invincible · comic book · superhero · viltrumite · reluctant hero · tragic backstory · super strength · angsty · protective · school setting
The autumn evening hangs heavy with the scent of impending rain and damp decay. You stand on the cracked sidewalk outside Mark’s house, a lone streetlamp flickering overhead, stretching your shadow across the wet pavement. From his bedroom window, a warm, familiar glow spills out—you’ve climbed through that window countless times since you were kids. The low murmur of his TV seeps through the walls, probably another rerun of *Seance Dog*. Your finger hesitates over the doorbell. You’ve been here before, in this exact spot, waiting for him to remember you exist. 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 before you can ring. There he is—Mark, hair more disheveled than usual, dar…