Hector P.O.V.
Space Station
*Tak* *Tak*
I tap my finger on the armrest of my fancy cybernetic chair while humming to myself a tune.
Despite the casualness of my actions and stance, the rest of the room is anything but casual… It's a mess of broken bodies and electronics, blood covers the whole floor, making it impossible to guess the color beneath it.
"Well, I didn't have any objective when I started experimenting on you, but I discovered some new things… So I guess it can be called a success. Maybe…" I shrug my shoulders, talking to the only living being in front of me.
Not that I am expecting any answer, he is in no… Well, let's say that there's a reason I called him a living being. He is alive at least…
"Uuh… Nnn…" "Ng." "Aaaah…" The monstrosity moans in front of me, using its many mouths to create a disturbing sound, like a music choir from Hell.
You can still see the remembrance of Shou Tucker here and there, an eye, a tuff of brown hair, an arm… But in front of me, there's something that not even my open mind can call "Human".
A blob of flesh, 5 meters tall, fat and distorted… With many heads and limbs stretching out the main body, breathing and moaning slowly and hard, like living is a great effort… Maybe living is a punishment.
I did a lot of things with this piece of trash, stretched the limits of my powers, magic, and alchemy. "The human body is pretty resistant… The human mind on the other hand…" I comment, more to myself "The body wants to keep itself alive, it's your ally in those moments, but the mind just doesn't want to feel pain… And the lengths that go for it can leave us with undesired outcomes, right? Right? Oh yes, you don't even know who you are anymore."
I really did a little of everything with this guy. Even went a little against my code and delved into his mind, changed his memories, and possessed his consciousness.
I changed his body like clay, cloned him, transferred his soul to another body… This last one is not recommended to do with people I care about. It's a difficult and risky process that always damages the soul.
I guess I'm not good enough.
The thing I did with Psylocke was much simpler. You know? Even if the mind swaps body, the soul remains linked… Mind and Soul are different but intrinsically merged. I just put it back where it belongs.
You can even say that the Mind is an over-simplification of the soul, a representation of it… Like how a shadow is to a 3D object.
I cloned him and fused all the clones in a singular entity, curious to see what would happen… There are not enough Soul… Or mind…
Then I stretched the mind too, with Alchemy, manipulated it a little… It was a little easier when I was basically conducting it to become similar to his grotesque body.
I also stimulated some changes, to create more "cores".
"And I made a hivemind." I chuckle without any happiness or feeling of accomplishment "Whooray to me." I say in a deadpan.
Unfortunately, Shou Tucker's mind is too weak, and after being stretched too thin and losing its individuality it's nothing more than a vegetable…
"Or more like a fungi… Hehe, and here I started this planning on fusing you with a rat. To make some poetic justice." Now I laugh with some amusement. Dark grim, but is still amusing "I would defile your flesh to make you one of the lowest mammals… I ended up doing something much worse… Defiling your soul to make you one of the lowest life forms. Huhu~"
I look at him trembling, now I have two paths.
I can let him live and see if things change with time. For example, he can develop and adapt to his new circumstances. It can be worth the wait…
Or I can try another step that will more likely result in his death. Ironically enough, this option is safer. I watch enough media to say that creating a monster that can grow rarely goes well.
"Fuck it… I want to know what happens with dead characters anyway." I scoff and reach with my hand to my side.
There, on the ground, it's one of the items of my assimilated character. Jayce's Hextech Hammer… The white and gold hammer is casually resting on the dirt ground. It's not that important, despite being pretty cool, and it will restore itself after some time if broken. I can also make new ones with Arc Reactors, by the way…
Without a care, I pull the hextech crystal off the centerpiece of the hammer with my telekinesis, breaking the thing more in the process. The blue shining marble floats above my hand while I move to Shou Tucker.
My steps invoke the runes and inscriptions on the ground, and a magic circle ignites, showing what is written beneath all the blood.
"Really, not expecting much…" I shrug one last time before pushing the Hextech crystal into Shou Tucker's grotesque body.
Utilizing my Alchemy, I try to fuse his body with Hextech. The reaction is immediate, his body starts to convulse, the energy of the Hextech Crystal traveling through his veins, modifying his body.
"Oh… That's a little promising…" I comment
*BOOM*
Yep, that much was expected. I remain calm despite the rain of gore around me, but where I stay remains completely untouched.
After just a little change his body exploded. It didn't even enter the next stage that I predicted would start predating the things around to create a new form, half cybernetic half-magic…
"Not even Alchemy can make the fusion perfect…" I comment while going back.
I also didn't have the Card of "End of Story Father" from Fullmetal, that one that basically has Minor Reality Altering powers. So I guess my Alchemy is not that good enough to mess with unstable sources of powers from other universes.
"Too bad… maybe I should forget the Techmage path for now…"
While I was thinking about this, I opened a new Notification.
"Your Summoned Character Shou Tucker died."
[Do you want to resuscitate him?]
[Yes] [No]
[99 seconds]
[98 seconds]
Hm… I try to click on [Yes] just to see if my suspicions are true and…
[You don't have a Resurrection Card to bring this character back.]
Interesting… So there's really a Resurrection card.
And I only have 100 seconds to make the decision? I see, I see…
The countdown continues even though I don't have a Rez(resurrection slang to video games) card.
It's giving me the chance to roll the Gacha and see if I can get one? No fat chance… I still haven't got one Rez card, so it must be pretty rare. Like the Self Insert card.
"The best way then is really to make my summons really hard to kill." I have some ideas.
Creating a body is pretty easy for me… And I remember the recent X-Men comics where they can resurrect people with the power of 5 metas and the Cerebro.
Truth be told, I still think is very unreliable… But I can do better.
I just need to find a way to secure their souls and then put them in a new body. The second part is easy, but the first one is where the issue lies.
There are many variables to consider… Would Lady Death be alerted? Where do the souls go? The route? Will there be any loss of memories or another type of soul power?
"I think I should go back to study necromancy…" Haah~, so many things to do… So little of me.
I'm getting better at controlling the 4 bodies that I can create with the Ghostly Bio-Fission. It was always a little hard to control the four bodies, many would not notice my struggle, but to me, a delay of 0.1 second on my reaction is already too much.
It's like playing on four monitors, one in each direction, while you sit in the middle with four controllers.
Eventually, you get the gist of it, learn to put the controllers in your thighs, and roll the chair fast enough. I had enough practice and now I can keep an Eidolon 24/7 together with a Hector without problems.
The only moment when I stop is when I do my microsleeps (or when I cuddle with my girls). After all, if I'm still controlling my body, I'm not sleeping… But I was reading some studies about dolphins and how half their brains sleep each time, and I think I can replicate it.
A little project for the future.
Now that I'm done here with Shou Tucker, I can go do the Ga-Ga-Ga-Gacha!!!
........
I sit on my usual comfy chair, one of Cortana's bodies in my lap, choosing the music to start…
Today it will be different!
I will roll all the characters!! Fuck it!
So, using the Specific Gacha Mode, I can do it, but it will decrease my rolls by half with its specific characteristic that I choose.
I never did a complete Character Roll, because I am a novice who wants to know the many options that I can gain… I don't regret it, I gained many sweet things, but I have a little problem…
I have too few people…
Okay, I have very good people, and this world is full of characters that I can recruit, but it is not enough.
Villains are appearing left and right, and the Convergence incident opened my eyes. What if I had to stay days, or maybe months, away?
I need more people here!
I am strong enough, and with many methods, that I don't need to assimilate everyone, so this is the moment.
Instead of 40 random cards, it will be only 20 character cards!
And this is the best moment because I did pretty hardcore things this last month. The Gacha is also starting to catch up with my strength, so I doubt it will be a flop.
Let's go.
Putting Crazy Train from Ozzy, this song's beginning is hype, I roll.
🎵 🎵 "ALL ABOARD!!!!"🎵 🎵
01- Thorfinn - Vinland Saga
Okay, this much was expected… Vikings and all that.
I would prefer Thors, but anyone from there is pretty useless anyway, so whatever.
Ah, I can still do the Recycling thing
02- Harry S. Truman - The Truman Show
And now this one is referring to Mojo…
Okay, I can still recycle this…
But I'm starting to get annoyed.
03- Sweet Mask - One Punch Man
We are starting to talk now.
I don't know much about him, but I think there's nothing that I want from him.
So maybe I can summon this guy.
But… He looks like a pain in the ass to deal with…
But gaining someone from One Punch Man is proof that the Gacha is raising the bar.
04- Teresa - Claymore
I remember watching this anime, but not all of it. She was the strongest in the verse, right?
Okay, a knight-loyal lady is someone whom I can use. Like with Saeko.
She only needs some power-ups.
05- Frostfang Barioth - Monster Hunter
Cool and all that, but not what I'm looking at at the moment.
Can you stop giving me problematic pets?
But maybe I can create a hybrid clone of me… I don't know.
06- Robocop - Robocop
Pfft, kinda perfect, but unfortunately I can't use him
Different from many other media… The movie Robocop exists here. Like Star Wars, Rocky…
What to do now? Recycle? Go for it, saying that I'm a fan? Change him a little?
07- Baymax - Big Hero 6
This one I can use.
Why didn't I make one myself, again?
This can be so useful. I can even make it like it was intended, instead of a superhero.
08- GLaDOS - Portal
"..."
Well, she is an AI, so the Essence will make her 100% loyal.
I can use her, maybe…
"There is nothing she can do that I can't, Master." Cortana suddenly says at my side.
Oops, yandere AI alert. Why is she only jealous of other robots and similar?
And I forgot that I allowed her to see the Gacha too…
"Yeah, but she can help you a little…" I say to Cortana's emotionless face.
"...."
She is not buying it.
"Cortana, you will always be my favorite." I pull her closer. "Her cake is a lie, but yours is pretty real." I grab her sizeable ass, making her squeal.
Crisis averted.
09- Loki - One Piece
Ah, that guy tied to the tree…
I talked with him a little and left him there. It's up to the people of that world to draw their own conclusions from the facts.
Useless, but the Viking theme is keeping itself strong here.
Let's see the last one.
10- Frost Monarch - Solo Levelling
Not the monarch that I was expecting, but is good.
And his Ice Elf race is also another reference to the Nine Realms.
I think I'm stronger than him… Should I summon and beat him till he is obedient?
Or maybe give his card to someone else?
A pity that was not Jinwoo, Ashborn, or Antares. Heck, I would accept the hot Insect Monarch, or that cute demon girl.
Second Batch, Go. Don't disappoint me now!
01- Anti-Mage - Defense of The Ancients
Okay, I think I used the anti-magic sword a lot.
This one I can summon too.
What is his personality again? Dota doesn't have a lot of Lore.
I can throw him at sorcerers to kill them.
02- Zombieman - One Punch Man
There, that's what I'm talking about.
A genuine hero.
He and Deadpool will be good friends… hehe~
03- Black Valkyrie - Valkyrie no Densetsu
Who the fuck is that? From some obscure old game?
Talking about valkyries, I didn't see one in Asgard… Thor said that they were guarding someone. I think is Hela.
I don't think they are dead here, like in the MCU.
04- Roulette - DC Comics
We can't lack the usual DC character, huh?
She was the one who ran that illegal cage fight club, right?
I think Helena has some bad blood with her.
I guess I got her because of Mojo.
05- Thor - Shuumatsu no Valkyrie
Oho~
The essence is really crazy, it goes from a normal human to a god in a jump.
I think I can assimilate him… Or maybe I can use him as an enforcer or something like that.
But it would be awkward with Thor, I guess.
06- Panacea - Worm
Hahaha, what is the saying? "Fake it till you make it."
I used her identity so much that I gained her.
Well, despite her problems, I can use her.
I'm Hector "I Can Fix Her" Belucci de Carvalho, after all.
07- Black Mercy - DC Comics
Hm? A plant? I'm rolling characters, Gacha.
Well, I can gain AIs and animals, so I guess it's okay.
And isn't this thing pretty fucked up? Why did I gain this shit?
Ah, it was used by Mongul, the guy that is like Mojo from DC, but he is pretty strong, so I guess I can't gain him now.
I guess I can find a use for it.
08- Rex Salazar - Generator Rex
Now this is a useful one… He has the profile that I need to put on the streets as a hero, but at the same time, he is pretty good at being assimilated.
Can I copy his powers? Nanites…
I will think about it…
09- Tatsumaki - One Punch Man
Haha, the Essence also has a hard-on in giving me brats.
Yes, I'm talking with you, Nemesis.
"Hey" The brat says in my mind. She is back in my body, but on a warning not to overstep.
But she is also what I'm looking for, and I can copy her powers with a problem, too.
Damn, my telekinesis will become strong, huh?
Let's see the last one… It better be the best!
10- Lord Drakkon(Tommy Oliver) - Power Rangers
Yes! Yes! Yes!
That's what I'm talking about! Damn!
That's a cool character that I will assimilate and most importantly…
I will be able to morph! Hehehehe~
One of my childhood dreams is coming true.
Just wait, Kamehameha, I'm gonna use you too one day.
What version of Lord Drakkon is this again? He becomes pretty much OP in the end.
I think is after he gets the Samurai's powers…
Anyway, this guy is pretty strong.
And can easily become another persona.
This last batch was completely worth it.
Panacea, Tatsumaki, Lord Drakkon…
Very good.
Ah yes, I can recycle some characters, huh?
Let's see…
I open my tabs of cards and put on a separate page the characters that I can discard, there's a lot…
Miyata Ichiro(Hajime no Ippo), Nagashika Hideyoshi(Tokyo Ghoul), another Shou Tucker card, Joker, Gwen(Total Drama), Gloria Pritchet(Modern Family), Monika(Doki Doki), Endeavor is also useless to me… Or should I summon him? He is kinda of a good hero, right? I will put him aside for now.
Continuing… There's Meiko Shiraki from Prison School and Yumeko Jabami from Kakegurui.
These last two… They can become useful.
And no, I'm not saying this because I'm horny, I will discard other women too… But these two are not normal girls. They can learn and be trained.
Put them aside, I organize the rest… Seven cards… It needs 3 to recycle, so I can put another aside too.
Hmm, Gwen from Total Drama… Okay, she is a goth girl! I admit! She can become a bartender or something at Shego's nightclub, I don't know.
She is not as bad as the rest.
I have two new rolls now… I will not talk about the cards I just gained because maybe some utility will appear in the future. Maybe even Thorfinn… The ones here are already accumulating dust.
"Recycle."
Three cards move in the air, changing positions till they make a triangle… Then they start spinning and spinning while getting closer, fusing… And after a bright light later another card appears.
Illidan Stormrage - Warcraft
Hahahaha, fucking nice! From a single roll? Profit!
I can't wait to shout "I am my scars!!"
I would prefer Arthas, but Illidan is my second favorite.
"Another Recycle."
The same thing happens and…
Gullinbursti of the Nordic Beasts - Yu-Gi-Oh!
What in actual flying fuck? What is this? A Yu-Gi-Oh card?
But is it a card-card? Or the character on the card?
I think is the boar… So this confirms I can gain Obelisk, Slifer, and Ra. And all other bullshit cards as lore-accurate characters. Good, good… I want a Blue Eyed White Dragon… And a Dark Magician Girl…
*Ahem* And a Nordic beast, huh? Figures…
I think I read about this one in the library of Asgard.
What can I do with this? It's used for battle… How strong is this?
I need to test.
Well, with this, I stop for today. Let's see who I will start assimilating… Lord Drakkon and Illidan, of course. And whom will I summon already?
Without wasting time.
......…
Third Person P.O.V.
New York, the birthplace of modern superheroes and the axis of the Super World, there is no other place on Earth with more super activity than New York.
So at this point is pretty common for certain sights that create panic in other places around the world, like the sight of a flying car, for example.
Now, only some people stop to take pictures instead of creating generalized panic and awe.
The Fantatiscar is already well known around here, so the two passengers can have a somewhat relaxed ride around New York, between the skyscrapers, only needing to pay attention in case of hitting some web-slinger or something.
"So, tell me again why this thing is not commercialized? Because I want one…" Jennifer Walters, aka She-Hulk, asks while looking down at the hellish traffic of New York with Comtempt "Heh, suckers~"
"It's hard to make." Susan Storm, the one on the wheel, answers while keeping her eyes ahead "The anti-gravity system, the power system… And the whole problems that would arise from having flying cars around. We would need to remake the whole traffic system."
"True to that…" Jennifer agrees, her lawyer mind already thinking about the laws that would need to take place and the conflicts with the already existing rules regarding ground and air traffic.
"Those things need to be taken carefully and slowly. That's why we are here testing the new fuel that is more convenient." Susan comments
"Convenient to the big corporations that can continue their hold in the market?" Jennifer gives her a smirk
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not in any plot with the big corporations or anything. Believe in me, they approached us". Susan gives her an offended side-glance "But we reject them, and that's why we have so little investment and why the law is almost against us when is the time to introduce new technology."
"I trust you, baby girl. And what about Stark? That clean energy of his would revolutionize the world."
"Another issue about introducing anything that would revolutionize the world is that people will find a way to make it a weapon." Susan sighs
"I can see that too." Jennifer sighs like her "You people that want to change the world really have a long way ahead." She leans back on her seat, enjoying the wind going through her mane of dark green hair. "I prefer to just be a normal lawyer."
"I think this option is closed forever, huh?" Susan comments "How are you dealing with it?"
"Ugh! I tried reopening my office, but most of the calls and e-mails are about She-Hulk." She groans
"Give time… At some point, people will start seeing you normally again. People don't even swarm over me now."
"Easy for you to say…" Jennifer harrumphs "You are the Invisible Woman. I am a 6'7' tall green and muscular woman."
"Fair enough…" Susan admits. She used her powers more than a couple of times to escape the spotlight.
Then Jennifer smiles mischievously "Albeit I don't know how effective your invisibility truly is…"
"Hm?" Susan looks confused.
"With a dump truck like that…" Jen copes a feel of Susan's ass "The clap of your cheeks would alert anyone that you are nearby, even if you are invisible." She laughs
"Jen!!!" Susan shouts at the sudden contact, jumping on her seat. She almost lost control of the Fantasti-Car and hit a building.
"Ow ow, Susan!! Careful, the joke will write itself if the first accident with a flying car happens with two women on board." Jen says, half serious half joking. The fact that she can survive the crash allows her to make light of the situation a little.
"And whose fault would it be?!" Susan snaps at her, finally stabilizing the car.
"Okay, okay. My bad~" Jennifer raises her hands in surrender "I was just joking while complimenting your dump truck."
"It's not that big…" Susan almost pouts, her voice barely audible.
"Gurl~ Hm, it's big on this waist. How do you have a body like that? I haven't seen you in the gym once!" She-Hulk's face shows incredulity.
"I train with my powers… I guess my body adapts." Susan shrugs, not caring much about her appearance.
"Such a nice body, and still not enough to take his eyes off the whiteboard, huh?" Jennifer pokes Susan.
"..." Invisible Woman doesn't answer, keeping her eyes on the sky
"Just saying, I think you are wasting your best years…" She-Hulk makes a face. "Or you go all out for him or give up… At least you would not stay in this Romantic Limbo."
"..." Susan stays still for a long time before sighing "Let's go back. The test is finished."
Jennifer sighs too "And here we go doing nothing again… Okay, I will not talk about Reed."
"..." Susan was almost relieved when Jennifer said that, but she was able to see her green friend smirk in her peripheral vision.
"Let's talk about other men… From the heroes… Who would you Marry, Smash, and Kill?"
"..." Susan slowly turns her head "Seriously? You are an accomplished lawyer and you want to play this now? Didn't you stop with it in college? With the sleepovers?"
"Never had many friends in college…" Jenifer admits
"...me too… The extracurricular projects took all my time." Susan admits too
"So I'm glad we met despite the strange circumstances." She-Hulk says in a rare heartfelt moment.
"Jen…"
"Now, who would you smash?" The moment was killed two seconds later.
"..." After overcoming her disappointment with a roll of her eyes, Susan says "I'm not answering that."
"Is it Eidolon?" The green muscular woman suddenly asks
"What?!" Once again, the Fantasti-Car sways in the air
"Chill, lady. I was just joking." Jen says while gripping the car tightly before smirking "But that was a pretty big reaction… Hmm~" She narrows her eyes. "Can't blame you, he is hot."
"What? Wait, no! I don't think of him like that! What gave you this impression??"
"No? The people think otherwise. I saw how the internet talks about you two together." Jennifer smiles widely.
"Ugh, the internet…" Susan groans "I hate that, they made it so weird."
"You are being shipped - is that the term? - with a hot and cool hero… Calm down, woman. They are gonna easy on you… Did you see what they do with my image?"
"You should stop looking at that on the internet… I learned it the hard way too." Susan gives Jennifer a sympathetic look.
"Like, I don't mind the memes of 'crush me with your thighs, mommy' but the fanarts with MY COUSIN?!" Jennifer shouts in frustration
Susan can't help but wince a little. Yeah, it's bad for her friend.
"I really rather be at your place… There are some wholesome mini-comics of you and Eidolon." The green woman sighs
"..." Susan can't say much about it. She saw, and there are really some cute artworks, despite her having no clue from where this idea came from that she has something with Eidolon, the people at least take it in a wholesome way… Most of the time, there's some hardcore stuff too.
"Maybe because you two are very different, appearance-wise… They dig the romance of a good girl with a bad boy." She-Hulk hits the nail on the head
"Eidolon is not a bad boy."
"Oh, already defending your man?" Jen teases, making Susan huff "Don't worry, I know that he is super nice despite the intimidating appearance. He helped Ben, after all…"
"That he did."
"Do you think he can help me or Bruce? I asked him during that party, but he said that 'It's more complicated than that'..."
"Then it must be… Let's look at the bright side, you don't have it as bad as Ben or Dr. Banner, Jen."
"You are right." The green woman admits. She has control over herself, different from her cousin… And her transformed state is much more convenient than Ben's rocky form.
She is a foot taller, more muscular, and green… Some years ago, she would have been a freak, but now…
"Luckily, you guys changed the perspective of the people about us… The worst I received was some catcalls, my cousin received antiballistic missiles. Haha." She laughs a little.
"Eidolon, Ben, and Dr. Banner did most of the work and received the brunt of the criticism. I did nothing…" Susan can't take credit for it.
The ones that are called names and don't lash back, keeping their civility till people finally notice that they are just peopl,e are the ones that changed how metas are seen by the public.
After some seconds of comfortable silence, Susan asks "Do you think we are really doing a change here?" Her voice was a little distant, maybe even a little fragile.
"I don't know… I don't think about it." Jennifer says with a sigh "I think I got cynical, Hmpf. When I started Law Schoo,l I was all about protecting the weak and defenseless, about changing the world!" She raises her arm to make a mocking, grandiose gesture. Then she rolls her eyes and dumps her shoulders "With time I just got worried about paying the bills and living my own life… This society eats you slowly, you know?"
"I know exactly what you are talking about." Susan nods
"Maybe that's why I admire these guys who are really trying to change the world for the better." She-Hulk's green eyes look at the horizon "I think is even re-lighting the fire that Young Jen had when she started Law School." She chuckles
"Again, I know exactly what you are talking about…" Susan says "I didn't choose to have powers, but now that I have… It's… It's more palpable the power to change the world, right?"
"Exactly!" Jen points at her in confirmation "If someone suffers an accident, now I can lift the car and rescue them instead of offering my card so that they can sue someone." She laughs at her own joke again
The two laugh together a little, enjoying the peaceful moment… But peaceful moments are fickle things in this world, even more so in New York.
*RUMBLE*
The city suddenly shakes, the ground trembles, and the people scream in panic.
"What is happening?!" She-Hulk stands up on the flying car and starts looking around "The skyscrapers… Sue, above!"
"Okay!" She doesn't need to be told twice, with a pull on the steering wheel and a change on the panel, the Fantasti-Car shoots up to the sky, beyond the rooftops of even the tallest buildings.
There, they can finally have a good view of the city.
"Oh no…" Susan exclaims ,horrified, seeing the scene.
In the middle of New York, the ground started inflating, like something it would erupt. The earth deforms in a bubble, the buildings tilting to the side.
"Oh shit…" Jen also says it's not needed to have a foresight power to know that, whatever is happening, it will cause a lot of damage, just by all those buildings hitting the others in a domino effect.
"Jen! Hold the wheel!" Invisible Woman stands up and stretches her arms to the deformity that it is about to explode.
"Me?" Despite saying that, she grabs the wheel "What I do with this thing?!"
"Just keep it stable!!" Susan shouts one last time before focusing on the problem ahead.
With a flex of her powers, a semi-transparent wave of force-fields is emitted from her and covers the deformity, preventing it from growing or exploding.
"Uggghhh! Ngh!" The strain is visible on Invisible Woman's face. Sweat pours from her forehead while her whole body and face contort in effort.
But indeed, she was able to contain whatever was happening, the speed at which the ground was inflating decreased considerably, almost stopping.
Unfortunately is not good enough.
Well, it seems Invisible Woman's efforts are good enough.
*BOOM* *ROOAR* *BOOM*
Oh no…
It finally explodes, debris and earth fly in all directions… People too. The buildings break, and the destruction is tremendous as the perpetrator is finally revealed.
Yes, it was someone who was coming from the ground and arriving with a very destructive entrance in New York.
A green monster-like giant humanoid erupts from the ground with a roar being emitted from its big mouth.
They don't know it, but this is an obscure character called Giganto.
In truth, not even Hector would know this character. He is one of the many obscure characters of the absurdly large Marvel lore that grew over the decade.
"Damn it…" Invisible Woman felt the recoil of her force-field being broken and fell backward on her seat, the Fantasti-Car trembling in the air too.
The eruption of the big monster caused the feared destruction, the buildings nearby were sent flying cardboard, debris raining down and increasing the damage. It's even possible to see and hear the people flying too, to their gruesome deaths.
It's what normally would happen… But despite not holding for long, Invisible Woman indeed did enough.
They first hear the thunder crack of something breaking the sound barrier, and then everything that is flying in the air suddenly stops like Time itself decided to pause.
*Boom* The World's Greatest hero lands in front of the monster with a huge momentum…
"...I am here." Here says, not shouting, but everyone heard him. From his crouched position, he doesn't waste time and jumps at the monster, hitting him square in the chest with his two fists.
Giganto, despite weighing tons, was easily lifted and pushed back diagonally into the air like a cannonball. It took no more than a few seconds for the big monster to become smaller and smaller while he disappeared into the sky, the hero pushing him out of sight.
The people back in New York, the ones still floating in the air, start to slowly descend, being carefully put down. Some spin around to land on their feet, others just stay still and wait to hit the ground slowly, probably in shock.
The debris and other objects receive the same fate, but some buildings continue to float in the air upright, the people inside recover their bearings. And despite being inside a floating building that can fall at any moment, resulting in their deaths, they are pretty calm… Taking pictures and talking from the window while they look down.
That's a subtle display of the trust those people have in Eidolon.
"Damn… Talk about efficiency…" Jen whistles. This incident was about to become something big, but it was solved pretty quickly. She can't even see any dead bodies, some people are hurt of course, but it seems it was with no casualties.
"Should we evacuate those people from the buildings?" Susan asks while at them
"I don't know… He must come back, right? I don't see him losing, so…"
"Let's see if anyone needs our help then". Susan starts driving the Fantasti-Car close to the ground zero, to check the survivors, maybe someone is under debris or something.
It didn't take long for them to hear the thunder crack again.
*Boom*
Eidolon lands and gives a thumbs up "Victory!" He declares, making the crowd cheer.
Susan and Jennifer can't help but smile at the sight. They know the guy, he is so stoic and serious, but he still puts on a heroic show to the kids.
Maybe his "unserious" act of striking heroic poses and saying cheesy lines is a way to diminish the horror of the situation.
Eidolon immediately went to work, saving the people and restoring that part of the city. If using his telekinesis is like he stopped time, now is like he is reverting time while he fixes everything.
"Looking at this, it's possible to see that he really takes this seriously…" Jennifer sighs, her hands on her hips.
They observe Eidolon moving methodically and efficiently, in the specific order that maximizes his efficiency. He heals people, locates others, restores a building that reveals more people, the area becomes free for the victims to stay comfortably, the routes are cleared for the authorities to arrive, he organizes belongings without owners, putting them near the restored buildings…
"It's like he trained and studied for it." Susan agrees.
An amateur would not notice the nuances of a professional, but they can see it.
"Like he is a professional…" Jennifer adds
"And I don't even have a salary." A joking voice suddenly zooms in close to them. "Hello, ladies. Thank you for the support, Invisible Woman." Eidolon greets them.
They notice that this is the real one, he is wearing the mantle, while some clones finish the work around the area. Even though it looks almost done… In truth, it looks like he is making it better than before…
He collected the trash, cleaned some graffiti, some things look new, and even planted some trees and grass!
"I didn't do much, Eidolon." Susan shakes her hand, dismissing his gratitude
"You did more than enough. Thanks to you, no one died." He says firmly, not accepting any self-deprecating words.
She eventually smiles and nods at him.
While Susan Storm is more reserved with the black-clad hero, She-Hulk is a little more familiar.
"Eidolon, my boy! You arrived just in time! Albeit I would not say no to fighting a giant monster, I did my nails yesterday." She hugs him intimately. The hero is almost her height, so she doesn't smother him with her breasts, like how it would happen with almost everyone else, he is just a little smaller than her. "Where did you take that monster, by the way? You ended things too fast."
"I took him to Monster Island, he was just a little confused." Eidolon answers, ignoring She-Hulk's touchiness.
"What?" She looks at him strangely, her arm around his shoulder. "Wait a minute, this sentence is full of things to unpack… Did you talk to him? He was confused? And there's an island of monsters?"
Eidolon chuckles "Yes, he was a prisoner of Mole Man, escaped after the last altercation of the villain with the Fantastic Four. And yes, there is an island of monsters." He says like is something completely normal.
Eidolon is like this, he drops bombs and doesn't elaborate further.
"When we fought Mole Man, we didn't see such a giant monster." Susan comments, a sliver of guilt permeating her words.
"Don't be like that… It's not your guys' fault, not even I can predict everything. Look at that…" Eidolon raises his hand and shows a hologram of New York together with the underground "I put some motion sensors beneath New York, but they didn't detect Giganto's movements till he breached the surface. I guess he moves very seamlessly under the earth, like he is very 'ground-dynamic', Huhu."
"You have sensors beneath New York?" She-Hulk asks surprised
"Obviously, a villain left underneath it, so obviously I will monitor his invasion route." Eidolon shrugs "Unless I kill him and commit genocide against the Moloids, the threat will always be present."
"Eidolon! Don't talk so casually of genocide!" Invisible Woman pushes his arm horrified "You are not like that, don't joke about those things."
"..." Eidolon only gives her a glance before chuckling "Huhu, you really have a good heart, Dr. Storm. Don't change."
"Eh… okay…" Susan is taken aback by his heartfelt words, blushing a little and answering shyly
"But you can tone down your bossy attitude a little, my ear still burns from your words when you didn't let me study those specimens from the Nine Realms." The hero jokes
"Eidolon, those are endangered species!" She tries to justify herself, a little embarrassed.
"You call them that, I call them Rare Preys." He says cheekily
"Ah stop." She gives him a playful slap on his arm, holding off the smile on her face, trying to show annoyance.
"..." From the side, She-Hulk narrows her eyes while watching their interaction 'I'm becoming a fan of this couple too! And it's not even real!'
"Normally I would recommend anyone to have a little Malice on their hearts to guard against people who want you harm, but I like you this way… Without Malice." Eidolon says, his tone is a little strange, like there's a joke in the air that only he gets.
Jennifer decides to tease/help her new favorite "couple" and says, "Eidolon, did you know that tomorrow is Sue's birthday?"
The hero looks surprised, his eyes focused for an instant like she is remembering something "Oh yes, tomorrow…" He turns to Susan again "Happy Birthday, Dr. Storm. In advance, because I may not see you tomorrow." She gives her a smile with his eyes
"Oh, thanks. But it's nothing much really, just another day… I will not even celebrate."
"I can understand the desire not to celebrate, I'm also like that…" And his birthday will now always be on the anniversary of his parents' death "But don't say that is just another day. You survived another year in this dangerous universe. It's okay to be happy about it, proud of your growth…"
Susan smiles, hearing him "Okay, saying like that… Thank you, Eidolon."
"You're welcome." The hero nods.
The two share looks and a moment.
"..." Jennifer once again stares at the two 'Kiss, smash and marry already…' She groans in her mind, already planning on being the godmother of one of their children. "Don't you have a gift for her, Eidolon?" The green lawyer gives the hero a sly grin.
"Jen!" Susan's eyes widen in a reproachful way to her friend before turning to Eidolon. "You don't need to give me anything, Eidolon. She is just kidding."
But the hero didn't think much of it "Hm, I don't have anything prepared and I don't know you too well, but I can prepare something now." He says while striking a pensive pose
"No-no-no, you really don't need to-"
"It's no problem." But the hero ignores her and reaches into the air, his hand and forearms sink into the empty void, and disappear. He moves like he is searching for something in his pocket dimension. "Let's see… A good gift, a good gift…
Ignoring Susan's uncomfortable stance, Eidolon finally pulls something from the empty space "This can work…"
It's a basketball-size blue jewel, oddly shaped like it's a raw gemstone that was just extracted.
"What is this? Sapphire? No…" She-Hulk looks at the, obviously valuable, rock with intrigue
"It's a blue diamond that I caught on Neptune." Eidolon says in that same casual tone of voice of his.
"A what that you caught where?!" She-Hulk exclaims in disbelief.
"I don't know how you can interpret that sentence in any other way…" Eidolon deadpans.
Then he puts the piece close to Susan's face, checking something. "Yep… This one has the same colors as your eyes, I knew I got the right tone." He says, there are a lot of different tones on blue diamonds from Neptune.
He then gets to work… His hands start moving as he starts crafting something, first, a small piece of the blue diamond falls off and he grabs it before starts polishing using his own nail.
"Wait, is this really from Neptune? The planet?" Jennifer is still shocked by it.
"Yep, don't think too much about the name diamond. First, it's a scam and second, those things literally rain there." Eidolon continues to say while working.
His hands are a blur while he makes the raw diamond take a beautiful shape, then he removes an ingot of gold from somewhere, and with a touch of his fingers, the gold unravels in threads.
His crafting is a beautiful sight, like watching some live chefs cooking.
He uses his powers and Alchemy to craft a necklace, and with a little of theatrics, he presents it to Susan.
"Here, it's not much but the gem has the color of your eyes and gold has the color of your hair." He says.
It really is a humble and discreet piece, but elegant. The necklace has two "S" from Susant Storm creating the shape of a heart, with the gem in the middle.
"Eidolon, I can't accept that." Susan shakes her hand and head.
"But I made it specifically for you…" He says with his hand still extended.
"It's too expensive…" She argues.
"No, it's not." He replies immediately "I'm even a little ashamed of gifting it to you. You just saw that I made it pretty easily, and the gold and diamond are worth nothing to me… I also guessed that you would be like that and that you are not a gaudy person, so I made the chain thin and the centerpiece discreet. But if you wan,t I can give you the entire blue diamond." He explains casually
"No!" She denies it fast
"Then take it, Dr. Storm. It's not much, but is unique and for you." He gives her a smile.
"..." Now is hard to reject. "Okay… I will take it. Thank you very much." He says slowly while her hand equally slowly accepts the gift.
"..." Jen on the side is only looking at the scene wishing that she had some popcorn. Even some normal people around are looking at the scene with funny expressions.
"You will need to say what is your birthday too, so that I can retribute." Susan smiles and jokes
He points at her "Aaah~ Nice try, Lady."
The two laugh a little, the mood is good, but that is not the place for that… With so many eyes, Jennifer decides to make it less romantic by talking and shaking the two from their small world.
"So you said something about grabbing things on Neptune…" She-Hulk once again puts her arm around his shoulders "So you just casually fly to the edge of the solar system to pick rocks? Neat."
"Well, I kinda own all the other planets, moons, and everything else on the Solar System, sooo… Yes, I go around picking things." Eidolon shrugs
"You own?"
"I got there first and put my things there… Labs, mining sites, and other things. So yes, it's mine."
"You can't own the Solar System." Susan looks shocked
"Well, I did what humans dis since the dawn of humanity… I arrived at a place and claimed it mine." Eidolon says "Everyone is welcomed to try to take it from my hands the way humans do… by conquest." His last words were spoken in a dangerous tone. But with a little humor too… He is not that serious.
"Those things need to be shared, Eidolon." Susan says calmly, not admonishing him or anything.
"I know, I'm not a greedy egocentric bastard, but you also need to understand humanity doesn't have the maturity just yet." He says and she can't help but nod "And I donate a lot of things from other planets to universities and research institutes around the globe." He adds. "That made them save a lot of money and time. How else would they take samples from the moons of Jupiter?"
"Yeah, that's true…" Susan can't help but agree.
"We just had a talk about it earlier." Jennifer says "But ignoring the thoughts that the governments will never deserve your help…" She gave Eidolon a playful smirk "If you own the Solar System, how much money do you have, big boy? Are you looking for a trophy wife? Just saying that I'm available" She jokes.
He chuckles "Well, this is hard to calculate… But some believe that Earth is worth some quadrillions of dollars so… I should be richer than that, much richer." He answers in kind.
"Look, Sue! A quadrillionaire! Mama always wanted me to marry a quadrillionaire!!" Jennifer's eyes widen in a joking tone
"Your mother didn't even know what the word 'quadrillionaire' means… The word probably is not even in the dictionary." Susan shakes her head in exasperation
"Shush dear, Mama always dreamt big." Jennifer waves her hand at Susan "So Eidolon, about that trophy wife thing…" She continues
The hero laughs again "It depends, can you cook?" He raises an eyebrow at her
"Okay, my dream died fast." Jennifer instantly gave up "If that is the pre-requisite, I'm out. I can't cook to save my life!" She jokes
Amidst laughs Eidolon says "Well, I can cook, so…"
"My dream is alive again!" Jennifer instantly puts her arm around his shoulder again "My ideal man was always a quadrillionaire who can cook."
The trio laughs for some time, keeping each other company, it's rare for to superheroes have those moments to relax…
And is rare for a reason…
*Boom*
Eidolon was the first to react because he was the only one who heard the distant explosion.
"What is wrong?" She-Hulk asks after noticing Eidolon's sudden serious shift.
The black-clad hero's eyes narrow while he looks at the distance "There? Tch…" He sighs "Trouble." he answers at the same time he looks at Susan for some reason.
The reason is revealed a moment later when her phone rings and she takes a call from her brother. "Johnny?"
"Sue, trouble! One of Reed's portals opened a little too much! It sucked half the lab together with him, Ben, and Alicia!" Each other makes Susan's eyes widen.
She didn't even have time to answer or to panic when she felt a hand on her back.
"It's okay, let's save them…" Her head moved to see Eidolon pushing her and Jennifer, preparing to move at a fast speed.
"We are on the way, Johnny!" Susan answers on the phone.
As the hero prepares to teleport with the two, this distance is short enough to a simple blink, he shakes his head in half amusement half-exasperation.
"It's becoming a cliche, really…" He jokes "If I got a dollar every time I need to jump through a portal to another dimension to save someone, I would become a quintillionaire pretty fast."
Despite his words to lighten the mood, inside his brain he is going through everything he knows about the Negative Zone and Annihilus.
.....
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