Inconceivable Ch. 14 & 15 (Invincible AU) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: Thaedus Time!

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Letting out a sigh, Thaedus pushes back from his desk and rises to his feet. Then, he walks over to the nearby window and looks out over the city beyond. The Capital City of Talescria is as beautiful as ever, a shining gem that never fails to make him swell with pride.

… He had been in his position for a long, long time… thousands of years in fact. As Founder of the Coalition of Planets, he had never initially intended to lead for millennia. However, the goal he had set for himself before stepping down, that being the end of the threat posed by his own people, had never come to pass despite his best efforts.

It weighed on him some days, all that he had done and what little effect it seemed to have had. Even now the Viltrumite Empire still existed. And while they were not expanding as aggressively as they had been a thousand years ago, they still continued on with their incessant belief that the galaxy belonged to them and all should be crushed beneath their heels.

But when he looked out this window, Thaedus was reminded that it wasn’t true. For all their atrocities, his people had not won yet. They had not managed to conquer the galaxy. Down below, a city filled with free, innocent souls went about its business. Everyone working towards their own goals while also being part of a greater whole, a better form of life than what the Viltrumites promised.

And that view was repeated all across the Coalition of Planets, not just on its Capital World. Maybe not always in the same way of course, many worlds had their own cultures and neither Thaedus nor the Coalition tried to enforce their values on everyone… but it was still better than being under Viltrum’s thumb.

Thaedus had to believe that. Just as he knew in the depths of his soul that his work wasn’t done yet. He still needed to-

“Sir!”

Blinking, Thaedus turns as the doors to his office slide open and a slender alien woman rushes in. Telia is panting as she arrives, seemingly having run all the way from wherever she was. As one of the Coalition’s high-ranking Generals, it was rather odd (and somewhat uncouth behavior)… which only alarms Thaedus more, because Telia has never acted like this before. Indeed, she was levelheaded and open minded more than not, a proper soldier and military leader.

“Calm down and breathe, General. What is it? What do you have for me?”

A thousand doomsday scenarios run through Thaedus’ head. A report that a mass of Viltrumites have appeared at the edge of the star system because they’ve found out where he is and come for him is at the forefront of his mind. But there’s also plenty of other terrible options that involve Viltrumites causing havoc and creating chaos, death, and destruction somewhere in the galaxy.

Which is why when she finally does finish catching her breath, Telia’s answer is so… surprising.

“It’s the V-Viltrumites, sir… they appear to be… gone?”

Gone? Thaedus furrows his brow.

“Explain, General.”

Talia quickly takes out a tablet and begins doing exactly that, using her connection to the room to project the contents of her tablet’s screen onto the far wall. Thaedus’ eyes dart back and forth across the data in front of him as she speaks.

Apparently it had begun a little over twenty-four hours ago with a single report of one of their agents losing track of the Viltrumite they were supposed to be keeping an eye on.

Admittedly, the very prospect of tailing a Viltrumite was an unenviable task. They were by and large faster and stronger than most species in the galaxy. They also tended to be much more aware of their surroundings, being able to hear and see and smell across large distances.

Coalition Agents were good, but they had to be very, very careful if they were tasked with keeping tabs on a Viltrumite. And it often went poorly, with the job having a much, much higher turnover rate than Thaedus would have wanted.

Despite how many Coalition Agents were lost in the effort, they only really had ‘eyes’ on about ten to fifteen Viltrumites at any given time… and often it was single digits. Ultimately, they usually relied on years- or decades-old reports about when a planet might have a Viltrumite presence on it and used that to keep their more active, public agents as far away as possible.

That all said, things had gotten rather strange in the last twenty-four hours. Because that first report of a missing Viltrumite wasn’t the last. Rather, over the course of the last day, every single agent who had visual confirmation on a Viltrumite as new as a week ago… had lost said Viltrumite.

One was to be expected. A handful was unfortunate, but not the worst setback the Coalition had ever suffered. But all of them? All thirteen Viltrumites currently under Coalition Surveillance, many of which had been largely stationary for years, had up and vanished. Every last one of them.

That wasn’t happenstance or coincidence. That was enemy action.

“You were right to bring this to me, Telia. Something is happening.”

Swallowing hard, the General nods.

“Yes sir. I… what do we do?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Thaedus wasn’t nearly optimistic enough to believe this was a good thing. It was a thousand years too late for this to be a result of the Scourge Virus, for instance. A thousand years ago he and Coalition Scientists had used his blood to formulate a viral weapon that had then been snuck past Viltrum’s planetary defenses in order to genocide his entire species.

… From what they’d been able to tell, it hadn’t worked. Oh sure, Thaedus had to believe it’d had some effect. The rate at which the Empire had expanded in the past thousand years had completely collapsed and slowed down to a crawl. What before had felt like an inevitable and inexorable slide towards Viltrumite Hegemon had become much more manageable in no time at all.

Based on how much territory they’d been holding and how they’d been stymied, Thaedus suspected there were probably only millions of Viltrumites left alive at this point, down from the billions that the Coalition had estimated lived before they unleased the Scourge Virus.

For this to happen now, a thousand years later… there was no way that it had anything to do with the Scourge Virus. Something was going on. And Thaedus didn’t like it. Unfortunately, he was the be all, end all. He was the leader of the Coalition of Planets. So…

“Send for Allen, General. Tell him to report to me directly as quickly as he possibly can.”

General Telia wastes no time snapping off a salute.

“Yes sir!”

Then, she turns on her heel and rushes to carry out her orders. Thaedus, meanwhile, continues to pour over the data in front of him. But the more he does so, the more his shoulders slump. What did it all mean? This didn’t make any sense…

-x-X-x-

Allen was, in many ways, the Coalition’s true crowning achievement. Some might argue it was the Scourge Virus, but Thaedus considered that less of an accomplishment and more of a horrifying necessity. Allen though, Allen was a bright ray of sun in an otherwise bleak universe. If Thaedus had to point to one unequivocally good thing that the Coalition had accomplished, he would point to Allen first and foremost.

The alien man was born in a Unopan breeding facility created to replenish his species after the Viltrumite Empire had nearly wiped them out. He had been genetically engineered to be an effective defense against Viltrumites, with the Unopans placing all of their hope and faith in him as an advent of the future.

… Unfortunately, he had ultimately proven to be far weaker than even your average Viltrumite at the start and only the meager fight he had managed to put up against his opponents had led to them sparing him at the time. He’d very nearly died on his first mission, proving that even with all of their science the Unopans could not produce something as strong as a Viltrumite.

At least… not at his base anyways. The thing was, Allen continued to get stronger. He continued to grow mightier. He was only a hundred or so years old at this point and given enough time Thaedus thought he might one day be able to rival some of the very species he was designed to fight against.

That day… may not be today, but the facts were what they were and Allen could not expect to grow if he was never subjected to adversity.

Even in the wake of his initial failure as a Viltrumite deterrent, Allen had still wanted to help… and the Coalition of Planets had found a use for him all the same as an ‘evaluation officer’, sending him to different planets across multiple galaxies.

Technically, his job was to go to said planets and check to see if they were strong enough to protect themselves. In actuality, his true task was to search for warriors and possibly even a species that would be capable of going toe to toe with the Viltrumite Empire.

Now, however, Thaedus had recalled Allen from his last mission. As the orange-skinned one-eyed alien steps into the room, Thaedus has his arms folded in his robes in front of him.

“Allen. Thank you for coming so swiftly.”

Allen is quick to salute before nodding resolutely.

“Of course sir! I was just on my way to my regular check-in with the planet Urath, but I came as quickly as I could! What do you have for me?”

Thaedus hesitates briefly. Because… there was every chance that he was sending Allen to his death. But then, it wasn’t like the Artificial Unopan would be going alone. A multitude of Coalition Agents was being mobilized for this. Allen was simply intended to be the tip of the spear. A hopefully stealthy spear that would slide right in through the dark and find the Viltrumite Empire’s ribs before they realized what was happening.

“Our enemies are pulling back. Going missing. Abandoning their posts. Viltrumites who have been assigned to the same planets for decades are suddenly gone, vanishing into the ether.”

Allen’s one large eye widens at that.

“Where are they going?”

If Thaedus had to guess? Viltrum, maybe. If this was a recall, then perhaps Thragg had some new battle plan he intended to use. If he brought the millions of survivors of the Scourge Virus together and stopped worrying about maintaining the Empire, he could do untold amounts of damage and Thaedus wasn’t sure if they would be able to stop them.

The Viltrumite Empire had long been the Coalition’s greatest enemy… but in a way, the Empire itself was like a weight around Thragg and his people’s necks. They clung to it like ornery children, refusing to let go in the name of their Emperor despite Thaedus assassinating Argall millennia ago.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Thaedus just sighs.

“We don’t know. That’s where you come in. You’re being sent to the edge of Viltrumite territory. Not alone… but you’re going to be our most visible agent in the upcoming operation. You’ll be doing the same as all of the others, just more openly… you’ll be hunting for the Viltrumites and finding out where they’ve gone and why they abandoned their posts.”

Allen nods, three-fingered hands curling into fists and jaw clenching in determination.

“I won’t let you down, sir!”

Thaedus just smiles a wan smile.

“Allen… first and foremost, your priority should be to survive. If the Viltrumites are planning some sort of mass attack, then you might be walking right into a trap. I expect you to assess the situation rationally and logically, especially as it evolves. At any time, you retreating to live and fight another day is preferably to you dying at the hands of our enemies. Do you understand me?”

Allen looks a bit mulish from what Thaedus knows of Unopan facial expressions (and Allen’s facial expressions in particular) but the musclebound Unopan does eventually nod.

“… Yes sir. I understand, sir.”

Thaedus nods back.

“General Telia will have the exact coordinates we want you to check out and further coordinates from there depending on what you find. Good luck, Allen.”

Allen salutes one final time before leaving the room. Thaedus watches him go, wondering if he’s going to wind up wasting the Unopan’s life on a fool’s errand. And yet… leaving his people to their own devices was never the right move here. Whatever they were up to, the only way the Coalition could possibly react in time was if they chased them down.

… Besides, if they really had all been recalled to Viltrum, this might prove to be an opportunity Thaedus could ill-afford to pass up. If every Viltrumite left alive was on their home world, then a second application of a far more deadly version of the Scourge Virus could be in order. And with that, the threat posed by the Viltrumite Empire could theoretically be extinguished forever.

Thaedus doesn’t want to get his hopes up though. They would see what Allen found, first and foremost. And then they would go from there.

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A/N: What do you think they’ll do when they finally get to Viltrum and find nothing lol?

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Chapter 15

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A/N: An offer she can’t refuse?

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Maya could admit it… her experience in the Second Flaxan Invasion notwithstanding, she loved being a hero. She loved flying, she loved kicking bad guy ass, and she loved being the one to save the day. Sometimes she even wondered if she might be a bit of a bad person, because obviously heroics weren’t about having fun or enjoying herself… and Maya enjoyed herself a lot.

Case in point, she’s patrolling at the moment and has come across a group of bank robbers trying to flee from the scene of a crime. They were nothing too serious, a couple of dudes with guns and a guy who looked like he might be made of some sort of stone. The muscle of the group, obviously.

None were a threat to her, but they were certainly a threat to people around them. However, there was pretty much nobody around them, seeing as they were fleeing down a series of empty back alleys.

It gives Maya all the time in the world to set up her entrance, slamming into stone guy first and taking him down with ease. The other two guys try to run while she’s putting him on his back, but catching up with them is super easy too. And of course, when they try to shoot her… nothing happens. She’s bulletproof after all.

“You guys really needed to make better life choices.”

Grinning all the while, Maya has them disarmed and sitting on the ground with their hands behind their heads by the time the cops arrive a few minutes later to take them into custody. It was easy, tackling crime like this. More importantly, it was fun. Victimless, really.

Nothing like the death and destruction caused by the Flaxan Invasions. The sheer slaughter, especially during the second invasion… it was still keeping Maya up at night, truth be told.

Maybe her dad was right to tell her to stick to small stuff while he was gone. Maya liked making things like this easy. She especially liked the praise of the police as they put the bank robbers in the back of their cop cars.

“Thanks for the help, Invincible!”

“Doing great, Invincible!”

“Holy shit, War Woman!”

Maya is so busy basking in their praise that she actually doesn’t register that last one for a moment. When the words finally permeate, she lets out a laugh and looks to the cop who said it.

“No, I’m-!”

But she cuts herself midsentence upon realizing the cop isn’t looking at her… he’s looking past her. Whipping around, Maya comes face to face with not just War Woman but also The Immortal, her jaw dropping open as they float down from the sky to land in front of her.

They both look serious… but also warm and inviting, with welcoming smiles on their faces. War Woman takes a step forward, her signature mace on her shoulder, the Flaxan countermeasure no longer stuck to it at this point.

“Invincible? Do you mind having a word with me and the Immortal for a second?”

Eyes bulging out of her skull behind her costume’s goggles, Maya gulps audibly… as in, she’s pretty sure even the cops hear it to be honest. Still, she eventually gets herself under control enough to nod and let out the most embarrassing ‘Uh huh’ of her life.

Neither War Woman nor The Immortal call her out on it though, thank fucking god. Instead they simply fly back into the air, expecting her to follow them… which of course, Maya does. You didn’t say no to two of the greatest heroes in the fucking world, after all!

Soon enough the three of them touch down on the roof of one of the city’s taller buildings, with Maya looking between her two idols wondering what they could possibly want her for. It didn’t seem like she was in trouble or anything, but… this was still pretty unusual, right?

“You’ve been doing good work since you debuted, Invincible.”

Swallowing, Maya nods.

“T-Thank you War Woman. I mean… I try my best. I just want to live up to… w-well, the example that you and the other Guardians set, of course.”

She’d been about to say she wanted to live up to her dad’s example most of all, but that would have been telling. Sure, Cecil knew about her secret identity, but that didn’t mean he’d told the Guardians that she was-

“I’m sure you want to make your father proud as well.”

The Immortal’s serious tone cuts through the air, causing War Woman to throw him an exasperated look. Maya, meanwhile, freezes up. Well… so much for that being a secret. She could try denying it of course, but… what would be the point?

“Cecil told you then?”

Looking a little chagrined, War Woman slowly nods.

“You don’t have to worry. Your secret is safe with us, the same as your father’s has always been. We’ve been colleagues for a long time… as long as he’s been on Earth, even.”

That was fair, yeah. War Woman and The Immortal were both much older than they appeared from what Maya knew. She remembered reading that The Immortal had been around for thousands of years, adopting several identities over the centuries. Only in recent decades could he come out as his true, ancient, immortal self with the advent of superheroes.

Meanwhile, War Woman was said to be from a different era entirely. She didn’t have the same recorded history as The Immortal for historians to point to, so maybe she’d been transported from the past to the present in recent decades. Either way, she definitely didn’t look her age.

Both of them had been Guardians before Maya’s father even arrived on planet. And while Omni-Man had never actually joined the Guardians of the Globe as a full member, he was still there at every major, world-threatening fight they’d ever had and held close personal ties with many of them.

“Omni-Man has always been a strong one. We’ve never had cause to regret calling him our friend.”

The Immortal’s next words pull Maya out of her momentary daydream, causing her to blink as he frowns slightly.

“… His absence the past week or so has not gone unnoticed.”

Huh, had Cecil not told them that part?

“We understand he’s been called away by his people. Hopefully he can return home soon.”

Oh. Nope. He told them. Maya… honestly doesn’t know how to feel about this conversation. On the one hand, some of her favorite heroes in the whole world are complimenting her and her father and really laying it on thick too. On the other hand, she felt a little violated, knowing that they knew who she was. Why would Cecil even need to tell them all of this? Unless…

“Maya… no, sorry. Invincible.”

War Woman takes a step forward, giving her a nod.

“We wanted to talk to you today about a particular opportunity. One that, admittedly is born of tragedy… but doesn’t come up all that often anyways.”

Oh fuck. Maya’s mouth goes dry, even as War Woman exchanges a glance with The Immortal. He nods and then takes over, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at imperious as ever.

“It’s been decided that you’re to be offered a position with us. Should you choose to accept, you would become a Guardian of the Globe. It would come with a lot of perks and a lot of bonuses… but most importantly of all, it would come with quite a lot of responsibility.”

Holy shit. They were seriously trying to recruit her to join the Guardians?! Maya was flattered… no, she was floored!

“I… I’ve had dreams about this.”

Immediately after those words spill forth from her lips, Maya goes bright red. Both War Woman and The Immortal smile at her words, but that only makes her more embarrassed. Damn it… damn it, damn it, damn it. Why couldn’t she have kept her cool? Why couldn’t she have been nonchalant?

And worse still, War Woman continues on.

“You know, Atom Eve already said ‘yes’ as well… so you’d have a friend joining at the same time too.”

Oh god, they knew about her budding friendship with Eve too. Of course they knew about that, Maya and Eve had been spending parts of almost every day together both in and out of costume, especially since Eve had lost her boyfriend to the Flaxans.

It wasn’t like Maya was trying to take advantage of Eve’s grief or anything like that though… no, she was just trying to be there for the other girl! Frankly, this was one of the rare times when she’d patrolled alone in recent days. Of course, Eve being a Guardian is great and all, but Maya… Maya still feels conflicted.

No, more than that… she’s not sure she’s allowed to say yes. Oh, she definitely wants to. God, Maya wants nothing more than to say yes and become a Guardian of the Globe. However, she knows full well that her father wouldn’t approve. There were reasons he’d never joined Earth’s premier hero team and even if Maya didn’t fully know what those reasons were, she did know that he wanted to have full control over her training.

When he got back, he would expect to pick back up where they’d left off and if she was a Guardian, Maya wasn’t sure she would have the time to devote to his training anymore.

… At the same time, who could say when her father was coming back, right? Heck, there was a possibility he might never come back, though Maya shoves that thought out of her mind as soon as it coalesces. It’s like The Immortal said… this kind of opportunity didn’t come knocking very often. The Guardians almost never took casualties like they had during the Second Flaxan Invasion. Open spots in their roster were extremely rare.

But also, more than that… Maya herself was powerful. Easily on the same level as the Guardians. Hell, she might be stronger than The Immortal given she was able to break free of the grey gunk without help and he’d needed assistance to escape.

So… so wasn’t it her responsibility to join them? To join with Eve and keep her safe? Even if her dad wouldn’t approve, even if he would be angry with her… well, he wasn’t here right now, was he? So…

“I-!”

“Enough.”

Maya jolts as her father’s voice cuts the air like a blade, splitting through her thoughts and causing her to whip her head around at the same time both War Woman and The Immortal jerk over in his direction. Omni-Man floats down onto the roof with his cape waving majestically in the wind and his arms crossed over his chest, a stormy expression on his face.

“My daughter will not be joining the Guardians of the Globe.”

Silence reigns for a moment before The Immortal’s frown returns.

“Your daughter is an adult, Omni-Man. She can make her own choices.”

Maya flinches as the tension in the air ratchets up several notches. Her father is now staring at The Immortal with an expression of such raw anger that Maya isn’t quite sure how the other hero is even managing to weather it. She’s not even the main recipient of her dad’s intense focus and she wants to quail all the same.

War Woman, meanwhile, clears her throat.

“Let’s not fight. We’re all heroes here. Omni-Man, we’re glad you’re back but you’ve been sorely missed. Red Rush, Darkwing, and Martian Man are dead and-!”

“I’m already aware.”

Maya’s breath hitches as her father abruptly cuts War Woman off. At least Nolan seems to understand how he sounds because a moment later he relaxes and his expression becomes more sorrowful.

“… Apologies. Cecil filled me in upon my return. Their losses are strongly felt. And I understand that you need to rebuild your ranks as quickly as possible in order to avoid losing the public’s trust. However… my daughter will not be joining you. She’s not ready yet.”

That… Maya wants to speak up. She wants to bristle, to tell her father that she is ready. If Eve is ready, so is she! But then she thinks back to the Second Flaxan Invasion and her moment of internal cowardice. She’d thought about running… so maybe he’s right. Maybe she isn’t ready. Maybe… maybe she needs more training.

“He’s right.”

Her voice cuts through any remaining tension as all three larger-than-life heroes look over at her. Maya’s shoulders slump.

“Now that my dad is back, he can resume my training. He knows best what I need to become the best hero I can be. It’s better this way.”

She doesn’t meet War Woman or The Immortal’s eyes, not wanting to see their disappointment. In the end though, she hears it all the same in War Woman’s words.

“… If that’s how you feel, we understand.”

Only when the two Guardians lift off the roof and begin rising into the air to depart does Maya look back again. Before they leave, War Woman looks to her father.

“The funerals are next week. Will we see you there?”

Nodding somberly, her dad dips his head.

“You can count on it.”

With that, War Woman and The Immortal depart. As they’re turned away, Maya is the only one who sees the flash of tightly controlled anger on her father’s face directed at their backs. But before she can get the chance to ponder that, he’s looking back to her and she’s tensing up.

“D-Dad… I know I disobeyed you while you were gone. I didn’t-!”

Suddenly, her father’s arms are around her, hugging her close. Maya gasps and hugs him back, wrapping her arms as best she can around his broad frame.

“I’m proud of you, Maya. You did well in my absence.”

O-Oh… she didn’t know how badly she needed to hear that until now. Fuck, she can’t cry… she can’t let herself cry…

“I have good news as well. I know you might have wanted to be a Guardian... but you'll be much happier training and working alongside me with the other Viltrumites who are already on their way to join us on Earth.”

Any potential tears vanish in an instant as Maya jolts at her father’s words, pulling back to stare up at his smiling face.

“Other Viltrumites? Coming h-here? To Earth?”

Grinning, he nods.

“Yes. And they’re very excited to meet you.”

Maya stares blankly for a moment more… before hugging her father again all the more tightly as she lets out an excited squeal.

This was the best news ever! Absolutely nothing could ruin this high for her!

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A/N: Well, it seems Nolan could refuse for her lol.

Throw me a comment if you can but please leave a Like if you don’t want to, it’s the main metric I use to track whether a story is doing well or not!

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Chapter 14 Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/16HTmYoZG6AkpJAr74a926Ig2xzeGWZiFC-WGm_PjmbQ/edit?tab=t.0

Chapter 15 Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sPd8ILIl4u5KsNYXcViREwbTd_NMfI3SHMQlAklVx1s/edit?tab=t.0