Chapter Text
It had been a month since the d tier villain, Generator, also known as Morgan Sterling if the Fairness Association's super computer was accurate, had kidnapped and consequently 'adopted' Hawk, and had it enrolled in elementary school.
Alex wasn't too happy with the entire arrangement since Hawk didn't really need school, not to mention it had been orchestrated by a subpar villain that wasn't even on Alex's radar.
Right after Hawk's first kidnapping, Alex had investigated Generator and found he was a d tier villain who seem to dabble in all types of petty villainy. Theft of pretty much anything that could be stolen, breaking and entering, destruction of private and public property, kidnapping, multiple automobile related crimes, resisting arrest, and assault of a hero although the hero who got assaulted were almost exclusively from the FA and Alex personally knew that they all probably had it coming.
Especially the Chadster, who was apparently Generator's brother if the data base was accurate. Alex knew the 'super' computer wasn't all that super and information wasn't always true. Looking deeper into the villain, Alex discovered that Generator was truely a Sterling; he was also the first son of two of the FA's Founding Members.
This did little to put Alex at ease, since he had worked with quite a few of Sterlings and they all were pompous and controlling. The whole family's attitude made them insufferable, the only redeeming qualities were their heroism and even then Alex still avoided working with qny family member.
Alex also learned the guy was really intelligent and tended to use traps and trickery to commit his various crimes. Physically, Generator was pathetic and Alex coukd easily put them in their place especially with their infinite power, but an annoying little voice in the back of their head told Alex to be cautious of Generator. Alex wasnt a push over nor was he stupid but his experience with traps and puzzles along with the guys connection to high ranking heroes had Alex worried about the guy interacting with Hawk.
Hawk's creation had been an accident, he had been drinking and had been extremely emotional when he was messing around in his lab. His stupid drunk self had been lonely and had the bright idea to just make a family since he was having no luck in finding a partner. It was an embarrassing moment of vulnerable and had resulted in a creature with so many horrific abilities that Alex never wanted to tell anyone about it.
Don't misunderstand Alex, he loves his kid, he'd destroy the entire planet if Hawk asked, but he knew people would judge him for being a single parent. His coworkers gossiped about anything and everything, and he knows they would critique every action he did as soon as they realized he was a single parent.
"I can't believe Alex made a kid, by himself? Must have been desperate if he couldn't even wait to find a girl."
"That poor kid has no mom, and you know Alex is always off saving the world, whose taking care of the poor little thing?"
"Poor little thing? Have you seen it? It's a monster!"
"It's so irresponsible to bring a child into this world and then abandon it. He should stop hogging the spotlight and go take care of his kid."
"Alex took the week off to spend time with his kid? Seriously?! Does he not realize how much people need him? He's the strongest hero, can he not think of other people?"
"The world nearly ended and Alex was off playing house with his little monster, I can't take him seriously when he dies this shit."
Akex had heard all these phrases thrown at other heroes when they started having kids and knows that he'd be judged regardless of what he did with his kid. Letting people know about Hawk was just asking for more stress in his life and being the top hero was already stressful enough.
The worst part about the entire situation was how Alex couldn't even bring himself to tell his parents. He knows they wouldn't judge him like his coworkers, bit he knew it would result in them trying to push him into dating and settling down and Alex wasn't ready for that.
He needed something to keep himself occupied and that let him channel his bloodlust in a way that didn't hurt people and heroism was the best option.
His parents didn't approve of his career choice to be a hero, it had interupted every family activity the three tried to do, and Alex knew his parents would ask his question about Hawk's creation. Not only would they have been saddened by Alex's loneliness, but they'd think Alex was irresponsible and.... a part of Alex didn't want to disappoint his parents with his life choices.
Generator, if he ever figured out how Hawk came to be, could use that information to complete destroy his life. The FA wouldn't trust him ever again, the media would have a field day, his parents would be heartbroken, and Hawk might think he's ashamed of it.
And give the first hand accounts in Generator's arrest records, the guy was ridiculous good at gathering information even when there was no possible way for him to get said information. The villains powers was labeled as extremely weak, but Alex suspected he was warping reality since some of his feats broke all reason and logic.
He's a d tier, yet he could juggle 20+ nemesises, had connections to high ranking heroes and villains? Yeah Alex wasn't stupid, this guy wasn't all he appeared to be and Alex wasn't going to risk anything by letting the guy anywhere near Hawk.
~~~
Alex was called away to help evacuate an entire planet before the Cosmic Seal came and used the planet as a bouncy ball to balance on its nose. It had taken almost an entire week to execute the plan and in the end he still got roped into fighting the Cosmic Seal, saving the planet. Then he had to help un-evacuate the planet which took significantly longer.
Before he left, he had been sure to let Hawk know he had to stay at the artic base and wasn't aloud to go patrolling at night until Alex got back. Alex knew his kid wouldn't normally heed his demand for it to give up its heroing phase, at least until it was a bit older, but he had tried to stress the importance of listening to him this time. He trusted his kid to listen to him, after all he always listened to his parents so why wouldn't Hawk listen to him?
Hawk was am extremely intelligent kid, and was more than capable of taking care of itself, he would have gotten it a babysitter if Hawk hadn't proven that it could be left home alone.
So imagine the shock Alex felt when he got home but there was no Hawk there. He literally used every method possible while trying to locate Hawk yet didn't find anything.
He searched the city, even the surrounding cities, to try any find Hawk but it wasn't until he used his God-Like powers did he get Hawk's location. Alex was pretty much ready to kill the villain for kidnapping his kid again, but was stunned by the villain's actions.
Apparently Generator had 'legally' adopted Hawk, and had signed it up for school. Alex was confused and a bit angry at Generators actions, especially since he was able to forge so many documents so perfectly. Like Hawk did not have a birth certificate at all, it wasn't even technically born, yet now had a document stating its time and date of creation along with its place of creation. Only Alex's name was on the certificate so at least Generator wasn't stealing Alex's title as Hawk's sole creator.
Generator actually forged a lot of documents regarding Hawk, apparently lab experiments had to see multiple experts in order to occupy public space with the masses. They needed even more documents in order to attend a school mostly populated by humans and humaniods.
From what Generator had said City, the City Counsel said it was for 'safety' but Alex knew that was a load of bullshit. Preceptor Plutonium's three lab experiments turned child heroes were allowed to go anywhere and everywhere with no paperwork.
This new information actually calmed some of Alex's wariness about Generator, the guy may be a loon but he was thorough and had filled out all this paperwork for him. Alex is actually relieved that Generator had barged into his and Hawk's life since he had no idea Hawk needed all these documents just to be outside.
This ment that Alex had been technically breaking the law when he allowed Hawk to go on patrol with him. Alex also knew that Hawk was already breaking the law by being a vigilante whenever it left Alex's base, but hadn't been aware of just how much trouble they could have gotten into had Generator not forged these documents.
This was a point in Generators favor, but it didn't mean Alex was pleased with this arrangement.
~~~
Hawk's first day of school had been nerve raking for Alex. It all happened too soon, he only had a day to prepare himself for the emotional roller-coaster he'd feel when he sent his little bug-creature off to school for eight entire hours.
Generator had insisted on Alex staying the night at his apartment since the school was only three blocks away from his place. That's why Alex was now stuck sitting in a poorly decorated apartment, getting served eggs, bacon, and sausage by Generator.
Hawk is sitting in a modified chair that looks like it was though of, designed, and built in an hour. There are only four chairs at the table meaning Alex had to sit either across from Generator in order to sit by his kid or sit right next to Generatot if he wanted to face his kid. Alex chose to sit by his kid, not really wanting to be close to the erratic villain unless absolutely necessary.
Because of that choice, Alex was now stuck with either looking at Generator or down at his untouched food. Alex tells himself he's not eating because it could be poisoned, but he can't really lie to himself when he knows he's immune to most poisons. The real reason he wasn't eating was because he was so nervous. What if the school found out Hawk's documents were fake? What if Hawk didn't get along with the kids? Or worst what if they bully Hawk? Alex was really popular through out his time in school, he has no idea how handle his own kid getting bullied!
"Hey," a fork covered in syrup was poking Alex's hand, derailing Alex's train of thought. Looking up from his plate, wearing a small frown from his hand now being sticky, Alex meets Generators eyes.
"What." Alex says.
"You got five minutes to eat or I'm gonna start stealing your food." Generator lightly teased before turning back to his own plate, which was half eaten. Looking back to Hawk, Alex sees that it's on its second helping if breakfast. Feeding Hawk was like feeding half a dozen kids: messy, taxing, and also required a lot of food.
Alex then came to the conclusion that maybe he should eat his food, it might easy his nerves, plus not letting Generator steal for Alex (Again) would be a great way to get some petty revenge. He slowly starts eating his food as Generator and Hawk's conversation picks back up..
"So Hawk what did you think of Mrs. Johnson's class? I thought the space theme was cool." Generator asked Hawk.
"I can't wait to see Mrs. Johnson again! She was really nice at Open House, I wish we had those glow in the dark stickers." Hawk reminisce on the Open House the two of them went to about two days before Alex came back. Alex knew that last comment was Hawk's way of asking for glow in the dark stars, his kid was sneaky like that.
Alex was getting a headache from just imagining how garish Hawk's room would look after adding stars. If it was Hawk's room at his base it wouldn't be so bad since there was plenty of space for everything to be spread out, but Hawk's new room here was an absolute nightmare. The colors were so vibrant that Alex was thinking about turning his color receptors off when going in there.
Generator's eyes grew wide, along with his smile, as he sat up from the table and disappeared into the door connected to his lair for a few seconds before coming back. He held something behind his back, but Alex already knew what it was; why did Generator seem to have just about any random item you could think of either in the apartment or in his lair??
Without a word, Generator brings a packet of glow stars out infront of him to show off to Hawk, who chirps in excitement. The sound is so adorable, it almost melts all of Alex's worries away.
"We can put them up after school, er- I mean after we get done with homework, if they give out homework today..." Morgan trails off before glancing at the clock in the kitchen area and going ridged. "Uh... we're gonna have to start heading out soon if we want to get there on time."
With that said, Generator quickly swipes a piece of bacon from Alex before moving away. "Yeah! It hasn't even been five minutes." Alex grumbled.
"You keep eating your food, I'm just gonna doubt check everything before we leave." Alex can't quite tell if that was directed at him or Hawk, either way he and Hawk went back to eating while Generator went to the entrance area where Hawk's stuff was set out.
About five minutes later, Generator was helping Hawk get into his jacket and backpack and Alex has just finishing off his food. There wasn't any poison in food, infact it was pretty easy for Akex to scarf it all down once he took the first bite. Who would have known that a guy like Generatir was secretly a great cook? He could honestly quit villainy and just open a restaurant.
"Ok, let's go guys!" Generatot excitedly said.
~~~
They had been walking in silence when they first started walking, either Generator or Hawk woukd start up a conversation but when they tried to include Alex, the conversation would slowly peeter out. Those worries were back and were keeping Alex too occupied for conversations for most of the walk there.
But one line from Hawk did manage to catch his attention.
"I hope me and Ducky are in the same class." Hawk exclaimed as they began to walk to school.
"I'm sure he is, and if he isn't than you can always sit with him at lunch and play during recess." Generator assures Hawk.
"Who's Ducky?" Alex asked, it was a bit of a strange name but then again Hawk wasn't very common either.
"He's my best friend in the whole world! You'd love him dad!" Hawk said. They were just arriving to the school grounds, so Hawk then dropper the conversation to look around frantically, even hovering just above the adults heads to try and see if it could spot its friend.
"Hawk met Ducky at the Open House the school hosted, they really hit it off." Generator gently smiles as he recalls the events, "Oh you should probably know, Ducky is my-"
"Uncle Morgan!" Before Morgan can finish that sentace, a little kid comes out of nowhere and slams into Generators leg. Generator almost falls but Alex was able to grab Generator and steady the man before he could actually fall.
"Ducky!" Generator and Hawk both call out simultaneously.
"Sorry Morgan, I was just really happy to see you." Ducky looks down and pouts, as if his uncle was about to scold him.
"Aw," Morgan kneels down to Ducky's level to pull him into a hug, "I'm not mad Ducky, you just gotta be norr careful. I think you might have inherited Uncle Chad's strength."
With the mention of Chad, Alex is reminded of the information he had gotten from Generator's files. Generator had a lot of siblings so it was hard to guess which sibling this kid belonged to. Alex worked with most of the Sterling family so you'd think he'd be able to pick out whose kid this was.
"Ducky, you can't just run off like that!" A woman in regular clothes comes jogging up to their little group.
"Sorry mom," Ducky's cute little pout is back.
"Aunty!" Hawk waves at the woman now, trying to get her attention.
"Hey Hawk, how's my nephew doing?" This 'Aunty' person pats Hawk on the head as Hawk lands on her shoulder.
"Great!" Hawk exclaimed.
"That's good..." Aunty trails off as she starts to look at Alex. She wears a great pokerface, but Alex can still feel the suspicion in her gaze.
"So... you must be Alex." She smiles and holds out her hand, Alex returns the gesture but can still see her suspicion.
"Yes, and you are?" Alex didn't recognize this person at all, she had the classic Sterling face shape but looked nothing like the Sterlings that he works with, then again the same could be said about Generator. For a second, Alex wonders if Generator forged those family ties too?
"Diego Dodgers." Alex instantly recognizes the name. Dave Dodgers, Leader USA, was Alex's 'rival'. They worked on the same side of the morality spectrum, but because they were both top performers in their respective hero agencies they often get compared to each other.
You'd think this would lead to some animosity but Dave and Alex actually got along fine. Dave even invited Alex to their wedding, but had to decline due to work. Plus big trouble always followed Alex, he didn't want to bring a world-ending scenario to their wedding. Alex did find out that there was a bomb hidden at the wedding, but it got defused by one of Dave's brother-in-laws.
"Alex Stewart, pleasure to meet you. I actually know your husband." Alex casually informs.
"Oh," that seem to put her at ease a little, but not fully, "He would have been here but you know how work is." Alex was a little confused by the exchange, she mentions work yet still has that suspicious look in her eye. Doesn't she recognize him as Superior? Alex didn't really hide his identity from the public, couldn't really since he started his hero career in High School.
"Well, let him know I said hi." Alex says.
"Will do."
"Ok," Morgan saves them from the akward atmosphere that had formed around them, "Let's get these kiddos in! Common Alex, we gotta stop at the office so they know what you look like when it's your furn to pick up Hawk."
Alex wants to make a snide remark about how he shouldn't have to pick up Hawk when he didn't even think his kid needed school, but stops himself as he recalls the times his own parents had picked him up from school. Stopping at the local burger joint, eating in the car but not telling the other parent, stopping at the park for a quick game; all things Alex remembered fondly. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea... he's still pissed at Mor- er- Generator for going behind his back though!
"Alright I'm coming." Alex and Diego begin to walk to the main entrance of the school with Generator, Ducky and Hawk walking a few feet ahead of them.
~~~
Alex will never say this out loud, but Generator was actually pretty clever. Every other day, either Alex or Generator would pick up Hawk and it would spend the night at the house of who picked them up. Then that particular parent would drop them off in the morning and the other one would pick them up.
Hawk was sometime grouchy that he didn't get to hang out with Ducky since it was going home with Alex. Akex did explain to Hawk that Diego didn't know Alex all that well and didn't know where he lived so Alex couldn't have Ducky over. Plus they lived in Antartica, it wasn't easy to get to if you couldn't teleport.
Aside from an occasionally grouchy Hawk, the arrangement worked out pretty good, that is until Alex's work followed him home.
His villains had teamed up to attack 'Superior's Antartic Base' and ended up destroying the entire building. Alex actually saw red when his home began collapsing during the fight. If anyone ever asked what happen to his villains, Alex would just say they got burried in the rubble, and if they asked why Alex didn't save them he would just say he didn't have time.
The blood on his hands made Alex feel a little better about his destroyed home, but knew it would be a pain to rebuilt during the Antartic winter, which was coming way sooner than even Alex could build. Standing atop the rubble in the open anartic air, Alex thanks himself that Hawk wasn't home today.
In the meantime, Alex would have to find a place to live. He could go to a hotel but the detergent they used was terrible and he didn't want to live in a hotel for months on end. He could temporarily move back in with his parents but then he's have to explain Hawk (and Generator) to them.
Signing deeply, Alex decided he'd have to include Generator in this decision since it did effect Hawk's living situation. Snapping his fingers, Alex was no longer in the rubble of his home and was now in the dinning area of Generators apartment.
"You look like shit." Generator spoke as he notices Alex's presence. He must have been baking if the overmits and pan of cookies were any indication.
"Thanks." Alex says dryly as he takes a seat at the table.
"Is that blood?" Worry creeps into Generator's voice as he speaks, hefire Alex can even answer, he bolts off the the bathroom, comes back either a weird puzzle box, takes a seat at the table and begins to solve it.
"I'm fine, it's not my blood..." Alex reassures.
"We'll see about that." Generator mumbled under his breath as he solves the box. The lid pops open and a loot of pride crosses Generators face before it falls flat. He closes the box again, "Looks like you don't need any medical aid. Could definitely use a shower though."
"That's your first aid kit?" Alex asked in confusion.
"Yeah."
"... why would you put your medical supplies in a puzzle box? I feel like that would.... be counter productive."
"It's a pretty simple puzzle box, like I opened it in a second." Alex's only response is to raise his eyebrow.
"I don't want people stealing my medical stuff! Plus if you can't solve a simple puzzle box you really shouldn't be in my apartment." Generator says with an edge if defensiveness.
Alex just rolls his eyes.
"Anyway, go take a shower, your getting dust everywhere." Generator shoos him over to the bathroom.
~~~
Sometime during the shower Generator had stepped in to drop off some clothes for Akex to wear. They weren't fashionable clothes, but Alex is pretty sure their the only clothes that would fit him given Generator's height.
Coming out of the bathroom, Alex made his way to the kitchen since the smell of fresh cookies was still coming from there. The hallway and kitchen table are free of dust and blood when Alex travels to the kitchen.
Generator seems to be done with baking, but is only just getting started on cleaning the dishes he had made. The villain only puts them in the sink before taking a plate of cookies and putting them near Alex as he takes a seat across from him. It had been a month since the first time they had sat across from each other.
"So what happen? I didn't see anything on the news about," he gestures to Alex, "that."
Taking a deep breath Alex explains what all happened. How he had dropped off Hawk and had teleported home since he had to change into his hero gear. He barely got his stuff on when the wall holding his front door got busted down by one of his bigger enemies.
A fight ensued, Alex was winning when the house began to collapse. His villains got trapped under the rubble and died, and Alex had gotten out but didn't really know what to do after the battle.
Alex's tone switched to anger and to panic several times as he recalled the story, to his own confusion. He was a hero, and he had a love for blood, why was this experience having such a big effect on him, he's seen far worst situations?
Alex didn't really register it at first, but Generator had gotten up from his chair at some point and had hugged Alex from behind. It wasn't until he felt a new warmth on his back that Alex realized Generator had moved.
It was a nice feeling, being grounded when he had felt like he was about to fall apart.
"I'm so sorry your house got destroyed, I can't imagine how horrible that must have been." Generator's voice is soft and slow, "You can stay here if you need."
That possibility hadn't really crossed his mind when he had tried to think of where he would have to stay. Hawk would still have the comfort of his own room, but could Alex really stay here too? Like he never spent that much time with Generator, and this place was pretty messy... but the food was good, and Generator had offered.
"I... I don't know, do you even have room for another person?"
"Yeah, I just gotta move my home office to my base and we'll have a room for you." Generator is no longer hugging Alex; he's now moved on to rummaging through a drawer and takes out a notepad and pencil.
"It is gonna take a while to get all the furniture, but the farmers market starts tomorrow so we can get some pretty good deals there. For now you can just take my room and I'll sleep on the couch. You'll need clothes too." Generator is now hunched over the table, making a list of what Alex's room might need and where they could find said things on such short notice.
"Shit, you probably need to tell the Fairness Association about this too," that particular line snaps Alex out of his trance like state, he did need to report in for work, and thankfully he kept spare gear there. Without a word to Generator, Alex snapped, changing his clothes into his hero outfit and teleporting him to the FA's report center. Alex began to fill out an incident report.
~~~
Alex, being the top superhero under the FA, ended having to see the council to explain what had happened. He was able to keep himself from showing any weakness while he told the council about this morning's attack, he knew the council tended to look down on heroes who reacted with panic, and the last thing Alex needed was the council questioning his abilities as a hero.
The council seem to be pleased with his recount of the attack and let him go back to his patrol. Alex wasn't exactly in the state to go back to work right away but the council didn't really care that much about their heroes mental health, even the top performing heroes likes him.
By the end of the day, Alex was exhausted, which wasnt very common for him. He was so tired he teleported to his destroyed base instead of Generators apartment but quickly teleported to the place he needed to be.
"Look whose home," Generator yelled out from the kitchen to the two kids in the living room area.
"Dad!" Hawk flew over and hugged his dad, Alex returned the hug without a thought.
"Hi Mr... um.. Mr. Hawk's dad." Ducky greated from the living room. Hawk flew back over to Ducky, the two were working on homework so they couldn't get distracted again. Alex heads to the kitchen area, needed to talk to Generator about their living arrangements since Alex had left before they had fully solidified a plan.
"We gotta finish our conversation." Alex cuts right to the chase.
Looking up and away from the seasoned steak he was cooking, Generator looked him up and down befire speaking. "Normally I'd agree, especially since you just up and left in the middle of it," Generator's voice takes on a softer tone, "but you look exhausted. Go lay down, I'm taking the couch, and tomorrow we can talk when your not exhausted."
Alex didn't see any point in arguing, he simply nodded before going into Generator's room. With a snap, Alex manifested some comfy clothes and laid down. It took a while for Alex to emotionally and mentally wind down, so he was still awake an hour later when Generator came in.
"Hey Alex?"
"Yeah?" Alex sat up ashe addressed Generator; letting him know Alex was indeed fully awake.
"I brought you some soup, figured I'd offer incase you got hungry." True to his word, Generator was holding a steaming bowl with a spoon in it. Alex couldn't see what was in the soup, but given the smell coming from it, he knew it had potatoes in it. Alex hadn't realized how hungry he was until that smell had hit him.
"Wait I thought you were making steak?" Alex questioned.
"I made soup for my neighbor, but kept some for myself. I figured you might be feeling down since you had a shitty day... and well, soup is good for the soul you know." Generator explained. Alex was momentarily stunded into silence as Generator seem to loose his air of confidence for just one moment, but realizing Generator repeated his question.
"So.... would you like some soup?"
"Um.. Sure," Alex tried (and failed) to keep his tone nonchalant, but his face gave away his eagerness. Generator was already halfway across the room before Alex had actually answered.
"Great! Cuz I got into the Fairness Association's files and you never seem to take lunch breaks, and Hawk said you didn't eat breakfast so no wasn't really an option." Generator spoke with a smile as he put a small cusion down Alex's lap before giving him the bowl. Without saying anything else Generator began to leave the room again but was stopped when Alex spoke.
"You ok with me eating in your bed?"
"I eat in my bed all the time, I'll just wash the sheet afterwards." Generator said as he closed the door without even a look back.
A small part of Alex wished Morgan hadn't left so soon, but put that thought aside so he could enjoy a warm bed and the delicious meal.