I'M YOUR PUPPET; invincible

chapter 1

    She lowered to the ground with a short thud, crossing her arms over her chest.

    "Oh, hello."

    He spun on his heels, arms braced at his sides. She couldn't see his eyes, but she knew that they were wide behind the glass covering them. A dark gray.

    "Lo—"

    "Nope," she cut him off, stepping up to his side. "Don't use it here."

    He grinned. "Sorry." Then, glancing down at the collapsed figure at his feet, he said. "I didn't know you were over here."

    "I tend to skip my last two classes to fly around. Just to keep an eye out for everything." She explained.

    It was, perhaps, one of the first times that Mark had ever seen her uniform in person. He had seen it in photos or folded into one of her drawers, but never like this. It was tightly fitted like his own, drawing tight around the defined muscles of her arms, legs, torso, and back. It was full body like his, cuffing around her hairline, following the contours of her cheekbones and jaw. It was mostly blue, though the front and back of it was white, the sides lined with a blue gradient, as was the rest of it. It almost reminded him of his fathers suit—crisp lined and not quite something to be worn by a human. It was fitted for her, for someone special.

    "You look good," she said suddenly, observing his suit as he had been to hers.

    "Oh, uh," he stammered, running a hand through his hair. "Um, thanks. You, too—you look good, too."

    Loren smiled—Lightwalker.

    "So," she bumped his arm with her own. "Did you come up with a name yet?"

    Mark smiled. "Yeah. I'm Invincible."

———

    Loren was curled in between pillows in the corner of the couch. A water bottle was tucked into her side, her legs and feet strewn out before her.

    Her father sat opposite of her, sitting against the backrest with his arms braced over his chest, feet kicked up on the table. His attention was entirely focused on the movie before them.

    He had been given one night a week, many years ago, by Cecil to stay at home. To not be constantly on call or worried that he would get no more than five minutes with his daughter. It was a routine of theirs now—a movie night.

    But like Loren said, disruptions were common.

    His watch began to ring wildly, altering them both to where it lay on the table. Her father sat up, reaching for it, looking down at the flashing light.

    Instinctively, he glanced over at Loren with a frown. "It's my night off, I don't have to go."

    She shook her, pushing herself to sit up straight. "No, it's okay. You should go." She raised a hand when he went to speak. "They probably need you for something. Extra muscle and all."

    He sighed. Stood and approached her, wrapping her in his arms like he had everyday since she was born. Pressed a fleeting kiss to her forehead and said, "I love you, Lo."