chapter 11 : Confrontation and Coma

[Earlier]

 Nolan was anything but stupid, when he got home he quickly noticed that his bloodstained uniform was out of place, even though he didn't know his wife was investigating him, he knew that she suspected something and now she found something very disturbing.

 He frowned before thinking for a moment about where she could have gone to have those clothes analyzed.

Since Lucas' death, Deborah didn't want to hear about Cecil who she already didn't like although he had nothing to do with Lucas' death so it was more likely that she took the clothes to their friend Art Rosenbaum.

He immediately rushed there, he saw them and listened to their conversation in the distance after the analyzes without their knowledge.

 He waited until Deborah left to come and chat with Art, bringing a pack of beers.

 Basically, they chatted about everything and nothing as usual and Art thought it was just a courtesy call and that Nolan was just coming to share a beer with his friend.

 While Omni-man wanted to indirectly delve into the subject and still indirectly threaten him like he did in the original, it was Art who took the initiative to confront him.

 Art: You know my old friend, we've known each other for so long now that I consider you and Debbie like a second family. I don't hide from you the disappointment and frustration I have in my heart right now about what you did to the guardians of the globe.

 Nolan stopped drinking his can of beer and didn't even say anything as his friendly smile faded to an emotionless face.

 He slowly approached Art with the intention of ending his life when without any apparent panic, Art continued

 "I know...you could crush me in less than a second and I know you listened to Debbie and I, I'm creating state-of-the-art tech suits here and I think I have at least something to alert me if I get observe or spy.

You don't have to give me your reasons but please, if I was ever your friend then do what you have to do but leave my body intact at least if you want to see me dead but above all, you need to speak with Debbie and Mark." Art said as he took off his glasses and looked into Nolan's eyes serenely.

 A few seconds later, Nolan was flying home again with an angry face, there was no bloodstain on him.

 Art on the roof of his store just sighed and sat on the chair with uneven breathing, Nolan spared him and just left as if nothing happened.

 On Mark's side of campus, he was also sitting on the edge of a roof but romantically with Eve, they admired the starry sky in each other's arms.

 They needed some peace and quiet because ever since they explained to William about their superhero identities, he kept pestering them with it so they left him and went out to find a place quiet for them.

 Mark: Eve, I would like to apologize.

 Eve: Of what?!

 Mark: A few months ago when you and Rex broke up, I was overjoyed because I already wanted you for myself back then. It was purely selfish, I knew this separation hurt you but on the one hand I was super happy for myself. It was Lucas who asked me to give you time and a lot of presence to help you in your pain, without that I don't know how I would have acted. In the end, I only helped you because I wanted to be there for you and I loved seeing you smile again.

 Eve: It doesn't matter, I'm quite happy that we're together. I loved Rex but he's an asshole so I don't regret anything. Actually…for Lucas…I also have a confession to make to you Mark.

 Mark: Um yeah, I hear you.

 Eve: Actually…(sighs) Lucas came to see me one day to tell me that you had feelings for me but that out of respect you wanted to help me get through my pain instead of asking me to go out with you. I already liked you before but I was dating Rex and after we broke up I thought my world was falling apart for the next few days but you were there for me and when Lucas told me how you felt then- (cut off)

 Mark didn't let her finish and directly kissed him, Eve kissed him back and it started to get hotter and hotter on that roof. Eve with her powers makes Mark's T-shirt disappear to move to the next stage.

 Mark: Are you sure you want to do this here?! (kisses)

 Eve: I don't care (kiss)

 She had told the truth about Lucas but not the whole truth, human feelings are complex things.

 Lucas died and her heart was also suffering but she is with Mark whom she also loves, it was her choice to be with him so she didn't feel the obligation to tell him that she had a crush on his brother died and ruin everything between them.

 As he slowly and tenderly kissed his beloved's neck, Mark caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye that interrupted his romantic action.

 He saw Rick, their university host, being attacked by a shadow before being dragged into the sewers.

 Eve: Is something wrong?!

 Mark: Quick, we have to change! I just saw Rick get mugged and kidnapped into the campus sewers.

 Eve: Right here ? Now ?!

 Mark: Eve, I have a bad feeling, trust me.

 He didn't have his full Invincible outfit on but still had his mask just in case, he wore it and flew down.

 Eve trusted him and thanks to his powers changed the clothes she was wearing into her Atom Eve uniform before following him.

 They looked at the completely open manhole with a cell phone on the ground.

 Mark picked up the phone and turned it on, unlocking was necessary but in the background there was a selfie of Rick.

 Eve: It's Rick's cell phone. You were telling the truth so we have to go help him.

 Mark: Follow me.

 They entered the sewers where Mark managed to track the attacker's footsteps on the ground from the air where he was flying with Eve but as they found themselves in front of a waterfall of waste water, two Cyborgs comes out of the water below to attack Mark who starts a fight with them.

 The Cyborgs were strong, tireless and fast but Mark since the death of his brother had worked hard for weeks with Nolan and was not as weak in fighting as in the series.

 " EVE, STEP BACK !" He shouted before blocking a punch from one of the Cyborgs and grabbing his arm to throw him towards a wall which he fell through.

 The other Cyborg grabbed Mark by the waist and was throwing him down until both of them fell into the sewage water.

 Mark gave the Cyborg an uppercut which made him rise a few meters above the ground but as he wanted to continue, the second Cyborg returned to the charge and Eve blocked him in time with translucent bonds.

 It was quite difficult because of the strength and resistance of the Cyborg but she held on, enough for Mark to have time to tear off the mechanical limbs of the Cyborg he was fighting to neutralize him and by the time the second Cyborg broke free of his bonds to charge at Eve, Mark flew quickly to reach him and pull him by the back of the neck.

 The Cyborg wanted to retaliate with a backhanded fist but Mark dodged it in time to quickly deliver a series of four punches.

 He then dodged an attempt to grab the Cyborg through the air before pinning HIM to the ground. Once his opponent was immobilized, Mark also ripped off his mechanical limbs.

 Eve: Wow! Very impressive !

 Mark: I train quite hard not only with my father but I also started learning boxing with my abilities, the techniques are quite easy to apply. Lucas was right to be interested in this kind of thing, super strength isn't everything. Quick, we have to save Rick!

 He and Eve went behind the waterfall to discover a metal door easily opened by Mark. They were able to discover a laboratory inside and saw Rick lying and bound on a seat tilted backwards.

 Sinclair next to him holding a tool to start mutilating his body and making him a Cyborg like the others.

There was another Cyborg in the room waiting for Sinclair's orders.

 Sinclair: Don't just stand there and go capture them, idiot. 

 The robot without delay began to run towards Mark and Eve. Invincible intercepted the Cyborg's run and they grabbed each other.

 "Go stop this sick man, I'll take care of his toy. " he said to Eve who immediately went to arrest Sinclair without any problem and immobilized him.

 Mark grabbed the Cyborg's arm and slammed him to the ground with a judo movement, he let his imagination run wild knowing that he could lift several dozen tons with extreme ease and that these Cyborgs weighed practically nothing of all. He punched him several times on the ground before ripping off his left arm and mechanical legs.

 Sinclair: NOOO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, YOU ARE STOPPING PROGRESS.

 Mark: I suggest you shut up or I'll slap your jaw right out. You practically killed these people and ruined their lives forever for your experiments. I know someone who would have killed you unceremoniously for that. (Looks at Eve) How's Rick?!

 Eve: He's fine, he's just unconscious but he's breathing and his heart rate is good.

 Mark: That's cool then! (Sighs) I can't imagine what would have happened to such a nice guy if we had arrived late or if by chance we hadn't seen that he had been kidnapped.

 Eve: A big stroke of luck indeed, this campus is big.

 They contacted Cecil who arrived with a team to take Sinclair and the Cyborgs gathered by Mark and Eve.

 Cecil: Excellent work you two, FEAR was right to trust your team for delicate missions. This fool will get what he deserves.

 Mark: What about these poor people ?

 Cecil: (Sighs) I don't know kid. We'll analyze everything as a whole, first finding out if they are still alive and if there are ways to undo their minds from cybernetic control before doing what it takes to return them to normal life. hopefully.

 Eve: We're going to take Rick back to his dorm, he was oblivious to the whole event and luckily no harm was done to him so we're going to make up something to explain it to him.

 Cecil: It works, once again I congratulate you on your work.

 He was about to leave when Mark stopped him to ask him something which Cecil immediately accepted with a smile before they went their separate ways.

 Eve: What did you ask him?!

 Mark: Just if they had some very, very heavy objects at the agency that I could carry like a normal human doing bodybuilding. My father told me that we become stronger at home by surpassing our limits so I intend to apply that.

 Eve: Mark you know you're not fighting alone right ? I'm here too, I know you're doing this because you're angry for Lucas but don't push yourself too much, okay ? Amber also started doing the same thing and it worries me a little.

 Mark: Amber ?! You tell me about it on the way, first let's bring Rick back and finish what we started earlier.

 He tried to grab her to kiss her but she stopped him.

"Yes, but after taking a bath, you took a dip in the sewer water with a Cyborg, I remind you!" 

 Mark: Not cool!

 Eve: Ahahahah

 At the Graysons' house, Nolan entered the darkened house and looked into the room to see a half-drunk Deborah sitting at the bottom of the stairs watching an old video of Mark and Lucas when they were kids on her camcorder.

 Nolan: Debbie?! What are you doing in the dark at this hour?

 Deborah : Nolan where were you when Lucas died ?

 Nolan : I told you, I was trying to stop a meteorite and deflect it from its path to earth.

 Deborah : Lies, more lies. Have you been lying to us for a long time ? I know what you did to the guardians !

 Nolan: What are you-(interrupted)

 Deborah : THEY WERE OUR Friend's, NOLAN ! THEY WELCOMED YOU ON OUR PLANET AND TRUSTED YOU BUT YOU KILLED THEM, OLGA WAS THERE FOR US AT THE BIRTH OF OUR TWO BOYS BUT YOU COLDLY KILLED RED HUSBAND. YOU LIED TO EVERYONE AND YOU LIED TO ALL OF US. WHY NOLAN ?!

 Nolan: You need to calm down and let's talk about it.

 Deborah : So that you lie to me again ? FUCK YOU NOLAN!

 She went up to Lucas's room where Saeko was now sleeping to find her and left Nolan downstairs who immediately felt upset as a terrible anger rose within him.

 He wanted to immediately silence this weak and ephemeral being, to crush her on the spot for having raised his voice on him, a superior being, but he immediately controlled himself and sent his fist into the wall which he passed through like knife in butter.

 Later that night, at the town cemetery, two teenagers were digging up the coffin of the Immortal, one of the deceased guardians of the globe, and intended to desecrate his corpse due to an urban legend on the internet saying that one could gain immortality by drinking from the skull of the deceased hero.

 Caught in their fantasies, they were intercepted by the Mauler twins who went there to recover the hero's body because of a project aimed at restoring his life to take full control of his mind.

 They knocked out the two youths and easily managed to recover their loot before leaving there, laughing sinisterly.

 However, while on the surface of the ground this event had taken place, underground and precisely in Lucas' coffin, something was happening.

 The cells supposed to be dead in the corpse had already started to come to life again weeks ago and had all this time been dying and regenerating again and again like when Lucas had his seizures.

 Lucas was totally unaware of all this, in fact, he was never dead but in a horribly deep coma because he had been so close to death. There was a pile of black and very disgusting dirt in the coffin, it was Lucas' dead cells which were accumulating. His hair had grown a lot and so had his nails.

 When the GDA tried to resuscitate him, even after a lot of time and effort they found no vital function because his heart at that time was beating very weakly once every hour and 13 minutes.

 It was weak, so weak that no machine could detect it but now his heart was beating at a rate of 30 beats in an hour, it was still weak but Lucas wasn't dead and his body wasn't stopping. to slowly strengthen due to its cellular activity.