To Be Invincible (Invincible x DC Crossover)

Chapter 6: More Questions than Answers

(Disclaimer: I own nothing from Image or DC Comics, nor do I own any of the artwork I have posted or will post.)

Mark was at a complete and utter loss for words. One of the most powerful and wealthy men on the entire planet was standing in his apartment. He was nervous now, and slightly peeved at Tim for springing this on him. But Mark was completely unprepared for what was going to happen next.

"Mark, sweetie? Who was at the door? I thought I heard Tim..." Mark's mother said as she turned the corner from the kitchen.

At the sight of the people standing in the living room she stopped. When her eyes landed on Bruce Wayne, she gasped and dropped the glass she was cleaning on the floor, shattering it.

*GASP* "YOU!?" She cried out. She took an immediate step back and staggered into the wall, leaning on it for support. She was incredibly pale, and looked about two seconds from fainting in front of everyone.

"MOM!?" Mark rushed over and grabbed his mother, immediately getting her stable on the couch as he turned to the concerned faces of Tim and Barbara (and the apprehensive but cold face of Bruce).

"I'm sorry, she must be exhausted from the move. Might be better if you guys came back another day, not to be rude or anything but..." He let his statement hang, hoping Tim took the hint and left so he could question his mother.

"Oh jeez, yeah sorry Mark. I didn't realize, sorry Mrs. Grayson. I'll see you in class, ok? Cmon Babs, lets go," Tim said as he grabbed Barbara and left before she could protest. Mark then stood and walked to the door before he turned, noticing the stare that Bruce leveled at him. They came within a few inches of each other at the door, and even though there was no hostility Mark had the strangest feeling that it was a standoff.

Eventually, Bruce turned and said, "My apologies for intruding, Mr. Grayson. Tell your mother I did not mean to upset her. Good luck on your law studies, and congratulations on the move." With that, he brushed past Mark and walked out.

Mark shut the door behind Bruce, still in shock but slowly turning to anger.  Clearly his mother was hiding something from him, and clearly it wasn't positive based on that reaction.  Making his way back to his mother who still looked out of it, he spoke to her.

"Mom? You alright?  Almost fainted on me out there... had me worried," he said.

Debbie was zoned out for a moment more until she responded hesitantly.  "Oh... it's alright, sweetie, I'll be fine.  Just... been a while since I've seen him... lot of old memories came back all at once," She said.

"Wait wait wait... you know Bruce Wayne? THE Bruce Wayne!? How? Since when!?" Mark asked incredulously.

Debbie sighed and looked pained as she said, "It's.... a long story that's not worth telling right now. Don't worry about me, Mark. Let's get this place set up and finished."

Mark hesitated, dying to ask more about his mother's connection to the billionaire businessman, but in the end he sighed and relented. They continued working until later in the day when Mark had enough of the newfound awkwardness and decided to head out for a while. He grabbed his skateboard, told his mother he was leaving, and headed to the nearest skatepark to destress for a few hours.

~Line Break~

A few hours after the skatepark and grabbing something to eat, Mark managed to find his way onto the roof of his new building and was watching the stars. Despite having some solid friends and his mom, Mark never felt like he belonged. He was lonely, and after finding out his uncle was getting transferred to Blackgate Prison, he felt even worse. Not to mention everything with his mother knowing Bruce Wayne, and the stuff from the file that Penguin had showed him... his mind was a mess, and Mark had no clue where to go next. He couldn't do anything about his uncle, and he hoped his mom would come clean and tell him soon. The stuff on the file was way out of his depth, but it was really the only thing he could process without going nuts.