Chapter 9: Invincible
The next day, both Conner and Mark had the day free to themselves. Debbie still had to try and get that villa sold while Nolan was busy with hero activities since early in the morning. Some sort of alien invasion that he and the Guardians of the Globe were attempting to stop.
After having breakfast together, the two brothers went their separate ways. Mark was left at home while Conner went to HOMRA.
As soon as Conner left the house, Mark rushed up to his room and got suited up. He put on an old sweater and jeans, some yellow gloves, a yellow bandana as a face scarf, and goggles. Mark looked himself in the mirror up and down before shaking his head.
'I need to get a real suit. Maybe I should ask Dad who made his suit or if he knows anyone. He has been here for so many years after all. Must have a few contacts.'
Mark decided to think about that later. This was his first day on hero duty and he was going to make the best of it. He flew out his window and went towards the city.
For most of the day, nothing major happened. There were a few car accidents that Mark helped out with as well as a couple of larcenies and robberies. Neither of the latter two really tried to fight back and gave up in moments. Nothing that was truly what he thought a superhero should have done.
It wasn't until around 1 that he saw a robbery that caught his interest. Two gunmen were shooting at cops. When the police tried to shoot back, a third man that looked to be made out of stone would block the bullets and act like a human(?) shield.
When Mark saw that the trio would get to their car in a few moments, he decided to act. Mark dropped down from and sky and crushed the car before any of the three could get inside of it. The two men looked shocked by Mark's sudden appearance while the stone man was featureless.
"Who the hell are you?" Stone Man asked
"I'm...uh, I'm... I guess I'm working on that. Any suggestions?" Mark asked
"Captain Guy With The Hole Punched Through Him?" Stone Man suggested as he rushed toward Mark
"Doesn't really roll off the tongue."
Stone Man threw a punch toward Mark who deflected the blow before countering with a punch of two punches of his own. These blows managed to crack Stone Man but he quickly healed.
"Anything else?" Mark asked
Mark was then given three swift blows to the face and body, one of which broke one of his goggles before he was grabbed by the throat and thrown into the wall beside them.
Mark soon got up and let out a shout of frustration before flying into Stone Man. He crashed Stone Man into several walls and the street with each hit breaking off a part of his rocky skin. After Mark clothes-lined him with a ladder, Stone Man was knocked unconscious.
Mark stood over the unconscious black man's body triumphantly. This was his first victory as a hero.
"What about 'Ass-Kicker?' No, willfully childish," said aloud while still on the name
"You look ridiculous," someone said from above
Mark looked up and saw that it was his father Nolan, or Omni-Man since he was in his superhero attire. He looked unimpressed with Mark's choice of clothes.
"Wanna do some shopping?" Omni-Man asked
Mark nodded quietly. The pair took to the air and flew across the city until they got to a strip mall. The pair descended onto one of the roofs of the mall before jumping down in front of the store. They then walked into a place called 'Art's Tailor'.
The duo walked through the shop until they came to the changing room. Omni-Man motioned for Mark to follow him into the third changing room before the pair walked in together. Omni-Man then opened a secret panel and entered a code that revealed a secret door.
The pair walked through and down a set of stairs to be greeted by an old man sewing something. All around the room were hero costumes on mannequins.
"Ugh, Dad?" Mark asked
"Nice to see you, Nolan. Been a while since you stopped by for a drink," Art said as he got up from his seat.
"My bad, Art. Been dealing with stuff. This here is Mark. And from how he is dressed, you can guess why he is here," Nolan said with a friendly smile on his face
Art looked Mark up and down for a moment before nodding
"You should have brought him in sooner. He looks ridiculous," Art commented
The adults continued to make fun of Mark's style for another minute before Mark finally recovered and understood why they were there.
"Wait! Am I getting a suit?!?!" Mark asked in surprise
"He's a fast one," Art commented sarcastically
Art then walked over to a suit in the middle of the room. It was orange and yellow with several protruding yellow discs.
"This was something I designed for you years ago when I thought your dad's powers were solar-based. Know better now."
"Most people make that mistake. Not sure why though," Nolan said
Art shook his head and wasn't sure why he assumed that either. Maybe he had read it in a comic somewhere. Mark looked the suit up and down before frowning.
"I like the goggles. They can keep the wind out of my face while I'm flying. But the suit just doesn't say..." Mark struggled to find the right word
"Iconic," Art offered
Mark nodded shyly which caused Art to laugh
"No need to be embarrassed. Everyone wants to be Iconic. Have all the kids know your symbol and name, be a beacon of hope, a suit that attracts the babes. Do you have anything besides the goggles that I can go off of? A name maybe? Art asked
Mark shook his head. Art was about to say something else when he paused. He then looked at Mark and Nolan before deciding on something.
"There is one more suit. And it was designed specifically for you by someone. I can only tell you who designed it if you accept the suit, and you can only accept the suit if you accept the name they chose," Art said
Both Nolan and Mark had their guard up.
"A suit designed just for him? Who made it?" Nolan asked with vigilance
"I can't tell you. I promised I wouldn't unless you accepted the suit," Art said apologetically
Nolan wanted to press for more but he had known Art for years. He was a man of integrity. He would never let a secret spill.
"What's the name?" Mark asked
"Invincible!" Art said with flair in his voice
Once he heard the name, it seemed like something just clicked in Mark's mind.
'This is it! This is the name!'
Mark knew that the name suited him perfectly. Now the question was if the suit was to his taste.
"The name is perfect. What about the suit?"
Art didn't reply but walked to a secured closest before inputting a code. He pulled out a mannequin that had on Mark's potential suit. It was the same first suit he got in the comic and show. The blue, yellow, and black were all perfectly positioned and designed. A truly Iconic suit.
"This is it. Who made it?" Mark asked fully curious now.
The person that chose the name and designed the suit had to know him very well. No one else could have done something like this without being very close to him.
'Was it Mom? Or is Dad pretending it wasn't him?'
Nolan was also thinking that Debbie had designed the suit but the answer Art gave surprised them both.
"It was your brother, Conner. He came during the summer and brought me the design and name. He said he couldn't trust you to pick your own things since you have terrible taste," Art said with a laugh
Mark and Nolan were shocked. Nolan couldn't believe that Conner had found out about Art while Mark was surprised his brother knew him so well. A couple of tears got in his eyes which he quickly wiped away.
"No need for the tears. Why don't you put this bad boy on and go see how it looks?"
Mark quickly nodded before hurrying to grab the mannequin and rush into the changing room. He got changed in seconds. When he walked out, he was surprised once again. The suit fit him perfectly and looked even better on him than it did on the mannequin.
"Damn. Your son has a sense of style. I might hire him as my assistant," Art said
"No way. If I can get him to use his style at home, I could get out of all those stupid home decoration projects with Debbie."
Mark didn't even hear them as he flew out the front door and into the sky. This was his first outing. And he was feeling...