Capítulo 87: Management 101
Hector P.O.V.
"Well... I can say that all of your performances were... satisfactory." I say while sitting and looking at the "Magical Troupe", Meowy in my lap as I put my Godfather act.
On my other hand, I spin that vibranium blade that they recovered. Look at this, I will not even need to hunt Ulysses Klaue now. Different from adamantium which is quite a simple metal, vibranium has many types so I will need to research a little about how to use the proper external conditions to re-create the material.
For now, I want the Wankandian version, instead of the one in the Savage Lands.
Power is jealous of the way that Meowy is so comfortable with me, peeking over my shoulder and debating with herself if she should take him from me or let him have a good time.
Charmcaster, Selene, Macht, Zodd, and Loona are standing in front of me letting me talk. The Relationship Loyalty hasn't increased recently... Those people are harder than Harley.
And I kinda don't want to force a relationship with them for now.
"So you all earned your freedom. Till next order of course." I say with a smile to congratulate them "Well, except Power here that will stay with me."
"Ah?! I want to be free too!" She shouts
"No, because you would kill people."
"No, I would not!" She lies "I would never kill anyone! I never killed anyone!!" Girl, you just killed a bunch of people
"Power, behave... if not I will cut your horns."
"~~~~" She puts her hands on her red horns and shuts up
I have no problem in letting her grow her horns and regain her power(heh), I can control her even if she grows powerful, but if she becomes a pain in the ass, I will have to punish her.
I turn to address the rest "As planned, all of you will go to the Limbo dimension, with the exception of Selene that will go to Monster Metropolis." I talk specifically with the vampire "Selene, will stay so that I can get rid of her racial weaknesses."
"You can do that?" She asks, her eyes widening just a little, but she is very surprised. She is not that much expressive.
"I can do a lot of things." It's my go-to response when people ask me this.
I have already confirmed that I can do it. Reverse engineering the effects of a Weakness Removal Card in someone's biology. It's not as perfect but is good enough to treat a case of vampirism that is like a virus.
"I will also work on upping your vampirism a little." I will try to make her a vampire with the abilities of all media that I can. Underworld, Jojo, Marvel...
She nods at me slowly, good that you're on board... Not that you have a choice in this case.
"Why is she receiving special treatment?" Charmcaster asks suddenly
"Because her mission is the most dangerous." I answer immediately
"And what about her, she didn't do anything?" Now Charmcaster points at Loona.
"So childish..." I say in a whisper but a wave of power is exuded from my body, forcing them back.
They brace themselves for the impact but they can hide their Shock after the remembrance that I'm so above them that is not even funny.
I continue in a displeased voice "I attribute everyone roles in accordance with their abilities, talents, and desires... Are you questioning my decisions now?" I stare at Charmcaster, making her flinch
"...n-no." So you can fear too...
"Haha, it's okay to question me." But I suddenly say in a relaxed and lighthearted voice "I'm not a tyrant, you can talk with me without problem." I laugh again "But I can see your words don't come from a reasonable place, Hope." I use her real name.
"..." She can't do anything but shut her mouth.
"Seriously, stop looking and worrying at other people's treatment. You have a great opportunity to improve as a magic user and your thoughts are if I'm playing favorites? Really? Again, childish..."
"..."
"I hope(heh) that you can grow from your pettiness villainy, Charmcaster. You're talented and have an ocean of knowledge to explore, with my backing... What more do you want?" I ask
"..."
"No, it's not a rhetorical question... Do you have anything else you want?" I press
"..." She starts to think hard, but she can't come up with an answer.
"See? Your treatment is not any worse than the others... Sorry that I will not give you a castle or anything, but I will give you all the opportunity to grow and seek your path freely to accomplish your objectives."
I stand up and open a portal to Limbo "This Dimension is a Hub of activity... Sorcerers, demons... It's the best place for you to do what you want. I already gave you all the currency there. Loona, I also arranged the place for you to open your establishment, Zodd stays with her for some days just to be safe..."
He sends them one by one through the portal
"...and Macht..." He stops sat the old demon.
"Yes?"
"I will visit you later to learn a little about the magic of your world." I say
He smiles lightly "It has been a long time since I taught a talented Young man, it fills me with nostalgia." He bows to me before going through the portal too.
"Creepy dude, right?" I turn to ask Selene and Power.
"Yes!" Power agrees immediately but Selene remains silent.
"Let's go, time to give you some power-ups." I walk away "This universe is hardcore."
"Yes, sir." She nods
I like obedient girls too~
........
Third Person P.O.V.
"*Sigh* What a good way to keep the stereotypes alive, huh?" Eidolon says with a disapproving tone while he watches the police taking the criminals away.
Right now he is in India, and as a side Project, he decided to hunt all the scam centers of the country... And there's a lot of them. Dozens and dozens...
He can't help but be disappointed.
"Yesterday I chewed off an officer that was racial profiling, and then you guys come to destroy my fate in humanity..." He sighs again "Can we all agree to be better people? Individually!"
Sometimes he feels helpless, the flame of hate can be kept alive even by only one person, and it can propagate to others really quickly. People divide themselves too easily, which may be an evolutionary aspect of pattern recognition.
But Eidolon will not give up, he will punish the evil of all sides, neutral like a truly blind justice. And in the end, when the good is the majority, people will see more of the good in the other.
"And then racism will be no more." He laughs to himself "As if it would be that easy..."
But it is a start.
......
On the side of a street, a woman holds her head with both hands while watching where the car was in... She doesn't know how she did it, but the car was inside a ditch even with all the protection to prevent that.
Some people around her, shaking their heads.
Suddenly they hear something above them, looking up they see Eidolon hovering there.
"Eidolon! Thank god!" The relief is immediate, the woman feels like a weight has been lifted from her shoulder.
"Ma'am... You can't park there." The hero says then he takes off, flying in the Horizon.
"..."
"...."
"....."
"Did that just happen?" She asks no one else in particular while the people around her hold back their laughter.
"Just kidding~" They suddenly hear the hero's voice coming close to them, he is already lifting the car and taking it off the ditch.
Now they can't hold back their laughter anymore.
........
Eidolon slowly established himself as a constant presence around the world, like a force that can affect everything. His existence becomes something normal, like the fact that day and night changes, and the world is changing to accommodate his big influence.
The most obvious change is on the crimes, of all types. From robbers to politicians, everyone is walking more in line nowadays. He already set a precedent, criminals are not safe.
It doesn't matter if you're the Ceo of a Multibillionary company or a President, if you do something wrong... You will be exposed.
He started with the most heinous crimes like sexual abuse, and human trafficking... Going down the ladder and dealing with other crimes committed by the white collar people.
Everyone is afraid that they are next, that suddenly Eidolon will start investigating the exact thing that they did wrong. It's impossible to know how many are stepping out of the shady business while trying to bury their past just because of this looming threat.
Minor scale crimes are also affected, as example, New York is an entire month without death by firearm. People rarely react to muggers too, choosing to de-escalate the situation... All because they know that justice will be eventually delivered.
Justice will eventually delivered... Justice will prevail... Those phrases that previously were thrown around in corny hero shows are now becoming reality. The side of justice is making a comeback, and people often want to side with the winners.
.......
"So, Mr. Martin... What you said matches with my investigation. You are really innocent, I will take this to court and reopen your case." Eidolon says to the prisoner as he checks the hologram coming from his wrist.
It's a strange scene... Very strange scene...
There he is, the world's greatest hero, sitting on a table in the middle of a cafeteria of a prison, the prisoners sitting around him in lower positions, like he is a teacher and they are students. Eidolon even brought some snacks to them...
"..." The prison guards look at each other in confusion.
Seeing those scary individuals in Orange jumpsuits acting like toddlers with the Hero is weird... Shouldn't they be enemies? Shouldn't they hate Eidolon's guts?
Well, a bunch of them must hate him, yes.
In most cases, however, the ones that are captured by him, can only sigh to the situation and be angry with their bad luck. He is so above them that is not even funny, they can not even get angry, only frustrated.
Eidolon also saved some of their colleagues, friends, and family... They don't want Eidolon to come to them, but they want Eidolon around.
Eidolon also humanizes them. It's because they are already in jail so he doesn't show any animosity against them, he can only hope they change, and the best way is to show and remember them that they are humans, and can be decent people.
It will obviously not work with everyone, but he needs to try.
When they fail that, he will beat them again. If they wanted to be trapped in the cycle of receiving a beatdown, going to jail, getting out, committing a crime, and repeating... He will humor them with his fists.
"Let's see... Who is the next... Mr. Valquez, your wife accused you of hitting her, you entered in a fight with her brothers and almost killed one... Tell me your story."
Eidolon is re-checking everyone that could be in jail unjustly. Everyone.
"I didn't hit her! She cheated! I wanted to leave, but she blocked my path-" Valquez tells his side of the story, basically his ex-wife kind of used his body to beat herself... Shouting, making a scandal...
The Neighbours called the cops, but after the cops went away the brothers showed up and believed in her, of course. He fought for his life, almost died, almost killed one...
"Hm, the fact that you almost killed one of them didn't change..." Eidolon can't tell that he is not lying.
"Oh Eidolon, c'mon..."
"Calm down, a good part of your sentence comes from the fact that you hit your wife first... I will try to appeal to change to self-defense."
"Thank you!" Valquez almost cries, the prisoners patting his shoulder and back while congratulating him.
"Bitches love makin' stuff up." One inmate comment
"You're welcome, cases like this are ridiculously common... Earlier, I discovered two dudes who are accused of Sexual Assault that are innocent. That's why, let's tone down the rape here, okay? The guy can be innocent..." He looks around while talking
"..."
"I'm talking with you Big Dick Mobydick!"
"...Hm, o-okay. I will try." The white guy bald guy who is easily over 2 meters tall fidgets on his seat. He is fat and hairless like a Whale, that's why the last part of the nickname. And the first part is self-explanatory...
"Two wrongs don't make a right." The hero adds
Some nods, but he knows that is a pipe dream to get in their thick skull with some words.
"Hey Eidolon, is my name there?" A small man asked while looking over the hero's shoulder
"..." Eidolon gives him a stare "You stabbed three people, Timmy." He says in a deadpan voice. This guy is a gang member.
"...eh, allegedly." Timmy is part of a gang
"Is your lawyer that taught you to say 'allegedly' every time?"
"Yes, allegedly."
"..."
"Eidolon, the food is over!" Suddenly one of the inmates shouts
"..." The hero stares at him in silence till the big prisoner flinches
"Can I have a little more, please?" The prisoner asks sheepishly
"Okay, hmm... It will be racist if I offer you KFC?" Eidolon asks genuinely while pulling a box of fried Chicken from somewhere. The prisoner is black by the way.
"..."
"...."
There's a pin-drop silence till the black man snatches the thing from Eidolon's hand "Ya will be racist if ya deny a brother his chicken! Do ya have some Kool-aid too?" He says ina joking tone
"Well, well, well..."
Then everyone burst into laughter. "Gimme some watermelon then." The more laughter. It goes around, everyone asking for their respective stereotypical food. Tacos, Rice... Men being men, bonding over the stupidest things.
"Just to remember you all, those walls are what protect you from me..." Eidolon suddenly throws cold water on the mood "Don't get too familiar and think that I will hesitate in beating you up if you relapse outside. The world is changing, come to the winning side..." He says with serious eyes
"..." They all have varying expressions.
"Okay, okay... Let's continue... Next!" The hero says like nothing happened.
..........
Christine Palmer
Dra. Palmer re-checks the files in her clipboard as she goes back to the front desk of the clinic to take another patient. Arriving at the front desk she notices Hector signing and reading some documents that the receptionist is passing to him.
That is not unusual, what attracts her attention is the man in a suit talking with him. Well, not talking with him per se... More like the unknown man is talking and Hector is listening(read ignoring) while going through his work.
She knows what is this about... This hospital, and she guesses many others owned by Hector, are going through some changes. Everyone noticed the investors and shareholders pulling back, the board of directors growing smaller day by day.
Most thought that one of the biggest network of hospitals in the United States was doomed in the hands of the new owner. Some of her colleagues are already hunting for a new job... She went to talk with Hector about it, but he just smiled saying that "every reform needs to destroy some things beforehand".
Eventually, the new situation becomes normal and no one talks much about it anymore. The salaries continued the same, the machines are fine, there's medicine... Nothing is lacking and the Hospital is operating normally.
She remembers an episode where Hector got really angry seeing some expired medicine in the inventory.
"...Health!" She almost reached the front desk when Hector suddenly said in a strong tone, interrupting the man wearing the suit. Hector calmly organizes the papers in his hand before returning them to the receptionist "...is not a product. It's a right." He turns to stare at the other man
"..."
"And a Hospital is not a business." He says with finality "Tell your group if they want to invest, we will gladly praise you for your generosity and publish it everywhere... But you will have no power to change how I run things around here."
There's a rush of words that the other man says, but Hector interrupts him again with a "Have a good night." And starts walking away, leaving the man stupified. It's possible to imagine that he is annoyed and cursing Hector's back.
Christine Palmer hastily delivers her clipboard to the receptionist before following her boss with quick steps.
"Hello, Dra. Palmer." He greets her even when she is still behind him, turning at her with a mischievous smile. How he noticed her is a mystery.
"Hello. Boss." She returns the smile.
If he calls her Doctor, acting all formal, she will call him boss too.
He rolls his eyes when she pays him back in kind.
"You know that I call you Doctor to avoid gossip." He says "So that people wouldn't say that I favor you."
"I'm doing the same." She walks to his side, to accompany him on his walk
"No, you're not. Shouldn't you be doing time in the clinic?" He asks with a playful raised eyebrow
"It's okay, my boss likes me. Apparently, I'm his favorite." She jokes
He laughs a little while the two walk in silence, seeing the direction where he is heading, she discovers that he is leaving the hospital so now is the best moment to ask.
"Who was that guy from before?"
"The representative of one of our previous investors... They are trying again to make me change my mind about the new policies." He answers without hesitation "Offering a lot of money to have a say in certain decisions."
"Oh..." It's what she can think to say now, she is a little out of the loop in the whole thing. Normally ivnestors is a good thing, but Hector is adamant in denying them again and again...
He doesn't look worried a bit for the lack of money, he is even smiling from ear to ear.
"You look happy..." She comments
"Can you tell?" He asks, still keeping the big smile on his face "Recently the last shareholder sold his part to me... After a little of convincing and blackmail..."
"A little of what?"
"Convincing..."
"..."
"Anyway, you're looking to the proud owner of 100% of the Belucci Hospitals." He declares happily. "The first since my grandpa, the founder."
"Oh, Hector. Congratulations!" She says happily too "I know that this was your plan from the start! You should be so happy right now! And you did it so soon!" She was really impressed
"Thank you, thank you. Now that I have complete ownership things can start changing for the better."
Christine watches carefully Hector's smile. He looks so relieved, his eyes looking forward like he is visualizing the future, a good future.
She didn't want to pop his happy bubble but she needed to ask
"But it will be okay, Hector? You know... Money... I know that to keep things running you need to make difficult decisions. I do not envy a director's job."
"Don't worry, even if the Hospital goes to the red and makes me lose money for some years, everything will be okay. I make a lot of money in other ways, you know? Who would imagine that pressing some buttons on a screen at the right time would make your money increase, right? You just need to remove it before your money disappears... That's the tricky part."
It takes a little time for her to catch up "Are you... investing? Stocks?"
"And I'm good at it..." He gives her a mysterious smile "Again, don't worry... I will start Med school now and in the future I will revolutionize the medical field. Let me make a name for myself first. The hospitals will survive till there." He winks at her
She shakes her head with a helpless smile. What can she do beyond thrusting him?
"Okay, and again... I really don't envy your job." It's so easy to just be a doctor and worry about the patient in front of you, instead of the whole hospital chain.
"...too bad." Hector gives her a strange and assessing look "Because I was thinking of making you the Director of this one."
"...what?"
..........
Hector's House
In the living room, the girls gathered together with some snacks, but not to watch a movie or a TV show, no... Shego, Helena, Harley, Saeko, Quin(Baby 5), Isabella and even Cassandra are watching Hector renovate the house.
"*Munch* Lose the shirt." Shego says while watching him drill the wall back together. He just changed the inner parts with reinforced high-tech apparatus.
"..." He pauses and gives her a deadpan stare.
But in the end, he shrugs and takes his shirt off, he is not shy when he thirsts for them, so no problem in having it the other way around.
Now he continues his work shirtless, a belt of tools around his waist while he moves to install some defensive Machinery in the ceilling.
"That's what Mama likes to see." Shego comments, seeing his back muscles ripple with each movement.
"I confess that was skeptical about it, but I'm seeing the appeal now." Harley comments
"You need to see him work on his car." Shego adds
"I feel like a piece of meat..." Hector shakes his head in faux misery as he removes parts of the ceiling expertly "Don't be corrupted by those women, Cassandra."
"..." She gives him a thumbs-up.
"Can't you do it much more easily with your powers?" Helena asks, receiving a glare from Shego
"Yes, I can think about many other efficient ways to reconstruct this house in a fortress, but I like doing it with my own hands... Consider it my pet project." He answers
After replacing some parts of the ceiling with a laser weapon turret he continues "As a fun fact, I thought about throwing a chitauri Leviathan here during the Invasion of New York, so that I could reform it properly, but decided against it. Doing it discreetly is better."
"So you would throw a bio-technologic alien spaceship on your home just to reform it? Sounds like you..." Helena is starting to get used to Hector
"I don't think insurance would cover it." Harley adds
"The problem would be the government coming to retrieve it..." Hector continues to change the "skeleton" of his home.
It looks normal outwardly, but it's probably more futuristic than the Avengers Tower.
Saeko looks around a little "There's more, right? Girls, I mean... People." She looks around at the people reunited
"..." Hector goes silent for some time, the rest wait for his answer "No... But if you're talking about the other summons, all of them are starting their new lives... With the exception of some that are still on probation in the Space Station. Nemesis is being grounded." He comments
The brat brown girl was acting up too much, and challenging Cortana... No one challenges Cortana's authority on his body.
"Oh, I can't wait to start my new life~" Harley swings her feet happily
"About that..." Hector started "Are you sure that you're going with 'Harley Quinn' as your alias?" He asks her with an unsure face
"What is the problem?"
"Harley Quinn... Harleen Quinzel..." He makes a face of 'Are you serious?' "People will discover your secret identity in a week... max!"
"Seriously? But I don't wanna changeeee. It's such a good nameeeee." She whines like a child
Hector sighs "Relax, you can go with the name... But be prepared to be watched. And Harleen Quinzel can never have contact with Hector." He says
"Aaaaaah~" She whines again "Fucking spy people!"
"Don't worry, I will try to hide you for some time, it will not last, and then I will go scare them a little as Eidolon." Hector assures her
"Thank you!"
"I'm surprised that you're letting her do it." Helena comments. He knows Hector is the paranoid type.
"I think throwing a bone at them can help a little. The poor guys have nothing on Eidolon or the SPC." He shrugs his shoulders without a worry "And it's not like my secret identity will last Forever... If not for my grandparents and the fact people will look down on me because of my age, I would really not care."
"Really?"
"Really, it only needs some fucker with a convenient power to reveal it... It's inevitable." He says.
He already made peace that at some point his identity will be discovered, he will only hold up for as long as he can. He has plans to when this happens too.
"Going public with his identity will even help on many fronts..." He laughs "Maybe I can run for president."
Everyone laughs, including him.
If things happen, he would adapt.
Maybe that is one of his key differences from others like Peter, instead of making a deal with the Devil if things go wrongly, or instead of desperately trying to maintain the crumbling status quo... Hector would own up, do some damage control, adapt, and keep moving on.
Even his plan of reviving his parents changed... He will do it properly and in a way that would bring zero consequences to the world.
It's his selfish desire... So even though his parents are taken from him unjustly and he only wants to have the life together with them that was denied to him, he will not create trouble for anyone.
If anyone doesn't create trouble with him, of course...
"By the way, Shego... I have a small gift for you." Hector suddenly remembers something. Stopping his work he walks at her and removes a small box from somewhere.
"Oh~ Jewelry~" Harley comments seeing the box that looks like is holding a piece of jewelry like a necklace or something similar.
Shego gets all excited, Hector gives things that could be considered gifs casually, so what is something that is called a "gift" by him?
"Well, you can say that is jewelry... But is not its true purpose." He half-agrees with Harley.
Then he opens the small box in Shego's direction.
Inside there are three pearls of different colors... Blue, Purple, and Red.
It looks very simple but Shego feels something when she looks at them, a familiar feeling.
"Are those...?" Saeko is the only one that recognizes them
"Yes, Power Orbs, non-official name." Hector says then he goes to explain "It's the solidification of a power made by yours truly. You just need to press it on your skin and is done, like me giving you a new power."
"So those are powers... But which type?" Helena asks curiously. What is so special about them?
"Wait a damn minute..." Shego slowly realizes "Don't tell me..." She gives Hector a look.
"Yeah." He nods
"You visited my world?" She asks, surprise evident in her voice
"Not your world specifically, a parallel version of it." He corrects her "There, I copied your brothers' powers. Seeing that they came from the same source, that Rainbow Comet, I think they are very compatible with you and they will seamlessly fuse with your body." He explains
But Shego is more interested in another topic "When did you visit my world?"
"A little after coming back from the Pirate World, it was just a day trip."
"You could copy those buffons' powers in a minute, what did you do with the rest of your time?" Shego continues asking
"Hm? Going around, meeting people, eating some food... I always wanted to experiment the nachos of your world." He replies easily
"Meeting people, huh?" Her tone is strange
Now Hector catches up "Oh, I see. Are you worried that I met your redhead nemesis? Don't worry, I met her, yes... But I didn't make any move on her and didn't bring her here..."
"No, I'm not worried about that..." Shego interrupts him "Let me ask this... By any chance, did you meet another version of me there?" She asks with accusing eyes
"...yes."
Her eyes narrow, and her hand goes to his shoulder "Hector, listen here... I don't care if you fuck infinite people but never ever never think about having another Shego. That is my bottom line. Okay?" She squeezes his shoulder. Her eyes burning green.
"...fair enough." Her jealousy is as volatile as her. "Don't worry, you're the better one anyway."
"...did she flirt with you?" She asks again
"..." Hector pauses, his face stone, the woman doesn't let go "Well... Let's say that apparently, I'm really your type. I'm flattered, by the way."
"..." She glares at him.
"Relax, you're the only Shego that I will ever need." He stops teasing her, pulling his green-of-envy-girlfriend in a hug "And here..." He shows the Power Orbs again "One of your brothers powers is Duplication..." He wiggles his eyebrows at her, the implications hanging in the air
She can't keep the angry look for long, smiling a little "So it's more a gift for you then."
"The best gifts are the ones that we can enjoy together." They laugh and he kisses her lightly
He gave her the power of Duplication, the guy is into something. Really a genius that always benefits from his selfless acts.
"Ugh, guys. Stop that, Harley is almost jumping in, and if she does that I will need to throw cold water in you three." Helena says disgusted by their PDA.
They separate a little and Hector says "This gift is for Shego, if she wants, I'm not gonna force her in taking those powers, but I think can be a good addition that would not put a strain on her body and allow her to take more powers... But!" He points at them "It's also the indication that the serum is ready, girls! Did you all choose your initial powers?"
"I did!" *Honk* *Honk* Harley squeezes her breasts, making clown honks noises
Helena gives Hector a glance, he is the one to blame for that.
But what can he say? It's funny.
"Anyway, it's finally time for the upgrades..." He says to divert her attention from Harley honker knockers "Time to get really strong!"
"How strong?" The clown girl asks
"Bulletproof and strong enough to fold Killer Croc and King Shark clothes... while they are still wearing them." He says with a smile.
"Now we are talking." Helena smiles, probably imagining herself finally being the one who can throw a car into someone.
"Don't forget to make a good initial build..." Hector counsels them "New powers can be added in the future, but the foundation is important. I would recommend 3 strong ones and 4 for support. Prioritize simple and straightforward powers over complicated ones, you don't want to overwhelm yourself..."
"Okay, okay. I know you are a worryart, but when can we go through the procedure?" Shego interrupts what she knows is a long speech.
He doesn't hesitate, answering easily with a smile "Tomorrow."
................
A.N.: Hello there.
A little Short chapter because it's a transition to the new arc. Time to the upgrades.
And we are gonna focus more in "Avengers things" and proceed with the MCU timeline.
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~
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