You arrived at the Pentagon in surprisingly little time, and immediately went to find Mark. The first place you looked was in Nolan's room, to which you only found Debbie. "Hey, where's Mark?" She looked up at you with tired eyes. "Down the hall. He's with an elderly woman named Maya." Nodding, you gave her a polite smile and thanked her, heading down the corridor.
Glancing through each door as you walked, you nearly passed the one Mark resided in, somehow missing his bright blue and yellow suit. Stepping back, you stopped, staring into the room to see Mark hunched over a bed with an elderly lady- who you were told was called Maya. You headed into the room, and quickly noticed that Mark was asleep, forehead resting on the edge of the bed. As quietly as possible, you pulled up a chair beside him, and draped your jacket over the two of you, since you were unable to quickly find a spare blanket. You leaned forward and rested your forehead next to his, pursing your lips. Even in the shadows, you could see that the area around his eyes was red and puffy. You could practically sense his pain.
Drawing your eyes from him and to Maya, you looked her up and down, bringing a pit to form in your stomach. You couldn't help but feel as if something were wrong. Somehow, you knew just by being near her, that she would die. You bit the inside of your cheek, fighting back the urge to cry. Nonetheless, tears cascaded down your cheeks as you pressed your forehead back into the edge of the bed, pressing your hands to your face. God, Mark. Fuck. I'm so sorry.
________________________
After having passed out, you awoke to the feeling of someone moving you. Mumbling and grumbling, you slowly opened your eyes to see Mark trying to lift you from your seat. He had your jacket tied around his waist, and was trying to hoist you up with your arm around his neck. You let out a tired and breathy chuckle. "Dude- what are you doing?" He barely batted an eye. "Trying to get you up. Either help me, or fall back asleep." Mark sounded grumpy, but also just as tired as you. So, you got yourself to your feet, allowing him to get you up and onto his back. "Thanks." You mumbled, already falling back asleep. "I should be thanking you." With closed eyes, you raised a brow. "What for?" You felt as he began to walk. "For being there, I guess." You smiled, yawning. "Of course. Together forever, bros or hoes, remember?" That got him to laugh. "Pfft- yeah, together forever." And you fell back asleep.
________________________
For some reason, after a day of feeling like shit, you decided that you would head to school early. You would do your homework at night, after work- if you even went, that was. But you did at least sleep in a little, but you primarily just wanted to head over to school and check up on Mark. The only odd part was the fact that you still felt like the undead itself with how lacking in energy you were. You carried on with your plan for the day anyway.
Once you arrived, you met up with William, who seemed surprised to see you- not that you blamed him. It was a rare occurrence you'd wake up early just to show up at school. "Hey, Y/n. Where were you and Mark yesterday?" You let out a tired sigh, shrugging. "He'll tell it to ya, but it was a long day, to say the least." He grimaced. "Oof. Does it have anything to do with those aliens who attacked? Or.. his dad?" Again, you shrugged.
Mark came around a few minutes later, to whom you greeted with a fatigued smile. William went over to him, you ambling on next to him as he approached. Mark was incredibly out of it, and you watched as he stared at the ground, not caring as he rammed into other students. "Hey, Mark. Mark." No response- he seemed to be deep in thought with his creased brows, and William eyes flickered back at you for a moment, quirking a brow curiously, but also worriedly. "Mark!" You yelled, only for him to slow to a stop in front of the two of you without reply. Williams' eyes widened for a moment as he took in his friend's state. "Whoa.." He furrowed his brows. "Are you okay?" Mark continued to stare at the ground, uneasy. "My dad, um... he got attacked." Williams' eyes widened. "What? You're kidding." He turned back to you, glancing between you and Mark, and you gave him a solemn look. "Oh, god, you're not kidding." His expression showed his worry as he leaned further into the small circle the three of you had made at the side of the hall. "Is-Is he okay? What happened?" Mark's shoulder's sagged further. "He's in the hospital. They're doing, uh... They're doing their best, but it's..." You put a hand on your friend's shoulder, finishing his sentence. "It's messed up, William. He's really hurt."
Williams' eyes met yours, the boy noticing your hurt as well- and even seemed shocked to see it. You were the type to usually hide your feelings though, so it made sense. But with how Mark openly showed his feelings to William, you felt a little better about being open about your own.
William's brows creased with legitimate concern as he looked back to Mark, tone soft and caring. "Jesus, Mark. I'm so sorry. Did they catch who did it?" Mark shook his head. "No, not yet." William put his hands on both of your guys' shoulders. "Speaking as someone who's been attacked in this stupid city, I'm here for you. Both of you. Whatever you need. You guys wanna talk, I'll listen." He pointed a finger at Mark. "You and Debbie need a lasagna, I make a good one. Actually, I make a great one." Mark smiled, but the look faded as he looked off to the left, staring at a red headed girl with wide eyes. "Eve Wilkins..." Both you and William perked up, looking at the boy confused. "What?" The two of you questioned simultaneously. William traced Mark's line of sight, staring alongside him with a puzzled expression. "Um... Yeah, that's her." Mark's tone changed into something less depressed and more serious and determined. "I need to talk to her." William let out a laugh, not understanding what was up with Mark and his sudden change of tone. "You and all the other straight boys in a ten-mile radius. Good luck with that- and didn't you just get your ass kicked last week for Amber Bennett?" He looked at you and you shrugged back to him as he spoke, just as confused. Mark, having tuned out from William's words, began to approach the girl. You and William watched as Eve's friend left, and he struck up what appeared to be a somewhat awkward conversation.
But, surprisingly enough, it got going pretty well. After a moment of Mark talking about what seemed to be nonsense, something clicked within Eve's mind and her eyes widened, and understood whatever Mark had been saying. From then on, they spoke to each other in quieter tones, but also as if they knew each other on another level. William, noticing the time, began to walk off, pointing in a direction down the hall. "I'm going to head to class. Hopefully he'll tell us what the hell just happened there later." You nodded, waving him goodbye as you continued to watch the two converse.
Eve smiled at Mark, but before she could continue, she noticed you and faltered. You tensed, and Mark turned around and his awkwardness returned. "Oh! Sorry, Y/n, come on over." You did as he said, smiling at Eve as you approached. "Y/n, this is Eve. Eve, this is Y/n." A moment of silence. "They know I'm Invincible." Eve's eyes widened as she exclaimed. "Oh! Oh- that's good. I got worried for a sec there." You nodded. "Yep. Number one trustworthy person right here." You said, pointing your thumbs back at yourself. Staring at her, as she was about to introduce herself, you blurted out, "You're Atom Eve." She froze, letting out an awkward laugh. "Y-Yeah, how did you know? Usually the whole "hiding in plain sight" works for me." You took a breath, grimacing somewhat as you tilted your head off to the side. "Well... the thing is, that works for people when they aren't expecting or looking for superheroes within their everyday lives. I- on the other hand- get bored and stare into space- or people- and end up making connections before I realize I'm making them." Eve's eyes widened, and you blushed upon realizing how weird you sounded. "Sorry, that probably makes me sound like a complete creep." She shook her head. "No! It's fine- it's just odd. Did you figure out Mark's identity the same way?" You laughed, shaking your head. "No- we've been friends since forever. I was one of the first people to know." She made an "o" shape with her mouth, and then smiled. "That's nice. But, if it's alright with you I'd like to talk to Mark. Hero on hero stuff, you know?" You nodded profusely. "Oh- yeah, of course. Sorry for interrupting." She waved you off. "It's fine! I'll talk to you again later?" You nodded as she walked off with Mark at her side. "Of course!" You waved the two goodbye as they left, leaving you alone within the hall.
"Shit." You muttered. "Who does William have this period?" You glanced down the opposite end of the hall and saw Amber with two other girls watching as Eve and Mark left. Leaning over to get into Amber's line of sight, you waved, and she waved back. You took that as the okay to wander over. "Hey, Amber. Long time no see." She raised a brow, smirking. "Yeah. It was nice seeing you again- you know, trying to defend me by volunteering to kiss me." You rubbed the back of your neck, still redder than a cherry. "Yeah... Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else." She patted your back. "It's fine. It would be nice to finally catch up with you now, since I didn't get much of a chance to last time." You smiled, nodding. "Yeah, that would be nice. I could hang out with you in class?" She turned, but still faced you as she began to lead the way to her class. "It's a date."
__________________________________
Apparently she had history, which was a pretty eventless class, but it had a teacher you liked. And luckily for you, he liked you too, and was perfectly fine with you pulling a chair up to Amber's desk to hang around. "So, Amber..." You started, trying to find a conversation topic. "Are you still in any criminal justice courses?" She shook her head. "No, it wasn't really my thing." Surprised, you tilted your head. "What? I thought you loved the whole "detective" thing." She smiled. "I did, but there were other things that I found I liked better." You made an "o" shape with your mouth, nodding understandingly. "Oh, yeah, I totally get that." She let out a breathy laugh, and after a moment seemed to remember something, bringing a finger up to point at you. "And speaking of the whole "detective" thing, if I remember correctly you're doing an internship at the police department?" You nodded rapidly, proudly grinning. "Yep! It's paid now, too." Leaning in, you spoke in a whisper. "I'm being paid as a full-time detective though, because- well, I'm serving as a detective. But only part time!" Her eyes widened as she stared at you. "No way. You're being paid full-time for a part time job" You nodded again in response, eyes alight with pride. Grinning, she pressed a hand to your shoulder, shaking it lightly. "That's awesome- holy crap! Congrats!" You let out a giggle. "Thanks."
"By the way, what was up with Mark and Eve?" You tilted your head. "What do you mean?" Amber shrugged. "It's just because you usually go almost everywhere with him, especially while you're here. But he and Eve just- went off somewhere." Your brows rose in surprise as you understood, and quickly thought up something comparable to use to hide the truth. "Oh! Yeah, uh- they wanted to talk about a club they were in, and apparently some stuff happened, so they wanted to talk about it." Amber quirked a brow. "What kind of stuff?" You rubbed the back of your neck, staring at the ceiling as you thought. "Uh, well, apparently something pretty bad happened within the club, and they wanted to talk it out with each other. He's really new to the club, too, so... yeah." She gave you an unsure look. "So you got all of that from that quick chat you had with them." You froze. Fuck! "Well...Mark's been talking about the club a lot lately." She let out a breathy laugh. "With that, I'd half expect you to try and join." You waved your hand, an uncaring expression on your face. "Eh- it's a fan-club thing. Which isn't, well, my thing" Amber's eyes widened. "Really? Wow, I wouldn't expect Eve to be in one of those." You scratched your cheek, chuckling. "It is always the ones you least expect, isn't it?" She let out a laugh. "Yeah."
"Speaking of Mark-" You smirked, leaning on the desk. "-what'd you think? He took punches for you. Does he have a chance?" She breathed out a laugh. "Maybe." You gave her the most bewildered look. "Just a maybe?! Come on- he took more punches for you just the other day too, even though you weren't there! This time it was crazy, too. He just let Todd punch him, and he didn't even flinch." She covered her mouth as she tried to hold back her laughter, using her other arm to punch you lightly in the arm. You laughed with her, trying to keep your volume down as well. Patting your stomach, you gestured down at your abdomen. "I think he might be working out more, and getting his rock solid abs to grow in!" Amber started laughing harder, and you played into it. "I bet you could grate cheese on 'em." She started to shake her head, quaking with laughter as she sat a hand on your shoulder. "Stop! Stop- you're trying too hard to be a wingman- please." You snickered. "Fine, you got me."
"But for real, I think he likes you. You should give him a chance." You continued, Amber calming down. "Yeah, okay. I'll think about it." You nodded, giving her the finger-guns. "Cool- make sure to let him know I put in the good word." She smiled and nodded. "I will make sure to do that."
________________________________
Luckily, even at the school, you had a chance to work on your laptop and get most of your homework done. After school you met up with Mark and William, and hung out with them for a few minutes while you worked. Mark primarily seemed like he was in a rush to leave, so you ended up letting him go, while making sure to message him, "You gotta tell me what you and Eve talked about later." William remained until you were done with your work, which ended up only being another five or so minutes. So, the two of you parted, and you made your way towards the police station.
"Hey, Detective Parr." You called out, waving as the man turned towards you, smiling softly. "Hey, kid. How're you holding up?" You shrugged. "I'm okay. Tired as heck, though." Parr nodded, letting out a breathy laugh as he walked with you towards the glass room. "I'm with you on that one. By the way, we have a new case." You quirked a brow, and upon looking at the room you realized it was empty. "Uh... What kind of case?" He opened the door for you, allowing you in. "It's a murder case. Most of the people working on it are at the scene piecing things together." Your shoulders sagged when he said that. "Oh." You weren't allowed on the scene of crimes yet, since legally you were still a child, and along with that, you were technically an intern- you didn't have the proper training to go to a scene. Although, you had been working on it through online classes and the demonstrations you had gone to.
Parr handed you a file. "It's not much, but I'm sure you can work with it." With a disappointed expression, you read through the file. It was essentially a collection of information on the victim, and evidence surrounding him. But there wasn't that many details- and worst of all- there were no pictures. Most people would be glad of that, since it was a murder case, but with you trying to figure out what happened, it put a pretty big dampener on things. You let out an irritated sigh, closing the file and setting it back on the table. "I can't work with this." Parr frowned. "What do you mean? You can work with almost anything- that's your thing." You fell back into your chair, appreciating the odd cleanliness of the table- it was usually piled with files and papers. "It's not enough. They have everything I need at the crime scene." The detective shook his head, knowing where your train of thought was heading. "No, Y/n. I'm not taking you to the crime scene- we've been over this." You rolled your eyes, exasperated. "Oh, come on- what are you so worried about happening? It's not like I'll screw anything up. I'll be super careful." There was concern in his brow, but primarily defensiveness. "No- you can't, okay. It's not legal-" You cut him off, leaning forward. "When has that ever stopped you, or me, or even the director? Me being paid as a full time detective, while on what is supposed to be an internship, isn't legal, either." He threw up his hands, trying to grasp at something else- as if trying to get hold of another excuse. "You're- you still-" He stopped, sighing. "You could get hurt, okay? If we were to do this, it'd have to be while no one- especially forensics, since they don't know you- aren't around to report you going. We could get fired if they find out, or something else." You quirked a brow. ""Get hurt?" Wait- what else could happen?" Detective Parr sat across from you, folding his hands on the table. "It isn't rare for a murderer to try and come back to the scene to tamper- or collect- evidence. This guy is serious business- the way it was done- they're more than likely a psychopath."
You thought for a moment, staring into the table with creased brows. "I still want to go. It's the only way I'll be of any help in this case. And, along with that, you might be able to prove something to me, or teach me a lesson." Parr tilted his head. "What's that supposed to mean?" You shrugged. "Well, if things don't go the way I expect, or want to, or something goes wrong, you can give me your "I told you so's," and I won't ask to go to another crime scene until I graduate from the proper training academy." He took in your words, still incredibly uneasy. "... A few "I told you so's" won't be worth it if something bad happens." You leaned forwards. "So let's make sure nothing bad happens. We'll be extra careful- bring whatever you feel is necessary to make sure things don't end badly." He rubbed his eyes. "I was already planning on doing that." He was clearly stressed- close to breaking. "Then let me come with you." There was a moment of silence as he removed his hand from his face, looking you in the eyes. He sighed, leaning back. "Fine." You grinned, jumping out from your seat. "Yes! Thank you, Detective Parr!" He let out a depressed and nervous breath of air. "'Course." Noticing his distress, you circled around the table, patting his shoulder. "Come on- it'll be fine. Trust me." He met your eye for a moment, before looking away and back to the table. "I sure hope you're right." You grinned. "Come on, I'm always right. Now- I'm going to go over the case file a few more times."