— Darius Johnson —

The morning birds chirped, and all the while, I lay in my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Last night was absolutely insane!

I knew it was only a matter of time before Dr. Brandyworth, the enigmatic figure, made his appearance…if he hadn't already, but I hadn't expected him to give the whole explanation right then and there!

I had tried to switch off the communication device, but Mark insisted we listen, warning that we should be prepared in case something went wrong or something crucial was said. Little did we know, something crucial was about to be revealed—something that neither Mark nor I had any business hearing.

For twelve years, I've thrived in this world, relishing the peace and happiness it offered. But now, with the emergence of Dr. Brandyworth and Eve's origin story, the events of the comics and show were encroaching, threatening to shatter our peace and happiness for a long time.

"Darius, are you awake?" I heard my mother call from downstairs. I stretched my weary body and pushed myself up.

"Coming, Mom!"

I made my way out of my room and into the bathroom for a shower. As I got in and turned on the water, feeling the heat against my skin, I made a promise to myself, one I'd keep until the world turned sideways.

I was gonna enjoy every moment of peace that I could, all while ensuring others around me did so as well. Because the moment Mark and I got our powers, things wouldn't be so simple anymore.

— Later —

I held the door open for Eve and Mark to walk into my house. School had just let out, and it was time to get back to work!

Eve had told Dr. Brandyworth that she wouldn't quit being a hero, and she meant it, much to my distress and Mark's excitement.

In the time we had spent together, I've come to care for Eve as more than just some character in a show I watched before, instead, she was one of my best friends, and I knew what canon Eve went through. I didn't want my Eve to suffer as much as she did, and I wouldn't allow it to happen if I had any say in things.

We went up to my room after my mother greeted us, and I immediately turned on the three monitors at my desk.

"You know, I still haven't asked this yet, but where did you get all this fancy equipment?" Eve asked me with a small tilt of her head.

"My dad," I said nonchalantly.

"Hey, my dad got the earpieces!" Mark frowned, glaring at me with no real heat.

"No, Cecil got the earpieces. Your dad asked for them." I corrected.

"You could say the same with that computer and the monitors!" Mark shouted.

"Fair." I nodded, sitting down in the chair.

"How did your dads get this type of equipment…and who's Cecil?"

"They got it because they work with the government and know Cecil from work. Cecil is a government agent in charge of keeping the world, more specifically, America, safe from threats." I explained as I typed in the password to the computer.

"..." I looked over to see that Eve was completely surprised by everything I said. She rubbed her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, then walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "What do your fathers do for work?!"

"We didn't tell you?" Mark asked, tilting his head. She quickly shook her head, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Huh…I thought we did." I really did. Now, it makes sense why she didn't understand where everything came from.

"Our dads are superheroes."

She paused again, her eyes slowly widening until they couldn't anymore. Her mouth dropped open as the news hit her harder than Car-sama hit me.

"Your dads?" She asked slowly, earning a nod from us. "Are heroes?" Two more nods. "Why the hell didn't either of you tell me?!"

"I thought we did," I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Same." Mark agreed.

"Though, if we didn't, it's because you never asked until now." I shrugged before turning back around and getting everything on the monitors set up.

Meanwhile, Eve stayed quiet as she processed the information she had been given. It looked as if her brain was about to melt at the realization that we were children of heroes.

I was tempted to spill the beans that not only are our fathers heroes, but they're also the world's strongest heroes. Ultimately, I decided against it. She already has so much on her plate that more bloated information might just short-circuit her brain.

Upon getting the monitor and the communication devices up and running, I turned around to Eve and grinned at her.

"I'm all good to go. It's time for your shift, Atom Eve."

My words snapped her out of her head as she gave me a small encouraging smile and a nod.

"I'll be going then!"

— Later —

"Are you ready to call it a day?" I asked Eve over the device.

"[Yeah, I'd say that's enough for hero work to do for one day. Nocturnus and Dark Wing can take the night shift.]" Eve let out a small laugh that made me smile.

"Agreed. So are you heading back here or are you gonna go straight home?"

"[Actually, I think I'm gonna…do something for a bit. All is good, but I'm going to go under the radar for the rest of the night.]" She admitted slowly. I blinked at her words and tried to think about what they could mean. I had a few ideas with one being the most likely. She was probably going to talk to Brandyworth some more and didn't want us listening in to whatever they talked about.

Which was fine.

"Alright, we're gonna head off for the night. See you tomorrow, Eve."

"[Thank you, Darius.]" And with those words, the other line went silent, signifying her disconnection.

I looked over at my bed to see Mark sleeping on it. I let out a small sigh as I stood up and walked over to the window. I stared out into the distance as I thought about the very real upcoming problem we would face.

It was only a matter of time before the Government found out about Eve and sent her siblings after her. Unfortunately, I still don't have my powers, so I can't do anything about it, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't come up with ways to deal with them before things got too bad.

Having Eve witness the death of her entire family in her origin story was a lot, and some of it was preventable, so I'd be trying my best to ensure her story was at the very least a little better.

I walked over to the bed and looked at Mark who was currently drooling on one of my pillows. I gave the boy an amused smile as I palmed his head. Even after all these years spent with him, being his closest friend, and him being mine, it was hard to believe that this guy would grow up to be the Emperor of Viltrum and the uncontested strongest Viltrumite.

As he was now, he was still the same nerdy kid I had known since we were but toddlers, and within the next six years he would undergo a metamorphosis that would make him an entirely new man.

I gently pushed Mark out of the middle of the bed, giving myself some room to lay down. I folded my hands behind my head and began thinking of something that didn't typically cross my mind when thinking of the future.

Myself.

I've thought of how I could change the future; that much is true, but I've never thought much about how the future would change me. Would I end up seeing things the way the Viltrumites do? Will I end up being a paragon of good and justice like Mark, or will I end up like neither?

I honestly didn't know, and I didn't care.

I would live, and I'd keep my loved ones alive. That's all that mattered to me.

In my last life, I was killed by a son of a bitch that valued a life filled with fucking more than he valued a teenager's life, which just goes to show how fucked up Humanity is. All of them can kiss my ass for all I care. I'll carry out whatever way sees that the people I care about can live very long, peaceful lives.

That's what mattered most.

I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.

— The Next Day —

I frowned as I leaned against my chair and watched Eve soaring through the sky. Today wasn't a school day, so we didn't meet at school, so we returned to my place. Eve had kept the earpiece from last night and just texted me to inform me that she was going out on patrol again today.

She was pretty tight-lipped about what she did last night, and the last thing I wanted to do was pry, so we continued the day as we usually did, minus Mark, who had chores he needed to do since it was the weekend.

As I watched Eve soar through the air, I couldn't help but feel jealous.

I should be out there with her.

If there's anything that sitting in this chair telling Eve where best to go next to deal with ongoing crimes has taught me, it's that this shit is boring and dull. Sitting on my ass has never been fun, but sitting on my ass and watching someone else do the shit I wanted to do was even less fun.

As Eve put another bad guy down and flew away, I took a sip of the water bottle at my desk.

*BOOM*

I flinched at the sudden explosion and swallowed my water.

"[Darius, what was that?!]" Eve questioned frantically.

"Dunno, give me a minute!" I said, equally as shocked as I looked at the second monitor. I scrolled through nearby cameras and finally saw the origin of the explosion. It was on a highway, and it looked like a car had been tossed or flipped. I saw a few figures that were too far away to make out.

"The highway to your southwest. There's a problem there."

"[Figured.]" Eve said quietly as she continued flying in that direction.

As the highway came into view, I finally started to make out the figures I had seen earlier, and my heart dropped in my chest.

"[Darius, what the hell are those things?!]" Eve shouted, staring at the group of four deformed humans who were all looking up at her.

The day I was dreading was here, and I was powerless to do anything.

"[I'll speak for the others who cannot. I wish I could say it's nice to meet you finally, sister, but that'd be a lie.]"

— Chapter End —

Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1