The usual AN can be found at the bottom of the chapter. Enjoy!

Finally free.

The doors behind him closed as the man walked out of the prison building. He's been in there for at least a couple of months, but those were the most uncomfortable months of his life. He had never expected to go to prison himself. As a special agent (excuse me, former special agent) he was supposed to put the bad guys into jail, and not to sit next to them during lunch. And even if he was allowed to get out of prison, he learned that he had been replaced. Well, that was at least one positive point: his replacement is none other than his second in command, Marshall Todd.

Roderick Graham walked to the car waiting to pick him up. He sat down next to the driver, who was smiling.

"Welcome back, sir." He said. Graham turned his face to him, and shot an annoyed look at him.

"I'm barely back, Todd. I'm just out of jail, but that's it." He scoffed. Graham had thought about his situation the last months, mostly because there wasn't much that he could do but think. He was fired from his job, so he would have to find a new job. But for someone like him, someone who had been in prison (even if it was just a couple of months), it was always harder to find a new job. As if all people who were there are automatically still bad people.

Todd tried to talk to him, but it didn't help. Graham didn't listen to what he had to say. After all, Todd was just his replacement. And even though they could be considered friends, they weren't going to see each other for a very long time, now he had to go on secret mission and he practically won't have a job.

"I have some interesting news, sir," Todd eventually said. Graham rolled with his eyes and sighed.

"Fire away." Graham responded monotonously.

"We found a man. He shouted, looked like he belonged in an institution. We think that he might be what you've been looking for." Graham would have showed interest had he still been a special agent. But now, even though he would have liked to meet this man, he was no special agent anymore, and so it was none of his business.

"Good job, Todd. Have fun with him." Graham responded.

"You know, since I replaced you…" Todd started, but his former boss couldn't appreciate it, especially not because of the choice of words made.

"Todd, shut it!"

"…someone needs to fill up my spot." Todd continued, "They told me I could choose anyone I wanted for the job. So as from now on, you have a job again. Welcome back on the team." Graham couldn't believe his ears. He had a job again, and it was almost the same job! There was only one difference: he now had to follow Todd's orders. It was a price he was willing to pay so he could do the one thing he loved most.

"Thank you." Graham eventually said. "That man you were talking about… what's he like?"

"I already told you," Todd said, "He doesn't look very sane. Most of the time he's quiet, but he has thrown some tantrums already. He refuses to talk to us and if we try to ask about his past – or anything, for that matter – he just shuts off or throws another tantrum. And he demands to see our leader."

"And you hope I can get something out of it." Graham guessed Todd's thoughts.

"Yep," he said, popping the p, "At least you look like a leader. I tried to explain I was the boss, but he wouldn't believe me or the others."

"I'll fix that." Graham replied, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence. Within an hour, they had reached the secret base from where they operated. Graham felt a bit nostalgic every time he saw the building. This is where he spent most of his time looking for unusual events or people all across the United States. Who needed a family when you could discover something world-shocking each day you worked there?

Together, the two men walked through the corridors of the base. Todd led his former boss to the cell where they put the man. As they walked through the halls, some of the men and women passing them nodded, or said 'welcome back'. However, those were not meant for Graham, but for Todd. Graham briefly doubted his career as the leader. The men and women surrounding him never reacted that way when he used to walk through these halls. Maybe Todd was a better leader after all…

Stop thinking that, Graham told himself, you should be glad you still get to work here.

"Here he is," Todd said, pointing at the door. "Be careful. We don't know how dangerous this man is. We'll follow the conversation." Security cameras were hanging in every cell, so they could keep track of what is said and done in the cell. They could always tell Graham what to do, since there was also a speaker in the cell. That way, Todd could warn him if he has to get out.

Graham entered the room. He noticed the man inside was sitting on the ground. A cup filled with water stood next to what the man had to call his bed. He lifted his head and began staring at the visitor. At first, he showed no emotion. Yet, soon an evil grin appeared on his face, showing off his teeth. The man didn't look to healthy – the teeth were proof – and looked like he hadn't seen a bath since he was caught.

Graham still walked in, choosing to ignore the odor coming off of the man. he shut the door behind him, and then the man started to talk. "Are you the leader?" he said with a hoarse voice. He didn't take his eyes off of Graham.

"Yes," Graham lied. How else was he going to get this man to talk? "I'm the leader. Now, if you would be kind enough to answer our questions, we might let you go. So, who are you?" The man sighed in relief and stood up, leaning against the wall. He seemed to wait for something and didn't answer Graham's first question.

"What is your name?" Graham tried again. This time, the man answered him. He only said the two words forming his name, and the man answered it as if it that piece of information was not important at all. The man, Mark Saunders, continued staring at Graham, arms folded.

"And what are you?" Graham then asked. It was best to know what this Mark did for a living, so he knew what he had to look out for. For all he knew, Mark was a professional wrestler. Luckily, he didn't look like a professional wrestler at all. And Mark's answer surprised him.

"I'm Darkheart," he answered. Mark was serious, Graham soon realized he wasn't joking. Now he started to get why Todd brought this man here, even if he now just looked crazy and as if he belonged in an institution. Graham didn't leave now, for he guessed that the 'darkheart' part should be investigated. They couldn't take their chances.

"What is 'Darkheart'?"

"It's… complicated," Mark explained, "there are no words to describe Darkheart as it's supposed to be. It indeed is very complicated…" Graham stared at him. Did Mark really mean it? He had to guess the prisoner did mean it, because he still looked serious with a glimpse of joy. He should definitely ask it in another way so he could find out what Darkheart was, other than "complicated".

"Tell me, what does 'darkheart' do? What does it want?" Graham asked, making it sound like he truly was interested. Mark smiled at him, glad someone was interested in what he had to say instead of just walking out or treating him like it's a bad think. So, Mark started to explain Darkheart with pride.

"It does a lot of things, so it can evolve. That is its only goal. It started here from almost nothing and will only leave Earth when he has gathered what he needs to continue its journey through the galaxy."

"That's incredible," Graham said, sounding convincingly interested in what Mark had to say. "So, where is this darkheart right now?"

"Why, it's where it needs to be, off course. It is everywhere, all around us. It can and will choose everyone and everything as a host. It's in the plants, in the animals, in our bodies…"

"Let's get back to evolution," Graham interrupted him, "what part do we play in this?" Then, Mark started to laugh as if Graham had told him a joke. He answered when he was done laughing.

"We are not part of its evolution, we are its evolution. By becoming their hosts, we help it evolve until we can't anymore. When we have nothing more to offer, it will continue in the next stage of evolution: people with powers." Graham frowned. People with powers?

"And I have to believe that, because?" Graham wasn't only talking about people with powers, but also the darkheart. He knew bionic people were real, but people with natural superpowers were not real. And if they were real, Graham had yet to see the proof of their existence.

"Because they are real!" Mark said, convinced they were real, "Powers, heroes, villains, they exist. Darkheart told me to find one. He also told me you knew people with powers." Graham stared at the man for a couple of seconds and then turned to the camera.

"You know what, Todd? This man is a lunatic. Open the door." No way this man was sane. Why did he even bother to go in here anyway? Because Todd asked him to do it, that's why. So why couldn't Graham have simply said 'no'? Because Todd was his boss now, and he was ready to leave Mark Saunders alone.

While he walked to the door, he felt something being thrown onto him. The liquid all over his back and head, dripping down to the ground. Slowly, angered, Graham turned back around and saw that Mark was still standing up straight, his now empty cup in his hand. Needless to say that Graham was not amused.

"Why did you throw water over me?" Graham didn't like being 'attacked', even if it was just some water. Mark simply shrugged, a big grin present on his face. Why was he smiling? Did he seriously think pouring water over the interrogator was funny?

"Graham," he heard Todd say through the intercom, "that wasn't water." Graham remembered one of the men they passed saying that this man drools in his sleep. Yet, he hasn't seen anything on the floor. Graham possibly got even angrier.

"Gross," was his reaction, "Why would you do that?"

"You'll find out soon enough," Mark said, "After a week you'll know what to do." Graham shook his head.

"I don't have time for this," muttered Graham under his breath. The door was opened and once Graham had walked out of it, the door was locked again. Mark Saunders sat down, still grinning. He'd done what Darkheart told him to do. He served it well.

Did Mark ask for it? No, he didn't. If he had decided to go to the football game with his friends two months ago, he wouldn't have been here. He wouldn't know about Darkheart and he wouldn't have helped it on its quest for evolution. And no, his work was almost done. Soon, someone would come and free him out of this miserable place. Soon, he wouldn't have to worry about this government employees anymore, and they wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

Mark Saunders' part had been played. Now it was the time for other players to complete the game, because there wasn't much more he could do from his current position.

The End

And that's the end of the Ultimate Mission! I had so much fun writing this cross-over, and I hope you liked reading it! As you may have noticed, this epilogue didn't have anything to do with the UM plotline. Well, that's because this could introduce a villain which could possibly be fought in an Ultimate Mission Sequel! That's right, I'm considering writing a sequel. It might take a while before I start writing it (I might even never write it at all), but I'm pretty certain it will be written and published after finishing some stories, maybe around September-December of 2016. Also, happy new year!

Also, I'd like to thank those who have supported me along the way. So thanks to everyone who followed, favorited, reviewed or just read this story! You are totally awesome! And before I end this story, there are some reviews I have to reply to. They're not yet visible on this site, but I'm sure this site will fix that soon. I could still read them through my e-mail account, luckily. So here they are:

TKDP: Thanks for reviewing! If Trent ever wants to expose the secret, nobody would probably take him seriously. And off course they're just friends - I never meant for them to get together. Just a little something to make Oliver jealous.

PurpleNicole531: Nobody would believe him if he did. I've always had in mind that, after this story, the shows would continue as they always have (but then without Rise of the Secret Soldiers, that would be just Krane and S-1 against the others). So they will end up at the Academy. Off course he was jealous - if I'm not mistaken, it was hinted in ther chapters as well. Thanks for reviewing!

LabRatsWhore: Thanks for reviewing! No, that's not bad at all. I take it as a compliment. It doesn't matter if you speak gibberish.

Shadow-wolf78: Thanks for the compliment and for reviewing!

...: Thanks for reviewing! ...

...: ... Thanks for reviewing!

...: Thanks for reviewing! ...

...: ... Thanks for reviewing!

I hope you enjoyed!

-Writer207