Edge's Vignette-Behind the Masks

[Avenger Assembled]

Behind the Masks

Dear Diary,

Dr. Marquez thinks I should help keep a diary. I'm not really sure why, but he told me it was a good idea to help me keep my emotions stable. Sometimes I don't understand everything he's talking about. There's nothing wrong with how my emotions work; sometimes I think I'm the healthiest one here. I mean, don't get me wrong, my friends are all okay. I don't know exactly what happened to Erin, wherever she's from, but she's dealt with whatever it was a lot better than some people do. Zoe's doing pretty good too, certainly a lot better than I would be if I'd had such a weird origin story.

Eddie seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders, and so does James. Mike is a nice guy too, and of course Alex is really sweet. They're all good people. But yeah, sometimes I wonder what's wrong with all of them, exactly. Sometimes Alex is like a tiny Dr. Marquez, which is usually really helpful but sometimes can be a little annoying. [in the margins, Mark has drawn a very tiny Alex in a wheelchair, looking stern.] Mike's been getting less dour lately, which is really nice. I don't know why he waited so long to tell Alex how he felt about her, though, I mean, why would you not tell someone something like that? Especially Alex, who probably knows all that stuff anyway.

The weird thing is, people tell me they don't understand me sometimes. What the heck is up with them, anyway? There's nothing weird about me. I'm just a mostly normal kid with a normal family. I mean, so what if my dad has all these stories and I've been luckier than most kids. Normal things still happened to me too. It's not like I wasn't a little sad when Alex and I broke up, or mad at Mike when he smacked me around like that. I'm a perfectly normal person, really. I just sometimes get the idea that people act funny around me, like there are things they don't want to say when I'm listening, or that things they don't think I'll believe. And no one'll say why!

And it's not even my friends, really. Why are so many people around Claremont so depressed about stuff? The people from bad timelines are in a better place, the people without families are surrounded by people who'd care about them; this is a wonderful place to live, full of wonderful people! There are so many wonderful things out there, and everyone just wanted to hide behind the masks of their angsty lives. Well I don't have any angst, and I don't have any secrets to hide. I'm me. I'm Mark Lucas. One day, I'm going to be on the Freedom League!