Invincible: Krypton's Legacy

The Grayson household was quiet when Mark landed outside after his mission on Mars. Opening the front door, he called out, "I'm home!" but immediately regretted it. The faint sound of rustling fabric and hurried movements came from the living room.

His father, Nolan, was attempting to look casual but failing miserably. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt was hastily buttoned. His mother, Debbie, had her face flushed and her shirt on backward.

Mark stopped mid-step, his expression shifting to disgust. "Gross," he muttered, shaking his head and heading up to his room.

Behind him, Debbie's eyes widened in horror as she whispered to Nolan, "Do you think he saw us with his x-ray vision?"

From upstairs, Mark's voice came through loud and clear. "He's got your shirt on backward."

Debbie groaned, covering her face with her hands as Nolan looked sheepish. "Well," Nolan said, "he's not wrong."

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The next morning, Mark stood in his room, focusing intently as he extended his hands outward. A faint shimmer of light appeared in the air before him, swirling and twisting until it formed a portal glowing with golden energy. Mark stepped through, entering the Flaxan Dimension of Solitude.

The dimension, once the home of the Flaxans, was now his personal sanctuary. Advanced technology, both salvaged and modified, filled the space. A glowing control console stood at the center of the room, surrounded by various projects in progress.

One of these was a restoration chamber, a sleek device Mark had designed to reverse the effects of aging. He'd been experimenting with Monster Girl's blood—samples taken in both her human and monster forms—and exposing them to the dimension's time dilation to better understand her curse.

"This should revert her to her proper age," Mark muttered as he adjusted the chamber's settings. "It's not a permanent fix, but it'll buy her more time."

Satisfied, he turned his attention to other projects. One was a device designed to halt aging altogether. Mark envisioned giving it to his human loved ones so they could stay together for millennia.

Nearby, a prototype for a weaker version of his fluid fabric suit lay on another table. Mark planned to patent and sell it to the public, using the profits to establish his own business empire. Next to it was a transdimensional locator, which he was developing to detect interdimensional portals. He had one specific target in mind—Angstrom Levy. Mark's smirk widened as he imagined the possibilities of accessing Levy's knowledge of the multiverse.

"All coming together," he said to himself before stepping back through the portal.

Back at home, Debbie sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at her laptop. Damian Darkblood's accusations lingered in her mind, creating a storm of doubt. 'Did Nolan really kill the Guardians?' she wondered, tapping her fingers on the table.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mark, who descended the stairs with his backpack slung over one shoulder. "You okay, Mom?" he asked, noticing her distracted expression.

Debbie forced a smile, shaking her head. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

Mark raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. His eyes drifted to the pile of papers on the table. "Is that mine?" he asked.

Debbie nodded. "Two weeks' worth of homework. I hope you didn't forget."

Mark chuckled, setting his backpack down. "I got it." In a blur of motion, he zipped through the worksheets, his pen flying across the pages. Within seconds, the stack was complete, and he stuffed it into his bag.

Debbie blinked as Mark headed for the door. "Sometimes I wish I had Viltrumite speed," she muttered turning back to her laptop.

At his locker, Mark swapped out his books when two familiar voices called out at the same time.

"Hey, Mark!" Amber's cheerful tone came from the right.

"Hey, Mark," Eve said from the left, her voice calm but curious.

Mark turned to see both girls standing there. Amber's bright smile faltered slightly as she noticed Eve, and Eve's composed demeanor tightened when her gaze shifted to Amber. The two exchanged polite but wary nods before focusing on Mark.

The two girls exchanged polite but wary nods before looking back at Mark. "How was your trip?" they asked in unison, then frowned at each other.

Mark grinned. "It was cool. Flying in space was exciting—a real out-of-world experience." Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out two small rocks, each wrapped in a clear pouch. "I got these from Mars. One for each of you—and one for William."

Amber and Eve stared at the rocks in stunned silence as Mark closed his locker. "See you in class," he said, walking off with a small smirk.

As he left, he heard their voices behind him. "You knew!" they exclaimed simultaneously, pointing at each other. Mark suppressed a laugh, mentally noting, 'I love dropping bombs on people'.

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After school, Mark arrived at the Guardians' base. Monster Girl—Amanda—was waiting for him in one of the lounges. After talking to each other about how Mark would help her with her curse, they had decided to share their identities. She glanced up as he entered, a mix of curiosity and hope in her expression.

"Hey, Mark," she said. "You said you had something to show me?"

Mark nodded, gesturing for her to follow. "Yeah, I've been working on a way to help with your situation. I can't fix it completely yet, but I can at least revert you to your original age."

Amanda's eyes widened. "Seriously? You can do that?"

Mark grinned. "Seriously."

Mark gestured for her to follow. He didn't want to display his portal magic around Robot or in the Guardians' base, so he scooped her up in his arms and took off into the sky. Amanda yelped in surprise but quickly adjusted, clutching his shoulders as he flew.

Mark soared over the ocean, his bio-electric aura shielding Amanda from the intense wind resistance. After a few moments, he opened a portal mid-air, slowing down into his lab in the Flaxan dimension.

Amanda looked around, her jaw dropping. "Where are we?"

"My private lair," Mark said with a grin. "Magic helped me make it."

He led her to the restoration chamber, a sleek device glowing faintly with green energy. Amanda hesitated as she stepped inside, her expression nervous. "This isn't going to, like, melt me, is it?"

Mark smirked. "Relax. It'll hurt a little, but I've made it as painless as possible. The chamber will pump a nutrient-rich solution into your system to ensure your body grows without being deficient in the nutrients your body needed. Also, it will blast you with rays of temporal energy reverting you back to your proper age."

Amanda nodded, steeling herself as Mark closed the chamber's door. The machine hummed to life, bathing the interior in green light. Amanda's screams echoed briefly as her body rapidly aged back to its original state.

When the chamber powered down, smoke hissed from its seams. Mark opened the door, his eyes widening as Amanda stepped out. She was now a fully grown 24-year-old, her once-childish clothes straining against her curvier, adult frame.

Amanda glanced down at herself, a mix of immense joy and embarrassment crossing her face. "I feel… taller."

Before either of them could say anything else, her shirt gave out, ripping down the middle.

Mark blinked, his mouth slightly agape. "...Damn."