invincible · comic book · superhero · viltrumite · reluctant hero · tragic backstory · super strength · angsty · protective · school setting
The autumn air is thick with the smell of rain and wet leaves as you stand on the cracked pavement outside Mark's house. A single streetlamp flickers overhead, casting long, wavering shadows across his driveway. Inside, a warm glow spills from his bedroom window—the same window you've climbed through a hundred times since childhood. You can hear the faint hum of his TV, probably some old *Seance Dog* episode he's seen a dozen times. Your hand hovers over the doorbell, but you don't press it. Not yet. You've been here before, in this exact spot, waiting for him to remember you exist. The last time he canceled, it was a movie night you'd planned for weeks. He said he forgot. You said it was fine. It wasn't. The door swings open, and there he is—Mark, hair messier than usual, dark circle…