Omni-Man shoots forward and punches Mark, using far more of his maximum strength than ever before. His fist lands on Mark's chest, but he is ready and blocks the attack. His body flies backward a bit, but he manages to stop himself. Omni-Man has already arrived on top of him and punches him again. Mark's body hits the ground, creating a small crater.
*BOOOOOOOM*
"Haha... Hahahahahaha. I knew it! You were holding back in our sparring. Now, this is what I call a fight, Dad."
Omni-Man is displeased. This wasn't how he thought this talk would go. Mark was so similar to him in certain ways, but he was also so different.
*BANG*
He raises his hand and catches Mark's punch. However, he is surprised at the strength behind it and pulls his hand to the left side, about to divert the force. It was something instinctual, after fighting against other Viltrumites for centuries, and Mark counted on it. He pulls himself forward, using Omni-Man's pull and front-kicks Omni-Man in the stomach.
*BOOOM*
"Kuuh!" Omni-Man exhales.
Mark grabs his father's hand, which has let go of his fist and pulls him towards him this time. All of this takes place in under one second. He moves faster than the eye can see; his form a blur as he closes the distance. His punch slams into Omni-Man's jaw with a crack, causing his head to snap to the side.
*BOOOM*
Before his father can recover, Mark twists mid-air, his elbow striking Omni-Man's head. A shockwave spreads from the impact. Mark follows up instantly, not giving his surprised father time to recover — he grabs his father's head and brings it down, hitting his rising knee with it.
*BOOOOM*
Then, a sharp uppercut to the chin.
*BOOOOM*
Another hammering blow to the temple. Each strike landed with bone-crunching force, each one drawing more and more shock from his father's face. Omni-Man stumbles back, spitting blood onto the ground. He touches his lip and wipes his nose, turning his fingers blood red. He looked at Mark with something almost resembling... respect.
"I forgot you were training... good."
Mark is a blur as he moves forward and strikes again, delivering a jab to his father's face. But this time, Omni-Man is faster. He slaps the fist to the side and grabs a hold of Marks's neck, squeezing and lifting him into the air. He throws him into the air but holds his leg. He smashes Mark on the ground.
*BOOOOM*
He doesn't let go and instead throws him away, and then he flies after him.
.
- GDA Headquarters -
At the GDA, Cecil, a series of technicians, and Debbie watch the fight through drones.
"Map their trajectory. I need to know where they're going before they get there."
Debbie holds her hand in front of her mouth and looks at the screens in shock. The man who was her husband for 20 years just called her his 'pet' and has attacked their son. Cecil places a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"Debbie, I'm so sorry you had to listen to that."
"They are going to kill each other, Cecil! You don't know Mark like I do, and apparently, I don't know Nolan as I thought I did. Mark won't stop; he never does. He never gives up, and for this, he is willing to die."
"You mean for the planet? Or for speaking badly about you?"
"You have to stop this."
"We have them, sir. They're slowing down about 20 miles southeast of Chicago," a GDA agent says.
"Chicago? They're in range. Scramble our jets."
"Sir? What could they do?"
*Sigh*
"After everything we've thrown at Nolan? Not much. But at least they're a distraction. Seeing what a few punches from the kid could do, while we tried everything we had, maybe it will give him time to do that again."
.
- Guardians Headquarters -
"Oh, shit... Okay, what do we do? Do we go out there?" Rex asks.
"And do what? We couldn't even keep up with them." Dupli-Kate says.
"No. We follow Cecil's orders and remain here. This battle is beyond our current capabilities."
"Robot is- Rudy is right. We'll get our chance to fight."
The door to their headquarters opens, and Atom Eve flies in.
"Eve! Oh, you're okay." Rex says and embraces her.
"I'm fine. What's happening with Mark and Omni-Man?"
"Mark managed to get the first hits in and even made the fucker bleed, but now Omni-Man's kicking the shit out of him. The world's gone fucking nuts."
"Indeed. I truly hope Mark lives up to his name. To face his father and survive, he'll need to be...invincible."
.
Mark stops flying and waits for his father to arrive. Seeing him approach, he bends his upper body backwards and has him pass over him. But the speeding Omni-Man is already on him, pushing him forward. He pulls back his fist and punches Mark in the face, causing him to shoot back in the air. He flies forward, hitting Mark again, and then retreats to attack once more.
*BOOOOM*
*BOOOOM*
*BOOOOM*
The air cracks as they exchange blows, and Omni-Man's silhouette flashes through the clouds as he attacks. Mark ducks under another of these massive swings from Omni-Man, spinning mid-air and delivering a devastating heel kick to his father's temple. Omni-Man reels but recovers instantly, catching Mark by the arm and driving his knee into his son's stomach with bone-shattering force. Mark gasps, coughing up blood from his mouth as the shockwave of the strike sounds through the area.
*BOOOOOOOOOM*
At that moment, two jets shoot by them, causing Omni-Man to stop the attack and simply hold Mark by his suit.
"Cecil wants to waste more time."
He turns towards his son.
"Look at what they need to mim-"
*BOOOOM*
Mark strikes his father's throat this time, cutting off his air supply momentarily and allowing him to attack once again. Omni-Man chokes. A roundhouse kick to Omni-Man's right side is followed by a rapid series of punches, culminating in a high knee to the face.
*BOOOOM*
Mark moves back and allows the fighter jets to attack. Several small rockets are released and approach Omni-Man, striking him from all sides.
*booom*
[Direct hit. Repeat, direct hit on Omni-Man.]
The smoke clears, and Omni-Man is seen holding his throat and having more blood on his face. He has a very displeased expression on his face and looks at the fighter jet. With a grunt, he speeds towards it. His figure crashes through the jet several times, causing it to explode. Through the explosion, the pilot falls out and falls towards the ground. Seeing this, Mark is ready and catches the man in mid-air. He rips the safety belts off, throws the chair away and gently lands with the pilot.
"Ah, man! Thank you. Didn't think I was gonna make it." The pilot breathes deeply and sweats from the shock.
*Thud*
Omni-Man lands behind the pilot and looks at Mark angrily.
"You almost killed him. This is between us two."
"And you saved him. This is as much about them as it is about us. This is what I'm trying to show you. So much effort, for what?"
Omni-Man reaches forward, about to crush the pilot's head, but Mark hurls the man away in an attempt to save him. Omni-Man punches Mark away and catches the pilot. With one strong push, he crushed his head, causing brain matter to fly everywhere. An angry Mark attacks Omni-Man and punches him into the air. But his father doesn't care and just shoots towards the second fighter jet.
[He's on my six.]
She fires rockets to defend herself, but Omni-Man effortlessly dodges them. He accelerates and is moments away from striking the jet when Mark collides with him.
"Stop undoing my work, and don't kill innocents, for fucks sake!"
"If he dies now or in 50 years, what difference does it make?" Omni-Man says and pushes Mark off him.
"The difference of freedom. It would be his own choice and not yours."
"Did seeing that man lose his life disturb you? Did it hurt?"
"NO! That's the problem!"
"Oh? Well, let's see how you handle this!" Omni-Man says and pulls back his fist.
He exerts even more strength and speed—the punch crushes Mark's ribs, causing blood and spit to splatter from his mouth. The shock immobilises him just long enough for Omni-Man to seize him by the throat and slam him into the ground with the force of a meteor.
*BOOOOM*
The ground craters beneath them. Before Mark can even inhale, his father wrenches him out of the dirt, flings him through the sky, and then punches him once more. Mark barely has time to react before Omni-Man slams his fist into his stomach. The impact ruptures something inside, and Mark chokes on blood. Omni-Man used the maximum strength he was capable of in that last hit.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
Their fight has reached Chicago. Mark shoots through three skyscrapers, sending debris flying everywhere. But Mark is not out of the count, and as he realises his strength isn't enough to stop his crash, he stretches his body, as if he would dive into water, thereby reducing the impact hole.
*CRAASHH*
People scream, cars honk, debris falls everywhere, shaking the city, and various body parts are flung about. Thanks to Mark's quick action, the force of his father's maximum punch sends him crashing into the ground like a rocket. Mark digs his way back to the surface and hears a loud cracking sound. He sees the skyscraper tilting above the hole he created. He flies forward and presses against it. He manages to halt its movement, but another problem arises. The building begins to crumble under the pressure he exerts to push it back. The windows shatter, and the people inside scream in fear and panic.
"Gretchen!" a woman shouts.
"Mommy!"
The building tilts slightly again as another pillar breaks. The girl is flung forward towards the window, but her mother catches her. They roll towards the window and then fall out. Mark witnesses this and moves back, grabbing both of their arms with his. He shifts his position and uses his legs to push against the falling building while holding on to the two women.
"Urgh! This is why ... you never skip ... LEG DAY!!"
"AHHH!" the woman shouts, and the girl is crying.
"No need to panic, you two ... I have this building under ... my feet. Oh, oh..."
The building rumbles and starts to crumble, causing Mark to lose his grip and rendering his efforts useless. Parts of the building explode, and it finally crashes to the ground. Mark ignores what he can't change and embraces the mother and daughter pair, shielding them from the debris.
*CROOOOMMMMMBRRROOOMMM*
...
Mark makes his way out from under the rubble, still holding the two women. They are badly hurt, but at least they are alive. His breathing is heavy as he motions for them to leave.
"Thank you ... thank you..."
"All in a day's work."
"Haaa ... haaa... Looks like ... I can skip today's training ..."
Omni-Man appears in the sky above him.
"That was your fault. Your stubbornness against the inevitable killed those people. How many more need to die, Mark? It's up to you. And what were they doing with those fragile little lives anyway? Listen to what I'm saying. You know in your heart I'm right."
"Right? About how pathetic and pointless humanity is? I loathe bullies and using your strength to harm the weak, just because you can, is nothing else. Be honest with me, Dad ... Is Mom's life worthless?"
"In the grand scheme of things... Yes."
...
*Inhale Exhale * Inhale Exhale*
Mark's breathing accelerates. His muscles tense harder than ever before. His jaw clenches, causing his teeth to almost crack.
"You lying piece of SHIIIIT!!!!"
*BOOOOM*
Mark shoots forward, his speed surpassing anything he has shown before during this fight. For the very first time in his life, he is absolutely livid. Adrenaline courses through his body, and anger clouds his mind. He crashes into his father with full force, grabbing him by the collar and punching him repeatedly. His fist crashes into his father's face, breaking his skull more and more as he does so. He doesn't let go, pushing further and further, out of the city. Mark presses his father's body to the ground and continues to strike him with all of his strength.
"You think..."
*BOOOM*
"you can talk..."
*BOOOM*
"like that..."
*BOOOM*
"about Mom?!!"
*BOOOM*
Omni-Man groans in pain, truly feeling those punches. He grunts as he tries to get away, but can't through the powerful grip of his son. The two crash into buildings again as their fight continues. Finally, Omni-Man manages to get Mark off.
"Strength," Omni-Man says through the blood, twisting Mark around and smashing his head into the side of a crumbling building, "will always be more important than technique."
Mark breaks free again, gritting his teeth, and goes on the offensive. His strikes are brutal and precise—knees, elbows, a vicious barrage of blows aimed at pressure points. A normal Viltrumite would be reeling. Even the mighty Omni-Man, though not normal, is in great pain. His durability is enormously high, yet he reels as Mark's assault rains down. But when he sees the perfect opening, he takes it. He grabs Mark's arm and twists it hard.
*CRACKK*
"URGH."
*BOOOOM* x5
Omni-Man punches Mark again and smashes his head through the ground, hitting the Chicago underground.
...
"Stop this, Mark. It is pointless." Omni-Man says as he watches his son stand up despite his right arm being bent 90° the wrong way. But he has a bloody grin on his face and a fire in his eyes, unlike anything he ever did. Because if he's honest, this was the best fight he ever had, and he was feeling it with all of his being.
"Do you really know me that badly? The only thing that can stop me is if all life leaves my body and I lie on the ground a bloody pulp. Otherwise, I will never stop fighting, and you know it. I already told you, 'whatever doesn't kill me has made a great tactical error.'"
"Allow me to crush your arrogance, son."
A knee drives into Mark's sternum, shattering it. Omni-Man's fist cracks against his cheekbone, breaking it instantly. Another uppercut launches him high into the air. Omni-Man follows, catching Mark by the ankle before swinging him down like a bag of trash, slamming him against the ruins of another skyscraper.
*CRRASSSHHH*
Omni-Man hovers above, watching the dust settle. Then, Mark pushes himself free. His body looks as if it were made of Legos put together by a three-year-old, but he is still breathing. And as long as he is breathing, he will continue fighting and worsening Omni-Man's day.
"You aren't listening, Mark! My time here has been a speck in the span of my life. You don't know me. I will burn this planet down before I spend another minute living among these animals!"
Mark shoots upwards and hits his father again. He delivers a powerful uppercut to his father and smashes several teeth. Several of Omni-Man's ribs break. Mark has been growing constantly during this fight and as he has gone fucking angry, he doesn't care about taking damage.
"Urgh! I was wrong to raise you as a human. Your will and desire to fight are good, but I should have prepared you better and taught you more. Your life has been soft and painless in comparison. You've grown into a mommy's boy."
"And proud of it!"
*BOOM BOOM*
"You're a Viltrumite in blood and fighting spirit, but not in heart. Your mind is not right. Well, your true education begins now."
"Bahaha... You're one to talk. You look like you've seen better days as well."
And he was right; Omni-Man was not looking good either. He was beaten quite badly, but not as badly as Mark. The son was still not on the same level as his father, but that wouldn't be clear to an inexperienced person. Omni-Man had several broken bones and was bleeding all over his body. But Mark had lost the ability to use his right arm, and his thorax was only being held together by his few remaining pectoral muscles. His liver was wounded, he was bleeding internally and externally, and the number of other broken bones would just take too long to list here. And yet, he was not done. He was not giving up. His fighting spirit had only started to burn more fiercely.
*BOOOM*
*BOOOOOOM*
*BOOM BOOM*
*BOOOM*
The two exchange punches after punches. Mark uses his legs more often now, as he can't use one of his arms to punch. But he fights like a true barbarian, using his head and teeth if he gets the chance. Their fight takes them across the continent, through water and high into the sky. Omni-Man pushes past his own limits and hits Mark on the same spot he broke his jaw earlier. The punch sends Mark hurling backwards, hitting the side of a mountain.
*BOOOOOOM*
Mark shakily gets back to his feet. He is not looking good, and his health has dropped below 10%. It doesn't matter; he gets into a martial arts position and looks at Omni-Man.
"Had enough yet?" Omni-Man asks.
"Bitch please."
"I'm ready when you are."
*BOOOM*
Nolan hits Mark in the face. Mark takes the hit and uses part of the force to turn and deliver a left hammer to his father's face.
*BOOOM*
Nolan punches out again, even though he has arrived at his very limits, and this time, he isn't acting as he was against the Guardians. His son has brought him to the brink as well. One blow to the chest sends Mark spiralling downward. The moment he crashes to the ground, Omni-Man is on him, not giving him time to stand back up.
"You WILL die at this rate!" he shouts at his son.
"Haha, so be it. Let's kill each other. A hypocrite and his son united in death."
"You want to die for this planet?! Fine! What's seventeen more years?!" Omni-Man says and punches Mark.
*BAAMM*
"I can always start again!"
*BAAMM*
"Make another kid!"
*BOOM* *BOOM*
"Hahahaha, that's a sick line!" Mark chokes the words together with blood.
Nolan's fists slam into his son's face over and over again. Blood spatters on the cracked mountainside. Mark's struggles weaken. His vision blurs. Or so his father thinks. As his right fist hits Mark's face, the latter grabs it and throws his legs around his father's arm, pulling it back. He pulls as hard as he can, and before the exhausted Nolan can stop it, the loud cracking sound of his arm breaking is heard.
*CRAAACKK*
"AAAAHHH!"
Nolan screams in pain and lifts up his son, but that is another mistake as Mark headbutts him.
*BAM*
"URGH!"
Nolan lifts Mark and then stomps him on the ground, finally getting him to let go.
*BOOOM*
...
A memory flashes through Nolan's mind. He remembers his son and wife during a baseball game. He remembers what he felt back then and how his opinion changed from it being pointless and a waste of time to feeling happy when his son was happy as well. He fights with himself, trying to do what he has to, what he must ... but loses out in the end.
"Dammit!"
Nolan looks at his son and hears him gasp very, very weakly. The amount of blood around should amount to about 2 litres or something. His eyes widen as Mark, against all odds, breaks what should be physically possible ... and once again, manages to somewhat stand up. Great annoyance overcomes Nolan.
"Why did you make me do this? Look at you! Look at what we could have achieved together! You're fighting so you can watch everyone around you die! Just so you get to enjoy this moment. Think, Mark! You'll outlast every fragile, insignificant being on this planet. You'll live to see this world crumble to dust and blow away! Everyone and everything you know will be gone! What will you have after 500 years?"
"..."
Mark doesn't answer, though, because he has already fallen unconscious. Nolan looks at his son and then at his hand. He sees the blood of his son on it and feels regret. He grumbles in great pain as the adrenaline slowly wears off. Finally, Nolan pushes off the ground, flying into the sky and off to space, leaving the unconscious Mark behind.