Damian woke up and sat on the bed, looking around. To his surprise, only Ana was in bed.
Damian gently stroked Ana's hair before kissing her cheek and heading to the bathroom to get ready.
After getting ready, Damian went downstairs and found Sophia chatting with Natasha.
"Hello," Damian greeted them with a slight smile.
Sophia and Natasha greeted him back with a smile.
"Have you seen Carol?" Damian asked, a bit confused.
"I saw her in her superhero suit heading towards Madripoor," Natasha replied, laughing.
"I'll go find her. Take care of the girls while we're away," Damian said, bidding them farewell.
The two women nodded before returning to what they were doing.
Damian had already informed them that they would be engaging in a small battle with a secret civilization on Earth, and although it had raised many questions at the time, everything had settled down since then.
Sophia wasn't interested because such battles often resulted in casualties, and it was different from their previous encounters where they could fight and leave. The battlefield was cruel.
Natasha had been fighting since she could remember, so it didn't excite her as much.
Damian arrived in Madripoor and quickly descended to the lower floor where the 'Spartan' project was located.
Upon entering, Damian saw Carol surrounded by the 10 Spartans lying on the floor, trying to get up.
The scientist stood a few meters away, nervously observing the armor.
Damian could only smile ironically at the situation, wondering how things had come to this.
...
Carol woke up early that morning. She knew she had to fight, and even though she had gathered the necessary information, she hadn't met up with her team yet.
So she carefully got up before entering the bathroom to get ready.
Carol stepped out of the bathroom in her Kree suit, posing in front of the mirror.
"I look really beautiful," Carol murmured before sighing. She didn't have an intimidating appearance, so she supposed she would have to show them a little force if they didn't respect her based on her looks.
Carol touched her muscles in the mirror and noticed that they weren't as defined as they were many years ago, but the lines were still visible in her suit.
Satisfied with her appearance, Carol left her room and went down to the basement to enter the portal to Madripoor.
While in Madripoor, Carol arrived on the top floor and found the scientist walking towards the elevator. She assumed he had seen her coming down.
"Hello," Carol greeted with a nod.
"My queen, may I ask what brings you here?" the scientist asked, surprised to see her. His king had told him that someone would be sent to lead the assault, although he had assumed it would be Ophelia.
"Of course, it's to meet my little squad," Carol said with a smile, advancing toward where everyone was gathered.
The scientist had no choice but to follow her hurriedly while smiling ironically. He didn't know what kind of abilities Carol had, but he knew she wasn't a vampire.
Carol walked forward and saw 10 suits on a platform with a hoop behind them. The suits were held by mechanical arms and looked truly impressive.
Carol would like to have one, but only for its appearance since she didn't really need one. It might even hinder her.
"What time are we leaving?" Carol asked as she continued to approach the soldiers.
"In four hours, we'll fly to Antarctica and deploy the soldiers at 10,000 meters high to avoid detection beforehand," the scientist said.
"Hmm," Carol nodded before reaching the soldiers who were in their resting period.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Carol said loudly, catching everyone's attention.
At that moment, Carol didn't have her usual cheerful and friendly attitude. She had a serious look and exuded an imposing aura with occasional golden glimmers running through her hair.
Although if Damian were there, he wouldn't be able to help but smile because he would still find her adorable.
"As you know, we will have a battle in a few hours, and I will be your commander," Carol said with determination.
"Now, I know that you will definitely follow my orders, but I'm sure some of you may have doubts. The biggest fist is always right, so let's fight," Carol said, giving them a smile.
"Put on your armor," Carol said before looking at the scientist, who sighed and activated the machines, gesturing for the 10 soldiers to put on their armor.
Frank, among them, stood somewhat confused on his platform as the mechanical arms began to put on his suit. Frank had always wondered what security measures the country had against them.
The logical thing would be to think that if the 100 of them rebelled, they could probably take over the country. Frank had been curious about the fact that there didn't seem to be any protection measures against them, and they were even allowed to go home normally. Although he had never discussed this with anyone, perhaps now he could find out the reason.
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The 10 Spartans, wearing their armor, stood in front of Carol. In their private channel, they discussed what they were going to do, while Carol patiently waited in front of them.
"Tell me, should we be careful?" John asked, somewhat embarrassed. His mother had always taught him not to hit women.
"You better say that because she's the queen, not because she's a woman," Laura replied in an annoyed voice.
"We'll attack with everything we've got," Frank said after a moment of silence.
"What?"
"Are you sure?" several Spartans asked.
"Yes, let's attack," Frank said before leading the charge.
The others looked at each other for a moment before following Frank and starting to surround Carol.
The 10 quickly assumed a standard stance, surrounding Carol.
Before Frank gave the signal, two Spartans emerged from different directions, attacking Carol simultaneously. One of them aimed for Carol's upper body, while the other targeted her lower body, leaving her with no escape.
Carol smiled slightly and leaped into the air, spinning her body before kicking one of the attackers in the helmet, positioning herself between the two strikes.
Carol landed back on her feet before approaching the other attacker and kicking him in the chest. The Spartan quickly reacted, twisting his body to avoid the kick before quickly retreating back into the circle.
Carol didn't chase him and simply remained in the center, looking at everyone.
The scientist nearly bit his tablet upon hearing the awful sound of Carol's strike against the Spartans' helmets. He had cared for them like his own children, and they didn't even have a scratch yet.
One of the Spartans stepped forward to help his fallen comrade, who was still dazed.
"All right, she's strong," Laura said with an excited smile.
"I repeat, we won't hold back. Let's all go together," Frank said before advancing towards Carol. All the other Spartans also launched themselves at Carol from different directions, except for the dazed one.
Carol smiled slightly as she saw everyone rushing towards her; it reminded her of her training on Hala.
Carol dodged two strikes before punching one in the chest while blocking another blow with her other arm.
She moved swiftly in the flurry of attacks, constantly stepping back and evading, every block sending one of them flying.
When surrounded, she would jump out of the encirclement while continuing to strike them. Inevitably, they would regroup and surround her again, repeating the process.
The Spartans fell to the ground only to rise again and charge at Carol.
She almost seemed like a small tornado, sending anyone who approached flying.
The sound of metal being struck could be heard all over the floor as the other soldiers watched in amazement.
The Spartans had ridiculous reflexes, partly due to their enhancements and the armor that helped them predict any attack. However, in front of Carol, it became futile. At the last moment, the speed of Carol's strikes increased dramatically, making it impossible to avoid the blow.
After nearly half an hour of constant strikes, most of the Spartans were on the ground, trying to get up. An average person would have likely died after so many impacts, even with the protection of the armor.
Carol stood in the center of the fallen Spartans, her hands on her hips and a big smile on her face. It felt good to flex her muscles.
This was the scene Damian witnessed upon arrival, so with an ironic smile, he approached Carol.
The scientist seemed like he had seen a god and nearly shed tears at the sight. His precious armor had been mercilessly battered.
Carol, who was still in combat mode, immediately felt someone walking towards her, so she turned around with a determined look, only to freeze upon seeing Damian.
The other soldiers watching couldn't help but be speechless as they saw this fierce commander transform into a girl who innocently smiled as if she had done something wrong.
"You know that the battle will commence in a few hours?" Damian asked with an ironic smile as he looked at his soldiers.
"You don't understand, there must be a mutual understanding between the commander and the soldiers," Carol said seriously before giving him a faint smile.
"Whatever you say," Damian replied, shaking his head with a smile before extending his hand toward the battered Spartans.
A magical circle formed in his hand, and the 10 of them glowed, accelerating their metabolism while giving them the energy to recover quickly.
The 10 Spartans stood up, looking at each other in amazement at their rapid recovery.
At that moment, Damian spoke as he looked at everyone.
"I'm sure you all know her, but this is my wife, Carol. She will lead you in the attack and take care of any surprises," Damian said, looking at everyone as he gestured toward Carol with his hand.
Carol looked at him and understood what he wanted to do before letting go of the embrace and looking at the soldiers.
"We'll be leaving in three hours, so prepare your gear," Carol said, returning to her commander state.
All the soldiers nodded before dispersing.
"My queen, could you be a little more careful? The armor is new," the scientist said with concern.
"Dramatic," Carol said, ignoring him.
"I'll be heading back home. I just wanted to make sure my soldiers and I were on the same page," Carol laughed before giving him a quick kiss and leaving.
"The queen has an... interesting personality," the scientist remarked, pursing his lips.
"That she does," Damian chuckled.
Nearly three hours passed quickly, and all the soldiers were lined up in front of Damian, Carol, and the scientist at the military camp outside the palace.
At the front were the 10 armors ready for combat.
"All right, everyone on board," Carol said, taking the lead and boarding the large ship designed for Spartan transportation.
Carol took the pilot's seat before beginning the takeoff preparations.
Damian, who was outside the ship, looked at the scientist.
"Well, we'll be back later. You can monitor through the cameras," Damian said before boarding the ship.
Carol closed the door and manipulated several buttons on the ship's ceiling, initiating the takeoff.
"We'll arrive in 30 minutes," Carol announced, elevating the ship at high speed and exiting the atmosphere.
Carol piloted the ship in space to avoid wind resistance and reach their destination faster. After about 20 minutes, they approached the Antarctic and began descending.
"We're nearing the deployment zone. Prepare your equipment," Carol said, pressing buttons as the ship's doors started to open.
Before the strong wind could enter the ship, a transparent blue shield appeared, blocking the wind.
Carol removed her headphones and stood in the aisle of the ship, facing one of the doors.
"The 10 Spartans with me, we'll secure the area. The rest can land. See you down there," Carol said, leaping out of the ship.
Everyone was surprised to see her jump without a parachute or armor to cushion the impact.
They quickly regained composure as the 10 Spartans followed suit, jumping from the ship.
They fell for about 2 minutes before Carol, who was in the lead, activated her powers and landed smoothly on the ground.
She turned to look at her men, who were a bit higher up.
The Spartans came with their heads down, propelling themselves to catch up with Carol.
About 30 meters from the ground, they flipped in the air and activated small jetpacks integrated into their armor to cushion the fall before hitting the ground with force.
The group of 11 people began to explore the area ahead. According to the information they had, they were a couple of kilometers away from the native city.
After ensuring that there was no nearby aerial defense, Carol sent a message to the ship, signaling it to start landing behind them.
Carol remained vigilant, scanning the direction of the city in case any weapons were fired. Finally, the ship landed smoothly. Carol wasn't sure if it was due to a lack of detection instruments or if their weapons had a short range.
The other soldiers also disembarked with their weapons, wearing protective suits with plates covering their vital areas.
"Follow us 100 meters behind and secure any enemies we neutralize," Carol said, nodding to the Spartans before starting to advance.
Carol cast a final glance at Damian, who was at the rear, before beginning to move forward.