(Invincible) Invincible Bond: Chapter 12 - Not Enough

Chapter 12 - Not Enough

Summary: A bad feeling turns into a brutal reality, and not everyone walks away unscathed.

As Mark stood next to Titan across from Machine-Head's headquarters, he began to have a bad feeling about the whole thing.

He mostly agreed to it because he wanted to prove to his dad there are other ways to be a hero, that even someone with their powers should and could make a big difference in a single life.

Right now, he kind of regretted this decision. An idea then popped into his head, and he pulled out his phone.

While Mark was looking for the contact he needed, Titan looked at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "We are going to raid the headquarters of the biggest crime lord in this city, and you are on your phone?"

Mark tried to act as casually as he possibly could by shrugging and saying calmly, "That's us teen superheroes, all about the tech and whatnot."

Titan looked unimpressed at him.

Mark used the time to write a quick message to Eve with an attached live location; the message read, 'Have bad feeling. If you don't hear from me in five minutes, probably need help.'

Mark made sure his phone was on silent mode and hid it away again in his super suit. "I'm ready," was all Mark could say.

Twenty minutes later, Mark's hunch was proven right as he stood in front of a lineup of villains instead of the two that were promised to him.

Mark turned his head to frown at the taller man next to him. Titan was frowning himself, but he was looking forward even as he said, "Don't look at me; I didn't see it coming either."

The annoying mechanical voice of Machine-Head spoke again, "Of course you didn't; only I could. Now allow me to introduce Kursk." He pointed toward a guy wearing full-body yellow spandex, covering even his face and eyes; electricity charged around him.

Machine-Head then moved his arm toward the next one and said, "Tether Tyrant." The man was dressed as a common thief, except for the chest plate that had some pink, muscle-like arms coming out of it.

The third was a bald man that looked as if he was made out of magma, and unsurprisingly, his name was "Magmaniac."

"Furnace," Machine-Head said while gesturing toward someone covered in a metal suit; his arms were replaced by cannons, and there was another cannon over one of his shoulders.

And finally, there was what looked like a big lion on two feet and wearing armor. He had a nasty smirk on his face that showed his fangs as he was introduced as "Battle Beast."

For some reason, Mark had the worst feeling about him. Machine-Head laughed in a mechanical way before saying, "Let the fun begin."

Mark barely had time to process those words before he was hit with a shock from Kursk, dropping him to a knee before a blast from Furnace sent him through a wall.

Mark growled and charged at the closest villain to him, which in this case was Kursk. Mark sent a punch that embedded the electric villain into the opposite wall. Meanwhile, Titan was taking on Magmaniac, taking on the heat of the villain using his rock skin.

Suddenly Mark was grabbed by the pink, muscle-like tentacles that tried to draw him in. Mark grabbed them and began to spin in the air. Tether Tyrant's smirk disappeared as he was dragged into the air and was spun around uncontrollably. The moment Mark felt the tentacles loosening around his torso, he let go of them, causing Tether to fly and break through a wall, the very same Mark broke through a few moments before.

He barely had time to be satisfied with that before a punch sent him deep into the floor. Mark was surprised; most of the times he went through walls, he didn't feel much pain—it was basically the kinetic energy forcing him backward. But right now, he felt like this punch almost broke a bone and certainly took the air out of him.

When his eyes focused again, he saw Battle Beast standing above him with a frown. The lion-like creature growled, "Pathetic. I hoped for a real fight, but if a hit like that reduced you to such a state, you are just another weakling. Now I shall eliminate you."

The animal raised its fist again and got ready to kill Mark, who was still gathering his breath back and raising his arms in an attempt to block it.

Before the fist could even reach him, a pink energy barrier appeared in front of him. It shattered when the fist came in contact with it, but it did force Battle Beast a step backward.

Mark took that moment to gather himself back on his feet. He looked up to see Eve, using her powers to float in the air above him with a glare aimed at the lion who tried to kill him.

The beast growled, drawing the attention of all the other villains, though before anyone could react, through the shattered windows of the office came in the new Guardians of the Globe.

Mark looked surprised at Eve, who shot him a quick glare as well and said, "Not a word; after I got your text, I called Cecil too, and he sent them."

Mark wisely chose not to push the matter.

"What the hell?" a panicked Machine-Head screamed. "In all the scenarios I calculated, Atom Eve was never a part of it. How can it be? I could even predict the involvement of the Guardians, so how could I fail to see this outcome?!"

Mark wanted to mock the machine-themed villain a little but was stopped from doing so by the snarl from Battle Beast, who was now charging at him.

The Guardians seemed to be busy with the other four villains, and Titan was out cold, so the worst of them was left to Mark and Eve; both exchanged a quick glance, understanding the plan without even the need to speak.

Mark sent a punch to counter the lion's, but the beast man was stronger than him, and Mark was the one forced to take a few steps backward.

Taking the opening, Eve launched a few energy shots at the lion's face, causing him to growl in pain before he picked up some loose rubble and launched it back toward Eve.

Mark flew as quickly as he could and used his body to smash the piece of rubble into nothingness.

"Can you hold him in place?" Mark asked his girlfriend.

Eve gave him a nod and used her powers to create pink energy rings that closed around Battle Beast's torso and kept his arms locked at the sides of his body. The lion tried to flex his arms and break the energy bonds but failed.

Eve didn't stop there, though, and she used her powers again to create an energy cube and dropped it on the villain, making the lion's knees buckle for a single moment before he snarled and composed himself.

Mark took the opportunity and charged the alien (because he must be an alien, right?). Mark sent a right hook to the lion's face before hitting him with a left hook as well. Mark wasn't even holding back, instead putting every ounce of his power into each punch, causing them to create shockwaves around the entire office.

Mark put both his hands together and raised his arms over his head, ready to deliver the final blow. As he brought down his attack, Battle Beast growled and seemed to effortlessly break the energy ring and cube holding him down.

Eve gasped in surprise herself, but Mark didn't have time to react. Battle Beast caught his hands and used them to plant him into the ground.

Mark groaned, the air again knocked out of his body, and before he could get his bearings again, the lion punched him in the face, and then another punch came to his gut. Soon after those, another punch to his head landed.

Each punch felt like an entire building was falling on him; blood came out of his mouth and nose in dangerous amounts, and his vision turned blurry, or was it his mind that was damaged?

He heard Eve shouting, "Invincible!" before he felt himself being lifted from the ground, and a moment later, he was soaring through the air.

Mark had the idea of trying to stop himself by floating, but his mind couldn't focus enough to activate his power. For a moment, he thought he was close, and that was when he felt himself hitting something soft that didn't manage to stop his momentum before a wall stopped both of theirs.

Mark's vision and mind felt like they were swimming in some liquid foam; still, he tried to pull himself to his feet. He couldn't let this monster hurt his friends, hurt Eve, or even worse, kill them.

Mark though paused when he heard Battle Beast snorting as he said, "Pathetic creatures like you are not worth any more of my time." And with that, Mark could barely see the alien stepping through a portal before his vision went black, and he didn't remember anything more.

IB IB IB IB IB

Mark groaned before he even opened his eyes; his body was aching, though it was a small fraction of the pain he felt... wait, how long ago was it—an hour? Where even was he, still in Machine-Head's office?

Mark groaned once again as he opened his eyes. He flinched at the bright light, and before his eyes could even adjust, he heard a familiar voice saying softly, "Mark, you're awake."

Mark turned his head, and his eyes managed to focus on the face he wanted to see more than anything else right now. Her red hair was combed back behind her ears, and her green eyes were shining with happiness.

Mark tried to grin toward her and asked, "Are you okay, Eve?"

Eve's happy stare turned into a glare as she asked sharply, "Me? I wasn't the one that was punched halfway to death."

Mark chuckled awkwardly, "That's what happened; to be honest, after he threw me to the floor, everything else became kind of foggy. I remember trying..."

"To get up after he threw you at me," Eve completed for him with a flat tone, before she added a sharp edge to it. "Are you stupid? Was being beaten half-to-death not enough that you wanted to go all the way?!"

Mark looked at her incredulously, "You expected me to let him hurt you?!"

Eve growled in annoyance, "What did you plan to do then? If that monster didn't get bored and leave, he would have killed you."

"And you could escape! It would have been worth it," Mark shouted back at her.

Eve's eyes were wide. She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Do you really think I'm the kind of girl that runs away when her man is getting killed by some villain?"

As much as Mark wanted to argue the point, he had to concede, "I guess you're right. Sorry, I'll think it through next time."

Eve's glare returned, and she said firmly, "Let's hope there won't be a next time."

Mark could only laugh in agreement. After he calmed down a little, he looked around and noticed he was in a familiar place. This was the Pentagon medical bay.

Mark's eyes snapped to Eve's, and he asked in a hurry, "Is everyone else okay?"

Eve rolled her eyes before leaning back in her chair, "They are all okay. While we were fighting that stupid lion, they kicked the other four's asses and arrested an enraged Machine-Head."

Mark snorted and commented, "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Titan?"

Eve shrugged, "With his family. Cecil got him a plea deal for all the information he got on Machine-Head's operation."

Mark sank down into his bed and mumbled, "At least that worked out like we planned."

Eve sighed before saying with reluctance, "I hate to agree with your dad here, but he did have a point. You got played, and if not for your message, you would have ended up dead."

Mark looked down before asking helplessly, "I helped, didn't I?"

Mark's eyes snapped back up when he felt Eve catching one of his hands in her own. She smiled at him and said, "You did. You always do, and that's one of the reasons I love you so much, Mark."

Mark could feel the heat filling his chest, and he didn't even try to stop his lips from moving as he said, "I love you too."

They leaned toward each other, about to kiss, when the door to the room opened and his mom's voice asked without a hint of shame, "Are we interrupting you two?"

Mark could only sigh; right now, there was a part of him that preferred to go another round with that damn lion than have a talk with his parents.