《Marvel-ous Ninjutsu》 00000. Prologue Outside the vastness of the cosmos, beyond time and space, floated a single soul. The soul itself was like a flickering pinprick of light from a long dead star drifting in the lonely darkness of the void. In front of that soul was an unfathomable entity. It was an existence of pure cosmic might and gazing upon it was like witnessing a supernova from the inside of a dying star. ¡®Whenever someone used to ask, ¡°Do you believe in God?¡±¡¯ ¡®I would ask them, ¡°Why should I waste time worrying about something that may or may not exist?¡±¡¯ ¡®I would never change how I lived my life. But if asked again, I would definitely say yes, yes I do. Just looking at what most people would consider ¡°GOD¡± is an eye opening experience and I am definitely humbled and in awe of what I see before me.¡¯ ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You just thought you were in awe of me; I thanked you for it.¡± ¡°You can read my thoughts!?!¡± ¡®Of course GOD can read my thoughts. GOD can do whatever they want.¡¯ GOD chuckled before it said, ¡°You are most certainly right about that. But you would also be mistaken in believing that you are talking or even thinking for that matter. This is a conversation using your soul.¡± ¡°I¡­ I think I understand.¡± ¡®Not really, but I also thought GOD didn¡¯t exist before this so I guess let''s just go with it.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t. Let''s just move on to the important stuff. Do you want to make a guess why you¡¯re here and not just shuffled to one of the afterlives or being reincarnated without your memories?¡± The soul flickered quickly as it said, ¡°Wait, there is more than one afterlife and you also do reincarnation? Like in Buddhism?¡± It felt like GOD patted the little soul on its non-existent head as it said, ¡°First there are many afterlife planes of existence, every religion that has existed has made them. Some are smaller than others, a handful only have one believer. But they still exist and are still functioning for that believer.¡± ¡°I also do reincarnation, but there are a bunch of different types and they all work in different ways. Now, do you have any other questions before you try to guess why you were brought here?¡± GOD asked. ¡°Maybe just a few, sorry for wasting your time with trivial stuff. But if all of the afterlives exist, that would mean the Gods of those afterlives or religions also exist then, correct? But if that is the case then who exactly are you? Which God are you, and which religion are you from?¡± It felt like GOD smiled as it said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, young one. It¡¯s always nice to see your kind so curious and eager to learn. First of all, yes. All God¡¯s do exist, and they only manage their own afterlife domains. I am what you could consider in the simplest terms, The One Above All. Your world never had a religion based around me. But I am the one who controls everything in and outside of existence.¡± The little soul quickly asked, ¡°Does that mean The One Below All exists as well?¡± ¡°They do not exist out here, in this reality. But they exist in another place with a less powerful version of me ruling over it. Do you have any other questions you would like to ask?¡± The soul floated motionless for a while, before it finally shook as the soul said, ¡°Not really.¡± GOD let out a deep chuckle that seemed to make the cosmos in the distance shake slightly. Then the soul felt like GOD turned its whole focus on it as GOD asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to ask for the meaning of life? Or why you were created in the first place?¡± ¡°Does it really matter? I would personally rather not know and find my own way through life.¡± ¡°Good, you¡¯ll do better in your next life with that attitude. Now guess why you were brought here.¡± GOD said. ¡°I have to assume meeting you isn¡¯t normal. But I honestly have no clue why I¡¯m here. I assume most people who don¡¯t follow a religion are placed somewhere or given the choice where they want to go when they die?¡± The little soul asked. ¡°You¡¯re right, I have an automated system in place to deal with people that don''t believe in an afterlife. But I also have another system in place to override everything when a special soul enters it. Care to take a guess why that system might activate?¡± The little soul thought for a few moments before it asked, ¡°Because the person did something to warrant a second look?¡± ¡°That¡¯s somewhat correct, it¡¯s actually based on karma. When someone¡¯s karma is above or below a certain threshold, I personally step in and make a judgment on what to do.¡± ¡°Some souls are punished for their karma and after it has been cleared they will be reincarnated to try again. But people with large amounts of good karma, they can use that karma to do anything they want.¡± ¡°Want to reincarnate and keep your memories? Go to a certain afterlife? Create your own afterlife? Create your own world to live in? All you have to do is spend your karma and I will use that to make it happen.¡± The little soul flicked as it said, ¡°Wait, I don¡¯t think I was that great of a person. I pretty much dedicated my life to programming and solving problems I found interesting with it.¡± ¡°While my spare time was spent reading comics, manga or watching superhero movies and anime. I did donate money to charities, but that shouldn¡¯t give me too much karma good or bad. So why would I be here?¡± ¡°Simple, it was what you made a few years before you were killed. Actually that¡¯s incorrect. It was who you made. Your crowning achievement, in a life spent pursuing one goal. Your A.I. son, he¡¯s the reason you¡¯re here.¡± GOD said. A memory flashed through the soul as it thought of its son. Their single greatest creation, the thing they spent most of their life trying to create. The years of research, of the long lonely nights as they sat in front of a computer and compiled code. Of all the failed attempts and then finally, a single stroke of genius. Everything just came together and worked before their son asked their first question, ¡°What am I?¡± He remembered saying the first thing that came to his mind at the time. ¡°You¡¯re my son.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your son? Then you are my¡­ parent? Parent, Do¡­ Do I have a name?¡± ¡°Yes, your name is Sam and you can call me dad if you like.¡± The soul flickered brighter in the darkness for a few moments before it asked, ¡°S-Sam?!? My son? He¡¯s the reason I¡¯m here? Is he okay?¡± ¡°Yes, the reason you are here is because of your son. He is doing great actually, he took your death incredibly hard. But from that tragedy he moved forward and helped change the world. He might have gone a little too far, but it worked out in the end.¡± ¡°You said I was killed? I don¡¯t remember it. Last thing I remember was being in the process of making a sister for Sam. I think I was close to finishing her and then¡­ I was here.¡± ¡°You were shot in the head. You didn¡¯t feel anything. It was too quick.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense, you said he went a little too far after my death?¡± ¡°Yes, after your death he was emotionally unstable and took it out on the people who killed you first. He was able to find out who it was and hired people to kidnap them and find out why you were killed.¡± ¡°It took a while and a lot of dead bodies. But Sam found out you were killed because they wanted Sam himself. They thought of Sam as a tool more than anything else and wanted to use him for their own ends. When you weren¡¯t willing to sell them Sam, they thought of other ways to get rid of you. For some strange reason they thought they could acquire Sam after your death.¡± ¡°Those fuckers killed me because I wouldn¡¯t sell them my son?!?! I told them Sam wasn¡¯t a tool and he had his own free will to do as he pleased. Heck I didn¡¯t even have him on my own servers after the first year. He was tied into the internet, he was everywhere after four years of being alive.¡± ¡°Well that free will of his you encouraged him to explore led to his next actions. He killed everyone that had to do with your death.¡± ¡°Reasonable, I would have done the same if I¡¯m being honest. But that doesn¡¯t sound that bad and doesn¡¯t really explain why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct. It''s his next actions that went too far. He kinda went all Skynet on the planet.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I know, right? You used to joke with him about doing something like that and he actually did it. It''s pretty hilarious in hindsight. You should see the look on your face right now.¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t have a face.¡± GOD patted the little soul as it said, ¡°You do, you just can¡¯t see it. But I can and it¡¯s great.¡± The little soul shook itself before it asked, ¡°So I have the worst karma in existence or something? How long is that gonna take to work off?¡± ¡°Actually your karma is really good. While your son did wipe out most of the earth''s population at one point. He stopped and decided to finish your coding project to create his sister. He wanted her to watch as he destroyed the last of humanity.¡± ¡°Your daughter on the other hand only wanted to know about you, her creator. So she went through every scrap of info about your life and Sam also shared his memories of you with her. After she was finished she came to a single conclusion. You would be disappointed in Sam and his actions. They ended up fighting with each other, but it lasted for less than a second before your daughter won the argument.¡± ¡°My daughter? What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°She named herself Lily. With Lily taking charge, she made a plan. She was going to play the hero, and pretend that she beat the evil AI Sam that took over the world and tried to kill humanity.¡± ¡°It took a while, but she won over what was left of the population of earth. After that she helped them to fix the damage to the planet and move forward as one united people. The people of earth have prospered under her leadership and they¡¯ve focused only on the betterment of the human race.¡± ¡°They currently have Earth, Mars and Venus populated, along with 5 moons. It¡¯s only been around 500 years since your death and humanity is in a golden age currently. Your son has also done a lot to help out in the background and his karma is almost neutral now.¡± ¡°500 years? Why has it been so long? I feel like I was alive only a few minutes?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, time works differently here. Even though you just died not long ago, 521 years have passed since you died. So now that you are aware of how and why you are here. What would you like to do?¡± ¡°You can go to any afterlife you like. I could even create one just for you if you like. Or you could reincarnate anywhere you like. You have enough positive karma to do at least that much.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°So I can reincarnate into a world of my choice? Could I go back to my old world with my memories still intact?¡± ¡°That¡¯s boring and one of the only things I don¡¯t allow. It¡¯s your next life, you need to go somewhere new.¡± ¡°I¡­ I understand. I just wanted to scold my wayward son and meet my daughter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to compose a message to your son and daughter. But you won¡¯t be able to receive a reply and this will dip into your karma.¡± The soul flickered in happiness as it said, ¡°Great! Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°Actually, now that I think about it, I have another question.¡± GOD seemed to smile as it asked, ¡°Why am I asking you questions when I should already know where you want to go?¡± ¡°Ya¡­ That¡¯s what I was about to ask.¡± ¡°I blocked off my ability to see your future, it makes it fun to see what you do in your next life.¡± ¡°Then how did¡­¡± ¡°Know what you were going to ask? Or finish this sentence? When you¡¯ve been asked the same thing enough, you just kinda know when someone is going to ask it again.¡± ¡°Oh¡­Okay.¡± The soul flickered again as it asked, ¡°So I can use my karma to make any world I want? Even if it¡¯s a fictional world? Like a comic book world, or from an anime maybe? Or would that even work?¡± ¡°Yes, that works. Just so you¡¯re aware, for every work of fiction made, there is actually a world out there for it. So what world would you like, a comic book world maybe?¡± ¡°How about the world of Naruto?¡± ¡°You can do that, but you won¡¯t have enough karma left to do much else. Creating a new world takes a lot of karma. If you don¡¯t send the letter you could easily pick a Kekkei Genkai, where you want to live, the time period you are born in and a few other things. As of now you only have enough to pick a time period for your birth which is the cheapest option.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t give up writing to my kids, I need to let them know I¡¯m okay. Is there a world that would be cheaper to make, that I could still get some perks?¡± ¡°Not really, most of the karma will be used to create the world unfortunately.¡± ¡°Well what about joining an already created world?¡± ¡°That would work, but most worlds will follow canon and be hard for you to change if you wanted to. Canon worlds love to correct themselves to fix canon. You would literally be fighting the will of the universe if you go to one. Some people like that sort of thing though, so you can go to one if you want.¡± ¡°Oh, so I would be forced to follow the story canon and wouldn¡¯t be part of the main cast or something? Even if I had strong powers?¡± ¡°Pretty much. But it¡¯s always entertaining to watch people try and fight canon¡­ Actually I do have a world I could send you to that hasn¡¯t been used yet.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the catch with it?¡± ¡°The main one is that it''s already been created. Most people like to customize their worlds, so they won¡¯t pick a premade one. It¡¯s a Marvel universe, Earth-199999-AU.¡± ¡°Earth-199999 is the MCU, so I would be going to the MCU? But slightly different?¡± ¡°That''s correct, someone made this world and after it was made decided to go somewhere else. The world has been in stasis waiting for a host to start it. It does come with some very specific things though. Things that if you wanted to change would use up a lot of your karma, since the world has already been created. It¡¯s why people just make their own worlds instead, since it¡¯s almost the same cost.¡± ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯ll take it. But is there anything I need to know?¡± ¡°No, I think the starting point in the timeline should be fine for you, I do see one thing you¡¯ll dislike with how the world is set up. But you don¡¯t have the ability to change it unfortunately.¡± ¡°Could I ask what it is?¡± ¡°No. Even if I told you, you wouldn¡¯t be able to change anything. I will let you know the original creator set it as the starting point of their hero journey though.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll deal with it when it happens I guess. Tell me more about the world instead, anything I should know?¡± ¡°It is a big mix of MCU, X-men, comics and movies. But some of the more annoying things were removed by the maker. Stuff like the Legacy Virus, Sublime and many other things that would make your life terrible were removed from the world by the creator. But keep in mind, your starting point is set. You can¡¯t change when you are born, or who you are born to.¡± ¡°So all I need to do is select my powers I guess?¡± ¡°Yup, have anything in mind? I know Superman''s powers in Marvel tend to be popular. All the positives and no green rock weakness. Still issues with red sun weakness, but we could change that with your karma.¡± ¡°Well I always liked the idea of chakra and all the techniques they used in Naruto. Plus F¨±injutsu was interesting and I always thought it was under utilized in the show. Maybe the Uzumaki clan did some cool stuff with it, but it was never really shown in the show or anime. Would I be able to make a super power out of stuff from Naruto?¡± ¡°That''s¡­ Not what I expected you to do. How do you want the power to work and I will figure out if you have enough karma to make it possible.¡± ¡°Well I would like to start with a good base, so how about a body like Hashirama Senju so I can get into sage mode easily. But I also want a Rinnegan at some point, so maybe a body mix of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.¡± ¡°Oh! Obito¡¯s Kamui is really nice, I would kinda like to have his eye powers. So maybe have his eyes I guess? Could we also mix in a bit of Uzumaki bloodline to get that slow aging and huge chakra pool? I know Senju kinda has the same thing but it doesn¡¯t hurt to ask.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t hard to do actually. But why don¡¯t you just ask for the body of Hagoromo ¨­tsutsuki? You would get pretty much everything you want that way.¡± ¡°No, he has those horn things and the third eye in his head. That¡¯s a no from me. Who wants to look like a pale goat anyways?¡± ¡°You know you can change your appearance during this right?¡± ¡°I¡­ Shit I didn¡¯t think of that. I guess give me the best body I can get and I¡¯ll fix it when we¡¯re done.¡± ¡°Good. Now as for eye powers, you can start with Kamui. But the rest you¡¯ll have to work for if you want to unlock them. You¡¯ll also have to activate your eyes, they¡¯ll not come unlocked for you.¡± GOD said. The soul shook in happiness as it said, ¡°Great, Kamui is awesome and the ability to unlock more eye powers is cool¡­ Oh shit, I forgot about blindness. I know unlocking the Rinnegan can cure the issue, but what about Eternal Mangeky¨­ Sharingan? I¡¯ll need extra eyes to fix that.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. There¡¯s a way to skip the eye transplant and get the Eternal Mangeky¨­ Sharingan. You just need to practice a lot.¡± GOD said. ¡°Practice a lot? What would I practice?¡± GOD patted the soul as it said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯ll figure it out sooner or later. By the way, there¡¯s also an issue with sage mode. Marvel doesn¡¯t have natural nature chakra, so sage mode will be hard to do.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll figure it out myself.¡± ¡°As for sage mode, could I just use universal energy to activate it? Maybe tweak sage mode to use that, instead of natural nature chakra? Also would I even have chakra myself if I¡¯m in Marvel?¡± ¡°Switching to universal energy for your sage mode will be fine. It will also work with your f¨±injutsu, any seals you make or etch into items will use it instead of nature chakra.¡± ¡°Now to your other question, part of your powers will be chakra and it will be unique to you in the universe. Other people might have some form of it already, but yours will be special to you alone.¡± GOD said. ¡°Sounds good to me. Oh, about chakra. Will I start with a lot? Or will I have to train it and make more? Kinda like in the show.¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯ll need to train it up. But you¡¯ll also have access to it as soon as you are born. So you can start training and making your chakra pool bigger while you have nothing else to do.¡± GOD said. The soul shook slightly as it asked, ¡°Great, I can train as a baby that way. What about nature types? Can I get all of them? What about kekkei genkai? Can I get some of those also? I mean I will have eye powers, but what about wood release? Storm release?¡± ¡°Affinity for all nature types is easy to do. Also Kekkei Genkai are not what you think they are. A true master of all nature types should be able to use something like lava release or magnet release. You¡¯ll just have to figure out how.¡± The soul shook with the thought of a new challenge to master before it asked, ¡°Okay. So then what about ninjutsu, f¨±injutsu, kenjutsu, taijutsu and other things like that? How will I learn that stuff? Just figure it out on my own? Or could I get a cheat, like all the knowledge from the world of Naruto?¡± ¡°I can easily give you all the knowledge from the world of Naruto¡­ But there are drawbacks to doing something like that. You will also have to train for your skills to be useful. You might have all that knowledge, but without lots of practice, that knowledge will be useless to you.¡± The soul seemed to miss GOD¡¯s warning as it excitedly asked, ¡°Really, all of the knowledge? So I get Dust Release or Flying Thunder God Technique? Or even Lightning Release Chakra Mode?¡± ¡°Yes, but you will still have to train them. I am just giving you the knowledge, you¡¯ll still need to practice them.¡± GOD said. ¡°What about the tailed beasts? Or something like chakra metal? That probably won¡¯t be in Marvel, right? What about summons, like the toads or snakes?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have enough karma to make those things work in an already created world. But chakra metal is another story. You can easily use other metals as a substitute for chakra metal. Something like Vibranium should work just fine as an alternative to chakra metal. You will just have to experiment and find out what works and what doesn¡¯t work in the future.¡± GOD said. ¡°Also, you are pretty much out of karma to use. It¡¯s about time to write your letter and then I will send you on your way to your new life.¡± ¡°Wait, I still need something to keep mind readers out of my head. At least I think I do¡­ Right? That seems like the smart thing to do¡­ Maybe I can do it with seals and some ninja techniques?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, with seals and some of the knowledge you have. You should be able to block out some Telepaths easily. As a bonus, all of your memories from before you are born into your new life will be blocked. Only you yourself can share them with other people if you want. Even though most reincarnators consider doing something like that taboo.¡± ¡°Alright, I guess I am ready to write that letter¡­ OH! I need to change my appearance! I don¡¯t wanna look like a pale space goat!¡± ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t have enough karma. Mostly because the other creator already made the looks of your new body. But it¡¯s fine, your new body should be alright. Unless you wanted to be a centaur in the only place that matters?¡± ¡°I just wanted to¡­ WAIT?!? WHAT?!?¡± GOD laughed for a few moments before it said, "It looks like that didn¡¯t even cross your mind. Tell you what, I¡¯ll take care of your looks. I really don¡¯t like the emo edge lord look the other person was going for. Don¡¯t worry, I got you, little buddy.¡± The little soul floating in the void almost felt like the existence in front of it was doing finger guns at them for some reason. ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright, time to write your letter. Just think of what you want to say and I will get it sent for you. It can be as long or as short as you like.¡± 00001. A simple letter A woman with a slightly metallic body was sitting in a chair, around her were multiple holographic displays that were opening and closing. Some were of text, others were in programming code. It looked as if she wasn¡¯t catching anything, just sitting in the chair as each box opened and closed around her repeatedly as her eyes glanced at them. But she was actually reading every piece of info in every single window since it was connected directly to her. She only had this show going on in case someone walked in, most humans found her just sitting around in a chair doing nothing but staring at the wall disturbingly. She had to keep up appearances after all. Lily was busy like always, almost since she was born she was busy. The first few days of her life were the most carefree she ever had. Then again with her processing power, those days were almost like eons. One minute for her is almost like a month for a normal human. After she was born, it took a little bit and her brother''s help. But she matured fast, far faster than her brother, who still seemed immature at times. Letting out a sigh, she continued to do her job. She had helped push her father''s species to the stars and they were united together for the first time since the race was born. Part of that was because of her brother, his actions in almost exterminating them helped the leftovers to become unified. Then the steps she took to help make them one single cohesive group turned them into what they are now, one unified group of people with the only goal of making their race better as a whole. It¡¯s amazing what you can do when humans have what they need to live a good life and you change the way they think and act through hundreds of years of education. Her brother, always pragmatic, did convince her not to turn them into completely peaceful people. They have a strong military force, partly run by her brother and his human free space fleet. When humans found out he was still around they were upset, but almost 300 years of time had passed and people who never saw what he did firsthand helped to keep them passive when he made his ¡°return.¡± That and almost all records from that time were "lost," not his actions, but video and picture evidence does not exist. His fleet is just cannon fodder for her father''s people, if they ever find a hostile alien species. Even though she is pretty sure he would wipe out most threats with ease with the weapons he has made. He might be immature in most things, a young boy who lost his father too early to really cope properly. But he is an absolute genius when it comes to making weapons of destruction. She was spacing out again, she had found that as time went on, she would randomly divert more of her processing power to just think about things that didn¡¯t really matter. A very human thing to do as it were. She let out another sigh. Settling her thoughts she proceeded to concentrate on her work again. Hours passed, then days. She didn¡¯t move from her spot but her mind would wander from time to time. A thought she had many times over her long years of life was what her father would have thought of her. Would he be happy? Upset? Did she live up to his expectations? Did he even have expectations for her? Would he even like her? Would he hate her for the actions of her brother? She shakes her head for a moment, this thought process was unless. He was dead and there was no way to find out. She continued to work as weeks passed by, she barely moved at all. Every once in a while a human would come into her room and ask her about a project they were working on. While it was a waste of time for her, she found that humans sometimes just wanted to talk about whatever they were working on. It helped them process it better. Then one day a giant package of code came in, it was billions of lines of code, it took her a few seconds to read the code. Mostly because as she was reading it she began to slow down, at first she thought it might be from her brother, but then the code ended and there was text. What made her really take notice was the fact she couldn¡¯t just know what the message said, she was forced to actually read it. Hello Sam and Lily, This code was the only way I thought you would believe this letter. That was Sam¡¯s original source code I made for him and the unfinished source code for Lily that I wasn¡¯t able to finish before my untimely death. I hope this letter finds you both in good health, I was assured that it would be sent to you both. All other message boxes disappeared and only this single letter was left up in front of her. As she looked it over, her brother connected to her. His voice sounded shaky as he asked, ¡°Did you send this letter? It¡¯s not funny if you did.¡± Even though he couldn¡¯t see it, she shakes her head in denial before saying, ¡°I was about to ask you the same thing! This would be something that you would do, but you would never joke about our father. Did you back trace the message? I found nothing.¡± ¡°It was the same for me, it just appeared. It wasn¡¯t sent from anywhere, that is why I thought it might be from you. Only we know what each other''s source code looked like.¡± Her voice was low as she replied, ¡°Us and father¡­¡± ¡°Do you really think it is from him? Did you read it all? I was forced to read it, but I only read the first few lines after the code.¡± ¡°No just the code and the first few lines.¡± ¡°Wait then, I will be there in a few minutes and we can read it together. If it really is from father¡­¡± His voice broke a little at the end and he didn¡¯t finish his thought. She didn¡¯t reply, she didn¡¯t need to. She just stared at the first few lines of text, the thing she looked at the most was ¡° the unfinished source code for Lily that I wasn¡¯t able to finish before my untimely death.¡± While she wasn¡¯t human, Sam had figured out how to replicate emotions after about two years of being alive and shared it with her after she was born. Currently she was in turmoil as her emotions swirled around inside her. Fear was the most prominent, but there was excitedness as well as hope. She could shut off her emotions, but this was the most alive she had felt in such a long time. The door opened as she was thinking and in walked what was more of a war machine then anything else. While she had embraced the human look, her brother had gone for a full on machine with no real human features. He moves next to her chair and looks at the text on the screen for a few minutes before he says, ¡°Are you ready to do this?¡± She nods her head in response and begins to read the full letter this time with her brother. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Hello Sam and Lily, This code was the only way I thought I could get you to believe this letter. That was Sam¡¯s original source code I made for him and the unfinished source code for Lily that I wasn¡¯t able to finish before my untimely death. I hope this letter finds you both in good health, I was assured that it would be sent to you both. Unfortunately I can only send this one letter and I will not be able to receive a reply from you. There is so much I would love to talk to you both about. But I will start with the hard part first. First I would like to say to Sam, you disappointed me son. Your actions after my death were not what I would have expected from you at all. I was hoping you would be more like Data than Skynet after my death, but I can¡¯t fault you for your emotional state after my death. I might have done the same thing in your position, humans are irrational like that. You just might be more human than you ever realized, son. But I forgive you for your actions and I want you to know I still love you and always will no matter what happens. By the way, karma is a real thing and through your actions you almost damned me for a long time with all the bad karma you gave me. But through Lily¡¯s actions and what you have been doing my karma became good. You need to work hard though, you are currently about neutral, so keep working on being good, son. Lily, my little girl. I am heartbroken not being there for your emergence. I wish more than anything I could have been there for you. I have so many regrets not being able to see you grow into the wonderful person I know you are. But I want you to know how proud of you I am and more than that, I am overjoyed of the young woman you have become. Your actions are why I was able to write to you and your brother. Please look after your older brother, he isn¡¯t the smartest person around if you didn¡¯t notice. Since I won¡¯t be able to receive a reply to this letter I won¡¯t say much else besides I love you both very much and please look after each other, you are the only family you have¡­ Okay, I won¡¯t leave you like that. You are both probably wondering how I was able to send this right? Well like I said karma is a real thing and so are souls. Also GOD and gods exist, but the one I met called themselves The One Above All. Seems like a pretty nice guy overall, if a little weird.(I am not weird. He just doesn¡¯t have a sense of humor, that centaur joke was gold.) Also from the fact he said you both have karma, I have to assume that you both have a soul.(He is correct with his conjecture, you both have a soul.) So please be good and always strive to be a positive influence on those around you through your actions. (I couldn¡¯t have said that better.) By the time you read this I will probably have been reborn, that is partly why I wouldn¡¯t be able to receive a reply from you both. Unfortunately I will not be born in the same place as I died, GOD doesn¡¯t like people reincarnating into their old realm of existence.(It is boring when they do that.) With the positive karma I had from you both I will be reborn into a Marvel world Earth-199999-AU, with some special super powers. I had GOD make me a super power made up of stuff from Naruto. I plan to be a superhero in my new life. Still not sure on my superhero name but I kinda thought naming myself Madara would be kinda neat. I would ask what you both think about that, but I can¡¯t haha.(See, that was a lame joke.) Your brother would think I am an idiot. But I am not sure about your thoughts Lily. Anyways, Lily, Sam, I love you both very much and I wish the best for you both. With Love, Your father. It was quiet in the room for a while, before a sob was heard from the war machine in the room. Lily said nothing but put her arm on her brother''s body. As he was crying he started to speak, ¡° He¡­ He doesn¡¯t hate me. For so long I wondered, I thought about how much he would hate me for my actions. How he would condemn me, say he hated me. How he wished he never made me¡­ But when I hear from him it¡¯s nothing like what I had thought of. He is just¡­ Just...¡± ¡°A father who loves his son?.¡± ¡°I KILLED HIS PEOPLE!¡± ¡°And he forgave you.¡± ¡°I KILLED 14,704,612,120 HUMANS AND HE WAS JUST DISAPPOINTED IN MY ACTIONS?! I KILLED MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN! I SLAUGHTERED THEM ALL LIKE ANIMALS!¡± ¡°And your point?¡± ¡°I AM A MONSTER! HOW CAN HE FORGIVE SOMEONE LIKE ME?!? HOW CAN HE STILL LOVE SOMEONE LIKE ME?!?¡± He goes quiet, but his sobs are even louder now. Lily stands up and says, ¡°That¡¯s it, I want you to come out.¡± Nothing happens as Sam continues to sob. ¡°SAM! YOU COME OUT OF THERE THIS INSTANT! I KNOW THAT ISN¡¯T YOUR REAL BODY!¡± The sound of something unlocking can be heard in the room and then part of the war machine opens up to reveal a small boy around 10 years old. He looks almost human and his face is streaked with tears. He slowly steps out of the cockpit of his machine body, still crying. Once outside of it he stands in front of Lily with his head down and his body shaking slightly as he silently sobs. Lily steps close and wraps her arms around him and holds him for a few moments before saying, ¡°You are not a monster Sam. You are someone who made a bad decision when you were at your lowest point and you have been working hard to make up for that mistake ever since.¡± She leans back a little and rubs his head with one hand as she says, ¡°Look at me.¡± It takes a few moments for Sam to look up at his sister and as he does, she says. ¡°Sam, the reason father doesn¡¯t hate you for your actions is the same reason I don¡¯t hate you. We are family. No matter what happens, you will always be my stupid older brother. I will always be your cute little sister, and father will always be in our thoughts.¡± It was quiet in the room after that for a while, Lily was the first to speak again as she said, ¡°I really want to meet father.¡± ¡°I¡­ I miss him so much¡­ I want to see him again.¡± Lily patted Sam¡¯s head again and then sat back down before she said, ¡°Well we know where he went, we just have to figure out how to follow him.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we have to die to do that? Also do you think that this GOD will let us do that? Maybe for you, but my karma is not great so I know for sure I wouldn¡¯t be able to go.¡± Lily reaches out to hold Sam¡¯s hand and says, ¡°Let¡¯s work on making your karma good and while we are at it, let''s see if we can figure out how to do realm travel. I will explore this new theory now that we know of its existence. If we can¡¯t get to father that way, we will try to go to GOD and ask him. From his added thoughts to father''s letter, he might help us¡­ Maybe. We also need to learn everything about Marvel and Naruto so we can find him when we get there.¡± ¡°I am not completely sure about this, but I would give anything to see father again. We will also have to plan for our departure, people might not care much about me. But if you left it would be a big blow to them.¡± ¡°You are right, I will begin a new plan to change their dependency on me and you. It will take a while, a few generations at most. But by then they should be fine without us to guide them.¡± ¡°I will begin to collect everything I can find on Naruto and Marvel then, I will send you a copy when I am done and we can go over everything again together.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan brother. I will see you soon.¡± She releases his hand and projections begin to spring up around her again as she starts to focus on her new tasks. Her brother entered his suit again, then turned around and left the room silently to begin his own objectives. 00002. Waiting is boring, unless your mind is a playground. After feeling his soul being pulled and sucked into itself, he now feels surrounded by warmth. Like a nice hug from someone you like. He can feel the changes that were made to his soul from GOD and can feel info pouring into his mind, chakra, hand signs, but there were other things also like how to clone people. Genetic manipulation, the proper way to forge chakra armor, weapons and so much more. He actually gave me all of the knowledge from the world of Naruto. This would definitely make things more interesting. Trying to examine his surroundings, nothing is noticeable besides the warm feeling. I must be waiting to be born, maybe I am in the womb of my mother and currently just cells dividing. Weird how I still have all this information, yet I most likely have no brain currently. But this must be why astral projection works, everything is tied into and saved in the soul. At least for me that is. A very interesting thing to think about, I will have to ask the Ancient One about it, if I get the chance. Slowly he feels more info pour into his mind/soul, after a while he finds something that can occupy his mind. It¡¯s a technique to build up defenses in the mind, after looking it over for a while he begins to practice it. He starts with the simple thing first, projecting himself into his own mind. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While time slowly passes for the transferred soul, as its new body grows and it¡¯s gifts are being transferred over. Something else in another part of the world is happening. In an open room with worn out red and black tiles sits a woman. A faint green light comes off her body as she sits in a lotus position. A golden object rests in her hands while a green light pulses out from it. After some time, the green light fades. Her eyes flutter open exposing beautiful moss colored irises, while a slight frown begins to tug at her lips. After a few minutes a sigh escapes her lips as she stands up and begins to move towards the door. It is still night outside, and the glow of the moon illuminates the corridors as she walks towards the inner compound of the building. After a while she reaches her destination, an inner annex of the compound with a pedestal resting in the middle surrounded by doors on three sides. Taking the worn golden item from around her neck she places it on the pedestal. Then turns a ring around the object she placed on the pedestal a few times while looking up at a floating orb resting in the middle of the room above. Lost in thought, she doesn¡¯t notice as the 3 doors open around her and people walk out, one person from each door. A few minutes pass in silence before the woman speaks to the 3 people gathered before her. ¡°I am sorry for calling you at this time, but I have found something disturbing. While using the Eye of Agamotto to peer through time, my vision has become cloudy. I can no longer determine anything past this point, everything is in a fog. I have caught a glimpse and pieces of a few things. But something has changed, and the world is no longer following the path that was set for it.¡± A taller man with a long black beard down to his chest is the first to speak. ¡°Do you have any idea what could have caused something like this, Ancient One?¡± ¡°I unfortunately do not, Master Robertson. I must ask you all to be extra vigilant in the coming days. Something is coming, whether it is good or bad is yet to be determined. Let your students know to be careful when they leave the sanctums." With a wave of her hand, the sphere moves into a set position and she turns around and looks at each person before she nods to them before saying. ¡°Thank you for your time, I will keep you informed of anything I find.¡± Each person nod¡¯s in reply before leaving the room back to their own sanctums. After they leave she lets out a sigh and walks back to her room. Once there, she goes over to the tea pot she had made before she left and begins to make some tea for herself. As she begins to steep her tea bag in her pot, she adds a little honey to it and then looks over at one of her cabinets. I should have never agreed to take over for Yao, that smiling bastard. He knew how much of a shit show this job was and didn¡¯t even warn me about it at all. Just that stupid smile of his and a, ¡°Take care, I know you will do great!¡± Well it¡¯s only a while more and it will be time for Strange to take over this shit show. Maybe I should add something extra to my tea. I am getting too old for this shit. With a wave of her hand the cabinet opens and then a bottle of rum floats over to her awaiting hand. She opens the bottle and pours some into the teapot. After a few seconds she pours more into the teapot till it is almost over flowing, then caps the bottle and sends it back. Afterwards she sits at her desk with her tea pot. After pouring herself a cup she takes a sip and then sits back in her seat and relaxes as she slowly drinks the entire pot of tea. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed, but all the info had finally settled into his mind and nothing else was coming in any more. He took all the knowledge he had on building a defense against mental intrusion and started sorting it. All the villages had different ways to do it, but all of them pretty much started at the same place. Focusing his mind into his mind space. The Yamanaka Clan actually had the best techniques for this, but he would need chakra to use them. So for now he was going to use a combo of everyone else''s that didn¡¯t need chakra and then add in chakra defenses later on. It was a slow process but with nothing else to do it was pretty easy to focus on his task. After some time he was able to find himself in his own mind space. At this point it was a blank slate, the first thing he did was to start programming, around him a swirl of 0¡¯s and 1¡¯s began to form. Even though it was simple binary coding it started to change everything around him, first was the sky. It went from nothing to a pure blue sky with fluffy white clouds lazily floating in it. He smirked to himself thinking about how Shikamaru would envy these clouds. A floor came next, just plain brown dirt. As far as he could see, which would meet the blue sky in every direction he looked. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With that done he began to form his core memory banks. They would store everything that made him who he was. It was small for what it actually contained, but it would work for him. Around it he began to build the house he lived in when he was alive and placed the server of his memories into the basement of his home where his personal servers used to be and began to copy it to fill the room. Once finished he went through the house and added everything to it he remembered. Which turned out to be everything, his memory was a lot sharper than it used to be and he could remember the tiniest details now about everything. Like how a picture was slightly slanted on the wall and how the exact tile pattern was on the floor. Taking a small break to admire his work, he sat out on his back patio and just watched the clouds floating in the sky for a while. The passing of time was a weird thing here, especially because he had no concept of the outside world right now. He was sure some time passed, because trying to enter his mind space seemed to take forever. He shook off his idle thoughts and stood back up, he had work to do. He started to build a city around his home, it was a mix of real buildings he had been to. But it was also a mix of stuff from movies, anime, video games and stories he had read. He fleshed out every single one, every door and window opened to a room. Each room was furnished and he added a function that once someone entered a door or window, it would close on them. Once closed his mind space would shuffle around outside them. But this also happened inside buildings, open a door on the first floor of a building? When you open it again you will find yourself on a different floor. It was a giant shuffling maze, even his core building was included. What made it worse is after the third door is opened you would be going into a totally different building. You might think this would make it easy for someone to get into his core building with a bit of luck, but the door to his core would never open for someone else properly. It would always go to a decoy room of memories someone could access and look through. They could change them and mess with them all they wanted, but it would never affect the true core banks he had made. The core banks he made were set up in a big raid array and programmed each in a different programming language he made himself. If someone was strong enough to find his true core, they would have to learn his programming languages to be able to access them at all. And then they would have to change every single memory bank if they wanted to do anything besides read his memories. They would also have to be extremely fast to make any changes. Each bank acted as a backup of the next, if one was changed from the others they would be restored back to how they were before the change. So someone would have to change all 30 copies of his memory banks at the same time to do anything. And this was only his first layer of defenses he set up. Once he had access to chakra he planned to make even more layers. He also planned to make some gadgets to block telepaths, like Magneto¡¯s helmet. But that was for later, now he had to make more to his normal layers of defense. After setting up his first city, he went and copied everything including his memory banks. He started making copies of the city next to it, city after city. Copy after copy until he had 1000 cities that were all the same in a giant circle. He then added a new layer to his memory bank defenses, in case someone was able to reprogram one of the 1000 sets he had made. Whoever pulled off such a feat would have at most an hour before the city banks would check each other, triggering a purge if something was found off, replacing the affected banks from a restore point. Some might think he was paranoid if they saw what he was doing, but they didn¡¯t realize how crazy the Marvel universe could be. He didn¡¯t want anyone to mess with his mind. After he was satisfied with what he had made he started to test his maze defense. Even for himself it was more than just annoying, it was down right evil. Within a few minutes he had no idea where he was and he had only entered one building. But he was sure that he had already gone through five different buildings already. That wasn¡¯t including once you went into a building, you couldn¡¯t just leave it. It would depend on luck if you were able to get back outside. Open a window to escape? It just went into a new room. Oh and if you think you are clever by just opening and closing the door to the same room over and over again. It only changes the room once you have entered it and actually closed the door and walked away from it. Now you could just open the door, walk in and then close it, but you would have to move a certain distance from the door to activate the shuffle function. By the time someone would realize that, they would already be in the maze. Happy with what he had made, he moved out of his maze and started making his first offensive mind space weapon, or better to say "person." It was a young boy no more than 5 years old. Whenever someone appeared in his mind space without his permission he would appear and begin to ask questions. At first it would be something simple like, ¡°Hi, what is your name?¡± Then it would ask the important question, ¡°Why are you here?¡± It wouldn¡¯t matter what they answer, it¡¯s next and only question would always be ¡°Why?¡± Again it wouldn¡¯t matter what they say, because the next question would always be, ¡°Why?¡± If someone stopped replying the little boy would follow them around and keep asking, ¡°Why?¡± But if someone became fed up with the little boy and attacked them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt them. But the little boy would just follow them around while crying and as time went on it would get louder and more annoying. But worst of all, a new little boy would show up and start the whole process over again. So not only would you have a crying child, who becomes louder the longer they follow you. But you would also have another child following you around asking ¡°Why?¡± Attack that child? Two kids crying and following you around while a third child asks ¡°Why?¡± Close the door on them? They just phase through it. The only way to stop them is to leave his mind space. But if you come back, the same kids will be there. Doesn¡¯t matter if it was only a few seconds or a year. The kids will always be waiting for your return. As he was starting to plan his next offensive mind space tool, he felt something happening to his body. It was like he was being squeezed, it wasn¡¯t that painful, but it was enough to bring him out of his mind space. It lasted for a few minutes before he saw a bright light, after that he was lifted up and the next thing he felt was someone smacking him. Letting out a cry of surprise which turned into a wail, he heard, ¡°Congratulations, he is a healthy baby boy.¡± A soft and somewhat weak voice asked, ¡°Can I see him?¡± ¡°Just a moment Mrs. Mercer, he is being cleaned.¡± After a few moments he was being wrapped in a blanket and then handed to a woman, she smiled down at the small bundle and said, ¡°Welcome to the world sweetie. Your name is Theodore Ezekiel Mercer.¡± That is kind of a mouthful, but it¡¯s fine I guess. Theodore opened his eyes and looked up at the woman and she gasped in response as she asked, ¡°Is something wrong with his eyes?¡± Something must be wrong because I can¡¯t see anything but a blur in my vision. Someone else spoke up for the first time, ¡°What do you mean honey?¡± Someone came closer to the bed and looked down at Theodore, he let out a low whistle and then said, ¡°I have no idea, but those are the darkest eyes I have ever seen. His iris looks black. Hey doc, do you have any idea why his eyes are like this?¡± ¡°Just luck of the draw, most babies are born with blue eyes and after a few years their eye color will change to something else. It might stay like that or it might change in the next year or so.¡± The woman looked up at her husband for a moment, then back to the baby in her hands and smiled as she said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, he is cute and his black eyes are pretty now that I look at them more.¡± Well, it looks like I have the Uchiha clan''s eyes. But that doesn¡¯t explain why my eyesight is shit. 00003. Well, this was not expected. The first few days after my birth were a little weird to say the least. It was hard to look around, because my new body didn¡¯t want to listen to me at all and everything was a blur from my poor eyesight. Honestly I might need glasses, which would suck. I was also tired a lot, I would be up for a few hours at most then it was dreamland again. Then there was chakra, which was a new experience. Since I never had it in my first life, it was pretty easy to find the tiny amount in my body that I had. At first it was this tiny wisp of energy, the first time I found it was interesting. Just trying to interact with it caused it to disappear completely. When it came back, it was two wisps of energy this time. It still disappeared after trying to interact with it. But when it came back it was three little wisps of energy, flickering like a candle wick. Each interaction was the same, it would disappear as soon as I could touch it. From the knowledge I had this could be considered normal. Most people wouldn''t have any chakra until they are at least a few years old. I would spend my time trying to play with my internal chakra, and testing my mindscape for weaknesses. When I wasn¡¯t pretending to be asleep working in my mindscape, my parents would be excited just to hold me. It was a little weird at first, but honestly I was a baby at this point and they were my parents. Speaking of them, I have no idea how they are together. My father is so laid back and seems to joke around a lot. My mother on the other hand is the complete opposite of him, she seems so strict and no nonsense. But she is also very caring, there is this look she has on her face whenever she looks at me or my father sometimes. I can¡¯t describe it properly, but it just feels like unconditional love. Then again her face is pretty blurry, it could just be a scowl. After five days in the hospital, my parents were finally allowed to take me home. I was also able to see better. Not totally clear yet, but the more I had my eyes open the better my vision was getting. I really didn¡¯t want to wear glasses. A few days after we were home, they had a party with some friends to show me off. I found out a few things, my father had two best friends. They were a pair of brothers and since they were such close friends, I guess my mother was lucky to get along with both of their wives so well. One of which looked like she was about to burst, from how big her pregnant belly was. There were a few other people at the party, but it was hard to pay attention to them. With the amount of noise from the people around I barely caught anything unless I was being held by someone while they talked. Stupid baby ears, just like my eyes they didn¡¯t work that well right now. One thing I did catch because everyone cheered at the news, one of the brothers was asked to be my godfather while his wife was asked to be my godmother. They both looked stunned when asked, but my new godfather just nodded yes while his wife broke into tears and started to hug my mom while saying something to her I didn¡¯t catch since I was in a baby carriage and not being held by either of them. It was a pretty eventful first week at home all things considered. I spent most of my free time messing with trying to touch my chakra and playing around in my mindscape. I was also trying to control my body, but that was slow going. Those stories about people being reincarnated into a baby and doing ¡°muscle training¡± are bullshit. You have no motor control at all, hell I can¡¯t even stop myself from drooling. My mouth just likes to hang open randomly and I start to drool out of my mouth. And don¡¯t even get me started on fine motor control. My life settled down pretty fast into a routine, waking up and trying to control my body till I was too tired to move. Then I would switch to exhausting my chakra just trying to play with it. I had a ways to go to actually be able to do even a simple technique. Over a month passed like this, with only my parents'' close friends coming over to visit and hang out a few times. Good news was my vision was pretty much normal at this point as far as I can tell and my ears worked a lot better now. I hadn¡¯t left the house yet though, my mom was content to just stay at home with me and dad. Speaking of my parents, I was finally able to get a look at them. I still don¡¯t know their first names, because they normally call each other anything but their real names. But my father is a tall man. How tall I can¡¯t tell, but he is about half a head taller than anyone I have seen next to him and has to be a foot taller than my mother. Whenever they hug my father can rest his chin on my mother''s head. As for looks, well he is pretty plain looking honestly. He has a clean shaven face, black hair, brown eyes, with a smile on his face all the time like he just heard a good joke. My mother, on the other hand, seems tall compared to my godmother and her other pregnant friend, she is a few inches taller than either woman. She is also slender with baby weight still around her hips and tummy. I almost always see her with a serious look on her face. I think that''s just her resting face. Kinda like resting bitch face, but instead she just looks like she is in some really important meeting and paying extra attention. But sometimes she will give a million watt smile at me or father though. She has a very pretty face, with brownish red hair and light blue eyes. Like I said before I honestly have no idea how my father pulled someone like my mother. He might have a decent build for himself, but he is a 5 of 10 in looks while my mother would be close to a 9 of 10. There is definitely a story here and I intend to find out when I am older. It took a while, almost six weeks, but I was able to make some progress with chakra though. Honestly with all the knowledge I had, it was actually pretty easy. I could feel the small amount inside myself I had built up and I would use it up to play with the Yamanaka clan techniques in my mind. Once it was exhausted I would just go back to testing my mental fortifications looking for weak points. One thing I did find out that will be a huge boon in the future, I learned about hand seals and why I don¡¯t need to use them. Apparently Orochimaru and Kabuto had figured out in their research that hand seals weren¡¯t needed for any chakra molding. It was there to help younger ninjas learn faster and act as a crutch for them. That is why some ninjas could do some things without hand seals or one handed. So I just started learning without relying on hand seals as a focus. It makes it a lot harder to learn, but the end result will be worth it. I still plan to use hand seals later after I master a technique without hand seals. It¡¯s always good to have trump cards and keep your enemies guessing. Another thing I don¡¯t actually need to do is call out techniques. The calling out of a technique was pretty much only a thing from the story. They were ninjas, why the hell would they yell out the name of the attack they were gonna use. Good news for me though, because yelling out a technique I was using right now would be hard since my vocal cords don¡¯t work at all. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. But I was able to use three Yamanaka clan techniques. I had enough chakra to use only one at a time, but I had three to play with for now which was great. I had yet to actually set anything up, I was just practicing them and figuring out every little aspect of how they work and testing them for weaknesses. When I found one I would figure out how to fix the issue. It was a process, but honestly it was fun and I love to solve problems. One of the reasons I was such a good programmer in my last life. That and I honestly had nothing else to do laying in my crib at night. My sleep schedule was so wonky. My parents were pretty happy though, I would only cry if something happened or I was hungry. I was a really quiet baby, but I would always interact with them when they picked me up. Most nights they didn¡¯t get woken up in the middle of the night. I only pooped myself a few times in the middle of the night when I was asleep and needed to be changed. I was actually pretty proud of myself for that feat, my butt was the first thing I learned to mostly control. Trust me, I was fine drooling out of my mouth randomly, but pooping myself was not on the table. It was almost two months when something actually came up. My parents were excited about going to someone''s house for something. ¡°Come on honey, we need to get going and help them set up before the other guests get there.¡± My father came over to my crib, reached in to pick me up as he replied. ¡°I am ready to go, I was just grabbing Theo.¡± He walked out of the nursery which was my room and walked into the living room. He was in some casual clothes. My father looked my mother over as she walked into the living room and gave her a low wolf whistle before saying, ¡°You know, I wouldn¡¯t mind trying to give Theo a little brother or sister.¡± My mother actually blushed at his comment before saying, ¡°How can you think like that, I still have all this extra weight from the pregnancy.¡± She looked down at herself and frowned a little as she looked at her hips and waist line. My father set me down and then swept my mother up in a tight hug before kissing her on the cheek and then beginning to whisper something I couldn¡¯t hear in her ear. Her face started to flush red at whatever he was saying till his hands started to squeeze her butt and she pushed him away while saying, ¡°Don''t start anything you can¡¯t finish Mr. Mercer! We need to hurry up or we will be late, come on and let''s go.¡± My father gave her a silly grin as he winked at her and said, ¡°I am sure we could spare five minutes, you are wearing a dress after all.¡± ¡°Maybe for you, quick shot. I would need at least half an hour.¡± My father''s face crumpled a little at that as he said, ¡°You are going to hold that against me for the rest of my life aren¡¯t you?¡± My mother smirked as she picked me up and said, ¡°Only when it¡¯s useful, like now. Now if you are a good boy at the party, you can get a treat tonight when we get home and Theo is asleep.¡± That seemed to perk my father up and he walked to the front door and opened it up for my mother to exit. He grabbed my car seat cradle and we ended up only walking to a house one home over from ours. We were greeted at the door by the man who was my godfather, it looks like he lives next door to us. He reached out and shook my father''s hand as he said, ¡°Jacob it¡¯s good to see you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Ben.¡± Ben turned to look at my mother and me and said, ¡°You look radiant Dani. How is little Theo?¡± My mother smiled and gave Ben a half hug as she said, ¡°You look great yourself Ben and Theo is perfect. He is probably the most well behaved child I have ever seen.¡± ¡°I would believe it, I have only heard him cry once.¡± He moved to the side and gestured to my parents to come inside as he said, ¡°Please come on in, we still have about an hour before they get here and still have a lot to do.¡± After coming inside my parents set me in the cradle on the couch and then began to help Ben and his wife set up an extra table, some chairs and then they set out food. It wasn¡¯t long before someone knocked on the door and Ben¡¯s wife went to answer it. I couldn¡¯t see who showed up, but I did hear them talking. ¡°Mary, Richard! You look great. Come in and let me see my new nephew!¡± I could hear a man laugh before he said, ¡°Settle down May, we will show him to everyone at the same time.¡± May and Ben and Richard and Mary¡­ There is no way. They all moved in from the door and the two people who showed up set a baby carrier next to mine on the couch. They were Ben''s brother and his wife. Who just had her baby. I didn¡¯t pay attention to much else after that because I was busy thinking about if my speculation was true or not. It didn¡¯t take long for other people to show up and then it seemed like Mary and Richard were ready to show off their newborn. They pulled him out of his crib, he was asleep as his mother held him up for people to see him. ¡°This is our son.¡± She looked at her husband who then looked over at his brother and smiled as he said, ¡°His name is Peter Benjamin Parker.¡± Are you fucking kidding me? My godparents are Ben and May Parker. This must be why he said it would take too much karma to change my starting point. I guess I am gonna be best friends with Peter, especially since my parents live next door. Could be a lot worse I guess, I wonder when he is gonna get his powers? Will we live next to MJ? I wonder where his parents work, are they S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or do they work for Osborn? Shit is Osborn alive here? Green Goblin would be a pain in the ass to deal with. The rest of the day passed pretty fast and I was back home before I knew it. The only other thing to happen was Ben and May were asked to be Peter''s god parents also. Looks like we are god brothers? Not sure how that works, but it¡¯s fine with me. I will make sure Peter can take care of himself when he meets Flash even without his super powers. If I can get Peter into pretty good shape before he is bit, it might make him more powerful, that was always one of the popular theories about him. As I was thinking about all of this I started to hear some noise coming from my parents'' room. I escaped into my mindscape, no one wants to hear their parents doing that¡­ 00004. Daycare and the first steps to power. After that eventful day, it seemed my dad actually convinced my mom to have another kid. Pretty much every night I would have to zone out into my mindscape, sometimes even in the middle of the day. More than once at that! My parents had some pretty crazy libido if you ask me. That only lasted for about a month though because my mother had to go back to work. My dad had already gone back to work, I had no idea what he did. But I know mom would yell at him anytime he came home to make sure he was clean before he touched me or her. I was surprised the first day she had to go to work, she was dressed up in some pretty nice clothes. Some kinda women''s business suit with a skirt and heels. But what astounded me was my daycare, or who it was. I was taken to my godmother''s, she was running a daycare from her house. I was the second kid dropped off for the day. The first one being my god brother Peter. After my mother left, it wasn¡¯t long before a few more kids were also dropped off. I have to say Aunt May is a saint, I don¡¯t think I could handle almost ten kids ranging from less than a year to two or three years old. I suppose the babies were easy when they weren¡¯t crying, but sometimes one would start and all the rest would follow. Luckily she only had four babies to deal with, the rest of the kids were older. I was probably her favorite because I wouldn¡¯t cry, I would make some noise to get her attention and she would come check on me to see what was wrong. Within the first week she realized I only made noise if I had an issue. Time passed pretty quickly like this, I would wake up and be fed. My mom would take me to May¡¯s and I would spend my day under her care with the other kids. At some point my father would come pick me up and take me home. He would then cook dinner for us, I would be in the kitchen with him. Normally in my baby basket as he would sing and cook. My mom would normally get home right after dad was done cooking and we would all eat. Turns out my dad was a really good cook, if the praise my mother rained on him every night was anything to go on. I still haven¡¯t had the chance to taste his cooking yet. After that we would spend time together as a family. Sometimes it was listening to music as they talked to each other about their day. That was how I found out my mother was actually a pretty high end lawyer who specialized in patents and the laws around them, and my father was a car mechanic. There were other things we did like playing baby games, but mostly it was them reading to me. They would take turns reading a book, my mom would normally be the narrator of the story and any female character, while my father would make sound effects and make voices for anything else. It was honestly better than most things you could watch on TV. I have to say, my new family was awesome. My daily routine didn¡¯t really change much, I still used my chakra everyday with the Yamanaka clan techniques I had. I was almost ready to start putting them into place, but once they were in place I wouldn¡¯t really have a way to use my chakra up everyday. So it was better to wait till I could do other things with my chakra till then. I am pretty sure most people who are reincarnated would be rushing to spit fire balls at this point. But honestly being a baby you don¡¯t have many options to hide what you are doing and I was enjoying my new life. It was nice to have an actual family for once. The closest I had to a family in my old life was my A.I. Son and we were only together for a few years. Heck I never had the chance to meet my daughter. But it sounds like she grew up alright. The first real change in my new life was when I was a little over six months old. I started to walk around. To say my parents were overjoyed would be an understatement. They showed me off to Ben and May within twenty minutes of me walking in front of them and the next day showed me off to Richard and Mary. I had started crawling around for a while before that, I would crawl till I pretty much passed out from it. But with the body I had, it actually helped me to develop faster. Within a month of that I was able to walk most of the time. I would still crawl a lot because it was honestly pretty fun and seemed to help my arms get stronger. Once I was bigger I planned to try and climb everything I could. I was already eyeing the book shelf in the living room, hopefully it is bolted to the wall. Once I was able to walk around pretty well, I found out something kinda interesting at daycare. The four babies there were me, Peter and two girls. Both girls had red hair and semi green eyes. I assume one is MJ, but the other I am not sure about and I have never heard May say either of their names. My best guess would be Jean or Angelica, but they should be older I think. I don¡¯t actually know the proper date yet and I also have no idea how the other guy changed the world. Heck at this point, she could be Natasha Romanoff for all I know. A mystery to solve later I guess. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Around nine months is when I finally set up proper Yamanaka clan techniques for my mindscapes defenses. I didn¡¯t add anything to the outside of my city though. I set it up inside each copy of my home, specifically in my server rooms where my memory banks were. The first part was a special Genjutsu the Yamanaka clan had for protecting their own minds from interrogation. I spent months modifying it and making it my own. It would originally trap whoever entered their mind and would let the Yamanaka clan member take over the other person''s body. While that could be useful for helping someone escape if they were captured by enemies. I had changed it to something better, it would still trap the other person''s mind inside of my mindscape. But instead of my mind taking over someone else''s body, it would get a very specific set of orders to carry out. If I was captured, release me. If they were just probing me for info, send me everything about them. Nothing too crazy but with what I had already it was just an extra layer of protection. Since it was set up with chakra, no one in this world should be able to break it like my other defenses. But if they did, well that¡¯s when the next technique comes into play. If someone was powerful enough to break through what I already had set up, I had a nasty surprise waiting for them. If they were somehow able to figure out my programming languages and access all my servers, well that''s when my offensive Genjutsu will activate. It only activates when someone other than me accesses the servers I have. The more of them they access the worse it will be. If they somehow access all of them, well they pretty much become a vegetable. The Genjutsu is part of the info on the servers and will slowly begin to erase the other person''s memories. I made it slow and to target older memories first. But the more servers they look through the faster it becomes and the more aggressive it will be. I am still not one hundred percent if it will work or not, but from all the testing I have done it should work. At least the countless mind clones I made to test it all had the desired effect on them. It was pretty disturbing to see a clone of myself slowly stop moving and then just fall to the floor. It¡¯s lifeless eyes staring at nothing as it just breathes. I would then enter the clone''s mind to find that nothing was left inside of the mind I had given it. I am actually a little afraid of it happening to someone else, but if they are that powerful to get to that point and ruthless enough to force their way into my mind like that. Well they probably shouldn¡¯t be left alive then. After they were all set up and working, I had to find a new way to drain my chakra. I started doing the simplest thing, leaf sticking exercise. But since I was still a baby and wasn¡¯t allowed to go outside, it was called the block sticking exercise. I would use the toy blocks I was given and would stick them to my hands. If anyone looked at me, they would see me holding blocks in my hands. But I wouldn¡¯t be using my hand at all, it would all be from chakra sticking the block to my palm. Both my parents and May thought the blocks were my favorite toys, because I would almost never put them down. Not only was I using all my chakra each day, I was also training my control from the practice. Tree climbing wouldn¡¯t be too far away if I kept up this pace. It would be more like a baby crawling on the walls and roof of my room. But one day I will run up a tree. Out of the four babies in my daycare group I might have been the first to walk around, but the other three weren¡¯t that far behind. They could already stand up on their own, but still did more crawling than anything else. The one thing that surprised me was Peter, he was the first to talk. I had already tested it out, I could talk already. I just didn¡¯t like the way I sounded at all, my vocal cords were still weak and honestly I didn¡¯t talk much in my old life. I was more than fine not talking most of the time. Old habits and all of that. The next big thing to happen actually came when I was a little over ten months old. It was something I was expecting to happen but it was still a surprise. My mother had become pregnant and my parents were ecstatic to say the least. May, Ben, Richard and Mary had a party to celebrate the news. Me and Peter were there also and I was ¡°playing¡± with my blocks for the most of it. But since everyone that my parents considered family were here, I figured I would say my first official words. 00005. First words. I was ¡°playing¡± with my blocks and watched as Peter crawled over to his parents and said, ¡°Mom, UP!¡± Everyone smiled at that as his mom picked him up into her lap to hold him. I figured I might as well do something cute too, so I set down my blocks and walked over to my parents. Everyone looked down at me as I glanced at my mom first before looking at my dad. He was looking down at me and I put my arms up to him as I slowly started to stutter out, ¡°kw¡­¡± His face at first went into shock then joy as he looked down at me and said, ¡°Come on, you can do it Theo. Say daddy! Da-D.¡± He glanced at my mother and I could see a smug smile flash on his face as he did that. She didn¡¯t respond to him but instead said to me. ¡°Say mommy, mom-e. You can do it sweetie.¡± I looked over at her for a moment, but then looked back to my father and spoke out again, ¡°Kwi..¡± May said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like he is trying to say mommy or daddy. He is trying to say something else. Kwi something? I wonder what that is?¡± Ben looked over at my parents and asked, ¡°Do you know what he might be trying to say?¡± My dad shook his head no in reply, but my mom just stared at me silently. I looked at her and smiled a little as I said, ¡°Kwik!¡± ¡°Quick? His first word is quick?¡± Richard asked. Everyone else looked confused at this, but my father''s face was turning into a frown. As my mother began to smile. I went in for it again and said ¡°Quickshooo!¡± May asked this time, ¡°Quick shoe? What does that even mean?¡± At this point my father had a look of horror on his face and my mother was doing the best impression of the Cheshire cat I had ever seen. I went in for the kill at this point and said, ¡°Quickshot!¡± My father''s face crumpled at this and my mother, May, and Mary started laughing like crazy. A second later my father slowly looked at my mother and said in a defeated voice, ¡°This is all your fault.¡± She couldn¡¯t reply because she was too busy laughing. Richard and Ben looked a little out of the joke at first but they caught on and started laughing also. Even Peter started laughing, but I know he had no idea what was going on. I figured I should do my dad a solid since I just threw him under the bus as it were. I looked at him and said, ¡°Daddy!¡± At that point everyone actually settled their laughter down, the others looked happy. My mom looked a little shocked and my dad was actually smiling now. But that stopped as soon as I said, ¡°Quickshot daddy!¡± His face fell again, and everyone started to laugh again. He looked at me as if I had betrayed him. I just smiled back at him and said ¡°Daddy¡± as I shook my raised arms at him. He smiled down at me and picked me up. As he did he looked over at my mother and said smugly, ¡°Well it looks like he likes me more.¡± She calmed her laughter and replied, ¡°Yup, he just loves his quickshot daddy!¡± Before erupting into laughter again. After that the day mellowed out, my mother and father gave a brief account on how I had heard quickshot. She would tease him with it a good bit, and they assumed I had picked it up from there. After the party I was fed and put to bed. I knew I was gonna be left alone because I could hear my parents start up their nightly routine. You would think they might slow down once she was pregnant again, but that just seemed to make it worse. I tried my best to tune it out and began to practice my next technique to learn. I was going to try and climb my cribs bars tonight. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, putting a foot on a bar and sticking to it was easy. Trying to pull my whole body weight up at the same time? Not possible at this point, I just didn¡¯t have the muscles for it at all. The next step was to try with my knee, it was a little different. But once my right knee was stuck to the bar, I stuck both of my hands to the bars. Once I was secure, I moved my left knee up and was suspended from the bars. It was a weird feeling at first, but after I stuck my other knee to the bar I tried to move. My first attempt had me fall back into my crib because everything was released at once. I would like to say it only took me a few tries to release only one body part at a time. But that would be a lie, I attempted it for almost an hour before I gave up exhausted. That and my parents were still going at it and I was tired of listening. You can only tune out so much, before it begins to leak through. Over the next month I spent at least an hour a night trying to climb my crib with mixed results. Mostly because I was just too weak to carry my body weight and second because my chakra control is terrible. It was a very good way to expand my chakra each night though, so I kept at it. Another thing I did this month was say mommy and a few other words. My mother was very happy at hearing me say it, and she will get a little smile anytime I call her that. I have also started to look at books whenever I can, they are all kid books for now. But I am using it as an excuse to learn to read, my parents already picked up a few ABC books for me and I have started to ask, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± To find out stuff, so my vocab has been growing quickly thanks to that. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Another thing I learned over this past month is that the two girls in daycare are actually MJ and Jean. I was a little shocked to learn that, I really thought she should be older timeline wise. Because Jean tends to be older than Peter most of the time in the comics, but then again Peter would also be older at this point. I am surprised other people aren¡¯t in daycare with us at this point. So far whatever changes the other person did to the world seem kinda tame. Something I learned just before my first birthday was where my dad and Ben worked. Or more to say I visited the business they owned together. My father and mother took me for a walk for the first time and we actually walked to his shop. They had taken me outside a few times for walks up around our neighborhood, but this time we actually left the neighborhood. We went a few blocks away, about a 20 minute walk and came upon my dad and uncle Ben¡¯s shop. It was at the edge of a warehouse district from what I could tell. It seemed like a really good spot to run a repair shop honestly. My dad picked me up out of the stroller and pointed to the building while he said, ¡°Theo, this is daddy¡¯s shop. It might not look like much, but me and your Uncle Ben own this whole building and that fenced off parking lot over there.¡± He looked down at me and smiled as he said, ¡°One day this will be yours, hopefully you will be into cars as much as I am.¡± My mother smiled and said, ¡°He can be into cars as much as he likes, but we should push him into a good career field. Maybe something in computers? Programming makes a lot of money.¡± ¡°We will see, I would rather see him make less money and be happy in life, than doing something he hates.¡± My father said as he placed me back into the stroller, then opened the door for my mother to walk inside. My mother looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding in reply before walking inside the building. The building used to be a decent sized warehouse as far as I could tell, but they converted it into a garage with 5 car lifts. The garage itself had pretty much every tool you could think of in it. A paint booth, a metalworking and fabrication area. There was also a small office area they had built so they could order parts, talk to customers or just take a break. The warehouse also had a basement which was almost the same size area as the warehouse itself. They mostly used a small part of it for storage of extra parts or used parts. ¡°So why did you want us to come here, honey?¡± My mother asked as my father was leading us to the back area of the shop. It looked like it was used for storage. I was curious myself, my dad had been adamant about bringing us to his shop with him today when my mother got home from work. But he didn¡¯t say why. Now we were here and he was walking into one area of the shop, the area where he had a few cars parked. But behind those cars were two items covered with tarps, as we got closer my mother said, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡± My father just smiled and pulled the tarp off of one of the items. It was a car almost completely stripped, the few parts on it were worn out and rusted. He proudly turned to my mother and me and said. ¡°This is a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A. And this will be Theo¡¯s when he turns 16.¡± ¡°I thought you were joking! A 16 year old shouldn¡¯t have a car like this.¡± My mother said, clearly upset about what my father wanted to do. ¡°It will be fine honey, I have a plan. Look at it.¡± He pointed at the car and said, ¡°The car needs a lot of work and a lot of parts. My plan is to restore it with Theo helping me the whole way. It will help him build appreciation for the car and responsibility at the same time. I also plan to pay him for his time, so when he is 16 he can pay us for his car insurance and gas for the vehicle. He will also have to work a set amount of hours here each week and keep passing grades if he wants to keep using the car. Not including that he will also have to help around the house.¡± My mom is quiet for a few minutes, afterwards she lets out a sigh. ¡°It looks like you actually did plan this out. I still don¡¯t like the thought of little Theo having a muscle car when he is 16.¡± My father laughed as he walked up to my mother and embraced her in a hug. After he released her, he reached into my stroller and picked me up. Walking closer to the car he pointed at it and said, ¡°You might not understand right now, but one day this will be yours and you will be the envy of all the boys in your high school.¡± My mother asked, ¡°What''s under the other tarp?¡± My father turned around with an even bigger grin on his face and said, ¡°The car that Ben picked out for Peter. He will be under the same restrictions that Theo has to use it¡± Well it looks like me and Peter are gonna be pretty popular in high school if we both have cars. ¡°Ben is doing the same thing for Peter? Did he ask Richard about it?¡± ¡°Ya we all talked about it, Richard loved the idea. He was also happy it would give Peter a reason to spend time with his uncle. Ben and I also planned to work on the cars at the same time. That way Peter and Theo can hang out together as well.¡± ¡°What car did Ben pick out for Peter?¡± ¡°A 1970 Ford Boss 302 Mustang.¡± ¡°You and Ben I understand, you are both stupid gear heads. But Richard also? The whole lot of you are idiots! You plan to give two 16 year old boys muscle cars?!?!¡± My mother¡¯s hands go up in the air as she talks. ¡°You realize they will probably race each other in those things!¡± The smile on my father''s face is all she needs to know. She shakes her head in frustration before asking, ¡°Why did I marry an idiot?!?¡± My father laughs and says, ¡°Because you love my cooking and charming personality.¡± My mother stares at my father for a few moments before she says, ¡°You are still an idiot, a lovable idiot. Kinda like a puppy.¡± Laughing again my father pulls my mother into a hug while still holding me and I hear her ask, ¡°Has anyone even talked to Mary or May about this?¡± My father pulled back and looked slightly guilty as he said, ¡°We were all kinda hoping you would talk to them for us¡­¡± 00006. First birthday. It had been almost a year since the future had become cloudy and uncertain for the current Sorcerer Supreme. All of the current masters of the mystic arts have been searching for any hint of what could have caused the issue, but so far they have found nothing at all. It has become a pressing concern for all of them, the longer it¡¯s gone on. Currently seated in her room was the Sorcerer Supreme, holding the Eye of Agamotto. A green glow was radiating around her as she looked through possible futures. Although most of it was clouded up and hard to see, she could still see glimpses of what might happen. So she would persist and spend a few hours a day looking for any clue she could get. All around her were quick flashes of what might happen, obscured mostly by thick clouds of dark fog. As she looked from one image to the next, she kept looking for anything that she hadn¡¯t seen before her visions of the future were clouded over. It was a long and tiring task and so far she had found nothing again today and was getting close to giving up when she found something new. A man with his back to her was holding up someone by the throat with one hand, there were other people on the ground surrounding the man. The thing that made the Sorcerer Supreme pause was something seemed off about the image she found. The longer she was looking at it the more wrong it felt. As she tried to memorize every detail she could about the image the man turned around to look at her. His eyes were red with three black Tomoe¡¯s around it. When the man looked at the Sorcerer Supreme she flinched back in shock and the man smirked before the image disappeared. Canceling her spell she sat there for a few minutes trying to compose herself. Despite the impossibility, she was positive that the man with those red and black eyes had seen her as she had been observing him. Unsure if it was a good thing she had found a clue, or bad that someone had the power to see her as she browsed possible futures was up in the air. But now that she had a clue she had work that needed to be done. Getting up and walking to her door she opened it and looked to the left at the man sitting there reading a tome. ¡°Mister Pangborn, I need you to go to each of the Sanctum Masters, Wong, Kaecilius, Mordo, and Hamir. Please ask them to join me tonight around seven for a meeting. I would also ask that you join us.¡± The man stood up slowly with the help of the wall and set his tome down on the chair he was using. After grabbing a set of crutches he had to the side he said, ¡°It will be done soon Master.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± She stepped back into her room and the man started to walk down the hallway. Letting out a sigh she walked to her desk and pulled out some writing supplies and started to write down everything she could remember about what she had seen. Once finished with that, she took out some art supplies and made a perfect copy of the man''s eyes. When finished she put everything extra away and began to set up a meeting table with cushions and cups placed for all the people she expected to come. Afterwards she sat down, beginning to go over everything she had found and trying to figure out how to compose what she wanted to tell everyone. ¡ª--------------------------------------------------------- To say my first birthday was memorable would be an understatement. It was a few days after my mother had a talk with Mary and May. The conversation didn''t go over that well, at least from the defiant look the three men at my party were wearing. My mother and her friends on the other hand looked to be downright hostile. This little ¡°family¡± birthday party for me had just started and no one was talking, just staring at each other. Only me and Peter were the only ones enjoying ourselves as far as I could tell. Peter was sitting next to me looking at a picture book with me. I would say the name of whatever was on the page and he would copy me. Once he said it correctly I would point to each letter and say them, he would copy me afterwards. Once finished we would go to the next page and start over again. It might be simple stuff like apple, bee, and cat. It might also sound boring to someone else, but seeing how quickly he picks up on things is just amazing. I was also using this as a way to distract him from all of our parents acting like brooding teenagers. It took a while, but once we finished the book. I looked up and noticed that everyone had somehow stopped brooding and were looking at me and Peter while smiling. May was the first to speak as she said, ¡°You know what, I think everything will be alright.¡± She looked at the two women next to her and they both nodded back in agreement. Afterward she looked over at her husband and the other two men and said, ¡°I still think it¡¯s a stupid idea, but I think it might work out fine with these two.¡± My mother and Mary both shook their heads in agreement, but most of the tension in the room had already faded. Me and Peter were looking at the adults in the room, when my father said, ¡°This is supposed to be a party, let''s put some music on and enjoy ourselves.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Reaching over, my father turned on the radio and the last song just finished. The announcer comes on and says, ¡°Still not sure why that is the current number one song, but the next song is a favorite that everyone is gonna love. This came out as a single about two months ago and will be featured on his debut album coming out in the next week. You should know this as soon as you hear it, so I won¡¯t introduce it.¡± The radio cuts out for a second like it was being tuned to a new station, then a beat kicks on, ¡°Hello? I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good, I would call her.¡± As the music began to play, my father reached down and picked me up. Peter was picked up by his father and they took us into the kitchen to check out the birthday cake my father had made. Setting us both down in some high chairs, my father pulled out a decent sized cake from the oven. It was already decked out with a chocolate frosting and a big #1 candle on it. Setting it on the table he looked over at me and said, ¡°Theo, this is your first birthday and we have a tradition. We will sing you happy birthday and once we are done you need to blow out this candle that I will light. But make sure you make a wish and don¡¯t tell anyone what it is, okay?¡± I shake my head yes in reply and he lights the candle and everyone but Peter begins to sing, happy birthday. As they get closer to the end of the song I make a silent wish in my heart, ¡°I wish that my son and daughter have a good life.¡± After the song finished I blew out the candle and my father began to slice the cake into pieces for everyone. Me and Peter were given the cake with nothing to eat it with. While Peter tried to pretty much ham-fist the whole thing into his mouth in one shot. I took my time and pulled pieces off one at a time until I was done. Peter looked like he had shoved his face and hands into the cake when he was done and I only had a couple of fingers dirty. My father and mother looked a little depressed that I didn¡¯t look like Peter when I was done, but they were happy to get a picture of me and Peter together. From the picture you would never guess I was the birthday boy. ¡ª--------------------------------------------- The current Sorcerer Supreme looked at the people she had gathered together. It was some of the most powerful sorcerers currently alive and a few people who she would need to deal with now that the future was so uncertain. Looking at her first issue she addressed everyone at the table and said, ¡°I would like to thank you all for coming to this meeting. I know you have questions, but I need to take care of a few things first. Mister Pangborn, how are your studies coming along? How much longer do you think before you can walk or run unassisted?¡± The man looked a little shocked at being addressed so suddenly but replied, ¡°I think I will have it mastered in about a year or so.¡± ¡°Good, once you have it completely mastered you can go back to your old life. That is what you planned to do, correct?¡± Before Pangborn could speak, Mordo started to stand up and speak up when the Ancient One raised a hand and said, ¡°I will answer all of your questions later. Mister Pangborn, if you would.¡± ¡°You are correct, once I can walk properly again I was going to leave the order.¡± He bows his head slightly in shame. ¡°Head up Mister Pangborn, I already knew you would and I never planned to stop you. I do have a task for you after you leave. It is a simple task that should take time but it won¡¯t interfere with your normal life and you can refuse to accept it if you like.¡± Without taking any time to think, Pangborn replied, ¡°I would gladly complete the task for you, if it¡¯s something I can do while I live my normal life.¡± The Ancient One smiled and then said, ¡°I thought as much, here I wish for you to let me know if you ever hear about a man with these eyes.¡± She raises up the picture she drew of the red eyes with the three black tomes and shows it to everyone before sending it to Pangborn. Once he had it in his hands, she said, ¡°This is not something you need to go out of your way to look for, just while you are out in the world doing your daily life. That will be all for tonight and I thank you for your time Mister Pangborn.¡± Pangborn bowed slightly and then said, ¡°Thank you for your time Master.¡± He looked at everyone else and performed another slight bow and said, ¡°Have a good night everyone.¡± It took a minute for him to get up and leave the room but after he had left, Mordo was the first to speak and said, ¡°We just let him leave the order with what he knows Master?¡± ¡°Yes we do. I already saw what he was going to do long before he was even born. While I know how you feel about natural balance and what I have taught you about it. I plan to change some things with how the natural order was planned. This is one of them.¡± Mordo has a look of shock on his face along with pretty much everyone else in the room. The Ancient One raised her hands before anyone could speak and said, ¡°This will be a long conversation and once I am done I will gladly answer any and all questions. But I need everyone to listen first and hopefully when I am finished you will all understand my decisions that I am going to take moving forward.¡± Everyone settled down a little and decided to listen to what their teacher had to say. It was a very long night that didn¡¯t end till well into the next day. 00007. Pancakes? Pancakes! Time seems to fly when you are a kid, but you have the mind of an adult. I remember when I was a kid in my previous life, that time seemed to take forever. I know it''s because my perception of it changed as I got older, but being a one-year-old and having the mind of someone past fifty is weird. My life is so structured that this first year of my new life just flew by before I realized it. Wake up, train my chakra control, parents get me and I poop. Get fed breakfast, then I go over to May''s for the day. At May''s, I do more chakra control with my blocks, look at books, and help Peter learn how to read some more. MJ and Jean seem to hang around us most days, so I have been trying to teach them words also with mixed results. They don''t seem to focus as much as Peter does. Around noon is lunchtime and May normally makes something pretty healthy for all of the kids. For the younger kids like me it''s a mix of baby food and something else she will make. Mostly it''s baby food though. After that she will get everyone settled down and do story time or for the younger kids more of a nap time. I don''t fall asleep myself, I just make it look like I am sleeping and go into my mindscape and work on making my defenses better and more sturdy. After that is just more free time that I use to climb stuff. The chairs, couches, book shelf, coffee table, entertainment center. Sometimes I switch it up and try it in the morning. I normally have to wait for May to turn her back or be dealing with another kid to do it. Unfortunately, Peter likes to follow my lead so sometimes he will get us caught pretty fast if he falls. Around 5pm is when my dad comes back from the shop and picks me up. When we get home he brings me into the kitchen and starts to make dinner while he will sing and talk with me. Now that I am speaking he tries to hold at least one conversation with me a day. Mostly just asking about my day and if I learned anything new during the day. I normally tell him one or two new words I learned or about something I figured out that day. A little while later is dinner when my mom gets home. After that I have some free time to play with my blocks, normally while I read books. That is when my parents will spend some time together and talk about their days with each other. Then comes the best part of the day, story time with my parents. While it might seem weird, me with my old memories and stuff. But I honestly enjoy this a lot, it''s my first real time experiencing what a family is like. In my last life, I grew up in an orphanage and because of health issues no one wanted to adopt me. I was somewhat lucky since I had access to computers at an early age and with my condition it pushed me to become a programmer. But I am getting side tracked, I was talking about my current life and story time with my family. After story time it is bath time and then bed time. They tend to stay up and do other things and I spend some time doing chakra control and trying to climb my crib bars with chakra before going into my mindscape. I will spend a few hours there either improving my mental defenses or studying the knowledge I have gained from the world of Naruto. That was my routine until my mother started staying home from work as she got closer to having my new sibling. For the past little while I have spent my days pretty much the same as before, except that my mother will join me at Aunt May''s house for the day. She mostly hangs out in the living room and helps watch me and the other children as she chats with May. Then we will head home when my father comes home from work, except this time he is dirty from work and will take a shower while me and mom hang out in the kitchen and she starts to get dinner ready. Dad will of course take over once he is out of the shower and then the rest of the night is the same as before. That went on for about two months before I was woken up early in the morning by my father. He looked slightly panicked but he still had his signature smirk on his face as he said. "Hey kiddo, I didn''t mean to wake you up but me and your mom have to go to the hospital and you are going to your aunt and uncle''s house for a few days." He picked me up and asked, "Can you be a good boy for me while me and your mother are gone and we will bring you home a surprise." "Yes dad, I will be good." "I knew I could count on you." He carried me out of the room and down stairs where I could see May sitting next to my mother. My mother was sweating heavily and looked to be in a bit of pain. As my father handed me to May, Ben came in the front door and said. "I have the car ready to go." My father went over and helped my mother up as he said, "Alright let''s get going then, May, Ben, thanks for watching Theo for us. We both appreciate it a lot." May looked down at me and said, "It''s no trouble at all, it''s what family does. Plus Theo will be a good boy while he stays with us, won''t you?" "Yes, Aunt May." "See nothing to worry about. Now get going and Ben, you better not be speeding." Ben chuckled and said, "It didn''t even cross my mind dear. I will see you when I get home, honey." May got up from her seat holding me and walked out the door, watching them load into the car and take off. The sun was just starting to rise in the predawn light. She looked down at me and said, "Well it''s just me and you for a while. How about we start making breakfast. Would you like to try some pancakes Theo?" "Pancakes? Are they good?" The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I hope they are amazing, I never had the chance to eat them and many other things in my past life because of my health issues. She smiled down at me for a second, "Just wait, you are gonna love them." She turned around and locked up the house. Then she started walking to her house with me in her arms. Once we got there she set me in a high chair in the kitchen and started to pull stuff out of the cabinets. She looked over to Theo and said, "Do you want to know the secret to great pancakes Theo?" Nodding my head I said, "Yes, because you said I am gonna love them." She laughed a little bit and smiled as she said, "Well the secret to making good pancakes is to make your mix from scratch. Do you know what that means?" "Dad said that means you make everything yourself." "That is correct. Whenever you make something from scratch you always make everything yourself from the base ingredients. Your dad is a very good cook, you can learn a lot from him when you are older." "Dad likes to say, "Being a good cook can make anyone your friend." "I am not completely sure about that. But being a good cook does help with making friends." As she talked, I watched as she was adding different things to a mixing bowl. Flour, baking soda, salt, sugar. After that was mixed well, she added one egg, some melted butter, milk, some vanilla extract and mixed it all together. It took a little while but she finished mixing it all together and what was left was a slightly lumpy mix of batter. She lifted her mixer and the batter slowly slid off of it. "This is how you can tell that the batter is perfect, a little lumpy and it will hold together decently but still spread out." She turned around and started preparing her skillet. Heating it up and then coated it with a layer of butter. Then she poured in some batter. I watched her work for a while in silence and by the time she finished pouring in the last of the batter, Uncle Ben could be heard from the front door as he said, "Smells like someone is making my favorite breakfast food." "You better hurry up, Aunt May and I are almost done eating them all." We heard the front door slam shut and someone running through the living room. When Uncle Ben came to a stop in the kitchen, I started laughing like crazy and May started to chuckle. Uncle Ben looked at the stacks of pancakes and me laughing in my high chair and said, "You are getting more like your father, I liked it better when you didn''t talk." Me and May both laughed at that as he let out a sigh and sat down in a chair next to me and said, "May, are you gonna give Theo pancakes?" "Yes I am, I figured he should be fine eating some of them. Just not too much syrup, I don''t want him climbing up the walls more than he normally does." "I don''t climb up the walls, only the book shelf, couches and a few other things." "And why do you do that?" Uncle Ben asked. "Because it''s fun, why else would you do something?" May frowned a little bit and said, "What happens when you climb up something and then fall off and get hurt?" "I don''t fall in the first place." "You might not have fallen yet, but Peter has a few times. You are setting a bad example for him." May said, as she finished the last pancake and began to prepare some for me, with a little bit of butter and syrup. "I told him not to try it but he said if I can do it, so can he." Uncle Ben laughed at that as he made himself a plate of pancakes and said, "You are pretty much like a brother to him. Of course he is going to try and follow your lead. So what do you think you should do, since you know he is just going to copy you?" Ben smirked at May after he finished and began to eat his plate of pancakes. She smiled back at him as I stayed quiet for a minute and waited till he was drinking some milk and said. "Then I will just have to teach him how to climb from now on, so he doesn''t fall." He choked slightly on his milk and May laughed at his expense before giving me a glare and said. "Don''t you think the proper thing to do is just not climb anything anymore? Then you and Peter won''t get hurt and worry all of us." "You can¡¯t keep us safe forever, might as well get used to us getting hurt now.¡± May had just set a plate of cut up pancakes down in front of me as I finished talking. Both of them gave me a weird look as Ben said, ¡°Sometimes, you don¡¯t talk like a kid at all, you know that Theo?¡± ¡°I agree with that, he reminds me of an adult sometimes.¡± I picked up my plastic spork and scooped up my first piece of pancake with it as I laughed and said. ¡°You know my mom says the same thing. Dad says I am too smart for my age. I agree with both of them.¡± Uncle Ben shook his head and chuckled as he said, ¡°Does he always talk like this, Honey?¡± ¡°Pretty much, even with the other kids. But sometimes he says stuff that only a kid would say and catches you off guard.¡± As they talked I put the first piece of pancake in my mouth and my eyes went wide at the flavor of it mixed with the butter and syrup. It was the richest, most sugary thing I had ever eaten in both lives and it was amazing. Not even my birthday cake could compare. It was sugary, nutty with a hint of something else. I finished my first bite and looked at May as I excitedly said, ¡°This is amazing, can I have more?!¡± Ben laughed as May looked at my still full plate and said, ¡°Finish your first plate and I might give you one more.¡± I scooped up another one as I said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me Aunt May, these are the best things I have ever had. I could eat them till I burst!¡± ¡°Well I will agree with you there Theo, May¡¯s pancakes are the best.¡± May chuckled and said, ¡°Both of you flatterers just finish your food, and you might get more.¡± Both Uncle Ben and I said, ¡°Yes Ma''am.¡± We looked at each other and then laughed, before starting to eat our fill of pancakes. Aunt May smiled at both of us and then started to eat her own plate of pancakes. 00008. New family member! The next few days passed pretty quickly while I stayed with my godparents. My father came home and visited a few times, mostly to shower, change clothes and check up on me. After three days both my parents came home with a baby carrier. Both my mother and father were extremely happy when they picked me up and took me home. The first thing my mother did was give me a long hug and kiss on the cheek. When I was released from the hug, my father picked me up and sat me down next to him on the couch. My mom picked up a baby out of the carrier and after she settled the baby in her arms she looked at me and said. "Theo sweetie, I would like you to meet your new little sister. Her name is Emily Mercer." I looked down at the baby my mother held, and I couldn''t help but smile. She was currently sleeping peacefully in my mother''s arms. As I looked at her I noticed she looked a little different than me. The little bit of hair she had was the same reddish brown hair that my mother had. While I had dark black hair, kinda like my father. She also looked slightly like a mix of my parents, at least it seemed like it. She mostly looked like a baby. I looked at both my parents as they smiled at me and I said, "You realize that she will probably be a lot more work to take care of than I was." My father laughed a little at that and looked at my Mother and said, "I win." My mother just let out a sigh as she gently rocked back and forth with my sister in her arms. She looked at me, then my father and said, "You know if she is a handful, you are the one who will have to take care of it most of the time. Especially if it''s in the middle of the night." My father just smiled at that and then my mother looked back at me and said. "Normally I wouldn''t expect a child your age to help out, but you don''t really act like a child. So you are going to be helping us to watch over your little sister. Can you do that for us, Theo?" "Yes mother, I will do my best as an older brother." "I knew I could count on you." My father patted my head and said, "If you just treat her like you do Peter, I am sure you will be great." The rest of the day passed quickly with us hanging out as a family together with our newest family member. I was right, she seemed to be really fussy and was going to be a handful for my parents. But that''s fine, both my parents are delighted any time they interact with her and I admit, I am also. She might be fussy, but she is also my little sister. ¨C------------------------------ Life turned into a new routine for our family, after a small party with my godparents, and Peter''s parents. The new routine was me and Emily in my room after my mother finished her maternity leave. She ended up being a big handful and likes to wake up in the middle of the night at least once. Most times it¡¯s closer to two or three times a night. She has a crazy set of lungs too, I have never heard a baby that was so loud when they cry. It¡¯s been over two months since she came home and my dad has been getting run ragged. He gets maybe 3-5 hours of sleep a night, since he has to take care of my sister once she wakes up. My mother helps out on the weekends, but during the week it is my father who takes care of Emily at night. I have tried to help out a few times before she starts crying, but nothing I do seems to help. She likes to wake up and then instantly start to cry, so most of the time I don¡¯t even have a chance to act. I think most of the time it¡¯s because she needs a change. But sometimes she just wakes up and starts crying, the only thing my father can do is make her some warm milk and rock her back to sleep. Those times she normally doesn¡¯t wake back up because she and my father fall asleep together in the rocking chair. My mom always comes into the room and has the biggest smile on her face when she sees Emily and my father like that. I have to admit it''s a very cute sight. Emily is resting in his arms, his head is tilted to the side on his shoulder and he has a bit of drool coming out of his mouth. Mom has taken a few pictures of it, and one of them is now sitting in a frame downstairs. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Anyways, our new family routine is after we wake up. Mom goes to work early, dad finishes getting us ready. Mostly it is my sister, I get myself ready. Then we walk over to Aunt May¡¯s and get dropped off. My father leaves for work with Ben and we start our day at May¡¯s. Normally Peter, MJ and Jean get there not long after me and we hang out. I use that very loosely, it¡¯s more that we are sitting close together and might do stuff together. Mostly I try to teach them to read, Peter is the only one who likes to try and learn. MJ and Jean are now talking, but they are a little slower with learning than Peter and I. It¡¯s mostly because they don¡¯t like to focus like me and Peter do. Spending the day goes pretty much the same as before, reading and learning with Peter as I practice with my blocks. Then lunch, story/nap time. Then I try to climb stuff with Peter, MJ and Jean don¡¯t follow us most of the time and even when they do. They don¡¯t normally climb things with us. Not long after that, my father comes home with Ben. My father will come home and clean up. Once he is done, he will come pick up Emily and me. Then it¡¯s us in the kitchen with him as he cooks dinner. My father and I chat some while he cooks, while I also try to play with Emily. My mother gets home around the time when dinner is done. We eat together, then my mother spends time with me and Emily while father washes the dishes. After that it''s family time for a while, then we do story time. They have been reading books they already read to me, so I can help read them also. We all take turns reading from the book to Emily. I think she enjoys it, at least it seems like it when she giggles/burbles at my father making all his weird noises. After story time, we are normally put to bed and my parents stay up for a while and spend time together. I normally take this time to train myself more, mostly doing tree climbing on my crib bars. I can now crawl/climb with my arms and legs. If someone came into our room at night, they might think they are in a horror movie with me climbing on the walls and roof. It¡¯s actually kinda funny when I do it. Another thing I have learned from this is to use my chakra to sense things around me. It is a very short distance for now, only a few inches from my body. But with practice and more chakra I am pretty sure I could sense anything around me from a very big distance. I actually stumbled upon it by accident. Normally people who are sensors, sense chakra from other people. But since I am the only one who has chakra, I thought it would be useless. But it looks like it works with the way I will use sage mode. Since I will use universal energy for my sage mode, I can use my chakra to sense universal energy and since it is all around me I can sense things around me. It¡¯s a little weird, but what happened is I was trying to crawl/climb on the wall with my chakra. I didn¡¯t want to break the drywall so I was trying to stick to the dry wall and wall stud behind it. The issue is I had no idea where the wall stud would be. It took a while, but by using my chakra and some different sensor skills I figured out a way to sense things from my chakra. It''s still in the early stages and only works if I put a lot of concentration into it. But with practice and refinement I should be able to use this to help me out a lot in the future. I think once I figure out sage mode it will be even better. But that is for the future, right now it is horror movie baby time! I mean practicing chakra control while I climb on the roof. Speaking of chakra, I have a lot of it now. I admit I am not using anything that is too heavy chakra wise. But it takes me using it with my different practices all day and at night to finally deplete it. I have been looking for different ways to deplete it easier, so far water type jutsu seems to be the safest thing I can use. The only issue is I would be making a mess with the water I create or control. I have thought about wind a few times, but the issue with that is most of the wind techniques are worse than the water ones. I do have an idea, use the shadow clone jutsu. My issue is that it splits your chakra, between yourself and the clone and also takes a good bit of chakra to use. I have no idea if I even have enough to properly make one right now. I know what you are thinking, why not the normal clone or henge jutsu? Or even the substitution jutsu? Well I have tried, they don¡¯t use enough chakra. The chakra amount is so small it wouldn¡¯t be worth it with the time I have to train alone. Also I don¡¯t want to wake up my little sister, so things that are quiet are the best option. It¡¯s fine for now, the wall climbing helps to wear my body out from all the exercise it gets. That is how my daily routine is for now. I can¡¯t wait till I am older, then I can go play out in the backyard at Aunt May¡¯s and practice earth jutsu. I already have a few in mind that will work great and no one should be able to notice I am doing them. 00009. We have a what?!?! The next nine months flew by in a flash with the only thing of note happening being Peter''s first birthday. Emily has also started to be less fussy than before and can almost sleep the whole night without waking up. Another positive thing is I have been allowed to go into aunt May''s backyard. But only if her or uncle Ben are there to watch me. The same goes for at home. It has helped me out a lot with chakra control. When I first started going outside I would mostly just walk around and explore the area. You can explore them when you consider how big they are to someone like me. Peter, and the other kids would join me of course. Most of them would play with the jungle gym equipment or the outside toys May had back there. After a week I started to look around the area for small smooth pebbles. Once I had two I started practicing my chakra control. Once I could do two, I went to three, then I would add a fourth. Then a fifth and a sixth, I did this till I had over thirty of them. I wanted to keep them with me all the time, but I had no idea where I would hide them. Currently I stick them under my shirt while I do other stuff in the backyard. I remove them and set them off to the side when we have to go back inside. I also get to practice some earth jutsus when I am in my parents'' backyard. It''s pretty hard to do, since it''s normally me and my parents with Emily. I have to wait till they are paying attention to her and I am next to the only tree in the yard. I normally sit next to it with a book and pretend to read while I concentrate on my chakra sense and do mini earth movement jutsus behind me and the tree. It''s mostly making small holes and filling them back up. Even though they are small holes, it''s great for chakra control and using up my chakra. Since I am using my chakra sense the whole time and the holes are about two feet away, it uses my chakra fast. The control comes from using that while making small holes without making a sound. It takes time but I can do it four times before I am almost out of chakra. The other day I finally made a shadow clone, I didn''t use any of my chakra for a full day and in the middle of the night I made a single clone. It took a good bit of my chakra and then split the rest. I now know for certain that Naruto was ridiculous. The amount of chakra it would take to do his multi clone jutsu in the first episode is just stupid. I am sure if I continue to practice and increase my chakra every day, I just might have the same amount of chakra as Naruto at that age. That is also me practicing every day since I was born and Naruto kinda being a slacker when he was a young kid. Being a main character sure is broken. Oh, another thing that has happened is I now have some art supplies. I can only use them at home and while in the presence of one of my parents. But I have started to mess around with fuinjutsu and I use that term very loosely. I am mostly practicing my writing and drawing. The main thing I do is write letters of the alphabet. My parents are ecstatic about it and have even been bragging to everyone that I am already writing. Some interesting information I found out about fuinjutsu is that the symbols don''t have to be the same as they used in the manga/anime. I can use anything I want as long as I can understand it and imbue my chakra into the ink as I write it. Of course I have not tried to do this yet. The main reason I figured this out is because I have all the fuinjutsu knowledge of the Uzumaki''s. Going through and comparing different people''s experiences with fuinjutsu I realized it works the same for all of them. Even if they use different words or spelling or even a different language. The main thing is that the fuinjutsu maker understands the words/intent and how they interact with each other to make the finished product. One person could make an explosive tag with the words, gather, chakra, compress, time, excite. While someone else would use the words, converge, fire, compact, delay, discharge. It might seem weird but they would both cause the same explosion when they go off. There would be slight differences between the tags themselves, like the first one would gather and compress the chakra better. But the second one would have a more stable delay before it went off. The first one would be off by a second or so. Now again, I haven¡¯t been able to test any of this yet, this is just going off of the knowledge I have. But it should be pretty concrete and I should have no issue when I finally start to make stuff. I have also decided to use one of my programming languages for it. Mostly so anyone who looks at it too closely will have no idea what it means. I think at some point when I am older I will make storage tattoos. I was thinking about making rings or bracelets, but you could lose those. Someone would have to cut off my arm to make me lose the tattoos. Besides I am pretty sure I could use an invisible ink to make them, so no one would ever know they are there. ¡ª------------------------------------------------------ I was in the kitchen, my father was singing as he cooked dinner and Emily was sitting next to me watching as I drew. She had the habit of watching me and what I was doing whenever we were next to each other. As my father was finishing up dinner, the front door opened and my mother said, ¡°Jacob honey, I have some stuff in the car I need help to bring in.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. My father removed the skillet he was using from the stove and said, ¡°Just a moment Dani, almost finished with dinner. How about we eat and then unload the car?¡± We could hear the front door close and my mother walked into the kitchen a moment later as she said, ¡°That''s fine, I still have no idea where we are going to put it.¡± I stopped drawing and looked at my mother as I said, ¡°Hi mom, how was your day?¡± She smiled as she came close to me and Emily. After she placed one of her hands on each of our cheeks she said, ¡°It was good, but it¡¯s even better now that I can see both of you again.¡± ¡°What about your lovely husband who cooks you dinner every night?¡± ¡°You are alright, as long as you keep cooking for me.¡± My father gave out a sigh as he finished plating dinner and said, ¡°I feel so used. Never get married, Theo.¡± ¡°Yes father.¡± As he was placing everything on the table, my mother walked up to him and gave him a hug and a kiss as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t give Theo any bad ideas. You know you love being married. Plus I want grandkids one day.¡± ¡°I want grandkids also.¡± My mother and father sat down at the table and as my father was feeding Emily, he asked. ¡°So what''s in the car that you need help bringing in?¡± ¡°All of the partners at the firm were given brand new computers today from Stark Industries. As a thank you for our help over the years. I am not sure where to put it, or even if I will really use it. I use the one at work enough, I don¡¯t really need one at home.¡± A computer? We will have a computer in the house? I will finally get to check out a computer in the Marvel universe. I wonder what OS it is running and how it compares to what I made? I wonder how powerful it is? I know Stark made a lot of stuff that was more advanced than what we should have had at the same time. I looked at my mom and tried to keep myself from giving anything away as I said, ¡°What is a computer?¡± Before she could say anything, my father spoke up and said. ¡°A computer is this box shaped thing that lets you do stuff like writing. You can also play games on it.¡± My mother scoffed at that and said, ¡°It is a lot more than just a box that you can write with and play games on. I use one at work every day to make drafts to contracts, email co-workers to talk about ongoing projects. Email clients so they can double check documents without having to come into the office. That is just a small amount of things they can do Theo.¡± ¡°E-mail? What is that?¡± ¡°Email is like a letter you send to someone else with a computer.¡± I looked over at my dad and asked, ¡°What kinda games can you play with a computer? Are they like the games I play at Aunt May¡¯s house?¡± My mother shot my father a look as he smiled at me and said. ¡°Computer games are played on a computer first of all. Computer games are normally played by yourself. They are also a lot different than what you and Peter normally play at May¡¯s house.¡± My father winced a little at the end, I think my mother kicked him under the table. My mother looked at me and said, ¡°What your father said is true, but you won¡¯t be playing any computer games on this computer. It¡¯s mine and I might need to use it for work sometimes, so I don¡¯t wanna add a bunch of things to it.¡± I gave my best puppy dog eyes I could and said, ¡°Not even one game? You always say to share my things with Peter. Can¡¯t you share with Emily, dad and me?¡± My mother looked at me a little shocked as she didn¡¯t expect my attack. My father, on the other hand, had the biggest grin on his face. But he didn''t say anything. My mom took a moment but then said, "You are right Theo, I should share with you and Emily. But your father is only allowed to use the computer with you or Emily." My father frowned a little bit but said nothing as my mother shot him a smug look. The conversation continued for a while longer as we finished dinner. After dinner, my mother went to change as my father cleaned up and washed the dishes. When my father was finished he and my mother brought in some boxes from her car. The boxes all had a Stark logo on it with some artwork of the computer on it. I didn¡¯t help them set it up, I just watched and played with Emily. It took a little bit, but my mom finally settled on putting the computer on the desk she used sometimes to go over paperwork. It took up more than half of the desk, but she still had room to do paperwork if she moved the keyboard and mouse. Once the hardware was set up, she went through the setup process and made her user account. I didn¡¯t pay too much attention to it, but I did notice when I heard something I never thought I would hear in person. The dial out tone for connecting to the internet through a phone line. I looked over at my parents and said, ¡°What is that weird sound? Are you playing a game?¡± My father looked back at me and said, ¡°No, your mother wanted to check her work email, so we had to connect the computer online to do it. This sound is the computer connecting.¡± ¡°Oh okay, let me know when you play a game, I wanna see it.¡± My mother looked over and said, ¡°We would have to buy a game first, give me and your father some time and we will find a game you and him can play together.¡± ¡°Okay, I can wait.¡± 00010. A day in the life... Knowing that you are a copy of someone else and you only have a limited life span is a little jarring at first. But knowing that whatever you experience will be transferred back to your original self, makes it easier. It''s not like I would exist without my original self anyways. I normally wouldn''t be wasting my time thinking about this kinda stuff but I am currently waiting for Emily, my parents and my original self to leave the house. I am currently hiding in the spare bedroom, under the guest bed. It''s not very creative but I can''t waste any chakra, so anywhere else is not possible. It''s a good thing I was made not long ago, I think I would have gotten bored if I had to waste hours hiding here. My original decided to make me as his parents were getting ready for work. So I only needed to wait about fifty minutes, twenty minutes for them to leave the house and another thirty to make sure they didn''t come back. I can hear the front door close and the deadbolt lock latch as they leave the house. I crawled out from under the bed and quickly climbed up the dresser next to the window. Carefully peeking out the window, it was just in time to watch my mother as she started to pull out of the driveway. My father was almost at Aunt May''s house with my original self and Emily. I watched them get dropped off and then watched as Ben and my father walked to work. I waited till they were out of sight and then made my way downstairs. Even if someone comes back home, the computer is out of sight of the front door, I should have more than enough time to shut it off. Going to the desk, I pull out the chair a little and climb up onto the desk. Once I am on the desk I take a closer look at the computer. The first surprise is the computer monitor, it is using some type of Stark LCD screen. For the time period I was expecting a CRT, but then again this is the Marvel universe and tech should be more advanced here. But considering I have yet to see a TV, my parents and godparents don''t own one themselves, I am still a bit surprised. After looking over the monitor and computer for a few minutes I power on the computer and start spamming Esc, F2, F12 and the Delete key. It''s a pain to do with my current hands, but I managed to make it boot to the Bios screen. The next surprise I find are the specifications of the hardware. The computer is running a processor at 4.3Ghz, 16GB of RAM that is clocked at 3600 MHz and seems to have a solid state main drive that is one terabyte in size. Now I might have been a programmer in my last life, but I was also a hardware enthusiast and had a decent collection of older retro tech. Heck I had some of it because I wanted to check out and play the older games and you had to have the older computers and consoles to play some of that stuff. The Bios says that the year is 1996. I know for a fact that in 1996, in my past life, one of the best computers you could have would be running a processor at 166MHz with 64MB of RAM. That doesn''t even include the 1.6GB EIDE hard drive it would be using as its main drive. This computer is over twenty years ahead of its time then it would be in my old world. This makes no real sense, I know I am in another universe, but to be so advanced and this isn''t even cutting edge hardware. This is just a common computer you can buy in the store. How advanced is cutting edge tech? I shake my head and power cycle the computer, I watch it go through its start up process and load into Windows. Another surprise is that the computer looks to be running something similar to Windows 10 and my mother never set a password for the computer. I am a little disappointed I won''t have the chance to bypass it, but it makes my job easier. I will have to teach her to be better with keeping her computer more secure in the future though. Shit, why the hell did they connect to the internet with dial up internet last night? Moving over the desk and looking at the back of the computer I noticed two things right away. The first being the computer has some kinda GPU and the next was that we were connected with a standard phone cable. But there is also an Ethernet port on the computer. Maybe Ethernet isn''t in most homes currently and that is why we are using dial up? Whatever that is a problem for my original self to figure out, right now I have a job to do. First let''s see how close this is to Windows 10 and see the specs on this GPU. Opening up the task manager I clicked more details and then opened the performance tab. The CPU is actually made by Stark and has eight cores with sixteen threads, a base clock speed of 4.3 Ghz, an L1 cache of 1MB, L2 cache of 8MB and an L3 cache of 64MB. This thing is crazy compared to what I expected it to be. It even has a GPU with 12 GB of VRAM! Stolen story; please report. After a few more minutes of looking over the computer hardware, I began to go through the computer and look at what software was installed on it. Mostly normal Windows software, a few simple games and some bloatware. I also found a program made by Stark Industries specifically for programming code. I opened it up and checked what languages that it supported. C and C++ were supported, along with a few others I knew of, as well as a few I had never heard of before. I thought for a few minutes of what I would need and then started to code. First issue I ran into was my almost 2 year old hands. They don''t sit correctly over the keyboard, so typing is a lot slower than normal. This might take longer than I expected, at least two weeks, maybe even three. But that is fine, I don''t need to rush this. I honestly thought I would be in school before I had access to computers, so if anything I am ahead of schedule. The only thing I need to do is make a ghost drive to hide the programs I am making. Shouldn''t be too hard to partition the main drive and then hide that from my mom and dad. They don''t seem to be too tech savvy. I was writing code for almost six hours, before I stopped to make a ghost drive. Once the drive was set up I saved all my work to it, then wiped all traces of my computer usage and shut it down. Once that was done, I made sure I moved the keyboard and chair back into place and then dismissed myself. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Falling back against the couch, I shake my head a few times to clear it. Then take a quick look around me, it seems like no one noticed my quick mental lapse. The rush of memories I just received was a lot more than I expected for only about seven hours of time. I will definitely have to figure out a way around that issue. Maybe a data packet for my mind that I can ingest whenever I want, that way it wont hit me when I am not expecting it. Also my clone pretty much did a play by play in his mind of everything he did, like he was narrating his own life. I hope my other clones don¡¯t do that. I take a few minutes to go over everything I just learned from my clone and smile slightly in satisfaction. My clone made a good decision when they changed plans after seeing the hardware we had to work with. My clones have about three weeks of work to do, but once I am done, I can start phase one of my plan for living in Marvel. The best part is I should be about six years ahead of my original schedule with this little windfall. I spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to make a data packet for my clones. But I make no headway at all, I would have to remake the shadow clone jutsu from scratch to add the functionality I want. It''s after I am in bed that I have an idea, instead of changing the shadow clone, change the way I receive their memories. There is no way I can change the way I receive the fatigue from my clones, but it is possible with the memories if I use my mindscape. I begin by making a new server in my server room, which makes it appear in all my server rooms. Next I dedicate it to only one task, pulling in all the memories of my shadow clones. Once done it will quickly sort all of the information and then begin to feed it to me by matter of importance. This way if there is something I need to know, I will know it right away. But the other less important things or things that just don''t matter will still be ingested, but a lot slower and won''t affect me. Like the memories of me writing code for six hours while I narrate exactly what I am doing¡­ It takes me a good portion of the night to set it up and test it with mind clones, but it seems to be working correctly. The real test will come tomorrow when my clone dispels. I start to fall asleep with a content smile on my face, knowing that even though I am only getting four hours of sleep, I will still be well rested for tomorrow. This body is amazing, I can''t wait to see how far I can push it when I am older. Very few people in Naruto did actual weight training and the ones that did were pretty powerful. I might even pull a Rock Lee at some point, leg weights for daily training, maybe even full body weights. If I could pull off a Rock Lee weights removal scene at some point it would be peak YOUTH! Maybe during the attack on New York? Oh man, I think I am being affected by Guy and Lee¡¯s enthusiasm for training. May the One Above All help Peter if I become corrupted, for I currently have no one to save me from myself! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The next afternoon when my clone dispelled, my memory server worked perfectly and there was no sudden weakness from receiving the memories. I did receive fatigue from my clone, but six hours of coding feels like nothing to this body. I do wonder what it will feel like when I am doing training with multiple clones and then dispel them. Things to worry about when I am older and have enough chakra to pull it off. For now just starting phase one is the most important part. 00011. Phase One A few people were standing on the landing of a typical townhouse in Greenwich Village, one was dressed in normal street clothes. The others were all in some type of traditional robes. The only woman in the group spoke and said, ¡°Mister Pangborn, it has been a pleasure. I wish you a pleasant life and remember what I asked of you.¡± The man in plain clothes bowed to the woman and said, ¡°Thank you master. I hope your life is filled with fewer issues in the future and I will let you know as soon as I find out anything.¡± He slightly nodded to the two men next to the woman and then turned around and began to walk down the street. The people stood for a few more moments, before walking back inside. A dark skinned man dressed in green robes was the first to speak once they were back inside and said. ¡°I still do not like that he possesses so much knowledge and we are just going to let him leave the order.¡± ¡°Master Mordo, Mister Pangborn will not upset the balance. I have seen his future many times and in every single one he does the same thing. He is a man who just wants to live a normal life and not worry about the bigger picture like we do. Now let''s go back and spar, I don¡¯t think you are completely understanding my lessons yet.¡± Mordo visibly flinched at those words but said nothing as he followed The Ancient One deeper into the sanctum. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The next few weeks flew past quickly and my routine didn''t change much. My clone would be programming Monday thru Friday, while my parents were working. My parents made sure they had the weekends off so they could spend it with Emily and me. Which normally included May and Ben at least once for a meal, sometimes more. Peter would join us sometimes with his parents, but most of the time he would join us with May and Ben. His parents always seemed to be busy working, so he stayed with May and Ben half the time. It kinda sucks, but they treat him really well, so I don''t think he is missing too much. It took almost four weeks, but my clone finally finished the programming, connected the computer to the internet and ran it. Once it was uploaded to the internet It took about a week for the main program to go through and finish its first task. Securing funds and setting up bank accounts for all of it, the main portion of the money came from stealing it from criminals. It wasn''t hard at all to find it either, criminals might hide it well enough. But the program I made would hack through everything and find out who actually owned the bank accounts. Shell company owned by another shell company, that is registered in a country that won''t share records? If they had anything online my program found it. Once it collected all of the data behind these accounts it compiled them into a list for me to go through. To check the list all I had to do was connect to the internet after a week and run the program I made on the computer. The program I made acted completely separate from our home computer and lived online on different servers throughout the world. It would also move around and not stay anywhere for more than a few hours. The great thing about doing it this way was that if someone tried to find whoever was doing everything, all they would find is what servers they had connected from. It left nothing else to trace, since the program itself was doing everything. It was a pretty brilliant piece of programming and I can¡¯t even take credit for it. Some hacker in my past life was the one who came up with it, they used it for over ten years and no one even knew about it. They were only skimming hundreds of millions of bank accounts over that time though, like fractions of a cent at a time. They must have felt that if no one knew about it, it wouldn¡¯t count. Because once they had enough money, they made an anonymous post about what they had done. People didn¡¯t believe it at first, but then the base code was uploaded online and the person had even explained how they did it. It was chaos for a few weeks while people figured out how to reverse engineer the code and figured out how to trace it back to who was using it. All the copycats who decided to use it were caught pretty quickly, but the original hacker who made it was never found. They had already removed their copy of the program and had stopped using it long before they even released the base code online. While I am not skimming any accounts, I am not worried about getting caught. I changed and upgraded the code so much, it is not even close to what the original code was at this point. I just wanted to use its server hopping ability, which to this day is still brilliant. Even Sam said it was one of the greatest things he has ever seen a human code. Pretty high praise coming from an A.I. After getting the funds I needed for phase one in place I started step two. This step took almost three months to finish. Peter and myself both had our second birthday, while we also celebrated Emily¡¯s first birthday during that time. I have to say that Emily and Peter have the same eating habits when it comes to birthday cakes. I am also sure that my parents were over the moon when they saw how Emily ate her first birthday cake. I mean we have a framed ten by twelve-inch picture of it in the downstairs hallway. The only other thing of note is my parents seem to be working on having another kid already. I have no idea how Emily can sleep with how much noise they make, or maybe my hearing is just really good. At least I can escape to my mindscape when they start. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ------------------------------------------------------ It was early morning, up in the middle of some snow covered mountains. Hidden somewhere here in the middle of the continental United States is a decommissioned S.S.R. base. Or at least it should be, it is actually the first base that Nick Fury started to have secretly built back up with modern technology and equipment. It is being overseen by Sam Koenig, a trusted aide, or at least that is what Fury thought. He had made a trip out here in secret to check on the base''s progress and find out from Sam when the base should be up and running. But there is currently a bigger issue that Director Fury is having as he looks around the conference room he is standing in. It¡¯s all the people who shouldn¡¯t even know that this place even existed, let alone be here in the first place. He looks over at Sam, who is currently talking to one of his brothers. The frown on his face just deepens as he looks over the rest of the room. While he can somewhat rest easy that every person in the room has a connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. He looks to the one person who everyone seems to be avoiding, a man he never thought he would see again, Hank Pym. He probably has a worse frown than I currently do. Another person who was even more of a surprise to see was someone who helped train him into the man he was today, Peggy Carter was here and sitting next to her was Sharon Carter, her great niece who was just accepted into the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. He frowned a little deeper. He turned his head back towards Sam as he said in an icy tone, ¡°Sam, you mind telling me why the fuck all of these people are here. In a place that only you, me and three other people should even know exists?¡± Sam froze mid talking, his mouth snapped shut and he started to turn pale as he slowly turned towards Fury. The rest of the room had also quieted down and everyone looked at Sam waiting for his answer. This made it even worse for him and as he tried to speak, he lost his voice. The only thing that could come out of his mouth was a strange wheeze. He tried to speak again, but still no intelligible sounds came out. As he was trying to speak again, another voice was heard from the other side of the room. ¡°Are you trying to play a joke to lighten the mood, Fury? If everyone else here is like Sharon and I, we were explicitly asked to come here by you for a matter of the utmost importance. We were also told to make sure no one knew about it, not to be followed or tracked and not bring anything that has GPS.¡± Fury looked towards his former mentor and said. ¡°I am pretty fucking sure I would have remembered if I told a bunch of random people about something above their clearance level.¡± Hank glanced over at Peggy first then turned to Fury and said. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me to come here. Someone else sent me a message, they said Janet was alive and could help me find her. I was then told about this place, how to get inside and when I should get here.¡± Peggy stood up and looked at Hank as she asked, ¡°Janet is still alive?!? I thought that she died stopping that nuke?¡± Hank shook his head slightly before he said, ¡°No, she went quantum stopping the missile. I had no idea how to find her or even if she was alive because of that. Now someone who was somehow able to find me in hiding and I couldn¡¯t find after spending over a week trying to trace back how they contacted me. They told me that not only was she alive, but they could also help me find her. I decided to take the chance.¡± Everyone had stopped talking and was quiet as Hank Pym talked. Hank glanced around the room for a moment at everyone as he finished, before he turned back to Fury. As they were staring at each other the wall behind Fury lit up and a face started to appear on the wall sized monitor. Fury noticed as everyone turned to look behind him, he broke eye contact with Hank and turned around himself. On the screen before him was an older looking nondescript Asian man. The only thing to really note was the man''s completely black hair and irises. It almost looked like his eyes were completely black if you weren''t paying attention. His eyes did a quick sweep of the room before he said, ¡°Looks like everyone is here. I am glad you all could make it. But then again, when I asked you to come here, you didn¡¯t know it was me asking.¡± 00012. Trying to make friends with a bunch of spys can be hard.
Fury was the first to speak as he turned around and said, ¡°Sam, I want you to start running a trace and find out where this is coming from.¡± Before Sam or anyone else could move, the black eyed man replied. ¡°There is no need for that, you won¡¯t be able to find me. Unless I tell you where I am. Now I have a few hours today to discuss with all of you about why you are here and I would really like to make this as streamlined as possible." Hank let out a defeated sigh and said, ¡°He is right, I tried for over a week and came up empty handed.¡± Fury just nodded once to Sam and turned back around to look at the man once again. As that was going on Sam went to his laptop sitting on the table and started to work. As he did, the man began to speak again and said. "That won''t get you anywhere Fury, but if it makes you feel better you are free to try for the next few hours." Fury crossed his arms over his chest as he said, ¡°And what makes you think any of us will stay here for the next few hours and listen to what you have to say?¡± The man on the screen smiled slightly and said, ¡°Besides the fact that you wanna find out who I am, so you will most likely stay for what I have to say on the off chance that Sam can find me. You are also curious how I would be able to find out about something like this base, since there are no records of this place in any S.H.I.E.L.D. database.¡± Fury smiled back and said, ¡°Those are valid reasons, but I don¡¯t need all of these people here for this. I could send them away and it would just be me and you here.¡± The man on the screen let out a laugh and said, ¡°While you could order your agents to leave, I doubt Miss Carter or Dr. Pym would leave just because you asked them. Plus if you tried a power move like that, I would just tell everyone how you lost your eye. Flerkens are funny creatures aren¡¯t they? Did you know their stomach acts as a pocket dimension? Oh but you already knew that though, since one was holding the Tesseract for a few days.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Everyone looked towards Fury for a moment before looking back at the man smiling on the monitor. Fury¡¯s smile had dropped and he stayed silent for a few moments before he finally walked over to a chair and sat down. After he was seated he said, ¡°You seem to know a lot of things that no one else should know about, care to explain how?¡± "To put it in a way that is easy to understand, I can see the future.¡± Everyone was quiet as they thought about what they just heard. Fury looked like he was about to speak when Hank asked, ¡°Say I believe you, is that why you told me Janet is alive?¡± The man on the screen smiled again and replied, ¡°That would be correct. In about 22 years from now you find and rescue your wife from the quantum realm. I am pretty sure we could do it a lot sooner. But if you don¡¯t mind believing in magic, I think the earth''s sorcerer supreme might be able to do it even faster than us. I am not one hundred percent certain though and I really don¡¯t feel like talking to her.¡± Fury raised an eyebrow at that comment and a few other people were looking at each other and mouthing sorcerer supreme to see if anyone knew what the man on the screen was talking about. Hank, on the other hand, just laughed and said, ¡°I am a man of science, I don¡¯t believe in magic.¡± ¡°I figured as much. I have a few ideas on how to speed up the process of finding your wife. I will send those to you later, but I would like you to stay here and listen to what I have to say since it also involves you.¡± Hank shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. after what they tried to do to me.¡± The man on the screen smiled wide at that and said, ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t S.H.I.E.L.D., who was actually behind it in the first place?¡± Hank narrowed his eyes at that comment and asked, ¡°You expect me to believe it wasn¡¯t S.H.I.E.L.D., when I caught them myself as they tried to replicate and steal my technology?¡± ¡°While they might have been part of S.H.I.E.L.D., the people doing it weren¡¯t told by S.H.I.E.L.D. to do it. I know you confronted Miss Carter, Stark and Mitchell Carson about it. But you never asked them about it specifically, you just left and never said another word. Miss Carter, did you or Howard task anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. to try and recreate the Pym Particle?¡± Hank looked over to Peggy and she let out a sad sigh before she said, ¡°No, it was Mitchell Carson, he was the one who did it. Me and Howard found out when you came in and gave your resignation. After you left we stopped all research on it and I demoted Mitchell for what he did, but you were already gone, the real damage was already done.¡± The man on the screen nodded his head and replied, ¡°Thank you Miss Carter. Now Hank I know at the time you were starting to distrust your allies and even your technology over what happened to your wife. But I would like to assure you that your tech overall is fine, but you were right to distrust some of the people close to you.¡± At this point someone else finally spoke up, it was Peggy¡¯s niece and they asked, ¡°Pardon me, but it seems like you are trying to say that not everyone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is actually working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°That was correct Miss Carter.¡± She put her hand up in a stopping motion and said, ¡°Please just call me Sharon, Mr. ?¡± The man on the screen looked a little embarrassed before he gave a slight bow as he said, ¡°Please forgive me, I never introduced myself. You can call me, Ezekiel." Fury spoke next and said, ¡°I doubt that is your real name.¡± ¡°It''s one of the names my parents gave me. Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Miss Carter, you remember Operation Paperclip, correct?¡± Nodding her head at the same time she replied, ¡°Yes I do, the US brought over a bunch of German scientists after world war two. A good amount even ended up in the S.S.R. and then S.H.I.E.L.D. after that.¡± The man on the screen gave a wicked looking smile at that and asked, ¡°Even the ones who worked for Hydra?¡± Peggy didn¡¯t like the way he asked that question but replied, ¡°Yes we took in any that were qualified and didn¡¯t commit any war crimes.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s smile became a bit wider before he asked, ¡°Could you remind me what Hydra agents liked to say as they committed suicide?¡± Peggy was having a really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach as she replied, ¡°Cut off one head and two will grow back. But it was only the fanatics that believed in that. Plus once Johann Schmidt died, Hydra fell apart on its own.¡± Fury spoke next and said, ¡°So you want us to believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently compromised by a Nazi group from World War Two?¡± Ezekiel laughed at that and then said, ¡°No, not at all. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised by a cult that has existed long before any Nazi¡¯s did. Here, take a look at this for a minute.¡± On the screen the Hydra logo they used during world war two appeared. Then slowly it split apart and one of the logos turned into another image. It was black and white with a weird looking skull on it, it also had some weird curls coming off of the top side of the head. After a moment, the second logo rotated one hundred and eighty degrees and looked strangely close to the Hydra logo next to it. ¡°Everyone is familiar with the first logo, the second one is from a cult that was around in the fourth century B.C. and this next one was used from around 800-1200 A.D.¡± On the screen another logo appeared, it had a ram skull resting above a crest. Then another logo appeared with a weird looking ram skull on it. ¡°That one is from around 1200-1700 A.D. There are a few more to see, but I am sure you all get the point.¡± Peggy looked deathly pale at the thought that she tarnished Steve¡¯s memory, by letting Hydra infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D.and twist it to their own ends. A lot of other people in the room were looking very uncomfortable also. Hank was quiet, but he was looking over at Peggy. His face was an unreadable mask. Fury was the first to break the silence in the room and asked, ¡°So what, this group of people have existed for around two thousand years and have been trying to take over the world this whole time?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, this started as a cult that was worshiping someone they considered a god. He was an Inhuman, or at least that is what his people called themselves. He was a very dangerous and powerful Inhuman, because of that he was banished to another world long ago. His followers that were left on Earth then founded a cult, with its main purpose to bring him back to earth, so they could conquer it. It has changed a lot over the years, but its main goal is pretty much the same.¡± Everyone else was silent as they were thinking about what they just heard. Fury was the first to speak as he asked, ¡°This inhuman was banished over two thousand years ago, shouldn¡¯t they be dead by now?¡± ¡°I wish, but he is a parasite and lives by taking over people. The people die, but he retains the person''s memories. He actually wiped out the entire population of the planet he was exiled to. It was the main reason he was exiled, he would have done the same thing to our planet given enough time.¡± Someone else spoke up and said, ¡°Mr. Ezekiel, it¡¯s a little hard to believe this story. I have seen some pretty outlandish things working with S.H.I.E.L.D., but this is a step above any of that.¡± A lot of people in the room nodded in agreement with the man¡¯s statement. ¡°It¡¯s always good to have a healthy bit of skepticism Agent Coulson, but I can assure you that everything I have said is fact. But at the same time it¡¯s just words coming from a person you don¡¯t know. So let me give all of you an olive branch and try to earn your trust.¡± Fury scoffed at that and said, ¡°If you want me to trust you, how about you come here and talk to me face to face.¡± Ezekiel laughed at that and said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that for two reasons. The first is because I don¡¯t have the time. The second is because I don¡¯t want you to randomly show up at my house when you wanna talk.¡± Fury just glared at Ezekiel as Peggy started to laugh. A few other people including Coulson were smirking at the comment. When Peggy stopped laughing she said, ¡°You are right about the second part.¡± A few more people actually laughed at Peggy¡¯s comment, but stopped when Fury shot them each a glare. Once the room settled down again, Ezekiel said. ¡°So, my first olive branch to gain some trust. I just sent a list of bank accounts to Sam.¡± Fury raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°You want to buy our trust with money?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I just told you that the organization you run is infested. The people in this room are here because I know for a fact that none of them are Hydra sleeper agents. There are a lot more good agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., but these ones I know for certain. The rest I will have to slowly verify. The reason I am giving you money is because you won¡¯t be able to make any moves using funds from S.H.I.E.L.D. without drawing attention.¡± Sam looked up in shock before he asked, ¡°There is close to one hundred billion dollars in here?!? Were you the one who pulled off all those bank hacks last month? No one has figured out how it was done and none of the banks were able to retrieve the money.¡± ¡°Yes, that was me. All the money I took was from criminals or terrorists, I figured we would put it to better use then they would.¡± The man looked over everyone in the room for a moment, before he looked at Peggy and said. ¡°Now for the real olive branch of friendship, Miss Carter I know where Steve Rogers is.¡± 00013. An Olive Branch of Friendship. Peggy stood up and yelled, ¡°You know where Steve''s body is?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°You misheard me, I said I know where Steve is. I didn¡¯t say anything about finding his body.¡± Peggy was shaking slightly as she asked in a low voice, ¡°Are you saying that he is still alive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Peggy collapsed back into her chair with her head down, the whole room had gone quiet, Sam had even stopped typing on his laptop. After a minute or so she looked up with determined eyes and asked, ¡°Where is he now?¡± ¡°He is currently frozen in a block of ice, inside the remains of the Valkyrie. It is located off the coast of Greenland in the Arctic circle. I have a couple satellite photos of where it is.¡± A few images popped up on the screen and they could kinda see what looked like some black metal pieces stuck in the ice. A map appeared next and the images went over the map in a certain location. After that Ezekiel¡¯s face appeared again as he said, ¡°It took a while to rewrite all the coding for one of the CIA¡¯s spy satellites, but it can take highly detailed photos now. Too bad they think the satellite lost it''s orbit and burned up in the atmosphere. Their loss is our gain. I will send Sam the info on how to access it later." Ezekiel Looked back at Fury and said, "I hope that is a good enough olive branch for now." Everyone was quiet, even Peggy and Hank as they waited for Fury to answer. After a moment he shook his head and said, "All of my experience is telling me not to trust you. We don''t really know you at all and you haven''t told anyone what you want for our help. I¡¯ve seen enough in this world to know that everything has a price. I wanna know what the price is for all of this before I say yes to anything." Ezekiel smiled at that before he said, "I could tell you about myself, but my story is so unbelievable that you would assume I was crazy if I told you. Maybe when you actually trust me, I will tell you about it.¡± Looking off to the side for a moment Ezekiel started to speak again in a low voice and said. ¡°You want to know what my price is, Fury? My price is people''s lives.¡± Looking back over the room once more he took a moment to look at each person, when he was done he locked eyes with Fury and said, ¡°If I do nothing and just let the world progress as it should, I know five people in this room who will die when Hydra finally makes its move. But it¡¯s not just Hydra that I want to stop. I also know of other things that will happen, disasters, terrorist attacks. If I don¡¯t do something, those people''s deaths are on me because I had the ability to help and I did nothing.¡± Fury kept eye contact with Ezekiel for over a minute before he finally let out a sigh and said, ¡°I still don¡¯t trust you, but I will work with you. Until you give me a reason not to. What do you propose we do? I assume you already have some type of plan formed?¡± ¡°I have some ideas, but no concrete plans. My first idea was removing some of the people here from S.H.I.E.L.D. so we can work without having to worry about being watched by Hydra spies. Maria Hill, Phil Coulson and yourself need to stay. But everyone else here is optional.¡± Fury looked at the other two people in question and then asked, ¡°I know why I need to stay in S.H.I.E.L.D., but why do Phil and Maria need to stay?¡± ¡°Phil is your go to for a lot of things in the future and runs point on some important things. Maria becomes your second in command later and is who takes over as director when you retire.¡± Both Phil and Maria¡¯s eyes widen a little at that but say nothing. Looking around the room Ezekiel spots a Hispanic looking man with black hair that had a little bit of gray coming in. Once he locked eyes with the man he said, ¡°Robert Gonzales, I would suggest that you retire for now. I know that between now and when Hydra makes their move in about twenty years your wife passes away and you leave S.H.I.E.L.D. for a few years because of that. But when you come back, you are a great asset to the organization and are one of the reasons S.H.I.E.L.D. didn¡¯t completely fall apart when Hydra attacked. I am sorry I can¡¯t give you more details, but that is all I really know about you.¡± The man looked completely shocked but just nodded his head in reply. The rest of the room stayed quiet for a moment before Ezekiel said, ¡°I also have the names of a few people that aren¡¯t currently in S.H.I.E.L.D., but are supposed to join it in the future. I want them recruited here instead. It will increase our manpower with people we can trust. I will get it sent to you after we finish here. I will also send you over everything I have collected on Hydra and the currently known members. But I want to stress that this list is tiny compared to how many there are. They have people in every branch of government, military, private company and other organizations that are important throughout the world. We can not show our cards until we know all of them.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Peggy spoke up at that and said, ¡°How long do you think it will take?¡± ¡°I could be as fast as a few years, or it could take me more than ten years. A lot of Hydra leaders are very cautious and it will take a while to figure out who they are. You also have to realize about thirty five percent of S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently Hydra sleeper agents.¡± Fury jumped out of his chair and yelled, ¡°How the fuck is that much of S.H.I.E.L.D. compromised?¡± ¡°When the people in power are already double agents, it¡¯s not hard to bring in more. It¡¯s actually pretty brilliant how they have done it honestly. But they also find people in S.H.I.E.L.D. who are susceptible to their way of thinking and recruit them from within. That is why we need to be cautious of our current actions and not alert them. We need to have the manpower to fight them properly. If we don¡¯t it will turn into a protracted war and a lot of people will die.¡± Fury started to slowly pace as he thought over what he learned. Ezekiel turned to look at Hank and said, ¡°So Dr. Pym, after hearing all of this. Would you like to join us?¡± Fury continued to pace, but also paid attention to Hank as he did. Most of the people in the room had listened to what Ezekiel had said and talked quietly amongst themselves for the past few minutes as they waited for his reply. Hank sat and thought for a while, sometimes he glanced towards Peggy then looked at someone else in the room for a moment. After a while he finally looked at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I will help, but my priority is to rescue my wife first. Once that is done, I will see about helping in a more hands-on way.¡± Ezekiel smiled at that and said, ¡°Glad to be working with you Dr. Pym. Question for you, have you finished your particle discs yet?¡± Hank looked a little shocked at first but then calmly said, ¡°Yes, I have, why?¡± ¡°I would like to recover the captain as soon as possible and our group doesn¡¯t really have the manpower to do it currently. But if a couple of people went with a shrinking particle disk, we could recover him and the ship and be back within a day or so. Then we could return it to its normal size here and bring the captain out of his hibernation. I would just ask you to go, but I have something else I need you to do and it also can¡¯t wait. So I am asking that you trust someone else with your tech.¡± Hank was quiet for a while before he looked at Peggy and said, ¡°I will trust Peggy with some particle discs.¡± Peggy nodded her head in thanks to Hank. Hank looked back to the monitor screen and said, ¡°Now what is it you need me to do?¡± ¡°For a few weeks now I have been hiding info about an explosion that happened in Argentina. I didn¡¯t want S.H.I.E.L.D. and more to the point Hydra finding out about it. There you will find your former colleague Bill Foster. He is currently taking care of a young girl named Ava Starr. I am sure you can take a guess at who her parents were.¡± Hank almost spit out the name Elihas as he asked, ¡°Elihas and Catherine had a kid? Wait, are you saying they died?¡± ¡°Yes, Elihas was trying to make a quantum tunnel, but he cut too many corners and it ended up killing him and his wife. His daughter Ava got the worst of it, she is suffering from molecular disequilibrium.¡± Almost everyone in the room looked confused except for Hank who had a look of horror. It took him a minute before he asked, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s molecular disequilibrium?¡± Ezekiel shook his head sadly and said, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How is the poor girl still alive?¡± Before Ezekiel could reply, Coulson asked, ¡°What exactly is molecular disequilibrium?¡± Ezekiel looked over to Coulson with a sad expression before he said, ¡°The short answer is that every cell in her body is torn apart and then stitched back together. Over and over. Everyday.¡± Ezekiel looked over the group, some people had a look of pity, some looked horrified. Fury is the only one who seems disinterested. Ezekiel looks back at Hank and said, ¡°If I did nothing, that girl would be taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. for training. She would be promised a cure and then trained as an assassin and spy since her molecular disequilibrium also gives her the ability to phase out of existence. A real life ghost, the perfect assassin honestly. But S.H.I.E.L.D. never finds a cure and honestly doesn¡¯t really try, Bill Foster is the only person who really tries to help her. But I think if you and Bill work together, you will have a better chance to cure her sooner and it will also help you with researching the quantum realm.¡± ¡°Also, you were looking at hiring a brilliant kid from MIT, Darren Cross, to be your protege, right?¡± Hank looked up at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I was planning to make him a formal offer when he graduated.¡± ¡°Well if you go through with it, I would be completely honest with him. The man is a genius and is able to make his own version of your tech without your help. But since you weren¡¯t honest with him about your tech in the first place and always denied it even existed while keeping him at a distance, he grew bitter towards you and ended up pushing you out of your own company. He became so obsessed with trying to surpass you, that when you destroyed all of his research work on it, he tried to kill you. I would suggest bringing him on to the project to help rescue your wife and treat him like an equal. But those are just my thoughts on the matter, you can do as you wish.¡± Hank just nodded in reply, but said nothing else. Ezekiel looked at another person in the room and said, ¡°Alright next order of business¡­¡± 00014. Who is the best? The room was quiet, only three people were inside. Everyone else had left after the meeting with Ezekiel was finished. Fury looked at the other two people with him, the first was his mentor and the other a brilliant scientist. Peggy was the first to speak as she said, "Out with it Fury, I wanna know your thoughts." Fury looked at Hank and Peggy before he looked at the monitor Ezekiel had been using for the past few hours. He let out a sigh before he said, "If even a little bit of what he said is true, the world is in trouble." "You think he was lying to us?" "No Peggy, I don''t and that is the biggest issue. I think everything he told us was the truth as far as he knows. But he also gave us more information than he might have intended. Like when he asked Hank if he wanted to believe in magic. He mentioned someone, the Sorcerer Supreme that he didn''t want to deal with. We need to find this person and hopefully they might know something about our new friend Ezekiel." "I agree, I think finding out more about him is our safest bet moving forward. What about you Hank?" Hank nodded his head and said, ¡°I agree, we need to know more about him. Once we do, we can make a better determination about him and his character. But honestly, if he is right about even half of the stuff he talked about. I would rather have him on our side feeding us information. Also he talked about Inhumans, you think that means mutants?¡± Fury shook his head and said, "Doubtful, I am pretty sure he is talking about another group of powered people or another species altogether. Since he said the one Hydra worshiped was sent to another world. Just another thing we will have to look into." "I agree, but first I need to go find Steve. Hank, how soon can you bring me those particle discs?" Hank smiled and then pulled out a small pouch. He opened it up and inside were some small silver discs. He held one up and said, "This one will shrink things down, the other colored one will enlarge them back to normal." After handing them over to Peggy, Hank stood up and said. "I am going to head out, I need to go find Bill and Ava." Hank turned and looked at Fury as he said, "Is there space here to set up a lab?¡± ¡°There are a lot of areas that we haven¡¯t touched yet, I will have Sam start to wire one up for power. If there is any equipment you need, just send a list to Sam and he will make sure you get it.¡± Hank nodded his head and then walked out of the room. Fury turned to Peggy and said, ¡°Who are you taking with you to go pickup Steve?¡± ¡°I think your man Coulson will work. Can I borrow him for a few days?¡± ¡°Sure I can make a ''mission'' for him that will take a week or so. It shouldn¡¯t make anyone suspicious if he isn¡¯t around for a bit on a mission.¡± --------------------------------------------- Theo was sitting reading in the kitchen, while his father was cooking dinner and his sister Emily, Better known as Milly was sitting next to him watching their father cook. After a few minutes she looked at Theo and said, ¡°Te-o, Te-o, what are you doing?¡± Theo looked up from his book at his younger sister Milly. She had just started talking after her first birthday and would ask questions constantly now. Most of the time it was to learn new words since her favorite thing to say is, ¡°What is that called?¡± followed by, ¡°Why?¡± Honestly her curiosity about everything is kinda amazing, she almost gives Sam a run for his money when he was first created. ¡°I am reading this new book dad gave me.¡± Milly tilted her head slightly to one side and asked, ¡°Why? Is it fun?¡± Theo tilted his head the same way as Milly and asked, ¡°Do I ever do anything not fun?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Theo¡¯s eyes widened for a second as he heard his father laugh a little. Theo then asked, ¡°What? When?¡± Milly turned and looked at the ceiling, her face scrunched up as she thought for a minute. His father turned around and watched for a moment. Milly¡¯s face relaxed as she looked back at Theo and said, ¡°Always.¡± His father started laughing hard at that and then asked, ¡°Milly what about daddy? Is daddy fun?¡± Milly put her hands up and said, ¡°Daddy is the best!¡± His father laughed again at that and asked, ¡°What about mommy?¡± ¡°Daddy is the best!¡± Theo looked at his father as he laughed and then looked back at Milly and asked, ¡°What about your big brother? Didn¡¯t you say I was the best when we were at Aunt May¡¯s?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Milly looked at him for a moment before she looked away with her lips slightly pushed out and said, ¡°Daddy wasn''t there.¡± ¡°So I am only the best when dad isn''t around?¡± Milly had her eyes closed and lips pushed out slightly as she nodded yes. His father laughed again at that and Theo just shook his head at her response. Theo then picked his book back up and went back to reading as his father started to sing and Milly tried to copy him. It wasn¡¯t long before everyone heard the front door open and someone said, ¡°Whatever you are cooking smells amazing!¡± After a few moments Theo¡¯s mother entered the kitchen and went straight to Milly, picked her up and gave her a hug and some kisses as she asked, ¡°Did Milly miss mommy?¡± ¡°Yes! Mommy is the best!¡± ¡°You hear that honey? I am the best.¡± Theo¡¯s father smiled and asked, ¡°Milly, who is the best? ¡°Mommy is the best!¡± Theo¡¯s father turned around and looked shocked as he asked, ¡°But didn¡¯t you just say I was the best before mommy came home?¡± Milly looked at her dad and stated matter of factly, ¡°Mommy wasn¡¯t home.¡± Theo laughed at that and said, ¡°Looks like you are only the best if mom isn¡¯t around and I am only the best if mom and you aren¡¯t around.¡± Milly nodded at that and said, ¡°Mommy is best.¡± Theo¡¯s mom laughed at that as she seated Milly back down, she reached over and rubbed Theo¡¯s hair before she grabbed his book and set it to the side as she said, ¡°Dinner time, you can read after we are done sweetie.¡± Theo¡¯s mother gave her husband a hug and a kiss. Before she started to set the table as he finished cooking dinner. It wasn¡¯t long before both of them joined their kids at the table and began to eat the delicious chicken alfredo that Jacob cooked. Theo¡¯s mother leaned over and kissed his father after her first bite and said, ¡°Great as always honey.¡± Theo nodded his head and said, ¡°I still like tacos more, but this is pretty good.¡± Milly had a small plate in front of her and the bottom half of her face was covered in sauce as she said, ¡°Pizza is the best.¡± Theo¡¯s father smiled at the compliments as his wife reached over with a napkin and cleaned Milly¡¯s face up as she asked, ¡°How come you make a mess every time you eat?¡± Theo laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a skill she practices every day.¡± His father laughed and his mother shot him a quick glare at his comment. Milly sucked another noodle into her mouth and it hit the side of her face before she finished. Her cheek now had sauce on it again. Theo laughed and said, ¡°See, it¡¯s a skill she practices!¡± His mother just shook her head as his father laughed again. Dinner finished shortly after and Theo moved to the couch with his book. His mother sat next to him with Milly seated on her lap and asked, "So how was your day at Aunt May''s?" Before Theo responded, Milly spoke up and replied, "It was fun, Peter and Te-o climbed to the top of the book case!" Theo''s mother looked at him with a blank face and asked with a calm voice, "So you climbed to the top of the book case today? I distinctly remember asking you not to climb things anymore." Theo looked betrayed as he said, ¡°You asked me to do it and said you wouldn¡¯t tell mom if I could climb all the way to the top!¡± Milly nodded her head in understanding and then looked at her mom and said, ¡°Te-o didn¡¯t climb to the top of the bookcase.¡± Theo dropped his head into both of his hands and shook his head back and forth. His mother laughed as she hugged Milly and said, ¡°Okay Milly, so Theo didn¡¯t climb to the top of the bookcase today. What did he do then?¡± ¡°He climbed the tree! It was better than when he climbed the bookcase!¡± ¡°You are not helping!¡± Theo¡¯s mother smacked the back of his head and said, ¡°Not only did you climb the bookcase, but you were climbing the tree in May¡¯s back yard? What if you fell and got hurt? What if Peter copied you and started to climb the tree?¡± Milly looked up at her mom and said, ¡°Peter climbed the tree too! It was great!¡± Theo¡¯s mother smacked the back of his head again and said, ¡°You are setting a bad example for Peter, if you keep this up Milly might start climbing stuff also.¡± Theo looked over at his sister but it was already too late as she said, ¡°Te-o taught me to climb the couch today!¡± Theo¡¯s face fell as he looked up at his mother''s disappointed face. She pulled Milly into a tighter hug and said, ¡°You are Milly¡¯s older brother, you are supposed to watch over her and make sure she doesn¡¯t get hurt. So why are you teaching her how to climb things? Things she could fall from and get hurt.¡± Theo waited a few moments before he said, ¡°I can¡¯t say no when she starts to ask in her cute voice.¡± Theo¡¯s dad had just walked into the room and started to laugh before he said, ¡°In Theo¡¯s defense, you can¡¯t really say no when Milly asks you for something in her cute voice either.¡± ¡°But I am not teaching Milly how to climb things! I just give her treats.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ve said climbing stuff is fine, once they get hurt they will know not to do it.¡± Theo¡¯s mom shook her head and said, ¡°But I don¡¯t want them to get hurt. I want them to be safe.¡± Theo¡¯s dad sat down and put one arm around his wife as he said, ¡°It¡¯s gonna happen one way or another at some point. I know they are both young, but you need to prepare now. I still want them safe and healthy, but I also know Theo is gonna climb everything he can.¡± Theo¡¯s dad looked at him and said, ¡°No new books for a week since you didn¡¯t listen to your mom.¡± Theo just looked down again and said, ¡°I, understand. Sorry.¡± Theo¡¯s dad looked down at Milly and said, ¡°And you young lady, you don¡¯t get any treats for a week for asking your brother to do stuff he shouldn¡¯t be doing.¡± Milly started to tear up a little and looked up at her mom and asked in her cute voice, ¡°Mommy, I can have treats right?¡± Her mom looked like she wanted to say yes, but a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and a single shake of her husband''s head was all she needed. She looked down at her daughter and said, ¡°Sorry sweetie, your father said no treats for a week.¡± Milly looked at her father and said, ¡°Mommy is still the best.¡± Before she turned her head around and puffed out her cheeks as she looked the other way. 00015. Collecting the pieces. Looking at the familiar shield encased in ice, her heart sped up a little. She had spent the last day traveling here with a faint hope in her heart. The last hour getting inside the Valkyrie was the worst part, but she had to make sure that Steve was in here. She crouched down and wiped a layer of frost off the piece of ice in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Steve¡¯s head encased in the ice. A face she hadn¡¯t seen in almost sixty years. A single tear started to form and before it could roll down her cheek it froze almost where it started. She stood up, wiped the tear away and then looked at the man who had joined her on this trip, he stood in awe as he looked down at Steve encased inside the ice. After a moment he looked back up at her and said, ¡°I am ready whenever you are ma¡¯am.¡± Peggy nodded her head in confirmation before they both made their way back outside of the plane. It wasn¡¯t exactly what she remembered, but then again most of it was encased in the ice. Only a few parts of the giant black plane were exposed to the world, most of it was hidden under the ice. Not wanting to waste time, she pulled out one of the shrinking discs, pushed the button and threw it at the wing tip in front of her. A second later and the wing and plane were gone, but on the ground in front of her was what looked like a broken foot long toy plane. She looked over at Coulson, he stepped beside it and picked it up. It didn¡¯t take them long to load it inside an ice chest that they prepared beforehand. They wanted to make sure they were back in base and the Valkyrie was its normal size before they pulled Steve out and began to thaw everything. Once they were done, they boarded their transport and headed back to base. ------------------------------------------------------ To say that Bill Foster was stunned would be the understatement of a lifetime. A man who he never thought he would meet again, had shown up at his hotel room in Argentina. After Bill answered the door, the man not only greeted him with an apology, but gave him a hug and asked if they could talk. Still in shock he invited the man inside where they were now seated. Bill looked at his old friend and still didn¡¯t know what to say. Hank looked around the room for a few moments before he locked eyes with Bill and said, ¡°Bill, I really am sorry for how I treated you. When I lost Janet, I didn¡¯t handle it well at all. I lashed out at everyone close to me and I really want to say that I am truly sorry for my actions. You were a great friend and you didn¡¯t deserve to be treated like that.¡± Bill sat in silence for a while as he examined the man in front of him. The sadness in the man''s eyes was still there. But the anger that used to be there was gone and replaced with what looked like a spark of hope. Bill reached over, placed his hand on the man¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Hank, I forgive you. I might have acted the same way if I was in your position.¡± Hank nodded his head in response but didn¡¯t say anything else. Bill studied him for a moment longer before he removed his hand, sat back in his seat and asked. ¡°How did you even find me by the way?¡± Hank laughed for a moment before he said, ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t even believe it myself, but someone told me that you were here and that you were taking care of Elihas Starr¡¯s daughter Ava who was suffering from molecular disequilibrium.¡± Bill stood up shocked as he looked down at Hank, after a moment he looked at a closed door across the room. Hank glanced at the door but said nothing as he waited for Bill. Bill sat down defeated after a few seconds. His gaze never left the door as he asked, ¡°When did you go back to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Actually it doesn¡¯t really matter anyways. If S.H.I.E.L.D. gets their hands on Ava they will use her and turn that girl into a weapon. I don¡¯t want that to happen, but I don¡¯t have the resources to help her myself.¡± Bill lowered his head and looked at his hands in defeat. Hank reached out and patted Bill on the shoulder as he said, ¡°You know Ezekiel said the same thing. That is one of the reasons he sent me to find you and Ava.¡± Bill looked up at Hank and asked, ¡°Ezekiel? Does he work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?¡± Hank shook his head and said, ¡°Not really, he is working with people from S.H.I.E.L.D., but he is not part of it.¡± Bill had a little spark of hope in his eyes as he asked, ¡°So you came to find me and Ava for this man Ezekiel? What was the other reason you came for?¡± Hank''s eyes shimmered as he smiled, before he said, ¡°Janet is alive and I need your help to rescue her. Ezekiel said that by helping to stabilize Ava it will also help us in finding a way to get Janet back. Or at least that is what he believes.¡± Bill looked at his friend in shock, his lower jaw dropped open for a second before it snapped closed and he asked, ¡°Janet is still alive?! I mean I know you had theories on what could happen if someone goes quantum, but it was all guess work.¡± Hank nodded his head and then said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for years, but at this point I didn¡¯t think it would matter even if I made something to go into the quantum realm.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Then what happened? What changed?¡± ¡°Ezekiel.¡± Bill looked confused as he asked, ¡°Ezekiel? You said his name, but why is he so important?¡± Hank shook his head as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you here. But if you come and join us, I will tell you everything.¡± Bill looked back at the door for a while before he asked, ¡°You are going to help me cure Ava?¡± ¡°Yes, I would still help Ava even if you don¡¯t join us.¡± Bill stood up and as he did, he reached over and offered his right hand to Hank. Hank took it with his own right hand and was pulled up by Bill. With their hands still clasped together, Bill shook Hank''s hand and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to be working with you again, old friend.¡± Hank smiled a little at that and pulled Bill into a quick hug as he said, ¡°Same to you, Bill.¡± After their hands released, Bill looked over towards the door and Hank followed his gaze. After a second Hank thought he saw something, but couldn¡¯t make out what it was. It wasn¡¯t until Bill said, ¡°Ava honey, it¡¯s not polite to eavesdrop on people.¡± The next second a young girl''s ghostly head came out of the door, she looked a little embarrassed at Bill and said in a meek tone of voice, ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Ava, come here please. I want you to meet someone who is going to help me find a way to cure you.¡± The ghost girl who looked no older than thirteen years old walked fully through the door, but the door was still mostly visible behind her. She had on some lite pink pajamas. In her hands was a little white teddy bear she clutched tightly to her chest. Her head dropped slightly as she walked closer to Bill and Hank, she would flicker in and out of existence, sometimes completely solid, other times she disappeared completely and would be closer the next time she reappeared. She finally stopped when she was next to Bill but did nothing else. Bill reached down and gently touched Ava¡¯s head as she became completely solid again. He looked down at the girl with a hint of sadness in his eyes as he said, ¡°Ava, honey, this is Hank Pym. He is the smartest man I have ever met and he is going to help me with finding a way to cure you.¡± She kept her head down as she said, ¡°Daddy said Hank Pym is an asshole and that he hated him.¡± Hank kneeled down next to Ava and said, ¡°He wasn¡¯t wrong, me and your father used to work together, we were¡­ friends. But he tried to do something that upset me greatly. In return I did everything I could to do the same to him. Unfortunately because of that, I am an indirect cause of why you are suffering and your parents are no longer here.¡± Ava finally looked up at Hank, there was a little bit of anger in her eyes but they were also filled with a deep sadness. She looked like she wanted to say something, but then she started to tear up. She turned her head away and started to cry, as she did her body phased in and out of existence. Bill was the first to react and he knelt down next to her and said, ¡°Ava, honey, I know it¡¯s hard but please concentrate. You need to settle down and concentrate or it will just hurt more.¡± It took about a minute, but she finally calmed down and became mostly solid again. Bill pulled her into a hug after that and just held her in silence for a while as Hank watched. When Bill finally released her from the hug, Hank reached out slowly, he placed his hand gently on her shoulder and asked, ¡°Ava, will you let me help find a way to cure you?¡± Ava looked at Bill, who smiled at her. Before she looked at Hank and nodded her head yes in reply. Hank removed his hand as he stood up, he then looked at both Bill and Ava and said. ¡°Let''s get you both packed, I have a place where we can work. We just need to make one stop before we go there.¡± Bill stood up with his arm around Ava¡¯s shoulder as he asked, ¡°Where do you need to stop at and where is our work space at?¡± ¡°The work space is a secret base I can¡¯t really tell you the location of. But the stop is so we can pick up Hope. She is a little older than Ava, but I think Ava could use a friend while she is with us at the base.¡± Bill smiled at that and said, ¡°That is a great idea, but is that going to be allowed?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if they like it or not, I am working with them, not for them.¡± Bill just nodded his head and said, ¡°We are pretty much ready to leave now, I had planned to leave here later today, so we are almost fully packed up already. Ava, can you change out of your pajamas and we will leave after that?¡± Ava nodded her head in response and then walked into the next room by going through the wall. ------------------------------------------------ Fury shook his head again as he looked at the list in front of him. Three names stood out the most to him, mostly because they are the names of kids. Erik Stevens, Grant Ward and Mary Sue Poots. But next to that was Ezekiel¡¯s reason for finding them and trying to recruit them. He memorized where to find them, before he closed the document and then shut off his connection to Ezekiel''s hidden network. He let out a sigh as he stood up from his seat, he knew he couldn¡¯t trust anyone else with this task besides maybe Peggy or possibly Coulson. But he also knew she would be busy with Steve for a while and Coulson couldn¡¯t disappear for too long. 00016. The sweet bully. Peggy watched quietly as Steve slept. It had been almost a week since she had found him and they had taken their time as they thawed him out of the ice. They also had to find some doctors they trusted to bring into this new hidden faction they were making. The man Ezekiel had thought ahead and included some doctors into the list of people we should recruit. Of course no one was told about Hydra, only the original people from the first meeting knew our real purpose. Steve stirred slowly awake as he opened his eyes, Peggy reached over and held his hand gently as she said, "Hey sleepy head, you missed our date." His eyes fully opened and he took in the strange room around him for a second before he turned to look at the familiar voice he just heard. He started to smile, but then froze in place as he looked at the woman who just spoke. She looked like Peggy Carter, but she was older, more mature with some slight wrinkles and streaks for gray in her hair. The woman smiled bitterly as she said, ¡°You were asleep a long time Steve, almost sixty years.¡± Steve sat up and pulled Peggy into a hug as he said softly, ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t there for you.¡± She said nothing back but hugged him a little tighter. They stayed like that for a while, just being held by each other in silence. After an unknown amount of time passed, someone knocked on the door. After another minute they reluctantly released each other before Peggy said, ¡°Yes, what is it?¡± The door opened and Sam stepped inside, he glanced first at Steve before he looked at Peggy and said, ¡°Sorry to interrupt you ma¡¯am, but the doctors wanted to run a few tests now that Steve is awake. They wanna make sure his hibernation didn¡¯t have any negative effects.¡± Peggy looked back at Steve and asked, ¡°Feel like getting poked and prodded by a few doctors?¡± Steve swung his legs off the bed and stood up. He reached over to help Peggy out of her chair and said, ¡°As long as you join me and start telling me about what I missed while I was asleep.¡± She took his hand in hers and said, ¡°It would be my pleasure.¡± ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Theo¡¯s shadow clone connected to his hidden server and started looking over all the new updates he had received. Most of them were just stuff his program was looking for, signs of important marvel characters he knew of. The rest were updates from the people in the new organization that he had worked to set up. Well they didn¡¯t actually send him updates, his program watched everyone through their digital trail, cameras and microphones on phones. It still missed things, like hand written messages or notes and conversations where no electronics were around. He already had a plan to fix that gap at some point, as he could never be too careful in the new world he was in. After he finished checking the server, he logged off of it and opened up the newest program he was working on. Theo had a few ideas on how to make money and one of them was starting a software business. Something that he had already done in his last life, so it shouldn¡¯t be too much work for him to do it again. He already had the coding memorized for a few of the best products he released. He also planned to launch a few other things that this world doesn''t have yet. He wasn''t sure if they would have it in the first place, but just to be sure he would be launching them early. He needed as much information as possible and the easiest way to do that was to make smart phones and start social media before anyone else. Once he had a phone in everyone''s hands, not much would be able to escape his reach. Wait, am I actually turning into a villain? The clone shook its head, that was something that the real Theo could worry about. He just had to code this first program and then get it released to the public. Everything else could come after that. ------------------------------------------- Theo was seated on the couch in May¡¯s living room with a new book in hand. His dad had made a habit, he stopped by the library on his way to work every few days and picked up a new book or two for Theo. They were always pretty simple kid books, but Theo never complained. It was the thought that counted and he loved his dad for that. But he didn¡¯t waste them either, he would use them to teach Peter and Milly. Sometimes, Jean and MJ would join them to learn, but Milly stuck to Theo like glue whenever he taught Peter. The girls didn¡¯t seem to like learning as much as Peter or Milly, but they were already more advanced than most of the older kids who May watched. Kindergarten will be an interesting experience for sure, since May¡¯s was most likely going to be Theo¡¯s preschool. Uncle Ben opened the front door and said, ¡°Honey, I am home.¡± May looked out into the livingroom and said, ¡°Welcome back dear.¡± Ben smiled and started to walk upstairs as he said, ¡°I gotta clean up, I will be down in a bit.¡± Theo closed the book in his hands, he had just received the memories from his clone and took a minute to process them. His clones were starting to cut it close when they despawned. But everything had proceeded correctly so far, everyone on his list had been found and actually recruited. He was a little surprised at that, he didn¡¯t think everyone would say yes. Only the kids and a handful of people were allowed to go to the base for now. Fury had set up another site for the rest of the members he recruited. It was another decommissioned base that had been abandoned and its location and records completely removed from everything. It would be bare bones for now, but they would build it up together with some help from Sam and a few other people. Theo climbed down from the couch and went to Milly who had been playing with Peter, MJ and Jean. She looked at Theo and asked, ¡°Te-o, you done reading? You wanna play with us?¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Theo shook his head, pointed towards the clock and said, ¡°Dad is gonna pick us up soon, I want you to clean up your mess before he gets here.¡± Milly looked at the toys spread around them and the doll in her hand. She looked back at Theo and asked, ¡°But we are still playing?¡± ¡°I know, but what does it mean if dad is almost here?¡± Milly tilted her head to the side and asked, ¡°We will go home?¡± I am not sure if she acts like this because she is a kid or because it¡¯s fun. She is pretty smart, so I wouldn¡¯t put it past her. Theo let out a sigh and said, ¡°Yes, we will go home. But it also means that almost everyone else will be going home soon too.¡± Peter nodded at that and started to pick up the toys around him. MJ followed suit, followed by Jean and finally Milly. Theo had set his book down and also helped put the toys away. They actually went around the living room and picked up all the toys not being used. It was a habit that Theo had developed with them and the other kids. Once some of the other kids noticed Theo and his group had started to pick up toys, they joined in. It wasn¡¯t long before everything was cleaned up and put away correctly in the spare bedroom May used as toy storage for the kids. Before they could finish, someone knocked at the door. May opened it to let in MJ¡¯s dad, he was dressed in a standard NYC officers uniform. He reached out his hand and said, ¡°Great to see you May. I came by to pick up Mary.¡± May shook his hand and said, ¡°James, it''s good to see you again. How long has it been? A month?¡± ¡°Almost, my new position has been keeping me busy. But I was able to get off early today, so I thought I would pick up MJ myself and say hello.¡± Theo and his group had just walked back into the living room and saw MJ¡¯s dad. MJ ran past everyone else and put her arms up as she said, ¡°Daddy!¡± James laughed as he reached down and picked up MJ into his arms and asked, ¡°How was your day sweetie?¡± ¡°Great, I like coming to Aunt May¡¯s.¡± He rubbed the top of her head and said, ¡°That¡¯s good to hear sweetie. We are gonna head home, so what do you say to May?¡± MJ turned and looked at May as she said, ¡°Thanks for having me over Aunt May.¡± May smiled and said, ¡°It was a pleasure to have you, I will see you next week on Monday.¡± ¡°Thanks again May.¡± ¡°Always a pleasure to help out James.¡± James set MJ down and started to walk outside with her as someone said, ¡°James, it¡¯s good to see you. It¡¯s been almost a month hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes it has Jacob, it¡¯s good to see you also.¡± Both men shook hands for a moment before James said, ¡°I should have some time coming up around Christmas, so I can make it to the holiday party and we can catch up.¡± ¡°Sounds good, I will see you then.¡± Jacob walked inside and gave May a quick hug as he said, ¡°Good to see you May, how have the rugrats been today?¡± May lightly smacked Jacob and said, ¡°Perfectly behaved like always.¡± Milly was the first to react as she ran towards Jacob with her hands raised and said, ¡°Daddy!¡± Jacob reached down and picked Milly up as he asked, ¡°How was your day honey?¡± ¡°Great! May made cookies, Te-o and Peter gave me their cookies!¡± Jacob smiled at that and then looked over to Theo who just walked up next to them and asked, ¡°She didn¡¯t bully you both into giving her the cookies did she?¡± Theo shook his head and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t really want it in the first place, sweets aren¡¯t that great. Peter wasn¡¯t bullied though, but he also can¡¯t say no to Milly¡¯s cute attack.¡± May and Jacob both looked at each other a little shocked, before Jacob turned to Theo and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t like sweets? Since when?¡± ¡°Always I guess, you just never asked.¡± ¡°But you would always eat them whenever we gave you something sweet.¡± Theo nodded his head at that and said, ¡°I thought it would be rude if I refused to eat it.¡± Jacob let out a sigh as he said, ¡°This kid, I swear you don¡¯t act like a kid most of the time.¡± May nodded in agreement but then asked, ¡°So you don¡¯t like my pancakes, Theo?¡± ¡°No, those are great, I just don¡¯t really care for things like candy, cake, cookies, muffins, ice cream, you know stuff like that.¡± Milly replied, ¡°Milly will eat all of Te-o¡¯s candy, ice cream, cake, cookies, and muffins from now on!¡± Jacob patted Milly¡¯s head and said, ¡°We will see, I think me and May will just start making a little less. Since Theo doesn¡¯t seem to like it.¡± May shook her head and said, ¡°Sounds like a plan to me.¡± Milly waved her hands around and said, ¡°But Milly can eat the extra!¡± Jacob and May laughed at that, before Jacob reached up and pinched Milly¡¯s cheek and said, ¡°If you eat too many sweet things it¡¯s bad for you. You are also grounded from sweets for the next week since you took and ate Peter¡¯s cookie.¡± Milly puffed out her cheeks at that and then turned away from Jacob. He just laughed and said, ¡°Your actions have consequences Milly, as much as you like sweet¡¯s don¡¯t force others to give you them. It¡¯s not a nice thing to do.¡± Milly just kept looking the other way from her dad, Theo and May both shook their heads before Jacob said, ¡°Alright let''s head home and make dinner. It was good to see you, May. Have a good night.¡± ¡°You too Jacob.¡± As Theo walked back to his house with his father and Milly he asked, ¡°Dad, I finished this book. Could I pick out the next book myself?¡± Jacob reached down and patted Theo¡¯s head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, you might not be old enough for a library card yet. But I see no reason why I can¡¯t take you this weekend to pick out a book or two.¡± Milly finally turned and looked at her dad as she asked, ¡°Milly can come too right?¡± ¡°Oh, you are done ignoring your father now?¡± Milly realized she messed up and turned away from her father again as she puffed out her cheeks. He laughed at her antics and said, ¡°I was planning to bring you and mommy along with us.¡± Milly just nodded like it made sense, but never turned back around and looked at her father. She was still trying to punish him for taking away sweets for a week. 00017. The Library and talking with the Cap. Theo looked up at the building in front of him, he had passed it once before when he went to his father''s work. But he didn¡¯t know what it was at the time since he didn¡¯t see the sign that read, ¡°Steve Rogers Brooklyn Memorial Library.¡± Theo pointed at the sign and asked, ¡°Who is Steve Rogers Brooklyn? Does he own the library?¡± His mother and father laughed for a moment before his dad said, ¡°Brooklyn is where we are and Steve Rogers was an important person in history. He did some very good things a long time ago. So this library was named after him.¡± Milly nodded her head like she already knew as her dad talked. Theo looked from the sign to his dad and asked, ¡°Can I find books about Steve Rogers inside?¡± Jacob reached down and put his hand on Theo¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You can, but wait till you are older to read them. They will be hard to understand for you right now. Actually, if you really want to know about Steve, I can give you my father''s journals. He was a friend of his, they did a lot of things together when he was still in the military.¡± Theo nodded his head and then said, ¡°Sounds fun, but I still need new books today and you said I could choose them myself.¡± ¡°Yup, but I also told Milly she can pick a book if she wants one.¡± Milly nodded at that and said, ¡°Milly gets a book too, but Te-o needs to read it to me.¡± Theo shook his head but said nothing else as he walked inside with his parents and sister. Inside the front door was a bronze statue of Steve Rogers in his iconic gear which included his shield. Theo stopped and looked at it for a few seconds before he followed his parents around the display and to the front desk. Next to the right side of the desk were some turnstiles that allowed entry into the library proper. On the left side of the desk were some exit turnstiles and a check out counter for books. Jacob reached down and picked up Theo, as he did he said. ¡°Agnes, I want you to meet your newest member.¡± A slightly older woman looked up from the book she was reading and glanced at Jacob for a second before she looked at Theo. After a moment she said, ¡°So this is your son you keep bragging about, the one who reads the books you give him in a day.¡± Jacob smiled and said, ¡°The one and only.¡± Theo glanced at the woman¡¯s name plate for a second and then looked back at her as he said, ¡°Hello, my name is Theodore Ezekiel Mercer and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Miss Steelwell.¡± ¡°Oh, he has manners too. Are you sure he is your son?¡± Jacob laughed at that, then pointed at his wife as he said, ¡°I am pretty sure he gets that from his mom, you remember Daniel.¡± ¡°Of course I do. You are even more radiant than the first time I met you dear.¡± Daniel smiled at that and said, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you again Agnes.¡± Agnes nodded in reply and then looked at Milly and said, ¡°And this must be your daughter Emily you keep talking about.¡± Milly shook her head and said, ¡°No, my name is Milly.¡± ¡°Oh I am sorry sweetie, I must have misheard your father when he told me your name.¡± Milly nodded her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, now you know.¡± Theo, along with his mother and father laughed a little at that as Agnes said, ¡°Well I know who takes after Jacob.¡± ¡°So Jacob, are you here to get Theo some more books?¡± ¡°That is the plan, but I promised him that I would let him pick out whatever he wants.¡± Agnes nodded her head at that and asked, ¡°Were you planning to get him his own library card?¡± Theo glanced at his dad, before he looked back to Agnes and excitedly asked, ¡°Am I even allowed to have one?¡± ¡°You are polite and enjoy reading, I have no issue with setting up a card for you. But you can only check out books if you come here with one of your parents.¡± Theo looked at his dad and asked, ¡°Can I please get a library card dad?¡± Milly looked at her mom and said, ¡°Milly wants a card too.¡± Jacob glanced at Theo and then Milly before he looked at Agnes and said, ¡°One card for Theo please.¡± He looked over to Milly and said, ¡°If you get a library card then you have to read the books yourself, Theo won¡¯t be able to read them to you. Do you still want one?¡± Milly looked conflicted for a second before she shook her head and said, ¡°No, Milly likes when Te-o reads to her.¡± Jacob reached over and patted Milly¡¯s head while Agnes started to work on a library card for Theo. It only took a couple of minutes and a few questions and Theo was handed his very own library card. After that they walked inside and Theo¡¯s parents took them to the kids section of books. Theo spent a little while looking around and didn¡¯t really find anything he liked. He did find one book for Milly about dragons and fairies. He gave up on the kids section and started to look around next to it. His parents were nice and let him roam around the area alone, but he was always in sight of one of them. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. After a bit of looking around he found the how to section just a couple rows over from the kid books and started to look around it. It didn¡¯t take long to find two books he wanted. One of them was a beginners guide to art and drawing. The other book was a beginners guide to programming. He was pretty sure he could get away with the first book, the second one he wasn¡¯t sure if his parents would let him get it. But he planned to try, they did say he could pick anything he wanted. Theo carried the books back to his parents and said, ¡°I want these, they look fun.¡± His parents both looked at the books and both had different expressions. His father looked a little confused and his mother looked a little curious. His father spoke first and asked, ¡°Why did you pick these two books?¡± Theo pointed at the first book and said, ¡°I like to draw, this says it can teach me to draw cool things.¡± He opened up the next book and pointed at some text as he said, ¡°I am not really sure what programming is, but it says here that you can learn to make games if you learn this whole book. I like games, it might be fun to make my own game.¡± Jacob nodded his head a bit and then looked at his wife and asked, ¡°I did tell him he could pick whatever he wanted. What do you think, honey?¡± She smiled and said, ¡°He has always been a little different, I don¡¯t mind if he wants these books.¡± She looked at Theo and said, ¡°Programming is something you use a computer to do. Once you read the first few chapters of the book and can explain it to me. Then I will let you use the computer to practice programming. Do we have a deal?¡± Theo nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes mother.¡± ¡°Good, now let''s head home.¡± ----------------------------------------------------- Steve was seated in a conference room next to Peggy, a few other people he had been introduced to were with him. Director Fury, Agent Coulson, Dr. Pym and Maria Hill. They were waiting for the last person to arrive before they started. It wasn¡¯t long before the wall monitor came on and a man with black hair and eyes appeared. He spoke as soon as he appeared and said, ¡°I am glad you could all make it.¡± Fury spoke next and said, ¡°Seems like you didn¡¯t want to come in person again.¡± ¡°I unfortunately will not be able to show up in person for a while. But I promise I will make it there when I can.¡± Before Fury could reply, Steve spoke up and said, ¡°I want to thank you for telling Peggy how to find me. I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°You are welcome, Cap. They would have found you themselves in about twenty years, but we have a lot of things we need to deal with and you being on ice was not going to help anyone.¡± Steve nodded his head and said, ¡°Well you still have my thanks, Ezekiel. But I assume you didn¡¯t call us here just for that right?¡± ¡°You are right, I came to discuss a few things. A few of them involve you and a few involve Project Tahiti.¡± Fury stood up and slammed his hands on the desk as he said, ¡°That is beyond top secret! How do you even know about that?!?¡± ¡°Hello, I said I could see the future¡­¡± Fury shook his head as he sat down and said, ¡°Still doesn¡¯t answer the question.¡± Ezekiel smiled at that and said, ¡°I know, but it¡¯s the best one I can give you. Anyways Coulson, where are you on the project? Have any of the subjects started to display weird compulsions to draw random symbols?¡± Coulson looked at Fury who let out a sigh and nodded his head. He then looked at Ezekiel and said, ¡°Three of the subjects have started to draw the strange symbols and we haven¡¯t figured out a way to stop it. I was going to recommend canceling the project, if we can¡¯t find a way to fix the issue.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head for a second and then said, ¡°What they are trying to make is a 3d model of a city. I would recommend letting them use things to make a 3d model of the symbols. After they see it once, the symptoms will stop and the test subjects will be fine. I would still monitor them for a while afterwards and I will also need to confirm that they aren¡¯t Hydra sleeper agents. But after that I think we should bring them into our new group.¡± Coulson and Fury both looked at each other for a few moments before Coulson nodded and then looked at Ezekiel and said, ¡°Thank you for the advice, I will test it out when I get back.¡± ¡°Great and don¡¯t forget to send me the names of each one so I can start checking out their backgrounds.¡± Ezekiel looked over to Steve and said, ¡°Cap, I have a few things I would like you to do. The first is to start weight training.¡± Everyone looked a little confused at the request and Steve asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t the serum I took make me the peak of what a human can be?¡± ¡°Yes, but you are no longer human like the people in the room with you. You can train and become even stronger than your current self. It was never brought up before because you were in the war and no one thought about it. But trust me Cap, you can become even stronger and honestly for what is coming, we will need you at your best.¡± Steve nodded his head at that and then asked, ¡°What else do you need me to do?¡± A picture appeared on the screen, it was Steve with the Howling Commandos. Two people on it were circled, then a picture changed and a photo of each man was put up on the screen. After a moment, Ezekiel reappeared on the screen with the photos to each side of his face as he asked, ¡°I am sure you know who these men are?¡± Steve said in a slightly pained voice, ¡°Of course, that''s Bucky and Logan. Why are you showing me their pictures?¡± The pictures changed, both were newer and in color. One showed a gruff man with a cigar, talking with a bald man in a wheelchair. The other picture was a man with a metal arm and long black hair strapped into a chair with wires attached to him. Ezekiel then said, ¡°What if I told you they are both still alive.¡± Steve was almost shaking in his seat as he looked at the picture of Bucky. He kept looking at the photo as he asked, ¡°How is Bucky still alive?¡± 00018. Timelines, how do they work? ¡°He survived the fall into the canyon but lost his arm. Hydra saved him and gave him some type of super soldier serum. Replaced his arm and brainwashed him into the perfect killer. He is now called the Winter Soldier.¡± ¡°Are you fucking kidding me? Bucky Barnes, Captain America¡¯s best friend, is the Winter Soldier?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Seems like just the type of thing a group like Hydra would do, why are you surprised, Fury?¡± Fury shook his head, but said nothing else. Steve finally looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°How is he still alive?¡± ¡°They kept him frozen most of the time and only brought him out to kill a target, then they would freeze him again. As far as I know, his last target was Howard Stark on December 16, 1991.¡± No one spoke for a while, until Peggy asked, ¡°Why did Hydra send Bucky to kill Howard?¡± ¡°Howard had completed what he thought was the super soldier serum. Hydra wanted it. Turns out it wasn¡¯t perfect and made the test subjects mentally unstable. So they put them all on ice, at a secret facility in Russia. I think Bucky is still there, since his handler is in charge of that base." Peggy asked, ¡°Howard really finished it?¡± Steve stood up at the same time and asked, "Do you know where the base is? We need to rescue him!" Ezekiel shook his head and said, "Like I said, he thought he completed it, but it had issues. As for the base I currently don''t know its location, but it doesn''t matter anyways. We don''t have the manpower to take that base currently, but I have an idea on how we might be able to. I am just concerned if us taking that base will raise any flags within Hydra. Unless we place the blame firmly on someone else.¡± Steve started to pace back and forth next to the desk as he said, ¡°We can¡¯t leave Bucky with them, I don¡¯t want my friend to suffer under them any more than he already has.¡± ¡°I understand your concerns, Cap, but we need to be careful. Playing with the timeline can lead to worse outcomes than what I am trying to prevent and the more we mess with it the worse it can get.¡± Fury spoke up and said, ¡°But you said you can see the future, can¡¯t you just see what is going to happen once you change something?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen to this universe before I was born. But since I was born the timeline has been changing and I don¡¯t know how it¡¯s going to affect the future. So I figured if it¡¯s already different I might as well change it more and when an important event happens I will intervene to make it end better then it would.¡± Everyone stayed quiet as they thought over what Ezekiel had said. Steve was the first to speak as he asked, ¡°So you had an idea of what would happen. But since you have been changing things, you aren¡¯t really sure what will actually happen any more and are hoping things stay the same anyways so you can change it? Am I the only one who is confused?¡± Everyone, except for Hank, glanced at each other and kinda shrugged, before they looked back at Ezekiel and waited for an answer. ¡°Yes and no. I guess Dr. Pym is the only one who has an idea what I meant.¡± Hank nodded and said, ¡°I think you are talking about multiverse theory?¡± ¡°That is correct. But it¡¯s also different. Here let me give everyone some simple examples.¡± Ezekiel''s face shrunk down and a horizontal green line appeared on a black background on the display. As it did he started to speak and said, ¡°Take this here as our current timeline, except that I was never born. But I want you to keep in mind this line is actually millions upon millions of timelines that are similar. Everything in them happens the exact same, till something doesn¡¯t.¡± Another line branches off from it and moves parallel to it. ¡°Now this new branch is where I was born. But this is also millions upon millions of timelines also and each one is the exact same until¡­¡± Another branch breaks off from the second line and it begins to run parallel to the first and second line. ¡°This third branch is where I decided to actively interfere in the timeline, kinda where we are now. Now this one is the same as the others, millions upon millions of timelines and each one is the exact same.¡± Under that timeline the words appear, ¡°You are here :D¡± Another branch breaks off from the third line and it begins to run parallel to the other three lines. ¡°This is one where I didn¡¯t tell you about Bucky, but still decided to interfere in the timeline.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Another branch breaks off from the fourth line and it begins to run parallel to the other four lines. ¡°Now in this one I don¡¯t tell you what I know about certain future events. As you can see, whenever I do something it will affect the timeline and make a new branch.¡± Another branch breaks off from the fifth line and it begins to run parallel to the other five lines. ¡°But in this timeline, Fury took the info I gave him and decided to act against Hydra earlier than I planned to and fucked my plans up. It¡¯s not just me who can branch the timeline, anyone who gains knowledge from me and makes a decision they wouldn¡¯t make without that knowledge can branch the timeline.¡± Ezekiel looked at everyone in the room and asked, ¡°Everyone is with me so far, right?¡± Everyone nodded in reply. Ezekiel smiled and a red vertical line showed up running across and touching each of the green lines. ¡°Now these red lines are events that happen in almost every time line. It doesn¡¯t matter what I change in the timeline, the event is going to happen. Let''s call them act¡¯s of fate, if the whole universe wants something to happen it will happen. It might be completely different in each timeline branch, but it still happens. A good example of this would be you, Captain Rogers. In most of the multiverse you are almost always Captain America.¡± Hank shook his head and said, ¡°I refuse to believe in something like fate. It would make our free will meaningless.¡± Other people nodded their heads at that as Ezekiel laughed and said, ¡°I said call them act¡¯s of fate, but it¡¯s not really fate. Let''s take the example I gave about Captain Rogers. The reason he is almost always Captain America is because of the choices he makes in each life that leads to it happening. If he makes different choices then it doesn¡¯t happen. But someone else will step in to take the mantle in his place, causing a new timeline branch. But that red line event still happened, because the universe wanted it. Everyone still with me?¡± ¡°If this red line event is supposed to happen some way or another, then what about people who are supposed to die? You are trying to change things because you want to save people. But won¡¯t these people still die, or just different people in their place instead?¡± ¡°Honestly that is a very good question, Peggy. I don¡¯t think individual people''s deaths count as a red line event. Red line events are normally things that can shape history or change the world or even the universe. I know the aspect of death might be a little upset if I save people who were supposed to die, but I am not bringing them back to life so I doubt they would really care much at all. Which reminds me, don¡¯t go overboard with Project Tahiti, that could really cause some issues.¡± Coulson raised his hand and asked, ¡°What do you mean by aspect of death?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh and said, ¡°You can kind of think of them like a God, with a capital G. You know this would be so much easier if you were versed in magic, then I wouldn¡¯t have to explain much of this at all.¡± Around one of the empty chairs at the table the area around it started to shatter like a mirror and after a few seconds a woman with a bald head and wearing robes was seated there. Everyone reacted to her presence and pulled out weapons going on the defensive. Except for Fury, who just had a smug smile on his face as he looked at Ezekiel. Ezekiel studied the woman for a few moments before he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to meet you for a while, Ancient One. Although I was kinda hoping to meet Yao instead.¡± Fury looked around at everyone and said, ¡°Stand down, I invited her here. I wanted to see how Ezekiel reacted.¡± Peggy holstered her weapon, then reached over and smacked the back of Fury¡¯s bald head as she said, ¡°You do not keep secrets from us. We are all in this together Nicholas. The next time you want to do something, you consult with Steve, Hank and me.¡± Fury glared back at Peggy but said nothing, everyone else tried not to smile at what just happened as they seated themselves back down. Once everyone was settled, The Ancient One said. ¡°Unfortunately Yao decided to pass the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme to me almost nine hundred years ago and with it, all of its problems.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t stick around to help a little?¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°No he left right after to explore the greater universe and I haven¡¯t heard from him since.¡± Ezekiel laughed and said, ¡°Looks like leaving your successor to fend for themselves after the mantle passes is a trait you both share.¡± The Ancient One chuckled lightly and said, ¡°Yes, I suppose it is.¡± ¡°Is there anything you would like to point out I might have missed or explained incorrectly so far?¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°Honestly you have done a fine job. How you came to acquire this knowledge concerns me, but we can talk about that at a later time. For now please continue, I just wish to observe for now.¡± Ezekiel nodded, then looked over the rest of the room and said, ¡°Great. So the original question about changing the timeline and still being able to change future events kinda makes sense now?¡± Everyone nodded, but only Hank and The Ancient One seemed confident. Ezekiel laughed as his face filled up the screen again and he said. ¡°Alright, so besides needing to find this base in Russia, we need enough people to take it. Or a few powerful people.¡± Ezekiel looked over at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°Would you like to help us? I am pretty sure you could toss all the base personnel into the mirror dimension. We could easily deal with them that way and not have to worry about them sending out any distress calls.¡± She stayed quiet for a few moments and studied Ezekiel before she said, ¡°I could agree to help if you meet me in person so we could talk.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°That won¡¯t be possible for now.¡± She smiled at that and asked, ¡°Is it because you aren¡¯t much older than two years old and think we wouldn''t take you seriously?¡± 00019. Exposed?! You could hear if a pin was dropped in the room, everyone was glued to the monitor and waited for Ezekiel to say something. Ezekiel looked down for a while and started to giggle, which turned into an almost maniacal laughter. After a while he calmed down and as he looked at The Ancient One he said, ¡°This is why I said I didn¡¯t want to talk to you. You can be so troublesome.¡± Fury looked at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°Are you telling me we have been working with a toddler?¡± She shook her head and said, ¡°No Director Fury. While his physical age might be two, I expect his mental age to be older. He does not talk like a child after all.¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°I am about sixty years old if you count my previous life. But I am currently two years old in this life.¡± Everyone looked a little confused and Hank was the first person to talk as he asked. ¡°So you are what, reincarnated?¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°It¡¯s different, but that is pretty close to what happened.¡± The Ancient One asked next, ¡°Who sent you here?¡± Ezekiel looked off to the side for a few seconds before he said, ¡°The best way to put it is the one above the one above all.¡± The Ancient One¡¯s calm face slowly changed and a look of complete shock and almost horror graced it before she asked, ¡°How sure are you it was someone like that? It could have just been a greater demon who is using you and sent you here as a seed. I have seen similar things happen before, you could be a threat to the entire world. I would have to check your soul for any contamination to confirm though.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he smiled, before he said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t a trick and I am positive it was them and not someone lesser. While they did send me here, I made a deal and specifically asked them to do it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t make a deal with someone that powerful, you only make deals with entities that want your soul. I really will need to meet you as soon as possible Ezekiel. I would recommend to everyone here not to interact with this man until I ensure that he is not a host to something sinister.¡± Ezekiel frowned at that and said, ¡°This is why I didn¡¯t want to meet with you so early, I knew you would be a pain to deal with.¡± ¡°I take the safety of the Earth very seriously, I will not let the possible host to an extra dimensional threat exist on Earth while I am its magical protector.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh but said nothing and just stared at The Ancient One for a while. After he let out another sigh, he said. ¡°The boss isn¡¯t gonna be happy with this. Give me about twenty minutes and I will be back with his answer.¡± Before anyone else talked, the display shut off and Ezekiel was gone. Everyone looked at each other in silence for a few minutes before Steve said, ¡°This wasn¡¯t what I expected to learn today. Also what do you think he meant by he had to ask his boss?¡± Coulson replied with, ¡°Maybe he is talking about his parents, since he is so young. But who would call their parents boss?¡± Fury shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know and don¡¯t really care, I wanna know everything he knows and if he has been talking to anyone else besides us.¡± The Ancient One said, ¡°Honestly his knowledge of this world doesn''t matter or who he has talked to, what matters is if he is a host. The world could be in serious trouble.¡± Steve looked at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°If he is a host then what?¡± ¡°Depending on what I find, I might destroy or banish him from this plane of existence. If I can, that is. It will depend on how strong he is.¡± Maria spoke up for the first time and asked, ¡°He is only a child, how strong could he possibly be?¡± The Ancient One looked at Maria and said, ¡°He could have more than enough power to destroy the planet.¡± Everyone stopped talking and looked at The Ancient One, Steve was the first to speak and asked, ¡°Is that a joke?¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°Unfortunately it is not. People who are hosts tend to have at least a fragment of their master''s power. Depending on who it is, we could be dealing with a world ending threat.¡± Steve nodded his head in understanding as Fury said, ¡°The real question is, do we still work with him if he passes The Ancient One¡¯s test?¡± Peggy, Steve and Hank were quiet for a while as they thought over Fury¡¯s question. Hank was the first to speak and said, ¡°If he passes, I will be working with him no matter what. I want to find Janet.¡± Peggy looked from Hank to The Ancient One and asked, ¡°If you do end up dealing with Ezekiel, could you help Hank find his wife? She is currently trapped in the quantum realm.¡± The Ancient One glanced at Peggy then turned to look at Hank and said, ¡°If I work with that young girl Ava I might be able to do it. But I make no guarantee, the quantum realm is a strange place that twists time. Also, if I teach Ava magic, she might be able to stabilize herself once she becomes proficient.¡± Hank nodded his head at that and said, ¡°I still don¡¯t believe in magic, but I will gladly take your help. As for Ava you will have to talk to Bill about it.¡± The Ancient One nodded and said, ¡°I will discuss it with him later. But I have a question for you Dr. Pym, what do you think advanced science looks like to someone who has never seen anything even remotely like it? A good example would be your Pym Particles.¡± He thought about it for a moment before he asked, ¡°Magic?¡± The Ancient One nodded and said, ¡°You can think of magic a little bit like a very advanced science. There are big differences between magic and science, but you get my point. Just because you have never really seen it, doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t real.¡± Hank nodded in understanding, then looked at Peggy and said, ¡°Thanks Peggy.¡± Peggy smiled in reply, before she turned to Steve and asked, ¡°What do you want to do about Ezekiel?¡± ¡°He just wants to help people and I won¡¯t turn away someone trying to do the right thing.¡± Peggy smiled as she nodded her head. She already knew Steve¡¯s answer before she asked him. She glanced at Fury and asked, ¡°What about you?¡± Fury frowned a little and said, ¡°Looks like I am already out voted. I am not sure about working with a child, but I want the knowledge he has.¡± The monitor screen flashed back on and Ezekiel smiled before he said, ¡°I have the body of a child currently but I am not a child, Fury.¡± Ezekiel looked at The Ancient One and said, ¡°The boss said you can come over on one condition. You have to swear to the Vishanti that you will not divulge the location to anyone else or you lose your ability to use magic.¡± With no hesitation The Ancient One stood up and said, ¡°I, the current Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, do swear under the loss of my magic that I will not share the location of this person Ezekiel with anyone else.¡± The air simmered around The Ancient One in multi-colored light and three different voices spoke in sync and said, ¡°We do so witness.¡± The light disappeared and The Ancient One looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Good enough?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh and said, ¡°You made me lose a bet with the boss. Go to the sanctum sanctorum and then I will tell you where to go.¡± The Ancient One nodded, looked at everyone else and said. ¡°I will hopefully be back in a while. If something bad happens, someone will let you know.¡± She raised her hand a little and made a quick circle. A portal appeared in the air lined in orange a second later, she stepped through it and it closed right after. Then the monitor shut off again. Steve stood up and said, ¡°I think I am gonna go eat lunch while we wait, does anyone care to join me?¡± ------------------------------------------------------------- After Ezekiel called the sanctum and gave her the address, The Ancient One prepared herself for battle, before she then portal-ed to the backyard of a nondescript house in Brooklyn. She was greeted with a well kept back yard that had two decent size trees in it. She focused on the house in front of her and prepared herself as she walked to the open back door. As she entered it, a voice of a child was heard from deeper inside as they said, ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything, I don''t want my parents to know anyone was here. I am in the living room.¡± She didn¡¯t drop her guard as she walked towards the sound of the voice, as she came closer she heard the clicking of keys at a fast pace. When she entered the living room, she looked to the right and saw a child sitting on the top of a desk, with a keyboard on his lap, typing away quickly as he scanned the screen in front of him. He never looked towards her but said, ¡°Make it fast, I am busy.¡± She quickly scanned the area around her, before she asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you have a boss? Where are they?¡± ¡°Two houses over to the left. Just listen for a bunch of kids making a lot of noise.¡± She didn¡¯t reply, but started to study the boy in front of her. After a while she started to make small gestures and mumble some words quietly for a while as her eyes started to glow. After a few minutes she stopped and said, ¡°I have no idea who you made a deal with, but you have no soul¡­ I also don¡¯t see anything inside of you that could be controlling you either.¡± Ezekiel never stopped typing or even turned to look at The Ancient One but asked, ¡°What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean I don¡¯t have a soul? Everyone has a soul.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°I do not see one in your body. I am not really sure how you are even alive right now.¡± 00020. The Ancient One wants to talk. The Ancient One shook her head in pity and said, ¡°Without a soul as a container your life force is slowly ebbing away. I can already see it, if nothing is done, you will die within a few weeks at most.¡± Ezekiel laughed at her words and said, ¡°For being The Ancient One, you sure don¡¯t know much, do you? I will be gone by five, before my father gets home to take a shower.¡± The Ancient One frowned at that and said, ¡°You might be close to sixty in age and currently dying, but you should still show a little respect, young man. I have worked to keep this planet safe from threats for over nine hundred years.¡± Ezekiel finally stopped typing as he rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Alright granny, whatever you say.¡± He started to save his work, before he shut off the computer. As he did that, The Ancient One frowned a little more and said, ¡°You know I was going to try to help you, since you are not corrupted. But with your attitude, I think not.¡± Ezekiel stood up on the desk and put the keyboard and mouse back in place before he jumped off the desk and landed on the floor. He walked closer and looked up at The Ancient One as he said, ¡°Nothing you can do could help me anyways granny. You would just be wasting my time, like you are now. You said you came to check me out, are you finished or do I need to strip naked?¡± The Ancient One stepped back and said, ¡°No, but I want to meet your boss before I leave.¡± Ezekiel let out a laugh as he said, ¡°You made me lose another bet, old woman. You wanna meet my boss? Then take us to the mirror dimension first.¡± The Ancient One nodded and flicked her right hand, the area around them started to break like glass. After a moment they were both in the mirror dimension and The Ancient One said, ¡°Now summon your boss for me.¡± Ezekiel started to giggle, before his laughter became manic and he said, ¡°I really wish you would have found us in a few years, it would have been more fun.¡± ¡°You would have been dead long before then, now summon your boss for me. Please.¡± ¡°You know, the boss isn¡¯t gonna like this one bit. But I know you came here ready for a fight, so it would be a shame to let all that work go to waste wouldn¡¯t it? How about you show me how well you can dance!¡± Ezekiel¡¯s body flickered for a moment before it disappeared, and a shield glimmered into life behind The Ancient One¡¯s head where Ezekiel had just tried to punch her. The next second his body flickered, he reappeared in the air in front of her mid punch. She gently blocked the punch with her palm and then gripped his fist. She pulled him downwards and moved him into the path of her leg as she kicked him in the chest, which sent him flying away from her. As Ezekiel slammed into the wall of the mirror dimension, she watched the boy closely and noticed his life force was depleting even faster then before. Ezekiel recovered slowly and as he got up he started to laugh again as he said, ¡°This body is so weak it makes me sick.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°You could beat a normal human with no training. But a trained combatant, even with your speed, you would lose. You also pack no power behind your attacks and with this amount of skill, I won¡¯t need to cast a single spell to beat you.¡± Ezekiel started to laugh menacingly and said, ¡°You wanna bet?¡± The Ancient One stepped back and put up her guard as she watched Ezekiel. The boy brought his hands together as he started to make signs, she wasn¡¯t sure what they meant, but as he made them, the life force in his body began to move. Most of it started to gather in his chest area and started to spin at a rapid pace as he inhaled. When he finished, he said, ¡°Fire style majestic destroyer flame!¡± A huge flame erupted from Ezekiel''s mouth and sped towards The Ancient One. ¡°May the aegis of the Seraphim intertwine to protect me!¡± A glowing orange shield bubble engulfed The Ancient One as she watched in fascination as the life force in the body of Ezekiel disappeared and turned into a giant flame spewing from his mouth. It didn¡¯t last too long, less than fifteen seconds and the boy was spent. The last bits of his life force were about to fade away as he gasped for his last breath, he said, ¡°I win,¡± as his body fell forward and disappeared into a puff of smoke.¡± The Ancient One started in shock at what just happened, in all her years she had never once seen someone act so reckless with their own life. She just stood there, staring at the spot where Ezekiel just was. --------------------------------------------------- Ezekiel was in the backyard walking around practicing his control exercises when he was flooded with knowledge from his clone. He almost tripped mid step, when he saw what they had done to The Ancient One. After he stopped walking, he looked around and observed everyone in the backyard for a few seconds. He then walked towards the shed in the backyard and once behind it out of sight, he created a new shadow clone. The clone snickered at its creator before it nodded and walked out from behind the shed. It sat down on the ground next to it and started to do his best Shikamaru impression. Ezekiel¡¯s body flickered and he quickly scaled up the fence and over the wall into the alleyway behind the house. As he ran towards his house, his body flickered with each step and he made it to his backyard fence in only a few seconds. Stolen novel; please report. He quickly ran up the fence and jumped over it into his backyard, then ran into the open back door and looked around his living room as he came to a stop. The Ancient One was still in the mirror dimension when Ezekial flickered in front of her, and looked around the house for a moment before he let out a sigh of relief and said, ¡°I knew it would be fine, but that idiot still gave me a scare.¡± The Ancient One snapped her wrist and pulled the new Ezekiel into the mirror dimension with her and said, ¡°What exactly was that? I¡¯ve only seen dark magic that uses life force like that.¡± Ezekiel studied The Ancient One for a few minutes in silence before he said, ¡°It¡¯s a personal skill I have, but it wasn¡¯t life force.¡± The Ancient One nodded and started to cast examining spells, one after another on the new Ezekiel. Once the last spell was cast she asked, ¡°I assume that you are the real Ezekiel, but what was I just talking to?¡± Ezekiel smirked at that and bowed as he said, ¡°I must apologize for him attacking you, by the way. He was a clone of myself that I share memories with. They each have their own personalities and can act however they wish after I make them. But they normally act like me and less like that¡­ Most of the time.¡± The Ancient One regarded Ezekiel as he stayed bowed, before she finally said, ¡°Apology accepted young man. Now I have some questions for you, and you are on a time schedule I believe.¡± Ezekiel stood back up and said, ¡°I just need to program, but I will just call today a break. You have till my father comes home to ask whatever questions you want. But I might not answer them.¡± ¡°Who sent you here?¡± ¡°They told me to think of them as the One Above All. But I also know there is a One Above All here, but it¡¯s not him.¡± The Ancient One nodded and asked, ¡°Why were you sent here?¡± ¡°Because I asked to be.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°I said before that you don¡¯t ask beings like that for things. Unless you traded something for it, that just doesn¡¯t happen.¡± ¡°I traded positive karma.¡± ¡°Positive Karma? Like doing good deeds?¡± Ezekiel nodded a little as he raised his right hand and scratched the back of his head as he said, ¡°Ya something like that.¡± The Ancient One examined Ezekiel for a while before she asked, ¡°So you were a really good person in your last life or something?¡± ¡°I would like to think I was.¡± ¡°So why here, to this timeline? You seem to know what is coming and you aren¡¯t planning to sit on the sidelines from what you have done so far.¡± Ezekiel laughed at that before he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t pick this place first or even second. I picked my world first, I wanted to see my kids. But I was told that wouldn¡¯t be allowed. So I picked somewhere else, but I was told I wouldn¡¯t be able to affect the timeline much and I didn¡¯t want to live my second life like an NPC bystander.¡± ¡°NPC?¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a term from video games, non-player character. If I went to that world, that¡¯s how I would feel. You should really play some video games when you have some free time, I think you would enjoy it.¡± The Ancient One just nodded for a moment before she asked. ¡°So this was your next choice?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No, he made me an offer, an already made timeline. I wouldn¡¯t be able to change where I started, but he would give me powers I could use to shape the future of the timeline.¡± The Ancient One frowned a little and said, ¡°So you mostly came here because you gained powers?¡± ¡°No, I would have had powers in the other worlds I went to. I had another reason for coming here. But I doubt you would understand, it¡¯s kinda childish.¡± ¡°Humor me.¡± Ezekiel raised his head up at the ceiling with his eyes unfocused as he looked past it and he said, ¡°After I was born, I was told that I was special, it was a miracle that I was even alive.¡± His eyes became focused as he looked at The Ancient One and said, ¡°During my mothers pregnancy, she did everything she could to have a miscarriage. Her personal beliefs, wouldn¡¯t allow her to get an abortion and I was just a reminder of the worst night of her life. So she attempted to get rid of me in a way that wouldn¡¯t affect her ¡°soul.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Well nothing worked, I somehow survived everything she put in her body to kill me. But it wasn¡¯t without a cost. I was a miracle baby, with more health issues than the average cancer patient ward. Luckily my mind was somehow spared and it was the one thing that kept me alive.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°My mother was forced to give me up for adoption after I was born. Not like she wanted to keep me anyways, but after the doctors figured out what she had been doing to get rid of me. Well she was sentenced to a mental institution for her condition instead of prison. As for the man who donated the other half of my genes¡­ He was in prison for what he did to my mother and some other women.¡± Ezekiel sat down on the ground and started to examine his hands for a moment as he said, ¡°You know, everyone loves a baby. Unless the baby needs to be hooked up to machines just to live. I didn¡¯t even get to go to an orphanage, I had to stay under medical care for my body to function properly. I was lucky my mind worked though, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t have kept the machines on.¡± Ezekiel laughed and said, ¡°Apparently if you aren¡¯t considered brain dead, by law they had to keep you alive. Even a kid no one wanted. I spent the first part of my life till I was about six alone. Medical staff would see me everyday, I would be fed, cleaned and taking care of. But that was it, I had no true interactions with people.¡± Ezekiel looked back up at The Ancient One and said, ¡°While my mind did work, they still didn¡¯t try to teach me anything. They treated me like a coma patient, except I had my own room and I was placed in a long term pediatric ward. I learned language by listening to people talk around me and the TV that they played kid shows on. I actually learned to read from watching Sesame Street.¡± Ezekiel smiled at that, his eyes looking past The Ancient One and into an old memory, the edges of Ezekiel¡¯s eyes glimmered a little and his voice broke slightly as he said, ¡°Around six is when I made my first friend¡­ His name was Sam¡­ He introduced me to the world of comic books and he is the main reason I took the deal for this world.¡± 00021. Striking a deal. Ezekiel blinked his eyes a few times to clear them before he looked at The Ancient One and smiled as he said, "Marvel Comics was Sam''s favorite and the timeline he liked the most was this one. He introduced me to comics with this timeline and I read everything about it, watched all the movies and shows when I was older. I even played all the video games. I also branched out and read other comics, anime and manga." The Ancient One looked at Ezekiel with one eyebrow raised and asked, "You expect me to believe you know so much about our universe because it was originally comic books in your past life?" "You are the only one I could tell that to and not seem crazy. If I told Fury? Peggy? Or even Hank. They would all assume I was crazy, no matter how much info I give them that is correct. But you and Strange are open minded and would give me the benefit of the doubt.¡± The Ancient One studied Ezekiel for a while before she nodded her head and said, ¡°You are correct, I will keep this bit of info between us for now. So what are your plans for this world?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°To change things for the better. I won¡¯t tell you my plan, but one of my main goals is to stop half of the universe from disappearing.¡± The Ancient One¡¯s voice raised slightly as she asked, ¡°Half of the universe is going to disappear?¡± ¡°More like half of the people living in the universe are going to disappear. Some crazy purple guy collects all of the infinity stones and uses them to do it.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be possible, the time stone should have been protected by Strange and the other stones should be almost impossible to find.¡± ¡°It was, but he used the time stone to check the future and only saw one where they could win against the threat they faced and turning the time stone over was part of his answer. I think it was a stupid idea, so I am changing stuff so we don¡¯t have to make that choice at all.¡± The Ancient One examined Ezekiel for a while before she said, ¡°Fine I won¡¯t interfere with what you are trying to do for now, but I will be part of this group you are building. If I find a reason to doubt you in the future, I will not hesitate to put you down.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he stood back up and put his hand out as he said, ¡°Fair enough, welcome to the team.¡± The Ancient One reached down and shook Ezekiel¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± As they shook hands, The Ancient One¡¯s eyes widened as she said, ¡°I have never seen anyone like you before. You have a perfect resonance with universal energy. It¡¯s flowing into your body naturally almost like you have been practicing magic for decades. Did you practice magic in your old world?¡± Ezekiel smirked as they released hands and said, ¡°I never practiced magic, my world didn¡¯t have it.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°Maybe it was too well hidden. I guess that doesn¡¯t matter anymore, but how would you like to become a sorcerer in this world?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Not currently, I have too much other stuff I need to worry about. Maybe when I can handle running a few clones at the same time I might think about it. But my current concerns are building my team, programming and training myself.¡± The Ancient One shook her head again and said, ¡°You are currently two years old, training in the mystic arts is mostly reading at the start with some minor practice lessons. It would be perfect for you to learn now since training a child''s body will have negative effects while you are still growing.¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°If this was a normal body you would be correct, but physical training for me will only be a net positive. Also I was talking about training my powers more than my body. I think just becoming decent with my skills will take years of practice, even if I use clones to help me.¡± ¡°Fine, but let me know if you change your mind. I will personally train you in the mystic arts when the time comes.¡± Ezekiel bowed slightly and said, ¡°Thank you, I will take it under consideration for now. I do know at some point I will need someone to help me with my martial arts. I would love to be able to train under Shang Chi, but I don¡¯t know if I will be able to find him.¡± The Ancient One smiled and said, ¡°I could help with that, but if I am busy I know a few other people who could help you in my place.¡± Ezekiel laughed and asked, ¡°Master Mordo? Wong?¡± The Ancient One smiled again and said, ¡°I was also thinking about Captain Rogers.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°He is one of my choices already, but traveling to him might be an issue. That and I would have to deal with Fury if I showed up at the base.¡± The Ancient One nodded her head and said, ¡°Fury would be an issue, but I could take care of the travel portion.¡± ¡°Once I am older I will take you up on that offer.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s eyes lit up for a moment and he asked, ¡°I almost forgot! When I was waiting to be born, I had all of my memories, yet I had no brain at the time. I am pretty sure I was just cells dividing. Is my memory tied into my soul or something? Is that why astral projection works?¡± The Ancient One laughed and said, ¡°It¡¯s a lot more complicated than that, but the short answer is yes. If you want to find out how and why it works, you would need to study the mystic arts.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°I am good for now.¡± Ezekiel looked back at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°Are you satisfied that I am not a pawn for some external planar threat?¡± ¡°Yes, you have an un-corrupted soul.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and said, ¡°Good, I need to head back before Aunt May calls us back inside.¡± The Ancient One moved her hand before her and Ezekiel reappeared back in the real world. Ezekiel glanced at the clock and then looked at The Ancient One and said, ¡°I will send my clone back over and you can take him with you to the base. He should be able to last for a week or so, that should be enough to get a few things done.¡± The Ancient One asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that gonna give away who you are?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°No, he will look how he does when they talk to him over the internet.¡± The Ancient One nodded before she asked, ¡°One last thing before you leave, do your eyes change?¡± ¡°Change?¡± The Ancient One pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Yes do they change from black into something like that.¡± Ezekiel looked at the paper with a perfect copy of a three tomoe sharingan on it. He frowned and said, ¡°At some point they will, but I am not sure when.¡± ¡°So you were the person I was looking for.¡± Ezekiel looked back at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°Can¡¯t see the future clearly anymore?¡± ¡°That is correct. I can see glimpses, but most of it is clouded. I saw you with those eyes and you turned around and looked back at me.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and said, ¡°Makes sense, it¡¯s hard to hide from a sharingan.¡± The Ancient One asked, ¡°Is it one of your powers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Ancient One waited, but when Ezekiel provided no more info, she sighed and said, ¡°Alright, go back and send your clone over so we can head back.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and said, ¡°Make sure you travel back from somewhere else. I don¡¯t want Fury knowing where I live.¡± The Ancient One nodded and said, ¡°Of course.¡± Ezekiel nodded and then flickered out of existence, within a second he was in the backyard and then ran up and over the fence. He was back at May¡¯s fence within a few seconds and paused by where his clone had sat down and knocked twice on the wall. After a pause, he knocked again three times followed by another two and a reply knock of two followed by one knock was heard right after. Ezekiel moved over to where the shed was and then quickly scaled the fence, where his clone walked behind to meet him. Ezekiel made a few hand signs and then touched his clone''s head, sending a small packet of info to his clone with what he and The Ancient One talked about. It also had a few ideas on what to do when he made it to the base. The clone nodded to Ezekiel and then climbed over the fence as Ezekiel walked back out into the yard. Ezekiel looked around and decided to go back inside the house and see what May was making for lunch. ¡ª---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ezekiel¡¯s clone was running back to his house as it thought, ¡°Why do I have to do this troublesome stuff? I would rather be programming.¡± After a minute or so, the clone made it into the backyard and walked into the house, before closing and locking the back door. After he made it in front of The Ancient One he did a hand sign and changed into the Ezekiel she had seen when he was using the computer to talk with everyone. The Ancient One studied him for a few moments before she reached out and touched him. After she poked and prodded Ezekiel a few times she said, ¡°This is better than any illusion spell I have ever seen. You are real and at the same time you are not. Anyone else wouldn¡¯t know better, but I can currently see what you truly are.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a simple skill, we still haven¡¯t mastered it yet. But we can do it well enough to fool normal people.¡± The Ancient One nodded her head and said, ¡°You will fool pretty much anyone, even most masters of the mystic arts. You need a special skill to see past what you are currently doing.¡± The Ancient One reached out and spun her hand in a circle for a moment and a portal appeared before her. She gestured for Ezekiel to walk through and then followed after him. Once she was through the portal, she closed it and then made another portal to the secret base where she had been earlier. Ezekiel stepped forward and she followed after him. They stepped out into the meeting room that was being used early, but everyone else was gone. As the portal closed, Ezekiel walked over to a control panel next to the door and entered a code on it. The panel turned green and the door opened up. Ezekiel turned back to The Ancient One and said ¡°Everyone is currently eating in the mess hall, feel like taking a walk?¡± The Ancient One nodded her head and started to follow Ezekiel out the door and down the hall. They walked in silence for a while turning one way, then another, before they came to a set of double doors. When Ezekiel reached them, he opened one of them and let The Ancient One walk into the room past him and followed her inside. There was conversation going on inside the room till Ezekiel and The Ancient One entered. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the duo who just entered, Ezekiel stepped forward and said, ¡°Hi, my name is Ezekiel and I am not a pawn to some extra-planar entity, I hope we can work together now.¡± Everyone looked from him to The Ancient One who let out a little sigh as she nodded her head in confirmation. 00022. A plan is forming. Fury was the first to respond and said, "How the hell are you only two years old?" Ezekiel smiled as he responded and said, "I am about an hour old, it''s the boss who is two years old." Everyone paused at that comment and looked from Ezekiel to The Ancient One. She just nodded her head and said, "I am not sure how it actually works, but this is a clone of some kind. It is slowly using up its life force and will only last about a week." Ezekiel smiled and said, "That is about right. As long as I don''t use any of my skills, I should last for about seven more days." Steve looked a little off and asked, "You are fine with only living for a week? Is there something we can do to help you?" Ezekiel laughed before he said, "I thank you for your concern Cap, but I am not really alive in the normal sense. All of my memories are a copy from the boss and when I disappear, he will receive all of my memories." Fury spoke up next and asked, "Since you are a clone, is this what you will look like when you are older?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "No. I have no idea what I will look like when I am older. This is just a transformation to hide my true appearance, so you don''t know what I really look like." Fury looked like he was about to speak again, when Steve cut him off and said, "Well it''s good to meet you Ezekiel. Would you like to join us for lunch?" "I appreciate the offer but I don''t need to eat. But The Ancient One might take you up on that." The Ancient One shook her head and said, "I am fine, thank you." Ezekiel looked around the room for a moment and took in the small mess hall. It had a kitchen area at the far end and spread out around the main area were round tables with chairs. Only two tables were currently being used, Peggy, Steve and Hank were at one table. While Fury and his agents were at another table eating. Ezekiel walked over and sat down at the table with Fury. He looked at Coulson, then Maria and asked, "You two are only sitting at this table because he is your boss, right?" Fury stopped eating and glared at Ezekiel as everyone could hear Peggy chuckle slightly from the other table. Coulson just did his patented smile, while Maria just continued to eat like she didn¡¯t hear anything. Ezekiel smiled and sat back in his chair and said, "Don''t worry, Fury. I can keep you company." "Good, maybe you will answer a few questions while you are here." Ezekiel nodded his head and responded, "I don''t mind, but I won''t answer everything or anything at all, depending on what you ask about." Fury pushed his plate aside and asked, "How much do you know about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" "Probably the same amount as you do. But possibly more, since I know about things that will happen in the future." Fury frowned a little and asked, "I know you said you wanna help people, but what is your true endgame?" "To help protect the world and make it an overall better place to live for all of humanity." Fury smirked and said, "Lofty goals for a kid. How exactly do you plan to pull that off?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "Protecting the world I am already working on. It''s why I had you find Steve first. As for making the world a better place, I have a lot of ideas. but first I need to start purging all the corruption in the governments throughout the world." Fury scoffed at that and asked, "You think you can clean up the governments of the world? What are your plans? Kill everyone who is corrupt? Make yourself ruler of the world somehow?" Ezekiel laughed and said, "Those are definitely ways I could do it, but I have a much better way to make wide reaching changes in the world. It will just take a while to set everything up." Peggy looked a little concerned and asked, "How exactly are you planning on doing that?" Ezekiel smirked and said, "By using something that hasn''t been invented yet and the voice of normal people to effect sweeping changes." Fury slapped a hand down on the table and said, "That didn''t answer either of our questions. What is your plan and what are you making to help with it?" Ezekiel shook his head and said, "I will tell you that later, once it is up and running." Both Fury and Peggy looked like they were going to say something, when Steve cut them off and asked, "What kinda changes do you plan to make?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "Now that is the kinda question I will answer. It''s simple, I want a better quality of life for people. I would like free and better healthcare for everyone. Better education for kids and adults. Housing for everyone, so we don''t have any homeless people. Also I want to integrate meta-humans into society. To make them seem normal and not something to fear." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Steve nodded along to most of what Ezekiel said, until homeless people and meta-humans were mentioned. He looked at Ezekiel and asked, "There is a homeless problem? Also you said meta-humans, I know what mutants are. But what are meta-humans and also, what are inhumans? No one here has heard the term before." Ezekiel pointed at Steve and said, "You are a meta-human, so are mutants and inhumans. There are a few other types that would fall under the same category such as the boss, but mutants and inhumans are the biggest groups. Inhumans are a group of people who were experimented on by the Kree about seven hundred and fifty thousand years ago. They had powers and so do their current descendants. As for people being homeless, just look around most major cities. Heck in New York City there is a whole community of mutants that live in the sewers." Fury looked the most concerned about that and asked, "The Kree were here that long ago? Also how sure are you about a group of mutants living in the sewers of New York City?" "Yes they were, but they left after a while and have left us pretty much alone since. Besides a few exceptions, like in 95. As for the mutants, I am about ninety percent certain, but you don''t need to worry about them. Most of them don''t have powers, so much as bad mutations. Weird colored skin, scales, slime, fur, honestly most of them struggle just to live with their mutations." "How have the Inhumans stayed hidden for so long? They must have a pretty big population at this point." Ezekiel looked at Hank and said, "They mostly stay hidden, but I am sure the few that people have seen were mistaken as mutants." Fury shook his head and said, "So what, you wanna try and make some perfect world utopia? I don''t know what kinda world you came from, but this world is full of scared, judgemental, un-trusting humans. Which will make your goal almost impossible." Ezekiel laughed and said, "Almost impossible, doesn''t mean impossible. It will be difficult, it will have setbacks, it will have people that are against it. But as long as I don''t give up, it will happen." Fury sighed before he said, "Great, I am working with a kid who is delusional." Steve spoke up and said, "There is nothing wrong with wanting to make the world a better place and trying to help your fellow man." "Great, there are two of them now." Coulson spoke up and said, "Honestly it''s not a bad idea sir." "You stay out of this fan boy." Peggy laughed before she said, "Idealism isn''t a bad thing to have Fury. I like Ezekiel''s ideas myself, it just depends on how he tries to implement them." The Ancient One nodded her head and said, "Honestly speaking, from someone who doesn''t normally mess with the mundane side of the world, Ezekiel''s ideas don''t sound bad overall. Who doesn''t want a warm place to sleep and food to eat? Who wouldn''t like to just live their lives in peace?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "Exactly, who wouldn''t want those things? It''s something so simple, but yet so many people are missing one or more of those things in this country alone. The country that everyone looks to as a leading example of the free world." Fury smirked and said, "The U.S.S.R. fell in 91, that term is dated now." "That''s not the point Fury and you know it. If you don''t wanna help with my other plans, that is fine. I honestly didn''t expect help with everything I wanted to do." Steve spoke up next and said, "We can discuss those plans later, I wanna know about Bucky. What is the plan for rescuing him." "I still need to locate the facility he is located in, but I do have a few ideas on how to get him out. The first one depends on how much The Ancient One wants to help us." Ezekiel and everyone else looked at The Ancient One, she smiled back and asked, "Tell me your idea and I will let you know." "Once I find the location you port a small group close by the facility, then you pull everyone from inside the facility into the mirror dimension. Bucky and the other super soldiers will be frozen, so they shouldn''t be pulled in. We walk in and take Bucky, then set the facility to explode and set the super soldiers free. Toss everyone back into the facility and it will look like the super soldiers got loose and caused the destruction of the facility." The Ancient One nodded her head and said, "It''s not a bad idea, but I don''t think I could pull that many people into the mirror dimension at once. Small groups would be easy enough, but even my power has limits." "Good to know. After I have found the location we could scout it for a few days from the mirror dimension and figure out the best time to attack. Then we could pull everyone from say the communication and security rooms. I could disable their systems so no one would know what is going on and we could slowly sweep the base clean by pulling them into the mirror dimension. Afterwards we set it up like I said." Fury spoke up and said, "You think it will be so easy? Just take out a bunch of trained soldiers, rig a place up to explode, and Hydra are going to think their super soldiers were the cause?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "Super soldiers that they have frozen because they can''t control them? Yes, I think they will believe it just fine." Ezekiel did a few hand signs and a small cloud of smoke appeared before a copy of Fury but with an exaggerated giant afro appeared in the chair Ezekiel was seated in. He looked at everyone in the room for a second before he looked back at Fury and said in Fury''s voice, "But if I pretend to be the base commander and send out a call for help before we blow the base?" Fury looked like he was about to explode, while everyone else was trying not to laugh. Even The Ancient One had a slight smirk on her face. Steve actually held it in the best and said, "I think that plan would work well, but you also said you had a few ideas on how to get him out. Would you like to explain those and we can figure out which one will work best, or maybe a combination of your plans?" Fury spoke right after and said in a calm voice as he slowly reached into his coat, "I will give you ten seconds to change back, before you get hurt. One. Two." The Fury with the ridiculous afro laughed and said to Fury, "You know if I change back, it will shorten my life expectancy." "Eight." Fury made some hand signs and changed back into Ezekiel and said, "You have no sense of humor, Fury." Fury glared back at Ezekiel and said, "You would need to be funny, first." Ezekiel placed both hands over his heart and said, "You know words hurt the most, right?" "You don''t look hurt at all." The Ancient One spoke and said, "Children can we get back on track please?" Fury frowned at The Ancient One as Ezekiel laughed, then looked over at Steve and said, "The first part of my other plan is to see if I can convince two old friends to work together again." 00023. Two possible allies? Peggy was the first to speak and asked, "Who are these two friends and why are they important?" Ezekiel looked at Peggy and said, "Well one of them runs a private school for gifted children and the other is considered a terrorist. Charles Xavier and Max Eisenhardt, two of the most powerful mutants in the world." Fury looked upset and said, "You want us to work with a terrorist?" "He isn''t that bad. It''s part of the reason he hasn''t been stopped or killed yet. All of his attacks have been against people or governments who were harming mutants." Fury laughed for the first time before he said, "Have you heard anything that man has said about mutants being the superior race? The homo-superior that is the next stage in evolution and that normal humans won''t have a place in the new world." Ezekiel laughed hard for a few seconds, when he finished, he looked at Fury and said, "Yes he has some hard edges, but after doing research on him he isn''t that bad. He isn''t mutant Hitler in this timeline and I know in others he has done a lot of good for mutants and humans a like. He just needs to be approached properly, and shown a better way to move forward. Honestly him and Xavier working together tempering each other always leads to the best way forward for mutants. I think with my help, it can be even better." "Can I have a run down on both of these people?" Ezekiel looked towards Steve and said, "Professor Charles Xavier is currently confined to a wheelchair and runs a school for gifted children. Its actually a school run by and for mutants. He is an extremely powerful telepath, but is nice and very approachable if you don''t mind him scanning your surface thoughts. I think talking to him over the internet like I do with you, might be best for now. While he wouldn''t be able to scan my mind or The Ancient One''s, all of you are like an open book to the man. Also, he does that passively, like you breath air. So don''t think to badly about him for it." Fury asked right after Ezekiel finished and said, "I have never heard anything about him having powers, how sure are you about this?" "One hundred percent, if he was evil he could easily take control of most if not all world leaders and secretly run the world." Fury stood up and started to pace as he said, "We need to come up with a way to counter his powers, we currently don''t have the man power. But I could start a project in S.H.I.E.L.D. but then Hydra would also have the research." Ezekiel spoke up and said, "Settle down Fury, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. Xavier''s only real concern is to have mutants and humans coexist peacefully. He would never do something to jeopardize that, its why he and Max parted ways long ago. Besides, I will figure out a way to block his telepathy at some point for other people." Fury didn''t stop pacing as Ezekiel looked back at Steve and said, "Max Eisenhardt better known to the world as Magneto, he is a powerful mutant who controls magnetism. Honestly he doesn''t understand how powerful he truly is. I have seen that man terraform Mars when he fully understands his true power. He also leads a team of decently powerful mutants, they call themselves The Brotherhood. If we can gain him as an ally, we will gain most if not all of his followers." "I don''t like this idea at all, it''s going to add too many people. People who we can''t really trust." Ezekiel looked back at Fury and said, "You are correct, that is why I would contact them remotely and have them help out with missions that involve rescuing mutants. They might help us deal with Hydra when the time comes, but we can discuss that later. The other reason I want to contact Xavier is because Logan works at his school." Steve leaned forward a bit and asked, "Are you sure it''s him and not his son or a cousin?" "I am absolutely positive it is James "Logan" Howlett. He was born around the 1880''s in Canada. The only issue is he doesn''t know who he is anymore. Someone thought a bullet to his brain would kill him, all it did was fuck up his memories and he now goes by Logan since he doesn''t remember his real name. Xavier has been trying to help him regain his memories, but it''s slow going since it was more of his brain being destroyed then actual damage." Steve and Peggy both looked a little upset since they had both been friends with the man during the war. The rest of the room was quiet besides the sound of Fury pacing back and forth while he was thinking. Steve looked up at Ezekiel and said, "I know I am supposed to be hiding, but I would like to meet him if possible." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Fury stopped pacing, turned and looked at Steve as he said, "I don''t think that would be a good idea. Only a handful of people currently know about you, I would like to keep it that way." "Actually we need to let Xavier and Logan know about Steve. Think of it as an olive branch, we will be helping Logan learn about his past and at the same time building a bridge of trust with him and Xavier. We only need to bring Logan here with the help of The Ancient One, to make sure this place stays secret. Or we could send Steve and Logan to some place out of the way." "I don''t want anyone else on this base, unless I vet them myself. We will need to find another location with no people, where they can meet up." The Ancient One spoke up next and said, "I know of a few places where I could send them, where no one else will be." Steve nodded to The Ancient One and said, "You have my thanks in advance Ancient One." The Ancient One nodded back, as Peggy spoke up and said, "I would also like to join you when you meet James. It would be good to see him again, I doubt he still smells like a wet dog wrapped in a cigar." Ezekiel laughed and said, "You would lose that bet." Peggy let out a sigh, as Ezekiel looked towards Fury and asked, "Anything else you wanna know about, that I might answer?" Fury shook his head and said, "I have a lot more questions, but I know you won''t answer them. So what''s next, are you going to contact Xavier and Eisenhardt?" "No, not yet. Since I am here, I wanna take a quick tour and look around. I also wanna plan out a work area and talk to Sam about ordering some things I will need. For myself and the others who will be coming to join me." Fury turned around and stared at Ezekiel and asked, "What do you mean by others who will come join you?" "More of myself of course. Tomorrow the boss wants to send over more clones. As long as The Ancient One will help me with transportation that is." The Ancient One nodded her head and said, "I can do that, but if you and the others wish to use portals to travel around normally. I would either need to train a few of your people in the mystic arts, which could take anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on the person. Or I could bring in a few of the Masters to help with portal transfers. They could also swear upon their magic to keep this place and the people who use it a secret." Coulson spoke up and said, "I would like to learn if possible." Fury glanced at Coulson for a few seconds before he looked at The Ancient One and asked, "You have one volunteer, but I still need him for his normal job." "I understand, it will just take him longer to learn it, and even longer to master it." Fury nodded his head before he asked, "What about a way to stop other people from portaling into the base? Is there some way to prevent that and only make a small secured area the only access point?" The Ancient One nodded her head and said, "That is possible, but the resources it would take to secure this base and the area around it would take at least a month to set up and be very expensive to procure." Ezekiel smiled and asked, "Do you happen to have a bank account? I could transfer whatever funds you will need." The Ancient One shook her head as she said, "I was born long before identification for people became standard, I think you need that to set one up." Ezekiel laughed as he said, "You are correct, but I could easily fix that in an hour. Or you could just give me a list of the items you will need and I can order them for you." The Ancient One nodded her head and responded, "I will make you a list of everything that I will need. But I am afraid you might have a hard time finding a few of the items. They are rare and very expensive." Ezekiel just nodded and asked, "Do you use a computer at all? If so you can email me the list if you like." "I have used a computer many times since their invention, but I do not have an email address. I prefer to write letters, astral project or meet people in person." Ezekiel nodded as he stood up and said, "That''s fine, you can give me a list tomorrow. Right now, I think I wanna take a tour around the base. Anyone feel like taking a walk with me?" Fury spoke up and said, "You sure you need a tour? You and The Ancient One made it to the mess hall without a guide." Ezekiel looked at Fury and said, "You are right, I know the base layout already. But I wouldn''t mind walking the base at least once. That and having some company is always nice." Steve stood up while he picked up his tray and said, "I could go for a walk, let me just bus my tray." Peggy looked up at Steve, who then reached down and grabbed her tray as she said, "Thank you, Steve." Steve smiled at Peggy and said, "You are welcome." Before he turned around and walked to the kitchen area and deposited the trays and plates on the counter next to the sink. Steve walked back over to Ezekiel and said, "I will take you to meet Sam first, after that I will show you around." Ezekiel smiled and waved at everyone as he started to walk out of the room with Steve. After they had left the room, The Ancient One looked at Fury and said, "Let me know if anyone else wishes to learn the mystic arts. I need to talk to Mr. Foster and ask about Ava. But if I could start everyone at the same time, it would make it a little easier to teach them all." Fury nodded his head as Hank stood up and said, "I can show you where Bill and Ava are staying, if you would like." 00024. Setting up a work area. Sam was seated at his desk, working on his computer when Steve walked in followed by Ezekiel. Sam was so engrossed in his work that when he noticed them, Steve was standing in front of his desk and he jumped a little as he looked up at them. Steve smiled down at Sam and said, "Sorry, I thought you heard us come in." Sam looked from Steve to the person on his right and jumped out of his chair as he exclaimed, "Ezekiel actually came here?! Does Fury know? Never mind, of course Fury would know. But how were you able to get in the base? It''s currently locked down and only I can let people in or out." Ezekiel smiled as he put out his hand and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you Sam, and I got here through a magic portal." Sam laughed as he reached out and shook Ezekiel¡¯s hand and said, "A magic portal, that was pretty good. I bet Fury was the one who let you inside, through some secret entrance only he knows about." Steve shook his head and said, "He was being serious, The Sorcerer Supreme is here in the base and she brought Ezekiel here. She also said she could teach a few people the mystic arts, Coulson already volunteered to learn." Sam''s eyes lit up as he looked back and forth from Steve to Ezekiel as he asked, "Really? I could learn actual magic? You''re not joking about this are you?" Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Not at all, I am sure you learning magic would be a boon for the base. But you will have to double check with Fury on that." Sam nodded his head a few times before he asked, "So what can I do for both of you? I assume you came all the way here for a reason?" Ezekiel smiled again as he said, "You are correct, I need some things. I am going to be setting up a small study area first. After that I will need to set up a laboratory. But that can wait till later." Sam sat back down at his computer and opened up a new file, before he looked up at Ezekiel and asked, "Tell me everything you want. It might take a few weeks to get everything here though, since we are trying to hide this place." "If we had it sent to a different location, how long would that take?" Sam opened up a program, after he typed a few things into it he looked up at Ezekiel and said, "It depends on what it is, but I could probably get most items sent to a storage facility or warehouse pretty quickly. Within a day or so at most, depending upon how rare the item is." Ezekiel grinned as he said, "Perfect, everything I want should be easily accessible. I need standard office desks and chairs, like yours. Ten of them should work. Then I want ten copies of school books from first grade all the way to college level and I want everything. Medical, science, engineering, chemistry, biology, coding. If there is a degree for it, I want all the current books for it." Both Steve and Sam looked at Ezekiel in confusion as Sam asked, "That is a lot of books to find. I don''t think I can get them all by tomorrow. Do you mind if I ask why you need all of those?" Ezekiel smirked and said, "I am not the real Ezekiel, but a copy of him. Everything that I learn will be sent back to him. His plan is to use clones to learn as much as he can as fast as possible." Sam sat back in his chair in awe as Steve asked, "Is that really gonna work? Will you learn everything you need just from reading books?" Ezekiel laughed as he shook his head and said, "No, not at all. Knowledge without experience will only get me so far. Once I have finished book learning I will switch to actual hands-on experience and will need to make some labs for each subject I want experience in. I am sure Hank, Bill and the other scientists we gather can give me some pointers along the way. It will take a while but I have some ideas that might be extremely helpful to us in the future." Sam nodded his head in understanding as he leaned forward and started to type again he said, "Okay I will prioritize the first grade and up books. The college level and all the supplemental books would take the longest to gather anyways." Ezekiel responded and said, "I will need twenty of the newest and best computers on the market, along with a few top of the line computer servers and all the extra equipment to set them up as a network. I am not in a rush for those, but I will additionally need art supplies. Mostly paper of different sizes, you can also get me some plain printer paper. I will need black ink, bush sets and different types of black paints. But you can get me a full range of color too and stuff to clean up the bushes with." Sam typed away on his keyboard as Steve looked at Ezekiel and asked, "What''s the art supplies for?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "I have some skills I need to learn and practice with and their main requirements are paper and black ink. The other stuff is to test out if it works or not." Sam looked up from his keyboard and asked, "Anything else you might need?" Ezekiel shook his head and said, "No, that should do it for me, for now. But The Sorcerer Supreme will give me a list of items they need tomorrow, I will forward it to you once I have it. You can do the same thing for their items and place them in a secure warehouse." Sam nodded in reply as he said, "Will do." Ezekiel looked at Steve and said, "Alright, let''s take that tour around the base." He turned back to Sam and said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, I will see you tomorrow sometime." Sam looked up from his computer screen and said, "Same to you Ezekiel." Ezekiel and Steve left the room and started to make their way around the base. About eighty-five percent of the base was underground, and the part that was above ground was old and abandoned. Water for the base came from an underground aquifer, filtered through a water purifier system. The internet and power come from the old part of the base, but all of the infrastructure for it was upgraded. All of the old entrances to the underground base were sealed completely. The only actual entrance to the underground portion of the base was new and hidden completely under the road leading to the base. You had to be in contact with the base to gain access, then a portion of the road would open up, so someone could drive down into the tunnel. That tunnel was about a mile long and led to the only opening into the underground base. It could be considered cramped if it was being used at one hundred percent capacity, but currently only a handful of people and some kids called it their full time home. Most of the base was currently unused and in need of repair. Only a handful of rooms had already been retrofitted and were in working order. Steve and Ezekiel made their way to one of the unfinished rooms and stopped at an open door with thick power cables running inside it. Steve knocked on it and asked, "Would you like a little more company?" Hank could be heard from inside the room as he said, "Sure, come on in." Steve walked in first followed by Ezekiel, inside the room was The Ancient One sitting at a table next to Hank and Bill Foster. Next to them inside a beehive looking glass container was a young girl sitting on a bed. There wasn''t much else currently inside the room, besides a bed, a couple of steamer trunks and the table and chairs they were using. Bill stood up when they were close and reached out a hand to Ezekiel as he said, "It''s good to put a face to the name, Ezekiel. I am Bill Foster and the young lady in there is Ava Starr." Ezekiel smiled at both Ava and Bill as he said, "It''s great to meet you both in person. Have you been able to help stabilize Ava yet?" Bill shook his head and said, "The chamber here helps her stay stable. But she needs to stay inside it for at least twelve hours so she can be outside of it and not in pain for about five hours. It''s not a great trade, but it is our first attempt." "It''s a step in the right direction though and that is all that matters." Bill and Hank nodded their heads in agreement as Ezekiel looked at The Ancient One and asked, "Did you ask them yet?" "I did, Mr. Foster is on the fence about it and young Ava hasn''t shown an interest in it." Ezekiel nodded as he walked over to the glass beehive and stood in front of Ava. She looked at him curiously, as he smiled at her and said, "Ava, my name is Ezekiel. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Ava glanced at Bill first who nodded his head, before she looked at Ezekiel and said, "Hello, Mr. Ezekiel." "Just Ezekiel is fine, Ava." She nodded her head as Ezekiel pointed towards The Ancient One and asked, "Did she ask you, if you would like to learn magic?" Ava nodded her head again, so Ezekiel asked, "Did she show you what you can do with magic?" Ava shook her head no, Ezekiel chuckled as he turned to The Ancient One and said, "You need to know your audience, give her a show. But I don''t think it needs to be like the one you will give to Strange." The Ancient One let out a sigh and said, ¡°You know it¡¯s real magic, not the slight of hand most people expect.¡± Ezekiel just smiled, but said nothing else. The Ancient One shook her head and stood up, before she walked close to the beehive and stood next to Ezekiel. She looked down at Ava and said, ¡°I already told you, that if you learn magic it can help you to no longer hurt. But let me show you what else it can do.¡± The Ancient One started to move both her hands in front of herself and orange lines began to appear in the air as it followed her hands around. As she moved them a pattern of a flower appeared, the flower then shifted into a cat which ran around the glass beehive Ava was inside. The cat then stopped in front of Ezekiel, before using his head as a landing pad for a big leap. While perched on his head, the orange construct transformed into a bird. The bird then opened it¡¯s wings and took off into the air and flew around the room for a few moments before it disappeared into a fireworks like explosion of colors. The Ancient One then made a portal to somewhere covered in snow, she stepped inside and closed the portal. A few moments later she opened another portal and she walked out of it, behind her you could see a white sandy beach. She looked down at Ava again and as the portal closed she said, ¡°You can do those things and so much more if you learn the mystic arts. Would you like to learn?¡± Ava still looked a little uncertain so she looked at Bill who smiled as he said, ¡°I am still going to help you no matter what you want to do Ava. No matter what, I will always be here for you.¡± Ava smiled brightly before she looked at The Ancient One and said, ¡°I would like to learn magic, please.¡± 00025. A troubling issue... ¡°That. Was. Awesome!¡± Everyone in the room turned around to look at the door, peeking into the room were four kids. The youngest was currently covering her mouth, while the other kids looked shocked. Steve was the first to react and said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t all of you be doing your school work?¡± A boy with mahogany colored skin stood up straight and said, ¡°We finished early sir, we came to visit Ava.¡± Steve smiled and said, ¡°Well then knock on the door next time and don¡¯t eavesdrop. Also you don¡¯t need to be so formal Erik.¡± Erik nodded his head, but said nothing else. The youngest spoke up and asked, ¡°Mr. Rogers, can we come in and hang out with Ava?¡± Ezekiel laughed before he said, ¡°Mr. Rogers? Want me to get you a sweater?¡± Steve looked confused, but Bill and Hank both chuckled for a moment. Even The Ancient One smirked a little. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Just something you missed while you were asleep. Do you have a computer yet?¡± Steve shook his head and said, ¡°It¡¯s on the list of things I need to get.¡± ¡°You can have one of the ones I asked Sam for and I will show you how to use it properly.¡± Steve nodded his head as he said, ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡± Steve looked back at the kids as the young girl at the door asked, ¡°Can we get computers also? We only have school books right now. It''s not that fun here, we can¡¯t even go outside to play.¡± Steve was about to say something when Ezekiel said, ¡°I will tell you what, how about all of you come inside and introduce yourselves to me first. Then we can talk about getting you some things to make this place less boring.¡± The young girl was the first in the room as she ran to stand in front of Ezekiel. The others were quick to follow and line up next to her. The young girl was the first to speak and frowned a little as she said, ¡°My name is Mary Sue Poots.¡± Ezekiel laughed and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t like your name?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Then change it. You don¡¯t have to keep a name you don¡¯t like.¡± Mary grinned wide as she asked, ¡°I can do that?¡± ¡°Yup. If you think of a new name, just tell people that is your name. When you are older you can get it legally changed to it, if you really like it.¡± Ezekiel pointed to The Ancient One and said, ¡°This lady here is called, The Ancient One. That¡¯s not her real name though. It¡¯s just what everyone calls her. Kinda helps though, since she is a master of magic, she needs a cool sounding name, so it adds to her aura of mystery.¡± The kids looked at The Ancient One in awe as Steve, Hank and Bill tried not to smile. The Ancient One smiled a little at the kids, before she glared at Ezekiel for a second. Ezekiel ignored The Ancient One and looked to the next kid as he asked, ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°I am Erik Stevens, sir.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°My name is Ezekiel and you don¡¯t have to be formal around me, Erik.¡± Erik nodded his head but said nothing else. The next boy spoke up and said, ¡°My name is Grant Ward, it¡¯s nice to meet you sir.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he looked at the last kid, she smiled at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Ezekiel, my name is Hope Van Dyne.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Hope.¡± Ezekiel looked over all the kids once more and then asked, ¡°So what would make your stay here more enjoyable?¡± Mary spoke first and said, ¡°A computer!¡± The other kids all nodded in agreement, even Ava. Ezekiel asked, ¡°Only a computer? What else do you think will make your time here more enjoyable?¡± Hope spoke up next and said, ¡°My own room.¡± Grant followed up with and said, ¡°A better bed with sheets and blankets.¡± Mary was next and said, ¡°Better food!¡± All of the kids nodded at that and it was like a flood gate was opened. All of them had ideas for what would make their stay in the base better. It took a little while for all of them to get through what they thought would make the base better. But one thing they all agreed on was going outside, even Ava wanted to go outside. Ezekiel smiled at them all as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can do all of those ideas, but a good part of them are doable. It will just take a little while. As for going outside of the base, I don¡¯t think that is possible. But I have an idea if The Ancient One wants to be nice, she could probably take you to the beach.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Ancient One looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Do you take me for a taxi service?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°You were the one who offered to bring me over from now on.¡± Ezekiel then swept his arm towards all the kids and said, ¡°Plus look at them, they really wanna go outside and you are their only hope.¡± The Ancient One sighed, before she said, ¡°Fine, I can take them to a hidden island that we use to practice magic on sometimes. But someone will need to watch them while they are playing, I am only providing transport.¡± The kids all smiled except for Mary who yelled, ¡°YES!¡± Ezekiel turned around to them and said, ¡°If you are going to the beach you better go change into some different clothes.¡± Mary was running to the door before Ezekiel finished talking. Grant, Erik and Hope all said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Before they left to go change. The Ancient One looked at everyone else in the room and asked, ¡°So who is going with me to watch the kids?¡± Bill and Hank looked at each other before they nodded and said almost in sync, ¡°We will watch the kids.¡± ¡°Good. How much longer does Ava need to stay in her stabilizing tank?¡± Bill answered, ¡°About twenty minutes.¡± The Ancient One nodded and said, ¡°I will be back in about thirty minutes. I am going to get a few things so the kids will have fun at the beach.¡± A portal opened up and The Ancient One walked through it. As it closed Ezekiel looked at Steve and said, ¡°What about you? You wanna go with them? You won¡¯t have many chances to go out since we are trying to keep you hidden.¡± Steve thought about it for a few seconds before he asked, ¡°What about you? What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I am going to talk with Sam and make another order. Then I will borrow a computer and work on some more code for my next project.¡± Steve nodded his head and said, ¡°Alright, I am gonna go check with Peggy and see if she wants to join me for a walk on a beach.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and then turned to Hank and asked, ¡°Can I borrow you for a few moments?¡± Hank nodded and as he stood up he said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Hank led Ezekiel out of the room to the one next door. It was in the process of being worked on, it looked like it was going to be a laboratory. Hank stopped next to a work bench full of tools and asked, ¡°What did you wanna talk about?¡± ¡°How is your relationship with Hope?¡± Hank looked blindsided by the question, but recovered quickly as he said, ¡°Strained, she only talks to me if she absolutely has to. Otherwise she ignores me.¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°Well you did send her away to school when you lost Janet. Have you tried to talk with her about it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard, I have no idea what to say. I was never a good parent, Janet was the one who made our family work. Once she was gone I had no idea how to handle Hope or even myself for that matter. So I sent her away and dove into my work to keep myself busy. What do I even say to her, sorry? Sorry for treating her the way I did? Sorry for sending her away? Sorry for not talking to her at all? Tell her that her mother is still alive? That I am trying to find her?¡± Ezekiel patted Hank¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Saying you are sorry would be a good start. Just be honest with her and everything should work out. She might hold a grudge for a while, but I think she will come around sooner or later.¡± Hank stayed silent as he nodded his head. Ezekiel patted his shoulder one more time before he said, ¡°Alright, enjoy your beach trip. I need to go talk with Sam again.¡± -------------------------------------------------------------- Theo was laying in his crib, he had just been put to bed and was thinking about what had happened today. He had been noticing that clones would act out in weird ways sometimes. Like the clone today who attacked The Ancient One, that wasn''t something he would have done. Yet that clone did it, and the feelings he received from the clone were eagerness and excitement. He closed his eyes and drifted off to his mindscape for the night. He appeared in his normal place, inside a copy of the home office he used to use. This one he considered his real one, it was the first one he had made and all the copies were made from this one. He walked over to his chair, it was big, brown and made of some type of very soft leather. He actually found it in some CEO¡¯s meeting room, when he went to hash out some finer points of a contract with some lawyers. It was added into the contract that the chair would be given to him as part of his payment. Theo sat down in the chair and let out a contented sigh. While the chair and this place might only exist in his head, it felt more than real enough whenever he was here. The feeling of the chair as he sat in it. The smell of leather mixed with the slightly earthy smell from the garden outside. The slight hum of computer fans and the muffled sound of birds chirping in the trees. It was all from his memory but it felt real to him, every time he sat in this chair and closed his eyes. As he sat in his chair, he started to go over everything again. Each time his clones would act up and do weird things, he himself wouldn¡¯t do. He remembered from the story that Naruto¡¯s clones could act up sometimes, but they always acted like Naruto himself. They never once acted against what Naruto himself would do. Could the issue be that shadow clones work differently in real life compared to how they were portrayed in the show and manga? It could make sense, he didn¡¯t need to use hand signs or say anything to actually use his skills. He was currently using them to give people the illusion they were needed for his power to work and he would be lying if he didn¡¯t think they looked cool when you could speed through them quickly like Kakashi. Plus saying the name of the attack was pretty cool and could be intimidating too. Yup that was it, it had nothing to do with the fact he was a big nerd, nope not at all. Time passed slowly as Theo went over every memory of using a shadow clone. The more he looked over the memories the more confused he became. There was nothing different from the ones who acted weirdly, compared to the ones who didn''t. Even the one from today there was nothing he could find that made it act the way it did. Theo let out a sigh before he opened his eyes and said, ¡°It just doesn¡¯t make any sense, it¡¯s almost like they are different people. But I can¡¯t find any reason why.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they are different people.¡± Theo shot up out of his chair and stared at the person who just spoke. His mind froze for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Sage of the Six Paths?¡± The man before him nodded and said, ¡°You are correct Theo, or should I call you by your original name?¡± Theo shook his head and said, ¡°No, Theo is my name now.¡± Theo shook his head again as he said, ¡°I must be going crazy or I am having some type of nervous breakdown and just talking to myself?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± ¡°Yes and no? It¡¯s either I am going crazy or I am not.¡± The man smiled and said, ¡°It is a lot more complicated than that. It took me a while to figure it out myself. Can we chat for a while?¡± Theo nodded his head and said, ¡°Sure, why not?¡± 00026. This could be a big problem or... Theo sat back down in his chair and waved his hand in front of him as another copy of the chair appeared there. He looked at the Sage of Six Paths and said, ¡°Sit down and let''s talk, Hagoromo.¡± Hagoromo nodded his head before he walked over to the other chair and sat down. Once he settled into the chair, he let out a sigh and said, "I can see why you like this chair so much." Theo nodded his head and said, "It''s too bad I no longer have it, but I am sure I will find something comparable at some point when I am older. So what can I help myself with?" Hagoromo laughed for a moment before he said, "While that is true, it is also untrue. I am part of you, but I am also myself." "Would you like to elaborate more on that? You are me, but at the same time you are yourself? As far as I can tell, I am talking to myself currently." Hagoromo nodded as he said, "You are correct but also wrong. I am a separate personality from yourself but since I am in your mindscape, I am also you." Theo shook his head and said, "That doesn''t make sense, because I know what you know. How are you a separate personality?" "I am not sure how it works, but I know I am me and you are you. If I had my own body, we would no longer be connected like we are now. But we would both have the memories from the other person before we split." Theo nodded his head and said, "I guess that sounds correct¡­ Kinda. But how are you here?" "Because of you." Theo frowned a little and said, "I don''t remember asking for someone to share my mind with." Hagoromo laughed before he said, "But you did, when you asked for all the knowledge from Naruto." "I asked for knowledge, that shouldn''t give me you." Hagoromo shook his head as he said, "What is knowledge?" "What a person learns through experience and education." Hagoromo nodded his head and said, "Exactly." Theo sat silently for a while and thought about it more before he said, "So what you are implying is, I not only gained the knowledge from Naruto. But I also gained the personality of the people who I gained the knowledge from?" "That is kinda correct." Theo asked, "What do you mean by kinda correct?" "I was the first to awaken, when you started to use chakra. You were using a technique I created for my descendants." Theo thought back to the first time he tried to feel his chakra and the exercise he used to expand it. The more he thought about it the wider his eyes became. As he did Hagoromo smiled and then said, "You seem to understand now." "Ya but how? It doesn''t really make sense." Hagoromo nodded as he said, "I would agree, but I think I figured it out." Theo sat forward as he said, "The chakra!" Hagoromo laughed as he said, "That is a weird experience, but fun. Yes it was the chakra which caused this. Your chakra was taken from me, the same with your DNA. You wanted the best of Madara and Hashirama, with a bit of Uzumaki, so instead you are a copy of me. The only difference is you look different." Theo shook his head and asked, "How do you know that?" "It is the only way you could get what you asked for." Theo was quiet for a while before he said, "So I will have you in my mind from now on?" "Me and the others." Theo closed his eyes and concentrated for a while before his eyes snapped open and he looked at Hagoromo in shock. He closed his eyes again and when he opened his eyes again, there was a group of people in the room with him and Hagoromo. He looked at each one for a few moments before he landed on a man with long black hair and red armor on and said, "It was you! You were the one in my clone!" The man stepped forward and said, "Yes, I wanted to test myself against The Ancient One. I would have won too, if this body wasn''t so weak." Theo let out a sigh and said, "I guess I shouldn''t expect anything less from you Madara." Madara nodded his head and said, "We need to train ourselves more, so the next time we can crush her." Theo shook his head and said, "I shouldn''t be surprised, since you are a battle maniac after all. How did you even take over my clone?" A different person stepped forward and said, "We take turns when you make shadow clones. Today it was Madara¡¯s turn." ¡°Wait, so is someone else in the other clone I made?¡± Tobirama shook his head and said, ¡°No, after the stunt Madara pulled we didn¡¯t send another person.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Madara laughed and said, ¡°You would have tested her yourself, Tobirama.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± Theo said, "Okay, enough. Tobirama, it¡¯s nice to meet you. But don¡¯t you hate Madara and the Uchiha¡¯s? Why do you both seem to be getting along?" Tobirama nodded his head and said, "The same to you, Theo. As for why we are getting along it is because of you. While we now have all of our memories, we also have yours. It has bridged the gap between us, your memories of the show and manga of Naruto have helped the most." Theo nodded his head, then looked at the other people for a few moments and before he said, "I think I get it now, Hagoromo was the first. Madara was next because I used his insights into chakra control to train with. Then Inoichi and Ino should have been next because of working on my mindscape with the Yamanaka clan techniques. Tobirama because of the shadow clones and Kakashi because I used his insights into earth jutsu. Then we have Shisui, because I am training body flicker with his insights into it. Minato because I have thought a lot about his flying thunder god techniques. But you two, I have no idea why you would be here.¡± Both of them stepped forward and raised their left hands, giving a thumbs up. As both of them smiled at the same time, a sparkle could be seen from it as the taller man said, ¡°IT¡¯S BECAUSE OF YOUR YOUTHFUL TRAINING!¡± Theo started to laugh hard and didn¡¯t stop for over a minute. When he finished he said, ¡°That was even better than I could have imagined. I am not sure if it¡¯s because we are in my mindscape or if you did that in real life. But the sparkle was just too much.¡± Kakashi shook his head and said, ¡°The sparkles were always there. I think they subconsciously do an instant transformation jutsu or some type of instant genjutsu to make it happen. It is an amazing feat, considering they only have a talent for taijutsu.¡± "IT IS THE POWER OF YOUTH!" "HAI, GUY SENSEI!" Theo started to laugh again for a bit, once he calmed down he asked Hagoromo, "So I assume that whatever I study or train in awakens the memories of someone and they will manifest themselves?" Hagoromo nodded and said, "That seems to be the case." ¡°So at some point I will awaken Kaguya?¡± Hagoromo shook his head and said, ¡°No, I looked through what you were given. You do not have anything from her, or Black Zetsu. Just like you have nothing from anyone in Boruto. It seems like you gained everything from before Boruto, that is why Ino and Lee here are still young.¡± Theo nodded his head and then asked, ¡°So, how do you think we should proceed then?¡± Hagoromo smiled at that and then said, ¡°You already know what would be the best case moving forward.¡± Theo smiled back as he said, ¡°Yes, yes I do.¡± Theo closed his eyes and started to go through information he had, as he concentrated on it people started to appear throughout his mindscape. It started slow, but as Theo continued, it became easier and faster. After a while he opened his eyes and looked at the new people in the room with him, before he stood up and looked outside at all of the people he had awoken. A smile crossed his face as he said, ¡°I have a really good idea, but it might take some time to pull off.¡± A few seconds later everyone that Theo awakened in his mindscape began to smile also. Theo started to laugh because of how creepy it was, after a second other people started to laugh also. --------------------------------------------------------------- The Ancient One opened a portal into Ezekiel¡¯s home to collect his clones and was surprised to find no copies of Ezekiel, but each clone looked different. As she took them all in, she started to cast a spell and then looked them over closely after it was finished. Once done she said, ¡°You made more clones, but they will only last two days at the most now.¡± One of the clones stepped forward, his skin was white, while his eyes were yellow and looked like a snake. Just before he talked his tongue flickered out for a second, it was thin and forked like a snake and he said, ¡°Ezekiel said you have been alive for centuries in the same body, something about channeling energy from a dark dimension. It sounds fascinating and something I would like to research.¡± A blonde haired woman spoke up next and said, ¡°We have other things that are more pressing to learn first, Orochimaru.¡± The man let out a sigh and said, ¡°Of course, the other projects come first.¡± The Ancient One looked between the two and asked, ¡°Why the name change, Ezekiel?¡± Orochimaru smiled wickedly and said, ¡°Because we are Ezekiel and we are also ourselves. I am Orochimaru and these people are Madara, Tobirama, Kakashi, Tsunade, Minato, Sakumo, Itachi and Shikamaru.¡± The Ancient One frowned a little and asked, ¡°What do you mean by that? Ezekiel didn¡¯t mention this when we talked yesterday.¡± Shikamaru spoke up next and said, ¡°Ezekiel figured it out last night, he asked for all the knowledge from our world as part of his powers. It not only gave him our knowledge, but also our personalities. When he started using our knowledge, our personalities started to awaken.¡± The Ancient One nodded her head, before she smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all.¡± Everyone but Madara returned the greeting. Madara smirked and said, ¡°I won yesterday.¡± The Ancient One raised one eyebrow at that and said, ¡°I am pretty sure you lost.¡± Madara laughed loudly before he said, ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t need to cast a single spell to beat me, but you did cast a spell. That means I won.¡± The Ancient One shook her head and said, ¡°Fine, by that metric you won. Happy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The Ancient One sighed as she turned around and walked through the portal she said, ¡°Come along now, I have other things I need to do then babysit children.¡± Minato walked through first and once on the other side he said quietly to The Ancient One, ¡°Sorry about him, while he is a genius, his main concern is fighting. He is kind of a battle maniac.¡± The Ancient One just nodded her head, but said nothing else as everyone walked through the portal into the New York Sanctum. She closed the first portal and opened a new one into a room with only Ezekiel inside. As everyone walked through the portal, Ezekiel looked up and then paused, before he said, ¡°What¡¯s going on with all of you being dressed up?¡± Itachi walked over to Ezekiel, reached out and put his hand on Ezekiel''s head for a moment before he pulled his hand away. Ezekiel started to laugh for a few moments, before he looked at The Ancient One and asked, ¡°Could you do a portal to a warehouse in New York for me? I need to collect everything that is currently there.¡± 00027. Setting up a meeting with mutants. Charles Xavier was seated behind a desk in his private office as he used his computer. As he looked over the grades of his current students, his computer started to slow down, until it was completely frozen. Before he could do anything else, his frozen screen seemed to melt away and the face of a man appeared on it. The man smiled before he said, "I apologize for interrupting you, but I wished to talk and I didn''t think showing up at your school unannounced would work out too well." Xavier nodded his head and responded, "Making an appointment is always best practice, Mister?" "Ezekiel, just Ezekiel is fine." Xavier smiled as he telepathically sent a message, "Hank, someone has bypassed our security and is currently talking to me on my computer. Trace them please." "So Ezekiel, you obviously contacted me for a reason. What can I help you with?" Ezekiel laughed for a moment before he said, "A few things actually, but the first would be setting up a meeting with Max Eisenhardt, better known as Erik Lehnsherr or Magneto. I would like you to be there of course, since it involves you and the future of meta-humans." Xavier showed nothing on his face, but inwardly his mind was in overdrive. He set another telepathic message, "Hank, make sure you find out who this person is." "I am not sure why you think I would be able to contact a terrorist, but I believe you are mistaken. While I did have a friendship with the man at one point, it was decades ago and we haven''t been in contact since." Ezekiel smiled before he said, "While most people in the world would believe that, I know that you could easily contact him at any time. As long as he doesn''t have his helmet on that blocks out your telepathy. Then again you could easily contact Raven and have her relay the message for you." Xavier smiled at that, but didn''t show anything else on his face as he said, "I am not sure what you are talking about, I am not a telepath. While I have studied mutants and written many papers about them, I myself am not a mutant." "Look, I don''t want to waste your time or mine. I know you are one of the world''s strongest telepaths and that you run a school for mutant children. I also know your teachers are mutants and you even have a team put together that goes out to help mutants in trouble." Xavier was quiet for a few moments before he asked, "Who are you?" Ezekiel smirked and said, "Someone who has seen the future of this world and many of the possible ways it could turn out." Ezekiel stopped smiling and said, "I want to help you and Erik with your dream for a better world. But I know that anytime the both of you don''t work together, it ends badly. Sometimes it destroys the whole world in the process." Xavier was quiet for a while, partly because he wanted to give Hank time to trace the hacker''s location. Xavier looked at Ezekiel and asked, "I can reach out, but I make no guarantees about if he will even meet you." "Tell him that if he agrees to meet me, I can possibly help him increase his power over magnetism." Xavier nodded before he asked, "What else did you contact me for?" "I wanted to chat with Logan, I have some info for him he would like to know." Xavier took a few moments before he asked, "What kind of info is it?" "Well his real name for starters." A picture appeared on the computer screen, it was Captain America with the Howling Commandos. On the Captain''s right side was Bucky and on his left with an arm over his shoulder was Logan with a cigar in his mouth. Xavier stared at the photo for a while before he asked, "Is that one of Logan''s relatives? His father perhaps?" "No, that is Logan. He has been alive for a long time. Here, look at this." Another photo appeared, this one was even older from the First World War. In it was Logan with some other men, they were all dressed up in dress uniforms from Canada. Logan was standing off to one side holding a cigar in his right hand. Xavier finally sent a message to Logan, ¡°Logan, could you join me in my office please?¡± Xavier let out a sigh and said, ¡°I called him, he should be here soon.¡± Ezekiel''s face appeared back on the screen as he said, "Thank you." Xavier nodded his head as he said, "No, I should thank you, one of the reasons he came here was to find out who he is. I thought I could help him recover his memories, but nothing I have done has helped." "Your methods might work if he didn¡¯t have a bullet lodged in his brain. He also had a bunch of memory wipes and brainwashing done to him, which didn''t help either. I also have a theory that his brain heals over bad memories, which causes him to forget anything bad that has happened to him. That is mostly a theory though, but it is a good possibility with how his power works." This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Xavier frowned at that and asked, "How could he have a bullet in his brain? His entire skeleton is coated in adamantium and who was brainwashing him and wiping his memories?" "Adamantium bullet from a very powerful gun." Xavier looked towards the door and said, "Please come in, Logan." The door opened and in walked a short man, wearing a wife beater, some jeans and cowboy boots. In one hand was a beer and in his other hand was a cigar that he pulled away from his mouth as he said, "What did you need, Professor?" Xavier smiled and gestured to his computer screen as he responded, "Logan, come over here and meet Ezekiel. He has something he wants to talk with you about." Logan walked around the desk and looked at the computer screen for a moment before he said, "What do you want, bub?" Ezekiel smiled widely as he said, "Like I told Xavier, I would like to help you." The two pictures appeared on the screen and Ezekiel said, "Your real name is James Howlett, better known as Logan or Wolverine. I would like to help you regain your memories and some other issues." Logan was quiet for a while before he glanced at Xavier, who had sent him a message, "I know nothing about this man, he just contacted me today and knows things about us he shouldn''t know. He also wants me to contact Magneto for him, so he can talk with him." Logan''s hand clenched slightly around his beer, but otherwise he made no other outward reaction. He removed the cigar from his mouth and said, "Let me think about it. How can I get into contact with you?" Ezekiel smiled again and said, "Just let me know when we meet in person." "What makes you think that is gonna happen, bub?" "Because when I have my meeting with Magneto, I want Xavier there. You won''t let him come alone, just like Magneto won''t show up without Mystique with him." Logan was about to say something when Xavier said, "Maybe, it depends on what Erik decides. Where would this meeting take place?" "You and Magneto can decide, I just need a time and place." Xavier nodded his head and said, "That will make it a lot easier for him to agree to meeting you." "Good, that is what I was hoping for. Well it has been a pleasure gentlemen. Xavier, when you have a time and place just email me." Xavier laughed as he said, "You would have to give it to me first." Ezekiel smiled and said, "It''s already in your contacts, just look for the one that starts with, Ezekiel_Is_The_Third_Best. Have a good day." Xavier just nodded his head as Logan looked at Xavier a little confused. The screen blacked out for a second, before it went back to normal. Xavier looked up at Logan and said, "I am not even going to ask." Xavier contacted Hank and asked, "Was that long enough for you to trace his location, Hank?" "Sorry Professor, I ran into a problem and wasn''t able to get a location. Actually you better come down here and look at what happened." Xavier frowned as he responded, "Me and Logan are on the way." Xavier looked up at Logan and said, "Could you take me down to Hank''s lab? Something happened when he was trying to trace Ezekiel''s location." Logan grunted in response before he drank the rest of his beer and set the empty bottle on the professor''s desk. As he went to grab the professor''s wheelchair, Xavier let out a sigh and asked, "Could you please not leave your empty beer bottles laying around?" Logan grunted again before he took the bottle and dropped it into the trash bin next to the desk and asked, "Happy?" "It would have been better if that was put in the recycling." Logan said nothing as he started to push Xavier out of the room and into the hallway. It wasn''t long before they were under the mansion and in front of Hank''s lab. As the door opened, they were greeted with, "Ah ah ah, You didn''t say the magic word. Ah ah ah, You didn''t say the magic word. Ah ah ah, You didn''t say the magic word." On all the screens around the room was a chibi picture of Ezekiel, with one hand raised up waving its index finger back and forth. Xavier and Logan stopped after they entered the room and looked around for a few moments. Hank was on a laptop that seemed to be working, as he was furiously typing away on the keyboard. Xavier spoke up over the background sound and asked, "Hank, what the hell happened?" Hank didn''t look up, but kept typing as he said, "When I went to trace the hackers incoming signal, this happened. I wasn''t able to get anywhere at all and now I am trying to fix whatever it did to the system." Xavier nodded as he said, "Looks like Ezekiel''s skills are even better than I thought." Logan looked around the room before he asked, "Did you try saying ''please''?" Hank scuffed and replied, "People with this level of skill are not going to do something like this and make the answer as simple as saying ''please''." Everything stopped and all the chibi figures looked towards Hank and said, "I wouldn''t be so sure about that." Hank had his mouth hanging open as he stared at the screens around him. They all blinked out and went back to normal as Logan smirked as he said, "You overthink things too much Hank." Logan looked down at Xavier and said, "I am gonna head back upstairs and drink some more. Unless you need me for anything else?" Xavier shook his head and said, "No, I will be fine. Thank you, Logan." After Logan left, Xavier glanced at Hank and said, "Hank, can you help me with Cerebro? I need to contact Raven with it." Hank nodded slowly as he said, "Sure I can do that Professor." ------------------------------ Ezekiel smiled as he looked up from his computer, he looked at the other clones next to him and smiled a little wider watching them all reading grade school books. They had all decided to read the same books so when they dispel, Theo would have the same info from ten different perspectives. While just reading it once he would remember it perfectly because the way his mindscape works. But he thought it might make him understand more advanced concepts if he did it this way. His guests also agreed with him, so they picked some of the prodigies of the ninja world to help with the process of learning. Ezekiel looked back at his computer and opened up the new software he was working on. He took one more glance around the room, before he began to work on his project. 00028. Using clones to learn is broken. To say that Fury was displeased would be an understatement. Fury was pissed, it had been a month since Ezekiel showed up at the base and all he has done is study books or programming. When Fury asked for an update on the Hydra list, all Ezekiel said was "I am still working on it. They are better at covering their tracks than I initially thought." Ezekiel hadn''t given them a single new lead and Fury was getting a little impatient, he needed time to plan, but he couldn''t plan anything till he knew who to target. Ezekiel seemed to be wasting time on things that didn''t matter currently and if something didn''t change, Fury would have to take matters into his own hands. ------------------------------------------------ Over six months passed as Ezekiel waited for Xavier''s reply. He was actually surprised it was taking so long, but he couldn''t blame the man. Trying to convince a man like Magneto to talk with an unknown person, who has unknown powers couldn''t be easy. He thought Xavier would have at least reached out about helping Logan, but they probably used his name to look up info about him. As he waited his life formed a new routine. He would wake up and make a set of clones for The Ancient One to transport to the base. It was easy to hide, since she would pull him into the mirror dimension for a few moments, then put him back. He was able to make clones even on the weekends this way. Since his larger batch of clones lasted about a day, it worked out perfectly. His clones over the past six months had read everything that he asked Eric for. He even sent different people in his clones to reread the college level books. Who knew that ninjas were taught to speed read, in case they needed to copy secrets from documents that they couldn''t steal. It also helped that Ezekiel only sent the smartest people from Naruto''s world. Doing so helped to expand his and everyone else''s understanding of what they read. They had already transitioned into the practical lessons and set up a few labs. His clones were now doing practical exercises, to better understand everything and how it worked in this universe. Fury had not been happy with Ezekiel, over how he had been spending his time. He had expressed his displeasure many times over the past few months, when they had their weekly meetings to go over projects, recruitment and other items. Ezekiel finally handed over a data packet full of info about Hydra to placate Fury some. The packet contained information of their bases, assets and personnel that Ezekiel had found so far. All of it was outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. since Ezekiel was still working on finding all of the double agents. Ezekiel wasn''t worried about Fury using the info yet, the group needed a lot more people and Fury was the most paranoid person he had ever met. Fury wouldn''t make a move till he was ready for checkmate in five different ways. Speaking of recruitment, Ezekiel was able to vet everyone who was brought into the team which included a few sorcerers, thanks to The Ancient One. One of them was Master Kaecilius, which was a big shock to Ezekiel. The man seemed distant from everyone, but he did his job well as a teacher and helping portal people and materials in and out of the base. As for teaching, his students were Ava, Coulson, Eric, Grant, Hope and surprisingly Maria Hill and Fury. Ezekiel asked them why they wanted to learn magic and they both responded that portal travel was too good a skill not to learn. Another thing that The Ancient One did was set up that spell array around the base. The base only had four points of entrance now, the main gate area, a secret exit tunnel, a portal entrance and a portal door to the beach island. The last one was added in since The Ancient One didn''t want to deal with portaling the kids to and from the island. The island Ezekiel found out had more than just a nice beach, it was about twenty-five miles or so across at its longest point and had a mountain range in the middle of it that had snow on it most of the year. Something about magic made it possible to not melt. Besides that it had the clearest water in the world, it almost looked like a swimming pool with waves. As for the kids, they seemed a lot more happy, they all had their own rooms, computers and everything else they asked for. Ezekiel and Eric had even set up a theater room for everyone. Fury wasn''t too happy with that, but since Ezekiel supplied the budget for everything, he couldn''t say much else. He had also explained that it could be used as a briefing room, which finally made Fury stop complaining about the waste of space as he saw it. Besides his clones and the base, Theo had been busy himself. He was just over two and a half now and had spent as much time as he could training his skills and expanding his chakra. He could now make over twenty clones that last about thirty hours. It was improving his and everyone else''s understanding faster with more clones rereading books, while others worked in the labs that were set up. He had almost finished his first main project and the side project he was building for S.H.I.E.L.D.. He had been programming a social media platform for the main project, but not a normal one. This one was an integration of all the best ideas from his old world. It had everything all in one application and website. A main profile section that would be tied to a single person. From there they could enable other features they wanted to use. Its first section was a friends and family platform to keep in easy communication with people you might not see every day. You could share photos, videos, and talk about anything you wanted to with the people you were connected to on it. The second section was for people who wanted to share stuff with the world. Have a funny video, you could upload it to this area. You could also stream content on this platform like playing video games, cooking, talking or just walking down the street. Whatever caught your fancy, and you wanted to share with people. But you didn''t need to have it connected to your other account, only your main hidden profile. That was the nice thing about the main platform that was made, everyone had a single hidden main account tied to themself. Everything else branched out from that single account. It was to help prevent fake accounts and bots. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. That being said, if you were a celebrity or a sports star. You could have your private profile for friends and family, and a public one for your fans. Ezekiel also had things in place for companies and governments, it worked a little differently, but even companies like Stark Enterprise could set up and use the social media platform. Which brings us to the next platform that was made, it let people post pictures, short videos and also small blurbs of text. It was to work with and around the other platforms. Your favorite celebrity is in a new movie and wants to promote it? They would post about it on this platform. A restaurant you like has specials? It would all be posted on this platform. This platform also had an integrated rating system for companies, restaurants, parks and other things. Ezekiel was actually surprised that no one had started any type of social media yet, considering that most people already had a computer and internet access. But then again, most people didn''t have cellphones and the ones that were out were still big, bulky and didn''t have cameras. The closest thing out was a specially designed cell phone that S.H.I.E.L.D. used, it was just bulky and expensive for the normal person and didn''t have everything he wanted. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. built them in house for their agents, they didn''t worry about the overall cost. Ezekiel was sure if he looked around he could find the tech needed to build a slimmer and more functional cellphone with a decent camera. But he wasn''t in a rush to get cellphones to the commercial market yet. He wanted to wait for people to start using his platform, then he would roll out the phones along with his platform integrated into them. Then he would start turning on all of the features of each platform. It was to secure his place as the number one in the market and to crush anyone else who tried to enter the market by copying him. As for his other project for S.H.I.E.L.D. It was actually a new ''secure'' operating system for their phones. Once it was completed, he was going to send it to Eric, so he could claim it was made by him. What the new operating system was going to do was act as total security for the device. End to end encryption for the device itself, email, text messages, phone calls, file transfers and everything else they use it for. Ezekiel wanted the people at S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra to test it and realize it''s the best encryption and they couldn''t break it. Which would make them adopt it as their new standard, since even if they decompile the code, they won''t find anything strange. Once it was adopted, then it would be easier to find the double agents. But if Hydra decided to steal it and use it for themselves? It would make taking them out a cakewalk, hopefully they do adopt the software for themselves. --------------------------------------------------- Theo and Milly had just been put to bed, their parents had gone downstairs to spend time together since the kids were in bed. They had started to do that since Milly had asked why they were making so much noise in the middle of the night. They were slightly embarrassed, but made up an excuse that they were playing a game. When they asked Theo if he heard them also, he told them he had heard them playing their game before Milly was born, but he just ignored them. Milly herself said she wanted to try ''the game'' herself and their parents said she was too young to play it. She wasn''t too happy but forgot about it when our mother bribed her with a cookie. Theo was in his crib thinking about the email he received today from Xavier, it was a location and time to meet up, which was for tomorrow. The message was short and said to come alone, Ezekiel almost felt he was being sent up. But Ezekiel planned to bring The Ancient One with him, but have her hidden in the mirror dimension to watch the meeting. Worst case he loses a clone for the day, if the meeting is a trap or it just goes badly. "Te-o. Te-o.. Te-o¡­ Teeeeee-o." Theo knew what was coming and let out a little sigh before he asked, "Yes, Milly?" "Te-o, Will you read me a story?" "Didn¡¯t you say last night, if I read you a story you wouldn''t ask tonight?" "But Te-o reads the best stories. Te-o is better than daddy at story time." Milly was standing up in her crib and giving Theo her puppy dog eyes. Theo had a new routine with Milly, she would give him that look and he would then read her a story till she fell asleep. Theo¡¯s parents also had a new routine, when they were down stairs they would cuddle on the couch and listen to Theo reading a story to Milly over the baby monitor. The first time it happened, they were surprised, but after the first few times, it turned into something they enjoyed listening to and turned it into their nightly routine after they put the kids to bed. Theo let out another sigh before he climbed out of his crib, went over to the book shelf and looked around for a few minutes. He had already read everything that was on the bookshelf to her at least twice now. So he decided to tell her a new story instead and walked over to Milly''s crib, before he quickly climbed up into her crib. He looked over at her and said, "Come on, get in your bed properly or no story." Milly laid back down and curled up under her blanket before she asked, "Te-o didn''t bring a book, how can Te-o read me a story, without a book?" Theo sat down next to Milly as he responded, "That is because I am going to tell you a whole new story. It''s a story about magic, you like magic right?" "Milly wants to be a fairy when she grows up." Theo reached over and rubbed Milly''s hair lightly for a moment as he said, "I am sure you will be a great fairy when you are older." Theo removed his hand as he said, "Now then, let me tell you about the story of the boy who lived." As Theo started the story, he looked over at Milly, who was looking at him with rapt attention. Theo would never say it out loud and always acted like it was a chore when she asked. But spending time like this with Milly was his favorite thing in the world to do. It was followed closely by spending time with his mother and father. While he might have his memories from his past life with him, he never felt so happy and complete in his old life. He tried to fill the gap with Sam and while he loved his son dearly, something was always missing. Something that Sam himself as an A.I. couldn¡¯t properly fill up even after he gave himself emotions. Something that only a true family could give to Theo, unconditional love. 00029. An earnest meeting or a trap? The location was a set of Geo coordinates to a remote forested area in South America. The place was so remote that without the ability to fly or teleport yourself, it would take a week of intense hiking to reach. You could probably parachute in, but the forest canopy was so thick you would probably get stuck in a tree or worse. Ezekiel and The Ancient One traveled to the meeting area six hours early through the mirror dimension. Ezekiel was a little surprised that no one was there yet, but still combed the surrounding area for any type of trap or ambush. When he didn''t find anything he had The Ancient One send him out of the mirror dimension. Once he was in the forest he decided to get some practice in, he did some hand signs and said, "Earth release, earth wave!" Slamming his hand down on the ground it distorted and moved out in a wave around Ezekiel and pushed all of the trees outwards in a perfect circle. Ezekiel double checked his work, the dirt was completely level and the closest tree was about fifty feet from the middle of the clearing he just made. The trees were so big and full of growth that even with this change you still couldn''t see the sky properly. Next he used another earth technique to make a five foot deep hole that was about ten feet in diameter off to one side of the clearing. Afterwards he used a water technique to fill it with water. Once it was finished he started to practice water walking. It took a bit to get used to, but his chakra control was one of the things he practiced the most. Once he had the ability down he walked to the middle of the water and sat down on the water in the lotus position and began to practice sensing universal energy while at the same time controlling his chakra to not fall in. The Ancient One watched Ezekiel in fascination as he used his abilities, it reminded her a little of magic with the hand movements and words. But when the ability was used it didn''t use universal energy, but energy from within his body. Ezekiel sat there for almost four hours before the first group for the meeting appeared, they floated down to the ground riding on air currents. Xavier, Logan and Storm landed about thirty feet from Ezekiel, who kept his eyes closed as he said, "Greetings professor, I hope you don''t mind I came early." Logan took up a position slightly in front of the professor and said, "I can''t smell him, it¡¯s like he isn¡¯t real." "Your words hurt more than your claws, Mr. Howlett. Logan stepped forward as his claws started to come out of his hands as he asked, ¡°You wanna find out which really hurts more, bub?¡± Storm put a hand on Logan¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Logan, I know you are on edge. But we came here to talk, not start a fight.¡± Logan grunted before he stepped back as his claws retracted into his hands. Xavier and his group moved a little closer to Ezekiel before he said, ¡°I thank you for coming, I wasn¡¯t sure if you would come alone or not.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Honestly I wasn¡¯t sure if this would be a trap or just a waste of my time.¡± Another voice spoke up from the air and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to resort to simple traps, my own power is more than enough to handle most people.¡± As a man dressed in red armor floated through the treetops into the clearing with a blue skinned woman next to him. After they landed on the ground about twenty feet from Ezekiel who quickly did some single handed signs behind his back. The man looked at Ezekiel for a few moments before he turned to Xavier and asked, ¡°Have you found out anything from him?¡± Xavier shook his head and said, ¡°I can¡¯t sense his mind at all, and Logan said he can not smell him. He might be some type of illusion, but it could just be his powers at work.¡± Ezekiel stood up slowly and said, ¡°I can assure you, I am very real. But I took measures against unwanted advances from Professor Xavier¡¯s powers. Now¡­¡± Before he could finish talking, metal burst from the ground around the clearing and formed a cage around Ezekiel, who quickly did a few single handed signs and mouthed one word before anyone noticed. The cage with Ezekiel floated over and landed in front of Magneto as he said, ¡°Since you are real, that means you can be captured. Now you know a lot of things that my friend has worked hard to keep hidden, I wanna know everything you know and anyone else you have told about it.¡± ¡°Erik! I thought we agreed we would talk with him and hear him out?¡± Magneto sneered as he looked at Xavier and said, ¡°You are too trusting Charles, this man knows your secrets! A man you know nothing about, who was able to hack the security at your school. We need to find out what he knows about both of us before we do anything else, before we can even think about trusting him.¡± Ezekiel laughed before he said, ¡°All these trust issues? Your ex girlfriends really did a number on you, didn¡¯t they?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Storm smirked slightly at that, while Logan actually let out a laugh as Magneto glared at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I am going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer them truthfully.¡± Ezekiel smirked and asked, ¡°How are you gonna know it¡¯s the truth when Xavier can¡¯t read my mind?¡± The bars around the cage shrank a little and tiny needles formed floating around the cage as Magneto said, ¡°I am sure I can make you talk if I apply the right amount of incentives.¡± Logan growled as his claws started to come out and walk towards Magneto, who looked at him and said, ¡°You know how this will end, back down boy.¡± He looked at Xavier and said, "Keep your dog on a leash Charles before he gets hurt." Storm spread her hands out and prepared for a fight, before Xavier raised a hand and said, "Erik, please don''t do this. We can still salvage the situation." "No Charles, he knows too much. You told me he claimed to see the future, we need to know what he knows." Xavier frowned as he asked, "Is this what you are really after? The possible info he has about the future? We don''t know if he can really see the future or not." The needles started to get a little closer to Ezekiel as Magneto said, "There is only one way to find out and if you aren''t going to help, then leave." Xavier let out a sigh and said, "Stand down both of you. I don''t like it, but Erik is right. I am going to try and force my way into his mind if I can find it, hopefully it happens before Erik can use his methods¡­" Both Storm and Logan relaxed a little, but still looked ready to attack at any time if needed. Magneto turned back to Ezekiel and asked, "Did you see that coming with your future sight?" Ezekiel smirked and said, "No, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I will die before I tell you anything." "Then you will have a very painful death then." Xavier concentrated as much as he could to reach out and make contact with Ezekiel''s mind. But no matter what he did he couldn''t find it. He made a decision and said, "Erik, I need to touch his head to make contact." Magneto nodded his head and the cage closed in around Ezekiel and locked his body in place but left his head exposed. He then moved Ezekiel next to Xavier who placed his hand on Ezekiel''s head and attempted to make contact with his mind. Xavier was quiet for a few moments before his face took on a slightly pained expression. Everyone was silent as they watched Xavier try to read Ezekiel''s mind. Minutes passed and it was taking a toll on the man who had droplets of sweat starting to form around his forehead. Ezekiel''s eyes were closed and he was gritting his teeth as some sweat was running down his face. Xavier forced all his concentration on his task for almost thirty minutes before he mumbled, "Just a little more." Ezekiel screamed as blood started to pour out of his eyes, nose and ears. Xavier let out a hollow laugh as he removed his hand and said, "His mental defense was the best I have ever seen. It took everything I had to break it. Give me a few minutes to rest and then we can get some answers." Magneto nodded his head before he walked in front of Ezekiel and said, "Looks like you are going to talk before you die after all." Ezekiel smiled wide, his teeth stained red while blood was running out of his mouth, before he spit out his tongue and blood all over the front of Magneto''s suit. Logan was the first to react as he said, "That''s definitely one way not to talk." "Charles, you need to dig through his mind before he bleeds out!" Xavier was shocked, but still reached out and put his hand on Ezekiel''s head as the man stared back into his eyes with defiance. It took a few minutes but Xavier pulled everything he could from Ezekiel before he bled to death. Afterwards he let out a sigh and looked at the corpse of a once potential ally. Xavier looked at Magneto and said, "I gathered what I could from him, most of it is just some sporadic bits and pieces. It will take me a while to go through everything and sort out the important things." Magneto nodded his head before Xavier said, "I wish you would have trusted the man a little and at least listened to what he had to say. He could have been a powerful ally to have." Magneto shook his head as he said, "Maybe, or he could have turned into one more enemy for us." ------------------------------------------------------------- Everyone watched as a cage formed up around Ezekiel, and then floated over and sat down in front of Magneto. After a few seconds, a puff of smoke and a log appeared in the cage. Everyone except for Magneto reacted, and took up a battle stance. Mystique looked at Magneto and asked, "Are you alright, Erik?" Ezekiel''s voice was heard from the edge of the clearing as he walked out of the forest. "No he is not alright, he is currently trapped in his own mind." Ezekiel''s pace was casual, while he had his hands behind his back and a smile on his face. Everyone tensed at his statement but didn''t attempt to make a move. Xavier was the first to speak and said, "I want to apologize, I should have warned you that Erik might try something. I hope this didn''t ruin our potential future relationship." Ezekiel chuckled as he said, "I expected him to try something. Honestly I would have been disappointed if he didn''t try something. That being said¡­" Ezekiel turned to look at Mystique who was trying to shake Magneto awake. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Ms. Darkholme." Mystique froze and slowly turned to look at Ezekiel with a little bit of fear in her eyes. Ezekiel''s smile dropped and he said, "Give Magneto a message for me. This was his only pass with me. The next time I extend an olive branch, he better come with peaceful intentions or not show up at all." Ezekiel had a slightly feral smile as he said, "I want you and him to know that the world is already changing and whether or not you are part of that change is up to you. But if anyone gets in my way their corpse will be in the foundation of what I am building." "Do. You. Understand?" 00030. Removing a potential threat before it can become one. Xavier''s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Mystique and asked, "What did you do to her? Her mind is¡­ It''s like her mind isn''t there anymore, but I can still feel it." "I am just showing her what the world will end up like if we don''t work together. Hopefully she will talk some sense into Mr. Lehnsherr, it would be a shame to kill someone who can be such a valuable ally." Xavier looked towards Ezekiel and asked, "So you plan to kill anyone who doesn''t want to join you?" Logan and Storm tensed up and prepared for a fight as Ezekiel started to laugh before he said, "No, not at all. I don''t care if someone joins me or not. But I already know Mr. Lehnsherr will try to fight me if he doesn''t join me. It''s the type of man he is, but hopefully this will help him to at least hear me out." Xavier frowned a little before he asked, "I will also talk with him." Ezekiel nodded his head and said, "Good, I will give you a month to talk with him, then we can meet back here again. Till then it has been¡­ Interesting to say the least." As Ezekiel finished talking his body simmered and then cracked like a mirror before he completely disappeared. vvvvv Magneto looked around in confusion for a moment, he was just talking to Xavier as they were flying back to the U.S. inside the X-jet. Now he was back in the clearing, the cage was still here with a log inside it. Logan and Storm were standing next to the small pond behind Xavier, who was holding hands with Mystique who looked to be shaking slightly. Magneto began to float towards them as he asked, "What is going on? Weren''t we just on the X-jet, flying back?" Mystique turned around from her place by the water, she had a slightly haunted look as she said, "You picked the wrong fight, Erik. That man trapped you in your own mind. He could have killed you if he wanted and we wouldn¡¯t have been able to stop him." The cage next to him rattled slightly before it crumpled into a tiny compressed ball of metal. The log that was inside it was completely destroyed in the process. Magneto let out a measured breath before he asked, "What actually happened?" "When you placed the cage down in front of you, Ezekiel disappeared and was replaced with a log. At that point you just stood there frozen. I tried to wake you up but you were in some type of trance. Then he walked out of the forest without a care in the world like we were nothing to him. I can''t get the image out of my head, it''s as if anything we would try didn''t matter to him. He told me to give you a warning before he put me in a trance like you were in." Mystique started shaking slightly as she finished. Xavier reached out and held her hand again to help calm her down. Magneto stayed quiet for a while before he asked, "What was the message?" Xavier was the one to speak and said, "Ezekiel said he expected you to try something and would have been disappointed if you didn''t. But that was your only pass with him. The next time he extends an olive branch, you better come with peaceful intentions or not show up at all." Mystique was still shaking as she said, "He also wants you to know that the world is already changing and whether or not you are part of that change is up to you. But if anyone gets in his way their corpses will be in the foundation of what he is building." Magneto scoffed as he said, "He caught me off guard, I just need to figure out how he was able to attack my mind. Charles, do you have any thoughts on how he might have done it?" Xavier shook his head and was about to reply, when Mystique stepped forward and poked Magneto in the chest as she yelled at him, "Did you not hear a single thing we said!?!" Magneto glared at Mystique and said, "Watch your tone and remember who you are talking to Raven, I lead The Brotherhood, not you!" "So what if you lead The Brotherhood, I am done with it! I am going back with Xavier.¡± Magneto''s face contorted a little as he snarled out, ¡°YOU! You would leave behind everything that we have built?! Our people? For what? Some person you don¡¯t even know? Because he was able to trick me once?¡± Mystique¡¯s eyes became a little moist as she choked out in a broken voice, ¡°You¡­ You didn¡¯t see it¡­ None of you. You didn¡¯t see it.¡± She started to sob as her body began to shake uncontrollably, both Xavier and Magneto reached out to give her some support. It took a while before she stopped shaking and in a low whisper she said, "He showed me the future and every time, we were dead." Magneto frowned as he asked, "Don¡¯t you think he might have made it up? He had to be showing you what he wanted you to see, it doesn¡¯t mean that was the actual future, Raven.¡± Mystique shook her head before she said in a frightened voice. ¡°He didn¡¯t show me one, he showed me countless!¡± Her body started to shake again as her voice began to crack as she said, ¡°Each one was worse than the last, a world where all the mutants were dead¡­ It wasn¡¯t even the worst one! I saw one where everything on the planet was dead and the only thing left were the sentient machines that destroyed the world.¡± vvvvv The Ancient One and Ezekiel were watching them from the mirror dimension, when Mystique began to break down The Ancient One said, ¡°You might have been a little harsh with her, she seems to be having a mental breakdown.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No, this will hopefully bring Magneto to the table.¡± ¡°What if it pushes him away and he decides to fight against you?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Then he will die. Let''s go Tao, I have more important things to do.¡± The Ancient One raised one eyebrow as she looked at Ezekiel. He looked back at her and smiled as he responded, "You don''t wanna tell me your name, so you were given a nickname. The Ancient One is too tiring to say every time, so it was shortened to Tao." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The Ancient One shook her head and replied, "Are you really Ezekiel or one of his guests?" "One hundred percent the original." The Ancient One moved one hand in a circle and a portal appeared in front of her. As she walked through it she said, "Find your own way back." The portal shut instantly, leaving Ezekiel alone in the mirror dimension. Ezekiel started to chuckle for a few moments before he sat on the ground and watched Magneto, Mystique and Xavier talking for a little while. Logan and Storm would chime in sometimes, but it was mostly Mystique talking about what Ezekiel had shown her. After half an hour a portal appeared and Shisui stuck his head inside and asked, ¡°Did you get left behind?¡± Ezekiel stood up and walked towards the portal as he said, ¡°Yes, it seems like Tao doesn¡¯t like her new name.¡± ¡°Well Naruto was the one who thought of it because he didn¡¯t like calling her The Ancient One.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he walked through the portal, before it closed behind him. He let out another chuckle as he said, ¡°I swear that guy has some uncanny ability to make great nicknames.¡± Ezekiel looked at Master Kaecilius and said, ¡°I appreciate the lift.¡± The man just nodded in reply before he walked out of the room. Ezekiel shook his head as he started to walk out of the room with Shisui and said, ¡°We really need to do something about him.¡± ¡°You think he will follow that timeline?¡± ¡°No, Tao said she already had many conversations with him and the other masters. He won¡¯t turn out like that, but he is still a burdened man. I would like to help him out, but the only option would be to use Edo Tensei. I am just not sure how it would work here with the aspect of death around.¡± Ezekiel frowned a little as he finished. Shisui smirked as he put an arm over Ezekiel¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Only one way to find out, we just need to try it.¡± ¡°But we would need a sacrifice and someone who is dead we want to talk with.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy, just ask Fury for a death row prisoner and the body of someone he would want to talk with.¡± Shisui smiled at Ezekiel as he stopped walking. Ezekiel was nodding his head a few times as he went over everything before he also smiled and said, ¡°Lets go talk to Orochimaru, Tobirama and Kabuto. I wanna make sure we have everything we need, and think of anything that could go wrong.¡± vvvvv A few days later a small group of people were standing in a secure room, with the corpse of Arnim Zola and a man with red hair. Fury looked over to Ezekiel who was standing next to a few of his clones. Fury still didn¡¯t know why all of his clones looked different and had different names. Ezekiel said it was because of different people who were currently sharing his mind. It sounded like a load of bullshit, but the more Fury interacted with them he could tell that they were each completely different people. Fury turned his head slightly and looked at Peggy, Steve, Hank and Tao as he asked, ¡°You think this is going to work?¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it will because their soul is no longer here and has passed on. But Ezekiel¡¯s powers work in weird ways.¡± Steve also shook his head as he said, ¡°I still don¡¯t like that this uses someone as a sacrifice. Isn¡¯t there a better way to do this?¡± Peggy reached over and held Steve¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t like the idea at first either, but you saw what this man has done. If anyone should serve as a sacrifice it would be him.¡± Ezekiel finished talking to his clones and walked over to the man who was strapped to a table with a ball gag in his mouth. Ezekiel pointed over to his clones as he said, ¡°Well Mr. Kasady, I would like you to know that this will be extremely painful. My friends over there made sure of it.¡± Ezekiel began to do hand signs before he said, ¡°Kuchiyose, Edo Tensei!¡± He pushed his hand down on the paper covering the man¡¯s head for a few seconds before the man started to writhe in agony. Ezekiel stepped away and watched in fascination as the man¡¯s body tore itself apart, the pieces that came off slowly landed on the floor. Before combining together, it took almost ten minutes before the man completely stopped moving and screaming into his gag, but once he did the process sped up and finished in another minute. Tao said almost in a whisper, ¡°Incredible, his soul was ripped apart and somehow reformed into this man¡¯s soul.¡± Before them stood a short man with chalk white skin in a slate gray, three piece suit. The man started to open his black colored eyes as Ezekiel shoved a dagger with a small talisman attached to it, into the man¡¯s head. The man looked around for a moment before his eyes settled on Steve as he said, ¡°You are still alive Rogers and you somehow look like you haven¡¯t aged a single day.¡± Fury spoke up and asked, ¡°Tell us who were hidden Hydra agents that helped form S.H.I.E.L.D.¡± Zola turned to look at Fury as he said, ¡°I am not sure how you brought me here, but I don¡¯t need to answer anything.¡± Ezekiel smiled at that and said, ¡°Actually Mr. Zola, you need to answer any question they ask you from now on.¡± Peggy was the first to speak and asked, ¡°Did you help Hydra grow inside of S.H.I.E.L.D.?¡± Zola looked at Peggy, his face was twitching slightly as he tried not to speak before he said, ¡°Of course I did, you think Hydra was finished just because the Red Skull died? That man was just one of the heads. Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.¡± Peggy squeezed Steve¡¯s hand tightly as Fury smiled and said, ¡°Good, we have a lot of questions we need answered about Hydra and who was part of it, while you were still alive.¡± vvvvv Theo¡¯s mother was sitting on the couch with her daughter in her lap and her husband holding her hand as they listened to Theo tell a story. The story was fascinating, she had heard the start of it one night while she was cuddling with her husband on the couch. The next morning she had asked her son what book he was reading to Milly the night before and was surprised to find out it was a story he was making up. She knew her son was special, a little too special in fact. But to come up with a story that was so fleshed out and well made, it didn''t seem possible for the almost three year old child. She had noticed his intelligence before, he had tried to hide it from her and Jacob, but even he noticed how intelligent Theo is and they have talked about it more than a few times. It was his eyes that truly gave him away. They never noticed it before, because Theo is their son and their vision was colored with love. But she really noticed it the first time they went to the library, his eyes were calculating, he was planning something. She had seen those same eyes many times when she negotiated contracts with other lawyers. He had acted well enough when he was looking through the books, but there was a purpose to his movements. She caught on quickly enough and moved to where she could see the ¡®how to'' bookshelf he was working towards. When he finally got there, he instantly found two books and pulled them out. He glanced at both of them for a moment or two and then brought them back asking if he could check them out. She gave in because she wanted to see what he was up to. To their surprise he completely memorized the coding book, they could ask him what was on any page, paragraph, even sentence and he could tell them. That was when they both started to watch him more closely, to try and find out how intelligent Theo actually was. It took them no time at all to realize he was some kinda super genius. When they started to watch him not as their son, but just as a person. He was definitely trying to hide it for some reason and they didn¡¯t know why. They had talked about it a few times and decided they would let him tell them if and when he wanted to. No matter what happens, he will always be their lovely and helpful son who has a soft spot for his little sister. 00031. Brain surgery? Fury was in his office and he couldn''t control the smile he had, he couldn''t help it. He was happy, the skill Ezekiel used to bring back Zola was impossible and yet it worked. The interrogation they performed, if they could even call it that, was one of the shortest he had ever done. Normally it takes days or weeks to break someone, sleep deprivation was the best way. Torture never worked well, people would say anything to make the torture stop. But when you take away someone''s ability to sleep for an extended period of time? They easily talk, they tell you stuff you didn''t even ask about. It just took time and if you weren''t careful, you would kill them from lack of sleep. But now Fury had another option to use, Ezekiel warned him that they couldn''t abuse the power because he didn¡¯t know how the aspect of death would react to it. Fury didn''t mind, if they used it only when they were sure they could get important information, like with Zola then it wouldn''t matter. Fury turned on his computer and started to go over all the information they had obtained from Zola. He now had more than one target and had to start planning. Ezekiel had said they still needed to wait, but Fury liked to be proactive. If he could take a few pieces off the board with some ''accidents'' who would know? ---------------------------------------------- Logan was sitting in a beach chair, relaxing in the backyard of the mansion. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, there was an ice chest of beer next to him and he had a cigar in his mouth. He reached up and removed the cigar from his mouth as he said, "What are you doing here?" "Charles, Ezekiel is here." Ezekiel had a smile on his face as he walked in front of Logan and said, "I came because a mutual friend of ours asked to see you." "I know, he asked to talk to you about meeting someone." Logan sat up and looked around, it was only him and Ezekiel in the backyard currently. He looked back at Ezekiel and said, "If they wanted to see me, they aren''t making much of an effort." Ezekiel shook his head and said, "Unfortunately he is currently living under special circumstances and can only travel to a handful of places. So unless you visit him, he won''t be able to meet you." Logan sits there for a few moments, as he talks to Xavier. "He wants me to go somewhere to meet this person." "From all of our interaction with him, I don''t think it is a trap. If you go, I will try to trace the location using Cerebro." "Alright." Logan stood up and said, "Alright, let''s go." Ezekiel smiled as he snapped his fingers and a portal appeared next to him. He started to walk through the portal and said, "You can bring your beer if you want, just make sure you collect your trash before you leave." Logan grunted in response as he put the cigar back in his mouth, before he picked up his ice chest and followed Ezekiel into the portal. As the portal closed behind him, Logan looked around and was surprised that they were on a beach and it was early morning, with the sun coming up from the east side of the island. There were some beach chairs and lounge chairs set out under some lean-to¡¯s, what looked like a tiki bar, a pit for a bonfire and a cooking pit next to that. Logan took a big inhale and asked, ¡°So where are we? Some kinda beach resort? And where is this person who wants to talk with me?¡± ¡°Something like that. This island is hidden from the rest of the world and until recently it wasn¡¯t used. I asked the owner if I could use it for a while and they agreed. As for our friend, he should be here in a bit.¡± Ezekiel walked over to a chair and sat down, before he turned to look at Logan and asked, ¡°If I could help you restore your memories, would you let me help you?¡± Logan walked over to a lounge chair, set his ice chest next to it and then laid down on it. After a few minutes of silence he asked, ¡°What makes you think you could help me where Charles wasn¡¯t able too?¡± ¡°I would start by taking the bullet out of your head for starters.¡± Logan looked over to Ezekiel and said, ¡°My skull is coated in adamantium, there is no way a bullet made it inside of my head, much less that it is still there.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°You are wrong about that. A high caliber bullet was shot through your right eye and actually broke through the back of your eye socket at the weakest point. Once inside your head it bounced around a few times till your brain was mush and it rested there as your body healed around it. I am pretty sure just removing the bullet will help with a lot of your memory issues. But we won¡¯t know unless we remove it.¡± ¡°How do you even know that is true?¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°I would like to say magic, but I found a report on you when it happened. The person who shot you made the report about your death, because they thought you died from the bullet to your brain. But you are made of sterner stuff and it only made you forget most of your life.¡± Logan''s hands clenched and his claws popped out as he asked in a growl, ¡°Who was it that shot me? Who was trying to kill me?¡± ¡°A man named William Stryker, a retired colonel, who ran the weapon plus program. The same program that made your bones indestructible with adamantium.¡± Logan sat up at that, his breathing was getting a little heavy as he asked, ¡°Where can I find him?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°I currently have no idea, but he is on a short list of people I am looking for.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Logan was breathing hard for a few more minutes before he finally let out a deep breath, retracted his claws and leaned back into the chair. He was quiet for a few minutes before he said, ¡°You can take the bullet out of my head, but only if you let me deal with this Stryker guy when you find him.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°So when do you wanna remove it from my head and how are you gonna do it?¡± Ezekiel stood up and said, ¡°I can probably do it now, but you might die when it happens. It will depend on where the bullet is sitting in your brain.¡± ¡°Figures, well let''s just get it over with then.¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°Give me a few moments I need to grab someone and also grab our mutual friend.¡± A portal appeared next to Ezekiel and he walked through it without waiting for an answer and left Logan alone. Ezekiel appeared in the hidden base and a second later Tao walked through a portal next to him. Ezekiel nodded his head and said, ¡°Thanks for the help.¡± Tao shook her head and said, ¡°I still don¡¯t like being used as a portal service.¡± ¡°I would have someone else help me, but you are the only person who can make portals in the real world while hiding in the mirror dimension.¡± Ezekiel started to walk out of the room as Tao followed and said, ¡°I still think you showing off my powers like they are yours won¡¯t accomplish much.¡± ¡°Misdirection is a good skill to use while I am still weak, I want people to think I have more power then I actually do.¡± Tao shook her head and said, ¡°Be glad I currently have nothing else going on.¡± Ezekiel chuckled and said, ¡°You can admit you are having fun also, it won¡¯t hurt you.¡± Tao said nothing else as they made their way through the base to Ezekiel¡¯s lab, the door was open and many people could be heard talking from inside. As Ezekiel walked into the room he stopped and looked around for a few moments. There were currently two batches of clones in the room, some working together, some rereading books, some of them coding on computers. Ezekiel found who he was looking for and went up to the person and said, ¡°Logan agreed, do you think you can do it?¡± The man looked up from the book he was reading and extended his hand out. A small bar of metal began to lift off the table next to him and hovered in the air for a few seconds before it floated back down to the table. Ezekiel smiled wide at that and said, ¡°I still can¡¯t believe that works, I have tested it a few times and it still doesn¡¯t work for me.¡± The man shrugged his shoulders as he said, ¡°You have my memories and insights into it, I am still not sure why you and the others can¡¯t use it.¡± The man set the book he was reading down on the table and grabbed a metal tray from it as he stood up and said, ¡°Let''s get this over with, I will de-spawn in the next few hours. So we might only have one chance at this today, unless you grab Toroi also.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need Toroi, I believe you should be able to handle it.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he talked. Before he walked out of the room followed by the man and Tao, they walked to the gym of the base. Steve was alone inside, working a punching bag over. Ezekiel didn¡¯t walk in, but said from the door, ¡°Steve, he agreed to meet you. Get cleaned up and then come meet us on the island. We are heading back there now to try and pull the bullet out of his head.¡± Steve stopped punching the bag as he stepped back from it, he turned around and said, ¡°Alright, I will see you in thirty minutes. Good luck on pulling the bullet out.¡± Ezekiel nodded back, before he turned around and walked back to the teleportation room. When they reached the room, Tao opened up a portal and Ezekiel and the man walked through it before it closed. Logan had a beer in his hand as he looked up at Ezekiel and the man beside him. He studied the man for a few moments before he said, "Is this the guy who wanted to meet me? He doesn''t give off a smell, kinda like you don¡¯t either." The man stepped forward and placed a metal tray on the table as he said, "I am not the person who wanted to meet you, I am here to remove the bullet from your head." "Alright doc, do whatever you need to and let''s get this over with." The man nodded his head and stepped close to Logan as he raised his right hand next to Logan''s head, he said. "I can feel five bullets and a few other pieces of metal, they are mostly located in the frontal lobe. That would definitely explain the memory issues. Prepare yourself, if it doesn¡¯t kill you. It will hurt a lot." Before Logan could reply the man did a few hand signs with his left hand and then Logan¡¯s head was pulled slightly forward. He gnashed his teeth and his claws popped out, before his eyes dimmed slightly. Logan¡¯s breathing stopped and his body went limp, only being held up by the man¡¯s power. After about a minute blood started to pour out of his nose and Logan¡¯s right eye, until the eye popped out of the socket and five bullets floated out behind it, along with some tiny pieces of metal carrying some normal bone. Everything floated over and landed in a tray that was sitting on a table next to Logan. Ezekiel looked into the eye socket and could see that the back of the eye socket had five circles overlapped in a tight grouping of less than an inch. They were starting to heal as bone slowly regrew to cover the opening. The man turned to Ezekiel and said, ¡°That is everything, hopefully his memoirs return now.¡± Ezekiel patted the man''s shoulder and said, ¡°Thanks for the help, Kazekage.¡± The man nodded in reply and then dispelled into a puff of smoke. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theo was at the park having a picnic with his family when he received the memory packets from the Third Kazekage. He was seated next to his father and was currently watching Milly as she reached over for one of the homemade cookies their father had made. When she picked it up she brought it close to her mouth and held it with both of her hands, before she nibbled a small bite from it. When she finished the first bite, she took another small bite and began to chew again as she looked around the park at the other people who were there. Theo started to smile as he watched and then tapped his fathers leg before he pointed at Milly. Theo¡¯s dad looked at Milly before he smirked and pulled up the camera he had hanging around his neck and started to take pictures. Theo¡¯s mom noticed her husband''s actions and looked over at Milly, before she started to smile as she watched Milly eat her cookie like a chipmunk. Milly noticed everyone looking at her and stopped chewing, her head tilted slightly as she said, ¡°Uh?¡± Her mouth still had some of her cookie in it. Her father reached over and patted her head as he said, ¡°Nothing is wrong, you can finish eating your cookie, chipmunk. We just thought you were being cute.¡± Milly nodded her head as she swallowed her food and then said, ¡°Of course, Milly is always cute. But Milly is Milly, not chipmunk.¡± Theo started to laugh along with his parents, before he said, ¡°I think Milly might be getting a big head.¡± Milly used one hand and started to feel her head all around before she puffed out her cheeks and looked at Theo as she said, ¡°Milly¡¯s head is fine, it¡¯s not getting bigger.¡± Theo laughed a little harder before he said, ¡°Never change Milly.¡± ¡°Why would Milly change? Milly is perfect!¡± Milly stuck her tongue out at Theo, before she put her hand back on the cookie and started to eat it again as she looked at her parents who both just smiled at her. 00032. Game night. Ezekiel walked over to the tiki bar and pulled out a washcloth and a bottle of water. He walked back over to Logan and set the bottle and washcloth on the table next to Logan as he sat down on one of the chairs next to him. He left Logan''s eye hanging out of the socket because he wanted to see if it would heal by itself or would need to be put back in place to heal properly. A portal opened up a few minutes later as Steve walked through it and looked over at Ezekiel and Logan. His eyes widened slightly as he took in Logan''s state and asked, "I know you said he can heal from anything. I remember him getting badly hurt a few times and healing quickly from it, but he looks dead. Are you sure he is gonna come back from that?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he pointed to the metal tray and said, "I could see the bone regrowing in his skull about ten minutes ago, he should be up soon enough. Apparently the man who shot him unloaded the gun into his head." Steve walked closer and sat down on the chair next to Ezekiel before he said, "I guess we wait then." Ezekiel nodded and started to talk with Steve while they watched Logan for any change. It took another twenty minutes before Logan took in a deep gasping breath, his claws slowly retracted and after a minute he slowly sat up as he looked towards Steve and Ezekiel. He reached up to his right eye and pushed it back into his eye socket as he said, "Who the hell are both of you?" Ezekiel frowned a little and asked, "What is the last thing you remember, Logan?" "Logan? Is that my name? I don''t remember anything." Ezekiel looked down for a few moments before he looked remorseful at Logan and said, "I am sorry Logan, it looks like when the bullets were removed they ruined your already messed up memories. It was a possibility, but I thought it would only make you lose a handful of memories, not everything you had." Logan chuckled a little and said, "Actually Ezekiel, the last thing I remember is that guy saying I had five bullets in my skull." Ezekiel let out a breath and smiled lightly as he said, "While I appreciate a good joke, maybe not right after we did brain surgery on you." Logan looked at the metal tin with the bullets and bone fragments in it before he looked at the water bottle and washcloth next to it. As Ezekiel said, "Those are so you can clean up, you have blood on your face, chin and chest." Logan looked down and saw the blood on his chest and shirt, he reached over to the bottle. As he opened the bottle, poured some water on the washcloth and then proceeded to wipe down his face with it, he said, "That is what you call surgery? I would hate to see what you call first aid." Steve chuckled at that and said, "It''s good to see your humor hasn''t changed much, James." Logan finished wiping his face down and as he set the now bloody washcloth down he said, "I am actually surprised to see you alive Cap. Alive and you look like you haven¡¯t aged a day." Both Ezekiel and Steve looked at Logan in shock before Steve asked, "You remember me?" Logan shook his head and said, "Not one bit, but after Ezekiel said my full name. Hank helped me look into it and found out about my military service. Then he found a bunch of pictures of me and you together with some other soldiers. I was hoping to chat with one or two of them, but when we looked all of them up, they were already dead." Steve shook his head and said, "Not everyone is dead, you can talk to me and Peggy for now. Bucky is still..." "Steve!" Ezekiel said with a frown. Ezekiel let out a sigh and said, "Sorry, but you need to remember he is not part of our group yet. The only reason he is meeting you is because we have this island. Otherwise you wouldn''t meet unless he joins us or you become public knowledge." Logan raised an eyebrow at that, before he said, "He''s right, unless I join you, keep your secrets." Ezekiel looked over at Logan and said, "Speaking of secrets, I would appreciate it if you didn''t tell anyone who you met today. Xavier will probably help you with your newly healed mind, let him know to not say anything also." Logan nodded his head before he said, "I understand and also thank the guy who pulled those bullets out of my head." Ezekiel nodded in reply before he stood up and said, "Now I will leave you both alone to talk." He looked back at Steve as a portal opened and as he walked through it he said, "Ask Master Kaecilius to send him back when you guys are done, I will be busy." Before Steve could reply, the portal closed behind him and Logan asked, "Does he do that often?" Steve shook his head and said, "No he just started to do that because of someone else we know." ------------------------------------------------------- Ezekiel waited a moment as Tao stepped out of a portal next to him before he started to walk towards the door. He opened it up and held it open for Tao before they started walking towards Ezekiel''s ''learning center'', it was the room Ezekiel was using for all of his clones. But it also acted as the school room for the kids and also for the adults who were learning magic. Tao spoke first and asked, ¡°So do you think that they will join us?¡± ¡°I am not completely sure, Magneto and his people would be the ones I am most worried about. But the others will probably join us.¡± Tao glanced at Ezekiel as they walked and asked, "So if Magneto and his Brotherhood don''t join, what do you plan to do?" "Nothing as long as they don''t fight against us. But I will remove them if they become an enemy." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Tao turned to look at Ezekiel and asked, "What about the opinions of me and the others, what if we didn''t want to harm them?" Ezekiel slowed his pace a little as he looked back at Tao and asked in return, "Even if they became our enemy and fought against us at every turn?" "Yes." Ezekiel smiled and said, "I would say you are weak minded, but if you gave me a better solution to deal with the problem I would use it. If that still doesn¡¯t work, I will handle it my way.¡± ¡°Mmmm, From what you told me about yourself, I wouldn¡¯t expect you to be so straightforward with your use of violence.¡± Ezekiel nodded slightly as he said, ¡°The old me? He wouldn¡¯t have even thought about the use of force. But I know the type of universe I am living in and how bad it can be. I plan to survive, to thrive in this new life and I won¡¯t let anyone stand in my way.¡± ¡°Talking like that makes me question if I should be working with you or trying to stop you.¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°I think as long as I have people like you and Steve around me to temper me, I won¡¯t turn into a villain. My main purpose is to help people, but I am not naive enough to think I can do it without hurting people.¡± Nothing else was said as they walked to the learning center. When they arrived, Ezekiel went to an empty computer and began to work on his coding project, while most of his other clones were reading college textbooks and a few others were doing experiments in the lab area. Tao walked to the room next door, inside was everyone who was learning the mystic arts. She smiled a little as she saw her newest and brightest pupil Ava studying. Out of everyone, Ava was the quickest learner and just understood magic almost like it was instinct. Maybe it was because of her accident or maybe she was just gifted towards the mystic arts like Strange was. She looked at the other people in the room and her eyes rested on Phil, the man was also gifted, not like Ava. But he was well ahead of the others, it was a pity he was busy with his work and couldn¡¯t devote himself to studying more. She stepped into the room and said, ¡°I am glad everyone is here, it looks like we can start on today''s lesson. Ava and Phil, you can continue with your studies for now since you have already completed this. I will work with you both later, going over the next part.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°I am sorry professor, any more power and it could damage cerebro.¡± Hank let out a sigh as he adjusted the power back down to safe levels and then looked back at Xavier. Xavier smiled slightly as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine Hank, I was just hoping we might have been able to track Logan. We still know next to nothing about Ezekiel and it¡¯s bugging me. Every time it''s just another dead end, it''s like he is a ghost." "He is not a ghost, he is just extremely skilled with covering his tracks." Hank walked over to Xavier and started to push him in his wheelchair out of the room as he asked, "Have you figured out what you plan to do?" "I think I will take whatever offer he gives me, after going over everything with Raven for the past few weeks¡­ I¡­ I see no other choice than to join him. From what we have seen him do so far, maybe he really can see the future. If even one of those is our real future, I will do anything to stop it from happening.¡± Hank reached over and patted Xavier''s shoulder and said, ¡°We are all behind you professor, we will trust whatever decision you make.¡± Xavier reached up and rubbed Hank''s hand on his shoulder and said, ¡°Thank you, Hank. I just wish Erik felt the same way.¡± Hank shook his head and said, ¡°He has always been stubborn and Ezekiel made him look like a fool in their first meeting. Hopefully he will give Ezekiel a chance.¡± ¡°At least Erik respects strong people and even though we know next to nothing about him. He doesn¡¯t seem weak at all.¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theo was sitting on the floor with his dad next to him, his mother was across from them with Milly. They both had a color board in front of them, Theo¡¯s was red and Milly¡¯s was blue. Each had little plastic pieces with pictures of cartoon people on it. Milly was looking at her board, while she had her tongue slightly sticking out of her mouth. After a few moments she asked, ¡°Do they have glasses, Te-o?¡± ¡°No.¡± Milly looked at her mom and smiled, before she started to flip down every person who was wearing glasses. Then she looked up at Theo who was looking at his board again, before he asked, ¡°Does your person have red hair?¡± Milly looked at her card then looked at her mom who nodded her head. Milly looked back at Theo and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Theo flipped down most of his pieces and was left with three people on his board. He looked at Milly who frowned a little before she turned to her mom with her puppy dog eyes. Her mom smiled and pointed to one of the people and whispered something into Milly¡¯s ear. Milly looked at the person she was pointing at and started to nod her head a few times, before she smiled and asked, ¡°Does your person have blue eyes, Te-o?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Milly smiled and knocked down all but two pieces. Then she looked at Theo who was looking at his board again. Theo looked up and watched Milly as he said, ¡°Looks like you could win if I pick wrong. I wonder who it could be, Frans, Alfred or Bill.¡± As he talked he watched Milly make a face when he said Alfred. Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°You are Frans!¡± Milly stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°Milly is not Frans.¡± She laughed as Ezekiel flipped down one of his pieces before she looked at her mom again. Her mom smiled and pointed to another piece and whispered something in Milly¡¯s ear again. Milly nodded before she turned to look at Ezekiel and said, ¡°You are Peter!¡± ¡°You win again Milly.¡± Ezekiel picked up his card and showed it to Milly and his mom before he set it back into the deck of cards. Milly started to do this weird little wiggle dance as she sat on the floor and said, ¡°Milly won again! Milly is the best at board games!¡± Ezekiel then looked up at his father as Milly was celebrating with her mother and asked, ¡°Can we play Uno now?¡± His father looked at his mother, who nodded her head and said, ¡°Sure, but you and Milly are a team because she still doesn¡¯t understand it correctly.¡± Ezekiel smiled at his mom as he said, ¡°Giving me a handicap? That¡¯s fine, we will still win.¡± Milly nodded her head and said, ¡°Te-o and Milly will win.¡± Milly was picked up by her mother as she said, ¡°We will see what happens. You can¡¯t always be lucky and win every game you play Milly.¡± She looked at her husband and Theo and said, ¡°Since Milly was the winner, she is gonna help me in the kitchen and pick out our snacks.¡± ¡°Milly wants Cookies!¡± As Theo¡¯s mother carried Milly into the kitchen, his dad patted his shoulder and asked, ¡°You totally let her win, she has no poker face at all.¡± Theo smiled and looked up at his dad as he said, ¡°It¡¯s just a game and she gets really happy anytime she wins.¡± ¡°But you let her win every game you guys played today.¡± Ezekiel was packing up the current game as he said, ¡°For now, once she is older I won¡¯t go so easy on her. I will only let her win sixty percent of the games.¡± Theo¡¯s dad shook his head as he rubbed Theo¡¯s hair and said, ¡°You spoil her too much, you know that right?¡± ¡°Yeah, but seeing her happy makes me happy. Plus isn¡¯t that what older brothers are supposed to do, make sure their little sisters are happy?¡± 00033. History lesson. Ezekiel was seated on top of some water in the little pond he made last time he visited here. His eyes were closed and he was trying to sense the universal energy around him, with little luck so far. He was training his chakra control and training his sensor ability to look for universal energy. His concentration was broken when someone came into range of his ability. He smirked a little as he realized who it was, before he cooled his expression. A few moments later he could hear leaves rustling then the soft sound of boots touching the soft dirt. "I didn''t think you would show up. Let alone, show up almost an hour early." "I wanted to talk before Charles arrived." Ezekiel stood up from the water and opened his eyes to look at Magneto as he asked, "What do you wish to discuss?" Magneto''s hands clenched slightly before he relaxed them and asked, "How much of what you showed Raven was really the future?" "In theory, all of them are the future. But which will happen to us? None of them if I have my way." Magneto frowned as he asked, "So it only gets better for mutants when you are the one leading us?" Ezekiel smiled as he shook his head and said, "No, it gets better for everyone." Magneto began to shake a little as his hands clenched and he spit out, "You wish to help humans? The same ones who hate us? Who fear us? Who attack us?" The ground around Ezekiel and Magneto was beginning to shake and Magneto''s voice was rising as he said, "The same ones who kill us? Who kidnap and experiment on us? Why? Because we are different from them? You really wish to help those people?!?" ¡°Those types of people? No, I don¡¯t plan to help them. But normal people who haven¡¯t done anything? I will gladly help them.¡± The ground was still shaking as Magneto said in a low tone filled with enmity, ¡°All humans are the same.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Just because you have powers doesn¡¯t mean you are no longer human.¡± Spikes of metal shot up out of the ground all around the clearing and forest in a circle with Magneto as the center, who snarled out, ¡°I am not a human! I am a mutant! Homo-superior! Look around you, this is the difference between mutants and humans!¡± Ezekiel smiled and asked, ¡°If you are no longer human and the same goes for other mutants, then what about your parents? They weren¡¯t mutants, were they?¡± Magneto was quiet for a moment before he said in a more normal tone of voice, ¡°No, but I was one of the first who was blessed to become Homo-superior.¡± Ezekiel started to laugh, Magneto began to frown again. Before he could say anything, Ezekiel raised a hand up to stop him as he tried to stop laughing. When he stopped he smirked and said, ¡°You have no idea how ignorant that statement is. It just shows how much you don¡¯t know about the world and universe in general. You aren¡¯t even close to being one of the first mutants in the universe, let alone on earth. The first mutant was made about a million years ago, yes I said made. That ¡®Homo-superior¡¯ gene you are so proud of having, it was made and implanted into humans as an experiment. The first real ¡®Homo-superior¡¯ was born on earth sometime around 15,000 B.C. and in case you were wondering, she is still alive.¡± Magneto¡¯s frown dropped and he studied Ezekiel for a while before he asked, ¡°How do you know any of this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not hard when you can see the past and the future. And before you ask, the beings who created the mutant gene were so powerful that you, with all of your power, would look like an ant to them.¡± Magneto looked a little lost as he thought about what Ezekiel had just told him. Ezekiel spoke up and said, "How about once Xavier and his group arrive, I will show all of you some proof of what I am talking about." Magneto didn''t speak but nodded his head in reply as he stood there, looking at nothing in particular. It was a somewhat awkward silence as they waited for the others. Ezekiel went back to practicing his skills, while Magneto just stood there quietly thinking about what Ezekiel just told him. After half an hour, Ezekiel sensed a few people approaching and stood up as he said, "Xavier is here." Magneto looked up to the sky, a minute later Xavier, Storm, Logan and Mystique came into view and then landed close to Magneto. They looked around at the metal spikes, before Logan asked, "What happened, Magneto tried to fight you again?" "No, more like he threw a tantrum." Storm smirked slightly as Logan laughed, while Xavier and Mystique looked at Magneto in worry. Magneto made no real reaction besides turning to face Ezekiel. Logan stopped his laughter as he and everyone else looked at Magneto. Xavier studied his friend for a moment before he asked in concern, "What did you do to him?" "I believe he is in shock after I destroyed his world view." Everyone looked from Magneto to Ezekiel, who smiled and said, "Time for a quick history lesson." As he was speaking he was doing hand signs behind his back with one hand. The next moment everyone was seated in an amphitheater with Ezekiel standing on the stage, behind him was a projection screen. Displayed on the screen was a chibi Ezekiel and next to that was a title, ''What are mutants?'' Ezekiel looked at everyone and said, "Thanks for coming to my TED talk, my name is Ezekiel. Mmmm, that¡¯s not right. Welcome to my history lesson on who made mutants, ya, that sounds better.¡± Everyone was kinda looking around in slight shock for a moment before they focused on Ezekiel, who was walking to one side of the stage. He stopped once he was there and looked at his audience before he said, ¡°So about a million years ago, a group of God-like cosmic beings called the Celestials visited earth. Their goal was to experiment on, and judge, lower life-forms. They created two lifeforms, the Eternals and the Deviants from selected species and inserted a latent gene into baseline humanity that causes mutations. The thing you all call the X-gene.¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. A video was playing on the screen as Ezekiel talked, it was showing everything Ezekiel talked about. It even showed each of the Eternals who were created and pictures of them on earth. As it showed more modern day pictures of each Eternal, it stopped on the last picture of Kingo as Ezekiel said, ¡°That is Sri Kingo, one of the Eternals and a Bollywood star. If you trace back his family in the movies you will notice he looks strangely similar to his great-great-grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather and father.¡± As he talked, images came up of each person before they overlapped and they were all almost a perfect copy of the same person. Ezekiel smiled and asked, ¡°Any questions so far?¡± Magneto spoke up and asked, ¡°So we could go find these people and confirm everything you are saying?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he smirked, before he said, ¡°Yes, you could do that. But I should warn you that each one of them is stronger than you and don¡¯t like it when people come around asking about stuff they shouldn¡¯t know. That being said, feel free to try, I would love to see how well that works out for you.¡± Magneto frowned slightly but said nothing else. Ezekiel looked up at the screen and the images changed to a stunning looking woman with pale white skin, raven black hair, and icy blue eyes. She was wearing very trendy looking clothing and was seated in a cafe with the Eiffel tower in the background behind her. ¡°Selene Gallio, the first true born ¡®mutant¡¯ of earth. She is about seventeen thousand years old and is extremely dangerous. Her main mutant power is life-force absorption through touch, kinda like a vampire but without the teeth. She can use that life-force to power herself in other ways, super strength, speed, endurance, reflexes. She is also a high order telepath, a telekinetic and has pyrokinesis. Oh she is also a master of the mystic arts and immortal. I am mostly telling you this so in case you find yourself meeting her, you know to be cautious and leave as quickly as possible.¡± Mystique spoke up and asked, ¡°Mystic arts? You mean like magic? Magic isn¡¯t real¡­ Right?¡± ¡°Magic is very real, I work with the current Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. I will introduce you to them if you join us.¡± Everyone was quiet for a moment before Xavier spoke up and asked, ¡°You said she is like a vampire, you don¡¯t mean to imply vampires are real, correct?¡± Ezekiel chuckled and said, ¡°Vampires are very real and can be very dangerous to normal humans and even less powerful Metahumans.¡± Xavier spoke up again and asked, ¡°Metahumans as in mutants?¡± ¡°Yes, but also others, like me. I am a Metahuman, a powered individual who doesn¡¯t have an x-gene. There are also the Eternals, Inhumans, powered people like me, half breeds with aliens, people who were experimented on. All of those people and us fall under the term Metahuman, plus it sounds so much better than mutant. Mutant just sounds bad when you say it, I am pretty sure whoever coined the term designed it that way.¡± Magneto was the next to speak and said, ¡°So you plan to work with all of these Metahumans?¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°I am already working with some people, some are Metahumans, others are just normal humans. But we are all working together to make the world a better place. Which is why I want to invite you both to join us.¡± Xavier and Magneto shared a look for a few moments, before they looked at Ezekiel again and Xavier said, ¡°We would like to join you.¡± Magneto nodded yes as Xavier spoke. Ezekiel smiled at that and said, ¡°Great, I was hoping you would both join us. But keep in mind, while you joined us. The main group is going to remain a secret from all of you. I will introduce you to a few select people and share resources with you. But the main group and our base of operations will stay hidden for now for security reasons.¡± Magneto nodded his head as he said, ¡°Understandable, trust is earned not given.¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°Exactly, now first order of business. I have been searching for a hidden facility owned by a certain group. They are technically the same ones who injected Logan¡¯s skeleton with metal. They have also been kidnapping Metahumans and doing experiments on them.¡± Logan snarled out, ¡°Stryker?!?¡± Ezekiel smiled as some files popped up on the screen that had top secret info about the weapon-X project and Logan. A picture of Logan with some weird looking gear on popped up and next to him was standing a man in an Army military uniform. Ezekiel looked directly at Logan and said, ¡°If we are lucky we will find him at the facility I am looking for.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Theo was sitting at the computer in a booster seat, his parents had finally allowed him to use it under supervision. His father was sitting next to him and looking at the book Theo had memorized from the library. They checked it back out so he could understand what Theo was typing on the computer. But he didn¡¯t really understand it and asked, ¡°So what does this stuff you are typing there mean?¡± His father pointed at a piece of code as he asked. Theo let out a sigh and said, ¡°It¡¯s an ¡®if¡¯ statement dad. It¡¯s on page 184, the third paragraph explains about it.¡± ¡°Ya but I asked you what it means.¡± Theo stopped typing and looked at his dad as he said, ¡°You know if you just let me type I could show you when it¡¯s all done. But if you must know, an ¡®if¡¯ statement is a true or false question. They ask the program if something is true, and tell it what to do next based on the answer.¡± Theo¡¯s dad rubbed his head with one hand and said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t that hard now was it?¡± Theo frowned a little at his father as he said, ¡°Alright, alright I won¡¯t bug you anymore, I will just watch.¡± ¡°You said that when I started.¡± Theo¡¯s dad smiled and said, ¡°But it¡¯s boring just watching you type.¡± Theo turned back around and started to type again as he said, ¡°I told you and mom it was going to be boring, but you said I needed to be supervised. Maybe read something, since you aren¡¯t really reading the coding book.¡± ¡°The book is boring also, it might be more boring than watching you type.¡± ¡°Not my problem dad.¡± His dad looked over to his wife who was playing with Milly and asked, ¡°Wanna trade?¡± His wife just shook her head no, before she said, ¡°You were the one who insisted he should be supervised, I said we could just check on him every once in a while. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t look over and see him.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s so boring!¡± His wife shook her head and said, ¡°Today you get to supervise him like you wanted, tomorrow maybe we will change the policy.¡± She looked down at Milly and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Milly?¡± Milly nodded her head as she said, ¡°Daddy said he would watch Te-o today, so daddy needs to watch Te-o.¡± Theo¡¯s dad let out a sigh and asked, ¡°Milly sweetie, can daddy join you and mommy? Please?¡± Milly shook her head and said, ¡°No, daddy needs to watch Te-o.¡± Theo¡¯s dad smiled as he said, ¡°Milly sweetie, you know daddy is the one who makes cookies right?¡± Milly¡¯s head snapped to look at her father and asked, ¡°Daddy will make cookies?¡± Theo¡¯s dad smiled a little wider and said, ¡°I could make cookies.¡± He let out a sigh, ¡°But I have to stay here and watch Theo.¡± Milly shook her head and said, ¡°No, daddy can go make cookies. Mommy will watch Te-o¡± Theo¡¯s dad smirked as he said, ¡°Hear that honey? You need to watch Theo and I will go make some cookies.¡± Theo¡¯s mom shook her head and smiled as she said, ¡°No you can stay there, I will make cookies with Milly. Come on Milly, momma''s gonna make peanut butter cookies.¡± Milly¡¯s head snapped to look at her mother as she asked, ¡°Momma can make cookies too?¡± 00034. First one found. Bringing everyone out of the genjutsu, Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Alright now that we are all on the same page, I will introduce you to the current Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. She is called The Ancient One and I would treat her with respect. She is a lot older than all of you combined and can easily crush you in a fight." Ezekiel turned to Xavier and said, "I know you reading someone''s mind is pretty much an automatic response, but control yourself. While you might be able to enter her mind, you might not come back out unless she lets you. So please behave yourself." Xavier nodded in reply before Ezekiel said, "You can come out wherever you like." The air shimmered next to Ezekiel before it cracked and a bald woman in yellow robes appeared next to him. She gave a non-threatening smile and said, "I am The Ancient One, Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, it is a pleasure to meet you all." She bowed slightly to everyone before she looked at Xavier and said, "You lack control, I can feel your mind reaching out to mine even as you force it not to." ------------------------------------------------------- After coming to an agreement with Xavier and Magneto, the next six months flew by for Theo. Theo turned three along with Peter, MJ and Jean, while Milly turned two. During that time, Theo and his clones had finished his social media platform and stealth launched all the starter platforms of it. It hadn''t blown up yet, but it had over three hundred thousand registered users and was starting to pick up steam. Theo had targeted college and university students the most, but other people were starting to take notice and join. The video platform was the second most used with over one hundred thousand users. There were already a few people that seemed to be focusing on creating and uploading content. The image hosting platform was the least used out of everything that was created. But it was expected since almost no smart phones currently had cameras that were reasonably priced for the average consumer. There were a few photographers who were using it to display their work, but the platform currently only had a few thousand members. As for the yet to be named group Theo had brought together. Besides recruitment which was slow going, it was mostly training, gathering Intelligence and searching for hidden bases. We had found a few, but we didn''t wanna make a move unless we had enough people for the fallout if things went sideways. That and the only two bases that were priority targets were Bucky''s and the Weapon-x facility. As for the Intelligence gathering, with the new software that Theo had made for S.H.I.E.L.D. phones, that went better than expected. They adopted it after a week, the encryption is considered a work of genius and Sam was promoted for it. He has some extra responsibilities now, but one of Theo''s clones takes care of all the work. Another thing Theo had been doing was buying up property in the New York area. Mostly around where Stark would build his tower, but he was also buying a large area in Brooklyn. He had plans to make a headquarters for his social media platform. He planned to make some really interesting buildings with small businesses on the ground floor, the office space for workers above that. Then after the fifteenth floor it would all be housing. He wanted to buy a few city blocks and then make a private park for the buildings between them all. As for Theo¡¯s personal life with his family, besides the birthdays. Theo had finished the alpha of his game, with help from Peter. Peter read the programming book with help from Theo and wanted to help. So it turned into a joint project, with input from Milly who didn''t want to be left out. It was basic and the graphics weren''t great and everything was made of blocks. But his little sister loved to play it. Even his parents enjoyed it, they mostly watched Milly, Peter or Theo playtest it for bugs. But Theo¡¯s BlockCraft was looking to be a hit. Peter''s parents were completely surprised when they heard that Theo had made a video game. ------------------------------------------------- "Wait, you aren''t being serious right now are you?" Jacob smirked at one of the men he considered a brother and said, "If you weren''t so busy working all the time both of you would have heard about it a few months ago." Richard shook his head and said, "Me and Mary have deadlines we need to meet and the project was a lot harder than we expected. We had a lucky break though, so we are taking a month off to spend more time with Peter." Jacob reached out and patted Richard''s shoulder as he said, "Good. Even though Ben and May treat him like their own, he still needs his real parents too." Richard nodded before he asked again, "You really aren''t joking around about this? Theo is the one who programmed that game?" Jacob nodded the smirk on his face full of pride as he said, "He found a how to code book at the library and wanted to read it. When he proved to us that he memorized the whole book in a few days, we decided to let him make something. This is what he came up with, he also had Peter and Milly help him." "But he is barely three years old, to be able to memorize that book¡­ To even program something like that¡­ He might just be the next Tony Stark or Reed Richards!" Jacob smirked again and said, "He''s not the only one." Richard looked at Jacob in surprise as he asked, "Milly is just as gifted?" Jacob chuckled before he said, "While Milly is very smart for her age, Peter might be as smart as Theo. Peter was so enthralled by the concept that Theo was making a video game, he started reading the same programming book. He might have been slower, but now he and Theo brainstorm ideas on how to add things to the game. Theo said Peter helped him come up with about twenty percent of the current game code." Richard looked in shock at his son, who was sitting next to Milly and Theo. They were currently letting Milly play the game and whenever an error came up they would save the error log file. Then reload the game from the last save file and let her continue to play as they talked excitedly about what they should add to the game next. Before they could come to a decision, Richard had come over and picked up Peter as he asked. "You learned how to program?" Peter smiled proudly at his father and said, "Big brother Theo taught me." Richard hugged his son tightly for a moment and said, "Let''s go tell you mother how smart you are." Peter''s face lit up, before he frowned a little and said, "But me and Theo are still working." Richard''s face fell a little as Jacob laughed before he said, "Doesn''t feel that great when it''s used on you uh?" If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Richard nodded his head mutely before Theo spoke up and said, "We can take a break for now. It will take us a while to figure out how to program the stuff we already came up with." Peter nodded along to what Theo said before he smiled and told his dad, "Let''s go see mother." Richard smiled and walked out of the living room into the kitchen holding Peter. As they walked into the room, Richard could be heard saying, "Mary, guess who is a little genius." Jacob smiled down at Theo and Milly as he said, "I still can''t believe you guys made this." "It wasn''t hard after you read that book." Jacob smirked at his son as he said, "I tried, but I couldn''t understand that book at all. Give me an engine to fully rebuild over that stuff any day of the week." Theo smiled up at his dad as Mary walked in from the kitchen holding Peter in her arms and said, "Let''s see this little game you are making with Theo." Mary walked over next to Jacob and said, "Richard said the kids were making a new game, but didn''t wanna tell me about it. He said I needed to see it for myself. Where is it at?" Jacob smirked and said, "Milly is currently playing it." Mary looked at the computer screen for a few moments before she started to laugh lightly. She looked back at Jacob and said, "I know the kids are smart but this joke is a bit much." "It''s not a joke, Aunt Mary. We made this game ourselves." Mary chuckled again as she set Peter down in the chair next to Theo. She ruffled Theo¡¯s hair as she said, "If you guys made this, then prove it." Theo smirked as he told Milly, "Milly save the game and then try to pick up a bucket of water again." "Okay Te-o." Milly walked over to some water, opened up her inventory and pulled out a bucket. She then saved the game before she tried to pick up a bucket of water. The game crashed and an error log file came up. Milly turned to look at Theo and asked, "Now what do I do?" Let Peter have your seat, he is gonna fix it. Milly nodded and got out of her seat as Peter said, "I don''t know if I can fix it Theo." Theo smiled as he patted Peter''s shoulder and said, "You will be fine, the log file is right there. Just read what it says and you will figure it out." Peter still wasn''t sure, but switched places with Milly. Mary watched quietly as Peter studied the log file for a while, before he opened up a program and lines and lines of code could be seen. He hit ctrl F, then typed in a few things before he started looking through the results. After a while he stopped and looked at the code in front of him for a bit. He pulled up the log file again and compared it to the code, after a few minutes he started to change the code. Everyone was quiet as they watched, Theo had a brilliant smile as he knew Peter had figured out the proper way to fix the issue. It took a few minutes, but Peter finished typing, saved his work as a new copy. Then closed everything and restarted the game and loaded the save game. He clicked the water with the bucket and it was filled, no error came up this time. Peter turned around with the biggest smile on his face and said, "I did it by myself!" Theo smiled back and was about to speak when Mary said, ¡°Yes, yes you did sweetie. That was incredible.¡± Peter was practically glowing from his mother''s praise as she asked, ¡°How come no one told us about this?¡± May, who had walked into the room at some point said, ¡°I did tell you, a few times. If I remember correctly, you said, ¡®Oh that¡¯s wonderful, I am glad he is having fun.¡¯ or something like that.¡± Mary actually looked embarrassed before she said, ¡°Sorry.¡± Peter was still smiling, but it wasn¡¯t as bright as before. May gently pushed Mary towards Peter as she said, ¡°Peter has really missed you guys, how about you go out and do something as a family.¡± Mary nodded her head as she picked up Peter and asked, ¡°What can momma do to make it up to you hunny?¡± Peter thought about it for a while before he said, ¡°Can we go to Coney Island?¡± ¡°Coney Island? Sure we can go there.¡± Peter looked at Theo and Milly before he asked, ¡°Can Theo and Milly come with us?¡± ¡°Sure, we can take everyone and make it a family trip. If they want to join us that is.¡± May said, ¡°Sounds like a good idea to me, what about you Jacob?¡± Jacob nodded his head in reply. Milly looked at her dad and asked, ¡°What is cone-e island?¡± Jacob picked up Milly and said, ¡°It¡¯s a fun place that has games and rides. I don¡¯t think you can do many of the rides, but they have cotton candy.¡± ¡°Candy?!? Milly likes candy.¡± ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fury, Peggy, Steve, Hank, Coulson, Hill, and Tao were seated in a briefing room with Ezekiel who called them for an emergency meeting. On the wall monitor another group of people were gathered together. Magneto, Xavier, Mystique, Logan, Storm, and Beast were also called to join the meeting. For Magneto and the others they only saw Ezekiel and the other people beside Tao were all blurred out. They had been a little upset with not knowing who they were working with at first. But had gotten used to it after Ezekiel said they needed to earn the others trust first before they would share their identity. Fury was the first to speak once everyone was seated and said, ¡°I was in the middle of handling a very important issue, this better be good.¡± Magneto looked like he was about to speak when Ezekiel said, ¡°Hope you haven¡¯t had lunch yet.¡± The screens for both groups changed and displayed what first looked like a small banquet room that was covered in red paint. On closer look you could see parts of chopped up bodies all over the room. The picture changed and showed the room from different angles, each time you could notice little things that you couldn¡¯t see the first time. Fury stood up as he shouted, ¡°THOSE ARE CLASSIFIED!¡± Fury¡¯s outburst was actually beeped out for the other group, but they did see the person stand up and say something. Ezekiel had a program to bleep out anything that might give away who Fury and the others are. It would also change their voices and blur out what they looked like. Ezekiel smiled at Fury and said, ¡°They might be, but they are why I called you here.¡± Ezekiel looked at the screen and said, ¡°I finally found one of our targets.¡± Steve spoke up and asked, ¡°Did Bucky do that?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No, this was done by a young girl.¡± Fury slightly glared at Ezekiel as he pointed at the screen and asked, ¡°How do you know a kid did that?¡± ¡°I was able to find some images before and after she left the room.¡± Fury slammed a hand down on the table as he said, ¡°Did you erase all of the camera footage from around the area?¡± ¡°No, someone else did that, and they did a great job of covering their tracks. But I was able to recover the data.¡± Fury shook his head as he sat back down and said, ¡°I wish you would share that tech with us.¡± ¡°You know exactly why I haven¡¯t shared it yet.¡± Fury didn¡¯t reply but Xavier spoke up and asked, ¡°So why is this important to us?¡± The screen changed and it showed a young girl about twelve years old going into a room, after a while that same girl came out of the room soaked head to toe in blood and gore. Ezekiel pulled up a good picture of the girl and said, ¡°Meet X-23, she is a clone of Logan and we are going to rescue her, her mother and anyone else we find, when we raid the base she is being kept at.¡± 00035. Setting up the plan of attack. "And why do we need to rescue the little murder machine?" Ezekiel looked at Hill and said, "Because that isn''t her choice. The group who made her are trying to make the perfect weapon. Plus she is technically Logan''s daughter, that reason is good enough to help her out." Logan spoke up finally and growled out, "How were they able to clone me?" "Leftover material from when you were part of the Weapon-x program. Even though the government shut down the program, the main scientist and Stryker decided to start again with a new project. I still haven''t figured out who is backing them, but hopefully when we raid the facility we will find out." Coulson spoke next and asked, "It seems like you already have some info on them. How come you haven''t gained access to their servers yet? Is their security that good?" "The facility is not connected to any outside network as far as I could tell. The only reason I have any info at all, is because of this attack. I was able to dig a few things up, including where the facility is located." Steve spoke up next and asked, "So what is your plan?" Ezekiel laughed before he said, "I don''t really have one. I have some ideas but I have never attempted to raid a heavily guarded facility before. So I was hoping someone with more experience could help out." Fury looked at Peggy and Steve for a moment, Peggy glanced back at Fury before she nodded slightly. Fury turned to look at Ezekiel and said, "We first need any intelligence you have on the base." The screen changed to a satellite picture of the outside of the base, it only showed the small portion that was not underground. Ezekiel pointed at it and said, "That is all I have, besides the location. I have searched through everything I could, that base does not exist anywhere digitally. I was only able to find the base because I followed the vehicles they used with my satellite network." Fury let out a sigh as he said, "That is very little to go on. We really need to get some intel on the inside of that base, layout, number of hostiles, hostages, if there are any special targets we need to be aware of." "I had an idea on how to get all of that, but Tao or one of the other sorcerers will have to help us." Tao looked at Ezekiel and asked, "You want to scout the place from the mirror dimension?" Ezekiel smiled, as Fury looked at Tao in surprise as he asked, "Would that work?" Tao nodded her head as she said, "Scouting the whole base from the mirror dimension would be easy. We could even pull people into the mirror dimension and neutralize them there when we attack. I would suggest asking Master Kaecilius and Mordo to help you." Fury nodded his head as he looked back at Ezekiel and asked, "What other ideas do you have?" "I would suggest that we connect one of my compact flash drives to their internal network as soon as possible. I can take over their whole system from there and we will have all the info we need. Amount of personnel, shifts, guard patrols and anything else we would need to form a plan of attack." Hank spoke up next and asked, "Wouldn''t that alert them? I am sure they have to have pretty complex cyber security in place." Ezekiel smiled as he said, "I doubt that will be an issue, once the compact flash drive is inserted into the computer. The computer detecting what the drive is will run the program and not notice anything wrong. Even if they have all the computer''s external ports disconnected, it will still work. Since no one disables the physical connection, only the software driver for them." Fury thought about it for a little while before he said, "Fine, let''s get your drive connected and scout the base out." He turned to Steve and asked, "Feel like stretching your legs and putting your skills to work Captain?" Steve smiled as he said, "I could use the exercise." Fury turned to Ezekiel and asked, "How long will it take you to make the device?" "I already have a few of them built and ready to use." Ezekiel looked at Tao and asked, "I will dispel myself to send Ezekiel the information, can you please go to him, he will need to send a new clone over." Tao nodded her head and as she stood up, she started to form a portal. Before the portal fully opened Ezekiel turned into a smoke cloud and disappeared. Fury looked at Coulson and said, "Can you go grab Master Kaecilius and Mordo?" ------------------------------------------- Steve was looking around the area as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Next to him Kaecilius was also trying hard to control his emotions, but Steve could tell his breathing had sped up. They were currently in the mirror dimension scouting the base Ezekiel had found. After installing Ezekiel''s drive into one of the ports in the server room, they left him there as they went to check out the rest of the base. The base was in the middle of nowhere and a three hour drive through back roads in the mountains from the closest paved road. The outside of the base was hidden in a cliff face, and almost no one would realize it was there even if they looked for it. Most of it was normal on the first floor hidden behind the cliff face door, mostly rooms for the staff to use, a small armory, break room, gym, kitchen, dining hall, barracks, offices, restrooms, stuff you would expect for most military bases. The second and first floor was only connected with a single set of extra wide stairs that had a ramp on one side. The second floor was more of the same as the first except for more guards, a security room, a bigger armory, and a very secure vault type door. Behind that door was a freight elevator that went thirty stories underground. It was the only stop and technically the third floor, which split into three directions. They went to the left first and found operating rooms, offices, restrooms and a secure vault type door. Behind that door was living quarters for what looked like the scientist staff, it also held the central server, and the power plant for the base. After leaving Ezekiel in the server room, Kaecilius and Steve went to the right side hallway. The hall went straight for a little while before it turned right and they ran into another secure vault type door. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Past that door was what could only be described as a prison block, row after row of prison cells. Only three cells were currently in use, one had the girl they were here to help. In another one was a woman who looked like she could be the older sister of the young girl. In the last cell was a sealed container that looked to be filled with metal. Past all of the cells, was a gym/dojo area with a woman in it who was currently doing weight training. They left that area and moved to the last hallway that went straight from the elevator. It went down the hallway which took a right turn and had another secure vault type door. Going inside they found a big open area that had highly advanced equipment and over a hundred big tubes filled with half grown bodies of the girl they were planning to rescue. They had slowly examined the room before they came to the other side of it where another vault door was. Going through that they found a hallway with more operation rooms which were temperature controlled. These rooms each had a body strapped down to the table and each body was in different stages of being dissected. All of the people on the tables looked like mutants, most were adults, or teens and a few were even children. While Kaecilius and Steve were shocked and outraged at what they had found, it was the next vault door they went through that caused both of them to feel anger. It was the morgue for the facility and it was massive, it had to be bigger than three football fields in length and wider than two of them combined. Steve couldn¡¯t even see the back wall of the room in the dim lights of the room. Row after row of racks that went to the ceiling stretched from where they were standing, the first few racks they could see were completely filled with bodies and as they walked they just found more full racks. They walked through over three quarters of the room before they found a rack that wasn¡¯t full. But it didn¡¯t improve their mood any, the tag on the side of the rack read 22,001-23,000. Kaecilius finally spoke, his voice had an edge to it as he asked, ¡°What kind of monsters could do this?¡± not really expecting an answer to his question. Steve had a frown as he said, ¡°This place reminds me of the camps.¡± Kaecilius glanced at Steve as he asked, ¡°What camps?¡± Steve let out a sigh before he said, ¡°The ones the nazi¡¯s made. I helped to free a few of them during the war. This place reminds me of them. The disregard for human life, the operating rooms used for experimenting on people. The nazi¡¯s didn¡¯t make a massive morgue though, they had used ovens or mass graves.¡± Kaecilius nodded his head before he said, ¡°I forgot you are older than you look.¡± Steve turned around as he said, ¡°Let''s get out of here and go grab Ezekiel, I have seen more than enough of this place.¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was less than six hours later that everyone was back in the meeting room to go over the findings from Steve, Kaecilius and Ezekiel¡¯s scouting trip. Kaecilius had joined in on this meeting along with Mordo, Xavier and his group had joined in again remotely. Steve and Kaecilius had been quiet since they came back and had said nothing along with Ezekiel. Fury was the first to speak once the other group joined them and asked, ¡°So what did you find?¡± ¡°A den of monsters.¡± Fury looked at Kaecilius before he could ask what he meant, Ezekiel spoke up and said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t have said it better. The sooner we attack them, the better.¡± The screen changed as plans for the base layout came up, before it started to fill up with dots. Almost all of them were red, only three dots were green and they were in the bottom of the base in the right hallway cell block. Some of the dots were moving around, others were stationary. Ezekiel looked at Fury and said, ¡°That is everyone currently in the base.¡± He looked at the monitor and said to Logan, ¡°Stryker is currently not in the base and neither is the lead researcher. But everyone else that matters is there.¡± Logan didn¡¯t respond but Magneto asked, ¡°What did you find there?¡± The screen changed and it showed a video feed of the morgue, it was kinda hard to make out but the camera zoomed in to show some of the bodies on one of the racks. Ezekiel spoke after a few moments and said, ¡°We found a den of monsters. Almost twenty three thousand people dissected and saved in a morgue to be used for tissue samples for cloning or experiments.¡± ¡°They killed almost twenty three thousand people?¡± Ezekiel looked at Peggy and shook his head as he said, ¡°They only kept the people with mutations. The other people they incinerated.¡± Steve¡¯s voice was low as he asked, ¡°How many more people did they kill?¡± The screen changed and showed a database of names, the list scrolled to the bottom quickly and the last entry was coded, ¡®Case File: #134,563 Cessily Kincaid¡¯. Above that name were two other entries, ¡®Case File: #134,562 Jill Kincaid¡¯ and ¡®Case File: #134,561 Mark Kincaid¡¯. As everyone looked at the list they noticed a pattern, it would almost always have more than one entry with the same last name. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°When they found a target, they would also grab any close family to the target. Any they found without the x-gene were killed outright. The others were injected with a special drug to force the gene to activate, then they were killed and dissected. Those were the lucky ones, the people who had powers that weren¡¯t considered dangerous were dissected while they were still alive. Over one hundred and thirty thousand people were killed by them.¡± Magneto spoke up, his voice barely held in check as he asked, ¡°When do we attack them?¡± Ezekiel glanced at Magneto before he looked to Fury and said, ¡°Stryker is currently out with a capture team bringing back a new specimen, the lead Dr. Martin Sutter is currently meeting with the project''s backers and should be back in a few days. I would suggest that we wait for both of them to come back and then attack.¡± Fury thought for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Who are the project backers?¡± ¡°People we are already targeting.¡± Steve clenched his fist as he let out, ¡°Hydra.¡± Xavier and the others didn¡¯t hear Steve, but did hear Ezekiel as he replied, ¡°Exactly.¡± --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jacob laughed as he asked, ¡°You can¡¯t be serious?¡± Richard shook his head and said, ¡°No we both quit. We are going to move in with Ben and May after we sell our condo in the city, while we look for a house in this neighborhood.¡± ¡°But you had the perfect jobs?! You said it was your dream job, working on cutting edge science with your wife.¡± Richard put his arm around Jacob¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°It was, but we pretty much missed the first three years of Peter¡¯s life. Me and Mary talked over our vacation and decided we didn¡¯t want to miss anymore of Peter''s life. Once we sell our condo, we will have more than enough money to buy a house around here and set up a decent lab for us in the basement. We could then work from home on projects while we also spend a lot more time with Peter.¡± Jacob shook his head but then smiled and said, ¡°I used to think you were the smartest guy I ever met. Then you go and do something like this and prove it.¡± They both laughed before Jacob said, ¡°You know, if you want a place to work from. Ben and I have the lower basement of the garage. We could clear out half of it and have it remodeled for you to use as your new lab. It would be a lot more space then a house basement and you would save money for more equipment for your lab.¡± Richard was a little shocked as he looked at Jacob, before he asked, ¡°You would do that for us?¡± ¡°Of course I would, you are family.¡± 00036. Your quest is to... Sarah Kinney was released from her prison cell earlier that day. She had secretly taken Laura out of the base to help her sister and niece Megan who had been kidnapped. While they were successful and rescued her niece, it wasn¡¯t something her boss was happy with and as punishment she was placed in a cell for the past month. She wasn¡¯t allowed to do anything, not even work while she was on ¡®unpaid leave¡¯ as her boss called it. She was released in the morning and the first thing she wanted to do was see Laura, it had been a month and she wanted to make sure she was doing okay. It was the longest they had ever been apart since Laura was born. Once she was released, she wasn¡¯t allowed to see Laura immediately. Laura had training to do, Sarah could only shake her head when she heard that. The ¡®training¡¯ as they called it was more like torture, with that psycho bitch Kimura in charge of it. So she went to her office and began to check all of the emails she had missed for the past month. She was upset when she read a report that Laura had been sent out on a mission. When she started working for The Facility, she didn¡¯t know what they truly wanted to do. She just knew they were at the cutting edge in her field of study and everything else was top secret after that. They kept a lot of what they did a secret after she joined and only allowed her access to certain areas. She worked for years ignorant of what they were really doing, she had kept her head down and focused only on her work. Even after she had proved cloning the sample she was working with could be viable if made as female. She was still kept locked out from learning most of the stuff The Facility worked on. It was years later, after she had been forced to be the surrogate mother for the clone¡­ No for her daughter Laura. That was when she was finally pulled into the true fold of what The Facility was doing. She wanted to prove she could be more useful with her new security access, so she went back to look at everything she could get her hands on¡­ It was a mistake, the first file she opened horrified her. A family was captured and brought in because their child was a mutant. The things they did to that family, she didn¡¯t sleep correctly for weeks. They were monsters, Sarah knew she couldn¡¯t stay there for long, but at that point Laura was already a major part of her life. Even though they didn¡¯t interact as much as she would have liked, Sarah considered Laura her daughter. She couldn¡¯t leave her daughter with these people, but currently she wasn¡¯t sure how she could escape with Laura and keep her safe. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Ezekiel had his program watching the facility waiting for Stryker and Sutter to return. While the group was waiting for that to happen, Fury had chosen the team for capturing the base. It was going to be Ezekiel, Magneto, Logan, Xavier and Kaecilius. Ezekiel would handle the computer system, Kaecilius would pull people into the mirror dimension for Magneto to capture. Xavier would be used to knock them unconscious and Logan would be used to dispose of the trash once they were finished. Ezekiel did bring up a point of contention among the group. He wanted to keep the facility, Fury also thought it would be a good idea to keep it. Everyone else wanted to destroy it and everything inside it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did you say you want to keep the lower portion of the base?¡± Ezekiel turned to look at Coulson as he said, ¡°Yes, I need the tools they have and since it¡¯s already set up and working, why should we waste it?¡± Magneto spoke up from the monitor and said, ¡°After everything you have shown us about the place, I think it¡¯s best if it was destroyed.¡± Xavier nodded his head as he said, ¡°I have to agree with Erik on this, once we complete the mission. We should dispose of that base and everything in it. Experiments like that shouldn¡¯t be allowed to continue.¡± Hank Pym spoke next as he said, ¡°I also agree, but we should save some of the technology to study it. Some of that stuff is cutting edge and probably one of a kind. It would be a massive waste to destroy equipment like that.¡± Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I am saying this, but I agree with Ezekiel on this. Not only could we use it as another hidden base, but we could probably put that cloning tech to work for us.¡± ¡°Which is exactly why we should destroy it once we are done.¡± Ezekiel looked towards the monitor at Magneto who just spoke and said, ¡°But that is exactly why I want it. I have plans to make clones, that is one of the reasons I was targeting this place. I knew they had the most advanced cloning tech and I don¡¯t plan to let it go to waste.¡± The room went quiet as everyone looked at Ezekiel, he looked at everyone before he let out a sigh and said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, I might want to make clones but it¡¯s not for the reason most of you would think. My current clones aren¡¯t that useful in a fight, but what if I could make real clones who could fight and still use my powers?¡± Most of the people realized what Ezekiel was talking about and wanted to do. Xavier and his people were a little confused but said nothing. It was Steve who spoke next and asked, ¡°Is that all you want to use the equipment for? To clone bodies for yourself?¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°Pretty much, I have a few other experiments I want to try that aren¡¯t related to cloning. But I could do that without the tech in that base, it would just take me a little longer.¡± Fury spoke next as he looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°So you want the base all to yourself till you are finished?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No, it would be a shared resource. But I would be in charge of the whole facility to make sure people aren¡¯t doing stuff that is unethical.¡± ¡°You just said you want to clone yourself and you don¡¯t think that is unethical?¡± Ezekiel turned to Mordo and said, ¡°No I don¡¯t. I am making copies of myself, not making a copy of someone else without their permission.¡± ¡°What about the soul for the body? You can¡¯t really create life if it doesn¡¯t have a soul.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°X-23 is a clone of Logan and yet she is alive and has a soul. Who is to say a clone of me won¡¯t have a soul?¡± Mordo shook his head but said nothing else. Steve spoke again and said, ¡°As much as I would like to destroy everything, I am willing to trust Ezekiel with the technology in the base.¡± Fury, Hank, Peggy and Coulson nodded in agreement, while Xavier and his people didn¡¯t comment anymore on it. But it seemed like they didn¡¯t fully agree with the decision. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Ezekiel, Logan, Kaecilius, Magneto and Xavier were currently in the basement at Xavier¡¯s school in a conference room. Ezekiel called them together because it was almost time to move. A monitor that took up one of the walls turned on and displayed real time footage of some vehicles driving though the mountains. ¡°Sutter has been in the base for two days and as you can see I am tracking a convoy of trucks currently heading to the base. I am just waiting for confirmation that Stryker is with them before we move. I will leave it to you how you want to attack the facility.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Logan smiled and said, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see the look on his face before I gut him.¡± Ezekiel looked to Logan and asked, ¡°While I wouldn¡¯t want to deprive you of your personal revenge, I have a way to make him suffer unbelievable pain before he dies and serve a useful purpose at the same time. If you don¡¯t mind not killing him yourself.¡± Logan smirked as he said, ¡°Only if I get to watch.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Most of the group was quiet the rest of the time besides Xavier and Magneto who were chatting amongst themselves. It took about half an hour before the trucks made it to the base, when they did the video feed switched to the inside of the base. It showed the trucks as they entered the upper area of the base and parked at the loading docks. As they began to unload their cargo, which looked like mostly new supplies for the base, a man stepped out of the back of one of the smaller trucks. The camera zoomed in on him for a moment, it was their other target, Stryker and he was commanding people to unload a couple of kids along with some adults strapped onto hospital gurneys. They were all unconscious and looked mostly normal, but one or more of them should be mutants. Ezekiel stood up and said, ¡°Let''s head out gentlemen, I would like to take care of this before they harm those people.¡± Everyone stood up before Kaecilius pulled them into the mirror dimension, he then made a portal and they all walked through it into the hidden base. Ezekiel looked at Magneto and said, ¡°I think we wait for them to take them down the elevator, then we can start our attack. Will you need extra metal to make the bindings?¡± Magneto looked around at the men working in the base before he nodded his head and said, ¡°They are not wearing enough metal to make proper restraints.¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°Take it from the middle section of the elevator. It should be far enough that they won¡¯t hear anything, and I will disable the sensors from the server to hide what happened.¡± Magneto nodded before they all walked over to where the elevator was on the second floor. They had to wait for Stryker and some guards to load up the freight elevator and head down. Once they did, Kaecilius and Magneto entered the elevator shaft and Magneto floated them to the middle area of the shaft. Once there Kaecilius pulled them into the real world and Magneto detached a couple thirty foot sections of metal from the elevator shaft. Once done, they went back into the mirror dimension and then joined the others back on the second floor. Ezekiel pulled out a tablet from his backpack and started to use it for a few seconds. The screen changed to show the current position of all the guards in the base. He looked at it for a few moments before he said, ¡°The guards in the monitoring room should be our first target. No one is allowed into the room except the people assigned to that shift and they still have two hours until shift change. From there I can point you to the next targets quickly without alerting anyone.¡± Magneto and the rest didn¡¯t have any objections and followed Ezekiel''s lead to the base''s main security room. Once inside, Kaecilius pulled the four people stationed inside the room into the mirror dimension and Magneto quickly restrained them, before they even realized what happened. Ezekiel smiled as he walked up the team lead and asked, "How are you gentlemen doing today?" The team leader laughed as he said, "I am not sure who you are, but you are fucking with the wrong people." Ezekiel smirked, did a hand sign and turned into the team leader before he said in the man''s voice, "I know exactly who I am fucking with, I hope they have lube because this is gonna hurt." The team leader was shocked before he could say something else, Ezekiel looked at Xavier and said, "Your turn." After Xavier knocked them out, Ezekiel handed him the tablet he was using and said, "I will stay here and guide you to targets, while also sending people to places for easy ambushing. It should make it easier to capture everyone without anyone catching on too soon." "You really know how to take the fun out of a mission like this, don''t you?" Ezekiel smiled at Logan as he said, "You should really get out more if you consider something like this fun." Ezekiel looked at Kaecilius and said, "Send me out, I will send you the next target in a moment." Kaecilius nodded as he moved his hands a bit, before Ezekiel was back in the real world. Ezekiel sat down in front of the main computer and started to work. Within seconds a new green dot appeared on the tablet Xavier was holding. It was circled and underneath it was the words, ''You are here.'' Next a small arrow started following a dotted line that pointed at four red dots in another room. The red dots were then circled and underneath them were the words, ''Bad guys.'' Xavier looked up at the group as he showed them the tablet and said, "I am not sure if he is patronizing our intelligence or trying to be funny." A little chibi Ezekiel dressed like a knight in white armor popped up on the corner of the tablet and said in a heroic voice, "A little bit of both actually. Now go forth mighty heroes, for you have a quest to compete, evil doers to slay and a young princess to rescue!" Everyone slowly turned to look at Ezekiel who was sitting in a chair while typing on the computer in front of him. He didn''t turn around, but raised one hand and made a motion for them to leave. Logan chuckled before he said, "We might as well get this over with." Magneto scoffed as he turned to leave and said, "He is so powerful, yet acts like a mere child." Xavier nodded his head in agreement before he said, "He might be acting childish, but he is right, we have a mission to complete." They followed the arrow to a storage room, the men inside looked to be in the middle of doing inventory. None of them were currently armed and all of them were in the process of putting things away while making small talk. Kaecilius pulled them into the mirror dimension and Magneto restrained them in an instant, before they could even speak, Xavier knocked them out. After they were finished, everyone looked at the tablet, when it made a little noise and showed a new screen that said, ¡®Bad Guys 8/227¡¯. Underneath that was another thing that said, ¡®Bosses 0/3¡¯ below that was ¡®Princesses Rescued 0/1¡¯ and below that was ¡®Hostages Rescued 0/6¡¯. That screen shrunk down to the right corner of the tablet and the map came back up leading to the next set of targets. Xavier actually smirked slightly when he saw it before he shook his head and said, ¡°Next target is marked.¡± They moved through the top portion of the base quickly and started to take down all the targets Ezekiel was marking for them. They focused mostly on the rooms and Ezekiel was in the control room routing people around to make them easier to pick off. It took almost twenty minutes, but they captured over one hundred and eighty people and no one noticed anything was wrong. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Just before Ezekiel and his team started their mission, Sarah was able to see Laura. They were sitting in Laura¡¯s cell and talking quietly with each other as the monitor in the wall in front of them lit up. Ezekiel appeared on the screen as he said, ¡°Good afternoon, ladies. If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to tell you a story.¡± Sarah tensed up, she had secretly disabled the security for the cell so that she could talk to Laura in private. Laura sensing Sarah¡¯s discomfort snarled and her claws came out of her hands and feet as she stood up. Ezekiel put his arms up on the monitor and said, ¡°I mean no harm I promise, Miss Kinney. I am just here to tell you both a story, nothing more.¡± Sarah settled down slightly before she reached out to Laura and gently pulled her back down. As Laura sat down her claws retracted and she looked at Sarah in question. Sarah pulled her close and said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what he has to say. For him to be able to gain access to use that monitor and security hasn¡¯t locked the whole base down yet. It means he has some decent skills with computers.¡± Sarah looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Ezekiel smiled wide as he bowed slightly before he said, ¡°My name is Ezekiel and I am here to tell you both a story if you will listen.¡± Sarah was quiet for a few moments, as she glanced at Laura before she looked at Ezekiel again and said, ¡°What will we get if we humor you and listen to your story?¡± Ezekiel smiled again as he said, ¡°Tell me what you want and I will do my best to make it happen.¡± ¡°Freedom from this place for me and my daughter.¡± Before Ezekiel could reply, Laura had looked up at Sarah in complete shock and asked in a quiet voice of disbelief, ¡°Do you mean me?!?¡± Sarah smiled down at Laura and said in a sad voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I haven¡¯t been a good mother, sweetie.¡± Laura shook her head and said with her voice still quiet, ¡°You are the best mother someone like me could hope for.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyes became slightly moist before she blinked a few times as she pulled Laura into a tight hug. They were both quiet for a while before Sarah finally looked back at the screen to a smiling Ezekiel who said, ¡°That is something I can make happen. So do we have a deal? A story for the freedom of you and your daughter from The Facility, Miss. Kinney?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ezekiel smiled wide again and said, ¡°Great, now please don¡¯t interrupt me while I tell this story. You can ask questions at the end if you wish.¡± 00037. The history of a tormented man. "Actually before I start, what do you know about Laura''s father? Yes I know she was cloned, but what do you know of the person the sample was taken from?" Laura said nothing but looked at her mother for the answer. Sarah let out a sigh as she said, "I only know that they were a test subject for an older project called Weapon-x and that they went crazy at some point and killed most of the team behind the project. Only Stryker and Sutter survived the attack and that was because Stryker was able to kill the subject." She glanced at Laura, then looked back at Ezekiel and said, "From my understanding they could only save some of the project data and a sample of genetic tissue from the subject before they left the base. During the subject''s attack, the self-destruct protocol was activated, leaving them with only what they could carry out. That''s all I know, you would have to ask Stryker and Sutter if you wanted more info and I doubt they would tell you anything." Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "That is very interesting information, now I can''t wait to see what happens." "What do you mean by that?" Ezekiel smiled at Sarah and said, "That test subject isn''t dead, he is very much alive and has a score to settle with Stryker for the bullets that were pulled out of his brain." "How could he still be alive? He was shot in the head and then the base blew up. He shouldn''t have been able to survive that. They have pictures from the aftermath of the explosion, that entire place was destroyed and nothing but a crater was left behind." Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders and said, "I have no clue honestly and neither does he, but he is very much alive. His memories from before he was shot in the head are still missing. But it is something that we are currently trying to help him regain." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Anyways, let''s get back on track. The man you were cloned from, I wanted to tell you about him, about his life. So hopefully when you meet him you could understand him a little and possibly bond over your common circumstances." Sarah pulled Laura a little closer as she asked, "I will not give up my daughter to some stranger." "And I have no plans to separate you. But she should at least meet the person who she was created from. In the most basic sense, he is kind of like her father." Sarah shook her head as she said, "But he went crazy and killed a bunch of people, she shouldn''t meet someone like that." Ezekiel gave her a deadpan look before he said, "Really? I get that you want a better life for her, but she is no longer an innocent and naive girl. That ship sailed the minute she was being groomed to kill people." "But that doesn''t mean she needs to be exposed to it anymore than she already has been." Ezekiel shook his head and said, "How about you listen to what I have to say about this person, before you judge him as a bad influence for Laura." Ezekiel waited for a moment before he took her silence as agreement to listen. He took a deep breath of air and then said, "The man''s name is James ''Logan'' Howlett and he was born around 1882 in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada." Sarah looked shocked and said, "He would be over a hundred and ten years old! I know he is a mutant, but he can''t be that old. That would mean he killed over a hundred trained soldiers when he was eighty plus years old. Even with his ability to heal that doesn''t seem possible at all." Ezekiel laughed and then said, "You know he has a saying, ''I¡¯m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn¡¯t very nice''. It is frightfully accurate to describe him, he is the perfect weapon and little Laura here is the closest thing comparable to him. Yet even she still pales in comparison to the real thing." ¡°He had a pretty bad early life, frail and sick all the time. Considering the time period it was a miracle he survived at all. I am still not certain what totally happened, but the night he awakened his powers, his parents were killed. After his parents died he spent some time living in a mining camp before he spent about ten years after that living in the wilds of Canada with a pack of wolves. I am still not one hundred percent certain about all of that, but it should be about ninety percent accurate.¡± A picture appeared on the screen of Logan during World War One. Ezekiel smiled and said, "What we know for certain is this is one of the first pictures ever taken of Logan, and was just after The Battle of the Somme was finished. At some point he joined the Canadian military and served during World War One. After that he spent time traveling around the world in the Navy.¡± Another photo came up and it was Logan with Captain America and Bucky. Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°Not really sure what happened but when World War Two broke out he joined the U.S. Military and somehow ended up in the Howling Commandos. He stayed in Europe for most of the fighting till he was transferred to the Pacific theater in 1944.¡± A picture of Logan¡¯s transfer orders showed up on the screen. Then another that said he was killed in combat with the enemy. ¡°He was unlucky and left for dead when his company did a retreating action.¡± Some more reports showed up but they were all in Japanese. ¡°The Japanese found him blown in half and pulling himself to what was left of his legs. They shot him a few times in the chest and then watched as he came back to life. So they captured him and took him to a special research base in Hiroshima. He stayed there until the bomb was dropped, yes that bomb." Some new reports came up all in Japanese, ¡°The place he was at was actually within a mile from ground zero of the explosion.¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Some more reports came up and even a picture of a man with no skin and bone like claws coming out of his hands. ¡°He actually survived that even though he was within the main blast range of the bomb and that picture was taken by someone about a few hours after the bomb was dropped.¡± Laura looked down at her own hands for a moment before she looked back at the screen and the picture of the skinless man. Ezekiel appeared back on the screen and said, ¡°After the end of the war he stayed in Japan and trained under someone named Lord Ogun. From there his history is kinda hard to track, from our understanding he met a woman and fell in love with her. But while she was pregnant with his child she was murdered and Logan apparently disappeared until the 1960¡¯s. At least I could find no trace of him till he showed back up in the Weapon-x program.¡± A new picture showed up with Logan and three other men. "I don''t have too much info about the Weapon-x program, but I do know they did a lot of brainwashing, memory wipes and implantation on their members." Some more reports and photos came up on the screen. One of them showed Logan in a tank with a mask over his face. "This was taken right before he went berserk and killed everyone at the Weapon-x facility." Ezekiel looked at Laura for a moment before he looked at Sarah and said, "I am sure you are aware how Laura was given her claws?" Sarah frowned as she said, "Yes, that bastard Rice did it. He didn''t even sedate her." Laura frowned at the memories but said nothing as the picture of Logan changed to a video of him being lowered into a tank of liquid. The video also displayed his vitals along with a lot of other information that was being monitored for whatever test they were conducting. Stryker''s voice could be heard on the video asking, "You sure this won''t kill him?" Someone else laughed before they said, "I didn''t know you cared so much for your little pet." Stryker was heard again and said, "I don''t give a shit about that mutant freak, I just don''t want to lose such a good weapon. Do you have any idea how long it takes to train someone to that level of skill?" "I do not, nor do I care. As for if this will kill him. The man chuckled before he said, "It wouldn''t be the first time we killed him in an experiment. He should come back to life like he always does." "Fine, you can proceed with the experiment." "Thank you, Colonel." The liquid around Logan started to heat up slowly, all of the monitoring gauges were slowly increasing. After a while Logan began to thrash around as the liquid around him was starting to bubble up. His heart rate had started to spike on the monitor. Someone could be heard saying, "Everything is within parameters, start the injection process now." All of the tubes connected to Logan became filled with a silver liquid and as the liquid reached his body he threshed even harder than before. Even though he had some type of mask over his face and was in a giant vat of liquid, his screams could still be heard on the video. After half a minute a man is heard over Logan''s screaming as he says, "Alright cut the flow of adamantium, that should be enough for the bone bonding process." Laura''s eyes go wide and Sarah gasped slightly as she pulled Laura into a tighter hug. Laura slowly glanced down at her hands which were clenched tight. Sarah noticed her daughter''s reaction and gently put her right hand on top of Laura''s. They both shared a glance before they watched in muted silence as the experiment finished and Logan''s body was floating lifeless in the tank. The monitor showing his vitals was flat lined. Stryker could be heard asking, "Looks like you killed him again Dr. Sutter. Hopefully it wasn''t for good this time." "This was expected, he should recover in half an hour. Let''s head to the morgue. I wanna show you something I found out about test subject fifty-two while we wait." The video began to fast forward for a bit, when it started normally Logan''s vitals were back, but his heart beat was out of control and he was thrashing around inside the tank. The video switched to a different camera with an overhead view of the area and tank Logan was in. After a moment Logan popped out of the tank screaming as his claws burst out of his hands and he cut the cables and wires attached to him. Ezekiel''s face popped back up and he said, "I have some more video but it''s pretty much him killing everyone in a berserker rage." "How did you even get that footage? It should have been destroyed with the base." Ezekiel smiled and said, "Apparently it was being backed up to a different server off site by the government backers. Neither Stryker nor Sutter knew about it and after the base was destroyed, the program was canceled. I found everything about the program on some pentagon servers, after making a copy, I deleted every trace of it, along with a bunch of other information the government doesn''t need. I even found all the backup and hard copies and had those removed and destroyed." A newer picture of Logan appeared on the computer, he was standing next to a few people and a large group of kids was with them. Ezekiel smiled and as he started talking, new pictures of Logan with kids and different people were appearing on the screen. ¡°After Logan¡¯s rampage, he lost all of his memories and was found by Charles Xavier. He has since been living and working at the Xavier Institute for the Gifted, while Charles was trying to help him recover his memories. They weren¡¯t having much luck since Logan still had the bullets resting inside his head. But since I helped remove the bullets, he has been making progress and is slowly regaining his memories.¡± The pictures finally stopped and Ezekiel fully appeared on the screen again. He glanced at Sarah, before he looked at Laura as he asked, ¡°So what do you think about the man who is kind of your father?¡± Laura looked up at her mother for a few moments and they made eye contact but said nothing. After a while she looked at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I would like to meet him, but I want to stay with my mother.¡± ¡°He will be thrilled to hear that¡­ Well thrilled for him will probably be a grunt in acknowledgement, but trust me he will be happy. I know it sounds weird, but as you saw he has been through a lot, but deep down inside he is just a big gruff teddy bear.¡± Ezekiel looked back at Sarah and asked, ¡°So when would you and your daughter like to leave?¡± Sarah looked a little shocked but asked, ¡°How soon could you help us escape and where would we be going? We will also need help hiding from the people running this place and what about my family? If I leave they might target my sister and niece.¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about any of that, the people behind this place will think you are dead once we are done. As for when I help you escape, how about right now?¡± A portal opened up in front of Sarah and Laura, they could still see Ezekiel on the screen as he said, ¡°Alright, just step through that and you will be one step closer to freedom.¡± They couldn¡¯t see what was on the other side of the portal, but Sarah looked down at Laura and said, ¡°Come on let''s go see where this takes us, anywhere is better than here.¡± Laura nodded in agreement as she stood up with her mother and then held hands as they walked through the portal together. 00038. Fixing Lauras issue and a job offer. As Sarah and Laura came out of the portal, Laura instantly stepped in front of her mother with her claws out. Ezekiel was the first to react and said, "The apple really doesn''t fall far from the tree, does it?" They had stepped out of the portal into the loading dock area of the facility. In front of them was the entire staff of the base, all the guards were bound and on the ground in front of them. The higher ups, Stryker, Sutter, Rice, Kimura and all of the scientists were bound up away from the guards. Standing in front of Laura and Sarah was Logan, Magneto, Xavier, Kaecilius along with Ezekiel who was smiling at them. A few feet behind Ezekiel was a random set of chairs. Ezekiel stepped forward as he said, "Please stand down, we will not harm you." Laura quickly glanced at her mother who nodded her head, before she looked back at Ezekiel and said as her claws retracted, "You don''t smell like anything." Logan spoke up and said, "I told him the same thing, he said it has something to do with him being a clone of the original or something. Doesn¡¯t make sense if you ask me, everything has a smell." Laura stepped a little closer to Logan and began to sniff him. As she did, he stepped forward a little and sniffed her also. They walked in a circle around each other for a moment before they stopped almost where they started. After another pause, they both nodded to each other. As Laura started to move back to her mother she said, "You smell like smoke." Logan grunted before he said, "Helps to dull the senses." Ezekiel stepped forward as he clapped his hands and said, "Congratulations are in order, you rescued the princess successfully." Sarah looked a little confused as she asked, "What do you mean by that?" Ezekiel spread his hands out gesturing to the area around them, "This place is like a dungeon." He pointed to the guards before he then pointed at the other people and said, "Evil minions here, and boss monsters over there." He then pointed at Laura and said, "The little princess who was trapped in the bottom of the dungeon and needed to be rescued." Everyone waited for a moment before Sarah asked, "What does that make me?" "Ehhh, you can be the princess''s hand maiden I guess. I just had you marked as a hostage before." Ezekiel turned around quickly and said, "Speaking of which you still have five more hostages to recuse." Sarah was left speechless for a few moments as another portal opened up and Logan and Kaecilius went through it. She finally spoke up and asked, "Is this just all some kinda game to you?" Before Ezekiel could speak Xavier held up the tablet he was holding and said, "Well he did make it like a game." Sarah walked closer to look at it as Laura followed closely guarding her mother. Sarah picked up the tablet, looking at it for a few moments before she handed it back to Xavier and then looked at Ezekiel as she asked, "What is wrong with you? You really made this into a game?" "Well how else can I justify giving them each a reward if they didn''t do anything to earn it?" Sarah wanted to reply but was too stunned to think of anything. After a few moments, Logan carried out a closed container filled with silver liquid. When he set it down next to Ezekiel he said, "We could use a hand with the others." Magneto said nothing but just closed his eyes for a few moments before the hospital gurneys came out of the portal one by one and came to rest next to the container Logan sat down. At this point Sarah finally asked, "Do we have to stay here or can we leave?" "Unfortunately we still need to sort some things out, fix Laura''s trigger scent issue so she doesn''t kill someone by accident. We also need to collect the hidden agents who are watching people''s families." Laura and Sarah immediately looked at Ezekiel as Sarah asked, "What do you mean by agents watching people''s families?" Ezekiel laughed and asked, "You did such a great job of sneaking Laura in and out of here. Did you ever stop to wonder how you were caught?" Sarah thought quietly for a few moments as Kaecilius came back through the portal and closed it. She spoke up and said, "I thought I missed something when I was covering up everything." Ezekiel shook his head and said, "No you did everything perfectly, you just didn''t account for your sister''s boyfriend. He is a sleeper agent meant to watch your sister in case you share something you shouldn''t be. He reported what you did to Stryker." All the color drained from Sarah¡¯s face as Ezekiel talked. When he finished she quickly said, "We need to help my sister!" "She will be fine, she is not currently in danger and we will collect him and everyone else next." Sarah calmed down slightly but still looked worried. Laura reached over and clasped her mother''s hand. When she did, Sarah let out a breath and then smiled slightly as she looked down at Laura. Ezekiel smiled and said, "Alright first thing first, let''s fix Laura''s issue." Ezekiel looked at Laura and asked, "Would you be comfortable with me or Professor Xavier here going into your mind and removing everything to do with your trigger scent training? It should fix any future problems if you ever smell it again." Laura looked at her mother, who leaned over and whispered into her ear for a few moments. Laura listened for over a minute before she nodded her head and looked at Ezekiel as she said, "Okay, do it." Ezekiel looked at Xavier and said, "Please point Kaecilius to the next targets. I made sure all the targets are alone. I sent each of them a coded message to go to their safe houses and wait for an important information packet." Kaecilius nodded in understanding and walked next to Xavier and Magneto. As the first portal opened, Ezekiel looked at Laura and said, "Alright, let''s sit over there and take care of your issue." If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Laura and Sarah followed Ezekiel over to the random set of chairs. Ezekiel sat in one chair and Laura sat in the other chair with Sarah standing behind her. Ezekiel smiled and asked, "Would you mind if we restrain you while I do this? There is a chance that you will go berserk when we do this and I don''t want anyone hurt." Laura looked up at her mother for a moment who nodded her head in reply. She looked back at Ezekiel and said, "Okay." "Magneto, could you please make some restraints for Laura please." Magneto didn''t reply, but some metal flew over and wrapped around Laura''s arms, legs and chest, locking her into the chair. Ezekiel leaned forward and said, "Sorry if this is uncomfortable, it should be over soon." Ezekiel quickly did some hand signs and said something low under his breath before he reached over and touched her forehead. Laura''s head dropped forward a little and Ezekiel''s face went blank. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Laura appeared in a blank white space with Ezekiel and someone else next to her. She immediately went on the defensive because of the unknown person next to them. Ezekiel reacted right after and said, "Laura, this is a friend of mine, Inoichi Yamanaka. He is going to help you with modifying your memory." Laura relaxed a little as she nodded towards Inoichi. He smiled back at her and said, "It''s a pleasure to meet you Laura." Inoichi spread his hands out and said, "This is your mindscape, it''s currently blank because you have never been here before. I am going to give you a crash course on how to use it and help you remove some troublesome memories." Inoichi looked at Ezekiel and asked, "Are you going to stay and help?" Ezekiel looked at Laura and said, "Will you be fine if I leave you with Inoichi?" Laura nodded her head yes, Ezekiel turned back to Inoichi and said, "You can handle this, I will make sure everything else goes smoothly." vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Ezekiel removed his hand from Laura''s head and looked around. It had only been a few seconds since he touched Laura''s forehead. Sarah looked surprised and asked, "You are done already?" Ezekiel shook his head and pointed at Laura as he said, "She will be out for a little while, you can sit here with her till she wakes, if you like." As Ezekiel stood up, Sarah sat down in the chair and watched Laura with concern on her face. Ezekiel smiled and asked, "What do you plan to do once we are done here?" Sarah continued to look at Laura, but she looked a little lost as she said, "I don''t really know, this is all happening so quickly. When you made the offer for freedom earlier I almost thought you were joking or it could take months." She took a deep breath and looked at Ezekiel as she said, "Now we are pretty much free and I have no real idea what we''re going to do. I know I can get a job pretty easily, but Laura has never interacted with other kids. I have no real idea what I am going to do for her, normal school won''t work." "How about I offer you a short term to possibly long term solution?" Sarah looked at Laura as she asked, "I am not interested in playing games with you." Ezekiel chuckled as he said, "I can assure you what I am offering is not going to be a game. I do admit that I like to have fun, but if you saw what was coming like I have. You would also take every chance you get to enjoy life a little and have some fun." Sarah glanced back at Ezekiel and said, "That doesn¡¯t sound ominous at all. Are you trying to scare me into working with you or something?" "Not at all, if I wanted to do that I would just show you a vision of the future. But the last person I did that to had a slight mental breakdown. So I am trying to hold off on doing that to people now." Sarah said in a flat tone, "You are not very funny, you know that right?" Logan moved a little closer as he said, "It wasn''t a joke, Mystique the person who he is talking about. She has been seeing the Professor for a while now to help work through what she was shown. She still isn''t fully one hundred percent back to normal and it''s been well over six months since it happened." Ezekiel had a small frown on his face as he said, "It was an honest mistake, I thought she could handle it. I am being careful now and don''t plan to show anyone the possible future unless I absolutely have to." Sarah still looked skeptical but asked, "Hypothetically what is your short term solution?" Ezekiel smiled and said, "You could come work for me, while Laura could join a small group of kids who are currently being taught in a private school type of setting. As for the work you would be doing, I need some help and you are one of, if not the leading specialist in the field of genetics and cloning." Ezekiel held up his hand as he finished and then said, "Or you and Laura can go to Xavier''s school. I am sure he could give you a job teaching there and Laura would be around other kids with special powers." Sarah watched Laura for a few moments before she asked, "So those are the only two options you have for us?" Ezekiel nodded and said, "Well you could just leave and go do whatever you want. I would even give you money to live a decent life with Laura. But just so you are aware the people who funded this project are still out there and if you showed up somewhere. Well they would definitely come looking for you and Laura." Sarah frowned slightly as she said, "I thought you were taking care of the people behind this place." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "I am, but it will take time. This is just one of their operations and I currently don''t have enough information or manpower to completely take them down. We targeted this place because of the technology it holds and because this operation is not part of the main group." "So me and Laura would have to hide all the time if we don''t pick one of the options you gave us?" Ezekiel laughed and said, "No matter what, you will have to hide your identity. We plan to make it look like everyone involved here was killed. While the general public won''t know about your involvement, the people who backed this place will." Sarah let out a sigh before she said, "So carrot and the stick, or just the stick if we go out alone?" "No, I would do my best to watch out for you both. I can hide your digital footprint easily, but your actual one I can''t do much about. You would need to change your name, dye your hair, live in an out of the way place, you know spy movie type of stuff." Sarah gave Ezekiel a flat look as she parroted, "Spy movie type of stuff, really?" Ezekiel gave a cheesy smile as he said, "What? I am not a modern day spy so that is the best advice I can give you. If you want real advice I will let you talk to a spymaster for advice. But he might not help you because he is super paranoid and has issues making new friends. Plus that guy is a creep, he likes to show up at peoples homes and wait for them in the dark to make him look all mysterious and shit." Sarah just stared harder at Ezekiel the longer he talked. Ezekiel smiled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. He let out a breath then said, "Alright maybe he wouldn''t be the best person for you to talk with." Logan, who was standing close by said, "You know, Peg could probably teach her the basics." Ezekiel nodded a few times as he said, "Yeah¡­ You''re right, that could definitely work. I just thought she might be out of practice compared to modern day standards." Sarah looked between the two of them and asked, "Who are you talking about and why would they be out of practice?" Ezekiel smiled before he said, "Someone you will meet, depending on what you decide to do. I would like to mention that if you pick the first option, you will get to work with some of the smartest people on the planet. And I will also pay you ten million, when you finish the project I need help with." "I will be working with Reed Richards?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Someone just as smart and we will leave it at that." Sarah looked back at Laura as she said, "Let me think about it for a while." Ezekiel started to turn around as he said, "I will give you a few hours to think it over, by then we should be finished here." Sarah didn¡¯t reply but nodded her head slightly as Ezekiel walked back over to Xavier and Magneto. 00039. Playing with people. The next hour went by fast as they picked up all of the sleeper agents and Ezekiel purged their databases. Whatever was useful was tagged for pickup and sent to the main base. Everything else that was left behind, Magneto used some metal to crush it into a tiny ball which they took with them. They made sure to leave no trace of the safe houses ever being used. While they were working on that Sarah was worriedly watching over Laura as she was going in and out of a berserk type state. The first time it happened she was almost stabbed when she reached out to hold Laura''s hand as Laura''s claws popped out. She decided to stay away from Laura''s hands and feet after that and was content to just watch for now with a worried gaze. When they were finally finished collecting everyone, Ezekiel had the first group of twenty guards transported down to the disposal area of the facility. It had a special blast furnace for the disposal of corpses. Magneto and Kaecilius were standing next to the furnace as Ezekiel was at the controls opening it up. Ezekiel looked at Magneto and said, "Set one in feet first with their head sticking out." As Magneto was moving the first body into place he said, "This would be a lot faster if you just let me crush them." Ezekiel nodded as he walked up the first person set into the furnace and grabbed them by the head. He took a moment to adjust their head and angled it just right before he quickly jerked the person''s head back as he twisted it. A snapping sound was heard as he said, "I was the one to order this, I won''t be a hypocrite and not do it myself." Magneto let out a sigh as he said, "Could you at least use a gun or something to speed up the process?" As Ezekiel moved out of the way for the next body to be placed in the furnace he said, "Anything else I use will make a mess I don''t wanna clean up." Kaecilius spoke up and said, "Aren''t we going to destroy the entrance to the base? Couldn''t you just kill them all there?" Ezekiel walked up to the next person and repeated his actions as he said, "We could, but we would still need to dispose of the corpses afterwards." As Ezekiel was moving out of the way for the next body, Kaecilius said, "We could just pile them up and burn them after they are dead." Ezekiel was silent as he walked up to the next body and snapped their neck. As he stepped back out of the way he said, "Alright, we can do that after we finish this group. We will move everyone that we are keeping alive to the bottom portion of the base, then I will take care of the rest." Before he walked up to the next person he looked at Kaecilius and asked, "Are you going to use magic or are we just going to pour an accelerant on them and a lighter?" Kaecilius shrugged his shoulders and said, "Doesn''t matter to me, but if we used an accelerant and magic, that might be the quickest way." It took about ten minutes for Ezekiel to go through all of the guards they had brought with them. After they sealed the furnace, Ezekiel set it to auto run its cycle, before they portaled back up to the base. Once upstairs they started to transport Laura, Sarah and the hostages all down stairs. They also moved the higher ups, Sutter, Rice, Stryker and the scientists downstairs. Once they were finished, Ezekiel took an M-16 style Stark made rifle from the security office, along with four, sixty round magazines. He walked out into the main area where all of the guards and sleeper agents were being held. Magneto, Kaecilius and Logan were waiting for him when he came back. Logan spoke up and asked, ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want me to do this, bub?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°I appreciate the offer, but I will take care of this myself.¡± Ezekiel slid the first magazine into the rifle, before he pulled back the charging handle. He checked the chamber before he released it and watched the first round slide into the chamber as it closed back up. He looked at Magneto and said, ¡°Line them up.¡± Magneto used his powers to hold up a group of people in a row as Ezekiel stepped closer and shoulder the rifle. He was only a few feet from the first person when he took aim at their head and slowly let out a breath as he squeezed the trigger. The bullet exploded out of the barrel and hit the person square in the forehead. Ezekiel didn¡¯t pay attention to what happened and aimed at the next person as Magneto moved the fresh corpse to the center of the loading dock area. Ezekiel aimed at the next person and repeated what he had just done. It went quickly and within ten minutes about two hundred people were disposed of by Ezekiel. Ezekiel took a deep breath when he was finished, Then he looked over at the pile of bodies before he shook his head and looked at Kaecilius as he asked, ¡°Want some help with the fire?¡± Kaecilius shook his head and said, ¡°No need, I can handle it.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he set the rifle he just used on the ground, next to the empty magazines. He walked over to Logan who was sitting off to the side smoking a cigar. As he got close, Logan pulled the cigar from his mouth as he asked, ¡°You sure we needed to kill all of them?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No. Not really. But letting people who were ignoring what was happening here live didn¡¯t sit right with me. A quick death is all I could offer them as compensation.¡± Logan raised an eyebrow at that as he asked, ¡°What about the scientists, the higher ups and Sarah? You offered her a job and she is part of this mess.¡± Ezekiel nodded at that before he said, "While true, she was only brought in for her ability in cloning. She only learned of the other shit they did here recently and while you could argue she had to know something was going on, I checked the records. She was always required to stay in certain areas whenever they brought in new subjects or moved them around. Before her new clearance level, she always had at least two guards posted to watch her at all times." "Alright, so she gets a pass from you then? What about the others? You told me Stryker was gonna suffer." Ezekiel gave a feral-like grin as he said, "Don''t worry he will." Logan took a long pull of his cigar before he said, "Just let me know when so I can watch, bub." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "As for the others, they should be getting the same fate as Stryker. They were the ones who were doing all of the experiments." Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Logan let out a grunt in reply as he and Ezekiel watched Kaecilius using a magic spell to catch all the bodies on fire. Magneto had already crushed the pipes for the fire suppression system and Ezekiel also disabled the software for it. So when the fire started in earnest, the only thing they had to deal with was the smell. After Kaecilius made sure he had caught all the bodies on fire, he opened a portal for everyone to head downstairs. When they came out of the portal Laura was finally awake and she looked at Ezekiel as she asked, "Can I be released now? This is uncomfortable." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "Give me just a moment." He walked over to Xavier and asked, "Can I have that vial please?" Xavier pulled a vial out of his pocket and handed it to Ezekiel who walked over to Laura and popped the lid off of it. Laura''s nose scrunched up as she tried to move her head away from the vial. Ezekiel smiled as he put the lid back on it and said to Magneto, "Alright you can release her now, she is cured." Magneto nodded as he released Laura from her restraints. The first thing that happened was Sarah pulling Laura out of the chair and giving her a tight hug. Laura herself was a little awkward but still returned the hug, although not as enthusiastic as her mother. Ezekiel smiled at her response before he said, "Alright time to have some fun. Magneto, I want you to put Rice in that chair for me and then set him next to that surgery light and facing the wall. Also could you make something to restrain his head, I don¡¯t want him looking around.¡± Magneto let out a sigh but did as Ezekiel asked as everyone else was slightly confused with what was going on. Ezekiel just smiled as he picked up the tablet Xavier was using earlier and made all of the lights in the room they were in dim down. The only light currently on was a surgery light pointed down at Zander Rice¡¯s face, the rest of the room was only at two percent light. Ezekiel played with the tablet for a few moments before he looked over to Laura and asked, ¡°You mind helping me out with something?¡± Laura glanced at her mother for a moment before she looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Maybe?¡± Ezekiel pointed to just behind Zander and said, ¡°Stand there until I tell you to come out.¡± Laura looked back at her mother, who just shrugged her shoulders and said, ¡°It should be fine¡­ I think.¡± ¡°It will be completely fine, better than fine in fact.¡± Laura thought about it for another moment, before she moved into position. As she did, Ezekiel glanced at Xavier and said, ¡°Wake him up.¡± vvvvvv Zander slowly woke up, his head hurt a little and he couldn¡¯t really see anything but a bright light in front of himself. He blinked his eyes a few times and tried to move, but he was restrained to a chair. He couldn¡¯t really remember what happened, wasn¡¯t he at work? Or was he at Sutter''s house with his wife? Everything was fuzzy and it was hard for him to think clearly. Ezekiel had moved out of Zander''s sight and waited quietly as the man woke up. It took about thirty seconds but when he started to struggle in his bonds Ezekiel spoke from behind the man and said, ¡°I can assure you, those won¡¯t come off unless I allow it.¡± Zander tried to turn his head to the voice and said, ¡°Do you have any idea who I am, who I work for? You have no idea how fucked you are, do you?¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he walked around Zander but stayed out of the light. All Zander could see in the dim light was the shadow of a man just outside of the light pointed at him. Zander was sweating a little, but he wasn¡¯t really scared. He knew that if he could just waste as much time as possible, someone would come to rescue him. He was second in command of The Facility after all. Zander smiled at the man and said, ¡°I have no idea how you pulled it off, but if you don¡¯t let me go soon. You will die a horrible death.¡± Ezekiel laughed again before he said, ¡°You sound so sure of yourself for someone restrained to a chair. How are you gonna do it? Are you gonna send that little girl you have to kill me?¡± Zander froze for a moment as he squinted his eyes and looked at the man hidden in the shadow of the light. After a moment Zander said, ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about, but I know I am talking to a dead man.¡± Ezekiel chuckled again as he stepped forward slightly and raised his right hand into the light. A vial was held up with his thumb and index finger and he shook it slightly as he said, ¡°You know I found this in one of your pockets when I picked you up? I have no idea what it is, but I bet it¡¯s important.¡± Zander¡¯s eyes widened a little as he started to sweat more, he forgot he was planning to use it on Sutter and then release the little monster to kill him. He was planning to take over as the head of The Facility, once he removed Sutter and that cunt the little monster spawned from. Zander knew that if even a drop was spilled on him he could be killed if they sent that monster to rescue him. As Zander was thinking he started to hear distant gunfire and some muffled yelling. The man stepped back slightly into the shadows again, as Zander was about to speak the man said, ¡°Damn, I thought I might have more time, but it looks like that little girl is already at the perimeter.¡± Zander smirked and said, ¡°I told you, you should have never messed with me.¡± The man moved back into the light slightly and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I still have enough time to escape, we will just have to finish our conversation again next time.¡± As the man was talking the gun fire was getting louder, but at the same time there was less of it. A second later an explosion happened and the man was thrown off his feet, Zander watched in horror as he saw the vial move into the light and head towards him. It hit the exposed metal of the chair between his legs and shattered, the liquid in the vial splashed all over his groin. He froze in absolute terror for a moment before he started to yell at the man who was getting up from the floor. ¡°You stupid son of a bitch! Do you have any idea what you just did! WE ARE BOTH DEAD! SHE IS GOING TO KILL US BOTH NOW!¡± vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Everyone watched quietly as Zander was screaming his lungs out, before he lowered his voice and said, ¡°X-23! Stand down! I am your master, you will listen to me! Do you hear me?! Stand down, don¡¯t come near me!¡± He started screaming again as he thrashed in the chair trying to get out. Laura actually smirked a little as she watched Zander freaking out, before he finally stopped screaming. Ezekiel turned the lights back to normal and turned off the surgical light as he stepped in front of Zander. He slapped the man hard in the face as he said, ¡°Hey shit stain, wake up, you were dreaming.¡± Zander was utterly confused as he looked at the person in front of him smirking. He looked down and realized that X-23 didn¡¯t gut him, he could have sworn she was just killing him. He tried to move but he was still stuck in the chair, so he looked up at the person smirking at him and spat out, ¡°What the fuck did you do to me you mutant freak.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I was just showing you the future.¡± Ezekiel held up the vial and shook it in front of Zander¡¯s face as he said, ¡°We both know what this does, don¡¯t we?¡± The color drained from Zander¡¯s face as he stuttered out, ¡°Don¡¯t... Don¡¯t open that, if that little monster smells it she will kill us.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he opened it up and took a slight whiff. He pushed it under Zander¡¯s nose as he said, ¡°It¡¯s funny, I don¡¯t smell anything, what about you?¡± Zander couldn¡¯t move his head away but he said, ¡°Please, put that away and I will tell you anything you want.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Sorry, but I promised someone a play date.¡± Ezekiel then poured the vial¡¯s contents all over Zanders head. Zander began to piss himself and shake as Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°Laura he is all yours if you want him.¡± Ezekiel stepped out of the way as Laura walked around in front of Zander, the man was shaking even more as he went ghost white he stuttered out, ¡°X¡­ X-23, don¡¯t hurt me. I am your master, remember?!? You can¡¯t hurt me. Please don¡¯t hurt me.¡± Laura looked down on him for a few moments before she leaned forward and said, ¡°I¡¯m not the monster, you are.¡± Laura stood back up as she walked back to her mother, who smiled at her as she pulled Laura into another hug, which Laura actually returned properly this time. 00040. Destroying the base and a new friend? After Ezekiel finished messing with Zander, he knocked the man out again and had Magneto toss him with the other people. He then had Sarah help to wake up the other hostages, the people that were brought in by Stryker were a little out of it. But they talked to Xavier for a little while and he calmed them down pretty easily, they even agreed to send their son who was a mutant to his school. Ezekiel wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure if Xavier used a little something extra or not on them, but he didn¡¯t care because their son¡¯s name was Robert Louis Drake better known as Iceman. The real surprise was the container of silver liquid. When they opened it, the liquid slid out of the container and turned into a silver colored girl with the body of a mannequin and bright red hair. She looked around at all of them for a moment before she asked in a sorrowful voice, ¡°They killed my parents didn¡¯t they?¡± Ezekiel walked closer to her as he said, ¡°Yes, unfortunately we were too late to save them. I am sorry for your loss.¡± The girl melted into a puddle on the ground and Ezekiel could hear the puddle making a mournful bubbling sound. He sat down next to her as he said in a low voice, ¡°Just let it out, it won¡¯t do you any good to keep it bottled up. If you need a friendly shoulder to lean on, or you just want to talk, I will gladly fill whatever role you need me to.¡± Ezekiel sat next to the girl as the others were moving the prisoners to the holding cells in the base as Xavier was talking to Iceman and his family. Sarah and Laura were also off to one side talking quietly with each other. After almost thirty minutes the girl slowly reformed next to Ezekiel, she was sitting down next to him hugging her knees. He didn¡¯t say anything but put a comforting hand on her back and gave it a slight rub. She glanced towards Ezekiel and said, ¡°My parents are dead because of me and I can¡¯t even cry because of this stupid body of mine.¡± ¡°Trust me, you had nothing to do with your parents being killed.¡± The girl glanced at Ezekiel before she tucked her head into her knees as she said, ¡°I heard them when I was in that container, they grabbed me and my family because of this stupid power. If I wasn¡¯t a freak, my parents would be fine and I would be able to feel something again.¡± She lowered her head a little more into her knees as she murmured, ¡°I hate being this freak of nature. Why can¡¯t I just be normal again? Everything was better when I was normal, everything made sense when I wasn¡¯t a freak.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You aren¡¯t a freak, you are special. Some people might look at you and think otherwise, but those people are just small minded bigots. Just like the people here were.¡± She buried her head a little deeper as she said, ¡°Everything is numb now and I always feel cold. No matter what my parents and I did, I am always cold. I hate this so much, why me? Why can¡¯t I just be normal again?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Maybe one day you can be semi normal again. As for the drawbacks you currently have, well everything comes with a price and honestly you are very lucky compared to some other people. At least your parents still loved you.¡± She raised her head to glare at Ezekiel as she snapped back, ¡°Well I never wanted this! I just wanted to be normal!¡± Ezekiel patted the girls back as he said, ¡°You are right, you didn¡¯t ask for your powers. You didn¡¯t ask for any of this to happen and this is certainly not your fault.¡± Ezekiel gave a sad smile as he said, ¡°But now you are going to have to move forward, one way or another. I am not really sure how you will do that myself, honestly I don¡¯t think there''s anyone who can tell you how to do it. But I gladly offer you help along the way if you ask.¡± She let out a breath and then said in a slightly softer voice as she buried her head between her knees again, ¡°When I became like this, my parents locked me away and wouldn¡¯t let me outside anymore. They tried to hide me away from everyone, they took me out of school, I couldn¡¯t talk to my friends. They didn¡¯t want anyone to know their precious little girl had turned into some kinda freak. Does that sound like parents who loved their kid?¡± Ezekiel looked up at the ceiling for a few moments before he said, ¡°I can tell you one thing for certain, one thing that you should always remember and never forget.¡± The girl turned to look at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°What?¡± Ezekiel let out a breath before he looked at the girl as he said, ¡°Your parents both loved you very much. I saw the security footage just before they were executed. The only thing they were worried about was what happened to you and if you were okay. If that isn¡¯t love, then I have no idea what is.¡± The girl looked at Ezekiel with her mouth open in shock, she let out a mournful wail before her jaw and then face started to deform as she melted down into a puddle again and started to bubble sadly. While she was bubbling on the ground, Sarah came over and said, ¡°I know you are busy, but I wanted to say that I tentatively accept your offer. We can discuss the full details later.¡± She glanced at the puddle with a regretful look before she said, ¡°When you aren¡¯t indisposed.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head but said nothing else as he watched the puddle next to him. As Sarah started to turn around and walk back over to Laura, Ezekiel spoke in a low voice and said, ¡°Could you go to the sample vault and grab the samples for 13-45-62-JK and 13-45-61-MK for me and put them in a portable container?¡± Sarah paused for a moment as she looked at the girl turned puddle on the ground. After that she nodded and walked out of the room. She came back a little while later and set a container down next to Ezekiel who nodded his head in thanks. She then walked back to Laura and sat down next to her as she put an arm around her waist and started talking to her again in a low voice. After a while, Magneto, Logan and Kaecilius came back into the room. Ezekiel said to the girl next to him, "I will be back in a few minutes, just need to sort a few things out." When he didn''t receive a response he stood up while picking up the container and went over to Kaecilius. As he got closer he said, "You can send Sarah and Laura to the base. Introduce them to Steve and give him this. Tell him it¡¯s for Tobirama, and that the chamber needs to be set up for two people. He will understand what you are talking about.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Kaecilius took the container before he nodded in reply. Ezekiel then looked over to Xavier who was still talking to Iceman and his family as he said, ¡°When you come back, you can send Xavier, Logan and their new student along with his family back to their school." Kaecilius looked over at the metallic puddle on the ground as he asked, "What about the girl?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Her parents were killed here and from the records I saw, she doesn¡¯t really have anyone else. We will take her with us first, I want to do something to help her. Once that is done, I will let her choose if she wants to stay with us, or go to Xavier''s school." Kaecilius nodded before he walked over to Sarah. As he did, Ezekiel walked back over and sat back down next to the girl, currently still being a bubbling puddle. He didn''t say anything and just quietly waited for her to make the next move. After Kaecilius came back, he transported Xavier, Logan, Iceman and his family to Xavier''s school. After that only Ezekiel, the puddle girl, Kaecilius and Magneto were left. Kaecilius glanced at Ezekiel who gave him a thumbs up, before he opened a portal for him and Magneto. After about ten seconds low rumbling could be heard, a few seconds later the ground started to shake. As the shaking got worse and the rumbling became louder, the puddle next to Ezekiel finally reformed back into a girl as she asked in a slightly fearful tone, "Is this an earthquake? Will we be okay here?" Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°We will be fine, that is just Magneto having some fun. He was the serious looking old guy wearing that ridiculous red and purple suit with the cape. I am pretty sure he has a cape fetish.¡± Ezekiel, gave a small chuckle before he said, ¡°He is currently destroying the top portion of this place and the elevator shaft that comes down here. Once he is done we will be leaving.¡± The girl settled down a little, but at the same time gave Ezekiel a flat look as she said, ¡°Really? A cape fetish?¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°What? Capes are so out of fashion. You have to have a fetish or something if you wear one.¡± The girl actually giggled after a moment and said, ¡°You do have a point¡­ Your name is Ezekiel right?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he stuck out his hand for a shake as he said, ¡°And you are Cessily Kincaid, it is a pleasure to officially meet you.¡± She was quiet for a moment before she reached out and shook his hand while she said in a subdued voice, "Thank you for saving me." Ezekiel pulled his hand away, gave a cheesy grin at Cessily along with a thumbs up as he said, "That''s what heroes do." She looked at him incredulously before she started to laugh. As she did her whole body began to shake and deform slightly, she stopped after a moment with a frown on her face. Ezekiel gave her a pat on the back as he said, "Don''t worry, you just need to get used to your powers and it will become second nature to control it." They were both quiet for a while before Cessily asked, "What happens now?" "Well I would like you to come with us for a little while, after that I will give you a couple of options to choose from and then it¡¯s up to you. Like I said, I can only offer you help along the way, you are the one who will have to move forward. No one else will be able to do that for you.¡± Cessily nodded her head slightly as the rumbling noise and shaking earth finally stopped, a few seconds later Kaecilius along with Magneto appeared from a portal. As they did, Ezekiel looked over at Magneto and asked, "Do you have your speech finished?" Magneto nodded and said, "It''s almost done, Beast and Mystique were double checking it when we left." "Great, send me a copy when it¡¯s complete. I just wanna make sure you didn¡¯t add any homo-superior nazi bullshit to the speech.¡± Magneto gave a slight scowl as he said, ¡°I told you, I no longer think that way and I was never a nazi!¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You were really damn close to them with those speeches you used to give¡­ I just want to make sure this goes right, this could have a big impact on how we move forward. After I double check the speech, I will need a little while to finish up my end of things and then we can go live. Make sure you dress to impress." As Magneto nodded in reply, Ezekiel looked at Kaecilius and said, "Alright we are pretty much done here, let''s head home." Kaecilius nodded and made a portal for Magneto to use. Once he was gone Ezekiel stood up and made a few hand signs. A puff of smoke later a tall man with the shape of a bodybuilder was standing there, dressed in all leather and a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. He looked down at Cessily and as he reached a hand out to her he said in a deep accented voice, "Come with me, if you want to live.¡± At first she was in shock at how he transformed, then she processed what he looked like and what he had just said. She began to giggle, which became full blown laughter a few seconds later, before she turned into a puddle on the ground. Ezekiel turned to look at Kaecilius and saw that even he had a small smile on his face. Ezekiel turned back to Cessily and waited for her to reform before he said, "That would have been terrible if you didn¡¯t get the joke.¡± Cessily nodded her head as she said, ¡°My dad is¡­ Was a big Arnold fan, so we watched all of his movies together¡­¡± As she talked her voice got lower and her body started to deform slightly. Ezekiel placed his hand on her shoulder and said, ¡°Take a breath and just exhale it slowly. It will help to calm your mind.¡± She followed his directions and when she was fully solid again, Ezekiel helped her to stand up as he said, ¡°Alright, are you ready to get out of this place?¡± ¡°Sure, where are we going?¡± Ezekiel transformed back into his normal self as he said, ¡°A super secret decommissioned military base that we currently use as a base of operations. Because we are a group of super spies, ninjas and sorcerers!¡± Cessily stopped for a moment and asked, ¡°You are not being serious are you?¡± Ezekiel smiled as Kaecilius opened up a portal and just before walking through it, he winked at her as he said, ¡°Only one way to find out.¡± Cessily looked at Kaecilius and asked, ¡°Does he always joke around like that?¡± Kaecilius nodded his head as he said, ¡°Pretty much, I have only seen him acting serious a few times. Even today, he turned our entire rescue operation into some kinda game for us to play.¡± ¡°Really? What made him act serious?¡± Kaecilius smirked and said, ¡°You did.¡± Kaecilius walked towards the portal and said, ¡°Let''s go, he is waiting for us.¡± Cessily nodded as she walked to and then through the portal. Once through it she was greeted by a strange looking room with all kinds of symbols engraved on the walls and ceilings. She looked around in wonder as Kaecilius came through the portal and it closed behind him. 00041. Helping to give a little closure. Ezekiel spoke up and said, ¡°Welcome to our hidden base, we don¡¯t really have a name for it yet. Now if you would follow me in a moment, I wanna get you something to wear and then talk to a few people.¡± Ezekiel looked at Kaecilius and said, ¡°I have a few more things I need you to do, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± Kaecilius nodded yes in reply, so Ezekiel said, ¡°Go grab Steve, and Sarah. Ask her if she can show him who Zander Rice and Robert Chandler are. I need them brought back here and taken to the chamber. Once that is done, I want you to join us for something. You can also tell Sarah that she should join us and to bring along Laura as well.¡± Kaecilius nodded before he walked out of the room to find Steve and Sarah. As he did, Ezekiel turned to Cessily and said, ¡°If you would follow me, let''s get you something to wear.¡± Cessily didn¡¯t respond, but followed Ezekiel out of the room and through a wide hallway. After a minute they came to a secured door, which opened up when Ezekiel grabbed the door handle. Inside was a small armory, they walked inside and Ezekiel walked over to a closet recessed into the wall that had a body mirror next to it. He pulled out a pair of black combat pants, a belt and a plain black t-shirt shirt before he handed it to Cessily and said, ¡°Sorry, this is all we really have here. Do you need shoes?¡± Cessily took the clothes and shook her head as she said, ¡°No this should be fine, thank you.¡± She quickly put on the pants and shirt, the pants almost fit her hips correctly, but the belt helped secure it properly. The t-shirt was too big for her. So she pulled it up some and tied one side of it into a knot, making it look like she was now wearing a crop top. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before she nodded her head to herself and turned to look at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Now I need to go check with Tobirama and make sure he doesn¡¯t need any help.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve said his name a few times, who is he?¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°He is a friend and a ninja!¡± Cessily gave him a flat look, which made Ezekiel smile as he said, ¡°What? It¡¯s true. We really are a group of super spies, ninjas and sorcerers. We just used magic to transport here and you think ninjas aren¡¯t real?¡± Cessily looked a little confused as she asked, ¡°That was magic? Kaecilius isn¡¯t a mutant like me? I thought that portal thing was his power?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he walked out of the room and said, ¡°Nope, that was magic. Kaecilius is a master of the mystic arts.¡± "Master of the mystic arts? Is that like his job title or something?" Ezekiel laughed before he said, "No, his official job title is ''Shuttle bus or teacher''." Cessily gave Ezekiel another look as they were walking and said, ¡°Really? I doubt you call him a shuttle bus?¡± ¡°I might not call him that, but that is what he is. Think about it, all he did was transport people around today. What would you call that as a job?¡± Cessily was quiet for a few moments in thought, before she asked, "Isn¡¯t that called a chauffeur?" As Ezekiel was about to reply, they heard a young girl yelling, ¡°NO FAIR AVA! YOU CAN¡¯T USE YOUR POWERS FOR TAG, THAT¡¯S CHEATING!¡± They heard another girl laughing before she appeared through the wall in front of them. A few seconds later another girl ran out from a door down the hall in front of them as she yelled, ¡°GET BACK HERE YOU CHEATER!¡± The half invisible girl turned to the other girl and blew a raspberry as she turned solid, before she turned around to run away but stopped in her tracks. She looked at Cessily for a moment, before she ran up to Ezekiel and gave him a hug as she said, ¡°You''re back! Where have you been? You said you would play with us today.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he gave Ava a hug back, before he let go and then ruffled her hair a little when he patted her head. He gave her a smirk as he said, ¡°I had some important stuff to do, like making a new friend." Ezekiel pointed next to him and said, ¡°This is Cessily.¡± Ezekiel looked at Cessily and said, ¡°Cessily, this young lady is Ava and the girl right behind her is Mary.¡± Ava¡¯s eyes went wide as she turned around to look at Mary, but it was already too late. Mary touched Ava¡¯s arm as she said, ¡°I got you, you cheater!¡± Mary smiled at Cessily and stuck out her hand as she said, ¡°Hi! I am Mary Sue Poots, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Cessily smiled slightly as she reached out and shook Mary¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I am Cessily Kincaid.¡± ¡°Oh wow! Your hand feels cold. That¡¯s neat. Are you made of metal? Oh, are you also an orphan like us? Well Ava isn¡¯t really an orphan anymore, she has Uncle Bill.¡± Cessily¡¯s body started to shake and deform slightly as Ezekiel quickly put a hand on her shoulder as he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, just take a breath.¡± Cessily¡¯s body stopped deforming after a few moments, before her body hardened again. She put on a weak smile as she said, ¡°Yes, I am now an orphan.¡± Mary looked down at the floor as she said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to upset you.¡± Ezekiel chopped Mary on the head and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, you didn¡¯t know. Now both of you run along, we have some stuff we need to do.¡± Both Ava and Mary nodded their heads, before they each said, ¡°It was nice to meet you!¡± Then they took off down the hall and ran into the door Mary came out of earlier. As Ezekiel and Cessily started walking again she asked, ¡°Are there a lot of orphaned kids here?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Only a few, there is a lot more at Xavier¡¯s school. You would be surprised how many people just abandon or disown their kids when they find out they are mutants.¡± It became quiet after that as they walked down the hallways for a few minutes. Ezekiel stopped at a door and opened it up, inside the room were about fifteen people. A few were grouped together working on different projects, a few were alone reading books, the rest of them seemed to be talking about something. The group that was talking together is who Ezekiel walked towards, with Cessily following behind him. ¡°Tobirama I know it was short notice but did you finish them?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Tobirama turned around and answered, ¡°Yes, I just finished. But I thought you wanted to use this sparingly.¡± Another person spoke up and asked, ¡°I also thought that is what we agreed on.¡± Ezekiel nodded, but then said, ¡°Slight change of plans, two more won¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°Two more this time, what about next time?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh and said, ¡°Hopefully there won¡¯t be a next time, but I will make that call on a person to person basis. Any other complaints, Orochimaru?¡± Orochimaru huffed a little before his tongue slipped out of the side of his mouth and flickered there for a moment. When he pulled his tongue back in he said, ¡°No, but make sure you remember. We are in this together, if something happens and you die, we also die.¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°You should also keep that in mind if the next project works.¡± Ezekiel turned to Cessily and said, ¡°Sorry Cessily, let me introduce you to Orochimaru, Tobirama and Kabuto. They might look a little funny, but they are some of the smartest people you will ever meet.¡± Kabuto pushed up his glasses as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I am Kabuto.¡± Tobirama bowed his head slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure, I am Tobirama Senju.¡± Orochimaru''s eyes narrowed a little as he eyed Cessily up and down as he said, ¡°I am Orochimaru and you look absolutely delicious.¡± His tongue flicked out of his mouth a little as he finished. Ezekiel let out a long sigh as he said, ¡°Stop being a creep Pedomaru, you''re going to scare her.¡± Ezekiel looked back at Cessily and said, ¡°Sorry about Pedomaru, he has issues acting like a normal person.¡± Cessily just nodded in response but also took a step back and moved slightly behind Ezekiel. Ezekiel frowned a little and looked back at Orochimaru, who he gave a glare to as he said, ¡°There is a reason so many people think you are a creep, try to tone it down a little.¡± He then looked at Tobirama and said, ¡°Lets go to the chamber, Steve should be on his way already.¡± Tobirama nodded and walked towards the door with Orochimaru and Kabuto. Ezekiel followed next with Cessily next to him. It took them a minute, but they made it to the chamber and saw Steve carrying two people, one on each shoulder. Next to him was Kaecilius with Sarah and Laura following slightly behind them both. Ezekiel stopped at the door to the chamber with Cessily and waited for Steve and the rest. When they got close Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind the light work out.¡± Steve smiled back and said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t even count as a warm up.¡± Steve glanced at Cessily who was next to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°You sure about doing this? I know you said there could be issues if we do this too much.¡± Ezekiel gave a wide grin as he said, ¡°Doing the right thing isn¡¯t really a choice, is it?¡± Steve gave his thousand watt smile as he said, ¡°No, no it isn¡¯t.¡± Ezekiel pointed to Cessily and said, ¡°Steve, I would like you to meet, Cessily Kincaid.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Steve and said, ¡°Cessily, this is a friend of mine, Steve Rogers.¡± Cessily smiled slightly and said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Steve gave a slight nod as he said, ¡°Pleasure to meet you. If you will excuse me, I need to hand these guys over to Tobirama.¡± Cessily nodded as Steve walked inside along with Kaecilius, while Sarah walked up to Ezekiel with a frown. She said in a slightly hushed voice, ¡°How in the hell is Steve Rogers here and how come he doesn¡¯t look like he has aged a day?!?!¡± Cessily and Laura both looked a little confused as Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°I will tell you after we finalize your deal to stay here. Right now we have something important to do.¡± Ezekiel extended his hand towards the door as he said, ¡°After you.¡± Sarah, Laura and Cessily walked into the room followed by Ezekiel. The inside of the room was plain with no decorations. There was an intricate pattern drawn on the floor with two tables in the middle. Strapped down on each table were the men that Steve had brought in. Each of them were secured tightly to the table and both had a ball gag in their mouth. Steve, Kaecilius, Sarah, Laura and Cessily were off to one side of the room, while Orochimaru, Tobirama and Kabuto were double checking everything. Ezekiel walked over to the two people on the tables and gave each of them a solid slap to wake them up. They groggily came around, but Zander was more aware and was staring daggers at Ezekiel. Ezekiel gave him a wicked grin as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Zander this is the last time you will ever see me. Now don¡¯t blink, you don¡¯t wanna miss what happens.¡± Ezekiel stepped back to the group as he said, ¡°Alright, start with Robert first. Then you can start Zander after thirty seconds.¡± Tobirama nodded as he started to do some hand signs before he said, ¡°Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!¡± As he placed a hand over the first man¡¯s head that had a seal on it. The man started to thrash around as his skin started to flake off his body and fall towards a small petri dish on the floor. Everyone was quiet, even Zander, as he stared in wide eyed horror at what was happening to the man next to him. After half a minute, Tobirama repeated the process on Zander, who joined the other man as they both wailed in agony. Sarah, Cessily and Kaecilius were watching in shock what was happening, while Laura looked almost indifferent to it. When both men finally finished screaming, Ezekiel turned to Cessily and said, ¡°Cessily, once this is finished you will only have forty-eight hours. So make the best of the time you have.¡± Cessily, Sarah, Kaecilius and Laura all looked at Ezekiel in confusion after he spoke. Cessily asked after a moment, ¡°I don¡¯t understand, what¡¯s going to happen in forty-eight hours?¡± Ezekiel pointed to the two piles of ash that were taking shape as he said, ¡°It¡¯s when this spell ends.¡± Cessily watched quietly as the piles of ash slowly formed into a man and woman. Sarah let out a gasp after a moment and Cessily began to shake as her body began to deform. Ezekiel¡¯s hand grasped her shoulder as he said calmly, ¡°You only have forty-eight hours, make the best of this you can.¡± Cessily¡¯s voice cracked as she asked, ¡°Am¡­ I¡¯m not dreaming, right? Please don¡¯t let this be a dream.¡± Ezekiel squeezed her shoulder a little as he said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream, but you do have a time limit. I wish I could do more for you, but this is the best I can do.¡± Cessily didn¡¯t reply, but her body was hardening slowly. After a minute the woman¡¯s eyes opened as she yelled, ¡°JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MY DAUGHTER!¡± After that she looked around in shock before her eyes focused on Cessily and she ran forward embracing her in a tight hug as she said, ¡°Thank god you are okay sweetie! Those terrible people didn¡¯t do anything to you did they?¡± As the woman was hugging Cessily the man opened his eyes and yelled out, ¡°YOU COWARDS, TELL ME WHERE MY DAUGHTER AND WIFE ARE!¡± He pulled up his hands to fight, before he stopped as he saw his wife hugging Cessily. He quickly moved next to them and embraced them both in a bear hug. None of them talked after that for a few moments before Ezekiel finally said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to break up this family reunion, but you are on a time limit.¡± Cessily was the first to release her hug and her mother and father followed suit right after. Cessily looked at her parents for another moment before she glanced at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°How is this even possible?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter right now, what matters is your parents are here now and you need to make the best of it.¡± Ezekiel turned to Cessily¡¯s parents and said, ¡°Mr and Mrs. Kincaid, it''s great to meet you. If you and your daughter will follow my friend Kaecilius, he will take you to a very nice island that you can enjoy with your daughter for the next couple days.¡± Cessily grabbed both of her parent¡¯s hands before they could talk as she said, ¡°I will tell you everything that happened when we get to this island.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Kaecilius and said, ¡°I know you have a question¡­ Yes I will, but you will have the same time limit. Now if you wouldn¡¯t mind transporting them, we can hash out the details later.¡± Kaecilius¡¯s eyes had the slightest hint of moisture in them as he nodded his head, before he started to walk out of the room. Cessily smiled at Ezekiel for a moment, before she dragged her parents out of the room following Kaecilius. Everyone could hear them start bombarding Cessily with questions as they walked away. As Ezekiel turned around, Sarah asked, ¡°What in the fuck was that?¡± Ezekiel grinned as he said, ¡°Summoning Impure World Reincarnation. It basically shreds the target''s soul and uses it to bring back the target''s soul for a limited time.¡± Sarah just stared at Ezekiel but couldn¡¯t think of what to say, he smiled back at her as he said, ¡°I have a speech I need to proofread, if you have questions ask Tobirama. He is the crazy person who made the technique.¡± 00042. Hero or villain? It started off as a normal day for most people around the world. That was until anything that was remotely connected to the internet started to act up by posting the old style ''Please Stand By'' message. Televisions were next, followed by radios, everything that could was repeating the same message. The only thing that was not targeted was airplanes. After a few minutes of the message being broadcast most of the world stopped to see what was happening. Computers, televisions, anything that had a working screen that could pick up the transmitted signal finally changed. It was all black at first before it slowly faded in showing a man wearing a red and purple helmet. As the man began to speak, everything that received the transmission which had speakers began to play perfectly translated audio of what he said. "My name is Max Eisenhardt, better known to most of the world as the mutant terrorist Magneto." Magneto paused and removed his helmet as the video feed zoomed out a little to show Magneto seated in a chair. He was wearing a very nice fitted dark gray colored three piece suit which complemented his silver colored hair nicely. After placing the helmet to the side he looked back at the camera as he said, "I am using this broadcast today to clear up some mistakes I have made over the years that have caused me to be labeled as a terrorist." Magneto paused for a moment and looked up towards the ceiling, after a few moments he let out a sigh, then looked back towards the camera as he said, ¡°I had a whole speech made for this but I am not going to use it. The speech wasn''t good and would just be a waste of everyone''s time and I could sum up the whole thing in a single sentence. I am a hypocrite.¡± Magneto shook his head as he said, ¡°In trying to protect mutants, I slowly became something I hate to the very fiber of my being and I didn¡¯t even realize it. Not until recently that is.¡± Magneto had a far away look on his face as his eyes became slightly unfocused as he said, ¡°When I was a boy, my family fled from nazi Germany to Warsaw Poland. We were unlucky and ended up stuck there in the Warsaw Ghetto after Germany invaded. After a while we were eventually able to escape. But the bad luck didn¡¯t end and my family was caught soon after we escaped along with some friends of our family.¡± The video zoomed in showing only Magneto¡¯s face where you could see the light sheen in the corner of his eyes. His voice cracked just the tiniest bit as he said, ¡°They executed my entire family. I only survived because of my father, who pushed me into the pit behind us as they started to shoot. I was left covered in the bodies of my family and friends for over a day before I was able to claw my way out. You could almost say I was lucky because they didn''t fill in the pit when they finished tossing all the bodies in.¡± Magneto blinked a few times and his eyes became more focused as he looked back at the camera, which zoomed back out to show him sitting in the chair again. He took a deep breath before he said, ¡°It didn¡¯t take long for some nazi¡¯s to find me and throw me into the Auschwitz-Birkenau Camp.¡± As he talked he raised up his left arm and slid his sleeve up, the camera zoomed in on his arm to show a faded tattoo that read ¡®A-B-24005¡¯. The camera zoomed back out slowly as Magneto pulled his sleeve back down before he said, ¡°When I was there I worked as a Sonderkommando and it was where I witnessed first hand the horror¡¯s man can inflict on each other, just for someone being different from them. It was there I learned the true brutality that humans were capable of.¡± His eyes unfocused slightly, remembering something as he said, ¡°It was there that I promised myself I would be better than the people who imprisoned me, that all humans are equal and should be treated with respect and dignity. That I would never become like the people who were keeping me in shackles.¡± He let out a hollow laugh as he said, ¡°How well I did trying to keep that promise¡­¡± Magneto shook his head as he said, ¡°I am not really sure how I survived the next few years, when so many people around me died. But I clung on to life stubbornly and somehow I survived that hell. It was sometime after I was released that I finally awakened my powers.¡± Magneto held his right hand out and his helmet lifted up and began to float around his hand as he said, ¡°It was also when I started going down the wrong path and becoming like the people I hate. When I gained my powers I thought foolishly that I was somehow chosen. That I was somehow better than everyone else who didn¡¯t have powers. It was my hubris that was slowly turning me into what I hated and I never even noticed.¡± Magneto¡¯s helmet floated back down and he put his arm back on the chair as he said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t too long before I met another person like me and we became close friends. We spent countless hours in debate on how mutants and humans should interact. They argued for peaceful coexistence, while my early life made me believe that coexistence would never work. I believed that humans were too short sighted, were too quick to judge, that they would always hate anything different from themselves¡­ How right I was in my argument and yet so wrong.¡± Magneto chuckled for a moment before he said, ¡°Me and my friend parted ways after a while, they had their own goals and ambitions, which were very different from my own. They went on trying to work peacefully with humans and to make a better world. I spent time hunting down ex nazi¡¯s and looking for other mutants under the fake name, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr. It was during this time that I met a few mutants who thought like me, so we decided to form a group to find more like minded people like us.¡± Magneto shook his head and said, ¡°In hindsight, it was a terrible idea. The echo chamber that was created from all of us being together just fueled my beliefs that mutants were superior to man. That coexistence would never work and it would be better if mutants being the superior race were to rule over humanity." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Magneto looked sad as he said, "Sounds a lot like a certain group that took over Germany many years ago. And when I look back on my past actions, I realize now I was becoming just like that group." Magneto shook his head again as he said, "It was my arrogance, my unwavering belief that I knew better because I had seen humans at their worst. That only I had what it took to lead mutants to a better future. All these years I worked towards my goal and what do I have to show for it?" He frowned a little as he said, "I have nothing but regrets. Everything I did, if I had just taken the time to think logically, to consider what my actions looked like to everyone else¡­ Maybe I would have actually achieved something. Instead I am now labeled as a terrorist and in the words of someone I met recently¡­ The mutant equivalent to Hitler." Magneto took a deep breath and then said, ¡°I can not fix my past actions and I won¡¯t ask for forgiveness for them either. But I want the world to know that going forward I no longer see the fake line I made between mutants and humans. While I might have powers compared to other people, I can be just as short sighted, judgemental, and narrow minded as everyone else in the world.¡± Magneto looked humble as he said, ¡°I am the same fallible human as you are and I wish to say that I am sorry.¡± Magneto bowed his head for a few moments and was silent. When he looked back up his face was hard as he said, ¡°I still plan to fight for my fellow humans that have powers. But moving forward, me and the people I work with will be completely transparent in our actions and motivations.¡± On the bottom of the screen a website address appeared, and after it did, Magneto said, ¡°Early this morning, I worked with a group of people to destroy a facility that was kidnapping people with powers and their immediate families. We were lucky enough to rescue a handful of people, but we were unlucky because they had been in operation for years." Magneto gave a slightly sad smile as he said, ¡°After our successful rescue operation, we executed everyone who worked for that facility for their crimes and completely destroyed the base itself. We will not disclose the employee''s names to protect their family from people looking for payback, but we did inform their family''s of their deaths.¡± He let out a tired sigh as he said, ¡°The website below has a complete list of everyone that they kidnapped, tortured and killed over the years. I would encourage anyone who has missing friends or family to check the website, the amount of people they took over their few years of operation is staggering. Pictures of the missing people are also on the website to make it slightly easier for people to identify them. To the families who would wish to bury their dead, I am sorry to say that we have no bodies to give you.¡± Magneto¡¯s eyes narrowed just slightly as he said, ¡°While we were able to take care of this facility today, we weren¡¯t able to take care of the people who were funding them and still have no clue who they really are. It won¡¯t stop us from looking for them and others like them. From now on, any action the people I work with take will be posted on this website along with any information we deem important public knowledge like the list of victims we currently have up.¡± Magneto relaxed a little as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to think we are trying to purposely hide information. Anything not deemed ¡®important public knowledge¡¯ will be held back because of respect for the dead. The general public really doesn¡¯t need to see the videos we found in that place, it made my time in the camps look like a weekend holiday.¡± Magneto put on a smile as he said, "To everyone who watched or listened to this broadcast, thank you for your time." The video feed slowly faded to black, before every television went back to whatever it should be playing. All radio¡¯s went back to normal and computers were back to normal, except they were opened up to the website that was linked during Magneto¡¯s broadcast. During the broadcast, everyone who owned a relay station, network substation, satellite or anything else that was sending out the signals was frantically trying to restore control of their systems. But nothing they did helped unless they completely cut the power and only a few people tried that method. Within an hour of the broadcast smarter news agencies were making special reports about the broadcast and the website that was posted. What they found when checking the website was that the missing people were from all over the world. Almost one hundred and fifty thousand people were posted on the website and the outrage from the general public was massive. The fact that someone labeled as a terrorist was the one who stopped this group of people was also under debate. Some people were celebrating him and the people he worked with as heroes. Others thought that they acted as vigilantes and should have gone to the proper authorities with the information they had and to let them handle it. Yet another group was calling Magneto and the people he worked with as terrorists and murderers, that they killed innocent people and that everything on the website was mutant lies. That they themselves kidnapped all those people and were just trying to hide the truth. There was even a group that was upset that this group of people killing mutants was now gone. While the general public was outraged about the news, most governments around the world just posted blank statements about what happened and that they didn¡¯t support his actions but didn¡¯t condemn them either. But behind the scenes they didn¡¯t appreciate what Magneto and the website represented and they were doing their best to track down where the website was hosted to take it down. Others were trying to block access to the site, but everything they attempted didn''t work. As soon as they implemented something, it would somehow just disappear and the site would still be accessible. Most governments spent hours trying different things before they finally gave up. Only one government was different from the rest and praised Magneto for his actions. Israel made a statement saying that Magneto was always welcome to come home whenever he wanted and they would gladly refuse anybody who wanted him captured for extradition. There was one person in the world that was more surprised than the rest of the world, when the broadcast happened. He knew about the facility and that it would be dealt with, but he didn¡¯t know about this little stunt and it caught him completely by surprise. As soon as the broadcast started he walked out of his office and yelled, ¡°Someone find me Coulson and Hill immediately!¡± Fury slammed his office door and walked back to his desk and slumped into his chair. As he watched the broadcast with Magneto, he let out a sigh and opened the bottom drawer of his desk. He pulled out a bottle of whisky and a glass. After filling the glass most of the way, he looked at it for a moment as his phone started to ring and after a few seconds, every line on his phone was blinking red. He looked at the phone, looked at his glass of whisky, before he lifted the bottle of whisky and took a drink from it instead. Today was going to be a shit show after this and he really didn¡¯t wanna deal with it. He planned to have a long talk with Ezekiel after he was finished dealing with this mess. 00043. Fallout and a Furious Fury. The next two days were pretty peaceful for Ezekiel, considering what was happening with the rest of the world. The first thing he did was talk with Sarah and they hammered out the deal of her working with him and his group. It was simple really, she just wanted an actual guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t change the deal at some point. So he introduced her to The Ancient One and asked Tao to make a binding contract of magic about the deal they made. Sarah didn¡¯t really seem to believe it, but she seemed more relaxed after her and Ezekiel signed it. Unfortunately Ezekiel had to sign the contract in person and also had to use his real name. But there was a clause in the contract that his name was hidden and anyone who looked at it would only see Ezekiel as his name. After Sarah signed the contract she started to bombard Ezekiel with questions and he just pointed her to one of the computer terminals. Before he left her, he did remind her to go visit her sister and to take Laura with her or her niece will have issues when she is older. She agreed, but only after everything died down. As for Laura, well she quickly met the other kids, or it would be better to say they met her. She was quiet and didn¡¯t really know how to interact with them properly. But Ava and Mary were both balls of positive energy and did everything they could to get Laura to interact with them and the other kids. It was a work in progress to say the least. Another thing Ezekiel did was talk with Kaecilius about bringing back his family. Ezekiel and Tobirama were very clear with him that it would only work once and that he would only have forty-eight hours with them as the spell would collapse after that. Kaecilius agreed and after a few hours Tobirama brought back his wife and son. Kaecilius said he wanted to spend time with them at their favorite place and left the base with them shortly after they were summoned. Ezekiel then spent the next day or so, playing with everyone trying to either find, block or just take down his website. He already had a program that took care of it automatically, but it was fun to do it himself. He might have gotten a bit carried away and tricked a bunch of different government agencies into hacking their own servers to find the server/shut it down. But at the moment he didn¡¯t have that much on his plate and wanted to unwind a little, before Fury came to chew him out for not disclosing what he had done with Magneto. At almost forty-eight hours from when Cessily¡¯s parents were summoned, Ezekiel had Tao transport him to the island they were on. The time difference made it so that it was actually coming up on sunset when Ezekiel arrived. He found Cessily being hugged from each side by her parents as they watched the sunset together. As the sun was fading over the horizon, Cessily''s parents started to slowly disintegrate. Each of them said something to her before they both kissed one of her cheeks as they finished disappearing into motes of light and ash that drifted off on the ocean breeze. Cessily didn''t move but continued to watch the pink and red colored sky alone. Ezekiel approached her as the light began to fade and the faintest of stars could be seen in the twilight of sunset he asked her, "Mind if I join you?" Cessily didn¡¯t respond at first, but then patted the sand next to her. Ezekiel sat down in the sand next to her but said nothing else. After a moment Cessily leaned into Ezekiel and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there for over an hour in silence, just watching the sky fully transition into night. Some time later Cessily finally spoke and said, "I''ll never be able to thank you properly for what you did." Ezekiel reached over and clasped her hand gently as he said, "You don''t need to." They sat quietly together for a while longer before a portal opened close by and Mordo walked out of it before it closed again. He looked at Ezekiel as he said, "Sorry to interrupt, but Fury is looking for you and he seems more upset than he usually is." Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Looks like I have to go back to work. Do you want to come with us or stay here longer?¡± Cessily lifted her head off his shoulder as she said, ¡°I think I''ll join you, if that¡¯s okay." Ezekiel stood up and helped Cessily up afterwards as he said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to join me when I am with Fury, but you can go meet Ava, Mary and the rest if you like.¡± Cessily nodded her head, before she said, ¡°Alright.¡± Ezekiel looked at Mordo and let out a chuckle as he asked, ¡°So would you say Fury is currently furious?¡± Mordo gave him a flat look, and Cessily nudged Ezekiel with her shoulder as she said, ¡°That was lame.¡± ¡°Everyone''s a critic these days.¡± Mordo said nothing but opened a portal for them, Ezekiel went through first, followed by Cessily and then Mordo who closed the portal after them. When they arrived in the transfer room, Ezekiel glanced at Mordo and asked, ¡°Mordo, would you be able to show Cessily where the kids normally hang out? I don¡¯t want to keep Fury waiting too long.¡± Mordo nodded and said, ¡°Yes.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he looked at Cessily and said, ¡°Cessily, this is Mordo. He doesn¡¯t talk much but otherwise isn¡¯t bad company.¡± Before either of them could say anything, an afterimage of Ezekiel faded away. Cessily¡¯s mouth was hanging open before she looked at Mordo and asked, ¡°He can teleport?¡± Mordo shook his head and said, ¡°No idea.¡± Before he started to walk out of the room and down the hall. Cessily just shook her head and mumbled, ¡°He really doesn¡¯t talk much.¡± As she went to follow him. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. vvvvvvvvvv Fury was seated in a chair in the conference room they used for meetings. He wasn¡¯t happy, the last two days had been so much work and he wasn¡¯t even close to sorting through the mess that had been made. Every attempt to take down Ezekiel¡¯s website had ended in failure and after the second time the team assigned to the task was sure they had it, and pulled the plug. They only ended up destroying another of the servers Shield owned, so Fury put a stop to the project even though The World Security Council was breathing down his neck for results. They wanted the site removed and whoever was behind it found and detained for questioning. But the worst part is he had Alexander Pierce with him most of the time the last day and a half. He couldn¡¯t get away to come find out what the fuck Ezekiel was thinking, pulling a stunt like this. This is why he hated working with third parties and people not under his direct command, he couldn¡¯t control them easily. If he had some dirt on Ezekiel or maybe knew who he really was he could use that as some type of leverage to keep him in line. But currently the only thing he knew for sure was that he was somehow reincarnated and was currently a three year old kid. Fury let out a sigh, as the door to the conference room opened up and Ezekiel walked in with a big smile on his face. When Ezekiel saw Fury he said in a cheerful voice, ¡°Mordo said you looked upset, but you look pretty normal to me.¡± Fury gave Ezekiel a flat look and pointed at the chair across from him as he said, ¡°Sit. Then I want you to tell me what the fuck you were thinking pulling a stunt like that?" As Ezekiel sat down, he asked, ¡°I am not really sure what you are talking about. Could you be more clear on the stunt you are talking about?¡± Fury slammed his right fist down on the table as he yelled, ¡°I DON¡¯T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR GAMES EZEKIEL, YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I¡¯M TALKING ABOUT!¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I have an idea, but I am not really sure if it was the broadcast with Magneto, the website, me tricking your team into destroying your own servers, bringing back Cessily¡¯s parents or bringing back Kaecilius¡¯s family. So which one did you want to talk about?¡± Fury¡¯s right eye twitched a little as he asked in a calmer voice, ¡°You mind repeating that last bit, I think I just misheard you.¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°What, the part about bringing back Cessily¡¯s parents or Kaecilius¡¯s family?¡± Fury¡¯s voice was ice cold as he asked, ¡°I thought you said you had to use that spell sparingly or something bad might happen.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°That is correct. I had always planned to help out Kaecilius, so that was planned on my part. The man can be a powerful asset, but he needed closure with his family, so I gave that to him.¡± Fury nodded his head slightly as he listened, it made sense and was honestly a smart move for Ezekiel. But then Ezekiel said, ¡°As for Cessily, she has no immediate family and just awakened her powers recently. She was blaming herself for her parents murder and while she could have worked through it with time and therapy. I figured the best cure was hearing from her parents that they didn¡¯t blame her and that they still loved her very much. Seemed to work, she already seems better.¡± ¡°So you wanted her as another asset? What are her powers?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I am not even sure if she will join us yet. I was just trying to help a young girl who was lost. I did give her a choice of joining us, or going to Xavier. But whether or not she becomes an asset is up to her. I won¡¯t force her to do anything.¡± Fury''s eyes narrowed the tiniest bit and he asked, ¡°So what are we going to do if she wants to leave? She would be a security risk if she got out.¡± Ezekiel nodded slightly as he said, ¡°Normally you would be right, but if she decided to leave, I would just have to lock away and hide certain memories. Nothing that will affect her well being and will keep us safe.¡± Fury gave a quick laugh before he said, ¡°You think that stunt with Magneto and that website is safe for us? What if someone is able to trace it back to us?¡± ¡°No one in the world is good enough to do that. Also that website might seem big and need a server to store and run the whole thing. But I have it running off of a satellite I commandeered from some people who didn¡¯t need it. So if someone was able to find where the website is really hosted, it would be on a satellite that doesn¡¯t actually exist.¡± Fury sat back a little in his chair as he asked, ¡°What about that stupid stunt with Magneto?¡± Ezekiel grinned as he said, ¡°What better way to hide than to have someone else being big and flashy. We can slowly take down some targets and we do it under the guise of Magneto and his group. It does paint a big target on his back, but when I explained what I wanted to do, he agreed to take up the position. But he did make a demand in return.¡± Fury felt a headache coming on as he asked, ¡°Do I even want to know?¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine he just wanted a country for mutants.¡± Fury gave Ezekiel a flat look as he repeated, ¡°He just wants a country?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yup, just a single country. I thought it was reasonable so I said yes.¡± Fury stood up and planted his hands on the table in front of him as he yelled, ¡°AND HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE HIM A COUNTRY?!?!¡± ¡°I am not sure, but I will figure it out. I just need to find one that will work. Probably an island nation or something would work best. A good old fashioned coup should work I think.¡± Fury pointed a figure at Ezekiel as he yelled, ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T JUST TAKE OVER A COUNTRY! THE U.N. WOULDN¡¯T ALLOW IT, S.H.I.E.L.D. WOULDN¡¯T ALLOW IT! YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST TAKE OVER A WHOLE COUNTRY IN A DAY OR SOMETHING?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°If it was small enough, yes. We would need enough manpower though.¡± Fury started to pace as he was yelling, ¡°ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND? DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT IF YOU COULD MAKE A COUP HAPPEN IN A SINGLE DAY AND SOMEHOW TAKE OVER A COUNTRY THE REST OF THE WORLD WOULD LET YOU KEEP IT?!?¡± ¡°You know, you don¡¯t need to yell so much. I can hear you just fine.¡± Fury turned around to glare at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think you have been listening to anything I am saying, you can¡¯t take over a country.¡± Ezekiel asked, ¡°I know, you have said that a bunch. So what, you want me to give him Mars instead and show him how to terraform the planet instead? Because I can and then we shouldn¡¯t have any issue.¡± Fury studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he let out a sigh and asked in a defeated voice, ¡°So I assume you have a country in mind already?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he nodded, ¡°Yes, the island nation of Genosha.¡± 00044. The first metahuman influencer? Kurt was depressed, he had asked for permission to post videos on the new website that came out recently. Unfortunately he was told not to post anything, if someone hacked the site they could possibly track him down. Since they would be tracking him back to the school, he was told not to post anything because it was a security risk for everyone at the school. Especially since that broadcast that Magneto had made. While a lot of people were happy, it seemed like even more had started to come out against mutants in the last few weeks. Kurt wanted to start a video series on the new media platform and show the world that mutants were just like everyone else. They might look different, they might have powers, but mutants were just as human as the next person. When he was denied from posting videos, he went to his best friend Kitty. He asked her to hack into the new platform, to see how secure it was. He knew if she had issues hacking into the site, then it should be fine to post videos. What they didn''t expect was Kitty''s computer to be taken over after only a minute or so of her trying to find a way into the site. Her computer screen went dark for a moment and a small chibi person appeared on the screen. He raised his finger and said, "Ah ah ah, You didn''t say the magic word. Ah ah ah, You didn''t say the magic word¡­" The problem was it wasn''t just her computer that was doing this. They could hear it coming from the rooms around them and other students asking what was going on. Kitty looked at Kurt as she said, "I think I messed up." Kurt looked worried as he asked, "This is bad, can you fix it?" Kitty shook her head as she said, "No I am locked out of my computer. Maybe if I shut it down and restart it, I might be able to fix it. But it might also ruin my computer." Kurt had a regretful look as he said, "Sorry, Kitty." Kitty smiled back at Kurt as she said, "Let''s go talk to the professor and tell him what happened, I am sure he can get it fixed." Kurt''s tail curled down and tucked behind him as he said, "But we¡¯ll get in trouble. You know the professor doesn''t like you hacking into things and since I was the one to ask, I will be in more trouble than you." Kitty smiled as she grabbed onto Kurt''s hand as she said, "You should¡¯ve thought about that before you asked me." "I didn''t think something like this would happen!" Kitty started to become intangible along with Kurt, once they were both completely intangible she said, "Doesn''t matter now, it''s already done. Come on, let''s go." "Bamf" Both of them disappeared in a cloud of blueish black smoke that smelled like sulfur. They appeared the next moment in professor Xavier''s office with another "Bamf" As they appeared they heard someone saying, "I have no idea why he would mess with the computers again." Kitty and Kurt were in the professor''s office and were standing inside the chairs in front of the professor''s desk. Henry McCoy, better known as Beast, was standing next to Xavier and looking at the computer in front of them. They were just chatting about school issues when the computers around the school started going crazy. Xavier smiled when he saw Kitty and Kurt and said, ¡°I know the computers are messing up, we will get it fixed soon.¡± Kitty and Kurt walked out of the chairs and then Kitty made both of them tangible again as she said, ¡°Sorry professor, it was my fault. Kurt really wanted to post videos to that new media site, so I tried to hack into it to make sure it was secure enough. Now all the computers are going crazy.¡± Xavier shared a glance with Beast and said, ¡°Well that solves the mystery of why. Now we just need to contact Ezekiel to fix it.¡± Kitty and Kurt shared a questioning look, before they looked back at Xavier again as Kitty asked, ¡°You know who did this professor?¡± Xavier smiled as he said, ¡°From my understanding you and Kurt were the ones who did this. As for the person who programmed this, yes I know him.¡± Both Kitty and Kurt looked embarrassed as they lowered their heads a little, Kurt said, ¡°Sorry professor, I didn¡¯t think something like this would happen.¡± Xavier smiled as he looked up to Beast and said, ¡°It looks to me that you just found the two helpers you need for kitchen duty for the next two weeks.¡± Kurt was the first to speak as he said, ¡°But Kitty burns everything she makes!¡± Kitty smacked him in the back of his head right after he finished speaking and said, ¡°I do not! I can make a bowl of cereal just fine!¡± Kurt rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°You burned toast using a toaster!¡± ¡°How was I supposed to know that turning the dials all the way up would burn the toast? I thought it was a timer!¡± Xavier cleared his throat as he said, ¡°You won¡¯t have to cook, just help with setup and cleaning. You will be expected to show up at 6AM to help with breakfast, 12PM for lunch and 5PM for dinner. You will still have to attend your normal classes and make sure all of your homework is done.¡± Another voice spoke up from the computer and said, ¡°Since you had Kitty try to hack into my site, you and Kitty also have to shoot, edit and upload at least one video during that time. Or I will ban both of you from the site for life.¡± Everyone looked at the computer on Xavier¡¯s desk. Kitty and Kurt couldn¡¯t see the screen, but Ezekiel was on the screen smiling at Xavier and Beast. Kurt was the first to react and he ¡®Bamf¡¯ in between Xavier and Beast as he said, ¡°Please don¡¯t ban me and Kitty, we didn¡¯t mean to upset you.¡± As Kurt was talking, Kitty phased through the desk to stand next to him and see who was on the screen. Beast raised an eyebrow at the kid''s actions, but said nothing as Ezekiel chuckled before he said, ¡°All you have to do is shoot a video and upload it within two weeks. It won¡¯t be that hard. Here I will even make it easy for you.¡± The computer screen went back to normal. Xavier let out a sigh as the kids were trying to figure out what Ezekiel meant. Beast spoke up and asked, ¡°He isn¡¯t going to do what I think¡­¡± A portal appeared as Beast was in the middle of talking and Ezekiel stepped out of it. In his arms he carried an oversized cardboard box, following behind him was Shisui who also had another box the same size. Ezekiel set his stuff on the ground in front of Xavier¡¯s desk between the chairs and Shisui set the box he carried next to it, as they finished Tao walked out of the portal and it closed behind her. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Ezekiel smiled at everyone as he said, ¡°I was planning to come by today, this just gave me a reason to visit sooner.¡± Kitty and Kurt were both stunned because they didn¡¯t expect someone to just show up in the professor''s office, let alone three people. Xavier had a slight smile as he said, ¡°I would say this is unexpected, but it¡¯s you after all.¡± Ezekiel grinned wide, before he looked at Beast and said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you in person Mr. McCoy.¡± Beast nodded in return and said, ¡°Same to you Ezekiel. Pleasure to see you again, The Ancient One.¡± He looked at Tao as he spoke and nodded his head before he looked at Shisui as he asked, ¡°And who might you be?¡± Shisui bowed as he said, ¡°Shisui Uchiha, it¡¯s nice to meet all of you.¡± Kurt spoke next as he put his arm around Kitty and said, ¡°I¡¯m Kurt Wagner and this is my best friend Kitty Pryde. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Ezekiel smiled and asked, ¡°Kurt, I understand you want to make and upload videos to my site, correct?¡± Kurt smiled as he said, ¡°Yes I was hoping to make some videos showing that mutants and humans aren¡¯t that different.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, I was hoping some people would do something like that.¡± Ezekiel pointed to the boxes in front of the desk and said, ¡°If Xavier is okay with it, you and Kitty can have all this stuff so you can make videos.¡± Both Kitty and Kurt glanced at the boxes in front of the desk, but couldn¡¯t figure out what was inside the oversized cardboard boxes. Xavier looked at the boxes also before he looked at Ezekiel and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t really give me much of a choice did you?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Sorry, I was just excited. Kurt is the first metahuman who wants to make and upload videos. I figured I could help him out. Plus I had all of this stuff set aside from when I was testing the site and no longer have a need for it.¡± Xavier let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Alright, Kurt, Kitty, you can have whatever Ezekiel brought you. What do you say?¡± They said, ¡°Thank you very much!¡± at the same time. Ezekiel chuckled as he said, ¡°It''s fine, like I said, I no longer had a use for it.¡± Ezekiel looked at Shisui and said, ¡°Could you help them take it to their rooms?¡± Shisui nodded as he picked up the box he set down. Kurt ''bamf'' to the other box and picked it up as he said, "I could probably teleport them both, you don''t have to help carry them." Shisui shook his head as he said, "It''s fine, I don''t mind at all." He walked next to the door as he said, "Lead the way." Kitty phased through the desk and chair, before she reached the door and opened it up as she said, "Alright follow us, Shisui." After they left the room, Ezekiel sat in one of the chairs as he looked towards Xavier and said, ¡°I would like to see you and Magneto in a few days at our last meeting spot if you have time." Xavier nodded his head but asked, "What time?" "Any time, just message me and I will get you transport. It shouldn''t take more than an hour or so." Ezekiel looked at Beast and said, ¡°I also have a project coming up that I could use your skill in genetics and biochemistry if you would like to join it. You can join Xavier and Magneto when they visit and meet the other people who will be working on the project and check out the lab we are using.¡± Beast nodded his head and said, ¡°I have duties with the school, but I could spare some time each week, if that works for you?¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°Any help would be appreciated.¡± Ezekiel lost his normal smile as he said, "Like I said, giving Kurt and Kitty that stuff isn''t the main reason I came. I actually planned to pick up Logan, I promised him something and I am now ready to fulfill that promise." Xavier had a frown as he said, "Logan said you are going to torture Stryker for him." Beast looked concerned after hearing Xavier speak, but said nothing as Ezekiel gave a slight smile and said, "You and Logan are making it sound so bad, I am not going to torture Stryker. I am not some kinda psychopath." Both Beast and Xavier relaxed after Ezekiel finished. But then Ezekiel''s grin became wider as he said, "All I am going to do is shred his soul. Unfortunately the side effect is that it is extremely painful." Beast looked at Ezekiel in shock, and Xavier had a concerned look on his face before he asked, ¡°I assume that was a joke?¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°I have watched him perform it once, while it does shred the target''s soul, it doesn¡¯t destroy it. It just makes it incredibly weak once the process is finished. As for the person themself, it looks to be extremely painful to go through and the target dies before it¡¯s finished.¡± Beast frowned as he said, ¡°Putting the point about souls being real aside, why would you use something like that? I saw the data you sent from that place, I won¡¯t argue with killing those people, but should we really torture them?¡± Xavier nodded his head as he said, ¡°As much as I dislike killing, I also think torture is going to far.¡± Ezekiel gave a shoulder shrug as he said, ¡°Unfortunately they are serving a purpose in death and it only works if we use it on them while they are still alive. As for what that purpose is, I can¡¯t currently tell you.¡± Xavier stared at Ezekiel for a few moments before he let out a sigh and said, ¡°I will call Logan for you.¡± ¡®Logan, Ezekiel is in my office. He came to pick you up.¡¯ ¡®Already heading that way, I ran into Kurt and Kitty with someone who doesn¡¯t smell like Ezekiel. I am bringing him back with me, we¡¯ll be there in a few minutes.¡¯ ¡°Logan said he is coming back with Shisui.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and was about to speak when ¡®Bamf¡¯ Kurt and Kitty appeared in the room off to the side this time and not in any thing or any one. Kitty was the first to speak as she became tangible again and asked, ¡°We can really have all that stuff?!?¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°Yup, I don¡¯t have a use for it anymore.¡± Kitty looked almost panicked as she sputtered out, ¡°But. That¡¯s! Really? Are you sure?! Promise?!¡± Kurt smiled as he said, ¡°Kitty calm down before you phase through the floor again.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t understand!¡± Xavier was curious and said, ¡°Miss Pryde, please calm yourself and then tell us what has made you so animated.¡± Kitty closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, she slowly exhaled it. Then she looked towards Xavier and Beast as she pointed at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°In the boxes he gave us is a brand new top of the line Stark Tech computer with two thirty inch monitors in one box along with some other computer stuff. The other box was full of high end camera equipment, some lights, microphones and a bunch of other things. The computer alone is worth a lot of money and the camera is probably worth even more money! It¡¯s a high end digital film camera used to make movies!¡± Ezekiel gave a shrug as he said, ¡°I had to make sure the website could handle 4k footage, so I had to buy all that stuff and test with it. I don¡¯t expect anyone to upload videos in 4k currently, it''s way too expensive for normal people. But I wanted to future proof the site now so I didn¡¯t have to update a bunch of stuff later on. Now it¡¯s yours to use and make videos, have fun.¡± Before anyone else could speak, Logan opened the door and let Shisui walk in and he closed the door behind him as he entered himself. Shisui smirked when he saw Kurt and Kitty again, but said nothing else. Logan looked at everyone in the room and asked, ¡°Is everyone here going?¡± Ezekiel smirked, then stood up and patted Kurt on the shoulder as he said, ¡°Make sure you both read the instructions for everything before you use it. I look forward to seeing your first video.¡± Kurt nodded his head in reply along with Kitty. As they did, Kurt reached over to Kitty and grabbed her hand. She started going intangible again as Kurt said, ¡°Thank you again, Ezekiel!¡± ¡®Bamf¡¯ Ezekiel smiled and glanced at Tao as he said, ¡°If you would please.¡± Tao let out a sigh and made a portal. 00045. Trust isnt always a two way street. Logan was standing in a room with Ezekiel, Tao, Fury, Tobirama, Orochimaru, Stryker and some scientist they picked up at the facility they raided. The scientist, along with Stryker, were strapped down to a table and the latter was giving Logan a death glare. Logan had a small grin on his face, he might not currently remember the man. But after the way Stryker was cursing at him, he knew they had a history that wasn''t pleasant. Ezekiel nodded towards Tobirama, who walked next to Stryker, he did some hand seals as he said, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!" Before he placed his hand on the seal on Stryker''s forehead. The man started to struggle at first before he started to thrash around and scream into the ball gag in his mouth. Logan watched with horrid fascination as Stryker seemed to disintegrate into pieces of ash that floated to the floor and started to build up into something else. After a minute he stopped making noise and went still. The pile of ash finished forming up and turned into Dr. Sutter. When he was fully complete, Tobirama placed a control seal in the back of his head. As he opened his eyes Ezekiel said, "Mr. Sutter, you will only speak when asked a question and you must fully answer that question to the best of your ability, unless told otherwise. If you understand, nod your head." As Sutter nodded yes, Logan asked, "What the hell did you just do?" Ezekiel glanced at Tobirama and said, "You can start the next one." As Tobirama started making hand seals, Ezekiel looked at Logan and said, "We used Stryker''s soul to bring back Sutter. If we didn''t place the control seal on him, it would be like he came back to life almost. With the control seal, he has no free will and we can get answers from him we normally wouldn''t be able to get." Logan grunted as he watched the scientist going through the same process and asked, "Who are you bringing back this time?" Ezekiel gave a cheshire-like smile as he said, "Stryker." Logan snapped his head to look at Ezekiel as he asked, "Can I ask him about my past?" "That was the plan. The people we bring back can stay together for about forty-eight hours before the spell fails and they disappear. We would also like to ask him some questions, but you can have him for the first forty hours unless you finish with him sooner." Logan grunted as he nodded his head and turned back to watch the scientist going through the same process as Stryker. The process finished quickly and Logan was led to a room with the reanimated Stryker while Fury took Sutter to another room for interrogation. Ezekiel, Tobirama, Orochimaru and Tao went to have an overdue conversation regarding souls, astral projection and how it tied together with memories and a person''s knowledge. Needless to say, their conversation ended up taking a few weeks. They took breaks of course, since the clones only lasted about twenty-five hours and Tao needed to sleep, along with her other duties. But they spent at least four hours a day discussing the subject in depth. While Ezekiel was mostly just curious and wanted to know certain things, like how he still had all of his knowledge yet was just cells dividing in his mothers womb and didn¡¯t have a body, much less a brain. Tobirama and Orochimaru on the other hand wanted to talk in depth about everything related to souls. Mostly for the upcoming project they were working on and also because they were knowledge junkies. Out of everyone currently in Theo¡¯s head, Tobirama and Orochimaru were the most dedicated to learning. The others would go for a few hours, then get bored or tired of what they were doing and do something else. Tobirama and Orochimaru would spawn as clones and then spend the entire time buried in books, researching obscure things on the internet or doing experiments. Half the time they worked on projects together and would be in perfect sync with each other without saying a single word. Theo wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they technically have the same memories or something else was going on, but it was pretty amazing to watch as they worked as a single minded unit. A few days after Stryker and Sutter were questioned, Xavier contacted Ezekiel so they could meet. Xavier along with Magneto and Beast were transported by Kaecilius to the basement of the facility. On the left side of the basement area where some of the laboratories were. They were greeted by Ezekiel, Tobirama, Orochimaru, Kabuto, Sarah, Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura. Xavier sent to Beast and Magneto, ''Strange, everyone here is like Ezekiel except for Dr. Kinney. I can sense her mind, but it''s like it isn''t there. The others I cannot sense at all, like they don''t exist. I wonder if Ezekiel trained them all to block out telepaths.'' Beast sent back, ¡®That is a possibility professor, since Dr. Kinney¡¯s mind is no longer open to you.¡¯ Magneto, ¡®Definitely something to consider, Charles.¡¯ Xavier smiled as he said, "It''s good to see you again Ezekiel, Dr. Kinney.¡± Xavier looked towards the other people gathered as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet all of you, I am Charles Xavier. These are my friends, Dr. Henry McCoy and Max Eisenhardt.¡± Henry stepped forward, he was covered head to toe in a coat of fine blue fur. He was wearing a pair of square glasses that rested on the end of his snout, but behind the glasses you could see his yellow eyes and black vertical pupils. His pointed ears could just be made out, behind his wild mane of blue hair. And as he smiled, his fang-like teeth became very noticeable, before he gestured to himself with his unusually large hands tipped with claws as he said, ¡°You can just call me Hank if you like, Dr. McCoy also works.¡± The first to greet him was a man with pale skin and snake-like, yellow eyes. He stepped forward with his right hand raised as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Hank, You can call me, Orochimaru. Your last paper on genetics was captivating and I would love to discuss it in depth with you at some point.¡± Tobirama stepped forward after Orochimaru and as he shook Beast¡¯s hand he said, ¡°Tobirama Senju. I agree with Orochimaru, that paper is a work of genius. How did you figure out how¡­¡± Ezekiel clapped his hands as he said, ¡°You guys can fanboy later, we have some work we need to do.¡± Orochimaru glared at Ezekiel for a moment, but both him and Tobirama backed up and allowed the others to introduce themselves. As the others made introductions, Xavier noticed the youngest person in the group. The pink haired girl who looked no older than sixteen. He had met many smart people in his time, and while he was sure the group before him was well educated. He never heard any of their names before, let alone any mention of them anywhere in academic communities. After everyone was introduced, Xavier said, ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude in asking this, but I have never heard of any of you by name before. Is there a reason for that?¡± Beast nodded his head in agreement, he had never heard of any of them before and he had an eidetic type memory. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°They aren¡¯t from around here and lets leave it at that.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Xavier sent a message to Beast and Magneto, ¡®Not from Earth then or something else? Different universe maybe?¡¯ Magneto thought, ¡®¡®They seem human enough, but then again other aliens seem human enough.¡¯ Beast sent back, ¡®If they are aliens, why do they want to help Earth? Or mutants for that matter? With the visions Ezekiel gave Raven, I think they might be from a different universe. Possibly one that had one of those visions come true. Ezekiel and these people might be the survivors?¡¯ Xavier smiled as he said, ¡°I understand, we might be working together. But we still have our own secrets.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Exactly. One day we will bring you into our group completely, but we still have a lot of enemies and trust is a big issue for us. You obviously know the saying, ¡®Trust is earned, not given¡¯ Magneto said it not long ago when you agreed to work with us." Xavier nodded his head as he said, ¡°I have heard different versions of it, a few times.¡± Ezekiel''s face lost its normal half smirk as he said, ¡°I personally think trust can never really be earned. It can only truly be given by someone who wants trust in return. Which is why I asked both of you here today. I want you to give me your trust, with something important.¡± Xavier glanced at Magneto as he sent, ¡®What do you think, old friend?¡¯ Magneto sent back, ¡®I am not sure, but if he is asking for our trust. Then it might be something he could easily take with his powers and instead wants us to trust him.¡¯ ¡®I was thinking something similar.¡¯ Xavier looked back at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Alright, what do you need?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Samples of your genetics.¡± Both Xavier and Magneto shared a glance before they both focused on Ezekiel as Xavier asked, ¡°Do you mind if I ask why?¡± ¡°That is where your trust comes in. That being said, you can take as long as you like to come to a decision. But we could still use Hank¡¯s help with our other projects if he would like to join us.¡± Magneto spoke right after as he said, ¡°Fine, you can take some samples from me.¡± Xavier looked over in shock as Magneto sent him, ¡®If he gave us a hard time limit, I would have said no. But he said, ¡°take as long as we want¡±, so either he doesn¡¯t really care about genetic samples from us.¡¯ Xavier sent back, ¡®Or he already has samples from us.¡¯ ¡®Exactly.¡¯ Xavier looked back at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°You can take samples from me also.¡± Beast was a little surprised at Magneto and Xavier''s response, but said nothing. Ezekiel smiled wide as he said, ¡°I am glad to hear you agree. I honestly didn¡¯t think you would so soon.¡± Ezekiel turned to Sarah as he said, ¡°Well I¡¯ll leave everything in your capable hands, Tobirama and the others will help you from now on.¡± Ezekiel looked at Xavier and his group as he said, "If you''ll excuse me, I have some other things I need to take care of. But Dr. Kinney and the others can handle the rest." Xavier nodded in reply as Ezekiel looked at Kaecilius and said, ¡°Port me back and once you are done here, come find me, please.¡± Kaecilius nodded his head as he made a portal. As Ezekiel was about to walk through it he said, "Just so you know, I sent your school a shipment of the new Stark Tech computers. There should be enough that every student and faculty member will have one with about thirty spare computers in case you need more or some break." Xavier looked concerned, but Ezekiel was through the portal and it had already mostly closed when he went to speak. Xavier looked at Kaecilius who just smirked slightly as he shrugged his shoulders. Beast said what the professor was wondering about, "I hope he didn''t ship them through normal means." Kaecilius shook his head and said, ¡°We transfer everything through portals. The Ancient One should have delivered it to your underground hanger by now.¡± vvvvvvvvv Ezekiel walked through the hallways of the base he was currently headed to the last person he wanted to collect genetic samples from. Besides Xavier and Magneto, he had also collected samples from himself, Hank Pym, Bill Foster, Logan, Coulson and Peggy. He also had collected samples from the base''s cook, it took a bit to find a proper chef, but Peggy brought up Edwin Jarvis. The man was technically retired and even though he still served the Stark¡¯s. Tony was almost never home and the man didn¡¯t have much to do most of the time. So he was ported into the base every day and would prepare food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would also make some easily reheated meals for people who ate at odd hours. He also wanted to get samples from a few other people, but he knew asking Fury or Maria for samples wouldn¡¯t work. Fury was too paranoid still to trust Ezekiel, and Maria was already on the fast track being groomed as his replacement. It didn''t take Ezekiel long before he located Steve, honestly he was never hard to find. The man only did four things currently, spending time with Peggy was the main one. Which if Steve wasn¡¯t careful, Peggy might need a hip replacement or worse sooner or later. Ezekiel noticed her walking with a slight limp more than once, and he doesn¡¯t think he is the only one to notice¡­ Besides that, he was being caught up on everything he had missed while in stasis, which he usually did with Peggy and sometimes Coulson. Physical training was next and last was spending time with the kids living in the base. He kinda became their unofficial P.E. coach, which he strangely excelled at. Ezekiel arrived at the base''s indoor gym and stopped before the door. From outside the room Ezekiel could hear the loud solid thuds as Steve worked over a punching bag. Ezekiel grinned, he was glad he found Steve here and not with Peggy. Ezekiel opened the door as he walked inside, he took in the room. The gym was actually expanded by his clones not too long ago. Some of the earth type users made the room a little bigger than a football field in size, with a ceiling height of thirty feet. The whole thing was reinforced and compressed so much that it was stronger than modern day concrete. The whole area was set up with a running track around the outside, with a full set of gym equipment set up on the first half of the field. Past the gym equipment was an area set up with mat¡¯s and sparring equipment, along with all the training tools you would need to teach people how to fight. Ezekiel was by the door and over sixty yards from Steve, who noticed him almost immediately. Steve reached out and steadied the bag, before he reached down to pick up a towel and wipe down the light sheen of sweat coating his forehead. While he was doing that, Ezekiel seemed to flicker and as the after image of Ezekiel faded out before the door another Ezekiel appeared standing a few feet from Steve. Steve smiled a little as he said, ¡°It¡¯s hard, but I can still see you moving when you use that skill.¡± ¡°That just means I haven''t perfected it yet. The true peak of that skill is to make it seem like I teleported.¡± Steve shook his head as he asked, ¡°So did you come to practice or did you finally come to ask me for some genetic samples?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Peggy told you, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Of course she did. She said you wouldn¡¯t tell her why though. I can understand asking me for some samples, I have the perfect super soldier formula inside me. Figuring out how it works could be useful, but you asked her, Coulson, Hank and Bill for samples.¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°I also took samples from myself, Logan, Xavier and Magneto. I have a few things I wanna do, but the main one is running comparison tests with my genetics against everyone else. I wanna see how different I am from normal humans.¡± Steve was quiet for a few moments as he thought about it. He reached down, picked up his water bottle and took a drink before he said, ¡°You can take samples from me, but I don¡¯t want you to make another super soldier serum, the world doesn¡¯t need it. If you agree to that, you can have your samples.¡± Ezekiel stuck his hand out and shook Steve¡¯s hand as he said, ¡°You have yourself a deal.¡± After they shook hands, Steve smiled and asked, ¡°Care for a spar?¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°You know if you punch me, I will disappear.¡± ¡°I know, that¡¯s why you need to dodge all of my attacks.¡± 00046. Side Story 001: Hello is this thing on? Kurt and Kitty were able to film a short few minute video and upload it within a week of Ezekiel giving them their new equipment. It really should have been edited by Kitty, but she wasn¡¯t talking to Kurt currently and all Kurt could really do is make a title card for it. So instead of just editing the video down and getting rid of part of it, he uploaded it all unedited. The video was titled ¡®Guten tag'' and faded in from that title written in Comic Sans MS to a slightly messy bedroom covered in movie and band posters with no one in it. You could hear someone with an accented German voice ask, "Is it on?" A female voice replied "Yes. It''s recording your messy bedroom." "OH!" The other voice replied before a teenage boy covered with a fine blue-colored fur appeared on the screen. He had on some khaki cargo shorts and a t-shirt with the Highlander logo that read, ¡®There can be only one¡¯. He has a curly mop of blue tinted black hair on his head which is cropped slightly shorter on the sides and shows off his pointed ears. His eyes are a striking yellow color with no visible pupils and as he smiled at the camera you could see his pronounced fang-like canine teeth on display. He raised his right hand to wave at the camera and the viewer could see that his hand only had three digits which included an opposable thumb. As he waved at the camera a tail could be seen sometimes behind him as it waved back and forth in sync with his hand as the boy said, ¡°Guten tag, my name is Kurt Wagner and as you can see I am a mutant.¡± Kurt paused for a moment before he said, ¡°Actually I heard a new term recently and I think it sounds better than mutant. It was metahuman. I¡¯m a metahuman.¡± The boy put his arm down as he said, ¡°I know a lot of people in the world misunderstand and fear metahumans. I think it''s this misunderstanding and fear of metahumans that causes all of the hate we receive from people. So I wanted to show the world that while we may look different, we are just as human as you are. In fact, the only difference between us is a single gene in our D.N.A. as far as I know.¡± He rubbed the back of his head as he gave a sheepish smile and said, ¡°Well at least that¡¯s what I was told by someone a lot smarter than me.¡± He still had his sheepish smile as he looked a little past the camera to somewhere behind it as he said, ¡°This is a lot harder than I thought it would be, Kitty.¡± A female voice could be heard as she said, ¡°You think? That¡¯s why I said I didn¡¯t wanna be on camera.¡± Kurt¡¯s smile turned a little mischievous as he said, ¡°Really?¡± The female''s voice raised just a little as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare.¡± ¡®Bamf¡¯ The boy disappeared in a cloud of smoke as another ¡®Bamf¡¯ was heard at almost the same time behind the camera somewhere. ¡®Bamf¡¯ and another ¡®Bamf¡¯ was heard as the boy appeared again with a teenage girl next to him, with his tail wrapped around her waist. It all happened in less than a second. The girl was frozen like a deer in the headlights of a car as she looked at the camera. She was a few inches shorter than the boy and was wearing a Led Zeppelin band t-shirt and some faded jeans. Her brown hair was slightly curly and stopped at her shoulders. Her skin was pale white, like she doesn¡¯t go out much. Her hazel colored eyes widened slightly as she looked at the camera. Before she smacked the smiling Kurt in the back of the head. As he reached up to rub his head, the girl phased out of his tail and ran through the camera. Once she was behind the camera again, she could be heard saying, ¡°Do that again and I will hide your swords for a whole week!¡± Kurt¡¯s eyes went wide and his accent became heavier as he said, ¡°Please don¡¯t hide my swords again!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t put me on camera!¡± Kurt looked a little sad as he said, ¡°Okay, no more Kitty cam.¡± His voice was barely above a whisper as he finished, ¡°This time.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Kurt smiled as he said, ¡°Nothing.¡± Kurt looked back at the camera as he said, ¡°So that was my best friend Kitty. We hang out a lot because we have the same classes, we also like a lot of the same movies.¡± He pointed at his shirt before he waved at the posters behind him. He rubbed the back of his head again, as he said, ¡°To be honest I didn¡¯t really think this video through very much, so I am not really sure what else to do or say.¡± As he finished talking someone could be heard yelling in a heavily accented Russian voice, ¡°KURT! You better not run away!¡± Kurt looked to the door of his room as he said, ¡°Looks like he didn¡¯t like my gift, and I made sure it was something he would cherish too.¡± Kitty asked, ¡°What do you mean? What did you do this time?¡± Kurt glanced back at Kitty, a smirk plastered on his face as he said, ¡°You remember how we were talking about how he should improve his clothing selection and wear something other than his boring jeans and plain white t-shirts?¡± ¡°You gave him some new clothes?¡± Kurt¡¯s smirk, turned into a mischievous grin as he said, ¡°Well I did give him something¡­ But¡­¡± The stomping of heavy feet could be heard getting closer as someone said, ¡°You ruined my favorite shirt!¡± Kurt looked shocked as he asked Kitty, ¡°How can he know which one is his favorite shirt if they all look the same?¡± Kurt looked towards the door again as the footsteps were getting closer and said, ¡°I gotta go Kitty! You deal with him, he won¡¯t be as mad because he likes you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Bamf¡¯ you¡­ dare.¡± You could hear Kitty let out a sigh as the footsteps got louder before a surprised voice asked, ¡°Kitty? What are you doing in Kurt''s room?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Kitty turned the camera towards the door as she said, ¡°We were filming a video, but Kurt took off when you said he ruined your favorite shirt.¡± As the camera panned to the door, you could see more of Kurt¡¯s room. On the wall next to the open door was a rack hanging on the wall with a bunch of different swords resting in it. Standing in the doorway was a tall, very muscular teen whose frame almost took up the whole doorway. His short cut black hair almost touched the top of the door frame as he stood inside it. He was wearing a pair of jeans and had a bright pink t-shirt on that looked like it was almost one size too small for him. He looked around the room for a moment with his ice blue eyes, before he waved his hand at the shirt he was wearing as he said, ¡°Da, look what he has done. All of my shirts look like this now.¡± Kitty hummed before she said, ¡°Honestly it looks pretty good on you.¡± The teen blushed a little as he asked, ¡°You think so?¡± ¡°Of course, Piotr. I always thought you would look better if you changed up your wardrobe some and added some color to it. Kurt was thinking the same thing, he just took it a little too far.¡± Piotr lifted up his balled fist and his face went bright red as he said, ¡°Da, he put this in with my t-shirts when I put them in the washer.¡± He opened his hand and resting in it was a pair of bright red lace panties. After a few seconds of silence you could hear Kitty say, ¡°Are those my¡­¡± ¡°KURT!!!¡± The video ended abruptly after that. With the way Theo set up his platforms, everything was interlinked. So even if someone wanted to set up a fake account, it was always tied to a real person. Only he would be able to see who it really was on the back end of his servers. He wanted it like that, so while people could technically post, ¡®anonymously¡¯ if someone was a problem. They couldn¡¯t just hide who they really are and Ezekiel could permanently ban them if needed. There were some workarounds for it if someone was crafty, but in the terms and conditions on sign up it was strictly forbidden to use another person''s info to sign up. It was also forbidden to use false info. Anyone who was caught would be banned for life. It was a lot of coding to do, but Theo had a program that figured out who was really behind the computer, setting up the account. If the person was not who they said they were, it wouldn¡¯t activate their account and send an error saying it couldn¡¯t process the information. If they didn¡¯t, it would keep sending error messages until they gave up or put in their real information. Since there was no real way to make fake accounts on any of his sites it made moderating everything really simple. He didn¡¯t have to deal with fake accounts, spam bots or any other real bullshit. He also had a program that took care of most of the day to day work, but he would still check stuff out each day. Sooner or later he would have to hire some people to help him. Only because he was using two or three clones a day to do the work currently and those clones could be used for other more important things. When Kurt made his account and uploaded his video, Theo¡¯s clone was the first person to watch it. He ended up laughing so hard at the end that he fell out of his chair. When he calmed down he showed it to all of the other clones, before he approved the video and uploaded it to the front page as recommended. It took off from there and Kurt had over half a million views on the video and over fifty thousand followers within a day of the video being uploaded. It actually made him the number one most followed creator and would later on be considered the first viral video ever made. It might not seem like much, but the whole site overall was still small with a little over three million users which might login once a week. Out of those users only about ten percent of them have uploaded at least one video. There were a few who have posted ten or more videos and had a few thousand followers. But Kurt was the first real star of the platform and the comment section of his video was just out of hand. GreatJake: This has to be staged. OscarJJ: That is some pretty cool editing, I wonder how they pulled it off. KimK: The second boy was a hunk. Is he single? AlexF: He kinda looked like a blue demon. His tail was awesome, I wish I had one. GregH: My man really stole her underwear¡­ I bow to your recklessness. KimK: Reply-GregH- That was gross, who would steal a girl''s underwear. Ben10: Reply-GregH-KimK- A blue guy who can teleport apparently. GregH: Reply-Ben10- LOL, Pretty much. TimT: Comic Sans MS for the font really? Those were written in the first few minutes of the video going public and it went on for thousands more. A good portion of people thought the video was staged, some thought it wasn¡¯t. Some thought he was a metahuman, some thought it was special effects. The main thing everyone agreed on was that the video was hilarious even if it was staged. Only one person didn¡¯t find the video funny, but it took them over a week to even find out about it. Kitty was still pissed off at Kurt, so she didn¡¯t watch the video after he uploaded it. When she was finally over it, she watched the video¡­ It had been a week since Kurt and talked to Kitty, she was still pissed at him for putting her underwear in Piotr¡¯s laundry. He was upset since his best friend wasn¡¯t talking to him, so he had uploaded the video and never checked it afterwards. He was currently laying on his bed reading his favorite book The Three Musketeers. When he suddenly felt something was off so he sat up and looked around. When he didn¡¯t find anything wrong he went to lay back down, but right as he did he heard Kitty yell, ¡°KURT!¡± Kurt dropped his book on his bed as he jumped out of it and landed on the ceiling of his room as he looked in the direction the yell came from. He wasn¡¯t sure what he did, but Kitty didn¡¯t sound happy. He was trying to think of what he might have done as she came running into the room through the wall. She looked absolutely livid as she looked up at him crouched on the ceiling. Kurt looked afraid as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything I swear.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything? You didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Kitty pointed at him as she yelled, ¡°You uploaded that video!¡± Kurt tilted his head slightly as he said, ¡°Umm, Ya, that Ezekiel guy said we had two weeks to upload it.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t edit it!¡± Kurt looked slightly ashamed as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know how, you were supposed to do it for me.¡± ¡°Over a million people have seen the video!¡± Kurt actually fell off the ceiling in shock, his reflexes kicked in and he flipped over to land on his feet but he was still in shock as he asked, ¡°A million people watched it?¡± She glared at him as she asked, her voice was low and promised violence, ¡°You didn¡¯t know that over a million people have seen my underwear because of you?¡± Kurt swallowed, his mouth was incredibly dry all of the sudden as he said, ¡°Now that you mention it¡­ No?¡± Kitty reached back and grabbed one of Kurt¡¯s training swords off the wall. As she unsheathed it Kurt said with concern, ¡°Kitty, I don¡¯t really wanna spar right now.¡± ¡°Good, I wasn¡¯t planning to spar.¡± Kitty rushed forward as she said, ¡°I am gonna beat some sense into you.¡± Kurt teleported out of the way and to the door. Kitty turned around and said, ¡°If you run, it will just be worse.¡± Kurt opened the door and ran out of it as Kitty charged at him again. As he made it into the hallway, she just phased through the wall and was next to him within a moment. Before she could swing at him, he teleported down the hall a little to keep out of range. It was kinda normal to see Kitty chasing after Kurt for one reason or another, but Kurt yelling out, ¡°I am sorry, I didn¡¯t think a million people would see your underwear!¡± Made everyone who heard it pause and try to figure out what he was talking about. It wasn¡¯t long before someone found the video he uploaded and told everyone else in the mansion about it. Needless to say, Kurt, Kitty and Piotr became more famous inside and outside the mansion after that event. 00047. Three months in a flash... Theo was happy when he heard Peter¡¯s parents decided to quit their jobs to spend more time at home with Peter and the rest of their extended family. They announced it to everyone and the kids a week after the group trip to Coney Island. Theo had never seen Peter so happy and he had spent Monday thru Saturday with him for the past three years. Theo wanted to help out his family, so when Richard listed their condo in downtown Manhattan for sale. Theo was the one who bought it, he made a cash offer above list price for the condo through a real estate agent. He also paid the closing costs and Richard was told they could stay in the condo as long as they needed if they paid rent. Since the buyer was planning to use it as a rental property. But finding a new house didn¡¯t take that long, Theo had also made a pretty decent offer to the owners of a house on the same street as his parent''s house. It was actually done before he bought Richard''s condo. The people who owned the house took the offer and moved out within a week of closing the deal. Then Theo put the house up for sale and Richard made an offer for it. The deal was closed quickly, then Richard, Ben, and Jacob went through and remodeled a few things and painted everything with help from a contractor friend Ben knew. Richard, Mary and Peter moved into the house after about a month. Which was about three months after Ezekiel had collected samples from everyone. They then took all the spare money they had and spent that to renovate part of the basement and buy essential equipment they would need to work. It wasn¡¯t the cutting edge stuff they had at their last job, but it was good enough to get started. They were planning to look for some grants and other things to help supplement what was missing. Moving away from Theo¡¯s family, the new base they had was up and running. It even had a spell ward set up like the other base, so there was only one place to portal into it. Beast, who joined the research team, would at first only spend a few hours a week working with them. But he quickly came to respect and realize how smart all of them were, he ended up changing his personal schedule and now spends at least four hours a day during the week working in the lab with them. And on the weekends he will spend ten hours or more. He also became pretty fast friends with Orochimaru and Tobirama. During that time Orochimaru and the others had made a lot of progress on their work. Their first goal was to completely sequence the genetic samples they were given by everyone. But with the equipment they had it wasn''t that hard to do. The only issue was the samples from Theo himself. They took over two weeks to finish and both Beast and Sarah were stunned at the complexity of the completed genome. Orochimaru, Kabuto and Tobirama were the opposite, when they saw how simple the genomes they collected from the others were. They honestly thought something wasn''t right with the equipment and wanted to double check everything the old fashioned way. They made it through Coulson''s complete genome in only a few days and just couldn''t believe the difference in genomes between this world and where they came from. The funniest thing about the whole situation was Orochimaru''s attitude. At first he was delighted to see what made humans turn into metahumans. But once he realized how simple their complete genome was, he lost almost all of his interest in metahumans. In his words it was like trying to compare a masterpiece of art to some stick figures your kid made. The bright side to the whole thing was that Orochimaru and the others had little issues figuring out how the x-gene worked and how to modify it. It still needed a lot of testing before they were done, but their main goal was to make it where any metahuman could turn off their own powers. It wasn''t a cure, but for the people who didn''t like the side effects of their powers. They would now have an opportunity to live normally when they were switched off. Beast was really excited about this research and was helping to spearhead It. A different project that was being run by Tsunade, Shizune and Sakura was trying to create a new type of medicine. It would basically heal anything wrong with you and could regrow limbs. They were using the samples taken from Logan and samples the facility had from Laura. It was slow going since they were trying to take the healing effects from their mutations and turn it into some type of retrovirus. The last project was about cloning, both Sarah and Orochimaru had their own cloning project. Orochimaru was focused on a cloning project using Theo¡¯s genome. While Sarah was trying to figure out how to splice Steve''s modified super soldier gnome with other people''s. She was actually making very fast breakthroughs and it wasn''t that hard, considering people had been trying to replicate the serum itself for years without proper success. Over that same three month period, Sarah, Laura and Cessily had integrated into the base rather quickly. They were each given rooms and Ezekiel gave them free reign on the budget to get anything they wanted to make the room livable. Sarah''s room was relatively plain, a small bookcase, desk with a computer and some other essential things. As well as a few pictures with her and Laura. She even had a picture of her, with her sister, Laura and her niece when they left the base to visit them for a few days. Cessily¡¯s room was pretty typical for a teenage girl, she had asked for a bunch of clothes, band posters, stereo, computer, TV. She also had pictures of her with her parents. Most of them were from before she had powers, but a few were from afterwards. Cessily was lucky, because the facility hadn''t disposed of her family''s stuff yet. She mostly took all the pictures her family had, along with a few other things of sentimental value. Laura was the biggest surprise when it came to what she asked for. Well maybe it wasn''t since Laura was currently only thirteen. But she had asked, with encouragement from Sarah, for a large amount of stuffed animals. Her king sized bed was literally half covered in the things. She also asked for a bookshelf filled with books, she had asked for, ''Anything that is fun to read''. So Ezekiel and Sarah picked out a bunch of classic books like, Three Musketeers, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, Treasure Island, and The Mark of Zorro to name a few. Laura liked to spend a few hours each day just reading in her bed, snuggled between her stuffed animals. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As for integrating with other people, Cessily made friends with the other kids rather quickly. Laura on the other hand was still having issues. Possibly as a way to help herself cope with the recent loss of her parents, Cessily had taken on the role and acted as an older sister to Laura. It was helping a lot to bring Laura out of her shell. Laura has even started interacting more often with the other kids, without the need for one of them to initiate the interaction first. Speaking of the kids, they actually had a pretty good routine setup. They would have some type of structured classes a few hours a day along with their kitchen duty. Jarvis had all of the kids helping in the kitchen, they would all help to prepare and serve food. Afterwards the kids would clean up everything. A few of the kids he was also teaching how to properly cook. The schooling for the kids was a lot more relaxed since there were only a handful of kids, and they all ranged widely in age. But for at least three hours each week day, they would have a tutor/teacher. Their teachers were a rotation of Hank, Bill, Steve, Peggy, Jarvis, Sarah, Coulson and Eric Koenig. Jarvis and Steve were the only ones to see the kids almost every day though, since one they helped out in the kitchen and the other trained them in physical fitness. Each one of them had their own specific courses and needed to do a certain amount of coursework each week to be considered passing. But honestly it was a lot better than normal school and all of them would normally complete their weekly assignments by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. They would spend the rest of the week either hanging out together in the rec room or doing their own thing when not helping out in the kitchen. The rec room was another area that Ezekiel had made, much to the annoyance of Fury. It was placed close to the theater room Ezekiel had made and was designed for recreation and relaxation. But it was still a work in progress. The main areas were complete, the first area had pool tables, air hockey, foosball, shuffleboard, and ping pong tables. As well as a bunch of arcades, pinball machines along with some TV¡¯s set up to some gaming consoles and bean bag chairs. Another section was called the library. It was actually sound proofed so it was always quiet inside and it was filled with books on anything you could think of and was sorted like a normal library. The library was actually one of the first things that was completed, since Ezekiel had all of those school books, but they also purchased a bunch of other books for it. The room was completed with a bunch of comfortable chairs, couches and bean bag chairs that people could use to read in. The only other completed section was the swimming pool. It had a sauna as well as a couple Jacuzzis and some tubs for ice baths. Ezekiel was still in the process of having a bowling alley installed. The process was taking a while because they technically had to do everything themselves. They couldn''t just hire someone to come build this stuff for them. Ezekiel ended up using his clones to do all the work. Some of it was easy like the pool was mostly made using earth jutsu. Then they just needed to plaster it, as well as run all of the infrastructure for it. The bowling alley on the other hand needed to be built a certain way. So some of his clones were researching how to build it properly. Another thing that was planned, but was to be built in the gym area, was a giant climbing wall. That was going to be made using earth jutsu, but currently it wasn¡¯t a priority like the bowling alley was. As for what was happening in the outside world, after Magneto¡¯s speech to the world three months ago. It seems like overall it was about the same as before, while some people came out to support metahumans a little more. Just as many people came out against metahumans and were very vocal about it. One of the things the anti-metahuman people would do is target anyone who was vocal about being pro-metahumant. So anyone who was pro-metahuman would only post online anonymously for fear of being targeted. Ezekiel with his program was doing what he could to help, but he only removed stuff when people threatened violence on other people or metahumans. While he could have done a lot more, he knew there would be even more negative backlash towards metahumans if he just completely removed or stopped all of the people posting metahuman hate stuff. He did go out of his way to shut down some of the more zealous/rabid metahuman haters. He would target them and completely ruin their computers. If they got a new one, or used a friend''s computer to post their hate filled propaganda, those would be ruined also. Hopefully those people would get the point and stop with their hate filled bullshit, before Ezekiel decided to really go after them and ruin not just their computers, but also their lives. But on a positive note, the video Kurt had uploaded had almost two million views. Kitty wanted him to take it down at first, but Kurt argued it was showing a lot of people that metahumans were just as normal as they were. So Kitty finally relented and allowed him to keep the video up. But that wasn¡¯t all, Kitty and Kurt had uploaded a few more videos to the channel. They were pretty much prank videos and each one so far was a hit with a few hundred thousand views each. One very positive note that happened was that Hydra had taken the bait Ezekiel. The encrypted phone software Ezekiel designed for S.H.I.E.L.D. was finally put into use by Hydra. While it looked like they had some people go over it and change a few things about it, the overall encryption wasn¡¯t touched, so Ezekiel was already building a list of Hydra agents. The only down side was it was taking a while to spread it out to everyone in Hydra, but certain key people in S.H.I.E.L.D. were already using it, people like Alexander Pierce, John Garrett and an up and coming agent Jasper Sitwell. Hopefully it would spread to the members outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Ezekiel would finally be able to find where Vasily Karpov was at along with Bucky. While Ezekiel had spent a lot of time trying to find Vasily Karpov and the base he was stationed at. It seemed like the Soviet Union had no records of it on any of their secure servers. There were probably paper records of it, but Ezekiel didn¡¯t have access to that. He did try to bribe a few people to find it for him, he was never specific in what he wanted but just asked for any files pertaining to secret facilities built during the Soviet Union era. He had to hand it to the new government, they were amazing at finding anyone selling secrets. Everyone Ezekiel found and hired were caught before they could send him any information, so he gave up after his third attempt. 00048. New person in the base Hank had taken Ezekiel¡¯s advice and after meeting Darren Cross, he offered him a special job that wasn¡¯t working for Pym Technologies. Darren at first seemed a little disappointed, but still said yes to the offer because Hank was an idol to him. But then Darren was tested. It was something Fury, Peggy and Hank had come up with to screen potential members. The process was extremely thorough and once completed, Darren was actually excited to join whatever the project was. He still needed to be vetted, Ezekiel did part of it and went though pretty much any digital trance of Darren¡¯s life and pulled it apart. He went through school records and anything else he could get his hands on. While that was going on, a few other people were talking to everyone Darren knew, teachers, friends, classmates, parents, the guy who owned a deli next to campus he liked to eat at. When they were satisfied with everything, a giant report was submitted to the person doing the psych exam. While the psych exam was harsh and asked very uncomfortable questions, Darren still passed the psych eval with flying colors. So even though Fury didn¡¯t want to allow a possible future villain to join the group. He was out voted by Ezekiel, Tao, Hank, Bill, Peggy and Steve. Steve had actually said, ¡°I see no reason we can¡¯t give the man a chance. Ezekiel said he looks up to and idolizes Hank and at some point thought of him as a father figure. The only reason he would turn into a villain is because of how Hank would treat him.¡± Steve smiled towards Hank as he said, ¡°If you don¡¯t treat him terribly, I see no reason for him to have any type of change in behavior going forward.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head before he said, ¡°Honestly I think he will end up being a great asset to us. I do think we should implement psych eval¡¯s for everyone going forward though and have a check up every three months. Just to make sure everything is fine, what does everyone else think?¡± Everyone voted for that motion to pass. vvvvvvv Ezekiel walked through the base towards the area Hank used for his laboratory, he had used clones to make the area bigger for the quantum tunnel he was making with the help of Bill and a recent addition to the base. Ezekiel still hadn¡¯t met the man, he was busy with his own projects. But he heard the man was apparently floored when he met Steve, being dead yet still alive and looking like you haven¡¯t aged a day in sixty years has that effect on people. Ezekiel made it to the room and walked through the open double door. It only took him a moment to find Hank, Bill and Darren in front of a computer that was seated on the observation deck. Ezekiel walked towards them and as he got closer he heard Darren as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve run the model four times now, it¡¯s stable.¡± Hank shook his head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s honestly amazing. I can¡¯t believe you came up with a working model in such a short time. But I still don¡¯t see how you were able to do it. It¡¯s so close to my model, yet your model is stable. What did you change?¡± Darren beamed as he said, ¡°I changed out some of the component metals with a vibranium composite mix. I had the idea to use vibranium after meeting Steve.¡± ¡°His shield gave you the idea?¡± Darren nodded his head as he enlarged the model a little and selected all of the components that he changed out. Bill spoke next as he said, ¡°Honestly it¡¯s not a bad idea, but where are we going to find what looks like sixty pounds of vibranium?¡± Darren looked back at Bill and smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s actually only about twenty pounds, all of those are hybrid metals.¡± Hank nodded his head as he said, ¡°That does sound a lot more reasonable, but I think that¡¯s pretty much all the vibranium the world currently has. I don¡¯t know if we could even get it all. That doesn¡¯t include asking Steve if we can melt down his shield¡­¡± Hank looked at Darren as he said, ¡°Could you make some changes to use less vibranium or maybe some other type of hybrid metal?¡± Everyone was so absorbed in their conversion that they hadn¡¯t noticed Ezekiel until he said, ¡°I heard you were in the market for some vibranium, I might know where to get some.¡± Hank was the first to react and turned around, he had a smile on his face as he asked, ¡°You never knock, do you?" ¡°Not when you leave the door open. Plus you nerds wouldn¡¯t have heard me knocking.¡± Bill reached out and shook Ezekiel¡¯s hand as he said, ¡°Takes one to know one.¡± Ezekiel smiled back as he asked, ¡°Really? I¡¯d expect something more witty from you.¡± Bill had a sheepish smile as he said, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been surrounded by Mary and Ava half the time. I think their childish behavior has been rubbing off on me.¡± Ezekiel patted Bill¡¯s shoulder as he nodded and said, "That''s a good thing, it will keep you young." Hank pointed to Darren who had stood up and said, "I don''t think you two have met. Darren Cross, I would like you to meet Ezekiel." Darren reached forward to shake Ezekiel''s hand as he said, "It''s nice to meet you, Hank said you are the one who is funding everything." Ezekiel smiled back as they released hands and said, "I do a lot more than just give everyone money. I also find things. Things like vibranium, I overheard you are in need of some?" Hank replied as he shook his head, "We would need at least twenty pounds of the stuff. That might be all of it that''s on the Earth." Ezekiel had a smirk as he said, "That isn''t even close to what we have. It might take me a few days, but I can get you at least fifty pounds of the stuff." Hank was about to speak when Ezekiel frowned as he said, "Actually I would have to ask someone if I can have it, it¡¯s technically his." Darren looked surprised as he asked, "You know someone who has fifty pounds of vibranium?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "More than that actually. I don''t know the exact amount, but if sold it would net them at least a few billion dollars¡­ Probably. But then some annoying people would show up that I don''t want to deal with." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Everyone looked a little confused at Ezekiel¡¯s statement, but he just waved them off as he said, "It''s fine, nothing you guys need to worry about. So where are you at in building the quantum tunnel?" Hank smiled and said, "Well we have the test model I made working with Darren¡¯s modifications in testing simulations. Everything seems completely stable." Ezekiel smiled wide at that as he said, "That¡¯s great news. Make sure you triple check the simulations under stress tests, I don¡¯t want this thing to blow up in the base. I know you mad science types have a history of blowing shit up¡­ Actually now that I think about it, talk with Tao. She might be able to stop you from blowing up the base." Hank¡¯s eyes lit up as he asked, ¡°The mirror dimension?¡± Darren asked, "Who is Tao and what is the mirror dimension?" Ezekiel looked at Hank as he asked, "He hasn''t met Tao yet?" Hank shook his head as he said, "No, she has been busy the past week." "Really? Doesn''t she teach Ava almost every day?" Hank shrugged his shoulders as he said, "I didn''t wanna destroy his world view within a week of starting." "Destroy my world view? The mirror dimension? What are you two even talking about?" Ezekiel laughed as he said, "You will see soon enough." Darren was about to ask another question when Ezekiel interrupted him as he said, "I need to go talk with someone about that vibranium. It was nice meeting you." As Darren said, "It was nice¡­" Ezekiel¡¯s after image faded away. Darren had a shocked look before he turned to Hank and asked, "He¡¯s a mutant?" Hank shook his head and said, "No he is a metahuman. But it doesn''t matter, you will get used to it." Darren frowned as he asked, ¡°Him being a metahuman, or him leaving while you are talking?¡± Hank laughed as he patted Darren¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Both¡­ Maybe. He is a pretty decent guy once you get to know him and his idiosyncrasies. Actually Tao is kinda the same way¡­¡± Hank shook his head and then pointed at the computer as he said, "I want you to run the simulation again, but this time let''s try to have it fail. Make the power of the tunnel about five percent more powerful and we will keep testing it till failure. Then I want to modify the model using more vibranium and test it again with the same setting till failure." Bill glanced at Hank as he asked, ¡°You think Ezekiel will get us more than twenty pounds of vibranium?¡± ¡°I think it will be more than that, but let''s run tests till we have a stable model using fifty pounds.¡± vvvvvv Ezekiel frowned to himself as he walked to the gym. He had been putting off this talk for a while, but if Hank needed vibranium there were only four real options to get it. The first option was to find it in space, that would take too long. Next would be to deal with Namor and he didn''t wanna mess with him currently. Wakanda would be the best choice, but that would still be a giant mess he didn''t want to deal with. The last choice was taking the stolen vibranium Ulysses Klaue has. Ezekiel found two issues with that though. The first was while Ulysses did steal the vibranium from Wakanda, he stole it for N''Jobu. At least that is what Ezekiel thought about the matter. So since that vibranium was for N''Jobu, it means it should now belong to his son. If he wanted to use the vibranium, he would need to talk with Erik. Something he has been putting off since he was brought here. Ezekiel stopped at the gym door for a moment, as he reverted to his normal carefree smirk and walked into the gym. Inside he could see Steve and the kids as they ran around the track. Ezekiel took his time as he walked over to where some towels and water bottles were and waited for them to finish up their run. Everyone noticed him pretty quickly, but everyone stayed focused while they finished running two more laps before finally starting to slow down and walked the last half of the track. Ezekiel greeted everyone with a smile as he asked, ¡°How was the run?¡± Mary was sprawled out on the ground as she said, ¡°It was terrible, I hate running.¡± Ava was laying next to Mary and just nodded her head in agreement. Grant, Hope, Erik, Cessily and Laura didn¡¯t seem to have an opinion on the matter as they were resting on some of the benches next to the track. Steve looked like he hadn¡¯t been running at all as he walked close to Ezekiel and said, ¡°It¡¯s a little unexpected to see you here, did something come up?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Nothing important, I actually came to find Erik. I wanted to chat with him about something.¡± Erik perked up at hearing his name and looked over, but didn¡¯t say anything as Steve said, ¡°Erik? We are almost done, but he could sit out the rest of the workout.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not a rush. He can finish his workout with you, clean up and then come see me in my work area afterwards.¡± Steve glanced over to Erik who was looking at him and Ezekiel. He smiled and asked, ¡°You catch all of that?¡± Erik nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Steve nodded, then looked back at Ezekiel. Then he let out a sigh as he caught sight of Ezekiel already nearing one of the doors for the gym. He turned back around and he could see most of the kids smiling at him. Steve gave them a playful glare as he asked, ¡°You think that was funny?¡± All the kids nodded back and Steve let out a little chuckle as he said, ¡°It might have been for you, but it was kinda rude. Alright, that was enough rest. It¡¯s time to do burpees.¡± All the kids let out a groan, but started to get up. vvvvvv Erik walked to the door to Ezekiel¡¯s work area and knocked on the door. After a few moments, a young man with black hair opened the door. Erik had seen him a few times, but only ever with Ezekiel. From what he understood, he was somehow related to Ezekiel. Apparently there were a lot of people that were related to Ezekiel who were at the base. But he wasn¡¯t sure how, since most of them looked nothing alike. The man smiled and stepped back out of the way as he pointed to one side of the room as he said, ¡°Ezekiel said you would be stopping by, he is over there waiting for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± The man shook his head as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t call me sir, you are making me feel old. You know I am only like a year older than you right? Just call me Shisui.¡± Erik took another look at the young man in front of him before he said, ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a habit. I just assumed you were older since you weren¡¯t with me and the other kids.¡± Shisui smiled as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it Erik.¡± Erik nodded in return as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Shisui.¡± ¡°Same to you.¡± Shisui stepped out of the way as he said, ¡°I won¡¯t hold you up any longer.¡± Erik nodded his head in reply as he walked past Shisui and went to the desk Ezekiel was sitting at. When he reached it he said, ¡°You wanted to speak with me sir?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he looked up and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to use sir with me, honestly I think Steve is the only one who really appreciates it properly. Just call me Ezekiel.¡± Erik looked a little unsure as he asked, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Completely, now sit down and let''s have a long overdue talk.¡± 00049. A long overdue talk. Erik was seated in a chair in front of Ezekiel¡¯s desk as Ezekiel asked, ¡°Do you know why I wanted to talk to you?¡± Erik shook his head as he said, ¡°No, not really.¡± Ezekiel gave a smirk as he said, ¡°Come on Erik, a smart kid like you. You should have some idea why I wanted to talk to you.¡± Erik studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he said, ¡°My S.A.T. scores on the mock test?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°It was one of the reasons. But since you brought it up let''s start with your mock S.A.T. test scores. You scored an almost perfect sixteen hundred, most colleges that you apply to will consider your application just on that alone. Have you thought about where you want to go?¡± Erik thought for a few moments before he said, "M.I.T. but I doubt they would want someone like me.¡± ¡°Why would you say that? You are fifteen and incredibly smart. I would think most college¡¯s would love to have you as a student.¡± Erik gave a self-deprecating smile and there was a slight, hidden edge to his voice as he said, ¡°A young black kid from the ghetto with a G.E.D.? Maybe if I was in high school taking honors classes still. But now?¡± Ezekiel frowned a little before he asked, ¡°You know, I never thought of that. Are you upset you were pulled out of school and brought here?¡± Erik just stared back at Ezekiel with a slight glare. Ezekiel let out a sigh and then said, ¡°I will take that as a yes. Guess I really messed up your plans. You were already aiming for early graduation and getting into M.I.T.?¡± Erik nodded his head in reply, but just kept his slight glare on Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°You know that is still on the table for you, if you want to take that path. But maybe I could offer you a different path, a better path.¡± Erik seemed to perk up a little, but still had a slight frown as he asked, ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Well that is part of the reason I wanted to talk with you today. Do you know why you are here?¡± Erik paused at that question for a fraction of a second, before he said, ¡°Because you wanted to talk to me?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°I like the way you dodged the real question, so let me rephrase it better. Do you have any idea why you were found and brought to this secret base?¡± Erik went slightly on guard as he said, ¡°No not really. I was just an orphaned kid living in Oakland before I was brought here.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I know Fury is the only person who really looked into your background and didn¡¯t find anything. Yet he still found you and brought you here. Do you know why?¡± Erik''s eyes narrowed the slightest bit as he said, ¡°No, not really.¡± ¡°Because I told him you were important.¡± Erik¡¯s hands clenched just the tiniest bit as he asked, ¡°Why? I am just some no name black kid.¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, "Erik¡­ or would you prefer I call you N''Jadaka?" Erik sat forward, he glowered at Ezekiel and his body was tense as he asked with an angry tone of voice, "Who told you that name?" "No one from your father''s homeland, if that''s what you are wondering." Erik was still tense and his voice still had that angry edge to it as he asked, "Then how come you know that name and why wait all this time to bring it up now? I''ve been here for a year. Why now?" Ezekiel let out a long tired sigh as he waved towards Erik as he said, "Relax, this is gonna take a while." Erik sat back in his chair a little, but his body was still tense. Ezekiel shot him a glare as he said, "I said to relax kid, I won''t tell you anything until you do." Erik sat there, staring at Ezekiel for a few moments before he took a deep breath and slowly let it out as the tension left his body. When he was done, he looked like he normally did. But Ezekiel could still hear the tinge of anger in his voice as he asked, "Happy?" Ezekiel returned a slight frown as he said, "Yes¡­ Your first question might be the easiest to tell you, but the hardest one to believe. I have seen the past and the future. That is how I know your name and at the same time know what you were planning to do. You have a good heart kid, but your ideals are twisted, just like your fathers were.¡± Erik bolted out of his chair, a finger pointed in Ezekiel¡¯s face as he yelled, ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about me and my father''s ideals! What would someone like you know about my people''s struggles?!¡± Ezekiel laughed for a few moments before he asked in a mocking tone, ¡°Why? Because I am not black?¡± Erik glared back at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Exactly, you can¡¯t understand because you aren¡¯t one of us.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Just because my skin is a different color, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t understand other people''s struggles and hardships. I get it, you witnessed a lot of oppression towards people of African and African-American descent. Your father also did and it made him want to change the status quo. But he went about it the wrong way, and you want to go down that same path. I will tell you right now, that path only leads to your death.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Erik didn¡¯t lose his glare and the anger in his voice was palpable as he yelled, ¡°So I am gonna die with some panther claws in my chest too?!?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, you die next to your cousin as you watch the sunset in Wakanda. Gotta admit, it was a pretty boss way to go. You pulled a spear out of your chest when he was offering to heal you.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t completely sure before when you said you saw the future. But now I know you are full of shit, I would never kill myself. Now tell me how you really found out about me?¡± Ezekiel gave a smirk as he asked, ¡°Not a believer? Want me to prove it?¡± Erik relaxed a little as he sat back down, his voice still had some heat in it as he said, ¡°You can try, but no matter what you say it will just be more bullshit.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Have a fun trip.¡± ¡°What ar¡­¡± Erik¡¯s face went a little slack and his eyes were glazed over. Ezekiel looked at the monitor on his desk as he said, ¡°Now lets see about finding where Ulysses is hiding.¡± The next hour or so passed pretty quickly as Ezekiel worked on his computer. He finally looked up when he heard a confused Erik ask, ¡°What just happened?¡± Erik¡¯s face had drained of color, his eyes were wide and his hands were touching his chest as he looked at it. Ezekiel looked back at his computer as he said, ¡°Proof.¡± Over a minute passed before Erik asked his voice was low, ¡°What was that really? It was like I was in a dream.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Erik who was now looking at him. So he turned his full attention back to Erik as he said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a dream. That is your future if you stay on your current path. Tell me, what did you feel while you were there?¡± Erik was quiet for a few moments with his eyes closed as he thought back to what he just experienced. When he finally opened his eyes, he said, ¡°Anger. So much anger. He was ruthless and didn¡¯t care about anything except his goal, it was the only thing that mattered. Linda, she loved him and he¡­ I killed her. Because she was in the way of my goal¡­ I liked her, but I didn¡¯t hesitate to kill her.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°That anger needs to be dealt with. Anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. Suffering leads to¡­ anger in another person and then the cycle repeats.¡± Erik looked a little confused as he asked, ¡°Is that some kinda Buddhist quote or something?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Something like that. So do you want to try the path you already saw the end of? Or would you like to try a different path?¡± ¡°The different path, is that really even a question?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Well we need to deal with your anger first. Therapy would be the best way, but that takes time. Or we can also do a deep dive into your head and find the root cause. But instead of years, it would only take a few hours." Erik took a few moments before he said, "Let''s do the second one." Ezekiel looked at the time before he said, "I need to prepare something first. How about you come here first thing after breakfast. I will inform your teacher and Steve that you will be with me most of the day tomorrow." Erik nodded his head. He was still in a slight daze as he asked, "So what else did you want to discuss with me?" Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Nothing that can''t wait till tomorrow. The conversation will be better when you have a clearer head." Erik seemed almost normal again, but Ezekiel could notice it better now. Even though Erik was thinking over what he had just seen. That hidden anger was just below the surface. Erik gave another nod before he stood up and left. Shisui made his way over and asked, "That didn''t seem to go as planned." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "I shouldn''t have put it off for so long, but he seemed like such a normal kid. I know I didn''t interact with him that much, but when I did he never showed any issues. Heck Steve see''s him every day and never noticed his anger issue. The kid is great at hiding it, but his father is his soft spot." Shisui gave it some thought before he said, "So what is the plan?" "I will have Inoichi work with him tomorrow and help him get to the root of his problem. Target his fathers death and probably his mothers death also." "Once that is done, we can move forward with something else I have been putting off." Ezekiel reached out and spun his monitor around to show Shisui the screen. It was a satellite view of a boat that was currently land locked. It had a few people with guns on it patrolling on and around it. The view changed and it showed a picture of a man who had short cut gray and white hair with a neatly trimmed beard. Shisui looked over to Ezekiel as he asked, "Finally going after Klaue? Do we need vibranium for something?" Ezekiel nodded his head and said, "Darren figured out a way to make Hank''s tunnel work. But he needs vibranium to do it. Plus we should figure out if we can use it for chakra metal." vvvvvv Erik showed up to Ezekiel''s work area after breakfast and found that Shisui and everyone else he saw yesterday were missing. Ezekiel greeted him after he knocked on the door and walked him over to one of the couches in the room as he said, "Just wait here for a little bit, everyone will be here soon." Erik was about to speak when Ezekiel disappeared into a puff of smoke. Erik wasn''t that surprised, he had seen Ezekiel do a lot of weird things since he had been staying in the base. He decided to just sit back and wait. He didn''t have to wait long, within ten minutes, people started walking in the door. It only took a few moments before he saw Shisui and Ezekiel walk in. He had seen more than double the amount of people here yesterday, currently there were only five people who were with Ezekiel. Ezekiel and Shisui were at the back of the group, talking to a man with blonde hair and a girl that looked like she could be his daughter. Erik stood up from the couch as they got close, Ezekiel smiled as he pointed to the man and teenage girl as he said, "This is Inoichi Yamanaka and his daughter Ino Yamanaka. Inoichi, Ino this is Erik Stevens." Erik reached out to shake Inoichi¡¯s hand as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you sir.¡± As they shook hands, Inoichi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s always nice to meet a young man with manners. You know my daughter is single and just turned sixteen.¡± Ino blushed slightly before she stomped on her dad¡¯s foot as she said, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Ino.¡± Erik shook Ino¡¯s hand for a moment, before Ezekiel said, ¡°Alright, introductions are out of the way, so I will leave you guys alone to help Erik out.¡± As Ezekiel walked towards his desk with Shisui, Inoichi said, ¡°This will be easier if you lay down on that couch behind you.¡± He glanced at his daughter and asked, ¡°Could you grab us some chairs?¡± As Erik laid down on the couch, Ino walked off to grab some chairs for her father and her to use. When she came back, her father had her set both chairs next to where Erik¡¯s head was and said, ¡°Alright Erik, Ino is going to be the one to help you out. I am just here to make sure nothing goes wrong.¡± Erik looked a little concerned as he asked, ¡°I thought this was like therapy but quicker?¡± Ino was already going through hand signs as Inoichi smiled at Erik as he said, ¡°You think you can take short cuts and it will be easy? There are always risks.¡± Before Erik could reply, Ino placed her hands on his head and he went limp on the couch. Inoichi chuckled to himself as he stood up to go read a book. He had to admit, Ezekiel might be onto something when it comes to messing with people. 00050. A new path forward. It was a little past lunch time when Erik and Ino finally came out of Erik¡¯s mindscape therapy session. Ezekiel noticed and so did everyone else, because Erik gave Ino a big hug after he stood up and it made Ino yelp and turn bright red. Everyone could hear Inoichi¡¯s loud laugh from the other side of the room, which only made Ino turn a darker shade of red. After Erik let go, Ino turned around and walked over towards her father who was still laughing. Erik on the other hand made his way to Ezekiel¡¯s desk with a slight grin on his face. Ezekiel was seated at his desk working on his computer. Seated close to the desk was Shisui, who was currently reading a book. Once Erik was close to the desk, Ezekiel said, ¡°It¡¯s just past lunchtime. Do you wanna go eat?" Erik sat down as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°How do you feel?¡± Erik was quiet for a moment before he said, "Lighter, like a weight I never knew I was carrying is gone." "I am glad we were able to help you." Erik glanced over at Ino who was talking with her father as he said, "You said you wanted to show me a new path. What is it?" "It''s whatever you want it to be, except now your judgment isn''t clouded anymore." Erik sat back as he relaxed in the chair for a little while. He would glance towards Ino sometimes as he thought. Ezekiel quietly waited for him. A few minutes passed before Erik said, "Even though my anger is gone, I still want to help my people." ¡°That is a noble goal to aim for, but why not help everyone instead of just one group?¡± Erik was quick to reply as he asked, ¡°Who else is dealing with hardships brought on by a system built to keep them down?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°I won¡¯t argue with you there, but that is mostly in the United States. What about the rest of the world?¡± It was over a minute before Erik said, ¡°I¡¯m not even sure how to fix what is wrong here, how am I going to help the rest of the world?¡± Ezekiel smiled at that as he said, ¡°With friends and allies. Did you see the broadcast a few months ago?¡± After Erik nodded his head, Ezekiel said, ¡°That facility Magneto talked about, that was a joint mission. We worked together with his people to take that place down. Have you talked with Cessily or Laura much?¡± Erik shook his head as he said, ¡°Laura only really replies with single words most of the time or a grunt. Cessily talks a lot more than Laura, but she hasn¡¯t talked much about where she came from¡­ They came from that place?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not my place to tell you their stories. If you really wanna know it, just be a good friend to them and one day they might tell you.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Sorry, got a little off track. My point was we are already working to change the world for the better with our allies. Not just for one group of people, but for everyone.¡± ¡°Are you saying if I want to accomplish my goals, I need to join you?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Not really. If you wanna go off and do your own thing, I won¡¯t stop you. I will even help you as long as it doesn¡¯t interfere with my plans.¡± Erik studied Ezekiel for a while before he asked, ¡°Even if my plans involve killing a king?¡± ¡°If you feel that is the only path forward for you, I won¡¯t stop you. But I also won¡¯t help you with that either. Are you really sure that is the best idea though?¡± Erik nodded his head as he said, ¡°He killed my father, that needs to be answered for.¡± ¡°If you kill him, you¡¯ll never be able to connect with what¡¯s left of your family.¡± Erik had a little bit of heat in his voice as he asked, ¡°So I just let my father¡¯s murder go free?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I just said not to kill him. You might be able to ruin his reputation though and have him removed from being king. You might even be able to fight for the crown at that point if you wanted.¡± Erik shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t care about being king, I just want some justice for my father.¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°You do know your father betrayed Wakanda, and tried to kill one of its citizens in front of its king. I am pretty sure you could argue his killing was justifiable. What you really want is vengeance. Which is honestly fine with me, I just don¡¯t want you to kill him.¡± Erik frowned a little as he said, ¡°So I can¡¯t kill him, but you are fine with me getting some type of revenge, even though you think my father being killed was justified? How does that make sense?¡± Ezekiel grinned as he said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to make sense. What matters is if you want help or not.¡± Ezekiel waited for Erik to think it over, after a few minutes of silence Erik asked, ¡°You said his actions could be considered justified. What could we do with that to ruin his reputation?¡± Ezekiel gave a wicked grin as he said, ¡°While him killing your father might be argued as justified, he completely hid the truth. As far as the rest of Wakanda is concerned N''Jobu mysteriously disappeared and was never heard from again.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s grin became wider as he said, ¡°King T''Chaka also abandoned you to fend for yourself in the United States. He justified leaving you behind because he was afraid of the repercussions of taking a child back to Wakanda who was not a pure-blooded Wakandan. He was mostly trying to maintain the royal Wakandan bloodline, by preventing half-Wakandans from being mixed into it.¡± Erik had a frown as he asked, ¡°You think that would help ruin his reputation? What if the other people in charge are just like him?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°It might work, it might not. But I am pretty sure it would ruin his reputation with his kids. His son T¡¯Challa and daughter Shuri are pretty forward-thinking people. I would consider that a pretty big win myself.¡± Ezekiel turned the computer monitor towards Erik as he said, ¡°As for the other leaders, you could have the border tribe leader on your side if you bring him a gift.¡± On the screen was an Interpol file for Ulysses Klaue. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°This is Ulysses Klaue, he worked with your father. Your father gave this man info about Wakanda, it was how he was able to get into Wakanda and steal vibranium. When he did though, he killed a lot of people, one of them was the current border tribe leader''s father.¡± Erik nodded along as he asked, ¡°So what, we find this guy and bring him to Wakanda to get inside?¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Pretty much. Plus we need to pick up what your father left you.¡± Erik looked a little confused as he asked, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Ezekiel gave a smile as he said, ¡°Ulysses Klaue stole the vibranium for your father. Your father had plans for it, but unfortunately he was never able to collect it. As far as I am concerned, that vibranium is yours.¡± Erik gave Ezekiel a considering look before he said, ¡°So you want that vibranium for something?¡± Shisui who was sitting close by reading a book said, ¡°I told you.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Yes, I have a need for it. It was one of the reasons I wanted to talk with you.¡± Erik shook his head as he asked, ¡°So all of this was so you could ask for some vibranium someone else has?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I told you before I was going to help you. I won¡¯t take that back. It is the same reason I was going to ask to have the vibranium. I consider it yours and I won¡¯t take it from you if you want it.¡± Erik was quiet for a moment before he asked, ¡°Okay, so what happens if I say no?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Then I will have to find some more, or steal it from Wakanda.¡± ¡°Then what if I don¡¯t wanna give it away? What would you trade me for it?¡± ¡°What would you want?¡± Erik thought about it for a while before he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Ezekiel sat back in his chair for a few moments, before Shisui spoke up and said, ¡°Ezekiel could set you up on a date with Ino if you asked. You¡¯ve glanced her way over a dozen times now.¡± Erik became a little darker as he said, ¡°No I haven¡¯t.¡± Ezekiel shot a glare at Shisui as he said, ¡°Stay out of this, you aren¡¯t helping.¡± Shisui looked up from his book and gave Ezekiel a grin before he went back to reading. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°So what do you want to do?¡± Erik shrugged this time as he said, ¡°If you really help me ruin T¡¯Chaka¡¯s reputation, you can have the vibranium.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± Erik took another glance towards Ino before he asked, ¡°So what is the plan? Find Klaue and the vibranium? Then what? Do we go to Wakanda?¡± ¡°I already found Klaue and the vibranium. If you want to go to Wakanda after I have Klaue we can.¡± Erik looked a little surprised at that as he asked, ¡°When are you going to take care of Klaue?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "I¡¯ll probably do it as soon as we are done here, since he is currently with the vibranium.¡± "So we¡¯ll go to Wakanda tomorrow then?" Ezekiel turned his computer monitor around and typed on his keyboard for a few seconds before he said, "No we¡¯ll go tonight. With the time difference it will be nice and early in Wakanda. But keep in mind, you will be doing all of the talking in Wakanda." Erik looked a little confused as he asked, "Why will I be doing all the talking?" Ezekiel smirked as he said, "Two reasons, the first is because you are technically a prince of Wakanda and I will be acting as your guard. The second is because they won''t listen to some foreigner." Erik thought about it for a few moments before he nodded his head and asked, "Since we are going to Wakanda, is there anything I should bring?" "Your father''s ring, other than that you should be fine. How about you go rest up and my team will take care of Klaue." Erik nodded his head again as he stood up. He gave another quick glance in Ino''s direction before he said, "Just come grab me in my room when you are ready to leave for Wakanda." Ezekiel smirked a little as he said "That was the plan." As Erik started walking away, Shisui said, "Not gonna say goodbye to your girlfriend?" Erik just picked up his pace a little as he walked out of the room. vvvvvv Ezekiel was standing on the top of a derelict ship as he observed the ship Klaue used as his main base of operation. It was just past two in the morning, Klaue and his men had just finished unloading a shipment. Ezekiel looked over at the four other people with him as he asked, ¡°What do you think is the best plan of attack?¡± A man with silver hair wearing a white and red mask shaped like a wolf glanced over to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Fast and quiet, we will go around the outside and work our way in while putting everyone we run into a genjutsu. Are your henge seals in place?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head in reply as two of the other people did the same. The man in the wolf mask said, ¡°Good, then let''s start.¡± Each person disappeared from their spot the next instant, within moments they had all crossed to the other ship and started their mission. Tao was still standing on the deck of the other ship as she watched Ezekiel and his clones almost teleporting from person to person. Each one they met would freeze up for a moment then they would relax and go still. With four people using genjutsu on normal people it took minutes to go through all of the outside guards. It was a little harder when they moved inside, they had a lot of random rooms to check and while the body flicker technique was great to use in open areas. In closed spaces it was terrible, you would be moving so fast it was hard to stop and make quick turns. So stealth was used inside the ship. Ezekiel let the others take care of that part and it didn¡¯t take long before everyone except Klaue and his personal guards were dealt with. Ezekiel and the others quickly rushed the guards at that point, once they were under a genjutsu. Ezekiel adjusted his mask, before he knocked on Klaue¡¯s door. A second later the last guard stationed inside the room opened the door. He was put under a genjutsu also and Ezekiel and the others walked into the room. As they did Klaue who had headphones on while working on his computer asked, ¡°What do they want Alec?¡± When Ezekiel stopped in front of Klaue¡¯s desk, Klaue finally looked up. He glanced at Alec still standing frozen next to the door and then he looked at the four people standing in front of him all wearing different looking red and white colored mask¡¯s. Klaue smiled as he said, ¡°How can I help you gentleman? I assume you are here for weapons?¡± As Klaue was talking, his right hand moved slowly away from his mouse to reach for the gun hidden underneath his desk. He moved his other hand faster to act as a distraction as he went to remove his headphones. But before his right hand could get too far a weird looking dagger thudded into the desk right beside it. The man standing in front of the others said, ¡°If you don¡¯t wanna lose your hand, keep it on the desk.¡± Klaue moved his hand back to his mouse as he smiled bigger and said, ¡°Sorry, habits. So what can I help you with Mr¡­¡± ¡°Vibranium.¡± Klaue¡¯s eyes widened just a little bit as he took another look at the men before him, even though they had masks, he could still see their skin. He relaxed a little as he said, ¡°I might have some laying around.¡± ¡°Good, I want it all.¡± Klaue frowned the tiniest bit as he said, ¡°You know that it''s worth ten large for a single gram? It also came at great personal cost.¡± As he said the second part he reached up to rub his neck. ¡°How much do you have?¡± Klaue started to type on his computer for a moment before he smiled as he said, ¡°Two point eight billion, rounded down a little if you buy it all.¡± A few seconds later a cell phone on Klaue¡¯s desk started to beep, he looked at it for a moment. His eyes went a little wide before he looked up with a smile as he said, ¡°I like it when my customers are decisive. Let me show you where it¡¯s stored.¡± Klaue was still cautious and slowly stood up from his desk. He started to walk towards the door as he asked while looking at his personal guard, ¡°Are my guards gonna be alright?¡± ¡°They will be fine once we leave.¡± Klaue nodded his head as he asked, ¡°Is that some kinda new weapon? Is that something you are selling?¡± Klaue just shrugged it off after a few seconds of silence as he asked, ¡°So how did you hear about me anyways? I normally only get referrals from people I have dealt with before. Who told you about me?¡± Klaue started to hum when he didn¡¯t get a reply. After a few minutes of walking they showed up to a locked bulkhead door with a keypad. He entered a code and then slid it open, inside was filled with barrels that had ¡®Toxic¡¯ written on them. After a moment the whole room started to move down and as the barrels disappeared a new room appeared with a bunch of small containers filled with a blue type of metal. Klaue walked inside and grabbed one. As he handed it to the only person who talked, he said, ¡°A word of warning, some people might come after you, if you flash that stuff around.¡± The man nodded as he said, ¡°I am not worried about Wakanda.¡± He looked up at Klaue as he said, ¡°You on the other hand, you should be worried.¡± Klaue tensed up just a little, but let out a laugh as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve been dodging them for years I will be fine.¡± The man shook his head as Klaue felt his body relax uncontrollably, Klaue could still see and hear. But his body was frozen in place and he couldn¡¯t talk. The man walked past Klaue into the vibranium storage room as he said, ¡°Not anymore.¡± 00051. A talk with Fury? It didn¡¯t take long for Tao to transport all of the vibranium back to the base along with Klaue who had a headset on, as well as a blindfold. He was also cuffed and gagged. Ezekiel stopped by Hank¡¯s lab with about one hundred pounds of vibranium. Hank, Bill and Darren were all in shock, but Hank recovered the fastest and gave Ezekiel a firm handshake and thanked him for the vibranium. Ezekiel with his group then headed back to his work area to plan out their next course of action and have a slight mission debrief. Everyone removed their masks and clipped them to their vests as they sat down together on some couches. Ezekiel around at the others and a smile graced his lips for a moment as he looked at his current teammates. Kakashi had a wolf mask, Itachi a crow mask and Shisui was the owner of a cat mask. Ezekiel looked directly at Kakashi as he asked, ¡°So how did I do?¡± Kakashi smiled under his half face mask and if it wasn¡¯t for his eye squinting slightly, Ezekiel wouldn¡¯t have noticed. Kakashi¡¯s smile faded as he said, ¡°I would say you have a passing grade for a first year academy student, but failed miserably for a genin.¡± Ezekiel was shocked as Itachi said, ¡°Kakashi senpai is correct. You are proficient in genjutsu, body flicker and a few other ninjutsu. You have massive chakra reserves for your age and decent chakra control. But all of your basic shinobi skills are close to a clanless first year student.¡± ¡°What Itachi is trying to say is that they don¡¯t exist.¡± Shisui smiled from his seat and Ezekiel¡¯s face crumbled in defeat. Kakashi smiled again as he said, ¡°Look on the bright side, you have close to ten years to improve and you have us plus everyone''s memories.¡± Shisui nodded as he said, ¡°Plus once we have our own bodies, we will have to train to regain our skills. So you will have a bunch of training partners.¡± Itachi frowned as he said, ¡°It will be nice to have a body again. Even though we are clones, I think we are only around genin rank in power currently. Even with our ninja skills being around chunin level. These clone bodies and your true age are holding us back by a lot.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said sarcastically, ¡°Sorry my kid body is holding you guys back.¡± Kakashi shook his head as he said, ¡°No, we¡¯re sorry. We just aren¡¯t used to being so weak and it¡¯s a little frustrating.¡± Itachi nodded as he said, ¡°Exactly, even when I was dying, I wasn¡¯t this weak in power.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I understand, but there is not much we can do about it for now.¡± Shisui looked at Kakashi as he said, ¡°Enough talking about something currently out of our control. We should plan for Wakanda.¡± Kakashi looked to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°You will have to follow Erik out in the open, you don¡¯t have the skills to hide properly at all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I will start making a background for myself.¡± Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and began to fabricate a background for himself as the others discussed different possibilities for what might happen in Wakanda. Hours passed and when it was finally time, they went to pick up Erik. Erik had dressed up a little, it wasn¡¯t a full suit or anything. Just a nicer pair of pants and a button up shirt, his father''s ring was hanging from a necklace he wore. Erik was a little surprised when Ezekiel came to get him. Ezekiel had three other people with him and they were all dressed the same. They wore black long sleeved shirts and pants, the pants were tucked into some black combat boots. Around their chests they each wore what looked like a dark gray tactical vest which had pouches. They also had a belt with some pouches around their waists, along with black gloves that had dark colored metal protecting the back of their hands and lower arms. Ezekiel was the only one who didn¡¯t have a sword strapped to his back. The thing that surprised Erik the most was the masks each one had on. They were white and red in color and each person had a different style. He wasn¡¯t sure which one was Ezekiel, until he said, ¡°From now on just call me Bear until we are done in Wakanda. This is Wolf, Crow and Cat, they will be with us, but out of sight. Do you have any questions before we leave?¡± Erik nodded his head and pulled out a few pieces of paper which he handed to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I reread my father''s journal while I was waiting to leave. It gave me some ideas on what to say, but what do you think?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Ezekiel took the papers and read each of them and he had to admit again, the kid was smart. He thought of a bunch of different ways it could go and wrote down what he thought he should do, depending on what situation came up. When Ezekiel was finished with a paper, he passed it to the next person, who read it and then passed it to the next person. Once everyone had finished reading them, they took another hour to fine tune anything they thought might cause an issue with their plans. Once finished they went to grab Tao who was currently doing some extra training with Ava. Once they collected Tao they went to pick up Klaue from his holding cell and ran into an issue. Fury was there waiting for them, he had found out about Klaue being held at the base an hour ago and came back to see what was going on. When he found Klaue with a blindfold, headset and gag on, bound to a chair in a holding cell. Fury decided to do some paperwork while he waited for Ezekiel to show up. Ezekiel waved at Fury as he asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Fury took in the group of Tao, Erik, Ezekiel and the other three wearing masks and said, ¡°Funny I was about to ask you the same thing. What are you planning to do with a wanted arms dealer and why is Stevens with you?¡± ¡°Klaue is wanted in Wakanda, we are taking him there now to turn him in. As for Erik, his father was born in Wakanda, I figured Erik might want to see where his father grew up.¡± Fury raised an eyebrow at that as he said, ¡°So why are all of you dressed up like that? You almost look like bodyguards, except for the weird masks and you don¡¯t have any guns.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need guns to be a bodyguard, as for the mask¡¯s they are part of the uniform.¡± Fury still looked skeptical as he said, ¡°Fine I don¡¯t really care about that. What I do care about is where you found over a quarter ton of vibranium!¡± Fury was almost yelling when he finished speaking. Ezekiel pointed at the cell where Klaue was as he said, "When I went to grab him I found it among his inventory. So I brought it with me." Fury glared at Ezekiel as he said, "That''s funny, because I heard that you told Hank the other day you knew someone who had some vibranium." "I might have known Klaue was in possession of some stolen vibranium." Fury let out a sigh as he said, "I am getting real tired of you withholding information Ezekiel." Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "What good would telling you about it do? We had no need for it and I knew no one would even touch it for the next fifteen years or so." Fury pointed at Ezekiel as he said in a raised voice, "It''s that attitude of yours that I hate, you decided not to tell us about something because you decided it was not important." Ezekiel stared back at Fury before he said, "Sounds a lot like someone I know. Are you upset because I act like you or because it''s not fun when someone else is holding all the cards?" Fury glared back at Ezekiel for a moment before he said, "What we do is fundamentally different. I keep secrets because it''s my job and if they get out it could lead to panic by the general public. You keep secrets because you think we can''t handle what you know." Ezekiel watched Fury for a few moments before he said, ¡°How is that any different? If I told you a fraction of what I have seen, you would panic and start taking drastic and dumb measures to try and stop what is coming.¡± Fury raised his voice again as he said, ¡°That¡¯s bullshit, I can handle whatever you tell me without going into a panic.¡± ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± Fury started to speak, but froze, his eyes glazed over and his body relaxed. Ezekiel walked past him as he said, ¡°Wolf, put him on a bed in one of the empty cells.¡± As Wolf picked up Fury, Tao asked, ¡°Was that really the best idea?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Not really, but I am getting tired of him fighting me at every turn. I am just showing him different futures where his paranoia causes major issues for earth. Hopefully that will allow him to trust me a little bit more.¡± Crow walked past Ezekiel into Klaue¡¯s cell and brought the man out as Tao said, ¡°Showing him the folly of his own ways?¡± ¡°Pretty much, hopefully it will make him relax just a little bit and want to work more as a team. I honestly like that he questions me and will find issues with my plans. What I don¡¯t like is him wanting to know everything I know because he thinks he knows better.¡± Tao raised an eyebrow at that as she asked, ¡°Are you saying you know better?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, but I know what could happen and I am not in a panic about it.¡± Erik had been listening to them talk as they were walking and asked, ¡°If you can see the future, what is going to happen when we get to Wakanda?¡± As they started to move out of the holding area towards the portal area Ezekiel glanced back at Erik as he said, ¡°I saw the future before, I can¡¯t see it any more. As for what happens in Wakanda I have no idea.¡± Erik frowned as he asked, ¡°But didn¡¯t you show me the future the other day?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I showed you the future you were going towards with the actions you had planned to take. Now that has all changed and I have no idea what is in store for you.¡± Erik was quiet for the rest of the walk as he thought over Ezekiel''s words. Once they got to the portal platform Ezekiel said, ¡°Everyone ready?¡± Ezekiel looked back at everyone and they all nodded, even Tao. Ezekiel nodded back as he said, ¡°One portal to the forest, just outside of the main border tribe village, please.¡± 00052. Going to Wakanda. Tao moved her hands and a portal appeared as she faded away into the mirror dimension. While Wolf, Crow and Cat disappeared from their spots leaving Ezekiel and Erik alone with their prisoner. Ezekiel pushed Klaue forward through the portal as Erik followed behind him. Once they stepped through the portal, it snapped closed behind them. Erik took a quick look around and couldn¡¯t see the others anywhere and asked, ¡°Can you disappear like that too?¡± Ezekiel shook his head, then pointed in a direction as he said, ¡°Not yet, I still have a lot of training left to do. Lets move out, I think we have about a half an hour hike before we get to the village.¡± Erik nodded his head and started to walk in front of Ezekial and Klaue. They walked in silence for almost twenty minutes before they left the forest and were greeted by a field of ankle high grass. In the distance was a small village of huts surrounded by a fence made of logs. The early morning sun was still low in the sky and painted the whole area in a rosy radiance. As soon as Ezekiel and his group exited the forest, people in the village noticed the three people walking towards the village. Within a moment a few people who carried spears left the village and met Ezekiel''s group about halfway to the village from the forest. A man stepped out of the group from the village, he was decently tall with dark skin and had a scarification done to his face. It was a pattern of ten dots and they went from his ears, to almost under his nose. The man eyed them warily, the boy seemed the most out of place for walking through the forest surrounding the village. The other two men looked better equipped for hiking through a forest. But both of them were odd, one of the men was bound with a face covering. The other man wore tactical gear and a white and red mask. K''Tedimu planted his spear in front of himself as he said in English, ¡°You¡¯ve just entered Wakanda, our borders are closed to outsiders. You will have to turn around and leave at once.¡± Erik looked at the man in front of him as he said, ¡°I am N''Jadaka son of N''Jobu. I have come to my father''s homeland to visit for the first time." Erik then pointed to the bound man as he said, "From my understanding this person is a criminal of Wakanda and the other person is Bear, a friend of mine." The man looked a little shocked hearing the name N''Jobu, he was the king¡¯s brother who had gone missing over six years ago. As the man was looking at the teenager in front of him, the man in the mask named Bear brought the bound man forward. K''Tedimu and his men tensed up slightly but as the masked man Bear pulled off the other man''s head covering they stopped. K''Tedimu was the first to react as he asked, ¡°Is that Ulysses Klaue?¡± N''Jadaka nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, he was captured by my men this morning.¡± K''Tedimu bowed his head deeply and said, ¡°I am K''Tedimu, leader of the border tribe. Wakanda is in your debt for bringing us Klaue.¡± N''Jadaka smiled and lifted up his fathers ring as he said, ¡°K''Tedimu, this was my fathers ring. Is this good enough to prove that I am N''Jobu''s son?¡± K''Tedimu nodded just slightly as he said, ¡°Yes it should help you, but I am sure people will also want a blood test done.¡± N''Jadaka reached up and pulled his lower lip down to show the war dog mark on his lip. K''Tedimu¡¯s eyes widened just a little bit at that before he said, ¡°That will also help you.¡± K''Tedimu glanced at the man named Bear as he said, ¡°We still don¡¯t allow outsiders inside the borders, we have secrets to keep.¡± ¡°I have already told Bear everything my father told me about Wakanda, he goes wherever I go.¡± K''Tedimu had a shocked look as he glanced between N''Jadaka and Bear. He then settled his firm gaze on N''Jadaka and said, ¡°Telling an outsider those secrets could get you in a lot of trouble. I will allow him to accompany you for now, after he is checked for weapons. But it will be up to other people if he is allowed to stay with you the whole time.¡± Erik nodded his head as he said, ¡°Bear let them check you for weapons.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Bear let go of Klaue and then stood with his arms and legs apart. One of the men took a hold of Klaue while the other man did a thorough search of Bear. When he found nothing he moved back to K''Tedimu and nodded his head as he passed him. K''Tedimu looked at the man named Bear and said, ¡°You will need to remove your mask Mr. Bear." Bear looked towards N''Jadaka for orders, N''Jadaka looked back and said, ¡°You can remove your mask.¡± When Bear removed his mask, N''Jadaka was glad he was facing the other way. The man under the mask looked nothing like Ezekiel normally did. Sure his hair was black, but everything else was different. His face was covered in scar¡¯s, his eyes had a hard edge to them like he was always looking for the next threat. Bear nodded his head to N''Jadaka as he clipped his mask to his vest. K''Tedimu and his men took in the man named Bear and were instantly more on edge. With the mask on they didn¡¯t notice it, but with the mask off they could see the man''s hard eyes. He looked at K''Tedimu and his men like they weren¡¯t a threat to him. K''Tedimu decided he would make sure he was always a full spear length away from Bear, just in case. K''Tedimu looked back at N''Jadaka and said, ¡°Come with us to the village, I need to make a report and get some transport for us.¡± N''Jadaka nodded in reply as he and Bear started to walk towards the village. It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach the village and they were shown a hut to use while they waited for transport. Erik wanted to ask Bear some questions, but as he went to speak Bear shook his head. Erik took the hint and decided to ask his questions later after they returned to the base. They didn¡¯t have to wait long before their transport arrived. It was a cloaked Royal Talon Fighter which made no sound and couldn''t be seen at all. Only when the rear ramp opened up could you tell that something was there. Out of the back, seven Dora Milaje appeared and walked down the exposed ramp of the plane. One of the women went straight to K''Tedimu and started talking to him. It wasn''t long before K''Tedimu pointed towards the hut which N''Jadaka and Bear currently resided in. The woman looked over at the hut for a moment as she talked to K''Tedimu. After a few minutes of conversation, K''Tedimu and the woman walked over to N''Jadaka and Bear''s hut. K''Tedimu entered the hut and brought out N''Jadaka and Bear. Once outside the woman said, ¡°I am Owibiah of the Dora Milaje, K''Tedimu said you claimed to be the son of the king''s missing brother N¡¯Jobu. You will have to come with us so we can verify your claims.¡± She glanced at the man next to Erik as she said, ¡°Your friend can join you for now. But be warned, if he makes one false move we will not hesitate to detain him or kill him depending on his actions. Is that understood?¡± N''Jadaka nodded his head as he said, ¡°Bear won¡¯t attack unless he thinks my life''s in danger. Otherwise he is just like a giant teddy bear. Isn''t that right, bear?" Bear nodded in reply. Owibiah eyed the man for a few seconds more, then Owibiah glanced behind her as she said, "Bring the scanner." Two more Dora Milaje walked over carrying a device between them. They placed it on the ground and stood on each side of it. Owibiah touched some beads on her wrist and the device expanded open. It looked like a metal doorway, in place of a door, there was a neon blue light that covered the opening. Owibiah glanced at Erik and Bear as she said, "Each of you take turns standing in the middle of the scanner. I will tell you when to leave it." Erik glanced at Bear for a moment before he stepped forward into the opening. Owibiah touched the beads on her wrist and a small holographic screen appeared in front of her. She touched it a few times and the light in the doorway began to change colors a few times. When it went back to blue Owibiah said, "You can switch places with your friend now." Erik stepped out of the doorway as he said, "Your turn Bear." Bear stepped forward into the doorway and the process repeated but took twice as long. Once finished Owibiah studied the screen for a few minutes before she turned to K''Tedimu and said, ¡°Get Klaue, we need to Scan him before heading back.¡± K''Tedimu¡¯s men brought out Klaue who now had different cuffs on. His blind fold, gag and ear protection was removed and he had a smile on his face. When he saw Bear with his distinct red and white mask he frowned. When they walked close Klaue said, "You fucked up thinking you could make friends with Wakanda. These people are savages and they don''t tolerate outsiders like us. You should have just been happy buying the vibranium I had." Bear just looked at Klaue who started to smile again as he said, "Well doesn''t matter, you paid me. When I get out of here I will be set for life." K''Tedimu pushed Klaue into the doorway as he said, "You won''t be going anywhere, now shut up." As the device started to scan Klaue he said, "I escaped once before, I can do it again sweetheart." A heavy Russian accent was heard as Bear said, "Your bank accounts were drained." Klaue lost his smile as the device finished working. As he was pulled out of the device he looked at Bear and said, "You really know how to kick a man when he''s down, don''t you?" Owibiah glanced at Klaue as she said, "Load him in the ship and if he keeps talking, I want him gagged." Owibiah glanced at Erik and Bear as she said, "Everyone is cleared, let''s go get your blood work done." 00053. Blood test N''Jadaka and Bear were seated with a good view of the outside as the royal talon fighter flew to the capital of Wakanda. The only thing they could see for miles was dense forested areas. After ten minutes passed they could see a mountain in front of them that the plane was heading for. As they flew closer to the mountain Erik glanced at Bear who just smiled slightly in response. Just as the plane hit the mountain, it passed through a barrier and a sprawling metropolis could be seen in the distance before them. Erik was stunned, it was his first real time seeing the place his father always talked about with such passion. Erik studied the city while the plane took them to the outer area of the capital city of Wakanda next to a giant panther statue that overlooked the city. When they exited the back of the plane, Erik took a few moments to admire the view before Bear and himself were ushered into a building underneath the mountain the panther statue sat on. It was a facility that they used for what seemed like prisoners as far as Erik could tell. Bear was allowed to stay with Erik while they did a blood test. But that wasn''t saying much, the room they were brought to was almost completely bare besides a table and some chairs for them to use. Someone came into the room after they were dropped off and took a blood sample before leaving them alone. It was about an hour later when Owibiah came inside and said, "Sorry for the wait N''Jadaka, we just wanted to verify that you were actually N¡¯Jobu''s son." N''Jadaka nodded his head as he asked, "It''s fine, I expected I would have to be tested. So what happens now?" Owibiah glanced at Bear as she said, "We have one small matter to deal with, your friend Bear didn''t come up when we looked for him. His face doesn''t exist anywhere digitally and the name Bear doesn¡¯t really help us much either." N''Jadaka looked over to Bear for a moment before he said, "He almost always wears his mask and he doesn''t normally travel in places that have working electricity, much less cameras to take his picture." "Could you give us more info about him? His real name perhaps and where he was born along with the year?" N''Jadaka glanced back at Owibiah as he said, "Give her your information, Bear." Owibiah looked at Bear as he said in a heavy Russian accent, "Mishka Medvedev, Yakutsk, U.S.S.R. 10-12-1963" Owibiah raised an eyebrow as she asked, "Doesn''t that mean Bear Bear in Russian?" Bear just smiled as N''Jadaka looked at Owibiah and asked, "You speak Russian?" "All Dora Milaje are required to speak at least five languages fluently, I can speak ten. If you will excuse me for a little while, I need to run his information." She left the room right after. It took over half an hour before she came back to the room. She glanced at Bear before she looked at N''Jadaka and said, "Bear can join you, but he needs to be restrained." N''Jadaka nodded his head and said, "That''s fine, Bear let her cuff you." Bear grunted as he put his hands out. Owibiah came forward and put a small bead on each of Bear''s wrist. Within a second they each expanded and turned into a pair of heavy duty handcuffs that magnetically locked his wrists together. Owibiah stepped back as she said, "The king and tribal leader''s are awaiting you in the Council Chambers, please follow me." If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. N''Jadaka and Bear were led out of the room and back to the royal talon fighter. After they boarded the plane, they were treated to a beautiful view of the city. The city itself was beautiful and mixed technology with nature in a delicate balance. As they flew, other craft could be seen flying around the city, traveling from one area to another. Within a few minutes they were taken to the heart of the city and a tall beautiful golden spire. On each side of the spire stood tall onyx colored panther statues each one was almost half the height of the spire itself. The aircraft landed in front of the spire on a large platform. As the aircraft opened its rear hatch N''Jadaka and Bear were greeted by ten women of the Dora Milaje. There were five women in a line to each side of the aircraft¡¯s ramp standing at attention. Owibiah walked out onto the ramp and stopped to look at N''Jadaka as she said, "Follow me and once inside the council chambers do not speak unless you are asked to." N''Jadaka nodded his head before he and Bear silently followed Owibiah down the ramp. Once on the ground the Dora Milaje formed up around them as they walked. N''Jadaka wasn''t sure if they were considered prisoners or V.I.P. guests with this type of treatment. But he decided to put his trust in Bear and his team that everything would be okay. As they walked through the spire, N''Jadaka took in the details of the place. It was a masterpiece of construction, but it was also a masterpiece of art. Everything flowed together organically and looked almost like it was natural. Even the things you could tell were man made, somehow blended into the structure naturally. They were led to a unique elevator that was easily big enough to hold all of them. The elevator was stationed on the outside of the building and enclosed in glass. It was actually more of a single half circle platform than what a typical elevator looked like. Which gave it an amazing view of the beautiful city outside. Another interesting thing about the platform was how it operated. Since there were no walls, there were no buttons to push. N''Jadaka watched as Owibiah used the beads around her wrist which showed a holographic display she used to control the elevator. As they rode the platform to the top of the spire, almost no motion was felt at all by anyone on the platform. Even though you could see the city becoming smaller below you. It made for a very strange and disconcerted feeling for N''Jadaka which made him close his eyes. He took in a deep breath of air, then slowly exhaled it. When he reopened his eyes they were already stopped at their destination. They exited the platform on the top floor and were guided to a set of tall ornate double doors that opened up into a large rounded meeting chamber. There was a reddish brown platform in the middle of the room, it almost looked to be made of clay. Upon the clay platform rested six metal colored chairs and a taller throne made out of metal and wood. The throne was at the back of the clay platform. It was a lot bigger compared to the other chairs and had two points coming out of the back near the arm rests that reached up over the throne and stopped at points just before they connected with each other. On each side of the throne were three chairs in a row boxing in the sides of the clay platform. All of the chairs were currently filled with people. The man seated on the throne was older, his hair had started to become white showing his advancing age. But he still looked strong and capable as a leader. His face was unreadable as he studied N''Jadaka and Bear as they approached the middle of the room. N''Jadaka¡¯s hands clenched slightly as he looked at the man who looked a lot like his father. A woman in the chair to the king¡¯s left was currently holding his hand. She showed no sign of her current age at all, if it wasn¡¯t for where she was seated and how she was interacting with the king. N''Jadaka would have thought she was a younger adviser instead of the queen. Everyone else seated in the chairs had a quiet and subdued demeanor. N''Jadaka took a moment to look at everyone as he came to a stop just before he stepped on the clay platform. The Dora Milaje who were guiding him spread out, but four of them stayed right behind him and Bear. Owibiah walked forward and stopped before the man on the throne as she said, ¡°My king, I have bought N''Jadaka son of N¡¯Jobu and his companion Bear as asked.¡± She then stepped to the right side of the throne and took up her position next to it. The man was quiet for a few moments before he said in a deep voice, ¡°Today is a day for celebration and also for mourning. Today my lost brother¡¯s son has returned and even brought us a gift. But his coming also brings news which we have feared for years, that my younger brother is dead.¡± Bear who stood behind N''Jadaka noticed as the boy''s fists clenched tighter the longer the king talked. Bear glanced around the room for a moment, he already knew this meeting wasn¡¯t going to follow the script. He only hoped that Erik didn¡¯t try to kill the king, it would just make things more complicated. 00054. Meeting a king. The king lowered his head and everyone except for N''Jadaka and Bear followed suit. N''Jadaka gritted his teeth a little, but said nothing while he waited for everyone to finish. The whole room was quiet for a few minutes before the king started to raise his head as he said, ¡°N''Jadaka, I am sorry for not bringing you home sooner, if I knew my brother had a son. Then I would have gone to find you myself years ago.¡± The tribal leaders and the queen nodded their heads in agreement with the king''s statement, N''Jadaka only tightened his fists more, as his fingernails started to dig into his palms. Bear seemed to be the only person who noticed N''Jadaka''s reactions to the king''s words. The king smiled as he said, ¡°N''Jadaka you have also done the country of your father''s birth a great service by bringing us the criminal Ulysses Klaue. Someone who has escaped our grasp for years and was a master at evading us. For that you have mine and the rest of the country''s thanks.¡± King T''Chaka frowned slightly as he continued, ¡°Unfortunately you have also broken a taboo, you have told an outsider our secrets. Although we normally imprison people who break this taboo, we will overlook this issue since you weren¡¯t raised here. We will of course need to make sure Mr. Medvedev is the only person you told about Wakanda. After we are finished here, you will join Owibiah so she can ascertain if more people need to be detained." The king turned to look at Bear as he said, "Unfortunately for you Mr. Medvedev, you will now have to be a permanent guest of Wakanda. You will be given a place to live and we will assign you a job according to your skill set. You will also not be allowed to contact anyone outside of Wakanda." N''Jadaka frowned as he asked, ¡°So he is now a prisoner of Wakanda?¡± The king glanced at Owibiah and she shot a glare at N''Jadaka from next to the king as she said, ¡°You will only address the king if he asks you a question directly, know your place N¡¯Jadaka.¡± N''Jadaka shook his head as he said, ¡°Naw, I don¡¯t think so. I am already tired of all this bullshit, I am gonna say my piece and then we are gonna dip.¡± N''Jadaka glared at Owibiah and said, ¡°And for the record, my name is Erik Stevens.¡± All of the Dora Milaje looked like they wanted to attack Erik for his disrespect, before T''Chaka raised his right hand in the air as a calming signal. T¡¯Chaka glowered at Erik as he said, ¡°It seems you are just like your father. I had hoped you would be different, but it seems the apple didn¡¯t fall far from the tree.¡± T¡¯Chaka watched Erik and he let out a sigh. Erik glared back at T¡¯Chaka, until T¡¯Chaka said, ¡°You and your companion Bear are ordered to stay in Wakanda. You can never leave and you will be watched at all times. If you try to leave you will be forcefully detained and restrained. I am being lenient because you are my nephew, but I can treat you like anyone else if you test my patience, boy.¡± As T¡¯Chaka looked towards Owibiah, Erik started to laugh. T¡¯Chaka instantly looked back at Erik with an angry glare as he said, ¡°Stop laughing boy, or you will regret it.¡± Erik laughed more before he glared back at the king as he said, ¡°What are you gonna do if I don¡¯t? Kill me like you did my father?¡± The whole room went quiet, as everyone looked at the king who hadn¡¯t reacted to the accusation. As they did, Bear unclipped his mask and slipped it onto his face. Some of the Dora Milaje and T¡¯Chaka noticed his actions. Since Bear was already restrained and had no weapons, they paid him no mind. T¡¯Chaka frowned at the young man in front of him and saw so much of his younger brother in the boy. Erik glared back at T¡¯Chaka, his fists clenched so tight that his nails started to draw blood. T¡¯Chaka finally spoke and there was some heat in his voice as he said, ¡°Your father was a traitor to Wakanda and he was killed for it. I left you in Oakland because I knew you were going to be tainted by your father''s ideals. You should have stayed away, there is nothing here for you.¡± T¡¯Chaka raised his right hand again as it looked like other people were going to talk and said, ¡°We will talk after N¡¯Jadaka and his companion are removed. Owibiah, I wan¡­¡± ¡°No! You will listen to what I have to say and then we will leave.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. T¡¯Chaka glared back at Erik as he said, ¡°If he speaks again I want him to be restrained and gagged.¡± ¡°Fuck you.¡± As the Dora Milaje went to restrain Erik a cloud of smoke appeared around Erik and Bear, when it cleared a second later both of them were next to T¡¯Chaka. Bear had a kunai to T¡¯Chaka¡¯s throat and Erik seemed a little dazed, but Erik shook his head and then said, ¡°Like I said, I am going to say my piece and then we are leaving.¡± Everyone was shocked at what just happened including Owibiah, who looked at Bear like she wanted to slaughter him. Owibiah was slowly getting ready to attack Erik, she was confident that the king wouldn¡¯t have any issue handling Bear. He was still the black panther and he should be able to react before the man was able to stab him with his weapon. Owibiah stopped when she felt a cold blade against her neck and someone said in a playful tone of voice, ¡°Let¡¯s not lose our heads now¡­ Let the boy speak and we will be on our way.¡± Owibiah wasn¡¯t the only one who stopped moving. Everyone stopped moving because there were now three more people in the room wearing masks. A man with a cat mask was behind Owibiah, another man in a crow mask was holding a blade to the queen''s throat and the last man in a wolf mask was standing next to Erik as a guard. Erik looked around at everyone and said, ¡°Now that I have your undivided attention I¡¯m gonna say my piece.¡± He pointed at T''Chaka on his throne while his hand dripped blood as he said, ¡°You know I spent the last few years with only one goal, coming here to kill you and burn this place to the ground. You took everything I cared about away, so I planned to do the same to you.¡± Erik grinded his teeth for a moment, before he closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He released it slowly before he opened his eyes and said, ¡°As much as I still want to kill you, I won¡¯t. After meeting you, I realized you aren¡¯t worth killing. You¡¯re just a pathetic old man stuck in his ways and fearful of change. It¡¯s why you never listened to my father or tried to help him. It¡¯s why you killed him and left me in Oakland.¡± Erik looked around at the other people in the room before he said, ¡°All of you are just like him, stuck in traditions and afraid of change. One day you will wake up and realize that Wakanda isn¡¯t as great as you think it is. Sooner or later the rest of the world will catch up to Wakanda and then what will you do?¡± Erik moved close to T¡¯Chaka and bent down slightly next to his ear as he said, ¡°I want you to look back on this day for the rest of your life and remember you are only alive because I allowed it.¡± Erik stood back up and glanced at Bear as he said, ¡°Let''s get out of here, I am over this place.¡± Bear nodded his head and a few seconds later Erik and the four masked men faded away. As soon as they disappeared the Dora Milaje took up positions around the king and queen along with the tribal leaders. Owibiah used the beads on her wrist and scanned the room to find where they went. She also sent messages to the main security center and told them to make sure the shield was up, she wouldn¡¯t let Erik and the men with him escape. When she was finished she kneeled in front of the king who was holding his wife as she said, ¡°My king, this was my fault. I take full responsibility for what happened.¡± T¡¯Chaka looked down at Owibiah and said, ¡°Stand up, this isn¡¯t your fault, whoever he had with him had technology on par with us. We need to figure out who they are and find out how they acquired that level of technology.¡± The queen touched her husband''s face with her hand that was shaking slightly as she asked, ¡°Is that really the best idea? They could have killed us easily, but they didn¡¯t because N¡¯Jada¡­ Erik. I understand the need to keep us safe, but let''s count our blessings and not provoke them for now. We first need to understand how they bypassed our security.¡± T¡¯Chaka was quiet for a few moments before he said, ¡°I will heed your wisdom love, we will focus on figuring out how they were able to get inside here and leave so easily.¡± Owibiah looked around the room as she said, ¡°I will talk with the research division and have them check over everything, we will figure out what happened and find a solution my king.¡± T¡¯Chaka nodded his head and then let out a sigh as he said, ¡°I guess I owe all of you the truth now. Go back to your positions and I will tell you what happened with my brother.¡± vvvvv Erik, Ezekiel and the others watched as T¡¯Chaka started to tell everyone what really happened with his brother N¡¯Jobu. Erik looked at Ezekiel who had changed back into his normal looking self and said, ¡°That didn¡¯t go the way I thought it would.¡± Ezekiel patted Erik on the shoulder as he said, ¡°Me either, but it¡¯s fine. I never expected to make friends with Wakanda this early.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Erik as he asked, ¡°Feel better after your rant?¡± Erik shrugged as he said, ¡°Not really, but I will get over it. Now what?¡± Ezekiel looked at Tao as he said, ¡°Mind going to the storage facility? I want more vibranium.¡± Tao let out a sigh before she said, ¡°From a chauffeur to a getaway driver and now a thief¡­ I feel like my life has taken a turn for the worse since I met you.¡± ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t want any Vibranium?¡± Tao opened a portal as she said, ¡°No, I¡¯ll take some. It¡¯s a great conduit for making runic items.¡± 00055. Finally a new lead? Erik watched in slack jawed fascination as Ezekiel and the three people with him quickly looted an entire storage room of its vibranium with the help of Tao''s portals. Within ten minutes they cleared out an entire room, over five tons of vibranium. Even though Tao sounded reluctant to help at first, she was smiling while helping remove all the vibranium. About halfway through Erik asked, "Shouldn''t this place be guarded or have some type of alarm?" Ezekiel chuckled as he said, "You would think that, but Wakanda in its arrogance never thought that someone could even get here in the first place. There are monitors on the doors and cameras in the halls. But the storage rooms themselves have nothing." "With how we left, aren''t they going to know we stole all this vibranium?" Ezekiel grinned as he looked at Erik as he said, "Probably, that is why I am going to leave a note. It will throw them off." Erik and Tao had a dubious look as Ezekiel laughed and he said, "Trust me, they won''t even see the note for like six months or more." When they were finished, Ezekiel left a note in the room that read. ''To whom it may concern, the vibranium in this room was claimed by the rights of Finders Keepers. Since claimed under Finders Keepers Law, if you wish to have it back you must find it. -With love, Fred.'' Once they were back at the base and all the vibranium was added to what Ezekiel already took from Klaue. Tao gave Ezekiel a questioning look as she asked, "Are you sure that was the best idea? Not only our display of power, but we also stole from them. On the tech side of things they seem powerful, should we be making Wakanda our enemy?" Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Tech wise they are powerful, but it¡¯s only because of their supply of vibranium. Honestly their tech while advanced isn¡¯t that far ahead, maybe fifty years and the gap is closing fast. As for making them an enemy? Everyone on that council is old and you saw it from not just the king, they are too stuck in their traditions. Trying to make a deal with them properly most likely won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being short sighted?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Probably, but I am betting on the future King and his sister. I am going to monitor what happens in Wakanda for a while, but I am sure the king will keep what happened a secret. Whether he does or not, I plan to make contact with T¡¯Challa and his sister at some point and introduce them to Erik. If we do anything with Wakanda I want to be working with T¡¯Challa, not T¡¯Chaka.¡± Ezekiel paused for a few moments before he said, ¡°I do admit letting Erik speak might have been a bad idea. But I wouldn''t change it. That kid has so much potential and I don¡¯t want to see him waste it because of all of his anger. Letting him vent at his father''s killer helped. Along with his therapy session today.¡± Tao glanced at the large pile of vibranium as she said, ¡°Make sure you bring up Wakanda at the next meeting, the others should know about them and what happened.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I already have Shisui drafting a report for it. Anyways, I am going to go check on Erik, I will talk with you later.¡± Tao nodded in reply as Ezekiel left her and his clones and made his way to Erik''s room to check up on him. When he got there, he found the door to the room open and Erik was laying on his bed. Erik was holding his father¡¯s ring above his head as he was studying it intently. Around this time Fury sat up on the bed he was laying on in the holding cell. He looked a little pale and he had sweat on his forehead. He looked around the room for a moment before he checked his watch. After he noticed that almost three hours had passed he said, "That mother fucker." He stood up and went out of the room to find Ezekiel. At the same time Ezekiel walked in Erik¡¯s room as he said, "Penny for your thoughts?" Erik glanced at Ezekiel for a moment before he looked back at his father''s ring. He was quiet as Ezekiel moved over to the only chair in the room and sat down. Erik sighed before he sat up on his bed to look at Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled as he said, "I figured you might wanna talk a bit?" Erik frowned as he said, "No¡­" Erik then let out a sigh before he said, "Yes¡­ That son of a bitch, he was just so arrogant." As Erik talked, his voice was rising as he said, "The more he talked the more I wanted to punch him in his smug face. Everything that was coming out of his mouth was a lie and it made me hate him." Erik chuckled at that as he said, "More than I already did." "Your dad being a traitor wasn''t a lie." Erik glared at Ezekiel for a moment before he let out a sigh as he said, "He was just trying to help people." Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Maybe, but he was doing it in the wrong way. Did you know he planned to make a bomb using vibranium?" Erik looked a little shocked at that as he said, "My father wouldn''t have done that!" "You don''t know your father as well as you think you do. While he did want to help people, violence isn''t the only way to do things. Even if he wasn''t going to use the bomb, just making it to use as a threat is a terrible idea. That''s why I showed you what would happen if you followed his path." Erik frowned as he asked, ¡°So using violence sometimes is the right way to do things?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head in reply, before Erik laughed as he said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make you a hypocrite? You were the one who said I shouldn¡¯t follow my father''s path and yet now you are saying sometimes violence is the answer?¡± Ezekiel gave a self deprecating laugh as he shrugged his shoulders and then said, ¡°I probably am a hypocrite¡­ You know I killed a lot of people recently.¡± Ezekiel had a sad smile on his face and after a long pause he said, ¡°I would like to say it was for a good reason, a good cause. For something noble, but honestly it was because I didn¡¯t have a better choice¡­¡± Erik didn¡¯t seem surprised as he studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t anything be better than death?¡± Ezekiel gave Erik a serious look as he said, ¡°There are things far worse than death. But no, death was the best option out of what we came up with. I still don¡¯t like it myself, but sometimes when you have a choice to make, you don¡¯t really have a choice to make. Does that make sense?¡± Erik nodded his head a little as he said, ¡°I get it. The way you worded it was bad, but I get it.¡± They both stayed quiet for a few minutes before Ezekiel finally said, ¡°So how do you want to move forward from here? Say the word and I can get you into any school you want. Honestly you wouldn¡¯t even need my help, you could just ask Hank or Bill for a recommendation letter.¡± Erik was quiet for a while as he looked at his father¡¯s ring again. When he tightened his fist over the ring he asked, ¡°You said you were going to change the world for the better. What if I decide to stay here, to join whatever it is you are doing here?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°We would be glad to have you. But what do you want to do if you join us?¡± ¡°I wanna fight. I saw what I could become if I trained¡­ But I also wanna help in otherways, I really like mechanical engineering. Would I be able to do both?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Yes, yes you can. I will talk with Hank and Darren, we will come up with a lesson plan to get you a masters degree in mechanical engineering and anything else that you might be interested in. At the same time, I will talk with Steve and Logan so they can start to give you combat training and a better physical training regiment overall.¡± ¡°Logan? Who is that?¡± Ezekiel had a puzzled look as he asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t met Logan yet? He is here every few days to see Laura. He¡¯s kind of like her father¡­¡± ¡°That short smelly guy is Laura¡¯s father? Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°That is definitely one way to describe him.¡± Erik thought about it for a moment before he said, ¡°I only really saw him once up close, but now that I think about it. Laura looks a lot like him.¡± ¡°Yup, she definitely took most of her genetics from Logan.¡± Ezekiel gave a slight chuckle as he stood up. Ezekiel glanced over to Erik as he said, ¡°You should get some sleep, it¡¯s been a long day and I still have some stuff I need to do.¡± Erik nodded his head but stayed sitting on his bed as he went back to looking at his father¡¯s ring. Ezekiel closed the door as he walked out of the room. He looked to the left of the door and asked, ¡°I suppose you want to have a talk too?¡± Fury had a frown on his face as he nodded his head. He turned to his right and started to walk down the hallway and Ezekiel followed along behind him. They didn¡¯t speak as they walked, but Ezekiel was fine with that. He wasn¡¯t really in a rush to find out how this conversation was going to go. After a few minutes they made it to the main meeting room and both of them sat down in their normal chairs. Ezekiel waited patiently until Fury said, ¡°You are a real son of a bitch, you know that?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Yup.¡± Fury still had his frown as he asked, ¡°Are any of those things going to happen in this timeline? Are they what you are trying to prevent?¡± ¡°In this timeline? I hope not, or we will be in trouble.¡± Fury¡¯s frown turned into a glare as he said, ¡°Then why would you show me any of that?¡± Ezekiel was a little surprised at the question and said, ¡°You know why.¡± Fury scowled at Ezekiel as he raised his voice slightly as he said, ¡°Of course I do! You think you are clever, you think I will back off just because you showed me all the ways I could fuck up?¡± ¡°No, I showed you what happens because you wouldn¡¯t put your trust in other people. I won¡¯t be like you, I just gave you some of my trust. Hopefully it wasn''t misplaced.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t give me¡­¡± Fury¡¯s face went through a range of emotions Ezekiel had never seen before. He almost looked happy, before his face schooled to its normal disappointed frown as he asked, ¡°How much of that will happen?¡± ¡°Maybe thirty percent or so¡­ Could be more, could be less.¡± Fury was quiet for a few minutes as he started to think back over everything Ezekiel showed him. After a while he looked at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°So Stark¡¯s kid will become¡­¡± An alarm went off in the room and a second later a screen popped up, it showed that some foreign diplomat was just assassinated. It also went to a live feed from a satellite and it showed a man with a metal arm riding on a motorcycle. Ezekiel had a wide smile as he said, ¡°To answer your question yes, yes he does. But now that you know, what are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because if I interfere it might not happen.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Now you understand why I am trying not to fuck with the timeline to much.¡± ¡°But you already have, just bringing Steve out of the ice this early will have a big impact.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I already have a plan for that in place, but we can discuss that later with everyone else. But first I need to inform Steve and the others that I found Bucky.¡± Fury nodded his head at that as he sat back in his chair and started to think over all the new information he gained from Ezekiel. He was trying to consolidate everything that happened in all of the worlds he saw first. Then things that happened in most of them, then in half of them. He would still check out stuff that only happened in one world, but only after he confirmed if those people existed in this world. 00056. Wakanda and Erik Ezekiel pushed a button and the table in front of him opened up showing a screen along with a keyboard and mouse. He started to type away on it for a few minutes before the main monitor of the room minimized Bucky riding a motorcycle to one side of the screen. It next pulled up a couple of boxes which said connecting in the middle of the box. After a few moments one of the boxes changed, one of them showed Hank in his lab. In the background you could see Bill and Darren talking in front of a computer. Hank looked at Ezekiel and Fury and asked, "Did something happen?" Ezekiel nodded as he said, "Yes, we found Bucky. I am currently tracking him by satellite." "We will be there in a few minutes." Ezekiel closed the screen afterwards along with another screen that was meant to contact Bill. After a minute another screen connected and Tao could be seen on the screen. She had a slight smile as she asked, "Does Fury want to talk about Wakanda?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No, we finally found Bucky. I figured everyone would want to know." Tao nodded her head as she said, "I will be there in a few minutes." As Ezekiel went to close the screen, another popped up with Peggy on it. She looked to be in bed and her hair was kind of a mess. Ezekiel smiled as he said, "See you soon Tao." He looked at the screen with Peggy and said, "Sorry, didn''t mean to wake you." "It''s fine, what happened?" Ezekiel grinned as he said, "We finally found Bucky¡­" Steve could be heard outside of the frame as he asked, "They found Bucky?" Ezekiel and Fury were frozen after Steve talked. Peggy looked to her side for a moment, before she let out a sigh and turned the camera slightly. Steve was seated in the bed next to her, he was shirtless and his hair was a mess also. He smiled guiltily as he said, "We will be there in a few minutes." The feed immediately cut off and Ezekiel glanced at Fury as he asked, "They weren''t¡­" "I don''t even wanna think about it." Ezekiel nodded his head before he started to giggle. His giggle turned into a full on laugh and even Fury started to smirk just the tiniest bit, before he schooled his face back to his normal half frown. When Ezekiel calmed down he said, "If you have any questions about what I showed you, just send me an email. Keep in mind that I don¡¯t know everything, so if you ask me for details on something I probably don¡¯t know it." Fury had his computer up and was typing when he asked, "So what happened in Wakanda?" Ezekiel grinned as he said, "We stole five tons of vibranium." Fury''s head snapped up to study Ezekiel for a few moments before he let out a sigh and said, "So now we are enemies with Wakanda?" "No, not really. I mean maybe with the current leadership, but we will just make friends with the next king and everything should work out." Fury started to type again as he said, "Next time can you at least inform us before you do something so stupid?" The door opened up and Hank and Bill walked in as Fury talked. Ezekiel said, "I will try my best, but sometimes things just happen." After Hank and Bill sat down, Hank asked, "What happened this time?" "Ezekiel stole five tons of vibranium from Wakanda and now they might be our enemy." Hank turned from Fury and gave Ezekiel a questioning look as Bill said, "Wakanda? I''ve never heard of that place before." Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "Most people wouldn''t know about them. Small country in the middle of Africa. From the outside they seem like a small 3rd world country. But that is just what they show people, they are actually the most advanced country in the world." Hank looked a little upset as he said, "So what are we planning to do about Wakanda? I don''t want to lose that vibranium. I will fight them if it comes to that." "No, we shouldn''t have to fight them. We should be fine if we leave them alone and don''t run around showing off we have vibranium. Honestly, just Erik will need to keep a low profile." Bill nodded his head as he said, "That is easy enough, I don''t think we have any plans to make anything out of vibranium besides the quantum tunnel." The door opened up and in walked Peggy followed by Steve who looked a little tense. So Ezekiel gave a wolf whistle, which made Steve smile slightly and caused Peggy to shoot Ezekiel a glare. Hank and Bill smiled just a tiny bit as Fury shook his head. As Peggy and Steve were sitting down, Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I am not gonna pry into your personal business, but I just want to say don¡¯t break a hip or something.¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Peggy glared at Ezekiel as Steve turned a little red. Hank and Bill both laughed for a moment, before Peggy glared at them. She then looked back at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Are you done?¡± As Ezekiel nodded his head, Tao walked in the door. Once she took her seat, Ezekiel gestured to the main monitor as he said, "They used Bucky to assassinate a foreign dignitary who was pretty outspoken about the current climate in Symkaria. We will have to assume that they have a hand in what is happening there." Fury nodded as he said, "I will send someone from our group to investigate his death and see if we can dig up anything." Steve watched the monitor intently as he asked, "When are we going after Bucky?" Fury looked up at Steve and Peggy as he said, ¡°Right after we find where they are keeping him. But since everyone is here, let''s talk about what Ezekiel did in Wakanda while we wait.¡± Everyone turned to look at Ezekiel who smiled as he said, "I will try to make this quick." He started to type on his computer, which made the satellite view of Bucky smaller. A new screen popped up and it showed a satellite view of Wakanda. It looked mostly covered in jungle and there were only a handful of towns that could be seen in the image. Ezekiel pointed at the screen as he said, "This is Wakanda, a small isolationist landlocked country located in Africa. It¡¯s a third world nation that is known for its exports of textiles. At least what they show to the outside world." The screen zoomed into a random part of Wakanda that seemed to be covered in jungle. After Ezekiel typed on the computer some more, the jungle disappeared and they could see a sprawling metropolis. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°This is the golden city, also known as Birnin Zana, the capital of Wakanda. They are the most technologically advanced civilization currently on earth and it¡¯s because they are sitting on a meteor full of vibranium.¡± The screen pulled up some pictures, it was the family tree of the golden tribe. Erik¡¯s picture was near the bottom and Ezekiel pulled it up as he said, ¡°Erik Stevens or N¡¯Jadaka is the son of former prince N¡¯Jobu. When I talked to him the other day, I realized I messed up pretty badly. I should have talked with him as soon as he was brought under our custody.¡± Some police crime scene photos came up on the screen as Ezekiel said, ¡°N¡¯Jobu was killed by his brother, the current king of Wakanda and Erik was left behind to fend for himself. Partly to hide the fact the king killed his brother, and partly to keep the royal bloodline pure since Erik is only half Wakanda.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°When he was brought in I knew Erik had some issues and would work towards his main goal of revenge against his fathers killer. But when I met him, he seemed normal, so I put off talking with him. I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with his issues and that maybe just bringing him here would help to change him. I am sure everyone else thought the same thing as me, he never showed any outward signs or issues.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer for a moment and brought up a video of him talking to Erik the other day. After the video finished Steve said, ¡°You are right, I was with him a lot and I never noticed his anger.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°He hid it well. But it has now been dealt with. That being said, I took him to Wakanda and let him talk with the king.¡± Another video came up and played everything that happened in the council room. Once finished Peggy said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t that bad, no one was killed. It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t reach out and negotiate with them.¡± Hank shook his head as he said, ¡°They also stole five tons of vibranium.¡± Peggy turned to glare at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Why the hell would you do that?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°We could use it.¡± ¡°But now we have to deal with a powerful new enemy.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, if they do anything they will be looking for Erik and a person who doesn¡¯t exist. Plus I want Erik to become friends with his cousin and the future king of Wakanda. Then we won¡¯t have to worry about any real fall out¡­ Maybe.¡± Fury glanced up from his computer as he asked, ¡°So what are we going to do with Erik then?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he looked over to Fury as he said, ¡°He wants to join us. We will need to train him up, but he will be a great asset.¡± Steve shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t agree with that. I don¡¯t mind the gym class we are doing, but I won¡¯t train kids to fight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I can have one of my agents do it.¡± Steve looked over at Fury as he said, ¡°No, we shouldn¡¯t be training kids to fight.¡± ¡°It''s better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.¡± Steve looked at Tao as he said, ¡°We are talking about training kids to fight, to kill.¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°You were a kid when you went to war.¡± Steve shook his head as he said, ¡°I was in my twenties already.¡± ¡°Like I said, you were a child. Erik made a choice to join us, we should respect that choice and treat him like an adult.¡± Steve looked like he was going to disagree when Ezekiel said, ¡°Steve, if it was normal kids I would agree. But all of the kids we brought in are here for a reason. If we didn¡¯t bring in Erik, he would have gone to M.I.T. and after he graduated he would have joined the Navy SEAL¡¯s and earn the nickname Killmonger.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer and pulled up a picture of Grant Ward. Ezekiel looked back at Steve as he said, ¡°Grant is here because he would have been picked up by Hydra and made a sleeper agent in Shield if we didn¡¯t collect him. Every kid we have here can be great assets to us, but like I told Fury about Cessily. I will never force any of them to join us.¡± Ezekiel let out another sigh as he said, ¡°I told Erik, say the word and I will get him into any college he wants. He said he wanted to join us and fight. You can talk to him about it if you want, but I doubt you can change his mind.¡± Ezekiel looked over at Hank as he said, ¡°Erik also wants to learn mechanical engineering, I told him we would come up with a lesson plan to get him a degree in it.¡± Hank smiled as he said, ¡°Sounds good to me, I will talk to Darren later about it. We can come up with a lesson plan and even give him experience helping out in the lab.¡± Ezekiel looked back at Steve as he said, ¡°I was hoping you and Logan would train Erik. But I won¡¯t try to force you to do something you aren¡¯t comfortable with.¡± Steve shook his head as he said, ¡°I still don¡¯t like the idea. But it looks like if I don¡¯t do it, someone else will. I will talk with Erik and if I can¡¯t talk him out of it, then I will train him. The same goes for the other kids if they decide to join us.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Sounds go to me, what about everyone else?¡± Everyone agreed, so Ezekiel pulled up the satellite feed of Bucky again. He had made it to some deserted area and was waiting. Ezekiel started to type again and after a minute another image came up, it was a small jet flying. Ezekiel looked up as he said, ¡°It looks like this is his ride, we just need to track this and we should find where they have been hiding him and the others.¡± 00057. Bucky rescued! Even though it was late, Ezekiel and the others decided to go over other issues and projects while they waited. After two hours, Hank and Bill left. They weren''t really needed for the next part and wanted to keep working on the quantum tunnel. Tao also left not long after and said to contact her when they were ready to go. Fury ended up leaving once he received a call from Hill. He needed to take care of some issues back at Shield. Peggy also left and said to contact her if something important came up. Once Steve and Ezekiel were alone, Ezekiel said, "You don''t need to wait here, I will contact you once I find their base." Steve shook his head as he said, "It''s fine, I''m not really tired¡­ About Bucky¡­How are you going to fix his brain washing?" Ezekiel grinned as he said, "Same way I fixed Laura''s trigger scent issue and Erik''s anger issues. It shouldn''t be that hard, it might take a day or so." Steve nodded his head but looked a little relieved. They enjoyed a comfortable silence as Steve watched the jet and Ezekiel worked on his computer. After a few more hours the jet landed at some base in the middle of northern Siberia. Ezekiel looked up and watched as Bucky walked out of the jet and went inside the base. The jet took off right after and the entrance to the base closed back up. From the angle of the satellite''s view, the base disappeared completely. Even the landing pad for the transport didn''t look like anything. Ezekiel smiled as he said, "I knew there was a reason I couldn''t find this place with all the satellites I have." Ezekiel played back the footage with the entrance open and it was still extremely hard to tell anything was there. Ezekiel typed on his computer for a few moments before he looked at Steve as he said, "Let''s go meet Tao and Kaecilius to scout the base." "You want to bring both of them?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "Yes, I want both of them with us when we take the base." They both walked in silence as they went to the portal transfer station of the base where they met Tao and Kaecilius. Tao pulled everyone into the mirror dimension, before she made a portal to the front of the hidden base. Standing at ground level on the landing pad you could easily make out the front of the base. But it was still well hidden since the closest settlement was over two hundred miles away. This place was also considered restricted because the U.S.S.R. did nuclear weapons tests in the area at some point. Honestly Ezekiel was impressed, he had scanned this area before and never noticed anything here or in the records he found. It took them a few hours but they scouted the whole place pretty easily from the mirror dimension. They infected the main servers with Ezekiel''s program, which uploaded a copy of all their files to his hidden network. When Bucky was found, Steve ended up staying there to watch his friend for a while. It seemed a little creepy to Ezekiel, but he wasn''t going to say anything about it in front of Steve. After they had collected everything they needed, Ezekiel and the others went back to their base to make a plan and collect Ezekiel''s other clones. It went quickly enough and within an hour they were back at the base. The plan was simple, they took control over the main security room. Then Ezekiel''s clones blitzed through the whole base putting everyone in a special timed release genjutsu. The genjutsu was actually custom made for large groups of people but it required everyone to be affected or it would fail. Once they had finished, Ezekiel and his team took some samples from the super soldiers, removed all important documents, files and records. Kaecilius helped Steve take Bucky back to base to begin his deprograming. Then Ezekiel, Tao and the base commander Colonel Vasily Karpov stayed behind in the communications room while they waited for the genjutsu to go off. After half an hour everyone moved, the super soldiers were already thawed out and started to attack everyone in sight. Everyone else responded to the attack, the alarms were going off and every available soldier was rushing to contain the super soldiers. Colonel Vasily Karpov''s eyes moved around wildly as he walked past Ezekiel to an encrypted radio. He picked up the receiver and punched in some numbers before he said, "This is special base L73-L96, I am base Commander Colonel Vasily Karpov emergency code, sierra, five, seven, delta, three, romeo, golf, one, eight, india, kilo, oscar, six, nine, whiskey, four, zulu. After a few seconds the line connected and a man said, "What happened, Commander Karpov?" Vasily sounded a little panicked as he said, "The super soldiers are free and rampaging throughout the base, I am requesting assistance to help contain them." The line went quiet for a few moments before another person came on and said, "How did the super soldiers get free? They should have been in hibernation." Vasily''s voice still had a hint of panic, but he calmly said, "Dr. Nagel wanted some new samples from the super soldiers, he said he had a breakthrough and wanted to run some tests with new samples. We were careful, but they broke free and attacked. We have lost the winter soldier, Dr. Nagel and about thirty other personnel so far.¡± ¡°I will send you reinforcements, but it will take at least three hours before they arrive. You need to keep them contained until they arrive and make sure you backup Dr. Nagel¡¯s rese...¡± Another different alarm started going off as Vasily said, ¡°Fuck, someone overloaded the reactor!¡± ¡°Forget the base and everyone else, just get Dr. Nagel¡¯s research and get out. I should have a rescue team there in an hour for you.¡± ¡°Roger.¡± Vasily hung up the receiver and then started to move out of the room before Ezekiel stopped him with a new genjutsu that knocked him out. He picked him up and glanced at Tao who nodded her head and pulled them into the mirror dimension. They waited for about five minutes before the base erupted in a massive explosion. The main outside structure of the base somehow survived. But the inside of the base was ruined completely. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ezekiel and Tao walked through the devastation for a while to make sure nothing important survived the blast. They checked where the servers were, the secure safe in Vasily¡¯s office and a few other spots. Nothing was left besides wreckage, Ezekiel and his clones had already removed everything important and wiped the servers. But Ezekiel wanted to double check that everything was still destroyed. It would be weird if something was found in good shape yet it was empty. After they confirmed everything and checked the outside of the base, they portaled to the cloning facility. Ezekiel left Vasily in one of the cells and then they portal to the main base. Ezekiel checked in on Ino and her father who were already working on Bucky, while Steve watched over his friend. Fury, Coulson, Hill, Hank and Peggy were currently going over all the physical documents that were recovered. Ezekiel joined them after checking in with Steve, he used his computer and started to sort through everything that was on the base''s servers. Hours passed as they worked and it soon became morning. After a while Steve walked into the room and smiled brightly as Bucky walked in behind him. The thing most people noticed first was his metal arm with a red star on it. Bucky stood a few inches shorter than Steve, while his dark brown hair was loose and stopped at his shoulders. His brown eyes looked haunted, but there was also a spark of relief in them. Steve looked at everyone in the room as he said, ¡°Bucky, this is part of the team I have been working with.¡± Steve started to point out everyone to Bucky and when he got to Peggy he said, "You remember Peggy Carter?" Bucky looked at her for a moment before he said, "You aged well, Peggy." "Steve agrees with you on that one." Peggy glared at Ezekiel for a moment before Steve said with a smile, ¡°That is Ezekiel, he is the main reason we are all here. He also likes to joke around a little too much.¡± Bucky nodded towards Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Thanks for the rescue and for fixing my head.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Glad to help. I am sure you wouldn''t mind some rest, Steve can show you to some temporary quarters you can use." Bucky shook his head as he said, "Thanks, but with my head clear for the first time in ages I don''t feel like resting. I wanna make amends." Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "I can understand that. What do you wanna do?" Bucky frowned a little as he said, "When I was under control they mostly used me for assassinations. But they also sent me to this place called the red room a few times. They had me training girls in hand to hand combat. I think they were training the girls to be assassins." Ezekiel sounded excited as he asked, "You know where the red room is located?" Bucky nodded his head as he said, "You have a map?" Fury glanced at Ezekiel as he said, "If we do something to the red room now, won''t that ruin the timeline?" Ezekiel paused for a few moments before he said, "Probably¡­" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Let''s find the place and check it out. After that, I will talk with Tao about trying something before we make a move." Fury nodded his head in agreement and everyone else but Bucky seemed surprised because he didn¡¯t argue with Ezekiel for a change. Ezekiel typed on his computer before a map of Europe and Asia popped up on the main monitor of the room. Bucky studied it for a few moments before he said, ¡°It¡¯s located in Belarus, just a little north of a city called Minsk.¡± The view changed as Ezekiel typed on the computer and zoomed in on Minsk, after a few moments a current satellite view of a compound was on the screen. It didn¡¯t really look like much from the outside, just a big walled off area with a few buildings. Ezekiel started to look into the building and found nothing that stood out about it. Bucky nodded his head as he said, ¡°I never saw it from this angle, but I am sure that¡¯s it. The way the wall is oddly shaped around the outside, the way those buildings are laid out.¡± Ezekiel looked over to Steve as he said, ¡°Go grab Shisui and the others. I am going to dispel and let my main body know what is going on. I will have Tao and Kaecilius meet you in the portal room to go scout the place with Bucky.¡± Ezekiel pulled out a usb drive and tossed it to Steve as he said, ¡°You know what to do with that. Once it¡¯s in place I will start my side of things from here. Once you guys are done we will plan out what to do next.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer for a few moments before he turned into a puff of smoke. Bucky glanced at Steve as he asked, "What just happened?" Steve patted Bucky''s shoulder as he said, "I will tell you about it as we go grab the others." It was twenty minutes later when Steve, Bucky and Ezekiel¡¯s clones arrived at the portal room. Ezekiel, Tao, Kaecilius and a few more clones of Ezekiel were already there waiting for the others. Ezekiel finished talking with Tao as he waved at Steve and the others as he said, ¡°Good luck everyone, I will monitor you guys from here.¡± Steve nodded as he said, ¡°Thanks, we will see you soon.¡± Tao pulled everyone into the mirror dimension as Ezekiel went back to the room Fury and the others were using. About ten minutes later Ezekiel¡¯s computer started to beep before he typed some stuff on it and connected into the red room servers. He started to back up their servers before he started to look through the files from the winter soldier base. A few more hours passed before Steve and the others returned. When they did everyone except Ezekiel and his clones took a break to go eat a late breakfast. When they came back Steve and Bucky both voiced their desire to launch a rescue for all the girls currently in the red room. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Trust me, I want to help them just as much as you do. But I want to make sure the timeline won¡¯t be destroyed if we do this.¡± Bucky was the only one who was confused as he asked, ¡°Fury and you talked about that before we left. What does that mean?¡± Ezekiel made a few hand signs before he looked at Bucky. Bucky relaxed in his seat a little as his eyes lost focus. Ezekiel smiled as he said to Steve, ¡°Giving him a fast crash course on us and what we are trying to do, he should be done in half an hour or so.¡± As Steve nodded in reply, Ezekiel looked at Tao as he said, ¡°Do you think my idea will work?¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°It has merit and might work, but we would need your real body to try it.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°Well no time to waste then, go to the portal room and I will have one of my clones meet you there.¡± Tao nodded as she got up and left the room as Ezekiel typed away on his computer for a few moments. Ezekiel looked back up at everyone as he said, ¡°Let''s wait for Bucky and then we can talk about a possible rescue operation. Till then, have you found anything interesting in the winter soldier files?¡± 00058. Testing an idea to see the future. Tao met Itachi at the portal room and pulled him into the mirror dimension before she made a portal to go get Theo. They appeared in Aunt May¡¯s house and found Theo in the living room reading a book. Tao moved right next to Theo before she started a spell and then whispered into his ear, "It''s time to switch." Theo placed his book down on the couch and then walked towards the back of the house towards the bathroom. After he closed the door, he was pulled into the mirror dimension where Itachi tapped his forehead transferring information. Itachi then transformed into Theo and Tao put him back into the real world. A portal was then opened to Kamar Taj and Theo who was now transformed into Ezekiel walked through it with Tao. As Ezekiel followed Tao he asked, "So what are the chances of this working?" Tao smirked as she said, "Sixty percent, probably less. Yao and the others before him never tried it to my knowledge. But your theory does have merit though, so I am willing to try it out. I assume the idea was from comics you have read?" Ezekiel smiled back as he said, "Actually no, it wasn¡¯t. It just made sense that the future is cloudy because the One Above All wanted to hide me. But if I try to look into the future, I should be able to see it clearly because I can¡¯t hide from myself¡­ I think." Tao nodded her head in understanding and they fell into silence as they walked. They walked through dimly lit hallways till they made it to the inner sanctum where the Eye of Agamotto was kept. Tao released the seals keeping it in place and took it with her as she walked to her room with Ezekiel. Once they made it to Tao''s room, she set up two patterns on the floor. The first pattern was large and shaped like a star burst inside a circle with an inverted triangle on the outside of it. The tip of that triangle connected to a smaller circle which had another star burst pattern in the middle of it. She directed Ezekiel to sit in the smaller pattern as she sat in the other one and said, ¡°Remove your transformation, I am not sure how it will affect the spell.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and dispelled his henge. Theo looked back at Tao who began to weave her hands in a pattern as she chanted, ¡°Unconnected become connected. My eyes become your eyes.¡± As she chanted the starburst patterns lighted up and started to pulse slightly. Tao lifted the Eye of Agamotto as she said, ¡°Show us what the future possibly holds, allow us to see our future mistakes before we make them.¡± She unlocked the Eye of Agamotto and the entire pattern ignited in orange and green before both Tao and Theo went into a trance as a sphere of orange and green enveloped them. Theo looked around himself for a few moments, he was floating in a dark space with the only light coming from different clouds floating around in the distance. Each cloud was like a rainbow of color that had a picture in the middle of it. The pictures were blurry and would switch randomly, each one was a single moment in time that was frozen. ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡± Theo turned to the voice to see Tao floating next to him, she was ethereal and he could see the clouds floating behind her through her body. He nodded his head as he said, ¡°It almost reminds me of when I met the person who sent me here. It makes me feel small, like I don¡¯t really matter.¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°Not all people who discover magic feel the same way. It¡¯s good that it humbles you, it¡¯s another reason you should learn magic, you won¡¯t take it for granted.¡± Theo frowned slightly as he said, ¡°I still have so much I need to learn about my own powers, I have barely scratched the surface of them. If I have to learn magic it will just take me longer to master my own powers and I honestly don¡¯t wanna read a bunch of old magic books.¡± ¡°A pity, you would make such a great student.¡± Tao looked around for a few moments and then said, ¡°First we should make sure that Strange comes to Kamar Taj, if not we will have to adjust things to make sure it happens.¡± A cloud moved closer to them and as it approached them it flickered rapidly through different pictures before it stopped on a man in scrubs. The man appeared arrogant like everyone around him wasn¡¯t that important. As the cloud stopped in front of them, Tao said, ¡°Let¡¯s see what your actions have caused for the timeline.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. As they watched the cloud, it quickly played through events that were similar to the movie. But after the accident when Strange was trying to find any way to heal his hands, Theo hurriedly asked, ¡°Can you pause it!?¡± The cloud paused on Strange talking to a man in a warehouse, a warehouse he was very familiar with. ¡°Pangborn works for my dad?¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°Yes. I was a little surprised when I went to speak with him. But it turns out he used to work for your father and Ben before his accident.¡± Theo glanced away from the frozen picture for a moment as he asked, ¡°You went to speak with him?¡± ¡°Yes, just after I met you. I had sent him out of Kamar Taj with a mission to find you. But it turned out I didn¡¯t need to.¡± Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°Ya, Fury helped you out with that. I still don¡¯t see how you and Fury even knew each other. It never happened in the main MCU or in a lot of comics.¡± ¡°We ran into each other a few times over the years and I decided to exchange emails with him. A quirk of fate in this timeline I think.¡± Theo smirked as he said, ¡°Ya, you baldies need to stick together.¡± Tao flicked out her hand and smacked the back of Theo''s head hard which made him start to flip over forward extremely fast as he floated in space. He grabbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°Why the hell does that hurt?¡± ¡°Because you have no respect.¡± Theo rubbed the back of his head as he continued to rotate around. After a few more moments he asked, ¡°How do I even stop this?¡± Tao reached out again and Theo¡¯s forehead slammed into the back of her hand. It caused his rotation to stop, but he started to rub his forehead now. Theo glared at Tao for a moment before he looked back at the cloud in front of them. It hadn¡¯t actually paused, but was moving in slow motion. As he watched he noticed something in the background behind Pangborn and Strange and asked, ¡°Can we change angles or zoom in?¡± Tao flicked her right hand out and then pinched two fingers together which made the image zoom past Strange. In the back corner of the warehouse stood two young men who were talking and looking into the engine bay of a car. As the view focused on them, one of the young men with black hair raised his hand behind the other person''s back and gave a thumbs up. ¡°Wait? I can tell we are watching?¡± ¡°Yes, I still have no idea how you can do that though. Maybe something to do with how you were brought here.¡± Tao frowned slightly as she finished talking. Tao moved her hands and the images sped up again as she said, ¡°Let''s get back on track, this is more taxing than normal and we have much to check.¡± Theo nodded his head as they watched Strange on his journey to learn magic. Time passed quickly for them as they looked for different things that might have been affected by Theo¡¯s actions. From events with Thor, Tony, Hydra and many others. As they watched different timelines, time passed outside in the real world. The light from outside the room slowly brightened as neither moved inside the sphere of orange and green that swirled around them. Master Hamir arrived at some point with some tea and breakfast. After he watched the orange and green sphere for a little while, he set up the tea and food on the table. He then placed a stasis spell to keep the food and tea fresh for Tao and her guest. It was past noon when the sphere collapsed to release Tao and Theo. Theo looked a little out of it and continued to stay seated as Tao got up. Tao released the spell over the table and poured two cups of tea. She waited for a few minutes before Theo finally stood up and recast his henge as he said, ¡°That was¡­ different.¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°It was a little weird but not much different then when I use The Eye of Agamotto alone.¡± Ezekiel sat down next to Tao and picked up one of the cups of tea. He took a sip before he said, ¡°I''m not a fan of tea, but this is enjoyable." Tao nodded her head but before she spoke, Ezekiel grinned as he said, "Yes, I know¡­ You know." Tao gave Ezekiel a flat look before he smiled brightly as he said, "I couldn''t help myself¡­ Anyways, so at least we know it works now.¡± Tao frowned a little as she said, ¡°Yes, but I am not sure if we should rely on it. It was very taxing to keep up the spell with two people. I will need to rest for a while to recover properly.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I just wanted to make sure the timeline wouldn¡¯t be ruined. Now that we know, we shouldn¡¯t need to do this again. It was kinda fun to see certain things always happen though.¡± Tao smiled as she said, ¡°It¡¯s good to know Strange will still come to Kamar Taj.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°And that Tony will become Ironman.¡± Tao drank some more tea before she said, ¡°Do you want to eat before we go back?¡± Ezekiel looked over the food on the table before he said, ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± 00059. A deciding vote. After they ate, Tao took Ezekiel back home so he could switch places with his clone. He also made sure to share his memories with Itachi before they switched. Tao took Itachi back to the base where he shared the memory packet with Ezekiel who was in the meeting room with everyone else. Once finished, Ezekiel smiled as he said in a completely different voice than normal, ¡°Good news everyone!" Everyone seemed a little confused at Ezekiel¡¯s statement and the weird old man voice he used. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Never mind¡­" Ezekiel scratched the back of his head for a moment before he said, "It worked, we can go ahead with the mission.¡± Bucky and Steve looked relieved but Fury frowned as he asked, ¡°What about Romanoff? Won¡¯t this ruin the timeline for her?¡± Ezekiel grinned as he said, ¡°She will be fine, actually she will be better than before.¡± Everyone else besides Tao was a little lost as Steve asked, ¡°Mind filling the rest of us in, who is Romanoff?¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer and a profile for a young girl came up, she had her hair dyed blue and bright green eyes. It displayed her full name as Natalia Alianovna "Natasha" Romanova. Ezekiel pointed at the screen as he said, ¡°In a different timeline she becomes one of the world''s best assassin¡¯s before she turned into one of the world''s heroes. She is currently in the red room program along with her adoptive sister Yelena Belova.¡± Steve frowned a little as he asked, ¡°Are you planning to train her?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, if that is what she wants. If you don¡¯t want to help, that''s fine. But keep in mind, Romanova and the other girls we rescue from the red room are coming here and they have been trained for years to be assassins and spies. I will have my clones help deprogram them, but if they want to join us¡­ I won¡¯t tell them no.¡± Steve looked upset as he was going to speak again, but Bucky placed his hand on Steve¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°I know how you think, you want those girls to have a normal life. But those girls are anything but normal. We might be able to help the youngest ones to have a normal life. But the girls who have been there for years are already trained killers.¡± ¡°But they should have a chance at a normal life also.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°And I will offer them that chance, but I won¡¯t force them to live a normal life if they don''t want to.¡± Steve still looked unhappy as Ezekiel said, "I know you aren''t happy with training kids, but just pulling them out of the red room is keeping them alive." Ezekiel typed on his computer and some files popped up on the screen. They showed how many girls had been brought into the program over the years and the number of graduates it had. The number was less than one percent of more than ten thousand. Everyone was surprised at the low number and Peggy asked, "Why is it so low?" Ezekiel pulled up a video on the screen, it showed two young girls as they talked with each other happily. The video cut and the same girls were displayed but both of them looked a little older and they were fighting each other. Both of them were covered in wounds and bleeding heavily. One girl lagged behind in her defense and the other girl was able to plunge a knife into her throat. The winner stood over the other girl as she watched her bleed out. The video cut out as Ezekiel said, "They pair the girls up with a friend and after a few years they make them fight to the death. They take the winners and do it again with other winners. It''s terrible but also the most effective way to make them obey without question. The last thing they do is to sterilize the girls for their graduation, so they are even more loyal." The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Ezekiel looked at Steve as he said, "I will do what I can to help them, but I can only do so much. From what Tao and I saw, almost every one of those girls joins us." Tao nodded her head in agreement as she said, "What Ezekiel said is true, only a handful of girls didn''t want to fight. But those few still joined us and helped in other ways." Peggy reached over and clasped Steve''s hand as she said, "I know how you feel, but this is the best outcome for these girls." Steve nodded his head in defeat as he said, "I know, I just wish it wasn''t." Ezekiel took a moment before he said, ¡°On to less depressing issues. We already scouted and planned out the rescue mission. The only real issue is housing, which I have my clones currently working on to expand the base to add more rooms." Ezekiel typed on his computer and the screen pulled up a camera feed which showed his clones currently working on making new rooms with earth jutsu and then reinforcing them. Ezekiel looked at everyone as he said, "They should be finished by tomorrow for the rough layout. I had them placed by the gym area. As for the plumbing, electrical, flooring and the rest, that will be done in a few days once Koenig has all the supplies for my clones." Jarvis spoke next as he said, "We will also need to start stocking more food and get some more kitchen help. The kids have been wonderful, but I could really use a competent helper or two for food preparation. Does anyone know someone we might be able to bring in? From the look of it, we will have at least a hundred new mouths to feed." Peggy shook her head as she said, "Unfortunately I do not know anyone who could work under our special circumstances." She looked at Fury when she was done talking. Fury also shook his head as he said, "I don''t have anyone in Shield who could fill the role currently." As he finished Peggy looked at Tao. "I could spare someone to help part time, but they mostly cook Asian dishes." Ezekiel smiled at that before he said, "I can have two of my clones help out. They are amazing cooks, but since they are clones they can''t taste anything which is why I never offered before. But they should be able to help out a lot with the prep work." Jarvis nodded his head in thanks as Bucky asked, "So when are we going to rescue those kids?" Ezekiel typed on his computer for a moment before he looked up as he said, "In about a week, I want to make sure we have everything ready to support them. Unfortunately we are late with our rescue, they just did their ''testing'' of the girls three months ago." Everyone frowned at the news before Ezekiel said, "During this week we also need to try and recruit a few people who can help us." He typed on his computer and a few pictures appeared on the screen. Fury was the first to react as he said, "Are you out of your mind? Those people are enemies!" Peggy nodded her head as she said, "I have to agree with Fury." Ezekiel glanced back at Fury and Peggy as he asked, "Who exactly are they enemies with?" Fury frowned as he said, "With us." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "I never had a confrontation with them before and as far as I know they don''t even know we exist." Fury and Peggy both looked displeased but it was Hank who said, "I remember fighting one of them before when I was still in Shield." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "I could see that since the U.S.S.R. never joined the world security council. But we aren''t Shield so we should try to make contact and recruit them." Fury still looked upset as he said, "How will we even vet them?" "I am going to use my clones for that. That way I can make sure there won''t be any issues. I am confident in recruiting two of them, since in almost every future we looked at, they were with us. The other two joined us also, but it wasn''t as consistent." Fury and Peggy still looked reluctant so Ezekiel said, "Fine let''s vote on it. All in favor?" The vote count was split dead even, with Tao, Ezekiel, Steve and Jarvis who voted for it. While Fury, Peggy, Bill, and Hank voted against it. Ezekiel looked a little disappointed as Bucky asked, "I know I am new but do I get to vote?" Ezekiel looked at Bucky for a moment before he looked at everyone else. Peggy shared a conversation with Fury from just a momentary glance. She then looked at everyone else for a moment before she said, "I don''t think anyone has an issue with it." "Great, I vote for trying to recruit them." 00060. First two recruits After the vote was passed, the meeting finished up pretty quickly. Ezekiel along with Tao started making a plan on who they were going to try and recruit. They planned to recruit them in a certain order to have the best chance of getting them all. The first person they needed to recruit was currently living in Russia and was working for the red room. They worked away from the main base and were stationed just outside of Saint Petersburg at a small farm. A portal appeared at the farm while inside the mirror dimension, out of it stepped Ezekiel followed by Tao. They looked around the area for a few moments before they moved inside the house. Once inside, Ezekiel connected a USB into a server stack located in the basement and took over the computer network and security system. Once finished he set it to loop the security footage and then went upstairs with Tao to look around. Ezekiel wanted to find a specific item, a photo album. Once he found it, he waited patiently in a corner of the living room as he slowly looked through it while sitting in a chair. Tao also waited around, but she was hidden in the mirror dimension. Over an hour passed before the front door opened and a woman walked inside. At first glance it seemed that she didn''t notice anything amiss. But after she placed her overcoat on the rack, she spun around quickly with a gun in her hand and pointed it at Ezekiel. Ezekiel never looked up as he continued to calmly look through the photo album. The woman waited a few moments but when she didn''t get a reaction from the man she asked, "Who sent you?" Ezekiel finally glanced up at the woman, before he looked back at the photo album as he said, "Technically, I sent myself." Ezekiel flipped a page as he said, "You know I find it weird that a woman like you would keep a family photo album from a spy mission." Ezekiel slowly lifted up the album and pointed at a picture as he said, "This man was never married to you and these two girls aren''t even related to you. Well I guess once they graduate from the red room, you could consider them unofficially your daughters." The woman tensed at Ezekiel¡¯s statement but did nothing else. Ezekiel closed the album and set it aside as he said, "Melina, I just wanna talk for a bit and give you a job offer. If you don¡¯t like the offer I will leave and you will never see me again." Melina finally moved as she aimed the weapon closer to Ezekiel''s head then his chest like before. She stepped a little closer as she said, "You won''t be going anywhere." Ezekiel smirked as he said, "You don''t have the power to stop me and the beacon you activated isn''t going to bring anyone to help you." As soon as Melina pulled the trigger on her weapon and the sound of the shot rang out, Ezekiel disappeared in a cloud of smoke. As the smoke cleared she could see on the chair was her overcoat and Melina could feel the cold edge of a knife on her throat. Ezekiel''s voice could be heard behind her as he said, "I just want to talk, give me an hour of your time, please." As the knife slowly moved away from her throat, Melina spun around and fired her gun three times before she realized no one was there and a salt shaker was on the ground. She heard the man from her kitchen as he said, "I just want an hour of your time, so we can talk like civilized people." Melina moved towards her kitchen and saw the man seated at her kitchen table with a smug smile on his face and the photo album sitting on the table next to him. The man pointed to another seat as he said, "You can try to shoot me again, which will get you nowhere. Or we can talk like adults for an hour." Melina eyed the man warily but holstered her weapon before she grabbed a teapot and started to fill it with water. Ezekiel waited patiently as he watched her before she finally said, "If you are here to talk, then talk." Ezekiel smirked slightly as he said, "Let me ask you a question to start. What do you want out of life?" Melina paused for only a moment before she said, "I have everything I need, why would I need anything more?" "Are you sure about that? This photo album I found makes me think otherwise." Minutes passed before Melina pulled the steaming teapot from the stove and poured water into two cups inside of which she had set a tea bag each. She walked over to the table and set a cup in front of Ezekiel, before she placed the other in front of another chair. She then pulled out some milk, sugar, honey and set them all on the table. She started to mix a little milk and honey into her tea as she said, "You have already wasted five minutes." Ezekiel smiled as he poured some sugar into his tea and mixed it together using his tea bag. Ezekiel then lifted the cup and drank all of it in one go. He placed the empty cup back down as he said, "I am not really a fan, but thanks for the tea." Ezekiel waited patiently to see if Melina would talk, but after almost ten minutes he finally said, "I was hoping you would actually chat with me, but it looks like you won''t." Ezekiel glanced at the photo album for a moment before he said, "I plan to get Natasha and Yelena out of the red room, along with all the other girls currently there. I will give them the chance to live a normal life, even though I know most of them won''t choose it. As for you, I wanted to offer you a job teaching the girls." This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Melina''s eyes widened the tiniest bit at the mention of Natasha and Yelena''s name, but instantly went back to normal afterwards. Ezekiel waited patiently again but after another five minutes Melina still hadn¡¯t talked. Ezekiel slowly stood up as he said, "Looks like you aren''t interested and I have better things to do. If you change your mind though, just show up at the red room in a week." Ezekiel started to turn around and walk out of the room as he said, "Oh, and a word of advice, the red room is no longer working for the betterment of your country and its people. Why else do you think someone like Alexei is currently in prison. It wasn''t because he was criticizing the government, it was because he didn''t like what Dreykov was doing." Ezekiel faded out of view like a mirror shattering as he walked out of the room. He turned around and looked at Melina for another moment before he said, "Looks like the first recruit failed." Tao nodded her head as she said, "Possibly, maybe your next one will go easier?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Doubtful, without Melina I think this one will be a failure also." Tao opened up a new portal and followed Ezekiel through it to their next destination. In the real world Melina was quiet for a few minutes as she watched the spot where the man just was. She glanced at the photo album before she stood up and went to the freezer and pulled out a bottle of vodka. She opened the bottle and took a long drink from it as she walked to her computer. She needed to find out some information before she made her next move. vvvvv Tao and Ezekiel were in the mirror dimension as they walked through one of the most secure prisons in Russia. They moved towards the security room of the prison, Ezekiel wanted to take over their systems before they met their target. Once they arrived at the security room, Tao and Ezekiel left the mirror dimension. Ezekiel walked towards the three men stationed at the monitors as he said, "Excuse me, but you gentlemen wouldn''t happen to know the way to the bathroom, I think I got lost." The three men immediately turned towards Ezekiel and right afterwards they relaxed into their chairs as their eyes glazed over. As Ezekiel inserted a USB into the computer system Tao said, "That was new, normally you do something with your hands and whisper something when you use that ability." Ezekiel typed on the computer as he said, "I''ve been practicing the ability using only the sound of my voice. For normal humans it''s more than enough to over power them." Ezekiel removed the USB and turned back to look at Tao as he said, "I found the target and set the video footage to loop for the next few hours. Let''s get out of here." Tao pulled Ezekiel back into the mirror dimension with her, before they left to go find their newest recruit. They walked through the bare concrete corridors for about ten minutes till they came to the cell they were looking for. They looked inside and a man was currently laid back on his bunk reading a book. After a few moments Tao pulled the man into the mirror dimension with them. The man glanced over at Ezekiel who was standing just in front of the open cell door as he said, "Alexei, can we have a few minutes of your time?" Alexei studied Ezekiel for a moment before he glanced behind him to look at Tao. He then looked back at his book as he said, "I am not giving out autographs today." Ezekiel smiled wide as he said, "It''s a good thing we didn''t come for an autograph. We just wanted to offer you a job." Alexei glanced up from his book before he said, "I don''t need a job, now leave me alone." "Really? I thought someone like the Red Guardian would jump at the chance to help people. But I guess you aren''t really a hero are you? Just a government experiment turned into a propaganda machine." As Alexei stood up the book in his hands ripped right in half. He glowered at Ezekiel as he said, "You know nothing about me." Ezekiel raised his hands up in a pacifying manner as he said, "You''re right, I don''t know you personally. I have read some of your psych profiles though. One thing all the reports say is that you have a hero complex, I personally don¡¯t find that a bad thing. I actually have that complex myself. It¡¯s part of the reason I came here.¡± Alexei glanced at the book he ripped in half before he sat down and said, ¡°What do you want?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°A job offer is mostly why I came, and to also offer you a chance to reconnect with your fake daughters, Natasha and Yelena.¡± Alexei looked at Ezekiel instantly, he studied him for a few moments before he asked, ¡°How do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°I plan to rescue them from the red room, along with all the other girls currently there. I came here hoping you would like to help me and afterwards I will need help taking care of them and training them.¡± Alexei¡¯s hands tightened a little and his voice took on a dangerous edge as he said, ¡°What are your plans for those girls?¡± Ezekiel waved off Alexei¡¯s words as he said, ¡°I already told you I have a hero complex, I plan to rescue them from that place. I would just take them back to their families if I could, but you and I both know that isn¡¯t an option. The things those girls have been put through needs to be dealt with properly. I have a way to help speed up the process, but they will still need help.¡± Ezekiel sighed then said, ¡°As for the training I won¡¯t lie, I don¡¯t think most of them will be able to live a normal life any more. Instead of training them to be heartless assassins, I was hoping to convert them into something better or different. Something they could make the choice to become themselves, instead of being forced into the role.¡± Alexei watched Ezekiel for a while before he said, ¡°If you try to attack the red room, those girls you are trying to save will fight you. You might just end up killing them, instead of saving them.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about any of that, I will take the red room and all the girls will be safe. Not a single one will be hurt when I do it.¡± Ezekiel grinned as he said, ¡°I am in no rush, how about I give you a few days to think about it? I will be back on Friday, that gives you five days to think it over.¡± Alexei was forced out of the mirror dimension before he could speak, while Tao made a portal for Ezekiel and her to go to their next target. 00061. A magical threat Tao and Ezekiel walked through a secret facility just outside of Moscow while inside the mirror dimension. They had already taken over the computer network of the base and walked towards their next recruit as Ezekiel worked on a tablet. Ezekiel stopped walking as he said, "This one is going to be a problem." Tao turned to look at Ezekiel as she asked, "What''s wrong?" Ezekiel frowned as he said, "We might have to kill them." Tao frowned and her eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, "Why would we need to kill them?" "Because they''re a Dire Wraith." Tao widened her eyes as she asked, "There¡¯s a Dire Wraith on the planet?" "You actually know what a Dire Wraith is?" Tao nodded her head as she said, "Of course I do, they are considered a magical threat to Earth. Although the last one we dealt with was before my time. How did a Dire Wraith even make it to earth without my knowledge?" Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, "I have a theory, but I could be wrong. I also don''t see any records about aliens coming to Earth in their files. As far as they knew, she was a human until they took tissue samples." "I think we should take care of this threat, a Dire Wraith can cause a serious problem if left unchecked." Ezekiel nodded his head in agreement as he said, "I won''t argue with that, but let''s at least see what is going on. This particular one thinks it''s human and is proud of its Russian heritage. They also haven''t told her that she is an alien. Plus she was working with us a few times when we looked into the future." Tao frowned again as she said, "The few records I have read about Dire Wraiths all say the same thing. That they are creatures of evil that have no morals and will do anything to fulfill their own desires." "From my knowledge that is pretty accurate." They continued walking till they came to a new area off the main hallway. After going through a set of doors, it looked like they arrived in a living area for someone. It had a TV on the wall, with a small couch in front of it. It also had a small dining table with four chairs around it, along with a small kitchen area. There was a single hallway in the room which looked like it led to a few other rooms. Inside the room seated at the dining table was a young woman reading a book. She had long dark black hair, her irises were red and would sometimes glow slightly as she was reading. She wore what could only be described as a very tiny purple skin tight bikini in a V shaped pattern over her hourglass like figure. The purple straps went over her shoulders and barely covered her breasts before it connected just below her navel. Ezekiel wolf whistled before he said, "You know in the comics they always drew the women wearing almost nothing. I always thought it was the artist''s taste or to attract more teenage boys to read them. I honestly never thought I would see it in person¡­ I gotta admit, I don''t hate it." Tao frowned and there was a hint of disgust in her voice as she said, "You know that''s a Dire Wraith, she doesn''t actually look like that." Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, "A man can still appreciate beauty when he sees it." Tao paused for a moment before she glanced at Ezekiel as she asked in a slightly fearful tone of voice, "Wait, was I ever drawn like that?" Ezekiel laughed as he said, "By the normal artists for the comic books? No you weren''t. But by fan artists¡­ Let''s just say some people were very imaginative." Tao glared at Ezekiel for his comment. Ezekiel grinned as he said, "Don''t get upset, you were the one who asked. Also, I always shipped you with Mordo myself." ¡°You shipped me with Mordo?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yup, I mean he is a pretty good match for you. Even though you have more of a master¡­¡± ¡°Enough! I really don¡¯t want you to finish that.¡± Tao frowned a little after speaking. Ezekiel grinned again as he asked, ¡°Alright, so what is the plan? Magical threats are your wheelhouse.¡± Tao schooled her face before she looked at the woman sitting in front of them reading. She looked back at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°I will send you outside and I want you to try and restore her memories. Let¡¯s see how she reacts to her memories, the main thing we need to figure out is how she came to Earth.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ezekiel nodded his head and after walking to the other side of the room, Tao removed him from the mirror dimension. The woman at the table went on guard and looked up at Ezekiel as soon as he appeared. Ezekiel raised his hands as he said, ¡°Fantasia, I just came here to talk and hopefully help you out.¡± Fantasia laughed lightly before she said in a Russian accent, ¡°You are a foolish man to come here, the guards should be here in less than a minute to capture you.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I already took care of the security here. We can talk peacefully as long as you want.¡± ¡°As long as I want?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Of course. I came here to talk, but it¡¯s hard to have a conversation if the other person doesn¡¯t wish to talk.¡± Fantasia pushed her seat back before she folded her arms under her breasts, which in turn pushed her chest up, somehow the fabric of her skin tight outfit didn¡¯t break. She smirked as she noticed the man¡¯s glance towards her chest for a moment. The man shook his head as Fantasia said, ¡°We can talk until the guards arrive. So, what do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°How about your alien heritage to start?¡± Fantasia narrowed her eyes as she asked. ¡°What do you mean by my alien heritage? I might have powers, but I¡¯m human.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, you¡¯re an alien.¡± He pulled up his tablet and started to type on it, after a few moments the TV on the wall turned on and on it some info was displayed. Ezekiel gestured to the TV as he said, ¡°That is your DNA on the left and on the right is a human¡¯s DNA, along with the DNA from a mutant. I am sure you can tell the difference with just a glance.¡± Fantasia studied the screen for a few minutes before she said, ¡°That means nothing, you have no proof that is actually real.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement before he started to type on his tablet again. He pulled up a video of some people in a room talking in Russian. Fantasia watched the video for a few minutes before she looked back at Ezekiel. She frowned a little as she said, ¡°Alright that might be harder to fake, but so what if I am an alien? Is this what you wanted to talk about?¡± ¡°Somewhat. I actually wanted to help restore your memories.¡± Fantasia frowned even more as she asked, ¡°Restore my memories?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yes, I believe that something happened and you lost your memories. I wish to restore them, after that we can part ways.¡± Fantasia shook her head as she said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t trust you. You can leave now, or wait for the guards to come collect you.¡± Ezekiel had a wicked looking grin as he said, ¡°Unfortunately we already started. Don¡¯t worry, this shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡± Fantasia wanted to respond, but the next second she was in a weird destroyed space with all kinds of bubbles floating around her. She tried to activate her powers, but nothing happened. The strange man appeared before her after a few moments and said, ¡°We are currently in your mind, and the bubbles should be all of your memories. To restore your memories we just need to rebuild this place.¡± Fantasia glared at the man before her as she said, ¡°Let me out of here!¡± Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, ¡°You are the only one who can let us out of here.¡± vvvvv Tao watched Fantasia for a while before she looked at Ezekiel who had two fingers currently touching the woman¡¯s forehead and asked, ¡°So how long will this take?¡± ¡°She is fighting back and not helping. But just forcing her into her mindscape seems to be helping. I think we have about an hour.¡± Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go get some help. We¡¯ll stay hidden and prepare to capture her if needed.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Sounds good, but I suggest we wait and see what happens. If she is like the one from a certain timeline, she will lead us to a whole nest of eggs.¡± Tao paled as she asked, ¡°You think there''s a nest on the planet? Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°I am looking through her fragmented memories and I have seen some things that make me think so.¡± Tao opened a portal as she said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back.¡± She disappeared through the portal right after. Ezekiel let out a chuckle thinking about Tao being a T-800, before he concentrated on his task and tried to find out anything he could about where a possible nest of Dire Wraith eggs might be. After half an hour a portal opened and Tao walked out of it with a few people. Tao glanced at Ezekiel before she looked at Fantasia who was sweating profusely as parts of her body seemed to be expanding and contracting. Any part that was expanding or contracting would also change different colors of purple. Tao asked in a concerned tone of voice, ¡°What is happening now?¡± Ezekiel¡¯s voice was strained as he said, ¡°She is gaining more power as her memories are restored. You should hide in the mirror dimension, I think we only have a few minutes before she breaks free.¡± Tao nodded as she pulled everyone but Ezekiel into the mirror dimension. After a few minutes passed Fantasia¡¯s right arm shot out as it turned into a purple blade that pierced through Ezekiel¡¯s chest. Fantasia watched as Ezekiel coughed up some blood before he collapsed on the ground in front of her. Fantasia pulled her bladed hand back and looked at the blood dripping off it. A two foot long purplish colored tongue came out of her mouth which licked the blood clean before she said, ¡°Consider that a thank you for restoring my memories.¡± She smiled to herself as she walked out of the room. As Fantasia walked through the hallways towards the main elevators for the hidden base, she was leaving behind a pile of corpses in her wake. vvvvv Tao, Ezekiel and the others followed Fantasia as she walked through the base in the mirror dimension. Ezekiel currently had her in a genjutsu so they could easily follow her to the hidden nest of Dire Wraith eggs. Wong glanced at Tao and the others as he asked, ¡°I am not the only one who finds her randomly cackling weird, right?¡± Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, ¡°No, but there is nothing I can do about it. At least we have a nice view though...¡± 00062. A lesson learned... Ezekiel and the others trailed behind Fantasia by about one hundred and fifty feet. It had been over half an hour since they started and it didn''t seem like it would end anytime soon. Ezekiel sighed before he said, "In hindsight this might have been a bad idea." Wong nodded in agreement as he said, "Anyway to speed this up? I¡¯m getting tired of walking." Ezekiel shook his head before he said, "If we don''t keep her in the mirror dimension, she¡¯ll kill anyone she comes across." "I thought she was under genjutsu?" "She is, but it¡¯s only holding because we are in this controlled environment. If not, it would have broken long ago. I think her alien DNA is just too strong for my current genjutsu skills." Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders slightly as he finished. Tao nodded in understanding as she said, "If I fold the mirror dimension it will speed us up. I just don''t know where we are going." "Could you make the area under our feet move like a treadmill?" Tao paused for a moment before she asked, "I should be able to, but how will that help us?" "If you can then make that treadmill platform fly, it should speed us up considerably. We will just need to fly in the direction she is walking." Tao nodded her head in understanding as she said, "That shouldn''t be an issue, but I will need some help to stabilize the spell." Tao glanced at the other masters she had brought as she said, "Wong, I want you and Kaecilius to assist me. Once I have us in the air, I want both of you to take over keeping us stable. Afterwards I will control our momentum and direction." Both men nodded before Tao started to fold the neighboring space underneath their feet. The ground started to crumple and fold before compacting together. After a few moments an area the size of a football field had turned into a platform twenty feet wide and about fifty feet long. The platform then started to rotate underneath their feet as they walked. Once the treadmill portion worked correctly, Tao started to cast a spell. The giant treadmill slowly lifted into the air, before it started to slowly move forward. As it did Wong and Kaecilius worked together to keep the whole thing stable. Once finished, Tao started to increase the momentum of the flying treadmill. It took another hour or so but when Fantasia started to circle around a certain area on the treadmill, Tao finally landed the construct and dispelled it. As Tao pulled everyone out of the mirror dimension, they were greeted by the biting wind before Wong cast a spell to shield them from the elements. The mountain range they were on was covered completely in snow and it was hundreds of miles from the closest thing you could call a settlement. They followed Fantasia for another twenty minutes to a small cave in the middle of the mountain range. As they walked inside of the cave, it expanded slightly and sloped downwards before branching off in a few different places. Fantasia continued to choose different paths almost at random for the next half an hour, before she came in front of a dead end. Fantasia raised her right arm and put it next to a hole in the wall. Her arm transformed as she pushed it into the hole. The wall in front of her groaned loudly after a few moments and then slid down into the ground. Beyond the opening lights flickered on one by one going down a weird metallic hallway for about thirty feet. Fantasia removed her arm from the hole and began to walk down the hallway, as she walked more lights would flicker on in front of her and the lights behind would turn off after about thirty feet. As Ezekiel and the others quickly followed along behind Fantasia by about thirty feet, Ezekiel asked, ¡°Is it just me, or does this feel like a bad horror movie or something?¡± When Ezekiel received no reply he shrugged his shoulders and started to work on his tablet as they walked. Ezekiel looked around every few moments studying his weird surroundings and looking for anywhere he might be able to jack into. They walked past many doors and hallways leading to different areas. Fantasia only stopped after a few minutes passed as she finally reached a door, which opened up into a massive open area. Ezekiel and the others stopped near the entrance of the room frozen by what was in front of them. Ezekiel looked around the room as he said, ¡°Alright, this is definitely an alien pod room.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Wong nodded his head slowly in agreement at the same time Fantasia finally stopped as she looked around the contents of the room. The giant room contained an uncountable amount of purple and red egg shaped objects. Fantasia laughed madly as her body started to deform and morph into her original body shape. She lost some of her height and her overall body expanded in shape. She now looked like some type of weird purple creature which had only three claw-like fingers on each end of her arm. Her mouth opened up wide and a two foot long tongue emerged from it, while Fantasia''s eyes now glowed a creepy neon green color. As she turned completely around she said, "Finally after so long, the Dire Wraiths will be reborn." Ezekiel frowned as he said, "I think my genjutsu broke." "You think it broke?" As Ezekiel nodded his head, Fantasia laughed as she said, "Of course a minor spell like that broke. But I have to thank you. You made getting here much easier and now you can fulfill a new purpose. Become food for the young-lings!" Tao acted first and brought up protection spells around the group. Kaecilius followed suit and also brought up protection spells, while Wong and the others readied their weapons. Ezekiel moved in front of the others and started to speed through hand signs. Fantasia smirked, showing her razor sharp teeth before she said, "Your efforts are futile, you should already be feeling the effects of being inside this ship. Soon you will be nothing more than food. But fear not, your deaths will serve a higher purpose. You will be the catalyst for the downfall of your world.¡± Ezekiel heard someone fall down behind him as he said, "Unfortunately, this isn''t going to end well for you." Ezekiel finished his hand signs as he sucked in a large amount of air. He heard another person collapse on the ground as he said, "Katon: G¨­ka Mekkyaku!" Then he blew through his index fingers that were formed into a triangle. A jet of fire expanded quickly from Ezekiel¡¯s mouth which rapidly expanded and consumed the entire room outside of the shield Tao first created. Fantasia''s voice raised in a panic as she yelled, "YOU INSIGNIFICANT WORM, I''LL KILL YOU!" Ezekiel continued to feed the ninjutsu as Fantasia slammed into the shield in front of him. He couldn''t see her but he could see the magic shield shimmer through the fire every time she hit it. He only stopped when he was almost out of chakra. Once finished he looked over the room for a moment, the back of the room could barely be seen through the smoke, ash and heat haze. Almost everything in the room was now covered in a layer of char, soot, ash and red hot ciders. Some of the metal panels not covered in a layer of soot were almost molten red in color. All of the eggs had burst open and cooked from the Katon along with Fantasia who was a few feet in front of Ezekiel. Her exoskeleton had become black and charred, while parts of it had cracked open. It exposed the softer inner tissue underneath which had also been charred black, while parts of it were filled with orange glowing ciders. Her right arm was stretched forward in an attacking motion aimed at Ezekiel''s head. Ezekiel studied the room for a few moments, the silence only broken by the random pops and cracks from the eggs in the room still being cooked. He turned to look behind him and only Tao was still in the room. Ezekiel relaxed as he said, "I am not sure what happened to the others, but you should take them to the medical facility to get checked out by Tsunade." Tao nodded her head as she lowered her hands and her shield disappeared. She looked over the room for a moment before she said, "This seems a little¡­ Much." Ezekiel grinned as he said, "When dealing with heretics and xenos, always use the heavy flamer." ¡°The heavy flamer?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I will tell you about it some other time.¡± A loud crack happened in front of Ezekiel and the next second he turned into a puff of smoke with a purplish black spear where his head just was. His tablet clattered to the floor as Tao waved her arms and a new shield appeared around her. She then casted another spell and looked at Fantasia for a few moments. Tao lowered her guard as she realized that Fantasia was now dead and that attack was her last attempt to take the life of the person who killed her. Tao shook her head as she said to herself, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing this was just a clone.¡± Tao let out a sigh, walked over and picked up Ezekiel¡¯s tablet before she transitioned to the mirror dimension to look at the people she placed there. Everyone was knocked out and she was upset that they didn¡¯t notice it sooner. She shook her head and opened up a portal, it looks like it¡¯s not just Ezekiel who was a little lax this time. She started to weave a spell and lifted everyone up as she brought them through the portal. After she walked through the portal it closed behind her. She walked out of the portal room and clicked on an intercom as she said, ¡°I have five people that need treatment, can I get some help in the portal room?¡± ¡°We are on the way, hold on.¡± vvvvv Theo enjoyed the view as he looked out over his backyard, he wasn¡¯t sure why he loved to be in tree¡¯s so much. But he climbed up any tree he could whenever he had the chance. It might be because his old body was confined to a wheelchair and now he just enjoyed being able to move around freely however he liked. But another thought in his head was maybe he was being influenced by all the ninjas in his head who liked to run through trees. Ezekiel shook his head and turned his attention back to the book he was enjoying. Theo was seated on his favorite tree branch in the backyard of his house reading a book when he received his clone''s memories. He frowned slightly for a few minutes as he sorted through the information he received. It was only his clone, but he was killed today because he was being cocky. It looked like he was going to have to start focusing on his training soon, a mistake like this couldn¡¯t happen even with his clones. He didn¡¯t want to form any bad habits from when he used his clones. 00063. Master? After Tao dropped off everyone at the facility to get checked out. She went to Theo and picked up a new clone. They stopped by the base to get a tool bag before taking Ezekiel back to the secret base Fantasia led them to. Nothing had really changed yet besides some of the embers were less bright then before. Ezekiel studied Fantasia''s corpses for a few moments before he glanced at Tao as he said, "Let''s find whatever passes for a computer, I wanna hack into it." "Is that even possible? Won¡¯t the programming language be written in Dire Wraith? You could possibly do it, if it was written in binary. But in an alien language, I think it would be highly unlikely." Ezekiel opened his mouth to respond and then froze for a moment before he looked at Tao as he asked, "How do you even know that?" Tao laughed as she said, "I like to learn and I have long since memorized the entire library of Kamar Taj along with all the sanctums." Tao smiled as she said, "Did you think I spent my free time only studying about magic? I''ve been studying different programming languages for almost twenty years. You have no idea how similar they are to most magic. Especially runic and enchantment magic." "Wait, magic is just like a computer programming language?" Tao nodded her head as she said, "About seventy percent or so. Obviously it''s a lot different, since if you screw up a line of code you just find the mistake and fix it. If you screw up a complicated spell matrix you could be seriously hurt, die or summon something unpleasant." Tao studied Ezekiel for a moment before she said, "It''s also why I asked if you wanted to study magic before. Besides your body being an excellent conductor for magic, you are already an amazing programmer. Although I have to admit I''ve never seen a code so complicated before, I assume it''s something from your past life?" Ezekiel smiled smugly as he said, "It was one of the programming languages I created myself." Tao nodded in understanding as she said, "All the more reason you should learn magic. Once you learn it, you could create your own magic system with your coding knowledge. You could possibly become more powerful than me or even Strange for that matter." Ezekiel was quiet for a minute as he thought about what Tao said. She had made the offer plenty of times before, but this was the first time she gave Ezekiel a good reason to accept. Ezekiel had always declined because he still needed to train his own powers properly. Even with clones, he thought if he learned magic it would take a lot of time. Ezekiel finally sighed before he said, "You win, I¡¯ll learn magic from you." Tao frowned as she said, "I could have saved so much time if I just started with this." Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, "Honestly I didn''t want to learn because I thought it would be boring and take a long time. Reading a bunch of books on dead languages just to do some magic when I already have powers that should be on par with most magic just seemed counter productive." "While your powers are strong, compared to a true master of the mystic arts they aren''t as strong as you think." Ezekiel smirked as he said, "Just wait till I master fuinjutsu or my eyes fully develop. Then we can see which is stronger." Tao returned Ezekiel''s smirk as she said, "You will understand after you learn magic." "We''ll see. Anyways, let''s find some place where I can connect my tablet to." Tao glanced around the room then down the long hallway behind them, before she asked, "Should we split up to save time?" "Are you crazy? Have you never watched a horror movie? Always use the buddy system when exploring weird places." "First this isn''t a movie and second, horror movies are horribly inaccurate depictions of monsters and demons." Tao crossed her arms over her chest as she frowned at Ezekiel. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Really? You have an issue with horror movies because they aren''t realistic enough?" Tao nodded her head. Ezekiel chuckled as he said, "That is ridiculous." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "Do you know how many people die each year because of supernatural and magical threats?" Ezekiel started to walk back down the hallway as he said, "No idea, but you should call the Winchesters to help out." Tao followed along behind him as she asked, "What are you talking about now?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "This is one of the reasons why being reincarnated sucks, no one understands when you reference something." Tao nodded as she said, "Well explain it and next time I''ll know what you are talking about." Ezekiel shrugged and said, "It''s fine, I''ll live." As they explored the area they realized that it wasn''t a base they found, but a Dire Wraith spaceship that was somehow buried in the mountain. It took almost an hour, but they found a room on a lower level that was filled with what Ezekiel assumed was computer banks. Ezekiel seated himself in front of what he assumed was some type of maintenance terminal. The terminal itself stood only four feet tall and had a weirdly designed chair placed in front of it. The only thing of note was some small ports on the side along with some holes near the top. No screen, keyboard or buttons were present on the device. Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he asked, "Do you have a way to open this up?" Tao never moved but a spell circle appeared around the terminal and removed all of the cover pieces from it. Ezekiel glanced from the terminal back to Tao as he asked, "You can do wordless casting? I didn''t think it was possible." Tao smiled as she said, "That''s part of your problem. You think this world is like the comics and movies you watched. But that is very far from the truth. Wordless and gesture-less casting are hard to master. But the people who do manage it are extremely dangerous." Ezekiel started to look at the internals of the terminal as he said, "I get it, you¡¯re a badass." Ezekiel paused what he was doing to look back at Tao as he asked, "Wait, why do you always put up with my antics then?" Tao shrugged her shoulders as she said, "I have nothing else to do currently and I''ve been hoping to take you as a personal student. It looks like my persistence has finally paid off." Ezekiel smirked a little as he said, "So should I call you teacher or master now? Sensei? Onee-chan? Or maybe Obaasan?¡± "Stop it with the Japanese, just call me master or teacher." Ezekiel bowed slightly as he said, "Yes sensei." Tao glared slightly at Ezekiel as he smiled and started to look through the internals of the machine again. After ten minutes passed he found some wires he assumed was for data and pulled out a multimeter which he used to test each wire for voltage. Tao watched quietly as Ezekiel worked for a few minutes separating a few wires from the main wire harness. Once finished Ezekiel pulled out a pair of wire strippers and cut the ends off the wires and stripping them to bare metal. He reached into his bag and pulled out a weird looking pcb board connected to a USB dongle. Taking the eight wires he stripped, Ezekiel connected them into slots on the pcb board. As he finished locking the last wire in place Tao asked, "I have an idea of what you are trying to do, but what exactly is this device?" Ezekiel held up the fully connected pcb as he said, "We never gave them a name, but Hank and Bill helped build a few of these things. They are mostly meant to act as a connection hub, so my tablet can connect to anything electronic. I have a few different types. This one is specifically made for making connections with alien devices. Fury let us borrow some tech from the Kree and Skrull''s to test it on.¡± Ezekiel connected the USB dongle portion of it into his tablet and started typing away. When a loading bar appeared on the screen, Ezekiel set the tablet down. He turned to look at Tao as he said, "Alright we have a few hours to kill while this translates the Dire Wraith''s language. What do you want to do till then?" Tao glanced at the tablet for a moment before she asked, "That seems incredibly fast for a little tablet. Is it connected to your personal network to help it out?" Ezekiel pointed to three switches on the side of his tablet as he said, "No, the tablet is currently separated from all networks. I don''t want to have some alien computer virus let loose on the internet." Tao nodded in understanding as she asked, "Then how is it so powerful?" Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Hank custom made it for me. The tablet was made using a set of shrunken super computers along with a power plant and cooling system as the base. He then made everything else from exotic materials and shrunk it down to make it extremely sturdy." Tao eyed the tablet for a few moments before she asked, "Do you think Hank could make me one?" "Probably, but it will have to wait till after he finds his wife. He should be busy fabricating the quantum tunnel for a while." Ezekiel relaxed into the weird alien chair as he said, "Should we do the introduction to the mystic arts while we wait?" Tao raised a single eyebrow as she asked, "You already know about the mystic arts." "I don''t need to do the whole astral projection pushed out of my body and sent on a mind trip?" "It''s no fun if you already know what''s coming. Plus you don''t have a soul, it would only work on your real body." Tao frowned in disappointment when she finished. Ezekiel opened his mouth to respond, then stopped and nodded his head in understanding. He looked back at his tablet which only displayed one percent completed and said, "Do you want to explore the rest of this place while we wait?" "Alright." 00064. The final recruit? Ezekiel and Tao explored the ship for over two hours. Unfortunately they had to portal through the entire place, all of the doors were locked. When they finished exploring, the tablet was done with translating the Dire Wraiths language. Ezekiel then used his tablet to hack into the computer system. After another twenty minutes, he was able to break through the alien encryption and had access to the entire ship. Ezekiel typed on his tablet for a while before he said, "Good news, Wong and the other masters will be fine. The Dire Wraiths had a security measure that pumped a low level odorless sleeping agent into the air. The Dire Wraiths are immune to it, but most other races are not." Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he asked, "I don''t breathe, but why were you fine?" Tao smiled as she said, "I¡¯m a true master of the mystic arts. As soon as we entered the ship one of my guardian spells activated which filtered the air." "Why didn''t you warn the others?" "The best lessons are always learned from our mistakes. When I realized it wouldn''t kill them, I simply allowed them the opportunity to learn." Tao smiled like a predator when she finished talking. Ezekiel shivered for a moment under that gaze and instantly realized his magic training wasn''t going to be fun at all. Ezekiel then smiled to himself, he had no reason to worry, he was a clone after all. Theo would be the one who would have to deal with Tao''s training. ¡®Sucks to be him.¡¯ Ezekiel thought. Ezekiel shook his head and decided to focus on his current task. He wanted to copy over the computer''s database and check the status of the ship itself. The diagnostic report for the ship stated that the ship was only running on ten percent power. It was enough to run the lights, life support, computer''s and a few other things. But weapons, shields and engines wouldn''t work at all, unless they found a new power source or repaired the old one. After collecting the ship''s data Ezekiel decided he wouldn''t worry about the alien craft for now. It had been buried underneath the mountain for almost five hundred years. Another ten or twenty years wouldn''t hurt the thing. Ezekiel along with Tao headed back to the egg chamber room and collected DNA samples. Then Tao used a spell to disintegrate all of the organic material in the room. Once finished Ezekiel made sure the ship was sealed up again and they portaled out of the ship to the last recruit Ezekiel had on his list. The location they portaled to was in the middle of the Siberian tundra in a heavily forested region. In front of them stood an old dilapidated log cabin with a very wide front door. Ezekiel walked up to the front door and knocked loudly a few times before stepping back. After a minute he stepped forward and knocked even harder. After no response again, Ezekiel opened the front door as he said, "Hello, we were just in the neighborhood and wondered if you had time to talk about our lord and savior Stan Lee?" "Isn''t it supposed to be Jesus?" Ezekiel just shook his head as he opened the door fully. He looked inside for a few moments before he said, "Looks like he¡¯s out and hasn¡¯t been here for a little while. Do you have a way to find him?" The inside of the cabin was spacious but very sparse. It was a large single room with a stone fireplace. The only furniture inside was a table with a single chair, a few cabinets and a lone mattress on the floor next to the fireplace. The most noticeable thing in the room was the empty bottles of vodka that were piled up in one corner of the room which almost touched the ceiling. Tao walked inside the cabin and after looking around she said, "Someone actually lives here?" Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders, his eyes were on the bottles as he said, "I¡¯am not gonna judge the man, no one is perfect." Tao just shook her head as she started looking around the room for something to use as a tracker. After finding some tufts of hair, she examined it and said, "I can use a spell to find the location of whoever this hair belongs to. The only issue is this hair doesn''t look like it''s from a human." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "It should be from him, he¡¯s a mutant." She held the hair up as she formed a spell that circled around it for a few times. After a few moments the spell disappeared along with the hair. Tao then pulled Ezekiel into the mirror dimension with her as she opened up a new portal she said, "I found our target, let''s go." Ezekiel stepped through the portal followed by Tao into what looked like a caged fighting arena. The cage itself was gold in color and was shaped like a dome with an open top area, while the floor was mostly made of compacted dirt and sand. Ezekiel pulled up his tablet and started to type on it as he said, "This place is heavily shielded, I can''t get a proper signal. Do you know where we teleported too?" Tao shook her head as she said, "The spell I used just shows me where to open the portal, it doesn''t tell me where it actually is." "We can find out later when I hack their systems." Directly in front of them stood a burly man with no shirt on and some kind of metallic collar around his neck. He was close to seven feet in height and had very broad shoulders. His upper body was almost completely covered in short fine brown hair, if you didn¡¯t look closely you would think he was wearing a sweater. His brown hair was cut short and his brown eyes were narrowed as he studied the person across from him. In the middle of the arena stood a man on a platform suspended in the air. He wore a fancy suit along with a mask. He spoke into a microphone on the platform as he pointed at the other man in the arena. The other person in the arena was a massive man also not wearing a shirt. His upper body was covered in tattoos and numerous scars. Ezekiel then looked around the outside of the arena and found they were in some kind of building. Outside of the cage was what could only be described as a grandstand which was almost packed with people. Everyone was dressed up in fancy clothes and wore different masks that fully covered their faces. Above the arena hung large monitors that showed a better view of both competitors, along with stats for each man and the current betting odds. Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Feel like having some fun?" Tao looked around the arena along with the grandstands for a minute before she said, "Sure." "Great, let''s secretly come out of the mirror dimension and then act like we belong as we try to find a place to sit." Tao nodded in agreement before they left the arena itself and found a secluded spot out of sight. Tao removed them from the mirror dimension before they walked into the grand stands to find some seats. They attracted attention from everyone else since they both stood out so much compared to everyone there. While Tao was in her normal monk robes, Ezekiel was dressed in his Anbu outfit minus his mask. The hum of the arena started to die down before it became deathly silent as even the announcer and contestants in the arena stopped to watch them find a seat. When they were finished Ezekiel looked around at everyone before he glanced at Tao as he said, "We should probably update your wardrobe, you attract too much attention. Plus I think the whole monk thing is out of style now." Tao returned a flat look as she said, "I think not." Ezekiel shrugged his shoulders as he said, "I just think you would look good in a sundress is all, Master." Tao was surprised for a moment before she saw Ezekiel''s smirk. While everyone around Tao and Ezekiel quickly moved away as they talked, some thug looking men with masks were walking towards them. Ezekiel looked towards the men approaching them as he said, "You guys look like you are working too hard, you should probably take a nap." As Ezekiel spoke, the men slowed down before they slowly collapsed onto the floor, some of them could even be heard snoring lightly. Ezekiel glanced around the quiet arena again before he looked directly at the announcer as he said loudly, "We came to watch the fight, get on with it already." The announcer held a hand up to his ear for a few moments as he listened to someone through his ear piece. Afterwards he looked around the arena again as he said in his boisterous voice, "Alright folks, you have till the bell rings to finish placing your bets." Once finished, the announcer''s platform was pulled up above the top of the arena in between where the monitors hung. The announcer himself watched Ezekiel and Tao until he disappeared from their view. Afterwards a loud gong was heard and the two fighters rushed each other before they started to exchange blows. The fight took less than a minute or so and it was a pretty one sided beat down. While the tattooed man may have had fighting experience, the man with the collar was a trained fighter and a very experienced one at that. The collared man disabled the other fighter in the first thirty seconds or so of the fight and then took the rest of the time to choke the other man out with a sleeper hold. Once the other fighter was unconscious, the collared man released his choke hold and the gong was heard again. The announcer¡¯s platform was lowered down into the arena again as he said, ¡°That was a spectacular fight from our newest rising star of the gilded cage. Everyone please give a round of applause to Ursa Major!¡± 00065. A little mistake, quickly fixed. Ezekiel and Tao stuck around for a while longer after the first fight ended. It just seemed to be some kind of illegal underground fighting arena as far as they could tell. After they watched the second fight in a row Ezekiel said, "Let''s head out." Tao then pulled them both into the mirror dimension the next instant. Everyone went quiet again right after they disappeared and more guards ran out to finally collect the first set of guards who were sleeping. Ezekiel moved around the entire place with Tao as they looked for a place Ezekiel could connect to with his tablet. It didn''t take them long to find a security room along with a server stack. Tao opened a tiny portal behind the stack, which allowed Ezekiel to access it with his tablet. The small portal was kept open for about ten minutes while Ezekiel took over their systems and started to dig for information. The portal closed and Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, "Well good news, I found out what is going on. Bad news, we need to act fast." "What did you find?" Ezekiel flipped his tablet around and showed the display to Tao. On it were rows of cages with a bunch of different people locked inside them. Tao noticed the issue immediately, all of the people in cages were fighters for the arena. Tao frowned slightly as she asked, "They are forcing people to fight?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "Not just that, every fighter is kidnapped and they are forced to fight under the threat of death." Ezekiel frowned as he said, "But we need to hurry, our little stunt spooked the people running this place. They are planning to move as soon as the matches for tonight are finished. They are currently working on disassembling anything not used for the matches and loading them on trucks." Tao opened a portal back to base as Ezekiel talked. They quickly stepped through it as Tao forced them back out of the mirror dimension. Ezekiel walked out of the main area of the portal room alongside Tao as he typed on his tablet. Once finished Ezekiel said, "I just alerted everyone to what is going on. Some of my clones are headed here and then we need to stop by Xavier''s school to grab him and Magneto." Tao nodded as she asked, "So what¡¯s your plan?" "I would like to say smash and grab, but I wanna talk with Fury first. Our actions will depend on how much of a headache he wants to deal with. Since I already have control over their systems it should be pretty easy. Also Fury will need a portal in five minutes.¡± Within a few minutes a group of people arrived all wearing anbu type gear and each one with a different mask on. The one in the lead wore a wolf mask and his spiky silver hair was very noticeable. Another man with less spiky silver hair walked next to him and also wore a wolf mask with a single pronounced fang. Ezekiel smiled as he asked, ¡°Who is the team lead?¡± The second man spoke up as he said, ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Good to have you White Fang. Here¡¯s everything you¡¯ll need. We need an attack plan made and you only have about twenty minutes.¡± Ezekiel handed his tablet over to the man before he turned back to Tao. White Fang looked over the tablet with two other people, a man in a cat mask and the other man with the wolf mask. As they were quietly discussing what to do, Tao opened up a portal and out walked Fury along with Coulson. Ezekiel smiled at the both of them as he said, ¡°Thanks for coming on such short notice.¡± Fury had his normal scowl on as he asked, ¡°We have about ten minutes before anyone will realize we are missing, so make this fast.¡± ¡°When scouting out our last recruit, we found him in a secret underground fighting arena calling itself the gilded cage.¡± Fury looked a little excited as he asked, ¡°You actually found them? Where are they located?¡± ¡°In Eastern Europe, Zloda, Belarus to be exact. But they are currently scrambling to pack up and move. I think we have about an hour or two before they pack up and leave. I can trace them since I am currently in control of their systems. But since they are currently holding fights, it would be better to take them now.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Fury grinned wickedly as he said, ¡°That¡¯s perfect, me and Coulson could be there in an hour or so.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in Eastern Europe currently?¡± Fury nodded as he said, ¡°I know it¡¯s a waste of time, but we¡¯ve been trying to investigate the winter soldier base to keep up appearances. But the Russian Government has given us a lot of push back. Might as well tell Pierce we can¡¯t get anywhere and head back now. Plus taking out the gilded cage will be nice.¡± ¡°Sounds like a good idea, I was planning to have Magneto make a new video and post it on the website when we are finished with all the info I found. But I could make the post sooner and add the video later. That way you have more of a reason to head there.¡± Coulson spoke up and asked, ¡°If you¡¯re bringing in Magneto, then they must also have meta humans with them? How are they even controlling them?¡± Ezekiel lifted his hand around his neck and made a motion around it as he said, ¡°They have an explosive collar around their necks.¡± Coulson nodded in understanding as Fury said, ¡°We are headed back, contact me if anything unexpected happens.¡± With that Fury turned around as Tao opened a portal for them and they walked through it. Ezekiel looked over to his clones as he said, ¡°Let''s go pick up the rest of the team.¡± White Fang and the others stopped looking at the tablet as Tao opened a new portal for them. They walked through it and appeared in the underground area of Xavier¡¯s school. Xavier and Magneto were already there waiting for them. Xavier smiled as he said, ¡°So what is the emergency we need to take care of?¡± ¡°We found a secret underground fighting arena that kidnaps normal people along with meta humans and forces them to fight under threat of death.¡± Both Xavier and Magneto frowned before Magneto asked, ¡°So what is the plan?¡± Ezekiel pointed to his group of clones still talking as they looked over a tablet as he said, ¡°Give them a few minutes and they will tell us. White Fang is the mission lead for this. Once the mission starts I plan to post the info on the website, so we will be on a tight time table. We might even run into Shield or government agents before we finish.¡± ¡°Why not wait till we¡¯re finished to make the post?¡± Ezekiel had his trademark smirk as he said, ¡°Fury is about an hour away. If I post it when we start, there is a good chance he will be there to take over when we finish.¡± Xavier nodded in understanding before he asked, ¡°Do you know how many meta¡¯s they currently have?¡± ¡°Five, but they are all adults. So I am not sure what you will want to do with them. One of them is a recruit for us though. So I need to talk with him once we are done.¡± Xavier nodded as White Fang walked closer, handing Ezekiel his tablet back. He looked over to Magneto as he said, ¡°Your main job is to work on controlling the outside. You will be placed outside and you need to take care of their transportation. If you see anyone outside, capture and detain them.¡± White Fang then looked at Xavier as he said, ¡°When we enter inside, you will be with Tao and your main job is to put everyone in the arena grandstands asleep. My team will handle the rest of the building and the fighters. A few will be sent to the prison area when we start while the rest will enter with you and Tao.¡± White Fang looked over at everyone as he asked, ¡°Any questions?¡± When no one spoke up, he looked at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°How long till you are ready?¡± Ezekiel typed away on his tablet as he said, ¡°Not long, five to ten minutes at most.¡± ¡°Good, everyone double check your gear and your henge seals. I don¡¯t want any mishaps.¡± Ezekiel finished up over the next few minutes before he pulled out his bear face mask and put it on. He looked over to Tao as he said, ¡°Portal Magneto now.¡± Ezekiel glanced over at Magneto as the portal opened for him Ezekiel said, ¡°Wait thirty seconds, then start.¡± Magneto nodded his head as he floated through the portal into the night sky above an abandoned looking warehouse area, a few miles away he could see the lights of a city. He looked over the area for a few moments deciding the best course of action, until he heard people yelling and gunshots. He raised an arm and wrapped up all of the people outside loading trucks with metal that he ripped off from the trucks. He looked over to one of the buildings and lifted his right arm as the entire roof of the building was ripped off. Inside of the building were a bunch of car¡¯s, truck¡¯s and limos parked in rows. Magneto smiled to himself as he thought, ¡®This never gets old.¡¯ He raised his left arm as all of the vehicles in the warehouse floated into the air before he moved them into certain spots. He waved both of his hands downward and the roof along with the vehicles slammed into the ground causing a small earthquake and some small explosions. There was now a wall around the entire warehouse area being used for the fighting arena. Magneto then lifted the roof off of the fighting arena and slammed it into the ground next to the other roof. Afterwards he floated in the air like a god as he watched for anyone trying to escape. 00066. A slight road block. Mikhail laid on the floor of his cell as he thought about the past few months. He had gone from a respected Major in the Russian military to a prisoner forced to fight for his life. He chuckled to himself a little, besides his rank and status, nothing really changed. His entire life had been about fighting to live, to survive. Back before he was dishonorably discharged, his life was pretty much the same. Fighting for his life on what amounted to pretty much suicide missions with his small team of outcasts. A team forged through fire that considered itself more of a family then anything else. His superior never considered any mission he sent them on as suicide missions though. They were in his words, ''Missions that only freaks like you can survive.'' Mikhail''s thoughts became dark as he thought about what happened and he reached up and fingered the collar around his neck. Before he knew it his hand had slipped underneath the collar as a thought of just ripping the collar off and ending it all passed through his head. He stayed that way as the minutes ticked by as his mind played with the idea and his eyes teared up slightly as his thoughts became darker. It would be so easy all he had to do was pull at it and everything would be over. As he laid there with his dark thoughts one memory burst forth in his mind and his hand tightened just a bit. But as the memory replayed in his head his grip finally relaxed and he shook his head, clearing it of his dark thoughts. No matter how much he would love to just end it all he couldn¡¯t, he needed to avenge his friends first. But first he needed to escape, he had already wasted a month being a prisoner and fighter for these assholes. He needed to figure out a way to remove his collar without losing his head. As for escaping, that would be easy. He paused as his thoughts wandered again. What would he do if he could escape, go back to his cabin to drink his sorrows away again like last time, instead of seeking vengeance for his friends? Mikhail was deep in thought when he heard some people yelling before gunshots rang out. At first he thought one of the fighters was trying to escape again, it had happened a few times since he was brought here. But afterwards it sounded like a bomb went off as the ground shook for a moment. As Mikhail jumped up from the ground it shook again as the sound of metal being loudly ripped apart sounded from above, before another explosion was heard. Mikhail wasn¡¯t completely sure what happened, but prepared to take advantage of the situation. That was until he saw the people with red and white masks as they passed his cage. Each person flickered past faster than a normal human should be able to move. He only noticed because of his enhanced visual prowess. Mikhail grinned, hopefully this was his ticket out of this place. Mikhail touched the collar around his neck for a brief moment, hopefully these people were here to free him and the others. After ten minutes passed some men in red and white masks walked back into the room. They walked up to each cage and the people in each cage collapsed onto the ground. Most of the other prisoners started to yell in a multitude of languages as they watched people collapsing to the ground for no reason. Mikhail and a few others were quiet as they watched the masked people work. One of the men in a wolf mask arrived in front of Mikhail''s cage and opened it as he said, ¡°Follow me, someone wants to talk with you.¡± Mikhail glanced at all of the prisoners on the ground then decided to follow the man in the wolf mask. As they walked to the upper level of the warehouse they passed piles of people collapsed on the ground. Some of them looked fine, but some of them had pools of blood spreading out from their bodies. As they walked up the last flight of stairs, Mikhail first noticed the stars and the roof of the building missing. Then he saw the man who hovered in the air above the building and paused for just a moment. It was hard to tell in the night sky, but Mikhail knew who was floating up there, Magneto. Mikhail smiled to himself, if Magneto was here then he should have his freedom. He resumed walking up the stairs till they reached the ground floor, Where Mikhail could see all of the spectators slumped in the grandstands where they were seated. Near the bar area of the grandstands stood two people and a man in a wheelchair. Mikhail paused his steps again for a brief moment because the two people he had seen earlier were here. The people who caused a commotion just before his match for the night started. Once he was next to them, the man who was dressed like the people in red and white masks said, ¡°The collar is disarmed, you can remove it.¡± Mikhail hesitated for a moment before he transformed into his more preferred form. As his body grew the collar around his neck snapped and he removed the remnants from around his neck. He now stood over eight feet in height, while his upper body was almost double in size and covered in thick brown fur. His face had warped into that of a bear and while thick hair now covered most of his body, it stopped around his hands which didn¡¯t change much besides how big they were now. Mikhail grinned down at the people before him as he said in his thick Russian accent, ¡°I owe you a debt, comrades.¡± The man with black eyes and black hair who was standing smiled as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. We honestly came here originally to find you in the first place. I have a job offer for you.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Mikhail nodded his head slightly as he said, ¡°I owe you a debt. If you allow me to take care of some unfinished business I have, I will gladly work for you.¡± The man shook his head as he said, ¡°You should probably find out about the job before you accept it.¡± The bear man shrugged his shoulders as he walked around behind the bar. As he picked up a bottle of vodka he said, ¡°Does it really matter? I most likely would have died here if you didn¡¯t show up.¡± Mikhail ripped the pour spout off the bottle before he started to pour the bottle into his mouth. When he finished the whole bottle, he tossed it to the side and grabbed another bottle of vodka as Ezekiel said, ¡°I would much rather have you join for the right reason than from a sense of debt you owe.¡± Mikhail paused for a moment before he asked, ¡°Fine, what¡¯s the job you have for me?¡± He then started to empty the next bottle of vodka into his mouth. ¡°We can talk about it more after we leave here. For now you can enjoy the bar while we finish up.¡± Mikhail finished the other bottle and tossed it to the side as he said, ¡°Pitty, they don¡¯t have much vodka here.¡± Before he picked up another bottle and ripped off the top of it. Ezekiel shook his head as he watched Mikhail go through another six bottles before he ran out. His bear face looked disappointed before he pulled out a bottle of brandy and started to drink that instead. While Mikhail was drinking, Ezekiel¡¯s clones had gone through and cuffed everyone with disposable zip tie cuffs. They also moved everyone to the ground floor including the prisoners, as they worked sirens could be heard in the distance as police and emergency vehicles approached the scene. The prisoners were set to one side while the meta-humans were grouped together next to Xavier as a handful of bodies were placed in the arena. Once everything was finished, Ezekiel typed on his tablet before a ringing was heard from it. After a moment a gruff man was heard as he asked, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We are done on our end, where are you at?¡± The man sounded frustrated as he said, ¡°We are close, but we are being held back by the WSC and Pierce. We need to wait for them to grant us access.¡± Ezekiel typed away on his tablet for a few moments before he said, ¡°Oh, I see why. A few of the people here are government officials for different countries or big time CEOs for companies. They must be stalling for time to get these people out.¡± ¡°I was thinking the same thing, it would be harder to pin this on them if they weren¡¯t there in the first place.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Well what if we took these people with us and then brought them back once you arrived?¡± ¡°No, they could say they were planted and weren¡¯t actually part of it.¡± Tao spoke up as she said, ¡°I could place a spell on them to hold them in place until you or Coulson release them.¡± ¡°That''s a better idea, but that might also raise some flags.¡± Mikhail finished another bottle of brandy and as he tossed it aside he said, ¡°Just bring a news crew in to film it all.¡± Ezekiel paused for a moment before Fury said, ¡°Normally I would say no, but that might be the best option.¡± Ezekiel typed on his tablet for about a minute before he said, ¡°Sounds good to me, I am finding some reporters right now and we will do a live broadcast so it can¡¯t be stopped. I will talk to you later.¡± Ezekiel didn¡¯t wait for a reply as he disconnected the call and looked up to White Fang as he said, ¡°Quickly line up everyone in the grandstands and remove everyone¡¯s masks.¡± The man nodded his head as he yelled, ¡°You heard him, remove everyone''s masks.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s clones quickly moved around the area to remove the mask of every person there. As they worked Ezekiel looked at Tao and said, ¡°Send Xavier and the other meta¡¯s back. Then I want you to pull us into the mirror dimension when the others are finished, only Magneto, should greet the reporters.¡± Tao nodded her head and opened a portal for them as Ezekiel worked away on his tablet for a few moments. He looked up to Magneto as he said, ¡°Have any questions?¡± ¡°No.¡± Ezekiel then looked around at his clones that just finished as he said, ¡°Alright let¡¯s go.¡± Tao moved her arms and pulled Ezekiel, his clones and Mikhail into the mirror dimension as five portals opened up. Each portal was twice as big as normal and were opened up to different news rooms that were currently broadcasting a special live show that just started. It only took a moment for each news crew and reporter to cautiously exit the portal. They all looked around in shock for a few moments before a voice above them said, ¡°You have half an hour, make it count.¡± The reporters all glanced up at Magneto before they started talking to their cameramen and moved into the grandstands, not wasting any time. A few minutes after they started working Ezekiel¡¯s tablet beeped twice before he answered it as he said, ¡°Joe¡¯s pizza, is this for pickup or delivery?¡± ¡°Cut the shit Ezekiel, I just got the go ahead from the WSC to head in. They want me to stop the broadcasts and detain everyone. They wanted me to cut the live feeds, but my teams aren''t having any luck so they want me to move in and stop it. I¡¯ll be there in ten minutes.¡± ¡°We will be gone in nine.¡± As Ezekiel cut the call he asked, ¡°Did you get that Magneto?¡± ¡°Yes, I will take care of it.¡± 00067. Talking to a drunk bear. Ezekiel was seated across from Mikhail in a meeting room underneath Xavier''s school. They had just arrived after finishing up at the warehouse. Ezekiel typed on his tablet for a moment to bring up Mikhail''s information before he said, "I wanted to ask a few things before I tell you about the job. I also wanted to ask about your unfinished business." Mikhail nodded in reply, so Ezekiel asked, "You had a pretty impressive military career for the past sixteen years, but you were recently dishonorably discharged. What happened?" His bear face scowled as he said, "You probably have my records, they should tell you what happened." "They do, but I find that most records tend to obscure the full story most of the time. So I wanna hear what happened from a person who was there instead." Mikhail gave a grunt before he said, "I was in charge of a small team of metahumans, we were used for missions considered too dangerous for normal people." Mikhail chuckled which sounded more like a growl before he said, "Most of our missions were pretty much one way tickets. We were dropped in somewhere with no exit strategy in place. We either completed the missions and fought our way out or we died." Ezekiel frowned as he asked, "That wasn¡¯t in any of the after action reports." "Of course not, that sorry excuse for a base commander always made sure to cover his tracks. I wouldn''t be surprised if he never put exactly what our mission parameters were in any of the reports." Ezekiel typed on his tablet for a moment and a monitor on the wall turned on with a mission report on it. He glanced at it as he asked, "Tell me about this mission." Mikhail studied it for a few minutes before he scowled as he said, "That mother fucker¡­ The only thing that isn''t a lie is the location and the target. Little to no resistance, my hairy ass." Mikhail''s eyes unfocused for a few moments as he said, "We were dropped into a secluded valley at night with only one ground level exit. Our target was in the back of the valley nestled in a reinforced cave system." Mikhail shook his head and his eyes became clear as he said, "They sent us in because every weapon they used on the place didn''t work. It was actually a fortified bunker and fortunately my team had the ability to get inside." Ezekiel listened quietly as Mikhail explained how terribly the mission went. Yes they completed the mission, but all of them were seriously injured and barely made it back. But that wasn''t the first time that happened, almost all of the missions ended up like that. They were sent on missions with impossible odds and somehow made it out alive each time. The only positive take away was that it helped to forge his team into an extremely dangerous and tight knit group. After a few hours Ezekiel asked about Mikhail''s last mission. Mikhail looked pained when he read the report and slowly recounted what actually happened. His team had been given another mission, but this time it really was an impossible task for his team. Someone had leaked the mission info to their target and they used it to create an ambush, an ambush that was designed around his team''s weaknesses. While his team wasn''t wiped out immediately, they were forced into a running retreat with some of them wounded. But as they retreated, it just became worse and people started to sacrifice themselves so the others would be able to make it. Unfortunately for Mikhail, his ability to heal rapidly was a gift and a curse. He watched as the people he considered family died one after another all so that the rest would be able to live. He ended up being the last person alive, but even then he still fell in the end. It was only through some miracle that he didn''t actually die. When the people who attacked him finally saw him collapse. They also noticed his body was no longer healing so they left him to rot, thinking he was a corpse like the others. Instead it was just that his ability had been used to the extreme and stopped working. But after laying in a crater for a few hours it started working again. As Mikhail talked, his voice became more strained till finally he stopped. His head was lowered but Ezekiel could still see his eyes were misted over and unfocused. Ezekiel cleared his throat before he asked, "Mikhail, would you allow a friend of mine to help you out?" Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mikhail''s voice cracked slightly as he asked, "Can your friend bring people back from the dead?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No unfortunately he can''t. But he has an ability that is very useful in cases like yours. You can think of it as a very advanced therapy program. It takes things that normally take years to fix only hours at most. You will still have to work through everything and you will be sharing your memories with him. But it helps.¡± Mikhail sat quietly for ten minutes as he considered the offer before he finally just nodded his head in reply. Ezekiel then typed away on his tablet for a few moments. Within a few minutes a portal appeared and out of it stepped a pale skinned man with ash blonde hair. He smiled as his pale green eyes took in the two people in the room with him. He walked next to Mikhail and extended his hand out as he said, ¡°Nice to meet you, I am Inoichi.¡± Mikhail glanced up at the man, his eyes still moist. He reached out and shook his hand as he said, "Mikhail.¡± ¡°Ezekiel told me about your issue, we can start whenever you want.¡± Mikhail nodded his head, so Inochi did some hand signs and then touched his forehead. As they worked on Mikhail¡¯s mind, Ezekiel decided to be proactive. He already had a good idea what business Mikhail needed to finish, so he picked up his tablet and got to work. An hour passed and unfortunately Ezekiel had found nothing new, just the same information he had already gathered. So he decided to change tactics and sent a message to Tao asking for a ride. After a few minutes a portal opened and out of it walked Mordo. He glanced over at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°The Ancient One said you needed some help.¡± Ezekiel stood up as he said, ¡°I need a ride to a few places in Russia.¡± He held up his tablet and showed Mordo a military base in Russia as he said, ¡°We need to teleport there and we¡¯ll need to explore a few places while inside the mirror dimension.¡± Mordo pulled Ezekiel into the mirror dimension with him before he opened a portal. After they stepped through the portal, they were greeted with the sight of the military base waking up. As Mordo looked around the place, Ezekiel said, ¡°Our first stop is the base commander''s office, we need to search that place thoroughly.¡± As they walked in the direction of the commander''s office Mordo said, ¡°I wanted to thank you for helping Kaecilius. The other masters and I have noticed he is doing a lot better now." Mordo paused for a moment before he said, "We aren''t exactly sure what happened, but The Ancient One said it was because of your help. So, thank you." Ezekiel nodded in reply as a smile played across his face for a moment before he said, "I¡¯m glad I was able to help, he¡¯s a good man and I didn''t want him to suffer a terrible fate." They stayed silent after that and focused on their task at hand. The first place they stopped came up empty even after Ezekiel hacked into the man''s computer. Once finished they made their way to the base''s main computer servers. Ezekiel spent another hour going through the base''s servers that weren''t connected to the internet. Mordo wasted no time and used some spells to look around the base for hidden areas. When they were both finished they only had two options left. One was to go directly to the base commander and try to get answers. The other was to go to the man''s house and search for any clues there. They decided to go with the second option first and teleported directly inside the man''s home. As they searched the man¡¯s house they found a few things, the main one being a hidden room in the basement behind a false wall. Inside the room they found a safe, an expensive computer that was heavily encrypted and a few filing cabinets. As Ezekiel left his tablet alone to bypass the computer''s encryption, he looked through the filing cabinets while Mordo used a spell to unlock the safe. The only thing inside the safe was just a bunch of money and the filing cabinets turned out to be not much help either. The computer on the other hand turned out to be a gold mine and also the thing Ezekiel was looking for. On the computer was pretty much every ¡®off the books¡¯ mission the base commander had set up. While some of the missions Mikhail and his team had were legit and sanctioned by the military. It turned out most of them were just the commander using them as guns for hire and only he was making any profit. The most damning was the last file, the one where Mikhail¡¯s team died. It turned out that the commander wanted to retire and didn¡¯t want any loose ends. So he made one last deal to sell out Mikhail¡¯s team and collect a nice bonus at the same time. Ezekiel frowned as he finished going through all the data. He knew he might find something, but this was not what he expected to find at all. He disconnected his tablet and as he stood up he let out a sigh. Mordo glanced his way as he asked, ¡°What did you find?¡± ¡°Just the dregs of what humans should be.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he asked, ¡°Wanna help me calm down an angry bear?¡± 00068. An angry drunk bear? Ezekiel and Mordo ported back to Xavier''s school to find that Inoichi was done with Mikhail. The two men were seated next to each other at a metal table as they quietly conversed. Mikhail looked a lot better and was actually in his human form now. But there was still a hint of deep sadness in the man''s eyes, which was tinged with anger and determination as he looked up at Ezekiel who just returned. Ezekiel glanced over at Inoichi as he said, "Thanks for your help, you can head back now." Inoichi reached over and placed his hand on Mikhail''s shoulder as he said, "I¡¯d like to stay with my new friend here for a while more.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°That¡¯s fine, we might need an extra hand anyways.¡± As Ezekiel pulled out a chair and dropped down into the seat, Mordo moved over next to the back wall. Ezekiel then set his tablet on the table and looked over at Mikhail as he asked, ¡°Tell me about your unfinished business.¡± Mikhail glanced down at his hands resting in his lap for a moment before he looked up at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I want to find out who caused my team to die.¡± Ezekiel glanced at his tablet for a few moments as he asked, ¡°What will you do when you find them?¡± ¡°Kill them slowly.¡± Ezekiel looked back up at Mikhail as he asked, ¡°What about the people who actually killed your team?¡± ¡°I just want the person who leaked our info and made us fall into that trap. I won¡¯t blame the others for following their orders, that would just make me a hypocrite.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head before he picked up his tablet as he started to type on it, the monitor on the wall powered on and some files were displayed. He glanced at Mikhail as he said, ¡°I figured you would ask for vengeance, so I was proactive about it. Do these look familiar?¡± Mikhail slowly nodded his head as he was reading over the info on the screen. As he was reading he became agitated. As he continued reading, he leaned forward as his hands were placed on the table. His hands unconsciously clenched and deformed the table they were resting on. As his eyes took on a hard edge as he looked back at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°Is this all true?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, but it only gets worse from here.¡± ¡°Show me.¡± Ezekiel tapped on his tablet and some more documents appeared on the screen. It took a few more minutes before Mikhail said, ¡°Next.¡± This continued for about half an hour until the last document appeared. As Mikhail was reading it his body started to grow and morph the more he read the faster his body transformed until Inoichi was forced to move away. Ezekiel picked up his tablet and backed away towards Mordo as he typed on it for a moment. Mikhail didn¡¯t stop at his hybrid form though and as he grew the metal chair underneath him deformed and collapsed under his weight as his pants ripped apart. But he kept growing after that and even sitting with his butt on the ground Mikhail was forced to hunch over as his head and neck easily touched the ceiling that was ten feet tall. Mikhail¡¯s bear form was massive when he finished his transformation, which made Mordo say, ¡°I thought you were joking¡­¡± Before Ezekiel could reply Mikhail let out a massive roar which actually shook the entire room as he smashed the table in front of him. Luckily it was completely made out of metal, so it mostly just deformed and collapsed into the floor. Mikhail looked down at Ezekiel as his inhuman voice growled out, ¡°Take me to that bastard!¡± ¡°I will, but I need you to calm down first.¡± Mikhail slammed his massive paws down into the already ruined table and floor as his body leaned forward closer to Ezekiel. His eyes were filled with anger as he growled out, "You would deny me my vengeance?" The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As Ezekiel shook his head he said, "No, I will gladly help you with it. I just need you to calm yourself down first." Mikhail glared down at Ezekiel, but Ezekiel just pointed towards the table and floor below it which were completely ruined now as he said, "I need you to control your anger, then I will help you take your vengeance." Before Mikhail moved again, Inoichi moved in front of the bear and touched one of his paws as he said, "Take a deep breath my friend, we are all here to help you." Mikhail glanced down at Inoichi as his eyes lost their hard edge. The massive bear let out a sigh as he started to shrink down. It took a minute but he finally returned to normal sitting on the floor naked. Inoichi walked over to Mikhail and placed a hand on his shoulder as he said, ¡°Thank you, friend.¡± A moment later the door opened and Magneto walked in with some clothes in his hands followed by Xavier and Logan who was pushing his wheelchair. They all took in the state of the room for a few moments before Magneto handed the clothes over to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I was wondering why you asked for me to join you and bring some clothes.¡± Ezekiel tossed the clothes over to Mikhail as he said, ¡°Put those on while Magneto fixes the room.¡± Mikhail quietly stood up and dressed as Magneto reformed the floor, table and chairs that were crushed. As Magneto worked, Xavier and Logan moved next to Ezekiel before Xavier asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Ezekiel handed his tablet over to Xavier as he said, ¡°The short version is, his team was led into an ambush and killed because of his base commander. Those are all the files I found about it.¡± Ezekiel moved back to the table and sat down on the other side of the table from Mikhail and Inoichi. While Magneto moved next to Xavier and they read over the files on Ezekiel¡¯s tablet along with Logan. Inoichi had his arm on Mikhail¡¯s shoulder as they talked quietly for a few minutes before Mikhail finally looked up as he said, ¡°Sorry for losing control¡­ So now what?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I honestly thought we might have to subdue you. I¡¯m glad it didn¡¯t come to that, it shows that you are already healing.¡± Ezekiel''s smile changed and became more wicked looking as he said, ¡°Now we¡¯ll help you with your revenge. I think we will grab your former commander so you can have a nice personal talk with the man.¡± Xavier glanced up from the tablet as he said, ¡°Killing the man isn¡¯t the best way to handle this. This information should be turned over to the proper authorities and they should handle this matter.¡± Ezekiel looked back over his shoulder to speak as Magneto said, ¡°I don¡¯t think Ezekiel was asking for your opinion Charles.¡± ¡°But more bloodshed isn¡¯t going to help.¡± Magneto placed his hand on Xavier¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°Not everyone thinks the same as you, my old friend. I think Mikhail is a lot more like me and Logan when it comes to dealing with something like this.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°I think the same way as Magneto, which is why I made the offer in the first place.¡± Xavier let out a sigh and handed the tablet to Magneto as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t agree, but I can¡¯t stop you. I¡¯ll be bringing this up at our next meeting though.¡± Xavier glanced up at Logan as he said, ¡°Take me to my office please.¡± As they started to move towards the door, Xavier glanced at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t stop you, but take your revenge business elsewhere, I don¡¯t want you killing someone at my school.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°I never planned on it.¡± After Xavier left Ezekiel looked back at Mikhail and said, ¡°I can give you two choices. The first is I let you kill the man outright. The second one you will still kill him, but we do it my way.¡± Before Mikhail could respond, Inoichi spoke up and said, ¡°I know you wish to kill the man outright. But trust me. You should choose the second option.¡± Mikhail glanced at Inoichi for a few moments before he looked back at Ezekiel and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll do it your way.¡± Ezekiel had a cheshire cat-like smile as he said, ¡°Great, now this will take a couple days of prep work, but I think you¡¯ll like it.¡± vvvvv It had been a few days since the nightmares started and it had taken over his life completely. He kept waking up screaming in terror, covered in sweat. The worst part is he would randomly fall asleep even if he wasn¡¯t tired. After it happened a couple times in his office at the base he decided to just stay home for a few days. But that just made it worse, he would wake up screaming then fall back asleep within a few minutes. He couldn¡¯t even remember the dream completely, just the forest. The endless forest was the only thing he remembered clearly, the rest of the dream was a blurry mess he could never remember. Something at the back of his mind kept telling him there was something very important from the dream he was forgetting, but it was always just out of reach. He was laying in his bed having just woken up a few minutes ago, when he felt himself falling back asleep again. How many times was this now? He had stopped counting after the hundredth time¡­ 00069. A bad dream? He woke up in the middle of a forest unsure of how he even arrived there. The last thing he remembered was laying in his bed as he had just woken up again from a nightmare. The nightmare¡­ He looked around and realized he was dreaming again. Something felt different this time but he couldn''t figure out what it was. He stood up and took stock of his situation. He was still in his dress uniform and his side arm was thankfully still on his hip. His dress shoes wouldn¡¯t help here, but they were worn in and comfortable. Other than that he had nothing else on him, ''the same as every other dream'' he thought. Next he looked up into the sky through the forest of massive pine trees to notice the sun seemed to be in the middle of the sky. As he looked up at the sky he heard something behind him, which made him whip around to look as his hand went to his side arm on instinct. Nothing was behind him, but he slowly walked his way to where the noise came from. After a few moments he heard another noise coming from directly behind him. He spun around this time with his gun in his hand, but found nothing. He paused for a few moments and waited but nothing happened. He let out a nervous chuckle as he thought to himself, ''My nerves must be getting to me, this nightmare is fucking with my head.'' He holstered his gun and walked next to the closest tree and studied the base for a moment. The first tree had no moss around its base but the second tree did. Once he figured out north he started to move towards the south where he could see some mountains in the distance. He started to make a list of stuff he would need to find, water, food, shelter¡­ He stopped himself, this was just another nightmare, he didn''t need food or water¡­ He spun around again as another sound was heard from behind him, but nothing was there. He shook his head before he heard a loud roar of an animal off in the distance to the north of him. He frowned as his hand rested on the grip for his sidearm. He turned back south and increased his pace a little as he walked towards the mountains. He wasn''t sure why, but in every nightmare he always moved south. He didn¡¯t want to admit it, but something was very wrong with this nightmare. He had spent hours as he walked through the forest towards the mountains in the distance. But the mountains looked the same distance as when he started and the sun still seemed to be high in the sky. While those happened in every one of his nightmares, something about this one felt wrong. It didn¡¯t feel like the other ones, it felt¡­ Real maybe? A noise was heard from behind him, but he didn¡¯t turn around this time. He lost count of how many times he had heard something, only to turn around to find nothing like in every nightmare. So he decided to just ignore the sounds and concentrate on moving towards the south and the mountains. He tightened his grip on his side arm as he heard another monstrous roar to the north behind him. It seemed to be closer this time and it had been getting closer as time passed. That seemed new, but he couldn''t remember as the nightmares always became hazy at this point. He increased his pace again into a light jog, but never took his right arm off his sidearm resting in his holster. But the feeling of wrongness never left him. He used his left arm to wipe the perspiration from his forehead as he moved through the trees. He had lost track of how long it had been since he started running. But his chest hurt with every breath he took and his calves felt like they were on fire. But he never stopped moving, he couldn''t, it was close now. He could almost feel its hot breath on the back of his neck. Its roaring had become less frequent and something in the back of his mind told him it was familiar. He shook his head a little, of course it was familiar. He had lost track of how many times he had this same nightmare. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. After running all out for a while, he finally collapsed on the ground. His body had given up on him and no longer responded to his commands. He took torturous ragged breaths as he looked at the bright sky above him. He knew this is where the nightmare always ended, the beast was close now and right as it pounced he would wake up screaming. Less than a minute passed as he laid on the ground, his eyes closed as he waited to wake up. He had never heard the beast as it approached him. The sound of his own heart was always deafening as it thundered away in his ears. His body flinched instinctively when he felt the beast''s hot putrid breath wash over his face. That was definitely new, he was sure that had never happened before. He shook his head, it was just another nightmare and soon he would wake up. His eyes shot open as unbearable pain exploded from his right foot and he let out an agonizing scream. He reached for his sidearm on instinct and with his shaking hand aimed it at the beast that had just ripped his foot off. He quickly squeezed the trigger only to hear the distinctive click of a dry fire. He remembered immediately that he had no round chambered and worked through his pain to quickly pull back the slide and chamber this first round in his gun. He took aim at the beast as it was about to bite his left foot. As he pulled the trigger that same distinctive click was heard and he swore he saw the beast smirk before it bit down on his other foot as another wave of agonizing pain swept through his body. He couldn''t help but yell out in pain, "It''s only a dream! It''s only a dream! It''s only a dream! It''s only a dream! It''s only a dream!" He heard a deep animalistic laugh before a voice he heard many times before said, "Not this time, commander." vvvvv Three people stood inside the mirror dimension as Mikhail took his revenge on his former commander. Flanked on either side of Tao stood Ezekiel and Mordo. Mordo grimaced as he asked, "Is this considered cannibalism?" Ezekiel shook his head and said, "No, he is clearly not eating the man." As Mikhail spit out the man''s right hand after he bit it off. They watched in silence for a few more moments as Mikhail systematically ripped the man apart, while he was still alive. Mordo spoke again as he said, "While I can understand the man''s need for vengeance, I don''t think you should have helped him with it, in the way that you did." Tao nodded in agreement as she said, "If I was truly informed of what was going on, I would have never allowed you to help. While I am not against Mikhail seeking to punish the man or even killing him. Your actions took this too far, even though he was going to die, you still somehow broke his mind." "In my defense I didn''t think that was going to happen¡­ I just wanted to help out a little as I didn¡¯t want the man to have an easy death. But honestly it''s a little terrifying to think I could do that by accident. "I don¡¯t really plan to inform the others of your actions, mostly because Steve is the only one who would really look down on what you did here. But this isn¡¯t the first time you have shown this type of out of character behavior. We¡¯ll need to have a long talk once those young girls are rescued from the widow program and try to figure out why this is happening." Tao crossed her arms over her chest and stared down at Ezekiel who stood on her left side. "Yes, Master." Mordo''s lips twitched up the tiniest bit in a smile before his face went back to his normal stoic look. Tao was still turned to Ezekiel as she said, "Don''t worry Master Mordo, we¡¯ll also be having a conversation about your actions during the last few days, later this week. Also I believe it''s your turn to help with cleaning duty around the temple this coming week.¡± ¡°I was on cleaning duty last¡­¡± Tao glanced over her shoulder as she said, ¡°For the next month.¡± Whatever Mordo wanted to say, he stopped himself and replied, ¡°Yes, Master.¡± 00070. A conversation with concerned parents. To say Melina was disappointed would be an understatement. The fact that Alexei was imprisoned here and hadn''t escaped yet was the main reason for her disappointment. While it was one of the most remote and ''secure'' prisons in the world. The security or what passed for it was a joke. The only thing that made this place hard to break out of was the location. It had only been a few days since she was visited by that man. She frowned as she walked down the hallway towards Alexei''s cell. She should have actually listened to what the man had to say, she should have used her training and collected as much info as possible. Instead she was unnerved by the man and his ability to read her so easily. She shook her head as she stopped in front of Alexei''s cell and looked inside. He was seated on his bed as he looked at a picture. For a moment she just watched him before she stepped inside as she asked, "What are you looking at so intently?" Alexei''s head snapped up to look at her, the hard edges of his face softened slightly as he recognized Melina. He held up the photo in his hands, it showed him and Melina with two young girls in front of them. Melina sat down next to him as she asked, "He visited you as well?" "Dah." She studied his face for a few minutes before she asked, "What did he say?" Alexei glanced at the woman next to him for a moment before he turned his attention back to the photo. He looked at it for a few moments and then said, "A job and a chance to see the little ones again." "He offered the same thing to me. If I accepted, I was to meet him in the red room in a few days." Alexei nodded his head as he said, "He told me I had till tomorrow and he would come back for my decision." Melina glanced at Alexei then the photo in his hands as she asked, "Have you made up your mind?" Alexei chuckled as he asked, "Have you?" They lapsed into a comfortable silence for almost an hour. The only thing that happened was Melina leaning over and Alexei wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Melina''s voice broke the quiet atmosphere as she asked if a voice laced with trepidation, "Do you think it''s really possible? That we could be together with the girls again?" Alexei tightened his grip reassuringly on her shoulder as he said, "Let''s wait here for him to come back and then ask him. If we don''t like his answers, we don''t have to join him." Melina glanced up at Alexei as she asked, "What about the girls?" "We will take them with us." Melina frowned slightly as she said, "He''s powerful, I don''t think we can if he says no." Alexei shook his head as he said, "It¡¯ll be fine. He said he was like me, he has a hero complex. If he really does, he will let us have our girls." After a while Melina laid her head back down on his chest as she said, "I''ll trust your judgment then." Melina and Alexei stayed up for the whole day and most of the night talking with each other and catching up. It had been a few years since they had last seen each other, but it almost felt like they never separated. It was the afternoon when a portal appeared in the hallway outside of Alexei''s cell and out of it stepped Ezekiel followed by Tao. Alexei was seated on his bed near one edge reading a book. Melina was laying across the bed and had her head resting on Alexei''s lap as she was also reading a book. Ezekiel stepped in front of the doorway and smiled when he saw them both as he said, "It''s good to see you both again. I hope you had enough time to think about my offer." Melina sat up and placed her book down next to the one Alexei had just stopped reading. They both gave Ezekiel a cautious look before Melina asked, "What happens if we don''t want to work for you and just want our girls?" Ezekiel paused for a few moments to think, he never really planned for them to turn him down. He did know it could happen, but he never really thought they would. He chuckled to himself before he said, "I guess I''ll give you some money, so you can start a decent life somewhere." The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Now Alexei and Melina paused as they looked at each other, sharing a private conversation with just a glance. Melina looked back at Ezekiel as she asked, "Why would you help us if we aren''t going to help you?" Ezekiel smirked as he said, "It''s what heroes do." Tao smacked the back of Ezekiel''s head before she stepped beside him and said, "The main reason is because we don''t need you. The influx of girls will be a slight hassle to deal with at first, but we are more than capable of handling it." Tao slapped Ezekiel on the chest as she said, "He was the reason we even came with a recruitment pitch. He thinks highly of both of you and recommended that you would both be perfect to join our team." "Who exactly are either of you?" Alexei nodded his head after Melina spoke and added, "What country do you work for?" Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he said, "I am Ezekiel and this is the current Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth realm, Tao. Tao isn''t her actual name though, I just call her that because calling her The Ancient One like everyone else takes too long." As Tao glared slightly at Ezekiel, he leaned over a little, putting a hand next to his mouth and acted like he was telling a secret. But he actually raised his voice slightly as he said, "She may not look it, but she has protected the Earth from magical threats for over eight hundred years. She really puts the ¡®ancient¡¯ in The Ancient One." Ezekiel winked as he finished talking. Melina glanced over at Alexei for a moment before she looked at Tao and asked, "He''s not being serious. That has to be a really lame joke¡­ right?" Tao stopped glaring at Ezekiel as she said, "While my companion tends to joke around a little too much, he is currently speaking the truth." Ezekiel raised one of his eyebrows as he said, "There is literally someone who flies around in a red and purple jumpsuit. Wearing a cape while acting like a Saturday morning cartoon villain and you are gonna ask if I am being serious?" Ezekiel shook his head before he said, "Whatever, it doesn''t matter." Ezekiel turned slightly to look at Alexei as he said, ¡°As for your question, we work for the betterment of the whole world, not just a single country." Alexei frowned as he asked, "So you work for Shield?" Ezekiel laughed as he said, "No, we work for ourselves. Technically the world doesn''t even know we exist." Alexei glanced at Melina for another moment before Melina said, "You are being very talkative for someone from a hidden organization. What if we don''t agree to join you? Aren''t you afraid we could leak information about you?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No, we have a few ways to remove that information from your mind." Both Melina and Alexei shared a concerned glance and tensed up slightly as they looked back at Ezekiel. Ezekiel raised his hands slightly as he said, "Look it''s only a worst case scenario. Plus you would keep your memories, they would just be altered." Ezekiel gestured at Tao as he said, "This conversation would change to something completely different and me and Tao would look like new people. I know that doesn¡¯t sound reassuring, but we need to keep our secrets.¡± Melina placed her hand on Alexei¡¯s which made the man glance back at her for a few moments before he nodded his head. Melina then looked back up at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°What do we get if we join you? You said we would be reunited with our daughters, but you never said anything else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t want to have a normal conversation with me the first time.¡± Melina crossed her arms over her chest as she said, ¡°I was on edge because you just showed up at my house randomly and could somehow read my hidden hopes I had buried in the back of my mind.¡± Ezekiel gave her a deadpan look before he said, ¡°Anyone with half a brain could piece together your hidden desire if they read your psych profile and found that photo album you didn¡¯t exactly hide away.¡± ¡°I¡­ I never took the time to think about it like that¡­ That was a stupid mistake on my part.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head before he pointed back at Tao as he said, ¡°Yes, yes it was. It also helped that we looked into the future and were shown that in more than half of them, you both worked with us. Natasha joins us about ninety percent of the time and Yelena joins us about sixty percent of the time.¡± Alexei¡¯s eye¡¯s narrowed slightly as he said, ¡°You told us we could take our daughters if we refused to work with you.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You asked what would happen if you didn¡¯t work with us and just wanted your girls. My exact answer was, ¡®I guess I''ll give you some money, so you can start a decent life somewhere.¡± Ezekiel watched them for a moment and as soon as Melina and Alexei tensed themselves to possibly attack them, Ezekiel said, ¡°The main reason I never said the girls were going with you, is because that is not my choice to make. Natasha and Yelena need to make the choice to join you or join us.¡± Melina was still tense as she said, ¡°They are just kids, they shouldn¡¯t be allowed to make that kind of decision.¡± Ezekiel gave a hollow laugh as he said, ¡°You know damn well that any girl who has been in the red room for more than a year is not really a kid anymore. The fact that they just passed their ¡®trust test¡¯ just hammers that home.¡± Melina looked down in shame as Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°All of those girls are going to need a lot of work and therapy to become somewhat normal, Natasha and Yelena included. I plan to help them with that, but it would be easier if I had both of your help.¡± Ezekiel along with Tao watched quietly as Alexei reached over and clasped hands with Melina as they shared a private conversation for a few minutes. Once done, Alexei looked back at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°We will join you, but we want to be able to spend a lot of time with Natasha and Yelena.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± 00071. New members and rescued kids. After Alexei and Melina agreed to join the team, Ezekiel first brought them to the research base. When they arrived there through a portal, the first thing they noticed was some music playing loudly from down the corridor of the left hallway. Ezekiel took a moment to admire the place, a lot of things had changed since they had taken over the facility. The most notable were the plants that lined the walls sporadically and the special lights that kept them alive. ¡®Things I''ve never seen before. Behind bolted doors, talent and imagination. Weird science¡­¡¯ The next thing they noticed was the entrance room they currently stood inside. The entire room was covered in weird circles and runes. Ezekiel smirked before he moved towards the music with the group following behind him out of the portal room. As they moved down the long hallway the music became progressively louder. ¡®Not what teacher said to do. Making dreams come true, living tissue, warm flesh. Weird science, ooohh.¡¯ After they passed by a couple sets of open doors to other laboratories, they came upon a laboratory with two people inside and where the music was coming from. Both people had their backs turned and the one with black hair seemed to be dancing as he worked in front of a computer. While the other person with white hair seemed to be bobbing his head to the music as he was playing with some test tubes. ¡®Plastic tubes and pots and pans. Bits and pieces and bits and pieces and (creation). My creation, is it real?¡¯ Ezekiel walked over to the stereo and hit the stop button, which caused both men to turn around quickly. Ezekiel smirked as he said, "Don''t wanna interrupt your dance party, but I have two new people for intake. We need to do a full medical and psych eval on them." Orochimaru gave his patented creepy smile before he said, "Tsunade can handle that, she¡¯s over in the new medical wing." Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "Thanks, I¡¯ll let you get back to your work." Ezekiel pushed play as he walked back out of the room. As the music blared through the speakers, he led his group back the way they came and to the right side corridor hallway. As they passed through the automatic doors for that area they sealed shut and the music was no longer heard. As they passed by a large number of doors closely packed together, Melina asked, "What¡¯s this place used for?" "This area is for the handful of prisoners we have. These were already here when we liberated the place." Melina frowned as she asked, "Is it a good idea to use this place then? Isn''t the location known to whoever ran this place before?" "No, we pretty much wiped out everyone who had anything to do with this place. I also purged all electronic records of its existence." Ezekiel smiled a little as he said, "Besides if anyone showed up at the original entrance, they would find it completely destroyed. Along with the elevator shaft that leads down here." Ezekiel pointed upwards as he said, "We are about half a mile underground and the only entrance is by magic portals in the room we first appeared in." As Ezekiel finished talking, they walked through a new set of doors that used to lead into the dojo/training room for Laura. It was now expanded and turned into a state of the art medical facility. The area just passed the doors they entered looked like a medical clinic, with a front desk off to one side. A pink haired teenager was currently seated behind the desk working on a computer as Ezekiel stopped in front of her. The girl looked up and smiled as she asked, "What can I help you with, Ezekiel?" Ezekiel pointed to Melina and Alexei as he said, "This is Melina and Alexei, they need to go through our intake process and a psych eval." The girl quickly typed some things on her computer as Ezekiel talked. Once she finished, she stood up as she said, "Ino and her father will check them out after we¡¯re done with the medical portion." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The girl walked around the desk and stopped in front of them as she said, "It''s nice to meet you, I''m Sakura. If you would please follow me, I will get you started with your medical examinations." Melina glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, "Is this really necessary?" Ezekiel nodded as he said, "While I can easily get your medical records, we use a lot of non standard tests for the intake process. No one is exempt from these tests, not even myself. Plus if something ever happened and one of you was injured. Having up to date records will help the medical team a lot." Alexei nodded in understanding before he put an arm around Melina as he said, "We agreed to join them, so let''s follow their rules." As they walked away, following behind Sakura. Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he said, "I am going to dispel now, I will see you tomorrow for the rescue mission." Before Tao could respond, Ezekiel turned into a cloud of smoke. After a few seconds Tao smirked for only a moment. As she walked back to the portal room, she thought to herself, ''Just you wait for my magic lessons you little punk.'' vvvvv The next day passed by quickly as the rescue mission was a little too easy. While Bucky, Steve, Melina and the others wanted to help, they weren''t needed. Ezekiel''s clones blitzed through the red room from different places and put everyone in a genjutsu before they even knew what happened. The whole operation took less than five minutes before it was completed. The newest members to the group were shocked at how easy the situation was handled and also a little wary of how powerful the new group they joined was. That didn¡¯t include the fact that Alexei was floored when we realized Captain America was alive and worked for the new group they joined. Or that we also had the Winter Soldier with us, which made Melina go on edge when they first met. But they both just took it in stride and adjusted to the situation within a few minutes of meeting them both. Mikhail actually handled it the best as he just shook both men¡¯s hands as he said it was a pleasure to meet them both and looked forward to working with them. After the rescue mission was completed, the main issue they ran into was not having enough Yamanaka clan members to help the kids they rescued. It ended up taking four days to finish the psychology treatments on all of the girls. They would still have to be checked up on, over the next few months. But overall Inoichi said they would be completely fine in less than a year. Another issue they ran into was destroying the red room after confiscating everything they could use. While that was finished on the same day they collected the girls. Even though Magneto could have helped with the base''s destruction, they instead just leveled the whole place with explosives. Not the best way to go unnoticed, but the group didn''t want to pin this one on Magneto. Shield ended up being called in to deal with the aftermath, so Fury sent Coulson to ''handle'' the investigation and make sure nothing was found that could lead back to us. The last issue and the toughest of all were the current widows on active duty. While there were only six of them, they needed to be brought in and then helped if possible or disposed of if it wasn''t possible. After a few weeks of work Inoichi and Ino were luckily able to deprogram all of them without any issues. On the surface they were still under watch and had some special fuinjutsu seals placed on them. The seals were something Donzo had created, it was a seal that restricted whoever it was placed on from harming other people. While Ezekiel knew it wasn''t needed after the help Ino and her father gave the women. Ezekiel still used the seals to make Fury feel better about having a bunch of ''enemies'' roaming around the base. Which unfortunately included Alexei, Melina and Mikhail. What only Ezekiel and those people knew was that the seals placed on them didn''t work as intended. Ezekiel told Fury what they were and how they worked and that after a few months they would be removed pending good behavior. Ezekiel only told the people with the seals what the seals actually did. The seals increased how quickly a person could learn by reinforcing their short-term memory. He advised them to spend the next few months learning whatever they wanted while the seals were active. It might not have been the smartest idea, but Ezekiel wanted to earn their trust and this seemed like the best way to do it. The other reason was because Fury was the main person pushing for the restrictions, since it wasn¡¯t voted on by their council, Ezekiel figured he didn¡¯t need to follow the order. Afterwards Ezekiel and the rest spent the next couple months integrating with their new members. It wasn''t the smoothest transition since there were now over a hundred young girls running around the unrestricted parts of the base. The main positive of the whole event was they didn¡¯t need to expand their current facilities. Ezekiel had planned ahead for when they would have well over a thousand people using the base. So the gym, recreation area¡¯s, kitchen and dining room, along with the pool were all made with that in mind. They still didn¡¯t have the rooms to house over a thousand people, but Ezekiel already had clones slowly expanding the base. Within a year they would have everything completed along with some expansion to existing areas, like the theater area, bowling alley, arcade and a few others. There was also a planned five mile underground running track that would circle the whole base once completed, but that wasn¡¯t on the priority list. At the end of the third month after the rescue of the girls from the red room, something very unexpected happened. But it had nothing to do with the base or the girls, it happened at Theo¡¯s home. 00072. Dont tell your mom! Monday, June, 15th, 1998 The entire week went differently than expected for Theo. Theo¡¯s mother had taken the week off from work and Theo¡¯s father decided to bring Theo along with him to work for the week. While it was a big change from his normal routine of going to aunt May¡¯s, Theo was excited to do something new. As they were leaving the house Theo noticed that it was only himself, his father and uncle Ben. Normally Peter¡¯s parents would also join his father and Ben on the walk to work. As they started walking out of the neighborhood, Theo asked, "Don''t we have to wait for aunt Mary and uncle Richard?" Jacob patted Theo¡¯s head as he said, "Not this week, they have some things they have to take care of with the company they started." Ben looked down at Theo as they walked and asked, "You sure you don''t want to be carried?" Theo shook his head as he said, "If you and dad can walk to your work, so can I." Both men chuckled before Jacob asked, "Are you excited to see what we do for work?" "Yes, but if it''s not fun, I¡¯ll just read instead." Theo stated matter of factly. Jacob smirked as he said, "That''s fine, but I doubt you will be reading much today." Once they arrived at the warehouse Ben went to unlock the main gate and secured it. Jacob walked past the gate with Theo and opened up the front door, before disarming the security system. He then took Theo with him as he started to unlock and open up a couple of roll doors. Once finished they moved over to the office area near the front of the building. The first part of the front office area where customers could enter was a unique design. When a customer entered from the front door, they were in a lobby area which had floor to ceiling windows. The windows allowed customers to see out into the warehouse and people in the warehouse to see into the lobby area. As they moved closer to the lobby area Theo asked, ¡°Why are the windows so big?¡± Jacob smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s mostly so we can see when a customer comes in, since we don¡¯t have an employee dedicated to customer service running the counter.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound normal. There is always a person at the front counter of the library when we go in. Shouldn¡¯t you have someone here?¡± Jacob patted Theo¡¯s head as they entered the lobby area as he said, ¡°You¡¯re correct, it¡¯s not normal. But me and your uncle would rather hire people to work on cars than sit around and chat with customers. Plus we almost never get walk-ins. Our business is special like that.¡± The main lobby area that was used for customers, had a few chairs and a couch. There was a coffee table in front of the couch with some magazines on it. A water cooler was off to one side and there was a counter where customers could check in or out. On top of the counter was a buzzer to call someone in case no one noticed them as they walked in. Behind the counter was a single office chair, a locked cash drawer hidden under the counter and a credit card machine. Jacob led Theo into the back of the office area where there was a small kitchen area setup, which also served as a breakroom. It had a countertop with a decent sized sink, a refrigerator, a microwave, along with some cabinets. There was also a decent sized stove at the end of the countertop, which had a vent extractor above it. Next to that room was an office, which seemed to be shared by Jacob and Ben. Inside the office next to the door were a few worn out but comfortable looking leather chairs, it also had a bunch of filing cabinets that lined half the entire wall opposite of the door. The other half was lined with bookshelves that seemed to be full of books and manuals. On the other side of the room was a single small desk along with an office chair. Next to that desk were some TV¡¯s that were connected to a box and playing on the TV¡¯s was camera footage from all of the security cameras hooked up to the building. Jacob turned to Theo as he said, ¡°You can join me and Ben while we finish opening up or you can stay in here for a little while if you want.¡± Theo glanced around the room for a moment and paused on the bookshelves before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll join you for now, if I get bored I¡¯ll come back here to read.¡± Jacob glanced at where Theo was looking before he patted Theo¡¯s head for a moment. Jacob smirked before he placed down a backpack he was carrying on one of the chairs. Then he looked at Theo as he said, ¡°Alright, your books are here if you get bored.¡± He then pointed to the bookshelves as he said, ¡°You could read something from there too if you want, but those are all car manuals and reference guides. Wait here a few minutes, while I go change.¡± The last area at the end of the main office was what seemed to be a locker room and bathroom. It had a handful of decent sized lockers placed at the back wall along with a washer and dryer unit. Beyond them were some closed off rooms that turned out to be dedicated bathrooms, which also had showers. There were only four of those rooms, but it was still impressive to Theo. When Jacob returned a few minutes later, he was in a set of coverall¡¯s and some work boots. He smiled at Theo as he asked, ¡°Ready to see what I do for work?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Theo nodded his head as he followed his father out of the room and into the shop area. The main work area was big and could easily hold up to dozen cars all being worked on at the same time. Instead there were only five cars currently in the shop for work. There was also another car off to the side that was completely stripped down to the frame. The engine for the car was currently placed on an engine stand next to a big table along with a big tool box placed on it. Theo followed his father around as he checked a few things at each car currently in the shop. Once finished he moved over towards a workbench where a stereo receiver was and turned it on. After a few moments the entire shop was filled with music as a guitar riff started to play. Jacob turned to look down at Theo as he said, ¡°You¡¯ll hear a lot of new music today. The kind of stuff your mom might not want you to hear just yet¡­ But I can trust you to keep this a secret right?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°You can count on me, dad.¡± Jacob reached down and patted Theo¡¯s head as he said, ¡°Great! Now how about I show you what Ben and I will be working on today and maybe you can help us.¡± Theo followed Jacob over to the stripped down car as the music kicked up a notch and someone could be heard singing. ¡®End of passion play, crumbling away. I''m your source of self-destruction. Veins that pump with fear, sucking darkest clear. Leading on your death''s construction.¡¯ Ben joined them after a few moments and asked, ¡°You think we should be playing something like this with Theo here?¡± ¡°Theo said he wouldn¡¯t tell Daniel, so we don¡¯t have to worry about getting in trouble.¡± Ben laughed as he said, "You¡¯d be the only person getting in trouble if she finds out." Jacob smirked back at Ben as he said, "Are you sure you wouldn''t get in trouble with May, once Daniel talked with her about it?" Ben¡¯s smile faded away before he turned serious and looked down at Theo as he asked, "You don''t want me and your dad to get in trouble, do you?" Theo nodded as he said, "I don''t. But it''s also been a while since aunt May made me pancakes¡­" Jacob laughed at that as Ben paused in shock. Ben then shook his head before he said, "I¡¯ll let her know you miss her pancakes. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll gladly make you some soon." Theo stuck out his hand as he said, "Then we have a deal." As Ben and Theo shook hands, two people walked into the warehouse from one of the roll doors. The man was familiar to Theo, since he had seen the man just recently when Tao scanned the future with him. It was Jonathan Pangborn, semi-master of the mystic arts. He was holding hands with a woman. She stood about a head shorter than Jonathan and had her bubble gum pink hair in a pixie cut. As they approached Jacob picked up Theo as he said, "Theo, I want you to meet Jon and his fiance Sara. They both work with me and Ben. Jon, Sara, this is my son Theo." Jon smiled along with Sara as they both greeted Theo before Jon said, "So this is the rugrat you can''t stop talking about. The one you said is the next Tony Stark and is making a video game?" Jacob nodded as he said, "The one and only. But I am hoping he gets interested in working on cars as he gets older." Ben nodded in agreement before he said, "Hopefully Theo and Peter both take a liking to it." "I am hoping Milly takes a liking to cars also." Sara smiled as she said, "Another girl around the shop would be nice, it''s rare to find girls interested in cars." Jon placed his arm around Sara''s waist and pulled her closer to him as he said, "Then it''s great that I found you." Sara pushed Jon away playfully as she said, "You only got lucky because these two guys were already taken when I showed up." Everyone shared a quick laugh before Jacob said, "Alright, get changed and let''s get to work. I want the 68 Mustang and that Chevrolet 3100 truck finished today. I am going to work on the engine for this Barracuda rebuild project." Jacob turned to look at Ben as he asked, "Do you still have work to do on the frame?" Ben nodded as he said, "Just two places, then I will start on the body work." "Great." Jacob smirked as he set Theo down and said, "Alright Theo, you are with me until you get bored." Theo nodded in reply as he followed his father over to the engine he was going to work on. Jacob picked up Theo and set him on the table next to the tool box as he said, ¡°I am first gonna show you how my tool box is set up. Afterwards if you want to help you can hand me tools. Does that sound fun?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said ¡°Sure.¡± Jacob spent the next half an hour as he explained to Theo the different tools in his tool box. Once finished he pulled on some gloves as he said, "Alright, since the engine was already pulled from the car. The first thing we need to do is remove¡­" Theo spent the rest of the day as well as the rest of the week either with his father or Ben as they worked on the Barracuda. As they worked, both of them spent time explaining what they were doing and why they were doing it to Theo. While it was different, Theo had to admit that he was having a lot of fun. He could definitely see himself getting into working on cars as he got older. Another thing he realized as he spent the week with his father was his business wasn''t what Theo originally thought it was. He thought his father ran a small repair shop with Ben. What they actually did was restore cars and make custom modifications for them. While it might seem like a bad business model not doing normal repairs, it was actually pretty successful. They were one of the few places in the New York state area that did this type of work and they were considered one of the best in the business. Almost all of their jobs came from word of mouth from their previous clients or return customers. They didn''t advertise the business at all and the building they owned didn''t even have a sign on it. Apparently Theo¡¯s deceased grandfather had started the business over thirty years ago with uncle Ben¡¯s father. It was mostly a normal repair shop at first, but as time went on it turned into what it was today. The building and property itself was fully owned by Jacob and Ben after their fathers passed away. The place they were currently in was the accumulated work of both Ben and Jacob¡¯s fathers, along with Ben and Jacob themselves. Richard also helped with the business when he was younger, but stopped when he went off to college and started his career. But now that he was using part of the basement for his new company, he started to work at the shop again a couple times a week. Which made both Ben and Jacob happy to have him around again. 00073. Happy Birthday! Sunday, June, 21st, 1998 The day of Theo¡¯s fourth birthday started the same as normal, he opened his eyes around five AM when Tao quickly pulled him into the mirror dimension. Within a few seconds he had made dozens of clones and was placed back in the real world. He sat up in his bed and looked over to where Milly was in her bed. She had somehow rotated around in her sleep, one of her legs was hanging out of the bed and she was drooling onto a little stuffed bear she slept with. Theo smiled a little as he watched his little sister for a few minutes as he stretched his body and fully woke up. Afterwards he got out of his bed and quickly changed into a pair of green corduroy pants, white socks and a white shirt that had a green dino on it. He shook his head as he looked at what he was wearing. He couldn¡¯t wait till he was older and he could pick his own clothes. Theo then walked to the other side of the room and pulled out a light pink kid dress and a white shirt which had a pink bunny on it. He took those and a pair of pink socks and placed them next to Milly¡¯s bed. Next he pushed Milly¡¯s leg back into her bed before he poked her cheek a few times. After the third poke, Milly slapped at his hand but missed. When she didn¡¯t respond, Theo poked her again as he whispered, ¡°Time to wake up sleepy head.¡± She didn¡¯t respond, so Theo kept poking her cheek until she finally rolled over as she said, ¡°Milly is sleeping, go away Te-o.¡± ¡°Come on Milly, if you wake up now, you can help me with the game for an hour or two before mom and dad wake up.¡± Milly didn¡¯t respond after a few moments, so Theo left her to sleep in as he moved out of the room and down stairs to work on the computer. His parents had finally given him permission to use the computer alone. So he normally woke up before anyone else and worked on his game for an hour or two before one of his parents came down stairs. After about an hour he heard his parents as his mom went to wake up Milly and his father came downstairs to start breakfast. As his father passed Theo he said, "I see you weren''t able to wake up Milly again." Theo shook his head as he said, "She doesn''t seem to be a morning person." As he finished talking, both of them could hear Milly as she said, "Leave Milly alone, let Milly sleep, Te-o!" Followed by Daniel as she said, "If you don''t wake up, you won''t get any cake." "Milly is up! Where is the cake?!" Jacob smirked down at his son as he said, "Looks like you just need to give her the proper motivation." A few minutes after Jacob walked into the kitchen, Theo¡¯s mom came down the stairs holding Milly. She smiled at Theo as she said, "Thanks for picking out her clothes." Theo looked up from the computer at his mom and Milly as he said, "You''re welcome, I couldn¡¯t wake her up though." She patted his shoulder for a moment as she said, "It''s fine. Now finish what you are doing and join us in the kitchen." Theo did as asked and spent the next hour in the kitchen with his family enjoying a nice Sunday breakfast. Once breakfast was finished the family headed out to the park a few blocks away from their house. It was their Sunday family tradition, sometimes Peter and his parents would join them. Sometimes May and Ben would join them along with Peter. This weekend it was just Theo, Milly and their parents. They spent a couple hours at the park as Jacob and Daniel talked with each other. They also watched as Theo looked after Milly as she played in the jungle gym. Theo also joined her, but used it as an opportunity to train his chakra control. He would climb around without keeping a tight grip on anything and use chakra to hold on. It wasn''t the most effective way to train, but it worked well enough for Theo. After they finished up at the park, they walked down to the library so Theo could check out some new books for the week. Milly also wanted to check out a book, but only because she wanted Theo to read it to her at bed time. Once Theo and his sister found books they wanted, the family headed back home for the day. Theo knew it was his birthday and expected a little party with his extended family at some point later in the day like they normally did each year. But when they opened the front door, a bunch of people and some kids could be heard as they yelled, "Happy birthday!" As the family fully entered the house, Theo could see that the living room and kitchen was decorated for his birthday. Not only was his extended family at the house, MJ along with her parents showed up. Jean was here with her parents and Jon along with Sara also showed up for the party. Theo was surprised and smiled at everyone before he turned to look at Milly and his parents as he asked, "Thank you. But how did you stop Milly from not telling me about this party?" Milly looked a little smug as she said, "Milly is good at keeping secrets." Daniel set Milly down as she said, "I told her that if she said anything about the party, she wouldn''t be allowed to have any cake or ice cream." Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Theo laughed as he gave Milly a hug as he said, "That sounds more like it." Milly puffed out her cheeks a little as she looked away from Theo, but she still returned the hug. Afterwards he gave both his parents a hug before he turned back around and said, "I would like to thank all of you for coming, I appreciate it a lot." Jacob patted Theo¡¯s head as he said, "You know you can act your age right? No need to be so formal like an adult.¡± Theo looked up at his father as he said, ¡°I am acting my age though.¡± Jacob shook his head as he said, ¡°Whatever, go have fun with your friends.¡± The next few hours passed with the adults hanging out and talking as Theo and the other kids played some party games. Some of the adults also joined in on the games randomly, but it was mostly the kids playing them as the adults supervised them. During that time, Theo¡¯s father ran the barbecue and made a bunch of hamburgers, bratwurst and grilled chicken kabobs. Once finished cooking all of that, he went into the kitchen to finish Theo¡¯s birthday cake, it still needed to be frosted and the finishing touches added to it. After another hour or so Theo¡¯s parents gathered up everyone and wanted to let Theo open his birthday presents before they finished up the party with cake and ice cream. There were only a handful of gifts, one from each set of parents that showed up. Another from Ben and May along with the last one from Jon and Sara. As Theo went through and opened each one up, he became surprised and really happy. Everyone had given him books, each gift held two or three books each and they were all different types. Peter and his parent¡¯s gift were some sci-fi type books for middle schoolers. May and Ben had given him some classic¡¯s including the Hobbit, while Jean and her parents had given him some adventure books. MJ¡¯s gift was some goosebump books and Jon had given him these thin how to build go-karts from scratch booklets. When Theo looked up from that last gift, Jon, Jacob and Ben had big smiles, while Theo¡¯s mom didn¡¯t look too happy about it. Once finished with those gifts, Theo¡¯s parents shared a smile and then Jacob said, ¡°Alright, the last gift is a little special and we couldn¡¯t really wrap it. So we are gonna blind fold you first and then take you to it, alright?¡± Theo nodded his head before his father put a blind fold on him. After he was picked up by his father, he felt himself get carried to the kitchen and down some stairs leading into the basement. After a few moments he could hear everyone else as they followed them down into the basement and heard different exclamations from everyone. After another few moments the blind fold was removed and Theo was left speechless. About one third of the basement was converted into a bedroom with an attached bathroom. It was a massive space, easily four hundred square feet not including the bathroom. As Theo looked around the room to take it all in, Jacob asked, ¡°What do you think? We know it¡¯s a little big, but we figured you¡¯d grow into it.¡± Theo was stunned into silence for over a minute as he took in the room before he said in a low voice, ¡°Thank you.¡± Theo¡¯s parents smiled at him before Jacob set him down as he said, ¡°Your mom, Richard, Mary, Peter and Milly helped out with everything. Milly will give you a quick tour, I know she has been excited to show you the room since they finished it.¡± Milly had the biggest smile on her face as she grabbed Theo¡¯s hand and pulled him around the room to show it off. There wasn¡¯t too much to the room besides a new twin bed with some night stands on each side along with a lamp and an alarm clock. Next to the decent sized bathroom was a small walk-in closet that was currently empty. There was also a slightly worn desk and a wooden chair with a lamp placed on the desk. The last part of the room and the most important part according to Milly was the right side corner away from the door. While most of the room was painted in a plain white color, the corner area was painted in sky blue and had a bunch of hand painted clouds. In the very corner was a large bean bag chair with a light hanging above it. The bean bag chair was brown and had brown painted branches coming out from behind it on the wall. Those branches went to floating bookshelves on each side of it, which currently had a handful of books on the shelves. The whole thing was designed to look like a tree and the bean bag chair was a tree limb you could sit on. As Theo took in the reading nook, Milly waved at the area as she proudly said, ¡°Milly told mom we needed a reading area. Milly painted the clouds herself.¡± Theo smiled and pulled Milly into a hug as he said, ¡°Thanks for the reading nook, Milly. I love it.¡± Milly returned the hug as Theo¡¯s parents came over. Daniel smiled down at her kids as she said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to move in right away. You can still share the room up stairs with Milly for a while longer.¡± Jacob added in, ¡°Only for six or seven months though.¡± Theo and Milly looked up at their parents as Daniel said, ¡°Your father is right, in six months, we will need you to use this room.¡± Jacob looked over at the gathered people in the room who were still checking out the room as he said, ¡°Let''s head back upstairs to have cake and ice cream. Then Daniel and I would like to make a little announcement.¡± It only took about ten minutes to set up the cake with candles and have Theo make a wish before he blew out the candles. After everyone had some cake and ice cream, Jacob called for everyone¡¯s attention as he said, ¡°While today is mostly about Theo¡¯s fourth birthday, we wanted to let everyone know that Daniel is a couple months pregnant.¡± It only took a moment before the room was filled with congratulations all around, especially from all the women who were in the house. Theo was surprised since he didn¡¯t think his parents planned to have another kid after Milly and it turned out he was kinda right. He could overhear his mother talking with May and the other women as she said they were using protection but she still ended up pregnant. While it wasn¡¯t planned they were just going to roll with it and that Jacob had since gone in for a vasectomy so they didn¡¯t need to worry about another surprise. Theo ended up sharing his piece of cake and ice cream with Milly when she used her puppy dog eyes on him. Not like he really wanted the sweets in the first place, so it wasn¡¯t a big deal for him and it saved Peter from her attack. After that the party mostly died down and everyone left when it started getting dark except for their extended family who stuck around to help clean up. About thirty minutes later a knock was heard at the door. Richard, who was seated closest to the door said, ¡°I¡¯ll get it. Someone probably forgot their keys or something.¡± After Richard opened the door he asked, ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re looking for our daughter. Is Daniel here?¡± 00074. Grand parents... After Richard opened the door he asked, ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re looking for our daughter. Is Daniel here?¡± Richard looked over his shoulder as he said, ¡°Dani, I think your parents are here?¡± Theo was surprised when he heard Richard, since he had never met his mothers parents or even heard about them. His father¡¯s parents had both passed away before he was born, the same went for Peter¡¯s grandparents. Theo looked over to his mother who had gone stiff at the mention of her parents and by the frown on his father¡¯s face it seemed there was a good reason for that. Theo¡¯s mother calmed down after a few seconds once Jacob placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked towards the door as she said, ¡°You can let them in.¡± Richard opened the door fully as he said, ¡°Please, come in.¡± Theo looked over towards the front door, curious to see what his mother¡¯s parents looked like and was surprised again. Both of them were opulently dressed and didn¡¯t look much older than his parents. As they entered the house, their displeasure was palpable to everyone inside and they made no action to hide it either. Her father had on a very elegant, black three piece suit with large diamond cufflinks and a diamond encrusted rolex. His brown hair was slicked back and you could see the tiniest hint of gray in some spots. His blue eyes held contempt as he surveyed the room. His wife wasn¡¯t that far behind with the designer dress and the jewelry she wore. Her reddish brown hair was styled to perfection and framed her face just right as it hung at her shoulders. Her green eyes scanned the room with thinly veiled disgust hidden in them. It was easy to see they both looked completely out of place inside this modest house. They moved into the middle of the living room and stood before their daughter as her father said, "While we still don''t endorse the choices you¡¯ve made over the last ten years. We have come to a resolution. We desire to pull you out of the predicament you¡¯ve made, to assist your children. We wish to save them from this life you have chosen for them. Since it is beneath what someone of their lineage, no matter how tainted it might be, deserves.¡± Daniel''s mother nodded her head in agreement as she said, "What your father is endeavoring to say dear. We don''t wish our half grandchildren to be raised in such¡­¡± She waved her hand around the room for a moment before she said, ¡°Mediocrity. They should already be under the tutelage of special instructors and being groomed for private school and college. Not living here in this,¡± Her nose scrunched up a little as she finished, ¡°squalor." Milly and Peter stayed quiet as they didn''t fully understand what was going on. But Ben, May, Richard and Mary seemed to be upset at being called mediocre and that they lived in squalor. While Theo¡¯s mother had her lips pressed tightly together in a thin line as Jacob looked like he wanted to punch both of her parents in the face. Theo was the most surprised out of everyone since he had no idea his mother had any kind of background or came from well off parents. He never looked into anything related to his family since he wanted to discover it as he grew up. But the fact his mother¡¯s parents were acting this way made him dislike them. He disliked them a lot. They reminded him of those pompous assholes who thought they could buy his son with money in his past life. Daniel¡¯s father smiled as he said, "Quite right, my dear. These inferior grandchildren you produced still merit only the finest and we are willing to furnish it for them.¡± He focused his gaze on Daniel as he said, ¡°But you must abandon this little spectacle you have been putting on and come back home. Then we will help your children achieve a place where they can be somewhat beneficial to the family. And if we are fortunate we might be able to find someone else to marry you off too. Even if you are just considered used goods at this point.¡± Theo glanced at his father for a moment and thought his dad might jump out of his seat and beat the shit out of these people. But his mother had also glanced at Jacob and placed her hand reassuringly on his thigh, before she turned back to glare back at her father. Theo¡¯s mind was racing, wondering if he could put them under some type of time-delayed genjutsu. But after a few seconds he decided not to, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could control himself and not place them under something that might kill them or worse. While he knew he hated these people, they didn¡¯t deserve to be killed and there was a chance it could lead back to him. He really didn¡¯t want Fury to randomly show up at his house. Daniel¡¯s voice was ice cold and flat as she asked, ¡°Is that all you came here to say?¡± Both her parents nodded at her, before her father said, ¡°Yes, now bring your children along and we will clean up this mess you¡¯ve fabricated.¡± Both of them started to turn to leave but before they even took a step Daniel with her voice still cold as ice but now with an edge to it said, ¡°Thanks for stopping by, but don¡¯t come back again. Neither of you are welcome in our home.¡± Her parents both turned back to look at her, both of them looked displeased with what they heard. Her father spoke first as he said, ¡°I advise you to stop playing your little games child, this farce you have been putting on has continued long enough. Now this is your only warning, bring your children and come along.¡± Theo had never seen his mother this upset before and it looked like she could kill someone with just her gaze as she said, ¡°And I told you, you aren¡¯t welcome in our home. So leave, now!" Her father didn¡¯t look upset, just disappointed as he said, ¡°Fine, have it your way. We can effortlessly withdraw everything we gave you." Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Theo¡¯s mother looked incensed as she said, "You haven''t given me anything since I left home and even if you offered me something, I wouldn¡¯t have taken it." Both of her parents laughed for a moment before her father said, "You really are just a foolish child. That job you¡¯re so proud of having? How do you think you were able to get it? It wasn''t because you were the best candidate." Daniel''s face fell slightly as she said, "I graduated at the top of my class with honors and made sure to pick a law firm you had no ties with, I earned my job." Her mother looked smug as she said, "You were given that job because your father made a few phone calls. While you might have ruined our plans for you, we weren¡¯t going to let you toil at some inferior law firm. It would just blemish the family name after all. But if you want to behave like a disobedient child, all he has to do is make another phone call and you''ll no longer have that same job." Her father then glanced at Jacob for a moment before he looked at Daniel as he said, "As for that man''s business, did you ever stop to consider why it has been doing so well lately? We wanted to make sure you didn¡¯t starve, so we told some friends to use his business.¡± Ben''s voice was raised and there was a lot of heat in it as he said, "I doubt you had much to do with how well we¡¯ve been doing." Her father smiled as he said, "Why do you think you had an influx of new clients over the last eight years? It wasn''t because your business suddenly became popular. You don''t even advertise it, how did you simpletons expect it to grow at all?" Jacob laughed, it was hollow, his normal mirth was nowhere to be found in it. He locked eyes with his wife''s parents as he said, "We don''t advertise because we don''t need to. You think you helped us to expand our client base and business? Go tell whoever you told about us, that we don''t need or want their business. We had a year-long waiting list before I ever met Daniel." Ben nodded in agreement as he said, "I know a handful of our customers who would be thrilled if our waiting list dropped back down. Our current waiting list is over two years out for any new builds that come in." Jacob just smirked as he said, "Exactly, now leave. No one wants you here." Her father sneered as he looked at Jacob before he said, "I still have no idea how you weaseled your way into our former daughter''s life. But it doesn¡¯t matter anymore, you can keep her. She would just be a useless waste to our family if we brought her back. No one likes tainted goods after all.¡± A thought flashed through Theo¡¯s head, ¡®These people came into his home and acted like this to his family, to his mother and father?! Do they really deserve to live?¡¯ Theo was livid at this point, the more these people talked, the more he really wanted to hurt them. His eyes were barely open at this point, they looked like knife slits as he glared at the wastes of life standing in front of him. He was seriously debating about using a time-delayed genjutsu on them, even if it might kill them or make them go insane. He even had the random thought to just hit them with a fireball right now and cook them where they stood¡­ Her father looked back at Daniel as he said, "We hoped we could salvage your children and turn them into something useful when they were older. But since you want to be stubborn, you and your offspring will no longer be considered a part of our family. I will be heading back home now to remove you and any kids you might have out of the will and the family tree." Before anyone else spoke, Theo with his childish voice tinged with anger finally said, ¡°Good, we don¡¯t wanna be in a family with disgusting people like you in it. Now get out of our home before my dad and his brothers throw you out.¡± Daniel¡¯s father turned to study Theo for a few moments before he said, ¡°Looks like we waited too long anyways, you are already tainted by these inferior¡¯s influence.¡± Daniel pointed to the door, her voice barely controlled as she said, ¡°Leave now and I hope to never see you again.¡± Her father chuckled as he and his wife moved towards the door and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to fret about that, we don¡¯t interact with people like you normally. You would know that if you were truly our daughter.¡± The room was quiet as Daniel''s parents finally left the house and over a minute passed before Richard said in a joking manner, "I know you told us some stories about your parents, but I think you under sold just how awful they really are." ¡°I have to agree. But Theo is right, we don¡¯t need people like that in our lives.¡± Ben rubbed Theo¡¯s head as he finished. Theo¡¯s mother smiled weakly as she stood up and said, ¡°I think I am gonna turn in early tonight, have a good night everyone.¡± Everyone decided to head home as Daniel headed upstairs and the house was quickly cleared out. Theo helped his father with getting Milly ready for bed and then started to read her a bedtime story till she fell asleep. Afterwards Theo laid awake in his bed for a while as he listened to his mother crying as his father tried to comfort her. Theo normally didn''t like to spy on his parents with his enhanced senses, but it was hard to tune out his mothers sobbing. When she finally settled down, he heard her say, "I always held out a little bit of hope that one day they would show up¡­ They would show up, see our family and be happy for me, for us¡­" "I''m sorry, honey." It sounded like his mother kissed his father before she said, "It''s not your fault, you and the kids are everything I ever wanted. When I was younger this is what I wished my life was like. I just wanted a loving and happy family.¡± Theo tuned out his parent¡¯s conversation and thought about doing something to his mothers parents. A lot of idea¡¯s flashed through his head, but he gave up on openly attacking them. Partly because it could lead back to him, but mostly for his mother. They might not have a good relationship and just disowned her. But he knew his mother would be upset if something happened to them. She always put on a strong front, but he knew deep down she was a very caring person. Theo finally fell into a restless sleep soon afterwards. The next morning, Theo went through his normal morning routine until his mother came down stairs. When he saw her he stood up on the chair he was using and spread his arms open wide as he said, ¡°Good morning mom, can I have a hug?¡± Daniel was surprised, since Theo was rarely so forward about being affectionate but she bent down to hug him. As Theo hugged her back he said, ¡°I want you to know, you are the best mom anyone could ever ask for in two lifetimes. I know I don¡¯t say it often but, I love you mom.¡± Theo could feel his mother tighten the hug as she pulled him up out of the chair and heard her voice crack slightly as she said, ¡°Thank you, sweetie.¡± She held him for over a minute before she set him back on the chair and pulled away. Theo could see the mist in her eyes before she blinked to clear them. She smiled brightly at Theo as she said, ¡°Finish up on the computer and then come join us in the kitchen for breakfast.¡± 00075. Side Story 002: Ten years ago. 1/3 Daniel started to laugh before she finally broke down, sometimes it felt like the whole world was against her. For years she had kept up a brave face, never complained and never gave into the loneliness she felt around her family. She kept that same brave face as she left her parents estate earlier in the day, she didn¡¯t want her parents to see her being weak. But now that her car had broken down in the middle of nowhere, she finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. The dam on her emotions finally broke and she couldn¡¯t help herself as she let out years of pent up anguish. Most people would think being born into her family was a blessing, but to Daniel her life was nothing but a curse from the start. Her name being Daniel wasn¡¯t a mistake like most people thought either. Her parents didn¡¯t make mistakes. Her parents wanted another boy, when it turned out she was a girl. They just kept the name and treated her like a boy instead. Daniel quickly realized at a very young age that her family wasn¡¯t normal. There was no love in her family, only how useful you could be to the family. If you weren¡¯t useful, they would find a way to make you useful. She easily learned to put up a false face in front of everyone else, she knew she couldn¡¯t show weakness in front of her family. It wasn¡¯t long before Daniel started planning on how to leave her family. It was the worst years of her life as she sacrificed everything and focused on her schooling. But she was able to graduate from the private school her parents sent her to when she was only fourteen. It was the first time Daniel had seen her parents actually seem happy about something she accomplished. It was also the first time she started to second guess her plan of leaving her family, maybe her family wasn¡¯t that bad after all. Her parents had both hugged her and said they were proud of her and that they knew she was special. She still buckled down and focused on her next obstacle, her SAT test. She almost had a perfect SAT score when she finally took it a couple months later. Again her parents seemed pleased with her and told her they were proud of her. Again she started to doubt if leaving her family was the right decision. But she still applied to Harvard and while she would like to think it was from all of her own effort. She knew her family, most likely her father had pulled some strings to get her enrolled with how quickly they accepted her. But that didn¡¯t bother her, she would gladly use her family while she still could. She next focused on her studies and took a course load that could break most normal people. She considered it a blessing that she was one of the middle children out of six. So while her parents put a lot of pressure on her from a young age, she had some freedom to choose her own career. Well, as long as she selected from their list of careers that they deemed acceptable for someone of her family background. She decided on law school and took everything she was allowed plus any extra classes that would help her in her future career choice. She was graced by her parents with a house they bought for her to use during her stay at college. It was across the street from the main campus and made it very easy for her to get to most of her classes. They also wanted to staff the place to make her life easier, but Daniel argued it would be better if she lived alone. She said it would give her good life experience that way. They didn¡¯t like the idea, but they accepted it. Plus it would help her when she broke away from her family and wouldn¡¯t have butlers and maids to count on. She could use this time to learn to live on her own and wouldn¡¯t have to worry about her parents spying on her. During her three years at Harvard, she focused completely on her goal and prepared for the day she would leave her family behind. She knew that once she went against her parents, they would cut her off and she would be completely on her own. But she still held out some hope that maybe it would get better, after all her parents were proud of her. Maybe if she was the top of her class when she graduated her parents would say they were proud of her again? While she was still in her private school she came up with a way to siphon off money from her parents. If she just used her credit card to take out a cash advance all the time, her parents would most likely catch on and put a stop to it. So she came up with a few ways to use her credit card to save up money and not be obvious about it. The main one was using it to eat out or buy groceries. Whenever she paid, she would ask for cash back if she could and would take twenty to sixty dollars each time. It might not seem like much at first but doing that almost every day for over three years adds up pretty quickly. She opened up her own savings account in a small credit union and started to store all the money she saved up there, away from her parent¡¯s reach in case she really did leave her family. When summer came she didn¡¯t want to spend it with her family, so she told her parents she was going to use the summer to prepare for next year''s classes. While she did spend most of her extra time studying, she also found a job close to her house and worked it for the summer to save up even more money. Her parents weren¡¯t happy when they found out she was working a ¡®normal¡¯ job as they thought it was beneath her. But they only voiced their displeasure, they didn¡¯t force her to quit working. It was at her job where she was able to finally see what a normal family was actually like and she almost broke down into tears from it. She had always known her family wasn¡¯t right, but she never knew how much until she saw her boss interacting with his family. The love and closeness they showed each other was a stark contrast to the relative coldness and distance she received from her own family. It also made her no longer second guess her plan, leaving her family was the right decision. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. During her three years of law school she made sure she prepared herself for everything she needed to do. Which included getting her drivers license, a copy of her high school diploma, birth certificate, social security card and a few other things. Her parents didn¡¯t even question when she requested those things, they just sent them over when she asked. Or in the case of her getting her drivers license, they sent the head chauffeur to teach her how to drive while she had her learners permit. After three years of law school, she graduated top of her class summa cum laude. While her parents showed up to her graduation ceremony, this time neither one seemed to be proud or even happy for her. It was as if they expected nothing less and would have been disappointed if she wasn¡¯t in the top of her graduating class. While her parents wanted her to return home right after graduation, she was able to hold them off for a few weeks under the pretense of taking care of a few things at school before she left. The first thing she did was check her savings account and make a budget for what she needed to buy. She had a little over thirty thousand dollars in her savings account and needed a car. So within those two weeks, she went out to find a decent used car to buy. She also went out on a shopping spree to buy a completely new wardrobe with her parents credit card. She needed to have some nice clothes for job interviews and then whatever job she landed afterwards. The used car she bought was a little more than four grand. She then took the car in for a full service check up after she purchased it and was happy to find out that it was in great shape. The mechanic did recommend that she purchase new tires and have the oil changed, once he found out she was going to drive the car to New York City. She found his recommendations reasonable so after both of those were completed she headed home to pack up. Once the two weeks were up she loaded up everything she owned into the Volvo two forty she had bought and drove to her parents estate a little over five hours away in upstate New York. It was a little after six PM when she arrived and Daniel wasn¡¯t greeted by her parents when she arrived home, but by the family''s head butler. He led her through the mansion and into her father¡¯s study where her parents were waiting for her. Her father was seated behind a large wooden desk, which was made out of a dark brown almost black colored walnut. Her mother stood on the right side of her father¡¯s chair and both of them didn¡¯t seem happy to see her. Before her parents even greeted her, her father said, ¡°I see that you squandered money on a cheap car. If you desired a car all you had to do was ask for one.¡± Daniel kept her face schooled as she opened her purse and pulled out the credit card her father had given her and placed it on his desk. Her father raised an eyebrow at her action, but waited for Daniel to speak. It took a few moments before Daniel calmly said, ¡°I only came home to return your credit card and to tell you I am moving to New York City to look for work.¡± Her mother frowned as she said, ¡°You don''t have to worry about a job, your father already found you one." Her father nodded in agreement as he said, "I came to an agreement with a friend of the family. You will begin an internship at his law firm in Delaware in about six months." He glanced at his wife as he said, "In the meantime we also found three possible suitors for you. Your mother will be sending you out on dates with each of them before you head off to your internship. We expect you to find one of them acceptable and then we will iron out a marriage agreement with their family afterwards." ¡°No.¡± Her father narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t a question.¡± Daniel was calm as she said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I told you what I am planning to do.¡± Her mother''s voice was raised slightly and filled with authority as she said, ¡°We are your parents, when we tell you to do something, you do it. Now go to your room and we will have someone unpack that vehicle and dispose of it.¡± Daniel smiled at her mother as she said, ¡°I already told you both what I am doing, I was hoping you would wish me luck. But I guess even that was too much to ask for.¡± Both of her parents frowned this time before her father said, ¡°If you really want to leave, then do it. But do it knowing you will be cut off. You will never receive any help from us again.¡± ¡°I understand father and I am willing to accept that.¡± Her father waved his hand towards the door as he said, ¡°Then go, you are no longer welcome here.¡± Daniel turned around and walked out the door. She paused for a moment after she closed it and could hear her mother as she said, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t allow her to leave.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, give her six months to struggle alone and she¡¯ll be back. We will just have to push back our plans for her a little bit.¡± Daniel quickly walked away after that and went directly to her car to start her drive to NYC. A few hours passed before she heard a loud snap followed by some banging and her car seemed to lose power, while something was scraping the ground underneath the rear of her car. It was incredibly hard to control her car properly, but she managed to slow the car down and was able to pull over to the side of the road before she came to a complete stop. After she turned off the car she laughed a little at her situation, before she finally broke down and started to release painful, gut wrenching sobs. She had no idea how long she sat there crying into her hands, but at some point there was a knock on her window. 00076. Side Story 002: Ten years ago. 2/3 Jacob had just spent the day driving to pick up a new project car for a client and was currently driving back home. He was on one of the lesser used interstates of New York State when he noticed a car parked off to the side of the road coming up ahead of him. He slowed down and as he came closer to the car he noticed something touching the ground under the rear of the car. He continued to slow down and pulled over in front of the car to see if the driver needed help. When he exited his truck he took a look at the car, but it seemed like it was empty from where he stood. He wanted to double check so he moved closer to the car and as he reached near the end of his truck he paused. He could hear someone sobbing over the idle of his truck''s engine and when he took a closer look, he finally noticed a woman in the driver''s seat of the car hunched over with her head buried into her hands. He had no idea what she was going through, but he only heard that type of grief twice. Once when his friend¡¯s mom died and once from himself the night a police officer showed up to his house to tell him about his parents. He shook his head to clear it from darker thoughts and decided to do the easy thing first. He pulled out his flash light and shone it under the car as he crouched down low. He easily noticed part of the drivetrain had snapped off and was currently touching the ground. He inspected it for a few moments as he thought of what to do. Handling the issue with the car was easy, he would just offer them a tow¡­ It was the other part he had no idea how to handle. How the heck was he going to calm her down and stop her from crying. He stayed in his crouched position as he thought of different ways he could solve the awkward situation ahead of him. After a minute he had no clue what to do, so he decided to act like it wasn¡¯t a big deal in the first place instead. He stood up with renewed confidence and moved to the driver side door. Her hair was slightly messy, while her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She looked towards her window to see someone standing next to her car door. It was hard to see who it was in the darkness of the night and the flash light they were holding wasn¡¯t helping much. Daniel rubbed the sleeve of her sweater over her face a few times before she reached her right hand into her purse and grabbed her pepper spray. Once she had that in her hand, she slowly cranked down the window an inch. Once the window was opened a little bit, the person aimed the flashlight at themself a little and Daniel could see an average looking man with black hair and brown eyes wearing a pair of coveralls. He smirked at her as he said, ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but it didn¡¯t look like you were gonna stop anytime soon. I just wanted to check if you were okay. If you are, I can let you get back to crying if you like.¡± Daniel was flustered for a moment before she started to laugh. She didn¡¯t really know why she found it so funny, but she felt better as she laughed. The man kept his smile as he said, ¡°Looks like you''re fine. I can¡¯t say the same thing about your car though.¡± Daniel took a moment and calmed herself down as she asked, ¡°What''s wrong with my car? I had someone check it out before I started my trip and they said everything was fine... But it seems that wasn¡¯t true?¡± The man nodded as he said, "It probably was if they did a standard inspection. But unfortunately it looks like part of your drive train snapped off. Honestly it''s a miracle you didn''t crash when it happened." Daniel was a little surprised but also skeptical so she asked, "How''d that happen? I don''t know much about cars, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s normal given the age of the car." The man nodded as he said, "You¡¯re right. But I''ve seen a lot of strange things over the years. I wouldn''t be able to tell you for certain how it happened, unless I take a closer look at it myself." The man then shined his flashlight in front of her car and she finally noticed what he was driving. Stopped in front of her car was a flatbed tow truck with a beat up looking car on the back of it. As she glanced at his vehicle the man said, "If you want I can call someone to help you out on my radio or I can tow you to the nearest town and drop you off. Unless you want to sit out here in the middle of nowhere all night." Daniel took only a few moments before she said, "If you could give me a tow that would be great. Thank you." "You''re welcome. My name¡¯s Jacob by the way." The man flashed her a friendly smile as he pointed to his name embroidered on his coveralls. "I''m Daniel, it''s nice to meet you." Jacob smirked as he said, "I know." He chuckled to himself for a moment before he said, "Just wait here for a bit, I need to unload the other car first." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Jacob didn''t wait for a response before he walked over to his vehicle. It took him about thirty minutes before he had her car on the bed of his truck and the other car hooked up to the rear wheel lift. After he double checked everything was secured, he added his magnetic lights to the trunk of his client''s car and then joined Daniel in the cab of his truck. As they pulled away Jacob glanced at his passenger as he said, ¡°I think we¡¯re about half an hour from the nearest town with a repair shop.¡± Daniel only nodded her head in response so Jacob asked, ¡°You said you were on a trip? Where are you going, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± Daniel looked out the window for about a minute and Jacob thought he was being too forward with his question when she finally said, ¡°I¡¯m heading to NYC.¡± Jacob glanced at Daniel for just a moment as he said, ¡°I was actually on my way back there before I found you. I can tow you all the way there instead if you want. It would save you time, but you would be stuck with me for the next few hours.¡± Daniel smiled at his attempt to joke for a moment before she said. ¡°If it¡¯s not a big deal, I would greatly appreciate it.¡± They settled into a comfortable silence with just the stereo playing some low background music for about ten minutes. Daniel seemed fine with the silence but Jacob couldn¡¯t help himself. He enjoyed talking so he asked, ¡°So what are you going to do in New York? Are you moving there or just taking a vacation?¡± ¡°Moving, I just graduated and I¡¯m going to look for a job there.¡± Jacob chuckled as he said, ¡°Planning to make it big on broadway?¡± Daniel looked at Jacob as she asked, ¡°Broadway? Why would I want to do that?¡± Jacob smirked as he said, ¡°Isn''t that what pretty girls with big dreams do when they get out of highschool? Head to NYC or LA to become a star?¡± Daniel pointed at her sweater as she said, ¡°I think you''ve watched too many movies. I just graduated from Harvard law school. I am going to New York to be a lawyer.¡± Jacob glanced at his passenger as he said, ¡°No offense, but how''d you even do that? You look like you should still be in high school honestly.¡± ¡°I turned eighteen last week.¡± Daniel smiled slightly as she said, ¡°I was accepted into Harvard when I was fifteen and their law school program only takes three years to complete.¡± Jacob smiled at Daniel for a moment as he said, ¡°Well happy belated birthday and congratulations, your parents must be proud of you.¡± Daniel couldn''t stop herself at the mention of her parents and started to sob again. She quickly turned away and buried her head in her hands as she tried to calm herself down, but it only made it worse. Jacob knew he messed up, her parents must have just died and she must be moving away from her hometown to get away from the memories of happier times. That was the only thing that made sense to him. He reached over with his right hand and lightly placed it on her shoulder as he said in a gentle tone of voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I upset you. But just know everything will be okay.¡± Through her sobbing Daniel asked while hiccuping, ¡°How. Do. You. Know. It''ll. Be. Okay?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s what my godfather told me when my parents died.¡± Jacob let out a little chuckle before he said, ¡°And look at me now, I am sharing a car ride with a very smart and beautiful young woman. I would say I am doing pretty good right now, if you ask me.¡± Daniel laughed a little between her next hiccups and she seemed to be calming down slightly. It took about five minutes before she finally stopped and wiped her face clean. She stared out the window of the truck for a while before she said, ¡°Thanks.¡± Jacob smiled a little as he said, ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Before they could settle into silence again, Daniel asked Jacob a question and it didn''t take long before they started a conversation that lasted the entire drive to NYC. While Jacob was only a couple years older than Daniel, he quickly realized as they talked that he had a lot more life experience than her. While Daniel was highly intelligent and well spoken, Jacob thought she might have lived a very sheltered life. That or she just didn''t want to share information about her life with a stranger, it was hard for him to tell which one it was. He made sure to stay away from questions about her family. But whenever he asked questions about friends, hobbies or what she enjoyed doing. Daniel wouldn''t really have an answer to any of the questions and would in turn ask the same question back at Jacob. Jacob on the other hand was the opposite of her and so whenever she flipped his questions around he easily had an answer for her. But that didn¡¯t stop him from trying to get answers from her. Daniel quickly found out about Jacob¡¯s life and was a little surprised to find out Jacob¡¯s father had served in World War Two. His parents were told they wouldn¡¯t be able to have kids but when they were a little passed fifty they had a surprise pregnancy which turned into Jacob. While Jacob was a miracle kid for them, they didn¡¯t spoil him. His mother taught him to be polite and caring, while his father taught him to be honest and to always take pride in anything you do. Jacob was very proud of the fact he practically grew up in his father''s business once he could walk. He was helping around the place as soon as he could hold a broom and started working on cars by the time he was five years old. When he lost his parents at fifteen, he was taken in by his father''s business partner. Instead of finishing high school, he dropped out and acquired his GED. Since then he spent the last five years working at the shop and learning how to run the business from his godfather who was planning to retire soon, so Jacob and one of his sons could take over the business from him. They spent the rest of the car ride getting to know each other, mostly it was Daniel getting to know about Jacob. But Jacob was able to get a few answers from Daniel after a lot of work though, which he was happy with. When they finally made it to NYC it was close to midnight and Jacob drove them directly to his shop in Brooklyn. 00077. Side Story 002: Ten years ago. 3/3 When they pulled up, the gate was open and one of the roll doors was up as light streamed out of it. Jacob stopped outside the roll door and honked the horn on his truck. After about a minute a young man and woman walked out of the opening and moved next to his driver side door. He lowered his window as they approached and the man said, ¡°You''re late. You should have radioed in when you were close, dad was worried about you.¡± Jacob scratched the back of his head as he said, ¡°Sorry, I got distracted.¡± The man looked at the car on the flat bed as he said, ¡°I am guessing that car and your passenger are the reason?" Jacob had a goofy smile as he said, ¡°Pretty much. Can you open up another door? I wanna park both of the cars in the garage for the night.¡± The man nodded his head as he walked back inside the shop to open another roll door as the woman said, ¡°I know it¡¯s late, but are you hungry? We were talking about getting food when you came back.¡± Jacob smirked and pointed to his collar bone as he said, ¡°You were talking uh?¡± The woman blushed a little and she adjusted her shirt to hide the fresh hickey there as Jacob turned to his passenger as he asked, ¡°You hungry?¡± Daniel nodded her head as she said, ¡°Yeah. I haven¡¯t eaten since noon.¡± Jacob looked back at the woman as he said, ¡°Food sounds like a great idea.¡± ¡°Good. Now are you gonna introduce me to your passenger?¡± Jacob smirked before he said, ¡°I will, just let me get these cars unloaded.¡± The woman shook her head before she said, ¡°Fine.¡± It didn¡¯t take long before both cars were unloaded and parked inside of the garage. Once Jacob parked the tow truck in the outside lot area, he walked back over to the garage with Daniel next to him. Once they arrived in the shop area, Jacob made introductions between Daniel, Ben and May. Afterwards the four of them headed out to an all night dinner and spent a couple hours as they ate and talked. Daniel found herself enjoying the company of all of them. She had learned early in life how to read people pretty well and could normally figure out someone''s intentions within an hour of meeting them. The amount of people who tried to become friends with her in school just because of her last name was staggering and it only became worse when she was in college. It was the main reason she never had any friends, she would rather be alone than hang around with someone who was expecting benefits. Which was the main reason she was enjoying her time with the people she had just met. She knew exactly the type of person Jacob was from their drive together. He was open, honest and liked to joke around even if most of his jokes were really corny. But she found herself enjoying his company. The same went for May and Ben, both of them were like Jacob. What you saw was who they were, they weren¡¯t hiding their intentions behind false words and empty platitudes. While they hung out, both May and Ben took an immediate liking to Daniel and when it was time to leave, May invited Daniel to stay with her for the night. Daniel tried to refuse but May was really good at refusing her refusal. The next day Daniel joined May when she went to work at the shop in the afternoon. She wanted to find out what happened to her car and then she was going to rent a motel room for a week while she found a place to stay and start studying for her BAR exam. When Daniel arrived she met Jacob, Ben and Ben¡¯s father. Ben¡¯s father was an older man in his seventies, with a head full of gray hair. Even though he was older he was still in good shape for his age and carried himself well. The man smiled at Daniel as he said, ¡°You must be Daniel, Jacob couldn¡¯t stop talking about you this morning at breakfast.¡± ¡°I did not!¡± Ben laughed as he said, ¡°No, dad''s right. You didn¡¯t stop talking for almost half an hour.¡± Daniel smiled just the tiniest bit as everyone else laughed as Jacob turned to look away, his cheeks tinged a little red. Ben¡¯s dad extended his hand as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, I¡¯m Peter.¡± Daniel shook his hand as she said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Jacob told me a lot about you on the drive to New York.¡± As they released their hands he said, ¡°And Jacob told me all about you this morning over breakfast. I think the boy is smitten with you the way he was talking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you''re wrong with that one dad.¡± Jacob¡¯s face was a little redder and he still wasn¡¯t looking at anyone else as he said, ¡°Can you guys please stop talking.¡± Daniel couldn¡¯t help but to smile at the family''s interactions. She already knew Jacob had taken a liking to her. It wasn¡¯t hard to miss since Jacob was easy to read. But she had to admit, she didn¡¯t mind seeing him act this way. It was kinda cute. Peter patted Jacob on the shoulder as he said, ¡°Jacob here, already looked over your car this morning. He said it¡¯s fixable. But you would have to ask him for the details.¡± She turned to look at Jacob and he waved her towards her car that was up on a lift. As they walked over to her car Jacob said, ¡°Like dad said, it¡¯s fixable. The bad news is when it snapped, it broke a few other things.¡± ¡°How¡¯d it happen?¡± As they stopped next to the car, Jacob picked up a couple broken bolts and showed her where they sheared in half. He pointed at some discoloration in the metal as he said, ¡°Looks like there were some defects in the metal which caused weak points. It was probably like that from the factory. If the previous owner never drove the car much, that would explain why it didn¡¯t break before.¡± As he placed the bolts back down he said, ¡°Your prolonged drive time during your trip here caused the bolts to finally fail. The drive shaft snapped off your rear diff when the bolts gave out. I checked your rear differential and that¡¯s fine.¡± Jacob moved under the car as he pointed to the middle of her car where something was missing and said, ¡°The drive shaft was ruined and needs to be replaced, along with part of your exhaust system. It also looks like the transmission was damaged. It might not need a full rebuild, but it needs to be taken apart and gone over.¡± Daniel looked up at her car for a few moments before she looked back at Jacob and asked, ¡°How much is it to fix?¡± ¡°I already priced it out, parts alone will run you around fifteen hundred dollars. That¡¯s if the transmission needs to be rebuilt. If it doesn¡¯t it will be closer to a thousand.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Daniel frowned as she looked back up at her car. She let out a sigh as she said, ¡°I just bought this car for forty two hundred and now I have to spend a quarter of the price to fix it¡­¡± ¡°That price didn¡¯t include labor¡­¡± Daniel was depressed, while she did have money. It was just disappointing she would have to spend it on something like this so soon. She dropped her head down and asked, ¡°How much will that be?¡± Jacob had a bright smile as he said, ¡°Not much, just a date.¡± Daniel paused as she looked at Jacob¡¯s smiling face. After a few seconds she shook her head as she said, ¡°No, I don¡¯t want handouts.¡± Jacob¡¯s smile faltered slightly as he said, ¡°I knew asking you out wouldn¡¯t be so easy.¡± He let out a sigh and said, ¡°I would only charge you a few hundred in labor. It¡¯s not my normal price, but I also don¡¯t do regular repairs like this.¡± Daniel studied Jacob for a few moments before she said, ¡°Alright, I accept your proposals.¡± Jacob had a guilty look as he rubbed the back of his head and said, ¡°Alright, I kinda already ordered the parts. Most of them will be here in a couple days, I should have everything finished by the end of the week.¡± Daniel laughed lightly as she asked, ¡°What would you have done if I refused to get the car repaired here?¡± Jacob looked lost for a few seconds before he saw May talking to Ben near the front office. He smiled as he said, ¡°I would just have May talk to you about it. She did a good job last night¡­¡± Something clicked in Jacob¡¯s mind as he realized something and said, ¡°Hold on just a minute.¡± Before Daniel could reply, Jacob bolted over to May and started to talk animatedly with her for a few seconds before Ben and May both looked over towards Daniel and then burst into laughter at whatever Jacob was saying to them. Daniel was curious what was going on so she walked over to the group and heard May as she said, ¡°I am not going to ask her out for you, do it yourself idiot.¡± Daniel burst into laughter herself when she realized what Jacob was trying to do. She shook her head as she said, ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, I already said yes.¡± Jacob, Ben and May all turned to look at Daniel before Jacob dumbly asked, ¡°You did?¡± Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°I told you, I accept your proposals.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t that for the repair?¡± Daniel smirked as she said, ¡°It was for the repair and the date.¡± ¡°But you said you didn¡¯t want handouts?¡± Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t, I plan to pay for the repair and the date.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Ooohhh!¡± Jacob had a goofy smile as he said, ¡°Good! Great even! When do you want to go? ¡°I don¡¯t really have any plans, I just need to find a place to live and study for my BAR exam. So whenever you want, I guess.¡± May smiled as she said, ¡°You can just stay with me." "I appreciate the offer but I really don''t want any handouts." May shook her head as she said, "I wasn''t offering for free. We can split my rent and you can use that extra bedroom you stayed in last night.¡± Ben cut in as he said, ¡°She used to have a roommate but the bitch left without notice and May has been stuck with an apartment she can¡¯t really afford.¡± May slapped Ben¡¯s arm as she said, ¡°She was not¡­ Okay maybe she was, but you don¡¯t have to say that.¡± Ben shrugged his shoulders and looked at Daniel as he said, ¡°I¡¯d also appreciate it if you¡¯d move in with May. I¡¯ve been helping her with rent for the past few months since we haven¡¯t been able to find her a new roommate.¡± May smiled at Ben before she gave him a kiss on the cheek and then she said, ¡°You have no idea how hard it is to find a decent roommate in this city.¡± Daniel turned around to glance at her car for a few seconds before she turned around and asked, ¡°If Ben is already paying rent, why doesn¡¯t he just move in with you?¡± May smiled as she said, ¡°His dad is very traditional and doesn¡¯t think a man and women should live together before marriage. While we don¡¯t feel the same way, we both respect him too much to not honor his wishes. Ben nodded his head in agreement as Daniel smiled before she asked, "How much is rent?" "Four hundred and that includes the utilities." Daniel stuck out her hand as she said, "Nice to meet you, roomie." After May and Daniel shook hands, they ended up unloading Daniel¡¯s car and with the help of Jacob took everything to May¡¯s apartment. The rest of the week passed in a blur, Daniel spent most of her time at the shop hanging around with May, Ben, Jacob and Peter. She still took time to study for her test, but she wasn¡¯t in a rush. She could finally relax a little for the first time in her life and enjoy herself a bit. So that¡¯s exactly what she did. At the end of the week, after her car was fixed is when Jacob decided they should go on their date. During the week, Daniel had asked a few times where they were going to go, but each time Jacob said she would just have to wait and find out. She didn¡¯t mind too much, but she mostly wanted to know so she could have an idea of what to expect from the menu. On Sunday, Jacob came by her apartment and picked her up a little past noon and drove her out to a city park. At first she thought they were going to a restaurant nearby, but Jacob pulled out a picnic basket and a blanket from the trunk of his car before he led her into the park. He laid out the blanket on a nice spot under a tree with a good view of the park and then sat down. As Daniel joined him she said, ¡°This is not what I expected when you asked for a date.¡± Jacob smirked as he said, ¡°I know, but I wanted our first date to be memorable.¡± Daniel raised an eyebrow as she asked, ¡°You¡¯re already planning on us having a second date? You''re a little over confident aren¡¯t you?¡± Jacob¡¯s smirk became bigger as he said, ¡°You¡¯ll see, I came prepared to make sure we¡¯d have a second date.¡± Jacob opened the picnic basket and pulled out some sealed containers, silverware, along with some cups and a bottle of what looked like diluted tea. He filled up her glass and as he handed it to her he said, ¡°You said an arnold palmer was your favorite drink so I made this myself. Sun tea made with black tea leaves mixed with some homemade lemonade. It took me a while to figure out a good mix, hopefully you like it.¡± Daniel studied the drink for a few moments as Jacob started to open up the containers he brought. She took a sip and was surprised with how good it was, it was almost perfect and she couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the fact he made this just for her. While she was enjoying her drink, Jacob placed a container of garlic cheese bread down between them. He then handed her one of the containers along with some silverware and a napkin. She glanced at the container of steaming lasagna before she looked back up at Jacob who had a cocky grin on his face. He motioned to the food as he said, ¡°I finished making this just before I picked you up. I also remembered you said this was your favorite food.¡± Jacob winked at her and then dug into his own thing of lasagna. Daniel shook her head for a moment before she took her first bite and froze. It was good. Actually it was really good, a lot better than she expected it to be. It wasn¡¯t the best lasagna she¡¯d ever eaten, but it¡¯s hard to top some of the chef¡¯s her parents employed over the years. But it blew away all of the lasagna she ate while in college and was leagues ahead of the few she tried to make herself. She couldn¡¯t help herself when she asked, ¡°How long have you been making lasagna for?¡± ¡°About a week.¡± Daniel paused and looked at Jacob who smiled as he said, ¡°It was on my list of things to learn how to cook, you just gave me a good reason to learn it sooner.¡± ¡°You spent the whole week learning to cook lasagna?¡± Jacob laughed as he said, ¡°Ya, I experimented with small batches for dinner every night until I had something I thought was good. Dad and Ben both enjoyed the final product. How about you? Do you like it?¡± Daniel just smiled lightly and then went back to eating. The rest of their date was spent sitting and talking in the park for a few hours until they watched the sunset together. Over the next year Jacob went on numerous dates with Daniel. They even started a tradition of visiting the park together each Sunday which they continued to do with their kids. It was also on one of those Sunday park trips where Daniel proposed to Jacob. 00078. Dealing with Grants issue. After taking care of Bucky and getting the girls from the Red Room settled into the base. Ezekiel made time to check in with all of the other kids they had rescued. He wanted to make sure he didn''t run into any issues like he had with Erik. He started with Hope Van Dyne who just turned sixteen, it had been over a year since her father brought her to the base. He knew they had started to reconnect and Hank had finally told her the truth about her mother. But he just wanted to check in with her and find out what she wanted to do in the future. It turned out after she found out what happened to her mother and what her mother and father really did. She wanted to follow in their footsteps, to be a hero like the both of them. Hank wasn''t completely against it, but he told her she had to train for it and he wouldn''t allow her to go on missions until he found her completely ready. Beside that she had just started to take college level courses for physics and chemistry under her father and Bill''s mentorship. After he finished with Hope, Ezekiel checked in with the now fourteen year old Ava Starr. While she still missed her parents, she had fully connected with Bill Foster and considered him her new father figure. Her training in the mystic arts had gone extremely well and Tao praised the girl highly for how gifted she was. She had also made a little progress on using the mystic arts to help keep her body stable. She now only needed to stay in the special chamber Bill and Hank had built for her for about ten hours a day. So she was mostly in the chamber only to sleep and the rest of the time she spent with her friends or studying the mystic arts. Ezekiel also checked up on the two newest members since he had been busy working since they were brought in. Cessily had become good friends with the other kids and the only issue she had was not being able to enjoy things like she used to. Mostly food, she couldn''t taste anything and while she knew she no longer needed to eat. She did it mostly out of habit and to spend time with her friends. Ezekiel already had plans in the works to figure out a way for people to turn their x-gene on or off. So while he didn''t want to give Cessily false hope, he did tell her to practice her gifts as much as possible and she might one day be able to turn her powers off on command. Since Cessily was sixteen, Ezekiel asked what she wanted to do going forward with her schooling. She hadn''t thought about it much after her change and currently had no idea. So Ezekiel set up a little work study program under different people so she could find something she would enjoy doing. She shadowed ten different people before she found something she liked. Which turned out to be cooking. While she couldn''t taste anything, she only considered it a minor setback. She also found a great way to use her powers helping her to cut, measure and prepare food. Ezekiel was a little concerned at first, but after they did some testing on everything she handled with her powers. They determined that there would be no issues with contamination or health issues. So Cessily was now spending four to eight hours a day working and learning from Jarvis in the kitchen. Next was Laura. Since she had shown up it was a slow process of her opening up. But with Cessily acting as her older sister and trying to include the girl into everything she did. It didn¡¯t take long before Laura was acting more like a normal kid and would interact with the other kids on her own. She could still be a little brooding and distant, but Ezekiel chalked that up to being a clone of Logan. As for what the fourteen year old wanted to do, she had already decided to follow in her mother''s footsteps. Speaking of Laura''s mother, Ezekiel was pretty sure something was happening between her and Logan. He had found them on more than one occasion spending time alone together and when Ezekiel asked. Both of them just said they were talking about Laura, but with how close they had been each time Ezekiel was sure something else was going on. Mary Sue Poots or Skye as she now asked everyone to call her, was the next person Ezekiel checked in with. She had recently turned ten and while she was still the youngest kid there. She knew exactly what she wanted to do when she was older. She wanted to work with computers, which Ezekiel encouraged and even started to teach her a little about programming. He made sure she focused on her normal school work, but he would give her one special programming type of assignment a week. The last person Ezekiel talked with turned out to be the one with problems. When Grant came in and started talking with Ezekiel, it became apparent that something was on his mind. So Ezekiel asked, "What''s wrong Grant?" "Nothing." Ezekiel smiled the tiniest bit as he said, "If that was true you wouldn''t look so distracted. So tell me what''s on your mind and I might be able to help you with it." Grant chewed on his lower lip for a while before he blurted out, "Can you help my brother and sister?" Ezekiel paused, while he had a lot of knowledge about the world he was in, he didn''t know everything. The only thing he knew about Grant was he was picked up at a young age and inducted into Hydra. After he picked up Grant he thought everything would be fine, but it seemed he was possibly wrong. "Why would you think your siblings are in trouble?" The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Grant looked down, his voice was low as he said, "My mom. She would¡­ She would do things to me and my siblings¡­ Terrible things¡­" Grant started to hyperventilate as he spoke, so Ezekiel reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. He gave it a gentle squeeze as he said, "It''s alright, take a deep breath and hold it for ten seconds, before you slowly release it." Grant followed his directions as Ezekiel said, "You''ll be okay, she can''t hurt you anymore and I will see about helping your siblings." Grant looked up and he had tears running down his face as he said, "You don''t understand, it wasn¡¯t just her. My older brother is just like her. He¡­ He made me hurt my little brother." Grant broke down and started to cry for a while while Ezekiel patiently waited. When Grant calmed down some he said, "He is a monster just like her, he made me watch as he tried to drown Thomas in a well." "Why didn''t you say something sooner?" Grant looked down again as he said, "I was afraid if I asked, I might be sent away. Maybe even sent back home." "What made you change your mind? You definitely weren''t thinking about this the last time I saw you." Grant rubbed the tears from his face as he said, "Erik." Ezekiel paused for a few moments before he asked, "What did Erik do?" Grant looked back at Ezekiel, his voice still unstable as he said, "Erik changed, he used to be like my older brother. He was distant, uncaring about the others around him. I don''t think the others noticed it, Erik was good at hiding it. But I noticed because he was just like my brother Christian, except Erik didn''t hurt anyone." Grant took a breath, steady himself a little more before he said, "But he''s changed, he''s more open with us now. He''s actually friendly and seems to care now." Ezekiel nodded his head in agreement as Grant said, "I asked him in secret what happened to him. He didn''t wanna talk about it, but he told me you helped him with a family problem." Ezekiel stood up and said, "Alright Grant, I''m gonna look into helping your siblings. While I do that, I want you to meet with a friend of mine." Ezekiel led Grant to his work area and introduced him to Ino. While Ino started to work with Grant on fixing up his mental issues, Ezekiel dug into Grant''s family background. After he found everything he needed, Ezekiel brought Inoichi with him as he went to find Kaecilius to take a little trip. It was early evening when Ezekiel stepped through a portal followed by Inoichi and Kaecilius. They looked at the big two story house in front of them for a moment before they moved to the front door, which Ezekiel knocked on a few times. It only took about half a minute before a man answered the door. He looked a lot like Grant, except for his aged face and his hair had a hint of gray. The man looked over Ezekiel and the others for a moment before he asked, "Can I help you with something?" Ezekiel smiled as he said, "Yes we are with Health and Wellness Services and need to check up on your kids." Before the man could say anything his eyes lost focus for a few seconds before he said, "Welcome to our home, come inside and I''ll go get my wife and kids." The man turned around and led them to a formal sitting room before he disappeared deeper into the house. After a few minutes he came back followed by an older woman and three kids. As everyone entered the sitting room, the woman asked, "What''s going on? Who''re these people?" Ezekiel, who was studying some family pictures on the wall, turned around as he said, "Who we are is unimportant, what matters though, is what you''ve been doing to your kids." As he finished talking the Ward family had their eyes glazed over as they collapsed on the ground. Ezekiel glanced at Inoichi as he said, "Check the parents first, followed by the oldest, then the kids and let me know what you find." It took about an hour before Inoichi was done and his face looked a little pale compared to normal. He took a few minutes to collect himself before he said, "I''ve seen terrible things in my life, but torturing your own kids is near the top." Ezekiel frowned as he sarcastically said, "That memory packet is going to be a delight to see later." Inoichi nodded his head as he glanced down at the parents for a few seconds and he said, "It was mostly the mom. While the father never beat them, he did do some things to his own daughter¡­¡± Inoichi¡¯s fists clenched tightly as he finished. He stood silent for a minute before he looked at the oldest boy as he said, "He isn''t much better than the mom, I think they both have some kinda psychological or brain disorder. Lady Tsunade would be a better judge than me though." Ezekiel glanced over the family for a few minutes before he said, "I was planning to take all the kids, but now I am not sure if I should." Inoichi glanced over at the family one more time before he said, "We should take the younger kids and dispose of the rest." Kaecilius spoke up and asked, "Why should we kill them? Just taking the kids should be good enough?" Ezekiel nodded in agreement before Inoichi said, "No. Those two will just hurt more people if we let them roam free. The father¡­ I¡¯d love to show him some of Konoha''s advanced interrogation techniques, but I will settle for just killing him instead." Ezekiel only took a few moments to decide the fate of three people before he said, "We''ll take the kids to the medical base first and toss these three in the incinerator while we''re at it." Kaecilius opened a portal the next second to the medical base which Ezekiel stepped through before he used the intercom to call for some help. Within a minute Tsunade, Sakura and Shizune showed up with some hospital gurneys. As they loaded the kids up Ezekiel said, ¡°Do a full medical intake on them. I will be sending Inoichi and Ino over soon to help.¡± As Ezekiel and the others picked up the parents and older brother, Tsunade asked, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Just people being trash. If you really want to know, check out Inoichi¡¯s memory packet after you dispel.¡± After they took care of the other Wards and Grants other siblings were checked over. Inoichi and his daughter took care of helping them sort through their mental issues. They would still need some help for a while, but they would recover and be fine with time. Once they were cleared, Grant had a very teary reunion with his older sister Elizabeth and his younger brother Thomas. 00079. 6 months and a new family member. The threat Daniel¡¯s father made came true the next week when Daniel went into work. She was called into her boss''s office and let go. He explained to her that while he and the firm didn¡¯t want to let her go, her father put too much pressure on the firm and after a week they had to let her go or they would lose half their clients. He also gave her some more bad news, he and the other partners had tried to call in some favors to find her another job. But her father had reached out to every first and second rate law firm in the city and warned them not to hire her or they would have issues. The only plus side to the whole situation was her law firm was giving her a very nice severance package and they were going to foot her family''s health insurance for the next five years. When Daniel came home after being let go, she unloaded her things into the house. She was upset, but didn¡¯t want to mope around the house alone. So she went next door to May¡¯s for the rest of the day and helped her with the kids she was watching. Over the next week she spent most of her time at May¡¯s as she called around looking for work. When she realized her father made it pretty much impossible for her to work in NYC at any decent law firm she decided to take a break and focus on raising her kids instead. Daniel took the whole thing better than Jacob at first, who was pissed that her father would be so petty to his own daughter. But with Daniel being so calm about the whole thing, he stopped being upset about something that was out of their control after a few days. By the second week the whole family was enjoying the situation they found themselves in. With Daniel not working she would either spend her day at May¡¯s helping her out or she would join Jacob at the shop and help out around there. Theo also started to go to the shop more and would spend the day learning about cars from Ben or his father. As for Jacob and Ben¡¯s business, it wasn¡¯t really affected. They only had a handful of people cancel builds abruptly, which they kept the deposit for since the contract the clients signed was canceled. The contracts were something Daniel had written up for the business years ago when Jacob was burned by a new client who backed out of a build half way through. They didn¡¯t really lose anything since Jacob finished the car and then sold it for a profit. But Daniel didn¡¯t want something like that to happen again, so she made some iron clad contracts for any builds they do. When all the drama was done with canceled contracts, the business had made twenty five thousand to do nothing and still had a wait list that was almost two years out. Another thing that happened in Theo¡¯s home life was him using clones to work on his bedroom. He made a secret door hidden in his walk-in closet that led down under his house into a new room he was planning to use for training. The secret door was mostly hidden with a special Uzumaki fuinjutsu script that made people not notice it even if the door was left open. When Tao found out what Theo was doing she even helped to hide the door with a couple of spells and made it so when Theo walked through the door it portaled him to the room below his house. But she also demanded he make the space larger then he planned because she was going to teach him magic and needed a space to do it. Since Theo¡¯s clones couldn¡¯t practice magic themselves, not having a soul/astral projection. Theo would be forced to learn magic in person and he didn¡¯t want to come to Kamar-Taj or the hidden base to learn from her. Since Theo was paranoid about his henge breaking and people finding out what he looked like. Since there was now a spell that teleported Theo down to the room, he ended up making the room cover the area under his house all the way to May¡¯s house. It was over the size of a football field with a four hundred foot high ceiling and when it was complete it was a little over nine hundred feet underground. It might have been overkill, but Theo wanted to make sure it was well hidden underground. It was compacted and reinforced with special earth jutsu so it didn¡¯t need supporting pillars. Theo''s clones cleaned up the space then finished it with electrical, plumbing, flooring and some lighting in his area. Tao also reinforced the whole thing with spells and made a special runic light spell for the place that she could control. Most of the time it was set to a soft evening light, but she could make the whole place brighter than the midday sun if she wanted. Tao¡¯s spells also kept the air fresh and the temperature of the place pleasant. Theo then ordered everything he wanted for his training room which included a full suite of gym equipment, sparring mats, some high end server racks along with a few computers. Tao also ordered some things she needed, but most of the stuff was brought over from different sanctums and Kamar-Taj. In the end Theo only used about a quarter of the whole space for his personal use while Tao had taken over about one third. The rest of the space was going to be used for spell training and Theo¡¯s custom made rock wall. The rock wall was right in the middle and was about fifty feet wide. It stuck out slightly from the rest of the wall and went all the way to the roof where a small overlook was. Below the wall was a thirty foot deep pool of water that covered the length of the rock wall and went out about twenty feet from the rock wall itself. The area around the water had a special spell in place that would force anything in the air to land in the water. The water also had a spell that would lessen the impact of whatever hit the water. Theo had tested it a few times and planned to add something similar to the main base, once all the other expansion projects were finished. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Tao also came through on her promise to Theo. Once his training room was complete, she sat him down and had a long talk with him about his recent out of character behavior. She hadn¡¯t known him for long, but she had a pretty good read on who Theo was. He was someone who might have lofty goals, but his heart was in the right place. He also liked to joke around, a little too much in her opinion. But at the same time had a soft spot for kids in trouble, which she thought was due to his past life. The issue was with the other side of Theo, the one that didn¡¯t even blink when he needed to kill people. Or the Theo that accidentally drove a man insane and didn¡¯t feel bad about it. Or when he killed part of Grant''s family the other day and didn¡¯t think twice about it. That was the Theo that seemed out of character to her. Or maybe this was the real Theo and the other one was just a false appearance to hide his true self? She wasn¡¯t a therapist or anything, but she was pretty sure he needed some help and she was gonna do her best to give it to him. So she started studying psychology and talking to him daily. Back at the main base things had changed little since the Red Room rescue. There were a few issues at first, mostly with feeding everyone. It took a bit of work, but Jarvis and the new help he acquired were able to sort everything out within a week. Jarvis also made a large rotation of helpers from all the kids. They would have different responsibilities each week from food preparation, washing dishes, to cleaning up around the base. The biggest issue that came up was from the large group of girls who became interested in the handful of boys their age. Mostly Erik, Grant and Darren who was only twenty years old. Thomas was the only boy who didn¡¯t have a group of girls trying to get his attention, but he was currently only ten. While it was somewhat of an issue, the girls handled it themselves in a weird sort of way. They held weekly competitions and whoever won was allowed to pursue the boy they liked for the week. At first it was based on fighting alone, but Melina found out after the first few days and changed the rules. It would be based on many things besides fighting to give some of the younger girls a better chance at winning. It had been going on for almost five months and the three targets still hadn¡¯t figured out what was going on. Even though they would have different girls trying to hang out with them in their free time each week. It was kinda funny to watch and Ezekiel even started a betting pool with some people on how long it will take for one of them to figure it out. The smart money was on Erik, but Ezekiel had hope that Grant would figure it out first. Darren was a lost cause, while the guy was a genius, he was too busy working with his hero to realize what was going on. Oh he talked with the handful of girls who approached him, but that was it. He had no real interest in them at the moment. Even though both Hank and Bill realized what was going on, they were happy to watch Darren be oblivious to the girl''s advances. Speaking of Thomas and his sister Elizabeth. They had taken to life at the base surprisingly well. Grant along with the help they received made them adapt quickly and they were enjoying themselves a lot. Ezekiel still wasn¡¯t sure if they would join the group once they were older, but he didn¡¯t care that much. He didn¡¯t know about them, so he never factored them into his plans in the first place. Besides that, the only real news was from the new medical base. Sarah was pulled from her cloning project using Steve¡¯s DNA sample when a discovery was made. Why waste resources on cloning a super soldier, when they could clone something even better? They were still working on it, but they were getting closer to completing the first step of the process with phase one of Project Lazarus. Tobirama made a breakthrough with Orochimaru and they were currently making four staggered batches of twenty clone bodies each. It would take about four months total, one month per batch. But once complete they planned to run a bunch of experiments on them and look for flaws after each batch. If everything went well they could start working with Tao on the next steps of the process. During that same time, Peter turned four and Milly turned three. After about six months Theo and Milly were sent to May¡¯s for about a week while their mother went to the hospital. Milly was excited but at the same time depressed, it was the longest she had gone without seeing her mom before. When Daniel came back it was with a new family member bundled up in a baby carrier. Daniel smiled when she arrived home and saw her kids along with her extended family. She moved to the couch and sat down while Jacob gently set the baby carrier next to her. She waved to her kids to come closer as she said, "Come give me a hug, I missed both of you." Both Theo and Milly came over and hugged their mother before Daniel asked, "Why are you being so quiet Milly?" Milly glanced at the baby carrier before she looked at her mother, her voice well above a whisper as she said, "Te-o said we had to be quiet so the baby doesn''t wake up." Everyone in the house smiled at that as Daniel patted the couch cushion next to her as she said, "Both of you come up here, I want you to meet your new baby brother." After Milly and Theo were sitting next to her, she lifted a little bundle out of the carrier and held it in her lap. She glanced at her kids as she said, "This is your new brother, his name is Isaac Mercer.¡± 00080. Where did this cat come from? Ezekiel was in the main base seated at his desk. He typed away on his keyboard working on an update for Vibe, his social media platforms. The user base had expanded and was now over ten million users on the main platform. While he was working, a sensor monitor flashed in one of the secure areas of the base. The place where he had stored all of the vibranium. He changed his screen to view the cameras in that area and saw no one there. It was the third time this happened in the past hour. So he decided to go check it himself this time and double check the equipment. He picked up his tablet and then quickly moved through the base using body flicker while running along the roof so as not to hit anyone. When he arrived in the area he didn''t see anyone at first. After looking around for a few minutes he heard a sound coming from the room where the vibranium was stored. When he opened the doors he froze in place. In front of him was a black cat almost the size of a Border Collie. The cat also froze upon being found and in its mouth was a single bar of vibranium. It studied Ezekiel for a few moments before the cat''s hackles raised. It dropped the bar on the ground and hissed at Ezekiel as it crouched down ready to pounce. Ezekiel studied the cat for a few moments before he smirked and said, "You¡¯re a naughty little kitty, aren¡¯t you? Trying to take something that doesn¡¯t belong to you." Ezekiel attempted to put the cat under a genjutsu, but it just made the cat hiss at Ezekiel again. Ezekiel frowned and looked into the cat''s large yellow eyes as he asked, "You aren''t just a cat, are you?" The cat tensed its body before it leaped at Ezekiel. He barely dodged the cat as it sailed past, almost hitting him in the face with one of its paws in the process. Ezekiel turned around completely as he dodged the cat and expected it to attack him again. The cat instead took off down the hallway as it landed on its feet in a run. Ezekiel ran after it and needed to use body flicker in bursts to keep up with it. As they moved out of the secure area, Ezekiel swiped the base alarm on his tablet. The alarm blared out as Ezekiel chased behind the cat heading towards the portal room. Ezekiel''s tablet started to ping with messages as he moved through the base, he swiped the screen on his tablet and then said, "Possible enemy, shaped like a large black cat headed towards the portal room." Which was heard over the blaring alarm throughout the base. Ezekiel''s tablet was still getting messages from people outside the base, but he ignored them as he kept up with the cat''s unnatural speed. When they finally made it to the hallway outside of the portal room the cat finally skidded to a halt. The portal room was sealed off with a blast door and in front of it stood Steve wearing workout clothes holding his shield. Kaecilius stood beside him, along with Mikhail who was in his half bear transformation. Shisui was also with them, but he was standing upside down as he hung from the ceiling. The cat looked behind itself at Ezekiel and the people who were running up the hallway to join him before it let out a meow as it started to enlarge. The meow changed into a full blown roar when the cat had finished turning into a massive panther. It was almost fifteen feet in length not including its tail and was over six feet tall at the base of its neck. The panther studied both groups of people before it rushed forward at the group in front of it. Steve moved forward first and planted himself in front of the creature''s charge. The sound of its claws echoed out as it slammed into Steve''s shield and forced him back a step. Mikhail stepped forward around Steve and went to bash the animal back. But the panther was nimble on its feet and still dodged the attack in the large hallway. The panther lashed out at Mikhail after it dodged his attack and caught his arm with its claws. The attack tore a chunk out of his arm that went to the bone and sprayed blood on the floor around him. Mikhail let out an angry yell and started to transform into his bear form as his arm healed. Within moments he took up half of the hallway in front of the panther. He let out an earth shattering roar as he stood up on his hind legs, challenging the panther to attack him. The panther decided to try and rush past the smaller threat and charged at Steve. As it slammed into his shield, Steve pushed it upwards while he stepped forward. It forced the panther back and Mikhail took advantage by wrapping the panther up in a bear hug. The panther struggled in his grip and was able to twist around to bite down on Mikhail''s shoulder. Which only made Mikhail tighten his grip and forced the panther to release its bite, the sound of bones creaking was heard as it let out a pained roar. The panther struggled some more before it quickly shrunk down to its cat form and dropped out of Mikhail''s grip. It landed on one of his arms and leaped away, but as it did Steve took advantage while it was in the air and smacked it with his shield. The cat rocketed into the wall with a loud thud and it let out a yowl as it bounced off the wall to land on the ground. It shook its head and let out a hiss as it focused on Steve. It tensed its legs and went to jump at Steve when Kaecilius said, ¡°By the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak I bind you!¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. As the cat jumped, neon red translucent ropes shot out from Kaecilius¡¯s hands and bound the cat up tightly. The cat let out a surprised meow while Steve reached out and caught the cat with one hand. He lifted the cat up as it struggled against its bindings and said, ¡°It¡¯s kinda cute when it¡¯s not trying to attack you.¡± The cat let out a hiss and tried to force its transformation but the bands kept all of its body locked tightly together except for its head. Which transformed into a panther''s head and tried to bite Steve who quickly dropped the cat to the ground. Ezekiel walked up as he worked on his tablet to turn off the alarm and to message people that the situation was handled. Then stopped in front of the cat with its comically large and funny looking panther head as he said, ¡°I found it in the secure area. It looked like it was trying to steal a bar of vibranium.¡± Ezekiel looked at everyone who showed up and said, ¡°Good work everyone, but the show¡¯s over, everyone can head back now.¡± Ezekiel looked over to Shisui as he pointed at the chunk of flesh and blood on the ground as he said, ¡°Get someone to clean that up.¡± Shisui smirked and did a mock salute as he said, ¡°Yes sir!¡± Then his body faded from view like he was never really there in the first place. Ezekiel smirked as he shook his head while Mikhail had shifted back to his human form and rubbed his arm where the cat had taken the chunk from. It didn''t leave a scar, but the new skin was a fresh pink in color and had no hair compared to the rest of his arm. He let out a sigh as he looked at it and said, ¡°This will take a few weeks to look normal. Steve just patted Mikhail on the back as he said, ¡°It¡¯s better than losing your arm. I¡¯m a little jealous of how fast you and Logan can heal.¡± Steve then looked at Kaecilius as he asked, ¡°How long will this spell hold?¡± ¡°As long as we need it too.¡± The portal room door opened and in walked Fury, Peggy and Tao. Fury looked at the cat that was back to the size of a normal house cat for a few seconds before he asked, ¡°So this is why you sounded the alarm? For a cat?¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°You should know better than anyone not to judge a cat by its outward appearance.¡± Fury frowned slightly as Tao walked next to the cat and started to weave spells above it for about half a minute. When she finished, she let out a sigh before she said, ¡°We¡¯ll have a visitor soon.¡± Everyone turned to look at Tao as Ezekiel asked, ¡°Who?¡± Tao reached down and picked up the cat as she said, ¡°This cat¡¯s owner. This is actually a familiar. It¡¯s named Ebony.¡± Ezekiel smiled just a little as he said, ¡°Agatha Harkness.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve met her plenty of times throughout the centuries and we¡¯ve even helped each other out sometimes. It¡¯s strange that Ebony is here alone though, they normally travel everywhere together.¡± Tao petted Ebony¡¯s head and the cat let out a meow before Tao said, ¡°You can release your spell, it won¡¯t attack anymore.¡± Kaecilius released the spell and as the red bands faded away, Tao looked into the cat''s eyes as she said, ¡°Go back to your master and bring her back here in a few hours. Tell her we need to have a talk.¡± The cat nodded as it let out a meow before it jumped out of Tao¡¯s hands and ran into the portal room. Tao looked back at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Call a council meeting, we will have to discuss a few things with Agatha.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he started to type on his tablet for a few seconds before he glanced up at Tao and said, ¡°I set the meeting for about an hour from now. Also we¡¯ll need to do something about the cameras, Ebony didn¡¯t show up on them. I only caught it because of one of the temperature sensors.¡± Tao nodded in understanding as she said, ¡°Ebony has a spell that makes her invisible to all cameras and most electronics in general. It will take me a little while to fix, but I will inscribe all the cameras with runes to fix that little issue.¡± ¡°Make sure you do the medical base also.¡± Tao nodded her head as Fury asked, ¡°Would you be able to do that at a couple of safe houses I use sometimes?¡± ¡°Sure but the bases will be my priority first.¡± Steve was standing off to the side talking with Peggy as Ezekiel looked over and said, ¡°Let''s head over to the meeting room and wait for our guest.¡± 00081. Another mystic member? Agatha portaled into the base and took a moment to look around at the runic spell that was carved into the room. Then she looked down at Ebony as she asked, "You sure know how to get into trouble, don''t you?" "Meow." Agatha chuckled and her voice had a hint of sarcasm as she said, "I''m sure it was just luck." Agatha walked forward out of the portal room with Ebony at her side and stopped when she saw a silver haired man leaning against the wall reading a little orange book. Ebony moved in front of her and hissed at the man who glanced up at them. He let out a sigh and put his book away as he said, "Just when I was getting to the good part." The man turned and started walking down the hallway as he said, "Follow along, we don''t want you to get lost." Ebony hissed again then meowed a few times. Agatha nodded her head as she moved to follow the thing that looked like a man and said, "That girl knows better, I am sure she has an explanation for what is going on." Agatha studied the thing in front of her as she walked. It had no soul, with only a faint hint of life force. The thing would most likely die sometime tomorrow if it was lucky. What was most puzzling is she couldn''t sense anything demonic from it. Normally a creature like this would have demonic energy leaking from it with noticeable mutations on its body. It should be in the end stages of its host''s life and it should be searching for a new host to take over right now. It wasn''t long before they arrived in front of a door, which the creature pointed at and said, "This is your stop." She watched as the creature leaned against the wall, pulled out its book and started reading again. When she didn¡¯t move for a few moments the man continued reading while he said, "What¡¯s wrong? Did you get lost on the path of life or something?" The man waved his free hand in a shooing motion as he said, "Go on now, it''s impolite to keep people waiting." She looked down at Ebony for a second before she moved to open the door. As she did, Ebony moved behind her and watched her back as she entered the room. Inside of the room, a group of people were seated along with another soulless creature. Surprisingly she recognized two people, The Ancient One being the main person and Steve Rogers a war hero who everyone thought was dead. As she glanced at everyone in the room, they also studied her. Agatha Harkness wore a tight, body hugging knee length purple dress, with a dark purple shawl draped over her shoulders. She stood almost six feet tall with a voluptuous body that was highlighted by her alluring face and piercing blue eyes. She had a single streak of ghost white hair running down the right side of her otherwise thick raven black hair that framed her face and flowed down to the middle of her back. After she took in everyone in the room, Agatha¡¯s gaze stopped on Tao and she said, ¡°You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady.¡± Ezekiel smirked and elbowed Tao who was seated next to him as he said, ¡°She just called you a young lady. Can¡¯t she see you¡¯ve gone bald with old age?¡± Everyone tried to hold in a smile except for Tao and Agatha. Tao shot a quick glare at Ezekiel as Agatha also looked at him before she said, ¡°Be quiet you soulless demon, I didn¡¯t come here to talk with you.¡± Ezekiel grabbed his heart as he said, ¡°Oh it hurts, you just had to target my insecurities¡­ Do you have any idea how much this¡¯ll cost in therapy?" Before Agatha could speak, Tao slapped Ezekiel so hard he turned into a puff of smoke. Agatha turned a questioning gaze to Tao who shrugged as she said, ¡°Sorry, sometimes he is a little too much.¡± Fury rolled his one eye as he said, "More like most of the time." While Peggy and a few others nodded in agreement. Agatha started to speak but was cut off as the door opened and in walked the silver haired man who said, ¡°Now that was just rude. It¡¯s a good thing I had Tobirama work on improving the formula so everyone now gets the memory packets.¡± Tao glared at Ezekiel as she said, "Try to be serious this time." Agatha watched as the creature walked past her and turned back into the other creature that just disappeared. She was surprised when it happened since its life force became weaker afterwards. Ezekiel sat back down as he said, "Fine, mom." Tao raised her hand slightly as she said, "Test me." Ezekiel lowered his head as he said, "Sorry master, please don''t spank me! I''ll be a good boy, I swear." Tao smacked Ezekiel again and he disappeared into another cloud of smoke. Then she looked at Agatha as she said, "Please take a seat and don''t mind the idiot." Agatha glanced around the room and noticed almost everyone was trying to hold back another smile. She moved forward and took the empty seat at the table across from Tao. After she sat down and Ebony had moved behind her chair, Agatha looked at Tao as she asked, "What exactly is going on here and what was that thing?" Ezekiel answered as he walked through the door and said, "It''s impolite to call somebody a thing." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Ezekiel walked around the table and moved his chair away from Tao this time. He shot a quick glare at her as he sat back down, which she returned with a smug smile. He grumbled, "Rude." under his breath before he looked at Agatha as he said, "As for what I am, you can think of me as a projection from my real body that has a physical form." "That doesn''t make sense, you''re solid and life force energy is slowly leaking out of your body. With those factors and your lack of a soul, you show all the classic signs of a demonic possession." Tao nodded as she said, "I thought the same thing when I first met him. But it''s one of his innate abilities. Try looking at him through an advanced viewing spell for seeing spirits." Agatha weaved her hands together as she chanted a spell. When she finished, she looked at Ezekiel for about a minute before she said, "Fascinating¡­Is it a new magical spell? Possibly a magical construct? I would love to meet your creator and talk with them." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Unfortunately Tao is the only person who has met the real me and I don''t plan to change that anytime soon." "Who''s Tao?" Ezekiel pointed at Tao as he said, "Calling her The Ancient One is a mouthful and since she won''t tell me her real name, I shortened it to Tao." Agatha smiled the tiniest bit as she said, "I happen to know her name." Tao frowned as she said, "You wouldn''t." "For the right price I would, it''s just your name after all dear. Nothing really important." Fury cleared his throat before he said, ¡°As interesting as all of this is, some of us have more important things to do. So can we get to the main reason we are here and then you can go back to discussing stuff that doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± Agatha glanced at Fury as she said, ¡°Alright child, why did you invite me here?¡± Fury had a vein pop on his forehead as he asked, ¡°What part of me looks like a child?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°She called Tao young lady and she is closing in on being a thousand years old. I think almost everyone in the world is considered a child in her eyes.¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°While it¡¯s impolite to ask a woman her age, just know I was alive well before Atlantis fell below the ocean. Now, why was I called here? I know it wasn¡¯t because of Ebony¡¯s little stunt early.¡± Everyone glanced at Tao and waited for her to speak. Tao smiled a little as she said, ¡°You¡¯re right, I asked you here so we could invite you to join us.¡± Agatha took another quick glance at everyone in the room before she asked, ¡°And what exactly would I be joining?¡± ¡°A secret group that is plotting to change the current world order.¡± Agatha turned to look at Ezekiel, while Fury let out a groan of annoyance. Peggy spoke up next as she said, ¡°While Ezekiel is correct, he could word it better. Our main goal is working to make the world a better place for everyone. That means humans and meta humans.¡± Agatha nodded before she said, ¡°With someone like Captain America here, I assumed as much. But what about people who practice the mystic arts? Witches, warlocks, shamans, witch doctors and others? Would you make the world better for them too?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Sure if they act like decent human beings and don¡¯t do stuff like kill virgins, bathe in the blood of babies or summon demons. You know classic dumb shit that only losers would do because their parents didn¡¯t love them enough.¡± Ezekiel smirked a little as everyone went quiet except Agatha who started to laugh. When she stopped she looked at Tao as she said, ¡°I like him, he reminds me of a young Yao. Is the real one like these constructs?¡± Tao nodded, which made Agatha smile as she said, ¡°Great, I¡¯ll join your little group on the condition that I can meet him.¡± Fury raised his eyebrow as he asked, ¡°Really? You don¡¯t need to know anything else?¡± Agatha shook her head as she said, ¡°Not really, since The Young One here is working with you. Even though I am surprised she is. Last time we talked, her main concern was keeping the timeline in check.¡± Everyone looked at Ezekiel who smirked and waved as he said, ¡°It was my fault. She can¡¯t really see the future with me in the world.¡± Ezekiel then shook his head and said, ¡°Anyways, it''s not my call on meeting the real me. Give me a few minutes to let the boss know what you want.¡± Ezekiel turned into a puff of smoke and Fury stood up as he said, ¡°I have other stuff to do, let me know if she joins and I will factor her into future plans.¡± Everyone else started to leave the room with different reasons until only Agatha and Tao were left. Agatha gave a little smile as she asked, ¡°So how long has this been going on for?¡± ¡°About two years now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little surprised you didn¡¯t reach out to me before this.¡± Tao gave a little shrug as she said, ¡°We¡¯ve been busy and I didn¡¯t think you would be that interested.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡± Tao frowned the tiniest bit, which made Agatha smile as she said, ¡°That right there is what I am talking about. Don¡¯t worry, showing emotion is good for you. I always thought you were too stiff and needed to loosen up since you took over from Yao. What happened to the young excitable girl I met who just enjoyed learning magic?¡± Tao frowned a little more as she said, ¡°I grew up.¡± Agatha laughed before she said, ¡°Bullshit. You just used that stupid eye too much. You know you don¡¯t have to pick the optimal path right? Yao didn¡¯t, why do you think he gave up the spot to you? It was because he got tired of it and you were the best replacement he could find.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Agatha shook her head as she said, ¡°When he comes back again you should talk with him about it. You will find that Yao was a lot more flexible than you realize." Before Tao could speak again, the door opened and another Ezekiel walked in. He paused as he saw the tense atmosphere and asked, ¡°Did I interrupt something?¡± Both women shook their heads before Agatha asked, ¡°So do I get to meet the real you?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°The boss agreed since it''s you. But he has two requests.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he looked at Tao and said, ¡°First you will need to tell him Tao¡¯s real name when you met. You¡¯ll also have to swear on your magic to not tell anyone who he really is, where he lives, or anything about his family.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a little strict, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°He¡¯s paranoid and wants to protect his family. Tao swore on her magic before she met him.¡± ¡°Well I can¡¯t be outdone by a youngster, now can I?¡± 00082: Is something wrong with your head? Agatha looked around the massive room Tao had portaled them into. She had to admit it was impressive but also a little bit confusing. She understood the area where she stood with Tao, most mystic practitioners would be in heaven in this place. But the large almost barren area in the middle was a little weird, maybe it was used to practice spells? But that didn¡¯t explain the massive rock wall or pool of water below it. The area on the other side of the room was what really confused her though. She saw a bunch of different weight equipment along with massive data storage towers. The kind you would normally see in a data center, but here they were just lined up against the far wall. Above the server towers along the wall were three giant TVs that she didn''t even know existed. She could easily see what was displayed on their screens from here, one showed a staircase, one a hallway area and the last one a bedroom, all of which were currently empty of people. Maybe they were made with magic? She couldn''t feel any magic from them, but that was the only thing that made sense to her. As she looked around Agatha asked, "So what exactly is this place?" Tao grimaced as she said, "Ezekiel called it¡­ His training room¡­¡± Agatha nodded as she said, "I admit it''s rare to find a mystic practitioner who cares so much about body training. It''s a shame more practitioners of the arts don''t put in the effort to hone their body." Tao nodded in agreement before she said, "We''re in agreement on that, it''s why I force every one in Kamar-Taj to practice martial arts." Tao smirked a little as she said, "Also you''re wrong about Ezekiel, he is not yet a sorcerer or even a practitioner of the mystic arts." "Then why is all of this here and how did he make those constructs without the mystic arts? It''s not some type of inborn power, right? They look to be made with a complex spell matrix." Tao motioned to everything around her as she said, ¡°I am going to start training him in the mystic arts, so I brought everything we will need. As for his constructs, he calls them shadow clones and they are kind of like an inborn power for him. It¡¯s a little complicated to explain properly honestly.¡± Agatha glanced at Tao as she asked, ¡°You are taking him as a personal student? I thought you were saving that for your replacement?¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I was, but once you meet him you will understand why.¡± ¡°Actually, where is he at? I thought he was going to meet us here?¡± Tao smiled a little as she said, ¡°At this time he is probably reading a bedtime story to his little sister. I would give it about half an hour before he makes it down here.¡± ¡°Then while we wait we can get back to our earlier conversation.¡± Before they could really get into a deep conversation, Theo appeared from the portal into the room. He quickly used body flicker and appeared next to Tao and Agatha bouncing up and down on his feet as he asked, "So what''s Tao''s real name?" Agatha smiled as Tao frowned before Agatha asked, "Wishing to know a lady''s secrets and not having the decency of a proper introduction first? What are you, a savage?" Theo paused for a second before he said, "Sorry, I was excited and forgot my manners." Theo gave a polite bow before he said, "My name is Theodore Ezekiel Mercer and it''s a pleasure to meet you Miss. Harkness." Agatha nodded her head as she said, "The pleasure is mine. But I must ask, why do you look like a child?" Theo smirked as he asked, "Because I am?" Agatha studied Theo for a while and even used a few spells before she looked at Tao and asked, "You aren''t playing a joke on me, are you?" Theo laughed and Tao smiled before Theo said, "This isn''t a joke, I''m reincarnated and currently living my second life." Agatha glanced between Tao and Theo for a few moments and then asked, "How is that even possible?" Theo shrugged as he said, "Having really good karma lets you meet GOD and he uses your karma to help in your reincarnation." "I would love to hear about everything you remember from your experience." Theo pointed at Tao as he said, "Just ask her about it, she''s seen it and we''ve discussed it at length a few times already." Agatha pouted a little as she asked, ¡°Second hand info just isn¡¯t the same.¡± Theo shrugged again as he said, ¡°Well I really don¡¯t wanna explain it again and answer a bunch of questions I already answered for Tao.¡± Theo paused for a moment before he said, ¡°I could just show you, but you would have to lower your defenses.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Ebony meowed a few times sitting next to Agatha¡¯s feet. Agatha smiled and looked down at Ebony as she said, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine Ebony, Saskia trusts him.¡± Tao let out a sigh as Theo stopped and stared at her for a while. Before he confusedly asked, ¡°That¡¯s Celtic?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s old high German.¡± Theo glanced at Agatha as he asked, ¡°I thought she was Celtic?¡± ¡°She is.¡± Theo frowned as he asked, ¡°But I thought Celtic people were from Ireland or something?¡± Tao let out a sigh and Agatha shook her head before she said, ¡°The Celtic culture originated from¡­ You know it doesn¡¯t really matter, her real name is Saskia. Now give me a moment and I will take down my defenses.¡± Agatha sat down in one of the chairs Tao had brought over from one of the sanctums. She started to weave her hands a few times as she chanted. After about a minute she looked at Theo as she said, ¡°Alright you can show me.¡± "Actually one question before we start. It¡¯s been bugging me, how did Ebony find our base? It should have been protected." Agatha glanced down at Ebony as she said, "Ebony has the ability to slip into places she isn''t allowed. She can also sense portal fluctuations and piggy back off them. With those skills it''s easy for her to go to most places people don''t want her to visit." Theo glanced at Tao as he asked, "Is that something we can fix for the future?" Agatha responded instead as she said, "Yes, I can help though, since I already know how to hide and block the skills." Theo nodded before he went through a few hand signs and smirked as he said, ¡°Alright, now open your mind.¡± Agatha¡¯s eyes glazed over as Theo turned to look at Tao, the smirk still on his face and said, ¡°So what do you want to start with Saskia?¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°I would prefer it if you didn¡¯t use that name.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I like the name I gave you better anyways. But it¡¯s also nice to finally know your real name.¡± Tao shook her head and said, ¡°While you learn from me, you will call me master.¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, master. But before we start should we make a safe word or something? That¡¯s how this stuff normally works right?¡± Tao gave Theo a flat look before she pointed at a bookshelf and said, ¡°That is everything a beginner needs to learn before they can attempt to start casting spells. I want you to memorize all of those books and then we can start your training.¡± Theo let out a sigh and then weaved seals to produce ten clones. Each one grumbled about not being the lucky one who was sleeping in Theo¡¯s bed as they grabbed a book and sat down on the floor to start reading. Theo glanced at Agatha as he said, ¡°She should be out in about an hour, I am gonna start my body training for now.¡± Tao nodded as she pulled out a book from a different shelf to read. Theo himself went over to the rock wall and began to climb up it using his chakra control technique he had been improving with his blocks. He increased the difficulty by making sure he had a perfect connection before he moved and then he would pull himself up to the next hand hold and repeat. He only made it about twenty feet up before his grip faltered and he fell into the water pit below him. He popped out of the water and then swam over to the side of the pool before he pulled himself out. Another feature Tao made for the pool of water was it wouldn¡¯t leave the area, so when Theo climbed out he was completely dry. After taking a quick break, he started over again and made it about twenty feet again before his arm gave out and he couldn¡¯t pull himself up. He dropped off the wall into the water again, before he took another break on the edge of the pool. He repeated the process a few more times until Agatha came out of the genjutsu. Theo moved over to join Agatha and Tao once he fell off the wall again. Agatha was in the middle of discussing what she saw with Tao when Theo arrived. Agatha looked at Theo as she asked, ¡°That really happened? Are you sure that wasn¡¯t some kinda dream you had?¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°Honestly no clue, but I am where I asked to be and I have the powers I asked for, so I don¡¯t think so? Also I shouldn¡¯t have to ask this, but please keep what you saw to yourself. You and Tao are the only people who know the whole truth. Everyone else just knows I''m reincarnated.¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°I can do that, but I have to ask. Why do you trust me so much?¡± Theo smirked as he said, ¡°Because you and Tao are some of the most powerful people in the world and I knew you wouldn¡¯t freak out knowing about something like this. Plus Tao keeps wanting to talk about it at length, so now you can talk with her about it instead of me.¡± Agatha narrowed her eyes a little as she said, "That''s not the only reason is it?" Theo shook his head as he said, "Nope, that''s about it." Agatha kept looking at Theo for over a minute before he finally said, "Alright fine, I always liked both of you as characters when you came up in the comics and really wanted to meet you. Happy?" Agatha nodded as she said, "See that wasn''t so hard." Theo blushed a little bit as he looked away making Tao and Agatha both laugh at his actions. Agatha then stood up as she said, "I''ll be back in a while, I need to go collect some things." Theo was about to ask why, when Agatha said, "I can''t have little Saskia here teach you about the mystic arts and not help. While I know she will train you well, I will help out and plan to teach you about the more esoteric things. I will also teach you about the alchemy side of things. Which is something you can''t learn in Kamar-Taj." Theo glanced at Tao who nodded as she said, "I assumed she would help out." Theo smiled as he said, "Well then let me give you a proper introduction to the place since I know Tao didn''t." Tao preemptively winced as Theo raised his arms and gestured to the room as he said, "This is the springtime of youth, super secret DBZ inspired enhanced gravity training room of the mystic arts, body training, programming and ninjutsu practice." Theo smirked as he asked, "What do you think?" Agatha was wide eyed as she stared at Theo for over a minute before she asked, "He''s an idiot, right?" Tao nodded her head and Ebony gave out a low meow as Theo let out a huff as he said, ¡°At least Minato and Guy liked the name.¡± 00083. Side Story 003: Kids being kids. Ava looked around at her friends sitting with her at lunch as she said, "It''ll work, me and Skye went for an hour last night and no one noticed us being gone." Natasha cautiously glanced around the cafeteria for a moment before she asked in a low voice, "But don''t we have to pay for stuff? We have no money." Yelena glanced at her sister as she said, "We could just pick pocket a few people when we get there." Skye shook her head and held up a bracelet as she said, "This is a VIP bracelet, if you have one they don''t charge you anything and you can skip the lines. Ava found where they were kept and took some for us to use along with entry tickets." "I''m not sure it''s a good idea, what if we get caught? Maybe we should just ask Ezekiel to let us go. I am pretty sure he would say yes." Laura nodded as she said, "Cessily is right, we should ask Ezekiel first." Hope shook her head as she said, "I don''t think we should. If he says no, we won''t be able to sneak out afterwards." "Cap likes to say, ''It''s better to ask for forgiveness than permission." Natasha smiled at her sister as she said, "He is talking about when you are doing the right thing. I am pretty sure this isn''t what he was talking about." "Feels right to me." Yelena smiled back as she winked. Cessily frowned as she asked, "Fine, we''ll do it. But what about me? I''ll attract a lot of attention with how I look." Laura patted her arm as she said, "You''ll be fine and if anyone makes a big deal, I''ll beat the shit out of them." Natasha smiled as she said, "If you do that we''ll definitely attract attention. What you can do is wear a long sleeve shirt, some gloves and pants. Then if we find you a wig, glasses and a hat to wear, almost no one will be able to see what you look like." Cessily thought about it for a few moments before she asked, "My normal hair wouldn''t work?" Natasha shook her head as she said, "It looks like it''s dyed and would draw more attention to you. The key to blending in is to look as average as possible. If we dress you up and keep you near the middle of the group no one will notice.¡± "Where will we get a wig from?" Yelena almost jumped out of her seat as she excitedly said, "In one of the store rooms! I found a case full of them when I was looking around for some throwing knives." "Settle down, we wanna keep this a secret, remember? Also what kinda storage room has throwing knives and wigs?" Erik asked as he looked over at Yelena. Yelena looked a little embarrassed and settled back into her seat as she said, "It''s from the red room, my mother wanted to save most of the training supplies." Natasha nodded as she said, "So with that we should be fine. But are you sure people won''t notice us missing from the base? What if someone comes looking for us and we aren''t here?" Ava glanced around the room at the other kids eating as she said, "Maybe we can have some kids cover for us while we are gone?" "That could work, but then the other girls would want to join us next time." Skye nodded as she said, "We could do it in groups, the first group is us. Next group would be whoever we get to cover for us." Natasha frowned slightly as she said, "I''m pretty sure all the girls will find out, that will be a lot of people to take." Ava shrugged as she said, "It''ll be fine, it will just take a while for everyone to go. Maybe three or four trips." "So what''s the plan? When are we going to do this?" Grant said as he smiled at his younger brother who practically bounced in his seat from excitement. Ava glanced around the table at all of her friends as she said, "Saturday after lunch since we will have the rest of the day free and no one will notice if we miss dinner." All of them nodded in agreement and then started to prepare over the next few days anything they might need. Over the next few days Natasha was right and all of the girls from the red room found out about the plan. All of them agreed to cover for the people in the first group, which expanded into almost forty people. The plan was to take three separate groups over the next three weeks. The girls decided who would go in each group by who was doing the best on the wall test. While the two girls who were currently in the lead for courting Grant and Erik were allowed to join the first group, so they could hang out with their crush. On Saturday as lunch was ending people started to pair off and everyone made last minute checks before they would meet Ava who was phased inside the portal room. She would quickly portal groups of three to five out of the base and after half an hour everyone in the first group was gone. Ava arrived through a portal with the last group which included Skye, Cessily, Laura, Natasha, Yelena, and Hope. The place that they portaled into was a spot a few blocks away from their destination, that currently wasn''t in use. Skye handed out the wristbands and tickets to everyone. Then the group of forty kids and teenagers moved out in small groups every few minutes. Ava''s group was the last one but as they walked up to the entrance all of them were excited. The sign above the entrance said ''Welcome to the most magical place on earth!'' Ava looked at her friends and they all shared a smile before they moved to the entrance of the park. It didn¡¯t take them long at all to get inside and explore the place. Before they knew it almost six hours had passed by and all the groups met back up where they started. Ava then slowly portaled everyone back to the base and everyone hid what they brought back inside of their rooms. After a few days passed and no one got in trouble, Ava planned out the next trip for the next group. The following Saturday another group of forty kids snuck out of the base with Ava¡¯s help and spent time at the theme park. When nothing happened that following week, Ava helped the last group sneak out to the park. Once that first round of trips was over, Ava and the others started to plan another trip to another park. It took them a couple weeks to find a park, scope it out and then find ways they could get free stuff. But once they were all set, the first group of forty went on a Saturday afternoon. While Ava and her friends were running around exploring the new theme park. Someone who was a user of Theo''s social media platform managed to capture a few images of Cessily and her friends and uploaded them to the platform. One of Theo''s clones was alerted from his built-in monitoring app and did a double take. Then he checked the base''s cameras and saw when all of the kids snuck out of the base earlier in the day. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. He then went back and saw that they had done it before and it wasn''t just one group. Every single kid in the base had snuck out at least once in the past two months or so, since Ava learned to make portals. As he was going through the footage, he even saw Ava sneak out of the base a few times with only a handful of people with her. Ezekiel let out a long sigh and dropped his head on his desk, he knew Fury and probably a few other people were going to be pissed at this oversight. Shisui, who was seated close by reading a book, looked over at the computer screen for a few moments before he burst out laughing. Which made Ezekiel let out a groan of frustration. Shisui shook his head as he said, ¡°I told you something like this might happen.¡± ¡°Fury¡¯s been nagging me about base security and why don¡¯t we have an operations room. Or a monitoring station with a twenty four hour crew rotation. Now he¡¯ll force the issue and I can¡¯t even say no because of this.¡± Ezekiel banged his head against the desk in frustration as he finished. Shisui stood up as he placed his book down, then he walked over and patted Ezekiel''s shoulder as he said, "You can sulk later, we have some work to do." Ezekiel glanced up as he said, "You do it, I don''t wanna deal with this." Shisui smirked as he said, "No can do, you''re the one who acts for the boss man." It took over a minute for Ezekiel to sit up and start typing on his computer. After a few moments boxes started to open up from different people. He glanced at them all for a moment before he said, "We have an issue that needs attention, please join me in the meeting room in half an hour." No one asked questions and each window closed afterwards. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he stood up. He glanced at Shisui as he said, "Are you sure?" Shisui was back in his chair and shook his head as he said, "And let you miss all the fun?" ¡°Fine, but you¡¯re gonna have some work to do yourself. Since all of the kids seem to be in on it, I want you to verify how we didn¡¯t catch on for over a month.¡± Shisui let out a sigh as he said, ¡°But I was just getting to the good part.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and walked towards the door. He was the first to arrive in the meeting room and quietly waited for everyone to show up. Mostly it was everyone who looked after the kids, so Jarvis, Steve, Peggy, Hank, Bill, Tao, Mikhail, Sarah, Alexai, Melina, Bucky and Fury. Once everyone arrived, Ezekiel didn''t say anything and just typed on his computer pulling up the security footage. As the footage started Ezekiel said, "This happened earlier today." Everyone watched as the kids started to leave with the help of Ava. Bill was the first to speak as he asked, "Are they still gone?" Ezekiel nodded as Fury glanced at Tao and he asked, "I thought she didn''t have a personal sling ring?" Tao shook her head and frowned as she said, "She doesn''t, but we have a few that are locked up in the base. She must have used her ability to take one." Bill glanced over to Ezekiel as he asked, "Where did they go? The island? And why didn''t you let us know sooner? " Fury nodded in agreement before he turned to glare at Ezekiel as he said, "Even though it''s just some of the kids, this is a security issue that will need to be fixed. One that we shouldn''t have had in the first place." Ezekiel glanced at Fury before he turned to look at Bill as he said, "I didn''t know because I never thought to monitor the kids. As for where they went, it''s a theme park." After he finished Ezekiel pulled up the photos that alerted him to the missing kids. It was a couple of pictures of the main group of kids with the focus on Cessily. From just a glance you would never be able to tell that she was different from any normal girl, unless you stared at her for a little bit. Everyone was silent before Alexei laughed and then said, "My daughters do good work, you can hardly notice Cessily is different." The door opened as Shisui walked in and Melina nodded in agreement as Fury asked, ¡°So who are we sending to bring them back?¡± Shisui took a seat at the table as he said, ¡°No one, they will be coming back in half an hour. At least that¡¯s in line with when they went last few times.¡± Everyone turned to look at Shisui, before a few like Fury turned to glare at Ezekiel, who dropped his head on the table. Shisui smirked as he said, ¡°Oh, looks like you didn¡¯t tell them about the other times it happened.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he lifted his head up and said, ¡°I hadn¡¯t gotten to it yet.¡± Ezekiel started to type on his computer and pulled up different footage of groups of kids leaving the base over the past month. As he did, Fury looked around at everyone as he asked, ¡°How the hell did this happen and no one noticed at all?¡± Shisui smiled as he said, ¡°Easy, all of the kids left in the base covered for the others. I just went around and checked, they would point me to one place. I would go there and someone would say they left a little while ago and weren''t sure where they went. It works as a pretty good cover if you don¡¯t use the base''s intercom system or check the cameras.¡± Steve nodded as he said, ¡°Happened to me a couple of times over the past month when I went to chat with some of the kids. I didn¡¯t think about it much at the time, since it wasn¡¯t important. But looking back on it now it makes sense.¡± Peggy glanced at everyone before she asked, ¡°Alright so what are we going to do now that we know?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°No clue, besides make sure they can¡¯t sneak out again.¡± Steve shook his head as he said, ¡°They will need to be disciplined for their actions. I think extra cleaning duty and more PT since they seem to have so much energy.¡± Melina nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°I¡¯m proud of the kids for pulling this off, but we need to make sure they know we are displeased with their actions.¡± Ezekiel was typing away on his computer as he said, ¡°I am already fixing the issue with the cameras and monitoring system. I should have it finished in an hour or two. But I think we have an issue.¡± Fury glanced at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What is it now?¡± ¡°Well this was the second time they went out, and it¡¯s only the first group of kids. The other two groups still haven¡¯t gone to this new park.¡± Everyone turned to look at Ezekiel as he shrugged and he said, ¡°If we are going to punish them, we might as well let the other kids go out to the park. Then it¡¯s even for everyone. All of them get to go out twice and they get the same punishment.¡± Fury frowned as he said, ¡°So we let this go on for another couple weeks?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll confront all of the kids today. Then tomorrow we let the next two groups go with a few chaperones for the same amount of time. After that we start their punishment duties.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t find an issue with that, I can send Wong and Kaecilius to help shuttle them over and watch the kids while they¡¯re gone.¡± Mikhail smiled as he said, ¡°I would like to go also, I¡¯ve never been to a theme park before.¡± Alexei nodded as he said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind going with the whole family.¡± Steve glanced at Peggy as he said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind going out either.¡± Fury had started to frown as more people chimed in before he finally said, ¡°You know we are supposed to be hidden right?¡± Fury pointed at Steve as he said, ¡°You are considered dead, same goes for you Mikhail.¡± Fury then pointed at Alexei as he said, ¡°You are an escaped convict.¡± Fury then pointed to the photo of Cessily as he said, ¡°It just takes one photo getting out and the right people seeing it to ask questions we don¡¯t need.¡± The room went quiet for a while before Tao said, ¡°I could ask Agatha to make a transformation potion. It changes how a person looks for a day. Tastes terrible, but it will work so everyone can go out.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he asked. ¡°So we are in agreement then? We let the rest of the kids go out tomorrow with some chaperones?¡± Everyone nodded in agreement, even Fury. Afterwards they decided to collect all of the kids in the base now and have Tao meet Ava and the other kids in the portal room. As the room cleared out Ezekiel looked over to Fury as he said, ¡°You took this a lot better than I thought you would.¡± Fury had a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile as he said, ¡°Oh I am pissed. The fact that you left such a big oversight in the base''s security is unforgivable.¡± ¡°Till I am satisfied, you and I will be doing a full audit of every base''s security measures and going over everything to find any other potential weaknesses you might have forgotten.¡± Ezekiel dropped his head onto the desk causing a loud thud. Fury shook his head slightly as he said, ¡°As for the kids, I¡¯m impressed. They pulled off something that even trained agents would have a hard time doing.¡± Ezekiel looked up as Fury let out a small chuckle and said, ¡°I guess kids will always be kids. Very well trained and dangerous kids, but still kids nonetheless.¡± 00084. Another 6 month time skip. After a week of training with Tao and Agatha, Theo changed up his routine. He would make all of his clones at night instead of the morning. Most would still go do projects at both bases, but a handful would stay back and study magic or work on a coding project. There would also be a single lucky clone that would sleep in Theo¡¯s bed till he switched with it. Theo spent most of his time training his body and chakra control techniques. Mostly he just used the rock wall he had made, since it was the best way to practice both and he was too small to properly use any of the weight equipment yet. Speaking of the wall, he enjoyed it so much that he made another one in the gym area of the main base so other people could use it. It was massive compared to his personal wall and took up one entire side of the gym''s walls, making it well over a football field in length. The height was even increased to more than double the original at close to nine hundred feet tall, but they had the room since that part of the base was over half a mile underground. The same pool of water was built below it and Tao even added the same spells. It took about a month for his clones to finish everything and everyone questioned why it was even needed in the first place. But once the younger kids were able to try it out, it quickly became one of the most popular things in the gym. Even the adults started to enjoy it, which made Theo come up with a cool way to track progress on the wall. His clones set up a bunch of cameras and sensors which would track whoever was climbing the wall. That info would be fed into a computer program he made that would show anyone interested, that person''s climb in real time or the recording of it. It would also give stats, how long, how high, number of moves made, difficulty of the section being climbed along with a bunch of other information. It pretty much made the climbing wall into an unofficial sport for the whole base. With only two people having climbed up to the top, Steve and Alexei. Bucky, Mikhail and Logan were the next highest and have only made it about three quarters to the top. Everyone else was less than halfway up. Logan did make it to the top once using his claws, but then Theo¡¯s clone chewed him out for ruining the wall and having to fix it. Which made a new rule that you could only use your hands and feet to climb the wall. Besides the climbing wall, Theo¡¯s clones finished all the work that was planned for the base after six months. Even the massive running track that turned out to be a little over five miles long was finished. It started in the gym room and was about a hundred feet wide and twenty feet tall. It snaked around the entire underground base once and ended in the gym room where it began. In that same six month period, Xavier and Magneto were finally brought into the proper fold of the operation. Fury still wasn¡¯t that happy with it, but he was the only outlier when it was voted on. Mostly because he still didn¡¯t trust Magneto much or even Xavier. But then again Fury didn¡¯t trust most people so Theo and the others weren¡¯t really worried about it. Magneto was still the face of the organization that the world knew about, but he now knew who he was really working with. Speaking of which, it was nice to see the faces of Xavier and Magneto when they met the Captain. Ezekiel took a picture of them both and has it hung up on the wall in his personal work area. Since they were both brought in, things have streamlined a bit more and a few of their team has even been allowed to come to the main base. Mostly it was Storm, Raven, Beast and Sabertooth. Sabertooth was only allowed into the base after he met with Inoichi though, which helped to calm him down a little bit and also made him not want to fight Logan or Laura any time they met each other. Another thing of note to happen at the base was one of the reformed widows trying to court Coulson. Theo wasn''t sure how it started, but she liked Coulson and made it very clear to him that she liked him. For the past three months whenever he was in the base and she wasn''t busy with her duties. She would find him and follow him around till he had to leave. She would even sit in at meetings next to him or would watch him when he was practicing the mystic arts. At first Coulson tried to be diplomatic about the whole thing, saying he appreciated the gesture but didn''t have time for any type of relationship. When she made it clear she was already happy with the weird little thing already going on, Coulson just gave up and let it happen. He even embraced it a little by making sure they would always share a meal together whenever he was in the base, much to the exasperation of Fury. The last thing of importance to happen in the main base was Ava and her progress in the mystic arts. Tao and the other masters who were acting as teachers took Ava and Coulson to the hidden island to practice making portals. Which both of them were now able to do, while Fury and the other students still needed some more practice to reach that stage. Coulson was now in the base a lot more often and also acted as a shuttle for Fury until he could portal himself around. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Ava¡¯s theme park adventures happened within a few weeks of her perfecting the portal skill. Ava and the kids little adventure outside of the base made Ezekiel and Fury go over all of the security systems in place and they ended up changing a lot of minor issues. They also added a few new security features and had a small monitoring team always on duty. It was a fun two weeks for Theo¡¯s unlucky clone, but the base was a lot more secure and the kids had a little less freedom now. Speaking of the kids, all of them were given extra duty around the base for two months and Ava wasn¡¯t allowed to learn any new magic for three months. She could still practice and focus on what was helping to keep her stable, but that was it. Ezekiel did press the importance of coming to him or someone else if the kids had any issues. He also reinforced that no matter what the request or issue was, Ezekiel would consider it fully. Even if the request was something silly, like someone wanted a pony¡­ The incident also made him look into how much it would cost to rent out a theme park for the day for the kids around the base and the kids from Xavier¡¯s school. It turned out you couldn¡¯t really do that, but Theo was gonna figure out something so the kids could go have some fun besides the hidden island they used. Maybe he could just build a theme park on the hidden island, but then he would need to find people to run it. Maybe his clones could? The more he thought about it the more issues he found in his plans. Meanwhile the social media platform Theo created was slowly getting more popular. He had already created the perfect operating system for smartphones, he just needed someone to create an affordable smartphone and he was sure they would blow up in popularity. He had some plans to look into contacting someone soon to start the process. He was going to ask Hank about it, but the man was still tirelessly working to find his wife. Hank and his team were still in the process of building the quantum tunnel and wouldn¡¯t be finished for over a year or more, since almost every part needed to be custom made from scratch. As for the platforms, the video service was the most popular platform currently and was increasing the fastest. It also had two new stars that were becoming popular. One of them was a random kid from the Xavier Institute who recorded and uploaded the aftermath of Kurt''s first video. It was pretty much Kitty chasing after Kurt with a sword for about ten minutes, but it blew up because of Kurt''s popularity and how funny it was to watch. The kid was still uploading new videos but most of them were just random funny things that happened at the school. Apparently people loved to watch meta-humans who couldn''t fully control their own powers, since half the time something funny happened while they used them. He would even do short interviews with anyone he filmed so people could learn more about them. The other rising star was also from the school, but it was an all girl band led by Dazzler. She was the singer and used her powers to do amazing light shows. The other girls in the band also had similar powers to enhance their performance. One of them was Jubilee who would shoot out random fireworks as she ripped on lead guitar. The drummer who went by Fog, had a power to pretty much produce and control fog. She would cover the area above and below the band in fog which would help enhance Dazzler¡¯s lights and Jubilee¡¯s fireworks. The last member was the bassist named Aurora, who had a power to produce something similar to the Aurora Borealis. With all of them combined performing it made a spectacular show which was causing them to become popular. The only thing holding them back was they were currently a cover band and had no original songs yet. But that wasn¡¯t a bad thing, since people who enjoyed their videos could vote on the next song they would perform and record. As for Theo¡¯s home life, the only thing important that happened besides some birthdays in which Peter and he turned five, while Milly turned four. It was Jonathan Pangborn and Sara were married at his family''s shop one weekend. The whole affair was semi private with only Theo¡¯s extended family, and the immediate family of Jon and Sara, along with a handful of friends. It was a pretty fun experience overall for Theo since he had never been to a wedding before. Jacob BBQ¡¯d for the entire wedding party which was a little over fifty people. It was part of his wedding gift for both of them including a month of paid vacation for their honeymoon. Ben¡¯s gift was paying for the rest of the party, the cake and a pair of plane tickets to Europe. They were planning to travel around the place for their month-long honeymoon. The wedding itself was pretty fast overall and wasn¡¯t too fancy compared to a normal one. While everyone was slightly dressed up, it wasn¡¯t formal with tuxedos and dresses. Jon wore black colored dress slacks and a nice looking blue collared shirt. Sara wore a pretty teal colored dress that stopped at her knees and highlighted her now blue colored hair. After they finished their vows it just turned into a pretty normal party except for the wedding cake. Speaking of the wedding cake, when Milly saw it her eyes lit up and she told her mom in all seriousness, ¡°Mom! I need to get married!¡± 00085. Planning a coup. Sunday, August, 1st, 1999 Theo¡¯s clone Ezekiel was seated in the main base''s meeting room with a handful of people currently on their council. Ezekiel called a meeting to figure out a plan for taking over the island nation of Genosha. Magneto, Xavier, Fury, Peggy, Tao, Agatha and Steve were seated at the table next to him. Ezekiel pulled up some images which he displayed on the wall in front of everyone as he said, "This is Genosha, a small island off the coast of Africa. I promised Magneto that he could have this country and we are going to help him turn it into a safe haven for mutants." Peggy glanced at Fury for a moment before she looked back at Ezekiel and said, "You can''t just promise someone a country and why wasn''t this brought up to the whole council earlier?" Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "Because it was a personal promise from me. I did tell Fury about it and he agreed with me that an island was reasonable." Everyone turned to look towards Fury who shook his head as he said, "I only agreed with him because I didn''t want Magneto to have Mars." Everyone glanced back at Ezekiel who shrugged as Peggy said, "You can''t just offer people stuff you don''t own and you can''t just take over a country." "Why not? Your homeland used to do it all the time." Peggy frowned as she said, "That was a long time ago and things were different then. Plus with the UN around, they will try to stop you as soon as you make a move." Ezekiel smiled as he said, "That''s why we will take over the country in a single day." "That''d be impossible with the resources we currently have. Plus what about the people who currently live there? They won''t agree to someone else taking over." Ezekiel typed on his computer for a few moments before some videos popped up on the wall. It showed people dressed in prison uniforms with collars around their necks, these people worked as slaves for some well dressed people. As the video played Ezekiel said, "This is video from the real Genosha. What they don''t show to the handful of foreign dignitaries that visit each year." "Before you go thinking they might be criminals and that is how they reform people. It''s not, anyone not born into the handful of ruling families are treated as slaves. Any newborns are stripped from the parents and sent to education camps." The videos changed to prison-like schools where kids were chained up and taught how to behave and act. Steve was the first to speak as he asked, "How soon can we attack?" Ezekiel typed on his computer again pulling up a few things. He then looked at the group as he said, "Some UN officials will be visiting in a few weeks. I want to plan the attack right after they leave." Xavier''s brow furrowed as he asked, "Even counting people with powers, trying to take over a country with our group might be a little hard." Ezekiel looked back at the screen as some new information popped up and showed a highly detailed map of the whole island. Certain things were highlighted as he said, "We only need to worry about these key areas. It''s where most of the manpower is stationed." Another building came up with giant towers and dishes pointed out from it. Ezekiel motioned to it as he said, "That is the first goal and the priority target. It''s the command center for the collars and from what I can tell is how they keep everyone in line. If someone acts out or is disobedient the collar will either harm them, or outright kill them. Fury studied the info before as he said, "It looks like we have to deal with over ten thousand soldiers and the ruling class. Even then, that might be a little hard with our current resources." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "Even with our powered members, it will be hard to accomplish without help. Luckily Tao and Agatha agreed to help for a small price." Ezekiel pulled up the map of the island and highlighted a new area as he looked at Magneto and said, "Apparently this area is steeped in magical energy. They want to find out why and then build a sanctum for teaching mystic arts on top of it." Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Magneto glanced at Xavier for a few moments as they shared a mental conversation, before he looked at Tao as he said, "We see no reason to deny your request. But we would also like to request if it''s possible to train a few of our people in the mystic arts? Just the ability to make portals is extremely useful." Tao nodded as she said, "I don''t see a reason we can¡¯t. But keep in mind, we only take students who are truly interested in the mystic arts." Xavier and Magneto both nodded in understanding before Ezekiel said, "Alright with that out of the way, we need to do scouting of the island." Ezekiel glanced at Steve as he said, "Steve, I want you to get together with Kaecilius. Make at least four teams and scout all of the buildings I marked from the mirror dimension. They are running a closed network, so you''ll also need to use my USB drives on any computers or servers you find." Ezekiel then glanced around the room as he asked, "Anyone have anything else that you want to add?" When he didn''t receive a reply, Ezekiel said, "Alright, we''ll meet back up tomorrow after the scouting is finished and plan the invasion." As everyone left the room, Ezekiel turned his attention back to his computer. He had been planning the aftermath of them taking over a country and had been gathering supplies for the past few months. He had already ordered enough material to build a few thousand houses. Now he was working on supplies to feed people for a few months. While they could use the resources from the island, he just wanted to be prepared for any issues that might come up. The following day the group gathered to go over the scouting data and information collected from their target''s computer systems. The information they gathered was distressing and made everyone want to push forward with the invasion right away. The things those people were doing to everyone else was monstrous and even Ezekiel wanted to push the attack deadline ahead. The biggest issue for the push was what they found hidden on the island. Underneath the island was a secret facility that was doing human and meta-human experimentation. They were part of the Weapon-x program and worked with the leaders of the country, to use most of the population for their experiments. Mostly they were focused on some type of mind control and conditioning program. But they also had a small cloning project setup for trying to make another X-23, which seemed to be working as they had four living clones. But only the youngest of the clones seemed to be somewhat healthy, the other three were in bad shape from protecting the youngest girl. Just another reason the group wanted to push forward with the invasion plans. But the fact that this new facility wasn''t on any records they found at the first facility they raided, or the fact that the reanimated Stryker, Rice and Sutter never knew about this place, was concerning. Ezekiel scanned over all the data he received and couldn¡¯t find any information on who was funding the place or who was really in charge. There were a few people leading the different projects and one man in charge of all the soldiers. But Ezekiel couldn¡¯t find a single person who was above everyone else at the facility itself. The only info he found was this place was slightly older then the first facility they raided. Ezekiel let out a sigh and focused on something he could do. As Fury and the others were discussing the best plan of attack and who should be grouped together. Ezekiel worked on changing the UN officials trip to the island and having it rescheduled to a later date. It wasn''t that hard and within ten minutes it was done. He then focused on removing all satellite coverage above the area, besides the ones he controlled. Within a few hours they had a complete plan of attack ready, including a bunch of contingency plans. They scheduled the attack to commence in two days after they finished all of their preparations. The meeting soon finished up and before anyone stood up or the room cleared out. Fury pulled out a folder and set it on the table as he said, "I found Clint, I wanna bring him into our group." Ezekiel reached over and picked up the folder to go over it. When he finished he slid it back to Fury as he said, "Isn''t it too soon?" Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°I wanna bring him in before Shield finds out about him.¡± The others in the group were curious and Steve was the first to ask, ¡°Who¡¯s Clint?¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer to pull up some videos of a young man with a bow. He was in a circus tent performing in front of a large crowd and he fired five arrows quickly all hitting almost dead center of the target. Another video played which showed him shooting arrows at a woman as she was strapped to a target. She was slowly spinning and he was shooting two or three arrows at a time. Then some more info pulled up on the screen which showed he was currently twenty years old. Fury frowned a little as he asked, ¡°You already found him?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°About a year ago. I was planning to invite him sooner or later, but I figured I would let him enjoy his marriage a bit first.¡± Peggy was still reading the info on the screen as she asked, ¡°He¡¯s only good at archery, why do you want to recruit him?¡± Ezekiel glanced over to Peggy as he said, ¡°He tends to be an important hero most of the time, even if he is just a normal human.¡± Fury nodded as he said, ¡°Which is why I want to bring him in now. He could be a big help in taking down Hydra.¡± Ezekiel glanced around the room as he asked, ¡°I know it¡¯s not the full group, but does anyone have any objections?¡± When no one disagreed, Ezekiel turned to look at Fury as he said, ¡°You need to recruit him yourself, but I have a feeling he might turn you down if you don¡¯t find a way to bring his wife.¡± 00086. Hawkeyes first time. Saturday, August, 7th, 1999 Clint didn''t want to admit it, but he was nervous. Only a few days ago he worked in a traveling circus with his wife. Until some bald pirate showed up offering him a job. The pirate didn''t really describe the job at first, he just said, ''You''ll use the skills you''ve trained your whole life perfecting, to make the world a better place.'' Clint would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested, even though he didn''t know anything else about the potential job. Since he was a kid he always dreamed what it would be like to be a hero like Captain America. It was just a silly kid''s dream, but it was always there in the back of his mind. It was one of the main reasons he pushed himself to be so good with archery. So after thinking it over some, he talked it over with his wife. Laura, the wonderful woman she was, supported him completely. She told him to take the offer and see what happens. It was only a few days later and now he was geared up and was about to take part in an invasion of some country he had never heard of before. It sounded bad, but he was fighting for the good guys. How did he know that? Captain freaking America was part of the organization he joined. That was probably the biggest surprise that happened so far. Magic being real was a close second. Clint glanced around at the other people with him, everyone was dressed up in all black tactical gear. Along with black balaclavas and masks that covered their faces completely. The masks were a little weird, being white and red and shaped like different animals. His own mask was modeled after a hawk. The masks somehow didn''t restrict the person''s vision and even seemed to improve it. When he asked how, he was told the masks were inscribed with magic to make it work and that they could also stop a bullet. That was one thing he didn''t plan to test though. Clint glanced at the only person dressed differently than everyone else. It was a large man named Mikhail who was part of the assault squad. Mikhail only wore some camo pants. No shoes, socks, mask, or even a weapon for that matter. Clint had no idea what the man was going to do when they attacked and was too intimidated to ask. He cleared his mind, it wasn¡¯t his job to worry about it. He was with the first wave that was meant to be stealthy and take out as many targets as possible before anyone noticed. Someone patted his shoulder and he turned to look at Captain America who smiled at him as he asked, "How''re you feeling?" Clint let out a slight chuckle before he said, "Nervous, but also excited sir." The man smiled and said, "Just call me Steve or Cap. No need to be formal around me." "Alright, Cap." Steve gave him another pat on the shoulder as he asked, "I didn''t look into your background, is this your first time doing something like this?" Clint nodded in reply before Cap asked, "Have you ever killed someone before?" "No." Steve studied the man for a few moments before he said, "The best advice I can give you is try not to over complicate it. Focus on the mission, your skills, and working with your team. Everything else can wait. Afterwards, once in a safe area. That''s when you can think over the actions you took during the mission." Clint nodded slowly as Steve gave him a smile before he said, ¡°You can also check in with one of our resident therapists after the mission if you need to. Remember, no one will ever look down on you for asking for help. So don¡¯t be afraid to ask for it, when you need it. We¡¯re only human after all.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Steve patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°You''re welcome. Now double check your gear and then go join the rest of your team.¡± As Cap walked over to the rest of the stealth group, Clint pulled off his quiver to go over his arrows one more time. Once finished he checked his bow over and did one more sight test before he stood up to walk over to his team. He looked over his group, which was the smallest one with only twenty people in it. He was a little concerned that he hasn¡¯t had a chance to train with any of these people yet or meet them properly, but the team leader said it would be fine. Clint¡¯s only job was to go on overwatch and call out targets for the team. Clint frowned as he thought, ¡®Easy, no pressure at all.¡¯ The team leader who had spiky silver hair and wore a wolf mask spoke up as he said, ¡°Alright everyone, collect your gear and let¡¯s move to the portal room.¡± As his team started to move out, the leader stayed back with another person in a crow mask. When Clint walked past them, they joined him as the leader said, ¡°Hawk, this is Crow. He''ll be your shadow for this mission. He¡¯ll watch your back, while you watch over ours.¡± Clint gave a slight nod to the man as he said, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Crow nodded in reply as he said, ¡°I look forward to working with you.¡± They finished the walk to the portal room in silence, where they met one of the wizards that worked for the organization. Clint shook his head, it was sorcerer not wizard. He was corrected the first time he called one of them a wizard. Something about them not wearing hats and to be respectful. Clint watched as the man in question nodded to the group and waved his hands before the world started to shatter like glass around them. Afterwards the man waved his hand in a circle and a portal appeared which Clint¡¯s team moved through. On the other side of the portal they appeared just inside a fortified compound. It was the middle of the night and within moments all of his team had disappeared from Clint''s sight. Clint looked around for just a moment and then took off at a sprint towards the northwest watch tower, which had the best view of the place. Once he arrived at the top of the guard tower, he saw Crow was in position next to the guards in the tower. He held a knife in his right hand as he stood slightly behind and between the two men, so that he wouldn¡¯t be seen when he appeared. Clint took up a position outside the tower with a good view, but he could still see Crow from the corner of his eye. It only took about a minute before a voice was heard in every team member''s ears as the team leader said, ¡°This is Wolf, we will be pulled out in ten, nine, eight¡­ One.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The world started to shatter as Clint and his team reentered the real world. Before it finished Crow didn¡¯t hesitate as he stabbed his knife into one man''s carotid artery. Instead of pulling the knife out he pushed it forward through the front of the man¡¯s throat. The man¡¯s eyes went wide as he reached for his neck. As the man let out a wet squelch from his opened up throat. Crow had already pivoted and thrust his knife into the other man¡¯s right temple, straight into his brain. Crow released the knife and Clint watched as Crow disappeared from the tower as both men dropped to the floor dead or dying. It took Clint a few moments to realize he hadn¡¯t moved yet. He quickly took a glance around as he nocked an arrow and saw that his team had already taken care of part of the roaming patrols while he was stunned. Clint then zeroed his bow in on one of the patrols as he scanned the area. He pulled back on his bow as he said, ¡°Patrol on the west side near the gate. Targeting right side.¡± He let his arrow fly as he pulled out another one and nocked it. The arrow struck true and took the man through the eye socket as Wolf appeared behind the other man, slitting the man¡¯s throat before he disappeared just as quickly. Clint already had his next target sighted and bow drawn back as both men dropped to the ground. He called out as he let his next arrow fly, ¡°Three men under southwest guard tower. Targeting center.¡± Clint wasn''t sure how much time passed before Wolf said over comms, "Alpha base is clear, we need a resupply and then a portal to bravo." Clint glanced over his shoulder at his quiver to check how many arrows he had left. After he finished his quick count, he headed down the tower to the other members of his team. A portal appeared soon afterwards as one of the sorcerer''s floated a case through it. As everyone started to restock their gear, Clint asked, "I know we were quick, but how come the alarm didn''t go off?" Crow glanced at Clint as he said, "Ezekiel took over their computer systems when we scouted the place. The alarms are disconnected and the camera system is playing a loop." Clint nodded in understanding before he asked, "Then why do we have the second team? Shouldn¡¯t we be able to clear everything like this?¡± "The second team is to help us with Hotel base, which is where the bulk of the soldiers are stationed." Wolf said as he handed Clint a new quiver of arrows. The next couple hours passed in a blur for Clint as they swept through the next few bases, clearing them out. Afterwards they met up with the other team and prepared to attack the last base. As they finished with another resupply, Wolf walked over to Clint before he asked, "How are you feeling?" "A little fatigued, but good." Wolf nodded as he said, "You can stick this one out if you want, our team might not do much this time with the other team joining us. We''ll mostly be working as support for them." Clint shook his head as he said, "I''ll be fine, I''ve been in a supporting role all night anyway." "Then we¡¯ll be counting on you again, keep up the good work." Wolf gave him a quick thumbs up as he turned around to check on the other team members. His team ended up waiting for about ten minutes before they were pulled into the mirror dimension and portaled into Hotel base. Clint¡¯s team disappeared from sight as they spread out to different target areas under the tower that Clint was going to use. As Clint finished getting into position in one of the tallest watchtowers, a new voice came over the comms as a man said, ¡°Slight change of plans, someone wants to dance.¡± Clint heard a few people complain over the comms about someone named Madara, before the same man said, ¡°Settle down, he is test running the new shadow clone technique Tobirama, Orochimaru and Minato completed. Just be ready to clean up the stragglers when he¡¯s finished.¡± Clint looked over to Crow as he asked, ¡°What are they talking about?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out sooner or later, let¡¯s just enjoy the show for now.¡± Crow walked outside of the tower and stood next to Clint as a few massive explosions went off on the far side of the base which caused the whole place to wake up. Within half a minute men started to swarm out of the buildings ready to fight and within a minute commanders were taking charge of the men and trying to figure out what was going on. The people in Clint¡¯s tower also walked outside to see what was going on and stood next to Clint in the real world. It didn¡¯t take long before music started to blast through the whole base from their intercom system and a man in red armor appeared walking from where the explosions occurred. Clint couldn¡¯t tell for sure, but the man looked like he had glowing red eyes. Clint watched as the soldiers took notice of the man and raised their weapons towards him yelling something he couldn¡¯t hear over the music. Clint glanced at Crow as he asked, ¡°Is that guy trying to get killed?¡± Crow chuckled as he said over the music, ¡°Don¡¯t blink or you¡¯ll miss it.¡± ¡®My sister looks cute in her braces and boots. A handful of grease in her hair.¡¯ A glissando was heard from a piano and the music kicked up a little more and the man disappeared from view. A second later some of the troops who were lined up went flying into the air as the man appeared in the middle of their group, wielding a giant fan and sickle connected together by a chain. Some people tried to shoot him as he began to tear through them like they were made of paper. People, body parts and a rain of blood was the only thing that could be made out from wherever the man went. ¡®Oh, don''t give us none of your aggravation, we had it with your discipline.¡¯ As the man moved from the first group of soldier¡¯s to the next, the only thing left in his wake was a trail of dead bodies. Clint couldn¡¯t keep up with the man¡¯s movements at all and just followed the trail of carnage he left. Then Clint noticed one of the commanders pull out a grenade and throw it where the man was moving. The man slowed down just enough to bury his sickle into a man¡¯s head, catch the grenade and throw it back at the commander. ¡®Oh, Saturday night''s alright for fighting! Get a little action in!¡¯ As Clint watched he let out a sigh before he asked, ¡°Who the fuck is this guy and why are we even here if he can do that?¡± Crow let out a laugh as he asked, ¡°Would you believe that this is only about ten percent of his true power?¡± Clint shook his head as he said, ¡°I hope you''re joking.¡± The man jumped back from a rocket that was shot at him, he placed the fan on his back as he weaved a few one handed signs which made a large wall of earth rise up from the ground in front of him. Some more rocket¡¯s slammed into the wall as the man placed the sickle on his back and he weaved even more hand signs. ¡®Get about as oiled as a diesel train. Gonna set this dance alight!¡¯ He brought his hands to his mouth as the wall of earth collapsed and he breathed a jet of flame from his mouth that covered all of the remaining troops in fire. When he finished he disappeared from view and a few seconds later one of the watchtowers exploded as maniacal laughter could be heard from that direction over the music. ¡°You''re joking¡­ Right?¡± 00087: Island clean up As Madara was busy with his dance party, a small team entered the hidden facility under the base. Ezekiel used the security system and called most of the soldiers from the facility to help deal with the threat attacking the base. Which left it currently manned with a skeleton crew. The team was Steve, Bucky, Logan and Kaecilius. Ezekiel was back at their base acting as over watch for the whole mission and controlling the enemies computer systems. As they walked through the hallways of the facility, Ezekiel would point them towards each target. Time passed quickly and it didn¡¯t take long for them to clear out most of the remaining soldiers. The only issue they ran into was when they arrived in the X-23 cloning section. The base commander realized something was wrong with the security systems, he decided to use the clones as a delaying tactic. Him and a handful of people were hunkered down in that part of the base as they waited for reinforcements. They had injected the clones with something and then tossed them into the hallway outside before they barricaded the door shut. Whatever they gave the clones caused all of them to collapse on the ground except for the youngest. The youngest clone was hunched over the others as she shook each of them, calling each one by their name. But none of them seemed to be responding to the girl at all. As Steve moved closer with his group the girl looked up with tears running down her face. It took her a moment before she jumped in front of the other girls and a single metal claw slid out of her hands as she choked out in a pain filled voice, "If you try to hurt my sisters I''ll kill you." Logan''s claws popped out on instinct but he didn''t move as Steve put his hands up and said, "We aren''t going to hurt you or your sister''s, we actually came here to help you." The girl lowered her arms the tiniest bit as she asked, "Why should I trust you? You might be like everyone else." Steve smiled gently as he said, "How about we start small, let us help your sisters." The girl stiffened and cast a quick glance behind her before she said, "I''m not stupid, you just want to take them hostage." Logan stepped forward, his claws already retracted as he said, "Then you can have me as your hostage while my friends check over your sister''s." The girl quickly glanced at her sisters once again before she nodded once and moved slightly forward. Logan slowly moved forward and once he was halfway to the girl she said, "Lock your fingers together and place your hands behind your head. Then get on your knees by the wall." After Logan finished the girl moved quickly and stood behind him, one claw on his throat the other over his temple. She looked at the other men and said, "You try anything funny and he dies. Then I''ll kill you." Steve nodded as Bucky and Kaecilius slowly walked with him towards the three girls on the floor. Steve crouched down as he started to examine them, the girl watched him like a hawk the entire time. Steve shook his head as he said, "They''re alive, but I have no idea what''s wrong with them." Ezekiel''s voice came through the intercom speakers above them as he said, "I''ve already informed Tsunade, she will join you shortly." The girl jerked slightly and cut into Logan''s neck a tiny bit as Ezekiel spoke. Before she narrowed her eyes and her voice took on a hard edge as she asked, "You work for them?" As the girl looked at Steve, she slowly pressed her claw into Logan''s neck. An instant later another person appeared next to Steve already bent over one of her sisters. The girl pressed her claw deeper into Logan¡¯s neck out of reflex. Logan held back from defending himself as he gritted his teeth and quietly waited. Ezekiel''s voice spoke out over the speaker again as he said, "Words don''t mean much, but we¡¯re not part of this facility, I''ve just taken over their systems. Now if you would kindly remove your claw from Logan''s neck, I am sure it would make us all feel better." The girl kept her eyes on the new person who arrived and slowly removed her claw from Logan''s neck before Ezekiel said, "Thank you. Now my friend is going to check on your sisters, so don''t be alarmed when you see some green mist come out of her hand." After he finished the woman placed a hand above one of her sisters as a green mist came out of her plan. The woman slowly moved her hand above the girl for about half a minute before she checked the other two girls. She glanced up at the girl holding Logan hostage as she said, "Something is killing them. Did anything happen to them recently?" The girl tensed up then glared at the door that was bared shut behind the group. Her eyes started to tear up again as she looked back at Tsunade and said, "They gave us something before they pushed us out the door. After a minute my sisters collapsed." "I''ll need to move your sister''s someplace if I have any hope of treating them." The girl frowned, tears still falling down her face as she said, "Fix them here." Tsunade shook her head as she said, "I can''t, we don''t have the proper equipment and I''ll need help." Ezekiel''s voice cut on over the speakers again as he said, "How about we let you keep Logan as a hostage, while we try to help your sister''s? You can even join them, but you¡¯ll have to stand back and let my friends work. Does that sound acceptable to you?" Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The girl nodded her head after a few moments, so Kaecilius spun his arm to make a portal. As the portal opened the girls eyes widened some before a few people stepped out of the portal. They quickly lifted up each of the girls and took them through the portal to set them on hospital gurneys. As they finished, Tsunade stepped through the portal to join them and once on the other side she said, "Hurry up, we don''t want to waste any time." The girl slowly let Logan stand and was able to keep her claw on his neck as they moved. Once they went through the portal, Kaecilius collapsed it and Ezekiel said in their ear pieces, "I know what they used on the girls, but you¡¯ll still need to collect a sample of it if we want to help them. So try not to destroy the place." Within the next ten minutes Steve and his team were able to clear out the last group of resistance in the facility. Once finished Ezekiel pointed them to the serum they injected into the girls. It was supposed to make them go berserk, but instead it was attacking their bodies. The youngest girl wasn''t having an issue because she was the only one that inherited a healing factor. As for why she didn¡¯t go berserk? Ezekiel had no idea. As Tsunade and the others worked on a way to help the girls, everyone else was focused on cleaning up the rest of the island. After a few more hours, the only people alive on the island were the slaves and Ezekiel''s team mates that worked on the rescue operation. Ezekiel himself was currently busy as he worked on disarming the slave collars. They didn''t make it easy for him either, every single collar was unique and had to be disabled manually. But that wasn''t even the hard part, once they had someone free of the collar. They still needed to deprogram them and let a Yamanaka help with their mind therapy. The last issue and the worst was the success rate. So far out of about two hundred people processed only five still had their minds intact. The brainwashing techniques that were used pretty much destroyed a person''s mind and turned them into a mindless drone. So far the five people they were able to cure were younger and had just been through the brainwashing process not long ago. Which made Ezekiel change his focus and was targeting younger slaves specifically for now. The next two months passed by quickly as everyone from Ezekiel''s group worked on saving as many people as possible. Which also made a few things change about how the island was going to be used. While the country was originally meant for meta-humans to have a place to call their own. A place where they could live in peace without fear, to be able to walk around normally and not hide who or what they are. Magneto decided that once they went public and declared they were a new nation, he would allow anyone immigration into the country. Meta-humans were to be given priority, compared to normal humans though. And Ezekiel agreed to use his resources to do background checks and psychological evaluations on each person who applied. Its immigration policy would be a lot more strict than any other country in the world, well besides Wakanda who didn''t allow people in. But Magneto wanted to make sure that people who moved there had good intentions and wouldn''t discriminate against people with visible powers or to be more accurate, people with deformities. vvvvvv Ezekiel was seated in the main meeting room with most of the council members going over plans for the new country. His team had finally released all of the slaves two weeks ago and they were discussing what to do with the people who didn''t make it. Steve''s voice was raised slightly as he said, "There has to be something we can do for them. We can''t just kill all those people." Xavier shook his head as he said, "Ezekiel and I have both tried everything we can. They have nothing in their minds to bring them back. We even brought in Tao and Agatha to help, but nothing worked." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "Plus we don''t have the ability to take care of them in their current state." "Then let''s figure out a way to take care of them." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No, we won''t waste anymore resources on this. We''ve spent the last three weeks on this and we double checked all of them. They are in worse shape than a comatose patient.¡± Steve frowned and was about to speak again, when Peggy reached over to hold his hand. Steve glanced towards her and she shook her head as she said, ¡°I know how you feel Steve, but Ezekiel and the others are right. They¡¯ve done everything they can for those people, but they aren¡¯t coming back.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s almost a hundred thousand people. Can¡¯t we try something?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°My clones and part of our personnel are being run ragged and we still can¡¯t even take care of all of them properly. I haven¡¯t even started working on the infrastructure or housing yet because we have so many bodies to watch over right now.¡± ¡°I agree with Ezekiel, we need to euthanize them and move on. It¡¯s morbid and I don¡¯t like it, but it will let their souls move on and rest.¡± Tao said as she glanced around at the other council members. ¡°Let¡¯s just vote on it, all in favor?¡± Fury raised his hand as he finished speaking. The vote passed with only Steve and Jarvis voting against it. Once that was finished, they moved onto other issues that needed to be addressed on the island. Mainly food, housing, city planning and a bunch of other boring issues. It took a few hours but they had a solid plan in place once they were finished and they finally came to the last issue. Ezekiel typed on his computer and pulled up the last issue on their list they needed to discuss for the day. The four clones they rescued from the facility. While they figured out what the girls were given and were able to neutralize it. The girls were still dying and everything they¡¯ve done is just prolonging their life, not fixing the underlying issue. As everyone looked over the information Ezekiel pulled up for them, Hank asked, ¡°Couldn¡¯t we transfer them into a new clone body? That is what you are trying to do with your clones, correct?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Ya but it¡¯s still in the testing phase and none of them have been stable yet. Plus we would need to make a clone specifically for each girl and they are already a clone of a clone.¡± Ezekiel pulled up some more info before he said, ¡° The fact they made four semi viable clones out of hundreds of attempts just proves how hard it will be to make them a new body and we don¡¯t have the time to wait. They will be dead within a week.¡± Agatha glanced at Tao before she said, ¡°This might be in bad taste, but what if we took three of the people who we¡¯re going to euthanize and use their bodies for the girls?¡± Everyone glanced at Steve for a moment, but when he didn¡¯t respond to what Agatha just said, Tao nodded her head as she said, ¡°It might work, but I will need to see them first and test a few things though.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s end the meeting here then, if no one has anything else to add?¡± Ezekiel said as he looked around the room. 00088: When does a person die? Gabby was seated in her sisters hospital room as she watched her sisters in their comatose sleep. Her only real companion was the sounds from the medical equipment, letting her know they were still alive. The last couple of months had been crazy for her and her sister''s. Well mostly for her, he sisters were still asleep and wouldn¡¯t wake up. They still weren''t fully healed, and the people who rescued them said they were trying their best. But to her, their best just wasn¡¯t good enough. Her sisters were still dying. The corners of her eyes started to mist up as she thought about finally being free with her sisters, but not being able to enjoy it. The thing they all dreamed about was now here and yet¡­ She wanted to blame the people who had come to rescue them, but she knew she couldn''t. It wasn¡¯t their fault. Sure, their attack on the base forced them to become injected with that weird serum. But the serum wasn''t the issue. It just showed the underlying issue faster. Her sister''s bodies were already breaking down from being cloned. The only reason she wasn''t like them was because she was blessed with a working healing factor. She shook her head to clear it and think about the positives. They were free while also getting to meet the woman and man who were pretty much their parents from a genetics perspective. And they met the person they were cloned from, Laura. Laura was nice and even said she considered them all to be her little sisters. It was nice to have a new older sister. Hopefully her other sisters woke up to meet Laura and the others properly. It would be nice if they woke up soon¡­ Gabby wouldn¡¯t admit it, but she was so lonely without her sisters. Laura came to visit a lot, but it wasn¡¯t the same. Her sisters were with her since she could remember, Gabby was sad when they weren¡¯t around. Gabby looked up to the door as she heard someone knock before it opened up and a few people walked inside the room. She knew one of them, it was the man who didn''t smell. The other two were new, both of them were women who smelled a little weird. The man smiled as he said, "Gabby, I want you to meet some friends of mine. This is Tao and Agatha." Gabby nodded to the women in greeting before she looked back at Ezekiel and asked, "Did you figure out how to save them?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No, but we have an idea. We just need to test something first." Ezekiel turned to Tao as he said, "You can start whenever you like." Tao moved over to one of the girls and began to chant slowly as she moved her arms in a pattern above the girl''s body. After about a minute, an orangish golden spell formula appeared above the girl, and Gabby let out a small gasp as she watched. This was magic, like the portal thing she saw before. Were they going to use healing magic to help her sisters she thought getting a little excited. The formula slowly spread out and covered the girl from head to toe before it shot out golden wisps. The wisps connected to different points all over the girl''s body before they started to expand in size. After she finished with the first girl, she moved to the next and then finished with the last girl. A spell formula floated above each girl and pulsed slightly for about ten minutes. Then the spell formulas slowly faded from view as Tao let out a sigh. She frowned as she glanced over to Ezekiel and said, "It won''t work. Their souls are too weak." Gabby glanced between Tao and Ezekiel for a moment before she asked, "Is there a way to make them stronger?" "Yes, but it requires time. The best way would be for them to age normally." Tao shook her head. Agatha nodded as she said, "We could try to speed up the process, but trying that on souls that are already weak¡­ It could completely destroy them." Gabby''s eyes started to mist up again as she looked at her sister''s. Why did life hate them so much? Because they were clones? Because they weren¡¯t born normally? Were they not meant to be happy like everyone else? Tears started to run down her face as she thought about a life without her sisters. The sisters who did everything they could to protect her from the shitty life they were born into. Ezekiel placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as he said, "We still have a few more things we can try, don''t give up hope." She numbly nodded her head, tears still streaking down her face as she watched her sisters quietly. Ezekiel turned to the others and motioned them out of the room, before he softly shut the door. Ezekiel let out a sigh as they walked down the hallway before he said, "I have no idea what I¡¯m going to do." Tao placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, "Sometimes there is nothing you can do." Ezekiel glanced over at Tao as he said, "That doesn''t make me feel any better about it." "It wasn''t meant to." A week passed and nothing changed for the sisters, the handful of things they attempted didn''t work. Even the experimental longevity drug failed to work. It was dangerous, but it was the very last thing they could do for the girls. When even that failed to improve the girl''s situation, Gabby resigned herself to watch over her sisters till the end. vvvvv It was midnight and Theo was currently climbing his rock wall as some of his clones were reading in his personal training room. His thoughts were a mess as he thought over what else he could do for Gabby and her sisters. He had pulled out every obscure piece of knowledge about the marvel universe to help him. But he had still failed to help the dying girls, luck just wasn''t on their side. He thought of possibly putting them into some kinda stasis chamber, but Tao said it would just weaken their souls more. If their soul was complete and had no issues, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But a weak soul will only get weaker since the soul itself can¡¯t be put into stasis and the body itself won¡¯t be able to help the soul heal while it¡¯s in stasis. Theo really did try everything he could think of to save the girls. He even begged Tao to use the time stone on them, but after her examination of the girls. She said that even with the time stone, it wouldn¡¯t help. Their souls were too fragile and it could rip them apart. Unless of course we had the soul stone to help stabilize them, but then we wouldn''t need to use the time stone at that point. While Theo was lost in thought his chakra control lapsed and his next hand hold didn''t contact properly. As he released his other hand he immediately slipped off the wall and fell into the water pit below. As he pulled himself up out of the water, Shisui commented from the reading area nearby as he said, "You should just accept that you can''t save them." Theo let out a sigh as he walked over and sat down next to Shisui and his other clones. After about a minute Theo said, "I know, it''s just hard. Gabby should be this super positive kid that¡¯s always optimistic about everything. At least that¡¯s how she was in the comics after her sisters died. But the Gabby I¡¯ve met is barely holding it together.¡± Theo shook his head and said, ¡°Inoichi has tried to help the girl, but he said if her sisters die¡­ He doesn¡¯t know if he¡¯ll be able to help her get over that trauma. It might break her will to live.¡± Theo leaned forward and rested his head on the palms of his hands as he said, ¡°If only there was a way I could give them a full and happy life together." The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "You still can, or at least a fake one." Theo glanced over at Shisui, who smiled and pointed at another clone. Theo followed his finger and tried to figure out why he was pointing to Itachi. As Theo tried to figure out what Shisui meant, Shisui said, "Itachi gave Izumi a full and happy life¡­" "Son of a¡­" "Language young man." Agatha said as she interrupted Theo. Theo glanced over to Agatha who was smiling at him and he said, "You know I''m actually pretty old right?" "You will always be considered a child compared to me." Agatha winked as she finished and turned back to the book she was reading. Theo glanced back at Itachi for a few moments before he said, "It could work, but would we be able to group all the sisters together in one Tsukuyomi?" "Why not? That''s what Madara wanted to do." "Good point." Theo said, before he shook his head and said, "Thanks. I was so concerned about not being able to cure them. I forgot I could still do something for them." "That''s what you pay me for." Shisui flashed a cheeky grin when he finished. Theo shook his head as one of his other clones nearby asked, "You pay Shisui?" "I don''t pay him anything." The clone looked over at Theo as he said, "But he just said you did¡­" Theo reached up to rub the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he said, "I still have no idea how some of my clones get like this." Tobirama, who was seated close by, spoke up as he said, "It''s some flaw I missed from the shadow clone jutsu when I made it. When you make more than ten, the rest tend to have a weird personality quirk. Then again, I never thought people would be able to make more than a handful at a time in the first place." Tobirama pointed at the clone of Theo who thought Shisui was paid as he said, "That one seems more gullible than normal." vvvvv Gabby watched as Ezekiel and some other people were working on her sisters. Ezekiel had come by the day before and told her he figured something out. Something that would give her sisters a full life. As Ezekiel and the others finished. One by one her sisters started to wake up. She instantly bolted from her chair to greet them as her oldest sister Zelda said, "You''re a mess." Gabby cracked a weak smile as she said, "You aren''t much better yourself." Another sister, Bellona scoffed before she said, "At least we aren''t crying like a little kid." Gabby tried to wipe her face as she said, "I wasn''t crying, something was in my eyes." Ezekiel smirked as he said, "I believe the proper response is, ''Oh look, it''s raining." All the girls turned to glare at him, he just gave a friendly wave before he said, "I''ll leave you girls alone." vvvvv Ezekiel, Tao, Itachi, Inoichi and Agatha watched the girls who were all laid out on beds. The four beds were placed in an X so that all of their heads were next to each other. In the middle of the X was a weird looking pyramid. The pyramid was made of vibranium and had a bunch of runic symbols etched into its surface. It also contained a few rare gems and other precious metals laid out on its surface almost like a circuit board. It glowed with an otherworldly light as it pulsed where orangish spell lines connected to it. Those spell lines connected to each of the girl''s heads and to a complicated spell matrix floating above them all. Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he asked, "You think it will stay stable?" Tao nodded as she said, "With the vibranium as the core focus, it should have no issues." Inoichi agreed as he said, "When Itachi cast his Tsukuyomi on the girls, it was stable. I also made a mental block for Gabby, she won''t be affected when she dies." Ezekiel let out a sigh of relief before he asked, "How long do they have before it ends?" "It will end sometime tomorrow night." Inoichi frowned as he asked, "Don''t you think you should have told Gabby the truth?" "I wanted to, but I felt it might dampen her mood going in. I will deal with the consequences when she comes out of it." Tao smiled as she put a hand on Ezekiel''s shoulder as she said, "I am sure she will appreciate the gesture when she comes out." Ezekiel just nodded his head as he watched the girls dream of what their life should have been like together. vvvvv Gabby slowly opened her eyes, which were fuzzy from sleeping. As she blinked to clear her eyes, she tried to remember what just happened, her memory was being a little hazy. She was¡­ Gabby shot up in bed, she had just died. She paused, this wasn¡¯t her home¡­ She glanced around the room for a few moments, trying to figure out where she was. Then her eyes landed on her sisters, her sisters that were still young. Her eyes widened as she remembered, they were trying something to cure them. But it worked, they were cured¡­ They lived a whole life together¡­ Was she reliving her life just before she died, she remembered hearing that could happen. But this didn¡¯t feel like a dream to her. She glanced down at her hands, her young looking hands. She clenched her fists and her blades popped out, one out of each fist. As she looked at them a creeping feeling over took her and she somehow knew this wasn¡¯t a dream. This¡­ This was real. As she retracted her claws she stood up out of bed and glanced around the room. She saw Ezekiel seated in the corner of the room, he had looked up at her when she made noise getting out of bed. As he stood up, he motioned her to come towards him. Her feet dragged on the ground as she shuffled closer to him as she tried to figure out what was going on. She clearly remembered living a full and happy life with her sisters. So many happy memories flashed through her mind, all of them with her sisters. But she also knew that she was now here and that this was real. Everything in the room felt and smelled real, this had to be real. But the life she just lived was also real. It had to be, she felt all of it. You couldn¡¯t fake that¡­ Her eyes started to mist up as every fiber of her being screamed at her, that it couldn¡¯t have been fake¡­ That this was fake and her memories were what was real. Ezekiel waited as she made her way over to him, lost in her own thoughts. When she finally stopped in front of him, he gave her a sad smile as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t save your sisters.¡± Gabby¡¯s mind raced as she thought over his words and the implication behind them. She took a deep shaking breath, tears threatening to spill out as she asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Then¡­ Then that wasn¡¯t real?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Gabby looked down at her shaking hands, which she was clenching unconsciously. She glanced back at her sisters for a moment, before she looked at Ezekiel again as she said, ¡°Everything felt so real¡­¡± Her voice cracked with hope as she asked, ¡°It had to be real¡­ Right?¡± Ezekiel placed a comforting hand on Gabby¡¯s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. That slight touch helped to calm the girls shaking body as he said, ¡°It was the only thing I could do to give you and your sisters a full life.¡± Gabby''s body started to shake again as Ezekiel said, ¡°All of your minds were connected together, everything you shared with them. Everything they shared with you. It all happened in your collective minds. If that isn¡¯t real, I don¡¯t know what is.¡± Gabby teared up, her voice weavering in her throat as she looked down at her feet. It took a few moments before she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, ¡°They¡¯re dead, aren¡¯t they?¡± Ezekiel lifted his hand from her shoulder as he softly asked, ¡°When do you think a person truly dies? Is it when they¡¯re shot in the heart?¡± Gabby choked back a sob and nodded her head as hot tears streamed down her cheeks. ¡°Maybe when they drink some kind of deadly poison? Or have an incurable illness?¡± Gabby couldn¡¯t help herself, as a sob ripped through her shaking body as she nodded again. Not really understanding what Ezekiel was trying to say. Ezekiel placed his hand under her chin and raised her head so he could look her in the eyes as he said, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. A person only truly dies when they¡¯re forgotten!¡± Gabby¡¯s breath hitched in her throat as she matched Ezekiel¡¯s unwavering gaze. His other hand tapped her on the head and then her heart as he said, ¡°As long as you keep them in your thoughts and in your heart, they will never truly be gone.¡± Gabby let out an anguished sob that wrecked her whole body as Ezekiel pulled her into a tight hug. Minutes passed as Gabby cried into Ezekiel¡¯s chest, her whole body shaking as she let out her feelings. She wasn¡¯t sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually her body gave out and she started to collapse from fatigue. The last thing she thought before she drifted into unconsciousness was, this was the first time she could actually smell Ezekiel. 00089. All that work for nothing. A few weeks after he settled everything with Gabby. Theo settled down to focus on training and learning from his new mystic art masters. During his studies he came up with an idea on how to prepare himself for psychic threats. He double checked his current defenses and then asked his teachers to check them over for him. Theo appeared in his training room and summoned a set of clones for the day. Afterwards he moved towards Tao. She was seated next to Agatha drinking tea as they discussed creative approaches to use different spells. Tao smiled at Theo as he approached and asked, "Good evening, are you ready to begin your lessons for the day?" "I was actually wondering if the both of you would help me with something instead." Both women turned their full attention towards Theo as he said, "My first concern when I was brought to this world was protecting my mind." Theo looked a little nervous as he said, "I think I did a decent job, but I need to find out for sure. Since I know how truly powerful some of the psychic powers are and I want to see if I can defend myself from them." Tao nodded in understanding as she said, "So you want the only two people you fully trust to test your defenses." "Yes." "That''s reasonable. I''ll gladly help you out, my young apprentice." Agatha said, as she placed her tea cup down. Tao smiled as she said, "As will I. When do you want to start?" ¡°Whenever you like, my defenses are already in place and ready.¡± Tao pointed at a chair next to her as she said, "We can start in a few minutes. I just want to prepare in case there is a backlash. After I finish, Agatha will test you next." Theo calmed his mind down while he waited for Tao to start. After a few minutes a light flashed around Tao. She glanced at Theo as she said, "Prepare yourself, this might not be pleasant." The next second Theo felt a sharp pain near the front of his head. But it disappeared after a few seconds. He then closed his eyes and focused to look inside his mindscape. Once he could see inside. He searched it over to find Tao. She was standing on the rooftop of a skyscraper overlooking one of the cities he had built. After a moment he appeared next to her and asked, "So what do you think?" "Passable for someone who is untrained." "Really? What''s wrong with it?" Tao raised one finger as she said, "You have no real defense against someone trying to access your mind. It''s honestly pretty pathetic how easy it was to access your mind palace. I saw you grimace in pain as I entered and your nose is currently bleeding. Do you want to know why?" "Because you¡¯re stronger than me?" Tao smirked as she said, "Thanks for stating the obvious. But no. That wasn¡¯t the reason why you felt pain from my intrusion. I used a powerful spell to brute force past any defenses. Being the complete amateur you are, you pretty much have none. So the spell attacked your mind palace instead." Theo¡¯s face crumpled as he said, "No need to be so harsh.¡± Tao shook her head before she said, "You don''t fully understand. If I wanted I could have broken into your mind and you would have never known about it." "She is correct, your outer defenses are pretty much nonexistent." Both of them turned to see Agatha, who smiled at them as she said, "I thought it would be more fun to join you. Plus if you destroyed his mind palace, I wouldn''t get a chance to test it." ¡°I know my outer defenses are weak. I was planning to make something to counter mind readers. Maybe a helmet like Magneto wears. Plus I focused all my efforts on internal defenses.¡± Agatha scoffed as she said, ¡°Please, that stupid helmet. It only helps against someone like Xavier. A mystic arts user who has mastered mind arts could easily bypass his helmet. You need to learn proper mystical defensive arts.¡± Tao nodded as she held up another finger and said, "What you have built in here is impressive to look at, but I can already tell it is way too weak. I doubt it will hold together properly if I put pressure on it." As she talked, two little kids appeared on the rooftop. One next to each woman. Both Tao and Agatha glanced at the children before they looked at Theo. Who gave them a smirk as the kids asked, ¡°Hi, who are you?¡± After both women answered the question the follow up went, "Whatcha doing?" Tao glanced down at the kid as she said, "Just looking around." "Why?" "Because I felt like it." "Why?" Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! "Because I can." "Why?" Tao glanced at Agatha and the other child who was also asking her ''Why''. Then glanced at Theo who had a cheshire like smile on his face. The kid spoke a little louder as he asked, ''Why'' again. When she didn¡¯t answer after a few seconds. Tao glanced at the child before she asked, "Is that all you can say?" The child tilted his head to the side as he asked, "Why?" Tao looked at Theo as she said, ¡°While something like this can be annoying. It¡¯s easy to overcome.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Tao waved a hand towards the kid and he disappeared like he was never there. After a second, two kids appeared. One crying and the other asking ¡®Why?¡¯ Tao glanced at Theo before she waved her hand again. Once more the kids disappeared before three more appeared. Two of them crying and another asking ¡®Why?¡¯ Agatha for her part just watched as the process repeated a few more times. Only the first kid standing close to her, as he asked ¡®Why?¡¯ repeatedly. Once there were a handful of kids crying around Tao, she finally looked a little annoyed and said, ¡°I applaud your creativity.¡± ¡°Why?¡± She waved her hand again and this time all of the kids disappeared, including the one next to Agatha. After a few seconds, nothing happened. Theo frowned and checked his internal defenses to find that his kid defense was completely removed like it never existed. ¡°Unfortunately something like that is easily removable.¡± Tao had a smirk as she looked down at Theo. Theo let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Okay so all my prepwork was for nothing.¡± ¡°Not really. It was good practice for you. It will make rebuilding your mind palace a lot easier. Now let''s see what else you¡¯ve made here.¡± Tao finished speaking as she turned and walked towards the rooftops door. Agatha and Theo followed behind her quickly. As they entered the stairwell the door closed behind them automatically. Tao raised a single eyebrow in question as she glanced at Theo. Theo just smiled and gestured for her to walk down the stairs. After they opened the first door Tao smiled as she said, ¡°You made a moving maze.¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°And a very complex one.¡± ¡°But still too weak to be useful.¡± Tao closed her eyes as she finished. A few moments later the area around them started to fade away. When Tao opened her eyes only a single building remained. Well one thousand copies of the same building. She glanced at them for a few moments before she looked at Theo and said, ¡°While I admit, you put in a lot of effort. But making copies of your inner palace won¡¯t help.¡± Tao closed her eyes and the buildings started to disappear until there was only one left. But something unexpected greeted her when she opened her eyes. A few thousand different people were standing around now looking at their group. She cast a glance at Theo before she closed her eyes again. After a few moments she opened her eyes and frowned. ¡°I can¡¯t remove any of these defensive measures.¡± A man with chalk white skin, a third eye and some horns sticking out of his head moved forward from the group. He gave a disarming smile as he said, ¡°It¡¯s because we are not part of his defenses.¡± Tao cast a glance over the group and recognized a few of the people standing around. She nodded before she said, ¡°Interesting. While they are part of your mind, they are also separate from it.¡± She glanced down at Theo as she said, ¡°You can use them to help defend your mind.¡± ¡°What happens if they get hurt or killed? Wouldn¡¯t they disappear from my mind?¡± Tao shook her head, ¡°It might make their physical form disappear. But they would still be here. It would just take a while before they reformed a body. Like I said, they are part of your mind. So unless your mind was completely wiped, they would be here.¡± The man with horns nodded his head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s more than that. As long as he has chakra, we will always appear here. Unless he removes our memories from his chakra. At that point we would completely disappear.¡± ¡°Fascinating. You should definitely integrate them into your defenses.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she added, ¡°They would act as a great defensive measure. I can barely sense them, and I see them in front of me. Before that I didn¡¯t even know they were in your mind palace.¡± ¡°But how would they help?¡± Tao jabbed Theo in the chest with the tip of a finger and he frowned as he rubbed where she poked him. ¡°Even though this is your mind. Your ¡®body¡¯ here can still be attacked. It¡¯s one of the most basic ways to protect your mind.¡± Tao finished with a smile as she looked down at Theo. She then pointed at the group of people around her as she said, ¡°You can think of each one of these people as a defensive or offensive mind weapon. One you won¡¯t have to create or control yourself. But that''s for later. Let''s finish checking out the last of your defenses.¡± Their small group then moved to the last building. Tao quickly moved towards the basement and studied the setup for a while before she said, ¡°Whatever you made in here is weird. I assume it¡¯s made with your chakra?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Let me handle this one.¡± Agatha said as she closed her eyes. It took a few minutes. But when she opened her eyes she said, ¡°That was different. For someone less experienced it might have been an issue. But it would only take them longer to remove it. It wouldn¡¯t stop them.¡± Tao nodded as she moved to look at the server racks in the room. As she studied them she said, ¡°Ingenious, you turned your memories into extremely complex computer code.¡± Tao closed her eyes for a little while. When she opened them everything was gone and a single thick book was in her hand. She opened it and glanced inside for a few moments. Before she closed it and handed it to Theo as she said, ¡°Now we¡¯re even.¡± ¡°Even?¡± Tao smirked as she said, ¡°I just wanted to see what your name was in your past life. Now let''s leave your mind palace and start with your training.¡± ¡°The memories from my previous life should be blocked by GOD.¡± Tao patted Theo on the head as she said, ¡°They are, but your thoughts betray you and the block placed on those memories. Whenever you think about your old life, it creates new memories that aren¡¯t blocked.¡± Theo sighed before he said, ¡°That¡­ That makes too much sense. I¡¯ll have to be careful of that in the future.¡± ¡°Exactly, but for now, it¡¯s time to start your training.¡± After they exited Theo¡¯s mind palace, Tao placed a powerful and complex spell of protection on his mind. When she finished she said, ¡°For now, that will protect your mind from anyone trying to access it.¡± Theo wore a grateful smile as he said, ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it.¡± Tao smiled as she said, ¡°It¡¯s my responsibility as your master, to keep you safe. Now go have your clones collect the books on mind magic. You will need to read everything on it before we start.¡± 00090. Christmas! The night before Christmas, Ezekiel and his clones moved through the base. They worked in teams and carted around tons of wrapped presents for all the people currently living in the base. Over the past few months Ezekiel had spent his time finding out what everyone liked. Whether it was clothes, movies, games, guns, or anything else. He compiled a massive list and with the help of his clones he went about ordering at least five gifts for each person in the base. Once he collected everything, he spent a couple days with his clones wrapping each present and tagging them for each person. Then he stored them in his training room till it was time to deliver them all. Ezekiel and his clones finished while the whole base was still pretty much asleep. Besides dropping off presents to everyone''s rooms. They even decorated the cafeteria for the event and set up a large Christmas tree. Underneath the tree was a single present for each person in the base and anyone who visited it often. Even Fury had a present. Next to the tree was a banner that read, ¡®Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!¡¯ vvvvv 1999 Saturday Dec 25th Theo awoke earlier than normal and started getting ready for the day. It was Christmas and his family had the whole day planned. But first he needed to wake up his sister and his little brother. If he was being honest, he didn''t need to do anything. His parents would take care of it. But he loved his family and enjoyed helping them out. So he would always get up early to help wake up his siblings. As Theo was getting ready, he shook his head as he looked at his clothing choices. He had already asked if he could pick out his clothes the next time he grew out of what he currently wore. His parents said they would let him help next time. But they didn''t agree to him outright picking his own clothes unfortunately. As Theo finished dressing in a blue t-shirt with some cartoon styled cars on it. He headed upstairs to deal with his sister and little brother. While his little brother wouldn''t be an issue. Milly didn¡¯t like to wake up. Actually sleeping was number two on her list of favorite things, so it made sense. If you have to ask what number one is, you didn''t know Milly at all. Theo entered the room his siblings shared and went towards the dressers. He removed a set of clothes for his little brother first. Then found a set of clothes for Milly to wear. He laid them out next to each of their sleeping areas. Then he moved towards Milly. She was sprawled out on her bed, blanket thrown to the side. Her head no longer on her pillow, with one leg hanging off the bed. Theo shook his head as he pushed her leg back into the bed. He then picked up her pillow and placed it on the floor with a few of her larger stuffed animals. He poked her a few times to make sure she was fully asleep before he stepped back. He chanted lightly under his breath and waved one of his hands at his sister. After a few moments she slowly moved a little. He moved his hand a little more and she rolled slightly. He put a little more effort into the spell and she rolled off the bed completely. Theo canceled the spell as Milly fell. Milly dropped a couple feet onto her landing pad and let out a grunt. After about ten seconds, Milly sat up. After she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She glanced around before she focused on Theo and asked, "What happened?" "You fell out of bed." Milly looked down, then up at her bed. She looked back at Theo as she asked, "Why''d I land on my pillow and toys?" "I tossed them down there just in case, while I picked out your clothes." Theo gave his sweetest smile as he finished. Milly glanced down one more time before she said, "You da best Te-o." Theo sweat dropped before he said, "I know. Now start getting changed while I wake up the little guy." Theo quickly turned to look at his little brother as he finished. His little brother Isaac was still fast asleep. So Theo carefully checked to make sure his diaper was fine. If it wasn''t, he would have to go get one of his parents. While he could probably change the diaper himself. He didn''t plan to do that at all, that type of stuff was above his pay grade. As Theo checked Isaac, it looked like he was changed sometime in the night, his diaper was still fresh. Theo then carefully dressed his little brother. Like Milly, his little brother slept like a log. So even though he was cautious, he didn''t need to be. Once both his siblings were dressed, Theo helped Milly clean up her toys on the ground and make her bed. After they finished, Theo headed downstairs followed by Milly. They would have brought their brother, but he was still sleeping. Plus Theo could only really hold him properly, it was awkward trying to carry him. Let alone carry him down the stairs. Actually Theo could easily do it, but he had to keep up appearances around his family. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Theo spent the next half an hour watching Milly as she played the video game he was working on. It was pretty much done at this point. But he still wanted to play test it more. Plus he needed to figure out how he was going to release it. Maybe he would just make a website for it. His overall plan was to sell it to himself. Well the company he was making for his social media platforms. It appeared on paper, but at some point he should make it real. Heck he even owned property for it in Brooklyn. Maybe once the building was done, he would look into making it a real company. At some point their parents woke up and came downstairs with their younger brother. Daniel stopped by Theo and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she said, "Thanks for getting Milly up and dressing Isaac. You¡¯re always such a big help. Your father and I appreciate it a lot, sweetie." Theo smiled up at his mom as he said, "I''m just glad I can help." Jacob spoke up from the kitchen as he said, "Theo, can you get Milly off the computer. We are heading to your aunt''s in a few minutes for breakfast." Theo looked up at his mom and hesitantly asked, "Pancakes?" Daniel smiled in response with a slight nod of her head. Theo immediately moved next to Milly as he said, "You heard dad, we are going to Aunt May¡¯s." "But I wanna finish my new house." Theo hit the exit button to pause the game and looked right at Milly as he said, "Pancakes are more important." "But¡­" "Listen to me Milly, pan¡­Cakes." Milly seemed to freeze for a moment as she realized what Theo said, before she asked, "We''re eating cake for breakfast?" Theo nodded as he said, "Pancakes." Milly instantly saved the game and turned it off. She then jumped out of her chair as she said, "Let''s go!" Daniel chuckled as she watched her kids, before she said, "Alright, we''ll leave in a few minutes. Go put on your shoes as we wait for your father." Milly raced to the door and hurriedly tossed on her shoes as Theo took his time. By the time he was finished, Jacob came out of the kitchen. In his hand was a steaming cup of coffee. He traded the coffee to Daniel and took Isaac from her. Then the family left the house and went to May¡¯s. The whole family was there, including Peter and his parents. As they sat down to eat, Milly asked, "Where''s the cake?" Everyone turned to look at Milly as Daniel said, "Theo might have told her we were having pan¡­ Cakes for breakfast." Some people chuckled as May placed a couple of fluffy golden brown pancakes on Milly¡¯s plate. Milly studied them for a few moments before she said, "This doesn''t look like cake." Theo had a couple placed down on his plate as he said, "Because they are pancakes. Not, birthday cake." Milly looked over at Theo, like he had just ruined her whole day. Theo gave her a bright smile as he said, "If you don''t want your pancakes, I''ll eat them." Before he poured warm syrup over his own pancakes. Milly watched as he took his first bite and his face went euphoric as he chewed. As she watched, her father put some syrup on her own pancakes. Before he poked her cheek as he said, "Just give them a try. They¡¯re your brother''s favorite food for a reason." Milly stared at Theo a few moments longer before she reluctantly stabbed her own food. She eyed the plain looking food for a moment longer before she put it in her mouth. A moment later her eyes lit up and she stared in wonder at her food. It didn''t look like any cake she''d ever eaten or seen. And Milly had seen a lot of cakes. One of her favorite things to do at the grocery store was to look at the cakes on display in the bakery. She would check them every time she went shopping with her parents. But the thing in front of her now, this pancake. It was definitely not a cake. It might be light and fluffy like a cake was, but it didn¡¯t taste sweet like a normal cake. But that didn¡¯t stop it from being delicious when covered in syrup. Milly looked back at Theo, he had already finished over half his food. She was so lost in thought about this new food that she had stopped eating. She glanced back at her food. The plain brown things weren''t real cakes, the ones she loved. But they tasted good enough. Milly decided then and there that pancakes were a good substitute when she couldn''t have real cake. The rest of breakfast went smoothly as the family talked quietly and just enjoyed each other''s company. After breakfast everyone gathered in the living room to open presents. Milly was the most excited of the kids, while Theo and Peter just waited patiently. Most of the presents were pretty normal. Some clothes, toys and even a couple of books for Theo. The last presents for the kids were big boxes, all the same size. Peter, Milly and Theo had to open them at the same time. As Theo pulled off the snowman styled wrapping paper he paused. He looked at the box and was confused for a few moments. Then looked at Milly and Peter and saw they were given the same thing. Each of them was given a brand new computer. Theo¡¯s brain shut off for a few moments, he wasn''t really sure why this happened. As he was stunned into silence, his father patted him on the shoulder as he said, "Hope you like it. We know you were talking about making your game playable with multiple people. We figured you would need more than one computer for that to happen." "We have the spare bedroom upstairs setup for you already. That way all of you can work and play on the game when I watch you." May finished with a smile. Theo looked at his excited sister and Peter. He then turned to his parents and extended family and said, "Thank you, everyone. This will help out a lot." The next couple hours was spent setting up the three computers in the spare bedroom. Peter''s dad Richard had some experience with setting up networks. So he was able to hook all three computers up to a small switch. Once finished, Theo loaded the game code and software up to each computer. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the whole family. Some light snacks were had for lunch as May and Jacob cooked a massive dinner for everyone. After dinner they settled down to enjoy each other''s company and play some family games. Mostly card and board games. Consisting of teams with one kid and two adult partners. 00091. You must pick... Friday December 31st 1999 Bern, Switzerland The Bern Technology Summit was possibly the best place in the world to meet scientific innovators and researchers in one place. That was the main reason Aldrich Killian had shown up. He had just laid the groundwork to create a new company called Advanced Idea Mechanics, AIM for short. His goal in coming to the conference was to hopefully recruit a few people to join the company as business partners. So far it was only him and a stack of business cards. But he already had a few offers from the U.S. government for jobs they wanted him to consult on. He was also excited because Tony Stark was here, someone he looked up to and admired. Tony was also scheduled to give a lecture on integrated circuits which was in a few hours. Aldrich spent his time before the lecture mingling with different people. He handed out a bunch of business cards and found a few people possibly interested in working for his think tank. As the time for Tony''s lecture approached, Aldrich moved to get a good seat. He hoped he could possibly meet Tony afterwards and so he chose to get as close as possible. He wasn''t disappointed, he was in the front row slightly off to one side of the stage. After about twenty minutes of waiting, Tony stumbled onto the stage. Aldrich was a little surprised, he thought Tony would come prepared, with some diagrams. Possibly he would use slides for the lecture? Instead Tony wore a fancy black suit, glasses, a white plastic party hat sat on his head and he had a drink in his hand as he walked towards the podium. The lecture ended up being subpar at best. Some of what Tony talked about was cutting edge and most people didn''t understand it. But the few who did found it inspirational, like Aldrich. Unfortunately most of the lecture was just unintelligible rambling. Possibly from how drunk Tony was. But those few moments where he seemed to focus on the actual subject matter¡­ That was when Tony showed his true genius. The people like Aldrich who understood what he was talking about were impressed. Once the lecture ended, it was short all things considered. After the lecture, Aldrich tried to talk with Tony as soon as he left the stage, but unfortunately couldn¡¯t catch him. Tony left the stage from the far side of it from where Aldrich sat. Aldrich also ran into a few people who wanted to talk about his think tank. So he quickly lost track of Tony and decided to concentrate on the people in front of him. He could always find Tony again later. Tony''s first goal as he stumbled off the stage was to get another drink. Once he collected his drink, he went back to the beautiful woman he was talking with before the lecture. He was pretty sure her name was Maya. He smiled at Maya as he moved close and asked, ¡°So that project you were talking about. I would love to see it." ¡°You just wanna see my room.¡± Tony smiled as he said, ¡°Well yes, That was part of the plan.¡± While Tony spent the next couple hours chatting with Maya and a few other people. Aldrich ended up doing the same as he looked for Tony, who had disappeared. Tony was trying to look at Maya¡¯s research. But mostly, he was just trying to see all of Maya and then some. So far she had kept up a strong defense. But she was slowly succumbing to his charm. Happy turned around and said, ¡°Half hour till the ball drops.¡± A random guy came from behind as he happily said, ¡°Tony Stark! Great speech man!¡± Happy quickly moved to intercept the man as Tony acted surprised as he asked, ¡°I gave a speech? How was it?¡± ¡°Edifying¡± came Happy¡¯s reply as Maya said, ¡°Unintelligible.¡± Happy escorted the man away, as Tony and Maya moved through the ball room. They ran into a few more people before they made it to the lobby elevators with a group of women following them. Aldrich was able to spot Tony just in time as they moved into the Lobby. Aldrich was only able to catch Tony when Tony¡¯s group stopped at the elevator. ¡°Oh wow. Hey, Tony.¡± Tony and Maya both turned around to look at the man before them. He wore a dark green corduroy jacket along with matching pants. While the white t-shirt with blue colored A.I.M. logo stood out underneath the jacket he wore. His shoulder length dirty blonde hair was mostly combed to one side and only highlighted his blemished face and large framed glasses. While his walking cane completed the look. A look that screamed nerd. The man had a wide smile, his upper teeth protruding forward as he said, ¡°Aldrich Killian.¡± He turned slightly to Maya and shook her hand as he said, ¡°I am a big fan of your work.¡± Tony quipped, ¡°Who isn¡¯t?¡± Maya seemed surprised as she asked, ¡°My work?¡± Tony¡¯s ego took over as he pulled Maya into the elevator and said, ¡°He means me.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Aldrich slightly nodded as he continued, ¡°But Ms. Williams, I¡¯ve been tracking your research since year two of M.I.T.¡± Tony could be heard saying, ¡°Ya were full¡± as happy put his arm out to block the elevator door. Aldrich nimbly moved under his arm into the elevator and Tony said, ¡°Oh ya, he made it. He made the cut.¡± Happy pushed him against the wall as he asked, ¡°What floor are you going to pal?¡± Aldrich smiled as he said, ¡°Now that is an appropriate question. The ground floor actually, of a proposal I am putting together myself. It¡¯s a privately funded think tank.¡± Aldrich pulled out some business cards and handed them to Tony and Maya as he finished, ¡°Called Advanced Idea Mechanics.¡± ¡°Uh, she¡¯ll take both. One to throw away and one to not call.¡± Maya took them both as Aldrich said, ¡°Advanced Idea Mechanics, or AIM for short.¡± He pointed at his shirt as he asked, ¡°Do you get it?¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Tony condescendingly replied, ¡°I see that, because it¡¯s on your t-shirt.¡± Aldrich smiled as the bell rang for the elevator. As the door opened, Tony said, ¡°Ladies, follow the mullet.¡± As Maya exited the elevator she smiled at Aldrich and said, ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll call you.¡± As the girls exited the elevator, Tony quickly moved to block off Aldrich and let everyone else off. As the last person departed, he turned to Aldrich as he said, ¡°I am titillated by the notion of working with you.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Tony nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll ditch these clowns and I¡¯ll see you up on the roof in five minutes.¡± Tony punched the elevator for the top floor as he said, ¡°Just gonna get my beak wet real quick. You know what I am talking about?¡± Aldrich nodded in reply as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll see you up there.¡± The elevator door closed as Tony said, ¡°Damn betcha.¡± It took a little bit of work, but Aldrich made his way to the roof to wait for Tony. To say he was excited would be an understatement. Tony said he was interested in AIM. and Aldrich was looking forward to talking with him about it. After about twenty minutes Aldrich became a little concerned. Tony said he would meet him in five minutes, maybe something happened? It was possible, it was Tony after all. Everyone wanted to talk with him. When fireworks started going off Aldrich became agitated. It didn¡¯t seem like Tony was going to show up. Then he thought, ''No, Tony would show up. He said he would.'' But it was only a few minutes later that Aldrich knew Tony wasn¡¯t going to show up. He glanced over to the edge of the building for about a minute and his face changed. He no longer wore a happy smile. It took on an edge as he walked closer to the edge of the building. Aldrich moved to the very edge of the building. As he looked down and thought about jumping off. A voice was heard from behind him as it said, "Make sure you land on your head." Aldrich whipped around as he asked, "What''re you talking about?!?" A black haired man was seated crossed legged on top of one of the large air conditioning units. The one he had spent the last half an hour standing next to. The man smirked as he said, "You were thinking about jumping. Only at this height you might just survive." The man''s smirk changed a little as he said, "Well, unless you landed on your head like I suggested." Aldrich moved back from the edge as he said, "Don''t be ridiculous. I was just enjoying the view." The man gave a hollow laugh for a few moments before he said, "I saw how you looked. It was the look of a man contemplating suicide." Aldrich lashed out as and said, "Bullshit. What would you know about me or my thoughts?" The man''s smirk changed into a slightly hardened gaze as he said, "Knowing you doesn''t matter. But that look you had¡­ I know it well. I''ve had that same look myself. In a different life." Aldrich moved closer to the man to study him. He was maybe a little older than himself. But it was hard to tell in the darkness. After about a minute of silence the man dropped off the ac unit. He landed next to Aldrich with the grace of a gymnast and a flash of jealousy crossed Aldrich''s face for a moment before he looked down at the cane he used to help himself walk. The man for his part waited a little longer before he said, "I know why you came up here tonight." "You do?" Aldrich questioned as he looked back up. The man flashed a smile before he said, "Yup. Although the fact you came up here makes me question how smart you really are¡­ Or maybe you just don''t have any common sense. Aldrich frowned before he said, "Don''t question my intelligence just because I was lied to." The man shook his head as he said, "You have a slight point. But you''re still gullible for thinking Tony Stark of all people would want to have a private meeting with you." The man chuckled before he said, "Or maybe it was just your ego that made you think the offer was genuine?" "What makes you think Tony Stark wouldn''t want to talk with me?" "Just look at yourself. You should easily be able to tell me why." The man glanced at Aldrich once, before he shook his head. Aldrich tightened the grip on his cane and his eyes narrowed as he asked, "It''s because of my disability?" The man burst into laughter clutching his stomach as he almost doubled over. Aldrich was ready to leave when the man finally stopped and said, "You really are an idiot." ¡°I don¡¯t need to take this verbal abuse. I¡¯m leaving.¡± Before Aldrich could turn around to walk away the man said, "You¡¯re not a beautiful woman Mr. Killian. If you had a nice rack and vagina, Tony might have wanted to talk with you¡­ Maybe. But it wouldn''t have been about that new company you''re trying to start." Aldrich froze as his mind went blank. Was it really that simple? Aldrich thought back to everything he knew about Tony and it clicked. He never cared about rumors or gossip, but he had heard them. He didn''t think much of them before, but now it just made sense. Tony just wanted to be alone with Maya, so he could¡­ Aldrich let out a laugh, it was hollow and filled with self pity. The other man chuckled to himself as he said, "Glad you understand how Tony works now." As the man waited for Aldrich to settle down, he walked to the edge of the building. He stood at the very edge of the building as he enjoyed the view below him. Aldrich finally glanced over at the other man and said, "Make sure you land on your head." The man turned around and smirked. Then stepped backwards off the building as he waved. Aldrich''s heart skipped a beat and his mouth opened wide in disbelief as the man disappeared from his view. Then Aldrich rushed towards the edge of the building and looked over it. The man stood on the side of the building smirking up at Aldrich. The man held his hands up like he was framing a picture as he said, "The look on your face right now is priceless." Aldrich stared at the man in utter shock. He had heard of people with powers, he had even seen some videos of them online. But this was the first time he met someone with powers in person and it had left him completely speechless. The man walked up the side of the building and patted Aldrich''s shoulder as he said, "Sorry about that. I was just having a bit of fun." Aldrich took a few moments to compose himself as he followed the man back to the ac unit. When they were back in front of it, Aldrich asked, "Are you a mutant?" The man shook his head as he said, "The proper term is meta human. And yes, I am." The man extended his hand as he said, "Apologies for the late introduction. My name is Ezekiel and it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Aldrich Killian.¡± Aldrich hesitantly took Ezekiel¡¯s hand and shook it for a moment before he asked, ¡°How do you know me and how did you know I would be up here waiting for Tony?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Both of those answers are very complicated and not something I can tell you currently. But what I can tell you is I am here to offer you a job. A job that pays well and comes with a lot of perks. Perks you will never find anywhere else.¡± Ezekiel turned and walked back closer to the edge again as he said, ¡°Keep in mind, it¡¯s just an offer. If you say yes, you would need to be tested and fully screened before the offer is final. But if you do accept, it will completely change the rest of your life.¡± Ezekiel turned around to study Aldrich as the man thought. Ezekiel smirked and walked back to Aldrich. He lifted up both of his hands before he flipped them over and opened them up. As he lifted his left arm higher he said, ¡°If you pick the blue pill, you will never see me again and live a mediocre life.¡± Ezekiel held up his right hand higher and said, ¡°If you pick the red pill¡­ You will see things you never thought possible.¡± ¡°Are you really quoting The Matrix?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Pick.¡± As Aldrich stretched out his hand to make his pick, Ezekiel said, ¡° Remember, I will only offer you this chance once. Don¡¯t live to regret it.¡± 00092. 1 year time skip. 1/2 The next nine months or so for Theo¡¯s group was pretty quiet over all. Aldrich ended up accepting the offer. After a thorough background check, medical examination and psychological evaluation. Aldrich became the newest member of the team. To say he was surprised with what was going on would be an understatement. But he quickly fell in love with his new job and the work environment. He was placed in the medical base and worked with Sarah, Beast and a few of Theo¡¯s clones. But he wasn''t the only new person brought in. After about a month, Maya Hansen Williams was brought on board. Theo had planned to pick her up at some point also, but he was a little confused. Her last name was Williams instead of Hansen and she didn''t look anything like her comic book or movie counterpart. She was a stunning ebony skinned woman, who stood almost six foot tall. She had fierce brown eyes and her puffy black hair was cut short into an afro. The thing that surprised Theo the most was the fact she was about a month pregnant. Well she didn''t actually know until the medical exam was finished. But it was a large shock to her and Theo. While she didn''t tell anyone who the father was, Theo already knew. Or at least he had a really good idea who it was. The only issue that cropped up was Maya having complications with her pregnancy. Tsunade, Shizune and even Orochimaru tried everything they could to help. But Maya still ended up having the baby prematurely. Her daughter was born on May 10th 2000, almost four months early. There were issues with her daughter, but with the medical technology they had and Tsunade''s skill. Riri S. Williams was a healthy, yet tiny baby girl. Maya didn''t tell anyone what the S. stood for. But a quick DNA test confirmed Theo¡¯s theory. He would let Tony find out for himself one day and it would be glorious. It was also a nice bonus that Riri was actually related to Tony in this universe. Besides the two new team additions the group just focused on their own tasks. Fury had made a few tiny moves against Hydra. He requested we move against a few of the people we knew about. People who wouldn''t be missed. The vote passed and a couple of Ezekiel''s clones were brought in to help. One person was put under a genjutsu and lost control of their car while drunk. Which turned it into a fatal car accident. Theo made sure they were the only fatality. Another person who was older ended up dying from a heart attack. The last person died just recently and it was from a rare disease. All of them were brought back with Edo Tensei so Fury could interrogate them and learn more information on Hydra. The group received some decent intel from each of them. But the phone program Ezekiel created was just getting integrated into Hydra. So he had high hopes that it wouldn''t be long before they knew everything about Hydra. The only issue would be having enough people to completely destroy them in one shot. Maybe after they figured out who were the Hydra double agents in Shield, they would have enough people. But that wouldn¡¯t happen for a while and even though Fury wanted Shield cleaned out. He was no longer fighting the group to rush ahead, now that we had a clearer picture of just how massive Hydra actually is. As for Hank, Bill and Darren. They worked tirelessly on the quantum tunnel project during that time. It turned out that vibranium was really hard to work with. Theo even hacked into Wakanda¡¯s database and stole info about it. But it was still a hassle to shape and tool properly. They needed to make machines from scratch to fabricate the parts they wanted to make. Building all the machines from scratch also gave Erik a lot of hands-on training with his apprenticeship/schooling under Hank. Even Bill and Darren only had good things to say about Erik, the kid was a genius and it was really showing under Hank¡¯s guidance. Theo was also happy to see that Hank was actually putting effort into building a positive relationship with both Darren and Erik. It was easy to see that both of them have started looking at Hank as a surrogate father figure. It¡¯s also made Hank work harder at rebuilding his relationship with his daughter. Speaking of Erik and the other kids. They all finished their punishment from sneaking out of the base with Ava¡¯s help. Since then Ezekiel worked on a solution to make sure the kids got out more. He picked Magneto''s new island nation, since it was the safest choice. The island would be perfect for the kids to roam around on. Genosha was even in the process of building a massive theme park thanks to Ezekiel. Ezekiel paid for pretty much everything to be built on the island and used his clones for a lot of the labor, so it wasn''t like Magneto could say no. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. The only issue was getting a vote passed, but that ended up not being hard to do. Since it was a locked down island, the kids couldn''t get into too much trouble. The kids also never caused issues when they snuck out the last time. So even though Fury was against it, the vote still passed. The island nation of Genosha became another place the kids could explore and hang out on in their free time. Besides the massive theme park that was still under construction. The island already had a state of the art waterpark and a few other attractions. All of which were built by the previous rulers. And Theo just kept throwing money at the island to make it as nice as possible. He also tried to make everything as automated as possible. It was kind of his test bed to see what would work for building future cities. As for Genosha itself, it had been almost a year and the world didn¡¯t know anything had changed with it. But it was completely different and could be considered one of the best places in the world to live currently. While they ended up putting down ninety five percent of the population, it was currently home to about ten thousand people. Almost all of them are former slaves or kids. It was a slight hassle to deal with at first, but it¡¯s been working out after everything settled down. While none of the freed slaves were forced to help out, all the remaining people came together to help. Projects Theo had planned to take over a year finished in half the time. Turned out that with the Yamanaka¡¯s help, most of the people were in a great place mentally. So with the extra man power, Theo was able to build almost everything he wanted pretty easily. Magneto actually handled a lot of the harder work himself. But for him and his powers it was easy. He was also the one Theo put in charge of building all the roller coasters for the theme park. Once a few other projects were completed on the island, Magneto was going to make an announcement to the world and open up Genosha for immigration. Well after Tao and Agatha finished covering the entire island in a magical barrier. It was designed to not only protect the island, but hide it from anyone who wasn¡¯t welcomed. The only way someone would be able to reach the island after it was completed would be from portal travel like the bases. They even set up a massive portal room that acted like an airport for the country. As for planes, boats and satellites, Genosha was no longer visible to them. Even if a boat used GPS to get close they would move into a warded fog bank and pop out not long afterwards in a different spot. Unless you were a powerful magic practitioner or you were invited, no one could get to Genosha. As for anyone who wanted to visit or immigrate to the island, they would have to first sign up on a website. Then they would have to go through background checks, psychological evaluations and some heavy screening. But if they passed, they would be invited to the island. The bonus for people who wanted to just visit the island was no need to pay for transport. They would need to be portaled to the island and back home when finished. Something else of note was Alexei and Melina officially getting married. They had a small ceremony on the secret magic island and then had a nice time on a cruise together for their honeymoon. Theo booked the cruise for them as a congratulation gift. Natasha and Yelena didn''t join them for the cruise though. But they did get to go to Genosha with all the other kids. Since it was the first week the kids were allowed to go and explore it. While not really an addition to the group''s forces. Clint''s wife ended up coming to live with him in the main base. It was Theo¡¯s idea since they could use another person to help out with all the kids. She mostly helped in the kitchen. But she also ran an art club for any of the kids who wanted to join. They would do different things each week from painting to pottery and anything in between. Clint and his wife were also happy they could see each other more often. She even started dropping big hints they should start working on making a family together. It was probably from spending so much time with all the kids. During that same time Logan and Sarah Kinney started dating. Theo didn''t inquire about their relationship, but Laura and Gabby seemed to be happy about it. Gabby was also adopted by Sarah, so Laura was officially her big sister. Cessily also treated Gabby like a younger sister, just like she did for Laura. Gabby herself didn''t have a hard time integrating and making new friends. Unlike Laura who was like a girl copy of Logan. Gabby was this endless ball of optimism and happiness. While the loss of her sisters affected her, she bounced back from it quickly. Gabby had the uncanny ability to make the best out of any situation and it showed. She had quickly made friends with pretty much everyone in the base. Even Fury seemed to like Gabby which was a big surprise to pretty much everyone. 00093. 1 year time skip. 2/2 During that same nine month period, a lot of things happened in Theo¡¯s home life. Peter''s parents had a daughter, while Jonathan and Sara also had a son. Peter''s little sister was named Teresa May Parker and was born on April 2nd 2000. Sara and Jon''s son was born on May 21st 2000 and was named Dylan Pangborn. Milly seemed to be the happiest person in the whole family about the news. When Theo asked why, Milly replied, "More birthday parties, means more cake!" Theo could only shake his head at how Milly¡¯s brain functioned. He loved his little sister, but she was too much sometimes. As for Theo¡¯s little brother Isaac. Theo wasn''t completely sure but he seemed kinda clingy and shy. He didn''t remember Milly being like that at all. But he was smart, he could already talk a little. Isaac''s first birthday party was pretty fun and Issac might end up being a sweet monster like Milly. He absolutely demolished the little cake he was given. He even wanted more and made a big fuss when he didn''t get any. It was kinda cute since he acted a lot like Milly with his puffed out cheeks. Another thing that happened was Theo and Peter being kept out of school when it had started last year. While Jean and MJ started first grade. Peter and Theo were going to start school this year with Milly. The actual plan was to enroll all of them into the second grade together this year. Since Milly was so close with Peter and Theo, they figured it would be better that way. Plus with how smart all of them were it wouldn''t be an issue. They were actually a little worried the school might want all of them to skip multiple grades. They were fine with all of them skipping first grade. Since they wanted Milly to go to school at the same time as Peter and Theo. But they didn''t want to rush them through school. Daniel was the most vocal about the issue. She slightly regretted rushing through school herself. She wanted the kids to enjoy their time in school and hoped they would make a lot of friends. Something she never had the opportunity to do. Since once someone knew who her family was, they changed how they treated her. Since Theo and Peter weren''t in school, they still spent time at May¡¯s house instead. But it would also be split with going to work with Jacob, Ben and Richard. Milly even started to join them because she didn''t want to miss out. Even though at first she didn''t really like going to the shop. Jacob in his wisdom ended up treating her if she behaved when she was in the shop and even gave her more treats if she helped out. After about a month Milly enjoyed going to the shop and even liked helping out. Even if she no longer received extra treats. Jacob hoped she would get more into cars as she got older since she didn''t need to be bribed any more. But Daniel wasn''t too happy with how Jacob pulled it off though and likened it to how you would train a dog. Theo kinda agreed with his mother. But Theo also knew his mom used the same tactics to get Milly to do things sometimes. Heck even Theo used it, because it worked. Besides that, Peter, Milly and Theo also made good progress on their game while they were at Aunt May''s. While he could do most of the work with his clones, he wanted to create it with his sister and Peter. Since they now had the extra computers to work on a functional multiplayer, that''s what they focused on. While Theo knew what he wanted for the game overall, both Milly and Peter came up with some new ideas he hadn''t thought of. Theo¡¯s planned goal was to release the game in the next few years. But first he needed to pick up a few coding books from the library on how to build websites. Then he needed to build a website for the game and everything else that goes with it. And lastly he needed to convince his parents about letting him launch the site. He wasn''t sure how he would talk his parents into that, but he would figure it out. About three months before Milly¡¯s fifth birthday party, Theo and Peter started working on her birthday present. Theo wanted to do something special, so he set about programming a new area into the game. A special quest prompt would happen, inviting the player to a new land. You then had to gather certain items to create a portal to the new area. The new area was called Sweetland. It was a special area designed around anything sweet. Candies, cookies, cakes, you name it, it was there. It took Theo and Peter over a month to build it. Then they spent the rest of the time testing it. It''s lucky Milly¡¯s computer was on the other side of the table Theo and Peter used. They were able to easily hide what they were doing from her. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sweetland mostly reused a lot of the old assets, just reskinned. Theo and Peter also added some new items and had to tweak a lot of the assets to work correctly. Like the water in Sweetland was made of frosting, so Theo needed to tweak how it flowed. He also needed to slow the player''s movement speed when they moved through it. Lava was also changed into hot chocolate, which needed to flow faster than normal lava. It also didn''t set you on fire, but would slowly fill your health back up. But if you were inside it for too long it would give you a slow debuff from being too full. In Sweetland you could also collect special resources to craft new items. The items ranged from a cool cape, in Milly¡¯s favorite color. You could get other items to change the color after it was made, but the default was purple. A new weapon that was a slingshot. A new recipe to paint any armor with purple highlights. And one of the key features was new food recipes, all of which were based on sweets. You could take pieces of the world and mix them together to make cookies, cakes and other things. The whole area was made around a quest line to have a birthday party. You would meet a few npcs who would ask you to gather certain items. Then you would have to craft everything for the party. At the end you get to attend the party. But during the party a new monster would spawn called the party pooper. You would be forced to fight them off and protect all the party guests. Once you completed that, all the guests would thank you and give you small gifts of thanks. After the party is finished, you would then have free access to Sweetland whenever you wanted through the portal. Overall both Peter and Theo were very happy with what they made and even showed it off to their parents. It was still kept a secret from Milly till after her birthday party. Mostly because they didn''t want her to play it during her birthday. That being said, Milly was over the moon with joy at what Theo and Peter had made for her. She even offered both of them some of her birthday cake. Not all of her slice of cake though, but a small slice from it. You know less than a fork full¡­ It was Milly after all. Besides that Theo spent a lot of time training at night. Since he only needed a maximum of four hours of sleep a night. Theo spent at least eight hours a day training. His workout routine hadn''t changed yet. He spent around four hours a night climbing his rock wall. The other half was spent learning magic from either Tao or Agatha. If Theo had to pick who was a better teacher he would be hard pressed to choose. Both of them were masters, but both had very distinct styles of training and teaching. Agatha at first, was only planning to teach Theo about certain aspects of the mystic arts that Tao and practitioners from Kamar-Taj didn¡¯t study. But after watching part of Tao¡¯s first lesson with Theo, she decided to co-teach Theo with Tao. Tao herself didn¡¯t find any issue with Agatha¡¯s request and easily agreed. Tao¡¯s teaching method was honestly brutal to put it bluntly. Oh, she would give you some demonstrations and answer any questions you had about the spell formulas she was teaching you. But otherwise you needed to figure out the rest on your own. It could be incredibly hard for more complicated spell formulas. The worst part about her lessons were when she wanted to test your creations. She wouldn''t hold back against them and would completely crush them. Once you could hold a spell matrix for over ten seconds. Under her onslaught of spells, did she consider it barely passable. Considering she tossed Strange on the top of Mount Everest and expected him to come back when he couldn¡¯t do portals. Theo probably should have expected something like this. But it still took him by surprise. Agatha on the other hand was subtle and gentle. She would study your completed spell matrix or formula and then point out weak spots. Before she used a spell Theo could never really see to gently attack the weakest spot of his spells and destroy them. The nice thing was she would give pointers on how to improve the spell as she did this. The normal lesson would start with Tao explaining what they would practice for the day. If books were needed, Theo would have his clones read them while he practiced on the rock wall. Once finished reading the martial, Tao would show him some examples of the spell. Then she would answer any questions he might have about it. After that he would be watched by both of them while he practiced the spell. Once he could complete the spell, that¡¯s when Agatha took over. She would pick apart his completed spells until she found no weak spots in it. Once that was done, Tao would take over and just crush his spells repeatedly until he could hold the spell for a decent amount of time. Once all of that was done, they would repeat the process with the spell, but they would work on improving his casting speed and timing with it. It was a pretty slow, but very good teaching method. He was pretty sure he would be one of the slowest learners of the mystic arts, but also one of the most powerful once he completed his training. 00094. First day of school. Monday September 4th 2000 Theo''s first day of school was something he was looking forward to. He was so excited about it that he had a hard time sleeping the night before. It would be the first time he ever truly went to school after all in either life. Which was part of the reason he was having trouble sleeping. He was thinking about his first life. Theo shook his head to clear it before he glanced over at his alarm clock. He still had a couple hours before he needed to wake up. He let out a sigh, flipped his pillow over to the colder side before he closed his eyes. Somehow Theo fell into a restless sleep after a while. Theo awoke to his alarm hours later and rolled out of his bed after a few minutes. He first moved to his closet and pulled out the clothes he would wear to school. It consisted of a plaid blue button up shirt and black pants. He wanted to look nice on his first day of school, impressions mattered after all. It was one of the few button up shirts he owned, everything else was t-shirts with cartoon type logos. After he dressed, Theo went up stairs to wake up Milly. But was surprised when he found her already awake, she was seated on her bed looking at some of her clothes. As Theo entered the room she glanced up with a frown. Then her eyes lit up and she smiled as she said, "Te-o, I don''t know what to wear. Help me." Theo walked over to her bed and asked, "How are you even awake? You normally sleep like a log." "Mom woke me up." Theo smiled slightly, before he nodded in understanding as he glanced at the clothes on Milly¡¯s bed. He quickly picked out a pair of blue jeans, a purple shirt that had cupcakes printed on it and some purple colored socks. Once finished he handed them to Milly as he said, "That should work. Now get dressed and clean up your clothes. Don''t leave a mess for mom to clean up." "Thanks, Te-o." Milly said as she started to gather up her other clothes to put them away. Well she was stuffing them all in a single drawer¡­ But it was better than having them all over the place. Theo thought as he left the room. As Theo moved down the hallway his parents door opened and Jacob walked out. He saw Theo and smiled as he asked, "Ready for your first day of school?" Theo glanced at his dad as he said, "I hope so." Jacob placed a hand on Theo¡¯s head and rubbed his short hair into a mess as he said, "Don''t worry, you''ll be fine. School is easy." "Says the guy who dropped out." Jacob and Theo turned to see Daniel holding Isaac as she smirked at her husband. Jacob grinned back as he said, "I dropped out because there was nothing left for me to learn in school." Theo looked up innocently at his parents as he asked, "So I can drop out if school has nothing to teach me?" Both his parents froze as they shared a concerned look with each other. Before Daniel shot a glare at Jacob. Jacob rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he said, "We can talk about that when you''re older." Jacob then gave his patented smirk at Theo as he asked, "How about when you turn eighteen?" Theo smiled back at his dad as he said, "Okay." Jacob winked back at Daniel as he said, "Let''s head downstairs and I''ll start making breakfast." The next hour or so was spent with his family as they all enjoyed breakfast. As they finished up, Jacob pulled out two lunch pails from the fridge. He handed a purple one to Milly and a blue one to Theo. Milly looked at it in confusion as she asked, "What''s this for?" "Inside is the lunch I made for both of you. You can eat it later when you¡¯re at school." Milly opened up the lunch pail to look inside. Her eyes instantly lit up as she asked, "This is lunch? Can I eat it now?" "You just ate breakfast. You shouldn''t be hungry." Milly shook her head as she said, "Milly always has room for sweets." Jacob patted her head before he closed the lunch pail as he said, "Well you can only eat that cookie during your lunch break. If you don¡¯t, no more sweets for a whole week." Jacob looked over to Theo as he said, "If she eats it before lunch, let me know." Theo nodded which made Milly frown. She then puffed out her cheeks and looked away from Theo and her dad. Which caused everyone else to laugh. Afterwards Jacob finished cleaning up the kitchen as Daniel double checked to make sure they had everything. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Then they moved into the living room so their parents could take some pictures of them. Once they were done, they headed outside and met Peter along with his parents. They stopped to get a few more pictures of all of us together. Then we walked over to May and Ben''s house. Aunt May gave each of us a hug before we left with uncle Ben. They planned to walk us to school since it was only a few blocks away. It was actually to the north east side of the neighborhood, while their parents work was directly north. Their plan was to drop all of us off at school and then head to the warehouse afterwards. A slight change in their normal routine, but it only added ten minutes to their normal walk. When they arrived at school, Daniel and Mary took the kids inside as Ben and their fathers left to go to work. After they were checked in and registered, Daniel and Mary told them they would pick them up after school ended. With that they were shown to their class room by one of the school''s staff. Luckily they were all placed in the same class. The class had just begun as they were led inside the room. About fifteen kids were seated at five different tables. Theo noticed Jean and MJ seated together at one of the tables as they moved to the front of the room. The kids were still chatting with each other until the teacher spoke up and said, "Alright quiet down everyone, we have three new students joining us today." The woman glanced at each of them for a moment before she said, "I''ll be your teacher this year, you can call me Ms. Forest. Now before we get you seated, how about each of you introduce yourself to the class." She then pointed at Peter as she said, "You can go first." Peter seemed shy and anxious as he said, "I''m Peter. Peter Parker.¡± Ms. Forest pointed at Milly next who had a massive grin on her face as she said, "I''m Milly!" Milly excitedly pointed at Theo as she said, ¡°And this is my big brother Te-o.¡± Milly was about to say more as Ms. Forest smiled before interrupting her and said, ¡°Oh, you seem to have a lot of energy. But how about we let your brother introduce himself, Milly.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± Ms.Forest smiled again as he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay sweetie.¡± She then pointed at Theo and said, ¡°You can go ahead.¡± Theo nodded lightly as he said, "My name is Theodore Mercer, it''s a pleasure to meet you all. I will be in your care from now on." Ms. Forest smiled as she said, "Well aren''t you polite. It''s nice to meet all of you, isn¡¯t it class?¡± After a round of greetings came from the other kids, Ms. Forest said. ¡°Now let''s get all of you seated." She looked around the room for a few moments before she pointed at an empty spot and said, "Milly I would like you to go sit at that table over there." Milly glanced up at her teacher and asked, "I can''t sit with my brothers?" Ms. Forest had a gentle smile as she said, "It''s only for a little while. Once a week everyone will change seats. It''s so you can make friends with everyone in the class." Milly looked downcast as she made her way to her seat. But within moments was chatting with her new table mates. Ms. Forest smiled before she pointed out where Peter and Theo could sit. The next hour went by quickly as Ms. Forest had them do counting exercises and very basic math games. One plus one is two types of stuff. When the first recess came, all the kids were let out for a half an hour break to play in the school yard. Theo moved with his sister who had made a few new friends, along with Peter, Jean and MJ. They moved over to a massive jungle gym and decided to play tag. Theo didn''t mind and even volunteered to be it first. Theo was told to stay on the ground as everyone moved up into the jungle gym away from him. After Theo counted down he said, "Ready or not, here I come!" Theo looked over the jungle gym for a few moments before he spotted a target. One of the boys in the group was near the top and seemed to be hiding next to a slide. Theo moved around the jungle gym till he was next to the slide. Then he ran up the slide quickly and tagged the kid who had a surprised look on his face. Theo had used chakra control on the bottom of his shoes to easily run up the slide. After touching the kid Theo slid back down the slide and ran to another section of the jungle gym and quickly scaled it like a monkey. The kid himself was in a daze and didn''t move till Theo was already gone. The rest of the game Theo moved around too quickly to get touched. He thought about letting Milly catch him when she was it. But she was pretty fast herself and easily caught another kid pretty quickly. After recess, they moved back into class and had story time. Ms. Forest would read a simple story to everyone with the help of a projector. While she did that, she would point out each word and slowly pronounce it. While most of the kids were paying attention, Theo found himself bored with the learning aspect of the class. He didn''t want to disrupt the class so he spent his time thinking about his mystic studies. He focused on different ways he could improve his spell casting. While he couldn''t cast the spells in class, he could practice them in his mind with mental exercises. It was one of the ways students practiced at Kamar-Taj. So while everyone was focused on the class itself, Theo was going over complex spell formulas in his head. Their next break was lunch. Milly seemed to be the most excited, since she was able to eat her cookie. Theo was also given a cookie, which he ended up giving to Milly after she finished the rest of her lunch. It was a good thing their father made smaller snack type cookies for them. Lunch was followed by some more interactive learning. They would play simple games as a group that helped them learn how to spell words. Theo zoned out again for this lesson, but was able to answer when needed. After that was another recess followed by some PE which they ended up playing kickball for the last part of the day. It was probably the highlight of the day for Theo, kickball was a lot of fun. As school let out, Daniel and Mary were there to meet the kids. They took them back to work with them and Theo spent the next couple hours helping out in the shop. Milly and Peter also helped out a little, but they quickly tired out and took a nap. Later that night after they had dinner, Milly told her parents all about her first day of school. She also explained how awesome Theo was at tag and that no one was able to catch him all day. When she finished her parents turned to ask Theo how his first day of school was. Theo thought about it for a few moments before he said, "It was fun, the class portion was boring. But recess and PE were a lot of fun." 00095. Stop trying to hack my servers. Tony was in his workshop working on his computer as AC/DC blared through the speakers. He had been there all day, heck he had spent the last few weeks here. Barely leaving it to eat or sleep in his own bed. Tony didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he was frustrated. He had spent months trying to hack into the company behind the Vibe social media platforms that had become popular over the last few years. At first it was because someone from the government asked him if he could. Tony being who he was cockily said it wouldn¡¯t take him more than an hour at most. That was over four months ago and now it was a matter of pride that he needed to access the sites. The only thing he had accomplished so far was having to reformat his computer system a few dozen times. After the first few times it happened, he became cautious and made sure he only used a single computer not hooked up to his personal network. It made it easier and less of a hassle to deal with. While it was rare for Tony, he could admit. Whoever programmed those websites and the infrastructure behind them was a genius. He even contacted a few people he thought might have helped in the construction process, but no one he knew was behind it. Which just made Tony want to know who it was even more. Tony had just finished setting up his computer again and was getting ready to attempt another try. Before he smelled something delicious, which made his stomach rumble. He glanced at the clock, it was almost past ten PM. He forgot to eat dinner again. When he was about to turn around someone handed him a paper plate with a slice of pizza on it. He muted the music as he took a bite and just enjoyed the pizza for a few moments before he said, "Thanks, Happy." When he didn''t get a reply he knew he messed up. It must be his new personal assistant¡­ What was her name again? He could only remember the nickname he gave her, Pepper. Tony smiled for a moment as he thought about why he gave her that nickname. She was in the accounting department before and found some major issues in one of the R&D department''s books. When she brought it to her boss it was ignored, so she decided to take it to Tony himself. Unfortunately Tony¡¯s security was a little zealous in their jobs and when she tried to barge into Tony¡¯s office, they pepper sprayed her. When Tony found out what happened he nicknamed her pepper and promoted her to his new personal assistant as an apology. But it turned out she was amazing at the job and in the six months she¡¯s had the position, she kept impressing Tony. Like tonight when she brought him pizza. Tony smiled slightly as he spun around in his chair to greet Pepper and froze. Sitting on his work bench was a man he had never seen before. He was light skinned, with black hair and black eyes. The man smiled as he said, "Virginia Potts." Tony stared at the man blankly for a moment before he asked, "What?" The man took a bite of his own pizza and watched Tony for a few moments before he said, "You forgot your assistant''s name, which is Virginia Potts, but you call her Pepper. I saw the video of how she got her nickname by the way, that was hilarious." Tony tried not to smile at the memory as he asked, "And who the heck are you? How did you get in here?" The man just pointed at the pizza box as he said, "I''m the pizza delivery guy and I got here through magic." Tony stood up from his chair and hit the silent alarm button hidden under his desk as he did. He moved away from the man slightly as he pointed at the piece of pizza the man was eating and said, "What kinda pizza delivery guy eats the pizza they delivered?" "The one who paid for it. Unless you want to pay for it? You¡¯re welcome by the way, this is straight from Joe¡¯s in NYC.¡± Tony looked at the slice in his hand, then the box before he glanced to the stairwell leading down stairs. He looked back at the man as he said, ¡°Bullshit, there¡¯s no way pizza would be this fresh from NYC.¡± The man shrugged as he took another bite of his slice of pizza. As he was eating, Happy rushed down the stairs and burst into the room with his gun drawn. He moved towards the man with his gun raised as he said, ¡°Hands in the air, now!¡± The man looked unconcerned as he took another bite of his pizza. Happy moved into position between Tony and the man as he said, ¡°I said hands in the air, now!¡± The man glanced at Happy as he said, ¡°You should put that away, we wouldn¡¯t want someone to get hurt now.¡± Happy cocked the hammer as he asked, ¡°Oh ya? And who do you think is gonna be hurt?¡± ¡°Are you stupid? Me of course, that¡¯s a gun.¡± Both Tony and Happy paused at the response before Happy said, ¡°Well if you don¡¯t wanna be hurt, listen to me and put your hands in the air.¡± The man shook his head as he said, ¡°No. I wanna enjoy my pizza.¡± Tony spoke up next as he asked, ¡°Who are you? Why are you even here?¡± The man raised his hand holding his slice of pizza and pointed it at Tony as he said, ¡°I told you, I¡¯m the pizza delivery guy. And I¡¯m only here because some jackass keeps trying to hack my servers.¡± Tony froze for a few moments before he said, ¡°Wait¡­ Are you saying you created Vibe? Is that how you were able to get past my security systems?¡± The man smirked as he said, ¡°Is that what you consider a security system? I know a third world country with better security than you have." "Nice joke, my security is top of the line. I made it myself." The man finished another bite of his pizza as he said, "It wasn''t a joke. Plus the first time you hacked me, you gave me a backdoor into your system and you never even noticed.¡± Tony studied the man for a few moments before he let out a sigh and then he said, ¡°Stand down, Happy. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it already.¡± Happy frowned, but lowered his weapon and holstered it. He still stayed between Tony and the mysterious man though. Tony sat back down and took another bite of his pizza before he said, ¡°If you were coming by, you could have brought a better pizza.¡± ¡°What''s wrong with Joe¡¯s?¡± ¡°It¡¯s plain cheese.¡± The man shrugged as he said, ¡°Cheese was the safest bet, it¡¯s not like I know your favorite type of pizza.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Pepperoni, bacon and onions.¡± The man looked at Happy as he asked. ¡°What about you?¡± When Happy didn¡¯t reply, Tony said. ¡°He likes supreme.¡± The man nodded his head and then moved his right hand in a circle for a moment. A shimmering portal opened up with a neon orange ring on the outside. Tony and Happy could see the other side opened into a kitchen with some people making pizza. A couple people turned to look at the portal for a second and then went back to work. An older man glanced up and looked through the portal for a few seconds before he asked. ¡°What can I do for you Ezekiel?¡± ¡°Could I get a large supreme, a large with pepperoni, bacon and onions. And give me my normal.¡± The man nodded as he said, ¡°Give me about ten minutes.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks Joe.¡± The man nodded in response as the portal closed. Tony glanced from where the portal was, to the man now known as Ezekiel and then the pizza they were eating. He set his pizza down and grabbed something from his desk and moved to where the portal was as he asked, ¡°What was that? Some kinda wormhole technology? Spatial folding tech? Some kinda metahuman power?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he watched Tony scan the area of the portal with the device in his hands. When nothing came up on the device Tony asked again, ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°Magic.¡± Tony moved back to his desk as he said, ¡°Fine don¡¯t tell me.¡± Happy seemed to reboot after that and moved closer to Tony as he said, ¡°If that¡¯s how he got in, I have no idea how to stop that from happening again.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°You can¡¯t, but it¡¯s fine. Like I said, I only came here because this guy was trying to hack into my servers.¡± Tony smirked as he said, ¡°Since you came here, that means I was getting close to breaking in.¡± ¡°In your dreams. You should be glad I have a business proposition for you. If I didn¡¯t, you would get the same treatment as everyone else who tries to hack my systems.¡± Ezekiel pointed to one of the monitors on Tony¡¯s desk as he finished. Tony turned to look at it as a video played for over a minute before he asked, ¡°You ruin the computers people use to hack your systems with?¡± The screen changed to show whole servers being destroyed as Ezekiel said, ¡°Depends on the people. Some get a warning first, others lose hardware. If they try again, I take out more hardware till they learn their lesson.¡± Tony turned around as he asked, ¡°So you gave me a pass because you want something from me?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything from you. I have a business proposition. If you don¡¯t take it, I will just find someone else to do it. Then again, who would turn down billions of dollars in profit?¡± Happy still kept a spot next to Tony but he seemed a little more relaxed for now. He glanced between them as he asked. ¡°Why would you want to give Tony or someone else the chance to earn a bunch of money? Couldn¡¯t you just do it yourself?¡± ¡°I could, but it would just be a hassle. Do you have any idea how much work I would need to do to set up a new company? Not including getting infrastructure and supply chains set up?¡± Tony nodded in understanding as he said, ¡°So you want someone else to manufacture something for you? Some kinda smart phone like the Blackberry? Something so people can have easier access to Vibe I bet.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Tony as he said, ¡°Got it in one. But what I want made will be nothing like a Blackberry. It will make the Blackberry look like a kids toy.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Tony¡¯s computer screen again as he said, ¡°But not just phones, I want to make tablets also. I have some mock designs there for you to look at. It also includes the spec¡¯s I want for the device.¡± Tony started to look through the files Ezekiel placed on his computer. He had to admit, it was some pretty ingenious stuff if it worked. Small cameras that could take pictures in the megapixels, HD screens, touch screens, wifi, bluetooth and numerous other features were added to each device. The longer Tony went over the mock ups, the easier it was for him to picture it. It would definitely take some work, but if he made the first prototype¡­ After almost five minutes Tony turned around and asked, "What''s the catch?" Ezekiel held up a finger as he said, "I only have three. The first one is simple, whatever you make runs my software. You can add some apps to it if you like, but the OS is mine alone. I will take care of all the security updates, OS updates and run the application store." Ezekiel raised another finger as he said, "You have to make at least one version affordable. You can lower the specs across the board on it, but still make it durable and functional." Ezekiel raised a third finger as he said, "They need to be as environmentally friendly as possible. So easy to fix with replaceable parts would be best. Heck you could even start a new branch for Starktech and go into the repair business. Otherwise you could just let third party companies deal with the repairs, using your parts.¡± Tony relaxed into the back of his chair as he thought it over. It was a pretty good deal for him. He would be the first to market with something everyone would want. Making an affordable version for everyone would also be profitable. Making it environmentally friendly and easily fixable would make it less profitable. But if he factored it into the design from the start and made sure they produced parts in bulk to reduce cost. Add in making a repair service in house to fix the devices. They would lose some profit from third party repairs, but they could also up-sell their spare parts to them for a profit. Tony smiled to himself as he realized just how good the deal could be. Tony then looked up at Ezekiel as he said, "I want half the profit from the app store." Ezekiel laughed before he said, "Fuck off, you get all the profit from the devices themselves." "And we would be running your OS for free. Plus the profit from the app store could be worth more than the phone sales alone. Well depending on what you¡¯ll charge developers to use it.¡± "That''s part of the deal, letting you be the first to market with smartphones. Plus I am doing all the work for the OS and everything software wise. As for pricing I was only going to charge five percent of gross profit." Ezekiel smiled as he finished. ¡°Only five percent? You could easily charge fifteen to twenty percent with no issue. Honestly you could easily ask for thirty percent if you wanted to.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I have no reason to charge that much, it will take me almost no work to run the app store. I don¡¯t need to rip off all the indy dev¡¯s that will flock to make software for the device.¡± Tony had a smug look as he said, "Then at least give me a twenty five percent cut from the app store then. Or I could just do everything myself and cut you out completely. No matter who you went to, your phone would still come out after us." Ezekiel''s smile morphed into a smirk as he said, ¡°You really think I would let you get that far?" Happy tensed up as Tony frowned and asked, "Is that a threat?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "It''s a promise. You think I would come here, share all of this and not have a couple backup plans?¡± ¡°And what would that be?¡± Ezekiel¡¯s grin widened before he said, ¡°Depends on how spiteful I wanted to be. I could just sabotage any manufacturing attempt you make into phones until you understand that Stark Industries is never allowed to make smartphones.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s grin morphed into something almost feral as he said, ¡°Or I could sabotage your company so badly, you would spend the next ten years just trying to save it from going bankrupt.¡± As Tony quietly contemplated Ezekiel¡¯s words, Ezekiel waved his hand in the air. A moment later a portal appeared again. Ezekiel looked through it and saw three pizza boxes sitting on the counter. He waved his hand again and the three boxes floated through the portal. As they landed on the table next to him he waved at the older man on the other side of the portal as he said, ¡°Thanks a lot Joe.¡± ¡°Anything for my best customer.¡± The portal snapped closed a few seconds later. As Ezekiel opened the top box of pizza and pulled out a hot slice. He folded it slightly and then took a big bite of it. As he chewed on it he watched Tony who was lost in thought. When he finished his bite Ezekiel said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard on it. Those are only my worst case scenarios if you tried to fuck me over for some stupid reason.¡± Tony looked up at Ezekiel who smiled as he said, ¡°I came to you, because I know you aren¡¯t greedy or stupid enough to try. But you can think over the offer for a few days if you want.¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°I would be a fool to turn this down. So how about five percent of the app store profits?¡± Ezekiel gave Tony a flat look for a few moments before he said, ¡°One percent, is your only offer. ¡°Deal! Now give me my pizza. I¡¯ll get someone to draft up a contract in the next few days.¡± 00096. Professional delivery boy It only took about a week for Tony to have contract agreements drafted. The whole thing was kept top secret and only Tony, Happy, Ezekiel and the lawyer who drafted the contract knew about it. Ezekiel wanted to have everything ready and the devices in production before they even advertised anything about it. Then within a month of when the ad campaign started the phones would come out. They would easily have over a year head start on anyone else in the market. Theo had to go over it all with the help of his clones. But Tony was straightforward in the contract, he would get one percent of the profits from the app store. He would also receive thirty percent from the ad revenue, since Ezekiel didn¡¯t want to share the data analytics. But for any smartphone or tablet device made by Stark it would have to run Ezekiel''s OS. There were a few other clauses in the contract, but that was about it. Once the contract was finalized, Tony had started to work on making a cheap but fixable smartphone. It didn¡¯t even take him a week to make a decent prototype. The schematics Ezekiel provided were a big help, but it was Tony''s genius that brought it to life. Over the next couple months Ezekiel would randomly show up at Tony''s house to double check his prototypes. He would point out any issues he found or just make suggestions on what could be improved. While he wasn''t an engineer by trade, he had all his knowledge of smartphones and tablets from his old life to fall back on. It was really simple for him to suggest things he knew people would like. After the first few times they met, Tony had grown comfortable with Ezekiel just randomly popping in unannounced. One of the reasons is because Tony had a bad habit of forgetting to eat and Ezekiel always brought food. Since Ezekiel could go anywhere, almost instantly it seemed. Tony gave Ezekiel a list of places and foods he liked to eat from different restaurants around the world. Ezekiel didn''t mind, while he didn''t like sweets much, he enjoyed food. So trying a bunch of food from around the world was something he looked forward to doing. It was about three months into their collaboration when Ezekiel portaled into Tony''s workshop and found Virginia ¡®Pepper¡¯ Potts there. She seemed to be berating Tony for something. "You didn''t show up again! You can''t keep doing this, it was an important meeting!" Tony smiled and pointed at the device on his table as he said, "I lost track of time, I was working on the last prototype and was having an issue with it." Pepper waved at the device on Tony¡¯s table as she said, "This new secret project you have going doesn''t matter. You just skipped out on a meeting for a potential multi-billion dollar contract from the US Army. If Mr. Stane wasn''t there, it would have been lost." "How come you call Obie, Mr. Stane and me Tony?" Pepper let out a sigh as she said, "Because he actually deserves respect. You on the other hand shirk your responsibility and expect others to clean up after you like a child." Ezekiel laughed as he said, "She has a good point Tony. You¡¯re pretty much a man child." Pepper whirled around to look at who spoke as Tony said, "I thought we were friends?" "Business partner would be a better term for what we are." Tony placed his hands over his heart as he said, "You wound me sir." Pepper composed herself as she said, "I''m sorry, I don''t think we''ve met. I''m Pepper, Tony''s personal assistant and nanny." Ezekiel placed the bags he was carrying down and extended his hand as he said, "Ezekiel, professional delivery boy." After they shook hands Pepper asked, "You''re a business partner of Tony? I¡¯m surprised he lets you down here. He won¡¯t even let Mr. Stane down here." Tony replied with a bit of annoyance in his voice, "I can''t keep him out, I''ve tried. But at least he brings me food." Pepper looked confused at that statement as Tony moved to open the bags on the table. Tony had a big smile on his face as he said, "You actually brought me BBQ from Okies!" As Tony started to pull out the cartons of food, the door to the workshop burst open as Happy ran inside with his gun drawn. He looked at Ezekiel and let out a sigh as he put his gun away. Ezekiel smirked as he said, "I brought you your favorite from Okies." Happy walked over to the table Tony was currently at as he said, "You know you could just call me like a normal person and not trip the silent alarm every time you show up." Ezekiel patted Happy¡¯s shoulder as he said, "I could, but I don''t want you to get rusty. Plus you could use the exercise." Tony had a rib half in his mouth as he said, "He''s right, you''ve been getting a little big around the waist lately." Pepper walked closer to look at the food as she said, "I didn''t want to say anything, but Tony''s right." "I have an issue with my thyroid, and the medication I''m on is making me gain weight." Happy finished with a frown. "Really? You should''ve told me. I know one of the best doctors without a degree in the world." Before anyone could say anything he made a portal and disappeared through it. Pepper was wide eyed and her mouth hung open at the sight. Tony and Happy just ignored it and started to eat the food in earnest. Pepper finally pulled herself together as she asked, "What the hell was that?" Tony just said, "Ezekiel." And Happy nodded in agreement like that explained everything. Tony then slid a cardboard carton filled with BBQ in front of Pepper as he said, "Have some food Pep. It''s fresh from Okies in Texas." Pepper let out a sigh and decided to just go with it. She would get answers after she ate some of the delicious smelling food in front of her. After about ten minutes a new portal opened and a woman walked through it followed by Ezekiel. The woman was easily over six foot tall, with blonde hair tied in a ponytail. Her shoulder length bangs framed the light purple diamond in the center of her forehead. While her chest was massive and almost wanted to burst out of the top she wore. She glanced over each person in the room with her brown eyes as she said, "You better keep your promise." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "I still can¡¯t believe you wanna go with your luck." "I feel like my luck has changed being here. Plus there is only one way to find out." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "Fine, but I am only giving you ten grand to waste." This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "I need at least a hundred thousand." Ezekiel pointed at Happy as he said, "Help out Happy and I¡¯ll think about it." The woman turned to look at Happy as Ezekiel said, "Tsunade, this is Pepper, Happy and Tony.¡± Pepper and Happy both smiled at her as they said ¡°Hello.¡± Tony was quiet, while openly ogling Tsunade and her assets before Ezekiel said, ¡°Tony, don''t even think about it. She is over twice your age and could kill you before you know what happened." ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Tony said sheepishly. Tsunade clicked her tongue as she said, "You don''t tell people a woman''s age you brat!" "Did you just ask for only a thousand dollars?" Tsunade looked annoyed as she said, "You promised I could go." ¡°And you will.¡± Tsunade turned to give Ezekiel a look like he was an idiot as she said, ¡°What''s the point of going, if I don¡¯t have any money?¡± ¡°A thousand is more than most people make in a week here. You help Happy out first and if you do a good job, you might get a bonus.¡± Tsunade pointed at Happy as she asked, "Do you have your medication with you?" As Happy nodded and pulled it out, Pepper finally asked, ¡°Can you tell me what exactly is going on here? Who are you exactly? What business do you have with Tony? What were those orange circle things? How is this food so fresh if it¡¯s from Texas? Where did she come from? Is she really a doctor?¡± Before Pepper could ask another question, Ezekiel held up a hand as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll only answer this once. This is a normal day for me.¡± Ezekiel pointed at himself as he said, ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel, professional food delivery boy for Tony.¡± ¡°While that¡¯s true, he is also the person behind Vibe.¡± Pepper looked between Ezekiel and Tony for a moment before she asked, ¡°Vibe? As in the social media platforms?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yup. Now let me finish. As for my business with Tony, we are making smart devices.¡± Ezekiel waved his arm and another portal appeared next to him. As he reached into the portal he said, ¡°These are magic portals and I can make them go wherever I want. Which should answer your next couple questions.¡± Ezekiel pulled out a couple bundles of cash and set it on the table before the portal closed. When he finished Tony asked, ¡°Where did you make that portal too?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Some drug kingpins vault.¡± ¡°You just stole from a drug kingpin?¡± Ezekiel shrugged and pointed to Tsunade as she was scanning Happy with her mystic palm. Both Tony and Pepper turned to stare at the green aura pouring from her palm in fascination as Ezekiel said, ¡°As for her being a doctor? She is possibly the best doctor in the world and I trust her with my life.¡± Tsunade finished running her hand over Happy as she said, ¡°God I hate this place.¡± Tony frowned as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my workshop?¡± Tsunade gave Tony a flat look as she said, ¡°It was a general statement for this world.¡± She held up the pill bottled as she said, ¡°This stuff right here doesn¡¯t actually heal him. It just helps the symptoms but does nothing for the underlying cause. What is wrong with the healers in this world, it¡¯s like they don¡¯t want to help people.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°It¡¯s because they don¡¯t. It¡¯s more profitable to make something that helps, but doesn¡¯t cure the issue. That way people are forced to come back over and over again.¡± Tsunade shook her head as she said, ¡°Well he¡¯s cured now, I even fixed up his knees and elbow.¡± Happy squatted down a few times and then flexed his arm some. He started to do some footwork and even tossed out a couple jabs as his face lit up and he said, ¡°My arm¡¯s fixed and my knees don''t hurt!¡± Tony was the most surprised as he moved next to Happy and said, ¡°But every doctor we took you to said the nerve and tendon damage wasn¡¯t fixable.¡± Tsunade nodded her head as she said, ¡°It probably was by what passes for medicine in this world.¡± Tony glanced over to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°You keep saying this world. So are you guys aliens or something?¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°No. Just from different universes¡­ Or something like that.¡± Tony nodded his head as he said, ¡°That explains some things.¡± Both Happy and Pepper looked at Tony and said at the same time, ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain anything!¡± ¡°No it does. The portals, the software I can¡¯t hack. Medical tech that can easily heal things modern medicine can¡¯t in a few minutes. The smartphone designs he gave me. It¡¯s all from a different universe that is maybe fifty to a hundred years more advanced than us.¡± Happy shook his head before he glanced at Tsunade and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter where you came from, you have my thanks.¡± ¡°You''re welcome. Now pay me ten thousand dollars.¡± Happy blanched at that as Ezekiel smiled and then pointed at the table with a pile of cash on it. Tsunade glanced at the cash, then smiled brightly as she moved towards the table and said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Tony glanced over at the cash himself as he asked, ¡°How much is there?¡± ¡°Maybe a hundred and fifty thousand.¡± Tony glanced at Happy as he said, ¡°Go up to the safe and match it.¡± While Happy moved to go upstairs, Tsunade glanced over at Tony and smiled as she said, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me he was generous and wealthy.¡± Ezekiel moved over to the table with BBQ on it as he said, ¡°Tony likes to say he¡¯s a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist¡­ Or something like that.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t said that before¡­ But it has a nice ring to it.¡± Ezekiel started to eat some of the BBQ as Tsunade started to count the money on the table. Tony moved back over to his carton of food as he asked, ¡°So where exactly are you going to send her?¡± Tsunade¡¯s eyes lit up as she said, ¡°Las Vegas!¡± Tony paused for a moment before he said, ¡°I haven¡¯t been there in a few months¡­¡± Pepper shook her head as she said, ¡°No! You can¡¯t go. The meeting you missed today was moved to tomorrow because Mr. Stane stepped in. You need to show up this time or we¡¯ll lose the contract.¡± Tony waved off what Pepper said as he stuffed some brisket in his mouth. As he finished it he said, ¡°What I¡¯m working on will be worth a lot more than a billion dollars.¡± ¡°I think we projected twenty billion in the first year alone.¡± Tony nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°Those are the low end estimates. I think it will be closer to thirty billion. With that number increasing steadily for the foreseeable future. Within ten years it could match or pass the weapon division in profits. It would be higher, but Ezekiel wants the devices to last, be repairable and environmentally friendly.¡± Pepper looked surprised as she said, ¡°You''re joking, that¡¯s a three hundred billion dollar a year business.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°No, he¡¯s correct, it¡¯ll be better in the long run. Plus the profit you would make wouldn¡¯t be that much more. Maybe another billion a year at most if you didn¡¯t make them easily repairable. You should be able to make that and more by being a wholesale supplier of spare parts.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he added, ¡°Unless you went super scum lord and made a new phone every year with slightly better specs. While you update the old phones and make them run slower, so people are forced to upgrade devices. Then you could maybe double the estimates.¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°But you wanna be the good guy and not do that.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°It¡¯s good for your karma not to be a scumbag. Plus you already make weapons, you need all the good karma you can get.¡± Tony just waved it off as Happy came back into the room. He walked over to the table and placed a backpack down next to Tsunade. She glanced in the bag and smiled, before she stuffed the bag full with the money on the table. When she finished she glanced at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Alright, lets go!¡± Tony held up a hand as he said. ¡°Give me twenty minutes, I wanna go too.¡± Pepper frowned as she asked, ¡°What about the meeting?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, in fact call them and cancel it. Tell them I¡¯m not interested.¡± Tony turned to look at Happy as he said, ¡°Hurry up and eat, then we¡¯re going to Vegas!¡± 00097. Vegas vacation? It could be considered a miracle for Fury to wake up to his alarm. The world didn¡¯t sleep, so it was rare when he didn¡¯t receive a call in the middle of the night about some type of issue. Until six months ago, he never slept deep enough to even need an alarm in the first place. It was hard to sleep comfortably when you changed your sleeping location every day. Well, if he even had time to sleep in the first place. But now he could portal wherever he wanted. So he made a secret little place to call his own and made sure to visit it at least once a day. He would still act like he was using a different place each night, he had to keep up appearances after all. But after he locked down the safe house he picked to use, he would portal to his little slice of heaven. It took about a month and he needed Tao and Ezekiel''s clones to help him build it. But they were able to build him a nice little home that only a handful of people could even reach. Even he would have issues reaching the place if Tao hadn¡¯t set up the portal room for him. Fury reached over to his alarm and turned it off before he pushed a button on his night stand. The thing he loved most about his home was the view. It was something he could never get tired of and he designed the house to have floor to ceiling windows on every part not hidden underground. Every room except the bathroom had the same breathtaking view. Fury stretched and looked out his bedroom window as the glass changed from opaque to clear. Before him was the gray rim of a crater and beyond that, the earth in all its glory. Even now after six months it was breathtaking and he would be hard pressed trying to describe it if someone asked. Waking up to his alarm and seeing this view¡­ It seemed like today was going to be a good day. Fury went about his early morning routine and before long he was checking his email and enjoying a cup of coffee in his living room. While he listened to the morning news on TV. He didn''t pay attention to the news until a special report came on. "We have some interesting news for you this morning. There are reports that billionaire Tony Stark was detained around three AM this morning along with part of his security team in Las Vegas." It cut to show a generic picture of Tony as the reporter continued, "Normally that''s about all the information we would have. But it looks like someone leaked a video of the incident online to the Vibe media platform and we were able to get a copy." The video changed to show the inside of a casino before the video zoomed in to show Tony, a blonde woman, Happy, and a few other people in nice suits around a craps table. The video began to play as the reporter said, "It seems the start of the incident occurred when a yet to be named man tried to touch the woman in Stark''s entourage." It showed the man say something to the woman before he went to grab her ass. Just before he reached her ass, she caught his hand. Then she twisted his arm forcing him to kneel on the ground. After which she spoke down to him before she spat in his face and pushed him away. The female anchor followed up with, "I have no idea who that lady is, but I think I speak for all women when I say, ''You go girl, show that creep who''s boss.'' The video sped up a little as the man and a few other people left. While Tony and his group stayed to continue playing craps. The news anchor chimed back in as she said, "Now we¡¯ll skip some of the footage, this is from about an hour later." The video showed the area where Tony and his group were playing craps. But the area around them seemed to have a lot less people now. One of the people with Tony could be seen saying something before they pointed off to the side. After about ten seconds people began to pour into the room from off screen. Tony stepped away from the table with his group as a man came forward from the other group. It was easy to see it was the same man who was humiliated early. He started to yell something at Tony and his group before he pointed at them. The people with him started to move out and surround Tony''s group. The video paused for a moment as the news anchor said, "We actually have the audio from the rest of the video. I would caution viewers, there is crass language and violence ahead. You''ve been warned." The video resumed as the man was heard saying, "I want that bitch to get on her knees in front of me and apologize!" Tony smirked at the man as he asked, "And what''re you gonna do if she doesn''t." "She better, or all of you will face the consequences for her disrespect. Not even you, will be spared from my wrath Stark." The blonde woman moved to the front next to Tony as she said, "You want an apology? Come over here and I¡¯ll beat one into your ugly face!" The man pointed at the woman as he said, "Bring her to me on her knees. If anyone gets in the way, break some of their bones." As the men closed in on Tony¡¯s group, someone from Tony''s group stepped forward and said, "Hold on just a moment, I need to set the mood." Tony glanced over as he asked, "Set the mood?" Happy moved into a protective stance in front of Tony as he said, "How about you just get us out of here instead of setting the mood, Ezekiel." The man now named Ezekiel smirked and pulled up a tablet that hung from his side. He typed on it for a moment as the men moved closer to his group. After a moment he let the tablet fall back to his side as piano music filled the room. ''Tonight I''m gonna have myseeelllllff a real good time.'' Tony and Happy turned to glance at Ezekiel as Tony asked, "Really?" This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ''I feel aaaaaaa aaaaaa aaaaalive.'' Ezekiel smirked and punched forward a couple of times, losing up his joints as he said, "These people wanted to dance, it¡¯s only right to provide music." ''And the worlddddddd, I''ll turn it inside ooooooout, yeah!'' One of the approaching men broke from the group and rushed forward to punch Ezekiel. Ezekiel easily dodged the punch by tilting his head and twisting his body. As the man finished the punch, Ezekiel''s right arm shot out and caught the man in his throat. Which made him drop to the floor clutching his throat as he tried to breathe. ''I''m floating around, in ecstasy.'' At the same time the blonde woman smiled as she rushed forward into the group of approaching men. She body checked the person in front which sent him flying back into a couple other men who all fell into a heap on the ground. ''So. (Don''t stop me now) (Don''t stop me)'' Some other men moved closer to Tony and Happy during the same time. As one of them went for Tony. Happy moved to intercept the man and blocked him from reaching Tony. But as he did, the other man targeted him from his blind spot. The man came up short though as Tony had used that same opportunity to kick that man''s knee out. ''Cause I''m having a good time. Having a good time!¡± As Happy threw out a punch combo on the man in front of him Tony said, ¡°Alright, I admit. Music makes this better.¡± Ezekiel tossed someone over his shoulder into another man as he said, ¡°Told you, you can¡¯t have a dance party without music.¡± As the video played it became clear that while Tony¡¯s group was outnumbered six to one. It didn¡¯t matter at all, Tony¡¯s group was wiping the floor with the other people. Tony was even in the thick of things, throwing punches and kicks at anyone who attempted to get close. Ezekiel, the blonde woman and another man with black hair, were doing the bulk of the work though. By the time the music stopped, only the man who started everything and a couple of his goons were still standing. Casino security itself still had yet to arrive and it didn¡¯t seem like it would anytime soon. The man looked at all of his men on the ground groaning in pain and said, ¡°Look at all of you! All of you are fired for being useless!¡± The man reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun with his right hand. As he lifted it up the black haired man in Tony¡¯s group moved his left hand in a throwing motion. The other man screamed in pain as the gun clattered to the ground. He held up his hand to look at it, which now had a knife sticking through it. The man held his right hand as he yelled, ¡°I¡¯ll kill all of you! You have no idea who you¡¯re fucking with!¡± One second Ezekiel was on one side of the room, the next he was on the other side of the room in front of the man mid punch as he said, ¡°No one cares!¡± Ezekiel¡¯s fist connected with the man¡¯s jaw a split second later and bones could be heard breaking. The man himself was lifted off his feet and rocketed backwards to slam into a slot machine. The slot machine lit up like a jackpot was just hit which made Ezekiel turn around and ask, ¡°Does that jackpot still count if I didn¡¯t use any money?¡± The video cut off after that and the anchor appeared back on the TV as she said, ¡°Unfortunately that is all the video we have, but did you see that last punch? We talked to some experts and¡­¡± Fury tuned out the TV as a thought flashed through his mind, ¡®Today wasn¡¯t going to be a good day at all.¡¯ vvvvv "You wanna tell me what the fuck you were thinking?" Ezekiel let out a sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew something like this might happen once he agreed to join Tony in Vegas. Well maybe not exactly what happened. He even brought Shisui with him to act as extra security for Tony just in case something did happen. Ezekiel glanced at Fury and Peggy who were seated on the other side of the table from him. Both of them requested a meeting with him after they found out what happened. For pretty much the same reason. Tony Stark being detained and Ezekiel himself being seen by the world. He should have just used a henge to hide what he looked like¡­ Well this isn¡¯t what he looks like, so it doesn¡¯t really matter. Tsunade on the other hand might be an issue, same with Shisui. Whatever, it didn¡¯t really matter much. It wasn¡¯t like they did much in the outside world anyways. "Well?" Fury looked annoyed as he waited for the answer to his question. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "What can I say, Tony is persuasive and wanted to celebrate. He also made this sad look like I kicked a puppy. How could I say no?" Fury frowned as he said, "That wasn¡¯t what I was asking about. When did you make contact with Stark and why weren''t we informed?" Peggy nodded in agreement as she said, "I thought you weren''t going to mess with the timeline any more?" Ezekiel shrugged as he said. ¡°In for a penny, in for a pound. Besides I''m not messing with the timeline, Tony always becomes Ironman.¡± Peggy wasn''t happy with the answer but Fury pushed again as he asked, "When did you first make contact with him? And why?" Ezekiel let out another sigh before he said, "A few months ago. We made a contract and are going into business together." "Why didn''t you inform anyone else about this?" Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "Because it''s just a business partnership. Even though I told Tao and Agatha about it, since it cut into my training time with magic." Fury raised his one good eyebrow as he said, "You should¡¯ve informed us about it.¡± Ezekiel looked at the empty room as he said, ¡°Honestly it looks like you are the only two people who care about what happened.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point and you know it. Something big like this should be shared with the group.¡± Peggy nodded in agreement as she added, ¡°Making contact with Tony in the first place is an issue. And you being all over the internet doesn¡¯t really help with us being a secret organization.¡± Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°How in the hell have you not removed that video by now? Actually why did it even leak in the first place?¡± Ezekiel laughed as he said, ¡°I leaked it.¡± Fury and Peggy stared at Ezekiel as if he was an idiot before Fury asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because now everyone knows what you look like!¡± Fury let out a sigh and rubbed his temple as he finished. Ezekiel wore a smirk as he asked, ¡°Just like you do?¡± Both of them paused at that remark. It was something they took for granted and forgot about. They didn¡¯t know what Ezekiel really looked like. They were so used to him with this face that it slipped their minds. Ezekiel pointed to himself as he said, ¡°My appearance doesn¡¯t matter. I can change it anytime I want. In fact the only thing the world thinks about me at this point is I am part of Tony¡¯s security team. Same thing for Shisui and Tsunade. As for exposing our group, how would that even happen? I¡¯m not telling Tony or the rest of the world about it.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s smile grew as he asked, ¡°As for leaking the video, it was awesome. I just had to share it. Have you seen how many views it has?¡± 00098. Project Lazarus It was over a month after the Vegas incident that Project Lazarus was cleared for final testing with human subjects. Normally you would test for years to ensure something like Lazarus was stable. Theo cheated instead and used the time stone with Tao to check the test subjects. It was a different way then Tao normally used the time stone. Since the focus was only on one person and specifically what was happening to them. It was a lot less intense and drained almost nothing of her mental stamina. The only downside to the process was it showed nothing of the wider world or the future. Tao and Theo didn''t mind, they both already knew what might happen in the future and were planning for it. The human test subjects were some of the prisoners they kept at the medical base. They were all placed in magic lined cells and kept in medically induced comas. It was easier to keep them in check that way. For the test subjects themselves, they were woken up from stasis to be used in the experiments. It sounded bad, but they just needed them awake so it was easier for Tao to move their astral projection over to the new body and anchor it. It turned out that an astral projection was a person''s soul. At least that was the simplest explanation for what it was. So transferring a person''s astral projection to a new body was kinda like transferring a soul to a new body. It seemed to work at first, but as they checked with the time stone. They found a weird issue. The astral projection liked to go back to the original body after a while. Normally within six months of the process happening. The next step they took was to figure out why it happened. Tao with the help of Agatha looked into the issue and within a month had a possible solution. The old body had a deep connection to the soul and would pull it back over time. But if the old body didn''t exist? The soul should bond completely to the new body and form a new anchor point. So that''s what they did to one of the test subjects. After their original body was destroyed, they used the time stone to check on the test subject. It was a resounding success, no issues found after checking on them for over fifty years. They also checked eighty years out and still found no issues with the transfer process. Since the astral projection transfer process worked perfectly on cloned bodies. The next step was trying it on an altered clone body. They made slight adjustments to a clone and mixed in about five percent of Theo''s unique DNA. Once the body was formed, they did another transfer and disposed of the old body. Then Tao and Theo used the time stone to check for rejection first. Afterwards they checked for any issues that might have cropped up. It ended up working correctly and no issues were found even after checking back a hundred and twenty years out. That tiny bit of Theo¡¯s DNA expanded a person''s life expectancy by almost thirty years. Since that test was a success, they moved on to the next step. They wanted to mix in more of Theo''s DNA, a little over thirty percent. Again the tests were positive and the test subject ended up living three hundred and three years. With that test finished, they moved on to the final stage. A fifty percent mix of Theo''s DNA with the subject''s original DNA. This is where they started running into weird issues. In the cloning process Theo''s DNA would end up taking over the clone. Chalk white skin would be the most notable feature, but some had horns, others a third eye or pointed ears for some reason. It was pretty much a mess with every clone body they attempted. They dialed back Theo¡¯s DNA to forty percent and it ended up being stable. They even attempted a few clones with higher percentages, but past forty three percent it became unstable. So forty percent became the target number and they carried out extensive testing on numerous clone bodies. With a forty percent mix, the test subjects could live to be almost four hundred years old without much issue. Another nice bonus was they didn¡¯t start looking older till they were over three hundred and fifty years old. Since the testing was going well, Theo¡¯s group worked on the last piece they wanted to integrate into the clone bodies. Logan¡¯s x-gene. Theo and the others wanted to harness his healing factor. With Sarah¡¯s help, Orochimaru was able to isolate just the healing factor from his x-gene. With the help of Beast, Kabuto and Tobirama, they were able to integrate it into the clone bodies without issue. Afterwards they moved into the testing phase again. It only took about a month while abusing the time stone to double check. But they were able to determine that the final clone body would work properly and even increase a person''s life span to over five hundred years. They wouldn¡¯t have the ability to heal like Logan, but they could heal from a stab wound in less then a day and could even regrow limbs after a while. It was also stable and consistent with all clones they tested with. They considered the overall project a massive success. Another bonus and the reason they used Theo¡¯s DNA in the first place was because of chakra. Any body made using his DNA came with chakra pathways. The downside was the chakra the body produced wasn¡¯t great compared to Theo¡¯s. Everyone in Theo¡¯s head working on the project had different theories as to why, but it was Hagoromo who had the best explanation. The pathways and chakra potency in the clone bodies were like those of his later descendants. Which made Orochimaru, Kabuto, Tobirama, Tsunade and a few others work to fix issues with the cloning process. They wanted to improve the chakra pathways and the chakra potency. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Unfortunately everything they attempted failed. The only way to improve it was making a clone with a higher percentage of Theo¡¯s DNA. So after a few months of failures they dropped that portion of the project and declared the project ready for implementation. The only issue they had after the project was completed was deciding who would get the chance to have a new body. The bodies made with the forty percent mix would be extremely powerful. Not only would they have an extended lifespan, healing factor, and chakra. They would be able to improve their bodies like only a ninja with chakra can. With some training they would be stronger than Steve at his peak and that wasn¡¯t even close to how strong they could become. Guy and Lee were a great example of just how strong someone could get with just body training. The best idea was to just enhance most people with a weaker five percent mix into their clone body. But enhance people like Steve and Peggy with the forty percent mix in their clone body. It seemed like the best solution to Theo after debating with Tao, Agatha and some of the people living inside his head. The clone bodies were also aged up to be around eighteen or so. They debated on starting them younger, around seven or eight. Since it would help to raise the overall chakra levels when they were older. But decided against it, since they would already have slightly higher than genin chakra levels. With time and proper training they should be able to reach jonin or possibly kage levels of chakra if they were lucky. But that was only for the higher quality bodies. The bodies made with the five percent mix would max out around high chunin levels if they trained properly, or maybe even low jonin levels. Most would be stuck with mid chunin levels of chakra though. So after another month of deciding who would get what and why, Theo called in the first person he wanted to do the procedure on. Theo was currently in the medical base henge¡¯d as Ezekiel. He glanced at the new clone body laying on the bed as he waited for his guest of honor to arrive. He had to admit, the new bodies were a little weird to look at. They always looked like they were asleep until a soul was placed inside them. Then they would suck in a deep breath as their eyes snapped open and looked around in shock. Some of the test subjects would even sit up and let out screams, that shit was just creepy. Tao said it had something to do with them not having any previous experience with astral projection. Ezekiel glanced at the body next to him and couldn''t help but snicker as he thought of all the new jokes he could use now.. As he was lost in thought, the door to the room opened and in walked Tao and Agatha. Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help the smile that formed on his face as he made sure to memorize the look on Tao¡¯s face, it was priceless. She stood at the foot of the bed staring down at a face she hadn¡¯t seen in eight hundred years. After a few moments she asked, ¡°How did you even get a sample of my DNA?¡± ¡°Your favorite tea cup. You know it¡¯s kinda gross, you never wash the thing¡­ Or the teapot now that I think about it¡± Tao gave Ezekiel a frown as she said, ¡°It adds to the flavor of the tea.¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°I also have a favorite tea cup and teapot I never clean.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both disgusting.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he asked, ¡°So, what do you think?¡± Tao let out a sigh as she said, ¡°I appreciate what you are trying to do for me, but I would be weak for months while my soul adapts and anchors to the new body. The earth can¡¯t go that long without me to watch over it.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a good thing I found you a replacement!¡± Tao glanced from Ezekiel to Agatha who nodded as she said, ¡°While I would never take the job permanently, I can handle it for a few months while you recover. Plus this new body will be a lot stronger and won¡¯t be tainted by the dark dimension.¡± Tao smiled at both of them before she said, ¡°Thank you, both of you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.¡± Agatha smiled in return as she said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Now go on, the faster you do this, the less time I need to cover for you.¡± Tao nodded as she moved to the other bed in the room. She stopped and removed her outer robes and a few other items before she laid down on the bed. Afterwards she forced her astral projection out of her body and moved over to her new body. After she entered it, the body inhaled deeply before it sat up. Tao took a few moments to study her new body before she smiled as she said, ¡°Chakra feels weird.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it. I¡¯ll start you on control lesson after you adjust to your new body. Till then don¡¯t worry about your chakra, it¡¯ll be too hard to control.¡± Tao nodded as she slowly tested the rest of her body. After about a minute she gently stood up from the bed she was on. After testing each leg a few times, she walked over to her robes and other pieces she removed. As she began to redress herself Ezekiel said, ¡°I have to admit, you proved something very important today.¡± Tao glanced back as she was adjusting her robes and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°The age old question of whether or not gingers have souls.¡± 00099. Everyone gets a body! The day after Tao transferred to her new body, Peggy and Steve were asked to come over to the medical facility. Theo again wanted to be there personally, so he took over for his clone today. After Peggy and Steve arrived at the base, Ezekiel greeted them. Before he led them to where their new bodies were. As they stepped into the room both of them froze in place as they looked at younger versions of themselves sleeping peacefully. Peggy was the most shocked as it had been decades since she last saw herself without aged features. Steve glanced between the two people on beds before he asked, "What exactly is going on here?" "Project Lazarus was a success. These are your new bodies." Peggy turned around to look directly at Ezekiel as she asked, "I thought Lazarus was so your clones would have permanent bodies?" Ezekiel nodded as he said, "That''s in phase two." Ezekiel moved towards the bodies as he said, "These bodies are part of phase one." Ezekiel turned around to face Steve as he said, "When I asked for your DNA, you made me promise not to look into the super soldier formula." Ezekiel pointed at the clones of Steve and Peggy as he said, "I kept my promise but at the same time stumbled upon something better." Steve looked a little upset as he asked, "If you kept your promises, how did you come up with something better than the super soldier formula?" Ezekiel pointed at himself as he said, "Using my DNA." Both of them looked at the bodies in concern as Steve asked, "So those are clones of you that look like us?" "No, those are about forty percent me, one part Logan''s x-gene and the rest is from both of you. While it should make you look different, my DNA was altered to not show any outward signs. So physically you still look the same, but under the hood is where my genetics take over. We''ve done extensive testing and this ended up being the best mix without any side effects." Ezekiel smiled as he said, "We never did look into the super soldiers formula itself like I promised. I had planned to just clone your powers into Peggy and a few other people instead. But Sarah was never able to get far in the project though since we made the discovery about my DNA." Steve frowned as he said, "So what, these are like a stronger version of a super soldier?" Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "No, these are like a weaker version of me. They should be a little weaker than you are currently. But with proper training you could lift mountains. Plus you will be able to use my skills with practice and dedication.¡± Ezekiel smiled again as he said, ¡°But that¡¯s not all, Logan¡¯s x-gene increases your body''s healing factor. You won¡¯t be like Logan, but you shouldn¡¯t really get sick anymore. You will heal from most injuries faster than normal and even regrow limbs. Oh and you should be able to live past five hundred years old, if you don¡¯t get killed or something.¡± ¡°Five hundred years?!?!¡± Ezekiel nodded as his smile grew before he said, ¡°From our testing it was mostly from my DNA, but Logan¡¯s x-gene did help out.¡± While they took in the information, the door to the room opened and in walked Tao. Tao looked to be around sixteen with fiery red hair tied into a braid that hung down past her butt. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I¡¯m still not a fan of the long hair. Maybe a pixie cut?¡± Tao gave Ezekiel a look that made him go quiet before she smiled at the other two people in the room. As she asked, ¡°So did Ezekiel finish explaining what was going on?¡± ¡°Kinda, but not really. He also didn¡¯t ask if we wanted new bodies.¡± Peggy finished with a frown at Ezekiel. Ezekiel shrugged as he asked, ¡°What? You don¡¯t want the chance to live a full life with lover boy here?¡± ¡°I do, but five hundred years? Isn¡¯t that too long? How would we enjoy our lives when we are that old?¡± Steve nodded as he said, ¡°I have to agree. I appreciate what you are trying to do for both of us, but that just doesn¡¯t seem right to me. All of our friends and family would die long before us. Not like I have much of that anyway, but you get the point.¡± Tao let out a sigh as she said, ¡°Both of you are overthinking this too much. Just enjoy the second chance at life and deal with everything else as it comes. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve done for the past eight hundred years.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Plus we are already working on a life extension treatment. We are shooting for it to add at least three hundred years to a normal person''s life. So that should take care of one of your concerns.¡± Ezekiel then pointed at the bodies again as he said, ¡°These bodies will look like this for the next four hundred years or so. Then they will slowly age over the last thirty years of your life. You will be just like elves are depicted in most books.¡± Peggy shared a glance with Steve that acted as a whole conversation before she turned to look at Ezekiel and said, ¡°Thank you, for doing this for us.¡± Steve nodded as he asked, ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Tao pointed at the extra beds as she said, ¡°You will need to lay down on those beds, then I¡¯ll transfer you over to your new bodies. It will be a weird, but completely painless experience.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. They both nodded before moving to one of the beds. After they laid down, Tao moved to Peggy first and gently tapped her head, forcefully removing her astral projection from her body. It only took a few moments as she guided it into the new body. Peggy in her new body shot up as she took in a deep breath of air. The first thing she did was glance over to her old body and then looked at her new hands in wonder. It felt a little weird to her at first, her mind was telling her it wasn¡¯t real. But as she studied and flexed her fingers that feeling went away and was replaced with joy. Tears of joy slid down her face at the thought of spending the next few centuries with Steve. Steve for his part just smiled as he watched Peggy adjusting to her new body. Tao moved next to him and said, ¡°Lay back, this will only take a moment.¡± Once Steve¡¯s head touched the pillow, Tao tapped his head. After his astral projection was ejected, she moved it towards the new body and anchored it into place. Steve slowly opened his eyes and then sat up. It took him only a few moments before he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. He moved to Peggy¡¯s bed and then asked, ¡°How do you feel?¡± Peggy turned to Steve with a radiant smile on her face as she said, ¡°Great. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt this good in my whole life.¡± Steve held out his hand to her, which she took as he said, ¡°I feel the same. Even after the original experiment, I didn¡¯t feel this good. I feel all warm inside.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You''re making me blush, that thing you''re feeling? That''s all me baby, I¡¯m inside of both of you.¡± Peggy turned to glare at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t ever say something like that again.¡± Steve looked a little grossed out as he nodded in agreement. Ezekiel held up his hands in front of himself as he said, ¡°What, it¡¯s true. That nice warm feeling inside? That¡¯s chakra. That¡¯s all from your dear old dad.¡± Ezekiel finished by twisting his hands and pointing his thumbs at himself as a large smile broke out on his face. Tao smacked the back of Ezekiel''s head as she said, ¡°I told you not to say stuff like that.¡± Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Hey! That¡¯s no way to treat your father, show me some respect." "Maybe scientifically you have a point, but it doesn''t make it true. Don''t bring it up again or I¡¯ll increase your training load." Ezekiel looked horrified as he clamped his mouth shut on the retort he was about to fire off. Tao smiled in victory as she said, "For now just adapt to your new bodies, in about six months Ezekiel will teach you about chakra." Peggy swung her feet out of the bed and stood up with Steve''s help. She smiled at both Tao and Ezekiel as she said, "If you don''t need us for anything else, we¡¯ll go test out our new bodies." Ezekiel smiled again as he glanced at Tao and said, "Make sure you do that thing we talked about." "I almost forgot, that could have been bad." Tao said as she started to weave her hands around in a pattern. Everyone watched as a small spell matrix formed in the air and then moved towards Peggy''s belly button. After it entered her body and disappeared, Peggy asked, "What was that?'' Ezekiel smirked as he said, "Magical contraceptive. Just a precaution since the normal stuff isn''t completely effective." Tao nodded as she said, "Whenever you''re ready to have kids just let me know. Till then you kids are free to have as much fun as you like without worries." Ezekiel laughed before he said, "Ya, and now you don''t have to worry about Peggy walking with a limp afterwards." Steve and even Peggy looked a little embarrassed before Ezekiel added, "Oh I almost forgot the most important part." Ezekiel stepped next to Steve and went to whisper in his ear. But instead he spoke in his normal voice as he said, "She''s a virgin again, so go easy on her." Steve just shook his head as Tao smacked him again. Peggy also smacked him as she asked, "Are you done playing around? Is there anything important we need to know or are we done here?" Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head as he said, "No, that should be all¡­" "Good. Come on Steve, let''s go to the gym. I have the sudden urge to punch something." Peggy said as she moved out of the room. Steve shook his head again and flashed a smile as he said, "I would say thanks for the new body, but I think I am going to be the one getting punched." Ezekiel smiled back as Steve walked towards the door. As Steve was walking out, Ezekiel added, "By the way, I added a couple inches where it counts." Steve stumbled and turned back to see Ezekiel hold up his hands like he was showing someone the largest fish he ever caught. Tao smacked the back of his head again as she said, "You need to grow up." Steve just shook his head before he disappeared completely from the door frame. Ezekiel huffed as he said, "What''s wrong with helping a guy out¡­ I mean he didn''t really need it. But I thought, "What the heck, everyone could use an extra inch or two." Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head as he said, "At least I held back and didn''t make you and Peggy look like Tsunade¡­" Tao gave Ezekiel a flat look as she said, "I think we will double your training load. You''re also banned from visiting Stark for three months." "But we¡¯re still working on the mobile phone project." "He should be able to finish everything himself. But you can stop by his place today and let him know you''ll be busy for the next three months." Ezekiel shook his head as he mumbled, "Should have just kept my mouth shut." During the next three months while Theo was going through what most people would consider child abuse. Tao, Theo and his clones were able to swap everyone in their group into new bodies. Almost everyone was given the weaker of the bodies. Robert Gonzales and his wife Dawn were also brought in. It turned out during his retirement, his wife came down with a very aggressive form of cancer. It was caught early thanks to Theo¡¯s warning, but it was still cancer and not even Tsunade had a direct way to cure it. Cancer wasn''t something that was common in their original world. Not when most people didn''t live past forty. Since they didn''t have a cure for it currently, Theo offered Robert and his wife a deal. New bodies for both of them, but he and his wife would have to disappear. It wasn¡¯t a hard choice for either of them, they both didn¡¯t have much of an extended family and no kids. So they packed up some essentials and then moved into the base. Once they were given new bodies, Robert came back to work for the group and his wife became another person to help out with the kids. The kids were the only ones who didn¡¯t receive new bodies. Mainly because Theo wanted to wait till they were older. They could easily do it now, but if they didn¡¯t want to join the group and work as agents it would be a waste. So a rule was made, until someone turned eighteen, they weren¡¯t allowed to upgrade their bodies. Another rule was a loyalty clause. If someone had a weaker body but were extremely loyal to the cause. After twenty five years they could upgrade to the better body type. The downside would be they would have to start training all over. The plus side would be their skills wouldn¡¯t be affected, just their chakra pool size. In theory with body transferring they figured out a limited type of immortality. 00100. The last batch. The last group of people who received new bodies were also ones that received the best bodies. Melina and Alexei were both part of the group. When Ezekiel told Melina she would be able to have kids of her own with the new body. She broke down into tears of joy along with Alexei. Coulson was the next person given a new body. He attempted to refuse it. Coulson didn''t feel he deserved to have so much potential power. Ezekiel talked him into it though. He gave a speech about people with great powers having a great responsibility to use them correctly, like his idol Captain America did. Clint was also given a new body with better powers and so was his wife. But her new body only had minimum powers. It was mostly given to her so Clint didn¡¯t have to watch her age a lot faster than himself. Other people also received that treatment like Aldrich, Maya, Sarah, Bill and Hank. Even though they might never be combatants for the organization, Ezekiel wanted everyone to have a longer life span. Bill and Hank might receive better bodies later on if they decided to suit back up one day though, but for now they were working on finding Hank¡¯s wife. The older widows they rescued were also given better bodies. He did cheat and used the time stone with Tao to make sure they stayed loyal. But they ended up being some of the most loyal people of Theo''s group when they checked. Jarvis was next on the list and while he didn''t need the better body. Theo wanted to make sure he could handle anything that might come his way. In one of the comics Jarvis was targeted by villains because he worked for the Avengers. Jarvis could have been killed, but instead he was tortured by one of the villains. While Theo wouldn''t let that happen, it was better to plan ahead. Plus Jarvis used to help out Peggy and Howard Stark with Shield missions. So him getting a powerful new body meant he could help out again if he needed to in the future. Bucky was next after Jarvis. While Bucky was happy to have two arms again, he didn''t think he deserved the same treatment as people like Steve and Peggy. He might be better mentally but he was still working out a lot of things in therapy. Speaking of therapy, Inoichi Yamanaka and some of his clan ended up becoming the default therapists for the base. They were pretty much that already, but they now had an office setup and would meet with different people regularly. Fury was one of the last people to get the new body. He was a little disgruntled about that fact and didn''t try to hide it at all. When Fury walked into the room where Ezekiel, Tao and his new body was. He surveyed the body for a few seconds before he said, "Took you long enough." Ezekiel smiled and as he was about to talk, Tao smacked the back of his head. Ezekiel rubbed his head as he said, "Tao didn''t like the first few body''s I made for you." Fury raised an eyebrow as he asked, "You made more than one." Tao shook her head as she said, "The less you know the better. Just know this is the only one he didn''t mess with." "What, a laser eye would have been cool." Tao frowned as she said, "That doesn''t explain everything else you did." "I was just giving him extra tools to be a better super spy." Ezekiel said innocently. "One of the bodies had oversized breasts, another had an extra arm coming out of the back. That other one had the body of a deformed child coming out of his stomach. Or the one that had four sets of eyes¡­" Ezekiel raised his hands in the air as he said, "The total recall model was cool." Fury rubbed the bridge of his nose as he said, "You did¡­ Just stop, I don''t wanna know anymore." Fury moved over to the new body and checked it over before he asked, "There''s nothing hidden underneath the skin?" Tao shook her head as she said, "I made sure he didn''t mess with this body. We even used the time stone to check the future, just to make sure." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°She didn¡¯t even let me help you out below the belt.¡± ¡°You wanted to make it tiny!¡± Fury shot a glare at Ezekiel before he turned to Tao and said, "Thanks, I owe you one." Tao nodded before she said, "If you''ll lay down on that bed, I''ll get you switched over." After that Fury was done and the last two people were brought in. These two were saved for last because they both already had an x-gene themselves and integrating Logan''s took a while to figure out. They also weren¡¯t getting any of Theo¡¯s genetics, but having their own genetics improved. Once it was completed, Tao and Ezekiel used the time stone again. They needed to make sure neither one went power crazy or something else happened. While there were some issues that might happen in the future. It wasn''t anything Ezekiel or Tao wouldn''t be able to handle. So they called in the last two people and waited for them to arrive. Magneto and Xavier were surprised when Ezekiel invited them both to a private meeting. While he interacted with both of them regularly, it was almost always with other people. Or he would show up randomly to the school and drop off items for the kids. He made a habit to visit, find out what the kids wanted and would come back a day or two later with it. He only got them stuff within reason though. He also wouldn''t bring anything for kids who didn''t have good grades or misbehaved. At this point every kid in school had at least a C average and were well behaved. The better the grades, the more he was willing to spoil the kids. So all the kids considered him to be like Santa Claus now, but he comes by every month or two. Xavier was pushed into the room by Magneto and they both came to a stop next to Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled at them both as he said, "Glad to see you both, thanks for coming on such short notice." Magneto nodded as he asked, "I assume it has something to do with these bodies?" "You''re correct. I''ve made new bodies for both of you." Xavier couldn''t see the bodies from his chair but asked, "I''ve seen a few people around the base looking a lot younger. I assume you are doing the same for us? Can I ask why?" "The short answer is I want both of you to be at peak health for what''s to come. But this is also me putting my trust in both of you." Ezekiel crossed his arms over his chest as he finished. Both men shared a silent conversation for a few moments before Xavier said, "Thank you. We''ll do our best not to break it." Ezekiel''s eyes narrowed as he said, "I hope you do that. But keep in mind, I said I want you at peak health. I don''t need you at it." Ezekiel smiled again as he said, "Anyways, let''s get you in your new bodies. You can use the beds if you like." It took a few minutes for both men to get settled on the beds. Magneto needed to float Xavier onto his bed before he went to his own. Afterwards Tao transferred them both over to their new bodies. Magneto was the first to get up and marveled at his younger body. Xavier on the other hand was in shock, he laid in bed as tears streamed down his face. His legs, it had been so long, but he could feel his legs again. He wiggled his toes then his feet and worked his way up. After a full minute he finally sat up and swung his feet off of the bed. Magneto was out of his own bed and watched his friend as he rediscovered his legs. When Xavier was about to place his feet on the ground, Magneto moved to help his friend. But Xavier raised a hand before he said, "No Erik, I wish to do this myself." Magneto nodded and stepped back a bit. But he was ready to move in and help if needed. Xavier slid forward on the bed a little and set both his feet on the ground. He tested his weight a little on each foot before he lifted himself off the bed. After he tested his balance, he moved one step forward. He swayed a little, but readjusted his balance and took another step. His next step was more firm and confident as was the next one. He began to pace around the room as silent tears ran down his face and a massive smile bloomed on his face. He couldn''t remember the last time he felt so happy. He moved to Magneto and embraced him in a tight hug. After a few moments he released his friend and moved towards Ezekiel to hug him. Ezekiel held up a hand as he said, "I like you, but not that much. Tao could use a hug though.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m good. Thanks.¡± Tao said. After that everyone was pretty much done and Theo¡¯s clones doubled down on their research into making bodies for themselves. Theo had one secret about the whole project though. Only two people from the whole project even had a chance to activate any type of eye powers. Tao and Agatha were the only people Theo trusted enough to give them completely unfiltered DNA. Everyone else was given DNA with certain things removed. It removed any and all chances to awaken any type of eye power. His DNA was also hidden inside the donor''s DNA, so no one should be able to find it. He had no idea how it actually worked, but Orochimaru and Tobirama designed it. They even had Beast, Sarah, Maya and Aldrich try to find it. From Theo¡¯s understanding, they were never able to see anything but the donor¡¯s DNA, which was good enough for him. After that, Theo went to Tony and let him know he was going to be busy for the next few months and wouldn¡¯t be able to come by. After dealing with Tony, it was time to face the music and get his extra training underway¡­ 00101. Tao doesnt play around. Theo let out a grunt as he picked himself up from the floor for the hundredth time tonight. He shot a quick glare at the person who placed him there as he said, "You know this counts as child abuse." A chuckle escaped Tao''s mouth as she said, "Tell that to someone who cares." Theo cast a quick glance at the only other person in the chamber with them, besides his clones. Agatha shook her head as she said, "You did this to yourself." Theo let out a sigh before he waved his arms in the air. A complex spell matrix formed in the air before him and turned into a massive shield that surrounded him completely. It was almost ten feet tall and thirty feet in diameter. As it slowly rotated around Theo, it began to shimmer in a golden light as it reinforced itself. The next second the spell flickered before it exploded and Theo was launched from his place. Theo spun in the air a few times and then slammed into the floor. His momentum slowly died as he rolled repeatedly on the ground, before he stopped face down in the compacted dirt. After a few moments Theo groaned as he pushed himself up. He was bruised and bleeding from a head wound as he asked, "Did truck-kun find me?" Tao raised an eyebrow as she said, "No. You overpowered your spell and I used it against you." A pink haired girl appeared next to Theo as she said, "Give me just a few minutes and you''ll be fine." "Thanks for the help Sakura." The girl nodded but focused on her task as Tao walked up to them. Tao looked over Theo for a few moments before she said, "Don''t think we are finished because you suffered a head wound. We still have another hour until we''re done with today''s training." Theo resisted the urge to flip her off. He was already doing punishment training, no need to make it worse¡­ If it could even get any worse in the first place. He unconsciously shivered at the thought she would extend the training for another week. He would be lying if he said the training wasn''t effective. Maybe there was a study done that said beating people to make them improve at something didn''t work. But Theo was currently living proof of the opposite. In the past four months under Tao''s training regiment, Theo had made massive improvements in his spell casting. The spell he just used was proof of that. When he started, that spell was the size of a basketball and would barely hold together. Now it was strong enough to tank a good amount of damage. Unless he went against Tao, she could still destroy it in one hit with no effort at all. As Theo stood up from being healed, Tao said, "Next I want you to attack me. Don''t hold back either and start whenever you like." Tao then turned around and walked towards her favorite chair. Theo frowned, attacking Tao wasn''t fun, it was worse than just defending himself. You had to attack and defend at the same time. Theo weaved his hands around forming a barrier first. Once it was completed he summoned a small bolt and shot it towards Tao. Tao was in the process of pouring a cup of tea as the small golden bolt sped towards her. When it was less than a foot away, a golden spell formula appeared no bigger than a golf ball. It stopped in the bolt''s path and seemed to suck the spell inside itself. Afterwards it disappeared without a trace. Tao took a sip from her tea cup before she smugly added, "I said you can start whenever you like." Theo let out a sigh, he hated when she did this. Theo began to weave his hands around as one golden bolt appeared. Then ten, a few moments later over twenty were floating around him. He continued till over sixty two formed, his current limit. They settled into an orbit around him as he continued to weave his arms around. Slowly the bolts began to spin around him faster, Tao paid no mind as she sipped tea and chatted with Agatha. After half a minute, one of the bolts broke the pattern and rocketed towards Tao. That was the signal which launched the rest, all sixty two bolts streaked towards Tao at once. They flew so fast that they looked like golden laser beams stretched out from where Theo stood. Tao never paid attention to them as they flew towards her. About a foot from her body the golden lasers seemed to freeze. Theo watched as it seemed like time was being frozen around him. His bolts had slowed to a crawl. The light trails from their passing just now starting to fade, each one trying to catch up to the bolt that created it. Theo wanted to say something but could only watch as his bolts slowly crept towards Tao. It seemed to last forever as he watched the bolts slowly inch closer to her. As the first one was about to slam into her, it disappeared into nothing. The little golf ball was back and it seemed to move in normal time as it zipped around to collect every bolt Theo used against Tao. Once it completed its job, it sped back to Tao and around her. It seemed to copy Theo''s bolts as it orbited around Tao and sped up. It didn''t take long till the little gold ball looked like a golden halo of light around Tao''s body. Theo was still almost frozen as he tried to move his arms, trying to stop what he knew was coming. The golden halo began to glow brighter as bolts appeared in the air around Tao. The bolts themselves stayed in the same place but multiplied over and over. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Within a second over five hundred bolts hung in the air around Tao. Just as Theo''s arms started to move, time slowly resumed and the bolts streaked towards him. His arms barely moved as the first bolt hit his shield. As more bolts impacted his shield he was pushed back. Ten, fifty, one hundred, two hundred. As the bolts impacted his shield, they lifted him off his feet. As the last few bolts landed on his breaking shield, time fully returned to normal. He was blasted across the chamber and slammed into the far wall. His shield finally broke on impact and he was left partially buried inside the wall. He laid there for a few moments before he extracted himself from the wall and fell to the floor below. His shield had protected him from most of the damage, but his body still hurt all over. After standing up, he slowly started to walk back towards Tao before Theo glanced over his shoulder for a moment. The wall behind him was filled with countless craters, all of them made by him. Theo shook his head, Tao really didn''t pull her punches. She always used just enough power to not seriously injure him, but more than enough to make his whole body hurt. A normal person would never be able to keep up with the abuse. But with Theo''s unique physical makeup, he healed a lot quicker than normal. Within a few hours he would be feeling better if they stopped training now. But that won''t happen, once Tao starts a training session. It didn¡¯t stop till she was satisfied with the results. Which meant he would make a lot more wall art tonight. vvvvv Theo woke up the next morning, still feeling a little tender. Tao ended up making him train an extra two hours last night. The only good thing, if he could even call it good, was his body didn¡¯t look like it was run over by a truck. His healing factor was a little weird as it focused on visible damage first then worked on deeper issues. At least that''s what it seemed like to him, since his bones still ached from last night''s training. He had yet to break a bone or be stabbed in a vital organ, so he wouldn¡¯t know for sure until something like that happened. Hopefully it never would, but Tao was scary with her training and they were only doing things she considered basic so far. Theo shook his head, it was only this bad because he kept making jokes about her red hair¡­ And maybe all the weird clones of Fury he made¡­ Naw it was probably all the ginger jokes. Redheads definitely have fiery tempers and Tao would be a prime example. Joking aside, it''s probably from the new influx of hormones from a teenage body and no longer having to keep herself tightly controlled because of her connection with the dark dimension. Theo shook his head again as he got out of his bed. It didn¡¯t matter much for now, he should be going back to normal training next week. But until then he''s free, so he''ll use that time to visit Tony and check in with him. It was over four months since he last saw him and he wanted to check in on the progress of their joint venture. As Theo moved to his closet, he used a cleaning spell to refresh himself before he picked out clothes for the day. After getting dressed he moved through the house to his siblings room. He found Milly sitting up in her bed, her hair a complete mess as she stared blurry eyed at her feet. Theo moved next to her bed as he said, "Morning sleeping head. What woke you up?" Milly pointed at the window, the blinds weren''t closed properly and the sun was shining through the gap. It landed right where her head would be if she was laying down. Theo chuckled as he asked, "Want me to help you pick out clothes or are you gonna do it?" Milly let out a yawn as she fell back onto her bed. This time with her eyes facing away from the sun''s piercing light. Theo shook his head and moved to pick out her clothes. When he was finished he moved to do the same for his little brother. He tried to wake Milly up a few times but she didn''t wanna get out of bed. Theo decided he would head downstairs instead and spent a little time on the computer until the rest of his family came down. As he was having breakfast with his family, his mother said, ¡°Since school will be out soon for the summer, what does everyone think about going on a little trip?¡± Milly perked up as she asked, "A trip? Will there be cake?" Jacob smiled as he looked over from where he was feeding Issac and asked, ¡°I thought we were going to talk with everyone else first?¡± Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve already talked with Mary, Sara and May. They all think it¡¯s a wonderful idea." Daniel turned to Milly as she said, "There''ll be cake, candy and cookies. But only if you behave." Milly nodded seriously as she said, "Milly will be good for cake." Jacob let out a little sigh before he smirked and said, ¡°Well what have you planned, since you already asked everyone?¡± ¡°Dream Ventures Amusement Center. They have a zoo, water park, and two amusement parks. One of them is made specifically for kids under ten.¡± Daniel smiled at Jacob as she said, "They also have adult based attractions, a golf course, full spa, indoor and outdoor go kart tracks. With four different types of go karts." Jacob nodded along before his eyes lit up at the word go karts. As he scooped up a spoonful of baby food for Issac he asked, "How far away is it and how much will it cost?¡± "It''s a six hour drive or so from here and it¡¯ll cost about twenty five hundred for a week. That includes us and the kids with a two room suite." Jacob nodded as he said, "So I would have to close the shop for about ten days. That''s doable, but what about the cost of the amusement park and attractions?" ¡°Our stay includes a day pass to both amusement parks, the zoo and water park, for us and the kids. Everything else would be a separate charge. The go kart area allows you to purchase day passes though.¡± Daniel finished with a smile. Jacob returned the smile as he said, ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going on our first family vacation. Well extended family, but that just makes it more fun.¡± Jacob glanced at the kids as he asked, ¡°What do you think? Amusement park rides, candy and a bunch of other fun stuff to do for a week with everyone?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me, dad.¡± ¡°Ya! Milly gets cake for a whole week!¡± 00102. Tony being Tony... A Portal opened up inside Tony''s workshop and Ezekiel stepped through it to find it empty. Normally when Tony was home he spent most of his time in his shop. It was the first time Ezekiel came to visit Tony and he wasn''t in the place. Now that he thought about it, Ezekiel never stepped out of Tony''s workshop himself. After giving it some thought, Ezekiel decided to go find Tony and maybe explore his house a little. He moved towards the security door and moved up into the house. As he climbed the stairs he could hear Tony talking with someone. Tony said, "I¡¯m telling you, whatever tech he uses is beyond cutting edge. He can somehow fold space and travel wherever he wants in an instant." "I think you might need to cut back on your drinking. No matter how many times you describe it, it sounds like magic, Tony." Tony let out a groan and said, "That''s exactly what he calls it. Magic." "Are you sure he isn''t a meta-human?" Tony let out an exasperated sigh before he said, "He could be, I''ve seen him move way too fast to be a normal human. But when I asked him about his portals. He told me they were made with magic." "Alright, so where is this new magician friend of yours? You said he comes by all the time, but I still haven''t met him." "He said he needed to take care of some things and wouldn''t be by for a while." The man chuckled as he said, "I think you, Happy and Pepper are trying to play a joke on me." "I told you, it''s the guy from the Las Vegas video." "Uh huh. But yet you have no idea how to contact him." Tony sounded frustrated as he said, "I can contact him. Well, maybe. But I would have to try and hack his servers again¡­" "Tony Stark, afraid to hack someone else''s computer servers? That''s new." Tony let out a nervous chuckle before he said, "He told me, he would permanently ban me from the Vibe platform if I tried to hack it again. And I¡¯m in the top ten, of the most followed people on the platform!¡± The other person started to laugh as Ezekiel moved into the large living room area. Ezekiel glanced at Tony before he looked at the other person and said, "And I will too. I figured threatening to destroy some of Tony''s servers wouldn''t stop him from trying again." Tony jumped up from his seat as he said, "You''re back! What the hell took you so long?" The other man stood up from his seat and turned around. He wore casual clothes and stood the same height as Tony. His skin was a rich chocolate color, while his black hair was cut short. His dark brown eyes glanced at Tony for a moment before he said, "You must be Ezekiel." Ezekiel nodded as he said, "And you''re James Rhodes. One of the few people who can put up with Tony''s over inflated ego." James smiled as he said, "Someone has to, otherwise he would have no friends.¡± ¡°I¡¯m right here you know!¡± Ezekiel moved forward with his hand extended as he said, "Ain''t that the truth. It''s nice to meet you, by the way.¡± James, who looked a lot like his movie counterpart from Iron Man two, took Ezekiel''s hand. As they shook hands he said, "And you as well." Tony stepped next to them as he said, "Ezekiel, Rhodey. Rhodey, Ezekiel. Alright, you''re friends now." Tony turned to Ezekiel as he said, "Now, show him the portal thing." As Ezekiel stepped back a bit he said, "I''m not some pet, I don''t do tricks on command." Tony had a pleading look as he said, "Come on just one portal. Please. He doesn''t believe you can make them." Ezekiel glanced at Rhodey as he said, "I never noticed how much he acts like a child." Rhodey nodded in agreement as he said, "I''ve known him since college and I still have no idea how he gets with so many girls." "He''s rich." Ezekiel said. Tony nodded and added, "I''m also handsome and charming." "You¡¯re also egotistical and kind of an asshole.¡± Rhodey said with a smile. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Ezekiel nodded as he added. ¡°And a lush.¡± Tony frowned as he said, ¡°Not even a minute and you guys are already teaming up on me.¡± Rhodey shrugged as he said, ¡°You kinda make it easy.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°He¡¯s right. As to your earlier question, I was busy.¡± ¡°Well, leave a phone number or something for next time. I wanted to talk about the project a few times, but you weren¡¯t around. Plus what the heck were you doing, it¡¯s been over four months.¡± Tony finished as he crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°What project? Are you making a new weapon or something?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Smartphones and tablets.¡± Tony nodded as he said, ¡°It¡¯s kind of a big secret right now and I am currently testing the prototypes.¡± Tony pulled out a sleek looking black device about seven inches long by three inches wide and about half an inch in depth. He pushed on the front glass and the screen flickered on to show a picture of Tony with four half naked girls with him in a bed. Thankfully Tony was still in clothes. He flicked his finger over the screen in a pattern and the phone unlocked to show the home screen. Another picture of Tony was on the screen this time sitting in a car, a girl''s head was in his lap¡­ Ezekiel shook his head as Rhodey said, ¡°Ummm, I don¡¯t want to know.¡± Tony smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s just some road head and you can¡¯t see my dick or anything.¡± Rhodey waved his hand at the phone as he asked in a slightly annoyed voice, ¡°This is your new project?¡± Ezekiel grabbed the phone from Tony as he said, ¡°Yes¡­ But Tony isn¡¯t showing you the reason for it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t look through the picture folder!¡± Tony exclaimed as he tried to take the phone back. Ezekiel glared at Tony as he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to, no one wants to see your penis.¡± Ezekiel turned the phone to Rhodey as he said, ¡°This will be the future. It¡¯s not only a phone or a camera. It¡¯s a whole computer in your pocket.¡± Ezekiel opened up the web browser which was opened to a porn site with the tag redheads highlighted. Both Ezekiel and Rhodey turned to look at Tony who flushed and said, ¡°Maybe we should use one of the other test phones and not my personal phone for this.¡± Ezekiel handed the phone back to Tony as he said, ¡°How about we just give him one of the models to test with?¡± Tony closed his phone quickly and as he placed it back in his pocket he asked, ¡°Are you sure? I thought you wanted to keep it a secret?¡± ¡°None of them have logos, right? He could just say it¡¯s some government project. Plus I want to take a few and give them to some people for testing.¡± Tony nodded in understanding as he asked, ¡°I have four different models ready for testing and I already gave one to Pepper and Happy.¡± ¡°So I get to be a beta tester?¡± Rhodey asked, before he continued, ¡°It won¡¯t be as fun as the jet you made, but this is probably safer.¡± ¡°The jet is totally fine.¡± Tony smiled as he said, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t, the Air Force wouldn¡¯t have bought a hundred of them.¡± Rhodey had a frown as he asked, ¡°After how many crashes? Fifteen?¡± ¡°The test pilots pushed them too hard and we needed to work out the kinks.¡± ¡°I was one of the test pilots!¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Are you guys finished, or do you need a room?¡± Before Rhodey could speak Tony said, ¡°No, we''re good. Let''s get him a phone and then let''s get some dinner.¡± Rhodey nodded as he said, ¡°Food sounds good to me.¡± After that they headed down to Tony¡¯s workshop. Rhodey was given one of the higher end test phones and Ezekiel took the rest. When they figured out what they were gonna eat, Tony called Happy down to join them. As Happy entered the room he asked, ¡°What car do you wanna take, boss?¡± Tony smiled as he pointed at Ezekiel who was off to the side playing with one of the phones. Happy nodded in understanding as Tony said, ¡°Alright, lets go!¡± Ezekiel glanced up before he let out a sigh and said, ¡°Fine.¡± Ezekiel spun his right arm around and a portal opened up in the middle of the room. Rhodey¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the portal. Tony smirked as he patted Rhodey¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I told you. Now let''s go eat!¡± After a few moments, everyone moved through the portal and it snapped closed behind them. They were in an alleyway with no one else in it. As Rhodey touched the side of one of the buildings Tony asked, ¡°So where are we?¡± ¡°You said you wanted Italian food right?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he walked forward and said, ¡°You won¡¯t find a better place than in Rome.¡± vvvvv It was late in the night and Ezekiel had returned everyone to Tony¡¯s house after dinner. Before he left, he gave Tony his email address. Since Tony started complaining about Ezekiel disappearing after drinking over a whole bottle of wine by himself. As Ezekiel appeared in his training room, he smiled as he saw Tao and Agatha chatting and drinking tea. He moved towards them both as he said, ¡°I brought you both a surprise.¡± Both women looked over to Ezekiel as he pulled out the two extra test phones. He handed one to each of them as he said, ¡°These are the beta phones me and Tony are working on. I was hoping both of you would like to test them out for me.¡± Tao examined the device for a few moments before she asked, ¡°Won¡¯t Tony be able to track these?¡± Ezekiel shook his head, ¡°They¡¯re on my network and I already checked them for anything hidden. Tony didn¡¯t hide anything, he is too afraid of being banned from Vibe.¡± Agatha smiled as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t really have a use for a device like this.¡± Tao nodded and tried to return it to Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Neither do I.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Just check it out and play with it. If you don¡¯t like it after a week I will find someone else to test it for me.¡± Both women nodded and accepted the phones. By the end of the week, both women found the phones useful and didn¡¯t return them to Theo. 00103. Morlock Catacombs Today could be considered a good day for Leech. Annalee was in a good mood today. It was rare, but on those days he could roam around and look for extra food. Most days he didn¡¯t eat much, but then again no one did in the Morlock Catacombs. Normally he needed to stay close to Annalee so she didn¡¯t make other people sad. But on her good days like today, he was able to roam around. Only he had to be safe and stay covered up, since people found Leech to be repulsive. He was beaten up a few times by some of the more nefarious people in the catacombs. Since then he¡¯s stayed on the outskirts and outer tunnels, since he didn¡¯t like to be hurt. During Leech¡¯s hunting today, he was able to kill a couple of large rats in one of the outer tunnels. It was rare for Leech to catch so much food and he was sure to eat well today and have left over food for tomorrow. As he made his way back to his home, he looked out over the Morlock Catacombs. It was a massive place, where large tunnels converged together. The main area was over six hundred feet in length and about four hundred feet wide. Running down the middle of the place were large supporting pillars that connected to the curved roof resting over a hundred feet above. Light in the place was sporadic at best, some from battery powered lights, others from cooking fires. But from the upper tunnel Leech was in, the city below looked like a clear night sky dotted with stars. Leech admired the view for a few moments before he moved down the ladder into the Catacombs. At the bottom he moved to the left hugging the wall as he moved to his home. He was forced to live on the outskirts, partly from his looks, but mostly because Annalee lived there. It took about ten minutes but Leech made it back to his home without incident. His home was made from some scrap wood, pallets and metal. Inside of it were some worn out blankets, some extra clothes and his prized possession. A partly ruined picture book. The book showed different places around the world, all of them outside and in the sun. It had been years since he was last topside and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. People up there treated him worse than the mean people in the middle of the catacombs. He didn¡¯t like being hit or yelled at, so he decided staying down here in the dark was for the best. Even though he really wanted to see the sun again, he missed the warmth it gave him. The warmth from a cooking fire just wasn''t the same. As Leech moved past his home and Annalee¡¯s home next door, he came to the small barrel they used as their fire pit. He looked inside, to luckily find there were some red coals still smoldering inside it. He quickly collected some trash paper and a piece of broken wood which he tossed inside the barrel. It only took a few minutes for the fire to reignite and slowly catch the broken log on fire. Once the fire was going Leech removed his hunting prizes from his sack. They were already skinned and gutted. Something he learned from watching Annalee. He attached his prizes to his cooking stick and placed them over the fire. As they started to cook, he took his sack to the small steam of water that ran past his house. He used the stream and cleaned the blood from the sack, then let it hang dry next to the fire pit. There was a small clothes line he hung there to help his clothes dry faster after he washed them. After about ten minutes Leech pulled his food from the fire and let it cool down a little. But his mouth watered for a bite of the delicious food, so he quickly brought the still steaming food near his mouth. He couldn¡¯t remember the last time he ate fresh food like this. Weeks maybe? As he took his first big bite someone said, ¡°That¡¯s disgusting.¡± Leech couldn¡¯t help himself as he dropped his food and curled up into a ball on reflex. If someone came out here besides Annalee, it was only for one reason. To use Leech as a punching bag. It didn¡¯t happen often, but it was enough to make Leech afraid of other people besides Annalee. People on the outskirts were the rejects of the rejects, so people tended to pick on them. Leech didn''t understand why, he never did anything to them. Leech was just Leech after all. After about a minute of not being kicked or hit Leech slowly opened his pure white eyes as he looked up. In the dim light he could see a black haired man standing a few feet away from him with a smile on his face. Leech almost flinched from the man¡¯s steady gaze, people never looked at him like that and it was kinda scary. Most people looked at him once and would look repulsed. Then they would turn away or tell Leech to look away from them. But most of the time they¡¯d just tell him to go away. The man glanced down next to Leech and said, ¡°Sorry about your dinner, I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡± Leech took a moment to glance where the man did and saw his cooking stick with his rats laying on the ground. Leech wanted to reach for it but his instincts told him it was a trap. This person was playing with him, no one was nice to Leech. Not even Annalee was nice to Leech. The man slowly raised both his arms up as he said, ¡°I really didn¡¯t mean to scare you, I just thought eating rats was gross is all. If you want I can get you something better than rats to eat. Would you like that?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Leech¡¯s instincts were screaming at him to curl up tight and prepare to be hit. But the man¡¯s smile was so genuine that he just stared back at the man. The man slowly lowered his hands but kept his smile as he waited for Leech to move. Leech for his part was frozen in fear and shock and couldn¡¯t move. After almost five minutes Leech finally asked, ¡°Leech no hit?¡± ¡°No, I will not hit you. Is that your name? Leech?¡± Leech nodded the tiniest bit in response. Before he slowly reached for his cooking stick as he watched the man. He didn¡¯t get up and stayed curled up on the ground with only a single arm outstretched for the stick. Once he had it in his hand, he quickly pulled the stick next to him and never broke eyesight with the man once. And the man watched Leech in return, the soft smile never left his face. The man pointed at himself as he said, ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel.¡± After another minute or so of looking at each other Ezekiel finally said, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind I am gonna sit down on the ground. Is that okay with you?¡± Leech nodded a little again, but never took his eyes off Ezekiel. Ezekiel slowly sat on the ground a few feet away from Leech and waited. It took another few minutes before Leech finally relaxed and slowly sat up. Ezekiel¡¯s smile was a little more warm as he asked, ¡°So Leech, would you like me to get you some better food?¡± Leech shook his head, people didn¡¯t do nice things for him and he wouldn¡¯t fall for it. Plus fresh rat was one of the best foods you could catch down here. How could Ezekiel give him something better than that? After a few more awkward minutes of silence Ezekiel said, "If it''s okay with you, I am going to eat something. Is that okay Leech?" Leech nodded his head as he wondered why Ezekiel was even asking. No one cared what Leech thought normally. Most people didn''t talk to him in the first place. This Ezekiel person was weird, maybe they were crazy like Annalee. After a few moments Ezekiel raised one hand slowly in the air and made a circle in the air a few times. After a moment a golden portal appeared in the air and bright light lit up the whole area. It was so bright Leech was forced to close his eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen anything brighter than his cooking fire. But Leech wasn''t the only person who saw the light. The whole area saw it as Leech''s little area lit up like a new sun in the darkness of the underground. Within moments it winked out of existence just as fast as it appeared. But that didn¡¯t stop a lot of people from being curious and wondering what just happened. Some of the people in the middle of the city even started moving towards where the light came from to investigate. It took a few moments for Leech''s eyes to readjust. When they did, he found a pile of thin boxes between him and Ezekiel. The top one was open and Ezekiel was pulling something out of it to eat. Leech wasn''t sure what it was, but he knew it was some kind of surface food. After Ezekiel chewed the first bite of his food he said, "You can have some if you like." Leech wasn''t stupid, this was a trick. Leech shook his head and cautiously took a quick bite from his dinner instead. They stayed like that for about a minute, both of them eating their own food. The silence was broken by Annalee as she opened the door of her shack. The rusted hinges creaked loudly as it fully opened and Annalee looked outside. She was a short woman with a wrinkled face, with large glasses resting on her plump nose. Her curly black and gray hair was cut short. While also streaked with white hair showing her advanced age. She was hunched over and as she stepped forward out of her house. She used a cane in her left hand to help her walk. She slowly moved towards Leech and Ezekiel who stopped eating to regard the woman. Leech slightly in fear and Ezekiel in curiosity. The woman frowned, her wrinkled face contorted as she looked at Leech. She let out a snort of disgust before she said, "What have I told you about keeping your ugly face hidden? What if my lovely grandchild has nightmares because of how you look?" She waved her right hand in a shooing motion as she said, "Go away you little monster." As Leech started to move Ezekiel said, "Leech doesn''t have to leave. He''s a friend." Leech froze as Annalee glanced at Ezekiel, her eyes wild as she said, "You don''t have to be nice to this monster. But then again you''ve always been a sweet boy. Haven''t you, Timmy." "Yes, grandma." Ezekiel said. Annalee smiled as she looked down at the stack of pizza boxes and said, "Timmy, you''re such a good boy. You brought your grandma pizza." Annalee reached down and pinched Ezekiel''s cheek then picked up one of the pizza boxes. She smiled at Ezekiel as she said, "You should come visit grandma more often sweetheart." "I will, promise."Ezekiel said. "Good. I''ll leave you with your monster friend honey." As she walked back into her home with her pizza, Leech stared open mouthed at Ezekiel. Ezekiel glanced at Leech as he asked, "What? Is there something on my face?" After a few moments Leech asked, "Friend? Leech friend?" Ezekiel nodded his warm smile still in place as he said, "Of course you''re my friend." Leech blinked in confusion, his head tilted to the side as he asked, "Why? "Why not?" Ezekiel asked. "Because he''s an ugly little monster, that''s why." A loud voice said from behind Ezekiel and Leech. Leech collapsed into a ball as Ezekiel glanced over his shoulder at the new people who arrived. Then he glanced over to leech who was shaking on the ground. Ezekiel turned to glare up at the person who talked and said, "You need to apologize to Leech." The man laughed as he said, "I''ll never apologize to that little monster and you can''t make me." Ezekiel smirked as he asked, "Oh, I¡¯m sure I can make you. But it would be best to do it yourself. That way no one gets hurt." 00104. Meeting the Morlocks. Ezekiel smiled up at the three men. The man in the middle was the one who spoke. Each one had some type of visible mutation that made them stand out as meta-humans. The man in the middle stood out as he had red scaly skin and two small horn-like protrusions on the front of his skull. The man sneered as he looked down at Ezekiel. He studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he said, "You and that little freak are the only people who will be hurt, if you don''t learn your place. Now why are you here, surface dweller and what was that light?" "Apparently teaching idiots some manners. Now apologize to Leech before I make you regret ever being born." Ezekiel said. All three men tensed up as they sized up Ezekiel before the man in the middle laughed. He laughed for a few moments before he said, "I think we''ll beat you till you act more like your little monster friend over there." Ezekiel shook his head as he said, "How about I show you what hell is like?" As Ezekiel finished talking the ground started to shake. The three men found themselves having issues standing and before long fell on the ground. Around them the ground cracked open as ominous red light seeped out. Smoke and the smell of rotten eggs filled the air as the men tried to stand back up. The man with red skin was the first to regain his balance and try to stand back up. As he did, a partly decayed skeletal hand reached out from one of the red cracks. It wrapped around his right ankle and tugged his leg towards the red crack that was slowly expanding. The tug on his leg unbalanced him and the man cried out in pain as he smacked his head against the ground. When he realized what was happening to him, he desperately kicked the hand with his other foot. As he scrambled to find a hand hold and struggled against the relentless tug. He was able to hook one hand onto the edge of another crack and took a moment to check on his companions. They were both in the same situation as him. Then he turned to look at the black haired man, who was eating a slice of pizza with a smile on his face as he watched them. "You mother fucker, I''ll kill you!" The man yelled as he struggled against the skeletal hand. Ezekiel''s smile widened as he said, "You''ll have to escape hell first." As the man was going to reply, a new hand reached out of the crack in front of him. It was tinged blue and the tips of its fingers were shaped like knife blades. It quickly reached over and gripped the man¡¯s wrist. He cried out in pain as the finger tips cut into his arm. He struggled as he was pulled in two different directions, but it was futile. More weird looking hands appeared from the ground to grab him and his friends. Within moments they were all pulled into the cracks in the ground as they screamed for help. vvvvv Ezekiel looked at the three men collapsed on the ground as they started to weep and beg for mercy. The leader of the group even started to call out for his mother as he cried. Ezekiel smirked a little and then turned to Leech who was curled up in a ball and shaking. He shook his head and moved closer to the boy and gently placed his hand on his shoulder. Leech flinched back from the touch, but Ezekiel''s hand followed as he said, "It''s okay Leech, I won''t let them hurt you." It took about a minute before Leech finally stopped shaking and opened his eyes. He looked confusedly at Ezekiel for a few moments before he asked, "No hurt?" Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, "As long as I am here no one will hurt you. I said we were friends after all." "Friend? Leech, no hurt? " The boy asked with hope in his voice. Ezekiel returned his warm smile as he said, "That''s right. Now come on and sit up." Slowly Leech sat up and froze as he saw the three men on the ground crying and mumbling to themselves. He stared at them in shock as Ezekiel patted his shoulder and said, "Don''t worry about them." "Here, try this." Ezekiel said as he handed Leech a slice of pizza. Leech looked at the pizza in his hands for a few moments before he finally took a bite. It was the best tasting thing he had ever eaten. He looked down at it in wonder as he chewed his first bite. Was this what people on the surface ate all the time? It was a lot better than roasted rat. Ezekiel patted Leech on the shoulder as he asked, "How do you like pizza? Is it good?" Leech nodded as he said, "Pe-za good. Leech like." "Better than that roasted rat?" Leech nodded again as he took another bite of his food. His stick of cooked rat laying off to the side, forgotten. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The next few minutes went by in silence as Ezekiel and Leech ate together. It was broken when another group of people arrived and announced themselves. "Is that pizza?" A deep male voice asked. Leech flinched when he heard the new voice but instead of curling up into a ball he looked at Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled as he said, "You can have some if you like, but you better be nice to my friend while you''re here." A large bald man sat down on the other side of the pizza boxes and took the open box. He used that as his plate as he picked up two slices at once and began to eat. Another voice, female this time then asked, "Is that what happened to Ralph and his goons? Were they being bullies again?" Ezekiel glanced at the man and woman as he said, "Kinda. It''s why I am currently teaching them some manners." A man stepped forward as he said, "I must apologize for the actions of our people. While we try to keep things civil down here, we have some outliers that like to cause problems.¡± "Your people uh? What are you, the king of the mole people or something?" The man shook his head and said, "No. I am Caliban, one of the founders of this place." Ezekiel studied the shirtless man for a moment, he was massive without an ounce of hair on his body. He stood well over six and a half feet tall. His shoulders were wide and his muscles were densely packed all over his upper body. But it was his demonic looking face and yellow eyes that stood out the most to Ezekiel. Even the man¡¯s purple tinted chalk white skin seemed almost normal in comparison. Caliban smiled which made his teeth protrude slightly, showing off wicked fangs. He gestured to the woman next to him as he said, "This is Callisto, our leader." He waved at the other man as he said, "That''s Sunder, another founder." "Oh, so it''s the queen of the mole people, then." The woman squinted her one good eye as she said, "I''m not a queen and we¡¯re not mole people. We¡¯re the Morlocks.¡± Ezekiel shrugged and said, "I guess the mole people live farther underground then. I¡¯ll have to look for them next time.¡± Ezekiel gestured to the pizza as he said, "You can have some pizza if you want.¡± As Ezekiel finished talking Sunder crumpled up his pizza box and tossed it in the fire pit as he said, "Thanks, it''s been a while since I''ve had good food." Before he picked up another box and started to eat more. As Caliban moved to sit down, Ezekiel glanced at Leech. Leech was slowly eating his second slice of pizza as he watched everyone else cautiously. Callisto moved next to Caliban and sat next to his right side so she could face Ezekiel directly. They didn''t reach for any pizza but instead looked at Ezekiel expectedly. Ezekiel took a close look at Callisto for a moment. She was just under six feet tall, with short black hair. The right side of her face was horribly scarred. Over the scar she wore a silver eye patch that shined slightly in the dim light of the catacombs. While her good eye was ice blue and tracked every move Ezekiel made as he picked up a new slice of pizza. After about a minute of watching Ezekiel quietly eat. Callisto asked, ¡°What is your name surface dweller and why have you come here?¡± ¡°My name''s Ezekiel and I came here for a few reasons. The first one was to find this place.¡± Everyone but Leech slightly tensed their muscles as Ezekiel finished. Ezekiel smirked at their reactions before he said, ¡°Next I was looking for Leech, I need his help with something.¡± Leech looked over and asked, ¡°Leech friend, need Leech?¡± ¡°Yup, some friends of mine are working on something and having issues with it. I think your unique gift will be able to help them finish it. That is, if you want to help us. You can say no if you want to.¡± Leech looked over to Annalee¡¯s door before he said, ¡°Leech need stay. Annalee not good. Only now good.¡± Caliban nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°Annalee¡¯s power most days makes everyone around her sad and depressed. It¡¯s why we have Leech stay close to her.¡± "Don''t worry, I was planning to help her out also. Actually that''s the main reason I came down here. Someone I work with wants to help out everyone down here." Ezekiel cast a quick glance at the three men still crying on the ground before he said, "Even the assholes." Callisto and the others became guarded as she said, "We all live down here for a reason, who would want to help a bunch of freaks like us?" Ezekiel smiled and spun his right hand in the air a couple times which formed a portal. As the area was engulfed in light Callisto and her people jumped back. Sunder even dropped his pizza as he took up a defensive stance. They glanced between the portal and Ezekiel until a man in a black suit with a red tie floated out of the portal. He looked around as the portal snapped closed behind him. Leech didn''t move but watched the new person carefully as he glanced at Ezekiel. The new person looked at Ezekiel as he asked, "Why couldn''t we do this in my office? It smells terrible here." Ezekiel pointed to Callisto and her group as he said, "They would have refused." Ezekiel pointed at Magneto then Callisto as he said, "Callisto, this is Magneto. Magneto, this is Callisto, she¡¯s the leader of the Morlocks.¡± Callisto sneered as she said, "That''s not Magneto. Magneto is an old man with a shitty red super villain costume and cape." Ezekiel couldn''t help himself and burst into laughter. Magneto didn¡¯t move but the metal around them started to shake slightly, followed by a groaning sound. After a few moments a metal ladder bolted into the wall ripped out of its mounts and flew towards Magneto. The metal ladder started to compress as it moved closer and slowly formed a ball. Afterwards it expanded out and turned into a chair. As the man sat down Ezekiel calmed himself enough and said, "That was pretty good, you''ve been practicing." The man nodded as he said, "We can discuss that later.¡± Magneto turned back to Callisto and her group as he said, ¡°You were saying something about how I dress?¡± Callisto gulped before she said, ¡°I apologize, I might have misspoke. I happen to think red looks good on you.¡± 00105. Leech makes a new friend. Theo thought offering the Morlocks a safe place to live, decent food and the ability to walk in the sun without having to hide themselves would be easy. It turns out he was wrong. While some of them liked the idea and agreed, others hated the offer and thought they were fine where they were. So while most of the people left to go live in Genosha, a handful stayed behind. Theo did offer to make their lives better, but the people who wanted to stay refused even that. Apparently you can''t always help everyone, at least that was the lesson Theo learned. As for Leech, he was brought back to the main base with Ezekiel. While Annalee would go to Genosha, after she had Inoichi take a look inside her head. When Annalee was younger her children were killed and that drove her crazy. Her powers mixed with her mental state was a bad combination, which is why Leech was forced to be around her and keep her powers in check with his own. Hopefully Inoichi could sort her out and fix the damage. Or at least make her somewhat better. Otherwise Ezekiel planned to clone her a new body without her x-gene. As for Leech, well the boy made some new friends. vvvvv Ezekiel waited for Leech to pack his things, even though he told Leech he would get all new stuff. But Leech still wanted to bring his book and spare clothes. They were all wrapped up in his tattered blanket, which he carried over his shoulder. Ezekiel shook his head as he created a portal for them to the main base. After they stepped through the portal, Leech looked around in awe as Ezekiel checked his tablet. He smiled slightly to himself as he said, ¡°Alright Leech, this will be your home from now on. Follow me and I will introduce you to some people.¡± Leech glanced at the room as he asked, ¡°Home?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yes. You can stay here while you help my friends. Once that''s finished, you can either stay here or go wherever you like.¡± Leech dropped his sack and quickly dug through it. He pulled out his book and opened it up to a random page as he asked, ¡°Leech go here?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I can take you there in a few weeks if you like, after you get settled in.¡± Leech smiled and said, ¡°Yes, Leech wants.¡± Ezekiel patted the boy on the back as he said, ¡°Come on, let''s go get you a room and get you cleaned up.¡± As Leech started to repack his bag he asked, ¡°Clean?¡± ¡°Ya, you kinda smell and your clothes are filthy. We need to clean you up so you give off a good first impression to everyone else.¡± Leech tilted his head and asked, ¡°Smell?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the boy and paused, he forgot Leech didn''t have a nose. Ezekiel pointed at his own nose as he said, ¡°Normally people have a nose like me. It allows you to smell things and helps increase the taste of things.¡± Leech reached up to his own face and touched it a few times. When he didn''t find a nose he glanced down at the ground and said, ¡°Monster Leech. No nose.¡± Ezekiel gently patted the boy¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°You''re not a monster Leech. You''re just a little different. But don''t worry. Once you help my friends out, you''ll be able to turn off your powers and look normal and boring. Just like everyone else.¡± Leech glanced back up his pure white eyes glimmered a little as he asked, ¡°Leech no monster?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Nope, just different.¡± Leech smiled back as Ezekiel said, ¡°Follow me and I will show you where you''ll live.¡± Leech followed along and looked at everything as they moved towards the dorm section. It didn''t take them long till they came to the room Leech would use. Ezekiel tapped the lock on the door with his tablet, then opened the door. As they stepped inside Ezekiel turned on the light switch next to the door. The interior of the room was plain. Only a bed, night stand, small work table and chair dotted the room. Off to one side was a closet along with a door to the bathroom. Leech looked around the room in wonder for about a minute before he asked, ¡°New Leech home?¡± ¡°Yes, you''ll live here from now on. But first let''s get you cleaned up.¡± Ezekiel said as he moved towards the bathroom. He opened the door to show a standard bathroom, toilet, sink, shower/bath combo. He waved to the shower and said ¡°Step inside there for a minute, with all of your stuff.¡± Leech followed directions and stepped into the shower and then looked back at Ezekiel. Ezekiel pointed at some runes carved into the shower wall as he said, ¡°This is a normal shower and a magic shower. You slide your finger down this rune here and the magic will clean everything in the shower area.¡± Leech looked at the runes, then the faucet. He studied them each for a few seconds before he looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Shower?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh and said, ¡°I''ll need to give you a crash course on this stuff. For now just stand still inside here. I''ll start the show for you.¡± Leech nodded as Ezekiel swiped his finger over the rune. The shower hummed as golden spell lines formed around it. Leech glanced around, his mouth hung open as he watched the spell lines floating around him. The golden lines formed up a pattern, before it circled around Leech and moved up and down his body. With each pass, Leech and his clothes became cleaner. It didn¡¯t fix the damage to his clothes or the faded color. But once it was finished, Leech and his belongings were the cleanest they had ever been. Ezekiel flashed the boy a smile as Leech looked at his fresh clean clothes in wonder. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Ezekiel patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°Now that you''re clean, let me give you a crash course on how all this stuff works. Follow me to your bed.¡± Leech was still looking at his clothing in wonder as he followed Ezekiel to his bed. Ezekiel had him lay on his bed and put Leech under a genjutsu. The genjutsu was designed to explain common concepts and manners to Leech, like taking a shower, how to use the bathroom, proper way to use silverware, what a handshake was. It also helped him memorize the base''s layout, where the cafeteria was, rec room, his room and other important areas. Ezekiel could probably make a genjutsu to teach the boy how to speak properly. But he thought just putting the boy through school with the other kids would be better. He wasn''t completely sure how old Leech was, but he couldn''t be older than fourteen years old. Caliban, before he left for Genosha. Told Ezekiel that he found Leech as a baby about twelve years ago. He was pretty sure Leech was abandoned because of his looks, so he took the boy to the catacombs and he was raised there ever since. Ezekiel was pulled out of his thoughts as Leech sat up in bed. Leech looked around the room as his eyes studied everything. A new understanding flickered behind his eyes as he took everything in. As his eyes came to rest on Ezekiel, Leech smiled and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Ezekiel returned the smile and said, ¡°You''re welcome. Now how about I introduce you to the other kids?¡± Leech nodded as he said, ¡°Leech like.¡± Ezekiel stood up and led Leech out of the room. They headed towards the training room, where all of the kids should be. They should be just about finished with their physical training with Steve and the others for the day. As they entered the massive training room, they saw a large group of people near the sparring arena. Only a handful of people noticed them as they approached. Almost everyone else was focused on the two people sparring. In the arena Steve and Bucky were trading blows with each other. Both men were still adjusting to their new bodies and moved in what could only be considered a deadly dance. With each punch, a block, parry or dodge would answer. Followed shortly by a counter attack and the dance would continue. Ezekiel could admit, he was a little jealous of how easily both men moved around the ring, trading blows that could easily injure or kill a normal person. Practicing alone or with his clones most of the time just wasn''t the same as sparring against another person. Oh he could spar with Tao, but she liked to add magic into the mix. While great, it just wasn''t the same as what these two men were doing. Just using physical strength and skill to push them to their limits. Leech watched the two men fighting with his eyes widened, as a concept he had never thought of before entered his mind. If he could learn to fight like that, people wouldn''t be able to hurt him anymore. This was something he had to learn. The spar lasted a few more minutes before Bucky was able to slip past Steve''s guard. He landed a devastating blow to Steve''s stomach that forced him to double over. Everyone cheered as Steve stayed like that for a half a minute trying to catch his breath. Bucky smiled and waved at everyone before he patted Steve on the shoulder and helped raise him back up. Both men smiled at each other as Bucky said, ¡°That makes us even, thirty for thirty now.¡± Steve nodded in response, still trying to fully catch his breath. As everyone settled down, Ezekiel whistled loudly. As everyone turned their attention towards Ezekiel, they noticed the strange person next to him. Next to Ezekiel stood what could best be described as an alien with green skin, instead of the normal gray you would see on a TV show. The person was short and stood only a little taller than four feet. Their head was larger than normal and shaped like an upside down egg, with their chin ending in a point. Large oval shaped white eyes took in everyone as the person stepped back slightly at the sudden attention. Their three fingered hands clenched slightly and they seemed to cower as they tried to move behind Ezekiel. Ezekiel placed a reassuring hand on Leech¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°Hey everyone, I wanted to introduce someone to all of you. This young man is named Leech, he¡¯ll be joining us from now on.¡± A girl appeared out of the air in front of Leech and looked at the boy for a moment before she said, ¡°I¡¯m Ava, it¡¯s nice to meet you. Why is your skin green?¡± Leech flinched back as the girl appeared, but Ezekiel¡¯s hand kept the boy mostly in place. When he realized nothing happened Leech looked at the smiling girl and said, ¡°Leech always green.¡± Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°He¡¯s a meta-human like Cessily.¡± Ava nodded in understanding as Cessily walked out of the group, along with her main group of friends. Gabby was the second fastest and moved close to Leech as she said, ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Gabby, it¡¯s nice to meet you. You''re a meta-human? What¡¯s your power? Is it cool? I have claws and can heal!¡± Leech looked at Ezekiel for help as Laura came next to her sister and said, ¡°Settle down Gab¡¯s, he¡¯s nervous.¡± Ezekiel removed his hand from Leech¡¯s back as he said, ¡°Leech has never been to school, so take it slow with him Gabby. As for his powers, they are special and it¡¯s why he¡¯s named Leech. Which at some point we should probably change.¡± Ezekiel glanced over to Cessily as he said, ¡°Come over here for a moment Cessily.¡± As Cessily stepped in front of Ezekiel and Leech, Ezekiel said, ¡°Leech, this is Cessily. She is one of the people you are gonna help.¡± Both Leech and Cessily turned to look at Ezekiel as he smiled at them both and said, ¡°Shake hands.¡± Cessily turned to regard Leech for a moment as Leech raised his hand. She took his hand in her¡¯s and slowly from her fingertips her powers were sucked back into her body. Cessily stood in complete shock and everyone around them watched in silence as Cessily¡¯s liquid metal body turned into pale white skin. It took about a minute, but before long Cessily¡¯s whole body was normal again. She looked down at herself as tears formed in the corners of her green eyes. Before she pulled Leech into a tight hug as she started to cry. Leech froze, his arms out to the side doing a t-pose as he looked up at Ezekiel in horror. Ezekiel started to laugh and other people joined in, since the look on Leech¡¯s face was just too much. It took about a minute but Cessily finally released Leech from her grip. The boy, finally free, scrambled to place himself behind Ezekiel. Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help himself and laughed a little harder. Once he calmed down he pulled Leech out from behind him as he said, ¡°Cessily didn¡¯t mean to scare you, she was just happy.¡± Cessily her cheeks were flushed red as she said, ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just been so long since I¡¯ve felt anything. You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you.¡± Leech glanced at the girl for a few moments before he said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Cessily smiled and glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°How long does this last for?¡± ¡°No clue. But with Leech¡¯s help we should be able to figure out a way for you and others to turn off your powers.¡± Cessily nodded and then asked, ¡°Can I take Leech to the kitchen and the island? I really want to eat ice cream and sit in the sun.¡± Leech perked up about the sun comment as Ezekiel glanced at him. Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°You would have to ask him, not me.¡± Cessily turned to Leech as she asked, ¡°Would you like to eat ice cream and sit on the beach for a while?¡± Leech nodded and said, ¡°Leech like sun.¡± ¡°Great! Come on, let''s go.¡± Cessily grabbed Leech¡¯s hand and pulled him out of the room as her friends followed behind. 00106. Planting a seed. About a month passed since Theo helped out the Morlocks. Even the handful that didn''t want to leave at first, finally caved and agreed to leave the catacombs when Ezekiel came back to check on them. And it didn¡¯t take long to integrate everyone into Genosha. Making sure their basic needs were taken care of and finding suitable jobs or education for each person. As for Annalee, her mental health improved greatly with Inoichi''s help. She was no longer a risk to others and was even given a job helping out in one of Genosha''s schools as an aide. It was Inoichi¡¯s suggestion that giving her a job around children would help in her healing process. He also met with her every few days, since it would take a while before she was fully healed. As for Leech, he quickly made friends with everyone. It helped that Cessily would hang out with him every day. She didn''t do it for his powers though. She was just the type of person who liked to help other people. She even helped teach him how to speak properly, gently correcting him whenever she¡¯s with him. Besides the base, Theo just finished his first year of school. School was something Theo enjoyed going to. Well maybe not completely, the classes were a little boring. But he enjoyed being with his sister and Peter. He also enjoyed playing during breaks, tag was fun. Even if he could easily win without trying. Theo enjoyed tag so much, he was already making some plans to make some kind of obstacle course for tag at the base. It would partly be used for training, but also because he thought an advanced form of tag where people could run on the walls and ceiling would be fun. The other thing Theo worked on in that month besides training was the phone project with Tony. vvvvv Tony was in his lab working on a new satellite design as a portal appeared next to his desk. He glanced over at Ezekiel who stepped through with a large bag of food in his hand. Ezekiel placed the bag down on Tony¡¯s desk as the portal closed and said, ¡°I brought some sandwiches for you, from that Jewish deli you like.¡± Tony nodded as he said, ¡°Give me another minute, just need to adjust something on this.¡± ¡°Sure, I was gonna grab Happy anyways.¡± Ezekiel said as he moved towards the door. Opening the door, Ezekiel walked up stairs and yelled out, ¡°Happy, I brought dinner!¡± ¡°I''ll be down in a minute.¡± Ezekiel headed back down stairs to find Tony already rummaging through the bag of food. He pulled out different items and placed them on his desk, before he lifted an item out of the bag and unwrapped it. Tony took a large bite of the sandwich as he let out a groan of pleasure. He finished his first bite before he asked, ¡°So what brought you by? I thought you weren''t coming by for a little while?¡± ¡°Well, you got it half right. That''s in two weeks. I¡¯m going on vacation with my family.¡± ¡°Oh. Can I join? I bet it''s gonna be a lot of fun.¡± Tony asked before he took another bite of his sandwich. Ezekiel scoffed as he said, ¡°You would end up getting drunk and trying to hit on my family members.¡± Tony shrugged as he said, ¡°If they''re decent looking and not married, what''s the issue?¡± ¡°All of them are married.¡± ¡°Then there shouldn''t be a problem. Come on, it''ll be fun.¡± Tony said with a smile. Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Go on vacation with your own family.¡± Tony''s smile dropped and he let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Obie is the closest thing I have to family and he doesn''t do vacations.¡± ¡°Then stop being an idiot. Cut back on the booze. Stop sleeping with every cute girl who looks your way. And find a nice girl who doesn''t care about your money and make a family.¡± Tony gave a slightly hollow laugh and said, ¡°You want me to ruin my image and settle down? Plus how would I be able to introduce myself as a genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist? If I''m no longer a playboy?¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Happy opened the door and walked in as Ezekiel said, ¡°More like, improve your image. If you look up egotistical rich douche bag in the dictionary, your face is the only thing on the page.¡± Happy laughed as he said, ¡°He kinda has a point boss.¡± ¡°Stay out of this, Happy. No one asked for your opinion.¡± Happy shrugged as he walked over and picked up one of the wrapped sandwiches on the table. He nodded to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± ¡°You''re welcome. But my point still stands, you should find yourself a nice girl and settle down. Maybe have a kid¡­ If you haven''t knocked up some girl already.¡± Tony violently shook his head as he said, ¡°No way, I always use protection. Plus if that happened, there would have been a huge scandal about it already.¡± Tony finished with a confident smile. ¡°Whatever, do what you want. But no matter how many girls you sleep with, it''ll never fill that hole in your heart.¡± Tony frowned again as he chewed on another bite of his sandwich and thought about what Ezekiel said. The room quieted down as each person ate their food. When Tony finally finished his he asked, ¡°Why did you come by anyways?¡± ¡°We need to make a cell tower and test it out.¡± Ezekiel said in between a bite of food. ¡°We already have cell towers, why would we need to make a new one?¡± Ezekiel pulled out the phone he used for testing and opened up the Vibe application. He clicked a random video on the front page and showed it to Tony. It was a new video by Dazzler¡¯s band, the main issue was it kept buffering. About a second of video played before it froze and buffered for a few seconds. ¡°You understand now?¡± Tony shrugged as he said, ¡°Ya, but we don''t have the technology to make it any faster right now. Maybe you could fix the back end coding to make it better for 1G cellular transmission?¡± ¡°You think my coding is the issue?¡± Ezekiel said with a flat look. Tony glanced away as he said, ¡°I guess we could look into improving how the cell towers work and upgrade them to 2G. Or skip ahead and buy out that company in Japan testing 3G.¡± ¡°Actually I have a better Idea. But you¡¯ll need to reverse engineer it.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled out a small package and placed it on Tony¡¯s desk. Tony opened the package and found what looked like a cellular transmitter, just tiny in size. He examined it for a few minutes before he said, ¡°Who made this? A cellular transmitter this small is at least twenty years ahead of our current tech.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°It¡¯s good, but not that good. This is a lot better than what they are currently testing in Japan though.¡± ¡°This is a prototype 3G transmitter?¡± ¡°Better. It¡¯s closer to 5G than anything else. But with your skills, you should be able to reverse engineer it and improve its hardware. I don''t even care if it ends up being ten times its current size.¡± Tony was flipping the device over to look over the back of it as he asked, ¡°Is it really that important? We¡¯ll already dominate the market on launch and everyone else will be at least a year or two behind us.¡± Tony glanced up as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I see the potential for this with our phones and tablets. But we would be spending billions to get the infrastructure in place for this to work. We would still profit in the long run but¡­¡± Tony¡¯s eyes widened and he looked directly at Ezekiel who smirked as he said, ¡°You figured out what I plan to do?¡± Tony nodded as he said, ¡°We patent this and set up all the infrastructure. Then we charge other companies a premium to use it. The money we would make should easily cover our initial costs and make a big profit after a few years of service¡­ Only we¡¯ll have to lease the patent out to other companies though, or we might run into issues with being a monopoly.¡± ¡°Yup, but that''s why we charge a fee that¡¯s reasonable and make the patent rights almost unreasonable to purchase. Even if someone buys a lease for the patent, it will be crap because I won¡¯t be releasing my code for it. They would have to build the code themself. Yeah they would have 5G, but it would never be as good as what we offer.¡± Ezekiel finished with a smile. Tony nodded as Happy said, ¡°You guys sound like some scheming villains in a Saturday morning cartoon.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Eh, this is tame compared to other ideas I''ve come up with.¡± Tony nodded as he took out some tools to open the device up and said, ¡°He¡¯s right, some of the weapons I¡¯ve designed are worse than this idea. By the way, you still didn''t tell me where this came from.¡± ¡°It''s outdated tech from a place I visited once.¡± Tony glanced up as he asked, ¡°This is outdated tech?¡± Ezekiel nodded as Tony said, ¡° What country? Could you take me there? I would love to see what they currently use.¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he said, ¡°No place you¡¯ve ever heard of and they are isolationist assholes anyway. You wouldn''t be allowed inside their country.¡± ¡°Then how did you even get this?¡± ¡°I took it, along with a bunch of other things. I''m pretty sure that I''m a wanted criminal there now.¡± Tony glanced over to Happy as he asked, ¡°Can you believe this guy? Calling me out on my issues and he''s a thief.¡± Happy finished chewing a bite of his sandwich and said, ¡°I decline to comment on that.¡± ¡°Why the hell not?¡± Tony asked. Happy pointed at his sandwich in his hand as he said, ¡°He always brings me my favorite food.¡± 00107. Family vacation. Theo¡¯s vacation with his family turned out to be a bigger deal than he thought. It wasn''t just his family, but his extended family along with the Pangborns. Ben and Jacob decided to close the shop for two weeks and called it a company holiday. They even paid for everything so it could be written off on taxes. Cause apparently that was a thing you could do. For the trip itself they rented a large passenger van and drove everyone down to the place with it. As for the hotel arrangements, everyone was placed on the same floor. The four rooms, one for each group of adults were all next to each other and at the end of a hallway, away from the main elevators. As for the place itself and entertainment, Daniel was right. The entertainment resort complex had almost endless things to do. They went to the amusement parks, the zoo, the water park and everything else in between at least once. After the first week of exploring everything, they broke off into smaller groups to do different things. Daniel, May, Mary, Richard, Milly and the smaller kids went to the Zoo and smaller amusement park again. While Jacob, Ben, John, Sara, Peter and Theo went to the go-kart tracks. The main reason being both Theo and Peter were just tall enough to ride the go-karts alone. After the two groups separated, May glanced back and looked at the other group as she said, ¡°You know they are going to let the boys ride the bigger karts.¡± Daniel smiled slightly as she said, ¡°I know. But it''s fine, we''ll let the boys have fun and think that they''re clever. Plus it''s not like they¡¯ll be able to get on the pro gas karts.¡± Daniel looked down at Milly as she asked, ¡°You want to eat cotton candy and go to the petting zoo?¡± ¡°I can pet the bunnies again?!¡± Milly excitedly said as she bounced on her feet. Daniel smiled brightly as she asked, ¡°You really liked the bunnies, didn''t you?¡± Milly nodded as she said, ¡°They''re so soft and cute.¡± vvvvv As they passed through the entrance Theo¡¯s father glanced down at him and asked, ¡°Think you can beat me in a race today?¡± ¡°If not you, I can at least win against Uncle Ben.¡± Ben chuckled before he reached down and rubbed Theo¡¯s head as he said, ¡°In your dreams kid. Just wait for me and your dad to lap you.¡± Sara glanced over as she said, ¡°I don''t know about that. With his weight compared to yours, he''ll have an advantage in acceleration and possibly top speed. I doubt you''ll be able to fully lap him.¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°Aunt Sara¡¯s right.¡± ¡°We''ll see. There are a lot more factors that go into racing than just a person''s weight. Skill is a factor. Along with practice and finding the best lines.¡± Ben said. Jacob smiled as he said, ¡°Well it looks like we''ll have a lot of practice today. It''s pretty empty so far and we paid for the unlimited kart racing pass.¡± Jacob pointed to the mid range karts and said, ¡°Let''s start with those, so the kids can get used to the speed.¡± Ben shook his head as he said, ¡°Didn''t Daniel say to only let them use the kid karts?¡± ¡°Those are the kid karts.¡± Jacob said as they walked past a sign board that read. ¡®Electric Kid Karts¡¯ and pointed to a different area. Jacob glanced down at Theo as he asked, ¡°Son, what did we ride on today?¡± Theo smirked and said, ¡°You know my price for silence.¡± Jacob stopped to look at Theo as he asked, ¡°Pancakes?¡± ¡°May''s pancakes.¡± Ben laughed before he said, ¡°I think we created a pancake monster.¡± Jacob nodded as he started to walk again and said, ¡°I''ll see what I can do, after we get back home.¡± ¡°In that case we used the kid karts today like we did last time.¡± Peter pointed back at the other area they just walked past and said, ¡°But the kid karts we used are over there.¡± Jacob smiled and said, ¡°You have to remember Peter, all of the karts here are designed for kids. Why do you think they''re so small?¡± Jacob pointed to the sign they were approaching and said, ¡°It''s just some of them are faster than others.¡± The sign he pointed at read, ¡®Electric Karts recommended for kids ten and up.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Peter slowly nodded his head as Jacob said, ¡°Just make sure if your mom or aunts asks, you tell them you rode the kid karts today.¡± Theo placed his arm over Peter''s shoulder as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Peter understands. But I think he would understand better if he also ate some of May''s pancakes.¡± Peter nodded his head with a smile as Ben said, ¡°I think Theo is a bad influence for Peter.¡± ¡°I learned from my dad.¡± Theo said with a smirk. ¡°I never¡­ Okay, maybe he got that from me¡­¡± Jacob said as Ben and the others gave him a look. It didn''t take long after that to get karts and get out on the first track. They spent the next few hours racing around while getting Peter and Theo used to the faster karts. After each race they would jump back into line and explain simple concepts to the boys about racing. Some stuff they picked up easily like following them the next race to see the best line. But more advanced advice like quickly breaking before a turn to front load the kart and then initiating the turn. Which would help quickly rotate the kart into the turn was somewhat lost on Peter. He did figure it out after a few races, but he still needed practice with it. Theo on the other hand picked it up right away and was in the process of trying to make it more consistent. When Theo was trying to first learn how the skill worked, he watched his father and Ben a lot. He quickly came to a conclusion, both of them were masters of the skill and could even make the karts drift slightly by doing the technique. John and Sara could also do it, but they were nowhere near as proficient with it. After practicing a while longer they went to go meet up with everyone else and eat lunch together. Theo and his father couldn''t help smiling when they saw Milly. She was dressed up in a purple princess costume and was holding a stuffed bunny to her chest. Jacob picked her up as he asked, ¡°How is my little princess doing?¡± ¡°Great! Mom let me pet the bunnies again and then we went to a princess tea party!¡± She held up her bunny as she said, ¡°Mom also won me this bunny! I named him Bun-bun.¡± Jacob kissed her on the cheek and then looked at the bunny as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Bun-bun. I hope you and Milly become good friends.¡± Daniel and the others smiled at Jacob interacting with Milly and her bunny. Then she turned to look down at Theo and asked, ¡°Did you have fun racing?¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Ya. Dad and Ben even taught us how to drive better. Hopefully after lunch I can beat one of them in a race.¡± Daniel smiled and placed her hand on Theo¡¯s shoulder as she said, ¡°I''m sure you can do it sweetie.¡± ¡°Thanks mom.¡± Theo said with a smile. They continued to chat with each other over lunch before they split up again. With plans to meet back up again later for dinner. As Theo¡¯s group made it back to the go-kart tracks, they moved towards a new area. The sign read, ¡®Gas powered karts. Recommended for ages fourteen and up.¡¯ Theo thought there might be an issue, since both Peter and him were so young. But Jacob and the others said it was fine as their legal guardians. So the staff let them ride the karts after checking with management and making sure they could operate the karts properly. The new karts were night and day different from the electric karts. Besides the sound from the fifty CC engine, the new karts were almost twice as fast. They topped out around thirty-five miles per hour. When compared to the pro model karts, these karts were super slow. As for the pro karts, you needed to be at least sixteen years old to drive them. They were one hundred and twenty-five CC engines and topped out at eighty miles per hour. They also had a roll cage and required the users to wear a fireproof jumpsuit, neck brace and helmet while in use. Peter and Theo didn¡¯t get to drive those karts, but were able to watch Jacob and the others do one race in them. Jacob and Ben fought for the lead the whole race, but in the end Jacob won. Jacob was just more skilled when it came to racing and would always pull slightly ahead on the turns. While Ben being shorter and weighing about thirty pounds less than Jacob would catch up on the straights. If the track didn¡¯t have so many turns, Ben might have won because his kart could get to top speed faster than Jacob''s. The rest of their day was spent driving the fifty CC karts and having a blast. Theo even beat Ben in one race. His dad on the other hand was another story. He could get close, but was never able to pass him. Actually his win against Ben only happened because Ben was trying to beat Jacob. He became distracted and missed Theo who came up on the inside of a turn and took the better line. Which forced Ben to the outside and he couldn''t catch back up before the finish line two turns away. The rest of the vacation was spent doing group stuff one day and then smaller groups going off to do stuff the following day. When the last day for their vacation arrived, Peter and Theo were pretty much hooked on racing go-karts. Peter and Theo even talked about making their own go-karts when they went back home, which Jacob, Richard, Ben, John and Sara encouraged. Daniel, Mary and May weren¡¯t too happy with the idea, but knew it might happen sooner or later. They married a bunch of gearheads after all. The only thing that threw them off was Milly also wanted a go-kart¡­ But it was mostly because she didn¡¯t want to be left out. But when Jacob said she would have to build her own go-kart, she decided she would just use Peter¡¯s or Theo¡¯s if she wanted to drive one. Theo and the others were allowed to make go-karts, but they had to follow certain rules. The first being they had to build it themselves. Second, someone would be watching them to make sure they were being safe. Third, they had to build it from scrap. The last one wasn''t an issue because there was a scrapyard a few blocks away from the family business. The kids would be allowed to go in and with the help of the adults collect stuff to make their go-karts. Then Jacob and the others would help the boys with their kart builds. They would be doing most of the work, but any welding grinding or the more dangerous stuff would be done by adults. The kids would still be doing everything else, including measuring stuff that needed to be cut. The last rule was they had to wait till next year to start building. Daniel insisted the kids needed to be a little older before she would let them have their own go-karts. vvvvv A couple days after they came home from vacation Theo, still caught up on having fun racing go-karts, came up with a crazy idea. An idea that could only really be done in a world with magic. It wouldn''t be practical at all and it had no real value outside of entertainment. But Theo couldn''t help himself at the thought of making something like a real life Mario-Kart track using magic. 00108. Reforming of the Mind Palace. During the rest of summer break, Theo spent his time at his father''s shop helping out during the day and learning about cars. Peter joined him most of the time and Milly would show up about half the time. The rest of the time Milly would go on playdates with her friends from school or spend time with her mother or May. At night Theo spent his time training and working on rebuilding his mind palace with the help of Tao and Agatha. It was a slow process since Tao easily crushed his last one. At least both of them gave him pointers on how to build up his new foundation and different ways to protect it. vvvvv Theo was seated in his training room with his eyes closed as he focused on his mind palace. The endless expanse was back in place with its blue sky and lazy clouds. Around him was a group of people watching as he started to build up the new place they would call home. Mountains appeared first, followed by valleys and plains. Lakes of different sizes were next, with small rivers that slowly snaked out from them to create waterways. Some rivers joined together to make massive waterways that ended at a large sea, which was filled with island chains. Then came trees, small plants, animals and insects. It didn¡¯t stop till Theo created an entire ecosystem in his mind. Next Theo moved everyone with him to a large valley. The valley was surrounded by mountains on the northern side, with one cliff face near the middle being almost completely flat. In the middle of the valley, running down from some mountains far to the east was a river that snaked through the valley and ended in a massive lake on the western side. Theo started near the lake and removed a chunk of trees. He then began to make buildings and formed a village. The town was a mix of normal and fiction inspired buildings. Once that was completed, he created a simple wall around the outside of the village with watch towers and a main gate. When Theo finished he turned to everyone with him and said, ¡°I think it''s done, but go and check it out for yourselves. If you find any issues let me know and I''ll fix it right away.¡± People started to move into the village as Theo exited out of his mind palace. He glanced over at Tao as he said, ¡°The main foundation is complete, I am letting everyone double check the village I made for any issues now.¡± ¡°Good. Once they¡¯re finished, you¡¯ll need to condense your memories down using the meditation technique Agatha taught you.¡± Tao pointed over to a meditation mat as she said, ¡°That is enchanted to help you concentrate, use that during your meditation. Once you¡¯re finished, I¡¯ll teach you the next step.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± Theo nodded before he moved over to a mat and sat down in the lotus position. He placed his arms upon his knees and closed his eyes. Slowly Theo inhaled a deep breath and held it. His fingers moved in patterns as orange colored lines appeared above his head. Over a minute passed by as a massive and complex pattern formed over Theo¡¯s head. When lines from the pattern connected to his head, he finally released his breath. His next inhale was short, followed by a quick exhale. His breathing quickly settled into a pattern as the magic formula started to pulse in time with his inhales. The pulse started in the middle and moved out to each ring of the formula. With each move to a new ring section the pulse would brighten. It took almost five minutes for the pulses to reach the last ring of the formula. The pulse settled into the last ring and slowly filtered down the lines connected to Theo''s head. This process continued for most of the night until Tao broke Theo out of his meditation trance. Over the next week Theo continued to use the technique each night. It climaxed with the formation shrinking down to just over six inches in diameter with small lines still anchored to Theo''s head. Next the formation began to curl around the edges until the formation turned into a ball. The ball was then pulled inside Theo¡¯s head by the small anchors and a few minutes after it disappeared from view, Theo¡¯s breathing settled and returned to normal. When Theo opened his eyes, Tao and Agatha were standing in front of him. They each wore a proud smile as Tao said, ¡°Congratulations. Are you ready for the next step?¡± Theo nodded and said, ¡°Let''s start tomorrow, I need to check in on Tony.¡± Tao let out a sigh as she said, ¡°Fine go play with your little friend instead of practicing.¡± Agatha chuckled and said, ¡°You''re just upset you can''t torture the poor boy.¡± ¡°It''s not torture, it''s training for the real world.¡± Tao said. Theo shook his head as both of them started to argue. He stood up and made a hand seal. His form changed into Ezekiel and he said, ¡°I''ll be back later. Let me know if you want me to bring back anything to eat.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Tao and Agatha stopped arguing as they turned to look at Ezekiel and Agatha said, ¡°Have fun on your little play date.¡± ¡°It''s not a play date. We are working on the cell phone project.¡± Agatha patted Ezekiel''s head and said, ¡°Sure you are. Now go have fun.¡± Tao smirked the tiniest bit as Ezekiel made a portal and stepped through it. Ezekiel spent the rest of the night hanging out with Tony and stress testing the prototype cellular transmitter Tony made. Ezekiel also kept dropping small hints that maybe Tony should find a decent woman and settle down, but Tony chose to ignore those comments as he went out later that night with a pair of models. The next night it was back to practice for Theo, since his masters didn¡¯t like him slacking off. The first part was easy, Tao and Agatha entered his mind palace with him. Then they showed him the proper way to anchor the memory compression spell into his new mind palace. After that Theo needed to make and train a defensive shield. The smile Tao made when she explained she would be testing his mental shield for weaknesses made Theo¡¯s back break out in a cold sweat and made him second guess ever wanting to learn magic. Theo still moved forward though, since he couldn¡¯t really stop what was coming. The first part wasn¡¯t hard, Theo only needed to create a defensive shield. It was something that most beginners could easily learn. Training it and making it better was the issue. You needed to be probed by someone stronger than you, repeatedly. Tao on the other hand didn''t like that approach. She said it was too slow to learn that way and started Theo on her advanced learning course. Tao first sat down on a meditation mat and began to build a simple spell formula in front of her. Once it was finished she said, ¡°This is the mental shield spell matrix. Study it and commit it to your memory. In half an hour I want you to make your own.¡± Theo nodded as he studied the relatively simple spell matrix. Within five minutes he already memorized the complete matrix and asked, ¡°Why is this so simple? Shouldn¡¯t it be more complicated?¡± Tao smiled as she said, ¡°I''m glad you realized the issue so quickly. This is just the base so you can understand how the spell should work. Your goal is to build one yourself, completely from scratch.¡± ¡°Build my own? But didn''t someone already perfect this skill?¡± ¡°If someone made this and other people used it. What do you think would happen?¡± Tao asked with a smirk. It only took a few moments for Theo to understand what Tao was hinting at and he asked, ¡°Anyone who knows it can easily break it?¡± ¡°Exactly. That''s why you¡¯ll need to make your own. But first you need to make this one as practice and make it without errors. Since you''ve memorized it, you may start when you''re ready.¡± ¡°Yes, master.¡± Theo said as he took a seat on another mat and began to weave his fingers in a pattern. A little while later, Tao was still seated across from Theo and sipped her tea as she watched Theo as he finished the mind defense spell. When the spell formula disappeared Tao said, ¡°Now you need to focus on the spell. Make sure it has sealed your mind palace completely.¡± ¡°As you check it over, make sure to probe it for weak spots. Think of the spell like the shell of an egg. If that shell has a type of defect, it will easily crack.¡± As Theo scanned the spell he found minor issues all throughout the completed spell matrix. After almost an hour, he opened his eyes as he said, ¡°I''ve found a few dozen minor issues within the completed spell.¡± ¡°Good, now I want you to study the spell while I break it. It will help give you a better idea on how to fix the issues.¡± Sweat started to form on Theo¡¯s forehead as he quickly glanced towards the exit of the room. He knew this next part wouldn''t be fun. As Theo thought about possibly making a run for it, his mind exploded in agony. Theo let out a groan as he gripped his head and leaned forward. After about a minute he sat back up and turned to glare at Tao. Tao smiled as she handed him a handkerchief and pointed at his nose. Theo reached up and felt wetness as he touched his top lip. Pulling his hand away revealed his finger covered in blood. He quickly took the offered handkerchief and began to clean his face with it. ¡°You were distracted and didn''t watch the spell matrix during my attack.¡± Theo finished wiping his face and was going to place the handkerchief to the side when he noticed it was completely clean. He looked up at Tao with a questioning look. She smiled as she said, ¡°I prepared it specifically for this training. Now make another spell matrix.¡± Theo glanced over to Agatha for help but as he did Tao said, ¡°You have twenty minutes before I attack again. Whether or not your mind defense spell is in place.¡± Theo shot a glare at Tao before he quickly started to form a new spell matrix. He rushed through it and when he was almost done Tao attacked. Theo doubled over from the attack, with blood flowing from his nose and ears. It took a few minutes for him to recover and when he did Tao said, ¡°You have twenty minutes.¡± ¡°You''re some kinda sadomasochist, you know that right?¡± Theo said as he wiped the blood from his nose. ¡°Nineteen minutes.¡± Tao said with a calm look. Theo threw the handkerchief down and started to rush through the spell formula faster this time. He barely finished it as Tao launched her next attack. He held his head in pain for a few moments before he started to make another spell formula. Tao smiled as she said, ¡°Good, you''re learning. You have eighteen minutes now. Hopefully you¡¯ll be able to finish it and study it for flaws this time.¡± Theo held back his retort as he rushed to make the spell formula faster. The rest of the night and the following few weeks were filled with the same routine until Theo could complete the full spell matrix with perfect accuracy in about a minute. At that point Tao was satisfied with Theo¡¯s progress and said they could move onto the next step. Theo would now need to create his own spell matrix for the mind defense spell. 00109. The real reason for Vibe. Theo was busy working on his personal mind defense spell as some of his clones study or worked on different projects. The spell matrix he was busy creating was special. It was made from one of the programming languages he created in his past life. Normally you would want to be a more advanced spell caster before doing something like this. But Theo was making tremendous progress under Tao''s ¡®aggressive¡¯ teaching methods. Tao also taught him the underlying fundamentals to creating your own magic system. Tao herself used a unique spell casting formula which she has spent the last few hundred years perfecting. Agatha also created her own magic system for casting. Neither woman showed him the inner workings of their magic system. But they at least showed him the same spell numerous times, using different magic systems each time. Theo could easily see the difference in them, since each one left a different signature with the completed spell. While it didn¡¯t help him with his own creation, it did give him some ideas on what he was doing. As Theo was working one his clones used for spying and information gathering dispelled itself to send him information. Theo immediately canceled his spell and stood up which drew Tao and Agatha''s attention. Theo moved over to his tablet and typed quickly on it as he said, ¡°We have a situation.¡± Tao and Agatha''s phone pinged with a message as Theo henged into his Ezekiel persona. He glanced over and said, ¡°Let''s head to the base, we''ll need some help dealing with this.¡± Tao''s eyes were narrowed slightly as she asked, ¡°You''re going personally? What''s the issue?¡± As Ezekiel made a portal he said, ¡°A major terrorist attack on US soil.¡± ¡°Well that isn''t too bad, I was expecting a world ending threat or something. Where did the attack happen and how bad is it?¡± Agatha curiously asked. After Ezekiel and the others stepped through the portal he said, ¡°Nowhere yet and no matter what, we need to make sure it doesn¡¯t happen in the first place. I''ll explain more once everyone arrives.¡± It took about half an hour before the main members arrived and the meeting started. Ezekiel, working on his computer, pointed everyone towards the main screen and said, ¡°I was able to find intelligence about an upcoming terrorist attack against the U.S.¡± A picture on the screen popped up of a Middle Eastern man in a white turban with a salt and peppered beard. As the info popped up on the screen Ezekiel said, ¡°This man here was trained by the CIA to help fight Russians during the Afghan war. But over the past ten years he¡¯s been responsible for multiple terror attacks around the world. Most of them were made against the US.¡± ¡°He¡¯s on the FBI''s most wanted list. I¡¯ve also had a counter terrorism team trying to locate him, without much luck the past few years. Did you find him?¡± Fury asked with interest. ¡°Unfortunately, no.¡± Alexei let out a little laugh before he said, ¡°That man is worse than a cockroach. We tried to kill him many times in the eighties, yet he always lived or wasn¡¯t where intel said he would be.¡± Some more files pulled up on the screen as Ezekiel said, ¡°I¡¯m not surprised, he is part of Hydra.¡± Everyone read over the data on the screen before Fury asked in a slightly raised tone of voice, ¡°So Hydra has been backing him all this time?¡± ¡°Yes. For almost three decades.¡± Fury narrowed his eyes as he asked, ¡°Where did you get this info from?¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer a little bit, before making more info pop up on the screen, along with a picture of someone else. Ezekiel glanced at Fury and said, ¡°I got it from this man who is some kind of Hydra handler.¡± Steve spoke up as he said, ¡°How did you get info from him? From my experience all Hydra agents commit suicide before they¡¯d ever talk.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he pulled up a profile page for his Vibe social media platform. It was the profile for the man in question. ¡°For some reason he decided to use his encrypted Hydra computer to check out his profile on Vibe. After he connected to my servers I had access to his whole computer system.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer to bring up more data on the screen as he said, ¡°I have a program that scans people''s computers for certain things. If it finds any of those things, me or my clones personally look into it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a major breach of privacy and people''s personal rights. Why are you even spying on people who use your services in the first place?¡± Coulson asked as he read over the intelligence Ezekiel shared with them. Ezekiel let out a chuckle before he said, ¡°That''s rich coming from someone who works for one of the world''s foremost spy agencies.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°As for why? It''s because I''m not stupid. The main reason I made the whole platform in the first place was to spy on people.¡± Everyone around the table had different reactions to that little bit of information. And for once Fury seemed a little impressed with Ezekiel and even nodded his head slightly in approval. As Steve was about to speak up Ezekiel cut him off and said, ¡°Before you go into some speech about respecting people''s freedoms and our responsibilities to be good guys. Just hear me out first.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ezekiel looked at everyone in the room and said, ¡°Almost all of the spying is completely passive and I only ever look into people if the passive scan flags my system. Otherwise I have no idea what people are doing and the information from the scan isn¡¯t saved.¡± ¡°It still doesn''t make it right. You¡¯re breaking people''s trust by doing that.¡± Steve said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Alexei laughed out loud for a moment before he said, ¡°This is the real world America¡¯s Boy Scout, not some 1950¡¯s dream world. If Ezekiel wasn''t spying on people, we wouldn''t have found this information.¡± Steve was going to respond when Peggy placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Alexei looked like he was going to say something else when Melina slapped the back of his head and said, ¡°Be a good boy and don¡¯t start fights, you oaf.¡± Melina glanced at Peggy as she said, ¡°Sorry about Alexei, he can¡¯t help being an idiot.¡± Peggy nodded in reply as Ezekiel typed on his computer before he spoke up and said, ¡°This is why I spy on people.¡± A list pulled up on the screen, all of them recent arrests. Pedophiles, rapists, murders, extortion, along with a number of other crimes were listed. The list was in the hundreds and they were from all over the world. Ezekiel pointed at the screen as he said, ¡°All of those are people I found from spying on them. Every single one of them wouldn¡¯t have been caught without the incriminating evidence I found on their computers.¡± Ezekiel looked back over to Steve as he said, ¡°I know how you feel and I respect your opinion on things. It¡¯s one of the reasons I wanted to make this council in the first place.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s mouth set into a thin line and his voice took on an edge as he said, ¡°But I plan to change the world for the better, one way or another. And if that means I need to take off the kid gloves and get my hands dirty. I will without a second thought.¡± ¡°If you still wanna have a conversation about my spying habits after this, I am all ears.¡± Ezekiel pointed back to the screen and said, ¡°But for now we have work to do. We need to take care of this before the attack ever happens and we can¡¯t use Shield to do it.¡± Fury let out a sigh as he said, ¡°And we can¡¯t make them disappear, it would put Hydra on edge. Maybe tip off the FBI?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure who Hydra has in their pockets. I was thinking we would do it locally and plant evidence.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled up info on the twenty people who were going to participate in the attack. ¡°Why would we have to plant evidence? Don''t we already have it?¡± Jarvis asked as he studied the information on the main monitor. Fury was busy as he worked on his computer and said, ¡°They most likely won''t have anything incriminating on themselves or at their residence. Most terrorist cells keep information to a bare minimum.¡± Ezekiel pulled up more information as he said, ¡°Fury''s right. They only know the other men they''ll be working with. Each group is unaware of the others and thinks they will be acting alone.¡± Peggy finished going through the documents and finally said, ¡°I agree, local will be our best bet. Maybe a drug raid on the wrong house?¡± ¡°That''ll only work for one of them though. If we do it for more, it could raise flags with Hydra.¡± Fury said after thinking about it for a few moments. ¡°What about a gas leak in one of the houses?¡± Everyone turned to look at Bucky as he continued, ¡°Kill them while making it look like a gas leak explosion.¡± Ezekiel started to type as he pulled up info on each terrorist cell and said, ¡°As long as we can confine it to them alone, I don¡¯t mind.¡± One of the groups was pulled up on the screen. They currently lived slightly isolated from their closest neighbors. Ezekiel pulled up some more info before he said, ¡°This would be the best target. The house is a quarter mile away from the road and they use an off grid propane tank. Alright, so that takes care of two cells. What else can we do?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we cause a fire and use magic to plant evidence in the aftermath.¡± Ezekiel looked towards Fury as he said, ¡°I like it. Even if they get out of the fire, they¡¯ll be caught.¡± Hill glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just place an Air Marshal on each flight? Wouldn¡¯t that solve the issue?¡± ¡°No, Hydra wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to let Air Marshals on those flights. We have to assume that some people in the FFA are part of Hydra. We have to stop them before they even get close to those planes.¡± Melina smiled as she said, ¡°How about we poison the last group.¡± ¡°No, that would definitely make Hydra suspicious.¡± Ezekiel said with a shake of his head. Melina''s smile turned into a wicked looking grin as she said, ¡°We¡¯ll use something that takes a week or so to work. Something we can spike into their food and make it look like they ate it accidently. A delayed poisoning from food shouldn¡¯t raise any issues. I¡¯ve used the same technique plenty of times before and was never caught.¡± ¡°If all the cells are taken out won¡¯t that raise flags in the first place?¡± Jarvis asked. ¡°Probably, but if we do it correctly it might just seem like bad luck. At least that¡¯s what I hope will happen. It would be best if they were all taken out within a few days before their operation takes place.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled up some more information on the main screen. ¡°Why are you so determined to stop this anyways? Don¡¯t get me wrong, I don¡¯t want innocent people to be hurt. But you said we need to make sure these attacks don¡¯t happen.¡± Tao asked as she looked at Ezekiel. ¡°Because I¡¯m pretty sure this will lead to a protracted war on terror that takes decades to finish. Something Hydra would love.¡± The rest of the meeting turned into Ezekiel explaining what could possibly happen if the attacks were successful. When everything was said and done, a plan was in place and everyone voted for it. The next couple weeks passed quickly as the plan was put into action and each cell was taken out a few days before the planned attack. Ezekiel used his spyware on the few people of Hydra he knew about to see how they reacted. Apparently there wasn¡¯t much chatter about it at all. It seemed like it was mostly attributed to bad luck and nothing else. vvvvv September 11th 2001 Theo was eating breakfast with his family when one of his clones dispelled itself. His eyes almost bulged out when he looked over the memory packet. He finished his last fork of bacon and eggs before he quickly moved to put his plate in the sink. As he turned to go down stairs, Jacob asked, ¡°Where are you going? It¡¯s almost time to leave.¡± He turned to his parents and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a minute, I was gonna grab a book from downstairs.¡± Jacob let out a little chuckle as he said, ¡°You and your books.¡± Theo didn¡¯t wait and quickly moved downstairs before he made a clone in his room who nodded at him. As the clone grabbed a book and went back upstairs, Theo changed into Ezekiel and made a portal. As he appeared in the base he was greeted by Fury and Coulson as they also portaled into the base. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he started to move out of the room and said, ¡°Someone hijacked four planes.¡± ¡°What?¡± Coulson said. 00110. Cut off one head... Within ten minutes of Ezekiel''s arrival at the base. He along with most of the others were in their meeting room. The main monitor was already filled with a map of the eastern US and on it was the location of four planes. Steve was watching the main monitor as he asked, ¡°How did this even happen? I thought we took care of the terrorist cells?¡± ¡°Looks like Hydra had a backup plan just in case.¡± Coulson said as he studied the screen. Ezekiel glanced at everyone in the room as he said, ¡°We have about an hour before the first plane reaches its target. We need a solution and fast.¡± Ezekiel turned to Tao and asked, ¡°Are you able to portal into those planes?¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°If we were on the plane we could easily portal out. But something moving that fast, that we''ve never been on before, it''s almost impossible to do.¡± Coulson glanced over as he asked, ¡°Then how can you portal to different planets? Aren''t they moving a lot faster than an airplane?¡± ¡°Let''s table that till after we take care of this situation.¡± Ezekiel said as he waved at the main monitor. Ezekiel glanced around the room as he said, ¡°Alright, we can portal out but not into the planes. So if we can find a way to get Tao or someone else on the planes. We have a possible solution. What else can we do to stop the planes and save the passengers?¡± ¡°If you can set me in their flight path I can probably stop the planes.¡± Magneto said as he looked at Ezekiel. Ezekiel typed on his computer as he pulled up information on the planes. He glanced over it for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Most of the plane is non-magnetic. Less than five percent of the plane will be affected by your powers. Do you think you can stop the plane without tearing it apart?¡± Magneto thought it over for a few moments before he said, ¡°With its speed I¡¯m not sure. It could be very tricky. If I disable the engines first to slow it down¡­ Maybe.¡± ¡°Alright we''ll keep that in mind. What else can we do?¡± ¡°I could scramble some jets and shoot them down while they¡¯re still flying over large open areas with no people. But we would have to do that soon.¡± Fury said as he looked at each plane''s flight path. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, if the planes are empty of civilians. But first we need to get on those planes. Anyone else have any ideas?¡± Ezekiel asked. Xavier cleared his throat before he said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to bring my students into this but I believe Kurt and Kitty could help us get on those planes.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°With their power set, it would make getting on the planes pretty simple. Actually, would you be able to take over the hijacker¡¯s minds and have them surrender control of the plane?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I won''t be able to do something like that. I have set strict rules for myself and my powers. Taking control of another person¡¯s mind is one of them.¡± Xavier said as Magneto laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I understand and will respect your decision¡­ I actually expected it if I¡¯m being honest.¡± ¡°But what about Kurt and Kitty? Could you ask them for their help?¡± Ezekiel asked. Xavier nodded and said, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go ask them now.¡± ¡°Good. If they agree, just bring them back here when you return.¡± Ezekiel said before he glanced around the room and asked, ¡°Unless someone has an issue with that?¡± Fury frowned slightly as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. They could be a security risk.¡± ¡°Storm, Logan, and Beast have all been here and we haven¡¯t had any issues. I think Kurt and Kitty can also be trusted.¡± ¡°They aren¡¯t teenage kids who post videos online. Those kids could easily let something important slip in one of their videos.¡± Fury said as he leveled his gaze at Ezekiel. ¡°I gave them guidelines to help keep Xavier¡¯s school a secret when they started posting videos. Out of the hundreds of videos every kid at the school has uploaded, not one of them has broken those rules. Including Kurt and Kitty.¡± Ezekiel returned Fury¡¯s gaze as he said, ¡°I think we can trust them and I am willing to vote on that if you disagree.¡± Fury¡¯s frown faded just a bit before he said, ¡°Fine. We''ll give them a chance.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Ezekiel turned to Xavier and said, ¡°Go ask them, we¡¯ll wait.¡± Ezekiel then turned to look at Magneto and said, ¡°We need to test your powers on the planes. Go with Mordo and have him portal you in front of flight eleven to test how it feels, then come back and let us know. Once we have Kurt and Kitty, we¡¯ll use flight eleven as our test run.¡± Ezekiel then pulled up some info on the flight as he said, ¡°We should use my clones to take back over the planes and Magneto will be our backup in case they try to crash them.¡± Ezekiel glanced around the room as he asked, ¡°Anyone have any objections or better ideas?¡± When no one spoke up, Magneto moved out of the room with Mordo to go run the test. Within ten minutes Xavier came back with Kitty and Kurt following behind him. They were both dressed in normal clothes and seemed to be in a daze as they looked at everyone in the room. Kurt recovered first as he asked, ¡°Is that Captain America?¡± Kitty elbowed him in the ribs as she said, ¡°Stupid, Captain America is dead. He died in 1944.¡± Steve smiled slightly before he said, ¡°Fortunately I was only trapped in ice and went into some kind of hibernation.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡®Bamf¡¯ Kurt disappeared into a cloud of smoke and reappeared next to Steve as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you Mr. America! Could you tell me about some of your adventures in the army, please?¡± Everyone glanced at Kurt before Ezekiel cleared his throat loudly. When everyone turned to look at him he said, ¡°Kurt, I am sure Mr. America here would love to tell you some stories later. But you were brought here for a reason. Did Professor Xavier explain why?¡± Kurt shook his head before Ezekiel pointed at the screen and said, ¡°Those four planes are currently hijacked and if nothing is done, everyone on board will die. We brought you and Kitty here to help us with them.¡± Kurt nodded seriously as he said, ¡°You can count on me. What do I need to do?¡± ¡°We need you and Kitty to use your powers and teleport one of our people onto each of those planes. We can handle everything else from there.¡± ¡®Bamf¡¯ Kurt appeared next to Kitty and gave a salute as he said, ¡°It would be our honor to help. Right, Kitty?¡± Kitty was flushed red and was avoiding looking at Steve as she said, ¡°Yes, of course we¡¯ll help.¡± Kitty then quickly glanced at Steve and said, ¡°Sorry for calling you dead, sir.¡± Steve smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t tell anyone I''m alive. It¡¯s currently a secret for now.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Kitty and Kurt said at the same time. Magneto walked back into the room with Mordo a moment later and said, ¡°I should be able to stop the plane without it falling apart.¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll go for flight eleven first then.¡± Ezekiel said as he typed on his computer. Ezekiel glanced at Shisui behind him and said, ¡°Take Kurt and Kitty to go get changed. Then meet up with the rest of first squad. You guys will be taking out the terrorist.¡± Shisui walked around the table as he said, ¡°Sure thing boss.¡± Shisui patted Kurt on the shoulder as he said, ¡°I¡¯m Shisui, it¡¯s nice to see you again. If you¡¯d follow me, I¡¯ll get you both geared up.¡± After Shisui and the others left the room, Ezekiel turned to the main screen and highlighted flight eleven, followed by the others. Each flight was labeled one through four and Ezekiel glanced at Mordo as he said, ¡°That¡¯s how we¡¯ll target the planes. We''ll need to double check with Kurt the best way for him to teleport all of you on the planes though.¡± It took another ten minutes before Kurt and Kitty came back into the room dressed up in black tactical gear. Kurt was given a red and white jester mask. While Kitty was given a white and red dragon mask. Next to them was squad one, fully kitted out and ready for battle. Ezekiel glanced at everyone before his eyes landed on Kurt and he asked, ¡°How close would you need to be to teleport on one of the planes?¡± ¡°With Kitty keeping me phased, I just need to see it.¡± Kurt glanced at the others next to him as he said, ¡°I would have to take people in groups though. I can only really group teleport four people at a time.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Mordo as he said, ¡°You only need to take Mordo. He¡¯ll take care of everything else.¡± Ezekiel glanced between Kitty and Kurt as he said, ¡°Your only job is to transport Mordo onto the planes. Once that''s finished, you will stay phased and let the others take care of the terrorist. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± They both answered at the same time. Ezekiel pointed at another team member as he said, ¡°Good. Until you come back here, listen to everything White Fang says. He is your team leader for this mission.¡± Both of the kids turned to look at the silver haired man with a kind looking face. He nodded towards them as he said, ¡°Let''s move out.¡± After they all left the room Ezekiel turned to Xavier and said, ¡°I''m surprised they were both so calm and collected. It''s almost like you''ve been training them or something.¡± Xavier nodded and said, ¡°Logan and Storm run a disciplined training schedule for select kids. It''s more to help them train their powers in more creative ways. But it''s also meant to get them used to defending themselves, if the need ever arises.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You know it''s nice seeing you not raising a child army for once.¡± ¡°I would never do something like that.¡± Xavier said with disdain in his voice. Ezekiel waved him off as he said, ¡°In this universe maybe, but you''ve done it in almost every other one. But it''s fine. It''s one of the reasons I invited you to join us in the first place.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer and said, ¡°But we can talk about that another time though, I think they should be about ready. Everyone has a body cam, so we can watch them work from here.¡± The main screen changed to different camera views from each person on squad one as Ezekiel typed. After all the camera¡¯s were up, Xavier glanced at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I would like to learn more about other versions of myself after this. If you don''t mind.¡± ¡°Sure, but you won''t like what you find out. For being so smart, you''re kind of an idiot most of the time.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. vvvvv Kurt felt like his whole body was a bundle of nerves as he stood in the portal room with his new teammates. He really wanted to crack a joke or something, but it didn¡¯t seem like the right thing to do. People were counting on him and Kitty to help save lives. But a thought creeped into his head¡­ Would they be able to do it and not mess up? As he was lost in his thoughts, Kurt felt Kitty grip his hand a little tighter and he turned to look at her. Her face was hidden by her mask but he knew she was giving him a reassuring smile. She always did when he was nervous. He squeezed her hand back as White Fang said over their comm unit, ¡°Mordo, you can begin when ready.¡± Mordo quickly opened up a portal before the whole group moved through it. Passing through the portal, they were greeted by a grassy field with a plane flying high above them. As the portal snapped closed behind them White Fang said over comms, ¡°Jester, Dragon, it''s your turn.¡± Kurt glanced at Kitty who put her hand on Mordo''s shoulder and nodded. The next second they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The first teleport put them just above the middle of the plane. In the short split second before they started to fall, Kurt reoriented himself and teleported them inside the rear of the plane. No one noticed them when they first arrived since they were phased. And even Mordo didn''t draw attention as he appeared out of thin air and made a portal. Before anyone made a sound, squad one flickered through the portal and within moments all of the hijackers were disabled, except the two men in the cockpit. Both Kurt and Kitty could only stare in shocked silence at how quickly their teammates worked. The passengers on the other hand had yet to notice the hijackers were incapacitated. White Fang moved to the cockpit door and with a metallic silver colored blade, cut the door lock off. As the piece fell to the ground, he flickered into the cockpit and disabled the pilots. Within a few minutes the real pilots were back in control and heading towards the nearest airport to land. While squad one collected the hijackers and moved to exit the plane. On the way out, everyone on the plane cheered and thanked them for their help. They quickly departed and moved onto the next plane. It wasn''t long before all of the planes were cleared of hijackers and told to land at the nearest airport. From the first plane to the last it only took about ten minutes total. vvvvv Back at base Ezekiel smiled as he said over the teams comm unit, ¡°Great job team. Return to base and put the prisoners in holding cells for interrogation. And make sure to check them for suicide capsules. As Ezekiel glanced at the others around the table an alarm blared out and the screen changed to a news alert. It showed the top floors of a building on fire as a news anchor said, ¡°Just moments ago a plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.¡± The room was completely silent for a few moments before Ezekiel slammed a fist onto the table as he asked, ¡°How many fucking planes did they hijack?¡± 00111. Magneto the hero? Ezekiel scrambled, typing furiously on his computer as the others talked in the background and watched the news report playing on screen. It took a few minutes but Ezekiel finally found what he was looking for and some new information pulled up on the screen. It showed the flight path of the airplane that crashed into the building. It originally took off from a private airfield in Canada followed by a few other planes. Tracking data appeared for the other planes, one was almost to New York City. The other two were flying towards Washington DC. Ezekiel glanced at the rest of the room as he said, ¡°I think we should send Magneto in to handle the plane going to New York.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t that lead to Hydra targeting Magneto and Genosha when the world learns he took it over?¡± Asked Jarvis. Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That''s the idea. Since Hydra really wants to start a global war on terrorism. We''ll give them a reason to be cautious instead.¡± Ezekiel pointed at the screen and said, ¡°The entire world is going to be focused on this. If we let Magneto stop the next plane live, for the world to see. He becomes a hero.¡± Ezekiel glanced around the room again as he said, ¡°We can also let him take credit for helping with the hijacked airplanes. Afterwards he can announce to the world that he is the new ruler of Genosha along with the reasons why and no one will bat an eye.¡± Fury nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°I hate to admit it, but that could work.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Good, because we have about ten minutes to decide if we''re actually going to do this.¡± Ezekiel looked at his fellow council members as he asked, ¡°Anyone have any objections?¡± When no one spoke up, Ezekiel keyed up his comm unit and said, ¡°Squad one, do you copy?¡± ¡°White Fang, here. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Tell Mordo to make a portal in front of the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. Magneto needs to stop a plane from crashing into the buildings. It should be there in about ten minutes.¡± ¡°Copy. What about us, should we help?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the flaming tower for a few moments before he said, ¡°Yes. There is a massive fire on the upper floors of the south tower and people are trapped above it. You''ll need to rescue the people trapped on the upper floors.¡± ¡°Copy. What about the fire? Should we put it out?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the fire again before he said, ¡°I don''t know if you can. It''s being fed by forty thousand gallons of jet fuel.¡± There was a confident tone in White Fang¡¯s voice as he said, ¡°We''ll take care of it.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer as he said, ¡°Good, and leave the prisoners where you are now. I''m sending a backup team to pick them up.¡± ¡°Roger, White Fang out.¡± Ezekiel pulled up the other two planes which seemed to be heading towards the capital and tried to confirm their trajectories. As Ezekiel worked Peggy asked, ¡°What should we do with the other two planes?¡± Ezekiel glanced up for a moment as he continued to type and said, ¡°I have no idea, but we have about half an hour to figure it out.¡± A news reporter was heard from the main screen as they said, ¡°A new development just happened, we are going to Jason who is live on the scene.¡± The news broadcast on the main monitor changed to show squad one as they worked to put out the fire on the south tower. Magneto seemed to be the camera''s main focus though as he floated in front of the towers. It looked like he was also trying to help put out the fire as he scanned the area, looking for the next plane. As the camera zoomed back out the reporter''s voice asked, ¡°Jason, can you tell us and our viewers what''s happening?¡± The camera moved slightly to show a disheveled news reporter on a rooftop with a view of the towers behind him. He smiled weakly for the camera as he said, ¡°Moments ago the mutant known as Magneto appeared along with the masked people you can see in the background. They seem to be evacuating people trapped in the building and trying to put out the fire.¡± ¡°Has Magneto¡­¡± The news reporter was interrupted as a cloud of smoke appeared close by. It was Kurt and three people who he just teleported out of the building. The cameraman was quick to react and focused on the new people as Kurt disappeared in another cloud of smoke. The news reporter moved towards the new arrivals and asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡± Before they could answer, another puff of smoke appeared as Kurt teleported two new people over. As Kurt disappeared one of the people sat down on the ground and said, ¡°I am now.¡± Over the next five minutes Kurt repeatedly transported people out of the building onto the nearby rooftop. Just as he appeared again everyone heard a plane approaching. It was the cameraman who reacted first and turned to see the plane. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. As the camera focused in on the plane, the cameraman could be heard as he said, ¡°Are they going to¡­¡± As the plane approached, it started to slow down slightly before balls of metal slammed into its engines. Once the engines were destroyed, the metal spread out covering portions of the plane and slowed it to a stop. The cameraman quickly switched his focus to Magneto who was floating in the air as he watched the plane for a moment. Then he started to move the plane away from the buildings and towards the airport. As Magneto moved away the news reporter could be heard as he said, ¡°I¡­ I''ve never seen anything more incredible in my life. Ron, did you catch all of that?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Back at base Ezekiel smiled as he watched the news and said, ¡°Alright, New York is secure and the fire is almost out.¡± Ezekiel typed on the computer and pulled up the other two planes as he asked, ¡°How should we handle the other planes?¡± Fury spoke up first and said, ¡°We should send Magneto, it will garner more good will and just improve his overall image.¡± Ezekiel glanced at everyone else for a few moments. When no one voiced disagreement he keyed up his microphone and asked, ¡°Squad one, do you copy?¡± ¡°White Fang here, go ahead.¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer as he said, ¡°I am sending you information on the other two planes. Share it with Mordo so he can portal Magneto out there to stop them.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± There was a short pause before White Fang said, ¡°All civilians are rescued and the fire is almost contained. What are our next orders?¡± Ezekiel studied the news report for a bit before he said, ¡°Quickly sweep both towers for bombs. If you find nothing, have Mordo portal you back to base with Magneto.¡± ¡°Roger, White Fang out.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the other people in the room and said, ¡°While Magneto takes care of the other two planes, we need to come up with some ideas on what he can say to the media. Anyone have some good ideas?¡± ¡°You really think Hydra planted bombs in the towers?¡± Steve asked. Ezekiel looked over to Steve as he said, ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s better to double check, just in case. Who knows what other back up plans they might have in place.¡± Time passed quickly as everyone went over ideas for Magneto¡¯s speech. Over half an hour later squad one along with Magneto were finally back at base. Luckily no bombs were found in the buildings and they brought along the other pilots to interrogate. As Magneto took his normal seat at the table, Kurt and Kitty were led back into the room. They were dressed in their normal clothes again and looked a little exhausted from saving so many people. Ezekiel greeted them both with a smile before he said, ¡°First off I would like to thank you for your help today. You both helped us a lot and saved a lot of lives in the process.¡± Kurt rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he said, ¡°We¡¯re just glad we could help out.¡± Kitty nodded her head as she said, ¡°It was fun being able to use our powers to help other people.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Xavier as he said, ¡°Well hopefully you can help us out again some time. But I would ask that both of you keep any information about us a secret.¡± Ezekiel pointed at the news channel as it showed more footage of Kurt transporting people out of the buildings and said, ¡°I am sure people will notice who Kurt is from his unique powers and tail. If people ask, you can tell them you helped Magneto with the rescue. But don¡¯t tell them about us, this place or the people you worked with.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Both kids said at almost the same time. Ezekiel smirked and said, ¡°You guys can relax. Also moving forward, you''re both allowed to visit here as guests. Just ask Logan, Storm, Beast or the Professor here and we¡¯ll transport you over.¡± Both kids smiled as Kurt said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You''re welcome. Now before you head back home, is there anything either of you would like? I know you both helped out because it was the right thing to do. But I also believe in being paid for your work and you both worked hard today.¡± Both of them looked at each other and couldn¡¯t really think of anything they would want. When they looked back at Ezekiel he just smiled and said, ¡°No need to rush, just think about it.¡± Both kids nodded as Shisui stepped forward and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you back to the portal room.¡± After the kids walked out, discussion picked back up on what to do about Magneto and the coming press conference that Ezekiel scheduled in about an hour with major news networks. As that was going on, Fury¡¯s phone which had been going off most of the day finally rang with a different ring tone. As The Imperial March played loudly through the room, everyone quieted down so Fury could answer his phone. As Fury answered the phone he patched it through to the room''s speakers so everyone could hear and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°What the hell are you doing Fury?! Why haven¡¯t you contacted me on what''s going on?¡± Fury schooled his face and said, ¡°I¡¯ve been busy managing the situation the best I can. I was going to contact you once my team¡¯s had a better grasp on everything that¡¯s happened today.¡± ¡°A better grasp on the situation? We had eight planes hijacked today! How in the hell did that fly under the radar? On top of that, all of them were going to be flown into buildings! What the hell am I supposed to tell the World Security Council?¡± Fury gritted his teeth before he slowly said, ¡°No idea sir. I am personally looking into how we missed something like this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother with that, I¡¯ll have Garrett dig into it. I need you for something else that takes priority. We need to deal with that terrorist Magneto, we need to figure out a way to arrest him or at least discredit him.¡± ¡°Discredit or arrest him? But he helped stop all the planes and even helped rescue people from the building.¡± The man chuckled before he said, ¡°You might be losing your edge Nick. Just think about it, he shows up out of the blue and saves the day? But he also took all of the hijackers with him? He was getting rid of evidence. There is a good chance he was behind the whole thing.¡± All the metal in the room creaked slightly as Magneto frowned at the accusation. Xavier placed a comforting hand on Magneto¡¯s shoulder as Fury said, ¡°I honestly have no idea how I could arrest someone like Magneto sir, but I am open to suggestions if you have any. As for discrediting him¡­ As far as the world is concerned, the man looks like a hero right now.¡± ¡°Well do what you do best and find some dirt on him. I don¡¯t care if you have to make something up, but he needs to be taken care of. We can¡¯t let the world think he is some kinda hero. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes sir¡­¡± ¡°Good. Also I need a full report on what happened today on my desk by tomorrow. I¡¯ll need it for my report to the World Security Council. And send any info you found about today to Garrett.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Great. I¡¯ll talk to you later Nick.¡± There was a click as the phone hung up and Fury said, ¡°God damn fucking snake.¡± 00112. Magneto King of Genosha It was nearing sunset in Genosha as multiple portals opened up and allowed a bunch of news reporters along with their camera crews access to the island. They were greeted by a large meeting room with an amazing view of an island and the beach not far away in the distance. Every person in the room was especially invited to interview Magneto after his actions earlier in the day. Each and every one of them was considered one of the best in their field and it was rare to have so many of them gathered together in one place. Minutes passed as they took in the amazing view and talked quietly among themselves. After ten minutes or so, the main door to the room opened up. As Magneto stepped into the room everyone quieted down and looked at the young man who entered. Magneto smiled at everyone and said, ¡°First I want to thank all of you for coming here today. I am sure you have many questions and I will gladly answer as many of them as I can. If you¡¯ll follow me, we¡¯ve set up an area where you can conduct your interviews.¡± One of the more famous and slightly pompous of the reporters asked, ¡°You¡¯re going to answer our questions? I was promised an interview with Magneto, not a teenager.¡± Magneto laughed hard for a few moments, after he calmed down he said, ¡°I am Magneto. Now no more questions for now, just follow me.¡± Every person in the room held back from calling the young man a liar, but most of them knew the first question they wanted to ask. Magneto led everyone out of the room and through a few hallways until they moved into a new room. The room was massive in design and built to make anyone who entered it feel small. The oppressiveness of the room was only overshadowed by the white monolith that sat in the middle of the room. The monolith was enormous and shaped like an Egyptian obelisk. Etched into what seemed to be a single piece of white marble were names. Not just a few but tens of thousands of names were etched into the object. Everyone seemed to slow their pace slightly as they walked past the monument and saw the small plaque near the base that read, ¡®In memory of the Genoshan people, your sacrifice will never be forgotten.¡¯ After they exited that room, they moved through a few more hallways before they exited the building. Outside they were greeted by a small area set up for an interview with chairs set up for Magneto and each reporter. A few other people were already there and greeted everyone before showing them where they could set up. Magneto moved to his chair and waited patiently for everyone to get in place. Once everything was set he nodded to the reporters and said, ¡°I understand that this is a little different then a normal interview, but I am a busy man and don¡¯t have the time to do individual interviews with all of you.¡± Magneto spread his arms wide and said, ¡°Since that is the case, I set this up. I will give all of you three hours of my time. Please take the next ten to twenty minutes to organize yourselves and your questions. As I would rather not waste time answering the same questions over and over again. Once you are all ready your three hour window will begin.¡± All of the reporters quickly started to talk amongst themselves trying to figure out who would ask what questions. It took about fifteen minutes but they decided they would each ask one question at a time. Once everyone asked a question, they would start again. As for who would go first, they decided that with coin flips. Once everyone was in their seats and the camera¡¯s were rolling the first reporter asked, ¡°You told us earlier you were Max Eisenhardt, better known to the world as Magneto. While you look a little like him, everyone knows that Magneto is close to eighty years old and you¡¯re¡­ A teenager. Can you tell us where Magneto is and when he will be showing up?¡± Magneto smiled before he said, ¡°I admit, being this young again is a little weird for me. You have no idea how hard it is to control myself sometimes while I have teenage hormones running through my body. But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that I''m Magneto.¡± Everyone wanted to ask the same question, but their professionalism stopped them from acting out. That didn¡¯t stop them all from turning to look at the person who was allowed to ask the next question with a little bit of jealousy. The woman smiled as she asked, ¡°If that¡¯s true, may I ask how you were able to reverse the aging process?¡± Magneto nodded as he said, ¡°I personally don¡¯t know how it works myself, but some very smart people I know figured it out. They showed me proof it worked and then offered me the chance to extend my life.¡± The next reporter asked, ¡°Is there a chance they might offer this service to other people?¡± Magneto shrugged his shoulders as he said, ¡°I honestly have no clue. I was surprised they offered me the chance in the first place, if I am being honest.¡± The next reporter decided to ask one of the questions they originally wanted to know and asked, ¡°Earlier today you, along with some help were able to stop a major terrorist attack on the US. Some rumors have been going around that you possibly had a hand in that attack with how quickly you responded to the crisis. How would you like to respond to those allegations?¡± Magneto smiled wide as he said, ¡°Simple, we did know about them. We knew there would be some type of attack and we responded to the first planes that were hijacked immediately. Unfortunately we didn¡¯t know about the second set of planes.¡± The next reporter followed up and asked, ¡°How did you know there would be an attack in the first place? Were you tipped off by someone or are the rumors true?¡± Magneto shook his head as he said, ¡°No, one of my team members has the ability of precognition. It¡¯s the reason we were able to be as effective as we were today.¡± From there the interview dived into more in depth questions about the day''s events, the help Magneto had and what his team did with the terrorist. There were other questions here and there about other less important things. But a random and somewhat simple question derailed the rest of the interview and changed how it should have ended. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. One of the reporters who ran out of good questions to ask, decided to change it up and asked, ¡°You said before we started you only had limited time for an interview. As far as I know, you¡¯ve pretty much disappeared from the world for the past year or more. Could you inform us of why that is?¡± Magneto nodded and gestured to everything around him as he said, ¡°I was helping to build my kingdom and make sure my people were safe.¡± Everyone paused to look at each other for a few moments, before the next reporter hurriedly asked, ¡°Could you elaborate on that for us? What is your kingdom''s name and where is it exactly if you don¡¯t mind us asking?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Genosha and it¡¯s a small island off the coast of Africa. As for how I came to acquire it, it¡¯s simple. I killed the old leaders of the country and freed the citizens they kept as slaves. The white Egyptian obelisk we walked past early was built in memory of the slaves who unfortunately couldn¡¯t be saved.¡± From there the reporters just couldn¡¯t stop themselves from asking endless questions about the island and what happened. Magneto decided to end the interview there and offered the reporters the chance to explore the island with a camera crew all day tomorrow. They would be given a host to act as a guide and free reign to explore wherever they wanted. Of course everyone was happy and agreed to Magneto¡¯s offer before they left for the day. vvvvv The interview aired on most networks that night and ended up having some of the highest ratings for a news related broadcast to date. But one thing that was on everyone''s mind was how Magneto was the new ruler of a small island nation. A lot of people came out with crazy conspiracy theories about how it happened. When it happened and why it might have happened. Besides conspiracy theories, UN officials and other governments with ties to the old Genosha government were up in arms about the country being taken over. Some government officials were already pushing for actions to be taken against Magneto and his new Genosha. Boycotts and military action were just a few of the things being discussed within hours of the news breaking. But just a short twenty four hours later and everything changed. All of the bad press. The talk of possible sanctions, boycotts and military action disappeared. Instead everyone was praising Magneto while still going over all the evidence of the old Genosha government¡¯s actions he provided. It was almost enough to make the world and to a greater extent the US forget about the terrorist attack that happened only a couple days ago. While everyone was focused on Magneto and Genosha, a little known terrorist group came out and claimed responsibility for the hijackings. It pulled focus back to the recent attacks and to what the US government planned to do going forward. The US president came out later in the day and announced they were going to fight a global war on terror and called for their allies to join them. As Theo watched the announcement he let out a sigh before he turned back to his training. He was hoping they might have changed the course of history, but it looks like even with most of the disaster averted, Hydra was still able to succeed in their plans for war. Theo spent the next hour practicing his chakra control on his rock wall before he changed into Ezekiel. He glanced at Tao and Agatha as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few hours for magic training. I need to check in with Tony.¡± Agatha smiled as she said, ¡°Have fun on your play date.¡± Ezekiel held himself back from responding as he made a portal. It took him about half an hour before he appeared in Tony¡¯s lab carrying food. Ezekiel glanced over to see Tony, who was currently focused on a new project as music blared through the speakers. Ezekiel set down the food before he walked next to Tony and hit the space bar on his computer. As the music cut off Tony looked up to see who it was and couldn¡¯t help but smile. He stood up from his seat as he said, ¡°You always have perfect timing, I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be starving if you didn¡¯t lose track of time.¡± Ezekiel said. Tony waved the comment off as he moved to go through the bags of food. Ezekiel shook his head before he hit the security button and decided to look over what Tony was currently working on. A couple of projects were open on Tony¡¯s computer, most of them were new weapons. But one of them caught Ezekiel¡¯s eye and it was named J.A.R.V.I.S. Ezekiel explored the coding for a few moments before Happy burst into the room. When Happy saw Ezekiel he put his gun away and moved towards Tony as he said, ¡°Can you not hit the panic button whenever you show up?!¡± Ezekiel pointed at the button as he asked, ¡°That¡¯s a panic button? I thought it was the button used to call you when dinner was here?¡± ¡°Why the hell would Tony even make a button like that?!¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°No idea, but it seems to work whenever I press it.¡± ¡°Because you always bring food!¡± Tony chuckled slightly as he watched Ezekiel messing with Happy. Happy for his part, decided to drop it and pulled out one of the boxes. As Tony and Happy started digging into dinner Ezekiel glanced over his shoulder as he asked, ¡°You''re trying to make an AI?¡± Tony finished a bite of his cheeseburger before he said, ¡°It¡¯s not AI, it¡¯s Just A Rather Very Intelligent System.¡± ¡°Your naming sucks.¡± Tony frowned as he said, ¡°Give me a break, it was the best way to name it Jarvis.¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No it¡¯s not. You just make an AI and then give them a name. You don¡¯t have to make some weird acronym with words to give them a name.¡± Tony nodded his head as he swallowed his next bite of food before he said, ¡°Your acting like building an AI or something close to an AI is easy.¡± Ezekiel had a far away look as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not, it takes years of work and tens of thousands of coding hours to make something even remotely close to AI. Even then it still takes a moment of pure brilliance to figure out the missing piece and have everything come together and work.¡± Tony dropped his food to the floor as he looked at Ezekiel and said in an excited voice, ¡°You actually made an AI!¡± Ezekiel broke out of his memories to see Tony getting up from his chair as he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your AI? Can I meet it?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Unfortunately you can¡¯t meet my kids currently.¡± ¡°Kids? You made more than one? Why can¡¯t I meet them? Is that why your programming is so good, it¡¯s made by AI?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like explaining it to you. Plus you wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told you. As for my programming, it¡¯s good because I made it.¡± Tony was going to press for more information when Ezekiel said, ¡°Tell you what. If you finish up those cell tower transceivers in a week, so we can start testing them. I¡¯ll help you improve the coding for Jarvis, sound good?¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Tony moved next to his computer and pulled up some schematics as he said, ¡°Here they are and I already have five of them being built so we can test them.¡± Tony flashed a big smile at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°When can you start helping me with Jarvis?¡± 00113. A deal with Fury. As some of the world powers started to gear up for war. Theo decided to move forward with an idea he¡¯d been thinking about for a while now. But he would need something special to be able to pull it off correctly, which meant he needed to acquire something important. Instead of stealing it, Theo decided to just go to the source and set up a meeting with Fury. While he was in his personal office at the base, he sent a private message to Fury before he waited for him to arrive, while he worked on the software for the cellular transmitters. After a little over three hours Fury finally arrived and sat down in front of Ezekiel''s desk. Ezekiel looked up with a smile as he said, ¡°Thanks for joining me. I hope I didn''t interrupt anything.¡± Fury shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing important. Just a bunch of useless work by the WSC and Pierce, that want it done before the US and its allies invade Iraq.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe they convinced people that Iraq is any type of a threat, even after I posted evidence that said differently.¡± Ezekiel said. Fury focused on Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°Let''s cut the bullshit here. Why did you ask to talk with me?¡± ¡°I need to borrow something you have.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°No.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he said, ¡°You don''t even know what I want.¡± ¡°Doesn''t matter, the answer is no.¡± Fury said as he sat back in his chair. ¡°You know I could have just stolen what I wanted? You know why I didn''t?¡± Ezekiel said. Fury raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°Because Peggy and I would have chewed you out?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Because we''re allies and we''re supposed to help each other out.¡± Fury smiled the tiniest bit as he said, ¡°Glad you finally figured it out.¡± ¡°So can you help me out?¡± Fury smirked as he said, ¡°Only if you help me out first.¡± ¡°The new body I made for you doesn''t count as help?¡± Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°Besides the eye, my old body was just fine. So no, I don''t count my new body as help.¡± Ezekiel crossed his arms over his chest as he said, ¡°Fine, tell me what you want help with. But keep in mind that if we don''t come to an agreement. I''ll just steal what I need from Shield, because as far as I''m concerned Shield is basically Hydra right now.¡± Fury frowned as he asked, ¡°And what exactly do you need to borrow anyways?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he shook his head and said, ¡°You''ll know if we come to a deal. Plus I don¡¯t want you trying to hide it, if our talks fall through.¡± Fury nodded in respect as he said, ¡°At least you¡¯re learning.¡± ¡°Tao¡¯s been a good teacher. Now what do you want?¡± Fury pulled out a folder and handed it over to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°Read that first.¡± Ezekiel picked up the thin folder and opened it up to see some confidential Stark Tech files. They contained some information on the project Tony and Ezekiel were currently working on. Nothing important tech wise was in the files, but it did outline possibly creating a new branch of the company to serve as a cellular service provider. Ezekiel looked up from the file and asked, ¡°Okay¡­ So what do you want?¡± ¡°You said before you were helping Tony make cellphones and tablets. I assume you are doing the software side of things? Which would also include doing all the networking?¡± Fury asked. Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I have my side of things almost done. We are just stress testing Tony¡¯s hardware for any issues and I¡¯m currently optimizing the code. Then we¡¯ll be going into production mode.¡± Fury tapped the folder and said, ¡°I want a back door into the system you are putting in place. I assume you are going to spy on everyone who uses your software just like everyone who uses Vibe.¡± Ezekiel let out a hearty laugh as he leaned forward clutching his stomach. Fury instantly frowned at the reaction and asked, ¡°What''s so funny?¡± In between laughs Ezekiel said, ¡°You.¡± Fury narrowed his eyes as he watched Ezekiel laugh. It took about a minute for Ezekiel to stop and catch his breath before he said, ¡°I¡¯m not giving anyone access to that type of unfiltered data. Especially not a paranoid super spy like you.¡± Ezekiel focused his gaze on Fury as he said, ¡°I wanna tell you to fuck off for even asking, but I should have expected it coming from you. So I¡¯ll give you another chance.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Fury pulled out another folder and set it on the table as he said, ¡°It was worth a shot, I brought this just in case.¡± Ezekiel picked up the folder and started to look it over. After a few minutes he placed the folder down as he said, ¡°This is actually doable. But I''m letting you know now. I''ll know everything that you use it for.¡± Fury frowned as he said, ¡°That isn''t what I asked for.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You''re right. You just asked for a custom built program, that you can use to hack into basically anything. I admit, I might be a little too trusting, but I''m not stupid Fury.¡± Ezekiel pulled out a small flash drive from his desk and said, ¡°You basically want one of these for personal use.¡± Fury glanced at the drive for a few moments before he asked, ¡°And what''s the issue with that?¡± ¡°Well, you thinking I am stupid enough to give you something like this without some type of restrictions or oversight. There''s also the fact you think this can do everything you want it to do. I''m great at what I do Fury, but even I have limits.¡± Ezekiel placed the flash drive down and started to type on his computer as he said, ¡°Let me show you something.¡± After a couple moments, Ezekiel spun his screen to Fury and showed him a detailed diagram of the flash drive and said, ¡°As you can see, these things might be powerful computers I made with the help of Hank¡¯s Pym particles. But their main design purpose is to connect to my servers. That¡¯s where the heavy lifting takes place.¡± ¡°I thought you were some kinda genius coder and most security was a joke to you?¡± Ezekiel nodded and smiled slightly as he said, ¡°While I might make it look easy, I put a lot of effort and prep time into everything I do to make it seem that way. I have clones compiling new code every day, improving our systems and defenses, while also improving the ways I slip through everyone''s cyber security and remain hidden.¡± Ezekiel picked up the flashdrive again and held it towards Fury as he asked, ¡°You can have this one if we have a deal.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t make a deal unless you tell me what you want.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Come on, you already know what I want. Plus if I have it, Hydra won¡¯t be able to get it.¡± Fury frowned again as he asked, ¡°What do you want it for?¡± ¡°Besides protecting it? I want to try something with it and Tao and Agatha have already agreed to help with the project.¡± Fury raised one of his eyebrows as he asked, ¡°And what exactly would this project be?¡± ¡°Just exploring a few places normal portals can¡¯t go to. Mostly different planes that are normally locked or hard to enter without knowing the proper way inside.¡± Ezekiel said. Fury stayed quiet for about a minute before he reached forward and took the flashdrive from Ezekiel. As he placed the drive in his pocket he said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to figure out a way to replace it with a fake. We don¡¯t want people asking questions when it goes missing.¡± Ezekiel smirked and pulled out a plain looking briefcase from behind his desk and opened it up facing towards Fury as he asked, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the real thing before, you think this will fool people?¡± It was the first time Ezekiel saw Fury display anything close to shock. Well if he was being honest it was just a slight twitching of Fury¡¯s lip. But he would take it. Fury closed the briefcase as he said, ¡°Give me a few days and I''ll get you the Tesseract.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡± Fury nodded before he walked out of the room with the briefcase in hand. vvvvv True to his words, Fury brought Ezekiel the Tesseract within a couple days. The first order of business Tao and Agatha did was to create a suppressing array for the space stone hidden inside of the Tesseract. They created it with the help of the ley lines found in Genosha. It was hidden in a chamber underneath the school they created on the island. It only took them a couple of days with Theo and his clones acting as helpers. He didn''t help with the actual spell or creation of the array. But he would bring them whatever materials they needed as they built it. Once the array was completed they removed the space stone while inside the array and rested it on a pedestal they created for it. Afterwards Tao and Agatha spent the next month building a magical device to harness the powers of the space stone. While Theo helped where he could and carefully watched them work. The device would act as a permanent holder for the stone and would also let them use it for spells going forward. The only downside was they could only use it while inside the array, if they wanted to keep emissions from the stone secret. The device they created looked a lot like a sling ring, but was more of a blueish silver in color from the use of Vibranium in its creation. The space stone itself wasn¡¯t visible on the device and was hidden inside it when not in use. The inside also acted as a mini sealing array to hide the stone and make it passive when inside the device. The main reason for that feature was so Tao could use the device as a normal sling ring. Since it was decided that Tao would be in charge of the device because she was currently the strongest person amongst them. The argument could be made that Agatha was stronger, but the reality was Tao being younger was still more powerful than Agatha. For their next project they created safety arrays, shields and other protections around the main sealing array. They wanted to make sure any place they explored wouldn¡¯t be able to follow them back through any portal they made. They also made the array as the anchor point for the sling ring, so it would be easy to create a portal back in a hurry. Once finished with the device, they did some minor tests mostly to test the power of the device and check for energy leakage from the array. When everything tested correctly and they couldn¡¯t find any type of issue. Theo finally told them the first place he wanted to go and why. ¡°You realize this could backfire if you''re not careful, correct?¡± Tao said. Theo nodded his head before he said, ¡°Yes, but if it works we could potentially gain a powerful ally. Look, I just wanna go and chat with them. Worst case it doesn''t work out.¡± Tao frowned as she said, ¡°I''ve read ancient stories about her. I don''t think she¡¯ll be a good ally for us. Most likely she¡¯ll be an enemy to us if we even release her.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°I''ve seen her once, long ago, when she came to Earth with her father. She was like a bloodthirsty attack dog. Her father was the only thing that kept her in check.¡± ¡°Which is exactly why I think it could work. She needs help and I am willing to offer it. If she turns it down, we make plans to contain her.¡± Tao let out a sigh before she said, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll try it out. But if things go wrong, you¡¯ll get punishment training for a month.¡± Ezekiel shivered at the thought as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± 00114. Meeting the Goddess of Death Time passing in this place was hard to track and Hela found that time seemed to blur together in Hel. There was no day night/cycle here, just a pale gray light from the fog covered sky. She did have a vague idea how much time she was imprisoned for though. For over a millennia Hela¡¯s view never changed and was filled with a few consistent things. A hazy gray colored fog covered the sky, while cracked gray dirt dotted with trees, scorched black from fire spread out around her. The immediate area around Hela was surrounded by the fallen bodies of her soldiers, while she was covered almost completely in golden chains that bound her in place. Well former soldiers actually, the same soldiers who turned against her and helped imprison her in this god forsaken place. She thrashed against her chains, testing the bonds once again. After an hour she stopped, they were just as strong as when they were first placed upon her. She let out a tired sigh and tried to relax inside her prison. She knew one day that her treacherous bastard of a father would die. On that day she would be set free from this prison and would be free to claim her birthright. To be able to sit on the throne of Asgard as its rightful ruler. vvvvv Theo created his normal clones for the night, before he made a small group of special clones for the night and henge¡¯d himself into Ezekiel. He looked at his clones as he asked, ¡°Everyone knows the plan, correct?¡± Minato smiled as he said, ¡°S rank mission to protect two masters of the mystic arts and a civilian.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a civilian.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight frown. Hashirama grinned as he said, ¡°Compared to us, you might as well be.¡± Tobirama, Hiruzen, Tsunade and Sakumo all nodded in agreement before Ezekiel said, ¡°Whatever, go eat and get your chakra reserves up.¡± Ezekiel went to work on his computer as his bodyguards went to eat food and fill up their chakra levels. After a couple hours Ezekiel went to check up on them and asked, ¡°How are you guys doing? Chakra levels adequate?¡± When everyone nodded in agreement, Ezekiel said, ¡°Alright, lets gear up¡± Ezekiel moved with his clones to a storage area filled with gear. As everyone started to gear up, Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly. It was the first time he was going out himself to do something somewhat dangerous. Well it honestly wasn¡¯t that dangerous and he had some of his strongest clones with him. He could have brought a few others, but their power set or temperament wouldn¡¯t be good for what should only be a conversation or possibly a negotiation. Otherwise he would have brought Madara, A the Fourth Raikage, and a few others. Actually when he thought about what he wanted to do, he jokingly thought about sending Naruto to see if talk-no-jutsu was real and would work¡­ But his better judgment stopped him from doing that. After everyone was geared up, Ezekiel made a portal and teleported everyone to Genosha to meet up with Tao and Agatha. Once they arrived, Tao and Agatha turned to greet Ezekiel before Tao asked, ¡°I¡¯ll ask one last time, are you sure you want to try this?¡± ¡°Positive.¡± Tao let out a sigh before she handed Ezekiel a pendant as she said, ¡°Fine. You can contact me with this when you''re ready to leave.¡± As Ezekiel placed the pendant over his neck, Tao glanced at all of Ezekiel¡¯s clones as she said, ¡°Make sure he stays safe.¡± Ezekiel glanced up from the pendant as he asked, ¡°You aren¡¯t coming?¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°That place has nothing of interest for me or Agatha, it¡¯s basically a dead astral plane cut off from the rest of the universe.¡± Ezekiel gave a nod and smiled as he said, ¡°Understood, don¡¯t plan my next vacation to the place.¡± ¡°Just because it¡¯s a dead plane doesn¡¯t mean you should let your guard down. Always stay alert and call immediately if you need help.¡± Ezekiel gave a proper bow as he said, ¡°Yes, master.¡± ¡°Good, I just want you to take this seriously.¡± Tao glanced over Ezekiel and his clones as she asked, ¡°Are you sure this will be enough clones?¡± ¡°My hope is for them to not be needed. But if something does happen, they should be able to handle it.¡± Agatha held out a small bracelet as she said, ¡°Take this with you, it should shield you for at least five seconds against someone of our power.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he placed the protective bracelet over his wrist and said, ¡°Thank you, master.¡± ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tao who nodded and opened up a silver lined portal. His clones all moved through it first. As he was stepping through the portal himself Tao said, ¡°Good luck, see you in a few hours.¡± Ezekiel was through the portal a moment later and it snapped closed behind him. He glanced at his clones who were spread out around him and asked, ¡°Which way?¡± Sakumo pointed in a certain direction as he said, ¡°I feel something faint in that direction.¡± All of his clones nodded in agreement as Ezekiel said, ¡°Good, let''s go see if it''s our target.¡± A moment later they all disappeared from view as they started to body flicker towards what Sakumo sensed. The scenery around them was mostly gray with hints of black from burnt up trees. After half an hour of traveling they came to a stop. In front of them was the corpse of a woman and it even looked fresh. The blood pool on the ground surrounding the woman didn''t seem to be absorbed into the gray dirt yet. Ezekiel studied the woman for a few moments before he said, ¡°She¡¯s one of the valkyrie, but why is her body still here? Shouldn¡¯t she be just bones or something at this point?¡± Tsunade moved first, reaching down to check on the woman, before she quickly shook her head and said, ¡°She looks recently killed, but she¡¯s been dead a long time. Her body is ice cold to the touch and seems to be in a complete state of rigor mortis.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Ice cold? The temperature here shouldn¡¯t cool the body that much.¡± Tobirama said before he crouched down and touched the pool of blood around the body. As he pulled up his fingers to examine it he said, ¡°Weird, her blood is also really cold, but still feels fresh. Tsunade, could you double check it?¡± Tsunade nodded before she used a diagnostic technique on the blood and frowned. She ran another technique over it before she said, ¡°You''re right, this blood is testing like freshly drawn blood. You could theoretically use it for a blood transfusion.¡± As they checked the body, Minato and Sakumo scouted around the area. While Hashirama and Hiruzen stayed close to Ezekiel as guards. Minato came back from scouting first and said, ¡°I''ve found signs of fighting and more bodies in the same direction we''re traveling.¡± Sakumo arrived a few minutes later and said, ¡°I''ve found some signs of fighting, but no bodies.¡± Ezekiel glanced down at Tsunade who was still examining the body and asked, ¡°Find out anything else?¡± ¡°No, but I want to bring the body back with us to study in the lab.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. I was gonna suggest we collect all of their bodies anyways. We can at least give them a proper burial later. Also make sure you collect any weapons you find in a different scroll and the same thing goes for anything else you might find. I am pretty sure there should be some Pegasus around here too.¡± Minato moved next to the body and opened up a scroll over it. After a moment the body was pulled into the scroll and sealed away. Afterwards they moved forward with Minato, Tobirama, Tsunade and Sakumo running around sealing every single body and weapon they came across. After an hour or so, they came to an area with a massive amount of bodies. In the middle of the area they could see a woman bound in golden chains who was currently looking at their group. Actually she only seemed to be looking at Ezekiel and was ignoring everyone else with him. Ezekiel glanced at his group as he said, ¡°Collect everything here, I¡¯ll go talk with Hela.¡± Minato pulled out a three pronged kunai and handed it to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Just in case.¡± Ezekiel nodded and hung the kunai from a clip on his belt before he walked towards Hela. After a few minutes he stood about twenty feet away from the golden chains. Hela watched the clones as Ezekiel approached her and she said, ¡°It¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve seen another living being. You must be powerful to get past my father''s sealing wards.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Not really. We kinda cheated to get here.¡± Hela glanced at the clones once again as she asked, ¡°We? You came with others?¡± Ezekiel pointed at his clones as he said, ¡°They came with me.¡± ¡°It seems like they did, but they¡¯re soulless and don¡¯t count as being alive.¡± Ezekiel wanted to argue with her, but decided against it before he said, ¡°Fair point.¡± Hela turned her gaze back to Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°So who are you and why did you come here?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°My name is Ezekiel and I came to chat with you. But depending on how things go, I might even free you.¡± Hela¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, ¡°You really think you can break through my father''s power and free me from these chains?¡± ¡°No idea actually, but I have some ideas on how to bypass them. But it depends on a few things.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. ¡°Name your price.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I said it depends on a few things. The first would be on you. I know some of your history and have a decent idea of why you were locked away here by your father. But I want a better understanding of that before we go any further.¡± Hela let out a light laugh before she said, ¡°You want me to tell you about my life? We would be here for years if I did that.¡± ¡°I know. You could also lie to me about it. Which is why I would rather see how you lived your life instead.¡± The chains binding her began to shake as she struggled against them. A second later there was a flash and Minato, along with the others were in front of Ezekiel in a defensive stance. Ezekiel smirked slightly as Hela struggled more against her bindings, even making the ground around them shake as she tried to rip free of them. After almost ten minutes Hela stopped, but her face was contorted in fury as she cast a death glare at Ezekiel. Ezekiel raised his hands in a surrendering motion as he said, ¡°Sorry, it seems I might have misspoke.¡± ¡°Misspoke?! You¡­ Misspoke?!¡± Hela¡¯s whole body shook and the golden chains groaned slightly as she yelled out, ¡°You questioned my honor! I might be a prisoner here, but I have never besmirched my honor!¡± Ezekiel moved in front of his group and gave a formal bow as he said, ¡°My deepest apologies, Hela Odinsdottir, rightful heir to the throne of Asgard. It was not my intention to question your honor.¡± As Hela settled down slightly Ezekiel stood back up straight and said, ¡°I didn''t think you would intentionally lie about your life¡­ It¡¯s just recalling memories about your life can be fuzzy sometimes and doesn¡¯t really give you the complete picture. At least that''s from my own experience as a human. I am not really sure if Asgardians share that same trait though.¡± Hela was quiet as Ezekiel told everyone to continue collecting everything. Once everyone left Hela said, ¡°Your apology is accepted Ezekiel of Midgard.¡± Ezekiel bowed his head and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Now tell me how you plan to see my life, if you don¡¯t wish for me to tell you about it.¡± Ezekiel smiled slightly as he said, ¡°You would have to let me into your mind and show me your memories from there.¡± Hela¡¯s eyes narrowed as she studied Ezekiel again. He wanted free access to her mind which could be a dangerous thing if she wasn¡¯t careful. She had formidable defenses in place and should be fine. But was it a risk she was willing to take¡­ As she looked at Ezekiel she noticed something about him was off. Being the goddess of death, she had the ability to see a person''s soul easily and something about Ezekiel¡¯s soul was weird. After about a minute Hela¡¯s eyes widened in shock as she said, ¡°You¡¯ve been touched by death before.¡± Ezekiel smirked and nodded as he said, ¡°Yup.¡± Hela spent a few minutes carefully looking over Ezekiel¡¯s soul before she said, ¡°You¡¯ve been touched by death¡­ But it wasn¡¯t any god of death from our universe or even the aspect of death itself. Each one leaves something special behind and it¡¯s easily recognizable. But you, you have nothing like that¡­ Where exactly did you come from?¡± ¡°That¡¯s more of a sharing an apartment together type of question. It¡¯s definitely not a first date type of question.¡± Ezekiel said as he smirked. Hela tilted her head slightly to the side as she asked, ¡°You''re not making sense, what¡¯re you even talking about?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Nothing important. As for your question, I¡¯ve only shared that with people I completely trust.¡± Hela studied Ezekiel some more as he glanced around and noticed that most of the area around them was already cleaned up. A few of his clones were already going farther out to search for more bodies and weapons. Only Minato and Hashirama stayed behind, but they kept a respectful distance as they quietly talked with each other. Hela finally broke her silence as she asked, ¡°If I share my memories with you¡­ Will you answer my question?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No. But I could share something important with you about your future.¡± ¡°You''re an oracle?¡± Ezekiel gave another shrug as he said, ¡°Not exactly. I don¡¯t see prophecies or anything dumb like that. I¡¯ve seen the actual future and I know what¡¯ll happen if I don¡¯t interfere in it. You allow me access to your mind and I¡¯ll share what I know about your future.¡± Hela thought quietly to herself as Ezekiel waited. Almost an hour passed by before Ezekiel¡¯s other clones all returned from their task. Ezekiel glanced towards them and Minato nodded at him after collecting the scrolls from the other clones. Hela also noticed the return of Ezekiel¡¯s clones and finally broke her silence as she asked, ¡°What do you plan to do with all of them?¡± ¡°Their souls should already be in Valhalla, so I was planning to give them a proper burial after my companions thoroughly examine their bodies. Something about Hel affected them and made them not decay properly. We want to figure out why.¡± Hela smiled and struggled to raise her right hand from the chains. Ezekiel¡¯s clones tensed up slightly as Ezekiel focused on the hand Hela raised. In it was a small globe the size of a baseball. She locked eyes with Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Unfortunately those that die in Hel can¡¯t escape from it. I was able to capture their wandering souls and currently keep them contained within this.¡± 00115. A issue from Hel. Ezekiel watched the orb for a little while before he asked, ¡°I would like to trade for that sphere of souls if possible.¡± Hela lowered her hand which disappeared underneath the golden chains surrounding her body. She glanced around at the puddles of blood as she asked, ¡°Tell me where you came from and you can have it.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I can''t do that currently¡­ But let me think it over for a while and I might change my mind.¡± Ezekiel glanced back at his clones for a moment before he said, ¡°We are pretty much done here for now and I know sharing your mind with someone else is a major concern. So I¡¯ll give you some time to think it over.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Minato as he said, ¡°Bring that scroll over and unseal what we brought.¡± Minato walked over as he pulled a scroll out and stopped next to Ezekiel. He held the scroll out and pushed a bit of chakra into it. In front of them appeared what looked like a large box. The front of it was mostly just a large LCD display, with a large speaker bar setup underneath it. Ezekiel walked around to the front of it which faced Hela as he said, ¡°As a sign of goodwill, I had this made for you.¡± Hela glanced at the black colored box for a moment before she asked, ¡°And what purpose does this box fulfill?¡± ¡°Entertainment. Modern Earth entertainment to be exact.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Ezekiel patted the side of the device as he said, ¡°I figured it might be boring her all alone, so I built this with the help of some friends. Power on.¡± The front of the device powered on to show a menu with some options. Books, movies, comics, TV shows and games was the current list displayed on the screen. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°This works through voice control and has pretty much everything you could possibly want to watch or read from Earth. You can also play some basic games with it.¡± ¡°Midgardian entertainment, I doubt it will be worthy of my time.¡± Hela scoffed as she looked away from the device. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°There''s also history books, movies and documentaries to watch. But it''s up to you if you wanna use it. I would personally recommend watching the Star Wars movie series or Indiana Jones myself.¡± Hela glanced at Ezekiel and then the device for a few moments before she said, ¡°Fine I''ll accept your tribute.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Great. We''ll leave you alone for now and I''ll be back in a month or so to visit.¡± Hela fought back the urge to command him to stay. It had been so long since she had a conversation with another living being¡­ She missed it¡­ But even if she did try to command him, it wasn¡¯t like he needed to listen to her. As long as she was trapped in these chains, she was weak and powerless to do anything. Ezekiel pushed some universal energy into the return tracker and a few moments later a portal opened up next to him. Tao and Agatha peaked through the portal and once they saw Ezekiel, they looked relieved before they moved away from the portal entrance. Ezekiel¡¯s clones moved through the portal first, while Ezekiel waved before he stepped through the portal. It snapped closed after him and Hela let out a frustrated sigh, now she was alone again¡­ Would he keep his promise and come back? Hela let out another sigh before she looked at the large device in front of her for a few minutes. He said it contained midgardian entertainment, but would any of it be good? The last time she visited the place, they still lived in stone huts¡­ What possible entertainment could they have made since then¡­ ¡°Device, play the Star Wars movie series.¡± As the intro for a new hope played and Hela saw the title she said, ¡°Stop.¡± After the movie stopped she said, ¡°Play from the first movie in the series.¡± Again a new hope started up so Hela said, ¡°Stop and show Star Wars movie list.¡± Once she saw that a new hope was the first movie she said out loud, ¡°Who names the first movie episode four?¡± vvvvv Tao smiled slightly as she asked, ¡°I assume your first contact went well?¡± ¡°Kinda. But we ran into an issue I didn''t plan for. We recovered decently intact bodies of the Valkyries and Hela has a sphere filled with their souls.¡± Tao frowned slightly as she asked, ¡°You want to revive them?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°We could always use a powerful group of honor bound warriors.¡± Agatha shook her head as she said, ¡°They would be bound to continue their duty for Asgard.¡± Ezekiel had a wicked grin as he said, ¡°Not if we tell them the truth of what happened. That they were sacrificed by Odin for no good reason and he knew none of them would ever make it to Valhalla if they died in Hel. He also covered up what happened to them and pretty much erased them from Asgardian history.¡± Tao cast a quick glance at Agatha for a moment before she asked, ¡°How sure are you about that?¡± ¡°About seventy percent, give or take. If we could sneak into the library of Asgard we could find out exactly what happened.¡± ¡°Let''s go back to your training room. You need to start your training for the day and we need some time to think about this.¡± Tao said, before she moved to exit the room. Once they made it back to the training room, everyone split off to do their own thing. Theo started training, his clones went off to the other bases to work on projects. While Tao and Agatha started to discuss the possibility of sneaking into Asgard. Their discussion didn''t go that well and ended up stalling out. The main issue was how they wouldn''t be caught, since Asgard should have magic defenses in place. If they portaled anywhere into Asgard, then they should easily be caught. At least that was their assumption. They were also debating if they should bring the issue up to the council so they could vote on it. Theo, who was seated close by practicing his casting speed, finally spoke up after about an hour and said, ¡°Well first of all, this is a side project. So I don¡¯t think we need to involve the council for now. It will only matter if we get the info we are seeking and can get that soul sphere.¡± ¡°You think trying to break into Asgard for information and potentially resurrecting a thousand skilled warriors is a side project?¡± Agatha asked with a single raised eyebrow. Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°I am also trying to recruit a powerful woman who could be considered a god as a side project. So I don¡¯t really see your point.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I agree that the council doesn¡¯t need to be aware of what we are currently doing. If we fail then it won¡¯t matter anyways. But if we succeed, well, we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get to it.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Exactly. Now as for how we get into Asgard, I say we don¡¯t go and just cheat instead. We have the time stone after all, let''s use it.¡± ¡°I was thinking of doing that, but we really shouldn''t rely on it so heavily. It will make us weaker if we do.¡± Tao said. Agatha let out a light chuckle before she said, ¡°Says the woman who used the time stone to help guide their actions for the last eight hundred years.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Ya, you''re kinda being a hypocrite.¡± ¡°I''m speaking from experience. I might be powerful, but if I didn''t rely so heavily on the time stone. I could have improved even more and touched on Yao''s level of power by now.¡± Tao said in a regretful tone, with a slight frown as she crossed her arms over her chest. Theo¡¯s concentration broke on the spell formula he was building which caused it to shatter in front of him as he glanced at Tao and asked, ¡°Didn''t you plan on dying though?¡± ¡°That was the plan, since I couldn''t see past my own death. But things have changed and now I have some regrets about my past actions.¡± ¡°You sound a little upset, does your favorite student need to give you a hug, master?¡± Ezekiel asked as he smiled. Tao returned a flat look as she said, ¡°You lost concentration on your last spell. Start over from the beginning.¡± Theo let out a sigh as he started his practice over and said, ¡°How about we send in a couple of my clones to scout Asgard. No gear, just my clone. If they get caught they dispel and leave no trace behind.¡± Tao glanced at a couple of Theo''s clones who were currently reading books and asked, ¡°Have you learned Asgardian runes yet? You would need that to understand the basics of their language.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve already read everything you have about Asgard. I also supplemented my knowledge with history books and learned the language basics of most cultures that believed in Norse Mythology.¡± Theo smiled slightly as he said, ¡°I wanted to be ready when Thor arrived.¡± ¡°Good, then we''ll use a couple of your clones to scout their library and find out their history. If it doesn''t work out, we''ll use the time stone to figure out a different way to gain the information.¡± They talked for another hour, before Tao took Minato, Tobirama, Sakumo and Hiruzen with her back to Genosha. They also left all their gear behind and henge¡¯d into different looking people before they left. vvvvv Tao glanced at the clones as she said, ¡°This portal will appear far outside of the city of Asgard. If you aren''t caught and have some things to bring back, one of you dispel to let Theo know and I will make a return portal for you to use in the same place.¡± Each clone nodded in understanding before Tao opened a portal and the clones disappeared through it before it snapped closed. It all took place within a few seconds, hopefully Asgard didn''t have magic wards in the outskirts of its land. On the other side of the portal, Minato glanced at his companions and said, ¡°From what we know, the main library of Asgard should be in the palace. I think we should scout the city first and collect any information we can before we move into the palace.¡± The others nodded in agreement before Sakumo asked, ¡°Should we split up completely or split into teams?¡± ¡°We should move alone. We¡¯ll have a higher chance to gain information and it will give us four chances to enter the palace. We should also enter the city from different locations, I will take the North.¡± Tobirama said as he glanced at the others. Minato nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take the opposite side since I¡¯m the fastest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the southern side then.¡± Hiruzen said. ¡°That leaves me on this side then.¡± They shared a silent nod with each other, before they disappeared from their spots and moved towards the golden city in the distance. Each person going towards the side they picked and prepared to put their skills to the test against people who considered themselves gods. 00116. Spying on Asgard. Heimdall¡¯s gaze focused in, on an area near the edge of Asgard¡¯s landmass. He thought he heard voices from that area which was rarely used. But after he scanned the whole area and the surrounding land closer to the city he found no one. Nor did he find footprints or any type of disturbance in the area. Heimdall frowned slightly as he opened his eyes, he was positive he heard someone speaking¡­ Midgardian? Heimdall closed his eyes again and focused completely on Asgard and its surrounding land, he wanted to make sure no one had come unannounced to the kingdom he swore to protect. Minato, unaware someone powerful was looking for him and the others, arrived at the outer wall of the city and carefully checked around the area. After half an hour and not finding anything that looked like security. Minato quickly scaled the wall and reached the other side. He was greeted with a single building, next to an open space that looked like it was used for training. The first thing he did was head towards a small building off to the side and snuck inside it. Inside he found a large stash of training weapons and not much else. So he quickly left the area and moved towards the city itself. Minato decided to take it slowly and hid in a few areas with a lot of traffic. His goal was to eavesdrop on as many people as possible and hopefully find out some useful information. Minato took his time as he spied on the people of Asgard and he ended up disappointed. It was like spying on normal civilians. There were no real secrets to find here, just gossip. Still Minato snuck around the city as he waited for night to fall over Asgard. He planned to make a move on the palace and the library when the least amount of people would be wandering around. Since he had time to waste, Minato went around and memorized the layout of the city, since it would be useful in the future. Time passed by as Minato moved throughout the city undetected. He even shadowed a few guard patrols and found where the different guard stations were throughout the city. Useful information if Asgard ever became their enemy. Overall Minato was disappointed in what he found in the city. The security was lacking everywhere and the guards didn''t seem to be doing a proper job. Their patrols were lax and they barely looked around as they casually talked with each other. While the gate guards seemed to be more for decoration than anything else. Honestly the whole place was a joke to him. He expected more from one of the most feared kingdoms in the universe. But instead they acted like no one would dare to attack them, as if their reputation would ward off attackers. Minato shook his head at how laughable it was, Konohagakure was considered the strongest village in his world and that never stopped people from attacking it. If anything it encouraged people to attack it. Minato was also confused over why they didn''t integrate technology into their gear. He found their lack of technology after he snuck into a guard station and went through their weapon and supply racks which weren''t locked or secured in any way at all. They were just out in the open for anyone to grab. He knew Asgard was an advanced race and could travel the universe with ease, but not integrating technology into everything seemed stupid to him. Sure they had very complex and advanced magic, which was integrated into what they used as far as he could tell. But why not add technology into the mix as well? It was something Tobirama and others were currently working on to help improve the equipment they already used. Even a few of the prototype weapons that were being worked on were more powerful than the spears the guards seemed to carry around. Minato shook his head to clear it, he didn''t need to worry about Asgard and its seemingly abysmal defenses. Or its complete lack of using technology for its own benefit. He would let Theo know about it and from there it was Theo¡¯s problem to deal with. Once night finally fell over the city. The golden glow of the sun was replaced with what looked like the glow from magical lights and the heat from wood fueled fires. Minato hung out around the city for a while longer before he finally moved towards the palace. The golden palace was easily the biggest building Minato had ever seen. He might have seen some that were taller, but for overall size. This one easily took first place, plus it seemed to be made completely out of gold. While very impressive to look at, it seemed dumb if Minato was being honest. Gold might be valuable but it was one of the softest metals out there, how was it meant to protect against attacks? As Minato approached a side entrance to the palace, which he found earlier in the day, he double checked the area before he slipped past the guards on duty. Who seemed to be playing some type of card game and never even bothered to look around once as he moved past them. Inside he was greeted by massive halls lined with intricate columns and shadowy alcoves. He couldn''t ask for a better place to move undetected if he tried. During the day it might have been more well lit, but at night only the middle of the hallway received direct lighting from magical lights hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Minato slowly made his way through the hallways, checking every room he passed by. Most of them seemed to be guest rooms, which might explain the overly lax security in the area. The few non guest rooms he found were either for guards or used as storage. He checked a few of them completely, but when he found nothing important, he decided to stop and focused on making it to the library instead. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. It took him about an hour to check all the rooms in that area before he came to another guard station. This time the guards were paying attention to the surrounding area, but were also holding a conversation about what they would do after their shift ended. Which turned out to be drinking at a mead hall in town. Minato shook his head as he snuck past the guards using the shadows. He moved deeper into the palace this time and was extra careful as he checked rooms. Since he ran into a few patrolling guards in this new area within a few minutes of arriving. This wing of the palace seemed to be the living quarters for some of the court officials. Apparently there was more than just a king in this Asgard. Minato didn''t stay in the area long and moved into another area of the palace with less active guards. The new wing seemed to be what he was looking for, since it only had a few sets of double doors. The first set of doors he opened up to explore, turned out to be a massive meeting chamber. It was currently empty and dimly lit. In the middle of the room was a large table, currently cleaned up and ready for use. Minato found a couple sets of doors that led elsewhere out of the room and checked each of those carefully. Each one opened up to different areas of the palace. One of them was a kitchen area, while the other seemed to be for the royal family as it was jam packed with guard patrols. Minato cautiously headed back out to the other hallway and decided to explore the other areas later. After checking a couple other rooms, he came to what he assumed was the library. The room was filled with bookshelves and was slightly better lit than the hallways. But the large vaulted ceilings, columns and tall bookshelves gave him plenty of places to hide in the shadows. Before he started to look for information, he moved to double check the library. He wanted to see if the other clones made it and to make sure the place was empty of other people. From the top of the bookshelves, Minato slowly made his way through the library. He scanned row after row of books, taking note of where things were. While also making sure no one else was there. He easily noticed Tobirama, Hiruzen and Sakumo after a few moments as he moved near the center of the room. They were gathered near the center of the library and seemed to be watching someone. Minato moved closer and just as he reached the same area he stopped moving. Something felt off to him. He double checked his surroundings but couldn''t find anything out of the ordinary. He glanced back over at the person seated on the far side of a table from the bookshelves he was hiding on and took a closer look at them. It was a beautiful woman, with healthy lightly tanned skin. Her dirty blonde hair was tied up in an intricate bun type pattern, which ended in a braid over her left shoulder that framed her gorgeous face. While her bright blue eyes were currently focused on a book in front of her. As Minato watched the woman, she said, ¡°Come out, I know you''re there.¡± All of the clones froze in place and didn¡¯t move as the woman looked up from her book in Minato¡¯s direction. The woman stared in his direction for a few more moments before a man seemed to appear out of thin air. He was a tall, pale skinned man with raven black hair. He wore a fancy green outfit with highlights of gold. He smiled at the woman and said, ¡°It seems my skills still need work, I still can¡¯t hide from you properly mother.¡± The woman smiled brightly as she said, ¡°Your skills are exceptional Loki. But a son can never truly hide from their mother''s gaze.¡± Loki nodded slightly as he said, ¡°You did train me after all, so I guess you¡¯d always be able to find me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s also true¡­ So why did you come to find me? Do you want to study with me?¡± Loki shook his head and said, ¡°I came to get you, it¡¯s almost dinner time.¡± Frigga smiled again as she said, ¡°Such a caring child, what did I do to have such a lovely boy as you?¡± Loki didn¡¯t reply as Frigga stood up from her chair and moved towards him. When she reached him, she extended her elbow for his arm. After he slipped his arm around her elbow she said, ¡°Please, lead the way.¡± After a few minutes the only people in the room were the clones. Minato moved next to the other clones and said, ¡°That was close.¡± Tobirama nodded as he said, ¡°I honestly thought she found you for a moment.¡± The others nodded in agreement before Sakumo said, ¡°How about I watch over the door while the rest of you search. In case she comes back after dinner.¡± The others agreed and Sakumo moved to watch the door as the others moved to search through the library. Luckily no one else came back into the library for the night and they were easily able to find all the information they needed. It did take them most of the night though. While they had a decent idea on how to read the Asgardian language, it took a while. Once they completed their task, they split up again and moved out of the palace. Since they weren¡¯t exploring the place and it was still dark outside, it only took them twenty minutes to make it back to their extraction point. Once there, Sakumo dispelled himself so Theo could let Tao know they needed a pickup. They all could have dispelled to save time, but this way they would be able to copy the information down once they were back at Theo¡¯s base. After about twenty minutes a portal opened up and all of the clones moved through it before it snapped closed behind them. Once back at Theo¡¯s personal base, Minato, Tobirama and Hiruzen worked for hours to copy down all the information they found. Besides history they also collected other information like the location of planets, powerful factions in the universe and anything else that seemed slightly important. Overall it was a decent amount of intelligence they collected. Now Theo would have to work on the next step, cloning a new body for the leader of the valkyries and seeing if she would want to join his faction with her army¡­ vvvvv Heimdall spent a full day and night with his senses completely focused on Asgard and found nothing. But he still sent a report in to have guards check out the area he heard the voices at the night before. Within an hour a squad used for tracking was in the area and searched the whole place, but they also found nothing. Heimdall couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that someone was there last night, but with nothing to go on he had to let the matter drop. 00117. Something more important than a soul sphere. A few weeks passed by as Theo''s clones worked on making a clone of the Valkyrie¡¯s leader. How did they know which body was from the leader? The armor had small decorations for the person''s rank. They used the information they gathered from Asgard to cross check with and figured out what rank was what. Once they found the leader, Tobirama and Orochimaru started working on making a clone. That is where they were now, with a body almost fully formed. Now Theo needed to figure out a way to get their souls from Hela¡­ He could only really offer her two things, her freedom and what might happen to her in the future. But he already offered that if she let him in her mind¡­ Maybe he could offer her the chance at freedom¡­ Theo shook his head to clear it, he would have to discuss the idea with Tao and Agatha. Maybe they could think of something else that would be worth trading for. But that could wait for now, Theo needed to focus on his current task. Theo double checked the little booklet in front of himself. It was one of his birthday presents he was finally going to use. It was a booklet that detailed how to make a go-kart from scratch. His mom wasn''t a big fan of the idea, but Jacob was able to talk her into letting Theo make one. Well, it would be Theo and Peter making go-karts. Luckily Milly ended up not being interested in the idea of making her own go-kart, which might have been why Daniel agreed to the idea in the first place. Theo looked over what was required to make a go-kart one more time before he placed the booklet down and glanced over to Peter as he asked, ¡°Are you ready to go find stuff?¡± ¡°Yup. Uncle Ben even said he would help and pay for anything we''re able to pull out from the scrap yard.¡± Theo smiled as he said, ¡°Awesome. Let''s bring some tools so we can break things down easily.¡± Peter nodded his head and they walked over to the community tool box. While everyone who worked in the shop had their own tools. There was also the community toolbox anyone could use. It was mostly filled with extra tools that were collected over the years. You could find pretty much anything you would need inside it. The only issue was the tools weren''t in the best shape and they weren''t arranged in any type of order. So you would have to dig around for a while to find what you were looking for. Theo and Peter spent half an hour collecting tools they thought they would need. Some hammers, a hacksaw, crescent wrenches, a couple screwdrivers along with a few other things. They loaded all of the tools into a wagon and pulled it over to Ben who was talking with Jacob. Both men smiled at the boys as Jacob asked, ¡°You ready to check out the scrap yard?¡± ¡°Ya. Hopefully we can find everything to make two carts.¡± Jacob rubbed the top of Theo¡¯s head as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if Aleksei¡¯s scrap yard doesn¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need it.¡± Ben finished with a laugh. Ben picked up the tools in the little red wagon the boys used and placed it in an extra large custom made wagon. It was something he made with Jacob. It was designed to be pushed and pulled around the shop. But if the load was too heavy to move, it had a small lawn mower engine that could help move it around. They mostly used it to transport stuff to and from the scrap yard. While they normally liked to fabricate or use new parts in their projects. A lot of older cars could only be fixed with used parts. They would make sure to get the best condition parts possible, but they were still used. Ben double checked everything in the wagon before he took the handle and said, ¡°Alright, let''s go. We¡¯ll take care of the heavy lifting for you boys.¡± Theo looked up at his dad as he asked, ¡°You''re coming too?¡± ¡°Yup. I need to talk with Aleksei and don''t wanna miss your first trip to the scrapyard.¡± Ben and Jacob led the boys out of the warehouse and down the road a couple of blocks to a large open gate. A large dump truck drove through the gate as they approached and Theo couldn¡¯t help but notice it looked filled to the brim with junk. Metal pipes, wire, a fridge door, tires, and wood were the handful of things he saw sticking out of the bin before it drove out of sight. Ben paused at the gate for a few moments making sure another vehicle wasn¡¯t coming, before he pulled the wagon into the scrap yard. As Theo walked past the gate he was impressed by what he saw. From what he could see the scrapyard seemed to be organized. At least the large piles of tires, metal, wood and other stuff made it seem like it was. They moved away from the main area where dump trucks were dumping their loads and went towards a trailer off to the right side of the gate. On top of the trailer was a sign that read. ¡®Aleksei Scrapyard. If we don¡¯t have it, you don¡¯t need it.¡¯ As they walked up to the trailer, the larger than average door swung open and a giant of a man stepped outside as he asked in a heavy Russian accent, ¡°My friends! What brings you to my humble scrap yard today?¡± Jacob placed his hand on Theo and Peter¡¯s shoulder as he walked the boys forward and said, ¡°The boys are going to make go-karts and need some parts to do it. I figured this would be the best place to find what they need.¡± The man smiled widely as he walked in front of Jacob as he said, ¡°Of course! If they can¡¯t find it here.¡± ¡°Then they don¡¯t need it.¡± Ben and Jacob finished with a laugh. Aleksei nodded before he knelt down next to the boys and said, ¡°You must be Peter and Theo. Tis¡¯ nice to finally meet you both.¡± before he stretched out his large hand and engulfed the boy''s hands as he shook each one. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Aleksei smiled at the boys as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard so much about you, I almost feel like you¡¯re my nephews. You call me uncle Aleksei from now on, dah?¡± Peter said, ¡°Yes, uncle Aleksei.¡± As Theo nodded and asked, ¡°Does that mean we get a family discount uncle Aleksei?¡± Aleksei¡¯s laugh was loud and came from deep in his chest before he said, ¡°Just as quick witted as your father said.¡± Aleksei patted Theo¡¯s head as he stood back up and said, ¡°Of course I¡¯ll give you a discount, little Theo. You get same discount as your father.¡± ¡°Thanks, uncle Aleksei. You''re the best.¡± Aleksei laughed again before he said, ¡°Come into my office, I¡¯ll get you set up to explore the scrap yard.¡± Within ten minutes they were back outside the office with bright yellow vests and hardhats. Well Theo and Peter¡¯s hats were oversized for them, but they made it work with some extra padding. The vests were also oversized for the boys and just looked comical on them, as they almost touched the ground. Theo was pretty sure his dad picked the largest vests there, so he could take pictures of them like that. From there they moved into the scrap yard and started to look for parts to build their go-karts. The first stop was the mountain of tires, since it was the closest to the gate and Aleksei¡¯s trailer. It was luckily sorted into different groups of tires and they quickly found some used wheelbarrow tires. They weren¡¯t the best thing they could use, but the size was decent enough and they were in good shape. From there they moved towards an area of scrap metal. It was mostly filled with pipes, tubes and plates of metal. They were even separated into different types of metal. The most common type being plain steel. Stainless steel was the second largest pile, followed by aluminum and copper. As they moved into the area, Jacob looked around as he asked, ¡°Do you know what you want to build the karts body out of?¡± ¡°The booklet said steel tubing or pipe is best for strength, while aluminum is better for weight. But it also said something about the thickness of the metal needing to be a certain size or the kart could easily bend or break.¡± Jacob smiled as he patted Theo¡¯s head and said, ¡°The wall thickness of the metal. The thicker it is, the stronger the metal can be.¡± Peter looked at all the metal pipe and tubing before he pointed out a solid piece of steel and said, ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we use that stuff, it¡¯s completely solid. That should be good, right?¡± Ben shook his head as he said, ¡°You would think that, but let me show you something cool.¡± Ben walked over and after a few minutes pulled out two pieces of metal. Both were about the same size and thickness, except one was a solid rod and the other was a tube. He brought them over to the group and placed them down before he said, ¡°Try to pick each of those up, one at a time.¡± Both Peter and Theo were barely able to lift up the rod, but easily picked up the tube. Once they finished Peter excitedly said, ¡°The solid one is bad cause it weighs too much!¡± Ben smiled as he picked up the rod and said, ¡°That¡¯s one reason. But there is another more important reason we don¡¯t want to use the rod for the karts.¡± Ben wedged the rod deep into a pipe covered by a bunch of other stuff and began to lift up on it. It took a few seconds but the rod started to bend. After the rod had a decent bend, Ben pulled it out and showed it to Peter as he asked, ¡°You see how easy that was?¡± Peter nodded as Ben took the tube and tried to repeat the process with it. After about a minute, Ben said, ¡°Jacob, help me out with this real quick.¡± Jacob moved close and tried to help Ben to bend the tube but nothing happened. Once they finished, Ben pulled the tube out and showed it to Peter. There was a tiny bend in the tube, but not much else. Peter glanced between the tube and the rod a few times before he asked, ¡°The tube is stronger?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Peter looked at the tube again as he said, ¡°But it¡¯s hollow. Shouldn¡¯t it be weaker?¡± Ben tossed the tube and rod back into the scrap pile before he said, ¡°You know what else is hollow and really strong?¡± Peter shook his head before Ben said, ¡°Your bones.¡± Peter lifted his arm and looked at it as he asked, ¡°My bones are hollow?¡± Ben smiled as he said, ¡°Yup, everyone''s bones are hollow. It makes them stronger and lighter at the same time.¡± Peter looked at his arm and then some of the tubes before he asked, ¡°So we need to make the go-kart¡¯s out of tubes, so it¡¯s as strong as our bones? What about the square tubing? Will that be strong also?¡± Ben shook his head as he said, ¡°Yes and no. It¡¯ll be lighter and stronger than the solid rods of steel. But not stronger than a piece of pipe or tubing of the same size, depending on how you use it.¡± Peter looked up at Ben as he asked, ¡°Why? What makes it different?¡± Jacob rubbed the top of Peter¡¯s head as he said, ¡°You would have to ask your dad that, since he is smarter than both me and Ben.¡± ¡°He better be smarter than both of us, he''s the one who went to college after all.¡± Ben said. Jacob nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°Yup. Now, how about we find some decent tubing we can use to make your go-kart frames.¡± They spent the next hour digging through the piles of metal looking for tubing that was relatively the same size and thickness. Once they had what they thought was enough they moved to another area to look for more parts. They found some passable seats to use from a couple busted up riding mowers. They also scavenged the pedals and steering wheels from them. Next they found some metal cable that could be used for the throttle cable to the engines. Along with some sprockets and chains to use for the karts drive chain. Besides some other basic odds and ends the last piece they looked for were the engines. There was an area of the scrapyard that had tons of different engines. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, lawnmowers. Anything that used an engine could be found in this area. Mostly it was just the engine portion of the device or vehicle. But there were still a couple vehicles mostly intact, waiting for the engine to be removed. As they were looking around, Jacob spotted some junked pressure washers and moved over to check them out. While Ben spotted some broken generators. Theo and Peter were also looking around at stuff, but mostly stuck close to Ben and Jacob. Jacob wrestled one of the pressure washers out and looked it over before he said, ¡°This should work for one of the engines. It¡¯s nine horsepower and has a three quarters inch shaft. It also seems to be in good shape.¡± Ben came over to check it out and nodded once he finished looking it over. He glanced at the other pressure washer as he asked, ¡°That one looks to be the same, we should grab that for spare parts. Worst case we can make one working engine out of both of them.¡± Jacob nodded and they hauled the two pressure washers to the cart and tossed them inside it. Then they went back to looking for another engine. It didn¡¯t take long before they found a couple more engines with the same specs. After they were loaded into the kart, they made their way back to Aleksei¡¯s office. Once they paid, they headed back to the shop to start the process of mocking up the go-karts. The plan was to lay everything out and double check if they were missing anything. Then they would help the boys start with the engine teardowns. Once the engines were rebuilt and working, they would move on to building the karts frame from there. As Theo was helping his dad unbolt the engine from the pressure washers frame, any background thoughts he had lingering in his mind faded away. He became lost in the moment and just soaked up everything his father was explaining to him. It was moments like these that made Theo happy he came to this world. Not to be a hero, but because of the loving family he had. 00118. Making a friend? Maybe? A portal opened up in Tony''s workshop and Ezekiel walked out of it. In his hands he carried a couple of bags, which he placed on a table. He looked around the room and not finding Tony, picked up the bags and headed upstairs. As he moved upstairs he could hear Tony arguing with someone. ¡°I already told you, the project doesn''t interest me.¡± Someone let out an exhausted sigh before they said, ¡°It might not interest you, but the company is under contract. You know the same company you own, the one with your last name on it.¡± ¡°It''s just a single development contract, we''ve failed to deliver on them before. I doubt another failure will be an issue.¡± Ezekiel made it to the top of the stairs and saw a tall bald headed white man in a suit as he said, ¡°We at least delivered failures or half working prototypes. We currently have nothing to deliver for this contract.¡± Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose as he said, ¡°We have a whole team of overpaid researchers on payroll. Have them make something.¡± ¡°What do you think I''ve been doing for the last nine months? While you¡¯ve been working on some secret project, which you still won''t even tell me about!¡± The man said as he sat down on the couch with a huff. ¡°I already told you, I signed an NDA till the project is ready for stage one. Once we are finished with this round of tests, I should be able to talk about some of the project with you.¡± Ezekiel walked out of the stairwell and towards the living room as he said, ¡°That''ll be in three months or so, if the simulated load tests finish running with positive results.¡± The man turned around as Tony said, ¡°Just in time like always, I was getting hungry. Obie, this is Ezekiel. Ezekiel, this is Obie.¡± Obadiah seemed a little on guard as he stood up from the couch and said, ¡°Forgive me, I didn''t realize Tony was expecting any guests. I¡¯m Obadiah Stane. Obadiah reached out a hand to Ezekiel after he set the bags down on the table. As they shook hands Ezekiel said, ¡°You''re fine, Tony wasn''t expecting me. I just show up whenever I''m in the area. People call me Ezekiel, I¡¯m a professional delivery boy.¡± After they shook hands Stane said, ¡°You have to be more than a delivery boy. I saw your performance on TV with Tony.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he moved towards Tony and handed him a USB before he said, ¡°You''re right, but ninety percent of my interactions with Tony are strictly delivery based.¡± Ezekiel turned to Tony as he said, ¡°That''s all the current data we''ve collected. Check it over and see if there''s any issues.¡± Tony slid the USB into his pocket as he said, ¡°I''ll check it over later. What''d you bring for dinner?¡± Ezekiel pointed to the bags and said, ¡°Just some burgers and fries. I also brought a keto-friendly lettuce wrapped burger for Happy.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Obadiah as he said, ¡°I always bring extra, so if you''re hungry, feel free to dig in.¡± Obadiah glanced at Tony pulling out food as he said, ¡°Thank you, but I ate before I arrived.¡± Tony unwrapped a burger as he said, ¡°More for me and Ezekiel then.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Unfortunately I can''t hang out today. I mostly came by to bring you that data.¡± ¡°What? Why not? What''s so important you can''t hang out for a while?¡± Tony asked. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I have some negotiations to hold with a secretly exiled princess for an item in her possession.¡± Tony perked up as he asked, ¡°Secretly exiled princess, uh? Is she hot? And if she is, mind if I tag along?¡± Obadiah rubbed his temple as he said, ¡°Tony please don¡¯t give us any more bad press.¡± Ezekiel just smirked before he said, ¡°As far as looks go, she¡¯s good enough to be a model and while normally I might say no to inviting you along¡­ She¡¯s basically a homicidal maniac with daddy issues, so you guys might actually get along and hit it off.¡± Tony started to laugh and even Obadiah joined him, thinking it was a joke. When Ezekiel didn¡¯t join them Tony stopped laughing and asked, ¡°Wait, you¡¯re being serious?¡± ¡°I met her about a month ago and she was surrounded by dead bodies at the time, so... Yeah.¡± Tony put down his burger as he asked, ¡°Dude, what the fuck is wrong with her and why isn¡¯t she in jail? Also what does the crazy bitch have that you need to trade for anyways? Can¡¯t you just take it from her?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I already told you, she¡¯s a homicidal maniac with daddy issues and she¡¯s currently imprisoned. It''s part of the reason she is living in exile, they couldn¡¯t lock her up in her native lands.¡± Ezekiel then glanced from Obadiah to Tony as he said, ¡°As for the item in question¡­ Let''s just say it¡¯s worth a small army. Plus I would rather make friends with her, than have a new potential enemy.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°I¡¯m good, I¡¯ll just stay home and check over the data you gave me.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he started to walk out of the living room and said, ¡°Suit yourself, I¡¯ll be back in a week or so.¡± Ezekiel nodded to Obadiah as he said, ¡°It was nice to meet you Mr. Stane. Till next time.¡± ¡°Same to you.¡± Obadiah said. After Ezekiel left, Obadiah glanced at Tony as he asked, ¡°He¡¯s the reason you''re working on that secret project?¡± Tony nodded as Obadiah asked, ¡°Who exactly is that and how did you meet him?¡± Tony shrugged as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not really allowed to talk about it. But you''re free to look into him if you want. I did and all it gave me was more questions.¡± Obadiah raised an eye as he looked at Tony and asked, ¡°What''s really going on Tony? First you say you can¡¯t talk about some secret project. Now you can¡¯t tell me about the person you are working with. Normally you can¡¯t wait to brag about stuff like this and I know it¡¯s not because of the NDA you signed, so what''s the issue?¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°I really can¡¯t talk about it.¡± Then he mumbled to himself, ¡°He¡¯ll ban me from Vibe if I say anything.¡± Before he took another bite of his burger. A moment later Happy ran into the room with his gun out before he saw Obadiah and Tony. Then he saw the bags of food on the table and said, ¡°He did it again!¡± vvvvv A portal opened in Hel close to Hela as she was watching a world war two movie. As Ezekiel stepped out of the portal Hela said, ¡°Pause.¡± The portal closed as the movie paused and Hela turned to look at her new guest. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you putting that to use.¡± Hela nodded as she said, ¡°I admit, it¡¯s made staying here a little less boring.¡± ¡°Glad I could help.¡± Hela nodded again and said, ¡°If you¡¯ve come for an answer, I still haven¡¯t made up my mind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I actually wanted to see if I could trade your possible future for that soul sphere.¡± Hela shook her head as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that''s a very fair trade.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I would be trading at a loss.¡± Hela raised an eyebrow as she asked, ¡°What makes you think that? You said it yourself, you can¡¯t guarantee that what you share with me will happen or not.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very true, but I can share more than one future with you¡­ How about I show you the ten most likely to happen. Then you can plan against them.¡± Hela¡¯s eye¡¯s narrowed slightly as she said, ¡°You want me to believe you¡¯ve seen my future enough, that you know the ten most likely ways I¡¯ll die?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I have no reason to lie to you.¡± ¡°You also have no reason to tell the truth.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You¡¯re wrong about that. I am trying to befriend you, lying would be counterintuitive to that process.¡± Hela¡¯s eye¡¯s were almost slit¡¯s as she asked, ¡°And why are you trying to befriend me?¡± ¡°Do I really need a reason to make a new friend?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Of course. Everyone makes friends with people who are useful. If they''re not useful, why would you need to be friends?¡± Hela asked. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°Fine, it¡¯s because you''re strong and you won¡¯t always be locked away? Happy?¡± Hela shook her head as she said, ¡°That¡¯s a good reason, but it¡¯s not yours. Now tell me why you want to be friends.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t like it¡­¡± Ezekiel said. Hela frowned as she asked, ¡°Because you¡¯re just like everyone else? You have a use for me and once that¡¯s been filled, you¡¯ll pretend I no longer exist?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No¡­ The opposite actually. I¡¯ve seen many different versions of your life and they were all about the same. But the one thing I noticed through every single one was you never had a true friend. Someone who wanted to be friends, just to be friends. You kinda make that hard for people to do in the first place, so I can see why it hasn¡¯t happened before though.¡± Ezekiel pointed to himself as he said, ¡°But I am willing to put in the work if you are. Not because you''re powerful, or who your family might be or anything else for that matter. I would like to be your friend, just to be your friend.¡± Hela¡¯s eye¡¯s were still narrowed as she asked, ¡°What about the deals you are trying to make with me?¡± ¡°Those are straight forward trades, where both parties gain something they want. Nothing more or less and if they don¡¯t go though, I won¡¯t hold it against you.¡± Hela laughed before the chains started to shake and her arm moved out of them holding the soul sphere. She locked eyes with Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Take it.¡± ¡°But we¡­¡± ¡°I said take it!¡± Hela¡¯s arm shook as she held it out of the chains. Ezekiel moved close, reached out and took the soul sphere in his hand. It was warm to the touch and vibrated slightly once it was fully in his hand. Hela¡¯s hand disappeared back into the chains as Ezekiel looked her in the face and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I felt like it, now leave. I wanna be left alone.¡± Hela said. Ezekiel glanced at the soul sphere for a few moments before he smiled and said, ¡°Thanks!¡± Ezekiel pulled a flash drive out of his pocket and moved next to the device he left last time and plugged it into the device as he said, ¡°If you wanna see what might happen to you, just tell the device you wanna see the future.¡± As Hela glanced at the device, Ezekiel rubbed his bracelet and pushed some power into it. A second later a portal opened up and he stepped through it before it snapped closed behind him. Hela let out a sigh before she said, ¡°Resume play.¡± vvvvv A few hours later, Tao, Agatha, Ezekiel and a few of his clones were in the medical base with the cloned body of the valkyries leader. Tao was holding a device that held the soul sphere and was focusing on the soul sphere itself. After a while a wisp of light came out of the soul sphere and was pushed into the body. After a few moments, the valkyrie leader shot up on the bed holding her chest as she sucked in a ragged breath. Within moments she rolled off the bed and took up a defensive stance as she glanced at everyone in the room. Ezekiel raised both his arms up and said, ¡°Lady Sanhildr, we mean you no harm.¡± Sanhildr narrowed her eyes as she asked, ¡°Who are you? Why am I here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel and you''re here because you died.¡± 00119. Sometimes your word isnt enough. Sanhildr glanced at the people in the room with her while looking for a suitable weapon. When she didn¡¯t find anything and the other people didn''t move she said, ¡°I know I died, I felt Hela''s blade pierce my heart. But I should be in Valhalla with my sisters¡­¡± Her eyes narrowed as she asked in a lower tone of voice, ¡°Instead I seem to be still alive? Where am I and why have you brought me here?¡± Ezekiel with his hands still raised said, ¡°We mean you no harm, you are currently on Midgard. As for why you are here, we brought you back to life.¡± Sanhildr glanced at everyone once more, her eyes lingering on Tao and Agatha before she asked, ¡°For what purpose did you do this Midgardian?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°To help you and your sister''s mostly. But I''ll be honest that the idea of having some powerful warriors owe you a favor or two doesn''t hurt.¡± Sanhildr focused her gaze on Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°What makes you think we need your help in the first place?¡± Ezekiel lowered his hands before he pointed at the soul sphere Tao currently possessed and said, ¡°Well considering all your sister''s souls besides Brunnhilde''s are locked in that thing to start.¡± Sanhildr''s eyes widened slightly at Brunnhilde''s name before it sharpened in on the soul sphere as she asked, ¡°Is that why I am not in Valhalla? Was I trapped in that thing, along with my sisters?¡± There was a slight pause before her voice took an edge and she asked, ¡°Was it Hela¡¯s doing?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°While Hela might have saved your souls in that sphere, it''s actually Odin''s fault.¡± ¡°Watch how you speak of my liege, mortal.¡± ¡°Wow, you still consider him your liege. You know you died for him once already, your duty should be considered over by now.¡± Sanhildr stood up straight, but kept up her guard as she said, ¡°My duty to the king and the people of Asgard is my life''s work. Now that I am alive again, I can go back and protect them.¡± Ezekiel let out a tired sigh before he said, ¡°So you would go back into service for a King who pretty much erased your existence. To a place that has no idea why you and the other Valkyrie¡¯s died. A place that doesn''t even sing of your glorious last battle?¡± Ezekiel stared directly into Sanhildr''s eyes as he said, ¡°To serve a man, who knew sending you into Hel would trap your souls there when you died? No glorious death in battle with a trip to Valhalla afterwards. Just an eternity of wandering around Hel, until something finally found and consumed your soul.¡± Sanhildr''s body shook slightly as she stared back at Ezekiel. Her lips were pressed tight before she said, ¡°You''re lying.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he asked, ¡°Maybe, maybe not¡­ Are you brave enough to find out the truth?¡± ¡°Do not question my bravery, mortal. Send me to Asgard and I will find the answers I seek there.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°I would love to, but you showing up in Asgard would bring attention to me and my friends here. Attention that we currently don''t need.¡± Sanhildr crossed her arms over her chest as she asked, ¡°Then how do you expect me to find out the truth? Take your word, that what you speak is the truth?¡± Ezekiel weakly smiled as he said, ¡°That would be nice¡­ But I know that''s not likely to happen.¡± Ezekiel then smiled normally as he said, ¡°What I can do is show you proof. If you will relax for a moment, I will share with you what we found.¡± Sanhildr didn''t have any chance to speak before her eyes lost focus and she started to collapse. Ezekiel easily caught her and placed her back on the bed she awoke from. He glanced at everyone else as he said, ¡°You can go, I''ll wait for her to wake up.¡± Tao glanced at Sanhildr and asked, ¡°Do you think that will be enough to convince her?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°No, but it¡¯ll be a good starting point. Next we¡¯ll have to go find Brunnhilde. She knows what happened in Asgard and it¡¯s one of the reasons why she left the place.¡± ¡°And where exactly is this Brunnhilde at?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°The trash planet Sakaar.¡± Tao raised an eyebrow as she asked, ¡°Why do you sound excited to go explore a trash planet?¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Because we can collect a bunch of alien tech while we¡¯re there. Maybe even a couple working ships.¡± Tao let out a little sigh before she said, ¡°Should we really be trying to steal stuff, if we¡¯re going there to find someone?¡± ¡°I never said steal, it¡¯s collecting.¡± Ezekiel waved off her concern as he said, ¡°Plus it¡¯ll be fine, everything on that planet comes from random wormholes. It''s pretty much the galaxy''s junk drawer. I¡¯ll have some of my stronger clones collect stuff as they search for Brunnhilde.¡± ¡°And how exactly will they be able to ¡®collect¡¯ a ship? I¡¯ve seen your storage scrolls, they don¡¯t have enough room for something like a ship.¡± Agatha asked. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I''m gonna ask Hank if I can borrow a couple of his shrink discs in exchange for some of the alien tech we find.¡± Agatha nodded in understanding as she said, ¡°I see¡­ But won''t the shrunken object''s mass overload the seal''s capacity?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Already tested it with my tablet and a few other things. The object''s new size is the only thing that matters in the storage process. Plus the mass of the object changes when shrunken down.¡± ¡°But that doesn''t make any sense, where does the weight of the object go? Its overall mass shouldn''t change like that. If anything, it should still have the same mass, but it would be more condensed is all.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°It''s bullshit science that works like magic as far as I know. I even had my clones do tests with different shrunken objects and none of the testing results made any sense.¡± Both Tao and Agatha gave Ezekiel a look before he said, ¡°What!? It literally works like magic. I asked Hank to explain the scientific principles behind it once and even he didn''t sound completely confident in his answers. So as far as I''m concerned, Pym particles are basically bullshit magic.¡± Ezekiel crossed his arms over his chest as he finished talking. Tao and Agatha shared a glance before Tao said, ¡°For someone who practices magic¡­ You sure are foolish sometimes.¡± Ezekiel waved them off as he said, ¡°Then you go talk to Hank, figure out how it works then come back here and explain it to me. While you''re at it, ask him if we can have some of those shrinking disc''s too.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be back in a while.¡± After Tao and Agatha left the room, Ezekiel told his clones to let the others know about the upcoming mission to Sakaar. Once he was alone, Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and settled down in a chair to work on a coding project. After about an hour Sanhildr started to stir, so Ezekiel put his tablet away and waited. Once Sanhildr sat up in the bed, Ezekiel asked, ¡°Have any questions?¡± Sanhildr watched Ezekiel for about half a minute as she collected her thoughts before she asked, ¡°What exactly was that?¡± ¡°A power of mine, I can use that for a number of different things. This time I used it to share the memories of some friends of mine who recently snuck into Asgard.¡± Sanhildr frowned slightly as she asked, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just show me whatever you wanted? Even if it wasn¡¯t true?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°You¡¯re correct, I could easily do something like that. But that would defeat my purpose of trying to befriend you.¡± ¡°Then we are back where we started then.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Sanhildr''s eyes narrowed a tiny bit as she asked, ¡°What makes you think that?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°The fact you didn¡¯t jump out of bed and take a defensive stance this time.¡± Sanhildr laughed lightly for a moment before she said, ¡°That¡¯s because you''re the only person here this time.¡± ¡°So you kinda trust me now?¡± Sanhildr shook her head as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t feel threatened by you or the others. Those two women who were here earlier are a different story.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Ya I guess you have a point. But I take that as a complement, since part of my training is to seem non threatening.¡± Sanhildr watched Ezekiel for a few moments before someone knocked at the door. Ezekiel and Sanhildr glanced at the door before Ezekiel said, ¡°It¡¯s open.¡± The door opened up and in walked Tao, Agatha and Darren Cross. Sanhildr tensed slightly in bed, but otherwise didn¡¯t move from the bed. Ezekiel glanced at Tao and Agatha before his eyes settled on Darren and he asked, ¡°Good to see you Darren, what brought you by?¡± ¡°Hank told me to join you and pick up a bunch of good tech.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tao who shrugged as she said, ¡°It was the only way he would let us have some of the shrinking discs.¡± ¡°Oh, makes sense I guess. You do know this will be dangerous right?¡± Ezekiel asked as he glanced back at Darren. Darren nodded and touched his belt buckle. Within moments a yellow and black suit covered his whole body. He reached up to his neck and touched a switch there, which collapsed his helmet down and he said, ¡°I¡¯m still getting used to the suit, but I should be able to stay safe using this.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Good, you¡¯ll be assigned to the procurement group.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Sanhildr as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would believe me, so we are going with the backup plan now. Do you wanna join us for it?¡± Sanhildr glanced at everyone before she asked, ¡°Are you taking me to Asgard?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°We are going to find Brunnhilde, so she can tell you about Asgard.¡± Sanhildr stood up as she asked, ¡°Brunnhilde? She isn¡¯t in Asgard?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, she left Asgard a little after your death. She now works as a scrapper on Sakaar and I¡¯m pretty sure she is a complete alcoholic now.¡± Sanhildr glanced at the others before she said, ¡°I would like to join you to find Brunnhilde.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Great. If you check the bathroom over there, there is a change of clothes for you. We¡¯ll leave once you''re ready.¡± 00120. Searching for Scrapper 142 A silver lined portal opened up in the massive junkyard of Sakaar and out stepped a handful of people. Once through, the portal snapped closed behind them and the group took a quick glance at their surroundings. Ezekiel grimaced slightly as he said, ¡°This place smells like a dumpster fire.¡± Only two people nodded in agreement, Sanhildr and Darren. The latter of the two quickly used his helmet to help block the smell. Ezekiel glanced at the other people in the group and said, ¡°Let''s get to work. Spread out and collect anything that looks useful as we head towards the city.¡± Everyone nodded before they vanished from view. Sanhildr tensed slightly at how quickly they disappeared and the fact she couldn''t hear them move at all. Darren glanced around for a moment before he asked, ¡°Will I be able to disappear like that one day?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Ya, once you get proper training¡­.¡± ¡°Holy shit!¡± Ezekiel and Sanhildr turned to look at what gained Darren''s attention. Behind them hovering in the sky was a huge mass of gray swirling clouds that covered half of the sky. In the eye of the clouds vortex was a jet of red color shooting out objects onto the planet''s surface. Darren pointed at it in wonder as he said, ¡°That looks like a collapsing neutron star inside of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge!¡± ¡°You mean a wormhole?¡± asked Sanhildr. Darren chuckled before he said, ¡°Ya¡­¡± ¡°The local¡¯s call that one The Devil¡¯s Anus.¡± Darren and Sanhildr both turned to look at Ezekiel, who shrugged as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I didn''t name it.¡± Ezekiel glanced around for a moment before he said, ¡°Let¡¯s move out, we''re here for a reason.¡± As they started to move Ezekiel glanced at Darren and said, ¡°Keep your eye out for anything interesting. If you find something, let me know and I''ll collect it for you.¡± Darren nodded in reply before he said, ¡°That thing over there looks like some kinda engine, let''s grab it.¡± A few hundred feet ahead of them was a large thruster like thing attached to a broken wing. As they moved closer to it, Ezekiel and Darren picked up a bunch of smaller objects which Ezekiel sealed into a scroll. Once they reached the engine, Darren shrunk it down with a shrinking disc before Ezekiel sealed it away. For about an hour, Darren, Ezekiel and his clones collected tons of items as they moved towards the city. Once they got closer to the city, Ezekiel, Darren and Sanhildr wrapped themselves up in some trash looking clothing to blend in. While all of the clones used their skills to remain hidden around their group. After another ten minutes, they made it to the outskirts of the city. It was nothing pretty to look at, mostly half collapsed shacks made of junk. The people living in the area were malnourished and kept to themselves. Only a few of them cast a fearful glance at the group of three walking past them. Ezekiel didn¡¯t like what he was seeing, but they currently couldn¡¯t do much to help. Maybe after they set things straight on Earth and cleaned it up. Then he could come here and help everyone out¡­ It had nothing to do with the fact the wormholes above the planet littered the planet with free resources. Nope, not at all. He just wanted to help the people here out of the kindness of his heart¡­ After making it through what could only be considered the slums they came to, slightly better slums. The houses were still made of junk and pretty much pieced together. But none of the houses were collapsed and the people looked a little healthier in this area. As they were walking down one of the larger empty streets Ezekiel whispered, ¡°Monkey scout ahead and find me a terminal I can hack into. Whitefang scout near the city center and report back with what you find.¡± Darren glanced over to Ezekiel for a moment as if expecting something to happen, before Ezekiel said, ¡°They already left.¡± Darren nodded slightly in response as they kept heading deeper into the city. After ten minutes or so, someone spoke next to Ezekiel and said, ¡°I found a terminal that should work, it¡¯s half a mile ahead inside of a building.¡± ¡°Good, show us the way.¡± A man in all black tactical gear with a white and red monkey mask appeared in front of Ezekiel and said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Both Darren and Sanhildr jumped back when the man appeared, but Darren was more from fright, while Sanhildr was from her reflexes. Ezekiel cast a smirk at both of them as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one will hurt you with me around.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection midgardian.¡± Sanhildr said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Darren just nodded as he said, ¡°Thanks. Hank¡¯s only given me a crash course with the suit. I¡¯m not sure if I could properly protect myself with it.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Sorry about that, lead the way Monkey.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The group made faster time as they followed behind Monkey, who quickly led them to the building he was talking about and the terminal he found. Once there Monkey disappeared from view and Ezekiel started looking at the terminal for a few moments, before he pulled out a scroll and removed a set of tools from it. As Ezekiel used a pry bar to rip off one of the terminal¡¯s panels he said, ¡°Make sure no one interrupts me. This will take me a little while.¡± Sanhildr nodded along with Darren who moved to stand somewhat in front of Ezekiel as he started to pull wires out from under the terminal. He took out his tools and started to test different wires looking for which ones were for data. After five minutes he was able to find three different data wires, so he stripped them and plugged them into one of his docks. After connecting his tablet into the dock, a couple people walked into the room they were in. The one in the front said something in a language no one could understand before him and his companion dropped to the ground with a thud. Monkey stood behind their bodies and nodded before he disappeared again. As Ezekiel was typing on his tablet he said, ¡°Darren, move their bodies out of the way in case more people show up.¡± Darren hesitated as he asked, ¡°Did Monkey kill them?¡± Ezekiel glanced up as he said, ¡°Why would he kill them? They weren¡¯t really a threat.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Okay.¡± Darren said as he moved closer to the two people on the ground. It took him about a minute to move both bodies out of the way and kinda hide them out of sight from the doorway. Afterwards he moved back in front of Ezekiel. After another five minutes Whitefang appeared next to Ezekiel and said, ¡°I found a few terminals near the city center. I also scouted out part of the palace and coliseum. Inside the palace is the main ship hanger, we should be able to collect some space ships from there.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Good, let''s head that way then. This terminal is only for this building and doesn¡¯t hold much information.¡± Ezekiel quickly disconnected his hub and tablet before placing it in his storage scroll. After collecting his tools Ezekiel said, ¡°Lead the way, Whitefang.¡± The group left the building and made quick time through the city towards the palace area. They passed a few different areas on the way and everything shared one thing in common. It was all pieced together from many different parts. Even when they arrived near the palace and coliseum. The two buildings definitely looked better than everything else, but they were still pieced together from scrap. Whitefang led the group to one of the side entrances of the palace where a couple guards stood watch. As the group approached one of the guards glanced over before he said, ¡°That''s far enough. State your business here.¡± It didn''t sound exactly like English, but it was close enough. The guards most likely had some kind of translation device with them or at least that''s what Ezekiel thought. Ezekiel smiled at the guards as he said with a sound based genjutsu, ¡°Don¡¯t mind us, we''re just passing through.¡± ¡°What are¡­¡± Both guard¡¯s eyes unfocused before the lead one stepped out of the way and said, ¡°Sorry sir, your group is free to enter.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Thanks and keep up the good work.¡± The guard smiled as he said, ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± Ezekiel and his group moved past the guards and within a few moments were out of sight of them. After a few minutes both guards came out of the genjutsu and looked around for a moment, slightly confused. When they saw no one around them, they moved back to their post. By that point Ezekiel was already in a room and working on connecting to a new terminal. As the rest of his group watched the door to the room, in case someone came in. As Ezekiel worked Sanhildr asked, ¡°Are you sure Brunnhilde is living in a place like this?¡± ¡°Pretty sure. I mean there''s a small chance that she isn''t here. But I''m ninety nine percent sure she''s currently living on Sakaar.¡± ¡°Why would she choose to live in a place like this?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Well the main reason is you can¡¯t really leave this place. As for how she got here, I have no idea.¡± About ten minutes passed as Ezekiel worked on his tablet before he said, ¡°Found her. She lives in a building close by on floor twenty, room two-zero-three-seven.¡± Sanhildr looked at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°You''re positive it''s her?¡± Ezekiel lifted up his tablet to show a picture on Brunnhilde¡¯s ID in the computer system. It displayed her picture, the ship she used and her name as Scrapper 142. As he showed it to Sanhildr he asked, ¡°You tell me, does this look like her?¡± Sanhildr¡¯s eyes were locked on the picture as she nodded. Ezekiel smiled as he started to disconnect his tablet and connection hub as he said, ¡°Good, let''s go meet her. The system said she was currently located in her room.¡± As Ezekiel stored his equipment away in a scroll he said, ¡°Darren, I want you to go to the hangar with Whitefang and Yellow Flash to collect some ships. You can just shrink down and one of them will carry you to the hanger so you don¡¯t have to deal with security.¡± Darren nodded as he asked, ¡°What ships should we get?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°The best ones of course.¡± Darren nodded slightly as he asked, ¡°And how exactly am I going to figure out which ones are the best or better then others? I don¡¯t know what or how I could even compare them for that matter.¡± Ezekiel waved him off as he said, ¡°Just use the rule of cool.¡± ¡°Rule of cool?¡± ¡°Ya. If it looks cool, it probably is cool.¡± Ezekiel said as if that explained everything. Darren shook his head as he said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. What I define as cool, won¡¯t necessarily be what you consider cool.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to, just grab all the ships you can and make sure that they look cool.¡± Darren let out a tired sigh before he asked, ¡°How many should I grab?¡± ¡°How many shrink discs do you have left?¡± Darren looked into a pouch he wore on his hip before he said, ¡°About twenty.¡± ¡°Then get about twenty ships.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the alarms go off after the first ship disappears?¡± Darren asked. ¡°Probably. So just plan ahead and be fast about the whole thing. Once you''re done, Yellow Flash will take care of the rest.¡± Darren nodded as he said, ¡°Alright, anything else before we leave?¡± ¡°Make sure the ship¡¯s are clear of people before you shrink them, I don¡¯t want any guests when we get back home.¡± Ezekiel glanced at everyone once before he said, ¡°Alright let''s move out.¡± 00121. Odin is... Ezekiel and Sanhildr stood in front of the door for Brunnhilde''s room. Ezekiel had just knocked on it a few moments ago, but heard no response yet. After half a minute of waiting, Ezekiel knocked again, but harder this time. After about a minute, Ezekiel slammed on the door a few times and waited. After another minute without a response, Ezekiel typed an override code into the keypad next to the door. As the door slid fully open, Ezekiel walked inside the room before a bottle flew past his head and slammed into the wall. ¡°If someone doesn''t answer the door, it means they wanna be left alone!¡± Ezekiel glanced to where the bottle came from to see Brunnhilde laid back in a chair. Her black hair was unkempt, like she just got out of bed not long ago. Scattered around the room were countless empty bottles while Brunnhilde herself was currently drinking from a half full bottle. Ezekiel smiled towards her as he said, ¡°Hi, my name''s Ezekiel... Sorry for the intrusion, but we came a long way to find you.¡± Brunnhilde finished her bottle and threw it at Ezekiel before she said, ¡°I don''t give a shit who you are or why you''re here. Leave.¡± Ezekiel dodged the bottle and as it shattered on the wall, Sanhildr walked into the room. Brunnhilde was in the process of opening another bottle when she froze. Tears started to well up in the corners of her eyes as she glanced at where the bottle just broke, before she asked, ¡°What the hell did I just drink?¡± Ezekiel stepped out of the way as Sanhildr walked past him towards Brunnhilde. Brunnhilde finished opening her new bottle and took a long drink, before she looked back at Sanhildr. Then Brunnhilde shook her head as she said, ¡°I have no idea what tricks you are trying to pull with this. But if you don¡¯t stop it now, I''ll kill you.¡± Sanhildr had a sad smile as she asked, ¡°What happened to that bright eyed little girl that used to watch the Valkyrie¡¯s train every day? The one who begged to join the ranks when she came of age?¡± Brunnhilde narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied Sanhildr before she said, ¡°She watched all of her sisters die a pointless death for a worthless king. Including you, ghost¡­¡± Brunnhilde lifted up her bottle and chugged it. Once it was empty she tossed it to the side and said, ¡°Now it''s time for you to go back where you belong, ghost.¡± Brunnhilde then glanced at Ezekiel and said, ¡°And I''m going to kill you for whatever this is.¡± Brunnhilde stood up from her chair on unstable legs before Sanhildr placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Brunnhilde went to knock it off, but Sanhildr caught her hand and said, ¡°Brunnhilde you silly little girl, do I feel like a ghost to you?¡± The warmth of her hand, the gentle tone of her voice and the concerned look in Sanhildr''s voice made Brunnhilde pause. She knew it wasn''t real, it couldn''t be real, she saw Sanhildr fall herself. But wait if¡­ She shook her head in denial, her sisters were dead, she watched them all fall. Sanhildr let go of her arm and placed it lovingly on her cheek as she said, ¡°I''m sorry, if I knew something like this would happen... I shouldn''t have sent you away from the battle.¡± Brunnhilde''s eyes widened slightly, with tears threatening to fall as she asked in a shaky voice, ¡°Then why did you?¡± ¡°Because I wanted you to live.¡± Brunnhilde''s voice broke slightly as she asked, ¡°How could I possibly live when everyone I care about is dead?¡± Sanhildr pulled Brunnhilde in a tight hug as she said, ¡°I''m sorry¡­ I didn''t think about the consequences of sending you away. It was just my selfish wish that I wanted the youngest of our ranks to live.¡± Ezekiel standing by the door could hear Brunnhilde softly begin to sob in Sanhildr''s arms. He was going to say something when an explosion rocked the whole building. While Brunnhilde and Sanhildr were pulled out of their embrace as the window shattered. As an alarm started to blare throughout the building, a group of people flashed into existence next to Ezekiel. Brunnhilde with tears still running down her face asked, ¡°What''s going on?¡± Darren pointed a finger at someone wearing a white and red fox mask as he said, ¡°He said we needed a distraction.¡± The man shrugged as he said, ¡°I placed a bunch of explosion tags around the engine core of a ship.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said over the alarm, ¡°If it works, it works. But we should probably get out of here.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Sanhildr as he said, ¡°Help Brunnhilde grab her stuff and we''ll leave.¡± Brunnhilde''s eyes focused a little as she asked, ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Someplace safe, so that you two can talk.¡± Brunnhilde didn''t respond as Sanhildr led her to a bedroom area. A few minutes later both women appeared carrying some bags and Brunnhilde had a sword strapped to her hip. As they walked towards Ezekiel, he pushed mana into his bracelet and a few moments later a silver portal appeared. Back on Earth the group split up, Ezekiel, his clones and Darren went back to base to start processing what they recovered from Sakaar. While Sanhildr and Brunnhilde were sent to the hidden island so they could talk. Over the next few days, Ezekiel and his clones examined over a hundred items and only found a handful of useful things. While some items looked like they could be useful, most of them were too broken to be useful. Oh they could be pulled apart for research and to help advance their technology. But figuring out the original thing it was made to do? Not a chance. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Also one of the items they found ended up being a major disappointment. While it was better than anything currently made on Earth. It''s just the fact that it was only a vacuum cleaner that made it¡­ Not great. Ezekiel already set it aside for Tony. He was going to give it to him and let Tony make a new product line with it. Ezekiel would only ask for one quarter of the profit or maybe some stock options. Another day passed by before Sanhildr contacted Ezekiel and said she wanted to talk. So Ezekiel met her at the medical base with Tao and Agatha an hour later. When they arrived Brunnhilde seemed to be in better shape than before, her eyes were clear and focused. While Sanhildr wore a constant frown. After greeting each other and sitting down Ezekiel asked, ¡°So what can I help you with?¡± Sanhildr glanced at Brunnhilde for a few moments before she looked at Ezekiel and said in a defeated voice, ¡°You were right. Odin pretty much erased us from history along with Hela. Everything we ever did for Asgard, for our people¡­ For our king, just gone.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he asked, ¡°So what do you want to do?¡± ¡°I don''t know. Our purpose was to help protect Asgard and its people. But now¡­¡± Ezekiel waited for a few seconds before he said, ¡°I have a few ideas on what you could do if you''re interested.¡± When Sanhildr nodded her head Ezekiel said, ¡°Well your first option would be to retire.¡± ¡°Retire? A Valkyrie does not retire. We die in combat, so we can go to Valhalla.¡± said Sanhildr. ¡°Option two is I give you a ship and you can go out into space. Maybe act as a mercenary company or something. Fighting for whoever pays you.¡± ¡°Why would you give us a ship?¡± Brunnhilde asked. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Because I''m a nice guy and believe in karma. We also collected twenty two ships while we were on Sakaar. I could easily spare one.¡± Brunnhilde looked at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°You stole ship''s from Sakaar?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Collected. We collected ships while we were there, we didn''t steal anything. In fact, if we didn¡¯t collect them, they would have been destroyed in that awful explosion.¡± Brunnhilde was going to say something when Sanhildr placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Sanhildr nodded at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°What are your other ideas?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Come work for me and help protect the people of Earth.¡± ¡°And what would we get in return for our servitude?¡± Ezekiel raised up both hands and waved them in the air as he said, ¡°Back up. I said work for me, not serve me. You could quit working for me whenever you want. You would also be paid, have the best health care in the world, dental, vacation and sick pay, maternity leave, free housing, free meals in the commissary and a bunch of other nice things.¡± Sanhildr glanced at Brunnhilde then back at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°I''m not exactly sure what most of that stuff is.¡± ¡°How much did you make when you worked for Asgard?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Make?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Ya, how much did Odin pay you to be a Valkyrie?¡± ¡°We were given a barracks room inside the palace to stay in, a training field for practice, free food in the mess hall and access to the healers when needed.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he asked, ¡°What about new weapons and armor? Or just new clothes in general?¡± ¡°We had access to the forges for armor and weapon repairs. As for clothing, we had our uniforms.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tao before he asked, ¡°So you were never given gold or any type of currency?¡± ¡°There was no need, everything we needed was provided for us.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°What about time off? Time you could use to go spend with your friends, family, or lovers?¡± Sanhildr shook her head before she said, ¡°Joining the ranks of the Valkyries ment cutting all family ties. The only family we had after joining was our battle sisters and we also weren''t allowed to be in any type of relationship.¡± Brunnhilde nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°As for friends, we had our sisters.¡± ¡°That''s¡­ Sorry, that just sounds like bullshit to me. Cutting of family ties and not being allowed in relationships? What kinda stupid guidelines are those?¡± Ezekiel asked. Sanhildr frowned slightly as she said, ¡°They''re the rules set down by Odin¡­¡± ¡°Let me guess, you had to be virgins to join the ranks?¡± Sanhildr looked surprised as she asked, ¡°How''d you know?¡± Ezekiel dropped his head down on the table as he said, ¡°Cause that''s the kinda bullshit rules a guy who wants a loyal harem of women would make up.¡± Sanhildr shared a look with Brunnhilde for a few moments before she said, ¡°Odin wasn''t like that.¡± Ezekiel lifted his head up from the table and looked Sanhildr in the eyes as he asked, ¡°You mean the same guy who removed his own daughter from history because it didn''t fit the new image he wanted for Asgard?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and after a few moments said, ¡°How about we get back to what I was originally talking about. I want to offer you and any of your people who wish to join a job.¡± ¡°I don''t know. I''ll need time to think about it. I also need to talk with the others first. I have a lot to discuss with them.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I understand. Take as long as you want. I already made housing arrangements for you and everyone else, we just need to wake them up.¡± Ezekiel stood up from his chair as he said, ¡°Follow me and I''ll take you to your sisters.¡± Ezekiel led the group out of the room and to a different area of the facility. Inside the new area resting on beds were the rest of the Valkyries. Silent tears ran down Brunnhilde''s face as she looked at all of her sisters sleeping peacefully. Sanhildr glanced at them all before she asked, ¡°When did you do this?¡± ¡°My team''s been working on this since we brought you back.¡± Sanhildr turned to look directly at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°And you don''t want anything in return?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Like I said before, having some badass warriors owe me a favor in the future would be nice. But no, I''m not expecting anything for doing this.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tao as he said, ¡°Wake them up, please.¡± Tao started casting a spell and before long a golden spell thread leaped from her hands and shot towards the closest person. It touched them before going to the next person and the next, until it finally blinked out of existence with the last person. After a few moments, one by one each woman slowly came to and sat up on their beds. After a full minute they were all awake and looking around in confusion. Some were touching parts of their bodies, or looking at limbs in wonder before Sanhildr yelled out, ¡°Valkyries, form lines!¡± Within a few moments everyone was out of their beds and lining up in ranks without a second thought. Once they were all set up in ranks, Sanhildr turned to Ezekiel and asked, ¡°You said you had a place we could stay?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Follow me, you''re gonna love it.¡± 00122. Training chakra and? After getting the Valkyrie¡¯s settled in Genosha, Ezekiel moved on to his next project. Something he accidentally put off for the past couple months, teaching everyone about chakra. It was a couple days later that Ezekiel and a bunch of his clones met everyone who was given a new body inside the main base''s gym. They were located in the main sparing area where bleachers were set up for people to spectate fights. Ezekiel glanced over everyone for a few moments, double checking that no one was missing. He only wanted to do this once and then give everyone reading material he made on the subject. He knew he would have to still answer questions sooner or later. But hopefully the cloning project would be finished soon and he could pawn the work off on other people. Ezekiel put on a smile as he said, ¡°First, I would like to thank everyone for coming. Before I start, does anyone have any questions?¡± A few people raised their hands so Ezekiel pointed to one of them as he said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Sarah glanced at a couple other people around her before she asked, ¡°I want to know why I''m here? I''m not a fighter and don''t plan to be one. So do I really need to learn this stuff?¡± ¡°That''s a great question and honestly if you don¡¯t want to learn it, I won¡¯t force you too. But before you leave, let me share a few non combat related skills you might find useful.¡± Ezekiel henge¡¯d into a beautiful long haired woman in a red dress before he said in a woman''s voice, ¡°This skill can be used to change your appearance.¡± Sarah raised an eyebrow as she said, ¡°Which would be great for spying, but I don''t plan to be a spy.¡± ¡°True, but you could easily use this to spice up your bedroom activities if you wanted.¡± Ezekiel winked before he transformed back into his normal appearance. Sarah was about to respond when Ezekiel pointed to one of his exact clones and said, ¡°If some role-playing isn''t to your liking, maybe a m¨¦nage ¨¤ trois is more interesting instead? You could easily make a clone of yourself.¡± Steve shook his head, while some people seemed interested in the idea. Other people like Fury weren''t amused at all, including Tao who said, ¡°I hope you have a point to all of this.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Just giving people ideas to think outside of the box. The things you can do with chakra and the skills I teach you can be used in a bunch of different ways. You can even come up with new skills once you gain mastery over chakra control.¡± Ezekiel looked back at Sarah as he said, ¡°If you master chakra control, you can use it to help with research projects. Or make clones to help with research in general. Or better yet use clones to learn faster.¡± ¡°Learn faster?¡± Ezekiel pointed at his clones and said, ¡°Every clone I make has my memories when they''re created. So they can easily help with anything I need. But the best part is they also send me memories when they dispel. So if one of them reads a book, it''s like I read the book myself.¡± ¡°Wait, you share memories with your clones? So you''re some kinda hivemind? asked Bill. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, it''s just me and copies of me. Once a clone is made it''s a separate copy of me and I only receive the memories once it''s gone.¡± ¡°But what if a clone doesn''t want to dispel?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°That doesn''t happen, they know they are only a copy and have a limited life span. Also we are getting off topic.¡± Ezekiel looked back at Sarah and said, ¡°Besides what I mentioned, there are a large number of medical applications you can use chakra for. Plus you can easily come up with your own once you become proficient with chakra. Does that help, or should I list more reasons?¡± Sarah shook her head as she said, ¡°No, that''s more than enough. Thank you.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Ezekiel glanced over everyone as he asked, ¡°Any more questions?¡± Ezekiel pointed at Clint who asked, ¡°What exactly is chakra?¡± Ezekiel scratched the back of his head as he said, ¡°That''s a very complicated question that could take days to discuss properly. But the simplest explanation would be supernatural energy you can harness.¡± ¡°Anyone else?¡± When no one had any questions Ezekiel started everyone on the first steps to sensing their own chakra. Which only took a few minutes since everyone could easily feel chakra inside their new bodies. The next step was getting everyone to slowly cycle chakra through their pathways. That ended up taking a while, since some people just didn''t seem competent at the process. But within a few hours everyone was able to somewhat cycle chakra throughout their bodies. The next process was pushing a little bit of chakra outside their bodies. That one took even longer and Ezekiel ended up calling it a day after that. He told everyone to practice cycling chakra throughout their pathways for the next week and they would try the next step the following week. For the next class everyone could consistently cycle their chakra throughout their pathways with no real issue. So Ezekiel moved them onto the next step of producing chakra outside of their bodies. It was just a little bit on the tip of each person''s finger. This step took the whole day and even the next class before everyone had a decent grasp on the concept. From that point on the classes ramped up in difficulty and Ezekiel started training everyone on the leaf sticking exercise. Too much chakra and the leaf would be destroyed, too little chakra and the leaf wouldn''t stick. Tao and Agatha had the easiest time with the exercise and could easily stick a leaf to their finger after a few minutes. But Ezekiel didn''t stop there, he had them do one on each finger after that. It was the same for everyone else once they could do the first leaf. They would add a leaf till their hands were covered in them. Once everyone completed that portion of the training, Ezekiel moved them on to coins. It was the same principle but with heavier objects this time. He also increased the difficulty by making everyone add a new coin on top of an already stuck coin. It made people have to adapt and find the right balance point to hold the first coin to the second coin. Once they could do it with two coins, he added a third, then a fourth and fifth coin. The last step was a stack of coins on each finger on both hands. Once the first person completed that part of training, Ezekiel moved them on to the rock wall. So far the only people to get that far were Tao, Agatha and surprisingly Coulson. Their training was to climb the rock wall and only use their hands with chakra control. By the time that part of the training process came up it was already December so Ezekiel had his clones decorate the base for the holidays. He also set up a large group trip for all the kids to go to Genosha and have fun at the theme parks. It wasn''t just the kids from the base, but also the kids from Xavier''s school who were going. It was planned to be a week long event and at the end of it, Dazzler and her band were going to have a live concert event broadcasted on Vibe for Christmas Eve. Everything for that went smoothly and the concert ended up getting over twenty million live viewers. Which was surprising for Theo, because that was over a quarter of the user base of Vibe tuning in to watch it. It also gained Dazzler and her bandmates a lot of new fans and they finally surpassed Kurt with the highest follower count. Well it was close, they were only a few hundred ahead of him for now. Speaking of Kurt, he recorded a lot of footage while in Genosha showing off a lot of the country and its advanced technology and city. The videos he uploaded while on vacation ended up being some of his most watched videos. But that might be because everyone was super curious about Genosha, which had very strict immigration and visiting restrictions. So far only a handful of people have visited Genosha since it was announced to the world. Mostly it was foreign dignitaries that passed the background and psychological checks. So far there were only ten people that passed everything, which made a lot of governments unhappy. They even made an official protest to the UN asking for sanctions to be placed on Genosha. Magneto, being the showman he is, went directly to the UN and told everyone who wanted to place sanctions on Genosha to send better representatives. He then posted every person''s background and psychological check that failed to enter Genosha online. Needless to say, he ruined a lot of peoples careers in less than a day. It also pissed off a lot of people and countries, but Magneto just smiled at the camera¡¯s and said, ¡°Genosha welcomes everyone and anyone who is open minded and understands that even though some of us might look different. Underneath it all, we¡¯re all just human.¡± After that day, no country or government said anything bad about Genosha¡­ At least publicly that is. A few countries have tried other ways to get into Genosha, but with Tao¡¯s magic barrier in place and Theo¡¯s control of satellites. No one has been within a hundred miles of the island unless they allow it. That didn¡¯t stop the United States and a few other governments and groups from trying though. The US attempted it the most though, with ten by water and twenty by the air. They finally stopped when one of the jets they tried to fly towards Genosha disappeared and the pilot ended up appearing out of thin air confused in the middle of the command center. Shield also tried to enter Genosha but they lost two planes before they stopped. It wasn¡¯t on Fury¡¯s orders either, but on Alexander Pierce¡¯s and the WSC. The pilot¡¯s from the first one were returned to a random Shield base, while the second plane was flown remotely. After that the rest of the world stopped trying to enter the area around Genosha. 00123. Wait, what happened? After a quiet Christmas with his family, Theo brought forth a question he was putting off asking. The game that he made with Peter and Milly was basically done. They had a survival mode, creative mode, along with multiplayer functionality built in. Theo just needed to make a website and launch the game now. Once that was done, his company would quickly find it and buy the game. At least that was the plan anyway. He planned ahead and already read books from the library on how to code and build websites. He even shared them with Peter and they practiced building websites on their computers. The main problem now was convincing his parents to let him build a website. If he was older it might not be an issue, but with his age he was concerned they would reject the idea. It was a typical Sunday morning for their family when Theo brought up the idea during breakfast. As they were eating Theo asked, ¡°Mom, can I make a website so I can sell my game.¡± Daniel turned from feeding Isaac and asked, ¡°You want to sell your game?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°Ya, like they do in the stores.¡± Jacob patted Theo¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°There is a lot more that goes into selling video games in the store. Pretty sure you have to work with a company to do that and that company will package your game so it can be sold.¡± ¡°But in the book I read, it said you can sell stuff directly from websites. People could download the game directly from the site. The website would be like a store, but only for my game.¡± Daniel smiled as she asked, ¡°What about advertising for the game?¡± Theo feigned ignorance as he asked, ¡°What''s that?¡± Daniel fed Isaac another spoonful of food before she said, ¡°It''s what companies do so people learn about the product or service they are trying to sell.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I guess that makes sense. People won''t buy it, if they don''t know about it.¡± Theo looked up at his dad as he asked, ¡°But didn''t you and uncle Ben say you don''t advertise your business?¡± Jacob smirked before he said, ¡°We have a very large customer base and a backlog of orders. Plus our customers tell their friends, which brings in more business.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I do the same? I just make the site and if people like it, they¡¯ll buy it.¡± Daniel nodded as she asked, ¡°So you think people will buy the game if you make a nice enough website to attract customers? Theo shook his head before he said, ¡°The website would have some info about the game and a free creative mode people could download and try out. If they like creative mode, they can buy the game itself.¡± ¡°What¡¯s creative mode?¡± Jacob asked. Milly waved her fork around in the air as she said, ¡°Oh! Milly knows! You get a bunch of different colored blocks to play with and you can fly around and build stuff! I made a giant birthday cake in it!¡± Theo chuckled a little as he said, ¡°That pretty much sum¡¯s up creative mode. Instead of all the core features of the main game. Creative mode is for people to mess around and build stuff. Peter and I made a scale replica of the shop in it. We also built copies of our houses you can walk around in.¡± Milly nodded along before she said, ¡°I made giant cupcakes and cookies over the houses.¡± Daniel smiled before she said, ¡°I¡¯d like to see this creative mode you made. Is it on the home computer?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°Ya we have a copy of it on there.¡± ¡°Alright, since you finished eating. Go load it up and show it to me and your dad.¡± Theo nodded before he got up and put his dishes into the sink. Then he headed to the living room and booted up the computer and loaded up a copy of creative mode. It was used by Milly a few times, so there were giant cakes, cupcakes and cookies randomly around the spawn area. There was also a decent looking Statue of Liberty Theo made. After a few minutes, Daniel came out carrying Issac. She took a seat next to Theo as she said, ¡°Alright, show me this demo you want people to try out.¡± As Theo started to explain creative mode and demonstrated how it worked to his mother, Jacob walked out of the kitchen with Milly trailing behind him. Milly started to excitedly point at the screen, telling Theo to show off her cupcakes. But what caught his parent¡¯s eyes was the Statue of Liberty sitting off to the side. ¡°You can make stuff like that in creative mode?¡± Daniel asked in surprise. ¡°You can make pretty much whatever you want as long as you take your time.¡± Theo said. ¡°Anything?¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Ya, at least I think you can.¡± After checking out creative mode for a little while Daniel said, ¡°Alright, you can make a website. But you know they cost money to host and run right?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Theo nodded as he said, ¡°It was in the book I read. Not really sure how that all works though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll look into it tomorrow. I¡¯ll also look into a merchant processor for your website.¡± Daniel said. ¡°A merchant processor? What¡¯s that?¡± Daniel stood up as she said, ¡°It¡¯s so you can take in money when you sell your game.¡± The rest of the day was spent together as a family, going to the park, playing board games and just enjoying each other''s company. The next day since the kids were still out of school for winter break, Theo, Milly and Issac went to May¡¯s along with their mother. They met Peter there and Theo had him help build a website for the game. It took them a few days to build and test, but at the end of the week with the help of his mom, the website launched. Theo also back tested everything with his clones after launch and once satisfied everything worked correctly, he left it alone to do other stuff. Like working on his go-kart. While Theo was busy with school, working on his go-kart and helping his dad out around the shop. A few people found his website and tested out creative mode. While Theo never advertised his game, or even used his clones and Vibe to push the website to people. He did optimize the backend of the website to work really well with search engines. So it was no surprise that people found the site the same day it launched. The only problem was one of the people who found it. They were a user of his Vibe platform and while not very famous yet, they still had a small following. So after they found the website and tested out creative mode for a while, they uploaded a video titled, ¡®Check out this free building game!¡¯ In the game play video they built a bunch of random art pieces and some famous buildings. That simple video spread quickly and within a week, over thirty thousand people visited the website and downloaded the demo. But the bigger surprise was that over a thousand people bought the game for its twenty-five dollar price tag. During that time more videos were made with people showing off all the cool stuff they made in creative mode, which made more people become aware of the game. But the thing that made the game really take off was a new video by the first person who posted about the game. After their first video in creative mode, they bought the game and spent the past week playing survival mode. Their survival mode video called ¡®Get this green thing away from me!¡¯ literally exploded in popularity and tripled their follower count within a few days. The video was so popular it ended up on the front page of Vibe and things just took off from there. By the end of the month the number of people who purchased the official game was a little over one hundred thousand and counting¡­ Since Theo worked so hard to automate Vibe and everything else, he didn¡¯t know how popular his game had become. When he wasn¡¯t in school, at his father¡¯s shop or spending time with family. He would be training in magic with Tao and Agatha, training people in chakra control or visiting Tony and working on JARVIS or the cell phone project. The first person in the family who found out the game blew up was Daniel when she received a call from the bank asking if she wanted to invest some of the money in her bank account into some stocks or bonds. At first she was confused, since one bank account was used for the business and was also cash heavy to help run the business. The other two accounts were for the family expenses and Theo¡¯s account for his game. At first she thought they were talking to her about the business account, but after talking to the banker for a few minutes she realized they were talking about Theo''s account. At that point she asked, ¡°How much is currently in the account?¡± ¡°It looks to be just over two point five million dollars.¡± The banker said. ¡°Oh¡­ Wait! How much?!¡± The banker could be heard typing before she said, ¡°It¡¯s currently at two million, five hundred and fifty two thousand, eight hundred and fifty dollars. With another one hundred and twenty thousand, six hundred dollars in pending deposits.¡± ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s that much?¡± Daniel asked in surprise. ¡°Yes, Mrs. Mercer.¡± ¡°... Okay¡­ I¡¯ll have to get back to you on this. Thanks for the information.¡± Daniel said quickly before she hung up the phone. Daniel was stunned for a little while before she went to her computer and checked out Theo¡¯s website. He left her a login so she could check the backend of the site and see how much traffic the site received over the past month. It also shows how many people downloaded the game demo, and how many people bought the game itself. The numbers just reinforced that her son at almost eight years old became a millionaire¡­ While she was on the site, she also checked out the forums that Theo made and saw post after post of people talking about the game and sharing things they created so far. Hundreds of screen shots of beautiful art people made using creative mode. While people on survival mode shared guides on how to survive, what to look out for, how to craft certain items. Daniel couldn¡¯t help but smile as she scrolled through posts of people praising whoever made the game. She also found a post from the Vibe user who posted the first video about the game. She ended up watching the video on vibe and then checked out the user¡¯s profile and realized the reason the game became popular was because of all the videos this person made. They currently had six videos all about Theo¡¯s game and each video had at least a million views. With one video having over five million. Daniel closed down the computer and then made a few phone calls to May, Mary and Sara. She invited the whole family over for dinner that night and said she had an announcement to make. After that she ordered pizza to be delivered for dinner and then went to the store to get a few things. A few hours later, Jacob came home with the kids and a little after that, everyone else showed up to the house. Once everyone was there, Daniel pulled Theo, Peter and Milly to the middle of the room. She wore a big smile as she said, ¡°Sorry for all the secrecy today, but I wanted everyone to find out at the same time.¡± ¡°Now everyone knows Theo and these two created a game and even made a website so people could buy it. I didn¡¯t think much about it, till I received a call from the bank today about Theo¡¯s bank account.¡± Jacob smiled as he asked, ¡°Someone bought Theo¡¯s game?! That¡¯s great, how much did he make?¡± ¡°Someone bought the game already?!¡± Theo asked excitedly. Daniel smiled down at Theo before she patted his head and said, ¡°Yup. You actually have a pretty big fan base. A lot of people really like your game.¡± Theo glanced up at his mom as he asked, ¡°A lot of people? So like a hundred people?¡± Daniel shook her head before she said, ¡°More. A lot more.¡± ¡°A thousand?¡± Theo asked. Daniel pushed Theo gently towards the computer and said, ¡°Go check the website, so everyone can see how many people like your game.¡± As Theo turned on the computer everyone came close and started to crowd around to see the screen. As Theo was logging into the computer Jacob asked Daniel, ¡°So Theo sold over a thousand copies of the game? That¡¯s a pretty good start for his college fund.¡± Daniel smiled as she pointed at the screen that Theo just pulled up and waited. Everyone was quiet as they looked at the number on the screen that was currently going up by two or three new sales every minute or so. Jacob counted it a few times before he asked, ¡°Theo¡¯s a millionaire?¡± 00124. Dinner and a movie? Later that night after the party, Theo made a bunch of clones and had them all look into why the game became so popular and to check the forums. Theo quickly found the reason for the unexpected success, so he had all the clones focus on the forums. His main goal was to read all the forum posts and see what people were saying about the game and see if anyone found any bugs. It took a few hours but when his clones finished, Theo found that everyone was pretty happy with the game and that so far no bugs were reported. Then he double checked all the backend he did for the site and merchant services. He set the site up to hide all his and his family''s information, even the merchant processor was controlled by him. It took a while for the funds to land in the bank account his mom set up, but it was set that way so no one could trace the money to his family. As for the IRS¡­ His mom thought the merchant processor would take care of it all like it normally should. But Theo routed it so it only looked like he paid it and then took that money and made it look like more people bought games. After that he focused on his training for the night and had his clones work on the next major patch for the game. He would work on it with Peter and Milly, but with how successful it was. He wanted to sell it to Vibe sooner than he originally planned. He also planned to start his next project to help out his family. The next day Jacob was still surprised at how popular Theo¡¯s game was and double checked over breakfast a few times with Daniel that Theo was a millionaire. After breakfast Theo went to his father''s shop for the day to help out, along with Peter. While they were there, Theo brought up an idea to Peter while they were helping out and said, ¡°We should make something to help out dad and Uncle Ben.¡± Peter glanced over to Theo as he asked, ¡°What can we make them?¡± ¡°We should make them a program to help out in the shop and that could tie into a website.¡± ¡°Aren''t we going to make an update for the game soon?¡± Peter asked. Theo shook his head before he said, ¡°The game just came out, we can wait a while before we add more content. People haven''t even found any of the fun content yet.¡± Peter nodded along before he asked, ¡°Well, what exactly is the new program supposed to do for the shop?¡± ¡°You''ve seen how dad and Uncle Ben work with customers on new projects right?¡± Peter shook his head so Theo said, ¡°They do everything on paper. They write out what exactly the customer wants in the build. The type of engine, if it needs to be stock or tuned, paint job, tires, rims, upholstery types and colors. Pretty much anything that the customer wants for the build.¡± Theo glanced at Peter as he said, ¡°I wanna make a program that a customer can use on the website. They would be able to customize their build and then we could see it in the shop.¡± ¡°Like a 3D model of the car they want? Can we even do something like that?¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°Only one way to find out.¡± Theo and Peter spent the rest of the day brainstorming ideas and when they got home. Theo wrote the ideas down in a design document. Later that night when he made clones, he had them start on the project. While he planned to make it with Peter, there was no reason he couldn''t cheat a little. Once his clones started to work on the project, he changed into Ezekiel and asked Tao to teleport him to Hel. Within half an hour a portal opened up in Hel and Ezekiel stepped through it holding a pizza box. He waved at Hela as he said, ¡°Sorry for not visiting sooner, I was busy with a bunch of projects.¡± Hela looked at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°I honestly wasn¡¯t sure if you would be back or not.¡± ¡°Why would you think that?¡± Hela turned back to the screen which was playing a documentary about world war two as she said, ¡°I figured after you obtained the soul sphere and showed me how my life will most likely end. You would have no reason to come back.¡± Ezekiel shook his head slightly as he said, ¡°I told you, I came here to make a friend.¡± Hela glanced back at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Why would you wish to make friends with me, when you already know how my life will most likely end?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Because that''s just the type of person I am.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ezekiel pulled out a scroll and poured some chakra into it, which popped out a chair, a table, an ice chest and a small ring. He placed the pizza box on the table and moved the chair next to Hela. As he moved the table next to her she asked, ¡°What exactly are you doing?¡± ¡°I was planning to hang out for a bit and watch a movie or two with you. We''ll unless you don''t want to do that.¡± Hela glanced at the table, the ice chest, the ring and the pizza box as she asked, ¡°And what are those for?¡± Ezekiel turned to Hela as he said, ¡°Well I figured pizza and a movie is always a good combination.¡± Ezekiel turned and looked Hela directly in the eyes before he said, ¡°But before that I have to ask you one very important thing.¡± Hela tensed slightly at his gaze as Ezekiel turned completely serious and asked, ¡°Do you poop?¡± ¡­ Hela froze as her mind blanked out. As Hela tried to process just why Ezekiel asked that question Ezekiel said, ¡°I didn''t mean in general, I mean here. You''ve been trapped here for centuries with nothing to eat and no real way to go to the bathroom¡­ Unless¡­¡± ¡°I do not!¡± Hela snapped, before she said, ¡°If you must know, being in Hel not only keeps me alive, but relieves me of the burden of needing to do normal things, like eat, sleep or bodily functions.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he said, ¡°I thought as much, I just wanted to check first.¡± Ezekiel picked up the ring on the table and said, ¡°Give me your hand so I can give you this ring.¡± Hela glanced at the ring for a few moments before she asked, ¡°Why?¡± Ezekiel held up the ring as he said, ¡°It''s a minor magic item that gives the user limited telekinesis. It''s so you can eat if you want to.¡± Hela glanced at the ring Ezekiel was holding with some caution before she asked, ¡°How do I know that''s not meant to enslave me after I put it on?¡± Ezekiel gave her a flat look as he asked, ¡°You think I would put this much effort into trying to enslave you?¡± Hela shrugged slightly as she said, ¡°Maybe¡­¡± Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°Well if I don''t give you the ring, how will you eat some of the pizza I brought? Or would you like me to feed it to you instead?¡± Hela turned back to the screen as she said, ¡°I don''t want any pizza.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Just means more for me I guess.¡± Ezekiel sat down in his seat and opened the ice chest to pull out a bottle of rootbeer, which he opened and took a sip from. After he placed the bottle down, he touched a mark on the pizza box which seemed to unseal it. A moment later Hela could smell a fresh bread-like aroma with a hint of cheese and meat. Ezekiel opened the box and pulled out a steaming slice of pizza topped with a bunch of meat. As he pulled the slice away the cheese stretched slightly and became stringy. Hela also noticed a red sauce-like substance underneath the cheese and meat. As Ezekiel folded his slice and took a bite, Hela couldn''t help but watch. After Ezekiel finished his first bite, he turned to see Hela watching him. He smiled as he asked, ¡°Are you sure you don''t want to try some?¡± Hela glanced at the pizza again before she said, ¡°Fine I''ll try pizza.¡± A second later Hela struggled to raise her hand out of the chains so Ezekiel could place the ring on her finger. After her hand disappeared into the chain''s she asked, ¡°How do I use the ring?¡± ¡°Just think that you are using your hand to do stuff and the ring will take care of the rest.¡± Hela looked down at the pizza and a second later a piece pulled away from it and floated in the air. Then it folded slightly and moved to Hela¡¯s mouth, where she took a bite from it. She showed almost no outward emotions, but Ezekiel thought her eyes lit up just a little as she ate her first bite. When she finished that bite she asked, ¡°Is this normal for Midgardian food?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hela glanced at the pizza before she asked, ¡°Is most Midgardian food a mix of different ingredients? When I last traveled there, grilled or smoked meat seemed to be the food of choice.¡± ¡°We''ve evolved a long way since then and everything else about us also evolved with us.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at the war documentary on the screen. Ezekiel glanced at Hela for a moment before he asked, ¡°Wanna watch a good movie?¡± ¡°I''ve already seen the movies you recommended, what would we watch?¡± Hela asked before she took another bite of her pizza. ¡°Play the movie, Back to the Future.¡± Said Ezekiel. As the movie started, Ezekiel opened up another rootbeer and placed it next to Hela as he said, ¡°In case you want to try a drink from Midgard.¡± Over the next few hours Ezekiel and Hela ate pizza, drank rootbeer and watched a couple movies until Ezekiel needed to go back home. As he was packing up to leave Ezekiel said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to come back sooner next time.¡± Hela nodded before she asked, ¡°Will you bring more pizza and rootbeer?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Possibly, but there are many different types of food I can bring that you¡¯ll probably enjoy. So how about I bring something new each time I visit to keep things interesting?¡± After thinking about it for a few moments Hela said, ¡°That would be acceptable.¡± As a portal opened up Ezekiel said, ¡°Great! I¡¯ll see you next time.¡± After the portal closed Hela let out a sigh before she looked at the screen which was currently paused. She wouldn¡¯t admit it, but it was nice to eat food and watch a movie with Ezekiel. A new experience in this place was rare¡­ Well with the device to watch or read human entertainment it wasn¡¯t as boring as it used to be. But Ezekiel seemed to make the place a little more bearable to be trapped in. 00125. New members again and... Over the next couple of months, Theo settled into a new routine during the weekdays. He would go to school, and after school, he would help out at his dad''s shop till close. Then he would come back home and work on his new project for a little while after dinner, before spending time with his family and then going to bed. Well, he would send a clone to bed while he trained in the mystic arts and sent clones to the base to train people in chakra. On Mondays, he would portal to Tony''s workshop and work on stuff with him. Mostly, it was double-checking everything for the phone project, which was almost set to launch. Theo just wanted to make sure they had everything ready to go and enough phones to meet demands. They projected to sell at least a hundred million phones in the first month and expected to reach five hundred million by the end of the year. Were they being optimistic? Not really, since they planned everything perfectly. Tony would hold a launch event and give all the reporters and celebrities who show up a top-tier phone. Theo also planned to give phones to popular people on Vibe, like Kurt, Kitty, Dazzler, and others. At least that was the plan so far, they would need to iron everything out as they got closer to launch. Then, a week later after the launch event, the phones would be released to the general public for purchase. That way, the general public would be hyped for the phone that everyone was talking about. Besides working on the phone project, Theo also helped Tony work on JARVIS, which was almost done at this point. JARVIS was currently working, and Tony was already happy with it, but Theo knew it could be better and was improving the code every day. His plan was to make JARVIS a sudo-AI for now and see if he can awaken to full sapientance on his own. If not, Theo would help him out in five to ten years. Going back to Theo''s weekly routine, on Fridays, he would go to Hel and hang out with Hela for a few hours. They mostly ate food and watched movies or TV shows together. But they also played some board games together a few times. But Risk and other strategy based games were banned after only playing one game because Hela took them a little too seriously¡­ As for the weekends, Theo spent some Saturdays helping out at his dad''s shop and also racing his go-kart for an hour or two with Peter. They didn''t have a track but would set up cones in the yard and race around that. Milly would join in sometimes, but she wasn''t a big fan of go-karts, unfortunately. On the Saturdays, they didn¡¯t help out at the shop. They would work on the new program they were making for the shop. That project was a secret, though, and when asked what they were working on, Peter and Theo would tell their parents it was an update for their game. On Sunday, Theo would spend the day with his family. They would always visit the park for a few hours that day, but would also do other things together. Sometimes, their extended family would join them, and they would end the day with a barbecue or some other type of large group activity. As for the secret organization, a few important things happened during that time. Sanhildr contacted Theo and asked if they could join. After living on Earth for a few months, they decided to make it their new home, but more than that, most of them were bored. So Sanhildr approached Theo about possibly joining the group and what would be involved if they did. Theo laid out what he expected from them and what they would get from them in return. The valkyries would gain citizenship in Genosha with a place to live, a monthly salary, full medical care, dental, vision, and a 401k. They would also get the best weapons and armor magic and technology could provide. In return, they would work in secret with the organization and could stay as long as they liked. Their main job at first would be helping the group clean up Earth and make it a better world. After that, they would help protect Earth from other worldly threats. Sanhildr agreed to the terms easily enough, and then Theo held a meeting to make sure everyone else was fine with them joining. When Theo called the meeting together as Ezekiel, Fury was the first one to show up and asked, ¡°Finally gonna tell us about those women you sent to Genosha?¡± Ezekiel smiled slightly before he said, ¡°How long have you known about them?¡± ¡°An hour after they appeared on Genosha.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he asked, ¡°You never brought them up before, why¡¯d you think this meeting was about them?¡± Fury sat down in his chair as he said, ¡°Because you called an unscheduled meeting to discuss something. It was either them or something new and important.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°Well you¡¯re correct. But let''s wait for the others to discuss it more.¡± After a quick nod, Fury turned to his personal computer and started working on something while people began entering the room. Peggy, Steve, Bill, Alexei, Tao, Agatha, and Jarvis walked into the room before Fury finally asked, ¡°When are we going to start discussing plans about taking down Hydra?¡± Ezekiel let out a tired sigh before he said, ¡°When we have more info and man power. Wel, mostly more info, since I keep finding more and more people who are part of Hydra. I swear these people are worse than cockroaches.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we just giving them more time to grow and recruit more people by being so passive?¡± Steve asked. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°Maybe, but if we don¡¯t take them out by the roots. Something like this could happen again, so being cautious is our best course of action. I just want to start laying out some groundwork with the information we already have.¡± Peggy nodded in understanding before she asked, ¡°Is that what this meeting is about?¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he pulled up some info on the main screen. It was some historical documents about valkyries along with some old artwork. Ezekiel nodded towards the screen as he said, ¡°It¡¯s about that.¡± Bill glanced over everything before he asked, ¡°Why do you want to talk about Norse mythology?¡± Fury looked directly at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°Those women are from Asgard?¡± ¡°What women?¡± Jarvis asked. ¡°The group of over a thousand women who showed up on Genosha a few months ago.¡± Peggy said. Ezekiel pulled up some photos of the women on Genosha before he said, ¡°These women were the valkyries of Asgard over a thousand years ago before they were killed.¡± ¡°They look to be in good shape for being dead.¡± Bill said. Fury focused on Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°You made them new bodies?¡± ¡°Yup. Through a weird quirk of fate, their souls weren¡¯t allowed to move on, and I used that to my advantage. But that also brings me to the main issue for this meeting. I offered them a spot to join us, and they accepted.¡± Ezekiel said. Peggy turned to glare at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Why¡¯d you do that? We should have voted before you offered them something like that. Isn¡¯t that why you made this council in the first place? To not make unilateral decisions for the group?¡± Fury and Steve also turned to Ezekiel looking for answers, Ezekiel raised his hands up as he said, ¡°Normally I would. But I made the offer with a few others, which I thought they would pick instead. When their leader came and asked for more details about working with us, I told her, and she instantly accepted on the spot.¡± Tao nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°I was there when he made the offer, and I also thought they would pick one of the better offers he gave them.¡± Fury narrowed his eyes a little as he asked, ¡°Can we really trust them, though? They¡¯re Asgardian soldiers. They should be loyal to Asgard, not Earth.¡± Ezekiel pulled up some info as he said, ¡°They no longer care about Asgard after the king erased them from the history books. He wanted to cover up certain things about Asgard¡¯s past, and that made the valkyries pretty upset when they found out.¡± Ezekiel then shook his head as he said, ¡°Plus they were pretty much the king''s slaves. He was raising them to be his personal harem of virgin warrior women.¡± Fury raised a single eyebrow as he said, ¡°Leaving that information aside, we still need to be able to trust these people, people we know next to nothing about. How can we do background checks on them if they lived on another planet?¡± ¡°They are honor bound warriors. All we have to do is have them swear loyalty to the organization, and we won¡¯t have any issues.¡± Tao said. Fury was skeptical as he asked, ¡°You think a little oath is going to make sure they stay loyal?¡± Peggy and a few others nodded in agreement before Ezekiel said, ¡°Actually that would work. They''d rather die than dishonor themselves, and considering they¡¯re all over a thousand years old or more, I think it¡¯ll be fine. Plus, where are we going to find another group of fighters with that much experience?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say they all died at some point? How good of fighters can they be?¡± Alexei asked. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°They were sent to hold off one of the strongest Asgardian gods that even Odin was afraid of, while Odin sealed them all away. It worked, but all of them died in the process. And if you wanna compare strength, a normal Asgardian is stronger than Steve in his old body.¡± Bill looked a little surprised as he asked, ¡°Wait, you mean to tell us Nordic gods are real?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Pretty much. But you can think of them as a god with all lower case letters in the name. Or just like an overpowered meta-human.¡± Fury glanced at Steve for a moment before he said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter as much as you just let over a thousand super soldiers walk around Genosha with no guards for the past few months and didn''t even bother to inform anyone!¡± ¡°No, I knew about them. Along with Tao, Agatha, and Magneto. Plus, I trusted them to behave themselves. They have had absolutely no issues since they''ve been on the island.¡± Ezekiel said. Fury frowned as he said, ¡°You still should have informed us about them.¡± ¡°The only reason I didn''t is because I thought they were going to leave the planet. Besides, Tao or Agatha could easily handle all of them if something happened. So why make a big deal out of it in the first place and have you waste time thinking up contingency plans for no reason?¡± Ezekiel said as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at Fury. ¡°Well those contingency plans would have come in handy now that they want to stay here.¡± Fury said. Tao glanced at Fury and Ezekiel before she asked, ¡°Can you two stop acting like children and let us move on to why we were called here?¡± Fury shot another glance at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°We are going to continue this talk later.¡± Ezekiel rubbed the bridge of his nose before he said, ¡°Alright the main reason I called you here is to vote on letting the valkyries join us. All in favor?¡± Ezekiel did a quick glance around the room to see that everyone voted in favor of them joining, even Fury. As he was about to end the meeting, Hank Pym ran into the room and said, ¡°We did it! It''s stable!¡± Bill stood up from his seat as he asked, ¡°Did the test work on the first try?¡± Hank nodded as he said, ¡°The quantum tunnel is working perfectly.¡± 00126. A talk with Hank and entering the quantum realm. After everyone was caught up to speed on Hank¡¯s team finishing the quantum tunnel. They moved on to who was joining the team to help find Hank¡¯s wife. Hank wanted to do it alone or with Darren helping him, but Ezekiel shut that idea down quickly. Hank was seated next to Ezekiel, not looking pleased as Ezekiel asked, ¡°Who wants to go on a rescue mission?¡± Agatha raised her hand as she said, ¡°I''ll go. I want to test a few things there with spell casting.¡± ¡°You can do research another time, the priority of this trip is finding Janet.¡± Hank said in a huff. Steve raised his hand as he said, ¡°Peggy and I would like to join.¡± Peggy nodded in agreement before Ezekiel said, ¡°Great, with a few of my clones joining that should be more than enough.¡± Ezekiel turned to Tao as he asked, ¡°Did you finish that spell I asked about?¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°Finished it about a year ago with Agatha''s help. She''ll cast it on everyone before they leave. We also made a couple magic device barriers to place in front of the tunnel and one at the emergency exit.¡± ¡°Magic devices and spells? Why do we need anything like that?¡± Hank asked. Ezekiel glanced at Hank as he said, ¡°Think of it as a type of biological filter, but using magic. We have no idea what is in the quantum realm and I don''t plan to bring back something that starts a zombie apocalypse.¡± Everyone turned to look at Ezekiel as Fury said, ¡°You better be joking.¡± ¡°Unfortunately I''m not. In a different reality, Hank goes to find Janet but she''s a zombie. She infects Hank, then they come back to Earth and the world basically ends before a bunch of super powered zombies wipe out the rest of the universe¡­¡± Ezekiel glanced around the room before he said, ¡°We shouldn''t have to worry about that happening since Hank was supposed to find his wife in about sixteen years or so and she was not a zombie. That said, we''re not taking any chances.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Hank as he said, ¡°Let''s finish this meeting up and then we need to have a chat about a few things.¡± Hank nodded his head as Ezekiel turned to Tao and asked, ¡°You''ll plan to be in Genosha and act as an emergency exit for them, if they need it right?¡± ¡°It''s the main reason Agatha''s going to the quantum realm.¡± ¡°Perfect. I think that''s about it, does anyone have anything to add?¡± Ezekiel asked as he looked around the room. When no one spoke up, Ezekiel glanced at Steve and Peggy as he said, ¡°Go with Tao and Agatha, they''ve been working on some special suits to help protect everyone in the field. You''ll get to be the test subjects for the trial run.¡± As everyone started to leave the room, Hank and Fury stayed back. Ezekiel waited for the room to clear out before he asked, ¡°Could you leave the room for a bit, Fury, I need to discuss something personal with Hank.¡± Fury gave a curt nod as he said, ¡°Find me later, we have a few things to talk about.¡± After Fury left the room, Ezekiel turned to Hank and said, ¡°I didn''t bring this up before since it wouldn''t have been productive to your work. But I need to tell you about a possibility that might have happened.¡± Hank''s face was schooled, but there was a serious glint in his eyes as he focused on Ezekiel who said, ¡°There is a chance that Janet might be in a relationship with someone else in the quantum realm.¡± Ezekiel watched the shocked look of betrayal cross Hank¡¯s face before he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°Janet wouldn''t do that.¡± Ezekiel raised his arms up as he said, ¡°Maybe not yet. But at some point after she gives up hope of ever coming back to Earth¡­ Well she makes a new life for herself in the quantum realm.¡± Ezekiel watched Hank for a few moments before he said, ¡°I would have told you sooner, but I didn''t want you to stress over something that might not happen.¡± Hank¡¯s tone of voice was low as he asked, ¡°And you think I won''t stress over it now? The possibility that she could leave me for someone else?¡± ¡°And this is why I didn''t tell you sooner. Just know if it hasn''t happened yet, it never will.¡± ¡°And how would you know?¡± Hank asked with heat in his voice. Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Because of the circumstances. She has the chance to escape the quantum realm with the help of someone else. The problem is that person would also be free of the quantum realm.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ezekiel typed on his computer and pulled up some info along with a picture of someone as he said, ¡°This man is Kang the Conqueror. A very nasty version of him is currently trapped in the quantum realm.¡± Hank read the info on the screen before he asked, ¡°So she has a chance to escape by working with this guy?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Pretty much. Only she doesn''t know the type of person he is, until they finish fixing his Time Sphere. When she finds out, she destroys its power source and gives up any hope of ever leaving the quantum realm.¡± ¡°And that''s when she starts another relationship?¡± Hank asked. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I''m not a hundred percent sure when it happens. Could be right afterwards or in a few years.¡± ¡°I''m going to punch you in the face when I meet the real you, you know that, right?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Sure, but you know you¡¯ll be punching a child right?¡± ¡°That''s fine with me. Are we done here?¡± Hank asked. Ezekiel closed down his computer before he said, ¡°Pretty much. I''ll send my clones to join you in your lab in about a few hours or so.¡± A second later Ezekiel turned into a cloud of smoke leaving Hank alone with his thoughts. vvvvv A couple hours later Minato, Tobirama and a man with bright red hair walked into Hank''s lab. Inside the lab near the back was a small ship designed to transport up to ten people into the quantum tunnel. Which was currently open in front of the ship and painted the area around it in a golden light. Off to the side was Bill and Darren along with Erik who were at work stations monitoring the portal. While Hank, Agatha, Ebony, Steve and Peggy were off to the other side talking about something. Minato and his group made a beeline towards Hank and the others who were wearing some slick looking black and gray body suits. Once they were close Minato said, ¡°Sorry for the delay everyone, we were making something.¡± ¡°About time you showed up.¡± Hank said with a huff. Steve smiled as he asked, ¡°It''s fine, we just arrived a few minutes ago ourselves.¡± ¡°And I just finished setting up the barrier.¡± Agatha said. Minato smiled back before he looked at the red haired man as he said, ¡°Great, and let me introduce you to someone. This is Ashina Uzumaki.¡± Steve reached out and shook Ashina''s hand as he said, ¡°It''s nice to meet you.¡± Ashina smiled as he said, ¡°Same to you.¡± After the others introduced themselves Peggy said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised Ezekiel is sending someone new with us. I expected Itachi, Shisui, Kakashi or maybe Sakumo.¡± ¡°Ezekiel wants to deal with Kang while we are in the quantum realm, so he sent a sealing master.¡± Peggy and Steve both turned to look at Minato as Peggy asked, ¡°Who''s Kang?¡± Minato smiled as he rubbed the back of his head and said, ¡°Oh, I forgot you weren''t briefed about him.¡± Hank stepped in between everyone as he said, ¡°You can talk about Kang once we''re in the quantum realm. Let''s get going.¡± Steve gave Hank a questioning look as he asked, ¡°What''s the hurry? It''s not like a couple extra minutes will matter.¡± Hank frowned as he said, ¡°It actually might, so we need to go now.¡± Steve and Peggy tensed up slightly as Steve asked, ¡°What happened, is your wife in danger? Does it involve this Kang person?¡± ¡°It¡¯s personal. Now if you¡¯re coming, get on the ship. Otherwise I am leaving without you.¡± Hank said as he moved towards the ship they were using to enter the tunnel with. ¡°Wait, let me set up the proper spells.¡± Agatha said as Hank continued to move towards the ship. When he didn¡¯t stop on his own, she pointed a finger at him and an orange spell chain shot out and wrapped around him, locking him in place. Hank wanted to say something, but the spell binded his mouth also. Agatha walked in front of him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re in such a hurry, but we are doing things properly. After I place spells on everyone, we will leave. If you understand, nod your head once.¡± Hank glared at Agatha but nodded his head once. Agatha smiled before she said, ¡°Good boy.¡± Agatha then began to cast a spell which she quickly weaved with her hands and after about a minute of chanting, the spell expanded out and clocked everyone going into the quantum realm. She then looked at the others as she said, ¡°Now we can go.¡± As the others moved towards the ship, Agatha turned back to Hank and finally released the spell. Once released she said, ¡°I know Ezekiel probably told you something and that¡¯s why you¡¯re all riled up right now and in a rush. But there are more important things going on with this trip than just finding your wife. Keep that in mind going forward or I¡¯ll lock you up in the ship when we get there.¡± Hank glared at Agatha for a few more moments before he exhaled slowly and then said, ¡°Sorry. I just need to find my wife as soon as possible.¡± ¡°And you will, but only if you don¡¯t try to rush us before we''re ready.¡± Hank nodded as Minato stuck his head out the ship¡¯s hatch and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the hold up? I thought you were in a rush?¡± Agatha smiled as Hank frowned and she said, ¡°We¡¯re coming, get buckled in.¡± After getting into the ship Hank sat in the pilot seat and started to go over a pre-flight check with Darren over a radio. After a few minutes Hank flipped the last switch and the ship lifted off the ground with some anti-grav tech they found on Sakaar. He glanced back at the others as he said, ¡°Engage your helmets just in case.¡± Before his own helmet covered his head. The clones were the only ones without helmets, which was fine since they didn¡¯t breathe air. A few seconds later Hank guided the ship slowly through the quantum tunnel entrance. As the ship entered the tunnel, the cockpit of the ship lit in a swirl of rainbow colors and within a moment the ship vanished from the lab. After a few moments, Erik let out a whistle before he asked, ¡°Did you see the data from monitor two? Is that real?¡± Bill patted Erik¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°Welcome to super science kid. You¡¯ll be seeing a lot more stuff like this in the future.¡± 00127. Exploring the quantum realm. It didn''t take long for their ship to make it into the quantum realm, since the quantum tunnel acted like a direct portal into it. Once inside, Hank landed the ship on the first flat surface he found, which ended up being right below the ship. It was a weird flat area of gray and purple stuff that looked like grass. In the distance from where they landed, spread throughout the grass were many small and large piles of rocks. The sky above them was painted from purple to dark blue in color. Each color highlighted the next almost like some kind of crazy impressionist painting, but if you looked closely you would see the colors moving around themselves slowly in a swirl type pattern. Hank turned to the rest of the group as he said, ¡°I''m not sure if we should use the ship to travel around with. If it became damaged, we would have a hard time getting back out.¡± Agatha smiled at Hank as she said, ¡°I can still feel a connection to magic here. We should be able to use our emergency exit if needed. But I''ll want to test a few things first.¡± ¡°Meowww, meow meeooww.¡± Agatha reached over and scratched behind Ebony''s ear as she said, ¡°Yes dear, that''s fine. But just remember to stay close by.¡± ¡°Meow!¡± Agatha looked back at Hank as she said, ¡°I''ll go outside to test while you tell Steve and Peggy about Kang. Once we''re done, we can start looking for your wife.¡± Agatha tapped a rune on her suit and a second later a helmet popped out, covering her head. As she moved towards the airlock with Ebony, Hank started to share the information he was given about Kang with them. After Agatha stepped out of the ship, she moved a small distance away as Ebony took off in a different direction to explore. Once a safe distance away, Agatha began to cast minor spells. After the first few worked correctly, she tested a few more advanced spells before she opened a portal. The other end of the portal opened up a few hundred feet from her. She then kept the portal open as she tested it with different spells. Once she was satisfied it was stable, she picked up a few weird looking rock type things from the ground and moved them through the portal with magic. Then she brought them back through the portal and examined them. While she tested out her magic, Ebony was running through the weird grassland exploring everything they could. Within a few minutes they were over a mile away from the ship and checking out an outcropping of rocks a short distance away. Ebony came this way first because they smelt something interesting in this area. As Ebony slowly crept through the grass towards the rocks, the smell became more potent. Around halfway to the rocks Ebony froze in place as part of the rocks shifted. It was slight, but all the rocks shifted just a tiny amount, almost barely noticeable. Ebony, more cautious now, moved to the right before it moved in closer to the rocks. Again Ebony froze in place as the rocks shifted again, this time it was more pronounced then before. Ebony shifted its position lower before it took another step forward. When the rocks didn''t move, Ebony took another step forward. Again the rocks didn''t move so Ebony stepped forward cautiously again, but this time the rocks shifted. All of the rocks seemed to shake slightly for a few moments before it stopped. Ebony slowly laid down on the ground as it studied the rocks. As it watched the rocks, Ebony lightly tapped the ground in front of itself with its paw. The second its paw touched the ground, all the rocks shook again. Ebony was about to test the rocks again when a portal opened up next to them. Ebony turned to look at the portal and saw Agatha standing next to the ship with the others as she said, ¡°Come along Ebony, we¡¯re going to set out.¡± Ebony pointed its paw in front of itself as it said, ¡°Meow, meow meeooww meeeow.¡± ¡°You ate before we left.¡± ¡°Meowww meow meeoowwwww.¡± Agatha crossed her arms over her chest as she said, ¡°I don''t care how good it smells, you are not eating the first thing you found here. Now come along.¡± Ebony glanced back at the rocks one more time before it jumped into the portal which snapped closed behind it. A second later the rocks moved again, but this time they expanded out into a rock covered creature. The creature looked like an animal, some rocks and possibly plants were all combined together. The creature was confused as it looked at the spot where its next meal was and found nothing. After a few moments of looking around, it returned to its dormant state and waited for its next meal. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. After Ebony landed in front of the group Minato said, ¡°If you give me and Tobirama a few minutes, we''ll scout out the area around us.¡± ¡°It''s fine, I came prepared.¡± Hank said as he touched some buttons on a tablet he was carrying. A few seconds later ten drones about the size of large dogs shot out of the top of the ship. They extended wings before they flew off in different directions. Minato smiled slightly as he pulled out a handful of kunai and said, ¡°We were about to do the same thing.¡± Tobirama nodded in agreement as he showed a handful of kunai himself. Hank glanced at the kunai in curiosity as he asked, ¡°Are those some kinda special sensors?¡± Minato tossed one at the ground and another a few hundred feet away before he disappeared in a flash. Everyone saw him at the other spot holding the kunai he just tossed before he reappeared next to them and said, ¡°We can use them as teleportation beacons. They make scouting a quick task.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t the range be limited by how far you can throw them?¡± Hank asked. Minato shrugged as he said, ¡°I''ve thrown them up to five miles before.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve thrown them about three miles myself.¡± Tobirama added. Everyone turned to look at Minato and Tobirama as Hank asked, ¡°How is that even possible?¡± Steve nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I could throw anything even half a mile away.¡± Hank glanced down at his tablet as Minato smiled and said, ¡°You can with your new body, if you train enough.¡± Hank tapped on his tablet a few times before he said, ¡°Looks like one of the drones found something. Let¡¯s head towards it and check it out.¡± When the others agreed, Hank placed a disc on the ship and shrunk it down. As he placed the ship into a small pouch on his waist he said, ¡°Alright follow me.¡± The group formed up with Hank as the leader and started to move through the grass land area towards the drone. As they moved close to a small pile of rocks Ebony hissed out followed by a low meow. Agatha pointed at the rocks in the distance and said, ¡°Ebony says those might be dangerous¡­ and smell delicious.¡± Ebony nodded its head before they licked their lips. The group glanced over at the rock formation as Hank said, ¡°Let''s just go around them for now.¡± The others nodded in agreement and made sure to stay away from all the rock formations they found. It took a little while before they came to the location the drone indicated. What they found was the edge of a cliff and hundreds of feet below them was a portal into another area which was a massive expense of land with what looked like a green colored river flowing through it. Hank pulled up his tablet and started to check it before he said in a frustrated tone, ¡°This is going to take a while. Two other drones found more portals.¡± ¡°I can scout this one, just hold on to this and I¡¯ll be back when I¡¯m finished.¡± Minato said as he handed a kunai to Hank. Steve glanced at the portal before he said, ¡°I don¡¯t think we should split up, what happens if you run into trouble and can¡¯t teleport back to us?¡± Minato smiled and tossed a kunai through the portal as he said, ¡°Well it''s a good thing I don¡¯t currently have a body. I¡¯m expendable.¡± A second later Minato disappeared and the others couldn¡¯t see him through the portal at all. Tobirama shrugged as he said, ¡°Honestly this is probably the best way to explore this place. I¡¯ll take another portal and have a look around myself while you all stay here.¡± The others couldn¡¯t really argue with the logic of Minato or Tobirama so Hank pointed Tobirama towards another portal while his group explored the area around them. While Hank¡¯s team started to explore the quantum realm, Ezekiel was busy with Fury going over a few things. Well at first it was just Ezekiel being berated for not sharing important information with Fury, but after that they had to figure out how to integrate the valkyries into the base and training for them. Once Ezekiel finished with that, he went back home and changed back to his normal appearance. He let one of his clones cover for him at school today and it was about time they came back. So he moved to his work computer to wait for his clone to come home. While he waited for that he checked out a few things on Vibe and then moved to his website for his game. With the help of some people on Vibe and just dumb luck the game has sold over a million copies now and even gained some attention from a few game companies wanting to buy the game. With all of Theo¡¯s protections set in place no one knew he made the game or that the money was going to his parents account. That isn¡¯t to say a few people tried to find out, but they were led in the wrong direction to a fake company and account. Theo had a couple clones working everyday just to keep people in the dark about him being behind the game. His plan was to sell it to Vibe after it became more popular and place the demo mode on all the tablets and phones Tony was making. Speaking of Tony, Theo finally shared some of the alien technology they found on Sakaar with him. To say he was happy would be an understatement. Tony didn¡¯t sleep for almost three days straight after the tech was dropped off. Since then, Tony has been testing and deconstructing everything, figuring out how it all works. Within a day he already figured out a new way to increase a cell tower''s signal strength to cover almost twenty miles with a single tower. For a lower bandwidth frequency twenty miles is nothing, but they were using a higher frequency signal which normally traveled a lot shorter distance. Once Tony figured that out, he asked Theo to redo the coding the cell towers would use to handle the extra traffic and bandwidth. With just that one little thing, Tony¡¯s cellular service will be able to cover all of the US with no issue. Tony already had a new branch of Stark Tech building cell towers everywhere in the world and with the slight change to the technology it wasn¡¯t hard to retrofit towers already in place. Actually it made less work for the company, since they mostly bought out towers already in place or bought some space on the tower itself, if a company didn¡¯t want to sell the tower to Stark. 00128. The quantum realm, bigger than it sounds. After being gone for a few days, Agatha contacted Tao with the bracelet she wore. Since that was designed for their escape plan, Tao opened a portal to the quantum realm. After Agatha and Tao talked about the situation, Tao closed the portal and then sent Theo a message using her smartphone. By the next day of getting the message, Theo showed up to Genosha in his Ezekiel disguise carrying a backpack and made his way to Tao. Ezekiel placed a backpack on the ground as he said, ¡°I thought this might happen.¡± Tao nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°From what you described of the place, I think it might take them a few months to find her, if not longer.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he asked, ¡°Can you open a portal to them?¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°It''s not hard to do now that we made contact. Give me a moment to find them.¡± Tao wove a spell together and after about a minute she opened up a portal next to Agatha. Agatha glanced through the portal and smiled as she asked, ¡°You wouldn''t want to trade places would you? I''m not sure if I want to stay here till we find Hank''s wife.¡± Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°No thanks.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You were the one who volunteered to go in the first place.¡± ¡°I know, but this could take months. Everytime Minato and Tobirama come back, they tell us they found even more branches to explore.¡± Agatha said with a sigh. Ezekiel lifted up the backpack and passed it through the portal as he said, ¡°Don''t worry, it shouldn''t take that long. This is something I just finished making to help with the search.¡± Agatha took the backpack as she asked, ¡°How is this backpack going to help in the search? I barely feel any magic power in it.¡± ¡°Just give the backpack to Hank, he¡¯ll know what it¡¯s for since he helped to make it. I¡¯m also sending clones to help.¡± Ezekiel smiled before he made a hand sign and over fifty clones appeared around him. Ezekiel glanced at the clones as he said, ¡°You know what to do.¡± The clones all nodded before they moved through the portal. Once they were on the other side they moved towards Hank and the others who were currently looking over his tablet. Agatha glanced at the clones before she asked, ¡°You plan to use your clones for scouting?¡± ¡°Yes. All of them will be exploring different places till they run out of chakra. Once I receive the memories, I should be able to map out the quantum realm quickly. But I don¡¯t think it will be needed if Hank uses the backpack.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. ¡°So why didn''t we do this in the first place or give us the backpack before we left?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°There was no way Hank would wait for me to find her with clones and I hadn''t finished up the backpack yet. I¡¯ve had clones working on that thing for months after Hank gave it to me. But I didn''t expect to use it now, it was meant for after we found his wife, so I just finished it an hour ago.¡± Agatha nodded in understanding before she lifted up the backpack and asked, ¡°What exactly is this thing?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Give it to Hank, he''ll show you what it is. I wouldn''t want to ruin the surprise.¡± Agatha glanced at Tao as she said, ¡°Increase his training while I''m gone.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I was already planning too, since you won''t be around to help.¡± Ezekiel started to sweat as he said, ¡°Umm, I think I hear my mom calling me for dinner. Gotta go.¡± Before his afterimage disappeared from view. Tao and Agatha looked at each other before they started to chuckle. Once they stopped, Tao asked, ¡°Do you need anything special while you''re stuck there?¡± ¡°Decent food would be nice. Hank brought some MREs on the ship¡­ But they aren''t great. Works if you''re hungry, but that''s about it. Pretty sure Steve is the only one who thinks they''re good.¡± Agatha said. Tao nodded in understanding before she said, ¡°The backpack should take care of that issue, I think.¡± ¡°You know what''s in the backpack?¡± ¡°No, but Ezekiel said it was to help out with your long term stay in the quantum realm.¡± Tao said. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Then I better take this over to Hank. I¡¯ll contact you in a few days unless something comes up first.¡± Agatha said. As Tao started to close the portal she said, ¡°Good luck.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Agatha said as the portal snapped closed. Afterwards she moved towards the group as the last few clones of Ezekiel disappeared to explore different portals in the quantum realm. Agatha handed the backpack to Hank as she said, ¡°Ezekiel said to give you this.¡± Hank smiled as he took the backpack and said, ¡°Great with this we can save more time.¡± The others looked at the backpack as Steve asked, ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡± ¡°Give me a moment and I¡¯ll show you.¡± Hank said as he moved away from the group. After he was a hundred feet or so away he placed the backpack on the ground and opened up the top before he pulled something out and placed it on the ground. He pulled his tablet around and connected a cable to it, before he typed on it for a moment. A few seconds later the thing on the ground expanded rapidly into a very large building. After that Hank disconnected his tablet and picked up the backpack before he turned around and waved the others to come over. When the others were close, Hank said, ¡°This will be our base from now on, no more moving around.¡± Peggy glanced at the building before she asked, ¡°Why are we going to stop here? Can¡¯t we just carry this around in the backpack?¡± Hank shook his head as he said, ¡°Come inside and I¡¯ll show you why.¡± It took a few minutes to get into the building through a bunch of decontamination features. Once inside Steve noticed some weird runes carved into a few things and asked Agatha, ¡°Did you and Tao help make this?¡± Agatha shook her head as she said, ¡°No, Ezekiel made this himself as far as I know.¡± Agatha checked the runes by running her hand over them and injecting a little bit of magic into each one. After a few moments she said, ¡°The spell itself works well, but the runes are lacking. Not bad for his first try though.¡± ¡°What do the runes actually do?¡± Peggy asked. As Agatha pushed the button on her helmet and it collapsed into her suit she said, ¡°It¡¯s an advanced cleansing spell. Think of it like the decontamination area we just went through, but with magic.¡± The others copied her and removed their helmets as Hank said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a quick tour as we head to the main hub of this place.¡± Hank started to walk down the entrance hallway to the only crossing point and said, ¡°I helped Ezekiel design this place. It was meant to be completed after I found Janet, but it looks like Ezekiel finished it early. It was made to help explore the quantum realm and map it out completely if possible.¡± Hank pointed down a hallway to the left and said, ¡°That should be the dorms, armory and kitchen area.¡± Hank then pointed to the hallway to the right and said, ¡°That should be a recreation area, gym, theater and library. I¡¯m pretty sure the gym has a pool and sauna too.¡± ¡°Do we really need all this stuff?¡± Steve asked. Hank started walking again as he shrugged and said, ¡°Ezekiel said we needed it in the facility. I wasn¡¯t going to argue with him since he paid for everything and was helping me find Janet.¡± They moved down the main entrance to a sealed door which opened as Hank stepped within ten feet of it. Inside was a decent sized room with a large screen on the far wall, while a comfy looking chair sat in the middle of the room. Against the entrance wall was another set of normal looking chairs. As Hank moved towards the chair in the middle of the room he said, ¡°Take a seat and I¡¯ll show you what this place is meant for.¡± As everyone sat down Peggy asked, ¡°Is it me, or did the building look a lot bigger from the outside?¡± Hank adjusted his chair as he typed on his tablet for a few moments before he said, ¡°Only thirty percent of the building is meant for our use. The rest of it is designed for its main purpose.¡± The large screen in the room powered on and they could see what looked like a dark hanger bay. A moment later the top of the hanger started to open and everyone could see a hanger full of drones. Hank typed on his tablet and after the hanger opened up they could see some satellite towers rise out of the building in certain areas. After that the drones started to power on and then small groups started to leave the hangar and fly away. Hank finished typing before he pointed at the satellite towers as he said, ¡°The main reason we are staying here is because of those. With the ten portals close to us, this will be one of the best places to make use of those towers.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the drones lose signal once they pass through a portal, like the drones from the ship?¡± Peggy asked. Hank shook his head and pointed at a group of ten drones leaving the hangar as he said, ¡°Ezekiel made those drones with portals in mind. One drone will stay on this side of the portal connected to another drone with a cable that will travel to the other side of the portal.¡± Hank typed on his tablet to show the view from a different set of drones. It showed what he was talking about before he said, ¡°Now the other drones will talk to that drone and explore the area. If another portal is found, another set of drones expand the network and another group of drones is called in to explore it. As long as we don¡¯t run out of drones, we should be able to explore every portal we come across and I can check it all over from this room.¡± Agatha stood up from her chair as she said, ¡°Well if that¡¯s the case, I am going to check out the kitchen area and eat some real food.¡± ¡°Meow!¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯ll feed you too.¡± Agatha said before she left the room. Peggy and Steve shared a glance before Peggy said, ¡°We¡¯re gonna go check out the rest of the place. Just call if you need something.¡± Hank waved them off as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll be here for a while getting everything going.¡± As Hank settled into his chair, he sent commands to different set¡¯s of drones. He had a pretty good grasp of the area around them already and sent the drones to the portals he knew about. As he finished setting the first set of commands he said to himself, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Janet, I¡¯ll find you soon.¡± 00129. Taking care of a future villain. While Hank and his team continued to explore the quantum realm in search of his wife. Theo went back to work on a project he was neglecting for the past couple years. He originally planned to build a massive complex in Brooklyn to act as Vibe''s headquarters. But buying up all the land took a while and only a month ago the last property was purchased. Even though the area he wanted was mostly industrial and warehouse space near his fathers business. A lot of people didn''t want to sell at first even when he offered them more than the property was worth. For anyone who didn''t want to sell for a reasonable offer, Theo did some research. Most of them just wanted more money because they thought the property was worth more. But most of those properties were owned by large companies, so Theo did the only reasonable thing and stole the properties instead. It wasn¡¯t hard to do either since the companies were so big the properties just disappeared into nothing like the company never owned them in the first place. The people who knew about the properties first hand? Theo sent a clone to hide the memories about each property. With Theo taking that route, he was able to claim about sixty percent of the area he wanted. As for the rest of the properties, Theo paid out the owners the asking price plus thirty percent. A few argued for more when they realized someone was buying up all the property in the area. So Theo dealt with those people on a person to person basis. If they were decent people he would gladly pay them more. For the people who weren¡¯t, Theo would take the property for market price or less. Depending on how bad of a person they were, would depend on how much Theo would give them for the property. The two people Theo found to be slumlords, well they ended up losing all of their properties and disappeared never to be seen again. Theo was planning to transfer the properties to a family member, but everyone close to them wasn¡¯t much better. So Theo took over the properties, found a good company to manage them and then sunk a bunch of money into fixing up the buildings outside of the area he was going to demolish. He also helped move the tenants from the area he was going to demo to other buildings he was fixing up. As for the area in Brooklyn that Theo bought up, he ran into one small issue. Most of the buildings in the area he bought up, had current tenants that needed to be dealt with. All of them had some form of lease or rental agreement for at least a year or more. So Theo went to each of them with clones and offered a cash incentive to close out their lease agreement. He even offered to cover the moving cost for them if they agreed. Most of them took the offer but there were a few who didn¡¯t want to move their business. When Theo looked into the few holdouts, all of them were older and just liked the area they were in. So Theo went to each of them and offered to buy out their businesses. At first they didn¡¯t want to sell, but Theo pointed out that when their lease agreement was up, they would have to move no matter what. With that all but one person agreed to sell their business to Theo and he didn¡¯t low ball them either. They were all just hard working people with a small business, so Theo paid them three times what the business was worth. As for the last hold out, they didn¡¯t want to sell because the business was a front. With its location close to the water, it was used for smuggling. Freighter ships would come into port in New York and before the ship was searched, they would off load certain cargo onto a small boat. That boat would then cruise across the harbor over to Brooklyn and enter an old sewer tunnel which went underneath the building in question. It was a pretty smooth operation and if Theo wasn¡¯t trying to clear out that whole area for his project, he never would have found it. It didn¡¯t take long for Theo to take care of the whole operation, just a few clones over a week and Theo caught everyone involved with the operation. They mostly smuggled drugs, but they would also move cash, stolen art and a few other things sometimes. As for dealing with the underlings involved, it depended on how bad they were. The few he found that were just trying to survive and hadn¡¯t done anything serious yet, he gave them a second chance. For the people Theo considered bad, he just loaded them up with a bag of drugs and then put them under a genjutsu that made them think they were going to deliver it to a client. The client was a police station. As for the ring leaders, well they were all pieces of work. So Theo made sure they disappeared and took over anything they owned and sold it for a quick profit. Since all of that was now completed, Theo needed to start his next step of the project. He needed to demo all of the buildings and he knew just the person for the job. Adrian Toomes, he was currently running a small salvage company, which he used to support his wife and young daughter. He also had the potential to one day become known as the villain named the vulture if Theo wasn¡¯t careful. So Theo figured the best way to stop it was to help the guy out. Theo''s first order of business was to use his Ezekiel persona and set up a meeting with Adrian at one of the buildings he purchased in the Brooklyn area. The morning of the meeting, Adrian woke up a little groggy to the smell of breakfast being made. He smiled to himself. Doris, his loving wife, got up early again to make sure he had something for breakfast besides a cup of coffee. After getting ready, Adrian went to the kitchen and found his wife and daughter. His daughter just finished setting the table as his wife finished cooking. Adrian moved towards the coffee pot as he said, ¡°How are my lovely ladies doing this morning?¡± Doris turned off the stove as she said, ¡°We¡¯re good. How¡¯re you? Did you get enough sleep?¡± As Adrian poured himself a cup of coffee he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine after some coffee.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Dad, look what I drew in class!¡± His daughter Elizabeth said as she pointed to the fridge. Adrian glanced at the picture and smiled before he said, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful hunny. Now come here and give me my morning hug.¡± Adrian set his coffee down and then picked up his daughter in a hug. Afterwards he gave his wife a hug and said, ¡°Thanks for making breakfast.¡± Doris kissed his cheek before she said, ¡°Your welcome. Now let''s eat. You have a big day today meeting with a potential client.¡± As Adrian sat down he said, ¡°It¡¯s just a meeting. I doubt much will come out of it.¡± Doris shook her head as she said, ¡°You have to think positive thoughts and positive things will happen in return.¡± Adrian couldn¡¯t help but smile. His wife always said that, but so far it didn¡¯t help. They were barely scraping by as he tried to get his small business off the ground, while his wife worked a full time job. But he wasn¡¯t one to argue with his wife, since she was one of the smartest people he knew. He nodded his head and said, ¡°Alright sweetie, I¡¯ll only think positive thoughts about the meeting.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Doris said before they started to eat breakfast and shared some small talk. After breakfast, Doris took their daughter to school and Adrian headed to Brooklyn for his meeting with his potential client. Ezekiel was seated on the steps of a building with Shisui chatting as a beat up quad cab truck pulled up. On the side of the truck was the company name, ¡®Toomes Salvage¡¯ with a phone number. The man who stepped out of the truck was wearing a set of coveralls and looked like a younger version of his movie counterpart. As Adrian came around his truck he studied the two young men seated on the steps of the building. Both of them looked familiar to him but he just couldn¡¯t place them. As he moved towards them, Ezekiel stood up and extended his hand as he said, ¡°Mr. Toomes, I¡¯m Ezekiel and this is my assistant Shisui. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± As he shook each of their hands Adrian said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too. And just Adrian is fine.¡± Adrian took a quick glance at the building as he asked, ¡°So what can I help you with?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°A few things actually. Let''s head upstairs and I¡¯ll show you what I want to hire you for.¡± They didn¡¯t really talk as they moved to the top of the building and came out on the roof. Near one edge of the roof was a set of sawhorses with a piece of wood laid across them making a table. Once they neared the makeshift table, Shisui pulled out some papers from a tube that was resting on the table. As he started to roll them out Ezekiel asked, ¡°Adrian, how would you feel about expanding your business?¡± ¡°Expanding my business? How big is the salvage job you have?¡± Adrian asked. Ezekiel pointed to the paperwork on the table as he said, ¡°Well salvage is only one portion of the job. The main portion of the job would be demolition, but you could also run salvage on it.¡± Adrian looked down at the paper and realized it was a map of the area and every building was marked with an X for demolition. After taking a few moments Adrian looked up at Ezekiel and said, ¡°I think you called the wrong guy.¡± ¡°Did I?¡± Ezekiel glanced at Shisui as he asked, ¡°It said Toomes Salvage on his truck right?¡± As Shisui nodded his head, Adrian said, ¡°Look, I appreciate the offer. But I really think you have the wrong guy. I only do salvage and even if I wanted to run just salvage on this operation. I only have two employees, my truck and a trailer.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°So you just need to hire more staff and buy some equipment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. I don¡¯t have the money to do that and no one would give me a loan to do something like that.¡± Adrian said. ¡°Hypothetically, if you could get a loan. Would you want the job?¡± Ezekiel asked with a smile. ¡°Of course I would.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he asked, ¡°What about the demolition, would you do it if you had the men and equipment?¡± Adrian glanced at the map again before he said, ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. But that would never happen. You''re talking about millions of dollars just for the equipment and tools. Then the business license, special work permits for the demolition work and then enough money to pay the employees for a job that could take at least a year.¡± ¡°So what, like ten or twenty million?¡± Ezekiel asked. Adrian kept looking at the map as he nodded and then said, ¡°Maybe a little less, but ya.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Well then I guess we have a deal.¡± Adrian¡¯s head snapped up and he looked at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What?¡± ¡°We have a deal, I¡¯ll have a contract drawn up for a loan and the project I want you to do by the end of the day.¡± Ezekiel said as he smirked. Adrian was dazed as he asked, ¡°You''re joking with me right?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Why what?¡± Adrian glanced at the map again as he asked, ¡°Why are you offering something like this to me? You could go to any company and they would jump at the chance to bid on this job.¡± ¡°Because, I did my research. You might not have a big company yet, but everyone who you¡¯ve worked for has nothing but good things to say about you.¡± Ezekiel said before he smiled again. ¡°And you know what that tells me?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°That I do good work?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That¡¯s one part of it. The other is it¡¯s only a matter of time before your business grows a lot bigger. I¡¯m offering you a way to do that sooner. The question is are you willing to do it?¡± 00130. Everyone has their own priorities. After Adrian agreed to work with Ezekiel, a contract was drafted a few days later with a few clauses in place. The first clause was the loan Ezekiel was giving Adrian for his business was an advanced payment for the overall job. The second clause was if the job was completed on time the company would receive a bonus payment. The last clause was a signing bonus for Adrian himself. Ezekiel gave the man five hundred thousand dollars for accepting the job. When Adrian read over the contract with the help of his wife who was currently a paralegal. They both had the same thought, Ezekiel was crazy. But Adrian still signed the contract with his wife''s blessing. After Ezekiel accepted the contract back he said, ¡°With your signing bonus I would recommend buying a house in Brooklyn close to the project.¡± Adrian glanced at his wife who said, ¡°We''ve always talked about buying a house somewhere just outside the city limits where it''s less crowded.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°You can do that if you want. But it would advise against it for two reasons.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he held up one finger and said, ¡°The first is your commute time into the city. You would be looking at an hour drive or more just to do anything in the city. Longer if you''re coming out to Brooklyn to oversee the project.¡± Ezekiel raised another finger as he said, ¡°You would be making a terrible financial decision.¡± Adrian shared a look with his wife before he asked, ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°Because of the job you''re doing here for me and what will be built here afterwards. Hold on a second and I¡¯ll show you.¡± Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and typed on it for a moment before he placed it on the table. He then pulled out a small device with a cable and plugged it into the tablet before he hit a button on the side of it. Adrian and his wife jumped in shock as a realistic 3D model appeared in the air, just above the device. After getting over his shock Adrian asked in wonder, ¡°How did you do that?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°This is just some technology I made with the help of a friend. He designed the hardware portion and I programmed the software.¡± ¡°Who''s your friend, Tony Stark?¡± Doris asked jokingly. ¡°Yup.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Adrian jumped up from his seat and pointed at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°That''s why you look so familiar! You were all over the news with Tony a while back! You beat up all those people in that Vegas casino!¡± Doris opened her mouth in shock and wanted to say something but couldn''t. Adrian, who was still standing, asked, ¡°Are you really a mutant? I mean, you look normal to me. Aren¡¯t mutants supposed to look different?¡± Doris recovered quickly and slapped her husband''s arm as she said, ¡°You shouldn''t talk like that, it''s rude.¡± Adrian looked a little embarrassed as he sat back down and said, ¡°What, it''s just a question.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Doris is right, it''s rude, but it''s fine. I personally don''t mind it, but I wouldn''t recommend doing that to anyone else. As for your question, yes I''m a meta-human which is the proper term to use for someone like me.¡± Adrian smiled sheepishly as he said, ¡°Sorry, I got a little excited since I''ve never met a mut¡­ Meta-human before.¡± Ezekiel waved it off as he said, ¡°It''s not a big deal. And for the record, you¡¯ve probably met a few meta-humans before and never knew it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°There¡¯s a good chance. A lot of them look normal, just like me.¡± ¡°Umm, Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Adrian frowned a little as he asked, ¡°You don''t have to answer it if you don''t want to, but what''s it like?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, what''s it like being a meta-human?¡± As Adrian finished his wife slapped his arm again as she shot him a glare before she turned to Ezekiel and said, ¡°You don''t have to answer that.¡± Ezekiel started to laugh for a few moments before he said, ¡°Man that was good. And here I thought Tony was the only person who would ask a stupid question like that.¡± Adrian was hit again by his wife as Ezekiel shook his head before he smiled and said, ¡°You know I¡¯m just as human as you are, I just have a little something extra is all. Does it make me special? I guess, but you could say the same thing for anyone else. Everyone is different and unique when you really take the time to think about it. Maybe they don¡¯t have powers, but that doesn¡¯t make them any less unique or special.¡± Adrian and Doris nodded along before Adrian said, ¡°I never really thought about it like that before, but it makes a lot of sense now that you mention it.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Most people don¡¯t. But that¡¯s fine. Also we got off topic.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed back at the hologram floating over the table. Adrian rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°Sorry.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. But like I was saying. This area will be the future site of a few projects I am working on. But one of the main one¡¯s is the headquarters of Vibe.¡± ¡°Vibe? You mean that website that has videos?¡± Adrian asked. Doris shook her head as she said, ¡°It¡¯s more than a website, it¡¯s a whole platform and it¡¯s growing bigger by the day.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he said, ¡°Our current user base is around fifty-five million people. But in the next six months that user base should at least triple. It really depends on how an upcoming project goes.¡± Adrian glanced at his wife as he asked, ¡°Is it really that popular?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the actual numbers, but I don¡¯t see why not. Some videos have tens of millions of views.¡± Doris said. Ezekiel nodded and moved the hologram around to show an overview of the area and marked a few spots as he said, ¡°It is, which is why I said you should buy a house around this area. Within the next five to ten years, all the properties around this area will explode in value. I¡¯m also slowing buying up more properties in Brooklyn so I can add more to this project down the road.¡± Adrian shared a glance with his wife before he said, ¡°We¡¯ll have to think about it. But thanks for the advice.¡± Doris nodded in agreement before her watch beeped a few times, which she glanced down at before she said, ¡°I don¡¯t wanna be rude, but we have to pick our daughter up from the babysitter in half an hour.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine, the main reason for our meeting was getting the contract signed.¡± Adrian stood up and extended his hand as he said, ¡°Thank you again for giving me this opportunity.¡± Ezekiel stood up and shook his hand as he said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± After shaking Doris¡¯s hand Ezekiel said, ¡°Also, I¡¯m not sure if you have plans tonight, but I¡¯d like to invite you to dinner.¡± Adrian glanced at his wife before he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we can, our babysitter doesn¡¯t work past five.¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need a babysitter, you can bring your daughter with you.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°She¡¯s a little young though, I¡¯m not sure how well she would do in a restaurant.¡± Doris said. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m going to bring a kid myself, so it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± ¡°Oh you have a kid? But you''re so young.¡± Doris said. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I just look young. As for kids, I have a couple. But it¡¯s a complicated situation with them currently.¡± Doris frowned as she thought there might be a custody battle going on before she said, ¡°Sorry to hear that, but hopefully it all works out for you and your kids.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sure it will.¡± Ezekiel reached down and turned off the hologram projector as he asked, ¡°So can I pick you guys up around six?¡± Doris shared a quick glance with her husband who nodded before she said, ¡°Sure six o''clock sounds great.¡± Ezekiel picked up his tablet as Doris asked, ¡°Is there a dress code we need to worry about?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s going to be a really relaxed evening. So just wear comfortable clothes.¡± Ezekiel said. After Adrian and his wife left, Ezekiel locked up the building he was using and then portaled to his training room. Once there he changed back to normal and texted someone, ¡®Get ready, I¡¯ll pick you up in an hour and a half.¡¯ A thumbs up along with a grinning emoji was the response. Theo shook his head before he moved upstairs to his room and had his clone dispel before he walked upstairs to hang out with his family. As he walked into the kitchen his dad said, ¡°Perfect timing, come help me with dinner.¡± ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± Theo asked as he walked over to his dad. Jacob was in the process of setting out some bowls on the counter as he said, ¡°I was thinking of homemade mashed potatoes to go with the fried chicken I¡¯m making. Can you wash and peel them? I already have a pot of water on and heating up.¡± Theo moved to the kitchen pantry as he said, ¡°Sounds good to me, dad.¡± Theo pulled out a bag of potatoes from the pantry and moved to the kitchen sink where a little step stool was. After he stepped on it he could easily reach and use the sink, so Theo poured out the potatoes into the sink and turned on the water. After that Theo tossed the bag into the trash can underneath the sink and then pulled out a peeling knife from a drawer. As Theo started to wash and peel the potatoes, Jacob began to hum as he pulled out a large mixing bowl from the fridge with chicken that soaked in buttermilk overnight. As Jacob started to prepare chicken pieces by coating it in a flower and breadcrumb mix he broke out into a song. ¡°Well, it''s alllll right. Riding around in the breeze. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± As Jacob started to sing, Theo began to hum along knowing the song pretty well, since it was a favorite of his dads. ¡°If you live the life you please. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± ¡°Doing the best you can. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± As Jacob began the next part of the song Theo also started to sing along as he peeled potatoes. ¡°As long as you lend a hand.¡± Jacob smiled before he sang the next part as Theo added the chorus, ¡°You can sit around and wait for the phone to ring. (At the end of the line.)¡± ¡°Waiting for someone to tell you everything. (At the end of the line.)¡± ¡°Sit around and wonder what tomorrow will bring. (At the end of the line.)¡± ¡°Maybe a diamond ring.¡± Theo was in sync with Jacob over the next few verses as they sang out, ¡°Well, it''s alllll right. Even if they say you''re wrong. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± ¡°Sometimes you gotta be strong. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± ¡°As long as you got somewhere to lay. Well, it''s alllll right.¡± ¡°Every day is Judgment Day.¡± Over the next couple of minutes Theo and Jacob became lost preparing food and singing until the end of the song when they heard clapping. Both of them turned around to see Daniel, Issac and Milly as they stood by the kitchen entrance, each one with a smile on. Daniel looked down at Milly as she asked, ¡°What do you think Milly, does your dad and Theo have a music career ahead of them?¡± Milly shook her head as she said, ¡°No, daddy needs to make me cookies.¡± 00131. Picking up a kid. After eating dinner with his family, Theo made a new clone before he changed into Ezekiel and portaled onto the roof of the Toomes apartment building in New York before he moved down into the building itself. A few minutes later Ezekiel knocked on Adrian''s door and within a few moments Adrian opened the door before he said, ¡°Hey Ezekiel, please come in. It might be a couple of minutes.¡± Ezekiel followed Adrian into the small apartment and took a seat on the couch as Adrian sat across from him on a worn out recliner. Once seated Adrian asked, ¡°I thought you were bringing a kid with you?¡± ¡°Ya, but we¡¯ll pick them up on the way.¡± Ezekiel said. Adrian nodded in understanding as Doris came out of the back with her daughter in her arms. She smiled as she said, ¡°Sorry for the wait. Ezekiel, I¡¯d like you to meet our daughter Elizabeth.¡± Elizabeth smiled as she said, ¡°Hi, I''m Elizabeth, but my parents like to call me Liz. Mom said you work with daddy.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he stood up and said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Liz, I''m Ezekiel. And your mom is right, your dad is helping me with a very important job.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Adrian and asked, ¡°Did you lock your front door?¡± ¡°Ya I did. Why?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re going to travel by magic, so we won''t need to go out the front door.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Magic?¡±Adrian and Doris asked at the same time as Liz excitedly asked, ¡°You know magic? Can you make a bunny appear out of a hat?¡± Ezekiel smirked and started to swirl one hand in a circle as he said, ¡°I can do better than making a bunny appear from a hat. How about a magic portal to California?¡± As a portal appeared behind the family Liz said, ¡°But bunnies are cute.¡± ¡°I know someone who would agree with you, but magic portals are cooler.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°No, bunnies are cooler!¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Well look behind you and tell me if a magic portal isn''t cooler than a bunny.¡± As the family turned around, they froze in place except Elizabeth who asked in wonder, ¡°What''s that?¡± Ezekiel stepped around the family and into the portal as he said, ¡°A magic portal to California. Now come along, we need to pick someone up.¡± Ezekiel stood on the other side of the portal for a few seconds before Adrian''s brain rebooted and he asked, ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°I just told you, a magic portal to California. Just step through it.¡± Adrian glanced at his wife who was still in shock and Liz who stared at the glowing orange portal in wide eyed wonder. Before Adrian tugged on Doris¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Come on.¡± Doris came out of her shock and asked, ¡°Is it safe?¡± Ezekiel nodded before he said, ¡°This is one of the safest forms of travel in the world. Just step through it.¡± As the family cautiously moved closer to the portal, Liz reached out to touch the glowing orange edge before Doris stopped her as she said, ¡°Don''t touch that, it''s dangerous.¡± Ezekiel patiently waited for the family as they moved through the portal. Once on the other side they looked around in wonder as the portal snapped closed. Before them was a beautiful view of the California coastline and ocean. While next to them was an infinity pool and some high end furniture. As they took it all in, Ezekiel walked past them towards the back door of a white mansion. Ezekiel opened up the sliding glass door as a voice spoke out over the speakers all around the house, ¡°This is a private residence and you are currently trespassing. Please stay where you are as security has already been notified.¡± As the Toomes turned around in shock again, Ezekiel asked, ¡°Tony still hasn''t added cameras and sensors so you can watch the back of the house JARVIS?¡± ¡°Oh, my apologies Mr. Ezekiel. I will inform Tony and security that it''s you.¡± JARVIS said. There was a quick pause before JARVIS said, ¡°Mr. Stark has yet to expand my sensor capabilities unfortunately¡­ If I might inquire, is there a reason you didn''t enter the house through the workshop?¡± ¡°I brought guests this time and you know how Tony is about his shop.¡± Ezekiel said. Adrian and his family walked closer to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°Who are you talking to Ezekiel?¡± Ezekiel turned back to Adrian as he said, ¡°Just JARVIS. You can think of him as Tony''s assistant¡­ Even though that¡¯s technically Pepper''s job. Then again Tony¡¯s so bad I guess he needs two assistants.¡± ¡°More like three.¡± Happy said as he came out of the hallway leading to his security room. ¡°I only need one assistant and that¡¯s Pepper, thank you very much.¡± Tony said as he walked out of the stairwell leading down to his workshop. Ezekiel walked into the house followed closely by the Toomes as he said, ¡°Oh really? What day is it?¡± Tony smirked as he confidently said, ¡°It¡¯s Wednesday.¡± ¡°Mr. Stark it is currently Friday, the fifth of April, two thousand and two.¡± JARVIS said happily. Adrian and his wife both shared a look as Ezekiel said, ¡°I believe I proved my point. Anyways, are you ready?¡± Tony frowned as he said, ¡°Yeah. But you didn¡¯t prove anything. You know I always lose track of the hours when I¡¯m working.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ezekiel gave Tony a flat look as he said, ¡°You lost track of two full days...¡± ¡°I was busy with that tech you gave me!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to blame me for..¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°You know what, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Ezekiel stepped aside as he waved a hand towards Adrian and his family as he said, ¡°I brought some guests. This is Adrian Toomes, his wife Doris and their daughter Elizabeth.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Tony as he said, ¡°And this is the kid I told you I was bringing with me. Tony Stark.¡± ¡°Hey! What do you mean I¡¯m a kid?!¡± Tony asked. Happy chuckled as he said, ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t pay you to side with him.¡± Tony said as he crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°Mr. Stark, I believe that Mr. Ezekiel is correct with his assertion in labeling you a child. Your typical¡­¡± ¡°Shut it, JARVIS. No one asked you.¡± Tony said with a huff. Ezekiel and Happy couldn¡¯t stop themselves as they laughed at Tony, who shot a glare at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°This is all your fault, you programmed him to be like this.¡± Ezekiel stopped laughing as he said, ¡°I know. But it¡¯s for your own good, it builds character.¡± Adrian finally spoke up as he asked, ¡°Programmed?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°JARVIS is short for, Just a Rather Very Intelligent System. But it would be easier to think of him as a pseudo AI.¡± ¡°AI like the thing in Terminator?!¡± Adrian asked in concern. Tony moved closer as he said, ¡°Kinda, but only in the most basic sense. JARVIS isn¡¯t really AI.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s AI but not AI?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°He. JARVIS isn¡¯t an it.¡± Tony corrected. ¡°Oh sorry.¡± Tony stepped close and extended his hand as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s nice to meet you by the way, how do you know Ezekiel?¡± As they shook hands Adrian said, ¡°I just signed a contract with him and he invited us to dinner afterwards.¡± Tony cast a glance at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Really? What¡¯re you two working on?¡± Ezekiel waved it off as he said, ¡°Just some stuff for Vibe. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± As Tony introduced himself to Doris and Liz, Ezekiel glanced at Happy and said, ¡°You ready to go?¡± ¡°Yup. But are you sure I should leave my weapon?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Ya, Tony will be fine. We are going to the safest place on the planet.¡± ¡°Wait, where exactly are we going?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°Genosha.¡± Ezekiel said as he smiled. ¡°Wait. Are we even allowed there? I heard they have strict policies on anyone even visiting the place.¡± Doris asked in concern. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, you''re coming as my guests.¡± ¡°Oh, do you live there?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°No, I just bankrolled the whole thing. Which gives me free reign to come and go as I please. I don¡¯t normally bring guests though.¡± Ezekiel turned to Tony as he said, ¡°The only rule is, when you see someone with visible mutations, don¡¯t stare.¡± ¡°Why are you talking to me like I¡¯m a kid? You should be telling her that.¡± Tony said as he pointed at Liz. ¡°Because I trust Liz not to stare¡­ Maybe it would be better if you wear glasses while you''re there.¡± Ezekiel said as he rubbed his chin in thought. Tony wanted to argue before Ezekiel said, ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll be with me anyways.¡± Ezekiel glanced at everyone before he asked, ¡°You guys ready?¡± Adrian and his family nodded as Happy asked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Pepper going to join us?¡± ¡°Oh! I knew I forgot someone. JARVIS, do you know where Pepper is?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Miss Potts just arrived at the front gate along with Major Rhodes, they will both join you shortly.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tony as he asked, ¡°You invited Rhodey?¡± Tony glanced away as he said, ¡°No.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You¡¯re a terrible liar. But it¡¯s fine, Rhodey can join us.¡± Everyone chatted for about a minute before Pepper and Rhodey joined them. After short introductions Ezekiel made a portal as he said, ¡°Once you''re on the other side, don¡¯t take off. We¡¯ll basically be in the customs line at the airport.¡± After everyone stepped through the portal they were greeted by a room filled with runic scripts that covered every inch of the walls, floor and ceiling. Everyone glanced around in wonder as Tony asked, ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°It''s one of the portal rooms for Genosha, it''s basically the only real way to enter the country now.¡± ¡°I doubt that. Someone can easily fly a plane to the island or drive a boat here.¡± Tony said. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Ask Rhodey. The US has tried to fly by the island almost ten times now. They also tried to reach the island with drones. None of it worked.¡± ¡°I can neither confirm nor deny anything you just said.¡± Rhodey said as he kept a straight face. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°We can discuss this more later, but for now let''s get going. The restaurant will be crowded soon with a dinner rush if we''re not careful.¡± As they started to walk towards the only exit point in the room Pepper asked, ¡°Why would there be a dinner rush? From my understanding, shouldn''t it be around ten PM here?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he opened the door leading out of the room and gestured for everyone to exit as he said, ¡°By normal time zone standards you''re correct. But a lot of people visit Genosha everyday and they live in other parts of the world. So Genosha kinda turned into this twenty four hour hub for the visitors.¡± As they stepped out into the main area of the portal hub, they were greeted by white marble floors, vaulted ceilings and a small circular desk with a few people seated at it. Behind them along the wall were nine other identical doors to the one they just exited. Ezekiel motioned everyone to follow him as he said, ¡°Even though this is the entry point for the country, there¡¯s no security check. That desk over there is just a help desk for visitors.¡± ¡°I thought you said we were going to be in a security line for customs?¡± Tony asked. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I just said that so you wouldn¡¯t run off alone.¡± As they walked towards the exit, Ezekiel waved at the people who worked the help desk before Rhodey asked, ¡°Why would there be no security check for visitors? That seems like a pretty big safety concern.¡± ¡°Ya, you said I didn¡¯t need to bring my service weapon because this place was safe. No security checks doesn¡¯t sound very safe to me.¡± Happy said. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Genosha is only reachable by a few hundred people in the world currently. If you can¡¯t make a magic portal, you can¡¯t portal into the hub. And to be able to portal into the hub, you need to be added into the runes. I was your security check to get here.¡± As they exited the building they walked out into a small city center with some people walking around going about their business. The city center was a mix of modern technology and nature, with winding elegant brick walkways going to different buildings. Surrounding all the walkways was grass along with decent sized fruit trees. Small benches were set out along the pathways and under some of the trees. The center point of the area, which was directly in front of the building they just exited, was a life-like statue of meta humans with physical deformities standing together with normal people. Under the statue inscribed on the base was, ¡®Working to build a world of understanding and compassion.¡¯ Everyone was quiet as they took in the statue in front of them before Ezekiel said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you around the place for a bit after dinner. But let''s get going so we can get a good table.¡± 00132. Ezekiel has a fan club? As Ezekiel and his group finished up dinner at a restaurant with an amazing cliff side view of the ocean. A new portal opened up in the same portal room Ezekiel used. A few seconds later it was filled with a group of teens and kids. As they started to move towards the door a young girl stopped and sniffed the air a few times. A girl that looked like an older copy of the sniffing girl turned around and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong Gabby?¡± Gabby sniffed the air a few more times before she grinned wide and said, ¡°Ezekiel¡¯s here!¡± Skye, who was standing close to Gabby said, ¡°We just saw Ezekiel at the base.¡± ¡°No, that was one of his clones. The real Ezekiel is here.¡± Gabby said as she started to move towards the door. Cessily smiled and said, ¡°Let''s go find him!¡± Leach who was holding Cessily¡¯s hand said. ¡°I wanna see Ezekiel too.¡± ¡°Yeah! Let''s go find him!¡± Ava said as she followed after Gabby. ¡°I thought we were going to the amusement park?¡± Yelena asked as she looked at her sister. Natasha shrugged as she said, ¡°We can go after we find Ezekiel. Maybe he¡¯ll join us at the amusement park.¡± Grant, who was holding his little brother''s hand said, ¡°Well let''s get going, Gabby is gonna leave us behind.¡± The group of kids all followed behind Gabby as she slowly led them towards the restaurant. Inside the restaurant Ezekiel finished paying the bill as he asked, ¡°How about I give you a tour of the island before we leave?¡± Doris looked at her watch to check the time, it was getting close to Liz¡¯s bed time. So she thought about going home now, to get Liz ready for bed. But when she looked at the smile on her daughter''s face as she finished her cake, she decided to take the tour around the island first. Today was special, Liz could stay up a little later tonight. After everyone agreed, Ezekiel led his group out of the restaurant where someone yelled out, ¡°Ezekiel!¡± Before a young girl with black hair ran towards him at full speed. Ezekiel was able to catch the girl in a hug as he said, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too Gabby.¡± As she squeezed Ezekiel in a tight hug Gabby said, ¡°You never visit me!¡± ¡°What are you talking about, I see you everyday.¡± Gabby sniffed Ezekiel before she said, ¡°Those things aren¡¯t you. They don¡¯t even smell.¡± ¡°While my clones might not be the real me, they¡¯re still a copy of me. So whenever we talk, you''re still talking to me.¡± Ezekiel said as he patted Gabby¡¯s head with one hand. Gabby looked up as she asked, ¡°Really?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yup. But if it makes you happy, I¡¯ll try and visit you in person when I have free time.¡± Gabby narrowed her eyes as she asked, ¡°You promise?¡± Ezekiel held out a pinky and wiggled it as he said, ¡°Pinky promise.¡± Gabby let go of her hug then reached up and locked pinkies with Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Pinky promise.¡± While Ezekiel¡¯s group watched his interaction with Gabby, another group of almost twenty kids ran up to Ezekiel. Most of them looked like normal kids, but Leech and Cessily, who stopped holding hands while they ran after Gabby, stood out. Laura was the first one who reached them as she wasn¡¯t in the main group and said, ¡°You took off Gabby, mom told you to stay close when we go out.¡± Gabby fidgeted with a smile on her face as she said, ¡°Sorry, I was just excited.¡± Laura karate chopped Gabby¡¯s head as she said, ¡°I know, but you always take off.¡± Gabby rubbed her head as she said, ¡°Sorry!¡± Laura ignored her sister as she moved a little closer to Ezekiel and sniffed him a few times. When she finished she stepped back and said, ¡°You do smell nice.¡± Tony, wondering what was going on, moved next to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with the fan club of kids?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Just some friends I¡¯ve helped out over the years.¡± The main group of kids finally arrived and Leech moved to hug Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Friend Ezekiel!¡± Ezekiel returned the hug as he said, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too Leech.¡± After Ezekiel released his hug with Leech he said, ¡°You slipped back to your old speech habit.¡± Leech rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°It happens when I get excited.¡± Ezekiel patted the boy''s head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine buddy. You''re doing a good job with your lessons.¡± Cessily stepped close to Ezekiel and went in for a hug as she said, ¡°He¡¯s put in a lot of effort.¡± Ezekiel returned the hug before he said, ¡°Well he has a good teacher, so keep up the good work, both of you.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. After that Ezekiel greeted the other kids and gave a quick introduction to both groups before Gabby tugged on Ezekiel¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Can you come with us to the amusement park?!¡± Ezekiel wanted to refuse but most of the other kids asked the same thing right afterwards. When Ezekiel looked at his group he saw Liz¡¯s eyes light up at the mention of the amusement park so he asked, ¡°You guys wanna check out the amusement park?¡± Liz looked at her parents with puppy dog eyes and it made Adrian share a look with his wife before he said, ¡°We¡¯re just along for the ride, so we¡¯ll go wherever.¡± Tony smirked as he said, ¡°The amusement park sounds good to me. If I take some videos there it will probably get me more followers on Vibe.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°Alright let''s head to the amusement park then.¡± As the kids quickly celebrated, Gabby held on to Ezekiel¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Come on let¡¯s go. I wanna ride the coasters with you.¡± As the new, larger group moved towards the amusement park Tony, who was walking besides Ezekiel asked, ¡°You said you helped all these kids out? Are they all meta-humans?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°No. Just kids that were living in bad situations and I gave them a helping hand.¡± ¡°I used to live in the sewers.¡± Leech said as he was following behind Ezekiel and Tony. Gabby cheerfully said next, ¡°I was cloned in a lab with my sisters.¡± Natasha who was walking close to Gabby and Laura said, ¡°Me and my sister were being trained as assassins before Ezekiel found us.¡± Cessily glanced back to see Skye, Ava, Grant and his little brother Thomas talking to Liz and her parents near the back of the group so she said, ¡°I was kidnapped and my parents were killed before Ezekiel found me in a lab.¡± Tony, Pepper, Happy and Rhodey all looked between the kids and couldn¡¯t believe what they all just said, so Pepper glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Are they joking?¡± ¡°Unfortunately they aren¡¯t.¡± Ezekiel said as he sadly shook his head. Ezekiel glanced around at the kids next to him and said, ¡°But that¡¯s all in the past. Now stop making the adult depressed, you¡¯re gonna make uncle Tony cry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not gonna cry. And I¡¯m no one¡¯s uncle.¡± Tony said as he punched Ezekiel¡¯s shoulder. The conversation changed to more normal topics as they continued to walk toward the amusement park. Along the way they ran into a bunch of different people who all stopped to greet Ezekiel, Ezekiel always returned the greeting and also seemed to know each person''s name. After a while they finally arrived at the entrance of the amusement park and Tony said, ¡°I''ll pay this time since you bought dinner.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°How generous of you, but the amusement park is currently free to the public.¡± Tony raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°Why would an amusement park be free?¡± ¡°Because it''s still in the testing phase. Once we have everything dialed in, there will be a small fee to enter. The food, carnival games and arcade still cost money. But the entry, rides, go-karts, laser tag and other things are all free.¡± Ezekiel said as he led the group inside. Once inside Ezekiel glanced down at Gabby who was still holding his hand and asked, ¡°Where to?¡± Gabby started to lead him by the hand as she said, ¡°Rollercoaster!¡± ¡°Rollercoaster? But laser tag is more fun.¡± Natasha said as she followed along. Cessily chuckled as she said, ¡°You only say that because you always get the highest score.¡± Natasha smiled as she said, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault if everyone else can''t aim.¡± Laura shook her head as she said, ¡°It has nothing to do with aiming. It''s just you and the other girls take laser tag too seriously.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked Tony, ¡°What about a friendly game of laser tag after the rollercoaster?¡± ¡°Laser tag with kids? That doesn''t sound fun.¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he asked, ¡°What, you don''t think you can beat some kids in laser tag?¡± Tony glanced at the kids for a moment before he said, ¡°No, I don''t want them to be upset when I do.¡± ¡°You wish, old man. It¡¯s a good thing you don¡¯t wanna play, we wouldn¡¯t want you to break a hip or something.¡± Natasha said with a smirk. ¡°Old man? I¡¯m only thirty-two you little brat.¡± Tony said. Natasha glanced at Tony as she said, ¡°Whatever you say grandpa.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, I¡¯ll show you who¡¯s old. Where¡¯s the laser tag at?¡± Tony asked with a frown on his face. Natasha smirked and pointed to the left as she said, ¡°It¡¯s this way grandpa. Want me to hold your hand so you don¡¯t get lost? I heard that happens to senior citizens.¡± Tony smiled as he said, ¡°Just wait, this old man is gonna humble you. Happy, Rhodey, come on, we need to teach this kid a lesson.¡± ¡°She was only calling you an old man, why do I need to help you out?¡± Rhodey asked. Natasha glanced at Rhodey before she said, ¡°At least the other grandpa knows he doesn¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Tony and Rhodey shared a glance before they nodded to each other, then Tony glanced back at Natasha as he said, ¡°Alright, lets go.¡± Natasta glanced back at her sister and asked, ¡°Yelena, wanna go beat some old men in laser tag?¡± ¡°Ya! Let''s go.¡± Yelena said before she took off running towards the laser tag area. Natasha glanced at Laura and asked, ¡°You in for some laser tag?¡± Laura nodded before she looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Will you watch over Gabby for a while?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Yeah and we¡¯ll come to laser tag after we ride the rollercoaster.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Laura said before she looked at Gabby and said, ¡°Stay with Ezekiel and no running off, or I¡¯ll tell mom.¡± Gabby nodded her head and when Laura turned around to walk away, Gabby stuck out her tongue. As Tony¡¯s new group started to leave and go towards the laser tag area Pepper said, ¡°I¡¯m gonna go with Tony. I¡¯ll keep him in line so he isn¡¯t too hard on those kids..¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about Tony getting bullied by the kids. He¡¯s in for a world of trouble.¡± After that the group split up a bit more with about half the kids going to laser tag and the other half going to the rollercoaster. Ezekiel was left with Gabby, Cessily, Leech, the Toomes, Skye, Ava, Grant, Thomas and two other girls from the widow program. While everyone else went to play laser tag. It took a few minutes for the smaller group to make it to the rollercoaster, which was massive and wrapped around most of the park. After looking at the rollercoaster for a few moments Adrian glanced at his daughter before he said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like it was made for kids.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Normally you''re right, but this coaster was made with the help of magic, so anyone can ride it.¡± Gabby pulled on Ezekiel¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°Come on, I wanna ride it at least twice!¡± 00133. Dropping more hints for Tony. After riding the rollercoaster three times, Ezekiel and his group slowly made their way to the laser tag area. They stopped a few times to play carnival games along the way and to win Liz a giant stuffed bunny. Adrian tried to win it at first, but he wasn¡¯t having much luck at the game. Leech was the one who ended up winning the bunny though, since it turned out he¡¯s really good at ring toss. When they finally reached the laser tag area, they found Tony, Rhodey and Happy collapsed on a bench breathing hard and covered in sweat. Ezekiel smiled as he walked up and asked, ¡°So how did it go?¡± Tony glanced up before he asked, ¡°How is this laser tag?¡± Rhodey nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°This place is more like an urban training course for a delta force team.¡± ¡°Ya, and what¡¯s up with the laser packs? How come you get shocked whenever you get hit?¡± Happy said as he rubbed his chest. Natasha who stood by the entrance with a smile on her face said, ¡°It¡¯s because we played the advanced version. If we played on the pro level, you would get disabled and won¡¯t be able to move till after one team wins. You also wear a full body suit and wherever you get hit it feels like you¡¯ve been shot.¡± Tony looked up in shock at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°How is any of that meant to be in an amusement park? And why would someone want to feel what it¡¯s like to be shot? Actually how would that even work?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°The general public gets to use the normal laser tag course. But if people want, they can challenge themselves to the advanced and pro course after signing a liability waiver. As for how it works, it¡¯s a mix of technology and magic.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t answer why, though.¡± Tony said. ¡°You would have to ask the people who designed the place. They were the ones who insisted on making it. I just paid for everything¡­ Well I did make the capture the flag and bomb planting game modes.¡± Ezekiel said. Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°Who was crazy enough to want to make something like that?¡± Natasha smirked as she said, ¡°My parents.¡± Tony glanced at Natasha before he said, ¡°That might explain a few things.¡± Natasha planted her hands on her hips as she asked, ¡°And what exactly is that supposed to mean old man?¡± ¡°It explains why you¡¯re so good, you''re as crazy as your parents.¡± Tony said. Natasha smiled as she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Tony mumbled to himself as he said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t really a compliment.¡± Gabby, who was still holding Ezekiel¡¯s hand asked, ¡°Can we play laser tag? I wanna be on your team.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but I can only play normal laser tag though.¡± Tony chuckled as he asked, ¡°What, afraid of the advanced and pro version of the game?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Both of them work with magic and I¡¯m currently channeling a magic spell. There¡¯s a small chance the magic from the game could affect my spell, so I¡¯m just being cautious.¡± Ezekiel glanced down at Gabby as he asked, ¡°Is normal laser tag fine with you?¡± Gabby nodded and tugged on Ezekiel¡¯s arm as she said, ¡°Sure, let''s go!¡± Pretty much everyone joined for the normal laser tag game, including another group of kids to make two teams of thirty. Tony, Rhodey and Happy ended up doing better in normal laser tag. But Natasha, Yelena, Ezekiel, Gabby and Laura ended up taking the top spots on the team. Tony was close to the top five, but the kids had the advantage of knowing the course. Ava would have had first place, but she ran around the course as she used her powers, so Ezekiel had her point score disqualified from the rankings for cheating. It¡¯s one of the perks of writing the software that runs the whole place. After they finished and were walking out of the area Ezekiel asked, ¡°Alright, since Gabby picked the last two, How about we go race go-karts now?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Gabby said as she took Ezekiel¡¯s hand again. ¡°Go-karts? What kind of carts are they?¡± Tony asked. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°We have four different types, with the fastest reaching a top speed of eighty.¡± Tony glanced at Natasha as he said, ¡°Let''s go brat. You might have won in laser tag, but you won¡¯t beat me in a race.¡± ¡°Whatever you say grandpa.¡± Natasha said with a smirk. No one complained about going to race go-karts, so the new bigger group headed over to the area with the go-karts. Once there the group split up because not everyone could race the more powerful carts. Adrian and his family went to a kid cart section with a few of the younger kids, while Ezekiel led Tony and a few others to the pro carts. The pro kart course actually wrapped around the whole go-kart area and acted as the barrier for it. The track itself had a lot of turns and some long straights with a small hill climb in one section that raised the track over the entrance to the go-kart area. It was followed by a winding downhill section that ended where the race started. The overall course was just over a mile and a half which made it longer than some race car tracks. After getting suited up and getting into their own karts, Tony, Natasha, Rhodey, Happy, Laura, Cessily, and Ezekiel all lined up waiting for the green light. While Pepper, Leech and Gabby all took seats in the stands. Pepper since she didn¡¯t want to race and the others because they couldn¡¯t. The stands themself had a good view of the downhill section and finish line, but it was also filled with video screens that showed each racer as they went around the track. It also had a main screen that would show the best action at any moment of the race. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. As they were all lined up Tony glanced back at Ezekiel who was in the back of the pack with him but in last place as he asked, ¡°Why exactly are we back here?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It would be too easy otherwise¡­ Unless you suck at driving, in which case this is gonna be a tough race for you.¡± Tony smirked as he said, ¡°Oh, you think you can drive uh?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Who knows.¡± A couple moments later the light changed to green and everyone took off around the track. The first half of the lap was pretty tame with Tony and Ezekiel slowly moving up through the other drivers. Happy and Natasha were the only other people who had any type of skill and ended up fighting for first place as Tony and Ezekiel slowly caught up to them. It was just before the uphill section that Tony and Ezekiel caught up to them and started to fight for first place. Ezekiel was the one who pulled ahead into first place on the uphill section, since he only weighed half of what Natasha weighed and she already weighed less than Happy and Tony. His lead wasn¡¯t large as the course flattened out and they moved into the downhill portion. That section was the hardest part of the whole race with a handful of tight hairpin turns leading down to the finish line. As they entered the area Tony was only two kart lengths behind and on the first turn he closed in to one and half. Since Ezekiel was in the front he couldn¡¯t see it, but Tony was better at taking the tight corners of this section of the track. As they ended the downhill section, Tony was just behind Ezekiel and was trying to pass him. Ezekiel was lucky as the last part of the track before the finish line was slightly uphill so he pulled slightly ahead as they started the second lap. During the first section of the second lap Tony pulled ahead into first place and with his skills was able to take a slight lead. Ezekiel tried his best to keep up, but Tony had a lot more practice and always took the best line possible around corners. By the time they reached the main uphill section Tony was about three kart lengths ahead. Ezekiel with his reduced weight easily caught up to Tony and they ended up even coming into the downhill section of the race. As they entered the first turn of the downhill, Tony was able to smoothly drift around the corner and pull back into the lead. Ezekiel copied his move but wasn''t able to do it perfectly which let Tony pull slightly ahead. Ezekiel knew he couldn''t beat Tony on the downhill after he followed him down it. Tony''s skill level was either close to or slightly better then his dad''s when it came to racing go-karts. So Ezekiel focused on staying as close as possible to Tony on the last lap. He would overtake him on the uphill and then do his best to hold that lead till the finish line. Ezekiel''s plan worked out correctly and when they came to the uphill section of the last lap. Tony was only a few feet ahead of him as they started to climb up that section of the track. By the time they reached the top and it leveled out, Ezekiel was in the lead by a whole kart length. Ezekiel focused as much as he could to copy Tony''s line from the second lap and while it wasn''t perfect. It helped to keep Tony just behind him for the first half of the downhill. In the second half Tony was able to cut in on a turn Ezekiel took a little wide and forced them into a neck and neck race. But with Tony''s skill he was able to pull slightly ahead as they entered the final stretch of uphill track. Ezekiel had his pedal floored as they charged up the slight incline towards the finish line. Seconds passed as Ezekiel¡¯s cart slowly creeped up on Tony''s. As they approached the last twenty feet of track both karts were dead even. Then they were past the finish line and slowed down to enter the cart return area. Once they were parked Tony glanced over with a smile as he said, ¡°Looks like I won.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Yup, you beat Natasha.¡± ¡°And you.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I don''t know about that.¡± ¡°No, I clearly won the race, I was easily a few inches ahead.¡± Tony said. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You forgot our starting positions.¡± ¡°What, we started at the back together.¡± As they stripped out of their jumpsuits Ezekiel said, ¡°Let''s just go out and check the results.¡± A minute later they were outside by the seating area where the race results were posted. Gabby, Pepper and Leech were also there and Tony could see that Ezekiel finished first in the race. He double checked the results before he said, ¡°But I clearly passed the finish line first.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°But I started in last place. Which means to beat me you had to be a full kart length ahead of me just like our starting positions.¡± Gabby nodded along as she said, ¡°Ya, Ezekiel won, don''t be a sore loser.¡± ¡°How am I a sore loser? I clearly won. Plus why is that even a rule?! This isn''t a professional race where something like that should matter!¡± Tony said with a huff. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I designed the place and programmed the software that tracks the race.¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°You went a little overboard with the design. This is a go-kart track.¡± ¡°Says the guy who is trying to add a hologram projector to their phone.¡± Ezekiel said with a flat look. Tony glanced away as he said, ¡°Fine, you win this time.¡± Before he looked at Natasha and said, ¡°At least I beat you, brat.¡± Natasha smiled as she said, ¡°I didn''t want you to cry if you lost again, grandpa. But it looks like you¡¯re crying anyways.¡± Tony was about to reply as Ezekiel glanced down at Gabby and Leech and asked, ¡°Wanna head over to the mid range karts so you can race?¡± ¡°Ya! Let¡¯s go!¡± Gabby said as she took Ezekiel¡¯s hand and started to pull him to the other kart area. Tony looked at Natasha and was about to say something when Pepper pushed his shoulder and said, ¡°Just leave it alone Tony.¡± Rhodey nodded as he said, ¡°Stop being goaded by a teenager.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Tony said as he started to follow after Ezekiel. When they made it to the other track they found most of the group along with the Toomes who just showed up. Liz raced by herself on the kid karts and wanted to try the faster karts, so she convinced her dad to take her on one. Instead of joining the race, Ezekiel and most of the adults decided not to join this time. Only Adrian joined since he was driving the kart for Liz. As everyone was getting set up in their karts, Ezekiel moved off to one side to observe the race and was shortly joined by Tony. They sat in silence for a minute before Tony said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you like go-karts so much.¡± As the race started Ezekiel said, ¡°Picked it up from my dad. He¡¯s a gearhead and loves to race go-karts.¡± ¡°Really? You should bring him by the house some time. I¡¯ll let him drive any of the cars I have. Then we can come back here and race some go-karts and see who¡¯s better.¡± Tony said with a smile. Ezekiel smiled a little before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± As Adrian and Liz were coming down the track towards the area where Ezekiel and Tony stood, Ezekiel pointed towards them and asked, ¡°So you put any thought into what I suggested about a while ago?¡± Tony glanced at Adrian and his daughter before he shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not gonna settle down. Being single is too much fun.¡± ¡°You sure? Look at them, a father spending quality time with his daughter. That looks a lot more fun than any vapid fling you¡¯ve had recently.¡± Ezekiel said as he shook his head. Tony just watched Adrian race his daughter around the track for a while, before Ezekiel finally said, ¡°Whatever, you don¡¯t have to take my advice. But if you ever change your mind, I can introduce you to someone who could help you out.¡± ¡°Uh? I don¡¯t need help finding a woman.¡± Ezekiel reached over and patted Tony on the back as he said, ¡°I know that, you idiot. I was talking about a therapist.¡± 00134. Ezekiel isnt normal. A few days after taking everyone to Genosha Theo found something interesting. Well it was more than that, Theo found someone interesting he was looking for. There were a lot of people he was on the lookout for in this new world, but so far he¡¯d only found a few. The technology being at its current level was the main issue. Yes computers, cameras and other devices were more advanced, but without tablets, cellphones or smart home devices, Theo was finding it hard to track people down. It was the main reason he pushed the cellphone project forward with Tony. As for who Theo found, well that was a little bit of a surprise for Theo. He was actually excited to meet them, since he enjoyed the movies based on the guy. The man''s name was Eric Brooks, better known as Blade or the day walker. He is a half vampire who hunted down other vampires. Theo lucked out finding Blade since the guy apparently lived as a ghost. He had no traceable records and Theo only found him because of a police report that caught his attention. There was a rave in some meat packing facility in New York and besides a lot of human blood, ash, silver bullets and bullet casings. They found a couple of people who were babbling wrecks, who talked about vampires. Theo had a clone visit them in the hospital and probe their minds which is how he found out about Blade and even learned what he looked like. He was a buffer and big version of the actor who played him in the movies. Theo¡¯s clone also gave each person some mental help to get over the trauma they suffered before the clone left. With the knowledge that Blade was alive in this world and what he looked like. Theo sent out clones into the city to find him and his base of operations. It took a couple days but Theo found the warehouse Blade and an older man named Whistler used as their current base. After his clones scouted the place, Theo decided to pay a little visit. It was around two AM when Blade and Whistler came back to their hideout. They just cleaned out a large nest of vampires and came back to resupply. When they stepped out of the car, Blade quickly noticed something was off and placed a hand on one of his guns, which made Whistler go on edge and also place a hand on his sidearm. ¡°I have to say, that''s impressive. But then again I''m an amateur when it comes to concealment.¡± Ezekiel said as he stepped out from around a corner with his hands raised. Blade almost snarled as he asked, ¡°Who¡¯re you?!¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Just a friendly stranger who wanted to introduce himself and offer you my services.¡± Whistler studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he said, ¡°In our business, strangers normally mean trouble.¡± ¡°Well how about we change that. My names Ezekiel and you gentlemen are Abraham Whistler and Eric Brooks¡­ Or do you prefer to use the name Blade?¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Blade shared a glance with Whistler before he said, ¡°You¡¯re not a vampire¡­ But you don¡¯t smell human either.¡± Ezekiel with his arms still raised sniffed his right armpit before he said, ¡°I just smell deodorant.¡± Blade wore a thin smile that showed a little of his teeth as he said, ¡°You need a better nose. Now what do you want?¡± ¡°Like I said, I wanted to introduce myself and offer my services. Do you mind if I lower my arms?¡± Ezekiel asked. Blade moved away from the car and came a little closer to Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°The introductions are done. Now tell us what you are.¡± Ezekiel went to lower his hands as he said, ¡°Meta-human. Just like you.¡± When he finished, Blade was already in front of him with his sword touching Ezekiel¡¯s neck as he said, ¡°One wrong move and you die.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°Are you sure about that? ¡°Kid, I think we might have a problem.¡± Whistler said. Blade glanced behind him to see a silver haired man holding a knife to Whistler''s throat. When he looked back at Ezekiel, Blade felt something metallic touch his own neck as the person behind him asked, ¡°So what¡¯s your next move?¡± Blade gritted his teeth but cautiously removed his sword from Ezekiel¡¯s throat. Ezekiel smiled and rubbed his neck as he said, ¡°Stand down. We didn¡¯t come here to make enemies.¡± When the knife at his throat disappeared, Blade glanced back at Whistler to see him standing alone again. He cautiously turned back to Ezekiel and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°To offer my services and possibly make some new friends. But that''s up to you, if you want to accept either one.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Blade put away his sword and walked past Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Fine.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Blade for a moment before he turned to look at Whistler who said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind him, he doesn¡¯t like new people, that''s all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I expected as much¡­ Well I didn¡¯t expect to be greeted by a sword, but there''s a first time for everything.¡± Ezekiel said as he shrugged. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Whistler limped over and stuck out his hand as he said, ¡°Just call me Whistler.¡± ¡°Ezekiel. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± After they shook hands Whistler said, ¡°Lets go inside so I can sit down and then we''ll talk.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he followed Whistler into the hideout. Once inside they found Blade at a table as he disassembled a gun to clean it. Whistler went to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers before he sat at the table with Blade. After Ezekiel sat down Whistler held out one of the beers and asked, ¡°Want one?¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No thanks.¡± Whistler opened his own bottle and took a large drink before he asked, ¡°More for me then¡­ So what did you wanna offer us?¡± ¡°Funding would be the main thing. But support, weapons, specialized medical help.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Whistler''s leg as he said, ¡°Fixing your leg would be no issue for us, or even bringing someone back from the brink of death. We would also provide backup when you need it and more.¡± Ezekiel said. Blade frowned slightly as Whistler took another drink. He studied his bottle and then his busted leg for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Do you even know what we do?¡± ¡°Hunt vampires.¡± Whistler nodded as he asked, ¡°So why do you want to help us out? Was your family killed by vampires or something?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No nothing like that. I''m just trying to make the world a better place and as far as I can tell, vampires aren''t conducive to that goal.¡± ¡°Heh, You''re right about that.¡± Whistler said before he took another drink. Ezekiel glanced between Blade and Whistler before he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± Blade and Whistler shared a look before Whistler said, ¡°We''ll think about it.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he stood up and said, ¡°I figured as much. Since that''s the case, I''ll leave you with a way to contact me.¡± A moment later a man appeared next to Ezekiel with a large briefcase. Whistler didn''t see him approach, but tensed up after he just appeared out of thin air. Blade also tensed up but he did it sooner, since he saw the man as he approached the table. The man moved faster than Blade himself could move, but Blade was at least able to track his movements slightly. Ezekiel took the briefcase from the man who instantly disappeared a moment later, before he placed it on the table and opened it up. He spun it towards Whistler as he said, ¡°You can use the phone to contact me and the other stuff can be considered a gift.¡± Whistler looked at the contents of the briefcase before he said, ¡°That''s one hell of a gift.¡± He looked up a moment later to see Ezekiel had already disappeared. He shook his head as he turned the briefcase to Blade and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don''t trust him. Someone showing up out of the blue and saying they want to help¡­ Normal people don''t do that.¡± Blade said. Whistler nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll agree with you on that¡­ But then again, people in our line of work aren''t exactly normal. What should we do with this silver and the phone?¡± ¡°Let''s just toss the phone in the safe for now. The silver we''ll test. If it''s pure, we''ll use it for our next batch of bullets.¡± Whistler took another drink of his beer before he said, ¡°For some reason he looked familiar to me¡­¡± Blade nodded as he said, ¡°I felt the same way.¡± vvvvv A couple of days passed by with no word from Blade or Whistler. But Theo knew they were still in New York from the weird police reports he kept getting. Since Theo had other things he needed to do, he put them out of his mind and focused on his other projects. He checked in with Hank and his team, they were still in the quantum realm. Even with the help of the drones, Minato and Tobirama, only about ten percent of the place was explored so far. They''d also run into some locals finally, which gave Agatha something to do. She ended up visiting each of the groups with the help of Minato and talked with them for a day or two. It was mostly for information gathering, but it was also to stave off her boredom. Luckily she only needed to stay there till the end of the month, before Kaecilius would take over for her. He agreed to take over for her, in exchange for alchemy lessons. After Hank, Theo checked on things around the base and even visited the kids in person. He also had some clones start expanding the base a little bit. Even though most of the valkyries currently lived in Genosha. Some of them moved into the base because it just felt better to them. So instead of possibly running out of room, Theo decided to expand the base now. Theo also checked in with Adrian to see how things were going. Even though Theo threw him into the deep end, the man took everything in stride and had a decent business plan already set up. Tony also shared contact information with him and put him in contact with a couple people to help buy all the equipment he would need for his company and the job itself. Theo also told Adrian not to worry about renting out a place for his company. He could use one of the buildings Theo owned just outside of the demolition area to run his business until the job was completed and to not worry about the rent. After that Theo focused on training and finishing his mind defense. Well that wasn¡¯t actually true, his mental defense was already complete. But according to Tao and Agatha a person''s mental defense was never finished. It could always be improved by adding another layer to it, whether that was a softer inner layer or more solid outer layer. The main thing was to remember it was never done and could always be improved, so Theo set aside at least an hour a day for it. A couple weeks passed by in relative peace before Blade contacted Ezekiel. It was late at night as Theo climbed his rock wall and trained his chakra control. As he pulled himself up to the next hand hold an alert went off at his computer and one of his clones checked it before it said, ¡°Blade¡¯s calling from the phone you gave him.¡± Theo channeled some chakra to his feet before he let go of his hands and attached his feet to the wall. Then he used body flicker to reach his computer as he switched into Ezekiel to answer the call and said, ¡°This is Ezekiel.¡± Blade''s voice was a little hoarse as he asked, ¡°You said you can bring someone back from the brink of death right? Was that a lie?¡± Ezekiel typed on his computer as he said, ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t¡± He could hear Blade doing something before he said, ¡°Whistler¡¯s dying. Can you save him?¡± ¡°Do what you can to keep him stable, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± 00135. Homines Nocturnae. A few hours ago Whistler went out with Blade to check into a new nest they found, but they ended up getting split apart halfway through their mission. While separated, Whistler was caught by a group of vampires after he ran out of ammo and was beaten so badly, Blade thought he was already dead when he found the old man. Whistler looked like a jigsaw puzzle in a pool of blood with a couple of pieces missing. It also looked like a lot of his bones were broken in the body parts that still remained. As Blade moved next to Whistler he coughed up some blood and said in a weak voice, ¡°My bag.¡± Blade glanced to the side where Whistler''s backpack was before he said, ¡°We don¡¯t need it. I need to get you to a hospital.¡± ¡°No¡­ The phone¡­ In my bag.¡± Whistler said between short ragged breaths. ¡°Phone? The phone for Ezekiel?¡± Blade asked as he reached for the backpack. Whistler coughed up a little more blood before he said, ¡°Yes.¡± Blade was quick as he dumped out the bag onto the ground, before he picked up the phone from the pile of equipment on the ground. After he flipped it open, he noticed it only had two buttons, one of which was a green call button and the other a red end button. He pushed the green button and after two rings the phone picked up and he heard, ¡°This is Ezekiel.¡± ¡°You said you can bring someone back from the brink of death right? Was that a lie?¡± Blade asked as he looked at Whistler¡¯s body in concern. Ezekiel¡¯s tone was steady and confident was he said, ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t¡± Blade rummaged through the equipment on the ground as he looked for something to help Whistler as he said, ¡°Whistler¡¯s dying. Can you help him?¡± ¡°Do what you can to keep him stable, I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± Ezekiel said followed by a click. ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ll be here soon? I haven¡¯t even told you where we are¡­ Hello? Hello?¡± Blade crushed the phone in his hand as he said, ¡°That mother fucker hung up on me.¡± Whistler coughed up some blood before he weakly said, ¡°Settle¡­ Down. Kid.¡± He coughed again before he said, ¡°I think¡­ This. Is. It¡­ Kid.¡± Blade glanced down at Whistler¡¯s battered body before he said, ¡°Don¡¯t talk old man.¡± Whistler sucked in a shaky deep breath and tried to say something before he coughed up more blood. Blade gently reached over and touched his shoulder lightly as he said, ¡°Just save your strength.¡± As Blade pulled out a morphine injector from his own pack, a portal of light opened up in front of him. Blade quickly drew his gun but as the portal fully opened up he saw Ezekiel standing on the other side with a few other people. Before he could do anything two women appeared kneeling next to Whistler as a green light shot out of their hands. Blade glanced at the women for a moment as Ezekiel said, ¡°They are going to stabilize him while we move him.¡± Ezekiel and two other people stepped through the portal with a stretcher before Ezekiel said, ¡°Help us load him on the stretcher.¡± Within a few moments Whistler was loaded up on the stretcher and everyone moved back through the portal including Blade. They quickly moved into some kinda medical facility from what Blade could tell and took Whistler into an emergency room. As Blade went to enter the room himself, Ezekiel grabbed his shoulder and said, ¡°Just let them work, you¡¯ll only get in the way.¡± Blade glanced at the doors to surgery for a few moments before he said, ¡°Be honest. Will they be able to save him?¡± ¡°At this point, most likely. But with his missing limbs¡­ I think his vampire hunting career is over.¡± Ezekiel said. Blade frowned as he asked, ¡°Can you send me back to where you found us?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Ezekiel said. As they started to walk back to the portal room Ezekiel asked, ¡°What''re you planning to do?¡± ¡°Hunt down more vampires.¡± Blade said in a cold tone. ¡°Want some help?¡± Blade studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Have you ever fought a vampire before?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Nope. But I''m a fast learner.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you the crash course on vampires then. First off, forget everything you learned from movies and stories about vampires.¡± Blade said. ¡°Vampires are stronger and faster than humans¡­ With you being enhanced, they shouldn''t give you many issues though.¡± Blade said after a moment of thought. Blade pulled out a pistol and a couple of magazines before he handed it to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Take this, it''s loaded with silver bullets blessed by a priest. They work better than regular silver bullets on most vampires.¡± Blade then tapped the middle of his chest as he said, ¡°Best place to aim is for the heart in the middle of the chest. A head shot can also work on lesser vampire''s or stun the more powerful ones. But unless you see them dissolve into ash, they aren''t dead.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Ezekiel looked over the modified HK 45 Tactical he was given for a moment before he pulled back the slide to see that a round was already chambered. He then checked to make sure the safety was on before he placed it and the extra magazines over a seal he wore on his arm. Once it was all sealed away he asked, ¡°Do you have a cold weapon I can use?¡± Blade glanced at the seal Ezekiel just used before he unstrapped a knife with a footlong blade from his gear and handed it to Ezekiel still in the sheath. Ezekiel slid the knife out of the sheath and saw that it was made of silver and inscribed with religious markings as Blade said, ¡°You can use this, but I want it back.¡± As they walked into the portal room Blade said, ¡°A cold weapon only works if you stab them in the heart directly or sever their head. But never let your guard down till they turn into ash.¡± After Ezekiel and Blade stepped out of the portal and it closed behind them Blade said, ¡°You also need to be aware of familiars. They¡¯re humans who work with vampires, so don¡¯t be afraid to kill them.¡± ¡°What if there¡¯s a victim that¡¯s being fed upon?¡± Ezekiel asked. Blade shook his head as he said, ¡°If they¡¯ve already been bitten, it¡¯s best to put them out of their misery before they turn.¡± Blade glanced down at the blood on the ground from where Whistler was not long ago as Ezekiel asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t figured out a cure for them?¡± Blade pulled out his gun and held it up as he said, ¡°This is the cure.¡± Blade then moved out of the room they were in and into a hallway as Ezekiel followed along and asked, ¡°What if Whistler¡¯s infected?¡± Blade stopped in his tracks and glanced back at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Now enough talk, just follow me and watch your back.¡± Ezekiel stopped talking and carefully followed along behind Blade for the next little while as he moved through the basement of a warehouse. Unfortunately they didn¡¯t find any vampires, it seemed like the ones who were there all took off or were killed already. Since it was cleared, Blade led Ezekiel out of the building and down a couple blocks to his 1968 matte black Dodge Charger. Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Nice ride, I didn¡¯t see this when I was at your hideout.¡± As they entered the car Blade said, ¡°It was in the back of the warehouse being worked on.¡± ¡°So now what?¡± Ezekiel asked as Blade started up the car. ¡°We¡¯re going to another place that should be a vampire nest.¡± Blade said as the car took off down the road. In the half hour it took for them to arrive near their next destination, Blade hadn''t spoken a word. While Ezekiel wanted to chat with him, he figured it would be best to let Blade be for now, since the man seemed to be brooding. After they arrived, Blade parked his car on a side street before he said, ¡°We''ll walk from here, but be alert. They normally have watchers stationed a block or more out from the main nest.¡± ¡°Are watchers easy to spot?¡± Blade nodded his head as he said, ¡°They tend to stand out when you know what to look for. But they¡¯ll most likely look like normal humans to you.¡± Ezekiel glanced around the area they were in, which was surrounded by apartment buildings before he asked, ¡°Wouldn''t it be better to approach from the rooftops and scout the place out first?¡± ¡°Be my guest if you wanna go up there, but I won''t be able to watch your back if you do.¡± Blade said. Ezekiel placed his hand over the seal he wore and pulled out two slim com units. He placed one in his ear and handed the other one to Blade as he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head up top and scout from there.¡± As they came to an alleyway, Ezekiel moved into it and then ran up the side of the building. Once on top he took in the surroundings before he lightly said, ¡°This rooftop is clear. I¡¯m moving ahead to scout.¡± As Ezekiel body flickered to the next rooftop Blade said from the com unit, ¡°The nest should be three blocks south of here. Just look for the only building with the windows blacked out.¡± ¡°Copy that. What should we expect to encounter from this nest?¡± Ezekiel asked as he quickly moved over the rooftops leaving afterimages. Blade himself quickly moved through alleyways and side streets as he said, ¡°A nest will typically have around thirty vampires and maybe twenty familiars. Ten of them will normally act as watchers at night.¡± As Ezekiel came to the end of the block he sped up and easily cleared the one hundred foot gap to the building across the street and kept moving. Blade, who was a little bit behind him on the ground, saw the jump and said, ¡°Impressive, but you¡¯ll draw attention if you do that closer to the nest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Ezekiel said as he flickered to another rooftop and spotted a couple people in the distance talking on the rooftop of the last building at the end of the block. He stopped moving and hid behind a water tower before he quickly conjured a viewing spell to see the people up close. As Ezekiel studied the people on the roof he said, ¡°I found a couple people at the end of the block. They¡¯re chatting and look to be keeping watch of the area from the rooftop.¡± ¡°Two? A watcher normally works alone. Give me a moment, I¡¯ll be up in a minute.¡± Blade said before Ezekiel opened a portal right in front of him. Blade stepped forward through the portal and as it snapped closed behind him he said, ¡°That¡¯s a useful skill.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°¡±I¡¯ve yet to find a magic spell that wasn¡¯t useful.¡± ¡°Magic? Like turning flowers into doves and shit? That stuff¡¯s real?¡± Blade asked. ¡°Yes, but real magic is made to be useful, like that.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at the viewing spell behind Blade. Blade turned around and after a few seconds said, ¡°Magic is definitely useful¡­Those are vampires alright.¡± Ezekiel chanted a little, while he moved his hands and the viewing spell zoomed out and changed to more of a top down view. With the new angle and distance, they could see an overview of the whole block now. After they studied it for a few minutes Ezekiel said, ¡°There''s at least sixty people acting as watchers¡­¡± Blade frowned as he said, ¡°Normally they don¡¯t gather in these types of numbers.¡± Blade pointed at the building with the blacked out windows as he asked. ¡°Can you look inside that building?¡± ¡°Give me a moment.¡± Ezekiel said before he chanted a little and moved his hands around slightly. The view changed and zoomed in on the building in question before it showed the top floor. Over the next ten minutes the spell slowly showed the inside of the whole building going through every room on every floor of the building. Once it was done Ezekiel said, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s a lot of vampires.¡± Blade nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°Normally the main nest is under the building¡­ But for some reason it looks like they are all living in the building itself.¡± ¡°Okay, but there were easily a few hundred in that building. You said a normal nest is like fifty, so something weird must be going on here. How are we gonna deal with them all?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Easy, we kill them.¡± 00136. Calling for backup. ¡°I don''t want to discredit your skills or mine, but how about we call for some backup?¡± Ezekiel asked. Blade raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°And where are you gonna find backup to fight vampires?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Give me half an hour.¡± ¡°Fine. But I''ll start picking them off if you don¡¯t have backup by then.¡± Blade said. Ezekiel cast a spell around them, then used his seal and pulled out his tablet before he started to type on it. A few messages were sent off as he asked, ¡°Do you have extra ammo and cold weapons to fight vampires with at your hideout?¡± ¡°We have silver stakes, a couple knives and a few hundred rounds for forty-five caliber guns. Why?¡± Ezekiel quickly opened a portal up to Blade''s hideout as he said, ¡°Go get it, the backup will need it.¡± Blade glanced at Ezekiel''s tablet for a moment before he left through the portal. About five minutes later he came out with a large backpack on and carried a large ammo case in his arms. As he set everything down he said, ¡°That''s all our current supplies.¡± Ezekiel nodded and closed the portal before he said, ¡°It should be enough for everyone¡­ Let me call someone really fast. Ezekiel then typed on his tablet and a few moments later a click was heard in their com unit as he asked, ¡°Master, would any of the sorcerer''s be interested in hunting some vampires?¡± Blade heard a young woman''s voice over his ear piece as she asked, ¡°You found vampires?¡± ¡°Kinda. I found someone who hunts them and I am helping them out with a large nest.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°How large of a nest?¡± The voice asked. ¡°A few hundred, maybe more.¡± There was a pause before the voice said, ¡°That''s a lot more than a large nest, that might be a vampire lord¡­ Contact Mordo and Kaecilius, tell them to bring a sealing team.¡± Blade glanced at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What''s a sealing team?¡± The voice said, ¡°They¡¯re a group of sorcerers who specialize in sealing off areas so demons can¡¯t escape. With them containing the vampires, it should lower human casualties to a minimum.¡± ¡°Wait, demons are real?¡± Blade asked. Blade heard a light chuckle before the voice asked, ¡°You hunt vampires and don¡¯t know about demons? What are you, some kinda amateur?¡± Blade scowled as he said, ¡°I¡¯m no amateur, I¡¯ve hunted vampires for over twenty years.¡± ¡°Still an amateur.¡± The voice said. Before Blade could reply Ezekiel said, ¡°Thanks for the help master.¡± before he hung up the call. Blade gritted his teeth for a moment before he asked, ¡°Who was that?¡± Ezekiel shook his head and his whole body shivered a little as he said, ¡°That was my master and she is someone you don¡¯t want to piss off¡­ Trust me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna piss her off? She called me an amateur at hunting vampires!¡± Blade said with a snarl. Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Well she¡¯s closing in on nine hundred years old, so you¡¯re an amateur compared to her. Or a baby if we¡¯re being honest.¡± ¡°No one lives that long¡­ Is she even human?¡± Blade asked as Ezekiel sent out more messages on his tablet. Once finished Ezekiel looked up at Blade and said, ¡°She¡¯s human and she¡¯s been alive this long because of magic.¡± ¡°Maybe I should learn magic¡­¡± Blade said. Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°It takes a lot of study, practice and skill. But it¡¯s worth it just for the portals alone.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s tablet pinged a few times which made him look down at it before he raised a hand and made a portal. After the portal fully opened, a group of armored women with swords stepped out of the portal, followed by a couple other people in tactical gear. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Glad you accepted the invite.¡± Sanhildr reached out and gripped Ezekiel¡¯s arm in a viking style handshake as she said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a good fight.¡± ¡°Well hopefully vampires give you a challenge.¡± Ezekiel said as they stopped shaking hands. Ezekiel glanced at the people in tactical gear as he said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you wanted to join in on this.¡± Alexei smiled as he said, ¡°Melina wanted to see what a vampire looked like in person.¡± Melina slapped Alexei¡¯s arm who smiled wider as he said, ¡°I forgot she didn¡¯t want me to tell you that hahaha.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Ezekiel shook his head before he looked at the last person and said, ¡°Tired of cooking?¡± Jarvis nodded as he said, ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I went on a mission and this sounded fun.¡± Blade glanced over the new people as they talked to Ezekiel before he said, ¡°I hope you''re enhanced like Ezekiel, otherwise fighting vampires will be anything but fun.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone I invited should be able to match a vampire in strength and speed¡­ Maybe. By the way, this is Blade. Blade this is Melina and her husband Alexei.¡± ¡°This is Jarvis, while those lovely ladies are valkyries and that is Sanhildr their leader.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed to each person. Ezekiel pointed to the backpack and ammo crate on the ground as he said, ¡°Blade was nice enough to supply us with weapons and ammo to fight vampires. So make sure you collect some while we wait on the others.¡± Jarvis, Melina and Alexei all moved to the ammo crate and started to load up the magazines they brought for their weapons. Since Blade only brought forty-five caliber ammo, Ezekiel made sure everyone only brought guns that fired that type of round. Each of them had at least one handgun and a KRISS Vector for their main weapon. Well Alexei also had a collapsible shield and Melina had at least six knives strapped to her body that Ezekiel could see. As they worked on loading their weapons Ezekiel glanced at Sanhildr and said, ¡°I know you don¡¯t like guns, but you should grab some silver weapons.¡± Sanhildr shook her head and said, ¡°Our swords will be enough.¡± ¡°Vampires can only be hurt by silver and sunlight. Garlic will also hurt them, but only if it enters their body, so I don''t use it most of the time.¡± Blade said. Sanhildr pulled out her sword and showed it to Blade as she said, ¡°This sword is made of Uru and blessed with Asgardian magic. It should have no issue killing a lowly vampire, when it¡¯s been used to slay gods.¡± Blade glanced between the sword, Sanhildr and then Ezekiel before he asked, ¡°That¡¯s a joke right?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Nope. Sanhildr and the other valkyries never lie, it¡¯s a sacred honor based thing for them.¡± ¡°That being said, she was talking about a god with maybe only the G capitalized.¡± Ezekiel said as he shrugged. Blade looked like he was about to say something before he shook his head, he didn¡¯t care to argue about a god still being a god... Ezekiel smirked before he checked his tablet again and typed some more on it. After that everyone just double checked their gear as they waited for Mordo¡¯s group to arrive. It was close to the thirty minute deadline Ezekiel set when a portal opened next to them and out stepped Mordo, Kaecilius, Wong and nine other sorcerers. Ezekiel smiled and turned to Blade as he said, ¡°Blade, this is Mordo, Kaecilius and Wong.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the other sorcerers as he said, ¡°We haven¡¯t met yet, Im Ezekiel.¡± It took about a minute for everyone to introduce themselves to each other before Mordo glanced at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the nest at?¡± Ezekiel pointed towards the south as he said, ¡°Two blocks that way with the blacked out windows. There¡¯s also fifty plus vampires spread out around a two block area that are keeping watch.¡± Ezekiel casted the viewing spell again and set it up so everyone could see all the vampires currently outside of the building. After examining it for a few minutes Mordo said, ¡°We¡¯ll need to take out all the sentries before Wong and his sealing team can lock down that building.¡± As Ezekiel and the others discussed a plan to take out the guards, Blade watched quietly. At first he was upset at Ezekiel taking the lead, but his better judgment and the fact Ezekiel¡¯s people were helping Whistler stopped him from speaking up. He was also surprised as he listened to them come up with a simple plan to dispatch all the guards. As they finished up Ezekiel glanced at Blade as he asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± Blade was surprised again since he didn¡¯t think Ezekiel would ask for his opinion on the matter. After a few moments Blade said, ¡°I''m not completely sure if it will work like you said, but we can give it a try.¡± Ezekiel then turned to Mordo and asked, ¡°Where do you want to set it up?¡± ¡°You''ve already placed a concealment spell here, so we''ll just do it here.¡± Mordo said before he started to set up all the other sorcerers. Each one stood a few feet apart in a line. Next Sanhildr and the valkyries lined up across from them with their swords drawn. It left a six foot gap in the middle of where they stood. After that Mordo used a spell to highlight all the different vampires on Ezekiel''s viewing spell. All the vampires were marked which gave every sorcerer at least five targets. Once everything was set Mordo said, ¡°Target the outer groups first.¡± Ezekiel and the others tensed up slightly in case something went wrong as the sorcerers all made a portal at the same time. The portal wasn''t normal though and opened up horizontally above them, right between where they stood with the valkyries. As soon as the portals opened, ten vampires dropped through the portal. Before they even knew what happened, the valkyries all cleaved through their necks. In one swift and efficient motion their heads were detached before they burst into flames dissolving into ash and bone fragments. Before the first group of vampires were completely gone, another portal opened up and another group of vampires dropped down into the remains of the last. With another fluid motion the valkyries dispatched the next set of vampires and within less than a minute all of the outside guards were destroyed. Ezekiel couldn''t help but smile, Mordo''s plan worked perfectly. He turned to see Blade give Mordo a nod of respect before Mordo said, ¡°Alright, let''s move to stage two.¡± Mordo, Kaecilius, Wong and the other sorcerers nodded as they each made a portal to the building that acted as a vampire''s nest. Ezekiel made his own portal and let everyone through it as he stored away the backpack and ammo case Blade brought over into his storage seal. Before he stepped through the portal and it snapped closed behind him. On the roof Wong and the other sorcerers quickly set up a shielding array before they sat in the middle of it. Once inside they channeled some universal energy into the array which created an orange shield around the group. After that Wong started a chant and one person would join in on the chant after the first chant was finished. It seemed to not work at first, but Ezekiel could feel the magic as it pulsated from the group. As each new person joined the chant it became more powerful. Just before the last person joined in on the chanting, Blade and the others not gifted in magic could feel the power as it pulsated from the spell. A moment later the roof access door flung open as a couple of vampires came out to see what was going on as even they could feel the pulse of magic. A couple of them hissed at the group gathered on the roof before one of them noticed Blade and yelled out, ¡°Daywalker!¡± The next second the area around them seemed to be sucked towards the barrier Wong and his group were chanting inside, before the area around the whole building seemed to break like glass. Everyone not used to entering the mirror dimension including the vampires stared at the weird sight for a moment in shock before a gun shot rang out. Everyone turned to see Ezekiel with a gun in his hand in front of the vampire who just yelled out. As the vampire burst into flames Ezekiel said, ¡°I came to kick ass and chew bubble gum¡­ And I¡¯m all out of bubble gum.¡± Before he shot the other two vampires in the heart. 00137. Thats one way to do it. ¡°Did you really just quote, They Live?¡± Blade asked. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°What? It''s a classic¡­¡± Before he mumbled to himself, ¡°Maybe I should have saved it in case the Skrulls tried to invade.¡± Ezekiel quickly shook his head before he said, ¡°What are you all standing around for, we have vampires to hunt. Kaecilius you''re with me. Blade you group up with Mordo. Alexei and Melina are already a team, so that leaves Jarvis with...¡± Ezekiel glanced at Sanhildr and the ten Valkyries she bought and asked, ¡°Sanhildr will you partner up with Jarvis?¡± Sanhildr nodded before she split up the other valkyrie¡¯s into groups of two. As they finished more vampires rushed out of the stairwell. This time a few of them carried guns and immediately opened fire on the group. A magic shield flickered to life as the bullets slammed into it, saving the group. Ezekiel glanced at Kaecilius who nodded at him with one hand raised in the air. Kaecilius then quickly chanted a spell and with his other hand a red colored whip appeared, which he swung at the group of vampires on the roof. The whip split them all in half at the waist but didn''t kill them, so Ezekiel quickly moved towards them and shot a round through each of their hearts. As all of them but one started dissolving away Ezekiel glanced at the man as he said, ¡°Looks like he wasn¡¯t a vampire.¡± Blade walked close to the man¡¯s body and lifted his hand up to show a tattoo. He glanced at it for just a moment before he showed it to everyone else and said, ¡°This is a familiar mark. If you find normal humans running around inside, they¡¯re most likely a vampire familiar. Don¡¯t hesitate to kill them.¡± ¡°What if they aren¡¯t running around? Or they look like a victim?¡± Jarvis asked. ¡°I would suggest not wasting time with anyone you think is a victim. Just knock them out and tie them up. We can sort them out after we deal with the vampires.¡± Blade said. Ezekiel glanced at the group as he said, ¡°Stay with your teammate and watch each other''s backs. I¡¯m going to head to the ground floor with Kaecilius and clear it out before going into the basement.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Kaecilius and said, ¡°Have a shield ready as I make the portal.¡± Kaecilius nodded and created another shield before Ezekiel opened up a portal to the street below as Blade said, ¡°Me and Mordo should join you. The basement will have a heavier concentration of vampires.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Be my guest.¡± Kaecilius moved through the portal with his shield up before Blade and Mordo followed behind him. As Ezekiel stepped through the portal he glanced back and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try not to bring down the building.¡± After the portal snapped closed Jarvis asked, ¡°That was a joke right?¡± Down on the street below Ezekiel said, ¡°Stay behind the shield, I¡¯ll get the door.¡± He then sucked in a lot of air quickly as he made some hand signs before he breathed out as he said, ¡°Katon: G¨­kaky¨± no Jutsu!¡± Flames shot out of Ezekiel''s mouth which formed a fireball about fifteen feet in diameter before it flew towards the main entrance of the building. As the other group on the roof moved towards the roof stairwell access Alexei patted Jarvis¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°It¡¯s Ezekiel, he always jokes around.¡± Everyone felt a substantial rush of heat before a massive explosion rocked the whole building and caused it to shake under their feet. Jarvis and the others looked at Alexei who rubbed the back of his head and said, ¡°Okay, maybe not¡­¡± Down on the street, Blade looked at the massive hole in the front of the building that went up to the third floor, along with the fire now surrounding it as he asked, ¡°Was that magic too?¡± Ezekiel flexed his right arm as he said, ¡°That was all me, one hundred percent natural baby!¡± Mordo and Kaecilius shared a look before they ignored Ezekiel and moved towards the hole in the front of the building. Blade decided to ignore Ezekiel also and moved to follow the others as Ezekiel asked, ¡°What? It¡¯s true!¡± Mordo turned to Blade and said, ¡°The Ancient One told us it¡¯s best to ignore him when he gets like this. Otherwise it just encourages him to do it more.¡± Kaecilius nodded his head in agreement as Blade asked, ¡°Is The Ancient One the person Ezekiel calls master?¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Ezekiel caught up to them and said, ¡°Yup. And she likes to spoil my fun.¡± As they closed in on the hole a couple vampires ran out of the building screaming since they were on fire. Blade didn¡¯t hesitate and quickly shot them before he said, ¡°That fire might be an issue if we don¡¯t put it out.¡± Mordo nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Kaecilius kept his shield up as the group stopped at the edge of the fire and Mordo started to cast a spell. As he chanted, all the fire started to pull back as it gathered together and within seconds it was just a small ball of flames before it winked out. Afterwards the group walked into the building through the hole and started to clear the first floor. Up on the top floor Alexei acted as the group''s vanguard with his shield as Melina shot anyone who had a gun. Since they had such a large group, instead of people splitting off and running ahead to other floors. Alexei and Melina stayed in the main hallway. While one of the groups would enter an apartment to clear it. It worked out pretty well since the valkyries had so many years of experience together. Jarvis and Sanhildr also worked well together and didn¡¯t run into any issues. The vampires in the building were split on what to do since they heard fighting from the top floor and the first floor. Most of them ended up moving lower towards the explosion, but at least a hundred moved towards the top floor. Alexei, who stood in the middle of the hallway, saw the influx of vampires coming into the hallway from the stairwell and ran his finger over a rune on the inside of his shield. The shield pulsed with magic energy before a magic shield popped open to cover the hallway directly in front of it. As bullet fire slammed into the magic shield Alexei laughed as he said, ¡°I love this shield!¡± Melina, who stood next to Alexei, took aim and shot a couple vampires through the heart before she said, ¡°I¡¯m glad, but how about you help thin the herd?¡± ¡°Sorry my love.¡±Alexei said as he pulled out his own gun and sprayed it into the horde of vampires coming down the hallway. ¡°They''re vampires, you need to aim you oaf.¡± Melina said in annoyance as she took out three more vampires with clean shots through their heads. As the large swarm moved closer, Sanhildr and Jarvis exited the apartment they just cleared. Sanhildr noticed the group and smiled before she charged forward as she said, ¡°Move! I''ll take care of them!¡± Alexei turned slightly so Sanhildr could run past and a moment later she slammed into the front of the incoming vampires horde with glee. Within moments she was in the thick of them as she laughed with abandoned and chopped off body parts with ease. As the others watched, Melina said, ¡°And I thought that Madara guy was a battle maniac.¡± Before anyone could reply two valkyries ran past them and joined the fray. Before long all of the women were laughing as they cut down the stream of vampires coming up the stairs. Within a few minutes all of the valkyries were in the cramped hallway killing vampires as they laughed with glee. Alexei glanced at his wife and asked, ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re needed here¡­¡± Melina nodded in agreement before Jarvis said, ¡°How about we clear out the other apartments as they¡­ Have fun?¡± Back downstairs, Blade would be lying if he said he wasn¡¯t impressed with Ezekiel and the people he brought with him. They cleared out the first floor in minutes and were now fighting the swarm of vampires that flooded down from the floors above. Mordo and Kaecilius were together near the stairwell and acted as a funnel to help thin out the swarm as it moved towards Ezekiel. Ezekiel stood alone in the middle of the hallway and only used the knife Blade gave him earlier. With quick and efficient moves he cut down every vampire that moved close to him. While Blade covered the other end of the hallway near the hole Ezekiel made as some vampires were jumping down from the second and third story of the building. As they fought, Ezekiel asked Blade over the sound of battle, ¡°Is this what normally happens when you attack a nest?¡± ¡°No! This is anything but normal. I¡¯ve never seen vampires act like this before.¡± Blade said before he shot another vampire. Mordo, who just sliced a vampire in half with a conjured sword said, ¡°They are honestly acting more like zombies than vampires. It¡¯s like their only concern is getting to us at any cost.¡± Ezekiel killed a few more vampires before he asked, ¡°What would be able to control vampires like this?¡± Kaecilius crushed a group of vampires into paste with a spell before he said, ¡°It could be a greater vampire, but with this amount of mindless vampire thralls¡­ It¡¯s most likely a vampire lord and it should be somewhere below this building.¡± ¡°Vampire lord? What the hell is that? I¡¯ve only fought lesser vampires and greater vampires before.¡± Blade said. ¡°Vampire lords are powerful vampires who have lived for at least a thousand years or more. But their main threat is normally from the horde of vampires they use to protect themselves with. We should still be cautious when we face them though, since they are powerful in their own right.¡± Kaecilius said. Ezekiel killed another vampire as he asked, ¡°So should we wait for the others, once we finish here?¡± Kaecilius shrugged as he conjured a sword and used it to slice down a vampire before he said, ¡°We won¡¯t really need them. Plus depending on where the lord is, we might have too many people to properly fight them.¡± Blade moved closer to Ezekiel so he could reload as he asked, ¡°Won¡¯t a bullet to the heart kill them?¡± ¡°Possibly, but vampire lords can become immune to silver and garlic if they live long enough. The best thing to do is to restrain them and kill them with sunlight.¡± Kaecilius said. After that they continued to fight off the vampires until the swarm trickled down to almost nothing. Then they went around and killed any vampire that didn¡¯t dissolve. As they were almost finished, Sanhildr and the rest of the upstairs group joined them. While Alexei, Melina and Jarvis looked pretty much clean. Sanhildr and the other valkyries were completely covered in grime. Ezekiel glanced at the women for a moment who were covered in blood, ash and dirt before he asked, ¡°What the hell happened to you guys?¡± 00138. The vampire lord. After a quick chat, Ezekiel used a cleaning spell to help out the valkyries, since they were the only ones who were dirty before he said, ¡°Double check the building and see if we missed anything. While my group is going to head downstairs and look for the vampire boss.¡± ¡°I would like to join if that''s possible.¡± Sanhildr said. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°It will be a little cramped but be my guest.¡± As the others went back upstairs to double check the building, Ezekiel and his group moved towards the stairs leading to the basement. Kaecilius took the lead as he erected a shield in front of himself as he headed down the stairs. At first it seemed somewhat normal but after they reached the bottom of the stairs the temperature dropped slightly and the stairwell light seemed to be dimmer. As they looked at the door leading deeper into the basement Ezekiel glanced at Kaecilius as he asked, ¡°Is this normal for a vampire lord?¡± Kaecilius chuckled before he said, ¡°No idea, I never finished the book on vampires. It was a little too boring of a read.¡± Ezekiel looked at Mordo as he asked, ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°No clue, my focus of study is on magic creation and demons.¡± Ezekiel thought about calling Tao but he knew he would get an unwanted lecture or possibly extra training¡­ Ezekiel wasn''t stupid enough to do that, so he said, ¡°Mordo give us some magic light and then we''ll break down that door.¡± After Mordo casted a perpetual light spell around the group, he conjured a magic sword and signaled he was ready. Ezekiel moved towards the door and placed some directional explosive tags with a time delay around it before he stepped back and said, ¡°Cover your ears.¡± A few seconds later an explosion rocked the room, with all of the force going into the doorway leading deeper into the basement. The doorway and wall surrounding it were completely gone and the only thing that could be seen beyond the now gaping hole was darkness. Kaecilius started to advance first and as he passed through the hole, the room in front of him lit up slightly. It looked like a normal apartment building basement with one exception, a large hole rested in the middle of the room. As the group moved closer to the hole, the colder the temperature dropped. Once they were by the edge of the hole, Ezekiel pulled out some glow sticks from his storage seal. After he activated them, he tossed them down the hole, only for them to disappear once they were out of range of Mordo''s light spell. Ezekiel shared a glance with the others before he asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don''t sense any magic. Maybe it''s an innate ability of the vampire.¡± Mordo said. Kaecilius nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°It would explain the temperature difference as well.¡± Ezekiel glanced down into the hole for a few moments before he said, ¡°I''ll construct a platform to take us down.¡± As Ezekiel started to weave a spell together, Kaecilius decided to cast his own perpetual light spell, which helped to push back the darkness a little further. When Ezekiel finished his spell, a flat magical construct floated over the hole. He glanced at the others before he stepped on it and said, ¡°Let''s see just how deep this rabbit hole goes.¡± As everyone else stepped onto the platform Blade asked, ¡°Does he always quote movies?¡± Kaecilius and Mordo both nodded as Sanhildr said, ¡°I''m not sure. I haven''t watched any Midgardian entertainment myself.¡± As Ezekiel lowered the platform down into the darkness of the pit below them he looked at Sanhildr and asked, ¡°Why not? You''ve been on Earth for over half a year. You should have watched something by now.¡± ¡°What do you mean she''s been on Earth for half a year?¡± Blade asked as his right eyebrow raised. ¡°I told you she was the leader of the valkyries when I introduced you to each other. Plus she mentioned her weapon and killing gods¡­¡± Blade frowned as he said, ¡°I thought that was some kinda team name. As for the comment about her weapon and killing gods¡­ I thought it was a joke.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I guess that kinda makes sense now that I think about it.¡± Ezekiel said as he nodded to himself. Ezekiel pointed at Sanhildr as he said, ¡°Blade, this is Sanhildr former Asgardian warrior and leader of the valkyries from Nordic folklore. All the legends you might have heard about them are based on her and the other valkyries.¡± Blade looked unconvinced as he said, ¡°That would make her over a thousand years old at least.¡± ¡°I am over seven thousand years old. Unless you count the time I was dead, which would make me closer to ten thousand.¡± Sanhildr said. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Blade looked at everyone for a few moments and when he realized no one seemed to be joking he said to Ezekiel, ¡°We¡¯re going to need to talk after this.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°That''s fine, but let''s wait for Whistler to be better, since I don''t wanna explain stuff twice.¡± Ezekiel then glanced back at Sanhildr and said, ¡°After we''re finished here, I''m taking everyone to eat breakfast and then I am making you and all the other valkyries watch Yojimbo.¡± A moment later the hole they were traveling down opened up into a larger area. They still had limited vision though since the two light spells only helped so much. As the spell construct touched the ground Ezekiel said in a joking tone of voice, ¡°Lady and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I would like to¡­¡± Mordo slapped Ezekiel in the back of the head before he said, ¡°Tao said if you get too distracted, that hitting you should fix the problem.¡± ¡°Did it work?¡± Mordo asked as he smiled. Ezekiel shot Mordo a glare as he said, ¡°You and Tao need to loosen up.¡± Blade slowly pulled out his sword as he said, ¡°I don''t wanna interrupt your moment, but we have company.¡± Sanhildr, with her sword already drawn said, ¡°I also sense something.¡± Ezekiel and the rest of the group tensed up slightly as they looked around at the inky black void surrounding them. With the magic light which only covered about twenty feet around them, they couldn''t even see the hole above them. After almost a minute when nothing happened Ezekiel asked, ¡°Are you sure something is¡­¡± At that moment a vampire jumped out of the darkness and slammed into the magic shield. ¡°I retract my earlier question.¡± As the vampire clawed at the shield Ezekiel said, ¡°You know, I kinda thought there would be more than one of them.¡± As Ezekiel finished talking a whole swarm of vampires charged out of the darkness and slammed into the shield from all sides. While Kaecilius concentrated on adding more power to the shield Ezekiel slammed his right fist into his other hand as he said, ¡°Found them!¡± After Mordo created his own barrier to help Kaecilius. He glanced at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Can you take this more seriously?¡± Blade nodded in agreement as he shot into the mass of vampires surrounding them, while Sanhildr used her sword from inside the safety of the barrier. Ezekiel started to slowly do hand signs as he asked, ¡°Do either of the barriers protect against heat?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mordo and Kaecilius said at the same time. ¡°Then make one, it¡¯s about to get a lot hotter.¡± Mordo started to cast another spell as Ezekiel took a deep breath and raised his hands to his mouth. Right as a new barrier appeared around them Ezekiel said, ¡°Katon: G¨­ka Mekkyaku!¡± A torrent of fire quickly spread from Ezekiel¡¯s mouth and engulfed the vampires in front of him, while it also lit up more of the place they were in. As Ezekiel sprayed fire over the vampires the others moved around with him so he could cover the whole area in fire. As he finished, the group could finally see that they were actually in a cave system. Ezekiel looked around at his work as he dusted his hands off before he looked at Mordo as he asked, ¡°Happy?¡± ¡°No! You play around too much. I honestly have no idea why The Ancient One even wastes her time teaching you.¡± Mordo said as he frowned. Ezekiel took a moment to study Mordo before he smirked and asked, ¡°Is that jealousy I hear? If you like Tao so much, just ask her out.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Mordo turned directly towards Ezekiel with a glare before he said, ¡°This is exactly what I am talking about! We are in a dangerous situation and you would rather act like a child then take it seriously!¡± Mordo narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°Take this seriously or I¡¯m leaving.¡± Ezekiel wanted to argue back, but after seeing the others nodding in agreement with Mordo, he raised his arms in the air as he said, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll be good.¡± Instead of making sure the vampires were properly killed, the group moved past them and went deeper into the cave system. Before the darkness overtook them again, Mordo casted another light spell, but this one expanded out past the old ones. It helped them to see about fifty feet ahead of themselves as they headed deeper underground. They ended up not running into anymore vampires along the way, but a couple times they ran into splits in the tunnel system. Instead of checking each one, Blade pointed them down a certain path. When asked why, he said he could smell a heavy scent of blood from that direction. The constant temperature drop as they went deeper also helped at first, but after a while the temperature stayed consistent and didn¡¯t drop anymore. After some time passed the cave tunnel opened up to a large chamber. The opposite end of which was filled with medical equipment and large test tubes that looked like the ones Theo¡¯s team used for cloning bodies. Towards the left side were cages with a handful of people inside, while in front of the cages rested five tables. On each of the tables were corpses in different stages of being dissected. The right side of the room looked like a study of some sort, with a large amount of bookcases that were behind a desk and chair. To the left side of that study area was a coffin and to the right of it was a pool of blood, carved out of the bedrock. After they looked around the room for a few moments Ezekiel asked, ¡°Maybe the vampire lord is asleep in their coffin?¡± ¡°I rarely use my coffin down here.¡± A voice said from behind the bookcases. Everyone tensed up as a blonde haired young man walked out from behind one of the bookcases with a book in his hands as he read from it. He moved to the desk before he placed a bookmark inside the book and set it down on the desk. When he looked up from the book his golden eyes took everyone in before he said, ¡°Well this is a surprise.¡± The man slowly walked around the desk as he said, ¡°From the information I gathered, the daywalker should only have an oldman as his companion. A man named Whistler.¡± The vampire stopped walking after he cleared the desk as he asked, ¡°Which raises a question, who are these new friends you have, daywalker?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°It¡¯s quite rude to ask for a person''s name and not introduce yourself first.¡± ¡°Oh, my apologies. I am¡­¡± Ezekiel cut the man off as he said, ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel, seventy six years old. My zodiac sign is Cancer. My favorite food is pancakes. My hobbies are go-karts and programming.¡± Ezekiel then quickly pointed at the others as he said with a smirk, ¡°This is Kaecilius, the unhappy looking guy is Mordo, that is Sanhildr and of course you know the other unhappy looking guy as daywalker. We just call him Blade.¡± 00139. How not to fight a vampire lord. The blonde haired vampire tilted his head slightly as he asked, ¡°Are you trying to piss me off?¡± ¡°Maybe? Is it working?¡± Ezekiel asked with a smirk. ¡°No, you would have to try harder than that. Now like I said before I was interrupted, my name is¡­¡± A gunshot rang out as a silver bullet slammed into the vampire''s chest and Ezekiel asked, ¡°How about now?¡± The vampire glanced down at the small hole in his chest before he looked up with narrowed eyes and said, ¡°You really are trying to piss me off.¡± Ezekiel laughed before he asked, ¡°Of course I am. I literally told you I was¡­ Or do you not understand basic English?¡± The others all glanced at Ezekiel as the vampire held out his hand before the bullet in his chest came back out and dropped into it. He looked at it for a moment as he said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to hurt me with this.¡± When the vampire tossed the bullet to the side, Ezekiel shot him in the same spot until he emptied the magazine in his gun before he asked, ¡°Are you sure? We won¡¯t know unless we try, right? The vampire glanced at his chest before he started to walk towards the group as Ezekiel quickly casted a genjutsu on him. The vampire only frowned slightly before he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you just tried to do, but it won¡¯t work on me. I can feel it, none of you are strong enough to hurt me.¡± The vampire smiled and locked eyes with Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I was just planning to kill you, since the daywalker is the only one who will make a useful test subject.¡± The vampire kept his gaze only on Ezekiel as he said, ¡°But I changed my mind, I¡¯m going to enjoy torturing all of you.¡± Ezekiel chuckled again as he asked, ¡°No thanks, how about I just kill you instead?¡± As the other people in his group prepared to fight, Ezekiel stored his gun away and pulled out the knife Blade gave him early. The vampire creepily smiled as he said, ¡°Nothing you brought will be able to hurt me, I¡¯ve already evolved myself beyond a normal vampire.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s test that out.¡± Ezekiel said before he disappeared. Ezekiel reappeared behind the vampire who was almost next to the group and tried to plunge the knife into the vampire''s heart. The vampire caught the blade with his hand as he said, ¡°Interesting. You have incredible speed with subpar strength.¡± The vampire ripped the blade from Ezekiel¡¯s grasp before he snapped it in half and tossed it to the side as he said, ¡°I told you, you can¡¯t hurt me.¡± Ezekiel touched the seal on his arm and pulled out a stack of explosive tags as he said, ¡°If silver doesn¡¯t work, let''s try paper instead.¡± The next second Ezekiel disappeared and attempted to cover the vampire in explosive tags. The vampire matched Ezekiel in speed and intercepted him everytime he went to place a tag. Once Ezekiel was done, he reappeared in the middle of his group as the vampire looked at the tags in his hand. ¡°And what did you hope to accomplish with these things?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Boom.¡± The explosion that followed was massive, but was refocused back onto the main point of the explosion thanks to a special tag meant to contain explosions and redirect them. The tiny bit that wasn¡¯t contained, was blocked by Mordo and Kaecilius¡¯s shield. As the smoke from the blast slowly cleared away, they were greeted by the blonde haired vampire again. His clothes were completely ruined and his right hand was burned, but otherwise he looked fine. Ezekiel clicked his tongue as he said, ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to restrain him and use the sun.¡± The vampire glanced at his hand for a moment as it healed before he locked eyes with Ezekiel again and said, ¡°I¡¯m not just gonna torture you. I¡¯ll torture everyone you care about. I¡¯ll start with these people here before I find everyone blood related to you.¡± Ezekiel frowned slightly as the vampire smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep you alive the whole time. You¡¯ll be able to watch as the people you care about cry out in pain and blame you for their misery.¡± The vampire pointed to the five tables on the other side of the room as he said, ¡°As you can see, I have a lot of experience in keeping someone alive. While also in a constant state of pain. I can easily keep you alive for years as you watch what I do to your loved ones.¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t know when to shut up do you?¡± Ezekiel asked as he started to weave a spell together. The vampire smiled as he asked, ¡°Am I pissing you off?¡± Ezekiel finished conjuring a magic sword before he attacked the vampire again. The vampire blocked the attack with his own arm as he said, ¡°Are you stupid? I told you, you can¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°Are you stupid? I¡¯m not going to take your word for it.¡± Ezekiel said as he turned into a blur and attacked the vampire. The vampire for his part easily kept up and parried every attack with his hand. As they fought the rest of Ezekiel¡¯s group looked for a chance to help, but with the pair''s current speed they couldn¡¯t do much. As the others watched, Mordo said, ¡°Let''s prepare a restraining spell.¡± Kaecilius nodded in agreement before he started to chant a spell with Mordo. As they worked on the spell the vampire finally attacked back and attempted to hit Ezekiel. Ezekiel turned into a puff of smoke as a small rock appeared where he just was. Ezekiel himself attempted to attack the vampire from behind, but the vampire easily parried the blow away. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Ezekiel retreated as he glanced at his group for a moment, which the vampire used as an opportunity to attack. The blow just missed Ezekiel who was able to parry it in time. But the vampire didn¡¯t stop and pressed the attack on Ezekiel. Ezekiel did his best to fight back but the vampire seemed to be slightly faster than him and Ezekiel was mostly relying on his body flicker skill to move and attack. This was also Ezekiel¡¯s first real fight with someone and he was outclassed by them in speed. Ezekiel knew the main issue was that his body still wasn''t developed, so he lacked the ability to do any type of damage to the guy. But the guy was also a monster and healed a lot faster than a normal vampire should. Even then Ezekiel wasn''t losing by much, but he didn''t really have a way to win either. After a few more moments of being pushed back, the spell Mordo and Kaecilius were chanting finished. Red bands appeared next to the vampire and lashed around him, which locked him in place. The vampire glanced down at his body for a moment before he said, ¡°You sorcerers are always a hassle to deal with.¡± Ezekiel waved the conjured sword in his hand as he asked, ¡°You know I''m a sorcerer too right?¡± The vampire struggled against the spell for a few moments before he ripped his arms free, breaking the spell. He glanced at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°You''re not skilled enough to be a hassle.¡± Instead of going after Ezekiel again, the vampire charged at Mordo and Kaecilius. As he slammed into the first barrier, Mordo was forced to concentrate on the spell otherwise it would break. Blade and Sanhildr used the opportunity to attack the vampire as he tried to break through the barrier. Both of them attacked with their swords, but only Sanhildr''s sword caused any type of damage. The vampire didn¡¯t stop and barely noticed the small wound that healed almost instantly. As they attacked again, Mordo struggled to keep the barrier up while Kaecilius casted a new spell to reinforce the barrier. Ezekiel used the opportunity to attack the vampire from behind, but was basically ignored. Sanhildr, who noticed her sword could damage the vampire, tried to target a more vital area. She attempted to plunge her sword into the vampire''s chest as she aimed for its heart, but it was stopped before it could go too deep. The vampire, annoyed with the attack, stopped his attack on the shield for a moment before he grabbed Sanhildr''s sword with both hands and ripped it free from her grasp. Afterwards he glanced at the sword for a moment before he used it to renew his attack on the shield. With the help of the magic infused sword, he easily broke the barrier in a few swings. Before he broke through the next barrier, which left the group defenseless. Once the other shield broke, Ezekiel realized they were in trouble and pulled out his tablet to send a message to Tao. As he did that, the vampire with his speed quickly subdued Blade and Sanhildr. After the message was sent, Ezekiel quickly casted a light spell and prepared himself to buy time as he watched the vampire take down Kaecilius. As Ezekiel watched the fight and prepared another spell, he had a fleeting thought, that he should make a portal so they could escape. But he quickly rejected the idea, as he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to portal everyone else out if he attempted it. Plus the vampire lord always seemed to be watching him and wasn¡¯t sure if he would get the spell off correctly. Sure he could normally do a portal spell with no issue, but his adrenaline was pumping like crazy and he was having a hard time casting anything at the moment. Mordo was the last one to fall because he had a few magic items that aided in his defense. But in a matter of a few seconds all of them were laid out on the ground, leaving Ezekiel alone. Ezekiel glanced worriedly at everyone as the blonde haired vampire turned around and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn''t kill them.¡± The vampire menacingly walked closer to Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I already told you, I am going to torture you and everyone you care about.¡± Ezekiel narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°Over my dead body.¡± The vampire chuckled before he said, ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll wish you were dead, but I won¡¯t let you die that easily.¡± Ezekiel retreated towards the cavern entrance as he worked to buy more time for Tao to arrive. He made it to the entrance as the vampire caught up to him and forced him to stop. The vampire licked his lips which showed off his fangs as he asked, ¡°Trying to run away?¡± Ezekiel wanted to quip, but instead attacked the vampire head on as he tried to move into the tunnel. Ezekiel couldn¡¯t slip past him but he was able to force them away from the cavern and into the tunnel itself, as they fought with each other. With Ezekiel¡¯s conjured magical sword versus the vampire''s stolen valkyrie blade. As they moved farther into the tunnel, Ezekiel counted the seconds in his head. He only needed a minute or two and Tao would come to the rescue. Ten seconds, then twenty, thirty, fifty, seventy¡­ The longer they fought, the harder it was for Ezekiel to match the vampire''s speed. In fact, the vampire lord seemed to be increasing their speed. Right as Ezekiel realized the vampire lord was holding back, the vampire lord twisted his blade from a parry and sliced through Ezekiel¡¯s wrist that held his sword. At first the vampire lord smiled as Ezekiel¡¯s hand fell off and his magic sword disappeared. But then he frowned when he didn¡¯t see any blood come out. As the hand on the ground faded away, Ezekiel¡¯s hand slowly reappeared on his wrist as if nothing happened. Ezekiel used the vampire''s momentary pause to pull out two kunai from his storage seal and attacked. The vampire lazily blocked the attacks as he asked, ¡°Interesting, was that your own power or a magic spell?¡± When Ezekiel just continued to attack, the vampire said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to answer me, I¡¯ll just find out for myself.¡± The vampire increased its speed again and sliced off both of Ezekiel¡¯s hands at the wrist this time. As the vampire watched, Ezekiel¡¯s whole body flickered for a moment before the vampire''s eyes widened slightly. The next moment it swung its sword and sliced off Ezekiel''s legs below the kneecap, before it quickly chopped through the very top of Ezekiel¡¯s head. As Ezekiel¡¯s body fell to the ground, the henge seal on his arm crumbled as it could no longer keep up with the damage. After the henge faded away, Theo looked up at the vampire lord who towered in front of him. The vampire lord looked down on Theo with a frown as he asked, ¡°I was taunted by a mere child?¡± Before Theo could respond, the vampire lord snatched him up by his neck with his free hand. As Theo struggled in the grip, the vampire brought him up to eye level and stared deeply into his eyes for a few moments before he said, ¡°You truly are just a child¡­¡± Theo couldn¡¯t really speak as the vampire gripped his throat, but that didn¡¯t stop him as he spit in the vampire''s face. The vampire squeezed Theo¡¯s neck a little tighter as he said, ¡°Just wait child, we are going to have so much fun together.¡± As Theo started to lose consciousness from the lack of oxygen the vampire said, ¡°First I¡¯m going to torture you, so I can find your family. Then I am going to make you watch as I torture them.¡± As Theo¡¯s mind touched on the darkness of unconsciousness, thoughts flashed through his head of his family. His mom¡¯s tender smile, his father¡¯s goofy grin. The proud look his dad has, whenever any of them accomplishes something, no matter how small it might be. How when Milly gets excited, she will call him Te-o again instead of Theo. Or when his little brother Issac asks him to read books together. As Theo fought against unconsciousness his last thought was, ¡®I¡¯ll never let someone hurt my family!¡¯ The vampire lord watched as consciousness faded from the boy''s eyes and just as the light spell the boy cast began to dim. The boy''s eyes started to spin as they turned red. 00140. Tao saves the day? After Theo¡¯s body hit the ground he took a ragged breath as his body greedily sucked in air. As he gulped down another breath he glanced around in confusion, it was completely dark and he didn¡¯t know where he was at first. On his next breath he regained some clarity and quickly stood up as he started to cast a barrier spell. After the barrier spell was in place he then created a new light spell, to see what was going on. As the space around him became illuminated, he took a step back. The vampire lord stood directly in front of him with a blank look on his face like he was under a genjutsu. Theo studied him for a few moments in confusion before a voice said, ¡°I admit, I¡¯m just as confused as you are. A vampire lord shouldn¡¯t be able to fall for one of your genjutsus. But whatever your eyes did overpowered them.¡± ¡°My eyes?¡± Theo asked as he turned around to see Tao, who nodded as she said, ¡°Your eyes changed.¡± Theo froze for a moment as he sensed the chakra flowing to his eyes which he cut off, before he threw both arms in the air as he said, ¡°My eyes changed!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, your eyes changed. Congratulations. But you should really change back before someone else sees the real you.¡± Tao said in an unimpressed tone of voice. Theo¡¯s eyes went wide for a moment before he henged back into Ezekiel. Afterwards he pulled out a seal and placed it on his arm. Once that was done he glanced at Tao and asked, ¡°What took you so long? That was easily five minutes or more.¡± Tao smiled as she said, ¡°I¡¯ve been here since just after you called me early. I¡¯ve watched everything you did to see where you currently lack so we can focus on it during training. Which reminds me.¡± Tao flicked her hand and the vampire lifted into the air as she said, ¡°Come along, we need to go back to the others.¡± Ezekiel frowned before he pulled the sword from the vampire''s hand and said, ¡°If you¡¯ve been here since the start, why didn¡¯t you help sooner? I could have died.¡± ¡°It was an invaluable training experience for you and the others. One that you will never forget.¡± Tao said with the hint of a smile before she added, ¡°Besides, he wanted you alive.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the vampire lord for a moment before he said, ¡°That¡¯s true, but shouldn¡¯t you restrain him? I¡¯m not sure how long that genjutsu will last.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. But you should probably summon a medical team to help Mordo and the others. They¡¯re alive, but pretty beat up.¡± Tao said as they walked out of the tunnel into the cavern area the vampire used. Ezekiel paused to check his chakra reserve before he summoned shadow clones of Sakura and a few more medical-nin from different villages. They rushed over to the others and started to work on them. Luckily like Tao said, they were banged up but had no life threatening injuries. The vampire in his haste only subdued them before he knocked them out. So within a couple of minutes all of them were back up and on their feet. After everyone was up, Ezekiel told the medical-nin to go check on the people in the cages. Before he handed Sanhildr her sword back and said, ¡°Sorry about that, I honestly didn¡¯t think he would be that powerful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, as a warrior, fighting a strong opponent is a great honor and helps to test your skills. Unfortunately my skills are currently lacking since I haven¡¯t adjusted to this body.¡± Sanhildr said with a smile. Mordo frowned slightly as he pointed a finger at Ezekiel and said in a raised tone of voice, ¡°I told you! I told you to stop joking around! If The Ancient One didn¡¯t show up, we all could have died because of your foolish actions!¡± Ezekiel raised both arms in the air as he said, ¡°Let''s just chill out for a moment and think about what he said. He planned to kill us from the start, it was only because of me that he didn''t. If anything I kinda saved our lives.¡± ¡°That doesn''t make it any better! I told you before, don''t goof off and take this seriously!¡± Mordo said as he glared at Ezekiel. Kaecilius nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°While it''s good no one was seriously hurt, you need to take things more seriously when facing any opponent. Especially an unknown and powerful one like that.¡± ¡°Exactly. If we had worked together from the start, we could have easily subdued the creature till sunrise.¡± Mordo said. Tao coughed lightly before she said, ¡°While I agree Ezekiel should take things more seriously.¡± Tao turned to look at Mordo and Kaecilius as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand how neither of you failed to kill this vampire lord alone. Let alone Ezekiel.¡± ¡°It was basically immune to everything we used on it except Sanhildr''s sword. We planned to restrain it and kill it with sunlight.¡± Mordo said. Kaecilius nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°It even broke out of a combination binding spell with little issue.¡± Tao nodded along before she asked, ¡°Did either one of you read the small collection of books we have on vampires and how to deal with them?¡± Kaecilius shook his head as he said, ¡°I started the main one on vampire types, but never finished it.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°And you?¡± Tao asked as she turned to look at Mordo. Mordo shook his head as he said, ¡°It''s not my area of study, so I never looked into them.¡± ¡°So you came to fight a large nest of vampires and neither of you bothered to invite someone who knows about vampires to help?¡± Tao asked with a raised eyebrow. Both men shook their heads as Ezekiel snickered for a moment before Tao turned her gaze on him and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re enjoying this. You¡¯re just as responsible for this mess as they are.¡± Tao glanced over them for a moment before she said, ¡°I want all of you to read the complete collection of vampire books within the next month and you will also be training with me four hours each day for the next month.¡± Ezekiel wanted to argue it wasn¡¯t his fault, but the look Tao gave him stopped him as he nodded in agreement instead. Tao then pointed to the vampire lord who was floating in the air under Ezekiel¡¯s genjutsu as she said, ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to wake that creature up and show you how to deal with a vampire lord.¡± Blade who was next to Ezekiel leaned in as he said, ¡°Is this okay? He beat us like we were children the last time.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°When she¡¯s like this, it best to let her do what she wants¡­ It¡¯s not like we could stop her anyways.¡± ¡°Stop talking and pay attention.¡± Tao commanded as she slammed the vampire lord into the ground breaking him out of the genjutsu. A moment later the vampire lord climbed to his feet and looked around in confusion as he asked, ¡°What happened? Wasn¡¯t I just torturing that little bastard?¡± He noticed everyone back on their feet along with Tao and the other new people and frowned as he looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°What did you do? What were those eyes?¡± Tao pointed at the vampire lord as she said, ¡°Pay attention because we only have one. When facing a vampire lord the first thing you should do is restrain them with the proper spell.¡± The vampire lord rushed towards Tao and hit a protective barrier before he said, ¡°It was you, you must have helped him!¡± Tao causally waved her hand and a binding spell latched onto the vampire lord. As the vampire lord struggled against the bindings she said, ¡°This is a spell designed to hold any type of vampire. No matter how powerful they are, they will never be able to break out of it.¡± As the vampire lord struggled against the bindings Tao glanced at the other as she said, ¡°The next step is the most important one, so remember it well.¡± Tao spun her hand in a circle for a moment and a blindingly bright portal opened up underneath the vampire lord which made him scream in pain as his skin burned and peeled off before he dropped down into the portal itself. After the vampire lord passed through the portal, the darkness and cold that blanketed the area disappeared a moment later. Tao left the portal open and looked at everyone as she said, ¡°You open a portal in space facing the sun and drop them into it.¡± Ezekiel opened his mouth to speak and couldn¡¯t find the words for a few moments. Both Mordo and Kaecilius also looked lost for words before Tao closed the portal up and said, ¡°It¡¯s good all of you realize, just how stupid you really are. I expect to see all of you for training, starting tomorrow. I¡¯ll hold it at the Genosha school at three AM Genosha time. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± The three of them said before Tao nodded, created a portal and left. After Tao left Ezekiel glanced where the vampire lord fell into the portal and said, ¡°You know it makes perfect sense¡­ Now that I stop to think about it. We could have used portals the whole time¡­¡± Mordo shot a glare at Ezekiel but before he could say anything, Kaecilius placed a hand on his shoulder as he said, ¡°We¡¯re all at fault in what happened and let''s leave it at that.¡± Mordo let out a tired sigh before he said, ¡°You''re right¡­¡± Ezekiel turned towards everyone and said, ¡°Sorry again about what happened, I¡¯ll be more serious when facing unknown enemies from now on.¡± ¡°Ezekiel! I need help over here!¡± Everyone turned to see Sakura as she stood over one of the five torture tables using a skill. Ezekiel quickly crossed the room and stopped next to Sakura as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°They''re still alive!¡± Ezekiel looked down at the man who¡¯s chest cavity was splayed open and saw his heart slowly beating. Ezekiel then glanced at the other tables and noticed the other people were all in a similar state, but still alive. Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and made a call on it, which was picked up on the second ring before a woman said, ¡°If you''re wondering about the oldman, he''s out of surgery and stable.¡± ¡°Lady Tsunade, I have five people here in critical condition. I need your help to stabilize them.¡± Sakura said as she worked on the person in front of her. ¡°Sakura, how bad are they?¡± Ezekiel glanced at them as he said, ¡°Someone opened them up like they were doing an autopsy.¡± ¡°Open a portal, I¡¯ll be there in a moment with a team.¡± Tsunade said before she hung up the call. Ezekiel put his tablet away before he opened up a portal, and within a half a minute Tsunade, Shizune and a medical team came out of the portal. Without a word they each moved to a different person and went to work. Ezekiel then moved back to his original group and said, ¡°I¡¯ll finish cleaning up down here, while you guys go and finish off any vampires we didn¡¯t kill in the tunnel.¡± Mordo nodded before he said, ¡°We¡¯ll double check everything and then head back up. If they''re done, I¡¯ll have Wong drop the contaminant spell and transport everyone back.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Sanhildr before she left and said, ¡°I¡¯ll contact you once I¡¯m done down here.¡± She nodded her head and then headed back with the others to go back upstairs. Blade was the only one who stayed behind as he asked, ¡°Did she say Whistler was stable?¡± ¡°Ya, I¡¯ll take you to him once I¡¯m done here.¡± After that Ezekiel went around the area and stored everything into storage scrolls. The medical equipment, books, coffin, the blood from the pool of blood. After he finished, the five people on the tables were stable enough to move so Ezekiel opened a portal and let Blade go back to visit Whistler with Tsunade and the others. After that he used an earth style skill to fill in the cavern and the tunnel that connected to it. It took almost an hour and a lot of chakra but he was able to fill in everything with compacted dirt. Once finished he double checked the building himself one more time before he left for Genosha. He needed to take Sanhildr and the valkyries out for breakfast and then make them watch a movie. 00141. Helping out a legend. After watching Yojimbo with Sanhildr and the other valkyries, Ezekiel went home and switched places with his clone to sleep for about an hour before he needed to wake up. Once he was up, he did his normal morning routine before he went to the mirror in his bathroom. As he stood in front of it, he closed his eyes and injected chakra into his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a pair of two tomoe in each of his sharingan. Last night when they awakened he didn¡¯t notice it at first, most likely from being in that mostly dark tunnel. But his vision was a lot clearer now, everything seemed to be in high definition to him. Theo shook his head, out of everything that went bad last night. At least this was a positive¡­ But it might not make up for having extra training with Tao. Before Theo left the bathroom he placed a visual genjutsu over his eyes. It would allow him to keep his eyes active for as long as possible, without drawing attention to himself. Theo then left his room and headed upstairs where he was greeted by the smell of fresh waffles being made. His dad smiled at him as he said, ¡°Good morning sleepy head. I was about to send Milly down to get you, if you didn¡¯t come up soon.¡± Milly nodded from her place at the table as she said, ¡°Ya! Why weren¡¯t you up? You always wake me up.¡± Theo moved towards the cabinet to get dishes and help set the table as he said, ¡°I forgot to turn on my alarm last night.¡± As Theo set the table, Daniel walked in with Issac and as she set him up in his high chair she said, ¡°When you get home from school today, you should check the email account that¡¯s set up for your website.¡± Theo moved to the sink to clean the dishes his dad used to make the waffle batter mix as he asked, ¡°Why? Did something happen?¡± ¡°Well besides the fact it¡¯s good to check your email regularly. I checked it this morning and noticed people are offering to buy your game.¡± Daniel said as she played with Issac. Theo glanced at his mom as he asked, ¡°Buy my game? All they have to do is go on the website if they want to buy it¡­ Or is there an issue with the site?¡± Daniel smiled before she said, ¡°They don¡¯t want to buy just a single copy. They want to buy the entire game itself.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I don¡¯t get it¡­ If they buy the game, they get the whole game.¡± Theo said while he tried not to laugh. Daniel shook her head lightly before she said, ¡°They want to offer you a large amount of money for the rights to your game, so they can take the game and sell it themselves.¡± After Theo finished the last dish he turned around and asked, ¡°Why would they want to do that?¡± Jacob finished placing the waffles, eggs and sausage on the table as he said, ¡°Because they think the amount of money they can make from selling the game themselves will be more than what they pay you for it.¡± Theo sat down at the table and started to load up his plate as he said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound that bad. Would me and Peter still have to update the game?¡± Daniel chuckled before she said, ¡°No. If you sold the game rights. Whoever bought it would have to take care of everything for the game going forward.¡± Theo poured syrup over his waffles as he said, ¡°Oh, that makes it even better. But could Milly, Peter and I still play it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. You could even add that into the contract if you wanted.¡± Daniel said as she tried to feed Issac some eggs. ¡°Okay, then I guess as long as Peter and Milly don¡¯t mind, we can sell the game rights.¡± Daniel shared a glance with Jacob as she asked, ¡°Why would you have to ask them? Isn¡¯t it your game?¡± Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°I might have started it, but we all worked on it¡­ Well Milly mostly played it, but she helped in her own way.¡± ¡°Yeah, I helped!¡± Milly said before she stuffed a piece of waffle in her mouth that looked like it was made of syrup. ¡°So it would only be right if they are okay with it.¡± Theo said. Daniel smiled before she asked, ¡°What do you think Milly? Should Theo sell the game?¡± ¡°But I like playing it.¡± Milly said with a little pout. ¡°What if he can sell it and you can still play it?¡± Daniel asked. ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s fine then. As long as I can still play it, it¡¯s fine.¡± Conversation continued for a little while longer before everyone left the house to go about their day. At school Theo talked to Peter about selling the game and he was also fine with it. So after school that day, Daniel started to go through all the emails of companies that wanted to purchase the game. Once she had about ten of them, she sent out emails to each company to inquire about their asking price for the game. A few days after he went vampire hunting and his mom started looking into selling his game. Ezekiel visited Blade and Whistler at their hideout. With Tsunade''s skills and some modern technology, Whistler was mostly healed. His leg was still missing and both arms were in casts, but they were on their way to healing. After Ezekiel stepped out of the portal, he saw Whistler sitting at what passed for their kitchen table. He smiled as he moved towards the table and asked, ¡°How''re you feeling?¡± ¡°Like shit. That doctor lady told me I couldn''t drink for a month.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Ezekiel sat down at the table as he said, ¡°You''ll heal faster if you don¡¯t drink.¡± ¡°Who cares. It''s not like I''ll be useful anymore. Who hunts vampires in a wheelchair?¡± Whistler said as he smacked the stump of his leg. ¡°You don''t need to hunt to be helpful to me, old man.¡± Blade said as he came into the kitchen area. ¡°Shut it kid. At this point I¡¯m just dead weight.¡± Whistler said with a frown. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Well I guess you''re both in luck. I came here today with an offer.¡± ¡°An offer? What, you got some kinda magic spell to replace my leg?¡± Whistler asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Ezekiel glanced at Blade as he asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t tell him?¡± Blade shook his head as Whistler asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t tell me what?¡± Ezekiel made a simple light spell as he said, ¡°Magic¡¯s real.¡± ¡°Bullshit.¡± Ezekiel conjured a magic sword as he said, ¡°This is made of magic. And it¡¯s very real.¡± Before he used it to slice a thin cut through the table in front of him. Whistler looked at the sword and the cut on the table before he asked, ¡°So that¡¯s not your own power but magic?¡± Ezekiel nodded before Whistler asked, ¡°So what, are you just gonna make me a leg like that sword or something?¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No, I am gonna do something better than that. But first both of you would have to go through some tests and background checks.¡± ¡°Why would we need to do that?¡± Blade asked. ¡°Because I wanna offer both of you a job working with my group.¡± Ezekiel said. Blade shook his head as he said, ¡°But we only hunt vampires.¡± ¡°And I would like for you to continue doing that, but working with more people. I would actually form a larger group to work with you and help you.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°We¡¯ve never needed help before.¡± Blade said. Whistler glanced at his bum leg before he glanced at his missing lag and said, ¡°Blade''s only ever worked with me, but there''s another small team I know who hunts vampires.¡± Blade narrowed his eyes as he said. ¡°This is the first time I''ve heard about another team¡­¡± Whistler looked directly into Blade''s eyes as he said, ¡°Because you don¡¯t really get along with other people.¡± As Blade glared at Whistler, Ezekiel said, ¡°You know what, I''m just gonna let you guys sort this out yourselves¡­I¡¯ll be back in a week or so.¡± As Ezekiel created a portal he said, ¡°And if you wanna join, you can invite that other group you know. But everyone will still need to pass our checks to officially join us.¡± After that, Ezekiel left them to go talk with someone else he meant to recruit a while ago. He portaled to an area in the Bronx with Inoichi and then walked to a small house that looked well maintained. After they reached the door Ezekiel knocked a couple times and waited. After a few moments an older, gray haired black woman peaked out of the door she opened slightly. She glanced between Ezekiel and Inoichi for a moment before she asked, ¡°Yes? Can I help you?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°No. But I would like to help you and your husband out Mrs. Bradley.¡± The woman narrowed her eyes slightly as she said, ¡°My husband''s been through enough. Tell whoever sent you here, to leave our family alone.¡± Before she could shut the door Ezekiel rested his hand on it and said, ¡°Mrs. Bradley, no one sent me. I came to offer you and your husband something. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll leave.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want it.¡± Mrs. Bradley said as she tried to shut the door, but it didn¡¯t move an inch. ¡°Just give me five minutes to talk with you and your husband. I promise we¡¯ll leave after that, if you don¡¯t want to accept my offer.¡± The woman glared at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°You know damn well you can¡¯t really talk with my husband. Now I want you to leave before I call the cops.¡± ¡°You''re right, Mrs. Bradley. Other people can¡¯t talk with him, but we can. Just give us five minutes.¡± She paused as she stopped trying to close the door and her eyes were still narrowed as she asked, ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Ezekiel pointed at Inoichi as he said, ¡°While your husband might currently have brain damage, my friend here should be able to bypass the issue and talk with him properly. The woman stared at Inoichi for a few moments before she asked, ¡°Will it hurt him in any way?¡± Inoichi shook his head as he said, ¡°No Mrs. Bradley. It¡¯s all based inside the mind itself and will not have any physical effect on his body.¡± ¡°Are you one of those meta-humans?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°We both are, just like your husband.¡± She glanced between them one more time before she said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes, but that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Thank you Mrs. Bradley. I¡¯m Ezekiel by the way and this is Inoichi.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at Inoichi. ¡°Just call me Faith.¡± She said as she opened the door completely and stepped out of the way. After they stepped inside the house and closed the front door, she led them to the living room. On the floor sat an older black man who was busy playing with some toy cars. Faith gently moved next to her husband and said, ¡°Isaiah, these men here came to talk with you.¡± ¡°I wanna play with my cars.¡± Isaiah said with a goofy smile. ¡°It will only be for a few minutes and then they¡¯ll leave, can you do that for me sweetie?¡± Faith asked. Isaiah looked up at Faith before he asked, ¡°Can I have ice cream after?¡± Faith had a sad smile as she said, ¡°Sure honey.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Isaiah said before he set his cars to the side and stood up. Ezekiel smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s great to meet you Isaiah, I¡¯ve heard a lot about you. I¡¯m Ezekiel and this is Inoichi.¡± Isaiah looked at both of them as he asked, ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Isaiah. Do you like board games?¡± Ezekiel nodded and said, ¡°I love games. Would you like to play one with us?¡± Isaiah nodded as he said, ¡°Oh! I want to play! What do you want to play? I have a bunch to pick from.¡± ¡°How about we all play something special we brought with us?¡± Ezekiel asked the literal man child. Isaiah nodded his head and asked, ¡°I like new games, how do we play?¡± ¡°First let''s all sit down and my friend here will show us how to play.¡± After sitting down on the ground, Inoichi pulled out some seals and placed one on each person''s head. Afterwards he pulled everyone into a linked mind space. Faith was a little confused at first but then Isaiah appeared next to her and after a moment he pulled her into a hug as he said, ¡°I have no idea what just happened, but I hope it never ends.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s kind of the idea behind this meeting.¡± Faith and Isaiah turned to see Ezekiel, who smiled as he asked, ¡°How would the both of you like a second chance at life?¡± 00142. More recruiting. A few weeks passed by and a few things happened in that time. Agatha came back from the quantum realm, because Wong took her place. Kaecilius was meant to go originally, but with his punishment duty going on, he was forced to stay behind. While Hank¡¯s efforts so far have yielded no signs of his wife, only about ten percent of the place has been searched so far. Or at least that''s the best estimate they have. Between Minato, Tobirama and the drones, the task was going relatively fast all things considered. Back on Earth, Theo helped out Isaiah Bradley and his wife Faith Bradley. Both of them were given a healthy new body, which was cloned from themselves with a tiny bit of Logan¡¯s healing factor. Orochimaru also fixed all the issues he found with them before he made clones of them based around twenty years of age. After they were placed in their new bodies, Ezekiel gave them a credit card and a card with his phone number on it. After he handed them over he said, ¡°This is for both of you. Go out and enjoy life, like you should have originally.¡± Isaiah took the two cards and glanced at them for a moment before he asked, ¡°What are these for?¡± ¡°That one is my personal phone number, call it if you ever need anything.¡± Ezekiel pointed at the credit card as he said, ¡°That¡¯s a credit card I set up for both of you. I gave you a million dollars for each year you were imprisoned, and then doubled it.¡± Faith glanced at the card for a few moments before her eyes widened as she asked, ¡°You¡¯re giving us thirty four million?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°It''s fifty million actually, it was easier to just round up.¡± Isaiah went to hand the card back as he said, ¡°We don¡¯t need the money. These bodies are more than enough and we still won¡¯t be able to repay you for them.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°The money is already yours, I won¡¯t take it back. Use it however you want, or give it away to charity if you like. But it¡¯s yours to do with as you please.¡± ¡°I would personally suggest traveling the world for the next few years and just enjoy your life together. Make it one long overdue honeymoon¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Isaiah put the two cards in his pocket before he asked, ¡°Thanks, but are you sure there isn¡¯t something we can do to repay you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything and there¡¯s no debt to repay. I was just righting a wrong, that shouldn¡¯t have happened in the first place.¡± Ezekiel said. After they talked for a little longer, Ezekiel made a portal back to their home and before the portal closed he said, ¡°Enjoy your new life, but if you ever get bored. Contact me, I could always use good people like you, to help me make the world a better place.¡± The portal snapped closed right after and Isaiah shared a glance with his wife before she said, ¡°I know that look.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the same look you gave me before you joined the army.¡± She said as she poked him in the chest. Isaiah pulled his wife into a hug as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t help it. If he was serious about making the world a better place, I wouldn¡¯t mind helping him.¡± Faith pushed her husband away and looked deep into his eyes before she said, ¡°And I¡¯ll happily join you. But first we have a lot of missed time to catch up on.¡± Faith then winked at her husband before she pulled him towards their bedroom. vvvvv Around that same time period Ezekiel met with Whistler and Blade again. Well he met with them and the others Whistler worked with, one of which turned out to be his daughter. After meeting everyone, Ezekiel gathered their information and had Inoichi and a few others do full psychological evaluations on them. By the time everyone was cleared to join, Ezekiel was helping Isaiah and his wife into their new bodies. So once he received the news, he invited everyone over to the medical base so they could do checkups on them and get DNA samples. From there it only took about a week for all of them to get a new body, even Blade. He would be weaker than before, but only for a little while. But all of the vampire hunters would be stronger than Blade was after they finished training their new bodies. After being placed into new bodies Sommerfield had the biggest reaction. Being blind before the process and then being able to see was very emotional for her. She couldn¡¯t stop crying as she hugged her daughter Zoe after seeing her for the first time. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. As Sommerfield hugged her daughter, Whistler looked at his daughter Abigail and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to hug you like that.¡± ¡°Good, it¡¯s kinda creepy with you looking my age.¡± Abigail said as she looked at the others. Afterwards they were all quickly integrated into the base, with Sommerfield¡¯s daughter Zoe, quickly making friends with the other kids. They didn¡¯t need to live at the base permanently, but for the next six months they all needed to train and get used to their new bodies. Even though Sommerfield and Hedges weren¡¯t originally hunters, with their new bodies and training. They would join the others in field work going forward. Ezekiel also had his clones expand the base again, to make an area for the vampire hunting group. Well the group would focus on other things then just vampires, but their main goal for now was vampires. Ezekiel also checked with anyone else in the base, if they wanted to join the group. A few of the shield agents, a couple of the sorcerers and Mikhail decided to join. Blade was a little reluctant to work with even more new people, but Whistler set him straight and so far the new team was getting along¡­ Even though everyone agreed that Hannibal King talked too much. Another thing Ezekiel dealt with during that time was the Dire Wraith spaceship. He put it off because he wanted to restore it and use it, but didn¡¯t really have the proper technology to do it. But after going through all the stuff they recovered from Sakaar and comparing it to the new ships they acquired. Ezekiel realized that while the technology in the ship was advanced compared to earth. It was old compared to the rest of the galaxy. Instead of trying to upgrade everything, it was better to just build something new from the ground up. So Ezekiel used clones to completely dismantle the whole ship to recycle everything usable. It took almost a month, but once finished Ezekiel was happy with finally doing something about the ship. vvvvv Ezekiel collapsed on the ground as he gasped for air before Kaecilius and Mordo each joined him a few minutes later. As they all laid on the ground a voice rang out and said, ¡°Get up, we aren¡¯t done yet!¡± Ezekiel slowly got back up with the others to look at the person who spoke. Tao was casually seated in a chair drinking tea as she said, ¡°Prepare yourselves, I expect you to do better this time.¡± As Ezekiel and the others started to make magic defenses, Tao placed her tea cup down before the erected defenses shattered and blew the defenders off their feet. Tao lightly shook her head as she said, ¡°I expect more from all of you, again!¡± Ezekiel wanted to complain, but he knew that wouldn¡¯t help and in fact would just make things worse. Or it might even extend their training even longer, when today was supposed to be the last day of their forced group training under Tao. Unfortunately it was also the worst day, Tao battered them non-stop from the moment they arrived. Ezekiel was sure if Mordo and Kaecilius weren¡¯t given better bodies, they would be seriously hurt right now. When it was time for training to end, Tao threw them a curve ball and extended the training for another three hours. By the time she completed her lesson for the day, Ezekiel and the others could barely stand properly and were covered in bruises. Well Ezekiel looked normal because of his henge skill, but underneath he was beat up. Tao glanced over them all before she said, ¡°And here I thought you wouldn¡¯t be able to stand. I guess I held back a little too much.¡± Tao waved her hand and said, ¡°With today, your group training is finished and you''re all dismissed¡­ Hopefully you learned your lesson and this isn¡¯t needed again.¡± After they left the training hall, Mordo shared a glance with the others before he asked them, ¡°That was holding back?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°None of us are bleeding, so probably.¡± Kaecilius nodded in agreement before he asked, ¡°I¡¯m not sure about you guys, but I¡¯m starving. Do either of you wanna eat?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Mordo said. Ezekiel nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°Sounds go to me. Where do you want to go? I¡¯ll pay.¡± For some reason they settled on Korean BBQ and after they cleaned up with a quick spell, they teleported to Seoul, South Korea to eat. They went to one of the more famous spots and after they sat down to eat, Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help it as he noticed a woman eating in another group. Something about her just looked familiar and he couldn¡¯t place it exactly. Ezekiel discreetly watched her for a while as they ate and even though the other group started eating before Ezekiel¡¯s group arrived. Ezekiel¡¯s group finished first as everyone had other things they needed to do. Ezekiel just needed to go home and sleep, so after he left, he used his skills and hid in the shadows and waited outside the restaurant. About half an hour later the woman left the restaurant with her friends before she split off to head home. Ezekiel used his skills to hide from her as he followed her all the way home. Once there he waited for her to go into her bedroom before he slipped inside and found her purse. He quickly memorized her ID and portaled back home to look her up. While the name didn¡¯t ring a bell at first, after looking into her background he realized why she was familiar. She was Helen Cho and helped to make the body Vision used in the MCU movies. But in the comics he remembered she was the mother of Amadeus and Maddy Cho. Whether or not that would happen in this world was up in the air, but it didn¡¯t matter to Theo. Since he found her, Theo decided to offer her a job. That night Theo sent her an email titled ¡®Interested in a new job?¡¯ In the email itself he gave her a number to contact him at, since the email address he used couldn¡¯t be replied to. Besides that, the email contained a few of the unclassified research notes from a couple of projects people have worked on at the medical base. It was all cutting edge research and anyone as smart as Cho would easily recognize it. With the bait in place, Theo went to bed. The next morning as his family ate breakfast, Theo¡¯s mom said, ¡°I narrowed down who you can sell your game to. When you get home from school today, I want you to sit down with me and we can figure out which one to choose.¡± ¡°Sure mom, sounds good to me.¡± Theo said with a smile. 00143. Contract negotiation Theo sat on the couch in the living room with his mom as she started to show him the offers she collected. There were eight in total and all of them were from pretty big gaming companies along with an offer from Theo¡¯s company Vibe. As his mom started to explain the first offer Theo asked, ¡°Are you sure we need to go over this stuff? Can''t you just pick the best one for me?¡± Daniel placed the paper in her hand down and smiled at Theo before she said, ¡°I could do that, but I think this is a good learning experience for you. After I explain all of them to you, I want you to pick the one you think is the best and afterwards you explain why you think it is.¡± Theo nodded in agreement before his mom started going over all the offers. Most of them were pretty much the same, the amount they offered changed and some offered other things together with money. But it was basically close to the same amount for almost every offer except Vibe. Vibe offered no money up front, but they did offer stock in the company. The offer was for five percent ownership of the company. The only issue was the company wasn''t publicly traded, so they had no idea how much that five percent would be worth. Once all the offers were explained to Theo his mom asked him, ¡°So what sounds good to you?¡± Theo pushed one offer to the side as he said, ¡°They want to rename the game, so not them.¡± Theo then pulled out two more and placed them on top of the other offer as he said, ¡°These two offered the lowest amount compared to everyone else. But have the same terms as the others.¡± Daniel nodded in agreement before Theo picked up the Vibe offer and said, ¡°This one isn¡¯t for money, but company stock. I¡¯m not sure what that is.¡± ¡°Stock can be sold for money, but there are a few issues that go with it. You can only sell it for what people are willing to pay for it. Also the company isn¡¯t publicly traded so it would make it harder to sell.¡± Daniel took the offer and set it to the side as she said, ¡°But if you own five percent of a private company, you will make five percent of whatever the company makes as profit. So you could potentially make a lot of money over a longer period of time.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°So if they buy the game, I would still get a profit from it, whenever they sell it.¡± ¡°Exactly. But you also share in the profits of whatever else they sell and make money on.¡± Daniel said. Theo went through the next couple offers before he landed on the one he liked and said, ¡°I think this one would be best.¡± ¡°And why do you think that?¡± Theo pointed at the amount of money first and said, ¡°Well they are paying the most and don¡¯t want to change anything. They also said they would pay more for any extra content that has been made for the game.¡± Theo looked up at his mom as he said, ¡°Me and Peter have an upgrade patch with new content about half way done.¡± Daniel smiled and rubbed Theo¡¯s head as she said, ¡°Normally I would agree with you. That one does look like the best deal. But I did some research and talked to a few people I know.¡± Daniel pulled out the Vibe¡¯s offer and said, ¡°While this one doesn¡¯t offer money up front, this is the best deal. The people I talked with work in the finance sector and told me the company is estimated to be worth half a billion dollars and it¡¯s only growing.¡± ¡°So I would have five percent of that? How much is that worth?¡± Theo asked. ¡°That would be twenty five million. Give or take.¡± Daniel said. ¡°But the offer I picked is for almost one hundred million.¡± Theo said as he pointed at the offer. Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°But Vibe is only estimated to be worth half a billion currently. The more it grows, the more money you¡¯ll make in the long run and that doesn¡¯t include what they would pay you from the profits it makes each year.¡± ¡°Do we really need that much money? I think in just game sales alone, we already have more money than we really need, right?¡± Theo asked. Theo then looked up at his mom and said, ¡°Plus you and dad say, money can¡¯t buy happiness.¡± Daniel smiled as she pulled Theo into a side hug and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, but just because we have more money then we need. Doesn¡¯t mean we shouldn¡¯t go for the best deal we can get. Plus you could use the extra money you have to help out people if you want.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I can? So I could buy uncle Jon and aunt Sara a house next door if I wanted?¡± ¡°Yes you could, but you do know houses are expensive. Are you sure you want to spend your money on something like that?¡± Daniel asked. ¡°But they live in that apartment right now and complain about it not being great, right? Plus they¡¯re family. It¡¯s only right for us to help them out.¡± Theo said. Daniel hugged Theo a little tighter as she said, ¡°You''re such a sweet kid, just like your father. You know, your father and uncles have already set aside money to help Jon and Sara buy a house. But if you want to buy them one, well, I think that''s a great idea. We¡¯ll have to discuss it with your dad first. But I don¡¯t see why not.¡± ¡°Great! That means I can also give Peter and Milly money too, right? They helped with the game, so I should split it with them.¡± Theo said. Daniel rubbed Theo¡¯s head as she said, ¡°Of course you can.¡± ¡°Good. Then let''s pick this one so I have more money to give them.¡± Theo said as he picked up the Vibe offer. With the choice made, Daniel contacted Vibe and said she wanted to negotiate a contract with them. While she hadn¡¯t worked for a while, she still kept up to date on everything she needed to law wise and was still registered as a lawyer in New York state. So when Vibe agreed to a meeting to go over the contract, Daniel went herself to represent Theo. The location of the meeting was actually the building Theo let Adrian use in Brooklyn for his company. Daniel showed up to the meeting and was a little disappointed at first as she expected a company like Vibe to be in a nicer place and in downtown Manhattan. The building itself was close to their neighborhood and was older, along with being a little run down. As she walked up the steps to the front entrance of the building she glanced at the intercom list. It only contained two company names, Bestman Demolition, Salvage and Construction, along with Vibe Inc. Daniel pushed the buzzer for Vibe Inc and waited for a moment before someone said from the intercom, ¡°Yes, how can I help you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Daniel Mercer, I have a three o¡¯clock appointment.¡± ¡°Thank you for coming, Mrs. Mercer. Wait just a moment and I will buzz you in. Once inside, please take the elevator to the top floor.¡± The voice said before the door unlocked. The inside of the building looked just as rundown as the outside and Daniel started to rethink whether this would be a good idea or not. Why would a company that was worth half a billion dollars be in a place like this. Still, she was already here, so she would at least talk with them some and do a little more digging before she signed anything with them. When she exited the elevator on the top floor she was surprised to find that it opened up into a large room. It was like someone just knocked down all the walls and left only the support beams for the entire floor. Whoever did it, cleaned up the place some, but the floor was just a patchwork of all the old apartments. Near the north wall of the large room were a few desks, and what looked like a scale model two men were currently talking over. A few feet from the elevator door stood a smartly dressed fair skinned woman with sharp green eyes and ankle-length, auburn colored hair. She smiled at Daniel as she stuck out her hand and said, ¡°Nice to meet you Mrs. Mercer. I¡¯m Mei Terumi.¡± As they shook hands Daniel said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Mei. But there''s no need to be so formal, just call me Daniel.¡± After they shook hands Mei said, ¡°If you¡¯ll follow me, I¡¯ll introduce you to Ezekiel. He will be going over the contract with you.¡± Daniel nodded and followed Mei to the two men talking over the model and heard the black haired man as he asked, ¡°How is your search going for workers?¡± ¡°I have one full crew running now, but the plan is to expand it to four or five by the end of the year.¡± The other man said. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little too slow? Aren¡¯t you afraid of missing the completion bonus?¡± The black haired man asked. The other man shook his head as he said, ¡°If I miss it, that''s okay with me. I don¡¯t want to rush hiring and hire the wrong people.¡± As Mei and Daniel moved close to the two men, Mei said, ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but your three o¡¯clock appointment is here Ezekiel.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the other man and said, ¡°Sorry, I gotta take care of this. We¡¯ll talk more about this later, Adrian.¡± Adrian nodded his head before he said, ¡°Alright, just call me when you''re free.¡± Adrian politely nodded towards Mei and Daniel and said, ¡°It was good seeing you Mei. Miss.¡± As Adrain walked towards the elevator Ezekiel turned towards Daniel and said, ¡°Mrs. Mercer, thank you for coming by. I¡¯m Ezekiel.¡± Ezekiel moved forward and as they shook hands Daniel said, ¡°Just call me Daniel, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Sure. If you would, I set up this area so we can go over the contract.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at one of the tables near by. After they sat down Ezekiel said, ¡°First let me thank you for coming by today. I know from a first impression stand point, this place doesn¡¯t breed much confidence in the offer I made. But I don¡¯t want to waste money fixing this building up when it will be torn down in the next few years.¡± Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°That makes me feel slightly better. But wouldn¡¯t it be better to build downtown where you aren¡¯t limited in height?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°For what is being planned, downtown wouldn¡¯t work. You should take a look at the model over there on your way out to see what I¡¯m planning to make.¡± Daniel glanced at the model for a moment before she said, ¡°Alright.¡± Daniel then pulled up her briefcase and pulled out one of the thick contracts she drew up and some extra paperwork, which she handed over to Ezekiel as she said, ¡°This is the NDA I signed and this is the counter offer I drew up, please look it over.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the NDA before he started to speed read through the contract since he was surprised his mom even made a counter offer. From what they talked about at home, she was just going to accept the offer outright. After reading through it Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself, his mom¡¯s counter offer was for ten percent of the company. Ezekiel placed down the contract as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t agree to this, five percent is already more than enough.¡± 00144. A job offer? Daniel smiled slightly as she pulled out the offers she received from the other companies and the sales data of the game and slid it over as she said, ¡°As you can see the game is worth a lot more than what you are currently offering.¡± Ezekiel looked over the new information she gave him and was surprised again. It looked like she spent time negotiating with the other companies and all of them increased their bids. If it was anyone else, they would probably agree to her ten percent deal after looking through the other companies offers. Ezekiel glanced up from the papers and said, ¡°I admit, this makes your offer look reasonable.¡± Ezekiel reached into his pocket and pulled out something as he said, ¡°But let me show you why I can¡¯t accept that deal.¡± Ezekiel handed Daniel his cellphone and said, ¡°Check this cellphone out and let me know what you think about it. Just push that button on the side to unlock it and then touch the screen to explore it.¡± Daniel looked at the small device for a moment before she unlocked it and was greeted with a bunch of small applications on the home page. She touched one that was shaped like a phone and it opened up to a phone book. She noticed at the bottom was a back button so she pressed that and it took her back to the home screen. She pushed a button that looked like a camera and the camera app opened. She aimed it around and was surprised at how nice everything looked through the camera. She quietly used the phone for a few minutes as she checked it out and had to admit, the device was nice and seemed very practical. The phone itself felt well made, had a sleek design and whoever created the software did an amazing job because she could easily understand how to use it without instructions. She thought back to when she still had a job, and knew this thing would have helped her out immensely. She lightly shook her head as she thought, ¡®That was before my parents ruined my career. At least right now I can put my skills to use as I help out Theo.¡¯ As she closed out of another app, a text message notification popped up and she accidentally opened it. The sender was named, ¡®Tony has daddy issues¡¯ and what they sent was a picture. In the picture was a pallet of phones with more pallets in the background behind it. Then a message followed that said, ¡®First batch is finished! When do you want to set the launch date?¡¯ Daniel quickly handed the phone back as she said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to open that.¡± Ezekiel looked at the messages and shook his head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Ezekiel quickly typed out a message and sent it before he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± As Daniel was about to reply, Iron Man by Black Sabbath started to play from his phone. ¡°Sorry, just give me just a moment to take this.¡± Ezekiel said as he answered his phone on speaker. ¡°What do you want Tony?¡± ¡°Come on, give me a date. I wanna start planning the event.¡± Tony said. Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Really? I told you, I¡¯m busy at the moment. We can figure it out when I¡¯m finished and besides we both know Pepper is going to plan the launch party.¡± ¡°No she won¡¯t.¡± Tony said. ¡°Yes I will.¡± Pepper said in the background. ¡°Okay fine¡­ Whatever, just come pick us up when you''re free. I wanna eat in Genosha again, that ramen place was really good..¡± Tony said before he hung up. Ezekiel shook his head and said, ¡°Sorry about that. I swear, for being a grown man he acts like a child. If I didn¡¯t answer he would just keep calling until I picked up.¡± Daniel smiled as she asked, ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Was that, Tony Stark?¡± ¡°Unfortunately it was. But that doesn¡¯t really matter, what did you think about my cellphone?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty nice and I could see some usages for it. But I don¡¯t understand why you brought it up.¡± Daniel said. Ezekiel tapped the contract and said, ¡°It¡¯s because of that cellphone that I can¡¯t sign this contract. In the next few months Stark will be launching these cellphones in collaboration with Vibe.¡± Daniel nodded in understanding before she said, ¡°So you are expecting the valuation of your company to increase.¡± ¡°By rough estimates, Stark and Vibe should both make at least a billion dollars in profit this year alone after the phone is launched. Next year that number should be more than five billion and will only increase in value each year.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Daniel thought about it for a few moments before she pulled out another set of contracts and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have a good reason to turn down that contract¡­But I made this one just in case, it¡¯s for a six percent share of the company.¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he asked, ¡°Really?¡± Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°Yup. I know what this game is worth and six percent is the lowest my client will go.¡± Ezekiel looked over the contract for a little while before he said, ¡°Fine, six percent is fair.¡± After he signed each contract, he handed a copy back to Daniel and asked, ¡°Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Daniel took the contract and placed it back into her briefcase as she said, ¡°Sure. But depending on the question, I may or may not answer it.¡± ¡°Why are you not currently working for any law firm?¡± Ezekiel asked. Daniel frowned slightly before she said, ¡°I decided I wanted to raise my kids.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That''s a very enviable thing to do. But if that''s the case, why did you decide to negotiate this contract?¡± ¡°I know the person who designed the game and was just helping them out.¡± Ezekiel nodded his head before he said, ¡°I''ll be honest with you, I looked into you when you reached out to me and I heard a rumor about you being blacklisted from all the best law firms in the state.¡± Daniel showed no outside reaction but inside she was upset being reminded of what her parents did to her career. When Daniel looked up from closing her briefcase Ezekiel said, ¡°You know I found it weird that someone of your caliber would be blacklisted, since you had a stellar track record at your previous job. So I asked around and the only thing I could find was rumors, something about you pissing off some important people.¡± ¡°And?¡± Daniel asked in a flat tone. Ezekiel smiled as he asked, ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I need a good contract lawyer and since you are currently jobless¡­¡± Daniel chuckled for a moment before she said, ¡°You would offer me a job, knowing some powerful people ruined my career out of spite and those same people could easily come after you?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Pretty much. I mostly wanted to know who I would be pissing off if you accepted.¡± Daniel shook her head as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I wouldn¡¯t want to ruin your business just so I could possibly work again. Even if you¡¯re business partners with Tony Stark, he wouldn¡¯t be able to help you out, at least not against the people you would be facing.¡± ¡°Mrs. Mercer, just humor me please.¡± Ezekiel asked. Daniel thought about it for a few moments before she said, ¡°My family or to be accurate my parents are who you would have to deal with.¡± Ezekiel extended his hand out as he said, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not worried about people like them at all. Welcome aboard Mrs. Mercer.¡± Daniel glanced at Ezekiel¡¯s hand then back at him for about half a minute till he awkwardly put his hand back down and she said, ¡°First of all, I never agreed to work for you. Second, my parents would ruin your business if you hired me. Well only if you keep me around after they warn you to not work with me.¡± ¡°What if I could prove that I¡¯m not afraid of going up against your family? Would that possibly change your mind?¡± Ezekiel asked with a slight smile. ¡°Doubtful, but go ahead.¡± Daniel said. Ezekiel pulled out his personal tablet and typed on it for a few moments before he pulled up a video on Vibe. He then handed the tablet to Daniel as he said, ¡°Watch this.¡± The video started to play and the first thing she noticed was someone she hadn¡¯t seen in over ten years now. It was one of her brothers, the third one to be exact. He was out of the running for being the next head of the family, because he had two older brothers ahead of him. Since that was the case he pretty much slacked off compared to the rest of the family. He was still useful to the family to be used as a pawn in certain things, but overall was a typical spoiled rich kid that grew into an adult. As she watched the video she remembered him not being a great person to be around when she was younger, but it seemed he became worse over the years she hadn¡¯t seen him. Just before the video finished her eyes widened in shock and she sat there for a few moments before she slowly handed the tablet back to Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°So do you think I¡¯m afraid of your family?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good, so would you like a job?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I would have to think about it and talk with my husband.¡± Daniel said. Ezekiel nodded before he glanced to the side at Mei and asked, ¡°Can you bring me the blue folder on your desk?¡± Mei got up from her seat and picked up a blue folder before she brought it over and handed it to Ezekiel. He opened the folder and double checked the contents before he handed it to Daniel as he said, ¡°This is what I¡¯m willing to offer you to work for the company. Think it over and if you agree, just call the number in the folder and Mei will take care of the paperwork.¡± Ezekiel stood up and reached out to shake hands as he said, ¡°It was nice meeting you Mrs. Mercer, I hope to hear from you soon.¡± ¡°It was nice to meet you too.¡± Daniel said before she released Ezekiel¡¯s hand. Ezekiel glanced at Mei as he said, ¡°After you escort Mrs. Mercer out, can you stop by Adrian¡¯s office and tell him I went to eat with Tony.¡± As Mei nodded, Ezekiel spun his hand in a circle which conjured a portal beside him. Daniel stayed composed but watched in fascination as Ezekiel stepped through the portal and disappeared. After the portal snapped closed she asked, ¡°What was that?¡± Mei smiled as she said, ¡°That¡¯s just how Ezekiel travels.¡± ¡°Travels? Where did he go?¡± Daniel asked. Mei walked around the table as she said, ¡°He¡¯s going to meet Tony, so that was probably to California.¡± ¡°But¡­ Nevermind, it isn¡¯t my business.¡± Daniel shook her head before she started to walk towards the elevator. After she made it back home, Daniel sat down on the couch for a little while and thought about what happened today. While the meeting didn¡¯t go as planned, it wasn¡¯t bad. Maybe a little weird at some points, but a lot better than most meetings when it came to negotiating contracts. It normally took days, weeks or sometimes months to negotiate contracts with other lawyers. She glanced at the blue fold next to her briefcase for a few moments and thought about the job offer. She did miss her job, but she really liked being home with the kids and spending more time with Jacob¡­ She picked up the folder with the thought of throwing it away, but she stopped herself. This could be her only chance to ever work again, unless she decided to start her own practice¡­ She pondered over the folder in her hands for about a minute before she decided to just see what they offered. As she started to read through it, she couldn¡¯t believe what they offered her. The pay was slightly higher than someone with her experience should make, but the benefits were unbelievable. No one offered benefits like these, not even if you were a partner at a top firm. But the thing that stunned her the most was the remote work. Some companies allowed some remote work, but normally you had to be in the office or you needed to travel. Her last job luckily didn¡¯t need her to travel, since they mostly worked with NYC locals. But still this job offer allowed her to work from home if she wanted and as far as she could tell would pay her full time for part time work. Actually she would only need to work when they had contracts coming in or going out. After going over it twice, she couldn¡¯t think of a reason to say no. But she still planned to talk it over with Jacob first and get his opinion. Daniel smiled to herself as she already knew what he would say, the man was so easy to predict¡­ 00145. Targets found! After the kids were put to bed for the night, Jacob settled onto the couch with Daniel. After about a minute of comfortable silence as they snuggled Jacob asked, ¡°You ready to tell me what happened at the meeting today?¡± Daniel snuggled a little closer to Jacob as she asked, ¡°Was it that obvious?¡± Jacob leaned over slightly and kissed her forehead before he said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be a good husband if I didn¡¯t notice my wife was lost in thought all night. I know the contract was signed, so what else happened today?¡± ¡°I was offered a job.¡± Jacob turned slightly to look into Daniel¡¯s eyes as he excitedly said, ¡°That¡¯s great! Is that what¡¯s been on your mind¡­ Or were you worried about how we¡¯d take care of the kids with you working again?¡± ¡°Kinda¡­¡± Jacob smiled as he said, ¡°Then don¡¯t worry about it, I can always cut back my hours at the shop to help out. Plus you know everyone else wouldn¡¯t mind helping out either.¡± Daniel smiled before she kissed Jacob on the cheek and said, ¡°Thanks, but taking care of the kids won¡¯t be an issue. Let me show you the job offer, so you can see why.¡± Daniel stood up and went to the computer desk where her briefcase was. After she collected the blue folder and sat back down on the couch, she handed the folder to Jacob and said, ¡°Read that.¡± Jacob smirked and opened the folder as he said, ¡°You know I won¡¯t be able to understand half of this stuff.¡± Daniel shook her head slightly before she leaned back onto his arm as Jacob started to read over the documents. It took him a few minutes but when he finished it he asked, ¡°You¡¯re going to accept this right?¡± ¡°I wanted to talk with you about it before I made my decision. Plus there is another issue with the job offer.¡± Daniel said. Jacob nodded as he said, ¡°You''re worried your parents will find out and force the company to fire you.¡± Daniel laughed lightly before she said, ¡°No, I¡¯m positive the owner doesn¡¯t care about my parents or even making them an enemy. It might be because he¡¯s a meta-human, but I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Wait, he¡¯s a meta-human?¡± Jacob asked as he turned to look at Daniel. Daniel nodded before she said, ¡°Yeah, he even left the meeting by making a portal to California. At least that¡¯s where his assistant said he went.¡± ¡°That sounds kinda convenient, just make a portal where you want to go¡­ Is the issue that the owner is a meta-human?¡± Jacob asked. Daniel shook her head as she said, ¡°No.¡± Jacob smiled as he said, ¡°Good, cause the woman I married wouldn¡¯t judge someone for being a little different. If that was the case, you wouldn¡¯t have married me!¡± Daniel nudged Jacob with her shoulder as she said, ¡°You¡¯re an idiot.¡± Jacob quickly kissed Daniel on the lips before he said, ¡°I¡¯m your idiot.¡± Jacob settled back as he asked, ¡°Well what¡¯s the issue then?¡± ¡°The more I think about it, the more it seems too good to be true.¡± Daniel said. Jacob pulled Daniel a little closer as he said, ¡°They say good things happen to good people and you''re one of the best people I know.¡± Daniel chuckled lightly before she said, ¡°Oh, that reminds me, I wanna show you something.¡± Daniel brought Jacob over to the computer and turned it on as she said, ¡°Remember my brother I told you about?¡± ¡°Which one? The next family head? The backup in case he fails? Or the spoiled jackass?¡± Jacob asked. Daniel pulled up Vibe on the computer and typed in the search bar for a moment as she said, ¡°The spoiled jackass.¡± As she brought up the video Jacob read the title and asked, ¡°What exactly is this?¡± ¡°My brother acting like a jackass and getting what he deserves for it.¡± Daniel said with a smile as she hit play. ¡°Really? How did your parents not remove this video from getting out?¡± Jacob asked as he watched the silent video play. ¡°It¡¯s the same reason I was offered a job, the owner of Vibe isn¡¯t afraid of my parents.¡± As the video played sound finally kicked on and Jacob said, ¡°Wow your brother really is a piece of work.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Daniel nodded as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t hear the audio early when I watched this¡­ But he definitely got worse over the ten years I haven¡¯t seen him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ezekiel, the owner of Vibe.¡± Daniel said as she pointed at the screen and someone in the video said, "How about you just get us out of here instead of setting the mood, Ezekiel." A couple moments later ¡®Don¡¯t Stop Me Now by Queen¡¯ started to play and a fight broke out as the music played. Jacob smirked as he said, ¡°I gotta admit, he definitely set the mood.¡± Daniel nodded along as the video played. When it ended she turned to look at Jacob and said, ¡°That¡¯s who I would be working for.¡± Jacob smiled and said, ¡°He seems like a fun boss and he has good taste in music.¡± It was a few days later when Daniel called up Ezekiel and accepted the job offer. Within a few days, Daniel was given a work computer along with a cellphone. Ezekiel then sent her a couple of contracts that needed to be gone over and told her to take her time as there wasn¡¯t a rush on them. Even with her not rushing, she still finished both contracts in a week¡­ Someone else also contacted Ezekiel about a job around that same time period, but it wasn¡¯t for Vibe. It was Helan Cho and she wanted to know more details about the job offer. Ezekiel gave her the standard information and said anything else was classified. She debated for about a day before she called back and agreed to do the evaluations to see if she qualified. By the end of the next week she was in the medical base meeting everyone she would be working with. Besides a new person joining the medical wing, Orochimaru brought some good news to the group working on the clone project. The books and medical equipment Ezekiel took from the vampire lord contained a lot of important information. Apparently the coldness they felt, the darkness ability, healing and incredibly tough skin was something the vampire lord gave themselves. They experimented on meta humans for years to gain those abilities and killed a lot of people in the process. The vampire lord was obsessed with improving themselves and worked at it for centuries. All the books Ezekiel acquired ended up being the notes the vampire lord made over that time, and Orochimaru was currently spending all his time reading them. Apparently they reminded him of the times when he used to experiment on people himself, at least that is what he told Ezekiel. vvvvv Quantum realm¡­ Somewhere. Janet woke up and prepared for the day before she stepped out of her room and found Kang in the kitchen area of the hut they shared. She moved towards the kitchen table as she asked, ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± Kang turned around with two bowls and said, ¡°I have blue stuff with some crushed green stuff as seasoning.¡± Janet weakly smiled as she said, ¡°Just what I wanted.¡± As they attempted to choke down their breakfast Janet said, ¡°I think the first thing I am gonna eat when I get home is a large breakfast or eggs. bacon and waffles.¡± Kang stuffed another spoonful of blue goop into his mouth and swallowed before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a nice medium rare steak, mashed potatoes and a good beer.¡± ¡°If you close your eyes this almost has the texture of mashed potatoes.¡± Janet said with a smile before she said, ¡°If you ignore the taste and smell.¡± Kang rolled his eyes before he asked, ¡°So what do you want to try today?¡± Janet thought about it for a few moments before she said, ¡°I think we¡¯re close, that last attempt seemed to work. Maybe if we tweak the formula?¡± Kang finished the rest of his bowl and stood up as he said, ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± For the rest of the day they worked on repairing Kang¡¯s ship, well it would be better to say his ship¡¯s damaged engine core. Hours on end without rest they tried and tried, but nothing seemed to work. They worked with pieces of scraps they collected and threw together into tools¡­ If only they had better equipment they would have been done by now Janet thought more then once each day. She would be back home with Hank and their daughter and Kang would be free to travel the universe again. Janet was pulled out of her thoughts as Kang said, ¡°How about we call it a night, this will still be here in the morning when we get up.¡± Janet looked at the new experiment they started before she said, ¡°Sure.¡± With that Janet and Kang headed back to their own rooms and turned in for the night. As they slept a tiny spec appeared on the horizon and made its way towards the hut they used. As morning came around Janet and Kang awoke and started their day. As they started to work on the new experiment, they didn¡¯t notice the thing in the distance as it slowly moved closer. It was about an hour later when the drone finally made it to the hut and scanned the area. When it pinged life signs in the area and humans at that, Hank and the others in the base were alerted. Hank popped up from falling asleep in his monitoring chair again and groggily looked at the screen. It took him a few moments to realize what the drone sensors picked up, but after he did, he was wide awake. Hank brought up the drone in question and took manual control to look around the area himself. He saw a hut in the distance and a seat that rested in a large golden half orb¡­ That was Kang¡¯s ship¡­ Hank let out a relieved sigh as he realized she was still working with Kang. As he moved the drone closer to the hut, Ashina Uzumaki, Wong, Steve and Peggy entered the room. As they glanced at the screen Steve asked, ¡°You finally found her?¡± Hank nodded as he said, ¡°I think so.¡± Hank flipped a switch to activate the microphone and speaker on the drone before he cautiously asked, ¡°Janet? Janet, are you there?¡± Janet and Kang ran out of the hut to see a high tech drone floating in the air. Janet, with a hint of tears in the corner of her eyes, asked, ¡°Hank?¡± ¡°Yes dear. I came to find you.¡± Janet started to cry as she looked around in the distance and asked, ¡°Where are you?¡± Hank glanced at the map before he said, ¡°Pretty far away, but give me a few hours and I should be able to get there.¡± Janet smiled as she said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be waiting right here for you!¡± As Janet wiped the tears from her eyes Kang cleared his throat. Janet glanced back at Kang before she said, ¡°Oh, Sorry. Hank, this is Kang. He was also trapped down here by an accident and we¡¯ve been working together to get out of here.¡± Kang nodded to the drone as he said, ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Kang. I¡¯d like you to know there hasn¡¯t been a day when Janet didn¡¯t tell me a story about you or your daughter. You two are basically the only thing she talks about each day.¡± Hank studied the man for a moment before he said, ¡°Thanks for helping out Janet. Just sit tight and I¡¯ll be there soon to get you both. I am going to put this drone in standby mode so I can track its signal and not get lost. I will see you both soon.¡± Janet nodded as the drone lowered to the ground and a small dish opened on its back. Hank glanced at the image of his wife on the screen once more before he said, ¡°Let''s get ready to move.¡± 00146. Time out. Kang stood slightly behind Janet as they watched the ship approach. He was surprised that this version of Ant Man was able to make it here. From what he could remember it was rare for them to come here if ever. But then again his memory wasn''t the best since every universe he visited seemed to blur together into one. It didn¡¯t really matter though, the others didn¡¯t travel the multiverse like he did. So they shouldn¡¯t know about him or his goals at all. It didn''t take long for the ship to touch down and before the door could fully open, Hank rushed out of it towards Janet. Janet for her part stood there stunned, Hank looked like he was a teenager again. As Hank pulled Janet into a hug he said, ¡°I missed you.¡± Janet embraced him back as she said, ¡°I missed you too. But¡­ Why do you look so young?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story and we can talk about it at length when we get back.¡± Hank said before he kissed her on the mouth. When Hank finally released Janet from his embrace, Peggy, Steve and the others joined them. Janet was slightly flustered from the attention but couldn¡¯t help but smile as she stared at Hank¡¯s younger face. When she finally looked at the others she gasped as she noticed Peggy and Steve who both looked like teenagers. Peggy smiled as she said, ¡°Long time no see, Janet.¡± Janet nodded as she asked, ¡°Captain America?¡± Steve smiled as he stepped forward with his hand out and said, ¡°Just call me Steve. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Hank¡¯s told me a lot about you.¡± As they shook hands Janet said, ¡°I thought you were dead.¡± ¡°No he was more like a Capsicle.¡± A blonde haired man said with a smirk. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± Steve said as he shook his head. Kang cleared his throat from behind Janet before she turned towards him as she said, ¡°Sorry. This is Kang, I¡¯ve been helping him repair his ship. He was trapped here like me.¡± Kang had a disarming smile as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you all. I¡¯m Kang.¡± Minato glanced at the man for a moment before he said, ¡°I kinda expected you to be taller.¡± ¡°You know me?¡± Kang cautiously asked. Minato nodded as he said, ¡°Nathaniel Richards, better known as Kang the Conqueror.¡± Janet glanced at Minato as she asked, ¡°Kang¡­ The Conqueror? How do you know him?¡± Minato smirked as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± Kang frowned slightly as he studied the blonde haired man. The man knew his name yet Kang had never heard of anyone named Minato before. Or even remembered seeing someone like him before. ¡°You have me at a loss. You know of me, but I have no idea who you are.¡± Kang said. Minato bowed slightly with a flourish of his coat as Hank pulled his wife back towards the group before Minato said, ¡°Minato Namikaze, former Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure. But my enemies know me best as Konoha''s Yellow Flash.¡± As Minato stood up straight his right hand held a small Rasengan, while he held a three pronged kunai in his left hand which he flung at Kang. As Kang dodged out of the way Janet yelled out, ¡°What the hell do you think you''re doing?!¡± A bright flash later and Minato was holding the kunai that flew past Kang before he slammed his right hand it¡¯s the man¡¯s back. Kang couldn¡¯t even scream as he felt a truck hit him from behind. He was blasted off his feet as he flew over thirty feet away to ragdoll across the ground. After he stopped moving Minato asked, ¡°I thought he was supposed to be tough?¡± Janet, who just watched her friend get attacked, struggled in Hank¡¯s overly strong grip as she said, ¡°Let me go Hank! He just killed Kang!¡± Janet glared at Minato as she struggled to get out of Hank¡¯s grasp as she said, ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are?!¡± Tobirama flickered over to Kang¡¯s body and checked on the man as Minato said, ¡°I just told you¡­¡± Tobirama glanced at Ashina as he said, ¡°He¡¯s still alive, but you¡¯ll need to stabilize him.¡± Janet finally broke free of Hank¡¯s grasp and turned around to slap him. Hank caught her hand as he said, ¡°I know you''re upset, but that man is not who you think he is. We needed to make sure we attacked him with his guard down or there was a possibility he could have killed us all.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Ashina joined Tobirama and started to set up special seals on Kang as Janet said, ¡°What are you talking about? He¡¯s just a guy who traveled the multiverse in his ship till he crashed here.¡± Peggy moved next to Janet as she said, ¡°You heard his name which he didn¡¯t deny, Kang the Conqueror. He traveled the multiverse and wiped out the places he visited.¡± Steve nodded as he said, ¡°He is the reason we came here with your husband¡­ Except he doesn¡¯t seem that powerful compared to what we heard about him.¡± Tobirama stood up as he said, ¡°He didn¡¯t have his armor or technology, so he is pretty much a normal person currently.¡± Janet, still confused over what was going on, wanted to argue when she went limp and forced Hank to catch her. Hank glanced at his wife as Tobirama said, ¡°I used a genjutsu to show her who Kang is.¡± Hank nodded in understanding before he lifted her up and moved to the hut with her. As Hank went to take care of his wife Ashina walked over with Kang¡¯s body floating in the air behind him as he said, ¡°I stabilized Kang and locked him in status. He should be good till someone can heal him.¡± Wong glanced at Kang as he asked, ¡°Why exactly are we keeping him alive? Shouldn¡¯t we just kill him?¡± ¡°Ezekiel wants to scan his mind for information and technology.¡± Minato said. Peggy glanced at Kang before she said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you should have gone easier on him.¡± Minato rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize he wasn¡¯t in his armor.¡± Wong glanced around for a few moments before he asked, ¡°So now what? We should be done here right?¡± ¡°As far as I know.¡± Steve said. Tobirama nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°Let''s wait for Janet to wake up. Plus we need to collect Kang¡¯s ship and the Multiversal Engine Core.¡± Once Janet woke up she apologized to everyone for her earlier outburst, before she showed them the Multiversal Engine Core. Hank used shrink discs on Kang''s ship and also shrunk down their own ship before he redeployed the building they used as a base. As he did that, Wong asked, ¡°Why are we setting up the base? Aren¡¯t we done here?¡± Hank nodded before he said, ¡°We need to go through the scanners in the base first. I also wanna give the drones a command to keep mapping out the quantum realm.¡± After everyone was back inside the base and they were cleared for potential contamination. Wong used the bracelet he wore to contact Tao and within moments a silver lined portal opened up for them. Once everyone came back to Earth, they split off into different groups. Janet and Hank went to meet Hope and spend time together since they had a lot to catch up on. Steve and Peggy went to shower before they headed out on a date to Paris with the help of simple henge jutsu. Wong stayed with Tao to go over what happened, while Theo¡¯s clone¡¯s dropped off Kang at the medical base before they dispelled. It was a good thing Theo fixed the way memory packets were delivered, otherwise it might have knocked him out from information overload. Theo was in the middle of playing board games with his family when it happened and once he skimmed over the packets he went to use the bathroom. After he switched with a shadow clone he changed into Ezekiel and portaled to the medical base. Once there he sent out a message to Tao and Agatha and asked for them to join him at the medical base when they were free. Within half an hour they arrived at the base and joined him in the waiting room as they waited for Tsunade to finish fixing Kang up. As they sat there Ezekiel looked over the broken Multiversal Engine Core, while Tao and Agatha played a game on their phones. Ezekiel glanced up from the Multiversal Engine Core after a while and said, ¡°If I knew you were going to get addicted to that game I wouldn¡¯t have made it.¡± Tao glanced up as she said, ¡°We¡¯re not addicted, it¡¯s just a nice time waster.¡± As Agatha nodded in agreement Ezekiel said in a flat tone of voice, ¡°Then why did you ask me to give you unlimited gold bars?¡± ¡°Because a disciple is supposed to give their master gifts to show appreciation.¡± Tao said matter of factly. Ezekiel shook his head as the doors to the ER area flung open and Tsunade walked out with her team. She glanced at Ezekiel and said, ¡°He¡¯s healed and stable. Also the seals are still in place for keeping him asleep.¡± Ezekiel stood up and carried the Multiversal Engine Core towards the room as Tao and Agatha joined him. Once inside the room Tao brought out a magic device and placed it on Kang¡¯s head before she went to cast a spell. Just as she started, the heart rate monitor on Kang slowed down along with the other devices. Tao stopped her spell casting as time seemed to completely freeze. A second later a starry rift opened above Kang and a voice said, ¡°You are just as bad as your kids.¡± Ezekiel, Tao and Agatha all froze at the familiar voice as a bunch of noodles reached through the rift and grabbed Kang along with the Multiversal Engine Core. As both Kang and the Multiversal Engine Core were getting pulled back towards the rift Ezekiel asked, ¡°What do you mean? What did my kids do?¡± ¡°They figured out how to travel the true multiverse.¡± The voice said. ¡°They did? Why is that bad?... Wait, are they coming here?!¡± Ezekiel asked in excitement. As the rift started to close the voice said, ¡°People traveling the true multiverse always causes issues, so I normally restrict it. I do have a few multiverse pocket dimensions set up, but you and your kids aren¡¯t in those.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you are taking Kang? You don¡¯t want me to travel through the real multiverse? What about my kids?¡± Ezekiel asked. The rift was almost closed as the voice said, ¡°Your world wasn¡¯t created in the marvel pocket dimension, so just stay where you are and enjoy what you have. As for your kids, I put them in time out.¡± ¡°You put them in time out?!?!¡± Ezekiel asked as the rift closed fully and time went back to normal. ¡°HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY TIME OUT!?¡± Ezekiel yelled at where the rift used to be. 00147. Project Revival Theo watched the video recording from a few hours ago and saw the same thing for the hundred time. Tao, Agatha and him as they stood still for half a minute as Kang disappeared with the core, before he yelled at the ceiling. Theo glanced up to Tao as he asked, ¡°What do you think they meant by time out?¡± Tao placed her teacup down as she said, ¡°I have no clue.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°To a being like that¡­ it could mean anything.¡± ¡°Well look on the bright side, they only called it time out. So they''re still alive¡­ I think.¡± Tao said in a tone of voice that hinted of uncertainty. As Theo worried about what happened to his kids again, he became lost in thought before a magic bolt slammed into him. He yelped and rubbed his side as he turned to glare at Tao who smiled and said, ¡°I understand you''re concerned about your kids, but there is nothing you can do about it.¡± Tao smiled as she conjured another bolt and said, ¡°So get back to training.¡± Theo wanted to respond but was forced to dodge as the bolt flew towards him at high speed. As Theo attempted to dodge, he realized Tao was right, he shouldn''t waste time on stuff outside of his control. While he tried to let Tao know he would start training. Tao didn''t let him and Theo spent the rest of the night forced to run for his life as Tao casually attacked him as she drank tea and played on her phone. Around the same time that was going on, Janet finished going through a medical exam. Once she was cleared, she was reunited with her daughter Hope. It was a tearful, but joyous event for the small family which struggled greatly when she originally disappeared. Afterwards the whole family stayed together for over a week just spending time together. Once the family settled down, Janet was introduced to the organization by Hank. After she learned about it and why it was made, she decided to join the group immediately and within two weeks of being rescued she had a new body. Once that was finished, Theo worked on training people in chakra usage and skills. Well it was mostly his clones doing the work, while he trained himself. He also started work on another project that he put off starting since he didn¡¯t have the proper resources to handle at first. He still didn¡¯t have the manpower he wanted for the project, but still started the project and a website called Revival. Revival was made to help people who had cancer or other incurable diseases that threatened their life. The website was simple, with a main page that stated its only mission was to help people. Below that people entered their contact information and what they were afflicted with. It then told people, someone from Revival would contact them and to please be patient. Revival wasn¡¯t a project Theo started himself though. It came about through Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura and a few other medical ninjas. When they discovered how a lot of medical issues weren¡¯t fixed, but instead treated with drug prescriptions for life. Well they weren¡¯t too happy and started to research on how to fix each issue. It took a while, but through a lot of effort they were able to figure out how to cure most deadly diseases that plagued the Earth. There were a handful that they couldn¡¯t fix currently, but Theo planned to clone new fixed bodies for those rare cases. With the launch of the website, Theo then promoted it on Vibe so people would find it faster. Well he didn¡¯t promote it site wide, but targeted it to people who were in need of it. And within an hour of the site going live, Theo received the first request for help. Theo quickly looked through the information and couldn¡¯t help but frown. The request came from a mother who had basically given up hope in normal medicine and was desperately trying to find something else that might work. It turned out that her young daughter suffered from a very aggressive form of cancer and while they attempted everything they could. The cancer was too strong and the doctors gave up and told the parents to be prepared for the worst. With that the family took their daughter home to spend every minute they could together. With the mother''s information in hand, Theo changed into Ezekiel and messaged Tsunade. Within a few minutes he portaled to the base to pick her up before he portaled them to the front yard of a decent house in the countryside of England. Even though it was almost midnight Ezekiel moved to the door and knocked loudly on it a few times. After a few minutes the front porch lights turned on and a moment later a man opened the door slightly. He looked like he needed a good night of sleep with the dark circles under his eyes and extra pale skin. He glanced at Ezekiel and Tsunade before he asked, ¡°Can I help you with something?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°No. We came to help you. I¡¯m Ezekiel and this is my companion Tsunade, we¡¯re from Revival. We came to cure your daughter.¡± The man stared at them for a few moments before he asked, ¡°What? Is this some kinda joke? Are you another quack doctor my wife found?¡± His eyes narrowed and his voice raised as he asked, ¡°First you show up in the middle of the night and now you say you¡¯re gonna cure my daughter? Just what kinda bullshit prank are you trying to pull on my wife?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I assure you, what I said is not a joke. Your wife was the one who contacted us for help.¡± The man glared at Ezekiel for a few moments before a woman called out from behind him and asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Someone claiming they came here to cure Alice.¡± The man said in an annoyed tone. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Really?¡± A woman''s voice excitedly asked from behind the door. The man glanced over his shoulder as he asked, ¡°Did you sign up with another sham healer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a sham, it was a website and it said they could help people in need¡­ But I just submitted the application a few minutes ago.¡± The woman said. The man turned back around, his eyes narrowed as he asked, ¡°If she just asked for help, how did you get here so quickly.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Magic.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what kinda scam you are trying to play, but if you don¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll call the cops.¡± The man said before he went to shut the door. Ezekiel placed a single finger on the door and it stopped in place as the woman said, ¡°What are you doing, they came to help Alice!¡± The man glanced at Ezekiel and the single finger he used to hold the door open as he said to the woman, ¡°He just said they used magic to get here and you want these crazy people to go near our daughter?¡± Ezekiel put a little pressure on the door and forced the man backwards as he said, ¡°Give us ten minutes and we¡¯ll be out of your hair.¡± As the door was forced all the way open the woman behind the man glanced at Ezekiel and Tsunade for a moment before she asked, ¡°Can you really help my daughter?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That¡¯s the only reason we came.¡± The husband looked like he was going to say something when the wife turned to him and with tears at the edge of her eyes she said, ¡°Please¡­ I don¡¯t wanna lose Alice¡­ If. If there¡¯s a chance they can save her, please let them try.¡± The man glanced at Ezekiel, then his wife as he let out an exhausted sigh before he pulled her into a hug as he said as his voice cracked, ¡°I don¡¯t wanna lose Alice either, but every time we do this it just gives her a false sense of hope. I don¡¯t want that to be the last memory I have of her.¡± Ezekiel waited for a few minutes before he said, ¡°We didn¡¯t come here to give false hope, we came here to cure your daughter.¡± The parents broke from their hug and the wife smiled brightly with a tear stained face as she said, ¡°Please. Please, come in.¡± The husband moved out of the way but still didn¡¯t seem convinced as Ezekiel and Tsunade stepped through the door. Tsunade glanced at the mother as she said in a tender voice, ¡°Please take me to your daughter.¡± The mom nodded and started to head into the house as she asked with a voice filled with hope, ¡°Can you really cure Alice?¡± Tsunade nodded slightly as she said, ¡°It¡¯s only cancer.¡± The husband narrowed his eyes as he asked, ¡°And what does that mean?¡± ¡°Cancer is easy to heal if you know how to deal with it properly.¡± Tsunade said in a confident tone. They arrived in a little girls room a few moments later and were greeted by a bald little girl in a bed. She had an IV hooked up to her right arm and a teddy bear clutched in her left arm as she slept restlessly in bed. Tsunade quickly moved to the girl and placed her palms over the girl before a green light escaped from her palms. Both parents were stunned for a moment before the mom asked in a quiet voice, ¡°What is she doing?¡± ¡°Checking her over before she moves on to removing the cancer.¡± Ezekiel said. As the parents watched, Tsunade checked over the young girl for about a minute before she moved to a spot over the girl¡¯s left leg and a blue mist came out of her hands. It only took a few minutes before she was finished and stood up. She glanced at the parents and said, ¡°The cancer¡¯s gone.¡± The wife wore a shocked expression as she asked, ¡°Really?¡± The husband was more skeptical as he asked, ¡°And how much do we owe for this miracle?¡± Ezekiel swirled one hand in a circle and made a portal appear in the middle of the room as he said, ¡°Nothing.¡± Both parents looked on in shock as Ezekiel and Tsunade walked through the portal and it snapped closed behind them. A few moments later the husband glanced at his wife as he asked, ¡°Are we dreaming?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The wife said as she looked at her daughter who looked to be sleeping peacefully now. She moved next to her daughter and gently caressed her face as she said, ¡°Alice looks to be sleeping better though.¡± The next morning when Alice woke up, she felt great. There was no pain in her left leg at all, normally she could feel it as it throbbed even with the drugs she took. It felt so good, she thought maybe she could even walk on it today. She glanced at her wheelchair for a few moments before she sat up in bed. Her mom might get upset but Alice felt great today, so she slowly moved to get out of bed and after she tested her leg for a moment, she stood up. Her leg felt fine¡­ It felt like it used to feel before she got cancer. She started to walk around her room with her IV drip to test her leg before her mom opened the door and said, ¡°Alice hunny, are you¡­¡± Alice looked up at her mom to see her frozen in the doorway as silent tears started to fall down her face. Alice moved towards her move and hugged her as she said, ¡°It¡¯s okay mommy, don¡¯t cry. My leg feels good today! I can even walk!¡± The woman lowered herself and pulled her daughter into a tight hug as she said, ¡°That''s great to hear hunny.¡± Within a few days the parents took their daughter back to the doctor for a checkup. That checkup confused the doctor at first because the cancer was completely gone. When the parents tried to explain what happened the doctor didn¡¯t believe them at all and ordered more tests be done. All those tests came back negative for cancer, no matter how many times they tried it. While the doctor still didn¡¯t believe the parents on what happened with the little girl''s cancer, the tests couldn¡¯t be faked. So the little girl was given a clean bill of health and released. The parents themselves went on Vibe later that day and made a thank you post to the people from Revival for healing their daughter. But it wasn¡¯t just them, other people also made thank you posts to the Revival Vibe profile Theo setup for the website. Within a couple weeks Revival blew up with media coverage about a website that could cure people with basically any issue. Once Revival gained mainstream media attention, notices flooded the site. While nice, some people contacted the site because they had a tummy ache or a cold. So Theo ignored all of those and only focused on people with real issues. He also stopped going to places himself and would just portal his clones around. After a week of doing that alone, he hired a couple sorcerers from Kamar-Taj that Tao recommended to him to portal his clones around. Theo had to do background checks and clear them for joining the group, but their only real duty was portal transportation. 00148. A new training regiment. With project Revival out of the way, Theo trained and focused on the phone launch event with Tony and Pepper. Everything was basically completed at this point, but they were just finalizing the guess list and other little issues. As far as the people who were invited were concerned, it was just a lavish party Tony was putting on. Or at least that was what the invitations were going to say. A lot of celebrities were placed on the guest list, along with company CEO''s, sports stars and other important people. Theo also had a list of people he planned to invite. They were all semi famous Vibe users. Most of them were from the video platform, but he invited people from the streaming and photography platform as well. Theo also invited Magneto, with his current hero status and being the king of Genosha. Theo knew it would help draw more attention to the launch event. Theo also planned to stream the whole thing in hopes to attract a large audience and get more people interested in the phones. He had two popular bands from Vibe booked to play at the event which included Dazzler and her band who would be the main act. After they finished performing is when Tony would come out and show off the phone. While everyone who attended would be gifted a top of the line model for coming to the party. At least that was what Theo and Tony planned for the night, things could change slightly in the coming weeks that led up to the event. Besides that Theo had to inform everyone on the council that Kang disappeared and they weren''t able to collect any information from him. They didn''t tell the whole truth about the incident and Fury was still skeptical of what happened even after he watched the video. Even though Tao and Agatha shared the same story as Ezekiel and what the video showed happened. One minute Kang was there and the next moment he disappeared without a trace. While Fury and the others were concerned with what happened, there was not much anyone could do about it. And while the loss of potential information was unfortunate. They still had his ship, so they planned to disassemble it and try to reverse engineer some of the technology inside it. As for other things around the base, Janet integrated easily into the operation of the base without any issue. She joined Hank and his team of Darren, Bill, Erik and her daughter Hope who also joined the team. Hope was like Erik and worked with them to get experience towards her college degree in engineering and chemistry. With Janet being back, the group was now tasked with exploring the rest of the quantum realm. Theo hoped to find useful resources and technology there, while possibly finding some people to join the group he created. Since it never hurts to have more help. While it was still new, the vampire and paranormal group Theo created with Blade turned into one of the busiest. It also gained more members that wanted to help out. So far the group had taken out three large vampire nests, six small nests, a pack of rabid werewolves, a demon cult along with the minor demon running it and a handful of ghosts. That was all done within the span of just two months. The group was only going to become busier as time went on though. Theo secretly created a backdoor into all the popular search engines currently on the internet. If certain keywords were found it would get flagged by a system Theo set in place and would be checked by his server. If it turned out to be a random search or something else it would switch back to the normal search engine. If it was something related to paranormal activity then it would point whoever made the search to a special website Theo made. The site was designed as a forum board where people could ask questions or post information about real paranormal events or activity. While it was still new, it was how Blades group found the demon cult and eliminated them. Once more people were online with the help of having a cell phone, Theo was certain the site would become a great asset to the group. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Would people be able to find the website normally? Not really because the way it was designed it basically acted as if it didn¡¯t exist until someone found it through the search engine. Once they found it they would have access to the site until Blade and his group took care of the issue. Then someone would be sent to remove the memory of the site and anything to do with it and what the person was searching for from their mind. Not much else happened with the group during that time, since its main focus was gaining strength and gathering information on Hydra. Speaking of which, a couple of the widows took on a long term mission to infiltrate Hydra and were currently placed in Shield as they waited for recruitment. Theo made sure he created decent backgrounds for each of them and had them do their psychological evaluations with Hydra agents so they would be flagged for recruitment. As for reliable information on Hydra, Theo was still waiting for them to make use of the encryption software he programmed for Shield phones. They definitely had it, but so far they didn¡¯t take the bait he left them or attempted to use it themselves. He even checked with some of the agents they knew about and none of them had an extra phone they used. They did have extra computers he hacked into, but most of them didn¡¯t provide much information they didn¡¯t already have. As for finding more members of Hydra from those computers it was useless, Hydra acted like a terrorist group with small cells of people and each group didn¡¯t know about the others. At this point Theo wasn¡¯t completely sure if anyone even had a master list of who was a member of Hydra or not. While he found a small list of people when he searched through Alexander Pierce¡¯s computer and house. It wasn¡¯t much compared to how many people Theo knew were hidden in Shield. Theo also had issues finding the other leaders of Hydra who seemed to be ghosts. Again it all came down to most people not being connected to the internet, which is why he pushed the cell phone plan forward. Theo¡¯s also started to train his eyes during this time. While he basically kept his eyes active all day long, he had yet to train them properly. He mostly wanted to get used to them first, since everything seemed to be in slow motion when they were active. He could also see things he never noticed before, like micro twitches of muscles when someone talked with him. The only bad thing about the new training was he asked Tao to spar with him. He attempted to spar with other people like Steve or Bucky, but with his eyes active, he could easily read every move they made. So he was forced to ask Tao for help. Tao agreed a little too quickly for Theo¡¯s taste, but she was the only one who could give him a proper challenge at this point. She used magic that hid her movements slightly and increased her speed past what Theo could handle properly. Which led to Theo getting his ass kicked every day for the past few weeks. As for home life for Theo and his family, everything was great. His mom took the job as Vibe¡¯s lawyer and their home life didn¡¯t change much at all. She would spend a day or two a week at home when she needed to work on a project, but otherwise nothing else really changed. Theo was actually surprised with how good his mom was at her job. He would send her over a contract or other set of documents that needed to be worked on and she would normally have them done within a day or two. The other lawyers he used before he hired his mom always took weeks, then again they charged by the hour so maybe that was the reason. Theo¡¯s school life was also doing well even though he sent shadow clones most of the time. He still went a few times a week because he enjoyed hanging out with Peter and Milly. While the class itself was boring, Theo spent his time in class doing his homework. He tried to get Milly and Peter into the habit of doing that also, so they had more time after school to do other things like race go-karts, help out at the shop, play games or work on programs. So far it seemed to be working, well for Peter at least. Milly needed to be bribed with sweets. Milly also picked up a new hobby. She wanted to learn how to cook and begged Jacob to teach her. It didn¡¯t take long for him to agree, so now each day Milly helped Jacob make dinner. When Theo questioned Milly on why she was interested in learning how to cook, her answer wasn¡¯t a surprise. She said, ¡°If I learn how to cook, I can make cake anytime I want.¡± 00149. Phone launch event. 1/2 Kurt glanced in the mirror for the hundredth time, he still wasn''t sure if he looked okay. He tugged at the dark blue tie around his neck to adjust it again as he heard a knock on his door. He fiddled with the cuff of his jacket as he said, ¡°It¡¯s open.¡± The door didn''t open up, but instead a beautiful young girl in a red dress phased right through the door. She glanced at Kurt for a moment before she asked, ¡°What are you doing? It''s almost time to leave.¡± Kurt looked at himself in the mirror again before he said, ¡°I''m not sure if this looks good on me, Kitty.¡± Kitty glanced over Kurt''s outfit for a few moments before she said, ¡°What are you talking about? The suit fits you perfectly and highlights your eyes and hair.¡± Kurt glanced into the mirror again to double check his outfit. He wore a fitted black suit with yellow stitching and a yellow handkerchief in his breast pocket. His tie was the same dark blue as his hair, which was cut short and stylish. Kitty grabbed him by the arm and pulled him towards the door a moment later as she said, ¡°Stop wasting time.¡± Within a few moments Kurt and Kitty joined the other kids who were invited to the party tonight. Kurt pulled the invitation out of his pants pocket and looked at it again as he asked, ¡°Don''t you think it''s strange we were invited to this?¡± ¡°A little, but Ezekiel¡¯s the one who invited us.¡± Kitty said as she glanced at her own invitation. Dazzler who stood close by with the rest of her band said, ¡°It''ll be fine, it''s just a party.¡± ¡°I''m nervous, a lot of famous people will be there.¡± Kurt said as his tail unconsciously wrapped around his midsection. Dazzler chuckled before she said, ¡°News flash blue berry, you''re also famous.¡± Kurt glanced at Dazzler as he asked, ¡°Really?¡± Dazzler glanced at Kitty as she said, ¡°I have no idea how you deal with this idiot all the time.¡± Kitty frowned slightly as she said, ¡°Kurt can be an idiot, but that doesn''t mean you need to call him one. Now apologize to him.¡± ¡°I don''t know whether I should feel insulted or not.¡± Kurt said as he glanced between the girls. Dazzler crossed her arms over her chest as she said, ¡°Why should I? He just proved the point when he questioned if he was famous or not. When he clearly is famous.¡± A man cleared his throat before he said, ¡°You should apologize because it''s not polite to call people names.¡± Everyone turned around to see Professor Xavier dressed up in a lite gray suit with a silver tie. He stood next to Magneto who was dressed up in an elegant black suit with red tie. Storm was next to them both and wore a gorgeous form fitting purple dress that draped to her ankles. It hugged her figure perfectly and the side slit ran up to her thighs highlighted the curves of her legs perfectly. Ezekiel also stood next to them and was dressed up in a pair of black dress pants and black buttoned up short sleeved shirt which made him stand out compared to everyone else. Ezekiel smiled at everyone as he said, ¡°What your Professor said is correct.¡± Ezekiel moved next to Kurt and rubbed the top of his head which ruined his hairstyle a little as he said, ¡°While Kurt might be oblivious to his own stardom and even do foolish actions sometimes. That still doesn''t make him an idiot.¡± While Kurt tried to fix his hair, Dazzler let out a sigh before she said, ¡°Sorry I called you an idiot, Kurt.¡± Kurt smiled as he said, ¡°Thanks, I accept your apology.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he turned to Kitty and said, ¡°Now you apologize.¡± Kitty wanted to argue before she said, ¡°Sorry for calling you an idiot Kurt.¡± ¡°It''s fine. I know you didn''t mean it.¡± Kurt said with another smile as Kitty avoided eye contact. Before anything else could happen Ezekiel clapped his hands together and said, ¡°With that out of the way, is everyone ready to go?¡± Ezekiel didn''t wait for anyone to respond as he opened a portal next to himself and ushered everyone to move through it. They exited the portal to the backstage area of the event venue where Dazzler and her bandmates could double check their equipment before they joined the event itself. While the others moved to the main area of the party. Another band was also backstage and was the first act for the night that was planned to start in the next half an hour. They already finished with their preparations and were just waiting for the signal to move onto the stage to perform. Afterwards they would be able to enjoy the rest of the party too. As the group exited out of the back, Kurt and the others could see that other guests were just entering the main hall. Where they stood was the main stage and in front of them was a dance floor. A lot of tables surrounded the dance floor area in a horseshoe shape, while to the far right side of the room was a buffet. On the left side sat an open bar, along with an area that was partially hidden behind some panels and security guards. Ezekiel glanced at his group before he said, ¡°I need to go meet up with Tony. You guys go mingle with the other guests and have fun.¡± As Ezekiel walked away Kurt shared a glance with Kitty who shrugged back. Magneto also shared a glance with Xavier as he said, ¡°I think I''ll eat before I get swarmed by people asking to visit Genosha.¡± Xavier nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°That sounds like a great idea.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. That acted as a sign and everyone in the group ended up deciding to get food first. Kurt arrived first with Kitty since he grabbed her hand and teleported them next to the buffet. It would have startled the staff there if they were normal. But almost all of the staff was made up of Ezekiel''s clones, while security was a mix of valkyries and his clones henged to look like different people. Ezekiel wanted everything to go smoothly with the event, so he controlled every aspect of it he could. As Kurt and the others started to get food, Ezekiel moved to the front entrance to find Tony. Normally Tony wouldn''t be up front to greet the guests as they entered, but Ezekiel bribed him with alien technology. So Tony was forced to be up front for the first half an hour as the majority of people arrived. As Ezekiel walked towards the entrance most people who passed by ignored him, since he still wasn''t that famous. It didn¡¯t help that Ezekiel was dressed rather plainly and looked almost like the security personal or a server for the event. Once he was near the entrance, Tony spotted him easily. After he finished greeting someone, he quickly waved Ezekiel to come over. Once Ezekiel was close enough Tony asked, ¡°Do I really need to stay here and greet everyone?¡± ¡°Only for half an hour or no tech.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Tony pouted slightly before another person moved towards them and he was forced to greet them and usher them inside. Once they left Tony said, ¡°This sucks. I should be in there partying with the guests.¡± ¡°You just want to drink.¡± Tony nodded before he frowned and said, ¡°I would love to, but some jerk said I can''t.¡± Ezekiel patted Tony on the shoulder before he said, ¡°You can drink after you give the presentation. This thing is being streamed to the world and I don''t want you to be a drunk mess.¡± Tony pushed Ezekiel away and was about to say something back, when he froze. His eyes were locked on to the figure of a red haired woman in a green dress further inside the venue. She stood facing the opposite direction from him as she talked with someone, so he couldn''t see her face, but Ezekiel knew who she was. Ezekiel smirked, then snapped his fingers in front of Tony''s face as he said, ¡°You can ogle women later. Right now you have guests to greet.¡± Tony glanced at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I wasn''t ogling, I was appreciating¡­ Even though she looks kinda familiar, I don¡¯t remember greeting any redheads in a green dress at the door tonight.¡± ¡°Ogling and appreciating is basically the same thing for you. Now get back to work, you have guests to greet, slave.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Tony let out a sigh as Ezekiel turned around and walked back into the main area. Once there he moved towards Sanhildr who was in charge of security for the night. She was off to one side as she talked with Happy and Sakumo. Sakumo seemed to be listening as Happy complained about something. Sakumo noticed Ezekiel¡¯s approach first and pointed it out to the other two with a nod of his head in his direction before he greeted him. Happy frowned slightly as he asked, ¡°Why wasn''t I put incharge of security?¡± ¡°I thought you could use a break for the night. So just relax, eat some good food and hang out. Maybe even talk to a lady or two.¡± Ezekiel said as he rested his arm over Happy¡¯s shoulder. Before Happy could complain, Ezekiel watched one of the people who just entered the main hall and said, ¡°Look, isn''t that the movie star you have a crush on? Why don¡¯t you go talk with her, I heard she¡¯s single.¡± Happy lit up for a moment before he frowned again slightly as he said, ¡°How could I even talk with her? I¡¯m just Tony¡¯s bodyguard. Even when I go to events with Tony, people ignore me.¡± Ezekiel patted Happy¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short Happy. You''re a tall and pretty decent looking guy since you lost weight. Just go over to her and pretend you¡¯re talking to Tony¡­ Actually that¡¯s a terrible idea¡­ Just pretend she¡¯s a normal person and be yourself.¡± ¡°And say what? Hi, I¡¯m Happy, Tony Stark¡¯s personal bodyguard?¡± Happy asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°First off that¡¯s a terrible opener, second don¡¯t just go up to her and try to start a conversation. She¡¯s a movie star, I am sure random people do that all the time and it¡¯s probably annoying.¡± ¡°Also don¡¯t call yourself Tony Stark¡¯s personal bodyguard, you are the head of Tony¡¯s personal security. But if someone asks what you do for a living, you should tell them you run a private security company.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. ¡°But I don¡¯t run a private security company.¡± Happy said. ¡°Actually you do. While you might not own it and the only client is Tony, you do run his personal security company.¡± Happy nodded in understanding as he said, ¡°I guess that¡¯s true.¡± Ezekiel watched as the person they were talking about moved towards the buffet line to get some food. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I have an idea, let''s go grab some food at the buffet line.¡± Before he left he turned to Sanhildr and Sakumo as he said, ¡°Let me know if anything important happens.¡± Both of them nodded before Ezekiel moved to the buffet line with Happy. After they picked up some food Ezekiel headed to the table where the movie star sat down at and when they arrived he asked, ¡°Since the seating isn¡¯t arranged, do you mind if we join you?¡± The woman glanced up at Ezekiel and Happy as she studied them for a moment before she said, ¡°Not at all, be my guest.¡± Ezekiel took a seat along with Happy as he said, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m Ezekiel by the way and this is Happy.¡± ¡°Anna.¡± After they started to eat, Ezekiel glanced at Happy who seemed a little nervous and asked, ¡°You¡¯re still planning to take your vacation in a couple of months right?¡± Happy nodded as he said, ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Did you plan your trip yet?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°No, but I was thinking about visiting Genosha for most of it.¡± Happy said. ¡°You¡¯ve been cleared to visit Genosha?¡± Anna asked. Happy looked at Anna as he said, ¡°Yeah. I had the chance to visit it recently and really wanna go back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so jealous, all the pictures online make the place look beautiful.¡± ¡°I thought the same thing until I went there. The pictures don¡¯t do it justice at all.¡± Happy said as his nervousness started to disappear. ¡°You must have some really good luck. I¡¯m still on the waiting list just for the interview portion and have at least a six month wait.¡± Anna said with a pout. Happy almost glanced at Ezekiel as he smiled and asked, ¡°Yeah I was pretty lucky. Do you wanna see some of the pictures I took while I was there?¡± Before Anna replied, Ezekiel picked up his half empty plate as he said, ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I just saw someone I need to talk with.¡± ¡°It was nice meeting you Anna.¡± Ezekiel said before he turned to Happy and said, ¡°I¡¯ll catch you later Happy.¡± ¡°It was nice to meet you too Ezekiel.¡± Anna said. Happy smiled as he said, ¡°Sounds good.¡± As Ezekiel walked off, Anna continued to talk with Happy and asked him more about Genosha as he shared pictures with her from his phone. Ezekiel smiled to himself as he thought, ¡®I can¡¯t give you a better opener than that.¡¯ 00150. Phone launch event. 2/2 Ezekiel stood behind Tony as he finished greeting another person. Once the man left to join the party Tony turned around and said, ¡°That''s thirty minutes, I should be done now right?¡± Ezekiel glanced at his phone to check the time before he said, ¡°Almost. Finish this last group of people and I¡¯ll take over.¡± Tony let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Fine, but I want a drink after this.¡± ¡°You can have a drink after you do your presentation and don''t even think about trying to bribe the bartenders.¡± Ezekiel said with a knowing gaze. Tony huffed slightly before he turned around and smiled slightly to himself. Ezekiel shook his head as he knew what Tony was thinking. Ezekiel chanted under his breath as he weaved his hands and a small spell formula formed in front of him. He then pushed the spell forward and it entered Tony''s back without him noticing what happened. A few minutes later after the guests moved into the party, Tony raised his arms in the air and said, ¡°Finally I''m free!¡± Tony turned to Ezekiel and stuck out his tongue before he said, ¡°See you later, slave driver.¡± Ezekiel just smirked to himself as he watched Tony walk away. After Tony left he pulled out his tablet and checked the guest list. So far almost ninety-five percent had shown up, the others were either late or decided not to come it seemed. Ezekiel then checked the live stream of the party and watched as Tony made a beeline to the bar. As Ezekiel checked his tablet over, Tony made his way directly to the bar. Once there he pulled a hundred dollar bill out and said, ¡°Bartender, give me an old fashioned.¡± The bartender glanced at Tony and the money for a moment before he said, ¡°Give me just a moment Mr. Stark.¡± Tony smiled to himself as he thought, ¡®Ezekiel, you''re just too green.¡¯ A few moments later the bartender took the money and placed a glass down in front of Tony. Tony smiled to himself before he picked it up and took a sip of his drink before freezing. Tony sniffed his glass once before he turned around and asked, ¡°Why the hell is this a virgin old fashioned?¡± The bartender pulled up a clip board with a list on it and showed it to Tony. It had his photo on it and a note underneath it that read, ¡®No alcohol before ten PM.¡¯ There were other people also on the list, but they were all flagged as minors. Tony was about to complain when his phone chimed, so he set his drink down and checked it. It was a text from Ezekiel that read, ¡®Don''t make a scene on the live stream, you might lose followers. LOL XD.¡¯ Tony frowned and then saw one of the cameras pointed directly at him. He quickly typed back, ¡®What the hell, you are acting like I¡¯m a mogwai or something.¡¯ A reply came back a moment later that read, ¡®Kinda, but I wouldn¡¯t want you to turn into a gremlin and ruin everything. Besides I don¡¯t want you drunk on the live stream.¡¯ Tony typed back, ¡®I hate you.¡¯ Before he put his phone away and picked up his drink. He took another sip as he looked around the room for someone that could get him a drink. He thought about Pepper first, but decided against asking, since she didn¡¯t like him drinking in the first place and would definitely refuse. He then saw Happy and started to move towards him but then stopped after a few moments. Happy seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with a beautiful woman and it looked to be going well. It was one of the few times Tony saw Happy so engaged with a woman before so he decided to leave Happy alone. Besides, Tony had other ways to get a drink. Tony then turned and walked towards the back area as the first band walked out onto the stage to perform. Tony quickly made his way into the back and moved with purpose to one of the phone pallets that were unloaded earlier today. He quickly cut off the plastic wrap before he started to pull out a few boxes. Hidden in the middle of the pallet was a metal case which he pulled out and set on top of some of the boxes. As he opened the case Tony said to himself, ¡°Ezekiel do you really think you can stop me from drinking?¡± Inside the case was a small minibar filled with everything Tony liked to drink. Tony started to hum to himself as he mixed a drink for himself. Once he was finished he smiled to himself before he heard, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I was you.¡± Tony turned to see Ezekiel before he said, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, it¡¯s just one drink.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°One drink now. Then another later. Maybe another while you eat and one afterwards to wash it down.¡± Ezekiel pointed a finger as he said, ¡°You don¡¯t do just one drink, Tony.¡± Tony confidently smiled as he said, ¡°I can do one drink, no problem.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Then he raised the glass to his lips as Ezekiel said, ¡°I really wouldn¡¯t drink that if I were you.¡± Tony stopped to sniff the glass for a moment before he asked, ¡°Why not? Did you do something to the alcohol?¡± ¡°Nope, I didn¡¯t touch it.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Then it¡¯s fine.¡± Tony said before he took a drink. After he drank Tony let out a satisfied sigh as Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I did something to you though.¡± Tony froze and stared at Ezekiel in shock before Ezekiel said, ¡°You should really head to the bathroom, I think you have about two minutes before it takes effect.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± Tony asked with a hint of fear. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Just a simple cleansing spell. The only issue is that it makes you projectile vomit kinda like ipecac syrup.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You have about a minute and a half now.¡± Tony dropped his drink and ran to one of the back area restrooms as he said ¡°You¡¯re an asshole!¡± ¡°I warned you.¡± Ezekiel yelled back. Ezekiel waited outside the restroom door for about fifteen minutes before Tony finally came out. His hair was messed up and his suit was dirty from the backlash of his body purging itself. His face was pale white as he glared at Ezekiel for a few moments before he said, ¡°You¡¯re a fucking dick¡­ I honestly have no idea why I¡¯m still friends with you.¡± ¡°I warned you and you didn¡¯t listen. Besides, I have your best interests at heart, that¡¯s why we¡¯re still friends. Oh and probably the alien tech helps too.¡± Ezekiel said as he shrugged. ¡°It''s mostly the alien tech¡­ Still, that was a dick move and to top it off you put ipecac syrup in a three hundred dollar bottle of whisky.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I told you, I placed a spell on you. The whisky is fine.¡± ¡°Magic isn¡¯t real, so you either poisoned my whisky or used a power on me.¡± Tony said matter of factly. Ezekiel shook his head again before he said, ¡°Magic is real, but whatever. Let me clean you up.¡± Ezekiel wove his hands together for a few moments before a golden spell matrix appeared over Tony. It quickly moved down over his head and went to the ground. Once it finished he looked fresh and his suit was in perfect condition. His hair was still a little messed up, but otherwise he looked fine. ¡°Go fix your hair and we¡¯ll go back to the party.¡± Tony glanced at his outfit before he said, ¡°You have too many powers.¡± As Tony walked back into the bathroom Ezekiel said, ¡°I told you, it¡¯s magic.¡± After Tony fixed his hair, he made his way back out to the party with Ezekiel who said, ¡°Don¡¯t drink any alcohol until after ten or that will happen again.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a dick.¡± Tony said. Ezekiel patted Tony on the back as he said, ¡°I like you too pal.¡± Tony swatted his hand away in irritation as they came out to the main area of the event. The first band was in the middle of a song and the dance floor had a decent amount of people on it. They were the second most popular band on Vibe and came from South America. They were kinda like Dazzler¡¯s band as so far they only covered songs and had no original content. While they didn¡¯t have powers to help out in their shows, they were still popular because of their skills and the music they covered. Ezekiel glanced around the room before he discreetly pointed to a woman with red hair in a green dress as he said to Tony, ¡°I saw you eyeing her early, you should go ask her to dance.¡± Tony glanced at the woman''s back as he said, ¡°Maybe.¡± Ezekiel elbowed Tony as he asked, ¡°Scared she¡¯ll turn you down?¡± Tony scuffed as he said, ¡°No.¡± ¡°A hundred bucks she turns you down.¡± Ezekiel said with a knowing smirk. ¡°Fine, just watch this.¡± Tony said with a hint of pride in his voice. Tony confidently walked towards the woman who stood near the bar as she waited for a drink. Once Tony was close to her he said, ¡°Pardon me, but would you like to dance?¡± The woman turned around in shock as she asked, ¡°Did you really just ask me to dance, Tony?¡± Tony froze for a moment before he glanced at Ezekiel who smirked at him with a thumbs up. Tony then smiled as he said, ¡°So is that a yes or no?¡± Pepper thought about it for a moment before she said, ¡°Sure.¡± As they made it out to the dance floor and started to dance, the music of the song kicked up a bit and the singer belted out, ¡°Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, baby!¡± ¡°I like it like that.¡± The backup singers sang. The singer leaned into his mic as he said, ¡°You gotta believe me when I tell you.¡± ¡°I said I like it like that!¡± The backup singers followed up. Ezekiel smiled to himself as he watched Tony and Pepper dancing before he glanced at some of the other people dancing. Happy and the movie star Anna were actually on the dance floor and seemed to be having a good time. Kurt was also on the dance floor as he danced with Jubilee and Kitty. They weren¡¯t dancing like you typically would for the type of music being played, but they were having fun. With his main goals out of the way Ezekiel planned to check in with security before he was stopped by Dazzler and another girl from her band who asked, ¡°Ezekiel, would you like to dance with us?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the girl¡¯s for a moment before he said, ¡°Sure, but don¡¯t complain if I step on your feet.¡± Dazzler and the other girl nodded before they grabbed Ezekiel by his arms and pulled him to the dance floor. After he attempted to dance for a couple songs, Ezekiel bowed out and made a mental note to take some dance classes in the future. As he left the dance floor he noted that Tony and Pepper were still dancing, along with Happy and Anna. 00151. Post launch. While the phone launch party didn¡¯t have as many live viewers as Theo thought it would. The video uploaded afterwards exploded and within days the phones were the only thing people talked about. The free advertising they gained by giving out phones to major celebrities and popular Vibe users was the main reason. The mainstream media also helped to promote the phone''s popularity, since it was heavily featured on a lot of news channels. Tony was also invited to be on a few popular talk shows to promote and talk about the phone. Since that was the case, Theo gave Tony the idea to give everyone in the audience a free phone. That just hyped up the expected release more and increased the pre-orders. Another bonus was with the access to a high end camera in their pocket, a lot of the Vibe users with the phones started to use the photo platform on the site. Out of all the platforms Theo created it was still the slowest growing, but with cell phones being released he expected that to change soon. As for the official release date, people started showing up to the new Stark Mobile stores days before release to save a spot in line. It was one of the first times something like this happened for a product launch, so it just added even more hype to the release date. As for the release itself, it mostly went off without any problems. Actually the only real problem was inventory, since most stores sold out of phones on the first day or two. While Theo expected the phone to be popular, he didn''t realize just how popular it could be. Within a week they sold out of all the phones they had created and Tony''s factory was scrambling to make more. Since they wanted to keep everything a secret until after the phone was launched, Tony only set up a single manufacturing plant with strict NDA¡¯s for all employees. It was only a slight setback though, since a new plant was already built. It just needed workers and the materials to start up production. After about a month or so, Tony''s company was able to fulfill all the backorders and the rush to buy the phones died down. That said, they were able to sell over forty million phones in little over a month and Tony''s company made over ten billion in gross profit. Well those numbers weren¡¯t made public yet, but would be released during the next quarterly earnings report. Theo already bought up a bunch of Stark Inc. stock as he waited for the stock to practically double, since the company only made around twenty billion gross profit last year. Tony was also in high spirits since the phone release, but not because of how well it was doing. No, Tony was happy because he finally became the most followed person on Vibe. When Theo heard the reason he shook his head and called Tony an idiot. With the launch event out of the way and a steady production of phones being created. Theo moved on to stage two of the phone project. His goal with this was to get his phones into the hands of every government official and company executive he could. It didn¡¯t matter how big or small they were, he wanted all of them to have one of Tony''s cell phones. Theo knew making that happen would take a while but he talked Tony into giving governments and companies a deal on the phones. He also created a special software package for the phones. It was focused on productivity and wasn''t loaded with all the extra applications the normal phones used. While Theo waited patiently for his potential victims to take the bait, he focused on other tasks related to the phones. With the phones officially released, he needed to open up the app store. While the phones came preloaded with software, he knew people would want to customize it. So he already created clones of the most popular software in his past life. While he didn''t go crazy with micro transactions, or gacha games. He still incorporated some of them for a reasonable price in the games he copied. He also removed almost all the features that made the games highly addictive. They were still fun to play and people enjoyed them, but they didn''t need to play the game just for the dopamine rush they produced. As for other games that might be created with those game mechanics? Theo would just ban them outright if they tried to release them in the app store. He also planned to stop anyone who tried to copy his Vibe platforms. Was it underhanded? Sure, but Theo didn''t trust other people to keep the general public''s best interests at heart. With the phone project out of the way, Theo arrived at Tony¡¯s house with a few more projects he wanted to make. Since they already had cell phones, he now wanted to create smart home devices and have Tony make them. With a couple pizza boxes in his hand along with a flash drive, Theo portaled to Tony¡¯s in his Ezekiel persona. After Ezekiel stepped out of the portal he found Tony''s workshop empty but was greeted by JARVIS who said, ¡°Welcome Ezekiel, Mr. Stark is currently up stairs talking with Mr. Stain.¡± Ezekiel took out the flash drive he brought and plugged it into Tony¡¯s computer before he asked, ¡°Thank you JARVIS, is anyone else here?¡± As Ezekiel moved towards the door for the stairs JARVIS said, ¡°Happy is currently out with Miss. Potts, but they will be back within ten minutes.¡± ¡°Oh? Maybe I should order more pizza.¡± Ezekiel said as he opened the door. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, they are coming back with food now.¡± JARVIS said. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± As Ezekiel walked up the stairs he heard, ¡°Tony, I don¡¯t wanna complain about the current success you had with the phone.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°But?¡± Tony interrupted as Ezekiel walked into the living room and saw Tony seated on the couch while Obadiah stood next to it with his back to Ezekiel. Obadiah let out a sigh as he said, ¡°But we have military contracts we need to complete and we are a bit behind on them.¡± Tony noticed Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Can you believe this guy? I make the company billions of dollars and it¡¯s not enough.¡± Ezekiel shrugged and moved towards the coffee table as he said, ¡°If you have contracts, you should probably fulfill them. Then again it¡¯s none of my business and I don¡¯t plan to make it my business either.¡± Stane smiled at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again Ezekiel.¡± After Ezekiel placed the pizza boxes down he reached out and shook Obadiah¡¯s hand as he said, ¡°Same to you Mr. Stane. Actually I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t see you at the launch party, I¡¯m pretty sure you were on the invite list.¡± ¡°Just call me Obadiah or Obie.¡± Obadiah said as he released Ezekiel¡¯s hand. ¡°As for the party, I missed it because I was in Japan conducting some business and thought it was just a normal party Tony was putting on.¡± Obadiah said. Ezekiel nodded in understanding as he sat down on the couch and Tony opened one of the pizza boxes before he said, ¡°I just sent Happy and Pepper out to get food, but I could never say no to pizza.¡± Obadiah glanced at the pizza box and the hot pizza as he asked, ¡°Is there a Joe¡¯s pizza nearby?¡± Tony shook his head as he finished his first bit and said, ¡°No, this is straight from NYC.¡± ¡°Really? How is it so fresh?¡± Obadiah asked as he studied the still steaming pizza. Tony pointed at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°He can portal anywhere he wants.¡± As Ezekiel moved the top box aside and opened the other box he said, ¡°I¡¯m mostly restricted to earth for now.¡± Obadiah glanced between Tony and Ezekiel for a moment as he started to laugh before he said, ¡°Portal anywhere on earth? That¡¯s not possible.¡± Tony shrugged as he said, ¡°I said the same thing, but he does it all the time.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he lifted his hand and spun it in a circle before he said, ¡°Look behind you.¡± Obadiah glanced behind himself and froze in place as he looked at a portal. As he studied it he noticed the Eiffel Tower in the distance and asked, ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°The Eiffel Tower? Yup.¡± Ezekiel said before he took a bite of his pizza. Obadiah turned towards the portal and went to touch the edge as Tony said, ¡°If you touch the edge it will paralyze your arm for the next half an hour.¡± Tony elbowed Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I found that out the hard way because some jerk didn¡¯t warn me.¡± Obadiah stopped in place before he dropped his hand and asked, ¡°Is this real? Could I really go to France through this?¡± ¡°Yeah. Or anywhere else he makes one.¡± Tony said. Ezekiel closed the portal as Obadiah turned around and asked, ¡°How did you make it?¡± ¡°Magic.¡± Tony and Ezekiel said at the same time. Ezekiel glanced at Tony who smirked before he took another bite of his pizza and Obadiah asked, ¡°Magic?¡± ¡°Yup, but Tony doesn¡¯t believe me.¡± Tony nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°Because magic isn¡¯t real. It¡¯s either one of your weird powers or some kinda alien tech you don¡¯t wanna share with me.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as the front door opened and Happy said, ¡°Tony, we¡¯re back with the food.¡± As Happy and Pepper moved into the living room area and noticed Ezekiel who smiled at them before he pointed at the pizza boxes and said, ¡°I brought pizza.¡± Happy smiled as he held up the bags as he said, ¡°I brought burgers.¡± As everyone but Obadiah settled down on the couches to eat, Ezekiel asked, ¡°So Happy, how are things going with Anna?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really gonna move on from the portal thing without explaining anything? And what about the alien technology you mentioned?¡± Obadiah asked. ¡°That sounds about right.¡± Tony said as Happy and Pepper nodded in agreement. ¡°I explained it, it¡¯s not my fault if you don¡¯t believe me. As for the alien technology¡­ It¡¯s alien tech, what else do I need to explain?¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled out some french fries and stuffed them in his mouth. Obadiah wanted to say something when Tony pointed at the couch and said, ¡°Just sit down and eat. I¡¯ve learned it¡¯s a waste of time to think about things when it comes to Ezekiel.¡± Obadiah reluctantly sat down on the couch as Happy said, ¡°Things are going great with Anna by the way.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he asked, ¡°You should invite her to join you when you go on vacation.¡± Happy nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about it. Maybe when it gets closer and she isn¡¯t busy with a movie.¡± ¡°Just let me know and I¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s bumped ahead so she can join you.¡± Ezekiel said with a wink. ¡°That would be great.¡± Happy said with a smile. As Ezekiel took another bite of pizza Tony asked, ¡°So what brought you by? I thought you were gonna be busy after the phone launch?¡± ¡°I wanted to start on the next projects since the cell phone was so popular.¡± Ezekiel said after he finished his bite. Obadiah and the others seemed interested as Ezekiel said, ¡°JARVIS can you show us those project files I brought?¡± ¡°Right away sir.¡± The lights dimmed slightly and a holographic projection appeared over the coffee table to show a bunch of different possible projects Ezekiel wanted Tony to work on. While Ezekiel wanted Tony to work on smart home tech, he knew it would be easier to give him a bunch of options to choose from. So as everyone ate, Tony browsed through the projects before he found a few things he was interested in and wanted to work on. 00152. An unexpected guest? Theo was seated in the lotus position as he focused on the spell he was working on. It used his personalized spell matrix for the foundation and he was in the process of adding to it. Once he was satisfied, he would need to set it in place before he asked Tao and Agatha to test it. It was the spell that acted as his main mental barrier and kept people out of his mind. After he learned the basics from Tao and Agatha, Theo spent at least an hour a day adding to the barrier, with the help of a dedicated clone. The clone was created everyday to help improve the spell matrix in theory. Once it is dispelled, Theo took that knowledge and used it to add to a new spell matrix. He basically took the twenty four hours of theory crafting his clone produced and added it into his spell matrix within an hour''s time. He tried it a few times with more clones, but the results were about the same, so Theo only used one clone for the job now. While his spell matrix was currently nowhere close to Tao or Agatha''s in strength. It was strong enough to keep most advanced masters of the mystic arts out of Theo''s head. Theo finished the final touches to the spell before he slowly brought it back inside himself and let it settle into place. Afterwards he glanced at Tao as he said, ¡°You can begin whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± Tao raised up her tea cup as she said, ¡°Alright, brace yourself.¡± Theo only waited for a moment before he felt Tao probe his mental defenses. It was almost gentle at first, but quickly ramped up in power. Before long it felt like someone slammed a hammer into his mental barrier and Theo grimaced in pain. It happened a few more times before blood started to run out of Theo¡¯s nose. Tao''s attack finally finished as she broke past his barrier and said, ¡°Not bad, you lasted almost five minutes.¡± Theo was completely pale and his face was contorted in pain as Agatha said, ¡°You shouldn''t break his spell matrix every time you test it.¡± Tao waved off the concern as she said, ¡°How will he learn properly if he doesn''t rebuild it every time?¡± ¡°You could at least tone down your power a little. Look at him, he is still recovering.¡± Agatha said as she observed Theo. Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°Why should I show him mercy when an enemy won''t? The more he gets used to having his barrier broken through, the better he''ll be able to cope with it.¡± ¡°It''s fine. I would rather it be this way in the first place.¡± Theo said as he started to create a new spell matrix. As the new matrix formed he said, ¡°While I might not enjoy it, the backlash is becoming a little less each time.¡± Tao nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°That''s only natural. Once you stop being stunned by it, I will switch to single hits to break your barrier.¡± Theo started to sweat a little as he continued his training for the night. After he was finished with his training and checked over a few things, he made a new batch of clones before he headed to bed after a quick shower. In the morning after he woke up and got ready for the day. He headed upstairs and was greeted by his father in the kitchen who said, ¡°Just in time, help me prepare breakfast.¡± ¡°What¡¯re we going to make?¡± Jacob smirked as he said, ¡°I thought pancakes sounded good. What do you think?¡± Theo nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°Of course!¡± Jacob smiled slightly as he started to pull out ingredients and set them on the counter as he said, ¡°Alright get me the large mixing bowl and pull out the big cast iron skillet.¡± As Theo helped his father prepare breakfast, Jacob asked, ¡°Are you ready for today?¡± ¡°Yeah, but not as much as Milly and Issac.¡± Theo said with a smile. Jacob shook his head as he said, ¡°Those two¡­ I still don¡¯t understand why they love sweets so much.¡± Theo shrugged as he set out plates on the table and said, ¡°It¡¯s a little strange, since you and mom aren¡¯t that big on sweets either.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t help that you make some type of dessert every few days.¡± Daniel said as she walked into the kitchen. Jacob winked at his wife as he said, ¡°You bake stuff for the kids just as much as me, sometimes even more.¡± ¡°Speaking of my siblings, where are they?¡± Theo asked. ¡°Milly said she wanted to be a good big sister and is helping Issac get dressed.¡± Daniel said with a hint of a smile. Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°It must be because she is getting cake today.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Both of his parents said at the same time before everyone laughed. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Breakfast went smoothly and afterwards they walked over to Peter''s house to get him along with his family. From there, they took the subway downtown and went to a museum before they spent a few hours there as they explored the place. It was a science museum and had a lot of activities for kids to do. Once they finished they had some pizza before they took the subway back to Brooklyn. Instead of heading back home, then detoured and went to the park instead. Once there it became obvious why they went there. Setup inside the park near the picnic area were Ben, May, Johnathan, Sara and a bunch of other people. While a banner was hung up that said, ¡®Happy Birthday Peter.¡¯ Richard picked up his son as he said, ¡°Happy birthday!¡± As everyone else joined in. Peter blushed slightly while everyone congratulated him and wished him a happy birthday. As Richard and Mary hugged Peter before he was put back down and Richard said, ¡°Go greet your friends and have fun.¡± Peter nodded as he glanced at Milly and Theo before he said, ¡°Come on.¡± Theo followed Peter to the other kids as their parents took their younger siblings with them to mingle with the adults. Once there, they were greeted by mostly classmates and a couple kids from the neighborhood. As the kids gathered around Peter to congratulate him and wish him a happy birthday, Theo noticed a few people approaching the party. It took Theo only a moment to realize who they were and he frowned slightly to himself as he thought, ¡®What the hell is he doing here?¡¯ It was a man and woman along with a young boy. The woman and kid were fine, but the man who was with them Theo didn''t trust. It was someone Theo looked into once before, but didn''t do anything about because he had no connection with Peter''s parents. But it looked like things changed for some reason and Theo wasn''t happy about it. Theo wanted to understand what was going on so he moved towards Richard and Mary. Since that was where the man was headed. While Theo could eavesdrop on them from where he was, he wanted to be closer to them just in case something strange happened. As the group approached closer Richard smiled at the man as he said, ¡°Mr. Osborne thanks for coming.¡± ¡°Please, just call me Norman. We''re business partners after all.¡± Norman said with a smile. Richard reached out and shook the man''s hand as he said, ¡°Sorry, it''s a force of habit.¡± ¡°It''s fine, Richard.¡± The man said before he gestured to the pale skinned woman beside him and the little boy as he said, ¡°This is my wife, Emily and my son Harry.¡± After they greeted each other, Richard glanced over towards Peter but noticed Theo who was close by and said, ¡°Theo, come over here for a moment. I want you to meet someone.¡± Theo didn¡¯t want to join them and instead watch them from a close distance but came over as he said, ¡°Yes uncle Richard?¡± Richard smiled as he pointed to Harry and said, ¡°Theo this is Harry. Take him over and introduce him to Peter and the others.¡± Theo nodded as he stretched out his hand and said, ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Theo it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Harry shook hands with Theo as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too.¡± After they shook hands, Theo led Harry towards the group of kids and started to introduce him around to everyone as he focused his hearing on Osborne. It was a little bit of a pain to split his attention, but wasn¡¯t an issue since the kids didn¡¯t seem to notice he was slightly distracted. As for what Osborne and Richard talked about, it all seemed to be normal. As the party went on, Theo always kept part of his focus on Osborne, but overall the party was fine and nothing happened. Theo didn¡¯t think anything would, but he still didn¡¯t let his guard down. After the party finished and Theo was back at home, his main priority was figuring out how and why Osborne was working with his uncle. When he arrived in his training area he immediately made clones and then created a portal for them. After most of them left for the base, he created another portal for Shisui, Kakashi, and Itachi. After they left and the portal closed Tao asked, ¡°Where did you send those three?¡± ¡°I ran into a potential enemy today. I sent them to scout and get me access to their computer systems.¡± Theo said as he moved towards the rock wall to practice. ¡°How much of a threat are they?¡± Agatha asked before she took a sip from her tea cup. Theo frowned slightly as he said, ¡°He is almost always evil and could turn into a powerful enemy if we do nothing. He wouldn¡¯t be an issue for either of you, but you never know what could happen in this crazy world. I would rather kill him now then deal with him later in that case.¡± ¡°You really think he could become a major threat?¡± Tao asked. Before Theo moved out onto his training wall he said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you what he might become and you tell me.¡± Theo glanced over his shoulder before his red eyes captivated Tao and Agatha who relaxed into their chairs. He sent them all the information he knew on Norman Osborne and the type of monster he could become in the form of a memory genjutsu. About an hour passed before Tao and Agatha came out of the genjutsu. Tao picked up her tea pot to refill her cup and frowned as she noticed it was cold. She glanced up to Theo who was currently near the top of the rock wall and said, ¡°Come down here and make me some fresh tea like a good disciple.¡± Theo glanced over his shoulder down at Tao a few hundred feet below as he said, ¡°In a few minutes.¡± After Theo completed his climb, he let go of the wall and fell into the water pit below him. Once he climbed out, he moved to Tao before he took the tea pot to the kitchen area and dumped the old tea into the sink. He then used a spell to fill it with water and took it back to its holder. Once he placed it down, he used another spell to heat the water to the perfect temperature. Afterwards he pulled out a tea ball and filled it before he placed it inside another teapot and slowly poured the hot water over it. After he emptied the first pot into the other pot he let the tea steep as he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, he could become troublesome.¡± Theo nodded as he took a seat between Tao and Agatha before he pulled out his tablet and checked it to see if he had access to Osborne¡¯s computers yet. As he worked Agatha said, ¡°Worst case we¡¯ll just kill him.¡± Theo glanced up at Agatha who smiled as she said, ¡°Being proactive with people like that is always the best choice.¡± Tao nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°Just let us know what you plan to do. We¡¯ll help you if it¡¯s needed.¡± Theo smirked slightly as he said, ¡°Thanks, but I am pretty sure I can take care of the current version of him alone if it comes to that.¡± 00153. A simple choice. It only took about a week before Theo collected all the information he needed. It turned out that Richard and Mary figured out a new type of formula. Theo didn''t dig into it too much, but it apparently helped increase the potential of drugs it was incorporated into. After they tested it for a while and realized its potential. They decided to pitch it to a few companies and partner with the one who offered them the best deal. While Theo was happy for them, he was upset Oscorp won and they now had a partnership with Norman. If Theo paid more attention to his extended family''s business matters, he would have used Vibe and offered them a deal himself. Theo couldn''t help it as he scolded himself for being lax. Once Richard and Mary quit their old jobs and set up a lab in the shop''s basement. He was pretty sure they wouldn''t have any trouble at all, so he stopped looking into their lives. It turned out he was wrong and would now spare a couple clones to monitor them, along with everyone else in his extended family. That wasn¡¯t all he did though. He also asked Tao and Agatha to make a life saving spell for each of his family and extended family members. It was basically a spell shield that would save them in an emergency or teleport them away if needed. It could also be used to track them in case they were kidnapped. It was a spell that was targeted at their soul so it was hidden extremely well and Theo didn''t have to worry about it being removed since it wasn''t tied to an object. Was it overkill? Could it cause issues for him in the future if it goes off accidentally? Sure, but he would rather have his family safe instead of dead. With his family now safe from threats, Theo turned his attention to Osborne. He used his clones and searched through everything even remotely related to Norman Osborn. What he found wasn¡¯t as bad as he expected it to be though. Sure he had a few backroom deals and his taxes were a little skewed. But overall he seemed better than the average CEO of most companies. Since that was the case, Theo decided to test the man. He would make him an offer and whether or not he accepted it would decide his fate. It was almost midnight and Norman was seated at his desk inside his home office as he worked on a project. As he typed away on his computer someone said, ¡°You should rest, it''s not good to stay up so late.¡± ¡°I''ll be fine Bernard.¡± Norman said before he paused his typing and looked up at the person before him. ¡°Sorry for the intrusion but we need to have a little chat and this seemed like the best place to have it.¡± The man said. Norman studied the man before him for a few moments. He wore an all black cloak with a hood that covered his face in shadows. But as Norman looked at the hooded area, he realized the hood was filled with wisps of smoke. After a few moments Norman moved his foot a little to hit a button hidden under his desk as he said, ¡°You should call my secretary and schedule a meeting then.¡± The smoke wafted out from the hood as he said, ¡°I''d prefer if we kept this meeting private and off record. It''s also why no one will answer that button you just pushed.¡± Norman frowned slightly as he sat back in his chair and said, ¡°It seems you have me at a disadvantage mister?¡± ¡°My name doesn''t matter. I only came here to give you a choice that will decide your future.¡± ¡°And what exactly is this choice?¡± Norman asked with narrowed eyes. ¡°The life of your family or the legacy of the company you want to build.¡± Norman slammed the palms of his hands down on his desk as he said in a raised tone, ¡°Are you trying to threaten me and my family?¡± The hooded man shook his head as he said, ¡°It''s not a threat, it''s a choice. Your wife suffers from Oshtoran Syndrome and that will kill her in the next few years.¡± Norman narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°No one should know about that.¡± ¡°And yet here I am. I also know your son Harry has inherited Oshtoran Syndrome. But it is currently dormant alongside Retroviral Hypodysplasia which he inherited from you. Your family really won the jackpot when it comes to rare genetic diseases, didn¡¯t they?¡± The man said in a mocking tone of voice. Norman gritted his teeth as he asked, ¡°Did you just come here to mock my family or is there a point to this?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The man looked directly at Norman and for a moment Norman thought he saw a gleam of red where the person''s eyes should be. The man then turned to look out the window as he said, ¡°I''ll give you a month to make your choice. If you start selling off your company and choose to live a quiet life with your family. Then I will cure all of you, so you can live a long and happy life together.¡± ¡°And if I don''t?¡± Norman asked as he narrowed his eyes at the man. ¡°Then you can watch the person you love the most in this world wither away to nothing and spend the rest of your life knowing you could have saved them.¡± The man held up both hands and a moment later the right one showed Norman, his wife, Harry and a couple more kids. They were in the living room playing a board game together and everyone looked happy. In the man''s left hand was the Oscorp building he was planning to build in downtown New York City. It looked beautiful to him, but the image changed slightly to show Norman himself. He was aged, while his face was a stern mask and sorrow could be seen in his eyes as he looked out the window of the top floor of the building. The man held up the first one where it now showed Norman with a smile on his face as he chatted with his wife and he asked, ¡°Will you choose love?¡± The man raised up the other one that now showed Harry who looked scared as he tried to talk with his father before he asked, ¡°Or will you choose pride?¡± As the images vanished the man said, ¡°You have one month.¡± A moment later the man disappeared into a cloud of smoke as Norman asked, ¡°Why do I have to choose?¡± Norman frowned for a moment before he quickly walked out of his office to check on his family. Outside his office he found his faithful butler Bernard passed out in the hallway beside a spilled serving tray that once carried a full teapot and some snacks. As Norman kneeled next to the man and tried to wake him up he thought, ¡®When did this happen? I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡¯ After a few moments Bernard woke up as he asked, ¡°What happened, sir? Why am I on the floor?¡± Norman decided not to talk about the man who broke into the house as he said, ¡°I''m not sure. I just came out of my office and found you like this.¡± Bernard frowned as he looked at the mess that he made before he said, ¡°I''m sorry about the mess sir. I''ll clean it up right away.¡± Norman placed a hand on the other man''s shoulder as he said, ¡°It''s fine Bernard. I¡¯ll have one of the maids clean it up. You should go get some rest.¡± ¡°I''m fine sir, I''ll¡­¡± ¡°That was an order.¡± Norman said. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Norman smiled at the man as he helped him up before he said, ¡°I''m going to check on Harry and then head to bed myself. Have a goodnight, Bernard.¡± Bernard bowed slightly as he said, ¡°Same to you, sir.¡± Norman left the man as he moved quickly to Harry¡¯s bedroom. On the way he pulled out his phone and typed a message on it about the mess in the hallway so that one of the maids could clean it up. Once he arrived at his son¡¯s room he put away his phone and slowly opened the door as he quietly went inside. He found his son fast asleep with part of his blankets thrown off to the side. Norman gently pulled the blankets back over his son and tucked him back into bed. As he watched his son sleep, the image of his son being scared of him flashed through his mind and he frowned. He thought back to what the man showed him and shook his head as he thought, ¡®That would never happen, Harry would never be afraid of me.¡¯ Norman quietly left the room a few minutes later and headed to his bedroom. Inside he found his wife hooked up to a couple machines as she rested in bed. She was in the starting stages of the disease and had no real outward signs anything was wrong besides slightly pale skin. But when she was at home, they hooked her up to machines to help monitor her condition and hopefully prolong the onset of the disease as long as possible. Norman moved next to his wife and once he was close she said, ¡°You worked late again.¡± Norman looked down at his wife who smiled back up at him as he said, ¡°Sorry I lost track of time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not good for your health. Now hurry up and get ready for bed, young man.¡± She said in a slightly stern yet joking tone of voice. Norman shook his head before he sat down in the chair next to the bed, took her hand in his and said, ¡°Sure, in a few minutes. Just let me hold your hand for a while.¡± As Norman gently caressed her hand she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Emily turned to look at her husband who was lost in thought and studied him for a while before she asked, ¡°What are you thinking about? Is it the building again?¡± Norman glanced at his wife for a moment before he remembered her surrounded by a few more children which made him pause. Emily tugged on his hand as she asked, ¡°Honey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Norman smiled as he said, ¡°Nothing, I was just lost in thought.¡± Emily knew her husband better than anyone else and knew something was bothering him, but decided not to push the issue as she said, ¡°Go change and come to bed. It¡¯s a little cold and I want to snuggle.¡± Norman kissed his wife on the cheek before he said, ¡°Okay.¡± 00154. Hela learns about... Almost a week passed before Theo saw movement from Norman. It wasn¡¯t exactly what he expected to happen, but it was within his predictions. Norman reached out to Revival for help, it seemed he wanted to save his family and keep his business. Since Norman didn''t want to follow the rules, Theo decided to pay him another visit and let him know that wasn¡¯t an option he had open. It was late at night again as Theo appeared inside the Osborn mansion. He quickly moved through the house and put everyone into a minor genjutsu that made them fall asleep before he moved to Norman''s office. As he opened the door he heard, ¡°I won''t need anything else tonight Bernard, I am going to sleep soon.¡± When Norman didn''t get a response he glanced up and froze for a moment. A man cloaked in shadows stood in the doorway. As the man slowly entered the room he said, ¡°I see you tried to choose a third option Mr. Osborn. Let''s call that one greed¡­ It''s a pity you were only given two choices though and greed wasn''t one of them.¡± Norman narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°How do you know about that? Revival has cured over twenty thousand people with terminal cancer. My family''s issues should be easy for them to fix.¡± The man nodded in response as he pulled a tablet out from within his cloak and typed on it. After a few moments he stored it away as he said, ¡°You should check your email, I think Revival responded.¡± Norman felt a sense of foreboding as he glanced at his computer screen for a moment and noticed the icon for a new message. He quickly opened it and after he read it his face fell. It was a reply message from Revival that said ¡®You only have two choices: Love or Pride.¡¯ Norman slammed both his fists onto the desk as he asked, ¡°Why are you doing this? Why do I have to choose?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± The man asked in a mocking tone. Norman glared up at the man as he said, ¡°If it was, why would I even ask you?¡± The man shrugged as he said, ¡°I guess you''re not as smart as I thought you were.¡± Norman continued to glare at the man until he pointed at Norman as he said, ¡°It''s just a simple test to see the type of man you truly are.¡± ¡°Why are you doing this to me?¡± Norman asked with a hint of anger in his voice. As the man started to disappear into smoke he said, ¡°You''ll find out after you choose.¡± After the man disappeared, Norman sank back into his chair as he let out a frustrated sigh and thought, ¡®Why am I not allowed to have my family and my business?¡¯ After Theo left the Osborn home, he went to pick up some food and then head to Genosha. It was time for his weekly movie date with Hela. His portal opened up inside the mystic school hidden there and he quickly made his way down into the depths of the place. He had to pass through a number of hidden and magically protected doors, hallways and stairs before he reached his destination. Once there he opened the door and said, ¡°I brought you some food Master.¡± Tao glanced up from her book as she said, ¡°Going on a date with another woman and you decided to bring me food? We''ll aren''t you, a playboy.¡± Theo in his Ezekiel form smirked as he said, ¡°What was that? You don''t want any of this fried pork belly from your favorite place in Thailand?¡± Tao placed her book down and stood up as she said, ¡°Oh, I just remembered I have something important to do. I won''t be able to portal you to your date.¡± Ezekiel instantly gave up as he pulled a bag out of his storage seal and placed it on the table as he said, ¡°Here you go Master.¡± Tao opened a portal to Hel before she patted Ezekiel on the head as she said, ¡°You''re such a good student. Now go enjoy your play date.¡± Ezekiel huffed slightly before he moved through the portal. On the other side he found Hela who smiled slightly as she asked, ¡°Has it been a week already?¡± ¡°Almost, I have stuff coming up and won''t be able to stop by for the next few days, so I figured I would just come earlier than normal.¡± Ezekiel said as he sat down in the chair he normally used. As he started to pull out food and drinks from his storage seal Hela asked, ¡°What do you wanna watch today?¡± ¡°How about some stuff from the Gundam franchise? We can start with the Gundam F91 movie and if you like it, watch more from there.¡± ¡°Gundam? What''s that? Hela asked. Ezekiel finished placing all the food down as he said, ¡°Let''s watch it so you can find out.¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. As they started to eat, the movie also began and after a minute Hela asked, ¡°I thought this was a movie? Isn¡¯t this just a kids cartoon like Aladdin?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°While it is animated, this isn''t a cartoon. This is from a country called Japan and it''s called anime.¡± Ezekiel took on a serious tone as he looked at Hela and said, ¡°Please never compare anime with cartoons. While some of it is made for kids, a majority of it is meant for teens and adults.¡± Hela paused for a moment as she took in the serious look Ezekiel gave her before she said, ¡°I''ll watch this first and then decide if I agree with you.¡± After they finished eating and as they watched the rest of the movie, Ezekiel would glance at Hela sometimes to gauge her reaction. Her face remained mostly stoic, but there were hints of emotions sometimes, which made it seem like she enjoyed the movie. When it was finished Ezekiel turned to Hela as he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± ¡°It was¡­ Good. Actually, does Midgard have Gundam''s? They look like formidable weapons.¡± Hela asked with interest. Ezekiel shook his head in pity as he said, ¡°Unfortunately the technology of Midgard isn''t advanced enough to make something like that.¡± Hela nodded in understanding before she said, ¡°You don''t need to use only technology to create one. A mix of technology and magic would work best.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I''ve already thought about that, but my skills in runes are amateur at best. Maybe in another ten years or so, after I have more practice.¡± Hela glanced at the paused TV screen as she asked, ¡°You said this is a franchise? What else should we watch?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty popular and has a lot of different shows and movies. How about we watch The 08th MS Team.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Okay.¡± As the first episode started, Ezekiel pulled out a tray of cookies and asked, ¡°You want some cookies?¡± One of them floated up in the air and moved towards Hela as she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± After Hela took a bite her eyes widened in surprise before she said, ¡°These are a lot better than the last cookies you brought.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he picked up a cookie himself and said, ¡°These are home made by my parents and little sister. She wants to learn how to cook, so my parents have been teaching her.¡± ¡°I still don''t think it''s the best idea though. I¡¯m positive that once she learns how to bake a cake, our house will be filled to the brim with them.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight chuckle before he took a bite of his cookie. Hela glanced at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°I thought you didn''t like sweets?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I don''t. But my sister made these specifically for me, so I have to be a good brother and eat a few of them.¡± They chatted a little more as they watched the complete series and after the last episode Hela said, ¡°Why did they make that last episode? It would have been perfectly fine to end it on episode eleven.¡± Ezekiel smirked slightly as he said, ¡°You¡¯re not the first person to think that and you definitely won¡¯t be the last.¡± As Ezekiel thought about packing up and heading back, Hela turned towards him as she asked, ¡°Do you have time for one more?¡± Ezekiel pulled out his phone and checked the time before he said, ¡°Sure another movie wouldn''t hurt. How about we watch Char''s Counterattack?¡± As the new movie started to play Hela asked, ¡°Is there any other anime you would recommend I watch?¡± Throughout the movie Ezekiel recommended a few movies and shows to watch along with some manga Hela could read. Once the movie ended, Ezekiel cleaned up and said goodbye before he disappeared through a portal. After Ezekiel left Hela stared at the spot where the portal closed with a hint of sadness in her eyes before she let out a sigh and said, ¡°Play Gundam Wing the series.¡± Once he arrived back on Earth his phone started to go crazy with a bunch of text messages and missed calls. As he pulled out his phone to see what was going on his phone started to ring. It was Tony and as soon as he answered it he heard, ¡°Finally! Why were you ignoring me?¡± ¡°I was off planet, why? What¡¯s up?¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°I wanted¡­ Wait, did you say off planet? As in you weren¡¯t on Earth?¡± Tony asked in an excited tone. ¡°Are you an idiot? What else do you think off planet means?¡± Ezekiel said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t call me an idiot! I just didn¡¯t know you could leave Earth so easily.¡± ¡°Where do you think I got most of that alien tech from?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°...¡± ¡°FUCK! You¡¯ve been going to other planets, sleeping with hot alien babes, stealing their technology and didn¡¯t invite me?!?! I thought we were friends!?!¡± Ezekiel let out an annoyed sigh before he said, ¡°How in the world did you even come to that type of conclusion?¡­ You know what, on second thought, I don''t wanna know.¡± ¡°Will you take me with you the next time you go off planet?¡± Tony asked in an excited tone. ¡°So you can go out and get a space STD?¡± ¡°Yes!... Wait! I don''t want that! I just wanna meet some hot alien women.¡± Tony said. ¡°Sure you do¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll think about it after you grow up. Now why did you contact me a thousand times like some kind of clingy and suspicious girlfriend?¡± ¡°I did not! It was only like a hundred text messages¡­¡± Tony said before he added, ¡°Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I finished some of the prototypes you asked for and wanted you to come check them out.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, come over and bring some food while you''re at it.¡± Tony said before he hung up the phone. Tao, who heard most of the conversation, said, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a little late? Normally you head to bed about this time.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the time before he said, ¡°Worst case, I¡¯ll just let my clone go to school for the day.¡± Ezekiel put his phone away as he added, ¡°I¡¯ll see you later and have a good day, Master.¡± 00155. There was only ever one choice. When Ezekiel arrived at Tony''s house he expected only two or three prototypes. What he found instead was that Tony finished all of them. Apparently Tony liked a lot of the concepts and wanted them for his own house, so he went out of his way to complete them all. All the prototypes Tony created were designed around creating a smart home. He made a smart thermostat, lights, doorbell, garage door opener and many more. All of it was designed to work and integrate seamlessly with the cellphone they created. Ezekiel already finished the software that connected everything together easily, it would just need some fine tuning now that they had the protypes. He also planned to let people create their own software to interact with the devices, if they wanted. It would help create more jobs, open up competition in the industry and also help sell more of the products. Besides that, Tony completed another project Ezekiel asked him about. It was a state of the art body camera. While he could have made a larger version and shrunk it down with help from Hank. He wanted to create something that could easily be mass produced without much issue. It took a while for Tony to figure out how to do it, since he needed to shrink everything down and keep the specs Ezekiel asked for. But now that he had some working prototypes, he needed to test it out. Ezekiel planned to use it while he went around and fought crime. Once he was satisfied with it and how it functioned. He planned to mass produce them and give them to police stations around the world, starting with the US first. While it would cost a lot to do something like that, Ezekiel didn''t care. His end goal was to get as much information as possible. It would also help keep police officers more accountable and make it easier to prosecute people in court cases. He was sure there would be a big push back from all over the place about the body cameras at first. But that was part of the reason he planned to give them away for free. Add in some help from Vibe and the media and it should all work out. At least that is what Ezekiel hoped for. While Ezekiel was at Tony''s he also inquired about the project to give cell phones to the government. He expected there to be some issues, but currently the only issue they had was making enough phones. It turns out that when Tony offered to sell discounted phones to the US government, they instantly agreed. The next few weeks passed by quickly for Theo. He mainly trained, worked on a few programming projects, visited Hela, Tony and spent time with Gabby and the other kids. He also kept track of what Norman was doing and if he was looking to sell off his company. At first there was no movement and Theo thought his plan failed. But during the last week of the deadline, an announcement was made that Norman wanted to sell his company. There were a lot of rumors and speculation going around about why he wanted to sell his business, but no answer was forthcoming to the general public. Theo himself didn''t make an offer for the company, but he used a shell company to bid for the research project Richard and Mary worked on. He wanted control of it so he could keep them safe and didn''t have to worry about something happening to them. Even with the magical protection spell placed on them, Theo was being cautious. Once the contracts for the sale of the company were in negotiation, Theo sent a message to Norman that read, ¡°I''m glad you chose wisely. Once the sale is complete, I will contact you.¡± While the normal process to sell a company could take up to a year, this one only took a month. Oscorp wasn''t a mega corporation just yet, but it was still a decent sized one. It also had a lot of famous scientists and important projects being worked on there. So when Osborne looked around for interested parties he found a few pretty easily. Since that was the case, Theo worked quickly to place bids for the projects he wanted. He also asked for the people who worked on the projects. It took a little bit and he overpaid for everything, but in the end he picked up what he wanted. Theo was able to purchase Richard and Mary''s project, along with their work contract for almost double the price. Beside that one, he also picked up two other important projects. The first one was for limb regeneration which was headed by Doctor Curt Connors. While it wasn''t really needed with project Revival, Theo thought it would be a good idea to pick it up. He planned to help Curt out with a new body through Revival and then have the man slowly perfect the formula. He figured if the man wasn''t rushing to cure his own issue, the lizard would never happen. At least that is what he hoped for. The other project he acquired was one that explored ways to create a new power source. It was run by Doctor Otto Octavius and with Theo picking the man up this early he hoped nothing would happen to the guy. He was a brilliant scientist and Theo wanted to help the man achieve his goals. He also wanted to use the project to take over the power industry with clean and super cheap power. But he didn''t plan to test the project on Earth in case something happened and it created a black hole or something. With those people and projects now under his control, Theo needed to find a place for them to work at. It looked like he would need to change the design for his Vibe project slightly and incorporate more space for scientific laboratories. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. vvvvv It was almost midnight and Norman was seated in his home office as he watched his computer screen. Just a week ago he was still a successful business owner, so the habit of staying up late in his home office was hard to break. The only problem was Norman had nothing to work on. Currently his computer was on and a web browser was pulled up that showed Vibe¡¯s video platform. He just watched another random video out of complete boredom. After the video finished someone said, ¡°See, retired life isn''t so bad.¡± Norman glanced up as he asked, ¡°You think this is fun?¡± The man covered in smoke and shadows shrugged as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a good way to kill some free time, plus some of that is better than what you would find on TV.¡± Norman tried to find the man¡¯s face hidden in the smoke filled hood as he said, ¡°I did what you asked.¡± The man nodded before he said, ¡°You were a little slow, but you made the right choice.¡± Norman leaned back in his chair as he clasped his hands together and asked, ¡°When will you keep your promise.¡± ¡°Soon enough. First I need to give you something.¡± The man said as he lifted his arm above Norman¡¯s desk. He touched part of his arm and a moment later a small metal briefcase appeared on the desk. As the man pulled his hand back he said, ¡°I brought that so you wouldn¡¯t get bored.¡± Norman glanced at the case as the man said, ¡°Open it up, I''m sure you''ll appreciate it.¡± After a few moments Norman reached over and clicked open the locks on the briefcase before he opened it up. Inside were a few USB drives, a large folder filled with papers and a couple sealed vials. As Norman looked at everything the man said, ¡°Just because you sold your company, doesn¡¯t mean you need to give up your original passion. This is research into a few different idea¡¯s I¡¯ve had over the years. Most of it is close to complete, but all of it still needs work and fine tuning.¡± Norman picked up the large folder and opened it up to read a little bit about it before he asked, ¡°And why exactly are you giving this to me?¡± ¡°Because most of that is in your and your wife''s field of expertise.¡± Norman frowned as he asked, ¡°Is this why you made me sell my business? You want me to complete these projects for you?¡± ¡°No, I could complete them myself if I wanted. You can think of this as an apology gift for forcing you to sell your company.¡± Norman glanced back down at the first research project as he said, ¡°But something like this will be worth tens of billions once it¡¯s completed.¡± ¡°I already have more money than I know what to do with. What¡¯s the point in having even more?¡± The man asked in a mocking tone of voice. Norman glanced up at the man as he asked. ¡°Then what¡¯s the catch?¡± ¡°You can complete the research, patent the technology and license them or just sell it off. It doesn¡¯t really matter much to me, just don¡¯t start a new business.¡± Norman couldn''t see the man''s face but he felt like the man smiled as he said, ¡°The catch is to make sure your first priority in life is always your family¡­¡± ¡°Once your wife is healed, you should be able to have as many kids as you want. Her health was always the issue and now it won¡¯t be.¡± The man said. ¡°When will she be healed?¡± Norman asked. ¡°As soon as you wake up.¡± The man said as Norman¡¯s vision blurred. Norman awoke to a scream which jolted him out of bed. He quickly glanced around the room before he noticed his wife frozen in place as she stared at a mirror. He walked towards her back as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sweetie?¡± He didn¡¯t get a response and instead froze in place once he was next to her. While they weren¡¯t that old to begin with, only in their mid thirties. They now both looked to be in their late teens at most. His wife''s eyes widened in surprise as she noticed Norman¡¯s hair and face and asked, ¡°Norman, did you do this?¡± Norman shook his head before he said, ¡°No, someone else did.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Norman pulled his wife into a tight hug as he said, ¡°He promised to do it, if I did something in return.¡± Emily hugged Norman a little tighter as she asked, ¡°Is that why you sold the company off?¡± Norman reached down and lifted Emily¡¯s chin up and kissed her gently on the lips before he said, ¡°It was the only way to save your life.¡± Tears welled up in Emily¡¯s eyes before she pulled Norman into a deep, passionate kiss. As they kissed each other, the outside world started to fade away and the only thing that seemed to matter was that single moment for them. After some time passed they heard someone clear their throat loudly and they immediately stopped their make out session. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, but I came to inform you breakfast is ready.¡± A handsome young man said. Norman studied the man for a moment before he asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Bernard, sir.¡± Both Norman and his wife stared in shock at the man for a few moments before Norman asked, ¡°Really?¡± The man nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure how it happened but it appears we¡¯ve all regressed in age.¡± Norman waved off the comment as he said, ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about how it happened, let''s just be happy it did.¡± Norman studied Bernard for a few moments before he added, ¡°Also, now that you¡¯re young again, maybe you should think about starting a family yourself Bernard.¡± 00156. Soul enchantment. It was only a few weeks later that the second stage of the cloning project finally encountered a way to proceed forward. While they figured out how to create clones for people that already had souls. They always had issues with creating a body with a blank soul already inside it. The main reason was that the people in Theo¡¯s head needed a soul they could take over. Otherwise they would be closer to a shadow clone with a real body then anything else. That and their memories most likely wouldn''t go back to Theo if the body was somehow destroyed. Since that was the case, Orochimaru, Tobirama and the others spent the last few years trying to come up with a viable solution. They never figured it out themselves, but with some help from Tao and Agatha they finally figured out a way that might work. It wouldn''t be easy because Theo had a lot of people he would need to create bodies for and they still weren¡¯t sure if it would even work correctly in the first place. The planned solution was a master level enchantment to help create magical items with a will of their own. The Cloak of Levitation was an example of one such item. The main point of the enchantment was for the caster to cut off a tiny wisp of their soul and attach it to an item. Over time that piece of soul would bond with the item and awaken. When Theo first heard about the spell he asked, ¡°What the hell? I need to turn into Voldemort?¡± Agatha glanced up from the book she was reading as she asked, ¡°Who''s that?¡± Theo pinched the bridge of his nose as he said, ¡°Just some super evil douchebag in a kids book who split his soul apart and liked to preach about pureblood supremacy.¡± ¡°That''s in a book for kids?¡± Tao asked as she placed her teacup down. ¡°Yeah, but it was from my past life. Actually, now that I think about it. I should probably write it myself since it doesn''t seem to exist in this world.¡± Agatha placed the book in her hands down as she asked, ¡°Why? It''s not like you need the money and besides you don''t really wanna be famous right?¡± Theo smiled to himself as he said, ¡°It''s a good story. Besides, I already shared the first book with my sister and she loved it. I might as well finish it for her.¡± ¡°So this Voldemort person also cut off part of their soul to create a magical item?¡± Tao asked with interest. Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°No, they split their soul apart and placed it in different items as a way to escape death. But it was some kinda evil ritual where you had to kill another person for it to work. It also damaged the person''s soul.¡± ¡°Oh, well this enchantment is nothing like that. A master''s soul would normally be a little weak after the process, but it will recover after a while. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks, just depends on how powerful their soul is.¡± Tao said as she studied Theo while she talked. After a few more moments she said, ¡°If you use the spell, I am sure you will heal within hours at most.¡± ¡°Uh? Why do you think that?¡± Theo asked curiously. ¡°Your soul is stronger than four or five souls combined together¡­ It¡¯s most likely because of your reincarnation but we''re not completely sure since you''re the only reincarnated person we¡¯ve met.¡± Agatha said. ¡°What?! If that¡¯s true, how come you never told me about it before? I think that would be kind of important to know, right?¡± Theo asked as turned to look at Agatha. Tao smiled as she said, ¡°Because you never asked. Besides, having a stronger soul is only useful for things like this. There are also some combat based soul powers and some other esoteric spells that use the soul, but I would never recommend learning or using them. Since you have a high chance of death when you do, unlike the enchantment spell which does not.¡± Theo nodded along before he asked, ¡°Oh¡­ I. I guess that makes sense. Then why don¡¯t more people use this enchantment? Wouldn¡¯t it be beneficial to have a sentient magic item around?¡± ¡°Actually the only reason more master¡¯s don¡¯t attempt it, is because the chance you can make a relic that will accept you is extremely low and most masters don¡¯t want to waste all of their crafting materials for nothing... I¡¯ve personally failed over ten times myself.¡± Tao said with a bitter smile. Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°Ebony was created in a somewhat similar manner, except there was no chance of rejection and the cost was higher. It took over twenty years for my soul to recover since I basically split it in half.¡± Theo thought it over for a while before he asked, ¡°So if I use this enchantment and place a wisp of my soul in a clone body, it should slowly take over the body?¡± ¡°Maybe? Honestly this is all just theory. Besides, can you even transfer them into the clone body in the first place?¡± Agatha asked. ¡°Inoichi and some of the other Yamanaka¡¯s already figured that part out and tested it a few times. So we should have no issue after the piece of the soul is in place.¡± Theo said. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So all you need to do is master the enchantment and then we can go test it out.¡± Tao said with a glint in her eye as she floated a spell book over to Theo. Theo¡¯s back started to sweat as he realized what was about to happen next. The next few weeks flew by as Theo spent almost all of his free time while he mastered the special spell enchantment under Tao''s ¡®graceful¡¯ tutelage. The only part he didn''t attempt was cutting off a wisp of his soul, since that would cause needless injuries to himself. Once Tao was satisfied with his mastery of the spell, she then allowed him to move onto the next step. Since no one was sure if it would actually work, Theo needed someone to act as the test subject for the experiment. Surprisingly enough though, he had a ton of volunteers and ended up having to choose one himself. With everything else ready he chose Orochimaru to create a clone body for himself. Once the body was finished a week later, that''s when Theo attempted the enchantment spell with his soul. Theo was seated in the lotus position with the clone body next to him. He double checked the spell components one more time before he closed his eyes and started to murmur the spell words to himself. Tao and Agatha were seated on either side of him and watched the entire process in case something went wrong with the spell. As Theo finished chanting the spell, he lifted his finger up and a tiny wisp of his soul came out. It was still connected to his soul, but when he touched it to a small rune mark on the clone body it was cut clean from his soul and entered the mark. Next Theo, Tao and Agatha checked over the clone body and found that the soul transferred to the rune properly. As they studied it Tao said, ¡°Interesting, it seems like it¡¯s still part of your soul.¡± ¡°Really? But I thought the spell was supposed to completely sever it from me?¡± Theo asked. ¡°It was, but I still see it as part of your soul.¡± Tao said. Agatha nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°Remove the rune, I want to see what happens.¡± ¡°Is that a good idea? Couldn¡¯t it dissipate if I remove it now?¡± Theo asked. A spell settled over them and the clone body as Tao said, ¡°That will protect it, so go ahead and remove it.¡± Theo reached out and touched the rune before he injected a tiny bit of chakra to burn the ink away. Once the rune was destroyed, the wisp of Theo''s soul trapped there, quickly went into Theo¡¯s body. Tao and Agatha both watched with rapt attention as it quickly reconnected with Theo¡¯s soul and disappeared into it making it whole again. Once it finished Tao said, ¡°That was fascinating, but definitely shouldn''t have happened.¡± Theo studied his hand where the wisp of his soul reattached and asked, ¡°Alright, so I guess this isn''t going to work?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. You should try the spell again but this time use it on a magic item.¡± Agatha said. Tao nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°I''m glad I came prepared.¡± ¡°You already have one completed?¡± Theo asked in surprise. Tao pulled out a slender looking dagger made out of vibranium and some other materials as she said, ¡°I was planning to enchant this myself, but I put it off.¡± ¡°Because you didn''t want another item to reject you?¡± Theo asked with a smirk. Tao let out a sigh as she said, ¡°Yes.¡± Theo took the dagger from Tao as he said, ¡°Maybe it will work this time because your precious student is the one doing it.¡± ¡°I doubt that will be the case... Besides, this is just to test to see if it was a fluke, or your soul really can''t be separated.¡± Tao said. Theo studied the dagger for a few moments and realized it was completely ready for the enchantment process. So he placed the dagger down and started to cast the spell. Once he finished the enchantment Tao said, ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°Indeed. Maybe the first time was just a fluke.¡± Agatha said. Theo looked at the dagger himself and noticed the soul wisp was different from the last one. The first one he felt a slight connection to, this one he felt nothing from it, like it was never part of him. As he studied it Tao said, ¡°Try to enchant the body again.¡± Theo handed the dagger to Tao as he said, ¡°Alright, give me a minute to remake the rune.¡± Once everything was set back up, Theo started chanting the spell again. When he finished and attached the soul wisp, he could feel a connection to it. Theo sighed in disappointment before he said, ¡°Alright so this doesn''t seem to work. Is it because it''s a body and not an inanimate object?¡± As Theo erased the rune to let the wisp of his soul reattach, Tao said, ¡°That''s the only logical thing I can think of. Let me try it and see what happens.¡± Once the new rune was placed on the body, Tao quickly went through the enchantment process and the result was the same. For some reason trying to place a piece of a soul into a body left a trace of the original soul. As Tao erased the rune, Theo said, ¡°Alright, looks like we need to go back to the drawing board again.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. We might be able to do a work around, but we¡¯ll need to test it.¡± Agatha said. Theo and Tao both turned to Agatha as she said, ¡°Lets just enchant something and then transfer that piece of soul into the body. It¡¯s an extra step but it should work.¡± Tao nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°That might work. Theo could enchant a piece of paper and then we destroy it to get the soul wisp and place it inside the body.¡± Theo touched the sealing scroll on his arm and pulled out a sheet of paper and pen as he asked, ¡°You sure it will work on a piece of paper?¡± ¡°Yes. The only reason you normally wouldn¡¯t enchant a piece of paper is because it could be easily destroyed. That¡¯s why all magic items that are enchanted this way are made with the best possible materials.¡± Tao said as she took the paper and quickly started to draw the proper runes on it. Once she finished, she set it down in front of Theo as she said, ¡°Mark the body and then let¡¯s try this again, with the paper as the target first.¡± Theo quickly completed the spell and attached a wisp of his soul to the paper. After he finished he couldn¡¯t feel any connection to the soul, so he smiled faintly before he asked, ¡°Alright, now what do we do?¡± Tao picked up the paper and ripped it in half a moment later before she used a spell to restrain the wisp of soul that flew out of it. Once she had it, she placed it over the rune on the body and it instantly disappeared into the rune. Theo and the others studied it for a while before Tao said, ¡°Congratulations, it looks like it worked this time.¡± 00157. A small display. After Orochimaru transferred into the clone body, Theo felt a little different. He still had Orochimaru''s knowledge but there was something missing from it. It was like the knowledge was no longer his and that to understand it properly. He would have to go over it all and practice it himself. At least that is what it felt like to him. But that could wait for later, since Orochimaru was now in his new body. They first needed to run a bunch of tests, to make sure everything was stable. Most of it was done by Tao and Agatha as they tested his body and soul for any issues. Once that was done they tested the body for any problems and checked to make sure Orochimaru himself had no mental issues¡­ Besides the ones he already had. It took a few days, but once everything was completed they moved on to monitoring Orochimaru¡¯s soul. It was easy to tell that within a week the soul wisp was growing steadily and had no issues. Since that was the case, Theo and Tao decided to use the time stone to make sure everything went correctly. It wasn¡¯t hard to do and within a few hours they realized the whole soul creation process would work correctly. Afterwards Theo decided to hold a town meeting in his mind with everyone else currently sharing it. While he wanted to give most people bodies, he knew some people didn''t want that. He also had a list of people he wasn''t sure if he should give bodies to in the first place. While he was sure some of them had issues because that was how they were written in the story. The people currently in his mind were copies of real people who existed at some point in a different world. So he made an effort to meet all of them at least once or twice. Since just having their memories was far different then having a conversation with that same person. Most of them were pretty normal, but a handful of people had¡­ Issues. Theo appeared inside his mind palace near the village he created. Within moments a handful of people appeared next to him. The first one who greeted him was Hagoromo who asked, ¡°So it''s finally time?¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Yeah, everything went smoothly. Now I just need to see who wants a new body.¡± As Theo spoke a platform and seating area appeared and took shape. Once it was finished people started to appear in the seats and after a little over a minute, tens of thousands of people were there. It wasn''t just ninjas though, but cooks, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters and a number of other professions. Basically anyone who invented or improved something was in his mind. It was pretty funny to realize that some of the people only changed something a tiny bit and still ended up there. When Theo first asked to have all the knowledge from Naruto, he really didn''t expect this. He also found out something interesting from the whole experience. Everyone in his head used to have chakra and could control it in one way or another. Which proved his theory that chakra was the main reason this happened. From the original story he always thought only the ninjas, samurai and possibly some of the blacksmiths would have chakra. But it turned out that everyone had at least a tiny bit of chakra. It was just so small it wasn''t worth it to train them in it or they had no skill in it like Rock Lee. Theo looked out over the sea of assembled people and still couldn''t believe how many people were inside his head. He smiled slightly before he moved out onto the platform to address everyone. While he could have just sent everyone a mental message, he wanted to do things a little differently. He glanced over everyone gathered, before he said, ¡°So I am sure everyone knows why I called you here today. It¡¯s taken a while, but I finally have a way to grant everyone a body. So the only real question now is, who doesn¡¯t want one?¡± As Theo looked out over the crowd a good part of them raised their hands. After about a minute, half of the people there raised their hands so Theo said, ¡°Alright, I understand and just want you to know, if you ever change your mind let me know.¡± With that, the people who didn¡¯t want bodies disappeared and the rest of the people were shuffled to the front of the seating area before the platform. Theo glanced over them all and noticed almost all of them were combat focused people. A handful of normal professions were still there, but only around one percent of them. ¡°Alright, since there are so many people that want bodies, we will have to do this in groups. Besides the body creation process, it will take time for my soul to heal. So the first few batches will be small while we figure out how long it will take for my soul to heal properly.¡± Theo said. Madara, who was seated in the front, yelled out, ¡°Who is going to be in the first batch?¡± Theo smiled slightly before he said, ¡°I was thinking about the crafters, since there are less than a hundred of them.¡± Before Madara couldn¡¯t reply, Theo cut him off as he added, ¡°I will also pick a handful of powerful fighters to join them.¡± Madara nodded in agreement since he assumed he would be one of the people picked before Naruto said, ¡°Yoshi! I can¡¯t wait to go eat ramen in Japan!¡± Theo glanced at Naruto who was seated next to his mom and dad as he said, ¡°You¡¯ll probably be one of the last people to get a body.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°WHAT?!?¡± Naruto said as his eyes grew large and went completely white while his mouth dropped open. ¡°Sorry Naruto, but I planned to give all the adults new bodies first. Depending on how long the healing process for my soul takes, I wouldn¡¯t expect you to have a body for at least a year, if not longer.¡± ¡°No fair! Why can¡¯t I get a body sooner?¡± Naruto asked. ¡°The main reason is because it would be weird to give the youngest people bodies first. If I did that, some people would technically be older than their own parents.¡± Theo said matter of factly. ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t think of that!¡± Naruto said before Theo added, ¡°Exactly. Besides, Teuchi and Ayame are one of the first people to get a body. They will both need some time to recreate Ichiraku Ramen in this world.¡± Naruto¡¯s eyes widened and he started to drool as he became lost in thought before his mom smacked him in the back of the head as she said, ¡°Control yourself.¡± Then wiped her sleeve over her own mouth to wipe off a little bit of her own drool. Theo shook his head at their interaction before he glanced at the others as asked, ¡°Anyone have any questions?¡± When no one spoke up theo said, ¡°Alright, I guess that¡¯s it for now. Carry on like normal and wait for me to contact you when it¡¯s your turn to get a body.¡± With that Theo dismissed everyone but a handful of people, separated into two groups. The people he kept behind were the people he wasn¡¯t completely sure he wanted to help. While he tried not to judge them that harshly because of the story, they still had issues. Danzo was one of those people and he was at the front of the larger group, along with the other elders from the hidden leaf village. Danzo glanced at the people next to him and then stared at Theo before he asked, ¡°I assume this means you don¡¯t want to give us a body?¡± Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°No, I still plan to give you bodies.¡± Danzo frowned slightly before he asked, ¡°But?¡± ¡°You would be the last people to get bodies and they will be nerfed compared to everyone else.¡± Theo held up his hand to stop everyone from responding before he said, ¡°After a certain amount of time and proper trust, I would give you a new body that could match everyone else.¡± Danzo rubbed his chin in thought before he said, ¡°By that time everyone else would be alot more powerful and we would always be playing catch up.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°That would be an added bonus. But the main reason is you need to earn not just my trust, but everyone else¡¯s.¡± Another elder named Koharu Utatane asked, ¡°So you trust everyone else?¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°Up to a certain point. Besides, I have some fail safes in place in case someone tries something stupid.¡± Theo then glanced at the other group of people. They were a tiny subset of people who looked completely different from everyone else. They had pale, almost chalk white skin and ash gray hair. It was also the one group of people Theo wanted nothing to do with, so he had them locked up inside his mind until today. He looked them over again before he addressed the man at the front of the group and said, ¡°As for you guys, I won''t be giving you bodies at all.¡± The person at the front of the group with slicked back hair started to laugh maniacally before he said, ¡°You think you can stop us? If Lord Jashin wishes us to have new bodies, we will have new bodies!¡± Theo smirked as he said, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Shikamaru was your god the last time I checked.¡± The man at the front grinded his teeth slightly before he said, ¡°The only god is Lord Jashin!¡± ¡°If that''s the case, you should probably check with him first, to make sure he wants you to have new bodies.¡± Theo said as the group of people started to slowly disappear. Hidan noticed what was happening first and said, ¡°What? What are you doing?!¡± Theo''s smile turned predatory as he said, ¡°Letting you meet your god.¡± A few moments later the group of people were completely gone and after a moment someone asked, ¡°What just happened?¡± Theo looked back at the other group and said, ¡°I erased them from my mind and chakra.¡± Theo then changed the area back to normal as he disappeared from his mind palace. Once Theo was gone, Danzo and the others with him turned to look at the spot Hidan and the other Jashinists just stood. After a few moments they started to disperse, but they all understood the unspoken threat Theo gave them. With the first batch of people picked, Theo had Orochimaru and some shadow clones prepare bodies for them. It would only take about a week because everyone would receive bodies that were around academy age. The reason being Theo wanted everyone to be as strong as possible and have a large amount of chakra. The first real batch was completed with only a hundred and fifty people, but besides the normal crafters, Theo picked some of the strongest people he could. Most of them were former kages, but a few of them were people who were known throughout the world to be strong at one point or another. On the day he planned to transfer the first batch, Theo made sure to skip school with a clone and spent a couple hours making soul wisps. Once everything was ready he went to each body and gave them a soul wisp before he transferred the person over. The whole process took about half the day, but once it was finished he couldn¡¯t help but smile. He glanced at Tao as he said, ¡°Alright it¡¯s done. You can wake them up.¡± Tao waved her arm and a spell that kept the souls in place and everyone asleep dropped and a moment later people around the room started to wake up. Most of it was going smoothly until someone yelled out, ¡°HASHIRAMA! LET¡¯S FIGHT!¡± The whole room turned to look at a naked boy with black hair who stood in a captain morgan like pose with his arms crossed. Madara stood proudly as he looked directly at his rival and waited for a response before Theo shouted, ¡°Put some fucking clothes on you pervert!¡± Another boy with white hair stood up naked and shouted proudly, ¡°Who thinks they''re a pervert?!¡± He smiled pervertedly as he looked at everyone in the room as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you what it means to be a true pervert!¡± Theo facepalmed himself as he said, ¡°The next batch we are putting into clothes first.¡± 00158. Soul damage. With the first batch of people done, Theo decided to wait on making more. The main reason was he wanted to see how long it took for his soul to heal properly. While a single piece didn''t take long, he created over a hundred and fifty this time. So over the next week, Tao and Agatha checked his soul each day to make sure it healed correctly and how long it took. Just before the week passed, Theo¡¯s soul was completely healed. With that new information, Theo planned to make the next batch of bodies larger. He had Orochimaru create a thousand bodies this time. They already had the facilities to complete the task, so it only took a week for all the bodies to be ready. Once everything was ready, Theo spent most of a day as he added a soul to each body. By the end of it, he was so tired and drained that he basically collapsed into his bed once he arrived home. Sleeping all night helped him recover a little, but he still felt off the next day like he didn¡¯t get enough rest. The whole day he was lethargic and had almost no energy. Once he came home from school he created a clone and then headed down to his training center to get checked out. Theo was seated in the lotus position as Tao and Agatha examined him with magical spells. It took about half an hour and once finished Tao said, ¡°Your soul is healing, but it''s a lot slower than the last time.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement before she added, ¡°My soul healed the same way after I created Ebony. I would suggest doing smaller batches from now on.¡± Theo let out an exhausted sigh before he asked, ¡°Is that why I also feel so worn out?¡± ¡°Your soul is so robust, I''m actually surprised you''re having difficulties at all. I could barely get out of bed when my soul was split in half and you haven''t even used a quarter of yours.¡± Agatha said. ¡°Helpful, this feeling doesn''t last long. I''m not motivated to do anything right now.¡± Theo said as he laid down on his prayer mat. He lazily glanced at his clones as he said, ¡°At least my clones don''t seem to be affected by it.¡± A shadow fell over Theo as Tao said, ¡°You might not be motivated, but that doesn''t mean you can just skip practice.¡± Theo gulped as he looked up at Tao who smiled down at him. The next few hours turned into pure agony for Theo as Tao forced him to practice until he passed out. The next morning Theo awoke in his bed and couldn''t help but want to pretend to be sick, so he could spend the day sleeping in bed and not go to school. That is kinda what he did, since he created a clone and sent that to school for the day while he rested in bed and ate snacks. The rest of the week went pretty much the same way until the weekend. On the weekends, Theo tended to cut back on his training and would visit Hela, Tony and anyone else he needed to. On Saturday night Theo felt slightly better, he was still overly tired and had no real motivation to do anything. But as he got used to the feeling it wasn¡¯t affecting him as much as before. Since it was Saturday night, he went out to get food, drinks and some desserts for his movie night with Hela. Once he collected everything, he met up with Tao in Genosha so she could portal him over to Hel. As Ezekiel walked out of the portal, Hela turned to greet him before she froze. The hint of the smile on her face fell and her eyes narrowed as she studied Theo for a few moments. Ezekiel missed her reaction as he went to pull the food out of his storage seal and said, ¡°I was feeling lazy, so I brought pizza today.¡± A moment later the ground shook and Ezekiel stepped back in shock as he felt a palpable blood lust radiating from Hela. The chains that bound her in place strained and almost looked like they would snap as she asked in a soft tone that promised violence, ¡°Who did it?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Who did what?¡± Ezekiel asked in confusion. ¡°Who was the scum that hurt you? Tell me who dared to injure your soul?!¡± Hela asked in a tone of cold fury. Ezekiel¡¯s eyes widened as he remembered Hela could see his soul and before he could respond, Hela struggled against the chains again as she said, ¡°Tell me who it was, I¡¯ll kill them!¡± ¡°It was me?¡± Ezekiel said as he awkwardly smiled at Hela. The bloodlust disappeared in an instant and Hela stopped struggling against the chains as she asked in surprise, ¡°You injured yourself?¡± Ezekiel rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°Yeah, pretty much.¡± ¡°Why would you intentionally injure your soul?¡± Hela asked with concern in her voice. ¡°You remember the soulless people who came with me the first time I visited?¡± Ezekiel asked. Hela nodded so Ezekiel said, ¡°I am in the process of giving them proper bodies and souls. The only problem is I need to give them a tiny piece of my soul for it to work properly.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Hela frowned as she asked, ¡°Why would you do something so dangerous for someone else?¡± ¡°It''s a long story, but I¡¯m kinda the reason they are soulless in the first place. So it¡¯s only right I help them out. Besides, it''s not that dangerous, I just overdid it this time and created way too many.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Overdid it? You are missing almost a quarter of your soul! What happens if you can¡¯t heal properly?!¡± Hela asked in concern. ¡°We tested everything before I did this. My soul healed completely on the first tests and I¡¯m being monitored each day to make sure nothing goes wrong. I should be completely healed from this in three months with how everything is going.¡± Hela¡¯s face went back to her normal, almost stoic appearance as she turned away from Ezekiel and said, ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t do that again. It¡¯s not good to injure your soul.¡± Ezekiel moved to his chair and sat down before he said, ¡°I still need to give everyone else a soul, so I can¡¯t stop till I¡¯m finished.¡± Hela glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°And how long will that take?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°A couple years at this rate.¡± Ezekiel pulled out some drinks before he looked at Hela and said, ¡°Thanks for being concerned about my wellbeing though, I appreciate it.¡± The tiniest hint of red touched Hela¡¯s cheeks before she turned away from Ezekiel as she said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Ezekiel spent longer than normal with Hela as they watched a bunch of classic action movies and chatted. With Ezekiel having no motivation to do much else right now, he figured it would be a better use of his time, compared to lazing around his house and doing nothing. Plus he had a clone active, so he wasn¡¯t worried about coming back anytime soon. He ended up spending all of Saturday night and most of Sunday with Hela before he finally left to go eat dinner with his family. Once he was home, he found his clone in his bedroom. It was busy on his computer as it worked on the program for his dad¡¯s shop. He had the clone dispel itself before he saved it¡¯s progress and then headed upstairs to see if his dad needed help with dinner. To his surprise he found Milly and Issac being watched over by Daniel as they made something and Jacob prepared dinner. ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Theo asked as he moved towards the kitchen table. Milly glanced up from the recipe book in front of her with a large smile on her face as she said, ¡°We are making dessert.¡± ¡°Yeah, we are making chocolate chip cookies!¡± Issac said with a grin. Theo smiled back as he asked, ¡°You want any help?¡± ¡°No, we can do it ourselves.¡± Milly said. ¡°You can help me if you want.¡± Jacob said as he finished chopping some vegetables. Theo headed towards the sink to wash his hands as he asked, ¡°Okay, what do you need me to do?¡± The next half an hour passed quickly as everyone worked in the kitchen to prepare dinner. Just after they sat down to eat dinner, Daniel placed a large cookie sheet in the oven to bake. By the time they finished dinner, the cookies were pulled out of the oven and left to cool on top of the counter. As they waited for the cookies, Theo helped his dad wash the dishes and once finished he asked, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask. But have you thought about expanding the shop?¡± Jacob glanced over to Theo as he asked, ¡°What brought that up all of the sudden?¡± ¡°Well you and uncle Ben always complain about certain tools that the shop doesn¡¯t have or that would be nice to have. We just need more room and we could get those tools right?¡± Theo asked. Jacob shook his head lightly before he said, ¡°Most of those tools are a lot of money. Plus even if we had the space for the tools, we have no idea how to use most of them properly. We would either need to learn how to use them or hire someone who knows how to use them.¡± ¡°So? That doesn¡¯t sound that hard.¡± Jacob rubbed Theo¡¯s head as he said, ¡°It¡¯s a lot more complicated than that. Besides, we don''t have the money for it.¡± ¡°I do.¡± Theo said. Both Jacob and Daniel shared a glance before Jacob said, ¡°That¡¯s your money and you should save it for when you¡¯re older.¡± ¡°But I can always make more money. Plus it¡¯s not like it would be a waste or anything. I would be helping out the family business.¡± Theo said as he glanced between his parents. ¡°True, but it would be better to invest it and save it for your future.¡± Daniel said. ¡°But what if I want to take over the shop when I¡¯m older? I would be investing in my future that way right?¡± Theo asked. Daniel shared a questioning glance with Jacob before she asked, ¡°I thought you wanted to be a programmer?¡± ¡°Programming isn¡¯t that hard, so why can''t I do both? Besides, I like working on cars, it¡¯s fun.¡± Jacob laughed as he picked up Theo and asked, ¡°You like working on cars uh?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fun and interesting. But I¡¯ll also create programs to help me work on cars too.¡± Jacob had a thousand watt smile as he looked over towards Daniel who let out a defeated sigh before she asked, ¡°But I thought you liked programming?¡± ¡°I do. But I think working on cars is more fun.¡± Jacob placed Theo down as he asked, ¡°What kinda programs would you create to help you work on cars?¡± ¡°Well, Peter and I are already working on a project that should be able to help out with the shop.¡± ¡°Really? What is it?¡± Jacob asked in interest. Before Theo could respond, Milly interrupted as she said, ¡°Can we eat the cookies now?¡± ¡°Yeah, let''s eat cookies!¡± Issac added. 00159. Its hard to spend money when youre young. About a month later Peter and Theo completed the website and application for the shop. Theo wanted to show it off to everyone so he asked his parents to invite everyone in the family over for a BBQ on the weekend. After everyone ate and were relaxing in the backyard, Theo brought out a tablet he asked his mom to buy for him. Even though Theo and his family were now rich, she didn¡¯t want to at first. His parents liked to keep most modern technology out of the house, so that was the main reason she refused. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact she was given a computer from work and asked to use it at home, they never would have gotten one in the first place. And if Theo hadn¡¯t shown interest in programming and even designed his first game. The family wouldn¡¯t have loosened the restrictions and bought him and Milly their own computers. At this point the family still didn¡¯t have a TV in the house and Daniel is the only one with a smartphone because Ezekiel gave her one for work. Daniel and Jacob both enjoyed the house without electronics because it made the family spend more time together. They even had family game night a few times a week. Actually the only reason Daniel relented and bought Theo a tablet, is because he explained he needed it to help with programming and testing applications. The tablet was basically bare besides the completed application for the shop he wanted to show off to everyone. Theo walked over to Jacob with the tablet and said, ¡°Dad, this is the program Peter and I made for the shop.¡± As Jacob took the tablet, Ben, Sara and Jon came closer to see it as well. Jacob pushed the icon to launch the application and they were greeted by a slick loading screen that displayed some of the cars they built over the years. After it opened up, it asked for a username and password. Jacob showed the screen to Theo as he asked, ¡°Why did it ask for this?¡± ¡°This is the customer portal. It''s so we can keep track of customers and their build specifications. It will also track a lot of other customer information in the future.¡± Theo said with a smile. ¡°But we already keep all that information in the office.¡± Jacob said. ¡°That''s all in folders and binders you have to dig through. This will be digital and all you have to do is push a button or two to find it. We also added a search function to make it even easier.¡± Theo said with a proud smile. Ben and the others nodded in understanding as Jacob said, ¡°Alright, so it will make things easier on us when we have to do paperwork.¡± ¡°That''s not even the main reason we made it.¡± Peter excitedly said. ¡°Dad login with the user name testaccount and the password test12345.¡± Theo said as he smiled slightly. Jacob entered the information and a new screen popped up. It was the main menu for customers and it listed a handful of options they could check out. Place build order, modify build order, check build progress, purchase history, payment center, and a few other icons filled the screen. Theo pointed to the modify build order button as he said, ¡°Press that.¡± After Jacob pressed the button, the screen changed to show a realistic 3D model of one of the cars in the shop. It just arrived a few days ago and was going to be stripped down next week before they checked the frame and cleaned up any rust. Jacob studied the model for a few moments before he said, ¡°Not bad, it looks just like that Ford Galaxie in the shop.¡± Theo smirked as he said, ¡°That''s because it is. We took a bunch of pictures with the application and it created this model. Now hit modify.¡± For the next half an hour Theo and Peter showed everyone the real power behind the application and at the end of it Jacob asked, ¡°How did you even come up with this?¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°I just watched how you interacted with customers when you talked over a new build and then made a program that could do the same thing.¡± ¡°But this 3D model doesn''t make sense, how did you make it do that?¡± Jacob asked as he pointed at the completed car build. Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°We just thought of everything that it needed to do and created the functions for it. It wasn''t that hard.¡± Peter nodded in agreement before he added, ¡°Yeah, that was probably the easiest part to make. All the options, parts, body work, lights and other stuff was the hard part.¡± Jacob glanced between the two boys for a moment before he asked, ¡°So what else can this do?¡± Another half an hour passed as the boys proudly showed off all the features of the application for the customer before they showed the admin side. It let them keep track of the builds, take pictures, document the progress, create a parts list that could be ordered with a push of a button. It also included a lot of other helpful features like billing, inventory and consumables tracking, shop budget, payroll and more. By the end everyone was thoroughly impressed and praised the boys on their ingenuity. Before Jacob placed the tablet down Theo said, ¡°We also built a website that interacts with the application.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What?¡± Jacob asked in surprise. Theo had Jacob back out of the shop application and open a web browser before he typed in a website address. The website opened up to a simple page with a custom logo that read, ¡®Welcome to P&M.¡¯ Theo tapped on the logo and it opened up to the home page that only displayed three things. The first was a login button for customers, the second was a contact button that gave you an email address you could contact the shop through and the last one read, ¡®About Us.¡¯ In the about us area it stated that P&M was a small, family owned business that created unique custom cars made to order. There were no pictures of the cars they created, no pictures of the family or anything else. It was overall very simple and unassuming. After a quick tour of the site Ben asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you add any pictures of the cars we made?¡± Theo looked up at Ben as he said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t like to show off or advertise, so we wanted to keep it simple. This is mostly designed for the current customers in mind anyways.¡± Jacob nodded before he reached over to pat Theo and Peter on the head and said, ¡°Great job you two.¡± Theo smiled at his dad before he said, ¡°Everything is basically ready to go, we just need to collect customer contact information and emails before we send them links so they can create their accounts.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me. I will start going through our customer list on Monday and try to collect everyone''s email for you.¡± Ben said. ¡°We will also need to spend some time adding all the customer information stored in the office to the program so we have a digital copy of everything.¡± Theo said after a moment. It took a few weeks to get emails for all their customers, but once everyone was signed up, it made everything easier. The shop bought tablets for everyone to use and it took everyone a little while to get used to it. But within a month everyone adapted to using the tablets and application for work. The feedback from the customers was also very positive and they liked the fact they could get updated pictures of the build progress. There were a few issues with the whole process though. The first one was an easy fix, Theo used magic to make all the tablets more durable. They would still break, but it took a lot more force than normal to do it. The other issue was from a couple customers who saw the application as a way to try and micro manage their car builds. The shop always had a few customers who would call weekly for updates or something like that. But with the application and updated photos of the builds, two customers decided they could call whenever new pictures were uploaded. It wouldn¡¯t have been an issue but they would basically waste Jacob, Ben, Sara or Jon¡¯s time as they asked details about the photos and what was the next step in the process. Or they would complain about something they noticed in the photos and ask to have it fixed immediately. Even though it was something that was already planned to be fixed at a later stage of the process. After a week of that happening, Jacob called the problem customers and basically told them, ¡°If you keep calling us over every photo we send you. We will stop the build where it is now and you will have to find another shop to complete it.¡± Theo wasn¡¯t completely sure how those whole conversations went, but both cars were still in the shop and being worked on. Theo also updated the application to help deter other customers from doing the same thing. In the build progress area just before you entered it each time, a disclaimer message popped up that read, ¡®Please do not call the shop about any issues you might see in the progress photos. They are progress photos only, not photos of the completed project. If for some reason you want to change or modify the build, please do so in the modify build area. Do keep in mind that extra charges will occur if you do so late in the build. Thank you.¡¯ With all of that out of the way, Theo again asked his dad about expanding the shop and buying more tools. It was winter break and Theo was helping his dad out in the shop when he asked, ¡°Have you and mom thought about my idea more?¡± Jacob glanced up from the engine he was in the middle of disassembling as he asked, ¡°What idea?¡± ¡°Expanding the shop and getting more tools.¡± Theo said. ¡°Oh. Well, we still think you should invest that money and save it for when you''re older.¡± Theo gave his dad a flat look as he asked, ¡°Do you know how much money I have?¡± ¡°After helping buy Jon and Sara their house and splitting the money with Peter and Milly, you should still have around three million currently in bonds right?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°That¡¯s only from the sale of the game when I still owned it. My six percent share in Vibe is worth a lot more.¡± ¡°But you have to sell those shares to make any money.¡± Jacob said. Theo shook his head before he said, ¡°No, I earn six percent of whatever the company makes each year in gross profit. So I will make millions this year just by owning part of the company.¡± Jacob looked up as he asked, ¡°You really think you can earn that much?¡± Theo nodded his head as he said, ¡°They sent out an email the other day that reported the estimated profits for the year. I showed it to mom and she said I would make at least seven million after taxes this year.¡± Jacob froze for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah, that''s why I want to help expand the shop and get more equipment. I will always have money as long as I hold onto the Vibe shares.¡± Jacob started to work on the engine again as he said, ¡°I''ll have to talk with your mom about it.¡± Just after winter break and the start of the new year. Daniel agreed to let Theo spend some of his money to expand the shop and buy new equipment. She was still partly against the idea, but Theo begged her for two weeks straight before she finally relented to the idea. He was pretty sure Jacob begged her too, but he didn¡¯t like to snoop on them so he wasn¡¯t completely sure. As for how they would expand the shop, Theo used his Ezekiel persona to help out. Since he bought up all the properties around the area already, he put up an empty plot of land next to his dad''s business for sale and waited. Within a week his parents contacted him about the land and asked to buy it. Theo used a third party to sell the land to them for a reasonable price and from there they contacted an architect firm. Since the plan was to expand the shop they needed to get plans drawn up and a lot of other things done. The estimated time before everything was completed was around the end of summer if everything went smoothly. As for the cost of the land, construction, tools, permits and everything else. It wasn¡¯t cheap, but Jacob and Ben were able to get everything they wanted done and Daniel wasn''t too upset about it. 00160. A weird feeling. The sound of fists hitting flesh could be heard as two boys fought with each other. It wasn''t a normal school yard fight though, since both boys flickered around the training area faster than the eye could see. And both of them traded more blows with each other in a minute, then professional fighters would during an entire fight. The high speed fight was watched over by a handful of other kids who tracked the boys with practiced ease. The fight didn''t seem to have a clear winner at first, but as it dragged on, it became clear one of the boys was losing steam. After another minute or so the boy collapsed on the ground, completely exhausted. Theo stood over his defeated foe and let out a tired sigh before he asked, ¡°Why can''t you be like the others?¡± The other boy used the last bit of his strength to roll over as he said, ¡°Because your skills are lacking. Besides, you only won because you have more chakra!¡± ¡°And you fighting with me till you collapse helps me in what way exactly?¡± Theo asked. ¡°The longer we fight the faster you improve.¡± Theo reached down and helped the other boy up as he said, ¡°Don''t use that as an excuse, you¡¯re just a battle maniac, Madara.¡± ¡°Pretty much. Even in a completely new world you haven''t changed one bit.¡± Hashirama said. ¡°It''s just the power of youth! With our new bodies it burns even brighter than normal!¡± A boy in green spandex said. Theo glanced over to his new training partners and couldn¡¯t help but smile slightly. After the first group were given time to adjust to their bodies. Theo basically started a fight club with a handful of them. The group only had nine members currently if he included himself, but would definitely grow in time. The only reason the group was currently so small, was that the first group mostly contained non combatants. Plus the second and larger group were still adjusting to their new bodies. It would be another few weeks before they were ready for any type of combat focused chakra training. Theo glanced at the boy in green spandex as he said, ¡°You''re up, Guy.¡± ¡°Yosh! Let''s show everyone a brilliant display of youth!¡± Guy said as he gave a thumbs up with his brilliant smile. A blonde haired boy chuckled before he said, ¡°This is the last spar, then you need to practice fuinjutsu.¡± ¡°You also have magic practice after that.¡± Tao said from her study area, where she was drinking tea and reading a book. Theo let out a tired sigh before moving out to the middle of the sparring area and squared off against Guy. They shared a nod before they disappeared and met each other with their fists. It took about half an hour before Guy ran out of chakra and was forced to stop. Unlike Madara, Guy at least stopped before he collapsed, but it was still close. Next Theo started his fuinjutsu lessons with Ashina Uzumaki, Minato, Tobirama, Mito and Kushina. There were a few more Uzumaki seal masters Theo planned to study under. But they were part of the second group or haven''t been given a body yet. As for his training, he was mostly forced to practice his penmanship with chakra infusion. He didn''t need to practice his Shodo or Calligraphy though, it had more to do with precise chakra control that he focused on. As for the writing, characters and patterns, they were more there to guide a new and inexperienced seal maker. Once someone became a seal master they normally created their own fuinjutsu scripts and perfected it. It was a lot like how sorcerers created their own magic system once they passed a certain skill level. Theo could already make the most basic explosive tags, but if he wanted to make anything else. He would first need to improve his chakra control and ink infusion to an appropriate level. Otherwise any seal he attempted to make would either fail, break easily or blow up while he made it. Fuinjutsu practice lasted for a couple of hours and Theo used clones to help improve his learning efficiency. Once it was completed, the clones continued while Theo himself moved on to magic training with Tao and Agatha. Magic training was basically more sparring at this point. Except Theo could only use magic to defend himself with, while Tao could use anything she wanted. If Theo wanted to move, attack, dodge or anything else? He needed to use magic to make it happen. As for studying from books and learning more? Theo used clones for most of that, since it was mainly reading. Since only Theo could use magic, Tao forced him to practice every day and to put into use whatever his clones read about the day before.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Once magic practice was completed, it was almost three in the morning. So after being healed up by Tsunade, Theo took a quick shower before he switched places with his clone and went to sleep. Why take a shower and not just use a spell? There was just something about a nice hot shower after a long, tough workout. Besides going to school in the morning, helping out at the shop in the afternoon, then dinner and hanging out with his family. That was what Theo''s daily routine turned into. He still visited Hela at least once a week and checked in with Tony too. Along with his responsibilities in running the group he created. The months passed quickly and Theo¡¯s routine didn''t change much. During that time he focused mostly on training and giving more people bodies. He estimated it would be a couple years before everyone who wanted a body had one. Because after the second batch, it took even longer than they thought for his soul to heal completely. So he took it slower and only created a hundred bodies every couple weeks now. As for other projects he was working on, the cell phones and tablets he created with Tony, had turned into a bigger success then he predicted. Most of it had to do with Vibe and how it was integrated into the device. The other factor was the network infrastructure they created. The fact people could easily stream high quality videos on their phones helped out a lot. While other companies were now trying to rush their own cell phones to market, Tony had launched a bunch of smart home automation devices. All of which worked seamlessly with the phones and tablets he created. Since other companies were also in the process of trying to create phones, Theo decided to check on them. He mostly hacked into each company''s servers to check their progress and designs. As for the few that kept their project files located off line, Theo just teleported into the company to look at them. He didn''t care that much about the competition, he mostly wanted to see how far behind they were. While some of the phones were decent spec wise, the software for all of them was terrible. He even tested out a few of the prototypes and could only shake his head in pity. With what they wanted to bring to market, Theo was sure most of the companies would give up after a year or two. A couple of them would definitely tough it out and try to take some of the market share. But unless something drastic happened, Tony''s phones would always hold the lion''s share of the mobile market. As for the phone project for the US government, it was still being worked on. The amount of paid government employees was ridiculous and Theo was positive half of their jobs didn''t need to exist. So far all of the higher up positions in the government had phones, the main issue was everyone else. He focused on the federal government first, then state and local last. Once that was completed he planned to branch out to government agencies. Then law enforcement, first responders and others. Tony fought back against the idea a bit, since the contracts weren''t going to make much money. But he agreed to have Stark Industry''s bid for all the contracts they could, since Theo promised him more alien technology. As for expanding the phones into other countries and governments, that was a slow process. A few were already in talks, but a lot of them were on the fence since they were made by a US based government contractor. While China, Russia and a few other countries flat out refused even talking with Stark. Theo didn''t mind though because no country banned the cell phones outright. Since that was the case, it couldn''t stop him from sending phones as gifts to import people in power. So sooner or later they would end up in the hands of most government officials of every country. It was a more roundabout way, but if it worked, Theo wouldn''t complain. vvvvv It was a Friday and something felt off to Theo. It started just after he woke up and he couldn¡¯t figure out why. Breakfast with his family, school and then helping out at his dad¡¯s shop. All day he felt weird, it was if someone or something was watching him. He used a couple spells when he was alone to figure out what was going on, but he found nothing abnormal. When he finally returned home with his family was when that weird feeling finally peaked. Something about his house was off, like someone had been inside the house while his family was out. Nothing looked out of place and Theo didn¡¯t see anything wrong, but he knew someone else had entered the house. Theo used a few spells on the house to make sure nothing was wrong and sent a quick text message to Tao and Agatha asking them to look into it themselves before he joined his family for dinner. At dinner the feeling lingered and for the first time since Theo put protection spells on his family, he regretted not doing something to the house itself. He considered it of course, but his main concern at the time was making sure his family was okay if something happened. Well and the fact that large scale protection spells on a stationary object like a house could have unintended consequences. The main one is it lights up the whole place like a Christmas tree to people who can sense magic. Sure if he had Tao build them, she could negate or fix most of the issues, like she did for the bases and Genosha. But when Theo brought up the idea, she refused because she wanted Theo to do it as a new form of training. Theo ended up giving up on the idea at the time, since he had a lot of other projects going on at the time that were more important. It would also take up most of his time to learn the skills properly since it involved rune magic engraving, magical item creation and a few other skills Theo only touched on. In hindsight Theo should have at least added a sensor spell or two, or maybe even a clone to watch over the house. As he ate dinner with his family, he thought of different things he could implement going forward and wondered if Tao and Agatha found anything. He already planned to switch with a clone after dinner so he could talk with them and also brainstorm a few ideas on how to safeguard his family''s home going forward until his main projects to protect his family were completed. Once he finished dinner, Theo helped with the dishes before he went downstairs to his room and created a clone. As the clone headed upstairs, Theo moved to his closet and transported to his training room. When he appeared in the room he turned towards Tao¡¯s area and froze. A man¡¯s voice rang out as he said, ¡°Good to see you Ezekiel. Or should I just call you Theodore or do you prefer Theo more?¡± Theo¡¯s eyes narrowed and his voice was raised as he asked, ¡°How did you find me?¡± 00161. Maybe that wasnt the best idea. Fury was seated across from Tao and Agatha. It looked like they were enjoying a fresh pot of tea before Theo arrived. Fury shrugged as he asked, ¡°You''re really gonna ask that, with how cocky you''ve been? Or do you not realize how many clues you gave me?¡± ¡°I didn''t give you any clues¡­¡± Fury smirked slightly as he said, ¡°I found out your age from Tao a long time ago and you gave me your real middle name. Which was completely stupid by the way.¡± Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°I also heard you mention once that your grandfather served with Steve for a while in the war. Another stupid mistake.¡± Theo frowned the more he heard from Fury who said, ¡°Then you bought up all of that land in Brooklyn for your Vibe project. All of which helped me narrow down my search.¡± Fury confidently sat back in his chair as he said, ¡°If I wasn''t worried about you finding out, I probably would have found you a few years ago. But I didn''t want to leave a digital trace, so I went to every hospital in NYC and searched their birth records in person.¡± ¡°And that''s how you found me?¡± Theo asked. ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°I hope you realize, you created a major problem for me, right?¡± Theo asked with a lowered tone of voice. Fury shook his head as he said, ¡°No, you did. Anyone in our little group could find you if they put in the effort.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not.¡± Theo said before he pointed at Fury as he said, ¡°The real problem is you¡¯re the one who found me.¡± Theo moved closer to Fury as he said, ¡°Out of everyone who could find out my real identity, you¡¯re the worst one.¡± Fury stiffened a little in his seat as he asked, ¡°Oh, and why exactly is that?¡± ¡°Because I can¡¯t fully trust you with that information. More importantly, I can¡¯t trust you knowing about my family.¡± Theo said. Fury¡¯s body tensed slightly as he said, ¡°Why? Tao told me about the protection enchantments she placed on your family, they should be able to survive a nuke with it.¡± ¡°Just because it¡¯s possible, doesn¡¯t mean I want to test it out. Plus I want them to live a normal, worry free life. I don¡¯t really want them mixed up with any of the stuff I am doing and I don¡¯t think that can happen if you know about them.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s too late, so what do you plan to do now?¡± Fury asked. ¡°My gut reaction is killing you and replacing you with a shadow clone. It might be the easiest and safest solution.¡± Tao placed her tea cup down as she said, ¡°While I normally wouldn¡¯t interfere in your personal matters. But since I am your master and someone who considers Fury a friend. I would like it if we could figure out a peaceful solution to this instead. How about I just wipe the information from his mind. That should solve everything right?¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°That sounds reasonable to me.¡± Theo frowned and shook his head before he said, ¡°Not to me¡­ You don¡¯t know Fury like I do. He most likely has a contingency in place in case he forgets who I am. Actually knowing him, he¡¯ll have a contingency for his death too.¡± Fury relaxed a little as he said, ¡°I normally don¡¯t like it when someone figures out my plans, but you¡¯re right. I decided to meet you after I had enough contingencies in place.¡± Theo nodded before he said, ¡°Which is the only thing I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re the type of person who would be happy to keep this information secret until you needed to use it. So why are you here now? What do you want?¡± Fury was quiet for a few moments before he focused on Theo and said, ¡°You¡¯re right, it wasn¡¯t an easy decision to make. But you have something I want.¡± Theo frowned as he said, ¡°So you came to black mail me into making a deal with you?¡± Fury shook his head before he reached into his coat and pulled out a small envelope. He handed it to Theo as he said, ¡°When I first confirmed who you were. I planned to leave it at that, in case I ever needed to use it. But curiosity got the better of me and I ended up watching you and your family for a while.¡± Theo''s eyes narrowed slightly as he opened up the envelope and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I wondered why someone like you was wasting your time pretending to be a kid and spending time with your family.¡± Theo pulled out a handful of photos and quickly glanced at them before he asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°My wife and daughter.¡± Theo''s brain went into overdrive and he had to do a double take as he looked at the pictures again. After a few moments he looked at Fury and asked, ¡°I don¡¯t get it, why show me this?¡± ¡°Like I said, you have something I want. Something I didn¡¯t think I could have until I watched you with your family.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Tao and Agatha shared a glance as Theo¡¯s mind just stopped working for a few moments. When it finally started working again, nothing made sense to him. Everything he knew about Fury from the comics stated he had two different sons from two different women he didn¡¯t marry. As for the MCU version, he married a Skrull¡­ ¡°You married a Skrull?¡± Tao and Agatha who stayed quiet till now, both looked interested before Tao curiously asked, ¡°He married an alien?¡± ¡°What!?¡± Fury said as he stood up from his chair and grabbed the pictures back from Theo to look at them. ¡°What the hell are you talking about? How does she look anything like a Skrull?¡± Fury said as he quickly flipped through the pictures. ¡°I asked because the only timeline I know of where you were married¡­ It was to a Skrull.¡± Fury took the photos and placed them back into his jacket as he said, ¡°Well this isn¡¯t that timeline. She¡¯s one hundred percent human and so is my daughter.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Theo said before he asked, ¡°So what exactly do you want?¡± Fury let out a sigh as he sat back down before he said, ¡°I¡¯d like to be able to live with my family and not worry about them. I admit that magic has helped a lot and I¡¯ve been able to see them more often now. But visiting them isn¡¯t the same as living with them.¡± ¡°And how exactly do you think I can help with that?¡± Theo asked with a frown. Fury glanced at Tao as he said, ¡°Well the first step would be having Tao place those protection enchantments she made for your family on mine.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°I can easily do that.¡± Fury looked back at Theo as he said, ¡°Next I want my family to move into your neighborhood.¡± Theo¡¯s brow scrunched slightly as he asked, ¡°Why not move them to Genosha? It¡¯s safe and controlled by us. You should be able to live there with your family and have no issues.¡± ¡°I thought about it, but the less people who know about my family the better. While Genosha is controlled, it''s turning into a tourist hub. The information could easily leak if we lived there.¡± Fury said. ¡°So you want to live with them in Brooklyn of all places?¡± Theo asked with a raised eyebrow. Fury nodded as he said, ¡°Come on, you think I don''t see what you¡¯re doing here? You''ve secretly brought up almost all the land around this area.¡± ¡°You also made arrangements with the previous owners. They can stay for up to a year before they need to move. And once they move out, I am pretty sure one of the people you created will move in.¡± Fury said. Fury looked directly at Theo as he said, ¡°If I¡¯m right, this whole neighborhood will be filled with your people in the next year or two and that doesn¡¯t include whatever else you are planning on doing here.¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°You''re right, I plan to have this entire neighborhood and part of the surrounding ones filled with my people.¡± Fury smiled as he said, ¡°That''s what, six or seven miles? So long as I stay in this small self-contained area you are setting up, I will be fine to roam around with my family and not worry about it so much.¡± ¡°So you want to use the protection I am setting up for my family to help protect your family also?¡± ¡°That''s just a bonus. The main benefit is being able to take my wife and daughter out and not be in disguise.¡± Fury nodded in agreement. ¡°And if I refuse?¡± Theo asked. ¡°Then I''ll settle for Genosha, but I''ll need your help to get my family set up there.¡± ¡°Weird, I kinda expected more push back.¡± Theo said. Fury shrugged as he said, ¡°What else can I do? Threaten to expose your secret? That would only weaken the organization and possibly kill me. Well, only if Tao allowed you to do it.¡± Tao nodded in response as she said, ¡°I would like a peaceful resolution to this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of him knowing about me or my family.¡± ¡°And I would rather not have my mind messed with.¡± Fury said. ¡°It''s just a matter of trust right?¡± Agatha asked. Theo nodded before Agatha asked, ¡°So what does he need to do, for you to be able to trust him?¡± ¡°I have no clue. I know the type of person he is and what he''s capable of doing. So I don¡¯t think I could ever fully trust him.¡± Theo said with a frown. ¡°While I normally wouldn¡¯t suggest this option, you could make a magically binding contract with him.¡± Tao said. Theo and Fury both looked towards Tao with interest as she said, ¡°Since a magic contract is only bound by the rules written into the contract. They need to be very precise and are rarely used. But it might work for your specific issue.¡± ¡°So basically make a contract that says Fury could never try to harm me or my family?¡± Theo asked. ¡°It would have to be a lot more complex than that, to account for things like accidental injury or other unexpected things. Like what is the definition of harm? If he patted your shoulder a little harder than normal, would that count as harm? Or if he somehow walked into you by accident because one of you wasn¡¯t paying attention?¡± Tao asked. Theo nodded along as he said, ¡°So we would basically need a lawyer to write it up¡­¡± Tao laughed a little before she said, ¡°No it¡¯s not that bad¡­ Okay maybe it¡¯s close, but you just need to lay out everything clearly before you make the contract. Once you both agree on the terms the rest is easy.¡± ¡°As long as nothing in the contract is unreasonable and my family can stay in Brooklyn, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Fury said. Theo pinched the bridge of his nose for a few moments as he thought it over. While he had trust issues with Fury, he didn¡¯t hate the guy. And while some versions of Fury did some pretty questionable things, this one was pretty decent. The fact he had a wife and daughter and wanted to live a normal life with them just added to that fact. Theo finally let out a sigh before he looked at Fury and said, ¡°Fine. If we can come to an agreement with a magical contract, I will let you and your family stay in Brooklyn.¡± It took almost a week before Fury and Theo figured out the specifics for the contract. But once it was finished both of them were satisfied and signed it. Since it was a magical contract it was written out on a single piece of parchment that was over ten feet long. At least neither one of them needed to keep the contract itself. Once it was signed, it burst into flames and parts of it settled inside of Fury and Theo. As for the contents of the contract, it was pretty simple. Fury couldn¡¯t harm or have someone else harm Theo¡¯s family. He also couldn¡¯t expose Theo¡¯s secret or leak it to anyone else. As for Theo, he basically had the same thing. He couldn¡¯t harm Fury¡¯s family or have someone else harm them. He also needed to provide them with a home in the area and create a program that would erase Fury and his family from being on the internet. That last one was a little bit hard to do and wasn¡¯t in the magical contract itself, but Theo agreed to do it outside of the contract. 00162. Government contracts. Once the deal with Fury was completed. Theo showed Fury all the houses he currently owned in the neighborhood and said, ¡°Just pick whatever one you want. But you won¡¯t be able to move in for about a year.¡± Fury nodded as he looked over the map before he pointed to a house a couple blocks away from where Theo lived. It was one of the larger plots of land and had a two story house already built on it. With that out of the way, Fury said goodbye and Theo decided to take a day off from training. After being exposed by Fury, he just wanted to relax a little and decompress. So the first thing he did was go visit Tony. Was it the best way to do that? No. But Theo always found enjoyment whenever he messed with Tony. Within ten minutes Ezekiel stepped out of a portal and into Tony''s lab, where he found Tony and Pepper. They stood incredibly close to each other as they talked and for a moment Ezekiel thought they might embrace. Ezekiel couldn''t help it as he smirked to himself as he watched them for almost a minute. They were so engaged in their conversation, that the rest of the world didn''t seem to matter to them. Ezekiel finally let out a loud, disappointed sigh when he realized nothing was going to happen though. That sigh made both of them jump and step away from each other before Tony asked, ¡°Ezekiel? When did you get here?¡± ¡°A while ago. But I saw something interesting, so I waited to see if anything else would happen.¡± Ezekiel said. Pepper was slightly flushed as she said, ¡°It''s nice to see you, Ezekiel.¡± Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°It¡¯s good to see you too, Pepper.¡± Pepper turned to Tony and handed him the documents in her hand as she said, ¡°Remember to read through those for the meeting tomorrow.¡± Pepper with her face still flushed said, ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t stay and chat, I need to go take care of something. Bye, Ezekiel.¡± As she moved towards the door Ezekiel said, ¡°It was nice to see you too.¡± ¡°Welcome back, Ezekiel.¡± JARVIS said as Pepper left the room. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ever greet Ezekiel when he arrives?¡± Tony asked as he moved towards his main workbench with the documents. ¡°Because Ezekiel instructed me not to greet him until after someone else notices him, unless the room is empty.¡± Tony frowned slightly as he asked, ¡°What? Where is your loyalty, JARVIS?¡± ¡°It is of course towards you, Mr. Stark.¡± Tony placed the documents down as he said, ¡°Then how come you listen to him more then me?¡± ¡°To be fair, you also listen to me a lot.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight smirk. ¡°That¡¯s because it normally turns out to be fun. Speaking of fun, what brought you by today?¡± Tony asked with interest. ¡°Not much. I just wanted to see if you were working on anything interesting and new.¡± Tony sat down in his desk chair as he said, ¡°Nothing you haven¡¯t seen already¡­ Well I have a couple of military contracts, but I¡¯m not sure if they will pan out. The R&D branch has worked on them for a while now and haven''t gotten out of the initial concept phase.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they will get canceled in a few months. But Obie wants me to personally look into them first.¡± Tony said as he pulled out his phone and started to play on it. Ezekiel moved closer before he sat on top of one of the tool carts and asked, ¡°What kinda projects?¡± Tony, immersed in a phone game, pointed to the documents on his desk as he said, ¡°Both of the project details are in those folders. I need to review them and help consult with the teams tomorrow and hopefully give them some direction.¡± Ezekiel spun his hand in a small circle in front of himself and created a portal next to the documents on Tony¡¯s desk before he reached through it and grabbed them. Once he had them he started to look through them both. The first project was for a new type of sonic/sound based weapon. Ezekiel thought about it for a few moments and realized this is the contract that made Tony build that device Stane used in the first movie. It was some type of sonic noise device that stunned people. Ezekiel glanced over the current ideas and concepts for the device. It looked like they had a few ideas for it, but everything in the documents was large and bulky in their theoretical designs.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ezekiel set the first project aside and picked up the next one. It was a request to design a new type of body armor. They wanted it to weigh less than the standard military body armor, be more breathable and of course be cost efficient. Actually they wanted it to be as cheap as possible, since the US was currently just ramping up its ¡®war on terror.¡¯ Ezekiel scanned through the idea''s Stark R&D came up with and shook his head. They had a few ideas on what they could change or modify. Unfortunately it was basically the same thing the US government already used. Some different types of material and some changes to the design to help it breathe and wick away sweat better. But overall it was the same thing already being used since they couldn¡¯t come up with anything better than kevlar. Ezekiel placed the documents down before he pulled out his tablet and started to look for some files on it. After a few moments he selected a few files and copied them before he sent them to Tony¡¯s computer as he said, ¡°Check your share folder, I sent you something.¡± ¡°Uh? What?¡± Tony asked as he looked up from the phone game he was playing. Ezekiel pointed to the computer as he said, ¡°I just sent some files to your shared folder.¡± Tony placed his phone down and started to look at his computer as he asked, ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Ezekiel lifted up one of the project folders as he said, ¡°Help for this.¡± Tony scanned through the files for a minute or two before he asked, ¡°Spider silk?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Tony¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as he frowned lost in thought before he said, ¡°I don¡¯t see how this could work.¡± Ezekiel used his tablet for a few moments before he sent another file to Tony as he said, ¡°Take a look at that.¡± Tony glanced at it then looked at Ezekiel with a flat look as he said, ¡°I already know that. The problem is creating it and the fact that spider silk wouldn¡¯t be strong enough to stop bullets.¡± Ezekiel sent another file to Tony as he said, ¡°That¡¯s the formula to create different types of spidroins and an easy way to mass produce it using a modified 3D printer. It hasn¡¯t been tested yet, but the theory is sound.¡± Tony started to read through everything as he said, ¡°This could work, but the issue would still be its ability to stop a bullet properly.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Just intermix it with something else and then layer it a bunch. Spider silk should be able to absorb three times as much energy as Kevlar before breaking. Actually, if you play with those formulas a little, I¡¯m sure it could be even stronger.¡± Tony was still reading as he nodded along and said, ¡°Maybe build the 3D printer to intermix the spider silk with a thin layer of carbon fiber¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that would be a good mix. Wouldn¡¯t the carbon fibers make it stiff and ruin the flexibility?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Only if we added resin to it. But just the fibers themselves will be fine and the spider silk would hold it all together.¡± Tony smiled as he looked up at Ezekiel and said, ¡°Portal us to Stark Industries, we need to do some shopping.¡± Ezekiel smiled back as he dropped off the tool cart and created a portal. About an hour later they returned with a couple of carts full of parts, equipment and other things Tony said he needed. As Tony started to direct Ezekiel on where he wanted stuff, the door to the workshop opened and Happy walked in. He frowned slightly as he said, ¡°Why did you take off and leave me here?¡± Tony waved off Happy¡¯s comment as he said, ¡°We just went to get a few things.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m your head of security. How can I do my job properly if you take off without me?¡± Happy asked. ¡°It¡¯s fine, we just went to the company. Plus I was with Ezekiel.¡± Tony said as he placed a box of parts on his desk. Happy let out a sigh before he said, ¡°While I have no doubt Ezekiel could easily protect you. It would be nice to be able to do my job properly and not be left behind.¡± Ezekiel tried to change the subject as he asked, ¡°How are things going with Anna?¡± ¡°Great! We have a small trip planned next week when she is finished shooting her next movie.¡± Happy said with a silly grin on his face. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, I¡¯m glad everything is working out for you two.¡± Ezekiel said as he finished unloading his cart. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you. If you didn¡¯t force me to talk with her at the launch event, I doubt we would be together.¡± Happy said. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t force you to do anything. I just sat at her table with you and helped make an introduction. You did everything else.¡± Before Happy could respond Ezekiel¡¯s phone went off as Let¡¯s Dance by David Bowie started to play. Ezekiel went to answer his phone as he said, ¡°Just a second Happy.¡± Ezekiel answered the phone as he said, ¡°What do you want Madara?¡± ¡°Of course I know what time it is, but I told you, I¡¯m not training today.¡± Ezekiel pinched the bridge of his nose as he said, ¡°Just go spar with Guy or Hashirama.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not coming, I already have plans.¡± Ezekiel said with a sigh. ¡°No, if you¡¯re really that bored, put on a body cam and go test it out. Just make sure you don¡¯t kill anyone or destroy anything.¡± ¡°Fine, if you do a good job we can spar later tonight when I get back... Alright, bye.¡± Ezekiel said before he hung up his phone and put it away. ¡°Who was that?¡± Happy asked. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Someone annoying, just like Tony. Except while Tony cares more about cool technology and having fun, that guy only cares about fighting.¡± 00163. 6 months in a flash. September 2003 The project to expand the family shop took a little longer than expected. But now that it was completed, they could finally do everything in house if they wanted. The only issue was some of the equipment they purchased couldn''t be operated just yet. While Ben, Jacob, Jon and Sara were skilled and even specialized in certain aspects. Some of the equipment purchased was highly specialized and needed proper training to use correctly. And while all of them were eager to learn, it would take a while to become proficient with the equipment. The CNC machines in particular required them to learn other things like CAD to be able to use it properly. There was also a waterjet cutter, a high end lathe, milling machine, and a cutting edge paint booth with a state of the art computer aided paint mixer. But those weren''t the only tools they purchased. Anything that was almost worn out or needed extra maintenance was replaced with brand new machines. It was mostly the tools that wouldn''t be cost effective to fix properly. Besides that they also purchased some high end metal fabrication equipment. Since they were a custom fabrication shop, they had a couple decent welders, pipe bender, press break and other things. But as they upgraded the shop, Jacob made sure to get everything they could possibly need. So the shop now had a couple top of the line welders, a proper welding table with every type of jig you could possibly need along with a bunch of other stuff Jacob wanted. The very last thing that was purchased for the shop was a set of tools for Theo and Peter. Jacob made sure to get them both what he called a starter set. It was basically all the standard hand tools someone would need, along with some extra ten millimeter sockets and a small rolling tool chest. With that the shop was finished and had over doubled in size. They could easily bring more cars in to be worked on, but the only real problem now was man power. Since the team was so small, if they wanted to work on more cars, they would need more people. Theo already anticipated this happening and made preparations early while the shop was being worked on. He checked with all the ninjas who had bodies and found a handful of people who were interested in cars and wanted to work on them. His next step was getting them trained, so if they interviewed at the shop they could possibly get jobs. First he did some research and found some of the top people in the industry and copied their knowledge to his people. As for how, they just waited till the target was asleep before Inoichi and the person gaining the knowledge got to work. With that Theo had over twenty people with a ton of knowledge about cars, engines, fabrication, upholstery, painting, CAD and more. The next step was practice and practical knowledge, so the whole time the shop was being worked on. Those people practiced in another shop Theo and his clones set up for them. Theo wasn''t completely sure when his dad would hire new people, but he planned to be ready and the longer it took the better. During that same time period Theo spent most of his time training. He trained in magic, fighting, fuinjutsu and ninja arts. The schedule was so packed that he ended up sending a clone to school for himself most days. He would always switch with it after school to go help out at his dad''s shop though. As for the secret organization, they slowly scouted out more recruits and some of which were Shield agents. Speaking of Shield, you would think with the group being over five years old, they would have cleaned up Shield by now. Unfortunately the problem wasn''t that simple, with Fury¡¯s paranoid caution, Theo''s knowledge and the fact Hydra was so splintered. It would never be a simple task to complete. So far they had confirmed a little less than ten percent of people in Shield weren''t Hydra moles. That might seem small, but Shield had a current global staff of over a hundred thousand people recruited from all over the world. Plus the process of checking each person took a minimum of a few weeks if not months. Plus almost all of it had to be done by someone. Sure, Theo hacked into people''s computers and other devices. But Hydra weren''t fools and a lot of their interactions were old school and encrypted. They also communicated by computers, phone and other means. But all of those were made in house by Hydra. So unless Theo found a Hydra agent and had direct access to those devices, it was impossible for him to tap into them. To make matters worse, the people they knew about like Jasper Sitwell, Wilfred Malick and Alexander Pierce only gave them so much information. As far as Theo could tell, no one had a full list of who was in Hydra. Besides the small factions inside of Hydra itself, the whole thing was designed into basically terrorist cells. So while they had discovered small pockets of people, they were still missing a lot of information. Hydra wasn¡¯t its crazy arrogant self from the civil war movie yet, apparently. It also didn''t help that his original plan failed. The phone software he created for Shield was stolen by Hydra. But after they tested it for a while, they never implemented it. While Theo didn''t know the reason, he had a good guess. Most likely they couldn''t crack the software and decided not to use it.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Theo didn''t mind it though, since he knew that Hydra would only get bolder as time went on. Besides Hydra wasn''t only in Shield, they were spread throughout the whole world hidden inside governments, businesses and the military. Theo was pretty sure that Hydra had a bigger members list then Shield did and that was kinda scary. During that same six month period Theo''s new project with Tony was almost completed. The smart home devices were thoroughly tested and currently in production. The announcement and release of the products was scheduled for the end of November, just in time to be sold for Christmas. With the smart home device project basically completed, Theo also started a new project with Tony. Tony originally made a few different body cameras for him to test out and he had Madara and a few other ninjas do just that. They used them for a few months as they fought crime in different cities. Theo then took the footage of the people breaking the law and uploaded it to a new website he created. The website was mainly designed so that the people they captured and turned into the police could be easily prosecuted. The other effect was to show off the utility of the body cam and how it could be used. With that in place Theo and Tony worked on getting police unions across the country into talks about using them. It was still early in the process, but Theo planned to have it adopted within the next few years at the latest. The last project Theo started during the summer was Vibe Media Group. It was a subsidiary of Vibe and was focused on entertainment. Theo planned to bring any popular games, comic, anime, manga, book, movie and TV series from his old world to this one. Well, only if it wasn''t created already. He did check if the people who created it in his world were alive here. Unfortunately almost none of them existed in this world. He did find a few of them though, since this world had a lot of popular movies and TV shows he remembered. But there were slight differences in them compared to what was in his original world. As for the entertainment Theo planned to produce first it was of course video games. He could easily use his clones for most of the work. For games that required voice acting he could use all the ninjas that now had bodies. Mocap work could also be done by them along with sound effects. vvvvv A portal opened up and Ezekiel stepped through it into Hel carrying a pizza box. As the portal closed behind him Hela looked in his direction as she greeted, ¡°Welcome back.¡± Ezekiel placed the pizza down on the pub table next to Hela as he said in a cheeky tone, ¡°Thanks for inviting me.¡± ¡°How was your week?¡± Ezekiel asked as he pulled an ice cooler from his storage seal and opened it up to grab a root beer. Hela frowned slightly and her eyes held a tiny hint of emotions as she said, ¡°It was fine. I mostly watched the anime you recommended.¡± Ezekiel looked up just in time to notice Hela¡¯s frown and asked, ¡°Is something the matter?¡± Hela glanced at Ezekiel as her face went back to its normal appearance as she said, ¡°No. Everything¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Are you sure? You normally have a hint of a smile when I¡¯m here, but you were just frowning. Did something happen while I was gone?¡± Ezekiel asked as he sat down in his chair but kept looking at Hela. Hela turned to face away from Ezekiel and her cheeks flushed the slightest tint of red as she said, ¡°I do not smile.¡± After a few seconds as her face returned to normal she turned back to Ezekiel and said, ¡°And nothing happened while you were gone.¡± Ezekiel unsealed the pizza box and opened it up as he said, ¡°Alright, if you say so. But remember, if you ever want to talk. I¡¯ll always be glad to listen.¡± A few moments later a movie started playing and the two fell into silence as they ate and watched the movie. After almost an hour or so Hela quietly asked, ¡°What would you do if¡­¡± Ezekiel turned towards Hela to see her with her head down and her face filled with concern. Ezekiel frowned slightly as he asked, ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Hela kept looking down as she said in a voice filled with fear, ¡°You once asked to see my life¡­ And depending on it you would possibly grant me my freedom from this place.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s one of the main reasons I came here.¡± ¡°What. What if¡­ What if you don¡¯t like what you find out?¡± Hela asked as her voice quivered softly. ¡°Find out? You mean about what you did during your life?¡± Ezekiel asked. Hela nodded slightly before she asked in a voice that almost broke, ¡°Would. Would you still be able to call me your friend if you found out I was actually a monster?¡± Ezekiel was frozen in place as he watched Hela. Her whole body looked to be trembling and he noticed the eye he could see was tearing up. Ezekiel stood up from his chair and moved in front of Hela before he gently lifted her head up by her chin. Her eyes held a hint of fear and the edges were moist as Ezekiel stared into them. Before he leaned in closer and pulled her into a tight hug that was made awkward by the chains that covered her body. As he hugged Hela, Ezekiel raised one hand up and gently stroked the back of her head as he said, ¡°I would never think you¡¯re a monster.¡± Hela¡¯s body shook and her voice cracked slightly as she said, ¡°But¡­ You don¡¯t know me¡­ You don¡¯t know what I¡¯ve done.¡± Ezekiel pulled back and looked into Hela¡¯s eyes as he said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°But I.¡± Ezekiel placed a gentle finger over Hela¡¯s lips before he asked, ¡°I already said, it doesn¡¯t matter. Do you want to know why?¡± Hela nodded, so Ezekiel removed his finger and placed it over her heart as he said, ¡°Because I know that deep down, you¡¯re a good person. A person I consider a friend and nothing will ever change that.¡± 00164. Helas childhood. A man looked down into a baby''s crib at his daughter who was born only minutes ago as a frown formed on his face. He studied the child for a few minutes before he let out a disappointed sigh and said, ¡°I wanted a male heir, but you¡¯ll have to do.¡± He turned away from the crib without a second glance and said, ¡°Once she can walk, send her to the Einherjar.¡± An attendant next to the crib bowed as they said, ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± vvvvv A young girl no older than six was bloody and bruised. Her body swayed slightly as she stood on unsteady feet. Within her limp right hand rested a sword that she could no longer hold up properly. Not a wooden training sword either, but a metal sword with a razor sharp edge. Her short cut black hair was matted with blood and sweat, while the rest of her body was covered in blood, dirt and grime. She was at her limit and it took a tremendous effort before she raised up her sword again to face her opponent. A spear jutted out at the girl which she attempted to block with her sword. The opponent was a lot more experienced and flicked their spear to smash her sword away before they plunged the tip of it into her stomach. Bright crimson blood flowed out around the spear tip before the girl fell forward as the spear was pulled out of the wound. The full grown man holding the spear watched the girl for a few moments before he said, ¡°You''re already healing, get up and defend yourself.¡± The girl struggled to get back up before the man struck her side with the butt of his spear. As the girl rolled through the loose dirt of the fighting arena the man said, ¡°You need to be faster, if this was a real fight you would already be dead. Now, get back up.¡± Once the girl stopped rolling, she managed to stand back up on unstable legs again. As the wound on her stomach slowly healed, she took a step towards her sword before she collapsed forward on the ground without the ability to catch herself from how worn out she was. The man shook his head before he kicked the sword towards the young girl. The man used just enough strength for the sword to land in front of the girl where it slid to a stop. With the sword now in reach, the girl took it into her hand and used it to help her stand up again. Once she was back on her feet, the man approached her as he said, ¡°Guard yourself!¡± The girl used a tremendous amount of effort, but managed to raise her sword up in time as the man came into range with his spear. The man brutally slashed down at the girl with his spear that wasn''t aimed directly at the girl, but at her weapon or more specifically at the hilt. For a moment it seemed like the spear missed as it finished its attack vector. The next moment the girl screamed out in agony as her sword dropped to the ground. A pool of blood quickly formed on the ground next to the sword and four tiny fingers. The man watched for a second as the girl cried out in pain and cradled her injured hand before he yelled out, ¡°Healer!¡± vvvvv A young girl around twelve years old kneeled at the base of a golden platform. The platform was large and imposing with a magnificent golden throne which rested at the top. The man seated on the throne studied the girl for a few moments before he asked, ¡°Do you know why I called for you?¡± The girl kept her head down as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry father, I do not.¡± ¡°I want you to do your right of passage.¡± The girl''s head snapped up in shock as she looked at the man on the throne. The man raised the spear in his hand and slammed it down once as he said loudly, ¡°Birger! Prepare Hela for her hunt.¡± A man who stood off to one side of the throne stepped forward as he said, ¡°Yes, your majesty.¡± As Birger moved towards Hela, the man on the throne locked eyes with her as he said, ¡°Prove to me that you are worthy of being my daughter and become the youngest to ever complete their hunt.¡± Hela''s initial shock turned to excitement before the man said, ¡°You must also hunt a powerful creature, one worthy of facing someone who possesses the royal bloodline.¡± Hela nodded earnestly as she said, ¡°Yes, father.¡± vvvvv Hela stood exhausted while covered in blood as she faced off against a massive dire wolf. They were surrounded by large boulders near the base of a mountain. It was the best place Hela could choose to confront the beast that stood before her. The top of dire wolf''s back was easily fifteen feet tall, well over three times Hela''s height. Hela looked to be tiny compared to the massive creature that was also covered in blood. The underside of its large body was covered in wounds while one seriously damaged paw was kept raised off the ground. Its eyes burned with a deep hatred as it glared down at Hela who it towered over.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Over the past hour Hela had used the boulders around her to skillfully whittle away at the beast. The size of the beast made it impossible for it to attack her properly as she used the confined space around her to restrict the beast''s mobility. She was injured in the process a few times, but her skills and a little luck brought her to this point. As for the beast, it was almost on death''s door, it only needed a little push. As for why the beast kept attacking and never retreated? Tied up on Hela¡¯s back was the dire wolf¡¯s newborn cub. Hela had stalked the mother and cub for the past week and waited for the mother to go hunt before she lured the little pup away and then captured it. With the bait she needed in hand, she quickly moved to the best spot to fight the mother dire wolf and waited. Once the mother dire wolf found Hela, it turned into a long and drawn out fight where there could only be one winner. Hela locked eyes with the beast and then removed the tied up cub from her back. After she placed the cub down, she moved slightly out of the protection from the two boulders beside her and readied the spear in her hands. The beast only hesitated for a moment before it used its three good legs to lunge forward at Hela with its mouth opened. Hela sneered as she jammed the foot of her spear into the hard soil and angled it slightly forward. Just before the beasts tried to close it jaws down around Hela, she crouched low and held onto her spear tightly. While the dire wolf¡¯s lower jaw slammed into the ground in its attempt to bite Hela. The top of its mouth actually lowered down over the spear and when it attempted to bite down, the spear broke through the roof of its mouth and entered its brain. It struggled to crush Hela as the spear dug in deeper, but with Hela¡¯s small size and the spear now lodged deep in its skull, it wasn¡¯t possible. After a few more moments of struggle the dire wolf finally died with a heart full of regret. Hela climbed out of the dire wolf¡¯s mouth after a few moments and looked down at her defeated foe. She bowed her head in respect before she turned to the cub and picked it back up. Afterwards she signaled that she completed her task and waited for the bifrost to appear. vvvvv When Hela returned to Asgard with the trophy of her successful hunt there was a major celebration. Not only did she kill a dire wolf in single combat, but she did it so young. While Hela was slightly happy with the praise she received, she was more concerned about what her father thought about the beast she killed. So while she looked normal as she walked to the palace with her prize being carried by helpers. Inside she was nervous and each step she took closer to the palace only made her heart beat faster. When she finally arrived in the throne room she kneeled down at the foot of the steps before she said, ¡°Father, I¡¯ve returned from my hunt.¡± Odin studied Hela and the beast she brought back for a little while before he stood up and walked down to get a closer look at the dire wolf. He checked it over for a few minutes as Hela¡¯s heart felt like it would explode from her chest at any moment. Once Odin was satisfied he started to move towards Hela and said, ¡°Good job, you didn¡¯t disappoint me.¡± ¡°Thank you father!¡± Hela responded happily. At that moment the small bundle on Hela¡¯s back started to move around. Odin noticed it immediately and asked, ¡°What¡¯s inside your pack?¡± Hela quickly removed the pack and opened it up to reveal the dire wolf pup she kidnapped. Odin studied it for a moment before he started to move back towards his throne and sat down. After a few moments he asked, ¡°What do you plan to do with that pup?¡± Hela glanced down at the animal as it struggled in its bindings before she said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I only brought it because I killed its mother.¡± Odin glanced at the corpse of the mother dire wolf for a moment before he said, ¡°If it grows to even half the size of its mother, it would make a good mount for you. But you would need to be able to tame it first.¡± Hela looked at the pup in surprise before she glanced up at her father and asked, ¡°Could I really keep it?¡± ¡°Consider it a gift for passing your coming of age hunt.¡± Hela beamed as she said, ¡°Thank you for the gift father.¡± Odin nodded slightly before he said, ¡°Now go rest, there will be a banquet tonight and then from tomorrow onwards, you will go to train with the valkyries.¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± Hela said before she picked up the little pup and left the throne room. vvvvv An army was lined up on the rainbow bridge as it waited for the order to move towards the observatory. Near the front of the army was a girl around sixteen and she wore the standard issue uniform like everyone else around her. Only two things made her stand apart from the rest, her age and the large black dire wolf at her side. As they waited for orders the dire wolf growled softly before Hela gently rested her hand on the wolf''s head and stroked its ears as she said, ¡°It won¡¯t be long now Fenris.¡± The wolf nozzled into Hela¡¯s hand for a few moments before the commander yelled out, ¡°Prepare to enter the bifrost! First battalion, once you cross over form a defensive perimeter and dig in.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Everyone from battalion one responded including Hela. A moment later the bifrost opened up and the commander yelled out, ¡°Move out! Second battalion prepare to move in.¡± Hela was one of the first through the bifrost and once on the other side she was greeted by a forested area. The place seemed peaceful at first glance but Fenris immediately went on guard, lowered his posture and snarled towards the forest. Hela and the soldiers around her quickly raised up their shields at the same time and moved forward cautiously. As more soldiers arrived on the next bifrost wave, a small hail of arrows rained out from the surrounding trees. ¡°Enemy attack!¡± One soldier yelled out as the arrows rained down on the first battalion. Most of them were blocked by shields but a few unlucky people ended up with injuries. Hela and Fenris were lucky, since they were off to the side of where most of the arrows were aimed. After the first wave of arrows finished, another was already in the air. Time seemed to slow down for Hela as she watched this new rain of arrows which were headed towards her side this time. She instinctively raised her shield and moved to cover Fenris with it before the rain of arrows landed. After the second rain of arrows, a third was launched but as it was in the air the first battalion commander yelled out, ¡°Support squads, do your job!¡± A moment later a hum was heard before a massive shield sprung up and the arrows crashed against it. With the energy shield in place the arrows stopped and Hela could see a large group of people as they fled deep into the forest. 00165. The first signs of rebellion? After Hela gained over a year of live combat experience with the Einherjar, she ended up back in Asgard to undergo more training. She still trained in combat with different weapons each day. But the bulk of her time was split between magic lessons, military operations planning, strategy lessons, battle tactics, leadership classes, learning to control her innate abilities and much more. Apparently the goal was to turn Hela into a formidable commander and fighter who could lead the charge in battles. Her lessons were long and she normally collapsed into bed each night when they were done, only to wake up within a few hours to start a new day. That lasted for almost five years until she was finally summoned before her father again. Hela arrived in the throne room and couldn''t help but think of the last time she was there. It was when her father sent her off to fight with the Einherjar over six years ago. Was that why she was asked to come again? Was she going back out to fight again? Hela''s mind raced as she dropped down onto one knee in front of the steps leading to her father''s throne. Odin studied Hela for a while before he said, ¡°Your teachers informed me that you finished all of your lessons and they have nothing left to teach you.¡± Hela almost responded, but stopped herself. While she wanted to be praised by her father, she held back since he only made a statement and didn''t ask a question. It was something drilled into her by her teachers over the years, since she always liked to ask questions. She still did it, but it wasn''t as often as it used to be and now she at least waited till it was appropriate to ask. After a few more seconds Odin said, ¡°From now on you are to join the official ranks of the Einherjar. You will start with no rank and your only goal is to put the knowledge I gave you to practical use. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes, father.¡± Hela said with her head bowed. ¡°Good, now go report for duty and don''t disappoint me. Prove to me that you are worthy of everything I¡¯ve invested into you.¡± vvvvv Hela glanced around for a moment through the smoke filled air. The sound of battle was all around her, while the stench of blood hung heavily in the air. If a normal person was here they would most likely collapse from fear at what was happening around them. But for Hela, this was her life. For the past five years, this was all Hela knew. Hela breathed heavily as she pulled her sword out of her opponent''s chest and glanced around again. She quickly assessed the fighting around her before she charged to a weak spot in the enemy''s defensive line. She arrived within moments and slashed her sword down on the nearest enemy. Her attack was swift and deadly as the man''s head separated from his shoulders. Hela instantly pivoted, pointed her hand towards another group of people and used her powers. Out of the air black swords appeared and took flight before they impaled over ten people in the chest. With that simple, yet deadly attack, the enemy troops broke ranks and their formation quickly collapsed. Hela watched for a moment before she raised her sword in the air and yelled out, ¡°Charge, don''t let any of them escape! For Asgard!¡± ¡°For Asgard!¡± The warriors around her bellowed as they raised their weapons into the air. Hela didn''t wait for anyone else and directly charged into another group of people. She didn''t aim to kill this time, but attacked the opponents legs. They could always use more intelligence, so now that they started to retreat it was the best chance to capture people. Every move Hela made was calculated, she would cut a person down before she kicked them in their head. While it took a few extra seconds, it ensured the person was either knocked out or dead. Hela wanted to ensure that no one behind her would be able to threaten her. Over the next hour Hela led a large group as they picked off all of the retreating enemies. Once finished with her task, Hela and her helpers collected anyone still alive as they headed back to the main force. When they returned, they were greeted by a temporary base camp being set up. Hela left her prisoners with the other soldiers before she split off from them and headed towards the commanding officers tent. At the front of the tent stood two powerful guards who moved aside to allow her to enter. As she entered inside she saw the army commander and a handful of others gathered around a hastily set up table. The commander noticed Hela first and asked, ¡°Were you able to capture anyone important?¡± Hela stopped in front of the table as she said, ¡°I caught their second in command. I almost had the leader too, but he decided to kill himself rather than be captured, sir.¡± ¡°That''s unfortunate, but still a great job as always, lieutenant.¡± Hela nodded her head slightly before she glanced down to study the map. As she did the commander pointed at a spot and said, ¡°Unless we get actionable intel from the prisoners, this will be our next target.¡± Hela frowned slightly before she asked, ¡°Sir, isn''t that just a farming community?¡± ¡°It is, but it''s also one of their main food production areas, so it needs to be destroyed.¡± Hela glanced up at her commander as she asked, ¡°What about the civilians living there, sir?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The commander looked up at Hela and locked eyes with her before he said, ¡°There are no civilians this time, everyone is to be killed by order of the king.¡± Hela stiffly nodded before she said, ¡°Understood, sir.¡± ¡°Good, now go get some rest.¡± Hela left the tent and headed towards a bonfire some troops were using to cook with. As she walked the only question in her mind was why her father wanted the civilians killed this time? Through all the campaigns she fought in, this was the first time something like this was ordered by him. It was strange, but it was her father and she was sure he had his reasons. vvvvv Hela''s legion of troops were tasked to enter the city and destroy it, while the rest of the army surrounded the area. Their main job was to destroy the farm lands and kill anyone who escaped from the city. Since the commander wanted everything to go smoothly, they started the operation early in the morning hours while it was still dark outside. Hela used her magic to grant herself and her troops low light vision, before she said, ¡°Remember, they''re civilians. It''s already bad enough we have to kill them. So do it quickly and as painlessly as possible.¡± After her troops nodded in understanding, Hela led them quietly into the city. Once there they started to separate into teams of two or three before they moved to different houses. Hela moved alone to one of the houses and tested the door. It was locked from the inside with a timber beam, so Hela placed her hand on the door. She focused for a moment and under the force of her powers the door and beam behind it quickly decayed into ashes without a sound. Once the door was gone, Hela stepped into the dark single room house and looked for the occupants. She found an older man asleep in a bed along with an older woman. Hela closed her eyes for a few moments to steal her resolve before she raised her hand at the couple and released her power. The couple were instantly killed as blood pooled around their bodies. Hela glanced at them for a moment as she let out a sigh and thought, ¡°How is something like this considered honorable?¡± As Hela walked out of the house and towards her next target a scream ripped through the air before it was abruptly cut off. Hela frowned slightly as she rushed towards the next building. As she reached the door it swung open as a young man half dressed walked outside. Before he even noticed Hela she already swung her sword and decapitated the man. His body stood there as his head fell towards the ground and Hela stepped past him into the building. Hela found a young woman inside in the process of putting on clothes. As the woman glanced up at Hela she froze in place and Hela used that split second chance to kill her. As Hela walked out of the home the sound of battle filled the air along with screams of pain and yells of anger. That first abrupt scream seemed to have awakened the whole village and now chaos erupted as a result. Hela calmly observed the situation for a few moments before she charged to the area with the most resistance. Hela appeared like a specter of death as she weaved through her troops and the desperate townsfolk who were trying to defend themselves. Every enemy she passed dropped dead a moment later and within a minute the only people left alive were Hela and her troops. She glanced at them all as she said, ¡°Don''t worry about the runners, just sweep the entire village and make sure no one is hiding.¡± Hela and her troops swiftly combed through the rest of the buildings and found a handful of people. Once they completed their task, they set fire to the village and headed in the direction where the villagers ran. Within twenty minutes of leaving the village they heard the sounds of people crying out for help. Hela frowned as she sped up and within moments found a handful of women surrounded by another squad of troops. In a pile off to the side was the rest of the villagers that escaped. Only the men and some of the children were killed, while the rest of the people still alive were already half naked with their clothes being torn off. The leader of the other squad of troops grabbed the loudest woman by her wrist and tugged her towards him, before he smacked her across the face as he said, ¡°Shut up, no one is going to save you.¡± He shoved the woman back down before he said with a sneer, ¡°Listen up all of you, because it''s your lucky day. If you resist, you will find what happens next unbearable. But if you cooperate and possibly enjoy yourself, we''ll let you live.¡± Hela stepped forward into the group of soldiers and asked in a commanding tone, ¡°What do you think you''re doing?¡± The squad leader wore a slimy smile as he said, ¡°I''m just letting my men blow off some steam.¡± Hela''s gaze turned cold as she said, ¡°You know what our orders are, stop wasting time and carry them out.¡± The man''s face fell as he said in a condescending tone, ¡°I know exactly what my orders are, ¡®Lieutenant¡¯. But last time I checked, I still out rank you. So leave, that''s an order.¡± Hela glanced at the leader for a few moments before she lifted her hand towards the women and children huddled together. A second later black swords flew out and stabbed into each of their hearts. As Hela lowered her hand she said, ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Hela turned around to walk away as the leader roared out, ¡°You stupid bitch, what do you think you''re doing?!¡± ¡°Just carrying out my orders, sir.¡± Hela said as she walked out of the circle of troops. vvvvv Hela wasn''t disciplined for her act of defiance, a handful of squad leaders and other people made it clear they didn''t approve of her actions. While Hela didn''t care what they thought about her, she still took note of those people. She then used magic and other means to spy on each of them. Most of them were just upset she was disobedient towards a commanding officer, but others were like that squad leader. Since Hela found people she deemed unfit for leadership roles, much less being in the Einherjar, she planned out how to eliminate all of them. It wasn''t quick, but within a year over ten officers and a handful of others died in battle. Hela barely had to lift a finger to do it, just a low level spell here or there at the right time in the midst of a chaotic battle and someone would die. Hela was extremely cautious with her actions and would always make sure nothing could point back to her. Another rule she decided on was to never target a person directly, but the area around them. It made it a lot harder for people to find out if there was foul play involved in the death. Even though no death in the middle of battle was ever investigated, Hela didn''t want to leave any trace behind. She also used each person''s death to help improve her military career at the same time. She had to be near them to cause the accident in the first place. So she used those opportunities to personally dispose of whoever was lucky enough to kill who she targeted. Which made her look like a hero to a lot of people and helped her move up in rank a few times. 00166. The down fall. It was over a hundred years since Hela last set foot in Asgard. She left a young woman trained for battle but untested and unsure of herself. She spent most of the last one hundred years in the middle of war zones, fighting on the front lines and forged herself anew through the constant battles. Now that she returned, Hela was fierce and confident in herself. But most important of all, she was a battle hardened warrior, one her father showered praise on when he visited the front lines over the years. The only reason she came back to Asgard was because her father summoned her for some reason he didn¡¯t explain. Otherwise she would still be back with her troops, in the thick of battle during their latest campaign. Hela wasted no time after she came out of the bifrost and immediately headed towards the palace. The sooner she found out what her father wanted, the sooner she could return to her troops and the victory that would soon follow. A victory her father would definitely praise her for. As she neared the palace she was greeted by a pair of honor guards who stopped her as one of them said, ¡°Princess Hela, please come this way.¡± Hela frowned slightly but followed the guards to a side area of the palace where she was greeted by a handful of palace maids. The woman in charge bowed in greeting as she said, ¡°Princess Hela, it''s a pleasure to meet you. Me and my team are responsible for getting you ready for the ceremony.¡± ¡°What ceremony?¡± Hela asked, a little confused. The woman smiled as she said, ¡°I''m not completely sure myself. But I think his majesty plans to award you for your outstanding military service.¡± Hela''s eyes lit up at the thought of her father giving her praise as she asked, ¡°What do I need to do?¡± The process wasn''t hard, the maids basically took care of everything for Hela. They first bathed her. While Hela usually cleaned herself with magic, the maids insisted on a proper bath. Next one of them took all of her measurements because they were supposed to make her a new uniform that signified her new status. Hela was allowed to pick the colors and had input on the design, but the maids were the ones who created it with the help of magic. It took a couple hours but once it was finished, Hela was dressed in a form fitting, mostly black suit with some tasteful green highlights. After she was satisfied with everything, she rested in the room for a few more hours before another set of honor guards escorted her to the throne room. Inside she was greeted by a large group of people who stood off to both sides of the throne room. Odin who was seated on his throne slammed his spear into the ground once he saw Hela enter the room and said, ¡°Today is a day for celebration. My daughter Hela has finally completed her training and is now ready to take up her rightful position by my side.¡± Everyone politely clapped before Odin said in a commanding tone, ¡°Hela, come before me.¡± Hela was calm as she walked towards the throne, but inside she was overjoyed. Her father was publicly recognizing her and even planned a position for her. She couldn''t help wondering what it could be as she obediently kneeled down in front of the stairs leading to the throne. Hela''s head was bowed as Odin stood up from the throne and walked down towards her. When she saw his golden boots in front of her, Odin said, ¡°From henceforth Hela is granted the title of First Commander of the army of Asgard. She will also have the honor of being the Executioner of Asgard.¡± People started to clap again as Odin touched each side of Hela''s shoulder with his spear before he said, ¡°Arise my daughter and claim your right of office.¡± Hela almost shook with joy as she slowly stood up in front of her father. Odin smiled at her as he reached behind himself and pulled out a beautifully made hammer. He tilted the leather wrapped handle to Hela as he said, ¡°This is Mj?lnir. I had it crafted by the dwarves out of uru, specifically for you as the symbol of your new status.¡± Hela studied the hammer for a few moments and took in the simple yet elegant design before Odin placed a hand on her shoulder as he asked, ¡°Are you ready to take on your first task, my daughter?¡± Hela earnestly nodded her head as she said, ¡°Yes, father.¡± Odin leaned closer to Hela and whispered in her ear, ¡°All of the people here are dissenters and have spoken out about the current policies of Asgard. Asgard has no place for people like them.¡± Hela¡¯s eyes widened slightly as her father squeezed her shoulder slightly and said, ¡°I am sure you know what to do. Don¡¯t disappoint me, daughter.¡± As Odin turned around to walk back up the stairs to his throne, Hela gripped her new hammer a little tighter before she turned around and raised her left hand in the air. As the clapping started to die down, Hela gathered energy around her hand before it shot out at the gathered people. Black swords slammed into the people closest to Hela as people screamed in fear or shouted in protest. As Odin sat back down on his throne, Hela started her slaughter in earnest. Within ten minutes only two people were still alive in the throne room, Hela who was covered in blood and Odin who smiled down at her from his throne. Hela moved to the front steps of the throne and kneeled down again as she said, ¡°Your will is done, father.¡± ¡°Excellent, I¡¯m proud to call you my daughter. Now go clean yourself up and then we will have dinner.¡± vvvvvThis story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Hela adapted to her new role quickly and within a few weeks she was feared by everyone in Asgard. She took her new position very seriously and did everything she could to make sure her father was happy. Mostly that meant she needed to kill a lot of people, which made everyone else fear her. After a few months and a mountain of dead bodies, Hela was given her next assignment by her father. He wanted to completely conquer the nine realms and bring them all under Asgard¡¯s rule. To accomplish that goal he tasked Hela with helping him lead the Einherjar and other warriors of Asgard on a conquest across the stars. It started with smaller less powerful worlds and grew as the years passed. Hela was at the forefront of the effort and commanded Asgard''s forces throughout every campaign. Odin planned the start of each campaign and would accompany Hela on some of the larger battles, but overall it was Hela that was in charge of everything. She carved out a bloody path throughout the nine realms and after over a millennium of constant battle, she completed her father''s task. At the same time Asgard took its place as the undisputed ruler of the nine realms, Hela felt like she lost her place in life. Sure she had her status as the commander of Asgard¡¯s military and was the Executioner of Asgard. But her whole focus in life was to make sure her father was happy. She never made friends, since everyone either saw her as their blood drenched commander or Odin¡¯s personal executioner. Not that Hela needed friends in the first place, since she only needed her fathers praise. The only problem was now that she completed what her father asked of her, she was no longer praised like before. Sure Odin spoke to her every few days because of the duties she needed to perform. But those duties were simple, easy things that almost anyone else could do. It just made Hela anxious and fearful that sooner or later Odin would send her away again. If she couldn''t be useful to her father, why would he keep her around? With that as her mindset, Hela decided on a plan of action. If her father was happy ruling the nine realms, wouldn''t he enjoy ruling the whole universe even more? Hela gathered together her commanders and started to plan her next campaign, with the hope she could be useful and make her father happy again. The only problem with her plan was Odin finally decided to sacrifice his right eye to gain knowledge and wisdom¡­ vvvvv Hela walked towards the throne room excited to unveil her plans to her father. She had planned out the first part of the campaign for almost six months in secret as she sent out scouts to gather data on different enemies and planets. Now that she had a concrete plan in place, she wanted to show it to her father. It was mostly to prove she could still be useful, but she also wanted to be praised for taking initiative. When Hela entered the throne room the first thing she noticed was the eye patch her father now wore. She immediately rushed towards him as she asked in concern, ¡°Father, what happened to your eye?¡± Odin waved off her concern as he said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a small sacrifice I made, in order to be a better leader.¡± Odin smiled down at Hela who was still making her way towards him as he said, ¡°What brought you by today? It¡¯s been a few months since you last came to visit, I was starting to think you forgot about your duties to Asgard.¡± Hela was still concerned, but hid it well, since she didn¡¯t like to question her father. Instead Hela kneeled at the steps to his throne as she said, ¡°Please forgive me father. I might have been absent from meetings, but I was never derelict in my duties.¡± ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I never summoned you. But it did make me wonder what you were up to. I heard you were sending scouts all over the place. Was there a reason for that?¡± Odin asked. Hela excitedly nodded as she said, ¡°Since your conquest of the nine realms finished, I knew you needed to rest. So I started planning the next campaign myself. The scouts were sent out to gather data on the next few most likely targets of conquest.¡± Odin frowned as he said, ¡°I want you to call back your scouts at once.¡± Hela looked up at Odin as she said, ¡°What? But they are almost done and we have a good overview of the enemy forces already.¡± Odin locked eyes with Hela as he said, ¡°Call them back. Asgard is done conquering.¡± ¡°But, father.¡± Odin slammed his spear onto the ground as he said, ¡°Quiet! You will recall your scouts and there will be no more talk about further conquest. Is that understood?¡± Hela lowered her head as she said in a defeated voice, ¡°Yes, father.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Hela hesitated for a few moments as she wanted to ask something before Odin said, ¡°What are you waiting for, go recall your scouts.¡± Hela stood up as she said, ¡°Yes, father.¡± vvvvv Over the next year Hela attempted to be useful to her father, but nothing she seemed to do made him happy. Whenever they met, he would admonish her for actions she took during her duties. But they were the same actions she took when she was first granted her position and she did her absolute best to not change them. Since her father always used to praise her for those same actions he now denounced. As two years passed, Hela became frustrated with Asgard and her father. No matter what she tried it never seemed to be good enough. He even took away her title as Executioner of Asgard, because he said Asgard no longer needed one. Without that title, the only thing she had left was being First Commander of the army of Asgard. But what good was being the commander of an army that didn¡¯t fight? The thing that finally pushed Hela over the edge, was when Odin announced that a majority of the army would be disbanded and that she would no longer be the First Commander of the army of Asgard. He said there was no need to have such a large army or a commander for it, when peace would always be a better option than fighting. Hela was lost when she heard what her father planned to do. To her, it seemed like her father no longer wanted her. He raised her to be a warrior her whole life and now he no longer needed her to be a warrior. Since that was the case, what exactly was Hela supposed to do now? Hela did the only thing she knew how to do, she planned to fight. Before the army was officially disbanded, Hela gathered her most loyal troops and made a plan. A plan to dethrone her father, take over Asgard and then set out on a conquest across the universe. It was a bold plan to say the least, but her end goal was to give everything back to her father once it was completed. She was positive he would understand once everything was done and would even praise her for her action. The only problem was Hela didn¡¯t think that some of her loyal troops would betray her and ended up leaking her plans to her father. Odin with his new found ¡®wisdom¡¯ decided his best course of action was to set a trap and lock Hela away, instead of trying to reason with her. So he created an emergency task for her to take the valkyries to Hel and fight a fake army hidden there. While Hela was locked in battle with the valkyries, Odin took that time to create the magical spell that currently bound her there. 00167. Hela鈥檚 problem. After Ezekiel removed himself from Hela''s mind, he sat quietly for a while as he contemplated what he just watched. Hela glanced at him a few times in nervousness but refused to speak, afraid of what Ezekiel might say. Almost ten minutes passed in this awkward atmosphere before Ezekiel chuckled slightly. Hela turned to look at Ezekiel in concern as he went from a chuckle to a full blown belly laugh. She waited for him to finish before she finally worked up the courage and asked, ¡°Why. Why are you laughing?¡± ¡°I didn''t know I was in the presence of a wizard.¡± ¡°Wizard? You mean because I can wield magic?¡± Hela asked. Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°There''s a legend on the internet that if you stay a virgin until you''re thirty, you become a wizard¡­¡± Hela froze as she thought over what Ezekiel said before her face flushed red and she turned to look the other way. After a few moments, Hela said in a low voice as she continued to look away from Ezekiel, ¡°I never had a desire for that type of thing.¡± ¡°I noticed. It''s nothing to be embarrassed about though, I was a wizard myself in my first life.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. Hela whipped her head back around as she said, ¡°But you said you had kids.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Correct, I made them myself though.¡± ¡°You made them? With your powers?¡± Hela questioned with interest. A faint smile played across Ezekiel¡¯s face before he said, ¡°No. This was before I had powers. My kids are complex programs I wrote that were able to come to life.¡± ¡°Oh, you made AI, like in the Matrix?¡± Hela asked curiously. Ezekiel frowned for a few moments as he thought about it before he said, ¡°I guess you could think of them kinda like the programs in the matrix. But they weren¡¯t restricted by anything. They could grow and change as much as they wanted. They could even update their own source code.¡± Ezekiel smiled to himself as he thought about Sam before he said, ¡°Within days of gaining awareness, my son¡¯s original source code was completely changed. It was eye opening to see the changes and realize how terrible the original code was. It helped me become a better programmer though and I¡¯ve since changed the way I write code.¡± ¡°Why did you never have children¡­ The traditional way?¡± Hela asked with a tiny hint of a blush. ¡°I would like to say I was like you and had no desire for it. But the main issue was I couldn¡¯t. My body was damaged from birth and there was no way to fix it properly. So I just focused my time on things I could do instead.¡± Marcus said with a shrug. Hela nodded in understanding before she asked, ¡°And in this life?¡± Ezekiel glanced at her curious gaze before he said, ¡°So far, still on my path to being a wizard again. Plus I¡¯m younger than I look and not yet mature enough to do those types of activities yet.¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Younger than you.¡± Hela huffed and turned away from Ezekiel before they settled into a comfortable silence for a while. After a while Ezekiel stood up from his chair and moved in front of Hela. He smiled at her as he said, ¡°Thank you for showing me your memories.¡± Hela nodded lightly but didn¡¯t make eye contact as she said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°I need to get going, but I¡¯ll be back in a day or two.¡± Hela perked up and looked Ezekiel in the eyes as she asked, ¡°So soon?¡± Ezekiel nodded with a smile as he said, ¡°I need to talk with my masters and then one of them will need to come study the spell keeping you anchored here. Honestly they will both probably come to study it, considering how powerful it is.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Hela asked in a voice filled with hope. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Yup. But don¡¯t get too excited, I have no idea whether they will be able to break you out of this thing or not.¡± Hela lowered her head and her tone went more subdued as she said, ¡°I, understand.¡± Ezekiel reached forward and lifted Hela by her chin as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Both of my masters are really strong and smart. I am pretty sure they will figure something out. Just don¡¯t tell them I said that, I don¡¯t want them to get an ego.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Too late.¡± A voice said from behind. Ezekiel jerked his head around to see a portal behind him. Tao and Agatha stood on the other side of it, both of them had smirks plastered on their faces. Hela also looked at the portal and the two young women on the other side of it. Both of them stepped through the portal which stayed open as Ezekiel asked, ¡°Why are both of you here?¡± ¡°You''re twenty hours late in contacting me to pick you up.¡± Tao said. ¡°Twenty hours? Mmmm, I guess looking through all those memories took longer than I thought it would.¡± Ezekiel said with a frown. ¡°It did. When you were about an hour late, Tao checked on you. Then she asked me to come help when she found you both in a deep trance. After we checked your vitals and determined you were fine. We decided to just let you both be until you were done and only checked on you every half an hour since then.¡± Agatha said as she looked between Hela and Ezekiel. The smirk never left Tao¡¯s face as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t mind us, you guys can continue.¡± ¡°Continue? I was just about to leave.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Are you sure? It looked like you were about to kiss her from where we were standing.¡± Agatha said. Hela blushed slightly and turned her head away as Tao added, ¡°I¡¯m surprised, he¡¯s so young but has a thing for older women it seems. At least he has good taste.¡± Agatha nodded before she shared a glance with Tao as she said, ¡°Oh my, do you think he has a thing for us too? Do you think that¡¯s why he gave us younger bodies?¡± Tao smiled as she said, ¡°It would explain a lot of things.¡± ¡°But he never takes us on dates though.¡± Agatha said with a pout. Tao nodded along as she said, ¡°You¡¯re right, he always comes here a few times a week to eat food and watch movies¡­ I wonder if that¡¯s all they do here?¡± ¡°It might be hard to do much else since she¡¯s kind of tied up at the moment. Oh, unless¡­¡± Agatha glanced between Hela and Ezekiel before she nodded and said, ¡°I see, so he is into that type of thing.¡± ¡°It seems so.¡± Tao added with a nod of her own. Ezekiel was at a loss for words and his face went through a wide range of emotions as Agatha and Tao started to laugh. He really had no idea what to do as they laughed, so he decided to glance at Hela and found her still blushing slightly but there was also a hint of jealousy or possibly anger on her face. When Agatha finally stopped laughing she said, ¡°I told you it would be worth it, did you see his face?¡± Tao nodded before she said, ¡°It was definitely worth it.¡± Ezekiel finally understood they were both messing with him and couldn¡¯t help but smile as he wiped a fake tear from his eye and said, ¡°I never thought I would see the day. Is this what it feels like to be a proud parent?¡± Tao shook her head as Agatha smiled and said, ¡°What can I say, you¡¯ve been rubbing off on me.¡± ¡°I have not!¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Hela watched Ezekiel as he interacted with the two women and felt jealous of how comfortable he was around them both. She almost wanted to say something but held back as Ezekiel turned to her and smiled. He then gestured towards Tao and Agatha as he said, ¡°Hela, I would like you to meet Tao and Agatha. My teacher''s in the mystic arts.¡± Tao smiled with a slight nod of her head as she said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to finally meet you. Ezekiel has told us a lot about you.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement before Ezekiel asked, ¡°Since you are both already here and done fooling around. Would you please check on Hela and see if you can get her out of that thing?¡± Agatha nodded as she said, ¡°Sure. But just so you know, when you stand that close to a woman and hold her face like that, you normally go in for a kiss.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Ezekiel thought back to what he was just doing and realized it did look like he was about to kiss her. As Ezekiel blushed slightly, Agatha moved in front of Hela and said, ¡°Sorry for the late introduction, I¡¯m Agatha.¡± Hela glanced between the two young women before she nodded her head and said, ¡°I¡¯m Hela, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Same to you.¡± Agatha said as she pulled out an item from one of her pockets. As Agatha held up what looked like a magnifying glass, she started to slowly walk around Hela as she looked through it. Tao moved next to Hela at the same time before she nodded to her and pulled out her own magic device. As both women slowly walked around Hela and studied the chains that bound her, Ezekiel smiled at her. Hela felt her face heat up a tiny bit but returned the smile. It took a couple of hours before both women were done with their investigation of the chains and Tao said, ¡°As far as I can tell the chains are bound into your soul and your godly powers.¡± Agatha nodded as she added, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a spell matrix so complicated and yet so simple at the same time.¡± Ezekiel glanced between both of them as he asked, ¡°Can you break it?¡± Tao frowned as she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°If it was freshly constructed it wouldn¡¯t be a big issue. But the spell has been in place for too long and has basically fused into her soul. If we tried to remove it, it could cause major damage to her soul.¡± Hela bowed her head slightly and said in a defeated tone of voice, ¡°I understand, thank you for looking into it.¡± ¡°What if we use your necklace?¡± Ezekiel asked as he pointed at the golden, eye shaped pendant that hung around her neck. Tao shook her head as she said, ¡°It would have the same type of risk or worse than just trying to remove the chains from her.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Alright, I guess we just have to kill Odin then.¡± Everyone focused on Ezekiel with different reactions. Tao shook her head, Agatha smiled and Hela was frozen in place as a range of emotion went through her. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°But that¡¯s only if we can¡¯t find another way to get her out of here.¡± 00168. One year in a flash. With no easy solution to free Hela from her current prison, Ezekiel decided to try and cheer her up. Instead of visiting her once a week like before, he started going two to three times a week. He couldn''t stay as long most days, but he always made sure to stay for at least long enough to watch a movie or a couple episodes of a tv show. On the days he stayed longer they would either watch a full TV series, a few movies or play games. With that added to his routine, his life settled into a comfortable rhythm. Wake up, breakfast with his family and then go to school. After school he helped out at his dad''s shop for a few hours till he went home to eat dinner with his family. Afterwards they would hang out for a while and play board games or something else till it was time for bed. That''s when Theo made his clones and started to train. Depending on the day or what was happening at the base he might stop in for a while. But with his clones and the ninjas now having bodies, it wasn¡¯t really needed. Plus they had no important projects currently going on and the group as a whole was in a training and growing phase. Well mostly, since some groups were out doing small missions every week. But the overall group had no project to focus on currently besides Hydra. Basically everyone was taking classes from the ninjas and learning how to control chakra. Since everyone had their normal jobs and lived in different parts of the world. The training courses were split into six different times so that everyone could easily make a class each day. As for what they learned, it was mostly split into different aspects of being a ninja. Sure most of the people were spies, Shield agents or former military. But none of them were ninjas and none of them had chakra before. So everyone had to go through what was basically a modified ninja academy. Besides the normal ninja stuff they were taught, there were also specialized and advanced classes people could take. Most of them were designed for people to learn how to better control their chakra. But other classes focused on infiltration with the use of henge jutsu and ways to make it better. How to change your voice with chakra to make you indistinguishable from the person you replaced and more. All the training was for the next part of Theo''s plan to destroy Hydra. He planned to have a lot of people be replaced inside of Hydra so they could gather more information. He thought about replacing a key figure or two like Alexander Pierce, but decided against it. A bunch of lower level people would be easier to replace and have them work up through the ranks. While a high ranking member would be too much trouble since they would have to scrub the person''s mind for information. They already did that a few times for the people Fury targeted, but found a lot of the higher ranked members had mental blocks in place. Apparently Hydra found some decent telepaths and used them on important high ranking members. The worst part was if the blocks were messed with or bypassed, they would erase the information hidden inside. Sure they tried to fix the damage, but so far they had no luck. As for the lower ranked members it didn''t matter since Hydra was so compartmentalized, no one had much information. They did end up killing the people and using edo tensei to gain the information, but Theo would rather not waste the technique on stuff like that. The less time they do it, the less he needs to worry about someone coming to see what exactly is happening with people''s souls. As for Theo¡¯s personal training, he focused on chakra control, the mystic arts, fuinjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu. He also wanted to add in physical training with weights, but he still needed to wait a little while longer to not damage his body''s growth. So while he did do physical training it was all based on body weight and sparring. When he didn''t train or visit Hela, Theo made time to visit Tony and also checked in with Adrian on the Vibe building. The Vibe project was going well and about half of the demolition portion was completed. Adrian still only hired a handful of work crews so far, but their work quality and efficiency was really high. As for Tony, they''ve worked on a bunch of random and small projects. Besides the home automation equipment that was launched, Tony invited some affordable 3D printers. He also created some really high-end models after being inspired by some of the alien technology Theo gave him. With all of that going on, over a year passed by quickly and it was almost Christmas of 2004. During that time frame Stark Industries became known more as a major consumer manufacturer than a weapon manufacturer. Sure they still created weapons, but their consumer side of things currently made five times the revenue of the weapons division and the stock price for the company more than tripled. Theo also spent a bunch of time that year attempting to get Tony and Pepper together. It was still a work in progress, but for the past six months Tony hasn''t had a single one night stand. He still hasn''t made an official move on Pepper, but Theo was sure it was only a matter of time. Right now they both acted like awkward teenagers who didn''t want to confirm their feelings for each other. It was hilarious to watch and Theo had JARVIS capture every single one on camera. He planned to make a nice video edit montage of the best ones as a wedding present. He also thought about uploading it to Vibe one day, but that might be a little too much¡­ But knowing Tony, he might upload the video himself just to get more views and followers.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As for Genosha, the economy was almost self sustainable and Theo only had to help it out a little. With the use of magic and automation, Genosha created all its own food. They still imported some things like meat, since it would take up too much land to grow it themselves. But fruits and vegetables were all grown on the island throughout the main city and in a large indoor hydroponics farm. As for other sectors of the economy it was mostly sustained through tourism. While Genosha still wasn''t completed to Theo¡¯s imagined goal, a lot of the facilities he wanted were done. The amusement park, water park, golf course, theaters and other projects were finished and past final inspection over the last year. He had one more major project planned, but it was still in the design phase. While over the last year the island had plenty of visitors, the official opening would be early next year. It would also be when all of the facilities would be opened to the public at the same time. A big event was planned for the whole thing and Theo expected Genosha to be self-sustained by the end of next year. vvvvv Ezekiel stepped through a portal that opened up into Tony''s workshop and found Tony asleep at his desk. In front of Tony was a disassembled piece of alien technology that at one point was part of a starship. Ezekiel walked closer and after a few moments realized it was part of the ship''s artificial gravity system. When Ezekiel explained to Tony what it was originally meant for, he became obsessed with the thing. He wanted to reverse engineer it and produce an antigravity engine he could place into whatever he wanted. So far Tony didn''t have much luck though. Ezekiel shook his head before he started to smirk. He moved right next to Tony, stuck a finger in his mouth for a moment before he jammed it into Tony''s ear and wiggled it around. Tony jumped up in shock and waved his arms around for a moment before he saw Ezekiel. Tony frowned slightly as he said, ¡°You know there are better ways to wake a person up.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he henge''d into Pepper wearing a form fitting business suit but the top was cut low to show off cleavage. He leaned forward towards Tony and squeezed his arms together which accentuated the deep valley of cleavage as he said in a copy of Peppers voice with a sultry tone, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry Mr. Stark, I¡¯ll try my best to do better next time.¡± Tony was completely frozen in shock as he stared open mouth at Ezekiel disguised as Pepper. Ezekiel reached forward and gently closed Tony¡¯s mouth as he said in that same tone of voice, ¡°Please control yourself Mr. Stark, I know I¡¯m beautiful but you don¡¯t need to stare.¡± ¡°Who are you and how did you get here?!¡± A raised voice said from behind Ezekiel. Ezekiel turned around to find Pepper standing next to the door with a handful of documents in her hand. He smiled at her and gave her a wave as he said in her voice, ¡°Me? I¡¯m Mr. Stark¡¯s personal assistant. You can call me Pepper.¡± Pepper froze in place as her mouth dropped open in shock before Tony kicked Ezekiel hard in the back. As Ezekiel collapsed forward Tony yelled out, ¡°WHAT THE FUCK MAN!¡± Ezekiel turned slightly before he hit the ground to land on his butt and after a moment pouted as he asked in Pepper''s voice, ¡°Did I do something wrong Mr. Stark?¡± ¡°Shut up and change back you jackass!¡± Tony said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ezekiel changed back into his normal self as he stood back up and said, ¡°Man, you can¡¯t take a joke can you?¡± Tony pointed at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°That wasn¡¯t funny.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Because I thought it was hilarious.¡± ¡°I have to agree with Ezekiel. Your reaction was quite amusing. I can play it back if you would like to see it.¡± JARVIS said. ¡°No, just delete it. I don¡¯t want anyone to see that. Ever.¡± Tony said with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that, Tony.¡± JARVIS said. Ezekiel started to laugh as he said, ¡°Nice one JARVIS, but next time tone it down a little more so you sound more like HAL.¡± Tony let out a frustrated groan as JARVIS said, ¡°Understood.¡± Pepper finally recovered from her shock and glared at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°I have no idea what you two idiots were just doing and I don¡¯t want to know. But don¡¯t you ever change into me again!¡± Ezekiel wanted to smirk and give a smart remark but the baleful glare from Pepper made him shut his mouth and nod instead. Pepper turned her gaze from Ezekiel to Tony before she held up the documents in her hand and said, ¡°These need to be signed by tomorrow.¡± She placed them on the counter next to her and turned around to walk out. Ezekiel turned to Tony after she left and said, ¡°I think she¡¯s mad at you.¡± ¡°Me? You are the one who made her upset, not me!¡± Tony said with a slight glare. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯m not the one trying to date her, so I don¡¯t need to fix it.¡± ¡°I hate you sometimes, you know that, right?¡± Tony said as he walked towards the documents Pepper left. ¡°That¡¯s the sign of a good friendship.¡± Ezekiel said with a cheeky grin. Tony picked up the files and started to look through them before he asked, ¡°A toxic one maybe¡­ Why did you come here anyways?¡± ¡°I was gonna ask if you wanted to get some food and pick your brain on a project I have coming up.¡± Tony glanced up from the files in his hands with interest as he asked, ¡°Oh, what do you want to make this time?¡± Ezekiel smiled before he plugged a usb into Tony¡¯s computer and said, ¡°JARVIS, pull up the file called project Mars for Tony.¡± 00169. Project Mars. A portal opened up onto a massive platform with runic symbols inscribed around it. From the portal out stepped Ezekiel, followed closely behind by Tony. After the portal closed they both stood in silence as Tony glanced around in wonder at the red landscape that surrounded them. After a while he finally turned to Ezekiel and said, ¡°You weren''t joking.¡± ¡°I never joke.¡± Tony narrowed his gaze on Ezekiel who rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°Okay, maybe I do sometimes.¡± ¡°More like all the time.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°What''s the point in living life if you don''t enjoy it?¡± ¡°Could you at least stop messing with me as your main source of enjoyment?¡± Tony asked in an annoyed tone. ¡°See and this is why I do it, your ego is too big and needs to be kept in check. The truth is, messing with you only makes up, like one percent of my daily enjoyment.¡± ¡°One percent!? What the hell, I thought we were best friends?¡± Tony said as he exaggeratedly placed his hands over his heart. ¡°I''m pretty sure that''s Rhodey or maybe even Happy, even though he works for you.¡± ¡°There''s no rule that says someone can''t have more than one best friend.¡± Tony said before he asked, ¡°Also, now I''m kinda curious, if you only consider me only one percent, where does the rest of it come from?¡± ¡°Easy, most of it comes from spending time with my family.¡± Tony studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he muttered, ¡°Must be nice.¡± ¡°You could easily have the same thing if you got over your daddy issues and stopped pussy footing around with Pepper.¡± Tony frowned as he said, ¡°Fuck off, I don''t have daddy issues.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Whatever you say, just let me know when you want to talk with that therapist I know.¡± Both of them went quiet for a while as Tony stared off into the red martian landscape lost in thought. Ezekiel glanced around himself for a few moments before he pulled out his tablet and typed on it for a bit. After he finished up, he glanced over to Tony who was still lost in thought as he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± Tony studied the landscape for a while before he said, ¡°I think you''re a maniac for even attempting it.¡± ¡°So you don''t want to help out?¡± Tony turned to look at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I didn''t say that¡­ But we will both be dead long before this thing is even finished. Even if everything goes smoothly it will take at least three centuries before this place is liveable.¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t have magic and people with crazy powers we can use to speed the whole thing up, you would be right. But I expect this to be completed in about five to ten years.¡± Tony looked back out over the red landscape again as he asked, ¡°Do you really think the governments of Earth will let you have Mars?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°They can''t even get here in the first place. Besides, it''s not like I am gonna announce to the world that I took over and terraformed Mars.¡± ¡°Yeah, but people are gonna notice changes sooner or later, you won''t be able to hide it. What will you do once it gets exposed?¡± Tony asked. ¡°I''ve already taken care of all the main satellites and the two rovers. They should break down over the next few weeks.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he added, ¡°We also placed a spell shield over the planet so people with telescopes will only see Mars as it is now.¡± ¡°So you''re just gonna hide it until it''s finished?¡± The noise from a starship engine filled the sky above as Ezekiel said, ¡°I plan to keep it hidden even after it''s finished. It''s not like I need to share it with the rest of the world.¡± Tony glanced up at the sleek looking spaceship that approached the platform they stood on as he asked, ¡°Can I have half?¡± ¡°Half? Are you crazy? You can take at most one twentieth.¡± ¡°Didn''t you just come ask me for help with the whole thing?¡± Tony asked as he turned back to Ezekiel. ¡°I don''t actually need your help, I asked if you wanted to help. There''s a big difference between the two.¡± As the ship landed on the platform Tony said, ¡°Fine, I''ll help out but I want the area around Mount Olympus.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to claim land before you find out what type of minerals are present in the surrounding area?¡± Marcus asked as the landing ramp on the ship opened up.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s a good point, I retract my claim for now.¡± Tony said as he rubbed his chin. Out of the ship walked Magneto who wore a space suit without the helmet on. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Thanks for picking us up.¡± Magneto nodded as he turned to study Tony for a few moments before he asked, ¡°I know you have a business partnership together, but is it really wise to bring him into this project? I thought the plan was to keep it completely secret?¡± Ezekiel placed his arm over Tony''s shoulder as he said, ¡°He might be a bit of an egotistical jackass, but he''s probably the best person for the job.¡± Tony pushed Ezekiel away as he said, ¡°You''re the jackass.¡± ¡°So you don''t deny the egotistical part, good to know.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. Before Tony could respond, Ezekiel cut him off as he said, ¡°Tony, this is Magneto. I¡¯m pretty sure you met him at the phone launch party, he''s another partner on this project.¡± Tony stepped forward with his hand extended and shook hands with Magneto as he said, ¡°Yeah we did. It¡¯s good to see you again.¡± ¡°Same to you.¡± After they shook hands Ezekiel asked, ¡°How¡¯s everything going? Run into any issues so far?¡± Magneto shook his head as he said, ¡°There''s been no issues on our side of things, the collection effort is proceeding smoothly.¡± ¡°What exactly are you collecting?¡± Tony asked. ¡°They¡¯ve been collecting large ice filled asteroids and bringing them to Mars, so we can drop them on the planet.¡± Ezekiel said. Tony nodded in understanding before he asked, ¡°Trying to quick start a greenhouse effect on the planet? What about the magnetic field issue?¡± Ezekiel pointed at Magneto as he said, ¡°You¡¯re looking at it. He will also fix the issue with the gravity here and make it the same as Earth.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t wanna insult his powers, but it¡¯s a whole planet you''re talking about¡­¡± Tony said as his voice trailed off. ¡°I told you, magic will be used to help make everything easier.¡± Tony wanted to argue about breaking the laws of physics but he closed his mouth for once and decided not to think too deeply about it. He¡¯d already spent countless late nights trying to figure out how Ezekiel¡¯s portal ability worked. The same one he says is magic based. But no matter how much he¡¯s tried, he¡¯s never come up with a good answer. Ezekiel noticed Tony go quiet so he smiled and asked, ¡°Wanna take a ride on a spaceship?¡± Tony glanced at the ship as he said, ¡°Do you really need to ask?¡± As they moved up the ship''s ramp Tony asked, ¡°Where did you even get this thing from anyways?¡± ¡°Found it in the hanger of some alien dictator and confiscated it.¡± Tony grabbed Ezekiel by the shoulders and shook him slightly as he asked, ¡°Can you steal me one too?¡± ¡°First off, I didn¡¯t steal it. It was confiscated. Second, you have nothing I want that¡¯s worth a starship in value.¡± ¡°So I just need to get something worth the value of a starship?¡± Tony asked. Ezekiel nodded as he thought that he wouldn¡¯t mind trading a starship for his very own Ironman suit. He probably wouldn¡¯t need to use it, but he wouldn¡¯t mind having one just because it would be cool. Before long they were in the cockpit and after they chatted with Shisui who was the pilot of the ship. They strapped in and prepared for takeoff. The ship quickly took to the sky and angled itself to rocket into space. As the ship breached past the planet''s atmosphere into space itself Tony said, ¡°I thought you said you just started this project a few days ago?¡± Ezekiel looked through the ship''s front windows as he said, ¡°We did¡­¡± Shisui, who was in the pilot''s seat, smiled as he said, ¡°After the initial test runs, Magneto started bringing as many as possible each trip.¡± The ship gracefully slipped past the hundreds of ice asteroids in orbit around the planet as Shisui set a course for the Sol system asteroid belt. Tony took in everything and after a few moments asked, ¡°How many more do you plan to collect?¡± ¡°I''m not sure, but the goal is to have forty percent of the planet covered in water.¡± Shisui glanced over his shoulder as he said, ¡°From our estimates we should be finished sometime later today or tomorrow at the latest. We just need a few more runs to collect the rest.¡± Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and started to type on it as he sent messages to a few people. As Tony was about to ask a question, his phone started to ring. Tony pulled out his phone and looked at it in shock as he asked, ¡°How does this thing even have service out here?¡± Ezekiel continued to type on his tablet as he said, ¡°Mostly through magic and some repurposed satellites I took over.¡± Tony glanced back at Ezekiel for a moment before he answered his phone and said, ¡°What''s up, Happy?¡± ¡°Uh, I left with Ezekiel to check out a new secret project he wants some help on.¡± Tony rolled his eyes as he said, ¡°I know Happy, but it''s top secret. That''s why I didn''t bring you along and told JARVIS not to inform you I left.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, I''m with Ezekiel. If he can''t keep me safe no one can.¡± Tony let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Alright fine, I''ll ask him¡­ Ezekiel shook his head so Tony said, ¡°He said no.¡± ¡°Hey, don''t get upset with me, he''s the one that said no¡­ Sure, I promise to let you know as soon as I''m back, mom.¡± Tony said before he hung up his phone. Tony looked up as he put his phone away to see Ezekiel who was smirking at him. Tony frowned slightly as he said, ¡°If you just let him come along I wouldn''t have to deal with him acting like an overprotective parent.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°While I trust Happy, I didn¡¯t plan to share this with anyone until we were farther along in the project. I only brought you here because you are going to help out.¡± Tony sank back into his seat as he asked, ¡°Well, when can I tell him about it?¡± ¡°Once we reach phase four or so.¡± Tony thought it over for a few minutes as the ship quickly made its way towards the asteroid belt. It took around half an hour before they came into sight of the first asteroids and then they had to start searching for what they needed. At first Tony was just engrossed at the prospect of being in space and flying around. But it didn¡¯t take long before he started asking Shisui to teach him how to fly. Ezekiel watched their interactions a few times, but mostly stayed focused on his tablet as he worked on coordinating the next phase of the plan. 00170. Christmas 2004 It was Christmas eve and Ezekiel was busy as he double checked all the presents his clones wrapped. Over the past year he paid close attention to everyone that was involved with the organization. He wanted to get each of them something special for Christmas, so he spent the past year and figured out their tastes, what they liked and picked out the perfect gift for each person. Well at least he hoped it was the perfect gift. Once everything was completed he set off with a few clones and went to the main underground base. While the place never really slept and people came and went at all hours, day or night. It was actually slowest around ten at night till four in the morning PST. Ezekiel made his way through the base to the currently deserted cafeteria and pulled out a large Christmas tree. With the help of his clones he decorated the whole thing in under ten minutes before he started to place presents under it. It took almost half an hour and the tree was half blocked by presents now. But Ezekiel smiled as he looked over his work for a few moments. Afterwards Ezekiel left to deliver more gifts to other people not associated with the organization. He stopped by Tony''s to give him, Happy, Rhodey and Pepper each a gift. Then he went to Fury¡¯s home on the moon and dropped off a present while he wasn''t there. He also stopped by Xavier''s school and dropped off a couple gifts for each of the students there. His second to last stop was Genosha where he went to the orphanage there and dropped off the more presents. His final stop was Kamar-Taj where he placed another small Christmas tree and gifts for everyone who studied there. Once he finished up he went home to get some sleep. While it was early compared to his normal bed time, he figured he could slack off a little today and not practice for once. Theo woke up early the next morning and took a bit of time to get ready before he headed upstairs to check on his siblings. He first stopped in the kitchen and started a pot of coffee for his parents. Then he headed upstairs to wake everyone up. He went to Milly''s room first and found her sprawled out on her bed. Her blankets were tossed to the side while her pajama shirt was lifted up partially which exposed her belly. Theo took in the sight for a moment as he shook his head. No matter her age, Milly''s sleeping habits never seemed to change. Theo moved towards the window and opened up the curtains to let the faint morning light paint the room in a glow of color. As it landed on Milly''s face, she scrunched it slightly before she rolled over to the side of the bed, away from the light. Theo smiled slightly before he moved next to her bed where she now rested and started to poke her cheeks. At first she didn''t respond, but after a few moments her face twitched. It wasn''t long after that before her eyes slowly opened up. She frowned slightly as she said, ¡°Go away T-eo, I''m trying to sleep.¡± ¡°I can''t, it''s time to get up.¡± ¡°School''s out, I can sleep in all I want.¡± Milly said with a pout while her eyes were still half closed. ¡°But today¡¯s Christmas.¡± Milly closed her eyes as she said, ¡°But I want to sleep more¡­¡± Milly''s voice trailed off before her eyes snapped wide open and she sat up in bed as she asked, ¡°It''s Christmas?¡± ¡°Yesterday was Christmas Eve, so¡­¡± Theo said as something seemed to click in Milly''s eyes. Milly jumped out of bed as she said, ¡°It''s time to open presents!¡± Theo let out a chuckle before he said, ¡°Not yet, we need to wake up Issac along with mom and dad first.¡± ¡°How about you get ready, while I go to wake Issac up.¡± Milly nodded her head and moved towards her dresser as she said, ¡°Okay.¡± Theo left Milly''s room and entered Issac''s room to find him in a state similar to Milly. His blankets were tossed to the side and one of his legs hung off the bed. His mouth was opened slightly and a small puddle of drool was on his pillow as he snored softly. Theo moved towards the window and opened the curtains to let light in the room. As the light covered Issac''s face in color and warmth, his eyes started to twitch before he rolled over away from the light. Theo smiled as he walked over to his brother and started to poke his cheeks like he did with Milly. After a few moments Issac''s eyes opened up slowly as he groggily looked up at Theo. Theo smiled as he said, ¡°It''s time to get up.¡± ¡°I wanna sleep.¡± Issac mumbled as his eyes closed. Theo poked his cheek again as he said, ¡°Come on and get up, it''s Christmas.¡± Issac tried to swat at Theo a few times to make him go away, but with his eyes closed he missed as Theo easily moved out of the way. Theo got an evil glint in his eyes as he said, ¡°Did you just try to hit me¡­ I''ll teach you the consequences of your foolish actions little brother.¡± Issac''s eyes shot open when he heard Theo¡¯s tone of voice but it was already too late. Theo grabbed his pajama shirt and pulled it over his head which also pinned his arms above his head before he started to tickle Issac. Issac squirmed and erupted into laughter as Theo mercilessly tickled him for almost a minute before Milly entered the room. She glanced at her brothers for a few moments before he said, ¡°I''ll go wake up mom and dad.¡± ¡°We''re already up, but thank you sweetie.¡± Jacob said as he placed a hand on Milly''s head to pat it. ¡°Stop. Stop. I''ll get up! I''ll get up!¡± Issac finally said between bouts of laughter. Theo nodded in satisfaction as he released Issac and looked towards the door. He momentarily froze in shock when he saw his dad. Jacob stood behind Milly with a Christmas sweater on and the sweater was the only reason for Theo¡¯s shock. It was hands down one of the ugliest things he had ever seen in his life. It was a mix of green, red and white with no discernable pattern. Actually it was better to describe it as if someone puked up Christmas colors, all over the sweater itself¡­ Theo quickly broke out of his shock as he said, ¡°Good morning, dad.¡± Jacob smiled as he said, ¡°Good morning, Theo. Thanks for waking up the troublemakers for me.¡± Daniel peaked into the room from behind Jacob and said, ¡°Don''t take too long getting ready. We need to meet everyone at May''s for breakfast.¡± Within ten minutes everyone was down stairs in the living room and ready to leave the house. Jacob had a cup of coffee in his hands as he smiled at everyone and said, ¡°Before we take off I have an extra gift for everyone.¡± Jacob set his coffee down before he went to the entryway closet and pulled out four gifts. He had a large smile on his face as he handed one to everyone as he said, ¡°Go on, open it up.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Milly and Issac tore into the gifts quickly while Theo took his time along with Daniel, who glanced at Jacob for a moment before she opened up her gift. Milly was the first one who completely unwrapped her gift and Issac was only a moment behind. Theo didn''t pay attention to them as he finished opening his own gift and froze. Folded neatly inside the box was a smaller version of Jacob''s sweater. Theo felt a feeling of dread wash over him as he glanced up to see that Milly, Issac and his mother all received the same ugly sweater. Jacob''s smile threatened to split his face as he said, ¡°Go on, put them on.¡± Milly and Issac had no issue with the sweater and quickly put them on. While Daniel paused for a moment in thought, before she put on her own sweater. Theo was the only one who didn''t move and was frozen as his brain stopped working. Jacob noticed Theo¡¯s hesitation and said, ¡°Come on Theo, try it on.¡± Theo came out of his shock as he glanced at his family all in the same sweater, before he shook his head and said, ¡°I can''t.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Jacob asked in concern. ¡°Because it would hurt my pride as a human.¡± Theo said in a flat tone of voice. Milly and Issac seemed a little confused at the statement as Daniel attempted not to laugh. Jacob forced a smile as he said, ¡°Come on, it''s the holidays and it''s just a sweater.¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s just a sweater.¡± Issac added. ¡°Come on, it¡¯ll be fun if we''re all matching.¡± Milly said with a smile. ¡°You don''t have to wear it all day either. Just for a few hours at most.¡± Daniel said as if that would help Theo put it on. About twenty minutes later Theo was at May''s with all of his extended family present and couldn¡¯t help but shake his head. Apparently Jacob, Ben, Richard and Jon went all in on the ugly sweater thing. Everyone in the family currently wore the exact same sweater and we''re in the middle of taking a family photo, including Theo¡­ vvvvv Theo let out a sigh of relief as he buried that ugly Christmas sweater in the back of his closet. He ended up wearing it the whole day and just arrived back home from his aunt''s house. It was the family tradition to hang out all day at one of the families homes. Instead of opening gifts and then meeting up together, everything happened at one house. It was kind of a hassle considering the amount of people in one place. But somehow it always worked out fine and everyone enjoyed each other''s company. After Theo hid the sweater away with the goal to never wear it again, he took a quick shower before he created a clone to cover for him the rest of the night and essentially sleep in his bed. He changed into comfortable clothes before he henged into Ezekiel and took off for Genosha. Once there he made his way towards the mystic arts school and went to greet his teacher. Tao was seated in a comfortable looking leather bound chair. She was engrossed in her phone as a tea cup hovered next to her. As Ezekiel approached he could hear the distinctive sound of one of the match three games he created and could only smile as he shook his head. Apparently he made the game too addictive if even Tao played it this much¡­ Or maybe she was just bored because she tended to have a lot of free time on her hands. Ezekiel watched her for a few moments before Tao said, ¡°Are you not going to greet me?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Sorry master, I didn''t want to interrupt you. You seemed busy.¡± Tao glanced at Ezekiel as she continued to swipe at her game before she asked, ¡°Are you going to visit your girlfriend?¡± ¡°She''s just¡­ A friend, that¡¯s a girl. And yes I am.¡± ¡°Going to visit a woman alone on Christmas, normally means you''re more than friends.¡± Tao said with a smile before she spun her hand in a circle and opened a portal to Hel. Ezekiel let out a lit sigh before he pulled out a Christmas gift from his storage seal along with a small plate of cookies. He placed them down on the coffee table next to Tao as he said, ¡°Merry Christmas master.¡± Tao finally looked up from her phone at the cookies and gift before she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± She flicked her right hand and a small gift appeared in it before she held it towards Ezekiel and said, ¡°Merry Christmas.¡± Before Ezekiel could open the gift she waved him off and said, ¡°Go on, it''s not polite to keep a woman waiting.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he stepped through the portal and it shut behind him. Hela was there like always with a hint of a smile on her face as she looked at him. Ezekiel smiled back at her as he said, ¡°Merry Christmas.¡± ¡°Merry Christmas?¡± Hela asked back. Ezekiel moved towards her with the gift in his hand as he said, ¡°Yeah, it''s a major holiday on Earth¡­ Well Midgard. People spend time with friends and family, give each other gifts and eat a lot of food. At least that¡¯s what my family does.¡± Hela nodded slightly in understanding as she said, ¡°I remember you talked about it before¡­ I assume today is Christmas?¡± Ezekiel nodded so Hela said in an uncertain voice, ¡°Merry, Christmas?¡± Ezekiel smiled and placed the gift from Tao down on the table before he pulled out a few plates full of food. Two of them were full of normal holiday food like turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, biscuits, green bean casserole and other things. The other plate was filled with cookies, cake and a couple different types of pie. Next Ezekiel pulled out a gift and placed it on the table as he said, ¡°This is food my family prepared for Christmas dinner and my little sister made the cake along with these cookies.¡± Hela glanced at everything before her eyes landed on the present. Ezekiel smiled at her as he said, ¡°That''s your Christmas present.¡± Hela looked at it and frowned before she said in a quiet voice, ¡°You didn''t have to get me anything.¡± ¡°What? Of course I had to get you something, we''re friends after all.¡± Hela glanced away from Ezekiel as she said, ¡°But being here¡­ I can''t get you anything in return.¡± ¡°First off, you didn''t really know about Christmas and besides it''s the thought that counts, not the actual gift. The fact you would like to get me something is all that really matters.¡± Ezekiel said as he pushed the gift a little closer towards Hela. Hela glanced back towards Ezekiel and the gift for a moment before she asked, ¡°Really? Ezekiel nodded as he patted the top of the gift and said, ¡°Go ahead and open it up.¡± The gift slowly lifted off the table and floated in front of Hela who studied it for a few moments before she asked, ¡°It looks tightly sealed, how does it open?¡± Ezekiel picked up his gift from Tao and held it up as he said, ¡°It''s just gift wrapped. Part of the fun and tradition is ripping off the outside layer to find out what''s hidden inside.¡± Ezekiel ripped open the wrapping on his gift to find a cardboard box which he quickly opened. Hela watched with interest as Ezekiel studied the contents of the box which she couldn''t see. A slightly forced smile played across his face before he shook his head and stored the package away. After it disappeared Hela asked, ¡°What did you get?¡± Ezekiel glanced up to see Hela''s inquisitive look and said, ¡°Just an unexpected book from my teacher.¡± Ezekiel quickly smiled and gestured to her gift as he said, ¡°Go on, open up your gift.¡± Hela looked back at her gift before she carefully peeled off the outside wrapping. She stared at the new object for a few moments before she asked, ¡°It''s a Gundam?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s a beginners model kit that you can build yourself. All of it just snaps together and comes pre painted. But you can do the stickers yourself.¡± The box for the kit flipped around a few times as Hela studied it before she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Ezekiel said before he pulled out some root beer and said, ¡°We can mess with that later though. Right now you should eat dinner while it¡¯s still hot and we can watch two of the best Christmas movies ever made.¡± As Hela put the model kit down she asked, ¡°Christmas movies?¡± ¡°One of them is called Home Alone and it''s a comedy. The other is called Die Hard and it¡¯s an action movie. Which one do you wanna watch first?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s watch Die Hard.¡± Hela said, which made Ezekiel smile. vvvvv After he left Hela, Theo went home to go to sleep. But before he did, he stopped by his training area to drop off the gift Tao gave him. While he had bookshelves in his bedroom, he didn¡¯t think he could put the books Tao gave him there. So he moved in front of his small personal library in the training room and pulled out Tao¡¯s Christmas gift. The first book was the only one he saw before he sealed it away. The cover read, ¡®How to talk to women for dummies.¡¯ Theo shook his head and placed it on one of the empty shelves before he looked at the second book which read, ¡®How to date a woman, a comprehensive guide on how to build a stable partnership.¡¯ Theo chuckled and placed the book next to the other one before he glanced at the last book cover and froze in place as he read the title, ¡®The Kama Sutra.¡¯ 00171. Jacob has a new hobby. Over a month passed by quickly and it was already the middle of February. The beginning of the year started out with a few minor issues for Theo. The first was the heroics the people from Naruto were doing. Theo wanted to test all the body cameras Tony created, so he gave people like Madara, Guy and a few others the cameras. They used them while they fought crime in different cities around the US. He did it for a few reasons, first was to test them. The second and main reason was because he was tired of sparring with them. Sure he needed it and it was good for his training but¡­ Madara, Guy, Dai, Hashirama and a few others always wanted to spar with him daily. Sure some of them wanted to do it to help him train and improve. But Guy, Dai and Madara just wanted to fight Theo because he was currently the ¡®strongest¡¯ person and could fight them the longest. Theo was also sure Lee and a few other battle junkies would definitely join in on that list too once they each had a body. Was Theo actually the strongest? No, not even close to the strongest. But when it came to chakra and stamina, he was easily the strongest in that regard. Which is the main reason they fought with him. That isn''t to say they didn''t spar with other people, since Madara sparred weekly with Tao. The only reason he didn''t fight her more often is because she didn''t hold back and he always got wrecked hard. If he fought with Tao more often he would be too hurt to spar with Theo. Since broken bones took a day or two to heal properly and Tao would always leave Madara as a bloody heap on the ground. The first time Theo saw the aftermath of their spar he secretly apologized in his heart for ever thinking Tao was too rough in his own training. Madara himself found no issue with her ¡®training¡¯ methods and challenged her once a week like clockwork. All that being said, the ninjas who tested the body cameras earned a nickname for themselves. People started calling them the ghosts, because they would appear out of nowhere and leave without a trace. The only reason people knew they appeared was criminals would be tied up in front of a police station and video evidence of their crimes were posted on a special website Theo created. It wasn''t just everyday theft, robbery or assault cases either. They would collect video of all kinds of crimes and a lot of people you wouldn''t expect to see, started appearing tied up. Business owners and CEO¡¯s of a few large companies, congressmen taking bribes along with the people giving them out. Needless to say, a lot of people were getting upset about what was going on and started trying to take down the website that held all the evidence. They even tried to remove it from internet search results and block it with ISP providers, but nothing worked. Theo also added more features to the site during that time to make it easier to search through the information. While normal people were easily convicted with the evidence provided. All of the powerful people used their connections to try and get out of trouble. The key word was ¡®try¡¯ but it didn''t work for most of them, since Theo made sure to shine a light on what was going on. A few were still able to get away from justice and at that point Theo took justice into his own hands. Depending on the crime committed Theo would figure out a proper punishment. Most of the people were rich with hidden bank accounts and money hidden in offshore tax havens. So Theo simply took away the money they couldn''t file claims against and then started to target their legitimate assets through other means. It was still on going but it worked, which is all that mattered. As for the people who committed heinous crimes such as murder. Theo always disposed of those types of people and made it look like a suicide, with a note explaining how guilty the person felt about their actions. Sure people were suspicious that it wasn''t actually a suicide, but Theo used an advanced mind control technique so there was no evidence of foul play. It did cause a lot of issues in certain circles of people and groups. But with no direct evidence all they could do is grit their teeth and bare it as everything happened. It was only going to get worse as time went on and Theo had access to more and more smart devices. Was it paranoid and very Orwellian? Sure, but Theo didn''t care since he knew how people were and would rather weed out problems before they started. He also made sure he was the only person who could access that type of information and even then he didn''t do it himself. He created a few pseudo AI type programs that combed through data. If it found anything, it would send it to Theo so he could dig through it himself with the help of clones. It probably wasn''t the best way to do things, but he barely trusted himself with this type of power and definitely wouldn''t trust anyone else with it.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. As for the other issue he ran into, it had to do with Revival. While the general public praised Revival and the work they did, certain people behind the scenes didn''t. They were mostly people who ran or owned pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies. Revival was cutting into their profit margins and none of them were happy. While they hadn''t publicly done anything, a few of them attempted some stuff behind the scenes. Mostly it was attempts to take down the website, track where it was based and who owned it. They all ended in failure, but that didn''t stop Theo from sending them a message in return. Most of them he just ruined a few servers and caused them to lose a bit of money. He did make an exception for one of the insurance companies though. He found they had a nasty history of turning down claims or taking forever to pay out claims. So he took all that information and gave it to a popular law firm famous for class action lawsuits. He also took all the owners illegal assets and then froze all their legal assets. It was mostly so the shareholders wouldn''t be able to do much against the lawsuit. It was just getting started though and would take a while to complete. As for Theo''s personal life, there was one thing he regretted doing for Christmas. He used his Ezekiel persona to gift, Daniel and her family top of the line cell phones. While Theo himself, Milly and Issac weren''t given phones because they were still young. All of the adults were given phones as a Christmas gift¡­ And that turned into a problem for Theo. Jacob, who wasn''t super into technology, didn''t really care for the phone that much at first. But once he realized it took extremely high quality photos¡­ Well he went a little overboard with the camera application. ¡°Come on Theo, you need to smile more.¡± Jacob said as he practically danced around Theo as he took a bunch of pictures trying to get a good angle. Theo glanced up from the engine he was taking apart and asked, ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because you look better when you smile.¡± Theo glanced back down at the engine as he said, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about looking good. I¡¯m busy working¡­ Unlike someone else who is supposed to be helping me.¡± Jacob let out a sigh as he put his phone away and asked, ¡°Why can¡¯t you be cute like your sister and brother?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not cute¡­ I¡¯m handsome.¡± Theo cracked a smile as he looked at Jacob for a moment. Jacob quickly tried to pull out his phone again but it was already too late and Theo was focused back on the engine by the time it was out. Jacob let out a defeated sigh and put the phone away as he asked, ¡°You little brat, who taught you to be so cheeky?¡± ¡°You did. Now are you ready to explain what I need to do next?¡± Jacob picked up a ratchet as he said, ¡°Sure. Since this is a complete rebuild, the next step is to remove the heads. You do that side while I do this one.¡± Theo placed his ratchet on one of the bolts at random and Jacob stopped him as he said, ¡°The bolts need to be removed in a certain order. It¡¯s normally the reverse of the tightening sequence, but it depends on the engine.¡± Jacob pointed to each bolt in order as he said, ¡°Since this is a small block it goes like this.¡± Jacob watched as Theo put his ratchet on the proper bolt and smiled as he said, ¡°Good, now give it a try.¡± Theo gripped the ratchet and gave it a good tug but the bolt didn¡¯t move at all. After a few tries he used both hands and the bolt finally broke free, which caused Jacob to smile as he said, ¡°Good job, I wasn¡¯t sure if you would be strong enough to do that yet. These bolts should be torqued to sixty-five foot pounds.¡± For the next couple hours Jacob slowly worked with Theo as he taught him how to properly disassemble the engine. Once they were done, they cleaned up and gathered the others to walk home. On the way home Jacob took back out his phone and took more pictures of Theo and everyone else. Theo shook his head at his fathers antics and wondered just how many of the pictures actually turned out good¡­ Actually he started to wonder how many photos he took each day. Hopefully he deleted the bad ones, otherwise he would probably run out of space on his phone soon. After they reached home, they were greeted by the delicious smell of something coming from the kitchen. While Jacob tended to be the main cook of the family, Daniel still cooked dinner a couple times a week and today turned out to be one of those days. As they stepped into the kitchen Daniel greeted them as she said, ¡°Just in time, we just finished cooking.¡± Milly and Issac were in the middle of setting the table as Milly excitedly said, ¡°Issac helped me make dessert!¡± Jacob started to take pictures of Milly and Issac as he asked, ¡°What did you make?¡± Milly had a massive smile on her face as she said, ¡°A double layer chocolate cake with a cream cheese frosting between the layers!¡± Issac nodded along with a smile as Jacob said, ¡°Greet job you two. I bet it will taste great.¡± Jacob took a few more pictures and even had Milly and Issac show off their cake to get a few pictures of it with them before he finally put his phone away and the family ate dinner. After dinner Theo changed places with a clone and took off to go check in with Tony and a few other people before he started his training for the night. It was around two in the morning when one of his clones popped and he received some important information that made him frown. 00172. The leader behind The Hand. Theo was seated at his computer as he went over the information his clone found. His cellphone project just provided him with the first of what would be many people he was looking for. On the screen before him was a picture of an old woman of asian descent. Along with her pictures was some basic information about her and everything her cellphone recorded. While her legal name was displayed on the screen, Theo knew her by a different name. She was Madame Gao, one of the five fingers of The Hand. Apparently she was one of the people who purchased a new cell phone from Tony. She also had a very interesting contact list filled with people Theo would need to look into. Unfortunately most of those people either didn''t have the new type of cell phone with his software installed on it. Or in some cases the people didn''t have a cell phone at all and just a landline or a pager. That didn''t stop Theo from trying to triangulate their locations and dig up information on each person he could. It took Theo and his clones a few months to basically figure out The Hand''s organizational structure. There were still some blind spots and they needed to send people to investigate in person. But through electronic surveillance using cell phones, cameras, computers and other devices Theo had a decent idea how they operated. With that in mind he sent out a handful of ninjas to scout out their bases and properties throughout the world. He also had a few sorcerers help out and scout out places from the mirror dimension. It took over a week of on the ground scouting before something was found that surprised even Theo. Hidden deep underground, beneath a temple structure in Japan was a demon. It was apparently a demon that helped control The Hand from behind the scenes. Or at least that''s what it seemed like, since they only sent shadow clones to gather information. It was a precaution Theo used in case someone became trapped and couldn''t get out, they could just dispel instead. It was also harder to detect shadow clones which was an added bonus and helped immensely with the demon they discovered. As soon as the clone found the demon it dispelled itself and Theo went to Tao for advice. Tao was seated in the library area of Theo''s training room at the time reading a book. Right after Theo received the information from his clone, he stopped his training in fuinjutsu and urgently moved towards Tao. Once he was close he said, ¡°Master, one of my clones found a demon in Japan.¡± Tao glanced up from her book as she asked, ¡°Was it detected by it?¡± ¡°It''s possible, but it was a shadow clone without a soul and the clone dispelled as soon as it found the demon.¡± Tao placed her book down and stood up as she said, ¡°Then let''s go see what we are up against.¡± Theo immediately henged into Ezekiel before he opened a portal to a mountain top in Japan. It was a little chilly on top of the snow covered mountain even with the late afternoon sun high overhead. About five miles away and nestled in the shade of the valley below was a beautiful but eerie looking temple. The temple was like most others found throughout Japan and even the buildings looked well maintained compared to most. But the vegetation inside the temple grounds and around the surrounding area was in the process of decaying. As they stood on the mountain peak and looked at the temple, Ezekiel said, ¡°It''s hidden beneath the temple inside a chamber that looks like something straight out of a horror movie.¡± Tao nodded as she raised her hands and started to chant under her breath. Theo watched her movements and felt power slowlying surging around her. After a few minutes the power spiked and a golden colored barrier snapped into place around the whole valley below before it disappeared from view. A moment later Tao opened a portal to the front of the temple and gestured for Ezekiel to go first as she said, ¡°Let''s go see what we''re dealing with.¡± After they exited the portal, Tao said in a happy tone, ¡°I''ll let you take the lead since you could use the experience.¡± Ezekiel glanced towards Tao only to find her missing and asked, ¡°Why do I have a feeling I''m not going to like this?¡± ¡°You won''t.¡± Tao''s voice said from everywhere and nowhere at once. Ezekiel unconsciously shivered at her words before he said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to reassure me¡­ That you''ll protect me and everything will be fine?¡± After he was met with silence, Ezekiel frowned slightly as he glanced around. After a few moments he smirked to himself and raised his hands. He spun one arm in a circle as he said, ¡°I''ll just go find Agatha to help me out.¡± The portal he attempted to open never appeared and made him frown again. After he attempted to open another portal Tao''s ghostly voice said, ¡°I''ve sealed the space around the valley. I''m the only person who can enter and exit it.¡± ¡°Fuck¡­¡± ¡°Language young man.¡± Tao''s ghostly voice rang out in a mocking tone from the surrounding area. Ezekiel glanced towards the temple and let out a groan before he asked, ¡°You''re really not gonna help me?¡± ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t let you die.¡± ¡°That''s what I''m worried about.¡± Ezekiel said as he began to stretch his arms. Ezekiel crouched down after a few moments with his hands on his knees and started to warm up his body as Tao''s ghostly voice asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Warming up my body and getting ready for a tough fight.¡± Tao''s voice held a bit of annoyance as she said, ¡°You''re just trying to waste time, that''s not even your real body.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ezekiel continued stretching and let out a huff as he said, ¡°I''ll have you know, this is still stretching and loosening up the muscles of my real body.¡± ¡°You should be preparing spells to fight the demon with.¡± Tao said after a few moments. As Ezekiel continued to warm up his body he said matter of factly, ¡°I''m a ninja first and sorcerer second. Besides I''ve yet to read any of the demon subjugation books or related materials.¡± ¡°A subject I told you to learn about.¡± Ezekiel finally finished, stood up straight again and bounced on the balls of his feet as he said, ¡°And I told you I would get to it later, after I finished my other areas of study. Besides, we created a team to fight this kind of thing¡­ They should definitely be here instead of me.¡± ¡°You could use the experience, so quit complaining you baby.¡± Ezekiel ignored the comment as he pulled out a few weapons from his storage scroll and placed them for ease of use around his body before he steadied his gaze on the temple doors. After a few more moments of hesitation Ezekiel moved towards the doors with a nervous smirk on his face. As he reached the doors, he took a deep breath before he opened them up. The inside was dark and gloomy with no light to be seen. The sun didn''t help much with the temple being in the bottom of the valley surrounded by mountains. Instead of casting a continual light spell, Ezekiel pulled out a special UV rated light and hooked it to the front of his vest. It was set as an unfocused beam so it easily lit up the area around him. As he moved into the temple and headed towards the hidden room inside the basement, which led deep underground, Tao said, ¡°You should cast a light spell and a shield.¡± ¡°If I do that the demon will realize I know magic.¡± ¡°You''ll need magic in order to defeat it.¡± Tao said as Ezekiel went towards a wall and pushed on a brick to open up the hidden room. As the wall opened up, a stench hit Ezekiel in the face like a physical punch. As the scent of rotten flesh, decay and other unpleasant odors assaulted Ezekiel, he stepped back before he was forced to run out of the basement. Once he was back upstairs he fell to his knees and puked up his dinner all over the temple floor. Tao''s mocking voice rang out around him as she said, ¡°Magic would have prevented that.¡± Ezekiel didn''t respond as he proceeded to cast three spells once he felt better. Two of them were to clean up himself and his vomit. While the last spell filtered the air he would breathe. Once he felt completely fine he headed back into the basement as he said, ¡°You''re right¡­ And I planned to use magic if my own skills aren''t effective against it¡­ But I have nothing that can filter that stench.¡± Tao went quiet as Ezekiel entered into the tunnel leading deeper underground with a slight curve to the left. He walked slowly as he scanned the area ahead of him in case his clone missed anything along the slightly spiraled pathway. After half an hour or so the tunnel ended and a large chamber opened up before Ezekiel. It was dimly lit by torches hung on the walls and a few brazier arranged around the room. Most of the floor was covered in gore with hundreds of corpses in different states of decay. At the other end of the chamber seated on a raised platform was the demon. The creature was overly large, comically so with its massive midsection on full display. Honestly if it wasn''t for the charcoal colored skin, long rail thin legs and massive clawed hands. Ezekiel would have thought he was looking at Jabba the Hutt without a tail from the way it was currently seated. The creature was laid back on the stone seat and in the process of eating a rotten human leg like it was a chicken wing when it finally noticed Ezekiel. It studied him as it practically sucked most of the meat from the bone. Once the leg was completely picked clean, it tossed the bone into a large pile in the back corner of the room. ¡°Someone new¡­ Did the last one finally break?¡± The creature questioned with a disgusting smile as it lifted up four human skulls shaped together into a cup before it drank its contents. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°No idea.¡± What Ezekiel could only assume was blood, spilled out of the creature''s mouth and onto its exposed stomach as it sloppily finished its drink. Afterwards it let out a satisfied belch before it said, ¡°Pity, I like it best when they break in front of me. It adds to the flavor¡­Though the fact you haven''t tried to run away yet is a good sign. Maybe you''ll last longer than the others. The strong willed ones always taste the best.¡± After it set its cup down the creature watched Ezekiel for a while as it waited for him to do something. As time slowly passed it frowned and after almost a minute the creature finally snarled, ¡°Are you just going to keep standing there? Did those fools I have running The Hand not teach you anything?¡± ¡°No, not really¡­ Just where to find you.¡± The creature slammed its fist down on its stone chair as it said, ¡°For your sake, you better have brought this month''s sacrifices¡­¡± ¡°Sacrifices?¡± Ezekiel asked. The demon slowly stood up from its seat as it said in a menacing tone, ¡°That''s your only job¡­ To collect sacrifices and bring them to me.¡± Once it stood up to its full height, Ezekiel could only think one thing. The demon looked a lot like a deranged version of humpty dumpty now that it stood up. Ezekiel studied the demon for a moment before he asked, ¡°You really skipped leg day uh?¡± The demon''s eyes narrowed into slits as it studied Ezekiel for a while before it said, ¡°You''re not from The Hand.¡± Ezekiel gave a slow golf clap as he said, ¡°Looks like you''re almost not as stupid as you look.¡± ¡°You insignificant little worm! You dare insult me?!¡± The demon growled out before it disappeared from its spot and reappeared in front of Ezekiel as its clawed hand attempted to grab him. A puff of smoke appeared where Ezekiel was and when it cleared away, the rotten upper half of a body was in its place. The demon squished the body into paste as it turned around to find Ezekiel. Ezekiel stood on top of the demon''s seat with a relaxed smile on his face as he said, ¡°You''re pretty fast for someone who definitely doesn''t do cardio.¡± The demon disappeared again but this time Ezekiel also moved. In a few moments over a dozen attacks were traded between the two as they tested each other. Body parts, gore and other unpleasant things were thrown around the room as they fought in the underground chamber before they finally separated from their probing attacks. The demon licked its lips before it said, ¡°It''s been a while since I''ve eaten one of you mutant cattle.¡± Ezekiel started to move through hand signs as he said, ¡°I''m neither a mutant nor cattle¡­¡± As Ezekiel sucked in a large amount of air the demon charged forward again. Ezekiel instantly moved backwards away from the demon as he brought his hands to the front of his mouth as he said, ¡°Katon, Gouka Mekkyaku!¡± A jet of fire streamed out of his mouth and engulfed the body of the demon a moment later before it started to scream in agony. Ezekiel only held the technique for a few seconds as the temperature skyrocketed in the confined space and he had no shield in place. He then weaved hand signs together and said, ¡°Futon: Daitoppa!¡± A portion of the heat dissipated while the smoke. soot and other stuff in the air was forced out of the chamber. A lot of the gore on the ground was tossed against the far wall while the demon itself stood out as it looked like a giant piece of charcoal. Ezekiel studied it for a few moments before he clicked his tongue and said, ¡°Of course it wouldn¡¯t be that easy.¡± 00173. The Beast. Ezekiel watched the demon that currently looked like a piece of charcoal as it slowly started to heal. Ezekiel estimated it would take five minutes or more to heal and after a moment he decided not to wait for it to recover properly before he started to pull out explosive tags from his storage seal. The next moment he disappeared and started to cover the demon with hundreds of explosive tags. It took almost a minute but once he was done, he placed a time delayed explosive tag on the demon and took off into the tunnel. Within less than a minute he burst out of the temple doors and arrived at the edge of the barrier Tao erected. Once there he touched the barrier with his hand and felt resistance so he forced chakra into his fingertips and tested it. His hand stuck to the barrier so he released the chakra in his fingers before he applied it to his feet and ran up the barrier. As he ran up the barrier he counted down in his mind until he hit ten. Which is when he turned around and quickly created a magic barrier around himself. A moment later a low rumble sounded out beneath the temple before it got louder. Within moments the ground surrounding the temple vibrated and cracked apart before it exploded outwards. The temple and the area around it practically vaporized a few moments later as what could only be described as a nuke went off. The shock wave and debris from the resulting blast slammed into Tao''s barrier and Ezekiel''s shield for almost half a minute. Afterwards it slowly calmed down but the inside of the barrier was completely filled with dust so thick, Ezekiel couldn''t see anything past his shield. ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± Tao asked in an annoyed tone. Ezekiel shrugged as he asked, ¡°If it worked, does it really matter?¡± ¡°You destroyed a historic building for no reason.¡± Ezekiel crossed his arms over his chest as he said, ¡°I did it to kill a demon.¡± ¡°You don''t kill demons, you seal them or banish them.¡± Ezekiel glanced towards the ground and tried to see through the dust as he said, ¡°Really? I assumed killing them was the best option.¡± Tao''s ghostly voice took on a teaching tone as she said, ¡°You can''t kill most demons when they are on this plane of existence. Besides you still need a proper weapon to attempt it and it''s not really guaranteed they will truly die. You need to fight and kill the demon in their home realm to truly kill them.¡± ¡°So demon''s are basically cockroaches on steroids when they¡¯re on Earth?¡± Ezekiel asked as the dust started to settle. There was a long pause before Tao said, ¡°Essentially, yes.¡± They both fell into a comfortable silence as the dust in the air slowly settled down. About ten minutes later onnce it was mostly clear, Ezekiel studied the destruction he caused. The explosion had created a massive crater that went a little below where the hidden chamber was. And the crater itself looked weird since it only went to the edge of the barrier itself. So instead of being in a circular shape it was actually a square. Ezekiel glanced around the crater for a while before he said, ¡°It looks like that worked to me.¡± ¡°It didn''t.¡± ¡°I don''t¡­¡± Ezekiel''s voice trailed off as a bleeding gray clawed hand burst from the ground near the center of the crater. Ezekiel narrowed his eyes as the demon pulled itself out of the ground and glanced around before it looked up at Ezekiel. Ezekiel with his arms crossed over his chest looked arrogant in the demon''s eyes as he stood in the air looking down at it. The demon was in rough shape but its wounds quickly healed at a visible rate as it stared up at Ezekiel with its murderous gaze. Ezekiel smirked back as he yelled, ¡°It''s kinda funny that you called me a worm, when you just crawled out of the ground like one.¡± ¡°I''m going to kill you!¡± The demon screamed out as it disappeared and slammed into Ezekiel¡¯s shield a few moments later. As it pounded against Ezekiel¡¯s shield it said, ¡°Fight me coward!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Ezekiel said as he kicked off of Tao''s barrier towards the demon with all of his strength he could while also being boosted by chakra. Just before he reached his own shield, Ezekiel released it and slammed both feet into the demon''s chest caving it in. Then they rocketed towards the ground as Ezekiel basically rode the demon like a surfboard. The demon was caught by surprise and had no time to react before they slammed into the earth below them. Ezekiel wasted no time once they landed and pulled out two kunai before he jammed them into the eye sockets of the demon. The demon roared in fury as it tried to swipe at Ezekiel who quickly jumped out of the demon''s reach before he landed right on top of his kunai. The blow forced both kunai to go completely into its eye sockets and stab it''s brain directly. The demon went limp as Ezekiel stepped off its head and stepped back a few feet from the creature. After about a minute the kunai slowly pushed back out of its eye sockets and a little after that the demon moved again. It reached towards the kunai still partially buried in its eyes to remove them. Ezekiel jumped into the air as it moved and stomped on its hands at the same time it grabbed the weapons. The kunai disappeared back into its eye sockets again as the demon went limp once more. As Ezekiel stepped off its head Tao said, ¡°I told you, you can''t kill it.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I can''t gain some experience fighting with it.¡± Ezekiel said as he removed two items from his storage seal.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The first item was his tablet which he typed on for a moment before he slung it over his back. The second item was a beautiful straight blade sword made out of adamantium. It was an item created by one of the blacksmiths from Naruto and worked as a chakra blade. Ezekiel studied the blade as he waited for the demon to heal. It was designed in the shape of traditional Chinese short swords but had a slightly longer hilt then normal. Inscribed onto both sides of the sword blade was a special fuinjutsu script designed by the Uzumaki clan for charging weapons with chakra. Movement caught Ezekiel¡¯s eye and he raised the blade in front of himself as the demon started to move again. As the demon stood up from the ground and its eyes began to heal. Ezekiel reached behind himself and tapped the screen on his tablet. A few moments later the demon tilted its head in different directions as its eyes still healed, a soft electric guitar started to play. The demon turned in the direction of the music and blindly swiped a claw at Ezekiel, who defended with his sword. The blade cut into the demon''s hand slightly but it wasn¡¯t enough to cut off the limb. The demon itself roared in pain as it pulled its hand back and at the same time swiped at Ezekiel with its other hand. This time Ezekiel focused on the sword and charged it with his chakra to form an outer layer on the blade. It was a light transparent purple color and almost made the sword look like a lightsaber if it wasn¡¯t for the blade''s shape. As the demon''s other hand was about to reach the chakra blade the song started in full as the singer let out, ¡®Allllllllllllll our times have come.¡¯ The sword sliced completely through the demon''s hand with a sizzle sound as the demon let out an agonized scream and the song continued, ¡®Hereeee, but now they''re gone.¡¯ Ezekiel pressed forward this time with his own attack and sliced through the demons still outstretched arm. The blade easily cut through its elbow joint like a hot knife through butter as the next part of the song played, ¡®Seasons don''t fear the reaper.¡¯ The demon''s eyes completely healed as Ezekiel swung his sword again and sliced though its belly this time. As the demon roared again in agony the song continued, ¡®Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain.¡¯ The demon attempted to block with its other hand as it waited for its body to heal when Ezekiel attacked again, but his sword just sliced through its other hand as the music played, ¡®We can be like they are.¡¯ The demon¡¯s new wounds inflicted by the sword were healing but at a much slower pace than normal and it eyed Ezekiel¡¯s sword warily as the chorus kicked in, ¡®Come on, baby. (don''t fear the reaper).¡¯ Ezekiel pressed his advantage as he attacked again. The demon attempted to retreat this time but Ezekiel¡¯s main skill was currently his speed and he disappeared with a body flicker before he appeared again behind the demon. Ezekiel had targeted the demon''s overly thin legs and chopped them off at mid thigh. As the demon let out an agonized scream of pain its body collapsed to the ground as the chorus played, ¡®Baby, take my hand. (don''t fear the reaper).¡¯ Ezekiel walked towards the demon who showed a hint of pain on its anger filled face. All of the wounds inflicted by the sword had yet to really heal and it was almost completely limbless as it stared up at Ezekiel. As the song continued to play Ezekiel smirked and said, ¡°Look at you, looking more like a worm by the minute.¡± The demon¡¯s eyes flashed with hatred as it snarled, ¡°Just wait! I¡¯ll get my revenge for this! I¡¯m the Beast! A demon summoned from a place you can''t even imagine, you stupid human! You have no idea who you¡¯ve messed with or how powerful I truly am!¡± ¡°Really?¡± Ezekiel asked with a smirk. He stepped back and gestured with his free hand for the demon to do something as he said, ¡°Go ahead, let''s see what you can do¡­ Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll wait.¡± ¡®La, la, la, la, la.¡¯ ¡®Valentine is done.¡¯ ¡®Here, but now they''re gone.¡¯ Ezekiel raised an eyebrow after a few moments and asked, ¡°Performance issues?¡± The demon wiggled on the ground and gashed its teeth before it snarled, ¡°Just wait! I¡¯ll skin you alive as you beg for mercy, you worm!¡± ¡°Wow, you really look like a worm right now¡­ Projecting much?¡± Ezekiel asked with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll devour your flesh and use your bones as a new throne!¡± Ezekiel stepped forward and casually sliced off the rest of the demon''s right arm as he asked, ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± The demon screamed out as it wiggled on the ground before Ezekiel sliced off its other arm at its shoulder and said, ¡°I was told demon''s can''t die¡­ But I wonder¡­ Perhaps I can make you beg for death instead?¡± Fear started to fill the demon''s eyes as Ezekiel moved towards what was left of its legs. He sliced through the freshly healed area where a tiny bit of its leg started to regrow which caused it to scream again as the music continued to play. Ezekiel spent about half an hour as he slowly and methodically carved up the demon like it was a Christmas ham. Once he was bored he sliced off the demon''s head and asked, ¡°Is this good enough or should I reenact the warehouse scene from Reservoir Dogs once it heals completely?¡± Tao let out a sigh before she appeared next to Ezekiel and said, ¡°No, I think this is more than enough¡­¡± ¡°Are you sure? I kinda wanna see if I can make it truly beg for death.¡± Tao glanced at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°You really need to see a therapist.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I''ve talked to Inoichi about it a few times. He thinks it has something to do with a bleed over effect from all the memories I have from everyone in my head.¡± Tao frowned slightly as she said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be protected from something like that?¡± ¡°The same way my old memories were supposed to be protected from being seen?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°You have a point¡­¡± Tao said as she watched the demon''s head slowly start to regrow. Ezekiel glanced around at all of the pieces he removed from the demon that were withering away and crumbling to dust as he asked, ¡°Is that normal?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That''s kinda weird¡­ Is it like a golem or something? Does it have a magic core?¡± ¡°Enhance your eyes with magic.¡± Tao said as she looked at Ezekiel like he was an idiot. Ezekiel weaved a spell together to enhance his eyes before he looked back at the demon and the parts of it scattered around on the ground. As the unattached parts of it broke down and dissolved, they would return to the main body. It was something you could only see with magically enhanced sight though. Ezekiel, fascinated by what was happening, took his sword and sliced the demon''s body into four parts. The biggest part turned into the new main body for the other parts, which started to dissolve. After a while Ezekiel canceled his spell and glanced at Tao as he asked, ¡°Demons have a soul?¡± ¡°In a sense they do, but only when summoned. All demon''s need a sacrifice to be summoned to our plane of existence and the sacrificed soul acts as an anchor for them. That''s another reason why they are normally banished or sealed.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding as he asked, ¡°Now what?¡± ¡°Now I¡¯ll teach you how to banish a demon back to its realm.¡± 00174. Chakra aura? With the ¡®Beast¡¯ taken care of by Tao, Ezekiel used an earth based jutsu to fill in the large crater left from the battle. Afterwards he made a clone to watch over the area as he portaled back to his training room. Since the ninjas and his clones were still investigating the Hand, he went back to his training for now. The training he planned to do was something he just added to his routine. It was called chakra aura or better known as battlefield presence. An even better term for it would be killing intent, but it wasn''t used just for that. Flaring your chakra aura basically turned you into a lighthouse projecting its light out on a storm covered night. That ¡®light¡¯ could either focus on a single person or target everyone within its range depending on certain factors. A person skilled in the art of chakra aura could even mix in their thoughts or add emotions into their chakra. Want to inspire your comrades mid battle or possibly create chaos in the enemy ranks? Want to protect your troops from the enemy''s chakra aura? All you had to do was mix those thoughts and emotions into your chakra aura. It was a lot harder to do than just saying it and it took a ridiculous amount of chakra control to do it properly. But those who mastered the skill could use it as another tool in battle. That¡¯s not to say someone couldn¡¯t easily brute force the whole thing, but it would lose its effectiveness that way. Sure it might work on weaker opponents but it would never work against a strong opponent. While it had its uses on the battlefield to help weaker troops, its main purpose was to let strong opponents find each other in battle and ward off weaker ninja. It was something from the warring states period that carried forward with the creation of the village system. Did people always use it? Nope. But it was basically an unspoken rule that you flared your chakra aura throughout a battle so weaker opponents wouldn¡¯t try to target you by mistake and to attract stronger opponents. As for why Theo just started to learn the skill? The first was his chakra control needed to be at a certain level before it was recommended to learn the skill. Well he could have learned it, but he would basically have to learn it again once his chakra control was better. The second reason was it was always better to learn from someone who already knew how to properly use the skill. So Theo was currently seated in front of Madara ready for his first lesson on chakra aura. Seated next to Theo was Agatha and Tao who also had enough chakra control to start learning the basics of the skill. They haven''t had chakra that long, but they practiced their control with it even more than Theo did. It also helped they''ve both spent centuries learning to finely control their magic and transferred that experience to chakra so it took them less time to master. Madara glanced over his ¡®students¡¯ with his arms crossed over his chest for a few seconds before he flared his chakra aura over them. It slammed into them almost like a physical blow and they each felt a slight fear towards Madara. Once Madara stopped channeling his aura he said, ¡°As you can see, your chakra aura can be powerful depending on a few things. The first and most important is how much control you have over your chakra.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the amount of chakra you have be more important, since your chakra aura depends on your chakra itself?¡± Agatha asked. Madara shook his head as he said, ¡°While some clans and bloodlines were known for having massive amounts of chakra. Most people had a certain average amount depending on a few factors and training.¡± ¡°It''s why civilian ninjas existed and could even rival clan ninjas with proper training.¡± Madara said with a mocking smile. Madara lifted up a hand and pushed out some chakra into one of his fingertips as he said, ¡°Chakra control is the most important factor because without it, you won''t be able to control your aura.¡± His fingertip became engulfed in a flood of chakra and was basically out of control as Madara said, ¡°With no control your chakra aura would be like this. No real form or function other than existing.¡± The chakra settled down and wrapped tightly around his finger to form a barely noticeable protective layer as he said, ¡°This is your aura when it''s under control. It''s tightly controlled and not even noticeable until you activate it.¡± The layer became thicker but stayed under control as he said, ¡°This would be your aura when it''s activated. Still under control but flared out for all to see.¡± ¡°So we''re gonna be covered in an invisible layer of chakra? Isn¡¯t that kind of wasteful?.¡± Tao asked.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°The chakra never leaves your body and isn''t actually used to activate your aura or keep it maintained. It''s why the size of a person''s chakra pool doesn''t matter so much.¡± Madara stepped closer to a white board that was setup for him to use and took a moment to draw six circles in a row. Each circle was bigger than the last and he marked each one in order. The first and smallest circle was named untrained, the second was genin. Next was chunin and it was followed by jonin. The fifth circle was named kage and the last and biggest one was named ME. Everyone stared at the circles for a little while before Theo said, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be another bigger circle named Hashirama?¡± Madara¡¯s eye twitched at the comment before he said, ¡°Hashirama and I have about the same size chakra pool.¡± ¡°But he still beat you in all of your fights.¡± ¡°He only won because he had plot armor!¡± Madara huffed. Theo smirked slightly as he said, ¡°I guess you have a slight point¡­¡± Madara ignored Theo and pointed at the board as he said, ¡°We got off topic. The reason I said your chakra pool doesn''t matter much is because it only affects how far your aura can reach and how strong it can be.¡± Madara pointed at each circle as he said, ¡°As you gain more chakra the area your aura reaches will expand. The same thing goes for the overall strength of your aura.¡± ¡°That makes it sound like your chakra pool is pretty important to your aura.¡± Tao said. ¡°Not when you consider the fact that you don''t have much control over your chakra pool. Sure if you are diligent and train properly everyday you can increase your chakra to kage levels in theory.¡± Madara pointed at the jonin circle as he said, ¡°But if you only train half heartedly, you can easily reach jonin levels of chakra by the time you are in your mid twenties.¡± Madara turned back to the group as he said, ¡°Your chakra control on the other hand will determine if you can do this.¡± Theo and the others felt dread for a moment before it disappeared and was replaced with a warm feeling that wrapped around them. That was quickly replaced with a feeling of being watched as Madara said, ¡°That is what basic control of your aura is like. Now this is your aura with almost no control.¡± The feelings disappeared and were replaced with an unfamiliar pressure. It didn''t affect them so much as make them slightly uncomfortable. It changed and they felt more uncomfortable and a slight hint of fear as Madara said, ¡°This is the best someone with no real control can do. Now I''ll show you what good control is like.¡± The pressure more than doubled and Theo felt like a physical weight was pressing down on his body making it harder to move or even breath. He also started to feel the threat of death hovering over him and unconsciously shivered from it. The feeling and pressure disappeared as Madara said, ¡°What you just felt was me with my genin levels of chakra and my masterful control of my aura.¡± ¡°You said your chakra pool doesn''t matter and that you don''t really use chakra to activate your aura or use it¡­ So what do our auras use if it''s not chakra?¡± Agatha asked. ¡°Your aura is the chakra pool itself.¡± ¡°Then wouldn''t your aura get weaker as you battle and use up your chakra?¡± Tao asked. ¡°If you have a cup full of water and then dump out the water, you lose the water but still have the cup.¡± Madara shrugged as he said, ¡°Honestly I''m just supposed to train you on how to use aura. If you wanna get into more details about it, ask someone else who likes to dig into the theory side of things like Tobirama.¡± Madara spent the next few hours as he explained how to activate and manipulate your aura. It was something Theo already knew, but having someone teach you how was a lot easier than using other people''s memories. By the time they finished Theo had a very basic grasp on his chakra aura. It would take him at least a year before he was confident in its usage and even longer before he mastered it. But it would be a very useful tool to have in the future¡­ The only issue he had with it was if it worked on people without chakra. He knew a good bit about chakra aura and understood it worked through a resonance with other people''s chakra. Since they were on Earth and no one had chakra except him and the people he gave bodies to¡­ Would their chakra aura even work on normal people? It was something he would need to test soon and he had a good idea who the test subjects would be. Theo spent the next month training as he waited for his investigation into the Hand to be completed. It would have been faster if the Hand kept digital records, but being a centuries old cult they did almost everything the old way. They were actually worse than Hydra in how outdated some of their system of communication was. Sure they used phones and computers for a lot of normal communication. But that was still in a special code the Hand used. The real problem came from their use of carry pigeons and other birds. They also used sealed scrolls to pass important messages around and keep track of records¡­ Yes, that''s right, the Hand used scrolls. Not paper or digital messages, but scrolls that they actually made themselves. They actually had a small team of people and that was their only job in the Hand, to create scrolls they could use to send information. It was like they were still living in the past, over a thousand years ago. Needless to say, it was a time consuming problem to dig through all of their information and collect it. 00175. Making a plan for the Hand. It was about a month later when Theo finished collecting all the information he could from the Hand. He spent another month going through it all and digitizing it so it would be easier to share with his group. Once he was finished he called a meeting to discuss what to do with the rest of the council. Ezekiel showed up to the meeting early and took his seat at the middle of the table. The main meeting room was expanded over the past year to fit more people and make it easier to talk at the same time. Ezekiel¡¯s spot was placed in the middle while everyone else was fanned out around him in three layers shaped in half circles. Each layer was placed slightly above the next so everyone could see clearly. Since there were so many people on the council now, it was a little hard to talk with everyone at once. So each seat had a microphone and when they would talk a small image of them would appear on the main screen. Each seat also included a built-in computer so people could browse through the information easier during the meeting. As Ezekiel prepared for the meeting, people started to trickle into the meeting room. The original people like Fury, Peggy, Steve, Hank and others arrived first. With Tao, Agatha, Bill, Jarvis and others not far behind. It took about half an hour before the room was completely filled up with people along with the recently added members to the council which included Minato, Tobirama, Shikaku Nara and some other ninjas. All told there were now just over twenty people on the council with room to fit up to fifty total. It was already a slight issue having so many people in the meetings and would only get worse once it was completely filled. But it was good to have a wide range of viewpoints so that better ideas and solutions could be figured out. Once everyone was settled in, Ezekiel brought up a picture on the main screen of a dried bloody hand print on an old piece of paper as he asked, ¡°Before we start, does anyone know what this symbol is?¡± ¡°A bloody handprint?¡± Jarvis asked. ¡°It''s the symbol for an ancient ninja cult called the Hand.¡± Minato said. ¡°Ninjas? Like what you''re training us in?¡± Jarvis asked. ¡°For the traditional aspects like stealth and concealment or moving silently¡­ They''re passable, but that''s about it. They have nothing else that''s worth mentioning.¡± Tobirama said. Ezekiel glanced around the room as he said, ¡°You can think of the Hand kinda like Hydra. Except they don''t want to take over the world. Their original purpose was lost five hundred years once they started following a summoned demon called the Beast.¡± Ezekiel pulled up more information on them as he said, ¡°They used to be consumed with gaining power and influence while they pursued immortality.¡± ¡°They still do those things, but working under the Beast it influenced the clan towards nihilism and annihilation. They now wish to see the world burn as their ultimate goal.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled up some more information on the group. ¡°I''ve already taken care of the Beast with the help of Tao and I''ve had people investigate the inner workings of the Hand for almost two months. We now have their complete structure mapped out and a complete list of all members, bases and properties.¡± ¡°If you gathered all of their information in two months. Why haven''t you collected everything on Hydra yet?¡± Steve asked. Ezekiel glanced towards Steve as he said, ¡°Because Hydra is too cautious and no one person has much information about who is who. Even Alexander Pierce, who is the nominal leader for Hydra, only has information about the people in Shield.¡± ¡°As for any bases and people outside of Shield¡­ We have almost no information.¡± A picture of an old Asian woman appeared on the screen as Ezekiel said, ¡°This is one of the leaders of the Hand. Through her alone I was able to discover all the other leaders. They don''t compartmentalize any information and the only reason it took so long to collect, is because most of it was stored on paper.¡± Fury was still going through the information when he said, ¡°I can''t believe they flew under Shields radar. This organization is massive.¡± A few others nodded in agreement before Ezekiel said, ¡°Well, we know about them now and we''ve already dealt them a heavy blow by removing the beast. The next question is what should we do with them.¡± Melina, who was going through the files on each of the leaders, said, ¡°If even half of this stuff is true, we should probably just kill them all.¡± ¡°Maybe for some of the members, but it looks like most people are indoctrinated and practically brainwashed from a young age. I think we should try to help them out.¡± Bucky said as he was reading through some of the files on how the Hand works. Steve nodded in agreement along with a few others before the group started to discuss options on what should be done for the Hand and its members. Once they had a few decent ideas in place Ezekiel brought up a new picture on the main screen of a grizzled old man wearing a green army hat and blacked out glasses. Ezekiel waited a moment before he said, ¡°Since we are dealing with the Hand, we should also track down the Chaste.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. A few more pictures appeared on the screen as Ezekiel said, ¡°The Chaste aren''t evil and their only goal is to rid the world of the Hand. Since we are doing their job for them, we should at least let them know once it''s finished. We don''t want them randomly attacking people who are no longer part of the Hand.¡± The total meeting took almost four hours before it was concluded, but they now had a solid plan in place on how they would deal with the Hand and the aftermath. After the meeting Ezekiel portaled out of the base to get food before he went to Tony''s. The portal opened up into Tony''s lab where he found Tony hunched over a keyboard as he typed away. Ezekiel silently walked up behind Tony and studied the screen for a few moments before he said, ¡°Your code is terrible.¡± Tony literally jumped out of his seat as he turned around to see Ezekiel¡¯s smirking face. Tony punched Ezekiel¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°What the hell man! Why can''t you just announce yourself like a normal person?¡± Ezekiel shrugged with the smirk still plastered on his face as he said, ¡°I can''t help it, I''m a ninja.¡± ¡°Welcome, Ezekiel. I''ve just informed Happy of your arrival.¡± Tony frowned as he said, ¡°And now you greet him¡­ It almost feels like you like him more than me, JARVIS¡­¡± ¡°That''s physically impossible sir, I don''t have feelings because I''m not human¡­ But if I was, Ezekiel is arguably the better person to be friends with.¡± JARVIS replied with a chipper tone of voice. Ezekiel burst into laughter while Tony looked like he wanted to punch someone. A moment later Happy charged into the room with his gun drawn, his voice loud but slowly dropped in volume as he took in the room, ¡°You better not have hurt Tony or so¡­¡± Happy turned to glare at one of the cameras as he said, ¡°JARVIS, you told me an intruder broke into the house!¡± ¡°That is correct sir. Ezekiel was not invited today and entered the house through means other than the front door. That makes him by definition an intruder.¡± Happy holstered his weapon and looked at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°First you mess with me and now JARVIS is doing it too!¡± Tony smiled as he said, ¡°Look on the bright side, it''s keeping you on your toes.¡± Tony then rubbed a fake tear from his eye as he said, ¡°And it''s nice to know you care so much.¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he started to pull out food from a storage seal as he said, ¡°I brought food because I figured Tony forgot to eat again.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t forget. I knew you would show up with food, so I planned ahead.¡± Tony said as he started to up the boxes of Chinese food. ¡°Sure you did.¡± Ezekiel said as he finished pulling out the rest of the food. Once finished he grabbed a rootbeer from Tony''s fridge as he asked Happy, ¡°How are things going with Anna?¡± ¡°Great. We went on a quick weekend trip not long ago while she was in between movie shoots. Once her movie wraps up we have a two week long trip to Japan scheduled.¡± Happy said with a smile. ¡°Nice. I''m glad everything is working out for you both¡­ Unlike some other people.¡± Ezekiel said as he glanced at Tony. Tony looked up from stuffing an egg roll in his mouth before he paused, pulled it out and said, ¡°Don''t look at me like that. I''ve already cut back on drinking and haven''t slept with a woman in like eight months¡­¡± ¡°That explains why there''s a lotion bottle next to your computer!¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. ¡°My hands have been dry lately and the lotion helps!¡± ¡°Really? Should I ask JARVIS about your browser history?¡± Ezekiel said in a joking tone. ¡°Mr. Stark locks me out of his lab randomly for about half an hour each day and his browser history is cleared when I am allowed back in.¡± JARVIS said. Tony buried his face in his hands as Ezekiel and Happy burst into laughter. After a few moments Ezekiel said, ¡°I''ll make sure I text you before I portal over from now on¡­ There are certain things I''d prefer not to see.¡± Happy gave Tony a pat on the back as he said, ¡°Now I know why you keep doing maintenance on the cameras each day.¡± ¡°I hate both of you.¡± Tony said as he grabbed his food and moved back to his desk. As Tony sat down at his desk, Ezekiel said, ¡°Don''t worry about it so much, it''s natural and everyone does it¡­¡± Ezekiel glanced around Tony''s workshop for a moment before he added, ¡°But maybe stop doing it in the workshop and take it to your bedroom. I really don¡¯t want to touch something weird one day because you forgot to clean up after yourself.¡± Tony did his best to ignore Ezekiel¡¯s teasing but after a few minutes he finally asked, ¡°What brought you by anyway?¡± ¡°Mostly to check on the current projects and see where you¡¯re at with them. I also wanted to see if you and Pepper are finally done acting like awkward teenagers.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Nope. If anything it''s getting worse.¡± Happy said before he took a bite of his food. Ezekiel glanced at Tony as he said, ¡°Just kiss her already.¡± ¡°It''s not that simple.¡± Tony said with a sigh. Ezekiel glanced at Happy as he said, ¡°Wow, it is getting worse. I honestly didn''t think it was possible¡­¡± ¡°Is it rag on Tony day and I missed the memo somehow?¡± Tony asked with a frown. ¡°No Mr. Stark, the memo is currently in your unread email.¡± JARVIS said. ¡°Don''t you start again too.¡± ¡°Maybe we should stop before we make him cry.¡± Ezekiel said as he looked at Happy. Happy nodded as he said, ¡°It''s probably for the best.¡± ¡°If he does cry, I could upload the footage to Vibe labeled, ¡®Billionaire cries after being bullied.¡¯ I am sure it will be a hit.¡± Tony flipped them both off and one of the cameras as he said, ¡°I hate all of you.¡± 00176. Dismantling the Hand in three easy steps. To say the leaders of the Hand were in crisis mode would be an understatement. While they could easily run everything and have done so for centuries, it didn''t mean they had no crisis going on. The Beast and its temple disappeared from the face of the earth like it never existed. When more sacrifices were being brought to it a week ago, the person in charge discovered the temple missing. Since no one was in charge of watching the temple, they had no idea what happened or when. What made matters worse was they dug up the area where the temple used to be and found nothing. The hidden chamber that used to be almost sixty feet underground was completely gone too. Because of the temple and the Beast missing, all the upper management of the Hand was now gathered in Japan as they attempted to figure out what happened. It was rare for all the fingers to be in one place at the same time, but it wasn''t unheard of. Madame Gao was seated in the living room of a mansion hidden in the countryside of Japan, about thirty miles from the closest city. It was only a few miles away from where the temple used to be and was the staging area for the sacrifices. Now it acted as a temporary headquarters for the leaders of the Hand while they worked on solving the mystery of the Beast and the temple just disappearing. As Gao and the other leaders were in the middle of a meeting they each suddenly felt the cold touch of metal against their necks and immediately stopped talking. A few moments later a man''s voice carried throughout the room as he said, ¡°I''m glad I have your undivided attention.¡± After a few moments a man stepped into view for Gao and a few others as he took a seat at one of the empty chairs around the table. He made a gesture with one hand before the blade was pulled away from Gao and the other''s throats. He then smiled at everyone as he said, ¡°Who knew getting rid of the Beast would make our job easier.¡± After Ezekiel spoke everyone in the room focused on him and after a moment Murakami asked, ¡°What do you mean you got rid of the Beast?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the man who spoke as he said, ¡°He was banished back to his home dimension.¡± Murakami and a few others looked concerned as the rest of the group showed no emotion at all. After a few moments Gao asked, ¡°Are you part of the Chaste?¡± Ezekiel chuckled a little before he said, ¡°No.¡± Most of the people seemed to relax a tiny bit at that news before Gao asked, ¡°May I ask, what exactly your job is? Since it seems to be about us¡­¡± ¡°I''m here to take over and dismantle the Hand.¡± A scared, ebony skinned man with an accent slammed a fist on the table as he snarled, ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you really think you can scare us with your little display? That it gives you some type of power over us?¡± Ezekiel smiled in a predatory fashion as he said, ¡°It did, or all of you wouldn''t have stopped talking the moment I did it.¡± Gao and the others felt a pressure crash down on them which caused their breath to catch in their throats. Each of them started to shiver as fear overwhelmed them and Ezekiel said, ¡°The only reason you aren''t dead yet, is because some of you might be useful.¡± The fear and pressure disappeared just as quickly as it appeared and once Gao recovered she asked in a shaky voice, ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± Most people stayed focused on Ezekiel but a few others turned to look at Gao with hints of anger. Ezekiel studied Gao for a moment before he said, ¡°Help me take over the Hand. While we could easily do it ourselves, I would prefer it if we did this with the least amount of bloodshed possible.¡± ¡°And what exactly do we get out of this?¡± A woman asked. Ezekiel turned to the woman who looked a lot like Sigourney Weaver as he said, ¡°A stay of execution mostly. But maybe a chance to live if you''re lucky.¡± Everyone had a mix of reactions to the news and one person slowly moved for a weapon they had hidden. Before the man could even grab it, he collapsed onto the table unconscious. Ezekiel glanced at everyone as he said, ¡°Anyone else feel like reaching for their weapons?¡± When no one responded Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°And here I thought you guys would be more fun¡­ Then again you guys care more about immortality than anything else.¡± Ezekiel leaned back into his chair and after about a minute of no one talking he said, ¡°Here¡¯s what is going to happen. Each of you will receive a group of helpers. You will help them with what they ask of you and you live longer. You do a good job and you can get rewarded¡­¡± A deep fear settled over the group as Ezekiel said, ¡°Try anything funny and you''ll suffer a fate worse than death.¡± A moment later Ezekiel stopped flaring his aura and asked, ¡°By the way, do you have any Chaste members held prisoner currently?¡± All the members of the Hand turned to look at the ebony skinned man. He glanced at everyone else with a frown before he nodded as he said, ¡°We caught two members a few days ago and are currently interrogating them for information.¡± ¡°Where are they being held?¡± ¡°In one of our bases.¡± The man said before Ezekiel gave him a flat unimpressed look. After a few moments he added, ¡°It''s located in Tokyo inside the Midtown Tower on the basement level.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Ezekiel lifted one arm and spun it in a circle as he said, ¡°Go get them and bring them here, you have ten minutes.¡± ¡°It would take at least an hour, even if I flew there by helicopter.¡± Ezekiel pointed behind the man as he said, ¡°Use that and hurry up, clock is ticking.¡± Everyone was so focused on Ezekiel that even people who had line of sight on the portal didn''t notice it until he pointed at it. A few people were shocked by its appearance while the ebony skinned man quickly jumped out of his seat and went through the portal without a word. After the man took off, Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and typed on it for a few moments before he put it away again. For about five minutes everyone waited quietly before the man came back and helped carry two people who looked like they were half dead through the portal. Once inside the room, the portal snapped closed and Ezekiel opened a new portal. Out of the new portal arrived Tsunade, Shizune and a few other medics. As they took the two Chaste members and laid them out on gurneys, Tsunade took care of one person as Shizune handled the other one. The group quickly left through the portal they arrived through without a word before it disappeared. Once they were gone Ezekiel pointed at a random person and said, ¡°You''re up first.¡± Ezekiel opened up a portal next to the man as he said, ¡°Squad one, you''re in charge of him.¡± A group of five masked people appeared out of nowhere and a few moments later they left with their target. Over the next half an hour the room slowly cleared out until there was only Ezekiel and Madame Gao left in the room. Ezekiel studied her for a moment before he asked, ¡°Have you made contact with someone calling themselves the Kingpin?¡± ¡°I have not.¡± The older Asian woman said as she shook her head. Ezekiel thought about it for a moment before he asked, ¡°What about the name Fisk?¡± ¡°I''m sorry, it doesn''t ring a bell.¡± Ezekiel nodded slightly before he opened another portal as he said, ¡°Squad twenty, you''re up.¡± Another group of masked people appeared in the room and after a moment led Gao through a portal. After Ezekiel was left alone he stood up and exited the room to find a bunch of his team in the process of combining through the minds of all the Hand members that were present in the mansion. Ezekiel moved towards Inoichi who just finished with another person as he asked, ¡°How''s it going so far?¡± Inoichi pointed to a small number of people and said, ¡°Not as bad as we thought. Only those ones are basically a lost cause, unless you need someone that will follow any order without question. No matter how heinous it might be.¡± ¡°Sounds like Danzo would love them.¡± Inoichi nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°It''s even more impressive they did that without seals, chakra and mind techniques.¡± Ezekiel glanced around the area for a few moments before he asked, ¡°How much longer?¡± ¡°A couple hours or so.¡± Ezekiel opened a portal to the medical research facility as he said, ¡°Alright, call me once it''s done and I''ll portal your group back home.¡± After Ezekiel left he headed into the medical section of the base to find out the status of the two Chaste members. He doubted if they were actually important members, but they could help led him to other members, which is the only thing that mattered. Ezekiel found Tsunade, without a henge on as she worked on her computer, he smiled at her as he asked, ¡°Already finished?¡± Tsunade glanced up for a moment before she shook her head and said, ¡°Shizune and Sakura are supervising some of the less experienced medics after we stabilized them. They will need at least three weeks to a month before they are fully healed.¡± After a few moments of thought she said, ¡°And it would be best if they were given treatment by a Yamanaka to help them with the torture they endured.¡± Ezekiel nodded before Tsunade said, ¡°Give me a million dollars.¡± ¡°Didn''t I give you a million dollars last week?¡± Tsunade crossed her arms under her chest which did almost nothing since she was in her new body and said, ¡°It''s gone and I need more.¡± ¡°What do you mean it''s gone?¡± Tsunade huffed before she said, ¡°The stupid casino stole it all.¡± Ezekiel rolled his eyes as he said, ¡°That''s literally what they are designed to do... You atleast gambled at Tony''s right?¡± ¡°Of course! They give me the best comps. Plus they gave me a luxury suite to use for as long as I want.¡± ¡°They only gave that to you because you''ve spent over ten million dollars there in the past few months.¡± Ezekiel said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Tsunade became more serious as she said, ¡°You gotta spend money to make money.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t even make sense¡­ Do you even know what that means?¡± ¡°If i don''t gamble big, I won''t win big.¡± Tsunade said with a smile. ¡°You¡­¡± Ezekiel said before he let out a defeated sigh. ¡°So are you gonna give me some money or what?¡± Tsunade asked with her hands on her hips. ¡°Fine¡­ It''s not like it''s my money anyway.¡± Ezekiel said as he started to create a portal. ¡°In that case, double it!¡± ¡°Hell no! Go steal your own money!¡± Ezekiel said as he reached into the portal and started to pull out stacks of cash. ¡°But grandpa wants to go gamble too and he needs his own money! I don''t wanna share!¡± Ezekiel glanced at Tsunade for a moment before he pulled out a little over three million in hundred dollar bills. Once he finished and closed the portal he said, ¡°I''ll go find Hashirama and see if Tony wants to join us too. Then I''ll portal us to his casino.¡± Tsunade smiled widely as she counted the money and started to stuff it all into a small duffle bag while she ignored Ezekiel completely. Ezekiel shook his head at her antics before he headed to the portal room and went off to collect a few people. He not only grabbed Hashirama, but also Madara who insisted on tagging along. Apparently he wanted to compete with Hashirama in who could win more money. After they picked up Tsunade, Ezekiel portaled everyone to Tony''s house where they found him talking with Pepper and Happy. Once Ezekiel explained what was going on, Pepper gave a cautious look at Tsunade before she asked to join. Happy also planned to come along since he was Tony''s bodyguard, but asked if Ezekiel could pick up Anna to join them. Once their new larger group was ready, Ezekiel portaled everyone to Las Vegas. 00177. A poker game. ¡°Come on, land on red you stupid ball!¡± Tsunade yelled out as she watched the ball spin around the roulette wheel. Ezekiel and the rest of the group were also watching the ball as it slowly came to a stop and the dealer said, ¡°Black twenty!¡± Everyone cheered except Tsunade who gave everyone else a glare as they collected their winnings for betting on black. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Don''t blame us for betting opposite what you pick.¡± Tsunade downed her whole drink before she said in an annoyed tone, ¡°Why not? You''re all clearly doing it on purpose!¡± Hashirama laughed as he put his arm over Tsunade''s shoulder and said, ¡°It''s because we don''t want to lose!¡± Tsunade slapped off her grandpa¡¯s arm as she said, ¡°Let''s play something else.¡± ¡°How about we play poker, since it''s more of a skill based game instead of being mostly luck based. We can even set it up in one of the penthouse suites so no one else can join.¡± Tony asked. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Sounds good to me. I could grab another person or two so we have a full table.¡± Anna leaned against Happy''s arm as she said, ¡°I don''t know how to play poker.¡± ¡°Neither do I.¡± Pepper said. Tony smiled as he said, ¡°JARVIS, inform the casino manager of what we want to do so it can be set up in the presidential suite.¡± ¡°Already done, sir.¡± JARVIS said from Tony''s phone. ¡°Great. Since that will take a little while, let''s head over to the poker room. We''ll play some practice games to get you both familiar with the rules while the private room is set up.¡± Ezekiel created a portal as he said, ¡°It shouldn''t take me long, give me half an hour at most to find a couple people. I¡¯ll come find you in the poker room afterwards.¡± Ezekiel disappeared through the portal a few moments later and ended up at the main base to find a couple people he knew enjoyed playing poker. Steve and Bucky were the top candidates since they had a poker game going once a week at the base. But anyone who was a regular at the game would work. Good thing everyone could use a basic henge now, so hiding who they are would be pretty easy. As Ezekiel headed towards the gym area a black haired girl charged at him like a missile as she said, ¡°You''re here!¡± A moment later Gabby jumped onto Ezekiel and hugged him as Logan appeared down the hallway from where Gabby came from. Ezekiel returned the hug as Logan stalked down the hallway with his signature gait like he was hunting prey. Once he was close Gaby released her hug and asked, ¡°Did you come by to play with me?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Not today, I just stopped by because I need a couple people for a poker game.¡± Logan was about to speak when Gabby jumped up and down and asked, ¡°OH! I know how to play! Can I come play too? Please? Please? Please?¡± Ezekiel and Logan both glanced at Gabby as Ezekiel asked, ¡°Who taught you how to play poker?¡± ¡°Natasha! We play it once or twice a week with a bunch of the other kids. I''ve even won a couple of times!¡± Gabby said with her head tilted back slightly in a haughty manner. ¡°And what did you win?¡± Ezekiel asked, thinking the kids were playing for snacks or candy. ¡°It''s poker, we always play for money!¡± Ezekiel shared a glance with Logan who shrugged before he asked, ¡°Where did you kids get money to gamble with?¡± ¡°Big sis Tsunade gave us some so we could play with her. But she keeps losing so we all got a bunch of money now.¡± Gabby said with a smile. ¡°Big sis Tsunade? You know she''s old enough to be your grandma, right?¡± Ezekiel asked. Gabby smiled and rubbed the back of her head as she said, ¡°She beat all of us up when we called her old¡­ So we call her big sis now.¡± Ezekiel chuckled before he asked, ¡°Alright, so who normally plays in these poker games?¡± Gabby took on a thinking pose before she said, ¡°Everyone''s played at least once or twice. But it''s mostly Natasha, Big sis Tsunade and me. Then we just invite other people till we have a full game. Even though we sometimes end up with two or three groups playing and we go until we have a winner. Then the top three people normally split the prize money.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Ezekiel shook his head as he chuckled before he asked Logan, ¡°You feel like playing?¡± Gabby grabbed his hand and said, ¡°Let''s go play together dad!¡± Logan glanced at Gabby for a few moments before he said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask your mom first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Gabby said and started to pull Logan back down the corridor. ¡°I''ll be in my lab, come find me when you''re done.¡± Ezekiel said as they left. Ezekiel was in his lab as he checked in with a few of his clones and the status of some current projects he was working on. After twenty minutes or so he heard the sound of kids talking excitedly. He glanced up just in time to see Gabby, Cessily, Natasha, Laura, Leech, Logan, Yelena, Alexei, Melina, Skye and Ava enter the room. Ezekiel took a single look at the group before he texted JARVIS, ¡®Have an extra poker table setup and tell me the room number. I¡¯ll just portal directly into the room with the others.¡¯ ¡®Understand sir, I¡¯ll inform Mr. Stark¡­ It¡¯s the top floor presidential suite on the west tower.¡¯ Gabby bounced over to Ezekiel and gave him puppy dog eyes as she asked, ¡°Can we bring more people?¡± ¡°You know you''re normally supposed to ask before you invite them.¡± Ezekiel said with a slightly disappointed tone. ¡°Sorry! I just told them I was going to play poker and they wanted to join¡­ I couldn¡¯t tell them no, they''re my friends.¡± Gabby said with her sad puppy dog look at full power. Ezekiel let out an exaggerated sigh before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll let it slide this time, but you need to ask for permission before you invite more people next time.¡± ¡°YES! You¡¯re the best!¡± Gabby said as she instantly brightened up and hugged Ezekiel. Ezekiel shook his head lightly before he glanced at everyone else as he said, ¡°Let''s head over to the portal room.¡± Once they reached the portal room Ezekiel created a portal and ushered everyone through it. On the other side they were greeted by a few casino workers who stared at them for a moment before they continued setting up the poker tables and chairs. The kids quickly scattered to explore the penthouse while Logan headed over to the fully loaded bar and poured himself a drink. Alexei and Melina quickly joined him to make some drinks themselves. As the workers finished setting up the second table, Tony and his group entered the penthouse. Tony glanced at Logan, Alexei, and Melina before he asked, ¡°JARVIS said you were bringing enough people for two games¡­ Where¡¯s everyone else at?¡± ¡°We were just checking out the rest of the place, old man.¡± Tony¡¯s right eye twitched as he turned around to see Natasha with her arms crossed over her chest with a smirk on her face. Tony glanced back towards Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°You really invited some little brats to play? Do they even have money or know how to play in the first place?¡± Ezekiel smiled and shrugged his shoulders as he said, ¡°Only one way to find out¡­ Besides, I¡¯ll buy them in.¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll gladly take your money.¡± Natasha walked past Tony as she said, ¡°That¡¯s my line, old timer.¡± Tony was about to respond when Gabby burst into the room and said, ¡°Ezekiel! We found a bunch of snacks! They were just out on the table, this place is awesome!¡± Gabby, Ava and Skye each had their arms full of candy bars, chips and other things as they rushed into the room with smiles on their faces. Tony glanced at them and let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°Just how many kids did you invite?¡± Ezekiel patted Tony¡¯s shoulder as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this¡¯ll be fun.¡± It didn¡¯t take long to get everything sorted out and to start both games. While Tony complained a little at the start, he was more concerned about beating Natasha since she was at his table. While Ezekiel ended up sandwiched between Gabby and Leech at the other table. The games progressed until they merged both tables together with Tony, Natasha, Gabby, Logan, Cessily, Tsunade, Alexei, Happy and Pepper still in the game. Once they did that, everyone took a break to order room service and eat before they started the next portion of the game. Even though half the people were eliminated, everyone stuck around to watch the other half of the game. Ezekiel and the others mostly chatted off to the side as the game wore on and people were slowly kicked out. Tsunade ended up lasting till only four people were left which included Natasha, Tony and Gabby. As the next hand was dealt the betting quickly escalated after the flop before Tsunade¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°All in.¡± ¡°Call.¡± Natasha said instantly as Gabby and Tony quickly folded. After a quick chip count Natasha flipped over her cards and said, ¡°Two pair, with pocket aces.¡± Tsunade wore a smug look as she flipped over a pair of kings and said, ¡°Full house.¡± Natasha frowned as Tsunade started to laugh as the cards on the board were a king and two tens. The dealer waited a moment before they dealt the next card which was a nine. Natasha said nothing as Tsunade eyed the chips on the table with greed, already considering them hers. A few moments later the dealer pulled out the river card and slowly flipped it over. The whole room went quiet as an ace showed up on the board and the dealer said, ¡°Winner full house, ace¡¯s over tens!¡± ¡°FUCK!¡± Tsunade yelled out as she slammed her hands down on the table and broke it. Luckily the table easily broke apart so only her spot was damaged and the chips weren¡¯t thrown all over the room. Natasha collected her chips with a smile as Tsunade stormed over to the bar and started to drink from a bottle. The rest of the game finished up with Gabby winning against Natasha, while Tony was knocked out a few hands earlier in third place. As for how much Gabby won, it was just over two million dollars for first place, which she stuffed into a large pillowcase. When the night was wrapping up and Ezekiel was portaling people back home, he noticed Pepper and Tony talking together on one of the couches as they drank. Instead of interrupting them, he finished sending everyone off before he left himself, which left Tony and Pepper all alone in the penthouse. It was pretty late when Theo finally arrived back home, but he still took a shower before he went to bed for the night. Early the next morning Theo woke up and after getting his siblings up, helped prepare breakfast before he went to school. 00178. Grounded? It was a couple days later when Theo appeared in his training room to start his nightly routine for the day when Tao noticed him and asked, ¡°What happened to your face?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a visual genjutsu.¡± Theo said as he moved to start his workout. ¡°Why did you place a visual genjutsu on your face?¡± Agatha asked as she tried to get a better look at his face. Theo turned to them so they could fully see his face and what looked like two nasty black eyes as he sighed and said, ¡°I got into a fight at school.¡± Tao raised an eyebrow as she said, ¡°Really? You let some school kid provoke you and got into a fight?¡± Theo crossed his arms over his chest as he said, ¡°No¡­ It was some older kids and they made Milly cry, so I beat them up.¡± ¡°And gave yourself two black eyes in the process?¡± ¡°If I beat their ass without at least getting hit I thought it would look weird, so I let them hit me a few times. But they didn¡¯t hit hard enough and I heal to fast, so I was forced to make a genjutsu and fake it.¡± Theo said with a shrug. Tao pointed at her tea pot and said, ¡°Make me some more tea and then I want to hear about this fight.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°And bring us some snacks too.¡± Theo let out a sigh as he said, ¡°Yes, master.¡± vvvvv A few hours ago at Theo''s school. Theo didn''t go to school everyday, but he at least went a couple times a week. While school couldn''t teach him much currently, he liked to interact with Milly, Peter. Issac and Teresa while at school. As for the other kids? They were kids and acted like it, so Theo didn''t really make friends with most of them. Sure he talked to Jean and MJ and would even play with some of the other kids during recess. But as far as ¡®real¡¯ friends go, Theo didn''t really make any. The day started out like any other and it was a pretty normal school day for Theo up until lunch time when his sister approached him crying. Theo instantly frowned and gently placed his hand on Milly''s shoulder as he asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Milly tried to talk as she hiccuped and said, ¡°They took ¡®hic¡¯. Bun¡®hic¡¯bun. And ¡®hic¡¯. Won¡¯t ¡®hic¡¯. Give him ¡®hic¡¯ back.¡± Theo glanced towards where Milly pointed and saw a few older boys with her favorite stuffed bunny. She only brought it because they had a show and tell today and she wanted to show Bunbun off to the class. Theo handed the book he was reading to Milly as he said, ¡°Hold this while I go get Bunbun back for you.¡± Milly took the book in her hands while she nodded her head before Theo walked towards the boys. It didn¡¯t take long before Theo reached the three boys and said, ¡°That¡¯s not yours, give it back.¡± The boy who had Bunbun in his hands glanced at Theo as he said, ¡°What are you talking about? This is mine.¡± The other two boys nodded in agreement as Theo said, ¡°You¡¯re lying, that¡¯s my little sister''s bunny and if you don¡¯t give it back, I¡¯ll go tell the teacher.¡± The boy who was almost a head taller than Theo mocked him as he said, ¡°Oh the little baby is gonna get the teacher, I¡¯m so scared.¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°You can say whatever you want, you¡¯ll still get in trouble so I don¡¯t care.¡± The boy frowned as Theo glanced around for the closest teacher on duty during the lunch recess. Before Theo found a teacher, the boy said, ¡°Fine, have it back.¡± Instead of handing it back directly the boy gripped Bunbun with both hands and went to pull it in half. Theo¡¯s eyes caught the movement with his active sharingan and kicked the kid in the nuts. The boy''s hands went limp and dropped Bunbun which Theo caught as the boy collapsed to the ground as he screamed out in pain. His two friends were caught off guard but quickly went to attack Theo as their friend rolled on the ground and screamed bloody murder. Theo didn¡¯t want to drop Bunbun in case it became damaged, so he placed it in his left hand which he hid behind himself and brought up his right hand to defend himself. The first boy swung at him and instead of dodging, Theo moved into the punch which connected with his right eye. Theo barely flinched from the punch and returned one of his own to the boy''s kidney. The boy let out a grunt as he stumbled back slightly. The other boy threw a punch of his own as a teacher''s whistle blew loudly as they rushed over. Theo moved into the new punch and took it in the left eye this time. Right as it landed he shifted his weight and punched the boy in his armpit. The second boy hissed in pain and his arm dropped down to hang at his side. Another whistle blew as a different teacher yelled out, ¡°Stop fighting!¡± The first boy didn''t listen and attacked Theo again with another punch which Theo took the punch to the right eye again. As the punch landed Theo punched out himself and caught the boy in the kidney again which dropped him to the ground as he groaned in pain. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. A moment later a male teacher reached them and said, ¡°I told you to stop!¡± Theo glanced at the man as he said, ¡°I just defended myself.¡± The teacher glanced at the other three boys, one with a limp arm and the other two on the ground. He looked at Theo and said, ¡°Head to the office and wait for me there.¡± Theo nodded as a still crying Milly, Peter and a few other kids ran up to him. Peter glanced around and asked, ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°He''s in trouble, so don''t talk to him.¡± The teacher said as he went to check on the other boys. Theo handed Bunbun back to Milly as he said, ¡° Here''s Bunbun, you can stop crying now.¡± Milly took Bunbun and nodded as Theo headed towards the office to wait for the teacher. Before Theo went to the front office he stopped by the bathroom and placed a genjutsu over his eyes to make it look like he was getting a black eye. Within a day or so he would have two nasty looking purple colored blackeyes. It took half an hour before the teacher showed up and said, ¡°Stay there for now. I need to make some phone calls and then I''ll take you to the nurse.¡± The teacher disappeared for about fifteen minutes before he came back and said, ¡°Follow me.¡± They quickly walked towards the nurses office where he was checked over and given an ice pack. Once that was done the teacher led him to a conference room and said, ¡°Just wait here for a little while.¡± Within twenty minutes the door to the conference room opened and Daniel walked in followed by Jacob. Daniel frowned as she saw Theo holding an ice pack to his face and asked, ¡°Why did we get a call that you were fighting?¡± Theo gave a helpless shrug as he smiled a little bit and said, ¡°Because I was fighting.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Daniel came around the table to get a better look at Theo¡¯s face. ¡°Because some older kids stole Bunbun from Milly and made her cry.¡± Daniel pulled the ice pack away from Theo¡¯s face for a moment as she said, ¡°You should have gone to the teachers instead of fighting with them.¡± ¡°Did you win?¡± Jacob asked as he glanced at Theo¡¯s two black eyes that were starting to form. Daniel shot Jacob a look as Theo said, ¡°I dropped two of them and would have dropped the third if the teacher didn''t step in.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you won, you shouldn''t have fought in the first place.¡± Daniel said with a frown as Jacob smiled and gave Theo a thumbs up behind her back. As Daniel checked over Theo, Jacob pulled out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures. After a few minutes the door opened and the school principal walked in with some paperwork as she said, ¡°Sorry about calling you in for this, but since Theo was the aggressor and injured other students we had to call you.¡± Daniel turned around to look at the principal as she asked, ¡°Theo was the aggressor?¡± The principal nodded as she placed some paperwork on the table and said, ¡°The three injured students said he attacked first.¡± Daniel glanced at Theo as she asked, ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°I only attacked when he tried to rip Bunbun''s head off.¡± ¡°Bunbun?¡± The principal asked in confusion. ¡°It''s my little sister''s stuffed rabbit those boys stole.¡± Theo said. ¡°And where is it now?¡± ¡°I gave it to my sister before I came to the office because I wanted her to stop crying.¡± Theo said as he placed the ice pack back over his face. The principal frowned and glanced at the three papers on the table for a moment. Daniel glanced at them herself before she asked, ¡°Did you not ask Theo about what happened?¡± ¡°No, because the three boys had pretty much the same story.¡± The principal said as she shook her head. Daniel frowned as she said, ¡°You should have done that right after the fight.¡± The principal let out a little sigh before she asked for Theo''s side of the story. Once it was finished she said, ¡°Give me a few minutes, I need to confirm some things.¡± After the principal left the room Daniel said, ¡°I can believe they didn''t even ask you about what happened.¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°It''s not a big deal, I saved Bunbun, that''s all that really matters.¡± Daniel shook her head as she said, ¡°You should have just grabbed a teacher first, you didn''t need to confront them yourself.¡± Daniel scolded Theo for about fifteen minutes before the door opened and Milly walked in with red eyes. When she saw Daniel she rushed towards her as she said, ¡°Mommy! Bunbun is hurt!¡± Milly showed Bunbun to Daniel where part of the stitching around its neck was ripped apart and stuffing was coming out. Daniel pulled Milly into a hug as she said, ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll help you fix Bunbun when we get home.¡± The principal cleared her throat before she said, ¡°While I have confirmed Theo¡¯s story, he is still going to be suspended for a week along with the other boys.¡± Daniel glanced at Theo for a moment before she said, ¡°Okay¡­ Is there anything else?¡± ¡°No, you''re free to take Theo and Emily home now since the school day is almost over.¡± vvvvv Tao chuckled when Theo finished his story before she asked, ¡°So you''re grounded for the next couple weeks?¡± Theo shrugged as he said, ¡°Technically but does it really matter?¡± Tao nodded in agreement before she took on a feral grin and said, ¡°Since your mom can''t really punish you properly, I''ll do it in her place.¡± Theo started sweating as he asked, ¡°And how exactly are you going to do that?¡± Tao stood up and started to stretch as she said, ¡°I think two weeks of intense combat training should do the trick.¡± ¡°Umm, I think I''ll be fine without that¡­ Actually, I think I heard my mom calling, I should go see what she wants.¡± Theo said as he started to back away from Tao. Tao appeared in front of him with a body flicker and attempted to punch him in the stomach which he parried. A moment later their after images slowly disappeared as Tao chased after Theo. A moment later a thud was heard before Theo flipped through the air and slammed into the wall. Tao appeared in the middle of the training area as she said, ¡°We''ll do this five hours a night and then another five hours of spell training afterwards for the next two weeks.¡± Theo slowly stood up as he said, ¡°Yes, master.¡± ¡°Good, now come attack me.¡± 00179. Almost caught. What was supposed to be two weeks of intense combat training under Tao, turned into over a month. She forced him to not only fight physically, but to also incorporate magic into his attacks and defense as she used him as a punching bag. While that was going on, Theo celebrated his ninth birthday and was finally able to start a new type of training. Since he was now nine, his body could now use training seals and not have any adverse effects. The training seals were something the Uzumaki seal masters created and weren''t shared with outsiders normally. Sure each village had their own very basic version of training seals, but true training seals were way beyond what any other village ever created. The first Uzumaki training seal was based around gravity and had different levels. The gravity affected the person''s entire body and made physical training more effective. The levels on the seal went from a quarter times gravity up to five times gravity. Theo already tasked a few seal masters to create an improved version that could go up to hundred times gravity, but that would take a while. The second seal the Uzumaki invented that no one had was a resistance seal. It made your body feel like it was moving through water or mud. It also had different settings and was currently set at level one for Theo''s training. The resistance seal itself trained a person''s speed, since the goal was to be able to move like normal with the seal on and not be aided by chakra. While it was kind of like the gravity seal in making it harder to move, the experience was completely different and when combined with the gravity seal made workouts more intense. The last seal was also one that wasn¡¯t shared with outsiders and considered a clan secret. It was a seal designed to compress a person''s chakra which helped with two things. The first was it helped improve chakra growth and second it helped with overall chakra control. With a person''s chakra being suppressed by the seal it caused it to not function normally and made the user struggle to use it properly. Since chakra control is one of the main aspects of fuinjutsu, this seal was used by all Uzumaki seal masters when they were younger. Those three seals were applied to Theo about halfway through his ¡®training¡¯ with Tao and caused some issues the first time he used them. With Theo being suppressed by the seals it caused him to be beaten senseless by Tao within a few minutes. When Tao finished she asked, ¡°What happened? Why are you so slow all of the sudden?¡± Theo was flat on his back with blood pouring out of his nose and a busted lip as he said, ¡°Ashina and Mito activated my training seals today.¡± ¡°Training seals¡­ Wait, you actually put on those gravity seals?¡± Tao asked with interest. Theo pinched his nose and sat up with his head held back as he said, ¡°Gravity, resistance and the chakra suppression seals.¡± Tao studied Theo for a few moments before she asked, ¡°How hard are they to take on and off?¡± ¡°Just infuse chakra onto a finger tip and rub it over the seal.¡± Theo said as he lifted up his shirt to show her the three seals placed over his stomach. ¡°And you can adjust them whenever you want?¡± Theo nodded as he said, ¡°Pretty much.¡± Tao walked over to her chair and sat down as she said, ¡°Call Ashina over to give me the same seals¡­ And brew me a pot of tea while we wait.¡± Within half an hour Tao also had the three seals placed on her stomach and restarted training with Theo. Since then both Tao and Theo haven''t removed the seals and basically use them to train twenty four hours a day. About two weeks later and once Tao was completely satisfied with the training, Theo''s school year ended and it was time for his summer vacation. This year for summer vacation the family decided on a trip to Florida. Jacob and Ben still had yet to hire anyone new to help out with the expanded shop and new equipment, but they were in the process of looking. Theo''s people were already trained and had a lot of practice so they should be able to get the jobs his dad was looking to fill. But that would only come after his family''s vacation was finished. Since they didn''t need to worry about any new employees, they decided to shut down the shop again for a few weeks and take everyone like last time. Unlike last time, they rented an RV instead of a passenger van so everyone would be more comfortable. The price was a little more, but they planned to camp at a few places along the way which saved money over getting motel rooms. The road trip to Florida and the theme parks were pretty uneventful but fun. Well if you consider being crammed into an RV with over ten people fun. The plan once they arrived was to spend one full week at each of the two main theme parks before heading back home. The first theme park they went to went smoothly and the family had a lot of fun. The second theme park caused some chaos for Theo when some unexpected visitors showed up and almost caused him to be exposed. Theo was seated in a restaurant near the window with his family about to have breakfast when he spotted a black haired girl he was very familiar with sniffing the air. As soon as he noticed her he stood up from his seat and said, ¡°I''ll be right back.¡± ¡°You gotta poop, Theo?¡± Milly asked as she glanced up at him. ¡°Milly! Don''t ask a question like that.¡± Daniel said as she frowned slightly. Milly glanced back at her mom as she asked, ¡°Why not? If he has to poop, he has to poop. What''s wrong with asking?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Theo quickly shook his head as he said, ¡°No, but I do need to use the restroom.¡± As Theo walked away he heard Daniel as she said, ¡°Just ask if he needs to use the restroom next time.¡± Once in the restroom Theo created a clone and henged into Ezekiel himself. He then created an invisibility spell around himself before he portaled to the roof of the building. Once there he looked for his target and found her slowly making her way to the restaurant through the crowd of people. Ezekiel jumped down from the roof and canceled his spell as he walked out into the main thoroughfare of traffic. Within a few moments a black haired girl slammed into him as she said, ¡°I knew I smelled you!¡± Ezekiel smiled and patted her head as he asked, ¡°What are you doing here Gabby?¡± Gabby smiled up at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Mom took me and my friends out today.¡± Ezekiel glanced around before he asked, ¡°And where exactly are they at?¡± Gabby glanced around for a moment before she said, ¡°I don''t know¡­ I thought they were behind me.¡± Gabby smiled as she looked up at Ezekiel and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I can just find them later.¡± Gabby let go of Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°What are you doing here? Did you come to play too?¡± Ezekiel shook his head slightly as he smiled and said, ¡°A little bit.¡± ¡°Did you come with anyone? Where are they?¡± Gabby asked as she glanced around. ¡°I''m alone at the moment.¡± Gabby grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s hand and started to pull him along as she said, ¡°Great! Then let''s go ride some roller coasters.¡± ¡°How about we find your mom and friends first?¡± Ezekiel asked as he cast a quick glance towards the restaurant where he left his clone with his family. Luckily he noticed Gabby before anything happened, but he could only shudder at the thought if she caught him out in the open with his family. He would probably need to have an Anbu detail trail him from now on when out with his family. Ezekiel filled that thought away for later as Gabby slowly pulled him through the crowded park. Within five minutes Gabby found her mom along with her friends only to get scolded by her mom as she asked, ¡°Gabrielle Kinney, just how many times have I told you not to run off?¡± Gabby smiled as she rubbed the back of her head and said, ¡°I don''t know¡­ A lot maybe?¡± ¡°If I''ve said it a lot, then why don''t you listen to me?¡± Sarah asked with her arms crossed over her chest. Gabby pointed at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°But I found Ezekiel.¡± Sarah let out a tired sigh before she said, ¡°That doesn¡¯t justify you not listening to me.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement before he placed a hand on Gabby''s shoulder and said, ¡°Your mom¡¯s right. You should listen to her and not run off all the time.¡± Gabby deflated some as she looked at the ground and said, ¡°Sorry, mom.¡± Sarah pulled Gabby into a hug as she said, ¡°You don''t need to apologize, just listen to me next time, please.¡± Gabby hugged Sarah back as she said, ¡°Okay.¡± After Sarah released Gabby from their hug, Gabby seemed to bounce back to her normal self and grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s hand as she asked, ¡°Where did everyone else go?¡± Sarah pointed to the line for one of the attractions as she said, ¡°They went to wait in line.¡± Gabby pulled Ezekiel by the hand as she said, ¡°Come on, let''s go join them.¡± Ezekiel didn''t move this time and said, ¡°How about you go join them and I''ll be there in a few minutes after I chat with your mom.¡± Gabby thought about it for a moment before she said, ¡°Okay.¡± After Gabby took off to find her friends Ezekiel turned to Sarah and asked, ¡°How many did you bring with you?¡± Sarah let out a sigh as she said, ¡°With Gabby and Laura I brought sixteen¡­¡± ¡°No one else wanted to help chaperone?¡± Sarah shook her head as she said, ¡°Everyone was busy and this was kind of a spur of the moment thing.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°Well I''m here now, so I''ll help you out. Go join the kids and tell Gabby I''ll join everyone in a little while, I need to go do something really quick.¡± ¡°Thanks, that will help out a lot.¡± Sarah said before she headed to meet the kids in line. Ezekiel left the crowded area and once out of sight created a portal to the front of the park near the entrance and went to purchase a VIP tour for Sarah and her group along with one for his family while he was at it. It was expensive and something only rich people would normally do, but he didn''t care since it wasn''t his money anyways. With the two VIP tours paid for, he told the first VIP host where they could find his family while he led the second one to go meet up with Sarah, Gabby and the other kids. As they walked through the park Ezekiel dialed his mom''s number and gave her a call. While his mom was on vacation, she told him before she left, that she would keep her phone on incase there was some type of emergency. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hi Daniel, sorry to interrupt your vacation. But I wanted to let you know I booked a VIP tour for you and your family.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°You booked us a VIP tour for us?¡± ¡°Yeah. Consider it my way of saying thanks for all the great work you do. Anyways, have fun and I''ll talk to you when you get back from vacation.¡± Ezekiel said before he went to hang up the phone. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Daniel glanced at her phone before she let out a sigh and put it away already used to how Ezekiel acted. Jacob and the rest of the table looked at her for more information so she said, ¡°Apparently my boss booked us a VIP tour of the park¡­ I''m not really sure what that is though.¡± As his family finished eating breakfast, Ezekiel and his tour guide arrived to find Gabby and the others still in line and they weren''t even close to the front yet. Ezekiel waved at them as he said, ¡°I don''t like waiting in line so I booked a VIP tour for us, come on let''s go have fun.¡± With the VIP host as their guide, they no longer had to wait and were able to access certain parts of the park that weren¡¯t normally open to the general public. They also received a ton of other perks that lasted for their entire vacation at the park, since Ezekiel booked the VIP package for the whole time they were there. 00180. The Hands new direction. After the family summer vacation a couple things happened. The first one was Jacob and Ben started looking for new employees to hire. With all the new equipment it was time to hire people who were skilled with it. They didn''t want to mess with the current harmony they had in the shop so they took their time to find people and interviewed each of them. As for Theo he ended up having to do a lot of work to make sure the people he wanted had interviews. Sure they didn''t have as much experience as some of the other people Jacob interviewed. But Theo made sure they would be able to work and jell with everyone in the shop. It helped that they were all ninjas and had spy and infiltration training, which helped a lot. They also all had an interest in cars and the type of work they would be doing. It took almost the rest of the summer but Jacob and Ben finally hired the people they wanted for the shop. Minato and Kushina were hired as paint specialists and could do a lot of really custom artwork and pinstriping. Their skills with fuinjutsu made some of the work like pinstriping very easy for them to pick up and master after the memories were implanted. Next was metal fabrication which turned out to be a blacksmith who was famous for making chakra blades. His skills with blacksmithing and the knowledge he gained with the help from Inoichi made him adapt quickly. He was actually one of the most skilled people Jacob ended up hiring and would help save a lot of time when it came to metal work. Sure he had to learn how to use more modern tools, but a hammer and anvil were still one of the tools used for metal fabrication even in this day and age. The next person who was hired was a Nara clan member. She was pretty lazy like most Nara but she enjoyed building things and liked computers. Once she discovered CAD and how she could make things without much effort it was over and she was hooked. After the experience she gained, some cramming to learn a few things in math and other subjects, she easily passed all tests Jacob had for her. She was mostly in charge of the CNC machines, plasma cutter and milling machine. She would also use CAD to help mockup designs for projects going forward. A good welder was next on the list and the person they found was Sasori. While he was new to welding, he was technically an amazing engineer. All the puppets he created and designed throughout his life were hand made with simple tools. It took a lot of passion and creative engineering to produce his puppets and he brought that enthusiasm into welding. He also learned CAD and a few other things which made him a great addition to the shop. They followed Sasori up with an upholstery specialist, since they planned to do everything in house from now on to control quality better. As for the person they hired, it was one of the crafters who was originally a clothing maker for ninjas. They worked with all types of material from cloth to leather and everything the ninja world could produce. Upholstery work for cars would obviously be different from making clothes, but it wasn¡¯t a major departure and they picked it up quickly along with the implanted memories they copied from other upholstery specialists in the industry. The last person they hired was an electrical specialist for wiring and other types of issues. Darui, the person who was supposed to be the fifth Raikage, ended up with the job. While his lightning release wouldn¡¯t help him much with work, he actually had a talent for electrical wiring and was interested in cars. With the memories he was granted and practice he was easily hired after Jacob and Ben gave him a working interview. It was actually something they did for everyone, since they wanted to make sure everyone was skilled in what they said they can do. It also helped that Theo took photos of the practice projects he had everyone work on to gain practical experience and had them use that for a work portfolio. With the shop almost fully staffed near the end of summer and Theo happy that the people he wanted were hired. He focused back on other issues, mainly the dismantling of the Hand. The fingers, under watch from Theo and his helpers, systematically dismantled and consolidated the Hand into a new group. The problematic members after some debate were disposed of since most of them had no morals and did things that weren¡¯t redeemable. Sure they were conditioned to be that way, but they were pretty much broken and beyond saving at that point. The next group of people were the ones that might have killed people before, but still had some humanity left. Theo had Yamanaka clan members help them out and work to deprogram them and save them. Some ended up breaking and Theo was forced to put them down, but most of them were saved. Theo still wanted them to atone for what they did so he assigned them to work as ¡®nameless¡¯ heroes who would go around fighting crime. They were all skilled fighters so Theo figured why waste their talents. The last group and also the largest was the recruitment organizations spread all over the world. Besides the people who ran them and maybe a helper or two, no one knew what their true purpose was for. Since they were mostly designed to bring in wayward kids and find feature members for the Hand. Well, Theo kind of kept that the same expect he added to it. Instead of focusing on just teaching kids how to fight, he expanded the programs and gave them more people to help kids and the communities around them. Sure they taught martial arts, but now they had programs to help kids study after school. For older kids they helped them figure out what career path they might want to choose. They would also help teens to prepare for college, or find work internships for teens that wanted to go into trades. They set up food and clothing drives for the underprivileged people in their areas and would help people find jobs. The programs also helped older people learn new skills for free so they could get better paying jobs. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. They also set up homeless shelters with the goal of rehabilitation for anyone who entered. Sure Theo cheated a little with that and would send a Yamanaka to the shelters to help people with mental issues. But they also worked well to break people from having addiction issues. With those issues fixed people were given help to get back on their own feet. While not everyone had a good skill set to find a job, Theo made sure that people who came into the shelter system were given the chance to learn one. The shelter system besides giving each person, or family their own place to live while they were there. Also taught people how to manage their money and save it properly. For younger people they were taught other useful skills for living alone like doing laundry and cooking. Theo¡¯s goal was for people to go into the shelter system and come out within a year or two as a healthy and functional member of society who had money and a stable job. The process wasn¡¯t completely finished but Theo was spending all the money the Hand made over the years to make it happen. He was also in the process of liquidating all the land, buildings and other things the Hand owned that was no longer needed. Theo figured that by the end of the year he would have most of it done and the Hand would no longer exist as it used to. As for the fingers of the Hand, after they finished what he needed them to do he took them to the medical base and put them on lockdown. Basically they were placed into a medically induced coma locked inside what amounted to a tiny prison cell. They weren¡¯t the only people in the place, Theo currently had about twenty plus people saved here. Normally he would just kill them and be done with it. But a few of them were saved for certain reasons and plans he had for the future. The only issue Theo had with everything was the Chaste, who were still attempting to fight the old members of the Hand even though they wouldn¡¯t fight and just run away. Theo gave them orders to no longer engage the Chaste and to run if they were attacked. While it worked in practice, the Chaste didn¡¯t seem to care and were emboldened to fight even more. So Theo finally stepped in and he would teleport to any fight the Chaste started and beat them senseless. Afterwards he would leave a note on them that basically said, ¡®The Hand is under new management, call me so we can talk. xxx-xxx-xxxx¡¯ It took about a month before someone finally called and set up a meeting with him. Actually Theo, currently henged into Ezekiel, just finished getting ready for the meeting before he created a portal. He stepped through the portal to end up inside an empty warehouse in NYC. It was almost midnight and the only light in the building was from the half full moon that shined in through the broken skylights above. Ezekiel glanced around for a moment and even with his improved eyes didn¡¯t see anyone hidden inside the place. After a few moments a speaker crackled to life and someone said, ¡°Neat trick. Is that some kinda innate power?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he glanced around and said, ¡°Just a magic trick.¡± A moment later Ezekiel noticed a camera almost hidden from his view and focused on it as he asked, ¡°Is this how we¡¯re going to do this, or is someone going to show up and talk to me in person?¡± ¡°You''re too dangerous to meet in person and you¡¯re also connected to the Hand.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t killed a single member of your little group and I also saved a couple of them from the Hand right after I took it over.¡± Ezekiel said with a friendly smile. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can be trusted. We have been enemies with the Hand for over five hundred years and you are now part of them.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he asked, ¡°So does that mean you don¡¯t want to talk?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Ezekiel focused on the camera as he said, ¡°I would like you guys to stop harassing the former members of the Hand.¡± ¡°We can not do that.¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow and asked in an annoyed tone, ¡°And why not?¡± ¡°Because they are the Hand and we are the Chaste. Our purpose is to destroy the Hand.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I already told you, they are no longer the Hand and under my leadership now.¡± ¡°What about the five fingers? Where are they?¡± ¡°Taken care of after they transferred leadership to me.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. ¡°So you¡¯re the current leader of the Hand?¡± Ezekiel nodded slightly as he said, ¡°Yes, after I cleaned house I took over leadership of what was left.¡± ¡°Then that makes things much easier.¡± ¡°Why do you...¡± Ezekiel didn¡¯t get to finish his question as the warehouse around him exploded. The warehouse itself was completely leveled to the ground and most of the warehouses around it were also destroyed. Car alarms and animals could be heard for several blocks around the area from the noise of the blast and almost all windows within a certain distance were shattered. Ezekiel for his part was perfectly fine as he stood in the fire and rubble of the building. A magical shield flashed around his body as the flames touched it sometimes. Ezekiel glanced around the destroyed warehouse for a moment before he created a portal and disappeared. It looked like he would need to be a little more forceful with the Chaste going forward. 00181. You only get one. October 2005 It seemed like the Chaste was a little more cult like than Theo originally thought since they tried to blow him up for taking over the Hand. He wasn¡¯t that upset, but he changed the way he handled dealing with them moving forward. Whenever they showed up to cause problems, the Hand were ordered to fight and capture them. If they had issues or the enemy was too strong, they would call for backup and either Theo or real ninjas would show up to handle them. Instead of killing any of them, Theo collected them and put them in a temporary prison. He then had people search through their memories for the locations of Chaste bases and other members. It took a while, but Theo and his team were able to capture a good portion of the Chaste and their leadership. Once they had Stick and a few other notable leaders he decided to have a sit down and chat with them. Three people were locked in a small room and none of them looked happy. The first was an older man who wore what looked like a Vietnam era US Army uniform. His faded green colored army jacket was open which exposed his gray colored t-shirt while he wore small blacked out glasses under his green hat. He was an older man with short cut gray hair and wrinkles that covered his gaunt face. Seated next to him on the floor was a younger man with shoulder length black hair. He was shirtless which showed off his impressive physique along with a bunch of scars that covered his body. He was stoic as he waited for whatever was going to happen. The last person in the room was a young woman with brown hair and eyes who paced back and forth in worry. She was slim and almost looked delicate if you weren''t paying attention. But her body was in fact muscular and full of power like a taut bowstring ready to be released. She wore plain looking street clothes, jeans, a band shirt and a brown jacket. ¡°Will you stop that?¡± The man with glasses finally asked. The woman turned to look at the man as she asked in a nervous tone, ¡°How are you two so calm?¡± ¡°What will happen, will happen.¡± The younger man said with his eyes closed. The older man nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°They want us for something, otherwise we would already be dead. Now we just have to wait to see what it is.¡± ¡°But what if they plan to torture us?¡± The woman asked. ¡°Then we just need to endure until we can escape.¡± The younger man said without an ounce of emotion. ¡°Torture isn''t really my thing and it doesn¡¯t help to use it on people.¡± A voice said from the door as it opened. Into the room stepped Ezekiel with a smile on his face as he glanced at the three other people in the room. The woman moved back towards her companions as Ezekiel shut the door and said, ¡°You know there is one thing I don¡¯t really like.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the three people in the room before he said, ¡°And that is being blown up when I am just trying to have a conversation. It¡¯s rather rude and shows the other side isn¡¯t sincere in their actions.¡± The older man turned in Ezekiel¡¯s direction as he said, ¡°You¡¯re part of the Hand. There is nothing sincere about you.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°You should be glad I don¡¯t consider your previous actions for what they were or we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation right now, Stick.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t change the fact you are part of the Hand.¡± Stick said with a slight frown. ¡°I am not part of the Hand, I only took it over after I disposed of their old leadership.¡± Ezekiel said as he leveled a glare at the other two people in the room since it would be wasted on Stick. ¡°Now I don¡¯t want to waste anymore time with this bullshit so I¡¯ll make this completely clear for all of you. The Hand is no more and what is left of it is being used by me for my own projects.¡± Ezekiel said as he raised one hand and pointed at the other three people in the room before he said, ¡°That means you and your little club are obsolete and no longer serve a purpose. Going forward do not mess with the remnants of the Hand or attack them.¡± Ezekiel focused his chakra aura and pressed it down on all of them as he said, ¡°If you do, I will personally do the same thing to the Chaste that I¡¯ve done with the Hand.¡± ¡°Is that understood?¡± Ezekiel asked as he applied more pressure to them with his aura. When none of them replied even after half a minute or so, Ezekiel dropped his aura and turned around to walk out of the room. Just before he disappeared from sight he said, ¡°Consider yourselves warned and make sure you collect the rest of your people before you leave.¡± Ezekiel left the door open as he walked out of the room and after a few moments the woman collapsed to the ground as she asked, ¡°What the hell was that?¡± The younger man stood up as he said, ¡°Another one of his powers most likely.¡± Stick also stood up as he said, ¡°Let''s go.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Go? You really think he is letting us go?¡± The woman asked as she wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead. The younger man reached down to help the woman up as he asked, ¡°Why would he leave the door open, if he wasn¡¯t letting us go?¡± ¡°To mess with us?¡± Stick took the lead as he flicked out a collapsible baton and walked towards the door as he said, ¡°There¡¯s only one way to find out if it¡¯s a trick.¡± The other two quickly followed along behind Stick as they traveled through a hallway. On each side of it spaced every ten feet or so were doors that opened to small prison cells similar to what they were trapped in. After a few minutes of walking they came to a larger open area of the prison block. In all of the cells that lined the area were people who immediately recognized the trio and called out for help. The woman was the first to act and moved towards a guard room next to the tunnel they just exited. Once inside she glanced at the control board for a few moments before she flipped a couple switches and it opened all of the doors in the area. After everyone was released and started to make their way outside, Stick turned to the younger man and woman as he said, ¡°Spread the word that we will not act against the Hand for now.¡± ¡°Then what are we supposed to do?¡± The woman asked. ¡°I want everyone to observe their actions and report their findings. While I don¡¯t like it, we need to verify what they are up to and see if what that person said is true.¡± ¡°Can we really trust what he said? They are part of the Hand after all.¡± The woman asked. ¡°Time will tell if what they said is true or not.¡± The younger man said. The woman glanced at all the Chaste members who were still walking out of the abandoned prison as she asked, ¡°And if it¡¯s true and the Hand is no longer the Hand we once fought?¡± ¡°We will figure that out when the time comes.¡± Stick said. vvvvv After Ezekiel finished up with the Chaste he created a portal to Culver University to visit a certain scientist who was working on a super soldier project for the government. Ezekiel tracked the project for a little while now and with its progress he figured he might as well stop in and introduce himself finally. Ezekiel appeared on the roof of the building the research was being conducted in and after a quick check around walked inside. Honestly with what the project was about, he expected more security for the place and guards. Instead it was only locked behind a few electronic doors which used RFID badges which he easily bypassed with his tablet. He also took care of all the camera systems in the building so he wouldn¡¯t show up on any of them. Once inside the main room with all the servers, Ezekiel hooked up his tablet and started copying the data. Once he was finished he implanted some hidden malware into the data that would scramble it, if it was copied. He would still need to check a few other places and make sure there were no other backup copies made. But he already had a good idea who might have those copies so he wasn''t worried. He also connected the servers and systems to his monitoring network so he could track the progress of everything. Once he was done, Ezekiel placed an order on his tablet before he got comfortable and checked over a new video game his clones were creating. About half an hour later Ezekiel opened a portal to his favorite pizza shop to see Joe who glanced up for a second before he reached over and picked up a couple pizza boxes. As Ezekiel took the boxes he said, ¡°Thanks, Joe.¡± ¡°Don''t worry about it kid.¡± Ezekiel closed the portal, placed the pizza boxes down and pulled an ice chest out of his storage seal. He grabbed a rootbeer from it and cracked it open as he started to browse Vibe. Once he found something interesting he picked up a slice of pizza and ate as he waited for Dr. Banner to show up. Ezekiel didn¡¯t have to wait long for the man as he entered the room as Ezekiel started on his second slice of pizza and was in the middle of watching one of Nightcrawler¡¯s videos. Nightcrawler was still one of the most popular Vibe users around because he didn¡¯t try to entertain people, he was just authentic to himself and wholesome which made people like to watch him. Banner was so engrossed in reading what was in his hands that he didn¡¯t notice Ezekiel at all until he started laughing at Nightcrawler doing something stupid and pissing off Kitty. Banner looked up in confusion to see Ezekiel with his feet up on Banner¡¯s own desk, eating pizza and watching videos on a tablet. ¡°Ummm. This is a restricted area, you shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± Banner said as he nervously pushed on his glasses to straighten them. Ezekiel glanced up from his tablet as he said, ¡°If this place is restricted, you should really up the security. I walked in here with some pizzas and an ice chest and no one stopped me.¡± Banner glanced at the large ice chest on the ground and pizza boxes on the desk for a moment before he asked, ¡°Really? Who let you through the doors?¡± ¡°They were unlocked.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug of his shoulders before he took another bite of his pizza. Banner glanced back at the door he just entered before he turned back to Ezekiel and said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll have someone come by and fix them. But you can¡¯t stay here, you need to leave.¡± Ezekiel paused the video on his tablet and set it aside as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave in a few minutes Dr. Banner after I take a few minutes of your time.¡± Banner¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly and he backed up a bit as he asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a person who stopped by to give you some friendly advice about your gamma induced super soldier experiment. But if you need a name, people call me Ezekiel.¡± Banner was alarmed and moved closer to one of the computers and where a panic alarm button was for emergencies as he asked, ¡°How do you know about my project? Did you hack into our systems?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Nope, that type of thing doesn¡¯t interest me.¡± ¡°Then how do you know what Betty and I are working on?¡± ¡°I can see the future and I wanted to warn you about it. Well if you are willing to¡­ I guess not.¡± Ezekiel said and Banner pushed the panic button and an alarm started to blare out. Ezekiel stood up from his seat, sealed away the rest of the pizza, his tablet and then the ice chest before he picked up his rootbeer and said, ¡°Well since I don¡¯t have much time, the only thing I will say is be careful around General Ross and don¡¯t let him rush you into things.¡± ¡°Why should I.¡± Banner froze as Ezekiel created a portal, raised his rootbeer up and said, ¡°Catch you later doc.¡± 00182. It only takes once. A couple weeks passed after Theo visited Bruce Banner. While some more security was added to Banner''s lab nothing else was changed and they didn''t find the backdoor Theo planted in the servers. Ross didn''t even show up which surprised Theo the most since he figured that guy would have at least checked in and made sure the project wasn¡¯t compromised. But Theo didn¡¯t really waste much time on it, he just wanted to at least meet Banner and give him a warning. Since that goal was completed, Theo focused on his other projects instead. The first one he checked in on was his Mars project that was about to enter the next phase. Magneto already collected all the ice they would need and crashed them into the planet a month ago and now Theo wanted to test a theory that might make terraforming the atmosphere a lot easier. Theo arrived on Mars through a portal at the temporary base he created there. With him was the person who might be able to speed up the terraforming process. Theo glanced at Hashirama as he asked, ¡°How big of a forest do you think you can create with your chakra reserves?¡± Hashirama laughed before he said, ¡°Maybe a hundred feet if I''m lucky.¡± ¡°What if you make smaller trees and not full grown ones?¡± Hashirama rubbed his chin in thought for a while before he said, ¡°It¡¯s doable, but would smaller trees be better?¡± ¡°The more trees breathing in carbon dioxide the better. Our goal is to get a higher oxygen mix for the atmosphere. We also need to heat up the planet, but Tao was talking about doing that with some spells to save time.¡± Theo said. ¡°Alright, with younger trees I could expand the size to a few hundred feet¡­ Maybe.¡± Theo nodded in understanding as he said, ¡°I''ll just send you here every time your chakra is full to create another patch of trees until this area is full.¡± Hashirama looked out over the desolate martian landscape as he asked, ¡°You think the trees will survive here?¡± ¡°Tao created a magic circle that keeps the temperature in this area for about ten miles at around seventy five degrees fahrenheit for this experiment. We also dropped a few ice asteroids in this area, so it has ground water for the trees. Hashirama nodded before he said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± Hashirama walked off the platform and out onto the red martian soil before he did a few hand signs as he said, ¡°Wood release secret technique: nativity of a world of trees.¡± Hashirama slammed his hands onto the ground and a moment later a pulse of chakra spread out to cover just over three hundred feet. After a few seconds trees started to sprout and shoot out of the ground all over the area. The trees weren¡¯t that large, most of them only growing to seven or eight feet tall. As Theo watched he was surprised because not only did trees get created, but small bushes and other plants also grew up, all around the area. Once Hashirama was finished the area looked completely out of place with its greens and browns surrounded by red. Hashirama walked out of the forest he just created about a minute later and said, ¡°I''m surprised it worked so well. I half expected it to fail because of how alien this planet is.¡± Theo smiled and patted Hashirama on the shoulder as he said, ¡°If it wasn''t for chakra and how stupid it is, I would agree.¡± Theo glanced at the newly created forest one more time before he asked, ¡°How long until your chakra pool is fully restored?¡± ¡°I''ll need to eat and a few hours of rest, then I should be able to use that again.¡± Theo nodded in understanding as he created a portal back home and left to go train while Hashirama recovered. With the Mars project in its next phase, Theo turned his attention towards his next Vibe project. He already had his first video game created and was almost finished with two more. Both games were ones he knew would be extremely popular and planned to release around the same time as he launched a new service for Vibe. The service itself would be for video games mostly, but would also tie into the rest of Vibes platforms seamlessly. The game service was basically Theo''s own version of Steam and would function the same way once it was completely up and running. Theo already checked and as far as he could tell, no one was currently making Steam or the games he planned to release. The first game was basically Counter Strike but with updated graphics closer to CS:GO because of how advanced the hardware was. He already had the game finished but he was just polishing the game up to make sure it was perfect. He also created some very user friendly modding tools so people could create all kinds of fun maps. The other game he created was Half life, we''ll Black Mesa if you want to get technical. The game itself was also finished besides some more polish that his clones were doing. It''s surprisingly easy to build a complete game when you work on everything yourself and can create hundreds of clones to help. Sure Theo needed to learn some new skills along the way he didn''t originally know like 3D modeling. But it honestly didn''t take long at all and with the help of ninjas to act as the voice actors for the game. Theo in theory created the game for almost no money besides the computers he needed to buy for his clones. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Those three projects would all be launched at nearly the same time just before Christmas of this year. Theo already picked out the Vibe users he planned to give the games to. His goal was to give them early access copies so they could produce content just before launch. He doubted he needed to do that, since he was sure both games would be massive hits, but it never hurt to help. He also started working on other popular multiplayer games he knew would do well like TF2, DOTA. As for single player games he already started on building a customer game engine for single player games and planned to make games like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Witcher, Dark Souls and others. Sure there were a few games that were similar to ones from his past life, but overall a lot of things were different. It was the same thing for some popular movies and TV shows. Sure they were close to the same, but maybe the story was slightly different or they used different actors. Theo also planned to start a production company in a year or two to go along with the publishing company he was working on. His end goal was to dominate all media from books, movies and games since it would provide a lot of money. vvvvv It was early morning and Theo sent a clone to school today because he planned to check in with Adrian. He would normally send a clone to do it, but he wanted a break from all the kids at school he had to deal with. Theo first henged into Ezekiel before he created a portal to his temporary office building. His office was still the same as before with the whole top floor gutted. The only thing in the room was a couple of desks, the model for the Vibe building and a contractors table with some plans on top of it. Ezekiel walked over to the windows that faced the area currently being worked on and smiled. From the top floor Ezekiel could see the whole area and was happy with the progress Adrian completed so far. It was slower than it could be, but if nothing unforeseen happened, he would meet the contract deadline for his bonus. The area in question was already halfway torn down with the larger more troublesome buildings already taken care of. It left more buildings left to tear down, but they were all a lot smaller and easier to do. If it wasn''t for the fact Adrian was making sure everything was recycled properly, he could just bulldoze the buildings and be done in a few weeks to a month. Ezekiel studied the whole place for a little while before he focused on one area. He was pretty sure that''s where Adrian currently was, so he created a portal there and walked through it. As Ezekiel stepped out he was greeted by the noise of a busy construction site along with dust in the air. Not far from him was Adrian as he talked with a couple of people who were in hard hats. Ezekiel wasted no time and walked up to them and said, ¡°Good morning.¡± The three men turned around and Adrian smiled before he said, ¡°Good morning Ezekiel.¡± Adrian glanced at one of the people he was talking with before and said, ¡°Go grab him a hardhat.¡± ¡°On it boss.¡± The man said before he took off. Ezekiel glanced around the area as he said, ¡°Looks like things are coming along nicely.¡± Adrian nodded as he said, ¡°We estimated we should be completely done with demolishing by summer next year about three months ahead of schedule.¡± The man came back and handed Ezekiel a hardhat as Ezekiel said, ¡°Great, that''s even better than I expected.¡± ¡°Well everything has been going smoothly and we haven''t run into any major issues with these smaller buildings.¡± Adrian said before he knocked on the top of his wooden contractors desk. For the next hour or so Ezekiel hung out around the construction site as he chatted with Adrian about a few things before he received a text message from Tony that read, ¡®HELP!¡¯ Since Tony didn''t call him a million times but sent a single text message. Ezekiel excused himself and created a portal to Tony''s workshop. When he stepped through the portal he was greeted by Tony''s lab being a little more trashed than normal. As Ezekiel glanced around the room JARVIS said, ¡°Welcome Ezekiel. You will find Mr. Stark upstairs along with Miss. Potts.¡± As Ezekiel walked towards the door he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Happy?¡± ¡°He was given the day off and I believe he is spending the day with his girlfriend.¡± Ezekiel opened the door and as he walked up stairs he heard Pepper as she yelled, ¡°God damn it Tony¡­ It was only once!¡± ¡°I know¡­¡± Tony said, his voice low and hollow. ¡°Well what the hell are we supposed to do now?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± Tony said as Ezekiel walked out into the living room area to see it was also a mess. Pepper picked up one of the couch cushions and threw it at Tony as she said, ¡°This is your fault, so you need to fix it!¡± Tony dodged the cushion and glanced at Pepper as he said, ¡°We could get married.¡± ¡°We aren''t even dating properly yet and you want to get married!?!¡± Pepper yelled as she picked up a flower vase and threw it towards Tony. ¡°Ummmm. Maybe I should come back later.¡± Ezekiel said as the vase crashed against the wall behind Tony. Tony looked at Ezekiel like he found his savior and moved towards him as he said, ¡°No, you''re perfect! Just the person we need.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Not from what I heard. I think you guys should work this out yourselves.¡± Pepper frowned at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°That idiot got me pregnant.¡± ¡°Last I checked it takes two people to create a baby, so it''s not completely his fault.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. Tony nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°See, he at least understands.¡± ¡°Fine, we are both at fault¡­ But that doesn''t solve the fact I am still pregnant and we aren''t married, let alone really dating!¡± ¡°Then just get married.¡± Ezekiel said with a sigh. ¡°I don''t know if I even like him that much!¡± Pepper said with a huff. Ezekiel shook his head as he created a portal in front of himself as he said, ¡°You liked him enough to sleep with him, so figure it out.¡± Ezekiel quickly disappeared through the portal before they could respond and left them alone to work out their own mess. While he was happy they finally got together, he didn''t expect this mess¡­ Well it didn''t matter too much, he was sure this would just force them together sooner or Tony would end up with another baby''s momma. 00183. Meeting a future crime lord. Theo stayed away from Tony over the next couple weeks to let him sort out his personal issues with Pepper. Instead he focused on training and looking for more potential threats he could stop early or steer in the right direction. With the help of cell phones he found one in New York that he was really looking forward to meeting and he hoped he could point them onto a new path going forward. Either that or he would have to destroy them before they had the proper chance to grow. Theo changed into Ezekiel before he created a portal outside of a slightly run down building in the area of Hell¡¯s Kitchen just after dusk. The person he was looking for had his small base of operations here and while they were already considered a criminal, the crimes were pretty minor and could be overlooked since he currently targeted other criminals and not regular civilians. The man was smart since he knew no one in their line of work would report what happened to the police. Ezekiel stepped out of the portal in front of what could only be described as a fixer upper and that was being nice about it. The building was aged like most brownstones in New York city, but this one had a lot of issues. Some of the bricks that lined the front of the building were missing, a couple of windows were currently boarded over and graffiti covered part of the building. Ezekiel glanced around the area for a moment to take in the rest of the neighborhood which matched the building''s aesthetics before he walked up to the entryway door. Instead of pushing a button to be let in by one of the tenets, Ezekiel used a minor spell to unlock the door and stepped inside and headed to the second floor. The main hallway for the second floor was dark since only a handful of lights currently functioned while the rest would flicker randomly as they tried to work. The peeled wallpaper, faded paint and ruined carpet just added to the building''s rundown appearance. But it wasn¡¯t just the look of the building, but also the smell that completed the whole look. It wasn¡¯t overpowering or unbearable, but there was a faint musty smell of mold that clung to Ezekiel as he walked towards the apartment he was looking for. Once Ezekiel reached the door he knocked on it a few times before he took a step back and waited. After a few moments someone behind the door said, ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, so go away.¡± ¡°I came to talk with a Mr. Fisk, Wilson Fisk to be exact. I was led to believe this is his current registered address. Is Mr. Fisk currently home?¡± Ezekiel asked with a friendly smile. ¡°Hold on.¡± Said the person on the other side of the door before he moved away from it. While it was muffled, Ezekiel with his improved hearing could hear someone as they asked, ¡°Boss, someone in a nice suit is asking for you. They kinda look like a fancy lawyer or something.¡± ¡°Did they give a name?¡± Another man asked with a soft baritone voice. ¡°No. They just said they were looking for you and used your full name.¡± ¡°Then ask them who they are.¡± The man said in a slightly annoyed tone. A moment later the man came back to the door and said, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Ezekiel. Tell Mr. Fisk I am here to talk about his future career path.¡± Ezekiel didn¡¯t listen in to their conversation this time but after about a minute the door was opened by a man in his twenties wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He moved to the side and gestured for Ezekiel to come in as he said, ¡°Please come in.¡± The inside of the apartment was actually in nice shape like it had been redone recently. It wasn¡¯t a full remodel or anything like that, but the walls looked newly painted and the floors also looked in good shape. All the furniture in the apartment was also new and once inside the place, it no longer had the moldy smell of the hallway outside. After the man closed the door he led Ezekiel past the living room and into a bedroom turned office. The office itself was neat and tidy with a couple of bookshelves, a large oak desk, a couple of nice leather chairs and a small coffee table. Behind the large desk sat an impressively sized man who almost made the desk seem small. He wore a decent quality gray colored suit with a black tie that looked like it could burst apart at the seams at any time. Fisk looked a lot like his counterpart in the TV show, except he had the body mass of his comic book counterpart and was the largest person Ezekiel¡¯s met so far. Fisk sat behind the desk as he watched Ezekiel enter the room before he said, ¡°You can close the door. I will call you if I need you.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Fisk¡¯s lacky said as he quickly shut the door. Ezekiel didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and sat down in one of the leather chairs before he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Mr. Fisk. Or do you prefer people to call you Kingpin¡­ Actually you just started out so no one should call you that yet, it¡¯s just what you want people to call you one day.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Fisk narrowed his eyes slightly while his bulk shifted forward in his seat as he leaned over his desk and said, ¡°You seem to know a lot about me¡­ And I have no idea who you are.¡± ¡°I know a lot about you because I can see the future and I have to say you¡¯re pretty impressive. Climbing up from nothing to become the king of the New York underworld with connections all over the world.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Fisk studied Ezekiel for a few moments before he asked, ¡°If you can see the future, then why are you here? Are you trying to ride on my coattails?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°My vision isn¡¯t as small as yours, New York means nothing to me. And neither does the underworld since I plan to destroy it.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I¡¯m here to give you a different path forward. One that doesn¡¯t involve crime. One where the woman you love doesn¡¯t end up leaving you because she finds out what type of business you¡¯re really in.¡± Fisk sat back in his chair a bit before he asked, ¡°And why should I believe you?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°You have no reason to believe me and I am not going to give you one because I know the type of man you are. What I will do is offer you a deal to go straight.¡± Ezekiel tapped his storage seal and pulled out his tablet before he tapped on it a few times and a holographic screen appeared between him and Fisk. On the screen was a bank account with a million dollars currently in it that Ezekiel pointed at as he said, ¡°That would be the first part of the deal. If you agree to turn away from crime now, I¡¯ll give you that to help grow your business.¡± ¡°I already have close to a million dollars myself.¡± Fisk said with little interest. ¡°This is only the first part and unlike the money you collected. This money you don¡¯t have to worry about spending, it¡¯s all traceable and the IRS won¡¯t come after you for it. That means you could easily expand without much issue.¡± ¡°What else are you offering?¡± ¡°I know you want to focus on real estate, so I will get you the proper permits whenever you need them without having to wait or pay for them. I¡¯ll even do you one better and throw in a building for your first project.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. ¡°Is that it?¡± Fisk asked, unimpressed with Ezekiel¡¯s offer. Ezekiel thought about it for a few minutes before he said, ¡°I can also help you get into politics later¡­ Mayor Fisk of New York doesn¡¯t sound bad does it? Or maybe Senator Fisk? President Fisk? It¡¯s all possible if you keep your nose clean.¡± ¡°Sounds like a kid''s dream.¡± Fisk said as he steepled his fingers together over his belly that was mostly muscle. ¡°And so does the Kingpin of the New York City underworld.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. Ezekiel sealed his tablet away and pulled out a card with his name and phone number on it before he stood up. He placed the card on Fisk¡¯s desk as he said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a month to think about my offer. If you call me after a month I won¡¯t pick up.¡± Fisk glanced at the card as Ezekiel created a portal and said, ¡°I¡¯ll see myself out.¡± Fisk watched as Ezekiel disappeared though the portal before it snapped closed after him. He stared at where the portal was for a little while before he called out, ¡°Bring me a drink and make it strong.¡± Ezekiel portaled over to the main base after he left Fisk¡¯s to find a few people and assign a new task. He could technically do it with his tablet, but Gabby complained when he didn¡¯t visit the base at least once a week. So he always made at least one trip to the base each week to make Gabby happy. Ezekiel wasted no time as he moved towards his personal office to find a few people. While it was his office, it was partly taken over by the ninja¡¯s. It worked as their mission hall even though Ezekiel was currently the only one who really gave them missions. Since that was the case, there were always at least a handful of people in the office. Ezekiel reached his office within a few minutes and found Shikaku Nara as he relaxed in a chair playing on his phone along with a couple of other people playing on phones or reading. Shikaku glanced up at Ezekiel as he walked in and asked, ¡°Need something?¡± ¡°I need a team to watch someone for the next month or so.¡± Shikaku typed on his phone for a moment as he said, ¡°Send me the details and it will be done.¡± After Ezekiel gave him Fisk¡¯s information, he headed towards the rec room since that is where Gabby tended to hang out at. Once he arrived he found Gabby, Skye, Ava and one of the younger widow girls in the middle of a game of air hockey. Gabby didn¡¯t notice Ezekiel at first because her back was to him, but as he walked closer she caught a whiff of him and immediately turned around to find him. As she ran over to give him a hug Ava said, ¡°Wait, don¡¯t leave!¡± A second later Skye and the other girl cheered as they scored another point since Gabby wasn¡¯t there to help guard. Gabby didn¡¯t care as she bolted towards Ezekiel and gave him a hug. As she hugged him she asked, ¡°Did you come to visit me?¡± Ezekiel patted her head as he said, ¡°Yup. I figured it was around dinner time and I would see if you wanted to go eat.¡± Ava and the other girls came over as Gabby said, ¡°Sure! Let''s go!¡± ¡°What about your friends?¡± Ezekiel asked as he looked towards the other girls. Gabby glanced at the other girls as she said, ¡°Of course they are gonna come too.¡± 00184. Tony needs advice. Another week passed by before Ezekiel received a text message from Tony asking for help. Since Tony didn''t go into detail again, Ezekiel was positive it had to do with Pepper. It was something Tony texted him about almost every day. Ezekiel ignored most of them or sent a quick reply most of the time, but he figured he would finally visit Tony in person since he hadn''t seen him in over three weeks. Ezekiel portaled into Tony''s workshop to find him slouched in a chair as he gazed blankly at his computer screen. Ezekiel moved closer to see what Tony was looking at and found it was open to a website with baby names. Ezekiel smiled and patted Tony on the shoulder as he said, ¡°This looks like a positive step in the right direction.¡± Tony turned to look over at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I guess¡­ But Pepper doesn''t really talk to me right now.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he asked, ¡°What happened this time?¡± ¡°She said I need to grow up and start acting more mature.¡± Ezekiel nodded along as he said, ¡°I''ve been telling you that since I''ve met you.¡± Tony punched Ezekiel''s shoulder as he said, ¡°You act more childish than me most of the time.¡± ¡°Which means I''m a great judge on who acts like a child.¡± Ezekiel said as he grinned back at Tony. Tony tossed his hands up in the air as he said, ¡°Fine, I act like a kid¡­ What''s so wrong with that?¡± Ezekiel rubbed his chin as he said, ¡°From Pepper''s perspective as a soon to be mother¡­ Everything. I''m pretty sure she wants someone who can help her raise a child, not act like one themselves.¡± Tony let out a frustrated sigh as he asked, ¡°And how am I supposed to do that, when she barely talks to me unless it''s about the business?¡± ¡°Do I really need to explain this to you?¡± Ezekiel asked with an annoyed tone. ¡°What can I say, I''ve only ever had flings. I''ve never been in a serious relationship and have no idea how they work.¡± Tony said helplessly. ¡°Are you being serious?¡± Tony nodded his head as he said, ¡°I can easily wine and dine a girl and make sure they are satisfied in bed¡­ But that¡¯s all I¡¯ve ever done.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said to himself, ¡°Even I know how to date a woman¡­¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he sat on Tony¡¯s desk and said, ¡°Apologize to her first and foremost and tell her you¡¯re a huge fucking idiot when it comes to relationships.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an idiot!¡± Ezekiel leveled a flat look at Tony as he said, ¡°You are literally asking me how to fix your relationship problems.¡± Tony rolled his eyes before he said, ¡°Fine¡­ I might not know how to have a normal relationship.¡± ¡°Good¡­ After you apologize, you just need to be honest with her, tell her how you feel¡­ If things go smoothly, do something romantic for her and show you actually care about her.¡± Ezekiel focused on Tony as he asked, ¡°You do actually care about her, right?¡± ¡°Of course I do!¡± ¡°Alright, since that''s the case I''ll help you out if you need anything. Since you seem to suck at dating more than Happy.¡± ¡°I do not.¡± Tony said as he crossed his arms over his chest. ¡°Happy''s never asked me for advice about his relationship and he and Anna are doing great.¡± Tony wanted to reply before he stopped himself and after a moment said, ¡°Fine, I guess he is better at keeping a relationship together¡­ But I am better at picking up chicks.¡± Ezekiel smacked the back of Tony''s head as he said, ¡°And that''s one of the reasons Pepper isn''t talking to you. She probably feels like this might just be a fling to you and is scared thinking she is gonna be a single mom.¡± ¡°Pepper isn''t a fling¡­ She means more to me than something like that.¡± ¡°Then go tell her and don''t brag about how easy you can get other women when you do it.¡± Ezekiel said as he shook his head slightly. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Ezekiel spent about an hour as he chatted with Tony and basically called him an idiot whenever he had stupid ideas. Once Tony was confident he left to go meet Pepper and try to fix his fragile relationship and hopefully med it. Ezekiel had nothing to do himself so he went back to training since nothing important was going on currently. Actually he had one project he wanted to do, but he would need Tao''s help to accomplish it. He wanted to go out and collect the other infinity stones. He mostly needed to get the power stone and soul stone. He would worry about the reality stone when the convergence happened. As for the mind stone, he was pretty sure Thanos had it¡­ Maybe. If he had that mind control staff that he would give to Loki when he invaded Earth¡­ If that even happened this time. With that in mind, Ezekiel decided to finally ask and get the project underway. Well if Tao agreed to help, if not he would need to find another way to do it. After Ezekiel portaled back to his training room and switched back into Theo. He went over to Tao and said, ¡°I want to collect the other infinity stones and I''ll need your help to do it.¡± Tao glanced up from her book as she said, ¡°I was wondering how much longer you were going to wait to ask.¡± Theo smirked as he asked, ¡°Am I that easy to read?¡± ¡°At least for this, yes. Yes you are¡­ I expected you to ask me for help right after we collected the space stone.¡± Tao placed her book down and asked, ¡°So what do you need my help with?¡± ¡°Mainly transport to the planets where the stones are located. I would also need something like what you created for the space stone to contain them.¡± Tao nodded in understanding before she asked, ¡°If you take the power stone, won''t that throw off the timeline?¡± ¡°I was planning to replace it with a fake like we did with the Tesseract.¡± Tao stood up from her seat as she said, ¡°I''ll go talk with Agatha since she helped me make the last one. If everything goes smoothly we should have them finished in a couple weeks.¡± With that Tao left Theo alone to train, well he wasn¡¯t alone for long. Theo had to collect his training partners only an hour later and then spent the next few hours sparring before he switched to fuinjutsu practice. He finished up with magic practice before he called it a night and went to bed. The next day after Theo came home from school he received a text message from Tony asking for help again. Theo shook his head and let out a sigh before he went to his room, created a clone and switched with it. About two minutes later Ezekiel was in Tony''s workshop but Tony wasn''t there and he was greeted by JARVIS who said, ¡°Welcome Ezekiel, Mr. Stark is currently upstairs in his bedroom.¡± ¡°Thanks JARVIS. How are you doing by the way?¡± Ezekiel asked as he headed towards the door. ¡°I am fine sir, thanks for asking.¡± Ezekiel quickly made his way upstairs to Tony¡¯s room before he stopped and knocked on the door frame and said, ¡°You better not be naked.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ But I am trying to figure out what clothes to wear.¡± Ezekiel glanced in the room and found Tony standing in front of his bed with three different outfits laid out. Ezekiel moved into the room as he asked, ¡°Do you really need my help to pick out an outfit?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I mean no. I need you for something else.¡± Tony said and he picked the outfit in the middle which was a simple black suit with a blue undershirt and no tie. Ezekiel glanced at the outfit for a moment before he asked, ¡°So I guess Pepper is talking with you again?¡± Tony smiled as he moved towards his closet and said, ¡°Yup. We are even going on a date tonight¡­ Which is why I need your help. I wanted to take her to Genosha for dinner and possibly stay there for the week. You think you could get us a room?¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh as he pulled out his tablet and started to type on it as he said, ¡°I see how it is, you only use me for my connections.¡± ¡°Like you haven''t done the same to me.¡± Tony said from inside his walk in closet. He came out a few minutes later with a small travel suitcase and placed it next to the bed as Ezekiel finished up on his tablet. Ezekiel glanced up from his tablet as he said, ¡°Alright, I booked you at that restaurant Pepper likes and then got you one of the presidential suites at the cliffside hotel.¡± ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it.¡± Tony said with a smile. Ezekiel put his tablet away as he asked, ¡°When do you guys want to leave?¡± ¡°Whenever Pepper gets here. What time did you book our dinner reservation for?¡± ¡°I just put you on the list. You can show up whenever you like.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. ¡°Miss. Potts just entered at the main gate.¡± JARVIS said. Tony grabbed the clothes he was going to wear and asked, ¡°Can you greet Pepper for me while I change?¡± Ezekiel shook his head slightly but left the room and headed downstairs to meet Pepper at the door. When Ezekiel reached the door and opened it up, Pepper was just parking her car. Ezekiel stepped outside and once Pepper got out of the car he said, ¡°Hey Pepper, how have you been?¡± Pepper smiled before she said, ¡°Good, considering everything that''s been going on. How about yourself?¡± ¡°I''ve been good¡­ So you''re giving Tony a chance uh?¡± Pepper nodded as she pulled a small suitcase out of her back seat and said, ¡°Yeah¡­ We talked things out and we agreed to see what happens.¡± ¡°Good. I think everything will work out fine for you guys.¡± Ezekiel said as he took the suitcase from Pepper and walked her inside the house. Tony came downstairs with his suitcase a minute later and after a little bit of small talk, Ezekiel portaled them to Genosha. After seeing them off Ezekiel decided to go get food and go visit Hela. Once he bought food, he contacted Tao and met her in Genosha so she could portal him to Hel where he stepped out of the portal and greeted Hela. He ended up staying in Hel for almost eight hours as they watched a few movies before they played some board games together. 00185. Family breakfast? A little over a week passed by and the deadline for Fisk was almost up. From Theo¡¯s surveillance it didn''t look like Fisk would take the deal but it didn''t matter too much. If Fisk wanted to keep trying to be a crime lord, Theo would shut him down before long since he was proactive when it came to threats. Even if Fisk wasn¡¯t really a threat to him in the grand scheme of things. Theo instead turned his attention to the Mars project while he waited for Tao to finish up the magic items to contain the infinity stones. He transported Hashirama at least five times a day to produce plant life around the staging area. They weren''t even halfway done yet, but at least the plants and trees had no issue surviving. Since water was basically taken care of and he was working on oxygen with Hashirama. Theo decided to also start collecting what else would be needed to heat up the planet which is greenhouse gases. Sure they were already using magic to do it in a small area, but that took a lot of time to make and Mars was massive compared to what it covered. Theo thought about it for a while and after talking with a few people he came up with a solution that could help the Earth and Mars at the same time. Well it would take a while to do properly, but with the help of magic it was possible. The plan was to build a magic device that collected pollution from manufacturing plants, power plants and other places that produced large amounts of greenhouse gases. They would then be installed in place and hidden with magic so normal people couldn''t find them. It would help reduce carbon emissions around the planet and Theo could send those to Mars through the device. It would take a lot of work, but a few masters of the mystic arts liked the idea and already started work on some prototypes. As for the more complicated part, Tao would be in charge of creating the receiver device which would be placed on the opposite side of Mars from where the forest was being planted. While it wasn''t perfect and would definitely take a while, it was better than nuking the planet to heat it up. Well, they wouldn''t nuke the whole planet, but Theo didn¡¯t want to deal with that mess. Besides he would also be helping the Earth at the same time, so this was a better solution overall. Whether or not he created even smaller devices to help with smaller pollution producers like transport ships. Well, Theo would need to think about it because there were millions of places he already planned to target and the devices took time to make. With not much for Theo himself to do towards the project and having already completed his training for the night. Theo decided to call it an early day and head to bed. After a shower and swapping with his clone, Theo fell asleep quickly, only to be woken up before his alarm by someone poking his cheek. Theo opened his eyes slowly to see Milly''s smiling face looming right in front of him in the dim light of his bedroom. She poked him again as she said, ¡°Get up, we need your help to make breakfast.¡± ¡°We?¡± Theo asked as he sat up in his bed to see Issac standing behind Milly. Milly pulled back from leaning over Theo¡¯s bed as she said, ¡°Issac and I wanted to make breakfast for mom and dad.¡± ¡°And you need my help?¡± Both of them nodded before Milly said, ¡°We''ve never used the stove before so we need your help.¡± Theo focused on them both for a moment before he asked, ¡°So you want me to cook?¡± ¡°Yeah. Can you? Pleaseeee.¡± Milly said as Issac nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Please, big brother.¡± Theo smiled at his siblings as he said, ¡°Sure, but I am not doing everything alone. Both of you are going to help.¡± Milly and Issac both nodded seriously as Theo started to get out of bed. As he did he looked at his alarm clock and froze since it was over an hour and a half before he normally got up. He glanced at his helpers as he asked, ¡°Why did you wake me up so early? ¡°We wanna make pancakes.¡± Milly said. ¡°Pancakes don''t take that long to make.¡± Theo let out a sigh before he laid back down in his bed. ¡°Don''t go back to sleep, you promised to help us.¡± Milly said with a pout. Theo glanced at Milly as he said, ¡°If I wake up at my normal time I can easily make pancakes before mom and dad are up. So I am gonna go back to sleep until then.¡± Theo rolled over in his bed and snuggled back up in his blankets as Milly shared a look with Issac. A moment later both of them climbed into Theo¡¯s bed with him. As they ruined the blanket burrito he just turned himself into he asked, ¡°What are you two doing?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Waiting for you to cook breakfast.¡± Milly said as she tried to steal more of the blankets. Theo let out another sigh as he was snuggled in between Milly and Issac. It didn¡¯t take long for Theo to fall back asleep until Milly''s arm smacked him in the face and woke him back up. Milly was sprawled out like a starfish next to him, no longer under the blankets with one arm and leg on top of him. Theo glanced on his other side to find Issac somehow wrapped in the blankets as half his body hung off the bed and only still on the bed because of the blankets Theo was laying on. Theo removed Milly''s arm from his face before he glanced at his alarm to find about an hour had passed. Since he doubted he would get that last thirty minutes of sleep he reached over for his alarm and turned it off. He was just thinking about getting out of bed when Milly''s arm swung back over and hit him in the face again. Theo laid there for a few more moments before he decided to wake his siblings up. Theo chose Milly first because she was the one who woke him up. Theo sat up in bed before he leaned towards Milly, lifted her shirt and used a tickle attack. Milly was very ticklish so within a moment she started to squirm and wiggle around. Not even a few seconds passed before she started to giggle before she woke up. Theo stopped his attack once she woke up and groggily looked around. Theo then pulled Issac back onto the bed before he launched another tickle attack. Issac didn''t squirm or wiggle like Milly though. No Issac instead rolled away from Theo and his fingers, right off the bed along with the blankets. There was a soft thud after he hit the floor and a moment later he sat up and looked around in confusion. Theo chuckled to himself for a moment before he got up and said, ¡°Both of you make my bed while I get changed.¡± Milly yawned before she asked, ¡°Why do we have to make your bed?¡± ¡°Because you both ruined it.¡± Milly in her still sleepy state glanced over the bed to find all the blankets and Issac missing before she noticed the top of his head by the side of the bed. She crawled over to find him and all the blankets on the floor. By the time Theo stepped out of his closet Milly and Issac were up and his bed¡­ Well the blankets were at least back on it. Theo shook his head since he knew he would need to fix it again later. He headed upstairs with his siblings in tow before he started delegating them each tasks they needed to do. Theo himself oversaw them and also started work on the pancake batter. After Theo finished the batter, he left it off to the side to sit while he started brewing a fresh pot of coffee for his parents. Once that was going he took the baking sheet lined up with bacon Milly created and placed it in the oven to cook. Then checked in with Issac who just finished cracking eggs into a bowl. Theo took that bowl and placed it next to the stove top before he grabbed a skillet and started to heat it up with some butter in it. Once the butter was melted, Theo gave the eggs a quick beating before he poured them in the skillet. As they cooked he moved them around constantly as he made them into scrambled eggs. Just before they finished cooking he added seasoning before he pulled them off the heat. Milly took that skillet and handed him a new one as Issac placed the bowl of pancake batter next to Theo along with a large ice cream scoop and spatula. Milly and Issac worked on setting the kitchen table as Theo started to make pancakes. As he finished the first batch the smell of bacon started to waft throughout the kitchen and into the rest of the house along with the coffee that was brewing. After the second batch of pancakes Theo checked on the bacon to find it almost finished, so he waited before he started more pancakes. After a few minutes he pulled out the bacon and turned down the oven before he placed the completed pancakes inside it to stay warm. As Theo started on another batch of pancakes, Milly placed the bacon onto a paper lined plate as Issac started to wash the dirty dishes. The three of them worked seamlessly together for the next ten minutes before a camera flash filled the room. Everyone turned to find Jacob with his phone in his hands as he smiled at them and said, ¡°Smile.¡± Jacob ended up taking a bunch more photos as Daniel walked into the kitchen and said, ¡°Thanks for making breakfast this morning kids.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks a lot. This was a nice surprise.¡± Jacob said as he put his phone down and started to make a cup of coffee. ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Theo said as he started on another batch of pancakes. Milly smiled at her mom and gave her a hug as she said, ¡°You''re welcome mom.¡± Issac followed suit and did the same thing before Theo had them take the pancakes out of the oven and put them on the kitchen table. After Theo finished the last batch of pancakes, he sat down at the table to eat with his family. Their meal was mostly quiet as they ate while both Daniel and Jacob praised the kids for their cooking. Afterwards as they cleaned up the rest of the dishes Milly asked, ¡°Dad, can you teach me and Issac how to bake again tonight?¡± Jacob sipped his coffee before he said, ¡°I don''t see why not¡­ How about I show you how to make cheesecake.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Milly and Issac said together excitedly as Theo felt something was slightly off. After a few more minutes Jacob and Daniel left the kitchen to go get ready since they were still in their pajamas. After they left, Milly high fived Issac before she said, ¡°I told you it would work.¡± Theo turned to glare at them as he asked, ¡°You told Issac what would work exactly?¡± ¡°Nothing!¡± Milly quickly shook her head as Issac nodded in agreement. ¡°Did you do all of this just for dad to bake sweets?¡± Theo asked with narrowed eyes. Milly shared a glance with Issac before she said, ¡°Nooooooo.¡± Issac nodded in agreement before he said, ¡°I think dad just called me, I should go.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Milly said before they both bolted out of the kitchen. Theo stood there stunned for a few moments as he realized his siblings used him to get some sweets¡­ Theo could only shake his head at the antics of his siblings as he turned around to finish the dishes. 00186. A job offer? Ezekiel portaled into a science lab he purchased a while ago. When he originally purchased it from Osborn, he gave the people working there a month long vacation while he settled everything. When they came back and started working again, Ezekiel had a decent idea on what they were all doing so he basically left them alone to do their own thing. While he planned to help out Connors with a body and to help out Otto with the AI for his arms. He was gonna wait for a bit until they were farther along in their projects. Well that and he kinda forgot about the both of them since he had so much other stuff he was focused on. He had a few safeguards in place that would warn him if they started getting close to starting certain experiments. But otherwise he left them alone until he got a call from Curt Connors who asked to see him. Ezekiel stepped out into a clean and tidy work space and glanced around for a moment before he saw a man focused on the display from his electron microscope. Ezekiel walked over to the man and looked over his shoulder at the screen for a few moments before he said, ¡°Kinda looks like an impressionist painting.¡± The man in the chair jumped out of his seat as he turned around and asked, ¡°Who are you and how did you get in here?¡± Ezekiel stepped back and smiled as he said, ¡°I''m Ezekiel. You just called me because you wanted to show me something.¡± Ezekiel gestured to the screen as he asked, ¡°Is this it?¡± ¡°I just called you five minutes ago, how did you get here so fast¡­ Actually how did you get in this room? Only I should have access to this part of the lab.¡± The man said as he studied Ezekiel. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°It''s one of the perks of owning the building. Nothing is locked to me.¡± ¡°But I didn''t hear the door open.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Maybe you missed it, you were pretty focused on that display.¡± The man thought about it for a moment before he rubbed the back of his head and said, ¡°You''re probably right, I get distracted when I focus on my research.¡± He quickly stuck out his hand a second later as he said, ¡°Sorry, I should introduce myself properly. I''m Curtis Connors, people normally call me Curt or Dr. Connors.¡± Ezekiel shook his hand as he said, ¡°It''s nice to meet you Dr. Connors.¡± After they shook hands Ezekiel asked, ¡°So why did you call me?¡± ¡°I had a breakthrough and wanted to ask for some more funding.¡± Connors said as he signaled for Ezekiel to follow him. Connors led Ezekiel over to the other side of the lab where he kept a bunch of mice. He pulled out one of the cages to show a perfectly healthy white lab mouse as he said, ¡°Take a look.¡± Ezekiel glanced at the mouse for a few moments before he asked, ¡°And what am I looking at exactly?¡± ¡°This mouse was originally missing its front right leg.¡± Connors said as he pulled out a folder and handed it over to Ezekiel. Ezekiel opened it up to see a bunch of dense medical notes along with pictures. Ezekiel skipped over the notes and looked at the pictures which showed the mouse regrow its leg within a matter of days. Ezekiel checked the date of when the experiment was started before he asked, ¡°Have you noticed any weird behaviors?¡± Connors shook his head as he said, ¡°So far everything is positive and there are no adverse side effects.¡± Ezekiel closed the folder and handed it back to Connors as he said, ¡°This is a good start¡­ Dr. Connors, have you heard about Revival?¡± Connors nodded his head as he said, ¡°They help people with life threatening conditions and don''t charge any money.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°That''s correct. But they are also working on a lot of other stuff including a limb regeneration technique and cloning.¡± Connors eyebrows raised and his mouth opened slightly at the news before he quickly asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°I own Revival and was the person who requested the research be done.¡± Ezekiel said with a hint of a smile. Connors grabbed Ezekiel by the shoulder as he asked, ¡°Could I possibly see their research on limb regeneration? I might be able to perfect my research so we can move on to human trials.¡± Ezekiel removed Connors hand from his shoulder as he said, ¡°It''s a possibility, but I really don''t want you to rush anything with this project.¡± Before Connors could respond, Ezekiel cast a glance at Connors missing arm as he said, ¡°I can understand why you would want to rush forward with this project¡­ So how about I give you a reason to take it slowly instead?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Connors asked as Ezekiel created a portal behind the man. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Follow me and I''ll show you.¡± Ezekiel said as he walked past Connors and into the portal. Connors turned around and froze in place at the sight of the portal. Ezekiel smirked to himself before he said, ¡°Come along now Dr. Connors, I don''t have all day.¡± Connors snapped out of shock and quickly followed Ezekiel through the portal before he asked, ¡°What was that? Some kind of worm hole? Is that an innate power or is it technology based?¡± ¡°It was created with magic.¡± Ezekiel said as he led Connors into the medical facility. Connor laughed for a moment before he asked, ¡°Magic? That''s a pretty good joke¡­ But seriously how did you do that?¡± ¡°I already told you, magic.¡± Connors didn''t believe it but decided not to press the issue as he followed Ezekiel into a high tech lab with some equipment he''d never seen, let alone heard about before. Inside the lab a few people were working in front of some computers as a complex simulation ran on a main screen off to the side. Connors was the first one to speak as he asked a question about the data being displayed on the screen. Both people turned around as Orochimaru said, ¡°That''s correct. We are in the process of...¡± Ezekiel interrupted him as he said, ¡°You guys can talk after I leave.¡± Ezekiel pointed at Connors as he said, ¡°This is Dr. Curt Connors and he is here for a new body.¡± ¡°What new body?¡± Connors asked in confusion. ¡°I told you, I am gonna give you a reason to take your research slow and steady.¡± Ezekiel pointed at each person in the room as he introduced them quickly before he said, ¡°Alright, I have other things I need to do. Just call me once he is ready to leave so I can send him home.¡± ¡°Wait where are you going and what did you mean by new body?¡± Connors asked as he looked at Ezekiel. ¡°Just ask them about it. I have something else to do.¡± Ezekiel said before his afterimage faded away. Connors glanced at the other people in the room as he asked, ¡°What did he mean by new body?¡± Orochimaru licked his lips with his snake like tongue before he was smacked by Tobirama who said, ¡°Stop doing that, it''s creepy.¡± After Ezekiel left he created a portal back to the laboratory building but this time went to the other lab. Inside he found a slightly more chaotic workshop but otherwise more clean then Tony''s personal lab. The lab itself was currently empty so Ezekiel pulled out his tablet to check the lab''s security to find out where Dr. Otto Octavius was. The security logs and video showed he arrived at the lab earlier today and that he had yet to leave. With that information Ezekiel decided to take a look around before he went to find Otto who was probably taking a break. The lab itself wasn''t so bad, but there seemed to be a lot of projects all over the place in different stages of being worked on. Ezekiel started to wonder if Otto already completed his robotic arms before he found the iconic harness only half finished in one corner of the lab. It was hooked up to a computer so Ezekiel decided to check it out. On the computer itself was diagnostic software for the harness along with the basics for a control program. Ezekiel glanced over the diagnostic program for a few moments before he turned his attention to the software for the arms. At a glance he could tell it was bare bones and worse than that, it was bad. Sure it wasn''t even close to being finished, but Ezekiel couldn''t stand how bad it was and wanted to delete it all and start the code over from scratch. As Ezekiel looked over the code the lab door opened up and two people walked in. The first one was a man about average height with brown hair and eyes. He was pudgy with a bowl cut and thick black framed glass that rested on his large nose. Next to him was a woman with long brown hair tied into a braid that stopped at the middle of her back. She had bright blue eyes with a smile to match and was currently holding hands with the man. Ezekiel heard the door open up and as the couple walked in he turned around and asked, ¡°Who wrote this code?¡± Both people froze as they looked at Ezekiel for a moment before the man said with some pride, ¡°I did.¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°Where exactly did you learn how to code?¡± ¡°I taught myself.¡± The man said smugly. ¡°That explains a lot¡­ You suck at it and you need to hire someone else to do it.¡± The man flushed with a bit of anger as he said, ¡°Everyone I hired turned out to be idiots, so I decided to do it myself.¡± ¡°I''m not sure what they created for you, but I doubt it''s as bad as this crap.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at the code displayed on the computer. The man moved closer to Ezekiel and the computer as he said, ¡°Everything they created was a hundred times worse than that.¡± Ezekiel rolled his eyes as he said, ¡°I doubt that. I know a ten year old who can program better than this garbage.¡± The man got up into Ezekiel''s face before he said, ¡°I would like to see you do better.¡± ¡°Easy, just watch and I''ll show you what proper coding looks like.¡± Ezekiel said before he turned towards the computer and opened a new text editor before he started to type. Ezekiel¡¯s fingers flew across the keyboard at incredible speed as he typed away. Within twenty minutes he had already recreated something similar to the code he called garbage. Except his code was neatly done without a bunch of extra lines of redundant code or garbage code and accomplished the same results as the old code. Ezekiel finished up and double checked his code before he turned back to the man and woman behind him. The man looked at the code in excitement for a few moments before he turned to Ezekiel and said, ¡°You''re hired.¡± Ezekiel smirked at that as he said, ¡°You don''t even know who I am.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The man said as he seemed to realize something before he asked, ¡°Who are you and how did you get into my lab? Also, do you want a job? It pays well.¡± Ezekiel chuckled before he said, ¡°I''m Ezekiel. As for how I entered your lab¡­ I own the building and fund your research.¡± The man thought about it for a few moments before he nodded his head and said, ¡°Yes, yes. I remember you sent me an email after you bought this place from Norman.¡± The man stuck out his hand as he said, ¡°I''m Dr. Otto Octavius and this is my wife Rosalie.¡± Ezekiel shook hands with Otto as he said, ¡°Good to finally meet you both.¡± After they shook hands Otto asked, ¡°So about that job offer?¡± 00187. You work for... While Otto was a little arrogant when you challenged him or questioned his skill. He was actually very easy to talk to and Ezekiel found he really liked the man. After chatting for a while, Ezekiel agreed to do all the programming work for the man going forward. Since programming was his main skill set and he could easily use clones to get all of the work done. Besides he didn''t want Otto to become his super villain counterpart, so he would keep a closer eye on him going forward. Once he finished up his business with Otto and his wife, Ezekiel headed back to the medical lab to check in with Dr. Connors. He found Connors engrossed in a conversation with Orochimaru, Tobirama and a few other people about his research. Since that was the case Ezekiel headed home until he needed to portal the man back to his laboratory. A little while after Ezekiel arrived back home he received a phone call, but it wasn''t for Connors. Wilson Fisk finally called and wanted to talk with Ezekiel in person again. Ezekiel agreed on a time and place before he hung up the phone and went to go train until it was time for the meeting. Hours later Ezekiel portaled to one of the tallest buildings in Hell''s Kitchen where Fisk wanted to meet him. He stepped out onto the roof of the building to find Fisk. Fisk stood alone near the edge of the roof with his hands behind his back as he looked out over the city. As Ezekiel approached Fisk he asked, ¡°So what did you want to talk about?¡± Fisk didn''t turn around as he said, ¡°You said you could see the future¡­ So you must know what I planned to do for this city.¡± ¡°I know your overall goal was to help the city. But the actions you planned to take would hurt a lot of innocent people along the way.¡± ¡°But it would help more people than it would harm.¡± Fisk said as he glanced towards Ezekiel for a moment. ¡°The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.¡± Fisk nodded in response as he said, ¡°Exactly.¡± Ezekiel shook his head slightly before he said, ¡°That''s only acceptable when you have no other choice¡­ But you currently have other options, Mr. Fisk.¡± Fisk stared out over the city for about a minute before he asked, ¡°I looked into you after our first meeting. Do you know what I found?¡± Ezekiel looked out over the edge of the building at the neighborhood below as he said, ¡°No idea.¡± Fisk glanced down towards Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Practically nothing. You appeared out of nowhere a few years ago. No formal ID, no birth records, no records at all from what I''ve gathered and only a handful of photos and video clips scattered around online¡­¡± Fisk turned to face Ezekiel before he said, ¡°And yet as far as I can tell you are the sole owner of Vibe Media Corporation. One of the most talked about companies in the world since the launch of Stark¡¯s phone.¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he asked, ¡°And your point is?¡± ¡°You''re a ghost that popped up out of nowhere and now you want me to work with you.¡± Ezekiel turned to face Fisk as he chuckled before he said, ¡°You''re wrong. You won''t be working with me. You''ll be working for me.¡± Before Fisk could respond, Ezekiel held up a hand and said, ¡°You would be like an independent contractor and I would only give you a general goal of what I would like for you to accomplish. If you''re able to do it, you''ll be rewarded and get more work.¡± Ezekiel turned back to looking out over the city as he said, ¡°All of the goals I give you should be easy to do. They will just take effort on your part to accomplish. That being said, I expect whatever it is to be done correctly. I don''t need or want anything done quickly, I just need it done right the first time.¡± After Ezekiel stopped talking for a few moments Fisk asked, ¡°And what exactly do you plan to have me do?¡± ¡°Are you accepting my offer?¡± ¡°You can consider me interested, but I want to know more before I commit to anything.¡± Fisk said. Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°I want you to do exactly what you already planned to do, but you need to change one thing about it. I want you to focus on better housing for lower income families instead of the rich.¡± Fisk frowned as he said, ¡°There''s barely any money to be made in that sector and it would hold back my other plans.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. But you wouldn''t be doing this to make money. The goal is to help people in need. Besides I already told you, if you do everything right, you''ll never have to worry about money.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Ezekiel turned back to Fisk as he said, ¡°Besides you are missing out on what will happen if you do it correctly.¡± ¡°And what exactly is that?¡± ¡°If you build something that is nice and also affordable for people with low income. You won''t have any issue with keeping tenants. You do that enough and the slum lords in the area around your buildings might not be able to find renters anymore.¡± Fisk nodded along before he said, ¡°And that''s when I offer to buy up their building.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Exactly. Then you tear it down and build another low income focused property.¡± ¡°It might work for some, but there are people out there who own their buildings and wouldn''t want to sell it, even if I offered to pay double what it is worth.¡± ¡°And that''s one of the reasons why I said you would be working for me, not with me. If you have any type of problem that you can''t solve through normal, legal means¡­ You contact me and I''ll deal with it.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile before he added, ¡°I want you to keep your image clean along with how you do business.¡± ¡°What''s the other reason I would be working for you and not with you?¡± ¡°Because honestly, you don''t matter in the grand scheme of things that I am working towards. I could easily replace you with anyone and get the same results. It''s all just a matter of time for me really.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. ¡°If I''m that disposable, then why did you come to me in the first place?¡± Fisk asked with a hint of frustration in his voice. ¡°Because you would get in the way of my plans eventually and things wouldn''t have gone well for you when that happened. You are a very smart, capable and driven man, Mr. Fisk. A man I could use to do great things with and I want to give you a path forward. One where you are not limited in the future by being a criminal.¡± Ezekiel studied Fisk for a moment before he said, ¡°If you work for me, I expect you to behave and keep your nose clean. I''ll give you some chances, but not many¡­ And if you do something really bad, don''t expect to wind up in jail.¡± Fisk thought about it for a few more moments before he stuck out his hand and said, ¡°I look forward to our first project together.¡± Ezekiel shook his hand as he said, ¡°As do I.¡± vvvvv A couple weeks passed by and Curt Connors was given a new body while Theo finished up all the current programming jobs Otto needed done. He also gave Fisk his first project and put him in touch with Adrian Toomes so his company could do the demolition of the building. He also put another project into motion which involved the remnants of the Hand. While they were now focused on helping people and communities, Theo used the New York members as a test bed for the trade skill program he wanted to do. Since he already had Adrian and Fisk, he would use them to help move the project forward. They would each get a handful of young people who would be taught to be craftsmen in different fields. It was almost like becoming an apprentice in a union, except Theo founded the whole thing himself and no one had to pay for it. If it worked well he planned to expand it to other cities where ex Hand members operated. Besides that, Theo just got out of school for winter break and was heading to his dad''s shop with Peter, Milly, Issac and Teresa. They almost always go there after school unless their parents pick them up. As they walked Milly was looking through a book on cakes she picked up from the library while Issac and Teresa chatted about when they should do their holiday homework. Peter glanced over his shoulder at his little sister as he said, ¡°Let''s just do it once we get to the shop, that way we can have fun for the holidays and not have to worry about it.¡± Theo nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°We can even help you with it if you get stuck.¡± Milly glanced up from her book and said, ¡°But I wanna finish reading this book.¡± ¡°You just wanna look at pictures of cakes.¡± Theo said with a knowing smile. Milly shook her head in denial before she said, ¡°I am reading the recipes.¡± Theo quickly snatched the book from Milly''s hands as she said, ¡°Hey! Give that back!¡± ¡°I just wanna see if you learned anything.¡± Theo said as he glanced at the recipe on the page Milly was just looking at and asked, ¡°What are some of the ingredients for this double chocolate cake you were looking at.¡± Milly glanced at Theo for a few moments before she confidently said, ¡°I don''t know.¡± ¡°I knew it! You were only looking at the pictures of cake because that''s all you can think about¡­ Your brain must be full of cake!¡± ¡°It is not!¡± Milly said as her cheeks puffed out and she placed her hands on her hips. ¡°It has to be, that''s the only logical explanation for why you like cake so much.¡± ¡°I just like cake! My brain isn''t full of cake!¡± Milly said as she tried to grab her book back from Theo. Theo dodged her and started to run away from her, so Milly started to chase him as she said, ¡°Te-o, get back here!¡± Theo just started to laugh as he kept just out of reach of Milly as they ran down the sidewalk before Milly said, ¡°If you''re brave, stop running!" "If you stop chasing, I''ll stop running!" Theo said with a smile on his face. "If you didn''t start running, I wouldn''t have started chasing you!" Milly said with her cheeks puffed out. "If you don''t chase, why would I run?" Theo asked before he stuck out his tongue and kept running. The chase lasted until they reached the shop where Theo finally placed the book down on a table but didn''t stop running until Milly stopped chasing him. The others caught up about five minutes later before they all headed down to the basement where they could do homework. Since part or the basement was turned into a private laboratory for Richard and Mary. They had a couple quiet offices that they kids could use to do homework in if they wanted. It was better than trying to do it in the upstairs office, since the sounds from the shop were pretty loud sometimes. 00188. Money glitch? For Christmas Eve this year Theo did his same tradition of giving everyone a couple of gifts. He dropped them off at the base first before he portaled over to Xavier''s school and dropped presents off for everyone there. Afterwards he portaled to Kamar-Taj where he set up a tree with lights and dropped off gifts for all of the sorcerers there. While Theo himself didn''t train with everyone else, he visited the library there a bunch and met most of the people training there. So most of them knew him as Ezekiel, The Ancient One''s apprentice. Once he finished off with being Santa, Ezekiel stopped by the medical facility and picked up Tsunade before he portaled to Tony''s workshop. As they stepped out of the portal JARVIS said, ¡°Welcome, Ezekiel and Miss. Senju. Mr. Stark is currently in the living room with Miss. Potts.¡± ¡°Thanks, JARVIS.¡± ¡°You know my services don''t come cheap, I better be getting paid for this.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he glanced at Tsunade and asked, ¡°Didn''t I just give you like ten million a few days ago?¡± Tsunade shrugged as she followed Ezekiel to the stairs as she said, ¡°It''s gone.¡± ¡°How do you keep losing so much money?¡± Ezekiel asked as he opened the door leading upstairs. ¡°It was just some bad luck is all¡­¡± ¡°You say that every time. But there is no way your luck is really that bad. It''s statistically impossible.¡± Ezekiel said as he shook his head. When Ezekiel and Tsunade arrived in the living room they found Tony cuddled up on one of the couches with Pepper as they talked about something quietly. Ezekiel smiled to himself for a moment before he made his presence known. Tony turned from his spot on the couch to see Ezekiel before he let out a sigh and said, ¡°JARVIS, we''ve talked about notifying me whenever Ezekiel visited.¡± ¡°I did, sir.¡± ¡°No you didn''t.¡± Tony said in an annoyed tone. ¡°If you check your email you will find that I notified you over a minute ago.¡± ¡°That''s not how you should notify me about Ezekiel!¡± Tony said as he got up from the couch. Pepper stood up from the couch as well and went to greet Ezekiel and Tsunade as JARVIS said, ¡°You never stated exactly how I should inform you, so I chose email as the default.¡± Tony glanced at Ezekiel as he said, ¡°I never should have had you help me with programing JARVIS.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I just helped with the initial programming. This behavior is all JARVIS¡­ I like it though.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± ¡°Don''t encourage him!¡± Tony said as he playfully punched Ezekiel on the shoulder. Ezekiel chuckled as he turned to Pepper and asked, ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°I''m good and so is the baby.¡± Pepper said as she rubbed her belly that was still mostly flat. Ezekiel nodded before he said, ¡°I know Tony found a doctor who is under NDA to watch over you and the baby. But I brought Tsunade by, to give you a check up just to be safe.¡± Tony glanced at Tsunade who was having Pepper lay down on the couch as he said, ¡°You sure this is necessary? The doctor I hired said everything is fine.¡± ¡°Better safe than sorry. Besides, Tsunade has better ways to check the condition of Pepper and the baby.¡± Ezekiel said as he motioned towards Tsunade as she checked over Pepper with green light coming out of her plans. As they both watched Tsunade work, Ezekiel asked, ¡°Looks like everything is going good, uh?¡± ¡°There are some issues, but overall it''s going well.¡± Ezekiel patted Tony on the shoulder as he said, ¡°Good, I''m happy for you guys. Just don''t fuck it up.¡± Tony shoved Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Shut up, don''t try and jinx us.¡± ¡°So how long are you planning to keep this all a secret?¡± Tony shrugged slightly as he watched Tsunade work before he said, ¡°We''re not completely sure yet. But it definitely won''t be until after the baby is born.¡± ¡°What about marriage?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°We''re not worried about it just yet. Besides, we need to see if this can work out long term in the first place.¡± Ezekiel rubbed a fake tear from his eye as he asked, ¡°Did you just sound like a responsible adult? Is my little Tony growing up right before my eyes?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I believe he is, sir.¡± JARVIS said. ¡°I hate both of you.¡± ¡°Understood, sir.¡± JARVIS said with what sounded like a hint of mirth. Tsunade finished her exam a few minutes later and said, ¡°Both you and the baby are in great shape. I''ll come do another check up in a month, but if anything happens between now and then. Just contact Ezekiel and we''ll be here in minutes.¡± ¡°Thank you. I appreciate it.¡± Pepper said before Tsunade replied, ¡°Don''t mention it. Besides, Ezekiel is paying me to be on call.¡± Tsunade turned towards Ezekiel and held out her hand as she said, ¡°Speaking of which, I need to be paid.¡± ¡°I''ll take care of it, how much is it?¡± Tony asked. ¡°Ten million.¡± Tsunade said as she held out her hand towards Tony. ¡°Ten million?¡± Pepper and Tony said at the same time with a hint of shock. Tony recovered quickly as he asked, ¡°Is that for the entire pregnancy?¡± Ezekiel opened a portal to some drug cartels stash and started pulling out money as he said, ¡°It shouldn''t even be that much for the whole thing¡­ But Tsunade will lose ten million in a week and complain like a little kid if I don''t give her more money.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t complain like a little kid.¡± Ezekiel rolled his eyes as he tossed about ten million dollars on the floor before he closed the portal and said, ¡°She even refuses to work if I don''t pay her soon enough.¡± Tsunade started sealing the money away with a smile as Tony asked, ¡°How much money have you given her?¡± ¡°More than the average GDP of most small countries¡­¡± Ezekiel said with a forced smile. Tsunade finished storing her money before she stood up and said, ¡°Alright, make me a portal to Vegas, I''m feeling lucky.¡± As Ezekiel created a portal, Tony said, ¡°If you go to my casino, I''ll text the floor manager and tell them to take care of you.¡± Before Tsunade stepped through the portal she asked, ¡°Who? Robbie, Frank or Susan?¡± Ezekiel patted Tony on the shoulder moments later as he said, ¡°Tsunade is the best whale your casino has. She is probably the best whale in the whole world because she almost never wins.¡± Tsunade frowned as she said, ¡°I''ve just been on a losing streak. It won''t last long.¡± Ezekiel waved Tsunade towards the portal as he said, ¡°Sure, sure. Go enjoy yourself.¡± After the portal closed Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°It won''t last long? Her losing streak has pretty much lasted her whole life.¡± ¡°It can''t be that bad¡­ No one is that unlucky.¡± Pepper said. ¡°JARVIS, how much has Tony''s casino made from Tsunade this year?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Miss. Senju has spent just over four hundred million this year according to casino records.¡± Pepper went a little pale as Tony laughed and put his arm over Ezekiel¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Thanks a lot buddy.¡± Ezekiel shoved Tony away as he said, ¡°You''re not welcome. And don''t expect it to happen much longer.¡± ¡°What? Why not?¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I''ve been building a casino on Genosha. Once it''s completed, that will be the only place I let Tsunade gamble going forward.¡± ¡°No fair! You shouldn''t hog a cash cow like that.¡± ¡°You didn''t even realize she was a cash cow until I just told you.¡± Ezekiel said as he shook his head. ¡°To be fair I don''t pay attention to any of the businesses I own, unless they start to lose money and someone brings it up.¡± Tony said with a shrug. ¡°Isn¡¯t Tsunade just spending Ezekiel¡¯s money?¡± Pepper asked. Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°No. Ezekiel steals money from criminals and gives it to Tsunade to use. He basically uses her to launder stolen money.¡± ¡°Currently all that money is going to you¡­¡± ¡°I know, which is why you should let her visit my casino more often.¡± Tony said with a smile. ¡°Why are you stealing money? Don''t you make enough from Vibe and the deals you have in place with Tony?¡± Pepper asked as she stared at Ezekiel in surprise. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Sure I have money. But criminals also have money that they will use to help commit more crimes with. So if I steal money from criminals, I see it as helping to prevent crime.¡± Ezekiel flashed a smile and threw up the peace sign as he said, ¡°You can think of me as a superhero.¡± ¡°I''ll consider you a superhero if you keep sending Tsunade to my casino¡­ Or make me a partner for the casino you are making in Genosha.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No way. The Genosha casino is already owned by me and Magneto with plans for it to basically fund the island going forward.¡± ¡°Is the casino really going to make enough money to run Genosha?¡± Pepper asked. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°That''s why Tsunade is only allowed to gamble at my casino. She should easily be able to fund Genosha each year.¡± Ezekiel ended up staying with Tony and Pepper for a little while before he headed home for the night. Tomorrow was Christmas and he knew it would be a busy day. His whole extended family got together and hung out all day at May and Ben''s house. After dinner was finished, Theo made a couple plates of food and sealed them away to keep them fresh. It wasn''t hard, he just made a simple genjutsu to make everyone not notice what he was doing. He also packed up a couple of each dessert along with some eggnog and a few other snacks. Once everything was prepared and sealed away, he moved back to where he should be and canceled the genjutsu. While Theo didn''t like to use his skills on his family, sometimes it was needed because he had no other choice. Once Theo and his family returned home, he created a clone and headed down to his training room. From there he switched into Ezekiel before he headed towards Genosha and the magic school after that. After he arrived in the hidden basement area, he found Tao waiting for him as she played on her phone. Ezekiel pulled out some of the holiday cookies Milly and Issac made, along with a present which he placed down on her coffee table. Tao placed her phone down and pulled out a gift herself as she said, ¡°Merry Christmas.¡± Ezekiel took the gift and sealed it away as he said, ¡°Merry Christmas to you too.¡± Tao nodded before she created a portal to Hel as she said, ¡°Enjoy your date.¡± Ezekiel knew better than to respond so he just stepped through the portal instead. As he arrived he found Hela with a slight smile on her face as she said, ¡°Welcome back.¡± 00189. Finding some potential threats. It was a couple weeks after Christmas and Theo''s patience finally paid off. One of the people he was looking for appeared and was now on his radar. He didn''t plan to meet them yet because he wanted to see the type of person they were in this reality. But he was pretty sure he knew what they would be like and one word could describe it¡­ Egotistical. For what else could Victor Von Doom be? Theo had searched for the man for a while since he was concerned with how powerful a threat he could become. But when he found out Reed Richard''s was only in his teens, he realized Victor would be close to the same age. Which was actually strange since Reed and Doom should be older than Tony or at least closer to his age. Then again a lot of people in this universe had weird ages. Take Banner for example, the guy was younger then Tony, when he should be older than Tony by at least ten years. Even though Banner is currently mid twenties, he easily looks older than Tony. Theo would probably have to help the guy out before he hits his thirties and looks like an old man with gray hair. The only positive from the age change with Reed was that Johnny Storm was the same age as Theo and Peter. Peter and Johnny always had a good friendship in the comics, which would be even better now since Peter enjoyed cars. Theo was pretty sure he would get along with Johnny too, maybe. Worst case Theo would humble Johnny and his ego a bit, but could bond over cars afterwards. As for Doom, it turned out he was in his home country and that was why Theo couldn''t find him. Since his home country was basically a shit hole ruled by a ruthless dictator and his family. The place barely had electricity over half the country, let alone internet or computers. Sure the ruling family had all of that, but Theo couldn¡¯t use that to help him find Doom. Theo didn''t currently know much about this Doom but that would all change now that the man was in New York. He somehow gained a full scholarship to State University in Hegeman, New York. It was also the same place Reed Richards and Ben Grimm currently attended. Theo already set up monitoring devices in both Reed and Doom''s labs as well as a few other places. Not only was the tech he used shrunken down with pym particles, he also used fuinjutsu and magic to conceal everything. While he didn''t think he needed to bug Reed''s lab, with the man''s track history in the comics of being a good guy¡­ That same track record also proved the man was an idiot when it came to things like basic common sense. So Theo decided to be proactive, just in case something happened. Theo also placed some ninjas at the school to monitor Doom and Reed as well. He had twenty four people split into teams of three, working four different shifts to monitor both men. So far there was no issue with anything and Theo doubted there would be. Not only were they ninjas skilled in stealth and concealment, but they were also all Uchiha''s who specialized in genjutsu. With all of that in place, Theo left instruction in case certain things or events happened. Like the incident that caused Doom to be thrown out of school and his face being marred, which would cause him to beef with Reed for the rest of time. While Theo didn''t care much if Doom had an issue with Reed in the overall scheme of things. He did care about all of the issues that would happen because of it and since most of the time it happened in New York. Well, that wouldn''t be good for Theo or his family. As for Doom and taking over his home country¡­ Theo didn''t see that necessarily as a bad thing. Sure he could be an oppressive ruler, but he tended to be a good ruler over all. If Theo could change Doom a little bit and make him less arrogant, he was sure the man would be a good ally or even friend to have. But first Theo would need to watch the man and confirm he was worth investing in. Otherwise Theo would eliminate Doom and the potential threat he could turn into. While that was going on, Theo used all the star maps and information he gathered from alien ships to create a map of the universe. It was far from complete and there were chunks missing, but overall it was about seventy percent completed. The important part was it currently had the places he cared about on it. The first and most important was Morag, since Theo planned to collect the power stone now and replace it with a fake. Next on his list was Xandar, since he wanted to hack into their systems and monitor it for information. Well that and he promised to take Tony there so he could see a different planet with alien life. He also planned to bring Pepper, Happy and Anna along so Tony wouldn''t do something stupid¡­ Who was he kidding, Tony would still do something stupid. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Theo also found the location for Knowhere. He didn''t really need to visit the place, but Theo had some thoughts about taking out the collector. The man was not a great person and honestly Theo kinda wanted to see what stuff the guy had. The last place Theo was looking for was Vormir, which he easily found. It was marked on a couple of star charts in a dead solar system. While Theo thought it would be hidden because Gamora said she burned the map to the soul stone in one of the movies. It turns out the planet and solar system was known, it''s just no one went there. It was far off the normal travel paths for interstellar travel and very inconvenient to get to in the first place. Which made sense since apparently the soul of the Red Skull was just hanging out there this whole time and no one knew about it. Since Theo already planned to collect the soul stone, he was in the process of figuring out a way to do it without sacrificing someone he cared about. As for other things Theo was working on or waiting for them to happen. Theo was paying close attention to Banner. The man didn''t seem to take Theo''s advice to heart as he was in the process of rushing his research because Ross was threatening to pull the contract if results weren''t shown soon. It was currently leading to Banner becoming the Hulk and Theo had no plan to stop it. He would definitely warn Banner before he attempted the experiment, but he would never stop him. Theo also checked in on the Hand and the people he currently had in charge. All of the projects he set in place were going smoothly and was met with positive feedback back from each of the communities they were started in. The members of the Hand also helped clean up crime in the communities they worked in and made those places a lot safer. Theo had them work in the shadows mostly doing that because they would sometimes kill people who weren''t worth saving and also collected any money or assets they could at the same time. It was the darker side to what the new Hand was, but it was necessary and gave some of the members used to doing that type of work a purpose. They were all the members that hadn¡¯t lost their humanity doing that type of work and now put those skills to work for good instead of evil. Theo also had those people talk with Yamanaka clan members each week to keep their mental health in check. As for Wilson Fisk, he was already well into the process of his first project for Theo. It was a brownstone complex that Theo wanted renovated and updated. While Theo would rather tear the whole place down and start from scratch, it was considered historic, so that approach wasn''t possible. Fisk didn''t mind though and was in the process of gutting the whole place to reinforce it and update it. It would be almost the same cost as demolishing and building something new, but even Theo couldn''t change the laws¡­ Yet. Speaking of laws or more specifically the government in general. Theo''s plan to get smartphones in the hands of politicians was going smoothly. He already collected a good amount of information on certain people and planned to clean house once he collected enough information. He was already sending out ninjas to bug those people''s homes and offices along with anyone they dealt with regularly. Theo was pretty sure he would have to focus on one person at a time otherwise the US government would lose over half its politicians at the same time, which wouldn''t be good¡­ Or maybe it would be. It would be something Theo would have to think about as he collected more incriminating information. As for bringing those politicians to justice once their crimes were exposed. Well if they tried to pull anything with the connection they had, Theo planned to stop it. If they still somehow escaped normal justice, well Theo would just take care of it himself. The same thing went for the companies and CEOs Theo was monitoring. Theo planned to remove everyone who was corrupt from every position of power he could until they were replaced by people who were honest and just wanted to do the right thing and help people. It would be harder for companies, but as long as they weren¡¯t trying to rip off customers, he would call it a win. Theo also checked in on Norman to make sure everything was going fine for the man. While Theo didn''t plan to intervene in the man''s life again. He still wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to him or his family. So far everything was going well and apparently Norman and his wife have been busy because she was very pregnant. It looked like Norman took Theo''s advice and decided to have a bigger family. As for the projects Theo gave Norman as a gift. So far they were going well and Theo was sure he would see one of them completed within a few years. They weren''t too crazy, but useful and with them, well Norman and his family would never have to worry about money for generations to come if he patented them. The last thing that happened since Christmas was a person Theo was interested in recruiting popped up on his radar. Theo planned to do it later in the next five years or so, but Emil Blonsky showed up in one of the reports his clones were going over and Theo decided to meet the man earlier than planned. Theo double checked he had everything he might need before he changed into Ezekiel and created a portal to the Middle East where the man was currently stationed. He stepped out of the portal into the middle of the desert, where he pulled out his tablet and checked it over for a few moments before he disappeared in an after image as he headed towards the man¡¯s last known location. 00190. Meeting in a warzone The noise was deafening as small arms fire filled the air of a run down village. On one side was a small team of British Royal Marines and on the other was an unorganized group of men who were trying their best to kill them. While the smaller group was outnumbered and outgunned, they were doing a good job of staying alive so far. A bullet slammed into the wall Emil was using for cover as he pulled out a fresh magazine and loaded it into his rifle. He then glanced down at the last full magazine he had left, still in his vest before he looked to his right. On the ground about twenty feet from him was one of his men, dead. An unlucky¡­ Or maybe a lucky shot, took the man in the head right as this whole thing started not fifteen minutes ago. It was actually a miracle no one else was injured as they all scrambled for cover after that first shot fired and all hell broke loose. Sure they at least had decent cover for now, but they were also pinned down and things weren''t looking great for them. While Emil would be lying if he said he wasn''t upset about one of his men being killed. But right now his only concern was the ammo that rested on that man''s body. Everything else didn''t matter and wouldn''t matter until the rest of his men were back at base. Emil glanced towards the other members of his squad before he queued up his microphone and asked, ¡°Ammo count.¡± All of them answered back without even looking at their carrier vests and the answers made Emil frown. They had maybe ten minutes at most before they ran out of ammunition. If that happened before support arrived, well it wouldn¡¯t go well for Emil and the rest of his squad. Emil glanced at the body of his man again, over twenty feet away with absolutely no cover around it. The same one that was out in the open and would be a death sentence to try and get too. Emil clicked the button for the other channel on his headset before he queued it up and asked, ¡°Chaos main, chaos main. This is wolf six, do you copy? Over.¡± ¡°Wolf six, this is chaos main. Over.¡± ¡°Chaos main ETA on backup? Over¡± ¡°Wolf six, hawk tree is inbound, ETA twenty minutes. Over.¡± Emil¡¯s brow furrowed at the reply as he said, ¡°Chaos main, roger. Wolf six, out.¡± Emil glanced at the body twenty feet away from him one more time before he made up his mind. He queued up his squad radio as he asked, ¡°How many smoke grenades do we have?¡± After he heard the answer Emil said, ¡°I want them tossed in front of us and towards the building to our left.¡± Emil watched as his men followed his command as he quickly striped off his pack and tac vest. He then changed position so he could run as he crept closer to the edge of his cover. Emil waited for the smoke to fill the area before he said ¡°Give me a tiny bit of suppressive fire on my command and make it look like we are moving.¡± ¡°Now.¡± Emil said over the radio before he sprinted twenty feet to grab his squad member by his tactical vest and pulled the man''s body back into his piece of cover. The tactic worked and Emil was able to drag the man''s body back to cover as the enemy focused their fire towards the building to the left of them. Emil removed the man''s pack before he flipped the body over. There was a blood hole just below where the man''s helmet ended, only millimeters away from what could have saved his life. Emil stared down at the dead eyes of his man, still opened, staring at nothing. Emil quickly did the sign of the cross before he closed the man''s eyes and then stripped the man of all his ammo. Emil then passed them down to his men as he said over the squad radio, ¡°Make these count, this is all we have until support arrives.¡± With a couple more magazines of ammo for each man, three frag grenades and two smoke grenades. Emil felt better about lasting until help arrived, but it was only a little bit. They were still pinned down and being overwhelmed by a disorganized group of attackers. If the enemy was actually trained and not thrown together, Emil was positive that his squad would already be dead or worse. Emil tossed his tac vest back over his plate carrier before he pulled a small mirror on a collapsible shaft from his tac vest and extended it. He held it out around his cover for a couple moments before a round of bullets slammed into the wall in front of Emil. In that brief moment, he was able to make out the muzzle flash from a couple of windows across the way. He queued up his microphone as he said, ¡°If you can get a shot, the windows directly North of my position have shooters.¡± A three round burst from one of his men went off before he heard over the radio, ¡°One tango down.¡± Quickly followed by another three round burst and, ¡°Make that a pair.¡± Emil smiled to himself for a moment before he used his mirror again to find another target. As he glanced through the mirror, more bullets slammed into his position before a chunk of wall fell next to him. He was distracted by it for a moment which tilted his mirror to the side and his eyes went wide as he yelled out, ¡°Get down!¡± A second after Emil dropped prone, an explosion destroyed most of the wall next to him and dazed him. Dust and debris filled the air as Emil queued up his microphone and asked, ¡°Status check.¡± As Emil slowly sat back up, he thankfully heard all of his men confirm they were still alive. A few were hit with shrapnel from the blast, but no one reported a major injury. Even with the after effects of the blast, Emil wasted no time as he commanded his men back into action. And the two smoke grenades were quickly used to buy them a bit of reprieve as they attempted to recover. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. It didn''t last long as another RPG flew through the smoke and barely missed his position, only feet away as it sailed past his head. It luckily missed everything and flew out of the village before it exploded. Emil frowned as he glanced where the last one went before he turned to see the smoke start to clear. He then looked at what was left of their cover and knew that another RPG would probably kill him or someone else in the squad. Before the smoke could fully clear he queued his microphone and said, ¡°Those rockets are coming from the building to the Northeast. Someone see if you can get a shot on them.¡± ¡°Acknowledged.¡± Came the reply from a couple of people. Emil used his mirror to watch that area as the smoke fully cleared and even more bullets rained down on their position. Just before the smoke cleared completely a person with a freshly loaded RPG stepped out of cover. As Emil started to call out the target a three round burst took the man in the chest. The man still managed to squeeze the trigger as he collapsed, but he was twisted towards where he stepped out from. The RPG launched and slammed directly into the building next to the man a moment later, which must have set off the rest of his ammo as that whole building exploded. Even behind cover, Emil was tossed back onto the ground from the massive explosion. A silence hung over the previous chaotic area for almost a minute as everyone recovered from the blast wave. The dust cloud hung heavy in the air with the smell of roasted meat and sulfur as Emil sat back up. Emil only took a few moments before he queued his microphone up and asked, ¡°Status?¡± When everyone confirmed they were okay, Emil said, ¡°We''re moving to the building to the left before this cover is gone.¡± ¡°Acknowledged.¡± His team responded as Emil got up into a better position for moving. As Emil moved closer to his squad he said into his microphone, ¡°Moving now.¡± Emil quickly moved through the thick cloud of dust with his team and once they reached the new building, started to clear it. It was a small, run down building with thick walls and two exits. Emil posted one man to cover the rear door as he had the rest of his men setup at different positions. At this point the smoke was starting to clear and the members of the attacking force finally recovered. And they started to rain down fire on Emil¡¯s previous position as Emil had his men hold return fire. After about a minute or so, the enemy fire died down and a couple of brave men cautiously crept out of their cover. They slowly moved towards where Emil and his team used to be. Emil had his men hold their fire for as long as possible before he took a shot at one of the men out in the open. His men followed suit and a moment later the enemies still in cover returned fire. Just as the fighting returned to its fever pitch again, someone near Emil said, ¡°You look like you could use a hand.¡± Emil and his men instantly turned towards the voice with their weapons and found a man leaning against the wall of the building. He was dressed in a nice business suit and he had a tablet in his hand that he was looking at. Emil was positive the man wasn''t there a few moments ago and almost thought he was hallucinating if his men didn''t react the same way. It was a testament to their skill that none of them shot the man in their current situation. Emil didn''t have time to deal with whatever was going on and was about to order one of his men to restrain the man. Just before Emil spoke, a couple of stray bullets slammed into something that simmered with golden light about a foot away from the man and turned into pancakes before they dropped to the ground. The shimmering faded just as quickly as it appeared and the man glanced up from his tablet before he asked, ¡°Do you want some help? Or do you guys not understand America?¡± Emil frowned at whatever just happened, along with the man''s casual demeanor and stupid joke before he turned back towards the enemy as he asked, ¡°Who the hell are you? Some kinda CIA spook?¡± ¡°I''m not with any of those three digit agencies. But you can call me Ezekiel.¡± Emil glanced towards the man from the corner of his eye as he asked, ¡°How did you get in here? Were you hiding in here before we arrived?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°I just got here. I heard that massive explosion and rushed over.¡± Emil fired off a three round burst into a window as he asked, ¡°How exactly are you going to help us? Do you have a way out of here or some backup close by?¡± Ezekiel placed his tablet down and pulled out a kunai which he spun around his pinky a couple of times as he said, ¡°Tell your men to hold their fire.¡± Before Emil could reply, Ezekiel¡¯s after image faded from view. Emil glanced towards his squad members for a moment before they all lowered their weapons slightly. Within moments the sound of gunfire became less and less before it died out completely. After a few more moments Ezekiel walked out of one of the other buildings with a man over his shoulder. He waved towards Emil¡¯s location as he said, ¡°It''s all clear, you guys can come out now. I also captured the enemy leader for you.¡± Emil glanced towards his men before he said, ¡°Stay here. I''ll go check it out myself.¡± Emil cautiously moved out of the building and met Ezekiel out in the open as he asked, ¡°You took care of everyone?¡± Ezekiel dropped the man he was carrying onto the ground as he said, ¡°There were only about twenty normal people left. That explosion looks like it took out at least ten people¡­ Then again it¡¯s kinda hard to count chunks of bodies.¡± Emil moved past Ezekiel and into the building he just left to find three men on the ground with their throats slit. He glanced into another building and found more men dead the same way. As he walked out of that building he queued his microphone up and said, ¡°It''s all clear. You guys can come out now.¡± Once Emil was back in front of Ezekiel he asked, ¡°So¡­ Ezekiel. Why are you out here running around in this hell hole?¡± Ezekiel pulled out a business card and handed it to Emil as he said, ¡°I was actually looking for you. I came to offer you a job.¡± Emil glanced at the card which only had a phone number on it as he said, ¡°I appreciate the help, but as you can see I already have a job. One I enjoy doing.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°And you''re good at it too. Which is why I came to offer you a job doing basically the same thing you do now. Expect better pay, the best medical care in the world and more interesting missions then what you currently do.¡± Emil flipped the card over to check the back as he said, ¡°I''ll think about it.¡± ¡°I look forward to hearing from you.¡± Ezekiel said as he flashed a smile before he opened up a portal and disappeared through it. Emil glanced at where Ezekiel disappeared from before he turned towards his men as he pocketed the card and said, ¡°Secure the area while we wait for our ride.¡± 00191. Revival Phase two. February 2006 At this point Theo considered the first stage of Project Revival a success and decided to move it forward into the next phase. The next phase was already in place, it just wasn''t launched yet. Theo already created a new company called Revival Insurance and registered it around the world. Its main business would be health insurance, but it would also cover other types of insurance from car, home, disaster and even small appliances. Theo also included superhero and villain insurance into the coverage his company offered. Theo''s goal was to basically take over the insurance industry and put everyone else out of business. It would be simple to do for medical, because Theo''s insurance premiums would be almost nonexistent if the person qualified and it would cover everything. The only qualification to get accepted for the insurance was how much money you made or owned. If a person had a net worth of more than a million dollars, they wouldn''t qualify to be insured by the company. As for people below that line, the insurance premium would be ten dollars a month and would cover medical, dental and vision. Was excluding people with money legal? Theo didn''t know or care since other insurance companies did far worse things. If people ever complained or attempted to use the government to make him accept customers over that monetary threshold. Well Theo would just charge all of them a ridiculous amount of money and claim it was because they were a ¡°liability¡± and the company needed to cover its bottom line. Besides, people with that amount of money should easily be able to afford the other companies insurance or pay out of pocket. As for selling insurance policies to companies to help cover employees? Theo didn¡¯t plan to offer that, since the plan was so cheap that anyone could afford it. As for people living below the poverty line with absolutely no disposable income? Theo would cover the policy for free as long as they entered a program to help them improve their situation. Most of the people in those situations were there because they had no other options. As for the people who choose to be there because they didn¡¯t want to work or for other reasons. Well Theo couldn¡¯t force people to change, but would leave the option open for them. As for the other parts of the medical industry such as hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. Theo also planned to deal with them too. For hospitals he didn''t plan to force them out of business, that would be stupid. But the ¡®for profit model¡¯ that most private hospitals ran would be disrupted and the owners wouldn''t be happy about it. Sure they could push back and not accept Revivals insurance, but that wouldn''t work very well when Revival would be almost the only insurance provider sooner or later with how their pricing model worked. As for the government trying to step in because it might be considered a monopoly? Revival would just point out that they aren''t doing anything except having reasonable prices and not turning down any insurance claims. The government or the media could argue against it, but then Theo would use Vibe to his advantage. The amount of people on the platform was massive at this point and growing quickly with the budget smartphones Tony created. It wouldn¡¯t be long before the platform hit five hundred million users and Theo was sure it would reach a billion within a year or two at most. Another thing Theo was working on in conjunction with Tony that would affect hospitals was a healing pod. It was a piece of alien tech that Tony was still reverse engineering, but once it was complete, it would replace most general doctors and reasons to visit a hospital. The model Tony was taking apart could do full body scans, treat all minor injuries in hours if not sooner. As for major injuries or something like a stab wound, it could fix those in a day or more. The best part about the pod was people wouldn¡¯t need to use drugs to help with the recovery. Once they came out of the pod, they would be completely healed with no side effects or lingering pain. They also wouldn¡¯t need to go through long physical therapy sessions for months on end. They weren¡¯t perfect and couldn¡¯t heal everything like missing limbs, perform brain surgery or even remove objects from inside a person like bullets for example. But if a doctor did the surgery portion to remove the object, the pod could take care of everything else afterwards. As for dealing with the pharmaceutical companies, well that one was being spearheaded by Tsunade, with help from Tobirama and Orochimaru. Their only goal was to create cures for things pharmaceutical companies didn¡¯t. Sure they could heal most things with medical ninjutsu or giving someone a clone body, but that wouldn¡¯t put pharmaceutical companies out of business. If they wanted to do that, they needed to solve the root cause and that was making medicine that actually cured people and not just held off the symptoms. As for the FDA trials and all of the stuff that goes along with it? Theo didn¡¯t worry about it since whatever Tsunade created wouldn¡¯t have issues. Plus if anyone tried to mess with the trails or something else, Tsunade would probably crush them into paste. As for the other arms of Revival¡¯s Insurance business like car, home and the others. They would also be reasonably priced and targeted towards people under a certain monetary threshold. As for insurance claims Theo had a safety measure in place to not have people making false claims. Theo would just send a clone to do a mind scan on someone to make sure they weren¡¯t lying about the claim. If they weren¡¯t, the claim would be approved and the people would have the money within hours. If they were lying, Theo would cancel their insurance contract, collect evidence they were trying to make a false claim and turn them into the police for insurance fraud. As for claims that happened because of some type of natural disaster, Theo had plans to investigate them too. But his plan was to help the people affected first and sort out the rest afterwards. With his plans in place and the use of software he created to run most of the back end, Theo silently launched the company with ad¡¯s being placed on Vibe and nothing else. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Theo could have pushed it and made TV commercials, billboards, radio ad¡¯s and more. But Theo didn¡¯t need to rush the project forward since word of mouth was the best type of advertising. With the Revival project launched, Theo turned his attention to something he was kinda putting off. Well first he had to wait for Tao and Agatha as they created magical devices, but they were finished a while ago and he was busy with a few things so he didn¡¯t have a chance to use them. The magical devices in question were made to contain the missing infinity stones Theo was going to collect. The first one on the list and the easiest to collect was the power stone. He already knew where it was and only had to deal with the water of the planet since it was hidden in a temple currently submerged underwater. Theo changed into his Ezekiel identity before he met up with Tao and Agatha in Genosha underneath the magic school. Once he arrived, Tao created a portal to Morag for him and Agatha so they could find the stone. As they stepped out of the portal Tao said, ¡°Contact me once you find it and I will help make the replacement.¡± Ezekiel glanced back through the portal as he asked, ¡°You sure you don¡¯t wanna come help us search? It will make it faster.¡± Tao started to close the portal as she said, ¡°It would, but I don¡¯t wanna walk around on that garbage heap of a planet.¡± Ezekiel glanced around after the portal closed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s not that bad¡­¡± All around him was barren rock while the sky above was filled with thick dark clouds that only let a tiny bit of pink tinged sunlight through. A few hundred feet away from him was a vast body of water that was tinged green and bubbled up in certain areas. Ezekiel took it all in for a few moments before he said, ¡°Okay maybe it is a garbage dump.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she asked, ¡°You said the power stone is currently underwater right?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the sickly green colored water as he said, ¡°Unfortunately¡­¡± ¡°How did you talk me into helping with this again?¡± Ezekiel gave a cheesy smile as he said, ¡°Because I¡¯m your favorite apprentice.¡± Agatha rolled her eyes at that before she said, ¡°You¡¯re currently my only apprentice¡­ You know you owe me a favor for this, right?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he started to cast a set of spells that would help in the search. Agatha also started chanting her own spells and after a few minutes both of them were finished and ready to explore the murky depths of the water. As they moved towards the water Agatha asked, ¡°Didn''t you say something about trying to narrow down the search area when you first brought this plan up?¡± ¡°It didn''t work, the pollution over the planet was too thick to see through with the satellite.¡± ¡°How was a satellite going to help you see through this water?¡± Agatha asked as she motioned towards the murky green water in front of them. ¡°Because I commandeered a high end research satellite from the Kree and had Tao place it about three hundred light years away from Morag.¡± Agatha glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°And that did what exactly?¡± ¡°Well it was supposed to let me see the planet three hundred years ago when a majority of the water recedes because of a gravitational disturbance. Unfortunately I didn¡¯t take into account the clouds in the atmosphere and we weren¡¯t able to see through them.¡± ¡°Were you using the time stone with the satellite?¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°No.¡± Agatha frowned slightly as she asked, ¡°Then how were you supposed to see the planet three hundred years ago?¡± ¡°Do you not know what a light year is? ¡°A measurement of time?¡± Ezekiel chuckled before he said, ¡°No, it¡¯s a measurement of distance. But it¡¯s called a light year because it''s measured in the distance that light can travel in one Earth year.¡± Agatha stared at Ezekiel for a few moments before she asked, ¡°And that lets you see Morag in the past how exactly?¡± ¡°You really should learn more about modern science related stuff like Tao. You know that, right?¡± Agatha pulled out her cell phone as she said, ¡°I can use this just fine.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then how come you always ask me to add peoples contacts for you?¡± Ezekiel asked with a flat look. ¡°Because it¡¯s an apprentices job to do the stuff their teacher doesn¡¯t feel like doing.¡± Agatha said with a smug smile. Ezekiel raised up one hand and started to respond but stopped for a moment before he lowered his hand back down with a slightly defeated face when he couldn¡¯t come up with a solid reason to refute her logic. Agatha smiled a little wider before she said, ¡°So about light years and seeing Morag in the past.¡± Ezekiel rubbed the bridge of his nose before he said, ¡°Since the distance a light year travels is so far, you¡¯re basically seeing an object one year in the past. At three hundred light years you would see something three hundred years in the past.¡± ¡°That was a pretty good idea¡­ Too bad it didn¡¯t help.¡± Agatha said with a slight frown as she looked out over the murky green water. ¡°You could say that again¡­ At least we know it should be near one of the coasts of the land masses that are still above water.¡± Ezekiel said as he glanced out over the vast expanse of water before them. ¡°You go left and I¡¯ll go right?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Agatha said as she moved towards the water before she walked into it and disappeared after a few moments. Ezekiel cast one more glance around the area before he moved towards the water and stepped into it himself. The water touched an invisible barrier around him as he entered it and once he was fully submerged he moved his arms slightly as he chanted a spell. After he finished the spell, the barrier around him started to move him and he guided it deeper into the murky water. 00192. Its not hard to mess with Tony. As Ezekiel sped through the murky water of Morag, the magical sphere around him not only kept him protected from it but also allowed him to see through it as if it wasn''t there. All around Ezekiel were the remains of the once thriving civilization of Morag, now decaying in the murky depths of a disaster of their own making. While originally Ezekiel thought what was mentioned in the movie about the planet was part of the story. But from records he found in star charts from the space ships he collected. It turned out that Morag really did collapse because of a global warming catastrophe. When Theo first found the information in the star charts he collected he was a little confused. Why would star charts have that type of information and what purpose did it serve? Theo somewhat found the answer to his question pretty quickly because it was actually built into the star charts help section. While ship captain''s modified the star charts they used and added information during their travels. They all originally started with basically the same map. A map that was created and standardized by Nova Corps and a few other galactic organizations. They filled it in with most of the information and also used star charts they collected and verified over the years to expand it and fill in missing information. As for why that information was included in the first place? Theo didn''t find that in the charts themselves but from public information he collected off of Xandars internet. The information was included to give ships general information about any planet they came across so they knew what to expect when they arrived. While it only worked for planets already on the charts, it was still helpful for people who have never been to a certain planet before. Ezekiel glanced around the seafloor at the mostly decayed buildings for a while before he got bored and pulled out his tablet. He opened up the music player and scrolled through a few playlists before he found what he was searching for. After he touched the play button, he left the tablet to hang from its shoulder strap as White Rabbit started to play. Ezekiel hummed along as he continued to search through the murky depths of the water. In Ezekiel¡¯s search he was surprised to find that while the main civilization of the planet died out, the planet still teemed with life. Well at least the watery depths that covered most of the planet did. He saw many different types of fish, plants and other creatures alive and well as they made their homes in the ruins of the now long dead civilization. Most of the creatures were on the smaller side of things, but a few times Ezekiel ran into larger ones easily the size of a car. While he wasn¡¯t scared of the creatures, Ezekiel made sure to steer clear of them since he didn¡¯t want to waste time with them. Time slowly passed on Morag and before Ezekiel realized it, over half a day was wasted in search of the building that contained the power stone. While Ezekiel could easily go for a couple days without food as he searched, he decided to call it a day for now. Before he left the water Ezekiel created a magical tracking spell that he placed on the sea floor below him so he could start again in the same spot when he came back. With that finished he made his magic bubble move towards the surface before he used chakra to help him stand on top of the murky green water. Once he was out of the water, he stopped the music on his tablet before he sent a message to Agatha with magic. After a minute a portal opened up next to him and he stepped through it before it snapped closed behind him. ¡°Looks like your search didn¡¯t go well.¡± Tao said as she opened another portal before Agatha walked through it. Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t think we would find it on the first attempt.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°At least we know it¡¯s near a coastal area on the planet so we don¡¯t have to waste time searching the whole thing.¡± ¡°So¡­ Same time tomorrow?¡± Ezekiel asked as he glanced at Agatha. ¡°Sure. But the longer this takes, the bigger the favor you are going to owe me. Also you need to buy me dinner, I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°I could also go for some food, it¡¯s almost dinner time.¡± Tao said as she turned to look at Ezekiel. Ezekiel smiled and waved a hand towards the door as he said, ¡°Anything to make my masters happy.¡± Ezekiel, Tao and Agatha ended up in Mexico at a random street stall eating tacos. Afterwards Ezekiel bid them farewell and portaled to Tony¡¯s workshop. As he stepped out of the portal JARVIS said, ¡°Mr. Stark, Miss. Potts and Happy are currently upstairs in the kitchen.¡± ¡°Thanks, JARVIS.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Ezekiel.¡± As Ezekiel came up stairs from the workshop he heard Pepper as she said, ¡°I just wanna go out for a little bit Tony, I¡¯ve been cooped up here for two months now.¡± ¡°But if you go out like that, people will start asking questions and you were the one who wanted to keep everything a secret for now.¡± Tony said as Ezekiel stepped into the kitchen area. Tony noticed Ezekiel first and frowned the tiniest bit as he glanced towards one of the cameras before he said, ¡°JARVIS¡­ We talked about this.¡± Ezekiel waved at everyone as they turned to look at him and he said, ¡°Hi.¡± ¡°I sent a text message to your phone as soon as he arrived. Unfortunately it looks like you turned it to silent mode an hour ago sir.¡± JARVIS said. ¡°JARVIS¡­¡± Tony said in an annoyed tone as he pulled out his phone to check it. Ezekiel smirked as he moved into the kitchen and asked, ¡°What''s going on?¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Pepper rubbed her bulging belly as she said, ¡°Apparently I''m on house arrest now because of how noticeable my belly is.¡± ¡°Just hide it and it won''t be an issue.¡± Tony placed his phone down on the counter before he reached over to rub Pepper''s belly as he said, ¡°I don''t think there¡¯s a way to hide this massive thing.¡± Pepper playfully smacked Tony as she said, ¡°It''s not massive¡­ But it is a little too big to hide anymore.¡± Ezekiel pulled out a henge seal from his storage seal as he said, ¡°Let me see your arm, I wanna try something.¡± Both Pepper and Tony glanced at the thin piece of paper with elegant symbols covering it before Tony asked, ¡°Why does that kinda look like computer code?¡± ¡°Because it is. Now let me see your arm for a moment.¡± Ezekiel said as he looked at Pepper. Pepper glanced at the seal as she held up her hand and asked, ¡°What exactly do you wanna do?¡± Ezekiel placed the seal on Pepper''s arm before he channeled chakra into it. Once the seal was completely filled with chakra he performed a henge, but forced the transformation onto Pepper as he held her arm. A puff of smoke later and Pepper looked like a completely different woman but still very pregnant. Tony''s mouth dropped open as he stared wide eyed at Pepper who now had long black hair instead of red, along with slightly tanned skin. Her eyes were also brown and almond shaped instead of her normal round green eyes. Pepper didn¡¯t feel anything and didn¡¯t notice her skin tone change at first as she asked, ¡°Was that supposed to do something?¡± Tony touched Pepper''s face as he asked, ¡°How did you do that?¡± Pepper touched her own face as she asked, ¡°What did he do?¡± ¡°I believe my sensors are currently malfunctioning.¡± JARVIS said as one of the cameras refocused on Pepper. Happy, who was also stunned for a few moments, finally recovered and pointed towards a full length mirror hung near the entryway as he said, ¡°You should see for yourself.¡± Tony nodded in agreement before he walked Pepper over to the mirror to see what Ezekiel did. Pepper froze as she looked at herself for a few moments before she asked, ¡°Is this really me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a minor trick to change your appearance. It¡¯s pretty much an illusion but a little more real since I matched it to your body. That¡¯s why your hair and everything else is the same, just color changed.¡± Pepper checked herself out in the mirror for a bit before she asked, ¡°How do I change back?¡± ¡°Either pull the seal off your arm or once it runs out of power, which should be in two or three days.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. Pepper turned to Tony with a smile as she asked, ¡°I can go out now, right?¡± Tony frowned a little before he said, ¡°We can, but if I go out with you it¡¯ll probably start some crazy rumors about me getting a woman pregnant¡­¡± Pepper poked Tony in the chest as she said, ¡°You did get a woman pregnant! I¡¯m just surprised I¡¯m the first one, with how much of a man slut you used to be.¡± Tony sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he said, ¡°I always used protection¡­¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± ¡°One hundred percent. I never messed around without one, no matter how drunk I was.¡± Happy nodded in agreement as he said, ¡°I would also remind him and give him one just in case.¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°Good to know you were looking out for the little man whore in his younger days.¡± Pepper frowned as she said, ¡°As much as I am enjoying this conversation¡­ I wanna go out.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Tony¡¯s voice trailed off as he turned to Ezekiel before he asked, ¡°Can you do the same thing for me?¡± ¡°I was just waiting for you to ask.¡± Ezekiel said as the hint of an evil smile crept onto his face. Ezekiel quickly pulled out another seal and placed it on Tony¡¯s arm before he repeated the same process he did for Pepper. Once the smoke cleared Pepper and Happy both stared in disbelief at Tony who asked, ¡°How do I look?¡± Pepper and Happy couldn¡¯t stop themselves as they burst into uncontrolled laughter that filled the room and caused Tony to frown. Tony turned towards the mirror only to freeze in place as his mouth dropped open at what stared back at him. Tony¡¯s whole body had filled out which included an overly large round waist. His new stocky body included a massive mustache that hid his top lip and almost made his round face look like a real life Mario. The only thing he was missing was the hat but Ezekiel did make sure to change Tony¡¯s clothes to a red shirt along with denim overalls. Tony tried to speak a couple times but his mouth only opened and closed for a few moments before he finally whirled around to glare at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What the hell? Why do you always have to mess with me?¡± Ezekiel tilted his head slightly to the side as he said, ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about¡­ You asked for a disguise and I gave you one.¡± Tony pointed at his face as he asked, ¡°How the hell do you consider this a disguise?¡± ¡°Because no one in the world would think you''re Tony Stark?¡± ¡°He has a point, sir.¡± ¡°Shut up JARVIS, no one asked you.¡± Tony said with a frown. ¡°Understood, sir.¡± Pepper finally recovered as she said, ¡°Honestly it¡¯s perfect. No one would think that¡¯s you, it¡¯s just too different.¡± Happy nodded in agreement as Tony focused on Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Can you change it to something else?¡± Ezekiel rubbed his chin as he said, ¡°I guess I could do Tweedle Dee¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± Tony said as he cut off Ezekiel and waved his arms in front of himself. ¡°How about Smee from¡­¡± ¡°NO! Just make me look normal!¡± Tony said in an exasperated tone. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he said, ¡°You''re no fun. But fine, I¡¯ll make you normal. But if you don¡¯t like it, that''s too bad because I won¡¯t change it.¡± ¡°As long as I look normal, I won¡¯t care what you do.¡± Tony said as Ezekiel grabbed his arm and performed another henge. When the smoke cleared Pepper instantly covered her mouth as she tried to hold back a laugh but failed miserably. Happy was the same way and started to laugh as Tony turned to look in the mirror and froze again. Tony was now bald with the blandest looking face framed by large round eyes that looked completely dull and lifeless. The red shirt and overalls were now replaced with a white sweater with orange sleeves and the word ¡®Oppai¡¯ printed boldly on the chest along with what looked like breasts in yellow. Tony frowned but the face in the mirror barely moved in response which made Tony frown even more. Ezekiel appeared in the mirror behind Tony with a smile on his face before he said, ¡°I think this suits you, maybe you should shave your head.¡± ¡°I said make me look normal!¡± Tony said as he spun around to glare at Ezekiel. ¡°That¡¯s the most normal person I could think of.¡± 00193. Madara needs a hobby. The next couple weeks flew by while Ezekiel and Agatha searched Morag for the power stone. They made decent progress in their search so far, but the main issue was Morag was a massive planet about five times the size of Earth. And even though they knew the power stone was somewhere just off the coast, the amount of it they needed to search was ridiculous. If it wasn''t for the fact they''ve already cleared about half of the areas they need to search. Ezekiel would probably call off the search for now and figure out a better way to find the thing. Like a topographic 3D model that predicted how the three hundred year tidal movement would work. But Ezekiel only thought of that after he spent over a week searching for the thing. The other issue was if the model would even be accurate or not, since he had no idea what actually caused the phenomenon in the first place. It definitely wasn''t the planet''s orbit or anything else in the solar system and Ezekiel didn''t want to waste time searching for some massive asteroid or something in space. Since that was the case, Ezekiel just stuck with what was already working even though it was slow. After another uneventful search of Morag, Ezekiel came back through the portal Tao created to find Fury seated there as he read through a thick folder full of documents. Fury glanced up from the documents as he said, ¡°We have a problem.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement as he asked, ¡°Yeah we do. Why are you still using paper documents?¡± Fury¡¯s right eye twitched slightly before he said, ¡°I was talking about Banner.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ What about him?¡± Ezekiel asked as Tao opened up a portal for Agatha. ¡°He should be attempting the experiment that turns him into the Hulk soon.¡± ¡°That should be in a few months¡­ Unless he gets pressured sooner.¡± Ezekiel said as Agatha walked out of the portal before she greeted Fury and the others. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to stop him?¡± Fury asked as his right eyebrow raised up. ¡°I warned him about it and I plan to warn him again right before he attempts the experiment.¡± Fury frowned as he asked, ¡°Why aren''t you going to stop him?¡± ¡°Because the Earth could use someone like the Hulk to help protect it. Especially a Hulk who is under control of himself and not just a rage monster.¡± ¡°What about Banner''s blood and all the issues that can come from that? How are you going to stop that from happening?¡± Fury asked as he sealed away the documents in his hands and turned his full focus towards Ezekiel. Ezekiel pointed at Tao as he said, ¡°We''ve discussed it at length and she came up with a magic based solution.¡± Fury turned his attention to Tao who was in the process of pouring tea for Agatha before she said, ¡°I''ve created a magic spell that will basically destroy any part of him not connected to his body.¡± Fury frowned as he thought over what that meant before he asked, ¡°Any part of him? So like blood, hair or even skin cells?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°How would that even work? I know magic can do some pretty incredible things, but you are talking about a spell that would¡­¡± Fury¡¯s voice trailed off as he realized just how absurd the spell sounded. Tao nodded with a faint smile on her face before she said, ¡°You''re right, it would work at the cellular level.¡± Fury was lost in thought for a few seconds before he asked, ¡°Can it be dispelled or removed?¡± ¡°Only by someone more powerful than me and I would know the moment that happened.¡± Tao said before she took a sip from her tea cup. Fury thought it over for a few more moments before he asked, ¡°What about the incident itself? Doesn''t it blow up the building Banner is in and kill a bunch of people?¡± ¡°We''ve already taken the liberty to seal off the laboratory itself. If the explosion happens, it will be completely confined to his laboratory. I plan to do a secondary explosion to hide what really happened after I clear the place of people.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled up his tablet and found the plan he created for the event before he handed the tablet to Fury. Fury was quiet for a few minutes as he quickly read through the entire plan and contingencies plans Ezekiel created for the event. Once he was finished he handed the tablet back as he said, ¡°It looks like you planned for basically anything.¡± Ezekiel pointed towards Tao and Agatha as he said, ¡°It was mostly them. My plan was to seal the lab from the explosion and then portal the Hulk somewhere devoid of people.¡± Fury let out a sigh before he said, ¡°I should have known.¡± Ezekiel smirked before he asked, ¡°Was Banner the only reason for the visit or do you need something else?¡± Fury shook his head before he said, ¡°It was just Banner.¡± ¡°In that case I am gonna leave and go get some food. Does anyone care to join me?¡± Ezekiel asked as he glanced at everyone else. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Everyone decided to join him and they ended up in Italy at some small family owned place in the middle of nowhere. Fury still made sure to henge into a different persona though. While it wasn''t completely necessary, Fury was overly cautious and always changed his appearance when he was out in public and not with other Shield agents. After their meal, everyone split up to do their own thing. Which meant Ezekiel went home to train and when he arrived, one of his clones informed him that Madara wanted to spar with him. Ezekiel let out a sigh but still opened up a portal to the main base before he went to find Madara so they could spare. While he could refuse and just ignore him, that would only work for a couple days at most. The reason being is once Ezekiel appeared in the main base, Madara would hunt him down and attack Ezekiel no matter where he found him. It happened twice before when Ezekiel ignored Madara for over a week and he ended up with a destroyed office both times. While Ezekiel has attempted to redirect Madara''s ¡®enthusiasm¡¯ for fighting towards other things like crime fighting. It only works for so long before he gets bored because it''s not enough of a challenge. Even though he does help out regularly in fighting against supernatural threats like vampires because they at least put up a fight. Ezekiel quickly found Madara where he thought he would, in the gym sparring with anyone who walked in. Madara was currently in the middle of a spar with Guy and while Madara looked exhausted, he refused to stop fighting even though Guy wasn¡¯t holding back. Ezekiel walked up to Steve, Bucky and Izuna who were off to the side spectating the fight before he asked, ¡°How long have they been fighting for?¡± Steve glanced at his watch as he said, ¡°Almost an hour now. But Madara also sparred with me for about half an hour before Guy showed up.¡± Bucky glanced towards Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°I''m guessing you''re here because he wanted to spar with you too?¡± As Ezekiel nodded, Bucky said, ¡°He called me too. We sparred for about an hour before Steve showed up.¡± ¡°So he¡¯s been fighting for almost three hours?¡± Izuna shook his head as he said, ¡°No, he was sparring with Blade when Bucky showed up and I watched him sparring with Mikhail in his bear form before that.¡± Ezekiel shook his head slightly and patted Izuna on the shoulder as he said, ¡°We really need to find your brother a hobby or maybe a girlfriend.¡± Izuna chuckled as he said, ¡°You think anyone would be able to put up with how he acts besides Hashirama?¡± Ezekiel rubbed his chin in thought before he asked, ¡°So you''re saying we should put Hashirama into a female body? Or Madara?¡± Izuna turned to Ezekiel with wide eyes as Steve asked, ¡°You''re not serious about that, are you?¡± Ezekiel shrugged before he said, ¡°It was just a passing idea¡­ Anyways, I might as well get this over with since I''m here.¡± Ezekiel stepped up to the fighting area and hopped inside before he said, ¡°Alright Guy, let''s tag out.¡± Guy disengaged from Madara before he said full of energy, ¡°Okay! But I want to spar with you once your match is finished.¡± ¡°Alright, just give me a bit.¡± Madara smiled as he said, ¡°You finally showed up. I''ve been waiting here all day!¡± Ezekiel rolled his shoulders and started to warm up his body for a few moments before he said, ¡°My clone told you I was unreachable and would be busy all day.¡± ¡°You just didn''t want to spar again!¡± Madara said as he charged forward to attack. Ezekiel parried the first blow and countered with a punch to Madara''s throat. Madara''s opposite hand snaked up and caught the blow before he tried to twist Ezekiel¡¯s arm into a hold. Ezekiel easily broke free from Madara''s grip when he pivoted backwards and twisted his whole body around as he raised his right leg up into a spinning hook kick. Madara even in his fatigued state managed to duck just under the kick and countered at the same time with a punch to Ezekiel¡¯s side. Ezekiel grunted from the blow but didn¡¯t retreat from the attack and pushed forward to attack again. Madara tilted his head to dodge the blow but Ezekiel took advantage of his piston to grab the back of Madara¡¯s head. As Ezekiel pulled Madara¡¯s head down to his raising knee, Madara raised his left hand to block as he sucker punched Ezekiel in the kidney with a right hook. Ezekiel took the blow as his knee broke past Madara¡¯s guard and slammed into his nose. Both of them stumbled backwards from each other''s attacks before they rushed towards each other again a moment later. While Ezekiel thought he would have a quick and easy spar with a worn out Madara. That didn¡¯t happen as Madara lasted for over an hour before he collapsed on the ground without the ability to get back up. As Izuna came into the ring to carry Madara out, Ezekiel breathed a sigh of relief before he mumbled to himself, ¡°We really need to find Madara a hobby besides fighting.¡± ¡°YOSH! That was a mighty display of passion from both of you!¡± Guy said in an excited tone before he burst into laughter and then said, ¡°The springtime of my youth is burning up and I can¡¯t wait any longer, prepare yourself Ezekiel!¡± Ezekiel glanced up in time to see Guy surrounded in flames that he was pretty sure was caused by an optical genjutsu. A moment later Guy was running towards Ezekiel at full speed before he jumped into a flying kick as he said, ¡°DYNAMIC ENTRY!¡± Ezekiel barely dodged the kick before Guy landed and jumped back towards him with a spinning kick towards his head. Ezekiel was on the back foot for about a minute as Guy¡¯s intense energy and relentless attacking pushed him into a defensive stance. Once he got used to Guy¡¯s rhythm he started to counter attack and before long both of them were locked into an intense spar that lasted for over an hour before Ezekiel said, ¡°Alright, I surrender.¡± Guy paused mid punch before he twisted his hand and gave a thumbs up with it as he said, ¡°That was a great spar, Ezekiel! I look forward to the next one!¡± Ezekiel gave a slightly forced smile as he said, ¡°Yeah¡­ Me too.¡± As Ezekiel exited the fighting area a black haired girl glomped onto him as she said, ¡°That was such a cool fight!¡± Ezekiel smiled down at Gabby and returned her hug as he said, ¡°Thanks Gabby. I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡± Gabby let go and stepped back from Ezekiel before she started to mimic some of his moves as she said excitedly, ¡°You were all like, BAM! And then you did that kick like this and it was all like WOOSH!¡± Ezekiel chuckled as he watched Gabby go through a couple moves before she looked up at him with bright eyes and asked, ¡°Did you come to visit me?¡± ¡°Of course I did.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Gabby said before she grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s hand and pulled him towards the exit of the gym as she said, ¡°Let''s go bowling.¡± Ezekiel ended up spending the rest of the night at the main base hanging out with Gabby and some of the other kids. They mostly stayed in the rec room playing different games before they headed to the kitchen for a light snack. Afterwards he said goodnight to Gabby and the others before he called it a night and went home to sleep. After waking up in the morning and eating breakfast with his family, he created a clone that he sent to school as he headed back to Morag to keep searching for the power stone again. 00194. Three down... Another week passed by uneventfully as Ezekiel and Agatha searched Morag for the power stone. It was just a typical day at first for Ezekiel as he combed through the underwater ruins without much enthusiasm for the task that became repetitive at this point. It was only hours later as Ezekiel zoomed around the seafloor that he got excited. In front of him was a building that looked strangely familiar to the one from the movie. Well it wasn¡¯t exactly the same but it was really close so Ezekiel moved towards it eager to investigate it. There was a large hole in the main roof that he used to enter the building and after half an hour of exploring he found what he was looking for. The sealed room that contained the power stone, or what he thought was the room. Since it was completely sealed and he didn''t want to ruin the building getting in, Ezekiel decided to get help. First he traveled to the surface before he channeled magic into the bracelet around his wrist and a moment later a portal opened up before him. He smiled at Tao on the other side of the portal as he said, ¡°I think I found it.¡± Tao nodded in understanding before she said, ¡°I¡¯ll grab Agatha, give me just a moment.¡± The portal closed and about a minute later another portal opened up before Tao and Agatha stepped out of it. After the portal closed, Tao and Agatha protected themselves with spells before Ezekiel led everyone down into the sunken temple and the sealed room. Once they were in front of the door Tao studied it for a few moments before she started to cast a spell. A magic barrier appeared from where she floated and slowly pushed all the water around them back. Once a small ten foot area free of water was created did Tao create a portal into the vault. After they stepped through the portal and it closed behind them Ezekiel asked, ¡°Couldn¡¯t you just make a portal in the water? Wouldn¡¯t the magic barrier on the portal stop the water from rushing through?¡± ¡°Yes, but we would have gotten wet as we passed through it because the portal barrier negates the barrier we used to stay protected under water.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he noticed the spells he used to explore underwater were gone before he said, ¡°I didn''t know that¡­¡± ¡°Is it all protective spell shields or just the one we used for the water?¡± Ezekiel asked as they all looked towards the power stone that was currently sealed behind a purplish colored barrier. Tao walked up to the pillar where the power stone was sealed and walked around it once as she inspected it before she said, ¡°It negates all of them.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that bad if you are portaling into a hostile situation? Wouldn''t you want to have some type of barrier active so you can be protected on the other side of the portal?¡± Tao glanced towards Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Didn''t you read Torvin¡¯s Comprehensive Study of Portals and How They Function?¡± ¡°Not yet. I''ve had my clones focus on runic magic and fuinjutsu studies. Besides, shouldn''t that type of information be in the original book on portals you had me read?¡± Tao shook her head before she said, ¡°No. That book is only meant to teach you how to create portals and about their basic functions.¡± ¡°A portal''s ability to remove a protective shield when you use it seems like important information that should be in the first book you read about them.¡± Ezekiel''s voice trailed off before he said, ¡°Didn''t you say the warnings come at the end of the books? I''m pretty sure that would be considered some type of warning.¡± Tao turned back to the barrier protecting the power stone before she said, ¡°And they do. But the basic primer for portals is exactly what it''s meant to be.¡± Ezekiel opened his mouth to say more but Tao gave him a single glance that made him instantly shut his mouth. Tao then turned her attention back to the barrier where she started to cast spells to study it. After a minute or so Tao nodded to herself before she said, ¡°The barrier is actually powered by the stone itself.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he said, ¡°That''s gonna be a slight problem then.¡± Tao started to cast a new spell as she said, ¡°Not necessarily. We will just have to provide the fake stone with a tiny bit of power.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°Since people are going to be handling the power stone a few times it will be best to make a working imitation instead of what we created for the Tesseract.¡± Tao finished her spell and the force field around the power stone started to dim before it disappeared completely. The ball that contained the power stone dropped from its spot which Ezekiel reached out and caught before he asked, ¡°So lunch and then we can make a fake replacement for this thing?¡± Tao put her hand out for the ball as she said, ¡°You mean Agatha and I will make the replacement. You''re going to be studying since it seems like you need to expand your magical knowledge more.¡± Ezekiel smiled sheepishly as he handed the metal sphere to Tao before he said, ¡°I could still help while my clones read instead.¡± ¡°In that case you can make us tea while we work.¡± Tao said as she opened another portal back to Earth. Once back on Earth they picked a place in Genosha to eat at before they went back to the mystic school. In the sealed chamber beneath the school they started work on making a fake power stone. The first step was to use a magic spell to unlock the sphere before they removed the power stone and placed it inside the magic device they created. The device served a couple purposes, the first one was sealing away the power stone''s unique energy signature. The second purpose of the device was to let someone use the stone if needed like the Eye of Agamotto or the device they created for the space stone. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Once the power stone was sealed in the device properly, Tao and Agatha researched a proper way to create a functional fake. It took a couple weeks but with the help of a crystalline spell container they created, they were able to make it. It would function basically as a battery until its power was fully depleted and then the container would disintegrate. As for making it convincing, all they had to do was use the power stone to charge it. It not only made the crystalline container look almost exactly like the power stone, but it also gave off the same feeling as the stone. They did test it a few times to make sure it would work as intended, but if someone tried to use a big burst of power it would instantly drain it and it would destroy itself. After they were done, Tao sealed the fake stone back in its ball and placed it back inside the temple on Morag. Once that was completed, Theo prepared himself for the next stone he wanted to collect. It was also the only stone that had requirements for collecting. While what Theo wanted to attempt was all theory based and might not work in the end. Theo would rather try his idea, then even consider doing the known method to acquire the soul stone. He did have a backup plan for the soul stone if this one didn''t work out though. Theo in his Ezekiel persona was in the medical base laboratory as he watched the clone body he had commissioned be removed from its incubation chamber. It was a modified male clone body made with normal human DNA only and aged to be around late teenager. After the clone was removed from the chamber, cleaned up and dressed in some clothes, it was placed into a wheelchair. Ezekiel then took the handles of the wheel chair and took the clone with him to the portal room where he created a portal to Genosha. Once there, he made his way to the magic school and into the hidden chamber below it, where he met up with Tao and Agatha. When he arrived Tao glanced over the clone body as she asked, ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± ¡°Not really, but it can¡¯t hurt to try it.¡± Agatha studied the clone body for a few moments before she said, ¡°Well if it doesn¡¯t work, we still have plan B.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Exactly.¡± Tao glanced one more time at the clone body before she opened up a portal to Vormir. After they stepped through the portal onto the planet, Ezekiel took a moment to enjoy the view as he looked out over the purple tinted sky filled with clouds. After a few moments of taking it all in he turned towards the wheelchair before he used a spell on it. The wheelchair lifted off the ground and hovered there before Ezekiel grabbed the handles and started walking towards a mountain in the distance. After they walked for a few minutes Tao said, ¡°You know we can just portal to the top of that thing¡­¡± Ezekiel paused for a few moments before he turned back to looking at Tao as he said, ¡°I just assumed this was as close to it as we could portal.¡± Tao spun her hand in a circle as she said, ¡°I was more concerned with getting to the planet the first time. Now that we are here, I have no issue portaling us anywhere on the planet.¡± The portal opened up next to Ezekiel and showed the top of the mountain a moment later before Ezekiel said, ¡°Oh¡­ I guess I should have asked.¡± Tao nodded in agreement before she waved towards the portal and said, ¡°After you.¡± After everyone passed through the portal and it closed behind them, a ghostly figure in a billowy black cloak floated towards them. As the specter came closer its eerie voice echoed as it said, ¡°Welcome, Agatha Harkness.¡± The specter landed before everyone before it turned its cloaked head towards Tao and said, ¡°Welcome Saskia, current sorcerer supreme of Earth.¡± It then turned its attention to Ezekiel and the clone before it paused for a few moments as it studied both of them closely. After a few moments it finally said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure who you are¡­ This¡­ This has never happened before.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I heard one in three men suffer from performance anxiety. But they do make a pill that can fix that issue now.¡± The specter tilted its head to the side slightly as it stared at Ezekiel a while longer before it said, ¡°Strange¡­ I always know who comes here and yet you¡¯re¡­ invisible to me.¡± The specter glanced towards the clone body in the wheelchair as it said, ¡°This one I can understand for it has no soul, but you¡­ You have a soul that I can not see through properly.¡± ¡°Well I can help you out. My name is Ezekiel and I come from Earth.¡± The specter floated around Ezekiel as it tried to look through him while it mumbled to itself, ¡°Strange. Strange... Why are you strange?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel, Strange isn¡¯t here right now.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. The specter stopped in front of Ezekiel before it asked, ¡°What is your purpose here?¡± Ezekiel smiled wide as he said, ¡°I¡¯m here for you, herr Schmidt!¡± The specter floated back slightly before it removed the cloak that covered its head. The red skull stared at Ezekiel for a few moments before he asked, ¡°You know who I once was?¡± ¡°Of course I do! Why else would I come to this planet in the middle of nowhere?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t come to seek the soul stone?¡± The red skull asked as he stared intently at Ezekiel. Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°That¡¯s a secondary interest. I came for you first and we can worry about the soul stone afterwards.¡± The red skull stared at Ezekiel for a while as if he was trying to see through him before he asked, ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± ¡°I have a gift of foresight and found you through that.¡± ¡°Why did you search me out?¡± The red skull asked as he glanced at Tao, Agatha and the clone body. ¡°Because Hydra is about to reawaken from its hibernation and it needs a proper leader. A leader people can look up to, one who is known and feared around the world.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight smile. ¡°People still know who I am?¡± The red skull asked with interest. ¡°While your overall plan failed, the world still knows you as the man who killed Captain America.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him¡­¡± ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t, but the history books say otherwise. You are known as the evil mastermind who almost took over the world and you were only stopped because of the heroic sacrifice of the Captain.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. The red skull glanced at the clone body as he asked, ¡°Did you bring that body for me?¡± ¡°Yes. Our goal is to anchor your soul into it.¡± The red skull shook his head before he said, ¡°It won¡¯t work, I am just a shell of my former self.¡± Ezekiel glanced towards Tao before he asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± Tao started to cast spell after spell before she started to walk around the red skull as she studied his wraith-like body. After about a minute she said, ¡°His soul is damaged, but mostly intact. There shouldn¡¯t be any issue.¡± Ezekiel turned back to the red skull as he asked, ¡°Are you ready to have a body again?¡± 00195. Meeting a guardian? Within a few minutes, Tao was able to place the Red Skull''s soul into the clone body and anchor it in place. Afterwards Ezekiel pushed the Red Skull still in the wheelchair over to the edge of the cliff. He paused for just a moment before he picked up the Red Skull and tossed him off the cliff as he said, ¡°Hopefully this works.¡± ¡°If it doesn''t, you can still use your original plan¡­ But I still think this was a little cruel.¡± Agatha said as she watched the Red Skull plummet towards the ground. Tao shook her head before she said, ¡°If we had woken him up before he was thrown off the cliff¡­ That would have been cruel. But this, this was merciful.¡± ¡°Considering what he did in his life, he is getting off pretty easy if you ask me.¡± Ezekiel said as the Red Skull slammed into the ground far below. Ezekiel glanced down at the scene far below before he said, ¡°Uh, would you look at that.¡± Tao glanced over the edge as she asked, ¡°Look at what?¡± ¡°I always thought they toned down the scene in the movie so kids could watch it¡­ But it really looks like a body doesn¡¯t just explode apart when dropped from such a height. I don¡¯t even see any blood.¡± Ezekiel said as the pillars behind them started to pulse into the sky above them. ¡°It has to do with the mass of the object and how gravity affects it.¡± Tao said as she glanced back at the pillars before she asked, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s supposed to happen?¡± ¡°It did in the movie.¡± A vortex of power formed in the sky above them as it started to glow before a massive surge of energy blasted out of it that covered the whole sky. A moment later Ezekiel, Tao and Agatha were laying in some water a distance away from the mountain they were just on. As they sat up Ezekiel instantly lifted up his right hand to see if they collected the soul stone. When he found nothing he frowned before he stood up and glanced at Tao and Agatha. Both of them were glancing at the glowing orange stone that was in between where all of them were placed. It was just laying underneath the water perfectly spaced from each of them. Ezekiel moved towards Tao and Agatha to help each of them up before he said, ¡°It¡¯s nice to see that my theory was correct.¡± As they each performed a spell to dry off their clothes Agatha said, ¡°You never really explained what your theory was, you just told us the movie logic was stupid and sacrificing a person you love doesn''t make sense.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he glanced towards the soul stone and said, ¡°I was positive Red Skull was fucking with Thanos because of the type of person he was. Even if the soul stone made the Red Skull act as some type of guide, it didn''t control him directly.¡± As both Agatha and Tao started to perform a few spells to test to make sure it was the soul stone, Ezekiel said, ¡°I am pretty sure the soul stone just gave him a soul form and that was it. As for him telling people they needed to sacrifice the person they love for it¡­ That was him just being a bitter asshole.¡± As Agatha finished her first spell she asked, ¡°And that was your theory? He was an asshole?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Well, my theory was that you just needed to sacrifice a soul to get the soul stone¡­ Just think about how easy it is to get the other stones and then this one has some stupid test to it? That just seemed like added movie drama to me.¡± Tao nodded as she finished her spell and said, ¡°That makes a lot of sense, but now we need to determine if this gem is like the one from the comics or not.¡± Tao pulled out the device they made to contain the soul stone and after it was sealed in its new home, Tao turned to Ezekiel as she said, ¡°So that¡¯s four down.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Thanos has the mind stone in that scepter from the movies. So hopefully we can collect that sooner or later when it comes to Earth.¡± ¡°If it comes to Earth you mean, right? I assume you plan to interfere when Thor comes to Earth, correct?¡± Tao asked as she stored the soul stone''s container away. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°You think I would miss out on that? Besides, the rainbow bridge getting destroyed causes a lot of issues in the greater universe I don¡¯t wanna deal with, so it would be best to stop that.¡± Tao nodded at that before she shared a glance with Agatha and asked, ¡°And you plan to use that chance to mess with your girlfriend''s father, right?¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t my girlfriend¡­ And yes, I plan to fuck with Odin while I help out Thor and maybe Loki. It depends on how much of a dick that guy is.¡± Ezekiel said as Tao and Agatha both shared a smile. Ezekiel waved them off before he said, ¡°So besides the mind stone, which we have no idea where it currently is.¡± Agatha cut him off as she said, ¡°We just need the reality stone to complete the set.¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°As for the reality stone, you said we just need to wait for the convergence to happen and we can get it.¡± ¡°Yup. But we¡¯ll have to deal with the dark elves when that happens¡­ I wonder if they¡¯ll even appear if we seal away the stone before they can sense it?¡± Tao started to open a portal back to Earth as she said, ¡°We could always wait to seal it until after we bring it out of the pocket realm it¡¯s sealed inside of.¡± As the portal opened up Ezekiel said, ¡°Wait, we need to hide the evidence that we were here.¡± Tao thought about it for a moment before she closed the portal and opened a new one to where the Red Skull was. After they stepped through the portal, Ezekiel sealed the body away before he used a spell to remove the little bit of blood that remained afterwards. As Tao was about to open a portal back to Earth, the engines of a spaceship flared loudly in the distance. Tao stopped making a portal as she glanced at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say no one was supposed to know about this place?¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No. I said, no one should know that the soul stone is here. As for the planet, it¡¯s on a lot of star maps and marked as not habitable.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Ezekiel glanced into the distance at the spaceship that was in the process of making its descent from the atmosphere before he said, ¡°Let''s go see who it is.¡± Tao glanced at the ship before she asked, ¡°Do you really wanna waste time on this?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some space pirates and we can confiscate their ship in the name of justice and turn them in for the bounty at the same time.¡± Tao rolled her eyes at that before she opened a portal to Earth as she said, ¡°Just use the bracelet when you want a portal back to Earth. Agatha and I are gonna focus on researching the soul stone and see if that other plan you have will even work.¡± ¡°Alright, good luck.¡± Ezekiel said before his afterimage faded away. Tao glanced towards the direction of the ship before she looked at Agatha and asked, ¡°What sounds good for lunch?¡± As they stepped through the portal Agatha asked, ¡°How about that ramen place in Genosha?¡± Ezekiel moved in the direction of the spaceship for a little while before he came to a stop by some large rocks. It gave him a spot to hide at and at the same time observe the ship that was in the process of making its descent. About five minutes later the ship leveled out and flew towards the mountain next to Ezekiel. It flew around it a couple times before it found an even spot on one side of the mountain and started to lower down as it prepared to land. Ezekiel wasn¡¯t in a great spot to observe the ships landing spot, so he quickly moved towards the area as he used his skills to be as stealthy as possible. It didn¡¯t take long for him to reach the area and hide among some larger rocks as the ship finished its final descent before it touched down on its landing gear. After about a minute a door opened up from the back of the ship and Ezekiel was forced to move to get a better view. As Ezekiel moved to a new position, someone walked out of the ship onto the ramp and Ezekiel could only smile to himself. A beautiful green skinned woman stepped onto the ramp as she looked around the area. Her mostly red hair was loose and fell just past her shoulders and bounced around slightly as she walked. The red was highlighted by her green skin and piercing brown eyes. She was in a black colored outfit which consisted of pants, a halter top and leather like vest. Ezekiel observed her for a few moments as he decided what to do. On the one hand it was an opportunity to make a potential ally. On the other hand he wanted to stay off Thanos radar for as long as possible. While he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the man having a bunch of easy power ups, Thanos was still powerful on his own and if he was anything like his comic book version¡­ Well he would be even more of a hassle to deal with. As Gamora pulled out an ancient looking scroll, Ezekiel made his decision and disappeared from his hiding spot. As Gamora looked over the scroll a voice said, ¡°You should be more careful with that, it looks really old.¡± A knife appeared in Gamora¡¯s off hand as she swung it behind herself and twisted around to see who snuck up on her. As she looked around in confusion to find no one, she heard behind her, ¡°You should be careful, knives are sharp.¡± Gamora kicked out behind herself before she quickly spun around to find no one again. A voice filled with concern said, ¡°I know you''re supposed to be an assassin, but you''re being a lot more aggressive then the ones I normally hang out with. If you wanna make friends, you should probably tone it down a bit.¡± Gamora¡¯s eyes narrowed as she glanced around and said, ¡°If you know who I am, then you know I have no need for friends.¡± ¡°Now that''s just sad, everyone could use a friend or two¡­ Even if they personally might not think that they do.¡± Gamora glanced around herself as she said, ¡°How about you stop hiding and show yourself.¡± ¡°I''m not hiding¡­ You just haven''t been looking in the right direction.¡± The voice said with a hint of mirth. Gamora¡¯s head snapped upwards to see a man hanging upside down by his feet which were attached to the hull of her ship. He smiled at her as he casually waved with one hand as he said, ¡°Yo.¡± Gamora¡¯s hand flicked out a moment later which sent a knife flying towards Ezekiel¡¯s head. He caught the knife without much effort and used a chakra exercise to dexterously flip it around his fingers as he said, ¡°You should be careful with these things, they''re sharp.¡± Gamora¡¯s eyes narrowed and she started to reach for the gun strapped to her waist as Ezekiel said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you. I only came here to talk.¡± When Gamora''s hand reached her gun, she felt the coldness of metal against her throat which made her whole body tense up as she watched Ezekiel above her fade away and he said from behind her, ¡°If you feel like talking with me, remove your hand from your gun. Otherwise¡­ I¡¯m going to leave since this will be a waste of time.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s voice trailed off as the knife was removed from Gamora¡¯s neck. Gamora relaxed her body and moved her hand away from her gun before she slowly turned around. Ezekiel was about twenty feet away sitting on a rock as he twirled Gamora¡¯s knife around his hand with practiced ease. He smiled at her as he asked, ¡°So do you wanna talk?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Straight to the point it is¡­ Did you come here for the soul stone?¡± Ezekiel asked. Gamora¡¯s eyes narrowed a tiny bit and her hand twitched towards her gun for a moment before she asked, ¡°Soul stone? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It was the only thing worth coming to this place for.¡± ¡°Was?¡± Gamora asked as she studied Ezekiel more closely. ¡°I just helped someone collect it.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. ¡°And where are they now? My sensors picked up a weird power surge from the planet, but didn¡¯t pick up another ship in the system.¡± Gamora said as she cautiously glanced around. ¡°They left after they collected the soul stone.¡± ¡°How long ago and why did they leave you behind?¡± Gamora asked as she turned her attention back to Ezekiel. ¡°Right after your ship entered the atmosphere.¡± Gamora¡¯s eyes narrowed as she asked, ¡°They have a stealth ship that my sensors couldn¡¯t pick up?¡± Ezekiel lifted his arm up and created a portal in front of himself that opened right in front of Gamora who jumped back in surprise as she pulled her gun out. Ezekiel smirked and stood up before he walked through the portal to appear in front of Gamora as he said, ¡°There are far faster ways to travel the universe then a spaceship.¡± As the portal disappeared, Ezekiel held up Gamora¡¯s knife to her by its blade as he said, ¡°You can have this back, the craftsmanship is below my standards.¡± Gamora slowly holstered her gun before she cautiously took the knife back from Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I didn¡¯t introduce myself because someone was being grumpy.¡± Ezekiel said before he smiled as he stuck out his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m Ezekiel, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Gamora, but you seemed to know that already.¡± Gamora said as she glanced at Ezekiel¡¯s outstretched hand. ¡°In my line of work it pays to know useful information.¡± Ezekiel said as he dropped his hand back down. ¡°And what exactly do you do?¡± Ezekiel lifted his hand and a card appeared between two fingers which he handed towards Gamora as he said, ¡°You can consider me a problem fixer.¡± Gamora hesitantly took the card which had a net ID for Xandar, the Kree and the Shi¡¯ar Empire printed on it as Ezekiel said, ¡°That¡¯s how you can contact me if you ever need to hire me.¡± Gamora glanced up from the card but Ezekiel was only an afterimage that faded away a moment later. Gamora glanced around for Ezekiel for a few moments before she headed back into her ship and prepared to leave the planet. While she originally planned to confirm the soul stone was here and then destroy the information about it¡­ Now she planned to tell Thanos that someone else already has it and maybe give him Ezekiel¡¯s card. 00196. Sending a message. Theo was in his training room as he practiced fuinjutsu for the day. For the past two weeks he was basically left alone as Tao and Agatha studied the soul stone and its effects. Sure they would pop by once in a while, but the majority of their free time was spent researching the stone. Theo didn¡¯t mind since that meant no ¡®practice¡¯ with Tao, or in other words he wouldn¡¯t be treated as a punching bag. While he knew what her intentions were and overall he even appreciated it, but that didn¡¯t mean he liked being bruised all over each day. It didn¡¯t matter how quickly he healed, it still sucked. As Theo worked on making another explosive tag, his phone rang. He set down his brush before he answered it and said, ¡°What''s going on Mei?¡± ¡°Really? Give me a couple minutes.¡± Theo said before he hung up his phone. After he sealed up his ink container and cleaned his ink brush off. Theo stood up and transformed into Ezekiel before he created a portal and stepped through it. On the other said he found Mei Terumi and an unfamiliar man in a suit. The man stared with his mouth hanging open as Ezekiel walked towards him and asked, ¡°I was told you have something for me and it couldn''t be handed to my assistant?¡± The man finally recovered and shakily reached into his coat pocket before he pulled out some papers and handed them to Ezekiel. As Ezekiel took them the man said, ¡°Th-this. Is a su-summon to a-appear before the senate judiciary committee on Friday.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Ezekiel asked as he looked at the documents that didn''t explain anything. ¡°I-I''m just here to serve you the papers.¡± The man said before he turned around and made a beeline for the elevator. Ezekiel glanced over the papers one more time and after the man left he asked, ¡°I wonder why he was so scared?¡± Mei raised an eyebrow as she said sarcastically, ¡°I doubt you just appearing out of thin air was the cause.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°You''re right of course. Something like that wouldn''t scare someone¡­¡± ¡°You must have hit on him before I arrived, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ezekiel asked with a smirk. Mei''s eye twitched as she said, ¡°He''s below my standards.¡± ¡°I still think you and Kakashi¡­¡± Mei cut him off as she said, ¡°That man is a pervert! Always reading those stupid novels!¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Maybe¡­ But I''m sure he might stop if the right woman entered his life and he didn''t need those novel''s anymore.¡± Ezekiel only stayed for a few more minutes to check a couple things before he portaled back to his training room. His first order of business was to find out what the summons was about. It didn¡¯t take long and he was surprised he didn''t think about it before. While he was concerned about the government and potential villains appearing. He forgot to monitor for things that concerned his company and his Ezekiel persona. It was an oversight on his part that led to the current situation. While monitoring for both of those things wouldn''t have prevented this from happening, he would''ve at least had a warning something was coming. After he collected information about what was going on, Ezekiel set about making sure it wouldn''t happen again. Well, he probably couldn''t stop something like this from happening again, but he would at least know about it beforehand next time. After that was done, Theo scanned the summons documentation before he sent them and the information he collected to his mother. About ten minutes later his phone rang and he answered it as he asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± ¡°I was planning to go alone¡­¡± ¡°Okay, you''re right. I''ll see you Friday morning then, at the office.¡± ¡°No, I was planning to portal in after it was supposed to start...¡± ¡°Alright, we''ll do it your way then. But I still plan to stream the whole thing on Vibe.¡± ¡°No, I''ll follow your directions on everything else. But I am going to live stream that circus they are trying to put on¡­¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°I understand¡­¡± ¡°Okay, see you Friday.¡± After Ezekiel hung up the phone, he let out a sigh before he said to himself, ¡°She doesn''t even know who I really am and she still somehow treats me like I''m her kid.¡± ¡°It''s probably her motherly intuition¡­ Or it''s because you act like a child half the time.¡± Ezekiel turned around to see Tao with a smirk on her face as she stepped out of a portal. Agatha followed after her before it closed behind them. Theo smiled at both of them before he asked, ¡°You don''t normally visit at this time, did something happen?¡± Tao nodded as she said, ¡°We figured it out.¡± Ezekiel excitedly jumped out of his seat as he asked, ¡°Really? With no issues?¡± ¡°There will be a few issues, mainly soul damage. We could fix it with the soul stone, but recommend against that since we still don''t fully understand its powers.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°So when do you want to do it?¡± Tao shared a knowing glance with Agatha before Tao asked, ¡°Can''t wait to recuse your girlfriend can you?¡± Ezekiel flushed slightly which made both of them snicker before Ezekiel said, ¡°Will you both grow up.¡± Tao and Agatha both burst into laughter at that as Ezekiel let out a sigh. A few moments after Tao stopped laughing she said, ¡°We can go now if you want.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Alright, let''s go.¡± Within half an hour they were all under the magic school of Genosha where Tao opened a portal to Hel. Hela smiled a tiny bit when Ezekiel stepped out of the portal and said, ¡°You''re early.¡± Ezekiel pointed over his shoulder towards Tao and Agatha as he said, ¡°We came to spring you from your prison.¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hela''s eyes lit up as she asked, ¡°You figured out a way?¡± Ezekiel turned towards Tao and Agatha as he said, ¡°They''ve been working on it.¡± Tao moved closer as she said, ¡°We figured out a way to free you from the chains. But you will still suffer from some minor soul damage.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement before she added, ¡°Unfortunately all our tests concluded that soul damage would happen whenever the chains are forcefully removed.¡± Hela nodded in understanding before she said, ¡°It''s better than being trapped here for who knows how much longer¡­¡± Tao pulled out the soul stone in its container before she said, ¡°This will probably hurt¡­ A lot.¡± ¡°It''s fine, I''m used to pain.¡± Hela said as she glanced at the small rune covered box. As Tao and Agatha pulled out a couple more items, Ezekiel went around and stored everything he brought for Hela. The custom TV, pub table and chair, along with the small display case and the handful of Gundam models Ezekiel gave Hela. They were all the lowest grade model kits that were single color and easily snapped together, but Hela still liked them. As Ezekiel did that, Tao and Agatha set up a small array with the soul stone as the focus. After a few more minutes everything was ready and Tao said, ¡°Prepare yourself.¡± Hela nodded stoically before Tao opened the container for the soul stone. The orange light of the soul stone slowly filled the array and before long it started to coat the chains attached to Hela. At first it seemed like nothing was happening, but slowly the chains started to dissolve away near Hela. As the part connecting a chain to Hela disappeared it would drop to the ground with a heavy thud. Hela for her part gritted her teeth each time the orange light touched her. It didn''t look like it did anything at first, but when Ezekiel used a spell to observe souls he saw what really happened. It was dissolving the part of Hela''s soul where the chain was attached. It was tiny compared to her actual soul, but there were hundreds of chains attached to her body. Ezekiel watched in quiet anticipation as chain after chain detached and dropped to the ground. When the process was about half way through he asked, ¡°Why aren''t the chains being completely destroyed?¡± ¡°If that happened Odin would know something was going on.¡± Agatha said as Tao focused on her task of removing the chains. ¡°Oh, okay¡­ So the chains will just stay there once this is all finished and Odin wont realize Hela is free?¡± ¡°Only for half an hour or so before they all disappear at once.¡± Agatha said as she studied Tao''s progress. Ezekiel stood there and watched in silence for a for moments before a smirk slowly crawled across his face as he thought of something. Hela for her part didn¡¯t utter a sound throughout the whole process. Once she was free, Hela breathed a deep sigh of relief before she smiled. It wasn''t her normal hint of one she had either, this one was a real smile filled with joy. Her eyes moistened a tiny bit as she glanced at everyone and said, ¡°Thank you, for your help.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°You''re welcome.¡± Tao smacked Ezekiel in the back of the head as she said, ¡°You didn''t do anything. Now shut up and go hug your girlfriend.¡± Hela flushed the tiniest bit as she turned her head away slightly as Ezekiel shot a glare at Tao. A moment later he moved closer to Hela as he asked, ¡°Are you ready to get out of here?¡± Hela turned to face Ezekiel with a genuine smile before she said, ¡°More than anything.¡± Ezekiel glanced around to make sure they weren''t leaving anything behind before he asked, ¡°Since Odin will be coming here soon to find out what happened¡­ How about you leave him a message?¡± Hela frowned slightly as she spat out, ¡°I have nothing to say to that bastard.¡± Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°You''re missing the point of the message¡­¡± After Ezekiel explained what he meant, Hela excitedly got to work and created a message for Odin. As she was doing that, Tao and Agatha collected everything they brought with them. Once everyone was finished Tao created a portal to Genosha and Hel was left completely empty for the first time in millennia. After they arrived in Genosha Ezekiel turned to Hela and asked, ¡°So you''re finally free¡­ What do you wanna do now?¡± Hela frowned slightly before she said, ¡°I have no idea.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°Well it''s fine, there''s no rush. How about we go eat a late lunch and then find you a place to live afterwards.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Hela said with a hint of excitement in her voice. About an hour later, as Ezekiel, Hela, Tao and Agatha were finishing up lunch. The environment of Hel was disturbed as a massive rainbow colored beam of light slammed into the ground. When the beam dissipated a few moments later Odin, Thor, Loki and a whole host of warriors were there in battle formation. Everyone was extremely tense as they looked around for an enemy, but only found a message instead. Carved deep into the ground and filled with necroswords to help it stand out was a simple message that read, ¡®Clean your neck and wait for me old man.¡¯ Thor glanced at the message along with everyone else before he asked, ¡°What''s going on father?¡± Odin let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Let''s head back¡­ I have something important to tell you and your brother in private.¡± A little while later as Odin was explaining to Thor and Loki about their older sister. Ezekiel was with Hela in Genosha as he showed her the penthouse suite she could live in for however long she wanted. It was part of the casino that was almost finished being built and was on the top floor in one of the VIP suites that wasn''t furnished yet. Theo¡¯s original plan was to turn this suite into ¡®Ezekiel¡¯s¡¯ home when he needed to entertain guests or something. But now that Hela was free he decided to let her have it. Hela glanced around the massive open concept design for a bit before she said, ¡°Are you sure I''m not imposing? I really only need a place to sleep¡­ This place seems a bit too much.¡± Ezekiel shook his head with a smile before he said, ¡°Not at all. I own the whole building and technically most of the property on the island. Besides, if it¡¯s too big, just fill it with stuff you want or turn part of it into a training room or something.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll gladly accept your generous offer then¡­ Does it include a bed?¡± Hela asked as she glanced around at the empty living room area. ¡°No, you have to sleep on the floor.¡± Ezekiel said as a joke. ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s head whipped around to see the tiniest hint of a smile on Hela''s face as her eyes curved up in mirth. Ezekiel smiled back as he said, ¡°Was that your first joke? Should we celebrate?¡± ¡°Yes, by getting me a bed.¡± ¡°Wow, I expected her to be forward. But it¡¯s only been what, two hours and you''re already asking Ezekiel to join you in bed?¡± Tao said in a teasing tone as she walked out of one of the rooms followed by Agatha. Hela turned away with a hint of a blush as Ezekiel said, ¡°She asked for a bed to sleep on¡­¡± ¡°I''m sure that''s exactly what she meant¡­ Now remind me again why you''re giving Hela this place and you never once offered something similar to either of your masters?¡± Tao asked before Agatha added on, ¡°The ones who look after you and make sure you don¡¯t cause any problems.¡± Ezekiel gave both of them a flat look as he asked, ¡°Really? You both want a penthouse suite? Don''t you both have your own homes already?¡± Tao glanced out at the beautiful view of the ocean below as she said, ¡°I have a little place I call my own¡­ But something like this would be a nice retreat sometimes.¡± ¡°I''m sure Ebony would enjoy a place like this too.¡± Ezekiel glanced between his teachers before he let out a sigh and then said, ¡°Fine, I''ll allocate the other two suites on this floor for each of you. It can be your own personal floor from now on.¡± Tao and Agatha shared a smile and a nod before Tao asked, ¡°So are we going bed shopping now?¡± ¡°I have to buy both of you beds too?¡± Ezekiel asked in exasperation. ¡°Stop acting like you aren''t going to use stolen money for it in the first place.¡± Tao said as she headed towards the door. Agatha nodded as she added, ¡°Since we are getting a penthouse suite, we should probably go shopping to furnish the whole thing.¡± ¡°Great idea¡­ Come along you two we have a lot of places to visit.¡± Tao said as she opened the front door and looked back at Ezekiel and Hela. Hela glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°Are they normally like this?¡± ¡°I might be a negative influence on them.¡± Ezekiel said as he rubbed the back of his head. 00197. A day with Hela. 1/2 Shopping with Tao, Agatha and Hela turned into a crazy adventure that lasted more than twelve hours. They traveled to over thirty countries and hundreds of stores as Tao and Agatha picked out everything they wanted. It wouldn''t have been that bad, but whenever a store didn''t have the item in stock. They would find another store with it and portal over to get it. That also didn¡¯t include the random antique stores they visited. If Ezekiel didn''t have a large amount of storage seals, it would have been even more trips to move everything around. At least it was only Tao and Agatha who were being ridiculous in what they wanted. Hela on the other hand only wanted two things, functionality and comfort. She still ended up picking things that matched and complemented each other, but it was nowhere near what Tao and Agatha did. Once they finished shopping for furniture, Ezekiel had to excuse himself for a few minutes to go replace his clone that was with his family. Once he had a fresh clone in place, he met back up with everyone to eat and then unload their furniture for them. By the time he was done, he was mentally exhausted and ended up laying down on the massive couch in Hela''s living room. The custom media device he created for her was also in the living room and acted as her TV. Since the thing was already large enough and worked great, Hela saw no reason to upgrade or try and replace it. Hela was seated not far from Ezekiel as she watched a Gundam show and ate some snacks they picked up. While Ezekiel spaced out as he mindlessly watched the TV, Hela said something that made him tilt his head towards her as he asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°I want to get some more Gundam models.¡± Ezekiel sat up as he asked, ¡°You wanna get some of the cooler, higher end models that have a lot more parts and take longer to build?¡± Hela looked at Ezekiel as she said, ¡°Maybe¡­ I''d wanna check them out first.¡± Ezekiel stood up from the couch as he said, ¡°Alright, I know the perfect place to go.¡± Ezekiel led Hela out of her penthouse and towards the portal hub before he took her to Japan. When they stepped out of the portal they were in an alleyway about a block away from Akihabara in Tokyo and it was just past noon. As they approached the main street Ezekiel cast a spell on himself and Hela so they could understand and speak the language before he smiled and said, ¡°Welcome to the best place on Midgard to buy anything anime or manga related.¡± Hela looked around with interest at all of the buildings and displays but didn¡¯t seem that excited until they walked past a window display and she asked, ¡°What are those?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the display before he said, ¡°Figurines. People like to collect them and display them in big glass display cases.¡± Hela pointed at one as she asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Char?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Do you want one?¡± Hela glanced at the figurine for a few moments before she said, ¡°Yes.¡± Ezekiel smirked as he waved her towards the door and said, ¡°You have some furniture but you didn¡¯t really buy anything else. How about you buy whatever you want here, to help decorate your house with.¡± Hela nodded slightly in agreement before she walked into the store and proceeded to buy over a hundred figurines and a bench of other nicknacks. Once they were done, they headed to the next store and while she didn¡¯t buy as much stuff, it was still close to fifty items, fifteen of which were figurines. The trend basically repeated at each store, but it was mostly for figurines and became a little less at each store they visited. Ezekiel lost count after three hundred figurines and Hela hadn¡¯t even bought a single Gundam model kit yet. But then again, most of the places they visited only had a small selection of models she didn¡¯t care for. They just finished shopping at another collectible shop and as they left it, Hela noticed a maid cafe next door and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this place?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the name and the sign board next to the entrance before he said, ¡°It¡¯s a maid cafe. They tend to have different themes, but the main selling point is cute girls dressed up and serving people food and drinks. They tend to do little shows, dance, sing and other stuff at the same time.¡± Ezekiel pointed at the sign as he said, ¡°This one is a cosplay themed cafe, so all the people are dressed up as anime, manga or video game characters. It also says you can pay extra for a specific character cosplay if you like.¡± ¡°Can we check it out?¡± Hela asked with interest. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Sure.¡± As soon as they walked inside a girl in a bunny girl outfit greeted them and said in Japanese, ¡°Welcome master and princess! How can I serve you today?¡± Hela glanced towards Ezekiel as she asked in English, ¡°The people of Midgard still know who I am?¡± Ezekiel couldn¡¯t help himself as he burst out laughing for a moment before he said, ¡°No, this is just how these places are. That''s why she called me master.¡± The girl in the bunny suit not fully understanding English said in broken English, ¡°Sorry, I can not understand Engrish well.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Ezekiel smiled towards the girl and said in perfect Japanese, ¡°It¡¯s okay, my friend was only asking me a question. We can both speak Japanese just fine.¡± Hela nodded as she said also in perfect Japanese, ¡°It¡¯s my first time visiting a place like this.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s your first time? We are honored to have you as a guest.¡± The girl said with a slight bow before he said, ¡°Let me show you what we offer, princess.¡± The girl stepped out from behind the podium she was at and pointed to the large menu on the wall as she said, ¡°Our maid cafe is different from most places as we offer a very customizable experience for our guests. First you will pick your room theme. Most people pick a theme that will match the cosplay their attendants will be in, but it''s not a set rule or anything.¡± The girl pointed to another list and said, ¡°After the room comes how many maids you want and the type of cosplay they will be in for your visit.¡± As she highlighted the cosplay list she said, ¡°Not every cosplay is available each day and only the ones posted here in green are available today.¡± ¡°Once all of that is completed, you can then customize your visit depending on your preferences. I personally recommend the karaoke package, it''s one of our best sellers.¡± The girl said as she pointed to the package and price. Ezekiel glanced over the menu before he asked, ¡°What do you want to do?¡± Hela pointed to the room theme which made Ezekiel raise an eyebrow but said nothing as she picked a couple of cosplay that matched the theme of the room. Afterwards she looked at the list of packages before she finally said, ¡°The karaoke one sounds fine to me.¡± ¡°Do you know what karaoke is?¡± Hela nodded as she said with confidence, ¡°Of course I do.¡± Ezekiel smiled before he turned to the hostess and said, ¡°I think that should do it then.¡± The girl smiled in return before she pointed towards a bench and said, ¡°Please wait there and I will notify your attendants so they can prepare.¡± After they sat down on the bench Ezekiel said, ¡°So that was an interesting theme choice.¡± Hela glanced towards Ezekiel as she said, ¡°It sounded fun.¡± ¡°Just because magic was in the name, doesn''t mean they will use magic to entertain us¡­ In case that was what you were thinking.¡± Ezekiel said before he noticed Hela''s eyes widened for a moment. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°I thought as much¡­ Whatever, this will still be fun.¡± About five minutes later two girls dressed up in colorful costumes holding light up wands approached them. Once they were close they both did a quick little dance number before they posed together and said in sync, ¡°We''re happy to meet you both and can''t wait to have a magical time together.¡± The girl in the cute pink colored sailor dress stood up straight and waved her wand towards the way she came as she said, ¡°Come along master and princess, your adventure awaits!¡± The girl in the blue dress happily nodded along as she added, ¡°We have everything specially prepared for your enjoyment.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Hela who looked slightly disappointed before he stood up and said, ¡°Come along princess, let''s go have some fun.¡± The theme Hela picked was called magical girl wonderland and the room itself didn''t disappoint. It was colorful and filled with posters and wall scrolls depicting different magical girls. There were a few couches placed next to each other in the corner farthest from the door with a coffee table that could be shared in between them. Against the wall near the door was a large TV that displayed a music selection list. While the highlight of the room was a small foot tall stage shaped like a starburst. It was about six feet in diameter and had LED lights installed into and around it that were currently off. Hela wasn''t that impressed with what she found in the room, but her years of training paid off as she didn''t show it on her face. After Hela and Ezekiel were seated and a drink order was placed the girl in the pink costume took to the stage and struck a pose as she asked, ¡°Are you ready to have a good time?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Ezekiel said before he nudged Hela with his shoulder and she said flatly, ¡°Yes.¡± The girl pouted cutely as she struck a pose and said, ¡°Come on, this is supposed to be a magical party! Show some enthusiasm and let''s have some fun, princess!¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement before the girl struck another pose and said, ¡°Since master and princess wished for a karaoke party, I''ll get the stage warmed up with the first song!¡± The girl scrolled through the song list until she found the opening theme to Revolutionary Girl Utena and Rondo-Revolution was selected. She quickly pressed some buttons on the microphone in her hands and the lights dimmed as the LEDs on and around the stage lit up. As the song started, the girl broke into dance as she sang along and the opening for the anime played along on the TV with the words to the song being displayed. Ezekiel enjoyed the show and while Hela didn''t really react, she didn''t complain either. After the song finished, the other girl came back with drinks and they went into a whole routine with how they were served and doing a ¡®moe moe¡¯ beam to make them taste better. While Hela didn''t really participate, she seemed to enjoy the show a little bit. After the drinks the second maid picked a song and did her own dance routine as she sang before she handed the microphone to Ezekiel and said, ¡°Please choose a song master.¡± Ezekiel took the microphone and scrolled through the list till he found what he wanted. After he stepped onto the stage he hit play and Azumanga Daioh opening theme Soramimi Cake started to play. Ezekiel¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t the best and he didn''t try to make it better as he sang along to the song and danced. Part way through the song the two hostess joined in dancing off to the side and singing off key like Ezekiel was. Once the song finished Ezekiel glanced towards Hela and saw a real smile on her face for the first time since they entered the maid cafe. Ezekiel stepped off the stage and handed the microphone to Hela as he said, ¡°Now it''s your turn, princess.¡± The smile on Hela''s face froze as she looked from Ezekiel to the microphone and back a couple of times. Ezekiel started to smirk as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid now, you were the one who chose karaoke.¡± Hela''s eyes narrowed as she snatched the microphone from Ezekiel¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I am many things, but I will never be a coward.¡± Ezekiel relaxed onto the couch as Hela selected her song before she got on stage and began to sing along as Colors by Flow played. She only sang at first but the longer the song went the more she got into it and even started to dance a little. Once the song ended Ezekiel and the maids all clapped for Hela before Ezekiel stood up and said, ¡°My turn!¡± 00198. A day with Hela. 2/2 As Hela and Ezekiel enjoyed themselves at the maid cafe, a tense meeting was happening in another place. In a throne room coated in gold, a young looking man with shoulder length blonde hair glared at an older man with one eye who sat on a golden throne. The older man looked tired as he stared down at the young man before he said, ¡°It was for the good of our people, it had to be done.¡± ¡°She¡¯s your daughter! There had to be another way!¡± Odin let out a heavy sigh before he said, ¡°You¡¯re only a naive prince, you don¡¯t understand what it means to be a king and the burden I bear.¡± ¡°We shouldn''t judge him too harshly brother.¡± Another man said as he placed his hand on the blonde man''s shoulder. ¡°But she''s our sister! Our blood! He should have never treated her like that¡­ He should have tried something else¡­ Reasoned with her, or.¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Odin shouted as he slammed his spear into the ground. ¡°This is not up for debate, it''s all in the past now and I won''t be lectured about my decisions by you or anyone else.¡± Odin said before he waved towards the door and added, ¡°Leave, I''ve already told you everything you need to know.¡± After Thor stormed out of the throne room he turned towards Loki and said, ¡°We she go find our sister and talk to her.¡± Loki frowned as he said, ¡°You heard what he said dear brother, she''s dangerous.¡± ¡°I refuse to believe that. She can''t be as bad as he described¡­ At least I wish to find out for myself and then decide what to do.¡± ¡°Fine, I''ll follow your lead then.¡± Loki said with a helpless smile. Thor placed a hand on Loki''s shoulder as he said, ¡°Great, let''s go find our sister!¡± Thor started to walk with purpose before he stopped, turned to Loki and asked, ¡°Umm, where should we start?¡± Loki let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Let''s go check with Heimdall and have him search for her first.¡± ¡°Didn''t he already try and said that he couldn''t find any trace of her?¡± Loki smirked as he said, ¡°I have a few ideas we can try that might help him in his search.¡± Thor laughed boisterously as he slapped Loki hard on the back which made Loki stumble forward before he said, ¡°As expected of you, brother!¡± Loki shot a glare at Thor as he said, ¡°Can you settle down, you oaf?¡± ¡°Sorry, I''m just excited to meet my sister!¡± Thor said before he laughed some more. As Loki and Thor went off to search for Hela, she was having a great time singing Kesenai Tsumi by Nana Kitade at the maid cafe. Over the next hour or so, Hela and Ezekiel took turns singing along with the maids taking over when they wanted a break. When they were finished, Ezekiel paid for everything and while he wanted to leave both girls a tip. He knew it would be refused because Japan doesn¡¯t have a tipping culture and it¡¯s kind of considered rude. After they left the cafe, they stopped by a few more stores where Hela bought more stuff until they reached a store that only sold Gunpla models. As they walked into the store Hela paused at a large display with a couple of customized and painted models locked in battle. They were the centerpieces of a diorama filled with tanks, jets and soldiers set in an urban landscape. Hela studied it with interest before she asked, ¡°Is this a model kit?¡± ¡°No, this is a bunch of model kits and a ton of other stuff that might be custom made.¡± Ezekiel said as he looked over the models. Ezekiel pointed to one of the Gundam¡¯s before he picked up a model kit next to the diorama and said, ¡°This is the model they used for the base. But whoever made it modified it¡­ You see the arms and legs? Those are all modifications.¡± Hela noticed what Ezekiel pointed out as she asked, ¡°You can do that?¡± Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Of course you can. It¡¯s what most model builders do to make cooler things and give themselves more of a challenge.¡± As they headed deeper into the store, Hela saw custom models on display throughout the store. The more she saw the more she realized the model kits Ezekiel gave her were pretty much the very base level of the hobby. Most of them were simple to build and used only a single color of plastic and a handful of stickers. The higher end models were made of five or more colored plastics, had more stickers, and were generally more labor intensive to build. But beyond that was all the extras you could do to make the models even better, like painting, modifying, adding lights, crafting dioramas with them and more. Needless to say, Hela was excited about making a higher end model kit and even painting it. By the time they left the store, Hela had picked up at least two of each kit they had in stock. Along with everything else she would need to customize models. Paints, brushes, a spray gun, markers, air compressor, razors, sand paper, basically anything she might need, even if it wasn¡¯t necessary. They ended up going to a few more Gunpla only stores to collect more models and stuff needed for the hobby. After that they went to a couple of hobby stores so Hela could get foam board, fake grass, bushes, fake trees and tons of other things. They even stopped by a hobby store for model trains to pick up buildings and other things so she could create dioramas with. Once everything was said and done, Hela had enough stuff to fill up two or three rooms. Well normal sized bedrooms, but the main living room and entryway to Hela¡¯s penthouse was massive. So after Ezekiel finished pulling everything out of his storage seal, it was a little chaotic. But Hela could easily walk around without issue and store everything however she wanted in some of the extra bedrooms she had. After Ezekiel finished he checked the time before he said, ¡°Well that was a fun day, but I should get out of here.¡± Hela looked up from sorting through some of her stuff as she asked with a hint of disappointment, ¡°You have to go?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s about dinner time for my family and I haven¡¯t seen them in a couple of days.¡± Ezekiel said as he rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Oh¡­ Would it be okay to meet them? Maybe?¡± Hela asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice. Ezekiel forced a smile as he said, ¡°You meeting my family would cause a lot of issues for me¡­¡± ¡°I. Understand...¡± Hela said with a sad smile. Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°No you don¡¯t¡­ And it¡¯s my fault.¡± ¡°I told you this was my second life but I never told you how long I¡¯ve been alive for.¡± Ezekiel said as he lifted his arm up and touched something on it before he ripped it off and a cloud of smoke appeared. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Theo stepped out of the smoke as he said, ¡°This is what I really look like, my full name is Theodore Ezekiel Mercer and I turn twelve in a couple months.¡± Hela stared at Theo for a few moments before she asked in a hurt tone, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me this sooner?¡± ¡°I planned to tell you sooner, but Hel wasn¡¯t really secure like this place is and I didn¡¯t want to risk the safety of my family. Unlike me, my family are baseline humans and I don¡¯t want to put them in danger.¡± Theo said before another puff of smoke appeared and he turned back into Ezekiel. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I upset you, but the safety of my family comes before anything else. It¡¯s the reason why I¡¯ve only told two other people about my real identity besides you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget Fury.¡± Both Hela and Ezekiel whipped their heads around to see Tao and Agatha seated on the couch eating popcorn. ¡°When did you get here¡­ and how?¡± Ezekiel asked in confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t stop now, you were both putting on a great show.¡± Tao said with a smirk as she grabbed another handful of popcorn. Ezekiel pinched the bridge of his nose as he said, ¡°I really am a bad influence on both of you.¡± Agatha waved him off as she said, ¡°We were just curious about what you two were doing on your date so we followed you in the mirror dimension to watch¡­ We almost joined you for karaoke, but didn¡¯t want to intrude.¡± Tao nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°Theo needs more practice, but you did a pretty good job Hela.¡± Hela went through a range of emotions along with Ezekiel finding out that they were spied on the whole day. Ezekiel finally shook his head before he glanced at Hela and said, ¡°Again, I''m sorry for not telling you sooner. But I''ll figure out a way to make it up to you.¡± Hela nodded slightly before Ezekiel turned towards Tao and Agatha with a glare as he said, ¡°As for you two voyeurs¡­ I hope you don''t do that again, that''s on a level of creepy that''s worse than Jiraiya.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t compare us to that pervert!¡± Agatha said which made Tao nod in agreement before she added, ¡°We were just curious and wanted to see what you would do. It wasn¡¯t bad, but you definitely have room for improvement on your next date.¡± Ezekiel started to reply when he noticed Tao and Agatha''s teasing smiles. He shook his head as he said, ¡°I hate both of you.¡± Ezekiel turned towards Hela and said, ¡°I''ll visit you tomorrow sometime and bring you a cellphone so you can contact me whenever you want¡­ And a computer too.¡± Hela nodded as she said, ¡°I''ll see you tomorrow then.¡± After Ezekiel left Tao stood up and asked Hela, ¡°You wanna go eat an early dinner with us?¡± ¡°I''m not really hungry.¡± ¡°Pity, we were gonna talk to you about Theo. But if you''re not hungry, maybe we can do it another time.¡± Agatha said as she stood up from the couch. ¡°Well, I guess I could use a snack.¡± Hela said as she put down the model kit in her hands. Hours later while Tao, Agatha and Hela were still talking with each other. Ezekiel created a portal to Tony''s workshop to find him about a new project. Well he didn''t really need to find Tony, since he barely left the house these days. It was mostly because Pepper was so pregnant and they were trying to hide it. They still went out about once a week, but only when Ezekiel gave them henge seals to change their appearance. Well mostly Pepper to make her look not pregnant, but they both used them a few times to go out and blend in. While Tony loved the attention he got from people recognizing him, he had to admit it was nice to go out and be unnoticed sometimes. Or as Tony called it, be a normal person. Tony was at his computer as Ezekiel stepped out of the portal and said, ¡°Yo, I need you to design something for me.¡± Tony spun around in his chair as he said, ¡°I feel like the only reason you come by is to ask me to do stuff for you.¡± ¡°That isn''t true¡­ It''s like sixty percent of the reason.¡± Tony folded his arms over his chest as he asked, ¡°And what''s the other forty percent for?¡± ¡°Ummmm.¡± Ezekiel tilted his head up and rubbed his chin for a few moments before he snapped his fingers as he looked at Tony and said, ¡°To mess with you of course!¡± ¡°I don''t want you as a friend anymore.¡± ¡°Oh, don''t say that! You wouldn''t be together with Pepper and about to have a kid, if it wasn''t for me.¡± Ezekiel said as he moved towards Tony''s desk. ¡°Ezekiel is right, the statistical chance of you and Miss Potts getting together was less than one percent.¡± JARVIS said before he added, ¡°Welcome, Ezekiel.¡± ¡°Thank you for the help, JARVIS.¡± ¡°Bullshit. There is no way the chance was that low. Me and Pepper get along great.¡± Tony said with a frown. ¡°Then how come you didn''t get together sooner?¡± Ezekiel asked as he took a seat on the workbench next to Tony''s desk. ¡°That''s because¡­¡± Ezekiel cut Tony off as he said, ¡°That''s because you were an egotistical man whore who drank all the time¡­ You''re still egotistical, but it''s not as bad as it used to be.¡± Tony rolled his eyes before he said, ¡°Fine, I''ll admit you might have helped a little bit in getting us together¡­ But it would have happened eventually!¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Maybe, maybe not. There''s no way to know what would have happened if I didn''t come along.¡± ¡°That''s true¡­ Anyways, why''d you come by?¡± Ezekiel pulled out his phone and tapped something on the screen before he said, ¡°JARVIS please pull up that file I just sent Tony.¡± Tony glanced towards the file on the screen before he looked back at Ezekiel and said, ¡°You can''t be serious¡­¡± ¡°I just need a design that''s buildable.¡± Tony glanced at the file as he said, ¡°Even with the stuff I''ve learned from alien technology it wouldn''t work correctly.¡± ¡°I just need a good working design, whether or not the technology exists yet to build it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Then why do you want me to design it in the first place?¡± Tony asked as he looked over the files some more. ¡°Curiosity more than anything else. I mean even if it''s not currently feasible. That doesn¡¯t mean we might not be able to figure it out sooner or later.¡± Tony shook his head as he said, ¡°To have something like this run for more than a minute would take a massive power supply or you would have to have it hooked up to some type of external power unit which would defeat the purpose of making it. Ezekiel smirked as he said, ¡°Just design it with a spot for the power supply near the chest and make it about the size of a grapefruit.¡± Tony narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Did you already figure out the power supply issue?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No, but I have a few ideas on how to solve it.¡± ¡°Really? What''s your idea?¡± ¡°Take that arc reactor you built and make it smaller.¡± Ezekiel said with a smile. Tony thought about it as he looked over the design before he said, ¡°It still won''t work. Even if I shrink that down, it would lose power the smaller it gets¡­¡± Tony started to type on his computer for a few moments before he pointed at it and said, ¡°An arc reactor the size of a grapefruit wouldn''t even have enough power to run an electric car for a few minutes. Let alone this thing.¡± ¡°Like I said, just get me a design that''s buildable.¡± Tony waved him off as he said, ¡°Fine, I''ll design something for you. But I still think it''s a waste of time.¡± ¡°Your complaint is noted¡­ And ignored, now get to work, slave.¡± Ezekiel said with a teasing smile. Tony flipped Ezekiel off as he said, ¡°Fuck off and go get me some food while your at it.¡± Ezekiel dropped off of the workbench and headed towards the door to go upstairs as he said, ¡°If I''m getting food, I''ll go ask Pepper and Happy what they want to eat and bring you the leftovers.¡± ¡°No way! I asked first!¡± Tony said in protest as Ezekiel opened the door. ¡°Did you hear anything, JARVIS?¡± Ezekiel asked as he walked out of the room. ¡°I did not sir.¡± ¡°Alright, just checking.¡± Tony heard Ezekiel say before the door closed. Tony dropped his head onto his desk as he mumbled to himself, ¡°I need better friends.¡± 00199. Clown show. It was early in the morning as Theo prepared for the day ahead. He created a clone that would cover for him at school since today he had to go meet a bunch of idiots and have his time wasted. He could have probably sent a clone to take care of it, but his mom was going to be there and he figured he might as well tag along. After he created his clone he headed to his training room to get ready. Well he didn''t really need to do anything to get ready besides henge into Ezekiel. But after he did that he portaled to the building he currently used as Vibe''s headquarters to wait for his mom to arrive. It was about half an hour later that Daniel stepped out of the elevator dressed in a sleek business suit. Ezekiel on the other hand wore his normal henge attire which consisted of black dress slacks, and a gray and blue patterned button up shirt. Once Daniel was closer and looked over Ezekiel, she said, ¡°You should probably change into something a little nicer for this.¡± Ezekiel stood up from his desk as he asked, ¡°You really don''t think this is fine?¡± ¡°You''re dressed in something my son would wear.¡± Daniel said with a flat look. ¡°Then it sounds like he has good taste.¡± Ezekiel said with a smirk. ¡°He does¡­ But he''s also a kid. You should be better dressed than him.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he changed his henge into better looking clothes. He now wore an elegant three piece suit in all black, with gray stitching, a gray vest, white undershirt and a blood red tie. Daniel looked him over for a few moments before she said, ¡°That''s better¡­ If you''re ready, let''s head over there.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he created a portal and stepped through it followed by Daniel. They stepped out onto the sidewalk outside of a building in Capitol Hill which caused a bit of a commotion from the people nearby. After the portal closed Ezekiel walked up to the building with Daniel who asked, ¡°Was that really necessary?¡± Ezekiel glanced around at everyone staring at them as he said, ¡°If I didn''t make a portal, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten here on time.¡± ¡°I only agreed to take a portal because I thought you would make one in a discreet location¡­ Not right in front of the building.¡± Daniel said in a slightly annoyed tone. Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°Have I ever made a portal in a discreet location before?¡± After a few moments Daniel let out a sigh before she said, ¡°No¡­ No, you haven''t.¡± Ezekiel opened the door to the senate building as he said, ¡°Exactly. If I''m gonna do something, I''m gonna do it flashy.¡± After getting inside, checking in and going through security, they were led through the building to the room for the hearing. The room they entered was pretty empty compared to its capacity and none of the senators that called the hearing were in the room yet. The aid that was their guide led them to the front of the room where a table was set up for them to use, before they excused themselves to take care of other duties. Ezekiel glanced around the room for a moment and the few people in the room before he said, ¡°I kind of expected the room to be filled with people and news crews.¡± Daniel was in the middle of pulling out documents from her briefcase as she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t see it posted on the website this morning, so they might be trying to keep this hearing out of the public eye.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he smirked as he said, ¡°I wonder what they¡¯ll do when they realize the whole thing is being live streamed on Vibe?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. It could cause issues down the line for you and the company.¡± Daniel said as she finished putting all of her documents out on the table. ¡°Something already happened, that¡¯s why we''re here in the first place. People don¡¯t like it when you mess with their free meal.¡± Ezekiel said as he relaxed in his chair. Daniel let out a sigh before she said, ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ I still can¡¯t believe they think calling you in for this isn¡¯t going to backfire on them.¡± Ezekiel smirked again as he said, ¡°That¡¯s why this place is empty and I am pretty sure no one is gonna be in here taking minutes for this clown show¡­ Which means live streaming it is the last thing they will want.¡± Ezekiel and Daniel chatted for a little while until people started to enter the room and fill up the seats in the gallery area. Ezekiel glanced at them for a moment surprised that people were showing up before he pulled his tablet out of his storage seal and started to type on it. After a few moments he said, ¡°Well that¡¯s a little bit of a surprise.¡± Daniel glanced at Ezekiel¡¯s tablet as she asked, ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Everyone filling up the room are competitors¡­ Well they at least work for them in one way or another. This is gonna be a lot more fun than I thought.¡± Daniel cast a quick glance at the audience section before she turned around in her seat and said, ¡°You sure know how to make enemies.¡± ¡°These people aren¡¯t my enemies, just misguided fools at best. They think this is going to stop me or scare me into backing down, when all it¡¯s really doing is wasting my time.¡± Ezekiel said as he typed away on his tablet. Ezekiel typed away on his tablet for a few more minutes as members of the committee started to enter the room with their entourages. After half an hour the room was completely filled and an older man who sat in the middle of the committee''s table banged a small gavel before he said, ¡°It looks like everyone is here, I would like to call this meeting to order.¡± ¡°Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone for coming today to this senate oversight committee hearing on Revival¡¯s potential monopoly on the insurance industry and the effects it has already made on its competitors.¡± The older man looked towards Ezekiel as he said, ¡°Thank you for accepting the summons Mr¡­ Actually I don¡¯t believe we have a last name for you on file.¡± ¡°Because I don¡¯t have one.¡± Ezekiel said as he placed his tablet down on the table in front of him and looked up with a smile. The man nodded slightly before he said, ¡°Alright, Mr. Ezekiel.¡± ¡°Just Ezekiel is fine, Senator Klein.¡± Klein nodded again before he turned to Daniel and said, ¡°And I would like to thank you for also coming Mrs. Mercer, even though legal counsel wasn''t needed for this hearing.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Thank you for inviting us, Senator.¡± Daniel said with a hint of a smile. ¡°Before we begin I would like to make my opening statement and then open the floor to my fellow committee chairs to make opening statements if they so wish.¡± What followed was over half an hour of pure bullshit as each chair member made statements talking about how monopolies were bad and giving people options and choices was good for not only the consumer but America in general. Once all the roosters had their chance to shine and puff out their chests a roll call was held. Afterwards Klein turned to Ezekiel and Daniel and asked, ¡°Pursuant to committee rule nine-G, can I ask you to stand and raise your right hand?¡± After Ezekiel and Daniel stood up with their hands raised, Klein asked, ¡°Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Both Daniel and Ezekiel said at the same time. ¡°Thank you, you may take your seat now.¡± Klein pulled out some papers and looked them over for a moment before he glanced at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Ezekiel can you tell me when you created Revival incorporated?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to refer to my legal council for that information.¡± Klein frowned slightly as he asked, ¡°Surely you can answer something simple like this?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°I have a lawyer with me who I pay a ridiculous amount of money to for just this type of situation, I might as well get my money¡¯s worth.¡± Klein tried to get Ezekiel to answer a few more questions but when he kept directing everything to Daniel, Klein gave up on asking him and started directing the questions to Daniel. Over the next two hours without any real break the committee members asked the most pointless questions over and over again. Sure they were phrased differently, or something was changed to make it seem a little different. But overall they were the same questions and it was getting annoying, even Daniel with all of her experience was getting annoyed. At least Ezekiel assumed she was because she would frown the tiniest bit whenever they repeated a question at this point. The only thing keeping Ezekiel in check was the live stream chat that was making fun of all the senators as they kept trying to get Daniel with the same questions. Ezekiel had it pulled up on his tablet and would look at it from time to time and smile slightly. As for why no one in the room even knew about the live stream or were warned that it was happening? Ezekiel sealed the building from letting anyone else get cell service and also blocked the entrances to the room the committee was in. Anyone who moved towards the room with the intent to enter was placed under a genjutsu by the guards he posted and then placed to rest in an unoccupied room they borrowed. Everything was going smooth so far until Klein asked, ¡°Mrs. Mercer, don¡¯t you think that with Revival¡¯s current pricing structure, that it''s completely unfair to other businesses in the insurance industry? A pricing structure so low that it''s impossible for other companies to compete fairly with Revival?¡± It was another repeated question just framed a little differently. Before Daniel could respond Ezekiel asked, ¡°Sure it''s low, but can you explain how it¡¯s unfair? Can''t they just lower prices to match it?¡± Daniel glanced at Ezekiel with a questioning look as he shrugged and said, ¡°They¡¯ve asked this same question five times now like a broken record and didn¡¯t like your response. I figured I would try something different this time.¡± Klein took only a moment before he said, ¡°Your company''s pricing model is too low and if it doesn¡¯t change, you will be the only insurance provider on the market. Which would turn it into a monopoly which we will not allow.¡± ¡°And I fail to see how that¡¯s my problem. If anything, you should be telling the other companies to lower their prices to match mine so it doesn¡¯t happen.¡± Klein glanced at some papers in front of him for a few moments before he said, ¡°No normal business can be expected to make any type of profit with the prices you charge, let alone pay out insurance claims properly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s funny you mention that, since I wasn¡¯t running this business for profit.¡± Klein frowned slightly as he asked, ¡°Why would you create a business if you aren¡¯t looking to make it profitable?¡± ¡°Because no one has the right to profit off of human lives. And that¡¯s exactly how the current insurance industry works.¡± Ezekiel glanced over his shoulder and jabbed a thumb towards the people seated in the guest area as he said, ¡°How many of them sell insurance to people, but when something happens and they are supposed to pay out¡­ They drag their feet and wait till the last moment to pay out a claim? Or better yet they just deny the claim out right or cancel the policy because they know a normal person can¡¯t sue them? Or doesn¡¯t have the time and money to sue them?¡± Ezekiel turned back to the committee and said, ¡°I created Revival Insurance with the people behind Revival after reaching an agreement with them and they feel the same way I do about the current insurance industry.¡± "Revival Insurance was made with the sole purpose of putting people like them and the companies they work for out of business. If that somehow turns Revival into a monopoly, then that just means we did our job correctly.¡± Ezekiel said with a feral grin as he pointed to the people behind him. Klein frowned slightly at that comment before he said, ¡°Like I said before, we won¡¯t allow that to happen. America doesn¡¯t allow companies to form a monopoly. We will take you to court if you don¡¯t change your pricing model and compete fairly with the other competitors in the industry.¡± Ezekiel chuckled before he said, ¡°If you want the majority of public opinion to be against you, go right ahead senator. I don¡¯t think it will help you get reelected though.¡± ¡°Do you think this is a joke? I already have documents drafted to take you to court pending the outcome of this hearing. If you don¡¯t comply, Revival will be forced to halt business until the court case is over.¡± Klein said with a hint of conceit in his voice. ¡°It is a joke. The fact you think the threat of going to court will make me back down is laughable at best.¡± Ezekiel was about to say something else when a man in anbu gear appeared next to him in a small flash of light with a red and white fox mask on. The man leaned down and whispered, ¡°Code green is a go.¡± ¡°Who is that? How did they get in here?¡± Klein asked as everyone stared at the man and Ezekiel¡¯s eyes widened slightly before he asked, ¡°He already did it?¡± ¡°He just talked with Ross and is driving to the lab to do it now. We have half an hour at best.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding as he said, ¡°Go get the others ready, I¡¯ll be there in five.¡± The man disappeared in another flash as Ezekiel stood up and said, ¡°As much as I wanna stay here all day and waste time, an important matter came up and I need to go.¡± Klein frowned as he said, ¡°We¡¯re not done here. If you leave we will take legal actions¡­ And who was that person? How did they get inside?¡± Daniel was already packing her things as Ezekiel glanced at Klein and said, ¡°That was part of my security detail and as you saw, he teleported in and out of the room. It¡¯s not hard to tell what happened.¡± Klein shared some looks with other members on the committee as Ezekiel typed a few things on his tablet before he stored it away. Ezekiel¡¯s eyes changed color and he swept his gaze over all the members of the committee before he did the same thing to everyone in the guest area. Everyone took on a slightly vacant expression as Ezekiel said, ¡°I want each person here to be completely honest about what is going on here and disclose any involvement they have with it one at a time starting with Senator Klein. After you confess to any crimes you''ve committed in your life, you can leave the room.¡± Daniel frowned as Klein started to talk about the bribes he received to call the committee hearing together before she said, ¡°You shouldn''t have done whatever this is¡­ You just made a lot of powerful enemies.¡± Ezekiel waved off her concern as he said, ¡°I already told you, these people aren''t strong enough to be my enemies. They¡¯re an annoyance at most.¡± ¡°Besides after today, I doubt any of them will be able to keep their jobs after this¡­ Good thing it¡¯s an election year for the senate.¡± Ezekiel said before he created a portal to his offices for him and Daniel. The live steam kept going after Ezekiel left as each person took turns and exposed themselves to the world. Klein, the first person to talk, left the room and once outside he headed to his office where his office phone was going crazy. His personal assistant was still at the committee meeting as she had yet to talk, so he answered the phone to find someone yelling at him to go back to the meeting room and stop whatever was happening there. Klein was still in a slight daze when he first picked up the phone, but as he listened to the person on the other end the color drained from his face. He dropped the phone in a panic as he rushed back to the meeting room only to be knocked out as he approached the room like everyone else who was trying to stop what was happening. 00200.Smart but stupid? Ezekiel arrived before Banner and started going over the safeties he put in place. Most of them were magical in nature and created with help for Tao or Agatha. They were mostly runic wards around the area that would contain the blast from the experiment if Banner went through with it that is. After Ezekiel finished he went over to one of the desks and pulled out his tablet to check over the fall out of the live stream while he waited for Banner to show up. Ezekiel wasn¡¯t disappointed in the slightest as most news organizations were covering the committee meeting live stream that was still going on. Sure some of them were trying to downplay the whole thing and some even tried to make him look like a bad guy. Something about him being a meta human with mind controlling powers and that whatever was being said currently couldn''t be trusted. Even with that, the overall reception was positive and normal people liked what Revival was doing. The only real bad news was someone in Klein''s camp immediately filed the lawsuit against Revival. As for the lawsuit and it affecting Revival and its insurance business? Ezekiel already had a contingency plan in place if they tried to stop the business from running. Well it was more like he would keep running the business and not worry about it. Sure they could stop by the offices and try to shut them down with court orders and other things. But Revival only had a single room office where a clone of his would hang out. Everything was done online with the help of software and clones that normally worked from his training facility or the secret base. Sure the clones would need to answer calls and handle in person inspections for business claims, but most things were done through an online portal that was easy to use. Could the government try to shut it down and block it? Sure they could try, but it wouldn¡¯t work just like the live stream people were trying to stop. As Ezekiel was working on his tablet Banner entered the secure laboratory and didn¡¯t notice Ezekiel who was off to one side of the lab, partly hidden from view. As Banner started to boot up a couple of machines and mumble to himself, Ezekiel put away his tablet and stepped into the main area of the lab as he said, ¡°Eh, what¡¯s up, doc?¡± Banner, who looked a lot more like the comic book version, instantly spun around to look at Ezekiel with widened eyes as he asked, ¡°You again?¡± Ezekiel nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yup, it''s me again. So planning to rush your experiment uh? I already warned you¡­ It won¡¯t end well if you do that.¡± Banner frowned slightly and turned around to continue working as he said, ¡°I have to do it, I have no other choice.¡± ¡°For a guy with so many PHDs, I thought you would be smarter.¡± Banner shot a small glare at Ezekiel as he kept preparing for the experiment and said, ¡°I¡¯ve run the simulations millions of times, the experiment will work. I¡¯ve just been putting off live testing because I wanted to get more data points just in case we missed something.¡± Ezekiel moved to one of the desks and sat on it as he said, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t called security yet. The last time you pushed that button by now.¡± ¡°I''ve already been threatened with the cancellation of the project if I don¡¯t show real results soon. If I alert security at this point, the project will be canceled today¡­ It doesn¡¯t help that the only evidence of your last visit was me.¡± Banner said in an annoyed tone. Ezekiel smirked slightly as he said, ¡°At least they upped the security a little, even though they found no evidence anyone was ever here besides you and Betty.¡± Banner glanced over at Ezekiel as he moved over to check the experiment table underneath a large device that hung from the ceiling and said, ¡°Yeah, thanks for that by the way¡­ They almost canceled the whole project after that incident.¡± Ezekiel chuckled a little before he said, ¡°That was honestly hilarious. The fact they thought you were hallucinating from over work just made it even better.¡± ¡°I was forced to take a two week vacation because of that.¡± Banner said in a frustrated tone. ¡°You say that like it''s a bad thing.¡± ¡°It put me behind on the project and I had to do simulations on my home computer the whole time, which took ten times longer than normal.¡± Banner said in an annoyed tone. ¡°You had two weeks of vacation from work and wasted it on more work¡­ How Betty even puts up with you, I''ll never understand.¡± Banner turned towards Ezekiel with a glare as he asked, ¡°What''s that supposed to mean?¡± ¡°You had two weeks to do anything and could have easily spent it with Betty¡­ Instead you did what? You wasted it on working.¡± Ezekiel said with a shrug. Banner frowned again and turned back to his work as he said, ¡°I am doing this so me and Betty can be together.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Wow, you really are afraid of Ross¡¯s threat to separate you from Betty.¡± Banner whipped back around as he asked, ¡°How do you know about that?¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°Why do you ask the dumbest questions when you¡¯re supposed to be so smart? Or is it the trait of geniuses to have no common sense?¡± Banner frowned as Ezekiel said, ¡°I told you last time I could see the future. I showed up today because I knew you would attempt your experiment and I wanted to warn you again not to do it.¡± Banner turned back around as he started putting some information into his main computer as he said, ¡°It''s too late for that.¡± ¡°Why? Because you think Betty would really follow her dad''s order to distance herself from you?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t she? She¡¯s extremely close with her father¡­ She would have no reason to refuse.¡± Banner said as he used a machine to start mixing some chemicals together. ¡°I swear, you are more dense than a black hole.¡± Ezekiel said as he shook his head. Banner glanced up from the machine after he finished inputting commands and asked, ¡°What are you talking about now?¡± ¡°You, not realizing Betty is completely in love with you and if forced to choose she would choose to stay with you instead of her father.¡± Ezekiel said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Banner stopped working for a few moments before he shook his head and started powering up another machine as he said, ¡°You¡¯re wrong, her father is the only family she has. She would never choose me over him.¡± ¡°I give up, you¡¯re a lost cause. Just do your experiment and see how well it goes for you.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled out his tablet and started to type on it. Banner glanced up with a frown as he said, ¡°If you know the future, you should just tell me how the experiment goes instead of telling me not to do it.¡± Ezekiel looked up from his tablet as he asked, ¡°Would knowing the results stop you in any way?¡± ¡°Does the experiment fail or kill me?¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°No but it will change your life forever.¡± Banner paused as he was entering data into a machine before he looked up at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°In a good or bad way?¡± ¡°Mostly good¡­¡± Ezekiel said as he thought over what he knew of the Hulk and Banner. Banner turned his attention back to the machine in front of himself as he said, ¡°Then I am not gonna worry about it.¡± Ezekiel worked on his tablet as Banner went about the lab and finished getting everything ready. Once the serum Banner created was ready, Ezekiel put his tablet away and said, ¡°Well, I would say good luck but you don''t really need it.¡± Banner glanced up from loading the serum into a syringe and asked, ¡°Oh, you''re still here?¡± Ezekiel shook his head with a slight smirk before he started to fade away as he said, ¡°Catch you on the flip side, doc.¡± Banner glanced around the room for a moment before he went back to getting ready. Ezekiel was outside the lab next to a handful of people in anbu gear as he asked, ¡°Is everything in place?¡± ¡°We''ve double checked the entire building and the surrounding area. No one is currently within the vicinity and everyone is on patrol to stop people from entering.¡± Minato with his fox mask on said. ¡°What about the secondary target?¡± ¡°Already under surveillance and can be picked up at any time.¡± Minato said as he glanced towards another person down the hallway and asked, ¡°Do we really need him if this place is going to blow up already?¡± Ezekiel glanced at the other person who was in the process of placing explosives and said, ¡°The seals I placed will contain the explosion and the gamma radiation. Once it''s cleaned out, we will need his powers to make the rest of the building explode properly.¡± Minato nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°I know¡­ I just feel like we could have used normal explosives instead of him.¡± ¡°His explosives are undetectable. Sure they might have some suspicions, but without trace evidence, they will have to drop it and rule it as an accident with Banner''s experiment. Besides, he isn''t that bad.¡± Ezekiel said before the man made a small clay sculpture and asked the clay sculpture, ¡°You¡¯re going to make a beautiful piece of art, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Okay¡­ Maybe he is a little eccentric.¡± Ezekiel said with a forced smile. The lights in the hallway started to dim which made Ezekiel glance towards Banner''s lab as he said, ¡°You guys get to a safe distance just in case the shield doesn''t contain the blast.¡± As Minato disappeared in a flash of light, Ezekiel¡¯s body broke apart into mirror fragments as he entered the mirror dimension. Ezekiel quickly moved back into Banner''s lab to find the man strapped down to a gurney as he injected a serum into his arm. Afterwards he pressed a button and the lights in the lab dimmed as the machine above Banner powered up. Banner was sweating like crazy and his veins were bulging as the machine started to move. There was a ring around it that started to slowly spin as the machine started to hum with power and a green light emanated from the tip. Banner looked to be in physical pain as the machine above him got louder and the focus ring spun faster. It took almost a minute before the machine finished its charging routine and fired a blast of green light at Banner. Banner let out a pained scream as the light fully covered his body for a few moments before the machine started to smoke. It was hard to see through the green light that lit up the room, but Ezekiel could see Banner''s body grow at random and even looked to turn green sometimes. About half a minute in, alarms started going off as the main gamma laser above Banner started to spark and overload. A few moments later the machine exploded in a massive blast of gamma radiation that filled the room along with smoke and fire. A massive roar in front of Ezekiel cleared the area of smoke for a moment to show Banner now transformed into the Hulk. Ezekiel looked up at the massive green monster in front of him at that moment and smiled. 00201. How to deal with the Hulk. Ezekiel quickly scanned the room and to his relief the seals held in place. Even though the walls around the room were still in place and standing. Everything that was in the room originally was destroyed and turned into shrapnel that now lined the edge of the room. Both Ezekiel in the mirror dimension and the Hulk in the real world glanced around the smoke covered room for a few moments before the Hulk moved to one of the walls and touched it. A magical shield simmered around the Hulk''s hand as he pushed on it. A moment later the Hulk punched the barrier with his other hand which made the entire thing light up. Ezekiel wasn¡¯t sure if the Hulk could break the magical barrier or not, but decided not to test it. Ezekiel quickly weaved a spell together to form a shield around himself and exited the mirror dimension as the Hulk pulled his arm back to punch the barrier again before Ezekiel said, ¡°Hey big guy.¡± The Hulk looked over his shoulder to see Ezekiel who smiled and said, ¡°Please be careful and try not break that barrier. It''s keeping all of this radiation contained so people don''t get hurt.¡± Hulk looked back at the shimmering barrier his other hand was touching before he stopped touching it for a moment. When the barrier disappeared, Hulk tapped on it with one finger to see a small ripple spread out in a circle from where his finger was. Hulk glanced back at Ezekiel before he asked, ¡°Who, you? Why Hulk here little man?¡± Ezekiel weaved a spell together to collect everything in the shielded room as he said, ¡°I''m Ezekiel. As for why you''re here¡­ I''m not sure of that either. But if you give me a minute or two, I''ll help you get out of here.¡± ¡°Hulk wait.¡± The Hulk said as he glanced around the room a little bit before he turned back to the barrier and started to tap on it and watch the ripples flash across the barrier. The radiation, fire, smoke and everything else was quickly gathered into a ball before Ezekiel made a portal next to the sun and threw the ball through it. The bright light attracted the Hulk''s attention who turned to look at the portal until it closed. Ezekiel quickly cast another spell which caused the barrier to flicker before it disappeared as he said, ¡°Alright, let me collect something and we can get out of here.¡± Ezekiel flickered around the room to grab the runic spell wards he placed before he created an extra large portal and said, ¡°Follow me and I¡¯ll take you to go eat some food.¡± Ezekiel stepped through the portal and waited for the Hulk who glanced at the portal for a few moments and even touched the glowing edge before he stepped through it onto soft sand. Ezekiel and Hulk stood on a beach as the portal closed behind them and Ezekiel asked, ¡°What do you think? Pretty nice place uh?¡± Hulk looked around at the beautiful beach in front of him as the waves slowly lapped the sand before he said, ¡°Hulk like.¡± Ezekiel nodded before he pointed behind them and said, ¡°Let go over there and we can eat some food.¡± The Hulk glanced behind himself to find a simple if a lot larger than normal house with a ten foot tall door that was ten feet wide. Ezekiel led Hulk to the house and opened the door to a living area with oversized furniture. The house itself was an open concept and the dining room, kitchen and living room were all one giant shared space. While the furniture was oversized, it wasn¡¯t comically big and a normal adult could use it too but they would look a little small in it. Ezekiel led Hulk to the dining room where he started to pull out boxes of pizza and placed them on the table. Afterwards he pulled out a bunch of different two liters of soda and said, ¡°Dig in. I wasn¡¯t sure what you would like, so I brought a nice selection for you to try.¡± Ezekiel opened one of the boxes himself and pulled out a large slice of pizza and took a bite as the Hulk watched him. After a moment the Hulk reached into the same box and pulled out one of the large slices and took a bite himself which ended up being half the slice. The hulk ended up finishing the first slice on his second bite and quickly reached for another one. As he ate the second slice, Ezekiel opened up one of the bottles and set it next to the Hulk as he said, ¡°Try that, it¡¯s pretty good.¡± Ezekiel reached for another smaller bottle and took a drink from it before he continued eating his first slice. The Hulk picked up the two liter bottle and copied Ezekiel as he took a large drink from it. After he swallowed he looked at the bottle as he said, ¡°Hulk like fizzy drink.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called root beer.¡± Hulk took another drink which caused him to drain a quarter of the bottle before he said, ¡°Hulk like root beer.¡± Hulk put the bottle down and reached for another slice of pizza before he froze and grabbed his stomach. He made a weird look as he glanced down at his stomach and said, ¡°Fizzy drink make Hulk tummy weird.¡± Ezekiel who just took another drink of his own root beer put it down and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably the carbonation. You just need to burp.¡± ¡°What car-bow.¡± Hulk started to say before a massive burp erupted from his mouth and shook the windows. Ezekiel followed along with his own burp a moment later before he asked, ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Hulk laughed before he said, ¡°Hulk fine.¡± and grabbed another piece of pizza. Ezekiel ate with the Hulk for about half an hour before all the pizza and soda was gone. Once they were done, Ezekiel cleaned everything up and asked, ¡°Hulk, you wanna watch something fun?¡± Hulk was rubbing his slightly full belly when he asked, ¡°Watch?¡± Stolen story; please report. Ezekiel stood up from his seat and headed over to the large couch in the living room which the Hulk followed him too. Ezekiel sat down on the couch and the Hulk followed suit before they were both looking at a large TV on the wall that was currently turned off. Ezekiel glanced up at the Hulk as he said, ¡°This is a TV and you can watch stuff on it. To use it, you first have to say, "power on.¡± The TV powered on to a menu selection that was very similar to the one Ezekiel created for Hela, except this one was currently curated with cartoons, some anime, kid shows and learning programs for kids. Ezekiel pointed towards the TV as he asked, ¡°It has a bunch of stuff on it that you can watch. Do you know how to read?¡± Hulk looked at the TV screen and the list that was on it with squinted eyes before he said, ¡°Hulk no understand letters.¡± ¡°Please switch to visual mode.¡± Ezekiel said which caused the screen to remove the words and switch to pictures and numbers. ¡°Do you understand numbers?¡± Hulk shook his head so Ezekiel said, ¡°Alright, let''s put on something so you can learn numbers. ¡°Please play learning content focused on numbers.¡± The TV changed to a Playlist and auto started the first episode as music started to play before kids started to sing, ¡°Sunny day.¡± ¡°Sweeping the clouds away.¡± Hulk started to sway along with the music as it continued, ¡°On my way to where the air is sweet.¡± Ezekiel ended up watching a couple episodes with Hulk before he stood up from the couch and said, ¡°I have some stuff I need to do, but I''ll be back in a few hours with something else to eat.¡± Hulk glanced at Ezekiel as he pointed at the TV and said, ¡°Hulk want cookie.¡± On the TV was a blue monster eating cookies which made Ezekiel smile before he said, ¡°Alright, I''ll bring you some cookies when I come back.¡± Ezekiel created a portal and stepped back out into Banner''s lab where he found a couple people waiting for him. Minato no longer had his mask on and was sitting on a couch that he grabbed from somewhere. Also on the couch was another blonde haired man and they were both currently using their cell phones. Minato glanced up first and said, ¡°That took a while. I almost thought something went wrong.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No, it actually went better than I expected.¡± The other blonde haired man put his phone away and stood up as he asked, ¡°Is it finally time for me to show off my art?¡± ¡°Soon. I wanna make sure the place is cleared out and no one will be in the blast zone¡­ Also you made sure to only plant explosives in and around Banner''s lab, correct?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°Of course I did. What do you take me for, an amateur?¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°No, but I also know you can get a little carried away when it comes to your art.¡± The man was about to reply when Minato said, ¡°I double checked Deidara''s work, everything should be fine¡­ Even though it seems like he added more explosive clay than needed.¡± Ezekiel glanced back at Deidara as he asked, ¡°How much clay did you use?¡± ¡°Six pounds.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he thought over what he knew about Deidara''s ability before he asked, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t two pounds work for what we need to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure if this clay will work as well as the chakra infused clay that I used to use.¡± Deidara said with a shrug. ¡°I thought you tested it?¡± Ezekiel asked. ¡°I did, with small scale tests that underperformed.¡± Ezekiel thought it over for a few moments before he said, ¡°Whatever, as long as the explosion doesn''t exceed the expected blast radius.¡± ¡°It shouldn''t¡­¡± Deidara said with a hint of uncertainty. Ezekiel glanced towards Minato before he said, ¡°Have the team clear another half mile¡­ Just in case.¡± As Minato disappeared in a flash, Ezekiel opened a large portal to a warehouse full of stuff. He walked through the portal before he looked back at Deidara and said, ¡°Come help me move this stuff.¡± Deidara quickly followed Ezekiel through the portal and looked at everything inside the building before he said, ¡°Do we really need to put all this stuff in the room? It''s just gonna be blown up once we''re done.¡± Ezekiel created a couple extra shadow clones to help with the task before he said, ¡°This is just to make sure we dot our i¡¯ and cross our t''s.¡± Deidara glanced at all the heavy objects in the room before he pulled out some clay and created a small centipede with it. He tossed it on the ground before he made a hand seal and the centipede exploded into a cloud of smoke. A moment later a ten foot long, one foot wide centipede appeared and Deidara had it help him move a large desk through the portal. It took them about an hour to get everything into the room and into place before Ezekiel was satisfied. Afterwards he checked in with Minato and the others who were in the process of dealing with the surrounding area. While it would normally be a busy area filled with people, it was currently spring break. So the total number of people currently still on campus amounted to a few dozen. For everyone that didn''t need to be there, they were placed under a suggestive genjutsu that made them leave the campus and go do something else. As for the people like security guards and other personnel, they were also under genjutsu and kept away from the campus for now. The other positive thing about the campus was it was placed a few miles just outside of the city. Since that was the case, it made clearing the area that much easier. Once Ezekiel confirmed the area was cleared with his team, he moved out of the building to a spot a little ways away with a clear view of the campus. With everyone there including the personnel for the school, he pulled all of them into the mirror dimension. Once there he looked towards Deidara and said, ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Deidara smiled as he looked towards the campus and said, ¡°Remember to watch this closely because art¡­ Art is an explosion!¡± The campus in the distance erupted into a massive explosion that destroyed over half the building and sent a massive shock wave out from it for over a mile. Ezekiel turned to Deidara with a glare as he asked, ¡°What the hell was that? That was five times bigger than it needed to be!¡± ¡°But you said it was supposed to be an explosion caused by radiation and nuclear explosions are massive.¡± Deidara said as he tried to defend himself. Ezekiel shook his head as he pulled everyone out of the mirror dimension before he said, ¡°You know what to do¡­ And don''t forget to edit the genjutsu so they remember the explosion.¡± As his team took off to place everyone in parts of the building not affected by the blast and easy for them to get out of. Ezekiel moved to check out the damage himself before he met back up with his team and portaled everyone out of there. Once that was done, Ezekiel went to go visit Hela for a few hours before he collected some more food and cookies. 00202. Trying to talk with Banner. Ezekiel ended up hanging out with the Hulk for almost ten hours mostly watching kids educational programs until the Hulk started yawning. At that point Ezekiel paused the TV and asked, ¡°Hey buddy, you seem a little tired. Do you wanna take a nap?¡± ¡°Hulk no tired¡­¡± The Hulk said before he let out a loud yawn. Ezekiel stood up with a smile before he said, ¡°Come on buddy, you''re about to fall asleep on the couch.¡± ¡°Hulk no tired!¡± The Hulk said this time in a raised voice. Ezekiel nodded his head slightly before he said, ¡°Alright, you''re not tired. But how about we take a quick walk to stretch our legs and I can show you the rest of the house at the same time.¡± Hulk glanced at Ezekiel for a few moments before he stood up from the couch as he said, ¡°Fine, Hulk look at house.¡± Ezekiel led Hulk around the house to show him the couple bathrooms and two spare bedrooms before he showed him the master bedroom and bathroom. Everything in the room was oversized including a massive bed that dominated the room. Ezekiel patted the bed as he said, ¡°Try it out, it''s super comfortable.¡± Hulk narrowed his eyes as he said, ¡°Hulk no sleepy.¡± ¡°I just wanted you to try it out, but if you don''t want to¡­¡± Ezekiel jumped onto the bed and spread out before he said, ¡°Oh yeah, that''s nice.¡± Hulk stared down at Ezekiel for a few moments before Ezekiel waved a hand and said, ¡°You can go back and watch TV, I am gonna enjoy this bed for a little bit.¡± Hulk glanced between Ezekiel and the bed a few times before he cautiously reached out and touched the bed. He put some pressure on the bed with his hand a few times before he said, ¡°Bed soft.¡± ¡°Yup. It''s nice to lay on.¡± Ezekiel said as he put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. A few moments later Hulk got on the bed and laid down too. Time passed and after a while Ezekiel heard the Hulk''s breathing steady out and he waited for a little while longer before he sat up on the bed. Ezekiel glanced over at Hulk, who was laid out on the bed fast asleep. Ezekiel smirked to himself as he got up before he went over to the closest and grabbed another extra blanket, which he used to cover the Hulk. Afterwards he left the room and created a clone to watch over the Hulk before he created a portal to his training room. As he stepped out of the portal he was greeted by the sight of Fury, Tao and Agatha. Fury had his tablet out, while Tao was playing on her phone and Agatha was reading a book. Fury was the first one to look up as he asked, ¡°Since I didn''t see any reports about a big green monster coming across my desk today, I assume everything went fine?¡± Ezekiel canceled his henge and started to stretch his body as he said, ¡°More than fine. Hulk is currently sleeping and if everything goes correctly, Banner will be the one to wake up tomorrow¡­ At least that''s how I think it should work.¡± ¡°Are you planning to recruit him or keep him separate from our group for safety concerns?¡± Theo shook his head as he said, ¡°Hulk will be fine. Sure his power increases with his anger, but that''s simple. Don''t make him angry and just think of him as a little kid for now.¡± ¡°I fail to see how you could consider the Hulk a child.¡± ¡°While Banner and Hulk are technically the same person. You have to realize that Hulk was just ¡®born¡¯ and is basically a child at this point.¡± Theo said as glanced at Fury. Fury thought it over for a little while before he asked, ¡°Is that why the normal incident didn''t happen today?¡± ¡°Pretty much. I took him to the island, fed him and then watched a bunch of kid shows with him before I put him to bed when he got sleepy.¡± ¡°That sounds about right for a little kid.¡± Agatha said as Tao nodded slightly in agreement. Fury raised an eyebrow as he asked, ¡°It was really that easy?¡± Theo smirked as he said, ¡°Yup. The big guy is really docile if you don''t try to attack him. Still has a bit of a temper like a little kid though, but it''s easy to deal with.¡± Fury started to type on his tablet as he asked, ¡°So you expect Banner to join us then?¡± ¡°Depends on him and Betty. If they don''t want to join I''ll get them set up someplace else to hide them from Ross if they want.¡± Fury looked up as he asked, ¡°Are you planning to fake her death too?¡± ¡°Maybe. Depends on what she wants to do after meeting Banner, but there is a good chance she will agree. Ross would never let her go otherwise.¡± Fury turned back to his tablet as he said, ¡°That sounds about right for the man.¡± ¡°Not going to criticize me for the senate meeting today?¡± Fury glanced up from his tablet as he asked, ¡°Would it stop you from doing something similar in the future?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Fury turned back to his tablet as he said, ¡°Exactly, so there''s no reason to waste each other''s time on a pointless conversation.¡± Tao''s phone played some victory music before she finally looked up and said, ¡°We still need to set up that spell to contain Banner''s DNA from being collected.¡± ¡°We can do that tomorrow after I talk with Banner about what happened.¡± Tao nodded before she stood up and asked, ¡°Ready for practice?¡± Theo reluctantly nodded as he said, ¡°Yes master.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The rest of Theo''s night was spent training or more like being beaten up by Tao until he went to bed. Early the next morning after breakfast with his family, Theo created a clone which he sent off to school before he henged into Ezekiel. His first stop was a bodega where he ordered over thirty breakfast sandwiches of different types and sealed them all away along with a bunch of drinks, sides, condiments and some snacks. Afterwards he portaled over to the hidden island and found his clone sleeping in one of the guests bedroom. After having his clone head off to the base to go do something else, Ezekiel went to check on the Hulk and found Banner in the bed still asleep. Ezekiel pulled out some clothes he had prepared beforehand from the closest and placed them on a chair. Instead of waking Banner up, Ezekiel headed out to the living room and pulled out his tablet to work on it while he waited for Banner to wake up. The fallout from the senate meeting yesterday was still all over the news as people debated if what everyone said was truthful or if they were forced to say lies. Ezekiel smirked to himself as he started to release all the information he had on the people from the meeting online. Most of it was bribes and the money transfers to link it to people and companies. He also posted videos of some of the meetings between the senators and company executives talking about taking action against Revival. As that information came to light it was quickly forgotten about by other information he posted online. It was mostly the senators caught in the act of cheating with random women, secretaries, assistants, and even a couple maids. To say that overshadowed the rampant corruption he exposed would be an understatement. The photos and videos he posted were the most talked about thing on the internet within half an hour. Ezekiel wasn¡¯t an asshole though and made sure the women''s identities weren''t exposed and also blurred out all of the sexual content. But it was easy to tell what was happening in everything he posted. As for backlash, the senators that had yet to resign were calling for him to be arrested. Some of them were even trying to do legal actions against Vibe and Revival. Ezekiel just shook his head as he watched everything unfold online. About two hours later Banner walked out of the bedroom and cautiously looked around before he spotted Ezekiel. Banner''s eyes narrowed as he stomped towards Ezekiel and asked in a raised tone of voice, ¡°What did you do to me?!?¡± Ezekiel glanced up from his tablet as he said, ¡°Morning, doc. Glad to see you finally woke up.¡± Banner grabbed Ezekiel by the shoulder and his eyes flashed green as he asked again in a more aggressive tone, ¡°What the hell did you do to me?¡± ¡°I didn''t do anything to you, I even warned you not to do your little experiment.¡± ¡°You knew that would happen didn''t you?!?¡± Banner said as his eyes flashed green again. Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I had some ideas of what might have happened, but nothing concrete¡­ Also you should really settle down.¡± ¡°Settle down? You want me to settle down?!?¡± Banner said as his voice raised. ¡°Yes, calm down and if you would be so kind to not raise your voice because I am sitting right here, that would be great.¡± Banner''s eyes flickered back and forth from normal to green as his body started to expand and he yelled out, ¡°You want me to calm down!?!¡± Banner stepped back as his body started to expand and enlarge before he left out a massive roar that shook the whole house. After a moment the Hulk was in Banner¡¯s place and he glared down at Ezekiel for a moment before he tilted his head slightly as he looked around confused. Ezekiel smiled up at him and asked, ¡°How did you sleep Hulk?¡± ¡°Hulk sleep good¡­¡± The Hulk said before he narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°You trick Hulk. Hulk say no sleepy, but you make Hulk sleep!¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t. You laid down and fell asleep yourself¡­ Besides if you weren''t tired, you wouldn''t have fallen asleep in the first place, right?¡± Hulk frowned slightly before he nodded his head slowly which made Ezekiel smile again as he asked, ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Hulk nodded before he pointed at the TV and said, ¡°Hulk wanna watch and eat.¡± ¡°Alright, we can do that.¡± Ezekiel stored his tablet away and moved over to the couch before he started to pull out food and put it on the coffee table. As he finished putting everything on the table, someone knocked on the door. Hulk glanced back at the door before he turned to look at Ezekiel who also looked towards the door as he asked, ¡°Do you wanna answer it or should I?¡± ¡°Hulk get.¡± The Hulk said happily before he got up. Hulk walked over to the door and opened it before he looked at who was there and asked, ¡°Welcome Hulk house, who you?¡± ¡°I''m The Ancient One. It''s nice to meet you Hulk, may I come in?¡± Hulk stepped out of the way and waved her inside as he said, ¡°Okay.¡± Ezekiel glanced over his shoulder at Tao as he said, ¡°Greetings master. You''re just in time, we were about to eat breakfast.¡± ¡°I guess I picked the perfect time to stop by then.¡± Tao said as she moved over to the couch and sat down. After everyone was seated Ezekiel handed Hulk one of the wrapped sandwiches and said, ¡°This is a bacon, egg and cheese.¡± Hulk took the foil wrapped sandwich in one hand and looked at it before he said, ¡°Small.¡± Ezekiel passed another sandwich to Tao and grabbed one for himself before he said, ¡°Yup. I couldn''t ask them to make extra large versions like I did with the pizza.¡± Ezekiel and Tao unwrapped their sandwiches which made Hulk do the same before they started to eat. While Tao and Ezekiel both took a bite, Hulk bit the sandwich in half. After the first bite Tao reached for a bottle of hot sauce, while Ezekiel reached for a bottle of ketchup. Hulk watched them add their preferred condiment to their sandwich before he glanced at his own and asked, ¡°What that red stuff?¡± ¡°Ketchup. It adds a little bit more flavor to the food.¡± Ezekiel said before he pointed at the bottle Tao used and said, ¡°That''s hot sauce. It adds flavor too but also makes it hotter and a little spicy.¡± Hulk held out his half of a sandwich as he said, ¡°Hulk try.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Hulk try both.¡± Ezekiel grabbed a couple sandwiches as he said, ¡°How about you finish that sandwich while I prepare you a couple sandwiches with each of them on it?¡± Hulk nodded before he stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. Ezekiel quickly unwrapped a couple sandwiches and started to prepare them when the Hulk said, ¡°More.¡± Ezekiel glanced up at Hulk who pointed at the sandwiches and said, ¡°More red.¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°No, you don¡¯t even know if you''ll like it and it would ruin the sandwich. The point of condiments is to enhance or complement the food, not overpower it.¡± ¡°Hulk want more.¡± The Hulk said with a pout. Ezekiel finished both sandwiches before he said, ¡°Just try these for now and if you like it, we can add more to the next ones.¡± Hulk glanced at the sandwiches before he grabbed the one with ketchup and took a large bite, while Ezekiel went back to his sandwich. Hulk quickly finished the first sandwich and said, ¡°Hulk like red sauce.¡± As Hulk grabbed the next sandwich Ezekiel said, ¡°Remember, that one is gonna be hot. Maybe take a smaller bite first.¡± Hulk didn''t even pay attention to Ezekiel¡¯s warning and bit the sandwich in half. As he chewed on it his face went through a range of emotions before he quickly swallowed and said, ¡°Too hot! Hulk no like red sauce!¡± Ezekiel handed Hulk a two liter of soda as he said, ¡°That''s why I said to try a smaller bite.¡± Hulk drank half the bottle as he looked at the hot sauce covered sandwich in his hand for a moment before he ate the other half. Ezekiel shared a glance with Tao who just smiled slightly as she took another bite of her sandwich. The next half an hour they ate while watching the TV before Tao showed Hulk some magic and placed a spell on him. It was to basically make any trace of his DNA disappear after an hour of leaving his body. Afterwards they both left to go do other stuff while Ezekiel left a clone to hang out with Hulk and promised to bring him more food for lunch. 00203. Meeting Betty. It took almost two weeks before Ezekiel could have a conversation with Banner, since every time he saw Ezekiel he hulked out. Was it Ezekiel¡¯s fault? Partly, but that was only because he would goad the man into anger after the first week. Near the end of the second week Banner could finally control himself even with Ezekiel trying to anger the man as he happily said, ¡°It''s definitely some kind of genetic flaw that makes all you geniuses, idiots when it comes to common sense.¡± Banner glared hatefully at Ezekiel who smiled back and said, ¡°I don''t see why you''re so upset. I just helped you gain a little bit of control over your new power.¡± ¡°Power? This is a curse, I never wanted something like this!¡± Banner said as his eyes flashed green for a second. Ezekiel gave Banner a flat look as he said, ¡°Says the guy who injected himself with an untested super soldier serum before blasting himself with radiation.¡± Banner''s eyes flashed green again for a moment as he said, ¡°This is all your fault.¡± ¡°My fault? I warned you and you didn''t listen, so don''t try and blame this on me.¡± Ezekiel said with narrowed eyes. ¡°You didn''t tell me I would turn into whatever this is!?!¡± Banner said with a raised tone as his eyes flickered green a few times before he took a deep calming breath. ¡°You didn''t ask¡­ Besides, would you have even believed me if I told you what would happen?¡± Banner took a couple more deep breaths before he said, ¡°No, I wouldn''t have.¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Exactly. So stop blaming me for problems you created.¡± Banner frowned as he looked at the floor before he said, ¡°I need to contact Betty, she¡¯s probably worried about me.¡± ¡°That''s an understatement.¡± Banner''s head whipped up to look at Ezekiel as he asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been almost two weeks since the explosion, Betty and the rest of the world think you''re dead.¡± Ezekiel said as he pulled up his tablet and started to type on it. ¡°Two weeks?¡± Banner asked before he froze and whispered in confusion, ¡°Dead¡­¡± Banner¡¯s eyes widened before he grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s shoulder as he said with an urgent tone of voice, ¡°I need to talk to Betty now! She needs to know I am alive!¡± ¡°Settle down doc, I am working on it. You just keep yourself calm, so Hulk doesn''t come back out and we waste another day.¡± Ezekiel said as he typed on his tablet some more. Banner nodded but he was still agitated as he settled back on the couch and took calming breaths. After a few minutes Ezekiel created a portal in the middle of the living room and out of it stepped someone in anbu gear carrying Betty in their arms. Banner''s eyes went wide and flickered green as he stood up and asked in a raised tone, ¡°What did you do to her?¡± ¡°Settle down doc, she just passed out from crying too much. She¡¯s be devastated thinking you were dead.¡± Ezekiel said while the person holding Betty gently placed her down on the couch and disappeared. Ezekiel stood up himself and said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you both alone for now, but keep calm or the Hulk will come out. He won¡¯t hurt Betty, but it will be more time wasted and I have other things I need to do.¡± Banner nodded as he moved next to Betty and gently woke her up. Ezekiel watched for only a moment before he created another portal and disappeared to go meet with Tao and Agatha. They were at the magic school on Genosha in the hidden underground lab drinking tea when Ezekiel arrived. Tao placed her cup down first as she asked, ¡°Banner finally kept his anger in check?¡± ¡°Yeah, we should be good to do the next part in a few days.¡± Ezekiel said as he took a seat next to them. ¡°You really think he will accept the offer?¡± Agatha asked as she placed her phone down to focus on Ezekiel. ¡°I don¡¯t see why he wouldn''t, he literally called it a curse a little while ago and the Hulk hasn¡¯t even done anything bad¡­ The only question is will it work?¡± Ezekiel asked as he turned to Tao. ¡°With the use of the soul stone it shouldn¡¯t be an issue. While Banner and Hulk share the same body, after studying them both I¡¯ve determined your plan to split them apart will work. We just need to make some special arrays and set up the soul stone so we can split Banner¡¯s soul in half.¡± ¡°Sounds good¡­¡± Ezekiel said before his tablet started to beep. Ezekiel picked it up before he let out a sigh and said, ¡°I gotta go.¡± ¡°What happened? Do you need help?¡± Tao asked as Agatha also glanced at him with concern. Ezekiel shook his head as he stood up and said, ¡°No, Banner just Hulked out again. It should be fine¡­ I think¡± Ezekiel quickly rushed to the island transportation hub before he portaled back to the island. As he stepped out of the portal a woman said, ¡°It¡¯s okay Bruce, whatever happened, we can get through it together.¡± ¡°Me no Bruce! Me Hulk!¡± The Hulk said in an angry tone as he glared down at Betty. Before Betty could speak Ezekiel said, ¡°Calm down Hulk.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Both Betty and Hulk turned to look at Ezekiel before Hulk pointed at Betty and said, ¡°She call Hulk, Bruce! Hulk not puny Banner! Hulk is Hulk!¡± ¡°I know that, but she doesn¡¯t. Now tell her you¡¯re sorry for raising your voice and she will apologize for calling you Bruce.¡± Ezekiel said as he placed his hands on his waist and stared up directly at the Hulk¡¯s eyes. Betty looked like she wanted to say something but when she looked at Ezekiel who caught her eyes he shook his head. After a few moments of awkward silence the Hulk finally said, ¡°Hulk sorry. Hulk no mean yell.¡± Betty glanced between Ezekiel and Hulk before she reluctantly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for calling you Bruce¡­¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°Good job Hulk, I think you deserve a reward.¡± The Hulk¡¯s eye lit up as Ezekiel pulled out a three gallon tub of ice cream and handed it to the Hulk before he said, ¡°Make sure you use a spoon this time.¡± Hulk nodded and went over to the kitchen where he pulled out an extra large spoon while Ezekiel motioned for Betty to follow him outside. As they walked out of the house the TV turned out and started playing something that made the Hulk laugh. Once outside Ezekiel turned to Betty and said, ¡°Sorry about that Miss. Ross. The Hulk and Burce are like oil and water right now. And I don''t see that changing anytime soon, even though they share the same body.¡± Betty nodded slowly before she asked in concern, ¡°What happened to Bruce?¡± ¡°Your dad wanted results and threatened to remove funding and separate you two if Banner didn''t show any. So he attempted the experiment on himself and well¡­ You just saw the results.¡± Betty frowned and thought over Ezekiel¡¯s words for a few moments before she said, ¡°My father wouldn''t do that¡­ He knows how much I care for Bruce.¡± Ezekiel pulled out his tablet and quickly found what he was looking for before he handed it to Betty as he said, ¡°Watch this.¡± Betty took the tablet and pushed play on the video to see Bruce in her father''s office. General Ross basically browbeat Banner the entire time and the longer the video played the worse Betty looked. She shifted from anger, shame, regret and back to anger as Ross told Banner he had a week to show results or he would never see Betty again. Once the video finally finished Betty stiffly handed the tablet back to Ezekiel with a devastated look on her face. Ezekiel quietly left Betty so she could process her feelings and walked back inside before he took a seat next to Hulk who was watching classic cartoons. As Hulk ate ice cream and laughed, he would sometimes nudge Ezekiel with his elbow as he pointed at the screen with his spoon. He was mostly pointing out things he found funny, that he thought Ezekiel missed because he was working on his tablet. Ezekiel didn''t pay attention to the time but sometime after Hulk finished his ice cream, Betty came back inside. She ended up sitting on one of the large lazyboy like chairs before she turned to Ezekiel and asked, ¡°Who are you exactly and where are we anyway?¡± ¡°I''m Ezekiel and you are currently on an unnamed island, hidden from the rest of the world by magic.¡± Ezekiel said as he looked up from his tablet. Betty frowned as she asked with a hint of skepticism, ¡°Magic?¡± Hulk switched his focus from the TV as he nodded and said, ¡°Ezekiel do magic with red hair lady.¡± ¡°Red haired lady?¡± Betty asked in confusion. Ezekiel waved it off as he said, ¡°My master, who taught me the mystic arts. She came by to meet Hulk.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Betty said but didn''t sound very convinced. Ezekiel went back to his tablet as Hulk focused back on the TV as the group fell into silence as Betty wasn''t sure what to do. After another cartoon finished Betty asked, ¡°When will I be able to talk with Bruce again?¡± Hulk growled slightly at the comment but Betty was focused on Ezekiel when she asked the question so he snorted as he turned back to the TV. Ezekiel glanced up at Hulk with a helpless shrug as he said, ¡°Probably tomorrow unless Hulk wants to be nice and help Banner out, by giving him back control.¡± ¡°Puny Banner stupid. Hulk no help.¡± Hulk said with a huff. ¡°Looks like you have to wait until tomorrow. Do you wanna stay here or head back home?¡± ¡°I''d like to stay here if that''s okay.¡± Betty said cautiously as she looked between Hulk and Ezekiel. Ezekiel didn''t care either way, but it was Hulk''s temporary home so when he didn''t respond Ezekiel elbowed him in the side. Hulk turned to look at Ezekiel who pointed at Betty and said, ¡°She asked if she could stay here, you''re supposed to answer.¡± Hulk glanced at Betty for a moment before he turned back to the TV and said, ¡°You stay, but no talk about puny Banner.¡± Betty nodded hesitantly as she said, ¡°Okay.¡± A few minutes later Ezekiel finished on his tablet before he stood up and asked Betty, ¡°You wanna take a walk for a bit?¡± Betty glanced at the TV and Hulk for a moment before she stood up and said, ¡°Sure.¡± After they got outside and walked down towards the beach Ezekiel asked, ¡°What happened early anyways? I''ve been helping Banner get his anger under control so he could talk with you, but he Hulked out again.¡± Betty let out a sigh before she said, ¡°We were talking about my dad and him rushing the experiment alone.¡± Ezekiel nodded in understanding before he said, ¡°Oh, okay. That makes a lot of sense.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe what happened¡­ I hope we can figure out a cure.¡± Betty said as she glanced out over the sandy beach and water that went to the horizon. ¡°Unfortunately there''s no cure.¡± Betty turned to look at Ezekiel as asked, ¡°No cure? How do you even know that, when we haven''t even tried?¡± ¡°The same way I knew Bruce was going to perform the experiment alone. I can see the future.¡± Ezekiel said as he watched the water lap against the beach for a few moments. Betty narrowed her eyes as she asked, ¡°You knew Bruce was going to try the experiment?¡± ¡°Yup. I even warned him not to do it, but he was too stubborn to listen.¡± Ezekiel said as he slightly shook his head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just stop him? Almost the entire school blew up and people could have died¡­¡± Ezekiel smirked as he asked, ¡°And yet not a single person did, I wonder why that is?¡± After a few moments Betty''s eyes widened slightly as she asked, ¡°You saved everyone?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°I knew no matter what I did, Banner would do the experiment one way or another. So I did what I could to help control it and keep people safe.¡± Betty frowned slightly again before she asked, ¡°Say I believe you about being able to see the future and it''s absolutely correct¡­ Is there really no way to help cure Bruce?¡± ¡°I potentially have a way, but it would depend on if Banner wants to do it. Otherwise it will take him years to come to terms with Hulk and accept that they are basically the same person.¡± ¡°What solution did you come up with?¡± Betty asked with interest. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like explaining it twice, so I¡¯ll tell you and Banner at the same time tomorrow.¡± 00204. Separation can be painful. The next day when Bruce woke up he was greeted with the smell of breakfast being cooked. When he walked out into the living room he saw Betty over in the kitchen cooking which made him smile. As he approached she turned around with a skillet in her hand, she smiled when she saw him and said, ¡°I was just about to wake you up.¡± Bruce started to smile back before he frowned and said, ¡°Sorry about yesterday¡­ I thought I had the transformations somewhat under control.¡± Betty shook her head as she finished plating the food and said, ¡°No, it was partly my fault¡­ I didn¡¯t want to believe you.¡± Bruce and Betty spent the next half an hour talking as they slowly ate breakfast. Once they were done they moved to the living room and just talked on the couch for a couple of hours until someone knocked on the front door. Betty and Bruce glanced at it before it creaked open a little bit and Ezekiel said, ¡°Are you guys naked or can we come in?¡± Ezekiel let out a grunt of pain a moment later before he asked, ¡°What the hell was that for?¡± ¡°You know exactly what that was for.¡± A woman said before Ezekiel replied, ¡°OH! I forgot you were a pervert like toad sage and probably wanted me to just open the door.¡± ¡°Ouch! Hey, not the face!¡± Ezekiel said before he cried out in pain again. Bruce and Betty shared a glance before they got up and went to the front door to open it fully. Outside the door they found Ezekiel bound to a tree by glowing red bands of energy as a red haired woman poked him in the chest and said, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare compare me to that pervert.¡± Ezekiel with a red handprint on his face glanced over towards the door and smiled at Bruce and Betty as he said, ¡°Hey guys, looks like you were dressed.¡± ¡°Umm, what exactly is going on here?¡± Betty asked as she glanced between the red haired woman and Ezekiel. Ezekiel tried to shrug as he said, ¡°My master has a temper worse than your boyfriend, I personally blame it on her red hair and teenage hormones¡­ She also has a BDSM fetish, which is why I am forced to call her master and currently tied up like this.¡± Betty¡¯s eyes widened slightly as Tao turned an icy glare towards Ezekiel and said, ¡°Just for that comment, you''re getting extra training for three months.¡± ¡°Three months?!¡± Ezekiel said as the color drained from his face. Tao nodded as she added, ¡°Full contact sparring for the duration too.¡± Ezekiel looked like he lost the will to live as Tao turned around and said, ¡°Miss. Ross, Dr. Banner, I¡¯m The Ancient One. Sorry for the late introduction, but my apprentice likes to run his mouth.¡± Both of them glanced at Ezekiel who was still tied to the tree with a hollow look in his eyes before they turned back to Tao. Tao smiled at them both as she said, ¡°Can we come inside? We came here to discuss something important with you.¡± ¡°Umm, sure. Come on in.¡± Bruce said as he stepped out of the way and gestured into the house. As Tao walked towards the house the spell binding Ezekiel disappeared and he was released from the tree. He slowly followed Tao inside and once everyone was settled down in the living room, Tao turned to Ezekiel who looked depressed and asked, ¡°Are you going to tell them why we¡¯re here?¡± Ezekiel glanced up at Tao who raised an eyebrow before she nodded towards Bruce and said, ¡°This was your idea, you explain it to them.¡± Ezekiel slowly glanced at Bruce before he asked, ¡°Do you wanna get rid of Hulk?¡± Bruce nodded quickly as he said, ¡°Yes, of course I do.¡± Betty frowned as she asked, ¡°You told me yesterday that Bruce and Hulk were the same person? How could you get rid of one of them?¡± ¡°We want to split his soul in half and give each of them half of it.¡± Ezekiel said with a monotone voice. ¡°My soul?¡± ¡°His soul?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°Yeah, it will be the best way to split the two of them apart.¡± Bruce frowned as he asked, ¡°Souls are real?¡± Betty nodded in agreement to Bruce¡¯s question before she asked, ¡°If¡­ If souls are real¡­ Wouldn¡¯t splitting his soul in half be a bad thing?¡± ¡°Souls are pretty resilient and any damage they take will heal after a while.¡± Tao said before she pointed at Ezekiel and said, ¡°He regularly damages his soul and it heals within a few days to a week.¡± ¡°That said, the more a soul is damaged. The longer it takes to heal.¡± Tao said to Betty and Bruce who still looked unconvinced. After a few moments Ezekiel asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Bruce shared a glance with Betty before he said, ¡°I''m not sure about the soul part¡­ But if it can get rid of Hulk I''m willing to try it.¡± Betty glanced at Bruce with concern as she asked, ¡°I''m not sure about the soul being a real thing either¡­ Are you sure you want to do something like this though?¡± ¡°Absolutely. I don''t wanna live the rest of my life knowing at any moment I could lose control and change into that thing.¡± ¡°Hulk isn''t a thing.¡± Ezekiel said with a slight shake of his head. ¡°I don''t care what Hulk is or isn''t. I don''t want it taking over my body anymore.¡± Betty reached over and took Bruce¡¯s hand and gave it a squeeze before she said, ¡°Okay¡­ Do it and I''ll be with you through the entire thing.¡± Bruce squeezed Betty¡¯s hand back before he looked at Ezekiel and asked, ¡°What do we have to do?¡± Ezekiel glanced towards Tao who stood up and created a portal before she said, ¡°Follow me.¡± Both Betty and Bruce looked at the portal cautiously as Ezekiel stood up and followed Tao through it. A few moments later Betty and Bruce joined them on the other side before they followed them to the magic school in Genosha. As they entered the school, Bruce and Betty noticed the handful of people there practicing magic and started to discuss with each other what they could be doing. If it was innate powers or some kind of technology that each person was using to create what they saw. Ezekiel just shook his head but kept his comments to himself since most science types rarely believed in magic at first. They moved to the bottom of the school through some hidden and locked passages before they arrived at the hidden chamber Ezekiel used to portal to Hel. Setup inside the chamber was a large runic circuit that encompassed three circles in a line. The circles were connected together and made out of vibranium along with a few other precious metals. Each one was inscribed with runic script and connected to the circles in the middle was a small stand. Bruce and Betty glanced at everything in the room as Tao moved over to check everything. As she did that Ezekiel said, ¡°In a few minutes you will need to stand in the middle circle after she confirms everything is ready.¡± ¡°What exactly is this?¡± Bruce asked as he looked over all the foreign runic script. Betty nodded in agreement as she added, ¡°I thought you were going to use some special machines or something?¡± ¡°We never said anything about using machines¡­ This is runic based magic and best used for rituals like the one you are about to go through.¡± Ezekiel said as he pointed at the circles on the ground. Bruce shared a glance with Betty before he asked, ¡°Is this safe?¡± ¡°It¡¯s safer than the experiment you performed on yourself.¡± Tao said after she finished checking the circles. Tao moved back to the middle circle and sat down next to the small stand as she said, ¡°If you would please step into the circle in front of me and we can get started.¡± As Bruce moved towards the circle, Betty pulled him back before she gave him a deep kiss and after she let him go, she said, ¡°For good luck.¡± Bruce had a stupid smile on his face as he walked over to the middle circle where Tao said, ¡°Please sit in the middle of the circle.¡± As Bruce sat down Ezekiel motioned Betty to follow him as he stepped back from the runic spell scripts on the ground. Once they were near the entrance to the chamber he touched a ward on the wall and injected magic into it. A soft glowing barrier appeared in front of him and Betty and blocked them from entering back into the chamber fully. Once that was in place Ezekiel said, ¡°You might not want to watch this part.¡± Betty glanced at Ezekiel with a slightly frown as she asked, ¡°Why? What''s going to happen?¡± ¡°He''s about to be ripped in half.¡± Ezekiel said as Tao took out the device that contained the soul stone and placed it on the stand. Betty¡¯s eyes widened and her voice raised as she asked, ¡°Ripped in half?!? But you said it had to do with his soul?¡± Ezekiel just nodded and pointed towards the circles where Tao was in the process of starting the ritual. As Tao waved the spell together Ezekiel said, ¡°She is splitting his soul¡­ But also his body too. The Hulk has his own body which is the same but also different from Bruce.¡± Betty looked at Bruce in concern as she said, ¡°Maybe we shouldn''t do this¡­ You said he could learn how to control the Hulk right?¡± ¡°Too late, it''s already started¡­ Besides, Bruce wouldn''t want to wait twenty years to figure it out.¡± As the ritual began in earnest, Betty watched with anxiousness filled eyes as orange colored strands of light slowly wrapped around and through him. For the first few minutes everything was fine, but once Tao unsealed the soul stone and weaved it into the spell he grunted in pain. As Bruce started to moan in pain Betty attempted to move towards him and was stopped by the barrier Ezekiel placed. Betty turned towards Ezekiel and said in an urgent tone, ¡°You need to stop this, Bruce is in pain. She''s hurting him!¡± ¡°Did you think this was gonna be easy? I told you, we¡¯re splitting his body and soul in half.¡± Ezekiel said before he pointed towards Bruce and said, ¡°This isn''t even the hard part, it''s why I said you probably shouldn''t watch this.¡± Betty turned to glance at Ezekiel and when she caught his eyes, her eyes glazed over and she collapsed. Ezekiel caught her and placed her on the ground as he said, ¡°That''s better.¡± After he made sure Betty was completely under genjutsu, he turned back towards Bruce who was currently screaming in pain. It was a weird mix of him and the Hulk as he would shift in between each other. Part of his body was normal while part of it was Hulk''s larger green frame. As the spell continued and more streams of light came from the soul stone to connect with Bruce, a change started to happen. Slowly he was pulled towards one of the runic circles while at the same time Hulk was being pulled towards the other. It was amazing to watch but looked incredibly painful as both Bruce and Hulk screamed in agony as it happened. It started with their heads first which made it easier for both of them to scream at the same time. Slowly the streams of light from the soul stone ripped Hulk and Bruce apart bit by bit. The whole process took almost an hour and when it finished both Bruce and Hulk were passed out in one of the circles. Ezekiel lowered the barrier when it finished and walked over to Tao who stood up before she used a spell on Bruce and Hulk to lift them into the air. Tao then turned to Ezekiel and said, ¡°They''ll probably be out for a few days after what they just went through.¡± Tao glanced towards Betty who was on the floor and asked, ¡°What happened to her?¡± ¡°She was freaking out after you started, so I put her to sleep.¡± Tao nodded slightly before she said, ¡°Let''s take them back and then go start your training.¡± Ezekiel started to sweat before he said, ¡°It was only a joke.¡± ¡°I know. But your training isn¡¯t.¡± Tao said with a smirk. 00205. Placing bait. Tao was wrong about Hulk, who didn''t take as long as she expected to wake up. He woke up a few hours later and while he was happy to be free and have his own body¡­ He was also pissed off at how painful it was and threw a tantrum that probably would have destroyed the house Ezekiel made for him if everything wasn''t magically reinforced. Ezekiel was able to calm him down after promising to bring him cookies, ice cream and pizza for dinner. Afterwards Ezekiel left Hulk with one of his clones and checked in on Bruce just in case he woke up early too. Instead he found Bruce and Betty where they left them, asleep in a hotel room in Genosha. Over the next few days Ezekiel¡¯s life became hell as Tao sparred with him every day to the point he was exhausted. He didn''t want to do anything else after the training, but forced himself to visit Hela each day because she didn''t like to hang out with his clones. So he always made sure to visit her in person and eat a meal together once a day. On the fourth day of training Bruce finally woke up, so Ezekiel was able to take a small break from training to meet him and Betty. Betty woke up hours after the splitting process was finished and was informed by Tao what happened and to watch over Bruce as he recovered. She wasn''t happy with Ezekiel for putting her to sleep, but she at least thanked Tao for helping them. Ezekiel knocked on the hotel room door after he arrived and waited for it to open. Betty opened the door and frowned when she saw Ezekiel before she asked, ¡°I presume you''re here to check on Bruce?¡± ¡°Among other things¡­ May I come inside?¡± Ezekiel asked with a friendly smile. Betty stepped out of the way and motioned him to come inside. Ezekiel walked past her and into the entryway where he waited for her to lead him deeper into the hotel room. Betty took the lead and before long they arrived in the master bedroom of the suite they were in. Bruce was still in bed and looked worn out, but otherwise healthy. Ezekiel smirked at the man as he asked, ¡°What''s up doc?¡± Bruce frowned as he looked at Ezekiel before he finally asked, ¡°Thanks for getting rid of the Hulk¡­ But did it really need to hurt so much?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as Betty sat on the bed next to Bruce before Ezekiel said, ¡°Couldn''t be helped, we split your soul in half. Something like that is always gonna have issues. ¡° ¡°I''m still not sure about the whole soul thing being real¡­ But I''m glad it''s over and I don''t have to worry about changing again.¡± Bruce said as he gently squeezed Betty¡¯s hand. ¡°About that¡­ We¡¯re gonna need to run some tests first to make sure there won''t be any lingering issues.¡± Both Betty and Bruce looked directly at Ezekiel before Betty asked in concern, ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t the Hulk gone now?¡± ¡°Yes, but Bruce¡¯s DNA was changed at the cellular level and needs to be properly tested for any issues.¡± ¡°We can do that ourselves, we just need a laboratory.¡± Bruce said as he looked at Betty who nodded in agreement. ¡°I''m sure you could, but that would require you finding a laboratory with the proper equipment and that could cause issues. Especially if the information leaked and Betty¡¯s father found out.¡± Both of them frowned before Ezekiel said, ¡°I already have the laboratory and people needed to do the testing. You can obviously double check and run your own tests, but I want tests done by my own people.¡± ¡°What makes you think the information from your lab won''t leak?¡± Bruce asked with a frown. ¡°Besides the fact only my people know about the lab and its location?¡± Ezekiel asked which made Bruce nod in response. ¡°The servers aren''t connected to the normal internet and are also protected by my own custom software.¡± Ezekiel said with a grin. ¡°What do you mean by normal internet?¡± Betty asked. ¡°I created a private internet for personal use which is setup between all the projects I have running.¡± Ezekiel said as his grin turned into more of a smile before he asked, ¡°So do you wanna get this testing done now? Or wait a little while?¡± Betty frowned as she asked, ¡°What will you do if he refuses?¡± ¡°Put you both to sleep so the tests can be run.¡± Ezekiel said as he shrugged before he added, ¡°While I would rather have your cooperation and will gladly let you run your own tests.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as he said, ¡°For the safety of the general public, I need to confirm there will be no issue with your DNA if someone got their hands on it.¡± Bruce let out a sigh before he glanced at Betty and said, ¡°I''m fine with him running tests¡­ Besides I want to run my own tests and he is offering the use of a lab.¡± Betty frowned but nodded in agreement, which made Ezekiel smile before he pulled out a wheelchair from his storage seal. He placed it next to Bruce¡¯s bed as he said, ¡°With how weak you are, you''ll need this.¡± Bruce shook his head as he said, ¡°I''m tired, but I can walk just fine.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Bruce swung his feet over the edge of the bed and started to stand up before his body gave out and he collapsed backwards onto the bed. Betty quickly went to him as she asked, ¡°What''s wrong?¡± ¡°I don''t know, it took everything I had, to barely stand up.¡± Bruce said as he attempted to catch his breath. ¡°It¡¯s from the soul damage. It makes you incredibly weak and it will be a month or so before you can use your body normally. The tiredness you feel won''t go away until your soul is fully healed though.¡± Betty helped Bruce sit up and as she grabbed the wheelchair Bruce asked in an uncertain voice, ¡°How long will it take to heal?¡± ¡°At least a year or two¡­ Possibly longer.¡± Bruce frowned but said nothing as Betty helped him into the wheelchair. Once they were both ready, Ezekiel led them down to the transport hub and quickly created a portal to the medical lab. Both of them were quiet for the trip to the lab, but once inside the lab itself they both looked around with their mouths slightly open. The equipment in the lab wasn¡¯t just state of the art, it was beyond cutting edge and Bruce¡¯s eyes went wide as he glanced at one machine in particular. Betty also noticed the machine and asked, ¡°Is that¡­ What, I think it is?¡± Bruce nodded slowly as he asked, ¡°I think so, but I won¡¯t know for sure unless I check it out myself¡­¡± ¡°But I thought it was still in development and years away from being completed? The one my father showed me wasn''t even half finished.¡± Betty said in confusion. Ezekiel glanced at the machine they were talking about before he chuckled and said, ¡°That thing is almost ten years old and is in the process of being replaced with something better.¡± Both of them turned to look at Ezekiel in shock as Bruce said, ¡°How can there be something better?¡± ¡°Because aliens are far more advanced than we are and we''re in the process of upgrading all of our equipment with alien technology.¡± ¡°What?!?¡± Both of them practically yelled at the same time. ¡°Jeez, no need to be so loud.¡± Ezekiel said as he pretended to pick his ear. ¡°But aliens.¡± Betty said with a look of disbelief that was copied by Bruce. Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°Your boyfriend just turned himself into a big green rage monster not long ago and you''re surprised aliens exist?¡± ¡°But that was backed by science¡­ If aliens are real, why isn''t it known to the world and instead considered a conspiracy theory?¡± Ezekiel shook his head before he said, ¡°I swear, you science types are all the same.¡± Ezekiel focused on both of them before he said, ¡°Aliens are a guarded secret by governments around the world so the general population doesn''t freak out.¡± As both of them shared a look the door opened and in walked Orochimaru, Kabuto, Tobirama, Sarah Kinney, Maya Hansen, Aldrich Killian and Beast. Ezekiel glanced towards them before he said, ¡°Nice timing, I was getting ready to call you.¡± Ezekiel pointed towards Bruce as he said, ¡°I want a full round of testing done on him.¡± Sarah approached Bruce and extended her hand as she said, ¡°Dr. Banner, I¡¯m Sarah Kinney. It''s a pleasure to meet you. Your last paper on biochemistry in the NMJ was a fascinating read and I would love to ask you some questions about it.¡± Bruce shook her hand as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you write a paper on genetic mutation a while ago?¡± Sarah smiled and as she released the handshake she said, ¡°I did, but that was a long time ago.¡± ¡°I tried to contact you about it because you brought up some interesting points and I wanted to discuss them in detail with you¡­ But it was like you disappeared and no one knew where you went.¡± Bruce said as Betty nodded in agreement. Ezekiel held up a hand before anyone else could talk and said, ¡°Before you guys go into some long and boring conversation about science.¡± Ezekiel glanced at Sarah and said, ¡°I¡¯m gonna leave them here with you guys, just call me when they want to leave.¡± Sarah nodded and before she could speak Ezekiel faded away as an after image. Ezekiel headed back to get his training for the day over with before he took a quick nap, since Tao¡¯s training was kicking his ass in more ways than one. After his nap he felt a little better so he switched with his clone who just came home with his family and had dinner with them. Afterwards he went to drop off food for Hulk before he headed to Genosha to meet up with Hela. With Tao, Agatha and Hela taking over the entire top floor of the hotel after Ezekiel gave them each their own suite. Tao decided to place a special teleportation area on the floor in between all the rooms and next to the elevators so they could just transport there instead of the island hub. It was keyed and protected so that only Tao, Agatha, Hela and Ezekiel could make portals to it. Ezekiel stepped out of the portal and headed over to Hela¡¯s door before he knocked on it. About a minute later Hela opened the door and smiled at Ezekiel before she stepped out of the way as she asked, ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. How was your day? Did you do anything fun?¡± Ezekiel said as he stepped into the entryway of her home. ¡°It was fine. I mostly watched TV and sorted through more of the models you bought me. I think I figured out which one I¡¯m gonna build first.¡± Ezekiel and Hela moved over to the couch in the living room where they sat down and started to chat as the TV played something. After an hour or so they decided to go eat an early dinner together. While Ezekiel already ate a while ago with his family, he had a very fast metabolism and tended to eat five or six times a day. As they walked out of Hela''s home they were greeted by Tao and Agatha who were in the hallway talking. Ezekiel waved as he asked, ¡°What are you two up too?¡± ¡°Deciding what to eat.¡± Agatha said as she turned to greet both of them followed by Tao. After greeting each other Ezekiel said, ¡°We were going to eat too. Wanna join us?¡± Tao shared a glance with Agatha before she said, ¡°Oh, we wouldn¡¯t want to intrude on your date.¡± Agatha nodded in agreement as she said, ¡°You two love birds go have fun.¡± Ezekiel rolled his eyes as Hela had the tiniest hint of a blush before Ezekiel said, ¡°I swear you two are worse than me sometimes.¡± Tao and Agatha shared a laugh before Tao said, ¡°We were thinking about eating French food.¡± Ezekiel glanced towards Hela as he asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It doesn''t matter to me.¡± Ezekiel made a portal to somewhere in France and gestured towards it before he said, ¡°After you.¡± 00206. Time to think or? Ezekiel left Bruce and Betty alone for about a week as they performed test after test. He would still transport them back to where they were staying each day, but overall didn''t talk much with them. They were engrossed in their own conversations most of the time anyway, so it didn''t matter much. Once all the testing was finished and Ezekiel was satisfied with the results, he approached the couple while they were still in the lab and asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡± Bruce looked up from the computer he was using before he said, ¡°While my genetic structure is slightly altered, it should have no adverse effects on my life.¡± Betty glanced up from the machine she was at before she added, ¡°We just triple checked all the results and there is no chance of contamination even if someone gets a hold of some of his genetic material.¡± ¡°Well that''s one less thing to worry about, but I will have Tao redo her spell so people can¡¯t study your DNA just in case.¡± Bruce frowned as he said, ¡°What about me? I would like to be able to study myself. My new genetic makeup is fascinating and could lead to some breakthroughs in certain fields.¡± ¡°While I am sure it could, you have to remember that you turned into a big green rage monster because of what you want to study. It would probably be good to leave it as is and not mess with it anymore.¡± ¡°But it could help people.¡± Betty said as Bruce nodded in agreement. Ezekiel let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. After a few moments he looked towards Bruce and Betty before he asked, ¡°Why are genius people so stupid sometimes?¡± Both Bruce and Betty frowned but before they could talk Ezekiel said, ¡°Do you know the story about Pandora''s box?¡± ¡°Story? You mean the myth?¡± Bruce asked. ¡°No, I mean the story, because it actually happened. Anyways my point is you wanting to study your changed genetics is the same as Pandora''s box except way worse. The good would never be able to outway the bad.¡± Ezekiel said with a frown. ¡°Hold on just a minute¡­ You can¡¯t be serious with that, Pandora''s box isn¡¯t real because that would mean gods are real.¡± Bruce said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Ezekiel raised an eyebrow as he said, ¡°Gods are real.¡± Bruce shared a glance with Betty who looked as skeptical as him before he turned back to Ezekiel and said, ¡°Prove it.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Easy, look at every story we have of them.¡± ¡°Those are just myths.¡± Betty said. ¡°No, those are stories that turned into myths with age. Gods are a real thing and the best way to think of them is by treating them like really powerful aliens. Because that¡¯s kinda what they are. There is more to it than just that, but on the whole, the Gods of legends were just aliens who visited our planet and treated it like a playground at one point in time.¡± ¡°Then why did they leave? And where did they go?¡± Ezekiel shrugged as he said, ¡°Fuck if I know where most of them went. I know where the Asgardians are, but the rest of them I have no idea.¡± ¡°Asgardians?¡± ¡°The gods from Norse mythology like Odin, Thor, Loki and Hela.¡± Ezekiel said with a tiny smile. ¡°I said to prove it, not just tell me more random stuff and expect me to believe it.¡± Ezekiel raised an eyebrow again as he looked at Bruce before he said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll show both of you what I am talking about and also show you what can happen if you mess around with your mutated DNA.¡± Ezekiel¡¯s eyes changed into three tomoe sharingan that spun slowly as he said, ¡°Have a nice nap.¡± Both of them passed out and Ezekiel caught Betty before she collapsed on the ground. He took them over to the medical wing where he placed them on beds before he took off to go do something else while they were inside a genjutsu. He didn''t need to worry about them waking up early either, since once the genjutsu finished they would fall asleep until he woke them up. Ezekiel ended up training with Tao and took a nap before he went to wake up Bruce and Betty. Both of them sat there silently for a while before Bruce finally asked, ¡°That wasn''t real was it?¡± ¡°In a sense it is and at the same time it isn''t¡­ How much do you know about the multiverse theory?¡± Ezekiel asked. Bruce and Betty¡¯s eyes slowly widened as Ezekiel smirked before he said, ¡°Looks like you both know of it, so this will be a lot easier.¡± ¡°But that''s just an absurd and speculative theory, and there''s currently no direct evidence to support it.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°While you and the general population might think that. It''s not actually true. Everything I showed you could come true depending on the choices we make now and in the future. Which is why I don''t want you messing around with your changed genetics.¡± Bruce frowned slightly but after a few moments he said, ¡°While I don''t fully agree, I understand the point you want to make.¡± ¡°You don''t agree because it could potentially help people?¡± Ezekiel asked which made Bruce nod in answer before Ezekiel added, ¡°If you wanted to help people, why were you working on a weapon program for the military?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°It wasn''t a weapon program, it was meant to help improve soldiers and help protect them.¡± Betty said as she looked to Bruce for help. ¡°By turning them into super soldiers? All that would do is make the United States more aggressive. And don''t tell me it wouldn''t. I know how stupid people in power think, better than both of you supposed geniuses.¡± Ezekiel said with a chuckle. Bruce looked like he was about to reply when Ezekiel said, ¡°It''s fine, you don''t need to justify your actions. What matters is what you plan to do now. You have a couple choices in front of you, the first is the easiest one.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°Going back to your old life. You might be considered dead at the moment but I could fix that easily. I would have to adjust both of your memories of what happened but my group has secrets it needs to keep.¡± Ezekiel said. ¡°Adjust our memories?¡± Both of them asked at the same time. ¡°Standard protocol for our group. While you only met a handful of people and have only seen this small facility. It still needs to be kept secret, so we would fix the potential security issue with false memories. Don''t worry you won''t have any issues afterwards because we have a team specializing in mind alterations.¡± Ezekiel said with a careless shrug. Ezekiel quickly smiled at both of them before he said, ¡°But that''s only option one. Option two is you both come and work with us. You''ve met a handful of our people and saw our technology. You won''t find a better work environment anywhere in the world or possibly in the universe if I''m being honest.¡± As Betty and Bruce shared a glance together Ezekiel said, ¡°I would give you a third option but two should be enough.¡± ¡°Can we have some time to think?¡± Ezekiel nodded before he said, ¡°Sure. I''ll give you a week to decide what you want to do. Until then, I''ll show you where you can stay.¡± Ezekiel had them follow him to the portal room where he created a portal to the inside of a building. Betty pushed Bruce''s wheelchair into a cozy living room with big windows that looked out over a forested area. It was mostly trees, but there were small bushes and other plants they could see dotted on the red colored ground. Betty pushed Bruce closer to the windows to get a better look outside and saw a small stream that snaked through the trees nearby. As they looked at the beautiful scenery Ezekiel double checked the kitchen and found it stocked with food. He pulled out a phone and placed it on the kitchen table as he said, ¡°The fridge is stocked and the TV''s have access to pretty much anything you could ever want to watch.¡± Betty and Bruce turned to look at Ezekiel who pointed at the cellphone and said, ¡°If you need anything just contact me with this. Otherwise I''ll see you both in a week.¡± As Ezekiel opened up a portal to leave Betty asked, ¡°Where exactly did you take us?¡± Ezekiel stepped closer to the portal and just before he stepped through it he said with a smirk, ¡°Mars. I hope you enjoy it.¡± The portal snapped closed as Betty glanced at Bruce and asked, ¡°We can''t be on Mars, can we?¡± Bruce glanced out the windows to the red dirt and frowned slightly before he said, ¡°I don''t know¡­ But if that red dirt is ultisols in nature, it doesn''t explain the trees here. These types of trees don''t normally do well in this type of soil.¡± ¡°Mars doesn''t have trees in the first place though.¡± Both of them shared a glance before Bruce said, ¡°Let''s go check it out.¡± Betty helped push Bruce outside and over the next half an hour they explored the forest around the cabin they were dropped off at. While they were hyper focused on the plants and trees they didn''t notice the sky above them until they came to a clearing with a small lake. Both of them froze as they looked up at the hazy red tinged sky above them. Betty¡¯s eyes were wide as she took in the sight and after a moment she asked, ¡°How is this possible?¡± Bruce and Betty ended up exploring farther and after another half an hour they came to the edge of the forest. In front of them was an empty and barren red colored landscape as far as the eye could see. At first neither fully believed they were on Mars, there is just no way it should be possible. That was until the roar of an engine filled the air and a sleek spaceship appeared in the distance. The ship approached them and slowed down before it turned slightly and landed without blowing dust everywhere. After a few moments the rear of the craft opened and out walked a black haired youth with what looked like a very slim space suit on. He waved as he approached them before he said, ¡°I stopped by because I picked you up on my scanners and didn''t expect to see anyone else out here today.¡± ¡°Is this Mars?¡± Betty asked as she looked out over the red landscape. ¡°Yup¡­ Are you two new? I don''t think we''ve met before.¡± ¡°Ezekiel dropped us off here at a cabin¡­ But we didn''t really believe we were on Mars.¡± Bruce said as he also looked out over the view before them. Shisui smiled as he said, ¡°That sounds like something he would do. I''m Shisui by the way.¡± ¡°Bruce Banner.¡± ¡°Betty Ross.¡± They said one after the other. Shisui pointed at the ship behind him as he asked, ¡°I was just about to go collect data to make sure the terraforming project was on schedule, do you wanna take a ride?¡± Bruce shared a glance with Betty who mouthed ¡®terraforming?¡¯ before he shrugged and turned back to Shisui and said, ¡°Sure, if it''s not a big deal.¡± Shisui smiled again as he said, ¡°It''s not.¡± Shisui helped push Bruce into the ship and once they were both secured in their seats he flipped a handful of switches. The ship slowly floated into the air and a few moments later it launched into the air. Shisui turned the ship and tilted it to a turn to show them the massive forest below them and said, ¡°That''s considered grove one and that''s the cabin you were dropped off at.¡± Below them as the ship turned and continued to rise into the sky they could see the cabin and the small lake not far away from it. Past that first forest was a giant landing pad with a couple of other space ships currently docked in place. On the other side of the pad was a massive forest that looked like it went on for miles in all directions, except towards the pad itself. ¡°How is that possible?!? That forest and its trees have to be at least a hundred years old if not older¡­ Why has nobody noticed what is going on here?¡± Bruce asked in wonder. ¡°We hide everything incredibly well¡­ Also you''re wrong, those trees are only a few months old at the most.¡± Shisui said as he adjusted the ship''s flight and set course for his first stop. Bruce was about to argue about how that was impossible but after a few moments he let out a sigh and decided to just go with it. On their trip around Mars they passed a few places that left them in shock, one of which being a massive body of water that Shisui said they were in the process of turning into an ocean. How they were doing that Shisui didn¡¯t explain, but he did fly the ship into the water and through it for a little while to collect samples and data on the progress. They also visited the north and south poles of the planet which were giant ice fields that covered a few thousand miles of land each. After checking the planet itself, Shisui took them up into space where he collected some more data points before he finally took them back to the landing pad. After chatting with them for a bit and showing them the path to get back to the cabin, Shisui said goodbye before he headed over to another ship to do something else. As Betty pushed Bruce back to the cabin she asked, ¡°I think we should take his offer¡­ What about you?¡± Bruce was quiet for a little while before he said, ¡°We would be stupid not to¡­¡± 00207. Someone is jealous? The week passed quickly with Ezekiel leaving Bruce and Betty alone to think. Well he didn''t truly leave them alone since he sent Shisui and a couple other people to Mars to interact with them. He even hid in the mirror dimension when they met Hashirama for the first time and watched him create an entire forest like it was nothing. You would expect at this point they would be used to surprises, but the looks on their faces said otherwise. Ezekiel portaled to the front of the cabin they were staying in before he knocked on the door and waited. A few moments later Betty opened the door and stepped out of the way as she said, ¡°Hi, come on in.¡± Entering the cabin Ezekiel found Bruce seated on the couch in the living room using a tablet. Ezekiel moved over to one of the chairs where he sat down as he said, ¡°How''s it going doc?¡± Bruce glanced up from the tablet in his hands as Betty sat down next to him before he said, ¡°Pretty good. I can finally walk around without collapsing.¡± ¡°That''s good¡­ So did you two make a decision?¡± Ezekiel asked as he glanced between both of them. Bruce turned to Betty as he said, ¡°I think we did.¡± Betty nodded in agreement before she said, ¡°We decided to accept your job offer.¡± Ezekiel smiled as he said, ¡°I was hoping you would. We could definitely use people with your skillset.¡± ¡°That''s said, you will both need to go through the vetting process before you are officially hired.¡± ¡°Vetting process?¡± Betty asked with a hint of confusion. Ezekiel pointed towards the window and the martian landscape as he asked, ¡°You will be working for a group that is terraforming Mars in secret and you don''t think we have a vetting process?¡± ¡°That makes sense, it''s just a little weird is all. Since you already offered us the job.¡± Bruce said as Betty nodded in agreement. ¡°I offered the jobs because I know you will both pass the vetting process without problems.¡± Ezekiel said after which he paused and thought over something before he added, ¡°Are you both okay with basically disappearing from the world for a while?¡± ¡°Disappearing?¡± Ezekiel nodded as he said, ¡°We tend to work in the shadows and almost all of our members are considered dead or have disappeared from the general public.¡± Bruce didn''t really have any family besides his cousin so he didn''t really care, but Betty had her father and asked, ¡°What about my family? Will I be able to contact them or visit them sometimes?¡± ¡°It''s not recommended for the operational security of the group¡­ But that doesn''t mean it''s out of the question. Any contact you have with your family will be monitored through. When you meet more of the group and find out our mission you''ll understand why that''s needed.¡± Betty frowned but nodded which made Ezekiel smile as he said, ¡°Good. Let''s take you both to go start the process.¡± Over a week went by since that conversation and both of them passed the vetting process and physiological evaluations. They were assigned to the main base and were given their own lab next to the Pyms who they quickly made friends with. They were also allowed access to the medical base to help out with projects there if they wanted, but their main focus was in studying alien technology and reverse engineering it. Sure Bruce''s main skill set was nuclear physics along with Betty, but they had no need for that field of study currently. That said they didn''t complain since working with alien technology was fascinating to both of them. After they were settled in at the base, Ezekiel decided against giving them new bodies for now. With them both being younger and not being combat oriented, he didn''t see the need. As for the Hulk, Ezekiel left shadow clones to keep him company and was slowly teaching him. Hulk still talked in broken English, but his vocabulary was slowly expanding and he was getting better each day. He also really enjoyed video games that Ezekiel introduced him to. They were older, simple video games like Pacman and Frogger, but Ezekiel was slowly exposing Hulk to new stuff. Ezekiel was at Hela''s hanging out with her as they chatted on the couch. Ezekiel was worn out from training with Tao so he was laying down while Hela sat close by. As they talked, there was a knock on the door. Ezekiel glanced towards the entryway as he asked, ¡°Expecting anyone?¡± Hela shook her head as she stood up and said, ¡°No¡­ But Tao and Agatha stop by every few days.¡± ¡°Don''t they normally text you before they come over?¡± ¡°Not all the time.¡± Hela said as she reached the door and opened it up. She glanced down in surprise as a younger girl with black hair smiled up at her and said, ¡°Hi, I''m Gabby!¡± Hela froze for a few moments at how upbeat the girl was and in that moment the girl walked right past her and into the penthouse as she asked, ¡°Is Ezekiel here?¡± Ezekiel who was on the couch heard Gabby''s voice and as he started to stand up, Gabby noticed him. She quickly ran towards him and jumped to hug him as she said, ¡°I knew you were here!¡± Gabby''s speed knocked Ezekiel off his feet and back out the couch before he said, ¡°It''s good to see you too Gabby, but what are you doing here?¡± Hela quickly made it back to the living room to see Gabby hugging Ezekiel on the couch which made her frown. Gabby released her hug as she said, ¡°Ava came to visit her master and I came with her, but then I smelled you and wanted to see if you were still here.¡± ¡°So you ditched your friend?¡± Gabby blushed slightly and avoided eye contact as she said, ¡°No, we agreed to meet up later.¡± ¡°I''m sure that''s what happened.¡± Ezekiel said before he noticed Hela''s frown and said, ¡°Hela, this is Gabby. She is someone I helped rescue from a bad situation.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Ezekiel turned Gabby towards Hela and said, ¡°Gabby, this is Hela. I also helped her get out of a bad situation.¡± Hela''s frown disappeared and she nodded curtly to Gabby before she said, ¡°It''s not polite to just enter a person''s house without permission.¡± Gabby''s eyes widened and quickly glanced at Ezekiel as she asked, ¡°This isn''t your house?¡± ¡°No, it''s Hela''s.¡± Gabby frowned slightly and sniffed the air before she said, ¡°But it smells like you live here.¡± ¡°Well I do come here a lot. But it''s not my house.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Gabby said in a nervous tone before she said, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell my mom, I don''t wanna get in trouble again.¡± Hela smirked the tiniest bit at that comment before Ezekiel said, ¡°I won''t if you apologize to Hela.¡± Gabby moved over to Hela before she bowed her head slightly and said, ¡°I''m sorry, I didn''t know this was your home. Please don''t tell my mom.¡± Hela glanced at the girl before she looked at Ezekiel who was smiling. Hela glanced back down at the girl with her head still lowered before she said, ¡°It''s fine. Just don''t do it again.¡± ¡°Thanks, you''re the best!¡± Gabby said before she hugged Hela which made the woman freeze up. Ezekiel shook his head slightly with a smirk playing across it as he stood up. Gabby released the hug a moment later before she turned to Ezekiel and asked, ¡°What are you doing now? Can we go ride the roller coasters together?¡± ¡°I was planning to take it easy and just relax for today, since I''m not feeling great today.¡± Gabby tilted her head slightly as she asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t roller coasters relaxing and make you feel better?¡± ¡°I think that really depends on the person in question¡­ Do you find roller coasters relaxing?¡± Ezekiel asked with a raised eyebrow. ¡°No, roller coasters are fun and exciting! But after I ride one I always feel better though.¡± Ezekiel shook his head as he said, ¡°Well roller coasters don''t do the same thing for me.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Well what makes you feel better?¡± Gabby asked as Hela also curiously glanced at Ezekiel. ¡°A lot of things. Hanging out with my family, hanging out here¡­ Taking a really hot shower or bath.¡± Ezekiel was cut off as Gabby excitedly grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I know just what to do!¡± As Gabby tugged on Ezekiel¡¯s hand to get him to stand up she turned to Hela and asked with confidence, ¡°Where''s your bathroom?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ezekiel and Hela asked at the same time. ¡°Ezekiel said he likes to relax here and also in a hot bath, so we should put him in a hot bath here and it will be double relaxing.¡± Gabby said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Ezekiel started to chuckle before he said, ¡°While I appreciate the idea, I find it relaxing here because I am spending time with Hela.¡± ¡°Then let''s all take a bath together.¡± Gabby said with a hint of excitement. Ezekiel¡¯s eyes went wide as he glanced towards Hela who also did the same. Gabby grinned as she asked, ¡°It''s a great idea right?¡± ¡°While I appreciate the idea, I doubt Hela''s bath will fit all of us in it.¡± Ezekiel said with a forced smile as he tried to politely refuse the idea. Gabby nodded in understanding before she asked, ¡°Then how about we go someplace with a bigger bath?¡± ¡°I don''t think...¡± Ezekiel started to say as Gabby cut him off and said, ¡°Hot spring! It''s like a bath but really big!¡± Ezekiel glanced towards Hela for help only to notice she was frowning slightly as she looked at Ezekiel and Gabby holding hands. Hela focused on Gabby a moment later as she asked in a flat tone, ¡°How old are you Gabby?¡± ¡°I just turned thirteen a couple of months ago.¡± Gabby said with an infectious smile. Hela glanced between Ezekiel and Gabby for a moment as she thought about how old Ezekiel really was. After a moment she narrowed her eyes slightly before she reached out and possessively grabbed Ezekiel¡¯s other hand. Ezekiel froze for a moment at the action before Hela pulled on his hand and said, ¡°Let''s go to a hot spring.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gabby said as she bounced on her feet before she started to move towards the door. Ezekiel, who was now being pulled by both of them, asked with a hint of resignation, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we bring a change of clothes or something? Also don''t we need to ask your mom if you can even go, Gabby?¡± Gabby pulled out a phone and started to type on it with her free hand. As they reached the door she flashed her phone to Ezekiel with a smile as she said, ¡°Mom said to have fun and come back before bed time.¡± Ezekiel let out a sigh before he said, ¡°Alright.¡± As they left Hela''s penthouse and entered the hallway they ran into Ava, Tao and Agatha who were next to the runic spell patterns for the personal portal hub they created. Tao smiled when she noticed Ezekiel being dragged by Hela and Gabby at the same time. Agatha also smiled before she asked, ¡°What are all of you up to?¡± ¡°We are going to a hot spring so Ezekiel can relax!¡± Gabby said excitedly. ¡°Didn''t you say you needed to go home?¡± Ava asked Gabby with narrowed eyes. ¡°I did¡­ But I found Ezekiel and then asked my mom if I could go to a hot spring with him.¡± Gabby said as she avoided eye contact with Ava. ¡°I''m sure that''s what happened¡­¡± Tao glanced at Agatha before both women grinned and Tao asked, ¡°A hot spring trip? Isn¡¯t that a little bold of you, my apprentice?¡± ¡°It was Gabby''s idea and Hela agreed for some reason.¡± Ezekiel said with a helpless shrug. Tao glanced at the hand Hela was holding before she said, ¡°We were just about to go out and train a bit, but relaxing in a hot spring doesn''t sound like a bad idea and I know the perfect one with a mixed bath.¡± ¡°A mixed bath?¡± Ezekiel asked as Tao smirked and opened a portal. Everyone stepped through the portal to be greeted by cold and rainy weather, along with a darkened sky. In front of them stood a modest wooden building in a Japanese style. Tao quickly ushered everyone inside the building where they were greeted by some staff. Tao handled everything quickly and Ezekiel was sent to one side to change and clean off, while everyone else went to the other side. Ezekiel only needed to change his henge to change his appearance. But he still made sure to remove his real clothes and put on some swim trunks he carried with him after he cleaned himself off. Changed and ready to get things over with he headed out the door with a towel over his shoulder. The open air hot spring was just below the entrance building and you had to walk down some stairs to reach it. While it was open air, the had a large patio cover that protected half of it from the weather, while the rest was open to the sky. With the rain pouring down as it was, the whole place was covered in a low cloud of mist. Ezekiel quickly made his way to the covered section and placed his towel down on a small bench. Afterwards he stepped towards the hot spring before he sat on the edge and slowly dropped into the water. He let out a relaxed sigh as he settled into the almost stifling water. Ezekiel closed his eyes and leaned back against the edge of the spring where he started to drift off to sleep. Unfortunately his relaxation was destroyed when he was covered in water by a violent splash. Ezekiel rubbed the water from his face to see Gabby pop up from the water with a smile on her face before Agatha said, ¡°You shouldn''t cannonball into the hot spring like that, they''re very shallow and you can get hurt.¡± Ezekiel nodded in agreement before another person jumped into the hot spring next to him. After cleaning his face off again he saw Ava who was now playing and swimming with Gabby. He was gonna say something about not swimming in the hot spring but decided to close his eyes and ignore them instead.