......
Hector P.O.V.
Today I am doing business as Hector, and it is not hospital business.
Finally, I am taking some steps in the corporate world, a hateful place, I dare say, so if I am gonna enter this swamp of evil, it should be with something I like.
So I started with games.
It is in the "Book of Isekai", almost a recommendation to anyone appearing in another world to use their meta-knowledge to their advantage. The most common approach is to use your knowledge of the story's setting, but sometimes people end up in worlds that are not previously works of fiction.
That doesn't exclude what they can do with the knowledge of their previous life, though.
You can use your modern education in a medieval setting to look like a sage, or, if it's a modern but different world, you can always use the accumulated knowledge in your brain to hit big in the entertainment industry.
Books are the easiest route, but depending on your talent, you can draw manga, create some cartoons, and even make movies…
Me? I am jumping straight to the games.
In this universe, the famous IPs (intellectual properties) of my previous world are not created, at least not in the games industry. Of course, there are many similar ones, like a weird-looking alternate version of Pokémon.
But I think only World of Warcraft is the same here.
It is early in the timeline, even if this world is more advanced than my previous one. But that makes some things very far in the future while others are still behind.
Some people don't exist here, too; the game developers of my previous world were never born, and I don't know about the famous developers that exist here… I mean, I couldn't know if they exist in my previous world.
Yep, there is no Miyazaki and Kojima… imagine my surprise when I discovered that. I couldn't keep their works only in my head, so I acted.
First things first: buy Steam, duh. The world is currently at an awkward moment where gaming is evolving but still not entirely taken seriously, so even if it's not the ideal time to make a huge profit, it is still possible to enter the business.
It is not like buying Bitcoin when it was less than a dollar, but I know it will pay off, the industry will grow, and more importantly… I will keep it from turning into… that.
I want to protect my hobby.
Gaben did his part in my previous universe, but he is not an immortal, all-powerful superhero. It will be better in my hands. So I bought Steam from him.
The old man held tightly, very tightly, but ended up ceding after some concessions.
"And you sign here." Mirage, my brown-skinned secretary, points at the lines in the contracts.
"And with that, you will have absolute control." I say. The money came from me, but she will hold everything in her name.
"A lot of trust you are putting in my hands, sir." She smirks while holding a stack of papers.
Right now, we are at her office, but I am the one sitting in the chair. One of the benefits of owning a game company like this is that we really don't need a physical place.
Cortana and I can keep the servers active. We just need a fake address and the workers' names.
"I still think we conceded too much." Mirage comments
"It is okay, it is Gaben." I chuckle. "If he asked for 15 more mega yachts, I would have given them to him."
"You are too nice to him." Mirage giggles and rolls her eyes, putting her white hair behind her ear before putting more papers in front of me while leaning forward.
If she had breasts, it would be a very provocative gesture, but she is very flat… Mirage is beautiful, though. Like… above super-model level, so she is a sight to behold.
"What?" She pauses
"Only admiring your beauty." I admit
She giggles again. "Isn't this sexual harassment?" She raises a perfect eyebrow at me
"And that is why we don't have a Human Resources Department." I nod wisely
"Oh, so now I am stuck with you without any defense?" She tilts her head
"Is that so bad?"
"Maybe~" She says coyly
I chuckle again. Flirting is nice~ I am lucky to be handsome…
"What would be our next step?" She asks
"Well, provide the service." I shrug nonchalantly. "People want to play games, and we facilitate that the best we can."
"How?"
"Just the basic… an alternative to consoles."
"How are we gonna compete with consoles?"
"Doing nothing." I answer immediately
"...?" She pauses
"What?"
"Why should we compete with consoles? We offer completely different things."
"You lost me there… Aren't we in the gaming industry?"
"Yes, but it is different. Pc gaming is a little more complicated; the user has to worry about specs and all that. While consoles are easy. People put the game in, and they play."
"So, shouldn't we think of other incentives to make people use a PC?"
"No need. They already exist. We will just keep the quality of the service high."
"What are the advantages then?"
"Well, if you know how to build a PC, they will perform better than any console. It will unite all users because everyone will have a PC, and it will become the easy choice for online players until game developers implement cross-platform play. What we will wholeheartedly support, of course."
"Shouldn't we hold it more to make people consider a PC? A large public of online players is a good incentive…" She asks
"Nah… We are gonna make our own banger games eventually, that will also be sold in consoles, of course."
"Okay, you are losing me… We are not even competing." She looks very confused
"Relax…" I say calmly, "We are gonna win in the end. We have mods, we have indie developers, we can sell games at a loss because we are not the ones selling the devices."
"Ah, yes, consoles sell the devices at a loss and make up profit with the games."
"Yep, not our responsibility. We are just the platform, taking a small share."
"They will hold the exclusives then."
"Their loss. They will lose a huge public." I shrug again
"We will need to create this huge public…" She looks at me in disbelief. "And you are telling me to do nothing."
"Yes." I nod like I don't understand her shock. This is fun.
"Consoles will get better with time, you know that, right?"
"Yes."
"At some point, they will reach PC-level performance."
"Pffft. Ah, sorry.. continue…" I pause myself from laughing after she glares at me
"Even if you don't believe in it, the gaming companies will constantly make improvements, and you suggest that we do nothing."
"Yes. Believe in me when I say not all improvements will be beneficial." I chuckle with the knowledge that only I know. "Mirage, my dear, in a world where those companies want to reinvent themselves or will constantly push the boundaries of the gamers to see how much more money they can squeeze from them… We will be committed to good service, a constant where they can feel safe."
"...so it is not about the money." It seems she is starting to think this is some pet project of mine, where I am prepared to lose money constantly.
"Oh, we are gonna get a lot of money." I laugh. "Mirage, what you are lacking is the understanding of gamers." I point at her cockily
"Then enlighten me." She huffs
"This hobby is for nerds." I say like it's some deep secret.
"..." She looks at me like I'm a little idiot, so I continue.
"And nerds tend to be smart; there are exceptions, but at this point in time, it is true." I explain, "And loyal. They are not stupid and will see who is abusive and who is not. Of course, some will still be hostages of the big companies, but we will provide an alternative to those who can escape their clutches. The only problem will be the ones who really hold their exclusives close to their hearts, but… hehe, emulation exists for a reason."
"We have nothing to do with emulation and piracy." She argues
"Yeah, but people still need PCs to play them. So what if they pirate? If they have money, they will buy eventually after playing… if they really like it. And the fact that we will sell cheaper years later will help that."
"So we are indirectly profiting from piracy. Shouldn't we be working against it?"
"Impossible, piracy is inevitable. Those nerds are too smart and have much more free time than anyone in those companies. Better have them working with us in the modding community. Does the game only run at 30 FPS? Someone will find a way to uncap. Is the texture and lighting bad? Someone will make it better… and that without counting the silly and lewd mods. Haha."
"...they will be basically working for us."
"It is their hobby! That they love so much. It doesn't matter whether it is on consoles; they will share their passion online, and WE ARE on the internet first." I say with enthusiasm. "Do you know how much a gaming company needs to screw up to lose their public? A lot! And even so, gamers will come back and forgive if their demands are attended to. We are gonna satisfy those demands and create the most loyal public ever. A haven to gaming, pulling all those gaming companies to a neutral ground where they will have to really compete with quality instead of trying to sell slop… and the customers always win when companies compete."
"And if they all come together to be against us?"
"Very difficult, but we will be launchers of online games and Indie developers… We will be sitting on a comfortable throne." Counter-Strike and DotA alone can keep things profitable.
People still mod Skyrim ten years later. Without games, gamers will simply create their own.
I stand up. "Of course, gamers will still be loyal to the companies even if they start fucking up (Stockholm syndrome born of nostalgia), but those greedy bastards will start spending more and more in developing those slops, so the profit will be low even with the cattle that eat whatever shit they sell."
"In the meantime, our cost to exist is basically zero." She says
"Exactly, gaming will eventually burst the bubble and go mainstream. Investors will try to steer the wheel because they are putting money on it… Microtransactions, unfinished games just because they can be patched later, the necessity to be online because of that… they will even abandon physical media, their great advantage, just because they want control over the product." I shake my head
I walk around the table to look at the window and New York below us. "We are gonna keep things simple, but because of my resources, of a quality no one can compete with. We will also be first in VR gaming. As they try to increase their public by pandering to non-gamers, we will be innovating in things gamers want."
"Isn't increasing the public the basic?"
"Not when you sacrifice your essence." I turn to her. "This works with anything in life. If you start becoming something you are not to appease people different from the ones who first put their faith in you, that is betrayal… You are too arrogant to think that your 'day ones' will be loyal forever while you ignore them, or even spit in their faces."
"...I guess that is true."
"There is a game for everyone, for everyone; it is like movies and books. But it started with us, the Gamers, the bullied nerds that want to live a fantasy to escape reality, and if outsiders want to enjoy some games they found interesting, they need to adapt to us, not the other way around." I say strongly "You don't go to a movie theater and ask for bathroom breaks to happen every 15 minutes. You don't go to a sports game and ask for changes to the rules that you don't like."
"Wow… I didn't know that it was so important to you."
"It is…" I nod seriously. "It is important to me and many others, and we are shamed for caring about what they think is a 'silly childish thing'. That while they try to profit from us… The moment gaming goes mainstream, and they try to change it for the worse… I will be ready."
"..."
Maybe I am too passionate about this, but I don't care. Beyond preventing human extinction, I also want to keep things nice. Our quality of life is important, and I will protect the things humans love. It is part of our culture.
From the Olympics to anything silly, really. Tabletop gaming, emos, that thing where people use fake horses like real ones…
Even the furries (the ones who are not weirdos)… I want people to be able to enjoy what they want, as long as they don't hurt anyone.
Who knows? Maybe furries will evolve so much that their fursuit will become mechas, or they will really be able to become anthropomorphic hybrids.
It is silly to me, but let them be.
I am here to make the world a good place for humans.
"Gaming is my particular interest, so I will, of course, protect it. Any gamer in my place would do the same." Who doesn't dream of having the power to protect what they love?
Every horrible decision that those companies made in my last life made me wish I had the Death Note. They had us in a chokehold, and we could just watch them destroy our hobby.
"You are really invested in it." Mirage comments
"Well, this is also the gate to our companies to go into technology… no one cares about gaming for now. We can make our name slowly, and before they notice, I will be selling electronics, competing with Stark."
"That will need more than me to administer." She smiles
"Don't worry, we are gonna set up a nice foundation." I sit back again. "Simultaneously, I will use the hospital as the base to start producing cheap medications."
"And THAT will attract attention." She laughs. "Those pharmaceutical companies will have you car-bombed one week after you drop a medicine much cheaper than theirs."
I chuckle too, "Well, many of those will be in jail after a certain hero exposes what they do from behind the scenes."
"Oh, it seems it will be busy."
"You have no idea, things will be very chaotic, my dear. I wish I had more time to set up a way to grab some benefits in the chaos, but people's safety takes precedence." I sigh
Hm, at least I have a certain greedy woman in my contact list, and she happens to be the mother of my daughters.
After my sigh, I stare at Mirage and take her hand in mine.
"My promise still stands. We are gonna make this world a better place, my dear." I hold her small hand between mine as I look into her eyes.
In the Incredibles world, I didn't plan to bring her back, but she was so helpless, sitting on the ground with vacant eyes while copying Syndrome's database.
The man-child supervillain tricked her, and she never knew how far he would go for his selfishness.
My methods may be as villainous as his, but I am going further than others, not for my own interests. Like with many of my subordinates, I gave her a purpose.
No, I resurrected her original purpose.
"I didn't forget." She nods seriously. "The world will not change even if you defeat all supervillains."
"There are villains in this world that are not so super." I smirk
"I will help you defeat those." She says with determination
"All of them thinking themselves masters of the game, unaware that we can play it better… and cheat." I laugh. Those guys have no idea what is about to hit them.
.......
Emma Frost
Emma is flying on her private jet, reading notes for her next meeting on her high-end tablet, and accepting a glass of champagne from the stewardess.
She was lucky that she didn't grab the glass yet, because when she saw that Eidolon was suddenly standing in front of her, she almost jumped out of her seat.
But she controlled herself. Emma's eyes widened as she paused, pupils moving from him to the stewardess at her side.
"Ms. Frost? Are you okay?" The stewardess asks with worry after seeing her hand not grab the glass, probably afraid that she made a mistake
Emma understood quickly that only she could see the hero.
"I am okay…" She nods. "Leave me alone for a moment. Only come back when I call you."
The stewardess bows and walks away to give her privacy. At no moment did the woman notice the world's most famous hero standing just there, even when she almost brushed shoulders with him.
"This power of yours is really convenient." She comments before taking a sip of her drink.
"I don't know why you are so surprised when you can do the same." Eidolon says, "By the way, the interior design of this private jet tells me a lot about you." He comments while looking around, an amused light in his eyes
"I would not even need to take my private jet out of the hangar if you allowed me to use Caretaker teleportation abilities." Emma acts coy. "Don't you care about the environment? That superheroine who recently appeared is one of yours, right? She seems to care a lot about nature."
"Planetina? Yes, she is good, and please… You don't care about the environment." Eidolon rolls his eyes. "And only you have the power to convince Caretaker to work for you."
"Impossible! That woman is loyal to you like a dog. If it were not you, I would think she was being mind-controlled." Emma scoffs. "And are you talking about the design of my jet? What? Like it?"
"Nothing much… just that there is only one chair… very solitary. I couldn't even sit." The hero comments, then conjures a throne of darkness to sit upon in front of her.
"That is so you." Emma smirks while seeing what he chose to make. "And this jet is so me. No need for other seats when I work alone; it is only for me and my peace."
"And what if I want to suddenly appear mysteriously? You don't think about my entrances, huh?" He sighs dramatically
"It will be good to decrease your diva ways." She waves her hand at him
"And what if the girls want to accompany you on a little trip? Maybe to watch mommy working…"
That makes Emma pause. "Hm, I guess I can get another jet… All of my jets are this way."
"Huhu, don't worry about that. If you want to go somewhere with the girls, I will help you move and hide your identities." Eidolon assures her after a chuckle.
He really places great importance on keeping the girls hidden from the world.
Emma agrees with him on this. It will be for the better for the world if it does not know that she had daughters. It would already be weird to explain, but she has many unscrupulous enemies.
Even if no one ever discovers who their stepfather is, or even their origin as clones, the girls would be in danger nonetheless, and maybe never experience normal lives just because they are her daughters.
"Did you come here to talk about the girls? Not that I am complaining, but you normally come when we are at home." Emma says, watching him closely.
She noticed his eyes had lost a lot of the warmth from talking about their daughters, and she instantly knew that he was about to talk about something serious.
"I, more or less, came with a business proposition."
"Oh…" Hearing the word 'business', Emma straightens up and asks, with interest, "What kind of business?"
"Do you remember when I attacked the people funding the meta-hating groups? I tipped you some 'insider information' so that you could profit and destroy the foundation of those bastards…"
"Oho~, I am already liking where this is going." Emma smiles broadly, showing a row of pearly white teeth
"Heh, I knew that it would interest you." Eidolon shakes his head in amusement. "I am about to make a move at some elites, and it would be nice for someone to be ready to grab the debris of their crumbling empires, so that no one can rebuild them."
"And who would they be?"
"No one really important from a meta perspective, but you must know their family names and companies." Eidolon pulls a black tablet from beneath his cloak and gives it to her.
Emma grabs it and easily finds the documents he wants her to see; after all, only they exist on the tablet's home screen. Emma opens the first one and starts reading…
"..." It doesn't take long for her mouth to fall open. "You are kidding…" Her eyes move up to stare at him
"No." His eyes are dead serious. "They are not tied heavily to the meta-issue, but you will discover that I ignored them too much when you look into their crimes."
"..."
"And seeing your reaction, it is safe to say that you must be partially aware of them." Eidolon gazes at her eyes
Emma sighs tiredly. "I had the displeasure of getting in contact with a very ugly side of the elites. They even tried to get me into that shit, but a little use of my powers kept me away from them while allowing me to continue to grow my company."
"The subtlety of telepathy is a great asset in the normal world." Eidolon comments
"I know, right? In my early days, I thought that I could take over the world…" Emma releases a self-deprecating laugh "But then I discovered that there are bigger fish out there. So I never abused too much of my power."
"Too much, huh?"
"What? It saved me from engaging with people that I hated, many names in this list of yours." She waves the tablet at his face
"You are wise," Eidolon says. "They would try to rope you into their dirty club with some modern-day hostage tactic."
"At that time, they would have trouble finding a relative whom I like. My sisters are all bitches, and my brother… well, it would not work."
"That is not how they do it…" Eidolon speaks with a serious tone. "Blackmail is the trend. They got nouveau riche and famous people in their little club, promising connections and all that… and then, when they are too deep into it, present the newbies with the tip of the iceberg of horrific things… and they film it."
"..."
"They would have images of you doing horrific things and hold it over your head forever and control you… Then you would need to fall deeper and deeper, till you are basically one of them… And then you would do the same with someone else. That is how they slowly erode your morals."
"...diabolical." Emma says, disgusted, then takes a sip of her drink to wash the bad taste out of her mouth. Maybe because she has an easy time with telepathy, she never thought about that.
"You don't know half of it… Ask me what 'those things' that the new members do." Eidolon's eyes are two pools of dead water.
"...I don't think I will." She eventually says.
"Good choice." Eidolon chuckles humorlessly, "But if you want a tip, it involves acts of sex, torture, murder, and even cannibalism…"
"..."
"... with minors and animals..."
"Okay, stop!" Emma loses her cool. "Kill those bastards already." She growls.
Emma is originally a villain, but she has always had a soft spot for children. It was her redeeming quality… Literally. It was literally the part of her personality that redeemed her from a villain to a hero.
"Don't worry… they will never hurt anyone else again." Eidolon swears with determination. It is unclear how he will deal with them, and another person would think the hero would simply bring them to justice and make sure they stay behind bars.
But Emma knows him a little better… There is a ruthless side to him that the public doesn't know.
"Are those fuckers really connected with some demonic cult or something? I remember some glimpse of their memories and caught some disgusting imagery, but I never took it seriously… Just some 'hidden society' shit." Emma says, "But now with everything that I discovered about the world… Can't say that I would be surprised if they are the real thing."
"That is the funny part… they are not." Eidolon points at her. "I mean, there are one or two groups that are really connected with demons, but the rest are just posers. They lack the knowledge to really consort with demons, and they are just doing evil for themselves." He would look amused if he were not slightly angry. "My take is that they accepted that they are not good people and are not going to a better place after dying, so they are putting their chips on the other option… Too bad, only suffering waits for them there, too."
"Pathetic." Emma, on her end, finds amusement in their fate.
"I at least respect more the other evil elites that are trying to live forever, knowing that they are fucked after dying. With their human experiments, they are hurting fewer people… ironically. And they use adults and criminals, people that no one would miss, instead of innocent lives they think are 'worth' more in the sacrifices." Eidolon shrugs. "They at least have a purpose, thinking that they are searching for human progress and evolution."
"The evil of humanity runs deep." Emma comments as she takes another sip of her drink.
She is not really surprised. As a telepath, she knows very well how evil humans are. She rarely meets a pure soul, and maybe that is why she has a soft spot for kids.
Emma gives the list another look. "There are a lot of politicians here…"
"Their countries will need to bear with the chaos a little." Eidolon says as a matter of fact
"The lesser of two evils, I guess…" She shrugs while she continues to check the list, plans already forming in her mind. "How much time do I have?"
"One week."
"That is too soon!"
"You don't need to grab everything…" He rolls his eyes at her greed.
"As if I am gonna let this slip from between my fingers."
"To be fair, I will give a heads-up to the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. too"
"Ah c'mon!" She exclaims, almost like a petulant child
"Don't act like that. I only plan to warn them a little before I make a move. You have a week."
"Hmm, that is better." She smiles, satisfied like a predator pursuing injured prey. "Thank you, dear~" She blows him a kiss.
This time, he didn't react to her attempt at seduction and asked about the girls. "How are the five? Are they studying well?"
"They are little cheaters." Emma answers fondly "They discovered that five brains work better than one, so by working together they complete their homework and tests quickly."
"It is their advantage…" Eidolon also smirks. "But they should learn how to rely on themselves more; at some point their individuality will become more and more apparent."
"I warn you that they would be easy to deal with if they were a package; you don't want five teenagers, each wanting one thing, screaming about different things." She laughs
"You are the specialist; they are basically you."
"Then you are fucked." She gives the bad news. "Not even I want to deal with five of me when I was a teen… I was a bitch."
"Now you admit it."
"I am reasonable now; they will not." Emma says with humor, making him laugh too
"That much is expected. I already steeled my heart for the eventual 'You are not even my father' shout when we fight."
"So pessimistic…" But she can't guarantee it won't happen. Emma will try to instill in the girls the reality that Eidolon is their father in everything but blood, but people say hurtful things in moments of stress. "Then we should enjoy while they are not bitchy teens…" She starts, swirling the remnants of her champagne in the glass
Eidolon tilts his head toward her. "I am already doing that."
"What I am suggesting is to create a few more memories… what do you think of a little vacation? Just us? On the beach? Or maybe a snowy mountain? Wanna teach them snowboarding? Do you know snowboarding? Pfft, what am I even asking…? You know how to do everything…" She suggests, trying to hide her nervousness, acting like it is just a casual invite
Eidolon pauses. "In my position, I can't really take vacations."
"Not only on the weekend? And it is not like you are leaving the planet… If a crisis happens, you can leave."
"That is the problem… If a crisis happens and I stay stuck in hero work for the whole weekend, it would disappoint the girls." He sighs while leaning back on his conjured chair
"That is rough." She needs to admit the possibility. In her mind, he can solve any issue instantly
"But I have cloning powers…" He continues "We would really need to be very unlucky for something like the Invasion of New York to happen… Maybe it is possible."
"Oh…" Emma smiles in her heart
"If you have a place in mind, I can take us there with my powers and get a discreet time off." He says
"I am gonna ask the girls what they prefer," Emma replies calmly, but internally, she is clenching her fist in success.
After some talks with the Caretaker, Emma accepted that she couldn't seduce Eidolon in the conventional ways
"It doesn't matter how smart you think you are; the master is smarter." Caretaker once said to her, "He is not like the average man that can be led by his genitalia. He can see any attempts to manipulate him before you even try. From his perspective, it is almost insulting for a woman to try to get him by flashing their assets; it is like treating him as any other low-intelligence male."
Emma remembered that it was exactly what she tried to do when they first met. It is not like she was thinking less of him… Okay, maybe it is… But it was more like she always thought less of the male gender as a whole.
They are always so easy. Why would he be different? But she discovered he is; Eidolon has standards.
It was during that talk that Emma had confronted these shortcomings of hers… Surprisingly… very surprisingly… She doesn't know how to seduce a man.
She doesn't want to admit it at first. It is such a ridiculous notion that anyone would laugh at it. But Caretaker, not so kindly, pointed out that she just got what she wanted through the use of her "unearned assets".
Excuse me? She earned her "assets". She trained her telepathy, and she improved her appearance.
But is she so shallow in the matter of men and women that she needs to "cheat" to grab their attention? Maybe she got spoiled, but she refused to accept that this is her limit.
So she stopped being so blatant in her attempts at seduction and just... talked with him like normal.
It was surprisingly nice. Emma never knew it would be so pleasant to maintain a relationship with someone without expecting it to develop into something more. She genuinely began to enjoy their "family moments"...
…and that is the second part of her plan.
"If you want to make him fall for you, you need to fall for him first." Caretaker also said. "It doesn't matter what you do; what matters is your intentions… When you truly desire to seduce him seriously instead of just trying to manipulate him, you will surprise yourself with how easy it is. You will remember that he is still a man."
And now she is doing all of this with zero expectations—no rush, no hidden intentions… just genuinely enjoying the moments with him.
Emma Frost remembered that she had a great advantage over him, in the cute shape of 5 little Emmas. She doesn't feel bad about "using" her daughters like that, because at this point she is not even thinking about it that much.
She, of course, is getting happy that things are progressing, albeit slowly; at this point, the ending with Eidolon as her man is seemingly inevitable.
'Maybe the first woman in the world that seduces a man, not with sex, but with a happy family…' Emma thinks, smiling while downing the last of her champagne. 'Why did no one tell me that this is what men really want?'
.........
Hector P.O.V.
Emma Frost is really going on that path, huh? My thoughts are still on her even after I pull my "Batman escape". She is still lingering in my mind and heart…
I have to admit, the woman is really committed, and I didn't think that she would take this thing between us this far. I thought it was just her being butthurt because her flirting wasn't working…
You know how women are when they are scorned.
But surprisingly, she is adapting her game to me and, consequently, changing too.
Well, the biggest reason for her change is the quintuplets, of course. Emma Frost made a "speed run" of her entire redemption arc this year. What motherhood doesn't do to a woman, huh? And the failure in getting a man, too, huhu~
But seriously, if she keeps this up… I don't know, the reasons to keep the distance between us are decreasing together with… with… with thedistance between us!
Maybe I should go to a universe where Marvel Comics is being published and read some issues where the women from here are cunts. I bet it would halt my interest in them for a little more.
But again? What are the reasons for not letting things progress when the Stepford Cuckoos already connect us? Single mothers are a trap! A trap! I need to warn my fellow men.
I mean, technically, I am the one who put the five into her(life), so… Not biologically, but I am their father.
Anyway, I am glad she is taking it easy and also adopting a wait-and-see stance to see how things develop. Of course, with some actions to steer things in her direction here and there(like this invitation), but that much is expected.
I don't hate her so… Win-win. We will at least get an answer at the end of this.
I still don't think she'll be happy when she discovers my romantic situation, though.
Taking Emma out of my mind, I float above a certain apartment in South Korea.
This is where Seol Hee, now worldwide known as Luna Snow, lives, and apparently…
"Didn't you have an apartment, Juri?" I ask while floating to the balcony where my subordinate is lazing around
"What? Is it prohibited?" Juri stares up at me, holding a cheeseburger, stopping mid-bite.
"Nothing… but I never thought you would make a friend." I shrug
"What the fuck do you mean by that?" She exclaims angrily
"Exactly that." I point at her attitude.
"Where is your Unnie?" I ask with a smirk after landing on the balcony
"Fuck you, she is not my 'Unnie'. I am the Unnie here!"
"Hmmm…" Teasing her is fun, so I pause and hold my chin while staring at her with a contemplative expression
"What?" She asks brusquely
"Nothing… it is just that… it seems Shego was right about calling you a 'raging lesbian'. But it's okay, I am happy for you two." I pat her shoulder.
"Raging Lesbian is her mother because her father is a dickless cunt!" Juri shouts angrily
"'Dickless cunt' is kind of-" I was about to correct her grammatically when she interrupted me.
"I like dicks, bitch. She probably doesn't know much about it because you are also a coward." She continues
"Hey, just because I don't wanna put my dick in you, doesn't mean I don't have one." I reply calmly, without taking her bait
"Hmpf, you are just too scared of me making you cry." She puts her wrists on her hips and leans forward to mock me. "What is the problem, big boy? Is the greatest hero in the world afraid of some pussy? If you want, I can use a strap-on." Now this is the Juri Han that I know, the shit-eating grin and everything
"You are not ready for the day I fuck you, Juri." I smirk, raising my chin a little to look down on her even more.
"We are gonna see about that." She matches my smirk
We stare at each other intensely. It is fun to have some subordinates like this, now I know why villains keep disobedient underlings.
"Juri… why are you shouting- AAAh!" And as expected, Seol Hee appears and almost jumps in surprise after seeing me. "Eidolon! What are you doing here?!?"
She moves, unsure, half approaching me and half organizing the slightly messy apartment the way she can. I saw you throwing those shorts behind the couch, by the way…
"Just came to check on you, but first… is Juri bothering you? I can deal with her." There is a nonzero chance that my subordinate is an inconvenient guest. "You can tell me…" I ignore Juri's glare and continue to stare at Luna Snow to see the truth.
"Juri? No! Of course not! I like having her around; we are good friends." She smiles sweetly
"...you are too nice." I comment. She is being truthful. "Don't let her take advantage of your goodwill."
"Don't worry about that." She giggles while waving my worries off
"Now, about me checking on you… How is it going? You became pretty famous… and that is a good and bad thing." I start
"Ah! Yeah, yeah… It is amazing!" She starts excitedly "...with not so amazing drawbacks…" She ends up with a downcast expression.
"Tell me more…"
"Some fuckers on the internet." Juri says on the side
"Eeh… why don't you enter to talk?" Luna suggests, and I accept.
"If you'll excuse me, then…" I nod and, with an air of education, sit on the couch while Juri lies on the other end like she owns the place. She even puts her leg over my knee.
Some Juri fans would go crazy if she put her feet on them, but I am different.
"What are you doi- AAHHAAHAHaHAH FUCK YOU!!!"
I grab her ankle and calmly start tickling her foot.
ThwackThwackThwackThwackThwackThwackThwack
She kicks my body and head, but I am an unmoving object, my body completely still, and my fingers running on the sole of her foot; my grip is steel, and she can't escape it.
"AAHAHAHAAHAHAHAH coughCOUGH S-Stop… I-I'm gonna dieeeeEEeeee~ AHAHAAHAAHAHAAH!" She thrashes in place like she is receiving the greatest torture in existence.
Chill, girl. I am just using some powers to increase your sensitivity… I am gonna use them when I fuck you. You don't look so tough now, huh? Continue talking mad shit…
Heh, Juri pulls the worst of me… I feel like the me from Online Gaming… That Hector was toxic. Thankfully, I am overcoming that phase. It is her potty mouth now that she is not age restricted.
"Say sorry…" I speak, my tone uncaring about her plight
"Sorry! Sorry! S-sorry! Hahahaha! Pleasseeeeee~" She immediately folds
"..." Well, that was easy… I bet she is lying and is not being sincere, but meh…
I release her, and she immediately recoils away from me.
"Fuck you, bitch! You are a bitch!" And she immediately goes back to acting like the Juri I know.
"I love you too, Juri." I say with a calm fondness. She is fun.
She growls at my calmness, but we both stop when we hear Luna giggling.
"You two get along." She comments with a smile
Before Juri can cuss my entire bloodline, I talk first. "She loves me too." I declare with a smile, ignoring the middle finger from my subordinate.
I am such a cool boss. She is lucky that I am not like one of those CEOs from her country.
"Tell me your woes, Seol Hee." I gesture to our host
"God, you are so corny." Juri exclaims on the side, "Who says 'woes'?"
"If you are too illiterate in English, we can speak Korean." I say to her before turning to Luna, "But seriously, I am already slightly aware of your online reception. How are you?"
After her debut as a meta in the Avengers Halloween Party, Luna Snow and Dazzler easily became hot topics around the world.
They are the first metas who are not into the hero business after all; they are going into the singing business, which has sparked some discussion.
The most logical shrugged and said: "Whatever, they're born with a talent, isn't this all artists?"
The ones who like to complain about everything said that it is unfair for some reason. Even when I lower my high IQ to their level, I really don't understand how it is unfair.
They are not even in some musical competition for a prize; they are just showing off the combinations of their talents to the world.
People really stretch logic by saying "But what if? What if someone like that enters a competition one day? If you think it's okay now, it can become a problem later… And then we ended up having metas with natural advantages in the Olympics."
Yep, they really created a problem by simply having two metas perform on a stage.
Not even my overthinking mind is worrying about something so far ahead.
Of course, things will be different in sports, duh.
There is also the other side of the dumb people, who say that Luna Snow and Dazzler should be doing hero work instead of "prancing around on a stage". Now they want to conscript metas…
When I call those people to be cannon fodder in an intergalactic war, I hope they don't complain. After all, with two arms, they can hold a plasma rifle and fight for humanity!
"Not gonna lie, it was not as bad as I thought…" Luna says slowly, nervously rolling the tip of her hair. "It is almost making me think that things will get worse."
"It will not." I stop her worries. "I already did a little interview about it after a recent incident, and you already have a lot of people on your side. The best advice I can give you, Miss, is that you don't engage and just keep doing your music. Don't apologize, don't make excuses, and don't even say anything like 'that is me; if you don't like, fuck off'. Let your talent do the talking." I say "Ah, and people on the internet. Some will always have your back, and your haters can't be convinced anyway; you will just be wasting your precious time arguing with them. Just prove them wrong and the people that support you right."
She nods hesitantly.
"You are too nice to care about what those losers think," Juri says dismissively. "If you did as much as smile in their direction, they would drop to their knees and bark for you."
"I would not want that…" Luna says with a semi-disgusted frown
"Do you have a manager?" I ask
"Eh, no… I just uploaded my songs online and never got so much attention." Luna answers, "But I am already receiving calls from agencies and big producers."
"Hmmm, if you want, I can put all those people approaching you under scrutiny and tell you who has good and bad intentions." I offer.
"I can do it easier… Everyone approaching her is a cunt." Juri comments
"I don't know how true that is, but we can protect you from any predatory person or company that puts their sights on you," I say
"Seriously?"
"Of course, I am not gonna let you fend for yourself after I put you on the spot." I nod. "Don't worry, just continue focusing on what you want. I can give you a thorough list of the background of everyone approaching you, or I can give you a fake agent to fend off everyone else, while in truth the SPC will be supporting you from the shadows."
"The shadows?" She asks with a confused expression.
"Yeah, better we keep ourselves a little separated…" I put a hand on my chest before pointing at her. "Hero business… Entertainment… I don't want people to associate you with us. In the end, my work is very political and all that. And yours is just fun." I smile
"...I see." She looks pensive, probably didn't think that deeply into this
"You already did a lot, Seol Hee." I continue softly, "Normal people saw that we metas are more than just humans capable of destruction and violence, either to the good side or evil, and many metas around the world also saw that it's okay to walk their own paths. Your music is already inspiring them."
"Thank you…" It seems my words get through to her because she smiles
"Oh god, you are so fucking corny!!" But Juri, of course, can't handle it. "This hero shit is so cringe! Bleeh!" She sticks her tongue out and points at her throat
"Everything is cringe from your cynical point of view." I turn to her and roll my eyes. "If you stopped worrying about being cringe, maybe you would not be such a miserable person."
"First of all, cringe is cringe. You absolutely stay awake at night remembering how cringey you act all the time." Juri points "And I am far from miserable."
"No surprise here, a jobless bum living off other people…" I stand up and smile at her. "And don't think I forgot about our little bet.
"!" Her eyes widen, remembering that I haven't cashed out the bet on that fight.
I can make her do anything, anything…
"Oh, did you forget? No wonder you live so unworriedly." I smirk, watching her face fall. "Let's see who stays awake at night thinking about this now."
I reach out to pat her head like she is a dog. "I want you to suffer by anticipation and afterward by cringing with the memories." I laugh before nodding to Luna Snow "Bye~ I will keep in touch."
......…
Days later, and I am now ready.
"Ah man~, I really need to change the Hell-Lords to my people. It seems I have problems with demons constantly." I crack my knuckles and my neck
"It is a never-ending problem, and you got involved with it, Master," Cortana speaks
"They got in our business first… And I will end this problem for good. Eventually…"
I really wish that I could blame the demons for all the evil the people I am about to catch did, but I can't… humans can go very low.
"And S.H.I.E.L.D.?" I ask
"The message to them is on schedule."
"The Avengers?"
"The same."
"Good, so we have a little time advantage to do what we want." One last stretch before I went full serious mode.
It is hero- You know what? It is purging time.
This should be a world of straightforward, good-versus-evil battles.
But those guys put us in a whole different genre… So the hero will come back after I clean the house.
........
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