Solace Ch.28

— Mark Grayson (A Few Days Later) —

The day had been dull and boring, which was what he had expected given that it’s a weekend.

Mark sat on his living room couch watching the new Seance Dog show all by himself. His mom was out closing a deal on a house she was trying to sell, while his dad-

… Where was his dad?

Mark honestly had no idea and hadn’t seen him for a couple of days. He knew that his dad had come home last night and had dinner while Mark was giving comms to Darius and Eve.

Even still, he and his dad hadn’t spoken once in several days… which was starting to bug Mark.

They had always been close. Always confiding in one another about the troubles they faced. Mainly Omni-Man would tell his son about all the bad guys he beat up and Mark would tell his dad about his time helping Darius and Eve.

Mark picked up the remote and turned off the tv with a frown. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t noticed those talks holding the same excitement they once had.

Recently, his dad has been acting… different.

Maybe different isn’t the right word… strange? Distant?

Distant sounded right to him.

Normally his dad would at least check in and say hi, but he hadn’t done that in a long time, and now Mark was starting to wonder if he had done something wrong.

Was it because of his bad grades? He was never the smartest when it came to school. Darius was just naturally gifted at everything he did, and Eve was a literal genius. How could he compare with them?

Mark looked down and clenched his fists. Jealousy coursed through his body as he thought about his two closest friends.

He knew he didn’t have a right to feel this way, after all, Eve and Darius had been nothing but good, encouraging friends for as long as he had known them, but still Mark couldn’t shake the envy he felt.

Both of them were out there on a nightly basis, living his dream!

It just wasn’t fair!

Mark had watched Darius awaken his powers years ago, and instead of joining him after a few months, Mark had been cursed with spectating Darius’ growth and enjoyment at not only awakening his powers, but becoming a household name and a massive figure in the superhero community.

You couldn’t go three minutes scrolling through threads, or diving through posts before you saw something about Solace.

Even Eve had grown to a massive level as a hero and was recognized as one of the city’s greatest.

Meanwhile… Mark was alone at home, watching as they soaked in all the glory and lived the life he wanted more than anything.

His stupid powers weren’t kicking in and it was holding him back!

*CLICK*

The door to the house opened without a knock, surprising Mark. He eyed the hallway until his dad floated around the corner, still wearing his hero outfit.

“Dad!” Mark said with a little more excitement than he wanted to. Omni-Man’s eyes widened to a barely noticeable degree as he looked at Mark.

“Mark…” He greeted with a small nod of his head before floating away.

Mark watched him leave with a look of pure shock. That shock slowly turned into hurt, then pain, then anger.

Mark knew he was right. His dad had been disregarding his existence.

The only reason Mark could find explainable was his lack of success thus far. His dad had said time and time again that he looked forward to Mark awakening his powers, and here he was, sixteen years old and still without his powers.

He was a disappointment.

Mark stood up and stared at his hands again. He needed to find a way to be useful, a way to quicken the awakening of his powers, and to become a cool hero who saves a lot of lives—like his dad.

Mark had no idea how he would go about doing that, but he would spend as much time as needed finding out.

— Nolan Grayson (Omni-Man) —

The planet’s strongest hero floated up to his and Debbie’s room before sitting on the bed.

He dropped his head in his hands as the stress and guilt began to fill his mind.

In truth, Nolan had no idea which side he felt more guilt for, Viltrum, or Earth.

In a sense, he and Lucan had already betrayed both. They had waited instead of immediately reporting Darius’ power awakening, or rather, Nolan had waited and threatened Lucan, saying that until Mark’s powers awakened, they couldn’t proceed.

And they betrayed Earth by lying every step of the way. His marriage and family had built on lies, and those lies would come back to bite him in time, he knew that.

Nolan squeezed his head as rage began to flow. His eyes sharpened, and if anyone had been in the room with him, they would not have seen Omni-Man, but a hardened Viltrumite Warrior who has lived and conquered in the name of the Viltrum Empire for thousands of years.

That was his true identity, and in this moment it showed.

Nolan had pushed Lucan to wait because he had expected Mark would awaken his powers a year or so after Darius at the latest. It has now been over two years and Mark still hasn’t awakened his powers, and withholding information from Viltrum anymore than this would be treason.

His son… was turning out to be a failure, and Nolan knew that Viltrum would never accept that.

As loyal as Nolan was to the Empire, he still hoped that his family would be allowed to keep their lives when he inevitably told Viltrum of their findings. Although, if Mark didn’t awaken his powers, Nolan wasn’t too sure of Mark’s continued survival.

Viltrumites hate breeding with lower life forms, and the only reason why human breeding would be acceptable is because the humans still allow Viltrumites to retain most of the same genetic makeup and appearance, on top of being more “pure”, as other Viltrumites would call it.

But Mark… if he didn’t awaken his powers, he would be just another human, and while Viltrum may understand having Debbie around to give him more children… Mark would be deemed useless and either killed or thrown into the general population of Earth.

That thought alone saddened and angered Nolan.

He was sad because soon his life would be changed forever. Mark may be cast away or killed, perhaps even by his own hand, meanwhile Debbie would probably end up hating him forever.

As for his anger… he blamed Mark. The boy should have awakened his powers by now, and then everything would be great! Nolan wouldn’t have to be sitting here stressing about the future based on a miniscule moment in time! A literal fraction of his existence!

But Mark hadn’t, and things were going to change. Whether he, Lucan, or their families liked it or not.

At the end of the day, both Nolan and Lucan were Viltrumites, not a heroes of Earth, and they would do whatever they had to for the sake of the Viltrum Empire.

— Darius Johnson (Solace) —

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Gunshots rang out and I flew around, dodging them with practiced ease. I halted in midair as they started reloading and looked at them with a bored expression underneath my mask.

These common thugs were barely anything to fret over. Even if their bullets hit me, I could walk it off with ease, but dodging was a bit more fun, even if it was less productive.

Simply tanking bullets usually makes people drop their guns and run, but that’s not really what I need right now. After all, I’m still fishing for information.

*BANG* *BANG *BANG*

I floated down quickly, avoiding all the shots and rushed toward one of the thugs that worked at this building. I punched him, holding back the hard grunt of my strength, laying him out.

Once he was down, I ran around, finding my next target and doing the same to him.

This continued until there was one guy left, and by his widened eyes of fear, we both knew he was cooked.

He didn’t even try to shoot me, whether it was out of fear or because of lack of ammo, but instead he ran away.

It didn’t even take a second for me to grab him by the collar of his shirt and throw him to the ground,

This building in the center of town was one of the properties La Familia managed to get their hands on, and like so many of their other plots of land, this building was undergoing renovation as well.

I glanced up at the building and could see several people in the dark tinted windows above the construction site I was standing in.

I couldn’t tell if they were just workers, or thugs, or both. But I knew they were members of La Familia. It was their building after all.

As to why they were just watching me instead of helping their friends down here with me… I had no idea, nor did I really care.

I kicked the down man in his stomach, making him gasp for air.

I really didn’t like doing all this interrogation, but it’s what this city needs right now. This group needs to be dealt with before they mess around and start a gang war.

… Though I kind of think a gang war is inevitable. At this point it’s about striking first. Which I have been doing the last few days with Eve.

“You’re a f-fucking coward, hiding behind those powers and that stupid fucking mask!”

“A coward?” I blinked under my mask as I bent down and firmly grasped the man’s neck, and I watched as the fight in his eyes began to die. “I suppose you could call me that.”

“I ain’t tellin you shit!” He struggled out through strangled gasps as my hand tightened.

“Oh, but you will.” I chuckled and threw the thug several meters away, making his body hit the ground several times and scraping his skin in exposed places.

I walked forward and stopped at his twitching body. I grabbed him by the collar and picked him up.

I didn’t miss how fear danced in his eyes. Getting the answers I wanted was never too hard, not when humans saw just how powerful those with powers truly are.

Just as I was about to ask another question, I noticed a pink light out of the corner of my eye and looked up slightly to see Eve flying above.

— Samantha Eve Wilkins (Atom Eve) —

Eve touched down on the ground beside Darius who was holding a man by his collar. She eyed the bruised man for a moment before giving her boyfriend a disapproving look.

“Was this necessary?” She asked, and Darius let go of the man’s collar and eyed her through the slits in his mask.

“No, but it sends a message.” He answered with a cold tone, and for a moment, Eve’s body shivered and her heart stilled.

Darius had always been a violent hero since they started, and hadn’t hesitated when it came to getting his hands dirty, if he felt the person truly deserved it, but here he was now practically torturing a man for information.

It was wrong… so wrong, and it filled her mind with horrible memories.

Memories of the day her siblings died. The day Nocturnus killed them.

Eve knew Darius wasn’t his father, and she knew he wasn’t at fault for the death of her siblings, but as Eve looked at the man she loved, she could see signs of the man she hated.

And she wouldn’t allow Darius to become more like that man!

“Forget the message, stop.” Eve said/ordered and crossed her arms under her bust. She looked at Darius with stern eyes as his remained locked onto her.

Eventually, Darius let out a sigh and turned to the injured and frightened thug.

“Congratulations, you’ve been set free by Atom Eve, thank her.” Dari—Solace crouched down and tilted his head at the thug.

The man was shaking with fear as he turned to her.

“T-Thank you!” He shouted before painfully pushing to his feet and trying his best to run away.

Solace and Atom Eve watched as the thug left. Once he was gone, Solace sent a parting glare at the building before blasting off into the air, and Eve followed after him.

They flew for around a minute before her partner landed on another building.

They both walked atop it until Darius stopped and pulled off his mask and hood.

“Eve… what was that for?”

“Darius, what you were doing was wrong!” Eve argued immediately. Her anger and sadness from her past began to spill out of her the moment he spoke. “Torturing someone for information is not how heroes do things!”

“How else are we gonna get answers?” Darius crossed his arms and waited for her answer. Eve paused as she tried and failed to think of a fair answer. “I don’t want to hurt people to get answers, but it’s the safest way for us and the people who run this city. You need to understand that, Eve.”

“I won’t!” Eve shook her head. She couldn’t think of a better answer but she knew one existed. Interrogation is too brutal of a way to gain information. “And you shouldn’t either! Darius, you’re a hero! Don’t you remember how happy you were to become a hero, to help me?!”

Darius didn’t answer her and she knew she was getting to him.

Eve walked forward and placed a soft hand on his cheek.

“You made a promise to me… remember?”

Darius closed his eyes and nodded as she looked at him with pleading green eyes.

“Then please… don’t become like him.”

Silence passed over the two as Eve waited for Darius’ answer. She needed him to tell her now that he would never become so cold to the world that he would become like his father. The man who could cut through kids like butter without a tear or a single moment of regret.

“I won’t.” Darius answered and Eve felt her heart fill with so much relief and emotion.

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling and kissing her boyfriend, and he returned her affection, albeit more reserved.

As they pulled away, she blushed as he looked at her with such loving eyes.

“I’m sorry I made you worry.” He said quietly and Eve shook her head, not wanting him to apologize to her.

“Don’t be sorry. All I ask is that you remember yourself, no matter how much time passes. Remember the Darius that aspired to make a change in this world. That’s the same Darius I fell in love with.” Eve placed a finger on his chest and blushed at the memories of their past.

She had really been head over heels for him. A part of her regrets not confessing earlier like Beth did, but she was just happy to be in his arms now.

“I will.” He smiled down at her. They shared one more kiss that deepened as Eve wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

After half a minute of being trapped in the moment, the two slowly separated their lips and averted their eyes from one another, though they stayed in the embrace.

There was a comfortable silence that took over the night as the two held each other.

Eventually, Darius pulled away, making Eve frown at the sudden disconnect.

“I… I think I have an idea on how we can deal with these guys.” Darius spoke slowly and Eve took a step closer to him.

“I’m listening.”

Darius walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down for a moment before nodding to himself and looking back at her.

“We’re going to need a team.”

— Chapter End —

Beta Readers: @Dragonboy1

Author’s Note: Shorter chapter than I wanted but it’s because a lot will be happening in later chapters.

On another note, I’ve made a schedule in which I write my fics, so each fic should start receiving around the same amount of updates starting in a couple of weeks. That way Vegeta, Spider, Solace, Lightning, and Enlightened can all get their chance to shine. I probably won’t post any other fic besides the ones listed for the time being until I can get a significant backlog.