Mark hummed a tune as he folded his clothes, tossing them into his duffel bag without much thought. Upstate University wasn't exactly the most exciting trip, but he had promised Amber, William, and Eve that he'd check it out with them.
A break from superheroing sounded nice.
Even though, he knew he'd be busy today. Canon-wise this would be the time he would have to deal with Sinclair and fight his dad. But, now he'll have to deal with the immortal's body, the Mauler twins, and Sinclair. At least, he bought himself time to deal with the Rudy issue.
That was just life now. Between running a company, fighting crime, developing new technology, planning for the future, and juggling his relationships, there was always something to do.
Just as he reached for his phone, a sharp beeping noise filled the room.
His Coalition communicator—the one Allen the Alien had given him before leaving—was going off.
Mark's brows furrowed as he snatched it up. The holographic screen flickered, and Allen's wide, orange face appeared—but something was different.
Mark's eyes widened.
"Dude... your yolked."
Allen smirked, flexing an arm that looked three times as thick as before. "Yeah, that's what getting your ass handed to you by three Viltrumites and healing from near death does to ya."
Mark chuckled. "Didn't think it worked like a gym membership."
Allen laughed but quickly became serious.
"Listen, I called because you've got a problem."
Mark sighed, already expecting this. "The Viltrumites?"
Allen nodded grimly. "Yeah. They're already near the edge of your solar system. They'll be on Earth soon."
Mark exhaled through his nose. "Figures it's today of all days. Me and my dad will take care of it."
Allen hesitated. "Are you sure about Nolan? He's really on your side now?"
Mark rolled his eyes, leaning back against his desk. "Yeah. I had to beat him down first, but he's with me now."
Allen still looked skeptical. "Well if you say so?"
Mark leaned forward, his eyes locked onto Allen's through the screen.
"By the way, after we're gonna need a ride to the Coalition."
Allen's brows raised. "Why?"
"Because," Mark said, his voice calm but firm, "we're going to Viltrum next."
Allen blinked in shock. "WHAT—are you serious? You actually think you can just fly right up to the entire Empire?"
Mark crossed his arms. "That's the plan."
Allen's expression twisted in disbelief. "Mark... you do realize there's an entire planet of Viltrumites, right? Even if you're strong, that's suicide."
Mark shook his head. "That's what they want you to believe. But the truth is... there aren't that many left. Less than fifty, actually."
Allen froze. "What?"
"The Viltrum Empire was almost wiped out," Mark explained. "A virus killed most of their population centuries ago. The only ones left are the strongest survivors."
Allen was still processing this when another figure stepped into the frame behind him.
"He's telling the truth."
Mark immediately recognized Thaedus, the leader of the Coalition of Planets.
Allen turned toward him. "Wait—you knew about this?!"
Thaedus sighed, reaching up to his face.
Then, in a single motion, he ripped away his long white beard, revealing a familiar Viltrumite mustache underneath.
Allen jumped back, eyes wide. "You're—?!"
"A Viltrumite," Thaedus confirmed. "The very same one who killed his leader, Argall, and helped develop the scourge virus".
Mark remained silent, already knowing this from the comics.
Thaedus stepped forward, addressing him directly. "You're proposing a duel of leadership against Thragg, the strongest Viltrumite in history?"
Mark nodded. "That's right."
Thaedus studied him for a long moment noticing Mark's absolute confidence before nodding slowly. "Then the fate of countless planets is on your shoulders."
Thaedus nodded, then turned to Allen. "Prepare a ship. If Mark succeeds against the Viltrumites on Earth, we'll bring him here to plan the next step."
Allen sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, man. Guess I'll be seeing you soon."
The transmission cut off, leaving Mark alone with his thoughts.
He exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Busy day."
Alright. another thing on today's to-do list: Beat the hell out of some Viltrumites.
Mark descended the stairs as his clothes morphed into his suit, his mind already shifting gears. He had a few stops to make before heading off to space.
As he entered the living room, he spotted Nolan suiting up, fastening his red cape around his shoulders. His expression was set, eyes sharp. He was ready for battle.
Before Mark could speak, Nolan spoke up first.
"Cecil stopped by saying there was an Alien ship at the edge of the solar system approaching Earth probably the Viltrumites we were expecting."
Mark smirked, " Coalition just called about that."
Then, there was a knock at the front door.
Mark sighed, already knowing who it was.
When he opened the door, William, Amber, and Eve stood there, all looking confused.
"Dude, what the hell?" William asked, eyebrows raised. "Why are you wearing your Invincible suit? We're supposed to be driving to Upstate U."
Mark rubbed the back of his neck, offering them an apologetic smile. "Yeah… about that. Change of plans."
Amber frowned. "Don't tell me—"
"Aliens," Mark confirmed. "The kind that want to kill me. Gotta take care of it."
Amber sighed, clearly annoyed but not surprised. "Great."
Eve, however, looked concerned. "You're going alone?"
"No," Mark said. "My dad's coming too. We'll take them off-planet to make sure no one here gets hurt."
Amber crossed her arms. "And when were you planning to tell us?"
"Right now." Mark smirked, pulling three small wristwatches from his pocket. "Which brings me to this."
He handed one to each of them.
William raised a brow. "What, did you finally figure out that punctuality is a thing?"
Mark rolled his eyes. "No. Emergency watches. Press the button on the side, and it'll emit a frequency only I can hear while on Earth and alert my suit while in space. If you're ever in trouble, I'll know and be there immediately."
Amber's irritation faded slightly as she examined the watch. "That's… actually kind of sweet."
Mark shrugged. "Just making sure you guys stay safe while I'm gone."
Eve studied the watch on her wrist before looking up at him. "How long do you think this fight will take?"
"Hopefully not long."
Amber sighed, stepping forward and giving him a tight hug. "Just come back, okay?"
"I always do," Mark murmured.
When Eve pulled him into a hug too, she held on a little longer than expected before pulling back. "We'll be waiting."
Mark nodded, stepping back as William smirked. "Damn. I feel left out. Where's my kiss?"
Mark laughed, shaking his head. "Maybe next time."
With that, William, Amber, and Eve climbed into William's car, driving off toward Upstate U.
Nolan, who had been silently watching from the doorway, finally spoke in a teasing tone. "You've got two girls fighting over you."
Mark groaned. "Dad. Seriously?"
Nolan smirked. "It's a valid observation."
Mark ignored him. "I've got one more thing to do. Be right back."
Before Nolan could respond, Mark vanished in a burst of speed, heading toward the Mauler Twins' hideout.
As Mark approached the warehouse, he activated his X-ray vision, scanning the interior.
He spotted them—the Mauler Twins, standing over The Immortal's body. His severed head lay on a metal table, wires connected to his temples.
They were talking—discussing how they would reanimate The Immortal and use him as a weapon.
Mark didn't give them a chance.
He opened a portal beneath The Immortal's body and head, sending them directly to his private lab in the Flaxan dimension.
As the body parts vanished, one of the twins turned.
"Wait… Where the hell did he go?!"
His clone looked around frantically. "You don't think?... Did he just—revive himself?"
Mark smirked from above, then blasted off back toward his father, leaving the twins panicking below.
Mark flew beside Nolan, who was already hovering above the house, arms crossed.
"Handled your business?" Nolan asked.
Mark smirked. "Yep."
Nolan nodded. "Good. Now let's go make sure Earth stays ours."
With that, father and son shot into space, heading for Neptune's orbit—where the Viltrumites awaited.
XXX
*Guardian's HQ*
Rex and Black Samson were sparring surrounded by the rest of the guardians who were supposed to be watching.
Monster Girl sat on the bench, stretching her arms with a sigh as she listened to Dupli-Kate and Shrinking Rae talk about mundane things. She had been content to just listen until Rae, ever the curious one, turned the conversation in her direction.
"So, Amanda," Rae said, shifting on the bench to face her. "You've been sighing a lot. That a new thing, or is there a certain someone on your mind?"
Amanda scoffed, crossing her arms. "It's not like that. Just… schedules not lining up, I guess."
Kate raised a brow, leaning in with a smirk. "So there is someone. That's new. You've never really mentioned dating since you turned back."
Amanda hesitated for a moment before sighing again. "It's not dating, really. We just don't get a lot of time together. He's busy, I'm busy. It's complicated."
Rae nudged her playfully. "You should just tell him you want to hang out more. If you're into him, make it happen."
Kate grinned. "Yeah, I mean, it's Invincible, right?"
Amanda's eyes widened slightly before she quickly masked her expression. "What? Where'd you get that idea?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You're not exactly subtle. You've been spending a lot of time with him since… you know."
Amanda blushed but didn't deny it.
Since he cured her.
Robot stood across the room, his mechanical body perfectly still, yet his mind was anything but. He had been monitoring their conversation, analyzing every detail, every tone shift, every glance. And now, hearing Amanda talk about Mark this way…
It took everything in him not to crush the tablet in his hands.
Something Had Changed
Amanda had always been someone he could relate to.
They were both trapped in bodies that didn't reflect their true selves. She, cursed with an affliction that reversed her age every time she transformed. He, a man whose real body was too weak, too fragile to ever truly live in the world the way he wanted.
When he designed his plans to create a new body, he had imagined a future where he and Amanda understood each other, where she could see his struggles, and they could bond over their mutual afflictions.
But Invincible had ruined that.
Invincible had done what he couldn't—he had cured Amanda's affliction, reversing her to her true age, even if it wasn't permanent it was only a matter of time.
Robot had spent months researching a solution, testing theories, searching for a way to help her, and yet Invincible had solved it before him.
And now?
Now Amanda laughed when she spoke about Invincible.
Now she blushed when he was mentioned.
Now her thoughts lingered on him, not on the person who had spent so much time ensuring her safety, watching out for her.
'That should have been me'.
Robot's fingers twitched as he processed the bitter realization. He had planned to get another sample of Rex's DNA. But, now he realized he needs the blood of something better. Something—.
*Title Card*
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Author's Notes:
Be sure to check out my p*tr-eon where you get early access to my chapter and you'll be able to talk to me as I'm writing the story. You'll be giving me ideas I can incorporate into the story or feedback as I am a new writer so their make be plot points or mistakes that I haven't thought about. My p*tr-eon name is Bahgoat25.