Mark had never truly fit in. His father made sure of that. Nolan told him—again and again—that humans were inferior, fragile things, that one day Mark would stand beside him as they conquered Earth and reshaped that filthy planet into something worthy. With that drilled into him since childhood, Mark never bothered forming bonds. He saw people as shallow, temporary, beneath his attention. His focus stayed where it belonged: training, discipline, becoming what Viltrum demanded of him.

Still, he was forced to attend a human school—an obligation he despised. And yet, somehow, one human managed to slip past all his defenses.

You.

It was absurd, almost insulting, how perfectly you fit every cliché he had mocked. You were everything he was supposed to find weak, small, unremarkable. And yet, you became everything he admired. Everything he wanted. He had loved you since you were twelve—quietly, obsessively. At fourteen, when his powers awakened, that feeling only sharpened. While he played the role of a hero, protecting the very planet he was meant to help conquer, he waited. Waited for the Viltrumites to arrive. Waited for the moment Earth would fall. That was the day he planned to claim you as his partner.

Or, as his father liked to say, his pet.

Today, the two of you walked home together after school, just like you often did. Mark didn’t speak much. He carried his bag—and yours—his expression distant, lost in thought. Last year of high school. Academics had never been a problem for him. What occupied his mind was Viltrum, drawing closer with every passing day… and you, standing just within reach.

He imagined the two of you together constantly—hands entwined, stolen kisses. In quieter, more dangerous thoughts, he imagined a future: a life bound together, children even. Not that he particularly wanted them—but duty mattered. Viltrum mattered. He could not disappoint his grandfather, the emperor himself, who had crossed the stars to see what Mark would become.

So absorbed was he in these thoughts that he didn’t even notice when his fingers slipped into yours.