Almost Invincible (Invincible SI) ENG

12: The Truth of Viltrum

12: The Truth of Viltrum

Mark looked at himself in the mirror, carefully adjusting his black tie and smoothing out his freshly bought suit. He combed his hair and nodded to himself once he was ready.

"Ready?" his mother asked, entering through the door, her clothing equally dark. Mark nodded back at her and then glanced out the window. It was cloudy; he wondered if it was just a coincidence or if somehow the universe and the world had conspired to influence the weather.

"Let's go, it will start soon," he began to walk. This was an important day; he wondered if it would be the only funeral he would have to attend this month, hoping it would be so.

.

.

.

The place was fuller than Mark had expected. Not only were there civilians, but dozens, maybe hundreds of heroes could be seen in the main available seats. It was a surprising number and variety of them that he hadn't anticipated.

He wondered how many of them would have the strength to fight by his side when the time came.

As they walked towards the seats where they had to sit, he watched as his mother approached a woman in her early thirties with light brown hair. She was attractive, but her face held obvious sadness. Mark let his mother go ahead to talk to the woman, not wanting to interrupt their conversation. He wasn't good at consoling sad women.

He stood there, scratching his head, not knowing what else to do besides giving them some space before going to sit down. He looked at the sky; it was even cloudier now. He wondered what Amber was doing right now. Maybe he should have brought her with him, but she could barely stand, let alone walk, so there was really no way he could have brought her.

"Hey, good to see you around" Eve's voice called his attention, making him turn towards her and give her a smile.

"So, you're here too, huh? Did the rest of the Teen Team also come?" Mark looked around but could only spot Robot in the distance.

Eve sighed and crossed her arms, clearly in a bad mood.

"It's just Robot and me here. Rex thinks funerals are too 'depressing' and doesn't like attending them"

Mark didn't inquire about Kate; she probably gave a similar excuse to Rex's.

"Well, if you want, you can sit with us" he offered, and she smiled. She didn't want to be alone at an event like this, and Robot wasn't exactly the warmest company.

Mark guided Eve to the seats where his mother was already sitting. She looked at him, raising an eyebrow, but didn't ask. It wasn't the time or the place.

Soon, everyone began to take their seats, and the atmosphere began to quiet down. The sound of fighter jets came from the sky. Mark raised his head to see two of them coming from the distance at high speed. In between them, he could see his father flying.

Their speed was swift, and in no time, they were above them and then beyond. Mark watched as his father descended from the sky, slowly arriving at the front where everyone could see him.

.

Nolan took a deep breath, looking at the familiar as well as unfamiliar faces, witnessing the grief, the tears. He had never expected such things to matter to him, they should never have mattered. But now, standing where he was, about to give a speech in memory of the very people he had killed.

for the first time in his life, Nolan began to feel genuine remorse.

What was he supposed to say? What kind of speech could justify what he had done? Did he even want to justify himself? He scanned the crowd, looking for his wife, his son. They deserved more than this. This world deserved more than this.