Chapter Text
"Sir! It's entering the atmosphere."
Cecil grimaced at the news from his earpiece. "Goddammit. Alright, stand ready."
His hologram stood in the middle of a sun-baked rocky desert, far from human habitation. To his right, a small group of unlikely allies. Earth's only real hope.
A large, overly-friendly, one-eyed alien; an apparently no-longer-genocidal Omni-Man; and a super-powered college dropout who didn't trust him. Fantastic.
Mary Grayson stood at her father's side. She was clearly nervous, but her jaw was firmly set - determined to do her part against this newest viltrumite threat.
"Can you tell who it is yet?" Cecil asked.
Nolan shook his head. "No, but we'll find out soon enough. They know where we are."
It was too late. He was already there. A distant figure blasted towards them with incredible speed, then came to a sudden stop in the sky above them. Immense winds whipped past, followed by a giant cloud of sand and dust which slowly cleared enough to reveal a solitary figure in white.
"Fuck. It's Conquest." Nolan scowled.
The group looked grimly up at their opponent, who was standing in mid-air, looking back down at them with cold eyes.
"Stand ready for my arrival, worms!"
The ancient viltrumite loomed over them, looking supremely unimpressed with what he was seeing. His eyes narrowed, focusing on Nolan and the young woman standing next to him.
"You were given orders. You were given time. You were given more leeway than..."
Conquest stopped talking mid-sentence, his jaw dropping in shock and nostrils flaring. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing more came out.
Nolan's own jaw dropped in reaction.
"Oh, come on! You've got to be fucking kidding me," Omni-Man grumbled, crossing his arms and looking disgusted.
Cecil turned his head towards him, brow furrowed in confusion. "What is it? What's going on?"
Nolan sighed.
"The threat has been...neutralized. We can all go home now."
What was he talking about!? Conquest was still RIGHT THERE. A living wall of superpowered muscle, ready to tear them and the rest of the planet to shreds.
But Omni-Man now seemed completely unconcerned about it?
What the hell was he missing?
Cecil wasn't the only one who had no idea what was going on.
Allen the Alien reached out to grasp Nolan's shoulder. "Uh...hey, buddy? Are we really...standing down? I gotta be honest - I've got no idea what's going on here. Can you clue a guy in?"
Nolan sighed again, long and deep.
"Just look at them..."
Them?
Allen and Cecil looked at each other in mutual confusion, then at the only other two people present.
Conquest and Mary were...staring at each other. Intently.
Mary's heart was about to beat its way out of her chest.
She couldn't look away from him.
He looked strong. So strong. Strong enough to...
To do what?
It didn't make any sense that the thought of his strength was making her so excited.
Sweat beaded on her brow and she absentmindedly wiped it away with her sleeve. She was sweaty everywhere. It was so hot.
And what was that smell? It smelled so good.
She was breathing heavily, like she'd been in a fight for hours, but she wasn't tired.
She...
She was in the air without even thinking about it. Flying away as fast as she could, she knew she had to find...
Find what?
She had to find a place. A place that would be good...
Conquest was keeping up without any problem. She didn't have to look with her eyes to know that he was flying right behind her. She could feel it. Feel his presence as if he was a part of her.
She wasn't scared of him at all anymore. It felt right that he was with her.
She felt so safe.
But the feeling of safety felt so much less important right now than the throbbing sensation she could feel between her legs.
There!
An island. Blue sea. Blue sky. White sand. No one else around.
She landed on the beach with a thump and turned around.
He was right there next to her, breathing as hard as she was. Close enough to touch.
She reached out a hand, and he captured it in his own. Brought it to his mouth and kissed it tenderly.
"Can I...?" He whispered.
"Yes. Yes!"
Their mouths met, their chests pressed together and their hands started exploring each others' bodies.
"Your arm - does that come off?"
"Yes", he replied, casually unlatching the prosthetic on his right arm, and letting it fall to the ground with a thud.
She took the stump of his arm in her hands and kissed it, looking up at him with a smile.
He smiled back, a little hesitantly at first, before moving in for another kiss.
She moved her hands feverishly across his suit, grasping for fasteners.
He moved to help, pulling it away from his chest, then freeing his waist and legs.
Her breathing got even faster, looking at him standing completely naked in front of her.
He was impressive...everywhere.
Their hands moved towards her suit at the same time, stripping her slowly until she was every bit as naked as he was.
His eyes drank her in.
How was it possible that something this amazing could happen to someone like him?
His chest was full of something that must be happiness, though he barely recognized it.
Still, he wasn't planning to question his luck. He was just going to enjoy this as much as he could, for as long as he could.
He laid her down on the soft grass next to the sand, kissing his way down her body.
Lips. Neck. Breasts. Belly. And then...
"Oh!" she cried out, in shock and pleasure.
That felt amazing. So good.
She looked down at him affectionately, moving her hands to cradle his head as he worked to please her with his lips and tongue.
If he could just keep doing that forever, that would be great.
Back in the desert, Cecil rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Nolan, I'm gonna need a hell of a lot more of an explanation than "it's a viltrumite thing," if that's okay with you.
Allen nodded his head, in agreement. "Yeah, seriously - like what even happened? Where did they go? What stopped him from attacking? Is it something we can use against the other viltrumites?"
Nolan groaned. "Ok, ok, alright. Look, it's not the sort of thing we normally talk about with outsiders. Or even amongst ourselves, honestly...but I'll tell you everything I know. On one condition."
Cecil narrowed his eyes. "I'll bite. What's your condition?"
"We do it somewhere I can get a drink. A strong one. Maybe a lot of them."
"Done. I'll meet you at your old house - I'm sure you remember where that is." The hologram blinked out, leaving them alone.
Allen looked at his friend expectantly.
Nolan sighed again. "Come on. It's this way - follow me."
A short flight later, he was stepping through the door of his old home, letting Allen in behind him.
It looked completely untouched and back to normal, though far too empty. No wife. No daughter. Furniture covered in dustsheets.
"We rebuilt it after everything that happened, thinking Debbie and Mary might want to live here again at some point," Cecil remarked, stepping out of a portal while GDA soldiers followed him, carrying supplies.
The soldiers stripped away the dustsheets, set down bottles of liquor and glasses, then stepped away, heading back through the portal.
Cecil settled into the armchair and poured himself a whiskey.
Nolan walked over to get a glass of his own. "Allen, do you want a drink?"
"Yeah, sure. I'll have whatever's good."
"Here. Have a seat on the sofa and try this."
"Okay, that is amazing. It burns and I love it. I'm going to need you to help me fill the ship with these."
The three of them sat there, sipping for a moment, until Nolan cleared his throat.
"I'm a little surprised you're willing to be near me at all, Cecil, given everything..."
Cecil regarded him over the rim of his glass, taking another sip.
"Oh, I don't trust you. Not fully. But then again, there's no one on this Earth I can say THAT about, so don't go thinking you're special." He twisted his mouth, wryly. "Our interests appear to align for the moment, let's leave it at that. I'm also not exactly defenseless these days."
Nolan nodded. "Fair."
"Let's cut to the chase." Cecil leaned forward in his seat. "What the hell was all of that about, back there?"
Nolan grimaced. "So... How to put this... It's something that used to happen back before Emperor Argall died, though it never happened very often. It wasn't really frowned upon, as such, but it definitely wasn't something that was celebrated. It was just something that happened sometimes, and the people involved had to deal with it."
Allen wrinkled his brow. "Right. But what IS it, exactly?"
"It's...sometimes...when a male and female viltrumite meet for the first time...sometimes they might be very...compatible."
Allen and Cecil exchanged a glance.
"What do you mean by 'compatible'?" Cecil asked.
"They...I never knew the details. But something happens internally. They get a huge rush of bonding hormones or something, and then that's it. They're together, as partners, for the rest of their lives."
"Wow." Allen breathed. "Like soulmates. That's so crazy."
"Soulmates. Jesus Christ... Hold on, I'm getting a call."
Cecil held up a hand to pause the conversation, focusing on his earpiece. "What is it? Okay, maintain a perimeter - a very wide one. At least 20 miles back, in all directions. Stay hidden, clear the area, and don't let anyone get close. God no, no recordings. Just let me know if they leave."
He lowered his hand again. "We've found them. They're on an island in the Pacific. They are...otherwise occupied."
Nolan didn't look thrilled. "Yeah, they'll probably be...occupied...for a while."
"As heartwarming as your story is, it still doesn't explain why you're suddenly SO sure that Conquest won't be a problem anymore," Cecil frowned. "Even if they're together now - won't he still be trying to carry out his mission?"
"Oh no," Nolan shook his head. "Definitely not. That comes back to why it wasn't something that was celebrated. When this kind of thing happens? The female partner is almost totally in charge. The male partner is still mostly himself, but...his priorities change. His only real concerns are protecting his partner and making them happy - everything else is a very distant third place, at best."
He shook his head, remembering. "If a viltrumite male met his mate, that was it. He was relieved of his duties immediately. It wasn't even done as a punishment - it was just accepting reality. Whatever his role was before that day, he no longer cared about it. He only cared about his mate. They were still great fighters, but...had to be treated differently. My father once told me that, after he took the throne, Emperor Argall would never let viltrumite women into his palace that he wasn't closely related to, or didn't already know. He couldn't take the risk that it would happen to him."
"Later on, during the Great Purge, bonded mates were among the first to be targeted. Grand Regent Thragg didn't want them "poisoning" our society with their weakness. Looking back now, I'm guessing he didn't like the idea of having warriors under his command who were loyal to someone other than him."
"Then came the Scourge Virus. There were so few of us left at that point. We all knew each other and none of us were bonded, so it effectively died out as a thing."
"Man...that seems a lot less cool than I originally thought." Allen cringed. "I am SO glad I'm not a viltrumite right now. Don't get me wrong - I love my girlfriend Telia - but 'eternal love slave' is just a whole lot more commitment than I'm personally okay with."
Cecil couldn't help but agree. Still, the possibility of having another powerful viltrumite on tap was intriguing.
"So let me get this straight," he said, putting his glass down on the side table. "He now cares about whatever SHE cares about?"
Nolan shrugged. "Pretty much."
"Alright, I can work with that. Would he protect the planet if it was threatened? Do you think he'd be willing to work with us?"
"Uhh...'yes' to the first, and 'sort of' to the second."
"'Sort of'? Can you elaborate?"
Nolan nodded. "He probably won't listen to you. Not at first. It'll be more a case of you asking Mary for something, and him tagging along, watching over her and helping her out where he can."
There's also the fact that if he ends up working for you in any capacity, you'll need to be careful about how you use him. Treat the two of them as a single person. Always deploy them together - he won't want to leave her side."
"If you need him to do something, your best bet will be to phrase it in terms of 'how the thing you want will help Mary'. He's not stupid, so you won't be able to bullshit him, but he should be more likely to pay attention. He's going to have a pretty one-track mind, so working with it will get you further than if you try to ignore it."
"If you're wanting to build a separate relationship with him over time, your value in his mind will be in terms of how much you're seen to be helping Mary. Maybe you offer materials and resources that would help Mary. Maybe you offer advice that would help Mary. Maybe advice that could help HIM relate to Mary - that sort of thing."
"You'll also need to have Mary be very clear with him about Earth expectations around things like...killing and collateral damage. Conquest is very old. I've been around for just under a thousand Earth years, and he's several times older than me. He spent most of that time conquering planets for Viltrum. If he's going to be protecting humans now, or even just living among them, there's going to be a bit of an adjustment period."
Cecil paused before responding. "That's...very detailed and useful information. Thank you, Nolan."
Nolan shrugged uncomfortably. "No problem."
"If I'm honest, it's far more information than I was expecting. Why suddenly so forthcoming?"
"Yeah...about that...Cecil, could we talk alone for a minute? Sorry Allen."
Allen raised his hands to show no offence was taken.
"Oh hey, no big. Don't mind me. You guys talk - I'm just gonna head out back with some of my new friends." Allen picked up a few bottles on his way outside.
Cecil raised an eyebrow, leaning back into his chair. "Alright, we're alone now. What did you want to say to me that you didn't want Allen hearing?"
"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I just...wanted to ask you something."
"Well, spit it out. I'm not getting any younger here."
Nolan met Cecil's eyes. "I want to live on Earth again."
"I've been alive for a very long time, but it's only been since I came here that my life has actually been worth living. I don't want to go back to Viltrum. I don't want to spend the rest of my days being ordered to conquer planets for the glory of a dying empire. I want to spend it here, with my daughter. With my wife, if she'll have me back. If I end up with grandchildren, I'd like to know them, and have them know me."
"But. It took me a lot longer than it should have to work out that I even HAD a choice. That refusing my orders might not be an automatic death sentence. That there might be a chance for something better. During that time I did some truly awful things to the people of this world."
"So I know that it's not as easy as me just deciding to do better."
"I don't know what it would take to make up for my mistakes. For the things I've done. But I want to try if you'll let me."
He shrugged. "You've got me by the balls, Cecil. Is this something that can happen? If so, let me know your terms."
Cecil didn't react at first, his face an emotionless mask.
"Alright," he said, finally. "Leave it with me. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you."
"But first..."
"Yes?" Nolan braced himself.
"I need to ask you some questions. About what happened after you left Earth, and a few other things."
"What do you want to know?"
Mary couldn't stop smiling. It was getting to be a problem.
Seriously, her cheeks were starting to hurt.
She reached up to massage away the strain a little, lost her balance, and nearly fell off her bed.
Luckily her warm, muscular bed was looking out for her. He caught her mid-air and placed her back on his chest, laughing and kissing her on the head.
"Mmm." She stretched out on top of him and nuzzled into his chest.
"I don't think I've ever been happier than I am right now. Let's never leave."
He chuckled in response. "It's been a few days, so we might need to find some water soon, but I agree. I didn't know life could be like this."
His head suddenly snapped up, his body going rigid beneath her. His arms wrapped around her in support as he straightened up and rose into the air. "Someone's here. On the other end of the beach. Masked soldiers are coming out of a portal and leaving boxes on the ground. Black uniforms with a star on the shoulder."
She looked in the same direction and squinted. "Really? Your eyesight is amazing, I can't see any of that."
"You can relax, though. If it's soldiers with stars, running around with portals, that'll be the GDA - Earth's defense agency. They're generally ok. Not sure what they'd be doing out in the open with a bunch of boxes, though. Spying and explosions are more their sort of thing."
She thought for a second. "Can you see an old man with shoulder-length gray hair?"
"Yes. Skinny and has a scar on his face. He's waving at us."
"You can even see the scar on his face? Is...is that normal? Should i get my eyes tested?"
He laughed, and kissed her. "No, you're perfect the way you are. I'm famous among viltrumites for how far I can see, even with one eye useless."
"They're gone now, by the way," he added. "They went back through the portal and closed it, leaving the boxes behind."
Mary yawned. "Ok, the boxes are probably for us. I guess we should put our clothes on and go investigate. I just...need 5 more minutes."
Three hours, and a wash in the sea, later they slowly started flying towards the other end of the beach.
"You're too far away," Mary muttered. She floated over and laid on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and snuggling into the side of his face as he flew.
He smiled and snuggled back as much as he could, given where she was.
It didn't take long until they were in front of an enormous collection of boxes and crates.
"What the hell?," she whispered, jumping down to the ground. "Is all of this really for us?"
"There's a note". Conquest floated over to the largest box, unpinned a piece of paper and handed it to her.
"Alright, let's see what Cecil's up to, " she said, unfolding it and bracing herself for what she might find.
"Hmm...Mary and Conquest...these boxes are for you...food, drink...other supplies...leave whatever you don't want here and we'll pick it up later..."
"Oh wow," she blinked.
"What?"
"He's set up an entire house for us on the other side of the island. It's fully stocked - all of this is just extra, in case we'd rather stay out on the beach."
"He ALSO says he can set up a permanent house for us if we want. Maybe something on an island like this - apparently this one disappears underwater in the rainy season - or in the same neighbourhood as my old house. I just need to give Donald a call and let him know what we decide on."
"That's...generous," said Conquest, tilting his head with an implied question.
She smiled, wryly. "Yeah, you're not wrong. He definitely wants something from us. Knowing him, probably to get us on his roster of heroes. I'm not against that, but..."
Mary turned to look at him head on.
"It makes me realize - we haven't actually talked about anything yet. And we should."
"Let's have a quick look through the boxes. See if there's anything we want to take with us, then we can go find that house."
"So," Mary said, looking into Conquest's eyes from across the kitchen table in their new, temporary, but incredibly well-appointed island love nest.
"It feels like a weird time to be bringing this up, given what we've been doing this week, but...my name is Mary Grayson. And you?"
He smiled, then hesitated a little. "They call me Conquest."
"Is...that what you'd like me to call you?"
"No. I think I would like a new name. I don't know what though."
"Okay, we can do that. I'll try to come up with some ideas - let me know if you think of anything."
He nodded. "I will."
"Ok, what's next? Background. I'm half-viltrumite, as you know, but from Earth. I'm 20 years old, I like comic books, and spending time with my friends, and...haven't really done much with my life so far, if I'm honest. I dropped out of college - it was too hard keeping up a schedule while flying around in a costume, saving people."
"What is "college?"
"Oh, sorry. It's...a place that provides a higher level of education. You need to study at one for a few years in order to get into some specialized jobs, or just to make yourself more likely to get a job in general."
"I see. Would you want to go back if you could?"
She shrugged unhappily. "I'm not sure. It's expensive, and if I went - what would I be going for? Even if I somehow made it to graduation, it's not like I can work as a lawyer or an architect if I'm being constantly pulled out of my day to fight monsters. And that's IF I survive long enough for it to matter - if the planet gets seriously attacked by Viltrum, I'm going to have a lot more to worry about than college or a job. Makes it seem a little pointless."
He looked saddened by that, but stayed silent.
She met his eyes again. "Can you tell me about your background? Your plans? Where you've been until now, what you've been doing, and what you're wanting to do here."
Conquest took a breath. "I was born on the planet Viltrum. I'm...not sure how old I am in terms of your Earth years. I'd need to do some calculations to find out. A rough estimate would be several thousand - maybe four or five.
Mary blinked. Ok, little bit more of a May-December age gap than she'd been thinking. Bronze age boyfriend. It's fine. Totally fine.
"Once I became an adult," He continued, "I was a warrior of the Viltrum empire. They would send me to planets and I would...conquer them. Threaten the population, destroy any who resisted, then set up a new government with the Viltrum empire as the head. That's really all I've done until now. I sometimes had other duties on Viltrum, but was mostly on my own, out in space."
"What I'm wanting to do now is...just be with you. I'm not with Viltrum anymore. I'm with you. I want to stay with you and support you for as long as I can."
Mary bit her lip. "When you were working for Viltrum, did you enjoy what you were doing?"
He took some time to think about it, looking out through the window next to the table.
"I'm not sure. If you had asked me before I met you, my answer would have been 'yes'. It was all I knew. It was all my life was, and all it could be."
He turned back to look in her eyes. "Everything is different now. My future is uncertain. I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow, or five minutes from now. But if I'm with you, I know I'll be happy - which is something I don't think I've ever been before."
Mary floated across the table and sat on his lap, pulling him down for a kiss, and then wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I'm sorry you had to go through that for so long - it sounds like it was a really lonely way to live. I'm glad you're here now, with me. I'm going to try to make your life on Earth as amazing as I can."
He smiled, embracing her in return, and kissing the top of her head.
"Hey," She looked up at him, with a glint in her eye."
"Yes?"
"Do your pants come apart near your waist?"
"...Yes...?"
"Good, I've got some ideas about activities we could be doing on this chair right now. It looks pretty sturdy."
Conquest's eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline, in surprise.
"I...would be very interested in hearing your ideas."
Later, in bed, Mary snuggled into her lover's side, as she read aloud from the satellite-connected laptop that had been left for them in the house.
"What about 'Darren'?"
"No."
"'William'? 'Mason'? 'Logan'? 'Ethan'?"
"No."
"Ooh, what about 'Liam'? I like 'Liam'."
"Yes, that one."
"Really?" She turned to look at him. "That's your new name now?"
"Yes."
"That's so great - I'm really happy for you."
She looked up at him again, "Hey - humans usually have a surname as well - a family name. Do you want to use mine? You'd be 'Liam Grayson'."
"Yes, that is what I want."
"Done! That didn't take us long at all - we're so efficient."
She leaned over to set the laptop down on the side-table, then snuggled back in against him.
"Mom emailed me back," she said, sleepily. "She and Dad are back together, and living at our old house again - maybe we can go visit them tomorrow."
Conquest, now Liam, felt a little uncertain about visiting his new in-laws, not wanting to be the cause of any issues for Mary, but he decided to leave it as a problem for tomorrow-him. Tomorrow-him loved problems.
Current-him was busy being happy.
"Alright," he murmured, closing his eyes and following her to sleep.