---
A group of young people were hanging out at a coffee shop. At first glance, they seemed like regular teens—but they were anything but normal.
They were just about to leave. The other people in the café had no idea who they really were.
"I gotta go, it was nice meeting you, Eve," said Dupli-Kate, standing up.
The others followed. They'd already talked about everything they needed to and had even decided on a name for their team.
"I'm out too," said Rex, getting to his feet. He paid his tab and walked out.
Only Eve and Henry remained. Robot had already turned off his communicator and left.
"What do you think of them?" Henry asked, glancing at her.
"They're… weird," Eve replied.
Henry gave her a look that said, "Seriously?"
"You are too…" he said.
"Hey, speak for yourself. I'm not—" she started, then sighed and looked at him, silently admitting he was right.
Henry stood up and went to the counter to pay their bill. He came back and motioned for her to leave with him.
"You didn't have to pay for me," Eve said with a pout, clearly annoyed.
"Did you bring any money?" he asked.
"No…" she mumbled.
He gave her a look like, I knew it, but didn't say anything.
They walked out of the café together, strolling through the city. After a while, they stopped—each had to go in a different direction to get home.
"Bye, Eve. Talk to you later."
"Are you gonna call me?" she asked.
Henry smiled. "Of course I will."
---
(One year later)
"If you keep this up, you're gonna drop dead," Debbie Grayson said, knocking on the bathroom door.
"Relax, Mom! I'm coming out! No need to rush me," Mark replied from inside, reading a comic book.
"Okay, but don't take too long or you'll be late for school!"
Debbie Grayson was a Korean woman of medium height, with a lean but athletic body. She had short black hair tied up in a bun. She was strikingly beautiful.
Mark eventually came out of the bathroom, got ready for school, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked to the kitchen.
"I shouldn't have doubted you," Debbie said as he walked in.
"See? Ten minutes early." Mark grinned.
He asked her to turn on the TV. On-screen, a monster was wreaking havoc on the city, and Omni-Man was fighting it.
"Your dad's been having a rough time lately," Debbie said, watching the news.
Mark headed to school. After classes ended, he was on his way to work when his friend William called out.
"Not today, William. I've got work. Catch you later," said Mark.
"Right! I keep forgetting you've got a job now," William replied.
At work, Mark wore a dirty jumpsuit and was about to take out the trash like he did every day. He picked up the garbage bag and threw it toward the dumpster out back.
But instead of landing in the bin, the bag flew way farther than any human could throw. Mark looked at his hands, now covered in grime.
"Finally. About time," he said.
His Viltrumite powers had awakened.
Later, he arrived home to find dinner already on the table.
"I don't think he's coming," Debbie said.
Mark sat down. "I had an interesting day."
Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew through, ruffling their hair—it wasn't wind. It was someone moving at incredible speed.
Nolan, who hadn't been there a second ago, appeared in his chair, ready for dinner.
"Sorry I'm late. Some nutjob caused trouble on the way," Nolan said, already helping himself to food.
Debbie and Nolan chatted about everyday things. Then she asked,
"So how was your day, Mark?"
"Interesting… I started developing powers," Mark said.
Neither of them reacted much. His mom didn't really care about powers, and his dad said nothing.
"That's nice. Pass the potatoes," Debbie said.
---
Mark stood on the roof of his house, eager to test his new powers.
"I've got powers now. I'm invulnerable… if I fall, I won't get hurt," he told himself, looking down.
"But what if I'm not invulnerable yet… what if it does hurt?" he murmured.
"Screw it," he said and jumped.
He closed his eyes, waiting for impact—but it never came. He was floating. Flying.
He opened his eyes, smiled, and started rising higher.
"This is so cool…"
---
Three criminals were running from the police. They had just robbed a bank. One had skin made entirely of stone. Another was a blond white guy. The last had black hair.
"We're screwed! There's cops everywhere!" one shouted, clutching a bag of money.
"Not my fault they showed up so fast," the stone-skinned man replied.
"Your job was to handle them! That's why we hired you!"
"Even if the bullets bounce off me, they still hurt!"
"Whatever! Just run!" said the one with black hair.
The stone guy grabbed the other two and leapt over a wall in their path.
But as they landed, they were caught off guard. Someone was waiting.
A punch landed square in the stone man's face, knocking him down.
Mark stomped on him, cracking the pavement.
The two began to fight.
"Who the hell are you? Here to stop us or rob us too?" asked the stone guy, swinging at Mark.
Mark was faster—he landed a punch that sent the villain flying and cracked his rocky shell.
He quickly took down the other two as well.
From a nearby wall, Nolan watched everything.
"For God's sake… what are you wearing? And don't you think it's a little early for this? Your powers just kicked in last week," Nolan said.
"Actually, it's been two weeks. I've been training. Saw what was happening and couldn't ignore it," Mark replied.
Nolan shook his head. "I can't let you keep going out like this. C'mon, the police are on their way."
They flew off together.
"Gonna introduce you to someone," Nolan said.
He brought Mark to meet Art, who made him a proper suit. They talked about hero names and costume ideas.
---
The next day, Mark went to school. As he put things in his locker, he saw a bully picking on a nerd.
"Why don't you leave him alone? Trying to look tough?" Mark said.
"Why don't you mind your own business, unless you wanna end up like him?" the bully replied, grabbing Mark's arm.
Mark shoved him into the lockers with his elbow.
The metal caved in. The bully gasped for air on the floor.
"Don't mess with him again, idiot," Mark growled.
A school staffer saw them. "What's going on here?"
Mark was sent to the principal's office and explained what happened.
"I get it. You're off the hook. But next time, go find a teacher. That kid was twice your size. It's not your job to protect everyone," the principal said.
"Remember, Mark… you're not invincible."
Something clicked in Mark's head.
---
Armed, masked robbers were holding up a bank.
"Nobody move, and nobody gets hurt! We want money, not lives!" shouted one of them.
A man brought over a box. "Everything's in here," he said.
"It better be—or we'll come back," the robber warned.
Suddenly, they heard sirens.
"We gotta go. Now!"
They shoved people aside, bolting out the door. One of them almost got hit crossing the street. They sprinted into an alley.
But they froze in fear.
Their getaway car—left waiting in the alley—was now floating in the air, held by someone.
He wore a black suit with yellow accents. His chest had a yellow panel with a blue ring design near the neck. His yellow mask covered most of his face. From the knees down, the suit turned blue.
Floating with the car in both hands, he said, "Looking for this?"
"Drop it or I'll shoot you!" one yelled.
Mark looked straight at him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you… I'm Invincible."
---