---
Mark and Henry sat across from each other in the school cafeteria.
"Of all people, I didn't expect it to be you," Mark said.
"I know... sometimes I don't believe it myself," Henry replied.
"I'm still new to this superhero stuff. I'm not used to it. I only started two months ago," Mark said.
"Don't worry, man. It's totally normal to feel that way. No one on our team handles it as well as you might think," Henry reassured him.
"Can I ask you something?" Mark asked.
"Go ahead."
"That redhead from yesterday... who is she to you?" Mark asked, hesitantly.
"The redhead? Oh—her," Henry said, realizing who Mark meant.
"She's my girlfriend."
"I've got another question."
"What is it?"
"Why did you come to me? We barely talked in school, and now, out of nowhere, you're showing up looking for me."
Henry had originally come to tell Mark the truth about his father, but figured he probably wouldn't believe it. So instead, he changed his approach and decided to invite him to join the team.
"Remember the guy from last night?"
"Yeah, I remember..."
"We're following up on some leads from that case. If you want, you can come with us."
"Is that the only reason you came?" Mark asked.
"Yeah... that's it."
---
"Where are we going?" Mark asked.
"Do you guys have some kind of jet or transport?"
Henry looked at him and said, "We can fly, so we don't really need that stuff. Besides, we don't exactly have the budget. Well, Robot's got his bike. He uses it when the team's in action."
"Got it."
Henry and Mark were leaving school through the back, a quiet, empty area.
"Come on," Henry said.
They made their way to an alley near the school.
"I'll meet you up there," Henry said, pointing to the sky.
"You're not gonna change?"
"I don't need to. My suit's a bit different from yours."
Mark stepped behind the school, got changed into his suit, and flew up to where Henry was waiting—also suited up.
They hovered just above the school.
"You think anyone saw us?" Mark asked, a little worried.
"You'd be surprised how few people ever look up in this city."
---
Henry led Mark to their base, entering through a hole in the ceiling.
Robot was already down there, working on something.
"You're late," Robot said, then noticed who Mark was.
"I'm assuming that's the guy from last night, since he's with you."
The base was full of equipment—various weapons, gadgets, and experiments Robot was working on.
Robot was typing at the computer when Henry asked,
"Where's everyone else?"
"They're out on another mission. You're going to be really helpful today, Invincible. You in?"
"Yeah," Mark replied.
"Nice suit—way better than the last one," Robot added.
"I was just about to leave when you guys got here. I would've gone alone."
Robot stood up. "I wiped the Mauler's memory from last night and left him near the toy store he tried to rob. He's probably still disoriented and looking for a quiet place to figure out what happened."
"My guess is he'll lead us straight to their base. Then we'll finally know what they needed those video game parts for."
Robot went over to his hover bike.
Henry and Mark hopped on the back.
"I'm tracking him—we need to be there when he arrives," Robot said, starting up the bike.
---
From above, they watched Mauler walking down the street.
"There he is," Robot said.
Mauler stood in front of a building.
"Where the hell were you? We needed those processors. Without them, we can't finish our robot batch," said one of the Mauler clones—maybe the original.
"I don't know what happened. I can't remember anything from last night. I remember heading out, but then... nothing."
"You don't remember? Do you realize how important this is? We need them!"
As the clone ranted, someone crashed through the door—it was Robot.
He kicked the door open and stepped inside.
"Stop them from activating the robot. I'll handle this one," he said, pointing.
"You think we need robots to deal with you?" one of the Maulers scoffed.
Mark didn't wait—he punched one of the Maulers straight in the face, making his nose bleed.
The Mauler wiped the blood off and growled, "I don't know who you people are... but this isn't over."
Robot was trading blows with another clone. Dodging punches, he grabbed a high-voltage stun weapon—looked like a thick baton with a deadly shock at the tip.
He jabbed it into Mauler's chest. It landed, but barely made a dent.
"It's gonna take more than that to kill me..." Mauler growled.
Robot didn't hesitate—he punched Mauler again, this time knocking him out cold.
Mauler hit the ground, unconscious.
Henry hadn't even needed to step in—Robot and Invincible had handled it all.
And honestly? Henry was kind of relieved. Finally, someone else on the team who could pull their weight. Maybe now, he wouldn't have to do everything alone.
---
Twin Pines Mall
A man lay on a bench outside a large shopping mall.
He slowly woke up and muttered, "Where... where am I?"
He looked around, dazed. He had no idea how he got there.
He touched his chest and felt something strange under his shirt.
Opening it, his eyes widened in horror.
There was a bomb strapped to his chest.
He didn't even have time to scream—
The second he realized what it was, it exploded.
BOOM!
Parts of the mall were blown apart. The man died instantly.
---
Reginald Vel Johnson High School
"We're working closely with authorities to provide any information that might help locate the missing students," the principal said from the stage.
A few students had gone missing, and no one had seen or heard from them since.
He continued, trying to sound calm:
"There's no need to panic just yet. The students were all friends—it's possible this is just a misunderstanding."
"But we wanted to hold this assembly to keep you all informed."
"Now that you know what's going on, please try not to walk alone. Stay safe, and report anything suspicious to the police."
"With a little luck, they'll turn up and everything will go back to normal. Until then, be careful."
"You can return to your classrooms now," the principal finished.
---
"What do you think happened to them? Do you think it's nothing, or… something bad?" Eve asked.
She was walking down the hall with Henry, her head resting against his chest.
"I don't think they're coming back. If that's what you're asking," Henry said.
"You know, I told you already—you look really pretty today. This isn't something you should be stressing about."
"Thanks... you're right. Let's go, I'm starving," Eve said.
They walked to the cafeteria, sat down, and started eating.
"Did you hear about the attack at the mall?" Eve asked.
"I did..." Henry said, poking at his food with a spoon.
"You okay? You seem kinda out of it," she asked.
"You're right, Eve. I just... have a lot on my mind."
"Robot's trying to find leads, but the bomb destroyed all the evidence."
"I've gotta do something about it..." Henry said, sounding tired.
"You think he's joining the team?" Henry asked, switching topics.
"The new kid? I don't know. I think so," Eve replied.
Henry smiled and changed the subject again.
"You wanna come over after school? It's my mom's birthday—she invited you. You wanna go?"
"I'd love to. But I don't have a gift... you think she'll mind?"
---