flaxans

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Mark had just gotten home. He quit his job—not because he was fired, but because he chose to leave.

He was sitting at the dinner table with his family.

"This food is amazing," Mark said as he stood up from the table.

"You really outdid yourself this time. That was great," Nolan added.

"Thanks, but you two are doing the dishes," Debbie said, walking toward the kitchen.

"Damn, didn't work," Nolan muttered.

Then he turned to Mark.

"How was work?"

"It was fine…" Mark murmured.

"I've been thinking—you're a superhero now. You've got bigger things to worry about than flipping burgers. And we don't really need the money."

"Fair enough, Dad."

Mark went upstairs to his room. He stayed there for a while before getting ready for patrol.

He was putting on his suit when Nolan walked in.

"Hey Mark, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to patrol. I figured I'd fly around for a bit, see if everything's okay out there," Mark said as he pulled on his mask.

"Mind if I join you? I think it's about time we took a flight together," Nolan said, stroking his mustache.

"That'd be awesome," Mark replied.

Nolan suited up too, and they both flew out the window—nothing subtle about it.

They flew side by side, high above the city.

"You know, from what I've seen, you're doing a great job—especially considering how new you are to all this," Nolan said.

"Thanks, Dad. I—"

Before Mark could finish, Nolan shot off in a blur of speed, disappearing from view. He was back in an instant.

"Sorry about that—fire at a university lab."

"Anyway, like I was saying, you've done some really good work so far. I'm impressed," Nolan said.

"That means a lot, Dad. Really," Mark said.

"No need to thank me. Just keep it up."

"Hey, look—robbers," Mark said, pointing.

Nolan vanished again, returning seconds later after effortlessly taking care of the criminals.

"You're messing with me," Mark said.

"Wanna grab a snack?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah, I'm down."

---

They were now sitting across from each other, eating.

"So, will this all just come naturally, or do I need to train more? I mean, I could barely keep up with you up there," Mark asked.

Nolan looked at him and said,

"Don't worry. The older you get, the stronger you'll become. Faster too. It just happens with time."

"But to be honest, I don't know if you'll ever be as strong as I am. I'm not exactly sure how that works."

"Even if I don't get stronger, I think I'll be okay with it," Mark said, taking a bite of his food.

"Fair enough. But you still haven't unlocked everything you can do. Just wait until—"

Nolan stopped mid-sentence, his expression shifting.

"Oh, crap. Be right back," he said, disappearing again.

Mark didn't even react—he was used to this. His dad often vanished to save the world. Mark just kept eating.

A few seconds later, Nolan returned, fully suited up.

"This time I'll need your help, son," he said.

And with that, both of them vanished into the sky. Mark wasn't as fast as his father, but he was still a Viltrumite.

"What the hell is that?" Mark said in shock.

In front of him, a massive red portal had opened in the sky.

Mark hovered at a distance as hundreds—maybe thousands—of aliens poured out of it.

They were green, with antennae and heavy armor. Their suits were white on top, blue on the bottom, and they wielded laser rifles.

Alien spaceships followed, flying out of the portal one after another.

They began firing on human soldiers trying to hold the line. One of the alien spaceships shot a beam that completely obliterated a squad.

"Come on, son! Let's help get those soldiers out of there!" Nolan shouted.

Nolan flew straight into the chaos, knocking out every alien in his path with a single punch. Since Mark was watching, he held back—he didn't want to make the wrong impression.

"I'll give it everything I've got!" Mark shouted, landing a punch right to a Flaxan's face.

Nolan smashed through a spaceship and said, "That's the spirit!"

The two kept fighting, but the aliens just kept coming—more and more pouring out of the portal every second.

"There's too many of them," Mark said, catching his breath.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," Nolan replied sarcastically as he tore through another spaceship. "It's like there's an endless stream coming from that portal."

Mark grabbed one of the aliens.

"You're not from here, so you probably won't mind…" he said, hurling the creature back into the portal.

"I think we're dealing with some kind of interdimensional army. I've never seen these things before. That means there could be tons more waiting to come through. We need to push them back and find a way to close that portal," Nolan said, exploding another spaceship mid-sentence.

"Got any ideas?" Mark asked.

"Not yet…" Nolan replied, tossing a huge chunk of rock at a Flaxan spaceship, blowing it apart.

---

Far away from the battle, Henry was sitting in a diner with Eve.

During all this time, he'd been keeping tabs on Nolan—thanks to his super-hearing, not by spying visually. He had even overheard the start of the Flaxan invasion.

He didn't like spying on Nolan, but it was necessary.

"Hey, do you want to go out tomorrow? I want to introduce you to my friends—they really want to meet you. And my dad wants to meet you too…" Eve said.

"Yeah. Uh-huh," Henry mumbled, clearly distracted, his mind still on the invasion.

He barely reacted—like his head was somewhere else entirely.

It frustrated Eve, but she was used to it. After she learned about his hearing, it made sense. But that didn't mean she liked it when he zoned out around her.

They were on a date—Henry had invited her out. But she noticed he'd been acting like this more and more lately.

"Are you okay? Did something happen?" Eve asked.

"No, no…" Henry murmured, still not fully paying attention.

That pushed Eve over the edge. She rolled her eyes, stood up, and left him sitting there.

Henry snapped back and noticed immediately. He shut off his enhanced hearing and focused only on her.

"Wait—Eve!" he called, standing up and drawing the attention of everyone in the diner.

He picked up his pace and caught up to her on the street. She was walking fast, but not fast enough to outpace him.

"Come on, let's talk," Henry said.

"Talk? Really? You don't seem interested in doing that with me lately. You've been distant—clearly hiding something. Maybe we'll talk when you're ready to be honest with me," Eve snapped, walking even faster.

Henry followed and grabbed her arm.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know—just please don't be mad. I know I haven't been present lately, but it's important. And it's dangerous. I didn't want to drag you into it."

Eve stopped. She already suspected something was going on, but hearing it from him made her hesitate.

They stood there, in the middle of the street, surrounded by people.

A store security guard noticed and stepped in, placing a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Ma'am, is everything okay? Is this guy bothering you?" he asked, serious.

Eve noticed everyone was watching.

"No," she said quickly.

"You sure?" the guard asked again.

"Yes. He's my boyfriend. We just had a little fight—it's nothing serious," Eve said, taking Henry's hand and pulling him away.

They walked together down the street. She noticed how anxious he looked and asked,

"Do you need to go?"

"Yeah… I'm sorry, Eve. I know I made plans with you, but I have to go. They need me," Henry said.

"It's okay," Eve sighed.

"Really?"

"Yes… I realized I can't stop you. But please, just be careful, okay?"

"Thanks, Eve. I love you," Henry said, kissing her.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone—vanished at super-speed, leaving her behind.

Eve had come to understand that she might never get to have a "normal" relationship with him. She hoped things would calm down eventually… but for now, she'd have to live with it.

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