Chapter 466: 466 Invincible: A Craftsman's Hate, Invincible Hits a Wall, Atom Eve enters the Scene, The Regulator is Juror, Judge and Executioner
Allen was taking his job very seriously, or at least he seemed to enjoy his new job. It was much more interesting than sitting in an office all day. However, the victims didn't think so. The poor man named Arthur "Art" Rosenbaum was about to suffer trauma when Allen acted like he was a monster from a horror movie.
After that embarrassing event, Allen teleported the man back to his establishment and let him go change before continuing their conversation.
In his room, Art grabbed a new pair of pants and changed. He looked at his own reflection—a man much older and no longer fit for action—but who would have thought that his life would be pushed to the limit by a young man who gave him the scare of his life? The man clenched his fists in frustration and returned to his workshop, where the source of his bad mood awaited.
On the way, Art reflected on his life so far. He took pride in his work and life in general, yet he had always been a humble man on the surface. He believed that his work, though discreet, was noble. These men and women, called superheroes and heroines, faced all kinds of dangerous situations, monsters, wars, beings from other dimensions, psychopaths, and villains with powers. A good superhero suit, one that could stop a bullet at the right moment, made the difference between life and death for those brave souls.
But that wasn't the only reason. This world was cruel; many deaths occurred because of villains. People were scared, and they needed something to believe in. Maybe to some, a bright-colored suit might seem ridiculous, but it was a flashy way of saying, "We're here." Arthur regained his composure and gathered his courage. He didn't care if a government official or an organization wanted trouble with him. Arthur wouldn't bend to anyone!
...
Upon entering the workshop, Art saw Allen inspecting tools and records.
"Mr. Walker... all the documents validating the use of sensitive and dangerous materials are in order, and all my products are registered and went through customs. There shouldn't be any mistakes…"
Allen observed the man who looked angry; of course, after being scared out of his life, he was probably furious.
"Oh, I apologize, Mr. Rosenbaum, but you didn't understand the nature of my work. I'm a Regulator, and since it's just me right now, you could say I'm The Regulator." Allen smiled and appeared like a ghost in front of Art, grabbing him by the collar. "The description of my position is quite vague, but it allows me to take on roles like a police officer, detective, forensic expert, FBI agent, IRS employee, judge, and even your father if I want!"
Allen released him while smiling. Art took a step back and swallowed in fear. Essentially, this man could sentence him to life imprisonment on the spot if he wanted. What kind of madman would give such power to a single person?
Allen stared intently at the man in front of him. "Art... Arthur Rosenbaum, don't lie and answer, have you ever designed superhero costumes for minors?"
"Y-I haven't…" Arthur hesitated visibly. Of course, he had. Mark himself was only seventeen, and his suit was on the workbench.
"You have!" Allen walked to Art's desk chair, sat down, and put his feet on the desk. "I know that idiot Cecil is a son of a b****, but there have to be limits."
Extreme situations require extreme measures. Cecil was the one responsible for making those decisions when the time came. Among them, using adolescents with powers as weapons against villains was one of them. Of course, similar situations happened in Marvel and DC too, like Batman and his Robins, for example. However, none of that mattered to Allen; he just wanted a way to pressure Art.
Art was now between a rock and a hard place. Omni-Man was the hero he respected the most—how could he betray his son? But in front of Art stood someone extremely dangerous.
Art nervously and fearfully looked at Allen, but held his gaze, summoning all his courage. "I've designed several superhero suits, some for talented young people who had the skill and desire to become superheroes. If that's wrong, you can judge me for it."
"Nice way to say yes... but unfortunately, I don't care." Allen mocked, "Arthur, do you know how many people are killed by villains? Those crazy people will show no mercy if they manage to defeat them, and you support these kids with only basic training going to their deaths?
"I... I..." Arthur could not answer.
...
Hestia – He's a man with noble intentions… but...
Rias – I don't know. Since there are no situations like that in my world, I don't think I can judge.
Annie – As everyone knows, I started a superhero agency, and several young people wanted to join, but I didn't accept them because most still lack the maturity to understand how dangerous it is.
...
"Arthur, do you know Batman?" Allen asked, releasing Art from the pressure he had been exerting.
"Me... yes, of course, who doesn't know him?"
"From now on, there will be a new regulation that I will call the Anti-Robin Regulation." Allen showed no mercy for the man's nervousness. "The new regulation for your business is to avoid accepting orders for minors the age of a Robin."
"A Robin?"
"Come on, Arthur, you know what I mean. That age is when a kid is old enough to wear tights like Peter Pan and not look like a degenerate. That's a Robin."
(Batman spits his coffee in his mansion)
....
Rebecca – Hahaha
Barbara – Hahaha I get it now, that's why the old Robin is now Nightwing, hahaha
Raven – I mentioned it a few times, he was already too old to wear green tights, hehe...
Starfire – Allen, can I add Robin to the chat? I'm sure he'll enjoy the new regulation in his name.
[I.M] "Go ahead, Starfire."
...
Arthur trembled at the example but didn't refuse, not that he could. Moreover, he had never let kids become superheroes. In those cases, he directly rejected the orders.
"Alright."
Allen nodded and got up from the chair. He walked over and patted Art's shoulder. He was an older man, but Allen treated him like a child, and he was an adult.
As Arthur calmed his emotions, Allen walked toward the door.
Art couldn't resist asking, "Mr. Walker, are you some kind of superman from the government?"
Allen stopped and turned to look at him before answering.
"No, not at all. I'm independent. If Cecil makes requests that I dislike, I simply won't do them." Allen looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Even though criminals and villains will always exist, so will decent people and heroes. In general, the world condemns us to live between the battles of both. My main job is to limit those conflicts and punish anyone who goes too far... that's what I am... a Regulator of good and evil. In other words, when villains kill too much and when heroes destroy too much...I will appear"
Arthur opened his eyes in disbelief. He hadn't realized what kind of person he was facing. Maybe he'd misjudged Allen. Perhaps this young man was someone worthy of admiration.
"Wait, what about the audit?" Arthur felt something didn't add up.
Allen blinked and then smiled. "You know, I do it for fun. It's enjoyable..."
"Son of a…!"
Arthur was a kind and patient man, but even he couldn't avoid getting angry with this bastard.
"Well, Arthur, I have to go." Allen got up and prepared to leave. "Oh, by the way."
[Fine: $4,000 for audit evasion, $400 for public indecency, $2,000 for emotional damages, $1,000 voluntary tip.]
Arthur started trembling. "Audit evasion? You mean when you were chasing me all over town?"
Allen shrugged. "Arthur, you can't evade an audit."
'Evade your grandmother!' Art gritted his teeth. "Indecency? Are you referring to what you caused by scaring me?"
"I'm aware of your age, that's why I was kind with the amount."
'Go to hell!' Arthur felt like he was going to explode. The level of shamelessness didn't make sense. "Emotional damages?!"
Allen feigned a hurt look. "You called me a monster, and yelling when you saw me hurt my feelings"
"Lucifer is afraid of you, soulless monster, how can you have a heart?!"
...
Rick – His level of son of a b**** is over nine thousand! Hahaha
Rebecca – I can't, hahaha, Allen, let me join next time!
Harley – Hahaha, it's not fair, I also want to torture people!
...
Art no longer wanted to know anything about Allen. He didn't care about his goal or anything—he just wanted to get rid of him and paid without blinking.
Allen said goodbye to Art with a smile. "By the way, you should manage your temper better, all that stress will kill you."
"WHOSE FAULT IS IT?!"
Allen finished his first day in his luxury apartment in Chicago, courtesy of Cecil. He sat on his sofa with Nokotan on his lap and Rebecca curled up beside him.
"It was a good business for the first day. I'm looking forward to the day after tomorrow."
Harley hugged him from behind with a confused look. "Why the day after tomorrow?"
"Because tomorrow is my day off…"
Allen had only worked one day and dared to take a day off, but this was normal since he decided when he worked and when he didn't.
...
...
...
Mark returned home bruised but glad that his father wasn't there to see his appearance and how he had barely managed to defeat his first villain. Mark tried to sleep, feeling dejected, but the next morning he saw his mother on the phone, covering her mouth. He didn't want her to see his mood, but when he looked at her in that state, he became alarmed.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"Son… it's your father… he's hurt, and in a coma."
"Huh?"
Mark lost the ability to think for a moment. Did something happen to his father? But his father was Omni-Man. What could happen to Omni-Man?
Mark stepped back and grabbed a wall for support. Deborah looked at her son and knew that, as a mother, she couldn't break down in front of him. So, she grabbed her coat and pulled Mark to go see Nolan at the hospital.
Cecil hung up the phone, his heart heavy. He had known Deborah for a long time, and he knew how devastating it would be for her to learn the truth about Nolan Grayson.
"Are you sure about this, sir?" asked a man with glasses, light-colored hair, and overweight. This man, Donald, was one of Cecil's subordinates.
"Nolan's brain waves indicate he'll wake up soon. We can't hide this from his family any longer…"
"Sir, do you think Omni-Man cares about his family, or was it all just a façade?"
"I hope he does…"
Cecil was prepared to use Deborah and Mark as shields if necessary. He didn't see any other way to protect himself from a monster like Nolan.
…
Deborah and Mark arrived at the Global Defense Agency's headquarters. It was a massive hexagon-shaped building with multiple floors, metal walls, automatic doors, all sorts of advanced airplanes, and soldiers in specialized armor.
This world took protecting humanity seriously, not leaving everything to superheroes.
Deborah and Mark reached the room where Nolan was being held. Mark was furious at whoever did this to him. But his anger was interrupted when Cecil stepped forward and explained how the Guardians had been killed, and only Omni-Man had survived.
"Because he did it…" Cecil thought, but he didn't show the disappointment he felt for Nolan's actions. He had always believed there was a gap between the Guardians and Omni-Man, and he had attributed it to people putting Omni-Man above the Guardians in many situations. However, at this moment, Cecil believed that as good as Nolan appeared to act, many of them never truly trusted him.
"Sir, someone is attacking the city center," Donald interrupted the somber atmosphere with bad news.
Mark looked at his father and mother and clenched his fists. He quickly left and went to Tailor Shoppe to ask Art for his new suit.
The elderly man was surprised to see Mark, but he noticed the determined look in his eyes. Having seen many superheroes, he knew Mark was facing a difficult moment. Without hesitation, he handed him the suit.
"Mark, don't let it consume you."
Mark looked at Art, not understanding, and the man could only sigh. Mark… no, Invincible left the shop and flew toward the city center. His superhero suit had blue boots, a black body with a yellow chest, and yellow gloves. This was Invincible's attire.
Smoke was rising in the sky, buildings were on fire, and massive damage was being caused by tanks firing energy cannons. Invincible stood in the sky, watching people scream as everything turned to hell.
"Come on, Mark, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it!"
Invincible flew toward the invaders, humanoid green creatures with faces resembling orcs from The Lord of the Rings, but armed with advanced technology.
Invincible landed and shouted at the crowd to move, but couldn't finish his sentence before the alien weapons' lasers vaporized the fleeing people.
"Haa… what? Oh my god!" Mark was left in shock, gasping as he was knocked down by a laser, covered in the blood of those who had died.
This was reality. Mark watched dozens, hundreds, of people being mercilessly killed by the aliens.
"Ahh!"
Mark saw an elderly woman running and grabbed a piece of rubble to strike an alien, leaving a scar on its face. Enraged, the alien ordered the others to kill Mark. At this point, Mark could only protect the elderly woman until he fell into a crater.
However, she had been injured, and Mark panicked. Saving lives wasn't easy. Being a superhero was even harder. All the aliens pointed their guns at him.
*Auge*
At that moment, several aliens were knocked down by pink energy blasts. A superheroine in a pink suit with various shades came from the sky and protected Mark with an energy shield.
"Take her to the hospital!" shouted the girl with red hair and green eyes.
"You're Atom Eve…" Mark murmured awkwardly.
"What?!" Eve was annoyed. In a situation where aliens were firing laser cannons, how could she have time to chat? "Just go!"
Mark flew off, leaving behind his embarrassment and the foolish idea that he could be like his father just by unlocking his powers.
Along with Atom Eve, other young superheroes fell from the sky. A brown robot with green eyes, "Robot," a young man in a yellow and red suit, "Rex Splode," and an Asian girl in a purple suit, "Dupli-Kate." They were the New Guardians. In perspective, they should be the equivalent of the Teen Titans in this world.
After the four of them made an unnecessary pose, Robot took command. "Eve, in 2.5 seconds, two tanks will align to your right."
"Understood!" Eve flew and shot at the tanks with her powers.
Robot's eyes glowed. "Rex, civilians are to your left!"
"I know, I have eyes."
Agilely, Rex jumped while launching yellow energy spheres that exploded.
"Dupli-Kate…"
Without waiting for him to speak, she began attacking with quick punches and kicks while teaming up with her clones. It was like Naruto, but when her clones were hit, they died like ordinary people, making it a gore situation.
The young Guardians seemed skilled in their powers, but they lacked teamwork and unity. In the face of an invasion, that wasn't something easily achieved. So, they soon found themselves under pressure.
…
Cecil, who had been watching, gritted his teeth and grabbed the phone.
"Walker… I need…"
"No."
"Huh?" Cecil was shocked, not understanding why Allen had refused.
"Cecil, I'm getting a massage from two beauties, one with blue hair and one with red hair. Do you think I'd leave on my day off just for your request?"
Cecil began to tremble. Allen had been cooperative until now, but at this moment, he showed that he truly wouldn't listen when he wasn't in the mood. Cecil didn't want to argue, so he took out his phone and sent Allen a large sum of money.
…
Esdeath, the ice beauty, sat on his back as her delicate hands massaged him. He had Makima by his side; the girl was looking at him with desire, lying down and playing with her hair. Both were in underwear on the bed. It was one of those moments when Allen didn't want to be disturbed, not even by God, but when he saw the notification, curiosity made him sigh.
He got up, kissing Makima before leaving. She smiled mischievously. "You're really going to choose money over us?❤️~"
Allen answered reluctantly, "Never, but if I don't go, I'm afraid Chicago will disappear…"
Allen noticed the jealous look on Esdeath's face, grabbed her by the waist, and kissed her, leaving her on the bed, unsure of how to react. Despite the obvious interest, Allen hadn't taken the final step with Esdeath, making it even stranger.
"We'll continue when I get back..." Allen said as 2B put a shirt on his now more robust, chiseled body, much more muscular than when he was a teenager.
Makima, 2B, and Esdeath were embarrassed at the look on Allen's face.
…
Eve used more shields to defend her friends from the attacks. It was absurd; they wouldn't stop coming. Rex held his stomach, where he'd been hit by a laser. Dupli-Kate knelt down, exhausted. Robot was missing an arm and a leg.
This was strange because, in the canon, these green invaders should have retreated the first time due to the time effects between their dimension and this one. This caused them to age rapidly in this world, but that didn't happen.
The New Guardians were in serious danger, which meant half of Invincible's cast was on the brink of death.
"Tsk…" Eve gritted her teeth, but she was also scared because, deep down, what seventeen-year-old girl wants to die?
At that moment, Robot received interference. Not only him, but all his companions heard a voice.
"Kids, retreat..."
The male voice was soft, somewhat low, and soothing. That voice was also imbued with authority and could exert pressure on them. Everyone's eyes widened when they noticed the disturbance in the invaders, who stopped attacking them.
*Footsteps*
With a lazy look, Allen appeared in the middle of the aliens… staring at the captain with a scar over his eye, the one Invincible had given him. "Now that I think about it, you're something like a leader, right?"
"Human, we—!"
Allen understood the alien's words thanks to the system. In the next moment, he created a small Ki sphere. It seemed harmless for an instant—until it fired, disintegrating the alien commander.
The energy shot into the portal, destroying everything in its path and leaving a trail of light as it exited its home planet on the other side. The resulting shockwave sent the surrounding soldiers stumbling back in fear. The New Guardians were in total shock. Even Cecil was stunned.
Allen tilted his head impatiently. "Sorry, but I don't care what you have to say… Your crimes include mass murder and a clear invasion with the intent to conquer or destroy… How should I judge your crimes?"
The once cold and ruthless aliens now showed fear as they stepped back.
Allen's eyes reflected laziness and coldness, "Hey, you wouldn't have any objections if I did the same to you, right?"
===
A/N: Allen may be a motherf*cker but he knows how to make entrance. 🍷🗿
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