Archive of Our Own ^beta

Nolan did not deal too often with the ever changing roster of heroes on planet Earth. The fact Green Ghost handed off their jewel and Black Samson lost their powers was enough of a nuisance. The Guardians stayed consistent enough despite it all, not to mention the fact that they handled the level of threats he preferred to deal with. That didn't mean other heroes didn't try and get his attention, or occasionally need to be rescued when he was passing by.

One trying to stalk him was new, though.

"I can see you, you know." He was not going to spend his whole day with a shadow.

The kid drifted out from behind a building, wearing one of those tacky homemade get ups that Art always had a weird fondness for. He called it something about artistic expression and getting a glimpse into what they thought they truly represented as heroes. Nolan saw it as a strong indicator of how quickly some people decided stealing was alright so long as it was just clothes and no one got hurt. Very few child heroes he interacted with lived in a tax bracket that could replace the expensive pajamas they ruined every time they went out.

It was difficult to track where his eyes were under his goggles, but Nolan knew when someone was staring at him. He wasn't saying anything even though he was out in the open. Could he even talk? Some power on this planet came with strange caveats.

"Can I help you?" Nolan raised an eyebrow. Getting caught in a staring match wasn't exactly on the agenda either.

He drifted a little closer. He had to be pretty new to flying, it was one of the reasons Nolan had spotted him. He was crap at executing sharp turns. "Uh," he scratched at the back of his head, almost dislodging the bandana tied around his face. "Okay, I'm just gunna-" he let out a long breath. "I'm pretty sure you're my dad."

That was new too. "...what?"

Once he started talking, the words did not seem to want to stop spilling out of his mouth. "Yeah, I know right? I'm sure you get weirdos all the time saying they're related to you-"

"I do not." As far as villainous ploys went, this made about the least sense. What would the angle even be?

"Oh, that's good. 'Cause, hi. I'm your kid."

Nolan stared at him. "That is..." Not impossible, but incredibly unlikely. "What?"

The kid chuckled, almost nervous little coughs. "Kinda glad you're having a moment too. 'Cause when mom said 'Omni-Man' I was kinda like, no way- but- I can fly, got super strength. The speed thing is sort of a work in progress."

"The flying is too. You've been drifting this entire conversation." A moment. Nolan could deal with the fast paced decision making that came with his line of work. He didn't need a moment to process, this was just... different.

He tottered as he tried to stay still. "Oh shit, you're right. Um. Thanks? How do you stay upright?"

"You're going to need to practice." Nolan frowned. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen. I like, don't tell bad guys that or anything. But. I mean. I'm serious about the whole you're my dad thing, so I figured letting you know... was... important. You're just staring at me."

Seventeen years and he was just learning to fly? The fact he showed any potential at all was... Nolan couldn't decide whether that was good or bad. "I'm thinking," he said. If he killed him, how likely was the child's mother to be able to track him down? The kid didn't even have a set look yet, if anyone even noticed his appearance on the hero scene, odds were they wouldn't think too long about it if he vanished. If she was adamant that Omni-Man had fathered her child, how long would it take for someone to take her seriously? Had he mentioned that he was planning on looking for him today? Nolan could also just ignore him. So long as no one back home found out about this, it wouldn’t need to become a problem.

"Right. Lot to think about. Whole person. In front of you."

Then again, ignoring him could prove difficult. If he told him to leave him alone, would he even listen? How long until the Guardians started asking questions? Cecil? If the GDA got in touch with the kid, would he mention who his father was? "What do you want?"

The boy just stared at him, whole body slightly off kilter and drifting slowly like he was stuck in orbit. "Oh. Um. Like. Powers. How they work. I guess." He almost went sideways as he talked.

The boy very clearly had been expecting something else. After something else. Maybe there was something buried in this ridiculous situation. "You want me to teach you?" Did he think he would reveal weaknesses to him in the process? Was someone moving against him?

"Yeah. Uh. Yes." He managed to right himself in the air, though it made him drift a little faster.

Nolan did not see the point in indulging in some long con attempt on his life. "You know I don't work with other people." Most people had that part of his reputation figured out. Was ‘I’m your child’ really the best lie they could think of to circumvent that?

Even beneath the bandana and the goggles Nolan saw him flinch. "Right." He folded his arms across his chest, shrinking down on himself. "No exceptions. Solo act." He jutted his chin out. "Cool. Right. Just thought you should know I exist."

He still should probably investigate who sent him. "Wait-"

The kid was already flying off. Nolan sighed, putting his head in his hand for a moment. This was ridiculous. The kid wasn't going to be a Viltrumite even if his story was true. He'd been raised human. What were the chances he could reach the heights of his people? What were the odds this wasn’t a hoax? What if Earth was-?

It wasn't difficult to catch up to him. He really wasn't all that fast yet. "Do you normally run off when people are talking to you?"

He was staring ahead, whole body leaning away a moment as he was afraid of a collision. He didn't say anything.

"Why don't we land somewhere and talk about this a moment?" Less chance someone would spot them that way. Nolan did not need any more surprises today.

The kid didn't try and fly off again, which Nolan decided was an agreement. He indicated to a field and slowly drifted towards it. He landed lightly. The kid.... did not. However new he was to flying, landing was even further out of his skill set.

Nolan kept his distance, letting the kid come to him. After getting up from the small crater his landing made, he fidgeted with his bandana and goggles a moment, rubbing at his face. They were in an empty field, but Nolan looked around. Someone jumping out and pointing out he had just made this kid cry wasn't going to help the situation.

Fuck. What were the odds this kid was just messing with him? Flight wasn't exactly an uncommon trait to have, nor some degree of strength. How much could he test him? How much did he want to? He had to be more sure of his story before he committed to anything.

The kid tugged at the gloves on his hands, shaking out his arms before walking over to him. His whole body was tense, but he was clearly trying his damn hardest to appear confident. There was still a good few feet of distance between them when he stopped.

Nolan tried not to sigh at his silly get up. "I want to see your face."

"What?"

"I don't know who you are," Nolan reminded him.

"But like, it's a secret identity-"

"I don't wear a mask, and no one recognizes me."

"Really? Like, at all?"

"At all." Not that he spent much time as a civilian.

He looked around for a moment before slowly uncovering his face. Nolan supposed he looked a bit like him. His face was more narrow. Maybe it would fill out as he got older. "You look like your mother."

"Yeah?"

There was only one option here. "Deborah, right?"

The kid gaped at him a moment before he burst into hysterics. "Holy shit like, you're my dad. Omni-Man is my dad. Just. I didn't think my mom was lying to me, but- holy shit. You're my dad." He smiled at him, face creased with laughter and eyes red from the tears he had been trying to hide.

Nolan couldn't smile back for him, but he did give an awkward head tilt in acknowledgement. So. He had a son. Did this change anything? Could it? How much of Viltrum was really a part of him? Seventeen years was pushing it for his people to manifest their abilities. Many weren't allowed to get that far without showing potential. The kid in front of him was still oscillating between giggles and shock. Omni-Man was his father. He would have grown up seeing Nolan on the news. Maybe there was an advantage in all of this. His work had been fairly laid back so far, perhaps this would be a good reason to pick up the pace. Or, if he truly showed potential, a change in direction.

"So. The world ending? Dimensional portal open up?"

Nolan stared down at Red Rush. "What?"

"I heard you took on a sidekick. Wanted to check that the universe was still intact."

"The train I am holding together is what is falling apart. Have you finished evacuating yet?" Making sure the broken cars didn't unhook from each other as their weight kept shifting while the Guardians pulled trapped people from the twisted metal was an interesting exercise in patience. How likely were they to believe the damn thing just slipped if he let go in order to get out of this conversation?

"Almost." The red smear of his costume trailed across Nolan's vision. He stopped back in front of him and gave a thumbs up. "All clear."

Nolan dropped the train and flew up, out of range of Red Rush's questions. Which put him right in range of War Woman's. Normally she was uninterested in bothering him with things unrelated to the job, but he could see a look on her face that indicated she was about to ask him something.

"I don't have a sidekick," he preempted her.

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Are you sure?"

God damn it. Nolan turned around to see Mark flying towards them. The kid had improved his flying form pretty quickly, though he still wasn't all that fast. His silly little homemade outfits hadn't improved. Maybe if people were going to start commenting on the time they spent together, he would introduce him to Art.

Nolan flew out to meet him before Immortal could. "What are you doing?"

"Um, danger? Helping? Is that the Guardians? You know for someone who says he works alone, you work with them a lot."

Immortal and Red Rush liked to say the same thing. Nolan ignored them. "When they need help I assist."

"Right. Can I like, say hi to them?"

Would he announce his connection to Nolan if he did? They were already coming to their own conclusions. He doubted any of them would guess the truth of the situation. He wasn't sure he wanted them to, just yet. "I can do introductions when they aren't busy."

"Cool." Mark was leaning around him, watching them as they grouped up the survivors in preparation of transporting everyone to the nearest town.

He needed an excuse to get him away from here before one of the Guardians decided to introduce themself. Or a distraction. "Why don't we go looking for a situation that isn't already resolved?"

Mark did an excited little loop de loop before falling into line at his side. Nolan tried not to sigh as he led the way away from the train wreck. Sidekick. That was one way of putting it, he supposed. Training sessions had been... spotty. Mark was still in school and honestly Nolan was glad for that. If he didn't have somewhere else to be, he was pretty sure he would be bugging him at all hours of the day. Not that the interruptions to his standard patrols were a total nuisance, it was just frustrating that other people noticed. Even Art was saying he had seemed more lively these past two weeks, and he wasn't sure what to make of that.

More lively? More put upon, maybe. Finding low level crimes to test him out on was honestly more time consuming than he thought it would be. Hopefully finding something today would go a little quicker. A trail of smoke, a cloud of fleeing birds, anything to indicate a spot they could divert to. If they flew side by side long enough, Mark would start asking inane questions. What was his favorite color. Did he like baseball. Was there a particular villain group he preferred fighting. He didn’t have answers to any of those questions.

Mark almost lost his bandana and did an awkward somersault as he slowed down to make sure it stayed in place.

Nolan sighed. "Come on. We're making a quick stop."

Art was surprised to see him in the middle of the day, but took the interruption with grace. While Mark browsed the suits he had on display, he stepped up close to Nolan, checking over the measurements in his notebook and not bothering to look over at him directly.

"So. You finally decided to retire the solitary hero shtick? I told you you've been different lately. Nothing like some young blood around to remind us what we're fighting for."

"We?" Nolan raised an eyebrow even though Art couldn’t see. His skepticism would come through in his tone.

"Hey, taking a stance against crimes against fashion is a full time job."

"You made a suit of plaid-"

"That was a special situation. Speaking of, what's the story here? Orphan? Stray? Persistent fan?"

"He's my son."

Art looked at him then. "You're kidding me. No. You're not." He looked back at Mark. "Shit. I didn't know you were seeing anyone. Could have mentioned that. You didn't go fishing with me to avoid anniversaries, did you?"

"I'm not seeing anyone. It happened a while ago."

"Yeah, no kidding. That's a teenager.” He tapped his pencil against his notebook. “You had no idea?"

"No."

Art frowned, studying his face before continuing in a softer tone. "How are you doing?"

Of all the questions he could have asked, Nolan had not anticipated that one. "What?"

"Finding out you're a parent is some big news. You doing alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Uh huh." He went back to his notebook. "You know, for a while I figured you were just the sort not to be into that stuff at all. She break your heart?"

"Who?"

"The boy's mother."

That was ridiculous. Not only was she human, the two of them had barely known each other. "We're here to get a suit so that he stops running around in his pajamas." It was time to get Art back on track.

"Uh huh. You paying for it?"

"Yes."

"Good man. More than a decade of child support to make up for."

Nolan frowned at that. Mark hadn't actually asked him for anything other than lessons. Was there some other reason he had sought him out? Were they financially unstable? Mark hadn't seemed starved, nor his clothes worn. Well, no more worn than fighting crime in them would do. What if he did want something else? Nolan did not feel particularly obligated to the boy, he was just an unusual hitch in his plans.

"See anything you like?" Nolan called out, done with his sidebar with Art. He wasn't entirely sure why he had told him. Was he feeling alright? Of course he was alright. Nothing had changed in his life except he was now aware Mark existed. How much did that really change things? Not a lot. He still had a job to do.

"Not really. Er. No offense. Your stuff is good, it's just not… me."

"No offense taken, kid." Art smiled, though there was a new sharpness in his eyes as he looked Mark over. "Every hero wants to be iconic. Having a name helps, you know. Got one picked out?"

"Not yet."

"Well, give me a name, then you'll see me work some real magic, alright?"

"Alright.” Mark smiled back at him. “If I think of something can I- can I come back on my own?"

"Sure thing. Just make sure you use the side entrance so no one sees you flying through."

"Awesome." He walked back up to Nolan, hands stuffed into his pockets.

Art snapped his notebook shut. "Well, I'm going to get to work. Talk to you later." He laid a hand on Nolan's shoulder, catching his eye a moment. He looked- concerned, though he hid it well.

Nolan smiled back at him, trying not to let his confusion show through. "Until later, Art." He was fine. Completely fine.

"So like, secret base? Cool hideout? Fortress of solitude?"

"What?"

"Your base. Your command center."

Nolan didn't need any of those things. The GDA and the Guardians shared their resources with him and writing something down just gave people the chance to find it. He had an apartment as part of his identity as Nolan Grayson, the writer. He stored his things there, and slept there when it was convenient. He supposed he lived there, in the way one might be said to live in a tent while camping. Art had visited him there a few times. He told him the place could use a little sprucing up, but Nolan hadn't seen the point.

He supposed there wasn't a reason not to let Mark know it existed. He had them both change out of uniform before arriving. Normally he didn't really bother with the front desk or using the elevator, but typically he wasn't coming back in the middle of the day either.

"Is the guy at the front desk like, your secret control operator? Earpiece for danger reports?"

"He does security for the building." Nolan wasn't even entirely certain he had seen him before.

"Retired black ops?"

"I doubt it." The cost of living here wasn't that high. His neighbor with the highest income was probably a dentist.

Mark bounced on his toes in the elevator, frowning at the cameras. At least he refrained from asking if they were hooked up to anything ridiculous.

It took Nolan a moment to find his key because of how rarely he used it, and he gestured to Mark to head inside first. He practically skipped inside, but stopped not too far in. Nolan closed the door and went to stand next to him. Everything was as he left it.

"What is it?"

Mark's face screwed up a moment, as if he was debating his next words, before he just blurted, "You're like, the coolest hero on the planet, and the most boring man alive."

Maybe Art had meant something else when he said the place needed sprucing up. "I spend most of my time as a hero," Nolan reminded him.

"Yeah but, don't you have a life too?"

"I go fishing with Art." Why was he trying to justify himself to this kid? He didn't need to be cool. He was Omni-Man, for fuck's sake.

Mark made a semi-convincing noise of approval before drifting over to the bookshelf. He put one finger on the top of a book, sliding it out to look at the cover. "Oh. You're a writer." He looked back at him. "That's kind of cool. Why didn't you mention that?"

"You never asked me what I did for a living." Being Omni-Man had apparently been enough right until this moment.

"Huh. Okay. My bad." He pulled the same book out and shoved it back several times, like it was on a hinge.

Nolan hoped he wasn’t checking for trap doors. He went over to his side and put a hand on the book to make him stop fidgeting. This particular shelf was dedicated to the hardback releases of his books. Nolan had the ones that won awards on the eye level shelf and the rest were arranged by release date. “You can borrow it, if you like.”

“Oh. Sure.” He frowned at the book and Nolan tried not to take offense.

His editor had agreed that his shift from sci-fi to horror had gone particularly well. That book had meant he hadn’t needed to shift careers for his civilian identity. “If you need to stop by here, just come up to the balcony window.”

“The neighbors don’t notice?”

“Not if you move fast enough.”

Mark winced. Going quick was still something he struggled to do. At least he had gotten over his worry about picking up objects that were several times his size. Strength training was going decently. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Something else on your mind?” Nolan asked, watching Mark’s fidgeting hands get ever more likely to tear his book in half.

He looked up to stare him in the eye, taking a deep breath. "Do you want to like. I don't know. Have dinner? With me and my mom. Tomorrow."

He was still only 99% certain the woman he slept with and his mother were the same person. An in person confirmation would be beneficial. This did not seem like a very formal invitation, however. "Have you asked her?"

"I mean, she knows I talk to you." Mark gave a nonchalant shrug that looked practiced. "I just figured the two of you might want to talk to each other? Y'know. Been awhile."

They had all of two days worth of interactions with each other and hadn't done all that much talking in that time. "I'll... try."

"Really? Cool! Yes. Barring any world ending stuff. Uh. See you then."

Nolan doubted the Earth would fall under any large scale threats in that time frame. He also doubted Mark was going to read his book.

Deborah looked... different, though not unrecognizable. Her eyebrows went up a moment as she took in his clothes. She had only ever seen him in his Viltrumite jumpsuit or naked, barring whatever she might have seen of his new uniform on tv. Were his fashion choices that surprising?

Mark bounced forward and kissed her cheek. "Hey mom, sorry we're a little late. This guy tried to rob a store when we were right above it- well, I'll tell you over dinner."

She smiled at her son, quick and easy, whole body relaxing at his closeness and enthusiasm. "That's alright, I figured things would be a little up in the air."

"I'm gunna put some things away, be right back." He twisted in the air, floating up and flying back farther into the house. He was already so much more coordinated flying than when he had first seen him.

"Hi," Nolan said.

"Hi," she parroted back. There was a moment of silence before she took a step back. "Come in, don't mean to keep you out on the porch."

Nolan stepped inside, the habit of wearing civilian attire to blend in keeping him on the ground. He took off his shoes when he noticed the box, looking around the living room. There was some art on the walls, but most of the images appeared to be photos of her and Mark, or just Mark. Nolan hadn't thought too much about what he might have looked like when he was younger. It was like looking at a broken mirror of a tiny stranger that slowly stretched out into the teenager he had met.

"Can I get you a drink?"

He tore his eyes away from the photos. "Sure."

"Beer? Wine? I think I still have some bourbon somewhere."

"Wine is good." He followed her into the kitchen, which was warm and the source of the heady smell of food that was permeating through the house.

There were notes, papers, silly magnets and more photos on the fridge. His own fridge lacked decoration, like most of the walls of his apartment. This whole place was practically crowded with the screaming presence of the people who lived in it. Nolan tried not to stare at any one thing for too long. She only took one glass from the cabinet, and when she poured for him he noticed a half full glass already on the counter.

"Thanks," he took the wine, hesitating when it took her a moment to let go. Was he supposed to be doing something specific in this situation? He had only needed to come here to make sure she was who he thought she was. Should he just make up an excuse and leave now?

She reached for her own drink quickly, as if to compensate for her pause. "I should be saying that."

"Why?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear, taking a moment to look him in the eye. "Mark said... Mark said you took the news pretty well."

Nolan figured that meant he left out the part where he accidentally made him cry. He hadn’t felt compelled to bring it up with Mark, and Mark had yet to try and mention it to him.

Debbie smiled wryly at him. "I was worried you might be annoyed I never told you."

"That's not a requirement where I'm from. He's your child." The fact their coupling had happened at all had been a very confusing time for him. Nolan had mostly gotten by not thinking about it. The fact she had gotten a child out of it honestly made more sense than the explanation he had gotten at the time of the occurrence. Enjoying sex with a human was- well, it shouldn't have happened. She had out maneuvered him and taken something that she wanted. He could have almost called that Viltrumite behavior, if she had employed force rather than cunning.

"Oh. I mean, I know that. But it's odd to hear you say it in that tone of voice. Very... blase." She had gotten more tense when Mark left, but that statement relaxed her again. "Most men on Earth have a lot of opinions about parenting, regardless of whether or not they have kids." She took a drink, erasing the scowl that had tried to take up residence on her face.

Nolan hadn't given much thought to being a parent at any point in his life. He wasn't even all that certain on how to define his relationship with Mark. Useful? Maybe? "I suppose I just wonder... What did you tell him? You knew I wasn't human."

"Not a lot,” she admitted, hands cupping around her glass. “I wasn't really sure how Viltrumites got their powers, or if they were innate. You were pretty popular by the time he got to a question asking age, and honestly, I didn't want him or anyone else thinking I was delusional or just trying to get attention. He knew his father was someone I met and things just didn't work out." She shrugged, fingers tapping against the rim of her glass. "I also might have insinuated we had more than one date. I think he's old enough now to understand that wasn't the case."

More than one date. The fact she had walked away after the first one had been pretty confusing. "You wanted him to think we had an actual relationship?" That was a concept Nolan had never considered. Being one of the faces scattered through the photos on display in this house would be… strange.

"I just didn't think my five year old needed to know he was the unplanned result of a one night stand."

Unplanned? "Ah."

She tilted her head to the side as she studied him. "I'm honestly surprised you remember me."

"Why?"

"Nolan, I'm not sure if there's a diplomatic way to say this, so I'll just say it." When he didn't do anything to stop her, she continued. "You definitely gave off the impression you don't remember your one night stands as anything other than another notch on your bedpost."

He frowned at that while she took a heavy sip of her drink, apparently needing the fortification after her confession. "You're the only person I've ever had sex with."

Debbie choked, spitting wine out of her mouth and splattering the front of his shirt in red. Mark hurried into the kitchen while his mother coughed, and she waved him back while setting down her glass. Had he been lingering out of the way listening to them talk?

"Fine," she wheezed. "Just went down the wrong pipe."

Mark frowned suspiciously at Nolan, but handed him a dishtowel to help him wipe off. She got her breathing back under control and asked her son to set the table. Nolan blotted halfheartedly at the wine on his shirt and mostly used the towel to wipe off his face. Unless he could convince Art to get the stains out, he would be throwing this shirt away after tonight.

She still had a hand on her chest, taking deep breaths to settle herself. "Well, uh, that explains a lot."

"It does?" Just what exactly was she insinuating with that?

She finished the little bit of wine still left in her glass. "Dinner is ready, why don't you go join Mark while I bring everything out?"

He set down the dishtowel and took his wine with him, a little bemused. Mark supplied most of the conversation while they ate. Nolan typically took his meals alone, unless he was camping with Art. He had attended some of the Guardian functions, but whatever 'relax and let your hair down' meant for them, he didn't think applied much to him. The stress of the job didn't get to him the way it did for them. Besides, taking time off implied he needed to take a break.

Nolan did not need to take a break.

“Holy shit! That was the moon. We just flew to the moon.”

Nolan watched Mark grin stupidly up into the air as he floated on his back. He kept himself upright as they bobbed through the clouds. “Yes,” he said. “It was.” He supposed if you spent your life on one planet going to a moon was interesting. Maybe.

“Do you go into space a lot?”

“When I need to.”

“And you can just go whenever. That’s so cool. Do I need to do like, lung training or whatever? Like surfers? Can I fly to another planet?”

“You might have to wait for your lungs to develop more, but walking on the bottom of the ocean for practice couldn’t hurt.”

He careened into an upright position. “The bottom of the ocean! I hadn’t even thought of that. How do you see?”

“Bring a light.”

“Do you go down there a lot too? Has like, a whale ever tried to eat you?”

Aquarus typically dealt with the ocean stuff. Atalntians could get huffy about surface dwellers dealing with things down there. Not that all that much ever happened there anyway. “No.” Whales didn’t exactly spend time in the depths unless they were dead.

“What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever tried to eat you?”

At least this round of inane questions he had answers to. “...probably a cosmic maw.”

“Wow. What is that?”

“Sort of a… mouth. In space.”

“Right. All there in the name.” He put his hands behind his head and started to lean back again. “Were you doing all this stuff back when you were my age? Space and saving people?”

“I spent most of my youth on Viltrum, initially. Training for heading out.”

“So your dad like, took you to the moon and had you hold your breath under the ocean too?”

Nolan had endured a much more intense training regime than what Mark was going through. “Something similar.”

“Do you think I’ll ever go there? Viltrum?”

If he proved himself, the empire would certainly take notice of him. Nolan knew he should be the one to introduce Mark to his people, but the timing was just off. There was a while yet to sort everything out. “Do you want to?”

“I mean, yeah. Y’know. Meet other Viltrumites. Are your parents…?”

“They’re dead.”

“Oh. Sorry. Mom’s are too, I guess I just- no siblings or anything? Just us?”

Us? Was he including his mother in that? “No.”

“Well,” there was a slight waver in Mark’s voice, and he leaned back to stare up at the sky, “you’ve got me now.”

Art handed him a beer. Nolan took it and frowned. “What’s this?” They were still in the shop. Art generally only drank while working if a client had managed to piss him off.

“An offer to talk, or, well, listen.” He cracked open his own beer, settling into his chair.

“About what?”

“‘About what’ he says! That kid you brought in here the other week. Your kid.”

Your kid. Deborah- Debbie, please - had been more than happy to keep the full credit of Mark being hers. “What do you think I have to say about it?”

“I don’t know, anything really. Did you ever want kids?”

Kids. There was only the one. “I hadn’t really thought about it.” Earth certainly wasn’t the place he would have picked for it. A human certainly wasn’t who he would have chosen for a partner. Except he sort of had, hadn’t he? Unplanned. She had called Mark unplanned. Then why had she slept with him with the intent to never see him again? What the fuck had been the point of-?

“What do you think about it now?”

“He’s not unpleasant to be around.” That was true. A little overeager at times. A little foolish. Insanely insecure, or, just desperate for Nolan to say something to him. He could potentially train him into someone capable. He was improving fast enough that he was practically a young Viltrumite in truth. Was that what he needed to hear?

“I’m sure the kid is thrilled to hear it.”

Nolan sipped his beer. “He thinks I’m boring.”

Art laughed at him. “That’s a teenager for you.”

“He thinks I don’t have a life,” he tried to explain.

“I was under the impression that your work was your life.”

Nolan frowned. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Only a little bit, my friend. It’s not exactly bad to be married to your work. If you love what you do, it can be a great relationship. I’m happy. I can understand why a teenager might have a hard time seeing it, though.” Art sipped his beer. “Are you?”

“What?” How often had he had to push people to explain themselves lately? Why were humans so obnoxious about their emotional questions all the fucking time? Had they always been like this? Surely he would have noticed it before.

“Happy.”

Being happy had never really been an important factor for him before. He’d been proud of his assignment. Eager. Determined to prove that he could do it. He was still doing it. Things had just gotten a little… boring, as time went on. He should just finish what he was here to do and go home. Except things had just changed, hadn’t they? Why go anywhere before he could see how things played out?

Art chuckled at his silence. “Well, sorry to break your brain with a single question. But, sometimes it’s good to reflect on things.”

Nolan hummed and sipped his beer. Happy was irrelevant, and Mark was just a break in the monotony. He was doing fine.

"Is it like, a rule or something? The no teams thing?”

"I can do my work without them," Nolan said. It was less a rule and more a practicality.

"Right. But like, you don't have a handbook or something? Rules for interacting with alien species?"

"There isn't a handbook, no." Every Viltrumite was taught about their superiority. It was less law and more innate understanding of their place at the head of the universe.

"So like, I could join a team?"

Nolan tried not to frown. "You want to?"

Mark shrugged. "I guess I don't see why not. You can do your work without anyone, but why? Seems... lonely."

Lonely. Just us. What was it that Mark wanted from him? "If you join a team do you really think that will leave you with time to train with me?"

Mark had already been a little nervous at the start of this talk, now that unease crept up to his tense shoulders. "Are you saying I have to pick?"

"I'm saying I have my own obligations." The Guardians had been more interested in teasing him about his ‘sidekick’ rather than just doing their jobs, and he had gone to two more dinners at Mark’s behest. Maybe it was time for those distractions to stop.

"But like, you don't do anything but this. Can't we just meet at different times?"

"You want me to schedule my life around you?" He was just what, supposed to completely change for him?

"Well, no- but, it just seems like..." he scowled. "I'm the one doing more work. You wouldn't be doing anything different."

"I'm training you." Hadn’t he wanted to fly out into the stars? What happened to his interest in seeing Viltrum one day? Humans were too fucking fickle. Or maybe that was just a trait his mother had passed on to him.

“But you don’t want to be.”

He’d been doing it. It was easier than some other things he had to do for his work, but maybe that was part of the problem. He didn’t need this in order to carry out his responsibilities. No, he shouldn’t want to waste any of his time with this kid.

Mark huffed at his silence, hands clenching into fists. “I get it. You didn’t want to do this to begin with, it’s not like you actually give a fuck about me. Should have seen this coming.”

Nolan refrained from pointing out it was the kid who was flying off yet again. He had absolutely no reason to try and stop him this time. He had his answers.

“Haven’t seen the sidekick in awhile.”

“I don’t have a sidekick.”

“I think the fish can tell you’re glaring at them.”

“...no they can’t. And I’m not.”

Nolan wasn’t fucking bored, or unhappy, alright? He had a fucking job to do and he was good at it. Fucking amazing really.

He was god damned fine.

“A thousand alarms are about to go off if I say this, but I genuinely don’t think anything else can happen today. You’ve done enough. Go home, take a well deserved break. You saved a lot of lives today.”

He frowned, half hoping the alarms Cecil had mentioned would go off. They didn’t.

There was an empty spot on his shelf. Mark hadn’t given him back the book yet.

He was fucking fine.

Since Mark was avoiding him, it wasn’t like Nolan had any option but to show up uninvited. He had enough understanding that making his unexpected visit known in the middle of an argument was a bad idea, though. He stayed floating above the roof and hoped it wouldn’t take too damn long. He just wanted his book, and then Mark could go on doing whatever the fuck he was doing with whatever hero team he had decided was a better investment with his time. And Nolan could get back to his work without all these fucking distractions.

"Mark wants to spend time with his father. He lives here. I'm not going to tell my son he has to go somewhere else."

My son, there was an angry, possessive curl to Debbie’s words.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"What did you mean?"

"I- I just was wondering what changed."

"For him? Or did you mean with me? Because I didn't think anything was different until we started this conversation."

"I'm not accusing you of anything-"

"It sounds like you are. Have I ever given you any indication that I was cheating on you?"

Whoever Debbie was arguing with did not seem like they had thought things through. If you were going on the offensive, you had to know your opponent’s weaknesses.

"I just-"

"Feel insecure and are making it my fault?"

Like that. That seemed a strong counter.

"Maybe let me finish a fucking sentence? You aren't right every god damn time, sometimes you fuck up. I think I can be upset that you didn't tell me the guy you had a kid with has been coming over to your house."

"And I told you my fucking son is going to win out anytime you throw a fit."

"Mark is going to college soon, and you aren't going to be able to hide behind that shit anymore, Debbie. If you don't want me around, have the decency to fucking say it to my face, don't start bringing other people around."

"You're right. Get the fuck out of my house."

Nolan counted to twenty after the door the slammed before floating down and knocking. He would just ask for his book and go. Easy.

“For God’s sake Paul, make up your fucking- Nolan.” Her face was flushed and there were tears clinging to her eyelashes.

Maybe he should have waited a little longer before knocking, “Sorry, is Mark home?”

Debbie blinked at him. She was still clutching the door handle, and for a moment he thought she would slam it in his face. Instead she wiped at her eyes and took a step back. “No, he’s not. Come in, if you have a moment.”

He hadn’t actually been alone with her since Mark had made his dinner requests. He hadn’t gotten the impression she wanted much to do with him when her son wasn’t involved. Apparently some other people thought different. Who did it really matter who he spoke to? She would probably know where the book was, and this way he didn’t even have to see Mark again. Win, win, right? Nolan stepped inside. “Are you… alright?” He was used to only having to ask that during disasters. It seemed appropriate in the current moment.

“Fine.” Her fingers gave one more smudging pass across her cheeks. “Did Mark say he was going to meet with you?” She frowned. “I haven’t heard him mention you the past few days. Did something happen?” An edge entered her voice, whatever lingering shakiness she had from her shouting match with Paul was completely gone.

My son.

He was just here for the fucking book. That gap on his shelf was annoying to look at whenever he got home. It was weird that she wasn’t aware that Mark had stormed off though, right? Had something happened? She hadn’t said he was missing, just that he wasn’t home at the moment. What did Nolan care about that? Book. He needed to focus on his book, not the suspicious stare being directed at him. “We… had an argument.” Fuck. That wasn’t about his book at all. “I don’t really have a way of getting in touch with him.”

“About what?” She crossed her arms.

“Teamwork,” he admitted.

Debbie watched him for a long moment, making him wonder if she just expected him to up and leave, before she finally continued speaking. "You're one of the few things Mark and I ever really fought over, you know? He wanted to know who his dad was, and when I said you weren't important he would say you were important to him. I would get so pissed sometimes, wasn't I enough , but that wasn't really fair to him. The truth was, I had no idea how to even go about finding you unless I wanted to start harassing every superhero in the area. I didn't want him to think badly of me for sleeping with some guy whose full name I didn't even know."

Nolan wasn’t entirely sure what any of that had to do with what he was talking about. "I didn't have a last name when we met."

"Hah. Try explaining that to a kid. Then of course there were the people I dated, always wanting to know if you were going to show up and cause problems. Like I would drop everything for you if you showed up at that door. Mark is the important thing that happened between us, I don't even know you."

He didn’t know her either, which was only part of the reason this entire conversation was so strange.

"I want Mark to be happy. I think understanding what he wants from us is the only thing that matters. And I never want you to betray his confidence, but... if my son was ever in danger, would you tell me?"

Did she think he was lying to her? Why would he come here if Mark was in trouble? What was it she thought she could do in that situation? "Do you think you can help him from the kind of danger this work gets you into?"

She closed her eyes at that. "No. But I still want to know. If there was anything I could do, I would want the chance to do it."

"Even if it killed you?"

"He's my son. There's very little I wouldn't do for him."

My son.

There were vassals under the Viltrumite empire. They died all the time for Nolan's people. They died gloriously. For the ideal of the empire, or because they knew the alternative was the destruction of their people. The Guardians on Earth made all sorts of foolish bids for the safety of the people on Earth. For each other. On one or two occasions even for Nolan. They had the resources and strength to carry through on those ridiculous promises.

Debbie was about as fragile as they came, in the scheme of the universe. Her son was practically indestructible. It was a stupid choice, but he believed she would make it given the chance. Anything for her son.

Nolan hated her a little bit for that. He had never spoken to anyone who would die that way for Viltrum. "I wouldn't lie to you if he was in danger. I don't see that happening, though."

"Oh? Heroing get a lot safer since last I checked?"

"He's a Viltrumite. Not a lot out there can hurt us."

"He's half human."

The rate at which Mark was improving, Nolan did not think that was all that relevant. Human compatibility with Viltrumites was a little startling, honestly. The possibilities that had been sitting under his nose for years were almost staggering.

There was a banging on the door that made Debbie jerk in surprise. Her shoulders tensed and she took a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. She marched back to the door and opened it. She didn’t say anything. The man standing on her porch saw Nolan over her shoulder. His jaw set and he turned away without speaking. Debbie closed the door behind him, shoulders slumping.

“Prick,” she muttered under her breath.

Insecurity was an open wound to tear into. Surely she had the right for throwing him out when she sensed it? “I didn’t mean to cause an argument.”

“Oh, don’t think about it.” She turned back around, leaning her back against the door, not looking at him. “The worst part is that he’s right. Mark has always been my excuse not to give other people the time of day. He’s my baby, I should put him first, I just- chased away people who could have been there for him as much as they were there for me.” She eyed Nolan, chewing on her lip. “Were you looking for him to apologize?”

“I… wanted to explain things better.” He had responsibilities. The full scope of which he did not think Mark was ready for, but if he had the chance, he would explain to him that teams just slowed him down. And of course, get his god damned book back. He would ignore the whole ‘you don’t care about me’ thing the way he ignored the crying on their first meeting.

“I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

Nolan was halfway out the door when he stopped. “If you hadn’t planned it… why did you decide to have him?”

There was still a defensive posture to her body, but he got the impression she was considering her answer rather than hoping he would just leave without one. “People like to say having a kid makes your life better, but that’s bullshit. Especially when you decide to go it alone. It was pretty selfish, I honestly probably shouldn’t have done it. I wanted someone to remember me,” she smiled, the soft, easy smile he remembered from the first dinner he attended, the one that was for Mark. “And now I just want there to be someone in the world who’ll remember him.”

Nolan still had a gap in his bookshelf. He stuck a brandy snifter into it and decided to stop thinking about it.

Apologize. Fucking hell, apologize for what? He didn’t need to apologize to Mark. That kid had run off on him. Had said he wasn’t enough. Had made the choice to do something else with his pointless little life.

Just us.


Nolan had the entire Viltrumite empire at his back. He had responsibilities. Some kid he never even meant to have wasn’t shit compared to that. Art was right, he was married to his work. It needing to be a happy relationship was a human stipulation. He’d gotten by without knowing about Mark for the last eighteen years, and he would continue to get by for the rest of his life.

Apologize. What a god damn joke.

“Initially I did not give much thought to your refusal to join the team. It is your prerogative to do what you will with your life. And being in a high profile group comes with its own pressures.”

Nolan had not refused to join the Guardians because they were too high profile, but if that was what War Woman chose to believe, he would let her. It was better than having to come up with some other excuse, if any of them ever pushed for him to give a reason. “Do you have a point to bringing this up?” Of all of them, she was the least likely to talk around a subject before getting to the heart of it.

“Teen Team stopped a plot to destroy one of my company’s buildings today. I noticed they had a new member.”

Teen Team? Letters on their chest and too much alliteration, what was it with this planet?

“Do you deliberately drive people away?”

“Excuse me?” Nolan tensed, ready to rip that mace out of her hands and smash her over the head with it.

“Whatever you think you are protecting yourself from, know that having companions makes the journey easier, not harder.”

Then why the fuck were the people Nolan talked to so god damn frustrating? What ease was there in having someone insinuate his life was terrible? That he wasn’t enough? That he had to apologize for people leaving him? That he was expected to make up for things he hadn’t even known about?

Nolan popped the cap of his beer off with his thumb, flattening the flimsy metal between his fingers into a smooth disc. “Do you have friends?”

The lawn chair Art was laying on creaked as he turned to look at him. “Yes. I’d say you’re one of them.”

“Do you like your friends?”

“I’d say that’s a general requirement for being a friend. Not that you can’t get mad or upset with them, from time to time.”

Nolan sighed. Of course there would be some caveat like that. “When your friends give you advice, do you listen?”

“I try.” Art settled back on his chair. “This about the kid? You know his mother stopped by my shop the other day?”

“She did?”

“Yeah. Tried to pay for his suits. Told her it was taken care of. Seemed like a nice enough lady.”

“I don’t really know her.”

“Well, she raised someone who jumped feet first into the hero business. That says a lot. How is the kid doing, by the way?”

“He’s not talking to me.” Nolan rather suspected Art was aware of that fact.

“And how did that happen?”

“He joined Teen Team.”

“So he got some friends.” His tone was too nonchalant for Nolan’s tastes. “Kids need friends. Hell, everyone needs someone. He’ll come back around, especially if he needs some advice.”

“I’m not his friend.” Nolan didn’t know what he was to this kid.

“You're his father.”

“Am I?” What did he really know about him? Did he even want to know it? Would knowing random facts make him a dad? He was a Viltrumite. Could be a Viltrumite?

“Hm. Well,” Art got up from his chair slowly, taking his beer with him. “That sounds like a conversation you should be having with him.”

Nolan closed his eyes, listening to the rush of air as someone landed on the roof. He would have preferred more time to think about this, but all he had been doing lately was think.

“Seats all yours kid, it’s getting too cold out here for me.”

“Uh, thanks Mr. Rosenbaum.”

“It’s Art kid! You can just call me Art.”

“Sure. Right.”

Nolan opened his eyes as he sat up, taking a remaining bottle from the six-pack between the lawn chairs and holding it up to Mark.

“Um, I’m seventeen.”

“You can’t get drunk.” He might not be quite as durable as most Viltrumites yet, but his body should be capable of metabolizing anything that would try and chemically imbalance it.

Mark’s eyes widened in surprise, but as his fingers wrapped around the glass, disappointment crumpled his features. “There goes that right of passage, I guess.” He dropped down onto the seat Art had just vacated and the frame bent a little bit at the impact, though he didn’t seem to notice.

Nolan sat up fully, turning his body so they were facing each other. “Your mother mention I was looking for you?”

“Yeah.” The beer hung awkwardly from his fingers, hand dangling off his knee.

And he hadn’t immediately come to talk to him? Well, Nolan hadn’t exactly gone looking for him either. If he was in trouble, he would have known. It would have been on the news, probably. He would never get his book back if something happened to him. “I-” he sighed, and took a sip of his beer.

Mark frowned at him. “If you can’t get drunk, why do you drink?”

“The taste isn’t bad.”

He finally took a swig of the beer and his face scrunched up. “This tastes like pisswater.”

“Some are better than others,” he agreed.

Mark set the bottle down, hands curling around the metal edge of the seat once they were empty. “So. What did you want to talk about?”

Had Debbie not said anything? Was he being tested? Best to avoid trying to figure out what she could have said to him. “How’s Teen Team?”

It took a moment for him to respond, suspicion settling across his face. “Alright. I mean, most of them are younger than me but they’ve been heroes longer, it’s- it’s a little weird. But mostly it’s cool. There’s a command center.”

Yeah, apparently that was important.

Mark continued to frown at him. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

He could ask about his book. What if he had read it? What if he didn’t like it? What if he did like it and wanted to borrow one of his other ones and it took forever for him to get that back too? “No.”

Mark tilted his head to the side. “You aren’t great at this, are you?”

“What?”

“Talking to people.”

“I get by.”

He huffed, body beginning to relax. “No, you actually really suck at this. That’s kind of nice to know.”

Nolan rolled his eyes. Boring and a bad conversationalist. He was doing great.

“Seriously though, what did you want to talk about? It couldn’t have been Teen Team.”

There were a thousand ways this could go. The boy had potential. Wasn’t that enough? That Nolan hadn’t disgraced himself? “What’s your favorite color?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Your mother cares about you,” Nolan said. She had said she was being selfish when she had him, but that seemed to have changed. “I don’t- not.” He hadn’t been lying to Art when he said he wasn’t unpleasant to be around. “I don’t know who you are.”

“You didn’t seem all that interested.”

“You flew up to me one day and said ‘hi you’re my dad’.”

Mark drummed his fingers across his knee. “You know what? Fair. You still flipped out when I said I wanted to join a team.”

Flipped out? He had not flipped out. “That’s not exactly what happened.”

“Uh huh.”

Nolan took another drink. He had responsibilities. He had a job to do. Could Mark be a part of all that? There was a lot left to do. Having someone around for it all could be… nice. There would be no going back once he brought someone else along with him though. He could wait a little longer. See how things played out. He had time. Viltrum would still be there. Viltrum would always be there. This clusterfuck was just starting to get sorted. “Want to go crash the Guardians’ holiday party?”

“What?” A disbelieving laugh bubbled out of him, but it cut off abruptly as he looked Nolan in the eye. “Wait, you’re serious?”

“Yeah. I’m serious.” War Woman could handle it. She was the one talking about including people in your life. It had been awhile since he had showed up to one. The looks on their faces would probably be funny.

“Yes. Absolutely. Of course- I-” Mark bit his lip. “Am I going as your sidekick?”

“I don’t have a sidekick.” People really needed to stop thinking that. “I was going to tell them you were my son, if you wanted.” That was what Mark wanted to hear, wasn’t it? It was a strange thing to say out loud. It wasn’t even untrue, in the strictest sense.

“Um. That would be cool.”

Well, Nolan got there eventually.