"Are you watching this, Donald?" In the Pentagon, the headquarters of the global defense agency, Cecil asked as he turned to look at his friend. They were both carefully observing a video of David single-handedly dispatching the army of Flaxans and forcing them to retreat. A solemn expression was evident on his face.
"I am, sir. What are your thoughts on him?" Donald replied.
"He's dangerous, but for now, he isn't our enemy. Let's observe him and try to recruit him if possible. He could be a powerful ally," Cecil stated, sharing his opinion and issuing an order.
"Understood, sir."
______
Having returned home, David quietly began to pack while surveying the small, shabby room.
A frown creased his face as he surveyed the dismal state of his room. The wooden floorboards were loose and rotting, and cracks marred the walls, where the wallpaper peeled away. The only furniture in the room consisted of a single bed and a shelf, giving no indication of a person living here.
After finishing packing his necessities, he prepared to leave, but just then, he heard the sound of his family arriving and entering the house.
Carrying his luggage, he walked downstairs and saw his mother, father, and sister laughing and chatting with each other as they carried bags full of items they had just bought from the store.
Their conversation abruptly ended as they took notice of David and his luggage.
"Where are you going?" His dad asked in a low but sharp voice.
"What does it matter to you?" David scuffed and replied
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH, YOUNG MAN!" his mother shouted, raising her hand to slap him.
Just as she was about to strike him, she paused as the house began to shake violently. David locked eyes with her, his stare as cold as ice.
The three quickly became pale as the house trembled violently, windows shattered, items fell to the floor, and cracks appeared in the walls.
"Stop! What are you doing!" His sister screamed as she began to panic.
"If you ever touch me again, I'll cut your hand off." David ignored his sister's plea as he approached their mother and threatened her, causing the mother to back up and fall to the floor, trembling in fear.
"Okay, we understand that you made your point; now please calm down, David." His father approached him cautiously as he attempted to ease the tension.
"Calm down, you say?" David turned to look at his father and chuckled.
"I'm perfectly calm right now; otherwise, you'd all be lying dead on the floor." He closed his eyes and smiled, leaving his father terrified by his words.
"Don't worry, I plan to leave and never come back. I hope to never see your faces again," he said as he walked past the terrified group, slamming the door behind him.
The family of three stood in silence, finally releasing a sigh of relief as David closed the door and disappeared.
A complicated expression was etched on all three of their faces; for some reason, their hearts ached upon hearing David's last words.
______
"Done!" David exclaimed, clapping his hands as he admired the large treehouse he had built from scratch.
"This will be my living quarters from now on." He smiled as he threw himself onto the spacious, comfy king-size bed he had crafted for himself. It was a significant upgrade from the compact bed he had at home.
Although he had the option to purchase a house, he favored living outdoors instead, appreciating the peace and freedom that nature offered him.
As he stared up at the ceiling in a daze, thoughts began to swirl in his mind about what to do next. Having just left that troubled family of his, he felt uncertain about his next steps.
"The beginning of Invincible should have finally begun," he concluded, recalling the team of young heroes he had witnessed during the Flaxan Invasion.
"Soon, Omni-Man will gather the Guardians of the Globe and eliminate them," he calculated.
"But that doesn't concern me. I just need to keep an eye on a few future events, mainly the Invincible War and Robot's takeover," he reminded himself.
"For now, I'll simply enjoy my new life!"
With that thought, David closed his eyes and quickly dozed off into sleep.
______
The next day, as David walked through the hallway of his school, he prepared to attend one of his classes.
"Do I even need to attend school?" he wondered.
He paused as a young Caucasian woman with a slender yet athletic build blocked his path. With straight red hair and striking green eyes, she commanded attention as she approached him.
"We need to talk!" Eve, who had just finished speaking with Mark, demanded.
"There is nothing we need to talk about. Now get out of my way." David brushed her off and tried to walk past her.
"Wait!" Eve grabbed his hand and pleaded.
The audience began to murmur and gossip as they surrounded them, pointing fingers and taking out their phones.
Noticing the attention they were garnering, David looked displeased but reluctantly took her hand and followed her to the roof of the school.
Watching their retreating figures, Mark had a complicated expression but quickly cheered up as a young woman with a dark complexion approached him.
"Hey Mark," she greeted.
"Hi Amber," Mark replied, scratching the back of his head nervously.
"Do you have time tomorrow?" she chuckled and asked.
"T-tomorrow?" Mark stuttered, surprised.
"Is there a problem?" Amber raised an eyebrow.
"No. tomorrow is fine." Mark laughed and hurriedly answered.
"Great, then see you tomorrow at six at this address." She handed him a piece of paper and turned away to rejoin her friends, who started to laugh and tease her.
Mark stood where he was in a daze, watching Amber's figure retreat from his view before looking down at the paper in his hand with the written address.
Clenching the paper, Mark raised his fist and cheered, "Yes!"
"Oh, someone looks happy?" William, Mark's best friend, appeared behind him and leaned on his shoulder as he glanced at the piece of paper in Mark's hand.
"So Amber asked you out on a date?" William smirked at him.
"I—it's not a date! We're just hanging out," Mark attempted to argue.
"Haha, come on, Mark. A man and a woman together alone hanging out? It's obviously a date," William patted his back and chuckled.
"We should be heading to class now," Mark tried to change the subject.
"Don't be shy," William laughed as he followed behind Mark to class.
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