— Darius Johnson —
Mark and I ran through the Pentagon, altogether leaving Cecil in the dust, who was trying to escort us to Eve's mom's room. We rounded the corner and saw the door to the room. Upon reaching it, we walked forward and opened the door.
My eyes widened in shock as the woman turned her gaze from Eve to us. On the opposite side of the bed was Dr. Brandyworth.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My body shook as I tried to make out words but couldn't.
The older woman gave us a small smile before returning to her daughter.
"I assume these are your friends?" She asked, earning a nod from Eve. She turned back to us, and her smile grew to a grin. "And which one of you is Darius?"
"Mom!" Eve shouted with a bright red blush.
"I'm glad to see you're both adjusting well." Dr. Brandyworth said with a thankful smile.
I finally managed to snap out of shock at seeing her and speaking. "Words cannot express how happy I am to see you're okay, Ms. Polly."
The older woman tilted her head and placed a hand on her heart. "I feel the same way. I never thought I'd get to see my little girl growing up, but here we are." A soft giggle escaped her lips as Mark and I walked into the room. She placed her hand on Dr. Brandyworth's, and he held hers.
"When did you wake up?" I asked curiously, and the woman hummed in thought.
"A few hours ago."
We turned around to see Cecil standing in the doorway.
"That sounds about right." Polly nodded, scratching the back of her head sheepishly. "My daughter and I spoke for so long that we lost track of the time."
My heart warmed to see Eve smile genuinely at her mother. She caught me staring at her and quickly looked away.
Polly smiled at her daughter and looked back at me. "I think I've figured it out. You must be Darius."
"Mom…please no," Eve begged, earning a giggle from her mom.
"Alright, sweetheart. I'll stop teasing." Polly ran a hand through her daughter's hair, making Eve give her a thankful look. The older woman looked at both Mark and I, then at Cecil. "When may I leave, sir?"
"We'll need to run some tests." Cecil frowned. "You've recovered a great deal, and we're sure you'll continue to make a full recovery, but there's no harm in making sure. I'd say within the week, you should be free to leave."
Eve happily hugged her mother tightly, and the older woman put on a small smile. "That's good…I've missed so much." She quickly shook her head and wiped the blooming tears that were forming in her eyes, then she did the same with her daughter and cupped Eve's cheeks. "I won't miss any more special moments, sweetheart."
Mark and I watched on with relieved smiles as Eve and Polly hugged each other for a long while, with both whispering in each other's ears.
Seeing this, I tapped Mark and made my way out of the room.
Things may not have turned out as well as I wanted, but if Eve was happy and her mother was alive, then I'd take what I could get.
— A Few Months Later —
I looked at myself in the mirror and fixed my bowtie.
I really didn't want to do this, but with my Father insisting that we go, there was nothing I could do.
I don't know where Lucan's obsession with me growing closer to Eve came from, but I could make a few guesses, and it likely had something to do with Eve's powers. The ability to alter matter on the sub-atomic level was very overpowered, and knowing him, he'd likely want me to mate with her for the sake of not only Viltrum, but for the sake of our family and happiness.
That's why we're heading over to Eve's house to have dinner with her parents. I don't know how this dinner was organized or why Eve agreed to it, but I knew that I had no choice in the matter.
I had to go.
"Let's go, Darius!" I heard my mother shout, and I begrudgingly made my way out of the room and down the stairs.
"WAAAAH!" I frowned as I reached the last stair and looked toward my parents. In my mom's arms was my newborn little brother, Omar.
"Shhh." My mother shushed the boy soothingly, rocking him in her arms.
"The babysitter isn't here yet?" I raised an eyebrow.
"They canceled, so Debbie and Nolan will watch over him." My mother supplied.
I nodded, letting out a relieved sigh. I didn't like the idea of a stranger coming around and babysitting my little brother anyway, but with Uncle Nolan and Aunt Debbie, I could be sure that nothing would happen to little Omar.
"And I assume they're on their way," I questioned.
"Nolan should be here any second now." My father said, walking to the door and opening it.
Just as he had said, Nolan landed at the front door within half a minute and shook Lucan's hand firmly.
"Lucan, Miranda." He nodded at both of my parents, getting nods from them as well, then focused on me. "Darius."
"Are you having a good night, Uncle Nolan?"
He shrugged. "It's been normal thus far. I just got a pizza from my favorite spot in Italy."
I put on a fake smile and placed my hands on my hips. "That sounds great!" That asshole knows damn well I can't fucking fly yet, but insists on rubbing it in.
Being able to fly anywhere on the planet for food you love or for various other reasons whenever you want is one of the main reasons why I cannot wait to awaken my Viltrumite powers.
"WAAAAAH!"
Nolan looked over to my crying little brother and placed a finger against his stomach, tickling it a bit. "Aren't you a loud one?"
"Thanks again for doing this, Nolan." My mother smiled as she handed the baby off to Omni-Man.
"It's no problem at all. Debbie loves kids."
We said our goodbyes to the Viltrumite man as he flew in the air, making sure to go slow, and left toward his home.
"It's time to go, Darius." My father called, walking out of the house and hopping inside of his newly bought truck. My mother followed him, taking the passenger seat while I took one of the backseats.
Within around ten minutes, we made it to Eve's place.
We hopped out of the truck, made our way to the front door, and rang the doorbell.
*DING DONG*
"One second!" We heard from inside the house. A few seconds later, a woman answered the door, and I immediately recognized her as Eve's mother.
"Good evening, Mrs. Wilkins." My mother greeted her kindly.
"Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Johnson, and Darius. It's nice to finally meet you all face to face. You're more than welcome to come in, and please, call me Betsy."
"Thank you. You're free to call me Miranda. My husband's name is Lucan." My mother smiled and walked into the house. My father and I followed along as Betsy Wilkins led us through the front hallway and into the kitchen, where Eve's dad sat, reading a newspaper.
"I still haven't quite finished dinner, but you can all sit. It won't take longer than five minutes." Betsy offered and my mother took a seat while my father walked up to Eve's dad and offered his hand. Eve's dad put down the newspaper and looked at the outstretched hand for a few seconds before shaking it.
"Lucan Johnson." My father offered.
"Adam Wilkins." The man said after a moment of hesitance. I didn't like the small amount of hostility I heard in his tone. It made me think that this dinner wasn't going how we wanted it to.
I looked around and saw no Eve. I raised an eyebrow and was just about getting ready to find her.
"Are you looking for Eve?" Betsy asked with a slight smile. "She should be in her room; you're more than welcome to get her."
"Thank you." I returned her smile and made my way upstairs.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear music coming from one of the rooms, and I immediately assumed it was Eve's. I walked up to the door and knocked thrice.
"Leave me alone!" Eve shouted, and I paused at just how upset she sounded.
I opened the door to the room and saw Eve glaring my way, but upon realizing it was me, her glaring stopped.
"D-Darius!" She stuttered, throwing her sheets over her to hide her body.
I tilted my head in confusion. She wasn't wearing the most presentable clothing, but it wasn't like anything was showing. A tank top and track shorts.
"What's popping, Eve?" I asked with a smile as I made my way deeper into the room.
"Nothing much…I was just listening to music and doing homework."
"Ah. Did you finish it?" I asked in genuine curiosity. The homework wasn't hard, just insanely annoying.
"Yeah, I just did…Are your parents here as well?" Eve questioned, wrapping the sheets tighter around herself.
"Mhm." I nodded. "Your mom sent me to call you down."
"Figures." Eve whispered, glaring at the floor. "I'll be down in a few minutes."
"Alright." I turned around and made my way back to her door before pausing. I turned back around to her and frowned. "Eve, don't forget I'm here if you need to vent or anything like that."
She paused and stared at me for a while before smiling. "Thanks, Darius. I'm fine though."
"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."
I made my way back down the stairs and took my seat at the table beside my dad and an empty seat where Eve was going to sit, while my mom and Eve's mom sat at the other side of the table. My dad and Eve's dad were sitting at both ends of the table.
Around five minutes later, Eve came down the stairs wearing a pink top and white pants. She greeted my parents, and took her seat beside me.
Once Eve was in her seat, her mom began placing the food on the table. To my surprise, the food was relatively normal and nothing like the cream cheese and olive sandwiches Eve would often be sent to school with.
We all shared our own plates and started eating. Minutes went by with no one talking and as Eve and I shared a glance, I began wondering why the hell we even came to eat with the Wilkins anyway?
"So, Mr. Wilkins, what do you do for work?" I asked, hoping to start up some semblance of a conversation.
"That's none of your business kid."
"Adam!" Betsy chastised her husband before looking at us apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, Adam is-"
"You don't need to apologize on my behalf. I said what I said." Adam frowned at his wife before taking a bite of his food.
…Damn, all I did was ask him what he did for work. It was an honest and genuine question as well with no ulterior motive.
Eve mouthed an apology to me but I just shrugged. I wasn't bothered by it anyway. Though, I didn't want the guy to dislike me even if I didn't care for him. I knew Eve still cared about the guy, so I'd try to clear things up for her sake.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, sir." I apologized as well as used the right amount of respect in how I address him.
The older man glared at me. "What you should be sorry about is convincing our daughter to go out and nearly kill herself." He spat at me.
"Dad!" Eve frowned at him.
"Excuse you?" My mom asked, looking affronted by the accusation.
"I said it." He glared at both my parents. "Your son is the whole reason my little girl became a hero, so everything bad that has happened to her since is his doing."
"I became a hero because I wanted to!" Eve stood up with a face filled with anger. "Darius just helped me with-"
"Do you even hear yourself, Samantha?!" He yelled, getting out of his own seat. "He's not like you! He doesn't have powers! How the hell could he help you?!"
I clenched my fists at that and looked down.
"He's incredibly helpful, you don't know what you're talking about! He tells me where-"
"Eve, let it go." I said, tugging on the bottom of her shirt. She looked down at me with concern before taking her seat.
The table was now in complete silence. I looked over to my dad to see him calmly eating. I let out a sigh of relief. The last thing I wanted was him going ballistic and taking out Eve's dad just because he said some harsh words.
Though, I had to admit, his harsh words were right. Mark and I were fucking useless when it came to helping Eve out with her hero work. Sure, we could locate crimes and let her know where to go, but what happens after that? What if she got into something that she couldn't handle and needed back up? What would we do? Call our dads?
The fact that we couldn't do anything for her ourselves proved our uselessness, and admitting it to myself hurt.
The rest of the dinner was finished in silence. Once everything was finished, Betsy and Eve took our plates and brought them over to the sink, while Adam went back to reading his newspaper.
"Mr. Wilkins."
All of us looked at my father who had been quiet the entire dinner. Now he had finally spoken up and was addressing the man who ruined it all?
"Mr. Johnson." Adam responded, looking at my father with narrowed eyes.
"If you would allow it, I would like to have a word with you in private."
Oh no…
Eve's dad stared at Lucan for a long while before standing up and gesturing for my dad to follow him. My father got up and my mom grabbed his hand.
"Drop it, Dear." She pleaded, but he pulled his hand away without much force.
"Trust me. I won't do anything bad."
Oh he was fucking lying.
— Adam Wilkins —
Lucan followed Adam out the back door and onto the back porch.
"Hurry up with it th-"
*FWOOOSH*
In an instant, Lucan grabbed Adam's collar and flew him high into the air. He kept going up and up until he reached beyond the clouds.
"AHHHHHH!" Adam shouted in fear as he looked down, seeing just how high they were.
"Shut the fuck up, you insignificant pig." Lucan glared at the terrified man. Adam wisely zipped his fucking lips, even if his eyes conveyed all the fear he felt. "It shouldn't be hard to tell who I am now. I am Nocturnus, and I have a mission I need to accomplish. Your daughter is very important to it, but you and your wife, however, are not."
As if to do the impossible, Adam's eyes filled with even more fear as he grabbed onto Lucan's arm tightly, fearing the powerful hero would let him go.
"Tonight you've proved to me that you're a nuisance, a cockroach that will get in my way endlessly. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't let gravity take you?"
Adam tried to speak, but his words were caught in his throat. The fear he felt…it was too much.
"Even now, you're nothing but a worm in the face of something so much greater than you are. Insignificant down to your last breath." And with those words, Lucan let go of the man.
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" Adam shouted in fear as he fell. His body dropped through the clouds, and now he could see the ground growing closer and closer. His entire life flashed before his eyes, but he couldn't even reflect on a single second of it. He was going to die, and in a moment, it would all be over.
Suddenly, his body began to slow, before stopping. He felt a tightness around his neck and opened his eyes to see Lucan glaring at him.
"You've tasted death, and felt the grace of mercy. This will be your one warning. Insult my family, or interfere with my son and Eve's bonding, and there won't be a hero alive who can save you from my wrath. Am. I. clear?"
Adam couldn't speak, not with Lucan's hand around his throat or the fear coursing through his veins, so he tried his best to nod his head.
"Good." Lucan said, floating downward and tossing him on the back porch. "Now, compose yourself before you come inside. You will tell no one of what happened here."
And with those words, Lucan made his way back inside. Adam took several minutes to catch his breath. He clutched his neck in fear. It felt like the large man's hands were still clutching his throat. It felt like warm iron was holding him, and no matter how hard Adam fought, he never would have gotten out of that grip.
Lucan…he really could have killed him with his bare hands.
Adam took several calming breaths before making his way inside. By the time he entered, Lucan and his family were already gone, leaving his wife and Eve in the kitchen washing the plates.
"Honey, there you are. What did you and Mr. Johnson talk about?" Betsy asked him, giving him a small smile.
Eve looked at her father curiously but otherwise said nothing.
"...Respect that's all. I w-was rude at dinner. It was a mistake that won't happen again."
Betsy looked surprised at his words before smiling even brighter than before. "I'm glad you've come to see that, Honey."
Adam slowly nodded and walked away, deciding to head up stairs and go to his bed. As he walked, a thought crossed his mind.
Never again would he fuck around.
— Chapter End —
Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1
Author's Note: He found out.