A/N: Oh my god, I realized something stupid I did. Although Nik needs mass manipulation to change the shape or size of his body, he didn't necessarily need the ability to create clones of himself. Remember how he regenerated Merlin from a finger? He could have done that to himself. Of course, Nik wouldn't cut his finger off just to achieve that and it would take a longer time than the combi of Mass and body manipulation... just saying that this is possible too. So... this kinda proves that mc is as smart as the author and I'm... too dumb...
Anyway, if anyone gets reincarnated with this ability, just a heads up.
***
"Aahhhh! Finally! I get the chance to be back on the pages! It took too long, wonder what kind of world am I being portrayed in now..." Poole shouted, her butt seated on Gwen's right shoulder. Meanwhile, Spider, who had long grown used to Poole, lied on top of Gwen's head.
"And now... Poole is saying something strange again," Gwen answered Anna while she nodded with a curious expression. The brunette hugged Gwen's and Nik's arms while they walked towards the entrance of the theater together.
While Pickle had morphed into a sky-blue shirt with dark brown pants covering his bottom, Anna wore a maroon bodycon dress with the neckline over her collarbone as it led to the sleeves beginning with puffy attachments over her shoulders. Her hair was tied neatly with not a single strand of her hair touching her face. Nik's and Anna's more proactive appearance gained a lot of attention and with her other arm linked to Gwen, the blonde woman with bubblegum pink-ended hair, too, gained an equal amount of attention.
"Sigh, I told you to doll up!" Poole smacked the side of Gwen's head and flustered by the lack of discretion from Poole's mouth, Gwen glanced towards Nik. She already knew that Spider and Poole were very visible to him.
"I can't wait to see that play!" Anna grinned, simply happy to be around the two of them.
"I really shouldn't be here," Gwen moaned again. When placed in front of a stubborn and stunning Anna while an equally stunning but far more assertive Nik, Gwen felt no choice but to get her father's permission for the night out. Of course, she needed to return by 10.
"Huh? Why?" Anna inquired while Nik gained their passes.
"It's just... you and Nik... and there are a few rumors about Cindy, too. I feel out of place..." Averting his gaze from Anna's frighteningly sincere one, Gwen felt a little awkward.
"You don't understand... the harder you resist, the greater are the chances of your destruction," Poole sighed with her words more incomprehensible than ever.
"I can never understand you... even when both of us are the same," Spider narrowed her eyes.
"Oh? Cindy, yeah, we're all together!" Anna smiled, "But she cannot make it tonight."
It was extremely hard for Anna to not delve into Cindy's secret. But she, Ava, and the rest of the team was off for a mission. A few heroes and vigilantes had gone missing this week and one of them was Captain America while the other was Iron Fist. They had disappeared without a trace. Even the Hell's Kitchen had grown more lawless due to Daredevil's absence.
But according to her Aunt, the most high-profile disappearance was the Hulk's.
"Huh?"
"That's right," Nik walked over, this time slipping in between the girls while he landed his arm around Anna's waist, not doing anything inappropriate just yet. "It's just the three of us. I did invite another friend of mine... but it seems he had an emergency appointment with his dermatologist."
With blue pigmentation on Brian's skin, he would cause an uproar the moment he arrived. Mary refused to partake in a possible group action where two of them weren't even acquainted with Nik's method while Natasha was busy with Shield. Felicia, once again, refused after learning the amateur nature of the production house, Janet not at all interested. Jennifer still coping with her entrance into Harem and also needing to return to her office finally, which wasn't even in NYC. Angela made it clear with the swing of Xiphos that it was out of the question.
Loki? She was still at large. Yar and Ray were probably in hell, literally.
Tigra and Vertigo were simply not accustomed to the task.
Finally, Morgan?
Her exact words being— I would rather die... and I've already been dead once and do control the dead, too.
'Hah... the sass on everyone...' Nik sighed internally. His gaze observing Gwen. While her hair was straightened with a few bangs covering her forehead, she wore a thin white sweater with a blue pinafore dress covering the top as the edges of the dress reached a little above her knees followed by calf-lengthed boots.
"What were you guys talking about before? I couldn't hear it," Nik inquired with a smile. Of course, he heard everything clearly but seeing Gwen getting a nice blush over her cheeks was still a sight to relish. This kind of innocence is something Nik enjoyed every time. After all... once they join the Harem, all the girls commit sassy comments and gang up on him more than once, and not in the manner he would enjoy.
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"Poole, you talk too much."
Gwen, Poole, and Spider replied respectively.
Out of the three only Spider was aware of how virile Nik actually was while Poole was the only one to have actually found herself ravished by Nik once using his pheromones.
"Anyway, we should greet Mj before—"
"Hey, Guys! Barely made it!"
An interruption, Nik noted and looked back, finding a well-dressed Harry waving at the trio.
"Harry?" Nik waved back slightly.
"That's me," Harry waved again.
Knowing that one of them had to stop of the curse of waving would never end, Nik took the mature option.
"It's you? For real?" He waved again.
Speechless, Harry coughed.
"Yeah. Mj called me once she heard that you had a ticket left. I wanted to get out of my office so I came running along!"
"While wearing a tux?" Gwen inquired with a furrow, oddly displeased with the interruption while phantoms gwens over her body continued to chatter with each other idly fully knowing that aside from Nik, nobody would risk looking insane by talking to air even if they could see the duo.
"Well, come on, it's a figure of speech. I just changed in the car."
"Must have been a big one," Nik mused with a smile. "You came at the right time though, we're going to meet Mj before the play begins."
"About that, what's the play about?" Harry inquired as he soon found himself a little unwelcomed by Gwen, as usual, but enthusiastically answered by Anna... as usual.
"It's a musical! About bandits of darkness that died a horrible death pursuing their dreams!" She chimed.
"The Arabian Nights spin-off," Nik quietly added as Harry seemed more impressed by how Gwen seemed to lean towards Nik.
However, this wasn't the time to ask questions, not with Gwen present in the scene herself, and soon, the group approached towards the dressing area. With The group's over-all presentation, they soon got to enter backstage earlier than the mid-break of the play and finally found Mj.
"Tada..." Mj greeted the group with a dull tone.
Her eyes mocking the ones found in corpses, the glimmer of hope all but lost in her. Her beautiful and prominent red hair was hidden away by the clothed barks of a tree that was her costume while her moving arms, too, represented two branches of the tree. The top of her 'balding' tree head was yet to be covered by green, bristle bushes.
"I don't know about anyone else but you'll be the best tree in the play!" Harry spoke instantly. His words making everybody's lips twitch before he seemed to have realized something and apologized sheepishly.
"Sorry about that! It's just that... I've been going through many events where I have to fake compliment and stuff like that."
"That's why you wore the tux?" Mj inquired as her gaze narrowed.
"Oh, enough with the tux. Not that I can change it," Harry rolled his eyes while Nik mused from the side.
'He still doesn't know his father is now up and dandy once again? Almost makes me pity Parker... I could have shown a little tolerance... or maybe not.'
"Fine, it must be tough," Mj responded with dripping sarcasm.
"Whatever! You'll do amazing! Kelly said that these kinds of roles are only given out once. The next play, you'll get something cool to play!" Anna hugged, her words comforting Mj surprisingly as her branches wriggled and wrapped around Anna.
'I should press 'X' for doubt. Who knows what Loki'll do in a few days... no, it should be three days now. She's going to ruin Halloween for everyone this year...' Nik sighed once again.
But why would he stop Loki? It wasn't his job to act as a hero but to earn commissions from the work.
"Ehm, I wish you the best," Gwen nodded, taking a formal approach.
"She's a tree!" Poole chuckled, "The thing she can ruin with such a role is by... rolling across the stage drunk... or naked. No, probably a naked Mj will only make the play far better. It's about bandits, no?"
Her words made Spider's and Gwen's expression dark while Nik coughed a chuckled, signifying the success of Poole's joke.
"Hmm? Is something the matter? There must be something funny written on my forehead," Mj sneered while Gwen averted her gaze, she felt partially responsible this time.
"Well," rubbing the back of his head, Nik smiled and replied honestly, "There's not much left of your forehead so..."
"Let's talk outside!" Growling, Mj held Nik by his hand and pulled him out of the room before entering through the door opposite to the changing room and entering the dark back of the stage.
"Yeah?" Nik inquired once Mj had him cornered.
"Did you know? Ray's connection with the creator of the Hand?" Mj calmed down.
"All I know is that this... mysterious founder helped Ray and now Ray's had enough of his kind intentions. Well, he was in some form of Trap ninja division of the Hand comprised only of cute boys and men. Why? What did he say?"
"He... said he's going for a trip to finally take down the founder of the Hand but... a, well, a portal appeared behind him leading to something dark and dangerous. Both of them jumped in without hesitation and... well, that guy with him had disappeared, too," Mj replied truthfully.
"Speaking of danger," Nik caught Mj's hand and pushed her into the corner this time, his face dangerously close to her as she gasped.
"H-Hey! What gives?!"
"What gives?" Nik inquired again before a smile appeared on his lips, "Nothing. But didn't you hear Gwen? You need a good luck kiss," Nik waggled his brows suggestively, his words equivalent of a devil's hot, encouraging whispers as the tip of his nose brushed against hers.
"Not happening," pursing her lips, Mj glared. She already felt tense by going in front of a crowd and Nik's actions weren't helping her either, at least, not in the way she sought, at least. However, her slightly glazed eyes making her green pupils reflect the occasional lighting conveyed quite a few unexplained and unexplored thoughts.
"Really? What if I insist?" Nik inquired, however, his hands let go of Mj's wrists that made her feel stunned while Nik reached forward to lock Mj's surroundings by placing his palms against the adjacent walls of the corner and flanking Mj into the corner.
"What if I were to insist on getting Nature's true kiss?"
"Then nature would, unfortunately, smack the top of your head."
"Now, now, what if I promise to plant more seed?" Nik inquired with a dirty grin, "I'm sure I'll leave nature satisfied with my seeding skills and ability. I dig deep, after all."
Hearing his words laced with so many sexual innuendos, Mj blushed, far heavier than she actually believed herself to.
"Hmm? They aren't in the hall?!" Gwen's words sounded but Nik could already see Poole and Spider curiously peeking their heads from the edge.
Surprised by Gwen's voice, Mj suddenly latched her left branch onto Nik's collar and grunted, "What happens next, you'll be the one to explain everything to Anna!" With that, Watson pulled Nik towards her only uncovered part of her body and pressed her comely and warm lips against Nik's. Her eyes closing up to hide her passionate gaze while her mouth was surprised by the sheer change in Nik's taste and yet, it was a welcoming surprise.
A few muffled moans are all it lasted for as mj quickly pushed Nik back and hurried off only for Nik to snicker, "I want the full nature's package after the play!"
"Fuck you!" Mj replied and left off from the other exit.
"Huh? Where's Mary?" Gwen finally saw her other counterparts leaning against the wall and looked forward to finding a pleasant Nik shrugging, "I wouldn't know. She metaphorically kicked me in the balls and left. I shouldn't have insulted her costume."
"Yeah, you shouldn't!" Gwen sighed while Poole and Spider marveled at Gwen's innocence and yet seeing Nik's gaze land on the duo, a knowing smile on his face, both of them looked towards each other with flushed cheeks and gulped simultaneously.
"You're planning to stay here? Come on, let's go!" Gwen picked the two counterparts with a huff while Nik followed.