Ethan and Debbie watch Mark leave the room to go and change into his superhero suit. Debbie looks at her husband and then Mark with a concerned expression. She looks up at Ethan.
"You'll go with him, won't you?"
"What makes you think that?" he asks.
"You were always the one who took care of him. It is what you do." Debbie smiles.
"You are correct; it is what I want to do. But the problem is that he needs to experience what it's like to push himself. To feel the need to improve and grow beyond what he is currently. And he won't manage to do that if I'm always there to push him."
Debbie smiles at her son. She knows him better than anyone, safe Mark maybe.
"We both know you don't mean that. If that were true, why did you take your father's punch, which he aimed at Mark? Why did you make Mark train and get used to the feeling of being punched? Why do you hold back to not make your brother feel uncomfortable?" Debbie asks.
"..."
"I understand what you mean, and I also understand that you're right. But you should lead by example, and the way you're doing things now is going very well. I can tell that Mark is more confident than he would have been if you hadn't helped him. You told me that your father will recover. I'll keep watch over him as he does. You go and keep watch over your brother."
"Very well. I'll ask the spy; maybe he has some mask for me." Ethan says and walks out of the room.
"Wait, Ethan."
"Yes?"
"Why were you so concerned when you say that your father will recover shortly?" Debbie asks.
"I'll tell you after Dad wakes up. Too many people listening. Don't worry, he will really recover. Three, maximum four days, and he's back to full health. See you tonight."
Ethan walks out of the room and goes to the reception-esque area. He asks the lady standing there.
"Listen, I would like to talk to Cecil Stedman. Tell him, whether he has some mask for me to hide my identity. I'll help out downtown."
"Uh, sure," she says and picks up the phone. "Director Stedman, sorry to disturb you. I have Ethan Grayson in front of me. He asked for a mask to hide his identity. He said he would help out downtown."
[...]
"I understand. Understood, Director."
The woman hangs up the phone and looks at Ethan.
"Director Stedman has told me he will come for you personally."
"I see-"
Suddenly, Ethan stops talking and swings his fist forward.
*Zzzz*
In the next moment, Cecil Stedman appears out of nowhere right in front of Ethan's fist, who stops in the very last second before he hits the Director of the GDA. Cecil jumps back in shock.
"Whoa! Haa... haa... that scared the shit out of me kid. You got some reflexes there."
"That was indeed close. I apologise. So, about that mask..."
"Yeah. I'll take you somewhere where you can choose one for now."
.
Three large red portals have appeared downtown, giving way to aliens who march out and fire at the people around them using technologically advanced weapons. These green aliens are called the Flaxans, a race of inter-dimensional beings that were set on conquering planet Earth and killing its humans. Invincible has arrived at the scene trying to help, but his head isn't in the game. This wasn't what he trained for; this wasn't anything like the training or what his father and brother told him about. He isn't ready.
Invincible spots one of the Flaxans about to murder an old woman and throws a piece of debris at it, injuring the Flaxan and successfully saving her. He picks her up and attempts to fly away with her but gets shot down. This causes him to fall and stumble over her upon hitting the ground. The woman's legs and arms are injured, and she is in critical condition. Invincible starts to panic and hyperventilate. Realising this, the Flaxan Invincible wounded enters one of the tanks and aims at him. He fires the powerful weapon at Invincible; however, someone creates a pink barrier, deflecting the laser before it can hit him. The Teen Team has arrived at the scene of the battle.
The rest of the Teen Team shows up, fighting the Flaxans and trying to fend them off.
In the GDA, Cecil Stedman and Donald Ferguson watch the scene on their screens. They aren't happy at all, seeing this. Cecil has the camera move from place to place, trying to find someone.
"Where the fuck is the kid, Donald?" he asks.
"We don't know, sir. He wanted to go there himself, but..."
"Sir, we found him," someone says, and they zoom closer on a roof of a building just to the side of all the fighting.
There stands a tall figure with a mask covering his mouth and eyes. He looks like Agent 76 from Overwatch with it, except that he's only wearing light clothes apart from that mask.
"What the fuck is he doing there? Is he trying to lay an egg or something?"
"It looks like he's... observing the fight?" Donald suggests.
"No, he's... observing Invincible. He's watching his brother." Cecil concludes.
He's right. Ethan watches his brother and sees how badly the situation is handled. He expected this to happen to some extent but forgot that not everyone is like him or his father, apparently. He observes his brother trying to handle the situation and failing miserably. He realises that there is nothing he can do to teach him what this reality does in a matter of minutes, so he waits. He sees his brother hyperventilating as he sees all the blood.
"You get her to a hospital! We can handle this." Atom Eve says to Invincible.
"You're Atome Eve..." Invincible stutters.
"What? Just go!" she says, and Invincible finally flies off.
Seeing his brother fly off, Ethan shakes his head. That was not a good performance from his side, but it was necessary. Now that that's over, Ethan looks down. He sees the Teen Team getting overwhelmed and decides to enter the fight now. He jumps off the roof and accelerates downward, using his skill in flying to make himself into a wrecking ball.
*BOOOM*
Everyone on the battlefield looks at the large explosion that just took out several tanks. From the smoke, a figure shoots out and crashes into several Flaxans, crushing them like pieces of paper. Ethan shoots forward, moving from Flaxan to Flaxan using the new skills he learned just the day before. But this time, he doesn't stop himself before he hits them; he hits them on purpose, crushing their weak bodies and tanking their weapons' blasts like it's nothing. Ethan's demeanor changes, and his presence transforms into something dangerous, something primal. He becomes an unstoppable force as he leaves bloody messes behind.
The Teen Team and the GDA in the Pentagon watch with open mouths as the young man embraces his Hanma side and absolutely destroys the opposition. Suddenly, the Flaxans stop attacking and start to run away. They retreat into the portals, taking them back to their home dimension. Ethan notices that they have aged at lightning speed, but he doesn't care. His fists crush their heads and pierce their bodies; his legs split them in half, and they are crushed as they meet his body—the portals close, leaving many Flaxans behind to their fates.
The Teen Team observes Ethan continuing to move to the last Flaxan. Before he can get there, Atom Eve appears in front of him.
"It's over. You don't have to kill him."
"He is an enemy that was just trying to take over Earth and kill our people. He will die." Ethan responds.
"You have already killed so many; why do you need to kill this one as well?"
"It is better for him to die for his cause than to live for the sake of it. For the foes of Mankind, the only mercy is a swift death." Ethan says and pushes past Atom Eve. But the other members of the Teen Team stand between him and prepare for a fight.
Seeing them act that way, Ethan scoffs and picks up a small pebble from the ground. He takes it between his thumb and finger and then shoots it forward. The pebble becomes a projectile of death, passing through Flaxan's head and killing him.
"You!"
"What's wrong with you? He was already dying!"
"How can someone be this ruthless?" Atom Eve asks, outraged.
"Ruthlessness to these pricks is the kindness of the wise," Ethan says, suddenly flying into the sky, leaving the scene.
"I don't know what just happened. But I think I speak for everyone when I say that I never want to see this guy ever again." Rex Splode says.
*Sigh*
"Yeah."
.
Mark makes it back to the hospital in the Pentagon, carrying the old woman in his arms.
"Help! Anyone! I need help!"
"Freeze!" GDA agents appear out of thin air and aim their weapons at him.
"She needs a doctor!"
Right then, paramedics receive her and start to treat the woman, leaving Invincible standing in the halls, covered in blood. He is lost and slowly walks through the halls until he reaches his father's room. Debbie enters a moment later and finds him at the side of Nolan's bed, crying and full of blood.
"Mark!"
"I tried my best. I tried to be like Dad." Mark says, and Debbie embraces her son.
"It's okay. It's okay."
The door opens again, and Ethan walks in. He takes off the mask and places it on a chair outside the room. He doesn't trust Cecil Stedman or the GDA, as they seem like an agency that would place cameras of all kinds in the mask to keep an eye and ear on him and his family. And right now, he can't have that.
He walks over to his mother and brother and places a hand on his shoulder, comforting him. He would surely get an earful for this later from his mother, but right now, that didn't matter. He was just there for Mark, letting the fight pass through his head again. He did very well. He was ruthless; that much was correct, but he wasn't feeling bad about it. On the contrary, he felt perfectly fine. The only thing that might bother him was that it was more or less a waste of his time. He managed to apply what he had trained during the carnage and got a taste for real life and death battle, but that was it.
After about half an hour, Mark finally stops crying and pulls himself back together. Debbie looks at her son worriedly and continues to comfort him.
"Ethan, why don't you and your brother go back home? You two get a shower and some food. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Debbie asks.
"Will do, Mom," Ethan says and takes Mark with him.
They move through the halls and meet Cecil there. He holds the mask in his hand and hands it to Ethan.
"It's not bugged or anything. You can keep it if you want. You can turn the communicator on or off, and we won't hear or see anything. Show it to Art if you don't believe me."
Ethan nods his head and moves past him.
"That was good work out there, you two," Cecil says as they leave.
Mark just follows his brother without saying anything. Ethan takes him home and pushes him into the shower.
"Get a shower, brother. I'll make something to eat," he says and then closes the door.
He can hear his brother turn on the water and sigh. It was hard for him, that much was clear, but he had to get over this, and Ethan would ensure he did. He would push his brother higher and higher until he would see this for what it was: a stone in his path to greater strength. The goal to be like their father was a hard one; Ethan knew that. He never wanted to be a hero, at least not in the conventional way that Mark wanted. He was more interested in the fights themselves, and maybe he would become something akin to a contractor, who would be paid if you wanted his services. But he wasn't sure about what he wanted to do as a job just yet. Getting money was rather simple for him; now that he had these powers, he could get a small meteorite and sell it, turning all the metal and other minerals into money.
After 30 minutes, Mark comes downstairs and sits at the table. Ethan made a large pot of pasta for them to enjoy, and while he knows that Mark might not be hungry right now, he will eat. Ethan hands a plate to Mark and starts to eat himself. Mark is still on autopilot and just takes the plate but doesn't eat yet.
"How are you feeling?" Ethan asks as he takes a large bite.
"... not good."
"Eat, Mark. You might not realise it, but you need sustenance."
"I'm not hungry," Mark says.
"I know, brother. But you need it. Come on, tell me about today. What happened?"
"I... I froze. I don't know..." Mark says, trying to gather his thoughts.
"I know that. But why did you freeze? What happened?" Ethan asks.
"Wha-what do you mean, why? I just froze, okay?! What more do you need?!" Mark raises his voice. Ethan isn't bothered and looks at Mark.
"No need to yell, Mark. Talk to me. Tell me what happened exactly. When was the moment that you froze?"
"I... I saw them come out of the portal. It was... unlike anything I have ever experienced. I tried to motivate myself and get my head into the game. I tried to stop them, but they just shot all those people in front of me..."
"So you think you are to blame for their deaths?"
"Yeah, I mean... yeah."
"That's not the case, Mark."
"What do you mean?"
"It is not your fault that those people died. There was nothing you could do. You were unprepared for this, and while it might be hard to believe, it will only make you stronger."
"What are you talking about? People died! I couldn't save them!"
"This is what the world is about, Mark. If you want to live up to the best you can be, you will have to know the truth. Being a so-called hero is NOT easy. You need to steel your nerves."
"..."
"Look at me, Mark," Ethan says.
"You did good today. It was your first time being confronted with such a thing, and you managed to save someone. One life is more than what 99% of the rest of the population can say. Take this experience and use it as material to make yourself strong. You will not allow this to pull you down. You will only grow stronger through it."
Mark doesn't say anything but nods.
"Good. Now, eat something. You need it."