"Wait, was the future of my world really going to be that awful?"
Inside the secret room, after listening to Zuo Ci's rough outline of the future, Mark held his head in his hands and sank into thought.
Seriously, was our future really that miserable?
First, versions of himself from parallel universes would show up and start the Invincible War. Then the Viltrumites would invade to conquer them, followed by some goddamn Viltrumite War.
Not only would Earth get ravaged, but he wouldn't fare much better himself. His little brother and his father would both die in battle, his friend would betray him, and he would even get raped!
What the hell was all this...?
Honestly, Mark really couldn't believe these things would happen in the future, but when he thought it through, a lot of the pieces did fit together...
Argh!!! His head felt like it was going to explode. This had started with him running into some villain who had a screw loose. How had things ended up like this?
"Pull yourself together. You're a superhero, aren't you? Don't get so worked up over a little thing like this."
Mark caught the cola Zuo Ci tossed him, but he wasn't in the mood to drink it.
"I know I should pull myself together, but... I still need some time to process this..."
As he spoke, Mark pulled off his mask in dejection, revealing a face that was almost ridiculously young.
Only when Zuo Ci saw that face did he realize that Mark was really just an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old kid.
"Honestly, there's no need to worry so much. I told you, this was just a general outline. It won't necessarily happen. Besides, even if it does, now that you know, you can prepare, right?
And you're already here.