I'M YOUR PUPPET; invincible

chapter 3

    "Wait up!" Loren hears him cry. "Whoa!"

    She turns around, maintaining her forward momentum with her arms crossed over her chest. She shakes her head as Oliver flails his arms, unable to maintain balance.

    Over her shoulder, Mark quips, "Come on, you can do better than that."

    "It's not fair," Oliver complains. "You're way faster."

    She lets out a laugh. "You'll get faster the more you do it. Mark and I both did."

    As the younger boy catches up to them, flying between the two, Mark glances over. "Hey, I said we'd start training. I didn't say it was gonna be easy."

    "When are you gonna teach me how to fight? I've been practicing stuff I saw on the internet." Oliver flies forward, arms swinging in mock punches and legs kicking.

    Loren shakes her head. "You're not ready for fighting yet, Ols. You have to take it one thing at a time. Get better at flying, get a little older, then you can start to learn how to fight." She pushes forward, passing him. "Better keep up, though."

    "Wait, why?"

    She shrugs. "You'll find out." She grins, glancing between the two brothers. "Let's see which Grayson can fly faster, yeah?"

    She turns, then. Turns and pushes off as if an invisible wall provided her with a platform. A clap of air is all that remains as she surges forward, leaving the two behind.

    It's only ten minutes later, her mask discarded and pushed to the side, that Loren yawns into her hand. Her arm brushes against Mark's, both leaning against Art's work-table as Oliver stands before them with a wide smile on his face.

    "This is so awesome!"

    Mark is quick to cut in. "Remember our deal."

    "I know," his brother mutters, "I know. No using my powers in public without permission."

    "That's right. Otherwise Loren has permission to send you swimming into whatever ocean she wants."

    She rolls her eyes with a small laugh. Rolling her neck, she feels the satisfying crack.

    Mark looks over, finding the older man. "Thanks again for doing this, Art."

    "Eh," the man shrugs, "it's my pleasure. I'm glad to finally meet the little guy."

    "All right," Oliver says suddenly. "Get ready, because...Kid Omni-Man is here!"

    Loren feels the air leave her entirely. As if she is standing under water, unable to gather enough breath to think or truly feel.

    She blinks, looking to Mark. To gauge his reaction, to anticipate how she can help, if at all.

    Art sighs, "Oh, geez." He raises his hand to his forehead, leaning into it. "He told me the "O" was for "Oliver"."

    Mark glances over his shoulder. "Can you give us a minute?"

    "Yeah," Art nods. "Of course."

    Loren busies herself, then, with tugging her mask back over her head, untucking her hair. She watches, silently, as Mark crouches before Oliver, an invisible weight prominent on his shoulders.

    Oliver seems to shrink into himself. His brows furrow. "You don't like it?"

    "Costumes great," Mark reassures with a smile. "It's the name that's the problem."

    "Why?"

    Mark sighs. "People are gonna hear that name or see that symbol and think of Dad."