Samson and Karen had something special between them, something they couldn't quite put down. After three months of regular dating, Karen was now spending the majority of her time at Samson's apartment. Samson was beginning to understand the irregularity of Karen's schedule, where he would sometimes find she came and left at completely random hours of the day. Whenever they did have time to meet up, they spent however much time they had watching shows or fooling around. They were working on getting all of Samson inside of her, but despite their efforts, he was only a third of the way in.
Not a moment was wasted between the two of them, so Karen began to stress more and more about revealing her other ego. Karen was a beautiful woman who was shaped perfectly for human trust and interaction, but Queen was a blue alien capable of shapeshifting, telepathic communication, psychokinesis, and a grab bag of other powers. More than that, she was something that Samson openly declared he hated and wouldn't associate with heroes. It was a nightmare within a beautiful dream, and Karen didn't know whether she could keep being Karen or if she had to be Queen.
It came to a head when she was working out at the Hero Squad base, strengthening both her powers and keeping her body in shape when a large man in a white Hero Squad suit came up behind her. She was lifting weights, both with her mind and her arms, when the man in white suddenly grabbed her from behind around her waist. He lifted her up with a perfect smile and announced, "I'm home!" Flying gently into the air, the man tossed Queen up and flipped her around before she finally saw his face.
"Dad," said Queen happily, her facing shining brightly as the man tossed her effortlessly into the air. The man had black hair that had grown long down his back, and a big beard that waved gently across his chest over the high collar of his white suit. He had a fine cleft on his chin and clear eyes with a strong handsomeness. He had broad shoulders and powerful muscles that flexed out of his suit. The patch on his shoulder didn't have any logo, it was blank. The only people who had blank patches were either considered unstoppable, or they had no powers at all. His white suit meant that he was one of the top ten ranked in the Hero Squad, as well as a founder member of the Hero Squad itself: Big Man.
"I'm so happy to see you again," said Big Man, lowering himself down with Queen in his arms.
"So, how was your business in the Mirror dimension," asked Queen. "Did you convince them not to go to war with each other?"
"I don't know," admitted Big Man sadly, "but I think I left a good impression." Setting Queen down, Big Man looked at her closely, and he seemed to notice something was off. "What's wrong, Queen?"
"What do you mean," asked Queen.
"You seem different," said Big Man, looking closely at Queen. "Are those boys picking on you again?"
Queen laughed to herself, "I'm not being picked on by anyone. I'm actually having a great time."
"Do you have a boy you like," Big Man asked jokingly. Queen avoided eye contact, her fingers flinched, and her heart literally skipped a beat. Big Man went from joking to serious faster than it took Queen's heart to skip another beat. "What's his name?"
"Daaad," said Queen disapprovingly, "what are you going to do if I tell you?"
"I'd go and say hi," said Big Man with an honest smile.
"You can't do that," said Queen, "he's a normal civilian." Big Man adopted a confused look on his face.
"You're dating a civilian," asked Big Man in confusion. "Why not someone from the Hero Squad?"
"Well," said Queen nervously, "this guy just, sort of, fell on me."
"So you saved him?"
"No, his friend got up and started telling me how shy he was, and I thought it was kind of cute, so I gave him my number."
"And how long have you been dating this civilian," Big Man asked in a stern, fatherly way.
"For... three months," said Queen nervously. Big Man looked down at his daughter's light blue face, the way she seemed nervous about this man and how she blushed a royal blue.
"Come on," said Big Man, motioning towards the door, "I've got to get some food and shave. Tell me more about it while we walk." So Queen began to talk, about everything she and Samson had done together, about Samson himself, and about how he made her feel. For the duration she talked, Big Man was able to shave, eat 5 lunch trays worth of food, return to the gym and run a hundred miles in five minutes on the treadmill, bench half the weight of the world, then finally, calisthenics in 50 times the average earth gravity. Sweating and breathing heavily from the activity, Big Man looked at his daughter who was still talking about 'Samson Marcel'.
"You really like this guy," guessed Big Man, looking seriously at Queen who suddenly blushed.
"Yeah," she said with a happy smile, "I think I do."
"Then I'm happy for you," said Big Man in a fatherly way. "We just need to find out a good time to meet him, and you need to decide something very important."
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"What is it," Queen asked curiously.
"Who you want to be your mother."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hunt," said Samson nervously. He was wearing a special Armani suit that he had made just to meet Karen's parents. It was quite a shock when Queen told him, but Samson wouldn't back down if it meant being there for Karen. Samson stood in front of a small house in a suburb of Queens, looking at a man who matched him perfectly in size. Karen's dad was big, broad shouldered, and had a big bushy moustache under his nose.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Samson," said Mr. Hunt, holding his hand out. Samson grasped the man's hand, then they both shook with a strong grip. "Come on in, dinner's almost ready." Samson entered a cozy little home with the smell of pot roast wafting in from the kitchen. A woman wearing a nice evening dress appeared, a beauty of a woman with the same curvaceous body as Karen but only a little smaller and with black hair.
"Oh, Karen you've outdone yourself," said Mrs. Hunt happily. "Tall, handsome, and rich." Mrs. Hunt playfully wrapped her arms around her husband and told him, "Looks like you've got some competition." Both Samson and Karen blushed at such an embarrassing topic, but Mr. and Mrs. Hunt just laughed. Samson and Karen were both ushered in, and a night of parental watch and embarrassment ensued.
Nothing was left out, between personal questions and stories, Karen's parents were doing everything they could to make the two blush as furiously as possible. Samson almost spit out the food in his mouth when Mrs. Hunt asked about his performance between the sheets. That was a question Karen didn't seem so hesitant to answer, but Samson felt the need to crawl under the table and going into the fetal position. When dinner was finally over, Mr. Hunt took Samson to the side while Karen and her mother cleared the table.
"Tell me, what are your intentions with my daughter," said Mr. Hunt seriously. "You think you can make an honest woman out of her?"
"I don't know," said Samson honestly, "but I've got this weird feeling that I want to stay with her through everything."
"Are you asking for my blessing," huffed Mr. Hunt, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Not yet," said Samson with a playful smile, but the truth in his words shone through. "I'm guessing you saw my interview with Rob Truman?"
"I did," said Mr. Hunt, his face hard as stone.
"I don't want that," said Samson, crossing his arms and looking in Karen's general direction. "To be honest, I want something like this. Small house, a yard..., and a tight family. I just... I don't know if I can do it. I mean, I have no experience in this type of family, and I'm afraid..."
"You're afraid you'll become your dad," finished Mr. Hunt seriously. A heavy air hung over Samson, his eyes on the floor to avoid Mr. Hunt's gaze. A large hand was placed on Samson's shoulder, and Mr. Hunt said thickly, "Samson, to be honest, that's what I'm afraid of, too. But just now, for you to open yourself up like that, I saw how much you really care. If you can prove to me that you want to be the best husband possible, I won't hesitate to give you my blessing." Samson smiled weakly, a feeling of hope in his chest as he looked up into the eyes of Karen's father.
"It's really nice being here," said Samson with a smile. "It feels like a family should."
At the end of the night, both Samson and Karen admit to having a good time. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt waved from the front porch as Samson drove away in his Range Rover with Karen in the passenger seat. Once they were out of sight, Mr. Hunt asked, "So, what did you think of him?"
"I can't believe someone like that wants to be a supervillian," said Mrs. Hunt honestly. "It just blows my mind."
"With everything that's happened to him, I'm surprised he's even sane."
"It really makes me think what could have been," said Mrs. Hunt with a heavy sigh. "With his power and resolve, he could be one of the greatest superheroes of all time, but he doesn't trust anyone who takes the name of a hero." Going back into the house, Mrs. Hunt suddenly changed out of her sparkling dress into a white Hero Squad suit with a single line on her patch.
"What do you think about them together," asked Big Man.
"They've got something special between them, something real," said Mrs. Hunt sadly. "It's a shame it was built on a lie."
"Fatale, when I pulled Samson aside, he said that he wanted to keep what he had as long as possible," said Big Man with a note of concern. "If he can prove what it takes, I think I have a job for him."
"You don't mean...,"
"I think he'd be the perfect candidate for the Anri-Hero idea," said Big Man.
"You still think that's a good idea?" asked Fatale(Mrs. Hunt) exasperatedly. "It baffles me that you could think anyone would go for something like that."