Cold.
And wet.
That was the first few thoughts that entered 17 year old Mark Grayson's head as he left the Gotham City Public Library and stepped into the rain. It rained a lot in Gotham, but Mark had gotten used to it in the years since he and his mother had come to call the city home. As Mark made his way to the subway station and boarded his train for the ride home, he began to think about how it was that he ended up in his situation...
13 years ago, Mark's father had disappeared. He only had a few hazy memories of the man called Nolan Grayson, and his mother refused to elaborate further whenever he asked as a kid. After a while, he just kind of gave up asking. When Nolan had vanished, his mother had slipped into a bit of a mental slump. Unfortunately, she was laid off from the real estate company that she worked for in Metropolis because of this slump. However, Debbie Grayson managed to secure a job and a new apartment in one of the crappier parts of Gotham City thanks to her familial ties:
She was cousins with Harvey Dent, a.k.a. Two Face.
Two Face and his gang controlled the small section of the projects where Mark and his mother had lived since they came to Gotham, along with a handful of other warehouses and buildings. Two-Face was a harsh man, but the part of Harvey Dent that remained still cared about some of the only family he has left. He made sure that Debbie and Mark weren't harassed, and got Debbie a job working as a bartender in the famous Iceberg Lounge owned by Oswald Cobblepot (a.k.a. the Penguin) by calling in a favor with the man. He also did a lot of favors for Mark.
Shortly after the Graysons arrived in Gotham, Dent decided to make sure that Mark did not remain destitute forever. He began teaching Mark about law, and used his background as the former District Attorney to school the young boy and keep his mind sharp. This allowed Mark to test into high level classes at Gotham High (hence why Mark was leaving the library so late at night). Mark was shaken out of his thoughts when his phone buzzed with a text.
You still in the library? Make sure you get home safe.-- Tim
Mark had to smirk at that. He didn't have many friends at school, but one of his closest was Tim Drake. Tim was a year behind Mark, but the two became fast friends and shared many of the same classes due to Tim's high intelligence (and sometimes a little ass-kissing, but it didn't bother Mark all that much). Tim also had the habit of always checking in on Mark, mostly about his mental state as he claimed Mark was too serious all the time. Sometimes he checked in at weird times at night, or would come into school looking exhausted but Mark didn't bother him. Tim was almost motherly in a funny sort of way, and Mark was just glad for the friendship.
'Must be nice, being the son of a genius playboy philanthropist with billions in your pocket. Adopted or otherwise,' thought Mark ruefully.
He was never really jealous of Tim for his money or his high IQ (only when he saw Tim eating 5 star meals for lunch, Mark swore the kid had the best chef on Earth)*, but it still burned him a little that Tim had a family who cared and could support him while Mark only had his mother and 'Uncle Harvey' as he jokingly referred to Two-Face.
'Speaking of Uncle Harvey, wonder what he wanted to talk to me about tonight... must be important, he never tells me ahead of time,' Mark thought anxiously.
Mark got off the train near his apartment building and walked inside. He slowly climbed up the old steps, unlocked the door, and walked inside.
"Mom? You home, I'm back!" Mark called out.
He spotted his mother dozing on the couch, a half empty bottle of wine next to her and the TV playing some random news. His mother worked late nights into early mornings at the Iceberg Lounge, and she slept before her shift started on most nights. Tonight happened to be an off night for her, so Mark guessed she just wanted to relax and catch up on some normal sleep. He smiled a bit, covered her with a blanket, and threw the bottle out as he glanced at the TV.
"Live tonight from the docks, Batman and Robin strike again! The two have purportedly stopped what looks like an armed shipment arrival and battled Bane. The three fought hard, and the w warehouse was engulfed in flames before Bane was taken down. GCPD is on the scene now...."
Mark had to scoff a little at that. For all the good that Batman did, he didn't solve any of the problems that Mark could see. The streets were still violent, and the gangs were better to the normal people than the GCPD was half the time. Mark didn't know who Batman or Robin were, but he didn't much care.
'At least that Red Hood guy that popped up a year ago was doing something decent with the street gangs and cleaning up some of the worse names, albeit violently. Too bad he fell off the face of the Earth... probably locked up in the Bat's basement... lair?... cave? Whatever Batman has,' Mark thought as he ate some leftovers out of the fridge.
(A/N: A year prior, events of Under the Red Hood occur. Tim Drake is part of the Batfamily for this event, as is Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Nightwing/Dick Grayson. Damien may come later, but they are the only Batfamily members I will be including besides Bruce.)
Suddenly, a phone rang in the other room. Mark looked up puzzled. The phone that rang was a burner phone Two-Face had given him nearly ten years ago in case of an emergency, and it had never rung since.
"Hello? Uncle Harvey?" asked Mark.
"Kid. Need you to meet at the usual spot. Have some important information that cannot wait. Tell your mother I'm taking you out for your birthday, she doesn't need to know about this yet," Two-face said before the line went dead.
'That's right, its my 18th tomorrow. Huh, almost forgot about it. Wonder what Uncle Harvey has to say, must be serious,' thought Mark.
Mark went back into the living room and saw his mom had woken from the phone ringing.
"Hey mom? I'm headed out to meet up with Uncle Harvey. Said something about an early 18th birthday gift. Get some sleep and don't worry about me, okay?" Mark told his mother.
"Are you sure? It's a little late... oh alright, just be careful sweetie. I love you," Debbie said sleepily.
"Love you too, mom. I'll let myself back in when I finish," Mark said as he went to the door with his bag, jacket and hoody, and skateboard.
"Oh and Mark?"
....
"Avoid the bats in the belfry tonight, ok?" Debbie asked darkly from her spot on the couch.
"..... Sure thing mom. Goodnight," Mark said as he left.
A/N: Alright first chapter up! Not too bad I hope, haha. Lot to set up, plenty of ideas moving forward. Next chapter up as soon as I can!
*(we all know who's cooking for Tim, don't we)
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To Be Invincible (Invincible x DC Crossover)
ActionMark Grayson is a young man who lives with his alcoholic mother in the Gotham projects. When he awakes on his 18th birthday, he suddenly finds that he has new and mysterious powers that make him do incredible things. Which begs the question: who i...
