"Little girls shouldn't have a mouth as foul as yours. You're going to ruin your beauty with that mouth if you keep talking like that."
Mark had a serious soft spot for children and he just couldn't help himself when he saw the little girl and how cute she was! She looked like she came straight out of a fairytale with her giant teddy bear and her long blue hair!
"Let go, you barbarian!"
The girl sent a fist at Mark and it slammed into Mark's face, but it didn't even make him budge as if there was no power behind it at all! Mark raised a brow and the girl shouted at him to drop her this instant! She wasn't a little girl and she could do whatever she wanted! Mark only smiled at her enthusiasm before he dropped her to the ground and pat her on the head! She was too cute!
The little girl screamed in anger as Mark pat her head and she started to jump to get his hand away from her! What was he doing!? It took her very long to make her hair in the morning! Her grandfather would comb her hair for her for more than twenty minutes before it became like this! He was ruining it!
The little girl would never say that it felt nice when Mark pat her head! She liked the feeling a lot, but she would never tell him that! She only glared at Mark and kicked his shin in anger!
Bam!
The force of that kick would have been enough to break the leg of anyone else immediately! Talia might only be a little child, but she was still regarded as an A-rank superhuman and she was stronger than any human could ever hope to be! But against a superhuman like Mark who specialized in tempering his body, the kick was nothing! Mark just smiled at her anger and ruffled her hair again!
"I didn't think that you would only have this much power, GHOST. You've been fighting against Anima for four years and you've amassed a lot of skill, but you are barely strong enough to push me back!"
Mark turned around and glared at the old man once he heard him say this. Mark looked down at the old man's hands and he saw how it was throbbing from the punch that he gave him and Mark knew that the old man was lying. If Mark had given him another of those punches, then Mark would have definitely won that fight easily! Was this bastard trying to look cool by acting like he was going to win in that fight? Or was it because his granddaughter was here?
"I don't care who you are old man, and if I wasn't so busy, then I would've continued this fight with you. But I have things to do. My friend is in danger and I am not going to stay here and play this stupid game with you while she could be dying."
Mark said this irritably and he put his hand to his ear to call Pat to bring the helicopter faster! It hadn't yet been five hours, but Pat had to hurry so he could get to that island! But there was nothing in his ear and Mark realized that he had dropped his earpods somewhere between the fight! He would have to go and grab someone's phone to call Pat.
Mark began to walk out of the room, but the man called him back as he spoke.
"Join the National Association of Superhumans. I know this has already been offered to you once before, but this time the chairman of the association, James Dragonheart himself is telling you to join. There is a lot to be gained from joining this NSA."
Mark rose a brow in surprise once the man said this. So this is the chairman of the NSA. What the heck is a chairman doing acting like this? Who was going to pay for all the damage that they just caused to the building? Or were they really just so rich that they could destroy the building and build it back up like it was nothing? if they were that rich then they should think about giving their superhumans higher pay so they can employ more sensible people!
"I think I already told the other guy what I think of the NSA. You should show some tact and not bring it up again. I am not going to join an organization that is willing to use my friend's life to threaten me."
Mark was not going to join the NSA. It wasn't just because of that fool Grey who tried to use Arit's life as a bargaining chip to make him join, but it was also because of all the restrictions that the NSA placed on superhumans. There were far too many of them and Mark liked his freedom too much to allow himself to be trapped in some organization like this one! If they kept on trying to recruit him, then Mark would rather join some random no-name guild just to get away from them!
James knew that he couldn't force Mark to join the NSA if he didn't want to. There were laws prohibiting the NSA from forcing superhumans to join them and these laws were seriously enforced because of all the issues that the country has had with superhumans in the past. Superhumans were given the freedom to join any guild after they registered with the NSA but this has prevented the NSA from having many members since most superhumans would prefer to join a guild instead.
James changed his tactic immediately and said something else.
"The subjugation team is planning to raid the island at nightfall today. There has been too much movement from the Anima there and we don't intend to let them make it to the shore before we do something about it. If you join the NSA then I'll allow you to join the subjugation team. But if you don't, then I'll lock your registration to the NSA and restrict your movement for the next twenty-four hours. We will go to this island and clear it out, but you will not be allowed to join us."
Boom!
Mark's mana surged across his entire body as he got right in James' face!
James' eyes widened as he noticed that Mark moved faster than before! Was Mark holding back even more of his power during their fight?
Mark was ready to beat the crap out of James right then and now! Why are these people so annoying? They just kept trying to piss Mark off and they were using Arit's life as collateral just to try and make him join them!? Is that how desperate they are to make an enemy of him!?
James and Mark were caught in an intense stare-down as great pressure filled the entire room.
"Stop!!! Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Talia immediately noticed that they both were going to start fighting again and she shouted at them not to even try it! She was not going to let them fight and they would have to go past her if they wanted to start again! Talia ran into their middle and raised her hands wide as she prevented them from getting close to each other!
Mark glared hard at James as he bared his teeth at him!
"I don't care if the entire country tries to stop me from going to that island, nothing is keeping me away and I'll kill anyone that stands in my way. And when I'm done doing whatever the fuck I want, I'll leave this country and go to Japan! I'll join their NSA and help them instead just so I can keep fucking you over from the other side of the world!"
One more coming right up!
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
James narrowed his eyes at Mark as he mentioned Japan, and he grit his teeth for a moment before he turned and began to walk away. America and Japan have never been on good terms, and they were only at peace because they had a common enemy in the Anima. If someone like Mark leaves America and goes to Japan, then Japan would do anything they can to protect Mark and make sure that America cannot get him back.
At his current strength, Mark was practically an S-rank already! It would be a disaster if the higher-ups found out that they let Mark leave for Japan because of something like this! James could even lose his job because the strength of an S-rank is not something that America can afford to lose! They didn't care if Mark went to a guild! All they cared about was whether or not Mark was in America!
If Mark decides to leave the country, then they could probably stop him with the help of various other S-ranks, but at what cost!? The amount of damage to both life and property that would be done will be immeasurable, and they will lose far more than if they just allowed Mark to leave on his own! And James remembered that Mark told Grey that his power allowed him to grow stronger the more he killed. That was the kind of power that would be frowned upon by any good person, but James could only see the potential that Mark had!
That is why James wanted Mark more than anything else right now! If Mark joins the NSA, then the NSA will finally have a superhuman with the potential to grow into a Special Rank! Someone who could become strong enough to stand up against Armageddon classes in the future like KING!
James wanted Mark badly, but he also knew that it would not be good to make Mark an enemy this early. Mark was only going to get stronger in the future, and James decided that he would not antagonize Mark against the NSA and the Federal Republic of America so that when he grows into his full power, he will not think about leaving America.
"Very well then. I will not prevent you from going to the island, but keep in mind that this mission is serious and you must collaborate with everyone that shows up. If I am allowing you to go with us, then you must coordinate with the superhumans. They are all superhumans that have been in the field far longer than you have, and you will show the proper respect, understand?"
James was no longer joking like before, and his voice carried a gravity to it that Mark hadn't noticed before! Right now, James wasn't talking as the battle junkie that wanted Mark to join his organization no matter what! He is talking as the chairman of the NSA who wanted to make sure that this mission went well! Mark had no issue with respecting people as long as they respected themselves and him as well! As long as the other superhumans don't do anything that would make him want to beat the crap out of them, then they would be okay!
"I have my own ride, so you can keep your plans to yourself. I'm only going to that island for one reason, and once I have her, I will leave with my helicopter, so you don't need to worry about me. Your team can do whatever it wants. Just don't stand in my way, and we should be fine."
Mark has only been a part of the superhumans' world for about three hours, and he has already run into four people that he didn't like one bit! Fiona was always trying to get in his head, and he was going to give her one hell of a beating the next time she tries it, Tyler just wanted to fight him for the fun of it, Grey just pissed Mark off, and Mark knew that meeting that man again would end very badly for Grey, and then there was James here who was just a freaking crazy old man that loved to punch before asking any questions! Mark thought that getting old was supposed to give you more sense, not less of it!
It's only been four years since Superhumans started getting blessings from the gods, but almost all the superhumans Mark has met have been crazy in one way or another!
Are all superhumans crazy, or is it the pressure of the job that makes them start to behave like this?
Mark didn't want to know the answer to his question, and he simply told James that he would find his own ride as he started walking out of the room. Pat was going to be bringing the helicopter soon, so Mark would use that to go to the island, and the rest of them could use their own means of transport.
"I'll call you big brother Mark from now on!"
Mark looked back with a raised brow as he heard the little Talia say this. Talia was standing right behind him, and she was looking up at him with intense focus as she hugged her teddy bear tight to her side! What the hell was she saying? Since when were they close enough for her to want to call him Big Brother!? Well, it wasn't that Mark minded, but he just didn't think that she would make such a 360 after everything that he just said to her grandfather! He thought she would be angry at him!
Talia couldn't be angry at Mark right at this moment because she understood his position, and she knew that her grandfather could be a pain in the ass! Even though she was only six years old, Talia was very mature for her age and she could tell that Mark didn't do anything wrong! She already had enough conscious understanding to know that her grandfather was in the wrong here! Mark obviously didn't want to fight her grandfather, but her grandfather didn't give him a choice and only started to go after him, forcing Mark to fight back!
But even though it was something that Mark should be angry about, Mark was not retaliating, and he was being the bigger person and letting go of the situation like that! That showed a lot of maturity, and Talia could tell that Mark was a reliable person! And the fact that he was doing all of this just for the sake of his friend was even more amazing!
"I know my grandfather caused you a lot of issues, so I'll call you big brother from now on! Please don't be angry at my grandfather! He's an idiot, but he is not a bad man! He just doesn't know when to hold himself back because he is afraid he will die if he stops moving!"
James shouted in indignation as he heard Talia say this, and Mark scoffed at the barbed insult from Talia! Was she always this quick-witted, or was it a result of her blessing? Even the way she spoke was nothing like a child! She was cute, and she had the appearance of a six-year-old, but it was obvious that she had gone through a lot more than any other six-year-old in the world! She was very mature for her age.
Mark didn't say anything back, and he just reached out and pat the little girl on the head once more. This time she didn't fight against it as she huffed at his actions.
She knew that she was too cute, so it was understandable that people would want to pet her! She would allow him to pet her this once since she accepted him as her big brother!
Well... she isn't wrong
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
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