"AAAAAAAAAA!" Mark in his costume screamed in frustration as he flew over the desert unknowingly burying a mummy's tomb and two archaeologists.
("I'm strong enough and I can do it. That's all I've wanted for as long as I can remember... I want to do what you do... I want to be like you.")
("You will be, son. You will be.")
He remembered how much he wanted to be like his father, Omni man, before he learned the truth about Viltrum and after what Nolan did on Earth, killing thousands of people. Although Mark still loved him and everything, now after killing Angstrom Levy, who threatened him, his mother and brother, he felt like a traitor to all the values he had held onto since his powers had awakened.
Unsatisfied, Mark flew faster and faster, breaking the sound barriers.(You will outlive every fragile and worthless being on this planet! You will see their world turn to dust! Everything you know will disappear!)
"AAAAAAA!" His father's words pierced Mark's head. He didn't want to accept it, so he flew even faster.
("Do you know whose words these are?") Cecil asked.
(I'm not like Dad... I'm not!) Mark shouted, slamming his fist on the table.
Mark was now flying so fast that he began to burn. If someone looked at him from below, they would think he was a falling star.
(Your father will be executed, and you will return to Earth. You will prepare the planet for our rule.) Mark remembered the words of General Kregg of Viltrum.
He didn't know if his father was still alive. He had recently been given the responsibility of being an older brother to Olivier. He had to prepare for the Viltrum invasion. He was devastated by it. After the clash with Anissa, he was furious that he couldn't even defeat a single Viltrum soldier, and Anissa told him that next time they would send someone much worse and stronger. This information was killing him. Deep down, he was beginning to understand that his father was right and he wouldn't avoid killing when it came to the Viltrum. They were too dangerous for his world, for his people.
He had no choice. War was coming. He had to prepare for the next events. He had to become stronger.
And that's when it happened.
Flying furiously, a green portal suddenly appeared in front of Mark. Before he could react or try to stop, he fell into the portal, which closed behind him...
#At the Pentagon#
After Cecil tried to tell Mark not to blame himself for killing Angstrom, he returned to his office and basically did nothing but sit at his desk, remembering the words of his old boss.
("We can be good people or we can be people who save the world. One excludes the other")
"Fuck."
Suddenly, a sweaty Donald ran into his office, breathing heavily, much to Cecil's surprise.
"What happened, Donald?"
"The Invincible... He... He's gone" He replied, still panting.
"What?!"
"He was just flying and suddenly we lost his location. It was like his locator had turned itself off."
"Or he disappeared from this reality," Cecil muttered worriedly, wondering if Mark had really killed Angstrom. "Holy shit he had to disappear again. Let's hope he comes back somehow because we're screwed if another Viltrumite shows up here... Fuck, what am I supposed to tell Debbie?
#With Mark#
Mark was currently floating high in the sky. The green portal he had just flown through must have been created by Angstrom. The Invincible didn't know how Angstrom had survived their last encounter, but he knew it didn't bode well.
"Show yourself Angstrom!" He shouted at the top of his lungs "I've had enough of this portal game, come out!"
He was filled with rage and anxiety. If Angstrom was still alive, he might as well be around his mother and Oliver again.
"We're starting from scratch, damn it!" He said, biting his lip until blood flowed. "SHIT!"
Before the rage blinded him from thinking clearly, he saw a huge city below him, with canals like those in Venice.
"What happened here?!" Mark asked himself as he slowly flew closer to the city that was devastated by the flood. The scene around him was terrifying. The city was submerged in water, surrounded by large walls. The midday sun was barely breaking through the clouds, casting an ominous glow over the devastation. "Oh shit someone is drowning there!"
In the chaotic water Mark saw a boy with black hair and a tracksuit wriggling with his last strength. The invincible one acted immediately and flew down diving into the water as fast as he could. The water waved around him, but he quickly reached the drowning man, catching him and quickly rising into the air.
Mark landed with the boy on the nearest building. He was a bit surprised that he didn't see anyone else in the water except the black-haired one. Was he alone in this city, or maybe everyone except him was in some evacuation center?
Interrupting his speculations, Mark realized that the black-haired man was not breathing.
"Oh no!" Mark immediately began administering first aid. "Come on, don't do this to me!"
Suddenly the unconscious boy spat water out of his mouth.
"Khem Khem..! What the?!"
"Oh thank goodness. You're still alive, man." Mark breathed a sigh of relief.
The black-haired man was panicking, gasping for breath. When he calmed down a bit after a moment, he grabbed his bandaged leg, looking at it with surprise. As if he hadn't expected to see her there.
"Are you okay, mate?" Mark asked, worried about his youth.
"Yeah, right. You couldn't get out of that kind of trouble... Wait. Who are you?"
The black-haired man's interest in his leg faded when he saw the man who had most likely saved his life. The young Viltrimity's elaborate attire made him raise an eyebrow in dismay.
"First I want to know if you're okay. Have you broken anything?
"No, but seriously, who are you, dude?"
"Eh, you can call me Invincible."
The black-haired man blinked a few times, looking at Mark like an idiot. Under normal circumstances, he would have laughed at someone who introduced themselves like that, after all, he knew many strong people, but now he was in no mood for jokes. The young man stood up from the ground, looking at the masked man with seriousness.
"Thank you for your help. I'm Natsuki Subaru." He extended his hand to the Invincible, which he accepted.
"You're welcome, Subaru. Do you know what happened here?"
Again the black-haired man looked at Mark with surprise.
"Dude, do you seriously not know? A cursed witch cult has attacked this city. Just let me get my hands on those bastards!"
"Okay, calm down, buddy. Where are the other people?"
"They're in shelters. I can't believe those Archbishops were capable of flooding a large part of the city. Goddamn them. I'll show them yet."
Mark looked at the determined Subaru, he would be impressed by his attitude. If he had any powers in his world, he would have heard about him.
This movie scene was interrupted by the appearance of two women on the streets of the city. The first taller one was dressed in red, and the other was short with blonde hair. Subaru narrowed his eyes when he recognized the women as Priscilla Barielle and Liliana Masquerade. Subaru called out to them, waving his hands to get their attention.
Liliana froze, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Subaru and Mark on the roof of the building.
"Sir Natsuki!" she called. "How did you get there?!"
"Well... I don't know. Hey, how did you get me here during that flood?" He turned to Mark with a questioning look.
Invincible instead of explaining decided Subaru to demonstrate how he pulled him out of the water. He caught him after he felt him rise slightly and landed on the street right in front of the two women.
"How did you...?" Subaru wondered in shock, looking at Mark. The only person he had seen who could fly was Roswaal, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom.
"Is he on Roswaal's level?" He wondered in his mind.
"You overestimate the simpleton, commoner," Priscilla said, hiding her mouth behind her fan. "I admit his flying ability is impressive, but I doubt he's on the same level as Earl Mathers."
"Are you reading my mind?! I actually thought about it, but..."
"Never mind you, fool. What do they call you, weird boy?" Priscilla ignored Subaru and pointed her fan at Mark.
"Invincible." He replied looking at the woman with a serious expression.
Priscilla's cheeky smile grew wider at his response.
"Invincible, you say? Such a simple creature dares to call himself that. You're a truly funny clown."
Subaru froze for a moment, looking at the Invincible, curious as to how he would respond to Priscilla's insult. But Mark didn't say anything. He wasn't in the mood to argue with a random woman about his superhero codename right now. His thoughts were occupied by the fear of what Angstrom was going to do this time. Would he open another portal after some time, or would he decide to leave it here forever?
Dissatisfied with receiving no response, Priscilla huffed in irritation and rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, Priscilla," Subaru decided to break the silence. "Do you know what happened to Wilhelm, Julius, or Garfiel? Are they okay?"
"I don't know." She replied stoically. "When I was in the park, a cult attack was suddenly announced, and shortly thereafter the city was flooded. If I were you, I'd be worried about the Archbishop's three additional demands."
"What new demands?"
"Judging by your stupid expression, you don't even know it," the woman snorted, bored. "The three new demands are as follows: They want the Book of Wisdom, the Artificial Spirit, and..." She paused dramatically for effect. "A marriage to the silver-haired maiden."
"Marriage?" Mark raised his eyebrows in confusion, unsure how to respond.
"Emilia?!" The black-haired man shouted, terrified by this information.
"Subaru?"
"It's bad! Really bad!
"I understand well, but explain what's going on" Mark tried to calm the boy down when suddenly a menacing growl reached his sensitive ears.
"Looks like some really nasty creatures have come to visit us," Priscilla said in a calm voice, not showing any sign of fear.
Just around the corner of one of the ruined buildings, several demonic creatures with deformed and monstrous bodies appeared.
"AAAAAA!" Liliana screamed in terror, hiding behind Priscilla.
"This doesn't look good." Mark commented, looking at the monsters with indifference.
After a short sigh, the Invincible took action. His form flickered and suddenly he hit one of the monsters hard enough to turn into a wet, black blob. Each of the mindless monsters rushed at him. Of course, they had no chance. All fifteen creatures were killed in less than half a minute.
"One punch each." Subaru stammered, not believing what he was seeing.
Priscilla, however, was unfazed and covered her mouth with her fan again.
"So this clown has some character after all." She muttered. "Maybe he's not as pathetic as I thought."
The Invincible stood over the slain monsters with his fist raised, looking seriously at the black blood.
"Hey, are you okay?" Subaru asked, walking over to him.
"Yes. I was just thinking."
"If you're done, I'll leave," Priscilla said as she walked away, taking Liliana with her.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't have to answer you, you simpleton." And she left.
Subaru, who wasn't worried about her at all, wanted to go back to the city hall as soon as possible to see if anyone was still there and was still fighting the cultists.
"Invincible..." He turned uncertainly to Mark, using his pseudonym for the first time.
"Yes?"
"Can you help me find my comrades? We were fighting this one bad bitch and got separated by a flood. They might still be fighting out there."
"Okay. Just show me the way." Mark said as he took Subaru into his arms and flew high into the air.
They flew for a while until Subaru suddenly stopped navigating the Invincible.
"It's a bit humiliating," he commented as he was carried by Mark as if for a wedding during the flight.
"It's a good thing Emilia can't see me now. I'd probably die of shame," he thought.
Mark didn't say anything. Deep down, he agreed with him.
"UL GOA!"
Suddenly Mark saw a large fireball flying towards them. He quickly let go of Subaru taking the impact because he wouldn't have been able to avoid it in time. After being hit and barely feeling anything he quickly dove for the panicked Subaru catching him just before he crashed to the ground.
"Ugh, thanks man," Subaru said. "I would have been done for."
Suddenly, a purple-haired man dressed in a white uniform jumped down from the roof of one of the buildings.
"Who are you and what did you want to do with Subaru, you strange cultist?!" He asked, raising his sword towards Marek.
"I should be the one asking that question!" Mark shouted in anger. "If I hadn't let go and caught him, you would have burned him alive, you IDIOT!
"WHOA! Calm down Julius!" Subaru called to the knight realizing that without his intervention there would be a fight.
Julius hesitated, his sword falling slightly.
"Subaru, who is this?"
"He's not a threat. He saved me after the attack on city hall," he explained.
Julius blinked, not sure whether to believe his friend's words. He looked at Mark with suspicion.
"I apologize for my barbaric behavior, sir." Julius sheathed his sword and bowed slightly. "After we moved the survivors to the city hall, we must be vigilant. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving Subaru?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Wait a minute Julius. You're saying we got the town hall back?"
"Yes. We better get over there. Everyone will be happy to know you're okay."