A knock on the door startled Mark. "Mo- What?! I'll be out in a minute!" Mark shouted as he returned to his comic, and then Debbie opened the door, causing him to cover himself in embarrassment. "Mom!" he yelled in frustration as he looked at her as she began looking through the storage cabinet.

"I don't have a minute. My bathroom is out of soap, and your sis—" She looked over to him, and he stared at her in continued embarrassment. "Get over yourself. I used to change your diapers, kid, so there's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Just get out!" was all Mark could retort to her statement.

She left Mark in the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Mark sat there pinching his brow in frustration before finishing up in the bathroom and going to his room, where he quickly changed into a yellow shirt, jeans, and a two-stripe sweater.

He exited his room and went downstairs to make himself a bowl of cereal, pouring himself some. Afterward, he sat on the couch and turned on the television, and the first thing he saw was the White House being attacked. Eating his breakfast, he heard his mom stepping down the stairs. "Looks like dad's saving the White House."

"Alone?" His mom questioned as she glanced at the screen.

"Guardians are there too," he muttered while eating his cereal, and he frowned slightly.

"Who are they fighting?" she leaned forward to see better, squinting her eyes slightly. "Ugh, Mauler twins. It looks like we won't be getting breakfast together." She relaxed and straightened her back, slightly disappointed. "Bummer."

Mark turned to face her, a little surprised at her lack of concern. "It's the White House mom… Kind of important?" he questioned rhetorically.

"Oh, they rebuild that thing twice a year at this point," she waved at him dismissively as she walked into the kitchen. If it's not Doc Seismic, it's the Lizard League or someone else… I doubt the President still lives there." She paused briefly. "Any word on your sister?" she questioned.

"Not a word. You know what Tanya's like. She's more elusive than Darkwing, not to mention that when she disappears from her government job, she comes back desperate for coffee. I don't understand her obsession with it," Mark replied.

The glass door behind Debbie opens "I'm not too late! I'm going to go shower." Nolan hurries towards the stairs.

"Not so fast. Come here first," as she leans into Nolan and kisses him.

"Ugh. Don't make me get the spray bottle," Mark remarks as he tries to drown out the kissing with the TV, causing Mark's parents to stare at him before Debbie returns her attention to Nolan.

"Now, let's get you out of that costume," she grasps his hand and pulls him toward the stairs.

"Boundaries, people!" he slumped forward, placed his bowl on the arm of the chair, and stood up. "Bathroom doors are closed for a reason, and parents should never talk about sex in front of their kids!" he ranted as he made his way to the stairs.

"You should be overjoyed to see your parents passionately expressing their love for each other." She placed a finger on Nolan's nose as he had his arm over her shoulders, "Now stop griping and get ready for school."

"Couldn't you just wait until I leave the house?" he paused. "For College!" He made his way up the stairs.

"What were you thinking, Paris?" she questioned Nolan.

"Actually I was kind of pulling for that little cafe in Berlin. Been jonesing for those sausages," he said.

"Aw, man, you guys are going to Bestwurst?!" Mark halted near the top of the stairs, looking at them, "I love that place," his arms sagging at his sides, upset.

"You've got school. When your powers kick in, you can go on your own, like your sister can," Nolan lectured.

"Salt on the wound, Dad," Mark replied, a little more upset. After climbing the rest of the stairs, he went to his room.

"They gotta be due any day now, son; even the latest bloomer on Viltrum got their powers before their eighteenth birthday," Nolan's expression softened. "You'll see."

Debbie leaned into Nolan, who looked down at her. "Don't get his hopes up," she whispered quietly, causing Nolan to look away at the floor.

Mark exited the front door of his house. "Bye, have fun!" he enthusiastically shouted behind him. "I'll just be walking on the ground… with my feet." He turns and sees his parents fly off into the sky. He sighed before looking at his hand.

A rumble rolled in, drawing him out of his musings, and he saw his sister draw in on her motorbike. She rolled the bike into the driveway to a gentle stop before looking at Mark. She pulled off her helmet with a shake of her head, and her braid fell loose, revealing the telltale red streak in her blonde hair that had been there for as long as he could remember. "Hey… Tanya."

She levelled her gaze at him. "I'm guessing they're either in there and I don't want to go in, or are they away somewhere?" she asked.

"The latter," Mark replied dejectedly, "Off to Bestwurst." His shoulders sagged slightly before he straightened his back just as quickly. His sister was always a stickler for posture.

"Anyways, Mark, why are you just standing here?" she asked while taking a quick glance at her phone, "Nevermind don't answer that you're going to school. Now." Her voice was rigid with authority. She opened the garage without a nary hint of effort and threw him his biker jacket and helmet. "Tanya, I know you got me this to make sure I ride safe but it's unnecessary—" She glared at him frigidly, effectively silencing him then and there. When she was in big sister mode there was no arguing with her at all.

She left the garage, closed the door, and ensured it was secure and locked. Then she walked up to Mark and set about making sure his helmet was secure, his jacket was zipped fully, and his shoes were tied. "Tanya, I'm not a kid. I can do this myself; I'm seventeen, for crying out loud!" Instead of dignifying his outburst with an answer, she stepped on her bike, turning the engine on with a twist of her key. She carefully wrapped her braid in her helmet again and put it back on.

She looked at him, and he got on the bike with an unspoken command. She made a soft turn out of the driveway and then pulled the throttle, causing the bike to shift slightly as they began to make their way to his high school.

The drive to the school was rather silent, other than the rumbling of Tanya's bike.

Soon they arrived at the school, and he spotted William. Mark tapped Tanya's shoulder and pointed to him. She turned and slowly began to decelerate, stopping next to the curb. Mark dismounted from his bike and removed his helmet.

William, having spotted Mark, began to walk over to him "Hey Mark, I thought your mom was dropping you off?" he questioned before glancing at Tanya who had removed her helmet, and loosened the zipper on her jacket to feel a little more comfortable. "Never seen you get dropped off by your sister."

Mark scratched the back of his head "Yeah change of plans, my mom is with my dad." William made a silent 'Oh' with his mouth. Mark turned his attention to Tanya, "Why are you taking your helmet off? I have everything."

Tanya frowned and then pinched her brows in slight annoyance "I was offered a job here," she glanced at William's panicked face for a moment "I'm supposed to be doing the interview soon"

"Wait Tanya, if you're doing that, why aren't you wearing a suit, or a blazer, or a skirt?" Mark questioned her to which she frowned in annoyance

"You expect me to wear formal wear on a bike Mark?" she lectures him and opened his mouth to answer

"Anyways, that's cool and all, but Mark and I have to go to our lockers to put our stuff away to get ready for class," William cut him off and began to pull Mark away towards the school and Mark glanced back to find Tanya frowning.

"What was that about William?" Mark questioned his best friend.

"I'm sorry man but your sister scares me," William answered.

Mark opened his locker. "Mauler twins attacked the White House?" he saw William lean against the window ledge, trying to change the subject, "Nuts right?"

"I saw," Mark said as he reached into his locker to grab his book for class.

"I can't believe the Guardians of the Globe let them get that close to killing the President," William said, not even looking up from his phone.

"They didn't even get into the building," Mark turned to look over his shoulder "and Omni-Man was there, too."

William looked up from his phone, "You're such an Omni-Maniac," he paused looking down back at his phone, "Way to root for the underdog." he jested "Big fan of the Yankees, are you?"

William pocketed his phone and looked at Mark, "Sure he's hot and all," he tilted his head slightly in a smile, "and that moustache..." Mark frowned and let out a sigh of disgust as he crouched down to put his book in his bag, "Sorry! Okay, straight stuff." William righted and stepped towards Mark "You up for some clash crash tonight? I'm hoping for a level forty three chest armour."

Mark let out a noise and righted himself, "Don't bring up that stupid job, man," William said in annoyance, putting his hands on his hips, "Don't be that person."

"When's the last time you bought a comic book?" Mark retorted in the same tone. "Those things are expensive, and they are doing Science Dog twice a month all summer."

William crossed his arms, "You are into the stupidest stuff."

"Knock it off Todd," a voice from down the hall drew both their attention.

"Come on," the aforementioned Todd spoke as he clearly harassed the girl before him, "I know you're crazy about me, Marcy told me," this caused the girl to turn around to face him.

"Well, you are big and strong," she walked up to him, speaking in a neutral tone.

"You know it," Todd flexed his bicep, his ego clearly inflated.

The girl stomped and shoved her finger into Todd's face, "And you think that makes it okay for you to harass me," her voice raising, she turned to walk away before he attempted to grab her and she shrugged him off.

"Hey, don't walk away from me," he frowned slightly, his tone changing to an accusing one, "What are you a lesbian or something?"

The girl scoffed. "Oh, my god, I wish," she clasped her hands in mock prayer. "Will you leave me alone then?" she shoved her finger in Todd's face before turning away once more attempting to leave, but once again Todd grabbed her, "Let me go, so I can go find a girl to kiss!"

Mark moved forward a step before William grabbed his shoulder, "Don't. Guy's twice your size," he said in concern.

"Maybe you can just sit back and just watch this, I can't." Mark glanced back towards William.

"I can because I'm not Omni-Mman, and neither are you." Despite William's warning, Mark pushed on and continued to walk towards the confrontation happening.

"Let's see," Mark retorts to William before quickly making his way over to the confrontation happening. He stood behind Todd and cleared his throat loudly, to grab his attention. Todd turned around and the girl leaned to see behind him. "I think Amber's been pretty clear about how she feels, Todd."

Todd turns full to him and Amber crosses her arms to watch, "Are you serious Grayson?"

"Look—" before Mark could continue, Todd landed a punch straight into Mark's face causing him to stumble. Todd followed up with a punch to the gut causing him to drop. Todd raised his foot to stomp on him and he could see Amber running up behind him…

"MARK SEBASTION GRAYSON!" a thunderous shout echoed through the hallway causing everyone to freeze, Mark glanced behind Amber and saw his sister.

"Shit," was all he could say before she marched up to where he was everyone parting the way barring Todd, who was too busy trying to ogle his sister until she forcefully shoved him from her path, slamming him into the lockers and causing him to slump winded. Tanya reached down and hauled him onto his feet, "Hey… sis—" he weakly tried to create an excuse.

"I do not want to hear it," her tone was final but her anger softened, and she whispered, "I saw what you were doing, Mom would be proud."

"Hey lady, you don't get to butt in, even if you are hot—" Todd tried to speak and get back up, but thought better of it when the locker next to his head crumpled as Tanya's fist struck it. He looked at the warped locker door and then back to Tanya. She was levelling a glare so frigid that Todd started to shiver.

"Do not speak to me." her voice cut through the ice, and Todd slid further to the floor. The look of fear on his face was clear as he nodded weakly.

Amber glanced at Todd and then Mark who was supported by William. "Thank you," she smiled before casting a glance at Todd who was still frozen silently in place, and then to Tanya who just looked at her for a brief moment before returning her attention to Mark and silently appraising his nose to see if it was broken or not.

"Yeah," Mark muttered, slightly muffled by Tanya's hands prodding his nose.

"Well your nose isn't broken," she observed, "You did a good thing Mark." She turned her attention to William who froze up under her gaze, "Thanks for helping him, I'll see you both after school," she paused briefly, "Apparently the school cancelled on me, so I'll see you at home for dinner Mark."

She turned on her heel and walked away, her braid swaying to her strides.

"See, this is why I'm scared of your sister Mark," William pointed to the still terror locked Todd.

Tanya had arrived at the airport on her bike and halted to a stop near a hanger, glancing around, she carefully lifted the bike and with a slight crouch she lifted into the air.

She flew over various landmarks and over the ocean. Rapidly an island came into view, and soon she reduced her speed as she gently lowered to the ground, placing her bike on the slabbed ground. She walked into the base she now calls home.

She opened a bulkhead door and entered, walking into a room with a suit. Hanging near it was a photo of her first outing as a hero, Debbie insisted on it.

She stripped off her current clothing and put it into a laundry basket. She then stepped into the next room, a bathroom with a shower, where she cleaned up. Rapidly weaving her hair back into a braid, she started to slip into her suit. It was dark red, so dark it was almost black. Over it, she clasped on a belt held on the tabard and loincloth. Turning around she located her hooded cloak, with its fur shoulder covering. Carefully lifting it, she placed it on her shoulders, snapping a clip that looked like her old computation orb, before lifting the hood over her face. The peak of the hood shadowed her face perfectly.

Letting out a breath of reverence at the craftsmanship that Archie always put into his work, she buckled and clasped on a few more pieces like bracers and her utility belt, which mostly contained cuffs.

Stepping out of the room and back outside, she lurched. Compared to her gentle lift when she left the airport, she rocketed off with a sonic boom into the sky and well past the clouds. She reached the upper atmosphere, where she closed her eyes and spread her arms out, feeling the warmth of the Sun on her.

She let go of her flight, and soon, she slowly fell back through the skies and back to Earth, before racing down into the city of Chicago, where she could see signs of conflict.

She frowned as she watched police and gangsters firing guns at each other. Fortunately, civilians had cleared the area. With a breath, she silently landed on the ground behind the gangsters and gripped one. She pulled them into a chokehold and down while he fell unconscious, while the second gangster turned to face her. She just reached out and grabbed his throat, his arm clutching uselessly.

"Y-your real?!" the gangster choked out, "Invictus, t-the death maiden."

"I am very real," Tanya said in a low tone. She grimaced at the second name, one she had gained in a mishap due to her lack of control over her own strength. Invictus was her chosen name, a nod to a poem.

She quickly pulled the second gangster into a chokehold, where she repeated the same process as the first one, cuffing their wrists together with zip ties once they were out.

She saw the cops holster their pistols as they stepped up to her, and she noticed their unease until a third one came who stepped up. "Thank you once again, Invictus," the older cop must have seen her before and knew how she operated. She nodded to his thanks before rising into the air and floating above the city.

She flew around the city for much of the day, occasionally stopping more petty crime and even some gang violence. Nothing too notable happened on days like these, but Tanya didn't let her guard down. A pleasant day was no excuse to not be an efficient professional.

Tanya lazily floated above the city, enjoying the wind and basking in the sun. Nobody was even shooting at her today, not like it could hurt her if they did. Few people even bothered to look up. She looked around for something else to do like a housecat looking out a window.

An explosion rocked the city. Snapping her head in that direction, she thundered towards it. She saw a man standing twisted and mutated, larger than his own skin, an inflamed, overstretched blanket of red, movement pulsating underneath. He honed in and leapt with fury towards her with an enlarged fist, his eyes glowing a daemonic burning red. She deftly dodged and grabbed his outstretched arm before throwing him into a nearby construction site.

The monstrosity of a man slammed into the unfinished building and a section collapsed on him, but Tanya's eyes did not follow. Instead she looked down at her hand to find a dismembered arm still in her grasp, and she frowned. She heard a roar as the now one armed mutant pushed the rubble off of himself and stood up. His stump finished squirting blood with a spray and a final spurt before it bulged, and a new arm shot out, pointed directly at her..

"YOU!" he lept again, but this time Tanya intercepted him midair and struck with her leg to kick him back into the ground. The creature spat in pain as his ribcage shattered and he fell back the way he came, "YOU, WHO HAS MORE BLOODSTAINS THAN ANY OTHER," the monstrosity bellowed.

"Oh?" she floated above his enraged form.

"I WILL PUNISH ALL SINNERS," he continued to rant, "ALL WILL SUFFER."

Tanya groaned in frustration. "Great, another religious nutjob. Worse yet, he's a regenerator," Tanya watched the monstrosity rant more before she moved.

With an ear shattering boom she dashed towards him. In the blink of an eye she had raised a fist and struck with a stone shattering strike where she watched his face become a meld of hatred and pain as she struck his chest again, liquifying his organs.

It won't kill him, but it would certainly take some time for him to heal this damage. Tanya halted before the creature "What is your name?" she questioned.

"Uriah," he sputtered out along with blood and other damage he was healing, his body was removing the damaged cells and replacing them with new ones.

A blue flash alerted her to the arrival of Cecil and a capture team, and she turned to face him. With a respectful nod she stepped aside to allow the capture teams to do their work.

"Nice work there, we will clean up here, you better head home," Cecil suggested. His actual order was silent, he had a new assignment for her tomorrow, and she should get some rest. Tanya nodded and flew up into the sky.

Noticing the time by how low the sun was, she realised she had been away longer than anticipated and started to fly towards the Grayson residence since she had spare clothes there, which would be faster.

Flying at a more reasonable pace, she was nearing the residence before she had to dodge a trash bag thrown at her. She glared at the direction it came from when she saw Mark in his work uniform, with a face that clearly had 'opps' written all over it.

It was clear he never intended to throw it like that.

'At least he didn't break a wall on accident,' she thought to herself. She figured she should say something to congratulate him.

Mark opened the door at the back of his workplace, dragging large trash bags with him. He reoriented himself and dragged the bags behind him. He reached the dumpsters and lifted the lid. It fell back down, much to his annoyance. He lifted the lid again, and it allowed him to put the bags in.

He lifted the first bag and used his other arm carefully to throw it into the dumpster, sighed in relief as it went in. Then he grabbed the other bag; it was lighter than the previous one, and he intended to throw it in.

He threw it, but much further than he intended. It would have harmlessly flown off into space, but it instead nearly hit his sister who happened to be flying by. And who now happened to be glaring at him. He was glad he got his powers, but right now he was even more glad she wasn't covered in trash.

"At least you got yours better than I did!" she said, and he stared at her in confusion.

Rylanor here at the end instead of the usual start,

I have a Discord server by the way, if you want to talk to me or that I have a link to it in my profile.

Rylanor out for now