NOTE:This is a one-shot I thought was worth sharing. Can you guess what I've been reading lately?
A Simple Favor -
"It's about …" Mark watched as the trash bag sailed off into the sky.
Expressions of wonder, joy, and a deep underlying dread played across his face. He finally got his powers. Along with them came the memories of an entirely different life. Mark Grayson was his second life; one he knew from comics and animation. He was half-Viltrumite, his father was Omni-Man, and his mother was human. Nolan Grayson was sent here to conquer Earth in name of the Viltrum Empire rather than retire. His powers awakening was the inciting incident that caused years of unimaginable destruction. He was also a thirty-four-year-old IT guy that died in a car accident in a world without superheroes, aliens, or magic. The adventures of Invincible were some of his favorite. It didn't fall into endless reboots and rebranding. Invincible was a complete story with an actual ending rather than continuing on for no reason than profit. That didn't mean he wanted to go through all the crap looming on the horizon.
He moved on autopilot as he finished his shift.
The loss of his old life wasn't all that big of a shock. He left behind some friends and a couple of coworkers he liked. It had been years since he had spoken to anyone in his family. His death would probably be good enough for them to get a few pity likes on social media before they moved on to the next thing. Another chance at life, and one with superpowers, was a pretty sweet deal all things considered. It would be better if he didn't have to worry about his father potentially killing him.
He did have a couple of ideas about that. The manager yelled at him for something. He didn't care or listen. Instead, he took off his apron and hat, then handed it to the manager. The conversation shifted from being yelled at to being begged to stay. He ignored the manager and took a seat outside on the curb.
Mark sat there waiting for his mom to pick him up after work.
"Mark!" His mother called.
He looked up surprised to see her car had already arrived. Debbie Grayson was an attractive woman of Asian heritage. She wore her hair up in a bun. There was something familiar about her beyond being his new mother.
"I've been calling you," She clarified.
Mark winced, "Sorry."
He hadn't shattered anything with his super strength yet. Either he was naturally applying the same amount of force, or he would need to focus to use it. His father would know about that. Considering how Invincible actually had to work out to get stronger it could be that he just wasn't at that point yet.
"Are you feeling alright, honey?" His mother asked as they started to drive away.
Mark nodded, "I just have a lot on my mind."
That was an understatement. He was currently parsing through an entire life of memories. The biggest difference, aside from a seemingly healthy home life, was being half-Asian. Mark preferred the memories of his new life to the previous one. It had real happiness rather than the forced HGTV presentation of the old. Most of his attention was focused on every piece of information he could remember about the comic and show. He had no idea which version he was currently in. If he had to choose, the show wasn't as brutal. He would still get beaten to hell a lot just not to the same extremes.
"We're home," Debbie said.
The tone of her voice made it clear she wasn't saying it for the first time.
"Do you know if dad will be home tonight?" Mark asked as they got inside.
Debbie checked her phone, then turned on the TV. It was already at the channel for the news. There didn't seem to be anything big going on. Crime, monsters, and mad scientists were still active, but the heroes on duty were handling it.
"He should," She answered.
"Should what?" A familiar voice answered.
The two found Nolan Grayson, alias Omni-Man, setting the table for the three of them. A stack of take-out boxes rested next to him on the table. Mark felt his heart thunder in his chest. Omni-Man was Henry Cavill with a mustache. His eyes widened as the new information made the connection from before. He looked over his shoulder at his mother. Ming-Na Wen, the original, and true, Mulan.
"I picked up some pasta from that little place outside of Rome," His dad said with a smile.
Debbie strolled over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, "I love you."
"I love you too," Nolan replied kissing her properly.
Mark cleared his throat.
"What?" Nolan laughed. "You're too cool to see your parents are still in love?"
Mark rolled his eyes, "I'm fine with you being in love as long as I don't have to see it."
"Go easy on him," Debbie patted her husband on the chest. "He's been out of sorts since I picked him up."
Nolan raised an eyebrow at that, "Do you need to talk about something?"
"Yes," Mark replied faster than any of them expected.
"Okay," Nolan nodded. "With me or your mother?"
That was nice way to ask if it was 'human' issue or not. Nolan had done a lot to acclimate to his life on Earth. There were still a few little issues that popped up with him being an alien.
"You," Mark answered.
His parents froze.
"Are you sure?" Debbie asked as a myriad of emotions struggled to stay contained.
Mark nodded, "I need to talk to dad about something."
Nolan smiled brightly. He rushed over and swooped Mark up into a hug.
"Your powers?" His dad asked with an eager expression.
Mark nodded, "It's important."
The smile on Nolan's face flickered.
"Could we talk in private please?" Mark tried to sound casual.
Nolan set him back on the floor, "Of course. Have you flown yet?"
"Just strength," Mark said.
Nolan flashed a bright smile at Debbie, "No time like the present."
He led Mark up to the second floor and straight to the window. There was a patch of the roof that they used to use as a picnic spot in the summers. It hadn't happened much lately as Mark got older, but it was still there.
"We're going to do this the easy way," Nolan said as they stepped outside. "Close your eyes."
Mark opened his mouth to speak.
"No arguing," His dad held up a finger. "Close your eyes, trust me."
He closed them.
"Great," Nolan said. "Take my hand and we'll step outside."
Mark reached out blindly for his father. He felt a solid grip latch onto his forearm and yank him gently outside.
"You should reach the edge in three big steps," Nolan said. "On the fourth step, just keep walking like the roof is still there."
Mark took a breath and let it out, "Shouldn't I jump?"
"We'll do that next," Nolan said as he floated a short distance away. "I'm going to be right here. Just keep walking until you reach me."
He didn't remember this in the comics. Mark shook the thought from his head and started to walk. Three steps then one more into clear air. His leg shook slightly on his first step. He felt better on the second and was perfectly calm on the third. It wasn't until he lifted his foot to take the step into the air when he started to sweat.
What if this was a fluke? What if he was just strong? He was half-Viltrumite, that could mean his powers weren't an exact copy of his father. He forced himself to finish the step only to wobble as his foot didn't touch the roof. Mark didn't fall, but he didn't move either.
"I need to restart," Mark said quickly.
He felt the air move as Nolan drifted closer, "You're doing great. Open your eyes and we can try again."
Mark opened his eyes to see his father smiling like a loon. He looked down to see that they were on the other side of the yard, not by the roof.
"You were on the fence," Nolan nodded behind Mark.
He looked to see where his shoes had scuffed the top of the wood slats.
"I'm flying," Mark whispered.
"You're floating," His dad teased. "Now that you know you can do that, let's try jumping."
Mark's worries faded as he learned how to properly fly. It wasn't until a couple of hours later as they flew through the clouds somewhere above Alaska that he was able to get his thoughts under control.
"Dad," Mark said as he stopped mid-air. "We need to talk."
Nolan's smile flickered a little at his words. Mark took a steading breath. He froze for a moment.
"Do you have the thing in?" Mark pointed to his ear.
Nolan raised his eyebrows in question. He plucked the little communicator out of his ear and crushed it without pausing. They watched as the debris blew along on the breeze. Nolan motioned for Mark to continue.
"I didn't just get my powers," Mark said. "I saw the future. I know the real reason you came to Earth. I've seen it."
Nolan's face lost all emotion. The love in his eyes vanished into a cold abyss.
"What do you mean, Mark?" Nolan asked flatly.
"You're here to conquer the world, not protect it," Mark answered. "That's been your job from day one. Show up, make people rely on you, then call for reinforcements. Those that join are welcomed and their world is added to the Empire. The ones that choose to fight are killed."
"And?" Nolan asked without an ounce of emotion.
Mark held up his hands, "Let me explain, please."
"I'm listening," Nolan stated.
"Humans live to be like a hundred years old," Mark said. "Maybe more if we let them use some Viltrumite medical technology. Even then, that's one-fifty or maybe two-hundred years?"
Nolan nodded.
"Just wait until after mom dies," Mark said.
Nolan's eye twitched at the statement, "What?"
"Mom," Mark said. "Let her die thinking that her husband and son are heroes. A few years isn't going to make a difference. There's less than fifty Viltrumites alive right now. Humans make perfect hybrids. Call them once we've mourned mom. Train me, make me better, and then we'll be ready when the time comes."
Nolan sighed. The tension in his muscles eased ever so slightly. His eyes searched Mark's face.
"And when you meet a girl and have a kid?" Nolan asked. "We wait until they're grown? Then we wait until their kids are grown?"
Mark shook his head, "No. Just mom. I'll go into any relationship knowing this is coming."
"Which will give you time to stop it," Nolan sighed.
Mark chuckled, "Dad, have you seen the world? How many giant monsters have you fought in the last week? How many times has our city been rebuilt? That's just one city. We would need at least another five Viltrumites to keep this planet in one piece." He shook his head. "Have them show up like helpful aliens looking for a new planet and the people will worship them."
"They won't agree to this," Nolan shook his head. "This is the way it has been done for centuries."
Mark shrugged, "Then we wait until mom dies. Let her go peacefully in her bed surrounded by grandchildren. She deserves at least that much."
Nolan let out a long, slow sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Mark tried to keep his hope under control. Punches hadn't been thrown yet and his bones weren't broken. He would count that as a win for now.
"I'll think about it," He said after a silence that stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
Mark smiled, "Race you home? Loser does the dishes?"
"You're on," Nolan laughed.
Mark was engulfed in an explosion of air. His father was already a spec on the horizon.
"That's cheating!" Mark yelled before bursting into flight.
It wasn't a shock that he lost.
§
Nolan sat at the table enjoying a cub of coffee as Mark did the dishes.
"You still cheated," Mark grumbled.
Nolan chuckled, "All is fair when the dishes are involved."
"It's an unspoken rule that you count down to start a race," Mark said giving his father an empty glare. "I bet you cheated at hide and seek when you were a kid."
The smile on Nolan's face faded a touch, "We didn't play those kind of games on Viltrum."
"Right," Mark shook his head. "You grew up in Sparta on Steroids."
Nolan let out a single laugh, "I'll have to remember that one."
Mark focused on his movements. He gradually increased his speed as he worked. It didn't take long before he was moving in a blur. The dishes were done in a few seconds.
"Wax on, wax off," Mark muttered to himself.
Nolan sighed, "You're talking to yourself."
"I didn't start until my powers kicked in," Mark teased. "Are you sure there isn't any genetic madness for Viltrumites?"
Nolan paused longer than expected.
"Dad?" Mark dried off his hands as he turned to fully face his father.
Nolan put down his cup of coffee, "Our people do have anger management issues. It usually only kicks in during a fight, but it lets us continue fighting far beyond our normal capabilities. Injuries that would kill anyone else would just slow us down." He tapped the edge of his cup. "We're not human, Mark. You'll get stronger each time you heal. That means every injury will make you more powerful as long as you survive. Including training."
"What do you mean training?" Mark asked.
Nolan laughed, "Muscles tear during exercise. You can increase your strength and speed every session. Don't get lazy just because you have got your powers."
"That makes sense," Mark nodded. "Do you have a training regimen in mind?"
Nolan smiled. It was not a kind one.