Pairing/s: Invincible x Reader x Invincible Variants
TRIGGER WARNINGS: Attempted sexual assault
CHAPTER 5: This Boy is a Choking Hazard
Series Masterlist
<<read the synopsis and trigger warnings first>>
Wisteria was fancier than what you expected from a nightclub. Cleaner, too. It was glass and steel and purple to pink neon lights. Artificial wisteria flowers hung from the ceiling and walls.
The place was freezing and reeked of sweat, booze and a plethora of perfumes.
You were close to throwing up from sensory overload when someone yelled your name amidst the chatter and you found Amber waving at you from the bar.
You wove past the jittering bodies to join her.
“Mark invited you, huh?” She didn’t seem mad or jealous, but she did sound defeated.
“Is that bad?”
She shook her head, smiling weakly. “Nah. He’s a good guy, I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t. Just don’t forget what I told you. Mark has a way of wriggling into people’s hearts, especially pretty girls’.”
“I won’t. Thanks, Amber.”
“No problem.” She glanced down at your clothes. “You look great, by the way. I love your jacket.”
You resisted the urge to scoff and thought back to several hours ago.
This body’s taste in clothes was similar to yours, if a little juvenile. The system said that it was because it relayed some of your memories to the World Consciousness. Being a tutorial level mission world certainly helped too.
[Do not expect this to be the same in every mission world, though. As I have said before, the World Consciousness is imperfect. A lot of its programming ability goes to replicating your defining physical features like eye color and complexion, but that leaves everything else subject to variation.]
“I get it already, limited energy or whatever, right?” You waved it off, trying to find the best outfit for the club.
The system huffed—it did not appreciate getting brushed off like some nagging wife—and pixelated smoke puffed out of the corners of its screen, dispersing in the air as tiny dots of light. Deciding to get back at its Host, the system waited for you to pick up a t-shirt and then played that buzzer sound quiz shows would use when a participant got an answer wrong.
[Too plain.]
You raised an eyebrow but agreed. Your hand went for another top.
[Too gaudy.]
Fine. You reached for something else—EEEEHH.
You crossed your arms over your chest and glared at the floating holographic monitor.
The system made an innocent face.
[Too ugly.]
[Too vibrant.]
[Too frumpy.]
It didn’t take more than two minutes of getting bombarded with that obnoxious EEEEHH for you to put your foot down. You settled for something comfortable but more party-coded than your usual wear. The most noteworthy piece on you was a denim jacket decorated with a few pins.
Amber was admiring the one shaped like a semicolon while you used disinfectant wipes on the barstool next to her.
“So,” you started, taking a seat. “How was your test?”
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “What’s done is done. Tonight, I’m just going to focus on dancing. Hey, you’re still coming to my party tomorrow, right?”
“Uh-huh.” To be honest, your social battery was drained to half capacity just by entering this place. If this was a purely social endeavor you would’ve already prepared a whole story about your not-grandmother being in a hospital and wanting to see you tomorrow, but this was a job. If playing nice and pretending to have fun is what your job needs then so be it.
Besides, it would feel wrong to say no to her now.
“I like your blouse,” you said.
She wore a gold sequin halter top with a pair of high-waisted jeans.
“Thanks! A friend of mine picked it out for me, I thought it was too much but she said it’d be a waste not to get it. I think you’ll really like her, she’s an architecture major.” Her eyes flickered over your shoulder and she beamed, waving at someone. “There she is now.”
[Ding.]
“Hey, Amber.” The voice was undoubtedly feminine and clear. The kind of voice befitting an important woman.
Red-orange flickered from the corner of your eye.
Amber stood to give the new arrival a quick hug and then introduced the two of you.
The emerald-eyed stranger offered you a smile and her hand. “Hi, nice to meet you.”
[Samantha Eve Wilkins has arrived.]
Long fiery hair fell delicately over bare freckled-kiss shoulders and her green eyes popped thanks to the lavender silk of her blouse. She was even more striking in person, there was no doubt in your mind that she was an important supporting character. Hell, she could probably pass for the main character.
You gave her hand two shakes. “Hi.”
The bartender arrived, sliding a cool root beer towards Amber and asking you, “What can I get you?”
“Lemon lime—” “—peach soda”
You and Eve exchanged glances, then you giggled at the same time.
The bartender nodded and left to get your drinks.
“Amber tells me you’re a total genius,” Eve said, sitting next to you instead of Amber and effectively sandwiching you between the two beauties. If you were as old as this body was, you would have thrown up from anxiety. Luckily, you have learned to be more adaptable before you died.
“I’m not a genius,” you replied, accepting the bottle of lemon lime from the bartender with a smile and barely audible ‘thank you.’
Amber waved her hand. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. You always get the highest score in every test and pop quiz—and you only make what, one or two mistakes? It’s insane.” She leaned closer and said to Eve, “The professor thought she was cheating so he had her retake a different version of a test in essay form.”
“No way.” Eve’s jaw dropped. “Is that even allowed?”
“We’re not sure, but jokes on him, our girl here—” she gave you a friendly elbow jab “—got perfect marks on that.”
You groaned internally. You weren’t a genius, but you were technically a college graduate, one who already suffered through chemistry, biology, psychology and so many other -ies.
Daily study sessions, a stringent schedule, different tutors and a sprinkle of all-nighters here and there can go a long way. You also genuinely enjoyed learning, and in this reality, you didn’t have to worry about time or money, so you can focus your energy on studying. The only catch is that you have to go above and beyond for one particular, very specific subject: Mark Grayson.
Your interest in other people who are too distant to be considered friends is usually limited. Relationships are hard, at least for you. Humans can say one thing but mean something else. For example, if one is invited for a drink with their boss, technically, they can say no, but they don’t because it is a faux pas to reject a social invite from an important person. One has to smile and nod when another speaks, even when the topic is boring or nonsensical or disagreeable.
Etiquette and expectations. Tradition versus reason.
Confusing, annoying, but necessary, you admit.
You stared at the cartoon logo on your plastic bottle.
Speaking of confusing things, where the heck is Mark?
[Ding. The system is offline.]
[The system was called “useless” and “unnecessary” by the Host.]
[Since this system is so “useless” and “unnecessary,” it shall stay away for now.]
[(˶˃⤙˂˶)]
Little punk.
You rolled your eyes and let it be, deciding to survey the area. According to Mark, tonight the whole club was reserved for the college or something; an immediate celebration after the first major exams of the academic year.
Expectedly, the entire floor was swarmed with young adults, from freshmen to seniors. Some held beer, others went with sodas or juice.
“Great place, right?” Eve asked, pulling you out of focus mode.
“Yeah, it is.” You turned to face her. Sharp green eyes smiled at you.
“I gotta say, I haven’t been to a lot of nightclubs but I can already tell that this is relatively high end.”
“Amber tells me you’re an architect.”
“Well, studying to be one.”
“That’s cool.”
“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. There’s a lot of math involved.”
“Not a big fan?”
“It’s not my favorite subject.”
“Here, here.” You raised your unopened bottle and she toasted with her peach soda. “I despise mathematics.”
Amber laughed. “Really? I thought you’d eat it up for sure.”
“Math is not as fascinating as chemistry. Or biology.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but what kind of things do you do for fun? Eve and I have been itching for a girls’ night.”
You opened your mouth to reply but the lights dimmed and the multi-colored lasers focused on the stage.
A young man with green hair and studded leather pants announced into the mic, “Ladies, gentlemen and dear nonbinaries; friends and enemies, congrats on finishing the first Hell Week of the year!”
The two girls beside you cheered with the crowd. Not one for screaming, you opted to clap your hands.
“We got a lot of great performers lined up today, folks. Starting off strong, we present—Indigo Muse!”
Your peers erupted into applause.
The black velvet curtains behind him parted, revealing Mark and his band.
The guy behind the drums lifted his sticks and began the count, “Three, two—”
Your ears perked at the familiar guitar riff—and soon, the entire floor was dancing.
I’m on my way, but I don’t know
What to do or where to go
Despite being the bassist, Mark was the lead singer and of course, he had the voice of an angel.
You felt your back being pushed and your arms getting pulled.
Eve yelled behind you, “Come on!”
“Let’s dance.” Amber dragged you off your stool.
“Wait, I don’t—”
The two were stronger than they looked and you found yourself standing in the middle of the dance floor, getting squished by varied-smelling bodies.
I’m so nervous, I feel sick
I hope I don’t come off like a jerk
You gripped hard on your lemon lime, trying not to vomit.
You lifted your chin and found Mark’s eyes on you.
I went all out, I washed my hair
I searched and found some clean underwear
There was that gaze again, like you were the only thing worth focusing on in the whole room.
It was too much.
She’s so hot, I can’t resist
I don’t know what I’ll do if she gives me that first kiss
Suddenly feeling extra thirsty, you tried to open your soda, but the condensation made your hand slip. The bottle dropped to the floor and a stray leg kicked it away.
“Crap.” Your two dance partners were too preoccupied to notice you crawling away.
“Excuse me, excuse me! Sorry!” You braved through stiletto heels and heavy boots. The smart thing to do was to get a new soda, but you didn’t want to be responsible for someone slipping on the bottle and causing a domino effect of fallen dancers and a really busy ER.
The bottle hit the legs of a nearby sofa, finally stopping.
You sighed in relief, but just as you approached forward, a girl bumped into you and dropped her bottle.
She rubbed her head. “Ow… Sorry.”
“I’m fine.”
You picked up both drinks and stared at them. Huh. Both lemon lime. Both unopened.
“Here.” You gave her one randomly.
“Thanks. Sorry again for, uh, falling on top of you.”
“No harm done.”
She grinned and walked away, her long blonde ponytail bouncing with each step as she disappeared into the sea of people.
You reached inside your jacket for a wet wipe and cleaned the soda bottle from top to bottom.
You twisted the cap open and the system dinged just as you realize—
Shit.
***
Mark didn’t stop looking even when you did. He half-expected you to email with some generic excuse like a relative in the hospital or a dead grandparent, so seeing you here, in the flesh, was a win in his book.
He was happy to see you all dressed up. He couldn’t wait to ask the story behind every pin on your jacket. Would you actually get giddy like you did during philosophy debates? Would your face remain deadpan? Would you lose your patience and get mad?
His well-practiced singing never faltered as he watched you weave through the crowd.
What were you doing?
They already reached ⅔ of the song when you stopped near a sofa to wipe your soda clean.
He recalled applause and his team patting his back. The emcee approached him while he saw you suddenly burst into a panicked sprint from across the room.
“Mark? Hey, dude?”
“Sorry, I need to use the restroom.” He shrugged off his strap and swiftly put down his bass.
The emcee pointed his thumb behind him. “There’s a staff only wash over—”
Mark leaped off the stage and went the other way.
The emcee glanced at his bandmates, who could only shrug.
Mark did his best to dash towards the restrooms, but with this many people he couldn’t blitz his way recklessly.
By the time he reached the girls’ toilets, he had calmed down enough to try and knock first, but he heard screaming and he burst through the door with a kick.
“Princess!”
He froze, and so did you, and so did the large guy you were hitting with a mop. Beneath that football player-shaped guy was a blonde girl crying on the floor. Her blouse was ripped open and Mark could see red handprints around her throat.
The bastard recovered from shock earlier and swung at you. Your legs faltered and you hit the sink with a loud thud.
Mark didn’t breathe—he didn’t think—
all he saw was red.
“You like hitting girls, huh?”
THUNK
“What about me, tough guy?”
THUNK
“Come on!”
THUNK
“Fight back, asshole!”
“Mark—”
“Fight back—”
“Mark.” Cold, clammy palms covered his cheeks.
Clear eyes grounded him. “Stop.”
“Princess?”
You gave him a small smile. “We’re okay now.”
Something cool and wet touched his knuckles. He looked down and saw you wiping away the blood.
He glanced back at you and saw the early signs of a shiner. He used his free hand to cradle that side of your face. “He hurt you.”
“I’m not the victim here.” You used your mouth to gesture behind him.
The blonde girl was unconscious, but you had draped your jacket over her torso.
Mark swallowed. “Did he—”
You shook your head. “I arrived just when he pushed her down. She’ll be… she’ll remember this night, but she’s one of the luckier ones.”
“Luckier, huh.”
You frowned. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. It just stinks that this is what we consider lucky.”
You silently finished wiping the blood from his knuckles and threw them inside a ziplock bag.
Mark cocked an eyebrow. “You… carry ziplock bags with you?”
“You’ll never know.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I saw you run here from the stage.”
“You got good eyes.”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, I got better instincts.” He met your gaze. “How did you know what was about to happen?”
You showed him a bottle of lemon lime soda inside a bigger ziplock bag. “She and I accidentally switched bottles. They were both unopened at first glance, but when I twisted the cap, it was loose.”
He examined the container.
“Oh, and it didn’t fizz.”
“What?”
“The soda didn’t fizz. A loose cap is one thing, but then add the fact that it didn’t fizz?”
“You pieced that together fast. I would’ve just thought that it was an old bottle.”
You grinned. “I’ve been told that I’m something of a genius.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
He chuckled.
“Are you okay?” You asked, surprising him.
“You’re asking me? I’m not the victim here,” he parroted your words back to you.
“That didn’t stop you from worrying about me.” Your eyebrows furrowed. “Are you okay, Mark?”
You put your hand over his clean knuckles.
His breath hitched.
You were close enough to—
He heard groaning behind him and you pulled back, standing up.
“Hey,” he heard you speak to the blonde girl. “Do you remember where you are? It’s okay. You’re safe, it’s all right, the police are on their way.”
He heard crying as he looked down at the man whose face was now unrecognizable.
He looked at his freshly wiped fingers.
“You’re okay.”
He then turned around and saw your shaking hands comfort the weeping girl on the floor.
Mark clenched his fists.
***
[Affection: 44%. Darkening: 15%.]
You stared at the pink and black bars while the paramedic cleaned your wounds.
Amber was in tears, holding your hand and apologizing for not paying more attention, despite your insistence that this was nobody else’s fault except the criminal who was currently on his way to the ER.
Eve said she would go check up on Mark. The system informed you that they were conversing on the roof.
The blonde girl, Ariel, was giving her statement to the cops. When she was finished, she walked over to you and surprised you with a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Unsure what to do, you awkwardly patted her head. “No problem. Anyone would have done the same.”
“I’m sorry about messing up your jacket.”
“Eh, I needed a new one.”
She and Amber laughed.
Ariel stepped back. “Thank you.”
She nodded at Amber and then joined a female officer inside a police car.
Amber’s phone chirped and she squeezed your hand. “You hungry? Eve and Mark want to eat nachos.”
“I didn’t know Eve and Mark were close.”
Amber blinked. She then waved her hand. “No, no, well, yes, they are close, but not like that.”
“Then like what?”
“Well, apparently, they work at the same place. I still don’t know what they actually do, but they see each other occasionally. Eve’s taken though. Some guy named Rex.”
“I see.” For some reason, your heart felt lighter.
***
“Amber said they’re good for nachos,” Eve said, putting away her phone.
Mark stayed quiet as he stared at his hands. You told him to wash them thoroughly but he can still feel the stain on him.
Eve walked closer. “You did good. You saved them.” She stopped talking, but Mark knew that tone.
He hated it because it meant she had something else to say, something annoying. “But…?”
“...but you should’ve held back.”
“He was a rapist.”
“Yes, and I hate him, too, but he’s also human. If you kept going the way you did you would’ve killed him!”
Mark paused.
He was brought back inside that tiny rest room. Before the police arrived, the staff nurse offered to take Ariel inside the attached clinic for treatment. You reassured them that you would follow, and when it was just you and Mark, you locked the door, walked over to Ariel’s attacker and stomped down on his crotch; hard enough that Mark actually winced, hard enough that he heard squishing noises when you lifted your foot.
Face blank, you said to him, “If they ask, tell them it was self-defense.”
He almost laughed. Hearing that was liberating.
He wondered if Eve would have approved. Eve wasn’t a goody-two shoes, but she drew hard lines when it came to crime-fighting. Excessive force and torture were something she balked at.
“I recognize that guy, y’know,” Mark mumbled. “I saved a different woman a few months ago.” In addition to being a prized player at the university, he was part of a powerful frat, a legacy. “I will never forget that smug face of his when the judge let him free.”
“That sucks.”
Mark sneered. That’s all Eve ever says. “If only I—”
“If only, what? If only you killed him? You’re better than that.”
Mark could hear his mother’s voice echo from the back of his mind: “You’re better than him.”
He shot to his feet and turned towards the door.
“We aren’t done here.”
“I think we are,” he snapped back and swung open the rooftop door.
“Oh.”
You were standing right in front of him. “Hi,” you squeaked.
“Hi.” He flashed you his signature smile. “Missed me already? I thought we were meeting at the restaurant?”
“I just needed some fresh air, I didn’t think there was anybody here, sorry. I’ll leave.”
Eve interrupted you, “No, it’s fine. We’re done.”
She gave Mark a look and then smiled at you. “You good?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll see you later.”
Mark held the door, stepped to the side and made a sweeping motion with his arm, like a doorman welcoming guests.
“You really like roofs,” you noted, strolling towards the railing. “Do you enjoy looking down at the world?”
“You make me sound like a megalomaniac.”
“Your words, not mine.” You rest your elbows on the guardrail.
Mark joined and you uttered to him, “I have a confession.”
His heart stopped for a moment. “What?”
“When you were punching that guy, I was really tempted to let you beat him to death.”
“Oh.”
You eyed him and he quickly added, “—kay. Okay. I see. So why didn’t you?”
“I was worried about you. You didn’t look like yourself.”
He guiltily lowered his head. “Sorry for scaring you.”
You let out a loud Ha! “You don’t scare me, not even when you had blood all over you.” You glanced down at the city. “What I meant was that you seemed to be in a trance. I didn’t want you to wake up and realize you killed someone in your sleep. That would suck.”
This time, Mark let himself laugh.
***
He was laughing.
Jesus, what a psycho. He almost killed someone and he was laughing?
He really was destined for villainy.
[Affection: 49%. Darkening: 16%.]
You were supposed to pretend to love someone like this? For how long? And how many times before you were free? How many more horrible things did you have to experience and witness?
Mark’s brown eyes widened. “Princess?”
“Hm?”
“Are you—”
You turned away from him and brought a shaking hand to your face. “I’m all right, I promise.”
He didn’t say anything. Instead, you felt his arms slowly, almost hesitantly, stretch around your shoulders.
Permitting this moment of weakness, you leaned your head on his chest.
His arms tightened, folding over you protectively. “It’s okay, princess. You’re safe.”
You shook your head, because he was awful and kind and confusing and he had no idea what he was saying.
