Almost Invincible (Invincible SI) ENG

16: Time to go

16: Time to go

"Won't you say anything?" Nolan asked, looking at Debbie. She had been silent since she entered his cell, just staring at him, perhaps cursing him, or maybe something else.

He couldn't know; she was always special in that way.

"I have a lot to say, but... I don't think any of it will help," she said with clear frustration in her voice. She looked at the man she had loved, the man she loved, and didn't know what to feel.

Was it a lie? Was it false? But that love, that love was real. He had chosen them, her, their son, but at the same time, he had killed those he called friends...

To say she was mortified would be an understatement; to say she didn't simply want to run up to him and hug him would be a lie. She loved him, loved him so much, but could she just run into his arms and forget everything? The lies? What he did?

How could she? She clenched her fists and bit her lip.

"Why? Why not just tell the truth from the beginning? Why do all this?"

Nolan looked at her, studying her features like no one else could. All those years on Flaxan, he had many thoughts, but above all, the time he spent with Debbie prevailed over everything else: her smile, her eyes, the way her eyebrows wrinkled in annoyance or when she found something funny and tried not to laugh, even though she always ended up doing so.

There was a lot to think about.

"For you," he replied, and it was the truth. If he had wanted to, he would have taken over the planet in the first year he arrived.

"At first, when I arrived on Earth, I studied its strengths and weaknesses, how it could be useful to the empire. They were so weak... Taking over Earth became too easy a task, so I wasn't in a hurry. I simply wandered around the world, not knowing what else to do besides blending in with the people and waiting for the right moment. Then I met you, and for some reason, time stopped mattering. I began to be more interested in humans; I started thinking that staying here for a longer time wouldn't be so bad. For a while, I forgot my mission, forgot who I was supposed to be, and became something else. You made me something else..."

Nolan looked into her eyes, took her hands in his, and spoke seriously.

"The only thing I regret is not realizing it sooner." Maybe it was because Viltrumites lived a long time, or maybe it was just Nolan, but even if it took him too long to realize it, he now knew what he had to do.

Debbie remained silent. Nolan sighed. There was much more to say, many things he wanted to do, but time had run out. Since Nolan communicated with the empire and informed them about Mark gaining powers, the empire had begun monitoring Earth.

Their communication systems, their news networks— for a space-faring civilization, it was extremely easy to do, even being light-years away.

That's why he had no doubt that they would know what he had done. That's why he did it too. He needed to get their attention, draw them in, become their target.

"I have to go," he said softly, pulling Debbie out of her deep thoughts. She looked at him with clear confusion and panic.

"What do you mean?!"

"The empire will soon send their agents for me. What I've done is a betrayal that completely violates everything the empire believes in. They won't hesitate and will focus on punishing me, making me pay for my crimes. If I let them come to Earth, millions will die. I need to draw them away, from you, from Mark, buy some time."

Viltrum didn't have enough agents to deploy a full-scale invasion without breaking the illusion they had been maintaining.

They would either attack Earth or attack him. Nolan knew them well enough; they underestimated the Earth and did not take seriously any attempt at resistance on their part. While there was some urgency, they could still postpone their invasion to deal with him, because in their eyes, he was the real threat.