ISSUE #2

" All right boss I'm clocking out!"

Mark yelled as he clocked his time sheet. He removed his uniform and placed it back inside his bag before leaving the fast-food restaurant.

' All right time to start the real training. Gotta know my limits first so, I can start pushing them. Mark could easily throw a what meteorite or was it an asteroid? Either way it's a start.'

Mark thought as he waled down the empty night streets.

" I'll head home first and then sneak out when everyone's sleeping. Then, I can see what I can really do. Let's hope flying isn't as hard as Mark made it out to be at first. Though to be fair the comics didn't show Mark's training only the show did that."

Mark said to himself as he looked down at his feet.

" Let's try to fly now. Maybe we can get a grip of it... You know what maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. Don't want to mess up the city too bad."

Mark replied, having a full-on conversation with himself. Making it seem like he was insane.

Mark continued walking until he reached home.

" Hi mom! I'm home."

Mark called out to his mother as he walked through the door.

" A big welcome home to my favorite son! Now, sit I made chicken and heated up some authentic German bratwurst flown in just for you."

Debbie said to mark as she placed a plate full of food in front of the boy.

Mark leaned up and kissed his mother on her cheek before taking a bite of the bratwurst.

" Thanks mom."

Mark said to the woman as he chewed on his food.

" So, how was your day?"

Debbie asked.

" I had... A pretty interesting day."

Mark was explaining. However, while he was talking his father suddenly rushed into the room. Nolan leaned down and kissed Debbie before taking his seat at the table.

" I'm sorry I was late I swear a dragon was attacking Hong Kong. I stopped it."

Nolan explained to his wife.

" Oo nice, Mark was getting ready to tell us how interesting his day was."

Debbie said as she turned the attention back towards her son.

" I'm finally getting my powers."

Mark said excitedly. Not faking an emotion as he was genuinely excited over the prospect of getting his powers.

" Are you sure?"

Nolan asked awkwardly in a serious tone.

" Pretty sure. I threw a trash bag into space."

Mark replied keeping the same tone from earlier.

His response was met by an awkward silence as Nolan only stared at him. After some time however, Debbie gave Nolan a small kick in the leg to get him to reply.

" Oh, that's great! Son just great! If you're up for it, I can make some time for training tomorrow morning."

Nolan replied to the young man.

" Oh, this is so exciting."

Debbie cheered for her son, as she knew how long he had wanted to get his powers.

" Bright and early tomorrow morning Mark. Make sure you get a good nights sleep."

Nolan explained to the boy.

" Heh! For sure."

Mark exclaimed happily.

Mark quickly ate what remained of his dinner before heading upstairs for bed. Or so his parents thought. Mark however went upstairs and sat on the edge of his window and stared out into the stars.

' I know Nolan is a lying piece of shit right now. But all of these memories. Every birthday, every sport event, every martial arts class, every cookout! I remember all of the time we spent together and even if I hate to admit it I really do love him.'

Mark thought to himself as he remembered all of the time he spent with his new father.

Mark took a deep breath and sighed.

" Guess, now is as good a time as any."

Mark said to himself as he slowly leaned off the edge of his balcony. Mark gave out and let gravity pull him towards the ground trying his best to remain calm as he did so. Mark relaxed his muscles and felt the rush of gravity suddenly give way. He looked down to see his feet dangling off of the ground.

" Haha."

Mark laughed.

* Boom!*

Mark took off into the sky with enough force to crack the ground beneath him. He stopped once he was a few miles in the air and was breathless at the sight before him. He could see over the clouds. Lain bare to him was the beautiful star filled sky.

" Wow! This is amazing."

Mark said to himself as he gazed upon the full moon like a wolf drinking in its rays.

" Okay, flight. Nolan said it's like peeing your pants on purpose. So, I'm guessing he means to just let your body relax. If I remember correctly equilibrium is important."

Mark explained to himself as he floated aimlessly in the sky.

He put his arms forward and willed himself to move. It seemed as if his body understood his desire and acted accordingly, as Mark began slowly moving forward.

" I think this is enough for now. Gotta be able and ready for the real training tomorrow morning. Oh, man I hate the feeling of having your chest caved in by someone bigger than you."

Mark said as he willed his body towards the ground.

Mark, unlike the original, was able to get himself back down to the ground without any problems or crashing, albeit he did so at a much slower pace than the original had tried. Once Mark was back in his room he laid down into his bed and went to sleep.

The next morning Mark was awoken by the alarm he had set on his phone.

" Put some pants on and let's get in the sky my boy!"

Nolan said as he walked into Marks room.

Mark hoped up from his bed and ran to get his clothes on.

" All right, let's go."

Mark said as he ran past his father. The two went outside and quickly ascended beyond the clouds so that no one could see them.

" It's kind of like how you walk and don't think about balancing anymore. But when you were a baby you did. You're a baby flyer right now. You have to focus on staying upright, focus on going the direction you want to go."

Nolan explained to Mark as he circled the boy.

' Okay, I think I got it.'

Mark thought as he tried copying what Nolan was doing. He began moving around, slowly trying to copy Nolan's movements.

" All right, not bad. You're getting the hang of this pretty quickly. Now, follow me."

Nolan said to the boy as he flew higher into the sky.

Mark stuck his arms out and took off to follow his dad.

" You can wear yourself out while flying. Moving fast is like tensing a muscle. You're much better off if you relax that muscle from time to time, use that momentum you've built to carry you forward."

Nolan explained to the boy as he flew alongside him.

Mark looked at his father and stuck his arms out, letting his body go limp again, before gathering his strength and sailing forward.

Nolan looked at the boy strangely before using his own speed to catch up.

" Okay, good job. You're relaxing. That's a good first step."

Nolan praised the boy.

" Yeah, I got it. Just let go."

Mark replied.

" You know, you are far better at flying than you should be. Late night practice?"

Nolan asked as the two continued their flight.

" Yeah."

Mark replied.

" All right, let's see how you land. Over there alright?"

Nolan asked.

" Okay."

Mark replied.

' I got this. This is easier than I thought it'd be.'

Mark thought as he slowly descended towards the ground, managing to bring himself to a stop just before his feet touched the ground.

" Good job!"

Nolan cheered as Mark touched the ground gently.

" Woohoo! I got it!"

Mark yelled in excitement.

" All right let's move onto something else son. Since you've gotten the basics to flying right now, let's move onto some hand-to-hand combat. Let's see if you can put those classes you've been taking to use. Try to hit me."

Nolan said to the young boy.

' All right here we go. Time to see what I can do.'

Mark thought as he braced himself and attacked his father missing again and again.

" Good, you're aiming at where I'm going. But you're still a little slow."

Nolan said to the boy.

" Try agai.. Ugh!"

Nolan grunted as Mark landed a firm punch on his jaw, sending him reeling a little.

" Not bad son! Not bad at all!"

Nolan yelled as he was surprised at the force behind Mark's punch.

" But you have to be able to take a hit as well!"

Nolan declared as he punched Mark square in his chest, knocking the wind from the boy.

Mark landed harshly on the ground and struggled to catch his breath for a few moments.

' Huuuh! I gotta keep it together. Can't show weakness.'

Mark thought as he clutched his chest in pain.

' I need to get stronger, and the only way to do that is to do what my father wants. For me to get up and fight like a man.'

Mark thought as he got to his feet. A look of anger and pain filling his eyes.

" Is that all you got?"

Mark asked his father as he retook his fighting stance.

" That's my boy."

Nolan said before drilling Mark with another powerful blow, this time to his face.

" Argh!"

Mark howled as he was knocked to the ground

* Spewt!

Mark spit up a mouthful of blood as he got to his feet again.

" I can still fight!"

Mark declared boldly.

Nolan looked at Mark with the grin of a warrior on his face before rushing his son again.

" RAAAGH!"

Mark yelled as he sidestepped his, punching him in the face in the process.

" Good! Again!"

Nolan yelled as he quickly recovered. This time pressing Mark harder than before.

What proceeded was a one-sided beatdown that Nolan had unleashed on Mark beating the boy black and blue, even breaking a few of his ribs.

" That's enough for today."

Nolan said as he looked don on his son.

Mark had collapsed to one knee as he struggled to breathe. His arms, legs, and chest full of bruises as Nolan had focused on parts of his body that wouldn't show easily.

' This monster... Even with everything I had I could only touch him a few times. While he beat me viciously.'

Mark thought as his breathing finally settled.

Seeing his son was still having a hard time Nolan walked over to the young man and offered him his hand. Mark looked up at his father and smiled as he took his fathers hand.

" Good job son."

Nolan said as he pulled Mark to his feet.

Mark, however, took the opportunity to catch Nolan off guard. With the remaining strength he could muster, Mark punched Nolan in the face.

" Catching a superior foe off guard to win... Smart!"

Nolan said to his son.

" Now, come on we need to get home before your mother gets upset."

Nolan said.

" And Mark."

Nolan started before being cut off.

" Yeah, I know dad this stays between us."

Mark said as he wiped the blood from his mouth and nose.