Chapter 10 : Burial

** Before starting to read this part of the chapter, I advise you to put on the music [The parting Glass - Cara Dillon] or [Killing me softly with this song - Lori Lieberman] to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the chapter or a other music that you consider sad but I recommend the proposed titles! Of course, that's if you want it 🤷🏾‍♂️! Happy reading guys!**

 A little more than a week after his death, Lucas's loved ones gathered at the town cemetery to bury him and say their goodbyes.

 It was a Thursday and it wasn't raining (gotta stop the clichés) but the sky was quite overcast, slightly dark and accompanied the depressed mood of the event participants.

 Several high school students were there, William and Eve were alongside Mark, Amber and her mother arrived with little Sally whose operation Lucas had financed and her parents.

The kid was intelligent enough to understand the principle of life and death so when Amber announced Lucas' death to her parents with her, she was overcome with immense sadness and so were her parents.

 Titan, the father of the little girl who after the disappearance of Machine Head became the boss of Crime in the city didn't know that Lucas was Fear, He was no longer there When Lucas Fought Battle Beast .

 He looked at the coffin of the generous boy who saved his daughter's life when he couldn't afford it and thanked him from the depths of his heart with great regret.

 "Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, I would like to express my regrets and sincere condolences for the loss of your son. Lucas was a brilliant student, the best even in our high school and although distant, he was very helpful and appreciated by many without him even knowing it I think.

 He was a very special boy, his passing is a real tragedy. » Principal Winslow came to express his regrets to Debbie and Nolan who shook his hand and thanked him for his presence, they did not know that Lucas was so noticed and sociable.

 "Debbie, Nolan, I don't know what to tell you. I'm sorry, I'm sincerely sorry about the kid." Art, who was a friend of the family, also came to offer his condolences before each hugging the friendly couple.

 Cecil looked at Lucas' coffin and sighed, in the short time Lucas spent working with him he had been terribly efficient even though he was impossible to control and killed the vast majority of its targets. 

 Nolan came to give a speech in tribute to his dead son but he didn't have much to say convincingly because his relationship with Lucas had no depth except to express his regrets. Then came Debbie's turn, who gathered her strength to speak in front of her child's coffin.

 "When Lucas was born, things were complicated because he came into this world extremely weak. He was sickly, very pale and not breathing, the whole delivery room was alarmed and my mind was prey to nameless despair.

 However, Lucas fought at that time to exist and to live where some thought it was better that he not do so.

 His childhood was not easy, he was sick all the time, unable to enjoy his youth like other children, he was lonely with a difficult smile but the little comfort he had, he came to get it from me , when he fell off the bike and scraped his knee, it was his mother who he came to relieve his pain. All the times when he was the subject of mockery from the other children, it was at my house that he came to seek consolation.

 (Caress the coffin) I still remember the immense stress that inhabited my being and the worries that haunted my thoughts when at his bedside I kept watch every time he had a seizure.

Lucas since his birth never stopped fighting against the illness, he complained all the time about the pain that inhabited him but did his best over time to stop complaining about it and smile at me to prevent me from remaining worried all the time. Even with this suffering, he was already watching over me (crying).

 I have seen my child grow up to be an extraordinary, beautiful, kind, caring, intelligent and very loving young man.

 He had a rare smile but the little joy he showed was with his mother as usual and a few rare people. My son once saved my life from a driver in a truck but I wasn't there for him when he took his last breath, I was not there like the other times at his bedside when my son left this world (cries)

 My son loved me...he...he was my little angel...my Lucas...it's not a mother's role to bury her child...no...I want to see my child smile again..." Deborah didn't could stop herself from breaking down in tears, Nolan tried to support her and take her in his arms while the rest of the audience couldn't contain their sadness.

 Some cried, others had their heads bowed. Saeko also came to comfort Debra because she also needed it and it was around Mark to talk.

 "I had an exceptional little brother, more mature than me, more intelligent and smarter. Lucas, despite everything he had been through since his childhood, was not someone who was afraid of difficulties and despite his qualities had not shown an ounce of arrogance.

 I haven't always been a good big brother to him and when we are children, we can say mean things to others, regrettable things, things that I regret now more than ever but even when I was mean with him, he never held a grudge against me for long and never said anything to our parents.

 He was my little brother but I felt like I was his younger brother, it's even thanks to him that my girlfriend and I are dating (try to laugh), I would have liked to share more moments with him and make up for the distance that I sometimes put between him and me when we were children but... an accident prevented me forever from doing that.

 All I would have wanted for him now is to see him smile more often and make him proud of his big brother and I swear to do everything in my power to become better for my brother and his memory. I love you Lucas, I love you little brother and I will never forget you. » Mark finished as his mother hugged him.

 It was time to put the coffin underground and it was while watching the process that many REALLY realized that the one they had known is truly dead, that he is now underground for good and that they will never see him again. Debbie couldn't help but burst into tears again along with Amber, Saeko and even Eve.

 People expressed their regrets to the family before they all went home and as everyone left, a person appeared out of nowhere.

 In fact, it was not a person but a demon, Damien Darkblood. He stared at Lucas' grave for several minutes without saying anything before suddenly frowning slightly, then smiling slightly and disappearing.

 He was a demon, he could see or sense souls but strangely he felt a very faint trace of Lucas' soul in his body underground. Figuring that perhaps it was a residue or faint imprint of the boy's soul, he left after taking one last look.

 **It's okay, stop the fucking music! **

 A few days later, rumors that FEAR was dead began to circulate throughout the world of Crime and elsewhere.

 This rumor was the work of a titan who wanted to manage the crime of the entire city but for that it was necessary that the gangs who were afraid of the bloodthirsty vigilante could resume activities.

 The news spread like wildfire and even the news covered it. Although the body was nowhere to be found and the only confirmation that could be made was the total absence of the vigilante who had been active every day since his appearance several months ago, things were very eventful.

 Many did not immediately believe the news and it was only two weeks later without any news from the character that this affair became credible.

 More than three weeks after Lucas' death, his family tried to get their lives back on track. Deborah had taken on a tutor for Saeko while waiting to enroll her for the next school year and for her part, she had started small physical activities to take her mind off things, jogging, fitness and other small physical activities to work out (In the comic book, she sinks into a certain alcoholism because of her depression due to Nolan's departure and what he said or did before his departure but in this reality, she focused on the physical exercises that her deceased son did .)

 Amber and Debbie sometimes went to Lucas's house to talk about him or spend time talking there to support each other emotionally over tea.

 The strangest thing was that just like Deborah , Amber had also started practicing physical activities and sports, she even enrolled in an evening self-defense program.

 This girl had fallen desperately in love with Lucas and his disappearance hurt her but she also started to feel less and less safe after his death so she wanted to learn how to defend herself.

 Under William's initiative to change Mark's ideas and give him back a certain taste for life, he and Eve had invited him to visit Upstate University where Rick, an acquaintance of William's, would welcome them to spend the year there. night and discover university life.

 He agreed to the outing with Debbie's permission, who thought it might be a good thing for him.

 Nolan for his part was a little hesitant to accept because his last few weeks, he had the impression of being on cloud nine with Mark who was training much more seriously with him and who in such a short time had nevertheless improved and he didn't want to break this rhythm.

 This was one of the benefits of Lucas' death for the viltrumite which saw his eldest son harden and put more will into his training as what he always wanted for his legitimate son.

 (N/A: Do you think Nolan's behavior is abusive?! What I write is nothing lol! I would like to remind those who have read the comics "INVINCIBLE" that Nolan did not realize the importance from his family until later after being exiled from Earth and only realized his attachment to Deborah in the Viltrumite prison. This guy was totally heartless like any native of Viltrum at that time and children, he could tell do others elsewhere as he had cruelly told Mark so for the moment, Lucas dead or alive was nothing to him.)

 Mark and Eve left in William's car at the wheel and went to the university under the hype of William who kept talking about Rick, his friend or rather his lover.

 They arrived at the start of the day and Rick greeted them warmly and then the introductions were made. He and Mark grabbed their bags as he guided them to where they were going to stay as they admired the campus.

 Once settled, Rick who was to have a class invited them to attend the conference with him and wanting to know what university courses were like, they accepted out of curiosity.

 They sat in the amphitheater where the conference on the biology and functioning of human metabolism began.

 The professor was explaining when a very particular student entered the room, it was Sinclair, a true scientific genius with a passion for robotics who tried to taunt the professor and told him that this lesson was a waste of time because the humans had to make room for the machine to improve and overcome their weaknesses.

 He continued to disrupt the session until Rick intervened and asked him to stop what he was doing but Sinclair also taunted him, seeing him as nothing more than an excellent test subject because secretly he kidnapped several students from campus with good masculine builds to turn them into powerful cyborgs.

 The argument continued and William got involved but Sinclair didn't stop his act and it started to annoy Mark who was trying to have a good day.

 Mark: Dude, I strongly advise you to shut up and leave this class quietly if it's useless to you. You piss off the teacher and the whole room, you disturb everyone so leave if you don't like what is being learned here.

 Sinclair: Oh-oooh I see we have a second alpha male here besides dear Rick! I can know who you-(interrupted)

 Mark: No, I'm not going to play this with you and you're going to stop trying to have fun here, not with me. I advise you to just get out otherwise it will end very badly for you.

 Mark looked calmly into Sinclair's eyes and the latter sensed a certain dangerousness in Mark's gaze, it was a calm gaze but one which hid terrible violence.

 He sniffed before grabbing his things and leaving the room.

 "Thank you young man." the teacher said to Mark who nodded as he sat down.

 "Mark are you okay?!" Eve placed her hand on his shoulder. 

 Mark: Yes, I'm fine, it's just that the guy was an asshole.

 They finished the class and later, Mark and Eve took a romantic tour of the campus, saw and enjoyed the stalls there.

 Eve managed to give Mark a good time and they ended up sitting on a bench in the shade of a tree enjoying a hot dog in front of a very beautiful fountain with Eve in his arms.

 Mark: I love you, thank you for what you do.

 Eve: I love you too.

 They kissed passionately under the gaze of some students who found it cute but not surprising because it was common on campus.

 While they were having a good time, an explosion raged and panicked screams took the couple out of their comfort zone and they immediately went to the big square to see a cyborg with the top of his face covered made of metal with a large red light in the middle which certainly served as an eye, it was one of Sinclair's reanimen, his cyborgs with superhuman strength.

 The cyborg who seemed strangely in conflict with himself began to attack the students including William who was not far from him but before he could harm him, he was sent flying by a punch from Mark already changed to Invincible .

 "Are you okay sir ? Go take cover, I'm going to take care of this awful robot thing" Invincible said looking at William who immediately recognized him from the sound of his voice, it was in fact the first time he saw the superheroes up close.

 William: Oh my God !! Mark ?! Invincible is actually you?!

 Mark: Damn, William will quickly take you to safety.

 "Yes yes, it's okay but we'll talk about it later. Damn, I don't believe it !! " he said as he left. But as Mark looked at him shaking his head feeling the headache of explaining to his best friend, he was alerted.

 "INVINCIBLE, BE CAREFUL!" Atom Eve shouted at him as she raised a pink transparent barrier near Mark as the cyborg's punch came crashing into it, causing multiple cracks.

 "Thank you Eve." he said before the wall collapsed and He immediately sent an uppercut to the cyborg who found himself tens of meters above the ground, Mark flew towards him and started beating him in the air because the cyborg, although strong and resistant, could not fly and therefore dodge nothing in the void.

 Mark continued to punch him until the cyborg grabbed one of his punches and threw a punch at him which Mark dodged with a little difficulty before giving him a kick with his feet which violently sent the cyborg back to the ground. (In the animated series canon, the cyborg had caused Mark problems in combat but in this reality, he had started training very seriously with Nolan and was really starting to do better in combat)

 Mark still in emptiness watched as the ground cyborg emerged with visible damage on him from the hole in the ground ten feet from a spiked monument on campus.

 The cyborg seemed really disturbed and conflicted so in a move misunderstood by the two heroes present, he ran towards the monument and impaled himself on the large metal spike on it to die as if that was his goal from the start.

 Mark: What the hell was that?!

 He and Eve immediately left the place to change and join William with whom they had an explanation session and the latter who saw Atom Eve present immediately established a link with Eve and it was really more obvious than for Invincible because unlike Mark, she did not wear any mask.

 Far from it, Deborah , who had once been approached by Darkblood a long time ago about the death of the guardians of the globe and the link with Nolan, seriously began to investigate her husband a few days ago, seeing his nonchalant attitude since the death of Lucas.

 She was now at Art's house with the outfit Nolan wore the day the guards were murdered and he was injured.

 The clothes still had the blood stains from the accident site and had Art analyze them for DNA and analyze the damage on the uniform.

 Nolan knew nothing of his wife's maneuver, he practiced his superhero activity with a new uniform identical to the old one made by Art and believed he had hidden the old outfit well in the house.

He didn't want to throw it anywhere else because he knew full well that Cecil had eyes literally everywhere on earth and didn't want him to take possession of it. He could have simply thrown her into space but hadn't thought about it because of recent events and wouldn't have suspected before that his wife was investigating him.

 Very quickly, in a few hours, Art, who was a true scientific genius, isolated the DNA prints on the costume and the blood was definitely that of the guardians of the globe.

 Additionally, he came to deduce that Nolan attacked first and most of the damage inflicted on him was done by his own fists (They clearly weakened him in the series as he easily kills them in the comic book so let's say I did a mix of the two. He inflicted damage on himself to make his attack more believable).

 Debra had confirmation that as Darkblood suspected, Nolan had murdered the guardians of the globe on his own initiative.