Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Accidental Discovery
In the empty void of space, an unconscious figure could be seen. He was floating a considerable distance away from the beautiful planet Earth. His white cape remained suspended as the sun's light washed over him. A good amount of time passed before his eyes opened.
'...I guess…I'll get started.' He thought.
A few weeks had passed since the new Guardians of the Globe were revealed to the public. Kate was now swamped with hero work. Even though Taz wasn't too keen about it, she seemed extremely happy. They didn't see each other much during the day, but now that they lived together it wasn't much of a problem.
The young viltrumite stretched his limbs before flying back toward the planet. Cecil had given him intel on another target. Hopefully the target would give him the chance to loosen his muscles. Weak enemies didn't give Taz that opportunity. It felt as if his atoms were compressing itself, and the feeling hadn't changed ever since he started sunbathing.
Nevertheless, it was time to focus on the present. The elite soldier quickly entered the atmosphere above Brazil. Below him was the endless sight of trees across the horizon. The Amazon Rainforest created a picturesque scene, a beautiful river coursing through it like veins.
Taz flew above the trees while scanning the area. There had been reports of a large monster prowling the site. Its features were unknown beside its snarls resembling a feline. A few moments passed as he searched the forest. Eventually, he stopped at a riverbank.
'Wherever it goes, it will eventually need water.' He concluded.
After following the river for a while, he came across a clearing. A large waterfall could be seen directly over a pond. Scratch marks were visible on nearby rocks.The stoic hero paused beside the waterfall. His senses allowed him to hear slow quiet footsteps.
"Raawrrr!"
A massive claw burst from behind the falling water and swept toward him. Taz easily avoided the sneak attack. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow upon seeing the massive beast. It resembled a lion but its back legs were like those of a goat. Two long horns rose from the side of its head. A snake made up the tail of the dangerous feline.
"It's like a…demon beast." He muttered. His mind went back to his time on Astra. Grungnir, the archduchy of demonkin, had pets similar to these. They were known as chimera.
The beast cautiously prowled around him. It's face gave what seemed to be a sneer. Taz raised an eyebrow.
"A bit cocky aren't you, buddy? I'm not prey like the rest of them." He spoke while slightly floating above the ground.
"Rrrrr!" It growled. After circling Taz a bit longer, it pounced.
The elite soldier ignored the slow attack. Stepping off the air, he launched toward the chimera. His hand grasped one of its long horns. With a burst of wind the beast's face crashed into the ground. It didn't end there. Taz threw the feline up into the air. A whistling sound could be heard as an absolute fist hurtled in its direction.
BOOM
The viltrumite's knuckles dug into the beast's torso. The pressure caused the waterfall to flow in a different direction. In only a second, the chimera flew into the forest, disappearing amongst the foliage. The sound of trees being uprooted sounded further and further away.
Taz crossed his arms while waiting for it to return. Predators like that wouldn't retreat without a little fight. It should be injured and furious right now. As the stoic hero floated in the air, a voice could be heard in the sky.
"Absolver!"
Approaching from the clouds was the one and only Invincible. After putting in a decent amount of effort, he came to a stop right beside the young viltrumite.
"Why are you here?" Taz spoke. Mark shrugged.
"Cecil sent me. He was hoping I could learn something." He responded.
"...It's a bit late for that. I'm basically done here."
"Awww what?"
At this moment, the injured chimera sprinted into the clearing. Its steps were silent as it pounced toward Invincible from behind. Its maw bit down into the oblivious hero's arm.
"Aaaaahhh!" He screamed. His other hand pierced the feline's eye in an attempt to escape.
"Raaawwrr!" The beast let go of Mark's arm due to the pain. One of his eyes was destroyed, blood pouring down its face. A massive bite mark could be seen on Invincible's arm.
"Never let your guard down once you put on the suit. Didn't your father teach you that?" Taz commented with annoyance.
The ameteur hero's face was contorted with anger. Wasting no time, he accelerated toward the chimera. His arms wrapped around its neck in an attempt to choke it to death. They seemed to be almost even in strength. As the two enemies wrestled, the snake tail darted toward Invincible's neck. Luckily, he wasn't alone. Taz caught the snake before yanking with strength.
RIIIP
Blood flew as the tail was separated from the feline's tailbone. Its body violently thrashed around, quickly knocking Invincible off of it.
"RAAAAAWWRRRR" It cried in pain. The will to fight immediately left its body. As the chimera turned to escape, Taz chopped one of its legs with his hand. The beast fell to the floor. Pressing the advantage, the elite soldier pierced his hand through the monster's chest.
The chimera whined softly before breathing its last breath. After pulling out his now bloody arm, Taz's eyes shined a gentle red. His arm quickly became clean again.
"That should do it." He said. Mark rubbed his wound.
"Where the hell did that thing even come from?" He spoke with frustration. It seemed like the animal had pissed him off. Taz's gaze turned toward the waterfall.
"There." He said.
Taz immediately floated over to the waterfall. Using his enhanced vision, he was able to see an opening behind it. He quickly disappeared through the water. Invincible raised an eyebrow before flying after him,
"Neat." Mark commented after catching up.
The two walked through the cave for what seemed like an hour. There were a few twists and turns. After a while, the narrow walls opened up into a wide area. Taz raised an eyebrow while Mark frowned. Inside of the room were two more chimeras. Both of them could be seen lazing around. As soon as they spotted the heroes, they quickly became alert.
"I got the right one." Invincible declared.
The left feline opened its mouth. A stream of fire shot out toward them. It spread across the ground, heating it up with the extreme temperature.The two viltrumites flew into the air, evading the flamethrower. Not wasting time, Invincible flew toward the beast on the right. Taz crossed his arms while watching his target.
The chimera closed its mouth before leaping at the floating soldier. Its claws glowed with heat. Utilizing his air balance, he pivoted around the claw swipe. The stoic hero didn't feel like wasting time. His figure quickly burst into motion, crashing into the beast still midair. The two enemies crashed into the ground. A crater was left in his wake.
Not letting up for a second, a fist smashed against the feline's skull. It contained just the right amount of strength.
BOOM
The beast's skull cracked inwardly, the bones piercing its brain. It died instantly. The crater widened even further, causing the ground to tremble violently. Invincible and his enemy grappled against each other in a bloody match. Claw marks could be seen all over his body. His suit was torn in different places. As they fought, the ground shattered.
The chimera lost its footing. A long fall awaited the beast. Taz and Mark watched the two feline's fall. There was an awkward silence for a moment. The sound of their impacts came after an extremely long time. Below them seemed to be a deep abyss.
"Uh…you did that? Are we going down?" Invincible asked. Taz raised an eyebrow.
"You sound nervous, Mark." He responded.
"What? Me? No way."
The ameteur hero flew down immediately after speaking. The elite soldier shook his head before catching up, eventually overtaking him. Another few minutes passed as they flew straight down in the darkness. Taz could hear Mark talking to himself in an attempt to fight his fears.
"Easy. Stay calm. Everything's okay." He muttered quietly to himself
After a while, a white light could be seen. The surroundings eventually grew brighter and brighter. Mark gradually realized they were gazing directly at the silver ground. The surroundings opened up into a wide expanse. It resembled a testing room. The place was incredibly vast. Unfortunately, that wasn't all.
A small army of chimeras could be seen on full alert. They were much larger, their muscles bulging through their skin. Invincible's face paled. Taz patted his shoulder.
"If you get overwhelmed, leave." He said. The exit was right above them. Mark gulped before nodding. As soon as they finished speaking, the beasts roared in unison.
"RAAAAAAWRRR"
"RAAAAAWRRR"
Hearing the extremely loud warcries, Mark clenched his fist. Some of the chimeras saw the action and smirked. Taz raised an eyebrow.
'They're pretty smart.' He thought. It mattered not. His eyes glowed red with a massive amount of energy.
Seeing the glow, the horde of beasts charged toward them. Taz crossed his arms. In an instant, humongous lasers swept horizontally across the room. A large portion of the chimera horde was instantly shredded. The smarter felines jumped over it before sprinting on the air.
"An interesting version of flight." He muttered. Invincible felt a surge of confidence seeing the numbers thin so fast. Even then, he decided to stay close to the strong hero. The few dozen chimeras quickly arrived.
This battle was one that remained in the sky. Dents and craters appeared all over the steel enforced area. Taz fought in a reckless manner, using his brolic strength to throw chimeras into each other. Red light was the last thing they would see. His unbreakable body allowed him to ignore any and all attacks thrown at him.
High intensity fire beams shot out of the enhanced chimeras' mouths. Blood and gore splattered across the floor as the elite soldier killed another target mid evasion. He couldn't help but revel in his strength, smashing heads into the walls and floor, ripping off limbs.
The close combat had immediately turned into a game of cat and mouse. Taz was the predator. Invincible almost pitied the beasts who had realized their weakness. Nevertheless, he took chances to attack any straggling chimera. He always steered them toward the stoic hero, who would quickly end them. A bit of teamwork was starting to bud.
The stoic viltrumite was like a god of war. He beat his enemies into submission, treating attacks as if they were nothing. Eventually the area was silent. Limbs covered the ground along with bits of organs and bones. Taz was covered in blood from head to toe.
"Stay here." He spoke before blasting toward the ceiling. A plethora of booms could be heard as he ignored the environment and went directly up. Holes were left in his wake.
"Geez. Was that really necessary?" Mark commented.
Eventually, Taz reached the sky. His speed increased before he left the atmosphere. The blood quickly burned itself off due to the friction. Once he was clean, the hero flew back down.
As soon as he returned, he spotted Mark approaching the door on the opposite side. After appearing beside him, the two walked through the entrance. Taz frowned upon seeing what was beyond the door.
A plethora of steel tubes jutted out of the walls and ceiling. They all traveled toward the middle of the room. Connected to the tubes was a tan skinned man in armor. His brain seemed to be on the outside of his skull. His eyes were closed. Invincible grit his teeth.
"You must be the one who made those abominations!" He exclaimed before taking action. The ameteur hero smashed the steel tubes apart, causing the man to quickly open his eyes.
"Aaaagh!" He yelled in pain. Invincible threw a fist toward the man's head. It only caused the villain to stumble a few feet before focusing on the hero.
"Who…the HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" He roared with anger. The room was beginning to catch on fire. The machinations were overloading. Mark smirked.
"I'm…"
INVINCIBLE
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
SwayStar
SwayStar Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Cheers!
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