This is a mix between comic and show.
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*knock knock*
"If you keep that up, you're going to give yourself a heart attack!"
Mark, who is sitting on the toilet, suddenly wakes up from his power nap and shakes his head. Increasing narcolepsy has bothered him for a while now. He grew bored rather quickly, especially if he didn't use his body to either work out or spar with his instructor at the MMA club. It was becoming a problem, and he didn't know why he had it. He had asked his father about it, but not even he knew what was going on. His mother called it a 'changing body' and put it off as him being a teenager now and gaining narcolepsy. Why did that make sense to her? Mark didn't know.
"Ugh ... coming!"
"Don't tell me ... did you fall asleep on the toilet, Mark?"
"Uhh ... no."
"You need to stop doing that, Mark. Get your act together, or you're going to be late for school!"
"Don't worry, I won't be late."
Mark gets ready and prepares for school. He doesn't like school, as he has been getting into trouble more and more lately, not with the other kids but with the teachers. He is smart enough to pass the tests, but his problem with narcolepsy and boredom is not a good combination. Ever since he was born, Mark was a rather physical boy. He was not stupid, on the contrary, but he liked to do things the hard way. As he grew older, he took to sports and martial arts like a fish to water. He loved to feel the 'pump' during training and the pain he had when he was fighting. He was constantly eating since he was also constantly hungry. He didn't have many friends since he usually said what he thought. He was a barbarian in a way, and he wasn't bothered by it.
"I'm here," Mark says as he walks into the kitchen, where his mother is reading the newspapers and drinking coffee.
"Ready, with ten minutes to spare. I should never have doubted you, son."
Mark opens the fridge.
"Where's dad at? Did he come home last night?"
"No, he's had a lot of trouble at work lately. I just wish I knew where he was. Mark! Get away from the fridge! Your eating habits will bankrupt us at this rate."
"What am I supposed to do? I'm a growing man, especially-"
"Stop! Don't you dare finish that sentence."
"As you wish. How about we turn on the TV then? If dad's at work, we'll see it on the news."
"Sure."
Debbie turns on the Channel 6 news.
[... using a dragon-like monster to enslave a portion of Taiwan. New reports reveal the blurred figure seen in this amateur photograph to be none other than Omni-Man, a defender of democracy. Eyewitness reports are that the battle has been raging for nearly ten hours, destroying portions of the town in its wake. Stay tuned to channel six, action news for any further information.]
"Well, now you know where he is."
"Looks like we weon't be having breakfast this morning. Bummer."
"Eh, I better go now. Wouldn't want to get another earful of the Principal for being late."
"You should get that sleeping disorder under control. Try not to play games all night ... although you don't do that. We need to get that checked sometime."
"See you in the evening."
"Bye, Mark."
.
"A dragon fighting Omni-Man in Taiwan? Nuts, right?" William was probably one of Mark's only 'friends' in school. Not that he was looking for friends; he just had other things to do and didn't care about the teenager talk. Usually, he fell asleep during those.
"I saw."
"Where are the Guardians of the Globe when you need them? They could at least help him, right?"
"Why would he need their help? Didn't look that hard."
"You're such an Omni-Maniac. Way to root for the underdog. Big fan of the Yankees, are you?"
"I don't know what any of those words meant."
"Sure, he's hot and all, and that mustache ..."
Mark closes his locker and looks at William with a neutral expression.
"You're weird."
"Sorry. Okay, straight stuff. A few of us are gonna go hang out at Shenanigans tonight. Do you want to, like ... tag along?"
William had been trying to get closer to Mark for a few years now, and he had only made slight progress. Mark answered when they talked, at least in his way.
"I can't. I've got to be at Burger Mart in about 20 minutes. I need to earn money for all the food I consume."
"Right, I forgot that you had a job ... sucks to be you. Well, maybe another time, then."
"You speak true, but it still wounds me. I'll see you later, William." Mark says, about to walk away, when they both hear a louder voice.
"Knock it off, Todd!"
"Come on ... Quit playing games. I know you're crazy about me. Marcy told me."
Amber stops walking and turns around to look at Todd.
"Well, you are big and strong, aren't you?"
"You know it."
"And you think that makes it okay for you to harrass me?" she asks and turns around again. But Todd grabs her arm and turns her around again.
"Hey, don't walk away from me. What, are you a lesbian or something?"
"Oh, my god, I wish! Would you leave me alone then?"
William looks at the scene and shakes his head. He looks back at Mark, only to find he's no longer there. He already started walking forward. He has a job to do. William places his hand on Mark's shoulder.
"Don't. The guy's twice your size."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I - you. You going to approach Todd."
"Why would I do that? I need to be at Burger Mart in 17 minutes."
"What? But ... I thought you did the ... like the fighting and stuff, right? Weren't you going to stop this?"
"No. She looks like she can handle herself. No need to get involved."
"You're not Omni-Man, I admit. But you are strong, no?"
Mark and William walk side by side, and Mark gets rather bothered by the discussion.
"What is it with you? You were just about to stop me because you thought I was going to intervene, and now you are talking as if you want me to intervene. What is-"
*Thud*
Mark bumps into Todd lightly.
"Are you serious, Grayson?"
*BANG*
Todd doesn't hesitate and just punches Mark in the face. But he doesn't stop there and follows it up with an uppercut to the stomach. Mark bends over lightly and then looks at Todd again with a deadpan expression. He drops his bag on the floor.
*Sigh*
"Teenag-"
*BAM*
Before he can turn Todd's day into the worst of his life, Amber appears behind him and kicks him in the nuts ... hard.
"Uhuuuuuu..."
"Leave him alone!"
Mark watches Todd run off with an annoyed expression.
"Fucks sake."
"Thank you."
"What?" Mark says and watches Amber walk away.
"What is it with teenagers?"
"Eh, you do realise you're one yourself?"
"Doesn't feel like it."
"Wait, where are you going?"
Mark didn't answer and made his way to Burger Mart and started working. The job was a true challenge to his sanity. On the one hand, it was very easy. It was annoying, true, but easy, and on the other hand, he had to fight his narcolepsy constantly. The customers could be extremely annoying, and he was having trouble not just punching some of them in the face. So, double restraint for Mark. It was hard for him. Having a job was meant to teach him responsibility, which he had to have at 17, of course. His father was Omni-Man, as Channel 6 put it: defender of democracy. So Mark couldn't show less responsibility than that, could he?
As he is working, he suddenly feels lighter for some reason and not as tired as he was just a moment before. He has a good mind-body connection, so he notices this. He take the trash outside and feels how it's much lighter than before, he doesn't even feel it. He was always stronger than others, except his father, of course, but this ... this was new. He looks into the sky and then around to make sure no one's watching, and then ... he throws the trash into the sky.
*WOOOOOoooooshhh*
The bag disappears into the sky. One thing left, and another thing arrived.
"It's about time."
.
Back home, Mark and Debbie wait for Nolan to come home, but they haven't started eating dinner yet.
"Let's go ahead and start. It doesn't look like he's going to be home anytime soon."
"I had a pretty interesting day--"
*wooooooooooshh*
Nolan flies in and sits at the table.
"Sorry I'm late. There was an enchanted flood in Egypt I had to deal with on the way over."
"Did you take care of that dragon?"
"Yeah, once I found out who was controlling the thing, there wasn't much to it. The hard part was keeping the civilians safe while I figured out who was behind it all."
"Your publisher called. He wanted to check and see how the next book was coming along. I told him you were on one of your research trips."
"I guess I'll take a day off this weekend and write a book for them. I'll have to pick up a couple of spare keyboards. I hope the guardians of the Gloce can cover for me."
"So ... how was your day, Mark?"
"Nothing much, just unlocked my powers."
"That's nice. Can you pass the potatoes?"
"... Sure."
That was it. Mark was different, and by this point, it would have been weird if Debbie had reacted to it rather than not.
"If you're up for it, I'll make some time for it tomorrow for training."
"Sure."
"Bright and early tomorrow, Mark. Make sure you get a good night's sleep."
"I shouldn't have a problem with that."
As dinner passed and Mark was in his room, he chose not to go to sleep right away for once. He had just unlocked his powers and wanted to test them out. Who wouldn't want to fly if they could? So he climbed out of his window and stood on the roof, looking into the night sky. The moon was shining, allowing him to see quite well.
"Okay. Dad says it's a reflex. This means that if I am capable of flying, it should happen naturally. Falling might be a bother, but pain equals gain. All right, let's give this maximum effort."
Mark doesn't think much about it. He never truly does. Overthinking is not something he will ever have a problem with in his life. So he just jumps off ... and it works. He doesn't fall and floats on the spot, turning slightly.
"Heh, nice."
Without waiting a second longer, Mark flies higher and higher. He doesn't care about others seeing him; he doesn't think about it. That's what made him reckless and slightly stupid. But it is how he functions. He starts to fly faster and continues to go higher. Others might use this chance to get used to their powers and study themselves, but not this Mark. He likes to learn by doing. If he has a limit, he will simply push past it by force. After he reaches about 10 miles into the air, he flies further out from the living area and then decides to test his durability. Was that reckless? Oh yes. Did he care? Not in the slightest. If he was going to die, then he was going to die.
He lets go of all control, which isn't as easy as it sounds. He has to think about it, but then he manages to fall.
He positions himself face down and smiles as he accelerates towards the ground. For the first time in a long time, he feels alive and fully awake. As the air whips past him and the ground approaches, he closes his eyes.
*BOOOOOOOOOMMM*
Mark crashes to the ground, creating a big crater where he lands.
"Ugh ..."
Mark makes it out of the crater and stands up. He looks down at himself and sees that, besides a bit of blood from his nose, there is nothing else. A moment later, he was already healing. Happy with what he experienced, he starts to get into a martial arts stance. He imagines himself fighting someone in front of him and begins to engage in mental training, such as shadowboxing. He tries to use as little strength as possible, then gradually increases it. His skill at fighting is awe-inspiring, and if he hadn't gained any powers, he might have reached this stage eventually. He never truly felt a limit to how much he could grow. And now, he was even more confident that that was the case.
Time passed slowly, and after roughly two hours of fighting against no one, he took to the sky again. If there is one thing flying is, it's a tremendous advantage against those who can't fly. Getting familiar with aerial combat is a priority for him. He wasn't sure why he was preparing like this, but he felt alive right now and had forgotten about the time entirely.