It had been a day since Nolan had arrived in this new world.

Despite their rough meeting and mutual distrust of each other, Butcher had been a godsend.

Upon finding out that he had… well… literally nothing to his name, He had actually taken Nolan out and bought him a phone.

"We gotta keep in contact with each other, mate. Otherwise it's hard to plan and prepare."

Nolan could see the logic in that.

Especially considering that Butcher had called earlier this morning, with a plan already lined against Vought.

"Hey, Nolan, you there?"

"I'm here."

"I got a guy, kid named Hughie. Wants to help us out."

"Why?"

"Poor lad's lover was killed by A-Train about a week ago. Right in front of his eyes."

"Damn. How'd you get him to help?"

"Took a supe nightclub, showed him footage of the bastard laughing about the poor broad's death."

"..."

"Nolan, you there?"

"Yeah… just had to process that."

"Angry?"

"Livid."

"Good."

"So why're you calling me?"

"Two reasons. One, I'm gonna have the kid plant a bug."

"Okay, and two?"

"You're going with him."

"Come again?"

"Have you watched the news?"

"..."

"Right, stupid question. Vought publicly issued an invitation. They want to offer you a position on the Seven."

"How does the kid factor into this?"

"He's gonna accept a nondisclosure agreement for some cash. While he's signing it, he's gonna plant the bug."

"So, am I taking advantage of the offer to guard him, or is this a dual opportunity?"

"Maybe both."

"... You want me to spy on them, don't you."

"How'd you guess?"

"Well, even if they discover the bug, They most likely won't know I'm in with you. All I got to do is feed you information, do some snooping. And unlike any other spy on the planet, I can turn the entire team into paste."

"You catch on fast."

"Thousand year old military conqueror."

"Yeah, yeah, so you in?"

"Depends, what time?"

"I'd say about 5 pm? Somewhere around that time?"

"I can do that. I'm off work at four."

"Work?"

"Why do you think I was in the movie theater yesterday?"

"..."

"Butcher, if you say what I think your gonna say-"

"I already told ya what I though, I ain't saying it again."

"Well, alright, I'm in."

"Alright then. Remember that warehouse we met at yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"Meet us there."

To be quite frank, it seemed like a pretty decent plan.

Though obviously, Nolan was thinking of improvements the entire time.

Mostly to keep the kid, Hughie, safe.

He wasn't sure, but something told him that Butcher wasn't exactly the best at giving all the details.

His thoughts stopped though when he approached the Kirkman Theater.

8:58.

Till minutes till the start of his first shift.

Arriving a little early always helps.

As Nolan walked through the door, he was greeted by the site of Sam and Ellis arguing, while Evan stood off to the side, a hand running through his hair.

"We can't let him get away with it!" Sam yelled, and now Nolan was confused.

"He had a fucking gun and you wanted to chase him?!" Ellis yelled back, eyes wide in disbelief. "Not even mentioning he was a full foot taller than you!"

"So?!" Sam exclaimed, glaring at Ellis. "He forced Mr. Smythe to give him everything from the safe by holding you at gunpoint! Not only is our paycheck gone, but so is the fifteen hundred dollars!"

"I'd rather the cash go than lose our lives! I'd rather stare down the barrel of that gun than to see either of you in that position!" Ellis yelled back, not backing down.

"Come on you two, that's enough." Evan exclaimed, only to fall on deaf ears.

"Yeah, and if you get shot in the process? I don't plan to lose my best friend!" Sam growled.

Ellis glared back. "I'd rather lose my life than my best friend, Sam!"

"Well, somebody has to go after the guy! Otherwise the theater is fucked!"

"Guys!" Evan exclaimed, but was still ignored.

"And what do you plan on doing?!" Ellis yelled, gesturing wildly as he spoke. "Go jump on his back and home he doesn't pull you off and kill you?!"

"Well somebody has to do something, and if you won't I guess I have to!" Sam retorted.

"Guys!" Evan tried once more, but they continued to bicker.

Upon realizing that Evan was getting nowhere, Nolan decided to make his presence known.

"ENOUGH!"

Nolan's booming voice caused all three of them to jump, and silenced any bickering that may have happened as they turned to look at him, fear written all over their faces.

Until they realized who it was.

"Oh thank god." Evan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Dude you scared the hell out of us!" Ellis yelled, panting.

"Nolan!" Sam ran towards him, stopping right in front of him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Nolan said, looking around. "Are you alright? What happened here?" He asked as he glanced over towards the counter, and he could see a small hole in the wall, his enhanced site allowing him to see the bullet inside.

"We were robbed a little bit ago, Nolan." Evan explained as he approached. "Big guy, few inches shorter than you, came in waving a gun at Ellis."

"Scared the hell out of me." Ellis remarked as he approached the group. "Started threatening to shoot me, put a bullet in the wall as a warning."

"I hid in the back, and I heard him ranting and raving." Sam admitted. "He sounded like he was on something."

Upon hearing that his new place of employment was robbed, Nolan stood up straight.

"What did he look like?"

"Big, blonde hair, black hoodie. Had a scar carved into his left cheek." Ellis described. "Why?"

Nolan turned around. "Call the police. I'll be back."

"You're not seriously going after him, are you?" Evan asked, bewildered. Nolan didn't answer as he walked back out the door.

"Just call the police. I'll be back." Nolan said as the door closed behind him.

Glancing around, he walked over into a nearby alley, taking a glance around to make sure he was in the clear, he was not repeating the same mistake twice, before he blasted off, reaching Mars, changing his clothes, and returning to the planet in a matter of seconds.

Omni-Man was back.

'Black hoodie, blonde hair, scar on his left cheek… there!'

It didn't take Omni-Man long to find who he was looking for. The man had only made it a few blocks from the theater, and had decided a nearby alley was the perfect place to count his cash.

Omni-Man rolled his eyes. 'Only a few blocks away, and you pick an alley?'

He lowered slowly into the alley, making sure to angle himself so that the sun shined directly on him, cascading his shadow over the crook.

The man jumped up quickly, turning to face Omni-Man, his gun drawn. "Who are you?!" He asked.

Omni-Man rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna have to ask you to return the cash, sir."

The man, his eyes widened, was clearly on something. "No way, man! I need it for my fix!"

Omni-Man sighed. 'Another junkie. Great. As if there weren't enough yesterday.'

Realizing there was no talking this out, Omni-Man was quick to act, speeding around the man and the cash faster than the crook could react. In a split second, the cash was all back in the handbag the crook had used, and the crook himself had been hogtied by some unused rope that Omni-Man had repossessed.

With a sigh, he slung the handbag onto his shoulder, and grabbed the crook by the rope, holding him as if he were a suitcase.

"Hey, put me down, man!" The crook demanded, struggling against the rope, which was expertly tied by Omni-Man.

"Yeah, in a minute." Omni-Man responded, rolling his eyes.

Considering it was only two blocks away, Omni-Man was able to return to the movie theater in less than a minute, landing on the ground and leaving the crook outside the doors.

"Now, wait here while I return what you stole." Omni-Man said, not even looking at the man.

"Screw you, man!" The crook called, though Omni-Man ignored him.

Omni-Man walked through the doors, handbag in his hand.

The site inside was again, not what he was expecting.

Sam was pacing back and forth, her hands in her hair, looking close to panic.

"Oh god, he's gonna get shot, he's gonna get shot!" She muttered, while Ellis and Evan both seemed to be trying to calm her down.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be fine! He probably won't even find him!" Ellis tried to assure her, but she didn't seem to be hearing it.

"He has a gun, you said it yourself, and it hadn't been that long! Oh why did I have to be so gung ho about going after that guy?!" Sam exclaimed, gripping her hair in panic.

"Even if he finds the guy, Nolan is a big man compared to him, and I'm sure he wouldn't go after him if he didn't think he could handle it." Evan reasoned.

"But he hasn't even been here a day! His first day hasn't even started! He shouldn't be going after crooks! He's a security guard, not a cop!" Sam yelled. Clearly, she was worried for Nolan.

Nolan was actually touched by her concern. Maybe he should pay it back, in his own way of course. Transitioning into his Omni-Man persona, he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me?"

His voice carried throughout the lobby, catching all of their attention.

Sam didn't even look at the outfit, zeroing in completely on his face.

"Nolan!" She exclaimed, running up to him and wrapping her arms around his chest. "Are you alright?!"

"Uh-"

She pulled away and glared at him. "Don't you dare pull another stunt like that! You could've been killed for crying out loud!"

"Uh, Sam?" Ellis called out.

"What?!" Sam snapped, glaring at her friend.

"Look at his chest."

Sam rolled her eyes. But she complied.

And froze.

She knew that symbol. It had been making rounds all over the place, from the news, to the internet, and social media.

It was the symbol for that new hero. Omni-Man.

And it clicked.

"Y-you're that new hero?"

Nolan looked at her, surprised. He wanted to deny. Honestly, he should've.

"Nolan?" Evan's voice caught his attention, and he looked up at both him and Ellis, shock clear on both their faces. "Is that really you?"

"I…" Nolan went quiet, struggling to find out the answer as all three of them looked at him.

Then his face scrunched up in frustration as he looked down. "Dammit!"

They looked at him, confused, as he looked back up, a look of resignation on his face. "Yeah, it's me."

"W-What…" Sam was stunned speechless, gazing at the symbol.

The man she had admired the other day. Their new security guard was a superhero.

And she had ogled him the other day!

"Oh my god!" Sam exclaimed, her hands shooting up to her face in embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Nolan asked her.

"I got caught ogling a superhero!" She exclaimed, muffled through her hands. Despite the sudden and immense revelation, that definitely lightened the mood as they all chuckled at her embarrassment.

"You think your the only one who's stared at me?" Nolan said, chuckling. "Like I said, at least you didn't try to deny it or be rude about it." He said, smiling down at her.

"It's still embarrassing." She muttered as she took her hands away from her face as she ran them through her head, while her face was red with embarrassment.

"How about I lighten up the mood." He said as he held out the hand bag, intending to change the topic.

"What's that?" Evan asked as he took it from Nolan.

"Well, since you figured it out my secret, that's the cash that was stolen." Nolan admitted, to the surprise of all of them.

"What?"

"Really?"

"How did you-"

Nolan interrupted Evan. "I can move faster than Homelander. Much faster. It was a matter of looking."

Evan looked down at the handbag, and chuckled. "First day on the job and your already a pro. No wonder you're so good at this."

Nolan chuckled. "Admittedly, my experience extends far prior to my public debut here."

"So, the theater don't open for another two hours." Ellis said, glancing around, before looking at Nolan. "Can you… tell us your story?"

Nolan looked at the three. Evan was moving to put the cash back where it belonged, but he looked interested. Ellis was smiling slightly, and Sam had an excited grin on her face.

"Please?!" She begged, bringing her hands together as she jumped up and down. "We won't tell anyone!"

Nolan looked at the three of them. He didn't want to lie anymore, that's exactly why he admitted it when they realized the truth.

But…

There were some things he wasn't ready to share. Not with them.

Not unless he knew they could handle it.

He sighed. "I won't lie, I'm going to omit some bits because they are too hard to talk about, but everything I say will be the truth." He looked at them all seriously. "But I mean it when I say not to tell a single soul."

All three of them looked at each other, before nodding, their expressions firm.

"Your secret's safe with us Nolan." Evan reassured him.

"It's not our secret to tell." Ellis reasoned.

"And besides…" Sam looked up at Nolan as she spoke. "You've already done so much for us in so little time. The least we can do is this."

Nolan looked at the three of them, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Fine, just give me a second."

Quickly, Nolan sped out of the theater, before speeding back in.

"Before I do anything, I know I wasn't gone long, so did you call the police?"

Ellis chuckled. "Nope. The moment you were gone, this one started panicking." He said, jerking his thumb in Sam's direction.

Sam glared at Ellis, her face red from embarrassment. "Shut up."

Nolan chuckled. "That's fine, that makes things quicker."

He disappeared into a blur again, moving by the counter, before flying out the door.

The three waited a few seconds, before Nolan was back, wearing his civilian clothes this time.

"Sorry, but I didn't want to be seen in my Omni-Man outfit if somebody walks in."

Sam raised and eyebrow. "You don't wear a mask, Nolan." She smirked.

Nolan grumbled. "Didn't matter back home." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, back room, now." He said, leading them back to Evan's office.

Evan took a seat at his desk, while Sam and Ellis sat next to each other, as Nolan began his story, omitting certain bits, leaving them mostly with 'I did bad things.'

But he told them most of it. From his alien heritage, to his years on earth, to a less violent version of his final moments back home, and then his meeting with Clockwork, omitting the truth about the heroes. He didn't think they were ready to know that one yet.

All three of them stared at him, shock covering their features.

"Wow…" Ellis muttered, looking at Nolan.

"So you're… an alien?" Sam asked.

"When I interviewed you yesterday, Nolan…" Evan's voice caught Nolan's attention. "What all did you edit or modify?" He asked, gazing up at Nolan.

Nolan sighed. "Not much, honestly. Just where I was from, and my age."

"How old are you?" Sam asked curiously, head tilting as she looked at him.

"You want the truth?"

The three nodded.

"I stopped caring after my 1500th birthday."

They all balked at his answer.

"Fifteen… hundred?" Ellis muttered, shellshocked.

"You're… thousands of years old?" Sam asked, disbelief clear in her features.

"If I'm honest, I should be about three thousand. Viltrumites don't exactly place emphasis on birthdays. So it was hard for me to care about keeping track after a certain point." He admitted. He looked at Evan. "Remember when I told you that my that my people live by the survival of the fittest mindset?"

Evan nodded.

"That's why I did bad things… misplaced loyalty."

"What'd you do?" Ellis asked.

Memories flashed through Nolan's head of a boy in a blue and yellow suit, beaten, swollen, and bloody.

"I… don't want to talk about it." He said, looking down, rubbing his head in shame.

The three looked at each other, and then back at Nolan. "We won't force you to do anything, Nolan. You've not even been here a day, and already, you've helped us immensely." Evan said, reassuring Nolan.

"Yeah, man." Ellis said, standing up. "We're happy enough that you shared what you did with us. You didn't have to."

"We'll take your secrets to the grave." Sam said seriously, standing up. "Right guys?"

"Right." Ellis agreed.

"Agreed." Evan nodded, all three of them looking at Nolan.

Nolan smiled at the loyalty he'd been gifted.

"Thank you all. I can't thank you enough."

They all smiled, before Ellis smirked. "Piece of advice? Get a mask or some other way to disguise your identity."

Nolan sighed, grabbing the bridge of his nose as they all laughed. "Yeah, apparently people are a lot more perceptive here."

"How do you figure?" Evan asked.

"Back home? I could leave in my suit, show up a second later in casual clothing, not do anything to my face or my hair, nothing, and people would still not realize I was the same person." Nolan chuckled. "Idiotic, now that I think about it, but it was they way things were back home."

"Not here." Evan smiled. "You either need a mask, or you need to try and reduce the time spent in both personas around people. Or at the very least, change some things up in your personas."

Nolan brought a finger up to his chin as he thought for a moment. "Actually, you may have just given me an idea."

"Hey Nolan, something just occurred to me." Sam spoke, catching his attention.

"Yeah, Sam?"

"If you've only been here a day, where have you been staying? Do you have somewhere to go?"

Nolan froze. "Uh… honestly? I haven't been staying anywhere." He admitted. "Most of my time here has been patrol. After leaving here yesterday, I had no money… so I really had nothing to do."

They all looked at him.

"How long were you here, yesterday, before you showed up here?" Evan asked him.

"When I first arrived…" Nolan started. "I stopped an armored truck. That was within minutes of arriving. I sent a few hours after that stopping crimes all over the country, before finally deciding to start setting up my civilian life."

"Do the other heroes have civilian lives?" Ellis asked, interested in that prospect.

Nolan was silent. He really, really didn't want to breach that subject.

But wouldn't it be better to warn them?

But they weren't ready for the truth.

'At least… not all of it… hmm….'

Nolan looked at them. "Some do, some don't." He admitted. "Do you want to know, why I was sent here?"

They looked at him, intrigued. "Why?" Sam asked.

"Because superheroes of this Earth, are monsters."

They all looked confused at that.

"What do you mean?" Ellis asked.

Nolan sighed. "What do you Homelander?"

They all looked at each other, confused as to where this was going.

"He's an alien, who crashed into the U.S. as a baby." Ellis started.

"He's heroic, standing for truth, justice, and the American way." Sam added. "As corny as that sounds."

"He's the leader of the Seven." Evan explained.

Nolan nodded. "Okay. Here's what you don't know: He's a rapist."

Every single of them blanched at that.

"W-What?" Sam stuttered, extremely disturbed.

"He sees himself as god, above everyone. He sees you all as pathetic creatures, who are simply there for his amusement." Nolan explained. "A man I met yesterday, whose name I will not divulge for his privacy, had an extreme hatred for superheroes, Homelander in particular, because his wife was raped by Homelander."

They all looked extremely unsettled at the thought.

"B-But they're superheroes… right?" Ellis sounded so terrified. After all, if Homelander is that bad, how bad could the rest of them be?

"Unfortunately, that's just a title on this Earth, twisted and warped from it's real meaning." Nolan said, sighing. "If they were real heroes, they wouldn't make any money from merchandise, and they definitely wouldn't star in movies." Nolan looked at them, seeing the realization pass over them.

"B-But how would what get away with it?" Evan asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Because of Vought." Nolan revealed. "Vought has so much influence and power, that they have effectively privatized Superheroes. Problem is, they can't afford to lose their biggest money makers, so Vought covers their sorry asses whenever they commit any crime."

"I-It can't be that bad… right?" Sam looked on the verge of tears at the thought that every hero out there was probably some sick, twisted psycho. Who could get away with anything they wanted.

Nolan looked at Sam sadly as Ellis pulled her into a hug. "Unfortunately, it is. The woman Homelander raped? Vought covered it up, simply told her husband she'd been missing. A-Train killed a woman a week ago, and got off scott free…" He was hesitant to reveal this last bit, but he felt it would be best. "I uh… hid my outfits on Mars… whenever I'd fly into orbit, I'd spot the bodies of some poor frozen girls."

Sam began crying as Nolan laid the facts on them, Ellis keeping his arms comfortably around her as he tried to soothe her. Meanwhile, Evan sat back in his chair, unable to comprehend that the superheroes who are supposed to protect them were scum of the Earth.

"Not all of them are bad." He said, gaining their attention. "There is one, to my knowledge, who wants to do some good. Starlight."

"The new girl in the Seven?"

"She hasn't been corrupted. And if Clockwork is to be believed, she never will be."

"R-really?" Sam asked, her spirits somewhat lifted by the news.

Nolan nodded, smiling. "Yes. In fact, I believe she might make a difference."

"So, your here to bring down Vought?" Evan asked, wanting to confirm his words.

Nolan nodded. "Yes. And I can assure you that nothing will happen to you as far as I'm concerned. Okay?" He asked, looking at three of them.

Despite the news they had just learned, the way he said it, the honest gaze he gave them, and the help that he'd given them already, they knew he could believe it.

Sniffling, Sam nodded, smiling. "Okay."

Ellis smiled too. "We believe you man."

Evan looked at Nolan. "Off of more depressing topics, if you still want that job, it's yours. As far as I'm concerned, You've been on the clock since you walked in earlier." He said with a smile.

Nolan nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He looked at all three of them. "I appreciate all of you. And I mean it when I say that I hope to work with you for a long, long time."

They all couldn't help the smiles that entered their faces.

Nolan truly did want to help, didn't he?

A/N: And Chapter. Originally, I was gonna include a scene where Hughie gets to meet Nolan, but the theater scene turned out much longer than I had planned it. Starting next chapter, the plot of The Boys really kicks off.

Originally, I wasn't gonna have any of the theater trio discover Nolan's identity until later, but then a thought occurred to me. Not only is Nolan tired of lying, but it's the perfect opportunity to address the superhero trope of not being able to tell identities without a mask. And this is actually brought up in The Boys, Homelander mentions it to Starlight as to why he doesn't have a secret identity. So basically, what I'm doing, is addressing the same thing with Nolan. Considering the personas of Omni-Man and Nolan Grayson have absolutely no distinct difference in looks in Invincible (The Show at least) there is no reason somebody should not be able to look at Nolan Grayson and go "Hey, that's Omni-Man!" and vice versa.

So I'm probably going to have Nolan come up with a way to address this, it's just thinking of such an idea is the problem.

Also, for those of you talking about Viltrumites not caring about rape, I do admit I only know bits and pieces of the comic, but I was fully aware of the Anissa incident when I wrote that, because outside of Thragg, she seems to be particularly cruel compared to many Viltrumites. Admittedly, as I said, I haven't read the comics much, just bits and pieces, but from what I gather, rape isn't something that Viltrumites celebrate.

There was one reviewer who said that Viltrumites, including Nolan, have no problem with rape. Can someone confirm that for me?

Anyway, I wanted to get this fourth chapter out as treat for you all, since the next couple of chapters will probably take a while and may be a bit longer.

So, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter.