The cold and dry wind swept through the thick clouds as they loomed overhead throughout a desoted city in a state of decaying. Hundreds of buildings destroyed, the streets littered with debris and broken cars, not to mention thousands of skeletons that are also remnants of once peaceful residents who used to live in a metropolis that now turned into ruins, leaving nothing but a clear message that this civilization was now extinct.

  An old piece of flyer was blowing in the air across the razed street until it got stuck on a broken wall. Despite its condition, the writing still prevailed to show a message…

  ‘Submit To The Viltrum Empire!’

  Suddenly, there was a booming sound in the sky, before a cloud of dust burst out of a torn up skyscraper and a small figure was seen flying out of the wall. A scream broke the eerie silence as he was flipped around in the air until he fell down to the ground. He crashed into an abandoned car and was dragged over a mile across the street, leaving a deep, long crack on the concrete before crashing into a colpsed building.

  A groan was heard as a silhouette was seen through the cloud of dust, rising up to his feet after the rough nding. The figure coughed and waved his hand to clear the dust, revealing himself as a young man in twenties with shaggy dark hair. Though he was seen in better days, as he was wearing nothing but a pair of skintight dark pants and his bare torso was covered in bruises and cuts.

  The young man tried to stand on his teeth, but his knees gave out and forced him to fall back down as he kept coughing blood out of his mouth. “D-Dammit… Not now!” He growled.

  “What’s wrong, little brother? You don’t look so hot anymore like you used to.” A sinister ugh was heard, making the young man gaze up and cast a gre at a figure floating closer to him. A man around his age wearing a bck and yellow bodysuit, cape and mask was descending while looking down on his ‘brother’ with a twisted smile on his face.

  “I’m just getting warmed up, asshole…” The beaten young one seethed as he struggled to get back on his feet.

  The young man in bck and yellow scoffed. “Are you serious? Look around you, Michael! There’s nothing left for you to fight for! Your friends, your hero pals, even mom and dad, all of them are gone… Because you were too weak to protect them!”

  The remark seemed to touch Michael’s nerve, before he shot forward with an incredible speed and nded a straight punch to the man in the mask, sending him flying away. He flew off and caught up to his opponent, punching him over and over in mid-air. “Says the one who was always jealous of me! You killed mom and dad! And then you joined the Viltrumites because you were much of a pussy to face me like a man!” He shouted as he unched another straight punch.

  His fist was caught by the gloved hand, creating a shockwave that made the entire ruined city rumble that made the most unstable buildings crumble down. Before Michael could react, he was struck in his face by a fist that threw him miles and miles away. With blood coming out of his nose, he stood in mid-air to recover himself from the blow, but then he felt the wind whizzing past him, before looking over his shoulder and saw the guy in the mask floating behind him.

  Michael spun around with his arm stretched to deliver a back fist, but the masked man blocked it by raising his forearm and the blow created another shockwave. Michael then threw a couple of jabs at him, to no avail, as he swayed his head left and right. The young man screamed in pain when his wrist was caught and getting crushed as he could hear his bones snapping.

  “Maybe you’re right. But you know what? I don’t care.” The masked young man sneered condescendingly as he strangled Michael with his other hand. “After I kill you, I’ll be the only strongest man on the pnet, and I’ll get everything I want when I start conquering more pnets!”

  “Go to Hell… Mark…” Michael seethed his teeth, only to choke when he felt his air being constrained.

  The man in bck and yellow, now known as Mark, chuckled darkly. “Please, that name died a long time ago. In fact, I think I have a perfect name for my new life as a loyal Viltrumite guardian. My name… Is In-”

  Just before Mark could reveal his new name, a strange portal suddenly appeared next to them, gaining their undivided attention. But out of nowhere, they saw another man in a multicolored bodysuit flying at a blinding speed towards them.

  “What the fu-!” Mark was cut off when he was rammed from his side, releasing Michael from his grip as he flew down to the ground.

  “Ah shit! Did I just smash into someone?”

  Michael coughed as he recovered his breath, but something just hit him the moment he heard the stranger talking with an oddly simir voice as Mark. He raised his gaze up to face him, only to find himself in further shock when he saw this person looked awfully a lot like Mark. He had the same widow’s peak haircut sticking out the top of his mask, the goggles covering his eyes, even his costume shared the same design as the other. The only difference was the colors; the yellow ran down from the mask to the middle part of his suit, blending with blue that covered the shoulders, and the rest of his costume was bck, except for his yellow gloves and blue boots.

  “Oh man… What happened to this pce?” The doppelg?nger said while looking around the ruins, unaware that there was someone behind him.

  “Mark?” Michael uttered a word with his face full of disbelief.

  “Huh?” ‘Mark’ turned around and faced Michael, which also stunned him when, for a moment, it felt like he was looking in a mirror. “Okay… This is getting really weird.”

  “Alright, I’m not even sure if this is real or if my brother hit me so hard I must be suffering a concussion!” Michael replied while holding his head in both hands, trying to not lose his mind.

  “Wait, your brother?” ‘Mark’ asked as confusion formed on his face. But then, a booming noise alerted them both, before they looked down and saw a yellow blur heading towards the doppelg?nger with a blinding speed.

  “Shit! Look out!” Michael sped up and pushed the other ‘Mark’ out of the way before he was gonna get hit. After that, he turned around and saw his menacing brother gring furiously at the guy who crashed into him by accident.

  “YOU! Just who the fuck are you and where did you come from?!” Michael’s brother yelled, pointing his finger accusingly at ‘Mark’.

  The other Mark was now stunned to see the definite split image of him. “Wait… Is that… Me?”

  Mark grew incredulous and turned back to Michael. “Did you really think you could get rid of me and repce me with this… this IMPOSTOR?!” He spat with an infuriated voice.

  “Oh crap…” Michael knew at this instant that his brother became pissed, and it’s always bad news when he’s in a bad mood.

  “YOU’RE BOTH DEAD!” The sinister Mark charged forward and clotheslined Michael and his impostor, sending them crashing through other buildings before throwing them far away as they fell down to the ground.

  ‘Mark’ nded on the freeway while Michael crashed into a wall of a rge building, leaving a hole in it. ‘Mark’ groaned as he got back on his feet with a hand clutching his back. Coughing the dust out of his mouth, he looked up and saw his counterpart flying straight at him. He raised his guard out of instinct, but then Michael burst out of the building and kicked his brother away, sending him crashing into another building and the debris piled on him.

  “Haah… Haah… Are you okay, brother?” Michael turned at the other version of his brother while floating in the air.

  “I’m fine! But please, don’t call me that.” Mark said with a conflicted expression.

  Michael spped on his head. “Right, right, sorry! Listen, I’m also just as confused as you are, but right now we’ve got a bigger problem!” When his instincts kicked in, he crossed his arms to block an incoming punch from his brother when he flew out of the building swiftly and tried to punch him. Michael was thrown back by the sheer strength of the attack.

  The other ‘Mark’ saw the moment of distraction, and while he still needed a moment to digest it, he needed to survive, just like the other guy. He boosted himself off the ground and attacked his split image with a straight punch. The Mark in bck and yellow growled as the punch only made him pissed, and retaliated by uppercutting his impostor’s stomach and his chin.

  “Gah!” ‘Mark’ was thrown into the sky, but his sinister version grabbed him by the ankle and was tossed towards Michael. The young brother moved away before ’Mark’ almost crashed into him and flew straight at his brother to exchange punches and kicks.

  The other Mark fell all the way down to the streets and his body bounced off the concrete until he dragged his feet against the ground, skidding across the ravaged street until he stopped. Raising his gaze to look at his two counterparts fighting each other, he thought about heading there and helping the good one out, but suddenly he spotted a portal opening in the sky as the two were standing between him and his way out.

  “Angstrom!” Without thinking, he rocketed into the sky, focusing solely on the portal that he didn’t pay attention to the two guys ahead of him.

  Michael dodged a hook from his brother and took the chance to get behind him and grab his cape, using it to spin him around and toss him to a nearby truck, and the vehicle exploded with the impact. Just when he was about to go straight at him before he recovers quickly, the other ‘Mark’ whizzed past him. Taken aback, Michael watched him flying by in confusion until he spotted the same portal he saw earlier.

  From this moment, he knew the portal will take ‘Mark’ to his own world, and he thought about just letting him know since he doesn’t belong to his own that was destroyed because of his brother. But then, it just hit him. Does he also have to stay here? He was determined to kill his brother to make him pay for everything he’s done, but even if he succeeds, what’s next for him?

  By the time he looked at the portal, he made the quick decision.

  “Wait!” Michael followed him, trying to catch up with him as fast as he could before he would cross over the portal. He didn’t know where this vortex could lead, but this had become the only chance to escape from being pursued by Mark and the Viltrum Empire forever.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Michael!”

  Michael looked over his shoulder and gasped when he saw his evil brother flying towards him, and he was getting close. But instead of feeling panicked, he felt a surge of confidence when he just remembered a minor detail.

  “Did you really forget something about me, sucker? I always win the race against you!” Michael excimed with a snarky grin before increasing his speed and went far ahead from his brother.

  “NO!” The sinister Mark tried to reach him, but when his impostor entered the portal, followed by his brother, it closed before he could have the chance to enter. Once again, he failed to get rid of his own brother, and maybe he won’t get this chance ever again. “GODDAMN YOU MICHAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!” He shouted at the top of his lungs.

  On the other side of the portal, Mark was the first to get out and found himself in another reality instead of back to his house.

  “Dammit!” Mark gripped his hair in frustration. Taking a deep breath to calm down, he looked around. Fortunately, instead of finding another wastend, he found some sort of futuristic, utopia city.

  “Hey!”

  Mark looked back at the portal, and to his shock, he saw Michael coming out of it and headed towards him. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

  “Alright, I know things are so complicated and nothing makes any sense, so… I’ll just get to the point. I decided I’m going with you.” Michael responded almost awkwardly as the portal closed behind him.

  “What? N-No, you cannot be serious! You don’t know me and you have no idea where I come from! This is not even my universe!” Mark argued as he pointed to the unfamiliar city.

  Michael sighed and ran his hand through his dirty hair. “Okay, you have a point, but just hear me out. You already saw how bad my universe was, right? I was fighting my brother over and over to make him pay for… for all the things he did to me and everyone I cared about.” There was a hint of grief in his tone, even though Michael kept his emotions in check. “But I knew that even if I would survive, there’s nothing I have left anymore. So when I saw that portal, I thought that leaving might be the best for me instead of spending the rest of my life alone in that god-forsaken pce.”

  He looked back at Mark as he couldn’t read his expression because of his mask and goggles, but Mark was looking away as he needed a moment to ponder.

  “Look, I’m sorry for what you’re going through, but I’m not the one who’s making the portals. There’s a guy who’s keeping my family as hostages and I’m trying to find a way back home, so I can stop him before he hurts them!” Mark said with a stern voice.

  “Sheesh, that sounds really bad…” Michael frowned at the seriousness of the situation, but then he came up with an idea. “Wait, how about I help you? You saved my butt back there, so I wanna scratch your back in return.”

  Mark was taken aback at his suggestion. “Why would you want to help me?” He asked with an incredulous look.

  “Well, you’re not trying to kill me, which that’s refreshing. But also… I can see you’re not as bad as my brother. In fact, you just showed me you’re a kind of person who cares about others, especially his family. That’s the Mark I used to know, or… at least I used to believe my brother was.” Michael approached his brother’s counterpart with a hardened expression. “I failed to save my family because of him, but maybe I can help you save yours, so you don’t have to suffer the same loss as I did.”

  Mark became speechless as he became unsure how to respond to Michael’s expnation. He was still having a hard time grasping the fact that not only he just encountered the evil version of himself, but also he met someone who turned out to be his twin brother. However, he was in a pretty tight spot and he can’t contact Cecil while he’s trapped in another universe, and even if he gets back to his own timeline, Angstrom will try to send him to another again, and again.

  Maybe Michael has a point, at this stage maybe it’s best to-

  “Halt, humans!”

  His thoughts broke out and turned around, only to realize that he and Michael were now surrounded by a group of dogs in mechanical suits, aiming their weapons at them.

  “Dude, are those dogs in cyberware?” Michael asked in bewilderment as he pressed his back against Mark’s.

  “Really seems like it.” Mark said in a deadpan tone as he raised his guard.

  “You both are under arrest by the orders of our great leader, Snowball. Surrender to us and we won’t bring you any harm. Refuse to comply, we’ll resort to neutering.” A robotic voice came from a Dobermann, meaning they could speak through the machines they’re operating.

  “Oh, I’d like to see you try!” Michael growled and cracked his knuckles.

  “Listen, we’re not here looking for trouble. We promise we’ll leave your city be, but-” Mark trailed off when he spotted a portal opening up behind the dogs. “There it is! Let’s go!”

  “Wait, wha-” Michael couldn’t finish when Mark grabbed by his arm and flew past the robots and towards the portal.

  The dogs were taken by surprise and began shooting at them in response, but none of their bullets could even reach them thanks to their speed. And so Mark took Michael with him towards the portal. He knew that will probably send them to another universe, but that won’t stop him from trying to find his way back home and stop this madness.

  Sitting on the ground with his back leaning against a rock, Mark was holding his hands to the bonfire to feel the warmth, while Michael was cooking the meat of a giant lizard they just hunted. It’s been only an hour since they crossed that portal, which led them to a strange world where it was a jungle with giant pnts, bugs, and lizards. What’s even weirder, they found a little vilge in the swamp where the people are talking frogs, but they had to keep a low profile to avoid unnecessary confrontations like the st time.

  So farfar, they haven't found another portal opening, so they’re taking a moment to catch a breath and get to know each other while they can.

  “Okay, so this Angstrom guy you said, he has the power to open portals to travel different realities, and he has some beef with you because he thinks you’re one of the Evil Invincibles?” Michael asked as he chewed a piece of lizard’s roasted meat.

  “Yeah… And he doesn’t care whether I’m different or not, he’s not gonna stop until he makes me suffer. He even used my mom or my brother as bait just so I could get into his stupid portal again. I don’t know how long it’s been while I’m stuck in other dimensions, but I’m more worried if he has done something to them…” Mark said with anxiousness filling in his voice.

  Michael couldn’t do anything more but show some pity. “I know that feeling…” He muttered, wearing a grave expression. From that moment, none of them shared another word as they’re waiting for the portal to open again.

  “Great, now where are we?” Michael asked after he and Invincible went through another portal, looking around the pce that appeared to be an apartment.

  “I don’t know, but at least we’re not in a jungle anymore.” Invincible replied with some relief.

  “Hey! Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?!”

  They were startled when a young man with medium-length messy brown hair burst out of a room, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. He was around the same age as Invincible and Michael, and had an impressive toned body.

  “Um, can I ask you both to move away? You’re not letting me watch my favorite show.” Said a middle-aged man sitting leisurely on the couch. Like the other guy, he also looked stronger, with his long hair with its ponytail resting on his shoulder and wore some peculiar clothes that made him look like a wanderer.

  “Are you serious right now, Niko? What if these guys are with The Worm?” The young man said while gring at the strangers accusingly.

  “The what now?” Michael raised an eyebrow, confused.

  “Listen, we’re sorry we’re technically committing a home invasion, but we mean no harm. It’s a really long story,but we’ll just leave and pretend we were never here.” Invincible held up his hands as he and Michael headed towards the exit.

  “Oh, and by the way, you should probably close the door or your sleeping beauty will awake.” Michael grew a teasing grin, pointing at the beautiful brunette girl sleeping in the bed inside the room.

  “Mmm… Is everything alright, Damian?”

  The young man closed the door before gring back at the intruders. “Get. Out.”

  “Hope you both used protection!” Michael ughed as soon as he left the apartment and followed Mark outside.

  In another reality, Invincible and Michael found themselves flying over New York City, and moments ter a blond guy just arrived and confronted them. What took them off guard was that he looked like a superhero, and a patriotic kind as he wore a red, white and blue suit with the cape of the American fg. They tried to expin about the situation they’re dealing with and asked for some help, but the patriot hero ughed it off and threatened them to leave the country.

  When Invincible tried to de-escate and expin further, the patriotic hero shot ser eyes at Michael and went to attack Invincible. However, he counterattacked and sent the aggressor flying away from the city, if they were going to come to blows, Invincible preferred that it would be somewhere far away where they can’t jeopardize innocent lives, and he learned that from his fight against his father.

  He bsted through the sky and punched the blondie to send him crashing to an open field. He made sure not to hit him hard, but at least enough to leave him unconscious. Hearing the high-pitched whistling, Invincible looked to the side and saw Michael heading towards him.

  “Are you okay?” He asked with a hint of concern.

  “Yeah, my chest just kinda stings after getting hit with that ser!” Michael clutched on his torso, even though there’s no burning marks.

  Suddenly, they both backed away as they almost got hit by the sers, before looking back down and saw the so-called superhero trying to shoot them down.

  “What’s the deal with this guy?!” Michael shouted as he and Invincible maneuvered to dodge them.

  “I don’t know, but I feel like something doesn’t seem right in this dimension! Let’s just hope we’ll get out of here sooner!”

  “Right, but in the meantime, let’s kick this stars and stripes jerk’s ass!” Michael flew downwards, dodging the sers aiming at him, and struck the patriot’s face hard enough to throw him off his feet.

  The patriot hero spun around in the air and gred furiously at the young man. “Grr! You little shit!” He soared towards Michael, but Invincible intervened and brought him back to the ground with a kick.

  “Don’t let him get up!” Michael yelled as he and Invincible began to take turns beating down the patriot hero.

  That wouldn’t st long when he blocked an incoming punch from Mike, before grabbing his arm and tossed him towards Invincible. At this very moment, a portal just opened, and they wound up entering it.

  “Haah!” Michael punched a zombie, breaking its skull to kill it instantly. He then grabbed another by the shoulders and threw it towards the horde as if he was throwing a bowling ball to the pins.

  “Michael, behind you.” Invincible noticed a zombie was now behind him. The zombie grabbed him and opened its rotten mouth to bite him.

  “Sorry, pal. But my meat is not for you!” Michael jested before punching the zombie away from him. “Hey, can we go find a pce where I could pick up a shirt or something? It’s getting cold around here and I don’t wanna catch a flu or something.”

  Invincible sighed as he began to float up in the air. “Alright, let’s go.”

  A few moments ter, they found a small clothing store downtown. Once they got inside, Michael didn’t wait as he started looking around for a shirt of his size, though it seemed like it was ransacked years ago.

  “Great, this pce is really giving me some bad memories from my world.” Michael said as he rummaged through the piles of clothes scattered over the floor.

  While Invincible was waiting for him with his arms folded, his expression grew thoughtful as he found the right moment to share some words with Michael. “Hey, while you’re at it, I realized something. Angstrom must be unaware that you’re with me, so we at least have an advantage. But…”

  “But…?” Michael turned over his shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow.

  “There’s still a chance he will make me go through his portal. I’ll try to make sure he won’t do that, but I need you to save my mom and my brother while I deal with him. And you’re probably gonna need this.“ Mark removed an earpiece out of his ear and handed it to Michael. “Angstrom has been blocking my signal to contact Cecil, but if I get him out of my house, you should be able to pick him up.”

  “Wait, the Cecil in your world is a dude? Huh, that’s crazy! In my world, Cecil was a woman. Never imagined what her counterpart would look like. Wait, does that mean Donald is also a man?”

  “Michael, please, focus!” Invincible snapped, but he took a breath to calm himself down as he pced his hands on Michael’s shoulder. “I have a bad feeling that my mom is getting hurt, and I need you to help her as soon as we get back to my world! There, I said it. I need your help! Can you do that? Can I count on you?”

  Michael was taken aback, not because of his outburst, but because after some time being stranded in different universes, Mark had finally put trust in him, or at least that’s what it seemed. But he could also see how the thought of his family being in danger was affecting Mark. If only his actual brother really knew that feeling instead of becoming a murderer.

  “I told you before, Mark. I don’t want you to suffer the same loss as I did. So I will do what I can.”

  His answer made Invincible grow a smile in a mix of hope and sadness, which was the very first time Michael would see him wearing that expression that’s not wicked and immoral, just like his brother. If only he was born in Mark’s world instead of the other, but would it be okay if he would stay with him? Maybe he won’t get the answers until he stops the man who’s trying to ruin his life.

  “Jesus, I’ve seen many things before, but nothing like this…” Invincible said, wiping some of the blood off his unmasked face as he and Michael were standing amongst the mutited bodies and toppled vehicles in the middle of a deserted wastend.

  “To think that there’s a big Chuck Norris-looking guy who can make other people’s insides explode just by touching their right spots… I’m so gd he was on our side.” Michael said, shuddering as he watched the lone wanderer in denim clothes walking away.

  “Wish he wouldn’t just kill them. I know they tried to kill us first, but still.” Invincible replied, letting out a gloomy sigh as he tried to not look at the gruesome dead bodies.

  As soon as he finished his sentence, he saw the portal opening, but this time, he remained standing instead of going in.

  “Mark?” Michael looked at Invincible wearing a deep frown, wondering what’s going through his mind right now.

  “We’ll wait.” He said bluntly, without turning his gaze away from the portal while aware that Angstrom must be waiting for him to go through that. But he’s far from pying games with him.

  Minutes had passed as the portal was still open, before Angstrom’s disfigured head poked out of it after noticing Mark’s not using the portal. He looked to the side where he saw some of the marauder’s corpses, but no sign of Invincible. Humming suspiciously, he turned his head to look the other side, only to meet face to face a messy-haired young man who shockingly looked like him.

  “Yo.” Michael grinned while floating upside down.

  Angstrom gasped, but didn’t have the time to react when he was kicked in the face and brought him back into the portal. He flew back into Mark’s house and crashed his back into a bookcase, falling on his rear back to the floor with some books dropping on him. He groaned in pain while watching the new variant of Mark stepping out of the portal, but when he was rising back to his feet, the real Mark flew in and pinned him against the wall.

  “So you must be that Angstrom guy who’s giving a hard time to my-” He cut off his sentence once he got a good look at the vilin. “My God, you look like that potato toy melting in the microwave!”

  “Who… Who the hell are you?! You’re not that Mark Grayson I’m dealing with! There’s not supposed to be the two of you!” Angstrom yelled in a mix of anger and confusion while looking between the two ‘Marks’.

  “Enough, Angstrom! Where’s my mom and my brother?!” Mark shouted angrily as he pressed his arm against Angstrom’s neck.

  “M-Mark…?”

  Mark and Michael froze after hearing a familiar voice and their heads turned towards the living room, and there she was… lying on the floor with a bruised face and one of her arms was snapped that the bone was sticking out of her skin. Mark’s baby brother, Oliver, was next to her, clinging to her side while bawling to see his mother seriously hurt.

  The brothers turned back at Angstrom with furious expressions on their faces; even Angstrom knew exactly that he just pissed them off. Mark threw his head back and smmed himself into Angstrom’s face, leaving him stunned for a moment before tossing him over Michael, which the tter followed with a right hook. Mark took his turn by throwing an uppercut, and Michael unched a kick to his side, sending Angstrom stumbling towards the living room.

  “Raaagh!” Mark shot forward and tackled Angstrom through the window that completely shattered it by the shockwave. He then brought Angstrom down and dragged him across the pavement. “What did you do to her?!”

  Angstrom ughed bitterly before he threw a punch at Mark, forcing the boy to release him while taking the chance to get back to his feet. “Do you remember those doctors I told you about? The ones who rebuilt my body? They also improved it!” He punched Mark a few more times.

  “Mark!” Michael flew out of the window and headed over to help him.

  “Don’t! Stay there and help my mom and my brother, please!” Mark shouted while holding out his hand, but his distraction gave Angstrom a chance to open the portal behind him before he tackled him and both entered it.

  The twin brother could do nothing but watch the portal disappear. Silence filled in the air as Michael wondered where did they go and if there’s a chance Mark would come back, but he knew there’s another important thing to worry about. So he went back to his house and went to check on his mom.

  “Mom? Talk to me…” He muttered with his voice filled with concern when he looked at her broken arm.

  His mom, or rather his mom’s version of this dimension, moaned as she regained her consciousness and opened her eyes. “Mark…? Is that you…?” She whimpered as she gazed at him, appalled to see him with long messy hair and wearing some dirty clothing instead of his hero costume. “Oh God… What happened to you?”

  Michael was taken aback when she cupped his cheek with her unharmed hand. He knew it didn’t feel right and she’s just mistaking him for his brother, but right now he’s looking at her like his own mother just came back to the living and was giving him the comfort he thought he lost.

  Trying to not dwell on his thoughts, he gently removes her hand from his face. “Look, I wish I can tell you everything, but-”

  “O-Oliver? Where’s Oliver?!” She looked around in panic, but then she heard some cooing next to her. Looking down, she saw the baby was still with her. “Oh, thank God… Stay with me, sweetie.” Debbie held back the tears as she brought the baby close to her.

  “Um… Why is he purple?” Michael blurted out when he just noticed the strange tone of the baby’s skin. He was also confused because for a moment he thought the baby was the other version of himself.

  “W-What do you mean? That’s your brother.” A confused expression crossed on her face at the question, but she grimaced when she felt the twinge of pain in her broken arm.

  “Don’t move, mom! I’m gonna get some help while you stay here with the baby.” Michael pced his hands reassuringly on her shoulders to keep her still.

  “Bzzzt…. Mar-... bzzzzt… Mark!... Bzzzt M-Mark, a-a-answer me! Can you hear me?” Michael heard someone’s voice from the earpiece Mark gave it to him. At first the feedback was cutting, but it seems the signal was restored.

  “That must be Cecil…” Michael muttered as he stood up, taking a deep breath as he knew what’s coming next now that he’s in a different universe where apparently he doesn’t exist. He pressed his finger against the earpiece and answered with an awkward smile. “Yes, alo?”

  …

  …

  “Who is this? How did you get this signal?” Cecil’s voice turned dangerously icy that would give Michael some shivers, warning him to be quick before things will get worse for him.

  Letting out a heavy sigh, Michael responded. “Alright, look, I know you’re now suspicious, and you’re probably thinking if I did something to Mark and you want answers. Trust me, I’m all for expining, but right now I’d like you to come with your medical team to Mark’s house quickly. His mom is hurt and she needs help!”

  …

  "Stay where you are." Cecil said firmly before the line was cut off.

  "Well, that was a pleasant conversation." Michael said in sarcasm, not even surprised that Cecil was not any different from the one he knew.

  "I… I don't…" Debbie's eyes began to feel heavy when she was about to pass out from the pain.

  "Mom? Mom!" Michael cried out in worry as he went back to her and checked on her pulse. Then he heard some whimpering and saw the baby named Oliver was about to cry. "Hey, hey, it's okay, little grape. Your mom is gonna be fine." He carried the baby in his arms to comfort him. While Oliver understandably didn't recognize him as Mark, he was calming down when Michael shushed him.

  After what seemed like a really long moment as Michael stayed with his mom and Oliver, he began to notice like he was being watched. His instinct proved to be correct when a group of elite-looking soldiers revealed themselves and aimed their weapons at him.

  "Don't move!" One of them shouted as they surrounded him.

  "Um, excuse me, but if you're expecting me to drop the baby so I could put my hands behind my head, I'm not gonna do it." Michael retorted as he stood up and faced the soldiers.

  Another person teleported inside the house, who was an older man with greying hair that reached his shoulders, and had a bald spot on the front and top of the head with a small widow's peak. He wore a bck suit, a white dress shirt and a red tie that gave off the impression of a serious businessman, or rather an agent from the government. But Michael could immediately recognize him by the facial scar running across the right side of his face to his chin.

  "Well, I did not expect this turn of events." Cecil spoke as he approached Michael, barely showing a reaction to meet a young man who has the same face of the same boy known as Invincible.

  "Okay, I can see you're weirded out about my looks. Trust me, I feel the same way as you." Michael replied as he was still processing to see the comparison between this old man and the dy from his universe.

  Cecil curled an eyebrow in puzzlement, but he quickly brushed it off and took a step forward. "I have other concerns to think about why you have his face. So how about you hand over the baby and come with us to answer some questions?"

  “Sure, we can have a nice little chat over a cup of tea. But first, are you gonna help my mom or not?” Michael tried to keep his composure as he grew impatient.

  Michael calling Debbie his mom took Cecil completely off guard, which raised even more questions than he had earlier. He still refused to let his guard down, but when he saw Debbie in a terrible state, Cecil knew that the utmost priority was to ensure her safety.

  “Get the medics in here. Right now!” He gave orders to one soldier, before turning back to Michael. “I suppose you’re not a threat, but you still have to come with us. I don’t know what the hell happened here and why Mark is not around, but you must have something to do with it.”

  Michael sighed heavily as he walked up to Cecil with the baby still in his arms. “Yeah… It’s a really long story.”

  “... So when I tried to help him, Mark told me I should stay there and help his mother while he would deal with that guy with… those… tumors in his brain or something. But then Angstrom opened the portal and dragged Mark along with him, and both were gone. I knew I had to do something for him, so that’s why I contacted you with the earpiece he gave me. Aaaaand… Well, here we are.” Michael finished, leaning his back leisurely against the chair.

  He was sitting in the interrogation room with Cecil after he was taken to the GDA, and expined everything that happened, from who he is where he came from and how his world turned to hell, to the moment he met the other Mark and travelled in different dimensions until they found a way back to Mark’s house.

  Cecil hummed with his eyes shut as he tried to process the entire story, but Michael could guess that blew his mind. “I don’t know which part I should stress about; the fact that you’re from another universe or that Mark has gone missing, and we literally have no idea where he is or if he will ever come back.” He rubbed his eyes with frustration filling his voice.

  “Yeah, I don’t bme you. If I could’ve switched pces when I had the chance, Mark would still be around here.” Michael said gravely, while looking down at the table.

  “Probably you should’ve, but if Mark entrusted you to protect his family, then that would mean he’s expecting me to trust you too.” Cecil deduced as he walked around the table and stood near Michael.

  “So that means we’re cool?” The young twin brother gazed up at the head of GDA.

  Cecil creased his forehead slightly at his remark. “Not so fast, kid. There’s only one thing you still didn’t tell me yet. What exactly are you looking for to follow Mark all the way here?” He questioned, with his arms folded over his chest.

  An unsure expression grew on Michael’s face, before he let out a weary sigh as he pced his arms on the table. “I’m note sure… You know how long I spent hiding and fighting the same man who used to be my family over and over? While he was razing the entire pnet until none of it was left? I thought it was gonna be like that forever, that maybe it was my punishment for not having the guts to kill my brother, but now… I can only think that I deserve a long break.”

  Cecil’s scowl gradually softened as he watched Michael running his hands over his face. He could only imagine how much hell the young man’s been going through, let alone what kind of events led to the other version of Mark turning evil to commit genocide.

  Rexing his posture, Cecil walked towards the door and opened it, only to stop as he turned back to Michael. “There’s nothing else we can do but pray that Mark will somehow find a way to get back here. In the meantime, you can stay here and get some rest, but you’re not allowed to leave this premise until further notice.”

  “That’s fine by me. Oh! And if that’s okay, can you guys spare me some clothes? This shirt I got from a world full of zombies and I’m pretty sure this thing is not even hygienic…” Michael pulled his shirt forward with his fingers in disgust.

  “We’ll see what we can do…” Cecil said and turned around to leave.

  “Wait…” Michael called him again, but this time with a serious tone that stopped Cecil from leaving. “How’s my… I mean, his mother?” He corrected himself.

  Cecil looked at him quizzically, but he responded. “She’s at the medical wing. Don’t worry, we already tended her wounds and she’s getting better.”

  “And the baby?”

  “The kid’s in care, without any scratches or bruises.” The gray-haired old man said as he took a step out of the door.

  “Can I… Can I see her…? Just for a minute at least?” Michael asked and stood up from his chair.

  At the moment, Cecil wanted to tell him that Debbie should not be disturbed while she’s resting, not to mention she’s still unaware that this young man was Mark’s twin brother from another dimension and that her real son was missing. But after hearing what happened to his parents, he figured how much Michael wished to see his mother alive even if they’re not sharing the same universe.

  Letting out a sigh, Cecil turned back to Michael with a frown.

  “Try not to distress her.”

  After changing some clothes, Michael reached the medical wing and went through a sliding door and found Mark’s mother in the bed, wearing a cast on her arm and her right eye swollen. He thought she was sleeping until her good eye opened and saw him entering the room.

  “Mark?” She gasped when she saw the familiar face of her son, only to realize that it was rather another person. “It’s… you.”

  “Yeah… I don’t mean to bother you. I’m just here to see how you’re doing…” Michael whispered as he sat on the chair next to the bed.

  “Where’s my son?” Debbie asked in concern, though Michael could hear the accusation dipped in her tone.

  “I… don’t know… But I’m pretty sure he’s still fighting with that man who hurt you.” Michael grew bitter as he remembered the moment he saw what Angstrom had done to her.

  “Will he… come back?” She tried to grasp her hope.

  Michael thought about telling her he will, but that wouldn’t be a suitable answer because how can he be so sure? “He… He has to.” He gave a straight answer.

  The awkward silence filled in the air as Michael tried to avoid eye contact, not that it would help him from feeling the mix of emotions building as he cast gnces at her, from joy, sadness and denial. He tried to remind himself that she’s not his mother, that his real one was gone in his world, but to see the other version of her felt like he’s looking at a ghost of his past.

  “Who… are you?”

  Michael snapped out of his thoughts when she asked him, as she understandably didn’t stop staring at him for sharing the image of his brother. At first, he hesitated since it was so hard to expin. But on the other hand, she probably deserved to know.

  “Well, it may sound crazy, but… I’m Mark’s brother. Not from here, though, but… from one of those portals I came from.” He replied with a gesture.

  “From… another universe? Does that mean…?” Debbie’s good eye slowly widened.

  “Yeah, you from my world had two sons. Twins. You named my brother Mark when you gave birth to him, and by the time I was next, you named me Michael.” Michael said with a soft smile on his face.

  Debbie blinked before looking at the ceiling. “Michael… That’s strange… That was the name I had in mind for a second child if I had the chance to have another…”

  “Y-You did?” Michael asked, completely stunned at the revetion that her son would share his same name.

  “Yeah… Before Mark got his powers, I told Non that if we had another child, I would name him after my father, since he passed away back when I was in college. And he loved the idea of giving Mark a baby brother, and we thought that would make him happy.” Debbie’s expression fell as she tried not to look back at the bad memories. “It didn’t go the way I wanted when he… he left… Did Mark tell you about it?”

  “He told me everything while we were trapped in other dimensions. He also told me about Oliver.” Michael nodded gravely as he recalled the details Mark gave him. At first he was deeply upset that Mark’s father killed innocent people when Mark tried to stop him; but when Mark told him that he left and apparently had a change of heart when he helped a race of bugs and had another son that’s not him, he didn’t know what to think anymore.

  “You know… Even after we took Oliver with us, I still wanted to know how it feels to birth another child. I didn’t even tell Mark what I wanted because I didn’t want to give him another burden. If I made pns years before all of this happened, I would be so happy to see two grown-up boys looking after each other… And now that you’re here… it almost feels like I finally got that wish.” She finished, turning towards Michael with a smile.

  Her words felt like a bombshell that shocked Michael to the core. He felt his breath catching on his throat and his eyes stinging to the point he couldn’t hold back his tears welling up. “Mom…” He choked up, before he stood abruptly from his chair.

  “Michael? ” Debbie asked, taken aback until she got concerned to watch Michael feeling upset.

  Michael turned around so she wouldn’t see him in a vulnerable state. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you…” He then strutted to the exit, leaving his mother worried and confused.

  After walking out of the room, Michael slowed down across the hall before he leaned against the wall with one arm. He tried not to break down in tears, at least not yet, but to think that she had the chance of birth another son, meaning he was supposed to exist in this universe, it was too much for him. He didn’t understand why… his mother would tell him everything, but she made it sound like he actually meant to leave his own universe to be in the other he’s standing on. But did she really mean that?

  The sound of the footsteps approaching snapped out of his thoughts as he hastily wiped the tears and looked forward. To his surprise, not only was Cecil, Mark was also coming along with him.

  “Mark!” Michael beamed before rushing towards him and gave him a hug. “You’re back!”

  “H-Hey…” Mark was taken aback, but he returned the hug with a tired smile.

  Michael let him do and noticed instead of wearing his hero suit, Mark was now wearing a pair of khaki pants and a navy green shirt. “Huh, when did you start wearing Khakis?”

  “Heh, it’s a pretty long story…” Mark said with a chuckle, before also noticing Michael was wearing a white button-up shirt and dark pants. “I see you also ditched that dirty shirt and those tight pants.”

  “Yup, those were the only ones they could give me, but I didn’t want to be rude with the host here.” He cast a smirk at Cecil as the old man just looked at him stoically.

  Mark’s smile suddenly disappeared and changed into an anxious frown. “Cecil just told me you were with mom. Is she okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s been asking for you, as a matter of fact. You can go ahead and talk to her. I already had my time.” Michael stepped aside to let Mark see her.

  “Thank you, Michael.” Mark said with a genuine smile and headed towards her room, leaving Michael behind with Cecil.

  Running his hand through the hair, Michael turned back to Cecil. “How did you find him?”

  “We didn’t. He actually came here and asked about you and his mom. He just told me he accidentally killed the guy who could open the portals, and was trapped in a world full of desert for a while until a bunch of other superheroes from another universe helped him to open a portal, so he could get back to ours.“ Cecil replied while watching Mark going through the sliding door.

  “He killed him? Jesus...” Michael was in shock, wondering how Mark was feeling about that.

  “It’s not like he really meant to do that. He just lost control of his emotions and… well, you get the idea.” Cecil folded his arms with a pensive look.

  “Yeah… I do.” Michael furrowed his brows at the thought of how he and Mark could be prone to anger that could lead them to make rash decisions, maybe even changing them. And he's seen how his biological brother became because of that.

  Michael was at the top of the Pentagon building, sitting on the edge of the rooftop while watching the skies and feeling the wind breezing through him. He can’t remember when was the st time he could spend outside looking to the skies without being spotted by his brother or a Viltrumite.

  It was definitely a pleasant change for him now that he’s in a new reality, but he barely knew what else this world differed from his own. Sure, Cecil being a man, his mother still alive, Mark didn’t turn evil, and both having a half-brother was a start; but he feels that there must be a lot of things he needed to know about. But the better question was… would he fit in here?

  “Hey…”

  Michael turned over his shoulder and saw Mark floating down and sat next to him. “Hey. You’re doing okay?” He asked after noticing Mark’s eyes were red and puffy.

  “Yeah, I’m just… I need some fresh air.” Mark sniffed as he looked over the parking lot and the city across the river to clear his mind.

  There was another awkward silence as Michael tried to think of something that could cheer him up, but he knew that Mark wasn’t in the mood since he had a lot going through his mind. After all, they both needed some peace and quiet after everything they’ve been through together.

  “Did… Cecil told you what I have done?” Mark broke the silence with a pained voice.

  After a little pause, Michael nodded. “Yes. But hey, I know you just wanted to protect your mom and your brother. You did what you had to do.”

  “You don’t understand… You weren’t even there. I lost it. He threatened my mom, and when I remembered what he did to her… I just lost it. I’m trying to be better than my dad… I made a promise that I would never kill like he did! But I… I…” Mark pinched the bridge of his nose, struggling to not break down again.

  “Mark, Mark! Look at me.” Michael said firmly as he patted on his shoulder to snap him out. “If Angstrom was still alive, he wouldn’t stop ruining your life by making your family suffer! I’m not saying that to justify what you did. It was a terrible accident, but that doesn’t mean that it makes you a bad person, and I know you’re not!”“How can you be so sure of that?” Mark looked away in depression, unconvinced to believe Michael’s words.

  Michael frowned at the question, but he knew Mark meant that they just met and barely knew each other aside from the fact that they're worlds apart, so to speak.

  “Remember when I told you about my brother from my world?” He asked in a serious tone as he looked forward to the city, earning a look from Mark. “Unlike you… He was a fucking psycho. He… He killed mom and dad and id waste to the entire world I tried to protect, all without feeling remorse.”

  “Oh God… I…” Mark couldn’t find words to comfort him, as he was deeply shocked that the version of himself committed those acts.

  Michael held up his hand when he knew Mark was going to apologize. “Don’t. It’s not you who has to be sorry. I now realized that the monster was not my brother anymore.” He paused for a second as Mark let him continue. “He hated my guts because I was special. I was good at sports, I was popur in highschool, he couldn’t stand that I was always on the top while he would get stuck in the ‘second pce’. I tried to talk to him, but I didn’t even notice that he was changing. By the time I knew what my brother had become… it was too te.”

  “... When did it happen?” Mark asked gently after a moment of silence.

  “On the day when dad told me and my brother the truth about the Viltrimutes. Kinda like your story, but… the only difference was that he didn’t kill the Guardians of the Globe. In fact, when he told us the truth about the empire and his mission, he confessed that he was going to abandon it and basically unite all of Earth’s superheroes to fight against the empire.”

  “He did?” Mark asked, shocked to find out that in Michael's universe, his dad changed his mind about conquering Earth.

  “Yeah, he even asked us to help him fight against the invasion. While I was still shocked about the truth, I was willing to join him and kick some Viltrumite’s ass. But then… that piece of shit ripped dad’s heart out of his chest, right in front of me. And when the Viltrumites arrived, he fucking joined them.” Michael clenched his fists tightly in anger, as he couldn’t take that horrible image of his brother’s twisted smile off his head.

  “Michael…” Mark noticed him getting upset and pced a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

  “Sorry, sorry, I’m alright. It’s just… I still wish I could’ve done something else to stop him, but that doesn’t matter.” Michael stood up and stretched his back, before looking down at Mark. “Look Mark, I know how hard this is for you to not be like your dad or one of those Viltrumite jerks, but you’re nothing like my brother was. You’re actually the upgraded version!”

  “I guess I really am.” Mark snorted at the st part, but that didn’t st long as he grew a frown. “But I still need to do this, Michael. I need to learn how to control myself before-”

  “Mark.”

  Mark turned back towards Michael and saw him holding out his hand. He blinked before grabbing it, and Michael pulled him up to his feet.

  “I learned back in my time that there’s nothing wrong with being angry about protecting everyone we care about. I get it, it’s really tough to carry that burden by yourself, but you don’t have to do this on your own… Let me help you.” Michael replied bluntly, taking Mark by the shoulders.

  “Wait, what?” Mark’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “I know this sounds crazy, and trust me, I’m still getting used to this version of you after dealing with my brother’s tantrums.” Michael chuckled, but he cleared his throat and looked at him seriously. “But you’re not the only one who needs to be better. So… maybe it’s best if we both carry that weight on our shoulders together. You know, as good brothers would do.” He said, growing a faint smile on his face.

  This left Mark stunned, but before he could respond, Michael leaned forward and touched his forehead against his. He had no idea what’s going on, but at that moment he felt like all of his insecurities, his frustration and fears, suddenly washed away by the comfort Michael was giving him.

  Feeling his tears welling up in his eyes, Mark reached his hand on Michael’s shoulder and moved closer to let their foreheads rub together, as a smile slowly spread across his face. For the first time, Michael and Mark became honest with each other.

  As for Michael, he wasn’t sure what else awaits him in this alternative universe, but he could feel that the world should be ready for his new journey.