Chapter 14

Two souls in a body


-August 2095-

-Outside Guardians of the Globe Satellite HQ-

-Third P.O.V-

Touko Aozaki inhaled the smoke from her cigarette as she turned her sports car at the fork of the road. It was early morning and the streets were particularly less crowded. Her haggard face reflected at her from the windshield as she stopped her car at a stoplight.

The woman's face clearly displayed an exhausted look. She had returned from her business trip from abroad and now that she was free from it, she thought she could take a long and well-deserved rest back at her workshop. However, when she got home, thoughts of a break were gone once the phone on her desk rang.

A familiar voice spoke to her, asking to meet her on the Guardians of the Globe. The woman could have refused, but the person was not someone she could turn down easily since the reason the person called was because of a certain Viltrumite that was under her care.

"Augh…Maybe I should've bought another pack." I would certainly be able endure another hour of that man's loud voice if I just had more cigarettes. Touko grumbled to herself as she revved her engines again. The building of the Guardians of the Globe loomed over her. The woman took a glance towards the top floor where the meeting would be held.

"He better offer me a brandy in there, or I might screw my report." She let out a small smile as she turned another corner and entered the building's basement parking.


-Abe's Office-

After a minute of riding an elevator, and being led by a boring-looking old woman who was likely that person's personal secretary, Touko walked into a wide office room with a bay window on the other end. The scenery that greeted her eyes was the panoramic view of L.A.'s center city. Bellow it was a large oak wood table and sitting right behind it was the owner of the room.

The one who called her to come here for an early morning meeting.

"Good morning, Sir Abe."

"Good Morning, Ms. Aozaki. I do apologize if I bothered you. You've just finished your business trip yesterday, am I right?" Abe said in an apologetic manner, but the woman quickly smiled and brushed his worries away.

"It's alright. This has to something to do with my patient, Markus Murphy, correct?" Touko said with a matter-of-fact tone. Her eyes shifted for a moment, but then she stopped after she saw another man, the second occupant of the room. He was sitting on the sofa and clothed in a long grey trench coat over his dark blue sweatshirt.

He looked like a normal man at first glance, but the woman noticed something odd. The man had a very familiar half-Asian face with equally familiar black eyes and chiseled cheekbones.

This person-! "Ah, Ms. Aozaki, I haven't introduced you. This is Mark Grayson. He is Markus's biological father."

"Good morning to you, Ms. Aozaki."

"I can say the same to you, sir." So this is Markus's second father, huh. Touko observed the man closely underneath her gladdened smile as she shook his hand. She had heard of Mark before from Markus. The man was kind and gentle, according to her patient. And now that she was seeing him right now, in the flesh, his description truly fit.

Despite his heavy look, Touko saw the light in his eyes and from the way that he took her hand earlier, she felt a small tug like that of a kitten playing with its mother. It only proved that this man was gentle, which was a complete contrast to his huge and bulky figure.


After being served by Abe with a glass of sherry, Touko silently sat and sipped her drink as Abe began the main discussion for today's meeting. However, even with the man's voice filling up her ears, the woman's attention was not on him, but on the other man who was sitting across of her.

Mark Grayson, the father of Markus Murphy. His soul's origin is the word 'kindness'. Heh, this man is…truly amazing, just like what Marky said to me. Touko made a small smirk of awe at the man.

"What do you think of Markus's mental health?"

The woman's attention shifted immediately as Abe as the man finally threw a question at her.

"Well…as of now, Marky is still in a recovering stage. The trauma that he has is very severe for him. It is, after all, an identity crisis caused by a horrible truth and a painful suicide attempt. However, I can see that he was getting better from it, although slowly." Touko said as Mark slightly leaned forward and curved his lips down into a worried frown.

"Ms. Aozaki, my son was a happy boy before. Good and kind. However, I saw him yesterday and I noticed that something had changed in him. It might be from the trauma, but since you said he was recovering, I find it odd that he would look so different now from before."

"Trauma and fear do wonders to the body, sir. They are like scars. They are there forever. But those scars should not limit the boy to function normally in society. Markus can still live a normal life and fulfill his dream, despite his uncanny past – that I guarantee, sir."

Mark made a smile of relief. The words of the woman had calmed him. Markus could certainly live despite his past. The scars that he had gained, although it would take time, should not hold him in place. The pain of the past was gone. All that he could receive right now was a hopeful future.

"That's very reassuring, Ms. Aozaki." However, what about last night. The memory of his son from last night suddenly played on his mind. The feeling of worry filled his chest again as he remembered the strange actions that Markus had showed to him and he immediately raised a question to the psychiatrist.

"Ms. Aozaki, I visited my son last night. We talk and I shared some of the events that had transpired while he was asleep…and then…" Mark paused as he suddenly found himself lost for words. Touko noticed it and made a calm, reassuring smile.

"Please, do take your time. I can always wait."

Mark returned her words with a single nod of agreement and then, after taking a deep breath, he began to tell them of the strange actions that his son had done.


Time went on, the sky outside the Guardians of the Globe building finally turned a deep purple hue as Mark finished his story. Silence enveloped the room. The other two occupants were sitting in their chairs in deep thought. Touko's red eyes were calm, but very observant. The story of the man was true to her and she had already reached a conclusion as to what was his son, Markus, was going through.

"Mr. Grayson, how well do you know Markus Murphy? I mean, do you know his favorite foods, hobbies, things that he likes. Do you know what makes him happy, sad…or angry?" Touko asked as she watched the emperor make a side glance and uncertain frown.

"I…I do know that he hates cheese. I also know that he loves drawing, though I haven't seen him picking up a pencil recently. What's with this question, Ms. Touko?"

Touko's face made a thoughtful expression before she rested her back on the sofa and took a sip of her stale sherry.

Guess…I have to go with this one. The woman thought as she took a small breath and answered the man. "What you had just witnessed, Sir Grayson, was your son's second personality. You see, during my treatment of Markus Murphy, the same scene also manifested. He started acting like he was a noble woman. His actions and his expression also made a one-hundred-eighty-degree change into a very feminine one during some sessions."

"W-Wait…you said second personality…Do you mean Multiple Personality Disorder?" Mark said as Abe reacted in a disturbed way.

"I have seen a horror movie called 'SPLIT', and the psychopath villain had the same sickness as what you said. Are you telling me that Markus…a Viltrumite…could become a psychopath?"

"DID is a condition where one to multiple personalities manifest within a person who suffered trauma. These personalities vary from person to person, but essentially, a person's identity becomes fragmented under the pressure of whatever is hurting them so badly. The primary identity is typically showing signs of depression or guilt. Meanwhile, the other personalities have their own self-image and identity. One personality could be a hippie while another is a geisha. They create their own history that separates them from the primary one. For the record, there is no evidence that the other personalities cause increased violence. There'll be bouts of sudden heightened emotion, but that's about it."

She said this while looking at Abe like an annoyed teacher. Once she was believed she got her point across, she returned to a contemplative look. "...There are some people with the DID condition who do not remember what the other personality has experienced and some that do. Since Markus has not expressed the feeling of being an observer of his own actions and words, we can assume that he is the former rather than the latter..."

She turned to Mark with a thoughtful expression. "Given your description earlier, Markus' other personality is rather cynical, mature and cold - a pessimist to Markus' optimist. I suspect that, while we are able to get Markus to explore the world and experience his second chance at life, 'she' will doubt it all until she can see the right evidence to believe us, rather like a Japanese noble woman dealing with politicians. It seems 'she' can see what Markus is experiencing, despite Markus' side of things, so I believe it will be through Markus that we can persuade the second identity to sleep or not do anything extreme."

She moved her body so that she was facing Mark completely. "Mark, it would be best if you treat them as two separate people. Treat 'her' with respect, learn more about 'her,' figure out what 'she' wants and doesn't want - act like you are meeting a stranger who you want to be friends with. We need to get an idea of who 'she' is and what that means for Markus. You need to befriend 'her.' Who knows? Maybe 'she' can even help us."

"What about treatment?"

"Despite the world knowing about DID for decades, there is no cure for DID. It is just too rare. People with the condition have to manage life with it. There are some medications, but since your son is an alien, I don't think they will have the same effect. And thus, the most effective treatment is still psychotherapy." Her posture became more relaxed as she reached for another drink. "Looks like you and I will have to work together, Mark. Let's go take care of your son."


Oh no… Despite what the woman said, the emperor could not help but deepen his frown into a sad one. A small feeling of regret began to grow inside his chest.

"Did Markus tell you about how he discovered the truth about his birth?" he asked and the woman merely nodded in a solemn way. "I-I only wanted to love him without lying to him. I never thought that the truth would traumatize him this much…It's all my fault."

"Please, Sir Mark, do not push yourself too hard. You just did the right thing." Touko said as she leaned forward again and put down her glass on the coffee table in front of her. "You love Markus very much…and sometimes, love can hurt." Mark glanced at her, his eyes on the verge of crying again. Touko closed her eyes and curved her assuring smile more.

"In some religions and cultures, personalities are considered the soul itself. You see, Sir Mark, the human body is like a computer. It is the hardware, and for it function, it needs a software. The soul is the software that makes the body, or in this case, Markus, move." Touko paused as she refilled her glass of sherry with the pitcher beside her glass and continued her explanation. "Currently, your son has two personalities, two souls, inside his own body. And the only way for him to be normal is to make his other soul fall 'asleep'."

"Asleep?" Mark asked quizzically as the woman continued.

"Yes. However, I cannot make his other personality simply disappear. It was Markus's unconscious choice to do so and I think he was going in that path." Touko tilted her head and cast a supportive smirk at the man. "So, all I can say right now is that you must be patient with his recovery, and most of all…you have to be very supportive of him." The woman put her glass down again and fished out a lollipop from her coat. "You are his family and the most important thing in family is to always be with each other."

Mark silently sat as he absorbed the words of the woman. She was right. Markus needed someone to support him, to always tell him where he was and who he really was. And that was his job. After all, he was his father and his son loved him. He must be there for him so that he could always catch him when he was falling.

"Touko…Thank you. I think I know what I must do with my son."

"You're welcome, Sir Mark." Touko said as she drank her sherry again.

"So wait, Markus isn't psychopath or anything?" Mark made a dark glare at Abe while Touko made a silent soft sigh of exhaustion. The man, despite being the former superhero, Immortal, and one of USA's previous presidents, clearly didn't listen to their discussion at all.

"No. He isn't, Sir Abe." The woman said. The man felt relieved and let out a deep sigh.

"The last thing that this earth needs, Ms. Touko, is an unhinged Viltrumite. I mean, one of these guys can destroy the Earth in a month."

"And Markus isn't like that." Mark immediately butted in as he took his glass of sherry and drank it in one go. "Despite the human society's current and ugly neo-liberalism culture, Markus and I love this world. Please do not forget that some Viltrumites actually want to come back and live here again, despite me finding a planet for our species to prosper."

"I know, I know. I just need to be sure. This world suffered another attempted invasion from a galactic force and I just needed to be sure." Abe reasoned out and it made the emperor calm down.

"The Kingdom of Wolvesbane will never attack again – that I assure you." Mark said as the former Immortal hero glanced at him.

"Why? Did you make a peace deal with them?"

"Yes, though it's not yet finalized, but I assure you, they wouldn't."

"What's makes you say that?"

Mark poured himself another glass of sherry and drank it one gulp before he answered. "Because if they go back on their word, I will destroy their planet and exterminate their species if I have to." A dark frown formed on his face, making the man shut his mouth up. As for Touko, his reaction made her turn her smirk to a mystified one.

Interesting, despite being kind, he is capable of doing such deed. Touko drank her sherry in one go again and put it down on the table. I like you, Mark. You are interesting like your son.


It was only after Touko had opened the door of her car that she could make a breath of relief. The meeting was over and now, she could finally relax. Even though she hated to admit it, the event was too boring for her. She only needed to explain what was currently happening to Marky for the two men who were concerned for his well being.

"Ah…the lies that I told earlier." Touko lied all the time. She needed to since she was a Mage. Mages needed to lie in order to protect their works, and it could also save their lives. And Touko, who was currently one of the greatest Mages alive, needed to lie all the time just so she could live a normal life.

"I'm so sorry, Mark Grayson. I know exactly what is happening to your son…and it isn't MPD/DID." When the woman heard the story of Mark, about his son's strange actions, she immediately knew that it was more than a mental illness.

The new eyes of Markus, ones that previously belonged to Shiki Ryougi, the woman that she knew very well, had a secret and she knew exactly what it was.

"Hmph. You are hard to kill, Shiki… Welcome back to the real world, although you're in the body of Markus Murphy."


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Invincible and Kara no Kyoukai. Names, places and events are all fictional if one exist in real life then its purely coincidental.

Special thanks to Pure Red Craine for beta-reading.

So guys, welcome to my new chapter. In this chapter we will see that Markus's sickness is DID or multiple personality disorder. The said sickness usually occurs on people with trauma, they manifest a secondary personality that could shield their true one against the things that could harm them. Its kinda sad that Markus has one, don't you think?

See you soon for another exciting chapter! Thinker Out!