Hello everyone! I hope you don't mind me popping into the Invincible fandom for a quick one-shot idea that wouldn't leave my mind.
Now, full disclaimer: I hate blood and gore in media, especially cartoons. I grew up on Danny Phantom and Ben 10, and I prefer my superhero media at about that level of violence, so you might expect that I have no business watching (much less writing about) something like Invincible.
You'd be correct in assuming that I didn't enjoy those aspects of the show at all, but I also truly enjoyed the story the cartoon was trying to tell, and while any in-depth Invincible content I'd wanna write would lack the gratuitously violent elements, I did want to pay homage to the source material - and that's really all this fic is; while Marcy enjoys life in a universe that hasn't even shown her a single dead body, nothing about Mark's unfortunate turn of events since receiving his powers has changed.
That's where the "hurt" part of the hurt/comfort part comes from, heh.
Also, and pre-empting any questions about it, Marcy's a woman just for fun and variety. I didn't touch your straight male protagonist, I promise :P
Also-also, for those keeping score at home re: the Kryptonverse series (the one series I have on AO3, please go read if you enjoy this story!), this does take place in the same Multiverse as Earth-199999 (aka the Kryptonverse), though I don't intend to bring these characters into any story on the short/medium term. Still, for clarity's sake, Mark/Invincible's dimension is Earth-1012002, while Marcy's dimension is Earth-1012003. Y'know, the next one over :P
All things considered, finding out that he has a gender-swapped doppelgänger in the dimension next door and meeting her is probably the nicest surprise he's had since putting on the blue and yellow suit.
According to also-Invincible – Marcy Grayson under the cowl, which in his own less-than-humble opinion doesn't roll off the tongue quite as neatly as his own name – after their own universe fended off the Flaxans, they started to tinker with their interdimensional technology, and a misfired portal brought her here. Seeing his apprehensive scowl, Marcy quickly reassures him that she's wearing a trans-dimensional beacon, and that it should take her friends only a few hours, maybe a day at most to rescue her. She'll be out of his hair soon, or so she claims.
Mark doesn't trust a lot of things, these days – especially ones he took for granted – so he promises himself he'll be on the lookout for any nasty BS his female counterpart might try. Still, he's pretty sure he can at least trust himself. Or, well, a version of himself.
So, he's entertaining her, while the rescue party arrives. They're floating around at cruising altitude, watching distant planes zip by at speeds that now seem painfully slow to them both.
"It never gets old, does it?" –Marcy asks, peeling back her cowl and shaking her wind-swept hair. It really is uncanny – he recognizes the face staring back at him as the one in the mirror every morning, but there's as many differences as there are similarities; her hair is longer by a couple inches, her jawline is a little softer and her cheeks a little fuller, and she has a scar through her right eyebrow that must've been inflicted either before she got her powers, or early enough in her career that her superhuman healing factor didn't quite do its job properly.
He pauses before answering – perhaps for too long, as she narrows her eyes in worry. "...no, I guess not." –he admits, before she can prod at him.
Nolan didn't ruin everything in his life. Just most things.
"So you've obviously got the flight." –she points out. "How about the strength?"
"Yeah, that too." –he nods.
"Laser eyes?"
He blinks in confusion. She smirks. "I know, right? Why does everyone think we can shoot lasers from our eyes? That'd be one too many powers, to be honest."
He shudders to think of how much worse Nolan's carnage could've been if he could do anything like that. "R-right."
"How about...invulnerability?"
He winces. "I, uh...not as much as I'd like." –he says, quietly. Images of his own gushing blood painting his vision and the ghost of the agonizing pain of his broken bones flash through his mind, just for a second. "You?"
She gives him a calculating look – his distress must've been showing – but shrugs without a comment. "Not as much as Dad, I don't think. I guess that's the drawback of being only half-Viltrumite."
Mark purses his lips; there's no negative connotation to her words other than being a bit self-deprecating. He probably shouldn't meddle, for several reasons – he likely won't ever meet her again after she leaves, after all – but he feels the need to try and make sure that, even if he couldn't save his own family, he might be able to save Marcy's. "How much has he told you about them? Your, uh...Nolan, I mean."
He can't bring himself to say the D-word. Couldn't bear the ashen taste it'd bring, in the aftermath.
Marcy scrunches her nose. "A lot. Not much of it pretty." –she admits. "Do you guys have Dragon Ball in this universe?"
Mark wasn't ever much for anime – that was William's sphere of expertise, while he stuck to comic books and cartoons – but it's hard not to know about the biggest shonen of all time. "Yeah?"
"Viltrumites were like Saiyans, right?" –she says. "Send a young, indoctrinated soldier to another planet, have them grow up and take a position of trust and power among the natives, then blam! Genocide. Kill the shit out of some innocent aliens and take the planet for yourself. Keep some slaves, if anyone survived."
That's...one way to put it. A suspiciously blasé way to put it, in fact. "Sorry if this is, like, offensive or something but...you, uh...you seem way too nonchalant about it." –he notes. "I mean, m-maybe it's just fresh for me, but..."
Marcy frowns. "What, didn't your dad take you to Viltrum?"
Something drops in his stomach. "...he tried, I think."
His counterpart crosses her arms. "I think there's a bit of a disconnect going on here." –she muses. "When I was fifteen, Dad rented a starship and took Mom and I to the ruins of the Viltrumite homeworld; he explained to us what the Empire was like, before it fell to in-fighting and a humongous coalition of alien rebels fed up with their warmongering bullshit. As far as he knows, he's the last Viltrumite, and...I guess he didn't wanna continue the tradition that got his species wiped out, so he chose to be a hero on Earth and stay a hero." –Marcy explains. "Y'know, Omni-Man? Leader of the Guardians of the Globe? The most powerful hero of all time?"
She tilts her head, mildly curious – like she isn't actively giving him a mental breakdown. "Was it different for you?"
Mark, unfortunately, isn't exactly on the phone anymore to answer such a devastating question. He hyperventilates almost immediately – which, coupled with the lack of oxygen at this height, makes him pass out in mere moments. Marcy swiftly catches him, of course, and takes them both to the roof of the nearest skyscraper.
"God, I'm sorry." –she says, as soon as he catches his breath. "I'm not sure what I did, but I apologize."
He shakes his head, taking deep breaths, bent over and holding his knees. "It's...not you." –he says. "It's your life, it's...like mine, if everything went right. You're living the life I could've had if my father didn't turn out to be a genocidal psychopath."
Marcy pales as she gets it. "...oh, God. God, I'm so sorry, Mark." –she says. "I had no idea."
Mark snorts, bitter. "That's okay. How could you have known? It sounds like your universe is a lot kinder than mine."
She purses her lips. "Do you...wanna talk about it?"
He doesn't, of course. Then again, Marcy might just be the only person, on this Earth or any other, capable of fully understanding what happened to him since he got his powers. So he talks; from the moment he discovered his powers, to Nolan failing to finish him off and blasting off into space, drenched in his blood, presumably to either bring in the Viltrumite cavalry and conquer the Earth, or start over his twisted little game, playing family with some other suckers he can convince to buy into his sick charade.
To her credit, and even though Marcy is clearly horrified by the most lurid details he all but vomits out, unable to stop, his counterpart stands there and takes in the full brunt of his broken tale. She hugs him, rubbing his back as he bawls his eyes out in a way he hasn't even allowed himself to in front of his grieving mother. It must take him almost a full hour to cry himself out, but Marcy doesn't let him go until he willingly extricates himself from her grasp.
"Sorry." –is the first thing he says, when he finally feels like he can talk like a normal person again. "I guess I was holding back more than I thought."
She shakes her head. "Jesus, there's no need to apologize, Mark." –she reassures him. "What you went through...I'm genuinely shocked anyone could live through that and come out the other side sane. I don't know that I could."
"I know. Jury's out on whether I actually did." –he admits.
Marcy tilts her head, offering him a small, tired smile. "Well, I guess you are talking with your gender-swapped self from another universe."
He snorts, just a hint of mirth pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Do you wanna tell me about it?" –he finds himself asking. "Your universe?"
She shoots him a dubious look. "Um...you sure? I'd rather not trigger your PTSD again if I can help it, dude."
He shrugs. "I mean, it might happen, but...it's oddly somewhat comforting to know things went right somewhere else, now that I've had time to think about it." –he says, and he means it. "It helps a lot to hear that your Nolan is a better man than mine was, y'know?"
"Eh, he definitely has moments when his Viltrumite upbringing really comes through; he can be pretty arrogant, and stupid stubborn, and sometimes I can tell that he really struggles to pull his punches with the supervillains, but...yeah, I think he is." –she says, and it's clear that she believes it. Of course, he believed it once, too, but it really does seem like this alternate Nolan Grayson figured himself out in time to avoid becoming the bloodthirsty monster that raised him. "What do you wanna know?"
He ponders the question for a moment – tries to think of something banal to take his mind off the worst of it. It strikes him, then, that even though he's talking to Marcy Grayson, she didn't correct him when he called her father Nolan Grayson. "Wait, so...I thought everyone on your dimension would be gender-swapped." –he says. "But your dad's still Nolan?"
"Yeah, my dad's Nolan, my mom's name is Debbie." –she confirms. "What about William, you friends with him?"
"Yeah, definitely." –he nods, a little perplexed. "Amber?"
She raises an eyebrow. "Amber Bennett? I mean, I know her, but...I feel like you're not cool enough to be friends with her." –she teases him. Projecting a bit, he assumes, considering that's pretty much how he used to feel about her.
He grins. "I'll do you one better: I totally dated her."
Marcy gasps. "No fucking way, really?" –she asks, incredulous. At his smirking nod, she slaps his shoulder. "You bitch! Nice going, dude!"
"Yeah, I kinda messed it up, but..." –he purses his lips. "Well, we're figuring things out right now. I'm hopeful we'll pull through."
"Mmm, got'cha."
He sits on the very edge of the roof, his feet dangling hundreds of feet above the street below. Marcy joins him. "So...I don't wanna assume, but..."
"What? ...Amber?" –she asks, then shakes her head. "Nah. Contrary to popular belief, I'm...pretty sure she doesn't swing that way."
"But you do." –he says, fairly certain, but still probing for confirmation.
"Yup." –she says. "Tell you what: assuming my William is the same as your William, you have my full permission to tell him you're a lesbian in another dimension."
He finds himself on the verge of cackling. "Oh my God, he's gonna have a field day with that one."
"Imagine what mine's gonna say when I tell him my counterpart is a straight dude." –she snarks. "He's probably gonna bitch about 'cosmic heteronormativity' till the end of time."
He does break into laughter, then. "Wow, yeah, that's gold." –he admits. "Man, I can't even imagine what coming out would be like with our parents."
"Honestly? Largely uneventful." –she shrugs. "I wasn't exactly subtle about it, so they pretty much knew what I was about from the get-go. Mom teased me for ages about throwing out the condoms she'd bought for me, just in case. Dad was amused that coming out was such a big deal for Earthlings."
"Right." –he says. "You dating anyone right now?"
"Yeah, I've been with Kate for almost three years." –she says, blushing a bit.
His eyebrows shoot up. "Dupli-Kate? Really?"
She shoots him an annoyed look. "Yeah, dumbass. Kate." –she says, bumping his shoulder. "Why, who did you picture me with?"
"I dunno." –he shrugs. "Eve, maybe? I'm pretty sure she's bi."
"Yeah, I think she is. And, I mean, I'm on Team Teen with her, sure." –she says. "And Kate and I both have a crush on her, but...I don't think she'd be into it? Y'know, a whole fucking lesbian polycule? Especially not after ending it with Rex so recently. They dated forever."
Mark scratches his cheek. He idly hopes Rex didn't cheat on Eve with Kate in two universes – though considering Marcy hasn't alluded to murdering him, he assumes it was something else. "Huh...right, I guess Team Teen would still be a thing if the Guardians never, uh...yeah." –he surmises. "How the hell did you find time to do the hero thing, date, and go to school?"
"Oh, it sucked at first, big time." –she readily admits. "But Dad taught me to prioritize – 'skip the skirmishes, battle the big boys', you know? And, like, not everyone in the team goes to school; Robot's, y'know, an AI, Rex never applied for college, and Kate's doing school online. It's really just Eve and I that go to school full time."
He hums. "Man, I never figured it out." –he admits. "That's why I kinda blew it with Amber to begin with."
"Tried to do the double life, secret identity shtick?"
"Yup."
She nods. "That'll do it." –she says. "Honestly, I'd be surprised if there isn't a whole fucking section in the superhero handbook about not dating civilians. But hey, if you can make it work, more power to you. I guess our parents did."
He hears Nolan call his mother a 'pet' in his mind, so he shakes his head and attempts to change the subject. "I guess we'll see." –he says. "So, what else is different?"
They compare notes, rapid-fire; obviously, the Guardians of the Globe continue to exist in their original incarnation in Marcy's universe, with Nolan as both a full-time part and leader of the group, and Team Teen still operates as such, even though they're obviously aging out of the name. Marcy got her powers at fifteen, while he only got them at eighteen; while his entire career plan is currently in limbo, she's looking to intern with Art and learn how to make superhero costumes, and she regularly trains with War Woman and Immortal, clearly being groomed to follow in Omni-Man's footsteps and maybe even lead the Guardians when she's an adult. She hasn't ever seen a person die, while Mark couldn't possibly count how many lives he's directly responsible for snuffing out, even as every single one was against his will; she hates being in space, while he genuinely loves it; Marcy beat him at losing her v-card by almost two whole years; Robot is actually an AI and not a dude remotely piloting a bunch of drones...
"Wait..." –he pauses their universe-comparing lightning round, narrowing his eyes. "If you haven't seen anyone die, how the heck do Kate's powers work in your universe?"
"Her clones just shatter like glass and turn to glittery dust that fades into motes of light." –she says, almost dreamily, then pales as she sees his expression. "Oh, God, don't tell me..."
"...yeah. It's like a bunch of Mortal Kombat fatalities in sequence. It's...traumatizing."
"Jesus Christ, that's fucking awful. And she feels everything her clones do, too."
"I think she does, yeah. Genuinely don't know how she hasn't gone insane."
She shakes her head. "It's like whoever created your universe had a gore fetish, fucking hell."
He shrugs, conceding the point. "And I guess your universe had a hard PG-13 rating."
"Not true." –she crosses her arms, pouting a little bit. It's cute, which is...weird to think about himself in any way, shape, or form. "I can say 'fuck' as many times as I want."
He laughs, and just then, a portal opens above them, nearly identical to the ones he remembers the Flaxans opening to invade their planet. If he'd been at all skeptical about Marcy's tale, the full roster of Team Teen dropping in and striking a pose is more than enough confirmation; Marcy rises, and meets Kate halfway as the duplicating heroine runs ahead of the rest of the group.
Mark rubs the back of his head, slightly embarrassed, as his counterpart locks lips with Kate – it's not the same sex thing, but rather seeing someone in that iconic suit all-but-making out with someone he's barely talked to. Guilty by association – and for no reason at all, he supposes.
He awkwardly waves at the other heroes, who seem understandably confused about his presence. He goes ahead to greet them and explain the situation, but one last figure dropping through the portal stops him in his tracks; he may be sporting a full beard instead of just the mustache, but the white and red suit emblazoned by the flowing crimson cape is unmistakable.
Omni-Man lands softly, his gaze softening as he sees his daughter...then hardening again as he spots him. Every instinct in his body, Viltrumite and human, screams at him to destroy the man in front of him before he can hurt anyone else, but Marcy is quicker on the draw than either of the men – she steps in front of Mark, forcing him to stare at her, and holding her hand up to stop her father from making any sudden moves.
"It's not him." –Marcy tells him. "He isn't back, and no one's in danger."
"Marce?" –Kate prods, worried. "What's going on?"
Mark tries to stare at Marcy, but he keeps glancing at Nolan. The older Viltrumite is alternating between him and his daughter, frowning as he tries to figure out what's happening.
"He's...well, me. The 'me' of this universe." –Marcy tells her girlfriend – and her dad, whose eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
Nolan stares down at his clenched, shaking fists. He spots the angry tears welling up on the edge of his mask, and his taut muscles, ready to launch him forward. Omni-Man stares at him, practically an enemy declaring his intent to kill...
And then, he looks down at the ground. The man's musclebound frame slumps, and he shakes his head. "He did it, didn't he?" –he asks, his voice hollow but all too familiar, though he clearly doesn't expect an answer. "His 'duty'?"
Mark can't find the words. Luckily, Marcy can answer for him. "Yeah, Dad. He did." –she says, sad.
Nolan sighs. "I'm sorry." –he says. "I shouldn't have come, I'll...wait for you on the other side, Marcy."
"Wait." –he demands. Nolan won't meet his eyes, but he does pause mid-turn.
"Mark?" –Marcy wonders.
He grits his teeth. "Just...promise you won't." –he says, glaring at Nolan. "Promise me it's really over."
Nolan sighs, pausing for a moment. "Yeah, kid. I promise." –he finally says.
He has no way of holding him to it on another universe – and judging by his own battle, he wouldn't have it in any universe. Despite his chosen moniker, when it comes to Nolan he's anything but invincible. Nevertheless, the last shred of love for his father that stubbornly clings to his heart chooses for him. "Okay."
Omni-Man shoots him one last, pitying look, and flies up into the portal. Robot asks Marcy a couple of things he can't quite make out, blood rushing in his ears as his heart beats a mile a minute, and then everyone but Marcy leaves.
"Sorry, Mark." –she says. "I should've expected he'd come."
"Don't apologize. He does seem like a good father." –Mark admits. "A better man."
"I'll hold him to it anyway, alright?" –she promises. It's a hollow one, but he nods anyway. She takes off the beacon on her wrist, and hands it over to him. "And...well, if you ever need to chat with someone who'll really get it, just...activate this thing, and I'll know to visit."
Mark doesn't know that that's the greatest idea – all jokes aside his universe might just be cursed, and he doesn't need to spread that kind of horror – but he still takes the device. "I will." –he says. He's not sure he means it. "I know this wasn't the best note to end our, uh...crossover at, but...all things considered, I'm really glad I met you."
She winks at him, replacing her cowl and rising into the air. "Holler if you need anything, alright? Your universe-hopping hero Invincible's just one dimension over!"
I wanted to include Marcy calling Mark out on assuming he's the original version, but there wasn't really any right moment for it, so just imagine that.
Not really all that much to say here that wasn't said at the top notes or in the fic itself. I guess, for fun, I can tell you that my notes for Marcy's universe basically boil down to "Invincible Earth but Mark is female and everything is better". The two are not necessarily related. I picture Marcy's universe like "Invincible but if it was written/created by the people who did Young Justice Seasons 1 and 2". There's certainly a bit of darkness to the universe, but it's off-screen and Marcy's day to day life is like your typical superhero cartoon. Mark, of course, is not that lucky.
Anyway, if you enjoyed this story, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Leave a comment/review here if you're so inclined, or feel free to reach out to my tumblr's ask box (darthkvznblogs), it's open for everyone! Until next time!