Viltrumite, Is Your Mightiest Chat Group Fake?

"If she hasn't inherited our abilities, sir, should we conquer this place immediately?"

Nolan froze at the question. He did not answer right away, merely gazing toward Earth.

After a long while, he finally replied:

"I'll think about it."

"Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang in the Grayson home as dinner was being prepared.

"It must be Nolan and the others. I'll go take a look."

Just in case, she handed the cooking spoon directly to Marcia, who had been helping in the kitchen, and left her in charge.

Then she went to answer the door.

On the sofa, Eve, William, and Amber had already begun making bets.

"Do you think Leon's still alive?"

"Hard to say. Maybe when we go back to school the day after tomorrow, we'll hear that he transferred."

"According to the crime novels I've read, one afternoon probably isn't enough for Mr. Grayson to deal with his mess."

Debbie merely smiled and walked to the front door.

"Let's see who came back."

Then she saw two men who had returned in fresh clothes.

Her gaze rose to their bruised faces.

"Oh, honey, does it hurt?"

Debbie cautiously reached out to touch one of the bruises. Leon dodged her hand and explained, "Don't worry, Mrs. Grayson. We Viltrumites have a warrior tradition. This sort of thing is commonplace. It's not like anyone lost an arm or a leg."

Then Debbie's gaze turned stern as she looked at Nolan. "Honey, you promised me you were just going to talk."

Nolan protested unwillingly, even leaning his face closer. "But that's how we talk where I'm from. And look, I took no fewer punches than he did."

"Don't tell me that. Think about how you're going to explain this to Marcia—"

"Leon! You're back!"

The voice from behind stopped the three of them. Marcia walked around Debbie and stepped forward.

But the delight on her face froze the instant she saw Leon.

"My dad did that?"

Their silence gave her the answer. She glared angrily at Nolan. "Dad, you said you wouldn't interfere with this stuff once I grew up! And why would you do this to Leon? He's helped me so much!"

Even Invincible had inherited Mark's impulsiveness deep down.

Marcia landed a critical hit.

"I hate it when you do this!"

Omni-Man Wasn't Just City-Level

"Marcia, let me explain—"

"I don't want to hear it. All I know is that you kept giving Leon the cold shoulder today, then went out and beat him up."

But I got beaten up just as badly as he did...

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you...

Before he had even heard the rest of her words, they were already looping in Nolan's mind. His face went gray.

Leon, meanwhile, took delight in his misfortune.

But one hundred percent, however harshly Marcia spoke today, Nolan's fists would be just as harsh during the next training session.

So Leon still tried to persuade her. "Marcia, don't say that about Nolan. There are some deeper reasons behind this. I'll stay after dinner and explain everything clearly."

"Really?"

Marcia hesitated.

She could not take in Nolan's words, but Leon's were another matter.

"Besides, you don't really think he'd hit someone over such a simple reason, do you?"

In reality, that was exactly why. Nolan simply did not like the sight of this blond Viltrumite.

In the end, under Nolan's complicated gaze,

Marcia ran off to get the first-aid kit and ice. She clumsily treated Leon's injuries, then applied ice to reduce the swelling.

As for her old man, whatever. Forget him.

But dinner did not become awkward because of the little incident. Having lived between two stubborn people for years, Debbie was very good at handling situations like this.

The host and guests all enjoyed themselves.

At last, Leon leaned against the front door and watched his three classmates leave.

They waved at him with looks of sympathy and blessing, as though he were already dead.

Just as he was about to close the door, his phone chimed with a text from Eve.

"I haven't had time to tell the others on the Teen Team about you yet. You can get to know each other at the next gathering."

"Also, remember to come up with a codename. That's important."

A codename...

Leon was troubled. He was terrible at naming things, and he had nothing in his head that he could copy.

He could not seriously call himself Invincible. That would be far too unlucky.

He then returned to the living room.

Nolan was sitting stiffly upright there. Marcia had her arms folded and had turned her head away from her father, while Debbie mediated between them.

All three looked at Leon. Nolan gave a light cough, prompting him to speak.

Leon scratched his chin. "Marcia, the reason Nolan and I—sir and I—got into a fight is simple."

To prove it in the most direct way, he floated into the air.

"Because I'm also a Viltrumite."

"Where we come from, it's a tradition. You know, using strength to prove that you're qualified to carry out the mission, just like what Nolan is doing now."

Watching Leon point at his own bruises, Nolan sighed inwardly.

This kid is better at making things up than I am!

If I'd had him as an adviser when I was courting Debbie, I wouldn't have been so pathetic.

Meanwhile, Marcia took a long time to process the fact that, just like her mother, she had fallen for an alien.

She raised her head and asked, "So you transferred to our high school because of me?"

That was indeed the conclusion. The problem was, you were Invincible and I didn't notice. By now, I'd already planned to handle it myself.

Leon inwardly complained, then denied it. "Nolan and I talked about it. This was just a very interesting coincidence. I wanted to observe the city with the most supervillains first, so I infiltrated the best high school in the area."

"That sounds like the kind of thing fairy tales call fate."

Marcia brushed her hair behind her ear and chuckled.

"Then can you take me flying sometime?"

"Of course."

"No!"

Leon answered instantly, and Nolan refused just as quickly.

Seeing his daughter become unhappy at once, Nolan added, "Leon hasn't received training yet. Earthlings are too fragile. We need to—"

At that moment, Debbie placed a hand on his shoulder, her tone gentle but indisputable. "And who was it that took me flying to France for French food on our second day of knowing each other?"

"Uh..."

Just as Nolan was about to yield, blue light flashed, and a figure appeared in front of the television.

"I know a good restaurant in Paris. I can tell you about it after I'm done here."

It was Cecil.

Nolan narrowed his eyes at the newcomer. "Cecil, I'd prefer it if you knocked."

"I already paid the knocking fee. Five million dollars."

"You could've just given it to me and had me bring you over. Making money as a writer isn't easy."

"I have no interest in riding your supercar, the one that can carve a crack hundreds of kilometers long across the Moon. We didn't know you could do something like that, Nolan."

Cecil's tone was hostile, and even the scar on his face twitched.

Clearly, he had come to demand answers about Nolan hiding his true strength.

At the same time, both women turned their attention to Nolan.

Marcia lowered her head and found the news article on the media. She stared blankly at the straight line across the Moon.

So Omni-Man wasn't just city-level!

My dad has been the world's number one hero all along!

Debbie, meanwhile, tugged on Nolan's sleeve, her face full of confusion. "Nolan, what do you mean you punched Leon all the way to the Moon? Is that really a Viltrumite custom?"

First, they had ended up on Mars.

Second, that was not really a Viltrumite custom. Normally, the two of them would at least have broken something to show proper courtesy.

Leon watched the old man struggle to fend off the questions while Cecil continued laying into him.

"Do you know how much this cost me? Forget rebuilding that protected area—you two practically restructured the ecosystem."

"As for the Moon, I explained it as a new weapon. Do you know how many calls came in? Those idiots started ranting again about us having too much power."

Cecil poked Nolan in the chest.

"You know what? The only good thing was that, thanks to you two emptying that lake, we solved a murder case through the car at the bottom."

At that point, Leon felt he should say something.

"Really? I could tell that car was unusual when I was up in the air."

Cecil turned his gaze toward him, becoming even more wary.

He knew that unlike the clearly logical Nolan, Leon could be rather unhinged at times.

"And you, Leon? Is there anything you need to explain to me?"