A/N: Second chapter
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The hum of the Coalition cruiser was a constant, low vibration beneath their feet as it cut through the black void toward Talescria. The command room's walls glowed faintly with blue light, and beyond the viewport stretched the endless sprawl of stars.
Mark sat at the far end of a chamber, leaning back against the reinforced chair, his reflection faint against the cosmos. Nolan sat across from him, one leg over the other, his posture relaxed but his mind reeling. Allen stood near the display console, eye twitching in fascination at what he was hearing.
They had been in transit for hours, moving through a busy stretch of space belonging to Coalition territory. Eventually, beyond the window, Talescria shimmered in the distance, a crowded planet of light and structure, headquarters to one of the most powerful alliances in the known galaxy.
"So let me get this straight," Nolan said, rubbing his chin. "You managed to hand me my ass, then defeat Conquest, and then you went on to demolish Thragg and take control of the Empire itself." He shook his head, half-amused and half-impressed. "That all sounds impressive."
Mark grinned faintly. "Yeah, it was a hell of a journey. I got stronger quicker than I would have due to my extra powers. If anything, I'm more impressed with how your Mark continued to beat the odds he's faced."
Allen looked over from the console. "Yeah, it's kind of like you cheated while he took the hard way."
Mark shrugged. "I just happened to be given different circumstances. I bet if your Mark had my powers, things could still turn out differently."
Nolan stared at him for a short moment. The light from the viewport reflected off the features that lined his son's face... well, not his son, but close enough. The way he spoke carried an authority Nolan hadn't seen before, a confidence tempered by experience. He wasn't just another warrior. He felt like an experienced leader.
Nolan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You know," he said finally, "I can't help thinking about what would've happened if my Mark had managed to do that. If he'd been strong enough to beat me back when I… made my choices on Earth. But without the extra powers, of course."
Mark thoughtfully answered. "It probably would have gone differently than it had for me. Even if he were stronger than you, it doesn't mean he would definitely be strong enough for some of the other challenges he'd have to face. But, with the two of them working together, it could probably go down pretty fine."
Nolan looked down, his eyes shadowed. "Huh."
Allen crossed his arms. "Hey, so what about the other version of me in your universe? What's he doing now?"
Mark scratched his chin, thinking back. "I actually don't know. The last time I saw him was on Viltrum. He was still working under Thaedus, acting as a diplomatic link between the Viltrumite Empire and the Coalition. I'm not sure if he stayed in that role since I haven't seen him since we moved to Earth. I kind of hope he did."
Allen frowned. "I guess I won't become the leader of the Coalition?"
Mark shrugged. "I mean, there's not really a need for one anymore anyway. The war against the Viltrumites has ended. The Coalition will probably realize the galaxy doesn't need champions to fight against Viltrumites anymore."
Allen let out a slow breath. "So, basically, he's almost retired."
"Maybe," Mark said. "But I'm sure he'll be happy with not having to do so much work anymore."
Allen's expression softened. "Retired. I don't even know what that would feel like."
Nolan joked. "You'd hate it after a week."
Allen chuckled, but there was truth behind it. He'd been created and raised to fight, bred for leadership, and trained for war. The idea of a quiet life unsettled him now that he was older. Yet somewhere inside, the thought of that version of himself, free of command and expectation, struck a chord; he's sure Telia would definitely like the idea.
Before anyone could continue, a voice came through Allen's communicator. "Sir, we've entered Talescria's orbit. Preparing for landing."
Allen tapped his earpiece. "Acknowledged. Maintain standard approach vector."
Mark felt the subtle shift beneath his feet as the ship slowed within the atmosphere. Through the viewport, Talescria grew larger, its sprawling surface illuminated by thousands of energy grids, flying cars, and its citizens. Some buildings floated on levitating platforms with flying ships flying all around.
The ship lowered into one of Talescria's upper docks, a vast circular platform surrounded by shimmering forcefields. The interior bay was busy, filled with engineers, diplomats, and security forces from dozens of species. Some looked up as the vessel landed, their reactions were normal when they saw Nolan and Allen disembark — but when they saw Mark behind them, the murmurs began.
"Is that—?""It can't be. He's supposed to be dead.""No, that's him. That's Invincible."
Mark just ignored the stares.
As the landing ramp descended, a figure broke through the crowd. Her eyes were wide, her steps quick and unsteady.
"Mark?"
Mark turned just as Debbie sprinted forward. She didn't hesitate — didn't even slow down — before throwing her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.
He stiffened at first, caught off guard by the familiarity of her embrace, while knowing that she actually wasn't his real mother. Though, that didn't really mean much.
"Hi, Mom," he said softly. "It's nice to see you again."
Debbie cried harder. Her shoulders shook as she clung to him. "You're alive… you're actually alive."
Behind them, Nolan watched silently. For all his stoic composure, he was conflicted on what he should do seeing his wife hug someone who was a different version of her son. But, he reluctantly allowed it, seeing as she was much happier with the idea of her boy being alive.
When Debbie finally pulled back, her face was wet with tears. "Where have you been all this time? Three years, Mark! I thought you were gone for good!"
Mark hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's… complicated. Though, I want you to know that I'm not exactly your Mark."
Debbie blinked, confused. "What?"
Nolan stepped in. "He's from another dimension. A version of our son, just not the same one."
Debbie turned to Mark, searching his face for signs of differences from how she remembered her son, but what she found instead was familiarity. His eyes, his tone, even the faint warmth in his smile they were just like her son's. She didn't understand how he could not be her son. Though, her experiences seeing those other Invincibles made her more open to the idea of this not being her son.
She whispered, "You're not an evil version of him, are you?"
Mark shook his head. "I grew up the same as him... which kept my mindset towards the brighter path, especially with you raising me."
Debbie took a shaky breath. "Then… what happened to my Mark?"
Mark exhaled slowly. "That's part of why I'm here. I can bring him back."
Nolan and Allen exchanged glances.
"You can do that?" Nolan asked, his tone skeptical.
"Maybe?" Mark admitted. "My power has restrictions to it, but if I can go to the place where he vanished, I might be able to use my ability to trace his specific signature that aligns with this dimension and open a portal and pull him out."
Allen frowned. "That sounds… like you don't really know if it's possible."
Mark agreed. "Yeah, it's not something I've done before, looking for a specific person lost in a different dimension, but it's not impossible."
Debbie's expression was desperate. "Then what are you waiting for. Go bring him back."
Mark responds. "I plan to. But before I start, I'd like to see someone first."
Debbie questions. "Who?"
All of their eyes widen.
"My counterpart's and Eve's daughter," Mark said, slightly bashful. "Terra. I just want to see her. In my dimension, I'm actually dating Eve right now, and I kind of want to meet a potential version of my daughter."
Debbie hesitated, glancing at Nolan. He looked equally conflicted. "You think that's a good idea?"
"I just want to meet her," Mark said hopefully. "And I'll definitely do my best to bring her actual father back."
Allen folded his arms, slightly confused, thinks, 'I don't get why he wants to so much. She's not even really his child."
Allen couldn't really understand Mark's feelings towards his potential daughter, as a result of his own experiences. Allen wasn't born traditionally, but was instead a test tube baby. As a result of this, he didn't build connections and bonds with parents of his own and didn't know what it was to feel like a child. Since the moment he was born, he was just trained to be a great champion of the Coalition. Adding to that, he was slightly molded by his girlfriend, Telia, and her view regarding children.
Telia's species never built emotional connections with their offspring, often leaving them immediately when they are old enough to fend for themselves, and not caring about them at all when they leave.
Debbie eventually nodded. "Alright. But she doesn't remember my son as her father, so try to make a good impression and don't push her."
Mark gave a reassuring smile. "I'll do my best."
They left the docking bay, flying above the bustling city streets. Talescria was alive with motion, alien merchants floated between stalls, robotic drones cleaned the pathways, and massive displays projected Coalition propaganda above the walkways. The skyline was dominated by a central spire, the headquarters of the Coalition Council, surrounded by interlocking bridges that shimmered with blue light.
Mark found himself admiring it. "Your Talescria's a lot busier than mine," he said.
Nolan nodded. "We've had to relocate more species here, since Thragg had his children attack planets much more often than he could have before with only 50 Viltrumites."
Nolan led the way towards a series of residential towers.
Finally, they landed in front of a tall, sleek door marked with the Coalition insignia.
"This is Eve's place," Nolan said quietly.
Mark took a breath and knocked.
The door slid open, revealing Eve. Her hair was slightly longer, her face sharper and more mature, her figure more womanly, but her eyes, those brilliant emerald green eyes, were exactly as he remembered. For a second, neither spoke.
Then she moved.
Her face crumpled, her eyes welled up with tears, and before he could say a word, she summoned a massive pink gauntlet and uppercut him straight through the air.
Mark shot into the air, leaving a trail of color behind him. His mind was genuinely boggled by Eve's reaction. 'That was… not expected at all'. She had honestly caught him off guard. If he tried, he could have seen it coming, but because it was Eve, he hadn't.
She flew after him, her pink aura blazing, her eyes still dripping tears. "Where have you been, you bastard?! I've been worried sick about you all this fucking time!" she screamed as her mascara ran, swinging again.
He let her hit him. Once. Twice. Three times and so on. None of it hurt, but he could feel the emotion behind every blow, the heartbreak, the confusion, the fury of someone who'd waited too long for answers. He just allowed her to get her emotions out, just like Ursaal had.
Though, inwardly he sighed amusedly, and wondered if for the rest of his life he would just continue to be the punching bag of women everywhere who needed to let their emotions out.
Finally, she stopped, panting, her fists shaking.
In the original timeline, Mark would have appeared after Eve had already moved on from him in her heart, but now Mark came right when Eve was beginning to move on, causing her explosive reaction.
Mark floated closer, placing a gentle hand on her arm, his voice calm. "Wait a moment, I'm not actually your Mark, Eve."
Her expression froze. "What?"
"I'm from another dimension, just like those other Marks from years ago, but good," he clarified. "Your Mark's still out there. I just need some time, but I can find him and bring him back."
Her tears fell, and she was still angry, but she listened. "W-what are you talking about?"
Mark nodded and started slowly leading her back to her home. "Let me explain from the beginning."
They landed together on her balcony after a while, the city lights painting their faces in hues of violet and blue. Eve covered her face, embarrassed, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry for hitting you. It's just… he keeps disappearing on me. First, when he went to Thraxa, then when he went to fight in the war, and now this."
Mark smiled softly. "Yeah, I understand. Trouble seems to call just to challenge whether he truly is INVINCIBLE."
That earned a weak laugh.
He also tells her, "For the most part, while I'm here I'll help out a little, and you and Mark can finally spend more time together as a family when I'm done."
Eve appreciates this, though a guilty feeling starts to rise in her chest.
Then, the balcony door opened, and the source of her guilt appeared. A tall, blue-skinned man stepped out, wearing a relaxed grin. "Eve? You coming back inside?"
Mark's smile vanished instantly. He knew who this was, and he wasn't amused.
Eve froze. "Uh… Mark. This is Kubian, he's... Telia's brother. She introduced him to me today and..."
Mark raised his hand. The air shimmered, and the man seemingly blinked out of existence.
"...now he's someone who's on the other side of the planet," Mark said flatly.
Eve's eyes widened in horror. "What did you— Mark! Where did he go?!"
"He's fine," Mark said calmly. "I just teleported him away to the other side of the planet, far away from you. Look, he wasn't right for you at all, trust me. That guy's species doesn't even love their own kids. In the future, he would've told you to give up Terra in a few months, and you would have broken up with him."
Eve blinked in shock. "How could you possibly—"
"Because my power basically lets me know the future," Mark said simply. "And I'm not watching another dude get close to my girl, even if she's an alternate version."
She stared at him, her shock melting into something else — something she hadn't felt since Mark disappeared.
Then a small voice came from behind her.
"Mommy?"
Mark's gaze softened as a tiny girl stepped into view. Her black hair, her blue eyes, and her cute, curious expression.
"Are you my daddy?" she asked, tilting her head.
.
.
.
Author's Notes:
Be sure to check out my p*tr-eon, where you get early access to my chapters, 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 there may be plot points or mistakes that I haven't thought about. My p*tr-eon name is Bah_Goat.