Saya's voice still lingered in his ears. "Amber Bennett, right——her eyes were completely red on Saturday." Mark walked alone down the street toward Maple Street. Friday afternoon. The air had turned completely autumnal, and dusk was coming earlier now. Street lamps were beginning to flicker on here and there. In his head, Director Cecil's voice kept circling. ——Metahuman Registration Act, Section Nine. Unauthorized disclosure of identity is a federal crime. Maximum imprisonment: five years. He understood. He understood all of it. (And yet.) Amber had stood alone at the station entrance. For an hour. Eyes red, pretending not to cry. Mark couldn't think of anything more terrifying than that. His feet didn't stop. One step, then another, moving through the quiet residential street. He could only hear the sound of fallen leaves rolling in the wind. Eventually, a familiar house came into view. Two stories. A thin curtain in the corner window of the second floor. Amber's room. Mark stopped in front of the entrance. He reached toward the intercom. ...What was he going to say? "I'll tell you everything"——those four words were decided. But he couldn't find the opening. "Hey," or "Listen," or "Actually, I," or something. Everything felt awkward. He should have practiced. Tension clogged his throat, and for some reason, Mark whispered softly: "[gentle]...Please come in." Silence. No one came out. Of course not. He hadn't even pressed the buzzer. No one could hear him. Not Amber, not even a person walking down the street. Mark alone had said "please come in" to an empty entrance. (…What the hell am I doing.) The back of his neck grew hot. He was so embarrassed. Embarrassed even though no one was watching. After saying "please come in" to himself like an idiot, how was he supposed to go in and tell her "I'll tell you everything"—— A bitter laugh escaped him. That was fine. This clumsy version of himself was about to tell her the most important thing. Tonight was the night. Mark pressed the intercom again. Ding-dong. After a moment, the door opened. Amber was standing there. Reddish-blonde wavy hair. Bright green eyes. A small star-shaped mole on her left wrist. He knew all of it. He loved all of it. But Amber's face now——was expressionless. Not angry. Not sad. Nothing. A quiet face. The same as her voice before the call cut off in Episode Four. That silence. The hardest face to reach out to. "[cold]...What are you doing here?" Her tone was devoid of emotion. Like she was confirming something with a delivery person. Mark took one breath. "[serious]I'm going to tell you everything. All the lies, all the secrets, everything. ...Please listen." Amber was silent for a while. Then, without a word, she opened the door wider. --- They sat facing each other on the living room sofa. There was a half-read book on the table. Amber had been here just moments ago. Mark tried not to think about unnecessary things. He just had to talk. In order. Everything. "[serious]I'm a metahuman." Amber's eyes moved slightly. But she stayed silent, listening. "My hero name is 'Invincible.' I'm registered with the GDA——Global Defense Agency, the government's metahuman management organization. I have Viltrumite blood from my father's species, so I can fly, have superhuman strength, and can deflect normal bullets. ...That's what I am." Amber remained silent. "The night of the autumn festival, an emergency alert went off in Chicago. The GDA has a system where registered heroes receive signals in their ears, and if you receive one, you have to be at the scene within fifteen minutes. There's no right to refuse. So——" His voice began to shake slightly. "The autumn festival, Saturday when I made you wait an hour at the station——all of it was like that. I was flying to protect someone. That part is true." Amber slowly opened her mouth. "[serious]...How many kilometers per hour do you fly?" Mark froze. Amber paused for just a moment, understanding her own words. "[sarcastic]...Sorry, that wasn't it right now." She shook her head slightly. But for just an instant——only an instant——the air between them swelled into a strange shape and burst. The embarrassment of asking about speed in this situation made Amber's cheeks flush faintly. Mark's mouth almost moved too. But silence returned quickly. There was still more to say. "[serious]...And last, I'm going to say the thing I couldn't say most of all." Mark looked directly at Amber. "I didn't want to drag you into this. I was afraid you'd be targeted because of me. The GDA puts people under surveillance if a hero reveals their identity to them. Your entire daily life would change. I didn't want to burden you with something like that. So...I couldn't tell you." The last words were wrung out. Silence fell. Only the sound of the living room clock could be heard. Amber stood up. She took a step closer. The moment Mark tried to say something—— Crack. A sharp sound echoed through the room. Heat spread across his cheek. A slap. Not light. But not with full force either. Just a straight, clean pain. Mark didn't touch his cheek. Couldn't touch it. Amber's eyes were wet. "[crying]...Idiot." Her voice cracked. "[crying]How was I supposed to know if you didn't tell me?! Why do you have to carry everything alone?!" Tears fell. Amber was crying. The girl who had believed crying was weakness——was now crying in front of someone. In front of Mark. "[crying]I was so scared! I thought you might be dead somewhere! You'd disappear without contact, and every single time, I didn't know if you were alive!" She was shouting. Her voice trembled. Everything she'd been holding in came pouring out like a broken dam. Something inside Mark snapped. "[angry]I know! I understood all of it! But I didn't want you to carry that burden! You should have a normal life! I didn't want to destroy your everyday because of me!" He shouted back. Amber looked straight at Mark. "[crying]I don't want a normal life!" Word by word, pushing them out. "[crying]A normal life without you isn't happy at all!" Those words pierced his chest. Something that had always been there——a wall——crumbled silently. Not the crack he'd made by punching the wall Wednesday night. It crumbled from the inside, from the roots. Ever since that night when he was betrayed by a fellow hero, Mark had feared showing weakness to anyone. He was afraid to tell anyone everything. Afraid that if he did, he'd lose again. So he carried it alone. He flew silently and came home silently. But now. Amber was crying. Her nose was red, tears and snot mixing together, and yet she looked straight at Mark. (This person——is crying for me.) Mark's eyes grew hot. He couldn't stop it. Tears came. He'd protected dozens of people as a hero. He'd flown through Chicago's skies, sent villains flying, and never cried. And yet now, in the living room of an ordinary house in Upland, he was crumbling. The two of them drew closer, as if pulled together——and embraced. In the narrow space between the sofa and table. Their legs gave out, and they sank to the floor, still holding each other. Sitting on the floor, they cried messily, still in each other's arms. It wasn't cool. Not cool at all. Tears and snot stained Mark's shirt, Amber's hair was a mess, both of them sobbing. Mark sniffled. "[sad]...Is this okay for a hero, crying like this?" Amber laughed while pressing her face against Mark's chest. She laughed while crying. "[crying]Worst." After a moment. "[gentle]...But I'm glad." That voice was the smallest today, the softest today. Mark kept his arm around Amber's back and looked up at the ceiling. Exhausted from crying, his body felt heavy. Amber didn't move either. Crying wasn't weakness. Being able to cry in front of someone——being able to fall apart in front of someone important——if that was true strength, then maybe Amber had always known it. She'd just been carrying it alone. Both of them slowly sank into the living room floor. Amber leaned her back against the sofa leg, and Mark sat beside her with his knees drawn up. Neither spoke. There was no need to speak. Quiet time flowed. But in a small corner of Mark's mind, a tiny voice persisted. The GDA would move once they learned a hero had revealed their identity. If word of tonight got out. Amber becoming a surveillance target. The procedures that would follow. The weight of it all. There was still something unfinished. But tonight——he was here. That was enough.