Sam was happily humming to herself as she got herself ready for her date with Nolan.

Nolan had been called off to take down some supe in Hell's Kitchen, and while she would usually watch the news to see how it went, she was too excited for the outing she and Nolan had planned.

Nolan had snuck out and bought her tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, surprising her just a few days before.

It was a lucky coincidence that today had just so happened to be her birthday. So she was excited.

Her outfit of choice at the moment was a pair of skinny jeans, some black boots that ran up to her calves, dark red jacket, and a white tube top. Plus a pair of diamond earrings that Nolan had bought her.

She could hardly believe that she was finally with Nolan, and all it took was…

Actually, let's not think about that embarrassing memory.

She and Nolan had been on a few dates now, and it had been weeks since he'd caught her in bed… no, don't think about it!

But this one, he'd practically went all out for. He'd even talked Mr. Smythe into closing the theater so that they could go out today.

Barring any supe related events of course.

But she was elated nonetheless.

Though, she was a little unsure as to why Nolan was wanting her to wait at the apartment. She had thought that she was meeting Nolan at Barlows. They were gonna have dinner, and then he'd fly them to the concert.

But maybe he had another surprise for her? Her life seemed to be full of surprises lately.

But it could also be something else. She was hoping against hope that they wouldn't have to cancel the date.

But what could come up that would cause that?

No, she was probably overthinking it.

Nolan had indicated that it was important that she waited at the apartment, and he had promised her that he would take her out tonight, regardless of what came up.

Something she was very appreciative of.

She had told Nolan that if they wouldn't be able to go, that it was alright. She didn't want him shirking something important for a date that they could always have again. Hell, there were other concerts this year, and she knew for sure that there were other singers she wanted to see on stage other than Taylor Swift.

She was happy that she got to spend time with Nolan. That's what was important to her.

She was pulled out of her musings as she brushed her her, by the sound of the front door opening, and the voice of Nolan echoing through the apartment.

"Sam?"

"Coming!" She shouted back, setting the hairbrush down onto the bathroom sink as she finished it up, making her way to the living room seconds later to greet Nolan.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked as she came into the living room, only to pause at the site in front of her.

Nolan was standing in his hero suit, looking at her with an awkward look, while behind him, stood another person, looking no older than 17, in a blue and yellow suit, his eyes covered by the goggles of his mask.

"Hey Sam, I uh… I want you to meet someone." Nolan said, somewhat slowly, almost as if he were nervous about how this entire conversation was going to go.

"Um… okay." Sam said, surprised as she moved closer to the two. "Is everything alright?"

"That's debatable." Nolan admitted. "Why don't we all take a seat?"

Nodding, Sam took a seat, Nolan sitting next to her, while the teenage supe took a seat in the chair next to them.

"So, who's this?" Sam asked, curious as she looked at Nolan.

"This is… my son." Nolan said, looking at Sam seriously. "Mark."

Sam's eyes shot wide as she looked over at the teen in her apartment. "Y-You… you're his…"

The boy nodded, smiling slightly. "Mark Grayson. It's nice to meet you." He said, taking his mask off as he offered his hand to the woman."

"Um… Sam." Sam stuttered out, still extremely surprised by this turn of events. "Sam Alcorn."

"Mark was brought here by Clockwork, same as me." Nolan revealed, gesturing to his son. "Along with a team of heroes from my old world."

"The Guardians of the Globe." Mark revealed, to Sam's surprise. "They're the second version of the team, but I'm assuming Dad named the team here after the first."

"Yeah." Nolan said, confirming Mark's suspicions. "Despite what I did, they were my friends." He said. "And if I could change everything… I would."

Neither Sam nor Mark were sure what to say at his words, so they said nothing.

"So…" Mark spoke up after a moment of silence. "How did you meet Dad?"

"Oh, he came to the movie theater I work at the day he came to this world." Sam explained. "He was looking to take a security position we had open for months."

Mark's eyes widened. "Security guard?" He turned to look at Nolan. "Why not start writing books again? You could have them done in an instant."

"Writing?" Sam asked curiously, smiling as turned to look at Nolan. "What kind of writing?"

"Anything, really." Mark spoke for his father. "Inspiration always seemed to hit him, but now I wonder if they were just edited accounts of his actual life."

Nolan chuckled. "No, not all of them were." He said with a shake of his head. "But the reason I didn't want to write, at least for the time being, is because of the bad memories."

"Bad memories?" Mark asked in confusion.

"Every time I thought about it, but I couldn't come up with an idea without remembering everything I did." Nolan admitted, a sad tone in his voice.

"Well…" Sam spoke, looking at Nolan. "You have been a pretty good security guard." She said with a smile, turning to Mark. "I actually have a story for you, about your dad."

"Oh?" Mark asked with a raised eyebrow.

"So, it's a typical day, right? All our customers are watching their movies, and we're bored out of our mind." Sam started, a grin on her face.

"Oh no…" Nolan said, knowing exactly which story she was gonna tell already. She'd been telling it to everyone for the past two days since it happened.

"So, I'm leaning against the counter, messing around on my phone." Sam began her story. "Nolan was over on the other side of the lobby helping our friend Ellis fix one of our arcade machines."

"Sam…" Nolan groaned, but Sam ignored him.

"Then, all the sudden, some asshole walks up and just smacks my ass." Sam told Mark. "Says I deserve it for sticking it out like that."

"Ohoho…" Mark laughed, already having a good idea of where this is going.

"A second later, without fail, Nolan cracks the guy's skull off the counter." Sam giggled. "Guy threaten's Nolan with arrest, saying he's a cop, shows his badge, Nolan points directly to the security camera, tells him he'll be in the cell right next to him. The he threatened to beat the guy within an inch of his life and make him wish he'd never become a cop."

Mark laughed as Sam finished the story, while Nolan groaned in embarrasment, bringing his hand up to his face. "Why, Sam?"

"It's payback!" Sam giggled like a mad woman. "It fun to be on the other side of the spectrum for a change."

"Anyway, to officially introduce you to her…" Nolan spoke, looking at Mark. "This is Sam."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, Dad. I got that."

Nolan nodded. "She's… she's my girlfriend."

At that, Mark's eyes went wide.

Sam suddenly looked uncomfortable, as she realized that Mark hadn't known that before.

And Nolan carefully studied Mark.

For the longest time, Mark didn't say anything, looking between his father and Sam in shock, still trying to process what he'd just heard.

"Y-You… Your girlfriend?" Mark questioned in disbelief, unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"Yes." Nolan said with a nod. "She is."

"I…" Mark shook his head as he slowly stood to his feet. "Why?"

"Because… I feel something towards her, Mark." Nolan admitted, standing to his own feet. "And I want to give it a shot."

"What about Mom?" Mark snapped. "She's back home, crying her eyes out every day!"

"Mark…" Nolan said softly. "I can't see your Mom again. I was lucky enough that you were one of the people Clockwork brought here."

"Mom's got depression, and you're over here living it up with a woman you've barely known!" Mark growled, backing away from his father.

"I've been here for nearly two months, Mark." Nolan retorted. "I can never leave this universe, Mark. Not without dying. I had to accept that."

"So you did it in the arms of another woman?!" Mark exclaimed, glaring at Nolan.

Nolan narrowed his eyes. "That's enough, Mark."

"No!" Mark shouted, stomping directly up to his father, less than an inch from his face. "You broke Mom's heart! Called her a pet!"

"You think I don't remember that?!" Nolan growled. "I've felt something for Sam for weeks, Mark! It was the thought of Debbie that held me back!"

"Not for long, right?!" Mark retorted, not at all intimidated by his father. "What, she finally wear you down with offers?!"

"MARK!" Nolan exclaimed, unable to believe his son had actually said that. Behind him, Sam gasped, hurt by the words. "That was completely uncalled for!"

"Screw you!" Mark snarled, completely overtaken by his anger. "What, 20 years was a speck, right? What's a few months, right?"

Suddenly, the argument was interrupted as Sam moved around Nolan, walking to her bedroom, tears in her eyes as Nolan and Mark watched her.

They stared down the hall where she disappeared, and they could hear the door slamming shut.

And then Nolan turned to Mark. "I don't care how angry you are with me, there was no call, saying that about her, Mark." He growled.

Mark didn't say anything, he simply stared down the hall.

He had the sinking feeling that he was the one in the wrong here.

Black Samson looked over at Butcher. "So how do we help?"

"Not attacking Omni-Man would've been a good start." Butcher retorted, not even looking at the hero.

"Look, I get it, he's really feels bad about his shit." Samson said with a frustrated sigh. "Not that I believe it." He mumbled under his breath, before looking at Butcher. "But dammit, we were sent her to help for a reason."

"Yeah, you made that clear." Butcher said, finally turning his gaze away from the computer screen. "Let's make this clear. I don't trust you any farther than I can throw you, mate. You attacked a friend of mine, and the greatest heroes of our world."

Black Samson sighed once more. "Look, I'm sorry alright?" He said in exasperation. "I thought he was a threat, we attacked."

"Well, let's assume he is a threat for a moment, buddy." Butcher started with a raised eyebrow. "Now, do any of you- actually, do all of you together stand anymore of a chance taking down Omni-Man than you do getting into a nun's knickers?"

As much as Black Samson hated to admit it, Butcher had a point.

He'd been on the original Guardians of the Globe back home, before he lost his powers. They were far more powerful than anyone on his own team of Guardians, and they'd still lost to Omni-Man.

"No." Samson admitted with a shake of his head.

Butcher nodded. "See, that's what I thought. So, instead of helping, you would've set him off on a rampage worse than anything Homelander could've done." He snapped, glaring at Samson.

Samson let out a sigh. "Look, I really am sorry. We were sent to help, and the first thing we saw was the greatest monster of our world." He said, looking at Butcher seriously. "He murdered thousands. He beat the kid into the ground hard enough to cause earthquakes and avalanches. And he tried to blame it all on Mark."

Butcher raised an eyebrow as Samson stood straight up, looking at him.

"What were we supposed to do? Assume that Omni-Man is a hero again, find another threat?"

As much as Butcher hated to admit it, and boy did he really hate to admit it, Samson had a point there. Nolan was considered a evil bastard in his old world.

If he'd been dragged to another world to help, and the first person he saw was Homelander? He'd probably have a similar mindset.

Though he wouldn't immediately attack like an idiot.

"You got me on that last one mate, I admit." Butcher said with a sigh. "But my point still stands. You attacked Omni-Man in the middle of Hell's Kitchen, while he and his team were busy saving lives. It's a wonder no one was killed, because you made things worse by a large margin." He looked at Samson seriously. "Technically, my team has the authority to lock your arses up for that stunt. Not like we actually could at the moment, and even if we did, our prisons are made for Compound V Supes, not actual heroes."

Samson nodded. "Look, I truly mean it when I say we're here to help. And whatever this threat is, it has to be pretty powerful if it warrants two teams that equal out to fifteen people, plus the two most powerful beings ever to exist on our planet." He reasoned.

Butcher raised an eyebrow. "Two?"

Samson smirked slightly. "The kid has nothing on his dad, that was made clear, but he's a lot stronger than he was before." He explained. "If I had to guess, the kid is probably more powerful than anyone on this Earth, second only to his dad."

Butcher chuckled. "Well, ain't that a good thing?"

Samson nodded. "Hopefully. But like I said, fifteen superheroes, plus two Viltrumites? That could just as easily be a bad sign as it is a good thing."

He had a point, Butcher had to admit. "Well, if that doesn't put my nerves through the wringer, I don't know what will." He remarked.

Kimiko sat in the cafeteria by herself.

Admittedly, it was something she would do a lot, as it really just gave her time to herself.

She appreciated the other Guardians, she really did… but sometimes, it just reminded her of what was taken from her.

Her brother, Kenji. They'd both been experimented on… and then she was hauled off to the U.S. in a cage while Kenji was kept by the Shining Light Liberation Army.

She still missed her brother. Hell, she still missed all of her family.

"What are you doing here, all alone, mon coeur?"

The familiar voice of Sergei, or as everyone else knew him, Frenchie, sounded out through the cafateria, and Kimiko smiled slightly.

She loved the team, and she really appreciated most of the Boys, even Butcher, but Frenchie had been the one to find her, release her from the cage, even though MM had been really nervous and against the idea.

Admittedly, she didn't hold it against the man. Especially considering the bloodbath that happened afterwards.

Obviously, a group of terrorists don't take to kindly to a couple of men breaking in and releasing their weapon.

Obviously, Kimiko was none to pleased to be kept in a cage and let her captors kill her savior.

She ripped them apart.

One had gotten lucky, took a sledgehammer to her skull while she was in a frenzy. Her skull had cracked some, and her neck broke.

She woke up ten seconds later and impaled him with the handle of the sledgehammer.

One put a bullet in her eye.

She put the entire clip in his… literally…

But even after watching such a display, Frenchie hadn't been put off.

MM and Hughie had been understandably more nervous, but they were still thankful.

Frenchie had been happy, thankful. He talked to her like she was the greatest woman in the universe.

She looked at Frenchie with a smile, and typed on her phone, showing him what she'd written.

Was hungry, wanted something to eat.

Frenchie gave a knowing smile. "Please, mon coeur." He spoke as he took a seat at the table across from her. "If that were true, you would have food in front of you, and I doubt you'd be here at the same time everyday."

Kimiko couldn't help the bashful look on her face at being called out.

You got me. I come here to be alone.

Frenchie's eyes widened as he read the text. "To be alone? Would you like me to leave, then?"

Kimiko shook her head vigorously. Nolan watched as she quickly typed out another message.

I enjoy your presence. You're nice.

Frenchie chuckled. "Many others would disagree." He said sadly.

Kimiko tilted her head in concern.

What do you mean?

Frenchie shook his head. "Mon Coeur, I am not a saint. Before this, I was working for the mob, killing left and right for a woman known as Little Nina." He explained with a sigh. "I would not say I am nice…"

Kimiko stared at him for a moment, concern on her face, before she gave him a small smile.

Just because you were not nice before doesn't mean you aren't now.

Frenchie smiled at Kimiko's words. "If you say so… I think the only nice one out of us is MM." He remarked. "He's the most compassionate, anyway."

Kimiko scoffed.

I don't think Soldier Boy agrees.

Frenchie nodded. "You have a point. But to be fair… Soldier Boy did kill MM's family." He reminded the supe, who nodded with a sigh.

I know.

Frenchie smiled at Kimiko. "To tell the truth, outside of Hughie and MM, I don't think any of us were really… good people." He admitted to her. "Even Miss Mallory… she would pull people into it, whether by blackmail or coercion, without a care for what they might be going through." He recalled bitterly, remembering his own experiences with the woman.

Kimiko didn't say anything… or rather, didn't type anything, as it looked as if Frenchie wasn't finished speaking.

"It's funny… she was a lot like Butcher, just more controlled… but she brought him into it, and then had the balls to say that Butcher was only in it to lash out against the world." Frenchie remarked with a shake of his head. "But now, Butcher is actually trying to be a good person… and yet, it feels as if Mallory hasn't changed at all."

Mallory is the one who set this whole Guardians thing up with Butcher and Nolan, right?

Frenchie nodded. "Yes… and it still feels as if she hasn't changed much, despite what happened to her grandkids."

Kimiko looked at Frenchie. She was a lot like him. She wasn't very nice… many people would disagree with such a sentiment. And yet, here they were, both of them, trying to do good in a world where heroes were more criminal than crime stopper.

Maybe that's why Frenchie unlocked her cage. He saw something in her that she didn't see in herself.

His name… it was Icon.

At least, that's what he was told.

They couldn't find his files. Apparently, the system had been wiped. They didn't even know his real name.

Which sucked.

He was curious as to why he'd agreed to this procedure, since it apparently resulted in him losing 90 percent of his memory.

Seriously! He didn't even know his own name! He was just called Icon! Or even worse, Project Icon! Like he was just some science experiment!

He appreciated what James and Doc Simmons were doing for him, but come on! They couldn't have at least kept his files on hand? Or at least made sure they weren't at risk of being completely deleted?

Come on, this Vought company is supposed to be top notch from what he'd heard!

Oh well… not much he can do now except hope his memory comes back.

At the moment, Icon found himself getting irritated. He'd been in this underground bunker for the past four days… and James had told him that he'd needed to stay there for safety reasons.

Which Icon didn't understand why. He felt better than ever!

Hell, he was probably in much better condition than he was before the procedure. Physically at least. If the tests they'd run were anything to go by.

From what he could gather, he had a list of superpowers. He had immense strength, to the point that everything around him seemed fragile. He had such speed that if he chose, he could probably kill everyone in the facility within a second. He wasn't sure how tough he was… but he was told that he was probably one of the most powerful beings on the planet.

Then there were the other abilities.

He had heat vision… or something like that. He could shoot beams of immense heat from his eyes, and while he wasn't sure exactly how powerful they could be, they could melt titanium with ease.

He'd also learned through an embarrassing mishap that he had X-Ray vision… he'd unintentionally ended up peeking through a female scientist's clothes. At first he thought she'd walked stark naked, but upon looking around, he realized that wasn't the case.

He immediately focused on shutting that power off.

He could also hear far better than a normal human. Most of the facility was sound proofed, he couldn't hear anything outside of the room or the facility. But he could hear the heartbeats of anyone who was within the same room as him, as well as anybody else throughout the facility as long as the doors were open.

And finally, he could fly.

He was a little unsure of what procedure he'd went through, but he was almost positive that he wasn't able to do any of this before it.

He was pulled from his thoughts when James walked into his bedroom. At the moment, he'd been gifted with a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt, but he had a feeling that was about to change when he spotted a bundle of folded clothes in the man's hand.

"What's this?" Icon asked with a raised eyebrow, standing to his feet.

James' face ever so slightly turned into a smile, but it didn't match his eyes.

Icon appreciated the help he was getting from James and Simmons… but something about James was off to him…

Then again, he'd heard similar words from scientists around the place.

"This is your outfit." He answered, looking down at the bundle of clothes in his hands. "Preparations are finally complete, and the new super hero, Icon, is ready to make his public debut."

Icon looked at the suit for a moment. It was blue and white, and on the chest, which he could see clearly, the blue sections seemed to come together and merge over the white chest in the shape of the letter I.

Icon looked at it for a moment.

Super hero, huh?

Icon gave another look at James, before picking up the suit.

He was all for helping people… but something told him there was more to this whole project than he was being told. He doubted it was just to be a superhero.

But either way… he was finally getting out of this bunker.

He couldn't wait.

A/N: And that's it.

I apologize for the long wait, and I will try to begin getting chapters for this back up on a regular basis, but I had other stories that I really wanted to work on, and plus, I'm still debating on which direction I plan on taking the Icon arc.

I have an idea of what I want to do, but I'm still debating on how I want to do it.

I also apologize after such a short chapter after the long wait, but as I said, I've been agonizing over what I want to do with Icon.

Originally when I came up with the idea, he was originally supposed to be a villain, admittedly, which I think most of you know.

Now, there are three different possible paths I could take, and all of them end a little differently.

Which is why I think I'll let all of you have your input once more.

On my profile on Fanfiction, there's going to be a poll for three endings. The Nate Ending, The Bizarre Ending, and the Battle Ending. Each one gives a hint as to how they will play out, and admittedly, you all won't be able to be completely sure since I'm giving little to no info on the endings other than the names, which hint at how they will play out.

But honestly, if I don't get some sort of help deciding, this story will take forever with the updates, and I don't want to keep any of you waiting any longer than I already have.

Anyway, poll will be up on my profile, and I'll try to have the next chapter out soon. It won't be until the second chapter after this one when I begin progress towards the ending all of you choose for the arc.

And just so you all know, this arc most likely won't be the end of the story. I still have a few more ideas.

Anyway, that's all for this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll see you all in the next one.