*Beep Beep*
- 6 AM -
The alarm goes off, and Mark punches the phone out of reflex. If there is one thing he hates, it's getting up from bed at any time, but at 6 AM? Now that's a crime in his eyes.
"It should be illegal."
The door opens, and Omni-Man enters. He leans on the door frame and smiles at his son.
"Put some pants on, and let's get into the sky, son. What should be illegal?"
Mark doesn't answer his father and starts to flex each of his muscle groups systematically. He started doing that in the morning after realising that it helped him get on track. A lot of cracks and grunts are heard, and Omni-Man narrows his eyes at the weird scene.
"I'll ... put some coffee on."
After a cup of coffee, the two are in the air.
"It's kinda like how you walk, and you don't think about balancing anymore, but when you were a baby, you did. You're a baby flier right now. You have to focus on staying upright and going in the direction you want to go. Understand?"
"Got it. What's next?"
"Heh, follow me."
Omni-Man flies higher into the sky, and Mark follows him, but at a slower pace. He flew into the sky yesterday, but today, he's trying to follow someone, so the path is important. Falling to the ground and testing his durability aren't the same. Omni-Man continues his lesson as Mark catches up to him.
"You can wear yourself out flying. Moving fast is like tensing a muscle. You're much better off if you relax that muscle from time to time, use the momentum you're building to carry you forward."
"I guess that makes sense, but I never really had a problem with endurance."
"True, but even you will experience this at some point. So, let's try it. You don't want to fall, so you're gonna have trouble-"
Before he can say anything, Mark suddenly falls down. He does as his father says and relaxes, but that isn't quite right. Omni-Man watches from above as his son falls but doesn't panic; he shakes his head, thinking how ridiculous that is for someone who just got his powers. But he is also impressed when Mark regains control and flies up again.
"I was gonna say that you would have trouble relaxing, but it didn't seem like you did. You are far better at flying than you should be. What did you do last night?"
"Fall."
"What? You fell? From where?"
"Roughly 10 miles, I think."
"...What for?"
"Durability test."
*Sigh*
"Let's land over there."
The two land, and while Omni-Man does it gracefully, Mark makes contact with he ground again.
"I guess that still counts as a landing. Get up. We're going to try something else. Try to hit me."
"... Sure."
Mark punches Omni-Man in the chest.
*BAM*
"HAHA! I like that, no hesitation at all."
"What are you made of?"
"I forgot that you do martial arts as a hobby. This might actually be good. I don't have to show you how to punch, at least not on the ground. We are special. Fighting in the air is different. We can freely move ourselves through physical space. That's how we fly. So we don't have to pivot on our feet to push off the ground. We can literally push off anything. We can create our own leverage."
"Now that is sick."
Mark rises from the ground and starts attacking Omni-Man. He does as he said and pushes off from behind to move forward. He is still using his feet, though, as that was engrained in his mind for years and will be hard to get rid of while he's flying.
"Good, truly. That's impressive, Mark. But try it a little more like this."
Omni-Man suddenly strikes, using more speed and strength at the same time. His fist impacts Mark right on his sternum and causes him to shoot to the ground. Omni-Man looks at his son and the reaction. He knows that his son is strong and that he's a monster in the ring, but this was no longer the ring. However, he is more than surprised by what happens next.
"...ha ... haha ... Hahahaha ..."
"Are you ... laughing?"
"Oh yeah! Now, you are talking my language, Dad."
Mark gets back on his feet and cracks his neck. He gets into a martial stance and motions for his father to come again.
"Show me again."
Omni-Man smiles and shakes his head. He was worried for nothing.
"Haha. You are a barbarian. Good."
"Good, indeed. Now show me what you got old man."
"Old man? This old man will kick your butt."
"Nice one. Let's see it."
Both of them punch out.
*BOOM*
.
The days passed, and before he knew it, two weeks had passed since Mark gained his powers. He has been using the night to train and improve all of his basic abilities and familiarize himself with his tremendous strength, speed, and other physical attributes. He tried to fly as fast as he could and then stop as quickly as possible to learn how to fly safely within the city when there were civilians around. And today, it seems like he will get to test out his progress.
"Boy, we really screwed hat one up!" Titan says.
"We?"
"Oh, so it's my fault the cops showed up so quick?"
"It was a diamond heist! We knew there would be cops there! Why do you think we brought you along?!"
"You were there to take care of the cops so we could calmly make our getaway. You weren't supposed to run with us, you idiot!
"Just because bullets bounce off me doesn't mean they feel like back rubs! There were at least six cops back there ready to open fire! Besides ... they won't catch us."
"Whatever, just get us over that fence."
As the three criminals make it over the fence, a hooded Mark appears and punches them, causing them to fall to the ground. The individual with the rocks over his upper body, Titan, punches Mark and stands back up. The punch doesn't do anything to Mark, though, who has far too high durability for it.
"Who the hell are you? Are you trying to stop us or rob us?"
"Is that it?" Mark asks.
As the man tries to attack him again, Mark delivers a punch to his face, breaking the stone on his body and knocking him out.
"What are you talking about? This is a classic Assassins look. If anything, you had to be worried whether I was there to kill you. What a bunch of savages." Mark says, looking at the three men. Then he hears a voice from behind.
"What in god's name are you wearing? And isn't it a bit early to be doing this? You've had your powers for what ... a week?" Nolan asks his son. Mark turns around and smiles, seeing his father.
"Two weeks, actually. You know me, I couldn't sit still, and while I was training, I created this awesome Assassins' look to do it and make sure no one would notice me. But I suppose it doesn't look too ... heroic."
"Well, I can't have you running around looking that ridiculous. People will believe you're there to kill them and not save them. It sounds like the police are here to pick up these sleeping beauties, so come on."
.
They fly towards different shops and land behind a specific one.
"We're going shopping? For suits?"
"Yes."
Omni-Man enters a secret code at the door, and a thick metallic click is heard. The metallic door slides back, giving way to stairs leading down. They take it and see an elderly man who is working on sewing something.
"Were you seen?"
"Who are you talking to?"
"Sorry, sorry. Just need to ask."
"From prom dresses by day, nuclear powered suits of armour by night ... with your standard spandex number thrown in every now and then for good measure. I've had this secret workshop here forever." Art asks Mark as he is trying on a suit.
"Well ... how does it feel?" Nolan asks.
"Honestly, the orange is making me nauseous. I prefer to have my upper body free, you know. I prefer not to be fully covered like this. Also, what's with all these weird discs?"
"They're solar batteries. I designed that costume back when I was under the impression that you and your dad's powers were solar power-based." Art explains.
"It's a common mistake; don't worry about it, Art."
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
"Crap, Gridlock is tearing up the East Side Bridge! I've got to go!" Nolan says as he speeds away.
"Use the North-"
*WHOOOOSH*
"-Hatch. Never mind."
"Sorry about that. You get used to it after a while."
"You don't have to apologise to me; I've been working with your father for years. I know he has bigger priorities than looking at silly clothes. So what do you think of the costume? Be honest."
"I don't like the fact that I have to cover myself from top to bottom, like I'm a penis and this is-"
"I think I understand what you mean; there is no need to elaborate. I think you want something iconic, am I right?"
"Iconic? What does that mean?"
"Haha, that's a good question. I hear that all the time. Everyone wants iconic costumes, but no one knows what that means. I can tell you aren't like the others, so why don't you lay it out for me?"
"Well, I like baggy clothes, you know, ones I can train in. I don't know what to tell you other than that I want to have my upper body free, or clothed lightly, especially when fighting."
"Free, huh? How about you give me a name you will use? Have you decided on a name yet?"
"Hm, it would have to be something that suits me so ... Savage."
"Savage?"
"Yes, you don't like it?"
"It's ... different. And it might not instill hope and safety that a hero would. It would make you appear rather-"
"Savage?"
"Haha, I suppose so. Any particular reason you want that?"
"I don't know. I was called Barbarian quite a few times, and in a way, it just suits me. Barbarian, however, doesn't roll off the tongue as well as Savage does. And with the image I have in mind, I think it would work rather well."
"Well, see if you can come up with a few good names before settling on Savage, and then come back here. Then we'll see if I can't come up with something you might like."
"Thanks, Art. I'll see you later then."
.
Mark was back in school and was trying to get through it without falling asleep. But due to that, he wasn't doing a good job listening in class and was missing quite a bit.
"Okay, we're closing in on the end of the period, and I can tell by how Mark is fighting against his narcolepsy, how he is slowly losing that fight. Go ahead and take the assignments home and finish; just make sure you don't thank me for my sympathy by not doing the work tonight." Mark's teacher, David Hiles, says.
"Screw that ... I've got football practice tonight," Derek says.
"But I thought we were going out for pizza?" his girl says to him.
"Trust me, babe. I'm not in it for the pizza."
"You're quite the prick, aren't you, Derek?"
"Fuck off Grayson. No one asked you."
"You have experience with that, don't you? No one asking you, I mean."
"Are you looking for trouble?"
"Always."
Before Derek could kiss the floor, Mister Hiles interrupts them.
"Enough of this. Can you stay after class, Derek? I need to speak with you. And you better not start fighting, Mister Grayson."
"Um ... what did I do?" Derek asks as everyone leaves the room.
Mark makes his way to the locker and places his things back when he hears another bully bother his neighbor, Steve White. There are so many of these pricks around, and he finds bullying to be pathetic. If you need to pick on weaker people, you are a disgrace.
"So, you think you can say that again? And this time, say it to my face!"
"Just leave me alone ..." Steve says.
"Not so brave when I'm right here in front of you, are you?"
"Yo, why don't you listen to Steve and leave him alone, huh? What are you trying to prove by picking on those weaker than you?"
"Grayson ... you should not butt in. This doesn't concern you. Or did you want more of what I gave you last time? I don't see Amber anywhere near to protect you."
Mark moves between Steve and the bully, who knows him already and looks at him. They are almost touching, so close are they right now, and Mark looks him in the eyes.
"Please ... show me."
"... How's this?"
The boy punches Mark in the stomach again, or at least he tries to. But all he gets is pain in his hand and a lightning-fast fist in the stomach in return.
"PFUUUAARRGHH..."
The punch was a bit too hard, and he suddenly started to vomit on the floor. Naturally, right at that moment, a teacher comes around to see what is going on.
"What the heck is going on here?"
"What are you, the cops?"