The roar of the Kaiju split through the air like an ear-piercing shockwave, rattling windows and sending civilians screaming in every direction. The massive insect-like monster, standing as tall as a skyscraper, flapped its six beetle-like wings, creating powerful gusts of wind that knocked over vehicles and shattered nearby structures. A single breath of its acidic exhalation melted an entire block of buildings, leaving nothing but sizzling debris and pools of bubbling liquid.
As Mark and Eve approached, flying above the city, Mark's super-vision took in the devastation with efficiency.
'The acid isn't just melting things—it's spreading like wildfire. If I don't get these people out of here, they'll be dissolved before they can run.' Mark thought.
Eve, on the other hand, examined the beast itself, analyzing its anatomy.
'The wings give it mobility. The exoskeleton looks pretty durable. That stinger? It's going to be a problem.' She thought.
Her hands curled into fists as her fluid fabric suit tightened around her form, preparing for battle.
"We're doing this fast and efficient," Mark said, eyes darting across the city. "I'll handle the civilians—you take care of the bug."
Eve grinned, flexing her fingers as her suit's molecular weave shifted. "Perfect. Let's test this thing out."
With a thought, she activated her suit's combat mode. 'Offense Mode!' she commanded.
Her suit morphed seamlessly—her sleeves extended into energy blasters, while a jetpack and leg boosters activated, boosting her mobility. Her shorts extended into armored pants, increasing protection.
Mark nodded, already shooting off at hypersonic speed, appearing everywhere at once as he rescued civilians in the blink of an eye.
Buildings collapsed where people once stood—only to be caught in Mark's arms and moved to safety before they even realized what was happening.
Meanwhile, Eve shot forward, firing her blasters at pinpoint accuracy, sending concentrated beams of energy through the Kaiju's wings.
ZSHHHH!
The blasts cut through the monster's flesh like butter, leaving behind massive cauterized holes in its exoskeleton. The Kaiju screeched in agony, its wings flapping wildly to keep itself airborne despite the damage. Eve's eyes widened slightly.
'Holy crap. These blasts are even stronger than I thought!' Eve exclaimed in her mind.
However, the Kaiju wasn't done. It let out another deafening roar before turning its gaze toward Eve.
She reacted just in time as its tail curled forward, launching massive, spear-sized stingers directly at her.
Wanting to try out the other modes in her suit. Eve mentally called out, 'Defense Mode!'
Her suit morphed instantly—the jetpack and boosters remained, but her armor thickened, a helmet formed over her head, and her arms reshaped into two halves of a massive shield.
She crossed them together—creating a square-like metal shield, and then an additional hard-light dome formed around her as a second layer of protection.
The stingers hit the shield and instantly dissolved upon contact.
Eve's eyes widened as she took in the efficiency of the system. 'Mark, what kind of genius are you?! These are better than my own shields!'
Down below, Mark finished evacuating the last of the civilians and turned to see Eve's barrier holding strong. He smirked.
'Looks like the Kryptonian defense barriers work just as well as I hoped. Only downside—too much solar energy consumption'.
But it didn't matter. Eve wouldn't need to hold it for long.
With a thought, she switched back to Offense Mode, her right arm reshaping into a sonic cannon.
"Take this!"
She fired, and a blast of sonic waves struck the Kaiju, stunning it in place.
Eve didn't hesitate—her arms shifted into massive plasma swords, and she sliced through the Kaiju's wings, cutting them off in one swift motion.
The beast fell, crashing through buildings below, but its defiance burned hotter than ever.
With a sudden movement, it curled into a ball, using its hard exoskeleton as a defensive shell—and rolled toward the city.
Mark saw it immediately. Nope.
With a boom, he blasted forward, landing directly in front of the Kaiju's rolling form, catching it mid-roll.
The sheer force would have sent any other hero aside from him and his father flying—but he didn't budge. Instead, Mark lifted the Kaiju into the air like it weighed nothing, his muscles barely even flexing from the effort before throwing it high into the air.
"Eve! Finish it!"
Eve morphed her entire suit into a massive energy cannon, glowing with blinding solar energy as she unleashed a concentrated blast.
BOOOOOOOM!
The Kaiju was vaporized, leaving nothing behind but a cloud of dissipating energy.
Eve stared at her hands in shock. "Damn. That was… ridiculous."
She flew down toward Mark, her suit returning to its normal state.
"Mark, this suit is INSANE!" she exclaimed, excitement shining in her eyes. "It's so fast! So powerful! And it lets me switch combat styles instantly!"
Mark smirked, arms crossed. "I'm glad it works so well."
Before they could continue, a voice called out.
"Wowwww, way to make a group of heroes feel inadequate."
Turning, they saw the Guardians of the Globe approaching.
Robot, Monster Girl, Dupli-Kate, Black Samson, and Rex-Splode stood in formation.
Eve's mood soured instantly at the sight of Rex and Kate, blatantly stepping closer to Mark.
Mark greeted them casually. "What brings you guys here?"
Robot responded. "We were dispatched to handle the threat, but it appears you and Atom Eve neutralized it before we arrived."
Rex, looking awkward, eyed Eve's suit. "So uh… what's up with the new outfit?"
Eve didn't even look at him. "Just something thoughtful that Mark got me."
Silence.
Mark internally sighed as the awkward tension grew.
Thankfully, Amanda (Monster Girl) broke the ice—she wrapped Mark in a tight hug.
"Hey, Mark!" she said brightly.
Mark groaned, covering his face. "Why do I even bother with a secret identity anymore?"
Eve, however, glared at Amanda, confused and slightly irritated. "Who… is this?"
Mark exhaled. "I guess you didn't notice since she looks different. But, this is Monster Girl."
Amanda transformed briefly, but instead of her usual hulking form, her monster form looked smaller and scrawnier than before.
Mark blinked. "Damn… I didn't account for your monster form getting weaker the older you got."
Amanda nodded. "Yeah, that's something I wanted to talk to you about."
Eve, still confused, asked, "Wait—what's going on?"
Mark explained, "I've been working on a cure for Amanda's condition. Every time she transforms, she gets younger. I managed to reverse her aging and restore her correct age. Now, I'm working on a way to permanently fix the curse."
Nearby, Robot clenched his fists silently.
Mark added, "I just got my hands on a rare material that should help with getting her to not lose age as she transforms."
Amanda hugged Mark again, this time causing jealousy to flare up—not just from Robot, but from Eve and even Rex.
Rex had tried hitting on Monster-girl seeing her as a total babe now that she was in her adult form. However, all that did was earn him a punch to the face sending his body flailing from her monster form.
That was another reason Robot decided against taking Rex's blood and was more interested in acquiring Mark's.
Then, unexpectedly, Black Samson stepped forward.
He looked directly at Mark. "You fixed Monster Girl's condition. I was wondering if you could fix mine?"
Mark hesitated, surprised by the request. "I can try. I'll stop by Guardians HQ soon and run some scans."
Black Samson nodded, trying to keep his hopes in check—but deep down, a flicker of excitement grew.
Then, Eve cut in, stepping between Mark and Amanda, grabbing Mark's arm possessively.
"Mark, let's get back to OUR lair."
Rex, visibly jealous, asked, "Eve—can we talk?"
Eve cut him off immediately. "There's nothing to say."
And with that, she flew off, pulling Mark with her.
Mark glanced back at Amanda and smiled. "I'll have good news for you soon."
Amanda waved back with a goofy sweet smile, but Robot, watching from the shadows, burned with frustration.
His mind raced. He needed Mark's DNA.
But every attempt to extract it had failed.
His nanobots couldn't cut through Mark's hair. They couldn't pierce his skin. And skin cells wouldn't be enough.
Robot's opticals narrowed. 'I need to find a way to get his DNA'.
Because if he wanted Amanda…
'He needed to be just like Mark'.
XXXX
The battle was over. The city was safe. Eve had been placated with ice cream.
Mark flew through the sky, making his way home.
Eve's suit had worked exceptionally well. More than he had expected. The adaptive transformation system, the hard-light shielding—all of it functioned seamlessly. And her enthusiasm was contagious. She was beyond excited about its capabilities.
As he descended toward his house, he was ready for a quiet night, but the moment he landed on the front doorstep and opened the door—
—he instantly regretted coming home.
Mark's superhuman senses picked up everything immediately.
The faint scent of sweat and pheromones still lingered in the air. The way the couch cushions looked a little too fluffed up. The floor had been wiped down hastily. The subtle but distinct rush of wind from a super-speed cleaning job.
Mark's brain shut down as he stared at his now very suspiciously casual parents, sitting together on the couch like a couple of teenagers caught breaking curfew.
Nolan, looking far too composed, leaned back, arms spread across the couch. Debbie, sitting next to him, pretended to be reading a magazine, flipping a page way too quickly.
For a few long, excruciating seconds, there was silence.
Mark's face remained blank as he just stared at them.
Finally, in the flattest, most deadpan voice possible, he spoke.
"I'm moving out."
Without waiting for a response, he turned around and walked straight to his room.
As he disappeared down the hall, Debbie whispered to Nolan, "Do you think he noticed?"
Nolan, crossing his arms, smirked confidently. "I don't think so."
Both of them sat completely oblivious to the fact that Mark absolutely noticed.
XXXX
Mark entered his room, rubbing his face in exasperation.
"I did not need to know that."
Shaking his head, he turned his focus toward something more important—moving out.
'It's about time I left anyway'.
He had already built up his company, established a secure lab, and developed a private place for research and training. There was no reason for him to stay at his parent's house anymore.
But before finishing his move, there was something else he needed to check on.
Standing in the middle of his room, with the wave of his hand he opened a portal. The fabric of reality warped, revealing a shimmering gateway leading to his private domain—
His Dimension of Solitude.
Stepping through, Mark entered his hidden laboratory, a massive space filled with cutting-edge technology, ancient Flaxan artifacts, and genetic research.
The first thing he saw was The Immortal's body.
Lying on a metal examination table, the head and body were separated, but both were preserved perfectly. The Immortal's unique regenerative properties had kept the body from decaying, even in its dormant state.
Nearby, on another table, was a prototype wrist device the one he showed Omniman during their fight—a blue and yellow watch with an hourglass symbol.
Mark picked it up.
The concept came from the comics, where Rudy (Robot) had built a similar device for Amanda to prevent her from de-aging when she transformed.
He had spent countless hours studying the temporal mechanics of the Flaxan Dimension and Monster-Girl's blood, analyzing the discrepancies between time flow on different planes of existence and the temporal discrepancies between the blood of her human form and her monster form. By manipulating those principles, he was close to developing a way to halt her biological de-aging.
Mark began to work on the device and after spending two entire days in the Flaxan Dimension, working tirelessly without needing to eat or sleep, he had successfully stabilized the device.
"This should work for Amanda." Mark stated. His device now fully capable of halting her de-aging process but allowing her to grow.
Mark's eyes then drifted back to The Immortal's body.
He had been contemplating what to do with it.
The Immortal's genetic structure held the key to biological immortality. If Mark could isolate the correct sequences, he could potentially grant true immortality to others.
But…
The ethical dilemma loomed over him.
'Immortality isn't a gift. It's a curse'.
The future version of The Immortal had become unstable, his human mind broken from centuries of loss and war.
If those he loved and trusted wished for longer lifespans, he would've used the watch he made for Amanda, instead, modifying it to prevent aging rather than preventing de-aging.
However, for a regular human, the burden of eternal life could be psychologically devastating.
Mark sighed. He made his decision.
"I won't grant humans immortality."
Instead, he would use his other solutions.
He had long ago planned to give the modified watch to his mom for his father.
However, he now thinks he could imbue people with Kryptonian genetics using the Codex within his soul.
The Codex contained the genetic templates of all Kryptonian bloodlines throughout history. With it, Mark could theoretically transform other beings into Kryptonians themselves, granting them long lives, enhanced abilities, and even resistance to the mental strain of immortality.
Mark thinks this would be a better choice for his mom as being ageless could still mean you die and her mental facilities would be better off with an enhanced Kryptonian brain which could handle having a long life span.
And with yellow-sun fueled Kryptonian bodies they would be able to handle immortality.
But it would always be a choice.
And he needed to ensure there was a way to undo it if someone ever wished to return to normal.
'That's a task for the future'. Mark thought.
Now that he completed Amanda's watch, he could focus on moving out.
XXXX
Using superspeed, Mark began packing up his belongings, transferring them one by one to his private quarters within his company's headquarters.
Within minutes, the room was completely empty.
Carrying one last box, Mark walked downstairs, where Debbie and Nolan were waiting.
Debbie's eyes softened as she saw the boxes.
"…Mark, you don't have to go."
Nolan, meanwhile, looked suspiciously pleased.
Mark raised an eyebrow. "I really think you two need more space for each other."
Debbie's face turned red, while Nolan smirked knowingly.
"Mark's all grown up now," Nolan said smoothly. "He's more than capable of living on his own."
Debbie sighed before placing both hands on Mark's face.
"Fine… but you better keep visiting us."
Mark chuckled. "Of course."
Debbie smiled. "And you'll have to show us your new place."
"Yeah, yeah," he said with a smirk before turning toward the door. "I'll see you guys later."
As Mark flew off, Nolan wrapped an arm around Debbie's waist, pulling her close.
His voice turned flirtatious. "At least now we have the whole house to ourselves."
Debbie let out a small giggle as Nolan swept her off her feet, carrying her upstairs in a blur of motion.
The house, once filled with Mark's presence, now belonged entirely to them.
And neither of them wasted a second of it.
.
.
.
Author's Notes:
Be sure to check out my p*tr-eon where you get early access to my chapter and you'll be able to talk to me as I'm writing the story. You'll be giving me ideas I can incorporate into the story or feedback as I am a new writer so there may be plot points or mistakes that I haven't thought about. My p*tr-eon name is Bah_Goat.