Earthbound

"Ok…almost….there! How's that?' Mako asked as he slid the tower into position, around him, the Thraxians quickly attached braces against the base of the tower where it connected to the palace. Mako flew back and up to observe his handiwork, the overseer of the reconstruction gave him a thumbs up, a gesture which Mako had introduced to the culture of insectoid people and was quickly catching on as a way to shorthand confirmation.

As soon as he had returned to Andressa, she had given the signal to begin rebuilding the capitol city, a process which on earth would no doubt take years to do, and that was with various quirks being used. But on Thraxia, the reconstruction's progress had accomplished in two days what would take Earth months to do. Mainly in part to the technology available, and how the buildings were more modular in nature than that of Earth architecture.

Mako turned around in midair and looked over the rebuilding city, with his hero costume basically being held together by threads and blood, Andressa had taken the liberty of getting him a sleeveless tunic to wear. Which resembled something that people in ancient Greece would wear based on the movies and documentaries he had seen. And floating in the sky above a stone city being constructed, he couldn't help but snort at how ironically he would probably look right at home in one of those movies.

Taking off through the air, he flew down to the base of the palace, where Andressa was awaiting him, the new queen of thraxia smiled as he landed, "I told you, you didn't need to assist." She said as Mako walked up to her.

"I know, but after everything that's happened, I feel like it's the least I can do." He admitted, rolling his shoulder as the soreness returned. His recovery from his fight with the other viltrumites was going well, he didn't know if his speedy recovery this time around was due to the fact that this fight wasn't as bad as the one he had with his father on earth, or that the healing factor he had was slowly getting better the more he used it.

He hoped it was the former, and not the latter.

Walking down the grand staircase of the palace, mako glanced over at Andressa out the corner of his eye with concern, and then to his infant younger brother in her arms. Though he had only been here for a few days, Andressa's features just so subtly changed in that time to confirm what she had told, his brother hadn't aged a day while she visibly had changed. Meaning that she was right, his brother couldn't stay here, he needed to take him with him, back to earth.

As they walked down the path of the spaceport, Andressa smiled at him, "Your nervous." She noticed.

Mako sighed, "Anxious more like….I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to my mother." He told her.

The past few days had given him some time to get to know Andressa better, and he was all the glad for it, as Queen she showed that she cared deeply for her people, and even better that she was a qualified leader with the decisions she made. Not that Mako had many to compare her to, but her impression on Mako had been nothing but positive. She laid a hand on his shoulder, "Tell her the truth, Nolan moved on with his life, just as she should." She told him with a twinge of sadness, "While I miss Nolan, I can't let my life be weighed down by his leaving." She said as they made their way towards the ship that brought Mako here in the first place.

The younger Viltrumite looked at the ship before turning back to Andressa and the still rebuilding capitol, she looked down at her son, at his half brother, and smiled sweetly before handing him over to him. Mako took the small child in his arms, he looked at his younger brother with a mixture of emotions, trepidation for what was to come, fear of how hi mother would react, but most of all, guilt. "I….I wish I could stay." Mako said, "He deserves to know you." He told her.

She smiled forlornly at her child, reaching a finger out, the baby grabbed it playfully, "Nolan explained that human memory doesn't function like ours do. We have a perfect memory, I remember every day of my life since I was born. I remember everything about my parents, I remember the love they showed me since I entered this world. So I made sure to show this little one the same thing, so that he'll remember it as well." She said contently. Mako watched as she pulled her hand out of his brother's grasp, she looked up at him with a sad smile, "You must go now Mako." She said knowingly.

His arms felt heavy with the weight of his younger brother in them, but nonetheless he nodded, pulling his step mother into a embrace, she returned it before turning around and stepping up the ramp of the ship, holding his brother up against his chest as the younger son of Nolan peered over his brother's shoulder at his mother for the last time.

"No I think that we have a strong case for our client. I called their doctor and they said that they weren't even aware that chemical was present in the prescription they assigned to Mr. Ruki." Kali explained over the phone to her boss as she walked through the lobby of her building. Giving the doorman a wave as she passed him, she entered the elevator that went directly up to her penthouse home. "I called a couple more Doctors and they said more or less the same thing, no one was aware of the chemical in the medicine, this could turn into a large scale civil suit…mmmhhmm. I think so, can we do that? Ok then, I'll draft up a statement for the news sites. Alright, thanks, bye." She said before hanging up her phone and leaning her head back with a sigh.

Kali enjoyed being back at her job but her time away had left her a little rusty with her skillset, while prosecutors had heroes and police to do their investigating on their behalf, Defense Attorneys such as herself had to take a proactive approach to investigating, or hire someone else to do it on her behalf. She wasn't against the latter, but she felt she needed to hone her deductive reasoning once again, and it was paying off surely, she just forgotten how mentally taxing it could be.

The doors to her home slid open and she stepped out of the elevator, determined that the rest of her day would be spent curled up on the couch, in her sweatpants, with a blanket, a coffee, and a book she's been meaning to read. "Hey mom." Kali's eyes widened at the voice, her head turned and a smile split across her face upon seeing her son coming out of the kitchen.

She strode over to him and embraced him lovingly, "Oh honey your back! I thought you said-" she began before pulling back and looking at her son and noticing the very different clothing that he was now wearing. "-that….you'd…be gone a few-I'm sorry what is that?" she asked with a laugh. Mako sighed, apparently knowing that this was coming, "Did you join some….space frat house and this is your initiation?" she chided, tugging on the sleeveless tunic he wore.

"Mom-" Mako tried to begin.

"I mean don't get me wrong your pulling it off, you certainly have the legs for it." She continued with a widening smile.

He sighed, "The next time I decide to go to space, remind me to pack more. I ran out of clean clothes and I didn't have toothpaste, and what they had was….painful." he said with a shutter. The less said about Thraxian toiletries the better.

Kali cupped his chin affectionately, "I'm just glad that your safe." She admitted.

Mako's expression faltered, as happy as he was to see his mom again, there was A LOT that they needed to talk about, "Look….mom we really need to talk." He said in a serious tone, Kali's joyful expression sobered into a neutral one. Well let's rip off the second big bandage. Mako thought. "When I was on this alien planet…I saw dad."

The air left Kali in a single, quiet word, "What?"

Mako swallowed and nodded, staying quiet and letting his mom have a moment to let that sink in. Her expression morphed between a number of emotions, confusion being chief among them, alongside anger, and fear, before she finally regained her footing with a deep breath. "Ok. Start from the beginning." She said, walking into he kitchen and pulling out one of the stools at the island.

Mako sat down across from her, "The aliens there, well, dad was their ruler." He began, "He sent the one disguised as Science Dog here to contact me and ask me to come see him." He explained.

Kali swallowed, "When you say…he ruled them….do you mean he…"

He shook his head, "Not exactly, these beings….well you know how flies will live only six months or something? That's this whole species, and their leaders are determined by whose the oldest one alive. So because dad was older-" he said with a shrug.

"-he was ruler by default…ahh." She said understandingly, though the concept alone was a little bit to process and made a few dozen other questions pop into her head. "And…..what did he want?" she asked.

Mako sighed, "He…..ok so you know that he was supposed to take over Earth? Well he thought that maybe by taking over a different planet it might…..I don't know, settle the score? But apparently not. There were other Viltrumites coming…..and they wanted dad." He explained.

Kali felt fear crawl up her throat, "He asked you there to help fight them…." She realized. Mako nodded, Kali felt anger take over the fear. After everything he did, Nolan had the GULL to ask their son, HER son to fight for him?! Her hands balled into fists, the fact that Mako was sitting here in front of her told her that things worked out reasonably well….but then….if that were the case, "Where is he?" she asked.

Mako looked down, sadness filling his face, "He….we fought them mom…..but…..god they were so strong. Dad managed to beat them but we both got hurt badly. I got knocked out. When I woke up, there were dozens of them there and they were taking dad away." He told her.

Fear once again crept up Kali's throat, but not for her son, but for Nolan. The realization made her want to quash it, but she sighed tiredly, "Is…..is your father-"

Mako shook his head, "He was alive, when I last saw him. The other Viltrumites treated my wounds and…well they basically gave me dad's job." He said.

Kali blinked, "I'm sorry?"

"They told me that I'm in charge of getting Earth ready for the eventual invasion." He explained to her dryly.

Kali stared at him, "Oh….ok? And did they…..do anything to…..make sure you did that?" she asked in confusion.

Mako shook his head in frustration, "No! They just-they just expect me to do it! They're so smug about it too! I just….grrr." he growled in annoyance. Kali couldn't stop herself from chuckling.

The mother and son sat silently for a minute, "Why…..why did he fight them? They were his people, wouldn't he just do as they asked?" she asked him.

Mako looked up and met her eyes, "That's the thing mom…he cared about them." He told her. "These people he was in charge of, that he took care of…they got slaughtered and he was….upset by it." He shook his head in mild disbelief over saying it out loud. "Dad…..he's changed…..I….I was right about it." He said.

Kali took a long, deep breath. It didn't excuse everything that he's done, not by any means whatsoever, but the fact that Nolan had actually changed from his time here, his time with both of them. From the life she and Nolan built together. "Mako I…..I can't lie honey this is a lot to take in…your father made a whole new life for himself…..he's changed…...and I really don't know…..I don't know how to react to this."

Mako swallowed thickly, "Yeah….yeah I figured that much." He admitted. "But there's still something I need to-"

"Broba?" a small voice said.

Kali and Mako's heads whirled to the voice, Mako's face wincing at the impeccable timing while Kali's was confusion. "What was that?" she asked.

Mako stood up from the stool, "Uhhhhh yeah…that's…the other thing." He said, walking over to the couch and hopping over to the other side where his younger brother was laying on, as soon as he saw his older brother his eyes lit up with excitement. "Well when you said he made a whole new life for himself…..that's…..pretty accurate." He said before reaching down and picking his brother up. Lifting him up over the couch, Kali's eyes widened larger than Mako had ever seen them before.

"I….wha…" her mouth opened and closed a number of times like a fish being pulled unexpectedly out of the water. "Is….is he….Nolan's?"

Mako nodded, "Yeah."

"And…..and his….." Kali seemed to sink further into the stool, he hands running over her face, "Is….is his mother….." she swallowed.

Mako shook his head, "She's still alive but…..I told you that their lifecycle is shorter than ours…..but his isn't." he explained, hefting his younger brother up to explain. Kali stood up shakily and walked over. Mako felt guilt overwhelm him, "I'm sorry mom, I'm so sorry, I just…I didn't know what to do. I just…..I wanted to do the right thing and….." he trailed off as she stepped up to him and peered down at the infant.

She was silent for a moment, "….heh…..he's got your nose." She snorted to herself.

Her hand reached out and bopped the infant on the nose, making him coo happily at the physical touch. Kali watched as the infant reached his hand out and wrapped around her outstretched finger. A small, heartwarming smile spread over her face. She sighed before looking Mako in the eyes, "Did you really expect to turn up with a baby that has nowhere else to go and say no?" she asked.

Mako felt relief overwhelm him, "You mean?" he asked.

Kali reached over and adjusted the baby's head in his brother's arms, "He's family Mako, it's complicated, but he's got no one else but us." She said knowingly. She frowned, "But I just started my job again, I can't just quit to take care of this little one." She said before sighing, "Not to mention he's not even human, I mean he looks close enough but what about the science behind this, we need to have a medical checkup for him." She explained.

Mako nodded, "I know, I was thinking of calling Cecil or Recovery Girl about-" he began before his earpiece beeped, "Huh, speak of the devil." He said before tapping the device.

'Pentagon. Now.' Where the only words Cecil said before hanging up.

Mako swallowed, "He sounds mad." He said.

Kali nodded knowingly as Mako handed her his younger brother, jogging towards the outdoor patio, he took off from the deck and into the air, turning in a wide arc as he gained speed towards the west. As she watched him leave, Kali looked down at the new addition to their family and smiled. "You are a cute little one aren't you?" she asked, the baby cooing at her affectionately with a gurgle of spit.

The United States had a number of government agencies with their own dedicated buildings where they operated out of. The FBI, CIA, NSA, and other government agencies were located mostly out of Washington D.C. or closer neighboring states of Verginia. However they all fell under the umbrella of the Department of Defense, whose headquarters was located squarely at the Pentagon in D.C.

The historic building had remained unchanged since the dawn of quirks, in fact it was this building itself that the first hero teams of the World had been formed. So it was only natural that the Global Defense Agency would use this facility as it's main base of operations and headquarters. Invincible approached the building a few hundred feet from the ground, passing a sign out front saying 'Parking in Rear', when he saw the familiar sight of Cecil, sitting on a bench with a neutral expression on his scarred face.

"Cecil! Hey, look I know your mad but I have a lot to tell you-" he began before Cecil raised his hand.

"I heard. As soon as your communicator was picked up I listened in on the off chance you were being held prisoner again." Cecil explained. Mako blinked in surprise as he landed in front of his employer. He never knew that the earpiece he had could do that, "So give it to me straight, what exactly did the Viltrumites tell you? Word for word?" he asked in a serious tone.

Mako thought back, "The one who addressed me said that I'm designated Temporarily as the Viltrumite Agent in charge of taking over Earth. And that I have a hundred years to get things ready for their arrival." He explained. Cecil hummed thoughtfully, "I mean in the long run that's not a lot of time, but we could get a bunch taken care of in preparation for them between now and then." Mako said.

Cecil shook his head, "That's assuming that they were telling you the truth. This could easily be a trap designed to lull us into a false sense of security." He told him, interlocking his hands together in thought.

Mako wanted to slap himself, of course they could be just plain lying to him for that very reason. He had never considered the possibility, but he should have considered they sent his father here to infiltrate Earth's society and ready it for the Viltrumite takeover. "Damnit…what do we do then? Do we just….warn everyone?" he asked.

Cecil shook his head, "No that's the last thing we want to do, if we announce that Viltrumites could attack the earth any day? There'd be a global panic, paranoia on levels that would make the Red Scare look like a game of Guess Who." He told the young man as he sat down next to him on the bench. "I have some projects that I can put time and money into that will help us when the time comes, and there's a couple heroes who can probably stand up against a Viltrumite like your father." He said before turning to Mako, "I'm not gonna lie, if they had a dozen Viltrumites show up at our doorstep? We wouldn't stand a chance."

Mako looked down at the ground in disappointment, it wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was the reality of the situation that they faced. For all they knew they could show up to Earth next week, next year, or the next decade. "So there's nothing I can actively do then." He realized.

Cecil nodded, "Pretty much…..now then….your brother."

Mako sighed, "Yeah."

"Let your mother know that we can help with that, I do think your idea of going to U.A. is and getting Recovery Girl to check him out is a smart play. We had Nolan's DNA tested for anything that could be considered dangerous to him when he worked for us but didn't find anything. Your brother probably is the same but it can't hurt to check." Cecil informed him. "Schooling might be a little tricky, public school can work out but his aging could make that difficult."

Mako nodded, "Thanks Cecil."

The head of the GDA turned to him with a frown, "If you want to thank me, from now on, listen to me when I tell you to do something."

Mako whirled his head to him, "What?"

Cecil leaned forward with a glower expression, "I get that things may have turned out alright this time but what do you think this is?" he asked with his voice rising in anger, "I pay you to do your job Mako, and for the past few days you've been gone!"

Mako stared him down firmly, "Cecil I do this because it's the right thin to do, not because you pay me." He replied cooly. "I got these powers and I want to do the best I can with them, save as many people as possible." He said as he turned to face Cecil fully. The scene was reminiscent of last week at U.A. where Mako was confronted about his behavior with Bakugo during the exam, but this was not the same as that. "I ALLOW you to pay me because you put me where I need to be, you help me do my job, and if something comes along and I think it's the right thing to do? I'm going to do it." He stated firmly.

Cecil's eyes narrowed for a moment before he took a breath, "Look kid, you're not a bad guy. I know that, but you gotta trust my judgment. I've been doing this a hell of a lot longer than you. I'm not asking you to act like a good little soldier, but you need to trust my judgement." He explained more calmly.

Mako's shoulders, which he just now seemed to realize were tense before, loosened at Cecil's change in tone. "Cecil I apricate what you've done for me and my mom, I really do. But I haven't done anything wrong yet, if I do then yes, please tell me and explain why I was wrong if I don't understand it. But until then? I'm trusting my own judgment." He said before standing up from the bench, "I got some more stops to make, if you need me you know how to reach me." Mako said to him before turning around and taking off into the sky.

And Cecil watched him, a unhappy expression on his face from both the defiant attitude that Mako shown him, as well as his declaration of his loyalties. To do whatever HE thought was right, and damn anyone else.

The only thing that had changed about I-Island since Mako last visited was it's position in the ocean. Due to the nature of the artificial island, it floated on sea currents across the pacific ocean, granted because of how large it was it took forever t complete it's course, Melissa had told him it took approximately a year and a half. But Mako could always spot it if he flew up high enough and looked down for the island. Flying down to the manmade cityscape, he cut a path through the air to the living quarters of the Shield family. Slowing to a stop at the top floor, he floated around saw that Melissa's window was open, "Melissa?" he called out before peering inside.

Seeing the room was empty, he climbed through her window and into her room, looking around for any sign that his girlfriend was here. It was well past noon so classes should be done for the day, and Melissa tended to at the very least stop by her home to change into more casual clothes. Mako had thought of calling ahead like he usually did, but he wanted to surprise her. Well when she gets here she'll find me waiting for her like mom did, that'll be enough. He thought with a small smile as he walked over and sat on Melissa's yellow bedsheets.

While she had admitted to being nervous when he had first seen her room, she had since grown more comfortable with him in it. Looking around he saw that her desktop computer was off, her coat draped lazily over the rolling chair in front of it, and her casual boots kicked off near the door. His eyes trailed along the wall to where her bookshelf was, where a number of books, a mixture of scientific journals, novels, guides, and even a few comics that he had recommended to her sat on the shelves.

Glancing towards the door to the bathroom, he stopped when he noticed it was cracked open, and steam was coming out…and he heard running water.

…ok this is kind awkward now. Mako thought to himself as he realized he had caught Melissa in the middle of a shower. If this were some smutty romance novel I'd probably go in there. He thought in amusement, "Melissa?" he called out once more, this time much louder.

On the other side of the door, Melissa nearly dropped her shampoo bottle at the sound of the familiar voice, "Wha-Mako?!" she called out in excitement, her lips pulling into a smile at the sound of his voice. She reached for the sliding door to her shower and peeked out, her glasses sat on the sink's countertop. Melissa was nearsighted but she could still make out the reflection from the mirror above the sink peering into her bedroom through the crack where a hand waved.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips, she understood why Mako had needed to leave and go to space when he explained it to her. But the thought of him in the void of emptiness that literally went on for eternity wasn't really comforting on any level. But once again he had come back, and this time not imprisoned. She leaned back into the spray of the shower, "Give me a minute to wash up and dry off!" she called out, running her soapy hands along her sides and stomach.

"No problem, sorry I thought I'd catch you when you were…uhhh…less occupied?" he replied a little awkwardly. Melissa tittered to herself washing along the sides of her legs, bending down and letting her wet hair curtain around her head. She felt her heartbeat speed up a little bit, Mako was right outside her door and here she was, nude on the other side. She didn't know if it was from nervousness or….excitement, but she felt her face warm up, and not due to the water's temperature.

Which was saying a lot since Melissa liked her showers to be borderline scolding hot depending on how her day went.

I wonder how Mako likes his showers? She idly thought as she turned off the shower and slid the door open an stepped out into her bathroom. Grabbing her white towel from the bar beside the shower, drying her hair off she quickly went about drying her body, rubbing the cloth over her face, her shoulders and arms before stopping at her chest, a impish thought crossed her mind of walking to the door and opening now like this. Mako would see her, completely bare, her throat tightened and the faint blush on her face intensified. No! No, I can't do that! He'd…he'd….he probably wouldn't be able to help himself. She thought with an excited shutter.

Mako had been nothing but a gentleman since they started dating, he wasn't Izuku levels of nervous about intimacy with her, and she was more than happy to show him she was interested. Staring at him when he worked out, nibbling his lip a little when they kissed. And good god that ass. She thought with a pleasant hum. Slapping it the other day on his way out made her really want to get a better grip on it.

She shook her head and put those thoughts into the corner of her mind called horney jail, maybe one day she'd pull something like that but no. Simply doing that out of thin air might put some unwanted pressure on Mako's part. And that was the last thing she wanted for their first time together. So she finished drying herself off and threw on the yellow shorts and pink tee shirt she had prepared for herself before walking out of the bathroom.

And then she immediately stopped when she saw her boyfriend, "….ok what are you wearing?" she asked with a amusing smile.

"The latest alien garment on Thraxia." He replied with a roll of his eyes, "Your too late, my mom already got the most milage out of this." He said with a gesture to his current outfit. Melissa wanted to challenge that but when she noticed the pensive expression Mako's face held, she stopped herself and walked over and embraced him, his arms wrapping securely around her, she felt him relax against her, the tension he held melting away. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She replied, kissing his cheek and then his lips. Lingering for a moment she pulled away, Mako letting out a shaky breath. "What happened?"

"….well….I saw my dad again." Mako began.

After the initial shock of that opening statement worn off, Mako went into detail about what exactly happened, which in of itself was a LOT. Reuniting with his father, learning that not only he had changed from his time on earth and with his family, but that his family had unexpectedly grown with the addition of a half brother that he had brought back with him? That alone would have been enough to send anyone spiraling, but add on top of that the fact he had fought other viltrumites and he was now supposedly in charge of preparing earth for their invasion?

"So yeah…that's all that happened. Still kind of processing all of it." He admitted.

Melissa sat down with him on her bed, her blue eyes having been widened for the past few minutes. Blinking a few times, she let all the information sink in. "…Mako, don't hate me for saying this, but your dad is kind of an asshole." Mako sputtered out a laugh at her retort, "I mean don't get me wrong! It's good to know that you were right but…he just dumped a ton of shit on you all at once without thinking it through didn't he?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah pretty much." He agreed before recalling something, the amusement on his face being replaced by confusion, "There was this one thing he said that didn't make sense though. As he was being carted away, he told me to find his books." He recalled.

Melissa titled her head, "Books? You think he meant like…..reports to the GDA or something?" she asked.

Mako shook his head, "No, we don't take care of that, that's handled by people under Cecil. And I mean as far as I'm aware he never published anything. I know some heroes will publish Memoirs or something but I don't remember my dad ever doing that." He said with a shrug. Melissa hummed unsurely, initially he thought he might have been delirious when he heard his father but he remembered everything so clearly. "I'll ask my mom about it when I get home." He decided before another thought occurred, "Oh crap, I'm going to need to grab a bunch of baby stuff." He realized.

He didn't know if his mom kept anything from when he was an infant, when they moved to Japan he remembered that they left a bunch of stuff behind and sold off stuff they couldn't fit at the new place. So odds are they didn't have anything, "And not to mention a sitter since my mom just started working again. And a place for him to go to school." He listed off before sighing, he looked over at Melissa who was staring at him, "What?"

"Nothing just….it's kind of weird hearing you talk about baby stuff." Melissa admitted with a small smile. Her hand reached out and slid over his, "It's cute."

Mako smiled back before glancing away, "You know…..I'm actually kind of excited about it. I always wanted a little brother growing up." He admitted.

Melissa smiled, "Well he couldn't ask for a better one." She replied before leaning over and pecking him on the cheek.

The last stop on Mako's catching up tour was the Midoriya household, however not wanting a repeat of what happened before, he made the smart decision to stop by the house and change into something earthling. And only kept the alien clothing so Melissa could look at it. Arriving at the Midoriya house, a knock on his friend's window and invite inside later, he was retelling the story of what happened for the third time today with his best friend.

Izuku was quiet for a long time after Mako told him everything, "Do you think they'll come here anytime soon?" he asked him finally. Mako's lips pursed together, Cecil's warning about their misdirection had been included this time on account of who he was talking to. And it was a valid question to pose, unfortunately he didn't have an answer.

"I don't know. All I do know is that the way they acted? They seemed like they had better things to do, or more pressing things, then to take over Earth." He replied, glancing over at one of the All Might posters in his friend's room. "I just hope we have enough time to prepare, there's only one of me, and the only other guy to survive fighting my dad is All Might. Two of us against a hundred Viltrumites aren't odds I like." He replied.

Izuku cupped his chin in thought, "Do you think those Viltrumites you fought are on par with what most of them are in terms of strength?" he asked curiously. Mako rubbed the back of his head unsurely making Izuku look down. All Might at 100% was able to face against Omni Man, and from what Mako told me he was able to…..kill….one of them and defeat the others. So using him as a standard it's possible we could face a small force of Viltrumites if we needed to. He reasoned to himself.

He also knew that given a few years, he himself would probably be at a level comparable to All Might, and he could also hopefully face off against this threat.

But that was the key word. THIS threat.

All Might's talk with him after the rescue exercise rung in his mind, his mentor's arch enemy, All for One, who was thought to be dead was not only alive, but currently operating in the shadows. Pulling the strings behind the League of Villains. All Might had told him that he had informed Cecil of this revelation.

Which might have explained why Cecil was so against Mako leaving Earth to begin with, but personally he thought Mako made the right call. They needed his help and he was where he was needed.

But the fact that there were seemingly two threats to the world right now was unsettling to consider. "Uh dude? Your muttering again." Mako chided lightly.

Izuku's head shot up, "Gah! Sorry." He apologized, but his friend only smiled and shrugged, "It's just…I think you should focus on the Earth for now if they aren't going to do anything." He explained. "We can make preparations like you said, but there's also stuff going on here that probably needs your attention right now." He reasoned.

Mako nodded in agreement, "Yeah I was thinking the same thing…" he said before letting out a sigh. "I just…..I hate that I couldn't do anything. I thought….I thought I'd gotten strong enough but in the end I got my ass kicked again and the Viltruimites got away with my dad." He said in frustration.

Izuku nodded sympathetically, he knew all too well the frustration Mako was dealing with, that feeling of not being enough. But whenever he felt that feeling creeping up on him, Mako would be there to help. So how couldn't he not do the same? "Mako you've improved though. You put up a fight, you didn't get your ass kicked," Mako snorted at Izuku using the casual curse word, "-you just lost." He finished before wincing. "And I know that sounds bad…but it's not." He assured.

Mako gave his friend a soft smile from where he floated cross-legged in the middle of the room. "Yeah….I guess so. Thanks man." He said appreciatingly. He looked over at the clock and groaned when he saw how late it had gotten, "God, and we got school tomorrow." He bemoaned. Izuku chuckled at his childishness.

"Yeah. But it's our last day of school." He pointed out. The term ended tomorrow and in a few weeks they would be off to the summer training camp. Provided they passed their written exam.

"So what your saying is I can ditch and just sleep in." Mako joked.

Izuku shrugged, "Sure. Though I will have to sick Iida on you for cutting class."

Mako gave him a look, "You wouldn't."

His friend smiled, "I'll tell him that you got home two days ago and that you just felt lazy."

Mako mockingly glared at him, "When did you get the balls?"

"Between me getting my spine broken by All Might last week and now apparently." He said, rubbing his back from where All Might had hit him during the practical portion of their exam. Izuku looked back at Mako with a more sobering expression, "And…..Mako, I've been thinking about…..well, what you said about Kaachan." He said.

Mako fought back the urge to sigh, but decided against it, he would hear his friend out before judging him. "And…..I think you might be right."

…

…

…

"What?" Mako asked.

Izuku raised his hands, "I mean, not entirely about everything but…I think your right that I've been too easy on him." He admitted. He looked down at the ground between them, "He was awful to the both of us for years. And….." he trailed off, looking over at his nightstand where a All Might figure Mako had given him as a birthday present years ago still proudly stood. "I never fought back like you because I didn't want to start anything. Because you know it was our word against his, and he was always listened to while we got ignored." He said.

Mako nodded grimly, the times that they did bring Bakugo's behavior to a teacher's attention, it was usually met with a dismissive retort. Asking them to not to do anything that could get in Bakugo's bright future. "And when I finally did get my quirk, I was still scared of Kaachan. And honestly I still am a little…but I when I look at you? And see how you always stand up to him, on both my and your behalf…..I felt like a burden to you."

Mako's expression soften, "Izuku you never were a burden." He replied.

Izuku shook his head, "No I was worse than that, I was an enabler. I thought that after the first exercise we had, where we won and he lost? I thought it might change things. And he has changed but….."

"But not the way that matters." Mako finished.

Izuku nodded, "And during the final exam…..I thought that maybe if we be the better people, he'd meet us halfway. He might finally….." he trailed off before shaking his head. "But he didn't. He just….he keeps acting…..the same. Like we're looking down on him." Mako nodded and Izuku's hands gripped his bedsheets. "And the more I thought about it, the more I realized you're right. He hasn't changed….not in a meaningful way. I still…..I want to think he can. But…I think I'm willing to accept that he never will…so I'm done with him."

Mako blinked in surprise, he honestly had wanted to hear those words for so long that he wasn't even sure he ever would. On the one hand he wanted to almost celebrate this somehow, but the expression on his friend's face told him that this had been a difficult decision he had come to. "That's….that's big for you buddy. And look….I know this wasn't easy for you, but I'm glad that you came around on it. And I think the sooner you stop trying with him, the better." He said.

Izuku nodded in agreement, "Yeah….so…um….is it ok if I come by after school tomorrow?" he asked, Mako tilted his head in inquiry, "I kind of….want to meet your brother." He admitted sheepishly.

Mako grinned, "Oh dude you don't need to ask…..although we do need to come up with a name for him. We can't just call him 'him' or 'baby' forever."

Izuku smirked, "I heard Deku is a good name." he joked.

Mako snorted out a laugh in response, "Yeah but that'd get confusing really quick." The Viltrumite lowered his feet to the floor and stood up along with his friend, the two giving each other one last hug. "It's good to see you again man."

"You too Mako." Izuku replied, happy that his friend was back home.

By the time he had gotten back home, Kali was still up, with his little brother fast asleep on the couch next to her. She smiled at him as he entered the living room again. "How'd it go?" she asked in a hushed tone, not having a chance to talk to him when he flew by for a change of clothes.

Her son hovered across the room to make as little noise as possible for his sleeping sibling. Looking down at the purple skinned baby he smiled, "How was he?" he asked as his mother gently scooped him up into her arms. "He was very excited about his new home, tuckered himself out. I found a couple old toys of yours we kept with us but we need some things." She said quietly as she walked over and up the stairs. Her son followed her, floating up alongside the stairs to the second level. "He can sleep with me tonight, but I need you to pick up a crib tomorrow after school." She told him.

She entered her bedroom and gently laid the baby down on her bed, the infant cooing softly as he rolled over, drooling against the comforter. Kali smiled as she walked out to where Mako was patiently waiting for her. "I'll grab that and some baby food, and Cecil knows about him, says we should contact recovery girl. I'll talk to her at school tomorrow and explain everything there." He told her.

Kali smiled and nodded gratefully, "Thanks, I called my boss and told him a family emergency came up. He'll give me a few days but I need to find a babysitter between now and then." She told him as Mako followed her down to her office. "We can make this his room, honestly your father used this more than I did." She said, opening the door and flicking on the light.

The 'office' was really just a spare bedroom that they never used, it was more like a storage room with all the boxes and storage they had in here, and most of these were filled with case files his mother horded. The only thing that made it an office was the computer desk against the far wall. "We'll have to go through these…" she said with a sad tone, "Your father has some of his things here. But I never went through them after he left." She told him.

Mako briefly felt a wave of remorse go over him before realizing something, "Mom that reminds me. The last thing that dad said to me before he was taken was 'read my books'. Do you have any idea what that means?" he asked.

Kali's brow rose up questionably, "Ummmm…..yes actually. But I'm not sure why he would say that." She said in confusion before walking over to a specific box and opening it up. Rummaging through it's contents she pulled out a small stack of books. Mako rushed over and picked the first one out of her hand…and understood why she was confused.

"Memoirs of A Space Adventurer?" he read the title out loud in confusion. The cover of the book looked like something out of one of those old American pulp fiction magazine covers. "What…exactly is this?" he asked.

Kali smiled fondly, "When your father had down time when he first came here, he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself. I told him that he should consider having a outlet, something creative, something he could do in his spare time for fun." She explained as she led Mako out of the office and back into the living room's balcony. "So he made this book series, I thought they were pretty good so I suggested he try and get them published." She told her son.

Mako looked at her in surprise, "Seriously? What happened?" he asked with a smile of amusement, thinking of his dad sitting at a desk in front of a computer typing away.

"No one bought it." Kali said with a laugh. She shook her head as she thought back, she remembered Nolan being a little sad about it. But she had told him the point of being creative wasn't recognition or praise, it was the act of creating something and putting it out for others to enjoy. "Though to be honest I don't know why, I liked them when he read me them.

Coming to the living room couch, she set them on the table and Mako looked over them with just as much disappointment. This was what his dad meant? This was what his last words amounted to? A failed sci-fi book series?

" 'Lost Iside the Chasm to Oblivion', 'Hate Tribes on the Planet Wrekk.' These sound like Twilight Zone episode titles that got rejected." He said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. He picked up one of the books, " 'The Man with the Invincible Gun.' ?" he asked. He flipped through the book quickly and stopped on a random page.

'-how he obtained the weapon, or where it came from. The origins of the weapon are completely unknown to the empire. And little was known about the Space Rider, where he lived, the quadrant of space he operated in. All of it a mystery, to the point of it being nothing more than legend. Finding him would be no easy task, but I set about it regardless. I started with eyewitness accounts-'

Mako blinked in confusion, it wasn't poorly written but the way it was written was…..odd. "Mom, what were these about?" he asked curiously.

Kali shrugged as she looked at her phone for a crib, "Some bounty hunter working for an empire I think? Each book has him going after a different target. Like Boba Fett in those Star Wars movies. I thought it was cool." She said with a smirk, glancing over at her son. She stopped browsing when she saw the serious expression on his face.

"So it's about someone working or an Alien Empire, hunting down threats to them?" he asked. Kali blinked as she looked down at the books again. She had assumed that Nolan had taken inspiration from his culture as inspiration for these stories, as though these were some stories that were told on Viltrum and he was reciting them for the people of Earth.

"Do you think these are stories of Viltrumies who your father worked with?" she asked curiously.

Mako shook his head, "No, that's not….that's not it at all." He realized, "It's him, he was writing about himself in these stories." He said with renewed interest, "That's what he meant! Read my books, he wanted me to read these!" he exclaimed as he grabbed another, "He must have hidden something in these, maybe something that I can use to help him! Maybe a location of a prison that Viltrumites use or something." He said, flipping through the books with renewed vigor.

The book he grabbed, 'Savage Planet, Savage Beasts.' Might hold the answer.

'-had made a grave mistake the instant I touched down on the surface. I was surrounded and it wasn't clear if I would make it out alive. The mission had been to investigate the planet and report back. But it was uncertain if I would ever make it back. The creatures I encountered were fast, and with minimal effort on their part I was injured. What was more was the fact that creatures that were barely twice my size and could leap as high as I could fly before the increased gravity of the planet-'

Mako stopped as a sudden bolt ran though him, and like lightning striking he suddenly understood. "Oh my god."

Kali looked at her son in both concern and intrigue, "What is it?" she asked.

Mako closed the book and held it up, "These are about dad, and everything in this is real. And it's not just about the enemies of the empire he had to hunt down, it's about him eliminating thing that can HURT them." He revealed.

He looked at the stack of books with shock written across his face, "Dad is telling me how to Beat them."

AN: Happy Invincible Season 2 premire week everyone!

God it's good to be back, and so good to have Invincible on again….even if it is for the next couple weeks before we hit a break. But hey, bright side, we get more A+ superhero content!

The first episode was pretty much what I expected of it, but the action was great, and seeing Mark deal with the emotional and psychological fallout of what happened was fancinating to see and really gave us a reason as to why Mark is still a superhero. The one thing I was surpised to see was what happened to the Mullers, I did something different in this story but as we go on you'll probably see why.

I also saw the episode name list and one of the upcoming episodes is one I honest to god thought we wouldn't get because of how damn bonkers it is but now I can't wait to see it!

I've also been playing the absolute SHIT out of Spider-Man 2 and it's easily the best spiderman game ever and I don't know how they'll top it. Can't wait for the DLC for it. Also excited for the Atom Eve game coming out in a few weeks!

Now then, onto reviews, I'll be skipping some to keep it brief and the word count reasonable and not make people think this is longer than it is.

Super Comrade: Yeah fight smarter not harder.

Guest 2: Yeah I'm gonna be adding more to this story then I intended to going forward, I also might do something akin to the atom eve special with certain characters I like from the comics in this!

Moacirp002: Spoiler Warning:

While I see why you could come up with that, I don't see why Angstrom would do that? I mean yeah it'd fuck with Mako for him to have to fight them. There might be something to that idea though.

Guest: Oooohhhh boy. Buddy I'm sorry to tell you this but Angstrom is basically Mako's Arch Enemy XD.

Guest: Yeah that Spider-Man story wasn't thought out whatsoever at all and that's entirely on me. I should't have gotten that super defensive about it. I was way too set in my ways of what I thought worked as a Spider-Man fan that I tuned out everyone else. I should have looked at what worked from other stuff from spider-man and combied it instead of rejecting it outright. I don't like Slott for instance but even I have to acknowledge that there's interesting concepts he has in his stories.

Guest: Ok there's a lot here but your kind of assuming that the Vitumites were actually going to wait a hundred years before they invaded which they very clearly weren't.

HawkFreak: I mean yeah but there's also people who have only watched the show, and nothing else. Which I'm a little envious of because I can only imagine having that experience. But I don't think any major changes will happen to the ending, because it's honestly a perfect ending for Invincible.

Guest: OK JESUS SPOILERS. Christ I hope I'm the only one reading these reviews.