A particular shadow on a roof in Midnight City elongated, and from it, Mark appeared. He looked slightly older, though not by much. It was hard to describe, but one could see that he had experienced something not many could hope to put into words or even imagine. The endless injuries and his missing limbs and organs were replaced, and the suit he had on was also different now. It seemed to be made of living darkness and wrapped around him perfectly.
A little gift from the Great Darkness, which served as something else as well.
Mark felt different when he returned to Earth. He looked around and realised that he had stumbled into an active investigation of sorts. Several scientists and agents from the GDA were walking around. And when they saw him, they gasped in shock and relief.
"Invincible! You're alive!"
"Yeah, shocker."
"Please wait a moment. The Director wanted to be notified immediately once you're back!"
Mark observed them as they took out their phones and called Cecil Stedman. He looked at them going about their business and realised he had truly changed. He saw things differently now. It didn't seem to matter much anymore, and he had to remember what he was doing here. Time, space, reality... those things were relative when you conversed with a being so beyond normal power scales that it was hard to go back to street-level things. Those were different planes of existence.
Mark saw the typical flash of Cecil's teleportation.
"Invincible. Thank fuck you're back! We were worried. What happened? How'd you get out?"
Mark watched Cecil talk and realised that he was indeed happy to be back, but not solely because he was worried. There was more to it, and of course, there was. Invincible was the most powerful superhero on the planet. Although Mark never saw himself as a superhero, that's what the public saw. And Cecil was more than happy to go with that.
"How much time has passed?" Invincible asked.
"What? Oh, well, a day, give or take. Why? What happened?"
"..."
"You good, kid? You don't seem to be," Cecil said as he looked Mark in the eyes, or mask.
"Where's the emergency?" Invincible asked, ignoring all the small talk.
Cecil sighed, hearing his words. It was clear that the 'kid' wasn't going to reveal what had happened in the Shadowverse. The Director of the GDA was already worried about having a second Omni-Man at hand. A weapon he couldn't hope to control. He had already tried to create contingencies, but he didn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary. And the world needed a hero as powerful as Invincible.
"We've got a situation. It's--"
Before he could finish his sentence, several Atlanteans and a large vehicle became visible on the far side. They had been transparent and had waited for this moment, for Mark to appear.
"Is that him?! You said you would turn him over to us. We demand you allow us to leave with him at once!" the Atlantean said.
Aquarus was the Atlantean King and one of the original members of the Guardians of the Globe. He was the one who had been killed by Omni-Man along with the rest of the Guardians. And now, several Atlantean guards were here for Mark. A big question mark appeared on Mark's head, and he looked at Cecil questioningly.
"You said you would allow me to talk to him first!" Cecil spat.
"Very well, but make it quick... we must return to our kingdom. We have waited too long already."
"What the fuck's going on?" Invincible asked.
"Well... this is kind of hard to explain... since the information about your father was broadcast, they have now required us to honour some sort of law their civilisation has... we're looking for a way around it... But we weren't able to avoid turning you over to their custody. They want your father... but their law states that since your father is gone, the responsibility falls onto his next of kin."
"..."
"..."
"Say what now?"
"They want you to marry their queen. When your father killed the original Guardians of the Globe, their king, Aquarus, was killed. Their law states that the killer of a husband is required to marry the widow if a suitable mate cannot be found. Apparently... a suitable mate has not been found. They demanded we turn over Omni-Man..., but since he's off-world, they wanted you."
"And you think, I'll go along with this, because...?"
"Come on, kid, I know you could just as well tell them to shove it, but they've got some natural resources that are very valuable to us... and they control all of the ocean...and if we were at odds with them, it could cripple the world economy. So for now... we have to play along. I'm asking you to play ball with them. Just do as they say."
"..."
"In the meantime, we've got our legal team looking for a loophole we can use to get you out of this. We'll get you out of this."
"Mh-hmm, mh-hmm, right. But otherwise you're mentally healthy, right?"
"Invincib--"
"Man, fuck off. I prevented my father from destroying and enslaving this world. And now I'm expected to carry the consequences of his actions, too? Piss off."
Mark rose into the air.
"Invincible! Wait! They could go to war over this!" Cecil shouted.
Mark stopped and looked at Cecil.
"Promise?"
"Fuck, kid. Seriously? Listen, if you could just go along with this, you will be helping not only this country but the world as a whole. If they decide to go to war over this with the surface, it would amount to roughly the same as if your father had enslaved everyone. The number of deaths would make your fight with Omni-Man look like a schoolyard scuffle. Do you understand?"
Invincible stopped for a moment.
"Look, it will only be a few hours until we'll be able to find a legal loophole, and they won't be able to organise a wedding in only a few hours."
Invincible thought about it and then nodded his head. He agreed. Not because he cared about anything that Cecil said, but because if the Atlanteans were considered such a threat, then they had to have strong fighters, right? Or at least good technology? Or maybe Krakens or Cthulu-type monsters. In any case, it would prove interesting, so he would do it.
"Very well. Let's do this."
"Thanks, kid. This is a huge relief. Don't worry, we'll get you out of there as soon as possible. Oh, and take this earpiece. We'll stay in contact."
.
Invincible followed the Atlantean guards and entered their vehicle, which could fly through the air and swim like a fish. The two guards made sure to look stern and serious, but the intimidation technique wasn't working on Invincible at all. Not that it would have originally, but now, after experiencing the Shadowverse and meeting the Great Darkness, there was not much that could intimidate him anymore.
They arrived in Atlantis and entered a large, futuristic-looking hangar.
"Here, take this," one of the Atlanteans said, holding out a small device.
"What's this?"
"That's a C.M.G. Unit - Compact Mechanical Gills. We make them when your kind comes to visit. You'll need them from this point on. The queen awaits you through there."
Invincible chose not to tell him that he could hold his breath for a very long time and just went along with it. When in Rome, do as the Romans do and all that jazz.
"Aren't you leading the way?"
"I am not permitted to enter the royal chambers. It is forbidden."
"Mm-hmm, whatever."
Invincible passed through the force field that was holding back the water from the room and swam/floated through the water tunnel until he reached the royal chamber. There, the Queen of the Atlanteans and her advisor were waiting for him. She sat on a blue throne made of coral and another durable material, and the advisor stood next to her.
"Ah, at long last. My future husband has arrived," the Queen said.
"You will address her Royal Highness as 'Your Majesty' at all times! We will have no more disrespect from you, air breather!" the advisor said.
"Lethan! Don't speak to your future king that way!" the queen reprimanded the fish.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
"So what is this? Before we don't actually do this, what is there to do in the meantime? Any secret monsters to fight? Some dangerous group you need to deal with or want to deal with me, in case I refuse all this nonsense?" Invincible asked.
"Meantime? The ceremony is today," Lethan said.
"Huh?"
...
"Yes. But if it's a fight you want, you'll be in luck. As part of the ceremony, you will battle a Depth Dweller."
"Oh? Tell me more," Mark said as he was led to another chamber. "So I battle this 'depth dweller' and then, I'll... what?"
"Oh, nothing. After the battle, you copulate to symbolically unite your life with that of Her Majesty's into one," Lethan explained.
"Right after the ceremony, we'll hit the sheets? You guys don't waste time, eh. I suppose it makes sense. Keep that conquest high going and carry it over to the intercourse. Not a bad way. If only she weren't so darn ugly."
"HOW DARE YOU!! Besides, it's not after; it's part of the ceremony. The ceremony opens with a proclamation of intent. Where you will confess your desire to become Aquaria's mate. Then that leads into the heroic conquest. It's an ancient ritual dating back to the beginning of our civilisation.
Our great leader, Aquarus the First, was courting his mate to be. She was a spirited woman, much like our aquaria, and was hard to please. One day, while they were on their walk, they were attacked by a Depth Dweller. With no consideration for his own life, Aquarus leapt to defend the life of his future mate. The act was so heroic that it won her over instantly.
It's the basis of all romance in our civilisation. The groom must defend the bride from a Depth Dweller. All this is done in our arena, in front of the entire city's population. Once the creature is defeated, you will make love to Aquaria to complete the ceremony and finalise the marriage."
"..."
"So let me get this right. I have to announce my love for a fish, then fight a fish monster to prove said love, then have interratial intercourse with said fish in front of all other fish."
"It seals the bond of love before all your subjects. It's one of the most beautiful customs our people have. You and your new bride... our... Queen... locked in the throes of passion... for all to-- ... see. You'll have to excuse me."
Lethan said and then swam out of the room, leaving Invincible on his own.
"Well, fuck that."
A few minutes later, Lethan returned with what looked like a dress and jewellery.
"With this final adornment, your visage will be complete, and you will be ready for the ceremony to begin. It's only a matter of... time..."
"What is wrong with you? First off, I'm not wearing that, and secondly, I can't be sure, but your stammering is getting on my nerves. Seems like you've been down the entire time I've been here. Could also be natural for you, so I can't tell."
"It's... it's... Oh! I can't hide it anymore! I love Aquaria, I've always loved her! Ever since Aquarus died, I've dreamt of replacing him at her side. I'm very sorry, My Liege. I know it is treason to say such things, but I cannot contain myself any longer! You must realise how special Aquaria--"
"Shut up!" Invincible shouted.
"..."
"God. You just don't cease talking. I'm not going to marry your fish queen, man. You can have her all you want and go nuts on her."
"But... then... why are you here?" Lethan asked.
"I'm just here for the fight. I thought it would be interesting to fight a sea monster once I refused to marry your queen. I didn't think I would be lucky enough to have it be part of the ceremony itself. So here's what we're going to do. I'm going to take over the fighting part, and you'll do the copulating part. You marry her, and I'll piss off afterwards, savvy?"
"Ahhh... deal!"
.
Invincible was led into the arena where the Queen was already waiting on a stone pedestal... in a bikini... for some reason. It was all a bit surreal. Why did the fish lady have breasts? And why was she wearing a bikini underwater? Why was she expecting a human to copulate with her? And would that even work?
Who knew? And who cared?
"Release the Depth Dweller!" a guard shouted.