25 Years Later - New York

JFK Airport. One of the busiest airports in the entire world. And one of the most famously known airports in the entire world. Most likely when you thought about New York City, you thought about JFK Airport considering that it was the biggest airport in the city. Located in Jamaica, Queens, the airport was run by the city of New York and brought in a lot of revenue to the city.

New York City was one of the most well-known cities in the country and in the entire world. It was seen as the undisputed capital of the world and the mecca of cultural diversity. If you were a Knicks fan you could say it's the basketball mecca of the world. Every year people that have never been to New York, come to the city each year. People that lived in the city, could tell you it's extremely crowded and if you weren't from the city, you would say it's expensive. Especially considering that a 500 square feet apartment in Manhattan could cost you around $2,450. During the holiday season, people would come to New York for the attractions. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree or the Times Square Ball Drop. Or the Thanksgiving Macy's Day Parade.

But it wasn't the holiday season right now. It was March 2010 and for one man, he wasn't coming to New York to visit. He was coming to work, to build a name for himself.

Luke Hammonds stepped out of the airport doors looking out at the city with a smile on his face, flashing his perfectly aligned pearly whites. The city was beautiful. Popularly known as "The Big Apple", it was one of the most populous cities in the world. You would think coming from Texas, this type of thing wouldn't draw that type of reaction from him but it did. Being where he was from in Texas, if you lived in the city, you would see big buildings everyday but living on the outskirts of the city, it wasn't something you saw everyday. Even for Luke, who designed a building or two in Austin. Hell, he had even designed a few buildings that were in Dallas and Fort-Worth. It was safe to say in Texas, Luke Hammonds was becoming a renowned architect but he wanted to make an even bigger name for himself and what place couldn't be any better other than New York.

Luke stood out a bit compared to everyone else. He was somewhat tall standing at 6'4 with an athletic, well-built stature. He was blessed with a chiseled jawline and a cleft in his chin. He had tanned skin with dark brown hair with dark brown eyebrows. His hair was slicked back with a combover and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in blue jeans with brown leather loafers with a blue and whtie plaid button up with a black tie. He had a gold watch with a brown band around his wrist and a gold ring with a blue diamond in the ring. He had his travel bag on his shoulders as he stood out in front of the airport.

He looked around seeing some of the iconic yellow taxi cabs of the city.

"Taxi!" Luke yelled as he raised his hand out trying to get a ride. After a few minutes, a cab pulled up to the curb making him smirk. He opened the door and entered the cab throwing his bag off to the side.

"Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, please?" The cab driver turned on the meter and drove off with the new citizen of New York in his back seat.

- Minutes Later -

"Here we are Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, that'll be $60.40." Damn, he could already tell living in New York was gonna be expensive. Especially if he was gonna have to be taking Taxes everyday to get from his apartment to work every single day. Luke stuck his hand down in his pocket to grab the cash to pay the driver.

"Here's $65, Thank You." Luke said as he handed the man the cash and placed his hand on the door handle to exit but paused momentarily when the cab driver spoke.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, not really. Is it noticeable?"

"A little bit. Where you from?"

"Texas."

"Oh, really. What part?"

"Austin. I'm guessing you're from Texas, as well."

"Fort-Worth, trust me when I say this kid. You'll love it here but don't get caught up in the bright lights."

"Yes sir, thank you." Luke grabbed his bag and stepped out of the cab standing on the sidewalk. He closed his eyes and inhaled the smell of the air, smelling the different types of foods in the air. He listened for all the sounds in the city. Hearing the honking of cars, buses and motorcycles. Hearing the various sounds of music coming from various directions. The city was crowded; which in a way was great for Luke. It meant he could slide under the radar and get ignored which was something he didn't mind.

He opened his eyes and looked in front of him at the place that would hopefully serve as the place to back him financially while he lived in the city.

He sighed a sigh of relief before he stepped into the building to secure a job and secure a check.

- Minutes Later -

"Alright and you said your name was Luke Hammock?" asked his interviewer, Mr. Jason Stewart who barely looked up at his interviewee as he shuffled through a stack of papers. Jason Stewart was a bald american male with a salt and pepper beard with blue eyes.

"Hammonds, sir. Luke Hammonds." Luke corrected.

"Well, Luke. We aren't exactly hiring at the moment." Jason said making Luke look down at his fiddling thumbs in disappointment.

"Right, I understand."

"But I can't exactly let you walk out of here." Jason said as Luke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Your designs are pretty good. I would be lying if I didn't admit that. The only problem is that you don't really have anything really high-profile under your belt in order for me to present you to my boss with the notion of saying that this guy is good. But I'm gonna go out on a limb here and provide you with an opportunity. You've heard of Alex Hammer, Justin Hammer's younger brother?"

"Yes, sir. I'm familiar with him." Alex Hammer was Justin Hammer's baby brother and apparently the true genius behind Hammer Industries. Many people believed that Alex was supposed to be the true CEO of the company but somehow Hammer swooped in and took the company.

"Well, Alex wants to redesign the Hammer Industries headquarters here in New York and I'm gonna give you a shot. If you can design something that he'll like then you'll have a permanent position here. Think you can do that?"

"I can definitely do that." Luke smiled.

"Good. Don't disappoint me. You have till Friday. Write down your email so I can share some of the pitches with you." He did as was asked and wrote down his email address on a small notepad. This was a highly unorthodox opportunity but it was still an opportunity nonetheless. An opportunity that he couldn't turn down.

"Well, I look forward to see your work Mr. Hammock." said Jason as he stood up to shake hands with Luke.

"It's Hammonds."

"That's what I said. Now that'll be all." Luke walked out of the office with a grin that couldn't be wiped off at all. This was it he was getting the job he dreamed of, now the only thing he worried about was finding a place to live. A good place to live.

- Later That Night -

After Luke had successfully earned a chance to design a building that could guarantee him a job, he had spent the rest of the day walking around New York looking around at the city taking a look at some of the landmarks before checking out around 5 to go to his hotel room and make some progress on his designs on the Hammer Tower. So far, it was going good. His designs were something unique, something modern. It was something that the young Hammer genius would love. Something that would earn him a job and make his life in New York a reality.

The hotel he was staying in was nice. Of course, it was a little steep and expensive but it was definitely something nice. If his mother was there, she would've of course yelled at him for spending that much money on a room for simply 3 nights but she would've also loved it as much as he did. She probably would've run his room service bill up with her love for expensive wines. Ever since he could remember, his mother would always be drinking wine when she came home from work. In her words, "A glass of wine a day extends life by another day". His mother, Angela, was actually an Angel like her namesake. Just thinking about her brought a smile to his face.

She was the reason that Luke was the man he was today. The reason that he was so mild-mannered. And speaking of the woman, his phone began to rang making him grin as he looked at his screen seeing the name on the screen.

"Hey, mom." He answered.

"How's my little sunshine?"

"I'm not exactly little anymore but I'm good."

"Good, you know I was a little nervous when you told me you were going to the big city."

"Yeah, I know but mom, I can take care of myself."

"I know you can but it doesn't stop me from worrying."

"I guess, you're right."

"Are you wearing the ring?"

"I am. Thank you for adding a higher dosage. It seems the stronger the more I need to try to suppress it."

"Careful. Too much and it starts to harm you."

"Trust me, I know that all too well."

"You know I packed your suit."

"Really? Which one? The blue one or the grey one?"

"No, not that suit. The other one."

"Oh."

"Luke, you can't keep running from it. You were sent here for a reason and that reason is to protect us from a threat. A threat we know nothing about yet but a dangerous, powerful threat. And the only way that threat can be defeated is with your help. So sooner or later, the world is gonna need you and you're gonna have to answer that call."

"Just give me some time."

"Okay, son. Call me tomorrow." he exhaled as he hung up his phone, tossing it on the bed. He stood up from his spot on the floor where he was sitting with his tablet where he was drawing up the plans. He made his way to the bathroom, looking himself over in the mirror. He turned on the water and cupped his hands together before splashing it on his face to clear his mind a bit. What his mother said was starting to get to him. The idea that he was destined to be a Champion of Earth. Something he had never prepared for in his entire life.

He put his hand on his ring before slowly pulling it off. His hair changed from it's dark brown appearance to a golden blonde color along with his eyebrows. His eyes were no longer dark brown instead with a golden amber color. His muscles were more defined giving him an even more athletic build.

This was the man that Luke is. The world might be ready but the question is: is Luke ready for the world?

A/N: Well that's Chapter 1, I hope you guys enjoyed it a smooch as I did writing it. I can tell Luke is gonna be a character I enjoy writing which at the end of the day, is what writing FanFiction is all about. Anyway leave any ideas that you may have in a review and let me know what you think.