— Darius Johnson —

We looked at the massive yacht in front of us. Honestly, "yacht" didn't do this baby justice; it was basically a giant cruise ship, one that could definitely house a few hundred people—and it was all ours for the next two weeks!

"I can't wait!" Eve nudged me with a bright smile on her face, and I couldn't help but feel her happiness. I usually wasn't too affected by things that happened around me, but this…it was luxury.

"I call the top bunk!" Mark shouted, throwing his arm over my shoulder.

"Dude, with this ship's size, I'd be surprised if we can't get our own rooms." I grinned, which made Mark pout.

"But we're supposed to room together…"

Alright, now I feel bad.

"I'm sure there are rooms with double beds that you two can take." Debbie offered, making Mark beam a smile at his mother.

"That's awesome!"

The entire group consisted of both Mark and I's families, Eve, Elias Brandyworth, Polly, Red Rush and his wife Olga who was chuckling at Mark's enthusiasm, and the speedster hero stepped forward.

"Let's have some fun!"

""Woooo!""

We boarded the ship and marveled at how amazing the view was from the top. Seriously, this was a luxury cruise, one I planned on enjoying every second of!

"Look, Darius, there's a pool!" Mark pointed, and true to his word, there was a massive pool with slides and diving boards.

"Oh, we're definitely going there first!" I grinned madly, just about ready to change in my swimsuit and hop in.

"Hold on boys, we just boarded." My mother called out before Mark and I could get to running.

Both of us turned around and pouted at the woman, but her stance was reinforced when Debbie stepped beside her and leveled a strict look at us. We glanced at our father's and paled at the look they were giving us.

"...Okay." Mark gave in first.

"Good." Debbie nodded, "Now, why don't we go take a look at our rooms!"

Mark and I didn't share the enthusiasm of the rest of the group. We went below the deck of the ship and started walking through the long hallways toward the rooms.

Once we reached the place where the luxury suites were, the group split off with couples going their own ways, leaving behind Mark, Eve, and I.

"Alright, let's find a room with two beds, then we can get into that pool!" Mark shouted, running off down the hall. Eve and I looked at each other and smiled before following after him.

Eventually, we found a room in the common boarding area with two beds. It was a bit further from where everyone else was staying, but neither Mark nor I had a problem with that. Once we had settled in, Eve left to return to her room to get ready to swim, and Mark and I did the same.

Within twenty or so minutes, we were back on the top deck wearing only swim trunks.

We marveled at the pool and looked toward our parents, who were now sitting near the pool, sipping drinks with everyone. They nodded, and we both ran toward the water. Mark wasted no time and cannonballed in while I went to the diving board.

"The water is so cold!" Mark shouted, but judging by his tone, it wasn't unbearably cold.

"That's even better!" I grinned as I reached the top of the ladder and looked downward, my grin turning to a frown at Eve's absence. "Where's Eve?"

"She's putting on her swimsuit. Polly is helping her." Brandyworth supplied, and I gave him a thankful nod.

I walked onto the diving board and began jumping over and over again until finally, I jumped off, flipping through the air on my way down and splashing into the water.

I swam back up and grinned at the laughing adults. "What would you rate that?!"

"Solid seven, dear." My mother giggled along with Debbie.

"The splash was too big; I'll give you a generous four." Red Rush, or Josef, chuckled, earning a glare from all the women, minus Eve and Polly since they weren't present.

"That's fair," I admitted, swimming around in the water and enjoying the cool it brought my body. I began floating on my back and looked up at the sky. This was our life for the next few weeks, and it was already amazing!

When I become a hero, I'm definitely gonna live luxuriously like this. I don't care if people learn my identity; I will enjoy my peace when possible.

Minutes of chilling with Mark in the water went by, and eventually, we heard the cheers of women coming from where the adults were sitting. Mark and I swam to the edge of the pool to see the commotion, and we saw Polly wearing a white shirt tied just under her bust to show her midsection and skirt. However, it was what Eve was wearing that likely stirred the commotion.

She was wearing a two-piece green swimsuit, which caught me off guard. Spending time with Eve wearing normal or baggy clothes made me forget how nice her body is. I quickly looked away because the last thing I wanted to do was be caught staring at a fourteen-year-old, even if I myself was fourteen in this world.

Mark, however, had no such restrictions and marveled at the sight. I watched his eyes follow Eve all the way over to us. She stopped just before us and rubbed her arm nervously while glancing at me before looking away quickly.

"Hey Eve, you look great!" Mark beamed a smile, his face blushing red.

Eve smiled, "Thanks, Mark." Her eyes trailed back to me, and we stared at each other for a while.

"W-What do you think, Darius?"

I was internally screaming at that question. I've known Eve has been crushing on me for years, I'd have to be a fucking dumbass not to know, but I was very hesitant when it came to getting into a relationship with a kid while I'm mentally older. It felt wrong, but to decline her affection because of that also felt wrong.

There's definitely been weirder shit to happen in this Universe.

"It's a nice swimsuit; the green suits you nicely," I admitted with a firm nod. My eyes drifted down to her swimsuit and back to her eyes. Her face lit up red, and a content smile tugged at her lips.

"Thank you…"

Mark and I swam back a bit, allowing Eve into the water. As she adjusted, we began playing Marco Polo. Meanwhile, the adults sat at the side, conversing with one another and sipping on luxurious wine.

After nearly an hour, Mark, Eve, and I decided we were done playing Marco Polo and now were competing for who could dive into the water doing the coolest tricks. Mark went up first, and with a wide grin, he called out to his parents.

"Mom, Dad, watch this!" He shouted, jumping on the board before launching himself off. He did several spins in the air before diving into the water, creating a large splash. After swimming out, he looked at the group with expectancy.

"Uh…we missed it," Nolan admitted, earning a frown from Mark.

"Man, that sucks!" Mark pouted, while Eve and I laughed.

"So, you wanna go next, or should I?" I asked Eve.

"I'll go." She smiled, and she pushed herself out of the pool. She made her way up the ladder and walked onto the diving board. She seemed a bit uncomfortable on it, so I assumed it was her first time using one.

She jumped a few times, and front flipped off several times, splashing into the water.

As she swam back up, both Mark and I gave thumbs up. "For your first time, that's easily an eight." I clapped, putting a bright smile on her face.

"Now it's your turn." She swam over to me and gave me a light push.

I chuckled and pushed myself out of the pool before climbing up the ladder and getting on the diving board. I looked down to see everyone watching me, ready for the big splash I was about to commit onto this poor pool. I jumped once, getting some height, then I jumped again, going even higher, and then-

*FWOOOOSH*

OH SHIT!

My body flew up! I was going higher and higher, and I was above the clouds within seconds!

"HOLY FUCK!" I shouted in fear as my upward motion slowed and then stopped. Then, I started falling.

I can't believe it…I unlocked my Viltrumite powers!

"Finally!" I laughed as I fell, the fear shaking off of me quickly. I watched myself falling lower and lower, and I closed my eyes. I focused on keeping my balance in the air and tensed my body. Suddenly, I felt the wind stop hitting my face.

I opened my eyes and saw I wasn't moving. I was floating in the air! No, I was flying!

"Let's fucking goooooo!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I flew through the clouds. I soared around, shifting speeds. I started off a bit slower, but gradually I increased my speed until the wind flowing into my eyes was making it hard to keep going.

Flying was more stressful and taxing than I thought it would be, but it's probably because I'm too tense. I think I'm supposed to relax, but relaxing while actively trying to fly sounds kinda dumb, even if I really think it's what I'm supposed to do.

As I flew around, I blinked and remembered something. To everyone, I just went fucking flying into the air. They're probably losing their shit right now. Especially my mom!

— Lucan Johnson (Nocturnus) (A Minute Ago)—

He held his wife's hand as his son prepared to jump off the diving board. He looked down at the baby boy in his arms and couldn't help but feel content with what he had built on Earth. Right now, he didn't need to think of his obligations of loyalty to Viltrum or anything like that. He could just relax in the presence of family and friends.

And he loved that.

"Our baby is about to jump." Miranda said giddily, her anticipation clear, and as strict as she acted when her son was around, she very much enjoyed watching Darius have fun. As she and Debbie often told him and Nolan, "Our children's happiness is our happiness." And right now, Lucan could feel that.

Darius jumped up a couple times in preparation of his final jump, and just as his feet touched the diving board again-

*FWOOOOOOSH*

Within an instant, Darius had soared so high into the air. To the others, it was likely as if Darius just vanished, but to him and Nolan, even as surprised as they were, they could track his movements upward high into the sky.

"Where's Darius?! What happened?!" Miranda shouted in worry after moments of stunned silence. Lucan's hand tightened around his wife, and she quickly turned her attention to him. "Dear-" She paused upon seeing his face. "D-Dear, where's Darius? What's wrong with you?!"

Meanwhile, Lucan was deep in his mind. His son had awakened his Viltrumite powers at the age of 14, meaning that as they believed, Earth and the humans that live here are sufficient breeding partners for Viltrumites.

With this revelation, things couldn't continue as they had.

"DEAR!" Miranda shouted again, and Lucan snapped to her, surprise replacing the hardened look of a Viltrumite menace. "Where's our boy?!"

Lucan rose to his feet and looked up at the sky. He couldn't see Darius up there, but he knew he was still around above the clouds. Otherwise, he would have seen him on his way down.

"He's awakened his powers," Lucan said, causing his wife's mouth to drop. Lucan handed Omar to his wife. "I'll go get him."

The entire group was speechless as Miranda took Omar. Lucan looked over to Nolan, and the two shared a look of understanding of what needed to be done going forward.

Then, without another word, Lucan jumped into the sky, reaching above the clouds instantly.

His son had unlocked his powers, and now, it was time to snap out of this daydream they had fallen into. At the end of the day—they are Viltrumites, and they will do what it takes for the sake of Viltrum.

— Chapter End —

Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1

Author's Note: Merry Christmas Eve, have two chapters and a tide turn for this fic! Only took 16 chapters to get here… Realistically though if I would have put as many words in each chapter as I do now, it would have taken like 6 chapters to reach this point so I apologize for that.