INVICTUS

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INVICTUS


CHAPTER 1 {INVICTUS}


Scene: Hospital Room--Neurology Wing--Late Evening


The walls hum with the quiet beeping of monitors. A soft rain taps at the window. Dr. Emerson, a seasoned neurologist with tired eyes, stands before a couple sitting stiffly in plastic chairs outside the ICU. The window to their son's room is clear, revealing a pale boy lying still beneath a white sheet.


"Mr. and Mrs. Grayson… I've gone over the scans, the test results, and consulted with the team. I--I'm so sorry. Your son suffered significant trauma to his brain during the accident."


Debbie leans forward, gripping her husband's hand. "What are you saying? He's going to be okay, right? He just needs time. He's strong. He--he always bounces back."


Dr. Emerson replies softly but firmly, "He's alive, and that's something to hold on to. But… The damage is centered around the hippocampus and parts of the frontal lobe. That means memory--personal memory--has been affected."


(Author's note: I have no idea if that is actually true, but please just chalk it up to 'it is just fiction.')


Debbie's voice is low, stunned. "You mean he won't remember what happened?"


"It's more than that. While he will be able to remember things like language, other general information, and things that repeat, he will have a hard time remembering specific information. Like, you and your husband should be fine, but things like what specific thing happened a few months or years back will probably be gone."


(Author's note: Again, not a neurologist; I don't even know if this is plausible in the real world.)


Now Debbie is shaking her head, and her voice is rising. "...I was just with him yesterday morning. We--he made breakfast. He hugged me. He said he loved me. And you are telling me he will forget things like that…"


Nolan, quietly trying to keep his composure, says, "What happens now? Is there a chance he could get it back?"


Dr. Emerson pauses, choosing his words carefully. "I truly have no idea. The brain is a complicated organ, and as much as we can say we are learning, there is simply too much we don't know. I am not telling you to lose hope. I am saying that your son might be a little different now, but he is still your son. Things like manners you instilled in him for years will still be there, even if he does not understand why."


Debbie replies, "He's right there… ten feet away… He looks no different than when he is sleeping..."


Nolan's jaw clenched, starting to relax. "That is good; it means he will be back to being healthy in no time."


Dr. Emerson nods, quietly respectful, and says, "That is true; just give him some time, and even if he might seem a little different for a while, things will go back to normal."


The monitor inside the room gives a soft chime. Debbie wipes her tears and slowly rises, hand on the glass. Nolan stands behind her, silent, a steadying presence.


A few hours later


This is what I woke up to see: a white roof with hospital smells. I was well aware of the predicament I was in. The whole accident thing was manufactured by my patron to excuse the changes in personality, since, you know, I'm a different person from Mark. In truth, I don't even know why he wanted me here. I barely know anything about the Invincible comics, but whatever, I should be fine with the powers I chose. It took the attending nurse a few minutes to inform the doctor that I was awake and for him to arrive to talk to me.


The first thing Dr. Emerson says to me is, "You're awake."


His voice is low and calm. Not surprised. Like he was expecting me to wake up soon. I stare at him. My head is clear since I don't actually have any actual brain damage, but I should act like I do until this whole thing is done with and I can go to Mark's house. I can't get myself to call it my home just yet. I will do that after I live in it for a few days.


"Where…" I rasp. "Where am I?"


"In the hospital," he says, folding his hands in front of his chest. "You were in an accident, Mark. It's nighttime now. You've been unconscious for a few days."


Mark... yeah, that's my name now; better get used to it. I look around the room--white walls, machines, blinking lights. A window with rain sliding down the glass. Just an ordinary night.


I shift slightly, and there's a tug in my arm. Tubes. Monitors. I feel like a science experiment.


"Feels… wrong," I whisper.


"You've got every reason to feel that way," he says. "You took a bad hit to the head. There was swelling and bruising in the brain. You've been through something serious."


His eyes are kind, but they are lost on me, since to me, all this is just fake, even if it is real for him.


"My parents?" I ask. The words come out slowly. Man, I should get a damn Oscar, not that I know what it takes to get an Oscar.


"They're here," he says. "They've been waiting for you. I asked them to rest a little bit earlier. I thought I should be the one to talk to you first."


"Why?" I ask.


"Because I want you to hear the truth, clearly. Not from a crying voice or a memory you can't place."


"You've suffered brain damage, Mark. The areas that control memory--memory of specific events--were affected. That's why things feel foggy. That's why you're struggling."


I know I should probably try to sound more authentic, but the problem is that I have no idea how. I have never had brain damage, and thank God for that, but I also did not watch any media to help me here, and I don't want to get caught by faking too much.


"I don't…" My throat is rough; at least I am not faking that. "I don't remember."


He nods slowly. Not surprised. "You might, in time. Or maybe not all of it. But memory isn't just facts and names. Sometimes it comes back in pieces. Sometimes it never does. But we build something new."


I don't know what to say to that. I turn toward the window instead. The rain looks soft. Peaceful. The kind of rain you'd fall asleep to… Should I just sleep until we get home, and everything is just skipped over? As tempting as it is, I doubt they would actually discharge me if I were not awake.


"I should remember," I say. It comes out raw. You know what I should do? I should ask for water.


"I know," he says. "But that emptiness you feel right now--it won't last forever. The brain's still working, even if you can't feel it. Healing takes time. You're not starting from nothing, even if it feels that way."


I swallow hard and do the right thing. "Can I get some water?"


He doesn't argue. Just stands, walks, and a while later comes back with one of those white plastic cups that are entirely too small for water drinking. I chug it in a gulp, and it is divine--all my sore throat is gone just like that.


"Get some rest, Mark. We'll take it one step at a time. You're not alone."


I want to believe him, but from what little I know about his story, I might actually be alone. It is not like I can actually tell anyone about the future I know, which is practically nothing other than that my father is going to try to destroy the planet.


The door clicks shut behind him. The room settles into silence again, just the beeping and the rain. I stare out the window, just until the door opens again, and here come the parents--Debbie and Nolan Grayson.


Debbie barely whispers, "Hi, sweetheart. It's Mom…"


"Hello, Mom, don't worry, I will be fine."


We talked for a while. They asked some questions--all I basically knew nothing about--but my patron had given me just enough information to know some people, like their names and faces, so I was able to fake it for a while. It was night, and I was getting sleepy, so we decided to continue tomorrow. Just like that, I was off for the night.


In the morning, the doctor was back. He did some tests and said I was free to go home. We left the hospital soon after that.


"You do remember the house, right?"


"Yes, Dad. The doctor said I will be able to remember repeated things, and the house is definitely one of them."


The moment I entered the house, I wanted to go to Mark's--no, my--room to make sure I didn't mess up something important, but that would be weird. Debbie made lunch, and we decided to eat before anything. It was a good meal. For the first thing I ate in this new world, I will try not to forget it.


They wanted me to relax, so we watched some TV and played family games--even if at one point Nolan had to go off to do some heroics. Debbie--no, Mom and I saw him on the news. It is immensely weird to think of myself as the son of the most powerful man in the world… but I will adapt.


We spent the rest of the day just trying to enjoy the day. By the time it was night and we were about to sleep, I was already calling Debbie Mom in my head... weird but good. I miss my original mom, and having Debbie does help.


One week later


It took a week, but Mom was finally ready to let me go to school. I did not like school much in my past life; I was always a loner, but I will try to fix that here. New life, new me, and all that. This should be the same day Mark got his powers, so I will also tell them about my powers today. Before going to school, she told me about Dad, and yes, I have also started to call him Dad. It will help me keep any cover I might need, and I also heard something about him being redeemed in the future, and if I can, I want to convince him not to go mad and kill all those people that will die if we fight--anything for humanity. Anyway, while we were talking about Dad, we saw him on TV fighting some type of gigantic lizard. If I have to fight him anytime soon, I am so fucked, especially since I am even weaker than the original Mark. After eating and contemplating the horrifying future ahead of me, I went to school.


I met a guy called William. It turns out he is my best friend, which is nice; I don't have to start from zero in the jungle known as high school. Good for me! We talked. He was already told that I won't remember anything specific, but I was still me, so he was not surprised by how I acted. He wanted to invite me to some kind of party, but I told him I had a job. If I don't go to it, I will get fired since they gave me almost two weeks off. If I did not come back, they would need to get a new hire.


I went to the job and did it in a way the coworker watching me told me to, since I had no idea what I was doing, but I guess I was able to do enough not to be fired. When I had to remove the garbage, I remembered this is when the original discovered his powers by throwing the garbage into the sky. With my current strength, I would be lucky if I made it past the roof of the Burger Mart I was working at. Oh well, time to go home.


Once I got home, dinner was already ready, but Dad was not here yet.


"Hello, Mark. How was your day?"


"I am having a great day. When Dad comes home, there is something I would like to tell you both. Other than that, how about you?" The conversation went on like that until--


"Sorry I was late; there was an enchanted flood in Egypt. I had to deal with it on the way home." There was a whoosh of wind, and Dad was sitting on a chair next to Mom. She asked if he took care of that dragon thing from earlier, and he said he did it by finding the person controlling it. He said keeping the civilians safe was the hard part. I am still having a hard time believing this man is an intergalactic conqueror, but the deal with my patron is clear: I have to make the story as less gruesome as I can. There is no punishment, but I was chosen because my personality does not allow me to ignore all the horrid shit that will come, even if I doubt I am the most qualified of the people that fit that description. While I was off in Imagination Island, I heard--


"So, Mark, what was that you were saying earlier about telling us both something?" Well, time to come clean.


"Ok, so I got my powers?" They were quiet for a while.


"...Are you sure?" Damn, Dad, right in the feels.


"Don't ask that. Congratulate him. That is great. I am so happy for you," and Mom is for the win.


"I am sorry; I did not mean to disbelieve you. I am happy for you too." Dad follows up, but he is going to need to try harder to be forgiven.


"There is actually something weird about my powers. The way you speak of it, all Viltrumites have the same powers, right? Flight, super strength, senses, and speed--the whole shebang. But you did not say there could be deviations."


"Yes, to my knowledge, all Viltrumites have the same powers since it is just part of our DNA and not a mutation or something like that. Why ask that?" Ok, time to bluff.


"Well, when I got my powers, I instinctively understood what they were, so I don't think it was just my DNA. But other than that, my powers seem to be different. First, I have a regeneration power. I just tested it with a small cut, but the knowledge I told you about tells me I would be able to come back from anything, not just heal from small cuts. The other thing I got is the more damage I receive, the stronger my body gets. After I had tested the regeneration by making a cut on my palm, I wanted to test if my strength increased, so I stabbed my hand again, but this time it took more force to cut my hand. I kept on repeating this same exercise until the knife bent before making a scratch on me. So I was wondering why my powers are different than yours." He was totally shocked and silent for a while.


"Are you sure? I have never heard of anything like this on Viltrum."


"Well, we can test it if you want. I can't cut myself with a knife because the knife would bend before cutting me, but with your strength, I guess just a pinch would be enough to tear off some flesh, and we could go on from that."


"Fuck no! What do you mean you've been stabbing yourself the entire day? You are so grounded that by the time I allow you to leave the house, it will be in a casket because you died of old age." I forgot Mom was there for a moment. Good thing her scream was able to remind me. Bad thing, I remembered after I had made her angry.


"I am sorry, but it was such an interesting thing I just had to keep at it until I saw the knife bend. I did not even know time was passing, and it seems I don't feel that much pain. That should help, right?" The not feeling pain part is a lie. I was able to keep at it because I had another power, one that helped me imitate infinite willpower or something like it. My mind is perfectly untouchable; no pain would be enough to make me give up, and no mind control would work on me. Which is a good thing considering I would be going through some rough fights--against horrifying opponents.


"Mark, why did you even decide to test if you have a regeneration power?" Her voice is so caring it hurts.


"Well, when I got the knowledge, I really wanted to know if it was the truth. I even made my first cut so small a band-aid would have been enough to fix it if I was wrong. I just increased it after knowing it was accurate." I am trying to be reassuring, but I don't know if it is working. I did not choose mind reading as a power.


"...Haaa, fine. I am willing to allow this, but every time you come home, I am checking you, and if I see so much as a scratch, all of it will stop. Is that understood?" The way she said it, it was clear this was for both of us, and it was not a negotiation.


"Yes, ma'am," was my response.


"I will make sure he is fully healed before I do any additional damage, I promise." It seems Dad's response was enough for her to allow this.


"So when do we get to test it?" I really wanted it to be soon. I want to get stronger.


next morning


Knock, knock, knock. "Mark, get up, it is training time." The sun is not up yet. What do you mean, time to train? I might not need to sleep, but I want to. This is so wrong... That is all I was able to think before I opened the door and was ready to start the training.


"Where are we going to train, and how?"


"Well, the first thing we are going to test is to make sure you can fly. If you can do that, then we can begin with the rest. Get out of your room using the window."


"Cool, I did not get any instinctive knowledge of flight, but I think I can do it." While I did not choose flight as a power, my patron did say that there are some surprises for me that will allow for convenience. The hospital thing is one of them, and I don't think I will be able to participate in the big fights unless I have some form of flight. If I don't have a natural one, I will just get someone to make me a tech to do it, but it would be very convenient if I could just fly. When we left the window, I was sure the fall would not be able to damage me, but it was still a fall down, and I was scared.


"What if I can't fly? I could fall."


"I will make sure to catch you if you can't."


"You say that, but what if you don't, for the giggles?" I did not finish the sentence before he threw me off the roof.


"See, you can do it."


"What the hell? Why did you do that? What if I fell and had broken a bone or something?" I know I would have been fine with a broken bone, but still, I am scared of heights.


"Then we would have seen how far your regeneration goes. You said you would come back from anything, right? So a broken leg would have been fine."


"What about Mom? If she saw you broke my bone, you would be sleeping on the sofa for a year at the very least."


"...You are fine, so let's not talk about nightmares, alright?"


With that over with, we flew to an empty forest. My speed is not too impressive, not even much faster than my running speed. It was only a little better because I did not have to push against the ground again and again; it was more of a consistent pull to where I wanted to go, so it was a little better.


But I can increase it by increasing my strength, so the faster I move and the more pressure I put on my body, the stronger my body gets from my second power, and the faster I can go. I even saw some improvement before getting to the forest.


In there, we tested my regeneration. It required Dad to beat me up a lot to be sure of it. I guess the one thing I have over the original is that I can take a lot more punches and get back up.


At one point, he blew off one of my arms, and he was actually scared, but like I said, I was able to heal from anything. I mean, I did choose Undead from Undead Unluck as a power, which guarantees I will be back even if someone destroys all my cells or something like that.


Once he understood how powerful my regeneration was, he kept adding to the damage, but he had started to get worried about pain.


"Are you sure you are fine? Sure, you are healing, but you don't have to keep at this for this long."


"Like I told Mom, since I got my powers, I don't feel that much pain, so I can keep this up."


"Well, it does not matter if you can keep this up; it is morning already, and your flight is slow. Let's go home."


"You don't have to insult me that much. My speed is increasing with my strength, so I will be able to get back home in half the time."


"Good for you. Now let's go home."


And that was how I spent my morning. After that, I went to school, and everything was normal. There was nothing interesting, but after school, I had to see how I could handle actual heroics.


There was some type of chase, and I decided to help. The problem with that is the criminals had a super with them, and that resulted in me getting my face caved in until Omni-Man showed up and stopped them.


But I can't believe I lost my first fight that decisively. I could have probably stopped them, but it would have taken too long, and the other guys would have been able to escape. I am glad Dad was there to help.


When he saw the rags I had decided to call a costume, he kept laughing and promised to let me meet the guy who makes his suit.


At least, unlike the original, I already know what costume I want it to be... Ok, it is the exact same one, the blue and black the original Mark had, except the letter "I" on mine means Invictus and not Invincible, which is a nod to one of my powers as well as my name.


I decided to describe it to Art Rosenbaum


"So, what do you think of my idea with my name? It should be exactly what I am looking for, right? Other than the color scheme and the letter, you have artistic decisions."


"The idea is good. The color is up to you, and putting the first letter of your name as the emphasis is done by many. So yeah, just give me a few days, and I will make a costume that will make you proud."


"Yes! I can't believe I am going to be a hero."


I was actually excited--I mean, can you judge me? I was going to go big. With my power, I will be affecting the world, and that simply has never been in my life path.


The next interesting thing I did was try out the new suit when it was completed, and man, believe me when I say this--it is addicting. Just imagining the adoring fans… I am so lucky my mental power protects me from massive ego just as easily as it does from terror, or everyone would have said, "Hello, Homelander."


While I was flying and testing the suit, there was a huge explosion, which just so reminded me I am in Invincible. I wonder how many people had to die because one guy felt his dick was too small.


It has been a few days since I started training with Omni-Man. He can still rip my flesh with a pinch of light strength for him, but it was enough to increase my strength and therefore my speed to be enough for me to arrive at the building before many people could fall.


Some definitely died from the laser bursting through them, but the building did not fall, so the casualties were limited.


There were some people who fell, but I was lucky enough to get to the ones that were already falling before they hit the ground. And as for the rest that would have definitely jumped because of the fire, I was able to get to them before the fire forced them to jump.


"Ohh, thank God, I thought I was going to die."


"Holy fuck, what the fuck happened?"


"I am going to puke."


"I am sorry, I can't stay with you now. I have already called 911; they should help. Please stay here and wait--you might be hurt somewhere you don't know about, even if you totally feel fine."


Now to get to the motherfucker that thought it was smart to shoot a laser that can pierce through skyscrapers in a fucking city…


The motherfucker shot another one.


I had to do the same with the second one as well. Again, the building did not fall, so that is something--but this motherfucker is going to need a little more than just jail.


By the time I got to him, he was bragging to the police about the laser. Does this thing even understand he killed over a dozen people just like that?


When I got to him, I did not do some frontal fight or something like that--I flew from his back and flew him to the sky. I made sure to break the arm cannon thing just to make sure he does not shoot the city from the sky.


"Aaaaaahhhhhhh! What the hell? Who the fuck are you?"


I stopped the flight a few kilometres high, just enough to get cold but nothing fatal.


"Hey, listen to me, you waste of scrap metal. You just killed over ten people. Now, instead of screaming, it is your turn to tell me why I should not just keep flying up until you are dead and your frozen body floats in Earth's orbit forever."


The Invictus power really helps me not puke just imagining all the casualties, but it also helps me handle killing. If I really need to, I can kill him without feeling unbearable guilt. I would still need to make the decision, but it is one I can make without fearing crippling PTSD.


"Wait, wait, wait, man! I was just shooting to the sky. I did not mean to actually kill those people."


"When I got to you, you were bragging about putting a hole in a building. Did you think that was not going to kill someone? What if the building fell on itself? You could have ended up killing hundreds."


"I am sorry! I am so sorry! Please don't kill me! I don't want to die!"


That is all he got after killing all those people? I don't want killing him to taint my interaction with other heroes, but is that really enough for me to keep him alive?


No, I can't be known as a violent vigilante. Killing him would be nowhere near enough to actually help society, and if killing him makes other heroes more likely to distrust me, that would be even more damaging. So I can't actually kill him.


Being so callous about killing him might sound insane, but Invictus really helps with guilt. It does not make killing easy or anything, but if it is required, it makes guilt not a problem.


But it does not matter. For now, he will have to be left alive. But that does not mean I have to let him go with a slap on the wrist.


I had already removed the arm, but now I will remove the tech that lets him control it mentally, and anything else that is not necessary for his survival and not biological. His legs are actually real, not machines, so no removing them. But I can remove all his costumes and leave him naked.


That should be embarrassing and make working with other criminals harder, and by that, make his escape even harder. When I decided to take him down, I decided to fly him really fast. So he kept screaming, and he even shat himself, which should keep adding to the damage to his reputation.


By the time we arrived and I had dropped him, he was lying on the ground crying, and there were reporters with cameras. It should do.


Hopefully, this won't result in people calling me a pervert or something like that.


There was one brave reporter who was willing to actually speak instead of just freezing, and he asked for my name.


"I am Invictus."

 

[Gan Sky]

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Chapter 2 {time skip}


The next few days were normal. My dad and I kept the training. By now, my durability, strength, and speed have improved to the point that it takes him an actual try to pinch my flesh off. Not saying it takes an effort, but it is still much better than it was when I took down the cyborg wannabe.


Of course, since this is Invincible and it is a horrid world to be in--and God does love to remind me, so Donald Ferguson asks me and Mom to go to the GDA headquarters. So I fucking knew this is because the Guardians are dead, and it was my father that did it.


I kept wondering if there was anything I could have done differently. I even started to think I should have said something about my father and Viltrum to Cecil. The problem was, I did not choose to have actual knowledge of the story, so I did not know what or when things happened. It would have been utterly useless and maybe even harmful.


So in the end, with that knowledge and Invictus to help me control myself, I was able to keep my decision.


When we got to the headquarters, we went down a fast elevator for a long time. Donald kept on trying to reassure us that Nolan was receiving the best aid possible, something about having the best hospital.


I saw some Quinjet-looking aircraft, and they were impressive, but I was distracted by trying to keep a straight face. Hopefully, they think it is because I don't want to show a hurt face to other people, and they don't interrogate me. But I think Invictus would be able to help me lie if I need it. After all, enough willpower should be able to allow me to control my facial expressions.


When we arrived in the room Nolan was staying at, Donald told us he is still in a coma. Mom rushed to him, but I could not. I already know too much to be able to act with sincerity, and I don't really want to use Invictus to fool my mother. I walked to him and just said,


"He will be fine," which I believed, so it was not hard to say it.


Out of the corner, Cecil shows up and says,


"And when he gets better, we will ask him about what happened, since he is the only survivor. All the guardians of the Globe are dead."


Mom was shocked to hear this. As for me: "All the Guardians of the Globe and my father were in one room, and you are telling me someone or something managed to kill all of them and put my father in a coma?"


"It is hard to believe, but that is the best we got."


"What about video recording?"


"We are looking through everything we can get right now, but we just discovered this happened, so we don't have any idea now. I will tell you more later. For now, I just wanted to inform you both before this gets to the media."


While Cecil was explaining that to us, Donald gets some type of notification, and he tells Cecil there is an attack downtown--something about multiple people with heavy weaponry. I decided I should go and help.


When I arrived there, I saw a red portal with an army of green men walking through it, and behind them were tanks. They had better technology, and they were in a civilian area, so they just kept shooting at escaping civilians in the back. I tried to carry someone out of the way, but a laser got both of us. Sure, my durability has increased, but that laser just went through me like it did the man behind me.


Invictus kept me from being incapacitated by both the pain and the dread of all the death around me.


If durability was not going to do it, I decided to fly straight at the soldiers. They put a lot of holes in me, but I was able to move faster using Repair Boost, which is when I use my regeneration to push my blood extremely fast out of my body and use it as a propulsion. The original holder of this power was able to do the exact same thing, so it was not some new discovery, but I was able to use it to speed my way through a few of them, distracting a good bit of the soldiers.


At one point, they tried to shoot a tank laser at me, even if I was in the middle of their own ranks. But maybe they thought that they would be able to kill me, and the soldiers were a necessary sacrifice. I don't fucking know, but a pink shield was able to keep me safe by redirecting the laser blast to a building, which probably did more damage than just letting it hit me. But I am not going to blame someone for trying to save me.


A group of heroes had arrived at the battle. I know them, actually--they are the Teen Team, a group of younger heroes that the original befriends. There was the discount Gambit, Rex Splode, I believe. There was an Asian woman who kept cloning herself and making more whenever she wanted. Somehow, her costume was able to count the clones and was able to show the number of the clone. I have no idea how that is possible--maybe some type of internet connection. I wonder how her power works. They are actually rather amazing. The next one was a robot-looking dude called Robot--very on the nose, but he seems cool. And last but not least, the woman who can manipulate matter, and if her limiter is removed, she can even warp reality. That is one scary girl. She is also kinda immortal, since if she dies, her limiter is temporarily removed and she just brings herself back like nothing.


She told me to leave, maybe to protect me, but I just kept on fighting. I managed to defeat some soldiers, but they just kept coming, and for a few seconds, I really did not know how we were going to stop them. But the aliens started to turn grey and old--they got scared and started running. I had managed to get some people to safety, but there were still so many casualties.


Without Invictus, I would be shivering in a corner. I mean, I knew I would need it, but to need it this fast, for this much--it just feels wrong.


I managed to bring a few heavily injured people to the GDA, but this time to a hospital located above ground. They said they can't take more now, and I would need to take the rest to different hospitals. I spent my day digging people from under falling buildings and transporting them to hospitals. I used my super senses to make sure there were no living people trapped anywhere.


Once the whole tragedy was over, I finally relaxed. I went to where they were keeping Nolan, and I just started to cry. Sure, I don't need it thanks to Invictus, but there is no way I am going to keep it active forever. It would simply turn me into some type of drone, and I don't want that, so I just let myself go and cried my grief out.


At some point, Mom came back from wherever she was. Donald was there with her, maybe for some type of moral support, but it does not matter--I did not really notice them for a while.


The next day, I went to school like I did not see a massive murder spree. I don't even know how the school was allowed to be open.


At lunchtime, I met the civilian identity of Atom Eve. She had recognized me because, at some point, one of the aliens had blown my face off, and unlike the clone girl, my clothes don't regenerate with me.


She wanted to talk about yesterday. Since she did not know about me before, she was wondering if I was alright, even if I was acting professionally at the time. She said she was impressed, but I just told her it is one of my powers.


She said to meet the team after school and told me to meet her at the front gate after class so she could lead me there, and we separated there.


Some guy named Todd kept harassing me, so I just broke his finger, which resulted in a talk with the principal that went along the lines of "Don't waste your future for him," but I did not get any punishment. Turns out he had kept on harassing me because I had somehow interfered with him trying to get a date with this girl called Amber. She said thanks, and we talked for a bit before I had to leave to meet with Atom Eve.


Once she decided to lead the way to the group hideout/HQ, she wanted to do some parkour racing, which was just flying loopy loops around me.


"Just you wait, once I am able to fly faster, I will do the same to you."


"Dream big, but make sure you can handle the disappointment."


Oh, it is on. I am so going to prank her. It took a while with her just playing with me, but we finally got to the HQ and it was hidden like the x-men blackbird is hidden under an openable roof, even if i was not told it was an openable roof, i was still able to turn my fall in to a super hero landing with my legs bent and one of my arms of the floor, ohh she is going to get a pie to the face.


Right after I stabilize myself, I start to admire the building. It was actually cool--there was this massive library filled with books and a computer area that just looked amazing, but Robot was there, and I don't think he would allow me to play games on it.


While I was enjoying the view, she walked to Rex Splode, and they started to kiss each other. The moment they were done, Eve introduced me to Rex Splode, only for him to turn some lint in his pocket into bombs and leave them on me. When I moved my hands down, they exploded--not enough to harm me, but enough to startle me.


Robot welcomed me and apologized for Rex Splode being incorrigible. Eve followed with, Rude, and Rex just said he was bored.


Then Dupli-Kate introduced herself by making three of herself. I decided to see which was the original by the number on her costume and shook the hand of the one with the number one on her chest. Although it did not make her happy, I wonder if that is because I stared at her chest or because she is a hive mind and each body is no different than a finger for her.


Eve asks Robot if he got anything from the fight scene, and he says the Flaxan--right, that was the name of their species--were temporaly something, and that is why they were dying of old age. He said he built some type of scanner to find them if they come back.


Rex starts complaining about not missing all the death and screaming, which was natural, but what does Robot have to do with the Flaxans coming back again? Robot just replied that the technology should give us a few minutes of prep time.


He said that Cecil and the GDA wanted to call on them for emergencies because the Defenders of the Globe were indisposed… by that, he means dead, but I don't know if he knows about that. He asked if I would be willing to help; I said I would love to, and we exchanged contact info.


I went back to the GDA hospital to help Mom if she needed any help with taking care of Nolan, but she was not there, so I sat next to him and just de-stressed. I had turned off Invictus since the battle was over, but I have yet to fully let out all my grief--almost three hundred people dead, and it was only limited to that degree because I flew directly to the soldiers and drew their fire inwards. If not for that, it would have been more.


A little later, Mom had arrived, and we talked about how sad it was and that she was there for me if I needed her. I got to see some of the other civilians I brought over. Mom thought it would help if I saw the people I saved, and it did, even if it was not enough. I can't let things like this happen again. She decided to stay the night here again, so I did the same.


The next day, when I was eating lunch with William--whom I was getting along with--he kept on going on about me dating Eve. I told him she has a boyfriend. His reply was to be better than him and steal her. While I was laughing at that, Eve came to our table and told me to talk outside, which just absolutely shut William up. Until I stood up and left, I kept hearing him make the fish sound by opening and closing his mouth. Just fantastic.


The moment we left the cafeteria, she told me the Flaxans were back, and we needed to go there now to fight them. Thank God for matter manipulation, because it took her only a few moments to recreate my costume from the clothes I was already wearing. We flew as fast as we could and arrived at some type of rooftop. Rex was the first to greet us with suspicion. She told him we went to the same high school.


While that was going on, Robot told us to look down, and I saw it. The gate this time was massive, and the army coming out split into three different directions. My God, the casualties are going to be massive. I decided to fly as fast as I could to the tanks, and I managed to take down one of them by shoving my arm in the cannon and using repair boost to push deeper and clog the cannon when it made its shot. But that was all I was able to do.


They prepared for us. They had something to cover Eve's face and some type of quick-dry cement to stop me. Trapping me is actually very effective until I learn to move my soul from my head and the biggest part of my body, and make clones from small parts like fingers. until then traping me is the best way to remove me from a fight. The problem is, I have no idea how to even begin with that. My regeneration is always automatic. The most control I have with it is to amp it up and fire my body parts as bullets, which is really not what I am looking for.


That is until the general of this army--at least I think he is the general because he was wearing a fancy cape--anyway, the general holds a gun to Eve's face and says something in his language. I shouted for a little while, but in the end, I managed to cut my tongue and shoot it at him. The problem was, even with my durability, a tongue is a soft muscle, and all it did was just distract him, which was good enough because I was able to use repair boost to rip half my body out of the cement. The rest was still there, but that did not matter. I was able to regenerate from the part of me that was outside. I flew directly to the general and kept on beating him bloody until Robot told me to help Eve.


When I was removing the face hugger thing on her, the general got up and was about to fire at us until his hand band broke and he started to turn old. After Dupli-Kate and Rex freed Robot, he told us to give him time so that he could do something about the armbands. It took him only a few seconds to make some kind of speaker and shatter all their armbands just like that. Man, I like this guy--he is amazing.


The aliens started to run to the portal. I had been thinking about this for a while now, but I am entirely too weak to fight against Omni-Man right now and all the other overpowered people I will be meeting in the future, so what better place to train than a time-dilated dimension?


I had decided on this action both with Invictus on--for logic--and without, just to make sure I wanted this for myself. The decision had already been made. I did not even take a few seconds. Before the last guy escaped, for some reason, he decided to turn back and pick his hands up, but I was already flying at him, and we both got in the portal.


Pov changes


Teen teem


"No, Invictus!" Eve screamed.


"What the fuck?" Dupli-Kate was just as shocked.


"That was not within expected parameters." Robot's voice did not change, but he was just as surprised.


"What the hell was that? Why did he just fly in there?" Rex was confused.


"Robot, can you make the portal from here so that we can follow?"


"I am sorry, Eve. It would take me at least a month to do that, and by the technological advancement they made in just three days, it would be entirely too long from our direction. He will need to be able to come back by himself."


Debbie grayson


"No, he can't be gone. Nolan just got better, and you are telling me I am going to lose my son."


"We don't know why he did it either. He said his regeneration brings him back from any injury. Maybe he thought that would stop aging, but even then, I don't know why he would go there. It just does not make any sense." Cecil was the one who had to deliver the bad news.


"Even if the regeneration would not help, he is still a Viltrumite. He can survive for a long time. I want you to make the portal. Even if it takes you a month, I am sure he will be fine, and I will go there to get him back." Nolan does love his son, even if it is complicated.


Pov general


It took only three days from Earth's side for a new portal to come out, but this time, instead of an army, only one man came from the portal. His body shape looked the same, but his costume was different. Instead of the blue and black they knew about, it was instead a white and grey.


The moment he got out, the portal behind him closed. Robot had made the scanner better, so they had about ten minutes' warning before the opening. So they had time to call backup. The Teen Team was there, so was Omni-Man, and Cecil had just teleported in. A lot of GDA agents were already here, and many more were following them.


Once the portal was closed, Omni-Man flew directly to Mark. He was not sure if this was Mark, but he wanted to make sure.


"Mark, is that you?"


"Dad, you are already up? It should have only been a few days here, right? I don't think I took all that long. So did you fully heal?"


"Why did you fly into the portal? You knew time passed differently there. How old are you now?" There were many more questions like that.


"Can I please sit first?"


"Actually, I would like to hear some answers too. Let's have this talk privately."


"Cecil, if you try…"


"Of course. You can join us, Debbie. Robot, you come too. But that will be all for the Teen Team. Robot will tell you anything not classified."


Mark grayson


Even now, I believe I did the right thing by going to the Flaxan dimension. Sure, the long time I spent there as public enemy one was shit, but it was bearable with a hefty dose of Invictus. I still gave my mind time to relax and miss my family, not just Mark, but my original family too. I do miss them very much, and being able to express my sadness through crying without fearing notice and also rage killing many, many assholic soldiers helped me.


Even if I might be a little bit different, it should not be too big. By the time I had gotten out, I had defeated a Flaxan king and helped a revolutionist take charge. I had, of course, made sure the new king is nothing like the old king, even if I had to try again and again. The last one was not some type of monster in one way or another.


But that was not what took me such a long time--only about one of my three decades of staying there. By the end, the role of a king was starting to be hated and feared, as every time a new king comes by and does some stupid shite like enslaving parts of their own population, they end up dying realy fast.


What took the longest was recreating the portal and making sure to destroy any knowledge about how to make one. I am sure they would be able to make one, but it won't be to Earth, since I spent some more time making sure to hide Earth from dimension scanners. They might be able to make it at this point, but if they managed to make a portal to Earth and start invading again, I am ready to throw a planet to a fucking star.


I would bet I could convince myself it must be done, and Invictus would help the guilt go away, even if I won't break my now iron-clad rule of making decisions out of the power first. The decision is made with a normal mind state, and then infinite willpower is used to carry out the mission.


Anyway, I was honest with the questioning


"As for why I went in there, the first time they came, they killed more than two hundred innocent civilians. They did not think of us as equals. The second, I was not there to count, but since the army was bigger and they lasted longer, I would bet the casualty count was even higher. I simply could not allow for a third one to occur. After all, if you have the power to stop something bad from happening and it does happen, then it is your fault--and I simply could not make that mistake twice."


"As for how long I spent there, turns out the time difference was about one day here to a decade there. So I technically lived there longer than here. The problem is, I was Public Enemy one and was not able to make any actual friends. Even when I thought I made one, it would turn out to be some type of spy, or betrayal for money, or a hostage. So I just stopped caring real fast. The way I was speeding through all of it, I barely have any life experience in the world. Would you believe me if I told you I had not eaten any food for over a year?"


"Why did you not eat, and how are you alive then?"


"Well, you see, Cecil, the food in there is horrid and poisonous for a human. I had kept eating it because it helped my body get stronger, but in the end, unless I was extracting the pure poison, it was not able to damage me anymore, so I had just stopped. And as for surviving, it turns out my regeneration doesn't even let me feel hunger. Although I would kill for you if you bring me a cheesy and overly meaty hamburger," I said the last part with pure honesty. I no longer have a problem with killing so long as I can agree they are assholes, and for actual food, I would definitely commit a crime.


And I guess he believed me because--


"Donald, get me the cheesiest, most meatiest hamburger from Burger Mart. Actually, bring me five."


"Don't think that means I am willing to kill five people for you, but thank you so much."


They had a few other questions--things like, could they come back? The thing is, the scanner blocker I made is really effective. If they come back, it would be in like a decade for us, so nothing to worry about. And if they are still a functioning civilization and kept records of their war, we are so fucked.


The next two days, I just slept. I could have stayed up since I really did not need any sustenance, but I really wanted to indulge. And since I was safe from some type of capture, it was easy. Again, thank God for Invictus. I would have probably broken if it were not for Invictus.


Mom was worried when I slept for twenty hours straight, and she woke me to eat something. And I did--it was a delicious ham salad, and I do mean it was delicious, not just because I had not eaten good food for more than two-thirds of my lifespan.


After shoving the food, I just kept on sleeping. It was a truly divine time.


After the good time, there was some ruckus about the Guardians of the Globe missing and local champions having to hold responsibility, but that was just some blip on the TV between my sleep time.


The more interesting topic was that Cecil came over to our house to give us more work about a guy who was coming from Mars. I did not know who he was talking about until Nolan said he had fought him and thrown him back to where he came from.


Then I remembered the alien known as Allen and said I will take care of it.


Mom was definitely against it, but I was not injured, but Nolan was. There was nobody else who could actually do anything about it, so it took more than a few minutes, but we were able to convince her I had to do it.


Flying to space now is hilariously easy, especially since the farther I was from the ground and any humans, the faster I was able to fly. By now, I would bet I could even give Nolan an actual fight, so I am way stronger than the original Mark.


After a few seconds of flight, I was able to arrive at the atmosphere, and I was already seeing an orange cyclops. I remember this part of the story--actually, it was all a misunderstanding. So I will just bury Allen on the moon and keep him from moving, which is hilariously easy with how much stronger than him I was.


While I was flying him, he said something about me removing my mustache, and once we arrived at the moon, I told him he got the wrong person--that is my dad, and I am a different person.


I just kept holding him and said


"Hey, can we talk? I don't think you're really evil, so I don't really want to kill you. So stop struggling."


"You want to use your time-out?"


"I get a time-out?"


"Yeah, you get a time-out. Don't look at me weird, I don't make the rules."


We sat on some moon rocks.


"What are these rules, and who made them?"


"As for the rules, there are too many to just talk about. And, well, they are the law, so everyone in the Coalition of Planets follows them."


I then ask who he is. He said he was an evaluation officer for the Coalition of Planets, and his job is to make sure planets like mine have a strong protector against planet-conquering monsters. I wish one were not already there.


I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, and he gave me the crucial information to expose this misunderstanding--the planet's name. When I told him he got the wrong planet, he was dejected about being fired, but he left peacefully.


Leaving me to enjoy the view of the earth in the sky, covering the sun behind itself -it was beautiful. I made a promise to myself that I will protect it with all I've got.

 

[Thiccc Shaedy]

Thanks for the chapter.