Mark's POV:
I'm sitting on this water tower, legs hanging over the edge, staring at Chicago all lit up as it gets dark. Pretty view, but my head's a total mess right now.
Lelouch's words keep bouncing around in my brain.
"He would, Mark. He absolutely would."
The way he said it - so sure, so certain that Goku, our Goku, would just wipe out an entire alien race without blinking. And the worst part? I can't totally say he's wrong.
Could Goku really do that? Just decide a whole civilization needs to go and... make it happen? My stomach feels like I swallowed a rock.
I close my eyes and try to make sense of everything. This is Goku we're talking about. The guy who made us pancakes shaped like dinosaurs when we were kids.
Who stayed up all night helping me figure out algebra even though he was exhausted from working double shifts.
Who somehow managed to keep us all together when the system wanted to split us up.
The same guy who literally tore a hole between dimensions to help me save my mom.
But then again... there were always these weird moments. Times when he'd get this look in his eyes like he was seeing through everything, like he'd witnessed stuff nobody should ever have to see.
The way you can't sense his power no matter how hard you try. How even actual demons seem scared shitless of him - since yeah, I can sense that Darkblood is scared.
His lifeforce isn't exactly subtle about it.
And yeah, there was that whole thing in space where I watched him basically help a star die like it was no big deal. Like he'd done it a million times before.
"Shit," I mutter, running my hand through my hair.
The thing is, it makes a twisted kind of sense. If Goku's as powerful as I think he is – way beyond anything I've ever seen – and if he really cares about us the way I know he does, then why wouldn't he just eliminate anything that might hurt us?
The Viltrumites are basically space Nazis. They've destroyed who knows how many planets, killed billions of people. My father – Nolan – was their guy on Earth.
He murdered the Guardians in cold blood. He beat me to death when I wouldn't join their stupid empire.
By any normal standard, they probably deserve whatever they get.
So why does thinking about Goku wiping them out make me feel so messed up?
Because it would mean that underneath the guy who raised me, there's something else. Something that can decide an entire species needs to die and then just... do it.
Kind of like my father.
No, that's not fair. Nolan lied to me my whole life. Pretended to be a hero while planning to help conquer Earth. Killed people who trusted him.
Goku never lied to us. Never pretended to be something he wasn't. He's been nothing but good to us...
But he's never exactly volunteered information about what he was before, either. What he might have done.
I'm so deep in my own head that I almost miss the weird sound behind me. I turn around to see this green swirling portal opening up on the water tower platform.
A guy steps through, and holy crap, his face is a mess – scarred all over one side, one eye totally dead-looking, the other one way too intense, head oversized, brain protruding. He's wearing this beat-up coat and seems like he's vibrating with crazy energy.
"Mark Grayson," he says, sounding both excited and pissed off at the same time. "Or should I say, the dimensional anomaly formerly known as Mark Grayson?"
I stand up slowly, sizing him up. This dude obviously knows who I am, and that portal thing suggests he's got some serious tech or powers. But he also seems a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
"Who are you?" I ask, keeping my voice steady. Growing up in Gotham taught me that showing fear to crazy people is never smart.
"Angstrom Levy," he says with this weird bow. "Dimensional traveler, reality mapper, and collector of... unique individuals."
He stares at me with his good eye like he's trying to see inside my head. "You're quite the specimen, you know. A Mark Grayson who died, then returned from another dimension entirely. Your dimensional signature is... fascinating."
I tense up, ready to fight or bolt if I need to. "What do you want from me?"
Levy's messed-up face twists into what I think is supposed to be a smile. "To offer you a place among equals. A team of the most extraordinary versions of yourself from across the multiverse."
He waves his hand and the portal behind him changes, showing glimpses of... me? But not me. Other versions of me that look wrong. Darker. Violent.
One's covered in blood, another with a mohawk and crazy look, and a third with insane scarring, no hair, sheesh, that's got to hurt.
"I've been gathering them," Levy goes on, sounding more unhinged by the second. "Versions of Invincible who understand that power isn't meant to protect the weak, but to rule them. Versions who have embraced their Viltrumite heritage rather than denying it."
He steps closer, his good eye practically glowing with crazy. "But you... you're something special. A Mark who died fighting his father, only to return with new allies, new powers. A Mark who crossed dimensions for revenge."
I almost laugh at how completely he's got everything wrong. But then I remember what Lelouch always says about strategy: sometimes when your enemy misunderstands something, that's your biggest advantage.
"You think I came back for revenge?" I ask, trying to sound neutral.
"Didn't you?" Levy shoots back, waving his arms around. "You returned from death itself, from another reality, with strange companions possessing powers this world has never seen. You hunted down your father and beat him to a pulp. If not revenge, then what?"
I think fast about what to do here. This guy is definitely dangerous – not just to me, but to who knows how many realities if he's collecting evil versions of me.
I could try to take him down right now... but without knowing more, that could go really bad really quick.
Lelouch would tell me to get more info first. Understand what I'm up against before I make a move.
"You're partly right," I say, deciding to play along. "My return wasn't... simple. There's more to it than just revenge."
Levy's face lights up like a kid at Christmas. "Of course there is! You're not like the others – you've seen beyond the veil of this single reality. You understand that there are infinite worlds, infinite possibilities."
He moves closer, dropping his voice like we're sharing some big secret. "I'm planning something magnificent, Mark. Something that will shake the foundations of the multiverse itself.
These other versions of you – they're powerful, yes, but limited in vision. But you... you've crossed the boundaries between worlds. You've died and returned. You understand that reality itself is malleable."
"What exactly are you planning?" I ask, pretending to be interested while I'm actually trying to memorize everything about him – his powers, how unstable he seems, anything that might help later.
Levy grins wider, and I swear his teeth look too sharp. "Justice. Retribution. A lesson for every version of Mark Grayson who still plays the hero while the multiverse burns around them."
He waves his hand again, and the portal shows other realities – other Earths, some peaceful, some total disaster zones, all with their own version of me trying to protect them.
"So many Invincibles," Levy says, sounding disgusted. "So many worlds where Mark Grayson is celebrated as a hero. It's sickening."
His eye locks onto me again, super intense. "But you're different. You've seen beyond the illusion.
You've experienced death at your father's hands and returned stronger, more enlightened. You've brought companions from another reality to aid your vengeance."
I realize this guy has completely misunderstood everything about my situation. He thinks I'm some revenge-obsessed version of myself who came back with Goku, Lelouch, and Mikasa specifically to punish my dad and maybe this world too.
It'd be funny if it wasn't so dangerous.
"You want me to join your team of... alternative Invincibles," I say, making it sound like I'm thinking about it.
"Yes!" Levy practically shouts, getting more excited. "Together, we'll show every reality what true power looks like. We'll tear down the false heroism of Mark Grayson across the multiverse. We'll make them all pay for their self-righteous hypocrisy!"
I let myself smile a little, trying to channel some of Lelouch's calculating vibe. "That's... an interesting proposition."
Levy's good eye narrows a bit, studying me. "You're hesitant. I understand. But consider this – in how many realities did your father betray you? In how many worlds did Nolan Grayson reveal his true nature and destroy everything you thought you knew?"
His words hit closer to home than he could possibly know, but not for the reasons he thinks.
"All of them," Levy says, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Every single one. The only difference is whether you survived to do something about it."
I pretend to think about what he's saying, while my brain is racing. This guy, again, is definitely nuts, but also a serious threat.
If he's collecting evil versions of me from different realities, they could cause massive damage.
I need to stop him. But first, I need to know exactly what I'm dealing with.
"Show me," I say finally. "Show me these other versions of myself. Show me what you're planning."
Levy's face breaks into this huge, creepy grin. "I knew you would understand! Come, brother in blood and circumstance. Let me show you what awaits beyond the boundaries of this limited reality."
He holds his hand out toward the portal, which gets bigger and pulses with more green energy.
As I step toward it, I get a quick flash of doubt. I'm about to follow a clearly insane guy with dimension powers into who knows where. If things go wrong, I could end up trapped somewhere, or worse.
But then I remember something that makes me feel better: Goku.
Whatever else he might be, whatever he might have done before, Goku has always found me when I needed him. If I'm really in trouble, I know he'd tear through reality itself to get to me.
That thought is both comforting and kinda scary after what Lelouch said. What kind of being can just rip through dimensions whenever they want? What kind of power does that take?
Probably the same kind that could wipe out an entire alien race without breaking a sweat.
I push that thought away. Right now, I need to focus on the crazy portal guy and whatever he's planning. My crisis about Goku's true nature will have to wait.
"Lead the way," I tell Levy, trying to sound confident.
As I step through the portal, green energy wrapping around me, I can't help wondering if I'm making a huge mistake. But sometimes, like Lelouch always says, you have to get closer to danger to take it down.
The portal closes behind us, and Chicago – along with all my questions about Goku – disappears.
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(Author note: So a twist, Crazy Levy is on his invincible gathering squad, and has chosen our Mark as one of his recruits.
Also, all he said was bullshit. He says whatever bullshit he wants to get Marks to join him to go after canon Mark.
Levy is insane, his words and actions make no sense, so take all he says with a bottle of salt.
Though don't worry, this arc unlike in my Sukuna fic isn't gonna be very long.
I think this is an appropriate opportunity to... challenge Mark.
Also as I said 1 chapter every day, meaing every 24 hours.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)