Mark and Eve soared in the sky, side by side, Eve's cape and Mark's returned cloack trailing gently in the wind as they returned home to the Invincible Inc. penthouse.
"So," Eve said, glancing at him, "what's the plan now, Emperor?"
Mark let out a breath, chuckling. "Honestly? Not much for now. Most of the Viltrumites are incognito and blending in. I won't need to worry about them for another three months when it's time for check-ins."
"Hmm," Eve said, coasting a little closer. "So no imperial duties or threats for a while?"
"Hopefully," Mark replied. "Until then, I'll focus on helping Amanda recover, help Anissa adapt to Earth, go back to hero patrols, and maybe help rebuild Chicago a bit. You know, the usual."
Eve commented. "That's a lot. But I hope you didn't forget the most important thing."
"What's that?"
"Spending time with your girlfriends." Her tone was playful, but there was a note of sincerity behind it.
Mark grinned and dipped slightly in the air, floating beneath her to steal a quick kiss. "Never forgot. That's always priority number one."
Eve's eyes twinkled mischievously. "And by girlfriends, you mean me and Amber, right? Or… are we counting Anissa now too?"
Mark didn't shy away. "Anissa's made her intentions pretty clear. She wants to be by my side… and honestly? I don't see a future where she's not. So yeah, she counts."
Eve blew a raspberry. "Wow. Another one. You're way too nonchalant about this, you know that? I thought I could get you flustered at the very least."
Mark laughed. "I already know better than to get to arrogant about this subject. I don't want to lose you or Amber. I'm not just collecting dozens of partners. I'm only considering those I can really see a future with."
"Mm-hmm," Eve replied, half-amused. "Just don't go over seven."
"Seven?"
"Seven girlfriends max," she said, completely serious. "And I still expect some one-on-one time."
Mark gave her a faux salute. "Yes, ma'am. I'll make sure each of you gets proper attention."
Eve smirked, then surged forward. "Good. Now let's race home!"
Without waiting, she shot ahead, pink energy flaring around her. Mark grinned, letting her get a head start before following at a casual pace. He could've overtaken her easily, but he didn't. Usually, when they fly together he has a speed limit that's closer to her max speed so she could reach home first. Plus, he liked watching her win sometimes, especially when he's trailing behind her and can use his x-ray and super vision (*Wink wink*).
XXXX
Days passed, at the top floor of Invincible Inc., Mark stood in the medical lab, sleeves rolled up, hands moving with precision as he examined glowing herbs suspended in green fluid.
Amanda floated in a transparent medical pod behind him, her Monster-form still wrapped in the green medical fluid. She hadn't moved in days ever since she entered her coma.
Mark gritted his teeth and turned back to his workstation. The table was covered in materials he had gathered from all over Earth.
Mark sighed, rubbing his temples. "This isn't enough."
His Kryptonian medical knowledge was vast, but limited. It didn't include illnesses and injuries that were magical in nature. His Kryptonian healing magic should've been able to handle this. But, the curse that gave her her powers was magical in origin. And it fought back against his own magic.
He stood there a moment longer, then whispered, "I'm going to go with the idea I had earlier and it'll change you. But I'll make sure you fully recover."
Mark lifted his hand as a green energy surged through it. The air shimmered, twisting space in a tight circle until it opened—a swirling green portal hovering in the air. He hadn't used Angstrom Levy's power much. Not beyond small tests the he did to get used to the ability and the last time he used it was to bring Angstrom to a different dimension.
XXXX
*Flashback before Mark left for space*
Levy blinked, confused and weary. "Where are we?"
The two were currently in a wide grass field, just outside a city.
"Call it Earth-minus," Mark replied. "No aliens, no superpowers, and no magic. You're still you here, but better. You're extremely rich and respected as one of the smartest people on the planet."
Angstrom's brows furrowed. "Why… why did you bring me here?"
Mark said. "It's kinda of a thank you for your powers. Besides, you wanted peace, right? This world is very peaceful."
Levy didn't move having knelt in the grass with a hopeless expression. "I didn't ask you to take my power, Grayson."
"I didn't exactly have a choice," Mark said scratching the back of his head, "look at this."
Mark opened a portal showing a version of their Earth. Canon Angstrom was holding Canon Debbie and Canon Oliver hostage as Canon Invincible struggled, bloodied and exhausted. He then opened another portal where Angstrom was monologuing as evil versions of Invincible slaughtered innocents, the skies full of carnage and collapsing cities.
"You see?" Mark said. "That's where you were heading."
Levy collapsed completely, sobbing into the dirt. "I'm not like them."
"True. You probably would have been different. But, I am a selfish person and your abilities were something I wanted."
"Please… give it back…"
Mark stepped through the portal. It closed behind him, leaving Levy to stare at the sky of his new world, silent, broken, and filled with growing rage.
(*Flashback end)
XXXX
Stepping through the portal, Mark stepped into a quiet hospital room. The woman in the bed was unconscious, her brown hair messy, her breathing was normal. Machines beeped around her in steady rhythm.
The woman in the bed was a lawyer who got shot for exposing a crime boss called Nicholas Trask. She was also the cousin to one of the strongest there is.
This woman was Jennifer Walters, better known in the future as SHE-HULK.
Bruce Banner had already been here. He had done the transfusion and ran away due to incoming authorities.
Mark stood at the foot of her bed, he was currently in awe meeting a big marvel figure. She still looked fragile. But he put that awe to the side.
"I'm sorry for this," Mark said softly, pulling a sterile syringe from his belt. He moved gently, drawing a vial of blood from her arm. She didn't wake.
Mark stepped back just as distant footsteps echoed from the hallway.
Time to go.
He opened another portal, slipping through it. No one even knew he'd been there allowing for events that were supposed to happen to naturally happen.
Now back in his lab, the green portal closed.
Mark held the vial in his gloved hand, staring at it. "Let's see if gamma radiated blood and Kryptonian bio-engineering can save a Monster-girl."
He turned toward Amanda's pod, the faintest smile crossing his lips.
"You're going to be one of the strongest there is."
XXXX
Back at Guardians HQ, inside a dimly lit private chamber sealed from outside interference, Robot activated a dozen floating screens filled with diagnostics and video feeds.
The drone was being guided remotely as usual—every action an extension of the brilliant and now fractured mind of Rudy Connors, safely encased in a nutrient tank elsewhere, far from public sight.
Rudy's mindset was in a down-ward spiral.
Amanda had been injured. Badly. And it hadn't been him who saved her—it had been Invincible.
During the battle with Omnipotus, the drone had made its way toward her unconscious body. It had tried to call out to Invincible, to plead to be taken along. But its voice module had been damaged in the fight, and no words came. Invincible hadn't even acknowledged it. He simply picked Amanda up with his powers and flew off—leaving Robot behind like an obsolete tool.
In the days since, that moment had played over and over again in Rudy's mind on repeat. What might've been sadness and worry festered into frustration, then obsession. Now, through his creation, Rudy had begun to act—not as a scientist, not as a strategist—but as something more dangerous: a genius with a personal vendetta cloaked in irrationality.
While the reanimated Depth Dweller remained locked away in a GDA biocontainment vault under Cecil's orders (especially with the new alliance he had with the Viltrumites), Robot had managed to intercept its audio. The creature's screech—one that had proved oddly effective against both Invincible and Omniman—was digitized and stored.
He didn't need the monster. He had the sound.
A new window opened on one of the computer's terminals, displaying a topographical map with a blinking red dot. It was one of the Viltrumites who had recently gone incognito on Earth, blending in with the population per Emperor Mark's new integration order.
Robot had found him—barely. Even with advanced surveillance, this one had taken time to locate. On-screen, the drone reviewed grainy but stabilizing footage: a man with a thick mustache, flannel shirt, and jeans chopping wood in the middle of a dense winter forest.
To most, it looked like any lumberjack.
But the readers knew better. This man was Thragg.
Robot didn't know his true identity. Not yet. To him, this was simply a test subject—a powerful Viltrumite isolated from others, perfect to attain his blood.
Robot's mechanical eyes narrowed as it saved the footage and quietly began drafting an engagement protocol. Rudy wasn't ready to confront Mark yet. However, since he couldn't get a sample from Mark, this hidden Viltrumite would do.