It was a casual morning. A morning dressed in blue.
Not a lazy, half-awake blue. No, a confident, soft, endless azure blue, for cities that had decided what they wanted to be. They made the glass towers and apartments feel taller than they were. That was the beauty of Azure in a city.
Locking the door behind him was a boy in pink. Who simply soaked in the endless tranquillity of it all. His tired eyes mellowed into a tired, satisfied smile.
He yawned as the cool morning brushed against his jacket, against his face. Everything shimmered. The streets were packed with busy bodies and shimmering cars.
He sat at his usual spot on the outside patio of one of many restaurants in the bustling city had, with his usual slice of Pizza. Above him, the sky went on forever. And below it, so did everything else.
Steven: Oh, holidays…
But high above, almost camouflaged in blue of his own, a figure hovered. Floating in the air… it's not a bird, it's not a plane, it's…
Invincible: He… seems fine to me.
Cecil: Open your eyes, Invincible.
Invincible: They're open.
Cecil: Those gems? They cracked continents before your species was a thing. His mother was going to turn this planet into a colony. Strip it bare. I'm saying we can't afford to assume.
He paused. Long and hand in thought. Then, he animatedly turned to the side, as if addressing the bud in his ear.
Invincible: Just know. This is the last time I-
Cecil: Last time. I know. Now do what you do.
Invincible: Do you… really think he's that dangerous?
Cecil: I'm certain. And if he resists, Invincible, please use force.
Invincible: …fine.
And with a click, the earpiece on his head disconnected. Mark groaned, then dropped sharply through the air, slamming into the ground of the outside patio like a meteor.
The impact cracked tiles and sent chairs scattering. Pedestrians screamed.
Unknowingly menacing, he began to stride purposefully toward the now startled Steven, pausing in fear as the last slice of pizza lingered at the edge of his mouth. How the heck did he eat that quick?
Invincible: You do a good job on blending in, Gem person thing!
Steven: G- wha… who are you?
Invincible: That's besides the point. Now, you're going to come with me peacefully, and you're going to tell us everything you know. Alright?
He continued to close the distance.
Invincible: And I'm not asking twice.
Steven sighed. He stepped forward, hands raised, palms out. Not a fighter's stance. A prisoners.
Steven: Okay. Fine.
Mark blinks.
Invincible: Wait, really? That was-
A bubble appeared around him so fast he didn't even have time to finish the thought. One second he was standing. The next he was floating, encased in shimmering pink, his fists pressing uselessly against curved walls.
Invincible: (pounding the inside) Hey! HEY!
Steven turned away, brushing invisible dust off his jacket.
Steven: Yeah, no. I'm done with that. Done with organizations. Done with people telling me I'm dangerous. Done with all of it.
He turned around.
Steven: You want to talk? (shrugs) Fine. Buy me a coffee. But I'm not going anywhere with someone who starts with threats.
He started walking.
Steven: Oh, and don't worry, the bubble is set for just an hour-
CRACK.
CRACK. CRACK. CRACKCRACKCRACK…
He turned just in time to see Mark's fist explode through the bubble. Not shatter, punch through, like tissue paper, like the bubble was made of glass instead of diamond-hard gem energy.
Steven: ...Huh.
Mark's fist kept moving. It trashed Steven square in the chest and sent him flying, through the patio railing, across the street, into the side of a parked car. Alarms blared. Steven lay crumpled against the dented door.
Steven: Ow.
Mark stepped through the shredded remains of the bubble. His fist was still clenched. His eyes were still hard.
Invincible: Pink magic, huh?
Instantly, he exploded off the ground, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
Steven: Umm… actually, maybe we don't have to…
He has to stop himself as Mark crushes the car into oblivion. He's barely able to flip back, landing with a crouch as his shield shimmered to life on his arm.
Steven: I think coffee was the better choice!
Mark swept into another punch, but was parried twice. Mark lunged for a grab, but Steven leapt, vaulting over Mark's outstretched arms, and in the same motion slung his shield like a disc. It caught Mark square in the ribs.
Steven: Dude! Stop!
The shield rebounded. He catches it, and does it again before landing, and uses both arms to create a bigger shield when Mark flies in closer. After a brief clash, Mark is pushed slightly back, and in quick succession, he tries a clapping attack. This is also blocked, as Steven grows a second shield and, with one on each arm, catches Mark's open palms mid-swing, pinning them apart.
Steven: Hey. You know. We really don't have to do this.
Invincible: You're making this harder than it needs to be!
Steven: Me?!
Mark pushed, and Steven's arms gave way. He grabbed both wrists and drove him into the ground. Steven sank into the earth until only his head remained above street level.
Steven: Uh…
Then, with a sweeping flying somersault, he rushes in and delivers a flying knee. It connects, and Steven flies into the air.
Mark followed. Two swift punches, another knee, this time bringing Steven's face to ensure it connects, before punching through another attempt of a block from Steven, which sends him spiralling onto a building. He manages to land on it with some bubble boots and holds up another Shield.
Mistaking it for another attack, Mark instinctively dodges fast enough that he looks like he phases in place, and ends up rising from underneath holding Steven by the neck.
Invincible: Dude, if you wanna beat me, you have to attack more. That's how these things work.
Steven: It's almost as if I don't wanna do that.
He looks to the side, disappointedly.
Invincible: Hmm…
Mark spins faster and faster until his body becomes a blur.
Steven: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Invincible: It's gonna take more than that!
With brutal force, he hurls Steven fast enough to crack the sound barrier.
This time, Steven reacts just in time. A bubble snaps into place around him, catching his fall. He hits the ground rolling, momentum carrying him forward before he ends up face-first in the sand. Groaning, he pushes himself up, rubbing spit onto his throbbing arm.
Steven: He… he's not gonna stop, is he?
He felt a familiar knot in his stomach. A sudden, cold wash tinged his spine.
Steven: He really…
A crash echoes in the distance.
Steven doesn't hesitate. He takes off running again.
Across the water.
He runs. His feet barely even kiss the water's surface, as the storm in blue and black approaches him rapidly. In response, he hurls one shield, then another.
Steven: Please! Stay away!
Invincible swats the first aside. The second is easily avoided with a simple barrel roll.
Invincible: I can't! And you know why, Gem!
He drops, sinks beneath the surface without a splash. Steven risks a glance back. Nothing. Just water. Then, he suddenly stops dead in his tracks. A massive explosion of pressurised water erupts right in front of him, then another to his left, which he avoids.
Underwater, Mark seems to be punching the water hard enough to form explosions.
Still from above, Steven continues to avoid these with relative ease, like a Spider-Man in a Minefield. That said, the distress on his face could've fooled anyone.
Steven: But I'm not dangerous! I'm safe! I'm the safest I've been in age…s
A spiral forms around him. Water twisting, rising, faster and faster until Steven is standing at the eye of a tornado made of river and sky. It's so large, he can't even see the slowly changing sky.
Mark had created it with pure speed.
Steven: What…what is-
A fist hits his ribs from behind. He spins. Nothing. Another punch catches his jaw. His head snaps sideways. Another. Another. The tornado disorients him, hides Mark's movements, turns the whole world into a blender.
Steven grits his teeth. His gem flares.
Steven: I said… STAY AWAY!
The bubble erupts from him like a bomb. Pink light and concussive force explode outward, shattering the tornado, sending Mark skidding across the water like a skipped stone. The river parts around the shockwave.
Steven: …
He's glowing now. And then… he stops.
Steven: I… I didn't mean-
Mark digs his heels into the sandbar behind him, stopping himself just before the beach. He pushes off again. Faster than before.
The sound barrier cracks. The water parts around him as he hits Steven like a missile, carrying him across the river, laying a fist with each cut off sentence.
Invincible: I can't! I won't! I won't let this happen again!
Steven's shield faded under the pressure.
Steven: Our planet isn't in danger! Please, just listen to me!
Mark hesitated… Just for a fraction of a second.
Invincible: I… I can't take that chance!
They were now back above the city. Sirens wailed below. Streets flooded with people, as police shouted desperately, guiding crowds away from collapsing structures.
It was like neither of them noticed, even though Steven certainly did.
Policemen could be seen directing hordes of people from below, as Mark continued his beat down on his now floating foe. Mark doesn't let up, as he drives another punch into Steven's guard. Steven barely held it.
Steven: I don't get it! What do I have to do to get you to believe me???
Invincible: Yeah?
Mark pushes off him.
Invincible: That's what they all say!
Steven: I didn't choose this.
He completely avoids a lunge and begins to parry punches continuously.
Steven: I didn't choose to be… different, or powerful… or whatever you think I am!
He kicks off Mark and creates another Bubble. Gee wilikers. This guy sure loves his shields.
Steven: But I did choose what I do with it!
They both stop mid-air.
Steven: You think I'm dangerous? That's fine! I think that about myself all the time! Every time I lose control, every time someone gets hurt. I think, 'What if I really am just… something broken pretending to be good?'
GRIP…
Steven: But I promise…
He grits his teeth.
Steven: I promise…
Invincible: SHUT IT!
His fist comes down like a meteor. The shield shatters into millions of shards.
Invincible: SHUT IT WITH ALL OF THAT! OK!
He grabs Steven by the shirt, now legitimately steaming with anger.
Invincible: PEOPLE LIKE YOU, YOU DON'T GET TO PRETEND THAT YOU'RE HARMLESS! I WON'T BE LIED TO, EVER!
Steven: Wha-
Invincible: TAKE, THIS!
He lets go, leaving a shell-shocked Universe floating. With all of his might, he lays a disgustingly weighty blow on Steven.
The impact is a thunderclap. Steven rockets backward, through a glass tower, out the other side, through a second building, a third, a fourth, until finally he comes to rest in a crater of rubble and twisted metal. This time, much more damaged than the last.
When he finally opens his eyes, he looks around. The world is a dark smear. A blurry combination of colour and sound.
He tries to stand, but notices his leg is messed up. He licks his palm. Slaps it against the injury with a grunt. Now, he's good enough to stagger to his feet, gasping, as he leaned against a shattered wall.
His skin glows faintly.
The street is destroyed. Cars overturned. Buildings hollowed out. Rubble everywhere. The evacuation must have been fast, but not fast enough.
Shockwaves. Shockwaves. He forgot to control… so the shockwaves…
There are backpacks. A dropped shoe. A half-eaten sandwich on the ground, dust settling on the bread.
Steven: The rubble… it's so much…
He continues to stagger forward.
Steven: So much destruction…
Then, he notices a girl, underneath a piece of rubble. He lets go of his hand, and rushes to her aid, lifting it up.
Steven: Hey… I got you…
A quick application of spit to the shin is enough to have her on her feet.
Steven: Are you… ok?
Girl: Yes, I am!
He hears a boom in the distance. Looking back.
A silhouette. Still.
Watching.
A flash of pink
Steven: I… I have to go!
Girl: W-wait!
She tugs at his shirt. Whatever she said, he couldn't hear her. Steven, slowly flickering pink, offers a forced smile. And off he hops, jumping away.
Mark hovered in the sky. For below him… The city was a wreck. The people were distressed.
Cecil: Mark. You let him get away. You need to be faster than that.
The girl… Alive.
Because of him. Because of Steven Universe. The most dangerous gem of all. He hovered down.
Everything Cecil said. Everything he believed. It didn't line up. It didn't fit. It now... didn't make sense.
Mark exhaled. Mark's fists unclench. His shoulders drop. The anger drains out of him like water through cracked glass, leaving something hollow and cold in its place.
Slow and Shaking.
Invincible: …why…
His voice dropped to something more solemn. Quiet.
Invincible: I'm such a… fucking idiot.
The girl tugs on his suit. Invincible looked at her, then stared intently into the sky.
Steven found himself at the back of a random, collapsed building. His knees are drawn to his chest. His hands press against his temples, pushing, like he can physically hold the pink back.
It's not working.
In flies Invincible. Mark steps through a hole in the wall. He walks toward Steven.
Mark: I...
He stops. Ten feet away. Close enough to be heard. Far enough to run. He swallowed.
Mark: I've seen a lot of things. I've seen my Dad kill thousands. Hell, I've seen other me's destroy cities.
He doesn't look up. The shaking continues.
Mark: So I see power like yours, and I…
He stopped and shook his head.
Mark: I didn't even try to understand you.
A beat.
Mark: I just decided what you were. Like an idiot.
Closer now.
Mark: And I hit you for it.
He sits beside him.
Invincible: One thing I've learned... is that… you aren't what someone else says you're destined to become. And I should've remembered that sooner.
His voice softens to something almost gentle.
Mark: You're not my Dad. You're not my Mom.
He stretches out an arm.
Mark: You're… you. I'm sorry, Steven Universe.
But Steven doesn't hear a single word.
His shimmering came to a fever pitch. The blurriness became worse.
And his skin had finally turned bright pink.
Steven: JUST. LEAVE. ME. ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!
The intensity. The pitch. It drives straight into Mark's skull. Blood pours from his nose, his ears, the corners of his eyes. He's thrown back through the wall, through the street, rotating across the air before catching himself mid-air.
Invincible: What the…
Right behind him, already there, was Steven.
Invincible: Wait-
He's just as big as he is now.
Mark avoids a grab, instinctively throwing a counter punch. Horrid idea, as Steven grabs his arm and snaps it, much to the disadvantage of Mark, who screams, raw like an animal.
Using said disfigured arm, he chucks Mark, hurtling into the air, flying after him. They meet above the city. Steven's arm augments as he prepares for a clash. And now, a fist the size of a car hurtles toward Mark.
Mark someway, somehow, manages to match.
Invincible: COME ON! SNAP OUT OF IT! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN!
His face doesn't change. But the pink around him pulses.
Steven conjures an obscene amount of hexagons, all coming together to form a massive spiked ball on his fist. Bigger than a car. Bigger than a house. Mark prepares for a block, crossing both good and bad arms across himself, but is swatted into the ground anyway, as the impact obliterates him with minimal effort.
And now, he's down on the ground.
Now, Steven walks slowly toward him.
But Invincible doesn't… want to fight back. He's still trying, trying to reach him
Mark tries to rise. His arms won't hold him. His leg won't stop shaking. He crawls back, pushing against rubble until He can't move anymore.
Invincible: I. I get it.
Coughing.
Invincible: I had this coming.
Steven's arm grew again.
Invincible: But please. Just… list-
He hits Mark again. And again. And again. Each punch drives him deeper into the concrete. He couldn't move. He was pinned, powerless against him. A position he had faced before.
Steven: I moved here because I thought...I thought...if I just got far enough away, if I just started over, if I just breathed, it would stop. The nightmares. The guilt.
Punch.
Steven: I didn't ask for this.
Punch
Steven: I didn't ask for her power. I didn't ask to exist.
Punch.
Steven: I just wanted to be Steven. Not Pink Diamond's kid. Not... anything! Just... Steven.
Punch.
Steven: But you couldn't let that happen. No one could let that happen. Everyone looks at me and sees what I could do, not what I have done.
Punch.
Steven: OPEN YOUR EYES, USE YOUR BRAIN, AND THINK!
Punch.
I AM NOT A THREAT.
Punch.
I AM NOT HER.
Mark: I'm… sorry.
Punch.
Steven: I AM NOT…
He stops.
Mark isn't moving.
His chest is caved in. His eyes are open, staring at nothing. Blood pools under him, mixing with the dust and rubble.
He stares at his hands. They're covered in red. The pink fades away in an instant.
STEVEN: No.
He scrambles back. Falls. Scrambles again.
Steven: No. No no no no no-
The sun is setting. Or maybe it's just the smoke. Either way, the blue morning is gone. The sky is orange. Apocalypse orange.
Not a calm, certain glow. A harsh, choking, restless orange that swallowed cities unsure of what they were becoming. It pressed low against the rooftops, reflecting off the shattered, meaningless towers, as if the skyline itself were shrinking away. That was the curse of orange in a city.
His wide eyes sharpened into something brittle, something strained.
Steven: My new… beginning
He didn't yawn. The air was too warm, too thick as it scraped against his jacket, against his face. Nothing shimmered. The streets thinned into scattered figures and stalled cars, dulled and unmoving.
Military helicopters circle overhead. Spotlights cut through the dust. Soldiers in hazmat suits advance slowly, weapons raised, slowly approaching the alien who killed Invincible.
Steven doesn't move. He's curled up next to Mark's body. Muttering to himself.
Steven: I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't...
Cecil:(From a helicopter, watching through binoculars): He's not going to fight back anymore. He's out of it.
Donald stares at the screen, at Mark's body.
Donald: Fuck.
Cecil: ...agreed.
There is a very long pause. The helicopters hover. The soldiers bravely advance. Steven rocks and mutters.
Donald: But if Invincible couldn't beat him... who can?
Cecil doesn't answer.