chapter 16 : It's going to be very painful

"Saeko, can I at least know what this is about?!" Deborah asked following Saeko into Lucas' villa as she went towards Lucas' room upstairs.

 Saeko: I already told you mom, it's something that Lucas onii-san asked me to give you if something bad happened to him.

 Deborah : Saeko!

 "I know, maybe I should have given it to you sooner. It's my fault and things could have been worse. But now it's urgent, the whole world has seen your face in front of Omni-man and knows that you are linked, some will try to make you pay for what he did so more than ever it's the right time to give it to you. » She stated in a serious tone.

 Deborah : But give me what?! What did your brother give you?!

 "Here we are, wait." Saeko said as she reached the bathroom with Debbie and opened Lucas' medicine cabinet where in the back there was a box of pill that she took.

 Deborah : He asked you to give me headache pills?!

 "Here mom, it's the exact same product that gave me my powers, Onii-san wanted to give it to you in person but he couldn't." Saeko said sadly as she gave the capsule to Deborah , it was the only capsule in a box of pills.

 Deborah : This thing gave you your powers and your brother had it?!

 Saeko: When Onii-san saved me, he got the product. I promise to tell you everything but you have to take this first.

 Deborah : Sweetheart, I know you're worried about me but I'm sure everything will be okay and no one will do anything to me. Besides, The GDA is watching over me because Cecil has sworn to cover for me.

 Saeko: It's clearly not enough, at least take it for your personal safety! Please mom, I can see that you've been doing more and more physical exercises since big brother left and it's worse since the big disaster . You want to feel strong and this product will help you become that.

 Deborah :…

 Saeko: I know that deep down you want to remain this beautiful and kind human woman, simple and friendly, but things have changed, mom. If you don't want to take it to protect yourself then do it to protect big brother Mark and me. You are our mother and it may be up to you to save us one day.

 Deborah : Save you?! It can give me power greater than teleportation and the power of Mark or his father? Are you kidding me?

 Saeko: Generally, the abilities are random but the formula had been optimized for very positive results in these capsules. What you can be sure of is that all your human faculties will be multiplied by 10 or less.

 Deborah : Did you say "These capsules"?! Are there others in the box? Why put them in such an easily accessible place?

 Saeko: No, he had others but I don't know where he hid them and he didn't let me know where the others were. Only one was in my possession and that's the one I had to give to you, it was big brother's wish. And for your second question, this is the last place anyone would hide power pills, that's why it's the best hiding place in this house. Take it mom.

 Deborah : (Sighs) Okay, I'll get it later. For now I'm going to rest in my room sweetie (walks).

 Saeko: Mom?

 Deborah : Yes my angel?

 Saeko: I know it's because of the heavy media surveillance that you're no longer at home, but I'm really happy that you're here with me.

 Deborah : That makes me feel good too sweetie, you and Amber are real angels. By the way, what time does she have to come home?!

 Saeko: I don't really know, she's working with Eve and her friends for their exam.

 Deborah : One day it's going to be your turn, girl.

 Saeko: No need, when I told you that the product multiplied human abilities, that also applied to intelligence. I have an IQ of 300 according to Art and the scientists who trained me. I know more than a student should know and right now, Art has even agreed to let me work at his place to learn new things. Did you know that he was a genius in quantum physics and other fields but also in chemistry?! I like learning from him, in a few months I might catch up with him but it's not a given.

 Deborah :...an IQ of 300...catching up with an advanced genius in physics ?! I'm proud of you but I'm starting to have a bit of a headache. See you later sweetheart (she walks while massaging her temple).

 Saeko:…

 A few months passed and not much happened, at least nothing remarkable. Mark passed all his exams like his friends or those who wanted to stay that way.

 The media and civilians had filmed the images of Deborah and Nolan's confrontation as well as the statements made.

Several people did research on the woman so despite Cecil's attempts, the identities of Deborah and Mark were exposed to the entire world in this reality (social media are terrifying).

 Even though many people tried to defend them because they had taken on Omni-man for them and the whole world, the vast majority wanted to see them suffer and pay for what Omni-man did, the blood of too many innocents had sunk.

 As a result, several personalities requested the dismissal of Mark Grayson from the high school but Principal Winslow who knew the young man well refused his dismissal, he had the guarantee from his superiors that this will be his last year at the head of the high school.

 Deborah had lost her job for a while but that was nothing because secretly, she had the support of a great personality, the first lady of the United States of America who admired her greatly.

 Like others, she had realized that Debbie had lived under her husband's lies and that when the time came, she and her son stood without any fear in the face of this monster.

 Each time, Deborah received a government grant of $100,000 secretly through Cecil for being a major part of saving the world's freedom and the price was modest because Debbie had reduced it.

 At first, she didn't want the money but they insisted and she finally agreed, thinking of her children who she wanted to take care of.

 The presidential couple sincerely wanted to show their support for the woman but they were political figures and politics taught them to cajole the people according to their demands if they wanted to have their votes so publicly, they showed their hostility towards Omni -man disappeared and his family but it was the opposite in secret.

 As for Invincible, his return after the disaster was very poorly received as expected but he didn't care even if on the one hand he understood these people.

 Too many people died while his father used his body to destroy what he wanted including schools, nursing homes and hospitals.

 Nolan had been very cruel at the time and of the thousands of innocent people killed, there were too many children, far too many and thinking of the families of the victims, Mark could only have his heart touching and he- even still had nightmares at night as flashes came back to him of the different scenes of the massacre.

 Some heroes had shown their support for Invincible, others were neutral but many were wary and even hostile.

 They were superheroes, public figures, and they had to maintain their popularity.

 Finally, after obtaining his diploma, Mark still living in the family home with Eve who took full responsibility for his support, immersed himself in constant training, he learned some fighting styles to become more complete and could now lift with difficulty a weight of 1037 tonnes at the GDA.

 Slight tensions had been created between him and Cecil due to Sinclair now working for the agency but after a few months everything was fine between them and there was no drama as it was Sinclair who managed to return his mobility for William thanks to a bionic spinal prosthesis.

 Unlike the original comic, Mark questioned himself a lot and was calmer, looking at the bigger picture before acting.

 With Sinclair, he got the good out of it all and the Cyborgs were even sometimes used to become training partners for him even though he was crushing them with terrible ease already.

Cecil had asked Sinclair to instill an advanced combat program in them but it was insufficient against Mark, who was much faster, more powerful and who was constantly evolving or surpassing himself.

 Mark was lying on the bed with Eve dozing in his arms when he received a signal from Cecil.

 [Kid, we need you in Midnight City, there are people there who kill criminals and even civilians indirectly. The group in question is apparently called FEAR, graffiti of the name has been seen everywhere at the sites of their operations.]

 "FEAR ?! Civilians killed?! Are these people using my brother's nickname to do anything?!" Mark sat up immediately, frowning.

 Cecil: [This group is not an isolated case, there are others in certain cities but they all claim to be bearers of the will of FEAR, criticize corrupt states and the injustices they want to punish in a bloody mess. Your brother killed but not all the time and he didn't kill more than necessary, only those directly responsible but these guys kill whoever they want.]

 Mark: Does Blink know?!

 Cecil: [Yes a small group had started to form in Arlington but before the information even reached us, she had killed them all without exception. It was extreme and we have no way of controlling the kid, go deal with it before she does.]

 Mark: Who said I'll be less expeditious than my sister ?!

 Cecil: [You're not your little brother, you're…]

 ("INVINCIBLE" Title of the series on a blue background, blood stain and other splash sound effects, lol.)

 Invincible traveled to Midnight City, a city cursed by a wizard where now it was permanently dark.

 He flew over the city inspecting it and looking for clues to the group's presence sometimes under the contemptuous looks of the crowds or their insults but he ignored them.

 A commotion broke out from far away as the crowd started screaming, Mark flew towards the location to see a frightened crowd as several individuals lay dead on the ground with guns near them.

 They had lacerations on some, burns on others and some were completely dismembered with their limbs literally torn from their bodies.

 "What are these sick people?!" Mark couldn't hold back his shock before staring at one of the nearby walls that had "FEAR" graffitied on it with a red human skull which was Lucas' symbol.

 He further inspected the surroundings to discover a slightly open manhole not far from the scene of the massacre and hearing the police sirens coming in the distance, Mark entered the city sewers where right below he was able to observe slight drops and stains of blood.

 Obviously thinking that it was the culprit of the massacre above who had left these traces, Mark began to follow them until he saw 4 shadows flying in the distance and in no time, Invincible caught up suspect them.

 "Stop here or I'll stop you myself." he said coldly blocking their way with his super speed.

 ???? :INVINCIBLE?! Why the Destroyer's Child is here ?! You have no business here, murderer.

 "He looks even younger than I thought, I love the new costume." a second shadow added with a female figure and the other two people remained silent, one of the last two figures was a little over two meters tall and the other was nothing special.

 Mark: Before I hand you over to justice, I would like to know why you used my brother's alias for your criminal activities?

 " Brother ?!" 

 "Did he just say Brother?!" 

 The girl: Are you our guide's brother ?! You lie Invincible!!

 Mark: Answer the question before I lose my patience.

 One of them walked up and it was a tan skinned guy wearing a certain suit with a red skull on it and Mark after a while recognized him. He was Night Boy, the deceased Darkwing's assistant who could move through shadows.

 Nightboy: FEAR showed us the way to a pure society, free of corruption and injustice. Without even knowing it, several people had become fans and followers of his methods, including me. After Darkwing's death, the crime rate increased drastically in the city and the corrupt police did nothing. So, we tried the FEAR method and you know what? It works wonderfully.

 Invincible: My brother had his methods but he never touched a life that had no direct link to all that. I saw the photos, you kill prostitutes and even drug users who have done nothing wrong, not to mention the mortally wounded who were exposed to your fights against certain enemies.

 Nightboy: Without drug addicts, there are no drugs to buy and prostitutes help the gangs in their territories. For other people, they were just collateral victims, no revolution takes place without sacrifice and soon, this city will be cleansed of all its criminals.

 " Yes and then ? In another reality perhaps I would have arrested you simply for killing people, criminals or not, but I saw my brother come home after each of his patrols to go vomit and cry in the bathroom after killing people.

 Sometimes he said he had nightmares reliving the scenes where he killed these criminals. Still, he felt almost nothing at the time of killing them. 

 He did not forget that he took lives of complete strangers even if they were bad, he never regretted killing criminals but what he regretted was shedding blood to achieve real results unlike us heroes who play the same games over and over again with villains who always end up escaping from prison.

 That you decided to kill is one thing but to say that you understood my brother and carry his will while you kill innocent people without batting an eye is something I cannot let go. » Mark declared as he got closer.

 Mark: Now your little game is over and I'm going to have you locked up. Resist and I will hurt you, resist too much and I will kill you all.

 Nightboy: You can't stop us Invinci-*Kurgh*

 Before he finished his sentence, Mark, at a speed too fast for him, knocked him out with a single slap that sent him flying, breaking his jaw and even cracking his skull with a ridiculously small amount of force. .

 This guy was just a normal guy who could slip through the shadows, his speed didn't allow him to keep up with that of Mark who had decided for a while to stop holding back too much against criminals.

 " Shit !" the girl grabbed a coin from her pocket then her whole body was covered in metal upon contact with the coin and she transformed both of her hands into sharp blades.

 Its ability was similar to that of Titan except that it was not limited to rock but could copy the physical properties of the matter it touched.

 The tall boy bit his hand and strong muscles covered his body. As for the last one, two horns grew from its forehead and its body was covered in red scales while flames came out of its mouth.

 Mark: It's going to be painful, it's going to be very painful

 The metallic girl and the muscular guy attacked first while Mark disappeared from there, they moved at a speed that neither of them could follow to neutralize them quickly because he had no more time to lose with them.

 In less than a second, he horribly broke the muscular man's four limbs and gave a violent blow with his knees to the girl's lower abdomen, whose metal layer now had a huge cracked hollow.

 It was fast, too fast, a Viltrumite's speed was literally impossible for them to keep up with and they had no chance against him on top of his overwhelming strength.

 The last one didn't understand anything about the scene, his friends rushed towards Invincible but they collapsed on the ground the next second.

He felt a presence behind him and when he turned around, Invincible was there looking at him coldly.

 By reflex, he immediately stepped back to try to breathe fire at Invincible but as the flames were about to come out of his throat, Mark's hand grabbed his throat and the man suffocated as the fire compressed into his neck was starting to burn from the inside.

 When Invincible withdrew his hand, the flames came out in a burning mess and even the Spitter's mouth was tormented by excruciating pain before he lost consciousness from a slap from Mark.

 Mark looked at the group without emotion before calling Cecil who sent agents to collect them and lock them up but when the agents arrived, they were shocked by the scene and especially by the state of the team, all of whom the members were violently injured.

 Of course, Mark was no longer there but they wondered what he could have done to them to put them in this state. It was not the first time that they found this kind of scene after the passage of invincible since the catastrophe, something had changed in him.

 Mark had changed and decided that criminals should be treated as they deserved and that like his brother, he was going to instill fear in them but not by killing unlike him, only by being very brutal.