#kindquest

You live in the woods and don't watch the news. That's why when a Viltrumite lands on your lawn, you offer him some lemonade and ask if he wants to use your phone to call someone. You take one look at his clothes and just figure that he's a new superhero. Well, not a new one. He's pretty old so you figure that someone probably dug him up from somewhere.

You offer your couch for him to crash on and two blankets because you figured that one wouldn't fully cover him. You sleep well, surprisingly lulled to sleep by his foundation rattling snores. That morning, you bake banana bread while he stares at you.

"Why do you talk about killing so much?" You ask as you snack on your generous slice of banana bread.

"That's what I do." He answers with his mouth full of a solid quarter of the loaf.

"Cool." You shrug as you take another bite.

"I will be staying here for the foreseeable future." Conquest asserts after a few moments.

"I mean, you're welcome to stay on the couch as long as you help me chop wood." You reply.

"You would willingly let me stay?" He asks as if it's the greatest deal he's ever heard.

You're a bit confused about why he seems so delighted. Your couch isn't very comfortable and you saw how his legs were dangling off of one of the armrests when he laid down the night before. Oh well. You're getting someone to chop wood for you.

"Eh, I don't really want to do it myself and I like your company. Also, you need to let me rub the bald parts of your hair sometimes." You say as if it's a normal thing to request from someone you've known for less than 24 hours.

While Mark and Eve have a little date, Conquest and Nolan have a "friendly" chat to catch up on things.

Conquest is drifting through some town or city in his civilian persona and gets mistaken for an amputee war veteran, leading to him getting invited to a veterans support group. Conquest goes, figuring it'll be good reconnaissance for how Earth warriors think.

He thinks it'll be just a bunch of macho soldiers boasting about their best kills or greatest battles. Then he hears people discussing their trauma, questioning whether the wars they participated in were worth it, and how to readjust to civilian life. All these ideas are unthinkable to a Viltrumite.

Conquest is confused and disgusted by seeing warriors show vulnerability to each other, and definitely says some harsh things about it at first. No one in the group takes it personally, interpreting Conquest's attitude as the new guy not being ready to face his demons. Conquest continues going out of sheer curiousity at how another soldier could view war so differently from how Viltrumites do.

Eventually, Conquest starts participating in the group and sharing war stories of his own, changing the names and places as to preserve his cover. The other guys find it strange that Conquest won't disclose his unit or give too many specifics. They conclude that Conquest might have been a PMC or CIA blackops guy during the Cold War, and there's a betting pool on which it is. All the while, Conquest uses the meetings to give a voice to the doubts he’s held about his role as a living weapon, thoughts he’d struggle to articulate as a Viltrumite.

But it makes me think about Adam Eve and what if she ran away when she was younger and met a nice old man named Carl.

And Carl’s nice to her and he understands what it feels like to be a weapon.

And Carl becomes her father figure. They go fishing and eve helps with the animals on Carl’s farm.

Carl is the opposite of Eve‘s dad because the Viltrumite don’t have sexism. If you’re strong, you’re strong that’s all that matters. 

Carl loves Eve with all his heart so of course he trained her because she wants to become a hero one day so when she does become a hero, she’s a bit stronger.

When Rex comes around, Carl treats him like a son because he has that look in his eyes that him and Eve have. The look of someone who was a weapon for too long and needs to be a person.

Carl part times for the Gda he did it to get enough money for his farm. When Carl gets Eve Cecil helps with paperwork in exchange for Carl working for them again.

When Mark and Eve have kids, Carl cries because he’s a grandpa. 

Anyway screw eves OG Dad, Papa Carl forever!