Obligatory Disclaimer : I do not own anything (except maybe OC characters) all characters, places, worlds, universes…etc mentioned here belong to their respective owners and/or companies. 

This is purely a work of fiction. Not meant to offend or incite, but to entertain and (maybe) inspire.

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NEW FRIENDS, OLD PLACES

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I could finally feel my broken arm, it ached and throbbed but was movable. I walked in through the door with a stupid smile on my face and dried blood on my clothes. I’d managed to land one hit on Omni man, just a single one. But it was filled with so much power, more than I even knew I had in me. The strike hadn’t hurt him much, apart from a very light bruised patch on his arm. 

Maybe he let me land it, maybe he didn’t. All I knew is that my punch made a shockwave—how fucking awesome was that? I was literally able to throw shockwave level punches now, not the devastating states of smash like All Might could do, but I’m getting there. 

Maybe I should take All Might’s name for myself, it really was awesome plus it went with the whole godly theme we had going on here. Back to the train of thought.

Consider this, I couldn’t even see Omni man when we started sparring, yet by the end of that lopsided ass whopping I could begin to land hits, even if it was one, yes it was an improvement. It’s only natural that he was laughing too. I ‘forgot’ to remind him to get me a change of clothes, so the lady wouldn’t get pissed at him, whoops.

“OH MY GOD!” She screamed, her voice stabbing through my very tender eardrums. She dropped her book and sprang from the couch and into me. “Mark, what happened to you!?” Her hands roamed my healed bruises and scabbed over cuts. 

“I fell actually. Flying is hard mom.”

“You don’t look fine!” She cried, pointing at the blood on my clothes. I was beginning to regret not changing. “Nolan, we need to take him to a hospital.” She turned to him.

“No, he’s fine. Look at him, all his wounds have already healed over. By tomorrow there won’t even be scars.”

“But how does falling get you this battered looking?”

“Mountains mom, mountains.” I said to her, staring at the smiling Omni man in the eye. “I have to go get changed and take a shower, I feel dirty.” I pried myself out her hands and walked up the steps.

“Leave the clothes outside, I’ll make sure to burn them.” 

“Sure.” I pushed the door behind me not all the way through, just enough so I could hear the conversation going on downstairs.

“You’re pushing him too hard, he’s just a teenager.”

“I’m only doing what’s best for him. You know that.”

“This just feels too sudden.”

“Mark got his powers so late. I never thought he would and at a time I even wished he wouldn’t. I was afraid that he wouldn’t be prepared for them, but our son is strong, he has a warrior’s spirit. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

“…this will change everything won’t it?”

“Yes, but it will be for the better.”

I tuned them out when they began talking dirty. It’s only a matter of time before he wears her spine out. I peeled my clothes off and hit the shower, I would beat my meat for that post nut clarity, but I had this fleeting suspicion that my privacy wasn’t really private, and my favorite arm was currently setting itself back into place. So, for now, my amplified urges would have to take a back seat. 

Instead I let the terror and dread that had been piling up in me flow out as staccato breaths and wet lines lost in the warm water. I wiped the single line of blood that slowly trailed out my ear, recalling how he hit me so hard he shattered my ear drums. 

I clamped my shaking hands together, massaging them under the hot water. The smile on my face was becoming hard to maintain. Voices creeped at the edge of my mind, speaking of all the ways I’d fail and die. I shook my head, smiled wider and silenced them all with one phrase; I can. I will succeed. 

The mental image of my success made the trembling stop. It’s easy to be negative, to assume the worst for yourself, to see yourself never going past rock bottom. It’s so easy that almost everyone does it. I had to be the exception; I was the outlier. You are more than your fears, look past the things before you, stare ahead with a straight gaze and look up, because that’s the only place for you. 

And if I fail? Well I’ll never fail; I’ll only learn a lesson. And if I die, then it was a very expensive lesson but nevertheless still one. I’ve lived one life already, the lessons gained from it will make this life an even better one. 

My breath was stable, my eyes were clear. Maybe my optimism was unfounded, ridiculous even, but I still choose to be such. I’d rather take a hit with a smile on my face than cry about it and give this world the satisfaction of seeing me defeated.

*.*.*.*

The place was foreign yet familiar. I haven’t stepped into one in decades, I wasn’t exactly pleased at even coming back. But I had to, indeed I very much had to. Not for the credentials, those things mattered little. Not for the sights, I wasn’t the overly attached type.

I came to make —this body’s— parents happy, to avoid the character dissonance that would come with going with the opposite choice. That was all in due time, teenagers were known to be rebellious and irrational so that would give me some leeway when I began making drastic decisions. 

The other aspect of it was to discover this body’s friends and acquaintances and other nitty gritty aspects of his life not documented in the Tv show or comics, you know the boring part of things that didn’t sell. 

I started to somewhat regret that choice, this kid walking next to me could not shut up to save his life and I was having it. 

So, I set to observing my surroundings, noticing that almost everyone seemed to be well dressed and in excellent shape as though they modelled part time. I could hardly even see the pimply faced brat that was a staple of high school life. It was strange.

“Geez man are you even listening?”

“Hmm” I muttered nodding along to the brown haired boy whose name I forgot.

“There you go again with the ‘hmm’ I know you’re not listening.”

“Hmm.”

“Argh!” He groaned. 

“Hey Mark Grayson!” Someone roared, I kept walking a step or two forward, forgetting that it was even my name now.

The lanky kid made himself look smaller, and backed away from me. Another kid, this one blond haired and tough looking, walked up to me. Drawing all the attention in the hallway to us.

I instantly liked the little bugger, he looked like an old friend I had back in my past life.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked with a smile.

“I’m going to kick your ass is how it’s going and this time Amber’s not here to save you.” He cracked his knuckles. 

“Haha!” He even sounded like the bastard. “Bro let’s grab lunch, I’m sure you can beat my ass even better after a healthy meal.” I know I might be pushing it, but in a foreign world a single piece of familiarity was worth investing in.

“What?” He asked, perplexed. Unsure if I was serious or just messing with him.

“C’mon bro, this one’s on me.” I draped my arm across his shoulders and nudged him along. 

“Get the fuck off me!” He pushed me and I let myself bang against the locker.

Kill him. 

Wait, let’s give him a chance.

I could see the gears turning behind his eyes, trying to reach a conclusion between saying more shit or fighting me.

One would make me laugh, the other would put him in a hospital.

Unable to do either, he finally decided to stop thinking. “You fucking freak.” He spat, angrily walking away.

“See you later bro.” I yelled at him, almost making his retreating figure trip. I might have come on a bit too hard but I’m certain he’ll come around.

“Dude what the hell was that?”

“What, when you silently left me to deal with him?”

“Man, look at me, I can’t even fight a fly.” He laughed sheepishly.

“Would I have done the same if it was you in trouble?” I had to know.

“…No”

“Cool. C’mon let’s go, I’m starving.” I clapped him on the back. I couldn’t hold it against him, this place was a jungle and, in the jungle, the weak got eaten. I was just wise enough to not trust him to have my back if things went to hell. 

*.*.*.*

With the school day done with and the skinny kid nowhere near me, I had a moment of peace to think walking up to my locker. I opened the thing and rummaged through it, looking for bits of information I had missed or forgotten.

I pulled out a cap squashed under thick textbooks, it was an orange thing with the words B M embossed on it. It served as a trigger for the memory of my job. I was either a cleaner or a burger flipper at the place called Burger Mart.

I’d have to go there soon. Why? Well it was one of few places where I could find out more about this body’s past activities and relationships. Like I said before, I had no way of knowing which reality in the Invincible-verse this was. I needed to have as much data as I could to make well and informed choices.

“Hey you.” A girl pulled up on me as I made to close my locker. She was athletic, brown eyed, dark haired and had a chestnut brown skin tone, a thing of beauty all around and I might or might not know her name.

“Hey.” I replied with a smile. “How’s it going?”

“I heard you fought with Todd again. Defending my honor?”

“But of course my lady.”

“My hero.” She chuckled, I neared. Shortening the distance between us.

“I could be more than just that.”

“Aren’t we a bit bold today?”

I leaned back. “Really? I don’t see it.”

“I do.” She leaned in now. “It’s right there in your eyes.” Receptive, she was. Horny I am. Viltrumite genes blamed must be. 

“Give me your number.”

“Why?”

“So, I can track you down and steal your heart.”

“Creepy much?”

“Very.”

“That was corny.”

“I love corny.”

“Apparently I do too.” She took my hand and wrote her number on my palm.

“Put your name next to it.”

“Very funny, Mark.” She slapped my hand, walking away. “Make sure you call me.”

“Sure thing stranger.”

“Holyshit dude!” Skinny boy appeared out of nowhere, staring at me like a deer in headlights. “What the hell was that!”

Where did he pop out of even?

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It's a great day. I hope this made it even better for my lovely citizens of Raination. 

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