Capítulo 14: Chapter 014: Such bold accusations.
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Previous chapter recap:-
Luke managed to collect 15,000 metric ton due to him sending his army towards wakanda while he looted the Gold in the pocket dimension, His parent's jobs were sabotaged by Hydra, In pettiness he decided to fast-forward his plans for a secret organization and A publishing studio using his subordinates. Deadpool awakens and breaks the Autho- 4th wall. Luke meets Xavier for the first time due to Emma awakening her X-gene.
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Chapter 14
"Speech"
'Thought'
'<Telepathy>'
"<Title>"
"[Reading/watching]"
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Time:- 10:25 am, 10th September, 1983, Saturday.
Location: A certain Spencer fanclub.
***
"<Luke, a brilliant author? or despicable Plagiarizer!>" - The daily bugle.
"<Luke Spencer's Newest Graphic novels yet again suspiciously tops best-sellers in record speed!>" - Daily Manhattan.
"<What are his secrets? Is he secretly a wizard? a terminator or… perhaps a reincarnator?>" - The Conspiracy theorists.
"<DC Comics Intends to Sue 'Spencer Comics' Claiming Copyright infringement!>" - Detective Daily.
"<'Creed Comics' strategically teams up with 'Spencer Comics'!>"- Guiding Light.
Bruce's face contorted in anger after reading yet another article trying to paint Luke Spencer as a bad person. It had become more frequent after Luke opened his own publishing company.
As an Avid Spencer fan, He and everyone in the club, didn't tolerate such disrespect to Luke. They were already planning to boycott and send a lot of complaint letters to these companies.
To the ignorant, This club would appear as a fanatical cult but to Bruce and everyone in the club, it was merely a way to defend their Idol.
It all started back in 1980, 1st of September when Luke published his first franchise 'Harry potter', It had quickly gained Popularity due to its unique ahead of it's time artstyle and storytelling.
While those two were factors that did help on why it become so popular but what truly made it pop up among the younger demographic was the last Portion of the Graphic novels labeled 'Author's section'.
There Luke wrote about his process on creating his graphic novel, his thoughts on etc characters and plot points. But most importantly his talk about life. Since that first Collection, Luke had always given Life advice to These struggling Young teenagers.
From basic guide on how to improve their drawing, storytelling to even suggesting creative ways they could earn and manage their money responsively.
The more collections Luke released, the more he started answering questions asked by His fans, even if it wasn't related to the collection, he would still wholeheartedly help them find some clarity in life.
Thus it connected Luke to his fans in a scary level that raised concerns among teachers and overprotective parents. They labeled his books as 'Brainwashing' and 'Bad Influence'. Some schools even directly started banning any books related to Luke in Early 1982.
Bruce let out a sigh as he started checking the next article which had the title "<Who is Luke Spencer? The elusive Spector? Read to find out!>" - by The Guiding Light. He wasn't optimistic but he held a faint hope that this article would be a good one. Lo Behold he was right.
"[Hello, Fellow guided lights, I am your host, the guiding anchor. Welcome back to the weekly series 'Who?'. where we explore many fascinating facts about trendy individuals in our society! On this week's agenda we interestingly have 'Luke Spencer'. The somewhat controversial yet loveable child author who has recently been accused of being a plagiarizer!]" - Guiding anchor wrote in the beginning.
Bruce raised his eyebrows as he checked the last sentence multiple times to make sure he wasn't reading it wrong. To confirm it he continued Reading.
"[Indeed you read that correctly! We have solid evidence to claim The elusive 'Luke Spencer' is merely a 13 year old boy! In fact we have managed to contact him secretly and he had agreed to answer some of our questions as long as we maintain and omit certain information such as his address since he didn't want to be swarmed by his zealous fans just yet!]"
Bruce exclaimed in surprise which quickly attracted the attention of nearby club members, when they asked him about it, they also exclaimed back.
They quickly surrounded Bruce who now started rereading it but out loud so everyone could hear it.
The club members had an embarrassed smile when the guiding anchor mentioned them swarming his house. Afterall many of them had such a thought once.
"[But don't be disappointed Spencer fans! Because good news! in 1984, you would be able to meet him personally! Luke has stated he has plans to visit the comiccon event in that period. Now let's get back to the truly interesting part…]" The guiding anchor stated.
That caused a small uproar as the club members were excited.
"[The first question we asked Luke was how he got into making graphic novels. He answered "Initially I planned to make comics similar to my father, however due to certain reasons I can't specify, I opted for a Graphic novel instead as it gave me more Freedom on what I could write in my stories". Indeed, Comic books have to go through CCA (Comic Code Authority) which…]" The guiding anchor continued talking about some small history and facts about CCA.
Bruce and the other club members nodded in understanding, Luke had already explained to them in his collections on how restrictive CCA truly was.
"[We then asked him, 'Why did he choose to get a contract with 'Creed Comics'? It was a subsidiary company under 'Creed Entertainment', Previously they were known for selling adult content. He answered, "My mom did Contact many publishing studios, even DC, where my father previously worked at. But she felt the contracts they offered weren't optimal for me, only 'Creed Comics' offered the most optimal contract, it even exceeded what I hoped for. Oh my mom is a lawyer by the way, she owns a law firm, if you need any legal help, please do contact her law firm."]- The guiding anchor then explained more about the law firm and how they could contact it.
The club members started discussing this even more, as they felt they finally had a clue to who might be behind this recent rise of slandering Luke, after all they had read DC was going to sue Luke because of the 'Watchman' franchise, now that Luke talked about his dad being fired, It appeared as suspicious to them.
"[ We asked if opening his own publishing company had caused any friction 'Creed Comics', He answered "There was no particular drama between us. We are even considered family friends now. Sullivan Creed is a Kind yet Business savvy person, he almost immediately felt the potential of my company and thus generously helped me along the process. I am extremely grateful to have met such a caring person." His reply came as a surprise to us as we knew how vicious the world of business could get...]" The guiding light then elaborated on that point by giving examples of corporate betrayal and greed.
The club members nodded, they had discussed with other club members across the country that Creed stores near them also started selling Luke's new graphic novels despite them not being the publisher for it and the areas where Luke's own stores popped up also sold Creed related products.
"[We tried asking about his personal life but he only shared that his Grandpa was part of the Howling commandos and even generously gave us a never before seen picture to prove it. {A group of men were trying not to break their smile and composure while taking the picture}, Luke stated, a friend of his grandpa was trying to make them laugh behind the camera, after investigating within the public archives and historical books, we verified this claim, as the man standing right next to Captain America was Luke's Grandpa, The second in Command after Bucky Barnes Went M.I.A …]" - The guiding anchor explained the history about it even further.
Bruce and some other Captain America fans smiled warmly. He had seen the many comic book strips from that time which depicted Max Spencer always coming up with strategic plans to help Captain America lead the battle with minimal losses. If he had to compare, it would be like the real life Batman and Superman team up.
Bruce's face gradually turned into a frown when he remembered how the latest Captain America stripes from DC were lackluster and even seemed to diminish Captain America's Glory. 'This all started after the previous artist Mark Spencer had changed… wait! Spencer! Could it be??!' Bruce immediately shared his discovery with the club members who were equally excited.
If this was proven true, their prestige among all the nearby Spencer fan clubs would rise. Afterall to them aside from a place to hang out, this club acted as a source to earn revenue.
Luke early on had suggested opening these clubs which initially acted as a way to rent out his books to people who couldn't afford it due to personal or money related issues.
He later on introduced 'Fanfiction', Generously allowing anyone to make stories based on his own stories, helping new artists and authors to hone their skills while earning some money on the side.
"[The next question we asked him was 'How does he feel about the recent allegations raised against him?'He appeared calm as he said "Just because they can't achieve something doesn't mean others can't do the same. I don't particularly care about these allegations however I am well aware of the frustrations of my fans, don't worry, I hear you loud and clear. I won't back down or crumble under such jealousy fueled claims" His answer surprised the interviewer who noted that he seemed pretty mature and well spoken for such a young age.]"
That relieved many of the worried club members as Luke hadn't been taking any actions.
"[We did try to ask him about how rich he currently is but he opted to not answer. Which we understand, thus we speculated an estimate… do be warned they are just speculation. We don't know how much he actually receives. But after careful estimation he has at least earned over 100 million dollars over 1981 and 1982. Do keep in mind they are at the minimum. Even then we consider him as the youngest self-made Multimillionaire.]"- the guiding anchor went on to explain the process they came to that conclusion.
The club members were baffled afterall it was an astronomical amount. The most they have seen is a few thousand dollars if they collected all the revenue from their club and didn't spend it.
Bruce had other thoughts 'Would I be able to become rich like…? Who am I kidding… I don't have any notable talent other than being smart in science… besides I can't leave my mom to that drunkard bastard.' He physically flinched when he accidentally remembered the graphic scenes of his mother being abused.
He quickly recovered and subtly looked around to see if anyone noticed. He was relieved knowing that he didn't have to get them into trouble for him. 'But… for how long…?'. While Bruce enjoyed spending time in this club. Due to Luke's teachings each member protected and helped each other in any way they could, even if it meant doing something drastic to save another.
It was yet another reason the schools were against Luke as they exaggerated certain violent cases related to a Spencer fan while ignoring the reason why it actually happened.
[Later on, we ask him about some rumors we have gathered about him, such as him hiring a ghostwriter for his stories, rumors of him writing a screenplay related to a few upcoming Hollywood movies, if he is actually a terminator from the future. He answered "While, I haven't hired any but I do plan to form a team dedicated to helping me produce more of my stories. They would be credited and paid for their hard work. I am, after all, only one person. Well I can't specifically say which movies but at least one of them is a spin-off series from the terminator franchise and the other was my own original idea about a peculiar Park… and no I am not a terminator as far as I know. Although it would be cool since then I would be able to produce many graphic novels without rest!". Indeed that would truly be a life-saving grace if we still had our free will. You can't understand what I am feeling unless you have a job which demands a lot of your time… but don't worry I am not being overworked, I am just a workaholic…]"- The guiding anchor humorously joked around the topic.
The club members had a laugh at the end while they were heatedly discussing what Luke said, as every aspiring artist who is also a Spencer fan hoped to work for and with him.
Bruce was one of them. He got into Drawing because of Luke, as he felt it would help him earn enough money to help himself and his mom from poverty.
Soon the article came to an end after they talked more about Luke and their afterthoughts about him, in conclusion, they noted He was mature for his age and the claims were very likely false. They even boldly speculated there might be people who are targeting him due to malicious reasons.
***
Time:- Same day.
Location:- Luke's throne room
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Luke was also reading the article but for a different reason, he already knew the content listed on it since the terminators made sure to verify everything before publishing it.
The guiding light was among the first of his tools to control the Public opinion of him and everyone he was targeting, thus he firmly made sure each of the members there was a terminator. Even if he had to spend extra IPs to summon them with an identity card.
The current article wasn't his idea but rather Shion's who wanted to strategically put public pressure on the people behind these allegations. Especially weaponizing his fans. Although he felt somewhat guilty, he wasn't particularly against it since it wasn't something malicious and harmful to his fans.
He also told his mom to sue the companies that wrote those articles due to Shion's advice. Thus adding more pressure.
Shion had an unique skill called <Ideal Secretary> due to Luke modifying her to make her an actual competent secretary to Rimuru. It essentially helped her quickly learn every skill and knowledge related to being an Ideal Secretary. It also helped her remain focused and dedicated to a task.
Luke also found out Hyeon had unique skills, one of them being <War Strategist>, that helped her come up with various plans and tactics to win wars. He saw the effect with his own eyes as she meticulously discovered Hydra bases and attacked them with the least amount of casualties from their side.
When Luke asked her why she didn't use it against him. He learned that she only gained most of the Unique skills after becoming his servant and getting a name. That made him ponder and he casually named each of the members in the shadow Guards.
He noted he would lose his exp permanently but in exchange the guards would gain various skills based on what they desire and thought would be helpful.
The exp drain was noticeable since the guards were all O rank. But he felt it was worth it since some even gained skills similar to 'Time stop', either way he didn't care since he could easily recover now by just sitting on the throne and being lazy..
"Hmm, So the base is in Canada? I guess it makes it easy." Luke mused as he heard Hyeon explain to him.
"Good job… We will attack that base at the end of this month… also notify the X-Men that the people they are looking for are also there. That should cause the incident to be more muddy." Luke lightly stated his idea, while he wasn't a strategist but he was still learning as much as he could from Hyeon.
"And… I will be there." Luke said but it caused Hyeon to exclaim as she hurriedly said "But… My liege, It could be dangerous. We don't know all the capabilities of the enemy, they might have something that could screw up the plans. Of course I don't mean to say you are weak but… you aren't actually that powerful considering what you have told us about the people in this universe…"
Luke hummed as he knew. He wasn't actually that strong. While if he fought seriously the surroundings would be damaged but that's that. According to Friday's analysis,He could only handle a few average Nukes from 2018. even then it would take away approximately 95% of his health.
"But that's more reason I should be there. I have more ways to handle a chaotic situation than any of you combined." Luke calmly stated. Afterall he had an entire store which he could use to fix the situation.
Hyeon after somewhat hesitating. Nonetheless I agreed with his reasoning. "Very well but I humbly request you to observe from far away in case they use nuclear weapons."
Luke hummed as he stood up from his throne "Is the Training room ready?" he asked while he walked out of the throne room.
"Yes, My liege! It's nearly completed. Friday is currently working on the augmentation part." Hyeon reported while she walked some steps behind Luke.
"Good enough, I will start training with you from now on until the raid begins" Luke said.
"Yes, My liege!" Hyeon answered professionally yet she felt excited and happy inside.
***
Word count:- 2864
Author's section:-
Sorry for not uploading yesterday. Initially I planned to spend a few more hours so I could write something extra but I curiously proofread the chapter and boy was it bad… It was like those repetitive robotic dialogues.
That mostly happened because I was in a rush to write it as my phone charger was broken and my phone had a small amount of charge left. Like 8% or so.
So I reworked the entire chapter and made them more readable. The Guiding anchor sections were the most grueling as I had to think hard on what could be revealed and what questions would they ask. Hopefully it was at least good enough to read.
The next chapter. I will write about the base raid. Idk if I will upload tomorrow but I will upload when I have a satisfactory chapter, hopefully you understand.
Also about the power scaling of my fanfic, I admit I have been pretty lackluster about it, I ignorantly said Luke is currently Planet level but after having a conversation with my good friend Ramenlord. He helped me realize How ridiculous and plot armor based the comic book version of them was.
Ramenlord asked me how did earth not get destroyed if there would be a fight between two planet level entities. Like it doesn't make sense unless I have a valid explanation for it.
I don't think I am nerfing the protagonist as he is still technically planet level but at the bare minimum. He has the means to destroy the planet but he would have to do many extra steps. His physical power part is what I think kinda feels balanced now.
Anyways, hopefully it isn't a turn off, I am still learning as an author, I am not gonna put my protagonist at a disadvantage if it doesn't logically make sense. This was merely a power scale fix as a way to prevent future plot holes where XX ranks suddenly appear and somehow there are no environmental consequences like the earth exploding.
Also pick. 1985 or 1995, I won't say what, but just pick. Hints:- The earlier he gets it the more powerful he will become. I chose those two years because they are related to a certain space event happening.
Anyways thank you for reading, I will now relax and try to overcome the writer's block I gradually realized might happen soon (Give me tips if you have any). Byebye stay safe and hydrated and enjoy life.
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