"Dad," Mark began, his voice tight with something deeper than nerves-resolve, maybe. "Before we go any further... I need to know something." "Of course," Nolan said carefully. "Ask me anything." Mark swallowed hard. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles pale. "Do you love me and Mom?" he asked. "I mean-really love us. Not as some assignment or cover, but... as people. As your family." "Mark, what does that have to do with-" "Please," Mark interrupted, his voice almost breaking. "Just answer it. I need to hear you say it. Do we mean anything to you? Or was our whole life together just... a moment?" "...I adore you," Nolan said. "Both of you. Your mother and you... you're not just a chapter in some long book. Calling your lives a 'moment' would be an insult-not just to you, but to everything I've built here." He looked away for a brief moment, eyes distant, voice lower now. "Omni-Man exists because of you. The man I am now... he didn't exist before Earth. Before you. You're not an obligation. You're my world. And there's nothing you could say or do that would change that." Mark stood very still. Then, slowly, he nodded, as if filing that truth away deep in his heart. He inhaled deeply and squared his shoulders. "Okay," he said, voice steady now. "If that's really how you feel-then I need you to promise me something." Nolan didn't hesitate. "Of course, son. Anything." Mark's expression hardened, his eyes going cold in a way that made Nolan's breath catch. "Promise me," he said slowly, "right now... that you'll denounce Viltrum. That you'll reject them-for Earth. For us." There was a beat of silence. A single second that stretched on like eternity. Nolan's eyes widened. "...What?"

❝ YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A PET . . . ❞ 𝐏𝐄𝐓 一 (Omni Man X Reader X Thragg X Conquest)