The Grayson household was quiet that evening.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that follows a bomb detonation - when the initial blast has passed, but the dust is still settling, and everyone is trying to make sense of what remains.
Thragg had departed shortly after their return from the Pentagon, stating that he would give the family "privacy to discuss matters."
His perceptiveness was unnerving; he seemed to understand that Nolan needed space to speak freely with his family without fear of his ruler's judgment.
Nolan sat at the kitchen table, his massive frame somehow looking diminished. His Omni-Man uniform was gone, replaced by the civilian clothes of Nolan Grayson - husband, father, travel writer.
The disguise he had worn for twenty years that had somehow become more real than he had ever anticipated.
Across from him, Debbie clutched a glass of wine, her knuckles white. She hadn't spoken more than a few words since they'd returned home.
Mark paced the kitchen, unable to sit still, the events of the day playing over and over in his mind.
"So," Debbie finally broke the silence, her voice tight with controlled emotion, "when were you planning to tell us that you were sent here to prepare Earth for... what exactly? Conquest? Colonization?"
Nolan looked up, meeting his wife's gaze. "I wasn't."
The simple honesty of his response seemed to catch Debbie off guard. She had expected denials, justifications, excuses. Not this blunt admission.
"You weren't going to tell us," she repeated flatly. "Ever."
"No." Nolan's voice was steady, measured. "That was never part of the plan."
Mark stopped pacing. "What was the plan, Dad? What exactly were you sent here to do?"
Nolan took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice carried the weight of truths long hidden.
"I was sent to evaluate Earth's compatibility with Viltrumite physiology. To determine if humans and Viltrumites could... reproduce successfully."
"Which we obviously can," Mark interjected, gesturing to himself.
"Yes." A flicker of something like pride crossed Nolan's face. "You were proof of concept, Mark. Proof that Viltrumite genes could be passed to the next generation, even with a human partner."
"So I was an experiment?" Mark's voice cracked slightly.
"No," Nolan said firmly, rising from his seat. "You were never just an experiment to me. Never."
"But that's why you had me, isn't it?" Mark pressed. "To see if it could be done?"
Nolan hesitated, and in that hesitation, Debbie found her anger.
"Answer him, Nolan," she demanded. "Was our son just part of your mission? Was I?"
Nolan turned to her, his expression softening. "At first... yes. I was to integrate into human society, find a compatible mate, and produce offspring to prove viability."
The words hung in the air like a physical blow. Debbie flinched, the pain of this revelation etched across her face.
"But," Nolan continued, moving toward her, "something happened that wasn't in the mission parameters. Something I didn't expect."
"What?" Debbie whispered.
"I fell in love with you." The words were simple, direct - quintessentially Nolan. "I wasn't supposed to.
Viltrumites aren't... we don't typically form emotional attachments. We're taught from birth that such things are weakness."
He knelt beside her chair, bringing his face level with hers. "But I did. I fell in love with you, Debbie. With your strength, your humor, your unwavering support. With the way you challenged me without even knowing what I truly was."
"And Mark?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
Nolan turned to his son, who stood frozen, watching this confession unfold. "Mark was supposed to be just the next phase of the mission.
But the moment I held him... the moment he wrapped his tiny hand around my finger..." He shook his head, struggling to find the words.
"Everything changed."
Mark swallowed hard. "But you still had a mission. You were still going to... what? Help conquer Earth someday?"
"Yes," Nolan admitted. "That was always the end goal. Earth would become part of the Viltrum Empire, one way or another."
"And what about us?" Debbie asked, the tremor in her voice betraying her fear of the answer. "What would have happened to Mark and me when that day came?"
Nolan's expression grew troubled. "I... I don't know. For a long time, I didn't let myself think about it. I compartmentalized. The mission was the mission, and my life with you was... separate."
"That's bullshit," Mark said, anger flaring. "You can't have it both ways, Dad. You can't claim to love us and also plan to subjugate our entire planet."
"I know," Nolan acknowledged, rising to his full height. "It's a contradiction I've tried and failed living with for years. One I've struggled with more and more as time passed."
He moved to the window, looking out at the quiet suburban street. "When I first came to Earth, everything seemed simple.
I was a Viltrumite, superior in every way to humans. My mission was clear. But then I met you, Debbie. I had Mark. I became part of this world in ways I never anticipated."
Turning back to face them, his expression was more vulnerable than either had ever seen. "I started to question things I'd never questioned before. The Viltrumite way. Our methods. Our goals."
"Is that why you never completed your mission?" Mark asked. "Why you didn't... eliminate Earth's defenses like Thragg said you were supposed to?"
Nolan nodded slowly. "I told myself I was being thorough. That I needed more time to assess. But the truth is, now that everything is clear, now that I've begun to accept it, that I was delaying.
Putting off the inevitable because I didn't want to face what it would mean for us."
Debbie set down her wine glass, her hands steadier now. "So what happens now, Nolan? Thragg is here. He's made his intentions clear. Where do your loyalties lie?"
It was the question Nolan had been dreading, the one he'd been avoiding for years. "I don't know," he admitted, the words clearly difficult for him.
"For millennia, my loyalty to Viltrum was absolute. It was everything I was. Everything I knew."
He moved back to the table, placing his hands flat on its surface. "But now... now I have you. I have Mark. I have a life here that means more to me than I ever thought possible."
"That's not an answer," Debbie pressed.
"It's the only one I have right now," Nolan replied, his voice tinged with frustration. "Thragg is the Grand Regent. His power is... you saw what he did to the Guardians. To me. Defying him isn't an option."
"So you'll help him take over Earth?" Mark demanded.
"He's already taking over Earth," Nolan pointed out. "Whether through this 'peaceful integration' or by force, the outcome will be the same. Earth will become part of the Viltrum Empire."
"And you're okay with that?" Mark's voice rose in disbelief.
"What I'm okay with doesn't matter," Nolan said, a hint of the old Viltrumite hardness returning to his tone.
"This is reality, Mark. Thragg has the power to destroy this planet single-handedly if he chooses. The best we can hope for is to influence how the integration happens, to minimize suffering."
"That's very pragmatic of you," Debbie said coldly.
Nolan turned to her, his expression softening again. "Debbie, please. Try to understand my position.
I'm caught between worlds. Between loyalties. Between the duty I was born to and the family I've grown to love."
"Then choose," she said simply. "Choose us."
Nolan closed his eyes briefly. "It's not that simple."
"It is that simple," Mark insisted. "Either you're with us - with humanity - or you're with Thragg."
"And if I choose you?" Nolan asked, opening his eyes to look between them. "What then? Thragg still conquers Earth. Nothing changes except now I'm a traitor to my people as well as yours."
The harsh truth of his words silenced both Debbie and Mark momentarily. They had seen Thragg's power firsthand or heard about it. There was no fighting him, no resisting him.
"There has to be another way," Mark finally said, his young voice filled with determination that reminded Nolan so much of himself.
"Maybe there is," Nolan conceded. "Thragg spoke of integration, not annihilation. He talked about improving human life - eliminating disease, hunger, war. That's not since recent centuries the traditional Viltrumite approach."
"You think he means it?" Debbie asked skeptically.
"I don't know," Nolan admitted. "But it's more consideration than Viltrum typically shows conquered worlds. And if he does mean it... if Earth truly could benefit from Viltrumite technology and protection..."
"While giving up our freedom," Mark pointed out.
"Yes," Nolan acknowledged. "There would be a cost. There always is."
Debbie stood suddenly, moving to the counter where she refilled her wine glass with hands that trembled slightly. "All these years," she said quietly, her back to them. "All these years I thought I knew you. I thought what we had was real."
"It is real," Nolan insisted, moving toward her. "Debbie, look at me."
She turned, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "How can I believe that? How can I believe anything you say when you've been lying to me from the moment we met?"
"I lied about where I came from," Nolan acknowledged. "About what I was. But not about how I felt. Not about what you and Mark mean to me."
He reached for her hand, and after a moment's hesitation, she allowed him to take it. "When I came to Earth, I was Omni-Man, agent of Viltrum.
I had a mission, a purpose. But somewhere along the way, I became Nolan Grayson too. Husband. Father. That part wasn't a lie."
"How can I know that?" Debbie asked, her voice breaking.
"Because I'm still here," Nolan said simply. "Because when the time came to complete my mission - to eliminate Earth's defenses and prepare for conquest - I couldn't do it.
I delayed. I made excuses. I put it off year after year because I couldn't bear the thought of what it would mean for us."
Mark moved closer, watching this exchange with a mixture of hope and wariness. "Is that true, Dad? You were supposed to... what? Kill the Guardians like Thragg said? And you didn't?" Still asking the question even though it has been answered many times.
Still hoping its a lie, a nightmare, a horrible dream, that his father planned to kill heroes he respected and wanted to be at the side of protecting the world like his father.
Nolan nodded. "That was to be the first step. Remove Earth's primary defense force, then systematically dismantle the rest.
But I kept finding reasons not to. More data needed. More time required for assessment. That I needed to be sure you would have your powers. More... anything to avoid taking that step."
"Because of us?" Debbie asked, searching his face.
"Yes," Nolan said firmly. "Because like I've been saying from the beginning somewhere along the line, this became my home. You became my family.
Not just a cover, not just part of the mission, but something real. Something I wasn't willing to sacrifice."
The silence that followed was heavy with the weight of this confession. Debbie slowly withdrew her hand from Nolan's, but there was less anger in the gesture now, more contemplation.
"I understand wanting to save your people," she said finally. "I can't imagine what it must be like to be one of the last of your kind. To face extinction."
Nolan looked at her with surprise. Of all the responses he had anticipated, understanding had not been among them.
"But," she continued, her voice stronger now, "that doesn't excuse what you were sent here to do. What you might have done if... if things had been different."
"I know," Nolan agreed. "I'm not asking for excuses. Just understanding."
Mark moved to stand beside his mother. "So what now? Thragg is still out there. Earth is still going to become part of the Viltrum Empire. Where does that leave us?"
Nolan looked between them, the two people who had changed him in ways he never thought possible. "That depends on you," he said quietly.
"On whether you can accept what I am, what I was sent here to do, what Thragg still wants me to do and still see me as your husband. Your father."
Debbie's expression softened slightly. "You're asking a lot, Nolan."
"I know," he acknowledged. "But I'm asking because you matter to me. Because if I lose you - both of you - then none of the rest of it matters."
Mark studied his father's face, searching for any sign of deception. But all he saw was the raw vulnerability of a man caught between worlds, between identities.
"I believe you," Mark said finally. "I believe you love us. That we're not just... part of the mission to you."
Relief washed over Nolan's features. "Thank you, son."
"But," Mark continued, "still, come on, that doesn't change what's happening. That's not changing anything. That's not even an answer. What Thragg plans to do to Earth is still going to happen.."
"Yes," Nolan agreed. "It indeed will. But what it does change is how we face it. Together, as a family, we might find a way to influence what happens next. To make the best of a situation none of us can control."
Debbie took a deep breath, then moved to stand before her husband. "I need time, Nolan. Time to process all of this. To reconcile the man I married with... with who you really are."
"I understand," Nolan said, though the pain in his eyes was evident. "Take all the time you need."
She reached up, touching his face gently. "But I do believe you love us. As hard as this is to accept, as angry as I am about the lies... I believe that part was real."
"It was," Nolan assured her, covering her hand with his own. "It is. The most real thing in my life."
Mark watched his parents, feeling both relief and uncertainty.
His world had been turned upside down in the span of two days - first discovering his powers, then learning the truth about his father, and now facing the reality that Earth was about to become part of an alien empire.
"We'll figure this out," he said, with more confidence than he felt. "All of it. Together."
Nolan looked at his son with pride. "Yes. Together."
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(Author note: Okay, the family situation thing has been settled for now.
I had a bit of trouble writing this chapter. I believe Nolan would show that he indeed cares for them, but I didn't want to make him too emotional. Hopefully he didn't come off like that.
Well, do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)