User visit: Mark Grayson

[a1enzo]

"Okay," says Enzo, leading Mark into the digimat room, "just stand over there in the target area so I can shoot you with this laser."

Comments

[1nv1nc1ble]

Mark could have walked in from the wings, but that wouldn't do justice to such an introduction. Invincible floats down from the rafters above the stage, arms crossed and looking as formidable as can. He stops about two or three feet above the stage, hovering effortlessly, and drifts out over the audience, giving them a closer look at him. A circuit out over the crowd, and he circles back and lands next to Value.

As he drops to the stage, his attitude drops into a more relaxed stance. He lifts a hand in greeting. "Hi, guys."

[a1enzo]

He gets a cheer from the crowd. They know the score. If he were any real threat, the band—two of whom are graduates—would be taking care of business, not showing him off.

The band conclude the song while he's doing his flyover. Enzo takes the mike. "Mark is a superhero, code-name Invincible. He's half human, half alien, which is why... all that. Mark, you want to tell them a little about yourself to start things off?"

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Sure," says Mark. "As Enzo said, I'm half-alien. My father is from the planet Viltrum which is on the other side of the galaxy from Earth. His people are very advanced, so they go to other worlds with intelligent life, and help those peoples develop. In Dad's case, he came to Earth and decided to protect people from other aliens, monsters, and criminals."

"Viltrumites are much stronger and tougher than humans, and they... well, we... can fly. Dad met Mom after he started helping people, and I inherited his powers about five months ago. So, since Dad wears a uniform, I got myself one and started practicing the family business."

[a1enzo]

"So Viltrumites are sort of like Guardians?" calls a voice from the crowd. "But for planets."

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Well...," Mark looks to Enzo for confirmation. "That sounds about right. Viltrum has an organization called the World Betterment Committee. They survey worlds and decide how to help other planets. Dad told me that they often monitor a world for a period before sending someone to make contact, so there's a research side of it as well as protection. Most of the Viltrumites that work for the Committee do that; only the top agents are sent to interact with a planet's people."

[a1enzo]

Enzo waves a hand ambivalently. "Partly like Guardians. We mostly just do the protecting stuff. We'll help systems new to the Net get set up, too, but mostly by inspecting their ports and advising them on safety procedures."

[1nv1nc1ble]

Mark nods. "So, similar definitely. Mind you, there's plenty of heroes on my Earth, who do what Dad and I do. Some are more focused on certain areas, like Officer Dragon, who only works in the Chicago area, and others protect a broader area, like the Guardians of the Globe, who work with a number of countries to protect them all. Dad helps protect all over the world, since he can fly very fast and get where there are threats quickly."

[a1enzo]

Nods from the audience; that sounds more like the Guardian Collective.

Someone else points at the photo of Mark's natural form serving as the stage backdrop: "You look human. Is that normal for aliens?"

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Well, Viltrumites look human, as far as I know. Dad looks completely human. So, this," he gestures to the image, "is what I look like normally, and that's what my uniform normally looks like. I guess the digitizer picked up on the differences in genetics and made them more obvious."

"I don't feel any different, really," he adds. "Just a little like having a cold."

(That'd be the total lack of sinuses, Mark.)

[a1enzo]

"What's a cold like?"

Hey, it hasn't come up yet!

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Uh... well, your head feels stuffed up and you have no sense of smell. Pretty much." Mark reminds himself that sprites, despite the general human appearance, do not have biology, and their interactions with viruses do not result in a fever and the sniffles.

[a1enzo]

"And there's coughing and sneezing," adds Enzo, who has picked this stuff up.

[1nv1nc1ble]

"If it's bad enough, yeah," says Mark. "Though, personally, I've never been sick enough to have it that bad."

(Over his nineteen years of life, Mark's half-Viltrumite immune system has successfully protected him from a half-dozen attacks of strep throat, a case of the measles, countless flu strains, and one nasty strain of E. coli that had taken up residence in a batch of street tacos from a Venice Beach vendor. All without him knowing it. "Getting sick" pretty much happens to other people.)

[a1enzo]

"Do you have protective code, too? Or... whatever you have instead."

Pretty much what the narrative just said in parentheses.

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Protective code...? Mark wonders. "Oh. Kinda. Everyone has an immune system. Kids are taught to exercise and eat the right foods to help the immune system stay strong, so they don't get sick."

"I guess mine's stronger than the average person's, given my powers. I've never been truly sick, just to the point like I said before."

(That was the E. coli. It was a bad one... for anyone who wasn't half-Viltrumite.)

[a1enzo]

"That's kinda like Guardian protective code," Enzo agrees. "We're shielded against a lot of stuff, including most bugs."

There are murmurs from the audience, in which can be heard 'blood' and 'the white parts.' Sounds like some people have been reading Enzo's reports.

"What kinds of things do you fight?" calls a cadet. Enzo's brought superheroes before, but it's become clear there's some variation.

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Supercriminals, mostly," answers Mark. "Sometimes monsters. And I helped my father fight off an invading army of extradimensional aliens, called the Flaxans. They were tough. I also try to help with any accidents that I know about, like shipwrecks or damage from earthquakes. Being able to lift parts of a collapsed building or clear a highway makes you popular in California." He pauses, then clarifies, "There's lots of earthquakes in California." He's not sure how familiar the sprites are with the meatspace geography.

[a1enzo]

"That's on the west side of the middle part of North America."

[1nv1nc1ble]

"Right. I should have brought some pictures." He shrugs. "Something to think about for the future, right?"

"Next question?" he asks the room.