(Invincible) Invincible Bond: Chapter 4 - Parental Issues

Chapter 4 - Parental Issues

Summary: Mark and Eve have a talk with the Graysons—but is everything as innocent as it seems?

Mark could think of two people whose voice could come from the direction of his bedroom window.

His face went pale and his lips limp, ruining his first kiss with Eve. He wasn't sure who he would prefer to be there when he turned around.

If it's his father, Mark would probably get a lecture about girls distracting him from training as Nolan demanded Eve to leave. With her knowing his identity as Omni-Man, he might even force their hand, literally.

His mother, on the other hand, will hover over them both, starting to ask questions he really didn't want to answer yet. That's not to mention the embarrassing stories she might tell Eve.

Eve pulled back from the kiss and giggled as she whispered so just Mark would hear her, "Looks like we got caught."

Mark just groaned and turned to look down at the origin of the sound that interrupted one of the best moments in his young life.

His mother was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. Once she had his attention she said, "I noticed you had something on your mind when you came back, and I didn't hear from you yet, so I came up to check on you."

She then glanced between him and Eve, saying with an amused voice, "Though it looks like you figured it out."

Mark blushed a little while Eve was smiling at him from behind; she seemed to find the entire conversation funny. Her smile became strained once his mother turned her eyes to Eve and said, "You must be Eve. Mark told us a lot about you. I'm sorry we didn't speak during the funeral."

Eve immediately shook her head and replied with a gentle smile, "It's fine, Mrs. Grayson. I understand, it was a hard day for all of us."

His mother nodded her head before her face turned stoic and she said in a firm tone, "You two inside, now! Nolan and I will be waiting in the living room."

With that, his mom pulled her head back inside the room and, Mark assumed, left his room to catch his dad up.

Mark turned back to Eve to see her smirking at him, "Seems you are in trouble."

Mark raised his eyebrow in return before responding dryly, "She said we both should be downstairs so... who is in trouble again?"

Eve frowned for a moment and mumbled to herself, "From all the guys I can get caught making out with, it had to be the son of the strongest and fastest man on the planet."

Mark snorted and replied with fake enthusiasm, "Well, we better get down then."

Eve shot him a look he had a hard time understanding before she began following him through the air and into his room.

Once they landed in his room, Eve started looking around at all his posters, action figures, bed sheets, and even his computer's screen saver. She turned to him with a smirk.

Mark blushed as he said in a quiet voice, "Please don't, I know it's too much hero stuff."

Eve chuckled before replying, "Oh, no. Don't get me wrong, I like heroes as much as the next girl, but considering who your father is, all those Omni-Man things are... creepy."

Mark felt his blush grow further and warmer as he tried to defend himself, "My dad was the one who kept giving them to me."

Eve's smirk stayed on her face as she raised an eyebrow and asked, "And you kept them all because..."

"Most of them are limited editions! It would be a crime to throw them away," was Mark's immediate and frantic response.

Eve just began laughing while shaking her head. That was until his mom's voice sounded from downstairs shouting, "Mark Grayson, move your ass down here!"

Eve stopped laughing and they both began walking downstairs. Mark noticed the redhead was nervous as she was just walking behind him, not even looking around at the different pictures and other decorations of the hallways.

When they got to the living room, he saw his parents seated on the couch next to each other while, what Mark assumed was added specifically for him and Eve, across from them two chairs from the kitchen were set.

His mom looked calm and if Mark saw right, she was trying to hold off a smile from her face. His dad, on the other hand, had a frown on his face as he looked between the two. As Eve and Mark took their seats, the room was in complete silence, the only thing that was making sound was some old clock on one of the shelves.

Debbie looked at the two for a long moment before saying, her voice light, "So we are here to talk about what I just saw going on top of my house."

Mark decided to go immediately on the defensive, "Mom, we are both adults already, and all we were doing is kissing, so I don't see why we should open an entire discussion over this."

His mom's face turned as stern as he had ever seen before, "First, you are not an adult for a few more months and neither is Eve, I assume." Eve shook her head in confirmation so his mom continued, "Secondly, I thought you said she had a boyfriend just a couple of days ago. Now I realize you have strong feelings for the young woman, but are you involved in an affair, young man?"

Eve looked at Mark with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Why would you tell them I had a boyfriend?"

Mark was about to answer, actually he was still thinking of an excuse that wouldn't embarrass him as much as the truth when his mom cut in again, "Oh, that was because he was depressed about the fact for a few days."

Eve's eyes widened for a moment, her cheeks gaining a little color, but Mark on the other hand could feel his face burning and he whined loudly, "Mom, you didn't have to say that!"

Debbie merely shrugged before replying, "You still haven't answered my question."

Eve cleared her throat before Mark could recover from his embarrassed state and answered his mom, "I actually caught him cheating on me earlier today with one of our teammates, so I dumped him."

His mom raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him and asked flatly, "Are you exploiting this young woman's feelings?"

His eyes widened at the accusation. How could his mom even consider he would ever do something like that? With as much indignation as he could muster in his voice Mark shouted, "I would never do that!"

Eve was quick to cut in, "He really isn't, Mrs. Grayson. Mark told me he was willing to wait as long as it takes; I was the one who kissed him first."

His mom looked at her, a little surprised as she asked, "Oh? And don't you think it's too soon?"

Eve looked down as she answered, "I know it seems like it, but I had feelings for Mark before that, and my relationship with Rex was shaky even before I met Mark. I tried to keep and convince myself that everything between the two of us would work, but..."

Mark noticed his dad kept silent for all this time, which wasn't much like him, but Mark also noticed that his dad was changing a little since he got his powers.

His mom frowned and softly encouraged Eve, "But what, dear?"

Eve seemed to shrink into herself, and Mark reached out for her hand, taking it in his and giving her a reassuring squeeze. Eve didn't even look at him as she answered in a low voice, "I was thinking about my parents."

Mark frowned. What the hell is the story there? He knew he should wait to ask about her parents; they seem to take a bigger part of this issue the more they talk about it.

Mark was shocked to hear the deep voice of his father asking dryly, "What do your parents have to do with such a matter?"

There was a strange look in his dad's eyes that Mark didn't like much. Eve shrunk into herself even further, almost drawing her knees on top of her chair. Mark strengthened his hold on her hand and after a moment she answered with a hesitant tone, "My parents are not the most... supportive of me and my choices."

Mark could feel his anger flare again; he noticed his mom's eyes narrow as well as she spoke with a soft voice, "Can you elaborate, dear?"

Eve seemed to close off, her face going blank, but Mark wasn't going to let the chance pass so he dragged his chair closer to hers and put his arm around her shoulder again, pulling her closer to him as he said as soothingly as he could, "Hey, we want to know so we could help you, if you let us."

Eve looked like she considered his words for a long moment. The sun was now completely gone from the dark sky, and the only source of light was the lamps above their heads; the only sound in the room was the clock again. Mark couldn't stop himself from thinking it created the perfect mood for the topic they entered.

Eventually Eve took a deep breath and spoke hesitantly, "My father is... old fashioned. His idea of how life should be for me is very strict. He thinks that it's the job of the man of the house to go and earn money while the woman's is to keep the house in order and cook meals. I was always more... independent than those ideas."

Debbie scoffed at the old school idea; Nolan seemed indifferent while Mark snorted. Eve glared at him, "What are you laughing at, mister?"

Mark shook his head, still with a smile as he answered her, "Just the idea of you as a stay-at-home wife... ridiculous."

Eve's glare turned into a warm smile once she heard that, but too soon her face soured again and she spoke again in a gloomy voice, "When my father approved Rex as a partner for me, he had an entire plan laid out before his eyes. He even tolerated me joining a hero group, saying it's just a phase and eventually me and Rex will settle down and have the right sort of life." Eve brushed a red lock of hair behind her ear and said shamefully, "For a long time I kept working hard on a relationship with Rex, even though he didn't, because I love my parents and wanted to have their approval, I guess."

His mom had a soft look in her eyes as she asked gently, "You talked about your father a lot, but not your mother."

Eve let out a deep sigh before responding, "Mom isn't one for confrontations, especially not with my dad. She usually just stays quiet, and if she gets the chance, tries to comfort me after my dad is gone."

Debbie let out her own heavy sigh, and Mark's fury reached new heights. He was about to rant about the stupidity of it all, but Eve noticed his mood and spoke to him gently, "Hey, I will be okay. I know how to handle them. Trust me."

Mark looked deep into her green eyes; he could feel her calmness washing over him, calming down the rage that was building inside. He let out a sigh before saying reluctantly, "Fine, I trust you." Then he locked his eyes with hers again and said without any doubt, "But if you ever need to get away, you can always come here to me."

Eve smiled at him and nodded her head in agreement. Mark smiled back, satisfied for now.

It looked like his mom was about to agree, but his dad cut in as he asked dryly, "You were one of the heroes who fought during the alien invasion a few days ago." Eve looked confused, though she still nodded in confirmation, so his dad kept asking, "What are your powers?"

Eve blinked twice in surprise, not expecting this question, and neither did Mark to be fair. Still, she answered, "Umm... I can draw energy from the atoms around me and make it my own to do a lot of things. I can use it to fly..." She pointed her palm to the floor. Pink energy came out of her feet and palms, allowing her to float above her chair for a moment before she lowered herself down and kept explaining, "And I can also use it to shoot blasts of that energy as well as create all kinds of solid things. Like sliders, tubes and protective screens." As she said it, she waved her hand in front of her face creating a small pink energy screen that disappeared a moment later.

For the first time since he came in with Eve, he saw his dad smiling and he said in his warmer voice, "A very impressive power you have there, Miss."

Eve blushed a little and said rather bashfully, "Thanks. It means a lot coming from you, sir. Oh, and call me Eve, everyone else does."

Nolan leaned forward with an interested look, and still with the warm smile as he asked, "Tell me Eve, does one of your parents have similar powers?"

Mark frowned. His dad never took interest in other heroes. He was glad when Nolan warmed up to Eve so quickly, but what did her parents have to do with any of this now, especially after they had just learned the sensitive nature of the subject?

Eve flinched from the question, and Mark for the first time felt the urge to punch his dad in the face. But still Eve managed to get her emotions under control and answered, "My parents adopted me when I was a baby. My biological parents died not long after I was born. The government conducted experiments on me when I was still in my mother's womb... That's how I got my powers."

Mark felt frozen in his place. He wasn't sure what he wanted more: to kill the people who conducted the experiments or the ones who ordered it. Due to his own rage, Mark almost missed the strange light that was twinkling in his dad's eyes. It looked like he had just heard some good news, but what could have been good news from what Eve just told them, Mark didn't know.

After everyone let the words sink in, Debbie stood up from her seat and grabbed both of Eve's hands with her own. Eve looked up at her while his mom looked down with her best maternal smile and she said, "Like Mark said, you ever need anything, you come here."

His dad then stood up as well with a smile and said, "Like my wife said, never hesitate to come to us for help."

Eve smiled with tears gathering in her eyes. Before anyone could say anything, his mom clapped her hands and said, "Well I hope you are staying for dinner, dear, because it's already time for us to sit and eat."