"I know a guy who also wears a red cape. Gotta say he wears it with more honor than you @viltrumtraitor if what I've heard is right - and by all accounts it is."

"yeah, i might know who you mean. got comparisons to one such hero a lot, back in the day," he recalls, with an ounce of weariness. people likening him to a real hero, one that doesn't turn around and hurt those he's meant to protect— it's something he doesn't like thinking of now.

she   POPS   the   p   with   a   glee   that   comes   naturally   only   when   someone   else   is   annoyed.   it's   almost   the   truth   ,   and   there's   no   shame   associated   with   it.   heroing   isn't   exactly   conductive   to   friendships   when   you   don't   have   a   secret   identity   —   when   you   can't   get   away   from   it   no   matter   what   you   do.   she's   lost   count   of   the   people   who   have   DRIFTED   away   because   she   and   her   sisters   didn't   have   the   time   to   lounge   around.   robin   got   used   to   it   ,   eventually.   mitch   got   used   to   it.   beyond   that   ,   she   doesn't   really   have   friends   who   aren't   a   part   of   this   lifestyle.   (   adding   them   brings   her   up   to   FOUR   total   friends.   she's   at   an   all   time   high.   )   but   she   can't   imagine   any   of   that   would   be   news   to   him.   same   hat   and   all   that.

“   i   already   picked   a   fight   with   the   devil.   i'm   all   out   of   fun   people   to   piss   off   ,   ”   she   says.   also   true.   as   evil   as   him   is   ,   they've   mellowed   in   their   old   age.   and   she   knows   all   their   moves.   him   never   tries   a   plan   TWICE   but   they   do   stick   to   a   routine   in   battle.   it's   monotonous.   she's   figured   it   all   out.   she's   BORED.   new   guy   looks   like   he'd   be   interesting.   unless   all   those   muscles   are   for   show   and   he   doesn't   have   the   superstrength   to   match.   he   looks   like   he's   holding   back.   something   about   that   makes   her   want   to   BREAK   it.   she   loves   a   good   fight.   

somehow, her answer doesn't surprise him. though nolan can barely pass judgment, given that most of those he could call himself close to consist of the very same guardians of the globe he fights alongside on a regular basis— them or those associated. maybe there's a few people here and there that his wife had introduced him to, though he considers them more her friends than his.

"oh— great." with those two words, there's just enough inflection to accent the sarcasm falling from them. a corner of his mouth pulls with a bitten back comment, as he briefly considers asking if it'd ended with her annoying said devil back to hell. that seems like the most likely scenario from what he's seen.

"yeah, all that and i'm pretty much indestructible," spoken nonchalantly, even shrugging a hand at it like it's not a big deal. being able to heal from would-be fatal wounds, and most he deals with seldom ever getting him anywhere near that point in the first place is basically the same thing with less words.

The Viltrumite's high-speed flight would quite suddenly be intruded upon by a red shape somehow pulling beside (and possibly even a bit ahead) of him in the air, revealing itself as an unfamiliar, manta-like creature remarkably keeping pace next to him.

Clearly not aggressively, though, as it would turn to wave & smile.

"Salutations!" The Aerophibian greeted casually, as if they weren't both currently blasting through the air at incredible speeds. "Don't suppose you can spare the time for some questions? You're clearly in a hurry, but you can trust that I won't be slowing you down.

going at this speed, there's not too many things that manage to keep up with him in the air. so, once the creature emerges into view — one he's unfamiliar with, surprise cracks ever so slightly into his features, only staring wordlessly as it greets him.

"uh— alright. thanks?" he replies with mild confusion and the raise of a brow. if they had negative intentions, they probably wouldn't be simply flying alongside him and asking to talk. "i can't say i usually have somebody drop in on one of my flights to ask questions." or at all, really. but he guesses there's a first for everything.

Vegeta's gaze remained intense as he scrutinized the newcomer. The man's nonchalant demeanor and billowing cape did little to ease Vegeta's wariness. He could sense the unfamiliar power radiating from him, and it set Vegeta on edge. However, the stranger's civility and apparent confusion about his own presence here made the Saiyan prince reconsider his approach.

"You're on Earth, a couple of miles from West City" Vegeta replied, his tone still guarded but slightly less harsh. "And if you don't know how you got here, that makes two of us wondering what kind of mess we're dealing with."

He uncrossed his arms, taking a step closer to Nolan, still wary but willing to extract more information. "This isn't exactly the kind of place where people just 'wander' without a purpose. If you got here by accident, it could mean there's something—or someone—behind it."

Vegeta paused, his mind racing with possibilities. He couldn't afford to ignore any potential threat, especially not one with this level of power. But he also recognized that this man could hold valuable information or even be a potential ally, if handled correctly.

in contrast to nolan's own calmer disposition, he's aware of the other man's eyes on him, like daggers, as though expecting him to turn and become a danger. and given that he'd done just that in another location far from here, he thinks to himself that it's not unwarranted, regardless of who he is now. from the frigid air radiating off this man, he half expected him to ignore his inquiry completely.

"i'm afraid i don't know much more than you do. the last thing i recall is traveling through space." winding up in the wrong dimension now and again isn't something he's a stranger to, with occurences of interdimensional invasions on his own earth. but this time, he has little recollection as to what led him here.

"what i do know is that earth exists in my world— but from what i've observed so far, it's nothing like this one." a tilt of his head is accompanied by an open hand gesturing out towards their surroundings.

The Viltrumite is frustratingly calm and composed as he angrily rants about his painful past and even as he points a gun in his face. The man is likely assuming the gun is a normal one... Is he really dumb enough to think that someone as tormented by the colonization of his home planet wouldn't figure out a way to hurt the ones that hurt him back? Oh what he'd give to read the Viltrumite's mind...

He doesn't get much of a reaction out of Omni-Man until he shifts into Invincible. Good. Let it be shocking, let it hurt... The hell he's putting Omni-Man through is only a fraction of the nightmare he's experienced since losing his parents and his home. The mention of wiping out his own race for the sake of safety earns him a bitter laugh from Patchwork Jack. "Your kind has always been good at killing, haven't they?"

biting as his remark is, the truth behind it is something he can hardly justify being offended by. viltrumites like himself, leaving entire civilizations as crimson stains marking the ground they once tread — it makes his own enlightenment that much more absurd.

subconsciously, nolan finds himself resting his stance after the gun is lowered. but regardless of its lack of presence, he makes no move. "as you say, my kind has never been known for simply sitting and talking things through. i confess that my defection is something even i struggle to comprehend." he wouldn't have blamed him if he had decided to hold the weapon his way the entirety of the confrontation, though the lack of it does give the impression they might be getting… somewhere, perhaps slowly.

"I'm afraid it does not. Though I will admit to being unfamiliar with the races and factions of Earthrealm." Or so it was called, a realm connected by a focal point of a planet, more than referring to the planet itself. As this man clearly was not of such meager stock. She could practically feel every blood cell of his. Smart, alive, speaking in unison at every part of his body. She could theorize what this would mean, how strong he must be--

Though the level of communication in his body was not even.

"So I am to assume, then, that you are a 'Viltrumite'?" It was a safe thing to assume. He did not exactly ring subtlety in any fashion, which meant he might fit in more here than he probably would have expected. Still, she moves like fluid with each step, each one full of intent compared to his cold and apathetic movements. Efficiency came in different shades.

if his people are unheard of in this world, there's little intention on elaborating as to what that typically entails. though the reach of the viltrum empire is expansive, their grasp had not yet touched across dimensions, as he draws the conclusion that he's no longer in his own.

from what he's observed in a short period of time, the realm he's wound up in carries a particularly hostile, unwelcoming air with it. vigilant, narrowed eyes scan their surroundings. though he's by no means worried he can't handle things, he's not sure what to make of this place yet. "nolan," he offers, in spite of pleasantries not being his priority at the moment.

" yeah, well, i'm . . . fine. " a small gesture towards him, even as she glances away / a little awkward over the situation. she'd like to think that usually she wasn't that absentminded. " thanks to you. "

another ping from her phone has her shoving it into her hoodie pocket, " i was texting my dad. not paying attention, n' all. the usual stupid stuff. " the best bet was to act like the average teenager, and not make him anymore "concerned" than he already seems to be.

clearly, she's embarrassed by this situation. it occurs to him that maybe she would have preferred him immediately taking to the sky once he'd done his job.

"humans are prone to that sort of thing, aren't they," he muses offhandedly about her explanation as he observes the city ahead of them. then he realizes his words likely wouldn't help how awkward she is, eyes darting back her way with an added, "it's just something i've noticed."

"and if he doesn't want to talk to you?" their fight before nolan left had become infamous. mark had been beaten and betrayed, much like the rest of humanity. devani wonders if he would hit his father on sight. they would love to see that. duller gold eyes follow gaze back to the house. "you abandoned him. lied to him for his entire life-" head whips back around to stare in disbelief when he continues. the fire in their chest sparks back up with unease. their brain feels as if the ground shifts underneath them like rocking waves. almost dizzy as the viltrumite's words sink in.

even as the colossal figure in front of him goes back into high alert and appears only seconds from lashing out, nolan doesn't move a single muscle to react defensively or otherwise. intensely aware of the primal urge they may be holding back to spill his blood— especially after confessing something so outlandish, but continuing to meet their eyes regardless of it.

tension reaches his face as the perplexity of the truth remains on both ends. "i'm… not so sure, myself." he knows it's not a satisfying answer. nothing he'd ever done had given him such pause the way the incident on earth had, once the bitter reality of it had caught up to him. "my people and i are monsters by nature. we culled our own population until only the strong remained. we shouldn't be able to… care for other beings."