First Nolan, and right when he woke up, Ethan. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. Seeing her son arrive, she quickly wipes her tears and smiles.
"Oh, Mark. Of course, I'm alright."
"Oh, Mom. I'm worried, too. Where's Dad?" Mark asks.
"He's still at the GDA pressuring Cecil to find a way to the dimension your brother left. I'm sure he'll succeed."
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
They didn't know what to say apart from that, so they just sat next to each other. Debbie stands up and opens the fridge, looking for something to eat for them. She puts a smile on her face, trying to placate Mark's fears.
"What would you like to eat, Mark? I think there's still some leftovers, but how about we just order some Pizza, huh? Maybe we could get some of that meat you like so much?" she asks.
"I guess. Although I'm not hungry right now."
"You worry too much. Remember when your brother left school during your first day at school and didn't return home with you?" Debbie asks, trying to remember something funny about Ethan.
"No. When was that?"
"Really? You were supposed to wait for us in front of the school, but Ethan just walked off at some point, driving Ms. Dillinger mad."
"That happened? I don't remember. So, what happened then?"
"It turned out that he walked into the PE class and just started attending. He was so good that they didn't realise he was not even in the same grade."
"Haha... why are we talking about that?"
"I don't know; it just came to mind. Sigh, let me order some food for you."
"I'm sure Ethan is doing alright, just like back then. He'll be fine."
.
- In the Flaxan dimension -
*BOOOM BOOOOOM*
The explosions ring out as the Flaxans arrive with new fighter jets. They have developed a new weapon they know will put an end to Ethan's rampage. They lay down fire on him while he shoots through the sky, destroying their planes as they arrive.
Suddenly, he is hit with some special device, which covers his chest. Ethan's eyes widen as he feels himself lose altitude. His powers... the Flaxans created a device to mute his Viltrumite powers. He doesn't cry about it, though. Sure, he's surprised, but this only makes things more interesting in his mind. He has lost the sense of time as he was in here and also the reason for coming here.
*Boom*
He falls to the ground. Before Ethan can fully deal with the situation, he is attacked once more. Hundreds of Flaxans shoot at him, and the tanks do as well. They know that they have neutralised his powers for now. He was not even fully unconscious after that high fall, and they want to make sure he's out cold. Another smaller mecha has started appearing on the battlefield, and seeing Ethan in this situation, it takes action.
Ethan grins, not at all seeing this as a reason to give up or stop fighting, on the contrary. He tries to move and dodge the attacks shooting at him, but doesn't manage to do that very well. The Flaxans approach him from all sides and several of their shots hit him.
*Boom Boom*
Ethan falls to the ground, and as he looks up, he sees one of the manned mechas standing over him. They aren't nearly as large as a building but about double the height of a normal human male. Ethan grins as he sees the fist approach.
*BANG*
And then... darkness
.
In the GDA, Omni-Man is waiting for anything to happen. Neither his search across the city nor Robot's attempts at creating a device to go to the Flaxan dimension have yielded any results. He should have been there; he should have focused more on his wild and independent son. Now, he has to deal with this situation. He wasn't feeling 100% yet; he wasn't fully healed, but he didn't care. He looked at the screens in front of him, checking their data about all kinds of things, trying to make sense of it. He remembers his time on Viltrum, when he had to learn the basics of technology and how good he was back then. A lot of time has passed since he passed his basic training and focused on conquering planets. A lot of time.
"What is it, Cecil?" he asks the man approaching from behind.
"Still no luck in getting access to the dimension. Robot has been trying for a day, but still no luck. Says it might take another invasion for him to calculate the correct electromagnetic frequency accurately. Or at least that's what I gathered underneath all that technological mumbo jumbo."
"Hmm."
"Nolan, we're doing everything we can. I'm working the eggheads overtime, but this shit needs time. You can be damned sure, we'll find a way to get there." Cecil says.
"The question is when. The time dilation you told me about might be a problem." Omni-Man says.
"I'm sure he'll hold out. Your son's a tough cookie from what I've seen." Cecil says.
"That's the problem."
"What do you mean?" Cecil asks.
"Ethan, he's... he's more than just a brawler and mindless brute. He's a genius."
"Then he'll make it, I'm sure."
"That's not what I mean. He's a genius, not just physically, but intellectually as well. He could find a way back."
"You mean-"
"Yes. He 'could' find a way back. But if he isn't here yet, after a full day..." Omni-Man says and clenches his fist.
"So, you think somethin' happened, and they either captured him or... somethin' worse?" Cecil asks.
"Yeah. He may have decided not to come back for now."
"Not to come back? What do you mean by that? He's staying out of his own choice?"
"Sigh. Ethan is like that. I haven't seen a Viltrumite who enjoys fighting quite like him. There are a few, but not in the same way as Ethan does. So if he hasn't returned yet, the chances are high he can't or doesn't want to yet." Omni-Man says.
"That's bullshit."
"Indeed."
"We'll have to speed up our work then. Make sure we get to him faster." Cecil says and walks away.
Omni-Man continues to look at the screens and thinks how he'll explain to Debbie and Mark that Ethan might not even want to return because he has found an entire dimension to fight and go nuts. However, he finds it unlikely that Ethan would be satisfied for long, as the Flaxans are weak and their technology didn't seem that powerful. But if they found a way to deal with Viltrumites, things would be different.
.
- In the Flaxan dimension -
"Hahaha, what are you doing?" Ethan asks as the Flaxans once again try to cut him open and find out what he's made of.
^You will tell us what we want to know, and if we have to make this painful, all the worse for you.^ the scientist says.
"Is that so?" Ethan asks and looks at the scientist.
With one powerful leap, he arrives in front of the scientist and grabs his head. His Viltrumite powers were still turned off, and he had been imprisoned for... well, he wasn't certain, but it had been a while. He lifts the scientist off the ground and looks him deep in the eyes. The other Flaxan scientists move back in surprise, and the soldiers arrive, shouting at Ethan to drop the man.
"Let me tell you something, self-proclaimed greatest Flaxan scientist in history of the dimension who has been trying to dissect me for years now but hasn't gotten any closer, I might not be able to use my powers, but I'm anything but powerless," Ethan says, closing his fist, breaking the Flaxan's neck.
.
Mark made his way through the halls of his school. He was not feeling good for some reason, and while he didn't like all that cliché twin talk, there was some truth to it. He felt bad and like he was missing something. He used that chance to train harder the last two days, but his father was busy at the GDA, finding a way to get Ethan back.
"..rk. Mark!"
Mark stops walking as he arrives in front of William.
"Hey, William."
"Woah, you look bad. What happened? Did your father not feel better?" William asks.
"It's not my dad; he's feeling better and is already out of the hospital," Mark says and makes his way to his locker.
"So what is it? Did Amber dumb you?"
"What? No. It's... Ethan. He went missing."
"Huh? Your brother went missing? So, first your father gets into an accident, and now your brother goes missing? How is that even possible? What's with your luck, man?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Is there anything I can do for you?" William asks.
"Nah, thank you, William."
"Mark!" The voice of Amber takes him out of his stupor.
"Oh, hey, Amber. Listen, sorry for not calling yesterday; I have a family situation to deal with right now." Mark says.
Amber looks him up and down.
"I might not like it, and under different circumstances, you might have been forgotten, but looking at you, I can see the truth of the matter. What's wrong?" Amber asks.
"It's my brother. He's gone missing. We don't know if he'll come back." Mark says.
"Missing."
"Yeah."
"Like... out of the state? Like a small child?"
"...sort of, but not quite."
"Your brother, the hunk of a man. Like 6 foot 4, muscles for days..." she continues.
"Uhh... yeah."
"Missing?"
"Yup."
"Are you kidding?" Amber asks.
"Hey, Mark!" another voice is heard, and Eve approaches them.
"Hey, Eve." Mark greets.
"How are you holding up? Any news of your brother?" Eve asks.
"You know about this as well?" Amber asks.
"Yes, I... found out by chance," Eve says.
"So it's actually true?" Amber asks.
"I also thought that was strange, but you're actually serious," William says.
"It's true. But there's no news yet." Mark says.
"If you want to talk, just say it, Mark," Eve says.
"Thanks, Eve."
"I think I have just the thing that will get your mind off of this, Mark," Amber says.
"You do?"
"Meet me in front of the school after classes."
"Uh, sure."
...
"Seems like it's going good for you. Last week, you were a loner with nothing but me and your brother as friends, and now... two girls are looking out for your well-being." William says.
"I gotta go to class. See you later, William."
.
- In the Flaxan dimension -
"Urgh, this is getting rather boring," Ethan says as he makes his way back into the large cell.
"Did you win?" his fellow alien inmate asks.
"Who are you takling to?"
"Haha, sorry, sorry."
Crash was an alien the Flaxans had captured when they invaded his planet and enslaved his people. Due to his size and strength, he was used as a gladiator for the games and the Flaxan royalty's amusement. Over the time they were inmates, Ethan and Crash were the only ones who usually survived their fights and came back alive, so a friendship developped between them. Crash told Ethan how the Flaxans invaded other dimensions to get slaves for different work.
As the years passed, Ethan developed a great disgust for slavery as he saw it as the ultimate weakness. It was similar to bullying; as you were so weak, you had to harm those even weaker than yourself. The strong devour the weak, but you don't go out of your way to find and harm them.
"I'm sure we'll get out of here very soon," Ethan says and smiles.
"If only we could destroy that inhibitor. You could leave right away." Crash says.
"These pricks don't realise it, but they are only helping me by allowing me to fight like this," Ethan says.
"What do you mean?"
"In a few centuries, I'll kick massacre them no matter what they think they can inhibit."
"At some point, we'll have to fight one another, Ethan. I hope you can end me then and don't make me suffer." Crash says.
"What are you talking about? We'll get out of here together. I finally made an extraterrestrial friend. You'll come with me. I need proof, or no one will believe it."
"Haha, I can only imagine your brother doubting you when you tell him. But seriously, Ethan. Don't hesitate when it comes down to it, okay?" Crash asks.
"Yeah, yeah, but it won't come to that."