Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Despite being labeled as a Steven Universe crossover, it wont be a true crossover story. As in Steven and the Crystal Gems wont be part of this fic, unless a cameo comes or a mention. And the story will mainly take place in the Invincible universe since this is mostly an Invincible fic. But there will be Gems, mostly original that aren't in the show.

Much like how Invincible has quotes for episode titles, I’ll follow that format and use character quotes for chapter titles.

Only Steven Universe elements will be used, such as everything about Gems. So consider this a pseudo Yellow Diamond AU.

Why use Gems and SU elements?
I’ve come to realize that Gems are lowkey like Viltrumites:
-Both are space empires that colonize, spanning hundreds of planets.
-Both live for thousands of years
-Both see humans as pets (Debbie and Connie got called pets)
-Both destroy rebelling planets (Viltrumites destroyed Unopa, Gems created the Cluster to destroy Earth)
-Both have a member of their Empire that turn traitor because of Earth (Pink/Rose and Nolan)
-Both have traitorous rebels that have a half human child (Steven and Mark)

If you ask me, Viltrumites have more common with Gems than Saiyans

Differences in Colonization
-Gems disrupt the local ecosystem and destroy all life on a planet before hollowing it out to complete their colony
-In the Viltrum Empire you are at least alive, albeit oppressed, in their colony

-Colonization increases Gem numbers
-Colonizing dwindles Viltrumite numbers and spreads them thin.

Your Information
Race: Half Human, Half Gem

Gem-Human Physiology: As a human/Gem hybrid, you possess unique physiology, allowing you to tap into a Gems power without suffering their usual drawback and giving you a greater immunity to disease and contaminents

Immense Strength: Inheriting Yellow Diamonds gem grants you her strength, where she was effortlessly able to lift part of a warship with no efforts and plow through a defence that was able to block a warships beam attack. While she had strength due to her size, to you its condensed and more potent. Allowing you to be on par with Invincible.

Immense Durability: You an astounding endurance matches with Blue Diamond, you can emerge unscathed from a plethora of attacks and normal human attacks don't phase you.

Enhanced Speed: You can move at an incredible speed, able to keep up with an average Viltrumite

Bubbling: The process where a Gem encases a specific object inside a bubble via contact or energy projection, and either takes it with them or transfers it to a different location that they consider home. Items and Gems that are bubbled remain inactive in stasis until released. Your bubbles are yellow in colour

Light Destabilization: You can generate powerful electric currents around your entire body and then project it from your fingertips, which are powerful enough to destabilize a Gem's form.

Shapeshifting Manipulation: Through the energy of your aura, you can manipulate the physical form of the gems, being able to diminish them, to increase them, to distort or to heal. Yellow used this to repair gems that were stuck in forced fusion, repairing their weakened physical form. The changes to the Gem are permanent as its not a temporary change. This is a roundabout way to heal or harm others.

Organic Disassembling and Reassembling: Because you are a hybrid, your Light Destabilization and Shapeshifting Manipulation power can affect organic life and disassemble them or reshape them to either heal them in a roundabout way or improve them.

Shapeshifting: Due to having Yellow Diamonds gem and the previous Shapeshifting Manipulation power, you are not as constricted by your human flesh like Steven was, and you are able to shapeshift more freely like a true gem. Although your colour palette and voice stay the same.

Photokinesis: You can project a yellow light from your gemstone, like a flashlight

Storage: You can store items in your gem. Having a small pocket dimension in that. You could fit humans too

Fluctuating Age: You can manipulate your age through your state of mind. Your age depends solely on how old you think you are. Allowing you theoretical immortality or decelerated aging of a Viltrumite. This ability is an extension of Gem shapeshifting, however, due to your organic half, by shapeshifting into the body of an elderly person, your body may actually fail as a result

Self Healing: Your wounds heal at an accelerated rate, far exceeding human restoration and even Viltrumite’s regenerative healing

Gem Weaponry Resistance:Because you are half-human, you are resistant to anti-Gem weaponry. You can pass through the yellow destabilization fields used in holding cells and can grab the live end of a Gem Destabilizer with only mild discomfort.

Gem Weapon: You can summon a sword from your gem as your weapon.

Bubble Shield: An extension of the bubbling ability, you can summon as extremely durable bubble to protect yourself and allies. The bubble can generate its internal atmosphere, so even if summoned in the vacuum of space you could still breathe, albeit for a short amount of time. While durable, an extensive amount of pressure will shatter it.

Holographic Projection: You can project holographic images from your gemstone, which you may use as a visual aid when talking strategy or explaining

Fusion:As a half human and half gem, you can fuse with both organics and gems. A fusion is typically an amalgam of the gems combined magical and physical attributes, fused into a single entity. Fusions tend to highly exaggerate whatever personality traits are shared amongst the majority of the components comprising the Fusion.

And more to be discovered as you experience what comes your way
You dont seem to understand Earth isnt yours to conquer Gems are lowkey busted like Viltrumites if they werent a kids cartoon

Chapter Text

Peace, that was all you knew. Peace in Beach City and the Universe. Era 3 was an era of peace. And after Era 3, came Era 4. The only difference was your birth. Well, that and the remaining 2 Diamonds doing whatever. Blue Diamond wanted to help Earth more. Steven did his own thing and White Diamond was back on Homeworld

And you? You were just living life and partially working as a teacher in Little Homeworld. It was nice, but you yearned for some action, some excitement. Steven had a magical destiny and saved a world and dismantled an evil alien empire. You wished you could do something like that.

But no, instead you just welcomed a bunch of gems that just came to Earth to teach them. You taught music and interpretive dance classes. And now you decided to take them on a ‘field trip’, mainly away from the Little Homeworld and to the hill where the Lighthouse and the Crystal Temple are

Accompanying you is an Ajoite, Vauxite, Opal, Ruby, Sapphire and Sugilite. Gems from far away planets, former colonies from galaxies far away and some even from Homeworld itself. And now they joined you to hear you sing, after all it was a music class.

Much like Steven and any gem, you had a knack for music and instruments. So you played your acoustic guitar before starting to sing softly, almost melancholically

“I guess I have to face, that
in this awful place, I
shouldn't show a trace... of doubt.

But pulled against the grain, I
feel a little pain, that
I would rather do... without.

I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
I'd rather be free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...
Free-ee-ee, free-ee-ee, free...

from here. “

Unbeknownst to you at the moment you sang, someone else overheard the song that might’ve resonated with the lyrics a little too much. While you were just starting the song, you didn't notice a portal open behind you and since you began singing, the gems who saw the newcomer decided not to interrupt you, but were aware of his presence. Especially Sapphire who had a knowing smile seeing him.

Once you finished, you noticed the gems weren’t looking at you, but… above you? You look up. Nothing. And then behind you, seeing a costumed guy your age flying or floating behind you

“O-oh” you exclaimed surprised, jumping a little at seeing an unexpected guest, who was flying no less! And he wasn't a gem

“Sorry for eavesdropping. I heard you were singing and I didnt want to interrupt you” he apologized to you. But truth be told, he wanted a break from all the dimension hopping and stress that he went through

Aside from the fact that he was a flying human, something you certainly didn't think was possible, you noticed his expression… it was downcast and somber, something was bothering him that there was a deep sadness within him. And you couldn't just ignore that, even if he was a stranger to you

“That's fine. Who are you though? And umm…. are you ok?” you ask as you were presented with this unique situation
“Wanna talk?” you say and pat the grass beside you, inviting him to sit down as you move your instrument to the side.

He takes you up on that offer and sits beside you, he removed his mask to wipe away any tears that were forming
“I-God. I don't know. No? I'm not ok”

You tried to comfort him and then asked him “Wanna talk about it? What’s wrong? Maybe I can help”

“It's about my mother. Im just worried about her” he answers you

“Where is she? Is she here like you?” you ask him

“No, I-I'm from another dimension. I’ve been fighting this guy Angstrom Levy. He has the power to open portals to other dimensions. He kinda threw me into this one” he explained

So he was from another dimension? That would explain his flight power. Maybe humans can fly in his world or maybe he was an aaalllliiiieeeen. OooooOOOoo.
Still, even if he wasn't from this Earth or universe, you decided to seize the new opportunity. Plus you couldn't miss out on helping someone
“Hmmm. How about this, when a portal opens I’ll help you fight this guy!” you offer to him

“What? No! You’ll get hurt and stranded in another dimension” he tried to dissuade you from doing anything foolish. After all, a portal to another dimension was just a one way ticket. And Angstrom wont be kind to return a rando such as yourself home

“I mean if I’ll be trapped on your Earth, it won't be that bad. I’ll manage” you shrug. Mostly because you didnt care if you were stuck in his world. This one was too peaceful for you

“And if you get hurt?” he called you out for not addressing that

You pull down your shirt, showing your gem at your chest.
“I'm half human,half gem. I can handle some bad guy. Trust me” you proudly say. Besides you were itching to try your powers in a real battle situation and not just in private training sessions

“A…Gem? I don't get it” he didn't get how being a precious stone was useful in any scenario. Nor did he understand how someone can be a gem

“Wow, you really are from a different world” you motion towards the crowd that was just watching you “Them. Aliens. Basically think this, sentient space rocks”

“Hello” the Sapphire greeted him with a cute wave.

Her skin is light blue and she has one blue eye, no nose, and full lips. Her hair is light turquoise and is short and messy with two bangs that split down the middle to reveal her eye. Her gemstone is on her navel and is royal blue.
She wears a light blue-teal baggy dress with long and baggy sleeves, a white shawl, and a diamond-shaped cutout at her navel.

He only just noticed the colourful bunch of gems and the obvious one eyed shorty. Truth be told, when you were singing, he was mostly fixated on you.
“So… aliens can come freely to Earth here?” he asked, mostly because he knew that if Cecil knew, he’d have a say in who comes to Earth and what can they do. Come to think of it, he wondered if this Earth had a Cecil here.

You just shrug “I mean, we only had gem interaction. And after their empire got dismantled, some come here to find their place in the universe”

“And the government? They’re ok with them just coming and doing whatever?” he asked. He was sure there was no way Cecil would let any aliens come willy nilly to Earth, no matter how peaceful they are. Just look at Nolan when he just arrived and claimed to just want to protect the Earth

“I guess they’re fine with it. I mean gems were here like for thousands of years before any modern government. I guess they just see this as normal.” then you decide to ask him something
“Tell me about your Earth, where are you from? What's it like there?”

“I mean, there are no alien gems for starters. I never heard of you guys. We did have some aliens, like Allen the Alien and a bunch of Viltrumites. And since we’re talking on being half human. I'm actually half human myself”

“Oh that explains the flight then! What’s the other half?” you ask happily

“I’m also half Viltrumite” he said

“Aaahhh….” you answer, feigning understanding, but eventually pause for a bit and then say “I have no idea what that is” echoing his earlier sentiment how he had no idea what Gems were.

“Oh how wondrous! Two different yet similar alien species found love with a human and fell in love with the Earth” Sapphire exclaimed happily, being a hopeless romantic

“I don't think Viltrumites love E- wait? Similar alien species?” he was surprised to hear that. How can gems and viltrumites be any similar? These girls seem chill and friendly and from what he sees really do just like the Earth and don't wish to conquer it. Viltrumites are more the type to just kill and conquer or just exterminate. Also they mostly are just serious and always glare and are intense. Where as these gem girls are relaxed and happy and friendly.

“Don't look at me, I don't know this” you tell him and look at the gems for answers

“We’re gems” Sugilite spoke.

She is tall and slim with a purple color scheme and thick legs. Her skin is lavender and she has two medium lilac eyes with black pupils, a small nose, and full lips. Her hair is dark purple and is long and messy. Her gemstone is on her chest. It features an inverted pentagonal facet and is shaped the same way. She wore a dull purple and black red shirt with a White Diamond insignia on her chest. She had a dull purple waist band and wore black leggings that covered her feet with a dull purple accent at her hips.

“We're a space faring race designed to conquer other worlds.” she finished explaining to him

“You know about Viltrumites, Sugilite? How?” you asked her

“I was there when it happened 9100 years ago,we fought against those organics. For thousands of years we had an unspoken understanding to not go near each other's territory. To expand our territory separately. But one day, both empires wanted to conquer the same planet. I believe it was called Urath originally. War started over who gets to colonize the planet. Our war lasted for 6000 years. Viltrumite numbers dwindled, while the Diamonds mass produced us Sugilites to fight Viltrumites. They put up a good fight. Viltrumites were exceptionally strong. And the fact that the Gem War started also benefited them. It became a battle of attrition, which they lost because we outlasted them. Unlike them, we gems don't need to eat or drink or breathe. And we Sugilites regenerate faster than other gems.”

She then got up to her feet, showing just how tall she was. She was the size of Pink Diamond, probably around 3 meters tall, so taller than an average human or viltrumite.
“Are there Viltrumites on your world?” she asked him, with an intense look in her eyes. She wanted to fight them once more. But was reasonable enough to not just blindly attack him, unlike a certain Battle Beast.

What Sugilite said was a lot of information to digest for both of you. He wondered if there were no Viltrumites in this dimension because the gems beat them. That would mean this dimension doesnt have a Mark Grayson. And since you’re half gem, did that mean you existed instead of him?

“Huh, oh? I mean, yeah? Not on Earth, but they want to conquer Earth” he said as he snapped back from his thoughts

Sugilite was silent, she wanted to come to his world and fight Viltrumites, because old habits die hard. The Vauxite got up and placed her hand on Sugilite's shoulder to calm her and sit her back down.

You just patted his shoulder “Don't mind them. And hey, we haven't introduced ourselves. My name is (y/n)”

“Mark Grayson. Invincible when I'm in the costume like this. And is your middle name really Diamond?”

“I imagine there’s a reason you haven't told me your middle name” you friendly countered

“Ok, point taken.”

You looked at the 6 gems “You know what, class dismissed. You can go off and do whatever”
After that you got up and offered your hand to Mark, to help him up
“You need rest. Whenever that portal for you opens, you need to be fresh for your battle.” you say as you help him up and walk with him

But suddenly you two hear a voice “I foresee. Sadness and anger. Hurt. But also healing. Horror, guilt and lastly fear”

Looking behind you see Sapphire, as well as Sugilite and Opal who was still sitting, but levitating

“What?” Mark asks, unsure about what she is saying

“She can see the future with her future vision” you whisper to him

“Your mother will be healed. Don't worry about her, she will be safe. You just have to have faith in your friends.”

“Healed? Is she hurt?! What about Oliver??” he asked clearly worried since he heard his mother was hurt or will be hurt. He didnt know which it was at the moment

“Oliver? Is that the Amethyst with her?” she asked him

“Amethyst?” he didn't understand her and its not like he knew gemology. After all, Mark didn't know where Mt Rushmore was at first. So of course he wouldn't know what colour is an amethyst

“Oh um… is Oliver purple by chance?” you ask as you caught Sapphires hint

“He is” Mark answers you

“Then you have nothing to worry about. Your amethyst coloured Oliver will emerge through this ordeal without a scratch” Sapphire tells him

Mark sighs from relief “Oh thank god”

“Is there anything we can do for you now, since you’re here” you ask him

“I don't know. Maybe theres a way I can go back. Maybe Cecil knows” he tells you

“Cecil?” you don't know who that is, obviously. But you were curious who was that

“Cecil Stedman, he’s the director of the Global Defence Agency. I don't know if he exists in this dimension. But if he does, maybe he has some technology that can take me back” he explains his train of thought as he puts back his mask

“I’ll go with you then. Just in case” it wasn't an offer, it was not an order. But it was a fact, you were coming along with him and there was no arguing on it being dangerous that you get left behind

“Alright” he says as he sees your determination and starts floating. Ready to fly away

“Wait! I can’t fly” you quickly get up and say before he zooms away.

“I’ll carry you” he then floats over to you and holds you. Carrying you bridal style. After his interaction with the spider guy, he knew how not to grab someone. Maybe it was easier with you since you were a girl, so he can hold you properly

And you? You lowkey enjoyed this position, as in being held by him. You noticed in the corner of your eye Sapphire having this smile as if she was shipping you and Mark. You just discreetly gave her an ‘im watching you’ gesture. As if to warn her to not make anything weird or funny.

“Are you ready?” Mark asked you, to which you merely nodded as he quickly flew away. Granted, he flew in a random direction as he had no idea where this was. After which he kinda stopped when he finally realized this
“Hey, wait… where are we?”

“Beach City” you tell him

“And where’s Beach City?”

“America? The state of Delmarva?” you raise your brow as you answer him

While you couldn't see his eyes behind those goggles, you had a feeling he just looked dumbfounded and blinked confused
“As in the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia combined?” he tries to guess

“I don't know any of those states” you tell him

“How… many states are there?” he asks mildly worried at just how different this Earth is. Mostly worried if he’s stuck in a drastically different Earth

“39, why?” you ask confused “How many are there supposed to be with you?”

“50” he quickly answered without missing a beat

“Wow…thats a lot. So…um… where is Cecil? I can help you navigate” you offer as you didn't expect you’d need to help him find his way to where ever.

Mark was glad now that you were with him because he didn't expect such a drastic difference in dimensions, though he should’ve seen it coming “The Pentagon” normally thats in Arlington, Virginia. But since here Virginia was actually Delmarva, he had no idea if the Pentagon was in the right place.

“Oh! We can get there super fast. Lets go to Little Homeworld” you tell him as you point to the settlement, which he flies you over to.

You two land at Little Homeworld. He’d see what the settlement was like. It had small buildings that are brightly colored. Its central tower is tall, hexagonal, and beige with a whirly-bird like structure on top of it. In the center of the town lies Little Homeworld's Warp Pad, surrounded by a gold star. There is a flagpole out front with the Gems version of an Earth Flag. It has a black fringe, a dark blue background representing space, an orange circle with a yellow circle in the center representing the Sun, a dark blue hexagram with a light blue circle in the center representing the Earth, and a white circle in the hexagram's upper right corner representing the moon.

Mark wanted to ask you what this place is, but he knew that you two would be here the whole day if he asked questions about this dimension. Though he’d see the plethora of gems here just living in peace.

“So um… how do we get to the Pentagon?” he asked

You lead him to the warp pad. To him it looked like you were leading him to a teal, crystalline platform which resembled the top half of a brilliant cut diamond. You held his hand “Brace yourself. The first time is always weird”

“The first-” he wanted to ask what did you mean, but then you used the warp pad, which instantly took you two to the Pentagon. It mildly disoriented him as he didnt expect that he’d be essentially teleported. But he’d see they arrived to their destination
“How?”

“Oh, right. We used a warp pad, a teleportation device. Basically it takes you through warp space to another warp pad. After Era 4 started, Blue Diamond wanted to establish contact with governmental humans as she is a diplomatic matriarch, so the Pentagon let a warp pad be installed in a location here. Though only Gems or half gems can activate a warp pad. Humans need to use a Warp Whistle or whatever gadget humans make to use it” you explained as you two went to enter the Pentagon.

Although you two were stopped by both GDA guards and gem guards that were part of Blue Diamonds entourage. Both you and Mark raise your hands as you didnt want to fight, but just ask for help

Luckily the person you two were looking for just arrived to see what was the commotion. Cecil saw you and Mark. Though to this Cecil, Mark aka Invincible was a total unknown to him

“Is this one of them you were talking about?” he asked someone

“I’m not sure” a gentle voice was heard, revealing Blue Diamond who was slowly walking and catching up to Cecil to see what the commotion was as well. She wasn't in a rush as her human friend

Blue Diamond was massive in size, making humans look like worms in scale of size. Her complexion is azure, and she has long, straight, alice blue hair which curls inward at the ends. Two noticeable and symmetrical locks of her hair curl and point inwards towards her face just below her cheekbones. A unique feature of her hair are two lengths of that lead from each side of her head and physically connect on her chest just below her gem, giving it an almost shawl-like appearance. She has a long ovoid face, a full upper lip, and a straight nose. She also possesses large, sad, downward-slanting eyes with bold mascara on the lower lashes, giving the appearance of a weeping woman. Her irises are cyan with black diamond shaped pupils and she has thin arching eyebrows.
Her gemstone is located on her chest above her sternum, and she wears a long navy blue cloak that touches the ground.

“Whats going on here?” Mark asked as he didn't know Blue. To him she was just a gigantic alien lady

While Blue wanted to answer his question, Cecil was the first one to talk “Classified information, kid. Now tell me who are you and what are you doing here?”

This was confirmation to Mark that he didn't have a dimensional counterpart here. In this universe, his dad never arrived to earth to meet his mom and well… have him. So he had to talk to this Cecil as if they were strangers

“Right… how do I start even” he scratched his head as he hoped that he would have someone familiar to aid him
“My name’s Mark Grayson and I come from another Earth. There’s this guy Angstrom Levy who threw me into this dimension and I hoped that maybe you have a way back to my home”

“Why did you believe he can help you?” Blue Diamond asked him

“Because I know Cecil. Well… the Cecil from my dimension that is” he kinda clumsily answered

Cecil was of course always careful and skeptical. Whatever dimension you’re in, Cecil will always be the same. No matter what dimension, Cecil is always ‘the end justifies the means’ and ‘the lesser of two evils’ type of guy. Extremely fixated on the greater good, he became ethically questionable, ready to carry out any measures he believed essential for the protection of the world. Its exactly why he was talking with Blue Diamond now who used to be a vengeful tyrant for thousands of years with a dozen conquered planets. He was focusing on Earths safety from a greater evil that was coming this way. And he was taking any help he can get, even from a former evil galactic empire that was a plague to the universe.

No matter what dimension, Cecil is always a trusty constant. Thus of course he was wary of Mark.

“We don't have any dimension hopping technology, kid. Sorry” Cecil tells Mark, then since his alien guest is here, he asks her “Do you have anything that can help him?”

“No. We only have pocket dimensions in our gems. I do not believe he wishes to be stored there” Blue tells him

“Yeah…right. No pocket dimensions” Mark tells Blue

It seemed like the GDA and the Diamond were of no help. And if the GDA did by chance decide to help him, creating and discovering this tech could take years. So defeated, you and Mark decide to go back to Little Homeworld. This time, Mark decides to fly there with you instead of warping.

He sighed as he hoped the GDA would have something. You meanwhile enjoyed being in Marks lovely embrace, but you were more thinking why was Blue talking to him. You wondered if there were Viltrumites out there that bolstered their numbers and were ready for some action. Come to think of it.

The Diamonds eased up on having an army as they weren't conquerors anymore and took up a pacifist way of life. If there was a time to strike and crush an old enemy and its new friends. Now would be the perfect time.

You didn't want to think about it and in a way you were thankful Cecil stopped Blue from answering.

As you two were flying, you’d hear Mark ask “What’s that?”

You looked at where he was looking at when he was flying and you saw the Crystal Temple “That’s the Crystal Temple, home of the Crystal Gems. It is their base from which they protect humanity. I don't live there sadly”

Mark lands near the Temple at the beach and carefully lets you down so you can get on your feet. Truth be told, both of you didn't know what to do. But you didn't like the silence. “Uhm, want me to get us some food. I imagine you must be starving after your whole ordeal”

“Sure, I could go for something” Mark answers you

You nod and tell him to wait here as a costumed hero isn't exactly a normal thing here. Which is saying something considering the weird things like Gems being here. Nevertheless you rushed away to the town. You felt now was the best time for some fries. Maybe later you’d get some donuts. But now you rushed back to Mark. Lucky for him, but you were super fast.
“I’m back. Here are some fries for you” you say as you offer some to him and keep some for yourself

He thanks you and thus you two sit together and enjoy the meal,ocean scenery and the sunset. Along the way he tells you about his world and you see just how different it is. You listen to him with great interest. You were like a giddy child eagerly listening a grownups cool story. You enjoyed spotting the differences.

After you two finish all the fries, both of you would just sit back and relax

“You know… it’s really nice here. It’s… calm” Mark softly speaks as he takes in the tranquility of this small town and the waves of the ocean. He liked how humans and aliens just seemingly got along and there was no problem at all, no conflict.

“Yeah…. I wish I could show you more. You’d like Beach City. The people are nice and you’d get to relax and do whatever you want” you tell him, while also taking in the perfectly tranquil atmosphere. You feel rather calm. Maybe you felt a calm before the storm.

In a way, you treated this as a last day at Beach City, because you were planning to go with Mark to his dimension to help him, whether he liked it or not.

You glanced at Mark to see how he was doing. But he seemed deep in thought, you couldn't tell behind that mask and goggles. You couldn't see his expression, but you could tell he was worried about his home. You didn't have any words to say, because you didn't know what to say. Its not like you had a way with words like Steven did. You were more of an action person. So since actions spoke louder then words, you just scooted over closer to him and hugged him

“Huh? Wha-” he snapped back to reality upon feeling the physical contact. He didn't know quite how to react. After all, he JUST broke up with Amber before Angstrom got him in this dimensional shit

Though, before he finished his sentence, the Sapphire from earlier arrived with 2 more gems
“Excuse me” she spoke, calling out both of your attention

“What is it?” you ask her as you let go of Mark

Sapphire merely pointed to your right “Get ready for a portal opens.In 3…2…1”

And on cue, as her future vision has shown her, a portal opens. Without missing a beat Mark goes to charge thru it, but Sapphire stops him by extending her small hand in his way “Wait”

“What is it?? I have to go!” he urged as he floated, ready to just get there

“No wait! She’s right! Look. The portal is still open” you comment. It seems the portal wasn't timed to shut. “If Angstrom wanted to strand you here, he wouldn't be bothering opening a portal for you in the first place. Lets try and be smart”

The portal stays open still and after a bit Angstrom peeks thru the portal. Sapphire removed her hand allowing Mark as well as you to get an element of surprise with your speed as you two surge past the portal with Mark pinning Angstrom against the wall in his own dimension.

“THIS IS OVER!” he yells to Angstrom with a raised fist. He was angry and mentally exhausted and ready to finish this

You meanwhile went to adjust yourself to this dimension and your surroundings. It was a messy house with signs of battle and it was night time.

“Mark” Debbie who was sitting on the ground and resting against the wall called out weakly to Mark, who sees her split wrist. Sadness, anger and hurt. Just like Sapphire said.

Upon seeing his brutalized mother, he lost all feelings of remorse and slammed Angstrom into the asphalt outside his home.
As the guys took the fight outside, you rushed to Debbie’s side “Hi there. You must be the mom. Don't fret, I can heal you”

You then rub your hands which cracks with electricity as you softly hover your hand over her wound, reshaping her hand to be in a perfect healthy condition. You do the same with your hand over her face to fix her black eye, making sure there are no wounds on her. The only blood she has now is the dried blood from the closed wounds. You glanced towards the hole in the house that Mark just made with punching Angstrom out. That was some incredible strength he had. Truly someone you didn't want to anger.

But ultimately you focused on Debbie, to make sure she was well
“How do you feel?” you ask her as you help her and Oliver up

“Im fine now. But Mark-” Debbie speaks, until a new voice interrupts her

“Mark, will be fine. It is just as I predicted”

“What the? Sapphire!” you angrily exclaim when you realized 3 gems followed you in this dimension

“Forgive me mrs Grayson. I must go” Sapphire speaks and then speeds away over to Mark and Angstrom. Using her future vision to guide her. Planning and plotting something as if using her sight to orchestrate some events for her own purposes

She was fast to keep up with Mark, most likely because she’s floating and not walking on legs. While Sapphire sped away to manipulate some events, you focus on Debbie

“Lets go out, your home is not safe” you say as you help lead Debbie and Oliver out of the house to avoid any dangers of a battlefield. You wouldn't go far away, its not like you knew where to go in the first place. But at least having open space for your bubble shield was enough safety for you all.

“I want to help Mark, but he told me how important you are. So you’re my priority” you tell her and even tho you knew Mark for like a few hours tops, you trusted him to be able to handle Angstrom. Like that punch showed he had colossal strength and Sapphire never said he’d be in danger. Tho she did say after healing, which was now with you and Debbie, that there will be horror, guilt and fear

You knew she can predict the future more accurately, so you wondered why she was cryptic. Then again, you only knew Sapphire for like 2 days. She and the others were new arrivals to Earth. So you didn't quite fully know this Sapphires personality.

“Thank you” Debbie thanked you and you could see that she was a kind person. Someone strong in the real way.

“Ah I should introduce myself. My name is (y/n), this floaty white lady is Opal and the super tall purple girl is Sugilite. Granted they’re not girls, but its to keep it simple” you tell Debbie as you tried to introduce yourselves

“Thank you, all of you. We appreciate your help. My name is Deborah Grayson, but people call me Debbie. And this here is Oliver” she thanked you again and introduced herself to you.

“Nice to meet you, miss Grayson” you then noticed Oliver reach out for you or someone. You merely smiled and said “Nice to meet you Oliver”

Sugilite was curious about Oliver since they both had the same skin tone. She observed the little one who tried to reach out for her
“Is this a gem?” she pointed at him as she asked

Oliver would grab her finger, while Debbie replied “A gem? He’s half Viltrumite and half… what did Mark say?... Thraxan?”

“Are they purple?” you ask Debbie

“I don't know” she answered honestly.
Debbie seemed to have relaxed a bit as things have finally calmed down on her end. But of course, she was worried about Mark

-Meanwhile-
“Those doctors I told you about. The ones who rebuilt my body?” Angstrom punched Mark away, who landed on his feet. Sapphire caught up to the two and grabbed Mark, hugging him from behind, just holding onto him as he fights, due to her small stature, she wasn't really stopping him, nor was she planning that

“They also improved it.” Angstrom opened a portal behind Mark and charged at him. Punching him and pushed Mark in the portal
“Why do you think I sent you across the multiverse? Huh?” and with each sentence and punch, he’d send them to other dimensions
“Why do you think I was softening you up?” he said as he’d kick Mark, which caused him and by extension Sapphire to slam into some rock, at least she softened some blows for him

“I don’t want you to die in some random dimension!!” again, a hit to another dimension. It was a very disorienting battle. Portals would either appear up or down or behind or any direction. Truth be told, even Sapphire couldn't predict the way the portals would open, nor his fighting style. But she trusted Mark enough to handle this

Right now, they were in some futuristic dimension as they fell on the ground. Angstrom appearing thru a portal
“I want to do it myself!!” he angrily said as he pushed two random civilians out of his way into portals.

Each painful punch would be like a warp to another world. One, two, three, four different dimensions passed thru in an instant. Sapphire mostly held onto Mark with her dear life as she wanted to be there for the predicted finale. As much as she wished to assist him in battle, she wasn't a fighter like you were. She was an aristocrat, a seer. And she could only help him within her realm of possibility. And as much as she wanted to grant Mark her future vision, she really had no chance to do so.

Eventually they arrived in the Wasteland Dimension.

“Did you think anything less than killing you with my bare hands would satisfy me?” Angstrom tells him as he was ready to finish this
Sapphire tried to help and use her ice power. Using her cryokinesis to make ice spikes appear from the ground. But, due to her inexperience in battle, Angstrom easily avoided that and just backhanded her away from Mark. Moving her out of his way so he could grab Mark by the throat and strangle him

Angstrom tries strangling Mark, who pushes him across the wasteland.
“No.This doesn’t end until you and your family are dead.” he tells Mark

Sapphire slowly gets up as she holds her head, she looked to her right and saw she was inches away from a spike that would’ve pierced her head if Angstrom smacked with a different angle. Her gaze turned to Mark as he gained her attention. She had not dared to interrupt this
“STOP THREATENING MY FAMILY!!” Mark yells and flies incredibly fast towards Angstrom and slams into him before the guy could even open a portal.
“YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH, HOW MUCH I’VE BEEN HOLDING BACK!!!” Mark yells as he finally turns the tables and starts the beatdown on Angstrom. He physically and mentally unloaded all of his pent up stress onto Angstrom Levy, punching him through the air, and expressing how much turmoil he went though and how much he held back his powers, until Angstrom crash lands against a rusted beam
“I’LL NEVER LET ANYONE EVER!!! EVER!! HURT MY FAMILY!!!” at this point Angstrom couldn't do anything, he was done as the beatdown continued until the guy was practically a meat mush

Mark then finishes the battle with a double fist blow on Angstrom's chest and stops to breathe. That's when he finally notices the blood on his hands and looks at Angstrom's battered body and the remains of what used to be a face or a head. Mark then lets out a horrified moan and laments himself by saying, “I thought you were… I thought… I thought you were stronger”

Sapphire in silence just walked over to him and placed a hand on his leg, since she was too small to reach his shoulder. Horror, guilt and fear. He horrified by his action and feeling guilt for a murder.
-Back at the Grayson Residence-
You, Debbie and the others returned to the house. GDA soldiers as well as Cecil arrived to check on Debbie and Oliver
“Debbie…Jesus Christ. What happened?” Cecil asked when he saw the carnage in the household
“Cecil…Where’s Mark?” she asked, expecting the government man to know where her son is
“I don’t know. But let’s–let’s get you somewhere safe first.” he then turned to a GDA guy “You. Get the medics in here.Now!” the GDA guy ran to get medics

“Cecil, I'm fine”

“Thats alright,they’ll check on you and Oliver just in case” as the medics arrived to take Debbie and Oliver somewhere safe, thats when Cecil finally addressed you
“And who are you supposed to be?”

You cross your hands “Hi? Im (y/n). The tall purple one is Sugilite and the floaty white one is Opal. We also had a Sapphire with us but she went after Mark. Anyway, you’re welcome. I healed Debbie. Now, your turn”
Yeah, you kinda met Cecil a few hours ago, but you’d rather now have a word with him yourself. Besides, this was a different Cecil.

“Cecil Steadman. Director of the GDA.”

“GDA?” yeah, you had no idea what that was. Or maybe it slipped your mind, considering so much that happened.

“Global Defense Agency” he clarified

“Never heard of you” you continued as that didnt ring much bells

“That's the idea. We work with superheroes, like Invincible, to keep the world safe. Though, I suspect you have a different reason for not knowing. Why don't you come with us” Cecil spoke, wanting to interrogate you and learn about you. He had a hunch about you

You on the other hand, had no idea if this was a trap, you never dealt with government type folk. You came from a small town. And it seems the Graysons were more like big city folk who had some government ties. You had no idea if this was safe. But you decided to trust Cecil and go with him

He turns to Sugilite and Opal “You too, you’re coming with us”

The gems decided to go without much hassle. Sugilite was apprehensive, she was like a calm storm. While Opal was calm and tranquil, she was sitting in a meditative pose with her eyes closed, floating and following Cecil to whatever government vehicle he led you all to, to take you all to the Pentagon.

You had no idea what to expect during your trip to the Pentagon. Debbie was being checked on by medics who pretty much cleared her as healthy and fine so she wasn't able to warn you that Cecil is… not so easily trusted or that trusting him tended to be dangerous. Basically Cecil and trust didn't belong in the same sentence. And Mark? Well, you didn't know where Mark was. You just hoped he was ok. At least he had Sapphire with him. Tho, you wish you could’ve rushed to help him.
But since he spoke fondly of his mother and how he worried about her when he was in your dimension, you gave priority to her. You felt when she was alone with a baby that you should keep her safe.

“I thought humans didn't have gems” Sugilite was the first to break the silence

“What do you mean?” you ask her

“That woman, she had a baby. Purple as an amethyst.” she commented

“She said its half Thraxan. So its a new alien species” you reply

“Possibly. I am not familiar with many organic species. Humans were notable for inhabiting Pink Diamonds planet and surviving” Opal said

“What do we do now? We’re in this dimension” Sugilite asked

“Why did you follow me? You’re abandoning your friends and your home” you tell them

“You wanted us to find our place in the universe. I believe this portal that Angstrom made for us was a sign. A new magical destiny as you would say. Our world has peace. Steven sent his message to the universe. But this one, it gives us our missing piece” Opal spoke

“Missing piece?” you raised your brow and crossed your arms

“You craved for action. A magical destiny that Steven had and you didn't. You’re in a peak physical condition and you try too hard to live up to expectations of others. You had no outlet and this dimension full of conflict can heal you.” Opal then looked at Sugilite while still addressing you

“Sugilite is an elite soldier. She was made for battle and there are no battles to fight since your mother disbanded her armies. So her purpose was done. Now she can right wrongs. Fight and defeat viltrumites, not to colonize planets, but to save planets.” Opal then placed a hand on her chest to signify she’d talk about herself

“Technological advancements rendered me obsolete. I used to help Gems deal with mental, emotional and physical issues, to make sure they were operational to perform their tasks. But Rejuvenators made me unnecessary. When Gem Rejuvenators were created, production of Opals ceased. Despite me being unneeded, I still wish to help. I enjoy what I do and I wish to help humans. I considered that a world with conflict would make me… feel needed”

You then asked “What about Sapphire?”

Opal smiled “Love”

“Love?!” you then blush and have a stupid thought “Is she in love with Mark? I-I mean, he is very attractive,b-but…”

“No no. She will help you find love” Opal cleared out a misunderstanding

“Me?? Then why would she go with M..ark” thats when you understand why she was cryptic with her future vision and why she went with Mark while he was fighting Angstrom. She probably wanted to change whatever future she saw and not just that. She wanted to matchmake YOU with Mark. Not that you object, but seriously? You can woo someone without help!

But the fact that someone wanted to matchmake you was what made you blush redder than a ruby. That's why Sapphire was the first to say hi to Mark and her remark about Gems and Viltrumites being two different yet similar alien species found love with a human and fell in love with the Earth

Did she see your future and saw Mark in it? Or did she look into his future? Maybe both? Its its not like you minded being with Mark, so far he showed himself as a sweet and gentle and loving guy. Well, thats what you got from your brief interaction. And he is hot, like there was no denying that.

“Ohh nooo. Im not good enough for Mark. He’s already weirded out by us. Im weird. He was weirded out about me being half gem” you hold your head, stressed out

“You’re doing it now” Opal said

“Doing what?”

“Trying to live up to someones expectations. Let Mark fight his battles. He will defeat Angstrom and you two will get to interact together properly” Opal spoke

“And where would we stay? We don't have a home here…” you blush from embarrassment “I have to admit, I haven't thought far ahead where I’d live”

Whereas Opal, Sugilite and Sapphire were gems and didn't need to eat and drink. You still had to do that. So you needed housing arrangements and money to eat food.

For now, all of you fell silent as you continued your ride to the Pentagon where Cecil will question you. You had a lot on your mind. Home? Food? Cecil? GDA? But most of all, where was Mark?

-Wasteland Dimension-
Meanwhile, Mark grappled with the aftermath of killing Angstrom. He was caught in a spiral of self-doubt and psychological turmoil, questioning the righteousness of his actions and suffering a minor mental breakdown.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” he wiped some blood from his face as he walked away from the …scene…
“I had to. I didn’t have a choice. I had to kill him. He tried to kill me. He was gonna kill my mom and my brother.” he spoke as he tried to rationalize his actions or justify them. Find some coping to deal with it

“Mark. Its alright. You had to do it” Sapphire spoke calmly and softly to him to try and ease him up and calm him down. She followed him where ever he went. Its not like she had plans where to go.
“He made me do it. It was an accident, but he made me do it.” he walked for a while and then stopped

“Thats right. He did make you do it. You did it for your family” again she patted his leg and stopped in her tracks when he stopped
“I didn’t want to kill him. I didn’t. I had to. I had no other choice.”

“I know, Mark. You didn't mean to. But it happened. We can't change the past. Don't let the guilt burden you. Let it all out”

“I lost control. I wanted to kill him. What does that make me?” he sat down

She didn't sit down as he was finally kinda eye to eye level with her when he sat down. She finally was able to place her hand on his shoulder, which made him flinch and realize she was here. He was so shell shocked that he didn't even properly register her presence. All this time, he was actually talking to himself

“It makes you human, Mark. It makes you human. And that's a good thing” she clarified so he doesnt misconstrue it as a bad thing since she’s an alien.
“I thought he was stronger. He told me he was stronger! I wanted to kill him, but I didn’t know if I could. Oh, God…” he held his head as the stress, guilt, anxiety, panic, everything negative spiraled in him as he was falling apart.

When she thought he was crying, she hugged him or tried to. Not minding the blood that he was covered in. She just wanted to give him some motherly reassurance.
“Shhh, it's alright” she spoke in a whisper
When he caught his breath he asked “Where are we?”
He looked ahead and just saw a desert wasteland with ruins, skeletons of buildings. She let go of him as he got back up to his feet.
“He took us here and I killed him. We’re stuck here. Stuck forever. I can’t get home now.”

“Mark”
“I’m gonna die here.” that was the final part of her prediction. Fear. Fear that they’ll be trapped here forever

As he alternated between sobs and laughter, Sapphire floated up to him and lightly slapped him
“Mark!!... Calm down”

“Calm down? Calm down?! How can I calm down when we’re here!! Stuck!! With no way out because I killed the only person who can get us home!!!”

“In a few hours we’ll leave.” she spoke calmly

“How do you know?!”

“Future Vision. I can see the one definitive future where I don't intervene. And I see that in a few hours a portal will appear with your friends. A person called Robot will claim he is from 20 years in the future, and that he made a machine that will take you home to your dimension and time. Now please. Don't fret. Everything will be fine”

“W-wait, that stuff you said… Sadness and anger. Hurt. Healing. Horror, fear and guilt. You already saw all of this. Back in your dimension. Why?” he grabbed her “Why didn't you say it more specific like you did now with Robot!?”

“Because I made a mistake” she spoke calmly, largely unphased that he was grabbing her and nearly shaking her or nearly threatening her.

“Mistake? But everything played out. My mother got hurt and I got angry and attacked Angstrom. I killed him and I feel-”

“Guilty over his death and you fear being trapped here forever. Yes, but I made an error. In my vision, I saw Angstrom survive your battle, being rendered unconscious. I thought that my vision was correct but…” she fell silent and looked at Mark who was covered in his enemies blood “That isn't exactly an alive amount of blood he has. I thought he would be badly beaten but unconscious, where you thought you killed him, but did not.”

He didn't know what to say. He wished that was the case that Angstrom was just unconscious, he wished he didn't kill anyone. But that wasn't the case. Angstrom was dead and they were trapped here. He let go of Sapphire who just softly floated down.

-Meanwhile at the GDA Headquarters, the Pentagon, the Interrogation Room-

Cecil was questioning you. He had enough experience to know when something is more supernatural or alien. The fact you healed Debbies wounds showed that you had powers. He needed to find out what powers and if you’re a threat. You do come from a different dimension after all.
So he asked you stuff

“Where do you come from?”

“Earth. Just a different one. Angstrom threw Invincible in my dimension. And uh..the only reason I know of Angstrom is because Invincible told me about him” you spoke. You called Mark Invincible because you didn't know if Cecil knew his identity. Maybe he did since he showed up at his mothers house. But you still were careful, just in case

“Tell me about your Earth”

You sigh and tell him some differences, namely how your America has 39 states. Florida is an archipelago. Delmarva is a state. South America is called Pangea. Greenland is called Blueland. There’s a crater in Russia where there is no land mass in Siberia. You were sure there was more. But most importantly, all these changes happened because Gems landed on your Earth thousands of years ago. In a way, Invincibles dimension is if the Gems never landed here to colonize Earth. Which to you was interesting when you put it like that

“Gems?” he asked, clearly never hearing about them

“They’re….” you pause, not knowing the guys stance on aliens “are aliens a thing here?” you knew viltrumites existed. But you didn't know what this world did with aliens

“Yes, aliens exist” he confirmed

“And do you lock them up and experiment on them”

“If they’re a threat, yes. We study them to learn their weaknesses. Now tell me. Gems. They’re aliens”

Well, shit. You kinda said it without saying it “Yeah. Gems are alien beings, or really, a type of super advanced AI. I’m not sure exactly”

“Tell me everything about them”

“Simplified down to their basic form, gems are, well, just gems. Their bodies are actually projections generated by their gemstone. Think of it like a hologram, but with mass. As geo-based lifeforms, they grow in the ground. Gems are grown in Kindergartens by incubators, which drain the planets biosphere in order to create gems.”

“Kindergartens?” he raised his brow

“Oh jeez, yeah. Different definition. Its hard to say this in one sitting. They’re facilities that create gems in injectors. I’ll go more into detail about em later.”

Back to gem talk you give him a brief description on the Gem species and their abilities.

Gems can grow organic body parts should they wish, including reproductive organs and digestive tracts. Gems are immortal, never aging or needing to eat, only eating for pleasure and they cant die from food poisoning.

A Gem can only truly die if their gemstone is completely destroyed. However, even in broken forms they may still continue to exist. Otherwise when a Gem is forced into their gemstone, they can be bubbled or trapped in an object, preventing them from reforming.

Among their other abilities, they can also fuse. Each gem has their own unique weapon that they can summon. On top of that, each gem also has their own unique powers. Gems can be used to power artefacts or machinery. Different gems can fuse together into a fusion.The same type of gem will form a larger version of that gem, while different kinds of gems will form a new kind. The more gems like each other, the more powerful the fusion
Gems can control their density, and their density changes depending on what planetoid they're on. After that you just listed common gem abilities.
Cecil looked a little pensive. He heard all these abilities and thought would these Gems be able to take on a Viltrumite. They do have a broad set of abilities. But would that scale to a Viltrumite? Either way, he could use them. Besides, he knew there was more to this. But if they work for him, he’ll have all the time in the world to learn of their abilities, strengths and weaknesses

You ponder what to say to him. When you have tons of stuff to say, you don't know where to start.

“So those other 2 are Gems. What about you, though?” Cecil asked you. He knew you had powers since you helped Deb. But he needed to know whats the source of your power. Were you an enhanced human, like the Guardians of the Globe or were you…more like Mark

“I’m half human, half Gem” you reply and pull down your shirt to show your gemstone thats in your chest.

“I see. That explains some things. Now, you told me what Gems are. What are they like?”

“They’re pacifists in my dimension. Although in yours, I think they’re more like conquerors still. The Gem Empire has the Great Diamond Authority ruling over them. And a caste system. Each gem made for a specific purpose. Soldiers, terraformers, technicians, and so on.” you explain

“And what gemstone do you have?”

“...yellow… diamond” you say uneasily. It was hard to speak about your lineage “That’s my mom. She was… or is… one of the 4 Matriarchs and she’s Military Commander-in-chief. Overseeing the production of more gems and of colonization.”

Since you told him about Yellow, you decide to tell him about the remaining 3 of the Diamond Authority.
“White Diamond is the overall leader. Blue Diamond oversees all diplomatic issues on Homeworld and governs the outlining colonies, deciding when and where to build structures and other Gem sights. Pink? I don't know? She was a party planner?”
Honestly you had no idea what Pinks role was. But it was easier to speak of other diamonds

He sighed “Great, another threat to worry about.” but he wont dwell on that now. One threat at a time, for now at least
“So why did you all come to this dimension?”

“I wanted to help M- Invincible. The Gems wanted to… have a purpose again, I guess” while Opal did tell you her reasoning why everyone crossed the portal to this dimension, you didn't want to answer questions other people should. The Gems should tell him themselves why they made this huge leap of faith
“A purpose, huh? Then how about a proposal. Work for me. Join the Guardians of the Globe. You’ll be able to save people and we’ll make sure you have a place to stay and help you adjust to this dimension. Unless you want to go back to your own?”

You close your eyes and take a breath to think about it
“How about this. I’ll say yes as in yes and work for you, but with an asterisk. I want to talk to the gems first and to Invincible. I cant say yes and make the gems join without their consent”

“And why with Invincible?” he asked, why would you need his permission to join the Guardians

-Meanwhile, the Wasteland Dimension-

Mark was hovering up in the air, with Sapphire holding onto his shoulders, as she couldn't levitate this high. They looked at the horizon to see if there was anything
“Nothing. As far as the eye can see. Nothing.” he sighed and floated down where the two were able to sit beside one another.

“Why did you follow me here. Now you’re trapped here with me” he was depressed and tired.

“Because you will be rescued and I will be able to ensure a better future for you.” Sapphire spoke calmly

“Why did you guys even follow me to my dimension? You should’ve stayed home” he sounded so defeated

“Because we felt we belonged there. Because whatever pain, suffering, conflict, turmoil and trauma is thrown at us is worth it. Yes, we might have abandoned our friends. But we felt our world had nothing for us. Here we have a purpose. We are useful. And besides, even though I do not offer you much practical help in getting out of this wasteland. Would you rather be here alone or have some company?”

He reflected on some of those words. Pain, suffering, conflict, turmoil and trauma.. its all worth it? For purpose? Usefulness?
“You think all of that is worth it, just to be helpful to someone?”

“Yes. I would rather feel pain than nothing at all. I would endure anything negative, because it would make all the positives feel even better. I will treasure any moment I make someone happy. Any moment I help someone find a path to their happiness. But before you arrive to that destination, you have to endure what life throws at you”

When he goes to answer, the two see a green glow emanating from behind them. They look and see Atom Eve, Robot, Bulletproof, Monster Girl and some other 2 guys. This group was familiar faces, but unfamiliar as well. They were older. Mark realized its the part where his friends from 20 years in the future found them.

“Mark…You look terrible.” Future Eve spoke as she used her power to transform his torn bloody costume into his clean civilian clothes, of course she also removed Angstroms blood from him
“Eve, is that you?” Mark asked
“Yes, just not the me you know, not anymore at least.” she replied
“I-I did something horrible.”
“We know.” Future Robot spoke
“The only logical reason for you to be stuck in this dimension would be if you injured or killed Angstrom Levy during your fight.We knew this long ago.”
“I just…It just happened.”
“Maybe for you.For us, it was 20 years ago.” Future Bulletproof spoke
“It took us that long to find this dimension. Luckily, by that time, there were four working time machines in Guardian custody.” Future Robot spoke
“The world we come from, the world where you’ve been missing all these years, it’s not good.”Future Eve said
“We’ve already said too much. Any more and we could disrupt the time stream. Mark, I’m opening a portal that will send you home.” Robot said as he pressed some buttons on his device and created a portal

“Oh, thanks.” he softly chuckled “I-I don’t know if I would’ve survived here.”
“You did. But you wouldn’t like what you had become.” Future Robot said

And with that eerie message and silence, Mark slowly walked over to the portal. Sapphire followed closely behind him
When Mark came close to the portal, she immediately used all her strength to push him through, just as Future Eve went to fly over to tell him ‘something’. Sapphire knew what Future Eve tried to say, hence why she pushed Mark through the portal. It was kinda the reason why she followed Mark to this dead end dimension

But now that she ensured one possible future, she wanted to make it even easier for you and Mark. And for that she needed to visit her home dimension

Sapphire then turned to Robot
“Excuse me, but considering you have both time travelling and dimensional technology. I have a request for you, that will ensue a better future for you” she spoke in a more serious tone. Gentle, but there was an underlying seriousness and authority to it. She wasn't making a request, but a demand
-Main World/Dimension/Timeline-
Back in his world, Mark sees he’s hovering over his home and its day time. He sees police and emergency services
“Oh, God.” he imagined the worst. And just as he went to fly down, he hears Cecil on his ear piece. The signal is choppy
“Mark, can… can you hear me?”

He heard even through a weak signal that his mother and brother were safe at the Pentagon. So he flew there and met up with Cecil
“She’s doing good, your new friends healed her up. And all she’s done is ask about you.”
“What about Oliver?” he asked
“Not a scratch on the kid.”
Mark wanted to see his family, but before he could, Cecil asked him “Before you go. Can I have a moment”

Mark looked at Cecil, not knowing what he wanted to ask now

“Someone wants to talk to you” he said and right on cue, you showed up

“(y/n)” Mark said when he saw you

“Hey there, Mark” you spoke softly and maybe even shyly “I protected your mom” you didn't know how to start a conversation. Especially after what Opal told you.

Mark felt nothing but relief hearing his mother was fine and safe and hugged you. His reaction surprised you, but you hugged him back. Enjoying it a bit too much. Somehow, you felt this was where you wanted to be.
“Thank you”

As you pull away from the hug, you see his bruised eye
“Your eye. Let me help you” you say as you rub your hands and materialize electricity once again which emanates that crackling sound. You hover your hand over his bruised eye, reshaping and removing the wound, healing him. All Mark felt was a prickly tingly sensation before all went to normal. Cecil meanwhile observed your power
“There” you say when you fixed him up

Mark touched the place where his wound used to be, amazed by your ability.
“You’re a healer?” he asked a bit awestruck

“Heh…noo” you said softly “My power is as destructive as it is restorative. There is no inbetween. But before I delve too deep into that. I want to ask you. Umm… is it possible if we kinda stay at your place?” you awkwardly ask
“I dont mind. But I’ll ask mom if she’s ok” Mark replied

You nodded and said “Ok”

“I’ll give you some time.” Cecil spoke
“Thanks, Cecil. I appreciate everything.” Mark said
“Always.” Cecil says and leads you away so you two can talk more. He wanted to know all of your abilities. He knew you had much to offer
Mark meanwhile saw his mother. Seeing Debbie safe and unharmed, he is overcome with relief and breaks down in her arms.
“Oh, God. Mom.”
“I’m okay, Mark. Is it…Is it over?” she asked

Mark as he quietly sobbed, just nodded

“Oh, Mark.” his mother lovingly embraces him and lets her son let out all those painful feelings

-Meanwhile-

“So…Have you talked to your friends about joining the Guardians?” Cecil asked you now that he had a moment with you again

You nodded “Sugilite and Opal would accept. But I haven't seen Sapphire”

“We haven't seen her too. But rest assured we’ll find your missing friend”

“Thank you”

Opal would float over to you and Sugilite would walk beside her, thus the three of you would be reunited
“I heard Mark is back home. How lovely, have you talked to him?” Opal asked you

That made you blush “A bit yeah”

“Ah wonderful. Love is in the air~” Opal happily mused

“oh hush you!”

Cecil excused himself and let you guys mingle as he teleported away

-Outside-
Mark finds solace on a rooftop, reflecting on his actions and the consequences of killing Angstrom.

“If you’re looking for some alone time, this isn’t the most secluded place in the world, kid. You didn’t have a choice. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You’re not your dad, Mark.” Cecil speaks to him to try and ease his guilt
“You weren’t there. I lost it. I just lost it. I crossed the line, Cecil, and, and I…” Mark sobbed as he still gripped with the struggle of his first kill. He wasn't heartless as many of his foes would believe, as Angstrom would believe. He was a good guy, he wasn't a killer.

Cecil placed his hand on Marks shoulder “You didn’t cross the line, you kept your mom and your brother safe. End of story.”
“I don’t know, Cecil, I…”
“Stop.Mark, look at me.” Mark looks at him
“If the bad guys are dead and the good guys are alive, that’s a good day.”

“How do you know the difference?” Mark asks

“Well, the bad guys are usually the ones who break people’s arms. Go home, get some rest. You’re not him.”

“You weren’t there” Mark said before he flew off

-With Debbie-
You finally talked to Debbie properly and properly introduced yourself and your friends. Telling her how you met Mark in your own dimension. Giving her a run down of your situation and your home world

She was grateful for your help and couldn't imagine just how much you sacrificed just to help her. Being the kind woman she was, she of course accepted your request to live with them. She knew Cecil much more than you and didn't trust him with you, especially since you too were just a teenager like Mark was, and your gem friends were aliens who knew not much of the Earth, especially an alternative one.

You needed someone who genuinely wants your best interest. Besides, she didn't mind extra company when Mark was out there being Invincible.

-Meanwhile-
Speaking of Invincible, Mark, was in his costume. Now he flies over Earth, haunted by memories of his father, Omniman. He recalls moments from their past, including Omniman's belief that Mark would eventually become like him and outlive everyone he knows. Mark makes a stop at Upstate University, intending to talk to Amber, but hesitates and leaves without making contact as he doesn't want to endanger her life again and felt it was time for him to move on.

-Later, Evening time-
You, Mark, Debbie, Oliver and the gems were watching the Grayson Residence be fixed up. Opal was shapeshifted as a dove on your shoulder due to her appearance being too alien for humans. Sugilite was shapeshifted into a purse

A random person stopped and said “Gas leak blew up the house across the street last year. Now your place? Ah, man, I got to get my place checked out. Yikes.”
“Yeah. Can never be too safe.” Mark told the guy who then left
“Good to be home, right, Oliver?” the babysitter holding Oliver said

All of you get inside the house and you look at your new home, getting adjusted to your new surroundings.
Debbie asked April the babysitter to prepare Oliver for bed and then showed you and your friends where you can stay. After which Debbie would want to go and prepare dinner. Sugilite would want to join her. She was by no means a cook at all, but she had strength and was willing to help. Plus she enjoyed food stuff.

Eventually you’d all have a nice dinner. Granted Opal didn't eat since she didn't really enjoy it. To her, the act of eating food was disgusting. Sugilite meanwhile didn't mind, she happily ate, but had to be reminded by you to not eat the plates

And so, when dinner ended, the Gems helped Debbie with the chores. Curiously learning how it was done and how not to break anything.

Meanwhile, You were worried because Sapphire was missing. Its been almost a day since that fight happened and since she got warped away with Mark. You hoped she was fine, but for now, you went to check on Mark.

He was on the roof and you joined him and sat beside him. Unbeknownst to you, Debbie would be able to overhear you both talk
“Am I intruding? It kinda looked like you needed company” you looked at him “Its kinda late, shouldn't you rest. You’ve been through enough”

“Sorry. Got a lot on my mind.” he spoke, softly or sadly. All in all it was a quiet tone

You sighed and looked at the stars “Same”

“Things are gonna be different now, aren’t they?”

“I guess so” you looked at him “Am I….intruding? I mean if Im bothering you, I can always go to Cecil”

“Huh? What no! I didn't mean that. You’re fine” he quickly spoke to correct himself, as you weren't an issue. It was just everything else that was.

“Oh… um.. ok. Sorry. I didn't mean to make it about me. Just wanted to make sure you’re ok”

“Im… Im… I don't know, so much changed. I cant take this”

You placed your hand over his. You really wanted to help him. But this was not a physical wound that can heal. Its not that the fabric of his arm or body was torn, but it was like a fabric of his mind. It was a mental problem that took time to heal
“You can talk to me about. Just vent and let it all out” it was your only way to help

He thought about it, but he didn't even know where to start

“Anything is fine. First thing that comes to mind. It can be anything”

He eventually opened up “I got my powers from my dad. I grew up being told my father as a great super hero and that one day when I was older I’d get powers just like him and I’d be able to do anything he could.”

You nodded and cautiously said “So far so good”

“Yeah so far. So a while ago during my senior year of high school, I get my powers. And everythings cool for a while. My dad teaches me some tricks, shows me the ropes. Life is good. Im a super hero”

“And then?” you curiously listened to his story

“Then my dad kills a bunch of other super heroes and tells me he’s there to take over the world and that Im supposed to help him”

“huh” you didn't know what to say as it kinda echoed some deja vu. But since you didn't want to make this about you. You just give him theproverbial floor, let him talk

“Its terrible, yeah. He left the planet and instantly Im without the father I knew. But my mom? My mom loses her husband and before my father goes, he says my mother was nothing but a pet to him. That he never loved her. She had to hear that. It broke her heart, she still hasn't recovered. And now we had Angstrom threaten us. He used information he gathered from other dimensions to find out who I was, where I lived. And then I…I”

You hugged him
“Mark” what do you say to that. Some parts you understand, like evil world conquering dad. But the last part with Angstrom was heavy and you had no idea how to ease that burden. Though you had one idea. He opened up to you. Maybe you should do as well
“You know, I have a sort of similar but opposite situation to you” you let him go

He looks at you when you say that

“I never knew my mom. She ceased to exist to become half of me. Im used to being told what was she like. But I never had a chance to interact with her. I know she was a conqueror, like your dad. She commanded huge armies and colonized planets. She left a lot of deaths. Estimated at least a decillion. That's…33 zeroes. Or more than the grains of sand on earth, and that's the low estimate. She did reform and become a physical healer, but I think the looming shadow of her thousands of years of conquering was something she couldn't escape. Although… unlike you, I didn't really have fights and enemies. But I do wonder, if she had me so I can atone in her place. I don't know. Even though no one says it, I do feel theres a looming shadow where I am being subconsciously compared to her”

“What about your dad?” he asked

“He’s nice like your mom. Strong character. But we went our different ways, I finally grew up and was able to live on my own. Still though, I have to say. I’m scared, Mark. I’m scared that I'm like my mom. Yeah, I like action. To get a chance to shine and fight to save someone. But I'm also scared that when I get that chance, what if I find out Im like her in ways that I'm actually a cruel person? What if I end up enjoying hurting someone or seeing someone do evil?”

“You’re not like that” Mark told you

“You don't know that. I don't know that” you say as you press your hand to your chest

In a way, you both got an understanding of one another and found out you’re more alike than you thought. Both of you are hybrids of human and alien. Your alien parents are planet conquerors. Tons were left dead in their wake. And both of you were afraid that you would be seen like your alien parent. Mark didn't want to be like Nolan and he didn't want people to treat him like Nolan, like he was responsible for the deaths he caused. You were afraid of being like Yellow Diamond. You didn't want anyone to think you’d follow in her footsteps, but you were afraid if you were like her, because you didn't discover if you had some hidden bloodlust in you or not.

Both of you felt a bit at ease knowing that there was someone alike with similar struggles. To have someone who can understand one another. To have someone to confide in. It only took some dimension hopping to find someone.

You moved your hand closer to Marks, just barely touching his, but not daring to make hand contact.

After a moment of silence, Mark spoke “I’m quitting college.”

“Hey” you speak softly “Are you sure? I mean college is like important”

“It doesn’t make sense. I’m missing all my classes, and the more I think about it, what’s the point? Am I gonna be a dentist? A lawyer? A-a coder? Why would I do any of that?”

You sigh “I can't do anything there. I never went to school really. I can't vouch for college. So if you think thats the right move going forward, I won't stop you”

After a bit, you two were joined by Debbie who sat beside you
“Mark”
You had a feeling she overheard what you two were talking about, so you let them talk and not intervene. You scooted a bit away from Mark.
“I know things have been tough, but this this is your future you’re talking about. You can’t just quit college.”

“With everything I can do, tell me why I need to go to college” he told her

“College does a lot more than just prepare you for a j- Mark?” Debbie spoke, but stopped when she saw her boy cry

“I can’t. I just can’t. The things I can do… It’s too much. I can’t do it. I have to get better. I have to learn how to control myself. It’s important. It’s the most important thing I can do.” he wept
“I have to get better. I have to be better.Do you understand?”

“Mark…”
“Do you?” he asked again
“I do. I really do.” she spoke and hugged him

You looked up at the stars and see Homeworlds galaxy from here. This is it, a whole new world. Everything is familiar and yet unfamiliar. Viltrumites are a looming threat that you will have to deal with. And yet, you know Homeworld is out there doing god knows what. Sapphire is missing still as she didnt return with Mark. You hoped she was ok, but now you had to brace for the future.

Chapter Text

You were at the GDA, looking bored as Cecil and his goons went to test you and your abilities and even your gemstones composition. Resulting in a lot of scanning, poking around and heavy lifting and various other tests they throw your way. While you dealt with that, Cecil was in a separate room with Donald

“What do you got for me, Donald?” Cecil asked his assistant

“Well sir. That gemstone in (y/n)’s chest is not just a diamond. Scans show that it’s actually a mega compressed core of a star. To come into existence, each of these diamonds essentially had to have tore open a planet. Essentially, she and the Diamonds she mentioned are sentient beings with a continuously renewable thermonuclear reactor in their chests. And judging by what (y/n) told us, if they couldn't bend local reality to their whim I'd be surprised.”

“Do you think she might handle a Viltrumite?” he asked as he looked at you through a glass window, which was a one way window

“Using Mark and Nolan as our example Viltrumites, strength wise, she is similar to Mark. Albeit 6% weaker than him.. She is also just as fast as Mark, matching his flight speed on foot. Durability wise might be greater than both Mark and Nolan, because I have not seen a single physical injury on her. Not even a bruise”

“That could be a sign of super regeneration, Donald. Besides I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. Have we found out any weaknesses to these Gems?”

“Well, (y/n) is half human. So a potentially deadly attack that can kill us humans may kill her as well. As for those Gems, we found out we can temporary disable them with lethal damage, but they regenerate right away. Namely the Sugilite who opted to take the tests while the Opal observed with us. But from what we learned, the Sugilte type is a soldier who regenerates faster and has combat capabilities, while the Opal is a therapist who has no combat experience and thus most likely much slower regeneration time. The only way to stop the gem from reforming is to contain it. But we are still unsure how to contain them without the use of (y/n) or another gem”

“So no concrete weakness?”

“If there is, they aren't willing to tell us”

“Just great” he sighed and then went to you “Ok (y/n), we’re done for today”

You yawn and stretch “Finally”
You were glad you were done with the science tests. Honestly, if you knew what type of a guy Cecil was you would’ve refused him. But you already agreed to his bs and you tend to not go back on your word. Sugilite and Opal join you as they were in other separate rooms and also done for the day

Together all 3 of you go to leave the Pentagon, to which you encounter Mark in his Invincible costume waiting for you

“Hey there” he greeted you. He seemed to be doing better mentally or at the very least wasn't showing it outwardly.

“Whats up? How are they treating you?” you ask Mark as you knew he was doing some GDA stuff as well

“Thats supposed to be my question. But yeah, just some usual training” he replied.
He had started training ever since Anissa showed up to Earth. You never encountered Anissa since that happened shortly before your arrival to this dimension

“To prepare once again for that Anissa chick you mentioned?” you asked

“Pretty much. But enough of that, come with me. I have somewhere to take you” Mark told you

You just hand waved it “Yeah sure, lead the way.”

Mark would grab you and carry you bridal style as he’d fly you somewhere. Opal would go back to Debbie and keep her company, while Sugilite would follow you and Mark. She could keep up with him.

You’d watch where he’d fly you, while also just enjoying the sights and well the position you’re in. You enjoyed being carried in his strong and muscular arms. Ok ok, now you had to stop thinking or else you’d blush.

You would see he took you to a Tailor Shoppe and you two would land there, with Sugilite arriving close behind you. He’d lead you inside. You would look around and mostly follow him, until you encounter some older man

“Hey there Art” Mark would greet his friend

“Mark, good to see you. And who do we have here?” he would greet Mark back and then ask about you

“Hello, sir. My name is (y/n)” you introduce yourself and when you notice your friend, you introduce her to him as well “And this is Sugilite”

Sugilite just gives an awkward wave to the man as she didnt know what to say really

“Pleasure to meet you (y/n), I'm Art Rosenbaum”

“Good to meet you too, sir. So umm… what is this place?” you asked since you didn't know what the place was for and what he does even

“Mark hasn't told you?”

“I was kinda planning to make it a surprise” Mark kinda clumsily admitted
Art chuckled and then explained
“Ah, well (y/n).Imagine this. Prom dresses by day ,indestructible super suits by night. Here you can get your super suit”

“Whaa? A hero costume?? Seriously?? Aw man Mark. Thank you thank you” you were surprised and happy and you really wanted to hug Mark, but you didn't, even tho you started to extend your arms, you immediately withdrew them as you didnt want to get too touchy with him

“Hey there, don't thank me. Art is the one making them” Mark said as he shifted your focus to Art

“Oh right!” you say, mildly flustered and then look at Art as you address him “So, how does this go?”

“Usually, we start with a conversation and I make something custom. So, do you have a name, yet?” he explains how does this go for starters

You think about it for a bit. Right now, you were wearing blue jeans and black shoes, a black t-shirt with a star in the center, and you also wore a yellow varsity jacket with white trims. A costume was very much needed if you were gonna be a Guardian of the Globe

Truth be told, you had a costume idea already, and the name. Though the name itself was trickier
“Actually, I do have an idea.” you start as you look at Sugilite to focus attention on her
“Can you make one like hers? Only make the colour scheme black and yellow.” you turn back to Art
“As for the name, I thought about a bunch like Topaz, Parisite, Sunstone among others. But I think Yellow Diamond does radiate power, even if it is on the nose.” you cross your arms as you finished explaining.

Unlike Steven, you didn't have any identity issues regarding who you are and if you are your mom or not. It only felt natural to choose a name after a yellow gemstone. But nothing really stuck out. Lemon Quartz? Citrine? Yellow Diamond just seemed right. Though, you were aware that it didn't do you favours in some aspects. Such as showing to others you weren't like your mom. Although, this was a different dimension. Maybe you can get away with it?

“It is nice to see that you’re honouring your mothers name. Although, I didn't expect the quartz soldier uniform” Sugilite spoke up finally. She didn't expect you’d go for the Homeworld uniform look, but she didn't mind it. In fact she was curious to see the end result

“What can I say? Its a good design” you say with a casual shrug

-Later-
The suit is finished. It is a sleeveless bodysuit,with a black V-neck collar and a yellow diamond in the center. The torso of the bodysuit is a warm yellow, and the legs are black. The boots a darker yellow with black toe caps. The V-neck collar was just right for your gemstone which was diamond shaped with the diamond facet.

“I love this! Always wanted to try one of these” you say excitedly as you check yourself out in the mirror

“Looks great on you kiddo” Art compliments you and feels proud of his creation

“Like a true Gem.” Sugilite stumbled her words, clearly wanting to say something else and you didn't fail to notice the reflection in the mirror as she wanted to give you a salute. Thousand year old habits die hard.

“Yeah, it looks good on you” Mark confirmed Arts compliment

“Mark, why don't you come by later. I might have something for you too” Art said as he went to get some supplies

“For me? Well, I’ll see when I get the time, Art. It was nice seeing you” he replied as right now he was busy with you and he never knew what hero job would spring up on him. Or maybe a Viltrumite. He had to be alert

“You too, kid. All of you. Stay safe out there” Art said as he said his farewells to all of you

“We will” you nod and confirm.

So with that, you guys left Arts Tailor Shoppe and Mark would once again carry you as he’d fly away. And honestly, you’d never get tired of it. You felt like you wanna swoon. Actually, you had to keep yourself in check as to not blush. Because you might be falling in love with a certain half Viltrumite. But how can you not? Have you seen him?? Of course you have

Anywho, focus. Don't think of Mark, think of literally anything else. Or try to.
Luckily Mark himself offered you a distraction from… himself
“Where to next? I guess you have to meet the Guardians of the Globe”

“Ah, right. Earths protectors, we SHOULD go there then” you answer him as you quietly take a breath, since you were subconsciously holding it

Thus you two make your way to the Guardians of the Globe base. With Mark, that was a short flight. Sugilite would arrive too, not falling behind at all.
So once they arrive and land, Mark speaks up as he has a question
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask. How do you keep up?”

Sugilite with her crossed arms merely walks and is going up above ground as if stepping on invisible stairs “Air walk. I cant fly, but I can walk on air as if its a solid”

“Huh, neat” you say as even you didn't know her power

But enough of that, time to meet the Guardians. The first one you would see was Robot. He’d see you and Invincible, so he’d approach you two. He already had been briefed by Cecil on your arrival, so he was expecting you

“ Welcome, (y/n). My name is Rudolph Conners. More commonly known as Robot” he spoke and you two shook hands.
“You can also call me Rudy”

You two shook hands, but you were surprised to see someone as young as Rudy being part of the team
“Nice to meet you. Well, you already know my name. But…yeah… You can call me Yellow Diamond or Yellow when we’re out there”

“Pleasure to meet you” he then turned his attention to Sugilite “And I assume you must be Sugilite”

“Assumption correct” she answered as her arms were crossed still.

“Don't mind her. It takes her a bit to open up” you excused Sugilite's behaviour

“I understand, traveling thro-” as he was gonna say something, he got interrupted

“Hey Robot! Are you gonna help me fix my hand or not!”

You look at the new male voice, which belonged to none other than Rex Splode. So what happened was that the Guardians had it rough against the Lizard League of all people. Dupli-Kate is dead and Shrink Rae is recovering and Rex? Well he had a Cybernetic Left Wrist.

Upon his arrival, he notices you and Sugilite
“Oh hey, its the new recruit!”

“Apologies for Rex Splode. He's…”

“Unbelievably awesome.”

“Incorrigible.”

“I don't know the meaning of the word” he said, playing it off cool

“Uh, yeah” you felt awkward “Yellow Diamond. And that’s Sugilite. Anywho, the Guardians” you spoke as to try to change the subject from whatever this awkwardness was

Thats when they start filling you in on what happened with the Lizard League and informing you on what has happened.

-Meanwhile-
As they were catching you up on what happened to the roster and such, Opal was back to the Grayson Residence. She knew she should help and do action-y hero stuff with the Guardians, but she believed she wasn't needed there as she had no combat experience really.

By her logic it seemed smart if one of the Gems stays with Debbie and Oliver at all times while Mark and others go fight crime and aliens and evil, just in case some bad guy like Angstrom tries something. Sure, Opal isn't strong like you and Sugilite, but she can buy time for them escape as she gets poofed. And if the GDA reeeaaally wants her on the field, then she’ll just swap with you or Sugilite.

Now, Opal was helping Debbie around the house, the two chatted as they did chores together, getting to know each other. Debbie was curious about her extraterrestrial guest

“For thousands of years, I worked as an assigned therapist to my Albite. I would help her when she did not feel optimal. But eventually Gem Rejuvenators were created which rendered my position obsolete. Rejuvenators allowed Gems to forget what happened. Consider it a factory reset to your human terms. Any problematic behaviour was wiped instantly and the Gem could work optimally”

“So you were just replaced?” Debbie asked as she was with Oliver while Opal did the dishes

“No. My Albite kept me as she enjoyed my company. But when Era 3 started, I was free to do whatever I wished and Albite didn't need me as she was also free to do what she wanted and not what she needed. Personally I didn't really know what to do, I tried to do this soul searching thing. But it did not work. Thats why I recently arrived to Earth as I heard that there I can learn what to do and how to …whats the term…. think for myself?” Opal kinda matter of factly spoke as she helped with the dishes

Debbie wanted to help Opal really find her place in the world and help her do what she really likes and not just be Cecil's weapon, but she had no idea where to start
“What about you? What do you do?” Opal asked her

“I’m a Real Estate Agent” Debbie answered, but upon seeing Opals confused expression, she explained
“Real Estate Agents are professionals who help home buyers find and buy a new home or commercial space. They help them buy and sell homes and guide clients through negotiation processes to get top dollar for their property when selling. They also make sure that it is adequately marketed so potential buyers can find them”

“I see… I think I understand” Opal said as she would finish with the dishes
“I enjoyed this. It is very pleasant. Are there any more chores to do?”

“You like doing chores?”

“Yes, it is pleasant and calming.”

“Hmm, well there’s not much to do now. We really cleaned house. So if you want, you can spend some time with Oliver”

Opal gave a warm smile as she floated over to the purple baby who was growing up so fast. To Oliver, Opal was a strange one as her appearance wasn't really that human

Opal has a slim body, with a very long neck. She has a round face, with two eyes that have white irises, almost looking as if her eyes were blank white, hence why she keeps them closed and just senses the area around her. She has a slim high bridged nose, and undefined lips. Her hair is in a smooth bob that is longer in front, and is colored in a blue to pink gradient. Her gem is on her forehead. It is a smooth ellipsoid with no facets.
She wears a long, pale blue dress. The dress has round blue shoulder pads, and a pale pink bib that opens into a high, bell-shaped collar.

She gently held Oliver and greeted him in a warm and motherly way “Hello young Oliver. Aren't you a little miracle?”

Young baby Oliver tries to reach out to her

“I do not understand, what does this mean?” Opal asked Debbie for help as she didn't understand infants or toddlers. Babies were a new territory to her. Debbie just softly chuckled and explained that Oliver just is curious about her and wants to get to know her too

“Is he hungry?” Opal asked

“No, he’s not. Trust me, you’ll know if he’s hungry” Debbie said

-Back to the Guardians-

You became acquainted with the cast. You met Shapesmith, Monster Girl, Black Samson, Bulletproof and Immortal. Immortal who had his own issues wasn't really impressed with you, but was willing to work with you because he was Cecil's lap dog. You mostly just rolled your eyes and stayed quiet when he had some complaint.

Among the colourful cast of the guardians you liked Monster Girl and Robot the best, which made you feel weird because they were kids. Granted, they explained that they’re older than they look. But it still didn't make it any less weird for you.
So they were older than you but looked younger than you. How can that not be trippy?

“So what do we do now?” you asked them as you had no clue what do they do when there’s no crime to stop

“We could spar and see what you two are made of” Monster Girl spoke with a shrug as she just threw a random idea

“I don't mind that! Who do we fight?” Sugilite was totally now into that idea, cracking her knuckles already

“We should go easy, why dont you go Samson?” Rex spoke up to mess with the elder teammate

“Easy? No no, we can take out the strongest one. Or even all of you” Sugilite scoffed

“Thats a bold statement” Bulletproof spoke

“Bold, but true” Sugilite shrugged

“Its ok, Sugilite. Calm down, lets not escalate this. We’re not being antagonistic here. We’re supposed to be a team” you say as you try to calm Sugilite

“Im just stating facts. Besides, shouldn't they know what we can really do at our peak? If they know our strengths they can maybe coordinate better with us” Sugilite tried to reason with you, although she mostly just wanted to fight them all. It was a way to ease her pent up frustration and just her method of relaxing

You sigh and just looked towards Mark

“Should I… get involved?” Mark asked as he stepped in

“Are you a Guardian of the Globe?” Sugilite asked him with a raised brow

“No”

“Then my business is with the Guardians. I must see their strength”

“You just wanna fight them” you say with your arms crossed

“Yes, am I not making that clear? Do I need any excuses. So are we gonna fight em or not?” Sugilite insisted.

Eventually they caved in. Truth be told it was a 7v2. Robot, Monster Girl, Rex, Bulletproof, Black Samson, Shapesmith and Immortal vs you and Sugilite. Mark would watch this on the sidelines, curious to see how would it go, but ready to stop it if things get messy

So for starters you hummed a melody and your gemstones started glowing. Sugilite performs rhythmic movements with her hands, while you accompany her with your own dance. The two of you walk towards each other with your rhythmic dancing with Sugilite. Once you meet, Sugilite twirls you, catching you with a dip, as she grins at the Guardians. Your bodies turn into a white light as your forms vanish and meld into one

The resulting fusion is 20ft aka 6m tall and has a mostly thin but muscular build, a body type between the thin you and the muscular elite soldier Sugilite.

The fusion had 4 arms that sprout from the shoulder, large hips, and long legs. The skin is a green teal color, she has 4 eyes, a small nose, and small mouth with defined lips. The fusions hair is very dark teal and messy, having a white highlight on the right bang.
Their gemstones are side by side on the center of their chest and are teal in colour

The fusion wears a sleeveless black bodysuit with a teal and dull teal diamond-like accent on their left hip and side of their chest. They wear dull teal arm bands on their top pair of arms with dark green stars, and on their bottom pair of arms they wear fingerless black gloves. Their waist is dark teal and she has a four sided star cutout on their right knee and baggy dark green boots.

“Aaahhh, finally free” the fusions voice was layered as it had the combined voices of you and Sugilite

The others were shocked or surprised or both
“And who are you supposed to be?!” Immortal asked

“I’m Deviline~” she answered with malicious and toothy smile. This fusion had your combined will to be proactive and fight and Sugilite’s warrior bloodlust for battle. Deviline magnified those parts of you two and now the Guardians have a sadistic bloodthirsty fusion on their hands. A true ‘war machine’

The first one to attack the fusion was Rex, who used his explosive powers as he imbued items he had on his person to throw explosions your way. But it didn't phase Deviline who just went to kick him like a football, although Robot was quick to grab Rex and move him out of harms way.

Deviline summoned a sword and a spiked club and combined it to a spiky sword. But thats not the full picture . This was a segmented sword, the sword blade consists of several smaller blades linked together by a chain, the weapon is able to take either broadsword or chain whip forms.

“...... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” Rex remarked when he saw that huge ass weapon of doom

During that Deviline swatted away Bulletproof who was flying towards her to punch her. Swatted is an understatement, but thats what it looked like. To Bulletproof it was more like a slam with excessive force to crash him into a wall, one shotting him

Deviline gave the Guardians a toothy grin. But it seems even though it was a fusion gem that adored battle, it had self restraint not to seriously injure the Guardians of the Globe. It seems its intention was humiliation, domination and psychological warfare, such as fear inducing, hence the display of bloodlust and sadism in the eyes

The Guardians went to attack the fusion from all sides

-Meanwhile, Chicago-

William was spending time with Rick, they were walking together and on their way to a bowling place. What the two didn't expect was a portal opening up and a Sapphire falling flat on her face in front of them

“I did not foresee this harsh landing” Sapphire thought to herself verbally as she rubbed her head

William and Rick seeing this…strange situation rushed to Sapphires side since she did not land gracefully. They just saw a small injured girl, so they helped her up

“Thank you for your assistance” Sapphire thanked them and moved her hair to reveal her eye

“EYE…think its pr- no problem. You’re welcome?” William was surprised when he saw that she was an extraterrestrial. But he did calm down once he realized that the alien girl actually thanked him. And considering how clumsily she landed through the portal, she seemed harmless? It was certainly an opportunity to have an exciting experience like Mark. Actually in fact, Mark should hear about this, since he always goes to space. Like the time the bug guy arrived as Seance Dog.

“Can we help you?” Rick asked, since he wasn't sure why she was here

“Hmm” she considered what to ask, while also using her Future Vision to try and predict an outcome “I would like to find the hero known as Invincible. I believe he knows where my friends are”

“Oh yeah, we can get Invincible for you. I’m William by the way”

“My name is Rick Sheridan” he introduced himself and knelt down a bit to give her a handshake, since she was a shorty

“My name is Sapphire” she returned the handshake

“Like the gem?” William asked as he started to text Mark

“Precisely!” she happily remarked with a clap

“What happened to you that caused you to fall from that portal?” Rick asked

“I requested to briefly visit my dimension, so that I may bring some supplies that would be crucial in the future”

“Invincible will be here shortly” William said as he was done texting

“William, I have a wonderful vision. I see that you will join my friends and Invincible on an adventure to the moon.” Sapphire said one of her visions, but only partially as she neglected the part that after that, he would be kidnapped and used as ‘exhibit A’ in a trial. But she didn't want to worry him about being kidnapped by aliens to be used as a trial exhibit. Only good stuff like a moon mission

“I’ll go to the moon??” he was shocked

“Yes and it will be safe” she nodded

“Are you like an alien seer?” Rick asked curiously

“Yes. I can see the future. I can see you telling reassuring words to Mark after he tells you a grievance. I can also see your strength come in handy to save your loved one from rubble and debris. Do not view your body as a curse”

As Sapphire was talking to Rick, Invincible would arrive

“Its you… Sapphire? Where have you been?” Mark asks her

“Good to see you too. I have been back home briefly. I have some items to give to your friend, Sea Salt”

“Sea Salt? You mean Cecil??” he chuckled at that nickname

“Yes, him. He may consider it a symbolic gift. Also if its possible, can we all meet up together and talk later in the evening?” Sapphire asked as she wanted to include Rick and William in the conversation about the adventure

“By all, do you mean?” William asked

“Yes, including you. This isn't anything secret or classified.” Sapphire answered and then looked at Mark “Is that ok if we meet your friends or do you wish to keep us secret?”

“I mean… if you want to? I guess I wanted to help you keep your identities secret. But, I trust them to keep your identities secret since they know mine”

Sapphire merely smiled and nodded “Very well, tonight let us meet. But for now Sea Salt”

“Its Cecil” Mark picked up Sapphire and flew her to the GDA.
As they flew, they passed by Titans Tower and Titan who was with Isotope saw Invincible carry the small blue girl. He merely shook his head as he remembered how he was carried like that. So lame

-Guardians HQ-
Deviline managed to defeat the Guardians with Shapesmith being the last one defeated shockingly enough. And thats only because Deviline wanted to save him for last. The fusion found the martian so entertaining and chatty that they didnt wanna KO him fast. And he couldn't really harm Deviline, so he was harmless. And he delivered funny one liners. He’s a weird dude, dude.

Anywho, once the battle concluded, Deviline defused no problem, being rather satisfied with herself, and thus was turning back into you and Sugilite. Sugilite rubbed her chin a bit as she felt a bit sore there from one of Monster Girls punches that Deviline received

“That was fun” Sugilite commented

“We almost got carried away” you reply mildly irritated as you wave her off. You instead go and make sure the Guardians were ok.
They were luckily, its just some had their egos bruised. Mostly Immortal and on a lesser scale Rex. The others commended your strength and were glad to have you on the team.

Right on cue, Mark flew there with Sapphire. As soon as you saw Sapphire, you ran to her and hugged her
“Sapphire!!”

“Its good to see you too, (y/n)” she hugged you back in a motherly way. “Ah now where is Sea Salt. I need Sea Salt”

Cecil teleported to the HQ
“Sea Salt? Really?” he asked as he gave Sapphire a look and you just had a stupid smile on your face

“The name kind of sounds like Sea Salt” Shapesmith was heard saying somewhere in the back as he was getting up from that pounding

“So, Sapphire is it? What do you need me for?” Cecil asked as he approached her

Sapphire produced 3 eyedroppers from her gem and gave them to Cecil
“These eyedroppers contain a few drops of a diamonds essence. Pink Diamond, Blue Diamond and White Diamonds essence. I believe you have scientists working for you. Can you use that to reverse engineer these liquids? Pink Diamond has extraordinary healing powers, it can heal humans and gems. Blue and White is mostly a precaution”

“The Diamonds, yes I heard about them” he spoke as he took the small samples given to him “I heard there are 4 of them. Yellow is the last one”

“(y/n) has the Yellow Diamond essence and can make it whenever she wishes. So it is not a limited resource. Granted, this dimension has the diamonds as well. But they are not very accommodating to Earth and humans”

“Very well. I’ll see what I can do with these and I’ll test them out”

“As you wish”

“Is there anything else?”

“Actually, yes. Is it possible to use your technology to scan the Sahara Desert? I lost something there as I was portal hopping”

“The Sahara? And what did you lose?”

“You’ll know it when you see it. It's hard to miss. As soon as you find it, contact me, Invincible or (y/n)”

“Alright. I’ll see what I can do”

“Thank you, Cecil”
And with that Cecil would teleport away. You would then approach Sapphire “Why give him the Diamonds essence? Did you see someone get corrupted or shattered?”

“No. But you can never be too careful. Best case scenario we never need to use it and the humans have an endless supply of Pinks healing lacrimal essence”

“Did you really go to our own dimension for a bunch of diamond essence?” you ask her with your brow raised and arms crossed

“I also got you your ship, I figure you should have it, should you and Invincible need to go to space. Much easier than flying and holding your breaths”

“Huh, true”

-Later, Evening, Upstate University-
As per promise, Mark helped you all get to meet William as you snuck to his dorm room through the window. You all shared introductions and you were into your casual clothes now with Mark. The gems were in their usual forms as they had no costumes.

“So what brings us here Sapphire?” Mark asked

“In our world there is a moon base” Sapphire said

“Usually before Gems, our race” Opal clarified to William and continued “want to colonize a planet, they make a base on the moon. They research what local species the planet has and what resources it contains. It also has a console with useful information. We can also connect to another colony moon bases consoles and learn from it”

“But this Earth wasn't colonized by Gems” you reasoned

“True, but if we explore the moon we can find out two things from it” Opal said

“And what is that?” Sugilite asked

“One. If we find a moon base, it means Gems at one point wanted to colonize the Earth but abandoned that pursuit. If there is a moon base, we may find out what this worlds counterpart of the Gem Empire went through. It’s valuable information to see if they are a threat to Earth or elsewhere. Two, if there is no moon base. It means that 100% Earth is safe as it wasnt even on their radar” Opal spoke

“That does make sense” Mark said as he heard Opal and Sapphires reasoning

“So either way, this is a safe exploration mission” Sugilite shrugged

“So who’s going?” Sapphire smiled and asked

“How do you plan to get to the moon?” Mark asked

“You can fly us there. (y/n) can use her bubble shield to make it easier for you to carry your passengers and it would make sure people have air. Namely (y/n) and William” Sapphire spoke

“Are you saying I can finally go on a space adventure with Mark and NOT be killed or in mortal danger?! Count me in!”

“Hey, are you sure you want this?” Mark of course was apprehensive to that as he wanted his friend safe

“Mark! Its the moon! Its not like you’re going to Mars with mars people hunting you! Its the moon! Uninhabited and with a killer view of Earth AND we may see some cool abandoned alien stuff. Come on Mark! You barely fly me anyway. Its a win win for me if you ask me”

Sapphire meanwhile just held her smile, yup, she wanted William happy since he was Marks friend and this was the safest adventure he’d ever have

“Alriiiight. Alright, you win. You can come with us” Mark conceded and decided to bring William along for this impromptu mission

“I’ll stay on Earth” Sugilite raised her hand. She volunteered to stay with Debbie to protect her
Sapphire nodded “I shall join you in the resting on Earth. I have not interacted with Debbie in a significant way”

“I guess I’ll be the tour guide” Opal said

“Ok, so you, me, Mark and William. This is doable” you commented and nodded

Once it was decided, Sugilite and Sapphire went to travel back to the Grayson Residence, while you, Mark, William and Opal go to the moon. You made a sturdy bubble shield around yourself, Opal and William. And Mark would lift it up and fly. Fly up to space

You’d realize when you enter space when you start floating from lack of gravity in your bubble. Even William was blown away by seeing the Earth from space. This was an experience to him
“Ok, we should focus and try to scan the moon” you comment

You all keep your eyes peeled as you guys fly around the moon, but so far nothing. Only after Opal suggesting to check the far side of the moon did your search turn fruitful. Because lo and behold an ancient but spotless and seemingly new, tower was spotted. Even if its old, it looks pristine and well preserved. Gem tech was impressive since it was built to withstand thousands of years.
And since its built farther away from Earths view its no wonder Mark hasnt seen this when he chatted up with Allen on the moon, twice.

While he couldn't talk in space since he was holding his breath, Mark really just thought ‘huh, would you look at that’. So he landed where the door was.
“Hold your breath” you tell William as you grab him, putting your hand around his waist. He nods and you briefly dispel your bubble shield and touch the panel which opens the door. All of you quickly bolt in and you close the door behind you.

There was air in the base. This room is at the lowest known level of the Moon Base. The four diamond symbol is depicted on the floor with each of the colors directed toward the mural of one of the four diamonds. The control surface of the staircase is located on a certain tile at the edge of the room and composed a distinct material compared to the surrounding stone floor.

“Whoa” Mark looked around and saw the base and 4 large murals. William was impressed as well, but he enjoyed lack of gravity to fly around

“Moon boy!” you clap when you see him and then jump and enjoy the floatiness too

“Woooo! Oh yeah! This is amazing!” William was having fun

“Moon boy quadruple back flip!” you said as you floated around

Opal chuckled and then approached Mark who looked at the murals “So who are these?” he asked her

“That is the Great Diamond Authority. That mural over there is Pink Diamond” Opal answered him to which mural he was facing

He noticed the planet and the moon “Is that?”

“Yes, that is Earth and this moon. This was supposed to be her colony” Opal answered

You stopped goofing off when you noticed Yellow Diamonds mural “...” you grab William and help him land
“What can you tell about these murals?” you ask
Since Opal was a therapist, a psychologist in a way, she can interpret these murals in a unique way

She looked around and faced White Diamond mural
“Hmm well look there. White Diamond is projecting power. White Diamond is the only gem shown not looking at her colony planets, in fact the only planet she is looking at is Homeworld itself that she’s holding in her hands. And here's where the theme of power comes in. You see, her planets are insignificant to her, each one is small and meaningless to her. She has conquered so many planets that she’s grown numb to her. She is the empress, the queen of all. She is not greedy for this power, she already has it. She has more planets than any of the other Diamonds.” Opal commented soon turning her attention away

She then looked at Yellow Diamonds
“Are you sure you want to hear this? This is your mother”

“Your mom is here?” William was surprised as you didnt get to disclose in your brief interaction that you’re half alien like Mark

You just nod, both to William and Opal

“Very well.” Opal spoke
“Greed. Yellow Diamond is shown with her arms outstretched, holding several planets. She holds them like they're a collection. She looks at them longingly, as if she wants more. She longs for more power. She is the conqueror, with a lust for power.”

“Mmmm…. sounds about right from what I heard” you reply

“Sounds like a standard Viltrumite” Mark said, since thats what his dad was, so in a way you two have that in common. Greedy conqueror alien parents

Opal then turns attention to Blue’s mural
“Blue Diamond's mural is one of the most fascinating, in my opinion. Here we see Blue Diamond, and you can tell she is being represented as a beautiful figure. She looks down at her planets. These planets are her kingdom. She is the goddess, the beautiful divinity that her people adore. There is ego at play here. She thinks of herself as a beautiful queen, with most gems being lowly subjects. Her court consists of aristocracy. Everything about Blue Diamond screams ‘regal’, in high contrast to Yellow Diamond.”

And lastly Pink Diamond
“Yellow and Blue contrast each other. Yellow wants more power, and will do anything to get it. Blue has roughly the same amount of power, but is content with it. Considering their opposing positions on the logo, this lines up. White and Pink are also opposites. White Diamond is at the pinnacle of power. Her empire is largest, and she is the head of the Diamond Authority. Meanwhile Pink had nothing but one planet, and that's all she had. But she looks at the planet hopefully, she has a vision for it. The Earth was clearly planned to be a very impressive colony, even by Homeworld standards, back in our dimension, it might be the same here. I believe Pink Diamond sought to conquer for the sake of bringing new life to gems, not just for the sake of conquest or power like the other Diamonds. She was the visionary, desperate to take the first step to her dream. But there is only one way to find out”

She then looked at you all
“That is my interpretation of these murals”

“It sounds impressive Opal” you said with your arms crossed

“Thank you”
She urges all of you to follow her, she pressed a control panel on the ground which materialized stairs. All of you curiously went up the stairs. Honestly, you never been to the Moon Base in your dimension. So this is the first time you go here. You arrive on another floor and see an orb

“What’s that?” William asked as he spotted the orb

“That’s the Observation Orb. They are devices that the Diamonds use to watch activity on their colonies from afar. Observe” Opal approached the Orb and activated it. She urged all of you to approach it “Here, point anywhere you want”

Mark decided to try and pin it where Upstate University was and suddenly the entire room materialized an image. It was as if they were back on the campus during night. Any person that was there would be projected and doing whatever it is they were doing. It was essentially a room sized 3D live feed of what is going on everywhere on Earth

“This would be Cecils wet dream” Mark muttered to himself as he imagined Cecil having a field day just spying on everyone from the safety of a moon base.

“Come. Lets go to the Control Room” Opal gestured you all to follow her as she deactivated the Observation Orb and led you to the top floor

You eventually arrive to the the top floor, which is covered by a geodesic dome that allows a scenic view of Earth. In the center of the room, there is a raised platform with a single chair and a dashboard.
“Here we are” she says as she goes to sit on the chair

“Whooa, what a view of the Earth” William was impressed by this amazing sight and decided to take a photo with his phone. Now he remembered he should’ve done that sooner. But just reasoned that on their way down he can snap photos

“So how do you activate any of this?” Mark asked

“Ah! I have no idea. Never used this!” Opal cheerily said as she was keeping her calm. You meanwhile noticed the hand symbol and placed your hand there

“It had the palm symbol” you said and suddenly the console lit up. You two fiddled with the chair and found a control to move it closer to the console

“There we go” Opal said

“So, what do you have here?” Mark asked

“Hmm, lets see.” Opal said as she was typing and searching on files and folders
“Ah here it is. Reports say that the Earth was being colonized before the process was stopped by a Vilrumite. Here is a map of all structures that were originally built on Earth. All told, this probably only accounts for maybe, two percent of what was originally planned.”

“Wait! It was being colonized and a Viltrumite stopped it?!” Mark was surprised to hear it, because only one person could’ve done that. Only one Viltrumite that was on Earth years ago

“Did your dad stop it?” William asked Mark

“Wait. There are Gem structures on Earth?” you asked shocked

Opal nodded “A Lunar Sea Spire was built, but it seems to have sunken in the ocean. Right here” she pointed on holographic projection of a map

“Thats where Atlantis is” Mark remarked. Although his stay there was brief, so he didn't really see much to know if it was alien architecture or fish architecture

“There was a Kindergarten built and roughly 3 Warp Pads.” Opal said as she listed what the 2% was

“What was the plan? For Earth” William asked

“Hmm” Opal pressed some buttons to show a projection. A hologram of Earth is projected. And soon the Earth hologram hollows out, forming rings around it and Gem structures all over it.
“89 kindergartens, 67 spires, a Galaxy Warp in each facet, efficient use of all available materials. Draining the planet of all its life to create more Gems”

It was horrifying to see the projection being hollowed out like that, leaving nothing but an empty lifeless shell. Everyone but Opal was shocked by the sight. The thought of Earth being hollowed out made you shiver

“Opal. Do you have any report on the attack you said? That repelled gems?” you ask

Opal tries to poke around the files more, trying to dig out any useful info. Only she could do this as no one really knew how to read gem glyphs, including you

“Well, there are several things. There is a distress signal coming from Mars. There is a Gem Warship thats on Mars. Most likely destroyed and there could be survivors there. Secondly, Pink Diamond is alive in this dimension and has 43 colonies. All of the Diamonds have much more colonies than depicted on this archaic base and mural. But interestingly enough, all of Pinks colonies are partially completed. Either she’s delaying completion or someone else is” Opal said as she read out what she saw

“Huh, looks like she still has a soft spot for people. I wonder if she would've been soft on Earth as in our dimension” you comment “Next?”

“Well mapping out Gem Colonies and Viltrumite Colonies, it seems Gems are zig zagging a bit around anything Viltrumite related. As if avoiding it, but strangely on certain occasions it seems they’re sending troops and ships directly in Viltrums way to be decimated. There’s also talks about the Cluster. They consider trying to implant it on Viltrum itself”

“They plan to destroy Viltrum from inside out??” you exclaim shocked at the bold move

“Reports say that the Cluster is 49% complete.” Opal says grimly

“What’s the Cluster?” Mark asked

“It is a massive Geo Weapon that is buried inside of the our dimensions Earth's core. It is composed of millions of Gem shards or corpses in your term, and in its emerged form, would be larger than the Earth.” Opal answered him

“Wait… avoiding Viltrumites, but sending some in Viltrum direction” you stop and think about it
“Wait… wait… they’re sending some gems intentionally to their deaths to power a planet busting Geo-Weapon” you say in horror

“It would seem so” Opal said. She theorized that Homeworld might be sending any rebels or Off Colours to die against a Viltrumite and so their shards can serve a purpose. It's a scary thought, since in this dimension she’d be considered Off Colour by not conforming to Homeworld Standards

“What do we do? Should we tell Cecil any of this?” you asked Opal and Mark

Opal didn't know what the right answer was. Mark thought about it
“Maybe not now. So far nothing says they’re looking at Earth.”

“Thats true. So far everything read is about how Earth is abandoned and how they set their sights elsewhere. The Gems might believe that Earth is under Viltrum control, hence why they’re not going near it or mentioning it. I don't see a reason why to involve Cecil on a matter that was resolved before the Viltrumite even set foot on Earth” Opal replied

“Opal, you said Gems made a Kindergarten on Earth. Was any Gem made here on Earth?” you ask

“Good question. Let me see if anyone emerged” Opal said and did some typing and research, looking around folders before finding a file about Gem Production on Earth
“Hmm it says Earths minerals could form Amethysts, Jaspers, Carnelians, Rose Quartzs and Cuprites. Although thats only with the use of Pinks Essence. And reports say that 6 gems emerged from Earth before the process was stopped”

“I see… I mean technically those Gems are Earthlings” you comment, in a way those Gems were born on Earth.

“Can you track where they are?” Mark asked

Opal tried to see an answer “Rose Quartz Facet-6 Cut-4XA is on the planet Aridia. She’s still serving Pink Diamond, other than that I don't know. There is no information on the other 5 gems. Maybe that Mars distress signal has some answers”

“Honestly, I feel tired and overwhelmed by the info. We could postpone a Mars mission for next time and we can always come back here later. What do you say?” you ask the others

“Sounds good to me, Im ready to head back” Mark agrees that you should go back, its getting late Earth Time and y’all needed dinner and sleep. Plus it was best they go back before Cecil starts a hissy fit

Opal nodded and deactivated the console. She headed downstairs. As all of you were heading back, William saw something
“Hey, whats this?” he asked as he held an item that he picked up

You turned around as you heard him and looked at the octahedral object that he held and just shrugged “Probably some gem junk. I dont know whats it for”

“Looks cool” he said as he pocketed it

“Come on you two, lets go” you and William heard Mark speak and thus decided to catch up.
Soon enough, you formed the bubble shield as Mark would fly you guys back to Earth. William enjoyed the space trip and the amazing view of the Earth and he gets a cool souvenir from it. Take that Amber and your Mars space rock, he has a cool moon base trinket

Eventually you’d arrive back. Opal would thank Mark for his help and the three of you would make your way home. Leaving William with Rick in their dorm.

-Grayson Residence-
You guys would be welcomed by Debbie and the two gems who made dinner for you guys.
“Ah good, you’re finally back. I heard you went to the moon?” Debbie asked

Mark greeted his mother and hugged her “Yeah, its fine. Nothing bad happened. No fights, just exploration”

“Thats good. Im glad you’re not hurt. I know you can handle yourself Mark, but you know I cant bear to see you in pain”

“I know mom”

You moved away to give the mother and son a touching moment and mingled with the gems, until the two were ready to rejoin you for dinner

“This is a delicious looking meal, miss Grayson” you say

“Feel free to call me Debbie” she spoke to you warmly, reassuring you that you can be casual around her. You can be yourself

“Um, okay” you weren't really sure what to say. You were still a bit awkward and you had no experience how to behave with a mother, due to having lack of a mother in your life. But Debbie was kind and considerate around you too, since the Gems that stayed with her filled her in on your situation. Nevertheless, you were polite and respectful to Debbie, even if you were at some moments too formal towards her

All of you enjoyed a peaceful dinner, with the Gems mostly just watching. Aside from Sugilite who also ate food as she enjoyed it. Although she had to be reminded not to eat the plate and utensils, she was still learning that.

-Upstate University Dorm-

As you were enjoying dinner, William recalled to Rick what he saw when he was on the adventure and showed him the souvenir

“Looks like a diamond shaped rubix cube. Look at the colours” Rick said

“What happens if we match them?” William asked as he tried to move it

“Don't break it, who know what’ll happen” Rick was a bit nervous, he wanted to be careful. This wasn't a harmless space rock, but unknown alien tech. He didn't know what could happen, for all he knew if it broke itd explode and nuke the country. He wanted to be safe, not sorry

“(y/n) said its just Gem junk. It means its harmless, right?” William said as he moved the upper and lower half of the space rubix cube

With enough tinkering, he managed to match a colour. It was Blue. And thus a chime is heard as the communicator opens up a screen.
They would see a person on the screen. She has sky blue skin and messy, chin length powder blue hair. The upper portion of her face is covered by her bangs

“This is the Blue Diamond Control Room.” Blue Pearl speaks softly

“...” Rick and Willian speechless and quiet. They knew they fucked up by unintentionally making contact with aliens. Calling them no less. They didn't know what to do, what to say. If they don't move, will they be invisible?

“My Diamond it seems that humans are using the direct Diamond communication channel” she looked to her Diamond who was off screen, asking her for guidance

“Pearl.”

“Yes, my Diamond?”

“Why is there someone on the Diamond line?”

“I don't know. Should I terminate the call?”

“I'll take it from here.”

“Very well.” she then addressed the humans to formally introduce them to her Diamond “Everyone, prepare yourselves emotionally for the overpowering elegance that is... Blue Diamond.”

Blue Diamond brings the screen up to her eye level, revealing herself to the humans. William would be able to sorta recognize her from the mural. Although he didn't get to listen to it much as he was too distracted. He did remember some stuff ‘Everything about Blue Diamond screams ‘regal’, in high contrast to Yellow Diamond’. He could see that, this woman was regal. And also giant judging by the hand that grabbed the screen to bring it to her level

“Who are you?” she asked

“W-William Clockwell” he nervously replied. Hoping if he obeys and plays her game, she’ll just leave them alone. Its never a good idea to piss off an intergalactic dictator.

“So, William Clockwell how many more William Clockwells are present in this area?” Blue Diamond has never saw a human, she had no idea what they look like or how they function. For all she knows, there could be as many WIlliam Clockwells as Rubies. She looked at this from Homeworld point of view, types of humans.

“Oh - just me.” William replied

“Have William Clockwells replaced "humans" as the dominant species on Earth?” she asked as she typed on a separate holo-screen

“Oh no, there's lots of humans, me, Rick, Amber, Kyle, Eve, the Dean, Mark I think…lots of humans.”

“And are humans Viltrumite subjects?” she asked, hoping to learn about Earths status as a colony

“Nope, we’re free” he blundered that out before he realized it. Although he recognized the error

“Earth is not a Viltrum colony?” she looked at him with a soft look of surprise

“Uh…no” he hesitantly answered

“Is there a Viltrumite stationed at your planet?” she pressed on that matter

“Uhmm… I dont know? Maybe?... why?” William didnt know should he list Mark as a human or a Viltrumite to this lady, but he did manage to ask Blue Diamond a question in return. Why did she want to know this

“Hm, just picking up where we left off.” she spoke as she finished off typing some directives before fully turning her attention to the humans “Stay safe William Clockwell, don't tell any Viltrumite we had this chat”
She had plans for him when the time comes. To her, this human was a valuable informant

But now the screen fades and the communicator returns to its original shape. The two are shit scared and quiet
“Rick….what did I do?”

“I think you called an alien to Earth”

“We should tell Mark what happened?”

“Didn't she tell you not to tell any Viltrumite?” Rick asked as he didnt know what was safe anymore. What if they get caught?

“Does Mark count if he’s half?”

“Can they overhear us with this device?” Rick asked, voicing his main concern with this alien technology.

“Oh shit, you’re right” William holds the communicator “YEP, THERES PLENTY OF VILTRUMITES ON EARTH! STAY BACK!! DON'T COME TO EARTH”

Communicator doesn’t react. There was no way to know if this device can listen in on their conversations or not. Who knows if this can track them now
“SHHHHHH” random next door dorm student says as he bangs on the wall for them to be quiet

-Grayson Residence-

Opal fused with Sapphire to do the dishes more efficiently. Their fusion was called Violane.
Violane has a tall and slim body with a wide chest, small waist, four arms, and long legs. She has light lavender skin with two lilac eyes with black pupils, a small nose, and full lips. Her hair is very light pink and is medium length and rather messy. Her top pair of arms connect to her shoulders while her bottom pair sprout from her waist, and they're all long and slim. Her gemstones are on her forehead and in the navel and are light purple and white.

And she also wore a purple and dark purple shirt with a white short under it and a gray bow tie. She had white circular shoulder pads with matching long white gloves on her top pair of arms and shorter gloves on her lower pair of arms. Her midriff is dark purple with a short and rounded very light purple apron, dark gray leggings, and dull violet ballet flats.
Violane has a maid like appearance. Which kinda fits since she was fused for chores

Sugilite was spending time with Oliver and Debbie, and was fascinated by the baby boy who was the same colour as her

You were meanwhile with Mark, you two finally had a chance to relax from an adventure or stress and were finally able to be what you are, teenager kids. So you were with Mark in his bedroom, looking at his comic stuff
“Oh you have tons of comics! Do you have any cool stuff?”

“I have all issues of Seance Dog” he said for starters as he picked up the first issue and showed it to you for example

You of course had no idea what Seance Dog was. It wasn't a franchise from your dimension
“Seance Dog? Is that anything like Dogcopter?”

“Dogcopter?” and of course Mark had no idea what Dogcoper was, it sounded weird to him. A dog thats a helicopter? How does that work?

“Yeah, a dog who’s also a cop and also a cyborg that can fly like a helicopter. Its a very successful book series that got adapted into films” you excitedly say as you were happy to recount your interests too. Although you found it funny that both of you were fans of dog themed heroes. There was something endearing in it, at least in your opinion

“Seance Dog is more of a comic book series that got turned to a cartoon series” Mark said

“Do you mind if I read it here with you or do you want to go to sleep? I mean, I can read it in my room too” you raise your brow as you ask him, unsure if he was tired and needed rest. You didn't wish to intrude, part of you always worried about being cumbersome to people. But part of you just really wanted to stay with Mark

“I don't mind at all. We can read it together” he figures itd be fun to see your first reactions to some plot events and characters. He didn't get to see how Amber liked the comics, but at least he had you. It would be fun for a Seance Dog noob and veteran fan to have a joint comic reading session and get reactions and such

So once you got the green light from Mark, you got yourself cozy as you sat on his bed with him and together you’d enjoy your(plural) nerdy passion. Together you’d read issues of the comic, like the origin story how he became Seance Dog, him training in magic and then him discovering the emerald stone of infinity and the dangers about using it in a magic ritual.

It all sounds bland from a description or synopsis, but in the comic with the characters, dialogue and art, it was all so enjoyable that you felt suckered into it. You wanna tell Mark how good it is, but you also didn't wanna stop reading, just binge it all.

Although eventually you managed to say one thing “Uuuggh, this is so good. I need to pace myself or else it’ll become an addiction”

“I know right?? Its that good!”

“Usually I like the niche side character that would appear in one chapter or one episode and never be seen again. Or like, usually the side character that doesn't nearly get enough screen time is the best one. But here? Seance Dog is such a good character, I never seen a better developed character. He’s so likeable and cuuute”

“If you think this is good, then you’ll be in for a treat” he proudly remarks as he finally feels validated and glad that someone likes the franchise like him. Usually it was mostly just him liking it to these levels. It wasn't every day he meets a huge Seance Dog fan

“Aw, don't tease me! I wont be able to sleep if you keep this up” you say as you lightly ‘punch’ his arm

“Hahah! Ok Ok! I wont I wont!” he rubbed his arm, it didn't hurt since you didnt have any intention to do so
“You know I actually met Filip Schaff”

“Who?” you ask, not knowing who that was

Mark just playfully closed the comic issue you were holding so you can see the creators name on the cover. Filip Schaff

“Oooooh” you say as you realize, but then hold him “Shut the door, are you kidding me? You got to meet the creator?? Ugh, I am sooo jealous of you” you say as you let him go and rest your back against the headboard

“Who says you wont? There is a New York Comic Con he’ll attend~” he says in a sort of playful manner, almost as if inviting you to come with him there. No doubt he’d fly you over

“Hmm. Sounds fun” then you playfully and dramatically say “Oh but a shame that New York is soooo far away, I guess I’ll have to save up some money for the trip and entry”

He was well aware what you were doing. And judging by his smiling expression, both of you had the same idea. In a way both of you were suggesting the same thing. Fly over there and spend the time at the comic con

“You do forget that you’re in the presence of a superhero who can fly you over there in an instant” he plays along with your suggestion.

At this point it was a game at who will ask the other out first.
“Trruuue, I do have a super hero who can help me. He cooouuld take me there in an instant. But then I’ll by my lonesome and I wouldnt be able to share my joy and newfound hobby with anyone”

“We could go together”

Then you ask, maybe boldly, but still “Like a date?”

“Like a date” he smiled
He liked the idea, he needed to move on and not dwell on Amber. He didn't know if it was too soon to move on or if it was too fast to try and go on a date with you. But he wanted to try, with Eve he felt like he missed his chance and he didn't want to make her feel like a rebound or sloppy seconds after Amber. All in all, he felt he fumbled with Eve. But he didn't want to repeat that mistake with you

Plus you were like him, as in you had powers and were a hero. Not to mention the other similarities about being half human and having a parent that was an evil conqueror. And hat you two might live for hundreds of years. No one can really understand what you two went through or what you are going through now. But you cold have each other. And for the both of you, that was a nice idea

So far none of you made a move towards one another. In a way, you were saving the whole kissing and making out for when the actual date starts. For now, you weren't sure if you were a thing yet. Are you two considered to be dating if you haven't been on your first date yet?

Either way both of you didnt know, so you two just enjoyed the comics late into the night, until both of you just kinda dozed off.

-Morning-

You wake up and you felt like you slept like a baby. The bed was so comfy and so was this pillow you were hugging. Although, you dont remember a pillow being so… muscular and having… a heartbeat??

Thats when you remember last night that you never left Marks room. Shit who fell asleep first? Him or you? Or was it sorta where you both fell asleep at the same time? Whatever the case, you dared not to move and pretended to sleep.

Just thinking to yourself. This was happening, I can feel his heartbeat. My head is on his chest. Stay calm.

Although what you didn't expect was Sugilite suddenly opening the bedroom door saying
“Hey, its time for break-” she stopped when she saw you two. She immediately froze and shut her mouth, slowly backing away and closing the door as quietly as possible.

You had no idea what she saw, was it just that you were kinda resting your head on Mark or something else? You finally moved as you wanted to call out to her. You also needed to get dressed as you were in your sleep shirt and shorts. But when you moved you saw that Mark was also awake and like you didn't dare to move.

You blushed when you realized that both of you were pretending to sleep just to enjoy the physical touch of the other. You figure that you two might need to talk about it to at least verbalize it and make it official. But truth be told, you were largely inexperienced in romantic relationships. You’ve never been in a relationship, so this was all new territory to you. But one thing was certain, this dimension felt more and more like home to you. This reaffirmed to you that you actually belonged here.

-Meanwhile on Mars-

The distress signal that was beeping at the moon base was coming from a Gem Warship that was in ruins and far beyond repair. There was an Amethyst quartz soldier and a Pearl who were stranded on Mars for roughly 20 years.

Indeed a Viltrumite invaded Earth and the Gems fleeing the doomed Earth colony, the Viltrumite damaged their ship which crash landed on Mars. For 20 years, they are trying to repair the wreck, but their Peridots, Nephrites, Rutiles and Rose Quartz’s were gone and had to be bubbled to be sent to Homeworld. It was just the two of them who were not made to fix technology. A soldier and a servant weren’t equipped for this.

The Martians never knew they were there and they never approached the gems as they were busy dealing with sequids and hiding from them underground.

The two gems considered fusion and shapeshift into an avian earth creature. Perhaps they can fly to the nearest Gem outpost and warp to Homeworld. That was an idea they debated. If a Lapis can fly with their wings in space, then maybe they can too? Maybe with fusion they’d have more energy to keep their shapeshifting longer

-Meanwhile in space-
Unbeknownst to you and everyone else. A blue dropship was sent to fly towards Earth. Its goal was to finish some unfinished business now that there was no Viltrumite occupying or defending the Earth.

Chapter Text

You and Mark dressed up and went downstairs to have breakfast. Upon arriving to the dining room you see that Opal and Sapphire were still fused as Violane

“Uhh, good morning. Are you two ok?” you asked

“Yes. Do not worry, no one is losing their sense of self, they merely wish to remain fused for now. Now come come, we have prepared breakfast for you” Violane says as she helps Debbie serve the table, being precise, clean and elegant.

You all sit down as Violane serves the breakfast and lets you enjoy the meal as she wanders off to look after Oliver. Having 4 arms was beneficial for her to multitask, play with Oliver and dust the home.

As you all had breakfast, you decided to engage in some small talk
“Wow, she really took a liking to cleaning” you commented, it almost felt like she was a Pearl

“I should have a talk with her, she shouldn't feel obligated to work for us to stay here” Debbie spoke

You understood what she meant and you wondered if the 2 gems really did feel some obligation to work for Debbie or did they genuinely like to do that stuff. Either way you understood both points of views, Debbies and the Gems. Honestly now that you think about it, maybe YOU should do something to return the favour. You couldn't just live under her roof rent free. Even if she doesn't accept money, she should get something for her troubles. Question was what

“So what did you guys see at the moon?” Sugilite asked as she once again tried to eat a plate only for Debbie to remind her not do, which caused Sugilite to stop and say “Awwh, okay” as she gently places the plate on the table. And yes, Sugilite remembered what she saw. But she didnt want to ask you about it infront of Debbie

“Oh right, you’ve been there. And it wasn't classified by Cecil” Debbie remembered that this was a private mission and not something Cecil sent you off to do

“We found the moon base and a bunch of stuff, but I guess the only loose thread is a distress signal from Mars” you reply as you recall that the moon base mostly just offered info. Though you didn't dive into detail about how its possible that Nolan was the only who blitzed some Gems before coming to Earth. The woman didn't need more pain and heartache about her husband or ex husbands actions

“Do you think someone is trapped on Mars?” Sugilite asked

“Should we even get them? What if they’re hostile?” Mark asked as he remembered how his 2 Mars trips went.

“I mean, I guess you’re right” you lightly agree with Mark, as much as you wish to help and save people, Mark is the more experienced one. So you chose to trust his judgement, you doubted the Gems would be friendly in this dimension

“And what if they’re not hostile? Are they going to be there trapped with no way home?” Debbie asked as she was unaware of what kind of species Gems were, from her experience which was just you and your friends, the Gems were nothing but kind and helpful. And most of all, they were harmless in her eyes.

“Should I go and save them?” Mark asked still unsure if there was anyone to save or if anyone wanted to be saved

“You guys called it a loose thread. Isnt it better to see whats going on there just in case? Maybe they’re gone or are doing fine on Mars now or maybe they’re plotting an Earth invasion. You dont need to always wait on Cecil’s green light to do things” Debbie said

“Well, last time anything Mars related happened, the sequids invaded Earth” Mark remarked about his last time he had ties to Mars

“Sequids, that sounds familiar” Sugilite murmured as she seemed to remember something, but couldnt quite place it

“Mark, I’m not gonna make you do anything. If you want we can make a short trip to Mars or ignore it. Your call since you have the power” you knew Mark went through so much. Just that Angstrom thing was intense for his mental health and you have no idea what he went through prior to that, other than having to face his own father. You just didn't want to stress him or put him in a bad position. If anything, you just didn't want to be a reason he gets hurt

Mark usually wanted to avoid anything that wasnt his problem, because things usually interrupted his time with family or friends. Whenever he wanted to spend time with Amber, something always got in the way. Like the first damn Mars mission. Or the time he was with William and then fake Seance Dog appeared to trick him into going to Thraxa, which lasted 2 months. So understandably, he was apprehensive about any Mars or space trips. But this was a different scenario. He got to choose whether to go or not, he wasnt forced by Cecil to go nor was some alien pulling on his heart strings. This was his choice and he got to leave on his terms.

In a way that made him feel better, plus he knew he wasnt gonna go alone. He’d have you, and so this Mars mission wasnt ruining his social life like the other space missions did. You two would get to spend time together and he liked that idea
“Alright, we’ll go and check on that distress signal”

You just had a wide smile, you wanted to hug him. But you refrained from doing so because of Debbie. A male and female friend dont hug, right? Usually hugging is romantic when its a boy and girl? Thats your knowledge because you don't know the boundaries between romance and friendship, yet.
“Thanks”

“Hey, no need to thank me. Its the right thing to do, right?”

You just nod.
So after you all finish breakfast. Violane shows up to take the dishes, but Debbie insists she does so and calls Violane to have a word with her.
In the meanwhile, you and Mark change into your costumes and once you were ready, he’d grab you and fly up. This time it wasnt the typical bridal style carrying. This time it was like you two were hugging eachother. Both of you were holding onto one another.

Although Mark stopped before fully leaving the atmosphere as he needed to hold his breath
“Dont you need your bubble thing?” he asked just to make sure you were ok

“I can hold my breath too. But since its just the two of us, I can make it easier for the both of us” you say and snap your fingers as an air bubble appears over his head, which would muffle his voice if he spoke
“Extra air before we need to hold our breaths and we can talk”
You then made a bubble around your head

He nodded and held you tight as he’d speed over to Mars. He was incredibly fast, it took you two 20 minutes to reach Mars as opposed to before when he was told to ‘pack lunch’ because he was tagging on a rocket ship. Here he was setting his own pace as you two flew toward where you two last saw the signal come from.

At first it seemed like the mission was a dud, until you saw something
“Mark there!” you pointed at pile of red ruins.

He’d fly over there and land with you
“Is that a…hand?” he asked as he noticed the shape of the ruins, it was like a big broken hand

“Gem Warships tend to look like body parts or limbs” you commented as you recalled your limited knowledge.

The two of you looked around to see if there was anyone. You decided to split duties, you’d explore the exterior around the ship and Mark would explore the interior to see if anyone was in the ship.

-Inside the Broken Warship-

Everything was in ruins and shambles, wiring was loose and some lights were blinking but it was mostly dark, the interior was mostly illuminated by the Martian natural daylight. The tech looked pretty advanced and alien. Mark had no idea what any of it was for.
“Hello? Anyone here?” he’d call out to no one or someone, whoever sent the signal.

But his calls fell on deaf ears as there was nothing answering. He shrugged and decided to look around more. It was mostly more of the same. Techy ruins with no signs of life. He considered leaving until he saw something in the corner of his eye. He was something shiny, glinty. He wondered if it was a Gem or something, so he approached and picked it up.

But what he found was a mirror with an ornate design of silver-blue metallic material comprises the backing and handle of the mirror. The mirror itself is a round piece of reflective blue glass with a faint contour of an octagonal gemstone etched on its surface. The back of the mirror had a green circular gemstone that was cracked.
He sighed and said “I guess no ones here”

And so he set the mirror aside where he found it and made his leave to find you. Only to hear his own voice as if recorded, cut and edited “ I. here”

Hearing that he immediately backtracks and picks up the mirror
“Did you just speak to me?”

He’d watch the mirror play back his own reflection and words in an edited way as it tried to communicate with him “I. Speak to me”

“I am talking to you” he didnt get it that it can only repeat the words he said, so it had a limited vocabulary

“Me. To” it edited the ‘speak to me’ part and reversed it.

Mark soon realized the mirror really was talking to him and not just repeating what he said “Oh shit.”
But he didnt know what to do. He didnt know if this was a sentient magic or tech mirror, but best thing he could do is show it to you
“I guess I’ll take you with me. Someone will want to see you”

“take. me. with. you” the mirror edited his sentence, clearly not wanting to be trapped here

-Outside the Broken Ship-

You were wandering around but staying within the ships radius, not daring to step too far away so you wouldnt get lost. Its not like you can fly like Mark and have a birds eye view. As you walk on the martian surfice, you notice something pink. You wonder if its a gem. So you approach the pinkness. Soon you see …. pink, squid-like aliens that possess three tentacles and heads that look like brains. There were like 20 of em. Well 27 to be exact but whos counting.

And so when the things spotted you, they jumped you. You immediately used your gem weapon as you drew your sword and instantly sliced 4 of them. But then 14 managed to jump you. You tear away 3 off of you, but the others are just on you being annoying. Did they try to bite you, because whatever it is it really stung and annoyed you.

As you struggled with these annoying aliens that you believed to me martians, the real martians heard your commotion and come to check out what was happening. Only to see you fighting the sequids. And as they saw you rip away and slice the sequids, they realize you’re immune to them, much like that viltrumite that saved those humans. Still, they decide to help you out in getting those pests away from you

Once you were finally free, you went to thank them. Only to be met with spears to the face.
“Ok, not move. Got it” you say as you stay there surrendered and unsure should you just smoke em and kill em or be peaceful. Honestly, you wanted the peaceful route and not risk being turned to swiss cheese.

This is now around the time Mark would fly out of the ship to see you. He’d spot you being surrounded and approach the martians, he also wanted to try and talk things out
“Hey hey. Theres no need for violence, we come in peace”

The martians point spears to him too. This rang deja vu to him as the martians would take you two to the Martian Emperor

“Earthlings, what brings you here. Again” the Emperor put an emphasis on again, considering he dealt with Invincible twice now

“So, we got a distress signal from a Gem ship and we hoped to save one of them or more so they wouldnt be stranded here” Mark would try and explain and yes he was still holding the mirror

“And why would you help the Gems?” he asked

“Well, my friend here is part Gem and she- I mean we wanted to help out anyone who probably needed saving. So, have you seen any gems?” Mark asked

“We have seen two of them leave Mars and fly away with wings they grew.” The Martian Emperor tells him

“I see… cool. Thats cool, they’re fine. Then we’ll go back to Earth” Mark says

“You can go. But we cannot permit you to leave with the half Gem” The Martian Emperor tells him

“Uh…why? What did I do?” you ask the martian in an accusing and complaining manner. You most certainly objected staying on Mars

“This is all your peoples doing! The Gems colonized and destroyed the sequids home planet and caused them to invade other planets as a plague. You must remain here for punishment.”

Mark sighed and asked “What kind of punishment?”

“Immediate death.” the Martian Emperor said with a straight face

“I completely understand.” Mark nodded with understanding

-A Few Moments Later-

“Go, go, go, go!! Faster! Faster!!” Mark says with panic and urgency as you held onto him and you two flew together

“You’re the one flying!! I cant go any faster!!” you reply with the same panicked and urgent voice as the two of you dodge Martian space ships that are firing at you two.

Knowing that you cant flee to Earth with angry martains after you, you two had to get rid of them. Mark handed you the mirror, which you stored in your gem

“Lets take them on”

You nod “Together”

Since you cant fly, he throws you towards a ship, so you have a momentum. You punch a hole through a ship and he does the same with another. You used the broken ship as a jumping platform, so you can launch yourself at another ship to also destroy it. Together the two of you destroyed all the ships following you as the martians ejected and were forced to return to their own planet.

Meanwhile you and Mark high five each other for a job well done. He grabs you to fly you home, but he stops in his tracks as he noticed something he should’ve seen sooner
“What the hell is this?” he asked

That question made you look at whatever he was looking. You too were shocked at the sight, but for a different reason. You recognized what he saw.

It was a giant pink space station orbiting Earth. The outside of the facility looks like a dagger with a large blade and a small hilt that is surrounded by a ring.

“The human zoo” you whispered at the realization at what was orbiting Earth

“The what?!” he asked as he couldn't believe what he heard

“Uhhh, long story. Lets go inside and I’ll explain it”

He nods and helps you fly over to it, arriving to the ship hangar. Luckily the facility had air. Once inside, Mark asked you “Whats this about a human zoo?”

You urged Mark to follow you as you wanted to check something out
“In my dimension, Pink Diamond wanted to save humans, so the Diamonds made this zoo to preserve human life, so they wouldnt die from the colonization. For thousands of years humans lived in this blissful utopia, not knowing they were imprisoned. Upon Era 3 aka 35 years ago, they were set free to do as they wished. So they used the Zoo as a space cruise to chill and do whatever. And when Era 4 started, ie when I was born… the zoomen actually decided to move to Earth and live among their kind. The Gems that were stationed here also left to pursue their own goals and interests, causing this space station to be abandoned and just aimlessly orbiting Earth”

You explained as you looked around the zoo, you found the door you were looking for and fiddled with it until it finally opened. Revealing a tropical paradise that was decorated by all sorts of doohickeys.

“Whoa” Mark didn't expect to see a lush tropical paradise on a space station
“Were they contained here?”

“Yeah, this is the containment area for humans. But what I wanted to check was this” you say as you hold one doodad that had no purpose whatsoever. It was a decorative thing the Zoomen made after Era 3.

“Whats that?” he asked

“A sign that this space station was from my dimension”

“How could something as big as this come from your dimension here” Mark asked

…
…
…

“Sapphire” you both say in unison when you remember that she left Mark so she can pursue something alone. No wonder she was gone for a while, she was preparing for whatever

“Why would she bring your …well I guess its your space station now, here?” Mark asked as he looked around

“Honestly, since this was Pink Diamonds, I consider this more as Stevens space station rather than mine. But since its here, do you think this can be used as a prison for Viltrumites?” you ask Mark as you punch a wall, which was pretty sturdy. Honestly you dont see any purpose for this, other than a Viltrumite Containment Facility. You wondered if Sapphire thought the same with Future Vision
“I guess if Cecil reinforces the walls, we could make this a damn good Viltrumite prison since it has a Containment Area which feeds them and tends to their needs. Bonus points for the automated voice that would tell them their daily rituals, itd be funny to make them listen to that. Extra salt on the wound”

“Daily rituals?” he asked

“Oh follow me, I know this” you hold his hand and lead him to a control room, where you press a few buttons and cause a voice to activate from the speakers. You just played a few voice lines for Mark to hear as soon a robotic female voice would be heard saying:

“Greetings, everyone. It's time to start the daily routine.”
“Please enjoy your meal during this designated eating period.”
“You all must be hungry now.”
“ Are you enjoying the food? How is the food? Is it good?”
“ Now it is time to play.”
“ Now, everyone, reach up like you're going to touch outer space.”
“ That's it. Reach up high. Wasn't that fun?”
“ It's time to stop and smell the flowers.”
“ Time to clean up, everyone. Let's all take a refreshing bath.”
“ And now it's time to say good night. Good night, everyone. Sweet dreams.”

You turn off the facility.
“Those are some of the lines, but yeah anyone contained would have to deal with that voice”

He chuckles “Gotta admit, it'd be hilarious to imagine a Viltrumite listen to that voice, it sounds so condescending to them, like they’re talking to a baby”

You laugh “I know right? Sounds so patronizing to them. I’d love to see it.”

Due to seeing the Human Zoo and the whole martian thing, you completely forgot about the mirror and about the mission. Honestly, you just wanted to go home
“I should tell Cecil about this though, if we do manage to beat a Viltrumite, I feel its safer to contain them up here in space”

Mark sighed, but agreed with you “Yeah, we should go. I have training with Cecil in half an hour”

“Shit, we should fly fast then. Don't wanna be late” you realize that Mark will run late if you two don't go now, so you urged him to fly now. There was no need to stay in space.
“Besides, I know a wise man once said. ‘Hurry! Go, go, go, go!! Faster! Faster!!’ you say in a playful manner, smiling at his earlier line when you guys fled the martians

Mark nodded and hugged you. You hugged him back and bubbled his head, as your own again for the air. So you two quickly flew over to Cecil

-Earth, GDA HQ-

Mark arrived just in the nick of time and he nearly crashed with you to Earth due to the rushing. Both of you hurried to Cecil, for one reason or another.

“Mark, where have you been?”

“Uhh, busy training! Not in space” he awkwardly replied

Cecil than looks at you “And what about you?”

“Finding you an asset you wont wanna ignore” you answer with a nervous smile, shooting him finger guns

Cecil just raised his brow as he looked at you disbelievingly “An asset? Is that so? Did you drag Mark somewhere where he shouldn’t go?”

“Not at all. We were mostly being separate. I promise Im not a bad influence on Mark. Cross my heart and hope to die” you say as you do the whole swearing gesture

“Thats true, she’s not distracting me from training” Mark was heard in the background

“Mark, go to Donald, you have training to do.” Cecil shoo’d Mark away, so he can focus on you

So as soon as Mark left, Cecil spoke to you “Talk to me”

Thats when you recalled the whole Space Station orbiting Earth. You told him about the human zoo and its history, its use and its structure. And you comment how it could be useful should Earth capture a live viltrumite, it could keep them there. But you tell Cecil its best he reinforces the containment areas walls, just in case. Since the facility was created to contain humans. Sure the walls can endure a quartz soldiers punches and a rubies fire, but a Viltrumite was much stronger than a Ruby or a quartz.

Cecil liked your idea, but told you that next time you shouldn't go alone and without his say so. You merely nod and salute him with an ‘aye aye, boss’.
Nevertheless, he decided to let Mark train as he focused today on you and this space station.

You went to space again, but this time with the GDA so they can explore the Human Zoo and its facilities. A lot of tech was alien and inoperable by humans. So they scanned your hand, they probably planned to make a glove or something that mimics a Gems light signature to activate Gem panels. Although there was the whole Gem Glyph subject. As in no one knew how to read it, including you. Which meant that they needed to get one of the Gems that was with Debbie.

Cecil tells you that he and his people worked on that stuff Sapphire gave them. The ‘Diamond Essence’ that she calls it. They know the Pink one heals, so they focused on trying to recreate that healing fluid by studying its chemical composition. But it has elements that are unknown to Earth, like atoms or molecules they didn't know existed. So it was harder to recreate things that they didn't know. They know the pink stuff is tears, but they didn't figure out its healing properties yet. But they’re working on it.

All you could do is just nod and let them do whatever

“Its so pink and flowery, imagine countless of generations of humans. They had no idea this was their prison”

“You should see Pink Diamonds Garden” you comment off handedly, then remember… Pink… Garden…. Spinel
Wait
Was she stranded here too or was history different?

Anywho, nothing you can do now but assist the GDA. Later you went to do some crime fighting with the Guardians of the Globe. All in all, it was a loooooong day. So long that even Mark finished training with the GDA before you. He was home sooner, because you had more work

By the time you were done, it was night time and you were sure ready to go home. Well, the Grayson Residence, but it quickly became home to you. Home was where the heart is and honestly? You felt yours belonged to Mark. Just the thought of him made you blush and smile as you neared the home, you skipped and jumped

“ Oh hello house!” you skip and jump as you saw it in the distance
“I cant wait for bed! And TV! We've got some catching up to do, TV. Oh and Debbie’s delicious food~” you just daydream about her food, you should praise her meals more
“Hello, town!” you were glad to be almost home and not buttfuck far away at the GDA

Soon you leapt in overwhelming joy, unknowingly jumping up really high, and finding yourself floating really high, it'd be like the levels Mark would fly.

“Whoa... I jumped super high! I didn't know I could do that!” you say when you realize what you did. As if you didn't need even more reason to be happy. Home. Meal. Mark and new power. Yeah, all in all, today was great

Soon you touch ground, standing in a daze for a brief moment
“Oh my stars, this is a new power! It's like I'm super light!”

Thus you jump and float down
“Whooaa. I can jump really high and float down really slow!”

So you start jumping and gently floating to the ground repeatedly, albeit every time you flote down, you do some pose. Like as if you’re flying or lying down being all chillaxed.
“Jump, float. Jump, float.”

“Jump... “ you jump on a rooftop “Aaand jump!”
Wanting to fly and do what Mark does with ease, you jumped into the clouds, as an airplane passes by.

-Meanwhile on the plane-
“The captain has turned on the seat belt sign, looks like we got some girls in the sky ahead of us.” Airplane Hostess said to her passengers who just accepted the truth that there are meta humans and heroes and aliens. Its a normal thing

-Back to you-
You enjoyed the view and you saw your house from here, no joke
“Wow. This is beautiful. Maaan, Mark is so lucky he can fly. Maybe I can do too but with jumping. Oh man, I wanna jump around the house and show them.”

You tried to move, but your power was floating, not flying. So you wiggled your legs in naught as you were unmoving. It looked like you were swimming in place... in air

“Huh… yeah, should’ve seen that coming…. Maybe I can just fall faster”
So you tried to focus and think really hard to just descend a little bit faster, but it didn't work. You continued to descend at a constant slow rate.

“Huh…I guess it might take a while to land. Maybe I shouldn't have jumped so high.” thats when you noticed Sugilite exiting the Grayson Residence. Maybe she went to look for you? You’d call her with your phone, but Sugilite didn't own a phone. So you did the next best thing
“IM UP HERE!! HEY!! HEY LISTEN!! HEY LISTEN!!! LOOK UP”

-Down-
“(y/n) are you around here? Debbie taught me how to bake a cake. Last chance to get some” Sugilite spoke as she looked for you

-Up in the Sky-
“Ugh, she can't hear me. I'm too far away.” you groan and cross your hands in frustration as you think how to get her attention. You notice your shoes and just sigh defeated

“Hope I don't accidentally give a concussion to a civilian” you say as you take off your shoe and hurl it to Sugilite. But it misses her and just lands beside her.

Sugilite heard the fallen shoe hit the ground and just look at it. She picked it up and tried to connect 2 and 2. She squinted her eyes and furrowed her brows as she tried to use maximum thinking power
“Hmmm”

“No no, look up here!” you tell yourself as you take off your other shoe and throw it at her, hoping to get her attention ,otherwise you’d have to start stripping and throwing your clothes and you didnt want to come to that

Luckily for you, this shoe hits her straight in the face

“Hey! Who's the wise guy?” she looks around and finally notices you up in the air

You smile and wave your arms “She saw me! She finally saw me”

“Oooh, there she is. Just flying around” she walks back to the Grayson Residence

“Nooo! Sugilite! Come back!” you keeps flailing your arms around

-Grayson Residence-
Debbie, Oliver, Mark and the Gems were just preparing to finish off for the day and relax. They had their meal. Honestly only you were missing.
Sugilite entered the house and Debbie asked “Did you find her?”

“Wait, can (y/n) fly, right? Yeah, I think I remember that.” Sugilite says as she’s still mentally turning those brain gears to remember

“Sugilite, (y/n) cant fly” Mark corrects her

Thats when she remembers
“No no, I'm thinking of Mark flying, I mean you!” she then runs outside. Mark, Debbie, Opal and Sapphire followed her. They all look up and see you

“Hey, (y/n) How did you learn how to fly?!!!” Sugilite yells to her

“Maybe we should call her and not wake up the whole neighbourhood” Debbie suggests

“What are you all doing?! (y/n) is falling; she needs our help!!!! I'll catch you, (y/n)!!!!” Opal meanwhile is freaking out and starts running backwards around in her panic, holding her arms out and trying to find out where you will land.

“I think it's gonna be a while.” Sugilite tells her

Mark calls you with his phone and puts you on speaker so he, Debbie, Sapphire and Sugilite can hear you
“Ground control to (y/n). Hows the weather up there?” he couldn't resist to tease you a bit

“Ha ha. Very funny, Mark” you feel a bit embarrassed. Luckily you’re too high up for him to see you blush

“(y/n)! Are you okay?” Opal ran to the phone to ask you

“Oh, yeah, I'm fine.” you replay calmly

“See, she's got this.” Sugilite felt relaxed and had faith in you

“Not exactly, I think this is some kind of new power.” you tell them

“Its said that when the Diamonds first bursted from the core of the planet. They attained their forms and gracefully landed by regulating the speed of their descent” Opal said a bit of gem history

“Yeah and they could control how fast they fell.” Sugilite agreed with Opal

“That's what I said.” Opal pouted before turning her attention back to the phone “(y/n), sweetie, try falling a little faster.”

“I can't figure out how, and it's taking forever to reach the ground. Can you guys just keep me company until I land? Please?”

It was pretty much a ‘say less’ for both the Gems and the Graysons as they’d help you out. Sugilite hurls a soda can at you, which you catch. And then a bag of chips, but it accidentally hits a pidgeon passing by. Opal and Sapphire flinched when they saw that, Opal felt like that the can hit her. Poor bird.

The Gems would help pass the time. And Mark would fly you some dinner that Debbie made and would help you hold a glass or plate, since you didn't really have a table and you needed to use utensils. Though it seemed like he way enjoying this as sometimes he’d want to feed you. It felt like a weird dinner date. Knowing both of you, there was no way you two would ever have a normal date considering the supernatural stuff happening.

After that he’d bring you toothpaste, a toothbrush and a cup where you can spit, because Debbie recommends good hygiene and magical or alien float powers don't give you a free pass. After that he’d just fly up to keep you company

“Sorry for causing you trouble” you couldn't help but apologise to him. You dragged him to Mars, then he was almost late for his GDA anti Viltrumite training and now he has to keep you company because you blundered

“That's fine. I mean I’d much rather be here than… well… a lot of places I’ve been” like the sewers where he fought Sinclair and the Reanimen or in that situation where he had to fight Anissa or literally any bad situation he faced. Flying up to spend time with you? Now that was a blessing, he wished every hero problem was this calming and playful

“Still though, I feel bad” you look away from him, feeling guilty

Mark holds your hands, which causes you to turn your attention back to him, looking him in the eyes
“Hey, don't feel sorry or bad. Theres nothing for you to apologize. I want to be here with you. Ok?”

You just nod

“So, how come you’re this high up. You cant fly as far as I know” he asked you as he was curious

You blushed a bit “Well um… as I was coming home I was kinda…. nevermind” you couldn't look him in the eyes and tell him that you were thinking of him.

“What? What happened?” he was genuinely curious, but a little bit dense to the obvious

“I was… thinking about you… and then I got these floating powers” you tell him, kinda mistaking your power in the same way Steven did. You thought your float power came from thinking about Mark, while Steven thought he got his from eating Cookie Cat.

He didn't really expect that answer from you. But it didn't put him off either.
“You know… I was thinking about you… during the whole GDA training session”

“You were?” now you were the one who didnt expect to hear a statement

“In fact, I cant think of a better place to be” he didn't want to leave you alone. Plus what would happen if you fell asleep while still slowly descending? Would you just crash down? And he didn't know how resistant to fall damage you were.

-Ground Level-

It was just the gems thinking and planning how to help you down as Debbie needed to sleep. The Gems didnt need any of that so they stayed up late thinking how to get you down faster. Well, Opal and Sugilite were planning. Sapphire just enjoyed herself. She wanted to let you enjoy this moment. It was a calm before the storm, you needed this because things would go south

-Meanwhile, in the sky-

You and Mark were sharing a moment at this point. Sure, you didn't go on that date yet at Comic Con as you guys needed to wait October 9th, but both of you couldn't really wait that long. If anything, you two felt a connection to each other. For the short time you two knew each other there was a chemistry as you had things in common. Aside from the crazy alien stuff, you both had the same interests.

And the more you spent time together, such as floating here, the more you could tell. You could speak about broad topics together, having similar interests but tied to different dimensions. Such as being fans of a dog themed hero. Hell, you guys even temporary worked for a food themed establishment such as Burger Mart and the Big Donut. And that was just the starter of similarities

Even in a downer moment like this, Mark made you feel happy. Now he was flying but set himself in a sitting position and you were now sitting in his lap. As for why he didn't just fly you down? Trust me, he tried. But your regulation of descent negated that option of him pulling you down.

You two hugged each other and you rested your head on his shoulder. You couldn't help but feel apologetic once more, but he reassured you that its completely fine. He was happy when he was with you. That was something you couldn't wrap your head around, you just couldn't believe it. It was impossible.

Although Mark wanted to show you just how serious and honest he was when he said that. It wasn't just him saying any words to make you feel better, he meant it. So during your moment of shared intimacy and thanking all sorts of gods Debbie was asleep at this point, you two shared something you never experienced.

A kiss.

It was something entirely new to you. Something scary, but also beautiful and addicting. You honestly had no idea how to properly kiss and make out. No amount of movies, comics, shows, books, fanfics could have prepared you for the real deal.

And that was something you didn't need to say, your whole body just involuntarily told Mark that you were inexperienced, because you felt a bit frozen and rigid, it was definitely shyness and submissiveness too. And he recognized that and didn't mind that. You weren't like Amber, you were you. So being the gentleman he was, he was far more gentler and softer with you. Letting you discover your own pace as which you take things, which caused you to relax in his arms and embrace him properly, allowing you to enjoy this little piece of heaven with him. Indeed, you couldn't think of a better place to be than here, with him.

Although, all good things must come to an end, even this magical moment. Was this making out that happened or a kiss? You still don't know, those lines were blurry to you, but you trust that you’ll learn as you felt safe with Mark.

Speaking of, he kindly excused himself because he really did want to help you touch ground, it was almost dawn at this point.

“Maybe we can weigh her down?” he heard Opal suggest to Sugilite.

It seems the Gems had a plan, so he’d help them.

You saw Opal who jumped up to you and placed one of Marks heavy jackets on you. But it didn't do much

“It's not enough, keep it coming!” you say, trying to encourage them

Sugilite hands you Marks bowling ball, from the time he bowled with William. It did weigh you down, but not enough

“More, more!!” you encourage them to keep it coming

To which Mark comes with a familiar cruise ship that dealt with a kaiju and Anissa. Since it was beached and heavy af, well… he thought it was the best thing.
You grab and hold the huge thing which barely moves you down. In fact you feel like the boat would crush you beneath an invisible asphalt.

“Nnnnngh, I don't think this is working.” you say as you struggle with all which you hold with no downward velocity gained.
The Gems jump climb aboard the boat while Sugilite tries to weigh it down, ultimately just causing you to sigh
“Nothing's working” you released the boat and stuff, which Mark caught and took back to where he found the boat and his own items

During which you just pondered what to do. This was getting ridiculous and most of all embarrassing. Were you gonna be stuck here forever? Well, that was the most depressing way to die. You felt depressed just thinking about it.

Thats when you realize
“Huh? I'm falling! Oh jeez, I'm falling!!!” so you quickly call them “GUYS!! GUYS!!!”

But they were too busy discussing how to get you down, so they didn't notice you falling

“Yeah,I know Mark couldn't push her down. But if she did have a jetpack, she could just put it on upside down. And whoooosh” Sugilite would mime with her hands

“Uh, they still can't hear me.” then you remember “Oh, my phone! I’ll just call Mark” to which you check your pockets and realize, you dropped it. Elsewhere, Mark would realize he has your phone which you dropped

To which you just facepalm “Ugh!!! Why do my powers keep coming and going!? I was just so happy to be home and seeing Mark”
And so it finally clicked and you facepalmed even more “Wait! That's it! Happiness, my floating power's tied to my emotions.” another facepalm “Ugh, right, just like all my stupid powers!”

And that self frustration starts causing you to fall even faster
“Okay, right, I can control this! I just have to think happy thoughts and no negative thoughts. So, what makes me happy? Cake? No, I'm not gonna get any. The house? No, that's where I'm going to die. Mom?....”
….
….
….
It didn't work
“Oh jeez, those emotions are more complicated than I thought! Come on, come on brain, time is running out! I just need something that makes me happy, something I can depend on to cheer me up!”

You look down and see the Gems still discussing and you remember Mark
“The guys... They spent all night just to keep me company. No matter how much I mess up, they'll be there to help me.”

-Ground Level-
“But if she can't control her newest power-” Opal discussed with Sugilite, to which point Sapphire finally spoke up

“It's all right.”

“How is it all right?” Opal just was bewildered

“By now, (y/n) has realized that her powers are tied to her state of emotion, just like I knew would happen. Now she has used the memories of happy and sad things to land safely behind us, ready to give us a hug.”

Behind Sapphire you fall, nearly going splat on the ground, but Mark caught you last second as he flew to the rescue
“Got you!”

“Close enough.”

“Mark! I love you!” you say with a rush of relief and adrenaline from the fall still coursing through you as you place a soft his on him. And he gladly returns the favour as he gently places you down.

Finally touching the ground causes you to lose balance a bit as you regain the feeling in your legs

“I love you too” he replied

You sure felt happy once more and you of course wanted to hug the Gems and thank them for being there for you. So you rushed to give them a group hug

“Wait! You have somewhere else to be!” Sapphire said

“What?” you were confused

“There's no time, run to Debbie” she points to the house “Go, go, go, go!! Faster! Faster!!”

“Uh, okay!” you confusedly run away

Mark walks over to the Gems, as Opal and Sugilite didnt get what Sapphire wanted
“... I would've liked a hug.” Opal said with a pout

Meanwhile, inside, Debbie would greet you a good morning and be happy that you’re back as she’d give you your favourite breakfast, freshly made. It seems she spoke to the Gems to learn what you liked and of course you would have cake for dessert. Since you were working as hard as Mark, you needed your energy and be well fed. Debbie was just an angel, a truly good person that should be protected

-90 Days Training Sequence Later-

You and Mark were an official couple, you’d do work with the Guardians of the Globe. Rex was the most chill guy, tho he did maybe feel bad you were with Mark and not him. But you stayed on a good friend basis. The Gems also got along with the Guardians when they also joined to do missions with them.

Aside from Guardian work, you and Mark would go through some rigorous training together to prepare for the Viltrumite invasion. Though the focus was mostly on Mark. If you guys were before on par with some stats like strength and speed and so on, this would be the point where Mark takes the overall power advantage over you since Cecil focused more on him.

How can you tell that Cecil focused on Mark more? Well, it could be the little fact that you were right now literally standing on the sidelines with your hands crossed beside Cecil as you watched Mark spar against Titanite, a fusion of Opal, Sugilite and Sapphire.
For scale, this fusion was bigger than Alexandrite. It was slightly smaller than Obsidian, but only slightly.
And this titan sized fusion that was living up to its name was stomping on Mark or trying to. You couldn't tell from the sidelines, but you know, Mark was under that hoof shaped foot.

And whats even more absurdly mindblowingly powerful is that Mark pushed away Titanites foot, almost making the huge fusion stumble, but it caught balance

“You can do better than that!”

“ROOOAAAAARRRRRrrrr!!!!” Titanite just roared and went to crush him with its hands like the flying mosquito he was

Mark flew to Titanite and punched her in the left cheek that she fell backwards and almost defused
“Keep it together” the layered voice of Titanite spoke, it sounded like Opal was trying to take charge so they can stay fused and continue.

Titanite got up and tried to grab Mark, who was just flying and avoiding her 6 hands. Though the upper most set of hands managed to grab him and slam him to the ground as it also took a boulder or was it a mountain? And squash him with it

Titanite waits for a moment
“Did we win?” she asks, unsure if they finally won against Mark

So far it felt that way
“Wow...unreal...my gosh..THIS IS AMAZING! I FEEL INCREDIBLE! YES. YES. YES! YES! I CAN WIN! I FEEL GREAT! I! CAN! DO! THIS! AAAAAGH-”

Suddenly Mark broke the huge rock that was thrown on him and just rubbed his head a bit
“Titanite, your Sugilite is showing. Also, this is the 2nd time you celebrated too soon”
And then he punched Titanite in the jaw, sent her flying up and crashing her back down on the ground, to which she poofed in an explosion of a faded green smoke.

Mark went to check on them “Um…Are you guys ok?”

“I'm okay!!” Sugilite merely raised her hand with a thumbs up, she was the only one who was pumped up and excited while Opal and Sapphire felt sore all over. Either way, all 3 of them were down. Mark approached Opal who had the toughest time and helped her up

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Go check in with Cecil, he looks like he wishes to speak to you” Opal said as she held her jaw

He hesitantly left the Gems to join you and Cecil
“Then what’s next?” he asked

-Cue More Training Montage-
Mark flew up from a pool of lava or is it magma. He was unharmed, save for his costume which was burnt in places. You could only kneel beside the lava pool as you poked at it with your finger and got fried, just in the place you touched it. Causing you to put your finger in your mouth in attempt to cool it off. Luckily itd heal

“Seven minutes, 42 seconds.” Donald reported to Cecil

“A new record. Nice work.” Cecil tells Mark as Donald writes some stats or data

“Hey, can somebody call Art? I’m gonna need like 20 new costumes if we’re gonna keep doing this.” he asks them

“Already a step ahead of you” you say as you retreat an extra costume you had stored in your gem. Courtesy of Sapphires future vision, so you had like 3 extra suits… well 2 now.

Then he flew to the moon, but since he was flying solo, he went at full speed. Again, you were on the sidelines with Cecil, Donald and other GDA support. You were the supportive character in this training montage, watching the protagonist get his power boost from training.
Soon Mark landed and was panting and out of breath
“I could have…I could have done it faster, but I got lost on the way back again.” he exhales as he was tired

“Well, it was still plenty fast, Mark.” Cecil tells him

After that, he was holding the heaviest thing the GDA could find, which looked like an iceberg
“Hold it.”

Cecil checked on his team

“And… good.”

He slowly drops it and you think if you can lift that. Maybe you could if the GDA asked you to train with Mark. Maybe you’ll train in your own spare time

“So that was the heaviest thing we could find for Mark to lift, and he just lifted it.” Donald tells Cecil

“Come on, Donald, since when do we let a little thing like that stop us from saving the world? When we’re through with him… he’ll finally live up to the name…”

-TITLE CAAAARD- “Invincible” you finish the sentence for Cecil

-GDA Building-

Mark was working out, you just had refreshments like a supportive waifu when the husbando finishes his training montage. You sat around as you listened it to a bunch of directives and reports.

“Over the last 90 days, Mark’s speed has increased 65%, his endurance 70%, and his strength… and we checked this wasn’t a mistake… 138%.” Donald told Cecil

You glanced at Mark who was still working out and then turned attention to Donald who was still talking
“The science team is already working on a heavier version.”

“So the billion-dollar question, then: Could he beat that Viltrumite woman who made us all shit our pants three months ago?”

“We think so. But she implied someone much worse was coming.”

“Which is why we’re not stopping here. With Mark or any of our other plans.” Cecil says

Thank the stars, a new voice interrupts your monotony and voices your thoughts. Goatsplode, eh, I mean Rex Splode who is the goat of the Guardians
“Fuck me! Way to make a fellow superhero feel inadequate. Glad it’s not leg day.”

You just chuckled hearing him. Man spitting facts.
Anywho Mark finally finished training for the day, he was panting and tired, but he greeted Rex
“Hey, Rex. Yeah, Cecil’s got me on a training plan.”

You hand Mark a bottle of water so he can get some refreshment

“Uh, yeah. I can see that. So, um, how much did all this cost, Cecil? Is this why the coffeemaker’s still broken at Guardians HQ?” Rex asked, during which you just had a goofy smile, because once again. Truth.

“We bought you a new hand, Rex. That wasn’t cheap.” Cecil tells him

“Yeah. And this is the third time I’ve been back trying to get it adjusted. Eh, look, I’m trying to give you the finger right now and I can’t.”

“Oh, man, that’s your favorite finger.” Mark says

“It’s my favorite finger.” Rex says

“It’s his favorite finger, Cecil.” Mark says

“His favorite finger!” you also joined in playfully and gestured towards it

“Can’t we do something about that?” Mark asked Cecil

“Uh-huh.” Cecil said and merely walked past all of you

Rex groaned “The customer service in this place is terrible.”

Donald meanwhile got some news to his ear piece and reported it “Sir, believe it or not, but somebody appears to be stealing the Declaration of Independence from the National Archives building.”

“One guess who’s behind that.” Mark says

“Nah, can’t be Doc Seismic. He’s still under lock and key.” Cecil tells him

“Who?” you ask, confused

“Bad guy who wanted to ruin Mount Rushmore and later the Washington Monument” Mark fills you in

“Ahh” you nod

“And he’s still in custody, so its not him. Anyway Mark, you feel like trying out those new muscles of yours?”

“Sure.”

“Wow. I am standing right here. You guys could at least pretend like you’d like my help.” Rex tells him

“Ahem” you fake cough

“Our help” Rex corrects himself without missing a beat

“Maybe I should take Rex and (y/n). Who knows how tough this could be? And there might be stuff that needs to be exploded. Plus having an impenetrable shield could be useful” Mark vouched for you and Rex. His boom boom explosives and your bubble shield

Cecil sighed “Fine, take them”

“You both suck.” Rex says as the three of you go to prevent that crime

-National Archives building. Washington-

“No problem, you said. I can disarm the lasers, you said. Now we’re messing up the past.”

“Technology this old is tricky. It’s practically made of wood.”

“Hey!”

“But it’s not made out of wood. It’s made out of circuits and electricity and stuff you’re supposed to be good at.”

“Relax! We’ve got at least three minutes until the police show up.”
Some two guys spoke as they ran and avoided guards or whatever

“Hey, dickheads!” Rex said as Mark dropped him. You didnt need Mark to fly you like Rex, since you could keep up with them on foot. Albeit it was trickier to travel on land than just fly.
“Boy, did you pick the wrong day to steal a timeless piece of America’s history.” Rex told them” he laughed “Well, not that there’s a right day. But you know what I mean. Uh, we’re gonna kick your ass now.”

“What? They’re not the police.” one of the weird thieves spoke

As you all fought these 2 guys, Rex tried to make small talk
“So… Eve says she hasn’t seen you in months and that you’re avoiding her?”

I’m not avoiding her, it’s just with Oliver and my new training routine, I’ve been busy.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Whoa, this guy’s fast.”

You meanwhile not liking where the conversation is going, you just hurry up and grab one thief guy and then the other and just bonk their heads against each other just hard enough to knock them out

“There! Mission accomplished. Thank you Yellow Diamond, you’re amazing. You’re welcome Rex and Invincible. Ooh Yellow, we wish we could be like you. Please please, calm yourself children. Im just doing my JOB!!” you’re clearly miffed the guys were just prolonging an easy mission with chatter.

And maaaybe you were jealous that Mark was getting awesome training and then Rex brings up Eve. You don't need any more competition or deletion. You wont let that
“Whoa, um, Yellow are you ok?” Mark almost called you by name, but remembered they you guys were out in the field so he called you by your hero name

You do quickly calm down “Im fine, Im fine. I just need….” what DO you need? Maybe you need to get away to cool off. Think about yourself and how to improve yourself. Maybe you’re taking the sidelines too much and need to work on yourself more. But how can you improve yourself

As you were finishing your sentence Rex got kicked by a new challenger who started multiplying and making clones of himself.
“Multi-Paul?” Rex realized who it was

“Multi Paul?” you just raise your brow at the … villain… name? That guys a villain, right?

“You! You killed my sister!” Multi-Paul accuses Rex. You then look at Rex

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I didn’t kill Kate, man! The Lizard League did!” Rex said as he started fighting off the clones. Would this count as clone wars?

“You let her die!” he accuses Rex and surrounds him and starts beating him up “I’ll kill you!”
Now, Rex was clearly overwhelmed by the numbers and the beating

While all of you were distracted, the 2 guys stole the declaration of independence and just vanished

“I didn’t… “ gets punched “fucking kill Kate.” again another hit “I tried to save her.”

“Liar!” the voice echoed from the clones

“Get off him!” Mark says as you both intervene to help Rex

“Not until he’s dead.” the clones say in unison

“Last warning. We don’t want to hurt you.” you tell him… them?

“You can’t hurt us no matter how strong you are, because you’re-” at this point you dont let them finish a sentence as you grab one of the clones and turn him into blood splatter.

At this point Mark joins you in killing off the clones. Training or not, your punches tore through these clones like a knife through butter. Both of you go in to save Rex. You may not have trained together, but you have flawless teamwork in combat as you weren't in each other's way and just breezed through the enemy

Though you were stopped when a female voice said “Stop!”

“Holy shit.” Mark said when he saw not just Immortal, but Kate.

You just look blankly at the girl and then at Paul, noticing their similar attire and other attributes.

“It’s…You guys… you guys can see her, too, right? It’s not just me?” Rex spoke in his dazed state, unaware if he was imagining things or not

“Kate?” all the Multi-Pauls were surprised, though soon it was only one of them as the original made the clones go away
“They said you were dead.”

“You, out of everyone, should know how hard we are to kill."

Rex slowly got up, he was dizzy, bruised and bloodied “Kate. You’re alive. But…” he tries to catch his breath ”Why didn’t you…You let me and Rae think you were dead! What the hell, man?!”

Then Immortal intervened defending Kate “It was her decision. She wanted to disappear for a while.”

“Yeah, well… Rex coughed “it almost got me disappeared, too…..Wait. You knew?” Rex uses his favorite finger
“Aw, fuck you, Immortal. And you, you fucking psycho. You almost murdered me for nothing.”

“I’ve killed people for less.”

“Yeah, like me! Just now, you frigging idiot.”

“Paul, just go before you make this worse.” Kate tells her brother

“Oh, that’s rich. What’s worse than this?” Rex says as you look around at the near sea of Paul corpses. Yeah yeah, Rex had a point

Multi-Paul wanted to attack Rex once more, but Mark quickly punched him, knocking him to a wall.

“Wait!” Kate wanted to help her brother

“No, Kate. Paul almost killed Rex, and because of him, those guys got away with the Declaration of Independence.” Mark brought up a good point as he grabbed Paul

“What?” was Immortals contribution to the conversation

“I don’t care if he’s your brother. He’s going to prison. Now.” Mark said while you were looking at your phone to see who Kate was in the Guardians and Teen Team

"Am I gonna be introduced?" you ask

"Yellow Diamond, this is Dupli-Kate. She was a Guardian of the Globe like us" Immortal said

You heard the name and then just thought...
“Wait… Multi-Paul, Dupli-Kate? Come on, next thing you’re telling me is that they have cousins Addi-Shawn and Subtrac-Sean” you comment and roll your eyes

“And who are you?” Kate asks you

“Yellow Diamond, you can consider me your replacement. I got in the team while you were playing dead. Kinda missed out on a lot of cool stuff” honestly she made a piss poor first impression. Pretending to be dead to get some free time while her team and her brother thought she was dead.

-Grayson Residence-

During the 90 days, Oliver wasn't a little baby toddler anymore. Now he was a fine young boy due to his accelerated aging. Opal was taking care of him with Debbie, being his primary babysitter when Debbie couldn't be there and she helped educate him. Opal did learn a lot from Debbie, and that includes how to be a loving parent, even though she herself cant really have any kids without… you know… dying

“Go on.” Opal said

“John Witherspoon, Oliver Wolcott and…George Wythe.”

Opal chuckled “Bravo. Your memory, Oliver… it’s quite astounding.”

“Now can I go play? ‘Cause that was the deal if I got them all right.”

Opal then pretended like she doesn't remember, mildly teasing the boy “Did I say that? I don’t know.”

“You promised. I remember.”

Opal smiled “Of course. We’re done for the day.”

“Yes!”
Right about this time, Debbie arrives home
“Hi, Mom. Going outside to play. See you later.”

Mother and son shared a brief hug, before he ran out to play
“They say they grow up fast…”

“Mm, but Oliver puts every other child to shame. His growth and development are off the charts, but they should start to level off once he reaches puberty. That is my theory at least from the data I have about Viltrumites”

“Oh. So, tomorrow.”

“Not quite that soon, but… soon.” Opal reassures Debbie

Soon you and Mark arrive home. Mark takes off his mask
“Hi, Opal. Um, you know stuff. How important is the Declaration of Independence again?”

Opal chuckled hearing that “Ask your brother. He is such an amazing learner” she soon floated away to spend time with you
“”Well if you hadn’t dropped out of college, you’d know, too.”

“Mooom.”

“I’m kidding. I’m glad you two are home. Especially with Oliver growing up so quickly. Oliver really looks up to you, you know.”

Soon after that, Mark went to spend time with Oliver, they played catch with a baseball and that baseball glove. Funnily enough you never played baseball, so you didnt know whats the glove called or how its played. Lets just say you didnt have a Steven situation where you had to fool a Ruby squad.

While Mark was spending time with Oliver, you merely sat at the window watching them and enjoying the sunlight. Sapphire soon approached you

“Greetings”

“Hey there Sapphi”

“How do you feel?”

“I’m ok”

Sapphire looks at you “Are you sure?”

You just look at her perplexed at what she means
“Are you okay?” you ask her

“My Future Vision is not as precise when I am unfused, when I was fused with Opal as Violane, I saw endless possibilities instead of just one. I was wrong about Angstroms fate, I was wrong about your power of descending. I dont know if something is wrong with me”

“Sapphire, you shouldnt be worried about that. Is… is that why you wished to remain fused with Opal. So you can see the future?” you asked her, concerned

Sapphire didn't answer you, instead she said something “Cherish this time of peace, because soon things will go haywire. Today or tomorrow. I am not sure.”

“What? What will happen?” you ask her with worry

“Its Cecil”

“What about Cecil?” you ask her, seriously and almost threatening her.

“The earpiece Ma-” she stopped when she saw Oliver fly

“Wha- oh” you asked her and wanted to see what rendered her speechless, until you saw Oliver fly as well
“Son of a-”

“Language” Sapphire interrupted you

“Too late. You promised!” Oliver told Mark

-Meanwhile at the GDA-
“Enlighten me.” Cecil said as he looked at the map of America

“It’s nothing specific sir, but the residents of this town reported that their groundwater’s recently become sulfurous and undrinkable.”

“We’re not the EPA, Donald.”

“There’s been a chain of small earthquakes throughout this region.” Donald reported as he showed another part of the US

“Well, they frack there, don’t they?”

“Children here have reported hearing strange sounds from a local cave system.” Donald reported another strange occurrence elsewhere

“Well, children hear a lot of things.”

“There’s been three subway derailments in the last month in New York, all traced back to small shifts in the tunnel foundations.”

“And the connection between all of this?”

“I… Uh, I-I don’t have one yet. But we’ve categorized over 300 unusual geological events, sir.”

“Well, map them out.” once Donald did that, Cecil just sighed “So, the country’s got measles.”

“They do seem to be centered around major cities, but there’s no other pattern we can find yet.”

“And our resident earthquaker?” Cecil asked, the screen showed Seismic still in his cell meditating and unmoving “Hmm. Well, when it graduates to more than a giant coincidence, call me.”
And so Cecil was about to leave, that is until Donald stopped him to show him something else

“Uh, there’s one other thing you should see, sir.”

Soon Cecil would see on the screen, Oliver showing his powers to Mark
“This, Donald. You should have led with this.”

-Grayson Residence-

Mark spoke to his mother about Oliver getting his powers. Debbie was clearly worried because not only did Oliver get his powers sooner, but the fact that he kept them secret. Mark reassured her its fine, and that he made Oliver promise no more secrets. Debbie had reasonable worries, but Mark said it’ll be fine.

Unbeknownst to them Oliver was out the window listening to them. Sapphire though knew and joined him, she motioned to him to keep shush. If theres one thing her Future Vision helped, it was when Oliver would sneak out. So she would always be with him. She wouldnt actively stop him from whatever he wanted, but she was reassurance that he stays out of trouble.

Later Mark would go bowling with his friends, William and Rick. No one still knows about Williams little oopsie.

And while Mark was bowling, you were in the bathroom washing your hands. Although looking in the mirror you saw something that scared you. Your eyes changed, your irises werent brown as usual, but yellow with diamond shaped pupils. When you gasped, your eyes returned to normal.

You just sigh
“Your powers are tied to emotions. You’re just frustrated. Don't feel frustrated. Dont feel frustrated. You’re strong. You’re not lagging. You’re not a burden” you keep telling yourself to get a grip on yourself. You do consider asking Sugilite to privately train you, but something tells you… not yet.

-Next Day-

Debbie was talking to Oliver about secret identities. You supported Debbie and helped her when Oliver would complain about putting the makeup foundation on him to be less purple. You helped mostly by not letting Sugilite speak, because she’d protest like Oliver about the purple-ness. To Sugilite, Oliver was a ‘Little Amethyst’, a small gem, a small thraxan gem. So of course she was fond of the kid. In fact, all of the Gems were.

“I’ll get it” you heard Oliver say as he ran past Opal who wanted to open the door. And who was behind the door but Cecil

“Think you missed a spot there, kiddo.”

Oliver realized some of his purple can be seen and he touched his cheek
“I’m Cecil Stedman.”

“I’ve heard of you.” Oliver says as the two shake hands
“You tell superheroes what to do and if they don’t listen, you get super mad.”

“Hm. That’s about right. And I’ve also heard of you.”

“Good, because I’m almost a superhero, too!”

“That’s why I’m here.”

Debbie and Opal walk over to the door as Debbie has a strong motherly instinct with Opal being the close 2nd place there. Both were protective of Olivers development as a child and didn't want any government meddling going on.

Soon enough Cecil would be invited in and Debbie would want to have a word with him. You and the Gems would take Oliver and distract him while the grownups talk. Sapphire looked around and was glad all of you guys were together. She considered telling Cecil the future, one that concerns him. But since Debbie was talking to him, she didn't want to interrupt them. Although, she was a bit worried around Cecil's presence now. Before she didnt see herself in danger, but after she fused with Violane, she saw a different future that involves her as well

-At GDA-

A bunch of agents were doing some furious keyboard typing and looking on high tech blinky screens. Each one reporting to Donald who was overseeing things

“Lost contact completely.”

“No response from the team.”

“Over 100 earthquakes reported.”

“I can’t get anyone on the line.”

“I need you to go in there and check it out.”

“Sorry, it’s all I know.”
Various agents spoke to their earpieces and such as they typed

“Sir, we have intense geological events all over the country. But, worse, we can’t reach a single hero. Even the Guardians have gone silent.” a female agent reports to Donald

“Most heroes carry a GDA tracker. Th-Throw them up on the screen.” Donald tells her. After the screen shows a bunch of stuff on the US map, Donald tells her
“Show me Seismic.”
To which the screen shows an empty cell and a huge hole.
“Oh, no.”

“Report, report.”

“Code red, right now.”

-Back to the Grayson Residence-

Cecil and Debbie were still debating should Oliver be tested on so they can learn to control his power and Debbie didn't wanna let that happen. As they were talking, Cecil received contact from Donald
“What? What are you talking about? What, every single one?”

“What’s going on?” Debbie asked
Sapphire looked at the humans, this was part of the future she saw, hence why she was glad you guys were together.
“Every superhero in America has been abducted. Except for” Cecil looked at you and the Gems

“Cecil, I must speak to you” Sapphire would approach him in regards to a plan she had

-Meanwhile with Mark-

Mark was still with William and Rick. Tho now he was kinda trying to get some dating advice as in, how to approach things with you, since you were… way less experienced with Amber. Not only that, but he worried that with all the training Cecil was putting him through that he was unintentionally making you feel neglected or inadequate compared to him.

Rick was giving Mark some solid advice on how to deal with the matter while William was just kinda nervous because, he DID call an intergalactic tyrant to Earth and was sworn to secrecy. Sure, nothing happened, but the anticipation was killing him.

He wanted to tell Mark, nuclear device be damned
“Mark, listen-”

And thus Cecil contacted Mark “Cecil, please, not now.” though Cecil continues
“What do you mean?”
….
“So its just (y/n), Gems, Eve and me?”

Mark then talks to William
“Sorry, I have to meet up with Eve and go”

“This better be cataclysmic Mark, because I have something mindblowing to tell you!” William says as Mark flies up

“Don't worry about it. I’ll be back and you’ll tell me your news” Mark told William and flew away to meet Eve, who was already mid flight and hearing Cecil

-Grayson Residence-
Cecil left, so it was just you, Gems, Debbie and Oliver. You were getting ready to leave as you were changing into your outfit.

Sapphire approached Debbie
“Can you please go outside and see Olivers room window in… right about now?”

Debbie by now knew all about Sapphires abilities so she went to see the window. So far nothing happened. She crossed her arms and waited. Lo and behold, she’d witness Oliver trying to sneak away. Debbie just clears her throat

“Uh oh”

-Somewhere Earthy, Underground, With Lava or Magma-

“Patience is a virtue. It took months for me and my friends to learn all of your particular vibrations. How you move, how you breathe. The pitter-patter of your black, little hearts. I think you’ll agree it was worth every minute of my incarceration. I tried to change your corrupt system. Tear down your false idols. Take back what you stole from the earth. But every time I was stopped by you superpowered fascists, fighting to keep your capitalistic slave machine running, until now.” Seismic gave his little speech to the trapped heroes who were trapped in this… egg silk thing?

“You haven’t stopped a thing!” Midmortal says as he tries to kick the thing open, but just ends up crushing Kate and Rex who were trapped with him. Oh and Rex was naked for some reason

“You’re crushing us.” Kate tells him

“Aw, shit! Stop!” Rex would tell him

“See? You’re toxic, even to your own compatriots.” Doc Seismic tells Immortal

“Any luck?” Monster Girl asked Robot who was trapped with her
“ I’ve diverted all power to my transmitter. It should just reach the GDA surveillance network from this far underground.” Robot tells her

“Oh, what do you want, Seismic?” Black Samson would ask him as he too tried to get free

“Oh, didn’t I make that clear? Soon, you’ll all feel the full weight of the evil you’ve done to support your failing human race.” Seismic used his tech bracelets to punch the earth or whatever and sent a shockwave, which made the earth crack, but also call forth something from deep below. Everything shook
“For you are all dust. And to dust you shall return!”
He cackled until he heard a sound
“Huh? What? What is that sound?”

Soon Atom Eve drilled in with her pink energy construct and Mark was soon behind her. The two of them were faster then you and the Gems, so they had a head start to deal with Seismic.
But you had something on your side. The element of surprise as Seismic didn't know a bout you, and he couldnt sense the Gems because they’re Geo-based lifeforms. So to him, your group was invisible

“Ah. Someone upped their game.” Atom Eve said when she saw what Seismic did

“I know. I’m impressed.” Mark casually said with his arms crossed

“Well, well, well. It’s my old friends Token Diversity and Gender Stereotype.”

“Um, I wouldn’t talk, Generic Mad Scientist.” Eve tells him

“Now set everyone free before this turns ugly.” Mark tells him as the two of them fly up, giving Seismic a fair warning

“It turned ugly the day Homo sapiens took their first step onto land.” he clapped his hands with those high tech bracelets, which sent another shockwave

“I take it back. I’m not impressed anymore.” Mark tells Eve

“Oh, that wasn’t an attack. That’s how we talk.” Seismic ominously said as the whole place started rumbling.

And this was the time that you and Gems arrived at. Right on time to see the giant centipede monsters and the spider like monsters that were living deep underground

“What are we looking at?” you ask the Gems

“This looks like the Earths version of a Centipeetle” Sugilite said

“Fine we’ll call them Centipeetles”
And just as you say that, a bunch of magma monsters appeared, swarming everyone. Though, for now Seismic didnt notice your group, though a few magma monsters did.

Soon, all of you started fighting. Mark and Eve dealt with the Centipeetles and you and the Gems fought off the magma monsters
Cecil and Donald were able to watch a live feed due to Robot providing it to them
“Cecil, our situation is rapidly becoming dire.” he informs the GDA

“How does a nobody like Doc Seismic pull shit like this?”

“He seems to have found allies from somewhere deep inside the earth.” Donald answers him and Cecil just facepalms

“I can’t see that, Donald.”

“Sir, who do we have if they go down?” Donald asked him

“Sapphire told us that the Gems will handle this and told me to and I quote ‘wait for it, you’ll see Gaia’. Whatever that means”

“Gaia means Earth in greek”

“I know Donald”

-Meanwhile in a less hostile situation-

Debbie was having a word with Oliver
“I didn’t mean anything. But Cecil said all the superheroes were gone. So I wanted to go out and help until they got back.” Oliver told her

“And I’m glad you wanted to help, but why didn’t you talk to me first?” she softly asked him

“I don’t know.”

“Because you knew I’d say no? Hmm.” Debbie sits beside him
“Maybe that’s a clue that you shouldn’t be trying to sneak out.”

“I guess. I’m sorry, Mom.” Oliver felt bummed out and hugged her when he apologized
She lovingly embraced him “It’s okay. I understand. You just want to be like Invincible, right?”

“Yeah!” he excitedly told her

“Well… you know who’s Invincible’s mom?”

-Meanwhile in less wholesome circumstances-

While Debbie was being a badass mom and saving the world with her parenting, Mark was fighting all those monsters. He went to throw those magma monsters at the Centipeetles and noticed you and the Gems were fighting these magma monsters as well.
You were punching them and getting burned, but your burns rapidly healed.
Opal was using her gem weapon which was a staff or perhaps a bo would be a more formal name for it.
Sugilite was also fighting bare handed as she thought these magma monsters didnt deserve her weapon.
Sapphire would slow them down with her freezing ice powers.

Your eyes locked with Marks and you just motioned to him to keep quiet as it seems Seismic didn't notice them. Mark just nodded as he understood that Seismics focus was on him and Eve.

Mark flew to the Centipeetle and kept punching it. Although the effect of those punches was… not noticeable.

Doc Seismic laughs “You think you’re strong? These creatures were born deep in the fire and pressure of the earth’s womb!” he cackles more

Atom Eve fired some blasts of pink energy, but they didnt do much to the Centipeetles either
“Mark, he’s not lying!!!”

Both Mark and Eve were dodging various Centipeetle attacks. You and the Gems were clearing your area of the magma monsters so you can properly have the floor

“Free the others! I’ll cover you.” Mark tells Eve

Eve flies to go and save the heroes

“Stop her!” Seismic orders his monster friends

The spider looking monsters blasted some goo at Eve, which she dodged. But the Centipeetles went to bite her. Mark got in the way and grabbed one by its teeth. He was soon grounded and tried to hold his place against the huge monster
“GO!!!” he told Eve

She went to fly, but Seismic intercepted her “Goodbye” and used his shockwave bracelet attack to knock her out hard

During this time, you and the Gems finally got rid most of the magma monsters and were ready to get the biggest guns
“Synchronize!” you order them as all 4 of you got into position. Unifying for a single and focused purpose

“Eve!” Mark pushed away the Centipeetle and tried to help Eve, but the Centipeetle sunk its mega tooth in Mark, injuring him.

Thats when everyone who was not a monster would stop as they see a bright light. Your bodies melded, your four gemstones swirling in a diamond shape. The first thing this mass of light forms is an arm. And then another and another. At first it looks like a sea of hands. But soon this colossal fusion takes a human shape. A foot forms as the bright light fades

This was a colossal fusion begins to take form. Bigger than Stevens Obsidian, but looking similar to her.
She is very large with eight arms, two faces, and a mother earth deisgn. Her skin is forest green
She has one main face with a second one resting on her forehead. She also has four glowing yellow-orange eyes as if she is filled by this very magma that surrounds them. She has a small nose, and defined lips. Her hair is medium length and curly, but seemingly looking as if its made of leaves.
Her eight arms are all rather long, being skinny as well. Her gemstones are on her forehead, chest and navel, and are all green.
She wears a brown bralette with a very long matching loincloth, and she is also barefoot, with her hoofed legs having veins of water and magma.

This was Gaia Stone, in a way a poetic fusion as this was the closest thing to a personification of Mother Earth, the very same thing that Seismic claims he fights for. And Gaia Stone was also a type of green obsidian. It all tied together.

Now the result of this massive fusion was a debut with a guttural roar for battle. This wasnt the sound of 4 women screaming and roaring. This sounded like all these monster Seismic summoned, but more powerful as if it was the alpha of them.

Gaia first saw the monster that injured Mark. Picked it up with one hand and grabbed with other and just tore it into 2 pieces

“Well… shit” Seismic said when he saw the big fuck you Giant Woman of all giant women. Gaia Stone would then go after all of the monsters, easily just one shotting them and tearing them apart. She didnt need to summon her weapon. Just one stomp on the bug would split it into two dead pieces.

The other monsters started to retreat, including the lava guys. Until it was only Seismic. Gaia Stone just roared again. This power was so intense that for example Sapphires Future Vision just turned into a cacophony of noise, because the power intensified that much. Gaia was a huge power boost from Titanite that Mark sparred with yesterday. Thats the difference when you add a Diamond in the fusion. It was day and night.

Mark managed to stop Seismic from escaping by delivering that one knock out punch. And once everything was settled, Cecil and his group was able to teleport safely to free the others.

Though he couldnt help but look at the monster of a fusion
“Jesus Christ, she told me how powerful it was. But I didnt expect anything close to this” while Cecil didnt show it. The sight of your combined fusion was frightening and he knew he needed to find a contingency for Gems asap. Just because the Gems werent invading, didnt mean he shouldnt get ready.

Gaia quietly unfused into the 4 of you, and you hopped down safely.
“Did we do it?” you asked

“You did it, kiddo. You did it” Cecil told you and patted you on the shoulder.

“Thats good, I’ll go back to Debbie and Oliver” Opal just wanted to be back with her newfound family. You just rushed to Mark and hugged him

“Oh Mark! Im sorry I couldnt be faster!” you clearly didnt want him injured, but you couldnt fuse if you were attacked by magma monsters

“Ow, hey, dont worry its fine. Dont worry about it” Mark reassured you even though you insisted on healing him

“(y/n), when you get the chance I’ll need you at the GDA. We need to test you about that Diamond Essence stuff. Just confirming a theory” Cecil told you. And you just nodded

Luckily everyone was safe and Rex was naked for some reason. Its because he was kidnapped while showering and his towel was dropped. But Mark just covered your eyes so they wouldnt linger on things you shouldnt see. Mark just chuckled and flew away with you

“What? What was his problem?” Rex asked and Sapphire approached him, though her size was unfortunate in this situation

“Your royal jewels are visible for everyone to see”

“So what? We won, my dick’s out and I don’t care! Wooo!! Guardians of the Globe, baby!!” he walks up to be a menace to other heroes.

-Later, evening time, Grayson Residence-

All of you were home and tired. You tended to Marks huge tooth wound
“Man, those Centipeetles did a number on you”

“Centipeetles?”

“Oh um, huge centipede monsters that Seismic controlled” you correct yourself as you examine Marks wound.
Truth be told, you werent a medic and had no idea about first aid. This was just your excuse to spend time with a shirtless Mark and play with bandages.

“Wow, your wound is healing rather fast” you notice that his wound was less severe than when you guys were out there in the field.

“Not as fast as yours though” he chuckled as he saw how your wounds healed against the magma monsters.

“I guess so” you say as you finish with the whole bandage stuff. It was an interesting situation. Mark had better durability, but a 'weaker' healing factor. You meanwhile had a much stronger healing factor, but much weaker durability. Quite interesting how Gems and Viltrumites affected human DNA.

“So about that time with those guys that stole the Declaration” Mark started and you just mentally thought oh no
“Are you sure you’re ok?”

You just sighed “Im sorry. I just felt frustrated. I mean, I don't know what'll happen in the future with the Viltrumites, but if something dangerous comes along, I don't wanna be a burden, I wanna help! I wanna be there for you, to fight by your side! And I cant do that if you’re worrying me because I’m weaker than you. The Earth is my home too, can't I help protect it?”

Mark pulled you in a hug “Hey, you’re not a burden. We’re a team and if anything happens I’ll protect you.”

You held his hand and looked him in the eyes. You asked him with nothing but concern in your voice “But if you're the one protecting me... Then who's the one protecting you?”

He realized you had a good point. Cecil was focusing on him way too much and was neglecting your training. Only calling you to spar with him and the Gems same. It started with you and Sugilite, then it was just fusions. Fusions that excluded you. And the last 2 months all you did was stand besides Donald and Cecil, holding extra costumes and refreshments for after he’s done

“You’re right, next time you go to see Cecil I’ll have a word with him to include you in my training more”

The two of you kissed, before heading off to go to sleep. It was a long day. And truth be told, this was the first time you go to sleep in your bedroom, the guest bedroom that Debbie let you have. During your entire stay, you kinda would just doze off and fall asleep in Marks room as usually you two would spend the time together every evening. Talking about comics or other stuff, like learning about your different dimensions and just anything random the two you come up with. He’d even listen to you talk about the stuff you like. Like Dogcopter, Lonely Blade, Soul Blaster and more.
So yeah, it was no wonder that this was the first time you actually saw ‘your’ bedroom. Made you wonder if Debbie knew that you kinda just… spent time with Mark.

-Next Day-

Everything started seemingly normal, breakfast and idle chatter. You and Mark would prepare to go to the GDA. Today Sugilite would stay to watch over Debbie and Oliver. Although as Debbie turned on the TV, it was static. Then she switched the channel and then another. Another. All static.

You and Mark heard in an earpiece from Cecil again. It was about a new suspicious activity, something is sending bursts of electromagnetic interference across the globe. He would tell you guys the location, so all of you, bar Sugilite would go.

-Point Nemo-

You guys arrived at the most remote place on Earth, Point Nemo. The first thing you guys noticed from the sky was a beam of light. As Mark lowers down to land, you guys notice artificial land, like a man made island and a tower.

You guys landed in front of the tower
“What is this thing?” Mark asked

“Oh, I'm so glad you asked!” Opal chimed in “This is a communication hub for Gemkind. It helps establish long range communication lines that reach across the galaxies in an instant. It helps Wailing Stones connect as well as Communicator Eyes and other various Gem tech. But to work these hubs release powerful electromagnetic bursts that hurt television” Opal explained

You then remembered something
“Wait… on the moon base, we established only a Kindergarten and a Lunar Sea Spire were created…r-right?”

“Oh... good point. This is brand new” Opal realized as well now that you mentioned it

You all fell silent as you realize what this means.
But suddenly someone else broke the silence, an unknown voice

This person is short and stout with a mostly blue color scheme. Her skin is baby blue and she has two eyes with lilac irises, a small nose, and undefined lips. Her hair is coloured frost white and is styled in a pointy pixie cut. Her gemstone is isnt visible.
She wears a standard Homeworld uniform that's tinted teal with a Blue Diamond insignia on her chest as well as blue limb enhancers on her arms and legs.

The fingers of her limb enhancers made a screen
“Log date 2-4-7 This is Celestine, updating status. Still stuck on this miserable planet. Communication lines are developing properly, connection with Homeworld was established. Warp Robonoids are established to arrive w-” she then stops as she finally noticed you guys

And then she quickly calls backup “This site has been compromised!!!”

Which would cue the arrival of 6 more of Celestines. They wanted to fuse, but Mark as well as you guys quickly prevented them and busted their limb enhancers which kinda just revealed their natural short size.

“Who are these guys?” Mark asked you

You shrugged as you never encountered this Gem type

“Celestines, they arent combat gems but communication gems. They establish communication lines between Homeworld and its colonies. Their special power is telepathy” Sapphire informed you guys

“So harmless, easy” you comment as all of you go to attack the Celestines. But suddenly, all of you were unable to hit them. While the Celestines would draw their blue gem destabilizers.

All of you would fight and try to hit the Celestines, but they were expertly avoiding every attack

“What gives?” you ask as before you managed to wreck their limb enhancers and now you guys couldnt land a hit

“Telepathy, they are reading our minds and predicting our moves” Opal informed you

“No worries, we just need to be faster then” Mark said and managed to grab one and punch her so hard that she slammed into the Communication Hub and poofed. Sapphire quickly bubbled the first fallen enemy and warped it away.

-Grayson Residence-

In the living room, Debbie noticed a blue bubble with a small gemstone appear and levitate above the TV. She learned not to question things and just accept them as they go. Although, the ever watchful GDA would see this and of course want to collect it.

-Communication Hub-

The act of bubbling a Gem caused Sapphire to be open to an attack, so she got struck by a Gem Destabilizer. Yellowish lines would appear all over her, that in the appearance of circuitry. Her hand slowly broke apart from her body and slowly as she touched ground. She poofed in blue smoke.

You gasped that one of your own got poofed. A Celestine tried to do the same to you, but the Destabilizer only gave you mild discomfort. Although it did make your veins glow when you touched it and it also looked like you had circuitry under you. It sort of leads to some credibility that gems are AI.
Another Celestine tried to do the same with Mark, but that did even less to him. It was just a poke from a sci fi stick

Another Celestine looked at a broken limb enhancer to see why can a human like him fly and panicky looked at any solution.
As you and Mark were ready to finish this, a loud sound ringed in your heads.

Opal would recognize it as the sound of a malfunctioning and loud Wailing Stone. One of the Celestines realized that Viltrumites have a weakness to the frequency of sound. And you and Opal? Well the sound was just THAT loud to you guys. While Opal was incapacitated, a Celestine poofed her with a Destabilizer. They started to bubble the two poofed enemy gems. But had to deal with you

“These are organics”

“We gotta report to Agate. We have Gems and a Viltrumite here” she says with the next thing with disgust
“Working together”

“What do we do with these 2?”

“Lets get rid of them”

A Celestine summons her gem weapon, which was a pike. Another summoned an axe. They wanted to finish you two off while you were paralyzed and by their combined telepathic sound of a loud Wailing Stone.

Just as you thought it was over, these strange cyborg things showed up to save you as they quickly jumped and attacked the unsuspecting Homeworld Gems, which caused them to stop producing the sound with telepathy. Mark would recognize these things as Reanimen, which in turn fucking pissed him off. And cherry on the cake? Darkwing II arrived to help out with these extraterrestrials by dragging them in the shadowverse, poofing them, and just coming back with small gemstones in his hands. Also freeing Sapphire and Opal from the bubbles their gemstones were trapped in

These Celestines had a hard time dealing with the Reanimen, because they were mindless monsters, so no mind reading or anything could help them as they all got poofed. You discreetly took one of the poofed Gems, bubbled it and stored it in your gemstone. Letting Cecil and his gang take the others prisoner if he wants.

All in all, this concluded fast and abruptly. You quickly get Sapphires and Opals gemstones to keep them safe. These 2 dont reform as fast as Sugilite does. Especially since they were destabilized

“What the fuck” Mark was confused, disguisted and appaled at what he saw. He suddenly flew and slammed into a Reanimen, destroying it.

You were just confused because you never saw a Reanimen, so you have no line of reference what was this about.

“Who are you?” you ask him

“Darkwing Two”

“Like Darkwing Duck?” you ask in confusion. Because Darkwing Duck was the only Darkwing in your dimension, as in ‘I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the jailer who throws away the key! I AM DARKWING DUCK’ or something along those lines

But much how you were confused, now you made Darkwing II confused about him being a duck. And during all of that Mark just attacked Darkwing II

“Why the hell is he here?! And why the fuck are those things here?!”

“Whats going on? I feel like Im missing some KEY information!” you desperately seek to be clued in on what the fuck is the deal

“He’s a murderer. And those things… the guy who made those things killed people. They almost killed my best friend.” Mark tells you.

Then you look at Darkwing and raise your fist to punch him

“He’s right. I did terrible things. But that was before. I’m better now, thanks to Cecil.” Darkwing II tells you

You slowly lower your fist, still squinting and giving him the ‘im watching you’ hand thing.

“Better? You should be in prison!” Mark tells him angrily

“Are you okay?” you reach out to him, but he moves away. He was clearly angry and feeling betrayed. You wanted to calm him before things get worse.

“No, I’m not okay! Cecil said he put Sinclair away, and Darkwing too, and now they’re both working for him? Jesus. I was an idiot to believe Cecil. Even my mom warned me about trusting him.”

“Ok ok. Let's get to the bottom of this together. We can talk to Cecil” you try and calm him down as he was clearly heated. But at least you understood where he was coming from

“Oh, I’m gonna get to the bottom of this right now.” he flies up and goes straight to Cecil. He wasn't thinking straight anymore

“Ma-I mean Invinci- ugh who cares, Mark wait!!” you say as you jump and grab Mark by the ankle so he doesn't fly away without you. Although you dropped Opals gem, which left it with Darkwing II as he had also 3 captive Celestines.

Darkwing II made note to bring all of these to Cecil. And he noticed Opals gem which he picks up with the prisoners. He lets Cecil know Mark is on his way, and also makes arrangements to destroy the communication tower himself. He had explosives

-GDA-

Cecil was in his office and Mark would soon burst in through the doors, demanding answers. You just followed him close behind, holding Sapphires gemstone

“Are you working with D.A. Sinclair?” Mark angrily asked

“Calm down.” Cecil would say

“He turned people into monsters. He almost killed William. He should be in prison!!”

“He can’t fix his mistakes in prison, Mark. Neither can Darkwing.”
“What are you even talking about?!” Mark asks him

“D.A. Sinclair’s a genius. Darkwing cracked from fighting endless crime in Midnight City. You don’t waste people like that, you reform them. Repair them. Let them make restitution for their mistakes.”

“Mistakes? They murdered people! Rick still isn’t right after what Sinclair did to him!!”

“Sinclair’s new Reanimen are made with donated corpses. Darkwing will never kill again. They both went through severe psychological reprogramming. They save lives now, Mark. And repaying the very substantial debt they owe us all.” Cecil spoke as he walked out of his office. You and Mark followed him

“That is bullshit and you know it!” Mark told him, clearly frustrated. You meanwhile just wanted to hear Cecil's side since you understood Mark. In a way you understood both sides from what you heard. You did believe in redemption, but you believe Cecil went about it the wrong way, with Sinclair. Darkwing seems fine. The true problem was communication between Cecil and Mark

“Is it? You killed Angstrom Levy. Should I lock you up, too? Throw away the key?” point proven with Cecil's golden line to Mark. It just sounded like escalation

“You-you know that was different.” Mark told him

“A man’s still dead because of you.” Cecil still pressed on

“And I think about it every single day. But he almost killed my mom and brother.” Mark told him and you just thought how to de-escalate this. What to say to calm the situation as Cecils words just seemed to upset Mark

“Exactly. You were trying to save lives, which is what I’m trying to do, so how about you extend me the same privilege and go home.”

“No. No way. I’m not going anywhere until Sinclair and Darkwing are both back in prison.”

Cecil just sighed as he opened a door and led you and Mark to a room. Mark would recognize this room. You wouldn't

“Did you hear me?” Mark asked as he entered the room after Cecil just sighed to him

“Go home, Mark, before you do something you’ll regret.” Cecil warned him

“I told you, I’m not leaving unt… Wait, why are we in here again?” he asked when he noticed the room

“What? Whats wrong with this room?” you were oblivious to the white light room. This was the room where Cecil told Mark that the government put something in the water so people would be blind to some frequency of light and all you’d see is light. But the thing was, even though you were here for 3 months and drinking that water. First of all, you were half made of light. Secondly, you had a crazier healing factor than a Viltrumite, so whatever gunk they put in the water didn't affect you. Cecil's white room censorship was not very effective on you and because of that, you saw TONS of Reanimen much way before Mark ever could, which in turn freaked you out and caused you to become more defencive

“Please go.” Cecil told him and you

“What are you hiding in here? Who else is working for you?” Mark angrily asked him

“The white room is for my protection.”

“Protection from what?!”

“From you, Mark. From you.” he says as 7 Reanimen approach you. And 7 was all Mark could see, while you saw way more that werent moving and were merely awaiting orders.

“Is that why we’re surrounded by a dozen of those zombie Reanimen?” you asked nervously as you looked around, watching Marks back. Cecil mentally noted the fact that the white room didn't affect you.

Cecil just looked at you dead in the eye and said “Yes”

Chapter Text

You were surrounded and Mark seemed to have had no idea just by how much. Granted, you knew that you and Mark, and especially Mark, could rip these Reanimen to shreds. But it was still an intimidating sight. You positioned yourself back to back. So you can watch Marks back and he can yours. You considered what to do, but at this point you doubted Cecil or Mark would listen to you. Mark was too angry at Cecil; and Cecil was focused on Mark and didn't need any distractions, especially from a Mark fangirl like you. Because of course Cecil knows, he knows all

All you could do is try and think of a way to mitigate the situation, to de-escalate it. But soon you’d see that would prove to be even harder than you imagined

“Protection from what? Protection from me!? What are you even talking about!?” Mark asked as he angrily approached Cecil

A Reanimen stepped in front of Mark to seemingly block Cecil who was in Marks line of sight
“It’s my job to defend the planet from threats. Don’t make me put you in that category, Mark.”

“Cecil, if you plan to de-escalate things, you are using all the wrong words” you tell him as you glance in his direction.

“Do you use these things to keep Darkwing in line? Or Sinclair?!” Mark asked him

“Darkwing and Sinclair don’t have your abilities. Also, (y/n) if you really want to make this situation better, then tell your boyfriend over here to step down and stop this”

You consider actually doing that, but then you worry if you try and talk down Mark that it’d seem like you were taking Cecil's side
“I cant do that Cecil. This is between y-”

“Abilities I only use to help people!!” Mark honestly felt insulted that HE who was the GOOD guy is being ‘intimidated’ by these Reanimen to keep HIM in line and not monsters like Darkwing and Sinclair. HIM, a guy who did nothing but help and save people! One time, he accidentally killed someone and now he’s being equated to guys like Darkwing and Sinclair!?

“Who are you helping right now? You see things one way and you won’t make room for any other viewpoint. You threaten people who disagree with you.”

“I don’t threaten!!”

You just sigh and rub your temples. This was like trying to talk to an unmovable wall and unstoppable force. Mark being the unstoppable force and Cecil being the unmovable wall. Next to them you felt like chopped liver. What the fuck should you do? Flip the fuck out as well? That’d just make things worse. 10 times worse in fact. You never really let loose with your power, anger or frustration as you always held back. If you tried to flip out, then you’d be labeled a threat like Mark was being labeled.

“No? Because you’re scaring the shit out of me right now.” Cecil told Mark

“I’M NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING!!!” he said frustrated and went to walk over to Cecil, to which a Reanimen grabbed Mark by the arm

“Cecil, tell your monster pet to let him go. You’re making things worse!!” now you’re starting to lose temper, because now whether Cecil knows it or not, and he most likely didn't. But as soon as a person is touched without consent, this stopped being a conversation and officially became an altercation as this has now become physical.

The Reanimen snarled as Mark asked “What is this?! You think you can shut me up?!”

“Mark…” Cecil tried whatever

Mark with every right punched the Reanimen, square in the face and knocked it down on the ground and killed it. Or is it re-killing? In any case, the few Reanimen that have approached the two of you, ie the guys Mark could only see have moved in to attack. You and Mark make sure and quick work of them. Mark being a bit more brutal in the way he deals with these things. You notice that Cecil is frustrated with you for not calming down Mark and making him step down, instead of supporting him

“Cecil, you only have yourself to blame, you started this” you tell him. You weren't sure if he would take that as a threat at this point, but you didn't care.

“You’re afraid I’ll blow the whistle, huh?! Tell everyone how you really run this place!!!”

“You think people here don’t know what we do? Just stand down and we can talk this over.” Cecil told Mark, at that point you looked at Mark, hoping things can just be talked over.

But Mark kinda dashed your hopes here with his next sentence
“Is that all you got?”

“Mark just so you know, theres a dozen of those things” you whispered to him

“Why did you have to ask that, kid?” Cecil sighed and you hated yourself for sharing that sentiment with Cecil. Why did Mark have to say this

Soon the lights flickered as everything seems to have a red tint to it due to the red light and Mark was finally able to see the true numbers of these Reanimen. You guys were surrounded.

“You happy? Now stop.”

“Not until you admit to everyone what you’ve done.” Mark was determined. You don't know why was he so hellbent on escalating things. Was it adrenaline? Sunk cost fallacy? Or were things that dire when his friends got hurt by Sinclair? Was it personal? Was it trauma? You make a note to self to ask about it later. Right now you just accepted that things were not gonna be peacefully solved. If Mark was going down, you were going down with him, willingly.

You carefully listened to their exchange while you prepared to face the Reanimen as soon as they made a move.
“Mark, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m not the one who’s gonna get hurt.”

“You said you don’t do threats.”

“Yeah. Well, people change.”

“Don’t, Mark. I’m warning you.” Cecil said as he reached into his inner pocket for something

Mark leapt into action to attack the Reanimen, but Cecil soon pressed a button he had and Mark soon fell down in pain, holding his head.
Reanimen be damned, you ran over to Mark who was on the ground and in agony.

Yeah remember when you were hesitantly on Marks side, thinking Cecil was right in his approach in this argument? Well scratch that, Cecil crossed a line and was dead to you. Mark has every right to be as aggressive as he wants now. And so did you

“Remember that giant lobster you tangled with in Atlantis? I had the lab boys recreate the sound it made. Turns out we can transmit it to your earpiece.” Cecil explained

Mark ripped out his earpiece. Truth be told, you threw yours away just in case. Though Mark was still in pain, despite removing the device

“Not that earpiece. The one we implanted when you were in our hospital. The one too deep to reach.”

“What the FUCK Cecil!?!? What the actual fuck!! Turn it off now!!” you were pissed beyond recognition that your body started to glow faintly yellow.

Cecil stopped holding the button that caused Mark to hear the sound of pain
“Only when he starts acting reasonable, (y/n). Just go home. Both of you”

“We are so far past reasonable.” Mark says and quickly flies off. Your fast reflexes allows you to grab him and hold onto him. But boy was he fast and destructive when pissed. It almost frightened you. Not because of his power, but because they’re something chilling when a kind and sweet soul behaves more… cold, distant and angry.

As you guys flew up, Cecil activated that sound of pain in Marks head again, causing him to fall. You held onto Mark and shielded him from direct ground impact. The fact that you could create a golden bubble shield was also a bonus, causing Mark to be unharmed. You quickly dismissed the shield and thought how to help ease his suffering from that sound frequency. But unfortunately, despite all your powers, you were powerless to help Mark

Cecil teleported to you guys as he once again deactivated the sound and told you two, tho mostly addressed Mark
“Apart from causing you pain, the sound also messes up your inner ear. Which you need for things like flying. Or walking.”

“You put a weapon inside me?” Mark at this point felt disbelief and betrayal.

“With what you can do, and after what your dad put us through, you’re goddamn right I did. I hoped I’d never have to use it, but…”

“You said I wasn’t my dad. Did you even believe that?”

“Yes, Mark, and I still do.” he tells Mark

“Liar!” you quickly interject because thats a bold face lie. Cecil doesn't believe that, never did.
“Did you also put a weapon in me?! Have some contingency for me??”

Cecil just looked at you “...No”

“Liar!!!”

“Not yet… We still haven't figured out what hinders you. But we’re working on it. If you keep this up (y/n), that will become a bigger priority.”

“Fuck you Cecil” you flip him off and then grab Mark as if to give him a piggy back ride “Hold on Mark. I’ll help you” and suddenly you jumped, just as powerfully and fast as Mark would fly.

In those 3 months of training, you did practice that new float power. Since you can float, it allowed you to jump higher and faster than any human. You had aerial navigation that was superior to human, but still lesser than a Viltrumite. But in this case to get away from Cecil it would do. Quickly jumping and descending would be good enough. At least you knew that Cecil couldn't use that button to stop you and cause you pain. Since you were the one moving Mark, it meant that Cecil couldn't use that frequency to mess with Marks inner ear for flight and walking. You needed to help Mark, find a way to get rid of it. And you knew just the person.

But due to ALL OF THIS, you neglected to notice…. you dropped Sapphires gem randomly outside, because you were too focused on Cecil and Mark.

“Track them” Cecil said and teleported.

He’d attempt to follow you as you had a destination.
“They’re off leash. I don’t want to bring them down if I don’t know where they’re going to hit.” Cecil tells his earpiece and teleports again

He’d teleport to a few spots following you, but lagging behind a lot. Although Cecil did realize your intentions on where you were taking Mark
“Shit. We can’t have them involved.” he tells whoever

-Meanwhile-
At the destroyed Communication Hub, there was a Blue Lace Agate. She received news from her Celestines and thus reported to her own superior, a Demantoid
“Our mission was compromised. There is a Viltrumite on this planet still. What are my orders?”

“Head back 7HF. We’ll send in proper forces to deal with the Viltrumite. He will pay for what he’s done.”

“What about the Celestines?”

“Leave them, they’re probably shattered. We’ll retrieve their shards when we deal with the Viltrumite first. We weren't ready the first time. But now we are”
It seems the Gems gained some confidence and had a plan to deal with Viltrumites. They were determined to get the Earth for their glorious Blue Diamond

Blue Lace Agate would go to a Warp Pad to warp back to Homeworld. Leaving the 7 Celestines as either GDA prisoners or as dead shards

-Guardians of the Globe HQ-

The Guardians were startled by your entry as you just kinda smashed your way into their HQ, your eyes were different again, yellow with diamond pupils. Your powers were going a bit on the fritz because your body began reacting to new stress as if he was in a life or death situation. While you weren't in any danger. Just hearing Mark be in pain caused you to react more… violently. You gently let go of Mark so he can get proper help

“Help us! Help him!”

“Rudy, there’s a thing in my head. You got to get it out before Cecil finds me.”

“Cecil? I-I don’t understand.” Rudy was obviously confused and alarmed by this situation. Why would you guys hide from Cecil?

Thats when Cecil teleported in
“Everyone step back. This has nothing to do with you.”

“He’s trying to kill us.” Mark says which just confuses the Guardians even more

“What?” Monster Girl asks Cecil as she was in disbelief what was going on

“For fuck’s sake, I’m not trying to kill them. But now the both of them need to come with me.”

“D.A. Sinclair slaughtered students. Darkwing killed people in cold blood. Cecil’s working with murderers. You all saw it.” Mark spoke while you just tried to support him

“We’re not having this argument here.” Cecil tells him

“I’d like to hear what Invincible has to say.” Bulletproof says

“This isn’t a democracy, Bulletproof.” Cecil shuts him down

“This isn’t a dictatorship, Cecil” you snap back at him

“You’re coming back to the GDA with me. Now.” he demanded of you two

“No. I’d never come out again.” Mark tells him

“Don’t be so goddamn dramatic.”

“I’m not going.” Mark reaffirms

“I wasn’t asking.” Cecil said and once again activated that sound, he was on his knees from the pain

And everyone was horrified
“Jesus Christ!”
“Oh, my God!”
“What the hell?”
This makes me feel… very uncomfortable.”

“What are you… Stop it!!!” Monster Girl demanded that Cecil stop this inhumane treatment of one of their own

But that just caused Reanimen to be teleported here as well

“What the actual fuck?” Rex said

“Stand down! All of you. I said this doesn’t concern you.”

“The hell it doesn’t!!!!” Monster Girl said and then transformed.

The heroes prepared for a fight. You looked at your hands as you noticed this new ‘yellow state’. As you made a step, a normal and gentle step, the ground under your foot cratered in a diamond shape. Its as if you became more dense in physical mass. This new state, this Yellow State increased your strength, speed, and destructive energy output. Bridging that 3 month training gap between you and Mark. There was also a shift in your demeanor

“All of you, sit the fuck down! Now! Grab them. We’re leaving.” he then told a Reanimen who approached you two.

But you quickly punched the one that was approaching you and effectively disintegrated it, only leaving its legs standing. Then you punched a hole in the one that was approaching Mark and ripped it in two like it was nothing. You turned to Cecil with a death glare with your diamond eyes
“If you dare as lay a finger on him, you’re dead” you spoke with a serious and grim tone

“Now you’re doing threats too”

“I don't do threats. I do promises” you spoke coldly to Cecil as your fist was still clenched and wet in that brown corpse coloured blood

But more Reanimen soon appeared

“Fuck this.” you heard Rex say as he made the first attack as he threw some explosive item at a Reanimen.
The other Guardians joined in on the fray.
The Guardians of the Globe were not nearly as powerful as you or Mark. It was a fact that you were only just now seeing

“STOP!!!” Cecil orders the Guardians who just ignore him

While the Guardians are fighting those things, you used that moment to just kneel down to Mark and hold him and reassure him that things will be fine.
“It’ll be ok, we’ll survive this. I wont let this stand” you spoke softly and quietly to him

Cecil once again pressed the button which made Mark scream in pain and agony and hold his head.
This caused you to snap as you let go of Mark and charged at Cecil. A Reanimen jumped in the way to protect Cecil, as you ripped off its arm. Which is what you would’ve done to Cecil's arm that was holding the trigger button.

At the same time you ripped off that Reanimens arm, Rex used his ability to explode the trigger button, whilst Robot tried to stop him

“Goddamn it, Rex!” Cecil said as his device was destroyed and his hand injured by some burns.

But even with Rex’s contribution, the sound didn't stop. Mark was still in pain. You ripped off the head of a Reanimen that was in your way and tossed it at Cecil. But another Reanimen jumped in to protect Cecil. Though you threw that head so ferociously that it tore a hole in that other Reanimens torso

“Why didn’t that work?” Rex asked

“It had a dead man’s switch. With the control destroyed, it can’t be turned off. I’m attempting to block the frequency.” Robot said and started to do what he said he would. Block the frequency.

You saw a Reanimen punch Mark while he was down and while you were distracted. You immediately rushed back and kicked the thing away from him like it was a damn football. You certainly sent it flying to a wall and crater it and destroying the Reanimen

But more and more came, with the intent to hurt Mark. You fired lightning at one, which glew yellow and exploded in a bloody way, leaving only its mechanical parts flopping on the ground. Although before your anger fully consumed you, you created a bubble shield around yourself and Mark. The Reanimen would keep attacking, trying to break through it to hurt Mark. But they were helpless because they couldn't even dent your bubble shield

“Oh look. Your Reanimen are useless against me. Oh geez, Im so strong am I. IMAGINE WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE HAD IF YOU BOTHERED TRAINING ME INSTEAD?!?” you very angrily told Cecil as your mood fluctuated. You tried to calm down, but couldn't. You were still in your Yellow State.
Monster Girl swatted some Reanimen away that were piled on your Bubble Shield

“Shut ’em down. Yes, the Reanimen! All of them. Now!” Cecil said to his earpiece

Meanwhile the frequency of pain stopped
“Frequency blocked.” Robot said

When the Reanimen stopped, you dropped your shield and then Marks screamed and went on a rampage against the Reanimen. You just let him have a go at them, letting him obliterate him to release that pent up anger. You looked at your hands, which were covered in decayed blood of the Reanimen, you were also still stuck in the Yellow State.

You looked at Mark who was destroying the Reanimen, because killing is an understatement and they’re dead anyway. Its just him one shotting them in a brutal manner. Crushing ones head, essentially karate chopping another in half and many more things. It pained you seeing him in this way, because you knew what a sweet, loving and gentle soul he was. But he was being treated like a misbehaving animal. He was dehumanized. You know how the saying goes ‘treat them like animals, they'll behave like animals’. And this is what you saw happen live with Mark.
Cecil treated him like an animal with a controlled shock and now Mark was acting out like a wild animal.

You meanwhile were starting to breathe heavily. And not because of exhaustion. This was stress and anxiety at play. Maybe this was a panic attack, you did feel like you had a rapid heart rate. Seeing Mark be treated like this and being like this was affecting you more than anyone would believe

“You arrogant little asshole. Look at this goddamn mess. Everywhere you go, destruction follows because of your ego. You’re a hypocrite, waltzing off to help your mass-murdering dad. But God forbid anyone else screws up and then tries to make good.”

You then cut in, stifling your… physical problems
“You god damn arrogant little liar. Mark never went to help his father. He was tricked to waltz off to meet his father, after an alien told him that their race will be killed by meteors as if they’re the dinosaurs. As soon as Mark learned his father was the emperor of the planet, he wanted to leave the planet and would have risked being lost in space. And he stayed only after being guilted by loss of innocent lives. Mark told you all of this and you have some hell of a nerve to fucking lie and call him a hypocrite!” you say as you accusedly point at Cecil
Mark told you some stuff over the course of 3 months. Some of his adventures. But of course not all.
You didn't know about the time he ‘wanted’ to marry the Atlantean queen but had to fight a monster
“Listen here (y/n) and listen carefully. Don’t you ever and I mean ever, threaten me again.”

“And you listen here. I said I don't threaten. I make promises” you replied to him

Cecil then addressed the Guardians
“As for the rest of you-”
He was grabbed by the throat by Mark, who slammed him against the wall and held him up
“I will NEVER work for you again. We are done. And if you ever come near my family again I will kill you.”
He then dropped Cecil who was gasping for air and addressed Rudy
“Rudy. Get this fucking thing out of my head. Now.” he walked off

“Yes….Of course.” Robot said rather uneasily and followed Mark to the next room. Leaving you with the Guardians and Cecil
“Oh, fuck.” Rex said after things settled and seeing the bloody mess of an aftermath

Cecil got up and gasped for breath and threw something your way which you caught. It was a card with coordinates. You didn't say anything, just looked at him
“We found whatever you looked for in the Sahara. Just take it and get the hell out of here” he strained himself speak due to his damage and then teleported away.

-Meanwhile-
The Celestines Darkwing had have reformed and one managed to stab him in the shoulder with a knife and escape. He quickly managed to get 2 of them once again, but one slipped away.
Since Darkwing couldn't bubble gems, the enemy could always reform and try to escape. They caught him by surprise the first time, but now he was ready as he arrived at the GDA

The escaped Celestine knew that there was a human that had a Diamond Communicator. She went to find him, problem was that she didn't know where he was nor where she was. So she’d wander the Earth in hopes to find him.

At the same time that was happening, Opals gemstone glowed and floated as she regenerated.
Opal now had a more human like appearance in terms of outfits. She wore a pale blue tunic, with a dull blue star pattern and a longer, slightly tattered dull blue skirt. Her sash is dull magenta. She wears dull blue armbands with white four pointed stars on them on her top arms . Her pants are dull pink, with white four pointed stars on the knees, and she wears dull blue and dull lavender boots. Basically, mostly all white with some dull and pale colours. She tried to integrate a more human fashion and appearance to try and fit in the society more.

The first thing she did was saw Darkwing and asked him what time it was and what day it was. Once he told her, she excused herself and bubbled the enemy gems for him and then shapeshifted to go to the Guardians of the Globe.

-Grayson Residence-

You and Mark were home and you filled in Debbie and Oliver on what happened
“He promised me he’d protect you. After everything that happened with Nolan, he looked me in the eye and he promised.” Debbie was upset when she heard what happened from Mark

“It’s not your fault, Mom. We all trusted Cecil more than we should have.” Mark told her

“I… don't know what to say… Im at a loss for words” you say, as you did feel bad that you couldn't do more. But you didn't want to make this about you. Hence why you literally don't know what to say.
“Are you… um… ok?” you just softly ask Mark, but he nodded. Yeah he didn't have any physical wounds like bruises. From all that shielding, he was fine. You didn't let a Reanimen touch him either. So he was fine, physically.

“Are you ok?” he asked you back as he remembered the first time that sound messed with his flight, you two kinda fell and you were the one that would’ve hit the ground with the way you positioned yourself back there to shield him from the ball.

“Im fine” you say, though your voice was empty and devoid of any energy and emotion. Truth be told you weren't fine. Sure physically you were sore from that specific event and you were physically tired from all the fighting. But mentally? You were scared.
You WANTED to kill Cecil. You WANTED blood. You saw red. If it weren't for Mark, Debbie and Oliver, you would’ve wanted to obliterate this world because Cecil lived in it.
You were scared, but also sad. Because you had some bloodlust in you. And that yellow glowing state? It felt as if it manifested the worst aspects of you, aside from just extra power.
It felt as if whenever that yellow state was active that you were at your worst.

But…
….
Now was not the time to address that. Not now.
“We fight monsters every day, but I didn’t think Cecil was one of them, too. Not like this” you said just to change the subject off of you before anyone notices that somethings wrong with you. Honestly, you just felt dead inside

“He’s lost it. If he went this far, who knows what he’ll do next?” Debbie said as she was still pacing back and forth

“I can fight him. I’d kick his ass.” Oliver said as he was floating

Sugilite merely placed her hand on Olivers shoulder, to gently push him down from his floatiness. Then she patted his head “No. Let me do it. You can watch me” she grinned a toothy smile, but you just flatly told them both no.

“I told Cecil if he goes near you or Oliver or anyone else I care about, I’d kill him.” Mark told Debbie. You reached over to him and held his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Honestly, you just didn't have any words. You just felt actions spoke louder. Sure Debbie was here, but a little bit of hand holding or touching didn't kill anyone and it wasn't dirty. That was your reasoning.
Besides, you needed this too. You needed to feel like you weren't a monster. You needed to feel like a human. And selfish as it may be. You felt like Mark grounded you and prevented you into getting into your own head and having even worse and darker thoughts
Debbie sighed when she heard Mark threatened to kill Cecil. Honestly, even though she addressed Mark, you were the one feeling shame, because you threatened him too
“Oh, Mark.”

“But why didn’t you kill him already? Then you wouldn’t have to worry.” Oliver asked

“Oliver!” Debbie said

“We don’t kill.” Mark told him

“But you just said you’d kill Cecil if he-”

“I had to make sure he took me seriously. That’s all.” Mark told him

“Mark just wanted to scare Cecil, Oliver. Death is scary” you tried to clarify to Oliver, hoping he’d understand

“We don’t kill people. Not in this family. Never.” Debbie told him

“Okay, okay. But you need help now, right? I mean, you don’t have all those GDA guys if you get in trouble. Now I have powers and everything. I can come help you instead. Mom said you’d train me!” Oliver said as he floated up again

“Training and helping are two different things. Mark didn’t get his powers until he was 17. He got to be a normal kid first. You deserve that, too. And get down from there.” Debbie said and Oliver just slowly floated down again

“Don’t be in a rush, Oliver. Trust me.” Mark told him.

You just looked at Oliver, while you weren't a true and powerful empath like Steven, you did feel something heartbreaking about him. You weren't sure what, but just something about him just saddened you

-Upstate University-

The rogue Celestine arrived at the rough coordinates where the communicator was documented to be. She lucked out that she found her way, relatively quick mind you. But now she needed to check out this entire building room by room. And this establishment looked pretty roomy.

Amber who was in her dorm would spot the Celestine through her window. She’d see the small blue alien with a gemstone on its forehead, but didnt know what to make of it. She considered grabbing her phone to call Mark. Even though the alien didn't do anything destructive. Just looked around its surroundings as if scanning the area…

Before their gazes finally locked.

-Grayson Residence-

You were spending time with Mark again, in his bedroom. You two finally had the time to just de-stress or something along those lines. And finally speak properly about what happened

“I cant believe what happened. He just kept pushing and pushing. He escalated things to be… this mess. Why the hell would he do this?” you voice your small frustration

“He’s scared of me. Of what I could become, I guess.” Mark said

“That’s such bullshit. And he knows it. He’s a paranoid old man with trust issues who thinks even the goodest of souls would backstab him. Guys like that wont even trust their mothers. Mark… I know you. I know you well enough that you don’t hurt people if you can help it. I mean, Rex has been making googly eyes at me when I came to this dimension and you haven’t thrown him into space.” you softly chuckle, trying to lighten the mood

He chuckled a bit too “That’s me, Mr. Self Control. Cecil was right about Angstrom, though. I didn’t mean to kill him, but… I did.”

“Hold the phone” you extend your hand
“Now give your phone to me” you say as you take an imaginary phone. And then you speak “He is a bold faced liar. He twists the truth to make you seem bad and to make him seem good. Like the Thraxa thing. You told me and him that you went there at the behest of William to save bug people. You didn't wanna go. You even beat up Seance Dog, man! Nothing about that whole story screamed ‘oh yeah, lemme help my mass murdering dad’. Cecil was trying to get under your skin and trying to drag you to his level. And the whole Angstrom thing was an accident. Cecil and the others are treating you like a full blooded Viltrumite, but they all still forget you’re human. And what happened there with Angstrom, that was a very human reaction. You did nothing wrong. Angstrom was in the wrong and so was Cecil. Besides, if something was your fault, I’d call you out”
You softly kiss Mark and then tell him
“You are better off without him.”

“Thanks.”

You get up and grab Marks hand, tugging him to follow you
“Follow me”

“Where… are you taking me?” he was confused as you opened the window and jumped up. You somewhat had mastered the float power so you did slowly manage to move in the air. It wasnt as free as Marks flight to move however the fuck he wants. But you did have some movement that wasn't up or forward. Even though those directions were the easiest.

Mark followed you, as you led him to the roof, where you sat and gazed at the stars. He sat beside you
“You can see Homeworld's galaxy from here.” you said as you pointed to a star.
You thought you had something profound to say, you hoped you would under the right mood and environment, but nothing was hitting you.
You were quiet for a moment as you tried to scramble some words
“You know, its best not to dwell in the past too much… or else it’ll eat you up. But its also not good to completely ignore it, otherwise you’ll be doomed to repeat the same mistakes…” you sigh
“I wish I had solid advice to make it all magically better, but I don't” you look up at the stars “I don't have a solution to make a shitty situation better”

Mark placed his hand on your shoulder to console you now for a change, because he did not fail to notice that all this time you were prioritizing his own well being over your own “(y/n), listen you-”

But he got interrupted when Sugilite looked through the window
“Hey, where are you two? Where are Opal and Sapphire?”

Thats when you two remember, oh yeah THEY exist. And thats when YOU remember
“I dropped them!!!” you panicked and held your head

-meanwhile, Guardians HQ-
Immortal brought a bunch of mops and expected the other members to pick em up so they can start cleaning
“Shouldn’t there be a clean-up crew for this?” Bulletproof asked

“They’re not here. We are. Grab a mop.” Immortal told him

Bulletproof scoffs and right around that time Opal arrived at the HQ to see the aftermath

“And where were you?” Immortal asked her

“I was poofed, retreated to my gem and restoring my form” Opal said
…
Tho after the silence she elaborated “In human terms, I died and came back to life”
To which they understood what she said before. Even tho the human term isn't the correct one. She didn't die. Death is shattering. Poofing is more like… being knocked out. But she figured she’d try to equate herself closer to what Immortal went through so he’d back off her

“I see, then you’re just in time. Grab a mop. We’ll catch each other up later” Immortal tells her

Rae looked at the bloody carnage and was reminded of what happened before
“It’s just like back at the missile base.”

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Rex told her as he understood where she was coming from

“Cecil spent millions to put me back together. Then his dead monsters tried to rip us apart. What even are we to him?” Rae asked

“We’re weapons.

“Like his tanks and guns and all that stuff. Useful until we’re not.” Monster Girl said

“No kidding.” Rex agreed

“Cry me a river. You’ll feel better after some honest work.” Black Samson said as he was mopping

Opal used this opportunity to listen in on the conversation to get caught up on what happened

“Hang on, man. You weren’t even here. Cecil almost killed Mark.” Rex told him, which surprised Opal. She realized a lot happened while she was regenerating and now she worried how was Mark doing, she SHOULD go home. But she knew that the others were with him. So its best if she oversaw the situation here

“Sure. Sounds like Cecil went too far. But Invincible made him do it when he broke into the Pentagon and started tearing shit up. The kid needs to learn what happens when you don’t think things through.” Black Samson defended Cecil

“When exactly was he supposed to think it through? When Cecil was frying his brain or when the Franken-bots were killing him?” Monster Girl rightly asked

“Mark faced consequences for once. Good. Cecil’s always gone soft on him, just like his father.” Immortal said

“Mark’s dad almost killed him, you dick.” Monster Girl threw her mop as she approached Immortal

“All he had to do was follow orders, like we all do.” Dupli-Kate told her

“Excuse me, but aren't you the one who did not follow orders?” Opal spoke up to Dupli-Kate gaining her attention
“You disobeyed Cecil by not reporting to him. Instead you led him on to think that you were dead. You led on the entire team for 3 months that you were dead. Your boss, team, boyfriend, brother. You were the reason the declaration of independence was stolen, the reason your brother is in prison. If you followed orders, none of that would’ve happen. So you’re being a hypocrite now.”

“Opal is right, I’ve seen most of you not follow orders. Many times, in fact.” Shapesmith meekly chimed in

Rex just groaned “We should’ve never quit Teen Team.”

“Do you even remember how badly you wanted to be a Guardian? How hard we all worked to be here? I died for this.” Kate told him

“And you’ll die again. And again and again, and Cecil will never even care.” Rae told her

“Don’t lecture me, Rae. I went through just as much as you and Rex. More, even.” Kate defended herself

“No, you didn’t. Not anywhere close. There’s only one of me. I can’t go hide a backup copy of myself away like you can.” Rae rightfully said

Dupli-Kate scoffed “Yeah, my powers are different. So?”

“Wrong. Different powers have nothing to do with it. If anyone went through just as much as Rae, it would be your brother. Who does not hide a backup copy who knows where. He is actually out in the field and thus using his clones more strategically. You meanwhile are placated by having a safety net hiding and thus you easily throw away your clones lives. Different powers have nothing to do with you and Rae. You just have a bad attitude” Opal interjected

“How dare you? Just stop acting like you’re the only ones who almost died! I had just as close a call as you did!” Kate tried to defend herself

“This isn’t about you, Kate. It’s about Cecil.” Monster Girl tried to bring the conversation to the main point as to not get derailed

“Cecil only does what’s necessary.” Immortal again defended Cecil and by proxy Kate

“So, I suppose it was necessary to put a bomb in Mark’s head?!” Monster Girl told him

“He just proved it was. Now get back to work. That’s an order.” he told them all

“What kind of backwards thinking is that? Cecil attacked first, Mark defended himself and by that logic Cecil is right?” Opal asked. Immortal was lucky you or Sugilite weren't there, otherwise the discussion would’ve been angrier and would’ve had more cussing. Opal is firm, but polite. She has some mom energy that Debbie imparted to her

“No!!!” Rex tossed his mop and approached Immortal as this was an argument now. Only Opal was really keeping it in discussion levels
“This is bullshit and we don’t have to put up with it anymore! Cecil doesn’t own us! We can just leave.”

“Where would we go?” Monster Girl asked

“What was wrong with Teen Team?” Rex asked back

“Everything.” Dupli-Kate said angrily

“At least we didn’t try and assassinate each other.” Rex reasoned

“But I don’t believe that’s exactly what happened.” Rudy finally joined in to say a word. During which Immortal just inhaled, took a breath and then

“OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! THE GUARDIANS ARE THE BEST SUPERHEROES IN THE WORLD!!! IT IS A PRIVILEGE AND AN HONOUR TO WORK HERE!!! YES!!! THERE IS HARDSHIP!!! YES!!! THERE IS A SACRIFICE!!! IF YOU CHILDREN DON'T LIKE THAT GET OUT!!!”

Opal just bluntly and coldly told him “I'm older than you.”

If Immortal was 3000+ years old, Opal was much more as she was 13,215 years old. And despite her very advanced age, she never saw any of these humans as children, she wasn't patronizing. She understood that in human years everyone was an adult, even though to her 30 years was nothing. Even Rudy and Monster Girl who were in children bodies were respected adults to her.
But Immortal? Well, the respect was lost in the way he behaved. But then she thought about it and stopped looking it from a human point of view and looked at it more from a psychological point of view, reverting back to her profession to look at it through a different perspective

Using her gem imbued knowledge and skills as a therapist, as well as years of experience, she was able to finally get a right read on Immortal. He was a man with a messiah complex because he was immortal, but then came Nolan the Viltrumite infinitely more powerful than Immortal could ever be and his fragile ego couldn't take it and then Nolan betrayed him and his team and just decimated Immortal. And now in his point of view, Mark did the same, betray them. Immortal is going through an identity crisis and arguably some PTSD. Long story short, he is undiagnosed and thus off his meds.

Still, that didn't stop Opal from giving a strongly worded opinion to Immortal
“Cecil was in the wrong. But I am not speaking about this Mark scenario. I am speaking about you, Immortal. You are unfit to be a leader. Leaders are meant to understand the situation, to understand what their team is feeling and find ways to improve them and make them feel better. A Leader is supposed to be the glue of the team, connect them and keep them together. What you did is just rip this team apart and killed the Guardians of the Globe again”

“Well said Opal” Monster Girl told her

“Thats sure as hell, because I’d rather quit than work one more day with a sanctimonious, bootlicking, hypocritical prick like you!!” Rex told Immortal. To. His. Face.

“The door is over there.” Immortal could only answer Rex as he had no words for Opal. He just refused to bear any responsibility. He only focused on easy to counter arguments, like shooing Rex away and anyone who agreed with him. He was unfit to hold civil discussions. After all, its like Cecil said, Immortal thinks with his fists.

“You heard him. Who’s coming?” Rex walked away

“You know I am.” Rae said as she followed him

“Me too.” Monster Girl said

“You know the Gems are on your side, Rex” Opal said as she followed along

“Wait!! Everybody calm down.” Black Samson tried to stop them, because he actually wanted to preserve the team

“If Cecil did that to Mark, who’s to say that he wouldn’t do that to all of us?” Monster Girl said

“That’s a little extreme.” Black Samson in vain tried to calm things down

“Its true though. Cecil wanted to know the Gems weakness. And now he finally has the means. Im sure he collected the Gem Destabilizers that were left over. If I stay here, he could destabilize me again. Or if he forces the prisoners he got to make a Rejuvenator. I don't want to be rejuvenated into an obedient puppet” Opal spoke as she was personally more scared of Rejuvenators than Destabilizers. Ironically she was afraid of the things that made her obsolete

“Fuck it. I’m out, too. I can’t work for a man I don’t trust.” Bulletproof suddenly dropped his mop and decided to join the group that quit

“I’m staying.” Kate obviously joined her boyfriend

Rudy thought for a moment, weighing his options. Though seeing Monster Girl convinced him to choose a side
“I’m sorry, Immortal.” he dropped his mop and joined the group

“Shapesmith? Samson?” Monster Girl asked

“Cecil let me live after what I did on Mars, and m-my bed is a race car, so, I think Cecil. I’m gonna go with Cecil.” Shapesmith spoke, though each word grew less confident until he just shamefully started to mumble to himself. Opal could tell her fellow extraterrestrial thought what Cecil did was wrong and is in spirit siding with them. But for private reasons, for living reasons, he chose Cecil. Because in a way he owed Cecil.

“What Cecil did was messed-up, but I can’t fix that from the outside.” Black Samson reasoned

“Understood. I respect your opinion” Opal told Samson as he gave a sound reason. A healthy one.

“You have two hours to leave before I throw you out myself.” Immortal said and took his leave to go to a different room of the HQ

Black Samson caught up to him to stop him “Immortal. Are you sure you want to leave it like that?”

“They’ll be back.” Immortal erroneously thought

Black Samson saw them all leave and said “I don’t think so.”

-Grayson Residence-

You spoke to Sugilite and said that if Opal or Sapphire dont return tomorrow that you’ll look for them. Sugilite said that she can look for them now, but you told her its best she stays and guards Debbie. You never know if theres a Angstrom like person out there who’d attack her.
Anywho, it was late so you went to your room.

Since Sugilite reminded you of Opal, you remembered shit, long ago Mark gave you a mirror. You retrieve the mirror from the gem and examine it. Seeing the cracked green gemstone. You sigh. You weren't Steven, you couldn't heal gems. Though you remembered Sapphire had something, you just had to find her. Great. Hopefully this mirror gem wont be pissed they were forgotten. You set the mirror on the night stand and went to sleep. Tomorrow you’d have a long day.

Or you’d try to sleep, because sleep never came. How could you after all that happened? You remembered you had a bubbled Celestine which you needed to interrogate on how come they’re on Earth. You facepalmed and quietly groaned at the amount of work you had

“Why am I so messed up?” you speak to yourself
“What do I do? I cant speak to Mark. He already has so much baggage, the last thing he needs is me adding onto it. Should I find someone else to talk to? But who?” you sigh, unknowingly being like your mother. Bottling up your emotions and thinking whats the use of feeling blue.

“I. Speak to. You” you heard Marks voice which startled you and made you fall from bed. You had a heart attack and looked around frantically. Praying to gods and stars that Mark didnt hear you.
Then you realize his voice actually came from the mirror and it sounded like stitched together audio.

You picked up the mirror
“Hello you? Are you the one talking to me?”

The mirror then repeated what you said “Hello you”

“Huh, this is weird. Im guessing Mark found you on Mars? Um, thats the guy whose recording thingy you played” you speak

The mirror was silent as it tried to make a new sentence combining your lines and Marks line, splicing them to make it what it wants to say “Mark found. Me. On Mars”

You raise your brow “Can you tell me who are you?”

Then the mirror spliced more audio/clips. But not words, it chose syllables this time since no one said the word “Ne.Fi.R.IT”
It was imperfect because it had no sounds to recreate its name right. It just had some close enough sounds in its voice bank from you and Mark

You just thought and used your inner cogs and thinking gears “Nee..firit.. Ne ne ne” then it dawned on you
“Nephrite?”

“Nephrite.” it repeated as if to say yes

“Holy shit. Wow… I have so many questions. Um, thank you for this talk. Listen, um Nephrite. This might sound super rude, but Im actually getting sleepy and tired. Mark and I have some important Earth stuff going on. And as soon as we’re free, we’re gonna help you and heal you. Im really sorry once again for neglecting you”
Now you did the thing Steven did, neglected your own mental state to just help the other person that needed it. Sure, this trapped mirror Nephrite from Mars needed your help. But you weren't feeling well mentally too. The mirror offered to listen to you, but you instead focused on it. Besides, the mirror probably just wanted to record more of your voice and lines to communicate better

-Upstate University-

The Celestine that escaped Darkwing managed to catch and restrain Amber and interrogate her about the Diamond Communicator, something she had no idea what it was. Though Celestine did learn this is a Amber, something she heard from reports. Celestine was frustrated that she had no useful information from her so just searched her dorm room and found a sock of all things. Which she used to gag Amber and keep here in the room restrained, leaving to search another room.

So the night she’d go searching room by room. Some students were asleep, so restraining them, ie tying them up would be easy or knocking them out cold, so she can ransack dorm by dorm until she finds the one. Problem was, Upstate University was big, so she’d be hours at this. Up into early morning and thus

-Upstate University, Morning-

The Celestine was done with the girl dorms and started with the male dorms. She barged into Kyles dorm, aka the guy who is Ambers boyfriend. She was slowly coming in close to where William and Rick were.
Speaking of William and Rick

-Nearby in Williams Dorm-

“Sinclair’s not in prison? I just assumed…” Rick was sitting on the sofa, with William by his side as you and Mark were telling him what happened. Well, Mark was mostly doing the talking

“He should be. But Cecil gave him a job instead.” Mark said

“That is the most messed-up thing I’ve ever heard.” William said

“So he just does whatever he wants? Makes more of those things?” Rick asked and you noticed how he tensed up, how stressed and upset he was. You were seeing the victim of the Sinclair and the Reanimen. Rick was denied closure and lied to that the guy was punished. That wasn't right. He needed closure, something to see that the monster is either being punished or being rehabilitated and apologetic for his actions. You would’ve handled things differently if you were in charge of criminal redemptions. Or maybe you were too optimistic

“Yeah, I thought we stopped him, but they just gave him a bigger lab. Uh, maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up, but I thought you deserved to know.” Mark said though he realized maybe it wasnt best to tell all if it would upset Rick that much

“No. It’s… it’s better to know.” Rick reassures him

“Should I have done more to stop Sinclair?” Mark asked and all of you went silent as you, William and Rick understood that he was contemplating murder

You immediately approached Mark and embraced him “Hey” you say softly with concern in your voice

“This isn’t your fault.” William tells him

“I could have stopped him forever.”

“Mark.” William also tried, much like you to convince him that it wasn't his fault

“He killed a dozen people. Hurt way more, you two included. He would have deserved it.”
“I’ve known you since we were five years old and that’s… it’s just not who you are.” William tells him. You did let William and Rick speak more instead of you, as William had known Mark for a longer time and Rick was the victim here. All you could do is repeat what William said

“I agree, I might’ve known you for less than William. But I know you’re not a killer, you’re not a monster” you tell Mark and pre emptively rubbed your eyes before any waterworks formed, because you were getting emotional now too, not just Mark who felt guilty.
“You couldn’t have known what would happen.” Rick told him
“I should have.” Mark said

“ If you killed him, you’d be just like him.” Rick told him and you nodded. Rick got up from his seat and approached Mark, you moved away to give the two space, standing next to William. Rick placed his hand on Marks shoulder, sighed sadly and said
“The world doesn’t need more people like that. It needs more people like Invincible.”

Just as things were resolving, some rumbling sounds were heard. Everyone looked at the source of the sound. It was the doorknob that was locked

“You guys did put a sock on it, right?” you asked William and Rick

“We did” Rick told you

Before anyone said anything, you all saw a crystalline blue knife pierce the keyhole. Twisting and deforming the hole, to enable the door to be opened. And lo and behold, it was the rogue Celestine that escaped Darkwing.

William screeched when he saw the small blue alien girl, because he knew it was trouble from before
“You!!” Celestine said when she saw all of you.

But this time Mark learned his lesson and did not want anymore frequencies of pain in his head so he preemptively attacked by speeding over to her and grabbing her by the throat and squeezing her
“Who sent you? Why are you here??” he questioned her

The Celestine couldn't speak, but weakly pointed at William. Mark accidentally squeezed her too hard, most likely due to the conversation he had in regards to killing his enemy. But also had less restraint with Celestine because, he knew this isn't really killing her and she can regenerate. So it wasn't a surprise she’d poof.

You quickly grabbed her gem and bubbled her
“Why did she come here?”

“That…erm… might be my fault” William said nervously, which made both you and Mark look at him at what could he have possibly done. William revealed that item he took from the moon

“Gem junk? It has significance?” you raised your brow

“What gem junk?” Mark asked

You just shrugged

“This… was a communicator and I …accidentally called one of them” William admitted as he felt real guilty and bad

You were surprised that happened

“What happened?” Rick asked you two

“A bunch of gems came to try and establish communication lines between Earth and Homeworld. I think they were trying to create gem infrastructure?” you theorize
“But I dont get why? What could you have possibly told them?”

“I…mightve said that there are no viltrumites here” William said

“Oh… that explains. Should we just call them and say that there is a Viltrumite? Maybe that’ll scare them away? I mean, we have Mark” you ask

Although everyone seemed unsure as in, not knowing what to do.
You then ask Mark “What do you think? Think we can make them back off with just words?”

“I don't know really. I mean, if its possible” Mark was unsure as well

You tap the bubble containing the rogue gem so if you contact the Diamond, they wouldn't see that someone was caught

“William, who did you call?” you ask

“A big blue lady” he tells you

You and Mark know who that is, considering Mark briefly met her in your dimension

“So, thats the Blue Diamond?” he asked you

“Yeah, the diplomatic one. Maybe we can salvage this after all” you say feeling a bit of hope.

So ultimately you guys decided to make contact to stop this peacefully. After getting the communicator, you try and follow Williams instructions and connect the blue segments which made the device float and project her Blue radiance, the everlasting, glorious Blue Diamond.

And she sees all of you. You had to admit. Even if this was your aunt from this dimension, you were nervous talking to her. Meanwhile she was confused why a bunch of humans would call her… again. She thought she should send someone to take that communicator
“Yes?”

“Blue Diamond” you speak nervously and give her the diamond salute

“At least some humans have etiquette”

“I advise you to not come to Earth, there is a powerful Viltrumite here. Um.. the same that chased everyone away” you bluff, thinking that if they hear Nolan is here that they’d back off

“The same one?” she curiously asked

“...yeeees… ?”

She meanwhile looked introspective as if she was considering something or strategizing
“How much do humans value the Earth?”

“a lot” Mark answered

“Then how about… an alliance. We will get rid of that Viltrumite for you” Blue said

You squinted your eyes as you surmised she was up to something. This is the old Blue, she didn't do things from the kindness of her heart. Not yet at least. She wanted to team with humanity to take out Nolan, so they can colonize the Earth instead. That much you knew. You wondered if the Gems were much weaker than Viltrumites that they needed humanity's help or was there something else at play. You were hesitant on accepting this

“How about we handle the Viltrumite” you say, just to make the Homeworld Gems back off

“Then how about you return the Gems humans caught”

You were surprised to hear that she knew “How..”

“I had a Gem report to me” Blue interrupted you

“Ah, em… we don't have those prisoners, we’re not the government. But….” now you start lying “We can get them for you. The Gems and the Viltrumite, just give us time. How about 300 years”

Now Blue was the one who was suspicious and surmised that you were up to something
“I can give you 150 years and you can free one of the Celestines to evaluate you. I will give you 2 Earth Days to free a Celestine. You better get rid of that Viltrumite and not just pull my leg, human”

After which the communication ended

“Did we do it?” William asked

“I… I think we did. But we have 2 days to make one of the enemies work for us” you say

“So you need to rehabilitate an enemy in 48 hours or else these aliens will try to do things forcefully” Rick thought out loud

“Can we do it? In such a short time?” Mark asked

“I think we have to, otherwise we’ll have to fight and do things by force. We’re strong, but we cant take an army.”
Where as Viltrumites send one powerful person, the Gems send an army. It was a quality vs quantity approach and both versions suck. Just 7 Celestines took out Opal and Sapphire. And Celestines weren't even combat gems. Granted neither were Opal and Sapphire. But it showed that they had numbers advantage and they will have if they launch a full scale invasion.
Although you wonder, what do they want with a Viltrumite. Do they want Nolan dead? You had a hunch there was more to this than Blue led on

-Meanwhile on the Unopan Moon Base-

While Unopa was destroyed by Viltrumites, it still had a moon which would serve the Gems as a temporary station for travel between long distance colonies.
Blue Diamond finished her call with Earth from this moon base. Her arm ship orbited the moon, ready to pick her up when she would go.

But for now she was in the control room of the moon base. She didn't know if the humans could stop the Viltrumite on Earth, she hoped they would be able to capture him. But for now, she thought about preserving human life. After all, that was Pinks planet. It was her legacy. She should preserve some humans and save them from possible destruction of the planet or damage from a battle. They were Pinks treasure, after all. She would do anything for Pink Diamond.
Either way humanity was doomed in her eyes. Either the Viltrumite will destroy it or the Gems will colonize. So she would make a call to an Aquamarine to gather some humans. Perhaps she can build something for humans to live in after the Earth is uninhabitable.
This was charitable in her eyes, she did not see it as kidnaping and planetary destruction. She was kind.
Blue considered making a place for humans here. Viltrumites wont look at the place they already destroyed.

-GDA-

Cecil and his people made cells that had an energy field made of that destabilizer energy. Humans can pass through it no problems, but Gems shouldn't be able to. Soon he and his people would test to see if they successfully reverse engineered the tech.

One of the agents popped Sapphires blue bubble and watched as the gem floated up and gained human shape.
Celestine assumed form, she has an appearance similar to that of other Celestine. She wears a sleeveless dark teal shirt with dark teal-gray pants and white boots. Her gem is on her right arm.
She was confused where she was

“Ok, who are you?” Cecil asked her

She poked the forcefield, which stung her and caused her arm to temporary vanish before coming back
“Celestine Facet-1CF Cut-4GL” she answered with the diamond salute. This one has a polite attitude. But still wants to know what the fuck is going on
“I answered your question, now who are you?”

“Cecil Stedman, Director of the Global Defence Agency”

“Is that a rulers title?” she raised her brow, not quite knowing about Earth culture. In fact she was surprised humans were somewhat advanced, as she had a much more primitive outlook on them. Much more caveman and savage.

“More like someone in charge of defending it, instead or ruling it” he explained, but quickly turned things around by asking about her team, mission and just about everything.

Celestine 4GL tried to use her telepathic powers on him, but it seems Cecil was aware of what she MIGHT do, so he prepared for that too and made sure this room wouldn't allow her to use her powers. She just groaned annoyed. She was bubbled so they had ample time to do whatever and prepare. Plus she was nowhere near as physically strong to break walls. With a sigh, she would speak and answer his questions.

She explained that 7 of Celestines arrived and one Agate.
She then listed all of her teammates
Celestine Facet-1CF Cut-4GI is the one with the gemstone on her navel. She was the one who had a spear for a weapon.

Celestine Facet-9SA Cut-1AB is the one with the gemstone on her head. She’s the one who pulled out the knife and escaped Darkwing, only to be poofed by Invincible. If you exclude the Agate, she’s the 2nd in command of the group

Celestine Facet-9SA Cut-1AC is the one with the gemstone on her sternum, the one that had an axe for a weapon when they tried to finish you and Invincible off, before the Reanimen arrived

Celestine Facet-1CF Cut-4GC is the one with the gemstone on her left side of her head. She managed to poof Sapphire with a destabilizer.

Celestine Facet-1CF Cut-4GE is the one with the gemstone on her nose. She’s the one you discreetly swiped and bubbled at the start of the shitshow and didn't manage to interrogate her or redeem her just yet

Lastly Celestine Facet 9SA Cut-1AF is the one with the gemstone on her back and is the assigned leader among Celestines and only works under Agate. Who has promptly fled Earth.

The agents did a head count and checked their new alien prisoners and see that 2 are missing. The other Celestines reformed and also found themselves in separate holding cells as to not fuse. As for the missing ones, the GDA’s ever knowing spying did find the one that was missing at the Grayson Residence, floating in a yellowish golden bubble, above the TV in the living room as a boojie decoration. Its the one Mark poofed and you bubbled before trying to talk to Blue Diamond.
The nose gem was still missing and location unknown, which was also in your possession.

Another thing they found out that these Celestines came from different planets Aranos and Grelbin, 2 different colony planets. No organic heard of these planets, because the planets are effectively dead and just shells of what they used to be. Plus they were renamed to Blue 15 and Blue 19. Not to mention people who enter the Gem Empire territory tend to not survive, so no one really knows what kind of a threat the Gem Empire is since there are no survivors and thus people focus on the Viltrum Empire which is on the other side of the galaxy… space… star maps.
Even the Viltrumites are largely unaware how big Gem forces are because they haven't reached that side of space, they’re busy conquesting planets that are in their way and closer.

Continuing on more interrogation, they found out after the Celestines done their job that Lapis Lazulis would come to terraform the planet and Peridots would set up Kindergartens, these facilities that grow gems and drain life from Earth. Bismuths would come to create architecture, and Quartz soldiers, Rubies or whatever would come to deal with humanity. Its just the way they do things.

“Oh and I forgot, Warp Robonoids are incoming in less then a week to make Warp Pads for the others mentioned” she said with a shrug, which was another headache for Cecil and what he has to deals with.

He’d also question the prisoner more, like about the Viltrumites. But the Celestine 4GL just shrugged and told him to ask the others
“Its like expecting an earth telephone operator to know everything” she sat in a corner and went silent

Cecil then knew it was way to early to ask them to join the GDA and the Guardians. But he knew not to waste talent or in this case power and assets. These 5 prisoners might be weak alone and separate, but together they can be a force to be reckoned with. They just need to go through some severe psychological reprogramming. Also he needs contingency plans, how can he utilize this destabilizer technology? In what ways can he use it to control them instead of just taking them out. Either way, he’ll have his people work on that.

Chapter Text

It was a brand new day and you decided to finally resolve some unresolved stuff. Such as your prisoner you sneakily caught at the Communication Hub before the Cecil shitshow. Today you will try and unbubble your prisoner Celestine, the one you held onto all this time. The other one is just still floating as a decoration above the TV, maybe thats not the best place for a prisoner, but… its not like you have a Crystal Temple here and a Burning Room. Sure, you can ask as Atom Eve exists and can manipulate matter and create whatever she wants, but the thing was… She couldn't really Create the Crystal Temple as it couldn't function. She wouldn't know about the Crystal Heart and all the metaphysical properties of it.

Then again, neither do you know. You did theorize that only Pink Diamond or the other Diamonds knew this. One thing you noticed back in your dimension whenever you’d hear the Tale of Steven, was that after Rose passed, any new Crystal Gem was unable to get their room in the Temple. Peridot and Lapis had to stay in a barn. So maybe only a Diamond knew how to make the magic stuff or whatever. Eve could only make the aesthetical exterior. Which isnt a bad starter. But for now you’ll just put that thought on a shelf and focus on the here and now

You sigh as that now wasn't the time to get distracted, so you unbubbled the gem, which soon reformed.
This was Celestine Facet-1CF Cut-4GE, she had a gemstone where her nose was. She wore a sleeveless dull blue bodysuit with a dark blue accent and dark blue boots.
She was confused and disoriented on where she was.

“Heeey there” you kinda clumsily greeted this gem as you tried to approach her “I wont hurt you”

“What the? Where am I? Where is my team?!” she looked around frantically as she backed into a corner of the room

“Aww you’re like an angry and confused lil cloud. There there, I come in peace. This time. Also, can I call you Nosey?” you knelt down to be on the small gems eye level, since she was Sapphire sized.

“Stay back you fiend! I don't trust you!” she said flailing her arms wanting to slap you if you dared move close

“Why are you acting like that. Im being peaceful” you raised your brow in confusion

“Because you smashed me into a limbless cloud! You trapped me in your bubble dungeon!! And, you called me an angry little cloud!!!” she tried to punch you, but you easily moved to the side, causing her to miss and fall on the floor

“I didn't poof you, the Reanimen did! I freed you!” you explain

She sat, faced you and curled up “Why would you make such a gross miscalculation?”

“Because, Blue Diamond wants to speak to you, so we can work together” you tell her

“Yeah and Im Pink Diamond” she dismissed you

“Its true!”

“Nonsense! The reason why I'm on this sad rock in the first place is to form communication lines to Homeworld, to coordinate this stupid planets colonization process! My Diamond, wouldn't just let a HUMAN sway her to change my mission!” she spoke

“Okay, okay, wait, slow down. Lets start from the top, I’ll catch you up” you tell her so you can explain
“We have the Communicator to call Blue Diamond. We made contact and told her that heres a Viltrumite. Well he’s technically half-”

“Half? Wasn't there a pureblooded one stationed here like 20 years ago?”

“Yeeeah, but he abandoned his post” you kinda tell her

“So if there is a half viltrumite, that would imply he multiplied with a human?” she tries to reach a conclusion

“Yes?” you say cautiously as you try to follow her train of thought

“And so the hybrid abomination will conquer Earth instead” she theorizes

“Ehhh, not quite?” you try to explain or think what to say. Ok maybe you weren't the best at this

“So, this planet had a Viltrumite and a hybrid one and none of them are loyal to Viltrum?” she asked

“I guess you can say that? I can explain, but its on a longer story side. But trust me, we’re the good guys” you reassure her

“Fine, but before you start. What is that?” she points behind you

You look, unsure what did she see, only to hear her leave the bedroom, laughing maniacally as she exits. And thats when you realized you fell for the classic ‘look behind you’ trick, which makes you facepalm

Celestine runs down the stairs, still laughing manically, followed quickly by you
“Stop! They're gonna see you! And they’ll attack”

The Gem just stopped in the dining room as she saw a window which meant her escape. She spread her arms wide in celebration and said “Freedom is MINE!”

Though, she paused and slowly turned her head as she had a hunch she was being watched. And there she’d see Sugilite and the Graysons, who were surprised and shocked to see her, well it depended on the person. Some were surprised, some shocked and at least one of them was glaring at her and pissed.

You quickly stop between them
“Wait, all of you!”

Celestine nervously shook in fear seeing Mark, who she remembered that he quickly destroyed her Limb Enhancers. Not to mention she saw Oliver fly up.
She stuttered and pointed to the ceiling
“Look! Over there! Another planet to betray!”

Mark, Oliver and Sugilite just prepared to take her out again

“Retreat!” Celestine ran, slipped and then just crawled on all fours toward the front door. But Mark and Oliver block her path
“Oh no you dont” Oliver told her

“Eeep!” she then went to scamper back upstairs to try her luck through Marks bedroom window. But Sugilite was waiting for her there
“Heeey~” Sugilite sorta alluringly greeted her, maybe she was eager to hit someone

“AAAHH!” she jumped down the stairs
“Ow!”
And ran around, trying to escape, until she finally found a room and then shut the door
“You may have won the war, but the battle isn't over, you … you… squishies”

“Should we tell her thats the bathroom?” Debbie asked you all when she approached

Sugilite just shrugged “Meh”

-Bathroom-

Celestine curiously walked around and sniffed it. Yes, sniff, even though her nose is her gem, she can still feel the sense of a smell.
“This must be an archaic Earth facility. How odd and roomy, with a fresh hint of Earth citrus”
She briefly examined it and then opened the toilet
“Ah, a specimen disposal chute. A perfect crossroads for my escape.”

-Just Outside the Bathroom-

Sugilite checked the door
“She actually locked it”

“I honestly don't wanna break this house apart to get one gem” you say

Soon, flushing was heard
“If you're trying to flush yourself down the toilet, it won't work. Trust me, I've tried.” Sugilite tells her

You all just looked at Sugilite

“What? I saw it on TV, it looked fun!” she justifies herself

“So thats why the bathroom was flooded 3 months ago” Debbie facepalmed, Sugilite just gave a sheepish smile because she knows she messed up. Meanwhile an annoyed Celestine is just swirling in the toilet, embarrassed that she’s stuck and unable to escape.

You sigh “Anyway, we have a Gem stuck in the bathroom”

“How come she didn't use her powers?” Oliver asked

“Younger gems aren't bright. Also its possible she lacks some abilities. Not all gems are created equal, hence why she had Limb Enhancers initially” you explain as you noticed her lack of gem weapon summoning now that Oliver mentioned it

Sugilite sighed and knocked on the door again
“Alright, no more fighting. Let's just have a civil conversation.”

“As if I'd negotiate with you, filthy war machine!!!” they heard through the door

Sugilite just gets annoyed and summons her weapon “Okay, let's kick her butt.”

Mark quickly stops her from taking a swing at the door.
“Wait!”

Inside the bathroom, Celestine is holding a plunger and hanging from the shower curtains
“Yeah! Destroy me again, and have fun trying to talk to me when I'm in a bubble!!”
She almost slips and falls, because she covered her mouth and regretted what she said

“So how do we negotiate and calm a frantic Gem?” you ask literally anyone

“Just give her time to cool down. We can all watch so she doesnt sneak out. Its not like she can leave the house without anyone noticing” Debbie tells you

Suddenly they heard the sound of running water and “H-h-hot hot hot!” so much for cooling down

“You have to turn the knob the other way for cold!” Debbie tells their newest prisoner or visitor

-A bit later, in the Kitchen-

“Wait, so we're just gonna let her live in my bathroom?” Mark asked

“Well, yes. What other option do we have? Keep her outside on a leash?” you laughed but then genuinely thought about it, which only made you amused and smile

“But, I need to use the bathroom!”

“Right now?”

“...kinda.”

“Just go in the ocean, bro. Pssssh. Like a feeyush.” Sugilite chimes in

“No one has to go outside. Mark you can use my bathroom if you need it” Debbie says since they do have 2 bathrooms here.

“Well I have fun doing it..” Sugilite whispers to you and you just stifle a laugh

-Meanwhile-

The heroes who left the Guardians arrived to the old Teen Team hq hideout place. The lights were turned on and most of the heroes were holding their belongings

“Ta-da! It’s not buried under a mountain and it doesn’t have a pool, but it’s ours.” Rex said as he introduced the place to people who weren't previously in Teen Team

“Technically the deed is in my name-” Rudy started

“We’re gonna make a mint when we finally sell it, but for now it’s good to be home, baby.” Rex says

“It’s bigger than I thought.” Rae commented as she saw the place

“Heheheh.That’s what she said…. Okay,... wait, … hang on. Sorry. Old me again.” he chuckled “Did I do that? Anyway, it’s pretty big. A little dusting, some new furniture, and it’ll be the perfect crime-busting fight palace once again. Come on, I’ll give you the tour.” Rex tells Rae

The others helped shape the place up, set their belongings and make the place fully functional for a new HQ

“We can find you a room before the others take first pick. Yoou want a window, right?” Rex asked
Soon Rex and Rae went to a room.

The others were still setting up

“Man, I would’ve killed for a place like this when I was a teenager.” Monster Girl says

“This is the first time I’ve actually been here.” Rudy said

Opal overheard that and chimed in “How so?”

“Oh, I kept my real body at another location. Teen Team was always a bit of a misnomer.” Rudy says

“Uh, we’re not going back to that, are we? I’m a grown-ass man.” Bulletproof said as he placed down some boxes

“He’s right. We definitely need a new name.” Rae chimed in as she rejoined the group with Rex

“Rex and the Splosions. Rex and his Exes. Rex Splode and a bunch of other people whose names you don’t really need to know. What? I’m just giving the people what they want.” Rex said as he just rapid fired some joke ideas, at least Opal hoped it was a joke idea.

“Why not the Crystal Gems?” Opal suggested which just turned heads and turned all the attention to her “I mean… in my dimension they’re the guardians of humanity. The Manifesto of Rose Quartz is to ‘Fight for life on the planet Earth, Defend all human beings, even the ones that you don't understand, Believe in love that is out of anyone's control, And then risk everything for it’. And the other members said ‘This is our home, our planet, our friends and family! We are the Crystal Gems!’. Which is what we’re doing anyway. Protecting the Earth from Viltrumites, Flaxans and other evildoers. It… just made sense” she said with a shrug

“That sounds good and noble, but we aren't really… gems like you” Rae said

“So? They had human members too. Not like it matters, as long as you wanted to protect the Earth from any harming force, you’re a Crystal Gem. Plus, you do live in the Crystal System, so it describes your home” Opal said

“Crystal System?” Rudy curiously asked

“Ah, I believe you humans call it the Solar System instead? Basically the place where your home is, Earth. So it fits. The Crystal System independent planet Earth” she almost said colony planet. Thousands of years of calling it one thing and now she has to call it another. At least she didn't made that gross slip up. It would’ve been awkward.

“I mean, it sounds better then Teen Team. A bit girly on the name, but Im willing to give that name a shot… I guess” Bulletproof was a bit on the fence, but also open. At least it wasn't Rex’s nicknames for the team and this one at least had some decent history to it

“I like it, it has a nice ring to it” Monster Girl said

-Meanwhile-

You and Mark left to fight crime, leaving Debbie, Oliver with Sugilite with your newest ‘guest’. Debbie wonders if its ok that she’s left with Celestine, but you reassure her that she’s harmless without her enhancements, otherwise she would’ve tried something by now. And yes, Celestine was still in the bathroom

“I'M NOT HARMLESS!!!” Celestine yelled as she overheard that
“Oh, HUSH UP!” you yell back at her.

Soon you leave with Mark, via flight. Debbie speaks to Celestine as she was in the kitchen
“They left, you know. You can come out now.”

“No! I-I like it in here!” she nervously replied

“Okay.” since Debbie was alone with a seemingly harmless prisoner, she decided to try her approach at dealing with Celestine, which wasn't brute force and yelling.

“I’m gonna go and check on the Guardians, are you going to be ok?” Sugilite asked

“We’ll be fine. I’ll protect mom” Oliver said proudly

“Okay, I’ll try and be quick” Sugilite said and left

-Meanwhile-

Magmaniac and Tether Tyrant attempt a bank heist. Their initial robbery is thwarted by Bulletproof, an intervention that briefly inspires them to reform and live a cleaner life. They get a job to work in a kitchen at a fast food place. But unfortunately, that doesn't work out for them. They were down on their luck and going home, until Tether saw something glinting in the grass, a blue shine. He curiously approached it and picked it up. It was Sapphires gemstone that you dropped, she was still in there regenerating, hence why she hasn't appeared.

But now the two men who were down on their financial luck saw something that could be worth. They dont waste time and go to an appraiser.

When they get to one, he gives them a incredulous look, as in he couldn't believe that these two brought him this. Why? For one, this is a pretty hefty and big chunk of sapphire. Its not like something that fits on a ring or not a bunch of small beads to make a necklace. This was a nice piece of sapphire that was already treated such as cut and faceted which improved its value even more.

Of course the two villains who are trying to reform know nothing about gems or pricing, so they just think this would bring them a pretty penny

“If someone wants to scam you, they’d tell you its about 21,000” the appraiser started

Which of course made the 2 speechless as 21K was already a lot

“Low ball price is 855,000” which made the 2 guys jaw drop “I’d say this is more…” he double, triple and quadruple checks “60 million… this is….the 3rd most expensive sapphire in the world” the appraiser said. Indeed, there is a reason Homeworld has sapphires as rare and valuable and clearly calls them ‘Your Clarity’

With such news, the two former villains celebrate, they have to guard this gem and figure out where to sell it. Someone who wont scam them and give them a high price. Eventually after some time of looking into it, they would find that an auction is the best place to sell it. The former villain couple would work hard to get some money the legal way and after finally managing to organize things, they manage to talk things out so it could be auctioned off. If this works, not only will they have the money to pay off their debts and bills, but they’ll have plenty of leftover.

The two were so happy, they could finally afford a peaceful life. As they watched the action go, it was finally their item that was on. Everything was going smoothly and one of the bids was 65 mil. Just as someone wanted to offer more, the gemstone started glowing

And then it started levitating, as light radiated and started shaping a humanoid form as its features soon appeared and when the light finally faded, a regenerated Sapphire levitated down softly on the ground

She looked around to see where she was
“Ah, so we’re in this timeline” she looks towards the two hopeful men “Apologies, I must go” and she speeds off to find you.

And so fate dealt a harsh hand yet again to Tether Tyrant and Magmaniac as they were chased away for trying to scam people and soon the duo would be handed ANOTHER bad hand which was homelessness and that pushed them back into old habits, and when they rob the same bank once more, the one where Bulletproof stopped them, you and Mark arrived on the scene.

But in the ensuing brawl, Oliver, steps in to help which surprised you and Mark, but it did also anger Mark that his lil bro was here. Luckily you all wrapped up the fight. So Mark could talk to Oliver
“What are you doing here?! You promised you wouldn’t use your powers without me. You could have gotten hurt!”

“I just wanted to see you beating up bad guys. But they were gonna pour lava in your face, so I had to help. And I’m not using my powers without you. You’re here.” Oliver reasoned as his excuse to use powers

“I would’ve helped” you say as you raise your hand

Mark crossed his arms and thought for a moment, most likely how to discipline Oliver before saying “We’re leaving.”

“But I want to stay and watch!” Oliver said

“I said we’re leaving.” he wraps his arm around your waist and uses the other to tug Oliver to follow him as he flies up. Obviously flying home

-Meanwhile-

Sapphire was looking for you, hoping to find you in the field doing some hero work with Mark, but she juuust missed you as the sirens were heard and the authorities were coming. She easily assumed that you just left, so she theorized you were at 2 locations. She decided to go to the most probable one. The Grayson Residence, although on her way there she encounters a familiar couple in the form of William and Rick. So she decided to greet them with more grace this time

“Greetings William and Rick of Earth!” she tried her best to be normal and friendly. As one can be for a small blue alien sentient rock cyclops. At least she has her eye covered this time as to not startle some humans or piss off Cecil for being an alien among humans

Rick and William were surprised to see her, but do greet her. They’re not used to being kinda directly involved with sci fi adventure stuff, mostly used to hearing it 2nd hand from Mark whenever he shares.
“Hey there Sapphire, what are you doing here?” William asked her.

She decided to continue this conversation with a walk to where ever William and Rick were going as to not hold them up, to which they ended up in Burger Mart to eat some fast food together.
Sapphire sat with them and got offered a drink, like a soda or something, but she did not partake in the drink, merely explaining her tale how she got poofed
“And that is what happened and why I am here”

“So, its like you died?” Rick asked

“When ever a Gem suffers a fatal injury, they ‘poof’, releasing their physical form and retreating into their gemstone in order to create a new, undamaged form. The amount of time this process takes depends on a number of factors, including whether or not they are changing the appearance of their form or their gem type. I am not a gem meant for combat and speedy recovery, thus it took me a day or two to recover. But long answer short. Yes, it is like death”

“Does it hurt? Eh, don't mind me asking?” William asked

She thought about it “I guess you can say that… it happened fast. But yes it did hurt from that brief time. Having destabilizing electric energy flowing through you is not a pleasant feeling” she answered

Rick then decides to return the favour, since Sapphire told them what happened on her end, they filled her in on what Mark told them about Cecil and the Reanimen

“I see. Thank you Rick, that is most helpful”

“Helpful how?” William asked

“It means I understand what is going on. By now the Guardians of the Globe might have splintered off into 2 different groups, those aligned with Cecil will stay as Guardians. I assume elder men like Black Samson and Immortal, coupled with Dupli-Kate who is Immortals love interest and finally Shapesmith who feels indebted to Cecil. While the youth, the new generation will go back into being Teen Team or rebranding considering Bulletproof would dislike the name, coupled with Monster Girl and Robot being adults as well. My regeneration took time as I considered what their name will be, as I will be part of this new group”

“It took time because you thought if the group will be Teen Team or something else? Also wait, Immortals dating Dupli-Kate?” William was not caught up on the hottest super hero gossip.

“You’re right, clearly the best couple is Mark and (y/n). Oh how I wish to tell them the future they’ll have~ Well, aside from the whole stressful hero stuff like you and Mark being caught and whisked into the heart of Homeworld to face the Diamonds-” Sapphire focused on Willians surprise of Immortal and Kate dating and not on his main point where he questioned her that her regeneration took time because of Teen Teams name

“Wait what?”

“But thats the small stuff. Like you’ll meet a Mark that loves you and theres also (y/n) having a pseudo harem of murderous M-”

“Wait what?!”

“Don't wooorrrry about it William, its gonna be fiiiine” Sapphire says with a big smile as she is tone deaf and clearly underestimates the spoilers or possibles spoilers she says, no matter how stressful or traumatic they may be.
Like the idea of poor William being abducted by the Gems and going to their home planet

“How about we rewind to the Teen Team part and your dress?” Rick tried to ground the conversation

“Ah that. I suggested to Opal that we make the Crystal Gems in this dimension, since you guys didn't have them here”

“The Crystal Gems?” Rick asked

“In our dimension, they are the Guardians of humanity, who have stopped the tyranny of the Gem Empire. (y/n) always wanted to be a Crystal Gem, so I suggested we try and make them here. The Crystal Gems have a star as their symbol. Theirs is a 5 pointed one. I imagine we should be original and have a 4 pointed one to symbolize the 4 of us that came to this dimension. Hence my dress having a pattern of small stars” she happily explained her dress design.
Basically her regeneration which almost caused her to be auctioned off was because she thought should she add stars to a new dress or not

“Sapphire, you’re something. You know?” William said as he was a bit blown away by just … the way she is. She has future vision so that allows her to be pro active and not passive, so she can change said future or even manipulate it to the way she sees fit.
Clearly she got a bit over excited at some points or too relaxed when she over shared. But then again, she could be wrong on some predictions

-The Grayson Residence-

Debbie and Mark were gonna have a talk with Oliver. You let the family do the parenting since you weren't family. The two may consider you family in some way, but you still respected them to deal with Oliver on their own. You instead focused on how to balance hero life and normal life. You wanted to think of a fun activity to do to relax

“Am I in trouble?” Oliver asked

Mark scoffed and said “What do you think?”
You couldn't help but smile seeing him. He did look good in his hero suit unmasked. Admiration for Mark aside, you went to your room. But you couldnt help but overhear some stuff as you waled

“Go to your room. Your brother and I need to discuss what you’ve done.” Debbie said as Oliver wanted to fly off
“And what have I said about flying in the house?”

“Moooom…” you couldnt help but glance at Oliver, at this point you kinda had a huge grin. You dont know, maybe there was something fun in seeing him get in trouble or just his reaction how he looked so cute how he tried to slow fly away only to be met with stern looks.

‘Oh Im a terrible person for enjoying that’ you thought to yourself and then stopped smiling before Oliver could see you as he had to walk up the stairs where you were right now

“Ugh.” the boy said as he walked. You hurried up to go to your room, you shouldnt be distracted.

“I was worried this was gonna happen.”

“I know, but asking him to not use his powers isn’t realistic. And you did promise I’d train him.”

Debbie sighed “ He’s so young, Mark.”

“Yeah, but he’s tough. You should’ve seen him today.” Mark said, being proud of his little brother. He might've had to be stern with Oliver, but there was no denying he was happy for him as well. Oliver just needed to be more careful and not be rash

“I just want him to have a normal childhood, or as normal as we can give him.”

“I’ll be careful, I promise. I won’t let him get hurt, and I won’t let him hurt anyone else.

“I know you didn’t ask for this.”

“Neither did you, but we’re a family. We’ll figure this out together.”

During that time, Sugilite came back home. She didnt find Sapphire and she didnt know what to think. She just rested with her back against the wall and crossed her arms. Celestine was still there who also overheard the whole Oliver conversation. Celestine was pensive about the whole thing. She just didnt trust the humans, but couldnt do anything about it. Since she was an era 2 gem, she couldnt do much.

She did consider using her telepathy, but she doubted she could do much to harm anyone like at the Communication Hub. She was too weak alone. So she paced around in the bathroom to use it as her own think chamber. All Sugilite could hear was a bunch of frustrated grumbling

Meanwhile, you were in your room. Honestly you were thinking date ideas or doesnt even have to be date ideas, simply activities to unwind. You were aware that you were bottling up your own emotions and grievances and worries. And you were aware that was extremely unhealthy and bad, but you simply didnt have the time to share that with anyone. There was always work to be done and no one can afford to waste their time on your touchy feelings. You had to be strong.

Hence why you were looking for activities to unwind. They were merely distractions. But you came up short. Its like your mind was on a writers block, drawing a blank. You decided to leave your room, and you came back downstairs just on time as Debbie and Mark finished talking and going their own way.

Sugilite notices your expression, but doesnt really approach you. She had a way with dealing with that stuff and she doubted you wanted to use her more militaristic methods. This was more Opals field of expertise.

Mark also noticed you, but unlike Sugilite he actually approached you
“Hey, are you ok?”

“I’m fine, just thinking how to pass the time… In ways that doesnt involve crime fighting or saving the planet” you reply which is a half truth. You do wanna do non hero stuff, but not to pass time

“Wanna go flying with me?” he asked you

“You know I cant fly”

“You know what I mean. I’ll carry you”

You let out a defeated and yet accepting sigh “Sounds fantastic” it genuinely does, because you love it when he carries you in his arms as he soars the sky. Its just you didnt want to because you were afraid of a certain conversation

Either way, both of you said bye to Debbie who was still close by and thus Mark grabbed you and carried you as he flew away. He carried you bridal style and you had your arms around his neck. You enjoyed these flights and moments. They were wonderful and romantic. And you wish you can unwind and relax completely, but you couldnt.

For a while it was a nice and quiet flight. Although soon enough Mark spoke and you had a feeling you know what it was about. Because it was starting to be obvious
“About that night” he started

You didnt interrupt him, just held onto him as your grip slightly tightened

“I know what happened back with Cecil was a shitshow and I know you were there for me when I needed someone. But Im not the only one going through stuff. I know that whole ordeal affected you. Do you seriously believe that I didnt notice anything? Why dont you want to talk about it?”

You sigh “Mark…”

“Come on, (y/n). You say that you’re ok. But you’re not ok.”

You know he was right. You werent unscathed from that ordeal, it did affect you badly as well. But you didnt want to make it about you. That wasnt helpful. What kind of an emotional support would you be if you broke at the seams.

But also not confronting the subject now that it was started wasn't gonna help anyone. You should be an adult and talk about it. You couldn't run from your problems
“Mark, that whole Reanimen thing affected us badly. Cecil hurt you, he wanted to hurt you badly…. I… I needed to support you, be there for you. Both in and out of battle. If I was freaking out, I wouldn't be helping anyone. I would’ve made the situation worse.”

He flew to a rooftop of a skyscraper and sat you down on the rooftop edge, where he’d sit beside you
He sighed “(y/n), you’re not an emotional support animal, You’re my girlfriend. You’re allowed to have feelings too, you know? You can talk to me about anything, we’ll figure things out together”
He wraps his arm around you to pull you closer

“You felt …” bad, guilty, depressed, what to even say “... a whirlwind of bad emotions” eh close enough of a descriptor “I wanted to be there for you.” You rest your head against his shoulder and wrap your arm around him
“But I guess now the roles are reversed” you spoke softly

“Whats been bothering you?”

“A lot of things” you say as you look at the sky and the big city landscape
“I wanted to kill Cecil. And I don't mean it metaphorically or rhetorically or poetically or theoretically or in any other fancy way. Just straight up the way Oliver wanted. Dead. He was only alive because he used his Reanimen like meat shield cattle. And that scares me. I feel like if there wasn't you or Debbie, I probably would’ve done something terrible in my anger” You glance at Mark
“What if Im a heartless monster?”

“You’re not a heartless monster” he reassures you

“How do you know?” you ask him

“If you were, we wouldn't have this conversation. You would be ok with killing someone without a 2nd thought.”

You were still skeptical about it and had doubts about yourself and your underlying bloodlust. Your worrying made you look away from him, but Mark lightly grabbed you by the chin and made you face him

”Listen. You are a wonderful person and I like being around you. Look bad things are gonna happen, that makes us who we are. But good things happen too, you know? Like you happened.”

You blushed and just kinda snuggled close to him “You’re right. If bad things didn't happen, I wouldn't have met you”
The one good thing Angstrom did was throw Mark randomly to your dimension.

“So is there anything else?” he asked

“Well…. Im worried that Im not good enough” you admitted

“Not good enough?” he was surprised to hear that

“Well aside from you being so powerful. Theres also the fact that Steven, the only half gem half human hybrid like me has accomplished SO much when he was a young teen. Like at 13 he saved the planet from losing the ocean. When he was 14, he saved the planet from blowing up and dismantled a galactic empire. I mean you also accomplished more than me. You stopped a Flaxan Invasion, stopped Doc Seismic like twice, went to Mars to save people, saved people from Sequids, took down Machine Head, took down Sinclair, fought off Viltrumites and saved the Thraxans, rebuilt Thraxa and so much more” you explained

“Hey there, you’re severely knocking yourself short. And you’re placing unrealistic expectations on yourself. No one expects you to save the planet or galaxy on the daily and all alone. Well, aside Cecil. But who cares about Cecil. Besides, you did do great things since coming to this dimension”

You roll your eyes “Yeah sure” not entirely believing him

“You did save all the Earths heroes from Doc Seismics latest scheme”

“To be fair I had the gems helping me”

“You still get the credit though, I mean I fought Titanite during Cecils training and you being there in that fusion made all the difference. Those huge bug monsters were like…”

“toast?” you try to finish the sentence

He chuckled “Yeah, lets go with that one. But aside from Seismic, you did save my life when Cecil wanted to kill me with his Reanimen, you took me to the Guardians when I couldn't fly so that Rudy can take that thing out of me. And you protected me when they tried to attack me while I was down. Plus you’re really good at crime fighting!”

You blushed hearing his compliments “Well, what can I say… I have the best teacher to show me the ropes”

“I dont know if best is the right word” he playfully replied

“Heh, who’s placing unrealistic expectations now” you jest

“One more thing though, what was that glow?”

“Glow?” you ask as you didnt know what he meant by it

“Back at the Guardians HQ, you had this yellow glowing hue. I noticed you got stronger during it”

“Oh that… I dunno… I call it a Yellow State, but I don't really understand it. Maybe I should see Robot, he’s like the closest thing to a doctor”

“Do you think Robot can help you?”

“He’s the smartest guy we know.”

“We can go to him” Mark offers, which surprises you

“What? Now??” you ask

“Why not? We got nowhere else to be” he gives you a kiss and then holds you again, so you two can go and get ready, costume and all for when you meet the Teen Team. You assume the guys are there.

The two of you would arrive at the Teen Team base, where you’d find Opal and Sapphire who both regenerated. Sapphire was talking to Robot about something and Opal was casually spending time with Amanda aka Monster Girl, who was teaching her some stuff.

Opal would notice the two of you
“Ah, welcome! Nice to see you”

“Opal! Sapphire! So good to see you” you tell her

“Why yes, we’ve been on quite the rollercoaster” Opal replied, she seemed in a great mood

“Nice new outfit” you comment

“Why thank you. I thought its quite fitting for a Crystal Gem”

“Crystal Gem?” you raise your brow as you know what it means, but you dont understand why bring that up here

“We found that Teen Team didn't quite fit us since most of us were not teens” Amanda said

“So we’re the new Crystal Gems!” Opal spoke happily
“Want to be a Crystal Gem?” she happily extended an invite to you and Mark

“Oh totally! Always wanted to be one” you say happily and clap your hands

“What about you, Invincible?” Opal asks him

“Eh, no thanks” he gently declines

“You can be an honorary member, the Crystal Temp” Opal says

“Sure ok. But we’re here to see Robot” he tells her as you just snicker at Mark being referred to as a Crystal Temp

“Robot? Well, he’s right over there. Feel free to say hi” Opal said and let the two of you chat with Rudy

Rudy was talking to Sapphire about something, but once Sapphire saw you and Mark approach, she excused herself. Sapphire looked at you for a moment and considered bringing up a subject with you about something she saw in Rudys future, but ultimately decided not to. At least not yet. But for a fleeting moment you saw something on her expression, it was worry. As if she didn't have a situation under control

“Invincible, Yellow Diamond. How can I help?” he asked the two of you

“Remember that yellow glow she experienced back at the Guardians HQ? Can you figure out whats that all about? Think you'll be able to help her? Even if this is some sort of Gem issue.” Mark asked

“Hmmm…. “ Rudy then addressed you “Gem issue or not, you have a human body. Which means we can run tests. At the very least we can determine if you're suffering from a non-Gem condition that caused that glow”

“See? I'm sure it'll all be fine!” Mark reassured you as now it was his turn to be your support for a change.

You were unsure what to do, so you just shrugged as Rudy went to get some first aid medical stuff the team had here.

“Let's start with your symptoms.” he said and would take your temperature to see how you were doing there. Although he would see “Hmm.Mild fever.” and then would grab a stethoscope

You felt a bit nervous, so momentarily you glowed yellow once again before he was able to continue
“Glowing yellow colouration to skin” he remarked and checked your heartbeat, which seemed normal, but when he placed it on the gem, it made a strange sound. It was like a ringing noise or buzzing.
“Hmm”

Then he’d check your blood pressure and see its lowkey kinda high for a normal person
“Blood pressure is high” Rudy says as he theorizes what could be wrong. Rudy was a guy who wanted to fix things, such as Monster Girls condition, so of course he accepted to help ‘fix’ you.
“If you don't mind me asking, who's your GP?” he asked

“G… P?” you just raised your brow as you had no clue what that meant

“You know, your general practitioner? Your regular doctor?” Rudy asked

“Oh… I guess you? Or Cecil? I don't know, I have never really been to a doctor… or hospital… or school.” you were kinda homeschooled and your gem capabilities caused you to be healthy always. And since your mom was an unregistered alien, that also kinda made you an unregistered human. But that was your dimension, you bet your ass Cecil made sure you had things like an ID and a social security number and all that fun stuff. You were an actual US Citizen now.
Though that didnt mean you knew who your doctor was, because you never needed one. And you never visited Mark at the doctor because you were able to reverse his injuries and heal them, so there was no need to fret over a hospital bed about a loved one.

Rudy was surprised “Wait, you’re 19 and you’ve never been to a school or a doctor??!”

You glowed again for a moment and hugged Marks hand for protection as you felt very self conscious and ashamed.

“Its ok. Its fine” Mark told you softly to make you relax

“We'll just need to run some more tests.” Rudy commented as he thought verbally as he went to get something and prepare stuff

You just look worried and Mark would hold your hand to help you relax. After a while Rudy would come back as he finished setting up and handed you a hospital gown
“Wear this”

“Is this that one of those blue things that doesn't cover your butt?” your obvious obliviousness was showing

“Yes, but the whole butt thing is only on TV, you’re perfectly covered” he explained

And you sigh from relief “Oh thank goodness”
Once you get privacy, you get yourself in that stupid hospital gown so Rudy can take tests on you. He put a tongue depressor in your mouth to check your situation there, then he measured your height, then he tried to hit your knee with a reflex hammer, only to always run into an automatic bubble shield when you glew yellow. One time his hand got trapped in the bubble
Finally he gives you an X-Ray, in which later he would examine it and give results to you and Mark.

He started with an example
“So this is a typical human skeleton.” he showed his own X-Ray for that
“ Now, a couple of months ago, Opal, Sugilite and Sapphire allowed me to X-Ray them for research purposes. Their charts look like this.”

Going through their X-Rays one by one, only their gemstones would be visible due to their bodies being made of light.
“Only their gems appear on the radiograph.”

Then it moved onto your skeleton, which did have that diamond where your chest or heart is.
“And this is your chart. Definitely a human skeleton. There's a clear history of numerous fractures, most notable here on the hands, heres a few on the chest and one here on the skull. Everything is perfectly aligned. It almost looks like as if the bones healed themselves the instant the injuries occurred. It’s interesting how your Gems healing factor compensates for a lack of durability. Its as if the Gems and Viltrumites are natural opposites or enemies.” Rudy explained and then theorized

You surmised the hands might’ve been fractured from some super hard punching you did, since you lacked the Viltrumite durability. Pretty sure some baddie might've got you wheres the body. But you couldn't remember when you got hit in the head. But where as you couldn't remember, Mark did. It was during his early training when Cecil told you two to spar, it was before he got to fight fusions. He did remember getting you once there, but you came out unharmed. No visible wound nor did you react in pain or anything. But the thought that he did actually hurt you that your skull got cracked did worry him and sadden him. He made sure to watch his strength from now on, should you two ever spar like that again.

Though he did break out of his thoughts when he heard you
“So… That's good, right?”

“Well, you seem to have made a series of miraculous recoveries, but that doesn't change the fact that you experienced trauma. You've recovered physically, but have you recovered mentally?” Rudy said

“I… huh?” you didnt know how to comprehend what he said

“Trauma. It can have a lasting impact on how your body responds to stress. This can affect your social, emotional, and physical development. You see when humans are in crisis, the brain releases the hormone cortisol. Your heart races, your muscles tense. I wonder if your body is reacting to a gem equivalent of cortisol. “ Rudy explained

As he was talking, you remembered back there during that confrontation how your heart was racing. You remembered how you felt your heart rate spike, it was that moment when Mark finally stopped feeling pain from that sound Cecil subjected him to. And once he was free from it, he went on a rampage and destroyed those Reanimen so… viciously, so savagely. You dont even remember how your muscles felt, but you knew you couldnt breathe properly.

Did… did seeing Mark like that give you a panic attack? You just nervously gulp as you try to push your negative thoughts away. Rudy though snapped you out of it as he asked the question that wouldn't allow you to push that negative thought under a proverbial rug
“Did anything recently happen that might have triggered this reaction?”

You didn't answer, though having both Rudy and Mark waiting on your answer kinda forced you to speak, though its not like the words were flying anywhere. It felt like a lump stuck deep in your throat. Like you had to spit it out but couldn't. Part of you was also afraid because of Marks reaction. Like you didn't want him to start problems with Cecil again

But you had no idea how to word it, how to contextualize it. You just looked down, forlorn, not able to look anyone really in the eye
“It was after you blocked Cecil's frequency. Something about seeing Mark like that… rip and tear those Reanimen like they were shreds of paper… I don't know what it was… Its not fear. But something stuck with me…” you look at Mark lovingly as you hold his hand
“Seeing someone as sweet and gentle and loving as you, being reduced to a rabid wild animal who just tore those things to shreds. It pained me to see you that way. It hurt so much”
You did tear up and hug him. You did love him and seeing him being reduced to that stuck with you a lot. You never want to see him like that again. Seeing him in that matter made you think you failed him since he was hurting and you couldnt do anything to help. Robot stopped the hurting.

It was true what Mark said earlier, you got him to Robot in the first place and you protected him from the Reanimens attack, but you felt you could do more. That you had to do more. But again, you did remember what he told you about those unrealistic expectations. Mark just hugged you back as you quietly sobbed. You were finally letting out any negative suppressed feelings.
“Shhh” Mark said softly as you let it out

Rudy wanted to say something, but Mark told him to wait a bit. Once you were done and wiped any remnant tears, you let Rudy speak
“The glow. Your whole life, you said you led a peaceful life”
You just nodded
“In your dimension you never had any dangers. So when you came here, you experienced something new, stress for the first time. And that's affecting your ability to respond to new forms of stress in a healthy way. You've been dealing with genuine threats for the first time in your life, that your body is now responding as if your life were in danger even when dealing with something potentially minor”

“Is there any way to fix it?” you ask

“It’s an unpleasant adjustment period. You’ll have to get used to this kind of life if you’re to be a hero. As you adjust more and more, you’ll get used to this kind of life and it will affect you less and less. You might even be able to master this glow as a new form as it seems it dramatically amplifies your strength, speed and other natural capabilities. If you do master this new form, I would love to test its capabilities” Rudy spoke

“That wont be necessary, but thanks for helping us” Mark said as he didnt want you to be a guinea pig for any longer

You just nod and go to change to your hero suit again
“Thanks. This info was… valuable”
It did help to know the root of the problem and you talked about it with Mark. You really should stop bottling up your feelings. Though you were never the type to wear your heart on your sleeve. You needed to figure out a healthier balance

Once you were ready to leave, Mark would fly you off. And once you were in the sky, you would kiss him. He would stop midair so he could embrace you more and kiss you back. It wasn't quite a flying make out session, but it was close to it.
You yearned to give him affection and to receive it. You felt so lucky to have Mark and you wanted to express that to him. Show don't tell, because how you felt, words couldn't be put together.

Mark felt the same when it came to that affection. He loved you too, but he felt no amount of words could reach you when you felt down. So he decided to express his love to you through action. His kiss expressed love, affection and caring. As if to say ‘to hell with everything, you’re perfect the way you are. You are all I need. I’m at my happiest when Im with you’. And that was true. This kiss wasn't some carnal lust. It was a conversation. One that didn't need words and one that only the two of you could understand.
Despite it being nonverbal, you knew exactly how he felt and he knew exactly how you felt.

Unlike your first kiss, now you had experience and you knew what you were doing. You weren't a klutz where Mark had to go easy on you to let you discover things for the first time. Now you were on a proverbial equal footing. You weren't an inexperienced kid, but a lady who was slowly starting to radiate confidence. Your heart didn't pound from some stress and negativity. It fluttered with joy, with true happiness.
If your first kiss felt like you had a little piece of heaven, then this one was just simply divine.

Once you two stopped kissing, you felt… starstruck. You didn't even notice you ran out of breath

“Is this gonna be our thing now? Kissing high up in the sky?” he softly asked amused as you then remembered the first time you guys kissed was when you were stuck floating in the air

You blushed “What can I say? The sky is pretty romantic”

“Heh, that it is”

The two of you continue your flight home as you two talk some more. To do some more lighthearted things, you two decided to invite Oliver to get him a super hero suit. It was a nice and rather harmless activity that would also make Oliver happy. So once you guys got home and invited Oliver, it was back to the skies.

You just enjoyed being in Marks arms, and you had to admit, you enjoyed watching Oliver clumsily fly to catch up to his little brother. No doubt that’d be you if you had flight powers. You just don't see yourself as a graceful type

“Wait up! Whoa! Whoa!”

“Come on, you can do better than that.” Mark told him and you just enjoyed their brotherly interaction

“It’s not fair. You’re way faster.”

“Hey, I said we’d start training. I didn’t say it was gonna be easy.”

“When are you gonna teach me how to fight? I’ve been practicing stuff I saw on the Internet.” Oliver said and then showcased some moves he saw in the air

“Oh he’s so precious” you couldn't help but comment with a huge grin

Mark was big brother mode though
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. One thing at a time. Flying first. Fighting second. You’d better keep up, we don’t want to be late.” he said and then flew towards Art with you

“Late for what?” he then quickly flew “Wait up!”

-Later with Art-

He made Oliver his costume and the boy was trying it out and loving it.

“This is so awesome.” he happily spoke

“Remember our deal.” Mark told him

“I know, I know. No using my powers in public without permission.”

“That’s right.” then he speaks to Art “Thanks again for doing this, Art.”

“Eh, it’s my pleasure. I’m glad to finally meet the little guy.”

“All right. Get ready, because… Kid Omni-Man is here!” Oliver spoke proudly

“Oh, geez. He told me the “O” was for “Oliver.”” Art facepalmed

“My brother in Christ, you put the same type of O that Omni-Man had” you facepalmed at the fact that Art not only reused the O design, but it was Omni-Mans design, there was no way he wasn't expecting something along the lines of Omni-Man.

Mark sighed “Can you give us a minute?

Yeah, of course.” Art said

“You don’t like it?”

“Costume’s great. It’s the name that’s the problem.” Mark told him

“Why?”

“People are gonna hear that name or see that symbol and think of Dad.”

“I know, it’ll be great.”

“Oliver… Dad did terrible things here. Things people aren’t gonna forget anytime soon.”

“But you said he’s different now. And when I save people in this costume, they’ll get it.”

“It’s more complicated than that. It’s gonna take a long time and a lot of work for everyone to forgive him. Maybe someday that might happen. But we’re not there yet. Not even close. Do you understand?” Mark explained to him

“I think so.”

“Word on the street is, you two cut ties with Cecil.” Art spoke

“Yeah.It’s time for a change.” Mark said

“In more ways than one.” Art said and handed both you and Mark a new costume

“What’s this?” Mark asked

“A fresh start.” he says

Later you two try the costumes. Yours was mostly the same, but the diamond logo got replaced by a yellow four pointed star. Art said that he got a request for the slight costume redesign. And you had a hunch who ordered that request to make you fit with the new Crystal Gems.

Mark meanwhile had a much more noticeable costume change. It was similar to his previous suit, except the colours are blue and black, there are no knee pads, the boots are black, and the goggles are black with white lighting

“Whoa! You look amazing!” Oliver liked it

“I don’t know. Feels a little serious?” Mark said

“Honestly Art? Not your best work. We already have villains who wanna make us black and blue, I don't think we need a costume with those colours. Not to mention, Im not a fan of the 2 colours distribution. First costume had 3 colours that were much better chosen, thought out and placed. This is not it” you said with your arms crossed as unlike Oliver, you didn't like the new costume.

Suddenly the mood was interrupted by a newscaster from the radio “ We interrupt our afternoon classics with breaking news of an attack at Payton Penitentiary. Early reports indicate superpowered individuals are involved.”

“Oh, man, this is perfect. We can try out our new suits.” Oliver said happily

“Okay. You can come along, but…” Mark was being a responsible sibling

“I know, I know. I won’t fight. I’ll just watch. Let’s go already, we’re gonna miss it.” Oliver excitedly spoke

“Hey, say thank you to Art.” Mark told him

“Thank you, Art.” he thanked him happily

“It’s a pleasure.” Art responded and Oliver flew off

“He has no idea where we’re going.” Mark tells Art and you just giggle because you didnt even think of that. Mark grabbed you and you flew off after Oliver

-Payton-

There was a bunch of super powered chaos going on as baddies were trying to break someone free from jail and guards were scrambling to deal with it

“Look at these fools. Their weapons are like tiny tickles. Their body armor is thin, like cheap toilet paper.” a zappy villain called Kursk spoke

As you three arrived to the scene, Oliver would ask “Whoa, who are those guys?”

“That’s Kursk. He’s got electricity powers. The other guy’s Furnace. Inside that suit I think he’s made of lava or something. I’ve fought them before.” Mark explained

”Then let’s go get ’em, Mark.” Oliver said as Mark quickly let you go so you can float as he grabbed Oliver

“Whoa. H-Hold on.”

“Huh?”

“First, when we’re out in public, you got to call me Invincible, not Mark.”

“And you can call me Kid Omni… Wait, I haven’t figured out a new name yet.”

“That’s fine, because I’m not calling you anything because you’re just gonna stay here and watch.”

“I mean, we could call him Omni-Kid. Or Omni-Boy. Or wait for it! Invinciboy~” you say with a huge grin

Oliver sees people in peril and rushes to the rescue
“Those guys need help.

“Oliv… Kid… Oh, my… Just stop!” he tried to stop him, but Furnace attacked him. Luckily you were close enough to use your bubble shield to block the fire. Which you soon dispelled to drop down

“Furnace, is raining boy!” Kursk said in his broken english as you and Oliver descended, well Oliver was flying and avoiding electricity, while you were dealing with Furnace, though Oliver would eventually get zapped by Kursk. You kicked Furnace away and quickly ran over to Oliver and caught him last second so he doesnt quite crash into the ground

“Leave him alone!” Mark said as he punched Kursk into a wall and thus one shotting him and then punching Furnace, and throwing him against the same wall where his armour broke and the lava guy fell on the zappy guy.

Mark then flew over to you and Oliver, you were holding an unconscious Oliver in your lap

“Oliver, are you okay?” Mark would ask as he’d lightly wake the boy up

Oliver groaned as he woke “I thought we weren’t supposed to use our real names.”

“Oh, thank God.” Mark pulled him him as well as you in a hug so you’re not excluded

When Oliver saw the fighting was over he said “You didn’t save one for me?”

You chuckled “Oh don't worry, he didnt save one for me either”

“Are you kidding me? I told you to just watch. You almost got yourself killed!” Mark told Oliver

“I’m fine. It barely hurt.”

“Don’t ever do that again.”

“But those guys…”

“I don’t want to hear it. You either listen or you go home. Got it?”

“Okay, sorry.” when he saw that Mark was still stern, he apologized again “ Sorry.”

You placed your hand on Marks shoulder “Go easy on him. He just wanted to help. He wont do it again”

-Grayson Residence-

Sapphire arrived home and greeted Sugilite who was overjoyed to see her and gave her a huge bear hug. She asked Sapphire where Opal was, to which Sapphire said
“Opal is with the new Crystal Gems. She decided to learn to mingle better among humans and use their skills. She told me she expressed an interest in learning engineering, so she is spending time with Robot and by proxy Monster Girl”

“Oooh, its the thing when the Guardians split into 2 groups as told by (y/n) and Mark”

“Indeed.”

“Wait, does that mean now I have to get a star? Where would I put a star??” Sugilite asked with a mini crisis, granted she had to be poofed before that which was honestly hard without gem tech aiming to poof gems, like a destabilizer. Sugilite was a sturdy one. She never showed her full capability in battle and she wanted to show you how strong she can be.

“I am sure you will find a way” Sapphire said

“So, did you see anything interesting in the coming days, weeks, months?” Sugilite asked her

“Well… I see that a Dragon will attack a prison and Mark will fight it. He will also encounter an enemy that will hate him for no reason, it would be his version of Aquamarine and Eyeball, he will have electric powers and he has a catchphrase of ‘he cant keep getting away with this’”

“Odd catchphrase. Anything about us?” Sugilite asked

“Celestine will invent a new way to contact people across dimensions”

“I’ll what?” Celestine opened the bathroom door and peeked through, but when the gems looked at her, she let out an eep and immediately shut herself in again

“Opal will master engineering and be able to create robonoids, space ships and whatever she desires. Combining gem tech with human tech.”

“What about you and (y/n)?” she asked

“(y/n) will have… an interesting time. I am not sure if this is what will happen, but I foresee that she will be stuck in that same wasteland dimension with Mark. The one that I was in when I first arrived, after saving someone in a Viltrumite uniform. Only Mark will have a different costume thats matching her black and yellow colour scheme”

“Huh, fitting that a couple will wear matching colour costumes. And what about you?”

Sapphire merely said “I cannot see my future” she lied. It was just something that she didn't want to share. A closely guarded secret, but its the way things have to play out and she accepted that. Whatever route she takes, leads her to that future. But if she played her cards well, maybe there will be more to her future. Its just in her best interest not to tell anyone.

The Gems see that Debbie returned home with Paul and they quickly scrambled away so Paul doesnt see them

“Whats the fuss about out there?!” Celestine heard the commotion and was oblivious to the fact that the gems tried to give some semblance of normal to Debbie and her love life. Granted Celestine really didnt care about secret identities and such, she was an alien and didnt know nor care about Earth and its beings.
She’d just press her ear against the door to listen to what was going on

Which was just Debbie dating Paul and stuff that she didn't really understand.
The new human couple spends time together, with Debbie at ease that she finally has a companion of her own to talk about all this crazy alien and hero stuff. Plus love interest

Eventually you, Mark and Oliver arrive back home and interrupt a nice smooching time that the adults had

“I just don’t know what it’s gonna take to get through to you.” Mark spoke to Oliver who was floating home, though you and Mark gasped when you guys saw Debbie and Paul

“Oh! Oh, um… you’re back! Uh, you… uh, you remember Paul, right?”

“Hi… Mark. Hi. Hi, Oliver, (y/n).”

“Uh, the-these are, uh… We-we were at a comic-book store opening.” Mark tried to scramble an excuse

“Are you guys gonna mate now?” Oliver asked

Celestine opened the bathroom door to yell “They’re obviously gonna fuse! I’ve seen them attempt fusion”

Things were crazier, when Sugilite finally managed to grab Celestine before she retreated back to the bathroom, which caused Celestine to act like an angry gremlin. Sugilite merely approached Paul and said “Good luck in your fusion” and then walked over to your bedroom with Celestine, where Sapphire also stayed

Uh, your mom and I, not sure if she told you, but we’ve been talking a lot lately, and I… Oh, look. You-you-you guys are on the news.” Paul said

“We are?!” Oliver happily exclaimed

“Oliver!” Debbie of course was not happy Oliver put himself in danger

“I’m fine! It was awesome!”

“Whoa, tha-that’s not us. How…?” Mark spoke but then realized Paul knew
“You told him?”

“Mark.”

“It’s okay. I can keep a secret. I once sold a house to a famous rock star and never told a soul.”

“Oh, yeah? Who?” you ask with your arms crossed

“Exactly.”

You just snicker “I like him, he’s funny”

Mark just takes the remote and puts on the volume

“with a costume clearly inspired by Invincible, we don’t know who this new hero is. But social media is referring to him as Invinciboy.”

You just laugh “Oh come on, I suggested that for Oliver, not you” but you quickly stop your laugh and hold it in. It wasn't nice to laugh, but your knee jerk reaction was just too much

“You’re Invinciboy now?” Oliver laughed softly, you just lightly slapped the back of his head for that “Ow”

“Not nice, don't let me call you Omni-Dork, mr. I-Have-No-Name-Yet”

“Okay okaay”

“Continuing coverage of a crisis at the same nuclear missile silo that the Lizard League attacked mere months ago. To recap, the Guardians of the Globe are on scene, but there have been no updates since they entered the silo. We’ll continue to monitor the situation and report…” The news guy spoke, before Mark turned off the tv

“I don’t work for Cecil anymore. But…” Mark spoke

“You still help people.” Debbie finished his train of thought

“Yeah.”

“Then I guess it’s settled. Just…” Mark sped away before she finished the sentence “...be careful.” she said, alone.

You placed your hand on her shoulder “He wont be alone” you say to reassure her and quickly followed suit

“I’ll go to where the Crystal Gems are” Sugilite told Debbie, who probably didnt have any context on who are the Crystal Gems, Sugilite just wanted to see Opal and make sure things are ok.

-Wyoming Base-

Mark quickly arrived by crashing through a wall
“Step away from the computer.”

“Who the hell are you?” Mauler 1 asked

“That’s Invinciboy. I saw him on TV. He’s new.” Mauler 2 said

“He was new.” Mauler 1 said

Thats when you arrived on the scene and overheard a bit of exchange
“Ok, that will never not be funny” you comment at your accidental rebranding of Invincible. Tho your excuse is that Arts costume was just bad that it fooled people into thinking it was a new guy

Mauler 1 fired some fancy zappy gun at the two of you, but you two dodged its blast

-Back at the Grayson Residence-

Sapphire arrives back downstairs where Debbie is. And Debbie noticed Sapphires more serious and concerned expression, despite Sapphire hiding her eye behind her hair. She checks on the gem to see if she’s alright and whats got her concerned. But Sapphire said that she’s fine, just thinking some things though. Future stuff that she doesn't need to worry about

“Where’s Celestine?” she asked

“Sugilite tied her to a leash. She’s in (y/n)’s room” Sapphire answered

Back in your room, her leash was tied to her bed and Celestine was being a gremlin on how to escape

“Was that really necessary?” Debbie asked Sapphire

“Her presence was making me uncomfortable” Sapphire answered, it wasn't a true answer, but it was the one she was giving her

Debbie turns on the TV to check if the news had any updates, right then Oliver flies over to them
“Where’s Mark? We’re supposed to go flying.”

“There’s still no sign of activity since Invinciboy entered the silo. I’m told the attackers have cut all communication with…” the newscaster said and Sapphire turned off the TV before the man could say anything

“Oliver.” Debbie starts

“Holy crap. Mark’s there?” Oliver says as he’s ready to spring into action.

“Hold on. I don’t want you to…”

“He might be hurt!”

“Oliver!” but he already flew off

-Meanwhile-

You and Mark were dodging the zappy electric gun blast. Although during the exchange Mark got hit with it and he was down for the count. He looked like he was in pain

“Invincible! What happened?” you asked concerned as you caught him before he hit the ground harshly

“The same thing that will happen to you” the Mauler spoke and used the nerve gun on you. You let go of Mark as you got hit, but… it didnt really do anything to you? Yellow currents of electricity did course through you as your nervous system did glow and lit up, though it appeared more as circuitry lines rather than nerves.

Honestly, the Maulers were surprised you werent affected by their weapon. Its as if you didnt have a nervous system. But it was your Gem half protecting you, causing you to be unaffected and only giving you mild discomfort. Basically it was a nuisance to you rather than a threat

You checked your body, and saw nothing happened, so you laughed proudly “Haha that was nothing!”

“Then I guess you won't mind if I do it again!” he said and hit you again with the blast

“Cut it out!” you say annoyed as you charged speedily at the Maulers and yanked that nerve gun faster than they could react.
This was your first fight with the Maulers and their first fight with you. So both of you had no clue of the others capability. But so far this was your winning match.

You quickly cocked the gun at them and fired it, hitting one of the Maulers and incapacitating them for a bit
“Try having a taste of your own medicine, you turkey” honestly, you didn't really have a quip and you werent angry enough to cuss. Besides, swearing doesn't make you cool.

Mark was slowly getting up which did distract you and the Mauler
“Huh, look at that. He’s tough for a guy with “boy” in his name.”

“Bruh thats Invincible” you facepalm with your free hand

“No he’s not. He looks completely different”

“Are you…. are you serious right now?” you felt like you were gonna get an aneurysm out of sheer stupidity. It was kind of your kryptonite, overly stupid people or remarks. Cringe and stupidity was the by far the most painful thing you can face in battle. The sheer obnoxiousness

Suddenly Oliver came crashing in, destroyed the nerve gun so no one could use it and menacingly punched the wall and looked dead serious and threatening. The Mauler you zapped got up

“You guys are in big trouble.” Oliver said

“Did school just get out?” Mauler asked confused

“Just get him.”

And the Maulers attacked, but Oliver quickly punched them away

“What are you doing here?” Mark asked rightfully angry

“Saving you. I was worried you were dead!” Oliver answered

“Im standing right here” you say annoyed

“You’re all dead.” Mauler 2 says and attacks Mark who manages to dodge some hits, but gets overpowered, he was still weak from the gun blast.

Oliver was dealing with his own Mauler, so you used your chance to help Mark, by punching the guy away from him. Straight in the lower jaw, though you minded your strength as you not punch the jaw off of the guy

“Get out of here. I We can handle this.” Mark told Oliver, he was focused more on his brother to leave this dangerous place

“So can I.” Oliver replied but got grabbed by the head and slammed to the ground

“I said get out of here.” Mark said after he punched the Mauler off of Oliver

Oliver scoffed “I’m fine. You just distracted me.”

“I’m not saying we’re gonna lose, but…”

“Just in case.”
The two Maulers spoke and they activated something

“I’m going after it. Go home now.” he gave Oliver one more warning and flew up

“You heard Invinciboy.” Mauler 1 spoke

“Like I said before, you guys are in big trouble.” he said

“OmniKid, go home. I’ll handle them” you finally chimed in since Mark was gone, Oliver was your responsibility, so you had to look after his safety and deal with the Maulers

“We don’t usually murder women and children, but there’s always a first time.” he went to attack, but Oliver moved before you could react and punched the Mauler the same way you did, but unlike you he put the extra force and broke the guys jaw. It made you flinch

The other Mauler grabbed Oliver by the leg and slammed him to the ground
“We warned you, you little shit!”

“You leave that child alone!!!!” you angrily tackle the Mauler and return the gesture to him by grabbing him by the leg and slamming him into the ground “Taste your own medicine and eat dirt!”

But because you werent putting lethal force like Oliver was or like you were with the Reanimen, the Mauler got up and uppercut you. Which did knock out some of your teeth and hurt your jaw too. He was also returned the favour for the Oliver punch. You just mumbled a muffled “What did I do” since you now held your mouth like the injured Mauler. Although, unlike him, you had a healing factor that fixed you up. Though it didnt take the pain away, you were still hurting like you were still injured.

You went to check on Oliver at the same time the Mauler checked on his clone or whatever

“You’re gonna need surgery. And even then, I don’t know if we can fix-”

Injured Mauler mumbles and points behind, because Oliver was waking
“Listen, dont do anything stupid. Let me handle this” you mumble as you let go of your jaw
“Go. Home” you say sternly as you were no longer fooling around. You were dead serious Oliver needed to leave.
Honestly you’d drag him home right now if Mark was here. But you couldnt do it and leave the Maulers unattended.

Oliver merely sped past you with his Viltrumite speed and punched a hole through the uninjured Mauler. The boy was seeing red, and not just because of all the blood. It was like he was mad that they dared to hurt him.

The Mauler soon fell over dead and you were just shocked and stunned at what happened.

The surviving Mauler holding his jaw let out a mangled and garbled “Holy shit!”

“That’s what happens when you’re a bad guy.” Oliver threatened

The Mauler tries to give up with giving some garbled “I give up. I give up. I give up!”

“Too late.” Oliver flies over to him, but you grab the boy by the ankle at the last second and toss him back, not hard to hit a wall, but just so he’s away from the bad guy.

“What do you think you’re doing!?!” you angrily and panickly ask. You honestly dont want to fight Oliver of all people to stop him from a murder spree. And you couldnt bring yourself to do it if it comes to it.

Oliver merely floats and regains his own momentum to stop “He’s a bad guy! He deserves it! He hurt you two and everyone else!”

“He gave up!” you reasoned

“He’s just saving his skin! You know what’ll happen! He’ll be sent to jail only to escape and do this all over again!”

The Mauler garbles something, which causes you to glance back at him “You stay out of this!”

Oliver used your distraction and quickly flew and punched the Mauler in the face so hard, his head popped. The boy was covered in blood and brain bits. And now you were too from the sheer proximity of the chaos.

You looked at your own hands which had blood splatter and bits, they shook ever so slightly and you felt from the fresh smell of death that you were gonna throw up. And you tried to hold it back, but the fact that your hands weren't really sanitary, you couldn't cover your mouth. So you rushed to the nearest corner of the room to throw up. The sheer disgust was overwhelming. Disgust of the brain bits, the smell of blood and death and the disgust of Olivers merciless actions.

“You… you… child.” you heard Immortals voice as you gasped for air. You felt so gross

“I didn’t mean it. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill them. I saved you guys.” Oliver said as you slowly approached him. Olivers words merely confused you, what was true at this point. Only now you noticed all of the Guardians were here.

Soon Cecil teleported to you guys “They’re just stunned, Oliver. Even superheroes aren’t used to seeing kids do something like this. But I know you were just trying to help-”

Suddenly Mark showed up and grabbed Cecil by the throat and floated with him
“I told you to stay away from my family.”

“I’m just here to clean up your brother’s mess.” Cecil barely speaks

That caused Mark to look around and assess the situation, where he’d see the dead Maulers and Oliver covered in their blood
“Wait.”

“Looks like you’ve been training him in the family business.”

“Oh shut up you” you spat at Cecil, not appreciating how he sees Mark as a murderer too.

Mark landed and let go of Cecil who gasped for air

“What? I stopped them, didn’t I?” Oliver was confused why Mark was upset

“Sky. Now.” he grabs you and Oliver by the arm and flies up

“What the hell were you thinking!?” he was holding Oliver who struggled to get free of Marks grasp. Mark let you go as you floated safely now. He took off his mask to talk to Oliver
“I told you to go home!!”

He then let go of Oliver who spoke “Why are you so mad? We won. I beat the bad guys.”

For a moment, Mark was at a loss for words
“You… I… You killed them!”

“I didn’t mean to, but now they won’t hurt anyone else.”

“Didn’t you listen to anything Mom or I said? We don’t kill!!”

“Stop yelling at me for saving you. I saw the news and I thought you might be hurt, so I tried to help you, and now you’re mad at me?!” Oliver teared up and then quickly flew away, like a speeding bullet

“Oliver!” he called out and then quickly flew after him “Oliver, wait!”

You were still floating and just tried swimming in the air to move and propel yourself, alternating arm movements in a sort of windmill motion and doing a flutter kick by moving your feet up and down. The basic freestyle swim form basically. And unlike your first time discovering your power, you actually managed to propel yourself forward. But compared to Oliver and Mark, you were a snail

So you just angrily groaned and descended down and went back to Debbie.

-Meanwhile-

Unaware of all that chaos, Sugilite was budding with Rex and Rae. Chatting and making small talk as well as filling them in on the gem stuff that happened here and how they have a prisoner on a leash.

Rex found the idea of an alien stuck to a leash hilarious
“Oooh, maybe you should use the child safety lock. She’ll neeeever escape that”

“Thing is, I know you're playing me. But hell, why not? I’d use that” Sugilite said as she ate a can of bear. Yes ate, the bear and the can.

“Whoa, thats intense. I’ll never get used to seeing you do that” Rex said

“After that whole Viltrumite stuff that Cecil’s been on about, its kind of good to have an alien threat that we can actually handle”

“Think I can talk to Robot to make some holding cell for her? I think its kinda chaotic to have her at the house” Sugilite asked

-Speaking of the Grayson Residence-

You were with Mark who was home and both of you were in your normal clothes. You washed the blood off of you and you felt clean. Still, the sight of that event was grizzly

“Well, Cecil made sure this wasn’t in the news” Mark said since he was in touch with Cecil unfortunately

“Thats good” you sighed from relief

“What happened there?”

“He saw the Maulers attack us and he just…. snapped. Its like he was a raging bull that only saw red. Maybe killing the first Mauler was an accident, but honestly? Im not sure about the 2nd one. It definitely looked deliberate….. What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know.”

You were quiet for a moment, contemplating your words what to say for a bit
“I am not trying to minimize what he did, but he’s just a kid… with powers he doesn’t know how to control yet.” you say with no context what went on between Oliver and Mark

“Yeah, but… he doesn’t seem sorry or upset about it. Just like my dad. I don’t know what I’m doing, (y/n). I don’t know how to raise a kid like Oliver.”

“You’re forgetting about your mom, y’know? And she did an amazing job with you. Honestly, she’s the true hero”

“....That was before she outed my secret identity to her new boyfriend.”

“LIsten, Im not Debbie. But take this as my girl point of view. You lost your dad, but she lost her husband. Doesn’t she deserve someone in her life? If I was in her shoes, I’d yearn some connection. And, yeah, she told Paul who we are, but honestly, who’s he gonna tell? Who would even believe him? People will just think he’s crazy” you reasoned

“Where would I be without you?”

You kiss him on the cheek and rest your head on his shoulder
“Probably still flying around Beach City”

“Sounds about right.”

“Hey, I know things are kinda tight. Somethings always happening. But, do you wanna go on a short exploration mission with me. When you’re free. A-and it doesnt take place in space!”

“I’ll take anything that doesn't involve space, fighting or death”

You smiled “Sweet”

“We should go and check on Oliver”

“Y-yeah”

You two go in the house where Debbie was washing the dishes and Sapphire was floating and drying them. Sapphire still seemed puzzled and then glanced at you curiously. Almost as if wanting to ask you something.

“That was a short date.” Debbie commented

You and Mark stumbled “Date? What date? W-we arent dating, we were just-”
“We aren't dating”
You both sorta bashfully came with some weak excuses

“Relax, I know. I knew the entire time”

“You knew? And you’re ok… with it?” Mark asked surprised

“As long as you two are responsible, Im ok with it. Besides (y/n) is a good influence on you”

You just blush and look away embarrassed. You knew it was weird that a couple was living under the same roof. Plus you being from a different dimension too also added to the weirdness. But its not like you had anywhere to go. You were homeless here, which was an oversight on your end since you had 3 months to figure out where to go. But then again, its not like you wanted to leave the Graysons. You loved them. Debbie was like a mom you never had and you loved Mark to bits and pieces

“Where’s Oliver?” Mark asked as he changed the subject

“Up in his room. I said we were going to have a talk when you got home.”

Sapphire who read the room, realized she should go away, so she grabbed your hand and led you to your bedroom, so Debbie and Mark could talk about Paul. You weren't an unwanted person or anything, but both you and Sapphire were respectful enough to give the two a moment of privacy to share a moment

“I’m sorry I was mad about Paul.”

But also both of you were also not above eavesdropping

“You need someone you can talk to. About everything. Like I can with (y/n).”
You had a goofy but satisfied smile hearing that. Of course you were happy. Tho you noticed Sapphire quietly teasing you. And then inviting you to come closer, only to whisper to you “Fusion”

You blushed and immediately pushed her away, but carefully as to not make noise

“Yes.” you heard Debbie
“And I should’ve talked to you about it first. This is uncharted territory.”

“For all of us.”

You and Sapphire left for real now to deal with Celestine

-Bedroom-

You rubbed your temples in frustration
“Ok, so let me get this straight. Among the docket of the To-Do List. We need to deal with Blue Diamond. Then theres also the fact you got a huge ship to the sahara 3 months ago along with the Zoo Station. And then we need to figure out what to do with this mirror” you show Sapphire the mirror

“Oh interesting. A Nephrite gem. Why is it trapped”

“I dont know, but the gem is cracked. I cant really heal her like Steven could. I could restore her form though, which is close enough”

“We should free her at the Crystal Gem HQ. Less… chaos here. I think we need all the friends we can get for whats coming” Sapphire said

You just blinked “What did you see? You have this concerned look to you, but you’re keeping your cards close”

“Its nothing that is about your future. Moreso its about my own, but I just need to accept that the future will happen and trust in you that you will make things good”

“... whoa, Sapphi. Thats kinda of a lot of pressure for something I don't know” you tell her nervously

Sapphire looked at your, it seemed as if she was peering into your future or something
“(y/n), would you ever try fusing with me?”

“Fuse with you?” you’re confused at this point

“For my Future Vision. I know you could amplify it” she said and offered you her hand

You reach out to her to hold her hand, but back away at the last moment
“I-I cant. Not now. Later though. Its just… theres so much to do. I dont think Im ready for that forbidden knowledge and more work. Let me secure the things I have now.”

“Very well” Sapphire nodded

The two of you heard Debbie and Mark going to Olivers room, so you decide to join the conversation. Sapphire stays and doesn't interfere

You quietly arrive just as Debbie starts to lecture Oliver
“You told Mark that life isn’t precious, that it’s okay if some people die. Is that really how you feel?”

“Kinda.” he said sounding a bit ashamed maybe. You couldn't get a read on the boy. You just quietly walked over to Marks side

“Do you think my life isn’t precious? Would you care if I died?”

“Of course I’d care! I don’t want you to die! I love you!” Oliver said, showing his love for Debbie and honestly you found his reaction and words very sweet. He shared the same sentiment towards Debbie as you. But it was a shame he showed some Nolan traits as Mark said

“I love you, too. But think about all the other people on this planet. They all have friends and families who would be sad if they died. So, just because you don’t know these people doesn’t make their lives less important. Do you understand?” she explained in such an expert and motherly way

“The Maulers didn’t have friends or family.” he reasoned, but saw that all of you werent budging on that matter, killing was bad
“I understand. I won’t do it again.”

“You need to really mean it.”

“I do, Mom.”

“Okay.”
The two hug
“Come here.” she invites Mark, who joins the hug
“You too” she doesnt forget about you “You’re family too”
You mildly blushed but gladly joined the family hug, smiling, feeling content for finally having a real family. A normal family. Compared to back home, this seemed normal. Despite aliens and weird stuff

Tho as you were hugging, Mark saw something and rushed out the window and caught something
“Gotcha.”

The ball item exploded in his hand which did break the window. You instinctively made a bubble shield to protect Debbie and Oliver, but mostly Debbie from any exploded glass. Once things settled, you dismissed it.

“Mark, are you okay?” Debbie asked as all of you rushed to the window. Including Celestine from the other room

“What was that?” Debbie asked

“I don’t know.”

Celestine opened her window
“Oh oh oh! Can I see?”

Sapphire merely pulled her back “Your turn will be later”

Mark flew over to your window
“Can you tell what this is?”
He slips the item in her hands

Celestine examines it
“Nyeeh, looks archaic. Like a Spy Droid”

“Can you tell who sent it?” Mark asked

“I need actual tools to determine more about it and its manufacturer”

“I can get you that” Mark tells her.

Celestine is surprised to hear that he trusts her, but that might be because she was harmless compared to this. As for why she was helping them? Well, because this piqued her curiosity.

Mark flew over to the room and grabbed her, freeing her from the leash she was tied with and flew her where Robot was

Meanwhile, during all that. A new ship arrived to Earth.

-Ship-
“Blue Diamond gave us a clear list of humans to collect. Dont go sentimental on me, we dont want to have a repeat of last time”

The other gem silently nodded

“Its simple, we do this discreetly so we dont gain unwanted attention. Especially not from Nowl-Ahn. That Viltrumite is a menace. But even so, we’re ready for him this time” she holds her item
“We’re very ready for him. He’ll pay for what he’s done”

Chapter Text

You took the mirror you had and tugged Sugilite to come with you to where the new Crystal Gems were. Basically going the same way Mark was going with Celestine.
Which left Sapphire with Opal and Debbie.
Sapphire merely looked at Opal and said “Fusion?”

-Meanwhile-

Mark and Celestine arrived to the location due to Marks speedy flight. The two saw Rudy, Amanda and Bulletproof, and Mark explained the situation to them. The robot drone would take the device and analyze it on the table. Celestine would free herself from Marks grasp and grumpily walk over to the drones side with her arms crossed and observe how he works

“Fascinating.”

“I’m glad you’re impressed.” Mark tells him, not really in the mood to hear some science talk

“So, it just blew up when you grabbed it?” Bulletproof asked

“It was spying on me at my house.”

“Oh, shit. So, someone knows who you really are and where you live?” Amanda asked

“It’s worse than that. They know about my family, too.” Mark sighed and then turned to Rudy who was elsewhere with a bunch of screens now
“Hey, Rudy. Wouldn’t this go faster with your undivided attention?”

“This is about analysis, not attention.” Rudy told him

“And it is not the only pressing issue on my plate.” Robot thats examining the device spoke

“Don’t do that. It’s creepy.” Amanda told him

“I’m sorry, Mark. This is too damaged to ascertain who built it or who was controlling it. I believe that was by design.” the Robot droid said

“You can’t tell me anything about it?” he asked

“It’s of Earth origin, and it’s extremely sophisticated. That’s all. You should be careful.” Robot said

Celestine was annoyed and just moved the Robot…robot away from the chair. She somewhat succeeded, but Rudy through his neurolink just controlled his droid away.

“Bunch of Earth junk. My Limb Enhancers would’ve dealt with this junk already. I need your tools and a Leverage Optimizer” she said and then looked around their base, and mostly Rudy's belongings and just took a bunch of his stuff to scrounge up a device of her own. A makeshift scanner, which she’d build and plug to his computer. She made it scan the exploded device and then moved the real Rudy away to stay in his place and examine it with his screens. Where she’d use a mix of Earth and mix of archaic Gem tech to analyze the device to discern its location of origin of her own

“Nyeeh, this has traces of Earth technology mixed with some Kerwan technology, tho I guess organics call them Technicians. But it also shows traces of a Quantum Transport Solution” Celestine commented

“Meaning?” Mark asked, clearly wanting answers and regular english, not some sci fi mumbo jumbo.

“Well this is theoretical, but if a device has traces of Quantum Transport Solution, it means it has crossed a dimension. A-a parallel world of sorts. But multiverse science is theoretical. There is no such thing as a multiverse” Celestine explained. She then looked at Mark and lazily asked “Got any cross dimensional enemies?” fully believing its not real

“Just one… but… I killed him” he still felt guilty over Angstroms death

“If you’re involved into a multidimensional affair, I wouldn't count anything as ‘over’.” Celestine said, her reasoning if he killed one dimension warper guy, theres always another. Because the multiverse is infinite and there are infinite amounts of them and the bad guys. Universes can be 99.999999999% similar with the only difference being your breakfast choice. And yet the universe can be so different where you can be a dictator or your cat can be a dictator or pizzas can be sentient and eat people instead. Anything is possible. Its why Celestine didn't bother with the concept of a multiverse, rather preferring if it doesnt exist

Rudy/Robot meanwhile was impressed and interested in the technology Celestine used, since it was clearly alien and had different capabilities. He wanted to ask her about it to learn and improve his own tech

Although before he asked, you arrived with Sugilite as well as Rex with Rae.

“Whoa. What happened to you two?” Amanda asked Rae and Rex

“Don’t ask. By the way, we’re ordering pizza for dinner.” Rae said

You approached Mark and asked him “Any news on the device?”

“Well… we know its of Earth origin and not from this dimension” Mark told you the important stuff

“Is it Angstrom?” you say worriedly, it was basically the only cross dimensional baddie you two knew. You both were thinking of it, but no one really wanted to say it.

“It cant be…. He’s dead” it still pained him, it was his first kill. When he lost control of himself

“Is…. is it possible he’s alive?” you ask softly, while also trying to be considerate of his situation

“He can't be” he tells you

“Are you sure?” now you push it a bit, you dont mean to. But what if Angstrom survived

“You weren't there to see it, there was no surviving that damage. Even I wouldn't be able to survive ….. that” he decided to change the subject “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, remember that Mars mirror?” you totally fell for his subject change, not noticing that was his motive for the question

“I completely forgot about it” he facepalmed

“Yeah, I wouldn't blame you with the amount of stuff going on. I figured it was time to finally crack that case” you explain and then address Rudy “You’re a sciency guy and you guys have tech and a place to stay. Mind looking after a Gem that might need help and was stuck on Mars for 20ish years”

“Sure, I can help her. Where is this Gem?” he asked

“Right here” you say as you present the mirror for them to see and turn it around on the non reflective side where the cracked gem is and grab it. You tug and it for a bit before ripping it out of the mirror. Causing the mirror to shatter and the gem in your hand glowed. You let it go as it floated and assumed its form. But during the formation, the form glitched and mutated.

As the light faded, the gem was revealed. It had a humanoid appearance. She had one eye and jaws or mandibles of sorts and wild messy white hair. Her posterior exhibits an insect-like abdomen, which is tipped with claw-like cerci. She wears a torn-up light gray midriff that tapers off of her right shoulder, brown gloves and boots that reach her mid-calf, and what appears to be a black bodysuit with green accents, with her gemstone being on her lower back

“Hi there… Nephrite?” you tried to greet the confused gem. But it only looked at you and screeched loudly. Luckily it wasn't in that painful viltrumite frequency
“Ay-yi-yi! Its because your gem is cracked! Don't worry! I can fix you…” you try to slowly approach. You didn't know if the screech was an attempt of communication or fear, hence the carefulness in approach

The Nephrite seems nervous, but doesnt try to attack. But is cautious. You gently touch her and carefully use your power to reshape her into her normal non glitched form.. As normal, her skin is dull green and she has a single large black eye with light yellow sclera, no nose, and full lips. Her previously long white hair has been significantly shortened, taking the form of a flipped-out bob cut with tufts pointing both inwards and outwards.
She wears a dark warm green sleeveless bodysuit with wavy dark green accents, as well as tall black boots and spiky green arm warmers.

“Can you talk now?” you ask

She looked at herself through the shard of a mirror to see that she’s normal
“You… freed me?” she was still in a state of shock

“Yes, now can you tell us what happened?” you ask

Of course the others were also interested in what happened to the alien many years ago. So they all sit down to have a chat with their newcomer

“We were assigned to colonize Earth. Everything was going well and the humans didn't suspect a thing. But the Viltrumite attacked, I saw him and I immediately steered the ship to avoid collision with him. I tried to warn everyone that we shouldn't colonize Earth and that the Viltrumites set their sights on the planet. But they took me as a traitor, thought I conspired with them as a mole. They placed me here in the mirror to interrogate me” Nephrite explained

“How did you wind up on Mars?” Rae asked

“The people that had me started to retreat when Earth was considered a doomed colony. The Viltrumite attacked the ship-” Nephrite spoke

“Which then crashed on Mars” you finish the sentence.

Sugilite was understanding, while Celestine was dismissive. “I mean, the Viltrumites aren't THAT bad” she commented, which earned looks from everyone. Celestine then went to explain as she fiddled with someones smartphone that she stole
“The Viltrumites are at an evolutionary dead end. They are so strong they don't need to develop high level tech, other than the useless junk they make to sell lesser species like you for an utopia. So the moment they run into a high tech race” she proudly places her hand to her chest “Like us. They would get bodied”
She fiddled with the smart phone and showed a wiki page about a bear to you all
“Take the Earth grizzly bears for example. They are extremely powerful by their nature, but you don't see them dominating the planet”

You swipe the phone and return it to Rex, since you recognized it was his phone she took.

“How long have you warred with Viltrumites?” Robot asked

“Nyeeeh” she rubbed her chin as she thought about it “Viltrumites name their Eras similar to Gems. Whenever a great event is triggered, a new era dawns. Not sure was it during Argall Era, Post Argall Era or the start of the Thragg Era. Those are the Viltrum Era terms. But for us we’d say its likely during the end of Era 1. In any case it was before I was created”

“How old are you?” you ask Celestine

“1955 years old” she answered

“Thats pretty young” Sugilite commented, seemingly surprised by her age. Sugilite expected at least 2000 years

“Young?!?! How is THAT young!??” Rex asked

“Im over 9000 years old. I mean, I don't need to give you the specific number, but 1000? Thats nothing!” Sugilite spoke and then broke out in laughter at how people think a 1000 is a lot

“Tch, Era 1 gems” Celestine scoffed

“Aww, you’ll warm up shrimp” she patted roughly Celestine on the head

“What started Era 2 for you guys?” Rudy asked curiously

“Decline of Homeworlds natural resources” Nephrite says

“Gems like me” Celestine said bitterly as she was aware of her own flaws. She was supposed to be human sized, not dwarf sized.

“So, Nephrite. What will you do with your freedom” you ask

She sighed “I cant go Home, I’ll be shattered as a traitor”

“Why not just stay here?” Mark asked

-Meanwhile-

At Upstate University, Rick noticed William was missing. So he went to look for him. He considered calling Mark if he doesn't manage to find him. Although as he searched for William, he heard a voice sounding like a small girl
“Are you a Rick?”

-Back with you-

You guys decided Nephrite should stay here, Rudy could keep an eye on her and help her adjust to Earth. Although he was probably more excited to learn more about Gem culture and everything that brings. After all, he did want to make the world a better place. He’ll do anything, even cooperate with aliens

“Are we, like, too weird sometimes? Should we just be more normal?” Rex asked Rae

“What are you talking about?” Rae asked him

You meanwhile approached Mark “Well, we found the spy device is from another dimension or at least traveled across dimensions and that a Nephrite was trapped in a mirror.” you look at him sweetly “It looks like our Mars mission was a success”

“Yeah… looks like it was” he was still a bit distant as that spy droid and its implications worried him, but he appreciated you trying to find a silver lining for him

You hug him and suggest to him “Come on. Lets relax a bit and do some fun stuff” it was time for a distraction and fun. You did enough hero stuff. Mark needed to de-stress. He smiled, nodded and grabbed you so you two can fly away.
Though the funny thing is that none of you knew where to go. So you were just aimlessly flying around and just enjoying being together.

As you two are flying you see an amusement park
“Oh oh! Maybe we can change from our outfits and go there!” you tell Mark
He saw the amusement park and liked the idea. Its a good thing you had the power to store items in your gem, it made things like carrying stuff easier. Including extra costumes or civilian outfits.

Once you two changed, you guys went to spend some relaxing time at an amusement park and have a wholesome date. It was nice to do something non deadly. You did understand that the whole Oliver situation was rough. He killed the Maulers and expressed zero remorse, even looking bummed out he cant kill. You were sure that was on Marks mind as well. Now all you could do is balance the bad with the good. For both of your sakes.

-Meanwhile-

Sugilite took Celestine back to the Grayson Residence. She didn't trust the small runt to stay with Robot and the others, hence why she was back
“Ugh, just dont give me the leash like Im some earth mongrel. I won't flee”

“Promise?” Sugilite asked her cautiously

“Nyeeh, fine. Promise” Celestine agreed begrudgingly

Arriving back they see Debbie, Oliver and Violane. Everything was mostly normal and peaceful. Sugilite greeted them and the 2 were welcomed home

“Greetings you two, you’re just back on time” Violane greeted them

“Back on time, for what?” Sugilite asked

“Nothing in particular. Just my prophecy” she answered happily

“Violane was just asking me about Paul, she was excited to hear how I spent time with him drinking wine and about its earthy taste” Debbie said

Sugilite dropped Celestine hearing that, who just let out a monotone “Ow”

“I wanna hear about this” Sugilite gladly would join on the Paul gossip
“Have you two talked about fusion”

“You guys keep saying fusion, like I understand what you mean by that. I know you guys can fuse, like Violane here. But I don't understand what you expect from me” Debbie said

“For a fusion to work, first you need a gem at the core of your being. Then you need a body that can turn into light. Then you need a partner who you trust with that light.” Violane said

“Metaphorically?” Debbie asked

“Literally. But in this case, metaphorically works as well. You have your own version of light inside you” Violane said and poked Debbie in the chest “And you have a partner who you can trust that light with. Homeworld sees fusions as war machines-” Celestine scoffed in the background “But we see fusions as the byproduct and seemingly personification of their components relationship. This can be anything from the relationship between a parent and child, to a more sibling-like relationship and most importantly a romantic relationship. The more love the components share, the more stable the fusion. But if there is hostility or if people fuse because of deception, that results in an unstable fusion. So yes, fusion can even personify a toxic relationship”

“So you see fusion as an intimate act born from love where 2 people become one?” Debbie asked just to make sure if she understood

“Yes”

She wanted to ask if that was their version of sex, since they mentioned fusion ever since Oliver mentioned…

-Meanwhile-

You had a wonderful time with Mark at the amusement park. You even played one of those scam-y games and managed to win, because you two were awesome. You even had a nice plush bear as a reward. Honestly you were smitten with Mark
“I wish we could do this more often” you told him

“We could go on a date date, since my mom knows that we’re together” he suggested

“Oh??” you were overjoyed with the idea and blushing. Though you remembered you had no proper date clothes. You were worried what kind of date it would be or how can you prepare. Its not like you had a mom to teach you this stuff and it'd be awkward to ask his mom for dating advice or dress code. Granted you could ask Eve maybe? Or Amber?... no that'd be weird, one of them is his ex. Then who? … William?..... Yeah… William it is.

“What do you think about Paris?” he asked kinda shyly or nervously or both. You werent best at reading people sometimes. Especially relationship wise.

“Sounds great. I’ve never been there” you smiled and were just happy to accept anything. Though since its Paris it means it’ll be very romantic… and fancy. So it gave you an idea how to prep for it. You already thought how you’d dress for the occasion. Essentially you needed a nice dress. Would red be nice? Wait if your chest is visible then your gem would be visible. Does red work with yellow? Would your gem be distracting?

“What? Really??” he asked surprised that you’ve never been in France

“Really. No mission there ever” you shrugged and shook your head. At your home dimension it was mostly just Beach City and Little Homeworld. And in this dimension it was mostly adventuring with Mark. And you two didn't have a France mission to stop a kaiju or an alien Viltrumite or anything. So yeah, no Paris

“Well I’ll make sure to fix that”

And then just as things seemed to be chill, a phone call was heard. Mark saw it was Amber of all people, he curiously answered as he had no idea why Amber would call him
“Its Amber. Just a moment” he answers “Hey Amber”

But there was no answer, only silence

“Amber?” he repeated

For a while it seemed quiet before a sound was heard like a falling phone that hit the ground, followed by a sound of heavy footsteps and a distant “Help!” that was getting fainter and fainter

You two knew that happy fun times was over, because you guys just witnessed a kidnapping. So you quickly sprung into action to find Amber of all people. Suited up and ready, you guys flew together and wondered where to look.

“She’s usually at the University, wanna look there?” you ask, Mark nods and speeds over there. Arriving there in seconds.

Flying closer you guys go to examine if there was anything out of ordinary
“We should see the others if they heard something” Mark said.

You’d guys go to the person who’s closest to Amber and thats her boyfriend Kyle. As you’d check the area, you guys wouldn't see him anywhere. But none of you really rush to the conclusion that anything sinister is going on. So you guys go and check to see if Rick and William know anything. Flying to the window of their dorm, you see that they’re gone as well.
Weird?
Other people seem fine?
So what gives?

Well on the bright side, you guys see one familiar face. Its Eve, so you guys go to her
“Mar- Invincible!” she couldn't really say his name right now since there were other Upstate University students nearby

“Eve, wheres William or Rick.. or anyone” he asked hoping it wasn't anything dire. He was still holding onto a thread of hope its nothing too bad with them. Well aside from Amber, that one was an obvious kidnapping

“I don't know. They’re all gone, even the dean is missing”

“Even him?” you say as you join the conversation. Plus you were surprised, like at first it seems like only friends are missing and then suddenly a random adult like the dean of Upstate is missing

“This cant be a coincidence” Mark sighed, he now knew this wasn't something harmless. Amber was calling for help, probably was with the other missing people

“I guess we should split up. But do you think these people have anything in common?” you ask

“Well, they’re all at Upstate” Mark comments as thats the most obvious link

“True, but theres gotta be something more” you look at the others who were just going about their lives “They go here too”

“So lets see. Amber, Rick, William, Kyle and the Dean. What do they have in common?” Eve tried to think what links them

“It seems like our friend group, plus the dean. So maybe its a person thats linking them” you suggest

“True, but what if the list is incomplete and someone is looking for more people” Eve brings up a point

“Well, complete or incomplete data aside, theres nothing we can do. Best thing we can do is split up” you suggest and look at Mark for some kind of agreeance or approval

“Yeah sure. Lets cover more ground and see if theres anything happening” Mark said

“Oh one more thing before we go. You two” you start

“What about us, (y/n)” Mark asked

You then say quieter “You two are the only heroes enrolled here or… were enrolled” you say in past tense as you look at Mark. Then you continue “One of you may be the link, because its all the people you guys know. So theres a chance your parents are targets” you say with a grim tone

Debbie is safe, because she always has one of the gems with her and she has Oliver, but Eves parents.

-Meanwhile, near Wilkins Residence-

Betsy, aka Eve’s mother was on her way home. She was carrying some groceries. Everything seemed normal, until in the corner of her eye she saw something blue

“Excuse me” the young sounding voice said

-Back with the group-

Eve realizing what you said that she may indeed be a possible reason people are vanishing made her worry about her parents indeed. Sure their relationship is strained, dubious and held by a thread, but they were still kinda family to her. She didn't want them to be attacked. So she rushed over to them

“I’ll go check on mom” Mark told you and flew away. You nodded and wondered who could possibly target Mark and or Eve. You decided to just go in a random direction and look. Its not like you had a lead, its possible the people at Upstate were safe. So another place may be targeted. Your only thought was either GDA or former Teen Team. But, honestly… you didn't want to have any contact with Cecil, even if it was to warn him. If only you can contact Donald. Donald is nice. Donald seems like a guy that needs a hug after putting up with Cecil.

-Grayson Residence-

Mark quickly flew home and went to check on Debbie. It seems everyone was fine, everyone but you was home. Sugilite was trying to learn a card game, Violane was being all motherly to Oliver and pampering him or rather smothering him, Debbie meanwhile just enjoyed the seemingly normal activities

Violane noticed Mark
“Welcome home, Mark” she greeted him warmly. Debbie was glad to see him as well, but she noticed something was up

“Mark, is everything alright?” she asked

“You-” he stops mid sentence when he realizes that if he tells whats the matter that Oliver might act out and do something rash. After the Mauler incident he was hesitant to bring him along
“Nothing. Im just glad to see you’re home” he approaches and hugs her.

Debbie meanwhile has no idea whats going on and just hugs him

-Wilkins Residence-

Eve arrived home, she was also in costume and ready to throw down. She rushed to see her parents, but unlike Mark. She sees a more unique scene. Her father was his usual bitchy self, sitting on the couch and head buried in the newspaper. He didnt wanna acknowledge anything outside the newspaper.

Betsy was offering some food to her new guest whom she believed was one of Eves weird super power friends.

And the guest? She is small. She has a cherubic appearance and a bright cyan-blue complexion, azure eyes, no nose, and chin-length, light cerulean-blue hair worn in a bobbed style. Her clothing vaguely resembles a prep school uniform, consisting of a blue vest worn over a dark blue dress with a white-collar, white wrist-length gloves, white knee-high socks, dark blue flat shoes, and a dark blue hair bow that she can turn into her wand. The intersection of her vest and the lapels of her collar form a Blue Diamond symbol. Her teardrop-shaped gemstone is located beneath her left eye

“Mom? Dad? Who is this?” Eve asked, cautious and ready to use her power

“Dear, this is one of your friends right?” Betsy said

“Dear? I am not looking for a Dear. I thought Eve was here”

“Why that is Eve, you two are friends, right?” Betsy naively said

“Mom! Thats not my friend!” Eve said frustrated “Go find cover, I’ll take care of this”

The small gem just giggled and formed water wings that were butterfly like, giving her now an overall pixie or fairy look. She flew around the living room and out the window saying
“Oooh Toopaaaz! I found one! I found a Eve!”

Suddenly the ground shook and a yellow gem, a Topaz just walked in the living room through a wall like it was made of sandpaper or something. Eve was horrified when she saw it, because it had all the missing people fused with it and just randomly sticking out of Topaz. Muffled voices trying to call for help as they struggle in vain to be free

Eve wanted to fight it and attack, but with all the people merged there she didn't know what to do without accidentally hurting someone. Topaz unfuses, separating into two smaller Topazes, while still holding onto the missing humans. The Topazes charge towards Eve and hold hands. Eve quickly makes 2 pink energy wall constructs that they just run and shatter her constructs like it was nothing, before they fuse back together with Eve in between, merging her in their body as well along with all the other hostages.

The gem flew and landed on Topaz’s head.
“Now, all we need is ‘Mark I Think’ and we're out of here! Can't believe they wasted an Aquamarine on a job like this. It's so easy you could've done it yourself, Topaz!” she said and the two left, making a 2nd hole in the Wilkins Residence, just ruining it like its nothing. Looking for their final target

-Meanwhile-

You arrived to the base and narrowly dodged some stray acid. It was Nephrite accidentally using her acidic saliva after Rudy tried some weird test to see her capabilities

“(y/n)! Sorry for that!” Rudy says and then approaches you
“How can I help you?”

“Is everyone safe and sound?” you ask him

He was confused by your statement “Yes? Is there anything the matter?” he asked

You use the time to explain the situation, how a bunch of people from Upstate are missing and are all the people Mark and Eve know. Thus you theorized that this group may be targeted as well

“I see” he immediately goes to a computer console

“What are you doing?” you follow him

“I’ll patch into the GDA’s surveillance feed and try to see if theres anything that can find them” Rudy says

You just nod “Good. And you guys give a holler if something attacks you. I’ll go check on Mark and Eve” you say and rush away, still wishing you can fly

Eventually arriving back, the sun starts to set. You and Mark regroup and ask each other what happened, to which you two fill each other in on what happened on your end. You guys go and check on Eve since she didn't call or say anything. Maybe her parents grounded her? They never got along, maybe they took her phone?

Upon arrival to the Wilkins Residence, you see the place in the distance that was wrecked with 2 different people shaped holes. One was an entry and the other an exit. Mark didn't really want to approach her parents, because her father would only spew hatred and the mother wouldn't be able to say much. But just the sight of the house was enough for the both of you.

Someone was taking people. Perhaps others were caught outdoors where there were no visual signs of struggle. You guys had no clues and no leads on where to go. But soon Rudy came in clutch when he called you and told you that he saw something before the GDA kicked him out of the system. You had chills at what you heard as you looked at Mark

“What is it?” he asked, worried

“Remember our time at the amusement park?” you ask, to which he nods and waits on your answer “2 unknown entities were seen there and it looked like 1 of them had merged with several humans”

To think the place where you two had fun and made good memories, was to be ruined by something potentially negative and deadly. You have a feeling that after this you wouldn't be able to look so fondly on the place.

Mark flew you to the amusement park again, this time you two were out there as Invincible and Yellow Diamond, and the place was closed up. As you arrived you saw that Robot, Nephrite, Monster Girl, Sugilite and Celestine arrived as well.

“Should we split up?” you ask

“No. Not this time” Mark said, he wanted to protect you if you were next in line to be kidnapped. Just in case that people were being targeted because of him.

“Stay alert. They could be anywhere.” Robot said

“How do we find them?” Amanda asked

You remember that this all started when Amber called Mark. You took your phone and called William. Soon faint ringing is heard in the distance. You immediately ran towards the source of the ringing

“Wait!” Robot said and they all followed you

As you were running you heard a crack. Looking down you see a phone. But it wasn't the one that was ringing. You picked it up
“Thats Ambers” Mark said, which was even creepier since she called you while you guys were on a date here. To think she was so close is chilling. Why didn't anyone react? Did they think it was a show? Or no one bothered to look up from their phone?

And now the ground shook as heavy footsteps were heard behind the ground. The group looks toward the noise and see Topaz peeking out from behind the merry-go-round.

“Oh, no! ♪ You fooouund us.~ ♪” Aquamarine popped up and mockingly sang to you. Amber and Kyle peeked out too, mumbling frantically

“You’re here?! Help!” William said as he was currently the only one who was stuck but able to speak

“Give it up, Aquamarine! There's nowhere to run!” you tell her

“Oh, what's this, now? Did you think we were running away?” Aquamarine said as Topaz let her stand on the palm of her hand

“Save yourselves... After you save us!” William asked

“We’ll save you William” Mark said

“Huh.” Aquamarine pulls out her wand “You know, now that I think about it, this William does seem to know everyone on our list. The list did come from a William, after all. Maybe you can help us out.” she looked at him

“Just let the humans go!” Sugilite said

“Uhh, no! Who are these dullards?” Aquamarine asked Topaz who shrugged

“We're the Crystal Gems, you chump!” you tell her

“A bunch of Earth lackeys? That was not in the report. But either way we’ll leave you totally alone... If! You tell us where we can find Mark, I think”. she told you guys and pointed her wand at you all

“The hell are you on about. Why do you want Mark?!” you ask aggravated

“Not Mark. Mark, I think” she corrected you

“I don't know what you're talking about!” you were frustrated and just wanted to take them out

“Let's see. Yellow Diamond asked for, uh, a William, a Rick, an Amber, a Kyle, a Dean, an Eve, and a Mark, I think. Seven human variations specified in a report by Blue Diamond herself”

While you had no clue what she was on about, William connects the 2 and 2. It was when he messed with that gem junk communicator and contacted Blue by accident

“Have William Clockwells replaced "humans" as the dominant species on Earth?” she asked as she typed on a separate holo-screen

“Oh no, there's lots of humans, me, Rick, Amber, Kyle, Eve, the Dean, Mark I think…lots of humans.”

“This is all my fault. If I didn't mess with that thing, none of this wouldn't have happened” William was horrified to learn that he accidentally gave them the list. He felt guilty for causing THIS much trouble. He didn't expect this.

“Don't worry about that now. Our objective's still the same: beat the Gems…” you say

“...Save our friends!” Sugilite finishes your sentence as she gets ready to throw down

“Hey Topaz, look! They want to lose a fight.” Aquamarine says at first friendly but then changes into menacing

Amanda transformed into her Monster form, she charged to make her first strike. When Topaz moved, she positioned her body so William can be in her trajectory. Causing Monster Girl to flinch and quickly halts herself to avoid hurting William, which however, also allows Topaz to grab her by her head and throws her away, slamming right into a game booth.

“Monster Girl!” Robot said

“That's dirty!” Sugilite said

You leapt up and made your sword “Well my sword can reach without hurting the hostages!”

“Ooooh, you're so smart.” she said like a sassy little girl and used her wand to fire a tractor beam which halted you in place
“Good.Bye!”

Aquamarine hurled you into space, ironic since you joked about Mark throwing Rex into space. But it looks like karma bit you and gave you a taste of your own medicine. Mark grabs Eve’s hand and tries to pull her out. His attacks are usually like Monster Girls, punching and Topaz literally had 6 different meat shields that he could accidentally kill, so he didn't dare to go on the offensive, but he was also worried about tearing limbs apart by pulling. Robot too was limited with his ranged attacks. Basically any offensive move was too risky. Aquamarine simply used the same method on Mark, used her wand on him and just chucked him into Robot.

You soon land from space on your feet like you were a cat, feeling a little wobbly with the ground cratered around you. And Monster Girl emerges from inside the game booth. Robot and Mark also getting up

“This is getting annoying. Hey, Topaz, can you remind me? I mean, my memory is perfect, but our orders were to bring back these seven humans. I'm just not sure. Did they specify... alive?” she asked the rhetorical question with a sinister look aimed at the heroes who were now startled by her remark. Aquamarine switching from menace to joy
“You know, I don't think they did!”

At Aquamarine's comment, Topaz grips William's head in her hand. Ready to crush him with one hand, the same way Omniman did Red Rush. You all gasp, while William merely whimpered
“I just think, if you care about your ‘friends’ or whatever, you should tell me where Mark I Think is, all right?”

All of you were at a stalemate, one that you were losing. And honestly, you didn't want Mark to suffer. He had enough on his plate. The GDA, Angstrom possibly, Olivers murdering and lack of empathy. The last thing you wanted him was to deal with more space bullshit. So you decided to take his place.

You approached Aquamarine
“Stop! I know where you can find Mark, I think”

“Ooh! Where? Where!?” she excitedly asked

“Right here. I'm the one you're looking for. I am Mark, I Think” you proudly say

“What?!” you heard the others say

Tho Mark knew what you were doing, so he intervened “No she’s not. I am”

Aquamarine was silent as she looked at you and then Mark and then back to you
“I know what you're thinking, Topaz. It seems a little suspicious that two different humans are Mark, I think. But you know... If it means getting out of here, I'll believe it. Take the first volunteer”

“(y/n), do you know what you're doing?” Robot asked

You just glanced at them all and gave them a smile and thumbs up as the Topazes soon fuse around you, merging you with other humans in Topaz's body. Only your head is visible from the surface of Topaz's back, along with the Deans half-submerged head and arm.

“Oh you’re the Dean. Nice to meet you” you try to make light of the situation

He wants to shout, but is muffled, due to his mouth merged in Topaz's body.

“Don't worry, I'm gonna bust us all out with my bubble power!”
Though, nothing happens and all you did was strain yourself
“Huh… her body is thick… Shooould have seen this coming. Might be tougher then I thought” you said to someone or anyone who was listening and kept trying to force the bubble shield

“Time to go!” Aquamarine raises her wand, and a spaceship, disguised as the top of a merry-go-around, activates, floating into the air and opening a door into it.

“Uh, (y/n), di-did you actually have a plan or-” Mark asked nervously since he couldn't do much without accidentally hurting or killing one of you

“Just need... a minute…” you kept trying to pop Topaz from inside out
Topaz leaps onto the ship's door and Aquamarine flies in front of the Crystal Gems to taunt them.

“Very nice meeting you all, and your compliance is appreciated, but!-” she dodged Marks punch swiftly, revealing she was faster than she seemed
“Our job here is done, so…”
Aquamarine blows a raspberry as she flies into her ship. You stop straining yourself to make a shield as you look around the interior of the ship. It was bigger on the inside.

“Let's get back to Homeworld already.” Aquamarine sighed as she was tired of Earth and went to her pilot seat

“But I'm already on my home world!” William says

“Ughh. If I never get sent on another mission to Earth, it'll be too soon. What an ordeal. But the Diamonds needed me. That's the burden of being the best.” Aquamarine commented

“Imma get you, you little blue midget. And when I get there, Imma pop you” you continue to threaten her much more as well as try for the shield

“Will you stop?! YOU’RE RUINING MY MOMENT!!” Aquamarine shouts annoyed at you and the rest of the humans

“(y-y/n)?” William whimpered nervously

“Allmmooost” you say as you stop thretening Aquamarine and focus on getting out

Suddenly Topaz starts sweating and begins expanding like a balloon. She eventually pops, forcefully separated back into two Topazes, as you successfully summoned your bubble shield to rip them from inside out. Everyone screams as they are freed from Topaz's imprisonment and scattered around the ship.

“What?! Topaz! Get this mess cleaned up. And, Topaz, help her out. I'm setting a course.” Aquamarine ordered them and started calibrating the coordinates

“The door!” you look towards the exit but suddenly hear footsteps behind you “Huh?”

Topaz summons her mace from her gem and swings it at you, you managed to narrowly block it with the bubble shield.
‘Really getting some mileage out of this power’ you think to yourself

William and Rick slowly get up and try to figure out a way to escape. Though William was frightened by this situation as he saw you and Eve fight both the Topazes

“What do we do?” Eve asked you mid combat

“We're already in the air. How are we going to get back with all the humans?” you had your sword out as you fought and kinda thought verbally

A Topaz twirls her mace and swings it with immerse speed and strength at Eve. But she managed to block it with a pink construct wall, which did shatter but offered her protection from the attack
Eve then notices the other Topaz try to blindside you and she made another pink construct wall to block that
“Watch out!” she warned you as her next construct fully broke and didn't fully block the attack with it. Thus you got some damage from the mace

At that moment, Aquamarine taps on a button on the ship's control panel.
“I'd really appreciate you wrapping it up down there before we exit the atmosphere?”

You held your left arm in pain, it was fine but it hurt. One of the Topaz went to Rick and William. Topaz swings her mace at William, not caring if he’s dead or alive at this point. Rick quickly pushed William out of the way, but the mace did crush his left foot. The Topaz then grabs Rick and grasps him in her hand. William though accidentally fell in the engine room from the push and hit himself quite harshly in the back of his head. It was definitely gonna leave a mark.

The Topaz suddenly turns around, blocking an attack from Eve with her mace. At that moment, Eve then created an energy buzzsaw to cut Topaz’s arm off, which caused her to release Rick and back away from that attack. Eve then helped Rick get to safety, that is to say at least behind her
“Hey, thanks!” Rick said as he gathered distance

“Get to the door!” Eve told him as she covered him. You and Eve were spread thin. Protecting 5 people from 2, possible 3 attackers if Aquamarine joined.

“Topaz, pull it together and finish this!” Aquamarine told them
The two Topaz look at each other and approach each other.

“(y/n)?” Eve asked

“Pincer attack” you say right away as you figure the two would fuse

The two Topaz indeed fuse together back into a big Topaz, in turn fusing their maces together into a pugil stick, and engage you and Eve in battle once again.
You’d try to attack with a sword and Eve would use her constructs. Topaz held her own pretty well and managed to knock you to the ground with a well timed hit in the stomach which knocked some wind from you

Just now, the entire ship begun to tremble.
“What now?” Aquamarine asked annoyed

“The door.” you tell Eve

“Right.”
The two of you run up to the door switch, which you use and open, revealing Titanite outside, holding the ship down. Reinforcements also arrived in the form of Rae, Rex and Bulletproof. Even the Guardians of the Globe were there when they found out aliens were abducting humans.

“What the?!” the Dean was waaay out of his league

You look down to see where you were, there was water. Lake Michigan? Either way it was a body of water
“Take us close to the water. We're gonna jump!” you tell the fusion

“What?!” Amber asked shocked, since they were still pretty high

Titanite pushes the ship down towards the water

“Okay-” you say, but the Dean immediately runs out of the door and plunges into the Lake. It did surprise you that he had zero hesitation
“Uhh, go! Go.” you urge the others to go

Seeing that Kyle was afraid to jump, you just grabbed and threw him out as the others jump off the ship and the heroes go and catch them, those who can fly that is

However, Aquamarine then fires her tractor beam, halting almost everyone in their tracks, including the giant fusion and the heroes
“Nice try. But it's hopeless, Mark I Think. I can't go back to Homeworld without getting what the Diamonds want.”

You sighed and looked at all the heroes, your friends and the innocent people. Although you don't see…

You look back at Aquamarine and tell her “Im not Mark, I think”

“What?!” she was annoyed

“I'm not him!” you say

“How much longer is this mission going to take?” she was so done at this point

“Well, I can end it for you, right now.” you heard Mark as he flew up

“Oh, really?” Aquamarine asked, clearly not believing him

“I'm someone the Diamonds will want more than any of these humans. A Viltrumite, who ruined your whole colony plan with Earth. Im… my dad. Im Nolan” everyone always told him, he’s not his dad, he’s not Nolan. Always worried about being compared to Omniman because he’s his son. Cecil admitted it too. And sadly enough, that gave Mark an idea. Even though the Gems were weaker than the likes of Anissa, they were still a threat. Its like Celestine said. Viltrumites have brawn, Gems have tech to compensate it. Aquamarine was a deceptive threat, looking small and weak, but was fast and good with the usage of her device. The only way to make them leave was to stop this invasion at the source. Nolan ruined the Gems colonization plan 20 years ago when he arrived on Earth. Surely the Gems wanted to pick a bone with him for meddling in their plans.

Aquamarine gasped and retracted her tractor beam, causing Titanite to unfuse and everyone else drop in the water
“No way” she knew damn well who the Great Nolan was.

“Mark?” you ask as you get pushed away by Topaz to fall in the water too

“No, don't do it!” Opal tells him

“Mark, what are you doing?!” Eve asked

“I'm gonna kick your butt if you don't come down here right now!” Sugilite tells him

He just turns and walks back into the ship, surrendering himself to Aquamarine and Topaz.

“NO! DON'T YOU DARE!” you yell since your whole point was to go and take this place so THIS wouldn't happen

“I love you” he tells you before going in the ship with the Gems going back with him

“NO STOP!!!” you yell and jump after the ship. Just as you’re about to reach the ship, it warps into faster than light travel, disappearing instantly. The force from the warp forces You back towards the ground. The ship disappeared into the evening sky. Leaving you too heartbroken to regulate your speed of descent as you just plummet to the ground. The Immortal of all people was actually the one who flew up and caught you, so you can softly land to the ground

On land You look around frantically
“The ship. THE SHIP!!!” you go over to Robot
“Robot, get us to these coordinates like yesterday!!” you tell him as you show him that thing Cecil gave you. You just knew you guys had a ship because Sapphire foresaw things this far way back when you just arrived.
“Rex, Rae. And anyone, go get food. We’ll need it for this trip!” you order them. In a way hijacking the Leader role of the Crystal Gems for now

You guys immediately start working on that. Some heroes take the civilians back, it was mostly the Guardians, while Robot organizes transport to the Sahara for the Crystal Gems and supplies. Eve helps you get there fast as she can fly and make constructs like a pink platform to hold you and fly you. You just sigh at your inability to fly. Even Eve can do it. How lame.

Eventually you and Eve arrive and just see a mass of yellow there. It was like a golden arch.

“What am I looking at” Eve asked

“Not sure” you say as the two of you land.

The ship was awkwardly landed, its hand got buried in the sand, no it was mostly its elbow sticking a bit making it look like just an arch. You jump on it and touch it. Hoping to do something. Luckily you manage it first try as the ship reacts to your direct contact and starts floating up, revealing the gigantic right hand.

“Oh wow” Eve says

You’re just speechless and take your phone to contact Robot that you’ll meet the team at half way
“Lets just say I’ll give you a hand” you tell him over phone

-In far reaches of space at Aquamarine’s Ship-

Topaz was unfused and one was holding Mark

“Nowl-Ahn the Terrible. Can you believe it? And he just handed himself in.” Aquamarine was surprised, shocked and in awe of herself. But still kept her wand device aimed at him so he wouldn't try to attack them now when alone. They knew this tech worked against Viltrumites, the beam that would keep them in stasis. They were extra careful. They were aware of Nolan's capabilities. After all, Viltrumites gave him the epithet of the Great, while to the Gems he was the Terrible. For a damn good reason

“That's right. You caught me. The Gems Galactic Criminal Nolan. I love shattering Gems. I just want to shatter 'em all the time.” Mark was just trying to sell his dumb role

“You think shattering's bad? Wait till the Diamonds get their hands on you.” Aquamarine said with glee

“At least everyone else is safe.” he sighed

Just then, the other Topaz brings William up from the basement of the ship.

“What are you doing? Let go of me!” he struggles against her “Mark!”

“What the?! William?!?” he didn't know William was still here

“Oh! Looks like we got one of the humans anyway. Don't know what we'll do with just one of them, but I guess that's for the Diamonds to decide.”

“Wait! Aquamarine, the deal is off! You were only supposed to take me! No humans!” points at William “That's a human!”

Aquamarine flies to him
“Oh, no. Is the widdle Viltwumite upset 'cause his widdle ‘deal’ didn't work? Look. I'm so moved, I'm crying.” she pointed to her teardrop gem. But then laughed tauntingly “Just kidding. That's my gem! Topaz, what do you think? Should we let her friend go?”

The Topazes stand in silence and merely look at eachother

“I agree” she laughs “Go on. Do your thing.”

“Oh, no, no, no. Not again.” William says as the the Topazes begin to fuse together, merging Mark and William within their body.

“I'll go let the Diamonds know about our little prisoner. Say, Nowl-Ahn, how do I look?”

“Awful, small, and mean!!” William answered instead

“How charming” she pulls Williams cheek
“Topaz, I trust you'll still be able to fly the ship despite your... you know... additions?” she laughs and flies up to her seat

Aquamarine's Ship activates the gravity engine and begins to warp through space faster than ever, as Topaz pilots the ship

-Earth-

You and Eve were in your ship and your Right Arm was glowing. You moved your fingers and saw that the giant ship mimicked your movement
“Here goes nothing” you say and flew towards Chicago, which would be a short trip since this giant alien ship is fast. Honestly you were just blundering and working on duct tape and hope. Thats your flying method.

The heroes who were on their way to you see the gigantic arm ship
“What the fuuuck?” Rex says when he sees the ship. He didnt expect the ship to be a gigantic fuck you arm

The ship sees the heroes and stops and just keeps its hand open as if waiting for a high five. Sapphire and Nephrite were the gems chosen for this mission so they would explain
“Looks like (y/n) speedran alien technology. Ah the things she does for love. Come on, lets go” Sapphire said and led the heroes.
Among the humans it was everyone but the Guardians and Bulletproof going, he was holding down the fort.

Upon arriving at the ship, you nervously greeted the team
“Holy shit” Rex and the others were in awe of just the ship

“Hi guys. I guess since this was my moms, this is mine now. And I guess since we’re a team, its ours” you tell them kinda nervously

“This is some impressive technology” Rudy said as he observed the place

“Cecil is probably blowing a gasket seeing this and how he’s missing out” Rex jokes

“Heh, probably” you try to stay positive, but you’re still worried

“Want me to fly the ship?” Nephrite asked

“Im fine with trying my hand at this… no pun intended. Just guide me how to do this efficiently” you tell Nephrite who takes a co-pilot position at a console and activates the gravity engine and calibrates it for a Nephrite and Sapphire.

“(y/n) our arrival will garner a lot of attention. Our ship is from a different dimension. Yellow Diamond of this will most likely react to seeing your ship” Sapphire warned you

“Mom” you whispered as you were excited and yet concerned and worried to actually meet her. And as an enemy no doubt

“They’re probably close to Homeworld” Nephrite comments

“Is the planet that close?” Rae asked

“The gravity engines bend reality. These aren't Era 1 flight kites. It goes fast beyond what you know.” Nephrite said, keeping it polite as to not diss humanity.

“Wait, before we leave, can we make a stop?” Rex asked

“What do you have in mind?” you ask Rex who just chuckled at a stupid idea

-the Pentagon-

The ship would soon fly over the Pentagon. Calibration? Rex’s favourite finger. The middle one. Who was doing it? Rex himself, you gave him free reigns to do as he pleased. His right hand wasn't cybernetic so he was free to use his fingy to his hearts content

At the Pentagon, Cecil just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose at the children he had to deal with.

You regained the controls and warped to space as well

-Meanwhile at Aquamarine’s ship-

Well, William and Mark were stuck together, inside of Topaz fusion. Mark tried to move his hands or anything, but couldn't. It was like how when you tried to make the bubble shield. She was just a really tough and dense gem that he couldn't move to rip himself free. So he talked to William, it was a touching moment. One of fear, sadness, loneliness, regret and all that emotional stuff when talking about facing certain doom.
So it continued as Topaz just piloted the ship

“I thought if I turned myself in, it'd fix everything, but... I don't want to do this, William. I've been to space before, but not like this. This is different from Thraxa and Mars. Im not dealing with invading Viltrumites or Sequids. Theres no friendly Thranans or Martians. They're taking me straight to their terrible leaders that want to destroy Earth and kill me for something I never even did. I just wanted to save everyone, but I couldn't even do that because, look, you're still here.”

“Mark”

“I'm sorry. I don't know how I'm gonna get you out of this.”

“We'll... figure it out. We've got like... a billion light-years till we get there, right?”

“You know what's messed up? Even though you're in huge trouble … I'm kind of glad you're here? I... I don't want to be alone right now….. Isn't that awful?”

“Dude, At this point, everything is awful.” William tells him

The two tear up and chuckle together. Just then, Topaz begins to cry too.

“That's so, so beautiful.” Topaz for the first time speaks and she cries and sniffles “Even in the clutches of certain doom... You're happy to have each other.”

Mark gasps in surprise. He’s not used to the enemy having… emotions. The Gems were opposite of the Viltrumites in every way. Sure Homeworld Gems suppress their emotions like Viltrumites, but unlike them, ironically the sentient rocks were more likely to show the underlying feelings and express sympathy or empathy.

“T-T-Topaz?” William asked

“I don't know what Topaz would do if she didn't have Topaz. I've always wanted to tell me how I'm helping me through this, but there's always someone between us!”

Mark looks away in awkwardness, since he and William are literally between them

“They're always sending me on these miserable missions.” Topaz takes off Williams pants and wipes her tears with them “I'm always pretending I'm fine with it.” she sniffles
“I have to pretend I'm fine. But you two... You're so honest and open... so... “more sniffles
“I wanna help you guys. What do you need?”

“A way off this ship.” Mark tells her

“And my pants.” William demands

Topaz takes them downstairs to where the escape pod is
“All right. You can use this escape pod.” she says as she activates an escape pod
“I'll set the coordinates for Earth.”

“All right, William, just get in and let it do its thing.” Mark tells him

“What are you talking about? You're coming, right?” William replies

“I can't. I turned myself in. I still got to go. I have to deal with this at the source or else they’ll just come back. They’re more relentless then the Viltrumites, more direct”

“But you don't want to do this. Dude, forget it. Let's just go.”

“I-”

Suddenly a new and more unwanted voice was heard, joining the conversation
“Topaz, what are you still doing down here, you big boulder? We're almost to Homeworld.”
Aquamarine flies down into the basement, and Topaz gasps in shock, being caught in the act. Aquamarine glares at Topaz
“What... are... you... doing?” her voice was pure anger and venom

“Look, I can explain. Um, they had this whole heartfelt thing about being there for each other, and you missed it. It was so moving.” Topaz nervously tells her

Aquamarine pulls out her wand and points it at Topaz.

“No! Wait!” Topaz nervously pleads

But Aquamarine ignores her and fires a tractor beam, which Topaz jumps out of the way, but it hits the escape pod instead.

“I can't see what's happening. Are we still escaping?” William asked

“NO!! NOBODY’S ESCAPING!!” Aquamarine hurls the escape pod at a wall, poofing it away.

“Aquamarine, let's talk about this.” Topaz tries to reason with her superior

“Yeah, I-I bet you don't really want to hurt us. You- You probably just act mean because deep down you're afraid you're weak. Go ahead. Let it out. We're all sharing right now.” William said nervously

Aquamarine glares at William in perplexity, unshaken by his statement, and quickly begins to lecture Topaz again.
“Topaz, you had one job, and if you're not gonna do it, you're of no use to me!”

Topaz whimpers as Aquamarine prepares to fire her wand again. Topaz then notices the destabilizers that were nearby and on hand, she quickly grabs one, and pins Aquamarine against the engine control panel. Mark and William watch on in shock and surprise at this unexpected turn of events

“So... a revolt, huh? And what do you plan to do after this? Go back to the Diamonds? My gem in your hand? I'm sure they'll love that. You'll be rewarded handsomely... by being separated, and shattered.” Aquamarine at first spoke nervously, but slowly gained confidence as each word shattered Topaz’s resolve to help the organics

Topaz quickly drops the destabilizer, releases Aquamarine and kneels over in sorrow.
“What was I thinking?”

Aquamarine picks up the destabilizer
“That's the problem with you fusions. Sooner or later, you all become …….sentimental.”

The ship rumbles again and a notification pops up on the engine control panel.
“We're here. Look, just... unfuse, and we'll never speak of this again. I’ll help you secure the Viltrumite and we can go our separate ways”

Topaz complies, unfusing back into two Topazes, and walk out of the ship, each with Mark and William in their captivity. Mark took the chance to escape and freed himself from Topaz’s grasp, but Aquamarine caught him with her tractor beam wand which froze him in place and levitated him. She was faster, she already showed that on Earth. She may not have the Viltrumites gargantuan strength and durability, but she had speed and tech to compensate for her weakness

“Nice try, Nowl-Ahn. But you’re just not fast enough~” Aquamarine gloats at a helpless floating Mark who was in stasis of that beam. The Gems take their prisoners away. Topaz with William in one direction, Aquamarine elsewhere with Mark

-Back in space, but at the Diamond Ship-

“So what are we expecting?” Monster girl asked

“Sapphire?” you turn to address her instead

“We do not have to worry about an attack or an offencive directive. We will be warmly welcomed to Homeworld” Sapphire said, she was still serious as she moved close to you. Something was bothering her for sure. Something she saw in the future. Its not the near future, but something in the long haul. She glanced briefly at Robot

“We are almost there” Nephrite commented

“When you say we’ll be welcomed, what do you mean?” Rex asked

“Like Kings. Well mostly (y/n). We will be seen as her entourage and you as pets.” Sapphire tells him

“Hoo boy” you react awkwardly to that. It was uncomfortable to be treated like royalty while your friends are seen as servants or pets.

Eve meanwhile has flashbacks of hearing how Mark told her that Omniman called Debbie a pet.

“Homeworld in sight” Nephrite says as everyone looks out the ship windshield and see the Gem Homeworld. A double ringed planet that had been split and fragmented into 2 large pieces. The planet was so ruined that it looked like the 2 rings were holding the planet together

“Holy shit” Rex pretty much said it.
Its not like he was a space traveling veteran, but even he was sure that planets aren't supposed to be broken all the way through like that. If you asked him, he’d say this was a dead planet. What can possibly live on THAT? Well… the Gems, thats what

“Mark is there?!” Eve was also shocked

“Do not fret, it has an atmosphere. So you’ll be able to breathe” Sapphire told her. It was funny, Mars didn't have breathable air for humans, but this broken hostile planet did

You just gulp and remain silent as you go and land the ship. You see an empty platform where you land safely with Nephrites help.

“What do we do now?” you ask Sapphire

“Wait for it” she tells you

All of you were quiet, until something was heard, you guys exit the ship and are on the platform and in front of you is an arena, filled with various Homeworld Gems, all cheering in unison, in a formation of the original Great Diamond Authority insignia.

“I like this welcoming committee. Wish all aliens were this friendly” Rex waved at the crowd as if they were worshipping him

“Woah! Maybe things won't be so bad!” you exclaim as you get excited at the idea of getting Mark safely. Hopefully he was ok

A droning sound is heard, and all the Gems immediately quiet down. A white bubble descends from above and lands in front of you and the others. Everyone gasps as a white Pearl, with a navel gemstone and a series of scar-like cracks from the top of her right eye, appears from inside the bubble

“It's White's Pearl…” Nephrite whimpers and hides behind Robot

-Meanwhile, elsewhere on Homeworld-

Mark was standing in a vacant white room
“Whatever Homeworld has in store for me... I'm ready!”

Silence in the room ensues. Nothing happens

“I said, I'm ready! It's me, Nolan! Hello? Anybody?” he talks to no one and walks around the room.

He then tries punching his way out, but just ended up hurting his hand and fist as he didnt crack the wall at all, instead injuring himself. Seems they were ready with a Viltrumite holding cell.

He sighed
“.... Is this the punishment? Come on! I know it's going to be worse than this! So whatever you're going to do... Would you just do it already?”
Mark slumps against a wall in the room in misery, when a door opens in the wall and a blue Gem walks in, with panels floating around her and appearing extremely nervous.

“This is ridiculous! 4,000 years of loyal service to the court, and this is what I get? Oh this case is a mess. I’m stressed and duressed, oh its about pointless to- To” she looks around and sees Mark “…Wait YOU are Nowl-Ahn?”

“...yeeeaaah”

“Nevermind. I’ll have to work with this”

“Who are you?” he asks her

“Zircon Blue, Im the one you’re assigned to.” she looks at a holographic picture of Nolan and then at Mark “Wow, you look nothing like photos on file. We will lose before they start the Trial. That disguise makes you even more guilty. Why give me this case oh whyyy me?”

“What are you talking about? Whats gonna happen?” he asks her

“What did you think was gonna happen Nowl-Ahn? Do you have any idea whats behind that door? Its gonna open only in a while, and once we’re out there you’re gonna go on trial”

Suddenly the door opens and both fall silent and nervous

-Meanwhile-

In the far reaches of space, away from Homeworld and the Gem Empire. There was another holding cell. One ran by Viltrumites instead. And here was the real Nolan along with…

“Viltrumites have conquered thousands of planets. Waged war across hundreds of light years. They rule over the largest empire the universe has ever seen. But, man, their prison food sucks.I really thought it would be better. I mean, I-I know, it’s prison food, but still, if I’m being honest, I was expecting more.” Allen spoke telepathically

“We usually kill our enemies, not feed them.” Nolan telepathically replied from the cell next

“Yeah, well it shows. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. This is not good.” Allen didn't wanna touch the gross food

“If you don’t like it, you should go.” Nolan told him as is. Just leave

“What are you talking about? I’m in prison. It is the one place you can’t just go from.”

“You’re stronger than when we first met. Strong enough to break out of here, if you tried.”

“First, I’m very flattered you noticed that. Thank you. Second, like I’ve said a hundred times before, I am not leaving here without you.”

“And I’m never leaving. So go. Before they laser you open to figure out how you’re so strong.”

“Hmm. Why do you care so much?”

“I don’t. Live, die. It’s your choice.”

“Then, in that case, you are not getting rid of me that easy. Besides, like you said, I am incredibly ripped now, so it would take a pretty big laser… “
cue Allen stripped to a laser
Allen sighed and finished his sentence” …to do me in. Guys. Uh, okay. One second. Can we just talk about this before we, uh…” the guards of the facility ignored Allen and activated the laser.
Which did nothing and Allen was returned to his cell
“So, that sucked. But I was right.”

“You’re alive?” Nolan was surprised, fully expecting Allen to die

“Of course, how else… Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait. Wai-wai-wai-wai-wait. Were you worried I was gonna die?”

“Wha… I-I-I… “ Nolan just groaned in frustration because Allen was right

“This is great. This is progress. You care about me. I feel like you’re halfway to joining the cause.”
And so Nolan gave Allen the silent treatment.
Yet Allen continued to try “Hello, Nolan? Hello? Oh, I get it. You’re ignoring me. Very mature. Also, not how new best friends should treat each other. Hello? Nolan. Come on. Come on, seriously. Stop.”

-Homeworld, Trial-

Mark is sitting in the middle of a triangle shaped platform, along with the nervous looking Blue Zircon. Three pathways light up in blue, white, and yellow, and another yellow Zircon warps into the room, acting as the prosecutor.

“Defending the enemy? Isn't that... treason?” she chuckles and acted smug

“I was assigned to this!!!” Blue Zircon said angrily

Two lights, blue and yellow, emerges in the room, and Blue and Yellow Pearl warp in.

“All rise for the luminous Yellow Diamond!” Yellow Pearl proudly posed

“And the lustrous Blue Diamond.” Blue Pearl spoke more quietly and bowed

Another light beams in behind the Pearls, and Yellow and Blue Diamond warp in, with Blue Diamond resting on Yellow Diamond's shoulders. They both gaze down towards Mark, as both Zircons make the Gem salute.

"Where is... the accused?” Blue softly asked as she looked around

Yellow Diamond saw Mark
“Is that Nowl-Ahn? Look at this hideous form he has. Forget the trial. We should shatter him just for looking like that!”
Truth be told, Viltrumites have so many powers and the organics look the same to them. The fact Viltrumites have that white uniform and possibly share a name, made it more confusing to gems. Some believed that they too can shapeshift. Also funnily enough, this is Marks first encounter with your mother and your hero namesake. Oh boy what an introduction

“No. I want to hear him make his case. I want to know what he thinks we're going to do with him. Because I want to do something worse.” Blue Diamond glared at Mark

Mark gulps nervously. This was a stark difference from the Blue Diamond of your dimension who was kind and friendly to humans

“Fine.” Yellow Diamond said and made yellow and blue thrones appear behind them. The two sit on their respective thrones.
“Let's just get on with it, shall we?” Yellow says

Blue and Yellow Pearl begin recording the case on their respective screens.

“My Diamond. My brilliant, opulent, radiant, glimmering-” the prosecuting Zircon started

“‘My Diamond’ will suffice, or we'll never get through this.” Yellow interrupts her

“Of course, My Diamond” the prosecuting Zircon clears her throat
“Nowl-Ahn committed a crime, so unprecedented that one can't help but wonder "why"? Exhibit A.”

She snaps her finger and William is warped into the room.

“William?!” Mark was shocked to see him at this case

“Mark, what's going on here?! Where are we?” The prosecutor snaps an air bubble over his head, muffling his voice.

“As we can see from this specimen, humans are loud, absolutely hideous creatures that serve no purpose whatsoever. What sort of a creature would shatter a diamond for such creatures? I'll tell you what kind.” she points to Mark “A that kind.”

“Just let him go! He's got nothing to do with this!” Mark tells them

“There it is! The passion, the fury, that caused the diabolical Nowl-Ahn to… shatter our Pink Diamond” she said it all dramatically

Silence ensues in the room and Yellow Diamond rolls her eyes at the Zircons dramatic way she spoke

“But I know what you're thinking.” she kneels down next to Mark "This thing doesn't look like a Viltrumite. And for that, I'd like to call an eyewitness!”

A platform rises in the room with Aquamarine standing on top

“Oh… her” Mark was annoyed by seeing the evil pixie Aquamarine

“Do not address me, war criminal!” she then addresses the others “He is indeed Nowl-Ahn. He has the flying viltrumite capabilities, showed empathy towards humans and even tried to attack me over a human. Twice!”

“And there you have it. Nowl-Ahn did it and that's Nowl-Ahn the Viltrumite. I rest my case.”

“Oh, she's good.” Blue Zircon commented, mostly to herself

Yellow Pearl closes her records and Blue Pearl draws a big cross over an illustration of Mark's face.

“Well, I'm convinced. Time to execute!” Yellow clapped her hands and was satisfied to get it over with

“Not yet. The defense still has to speak.” Blue Diamond stopped that and let the court proceed

“Right!” Blue Zircon nervously spoke “Well uh, before I start my very... uh, thought-out defense, I'd like to remind the court that Nowl-Ahn did turn himself in.”

“The court remembers, and the court does not care.” Yellow Diamond replies

“Uh, of course!”
Blue Zircon picks up a holo- panel
“Uh, in-innocent! Uh, the word innocent can mean, oh- many different things” she stumbled over her defence because she had zero time to prepare for his case to properly defend him. She was essentially given an impossible task

“Oh for the love of. Fine I did it!!” Mark said as he stood up

“Wha-what, what! Stop!” Blue Zircon stops him. Sure she is the public defender, but she is a good lawyer and even if he is the enemy, she wanted to help and do her job well. Part of it was not allowing your client to say something stupid

“No! I want to hear what he has to say.” Blue Diamond says and raises her hand, raising the floor beneath Mark and elevating him up to her height.

“Get us out of here, Mark!” William says with his muffled voice

Mark shields his eyes from the light aimed at him “Uh…”

“State your name for the record, please!” Yellow Pearl asks so she can type

“I, um... I'm Nolan. And... I'm guilty.” Mark tells him

Yellow Diamond reacts in shock, even she wasn't expecting this behaviour from a Viltrumite, while Blue Diamond keeps glaring at Mark

“Wait! No, don't say that!” Blue Zircon pleads and tries to stop him

“Everything you guys said I did, I did. And I did it by myself. And I'm sorry. I'll accept any punishment you want to give me.” he points to William “Just let him go! And leave the Earth alone.”

“Ha! Sounds like a solid confession to me!” Yellow was satisfied with that

“...How? “ Blue inches towards Mark “How did you do it?”

“Huh?” Mark was confused

“How did you shatter Pink Diamond?” she asked

“Um... Well... I did it on Earth and I was probably like, "Stop!" and she was all like, "No!", so we fought, I think.” yeeah Mark had no clue what happened. He had no idea that Pink was even shattered. There was probably a cover up to her death.

Blue Zircon bangs her head against the elevated platform as Mark speaks while the Prosecuting Zircon keeps smiling smugly.

“And she probably did some cool moves. I probably did some cool moves too, some jump kicks and stuff.”

Yellow Pearl looks up at Mark in confusion as she types, while Blue Pearl draws an illustration of Mark jump kicking.

“But I was most likely deeply conflicted about deciding to shatter her. I probably had to use …… several… ruthless punches to finish her off” he said as he remembered Nolan doing that to him. What will you have in 500 years. Think.

“IT WAS A SHATTERING CRUSH!!!” Blue Diamond couldn't listen to this nonsense. She covers her eyes as she begins to cry, enveloping the room in a blue aura which causes everyone in the room, except William, to tear up. Yes, even Mark was affected by Blue’s sadness inducement
“You... shattered her...gem in hand… when she was defenceless”

Blue Diamond slumps back on her throne and sobs, and Yellow Diamond walks up to comfort her.
“That's quite enough testimony from you! We shall take a short recess” Yellow tells him

-Meanwhile-

You were in an empty room, sent here after talking to White Diamond after she kinda summoned you. You also had a whole regal dress on you instead of your usual hero outfit that mimicked a quartz soldier.
You did a little recap as you paced around. The Gems have no idea what a child or a daughter is. Have no concept of motherhood and are under the guise of belief that you are a brand new diamond called Champagne Diamond. They are gonna give you a court and your followers, making you a fellow Gem Matriarch Tyrant Empress thing. Which was a whole can of worms you had to digest.

White also believes that Pink is hiding somewhere and shirking her duties and playing dead. She thought Pink used Nolan and asked him to help her fake her death in exchange of giving the Earth to him.
Hence why her colonies are incomplete. Also from what you understand, White is an overseeing leader, your mom Yellow is in charge of the military, Blue is a diplomat, Pink is a party planner she throws parties for the Gems when she feels they have earned it. And you? They made YOU in charge of infrastructure and you’re expected to also colonize and be good at damn infrastructure?! And you barely said any words to White to say you’re not that.

AND White told YOU to conquer Earth since Pink failed and that Blue would help you. And you got your own LEG SHIP now, a right leg, where as Pink would have a left leg. You sighed and banged your head against the wall, you came here to save Mark, not become Earths new ruler. Though now that you think about it, Mark told you he was in a similar spot on Thraxa, Viltrumites told him they expect him to conquer Earth. Oh this was a can of worms you weren't ready to deal with.

The Gems became bold and that was summed up by Celestine when she said how they viewed Viltrumites. You were afraid of a Gem-Viltrumite War and Earth being caught in the middle of the conflict and suffering for it. Tho even if you were part Gem, you’d be lying if you didn't side with Viltrum, since you’re organic and they’d keep people alive as opposed the Gems would hollow out the Earth and kill all life. Then again, you dont know whats better. Mercy killing by Gems or living oppressed under Viltrumites. Both options sucked.

You then saw Robot and a Pearl. Oh right, as a Diamond you get your own servant. This was the last thing you needed.

The Pearl has an appearance similar to that of other Pearls, as she is tall and slim with long arms and legs and a pointy nose. Her skin is light peach and she has two peach or orange eyes, a pointy nose, and undefined lips. Her hair is medium length, styled the same way as yours and is eggshell in color. Her gemstone is on her chest like yours and is light peach and white. She wears a red and orange leotard with a transparent peach cape and tall orange boots.

You hugged Robot since he was a first friendly face you saw. Granted it was also easier since he was in the droid and not a kid. You wouldnt hug Rudy as Rudy.
“Robot! Im glad to see you. What are you doing here? How did you get here? Where are the others?” you ask him

“They're still on the ship. I'm only here because I'm bringing you your things. And they consider me one of your things.” he said

“Yeesh” you cringed

-Back with Mark-

They were back in the holding cell, reviewing what happened
“What are you saying in there?! ‘Maybe’ this, ‘probably’ that! Oh, what do you mean ‘probably’?!” Blue Zircon asked angrily

“Look I just... I don't actually know how it happened, okay?!” Mark tells her

“YOU DON'T KNOOOW?!!”

“I…”

Blue Zircon lifts Mark up by his shirt or costume, however you wanna put it
“Don't tumble my rocks! Both our gems are on the line! Did you do this or not?!” ok Mark isn't a Gem, but Zircon is used to using gem talk. So figuratively Marks gem or life was on the line

“It was me, alright!” Mark tells her. Zircon lets him go and lets him speak “A Viltrumite did it, and I'm one, so... I'm the one who's got to pay for this!”

“You don't know how it happened…” she realized something

Mark shakes his head and Zircon thinks deeply.
“I get it”. she summons a holo-screen panel as she reviews some events and found a loophole and a hope to save him “There's a reason they want you to explain how you did it.”

“Huh?”

“It's because the timeline doesnt have any sense doesn't make sense!” she was on the verge of a breakthrough

A diamond chime was heard and Zircon was called away, she excused herself. After some waiting a Yellow Spinel shows up, being friendly and telling Mark she’s his new lawyer

-Meanwhile with Nolan-

“These guys are really bad at their jobs.” Allen said after coming back from more execution attempts

“You need to leave.” Nolan tells him

“We have been over this a million times. I’m not going without you.”

“This is different now. Soon my executioners will arrive. They aren’t like these others. They’re Viltrumites.They will kill you.”

“They’ll kill you, too, so here’s an idea. Let’s break out of here before that happens.”

“No.” Nolan swiftly replies

“Come on, man. With you on our side, we can win this war.” Allen tries

“I’m not on your side. I’m not on anyone’s side. I disgraced my people. I betrayed my family.”

“Oh, my God, this again.” Allen groans

“I abandoned my sons.”

“I cannot take this anymore. I… why did they not use a bigger laser?”

“I committed crimes against everyone and everything I hold dear.”

“So make it right.Forget your people, unbetray your family, and help me, Mark, and whatever that other kid’s name is stop the Empire.” Allen kept trying

“No” Nolan kept replying

“Oh, come on!! Then I guess we will both just die together.”

“I guess we will.”
Nolan and Allen were at a stalemate. No one budged. Nolan was intent on paying for his sins. Allen was intent on recruiting him to the cause

-Meanwhile, Homeworld, Palace-

You were pacing around as you filled Robot in on what happened between you and White.
“I don't have time to deal with this. We need to find Mark”

“We could try and ask around where a new prisoner is?”

You both look at the Pearl once Robot said it, realizing you might have someone righthere who knows
“Do you know where a Viltrumite is?” you ask

“I have heard that Yellow and Blue Diamond are at the courthouse, sentencing a recently arrived Viltrumite, my Diamond” she saluted you

“Just call me (y/n)”

“As you wish Champagne (y/n)”

“No no, just (y/n)”

“Just (y/n)” she corrected herself

“..... Call me…. Lasagna” by now, you just got distracted and wanted to mess around with meme culture

“(y/n) , stop. You're going to break her.” Robot reminds you on the more important task

“Champagne Lasagna”

“I’ll take it” you tell your Pearl. The idea of YOUR Pearl still makes you shudder

-WIth Nolan at the Viltrumite Prison-

The Viltrumite executioners have arrived, they were ready to execute Nolan
“Nolan.” Viltrumite 1 spoke

“I thought you’d forgotten about me.” Nolan replied

“We never forget our duty. It’s a shame we can’t say the same for you.” Viltrumite 1 said

“Are you prepared?” Viltrumite 2 asked as they took Nolan away

“Goodbye, my friend.” Nolan telepathically told Allen

-Meanwhile, Homeworld-

“Shattering a Diamond, terrorism, mass property damage, invasion, war crimes, hate crimes. How do you plead?” Yellow Diamond asked Mark

“How is this a fair trial? My lawyer is a…. what are you?” Mark turned to ask the Gem

“Your best friend Spinel!” she giggled

“My lawyer is a Spinel” Mark said as he turned back to the Diamonds

“It's not fair, you have no rights, and she's not a lawyer. We just keep her here because she's fun. Look at her goofy handstand” Yellow said

“Ha ha, yeah!”fittingly enough, Spinel does her goofy handstand and claps her squeaky shoes together. Yellow Diamond replaced Marks lawyer with a court jester, just so he can lose and die already

Blue Diamond got up because she didn't agree to a kangaroo court
“Yellow, stop it! Why are you doing this? We need to give him a fair trial!”

“We don't need to listen to his nonsense!” Yellow also got up from her throne

Mark runs over to William as Yellow and Blue Diamond argue.
“This is our chance! We got to go!” he said as he popped the bubble around William

“Where?!” William asked

“Anywhere” Mark replies and grabs William and flies

“Let's shatter Nowl-Ahn and be done with it!!!” Yellow angrily said

“Can't you restrain yourself?!” Blue tried to reason

“But this is pointless!!”

“No, it's not!”

As they argue, the Diamonds see Mark flying with William, blasting through the courthouse and leaving. Yellow Diamond gives chase and blasts a diamond-shaped hole in the wall of the trial and gazes at the two as they fly

“You think you can get away, Viltrumite? You stood your ground on that little speck called Earth... But you're on our world now.” she threatens them

Suddenly a huge right arm and leg were there. It was the two ships you owned

“Need a hand” Mark would hear you from it. The arm ship would grab Mark and William and transfer them inside. Robot was steering your Yellow Arm Ship. Of course Rudy would find a way to reverse engineer his way to steering an alien ship. While you were on the newer leg ship. Since you learned where Mark was, you all just bullshitted your way to get to the courthouse and went to the ships to get him and out of here asap. The fact Mark broke out with William was a lucky bonus. All of you quickly fled Homeworld and the heroes would give Mark and William first aid or food, since Homeworld didn't have any

-Meanwhile as Mark escaped a possible execution, Nolan had a similar scenario-

“It’s not your time to die yet, pal.” Allen says as he breaks free of his containment cell

But Nolan by now was busy being executed via death by punches and shaming. Oh boy, poor Nolan, both Viltrumites and Gems wanted him executed

“You abandoned your mission to subjugate Earth. But that is only one of your many crimes. Desertion.” Viltrumite 1 punches Nolan

“Unapproved breeding with an inferior species.” Viltrumite 2 punches Nolan

“Murder.” Viltrumite 1 punches Nolan

“Treason.” Viltrumite 2 punches Nolan

After beating and beating him down. A Viltrumite grabbed and held Nolan

“Do you have anything to say in your defense?” Viltrumite 2 asked

“Let the ritual continue.” Nolan tells them

“May you die with more dignity than you lived.” Viltrumite 1 said as both of them punched him at once

During that Allen flied around
“Crap. I thought I’d have more time.”
And he saw the guards that started shooting weapons
“Oh, hey, guys. No hard feelings, right? Ow! Fuck! Ow! Shit! Fuck! Stop! Fuck! Ow! Gah… Ah! Why should I have all the fun?”

As he was shot at, Allen remembered he wasn't the only prisoner, so he freed everyone.
Chaos ensued
“Yes! That’s right! Get it out! We can do this! Go, go! I believe in you! Go! Uh oh.”
But that ensued chaos wouldn't last long as everyone was getting gunned down. No one was on Allens level

That is until Allen heard a deep growl from a big special cell
“Ohho. Now we’re talking.”
He ripped the cell door open right away and talked to the prisoner
“Hi. Um, hello. It’s Allen. Uh, I don’t know who’s in there, but there is a party going on outside. Do you want to bring the punch?”

The Prisoner from within would speak
“Who possesses the courage to dare free Battle Beast?!”

“That, uh, that would be me. Um… sir. Sir Beast.”

“This party you speak of, will there be opponents worthy of my strength?” he asked

“Uh, yes. I–I mean, ab-absolutely. Yes.”

“Hmm. Viltrumites?”

“Oh, man, yes. We definitely got them.”

Battle Beast was pleased to hear this, but he had to know “How many?”

“This is getting very specific. Th-There’s like three, but one’s a pal, so hands off him. But the other two, they’re fair game.”

“Fair game.” This term pleases me.”

“ Hold on, Nolan. We’re coming.” Allen telepathically told him

“What? No. Leave me be, alien.” Nolan who was badly beat telepathically replied. He was content with this fate, believing this is redemption

“We all know the stories of the great Nolan. The wars, the triumphs, the civilizations you conquered. What sickness could have changed you so?” Viltrumite 2 asked as he punched him

“Maybe it was in him all along. We should investigate his lineage in case the rot goes deeper.” Viltrumite 1 asked
“Was your betrayal worth death? ANSWER ME!!!” he demanded

“Yes…. And I’m sad you’ll never understand.” Nolan answered before being punched again

“Choose your last words.” the executioner said as they were ready to finish this with one of those beheading chops. But suddenly pounding was heard, everything was shaking. And suddenly Allen along with Battle Beast crashed down

“Sorry we’re late!” Allen said and then saw Nolan “Oh, man. You look terrible. Did you guys do this? That’s not very nice.”

“I told you to go.” Nolan weakly said

“You should have listened to him.” Viltrumite 2 said

“Viltrumites. At long last, my thirst for battle can be satiated.” Battle Beast said as he approached them

“Forgive him, he’s a fan. He’s been really wanting to meet you guys.” Allen kinda had enough of Battle Beasts…. battle lust

“Long have I waited for such a worthy challenge. I will savor this. And if this conflict brings about the end of my life, I will savor it all the more.” Battle Beast attacked a Viltrumite, even knees him to the face and drew blood

Viltrumite 2 replied “I’ll kill you for that.”

“Is that a promise?”
And so Battle Beast and the executioner were locked in combat

“Hold on, man. We’ll get you free in a sec.” Allen said as he approached Nolan

“I said go.”

“I hear you, but I’m gonna do this anyway.” Allen said but was attacked now by the first executioner Viltrumite

“Huh, so you’re the special Unopan.” Viltrumite 1 said

“I mean, I don’t like to brag.”

The two fought, but it looked like the Viltrumite had the upper hand when it came to dealing damage and putting on the hurt
“You’re not so special.” he said as he seemingly overpowered Allen

“Stop. No.” Nolan said as he tried to stop them

“Ugh. Sorry I ruined your execution, Nolan. Looks like I’m going first.” Allen said as he was being beat down

Nolan immediately got up and pulled his restraints apart, freeing himself. He flew quickly to the executioner and punched him through several walls
“Get away from him!”

“Good to see you, man. Did you get a haircut? Did you trim your mustache? Did you style your mustache?” Allen was feeling a bit woozy

“Get up.” Nolan tells him

“You disgrace yourself again!!!!” Viltrumite 1 was disgusted and angered by Nolans behaviour as the two start their own fight.

“I knew you had it in you.” suddenly he felt a shot “Oh, shit” alien purple guys with guns showed up “I hate these guys.”

A lot of exciting and thrilling combat happened. Allen even punched one that was stuck to the wall and suffocated in space. After some more fighting, Allen got an idea, seeing that walled corpse
“Do you think Battle Beast can survive in space? Probably, right?” he asked Nolan

“What?” Nolan barely kept up with the others, focused on his fight.

But Allen took the fight outside, to space. And he teamed up with Nolan against the Viltrumite executioner, since all the guards died via suffocation and freezing. The two soon have a most epic fist bump via crushing an executioners head between their punches. Winning their fight

“Yes! I want to highfive you or something because we won, but that was super gross, so it kind of feels inappropriate. You, uh, you see that other Viltrumite or, uh, or our furry friend anywhere?” Allen telepathically asked

“Not since you took the fight outside.” Nolan replied

“Maybe he bailed, but then, uh, what happened to that Viltrumite?”

-elsewhere in space-
An annoyed Ruby flies thru space or rather floats as she was thrown to space and sees Battle Beast and a Viltrumite locked in combat randomly with no context whatsoever. She groaned but at least had something to watch while passing through endless space. But there was no way a Ruby was getting involved in that smoke

“More! I need more!” Battle Beast spoke to the void of space as he punched the executioner

-Back with Allen and Nolan-

“I mean, must be around here somewhere.” Allen said

“For someone who almost died, you recovered very quickly.”

““Yes, I did. All thanks to you, buddy. Getting in there, saving my life. Way to go, man. Okay, maybe I let him work me over a little more than I had to.”

“He could have killed you.” Nolan told him

“Oh, I know. But, uh, you needed the motivation. Look, I still wish you would join our cause, but if you don’t want to betray your people, even though they are psychopathic murderers, I get it. I just didn’t want to watch you die.”

“Why?” Nolan didn't understand why Allen would be like that

“We did time together in the big house. That makes us friends now.” Allen exclaims

“No Viltrumite would do such a thing for another.”

“I mean, you would. For Debbie and Mark and that purple kid you told me about. And for me, apparently. Just now. ‘Cause you did. Anyway, we all need to skedaddle before Planet Punch sends reinforcements. Maybe we can hotwire that, uh, that that fine looking hunk of metal over there.” Allen telepathed as he looked at the prison that they were in before. Maybe they can steer it?

“No one’s coming.” Nolan told him

“What?”

“We don’t need to worry. No reinforcements are coming.”

“I mean, there was definitely time for the prison to make a distress call back to Viltrum HQ.” Allen reasoned, not understanding Nolan

“They’ll know what happened, but they won’t come. They can’t.”

“Okay, I’m gonna need a little more to go on than an incomplete thought and a mysterious look.”

“There are fewer than 50 pureblooded Viltrumites left in the universe. This is the Empire’s most closely guarded secret. It’s also why we can beat them.”

There it was, Viltrums most guarded secret. Even the Gems had no idea. They thought they were fighting against a planet of these super powered savages, hence their insane leap in technology to overpower them. If the Gems knew. Earth would’ve probably been a war zone by now or a colony. Viltrum itself would have a full scale assault of millions of Gems from dozens of planets that THEY conquered. It would’ve been the end of life itself if the Gems were bold enough to attack.

In a way, the evil Viltrum Empire was in its twisted way protecting all living organic life, by sheer intimidation. Meanwhile, all of you were flying back to Earth.

Chapter Text

You and the others were close to Earth, it was in sight. Only problem was, how and WHERE to land two gigantic body parts. Robot and all the humans, plus Sapphire were at the Arm Ship. And you were with Champagne Pearl and Nephrite in the giant leg ship that goes up to the waist. You wished you were on the same ship with Mark, you wanted to see him. And the fact that you couldn't during the space trip was tearing you apart. Sure you had screens and video calls, but that wasn't it. So you tried to distract yourself, by the fact that the leg ships had high heels. You wondered what happened to Pink. Part of you wanted to check her space garden, although you didn't know where that was. You knew it was at a giant floating rock in space. But that was too vague as the rock could’ve floated anywhere.

Back to the ship. You wanted to land it somewhere where it wouldn't crush buildings or people, but not at GDA’s disposal. Which narrowed down the choices to near impossible. Ultimately, it was best to just land it back at the desert and maybe hope Robot makes some miraculous underground facility to hold these two juggernaut ships.

Other than that, you guys were back on Earth and the first thing you did when you left your ship was run over to Mark and hug him.
“I missed you!” you say as you hugged him and cried. You weren't even aware of how much time passed, but for you it felt like forever

Mark hugged you back and apologized “Im sorry”

“Y-yeah, you better be sorry you jerk” you say as you sniffle and have more tears
“The whole point of me pretending to be you was to avoid all of this” you say between sobs

“And there was no way I’d let you do that alone” he says as he ran his fingers through your hair. It sounds like he didn't regret being the one that was caught. You appreciated his gesture, but ultimately wished it never happened in the first place. He kissed your tears away and lifted you up to carry you. It was flight time, the others can deal with transport on their own
“Come on, we have a lot of catching up to do” he said as he flew with you

“My Diamond?” the Pearl worriedly reached out to you as Mark flew you away.

Sapphire approached her “Do not fret, that is her mate. She is safe with him” Sapphire said and smiled when she saw your future

In the skies you and Mark talked and sorta were catching eachother up on what happened on each others end. He told you about the trial and his dad and how he met your mom. You meanwhile told him about the stuff that happened on your end
“And basically they expect me to conquer Earth” you finish

Mark sighed “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is there a time limit?” he asked since thats what the Viltrumites do. Anissa told him mr. Ten Times Worse was coming.

“Not that I know of. Im a ruler, so I guess maybe I set the pacing” you theorize since you weren't given an end date

In any case, you two were almost home.
“So is that why you’re wearing the dress?” he asked

You blush “Ehh, yeah. The Pebbles made the dress. Don't ask me how” honestly if the dress was white instead of this yellowy golden peachy colour, itd look like a wedding dress. And considering he was carrying you bridal style also didn't help the image. Tho since your mind was on the subject of weddings, it would be pretty awesome if things could get resolved in a fairy tale fashion. Just get married, settle the evil empire differences aside and rule the cosmos together. Oh and leave the Earth alone. Tho that was unrealistic, which made you sigh

“Something the matter?” Mark asked noticing you sighing

“Just thinking how life is not a fairy tale” you put it mildly.

You guys arrive home and Mark lets you down gently, upon arrival Debbie was glad to see both of you and hugged the two of you. She was worried after what she heard.

“Not fair, I wanted to go to space” Oliver pouted

“Sorry there Oliver, maybe next time” you nervously chuckled

Debbie said how she prepared a meal for you, since you two mustve been starving and overall, she told you two that you guys should just rest. You’ve both been going through some wild stuff lately and you two needed a break

“Yeah, I guess we should try and do normal stuff” you say
“Im gonna… change and maybe take a shower” after what you went through, you needed to wash off the sweat. So you took your leave

Oliver looked from you to Mark, seeing his expression
“Are you two going to m-”

“Nope! Oliver, not now” Opal quickly arrived and gently pushed the boy away, saving Mark from that sort of question. Though the Gem did notice that he wished he could join you.
Once Opal shoo’d Oliver away, she went to check on Mark and urge him to join Debbie and the others at the dining room, assuring him that you’re fine and that you’ll be back. Otherwise both of you needed some rest, she urged

“What if something comes up” Mark asks her

“You’re a Crystal Temp, Im a Crystal Gem. Let us deal with some crime fighting. Plus the Guardians. You don't need to shoulder a huge burden on your own” Mark goes to say something but she interrupts him “Ah ah ah! I know you weren't on your own, but you know what I mean”

And so after a bit, the whole family would have lunch and spend time together. For a brief moment having a sense of respite and being normal. It was a much deserved break after what you all went through. After that Sugilite offered to go out and do crime stuff in your stead, so you two can spend time together.

You and Mark decided to return to the basics, reading some Seance Dog issues. During that 3 month period you even bought some Seance Dog merch, like a mug and a shirt. So you used this chance to wear the shirt. Honestly if you had no costume for crime fighting, you would’ve used this shirt. Its dumb, but you relish in your nerdom.

“Man, I caught up to all the issues. This sucks” you comment

Mark chuckled “Don't like cliffhangers, don't ya?”

You playfully push him “You tease, now I have to wait for like forever!”

“Yeah, July” Mark just teases and you groan

“Uuuugh. At least we’ll have the cartoon for a bit more. The Fantasy Cat arc is ok” you comment

He chuckled and overall you two had a good time. You two were finally able to talk about and do something unrelated to space, aliens, dimensions, Viltrumites, Gems and Cecil … oh and the GDA. You two even properly set the time for your Paris date

“This is nice. I wish we have more moments like these”

You chuckle “Heheh, same. Who knew I’d miss normal. But then again, I wouldn't have it any other way”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“This intergalactic craziness just makes me treasure these simple moments like these all the more.” you say as you climb his lap and wrap your arms around him as you kiss him.

The two of you share a passionate and yet intimate moment and you wish you could have more of these or maybe even more intimate. Something that made you nervous but felt like you were ready. You trusted Mark with your everything
“I wish we could do so much more” you whisper between kisses, but you were hesitant. Debbie was at home, plus there was mr Oliver ‘are you two gonna mate’ Grayson, who had that Thraxan memory to boot. Plus the gems talking about ‘fusion’. You were damn well aware of what they were alluding to. All in all, it was a crowded house. Sadly two 19 year olds living at their own place as adults in this economy was nigh impossible, unless you two return to being Cecil's bootlickers on an even tighter leash

“We’ll figure something out” he’d reply also between your kisses.
Sure you two couldn't do some ‘mating’ as Oliver puts it. But making out works too, besides with each month you’ve been together, you two have been friskier with those make out sessions. At first it was innocent enough, but now it was very hot and heavy and very handsy feely touchy. It really was like a step away from full on sex. It was intoxicating and addictive and just good. Maybe thats why you really wanted to try to go all out. But one day or maybe one day you two will be bold enough to do it despite your current living conditions with all the people here.
But for now, you treasured every second with the man you loved.

Later, you would rest up and just have a nap. Of course you’d stay in Marks room, no way in hell were you leaving. As you slept, you just instinctively hugged him. You always hugged something in your sleep. A teddy when a child and a pillow now when alone. You always yearned to hold something. Your missing piece, but now you finally had something- no… someone that completes you. And Mark gladly embraced you as he watched you sleep

The Gems meanwhile would stay true to their word and handle any crime or threat that came your way. Adamant to give the two of you some peace.
With the others, Nephrite would adjust to her new earth life as well. But she couldn't quite access some of her abilities since her gem was cracked and that was something you couldnt fix. She only had acidic saliva as a ‘power’, but nothing else. You offered Nephrite to come over and help her fix that too. But she was usually with the others. Plus she was nervous walking around humans as she was very alien in appearance with her one eye and green ‘skin’.

Your and Marks days were rather chill by some miracle and you used your opportunity to prep for that Paris date. William was basically your bestie in regards to human friends. He was one of the people that didn't feel like just Marks friend, but your friend too. You didn't have that connection with Eve or Amber. Hell, you didn't even really hang out with Amber much, but you considered that maybe you should try, sorta like expand your social web or something along those lines. You wanna be friends with Eve too, but something just seemed off.

Its like you get protective and jealous whenever she’s in close vicinity of Mark. Part of you even wondered if they were supposed to be together if you hadn't crossed Angstroms portal. Its something you didn't want to think about. You imagine if you were to stay in your dimension, you would’ve gone crazy and that your mothers inner conqueror would come out to disturb the peace, while Mark would have a hot red head girlfriend. Its not a nice thought to think. But it was still a ‘what if’ that stayed in your mind, if you hadn't crossed here. You were sure you would’ve been unhappy. So what you told Mark was very true. Truer than he realizes. All this suffering and space bullshit you guys go through, is worth it to you

Were you selfish? Maybe. Did you miss home? Yes. But it didn't mean you wanted to stay there if there wasn't a shakeup. Weird thoughts aside, you focused on prepping for your Paris date. Though your french wasn't the best. William actually helped you pick up a dress for a date. Well, he and Rick. Those two were a lovely couple and you were glad you managed to fix up Ricks leg to return the favour.

Meanwhile, while you were spending time with William and Rick and preparing for your date that was coming soon. Mark was at home with his family and the Gems.

He noticed the Gems were sitting on the floor and doing laundry
“The Order is trying to make a move. Most likely to free Multi-Paul from his imprisonment since he is the Leaders valued pawn piece and that's why I've gathered you here.” Sapphire said as they were folding the Graysons clothing and sorting everything by Mark, Oliver and Debbie

“I thought it was so you can help me fold all this laund-a-ry!” Sugilite said as she folded a shirt

“That too. The chore wheel idea you had fell apart fast.” Sapphire said

“Wasn't me.” Sugilite says
And all the Gems, including Mark who stumbled on the gems, saw the chore wheel pasted on the wall, where everyone's names are struck out and replaced with Opal's name, written in her delicate and elegant cursive handwriting. Opal and Sapphire exchange looks.

“I just really enjoy doing all of those things.” Opal shyly admitted

“It's better if we do them together.” Sapphire said with emphasis on together, which implied not just chore stuff, but teamwork stuff in general

“Humans should just stop wearing clothes, be a lot funnier.” Sugilite says as she tossed a shirt. Opal used her shapeshifting to stretch her arm and grab the shirt so she may fold it

“Hey! I'm a civilized part human, thank you very much. Clothing is a must” Mark tells her

Sugilite shrugs “Meh. At least your costume is fine, even if it wasn't what I thought it’d be”

“What do you mean?” Mark didn't understand what she meant that she thought it'd be something

“Sapphire predicted you having a different costume that matches (y/n)’s colours. I think it'd be cool if you two had that colour scheme going on. Really sells the whole power couple theme you guys have going” Sugilite said as she folded Olivers clothes

“Power couple theme? And wait, what did you see Sapphire??” he asks her

Sapphire didnt want to mention that wasteland dimension since that brings some ptsd, so she just decided to elaborate on the outfit. “I foresaw you in a mostly black and yellow costume, the gloves, boots and the mask were yellow. Your goggles were the only correct thing I got from the costume, being black. Oh and you had this lovely and yellow cape. That whole appearance radiated power. The way you held yourself, it was as if you were above others”

Mark cautiously asked “And what did I do with that costume in your vision?”

Sapphire thought how she’d word this in a least traumatizing way “Well… you wanted to treat (y/n) to a meal since she was feeling hungry. It was probably some human meat meal you humans have. But it doesnt matter. It was a different vision, an error on my part. Apologies”

“Its alright, Sapphire. Hey how do you see our date going?” he curiously asked

“Hmm…” she saw something interesting in the future. Although she was quiet on that part and said “Well, I could tell you how it went. But, it would spoil the date if I told you what I saw. Besides, isn't the beauty to experience the moment with your loved one?”

“That's true”

“Yeah so just relax and think about your big date you…. romantic guy.” Sugilite said as she went to shoo away Mark

Eventually the day of the date would come. You would dress up for it, chose something nice but not too fancy. Something for a nice french bistro. Though the dress did have a V neck, so your gem would be exposed just right. Which did make you self conscious. In these human moments you wanted to look … well… human. And you couldn't use jewelry like a necklace because it'd be weird, since in a way you’re part jewelry yourself. Its a whole lot of weird

And despite wanting to avoid anyone Mark related whether be family or friends, you just had to ask if this was ok. Sure William gave you the green light and even helped you choose. But honestly, seeing yourself in the mirror and being the day of the date gave you the jitters. You know you shouldnt be nervous, after all its just Mark and you’ve been with him and more intimate with him. Cough cough, lots of smooching and making out and groping. But this was different. This was a first real formal date. Not some casual hang out. This was a real thing couples do, not friends. So of course you were nervous and started to doubt yourself again.

You hurried over to Debbie, before you started to spiral again to ask her if this was ok
“What do you think? Is this dress good? Its not too much or too little? Should I cover myself up so he isn't weirded out by the Gem?” you asked her a bunch of questions and your nervousness was evident

Debbie seeing that went to calm you down and give you a confidence boost. But first you needed a glass of water that she offered you
“Calm down. Everything’s gonna be ok.” then she’d answer your questions “The dress is perfect. And no need to cover anything up, you shouldn’t be ashamed of yourself. You’re beautiful the way you are. Human and Gem included.”

You hugged Debbie, because she was the closest thing to a mom that you had. It was a bit of a lengthy hug that you needed. But alas you had to go if you didn't want to be late

“Is Mark going to take you to Paris or…?”

“That was the original plan, but something cropped up on his end and he had to take care of it. I told him I don't need his transport that I can manage and that he doesn't need to rush”

“How can you get there?”

“Jump and float” you give her a sly smile and use finger guns, trying to play it cool.
Either way you had to go. After you said farewell, you put quite a lot of strength in the jump as you launched yourself not just high in the air, but also pointing towards France at a fast velocity. It almost looked like you were flying. Only you needed to land periodically to get that fast forwarding momentum. One would wonder, what about the ocean? Well well well, you can walk on water. So you can land on water normally. Jump and float baby. It was so close to simulating real flight like Mark, you could just taste it. If only you could fly. You’d proudly show him and you two would be able to take it to the skies together

You’d use your phone and gps to navigate to your destination. France, Paris and then the exact Bistro. You’d arrive there precisely 16 minutes early, because you were that pedantic and you hated to make someone wait. Granted that meant you’d be the one waiting, but you didn't mind that.

Mark meanwhile would be running late because of 2 time travelers just interrupting him and being in his way. They said it was about saving the world or else it’d be doomed. Millions of lives at stake. But he said no. Not now or ever. Leave him alone, he has a date and a social life to take care of. He has no time for some thieves. But those guys would cause him to be late or get lost a bit. We all know Mark wasn't the best at navigation.

But at least he’d arrive to see you there sitting and waiting for him as you were browsing fanart on your phone. Yeah, you always had your nerd hobbies that you liked to geek out over. But now, you put your phone away as Mark arrived. He kissed you on the cheek and went to his seat
“Sorry I’m late.”

You just had a lovestruck smile and said “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just in time”
Late? Him? Naah… ok yeah he was. But the amount of you caring about that is nonexistent. Truth be told, you haven't even paid attention to the time, it felt like it was 5 minutes not 55 minutes.

“I was busy dooming the world. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“You know… I was super nervous about this…I thought this would be weird. Not just a date but like a date date. But the weird thing is…”

“That it isn’t weird?”

You smiled softly and said “Precisely”

You two leaned in to kiss, but then a blinding light kinda hurt your eyes which made you back away

“Oh. Uh… Did I misread that?” Mark asked you

You just rubbed your eyes “No, no, you didn’t, but… Please tell me that’s not a glowing portal opening up next to our table.”

He looked and saw the portal and let out a long and disappointing sigh “You have no idea how much I wish I could say that.”

A bunch of normal people ran away as the two thieves appeared… once again

“Oh its those 2 clowns” you remember the Declaration of Independence thieves

“It worked. We found him.”

“I told you all that research would pay off.”

“Seriously? You guys again?” Mark asked as the 2 approached him

“Invincible, you have to come with us right now. It’s life and death. There’s no time to explain.”

You just trap them in the bubble shield

“Nice one.” one of them says

“Why are you two clowns here? Want to steal like…. the french… declaration of revolution or something??” honestly you were tired of these two. They were just nuisances

“Ah, you remember us too. That’s great.”

“I’m not sure it is.”

“I’m Drop Kick and that’s Fightmaster. Despite our awesome names, we’re not looking for trouble.”

“We need your help.”

“What? No. You guys should be in prison.” Mark got up and approached them, which made you release the 2 from the bubble shield. And they started to back away from Mark

“We had a good reason to steal the Declaration.”

“Millions of lives were at stake, and they still are.”

“We’re from the future.”

“You have ten seconds to explain.” Mark told them

“We need you to help us overthrow our king. When we saw you before, we realized all the stories were true.”

“You’re the only one strong enough.”

“What are you even talking about?” Mark crossed his arms, still not believing them

“Also, if it’s a time machine, can’t you come back later? Or earlier? You know, chose a better time? Or maybe why not use it to prevent your king from taking the throne” you tell them, irritated.

“We only have enough power for this last trip. You have no idea how many people died to make it happen.” Dropkick said

“Stupid. You guys are stupid” you say as you point to the two “The future is stupid”

“Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to the future with you, if that’s even where you’re from. You’re lucky we’re on a date, or I’d be taking you both to prison.” Mark told them and went back to your table

“Maybe you’re not the hero we thought you were.”

Mark scoffed “Guess not.”

“I really thought that line would work.”

“God, you’re an idiot.”

You sit back with Mark “The future can wait. Literally, time travel is …. whats the word. Well, no time is really wasted” Like if they can travel thru time, they can just warp to the moment they need. There literally is no time to lose, because you’re not losing time. God those 2 are stupid, the whole future civilization is stupid. Now you wish you had…..
‘The time thing’ you thought and wondered if you had that hourglass

Suddenly Mark was taken by those guys through the portal
“MARK!!!” you went to grab Mark to get pulled in with him, but you narrowly missed him as the portal closed.
“DAMMIT!!!” you banged the table with your fist and nearly broke it, though you did make a fist shape crater.
Now you just sighed and waited, but sadly this time. Although now since you were alone, you went to check in your gem if you had the time thing or was it left back in your dimension.

You reached to your chest and pulled out a hourglass…. paper cut out. Ok nope, next. A drawing from 4 year old you, it was probably clock related. Next an actual hourglass, but it was a decorative piece with pink sand. Next an alarm clock. Finally you pull out the time thing, the hourglass of time. And before you do anything Mark is back, you immediately store the item back

“Wha?! How did you…? Did they actually need your help?” you ask concerned

“Yeah. I just…” he sighs and sits back at the table, looking depressed and exhausted from life “(y/n) , am I a good person?” Mark asks you

“What kind of a question is that? Of course you are” you lean closer and touch his cheek and then look deeply into his eyes “What happened there?”

“I saw the Immortal. It was awful. He’d lived too long. He killed people. Enslaved the entire planet. And I had to… I had to stop him. Forever.” he told you

“Oh… oh wow” you were taken aback, at a loss for words.

“He wanted to die. And it was all my fault. I left him in charge of the world. I messed everything up, (y/n)”

You then hold both of his hands
“Nothing is your fault. You didnt do anything. Not yet at least. But if theres one thing I know, the future isnt set in stone. Try to look at this with a positive outlook. You saw a grim future and now you have a lot of time to change it. And dont forget” you wink playfully to him
“We have a future seeing seer. We can ask Sapphire to see the future and prevent that dark timeline from coming true”

“Yea… yeah… I guess you’re right”

You then look around and see everyone was still scattered and gone. You lean in and whisper “Besides…” you reach to your chest and pull out the time thing

He’d see the item you were now holding. The hourglass is small enough to fit in the palm of someone's hand, bigger than a marble, smaller than a baseball. It is a translucent sphere with a gold hourglass inside. It also has a gold ring-like band around it.

“This is the time thing… or I guess Hourglass of Time. Its an ancient gem artifact that I swiped when I was a kid. Tho I was always afraid to use it, it can create alternate timelines if mishandled. But its just a …. very very final last resort I always have in the back of my mind. It can transfer people back into past or forward into the future” you return the item back in your gem
“I considered going to the future to try and find you. But Im glad you’re back” you sigh
“Time shenanigans aren't my thing… you know what. Lets forget the time squad over there and just enjoy ourselves” you lean in and kiss him, like you were supposed to before those 2 guys showed up.

The next person that dares interrupt your date will get a one way ticket to a hospital. You and Mark try to relax and focus on the date. He was still burdened by the future he saw, but eventually relaxed enough to forget about it briefly and just focus on the date. You made sure to always hold his hand during your date and lightly squeeze him to ground him to reality. You knew all to well whats it like to be burdened or be in your head and just spiral into some bad thoughts. You knew how to prevent that.
But other than that, you couldn't help but think how handsome he was for your date. It was a shame someone had to dampen the mood with the Immortal stuff.

After your date, he’d fly you back home
“I said this once and I’ll say it again. I’ll never tire of this” you say lovingly as you had your hands wrapped around him as he carried you bridal style flying across the globe back to home.
His arms were like your favourite place to be and you could tell by the way he held you and even sensing his heartbeat that he also felt genuinely better now and happier with you

“Me neither, (y/n)” he softly told you and you just melted hearing his voice. Sure you had trials and tribulations to pass, but you knew after all of this that a happily ever after awaited you. One that you felt you earned through hard work. Not the one given to you by Steven, but your own happily ever after that you earned and crafted.

Arriving to the Grayson Residence, you two were welcomed home. The Gems were like a combo of excited besties and loving parents or siblings, eager to hear how the date went. Debbie and Oliver were also home, but they had more normal reactions upon your arrival. Nevertheless you greeted all of them and you two spoke to the Gems about your date.

Though Sapphire hearing what happened changed from a happy smiling expression to an awestruck expression to a serious one. She approached Mark who was sitting, jumped on the couch and grabbed him by the face so they can look eachother eye in eye a how serious she was

“Tell me everything that happened. Down to every minute detail. Every word, quote, action. This is vital and important” Sapphire told him

“Why? Whats the big deal?” you ask Sapphire

“I… I saw Mark in the future”

“... I don't get it” you raise your brow as you dont understand whats so strange

“I saw 2 Marks in the future, at once! One fighting Immortal and the other….” she trailed off

“What? Really? So what they said about the future was really true, Im gonna-”

“Be an Emperor, yes. I was hoping not to spoil that for you” Sapphire said

“Sapphire, what the fuck” you tell her

“Oh come now. You’re already half way there” she said and both of you are shocked. Sapphire merely motioned her hand towards you “Champagne Diamond, has her own court of gems and is expected to conquer earth. You’re basically already an Empress, even if you’re not doing anything and you have your Pearl aka your servant and you have your own personal ship that’s like a galactic yacht that also is part mech” she then looked at Mark
“And you too, you just have more of a journey to get there. You will become an Emperor, but don't misconstrue it as a bad thing. You are a good and benevolent ruler. Although, Star Mama will be a pushy… figure.” she almost said in-law
“Which I am sure you will give a stern talking to, to ensure peace in the universe”

“Star…. Mama?” you worriedly asked

“White Diamond, but don't fret. It will all be harmless family fun. Now now, I do not wish to reveal stuff you don't need to know”

“Wait, how far in the future can you see?” you asked her

“Far enough” she merely answered, she then turned to Mark “Please, tell me what happened in Immortals dark timeline, I wish to fix it. I know I can be vague in my deeds and motives, but trust me. If there is anyone I am loyal to, it is you two. What I do, is for you two”

“But you wont do anything drastic to ensure that, right?” Mark cautiously asks her

“No, of course not. I will not do anything extreme that would upset or harm you or your loved ones.” she told him, being serious about her conviction and loyalty. Although, she always knew how to find a loophole if need be

He sighed and decided to tell her what happened with Dropkick and Fightmaster

“Wait. Start at the beginning.” Mark said

“Centuries ago, the planet was on the brink of collapse. Then one man was made ruler of Earth.” Dropkick said

“And he ruled well for a while. The legends say his brain worked better back then.” Fightmaster said

“Then something changed. We don’t know what happened exactly.”

“It was before our time”

“But slowly he went mad. It began with new laws. Mandatory work camps. Prison for dissenters.”

“Then it got much worse.”

“Senseless wars for no reason. Automatic factories churning out his Royal Guards. Entire nations punished and forced to survive without power or technology.”

“ When he personally took ten cities off the map for resisting……that’s when the rebellion was born.We tried to stop him, but… …he was too strong.”

“We even built a time machine.”

“I built a time machine.” Fightmaster corrected

“So we could look for solutions in the past. There was a legend that ink from the Declaration of Independence could make a poison to kill him. But that didn’t work either.”

“Then we saw you.”

“And we realized you could be the one to save us.”

“So, your king is super strong, almost impossible to kill, and has ruled for hundreds of years?” Mark asked

“Yes.”

“Is he a Viltrumite?”

“We don’t know what that is.”

Then he said how the two made some noise and drew in the robots and how they WANTED to get captured. As Mark spoke, Sapphire interrupted him and asked him to describe the robots.

“Wait, describe them”

“Umm… robotic? Sending people to execution”

“I meant visually” Sapphire corrected them

“Oh.. um”

“I’ll draw them!” you excitedly said as you summoned a notebook and a pencil that was stored in your gem. Then you smiled like a cute pup and said “Ok, Im ready”

After Mark gave a brief description, you’d draw it and show it to them. You had an anime-esque drawing style. It was more eastern meets western art. Kinda like how european cartoons look when they try to be anime. But aside from that, you make occasional corrections when Mark says that something is different, until you get the design right

Sapphire merely gave a knowing or an acknowledging nod and politely asked Mark to continue his tale

“Okay, asshole. Whoever you are, it’s over.” Mark says as he broke out of his feeble restraints and then realizes who the King was “Immortal?”

“Only one man alive knows me by that name. Is it really you?” he asked as he rose up

“You’re the king of Earth?”

“Mark Grayson. You finally came. Thank God. It’s been so many years since you left with your family. I wasn’t sure I’d recognize you.” Immortal said as he approached Mark

“Uh, I am not the same Mark you know. I’m from… I guess, the past.”

“You look thin. Weak. Have you been sick again? I…I thought they found a cure for…”

“This isn’t about me.” Mark interrupted

Back to the present, you interrupt Marks story
“Sick again? Cure for what? You really seem to have interrupted something noteworthy” you sigh “I wish I managed to catch the ride”

Sapphire softly patted your shoulder

“Also wait… family?” you looked at Sapphire, since she knew the future. But then it clicked that Sapphire also said ‘Star Mama’, which is something like a nickname a child would give.
You wanted to grab Sapphire, shake her and ask if you were gonna have kids with Mark or a kid. But your bravery quickly faded because Mark was there and you didn't have the guts to say the words out loud. But you knew if you asked that Sapphire would tell you. She just wasn't inclined to spoil on her own

“Immortal said no lie. Mark will have a family” Sapphire gave the vaguest of answers, then she addressed Mark “Please, continue. This is interesting”

Cue the story continuing

“I’m not a Viltrumite!!! You shouldn’t have left me in charge. You’re the emperor. You should have known it was too much for me, especially after so long!!!!”

“I… left you to rule?” Mark was just confused

Immortal just grabbed him by the throat “Don’t act like you don’t remember!!! All of this is your fault!!! I didn’t want the responsibility!!! I was tired, ready to move on!!! I told you that!!! But you said… you said I was the only one you trusted!”

Mark said that this wasnt like him, but Immortal was like the man you knew is dead. When Mark asked if this was about Kate, he said he didnt remember that name, was that the red head? No? The Gem girl? No. Who? He had tons of wives, he outlived them all. Century after century after century. Mark the Emperor need to repay his debt? Was it ruling the Earth? No. It was to kill the Immortal, end his suffering. When Mark said that he doesnt kill, thats when Immortal attacked him, to force his hand, so Mark may kill him. Mark then described the fight and the moves and Dropkick and Fightmasters appearance, all of it. Even the grim death he had to give Immortal by ripping his head off. He then said the aftermath and the robots appearance about the kings death and power or authority going to the people. And lastly how he arrived back at the date

“And thats it” Mark said as he finished retelling what happened

You just quietly scooted over and hugged Mark “Im sorry you had to go through it. I wanted to go after you”

Sapphire looked like she was deep in thought for a moment, before addressing Mark “I am sorry you went through that. But I will ensure that future doesn't happen, so we don't create a closed time loop”

“A time loop?” you ask

“A closed time loop is like a scenario involving time travel where events form a circular chain of causality. In this context, actions in the past lead to future events, which then trigger the original journey back in time, creating a self-contained loop without a clear starting point. Picture it like this. Mark becomes the Emperor, he appoints Immortal to rule the Earth in his stead. Some unknown X factor happens that drives Immortal insane, causing the time squad to travel back to find Mark to kill King Immortal. Past Mark becomes the Emperor, appoints the Immortal with an additional tweak, a safeguard to prevent the future. But the future plays out the same, causing the time squad to go back and… you see it loops”

“So you’re saying nothings changed?” Mark asked her

Sapphire shakes her head “I don't think the Immortal went insane due to his longevity. Some unknown factor did. What one of the men said caught my attention ‘the legends say his brain worked better back then’.”

“Brain?” you ask

“Precisely. His brain worked better back then. Why? What caused it to suddenly deteriorate. That’s what I aim to find out. I also think that in order to prevent this, we need to leave Immortal with at least 1 gem” Sapphire said

“Why a Gem?” you ask Sapphire

“Longevity. Immortal said his wives died again and again. If he was driven to insanity by loss of loved ones. Perhaps he needs some immortal never changing company. Someone compatible with him.” Sapphire reasoned

“Shame Pink isnt here” you comment, since you know Pink loved the Earth

Mark just facepalms as he remembers that trial “Dont remind me of that”

Sapphire then remembered “Oh right, what exactly happened there”

“They said that my dad killed one of their diamonds”

“We saw reports she had unfinished colonies. On the moon base! I still cant believe she's dead.” you said

“It is possible Homeworld covered up Pink Diamonds death here” Sapphire calmly reasoned

You sighed “I was hoping that she was in her garden”

“Her garden?” Mark of course had no idea what is that

“The garden sits on a large floating rock that is falling apart. It's protected by a large glass dome-like a greenhouse. But good luck finding that floating space rock in the endless void of space, who knows where it is” you tell him

-Meanwhile, near Viltrum itself-

Planet Viltrum, cut off from any outside races, now stands as a tribute to the Viltrumites fallen brethren. A reminder of what they’ve sacrificed for their inter-planetary domination. A seemingly abandoned planet that is a memorial. It is a glorified graveyard. And then there was a seemingly empty asteroid rock that was floating close by to Viltrums moon. A rock that was falling apart and if one looked carefully would see the dome-like structure where there was a rotting garden that was being neglected and the flowers withering. That one part of space was lonely and empty.

-Meanwhile, near Homeworld-

Homeworld, a planet also cut off from other outside races because the Gems colonize and kill the surrounding alien life with their process, leaving only fellow Gems in their stead. Unlike Viltrum which was in one piece but abandoned, Homeworld was broken in two, barely held together by its two surrounding rings. But it was also full of life. It was here where the Gems were working on the Cluster. 97% complete. Viltrumites were the enemy and they didnt know how there were less then 50 of them left. Homeworld thought there were dozens of Viltrumites home. So they couldn't exploit their planet for its resources like originally intended, Homeworld Gems planned on planting a geo-weapon inside the planet itself with the intent of destroying it. Killing millions of Viltrumites and breaking any survivors morale.

The Cluster, this massive assortment of Gems was to be planted in Viltrums mantle at the Keta Kindergarten. When this beast, known as the Cluster, takes on its physical form, it will be much bigger than the planet itself, completely ripping Viltrum apart inside-out. Homeworld can then use the Cluster as a weapon to destroy other worlds. That was their goal. They just needed more shards. More wars and more Off Colours. If they knew Viltrums secret, it would be war and a race of who gets to colonize the planet, which Diamond gets to drain the resources and hollow it out.

-Meanwhile, back on Earth-
You guys wanted to solve this time travel shenanigan, so since you had a future seeing Gem, you decided to use that. You agreed to fuse with Sapphire, allowing you to make Emmonsite. A fusion that was green in colour, had a dress that was Sapphire like, your hairstyle, 3 eyes like Garnet and in generally barefoot and human sized.

“So, whats it like being fused? Is it like a strong part of you is (y/n) and wise part Sapphire?” Mark asked, kinda awkwardly, trying to make a conversation with a new entity

“It's all of both. When two Gems combine, it creates something greater than the sum of their parts. You forget you were ever alone.” she smiled and took his hands “You know, when you fuse, you don't feel like two people, you feel like one being. And your old names might as well be names for your left arm, and your right.” hence why she took his hands as she explained

“And whats it like being able to see the future?” he asked

“No one can truly see the future. I can see options and trajectories. To me, time is like a river that splits into creeks, or pools into lakes, or careens down waterfalls. Now I feel like I have the map, and I steer the ship. Unlike before where Sapphire felt that she was carried by a wild river”

“Soo, what can you see now?” he asked

“Good question” she closed her eyes and saw several scenarios play out. Something much more immediate than Immortal becoming King, numerous threats and evils

Chaos, everything was destroyed. Just as everyone was recovering. A Viltrumite flew to Mark
“Stand ready for my arrival, worm”

After that powerful Viltrumite you saw a new threat to Earth. It was a simultaneous attack, from different 9 individuals, no wait... 10
"My hunger for perfection is insatiable. A prototype that's fully operational" a robotic voice speaks to you

"Honestly, all you weaklings look the same. On the ground and your face is contorted in pain" a flying and powerful individual looks down on you

"Chaos is my lover. Power is my best friend. You're all my marionettes and I will bring this nation to an end" a manipulative person openly admits with a calm glee

"Nothing will prepare you for the chaos I will bring upon you" an egotistic regal conqueror speaks

"I'm feeling mean today" a taunting and yet familiar sadist tells you as they crack their knuckles and charge to attack

"I just want revenge and a little bit more" someone who has the kind of anger where you're so beyond pissed you talk calmly and sweetly

"The world made us this way filled with this hatred" a hateful figure says

"You're not that bad if you don't talk, try shutting up" one of the few actually friendly non threatening people appears and yet, they’re on the side of the villains

“I'm sorry, but there was never enough room on this stage for both of us!” a mystery person says who has a mask covering their face, but they have a huge showman like persona

"Hello, sister" an individual extends her hand to Eve

And among various future scenarios a new figure appears. Powerful, unstoppable and hungry

"The tragedy of the kill is that it ends our chase. The faster they run, the sweeter the meat." the figure laughs as they spot someone who dares to fight. Their voice had layers, it was like 2 people talking in unison

"Even the strongest can be overwhelmed." they say as they ovewhelm Mark in battle. Mark was half their size

But then another vision. You see Anissa… and Mark, the terrible scenario overwhelms you, causes you to lose control. It all warps, twists and spirals into a new one where you are utterly consumed by bloodlust and rage at what you saw. The being from before appeared. Powerful, hungry, very hungry and it saw the Viltrumite and attacked it

“Aaaah cornered!!” powerful and relentless. The beings power buried you, overwhelmed you, drowned you as you watched the vision play off “LESSER CREATURE!!! WE DARED YOU TO RUN!!! NOW WE CHARGE!!”
The being bites the viltrumite, tearing its flesh from the viltrumites shoulder as they fought, eyes are yellow, but if they could, they’d be red
“SHAKE IT RAGGED!!! SNAP ITS NECK!! MANGLE IT!!” its like the being is talking to itself as it fights the Viltrumite with its sharp nails that are like claws, its superior strength and those vicious and feral bites. The Viltrumite never saw such feral and savage fighting style. It was like a Rognar but worse, because it had intelligence. It was like a rabid animal. Blood dripping from their mouth and chin.
“REND ITS FLESH LIMB FROM LIMB!!”
This being was a person, not a creature
“CONSUME IT!!”
A hungry person, talking to themselves, driven to insanity perhaps. They had a crazy look in their eyes
“WE ARE MORE!!!”
Biting people, killing viltrumites and eating them
“SWEET MARROW, WE TASTE IT!”
It was a cannibal
“WE FEED!!”
Stronger than anyone you met
“MEAT!!!”
Sharp teeth in a ravenous maw
“PICK IT CLEAN!!!”
The power has you, holds you and suffocates you. You can't beat them. So much blood, so much death.
"AT LONG LAST!!! ENOUGH BONES FOR US ALL!!!”
The cannibal stands triumphant with the carcass in hand as a trophy. Happy with sick and childish glee

The vision was so disturbing and so strong and vivid that the Emmonsite fusion breaks, violently expelling you and Sapphire.
You looked mortified
“W-w-what did I just witness?” your hand was shaking

Mark appeached you worried and held you in embrace
“What? What did you see?”

“I saw so much… I couldn't even process it properly, I saw glimpses. A person so powerful, it wasn't like anyone we ever fought. A Viltrumite killer”

Sapphire who was more experienced in seeing the future and filtering the visions saw a more clearer picture. But she was calm
“Do not fret. All of these threats you saw will be stopped. The person you saw was powerful, but they get defeated by Mark and a few others who work well with him as a team” Sapphire tells you to reassure you

“What exactly did you see?” Mark asks Sapphire, more authoritative and demanding since he knew Sapphire perceived the future better then you, but hid it by not elaborating. Sapphire knew she couldn't cover it up, so she had to obliged and speak up. An angry Mark is a persuasive Mark

“In the near future 18 individuals will attack the Earth. The Pentagon, Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, Chicago, Hollywood, New York, Sydney, London and more. You all will divide and conquer to fight the evil. One individual will be a different cut from the rest as (y/n) saw” Sapphire explained, giving him information, but still not giving him the clear picture

“... one of our enemies is a cannibal” you mutter as you shudder. You were scared, but also knew that you couldn't let your fear rule you. You had to stop these people
“The Earth is our home. We’ll protect it.” you exclaim with more bravery. Granted you didnt notice that Sapphire twisted some events around. The cannibal was a later threat, not an early one.

“Mark, I am sorry if I am not open about my visions. But trust me it is best I not tell you everything. I have not misled you nor do I plan to” Sapphire speaks in her usual calm voice, despite worrying that she might’ve pissed him off with her secrecy

Mark is a bit frustrated with her, but stays relatively calm. He just sighs “Fine, we’ll just prepare for them, we know where they’ll attack. We can still prevent this”

“Protect Eve, Mark. One of them will want to kill her” Sapphire tells him and then simply walks away, leaving both of you stunned. Sapphire though didn't find out what drove Immortal crazy in the future. But she saw other pieces of the puzzle, she believed she can make a good future for the two of you and now she placed herself as a piece on this game board. She will protect the king and the queen. Even if it meant she had to be sacrificed for that.

In fact, she was sure the intellectual foe will figure out she was a threat due to her future vision. Sapphire knew that she has painted a target on herself or will become one soon enough. This time she had no Ruby guards to follow her constantly and save her. She was alone. Whatever fate she had, she accepted it. Although, while she never told you. She did trust you with her life. She gave you all the tools you need to prepare. The Zoo, The Hand Ship, the Diamond Essences in bottles that are in the bathroom, and even a few samples given to Cecil to try and scientifically replicate it if you dont win the Diamonds over.

All the tools you need to secure your peaceful future. She saw the tale of the two hybrids, of love and death. Family. Rise of the most powerful empire in the universe. Reformation and redemption. She saw it all. It was a beautiful future, a peaceful future and she would do whatever it takes to get there. And if it meant throwing an ally under the bus, she’d do it.
Yes, she did see THAT far. Perhaps thats why not all of her visions were correct or accurate.

Now Sapphire left you two alone and went to meet up with the other gems, it was about time they get more social with humans. Screw shapeshifting to hide identities and be cooped up in the Grayson Residence or any facility. She was a proud gem, and if people were scared of a short blue cyclops girl, that was their problem. What is she even doing to humanity that would warrant their worry? Stand menacingly? Be a sassy girl?

Once Sapphire was gone, it was just you and Mark. In eachothers arms just kinda looking at each other after all…. that happened.
You were the first one to speak, trying to lighten the mood
“You know, apart from the time traveling interruption I actually enjoyed our date”

Jumping onto a more pleasing topic was surprisingly easy for both of you
“Wanna try again?”

“Paris again??”

“No, I mean another date”

“I’d love to” you just swooned at the idea, then you asked him “What do you have in mind?”

“What do you say we watch a movie?” he suggested

You smiled sweetly “I’d love that”
Its so simple, how come you didnt think of it. Movies were also romantic. You and him, there in the dark, a bit of snacks, though Mark was the only snack you need. But it was perfect to share a moment. You just hoped nothing will interrupt that, but thats all you can do. Hope. Hope that the universe doesnt give you or Mark a middle finger and throw some kaiju in the cinema.

Speaking of kaijus
“Got any movie in mind?” you ask

“Uhhh, good question” he had no clue, so he took his phone and decided to browse what they had playing now. You curiously went to peek at what was listed
“So what kind of movie should we see?”

“Hmm…. romance could be the safe and I guess normal option. But, I might be weird and say horror is an option too?”

“Horror?” he didn't expect that answer

You just chuckled “Yeah, gives me more excuses to jump in your arms”

“You don't need excuses for that” he tells you as you two finally lean in for a romantic and uninterrupted kiss. Perhaps your Paris date was a bust, but you two always managed to find these small moments that were precious and worth everything. And just a simple moment and a few single words was enough to light the fire of passion once again as if nothing happened.

You wanted to tell him that you didn't mean to say it that way, that you wanted an ‘excuse’ to touch him in public, like public display of affection stuff. But you know what? You didn't care about correcting him, because now you were in heaven. You have lost the track of time, it was a long day, the date, the time travelers, your talk with Sapphire, the fusion and future vision. So much happened that you didn't even notice the day slip by like that

And yet all that you experienced felt so far away even if it was just today. You were lost in the moment with Mark, and those feelings were mutual on his side too. He didn't even think and let the passion do the talking as he’d fly you up to his room. Don't get peoples attention, enter through the window and finally carefully setting you on his bed. Closing the window and locking the bedroom door. Your face was red, because you knew what would come.

Truth be told, you felt ready and now really was the perfect moment. It was night time and by now people should be asleep. As far as you knew, the Gems weren’t home. So it was just Debbie and Oliver who were asleep. If you guys were quiet enough, you could do it.

He then approached you and you two kissed again. Between the kisses he asked you if you were sure you wanted this, he didn't want to pressure you. But you told him you were ready and if there were any problems you’d let him know. If there was time that you were ready to give up your V card, now was the time

Your kissing became full blown making out, he gently pushed you on the bed and hovered over as you two kissed. Of course you’re the bottom here. And yet despite the inexperience, some things just came naturally as your hands wander his back and tugged at his hair while his gripped your hips. Then came the part where you two undress, you focused on the heat of the passion, to stay in the zone or the moment. Because the second you stop, you’d realize that you were getting not only topless but naked. And obviously you weren't naked in front of anyone. You didn't want your self consciousness to kick in and stop you and ruin the moment

If theres one thing you were lucky about, its having a caring and understanding boyfriend like Mark, who understood your inexperience and didn’t take things too fast. He knew when to slow down and check with you if you were ready and ok to up the ante.

You would nod with a nervous grin “Sure.” it was inevitable that you’d have moments of nervousness. First time was always… scary… maybe.
Mark cupped one tit and rubbed a thumb over heryour nipple, seeing it harden. You squeaked at the feeling, pressing your thighs together. He continued to caress the nub, pinching and rubbing it between his pointer and thumb.

Mark carefully bent down and closed his mouth around the other, lathering his tongue over your nipple. You clutched onto his black hair, you felt a moan escape your lips, which you quickly had to stifle before anyone unwanted could hear. But the sensation was so good that it was hard to be quiet

Your cute whimpering moans that you tried to quiet down desperately were like a reward to him. He loved hearing you and wished he could hear your moans properly, not being preoccupied by not being heard by others. Mark continued though, even switching sides to suck and lick at the other breast.

You of course loved it, honestly discovering new things about yourself as you did this. Eventually though, you two were done with the so called ‘appetizer’ and went for the ‘main course’. Breathing heavily, your nervousness reared its ugly head, but it wasn't as bad as before. Still tho, down there you were drenched and you felt you needed him. Pleasure was taking over your nervousness, you felt needy, like you needed him in you. Now.

Luckily you wouldn't need to wait any longer as with the utmost care and pleasure, he pressed in. Your moans filled the room, and your nails dug into his back. He gripped your thigh tighter and the other hand reached for your hip. He kept sliding in until you whispered, “Stop. Wait. Aaah. You’re big.”

He nodded and stopped, waiting for you to adjust to the stretch. He was careful to take it slow and ease you in it. When you felt ready, you whispered to him “More” so he continued

Quietly he asked, “Ready?”
With a nod, you kissed him and said “Im all yours~”

He pulled back his hips and thrusted back in, eliciting moans from them both. It was inevitable that you two would forget about everything else and just think about this. The whole world seemed to vanish and there was only this. Setting to a rhythm, he repeated his actions, angling his hips up to a specific point of your body. When you gasped and dug your nails hard into his shoulders, and began to aim for the same bundle of nerves.

Your legs moved wrap around his hips, heels settled on his lower back near the base of his spine. It felt just right. Your primal animalistic instincts took over that sought pleasure. Mark kissed you, it was more of a messy make out kiss, tongues swirled, swapping spit and panting into the other’s mouth. Eventually, he broke the kiss and buried his face in the crook of your neck.He pressed kisses to your skin as his thrusts became sloppy. He was close.

You suddenly tensed and gasped, what was this feeling? Were you close? Everything was pleasurable, overwhelming and maybe hazy. Your mind barely worked, these feelings, physical feelings that is, you could barely put them to words.

He met your eyes and saw your hazy expression. He kissed your cheek and whispered, “Want me to pull out?”
You just shook your head as you were too enthralled in the lustful pleasure and said
“Inside,” and then added “Please?”

If there was one benefit to the hectic day and that terrible fusion of future vision, if theres one thing that was guaranteed. This was a safe one. Kids were meant for later. You had time.

Who was he to deny you though? You have spoken, so he picked up his thrusts again, veering toward the edge. With on final slam in, he finished. He groaned as he buried his load in you.
And fuck did it feel good.

Chapter Text

~Morning~

“Mark, (y/n), you’re gonna miss breakfast.” Debbie called from down stairs

You guys were still in the bedroom
“Oh, shit.” Mark whispered

“Ow, no… Ow, ow, ow. There’s so many small things in your room.” you sigh as you rub your foot from stepping on some small and painful object “Uh, I’ll go to my room and pretend I was there the whole time. See you in a second.” you whisper and leave out the window to get to your room as if you slept there and not here, in his bed and well… you know. Having the best time of your life.

Downstairs, Oliver, Debbie and even the Gems who were now home were all preparing the table for breakfast. It was pancakes. But the gems also offered to make Together Breakfast, ingredients included waffles, whipped cream, popcorn, maple syrup and a strawberry

Mark arrived downstairs first, putting on his shirt and yawning “Oh, buttermilk pancakes. Whoa”

“You’re right. He’s still growing.” Debbie said as she gave Oliver more pancakes

You were the one who arrived soon after, also with a yawn “Oh, together breakfast?”

“We couldn't resist. We thought we’d bring a bit of home to the table” Opal said happily

“Is that much sugar good for me?... Nevermind, don't answer. Its worth the risk” you tell her

“Why’d you fly out of Mark’s window if you were just gonna come back and… Ow!”

You couldn't help but have a half suppressed giggle. You kinda adored Mark and Olivers more brotherly and silly interactions. You loved watching that big brother little brother dynamic when it was in action
You all sat at the table, tho the gems apart from Sugilite mostly watched
“So, Mark, did you get a good night’s sleep?” Debbie asked

“I, uh…”

“Mark wasn’t sleeping. He and (y/n) had a sleepover.” Oliver said

“Oliver, what the hell?” Mark whispers and kicks him under the table

“Ow! Stop kicking me. They made too much noise playing and woke me up.”

“We were watching, um, a movie. I didn’t know it was gonna be that loud.” a thud was heard “Ow! Oliver!”

During that time your half suppressed laugh became a giggle and then just laughter as the two silly boys were like kicking eachother under the table, you just found it so endearing and funny that Olivers words didn't even phase you. Like at this point the two were just kicking eachother under the table.

Though Sapphire then spoke up as she also had the biggest smile on her face. Though hers was for different reasons
“I can tell it happened. You two fused”

Now you blush and quietly say “Hush you” and then go to kick Sapphire under the table, but because she was shorty squad, you kicked the chair she was sitting on instead

Sapphire returned the favour and went to kick you, but because she was shorty squad, her kick not only did not reach your chair, but it kicked the table up a bit and shook it

“Seems we have earthquakes” you mutter to Debbie to explain the table

Opal meanwhile the only one knowing what was happening tried to change the subject from secret and not so secret sex to other stuff
“These pancakes are amazing, Mrs. Grayson. This is buttermilk? They’re so soft and fluffy and light. I tried making blueberry pancakes once, but I had way too many blueberries and then the batter was really soggy, and then the blueberries weren’t even sweet. Maybe it was the wrong time of year. I–I definitely think it was the wrong time of year. Yeah.” Opal spoke and didnt even eat. So yeah, you can tell she was desperate to help you two change the subject

But Debbie knew, she knew and just enjoyed a very normal situation. Despite it all, she loved her family. That included you and the gems as a sort of found family.
“Okay, um, moving on. Mom, uh, how much does it cost to rent an apartment?” Mark asked Debbie.

You kinda paused what you were doing. You just sipped the orange juice and nervously listened. You two did kinda talk about it last night. Though you didn't think Mark was serious about it. You thought it was just vague romance talk, not for real.
“Since when did you become interested in real estate?” Debbie asked

“(y/n) and I… um, we were talking. After what happened with Angstrom, maybe… it’s better if we shared a place of our own.”

“Oh.” Debbie looked disappointed

“And you’re seeing Paul now. You know, you’d probably like it better if I’m not walking in on you both when we come home from a big fight.”

“You’re both adults, and free to make your own choices. But I like having you two around.”

You smile hearing that, it was touching to hear that. Debbie really was like a mom you never had and you had the urge to put her in a bubble and protect her from all the evils in the world. Maybe you should give her a gift

“I know, Mom. I like it, too, but… can’t live at home forever.” Mark tells her

“But then who’s gonna hang out with me?” Oliver asked rather sweetly

“Hey, I’m not I’m not leaving forever, Oliver. I’ll be, like, a five second flight away.”

~Meanwhile~

Two people were holding a meeting. A male was visiting a female who owned the place.
She wears a black dress shirt with matching dress pants, a pale gray tie around her neck, a belt with a long, thin buckle around her waist, and three beaded lobe piercings in her left ear. Over this, she wears a brown bomber jacket with a thick beige fur collar and white lace-up sneakers with tan soles and no socks. And lastly wears white surgical gloves
The two of them were in an office, she was sitting at her desk and listening to the mans proposition. She’d nod as he speaks and give out an “I see” every here and there.
All in all, the man wanted her help against Invincible. Be part of his B Team if things go south. And in return, he promised that he’d help her get her hands on Atom Eve for her own personal vendetta or whatever.

“Do you actually have a plan?” she asked

And while he would say it, it wasn't satisfactory to the woman. It was just how he’d gather people, cause chaos, ruin Invincibles reputation and get revenge. He listed goals, not plans. The woman then decided to give him a real talk. Show him how adults actually work

“Having a goal without a plan just makes you a daydreamer, and daydreams don't make for a good sales pitch. What happens once you've expanded? How're you gonna use these people? What's your management strategy for this team you're gathering? You can barely handle the ten or so wackos you've got already, and you wanna recruit more? No point in amassing power you can't control. So no... I didn't agree to meet you here today hoping to work for you. You need a solid plan to make your goals a reality. And you can say that I'm the man with the plan.”
She extends her hand to him, for a handshake
“We shall work together, but only if you let me control the B Team and let me work here from my office”

“And how can you help me from here?”

“Have you ever played chess? You are the King that has to be protected. Then I’m the Queen, your most powerful piece. You don't use the queen too early. You save her for when it really matters. Bring the other members of the B Team here. I want to meet them, learn their strengths and weaknesses so we may coordinate better. I will learn who are my Knights, my Rooks, my Bishops”

“And your pawns?”

“The A team. They made themselves clear they’re your pawns. If Im lucky, they will be mine too. Although, just word of warning. If you’re going to recruit more like minded people. Expect them to say something similar to what I just told you”

~Grayson Residence~

You and Mark were sitting on the rooftop, talking
“When you brought up moving out, I thought it was just talk. But you’re actually serious, huh?” you told him

“If we had a place of our own, we could just be together, you know? Like a grownup couple who’s in this thing for real. That is, if you want to”

You smile and say
“Nothing would make me happier than waking up in our own apartment to your handsome, drooling face.” you softly kiss him briefly

“Wait, I don’t drool. Do I?” he asked, but you merely giggled
“But you’re in?”

“I’m in.~”

The two of you embrace each other and kiss as you were happy at the idea of having your own place to stay. Though there was just one burning question once you ended the kiss

“Now we just have to figure out how to afford it. I doubt Eve would be our golden goose and make poop gold or whatever” you sighed “We have to work for it”
“Mm. She already made a treehouse. Maybe she could just make us a cool place here in the city.”

“And put it where… the middle of the park? The city has zoning laws for those kinds of things. Granted I’ve been looking into Rehoboth Beach, Bethany Beach, and Dewey Beach. Found out thats where this worlds Beach City is. I was hoping to somehow make the Crystal Temple for a big home and base thing. But even so, there’s the fact we’d need money for like food and stuff”

“Oh, right. Well, maybe I can look for a part time job or something.”

And with that, you had an idea. But you wanted to talk to Eve about it
“Hold that thought. I have a plan” you say as you take your phone

~Meanwhile~

The same man from before went to meet up with another female individual, she wore a formal suit and a familiar red cape that was drenched in blood. This was a supervillain. Before he approached her, he saw her interact with someone else

"I've heard of a powerful villain stalking these parts. My organization is going to tear this putrid world down around us. We can use a freak of your talents."

The person that the woman wanted to recruit instead challenges her and her power. But she speedily grabbed him by the throat and watched as he rotted away and turned to ash from her mere touch. She smiled sadistically watching another victim fade into nothingness.
Thats when the man approached her with the proposition. Why not do that to Invincible and once he’s out of the way, she can do whatever she wants. He’d help her achieve that. The woman looked at him with curious and yet careful interest as she heard him out

~Payton Penitentiary~

You and Eve wore business suits. Eve wore a dark green suit consisting of a coat over a white shirt with a matching pencil skirt and black shoes. Her hair is tied up into a bun and she wears pink glasses. You were almost matching her, just with a black suit instead of dark green, a yellow shirt with a gold necklace, black pencil skirt and shoes. Your hair was also tied in a bun and had yellow glasses. You kept your black and yellow colour scheme.

“I know the problems your prison faces. In the past year, Payton’s had five riots, three escapes and too many attempted breakouts to count.” Eve spoke

“How can I help you, Ms. Wilkins?” the woman asked

“We get it. You’re suffering from overcrowding, a criminally slow response from the GDA during emergencies, and a serious lack of funding. None of that is your fault. We’re here to offer you a solution.” you spoke

“Go on.” the lady said as she was interested in what you two had to say

“A superhero on retainer. Available and ready to handle any and all supervillain related problems. He can fly, he’s got super strength and he’s practically invulnerable. In fact, he stopped a breakout here not too long ago with minimal damage and zero casualties. Imagine having someone of that caliber just a text away, 24/7.” Eve spoke

“What company are you with again? You look 19.” she told you two

You cheekily replied with the dumbest smile “Why thank you. Its my special skincare routine. You too can look 19”

“ And I’m the owner of a private security firm. We’re called…”

“Invincible” you interrupt Eve

“…Inc.” Eve finished

The woman didn't say a word, just took the card and walked away

“Uh, first call’s free!” you added

~Meanwhile~

The man from before recruited the last person, now he is meeting with a woman in a throne room. Everything was golden and yellowish in colour and there was an empire emblem behind her throne.
She wore a dark yellow and olive bodysuit, a short yellow tailcoat like attire with shoulder pads, yellow gloves, and olive-yellow, high-heeled boots. She looked bored, as she was idly humming a melody, thinking about calling a musician to entertain her. But when the guy appeared, she was curious to see what he wanted

“You’re a human. I thought those went extinct. How curious, what brings you here?” she asked

“A chance to quell your boredom. I can help you expand your Empire in ways you never thought imaginable”

She squinted and carefully said “Go on” she took his words with a grain of salt, but allowed him to explain himself

~Grayson Residence~

It was 11:23 PM, you were with Mark in his room on the bed and using a laptop as you set some stuff up. Mark chuckled
“I don’t even know how to set up my email, and you created a whole business. You’re incredible.”

“I guess years of homeschooling finally paid off. Though dont go off celebrating yet, we still haven't gotten a paycheck. At least once Eve finishes her own school stuff, she’ll be out there to help us. Also, the email thing… it’s not that difficult, love.” you say and kiss the tip of his nose

Suddenly you heard Debbie knocking on the door. You panicked and shapeshifted into MC Bear Bear. Sure maybe Debbie knew that you banged, but she didnt really need to catch you two together doing anything. You wanted to keep things wholesome infront of her. Ok, laptop stuff was wholesome. Ok ok, you both just panicked like the dumb teens you two are.
Mark even threw his pillows over you, since even when shapeshifting your gem do kinda be obvious.
“Mark? Mark, wake up.” Debbie called

And Mark now opened the door
“What’s up, Mom? I was just… Hmm?”

“Oliver’s gone.” Debbie worriedly said.

And you both knew, it was your cue to find him

~Meanwhile~

The man continued his recruiting spree
“So cause shit to happen, blame Invincible and be there if things go south for you? Sounds easy” she shrugged

“Good, then follow me. You have a team to meet” the man tells her

“Sure, whatever. Lemme meet your social rejects” she crosses her arms and floats almost like a viltrumite as she follows him. She wasn't a viltrumite, but she could fly like one

~Elsewhere~

Speaking of flying, thats what you and Mark were doing as you were looking for Oliver
“What if someone took him? Could be whoever was spying on us.” Mark said

“We don’t know that yet.” you said to calm him, but honestly you were just as scared as Mark. You just didn't wanna show it as you didnt wanna burden Mark more. But you kept a sharp eye for lookout

“Maybe Robot could help? Shit, do I need to call Cecil? He’s got cameras everywhere.” Mark was clearly worried

“Or maybe you can just look over there.” you said and pointed

“Let’s check it out.” he wanted to fly there

“Wait.” you immediately tugged at him to stop him, instead you diverted him to land close by but out of sight, in a tree amongst the leaves

You two watched as Oliver did a skate trick for his human friends

“It’s not fair. You can fly. You got to do it without using your powers.”

“Okay, okay, no flying. Promise” Oliver said and tried to do the trick again, but without using flight powers

“You can do this. Come on, Oliver.”

“Come on, you got this.”

Oliver tried to do the trick, but failed. Mark wanted to go, but like a mom, you felt you had to stop him and just let it all play out normally.

“You okay?” a kid asked

“That was hard. But I almost did it. I’m gonna do it again.” Oliver said, he really was unharmed

“You can do it. You got to lean forward more.” the girl said

When they saw car lights, the kids temporary hid and then came out
“My dad would kill me if he caught me sneaking out again.” the boy said

“So would my mom.” Oliver said

“You got this, Oliver. Come on.”

“Lean forward.”

“He made friends. Like, normal friends. And they’re just… playing.” Mark said quietly

“Of course he made friends, Mark. He’s a kid. It’s just too bad he had to sneak out to do it.” you reply

“Beat it, shrimps. It’s past your bedtime.” a teen says

“Nuh uh. We were here first.” Oliver said

“We were here first.” another mock mimicked Oliver

“Duh. Why the hell are you purple?”

“Let’s go. I’m I’m getting tired anyway.” the boy told Oliver

“We’re not leaving. You leave.” Oliver stood his ground

You and Mark watched the interaction and again, you mostly held back Mark from being overprotective
”Oliver can take care of himself.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about.”

“Trust him. He’s not gonna do something stupid” at least you hoped so. Debbie and Opal gave him a good talking. One was like the best mom in the world and the other was like a thousand year old therapist who was now becoming a dang good child therapist or psychologist. She knew how to reach Oliver, even if at least once or twice she said something eyebrow raising.

You and Mark watched Oliver as he… pulled down the bully teens pants. You quietly giggled

“Huh? What the fuck?” a teen said

The kids laughed too

“He’s got fucking powers.” another said as they ran away

“That was awesome.” a kid said

“He’s a good kid, Mark.” you reassured Mark

~Meanwhile~

The man went to recruit another person in the B team. This person wore a white mask with a black stylized mischievous smile.
The magician wears a dark marine blue shirt with the collar left upturned, a green striped bolo necktie with an oval-shaped azure brooch hanging around their neck, a gray waistcoat, and black dress pants, knee high white boots with wedged heels and black toe caps, plain dark blue gloves, a tall black top hat, a blue ribbon tied around it, and a pale feather sticking out on the left. They also carry a silver walking stick with a gold handle.

All in all, it screamed haughty and classy and sassy magician.

“So let me get this straight. If I help you and your team achieve this goal of vengeance, you’ll help me get out of Machine Heads thumb?”

“Yes, you will be free to do your magic tricks and whatever else you do. What do you say?”

“I say, superb casting” the person gives him an applause and lets him lead the way
“Time to show people what a true performance looks like”

~Grayson Residence, the next day~

Mark was talking to his mother
“And his… friends… they didn’t make fun of him for, you know, being purple?” Debbie asked

“They didn’t seem to care.” Mark said

“You’re sure he was having fun?”

“Yeah, Mom. I know what fun looks like.”

She sighed “He still shouldn’t be sneaking out. What if those bullies come back?”

“Oliver didn’t hurt them. He was really good. I’m proud of him.”

“I can’t follow him like you can, Mark.”

“I know. I’ll talk to him about not going out at night again. But you can always call me, (y/n) or the gems. Do we really want to stop him from being a kid?”

The conversation gets interrupted by a vibrating phone call. Mark picked it up and realized what it was
“Oh, shit!”

“Language!” Opal was heard from another room

“Sorry.”

~Payton Penitentiary~

The guards were shooting a rock man aka Titan, who picked up a car and tossed it at a guard tower. But Mark caught it and lowered it safely back on the ground as he approached Titan. Of course you arrived to the scene too. This would be your first time encountering Titan and all that Machine Head stuff.

“If you want to go to jail so badly, I’m happy to help with that.” Mark said and realized its Titan
“Whoa. Titan.” Mark cracked his knuckles
“I never got to thank you for almost getting me killed.”

He charged to punch Titan, but Titan just removed the rockyness from his face. Mark just stopped

“Oh my god, he just Steven Universe’d you” you comment with your arms crossed when you realized Titan wanted to talk with his enemies.

“What happened between us last time was nothing personal. Didn’t mean for it to get that rough for you.” Titan said

“Unbelievable. You used me and then left me to die.” Mark replied

You just quietly followed the conversation, looking from Mark to Titan as the two conversed you can get caught up on the situation

“I fought like hell to keep you alive. But Machine Head had to go. I don’t care. You’re coming with me…” Mark wanted to grab Titan

“We need to talk!”

“We really don’t.”

“A lot of people are gonna die.”

“Okay. I’m not falling for that again.”

You just looked, left right left right. Mark Titan Mark Titan. So Titan was a baddie that used Mark, but he seemed like a well intentioned baddie, if that is a thing. Pretty much shades of gray and not the sexy kind. This world is pretty much gray, not as black as white as home.

“You think I’d just come out here, let you put hands on me if it wasn’t life or death? You think I’m that stupid?”

When Mark didnt reply, you just intervened and said “Maybe we should just hear him out. He did this to gain your attention. The least we can do is hear him out to see whats happening now”

Mark still didnt answer as he didnt wanna help Titan, but you just gave him the ol cute puppy eyes treatment and said softly and cutely “Plleeeeease?”

Mark just sighed and so he picked up Titan, bridal style to fly him as you jumped and floated and followed

“This is still some bullshit.”

“Hush you. I vouched for you and gave you my favorite spot, you should be grateful” you replied in a more stern and no nonsense voice, you could easily switch from cutesy to serious and authoritative.

You all arrived to a neighbourhood and walked together, Titan would speak how he improved this unrecognizable place. No more murders, no more crime, folks no longer afraid to live here, Titan says

But then he asked if Mark heard of “You heard of The Order? Or Mister Liu?”

Nearby, unbeknownst to you, 5 figures listened in. One smiled, it was the one who described herself as the Queen piece. She told the other 4 what to do as she made her leave. The other 4 snuck off as a plan was set in motion

“No.” Mark meanwhile replied

“They’re a global crime syndicate. Superpowered. He’s their leader and can turn into a dragon. A big dragon.” Titan said

“Nice” you commented because you like dragons

“Yeah, so?” Mark asked

“I don’t work for them. But they think otherwise. And if I don’t break MultiPaul out from prison they’re gonna kill me and my family and do it themselves.” Titan said

“What? No. MultiPaul’s a murderer. I’m not letting you break him out.” Mark sadid

“ You want me to stay in charge here. If I go, they’ll replace me with someone who doesn’t give a shit about anything but The Order. And all this goes back to how it was, but worse.”

You noticed Titan looked at you, maybe hoping you’d talk Mark into complying like you did before. You just shook your head “Sorry, but no. I mean, if you want you can go to prison for your protection. Put on a show like you tried your darndest to break him out, but got caught. As for this place. Im sorry, but we cant help” you just say with a casual shrug.

“Yeah. No. We’re not doing this.” Mark said

“Thought you superheroes cared about saving lives.”

“Don’t even start with me. Come on, I’m taking you to prison.”

Titan jumped in the sewer and ran, Mark followed via flight

“Oh yea, there’s no way in hell that Im going to a stinky sewer for one street level guy. Invincible I trust you got this in the bag” you tell the sewer and just walk away mildly disgruntled

~Meanwhile~

Behind the scenes one small plan was set in motion as the group acquired a truck
“I am a ruler of a glorious empire. I can fly and do so much terror and devastation. People, humans and all things organic tremble at my feet, so tell me. WHY AM I REDUCED TO A GETAWAY CAR DRIVER!?!?!” the yellow empress from before spoke up

The one with burn scars just casually turned around and just nonchalantly said “Shut your mouth you crazy bastard. We wait now and then once Liu makes his move, that’s when we strike” pretty much giving her maximum disrespect by not giving her any importance

“Tch” she crossed her arms “Still didn't answer my question though” the yellow empress pouted

~Grayson Residence, Marks Room~

Titan got away, he set up his own decoys by making people dress in the same hoodie as him, so he gave Mark the slip. Now you and Mark are in his room. You were writing something in a notebook, though you couldn't help but break the silence
“Mark?”

“What?”

“You haven’t blinked for, like, five minutes. Are you having second thoughts about the apartment?” you say as you approach and hug him

“No. No, no, that’s not it.”

Well if it wasnt that, then surely it was…
“Titan may be less bad than Machine Head or this Order or whatever they’re called, but the guy’s still bad. And working with him is only gonna drag you down to his level. You did the right thing. Well, WE did the right thing. We both were there. We heard him out and thats the maximum courtesy the guy deserves. The guy may be the lesser of two evils, but he’s still an evil. We declined him and thats that. Sorry I haven't gone to the sewers with you though”

“Thats fine, you didn't need to go with me”

~On a vantage point~

Overlooking Titans tower, with a binoculars, the burned one who was part of the quartet was watching Titans showdown with Liu as Isotope betrayed Titan and slowly Liu assumed his dragon form and flew towards the prison

“It begins” the one with the burns said as they mobilized.
Their plan? Let Liu fuck shit up at the prison, let Invincible be distracted and swipe a prisoner for themselves. How? Well simple. The prison will be trashed by a dragon, so the prisoner will be transferred to another prison. During that prison convoy, thats when they strike. On the road when they’re the least guarded. And when the heroes are licking their wounds from a dragon attack. Work smarter, not harder.

Now, all they needed to do was move to be at a right spot to initiate their ambush when the time came. Also, by chance, get a nice spot to see you heroes struggle against a dragon. Bonus points if the dragon kills you. Yes, specifically you. The one with the burns had an agenda and that involved eliminating you.

~Payton~

“Uh, Warden…” a guard said as he spotted a dragon incoming. Quickly they scrambled to call Invincible Inc.

Meanwhile, you guys were still in the room. As Marks phone vibrated and realized its happening

“Ugh.”

“What?” you asked

“Titan wasn’t lying. There’s a dragon attacking the penitentiary.”

“Honey, that was a given that he wasn't lying. But anyway, lets go” you quickly get in your outfit and you call Eve
“I think we’ll need backup against a dragon”

Mark still seemed down and you asked him what was it. So instead of calling Eve you just texted her ‘U. Me. Payton. Dragon attack’ and the dragon was an emote, just for the fastest texting, cuz Mark was always number 1 priority.

“I screwed up. I don’t want you getting hurt because I made a mistake.”

“Mark. We’re in a relationship. That means that we help and support each other, especially when we screw up. Besides, I bet we can charge more if there’s three of us. Besides besides” you wink to him “Im awesome and I can heal fast”

Back at the chaotic prison, Liu the Dragon was destroying everything and killing people, that means prisoners included as he stomped like them. Luckily for the rest of the prison, you guys arrived super fast

Mark grabbed him by the tail and pulled him back
“Titan told me about you.”

“Then you should know you’re already dead.” Liu tells him

“Oho, he said the thing. Now I wanna train this dragon” you say as you crack your knuckles to prepare for a beat down on a dragon
“Lowkey wanna keep him as a pet”

You all started to fight the dragon. Mark punched it really hard and really fast, but it didnt do much, he went to swipe at Mark with his claw, though Mark dodge it. He didnt dodge the other attack though
“Right. It’s got a tail.” he comments

Eve attacked it with pink energy attacks which also didnt harm it. But then she used, you’ll never guess… PINK…. WALLS. Though now she became creative, she incased herself in pink armour. Gave Mark a pink, whip like rope and a handle and she incased herself in pink circular gemlike construct. She turned herself into a flail that Mark spun around and bashed the dragon with.

You jumped on the dragons back and stabbed it with your sword, which did cause it to roar in pain. Because duh, if blunt force damage doesn't do much, then use sharp piercing damage. Gaming sense 101.

You then grabbed the dragon and pinned it down just long enough for Mark and Eve to double punch it. It was solid damage, but the dragon wanted to free his assassin so he bashed in a random cell, which caused some criminals to flee

“Bad dragon!” you tell him and kick him in the face. Though you noticed that the stab wound healed on the dragon. This was gonna be tough

He shakes his head and tries to bite you, then Invincible. Eve was also there with her pink attacks and even used her constructs good enough to knock the dragon away from Multi Paul. Mark followed in pursuit to beat the dragon.

You noticed Multi Paul, his cell was broken, you wanted to stop him, but then you noticed something. A shadow, looking above a boulder was falling on you. You dodged it

~Nearby~

“Almost had her” the magician said as they snapped their fingers in a ‘curses, missed her’ sorta way.

The one with the burns wanted to go there and fight you. They reeeally hated you, but the magician placed their hand on the fiery ones shoulder
“Not yet. Its not our turn for a grand reveal yet.”

~Back to action~

“Warden! Warden! Power’s out and so is the anti teleport field!” a guard says over walkie talkie

“We got bigger problems.” the warden lady replied

~Back to the prisoners~

Multi Paul broke out of his restraining collar and went to make his escape. Eve put every other prisoner in their cell.

You stepped in front of Multi Paul
“Don’t even think about it.” you readied yourself to fight him

You and Eve went to deal with Paul, between Eves constructs and your attacks, you two managed to stop with the shadow clones. Eve caught Multi Paul in a huge construct that was like a jail cell and she flew away to support Mark.

You also left, well… you faked leaving. It was just to trick Multi Paul, because you noticed something Eve didnt, and you faked not seeing. So once you were out of sight, you saw the real Multi Paul was free. You quickly went to stop Paul by giving him a surprise kick to the face. KO. You win!
You drag the unconscious Multi Paul back to his cell and just throw some rubble to block his exit. Now you go and join the dragon fight for real.

The dragon slashed at Marks chest and slammed him down on the ground
“I will show you the error of your name.” the dragon says and goes to crush him, but Mark dodged and flew away

“You’re not the first person to point that out.” Mark slid under the dragon, grabbed him by the tail and slammed the dragon back first on the ground.

You saw a guard tower collapse and quickly jump to grab it and gently lower it to save the people, including the warden. The dragon attacked you and bit into you and tossed you away. It grabbed Mark, wrapping his tail around him and tossed him and slamming him into you. You just quietly cursed under your breath at how smarter you should’ve handled it.

Mark gets up and helps you up, seeing your heavy damage as the two bite holes were very visible and very bleeding. But at least you were healing. It just might take a bit since they were bigger wounds. Looks like you jinxed yourself when you mentioned your healing power

“Oh, shit.” Mark said and wanted to tend to you, but knew he couldnt as the dragon landed close to you two

“Your power may come from the stars, but mine comes from beyond this reality.”

“Thats kinda poetic” you say, not really thinking straight. Maybe its the blood loss or maybe you cope with stress with humour.

Eve is still holding off prisoners from escaping, she just missed Isotope saving Machine Head

“You’re a fictional creature, dude.” Mark told you as he grabbed some boulders and threw him into the dragon.

You just shook your head hearing that retort. Not his best. If you were in a better shape, you'd let him know. But what was amazing was Mark, flying up and slamming down like a bullet into the dragons head, causing the dragon to bleed and seemingly be defeated.

“Eve… we got to charge more than we’re charging.” Mark called out to her

Behind him, Liu healed and spoke
“You cannot kill what I am made from.”

At this point, both you and Mark just sighed.

“Eve, I might need you here.” he says as you were still weakened. The dragon attacked you two. You made a bubble shield so the dragon doesn't crush you two with the claws. At least your wound was healing well. The bleeding should stop soon. Although because of your condition, your bubble shield wasnt sturdy. It was cracking

Behind the scenes, pieces were playing their part. Such as Machine Head and Isotope getting rid of the guard and Machine Head putting down Liu, which caused a chain reaction in causing the dragon to vanish into ethereal smoke.

Titan helped you two up, once the situation calmed
“Machine Head wanted the dragon to eat you before he killed Mr. Liu. But I figured I owed you one.”

“You… I’m taking you to jail.” Mark weakly tells him

“Nah. But thanks for the help, hero. Doing good, even if you didn’t mean to. See you around.” Titan said as he teleported away with Isotope

“Im gonna bop him good” you say weakly and exhausted as you barely stood up

“I’ll help” Mark replied the same way as he held you and helped you

“Are you okay?” you ask Mark

“I don’t know.”

~Later~

After things settled, Payton was busy rebuilding from the dragon damage, so some prisoners had to be transferred to other jails. Multi Paul had to go a secret location so this doesnt happen. So there was a whole police convoy to ensure nothing happens. Although they all thought it was smooth sailing, after that dragon attack surely no one will strike that fast?

Though, the cops soon realized that a truck ahead of them wasnt quite normal. There was a person sitting on top of the back of the truck, looking at the convoy. It was the person in the formal suit and the familiar and bloody red cape. She smiled creepily at the convoy and waved to them

“What the? Who’s that?” the cop driving the convoy asked as he saw the scene ahead

The back of the truck opened up revealing the masked magician and the burned up person
“HEY WOMAN STOP WEAVING, I GET MOTION SICK!” the burned person said to the yellow empress just to add more humiliation to her role

“DON'T CALL ME WOMAN!!! YOU’RE ONE TOO!!!” she yelled from her driver seat as she steered

“SHUT UP AND FOCUS ON DRIVING!!!” the burned one replied which caused the driver to pout

“Where did you even learn how to drive?” the one on top of the truck asked

“The greatest driving game ever. GRAND THEFT AUTO 6!!” she replied as she drove

The burned up one sighed “Lets go!” and ignited her hand in blue fire and fired a stream of flames at the convoy. Though realized somethings wrong “What is this?” she asked curiously
And saw the hero Shrapnel who protected the convoy from the intense flames.

“Of course they send a hero with them. But at least its a D Lister” the one with the cape spoke
“Yellow, slow down” she commanded

The driver sighed and slowed down so they can get closer to the cop cars. The person who was on top jumped down and grabbed Shrapnel. Disintegrating her slowly into ash
“Everything rots and crumbles under my touch” she told the hero who slowly died

The scared cop didn't know what to do against a power like that

“Such wonderful movement. But even so that was a misdirection. A little sleight of hand if you will. Now observe” the magician threw a delicate marble, which bounced against the road and then turned into a giant boulder which flipped the cop car
“Watch carefully as the police car flies away! No trickery or wires involved”
as the car was flipped, the one with the cape jumped from the car to the main truck holding the prisoner

The magician and the fire one jump out of the back of the truck as it drove off. Meanwhile the first one turns the glass to ash and grabs the steering wheel as the cop screams in terror and the main truck is soon flipped as it crashes down.

“That was pretty intense” the magician said

They saw the cop trying to scurry away, but the fiery one quickly incinerated the walking dead. And turned the cop into charred remains.
Now all that was left was Multi Paul.
They approached the back of the cop truck and one of them turned the door into ash.

“Greetings~ It seems you couldn't make it to my show, so I brought the show to you!” the magician said

“We’re setting you free. You can ask questions later” the fiery one said more straight to the point
The magician just tapped Multi Paul turning him into a marble and then gave a theatrical bow to the wreckage and devastation they left
The 3 walked away from the crime scene, side by side. It was pretty much that team power walk trope as they casually walked away with nothing but wreckage, fire and smoke behind them.

~Meanwhile, during all that~

Unbeknownst to you that devastation played out. You were tired and still healing and you had a terrible headache. You even took painkillers and you never did that! So it was that severe.
Nevertheless, you went to see Mark who was sitting on the roof
“Knew I’d find you here”

“What are you doing here? You should be resting” Mark told you, since he was worried about you. Liu did a number of you and you were bandaged up as your wounds healed. Whatever magic stuff Liu was, it did affect your healing factor making it slower than usual.

“It’ll take more that a dragon chomp and being thrown around like a ragdoll to take me out” you say with a little yawn, as you were tired still.

The two of you talked and you asked Mark what was on his mind. It turned out it was still that prison situation with the dragon and Multi-Paul
“What else could you have done? You couldn’t let Titan break Multi Paul out of prison.”

“Yeah. Instead, I just helped him kill his biggest rival. And almost died doing it. Again. And this time I got you hurt too”

“It would have been worse if we’d done nothing. That dragon could have killed everyone. Plus, MultiPaul’s still behind bars and the warden thinks we did an acceptable job. After Eve helped rebuild the damage to her prison. Aaand we got paid enough for at least three or four months’ rent.” you say trying to cheer him up

“About that. Maybe we should…”

“Hold off on the apartment?” you finish his sentence

“ With Oliver sneaking out, it just doesn’t feel right to leave my mom to look after him by herself. He’s my responsibility, too.”

“You don’t need to explain. I get it.” you say as you hold his hand

“You’re not upset?” he asked surprised

“No, of course not, silly” you chuckled softly and hugged him. He then wrapped his arm around you and pulled you close. You asked him
“Now that we don’t need to pay rent anymore, should we still keep Invincible Inc.?”

“Uh, those Seance Dog collectibles aren’t gonna pay for themselves.”

You chuckled “True that. We need our collectibles”

After a while, you decided to go to sleep. Your headache was killing you and you didnt wanna look worse for wear to the others. So you just went to bed and crashed
Mark meanwhile went downstairs and saw his mother and Sugilite was there too. The two were cleaning up and talking about something.

“Hey, Mom. Did Oliver sneak out again? I’ll find him.”

“No, he’s in bed, reading. We had a good talk about it. You were right. Oliver deserves to be a kid. He’s different, but he’s, oh, he’s still just a kid. And kids should have friends, not parents who won’t even let them out to play.”

“(y/n) and I are not getting an apartment anymore.”

“Oh, thank God.” Mark looks at her and she corrects her reaction “I mean, uh, is everything okay between you two? If you need to talk…”

“No, no. We’re good. We just wanted to slow things down.”

“I hope you’re not doing this because of me. I can handle myself.”

“Oh, I know. I want to be an adult and protect the city and be a good boyfriend. And I also want to be here with you and Oliver. It feels nice living with a little brother, you know?” he said as he picked up some stuff from the floor and helped her clean up
“I don’t want that to end just yet.”

“Aw. It’s my pancakes, isn’t it?”

“I mean, duh.”

“Oh, Mark.” she says as they hug
“Oh, the biggest thing I’ve come to learn about adulthood is that nothing is ever black and white. So I’d say, in terms of growing up, you’re doing just fine. By the way, just have to say it… I know you and (y/n) are having sex.

“Mom! What?!”

“It’s a natural part of life. And I want you to know…”

Mark immediately did all the chores with his Viltrumite speed and went to leave
“Okay! All done, Mom. Great talk. Okay, good night.”

"Note to self. Mention sex when ya wanna make Mark do chores effeciently and fast" Sugilite commented to herself. Though something else was on the Gems mind. She hoped things would be well, but she needed to train with you. Mark had his exclusive 3 month training montage. You deserved one too. At least for 3 days.

~Meanwhile at an unknown location~

“This will do” the man said

The B Team was assembled. It had 13 individuals. Now all he needed is 1 or 2 more people for the main team and they would be ready to go.

The team was sizing each other up, curious about this whole sci fi situation. But they weren’t too fussed over it. Although two of them stood out from the rest and were playing some secret 5d chess as they were both planning to do their own route. They even planned in hand in hand, aware of eachothers goals. The Boss didn't know, but this team safeguarded each other from being betrayed.
One of them, was hellbent on killing you specifically, not Invincible.

Chapter Text

It was a new day, and you and Mark decided to help Oliver train. By letting him fight a minor villain. One that Mark fought when he was just starting out. An elephant guy.

Speaking of the elephant man. Here he was, causing havoc to unsuspecting people.
“None of you would eat a dog, so why is a cow any different? If I can survive on an all-plant diet, so can -” and he got punched by Oliver and got sent flying into a car

“Where’d you even find this guy?” Oliver asked Mark

“Hey, careful! You got to look out for other people.” Mark told him

“I did. He didn’t hit anyone.” Oliver retorted

“He hates listening to me so much.” Mark shook his head as he told you

“Hmm, maybe its a matter of phrasing” you tell Mark and then turn attention to Oliver
“Oliver, keep the fight away from the restaurant. If the place gets trashed, we can’t have burgers after you’re done.”

“Got it. Thanks, (y/n)!” Oliver gave you a thumbs up

You just smile and give him a thumbs up. Mark just sighs and shakes his head, because his little brother isnt listening to him.

The Elephant rubbed his head and then slowly understood the situation he was in
“Wait. Are you just using me as a…Hey! I’m not your training dummy!”

“Sure you are.” Oliver said and flew at him
Mark just facepalmed at how Oliver just went at it. You softly giggled, but then placed a hand on his shoulder to make him feel better

Then cue after that whole training session, you guys get those burgers with Oliver just as promised. You guys were on a rooftop, enjoying your meal. You liked the fries, they reminded you of home.

“Next time, I want to fight someone tougher.” Oliver says

“When you’re ready.” Mark tells him

“I’m ready now. I already fought real villains. Why do I have to fight lame-os like the Elephant?”

“Dad made me fight the Elephant a bunch of times, too. It’s good practice.”

“I still cant believe theres a villain called the Elephant. Im still trying to get past that” you comment

Oliver thought about it a bit and then asked Mark
“That was before Dad did all that stuff.”

“Ye-Yeah. Before all that.” it was clear that Omniman was a hard subject to talk about, given what he did to Earth with just one serious battle. Not to mention what he did to Mark specifically, with the casualties being ‘his fault’.

“Will people here ever forgive him?” Oliver asked

You thought about it deeply on how to answer him in a way that he’d find acceptable. Truth be told, you never met Nolan and to be honest, you were afraid to ever meet him. You dont know what Nolan is truly like. You only heard stories from Mark, and recently from Homeworld Gems which had their own demonized outlook toward him. Though Mark said that he was trying to become better, but he got caught by Viltrumites. He protected Thraxans. Apparently he developed a conscience there. It was complicated, so where does that put him. You thought if the situation reminded you of anyone of home. And honestly? Only Pink sprung to mind

“Oliver, it’s… Uh…” you tried to find the words for him

“I know he did a bad thing trying to take over the world, but he saved a lot of people before that, right? Doesn’t that count?” Oliver said

And yeah, now that totally helped put things in perspective towards the Pink Diamond analogy. At first they did good things, but the most recent memories people have of them are bad things.

“Yeah, Dad probably saved more lives than he took. But those lives don’t just cancel out the others.” Mark told him

“So, he never gets to say he’s sorry? He’s a bad guy forever?” Oliver asked

“That’s not what Mark’s saying.” you try to interject

“But people think that, don’t they?”

“Hey. Can you blame them? They don’t know about Thraxa or the Viltrum empire or anything that happened since Dad left. All they know is he tried to take over and killed a lot of people.” Mark told him

“Why don’t you tell them, then? You could make them understand.” Oliver said

“Oliver. What is this really about?” a new voice was heard. It was Opal who wanted to check on them since they were gone for a while

“Opal?” Mark didn't expect to see her

Opal smiled and waved to Mark, but went to sit beside him and listen to what Oliver would say “Please, tell us. I can tell you have something on your mind”

“I think, because of my Thraxan side, I have, like, a really good memory. I can remember everything from when I was little. Like my mom hugging me. And Dad humming songs and flying me around the palace. My mom loved Dad, like, a lot. I know that. And she was awesome, wasn’t she?” Oliver looked at Mark, since Mark met her

“Your mom was really smart and brave.” Mark told him

“Then how bad can he be if my mom loved him and had me with him? Even after Dad did all that bad stuff, she must have known he was good inside."

Mark sighed “I still love Dad. But he was two different people. One was the dad you and I knew when we were kids. But the other was a Viltrumite who had a mission to do, even if that meant hurting a lot of people.”

“So, which one is the real Dad?” Oliver asked

He and Mark didn't have an answer. Opal could tell you had an answer to that question, but you didn't know how to express yourself.

“Both are the real dad. Its more correct to say that one is a past version of him and one is a current version of him” Opal said, which gained everyone's attention. She projected a small holographic image of Nolan from her gem to Olivers lap

“(y/n) and I have a similar situation from back at home” Opal spoke

“You do??” Oliver asked

Opal, along with the Nolan projection added another for them to see. Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz
“Rose was the Earths protector, much like your father. She was seen in a good light and loved by all who knew her. But after she passed away, her secrets would be uncovered. Slowly, piece by piece the puzzle would be solved. The kind, patient, loving and saintly Rose Quartz was actually the secretive, lying, short-tempered, immature, shortsighted, over-emotional and spoiled Pink Diamond. Rose was secretly Pink Diamond, the true ruler of Earth and for thousands of years she fought a sham war against herself. Many people died because of her. As time went on all people remembered was her bad deeds. Much like your dad. She saved many many lives, but she also caused the death of many lives as well. You could ask me the same question, who was the real one. Pink or Rose? Both were real. She may have actually been Pink Diamond, but her actions were Rose. Now your dad? Which is the real one? Well, he started off as Nolan the Viltrumite, but he now became Nolan the dad. I am sure, he is now a good man, Oliver” Opal reached out and patted him on the shoulder

“But then, why hasn't anyone forgiven him?” Oliver asked

“Mark told you. Humans don't know about his redemption” she explained

“Then Mark will tell them”

“Son, it doesn't work like that. He is just one person against thousands of peoples opinions. The only person who can change their mind is your dad himself.” she softly told him as she still rested her hand on his shoulder

“But what about your worlds version of dad? Pink?” he asked

“Pink wasn't forgiven. Her mistake was that she kept secrets and her wrongdoings were uncovered after her death. She ran from her mistakes, because she thought thats the only way. She lost her chance to truly atone herself and now she’s looked badly by those people that once loved her as Rose. Only former tyrants loving her as Pink. I don't think that her son quite ever forgave her either. Which is understandable and sad. But your dad, he has a chance to right his wrongs. And once he does, only then will the people of Earth love him once again” Opal told him

Thats when you chimed in “Its called a recency bias, Oliver”
Once you gained his attention, you further elaborated
“Recency bias is the tendency to overemphasize the importance of recent experiences or the latest information we possess when estimating future events. Both Omniman and Pink did good things in the past, but the peoples latest information is that they both did bad things. Thats why they’re in a similar situation. And its pretty much like what Opal said. Thats why its important for your dad to fix his own mistakes”

“The people will accept Omniman, only if Omniman wants to fix his own reputation here. And that is something none of us can do for him” Opal said

Oliver looked down a bit sad “I understand”

“Chin up little one. That just means we’ll have to find your dad. And you’ll finally be able to spend time with him” Opal said with a smile to cheer him up

He looked up at Opal with a smile “Yeah, you’re right”

She patted the boys head, ruffling his hair
“Mark, I’ll take Oliver off your hands. I feel we need to spend some quality time together”

Mark nodded “Alright, we’ll leave you two be”

With that Opal took her leave with Oliver, leaving you alone with Mark
“Thanks for that”

“For what?” you ask Mark

“For talking to Oliver about… you know… dad”

“Aaah, no its fine. I completely understand. And Im sure Oliver will too” you reassure Mark

Meanwhile, Opal would walk Oliver home.
“Do we haave to walk? We could fly” Oliver asked

“Correction my young friend. You can fly, I can levitate” Opal said

“Is there a difference?”

“Flight is the ability to move fast through the air horizontally and vertically, but levitation is moving up vertically and staying in one place.” Opal explained

“Oh” Oliver looked disappointed, before offering “Want me to carry you?”

Opal shrugged “If you wish, but there is no need to rush.”

Oliver happily grabbed Opal who shapeshifted to be smaller and he flew with her back home. As they flew, Opal decided to make some small talk
“You know, for all your talk about humans. You’re actually more human than you realize”

He glanced at her confused “I am?”

“Well, think about it. Humans just lead short, boring, insignificant lives, so they make up stories to feel like they're a part of something bigger. They want to blame all the world's problems on some single enemy they can fight, instead of a complex network of interrelated forces beyond anyone's control. It kind of sounds exactly like you”

“What? No it doesn't!” Oliver retorted

“Ahem and quote ‘People kill each other all the time, and most people aren’t even special like us. They’re just normal.’ End quote. You blame all the worlds problems on humans, aka a single enemy, which you can fight and kill, while life is much much MUCH more complex. Oliver if the universes problems can be punched away, the Viltrumites would’ve solved their problems eons ago and so would have humans, considering how many wars have been fought. Same for gems. The matter of fact is that might is not right. And let me tell you my diagnosis of Viltrumites. The Viltrumites, as a culture, are extremely stunted emotionally and spiritually. They focus solely on the pragmatic and logical through a very Darwinistic mindset. This, in turn, has given them almost a cult-like mentality toward their people, world, and the way of the Viltrumite. They can pretend its because of their longevity, but I can assure you, that is not the case. They are a ruthless society that view emotion as a weakness and thus they shun emotions and personal connections as a means to protect themselves from emotional pain and trauma. Its actually very sad.” Opal told the boy a hard truth.
"So, rise above that Oliver. Break the cycle. I know you can do it"

She would continue to pat him on the head
“You, Mark and (y/n) are special. Bridges between 4 different worlds. Thraxans, Viltrumites, Humans and Gems. Working together, you can insure universal peace. And peace is not achieved by bloodshed”

“Why not?” Oliver naively asked

“Hate begets hate. Violence begets violence. It means that violent behaviour promotes other violent behaviour, in return. If you kill someone, someone else will want to take their revenge on you. Look at Angstrom for example. He was wronged by some evil version of Mark, and in turn he wants to harm our Mark. But then he met his demise because our Mark had to take him out. When you solve things with violence, you’ll just make more problems, not solve them. You just become part of the problem. Understand?” Opal explained

Oliver looked sad, but understanding “I understand”

Opal smiled softly “Good” and gave him a hug.
The two arrived home to the Grayson Residence just in time.

For a while things are peaceful. You had a pleasant surprise that William invited you to his birthday. Apparently he wanted to do bowling. He even invited some of the Gems. Opal was spending time with Debbie, the two kinda hit it off as besties. Sugilite spent a lot of time training, mostly alone and waited for you to join her. Its as if she didnt wanna show her strengths to others. Sapphire kept an eye on Celestine who seems to want to sneak away from everyone, so she kept an eye on her.

You had to admit it, when putting all the bullshit life throws at you and Mark, things are pretty sweet. You have an amazing boyfriend, you are sorta kinda a ruler of a galactic empire, you have 2 huge ships, a servant which you need to teach what freedom is, friends in form of humans and aliens alike and an amazing family with the Graysons as Debbie was like the mother you never had. And you had to admit it, she makes lovely pancakes. You should ask her how she makes them, so you can do it as well.

Eventually dinner time came, and you were all at dinner, you, the Gems, even Celestine who didnt know much about food, Debbie, Oliver and even Paul
“I wouldn't really call it a fight since I could have knocked him out in, like one second, but Mark and (y/n) say I need to learn the basics, except I already learned the basics ages ago. Ow!” Oliver said as Mark who was arriving flicked him in the cheek

“Sure. But you didn’t see that coming, did you?” Mark said which made you chuckle.

“Oliver, I think you were great. Even those baby steps will help you so much in fighting bigger and badder enemies. Trust your brother, every bit of experience helps. Besides, I am sure you learned something new even from fighting a weaker enemy” Sapphire spoke

“He did learn how to be more careful with collateral damage” you chime in

“See. Trust us Oliver” Sapphire tells the boy to make him feel better about fighting enemies and listening to Mark.
Sapphire then turned her attention to Debbie
“Excuse me, but may I have a word with you after dinner?”

“Sure, is it something… bad?” she didnt know how to word it, but she knew it must have been serious

Sapphire considered how to answer her and just said “Not necessarily, but consider it more of a recommendation that you would like.”

“Dinner’s delicious, Paul. Thanks for cooking.” Mark told Paul

“Oh, it was nothing. Family spaghetti recipe, easy to whip up. So, your mom tells me you and (y/n) started a business. How does that work?” Paul asked

You didnt partake much in the conversation, merely soaking in the family environment. You never had a dinner quite like this. A mom and a kinda dad figure if you stretch it. A sibling dynamic between Mark and Oliver, your friends here that you can also kinda consider siblings or family. It was just a wonderful feeling that made you feel good.

So you let Mark do the talking about the Invincible Inc stuff. Merely enjoying the spaghetti.

“Ah, so your reputation does the work for you. You know, when I started in real estate, there was a bit of a turf war going on in this high-end neighborhood, but after I went door to door and introduced myself to the entire place, I was the only agent anyone would work with. It’s all about reputation, right? Yeah, you get it. You know what I mean.” Paul said but as he finished talking his story, you felt as if he had some self doubts

Oliver had a small and cute laugh as he probably enjoyed the story or saw something stupid Celestine did. All in all, dinner was great
Later, Paul and Debbie would wash the dishes from after dinner. You were looking for some stuff, so you happened to overhear Paul and Debbie talking. You couldn't help but listen in on the conversation
“I hated myself as soon as I said it. Like real estate and superhero-ing are even in the same universe.” Paul scoffed and felt bad

“Paul, it’s fine. Just because we aren’t saving the world doesn’t mean our jobs aren’t important.” Debbie told him and you just nodded to yourself as you mentally agreed with her

“But they’re not the same thing.” Paul retorted

“Maybe, but our lives are still meaningful. And Mark knows that. Besides, it’s good for all three of them to realize there’s a world out there that’s not just aliens and supervillains.”

“Debbie, are you sure I’m cut out for this?”

“Are you saying…” Debbie asked and you were just as worried as she was, you almost stepped in, but luckily Paul spoke before you went in there

“No, God, no. I want to be with you. I’m just… I’m not sure how I fit in. Mark and Oliver are great kids, but how can I relate to them? They save the world. I can’t measure up to that.”

“No one is asking you to be their dad, Paul. It’s not about measuring up, it’s about showing up. And as long as you’re here, that’s what matters.” at that cue, you snuck away

“You’re incredible, you know that?”

“Come here.”

And right there and then was the moment that they realized they were being watched
“Ooh!”

But not by you, but Oliver. Seems while you were eavesdropping and listening, Oliver was watching. And whereas you left, the boy wanted to see some action?
In any case the adult couple gasped at the surprise as Oliver was kinda floating around.

But Mark quickly arrived and grabbed Oliver by the leg “Let me help you with that.” he said with a chuckle and pulled him away

“Hey, let go!” Oliver said as he was pulled away

“What have I said about flying in the house?” Debbie told Oliver who was pulled away. Clearly she established this rule which was not being upheld

Meanwhile you encountered Opal who was getting ready to go out, that dinner and conversation made you forget that William invited everyone out. So you quickly prepared, you didnt wanna be late

“So we’re going bowling?” you checked

“Indeed, I am excited” Opal politely said

“I’ll be the bowling ball!” Sugilite said as she offered to shapeshift into one in case anyone lacked a bowling ball

Sapphire had a feeling you all were being watching, but speaking of watching, she chaperoned Celestine.

“What is this ‘bowling’?” Celestine asked

“Well, Im glad you asked” you say

-cue a strike-

“Yes! I know it’s not Thanksgiving, but this guy just brought the turkey.” William said as he proudly delivered a strike. Opal gave him an applause for his performance

“Ouch. But nice!” Rick said as he walked over to William

“Wow. You weren’t kidding. He really is that good.” you said

Sapphire meanwhile looked at the scores. William was leading, being the first one. Then Sapphire herself being 2nd, no doubt thanks to her future vision to cheat. After that was Opal, who was good at grasping the game. Then Rick, with you and Mark kinda tied, Eve after you guys and Sugilite being the last one as a wild card.

“Yeah. Remind me why I’m letting William humiliate me like this again?” Mark asked

“It’s his birthday. He gets to pick.” Rick answers

“And you’re all giving me the perfect birthday gift, which is the look on your faces as I beat you over and over again. Hahah, Ka-pow” William says as he high fives Rick and Sugilite laughs, mostly because she’s the only one who’s having a blast even when losing

“I like this William” she says and gives him a pat on the back, which was a bit strong and pushed him forward.

“See, its not that bad, she’s having fun”

“Sugilite has fun even when drinking motor oil, she’s not a good fun measure” you chuckled

Soon Amber arrives with her boyfriend
“William.” she called out to William and waved to him

“Oh.” was Marks awkward reaction

“Oh, relax. She’s a good friend, we go to yoga twice a week, and you’re both adults. Well, Amber is, at least.” William reasoned

“Don't worry, I’ll protect you” you quietly and jokingly say to him

“Mark.” she says as she approaches to greet him… with a hug. Ok, now you lock in and keep your eyes on the situation

“Amber. How’s it going?”

Soon Kyle arrives and they make formal introductions finally
“Hey, man.”

“Mark, this is Kyle. Kyle, Mark.” she introduces them as they shook hands

“Uh, nice to meet you.” Mark said

“Same.”

“Wait… You read Séance Dog?” Mark immediately asked when he noticed Kyles shirt

“Yeah. Do you?” Kyle asked

“Since I was 12.”

“But you really didn’t get it until you were older.”

“Exactly, because it’s got so many levels to it.”

You merely enjoyed another nerdy interaction. You were a fan too, but you let the bros be bros and such. Technically that means you should try to befriend Amber more? How do you approach her

“Uh, i-it’s an underrated book, in my opinion.” Kyle said

“Why are more people not saying that?”

Amber chuckled “I guess I have a type.”

“Mm true. A good type.” you say as you dont mind it, but honestly. Mark is the only right choice. Kyle has no chance, and thats not because of all the Viltrumite stuff.

“Less talking, more bowling. This shark’s got the taste of blood in his mouth and he’s hungry for more.Let’s go. Shoes on, people.” William said as Rick did his turn in bowling and got just one pin

“This is very entertaining. Thank you for inviting us all” Opal said as she held her suspiciously purple bowling ball

“Hey, if I knew you like bowling, I’d invite you all ages ago” William told her
Sapphire looked at the score which was. William has a total of 88, she had 87, Opal had 76, Rick had 70. Mark had 49, just like you and Sugilite was 36, even Eve had 38

You noticed Amber going to talk to Mark and you wanted to go with, but Sapphire noticed you and stopped you
“At ease. They’re happy as is”

“I-I wasn't jealous. Im really not the jealous type…O-or the possessive type” you clarify to Sapphire in self defence.

Sapphire didnt really buy it.
“In any case, just rest easy. Come and practice bowling with us. William even offered to give us lessons some other time. You should join”

You chuckled, “Maybe I should take some. Clearly I need em”

Thats when you all noticed the TV. Some villain was doing some stuff downtown. When Mark and Amber arrived they asked what was up and you guys filled them in on how much you knew. He had lightning powers, but as soon as you realized what the guy wanted you just casually turned off the TV
“Oops, there goes the TV”

When others looked at you “Come on, are we here to celebrate William’s birthday or not? You know there’s other heroes out there, right? Let the Guardians earn their paycheck” you shrugged them off and just let someone else handle it. Sure, honestly you felt guilty for declining a call to action. But you just wanted to have some peace time, even if it means that guilt with gnaw on the back of your head.

~Elsewhere~

“Your actions are illogical, what would that give you. We were supposed to follow his plans” a robot with a very mechanized voice spoke

“It would give me revenge. While the world is focused on this Powerplex dealing with Invincible, I get my revenge on (y/n). Besides, you know all he cares about is Invincible. I doubt that Powerplex will defeat him. Man has no means” the scarred one with the fire powers spoke

“As long as it does not interfere with anyone's plans, I will help you. As for now, our goals align. We both want her dead” the robot spoke

“I knew you’d see it my way, Metal. Now go make that portal. We got a monster to bring here”

The robot, called Metal creates a green portal from the palm of its hand. Seems it has a portal creating device as the two pass through it to seemingly get a monster for you to fight.

~Next Day, Grayson Residence~

“Don’t sit. We’re supposed to leave any minute.” you told Mark as you guys were dressed up for the Memorial. It was a big day, the day Mark fought Omniman. The stories you heard were terrible and brutal as well as the news clips you saw. You doubt your presence back then would’ve made a difference. But now you just had to be strong for the Graysons, they were going through a lot.

“Fine.” Mark sighed
“Should I even be going today?”

“Why would you say that?” you curiously asked

“I don’t know. This is for the victims of what happened. Feels like I’m imposing.” Mark explained his unease

“You’re not going as Invincible today, you’re going as Mark Grayson. And whether you admit it or not, you were a victim, too.” you tell him as you helped him prepare to go out. Truth be told, if anyone was imposing, it was you being here. You had nothing to do with this technically. You werent here when that happened, you werent in the same dimension, let alone planet or country

Mark kissed you on the forehead, which made you faintly blush. Soon Paul was heard descending the stairs calling for Debbie
“Debbie! We’re gonna be late. Oh, hi, (y/n)” he said when he saw you guys.

“Uh, hey, you know, I know you guys said not to worry, but we’re supposed to be in Chicago in 30 minutes. If we’re teleporting or something, I-I have to say… that might be a bit much for me.” Paul explained his unease about some magical or super powered or sci fi transport

“Don’t worry, Paul, we’re taking the car.” Debbie casually said as she walked past him

“Oh, thank God. Wait…”

Cue Paul and others being in the car as it flew, by being carried by Mark. You were sitting on the roof of the car since you couldnt fly. Oliver was flying beside Mark

“Get in the car before your makeup comes off or you lose your tie.” Mark told him

“I won’t lose it.” Oliver said and flew ahead

Mark merely sped after Oliver, to which Paul asked Oliver to please enter as he was whimpering and scared of being carried like this. In a way you understood his fear. Nevertheless, you sighed as you guys arrived to the destination and Mark would be able to lower the car safely
You guys were able to join the memorial. There were countless people grieving for their loved ones. It was a very grim moment in their history. And Mark experienced the horror first hand, you cant imagine what that felt like. You hoped you’d never experience that. Still, you stood strong for him to help him through this. You held his hand to make him feel at ease. Or at least as much as he can.

You all took your seats as the mayor would have her speech.
“Thank you all for coming. We never knew that our streets, our city, our lives, our world would change so fundamentally on this spot, not so long ago.”

As the mayor spoke, Oliver quietly asked Mark “Does everyone here hate Dad?”

“Oliver, it’s not…” suddenly loud rumbling was heard. It sounded like thunder, but there were no rainclouds in the sky. And you thought, if there were no clouds, there was Powerplex. The guy you saw on the TV with lightning powers before you turned off the news feed.

Right on cue, the guy jumped down beside the mayor and said
“Give me the microphone.”

You immediately facepalmed “Oh for the love of God”

“Steven Park. Amal Shahir. Elizabeth Volpe.” as he listed names, many people fled as they were afraid of him. Powerplex still went on “Dominique Bassett. Joshua Saltzman. Michael Kuzmic. Jessica and Gretchen Duvall. These are just some of the 2,341 people who were murdered here by Omni-man and his son. Invincible! Your father may have fled, but I know you’re here! Come and face justice for the lives you’ve taken! Come and face… Powerplex!”

As Powerplex spoke, you guys all slowly left the scene. Mostly to get out of sight and to safety. Once you found a spot, Mark spoke “ You go. Get to safety. I’m gonna just…”

“Let me handle this.” you interjected and took off your clothes, revealing your costume underneath as you went to face Powerplex, just as he wanted

“Wait a second.” Mark wanted to stop you

“She’s right. That man is disturbed. You’ll only make things worse.” Debbie reasoned with him.

You approached Powerplex “This isn’t about you today, so let’s calm down before anyone gets hurt.”

“If you protect Invincible, you’re as guilty as he is.” he said as he noticed you and fired a bolt of electricity to you.

You just extended your hand and let the lightning enter your middle and pointer finger and redirected it through you to your other hand that was pointed in the sky. Essentially redirecting his damaging attack somewhere harmless

“Okay. You’re coming with me.” you charge at Powerplex whos till tries to same electric attack, which was ineffective as you merely redirected it away even when running to him. You then punched him and sent him to one of those memorial walls that had the names listed

“No. I am not going anywhere until I get justice” he fired another blast, which you again redirected

“Seriously? You’re a one trick pony. I’ll make you face justice if justice is what you want.” you reached for your gem and took out some handcuffs. You noticed his electric attack was stronger when you punched him. Even though electricity doesnt affect you much, it would’ve been devastating to someone else. Like Shapesmith or the rest of the Guardians. But you figured you just gotta restrain him and not give him blunt damage

Sure Powerplex can be hurt by piercing and slashing damage. But making a disturbed man bleed is not very heroic of you. So you chose to go for restraints.
As he attacked, you’d run towards him again and dodge his attacks this time, using your agility and dexterity to acrobatically avoid him while closing the distance. You’d jump to land behind him and grab his hands and use your superior strength to handcuff his hands.

“You need help, not a fight. And I figured out you get stronger when I hit you. I told you, you’re a one trick pony” you told him
Soon the leftover of the Guardians showed up, just as you finished the fight
“You guys can take it from here. Thats what you do best” you said as you took your leave

“Oh! Hey! You’re that very angry man from the other night. Did you ever find Invincible?” Shapesmith asked, to which Powerplex just growled

As the Guardians and the authorities took Powerplex away, you snuck back to the scene to get your clothes back to fit the whole memorial vibe in black. Luckily Debbie saved your clothes and had them all folded neatly. To which you thanked her after seeing her and dressed back up, out of sight so you can join Mark.

You’d look around a bit and see him looking at all the names. Over 2000? If Powerplex was correct. Which is a number, but it could’ve been worse. You find Mark and place your hand on his shoulder to offer some nonverbal support and then pull out a bouquet you had stored in your gem

“Here. In case you want to leave something.” you say quietly as you offer it to him.

Mark takes it and places it down at the memorial “Thanks. For everything. I can’t imagine doing this without you.”

You hugged his arm
“That’s why we have each other.”

You were sad, but you didn't feel as sad as you should be. Did that make sense? Like you weren't as nearly as bothered as much as Mark was who was there first hand. Did that make you desensitized or heartless? Thats what really bothered you.

“I never really thought about all these people.I mean, I thought about them, but… …seeing the names, everyone here for the event, all this.” he sighed “It’s, like, so much more than I thought. Cecil kept me sheltered from all this.”

“I guess that was the one advantage to working with him.” you said

“But shouldn’t I be seeing stuff like this? Shouldn’t we really understand the consequences of what we do? That guy today…” Mark spoke, but you cut him off
“Mark, listen to me. That man… he was unwell.” you try to talk sense into him

“But maybe that’s because of what my dad and I did to someone he loved. So, if he had hurt people here today, wouldn’t that still be my fault?” Mark asked

Sapphire approached you. She didn't initially go as she wouldnt fit this whole atmosphere of grieving people dressed in black as she was in a blue dress. But she considered coming anyway to pay respects to the humans. Although she had missed a lot, she did overhear some stuff Mark just said
“No. Not now and not in a thousand years” she spoke, cutting you off

Her sudden voice gained both of yours attention
“Mark, it is inevitable that people will blame you for no reason. You are not at fault. You are merely a substitute. Something tangible that man can fight and take his anger and grief. He cant be mad at karmic destiny or something intangible like fate. But you exist, and he will fight you because you are a good soul. Trust me, he would not be so bold against Omniman. When faced with death, he wont dare fight. But he knows you are a good man who pulls his punches. So please, trust in us. This isnt your fault”

“Thanks Sapphire” you told her and then hugged Mark
“She’s right. Mark, we’ll take care of anything. You deserve to have a moment of being a normal person”

“Thanks you two” he said as he hugged you. It still weighed down on him. It was maybe a form of survivors guilt. Something did bother him, but you couldnt really nail down what it was. And things dont go away that easy

Nevertheless, it was time to go home.

Meanwhile
Shrinking Rae went to talk to Rex about quitting the team. The matter was that she was heavily traumatized by the near death experience and wanted to have a peaceful life with Rex. But Rex reveals he has no civilian life, all he is is a superhero. Rex Sloan? He traded that for Rex Splode.

Although as they were chatting and discussing Rae’s status on the team. No one noticed that Rae’s phone was secretly taken when it was left in her room.
Hidden, in Rae’s room was the fiery person who wanted vengeance against you. And she used Rae’s number to text you.
‘Come meet me at Burger Mart. I want to tell you something. Meet me at 8.’
They put the phone back on Rae’s desk and make their leave

Meanwhile, with you.
As you arrived back home, you noticed the text
“Ok?”

“Whats wrong?” Mark asked

“Rae wants to talk to me. Im curious what and why me” you say

“Just ignore it” Celestine said lazily as she saw you guys arrive back

Mark wanted to say something, but then received a message from Donald. Seeing its urgent, he excused himself as he had to take his leave
“Looks like Donald wants to tell me something. I’ll see whats that about. Sorry, I gotta leave so sudden” he said and gave you a peck before he left

“Looks like you two are needed elsewhere” Celestine commented

“Seems so” you absentmindedly replied and went upstairs to change into something more casual.
You eventually text Rae back and say that you’re on your way.

Rae who gets the buzz that she has been texted, saw your message and then a message that wasn't sent by her and yet it was from her phone.
“The hell?”

“Whats wrong?” Rex asked

“Apparently Im supposed to meet (y/n) at Burger Mart at 8. And apparently Im the one who has to tell her something”

“This smells like a trap” Rex says when he noticed the time of the sent message

“We should stop her, whatever out there is a trap. We can let Rudy find out who tampered with my phone” Rae said and Rex agreed. So upon giving Rudy the phone to see who used it, they hurry over there to meet you and stop you.

Meanwhile, you were unaware of whats going on. Apparently Donald needed Mark and Rae needed you. You were curious to see what she needed with you, of all the people.
Casually you entered the burger establishment and took a seat. Waiting for Rae. You plugged your earphones and listened to some music from your phone. You put some epic anime music that you recently heard, unaware of what was coming

Speaking of Rae, she’d hurriedly arrive there with Rex. The two had a quick and restless trip to get to you and support you from any danger. Although, upon their arrival they see you just sitting and chilling

“Ayyy, Rae! And Rex?” you wave and greet them, though surprised to see Rex. You did notice them tired and panicked though “Whats wrong?” you paused the music and moved the earphones.

“(y/n)! I didnt send that!” she told you

You looked around to see if anything was sus, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Instead you pat the seat next to you and offer them to sit. You looked unbothered that by that, but in truth you werent showing how you felt. Confused, worried. Mostly confused as you had no idea what was going on.

Rex and Rae sat at your table as you were pondering what to order.
“So explain to me, whats going on” you tell the two

“Someone tampered with my phone. That wasnt sent by me. I was talking to Rex about… well, that doesnt matter now” Rae said as she didnt wanna change the subject

“I mean, leaving the team is pretty important. Its a big choice, Rae” Rex tells her

“You wanna retire?” you ask Rae

Rae just sighed as this is not what she wanted to talk about, not now at least
“I’ll explain it later. Now about this mystery message. Got anyone who’d want to lure you here?”

“Ummm. I dont know. Not really. I mean I faced Doc Seismic, but then again we all did. Then theres the Mauler Twins, but they aint a problem anymore. MultiPaul? But he’s behind bars. Unless the dragon has some beef with me. Mr Liu, thats what Titan called him” you spoke and rested your hand on your chin and absentmindedly looked at the window. For a second you thought you noticed something big and fast in the distance

“Mr Liu?” Rex asked

“Some big shot from the Order” you tell him and suddenly focus more on whats outside rather than Rex and Rae

As you guys were talking to figure out who called you here, an employe of Burger Mart approached you with a burger meal
“Here are some burger and fries on the house from that lady in-”

“No don't come any closer!!!” you interrupt them, quickly grabbing Rex and Rae and throwing them out of the way, as a monster smashed through the window to attack.

This monster has a muscular build and a comparatively long neck, which has several large vertebrae jutting out of it. Its skin is dark purple/black and its head was shrouded in darkness by a hood of skin, with yellow glowing eyes as the only facial feature under it. The muscles on its neck and shoulders were left exposed.

This monster clings to the building as all people scatter and speaks with a distorted voice
“Which of you… is strongest?”

“Rex, Rae, go and evacuate the people and form the perimeter” you tell them

“Don't gotta tell us twice. What about you?” Rae said as they quickly mobilized

“I’ll take the action away from the people!!!”
You quickly punch the monster with your full strength thats charged with electricity, sending it up in the sky and scorching it with the heat of electricity. You jump up and float to face the monster who seemingly had shoulder mounted jets to stay afloat and fly. Whatever this monster is, it was clearly unnatural. It wasn't one of those kaiju monsters Invincible or even Omniman fought. This was something artificial, created, bioengineered. And this was probably the trap someone wanted to lure you to.

You had no time to suit up in a hero costume, so you merely shapeshifted your clothes into you costume. But shapeshifting can be taxing, thus chances are you’ll have to revert to your civilian clothes. If you identity is uncovered, so be it. If it means people will be safe, then its a sacrifice you were willing to make

“Come on, I’ll show you who’s strongest here” you tell the monster as you clench your fist

“Hey, I didnt know you can fly!” you overheard Rex from below

“Im just not falling, now stay alert. This thing’s still moving” you tell them

The monster lacked its right hand and suddenly jerked around as it disturbingly spoke as it regenerated “Hah, didn't think you could… kill me… with puny sparks, did you hero?”
You watched as its bones grew and muscle tissue around it and lastly that strange purple or black skin

Its regenerating, you thought. And wondered how can you defeat it. Clearly it means you had to one shot it. Though considering its a monster that talks, you’d prefer to take it alive and question it to see who sent it.

As you were analyzing the situation and thinking of scenarios how to handle this, the thing spoke again
“Show me your strength”

“Fine, I will!” you charged another electric attack, but before you could execute the move, the monster moved much faster than you anticipated and delivered a devastating punch to your stomach and sent you crashing down to the Burger Mart building, destroying it. You hoped Rex and Rae managed to evacuate the people. Hopefully they’ll see the fight and continue expanding the perimeter for you.

But you noticed one more thing, this thing attacked you when Mark was unavailable. When he was with Donald and away from the news. Whoever did this, knew both of your whereabouts. Although, little did you know that both of you were lured to a trap.

You didn't get to do much of anything as the thing kept its hold on you with both of its muscular hands and flew up with you and smashed you across several buildings. Some people saw the danger ahead through the window and moved out of the way, some didnt.

You didn't get to see the carnage, but you felt it on your back. Between the stone, glass and whatever debris crashing on your back and crushing you. You certainly also felt meat, bone and blood also splashing and crashing through you. Or rather, you going through all of that. And unlike Mark, you weren't invincible. These things actually hurt you and cut you. It all hurt physically and dont get anyone started on how this would do with you emotionally.

You managed to grip the monsters arms and rip them straight off and drop them on the ground. But the monster regenerated and was on the offensive way too soon, which shocked you. The monster extended its hand and ran it through the building, effectively slicing it per say. The top half of the building falling

“Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Rex who was down there said as he saw the damage.

You were helpless to stop it, but to your surprise, someone was driving your leg ship and ‘caught’ the top half of the building or merely prevented it from falling. It was a trippy sight

“My Diamond, we will protect these humans” you heard the Pearl say from the ships communication

“We will assist you” you heard Robot as the others arrived to help you in this chaotic situation. You wondered why didnt they take the hand ship, a leg was not likely to do much.

Nevertheless, you focused on the monster, as the others helped get people out of that falling building to try and minimize the casualties.

“76 people in the damaged section” Rudy analyzed as they proceeded to help evacuate them safely and away from the battlefield.

You summoned your sword as you lowered on the ground, to jump again and slash at the creature. Managing to bifurcate the monster. Although that clearly didnt kill it.
“Oh come on” you groan

“We got you!” Rex said as he threw some explosions at the monster, which merely annoyed it as it flew away

“You’re in the way“ only for some strange substance to appear on the ground and MultiPauls showing up. Lots and lots of them. It was probably the monsters way to keep other heroes busy

-???-

"Why do I have to be here?" MultiPaul asked

"Because you're too valuable to lose. Now distract the heroes" the one who orchestrated this attack told him

-Fight-

You just thought how it prior asked which one of them is the strongest.
‘If thats why it showed up. It has no interest in fighting someone weak. That sounds about right for this monster. And in order to keep focusing on me, its using pawns to keep my back up occupied. Clever girl… for a monster’ you thought

“Somebody help us” civillians would cry out as they were being attacked.
Among new arrivals was Opal and Eve. They didnt get to survey the situation. Merely rushing into action to try and fight off as many pawns as they could and save as many people as they could. You were still the only one fighting the big bad, that you didnt notice new arrivals helping

“You are not attacking….. Why?.... The attacks have stopped… or are you just… running out of power” the monster asked you

You didnt answer, you just noticed that the monster is perceptive. This was not quite a feral beast. You were exhausted as those prior attacks had an effect in injuring you. You even stopped shapeshifting your outfit to conserve energy. Civilian clothes be damned. Though you were worried. This thing was faster and stronger than you, shown by prior attacks. But you were worried, what other secrets it had.

To hold back would prove fatal to you.

“Let me try out my abilities… I want to test out my own strength…ON YOU!!!!” the monster said and sped to you. As it did, you saw what was underneath that skin of a hood. Its face consisted entirely of an exposed brain,a white gemstone embedded in it, distorted red eyes, and a mouth full of long, jagged teeth.
And now its hands extended, its as if it had shapeshifting powers. This gave it the ability to unleash powerful, elastic attacks.

But you stopped playing nice and instead used your electricity to disassemble it, to destabilize it. You didnt have time to play nice and nonlethal. This thing was a threat to you and everything around it. You had to terminate it. While you hated using your power to kill, it had to be done.

Although as you did it and watched the thing explode in blood and smoke, you saw something else. In a fraction of a second, before the lightning destroyed it. The monster ripped its own head clean off and tossed it aside as it allowed its body to be destroyed.

“Not… enough” the head says as it regains consciousness and instantly started to attack you mid regeneration

“Are you fucking KIDDING M-” and you got pierced, in the side and in your left eye, giving you heavy damage, even cranial one to your head. This wasnt something, like how Mark would get beat up and have a black eye and a bruised and bloodied face.
This was… goodbye eye. Its gone. Sure you had a healing factor that was more potent than a viltrumites. But it wasnt working now. Clearly

And why? Of course, all your powers come from your emotions. As soon as you’re thrown out of the loop, you’re gonna be messed up. And thats what you are now. You felt like your life flashed before your eyes. Everything before and after this dimension as the monster grabbed you and slammed you viciously on the ground. Beating you down and down, to a pulp, before it was no more.

The thing, like a predatory animal stood over its defeated prey and asked everyone else “Are there… any stronger heroes around…. Is she best?”

~Meanwhile~

Mark was at Jessica and Gretchen Duvals ruined home, confronting Powerplex. He wanted to save a mother and a child, but Powerplex was in the way
“I’m warning you.” Mark told him

“Or what… you’ll kill me like you killed everyone else?” he asked, Mark merely looked at him and then at the baby behind him that was crying and scared

Contemplating a bit, he decided he needed to use at least a bit force in order to save these people “I’m sorry. I’m getting these people out of here.” he then kicked Powerplex in the face and sent him flying to a wall. Clearly Mark held back, but Powerplex nevertheless never expected this kind of power

“Stay there. I’ll help you in a second.” he said and flew over to the two, he knelt down and started to untie them “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” but the woman spat at him
“What the hell?” he had no idea this was a trap and that the woman was just enabling Powerplex

“You’re a monster!” she told him

Powerplex grabbed Mark and started dragging him away from the two
“For the pain you’ve caused. For the lives you’ve taken. For everything you’ve done. DIE!!!” and then he starts to electrocute Mark, max power. But unaware of the consequences

~Back to the fight~

You were gone, past tense, ceased to be, you were no more as the monster would ravage the area and the people with other heroes trying to match it. You were no more….. is what someone would say if you were a quitter and a loser! Dead my ass!

Your arm flinched as you regained consciousness. You were still gravely wounded and if you were fully human, the head injury would’ve been fatal, you still suffered heavy bloodloss. But you had to persevere. You had to stop this thing and not let it win. Whoever brought this thing here will pay.

You immediately moved in to attack, pushing past the pain. Sending another electric blast at the monster who narrowly dodged it. You were aiming for the head and it knew it. Now, you were enveloped in that yellow aura as once again you entered that Yellow State. Last time you tapped into it was when you and Mark confronted Cecil with those Reanimen. And maybe even when talking to Rudy.

Now you embraced this unknown power in this time of need

“TOO SLOW!!!” it said as it grabbed you and slammed you with its stretching arms through several buildings
“YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!”

You still slowly got up and spat out some blood. Really wishing you had that durability

The monster heard people panicking and pushing to escape, so it wanted to attack there
“HUmans… over … there” it spoke as it turned its attention to them and flew over to them. But you jumped after it. No, not just jumping. Right now you were too focused and in the moment, but you were flying. Not hovering or levitating or floating. Genuine flight and you were chasing after the monster.

The thing looked behind when it noticed you chasing it “So you regenerate too, hero? You are the same as me”

As much as you’d like to reply and quip that you’re nothing like it, all you can do is spit blood, and just remain focused on it with your one eye. You could barely even move your body at this point.

The monster turned around as it flew now backwards so it can face you and fired some piercing tendrils. You avoided most of them, but one still grazed you. You flew, propelled yourself forward to catch the monster and get a hold of it. It didnt stop its attack as a tendril stabbed you in the shoulder, just creating more piercing wounds. Your vision was getting hazy from all the bloodloss, but you fought to keep your consciousness. Pushing your body to the limit, focusing on the pain, it helped you keep conscious. You wont let this end here, you kept your eye on the slim chance of victory

You thought how the monster showed its hand earlier. You had to destroy its head to defeat it. You two flew faster and faster as you two clashed. You didnt allow it a chance to react.

Suddenly, what you didnt expect was Sapphire jumping up in the air into the action, behind the monster, she attacked it with several ice spikes. Not that it did anything, but points for trying. The monster attacked Sapphire and she managed to shield herself from its attack thanks to her future vision, managing to brace and block attacks or avoid them.

Sapphire was no warrior, but she had standard gem powers and knew how to use them. You recognized what Sapphire did, she was buying you time, giving you an opening. She got smacked in the head eventually and poofed, but she willingly sacrificed herself to give you a chance. You made sure not to squander it

Finally you were able to give it a devastating earth shattering and shockwave inducing punch to the face. Luckily you were at least high in the air at this point, but the shockwaves still did some damage below. Your fish was now in its mouth as you literally kicked its teeth in. Or well… punched them. Though now you noticed, it behaved like a wild animal. It didnt speak anymore. You decided to electrocute it, scorch it from the inside since your fist was in its mouth

But the monster merely flew and pushed you. You were shocked, despite being zapped with intense electricity that would scorch something to a crisp, its regeneration was still keeping up.
Although, you had one more idea. You pulled your hand out of its mouth and grabbed it. You used your own strength and flight to steer the fight in your direction and you flew up, higher and higher, where there was less air. Closer to space.. Minimize the destruction and the damage.
“Listen here you…. bio engineered freak…. obsessed with strength. I wont let you… hurt anyone… anymore… Up here, I dont have to hold back.” you ripped out the gem from its head and crushed it into dust and let it blow into space, and the flesh, you electrocuted it so much that not only it was a scorched husk, but it was ash. You unleashed your maximum power and destroyed it.

With it finally done, you just let go and crashed down into orbit, into earth, into the pavement. But for the sake of the people who were scared, confused, worried. You stood up, with your fist in the air, to show victory. You know someone was watching. If it wasnt the news, it was Cecil. Whoever was watching, you showed them that you came out on top even without special GDA training.

Just as you were about to finally collapse, your Pearl showed up and caught you and kept you on your feet. And she helped you gently sit down on the ground

“Well, I wasn't expecting to find you here. Isn't this precious” a raspy female voice came from the smoke “I wasn't sure what to expect from that fight. So why don't we have a friendly chat, who know when we’ll have the chance”

As the smoke cleared itself, you saw the person. She looked insanely familiar even though you never met them. They had white hair and blue eyes, although the most striking features were various patches of burn scars, severe burns and dead tissue. Patches of gnarled, wrinkled, purple skin. It covered her right cheek, neck, all the way down past her collarbone and under her eyes. And thats what you could see of the burns. Surely there was more her clothes were covering as you saw that her arms up to her wrist were also severely burned.

Other than that, she wore a loose white shirt, a black knee length overcoat with elbow length sleeves and a white stitch design on each of their shoulders, dark pants that matched the coat, a black belt and heavy black boots.

“Let me introduce myself, this is our first meeting. Right ‘Yellow Diamond’?” they flashed a menacing smile and then instantly created a circle of blue fire. The heat was suffocating and you were too weak to even stand. This person made sure no one can escape nor help you.

“Who… are you?” you ask

“Feel free to call me Blaze” she answered

You thought she was being ‘cute’. Blaze, like the fire she can make. You tried to get up so you can fight her, but you struggled as you were still injured

“Aww no need for heroics, the only reason Im here is to retrieve my fusion experiment.”

“Fusion experiment?” your Pearl asked

“Did you know that the GDA saw you and decided to try and create its own human and gem hybrids. That thing you fought was their doing. Although I am impressed” she gave you a slow clap “I see you burned it to ash. There’s nothing for me to retrieve”

Suddenly Cecil teleported to you, and was suddenly hit by the heatwave from the ring of fire
“Jesus, thats hot” he commented about the heatwave and the sweat he had, before facing Blaze “That’s a lie and you know it”

“Good ol GDA, always watching as I knew you did. And good ol Cecil, always reliable to show up when not needed.”

Your Pearl stood in front of you to protect you
“My my, what a valiant and heroic servant. As I said, there’s no need for heroics, I mean no way I can win this fight, right?”
Although creating fire from her hand, she lunges towards all of you to singe you
“UNLESS THE TOP TWO HEROES WERE SEPARATED, BLOODY AND BEATEN ALREADY!!!”

Suddenly a fusion appeared with a downward kick as they were landing for a shot. Blaze quickly jumped back to dodge it. You recognized the fusion. It was Sugilite and Opal. Blaze looked annoyed by the interruption

“Man, things were just getting good” she commented disappointed, before talking to someone, via a communicator in her ear. “Do it, Decay”

Suddenly a grey and goopy substance manifested from the ground and started to envelop her
“See ya later, hero. I’m sure we’ll have a heart to heart someday, I look forward to it. Until then, try not to disappoint AND DON'T YOU DARE GET KILLED (Y/N L/N)!!!”

“Piss off!!!” Sugilite and Opals fusion spoke as it kicked her in the stomach, but it did nothing as it seems that when the substance enveloped Blaze, it caused her to disappear or be transported. She was essentially just kicking placeholder goop.

“Who was that?” Pearl asked you

“I… I don't know. But they know me” you were stunned.

“Come on, lets treat your wounds” Cecil said as he approached you, but you pulled back from him

“I dont trust you… you’ll implant some device in me” you said

“(y/n), you’ll die if you dont get to a hospital. I wont put any device in you. You have to believe me” Cecil told you as he hend his hand to you

Lavender Quartz, aka Opal and Sugilite’s fusion though, did the choice for you as they grabbed you and told Cecil that you’ll go. And with that you’d go and get medical help

~Later~

You wake up in a hospital bed. You were partially healed, you feel your eye regenerated, but you still had severe wounds all over you. They were halfway healed or a bit more. You overheard someone saying that you’re 66% recovered, so there’s still more recovery to be done. But you sit up and get up. You unplug whatever you had connecting you to machines and notice how you are in various bandages.

You just sigh as you look for your clothes as you slowly get out of bed. Suddenly you hear someone rushing and you see how the doors violently open. It was Mark, Sapphine who regenerated and Pearl who were concerned about you and urged you to go back to bed and rest

“My Diamond, please rest!”

“Hey, don't strain yourself you have to recover”

“I'm fine. Please, just get my my clothes” you plead to both of them
“I cant stay in bed”

Pearl while hesitant did obey you and handed you your civilian clothing. New clothes, not the ones torn and bloodied from the fight. You slowly dressed up

“So what did I miss?” you ask Mark as if nothing happened

“Im pretty sure I should be asking that”

“I asked first” you try to lighten the mood

Mark sighed and filled you in on the Powerplex situation. How he confronted Scott Duvall and where he did it, and how that went and how people died.

“Oh Mark” you place your hand on his shoulder “Its not your fault. I’m sorry I wasnt there”

“There was nothing you could’ve done even if you were there”

You shook your head, but now he insisted you tell your tale. And you say how you got lured to Burger Mart and how this fusion monster attacked you with the intention to kill you and cause chaos. Once you singed it to ash with electricity and collapsed down, how a new enemy Blaze showed up and confronted you.

“Its odd, but it seems she timed the attack just as you were unavailable. She knew when we’d be separated” you said

“Is it possible my Diamond that the orb you mentioned was from Blaze? That she was watching you”

Before, you could say something, you two were interrupted by Donald, who greeted you and called you both over.

You decided that you should go together, apparently it was not safe to be separate.

“We can’t remove the discs without killing him, so rehabilitation will be… difficult. But trust me when I say we’ll make sure something like this never happens again.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” Mark tells Donald, and then asks “Could I get a moment alone with him?”

Donald nodded, so you went to see Powerplex in his cell.
Cue a short trip over, you sit back and give Mark a bit of space so he can talk to the guy.

“Scott. I remember them. Jessica and Gretchen. I didn’t know their names before, but I remember them. Things changed for me after Chicago. At first, all I could think of were the people I couldn’t save. But… that made me bad at being able to save the ones I could. So I buried those feelings away. I think that was a mistake now. I hope that’s a comfort to you.”

“Comfort? My sister and niece are dead. My wife and child are dead. Thousands more are dead all because of you. And you think the fact that you remember them… that now you’re sad about it… gives me comfort?” Scott replied.

You stood up slowly, still hurting and approached Mark
“No. No, that’s… not what I…” he spoke

“Sooner or later, I’ll find my way free. And then I will find you.”

You tugged Mark and urged him to leave, which he did with a sigh.

~Night, Grayson Residence~

Mark was sitting on the roof and once you saw him there, you immediately joined him, even if it was a bit dangerous for you. You jumped and floated over there, slowly grasping your new flight power. As soon as you heal, you’d practice with it. Although, you could practically feel yourself fully healed. If you had to say, its like 97% healed. Your regeneration was working well again now that you felt normal. Your dumb powers are all emotion based, so of course when things are back to normal that your powers would be back to normal too.
“Mark. I thought… you might want to talk.” you spoke softly

He sighs and grunts softly, you just lean in and hug him. You know he felt guilty. Powerplex made him feel bad about the people he couldnt save, Jessica and Gretchen. But also his wife and kid. Then theres also you he couldnt help and save because Powerplex occupied him. He felt he couldnt save anyone, despite the power he held. You made a silent promise to train and improve. That way he wouldnt feel bad about not saving you. You weren gonna be a damsel in distress

~GDA~

Cecil and Donald were reviewing the footage about your encounter with Blaze, they looked at a screenshot. And they zoomed in on her face. Cecil was perceptive and Blaze looked familiar to him as well

“Donald, remove the scars from the image”

“Yes sir” Donald said and the people digitally removed the scars

“Change the eye colour to brown”

Again he’d do it. And once he did that, they got their answer. Cecil didnt even need to tell him to change the hair colour digitally. This was a slam dunk on who Blaze was

“Sir, thats…”

“(y/n)” Cecil finished the sentence

“Is that… our dimensions version of (y/n)?”

“It has to be Donald. Mark killed Angstrom. There’s no one who can travel through dimensions” sure Cecil said it, but he didnt believe that Blaze was this worlds (y/n), she said some odd things about the GDA, some not so true things. But what if they werent true to this dimension. What if this (y/n) is from another dimension. Did she figure out a way to traverse dimensions. She had an odd way of transport, some sludge enveloped her and teleported her away.

~Meanwhile~

Just as everyone thought Angstrom was dead. There he was, with a whole slew of different versions of Invincible.
“Ah. This will do.”

And hidden away in the shadows,in another room, away from the Alternate Marks was Blaze, aka Fire (y/n)
“So it finally begins” she quietly said with a grin and behind her were other versions of you. Angstroms B Team when or if Marks fail.

Chapter Text

-Day 1-
“Go! Destroy everything in your path! MAKE THEM SEE INVINCIBLE!!! MAKE THEM FEAR INVINCIBLE!! MAKE THEM HAAATE”

Your own variants, 15 of them. 3 less than the evil Mark variants observed Team A’s orders, they were kept secret from them to protect their evil ego’s. Some were amused by Angstrom, some lazily and barely paid attention and minded their own business. One didnt really care about Angstroms orders because she had free reign to command the your other counterparts when Angstroms plan goes to shit, which she predicted it would. It was just a bet between Leader (y/n) and Fire (y/n) on how much days the Evil Invincibles would obey. And some placed bets on how many of them would survive to rebel, which range between 3, 7, 8 and 9.

“Do this and everything you want will be yours.” Angstrom finished talking and opened the portals for the Marks, to which all the Invincibles flew through their portal and spread out to cause as much as global mayhem as possible.

~Meanwhile~

You were laying on the bed with Mark, this time in your bedroom for a change. When you noticed Mark, you spoke to him
“Mark.There’s nothing else you could have done. And that Powerplex guy will finally get the help he needs in prison.”

“The help he needs because the fight with my dad killed his sister and niece? Or the help he needs because my fight with him killed his wife and son?”

“Mark”

He sighs “It’s hard, you know? I know those things weren’t my fault. I really do. But it… still feels like… It’s just… It’s a lot.”

You think you finally understood, even though he knows. The bad feeling just doesnt vanish over night. Time heals wounds. Like yours, when you had a 100% recovery. Or the more psychological wounds like Mark had. It will take time, but with support he’ll get there.

“I get it. I understand. We can cancel our date.” you offer as going out might be a hassle. You two need to take it easy or easier.

Mark wanted to protest and tell you that you shouldnt, not because of him, but then your phone was heard. You answered it and it was the Payton Warden who needed Invincible Inc.
“He can be there right away…..What?!”

~Payton~

“This is what you call a prison on your world?” Mohawk Mark spoke as he would decimate the prison with ease

~White House~

Another variant overpowered a hero
“PATHETIC!! I WOULDN'T EVEN KEEP YOU AS A SLAVE IN MY EMPIRE!!!”

~Moscow~

Prisoner Mark flew and saw some heroes to oppose him
“After a year in a Viltrumite prison, I could use a warmup.”

~Elsewhere~

Viltrum Mark fought against Spawn
“I’ve killed you before. And I’ll kill you again!”

~China~

Sinister was against Best Tiger, who fired some shots that missed its Mark

“Best Tiger. What chance do you have against-” though the bullet ricocheted back and hit the variant

~In Spaaaace~

Moustache Mark fought against Tech Jacket, they would have an intense fight

~Chicago~

Just as Mark left to see who was causing trouble at Payton, you saw someone was being destructive at town. You sighed and immediately suited up to see who was busy destroying Chicago, again.

Upon arrival, you’d see the powerful and speedy flying force that would destroy anything and everything in sight. You instantly caught a glimpse of that red cape and that white and red outfit. There was only one person you knew who had that color scheme and power

“Omniman?” you said to yourself and immediately jumped into action and chased after him. You jumped ahead and tried to fly after him, although you were still shaky with the controls of the flight as you didnt get time to practice this power.

Your flight capabilities were on par with Marks when he got his powers on day 1. Only whereas Mark had problems of slowing down and landing or as Omniman put it ‘peeing in his pants’, you had the opposite problem. Propelling yourself forward consistently and steadily. Landing gracefully was easy. Its just figuring out what dumb emotion translates to ‘forward flight’

You managed to catch up to him and soon you reached out to him and called out to him
“Omnima-” though soon as he turned to you, you saw this wasnt Omniman “rk?”

You changed saying Omniman to Omnimark mid sentence. But you were shocked that the accidental word described what you saw perfectly. Mark in Omniman-esque outfit

“Wait… aren't you supposed to be at… Payton?” you questioned, although you quickly did put 2 and 2 together that this wasn't your Mark. Considering you were in this dimension, who’s to say someone else cant enter this dimension.
Biggest question mark was how

“(y/n). He didn't tell me I’d find you here” Omni Mark spoke, but you couldn't tell how he felt. His voice didn't betray his emotion and his mask hid his expression. The guy was unreadable. What you could tell was that he is a no nonsense individual that has a certain coldness, not expressing too much emotion. He speaks in calm and even tones. So really, what the hell were you supposed to get from his sentence

Sure you didn't wear your emotions on your sleeves, but you did emote somewhat like a normal person.
“Did Angstrom bring you here? Did he survive? Otherwise why are you doing this?” you asked

“I cant tell you that” was all he replied and went to fly away.

The fact that he didn’t attack you, just confused you even more. He wasn't an ‘Evil Mark’, he was a ‘Confuse the hell out of you Mark’.
So even though he didn't show hostility to you, you had to be the one who does something. And thus you grabbed him by the cape and spun him around, before throwing him behind you, back down on the concrete where he crashed

“If you’re gonna go and destroy all senselessly, I’ll have to stop you” you tell him determined as you clench your fists and prepare for combat.

“You’re actually powerful” was just his remark as he wiped some either blood or dirt from his lips and then immediately flew at you at incredible speed as he tackled you in a building. Aerial combat was not your forte, and Omni was definitely stronger than you as your powers were still on the fritz. You knew you COULD overpower Omni, its just you couldn't tap into that power

One thing Omni Mark had was pure discipline and experience, aside from just viltrumite raw power. He was different from your Mark, every move he made was calculated. One wrong move from you and he can instantly take you out. It was not at all how your Mark fought when you sparred during his GDA training, which you were still salty about.

“Stop this, or I stop you.” he tells you

“The only thing I’m stopping is you, from destroying everything. And as long as Im breathing, I’ll fight. I have to” you tell him back mid combat as you try and find an opening or identify some weakness in his movement to take him down

“What? (y/n)....I would never kill you.” what he said confused you, but accidentally also created an opening for him. It was unintentional on his part, but he nevertheless took the opportunity.
“But I can't let you fight any more” he said and grabbed you by the neck and suddenly you heard a snap and

And… you couldn't move. He paralyzed you. Omni Mark then carefully held you and flew you to a rooftop. He didn't have time to find a perfect location, so he chose an impromptu place. But he knew the other variants wouldn't be here since he was in charge of destroying this area and everyone had to be spread out. So you'll be safe here.
“Just stay there, I’ll get you at the end of the day. I’ll take care of you” he was disturbingly delicate with how he handled you and placed his hand on your forehead, it seems as if he was petting you. You couldn't move really, you were just there helpless

It didn't take a genius to know that he wanted to do so much more than he led on, but he had to move and destroy and ruin Marks reputation. So you watched him as he hesitantly left you there and gave you one last glance.

In fact it was lucky for him that he flew away then and there as you felt your healing factor kick in and restore some of your mobile functions already. Such as movement in the upper body. But your legs were still paralyzed when you tried to move. You just sighed and held the bridge of your nose, before you laid back, hands behind your head to act as a pillow as you repeated
“Wiggle your big toe” you said as you intently looked at your toe that didnt move.

But you were sure as hell mad and livid. Who the hell did Omni Mark think he was, to just lay claim on you and paralyze you like that. You didnt give a flying fuck what was going on in his dimension. But if you saw his version of yourself, you’d kick your own ass for letting Omni be that way. Clearly you were too mad to think straight. Instead for 3 hours, you just focused on wiggling your toe, to which it finally paid off as you regained the feeling in your legs.

The damage must’ve been severe if the paralysis lasted this long. You couldn't help but shudder. You mentally thanked the stars you had this healing power, otherwise you would’ve been dead ages ago or now Omni Marks plaything. This dimension was deadly. But you quickly needed to go to Debbie. What if Omni went there. You had to protect her.

Your trip to the Grayson Residence was quick and all you encountered was Violane, it seems Opal fused with Sapphire

“Whats going on?” you asked

“Debbie and the others will go with Paul. I will hold the fort in case this place is attacked. I predict this home will be attacked multiple times” Violane said

“Can you handle it?”

“Of course” she gave you a soft smile. Violane looked confident, it wasn't fake as if trying to convince you something. Her sentiment seemed genuine

“Alright, I believe you” you tell her and then quickly move out. Your goal was to find Omni Mark, unaware that there were actually 18 different Marks roaming the earth and destroying anything they can get their grubby little hands on.

As you were flying, you noticed one of these variant Marks. It was Lightblueincible, basically Mark with a light blue and yellow costume and no mask. When you realize that this is another Mark, you then also realize that Omni might not be the only variant out there. What if your Mark is fighting another version of himself at Payton?

~Meanwhile~

This interaction took place at the same time yours did Omni did
“What the hell?” Mark said when he saw the mohawk version of himself

When Mohawk Mark saw him, he flew over and told him “Get out of here! We’re supposed to cover the whole planet!” though Mohawk soon realized this is this worlds version of Mark “Oh, shit” he chuckled “You’re the me from this world.”

“How… how did you get here?” Mark asked

Mohawk replied in a sing songy manner “That would be telling~” and then asked Mark
“Do you like what I’ve done to the place so far?”

“I said, how did you get here?” Mark repeated

“I heard you the first time, dipshit.” he said and swung a punch to which Mark dodged it and grabbed Mohawk, tackling him into the prison

During your fight with Omni Mark, the main one fought his Mohawk variant

~Back to you and Lightblueincible~

You were smart, so you hatched a devious idea. Instead of fighting an evil Mark head on, you’d do some underhanded shit to kill him. You saw Oliver who also wanted to charge in to help. He must’ve convinced Debbie to let him help.

You immediately flew to Oliver and grabbed him before he could show himself to this variant. You two hid and you covered his mouth before he could protest too loud
“Shhh, listen. I will one shot this variant. I have a plan”

“How??” he quietly asked with a whiny voice

“I’ll snap his neck and kill him” ironically getting the whole neck snap idea from Omni Mark. It was hard to not have that on your mind considering it happened to you just a few hours ago. But unlike paralysis, you will aim to kill the evil one.

Oliver asked you, how will you get close to him and you replied with a grin that you’ll show him and give him a lesson. You took your civilian clothes from your gem and dressed up. First things first, you didn't want to alert this variant that you can fight.

Yes, you were gonna be THAT underhanded. You made sure your gem isn’t visible and that you appear as a normal lady
“Stand there and watch. Don't let him see you and don't assist me under any circumstance. Promise?”

“Promise” he said a bit disappointed, but he’d keep an eye on you.

You show yourself to the variant who was flying around and being murdery and destructive. You merely waved to the guy “Yoohoo, hello there~” you said and you called him

“What the hell?” the variant was confused by you and flew over
“Who are you and what do you want?” he was irritated and ready to kill you

“I cant fight you. I mean you're you. So before you kill me, I have like a dying wish, can you grant it to me?” you tell the guy

Lightblueincible was confused by your weird and accepting death gesture, but he allowed it.

“Thank you.” now you spoke, it sounded like you were talking to the variant, but in reality this was aimed for Oliver at how you’ll kill this Mark, and yet you spoke so sweetly “Ok, so first. I recommend a hug, maybe try a little smile to relax them and then get in close”

You then approached the variant and gently hugged him and smiled

“W-wha?” he didn't understand what was going on, was this your dying wish? Not a bad one, still an unexpected one

“And now Im in the perfect position for it” you spoke softly and lovingly

“What are you-” he asked, but you cut him off

“Take my hand here, caress his face.” you spoke as you briefly caressed him and stopped only to remind “Again, don't forget the smile” you said with as much as honey and love as you could.

“You filthy harpy” the variant now felt uneasy by your loving gesture and knew something was up, but he had no idea what

“And finally” you moved and snap. Broke his neck and killed him. Both you and Oliver watched the variant just drop dead
“And thats how you beat a stronger opponent with no damage” you say proudly with your hands on your hips

“I don't think I can pull that off” Oliver said as he flew over to you
“Besides haven't you told me that killing is bad”

“Oliver, I think we’re being attacked by evil Marks… I don't know how many, but I want you to find out. Take this corpse to Cecil and make him tell you how much evil variants he spotted. Something tells me he already knows. So consider evil Marks as an exception to the kill rule”

“Got’cha. What about you?” he asked

You sighed “I’ll do what I can and stop as many variants as I can. As well as help any people along the way”

~Meanwhile at the GDA~

“Okay, stop. Jesus, he’s dead” a very beat up Cecil spoke to the Reanimen and the captured Homeworld Celestines that were all beating down and stabbing this dead Flaxan version of Mark

The noise that hurt Viltrumites was disabled and Cecils switch short circuits

“The team thinks they’re from alternate dimensions where Mark isn’t so…Mark.” a very injured and visibly robotic Donald says

“No shit. And there are how many of these nightmares out there?”

“At least 18. Reports are still spotty, but they seem to just be destroying whatever they can. No pattern or plan that we can detect.”

“So no way to predict what they’re gonna do next, either.”

“There is some good news, sir. This Invincible definitely wasn’t as strong as ours.

“Then maybe we have a chance. Then again…” the two of them glance at the destruction this one weaker Flaxan variant left behind, before Cecil continued “Start the boys making more of those noisemakers and get the room back up and running. We need to respond.”

“Sir… the engineering wing is gone. And how exactly do we respond to this?”

“We make calls.”

“To who?”

“Everyone, Donald. Everyone.”
And right then Oliver arrives with that corpse of Lightblueincible.

While you didn’t condone the way Cecil handled D.A Sinclair, you had to admit having a Reanimen of that caliber would help Earth in the long run. It was a compromise you were willing to make. You didn't have time to play nice and ethical, not when the planet was on the line

~Grayson Residence~

A long haired version of Invincible arrived, possibly to hurt Debbie and kill her. But inside, he only saw Violane who walked over towards him
“And who are you supposed to be”

“Hello. My name is Violane, a fusion of 2 Gems and maid to the Grayson family. I answer the door, I clean up the household, and I take out the trash. And I also kill self entitled little twats, like yourself.” she spoke as she pulled out Opal’s staff weapon and used Sapphires power to freeze it and seemingly shatter it, leaving only a thin wire. Violane’s gem weapon were wires, sharp ones like garrote wire or any really as she can control the sharpness of them

~Elsewhere~

Sugilite was facing Gripper Mark aka Sportvincible

“Another pile of dust” the variant said as he charged and flew at Sugilite, ready to punch her

But Sugilite stopped the attack, grabbing him by the wrist. It surprised the Mark variant. Sugilite squeezed his wrist, aiming to crush it
“You have messed with the wrong soldier. I’ll crush your limbs” Sugilite said as the goofy happy go lucky side was left behind to show her more true bloodthirsty side

Gripper Mark tried to punch her with his other hand but she merely threw him to a building wall, which he slammed through. He slowly got up and saw Sugilite just stand there menacingly and waiting for him to try another attack
“Well, thats a surprise” he muttered to himself, though he soon became cocky again “I love it when they fight back”

Gripper Mark quickly flew and attacked again, but Sugilite easily would side step and dodge his attack. She’d try to punch him from behind, but the variant flew up to dodge that counterattack. But as much as he tried to land a blow on Sugilite, he couldn't. In fact she was the one who landed an attack again

Smacking him in the stomach, with a kick as if he was a football. Gripper Mark landed on his feet this time, he looked thoroughly annoyed

“Heh, you’re even worse than the Immortal” she mockingly says as she points to him

Gripper Mark didn't say anything, he went for another punch, which Sugilite merely caught in the palm of her hand
“Bad times await you” her voice was dripping with malice and venom as she gripped his wrist so he couldn't escape
“Presumptuous fucks like you should be burning in hell” she said and slammed him to the ground, cratering it.

She wanted to stomp him, but he rolled out of the way and regained his distance from her once again

“Now you’re pissing me off” he said a bit out of breath and then blindly charged to attack again. He didn't have much options other than punching, its not like he had weapons. Usually his viltrumite heritage was all he needed. But now he faced an opponent who not only matched his strength but exceeded it.

It only showed how much truly Sugilite held back and how much the real Mark was stronger. Gripper Mark would attack, again and again. Sugilite would block his attacks

“ENOUGH!!!” he said and punched her in the face, finally landing a blow

“You taking the piss?!” she asked him as that punch was barely anything “Is it sinking it yet?” she asked him.
But internally she thought ‘That was stronger than I anticipated. I wonder if his hybrid physiology is giving him extra strength from adrenaline. Normal Viltrumites don't have that, but Mark is still unique’

“You’re asking for it” the variant got angrier

Sugilite analytically observed and waited for his next move
‘I can feel it. His next punch will have a lot of concentrated energy’ she thought

Gripper Mark attacked and Sugilite dodged his attack, and still maintained distance. His attacked made a huge crater in the ground. It really was an earth shattering punch. Not something you can joke around with

He attacked again and she dodged it as he again unleashed devastating destruction. She had to be careful.

‘I see now. He’s young. Marks real power is still unraveling. That includes this variants too. I must neutralize it. Fast. I’ll need a distraction’ she thought and looked around at what she can use, til she saw Celestine and smiled menacingly.

She jumped over to the gem and tossed her into the battle as if she was a Pokemon
“What the heck?!” Celestine asked

“I’ll need to focus. Just do your thing and hurt this Mark” Sugilite said

Celestine had a gadget she made from scrap which was a laser gun, which she fired at the variant but he dodged it and charged at her as he flew. The young gem started running away to avoid his killer attacks

Some other earth heroes arrived to help the good fight.
“Afraid?” Gripper Mark asked all of them with a sadistic smile.
He quickly moved to action and with ease dispatched 5 heroes with ease

Sugilite in the background got a chain she saw in some destroyed debris
“Your own power will be your undoing” she spoke, mostly to herself as the variant was in the zone and busy fighting the filler characters

Sugilite mobilized and finally moved to action once again, quickly using the chain to tie up Gripper Marks hands.

“You will not escape your punishment” she said
While he was caught off guard, she yanked him by the chain and used the pulling momentum to give him a devastating punch, which is not only bone shattering but earth shattering as well. The only reason Gripper is alive still, is because of his viltrumite side. This would be lethal to any earthling

By this point, Gripper Mark was very injured and laying on the ground, one could say he was defeated. But she wasn't done with him. Not even close. Even when down, she elbow dropped on him and hurt him more.

“Death is too good for you” she spoke to him coldly as Sugilite was once again reliving her war days against Viltrumites. She looked around the damaged area and took some debris.
Gripper Mark was too injured and he attempted to crawl away, but to no avail

Sugilite stabbed him in both of his palms with some broken steel bars. Pretty much nailing him in place and proceeded to break both of his legs. There was no escape.

“You deserve this” she said as she pulled out her gem weapon, the spiked club.
“I’ll turn you into a fucking kebab” she raised her weapon and exclaimed “For Homeworld!!”

And yes, she was completely reliving the whole Gem and Viltrumite war from her dimension. The sight of blood and broken down areas and debris didn't help pull her to reality. While in peace times she mellowed out and came to Earth to rehabilitate and learn about singing and love.
This chance to fight a Viltrumite on her own drew her back into her old and bloodthirsty habits. And she sure enjoyed torturing Viltrumites for funsies. In short she had a full on relapse

In her world, she was the bloodthirsty embodiment of unfiltered violence and sadistic pleasure. She is battle crazed and war-hungry, and likes the satisfaction of defeating a Viltrumite in a battle. She's beyond that of a Quartz warrior; stronger, faster, and deadlier. Fighting is fun for her. There's no room for leniency with her. Combat is what she was made for, and she finds it very enjoying.

There was a reason she sought battle, even a friendly one at any chance she got. This variant was gonna have a slow and painful death as she took her sweet time with him

For a moment she grabbed the variant by the throat and whispered to him
“I am so happy. All the other gems think I am unhappy. They think sending me from planet to planet fighting wars and committing atrocities in their name makes me miserable. But they don't understand. I love war. If I was a Viltrumite, they could call me Combat. Because I don't need a name. I need a purpose. Steven thought I am capable of so much more and perhaps I am. But I find no joy in such activities. Well, not nearly as much as this. So please resist and fight back as much as you can. Go down fighting. Punch, bite or kick me if you can. Make my day”
And then she continued using her spiked club on his face

-Day 2-

Oliver lifts up a rubble to save a man before noticing someone he thought was Invincible. But as he got closer, Kid Omni-Man stops as he found himself face to face with Capvincible.

“Oh. And who do we have here?” Capvincible asked

~Meanwhile~

“This is really bad, Mark. They’re everywhere.” Eve told Mark who was flying

“Jesus. What do we do?” Mark asked as they both flew. He saw the destruction beneath him
“They’re all me.”

“I think we have to take them down, one by one. And then we have to figure out who did this.” Eve said

“There’s only one person who could have done this. And I already killed him.” Mark said, he soon saw a variant

“You won’t be enough! Even together, you’re a fraction of my power!”

Thats when both Invincible and Atom Eve fly in and join the fray and attack the variant
“How ’bout now?” Mark asked

~Meanwhile~

Lensless Mark was fighting the Immortal and briefly landed into Ka-Hors tomb before escaping and tackling Immortal

~Back to Oliver~

“This is gonna be fun.” Capvincible said

Oliver slid past him and delivered a strong punch to his back

Bones crack
“Thanks. I think you fixed it. Ah. Now, let’s fix you.”
Though before he could do any damage, earths heroes join the fight and help Oliver out

~Meanwhile~

After defeating Best Tiger, Sinister was seen battling El Chupacabra
“I murdered my own father. You really think you’re gonna take me down?”

~Meanwhile~

In the desert, Maskless Mark wrestles against the Hunk, easily pushing him across the sand before brutally killing him.

~Paris~

Business Baby and Big Mildew fight Target Mark, using their teamwork to hold their own for a while before Business Baby got crushed by Big Mildew while fighting the Invincible variant.

~Grayson Residence~

The place looked prim and proper as Violane just finished fixing and cleaning everything up. Throwing the deceased long hair Mark over her shoulder and taking him to the GDA. She knew what the corpse could be used for

~With Main Mark~

Mark and Eve overpowered Shiesty Mark with flawless teamwork

“Okay, I’ll admit, you’re stronger than I thought. If you hadn’t wasted so much time protecting these losers, you probably would have beaten me already.”

“Tell me who brought you here.” Mark asked again

But suddenly Omni Mark showed up once again, where he still kept his cool and didnt even have a scratch on him
“Hey. These two giving you trouble?”

“Fuck off!!! I got this.” Shiesty Mark replied

“Swearing doesn’t make you cool.” Omni just told him

“Go. Eve!” Mark said as he knew how dangerous these two are.

“No way.” Eve replied

Omni wasted no time and immediately attacked Eve. Her pink barrier was nothing as he punched through it as if it was made from glass.

Mark held his own damn well vs Shiesty, but immediately used the chance to charge at Omni. Grabbing him by the cape, just like how you did a day prior. Although, this time he had Shiesty to assist him back and punched Mark away from Omni.
Now both Omni and Shiesty attack and hit Mark, before Eve made a pink wall and pushed them both into a building

“Eve… you got to go. I mean it.” and he got attacked by the two again

Eve made another pink wall, but Omni again just punched through it. During the battle, she gets overwhelmed and Omni snaps her leg and slams her into the ground.

“I always hated you.” Omni said as he walked over to her, ready to stomp on her and crush her, while he was usually calm and collected, the bit of emotion he did show was his hatred for Eve.

“EVE!!” Mark saves her by throwing Shiesty at Omni, pushing them both away. Invincible holds up Eve in his arms

“Now what, Mark? You can’t save her and fight us both.” Omni tells him with his arms crossed

“Yeah, you’re fucked, dude.” was Shiesty brilliant addition.

Luckily the Reanimen came to the rescue

“Mark, bring her in! Quick!” Cecil said over a drone

~Meanwhile, Guardians HQ~

You tracked down one variant who was fighting the Guardians and fucking demolished them all. You stayed hidden as you were hoping to go for a surprise attack. You just needed an opportune moment and then death from above!! The variant wont see you coming as you rain down upon him to crush him with your might

“Ooohh yeeeeaah!!! This is the greatest!!!” Lensless spoke as he punched and clashed with Immortal

Immortal punched him and the variant slammed into the ground. But the variant was merely enjoying this “More of this. Come on!” he laughed as Darkwing kicked him “Holy shit! You guys are so good!” he avoided Immortal and punched him away and then grabbed Darkwing by the leg and slammed him into the ground.

“Darkwing!!” Immortal once again attacked and started punching him
“You’re a pale imitation of Invincible, you monster!”

“Hey, I don’t need more motivation to kill you, but sure, insult me. Come on.” Lensless caught Immortals punch and started punching back, easily overpowering his foe

DupliKate tried to attack, but his punches just tore through her/s

“Oh. I mean…” he chuckled as Immortal kept trying “Hey, my dad killed most of you guys on my world. And your stretchy friend wasn’t even there. He’s awesome!” he punched away when he then turned to Shapesmiths body
“Wait. What’d he say when I ripped him in half? Shit. It it was, like, so weird, right? Does anyone remember?”

There, he stood still, now was your chance to jump him and defeat him. Although Immortal punched him again and pushed him back. You just sighed

Lensless laughed “Heeeellp! I don’t want to not be liviiiing!” now you started to chuckle too. You hated to admit it, but the guys happiness and enthusiasm was getting to you. Plus he was really funny just now

“Wasn’t that it, or was… Oh, oh, oh. Oh, no, it wasn’t. Oh, noooo! I’m gonna not be aliiiiive!” he laughed “You’re a weird dude, dude.”
And now you started to laugh and since your cover was blown, you just jumped down and wiped a tear. Ok, Lensless Mark was the funny Mark. You liked him, kinda didn't wanna kill him now.
“See, she gets it?” he said, unbothered by your sudden appearance

Immortal punched Lensless again and now he got a bit more serious
“Dude. You ruined the moment.” he grabbed Immortal by the face punched him to the ground and stomped on his neck to behead him and tossed his head to a DupliKate, killing her too. It was clear he was done playing with Immortal now that he ruined the moment

You lowkey just knocked out Darkwing as he was waking up and pushed him away to safety, you did the same to a Kate clone while he was occupied, so it can be the two of you

“Not bad not bad. I would’ve been more brutal with the decapitation. Like ripping out his jaw, ripping his head off and then just stomping on it. But your method works too” you spoke up and tried to play it cool

“Right and who the hell are you?” he asked as he cracked his knuckles. Oh yeah, Immortal was the buzzkill and he was now kinda feeling serious

“This is kinda funny, but Im your girlfriend. Well… not yours, but this worlds version of you. Does (y/n) mean anything to you?” you tell him as you also are ready to fight him

“Never heard of you” he blatantly tells you. Though he soon remembers something “Oh wait oh wait! Yeah! You’re the Interloper. Oh you little rascal, sneaking in dimensions not your own”

“Heh, so my reputation precedes me. Cute. Well then, lets scrabble” you charge to fight him and give him a punch, show him what true power is about.

~Upstate University~

Violane was now helping William and Rick get to safety, as well as any students they find along the way.

~Grayson Residence~

“Mom? I’m hurt. I need you. Mom?!”
…
:...
:...
“Ah, shit. I was really looking forward to killing her again.” Mohawk flew away, creating a hole in the roof. Violane just fixed that! Sheesh

~Meanwhile~

“I know you’re in one of these. Let’s see if we hit the jackpot.” Retro Mark spoke as he held a Robot

“You are aware I can control my drones remotely.” Robot answers

“Yeah, but I also know you well enough that I can hear a little bit of fear in your voice, robo buddy.”

“I assure you, you’re mistake-” he got interrupted as Retro pulled Rudy out

“Whoa! Who the hell are you? Where’s the ugly little troll guy?”

“No! Don’t! Get Amanda and Rex out of here!” Rudy says as Bulletproof attacked Retro

Nephrite also attacked Retro, but since she was injured all she had was acid spit, although she had to aim carefully not to hurt Bulletproof.

“Rex, we’ve lost. We need to go now. Help me carry Amanda.” Rudy told Rex

“Well, you’re better off with the guy that can fly.” he spoke to Bulletproof “Hey! Take your obvious name and get them out of here!” he then threw some explosive stuff at Retro

“We’re not leaving you.” Rudy tells him

“No. It’s okay. I’ve got a plan. Tell Rae I’m sorry I didn’t finish helping her move. Get out of here! Go!!” Rex told them as he bought them time to escape.

Bulletproof soon flew away with Amanda, Nephrite and Rudy. With Nephrite holding Pearls gem

“Idiots. Still can’t tell when I’m lying.”

“Well… that was stupid.” Retro said as he brushed off some dust and dirt

“Everything about this is stupid. But I guess we’re doing it anyway.” he said and threw his goggles at him which exploded. Rex for a while held out on his own decently well vs a variant

But Retro grabbed him by the neck. It seemed that all hope was lost, until footsteps were heard. Retro wondered who was coming now and Rex hoped none of them returned.

But it turns out their guest was a bloody Sugilite and since she was a Gem who couldnt bleed, this wasn't her blood. No, she was dragging 2 dead Invincible variants. Gripper Mark and Bulletproof Mark, both were mangled and unrecognizable. Most of their bodies bits were left on the trail. Their bodies were closer to meat puddles than actual corpses

She threw the two toward Rex and Retro. “More” she licked her lips. And sped at Retro and punched him away from Rex. And this punch actually hurt Retro who didnt expect a sudden difficulty spike in his fight

Sugilite approached Rex and lifted him up by his collar so they can be eye to eye “I know what you wanna do. Dont do it. But you can help me”
While she could defeat Retro solo, she wanted to give Rex some credit. She whispered a plan to him, to which he nodded and the two would execute together. She placed Rex on her back and he wrapped his arms around her neck or chest area. Essentially it was almost like a piggy back ride. She sped over to Retro as Rex held on tight to Sugilite

“We have one trick, Viltrumite” she said as she pinned him down

“Oh yeah, and whats that?” he asked

“Boom”
Rex made Sugilite glow, she was gonna be the main explosion. Her light form body. She quickly bubbled Rex and tapped the bubble to send him away to safety as she let herself kamikaze explode, demolishing the whole building and the variant with it.

Her gemstone stood there amongst the rubble as she soon regenerated and updated her outfit to match the new Crystal Gems, by giving it a star design. This was her glorified way for an outfit change and for Rex to be a hero against a variant. But if you ask Sugilite, she was satisfied, she got 3 for 3.

“That actually hurt, I have to buy Rex a beer or something” she said as she brushed off the dust from her shoulders.

~Meanwhile~

You were fighting Lensless Mark, both of you were flying and landing blow for blow. He was having the time of his life. You were kinda too, but you were more on the frustrated side. He was incredibly strong

“Oooh yeah this is amazing! Come on! Give me more!!” he was very much into it

And his enthusiasm and happiness was very infectious, maybe thats why you didnt let Darkwing or anyone hurt him. He was Mark, but unlike the light blue variant or Omni, his personality was getting to you as he was morbidly funny when mocking Shapesmith, who to be fair you didnt really have much of a connection with and kinda thought as obsolete. But this Mark was funny in general, plus his costume was reminiscent of your Mark when you met him. Only he had a different colour distribution, a bit more blue than your Mark and he had no lens, hence Lensless Mark as his nickname. And there was something kinda attractive with how he was bleeding from his lips

You quickly shook your head as his lips were the last thing you should be focusing on. You should be focusing on your plan. To imprison this Mark, because you liked him too much to kill him, which was probably worrying in of itself. Hence why you were having an aerial fight even though it wasn't your strong suit.

The Zoo, you needed to chuck him there. He’d be in captivity, unable to hurt anyone and he’d have food and water to survive. Bonus points if it pisses off Cecil the same was it did Mark when he discovered the Reanimen.

“Come on! Don't tell me you’re losing steam! You were doing so well!” he spoke enthusiastically as he noticed you were a bit out of breath. He definitely didn't want this fight to end, he was having too much fun.

Both of you had adrenaline boosting your capabilities and one thing you noticed that this Mark was a pure adrenaline junkie
“Oh, I still have more in me, dont you worry!” you tell him

“Good! Show me what you got!”

You flew at him and pushed him towards space, though your hands on his chest was maybe again not the best idea. Honestly there was a thin line between fighting and making out at this moment as things were exhilirating for both of you. He punched you away. Still, you didnt back down.

The two of you flew toward each other and go for a punch, your fists clashed as you shattered each other's arm. This might not seem like much, but the fact that you were more squishy than a viltrumite was a big thing. You had immense strength that broke through his durability. You were getting stronger with all these fights.

Both of you lightly recoiled from the pain, but you pushed through it and flew behind Lensless and grabbed him with your weaker but healthy hand as you wrapped it around his neck and pulled him along as you two flew to space

As you flew, you noticed a hero in space defeat a moustached Mark. It was Tech Jacket, but you had no time to fly and say hi or interact with him. Plus you held your breath as you were in space and Lensless had to do so as well. You struggled more as you couldn't do it as nearly as much as him.
Lensless wondered what the hell was your plan, though soon he noticed the pink space station.

He wanted to elbow you to escape, but you were quicker and you used the remainder of your strength to headbutt him so hard it delivers a knock out. Although that genius move also injured you too, because who knew, headbutting a viltrumite hurt like hell.

Arriving to the Zoo and finally getting air, and as your hand was regenerating, you drag Lensless to the Containment Area and prepare him to deal with the little voice earrings that will guide his actions. But it will be his only company for the foreseeable future.
You give the unconscious variant one last look as you gently wipe off some of the blood from his face with your thumb
“You really are handsome and funny. And I like you a lot. But I have my own Mark. I’m giving props to your Art, he understood the assignment and made a killer costume. Pun intended. Anyway, I’ll let you live. Hopefully you change your ways. I'll come and visit you, Mark” and with those parting words to the unconscious variant, you flew back to Earth

Now you noticed the lone dead variant with the moustache. You flew over there briefly to inspect the corpse. Which you did and then shuddered at the thoughts that came to your mind, before quickly going back to Earth to search for the next variant. Part of you wondered where your Mark was, hoping that he wasn't dead. Its just the fact that you didnt hear any news of him was worrying. You just thought ‘please be ok’ repeatedly before landing in Paris, with your hand fully healed.

-Day 3-

Sinister Mark destroyed Hollywood, Viltrumite Mark destroyed Chicago, Mohawk Mark destroyed New York, Maskless Mark destroyed Paris. Omni Mark destroyed Tokyo, Prison Mark destroyed Moscow, Target Mark destroyed London, Masked Mark destroyed Sydney. All of them overlooked the destruction they caused.

Mark couldn't stop them and there was only one of you, and you could only do so much. You spotted Maskless Mark and attacked him. Your intent was less on killing and more on finally questioning one of them.

You were out here in the field for 3 days straight, you had no time to rest and replenesh your energy. Your muscles and nerves were burning and screaming in pain, begging for you to stop. At least 5 minutes. Trust other heroes, trust the Gems, trust Mark to stop this. But you couldnt.

Its not that you didnt trust them. Its that you knew you had to do your part and help as much as possible until you knew there was no threat.

As you clashed with Maskless Mark, your attacks were aimed more to restrain him so you can talk to him
“Why are you doing this?! Did Angstrom bring you here??” it had to be him. Who else could it be? You didnt wait for Maskless’ confirmation or denial, you continued
“Why are you helping him of all people?! He hates Mark and by extension hates you! Why would he help you? You and all other Marks are doing this and getting yourselves killed for nothing! He’ll screw you over!! Think Mark think!! If he hates one variant from this world, why would he like any of you other guys?!”

Maskless didnt talk or retort to you as he merely focused on fending against you, since you had the upper hand. But even if he didnt reply, his expression betrayed him. It gave you a confirmation that this was Angstroms doing. And for a brief moment he questioned himself why he was helping him, what if he is gonna be screwed over.

He kicked you down where the ruined Eiffel Tower was.
“Thanks for the reminder. I’ll be careful around him” he said as he landed near you and punched you to render you unconscious before he flew away

But joke was on him, he didnt knock you out. And as he flew away, you noticed Violane. You wondered how did she get here, though she also looked worse for wear. She must’ve been helping people everywhere

“I knew I’d find you here. Please, dont be foolish and go after them all” Violane helps you up and kisses your forehead

You rub your forehead
“Violane, I have to. I cant stay back. If I dont do anything. More of THIS will happen” you say as you show the ruins of Paris

“Just think things through before you act, or else you might get yourself in big trouble” she warns you

“I have to do this” you merely repeat and rush off after Maskless Mark. If you were lucky, you’d gain up on him

Chapter Text

~Meanwhile~

“Hmm. Phase one is complete.Meet me you know where.” Angstrom instructed the Mark variants.

All of them would pivot away from their destructive pathing towards the Grayson Residence. You followed Maskless Mark behind as he led you there. Although when you saw the other remaining variants you quickly stopped flying and went down to eavesdrop on their conversation and meeting. You saw Omni Mark there. He was among the final surviving Marks. Then you noticed the Mohawk one

‘Yeesh, note to self. Tell Mark to NEVER shave his head.’

Then you saw the Viltrumite Mark

‘Another note to self. Viltrumite clothes make Mark look disturbingly hot. Also, never bring that up to Mark’

Then you saw Maskless, which you fought briefly in Paris. And the Prisoner Mark, whose appearance made you flinch as you couldn't imagine what made him that way. Then there was the masked Mark and then another Mark who had a very nice outfit that blended the classic yellow, black and blue look well with the Viltrumite logo on his shoulders. Very visually pleasing outfit and finally, you noticed Sinister Mark who sported your colours, yellow and black. Kinda even the same shade of yellow and he had a nice cape.

Though you were snapped out of your inner fashionista as you heard Omni speak first as he looked at his home
“I hate coming back to this place.”

Now you were very interested in their interactions. Hopefully you’d learn more about them.

“Not all of us killed Mom. I liked it here. Reminds me of playing catch with Dad.” Masked Mark spoke. The fact that some variants killed Debbie made you shiver. Which variants did that?

“Aah! What is taking him so long?!” Mohawk whined

Soon a portal appeared and Angstrom arrived ‘fashionably late’

“Sorry. I prefer to make an entrance.” he told them

You rolled your eyes “Oh you mother fucker” you quietly mouth to yourself, it wasnt even a whisper. But you couldn't help but complain. You’d make sure he pays for it

“Not only have you destroyed his planet, but you’ve also destroyed him. Every single person who survives will forever think of this when they remember his name, even if they know it was you.” Angstrom spoke

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’re awesome. What’s next?” Prisoner Mark asked

“Find Mark and bring him to me. It’s time we were… reunited, face to face.”

“Uh, how about we don’t? Your stupid plan got most of us killed.” Sinister Mark spoke and you nodded and agreed with him.

‘Yeah, don't help him. For the love of God, dont help him’ you mentally commented

Mohawk scoffed “Who cares? They were weak. I would have murdered them myself eventually.”

“Come on!!!! The deal was we help you, and then you help us take over a bunch of other dimensions!!!” a variant spoke

“We didn’t all make the same deal, man. I came here to find Mom and bring her back with me.” Masked Mark spoke

“Awwww. Someone misses their mommy. Waaah!” Mohawk mocked his variant

“We’re all the same person. I’m sure I’m not the only one.” Masked told him back

“I miss William.” Maskless Mark said, saddened

“Whatever! It’s all pointless if we’re dead, right? Jesus, I hate you guys. We’re done. Give us our dimensions. Now. Or we’ll kill you.” Sinister said to Angstrom

“Don’t be stupid! If we kill him, we’ll be stuck in this shithole forever! We’ll just torture you instead. Duh.” Mohawk spoke, showing he’s smarter than he looks, despite being a douche

“I can get behind that.” Prisoner Mark said

“Hell yeah.” Stripe/Target/Imperial Mark said

“Love it.” Sinister said

This is the moment when they turned on Angstrom, but unlike them you saw Angstrom make his move when he moved his knuckles and portals appeared. You knew where this was going, so you jumped and quickly grabbed Maskless Mark by his ankle and pulled him down out of the drones way before it pushed him in a portal station behind him.
Your sudden appearance made Viltrumite Mark also react quickly and dodge the orb and lunge after Angstrom.

The rest of the Marks were pushed through the portal only leaving you, Maskless and Viltrumite Mark. The latter Mark didn't have time to question who you were or your sudden appearance as he wanted to quickly subdue Angstrom to fulfill his deal now that all bets were off.

Since you knew Angstroms fighting style a bit, ie preferring to use his portals, you acted as a lookout to help someone dodge a portal. The two Marks tried to hit him, but Angstrom kept dodged with his portals. And now he used a plethora of orb bots to attack, Maskless got pushed into a portal.

And Viltrumite Mark also almost got pushed, but you grabbed him by the hand and pushed him out before the portal shut on him and sliced him in 2, something he greatly appreciated from you, even though you were technically foes. Even so, despite your teamwork, Angstrom was a slippery one and caught you into a portal, with Viltrumite following you soon close behind as he also got caught off guard by that slippery rat

“AAANNGGSTRRROOOM!!!!!! YOOOUUUU’REEE DEEEEEAAAAD!!!!!!”

“Ugh, he cant hear you” Mohawk told Sinister as they floated in this desert wasteland.

Although as the final portals opened, they noticed Maskless and Viltrumite Marks arrive late. But despite all that, all their gazes zero in on you

“Huh, this is a bit awkward… Hi? Evil… Marks?” you awkwardly wave to them and feel yourself shrink in

“Who are you?” Prisoner Mark asked

You shot finger guns in their direction “I’m your girlfriend…. well your other dimensions version girlfriend” when you saw that rang almost zero bells, well besides Omni, but he wasn’t showing it. You just sighed and said “(y/n)”

To which they finally understood who you were
“Angstrom told us about you. You-” Viltrumite Mark said before you interrupted him rudely

“weren’t supposed to be there? Yeah. I get that a lot” you cross your arms annoyed

“Tch, Mark has poor taste in women. I mean, the real beauty out there is Eve. With that gorgeous ginger hair. Prime mohawk material!” Mohawk said as he criticized main Marks choice of girlfriend, that being you

And now it seems they got briefly sidetracked to talk about their women. Such as Imperial Mark asking if they had an Amber, the finest girl he ever massacred.

You sighed and facepalm, of course. Is there anyone who didn't massacre their girlfriend here? You glance at Omni who kept his eyes on you, but you quickly dismissed him from the equation due to the whole neck paralysis snap thing he did. So he wasn't any better.
‘Is it bad I like Lensless Mark more? The guy was an unhinged murderous adrenaline junkie, but his happiness was adorable and contageous. Even if he was killing people that made him happy. And he was oddly encouraging while we fought’

Soon though your attention went to Prisoner Mark as you tuned in back into their conversation. He spoke about Anissa, which kinda killed the mood about the whole girlfriend bragging and it seemed as if the others were rather scarred by her as they briefly shared some less then stellar opinions about her. You just briefly and meekly asked “Am I missing something?” as you raised your eyebrow

But Omni merely told you “Dont worry about it” as he dismissed any questions or worries regarding Anissa.

“Ok. Well, going back from all THAT. We kinda need to figure out how to leave this place or at the very least survive” you told them all, trying to take charge of this situation.

“Tch, we don't need to figure anything out. We can just fly to another planet” Prisoner Mark said as he refused to work with you

“And what if they’re barren as this place? In case you haven't noticed, we’re in a different dimension, not a different planet. We have no guarantee that there’s life on other planets. Who knows what caused this. Then again, if you want to. Sure go off, fly into space. I hear you have excellent navigation skills. Surely you wont suffocate, dehydrate, starve and die in the vacuum of space where no one can hear you scream, before you find a new planet” you told him as you brushed him off, which kinda convinced the other variants that space maybe wasn't the smartest idea

“What do you suggest?” Omni asked you, he seemed to be cooperative, but he still made you a bit uneasy due to your prior interaction

“Simple. 2 of you guys scout the planet, You guys can fly fast around the globe right? Just fly around the globe in a straight line. One goes north and the other east. Flying around you’re gonna see if theres something or a whole lot of nothing and you’ll meet us here” you then think to yourself ‘and you cant get lost if its a straight line of flight’

“And why don't you go and scout, it was your idea?” Mohawk asked you

“Because, Im not really good at flying. Im still figuring out how it works. Besides Im sure theres like 2 Marks that are super fast. So which ones are it?” you ask them, trying to goad them into doing it by asking who are the fastest ones so they can prove it.

“Fine I’ll go” Sinister sighed annoyed and volunteered because he knew nothing would be done otherwise

“I’ll look around too” Masked one chimed in. Soon the two of them would agree in which direction to go and fly

Leaving you with other variants. You wearely walked over to a nearby broken structure and sat down. You needed to conserve your energy, after all you were fighting for what? 3 days straight was it? Granted, they were also nonstop fighting and destroying, so they weren't doing any better.

But you were tired, far too tired. You really wanted to just have a nap, although you couldn't trust yourself with these guys. Thats when you noticed Omni approach you and kneel down to meet you at eye level.

“What?” you ask him. Still cautious around all of them.

Omni glanced for a moment towards Prisoner Mark, since he seemed more weary and hostile of you
“You’re tired. I’ll watch over you”

“I don't trust you” you tell him as you cross your arms and look away from him, almost pouting. You weren't showing too much resistance to it, but you showed him that you were cautious of all the Marks, including him, despite him wanting to be friendly.

“You’ll have to, if you want to get out of here alive” he tells you

“Is… that a threat?” you raised your brow, as you looked back at him a bit confused by that

“No. Its not. Its just we dont know how long we’ll be trapped here. Angstrom will come back eventually. He still needs us.” Omni tells you, since he's convinced he'll come back for them so they can continue to catch Mark.

But you shake your head “I doubt he’s coming back.” this dimension seemed like his dumping ground to throw away what he didnt like to rot and die.

“If that’s the case then that’s all the more reason for you to trust us.” he reasoned to you

Honestly, you didnt wanna argue with the guy. He was right, you two might’ve been enemies, but now you are allies of circumstance. All of you will die a slow death if you dont figure out a way to leave this place or at the very least stay and survive and live in this land.

You sighed
“I wish I had Steven’s powers. That dude has the power to kiss the ground and make plants grow and bloom and had magic spit that brings plants to life” you complained about his pink diamond powers. Having the power to make plants out of nowhere for sustenance seemed real useful

“Steven?” Omni asked, he tried to hide it behind his usual and even tone. But you could tell there was a bit of jealousy

“A guy from my dimension who is also a half gem, half human like me…. Kinda a predecessor of mine. No one thats really close to me. Unless you count him as a cousin? Gem relations are a bit weird” you explained. Its not like you wanted to kiss the dirt. But if it meant surviving, you’d do it. As for Steven? He was nice, but he was a bland goody two shoes. And he had Connie and he was older than you.

“I see… So you’re half human too?”

You noticed he was attempting to get to know you. It was lowkey keeping you awake and preventing you from sleeping. Which was both a blessing and curse. Although you didnt know should you open up to Omni. You considered doing so, but decided to ultimately answer his question for with a question yourself. You wanted to learn about HIM. So far you were telling him things and he was giving you very little in return “How about you tell me what’s your relation with me. Or your dimensions version of me. There’s obviously something you’re not telling me”

Omni sat beside you, he was hesitant to answer you, but ultimately he did open up “The others had Eve or Amber. I had you”

You were quiet, but you mildly blushed and tried to hide your unexpected shock. Honestly you should’ve seen it coming or you perhaps always knew it. But maybe hearing it actually being said kinda just felt different. You were unsure how to feel personally. Maybe if he was more like…. your Mark, you’d be more at ease around him.

This variant, its kinda a conflicting feeling… he seems a detached and cold person who doesn't show emotion. But when he’s with you, he’s trying to show emotion and not be like how he usually is, making him kind of awkward, which is also kinda endearing ?

You thought this was messed up as he clearly saw you as a substitute, but before you jumped to conclusions, you listened on
“In my dimension, you were just… you…. human. And my father thought you were a hindrance to our mission. He…” Omni didnt want to really say what happened, mostly because it was painful to him what he saw. He didnt even get to mention what kind of a bitch Eve was and how he hated her

Hesitantly you placed your hand on his shoulder to comfort him, although you did flinch and backed your hand away as you felt uneasy comforting another Mark that wasnt yours. You didn't know should you just get on with it and get past the whole ‘they murdered tons of people and destroyed cities and countries’. Would that make you like them? Should you not think about it? What if this was your life now, living in a wasteland with 8 other Marks, never seeing your love again?

You didn't realize you were holding your breath until you started to feel a bit nauseous, so you quickly remembered that breathing was a thing and spoke to Omni
“Listen… you don't have to tell me if its too painful. I wont push you to do anything you find uncomfortable.” you then awkwardly looked around as you tried to find some words “Ehh, listen, we’re here now. Lets… try to make the most of it?”

Honestly, you didn't know what you were doing by saying this. Were you offering him a chance. A chance at what? Redemption? Relationship? What if you were stuck here forever with no escape? You didn't want to think that, but you also had to think of contingencies for worst possible scenarios. Should you fight to find an exit to this dimension or resign yourself to think of a ways to survive in this dimension with these Marks?

Omni nodded, he was willing to work with you and help you in any way possible “Right. And if you need anything, I’ll do what I can to help you”

You did feel a bit emotional about this and the whole situation. You did miss your Mark, you haven't seen him for 3 days and now possibly never again. Thats what saddened you and worried you the most. You did feel emotionally vulnerable and scared. So you hesitantly asked Omni
“Umm… can I… hug you?”

He didn't answer you, because without a word, he hugged you. You hugged him back and closed your eyes. You didn't know what to think as you were overwhelmed mentally and exhausted physically, basically at wits end. Omni meanwhile never felt more alive. To him, this was better than the deal he had with Angstrom. He had you back. You, personality wise were so close to his own version of you. It was a near 1 to 1 copy. Except you had powers. He used this opportunity to gently hush you and lul you to sleep so you may rest and conserve your energy. He, will protect you from the variants, just in case they wish to cause you harm or cast you aside.

As you dozed off, Omni would notice Mohawk approach you two as Omni held you in his arms
“So that’s why you were quiet earlier. She was your Eve or whatever”

Omni brushed off that train of conversation right away, instead stayed practical and focused on survival in a wasteland
“We have to focus on survival. We cant count on Angstrom coming back for us”

Mohawk was annoyed that Omni just decided to steer the conversation elsewhere as he was curious about whats your deal. You weren't a thing in his world. Now he just sighed and said “We’ll wait for those two to come back and then we’ll think of seeing if its worth making a shelter”

Viltrumite Mark noticed that Masked Mark was the first to return from his flight around the globe. He asked him if he saw anything. But Masked Mark said there was nothing. More of the same. Sand, ruins and worst of all, no water. That means no life and no food.

Sinister Mark also arrived, he came a little later and he was asked similarly by Viltrumite “Anything of note?”

“Everything was pretty much the same as here. Though, I did see one thing. I guess its best I show you” he told Viltrumite as well as everyone

The others were interested in what Sinister saw, so they offered to follow him and fly away. You were still fast asleep so Omni carried you bridal style and carefully flew you as he too followed Sinister

That was the time you woke up. You felt a bit rested, but kinda hungry. Though that didnt matter as you noticed you were being taken somewhere
“Uhhhh” you didn't even know what to say

“We found something, so we’re gonna see what it is” Omni merely told you, which sounded cryptic.

You heard one of the Marks say “There it is” as they all landed at the site.

Once Omni landed, he let you go so you were on your feet. What all of you spotted was dried blood. Lots of it. They had no context as to what it was, but you did. This blood, it wasnt fresh at all. But it was the freshest thing in this dead world. As the Marks were discussing amongst each other, you spoke up “Thats Angstroms blood”

Which made them all pause and look at you. Now they expected answers from you. So you explained “I wasn't here, but Mark was….. well… the one you guys attacked. Mark fought Angstrom here and killed him. Or well… THOUGHT he killed him. Turns out he escaped” after that you just stared at the large pool of dried blood. It freaked you out and now you know why Mark was feeling messed up after his Angstrom encounter. It was making you feel queasy

Since Omni was your safety net, you just back into his arms, which he wrapped around you and then he noticed that you shivered a bit. You merely went to him to hide that fact from the others.

“Tch, idiot couldn't even kill one guy right. He had ONE job!” Mohawk said disappointed in main Marks skill.

“Whats done is done. Its best not to dwell on the past” Viltrumite Mark said as he wanted to keep things on the calm side. He was one of the more mature Marks, so he wanted to keep things under control and not let it spiral

Prisoner Mark asked you “Well, how did he escape then?”

Mark? Well… good question
“I… I don't think he told me” you say with a sudden realization as you thought really hard. Did he tell you? Even if he did, you couldnt remember.
“It was when we just met… I followed him to his dimension, but I didnt pursue to help him fight Angstrom. I stayed to heal Debbie”

You saw that Masked Mark appreciated you for that, he was unreadable mostly due to having a full mask, but his body language did give that one fact away. Not only that but also when he said “He hurt mom?”

“Yeah, her arm was messed up” you replied

Again, the guy seemed introspective for a moment before merely saying “Thank you”

It seems like you were winning him over, which was good you thought. The less Marks were hostile towards you, the better. Only by working together can you persevere. So, you had Masked and Omni by your side. And maybe Maskless by extension. 3 out of 8, not bad thats almost half.

“Right, so whats our next move?” you ask the group just to gauge them and see what was on their mind

“Food” Sinister said at the same time as Mohawk spoke

“Shelter” Mohawk said as he echoed Viltrumites sentiment.

Since they only spoke up, you considered what was more realistic and sadly shelter was more possible than food. Sinister was the only one who mentioned the elephant in the room that you all might starve. Perhaps they all thought of it, but only he dared to say it.

“We can use these ruins and debris to try and make some shelter” you spoke despite trying to sound fine, the looming threat of no food still hung on your mind.

All of you agreed that you needed a shelter, a crude base of operations, a place to stay, so all of you mobilized to make a place to stay. Grabbing whatever you can to try and have a roof over your heads to shield you from the burning sun. This was one of those situations, the days are hot, the nights are frigid. You guys had to be ready for that, for anything. Shelter is a roof over head, shade to rest.

Although as you worked with the variants, you noticed you were intently watched by someone. It took you a few hours to find and discern who it was. But eventually you figured out it was Sinister who kept a sharp eye on you. He tried to not be seen, but you noticed him. Which made you worried, why did he keep his eye on you? Was he hostile? Did he want you gone? Did he not trust you? Why the looks?

Well whatever the case, you’d ask him later. Right now you looked at the finished…. home? You didn't know what to call it, but it was finished.
So yeah, that was done now whats next? You tried to break things off into smaller goals to complete, but you had no goal other than the vague survive and escape. But you were in no condition to think about that

“Are you ok?” you heard Mark say, you thought it was Omni, until you turned around and saw it was Viltrumite Mark. In a way he took charge of the group, despite you being the first to try that. But it seems it came more naturally to him as you were more emotional and he had his shit together.

“Uhh yeah…. just trying to think” you awkwardly answered as you scanned your surroundings and company. Thats when you had an idea, not a useful one, but an idea nonetheless
“Hey, guys. This way sound kinda weird and out of nowhere, but why don't we all get to know each other? Since we’re stuck here being roommates or survivors, we might as well know who we are with”

Yeah you know that they’re all technically Mark Grayson, but you mean beyond that. Like how their timelines were different, try and find off where they all started and split off. Surely at least some of them are the least bit curious about their other selves

“Whatever” you heard Prisoner Mark say dismissively as he wasnt interested
It seemed as if some were and some didn't care but entertained your idea. Its just you all didn't really have anything to do, and having to sit down and just talk to each other was something you all needed, whether you all wanted to admit it or not. After just days of massacring and destroying Earth and you just fighting their variants, talking was something that was needed. To distract you all from the despair of a slow death.

You’d hear each ones tale and in a way connect it to the place that they attacked. Part of you wondered if they deliberately attacked these places. So...
Sinister Mark transformed Los Angeles into the same Hell as his world.
Viltrumite Mark destroyed his city of Chicago for his new home, Viltrum.
Mohawk Mark turned New York City "tired and poor" as he did before.
Maskless Mark decimated Paris, the city of love, out of his absence of love.
Imperial Mark showed London, capital of the former British Empire, the true strength and brutality of an empire.
Prisoner Mark revolted against Moscow's Kremlin and displayed his resilience from a year in a Viltrumite prison.
Omni Mark ravaged Tokyo in the same colours and execution as his father.
Masked Mark demolished Sydney and focused on reuniting with his mother.

Honestly, hearing each ones tale did make you empathize with them. While they didnt see their histories as sob stories, in a way you did. These are the Marks that suffered, whether they knew it or not.

Some were obvious like Prisoner Mark who got put by his own father in a Viltrumite Prison after he lost his bout against Omniman. And theres Viltrumite Mark who also begrudgingly joined the Viltrum Empire. Although Viltrumite Mark pretended he was fine, you knew he wasnt. You could see it in his eyes.

Masked Mark lost his mother and he turned to evil, he is depressed and he was willing to do anything to have her back. And that even meant decimating another world and stealing a version of his mother. He was a Mark full of sadness and regret.

Maskless was similar that he lost William, to Omniman. Because he was nothing but a hindrance, a weakness to Mark and keeping him away from his true potential for his empire.

Some Marks were just evil, Mohawk and Imperial for example, they saw that they’re better than humanity, so why not rule it. They SEEM content with their empires, but you could tell there’s cap and cope hiding. Although they were unwilling to say what it was. Or maybe you were looking too deep as they actually ruled their Empires, while others either only had Earth or were soliders for Viltrum

Lastly was Sinister and Omni, who were… more vague and secretive. Their story recap was mostly broad strokes. You could tell Omni wanted to tell you stuff that concerns you personally.
And Sinister? He was unreadable, more so than Omni

What the Marks were more interested were you and your powers. To them, you were the unknown factor. The interloper in the equation. Unlike them youyou have a boring and peaceful life, which you tell them and how you didnt really have a Mark in your dimension and tell them you’re half Gem, to which you had to explain what kind of a species Gems were. Of course the more conquering Marks were more interested in the powers and what kind of an empire gems were and how they led things.

Most likely to check back home to see if they have more places to conquer or rather to massacre since the Gems were more of a threat and they dont gain anything from conquering their ruined planets. They were more interested in extermination.

“So yeah, thats my list of powers, but they’re mostly emotion based. So flight doesn't come as easy as for you guys” you explained

“You can fuse with people?” Sinister asked, not really sure what to think of all of your powers

“Yup. I never tried with humans though. I only did it with the gems” you told him, though you realized you never fused with just Opal, you wondered what the fusion would be

“And would you if you had a chance?” he asked

You just shrug “I dont know. Who would I fuse with among humans? William? Or I guess Eve since she has powers and is a chick… would make thing simpler I guess”

“What? Never bothered to do it with your boyfriend?” Mohawk lazily said

You blushed a bit “Why would I? Its weird, its kinda like…” you shake your head, it seems more intimate

“Like what? Sex?” Prisoner Mark crudely said

“That doesn't matter” you quickly wave that off “Its not like I know if it’d work. Mark or you guys are part Viltrumite and only part human. So I dont know would it work” not to mention Viltrumite dominant genes shenannigans. It would either not work or would make a busted fusion that combines Gem and Viltrumite abilities into a more ‘ultimate lifeform’ that gets the best of both worlds.
You then asked “Why are you so interested?”

“We’re stuck here for who knows how long. We might as well get to know eachother or try some shit. Its not like we have anything else to do” he lazily suggested with a shrug

You were a bit flabbergasted by his suggestion. You had to do a double take “Are you saying you wanna fuse with me?”

“Not really. Its just weird you never considered trying new things” he dismissed you kinda, you couldn't tell what he was getting at

Anywho, since you had Sinister talking to you, you decided to try and ask him about that weird feeling you had. Just how to approach him
“Right… erm… Mark? Is there anything you need?”

“Come again?” Sinister asked

“I kinda noticed you keeping watch while we were making this place… what was that about?”

“I was just making sure you were fine”

“.... why?” you paused, blink and then asked that

“Because I can tell you’re gonna be important for our survival” he merely said with a shrug

You had no idea how you’d be able to help or how would he know that since he kept watch before he learned about you and your powers. Something unnerved you, so you sought the company of another variant. You looked around and saw Imperial Mark as he was the closest one. Not one that you liked too much, but for now you were glad to be with anyone but Sinister

You immediately slinked off to him

“What do you want?!” he asked annoyed. You remembered this was the all caps Mark as his voice always cracked

You merely just hugged his arm “Umm…” to get away from Sinister is the honest answer “to bask in your glory” you lied pretty obviously. Although he was either too arrogant or dense or egotistical or anything to see through your lie and just bought it

“Tch, good. Know your place then. Im glad someone finally does!” he tells you

You mentally rolled your eyes, but since you were temporary in his good graces, you wanted to see how he was holding up
“Uhm… indeed. So… how are you?” you cautiously ask him. Talking to him felt like navigating a mine field.

“Im pissed Angstrom betrayed us! We did all that shit?! For nothing!!!”

You didnt really know how to reply to that, so you kept silent and let him continue ranting.

“And now look at us?! We’re all here in the middle of fucking nowhere!!!” he yelled

“Ughh, we get it! Can you keep it down!!” Mohawk told him

“Maybe its best you conserve your energy” you gently spoke to try and pacify him and slowly let go of his arm

“Who said you can let go?”

'I wasnt aware you were enjoying physical contact', you mentally thought. And just hugged his arm again as if you’re some needy person begging for attention. Which is probably what he wanted, attention to make himself feel important. Granted you could kick his ass any day of the week, but you prefered to save your energy and didnt wanna deal with more fighting, So you opted to roleplay the submissive servant or whatever the hell he sees you as

“And what do you suggest we do?” honestly at this point you were just roleplaying as if Imperial Mark was like a master or whatever, even though he was far from it. It was kinda amusing, but at least this Mark was eye candy despite his less than stellar personality. He did have one of the best costumes.

“Are you good with technology? Cant you make a portal machine?” he asked you

“Uh, no… I dont think I can make anything from rusted steel” you tell him

“She’s not Robot” you heard Prisoner Mark tell the other variant

“Then what good are you?!” he smacks you away, which just really annoyed you more than anything. Tho he sighed “At least you make for good eye candy. Im sure you’ll have some uses here”

Mother fucker. Is what you thought as you realized you both saw eachother as eye candy. Though, now you felt you should move on to another Mark, as who knows what ‘use’ he might find for eye candy. Though honestly, you were sure that at this point your mind was far in the gutter and part of you wouldnt mind it. He was just too pretty to look at.

“Right well… um… bye” yeah you had no slick way of getting away from him, so you just bluntly went away. And arrived to Maskless

“Why’d you go and help me?” he rightfully asked you now that he had the chance

“Is it weird to say that I saw some good in you?” you tell him

“Yes, it is” he replied

“oh…well, I did. Plus it was kind of obvious that Angstrom was gonna betray you. So I tried to save at least one of you guys. Though it didnt pan out for us”

“Thats true. I didn't expect him to have a dozen of those drones. He must’ve been saving those for the Mark he wanted us to get”

“What?... oh… yeah, I overheard that I think” though that seemed like so long ago now.

For a while, you two were just sitting there in the shade and the silence was deafening. You glanced to see what other Marks were doing. You saw Viltrum Mark talking to Omni, Mohawk, Sinister and Imperial Marks. Marks with leadership experiences, probably deciding their best course of action.

Though one thing caught your attention. Mohawk was the one who tried to talk to others about finding an escape, surely this dimension had something. Sinister meanwhile spoke that there was no way out, the planet is barren. Space could be barren too. The best you all could do was survive and as he hushed down, you faintly heard that they should just eat the most annoying variant. Prisoner Mark, he was their choice because they found him annoying. Others joined with Omni Man and conquered Earth, Prisoner fought against him and lost like a bitch and got himself trapped in a prison. How un-Mark of him.

Mohawk, agreed that Prisoner was annoying, but that they shouldn't cannibalize each other and if word got out to you and the other variants, shit would hit the fan. Omni Mark was also against the cannibalisation angle so he agreed with Mohawk, he didn't want you to experience that, while Sinister argued that you SHOULD. You need all the energy you can get as surely you’re a key to their survival. Imperial was also against the cannibalisation, because he knew if they started with one, there will not be stopping them to get another and another, until its a fight for your own life, a deadly free for all. Although, while he didnt say it, he did realize what Sinisters plan might be as he also glanced at you for a moment, making you quickly look away.

Viltrumite Mark abstained from the vote, he understood that they will sooner or later need sustenance, but also knew eating eachother was a drastic measure. He was also willing to do what it takes to survive. But for now he kept his cards close, besides it seemed the majority was against eating another one of them, even if they disliked him.

Sinister was disgruntled so he flew away as he was displeased with the vote. Omni approached you as he saw you with Maskless

“Are you alright?” he asked you as he checked up

You merely nodded “I am” you then looked at the vast nothingness before you, nothing but a wasteland “The sun is setting. It seems we’ll have our first night here”

He nodded “Seems so”

“So what did you guys talk about?” you ask even if you did manage to overhear some of it

“Nothing to worry about” he again tried to brush off some heavy subjects and keep you protected

“Mark, Im not a kid. I can handle it” you tell him

He sighed “Subject of food” thats all he was gonna say, you couldnt press him more

“Hmm, I wonder if I have anything actually” you said as you remembered you stored stuff in your gem like a hoarder, surely you had some snacks you lazily put away

You were sure you had something for your predicament. Food stuff, food and beverage. Thats what you thought to yourself as you tried to pull out. But you ended up pulling out random stuff you lazily stored there. A screwdriver, a seashell, stapler, stethoscope, sticker. Then you stop

“What are you doing?” Viltrumite Mark asked you as he approached you and saw what you were doing

“Im trying to see if I have food” you awkwardly and shyly answered as you didnt wanna say you overheard some stuff

“I see” he replied and crossed his arms, now curious to see what are you gonna do

“Hmm, maybe if I think of, something more concrete” you tried to focus and then pulled out more things like a clock, a compass, a card.

“How many things do you have there?” Maskless Mark finally spoke up, he was still sitting by you, since your earlier micro chat

“You finally spoke up” you tell him

“I got lost in thought for a bit” Maskless replied as he reflected on some of your words you told him earlier, like how you told him you saw some good in him.

“Um… I hope its nothing bad” you tell Maskless

“No, just a lot of thinking of… events” he tells you, with a tinge in guilt in his voice

You didnt wanna press on as Omni and Viltrumite were waiting to see if you had anything in your gem of use, until suddenly and yet finally something handy. Like a bottle of water!

“Aha!” then you saw it was carbonated “Eeeh, oh yeah. I don't like that” you tossed it to a Mark who grabbed it, which happened to be Imperial Mark when he saw the other 2 gather near you

“You guys ration it” you tell them as you’ll mostly likely take the smallest of sips.

Imperial Mark saw the bottle and what was on it “Carbonated water and its warm”

“Whatever it is, its liquid and we best ration it well, because we don't have any alternative” Viltrumite said

“Not anything one would deem pleasant” Imperial Mark replied back

“In any case I’ll take the smallest sips, im not a fan of that, which is why I just dumped it here” you told them with a shrug. “Anywho” You tried to see if you had anything else food related and only to find a single piece of candy amd you just sighed defeated.

Maskless patted you on the shoulder to cheer you up “At least its something”

“Not something that can really be shared though” you tell him. Because on the contrary, it could only end in a fight again.

Imperial Mark just sighed annoyed and said “Just take it. You need it anyway, you’re the key to our survival anyway”

You froze upon hearing him because his worlds echoed Sinisters earlier sentiment, the others didn't really react to it as they never saw it as something special. You hesitantly took the piece of candy since Imperial Mark insisted for some reason, while Viltrumite Mark would go and get the others so they can all ration to water, which also meant that someone had to fetch Sinister to which Omni agreed to go and get him.

As Omni made his leave, Imperial decided he should be the one to watch over you, which made you feel uneasy. Although he sensed something was wrong, so he asked “What?!”

“Umm… I don't know? You make me feel uneasy?” you honestly didnt know what to say, you couldnt bullshit your way out of this, so you told him as it is

Imperial Mark got irritated or offended by the fact that HE made you feel uneasy “Im just making sure none of these idiots try something with you” it looked like he wanted to insult you and tell you off, but you could see he bit his tongue and held back some choice words. He took a breath as he tried to process how to win you over in this game of survival that he and Sinister were now playing. He took off his mask, so you can see it that he’s just Mark, not some variant you can toss aside.

Of course it was kinda surreal to you to see Marks face. Yeah these are technically the same person, but in a way you dissociated them from your Mark and just pictured them as is, with their goggles and masks and distinct outfits. You’d be surprised how easy you can separate them from the person you know and love, due to their personalities being so different or just the tone of their voice

Seeing Imperial Mark unmasked, you wanted to reach out and touch him, as if to see if he’s real but you hesitated. His expression wasnt as nearly as soft and loving as your Marks. It was more authoritative and stern with only the smallest hint of softness in there. But only the smallest, we’re talking micro expressions, as if he’s trying to please you and put you at ease, but failing miserably.

He took your hand and led it to his cheek, since he saw your earlier gesture that you hesitated, so you can touch him and see that he is indeed real. He is Mark Grayson, not some masked entity you can disassociate with. Its like the word variant lost its meaning.

You do shiver as you touch his cheek and caress it. The physical contact you didnt know you needed. Ironically even though you were surrounded by 8 Marks and had a whole dimension to yourselves, you missed Mark. Your Mark, the one who you crossed dimensions for. The one who changed your life and gave it purpose.

Looking at Imperial Mark, you wanted to pretend this was him and not his alternate self. You wanted to think he’d do this to truly make you feel at ease and not to have some secret agenda that he wont tell you. You wanted to lean in and kiss him, but despite his very inviting looks, you knew it was wrong

“Whats wrong?” he spoke up

He could see the conflict you had in you “I want to hold you and” you dont wanna say kiss “do so much stuff with you” ok, thats arguably worse. “But I cant! You’re not Mark”

“You do realize I am Mark Grayson” he tells you with a raised brow

“You know what I mean. My Mark, and me being… even remotely… I dont know…. needy lustful, is cheating” you try and tell him

“You told us you dont have a Mark in you dimension. So that guy whose dimension we attacked is literally no different than any of us” he reasoned rather well actually and he had a good point, albeit he was annoyed.

But you bit your lip as you knew he was in the right. Technically they're all your boyfriend, because they were all the same, Mark Grayson from not your dimension. It literally applied to every Mark you met and have yet to meet
“Can you… give me time?” you asked

He merely grabbed your chin and pulled you in for a kiss. His movement was so out of nowhere that you were stunned. His kiss was different than your Marks. Not gentle, it was demanding and… if you could describe the kiss with the word ‘conquering’ it would definitely be it. Perhaps dominating was the more correct word as he made you submit.
His kissing style definitely described his personality. You did pull away, a bit unnerved and out of breath. But also loving it and wanting seconds, and even more.

If that was his attempt of winning you over, he was failing miserably, because of the way he went about it. But in other ways it was winning.
You wanted to ask him what was the big idea, but he spoke first “I’ll give you time” he said as he placed back his mask “But you’ll see, I’ll be the Mark that you’ll end up with”

You didnt know what was he on about? Did he have a thing for you? No, it wasn't it. If he did love you or lust for you, he’d express himself differently. You were sure it was about what he said before, that you’re the key to their survival. Is he worried about that cannibalisation option and wants you on his side?

You had to prevent that. You just sighed and wished you could kiss the ground and make plants grow like Steven, but you cant.

A few hours pass as night comes, and you see Omni and Sinister finally arrive back. Either Omni couldnt find Sinister or they had some severe navigation issues to come back. Even so, now that all of you were grouped up and filled in on your situation Viltrumite Mark decided to ration that bottle of water to all of you. Everyone just getting one swig at it, a small sip, so it lasts longer. He also instructs you to keep it in your gem so no one steals it, trusting you with it.

“At least we’ll have water to survive for a bit” Masked Mark spoke

“That still leaves us with food” Sinister spoke to all of you

“We’ll survive, we can go without food for a long time” Mohawk said to shut down Sinisters…. sinister idea

“Can she though?” Sinister asked, motioning towards you

“She’ll survive too” Mohawk said glaring at Sinister

“We do need her though” Sinister told him. But at this point the conversation or discussion was cut short.

“Lets rest up, we can try and think of something tomorrow” Viltrumite Mark spoke. Today was a long day, the only thing you guys manage was to scout the planet and make a shelter and get some water. There is no headway on food or leaving this place.

Nevertheless, you were ready to go to sleep. You wanted to find a spot and maybe find the comfiest patch of sand and dirt. Though you didnt know if you could with the other Marks. 2 of them wanted to win you over and then theres Omni. Could you survive with minimal food and sleeping with one eye open?

As you found a place that was kinda remote but still close to the guys, you wanted to just lie down and close your eyes, until you felt some footsteps hone in on you. Opening your eye you saw yellow boots. Only one variant had those. As your eye looked up those boots, it would see: Sinister.

You wanted to back away and leave. Luckily you saw Omni approach to get you away from him. Although before a big confrontation and discussion or more took place Viltrumite Mark and Mohawk told Omni to just let Sinister be, that he wont hurt you and that he can have you to himself tomorrow, which made you blush

“Do I have a say in this?” you asked

“No, for the sake of our sanity, just do as he tells you. I dont want to break off some meaningless fight between them” Mohawk said as he was sick of Sinisters shit as well as yours probably.

Omni just glared at Sinister and warned him to watch it, before making his leave, followed by Viltrumite and Mohawk Marks.

Leaving you semi alone with Sinister.
“Can I help you?” you ask him, unsure what to really say

“Oh you will. But later, I’ll just make sure you’re fine” he tells you and lies down with you so you two can sleep, he lets you rest your head on his chest so you can feel more comfy. Which arguably, it was. Anything was better then resting your head on dirt. So you begrudgingly positioned yourself for sleep and hugged him, which did surprise him a bit. Even though it was nothing personal for you. You always hugged a pillow or anything before sleeping.

You slowly wanted to whisk yourself to sleep, but you heard him whisper which kept you awake
“I’ll take care of you. I wont let you starve. We’ll make it, together”

“Mhm” you just drowsily reply as you fall asleep. Sinister feeling pleased with the outcome for now.

The next day, you’d wake up and start to feel the hunger settle in, you also felt sore. Looking around, you saw the desert wasteland and looking down, you see Sinister Mark who was also waking up. Instantly crushing all your hopes that you were dreaming or hallucinating.

You saw Omni Mark approach you, he was the Mark you were most comfortable with, so you hugged him immediately and quietly cried
“Whats wrong?” he softly asked you

“This is real. We’re here,trapped” you tell him as your reality set in that you were trapped in a dead dimension with them

“Shh, dont cry. We’ll get out of here” he tells you and kisses your tears away, partially because thats water that would be wasted and water is scarce.

You nod quietly and just hold onto him. You wanted to kiss him, but you’d feel pathetic if you cheat on Mark, but then Imperials words also echo in your head that technically they’re all Mark and none of them are technically yours. Or in a way all of them are. It was a weird place to be in. You wanted to hold off from that, so hugs were ok.

“So… how did you meet me?” you asked Omni

He’d take you away from Sinister and just walk with you. You guys didnt really have anywhere to go. The only landmarks were the shelter you all made and Angstroms dried blood pool where main Mark beat him to near death. So yeah, not a lot going on, but it did give you two space to talk

“It was at Upstate University. Amber and I never really clicked, so we broke it off early. We both started University and you were fairly new to Chicago, said you came from a small beach town from Delaware”

“That sounds on par with my world. Im not a big city girl” you tell him

“We met, hung out at first as friends and we discovered we had chemistry. We both liked the same things, you were good company, supportive. I didnt really dare to try and… further our relationship, but William convinced me. And Im glad he did”

You didnt dare interrupt him, instead you listened to him closely and held his hand and stood closer to him as you walked through the desert nothingness

“When I told you I’m Invincible, you had the cutest reaction and you were accepting of my secret life. Unlike Amber who was selfish and prioritized a …. soup kitchen. And she revealed she knew all along”

You felt he wanted to say a fucking soup kitchen, but he caught himself. You could tell that Amber frustrated him.

“What about Eve?” you asked

“She was just someone who went to my school and college. At most she was a colleague since we were both heroes. I felt she had a thing for me, but I didnt give her any attention”

“How did you learn the ropes of being a hero?”

“Omniman showed me all I needed to know. I didn't need Atom Eve” he spoke coldly, but you could see the difference, where main Mark spent time with Eve and Teen Team prior to you, this Mark was with Omniman, which gave noticeable differences. This Mark was more disciplined and mature, where as main Mark actually behaved his age and was more mellow and relaxed

“So you said you hated Eve before, right?” you asked him

“Yeah, before she was a nuisance. But she never got a hint I wasnt interested. Well… actually she did, but she didnt care and kept trying. You didnt tell me much, but she made you feel inadequate because you didnt have any powers. I dont know what exactly, but I always only saw the aftermath”

“I see” you say as you start getting the picture. You then ask “So, how come your costume is like-”

“My fathers? Tch, I used to look up to him before” he replied

“Ah” you say as you get more pieces to the puzzle

So from what you understand, Omni Mark looked up to Omniman and wanted a costume in his colours to honour him. He dated Amber in high school, but his hero duties got in the way of a stable relationship, his hail mary to smooth things over was to reveal he’s Invincible, but it backfired as Amber knew all along. Seeing they didnt work, they broke it off and Omni Mark wanted to start anew at uni.

There he met you and you two hit it off. If you had to hazard a guess, your counterpart also liked Seance Dog and had interests like him, stuff you can just talk about for hours. William convinced him to confess and when he did your counterpart had the same feelings, so you two sealed the deal on the relationship.

Although Eve had a thing for Omni Mark and wanted to win him over, but he told her he wasnt interested, she didnt care and still tried. In private with your counterpart she was probably a mean girl or a bully even, who knows if she used powers to harass your counterpart to make you break it off with him. Considering your counterpart didnt tell Omni, who knows, but it probably wasnt pleasant. But Omni’s annoyance towards Eve turned to hatred most likely with her insistence towards him and her mistreatment towards your variant.

And going off by what Omni Mark told you yesterday, its possible Nolan killed you because you were a human, holding him back. And in retaliation he probably killed his parents, since he said in that Angstrom meeting how he hated the Grayson home.

“What happened with Debbie?” you asked Omni

“I killed her, after I killed Nolan. Pretended to be injured to lure her and got her” he told you

“Why?” you ask a bit nervously

“Because she was an enabler. A pet content with her master. She didnt have a backbone, she was just as guilty as him” he spoke coldly

“For… my counterparts death?” you carefully ask

Omni Mark noticed you were placing the pieces to his story together with what little he told you yesterday, but he sighed and nodded

You just hugged him and held onto him
“Im not her and I can never be her. But I will be here for you. Although…”

“What?” he asked

“Im still salty you paralyzed me with that neck snap” you told him as you couldnt forget that gem of an introduction on day 1
“What was the big idea?”

“I didn't want to kill you… I could never” he told you as he held you and looked you dead in the eyes

“So you thought you’d paralyze me and make me a vegetable?” you cross your arms now

“I needed to stop you from attacking me. I’d take care of you. I have people for it” he tells you

“People?” you ask and tap your foot

Realizing he might’ve said too much, he admitted what he probably didn't want to admit “I may have conquered my Earth instead of my father”

You sighed with disappointment “Of course you did” you cover your face “Why did I think you are any different. All of you are bad” which is what depressed you. They might be relatable, but they’re all still killers and conquerors, which is what depressed you. They weren't your Mark, no matter how much you wanted them to be.

You wanted to leave and seclude yourself from the Marks, but Omni held you and prevented you from leaving
“Wait. Its not bad. You’d like it. Give me a chance” he pleaded

“Im dating the other Mark, y’know? The one whose dimension you attacked! We had a good thing going on!” you tell him

“Forget him. He doesnt care about you. All he cared about was protecting Eve, he flew away with her after she got her leg broken. If he cared about you, he’d just take her to Cecil and be out on the field, fighting us and being by your side”

You were taken aback a bit, but you defend your Mark “He fought you guys, theres no way he quit”

“He fought against me and lost. Had to have Cecil come and rescue him with his robots. He wasnt even that injured. If you dont believe me, ask the other Marks” he told you

“Fine! I will” you pulled out of his grasp firmly and went to the others. Omni reached out to stop you, but you got away

Going back to the group, you see them discussing possible ways to survive. It seems they decided survival was the first goal here. Survive here and make a stable living and then only after that start thinking of methods to escape. Though Mohawk still was banking on those viltrumite genes to sustain them.
Though upon your arrival, they turn their attention to you as you unintentionally interrupted them.

“Am I interrupting something?” you ask them

“We were just thinking how can we sustain ourselves here, because your bottle is gonna run out eventually” Masked Mark told you

“Without that water, we’d probably just have sweat” Imperial Mark said, though he did intently look at you and kept an eye on Sinister

“Uhm, I wanted to ask, if any of you fought that Mark from that dimension?” you ask them

“Yeah, I fought him the first day at that sorry excuse of a prison” Mohawk spoke, wondering why are you asking

“Just you? Anyone else?” you ask them

“Didn't that guy fight him” Prisoner Mark said, lazily pointing behind you, to which you saw Omni

You just sighed, seeing Omni

“As I said. I fought him and he retreated to keep Eve safe” Omni Mark repeated. You refused to believe that, mostly because it would hurt knowing you were busting your ass off 3 days straight fighting off these variants and saving people, only for Mark to rest at Eve’s bed side. You actually killed a variant, the light blue costumed Mark. You fought Omni and lost against him. You captured Lensless Mark at the zoo and you fought Maskless Mark in Paris. 4 variants, you dealt with 4 variants. And Mark was…

Actually the thought of him…. Eve, it made you dizzy, you felt sick actually. Sinister was the first one to move and grab you carrying you and getting away from Omni.
“Who cares about that guy? He’s neither here or there. If I fought him I would’ve killed him” Sinister said and glanced at Mohawk who fought Mark and lost to him, likewise towards Omni who got blindsided by Cecil's trash heaps.

Imperial Mark was pissed Sinister got to you first. You just felt depressed, fighting these guys for seemingly nothing. Angstrom took care of them and ‘saved’ Earth by dumping them here. And you were here too. It felt as if the universe corrected itself as your interference in that dimension was gone. Maybe you should accept this place as your home and forget about seeing Mark. Just think of surviving with these variants.

At this point you didnt care what Sinister or Imperial Marks secret agenda was. Both somehow saw you as a key to escape and survive and you didnt care anymore. Whatever they wanted, fine. They can have it.
Sinister noticed your shift in demeanour and patted your head, before sitting you down by Maskless.

Eventually hours would go by, days too and maybe even weeks, months or years. You didnt know actually. You didn't really have a calendar or anything to suggest how much time has truly passed. Maybe its weeks and months. The guys didn't really age like humans, their viltrumite longevity made them young. Honestly they had no change. And because you age based on your emotional state, you were ageless as well. You knew a passage of time was happening, but you had no reference as to how much as time even though it was passing, it felt frozen.

The only thing that suggested the passage of time was the day turning into night and turning back into day again. And that bottle of carbonated water that would be emptier and emptier until it was gone.

During this time, the Marks have also had arguments and disagreements that you had to help break up. Prisoner being hostile toward you and deciding to try his luck away from the others since he felt hostility from the Marks. Masked Mark was also targeted a lot since he was a mommys boy.

Basically as things became dire, relationships were tested and everyone wasn't as united anymore.

You felt like you were starving at this point and your movements were minimal. You felt like you were deteriorating. Your Gem did power you and give you life, akin to how the Marks had the Viltrumite stamina. But yours was lesser than theirs, much lesser.

Unbeknownst to you, this was the time Sinister used for his move, because he carefully organized and manipulated the others. There was no unity anymore because he made sure people start to separate, well… Prisoner and Masked mostly. They were the easiest targets.

And now that Prisoner Mark was alone, he flew toward him. His intent was to kill him. They needed nutrition to survive. You needed it. He was gonna help you this way. You didnt have to know you were gonna eat a person. He’d make up some lie to pacify you. Beggars cant be choosers. At this state you cant pretend to have a moral high ground and if you did, he’d force feed you if he had to.

Sinister fought Prisoner Mark and didnt care how injured he got, because he knew you could heal him. He just needed to be the winner. Sinister was so hungry and savage that Prisoner Mark stood no chance in the end. Sinister was too ruthless. Punching, kicking, headbutting. That wasn't the only thing he did. He was also biting with the intent to rip and eat whatever flesh he got. Prisoner just had no chance in the end. Whenever Prisoner wanted to escape and fly towards the group. Sinister would grab him and throw him in the opposite direction to the ground. This was a battle, Prisoner couldn't escape, and that cost him his life.

Sinister now had a feast, for you and him. He just needed to bring you some. The thigh was the best part, he’d save that for you. You’ll appreciate it and if you asked, it’d be an animal he killed. It will be your little secret.

As this was going on, you were just humming a melody you had on your mind, the song you sang when you met Mark back in your world. You were biting your nail or was it your finger. You didn't wanna think of food, but your body forced you to. You tried to distract yourself, hence the humming. Though you wondered how the Marks were holding up. Were you weaker than Mark in this scenario. It was like a twisted experiment to see who can endure starvation for longer. A half Viltrumite or a half Gem? Your bet is on the Viltrumites, gems dont need to eat at all. You’re half human. Humans need it.

Part of you wondered if you deserved this? You tried to help a bunch of killers not get double crossed. Maybe if you just- “Psst” wait, whats that?

You look and see Sinister Mark, you saw some blood and approached him, hurriedly or something close to hurriedly as you were concerned if he was hurt. You didnt think of any sinister intentions he might've had. That wasn't on your forefront of your mind, concern was

“Who did this?” you said as you used your powers to mend any scrape he had. Though you noticed most of the blood wasnt his. And he only wiped the blood and licked it off

“I went scouting. Found some animal, killed it. I got some meat for us~” he says with glee

“What? Really? Lets tell the othe-” he immediately grabs you as you turn to tell the others

“No! Forget them” he says as he stopped you

You just turn to look at him questioningly

“This can be our secret. Come on, you need it more than them” he grabbed you then to carry you off.

As you flew to some place, you asked him “What animal was it?”

“I don't know, maybe you can tell by tasting it” he obviously lies, as he made sure you wouldn't see the body.

Arriving to the spot you’d see something wrapped in yellow cloth, yellow bloodied cloth that is. Looking at Sinister, you realize part of his cape was torn, so you assume he wrapped the mystery meat in his cape. It was basically the only container he had.

Upon landing he grabbed the item and gave it to you “Eat”

You just nervously gulp as you unwrap it and see its skinned already and thus you couldnt see fur or whatever of the animal.
“Ok, well we need to cook it somehow” you tell him

“Fire will make smoke, it’ll draw the others attention. Just eat it raw. I did it and Im fine” he told you

“But Im not like you” you tell Sinister, though part of you was starving and wanted to eat. But the remnants of your humanity wanted to try and keep things civil and it worried that you wont survive eating raw meat

“You underestimate yourself. You’re strong, you just have to embrace it and do what ever it takes to survive. So just take a bit and you’ll see” he tells you

You shrug and nervously take a bite of the mystery meat. Slowly chewing it and trying to discern what animal it was, unaware it was Prisoner Mark.

The meat was like good, fully developed veal. Not young, but not yet beef. It was mild, good meat with no other sharply defined or characteristic tastes, such as for instance goat, high game and pork. The meat was slightly tougher than prime veal, a little stringy to be agreeably edible

You never were a connoisseur to discern these things normally. But starvation clearly brought out some stuff that you had no idea. Honestly, as you were thinking, you had no idea your body just continued to take another bite and another. It just automatically happened to sate its hunger for nutrition and the blood was like hydration.

“Well?” Sinister asked you in anticipation to see what you’d think

“Is it veal?” you ask him

“You know what, I think it is” he told you with a satisfied smile, glad that you had no idea and humoured your guess. For now he’d let you think it was veal, but eventually he’ll clue you in on the truth. You two were gonna survive, the others didn't matter.

“Thanks… I think I feel better now” you smiled slightly to him “Are you sure we shouldn't tell the others, I feel guilty about holding out on them”

“No. They’re gonna hold us back and get us killed.” he takes your hands “Stick with me and we’ll make it here. I already found a food source for us, we’ll be more productive together while they meander around for their ideas and exits. I can make a shelter away from them, just for us”

“Wont it get lonely with just the two of us?” you asked concernedly as you think about Omni and the others. They were a colourful cast, but you kinda liked them, they all grew on you and you wanted to help them

“Are they worth dying for? All they’ll do is drag you down with them. We’re the only ones who did anything productive. You had a bottle of water that we wasted by sharing it with them. I found us food, lets not squander this. It’ll last longer if its just between us”

“I-I know. I just feel bad”

“You’ll get over it.” he slowly pulls you closer and wraps his arms around you “We’ll get through it” he said and leaned in for the kiss. Your eyes widened at his kiss, but you relaxed and relaxed into his kiss and you closed your eyes. Any walls you had where you reserved yourself for Mark, Sinister just smashed through it and passed through any defences you had. Any hesitation it seemed like it melted away. You needed this, you needed him

Maybe it was that old tactic, a way to a mans heart is through his stomach, only Sinister kinda uno reversed it. Both of you were hungry, not just for a meal, but for this. This touch, this sensation, this kiss. Both of you were touch starved and needed this moment together. Something to make you feel alive and not just corpses that are wasting away in a desert.

Slowly you broke the kiss, breathless, speechless as he leaned in and kissed or licked something off of you.
“You had something there”

Ah, it was that meats blood, yeah every drop matered. You just nodded, still stunned by that kiss, but also addicted to it that you didnt process much of anything else
“That was… amazing” you clumsily blurted out

“Good, because there’s more where that came from”
Hearing those chilling words, you morbidly startd to look forward to what else he had in store

After that event, more days would go on, all of you would endure as much as you can, but there was no headway to anything. Leaving nor surviving. Thats when Sinister would move once again, when one of them was isolated, Masked Mark. And then later Maskless. He’d make sure both of you were well fed and thriving as much as one can in this dead wasteland.

Although, this stunt wont go unnoticed. Before, Sinister managed to separate the others through manipulation and sowing distrust in the group. But now the group was too small, so he needed to change tactics. There was only you, him, Omni, Viltrumite, Imperial and Mohawk Mark. And these were smarter than the others, so instead he decided to lead them to where the bodies were, staged bodies, to show signs of infighting and cannibalism. That they ended up killing each other.

But all the bodies were eaten, so he couldnt blame them, he needed a fall guy in the group. And thats when he chose Imperial Mark for it. As Sinister was plotting behind the scenes, you spent time with Omni. Sitting by him and holding his hand

“I miss you” you were the first one to speak

“Then why are you always leaving the group?” he asked you

“Because I couldn't let you watch me wasting away. And I couldn't watch the group fall apart” it was partially true. But it was also mainly because Sinister told you to avoid them so they couldn't see you when you weren't hungry, they would suspect.

“I see… I’m sorry about attacking that dimension and trying to paralyze you” he told you

You looked at him with surprise and gently squeezed his hand “Im sorry for being salty about the neck snap. I should’ve gotten over it sooner.” you said as you scooted closer to him and rested your hand against his shoulder, and he’d wrap his arm around you.

There was some nonverbal communication going on between you. A mutual understanding and mutual feelings towards one another. For all his flaws, Omni seemed very endearing. Did it feel wrong to love him? And Sinister? You were actually bonding with this unstable group and you didn't know what that meant for you. Were you a cheater? A traitor? Were you twisted and unstable as them?

You spoke up softly as you looked up at Omni, still resting your head on his shoulder “Are we going to die here?”

He was quiet for a moment, you could tell he was probably thinking yes, but then he said something else “We could… try and go to another planet. Take our chances”

“But, you’re too exhausted to fly long distance” you say worriedly as you sit up and look at him eye to eye “Plus … navigation?”

“I’d take my chances with that. Even if we die in space, at least it’d be over with. This is torture and Angstrom wont come here as long as we’re alive. I mean the only way we can possibly survive is if we-” suddenly he got interrupted by another Mark

“FUCK YOU, I DIDNT CANNIBALIZE ANYONE!!!”

You two immediately go to check what that was about. You’d see its Imperial Mark arguing with Sinister who was accusing him of cannibalism

“BESIDES!! WERENT YOU THE ONE WHO ADVOCATED WE EAT EACH OTHER!!!”

“Do I look like I ate? You’re the one with the blood on your hands and the one who attacked me” Sinister accused Imperial Mark and showed a wound he had. Which was actually self inflicted to blame Imperial, he did mess with evidence and smear blood on his variant when he was knocked out asleep from starvation. After all, fatigue is kicking in a lot for all of them who abstained from eating

You and the others didnt know what to think, though you immediately rushed over to Sinister to use your power to fix him up.
“(y/n)! Wait!” Omni said as he tried to stop you from going to Sinister.

Imperial was hot blooded from the argument and instead just grabbed you by the arm and yanked you violently away from Sinister
“Get away from him!!! You cant trust him!!” he berated you

“Dont touch her!!” suddenly Sinister lunged at him and soon a fight broke out, where the others had to join in as well. Imperial fought to kill Sinister and since he was publicly accused of cannibalism, he decided to try and go for it with Sinister to bite and devour him. And Sinister was free to show his true cannibalistic colours.

It was chaos and you didn't know how to get into the fight. It was a free for all. You shivered from the carnage and bloodshed, since technically they were all the man you loved. Not just as prime Mark, but these variants too. You spent so much time with them that you loved these homicidal and sadistic and cruel variants. You didnt want them to die. But now they had to. Your legs shook and you collapsed down on the hot sands as you watched them defeat Imperial Mark who put up an impressive fight vs Sinister, Viltrumite, Mohawk and Omni Marks.

When the fight settled you just got up and approached the living to heal them with your powers, otherwise you were speechless, stunned

“I’ll miss him” you quietly said as you looked at the dead variant, tearing up even

Omni sighed “I hate to say it. But he’s dead and we might as well eat. The meat would be a waste” he didnt want to resort to that, but he was practical that he didnt want to waste resources. Imperial had become food for them. He could ‘redeem’ himself in death by being of use to all of them.

The others such as Mohawk and Viltrumite reluctantly agreed and that they had to. You were silent on that issue as it was just too disturbing for you. Sinister was silent too, but mostly because he was knowing of the actual situation. He just planned how to deal with you when you taste the flesh, because you’re gonna be bound to realize you didnt eat some secret veal, but actually his variants.

All of you had a section of a body. You honestly didnt know what to take or do. So Sinister was the one who helped you choose a part and prepare it for you. All while Omni kept an eye on him.

“Um, thanks” you thanked Sinister and as soon as you had your bite, you almost choked. Not because its stuck in your throat, but because you recognize the taste. As soon as you look at Sinister with your shocked expression, he merely gave you a knowing smile and put his finger to his lips to signal you to keep it shush. It was your little secret. You just gulped as you swallowed a morsel that was in your mouth.

The fact that he won you over those… months? years? ago with cannibalism just had you stunned. You co- ate Prisoner, Masked, Maskless and now Imperial Marks. And you had to accept that as your new reality.

Though the other Marks knew something you didnt. They were all now open targets since cannibalism was on the table. It was a free for all, a battle royale. And while you didnt know this, the victor would be decided by you. Whoever you side with will have the advantage. Thats why Mohawk decided to fly away and not risk his chances when he knew they were slim.

Sinister though would use that against him, since Mohawk decided to isolate himself. He had a scent of his prey. None can escape him. He was simply too powerful now. So when the time was for another feast, he’d scoop you up and fly you towards Mohawk
“What are you doing?” you ask him

“We’re going hunting. We can only survive if we work together.” he tells you as he flies you towards Mohawk, who you see on the horizon.

You see that when Mohawk spots you two that he immediately flies away. And so a chase started.
Both Marks were fast. If you had to bet, Mohawk was the naturally faster one maybe, but Sinister who was more well fed and had more energy was now faster and could keep up and outlast Mohawk. It was hard to say, but you two were gaining up on him.

As much as you hated it, you had to fight him with Sinister and go for it. To feast! Begrudgingly you jumped off Sinister and landed on Mohawks back and bit into his shoulder and threw him off balance as he crashed down, with Sinister able to fight him. Mohawk was a tricky foe, very smart and powerful despite his disadvantage. He was clearly a powerful and tactical fighting. Normally he’d be able to give Sinister the slip. But with you turning this into a 2v1, he stood no chance. Thats why Sinister had you with him this time. He knew how to pick his prey and how to pick them off and gain the upper and winning hand. He knew he couldnt take Mohawk alone, thats why with you. You two would feast.

His greatest hurdle was actually Omni, if Omni is out of the picture, then you truly belonged to him. He could be the one to love you and take care of you. You two would make this dimension your own, your new home. He had a plan for everything, the others were just cattle and a hurdle to your happiness.

But that was for later, now you’d share another meal
“Why me?” you’d ask him as you ate this macabre meal

“Why you what?” he asked, not understanding the meaning of your question, but being disturbingly casual about all the things you two are doing

“Why help me? Why spare me? You could’ve ate me long ago” you tell him

“Because I want to survive with you” he said as he moderated his words “We can survive together, you’re the key. You just still dont see it. But dont worry, you will soon”

You wondered how were you a key to survival and just ate in silence as you pondered that answer and his motives. But whatever his intentions were, it was just too intoxicating to be by him. With a taste of his lips you were on a ride, his lips were like a poison paradise and you were addicted to him.

Yet you also loved Omni, in a way Omni was like your angel on your shoulder and Sinister was like the devil on your shoulder. It was like you loved two different sides of Mark, the handsome and mature one, the one that still had good in him. Or the dangerous wild animal who offers you a good time.

You couldnt choose, normally Omni would be the only right answer, but mentally you were too far gone to just cleanly choose the obvious correct and morally right choice. Despite all the lies that Sinister told you, you were just too addicted to him and wanted him. You knew that all the remaining 3 Marks were on the chopping block. Sinister, Omni and Viltrumite. And you couldnt choose, the right answer was to let them all duke it out and just stick with the winners. Peace was not gonna be an option.

Now after your grim meal, you looked at Sinister
“What do we do now?”

He moved some of your hair behind your ear “Got any idea how to pass the time? I mean, there’s not much we can do, but I have an idea” he said as he looked at you. And you had a hunch what he meant by that and at this point, you were ready to surrender yourself to Sinister. Or maybe you were always his and you just didn't know it.

Using your privacy in this vast wasteland, you’d take off the remnants of your wasteland worn and torn outfits and make passionate love. You two were becoming something less than human, more primal and animalistic as your life and urges boiled down to just food, survival and sex. He won you over and you accepted him as your Mark, your only Mark. This was your home and all you needed was him. For your sake, he’d take care of Omni and you two would take care of Viltrumite. And after that it was just the two of you.

But what happens when it is just the two of you? There would be no more Marks to eat and you still never understood the key to survival thing he spoke about. Thats until he’d finally tell you at the very end
“You never told me how I’m the key to our survival, we’re all alone” you spoke with your final remnants of clarity

He merely moved his hands to your stomach “We can still make food”

Thats when you understood what he meant, and you walked into that trap. That long awaited trap that was on his mind for months or rather years… yeah, it has been years, maybe decades even. But it was something he hinted since the beginning.
Even so, he would take care of your final remnants of clarity and sanity, he’d remove every restraint you’d have. You two would survive here, forever with your steady stream of food you’d be able to make together. Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. It might be tough the first time, but it eventually became a normal cycle for the two of you. You two would persevere for an innumerable amount of time

Before a portal finally opened up. Revealing Mark, the true Mark, the first one, prime Mark.

Sinister was the first one to spot him, since you were away fro a moment, although he dismissed him as a variant he forgot about. Or a hallucination
“Oh good, you arrived just in time for dinner. Pull up a seat... There's plenty of thigh left. We just got started, really... it's a fresh kill. The thigh is the best part. Tasty. We thought we were the only ones, but you... I forgot about you... you'll be... uh... never mind.”

“Oh God, what happened here?” Prime Mark asked

“They think I planned it?! I didn't think I would be the last! How could I plan it? We were desperate... starving... we waited for weeks, we were dying. And he was such an asshole. I mean, he was us, we are all the same... but he was the worst. Then we got hungry again... and again. It kept not being me. Maybe I don't look tasty? Do I look tasty? I don't want to not look tasty!” Sinister blabbered to himself

Thats when you arrived and saw the two Marks “M-mark?” you asked stunned seeing two. And this one looked like the original one you met “Is he real?” you asked Sinister

Thats when Sinister did a double take
“Wait a minute?! Did we eat you already? We did, didn't we?” he asked as he got up and grabbed Mark, feeling that he’s real and not a hallucination “Are you real? Oh, you're real alright!”

“Back off!!” Mark said and punched Sinister away

“The faster they run, the sweeter the meat” you said feral as you attacked Mark too, with the intent to bite him. Although his punch that was self defensive made you see starts as everything turned black and…. back in time?

-Day 3-

“Sorry. I prefer to make an entrance.” Angstrom told the variants that were flying over the Grayson Residence.

You were, disoriented and confused, until you remembered something. Violane kissed your forehead. Future Vision. She passed you her ability temporary. All that what you just lived through was actually a vivid vision of what would happen if you tried to save Maskless from getting pushed into a portal. You’d be trapped with them, they would slowly die and you’d descend and become something less than human. A monster. You were horrified by that vision. Your expression was a thousand yard stare as you looked up at Angstrom and the variants talking

“Don’t be stupid! If we kill him, we’ll be stuck in this shithole forever! We’ll just torture you instead. Duh.” Mohawk spoke, showing he’s smarter than he looks, despite being a douche

“I can get behind that.” Prisoner said

“Hell yeah.” Imperial Mark said

“Love it.” Sinister said

At that moment you just screamed and jumped as you savagelly attacked Angstrom “DIE!!!! DIEEE!!!!!” you screamed as you slammed him down on the ground and started frantically headbutting him and bashing his head like a rabid animal. Your action caught him by surprise, the variants also attacked you and Angstrom. Angstrom used that one moment to send you all to the wasteland dimension once again.

Where you’d be frantic and horrified “Not again!! I cant do this and relive this place again!!”

Omni approached you as he was the one with the most connection to you “Calm down, what happened? Were you trapped here before?”

Thats when you tell them about temporary future vision and about this dimension and to prove that you speak the truth, you tell each variant what you learned about them. When they questioned how could you possibly know, you’d tell them that they themselves told you.

“And how did your vision end?” Sinister would ask with his hands crossed, still cautious

You look at him dead in the eyes “We become cannibals and eat everyone, causing us to be left alone in a vicious cycle, where we basically become animals. Its gross and disguisting and Im intent on changing the future” you say firmly not just to him, but all of them

If your first run here was with Sinister, you thought this time you should be with Mohawk. He was intelligent, you just needed to put your differences aside. But you were determined to see if choosing to be with Mohawk will yield some unique views and chances of escape.

Did it though? Long story short, no. It did not. Cannibalism still happened but it played off differently, they all participated this time. The first one was a jerk, the first victim that is. Mohawk would participate in this savagery 3 times, before deciding this is not worth it and that he’d rather endure on his own. Because you sided with him in this run, he trusted you, so you two stuck together, deciding not to eat anyone. You even gave Mohawk that one piece of candy you had with you and insisted he gets it and not you. He would need the energy.

After unknown amount of years later, it would just be you, Mohawk and Sinister. You two hid from Sinister as he was more powerful on his own. Until Mark arrived, Sinister thought Mark was a hallucination, but discerned that he was real. Thats when the scuffle of a fight started and you two decided to help Mark and get Sinister away from him. Although the animalistic and ever so hungry Sinister kept up good chase, he was just too fast that he kept up.

You were all meat to him now and he scared you. But you saw there was no exit, no way to escape. So, you surrendered yourself to Sinister once again. Telling Mohawk and Mark to go ahead and that you’ll hold off Sinister from getting them. Mark wanted to stop you, but Mohawk stopped him as he trusted you.

You jumped into Sinisters arms as he’d embrace you “Sweet, Pet. Let me taste your marrow” he spoke with a sadistic smile, ready to bite you.

But you just screamed as you hugged and headbutted him saying “I LOVE YOU STILL EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE THIS!!” and you glowed and fused with him. It was stockholm syndrome talking, that despite the monster, you loved him. And you really did.

And now, you’d fuse with him. You’d grow in size as you combined your heights, your physique was between male and female as you had Sinisters muscular arms but feminine body and features, the torn suits were also combined in design, it had your longer feminine hair, but also his beard, gloved fingers were sharp claws and those teeth were pure carnivore teeth.

But the fusion also had just confusion as it spoke with your layered voices
“Why am I-?” looks at your shoe and picks it up
“Why is... your shoe too small for my- your feet?” the fusion struggles to get up as it barely controls its body
“Wait. Ugh, this- no. This is gr-great! Wait.. my- our voice. What is this? What are we?” the fusion gets up on their two feet
“We are a fusion. They’re getting away. No, they’re not”

Since Sinister didnt know about fusion and couldnt really do much other than talk and just try to fight for control, you took control and refrained from chasing Mark and Mohawk who’d make their escape, while you sentence yourself as a perma fusion with Sinister in this dimension. You were in your hands and knees with this fusion, in pain and restraining yourselves from moving. Hunger, hunger, food, hungry. Meat. Meat. Meat. MARROW. BONE. WANT. FOOD. But they're gone, you two are all alone. Together alone, as one.

-Day 3-

“Sorry. I prefer to make an entrance.” Angstrom told the variants that were flying over the Grayson Residence.

You blinked as you were brought back to reality, so siding with Sinister you become a cannibal, siding with Mohawk you become a perma fusion with Sinister. Uhh, option 3? Viltrumite Mark? Pray that you dont get trapped here again with them. But you gotta move fast or else they’ll be sent there without you. But what can you do to not get trapped

You quickly moved and jumped on Angstrom again, but this time you just restrained him, by putting his hands behind his back
“Get away from those orbs!!! He’ll send you to-” the orbs already knocked the variants
“GOD DAMN IT!!!” at this point you just jumped in a portal because you knew Angstrom would throw you. So you jumped and landed in Omni’s arms

“Well… I couldn't have planned this better” you muttered to yourself

“(y/n?) What are you doing here?” Omni would ask you, to which you just sighed and went to explain once again. And once again you’d prove you knew about the future by revealing you know things you normally wouldn't know, like their pasts.

After that, it was trying to survive, but the challenge was not to resort to cannibalism. You knew the one who starts that is Sinister, but how to prevent that scenario. In this case, you stuck with Viltrumite Mark. Spending time with him was awkward and it took a long time to make him open up. Granted you understood why he was this way, being forced to be part of the Viltrum Empire as its soldier is… something.

In a way, you hesitatly had an idea how to help him open up. It was something you didnt wanna do, but it might help both of you. So once you had a moment alone with him...

“Hey, um… wanna fuse?” you ask him nervously. It was on your mind since on your first run the variants asked you how come you never fused with Mark. On the 2nd run you fused with Sinister and got trapped in that dimension alone with him as a perma fusion. So yeah, hard not to think of fusion at the moment

“What?” he asked

“Do you wanna fuse… with me?” you asked again, very shy as you fidgeted

“Why?” he asked now confused

“Well.. um… I think it might help us both” you shifted around nervously

“How?” he kept asking

“We’ll see the full picture” you tell him as you offered him your hand

He had no idea what that meant, but cautiously accepted it “Fine, I doubt you’ll do anything malicious. You’ve been honest with us so far” you just quietly nod as he asked you “What do we do now?”

“Well” you blush “We gotta synchronize” you place his arm on your waist, hold his other arm as you place your other on his shoulder. And you slowly danced with him, a romantic slow dance. You spoke softly and quietly to him
“I was told when fusing you gotta first, need a gem at the core of your being. Then you need a body that can turn into light. Then you need a partner who you trust with that light” you obviously looked at him to emphasize that he is the partner you trust your light with

“Our bodies move in unison. Where two become one and together we make something entirely new. A better than the sum of our parts.” honestly yeah, putting it in words it does sound euphemism for sex and a baby. And Gems do see fusion as an intimate thing.

You started humming to move in unison with him and get into his rhythm, you did see that he was a bit flustered from your description you were telling him. He most likely hasnt had any intimacy in forever since Viltrumite culture is more about might is right, instead of feelings and love. So even a dance is something intimate to him. You do feel bad, but you focus as you lean in as if to kiss him, but instead you two become one. Something entirely new

And thats when the new unnamed fusion showed up. It was slightly taller than both of you and had a more mature look as it combined your ages. Even your traditional Viltrumite and Gem uniforms combined. The outfit was mostly a while Viltrumite uniform, the grey parts of the uniform became yellow, the viltrumite logos on the shoulders got replaced with yellow diamond logos and the boots were more like homeworld uniform boots. This was a shockingly stable fusion

Personality wise, this fusion brought an equilibrium to the both of you and Viltrum Mark. The best description is that this is the Garnet equivalent of your fusion and both of you were Ruby and Sapphire in different aspects. His more evil tendencies of bloodlust and violence which you could call his hotblooded Ruby side was quelled by your presence in the fusion of your inner Sapphire. While your immature and eccentric and childish Ruby like tendencies were quelled by his maturity, his own inner Sapphire in the fusion.
So in remainder, the dominant traits were seriousness and maturity. This was one of the most most pragmatic and straightforward fusions. Equable and mellow, this fusion is capable of remaining composed in most situations. Although it also can act in extremes, either maintaining their very reserved nature or lashing out with strong emotion.

But now this fusion looked at the palm of its hands as it realized its existence. What do they call themselves? A fusion of a viltrumite and a gem? Gemite? Its a combination of both races and gems have a lot of names ending with ite. That seems like a good name. But what do you do now?

Either way, the fusion sat down on the sandy ground and looked up at the sky “We could survive out there… or I could. I can find my way”
Yeah, normally Mark sucks at navigation and gets lost easily, but not you. Your influence in the fusion corrected that mistake Mark could make. Plus you had some knowledge of the stars that he didnt, in a way both of you completed eachothers holes in your star maps.

What about the others
“If I go to the others, they might be alarmed by my presence. Should I go? No, not yet. Just a bit longer. Maybe I should scout out there” the fusion gets up on their feet and suddenly blitzes up in the sky, in space at immense speed. Faster than both you or Mark individually.

Water, that would give signs of life that the planet was worth investigating. You didnt go too far, just a trip to Andromeda Galaxy, the Outer Ariadne Arm, and a planet there. It had water, but it wasn't an ocean planet. It was like a jungle planet.

Flying over there Gemite lands. The jungle planet mostly consists of plant-based life. Aside from the lush trees and bushes, the planet featured unique species of flora whose properties are unknown to the fusion. These include the translucent plants, which appear to be entirely blue and translucent. The planet also featured some fauna whose designs appears to have been influenced by flora.

There were plant based aliens. The bud aliens are small and stubby creatures whose bodies appear to look similar to flower buds. Similar to flower buds, their bodies can open up to reveal their flower like insides. The outside of their bodies appear to be mostly green. They were incredibly tiny, reaching the ankle size of your fusion, which knelt down and picked one up

“Signs of life” looking around “Plants, perhaps food. Should I stay?... No, I should get the others. Although, speaking of others… (y/n), fusion amplifies your natural powers as well as my own” Mark suddenly took over the conversation of the fusion as he communicated to you
“Your mother only controlled the shape of Gems, you can do that to people. We can also do something with your electricity, what if we amplify your power more? Until you can reshape reality and maybe make a portal”

The reason Viltrumite Mark knew this is because in the fusion, you two shared experiences and memories. He experienced and knew your past and likewise you did his

Thats when you take control of the conversation “I think when I was fused with Sinister in the other timeline, I could control the shape of inanimate objects. It was like a step down from matter manipulation. I’d say I’d need…. 3 Marks? To amplify my powers and warp them to something thats portalish. I dont think they’d be open to this”

“We have to make them, I think we can finally escape this dimension. Make our own exit” he spoke through the fusion and you non verbally agreed. Causing the fusion to go back to that ruined Earth.
Arriving, Gemite would see Sinister fighting Omni. The fusion quickly separates them by creating a chain and wrapping it around Sinister, yanking him away from Omni.

The gem weapon was clearly influenced by Viltrumites fights with Spawn. The two other Marks would see this new entity before them

“Where are the others?” Gemite asks them

The two look at eachother, because of course what else is the answer. Thats when Gemite facepalms and destabilizes, causing it to pop back into you and Viltrumite Mark. You got destabilized there as you acted out “Are you fucking kidding me?!”

“You’re the one who ran off with him of all people, what else was I supposed to do?!” Sinister told you accusedly

“What happened?” Omni asked as you approached to heal him

“We may have figured out a way to escape” Viltrumite Mark tells the two other Marks who went silent hearing that

“Well, speak up. What is it?” Sinister asked

“We amplify her power and make her open a portal out of here” Viltrumite Mark tells them

“And how do we do that?” Omni asked him, to which you just reply

“We fuse. All of us”, though you look at Viltrumite and tell him “I think this wont be enough”

Thats when suddenly you heard another presence, it was Mohawk

“Holy shit, he’s alive” Sinister was surprised to see him, to which you rushed to him to check up on him and heal him.

After sitting everyone down and explaining the situation, no matter how weird it was. It was an idea for escape. Granted the others were a bit skeptical and weirded out, but you and Viltrumite insisted that its the only way and he told them his sensations of it. How it felt to have your memories, experiences and powers and to have new powers none of you had or at least powers that you couldnt access yet. The power to bring electrical appliances and machines to life. It mirrored Stevens ability to make plants sentient. Only you were with electrical objects. While it wasnt something you can test, it was an innate ability that surfaced in the fusion, something it would naturally know.

Eventually after many convincing, they finally agreed to do it. It was awkward as fuck and you had no idea how to synchronize with all of them, but you made it work, you always found a way. The mega fusion was bigger and closer to the size of Garnet and Amethysts Sugilite fusion and it was much more masculine since most components were male. Though it was an unstable fusion, so it didnt look human with its extra set of arms. In any case though, one of its hands transformed into a claw that ripped at the sky, creating a hole, a rift. Tearing a literal portal into existence. What came to Angstrom naturally was something you all fought for and hard earned it through a tenuous collaboration. Only hoping this leads to a better place.

Going pass it you all arrive back to the dimension you all came from, and due to the instability the fusion pops like a bubble and you all disperse and fall. You saw your Mark finally and went to approach him. Although soon a looming shadow covered the sunlight and a few menacing words were heard

“Stand ready for my arrival, Worm. You were given orders, you were given time. You were given more leeway than most, and yet I find this planet unprepared for the arrival of our Viltrum Empire. The Empire anticipated your resistance, which is why they sent me. I am Conquest, and I am your last chance to fulfill your duty.”

You wanted to go to Mark, but Omni grabbed you by the shoulder and shook his head so you wouldnt fight. The other variants were just amused by prime Marks soon to be suffering. Mostly Mohawk and Sinister.

You sighed and shook off Omni’s arm and joined your Mark to fight, although this future vision ends when Conquest delivers devastating damage to you with just one punch.

So again, everything rewinds back to Day 3 of the Invincible War and the meeting above the Grayson Residence. “Sorry. I prefer to make an entrance.” Angstrom told the variants that were flying over the Grayson Residence.

Everything you did, everything you do, everything you would do in these attempts, it would all end the same. You tried again and agin, reliving it like groundhog day. You being trapped there and you’d have to survive with cannibalism or take eons to gain their trust to escape. And you only managed once, despite many attempts you went there. You didnt like what you were getting at, but the best scenario Violane maybe wanted to pass onto you is to not save them, to not go after them. Although, what she or Sapphire didnt anticipate was that you’d gain feelings towards these homicidal maniacs

Mohawk scoffed “Who cares? They were weak. I would have murdered them myself eventually.”

“Come on!!!! The deal was we help you, and then you help us take over a bunch of other dimensions!!!” Imperial Mark yelled at Angstrom

No matter their terrible personalities and heavy flaws, you wanted to help them. This what they were getting sent to, it was a fate worse than death. To waste away and die slowly only to fight and kill and eat eachother out of desparation, only to have the same outcome, to die slowly while also going insane from the isolation. They were a toxic echo chamber, because they were all the same man, the same flawed man.

So, if you couldnt help them from the inside, maybe just maybe “I can help them from the outside” you whisper to yourself.

Then just as you see Angstrom make his move, you tackle Omni Mark in a hug to push him out of the way from the robot orb that wanted to push him in that portal. He was confused and questioned your appearance, and he got confused even more when you just gave him a passionate kiss which you abruptly interrupted as you hurriedly told him
“I got no time, here’s a bottle of water and a piece of candy. Ration the water, I’ll come and save you all. Consider me your ally. Keep the others from eating eachother. And I love you, you stupid neck snapping idiot” you shoved the bottle and candy into him that you had stored in your gem as you quickly backed away as the orbs chased you and Omni Mark

Although Angstroms trickery did get Omni into a portal, much to your dismay. You managed to escape and go to your Mark, due to future vision, you had an inkling of an idea where he was

“Well… that happened.” he looked towards a portal and stepped into it, revealing your variants
“Its your time to shine, Team B”

Chapter Text

-Day 2-

As certain events played out, such as you being busy with Lensless Mark, our main one fought against Omni Mark and Shiesty Mark. Although because Eve was injured, he was overpowered until the Reanimen and Cecil came to the rescue.

Mark flew away with Eve in his arms to get her treated and he worried the variants would attack there again, so he sat out the Invincible War.

As the Reanimen beat down Omni and Shiesty, Omni Mark managed to defeat a bunch of numerous Reanimen. Although he didn't bother for Shiesty as he believed him to be dead, so he flew away.

Unbeknownst to Mark, Eve, Cecil and even Omni Mark, a green portal soon opened up. And out of it stepped out 2 variants, your variants.

One looked like a robotic version of you. On the surface she seems like a primitive and crude old timey robot that just looks like you and wears your clothes for aesthetic purposes. It looked like a poor attempt and imitation of you that also had basic metal coloured ''skin'', a wig that copied your hair, black sclera and red iris eyes, and its or her voice sound metallic and autotuned. More so than Machine Head. But, all that crude appearance hid the much much more refined internal mechanisms. The main engine, sub engine, Main CPU, Sub CPU and all other stuff high tech robotic stuff

Hell, what none of your variants showed Angstrom was that your robot variant, lets call her Metal (y/n), figured out how to travel to other dimensions thanks to observing and scanning his power. Allowing her to create essentially a portal gun in the palm of her hand.

In fact, they didn't need Angstrom, they were all doing this for their own reasons. They all benefitted from fucking with this dimension. And the Mark variants just made this easier for them

The other variant, we could call Blue (y/n), she was the same as you, only she had a Blue Diamond in her chest. She wears a long navy blue cloak that touches the ground. Underneath the upper part of her cloak, she wears a navy blue hood. Though now her hood was down.

Blue created energy projectiles which attacked and turned the Reanimen into swiss cheese. No amount of emotion manipulation could help here. So she swiftly dispatched them.

The two approached the bloody and battered variant that was on the floor
“Is he alive?” Blue (y/n) asked Metal

“He received heavy blunt force trauma and his skull was highly damaged by the attack. He is alive, albeit barely. Currently he might as well be comatose, but he will recover. I do not know why Leader wants him. He looks like a weak liability, although that is my assessment.” Metal answered

She shrugged in reply as she grabbed him and flung him over her shoulder, getting messy from his blood in the process, which made her disgusted.
“Please, can we portal away. I don't want to hold him” her shoulder feels so wet, its gross

Metal quietly obliged and took him to your other variants.

~The Order’s Headquarters/Another Earth~

The two variants appeared there at the meeting room where all your variants were sat there. Roll call for all your variants

Leader (y/n), she was, as the name suggests a leader of The Order in her world aka this world. Not Mr.Liu nor Machine Head, she was the head honcho. And she was in charge of your variants here.

Fire (y/n) was the one who calls herself Blaze now, she got that name because of her burns and fire powers. You briefly faced her as she sent some monstrosity to kill you. Apparently she has something against you personally

Metal (y/n) is the robotic version of you, someone who traded away their flesh and organs to become a cold and calculating machine. Her nickname was derived from the fact that she’s made of metal, and to not be confused with Robot aka Rudy.

Then there’s the diamond authority quartet. Who have the same role, just inherited a different gem. Blue (y/n) which just retrieved Shiesty with Metal, White (y/n), Pink (y/n) and Yellow Empress (y/n).

Yellow Empress had to have the addition to her nickname because she wasn't the only variant who inherited the yellow diamond. But variant-wise she is best described as the Imperial Mark version of you

Up next was Jock (y/n), she’s appearance wise closest to you as she looks exactly like you with your civilian clothes. Which means her timeline split happened recently that made her evil. She got her nickname because of the yellow varsity jacket she has like you. But her attitude is shitty like a bully jock. She is kinda comparable to Mohawk Mark with the attitude and level of violence

Magic (y/n) is the masked magician. She has a tendency for theatrics and entertainment. In her world she works for Machine Head, so she is a criminal. She got her nickname because she equates her power to magic, for the sake of showbizz

Delinquent (y/n) is another masked version of you that has a grey hoodie and uses a knife as a weapon. She is one of your weaker variants. She got nicknamed delinquent because she’s kinda short of being an actual slasher killer villain or supervillain. She’s someone who tries to be evil to get recognition. Her appearance and personality screams ‘ow the edge’

Decay (y/n), the one who bailed Blaze out and helped break out MultiPaul with Blaze and Magic (y/n). Anything she touches crumbles, hence her name. But she also has more powers. Like Isotope’s teleportation. Where as Metal can travel between dimensions but not Earth. Decay covers the travel all over Earth aspect.

Huntress (y/n) is one of the few variants that isn't half alien or a GDA experiment. She has the minimum amount of powers, but what little she has is more closer to Amanda’s curse magic. Her abilities were magical in nature from the tattoo she has on her forearm. But her true deadliness comes from her own skills and hunting. She is someone who lives in the wilderness and know not the comfort of home and urban lifestyle. Every day for her is survival of the fittest. But personality wise, a lot of variants liken her to Shiesty Mark over here. While her abilities are akin to Battle Beast and his need of fighting

Hero (y/n) or Brainrot (y/n), the variants haven't decided on her nickname yet. She’s basically the only GOOD variant here. She’s here moreso because there was a lack of evil (y/n) variants and she got naively tricked by Angstrom that Mark is evil. And as a hero she of course is, would go fight evil and save the day. But she is also nicknamed Brainrot (y/n) because of the way she speaks. Gen Z lingo or internet slang or valley girl talk. She’s friendly, but unbearable to be with. Also while she doesnt have a Mark in her dimension, she’d totally have a crush on him like a puppy dog if she did have one.

Lastly in the room there’s Omni (y/n), thats right an Omni version of you that had a costume similar to Omniman and Omni Mark. White red color scheme, black goggles, red mask and red cape. Although she did also have a bit of Invincible’s bloodied costume wrapped around her waist, as a trophy or a reminder of the sort.

Now, roll call over

“We got this one” Blue (y/n) said as she placed the body on the ground and tried to wipe off his blood from her shoulder. Ew, it was so wet.

Leader (y/n) got up from her chair and approached him. The variant of you that had the white diamond carefully watched, just in case she needed to brainwash him with her white light. Leader (y/n) took off her glove and put her hand on his shoulder, completely disassembling him and then reassembling him to a perfect and healthy condition. She even fixed his costume so it isnt dirty of blood.

“He will attack us. This isn't the smartest variant” Pink (y/n) said

“He is unconscious, and if he attacks I’ll deal with him. I already killed the Invincible of this dimension long before Angstrom showed up” Leader replied as she placed back her glove.

“What will you have him do?” the Omni version of you asked, who was sitting there with her hands crossed

“I’m glad you asked. He will go and test the waters against Interloper. And if we’re lucky, he will kill her. We’re all in agreement that she is just in the way?”

The others all murmur and agree. And in case you were wondering who’s the Interloper? You. You were the Interloper. They all nicknamed themselves amongst the variants. You were dubbed Interloper (y/n). The (y/n) who wasn't supposed to be there in that dimension.

“I don't wish to show our hand yet. Angstrom didn't call us to mobilize. But I think he will soon. But, unlike the Marks, we wont all go into action. We will come in waves” Leader spoke

“Omni, why don't you go with Shiesty. I mean, he already worked with a spinoff of you. And you might as well count as a Mark as well, with your… blood situation” Blaze or Fire (y/n) spoke as she had her feet on the table and hands resting behind her head

“I will not engage in combat or anything until Angstrom tells us to. And that includes an escort mission”

“If it weren't for us essentially, Shiesty would be dead. Angstrom is wasting his pieces. If he deemed him as a pawn, we might as well get some use of it. Its not like Interloper will kill him. She’s us and we all know us. She likes him or will grow to like him” Blaze reasoned

Soon Shiesty stirred and slowly woke, your variants quieted down and focused on him. Shiesty sees he’s in a room with a different versions of you
“The fuck?!!” and that was his reaction because Angstrom didnt tell the evil Invincibles that they werent the only variants recruited.

“Oh look Huntress, its the Mark version of you” Blaze lazily quipped

“Fuck you!!! Im not nothing like him!!!” Huntress (y/n) yelled and gave her variant the middle finger, while Blaze just had her point proven

Ignoring that, Leader (y/n) spoke as he approached him “Mark. We’re Angstroms reserve team should all your variants fail. Currently Angstrom thinks you are dead. We want you to face our variant that resides in that world you were in”

“And why the hell should I help any of you?!” of course he wasnt keen on helping some randos

“Because, we figured out dimension travel and rendered Angstrom obsolete. We can give you what he promised you and we wont screw you over. A fact that we believe he will do to your counterparts that still naively obey him” Leader (y/n) spoke and gestured to Metal to approach them

She continued “You wont have Angstroms Spy Drone’s monitoring your every move” and tossed him a communicator device which he caught
“Instead we’ll be in touch with this. When the time is right, you go and kill the Interloper. The girl Angstrom told you about. Until then, stay here and regain your strength” she then turned to leave
“Get to know your new teammates here. Who knows, you might end up fighting alongside us”

“Hey hey! Who’s this smoldering looking two toned boy?” Hero (y/n) spoke up as she was kinda zoned out and didnt really listen to everything or understand everything. So she got up from her chair and approached the Shiesty Invincible variant and spoke to him
“You’re like super hot. Im crazy psyched to work with a total babe like you” She was just going with the flow and now she was totally going to socialize with Shiesty or maybe she was just bluntly flirting
“Seriously, can I have your number?” she was giving him her phone so he can give her the number even though they were kinda cross dimension

She got then dragged away by Huntress (y/n), so Shietsy has some breathing room and doesn't have a fangirl fawning over him while he still gets his bearings together.

~Present Day, Day 3~

“Well… that happened.” he said as he sent all the Mark variants in the Wasteland and saw you escape. Angstrom then opened a portal that led to the Technicians dimension stepped into it, revealing your variants
“Its your time to shine, Team B. Find Mark and bring him to me. I feel it is time for our reunion.”

“And do you even have a plan?” Blaze asked him

And now Angstrom was getting deja vu from another one of your variants

"You had the army of Invincibles at your side. Starting with the Hero Killer, Omni Invincible... Then the carnal murderer, Sinister Invincible... And the death row inmate, Prisoner Invincible... all were heavy hitters operating under you, but they got all got beaten and caught or just tossed aside by you. Almost like you didn't know how to use 'em, right? Maybe you just didn't know how to play the game. You cant even manage a few crazy people, and yet you wanted a small army of them? What happens when we bring you Mark?”

Angstrom wanted to tell her something, but she interrupted him
“Don't answer. We’ll bring you Mark. But after that we’re running the show. Just don't get in our way. We’re not Marks here” Blaze tells him threateningly as your variants all mobilize.

The variants will attack in 2 waves. Wave 1 was Metal, Omni, Blue, Yellow Empress, Jock, Fire,Decay, Hero, Magic, Huntress and Delinquent (y/n) and Shiesty Mark.

The variants that stayed behind were Leader, White and Pink (y/n). They had plans to use Metals device to scout dimensions for back up if need be or just any good dimension for resources of their own agenda and goals.

Fire (y/n) took leadership of wave 1 group.
“Angstrom made a mistake going after them with a bunch of random Marks.” she spoke to everyone present and then she smiles menacingly “Better to use a small group of elites” she spoke to her team “The first thing we have to do is to take away their sense of peace and show them that their lives rest in our hands”

Wave 1 got separated into groups of 2. Although the teams that currently mattered were Fire (y/n) and Magic (y/n). Jock and Decay (y/n). And Hero (y/n) with Shiesty Mark.

2 of the teams went to Marks location, while 1 went to you. The other duos would divide and conquer, mostly do as was said, take everyone's sense of peace and cause chaos to distract anyone from helping Mark. Don't let the heroes regroup and collect themselves from evil Marks attacks

Your variants would arrive to the hospital where Mark was watching over Eve. They would quietly and stealthily take down anyone on their way who would wish to stop them, as to not gain Marks attention just yet. Although Mark would notice something off, thats when he’d hear your voice
“Mark!! I’m hurt! I need you! Mark?!”

He got up from his seat to approach you, he wondered what the hell was going on with his variants. He wanted to check on you, but as soon as he opened the door, he was greeted with a sight that wasn't You. Fire and Magic duo awaited him. With Magic (y/n) tapping him with a light slap on the cheek and turning him to a blue marble
“Target successfully collected!”

Although just as the two were about to leave, they heard another voice

“Where do you think you’re going?” it was Atom Eve, who was up and ready for action. It seems she recovered

“Showtimes are on the hour, not a moment before and not a moment later.” Magic (y/n) said and dismissed her away with a snap of her fingers to provide a smokescreen with confetti for an escape

“You’re not getting away from me!” Eve said and gave chase, though just as she lunged, a blue stream of fire blazed in her direction which she blocked with her shield of pink energy

“Sorry, tricks and running away are my only redeeming features!” Magic (y/n) said in the distance as she was retreating with Mark in her possession to take him to Angstrom

“Now burn” Fire (y/n) said and attacked with a scorching blaze, destroying much of the hospital and endangering everyone, pushing Eve on the defensive to try and minimize the casualties.

Eve didnt want to fight and waste time with Fire (y/n), she needed to save Mark, so she flew towards your Magician variant.

“Give him back!!!!” she flew fast after her

“Give him back? He's his own person, you egoist.” Magician said as she ran, although she realized that Eve was catching up, so she grabbed a marble and threw it at Eve “Here my dear sister. Multi Paul, I choose you” and suddenly Multi Paul was freed from the marble and saw Eve was on the attack, he quickly moved to action to multiply with clones to fend her off, but also to make his escape

~Meanwhile~

Shiesty was flying with your Hero variant and honing in on your location.
“Wait, you’re Omnimans son? So you’re like superhero alien royalty on top of being a snack? Thats so totally amazing!” she spoke with him as they flew

Apparently as they flew towards you, they mildly passed the time by getting to know each other, Sheisty most likely humouring her because she was crushing so hard on him it was like she was worshipping him. Plus being dressed in a sexy black catsuit also helped. Although, he would soon spot you as you were trying to find your Mark. So Sheisty immediately dropped your variant and zoomed towards you.

You on the other hand just saw a dot of a shadow, which got bigger and bigger, which made you turn around and see “Oh n-” and he crashed into you and attacked you, landing a good, strong and rather devastating blow to you, which heavily injured you.

He towered over you as you were on the ground and he now went to smash you with both of his fists, since you were lying there and he was literally towering over you. You quickly made your yellow bubble shield, which he shattered easily, but it gave you a window to escape and gain some distance

“The hell?” everything was ringing to you, his punch did a number on you. You faced a problem. You had an unknown variant attack you and he seemed rather fresh, well rested and not injured, while you were exhausted from your 3 days of nonstop fighting, plus mentally traumatized by witnessing a large amount of different timelines where you either die or become a cannibal or become trapped to die slowly.

So you were largely weakened and unprepared for Sheisty Mark.

“Is this it?! This is what they sent me to fight! Pathetic! You aren't even a fraction of my power!” Sheisty Mark spoke to you as he attacked once again with a flurry of punches that you were forced to block and play on the defencive.

You fired lightning at him, but he dodged it as he was warned what that power can do.
“Quick reflexes, great” you muttered grumpy as you weighed your options since it was a 2v1. Your variant might have not gotten involved in the fight, but you knew that she might if she deems the time.

Sheisty grabs you and slams you on the ground and cratering it beneath you “This is what he wants to date?! You’re weak!! Not even a challenge!” he goes to stomp on you, but you just roll out of the way and make yourself dizzy as you get up, which just gives him an easy punch to your chest which sends you flying back into a building.

You slowly get out of the rubble, grabbing some debris to pull yourself up, although some of that is broken window glass, which caused you to accidentally stab yourself in the palm with it. You sat up and pulled out the glass shard and tossed it aside. Although, you saw a steel rod pierced your side. You gasped as you grabbed the broken steel rod and pulled it out, which just made you bleed more.

Ok, quick think. Fight him or escape? Again, it was a 2v1. You decided to go the same route as Lensless. Take him to space. Your variant couldn't help him there. You pushed off and flew towards Sheisty, grabbing him and pushing him up to space.

Hero (y/n) gasped at that sudden turn of events, but got all pouty and teary eyed since she couldn't fly. She just sighed and kicked a pebble to do the other stuff she was told to do.

Meanwhile back to action that actually mattered, Sheisty punched you away. You were pretty beaten, bruised and bloodied. You had a bubble around your head as you were gasping for air. He meanwhile could easily hold his breath.

Looking around, he’d notice Moustache Marks corpse that was floating in space. That short distraction was just enough for you to finally fly over to him and punch him in the schnozz. It managed to finally hurt him a lot as you poured all your strength into it. So much so that you even hurt your hand doing it. But this also just showed how strong Sheisty was.

Unbeknownst to you, your variants were helping him attain more power and getting him to a prime and even better condition for when the time came to face you. Considering he had multiple of your variants that could heal or even improve his physique to attain his peak power also definitely helped, so for now you were fighting one of the most powerful Mark variants

During day 2 with Omni and Eve and Mark, he was definitely weaker than he was now. Now he was much closer to main Marks strength or even Conquests. Though, since you were also weakened, it might as well felt like you were fighting Conquest, a shitty and feisty and sexy version of him… God damn it Mark. Stop being sexy.

Anywho, Sheisty looked like he wanted to curse you off, but because he was in space and holding his breath he couldn't. But his body language was enough to tell you that you gotta pay for that. You’re imagining he probably said a few ‘fucks’ and ‘you fuckin bitch’ and ‘youll pay for that’. But thats just what you imagine.

You started to move onto the offensive and gave him a flurry of punches. He wasnt really blocking or defending against you as you just laid a beatdown on him. But you didnt know how much was it hurting him. Your 100% all out assault on him was realistically closer to 34% of your power. Thats just how much you declined in this Invincible War. So it was really hard to fight Sheisty. Gaming wise, it was like he was level 110 and you were level 30. You were underleveled and weak. Your health was low and critical, while you barely grazed him

As you were punching him, it looked like he was almost giggling. Its as if your punches were tickling him. It was frustrating, but you glanced at the zoo that was in near distance. Sure your punches werent hurting him, but they were pushing him towards the Zoo and he wasnt even noticing it. The problem was to actually get him inside of it and get passed the doors which needed your handprint and also somehow get him in the Containment Facility without Lensless leaving. Although, you had an option.

You could hurl Shiesty in the containment facility and stay there with the 2. Considering you were trapped in a wasteland with 8 Marks in the other timelines, being trapped with 2 Marks with plenty of food and clean water was… a more pleasant fate. Granted, the automated system would put you in the Choosening, since you’d be the only female mate. And honestly you didn't want a computer program to analyze who’d make the best babies with you.

Shiesty meanwhile would notice that something as off, he’d look behind him, only to be punched by you in the cheek and pushed into a facility. Both of you would enter it and gasp for air since you were in space.

“You little” he grabs you by the neck and squeezes it “What’s the big idea?!”

You couldnt speak, but make choking noises in reply. Though hearing some echoes of some banging caused him to drop you “What’s going on now??”

You immediately knew it was Lensless. Although, this distraction gave you an idea. Lensless inadvertently helped you trap Sheisty. Since you weren't locked in combat anymore, you could lead Sheisty to the cell. By running away!!!

“Get back here!!” he flies after you as you quickly ran ahead and touched consoles to open doors for you in quick succession. Luckily it was all pink so it kinda blended in. You hoped this plan would work. Although he was gaining up on you. So it was now or never.

You came to the Containment Facilities Emergency Door. The one that was meant for Famethysts to use for the Zoomen. You pressed the hand on the scanner and made the door open. Ducking out of the way as Sheisty flew past you, and crashed right into Lensless who saw he door open and flew there and crashed into Sheisty
“Now its time to play.” the computerised Little Voice was heard on Lensless’ remaining earring as one was clearly ripped off

“Close close CLOSE!!!!” you quickly pressed the console in quick succession as the two saw you and locked on you. Quickly charging to attack you. But at the last second, the door closed and you heard a loud thud, the door even bent a bit. You flinched as that impact must've hurt them in the face

But now you gasped for air as you collapsed down on the floor. You heard quite a few angry remarks from Marks. Your whole body felt like it was on fire. Pain and hurt. You closed your eyes as your consciousness finally slipped away, while the two sent you demands of release or death threats.

~Meanwhile on Earth~

While you fought Shiesty, Atom Eve defeated MultiPaul, he was a distraction from the true problem. All she should do is take him to custody and find the masked magician that took Mark. Although as she was on her way to take away MultiPaul, someone approached Eve

“Eve” she heard your voice, and as she was about to turn to face you, she got punched in the face. A punch that was on par with Marks full strength, so yes this was something that was devastating to a human Eve who didn't anticipate it. And she crashed into a parked car.

“Is she dead?” Decay asked

“I dont know, maybe you should double tap her” Jock (y/n) said

“Ok” she replies and approaches Eve as Jock (y/n) goes to free MultiPaul.
Eve got up and stumbled a bit, and then she saw your variant duo. Before with the other pair, she didnt recognize them as you, because one was masked and the other scarred. But Jock (y/n) looked identical to you and even had the same casual clothes as you. Just a slightly differently designed t shirt under her varsity jacket. It was a black t-shirt with the yellow diamond logo.

She pieced quickly together these were evil variants, since she faced evil Marks like Omni and Shiesty, she was prepared to jump to this conclusion. Eve attacked the two with pink structures, such as buzzsaws. Decay (y/n) just ducked under the attack. But Jock (y/n) just karate chopped one to shatter it and caught the other in her hand. Sure it made her palm bleed a bit, but it was a flesh wound.

Thats when Jock (y/n) would blink and upon opening her eyes, Eve would see her newly yellow eyes with diamond shaped pupils, she also had a faintest glow of yellow aura around her. And as she slightly squeezed the buzzsaw in her hand, it shattered and the wound she inflicted on her, healed.
“I may not be part Viltrumite, but I can show you why being part Gem means you’re 50 shades fucked” she cracked her knuckles

She then ran to Eve, but ran is also a stretch, it describes her physical action yes. But the action was more on par of just blitzing and appearing to Eve and just giving the girl a devastating combo, a flurry of punches to her body. At this point, Jock was just holding back to not insta kill her and make the fun last longer.
Although she stopped when she saw her own variant walk away
“Where are you going?”

“Fuck this shit Im out” Decay (y/n) lazily said as she made her leave to make some ruckus elsewhere, since her variant had it handled

Jock just shrugged and continued. Eve made gauntlets of pink energy to help boost her strength and smacked your counterpart in a similar fashion Mark did when he fought Mohawk with the ear clap. Eve focused on the ears even though that wasn't a Gem weakness per say.

On the plus side, it hurt the variant a lot and disoriented them. On the down side, it didn't really down them, not even temporary like it did Mohawk. But it did piss them off
“Fucking amatuer” she muttered to herself and then looked at Eve “Really? Do I look like Mark to you?”

“Oh no” she wanted to retreat and fly away. But the variant grabbed her leg and smacked her down, identically with how Omni Mark did. And she was even forced to create another pink structure to cushion her damage. And this time, she didn't have Mark to save her.

Jock spat on Eve with disgust “This is the woman he preferred?! How pitiful. You disguist me. I think the fact that he chose you just hurts more than any attack you whipped up girlie” she was ready to stomp and crush Eve, but suddenly she got punched away by… Two Punch Man! She grabbed the guys wrist to prevent the second punch and tossed him aside.

During that distraction, some other heroes picked up Eve to get her treated… again.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she sighed “Ok, lets scrabble, kids”

~Grayson Residence~

“Curtain up!” Magician (y/n) said as she freed Mark from the marble and restored his human form. To which he immediately one shot punched her away. She was very much average human on par with Dropkick and Fightmaster, regular human durability, so she was knocked out cold

Mark looked around to see he was at his home and then saw Angstrom up in the air “YOU!!!” he flew at him

“Oh, good. You finally came to me.” Angstrom said as Mark slammed into him

“I killed you!!!”

“No, you didn’t!!” he said and created a portal behind him to which more of those orbs came out. The orb droids slammed Mark away from Angstrom, to which he created another portal to summon more of those things to slam into Marks back and slam him into the ground.

“I had surgeons ready in another dimension just in case you were more than I could handle.” Angstrom said as he descended.

Mark got up and attacked again, to which Angstrom spawned a portal in Marks path, although Mark learned his lesson and skillfully avoided it by jumping over it

“Ooh. Smart boy. You know my tricks now.” he said as he jumped back to avoid Marks punch
“Which is why I brought these!” he created another portal to summon more of those orb devices that Mark would keep dodging. Some of course would hit him and thus more would pile on and slowly push him. Mark though seeing a portal behind him stopped. He wasnt gonna fall for Angstroms tricks

Although Angstrom was a one trick pony and once one knew what it was, it was hard to fall for it. Mark knew Angstroms tricks, unlike his variants. So no matter how hard Angstrom tried, Mark succeeds where his numerous variants fail.

Angstroms hail mary was to summon a huge blob of those things at once and slam him down to the ground, which he succeeded, after which Angstrom himself landed on the ground and spoke

“Come on. Try again. Maybe it’ll work this time.” Angstrom told him and created a portal behind Mark. Angstrom again used all the orbs he had and the giant blob of those tried to push him back.

Mark resisted being pushed, he then started punching them out of the way, destroying them and closing his distance.

“Don’t worry, Mark!!! I’ll bring you back. Once I’m done destroying everything you love.” Angstrom said as his flurry of attack pressed on. Although as Mark was closing his distance, he’d see that his orbs were running out. To which Mark finally grabbed him by the throat.

“Is this what you wanted?! All of this death?! Just to get at me? You, you…”

Suddenly, Mark heard Oliver “Do it. Kill him, before he escapes or something!!!! Look at what he did!!!! Kill him so he can never do this again!!!! What are you waiting for?!

Mark considered Olivers words and every action Angstrom did and caused “You’ve given me no choice.”

“Truer words…” Angstrom said as one orb crashed into Marks face causing him to let go. He laughed all dramatically as a portal opened up behind him for his escape

“NOOO!” Oliver yelled

Mark flew and grabbed Angstroms arm, but he closed the portal so he wouldnt be pulled back, losing part of his arm.

“No!!!” Mark said frustrated and dropped part of Angstrom

“Oh, man. So gross.”

~Technicians Dimension~

Two of your variants were there with the titular Technicians. Metal and Delinquent (y/n) were also there. Merely observing.

“Fix this! I’m getting my Invincibles and we’re going back. This isn’t over.” Angstrom told all of them

The technicians did nothing and your variants looked at eachother and also did nothing.

““Technicians.” An appropriate name for cold, unfeeling monsters. You’re gonna let me bleed to death!?!? And you two! Why are you staying there?! Fix me now!!!” Angstrom demanded

“No.” Technician One said

“The future is now old man” Delinquent (y/n) said

All of them slowly approached Angstrom. He wanted to make a portal to flee, but a devide prevented him
“Promises were made, Angstrom Levy, and we delivered on ours.” Technician One spoke

“But we now see your word is without value.” Technician Two said

“We had a deal that you failed to honor. You do not get a second chance.” Technician Three said

“You work for us now. Accept that, and we will tend to your wounds. Refuse, and your remains will gift us endless fascination.” Technician One said as all of them circled now around him and had him surrounded

“You two! Help me! You’ll be trapped here forever” Angstrom spoke to your variants

“Oh silly Angstrom” Delinquent (y/n) said gleefully

“You have been rendered obsolete a long time ago. We merely amused you and fulfilled our deal. Now we can do as we wish without you. Although, I personally have to thank you for helping me develop this portal technology” Metal (y/n) spoke as she made a portal from the palm of her robotic hand and the two variants made their leave. The (y/n) variants were now free agents to work for their own agenda. Metal and Delinquent merely went to see through that Angstrom would be out of the picture”

~Earth~

Oliver and Mark saw Angstrom escaped, soon they’d hear someone stirring, it was your variant. He immediately went to her and grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up
“Who. Are. You?” he asked or more like threatened

The variant took off its cracked and crumbled mask revealing… well… you. Which did surprise him.
“My show's been ruined” she said a little roughed up

“What are you doing here? Why are you working for Angstrom” he questioned her sternly

“We do not work for Angstrom. We merely fulfilled our end of the bargain for his help. We dont need him. We as in (y/n)’s variants. We didnt work with your counterparts” she answered

“You still didnt answer what are you doing here.” he reminded her as he held her

“Just following orders. Mine were to get you to Angstrom” she again answered

“And the others?!” he pressed on

“Part of us, much like me were born from GDA’s Project Beyond. At least that’s what it was called in my dimension. Leader (y/n) is the closest match of a success. Collectively we are Phase Six. Some of us want to find Phase One, the true successful experiment for their own agenda. She is alive here. Our spiritual sister.” Magic (y/n) said

“And what is that project” he kept asking since she was giving him answers

“To create the ultimate weapon. One that can control matter on a molecular and atomic level. My power is limited. I can only convert matter from one state to another. I joined because I was promised freedom, money and fame. Simple as that. I wish to be an entertainer, although working for Machine Head has its perks” she answered him

“How-” she then tapped him and turned him to a marble once again. Thats when Oliver attacked, but she flung the marble at Oliver and snapped her fingers, turning Mark back to normal, making him crash into Oliver

“Too-da-loo~” she waved to the two as she turned herself into a marble and placed down a smoke bomb that shot herself upward and away as a form of teleportation, making her escape. She wasn't a fighter, she was a thief and an escape artist.

~The Human Zoo~

You woke up and struggled up, you saw the walls and the door were damaged but that robonoids were fixing things. It seems the two variants there settled and you sighed. Although they were still part viltrumite and had a keen sense of hearing, so they recognized that sigh meant you were away

“Let us out now!” you heard Lensless

You sat up and pressed your ear against the door to try and discern where he was or how close he was. But a punch to the door answered your question, he was just there, in a way both of you were sitting and now resting your back against eachother, the only thing separating you was that alien door with a pink floral pattern

“I cant do that. You’ll cause havoc” you told him as you held your side. You were pale from the blood loss, but at least the wound closed. You felt weak.

Lensless was silent for a moment because he knew that violence wasn’t getting him anywhere. He as trapped and Sheisty’s extra muscle didn’t help either. So his option was to either demand you let them go or talking you into it
“We wont kill you if you let us go”

“But you’ll hurt me. And you cant guarantee me safety from your friend over there” you tell him. Though an angrier punch followed, which must be Sheisty. You sighed again
“Listen, I like you guys, thats why I didnt kill you-” you heard Sheisty scoff, but you continued “As I was saying. I like you. And honestly, you’re hot. Theres no shame in me admitting that. Plus you, lensless Mark over there. You were so fun to fight. I’ll admit, I wanted to do so much more, but there was this all Mark-invasion going on that I couldn't really stop and entertain you” aka, you wanted to stop fighting and start making out with that sexyness of a beastly man, it was so hot. Gooooood daaayyyyyuuum. You barely contained yourself and didnt want him to figure that you were turned on during that fight. Hence the zoo

He was listening to you and wasnt talking
“Listen listen. I cant let you go. Not now. I gotta make sure I don't die or else you’ll really be trapped there forever. So Im gonna heal up back on Earth and then stop whatever is going on. And I’ll consider letting you go. If you change your ways and channel your violence in a constructive way” you say as you get up slowly
“Until then… you have food and water” then you say quietly and coldly “Which was much more than I ever had” as you remember the Wasteland Dimension and the other Marks

You hold the wall with one hand to keep yourself up, while your other hand clutches your chest. Your heart. It hurt thinking about them, even though they didnt know you like they did in those timelines where you got trapped with them. You missed them, you loved them.

Slowly you’d leave the Zoo and jump into space, with the bubble around your head for air. You’d go towards Earth, but you didnt have the strength to even regulate your speed of descent, instead you’d fall there fast. Like a shooting star.

Crashing down like a meteor and lay there, hoping someone sees you and helps you. Among the first responders, you’d see Rex and Shrinking Rae, who’d rush to your aid and see how messed up you were. Rex managed to recover from his encounter with Retro Invincible, he was fully healed. But you were in a worse shape than he was. So they took you to the GDA’s hospital.

~GDA Hospital~

Mark met up with Eve, she was in the same state as when he left her, bedridden. But she was awake now. The two compared notes on what happened and got caught up that your variants are now running about, not Marks anymore. Though now they wondered where was the real you.

Around that time Amber arrived to visit Eve. She wasnt alone as Champagne Pearl was also with her.
“Eve! Mark ! I’m so glad you’re alright!” Amber greeted the two. She was allowed to visit when on strict supervision. Plus she was with Pearl.

Eve happily greeted Amber and said she was glad to see her, the two girls went to catch up and see how the situation was. Mark went to your Pearl
“What are you doing here?” he asked curiously

“I heard my Di- I mean… (y/n) is here.” she spoke nervously and worriedly

“What?! She is?!” Mark says and quickly goes to find you if you’re here. He goes to the nearest agent that was supervising Amber and Pearl to make sure they dont wander off or see anything they shouldn't. Mark just grabbed the guy and demanded him to take him to you. Not wanting to deal with a pissed off Invincible, the man relents and starts to lead Mark to you. Pearl closely following.

Soon he’d arrive to your room to see you asleep or unconscious or comatose and he hurried to your bedside. He held your hand and apologized. Feeling regret because he knew he left you alone while he stayed to protect Eve. He was scared of losing anyone, scared that his variant might attack here. He didn't fight even though he was needed. But you, you fought for 3 days straight. And more, so much more. Hence why you didn't wake up. You were badly beaten and stabbed and malnutritioned and dehydrated. Waking up any time soon was not in your cards. Though he wasnt leaving you until you did.

During that time, he was thinking what your variant said. Some of your variants searched for someone called Phase One. Who could that be? It’d be hours before you finally stirred and slowly woke up. Feeling his hand holding you, you slightly squeeze it and opening your eyes you see Mark. But which one was it? Thats how much messed up you were.

You looked at his hair and saw it was not spikier like Omni. So… Sinister? Viltrumite? Imperial? Which one was it?
“Who… are you?” you tearfully asked because at this point you were lost.

“What?? You dont remember me? Its me! Mark!” he tells you, worriedly, believing you might have amnesia

You shake your head, but take a few deep breaths as you try and discern through process of elimination “M-Mark?... My Mark?... not a …. variant?”

He was confused a bit on why you’d think a variant would care for you like this considering they were all vile and homicidal, but then again he had no idea what did you go through “Yes, your Mark” he tells you as he hugs you

You just silently hug him and sob. You missed him, it felt like you didnt see him in 8 lifetimes or more. It felt so odd to be with him.
You got used to being with Sinister so much, surviving with him, even if it was sick and twisted. There was a morbid happiness you two had.
Then there’s Viltrumite Mark, who was tragic and endearing in his own way. You wanted to offer him freedom from Viltrums Empire, and de-program him from its terrible tendencies, teach him how to enjoy life, how to be human.
Omni Mark was flawed but wonderful company and you felt his earnest and true love. And it was infectious that you loved him the same way back. The idea of spending your life with him sounded wonderful. Provided, he isnt a villain anymore. But the chemistry was definitely there.
Hell, even Imperial Mark was someone you missed. He was an asshole, but a sexy one at that and knew how to satisfy a woman. Who knew that the most obnoxious Mark was the most amazing in bed… or … sand, as that timeline showed. Fuck he was terrible, but incredible. The best hate fuck you’ll never have.
Maskless was a great bestie like William, you’d totally help him meet a William. Honestly you didnt mind his kills.
Mohawk was a decent guy too, he was a typical bad boy sorta guy. But you liked it when he was longer in the wasteland with a more grown mohawk and not that baby version of a mohawk, plus he looked good with a bit of facial hair. Sinister also looked good with a beard

Yeah, you got used to a lot of Marks, each having some charm to them. So it was very weird to be with your Mark, mostly because all the variants said he’s not YOUR Mark. He was just a Mark you visited. To you, he was just a variant as well.

“Are you ok?” he softly asked you as he noticed your silence

You wipe your tears “Sorry. A lot happened. You cant even begin to fathom.”

“What happened?” he asked, although you didnt wanna really tell him. He was serious though “You can tell me”

You sighed and relented “So day 1, while you were fighting Mohawk at Payton. I fought Omni at town. Abridging that fight, he won as he paralyzed me and put me on a rooftop saying he’d be back for me” Mark went silent because he knew which variant you talked about. The one who hurt Eve, also hurt you. If he ever sees that variant he’s dead.
“After I regenerated, I found a variant and snapped his neck. It was incredible” you chuckle a bit unhinged “I lured him like a sucker. That was day 1”

“How did you know I fought a counterpart with a mohawk?” he asked when he realized that

“I’ll get to that. Day 2, Guardians HQ, snuck there to ambush a variant. Lensless Mark, he was having the time of his life. He was funny in a dark humour sorta way. A bit of a masochist. I fought him and took him to space. He’s trapped in the human zoo”

“We have a live variant trapped???” Mark was wide eyed and shocked to hear that

“Mhm mhm” you nodded and proceeded to tell what you were doing
“Day 3, fought your Maskless variant in Paris and followed him to Angstroms meeting point, above your home”

“I didnt see you there. I fought Angstrom there just recently”

“Mark. Angstrom betrayed your counterparts. He sent them to the Wasteland Dimension you were trapped with. And… I went there with them”

“What?! How? But you’re here. How did you escape” he asked

“Thats the thing. I didnt. Not really” you spoke, but he didnt understand “Turns out, before I went to confront them at that meeting place, Violane kissed me. And with it she transferred her Future Vision to me. What happened was…. essentially Groundhog Day the movie. I relived the same events over and over. Each time I wanted to confront Angstrom once and for all or your variants, we all got sent to that dimension. Mark, we were trapped there” you say as you grab him by his costume

“For years. I dont know how long” you then let go of him

“I… I became a monster” you were shell shocked as you remembered the first vision that was with Sinister. Cannibals that hunted this real Mark

“A variant and I were the only survivors… forced to eat the others and by the time you found me in that dimension, all we saw was meat and we attacked. I mean… I got tricked at first, I thought it was veal” you grab your head as you remember that timeline. You dont know how Sapphire does it, how she sees the future, the multitude of terrible fates that can kill all of you and yet she’s ok. You just saw a handful of futures and it traumatized you.

Of course you couldnt shake off that first vision you had with Sinister, he played you. Manipulated the whole group in fact. But he was so strong, his physique was top notch. Even as a degraded animalistic monster, he was irresistible to you. Even in that terrible traumatizi- NO!! Dont think about it. You dont miss THAT! It was terrible! You dont want to experience it again.

Mark noticed you were starting to hyperventilate so he tried to calm you and remind you that you were safe now and not in that wasteland. He remembered that place and what was it like. He also knew that you were unprepared for Angstrom alone, he knew how tricky the guy was with his portals. Mark knew Angstroms style, but not you and he should’ve been there to protect you.

Once Mark helped you breathe regularly, you continued. Because of course there was more “Ultimately, I…. I left them… your variants are there” you tearfully say as you quickly rubbed away any incoming waterworks
“But I got attacked by a new variant I never saw” you said and described Sheisty Mark which he recognized
“He was so powerful. Like nothing I’ve seen. I barely beat him… Or maybe I didnt even beat him. I just juked him and trapped him in the Zoo with Lensless. After that I blacked out and got here” you say as you skimmed the ending

Mark was shocked that you fought 5 different variants and even was trapped in a way with 8 others. And you killed 1 variant but captured 2 living. That was a track record like no other. Granted he had no idea Sugilite killed 3, well 2 and a half. She shared one kill with Rex. But no one caught a variant alive, let alone two.

He held you in his embrace and profusely apologised “Im sorry. Im so sorry for everything you went through. I shouldn't have let you do this alone”

You just nuzzled his chest as he hugged you. You tried to tune out any thoughts of Omni as he was at the forefront on your mind a bit. You just mentally repeated to yourself. Im loyal to my Mark. Over and over, along with an eventual. I met him first, so Im his. You were mentally reaffirming things how this was your Mark, no matter what anyone told you.

You even tried to tune out the fact that Mark was by Eve’s side, not yours. You jumped into this dimension for this Mark. Not to just abandon him for a variant.

“I love you” you finally said it when you finally managed to bring yourself to a healthier head space of before the Invincible War

“I love you too” he softly replied and kissed you. While he didnt know it, this kiss certainly did a lot for you to ground you in reality and remind you just who you fell in love with. This Mark, your Mark. The sweet, the soft and the loving kiss. Something that felt just right. You softly broke the kiss and lied back to rest. You were exhausted and still healing

Mark said he’ll go get something for you, since he knows how you must feel. You nodded and watched him leave. Now you were alone with Pearl. You looked at Pearl, wanting to talk to her and spill your secrets to her. But it wasn't safe here.

“Pearl, can I talk to you later?” you ask her

She happily smiled and nodded “Of course!”

You just nod as you see Mark return with a tray of normal food that you hadnt seen in forever. Honestly you’d kill this Earth for Debbie’s pancakes. The variants crash outs were starting to look reasonable.

“Thank you, Mark” you said softly as you were handed the food. “Stay here. Please?” you asked him. And he nodded and set by your side as he watched you eat and recover.

~Meanwhile, Leader (y/n)’s Dimension~

Your variants met up, back at the Orders tower and meeting room, everyone in their seats. Everyone was counted for, apart from Sheisty Mark. He was gone

“On a scale of 1 to dead, where would you put him on” Yellow Empress asked

“Dont say that!” Hero (y/n) said a bit pouty and sadly with teary eyes cuz she was genuinely crushing on a Mark variant. Granted he was the only Mark she met, but hoo boy if she met the actual good Mark

Yellow Empress (y/n) just shrugged her off

Leader (y/n) inhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose as things didnt turn out as she wanted.
“We got Angstrom out of the way and we fulfilled our end of the bargain. Thats good. Other than that the Interloper is out there and could get in our way”

“We should get rid of her” Fire (y/n) said

“Lets review, what does everyone want here and we’ll focus on fulfilling our goals. We made a pact, lets keep it” Leader (y/n) spoke. She then pointed to Omni (y/n) “Starting with you and we’ll just go counter clockwise”

“I just want to be left alone, live in peace and not be hunted by the GDA” she spoke solemnly and despondently

“Conquer different dimensions” Blue (y/n) said

“Conquer different dimensions” White (y/n) said

“Conquer different dimensions” Pink (y/n) said

“Conquer different dimensions and get Mark as my co-ruler” Yellow Empress (y/n) said.

The others just looked at her at how she different from her counterparts

“What? You saw that one variant with the Empire? What a commanding presence. You can just feel strength and confidence radiating from him. Don't misunderstand me, of course. I'll always be the number 1 ruler of our assigned multiverse, but if I had been part of his Empire, you wouldn't see me complaining.” she sighed and spoke dreamily “He’d make an excellent pet”

Ok, once they got enough of that, the next variant spoke “Mostly what my predecessors here said. Conquer different dimensions” Jock (y/n) said with a shrug
“Minus the Mark fucking” she said and glared at Yellow Empress, mostly because she hated Mark due to what happened in her dimension

“I want the target dimensions Mark” Fire (y/n) crossed her arms and then looked at others “So dont kill this one. He’s mine”
Others were surprised because she was mostly about vengeance, she didnt really discuss about her story and Mark, so they were surprised to hear she wanted this Mark.

The next variant thought for a bit and reflected on her own past, her world betrayed her and the government used her as a guinea pig. An attempt to make a weapon. To break down matter and reshape it, control it, manipulate it on a molecular and atomic level. But all she could do is break down everything she touches. Everything perishes, rots, destroyed, decayed. When she needed someone the most, no one came. It was up to her to free herself and to live her life. But with her freedom, she only had hatred left within her
“I want to destroy it all. I want revenge”

“On who?” Leader (y/n) asked

“On everyone and everything. Just point me who to kill and I’ll kill them” Decay (y/n) said

“Start with Cecil” Fire (y/n) chimed in as she also had her own hatred for Cecil and the GDA. While Cecil didnt do anything, it was Steven Erickson and Rodgers. But Cecil now has the head honcho spot in most of the timelines, so he has become their substitute for vengeance.
Omni (y/n) was silent, because she understood. She just nodded “Hm”

“I just want my Markimoo. Nothing else. We took care of the bad guys, right? Then lets just save Markimoo” Hero (y/n) spoke with puppy eyes

“You dont feel any vengeance towards Cecil??” Fire (y/n) asked

“Nope. My Cecil treated me nicely. He’s like a super cool gramps. Wish you guys had my Cecil, yours sound so evil, which is sad”

“You do realize there are better Marks out there than Sheisty. Someone more suitable for…. you” Fire (y/n) said as she was the one of the few variants who understood her love for a Mark, but she thought that Hero deserved a more loving Mark and not a homicidal asshole who just likes violence. Its just… Hero (y/n) and Sheisty Mark dont have anything in common

“What do you mean?” she asked cluelessly

“Well you know, you’re bubbly, very laid back, straightforward, and tend to be quite talkative and have an easy going demeanour. Meanwhile Sheisty is like cocky, hot-headed, and confrontational. He has a brutal and volatile nature. Aggressive” Blue (y/n) said, even the evil dictator emperor versions of you wanted to look out for their naive and sweet variant

“But he has that Southern charm and a loudmouth swagger” Hero (y/n) said

“He's violent” Blue (y/n) said

“He’s meeting all of my standards” Hero (y/n) said dreamily

“Are you for real?” all of the other variants questioned her.

Magic (y/n) shook her head as she adjusted her hat and had a different designed mask now, one with a sad frown, because Mark destroyed her first mask with that punch
“Well… getting on track from that. I wish to be a successful entertainer. I was a bit short on cash, so I had to work for Machine Head a bit. And you know him, he doesnt let go a good asset. I mean, I didnt mind it that much, we had a good deal going on. But I prefer my act and my show over the life of crime. Even if it does pay” she said as she tossed a marble up and snapped her fingers to reveal confetti and sparkles for pizzazz and presentation.
While she too was experimented and was deemed a failure, she knew how to channel her power into a more positive way. For magic shows! Or for crime and kidnapping. But mostly magic shows!

“I… I think I want my father back” Huntress (y/n) said from under her smiling mask which hid her sadness

“Waaaah, she misses her pop pop. Regrets from turning him into a shit stain on the pavement” Jock (y/n) mocked and then just chuckled and promptly dodged a hatchet thrown her way by just moving her head to the side

“That door you just hit is italian maple” Leader (y/n) said

“Bite me, I’ll cut you a new tree and door” Huntress (y/n) rolled her eyes

“I just wanna cause chaos. Fuck shit up. Kill people. Make them fear me. I wanna turn the world upside down” Delinquent (y/n) spoke with a shrug

Metal (y/n) was silent as the attention was turned to her “I wish to evolve humanity. Shatter the flesh and reinforce the bone. Embrace this carbon mesh this power's all my own. Go out with the old and in with the new”

“I am not sure how much help we’ll be there Metal” Leader (y/n) said as she suspected her of being dishonest. She had someone who can confront her about it. But it might be too dangerous. For now Metal was their key to traverse dimensions. If things go awry now, she might be trapped in her home world with a multitude of her own variants. And honestly only a handful are of use to her. But she knew Metal was suspicious

“What about you?” Omni (y/n) asked

“I need Atom Eve. I need her brought here to me. Mine is… not here with us” she said

“I see” Omni (y/n) said

“Right, that is neither here nor there. The matter of fact is that the Invasion Dimension is our prime target. Fire (y/n) wants Mark from that Dimension and I want Atom Eve. Sheisty Mark is trapped there. And that dimension could be given to one of the conqueror (y/n)’s” Leader (y/n) spoke

“Dimension M-391” Metal (y/n) spoke

“Excuse me?” Leader (y/n) asked

“That is the target dimension. I have mapped out several dimensions. Created a chart” Metal said as she produced a green hologram from her palm showing dimensions as if they’re planets, just for the ease of visualizing
“This is Dimension M-279”

“I see… Thank you for the clarification” Leader (y/n) awkwardly answered

“Ooh ooh, whats my dimension called” Hero (y/n) happily asks

“M-195” Metal answers her

“Can we stop with the whole dimension name dropping!” Yellow Empress interrupted, annoyed how the conversation got sidetracked

Metal was silent

“Thank you!” she annoyedly said

“Right. Thank you. Although, you, Metal and Blue are going to be the prime actors in our next move.” Leader spoke as they all listened up what would happen the next day

~Main Dimension aka Dimension M-391~

It was a new day and you were mostly recovered. Things seemed fine, there was no report of any variants or attacks. You woke up at the hospital still and Mark was at your side, he was asleep. You have no idea how long he’s been here. Was he really here the whole time? You sit up and slowly get out of bed to dress up. Just your casual clothes. You were quiet to make sure you dont wake up Mark. Although, you had a mischievous idea and you hoped you dont wake Mark up.

Upon dressing up, you actually pick up Mark and place him in your hospital bed and tuck him in so he can sleep in a comfier spot. You smiled sweetly as you looked at him being sound asleep and adjust himself. You softly kiss his cheek.

You noticed your left shoulder and right side were still sore. Healed, but sore. Thats when you finally noticed your Pearl who was watching you quietly from a corner. She jumpscared you a bit, but you soon relaxed and sighed

“Dont scare me like that” you whispered

“Oh. Sorry” she quietly apologized

“Fill me in on the Gems. I havent seen them in forever.” you quietly asked her as to not awaken Mark

“Violane and Sugilite are helping humans who were attacked by the Invincible variants and had their homes destroyed. Celestine is with Debbie. Nephrite is with Robot and the others.” she quietly said

You nodded “If things are returning to normal. I wonder what can I do. I wanna talk to Shiesty and Lensless, but I dont wanna miss out in case Conquest arrives. I have no concept of time when does he arrive” you whisper

“Who is Conquest?” Pearl asks in a whisper

“I’ll tell you later. Its a long story” you sighed

Soon you both stopped as you heard a yawn. It was Mark, he felt rather comfy “Good morning (y/n)” he yawned and lazily said, until he realized that wait… this isnt his room. This is the hospital. And wait, why arent you in bed. Wait, why is HE in the bed? He quickly sat up, but you quickly approached him and placed your hands on his shoulders

“Relaaax, cutie. I put you there” you told him and then further clarified “I thought you looked uncomfortable sleeping in that chair and watching over me, I thought you deserved something nice”

“(y/n), you were the one who went through the ringer. You deserve ‘something nice’ more than me” he pointed out and then reached out to hold you and pull you to his lap so he could just hold you in his arms

You giggled as you felt his trail of kisses
“I mean, this is a nice start to a morning”

Pearl chuckles nervously and bows to both of you “I will give you some privacy” and she backed away and out of the room, leaving both of you.

“How are you feeling?” Mark asked you

“Still sore here and there. But alive” you replied as you hugged him

“You shouldn't be up yet” he tells you, he tried to hide his concern that you’ll end up overkilling it with helping save people. He doesn't want you to die, but he’s starting to worry that at this rate you’re going that you’re gonna. You need to rest and let him handle things

“I know. But I cant stay in bed forever. I need a change of scenery” you tell him

“We can do that” Mark says as he holds you and gets up on his feet. He goes to take you out on a flight.

Sadly, a lot of the outside world was destroyed because of the Invincible War and his variants. Buildings and cities destroyed. Peace was taken away. So you two decided to go and fly out of urban areas, into more remote and nature places. Actually Eve’s treehouse seemed perfect. A change of scenery with no signs of destruction.

So he flew you to there. Although as you two were flying, you asked Mark “Hey, can you let me go?”

“Huh? Why?” he asked confused

“Trust me” you reassured him, he was hesitant though. But ended up trusting you and letting you go.

He of course looked at you with concern as you fell, but soon stopped falling. He watched as you seemed super focused for a moment and then you started to… fly? Like legitimately fly and move in air instead of just floating up at down

“(y/n)!! You can fly?! Thats amazing! Since when??” he asked, happy for you that you can finally fly like you always wanted

You meanwhile clumsily floated, Mark looked at you and remembered his first time day flying. You reminded him of that
“Y-yeah! I can fly” you say as you wave your arms as if that’ll help any “And … uhh… day 2… I fought Lensless Mark. I figured it with him. But… umm… whoa” you tried to not float away like a balloon, but Mark grabbed you so you wouldnt float away and then let you go
“Right um… I was in the zone when I fought him. I just gotta figure it out for real”

“My dad says its like a reflex” Mark said from his experience

“Mmm, mine is different. Its all emotional based. I just gotta think. How did I f-” thats when it clicked. You felt ecstatic. If happiness caused you to float and not fall, then overwhelming happiness caused you to fly. That kinda made things easier. Then you just smiled and flew

“Whoa! Hold on! Wait up!” Mark said as he flew after you, although you didn't speed up away and just flew normally, so he easily caught up to you and flew beside you
“So, whats the secret?” he asks curiously

“Happiness makes me float, sadness makes me descend. So overwhelming happiness and joy just pushes me on and makes me fly.” you look at him with a smile “Thats easy, I just need to think about us”

He smiles hearing that. It seems nice and a lot less weird than his dads ‘pee in your pants’ thing. As you two now flew, Mark would hold your hand to help direct you towards Eve’s tree house that was in sight and would help you land.

“You know, we can try and train your flight if you want… I mean one day” he offered a bit shyly, its not like he knew how exactly he’d help you train.

“I’d like that. Sounds nice” you say as you find a seat at Eve’s treehouse and look at the nature
“Man, what a view. I wouldn't mind living out here” you then point to the ground by the tree “Imagine we have a warp pad here and we can go anywhere we want with a few strategically placed warp pads. It wouldn't feel like we are in the middle of nowhere”

“Sounds nice” he said as he sat beside you and wrapped his arm around you. You just smiled and melted in his embrace.

You let out a content sigh as this seemed therapeutic and heavenly. Sure you guys should help in restoring the cities from the rubble and save people. But thats depressing, you two deserved rest. Or well… YOU deserved rest, because Mark was with Eve this whole time mostly. But you understood that just facing some of his variants had a toll on Mark. He was fighting himself.

You had no idea how you’d feel if you fought yourself
“Thanks, Mark” you spoke up as you nuzzled him

“What for?” he asked

“Everything. This is just worth it” you spoke softly as you clung to him, holding him and enjoying the view that you two had

He smiled softly “Yeah. Its worth it”
For all the pain you both go through, the fact that you have each other makes all the suffering worth it. You guys could be attacked by the GDA or aliens or viltrumites or evil variants, gems or whatever really. Whatever life throws at you, you two might be scarred and traumatized. But at the end of the day, you have each other.

As you held Mark and looked at the nature, you considered what would happen if you had Eve’s power
“You know… part of me wishes I had Eve’s powers”

“Eve’s? Why hers?” he didnt expect to hear that from you.

“She can turn anything into anything. She controls everything, she can essentially warp reality if you think about it” you explain to him

“Dont sell yourself short, I mean look what you achieved with what you have right now. You just unlocked flight and you can do a bunch of stuff that even I cant do” he told you

You chuckled softly “True. Still imagine if there was a me with Eve’s powers. I bet that’d be wild”

~Dimension M-279~

Right on cue, the variant who had the offshoot of Eve’s power, Leader (y/n) designated to her counterparts that it was time to mobilize and sent other variants to attack the Main Dimension.

She meanwhile stayed back in her homeworld and didnt attack it. She was playing 4D chess here. She was the King and Queen, she was the most valuable piece. But sending a few pawns, bishops and knights wouldnt hurt. Maybe even a rook if she feels spicy.

“You sent Metal? She’s kind of the core of our plan. We cant afford to let her die” White (y/n) told her

“Metal is incredibly hard to kill. Even if they do, she is not dead. Compare her persistance to Immortal” Leader (y/n) told White

“I dont know who Immortal is, but he sounds disappointing if he has to call himself that” White (y/n) told her

“Come now White, you’re too useful to go on the front lines, besides. How else are we going to capture Mark for Yellow Empress, your abilities will pacify him” Leader (y/n) said

“I am surprised you didnt choose Blue and just use her emotion powers to make Mark fall in love with her” White (y/n) reasoned

“Blue wont be there forever to pacify him. Your presence is more realistic as she needs to learn to contain her future mate without our help” Leader (y/n) said, which made sense to White

~Main Dimension~

Your variants started to make their move. And one of them was closing in on your location with Mark right now.

Meanwhile, others struck Berlin, Madrid, New York, Chicago, Paris, Lisbon and Philly. One of them though went directly to the Pentagon to attack the GDA without the viltrumite weakness. It was Hero (y/n) who was convinced by Metal that the evil GDA had Shiesty Mark locked up in there, while in actuality she was sent to her death there

Back to you and Mark at that tree house, you two shared a moment and leaned in for a kiss. But before you two made lip contact, all you saw was a red blur that slammed into Mark and flew off with him. You were stunned at what happened and when you looked in the direction they flew off, they were long gone. It was a speed that you couldnt follow.

Just then you have a phone call and it turns out its Amanda aka Monster Girl. It seems Rudy has a gotten a strange reading of a massive amount of energy and that either you or Invincible can only safely go and check it out, but they cant reach Invincible, so it was up to you
“Oh gee, I wonder why” you muttered to yourself and then asked for some coords before you could make your way to check it out.

After receiving the info, you sign off and go to fly over there. You were still a bit clumsy, but you flew towards the UK, apparently at the Strait of Dover, out at sea that there was some massive and unstable, deadly amount of energy. Only you could approach it safely, contain it and remove it. You wondered what was causing this. But you were unaware you were finally flying to face your own variant.