Mark soared through the sky, his mind drifting between the present and the enormous future that awaited him. The cool wind rushing past his face did little to distract him from the thoughts that had been brewing in his mind for days now. He had made countless changes to this timeline—some small, some monumental—but one, in particular, stood out. His father was still here.
Omni-Man hadn't left Earth for Thraxa. That singular change meant Oliver would never be born. There would be no Thraxan-Viltrumite hybrids, no eventual war brought on by Thragg's desperation to maintain Viltrumite dominance through forced breeding. That entire branch of events had been severed.
Mark wasn't sure how he felt about it yet. Oliver had been his brother in another timeline, but here? He didn't exist. He wouldn't exist. And that was just the start.
As much as he wanted to reflect on the massive butterfly effects he had already set into motion, he had more pressing matters. His company. His future as Emperor of the Viltrumites. And, of course, his plan to explore other universes.
That last thought sparked a small grin across his face. The potential experiences were exhilarating to think about. There were so many places he wanted to visit—so many people he wanted to meet. He imagined standing across from Superman, sizing him up, or racing against the Flash just to for fun. Meeting Wonderwoman and seeing just how hot she was. He had no real desire to meet Batman, though. The guy was too paranoid, too obsessed with knowing everything. Nightwing, on the other hand? He seemed cool.
It wasn't just DC he had his sights set on. Marvel, Dragon Ball, even High School DxD. The last one made him chuckle perversely. That particular world had piqued his interest for… well, multiple reasons. Mostly the magic.
Probably.
But all of that was in the future. For now, he needed to focus on stabilizing his company and getting it off the ground.
Within moments, he reached his destination. His headquarters.
The sleek, modern skyscraper that once belonged to Machine Head was now his. He had repurposed the building, turning it into the heart of his operations. It wasn't just a business—this was a foundation for the future Viltrumite headquarters on Earth.
The elevator dinged as Mark stepped inside, pressing a floor number. The button flickered from red to green with a soft buzz before the lift began its smooth ascent.
His company needed a name.
He had been pondering Invincible Inc., but… was that too on-the-nose? It had a nice ring to it, though.
When the doors slid open, he was greeted by a familiar sight—Eve.
She had been the one to buzz him in, a bright smile on her face as she stood by the entrance to her new private floor. The moment she saw him, she wasted no time jumping into his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"Thank you, Mark," she whispered into his shoulder. "Seriously. I needed to get out of that house."
Mark chuckled, holding her close before pulling back slightly. "You would've left eventually."
"Yeah, but now I don't have to worry about where I'd go."
Eve had taken him up on his offer to work with him, which meant moving out of her parents' house. She now had an entire private floor to herself, complete with a massive living room, multiple guest rooms, an indoor pool, a personal theater, a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, and even room for expansion. With her abilities, she could customize the space however she wanted.
Mark let her down. "Alright," Mark said. "Let's go over what you'll actually be doing here."
They made their way through the building. There was a lot to discuss, and he wanted to give her the full rundown of what shecould choose to work in.
First, he took her to the laboratory.
"This is where I do most of the production," he explained, leading her into the expansive, high-tech space filled with machinery that were producing vats of his Fluid Fabric.
Eve's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the black liquid being produced. "So this is what makes your suit?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah. Production is still in the early stages, though. Right now, I'm barely keeping things afloat financially. The only reason I haven't gone under is because of Machine Head's old accounts. But that money won't last forever."
Eve looked around, her mind already spinning with ideas. "You need more labor, don't you?"
Mark smirked. "Yeah, but I also don't want to deal with spies stealing samples of the raw stuff or corporate sabotage. So I have a plan for that."
He guided her into another section of the lab where machines were printing out standard clothing designs—police uniforms, doctor and nurse outfits, even standard gear for the GDA.
"I talked to Cecil," Mark continued. "He spread the word about my company, and I already have pre-orders coming in from law enforcement, hospitals, and the GDA itself. For now, we're only handling standard designs. Custom orders are going to take more time."
Eve turned to him with a questioning look. "And you want me to help with that?"
"If you want," Mark shrugged. "I can show you how to create and manipulate the Fluid Fabric with your powers. You'd be able to create custom orders much faster than I could with just machines."
Eve hesitated, her fingers tracing the smooth material of a nearby uniform. "You really trust me with that?"
Mark met her gaze without hesitation. "Of course."
A faint blush crept up Eve's cheeks, but she didn't comment on it.
Mark then led her to another floor—an empty space for now, but one that would soon become something much greater.
He had remembered the business Mark and Eve had in the show and took inspiration from that for his own company.
"This is going to be a private security division," he explained. "I'm thinking about making it a heroes-for-hire type of deal. There are always people or businesses that need protection from monster attacks and villians. This could provide them with that while also giving heroes a stable source of income."
Eve's brow furrowed in thought. "Like a security agency?"
"Exactly," Mark confirmed. "And if I can get a few fellow Viltrumites to work with me in the future, this could become something massive. But I'll need someone I trust to oversee it."
She nodded, already seeing the potential in the idea.
During their tour of Upstate University, Mark had already explained his business with the Viltrumite Empire and his current plans for it. The conversation had come up naturally when William, Amber, and Eve started asking him about what exactly he was doing in space.
*Flashback Start*
Mark had expected curiosity, but he hadn't expected just how many questions they'd have.
"So… let me get this straight," William had started, crossing his arms while leaning against a tree in the campus courtyard. "You're planning to take over an intergalactic empire by beating the strongest guy they have?"
"Pretty much," Mark confirmed, hands in his jacket pockets. "Once I win, the rest of them will have to follow my orders."
Amber raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And you're sure you can beat him?"
Mark just smirked. "You doubt me?"
"I mean, yes," Amber deadpanned. "You're strong, Mark. Like, insanely strong. But this guy has been ruling an entire species of super-powered conquerors for centuries. You really think you can just punch him and take the throne?"
Mark shrugged. "I know I can. I beat my dad pretty easily and he's one of the stronger Viltrumites and I'm just continuing to grow stronger by the second."
Eve tilted her head slightly. "Okay, but assuming you win, what happens next? You're just… king of the Viltrumites now? What does that even mean? Will you leave Earth and stay in space? Do you even know how to run an empire?"
"Well," he started, "For the most part, I'll probably have advisors helping me learn how to rule, but it'll be a trial process as I'll learn as I go. And no, I won't leave Earth. A virus wiped out most of the Viltrumite population centuries ago. There are probably less than fifty of them left in the entire universe."
Amber's expression softened slightly. "That's… not a lot."
"Exactly," Mark nodded. "Which means we'll need to focus our time on repopulating the species. Since, Humans and Viltrumites are incredibly compatible. A union between the two produces a hybrid where Viltrumite DNA dominantly takes over the human DNA producing an essentially 99.9% pure-blood Vitrumite. That means Earth is the best place for the Viltrumites to repopulate with some probably needing to take multiple partners to bring numbers up."
At those words, Eve and Amber's expressions shifted.
They didn't say anything at first, but Mark could tell they were both thinking the same thing.
Amber pursed her lips, her brows furrowing slightly. She wasn't opposed to the idea outright, but it was clear she was thinking about what that meant for her and Mark. Would she be willing to share if it came to that? Could she?
Eve, on the other hand, was harder to read. She had a more neutral expression, but her arms were crossed, and she was deep in thought. She wasn't against it either, but she was probably weighing her options.
Mark, of course, noticed everything.
He wasn't stupid. He had put the idea out there on purpose, just to see how they would react.
And their lack of immediate rejection told him everything he needed to know.
It made him feel like a scumbag, in a way. He had strong feelings for both of them. Maybe even more than just them if he included Amanda. If he chose only one, then he would lose the others. But if this was a possibility—if they were open to it—then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to.
Still, this wasn't something he could force.
If it didn't work out, he'd have to accept it and move on. He couldn't string them along forever. But for now, it seemed like the idea wasn't completely off the table.
*Flashback End*
XXX
Mark took Eve to another floor, this one just as empty as the last.
"This," he said, "is where we're going to focus on producing resources for the human population. You mentioned how your powers could be used for more than just fighting crime, and that got me thinking. If we use cloning technology and your abilities, we could increase food production, improve medicine, and create resources that could genuinely better the world."
Eve's face lit up. "You actually want to do that?"
Mark grinned. "Of course. You inspired the idea."
Eve's enthusiasm was infectious. For the first time, she saw how she could contribute in a meaningful way outside of hero work.
Finally, Mark brought her to the elevator and after pressing a few floor number into a number sequence, pulled open the panel with the elevator number buttons revealing a scanner behind it. Placing his hand on the scanner the elevator continued down past the ground flood revealing—
An underground lair beneath his headquarters.
As they stepped out of the elevator, Eve's eyes widened in shock.
The massive chamber was reminiscent of Iron Man's armory—walls lined with displays cases filled with mannequins, advanced machinery, and, against the far wall, a massive computer akin to Batman's Batcomputer.
To their left, several mannequins stood in display cases, each bare except for three of them. Two of the mannequins were clad in the two different versions of Mark's suits that he wore. His old nanotech suit(So-called MK. I) and a suit that looked like his new one made from Fluid Fabric (So-called MK. II).
One of the displays caught Eve's eye immediately—her suit.
"What is all this? And Why is my suit here?" she asked.
Mark smirked. "Because this is where we'll be operating as a crime-fighting duo. I designed this floor as our crime-fighting Overwatch Room. The computer A.I. called Community, aka Unity, will monitor the city for us, so we don't have to waste time flying around looking for trouble and don't have to rely on cecil all the time."
Eve turned to him, still processing everything. "And my suit?"
"Well, its mainly to pay homage to the original suit and for design choices for our lair," Mark said.
Mark, then pressed a button on his wrist, and a claw-like machine lowered another case from the ceiling.
Inside was a brand-new suit.
It looked almost identical to her original, but it was enhanced—made with Fluid Fabric, packed with advanced features.
"I didn't change the design since I wanted your input," Mark said. "But it's made from my Fluid Fabric and has some neat mentally commanded pre-built functions in case you were in a situation where you can't access your powers, use them fast enough, or want to conserve energy. It can morph into different modes automatically with two words—armor mode for defense and instantly creates a suit of armor around her preserving her body better than most of her constructs can, space mode which focuses on survivability in space or water and creates a sealed suit providing her with breathable air from surrounding molecules regardless of where she is, stealth mode for invisibility, and offensive mode for built-in weapons."
Eve stared at the suit in awe. "You did all this?"
Mark shrugged. "Figured you deserved something as good as my own."
She ran her fingers over the material, feeling how different it was from her usual constructs. It was alive, in a way.
Mark continued, "If you ever need to store it, you can just morph it into a bracelet. And if you want, I can show you how to make regular Fluid Fabric outfits yourself."
Eve considered everything before finally making her decision.
"I want to run the resource division," she said. "If this can help the world, I want to be the one to make sure it happens."
Mark grinned. "Good. You're the President of that division, then."
"Are you sure about President? I don't even know how to run a business," Eve questioned.
Mark replies, "Look at me, I didn't understand business as well at first but I put in a lot of studying to get better and you always have me if you need help."
Before Eve could respond, alarms blared through the room.
The Overwatch screen lit up, showing a massive insect-like Kaiju attacking a beach, heading toward the city.
No heroes were nearby.
Mark turned to Eve, his suit already morphing around him.
"Ready to test that suit?"
Eve smirked, her own suit forming around her. "Let's do it."
They shot out of the hidden exit, soaring into the sky.
.
.
.
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 Bah_Goat.