Chapter Text
Nolan would have preferred to sit this little excursion out, but a cosmic being floating through Earth's solar system produced a lot of nervous people. So here he was, part of the group in the upper atmosphere helping usher it along. That things of such self-reported cosmic infiniteness had a tendency to get lost really did not speak too highly of their evolutionary path.
"What boon could I grant you for your assistance?"
Omni-dimensional beings also all sounded like assholes, as far as Nolan was concerned. If they were using a reflection of a being's own psyche in order to communicate to begin with, why did they never sound like how anyone in your life actually spoke?
"No boon required, we're just happy to help," War Woman said.
The answer wasn't totally moralistic hero bravado. She and the Guardians had all filled Nolan in on the reality tearing likely to cause major disruptions across the planet if a being like this started moving matter around. Such 'gifts' were rarely worth the cost. Even just getting close to the planet had already disrupted multiple satellite transmissions, not to mention Nolan's evening plans.
The near fathomless collection of space dust, and likely some temporal nexus, turned its focus to The Immortal next.
It took him a moment to respond, probably because with all the flashing lights inside of it, it could be difficult to tell where it was looking. "Ah, I'm fine as well. No boon required."
Before it fully turned its focus to Nolan, he answered, "I'm good without one too, thanks."
Both Guardians shot him slightly exasperated looks, but quickly masked them. He knew they were getting a little irritated with this whole situation dragging itself out, too.
"You all have great care for this planet. Strong roots. Some quite deep."
Immortal's face struggled to stay polite. He got grumpy when his age was brought up. Nolan knew better than to mention that he was older than him, and that he should get over his melancholy on the subject. They were almost done here, he could go look for some actual problems to solve, and then go home for dinner.
"Connections bind us."
Was it going to mention that space was big next?
"The distances some of us go are not all measured in light."
Fuck. Was this thing reading his thoughts?
"A tether pulls both ways."
Immortal and War Woman shared a look from the corner of their eyes. Nolan's grip tightened on his arms across his chest. Steady. He would keep his head clear. No stray concerns. He was above the Earth. Nothing more. No intent. No strategizing. No forewarning. He was a body above the Earth and it would know nothing else of him.
"Do not be alone. I grant you this."
It collapsed in on itself, light and sound shutting away as it condensed. The little piece of itself that it had sent their way as an envoy to be perceived stopped pretending it was matter that touched their atmosphere. It was like being shoved from the density of a planet's core out into the vacuum of space. A single tether formed outside of itself before it vanished. The world stopped being compressed and the three of them were simply back above the clouds.
Just for a moment, all Nolan could think of was a drop of rain falling onto the surface of an ocean. Impossible to discern or distinguish as separate from its new place, gone and yet made vastly larger by being consumed. What measurable change did it hope to make? It was minute. It wasn't rain anymore. Just the ocean. Something scratched across the back of his throat, down through his chest and lodged itself behind his heart, making it skip a beat. A drop of rain falling into the ocean. Could you really call that drowning?
He turned and launched himself away, the sudden force of his departure sending War Woman and Immortal spinning through the air. One or both of them shouted something, but he had no time to try and hear it. He had said no. He had said no, and it had looked at him and made its own decision.
Fuck.
He came to a stop with the same concussive force as he had taken off, hearing the breaking of glass and the sudden cacophony of car alarms as windows shattered at his arrival. He ignored it all and moved through the frame of what had once been his sliding back door.
"Debbie? Deborah?"
He could hear Mark crying. Nolan floated farther into the house, coming into the living room with the back of the couch facing him. His son was standing on the cushions, pudgy little fingers holding the back in a death grip while he continued to wail. His cheeks were red and trailed with too many tears for this outburst to have been solely because of the shattering glass. He reached out and picked his son up, holding him close to his chest with one arm.
"Debbie?"
Aside from the property damage, his arrival had set off every alarm and all the neighborhood dogs were barking. She just couldn't hear him amidst the cacophony. She was here, not lost in that undertow, she had to be. Mark's arms smacked against him as he flailed, still bawling loudly. Nolan cradled the back of his head, trying to keep him close, trying to soothe him. He hummed awkwardly, and the rumbling in his chest finally seemed enough to bring Mark down from wails to choking little sniffles. His son got quieter, though the neighborhood was still noisy with human panic, and now shouting. Nolan moved around the couch into the living room proper.
A blanket was on the ground, scattered with Mark's toys and his current favorite picturebooks. The house was always in a state of disarray with such a young child roving around, but the current tableau of things was made more chaotic by Debbie convulsing in the middle of it, scattering objects with her twitching limbs.
Nolan shoved the couch and coffee table away from her so she wouldn't hurt herself against them. That pain he had felt when that little thing had drowned inside of him had been accurate then. She was going to find out, or more than likely, be brain dead from what was happening to her. Better to break her neck now and save her the heartache. Mark rubbed his snotty face against Nolan's neck while he continued to watch his wife convulse on the floor.
"I didn't realize you could move so fucking fast. What's going on- shit." Immortal had followed him.
He couldn't take his eyes off Debbie even to be mad at the man.
"Omni-Man? Om- fuck it, Nolan."
He finally looked at him.
"We need to get her to Guardians’ HQ."
They would try and help her. There wasn't anything they could do. She was human. Her brain wasn't built to house the scope of memories he possessed, let alone having them dumped on her all at once. It was a miracle she hadn't suffered an aneurysm and just died. It would have been simpler if she had.
Mark slammed his tiny hands into Nolan’s chest, snot filled nose blunting his words. "Bha -bha- bha-bha, ma-maaaa-"
Immortal looked away from them, almost guilty, and knelt down next to Debbie.
Nolan jolted forward, Mark's hands still slamming against him. "Don't-"
"-bha- bhaaaa-"
"Can you manage both of them?" Immortal asked gently.
Nolan grit his teeth, "I-" of course he could carry them, but what if- "fuck!" He squeezed his eyes shut. "Just..."
"-bhaaa -bhaaa-"
"I'll be careful," he promised.
"I need to get some things for Mark." He had to stop reacting to the situation. Start making plans.
"Of course. I'll see you both there."
"-bhaaa -bhaaa-"
She looked awkward in Immortal's arms with her limbs still twitching, but he didn't drop her. They left out the shattered back door.
"-maaaa-ma-"
Nolan closed his eyes for a moment, then lifted his cape to begin wiping off Mark's face. His son shook his head, hiccuping as his words were interrupted. His tiny hands grasped at the cape, twisting it between his fingers. You're going to be fine , Nolan almost said. Mark shoved the dirty corner of cape in his hands at Nolan's mouth. After watching Debbie do the dishes the other week, he had dropped several books and sippy cups into the toilet. She had begun to worry he might see Nolan flying and try to do the same. They had agreed to keep the Omni-Man suit and the powers out of his day-to-day life until he was older.
Perhaps he wouldn't remember any of this. Perhaps it was all for the best. Perhaps-
Mark let go of the cape to grip Nolan's mustache with both hands. "Bha-bha gis." Papa kiss.
He reached up, managing to convince his son to grab his hand instead of his facial hair. Debbie had told him 'that furry caterpillar on your lip' was what made a papa kiss so different from the ones mama gave. He kissed his son's brow, mustache brushing his forehead.
He needed to get out of here before emergency services swarmed the area and saw either of them. The GDA would be sniffing around too.