アプリをダウンロード
92.15% Meta Essence Gacha in Marvel / Chapter 90: Love and Convergence

章 90: Love and Convergence

"Convergence?" Eidolon turns to look at Thor. The two are on the top of a skyscraper in the city of Houston.

Eidolon was stopping a rogue meta earlier, and coincidentally Thor was flying close on his way to New Mexico.

"Yes, big cosmic event..." Thor starts explaining, but Eidolon stops him.

"I know what it is, but I'm curious why you are saying this to me ... Is there a problem?"

"No, no." Thor denies it easily "It's just a big holiday, the festivities will be awesome!" The big Norse god says excitedly "I was thinking if you want to come to Asgard to watch it. Saying in advance just so that you can prepare yourself... You know, you are gonna be away for some time... I bet that you would be worried with Midgard." Thor knows Eidolon a little

"Yes, I would." Eidolon admits "It would be fast?"

"Eeeh... our celebrations tend to last... some time... days, weeks." Thor says almost sheepishly as Eidolon rolls his eyes

"Yeah, Yeah... I wouldn't expect nothing less from a long-living race that loves drinking,"

"Haha! You got it right! And I know you would fit in just fine..." Thor puts his arm around Eidolon's shoulder as he pokes the black-clad hero's chest with a finger "My friends want to meet you too."

"I can't deny, it's sound fun..." Eidolon nods, making Thor smile "...and dangerous too."

"..."

"Doesn't the Convergence mess with the dimensional boundaries between the Realms? Even a small consequence of such cosmic event can cause considerable damage here on Earth." Eidolon says with a serious tone.

Thor also gets a little more serious "Now that you're talking about it... I mean, it would not destroy the planet or anything... But it would cause some trouble." He strokes his beard "Sometimes I forget that Midgard is fragile."

"Earth is not fragile... Humans are." Eidolon corrects "I'm still accepting your invitation if you have me..." He says making Thor smiles brightly "But I will make some preparations to protect the people the best I can. It's hard to punch the forces of the Universe, right? We can only minimize damage."

"True."

"I bet Dr. Foster would be really interested in such an astronomical event too. Did you talk with her about that?"

"I was just gonna do it before I saw you."

"Then you go give her the Project of her career and I will go meet with some people." Eidolon turns to his Norse friend and extends his hand "Call me when it's time to visit Asgard."

"Sure thing, my friend."

The two daps are enough to create a small shockwave that breaks some glass windows.

"Oops..." Thor cringes at what happened.

"Don't worry, I got this." Eidolons stop the shards from falling and fix the Windows easily enough before the two depart, each on in a direction. "See? Fragile..." He murmurs under his breath

....

New York

A certain guy was eating something from a food truck, sitting on a table close to the sidewalk when suddenly Eidolon himself appeared hovering above him.

The guy looks up, moving his cap a little so that he can see the source of the shadow that suddenly blocked the sun on his table, only to sigh at the sight of Eidolon.

"Now you're doing this on purpose..." He shakes his head in resignation

"I told you a cap is a horrible disguise for you, Cap." Eidolon says with a smile on his voice and sits unceremoniously in front of Captain America

"It was working just fine." Steve Rogers removes the cap and puts it on the table, cringing a little at the gasps of surprise from people around him.

He is still unused to the attention.

"Don't separate yourself from the people, Captain... Sometimes it's good to feel the good energy that we gave to them flowing back, you know what I mean? It can motivate us to keep going." Eidolon comments

"..."

"Entire generations exist because of you... They are grateful for that. It doesn't make your sacrifice a little easier to endure?"

"..." Captain America was not sure how to answer that.

Yes, sometimes seeing the people around him enjoying the freedom that he and his companions fought so hard to protect, is all he needs to "win the day".

"Well, maybe I was talking too much... Only you know what you're going through. Maybe you only want to be left alone and mind your own business and here I am being a busybody." The black-clad hero laughs

"No, I appreciate the concern. There are really few people nowadays that I can have a good and honest talk." Steve says

"Nothing brings people together like stopping an alien invasion led by the Norse god of lies." The two laugh

"So every time that I go out will I need to fear you appearing to reveal my disguise in front of other people?" Steve asks with a raised eyebrow

"Pretty much yes." Eidolon admits shamelessly "But it was coincidence really, I saw you by chance when I was going to the Helicarrier. By the way, aren't you staying in Washington?"

"Sometimes I come here just to see the city... New York is my home." Steve admits

"A good decision... You're a brave man for facing this strange world, Captain. I know a good therapist by the way, if you're interested..." Eidolon suggests

"No, I'm good..."

"Don't dismiss it that easily... Think about it a little." Eidolon interrupts "I remember that a certain member of the Howling Commandos was the first to look seriously into the PTSD issues... Everyone thinks that they don't need a therapist till it helps a little. And if it helps just a little, it will be worth it."

 "Uh... Okay. I will think about that..." Eventually, Steve agrees

"Thank you then, you would be surprised at how many problems can be solved if people just talked." Eidolon sighs almost morosely "Oh yeah, I still need to go to the Helicarrier, but now I don't feel like it..."

Then Eidolon appears to smile playfully "Why don't bring them here, right?" He says to Steve before looking around "Can any high clearance S.H.I.E.L.D. agent come here to talk with me? It's very important!" He says in a loud voice while looking around "Thank you!" Then he goes back to talk with Steve like it's all normal

"..."

"What? Do you think it will not work?" Eidolon tilts his head and asks

"No, I hate that it will work." Steve sighs while grabbing his drink

"Did they tell you about your neighbor?"

"Ugh... yes, they told me. I was very... angry." Steve says, his voice a little tight

"I can imagine..." Eidolon nods.

It's a sore spot this one, but he needs to ask

"Did you went to see her?" Eidolon asks in a more subsided tone

"Her" it's Peggy Carter, the talk went here because S.H.I.E.L.D. put her niece to watch over Steve, so obviously he knows about who Eidolon is talking about.

"Yes..." He says after some time

"..."

No words are needed to say anymore. Eidolon doesn't ask how it went or any other details, he just nods.

"Like I said... you're a brave man."

"..."

They talked a little more about light subjects, Eidolon telling some fun stories of heroism and strange situations he encounters.

"By the way, do you wanna bet if S.H.I.E.L.D will arrive here in under a minute?" Eidolon asks playfully

"That's a losing bet..." Steve scoffs "Normally they would already be here."

"Then a high-level agent is really coming..." Eidolon says "How about bet on who is coming? Natasha or Fury? Or Barton? Maybe Coulson?"

"Fine... Ten bucks on Natasha." Steve agrees and puts the money on the table

"Deal... And I bet that the Black Widown AND Fury will come." Eidolon laughs

"...tch. Son of a gun." Steve already accepted his loss "You're not cheating with your powers, right?"

"Took you long enough to be suspicious..." Eidolon still thinks Steve is a little gullible "But I would not cheat in a bet between friends. It's not even that much money anyway..."

Like on cue, less than a minute later a black SUV pulls up close to them loudly and Natasha Romanoff leaves the car together with Nick Fury, and walks to the two sitting heroes.

"Hi, Eidolon. Steve." Black Widow greets the two like old friends.

It's in her nature to act familiar like that with anyone that she knows at least a little, it makes them lower their guard... Normally

"Fury would be enough." Eidolon says in a flat tone

"Aah~, don't be like that~" Natasha pouts at his cold indifference "A beautiful woman came all the way here to see you."

"Hm, was Susan Storm coming?" Eidolon looks around

"Ha-ha. I bet it will be funny in the 13th time..." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

It's already an inner joke at this point, every time she says that, Eidolon replies with the same answer but using a different woman. It's his subtle way of calling her ugly. If all other women are more beautiful than her, then she is the ugliest one.

"Enough chit-chat." Fury interrupts the two "You wanna talk with me." He stares at Eidolon with his only functional eye

"First, ask for something to eat... Don't just use a table for free." Eidolon says and raises his hand to call the waiter, who nervously comes to their table "Give me a portion of fries with the money I just won from a bet." Eidolon asks the stuttering waiter while showing off the 10-dollar bill.

"Stealing from a veteran?" Natasha asks playfully

"Exactly like Uncle Sam." Eidolon answers without missing a beat.

"It's getting better... Especially with Steve here." She points at Captain America.

The man's re-emergence helped a little with the veteran issue in America.

Natasha and Fury, begrudgingly, asked for something to eat too, it's an awkward silence because Eidolon didn't appear to be in a hurry to speak first.

"We are all busy people here..." Fury starts.

"Don't worry, it will be worth your time." Eidolon interrupts him "I just don't want you to lose your appetite first."

"Excellent way of calming us." Natasha says sarcastically

"Wait for the food to arrive, and don't worry it's not something urgent." As he is talking that, someone shouts from afar

"Hey, Eidolon!! Enjoying some food, huh?!" A guy in a truck waves at the hero in a friendly way.

"More like official business, Kenneth." Eidolon waves back "How is Kathy and the kids?"

"They are all good! Thanks to you!" The trucker replies with a smile

"That's good to hear."

After that, the trucker goes on his way after honking a few times to the hero.

"..."

"Saved him during the Invasion." Eidolon explains after noticing the looks of the other three

"Do you know all the people that you saved by name?" Steve asks

"Yes." And the answer surprises him "But is not hard to remember Mr. Kenneth there. Great guy, has a small company, and used the trucks of his fleet to move things during the Invasion. When he saw me back then he asked me to check on his family on the other side of the city, because he couldn't get there and was helping people." Eidolon explains

"That's very nice." Steve agrees

Their food eventually arrive, the nervous waiter stuttering a little while putting their order down.

Eidolon grabs a fry between two fingers attracting Natasha's attention.

"Are you gonna eat that?" Natasha asks curiously. Eidolon never eats anything because of his mask.

"..." He stares at her and then throws the fry into the air, tilting his head up to catch it.

Then... instead of the mask being retracted, a zig-zag line appears on his half-mask. Then the mask opens like the jaw of a beast with pointy teeth. Even with it opening widely, it's impossible to see inside, it's all shadowy black.

The fry falls on his mouth perfectly and he eats without a problem while looking at Natasha.

"Tch. One day I will figure out your identity."

"When it doesn't matter anymore, I will tell you." Eidolon shrugs his shoulders. In the end, he would not even give them the satisfaction of "discovering" his identity.

"Why do you hide your identity? Stark and others are very open about it." Steve asks, genuinely curious

"Reasons... I have people to protect, but is more in a way to show solidarity to the heroes that don't live in towers." Eidolon explains, making Steve nodding in understanding.

Eidolon takes another fry between his fingers, but this time instead of throwing it at his face, a mouth opens on his palm and the fry falls there smoothly after he turns his wrist.

"Your girlfriend will be a very happy woman." Natasha says with a tone full of innuendo while eyeing the mouth on his palm

"Right?" He matches her energy and to go a little further he turns his palm to her and a long tongue goes out of the mouth and snatches a fry, like a frog.

"..."

"..."

"That's weird..." Steve says

"Yeah, a little..." Eidolon admits. He can't even joke a little and Black Widow is now giving him bedroom eyes "Let's talk about something a little more serious now."

"Finally..." Fury complains, but it has little impact when he is enjoying his own food.

Eidolon then raises his hand and a transparent bubble covers them for an instant before disappearing. A second later they notice that they can't hear any sound coming from the outside world.

"Just to keep our conversation private..." Eidolon says

"Neat trick..." Natasha praises while watching normally noisy events happening around them, but not hearing anything.

Eidolon accepts the praise and morphs his face into a more serious one before speaking.

"The thing is... Thor just now remembered me that the Convergence is about to happen." Eidolon says in a calm tone

"The Convergence?" Fury asks, eye focused on Eidolon

"I'm already not liking this conversation."

"Well, to explain it in simple terms... Do you remember when I said, during the Invasion, that Yggdrasil is like a Cosmic Nimbus that connects all Nine Realms? So even if they are very far from each other, they are still connected through Yggdrasil, and is possible to travel between them pretty easily with the Bifrost." Eidolon gives a summarized explanation to them

"Nerd talk with Stark and Reed, right? I think I remembered you saying something like that." Natasha says with a frown of remembrance

"When Thor's friends appeared, right?" Steve apparently remembers too, even if he does not understand the talk has a good memory.

"Yes... So, Yggdrasil, Bifrost, all that... The Convergence happens when all Nine Realms and Yggdrasil align, so... The boundaries between the planets get even more... unclear." He tries to soften the blow the best he could

"Unclear? What do you mean 'unclear'?" Natasha asks seriously, frowning.

"It means that the Nine Realms will get even closer... Too close to comfort indeed. The Nine Realms will overlap each other in some parts, like they are occupying the same space... Partially at least." As expected, his words shocked the other three

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Ugh, does this place sell vodka?" Natasha shakes her head like she is dizzy

"What will be the consequences of this... Convergence?" Nick Fury jumps to the part that really matters

"And how do you stop it?" Captain America asks his own important question

"Well, there's no stopping it..." Eidolon says with a sigh "The Convergence is a Natural Phenomenon, like a Tsunami or the Aurora Borealis... But on a much bigger scale, a Cosmic Event. And like a sandstorm, we can only crouch down, grit our teeth, and let it pass by us."

And he continues after eating another fry "And you're not gonna like it, the consequences are very... unpredictable. It can vary by a great margin."

"There's no records about it?" Fury asks

"Yeah, what Thor said?" Natasha adds

"The Convergence only happens once every 5 thousand years, even Thor was not born on the last one, there were not even a lot of humans at that time. And as much the Convergence will not destroy the planet, it's hard to imagine the damage that it can cause in today's society." Eidolon answers

"What kind of damage are you talking about? What do you think it can happen?" Fury asks intensely looking at him "Give me your best prediction." He urges

Eidolon pauses for an instant "From catastrophic proportions... At least bigger than the invasion." He finally says

"..."

"..."

"...."

"We are talking about sharing space with other 8, and much more dangerous, planets... An entire city of ours can end up being transported to the Realm of the Dead, Helheim. If the cold winds of Nilfheim hit New York, it could be worse than what happened when Loki invaded with his Frost Giants. And it will be even worse if the fires of Muspelheim cross to this side..." Each other that Eidolon says shocking them more and more, his description is really nothing less than catastrophic "And it can be worse..."

"It can be? Really?" Steve asks in disbelief

"Yep, now if the Realms overlaps it will be possible for our people to end up stranded somewhere in the other 8 Realms... But the inverse can also happen..."

"Are you saying that inhabitants of the other realms can fall here too?" Fury asks with a stony face

"Yes, with luck harmless individuals... But it can be ferocious beasts, evil spirits, or... bad people." Eidolon says the last part with a strange intonation.

"Bad people" is a very broad term. Criminals, bloodlust warriors, psychotic sorcerers, warlords, or simply people who will not bow down to Midgard rules and end up creating chaos. All of them are a danger to Earth.

Natasha sighs "Aah, Fury... I'm not being paid enough for this."

"Me neither." The one-eyed director of S.H.I.E.L.D. says with a very unhappy face

"Why wouldn't Thor warn us sooner?" Steve says, equally in shock

"Different in perspectives... To him, it's like seeing Halley's Comet. There will even be festivities around the other Realms... Midgard is the fragile one." Eidolon explains that the Norse God is not at fault "We are left alone precisely because we are weak. It was all good till now..."

"So we have the short end of the stick this time." Fury says, still unhappy "If we can't stop this... Then what we can do?" But he is still focused on the problem ahead and does not panic.

In a strange way, he trusts that Eidolon has a plan. He would not be talking about the subject so calmly otherwise.

"We can try to control the affected area... Instead of wormholes appearing all over the globe, we can limit to a small area and stay on guard to protect the rest of the Planet." Eidolon says his plan

Steve and Natasha relax a little

"It will be much more easy to work like that..." Steve says

Natasha was calmer for another reason "So you're gonna act like a gatekeeper? She asks

"Obviously... Any dangerous individual or even cataclysms will not pass by me and affect normal people's lives." He assures them full of confidence

"And it will be that easy?" Fury is not easily convinced of anything

"Well, dealing with the effects of the Convergence will not be hard if we narrow down the area affected, but I will need your help to evacuate the designated area. And we will also need to work on how to control the Convergence." The hero says

"So the most important..." Fury comments dissatisfied "We don't even know how to put your plan in motion."

Eidolon doesn't care about Fury's rude words.

"Give me a break, I was only remembered of the Convergence half an hour ago. I haven't even started working on this yet, but I will figure something out. And you all should work on that too... Try to contact Dr. Erik Selvig." He says as he eats another fry "If we work separately we can maybe see things the other doesn't see. I will travel to the other side with Thor, so if I'm unavailable you guys can do things without me."

"How much time do we have?" Fury asks

"Less than a month." Eidolon's answer makes Fury's eye twitch

"Less than a month? We have nothing yet, we don't even know where to start." Natasha says in a helpless tone

"Try England." Eidolon suddenly says, making them focus on his again.

His eyes are now transformed into the All Seeing Eyes of God while he looks at the Horizon.

"England will be the focal point... The place where we will narrow the effects of the Convergence." He continues

"Can't we choose another place?" Steve asks, a little worried about the people. "A desert or another remote place would be better."

"Unfortunately no, narrowing to someplace in England is the best we can do... That's why you guys will need to evacuate people after we locate the X, Y (0,0) point." Eidolon says and finally stands up.

It seems that his business here is over. He has work to do alone.

"Can't you give something more? England is a big place..." Natasha tries to get more information

Eidolon pauses for a moment "Try the Stonehenge... It's not from Earth. Apparently, it comes from another place through the last Convergence. I'm not saying it will be the Focal Point, but it's a start... Take Dr. Selvig there."

With those words Eidolon flies away at high speeds, breaking the sound barrier when h is high enough.

"Agent Romanoff, you know what to do." Fury says while still looking in the direction where Eidolon disappeared

"Yes, sir." She stands up, more serious now.

"There's something I can do?" Steve asks

"For now no. We are like a headless chicken, but we will need Captain America to calm people in the future" Fury says to Steve "And there's always chance of things going bad... So stay sharp, Cap."

Captain America nods determined.

........

Eidolon/ Hector P.O.V.

On this same day, I fly through all of England. If someone looks carefully, they would notice that Eidolon's activities are suspiciously focused on this country.

Obviously, I will mask my actions by solving crimes around here and in other places accordingly. And I can be really stealthy when I want.

The whole big entrance with the "I am here" is also a good cover-up to the fact that I can fly invisible, intangible, and undetectable. Well, being flashy is kinda cool, and puts people at ease.

"Yes... It's starting..." I say while floating above in a certain isolated area.

I stare forward with my All Seeing Eyes of God and reach my hand to the empty air.

"The space here is slightly thinner..." I comment then I fly a little higher and look at the distance "Gravity is also acting almost imperceptibly weird."

"What should I do, Master?" Cortana asks in my mind

"Bring the Exoscanners and Quantiscopes, and deploy an ADA(Anomalous Detection Array)." I instruct her.

"The Exoscanners are calibrated to detect extra-territorial activity in the empty space, so it will take some time to adjust to work on Earth's atmosphere."

"It's okay, take your time... and you know what? Take the extra ones and put them around Earth... If the Convergence is aligning the Nine Realms it means that the 'line' is coming from somewhere, right?" I say while looking up

"So if we can find from where it's come from, we can calculate the route, and speed and even pinpoint the central axis sooner." Cortana gets what I mean fast, I love this woman.

"And also bring the Xenoscanners and Vitatrackers." I add

"Trying to keep tabs if anyone will come from the other side, Master?"

"This too, but I'm more worried about any humans getting caught in a wormhole and ending up someplace in the Nine Realms." A little extra effort to prevent someone's bad fate is worth it. "Add the lifefield sensors in the places that I will flag now." I put a finger on my forehead and show her where I'm detecting the most anomalous activity.

We have less than a month, it's a period that can be short and long.

I can prepare against the Convergence.

But I know that it will not end up with only that.

"Let's go study the inhabitants of the Nine Realms physiology." I announce

"And how to kill them efficiently, right?" Cortana says with a knowing tone

"Yes." She knows me too well at this point.

"I think most will die if you remove their head, Master..." She says sarcastically

....

Space Station

Luckily I spent that insurmountable amount of hours copying what I could from the Kamar-Taj library. Heh, Wong was so suspicious... It was so funny~ Maybe I should go visit the bald guy sometime. Slap his head a little...

Anyway, let's study the Nine Realms, more specifically the magic(again) and even more specifically the Dark Elves. I will not trust that it will be only them that will be a problem, but even so... Let's focus on them.

"Oh, I knew it... The Aether is another thing and not the Reality Stone." I say out loud after passing through a book. Now I'm 90% sure that it will be like with the Tesseract and the Space Stone... They are two different objects, like in the Comics, but... "Ugh, where is the Reality Stone then?"

Sometimes I envy those MCs of fanfics that follow the MCU to the "T". I would have already collected all Infinity Stones at this point... Oh well, not the Soul Stone...

Yeah, maybe being different from the MCU is a good thing.

"Master, Harley is asking to come here?" Cortana informs me.

The Space Station is off the limits to most of my summons... It's a dangerous place where I do dangerous stuff. When the summon leaves, it's not easy to come back.

One of the reasons they want to leave so badly is that they are kinda confined and have limited places to go.

"Maybe I should create a disposable base in an asteroid or something.." But the Station repairs itself... Such a cheat... "Bring her here..." I give permission to bring Harley.

After some seconds, the space some meters to my side shifts, and a transparent double door appears, opening to reveal Harley. It's a portal created by Isabella's powers.

There's a whole process to come here... Harley asks Isabella to transport her here, Isabella asks Cortana then in turn she asks me, then after my permission, Cortana gives the coordinates to Isabella... Then we move the Space Station away so that the coordinates become useless.

It's not that I'm paranoid, even though I am... But I do not underestimate other people. If I can track strange shifts in space, others can do it too.

"Panacotta!!" Harley shouts and throws herself at me.

"This nickname is too mouthful." I say it not for the first time as I catch her before she can bring us both to the ground. With her latched on me I go back to sit in my comfy reclined chair.

"I want my mouth full of something..." She whispers at me, her hand creeping close to my crotch

"Behave... I will give you your reward for your hard work later." I reply in kind, grabbing a handful of her ass.

We have a short intimate moment before going back to normal.

"What'cha doing??" She asks looking around the holo screens

"There will be a problem in the near future, so I'm studying our potential enemies." I explain

"Oooh~" She looks half-interested

"So, how it went in the X-mansion?"

"Hmm, I guess it ended well even though they didn't trust me at the beginning..." She looks annoyed

"Well, you can't blame them..."

"Hey!" She starts protesting outraged "Fair enough..." But concedes after a second

I give her some pats on the back "At least you are self-aware. Don't worry, actions speak louder than looks and words, eventually, you will create a reliable reputation because you're good. And did you like being the Therapist of Superheroes?" That's important.

"It's surprisingly fun!" She beams at me "Well, not that surprisingly... Like c'mon... But it was very interesting to see how this whole Super thingie, or Meta as you say, affects someone's psyche. Maybe I will write a paper..." She taps her chin with the tip of her finger

"It can be a good idea. I can provide and make your life very easy, so find something to occupy yourself." I encourage her. I don't want my people to fall into boredom.

I want them to pursue their passion and improve themselves while working under me.

"How did the sessions go? Are you able to help a little Luara, Rogue, and Jean?" I ask while she snuggles on my lap

"Well, the first session is just to have them comfortable... We just had some girl talk." She says, her head in my chest "But even feral girl talked a little so it's a win. In the end, she was even bonding with Brooding Batgirl."

"Laura and Cassandra?" I ask strangely

"Yep, ya can imagine the 'talk' between the two." Her words make me laugh. Most silent interaction in the world.

"Feral Girl has her trauma issues, but it's nothing irreversible... The slow or the fast approach can work. She likes you, ya know that?"

"...doesn't this fall in the Patient Confidentiality contract?" I raise my eyebrow at her

"Bleh" Harley shows me her tongue "Let's just say that is gossip... Feral Girl spent her whole life having a figure of authority ordering her around, she basically doesn't have her own thoughts... The closest to that is with her dead mother and you. You can help her, you know? She respects you."

"This is strange... So I killed her former bosses so now I'm her boss?"

"A very simple way to explain her dependency of direction."

"She will outgrow this..." It's the only I say

"She has anger issues too."

Now I scoff "No surprise."

"Southern Goth Girl is basically the Poster Girl of Inferiority Complex... She basically has the textbook version of it. Now, she will eventually and naturally outgrow it when she stops being an edgy teen, but it can leave some mental scars that can cause Social Impairment/Disability." Harley explains

"..." That's a good analysis. Sometimes I forget that she is good.

"She likes you too... If you give her a hard fuck and call her beautiful she will be healed.

"..." And here we go... Now I remember why I sometimes forgot that she is a good professional "I don't think that this is a real treatment."

"Did ya know that in the past vibrators were created to treat women's mental problems like hysteria?" She argues, defending her unconventional method

"Yes, I know that..."

"A good shag from you and that Emo Girl will be all unicorns and rainbows."

"..."

"And Missy Redhead..."

"Okay, Okay... Let's stop here." I interrupt her before she can make things even weirder

"I was just gonna say that she is the hardest one to crack, but we ended the session on good terms... But that girl has undressed issues, I tell ya. A lot of undressed issues." Harleys whispers to me in a conspiratorial tone.

"..." If only she knew "Just try to make her mature enough to handle the pain that she is destined to face..." I wish Jean to be strong when the time comes.

"..." Harley looks at me from the corner of her eye "I was half kidding about healing those girls using your dick, but why are you so against trying to add them to our little... group?" 'Group' reads harem.

"It would not work... You and the others are bound to me through special circumstances, I have all the time in the world to make it work. Which other woman would accept share like this?" I shrug.

With some exceptions, modern women will not be convinced. This is not an ecchi world with hentai logic.

"You would be surprised..." Harley whispers before looking at me a little more intensely "Do you want to know what I think, Mistah H?"

"Go on..."

"I think you are obsessed with security. You don't give a first step before flying and checking the path from above."

"..." What a hell...

"You are afraid of the trouble and hurt that pursuing a relationship with other women would cause... To you and to them. That's why you are only comfortable in pursuing a relationship with 'us'."

"Are you... 'therapying' me?" I ask with an easy smile while pinching her buttcheek

"Kyah! This word doesn't exist!" She squirms a little under my touch, especially after I start tickling her.

"I'm not afraid of getting hurt... Not anymore at least. It's just that... *Haah* I know that I have the potential to be a womanizer and seduce a lot of women, but if I do that it would not last." I try to explain my thoughts

"..." Harley on her part stays quiet, a rare moment this one.

"There's no way that a relationship with the women out there would not be rocky and full of hardships... So I don't actively try so that these hard moments happen in the beginning, do you get it? The hard part is to start a relationship."

"Yes... Go on." She says in a different tone of voice.

I know what she is doing... I'm suddenly in a therapy session, but I don't care.

"I will let things to destiny... If it happens, it happens." I shrug "I have a lot of luck with women anyway."

"Aren't you afraid of losing the opportunity of having a relationship because of your inaction?" She asks

"...no. How can I feel the loss of something that I never have?"

"Is this your true feelings or only a cover-up?" She presses

"...a cover-up." I admit "In truth, I'm a kind of a greedy bastard that wants a lot of girls to love me. Not to put in a harem palace or anything, genuinely love me."

"And you want to acquire this genuine love without doing anything?" She asks while rolling her eyes at me

"..."

"You're a considerate man, my dear Pannacotta. You really think about others first... You think that even the act of courting someone is tricking them into your harem." She pats my head comfortingly

"..." Tch... That's accurate. "It's not only that... People here are too frivolous in relationships. Remember when I say that I'm greedy? Let's say that I get into a relationship with a girl here... But it doesn't work out, she can't deal with the harem thing and leaves me... I think I will be a little mad when she eventually finds another guy."

"Soooo... You are afraid of being hurt." She looks at me with that look of "See?"

"...No... I only want long-lasting relationships. I'm a serious guy. If I add girls that come and go, this harem will really become what I don't want it to be... This is not the whim of a pervert, it's the serious and planned thought of a guy that will take responsibility for the women who loves him and reciprocates the best he can."

"Hmm, I see... I see." She nods to herself "Your perfectionism is showing even in this aspect of your life. But let's talk about his topic later... First, aren't your way of thinking mutually incompatible?" She asks

"...??"

"At the same time, you think that you can keep all the women in your harem happy you think yourself incapable of keeping the women that you conquer in your harem? Strange, no?"

"..." Son of a... Okay, I need to think a little about it "Well, there are things that I can't give... Like exclusivity. And it would be a perfectly reasonable reason to leave me."

"I see, I see... A reasonable concern, but you know that this is an uncontrollable aspect of your romantic relationships, right? It's really worth worrying so much about it, instead of focusing your efforts in places that you can improve to make the women of your life happy?"

"..."

"If you're honest from the beginning, they will know where they are getting into... And if they agree, just make sure that they don't regret it."

"...but they can suddenly one day decide that they are not okay with the whole sharing thing. It happens all the time in relationships... Suddenly things change, and people change opinions... I can't control that." I argue. With the summons, I at least have the security of our bond.

"Aaah... Control. Interesting... Let's talk about that-"

"Okay, Okay, Okay!" I interrupt her "Let's stop this surprise therapy session here. You are really good, by the way." I stand up and carry her in my arms.

"Don't deflect!" She says between laughs as I spin her around

"Don't worry, I'm not..." I say seriously, stopping to look at her in her eyes "I will keep each of your words in my mind and heart and think about them. It's just that is complicated Harley... Each person is different, I need to know them, trust them, and really like them... To expose myself this way."

"..."

"My harem... is a big weakness... The flaw of my Character... A gap in my armor... I can't let just anyone know or enter there that easily." I try to explain my thoughts.

It's hard, my thoughts also can change... It changed recently thanks to my experience in the One Piece World, it changed after I tried that "unconventional" method with Harley.

"But again, I will keep your words in mind... And I'm not afraid of experimenting and hitting a wall, so I will try to put this into practice." I have an idea... A certain someone that I liked and slipped away... "And I didn't even put a fight..."

"It's cliche, but... 'real love is worth fighting for'." Harley says. Oh, I said the last part loudly.

Harley hugs me tightly "Okie dokie, Mistah H. Talking as women, you will be surprised how many would accept being your haremmetes."

I can't help but laugh and roll my eyes.

"You know, Harley? I'm not the only one that naturally makes people fall in love..." I give her a peck on her lips "In the beginning, I was only fond of you but you're making me like you more and more... I think I love you, girl~" I confess. At least, I'm loving having her around.

"Of course ya love me! I'm totes adorbs~" She throws her head back to laugh.

A.N.: Hello there. 

If you like this story, consider supporting me in the p.a.t.r.e.o.n... There are chapters ahead there.

Here is the Link: (without spaces)

patreon . com / Evans 269

Hope you all enjoyed it, make a comment because interaction motivates me to keep writing. Thanks for reading.

Till next time and stay good y'all.

Bye Bye~


章 91: Love and Gacha

The former vampire Death Dealer, now Hector's subordinate, Selene enters her hotel room to find an intruder... No, not an intruder.

"Sir..." She greets him with a nod

Hector is looking down at Monster Metropolis through the window, but he does not come in person, he is not even using his normal appearance. He appears only as a dark smoky silhouette.

"Once..." He started without even taking his eyes off the window "Once when I was a normal teen, I was asked what kind of fantasy creature I would like to be... My answer was a vampire."

"..."

"At the same time, I would hate being a vampire, they have too many weaknesses... Crucifix, holy water, garlic, sunlight, running water, need to drink blood, they can't enter a home without being invited first..."

"..." Selene finds it a little funny, all those superstitions, but she does not show it on her face.

"But obviously, my young brain couldn't accept those weaknesses... And with my huge ego, I wouldn't accept less than a vampire that has no weakness, like a True Ancestor or whatever... Only this kind I would accept for throwing my humanity away. Do you know that Vampires are related to Dragons? 'Dracul'... I also like necromancy."

"..." She keeps her silence, knowing that he will reach somewhere with this talk.

"Well, the thing is vampires are a very broad subject with many powers and variations... Magical, virus, curse, another species entirely. I like that... The broadness of it, but..." His voice suddenly gets cold "I would hate being the ones that are no different than animals. Bloodsucker parasites that are not much more than pests." He slowly turns to Selene, the two white circles that represent his eyes staring deeply at her soul "Tell me, Selene... With which type of vampire are we dealing here?"

"..." The former Death Dealer gulps imperceptibly. If they were in her former world, she feels like he would exterminate her entire race "It's... a very broad answer." She uses his own words carefully "For what I saw... There are some very bad, most of them truly. But I also met some that are simply living their lives... few. Very few." She answers truthfully.

"I see..." Hector says slowly "It would be a pity to extinguish a race." He says casually, but he is 100% serious. "You can relax... Sorry if I startled you." He says more casually to her.

"..."

"It's that just now when I was sending this Astral Projection here, I saw a vampire underground party... They are feasting on the humans that they lured there. And in the adjacent room... A slaughterhouse... Even after I cleaned the place, the bad mood didn't go away."

"It's understandable..."

The Dark Projection turns around to face the window again.

"I don't have a good opinion of this place. I scouted over here briefly and I was met with only disappointment... After checking the palace and seeing the queen having an orgy, I was too disgusted to continue and left." He comments off-handledly "Now I dumped this job on you... Sorry."

"It's no problem." She answers dutifully

"Huhu~ I like you, Selene." His sudden words surprised her "I was surrounded by very... excentric people... No that I don't like it, but is good to have someone serious like you around."

"..." She doesn't know how to take the praise, so she only nods slowly

"Now, tell me how were your days around here?" Hector keeps a casual tone like he is just a friend who wants to know some news.

Like a soldier, Selene starts narrating her experiences "I received a little prejudice when I arrived here."

"Oh..."

"Not on the level of being attacked, but I received many unfriendly looks."

"Isn't this only because you are a new face? This is a closed community after all." Hector suggests

"I thought that at first, but later I discovered that is because of the war for dominance that happened here for centuries. The succubi fought the vampires for supremacy, and as you can see the succubi won." Selene explains

"Against Dracula?"

"Dracula did not participate for long... Apparently, many high-level vampires did not care. It seems the 'nobles' stay in Europe." Monster Metropolis is beneath Manhattan. "Dracula fought for some time and then retreated for unknown reasons."

"Depending on the timeline, vampire hunters must have occupied his time." Hector deduces. "The guy has a lot of enemies. Even Moon Knight..." He chuckles "Will you have problems staying here?"

"No. The ostracization doesn't go beyond unfriendly gazes and maybe some people trying to pick up a fight." She shakes her head

"Vampires are strong and unless they are dumb... Wait, they are. Be prepared for some fights."

Selene nods "From the rest it looks like a normal city. Without fair law enforcement of course... There are lodgings, shops..."

"What is the currency here?" Hector interrupts

"Outside world currency it's accepted here without a problem. American Dollars and Euros. Gold is the best, other precious metals and gems too. But you can also exchange... blood and body parts." She says that last part slowly, paying attention to how Hector would react.

"Oh..." She can't say much when he is a faceless projection, but he appears unaffected. "I guess they are using it as food or as magic components. Many here are magic-users after all."

After that, Selene tells Hector the little she knows. Truth be told, it's all something he would discover if he passed an eye over the city more attentively... But he really is not that interested in this city for now, beyond how they treat humans.

A city of monsters sounds cool and all... But there are dinosaurs in Antarctica and there's Atlantis... Cooler places.

"Tell me, Selene... Would you like to become queen of this place?" Once again Hector says a huge statement with a casual tone of voice

"...what?"

"It's okay if you are not interested... I understand there are people that don't want the responsibility and troubles that come with being a leader." Hector waves his hand casually "I can always put another one, or an identity of mine in the place... You can be an enforcer or something."

"I... I..." The conversation is going a little too fast for her

"Calm down... I'm only saying. It's not like I will go there in that palace and kill everyone to make myself king..." He chuckles deeply "I could tho."

She can almost hear the malicious grin spreading on his face, in whatever place his real body is right now.

"Anyway, just continue living normally here... Make friends, talk with people, buy things. No need to put yourself at risk by the way, but I guess this worry is unfounded... After I enhanced you, there's not much here that can hurt you, but don't get complacent. Magic is bullshit."

"I will be careful." She nods seriously

Then the Dark Projections shifts a little and two black suitcases emerge from Hector's torso.

He puts them on the ground and points at one "All kinds of weapons in one... And all kinds of money in the other. Even human organs."

"..."

"And here..." He extends his hand and a mask appears on his palm.

A black mask without any notable features beyond the two eye-shapped holes, that are also covered by a dark glass.

"I was playing around with one of my abilities. Trying to create items of powers, I was having a little trouble making them have some sort of connection with the user so that they can be activated at will."

Selene accepts the maks carefully.

"This mask has magic and meta-powers that would help a spy... A compulsion to be ignored by people unless you attract attention to yourself, protection against poison and other nasty things, many kinds of detection powers..." Hector explains "It will hide that you are a vampire and protect you in other ways. Don't mind if it breaks... It's only a prototype." Hector says, he always worries that some of his summons will prioritize other things instead of their lives. To him, their lives are the most important.

"Thank you..." She stares at the mask

"Try it."

And she does as ordered. The mask fits perfectly and it goes well with her outfit.

"It combines with you...When I figure out how to make the powers be activated by the user instead of being a permanent passive effect, I will give you the finished product."

Much like the pieces of jewelry that are given to Shego and other summons with abnormal features, when you put it the effect starts. Hector is trying to make it more user-friendly, without having to add a button or anything.

That's why most of the powers that he puts in items and weapons are passive.

Unless he gives life to the item, of course.

"Don't forget. No need to do much, if you want to enter a group, that's good. If you want to refuse invitations, that's good too. You're strong and I'm backing you up. Collect information till the day we control this place."

"Shouldn't I try to prevent humans from being killed?" Selene asks, her voice a little muffled by the mask

Hector pauses, at first he would say yes but...

"I'm gonna say something controversial now..." He sighs "Not that I'm victim blaming, but a good part of those people that are captured by vampires kinda... have a part of the blame. I just saw an idiot follow a girl in a shady underground nightclub where he passed through a slaughterhouse and was raining blood... Like... Dude... I know that goth girls are hard to refuse, but..." Hector shakes his head "You probably can lure a lot of men to dark places yourself, Selene."

"..."

"What I'm trying to say is that people who failed the Natural Selection test are not at the top of my list of priorities. Like those idiots trying to summon demons..." He warned, and that only made the stupid try harder. The smart ones at least, are living relaxed lives without wandering dark places.

He facepalms, looking done "No one is safe and we live taking risks... But we have to agree that some risks are bigger than others. Don't get all surprised if you go to a show, a nightclub, or an open music festival and something bad happens... Again, not victim blaming but I never had my drink spiked at home, or got in a fight while reading a book in my room. Those places are dangerous because they are prone to put you in dangerous situations. Like walking in a dark alley at night."

He groans "Maybe is my old soul talking but what is the fun in a nightclub anyway? Loud music, sweaty unknown people, flashing lights... A drunk idiot bumps into you and then you have a fight in your hands. The idiot can even hold an unreasonable grudge and shoot you later..."

"..." Selene listens to his rant in silence.

He really has an old man's soul.

"Well, that's why... I'm not gonna turn my back on those idiots with no sense of danger, but we can't do it half-assedly either, Selene. Let's try to deal with the root discreetly."

She nods

Once again he sighs and looks through the window "... if everything goes well I will not need to commit any war crime... I like vampires... It would be such a pity."

Selene shudders for all vampires in the world.

.....

Mary Jane

Mary Jane-Watson is having a little problem.

Since she fell off with Hector her mood has been weird. She has been... not sad, more like lethargic, unmotivated... The days pass through her while she stays on auto-pilot.

She feels a sense of loss that confuses her. If she thinks about it, she didn't lost anything... They are barely a thing. But that emptiness is still there...

It was such a brief period of time, but the void that was created is inconceivable in her mind. This emptiness that she is trying to fill by socializing with other people.

But is hard to hold a conversation. Her peers sound so dull. It's almost mean of her to think it but is how she feels.

With Hector, the talk would flow smoothly and now... She sighs... It's hard to compare.

Right now at the end of the school day, she was approached by Rand Robertson, one of her friends who is on the football team with Flash. Nice guy, chill, and a good friend...

But she can see from afar his intentions when he approached her right now in the lockers.

"Aren't you going out with Sally, Rand?" Mary Jane closes her locker and turns to face him

"Well... We are giving each other time..." The big teen says with a sheepish smile for being called out that openly.

"Hmm." Mary Jane keeps her eyebrows raised while looking at him dubiously "If this is some 'dare' or 'bet' I am gonna kick you where you don't want to be kicked... And I bet you are not wearing a jockstrap now."

"Ah c'mon babe... You know that I'm not like that." He smiles at her smoothly

She crosses her arm in front of her chest in a defensive gesture but does not shots down the guy, she can at least talk with him a little. This problem with Sally looks like some juicy gossip...

As they two chat a little, Mary Jane notices something from the corner of her eye... Hector.

He was there, with his arms crossed, leaning with his shoulder in his locker, staring at her... at her chatting with Rand with the most impassive face of the Impassive Faces. If she searched it on the internet, his face would probably appear first.

She really can't detect any emotion from him... No anger, no jealousy, no sadness... None of the emotions that she would like to see on his face now.

And Hector does not avoid his gaze embarrassedly like many would, no... Hector is not like that. He keeps looking and looking... Like he was curious to see what she will do. Almost like he is daring her to do something.

While she is distracted, nervous even, by Hector's gaze, for some reason Rand suddenly thinks that it is a good idea to go for a kiss.

"!" Mary Jane's eyes widen as she notices what is happening.

She panics a little, alternating her gaze between Hector and Rand.

She has some thoughts about letting Rand kiss her, a small ugly, and vindictive part of her wants to hurt Hector just a bit... That emotionless bastard. Hurt him just like he hurt her...

...but she is not like that. She is smart enough to not fall into the trap of going into an "irresponsible" phase because of a heartbreak.

And beyond her vindictive pettiness, there's a bigger feeling inside her, a gut instinct, telling her that she will regret doing that. Like it will close a door forever.

"Whoa, whoa... Sorry Rand." She dodged his advances and escapes from between him and the lockers "You should go solve things with Sally." She gives some slaps on his arms and walks away.

She steals some glances from where Hector's direction... only to not find him there. He just disappeared, looking around she couldn't see him anywhere in the hallway. For some reason, she wanted to explain herself, but she quashed that feeling. She has nothing to explain to him.

"That's all I needed... Having hallucinations." She massages her forehead as she walks to the entrance of the school with her eyes closed

"Hallucinations? Are you sleeping well?"

"Yike!" She jolts in surprise because of the proximity of the voice that just addressed her and heard her saying weird things.

Turning fast she sees just him, Hector. Looking at her with a calm, albeit concerned, expression. How he sneaked on her remains a mystery.

"Hello, Mary Jane." He greets her in that smooth and deep tone of voice that she will never admit that she missed. They didn't talk since that day "Are you alright?"

"Hector..." 'Wait, I am angry with him, right? Right??' "Hmpf, none of your business." She scoffs and turns her head away.

"..."

Two seconds passed and she noticed that maybe the best course of action would be walking away too... Now it's awkward.

Maybe she didn't want to walk away, maybe she yearned for some talk. For closure if anything.

"Do you want a ride home?" He offers, probably concerned with her well-being, or maybe he also wants to talk with her.

"Yes... Thank you." She decides to accept. Like with that dodged kiss, she feels like she will regret otherwise. But still trying to play it cool, not even looking in his direction.

.....

"..." The ride home is silent between them, only the music playing makes the situation slightly bearable. "La Vie En Rose" by Edith Piaf.

Mary Jane looks through the window while Hector drives with his eyes focused on the road. At this point, she knows Hector a little. She knows him enough to know that this is a guy who is not affected by awkwardness and that he is comfortable in any silence.

That's why she is surprised that he was the one who talked first.

"So... You and Randolph?" He asks in an even voice

'Randolph...' She giggles a little remembering that this is Rand's name, Hector also has this thing that he likes to say someone's full name. Rarely does he use a nickname... It is like this with Gwen, and it is like this with her... At least now. She remembers when he called her MJ1.

"No..." She answers while still looking through the window "He tried. I avoided it. Only that. End of the story."

"I see..."

"Why?" She finally turns to him, a mocking smirk on her lips "Are you jealous?"

"Yes."

"..."

He admitted it so easily and without hesitation, that he wiped the teasing smirk off Mary Jane's face as fast as his answer.

"You... You..." She really doesn't know how to feel about it now. Can she even tease him now? "Huff! The Enemy of Shame!" She rolls her eyes and goes back to look at the window.

"..."

"..."

The ride continues in silence after that...

Inwardly... Mary Jane is a little happy. She supports her elbow in the car door and hides her small smile with her hand as her mind goes miles for hours to think what to say next.

"Mary Jane... It will not take long to arrive at your house, but I have something to talk with you. It will be okay if we take a detour and park somewhere?" Hector asks

"...fine." She answers after looking at his face. His normal face, that never betrays him and shows his inner feelings.

Hector drives just a little off the path, parking in a public but quiet place not far from her home. She appreciates the gesture, even if this talk ends as badly as the last one, she can simply get out of the car and go home on foot. After slamming the door, of course.

Hector sighs while pulling the handbrake after stopping. Mary Jane admonishes herself internally for looking too much at his veiny forearm. Being alone with him now and in a car... relives some memories. Some hot and steamy memories...

"How have you been, Mary Jane?" Hector turns to her after removing his seatbelt, starting very diplomatically

"Good... Very good." She lies while nodding to him and herself. "And you?"

He gives her a one-shoulder shrug "It had its ups and downs, but it got better recently... More ups than downs."

"Good to hear that."

"I will start College... Next week is my last in High School." He says while paying attention to her reaction

"Oh... That's... good to hear too." Her voice was a little off.

"..."

"..."

"Mary Jane..." Hector calls her softly

"Yes?" She seemed to be a little off but focused when he called her name

"I love you."

"!!! Wh-what? WhaaaaAAaaaaAaaaat?" She was taken aback, almost like she was lightly pushed sometimes. Her vocabulary capacity dropped considerably and she can only squeeze an off-tone 'what' "*Ahem* I mean, what?" There's a surge of emotions inside her, that she can't even identify, much less control.

"Hm, I don't know how you can interpret what I said in any other way..." He deadpans

"Shut up!" She gives his arm a light and fast slap "I was surprised because... It was... Whaaaaaaat?" His words hit her again and her jaw dropped one more time

At this point, Hector can't keep a straight face and chuckles, and then facepalms. She was almost thinking that he was messing with her with some cruel prank, but then he says

"Why do you have to be so cute? Ugh... Argh! Just... Argh!" It almost looks like he is holding back the urge to hug her or pinch her cheeks.

"..." Despite herself, she got all fidgety hearing him say that. A thought crossed her mind... Other guys try so hard to get a reaction from her... And Hector...

He finally manages to control himself, removing his hand from his face he starts again.

"I meant every word I said... 100% serious." He doubles down

"..." Mary Jane is almost like a deer in headlights

"Don't worry, it's not my intention to put you in a tough spot. It's just that as I man, I believe that is my duty to be the first to... 'expose my weakness'? I don't want us beating around the bush guessing what the other is feeling, do you understand what I mean?"

"...yes. Like in those love dramas."

"Exactly like that." He nods satisfied "We... don't have time for that."

Because he is about to go to College... Mary Jane is starting to see where this conversation is going. Hector opening the talk like that also gave her time to think about her answer...

It's a good thing he did that because she is not sure yet.

"Did the thought that our relationship died prematurely ever crossed your mind, Mary Jane?" He asks, still acting casual, or even mature you could say.

"...yes." After some hesitation, she decides to tell the truth.

Him, being upfront like that makes her want to do the same.

"Hm, I'm glad that I'm not the only one." He nods

"Me too..." She confesses in a soft voice, almost a whisper.

The mood... is improving. The two stare at each other eyes, there's a spark there... But Hector doesn't act yet, he continues talking.

"You know, Mary Jane... I think I tried too hard to not like you." He confesses, sitting correctly to face forward.

"..."

"I had an initial bad impression of you, and I tried to stick with it."

"Yeah... You told me. The whole 'if you walk with hoes, I will think you are a hoe' thing." Mary Jane rolls her eyes

"Yeah..." He says, but it seems there's a little more to it that he is not saying "I thought that you are a shallow annoying slut."

"...wow. Thank you!" She says sarcastically

"Sorry." He speaks sincerely

"...it's okay. It's not like you spread rumors or anything. I also kinda ignored you being bullied just to fit in... It's not for nothing that you had a bad impression of me." She concedes, looking away a little.

"..."

"..."

"But you changed that prejudice that I had." He says making her look at him again "Believe in me, it was a very deep prejudice... about a lot of things..." Once again it seems that he is not saying something "You, Mary Jane, changed me a little... You squirmed your way into my heart. I didn't even notice... Or maybe I noticed and I didn't think much of it, thinking that would slip away as easily as it entered." He sighs deeply "But that was not what happened... I still like you after all this time and after a lot happened... And what this can be if not love?"

"..." Once again the mood improves a little.

"I talked with a therapist... I think my prejudice made me believe that we were not gonna work in the long run, so maybe I wanted to sabotage it to end the relationship on my own terms... To have control, you know? Regain the control I lost by falling in love with you."

That's deep, she thinks.

Mary Jane is being assaulted by a plethora of emotions, but she keeps her calm, remembering something important, something that she is about to remember him.

"That and the fact that you have another woman." She says coldly

"...yes, that too." Hector sounds almost hurt, closing his eyes slowly, wrestling with something before speaking again "Mary Jane, I'm gonna ask again the question I asked you that time... " He gives her a heads up "I don't think we will have another chance other than that, and I also think we will regret not trying... At the end of our lives, we regret more what we didn't do." He quotes from somewhere

"..." Mary Jane's heart starts beating faster. If he asks she will need to give an answer... An answer that she still doesn't have.

"But before that, let me tell you something... Being honest..." He finally turns to stare deep into her eyes, blue meets green and he opens his mouth "There's a very high chance that we will end up hurting each other. Almost certain..."

"..." Now that is a sudden 180º in the conversation. It's almost a bucket of cold water pouring over Mary Jane's head, calming her heart. Maybe he said that because of that...

"But hear me out till the end..." He raises his hand to stop her from saying anything "My parents died at the beginning of this year... It was my birthday."

"..." That's another shift in the conversation, but he would not say that for nothing, or for pity points. Mary Jane is sure that Hector is not like that.

"It was really a low point in my life, incredibly hard to see my grandparents feeling the same too... But... The world continued spinning, the days were sunny and life periodically got better." He gives a tired shrug.

Mary Jane couldn't do much beyond listening in silence, she never experienced something like that. Even though some dark parts of her wish it on her father... Sometimes...

"For... reasons... My life gradually improved, like it was some sort of retribution given to me by the universe. It got better and the pain... That used to be so unbearable, started slowly fading away. And I was scared of that." He lets it out with a sigh "Like I would eventually forget about them... The pain will fade and the new good moments will erase the good memories with them. So, what would be left? Just their name and their blurred existence in the back of my mind?"

Hector stares deep into her eyes and speaks a little more strongly "But then it happened... The pain stopped fading." He says like it's some big revelation "It sounds obvious, I know. It's even cliche... A lot of people say that 'the pain never goes away and you just learn how to live with it', but experiencing it opened my eyes. The pain will never diminish anymore. And I was so... so... so Happy!" Hector smiles, closing his eyes for a moment

"..."

"It's strange, right? Such contradiction... Why someone would be happy for feeling pain? Am I a masochist?" He chuckles softly while shaking his head "No, I simply learned, not only to live with the pain but to enjoy it. Learning to enjoy the constant feeling of loneliness, sadness, melancholy, and longing, made me much stronger. Their absence will accompany me forever and in some way, I'm happy with that. They will accompany me forever." Once again it seems that he is basking in the feeling, in the sadness "It means that I cared, it's the proof that I loved them very much. I will gladly carry this with me for the rest of my life."

"I... I... I think I understand. A little... Or not..." Mary Jane feels that she needs to say something. His words are hard to understand without the experience. They are weird but make sense in some way.

Hector laughs softly and looks at her warmly "I told you all that because I feel the same right now, Mary Jane... About you. Yes, I still believe that is very probable that we will end up hurting each other... But I think will be worth it, will be worth the pain."

He grabs her hand and her heart starts beating faster.

"I still think that we have so much to live together, Mary Jane. I don't want it, and I would hate to eventually break up with you... I will hate it if things don't go well... I will hate to lose you. The thought of one day you together with another man hurts me too. But again, it will be worth it." He says strongly while not breaking eye contact.

Mary Jane is not even blinking, locked in place by his gaze and words. Her eyes widened, her breath stuck in her throat, and her heart beating faster and faster. The blushing on her face is the most obvious showing of her emotional state.

"I will do my best to make things work out, but I am making peace with the fact that some things are out of my control, especially when involving other people." He caresses the back of her hand with his thumb lovingly "If things don't go well, I'm willing to carry the bad feelings gnawing in my heart forever, together with the good memories that we can make... I'm willing to try and own up to the result. And you, Mary Jane-Watson? Are you willing to walk this uncertain path with me?"

"..."

"Blindfolded, with only each other... Side by side... Not knowing how it will end..." He adds slowly and in a low voice. Almost like he is trying to convince himself beyond convincing her. Saying those words like a mantra or a prayer.

There's a battle inside Mary Jane now... The logical part of her can agree with a lot Hector said, but the same logical part never wants to get hurt... Her heart is screaming at her to accept... The two are fighting...

And her gut instinct... Her gut instinct that she always trusts decides... She doesn't answer...

She jumps in his arms and kisses his lips.

....

Hector. P.O.V.

Space Station

"♪ ♫ ♬ ♩ Hm~ Hm~ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♩ " I hum to myself as I walk through the hallways of the Space Station.

"Someone is in a good mood~" Cortana says with a teasing tone. She is walking by my side in her "Normal Body"

"Hm? Who? Who?" I make a show of looking around to find this Lucky fella "Oh, there he is!" I see him in the mirror.

I point at my own reflection and make two guns with my hands, I point and click my tongue.

I'm almost making the Bully Maguire dance,

I can also see Cortana rolling her eyes, pulling her close by the waist we walk side by side. But I can't forget what Mary Jane said to me...

'Listen Hector. I listened to you and now you are gonna listen to me...' She said seriously 'The other woman... I don't want to know. I don't want to know if you broke up with her, I don't want to know if you are seeing her... I don't want to know anything about her. You are never gonna talk about her and I'm never gonna bring her up. You are my boyfriend now, so if you are seeing her... Hide well.' She points at his face

'...' He can only nod at that

'I'm willing to try too... To see how far it will go... Let's see how far I can ignore this...' She says the last part more to herself.

And that's it... Mary Jane chooses blissful ignorance.

It works with me... Mary Jane can have "Hector". I will do my best for her to overcome the "other". If I fail, or if she can't take live with it... The relationship will fail.

But we tried, and I'm okay with it...

"Things have been going well for me lately, and today is the day. The day of the..." I point at her to continue

"...Gacha~ Eeeeh~" Once again she rolls her eyes and waves her hands to the minimum possible to act excited. But her smile can't trick me, she is only playfully making fun of me.

As I pat her gynoid body I ask "Tell me Cortana... Which of the prisoners in suspended Animation are not going through any procedure, but we would not miss them?"

"All of those..." She raises her head and a schematic blue hologram of the prison cells shows everyone that fits my criteria in red.

"Then let's use them to make an experiment."

"What experiment?"

"On Luck." I smile at her

"Oh... I see. You're going steal their luck. That's why you don't wanna anyone that is going through a procedure." She nods "Do you think it can influence your Gacha?"

"I don't know... Luck is hard to quantify. And is not omnipotent like many would think. It's not causality manipulation." I roll my eyes "If I want to capture Domino, she would have no chance. And even with her powers, it's not like I could make... I don't know... Thanos drops an Infinity Stone as he puts it in his Gauntlet."

Domino was fucked sometimes in the comics, against much stronger opponents and very bad odds. Like against Red She-Hulk and she was captured by Mutant haters one time too. That's all I can remember.

"And check this out..." I extend my hand, it's filled with coins "There's 50 coins here. Head or Tails?" I ask her

"I can give you the two~" She answers with a tone full of innuendo "I made a new throat... The suction and massage are great. And you know my ass is customizable." She bats her eyelashes at me

"..." This cybernetic succubus... "You know that I prefer your usual body type." I give her a slap on her ass making it jiggle.

"I know... But it sounds like a waste to not use it. Let me show the 3D model of different body shapes..."

"Okay, stop. We can do that later." I stop her from raising her hand "Just... Head or Tails?"

"Tails. I will give you head later."

"...Then Head is mine." Without ceremony, I casually throw the coins in the air and let them fall on the ground. The coins noisily hit the ground and spread and all directions. They roll and bounce till they stop.

Cortana's eyes swiftly analyze the results and looks at me in slight disbelief.

"Heads... 42." She says slowly "Did you use any power?"

"No." Smirking, I telekinetically gather all the coins again in my hand "Head or Tails?"

"Tails again."

"Okay then." And I throw the coins in the air,

After a while, they stop and...

"Heads... 45. This..."

I guess that to an A.I., it's hard to accept the failings of Probability.

"The truth is... I'm already pretty Lucky." I say while gathering the coins again "Head... But I guess we don't see much of it because I'm pretty strong and capable. I don't need to, for example... Domino needs the people who are shooting her to trip or the guns to malfunction. Bullets to me are nothing, so I don't need the people shooting me to suffer that. My luck must work in helping me be in the right place at the right time sometimes, for example."

This time 44 coins land with their head upwards.

"Or when meeting girls?" Cortana teases again

"..." The thing is that I can't entirely deny that.

In the recent Operation with the X-men and the Brotherhood, I was the one to find Cindy Moon and Laura Kinney. Many of the characters that I assimilated are Lucky with women.

And I assimialted Yuuki Rito. I have the power of Luck and Anime at my side. That's why works better with Asian babes... Everything is starting to make sense now.

"I don't think stealing luck from a bunch of people will increase my luck by that much... Like adding buckets of water in the ocean. And I don't think my Gacha can be easily influenced too. Like I can't be that affected by Domino's powers." I explain

"But you still need to test."

"Always." I nod "Let's go and keep an eye on the people that I'm going steal luck from... Maybe they will choke on their spit and die."

.....

After using the power of the Raki Raki no Mi(Luck-Luck Fruit) in a hundred prisoners I return to my usual place to roll the Gacha.

Let's see if I'm gonna be lucky~

I have a good feeling this time, because of the time dilatation of the Travel Tickets, it is been 7 months since the last Gacha so... My luck has accumulated!

And I did a lot of things too, there's a lot of material from where the Essence can draw my cards. I bet I'm gonna gain some pirate thing. Let's roll only normal Gacha to check my luck.

Let's goooooooo!

Roll~

 

01- Package: Toji Zen'in - Jujutsu Kaisen

Okay... That's a low blow...

I see what you are doing here, Gacha.

Okay, I'm a deadbeat Father till I prove otherwise. I got that.

 

02- Ging Freecs - Hunter x Hunter

So this is how you are gonna do things, huh? Let's see how far you can take this joke...

 

03- Power Boost Card

That's what I thought, you bitch!

This is not the Specific Gacha that I can select to gain only characters!

You can go forever like that!

 

04- Power Boost Card

Hahaha!

Go on, Try again!

 

05- Shou Tucker - Fullmetal Alchemist

...I would like to apologize.

But c'mon!! I'm not that bad!

And really? My first repeated card is this guy??

From all the infinite possibilities???

Whatever, to the volcano...

But should I summon one of the two to experiment on him?

 

06- Father - Fullmetal Alchemist

Well, well, well...

It seems the answer was given to me.

You're fucked in my hands, Tucker.

 

07- Gendo Ikari - Neon Genesis Evangelion

"..."

I... I... I don't even know what to say.

There are so many issues to unravel here.

 

08- Serpent Punishing Stick - Emperor's Domination

Oh, a cultivation novel thingie!

Is that thing, right? The stick that will not kill the person being hit doesn't matter how much you hurt them with it.

Are you trying to tell me something again, Gacha?

Should I use it to discipline my kids?

Yes. Only the boys tho.

 

09- Endeavor - Boku no Hero Academia

Ugh... So useleeeeess...

But first time gaining something from a universe after I visited it.

It should start being a problem the more I visit other worlds.

But can you give me a least a good Father?

Like Isshin Kurosaki? Minato?

 

10- Darth Vader - Star Wars

Ooookkaaaayyy~ I take it.

But Darth Vader is not even a bad Father... He only tortured his daughter and cut the hand of his son... 

My mood improved, let's go to the second batch.

 

01- Television Series Travel Ticket (Middle Tier / One Month)

I can think of some worlds to use it.

 

02- Power Boost Card x06

Okay

 

03- Power Boost Card x05

Okay

 

04- Video Game Travel Ticket (Middle Tier/ One Month)

Okay, the same thing as the first one.

 

05- Johannes Krauser II(Souichi Negishi) - Detroit Metal City

Pff! Hahahahaha!

Love it!

Did I gain it because I went around the One Piece world singing and playing guitar?

Now I only need a...

 

06- Nevan - Devil May Cry

...guitar.

Sometimes I love you, Gacha.

 

07- Recycling Mechanic

[By destroying 3 cards you can gain a new one]

Okay! This is huge!

I have some useless cards to recycle, and maybe I can use the miscellaneous ones too.

I love new mechanics.

 

08- Virgil Hawkins(Static Shock) - DC/Static Shock

Nice, fucking nice.

One of my favorite shows growing up.

Gonna summon him. One of the few good guys on my crew. Pure good guys.

 

09- Golden Sword of Battle (Scarlet) - Adventure Time

A fine addition to my growing collection of swords.

 

10- Sinbad - Sinbad no Bouken

Now I got serious... Isn't this guy very strong?

Oh, it's from his own story. So he is not too OP, but still strong.

The cards are starting to catch up with my level, nice.

And thinking about it, this guy is kinda similar to me in many aspects...

And I was in the One Piece world... Seas and all that.

Next batch!

 

01- Vaporeon – Pokemon

"..." Do you guys know that in terms of male humans and...

Okay, just kidding. I will stop.

 

02- The Ulisses - Atlantis: The Lost Empire

That's cool.

I would accept Kida tho.

But I can always go there for that chocolate booty. Maybe I can go after all chocolate booty in the Omniverse... Chel, Princess Jasmine...

 

03- Power Boost Card

Okay

 

04- King Shark - DC Comics

Is this the Water-themed batch?

 

05- Mariner – Waterworld

I think it is...

This is from that post-apocalyptic submerged world movie. It was good, at least it was good to my young eyes and brain.

 

06- Movie Travel Ticket (Low-Level / Six Months)

Okay

 

07- Killer Croc -DC Comics

Another one.

And I really gain a lot from DC because of the duality with Marvel, huh?

I hope I can gain Poison Ivy... Harley needs a playmate, and I can maybe fertilize her Garden.

 

08- Gargantuan Leviathan – Subnautica

Okay, Gacha.

Do you have a boner in giving me dangerous pets?

A flerken, Caerbannog, Rover... and now this?

I can't release this shit in the ocean... Or can I?

Maybe I can release it on another planet... Hmm.

 

09- Power Boost Card x04

Okay

 

10- Self Insert Card

Oka- Wait a damn fucking minute!!

[Using this card together with a corresponding Travel Ticket, allows you to insert yourself in the life of a character that you assimilated.]

[Obs.: Using this together with a Background Customization Card allows you to edit the Character backstory in a limited way]

This is big. This is fucking big.

This is better than gaining a Package...

I can take the Character items and maybe even recruit subordinates.

And... Helltaker, Yuuki Rito... Really interesting. Really, really interesting~

But I need to use it sparingly, I gained just one. And it came as the last and most important card of the batch. The first time a miscellaneous card was the last one. So it's precious.

Let's check the last batch.

 

01- Black Pearl - Pirates of the Caribbean

As expected, a pirate thingie.

I will put it in exposition somewhere.

 

02- Takakura Ken – Dandadan

Who?

A nerd guy with curly black hair and glasses who transforms into a taller version with white hair and a half-mask? Where did I see that before?

 

03- Anime Travel Ticket (Low Level / One Week)

Okay

 

04- BackGround Customization Card x04

Okay

 

05- Sakamoto Taro - Sakamoto Days

Hmpf. I knew that the man-bun was badass.

And another hyper-competent Character, huh?

Should I summon him? But he is kinda retired, right? I should assimilate him.

 

06- Power Boost Card x03

Okay

 

07- Power Boost Card x02

Okay

 

08- Anime Travel Ticket (Middle Tier/ Six months)

Okay

 

09- Leviathan Axe - God of War

Is it because I was researching the Convergence and Norse Mythology?

I will use it during the events of Thor's movie.

Now, the last card... And look at that!

After that harem Gacha, no women came this time! Haha!

Good, it seems that it was a special case. I don't have time for so many girls and I really don't want more for now...

 

10- Raven(Rachel Roth) - DC/Teen Titans

..................

A.N.: Hello there. 

Late Merry Christmas, our guy is being tempted by Santa right here.

This Gacha has been brought to you by... Mary Jane's Haters! 

Hehe, I know how many of you feel about her, but this relationship is not over yet. Like Hector, give a chance to this relationship...

If you like this story, consider supporting me in the p.a.t.r.e.o.n... There are chapters ahead there.

Here is the Link: (without spaces)

patreon . com / Evans 269

Hope you all enjoyed it, make a comment because interaction motivates me to keep writing. Thanks for reading.

Till next time and stay good y'all.

Bye Bye~


Load failed, please RETRY

週次パワーステータス

バッチアンロック

目次

表示オプション

バックグラウンド

フォント

大きさ

章のコメント

レビューを書く 読み取りステータス: C90
投稿に失敗します。もう一度やり直してください
  • テキストの品質
  • アップデートの安定性
  • ストーリー展開
  • キャラクターデザイン
  • 世界の背景

合計スコア 0.0

レビューが正常に投稿されました! レビューをもっと読む
パワーストーンで投票する
Rank 200+ パワーランキング
Stone 1,897 推薦チケット
不適切なコンテンツを報告する
error ヒント

不正使用を報告

段落のコメント

ログイン

tip 段落コメント

段落コメント機能がWebに登場!任意の段落の上にマウスを移動し、アイコンをクリックしてコメントを追加します。

また、[設定]でいつでもオフ/オンにすることができます。

手に入れました