Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Beans, Marethyu, Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Malcolm Tent
The Guild of Gamers: The Blessed
Chapter 09: Hivemind
– Arthur King –
With the knowledge that I've probably got some god of death after me, I find my reluctance to use some of my darker skills fading. Already I have nazis, some guy literally called Doom and Bhaal making my life difficult. Adding a Death God to the mix is barely even a surprise at this point, but it's enough to tell me that I need to get to work preparing.
Oh right, I also have the fucking Scarlet Witch to worry about since the last time I saw her, she yeeted me through a portal into Nazi land. From everything I know about her, she's best described as somewhere between unhinged and batshit crazy with far too much power for someone who has a long-distance relationship with her own sanity.
So, yes. My hesitation to use skills like [Parasitical Touch] and [Demon Lord's Corruption] is at an all-time low. I need whatever power I can get my grubby hands on, and Ophelia is living proof that I can take villains and make them into something more useful.
Lying in my bed in Xavier's mansion, I close my eyes as Rogue cuddles against me. This is what the cool kids call 'an alibi'. [Thousand Eyes] lets me place an eye anywhere I can see, but that led me to a simple question.
Can I place an eye in a place I can see through one of the eyes I've placed? The answer? Yes. And since I can close the eyes I don't need anymore without having to go there myself, I can daisy chain them along and just close the eyes I don't need, allowing me to extend my vision as far as I want without ever moving. Since I can see through all the eyes and take in the information without being disoriented, that means I can spread them out far and fast.
New York is rapidly becoming a hub, because while the power is called [Thousand Eyes], it doesn't have an upper limit as far as I can tell. So, next question. Can I teleport to a place that I can see with [Thousand Eyes]? Again, the answer is yes. I can be anywhere I can see, regardless of distance.
I placed an eye on a plane taking off from one of the airports in New York, which carried my eye across the seas. It hasn't landed yet, but I can still connect with the eye and could teleport to it. Not that I want to, since the only thing it can see is the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but the point stands.
Final test for now. Can I use [Entropic Eyes] through my [Thousand Eyes]?
As Rogue kisses me, I smile softly and stroke her hair as one of the Kingpin's thugs falls to the ground, gasping and clutching at his greying hair, his youth lost as his skin goes wrinkly and his bones ache. He doesn't have long to despair as he falls to the floor, his ageing heart giving out from the stress. Nobody sees him as he decomposes in seconds. By the time anyone finds him, it'll seem like he's been dead for decades, not minutes.
I have no pity for him. He's a decently high-placed lieutenant handling part of the Kingpin's drug enterprise. I've laid here and heard him order hits on dealers for other gangs, arranging for some hard drugs to be distributed. The Kingpin is rapidly becoming the only major crime lord in New York, crushing the competition, and my eyes have let me get a peek behind the scenes of his criminal empire.
He's still looking for the impostor who wore his face and streaked through the streets of New York. He doesn't have much of a sense of humour and has placed a bounty on the head of the copycat. I wonder how confident he'd be if he knew I'd managed to get one of my eyes into his office. It took a fair amount of time and patience, but I managed it. I could kill him here and now, as the very large man sits at his comically large desk and manages his empire.
Not yet, because killing the biggest crime lord in New York is a far bigger endeavour than killing one of his lieutenants. That said, my eyes have let me gather a metric shitton of information on his criminal actions.
He has too many corrupt cops for me to just pass the information to the NYPD, but that doesn't mean I can't weaponise the information. With a phone I… borrowed, I send a certain asshole a message.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still annoyed at Spider-Man for attacking me, but he's a major pain in the Kingpin's ass and I do love it when my enemies fight each other. Plus, I put an eye on his costume and followed him home. It's how I got his number. Peter Parker is more than a little scared at someone messaging his personal number with information for Spider-Man, but I ditched the phone right afterwards.
Even if he manages to track the phone down, I dropped it in an alleyway in Reno, Nevada, so I wish him all the best with that. As I said, I've spread my eyes far. I didn't look like myself, so it doesn't have my fingerprints either. Even when helping him (or using him), I couldn't help being a bit of a dick.
After all, the fingerprints on the phone belong to one Peter Parker. Even if the teenager finds the time to head all the way to where I left it, he's only going to find his own fingerprints. Finding out that Spider-Man is actually Spider-Teen did lessen my annoyance at him, since teenage boys are experts in acting without thinking (I should know), but I still take pride in getting my revenge however I can.
Honestly, realising that I can put my eyes on people's clothes was a massive win. I know it said any surface, but I didn't realise just how versatile I could be. Peter never considered that someone was watching as he went home and got changed.
And as paranoid as he might be right now, he checked out the information on the Kingpin's drug warehouse and confirmed that I was telling the truth. Spidey gets a bunch of paranoia and the knowledge that someone, somewhere, knows his secret identity. The Kingpin gets his very secretive drug shipment discovered, and the man he left in charge mysteriously dead inside a locked office. Everyone (who matters) wins.
As Rogue leans up to kiss me, I stop watching through my growing collection of eyes, returning her kiss. We've not really done anything, but Rogue really likes cuddling, so she's happy to just lie there with me and do nothing. She's sweet (and remains my alibi. I never left this room, after all).
I don't mind the distraction, my hands cupping her barely-covered buttocks and giving them a light squeeze as she giggles. Since our talk, and my promise that I wouldn't just disappear even if I decide to leave Xavier's, she's been a lot more relaxed. Kitty isn't as sold on my relationship with Rogue, since I'm a self-admitted fuckboy at heart, but Kitty also knows how happy I make Rogue and doesn't want to ruin things.
She giggles as I turn us over, pinning her down, making me smirk as I kiss her neck, helping her take off her nightie and moving my mouth to her breast, my tongue swirling around her hardened nub. She certainly doesn't complain as I continue my trek south, and I made sure to time our walk to my room earlier so Bobby, whose room is near mine, would see her going into it.
I think she knows I'm deliberately taunting Bobby but she's also really pissed off at him for nearly killing me anyway, so she isn't stopping me. For now, I put Bobby out of my mind as I reach her stomach, making her giggle and shiver in anticipation as I peel her panties away.
– Later –
With Rogue sound asleep, I can start my true work.
I've spent a long time marking out places where the Kingpin and Maggia thugs could be found, and with Rogue nice and exhausted, it's time to strike.
[Conqueror's Gallery - Upgrade Quest]
Objective: Gain three capes inside your Gallery (1/3), defeat five enemies with summoned copies (5/5).
Reward: Triple Copies, 75% Strength Copies
Even at 50% effectiveness, my upgraded Ophelia was more than capable of taking down isolated thugs, especially with me using Yamato to open portals for her to get in and ambush them.
Then, she grabs everything of value and pulls the often poisoned or unconscious thugs through a second portal to my Tropical Island. As for why she's grabbing them?
As I said, my willingness to use [Parasitical Touch] is at an all-time high. With them knocked out, they are consumed in a matter of minutes and become part of the Hive. Tomorrow, the Kingpin is going to wake up to find that his gang is missing more than a few members.
And each one that gets added brings all their skills and memories to the Hivemind. If one is a better shot than most, the rest become as good as him. If one speaks Russian, they all speak Russian. If one knows something, they all know it.
Which means that Kingpin and Maggia have had a lot of their secrets dragged into the light, exposed before me and my growing force. These men are scum, and having seen their memories, I feel zero pity in the way I've sent their souls screaming to Bhaal. Their minds and bodies are mine, but their souls are long gone.
I realise this has probably further angered whatever God that the Ancient One was warning me about, but they're already going to be after me so fuck it. What's a few dozen more on the scale that a God would act on?
The more of a force I can build, the faster I can snowball. I need to be prepared for when Hydra, Doom or whatever deity comes for me. Sure, some basic thugs aren't going to be much use in a divine battle, but every little helps.
Plus, I can use [Demon Lord's Corruption] to alter their bodies and make them more useful than just regular humans. I can make them stronger, faster, and remove their base human needs to make the perfect army. They'll help me get more rolls by fighting on my behalf, and that lets me speed up my power acquisition.
Speaking of power acquisition, I still need two more capes for my power upgrade quest, and it took me a while to think about who I should grab. Capes cover both heroes and villains, regardless of whether they actually have powers or not, and that made one target very easy.
"One balding bird, master," Ophelia says as she drags the unconscious and beaten Vulture through the portal. He's reliant on his technology to do anything, and getting jumped in his bedroom by a supernaturally strong and skilled snake woman made things fairly… unfair.
He doesn't even wake up as I start my work. Adrian Toomes is very much a minor villain, but he still has a long list of crimes, and I feel zero pity for the old man as I begin to use [Demon Lord's Corruption] to combine him permanently with his suit.
He's a genius inventor, and his best plan was to run around in a bird costume to rob banks? What do they put in the water around here?
I have a simple rule when dealing with criminals and villains. If they have taken an innocent life, they get no mercy from me. There isn't a three-strikes policy when it comes to murder. With a picture of Xavier, I can masquerade into the most powerful cripple in the world and scour their minds.
Some of the thugs hadn't gone that far yet, so I just had them dropped off in a different city with a final warning. Anyone who has raped or murdered, they join my Hivemind where their skills and bodies will be put to better use. Many of them have been to jail several times and gotten out only to start their crimes all over again. Why should society give them another chance?
The Vulture has killed, both deliberately and as an accidental result of his crimes. He was in the Raft before the Kingpin busted him out to help deal with Spider-Man and some guy called Daredevil. Now, his genius is mine as I finish transforming him and add him to my gallery.
Two out of three.
He managed to make a suit that let a crazed old man be a genuine threat to the heroes of New York. That genius is mine now, even if I haven't added him to my Hivemind. Soon, I'll have two Adrians that seem as smart as the original. The claim that copies possess half the power seems to be a reference to physical attributes and actual powers. My Ophelia seems to have the mind of the original, so theoretically, taking control of geniuses and putting them to work should give me their entire mind.
And if not, I'll just have to upgrade the power again to get the full power.
Feat Achieved: Feed Bhaal. Three Rolls Granted.
Well, I did send him a few dozen thugs. If I can directly convert worthless souls into rolls, that's a win in my books. The world is no worse off for losing these… men.
Rolling. 92 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 95. Mythical Astral Plane.
Rolling. 28 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 31. Common Item (Weapons and Armour).
Rolling. 80 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 83. Epic Magic Tome.
[Location: Fountain of Youth] - Mythical
A fountain appears in your plane, filled with sparkling crystal water that is always pleasantly cool. Anyone submerged in the pool will cease to age and be regressed to their physical prime (if past it). It will also act similarly to a Lazarus pit, allowing it to even go so far as to revive the dead.
Huh. Ordering Ophelia to toss Vulture in the pool of water that is now in the dead centre of my island, I watch as the old, badly beaten man rapidly regresses to a young, healthy man. He rises in shock and awe, then we beat him up a second time and stuff him back into the painting. With his returned youth and the suit now bonded to him, more biological than technological, it is somewhat harder. That's why I brought forty mindless thugs to help.
Who says I have to fight fair?
They get injured a little, with some razor-sharp feathers stuck in their bodies, but they don't feel pain, and the healing pool is right there. And now, anyone I take will be at their best. Don't mind if I do.
[Gun Cabinet] - Common
A gun cabinet with a massive collection of modern-day weapons and infinite ammunition.
Well, it's no Yamato, but with a growing army of minions, an infinite supply of weapons is by no means a bad thing. It has everything from pistols to rocket launchers,
[Tome of Pandemonium] (Chaos School)] - Epic
Which reminds me that I need to get back to studying my magic tomes to begin with. I have three Chaos magic tomes now, enough to hopefully make a start on getting myself to Expert proficiency and removing my Mana Curse.
I have an eye watching Rogue, and if she stirs I'll teleport to the bathroom and claim I just got up to take a piss. So I have time to start, and while I'm tempted by the Tome of Pandemonium, a tome of true chaos, I go back to the easier tome.
The [Tome of Pyromancy] has more than just spells inside it, and finding the plans for a construction, I pause and then smile.
[Construction: Ritual Pyre]
A pyre that produces mana when ignited, buffing the creator.
My Astral Forest regrows itself almost immediately if cut down. I have an army of mindless slaves that I've used [Demon Lord's Corruption] to remove their base needs like sleep and food. I can make a pyre that will feed me mana no matter where I am, as long as it is burning.
I think we can see where this is going.
As my minions make me a large ritual pyre, and I learn how to enchant melee weapons to deal fire damage, I get the notification that I have reached Apprentice in Chaos Magic Mastery, which is a step in the right direction. Thank you, [Noctis Cape].
As I study, I spread my efforts out. Why only take people from New York and give those who look into the disappearances more to work with when I can just as easily go anywhere in America with a little work? Plus, as the night progresses, my plane has reached Europe and I've just been dropping eyes on any city it flies close enough to.
The simple truth is that it really doesn't take long to find criminals, no matter where I am. All I need is a single acceptable target, and then I have the language to understand more. Admittedly, I have to wonder how much my new Super Luck power is helping out since I seem to wander into a rapist or murderer within minutes of searching whichever town or city I pick.
Either my power is working overtime, or this world has a serious crime problem.
Actually, given the sheer number of villains and gangs in New York alone, it may very well be both.
As I continue my research, I pause as one of my eyes picks up a new villain. Super Luck remains on my side as I watch Tombstone storming through the streets. He's a crime boss, but his gang are falling to Kingpin who simply has more resources and has bribed half of Tombstone's officers into joining him. I know Kingpin wants to recruit Tombstone, or Lonnie Lincoln, and he's close to getting Tombstone to switch sides.
Sorry Fisk, Tombstone is about to be under new management because I just found my third portrait.
– Peter Parker (Spider-Man) –
Tomorrow was going to suck, but too much was going on tonight for him to call it and go to sleep. Just another day at school after pulling an all-nighter, a sadly common occurrence at the moment. Super-heroing was a time-consuming line of work, and didn't care about your sleep schedule.
Not that he could sleep, with all that was on his mind. He always knew there was a chance of someone discovering his identity, but that didn't stop his heart from nearly stopping when someone had messaged Peter Parker with a tip for Spidey.
He'd tried to track down the caller, but he didn't exactly have time to head all the way to Nevada, did he? Something was off because why would someone from Reno know about a drug shipment in New York?
The Kingpin had shipped the drugs from South America, not the States. They never even went near Nevada, but the tip was sound, and it had led him to one of the biggest drug busts he'd ever pulled. Fisk was definitely going to put a bounty on his head, again, because he'd cost the Kingpin a lot of money.
The police scanner in his mask crackled to life, making him pause as he listened to a report of… him fighting Tombstone four blocks away. He spun in the air, changing the direction he was swinging because this wasn't the first time he'd had a copycat, and he wanted answers.
Things had gotten way too weird lately, and he wanted to know what the hell was going on.
He was a fair distance from the fight scene, and he heard it before he saw it. Tombstone was never the quietest. Swinging into the scene, he froze for just a moment as he stared down at where he was easily dodging Lonnie's desperate swings.
"Come on, Lonnie, you can do better than that," his voice taunted as Spider-Man ducked under a wild haymaker, dashing in and repeatedly punching Tombstone in the stomach. Even with people like Tombstone, he held back because he could hit damn hard and he knew it.
This newcomer wasn't holding back; his fists pummelled Tombstone with enough force to knock the crime lord back. Peter watched in shock as 'Spider-Man' flicked both his wrists out, shooting two webs past Tombstone and using them to slingshot himself toward Tombstone, his feet smashing into Tombstone's face and knocking him down. Without a moment of hesitation, the fake Spider-Man flipped and brought his foot down on Lonnie's face with enough force to crack the villain's stone-like skin.
"Y-you ain't normally this strong," Lonnie groaned, pain clear in his tone as the fake just laughed and kicked him in the head again.
"Oh, Lonnie, how little you know. Man, you kinda suck at this. Immovable force, my ass. You're no Juggernaut," 'Spider-Man' taunted, webbing Lonnie to the ground as he paused, turning to face Peter.
Instantly, Peter's spider-sense screamed danger, and he jumped back, but the fake didn't move to attack. It was constantly going off on a lower level, warning him of a danger he couldn't see. It wasn't coming from any one direction, and whatever it was, he didn't know how to dodge it. Some kind of subtle area of effect attack?
"Identity theft is not a joke, Jim! Millions of Americans suffer every year," Peter said, not letting himself show how disturbed he was.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," his own voice said back, as he bounced on the spot, throwing some punches at the air. "Besides, you've got a nice skillset. I'm just borrowing it."
Yeah, no.
Whoever this was, they might be playing hero, but they were going way too hard. He could see the Tombstone's men scattered around the street in various states of injury. He didn't think any were dead, but some were damn close. He couldn't have someone running around using his powers so brutally.
His wrist flicked out, shooting a web to try and catch the copycat by surprise. He was entirely unsurprised when the copycat did the same thing, both of them dodging the web the other had sent. Okay, this was going to be annoying.
They both moved at the same time, closing the distance in an instant, and Peter got a first-hand lesson in how annoying it was to fight him. The first minute of the fight was just a brawl, with a dozen punches and kicks being dodged as they both danced around each other's attacks, not a single blow landing. He jumped back, confirming his fear. This guy had his Spider-Sense.
His own Spider-Sense was still going haywire, and it wasn't a false positive either. He could feel himself growing tired as they fought. For a moment, the fake did a backflip to dodge over two webshots, and as the fake was faced away from him, his spider sense calmed down for a moment and then went wild the moment the fake looked at him again.
"Some kind of sight-based draining power?" Peter asked, making the fake pause.
"Aww, aren't you a smart cookie, Spidey," he mocked, making Peter briefly realise what his villains felt when he mocked them. God, was his voice really that obnoxious? He went to speak, freezing as he saw some new arrivals dragging away the unconscious thugs and Tombstone.
He went to fire a web at the men trying to pull Tombstone away, but the fake caught him by surprise as he just… teleported, landing the first actual hit of the fight as the fake Spider-Man's foot crashed into his back, sending him stumbling forward. He recovered and rolled away as the fake teleported above him and tried to crush him, the blow cracking the street beneath Peter.
"I'm your opponent, Spidey. Don't worry about them, Lonnie isn't your problem anymore," he said, a dark promise in his tone.
"What are you doing?" Peter asked, making him laugh.
"What you should have," the fake replied. "Look at how much you hold back. How long are you going to play with the kid gloves, Spidey?"
Frowning beneath his mask, Peter made a decision. He didn't know what Copycat's game was, but he was right about one thing. He couldn't hold back against a copy of him that wasn't holding back.
He lunged forward, throwing a punch with almost all his power behind it, but hitting the fake was no easy feat as he simply teleported away. Teleporting and Spider-Sense was some bullshit, but Peter recovered quickly, spinning around and using his webs to launch himself forward, much like the fake had done to Lonnie.
His trajectory didn't go where he expected; his body felt far too light as he went too high and too far, almost floating. He felt like he was in low-gravity, and in the air, he had less chance to dodge as Copycat teleported below him and grabbed his leg.
As Copycat swung him at the ground, gravity suddenly inverted again, and now he felt too heavy as he was brought down to earth, his face smashed into the street. How do you fight someone who has your powers on top of teleporting and gravity manipulation?
Ice formed, trying to freeze him to the ground as he sprang up, kicking Copycat away and dodging away from the ice forming beneath him.
"You're really annoying, you know that?" Peter said, not showing his growing concern.
"I guess I got more from you than I thought," Copycat taunted back, making him roll his eyes. Yeah, he walked into that one.
All his practice in controlling his strength went out the window as he closed the distance again, his restraint tossed aside. Copycat copied his movements again, but as they clashed again, Peter realised something.
As they both slugged it out, Peter was the one landing blows, and he heard a rib crack from the first punch that instantly made him hold back again. Copycat was almost as strong as him, but if he wasn't holding back, he was stronger and faster. Copycat seemed surprised as he teleported away after coming out the loser in their clash, clearly favouring his right side.
"Guess the cheap imitation can't match the original, huh?" Peter asked, making Copycat laugh. It was a pained, and yet almost impressed laugh.
"You're stronger than I thought, Spidey. Guess I can't quite match your full potential yet," Copycat admitted, placing a hand on his chest where Peter had felt the rib break. "Guess I'm gonna have to cheat."
Like he hadn't been cheating from the beginning, because Peter was starting to feel increasingly tired, his body heavy, and his breath uneven. He couldn't drag this out.
This guy had an amazing power, and the fact that he was going after villains was a good sign, but he clearly didn't understand his own strength. He could do so much good, but first Peter was gonna have to kick his ass and find out where those guys had dragged Lonnie off too.
As he closed the distance, the fake didn't move at first, and when he did, Peter felt his heart stop. The red and blue of his suit faded, replaced with regular civilian clothes, his mask vanishing as Aunt May stared back at him. He knew it wasn't the real deal, but he still froze. He stopped his punch, unwilling, unable to punch May and in that moment, he lost.
His Spider Sense warned him, but he just didn't respond fast enough to the blade to the back as the Aunt May in front of him just vanished. He spun around, watching the fake Spiderman give him a mocking wave as he pulled the fucking katana out of him, gravity intensifying and forcing him down as a foot crashed into his jaw and sent him sprawling across the ground, webs hitting and binding him as he struggled, only for the ice to once again return and freeze him in place.
"Now, we're even," the fake said, the sword vanishing from his hand as he stood over Peter, injured but triumphant. He reached up, pulling his mask off as Peter's own face stared down at him. "I win, Peter. You'll survive. I didn't stab anything important. But I could have."
He seemed far too smug about winning, and Peter could only watch as the fake vanished and didn't return. He wasn't stuck for long, despite the webs and ice, but he knew Copycat was right. He could have killed him.
As he got up, wincing in pain at his latest stab wound, he cursed as he found no sign of Lonnie or the thugs around. They hadn't been handed in, so where had Copycat taken them? Why did Copycat have his own goons?
Listening to the police reports, he paused in disbelief.
Despite everything that had happened, he couldn't help the tired groan as he listened to a report of Spider-Man kidnapping J. Jonah Jameson and webbing him upside down on the side of the Daily Bugle building.
He didn't think Copycat was a true villain, but holy shit was he a petty asshole. No force in the universe was going to convince J.J. that it wasn't the real Spider-Man who'd literally juggled the reporter before webbing him up.
– Arthur King –
Okay, so Spider-Man's true strength and reflexes are above Legendary. Good to know.
He hits like a fucking truck. Maybe fate thinks its funny that he hit me in the exact same place he did last time, only this time he shattered my rib like it was a fucking stick. Why does he hold back so much? It's no wonder Tombstone was so confused about the ass-kicking he was getting.
My little trick wasn't easy. I used Seeing Double to ditch, accessing my photo database to pull out his Aunts picture so my clone could turn into her, and then using Cloak to turn the clone invisible before it exploded into ash and gave up the gig.
Feats Achieved: Defeat the Vulture. One Roll Granted. Defeat Tombstone. One Roll Granted. Defeat Spider-Man. Three Rolls Granted.
Yeah, no shit he's worth more than the others. Lounging in the pool, I let my rib heal with a satisfied groan. I already love this place.
Rolling. 67 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 70. Rare Astral Plane.
Rolling. 17 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 20. Junk Item (Artefact).
Rolling. 44 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 47. Common Item (Weapons and Armour).
Rolling. 63 + 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 66. Uncommon Perk.
Rolling. 93+ 1 (Stone of Good Luck) + 2 (Domino). 96. Mythical Power.
[Building: Fantasy Castle] - Rare
Hey, at least I have a place to stay in my Astral Plane now. I won't say no, plus it gives me a place to put the minions when they're not working so they're not just standing around the forest like something out of a horror movie.
[Jar of Infinite Glitter] - Junk
A jar filled with an unlimited amount of glitter that is extraordinarily difficult to clean off.
Junk? I think not. Where does Spider-Man live again?
[Steel Set] - Common
A massive collection of weapons and armour made out of steel.
Again, it's not a game changer by any means but it does mean I can equip my men to look like fantasy knights to fit my castle. Plus, it's better to have a massive armoury filled with swords and stuff than not to have one, I guess.
[Free from Sustenance] - Uncommon Perk
You no longer need to eat or drink to survive.
Try telling my Gluttony curse that. I still eat enough for a small army. I need to finish that quest soon, but finding people who are good enough to be classed as a master chef isn't easy. Even the best restaurants only tend to have an expert.
[Mr Nice Guy] Mythical Power
This power prevents anyone from seeing your actions as anything but 'nice'; even if you assault them, they will make excuses and find themselves unable to consider hurting you.
I kinda hate that my luck so clearly changed after Sett gave me his Luck power. I know it only gives me a +2 to rolls, but my rolls in general have been so much better since then. Still, this power is bullshit and it definitely falls into the category of extremely questionable powers. Fortunately, I can turn it on and off, but I'm going to have to play around with this and work out how far it can go.
Luckily, we've already established that this world has more than a few villains who are totally acceptable for testing.
As Lonnie is shoved into my gallery, my upgrade quest completes, and I grin. Now I can summon three 75% power copies. As my rib finishes healing, I focus and create three Ophelias. I still have some time to kill, after all.
[Puella Magi Homura Magika - Upgrade Quest]
Objective: Gain ten rolls for things done in aborted timelines (0/10).
Reward: Fifteen Minute Jump, Injuries no longer travel back with you.
Because of course I'm upgrading my fucking time travel power next.
– Next Morning –
After a long and productive night, it's nice to 'wake up' to Rogue cuddling me. She beams at me, giving me a good morning kiss, unaware that she was alone for most of the night. Plus, it's nice to have company for the morning shower as well. I certainly don't mind washing her back.
Or her front.
As Rogue leaves for classes, I head to the Danger Room. I know they're keeping an eye on me, and if I keep disappearing, I'll look more suspicious. I used my [Tinker Speciality: Detection and Analysis] to scan my room for hidden cameras, but found nothing, and I'm fairly certain I didn't miss anything so they shouldn't have any way to know I wasn't with Rogue last night.
Admittedly, exposing Copycat was stupid, but I also got to beat up Spider-Man, so it was worth it. I have no real attachment to this place, besides Rogue and maybe Kitty, so if they take offence to my activities, I'll ditch Xaviers. As far as I'm concerned, I've done nothing wrong.
Okay, maybe taking J. Jonah Jameson on a magical ride throughout the city was a little over the top, but the guy is a dick anyway. Honestly, I did Spidey a favour.
All I have to do is keep building up my strength while avoiding the people my curses mentioned. Doom seems to be in some eastern European country, so that shouldn't be hard, and Emma Frost is some CEO, so I doubt I'll run into her either.
Maybe my luck really is finally turning.
— Bonus Scene — Emma Frost (The White Queen)
It was no exaggeration to say that she, Xavier and Magneto all spied on each other constantly. They represented the three paths for Mutants who wanted to survive, and she was certain that her school was the far superior choice over Magneto and his extremist Brotherhood or Xavier's pacifistic optimism.
Magneto and Xavier were regularly at odds, even if they tried to avoid outright fighting as their kind couldn't afford pointless losses. She, however, kept her distance from their nonsense. Both sides were far too extreme for her, just in opposite directions.
It was this distance that meant she was, unfortunately, the last of the trio to learn of Destiny's prophecy over the newest Omega-level mutant, much to her annoyance. Her agents had failed to share this information fast enough for her to snipe Mr King from under the other two.
She recognised the name, if not Arthur himself. The King family had been members of Hellfire for generations, originally from the London branch. Sebastian Shaw had killed Arthur's parents and used his connections to steal their vast business empire years ago, leaving Arthur with nothing. He likely had never even heard of Sebastian Shaw, but the fact that she had a mutual enemy with Arthur should have made recruiting him easy. It should have given her a weapon to help remove Shaw's leash from around her neck.
Instead, Sebastian had learnt of Arthur King's mutant awakening first, and the man's paranoia meant he wouldn't tolerate Arthur's growing power. And yet, Arthur was safe within Xavier's mansion, and had the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D watching him after the recent mess with Black Widow.
So, eliminating King was by no means an easy feat, even ignoring Arthur's own burgeoning abilities.
As she looked at the picture of Arthur King, she couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the young man. A victim of Shaw's greed and cruelty before he was even a teenager, and now in the sights of the same man who held her on such a tight leash.
If nothing changed, Arthur would either be killed or turned into a puppet for Shaw, and she found that unacceptable. Arthur would thrive far better under her more… gentle guidance, after all.
Considering her options, she smiled darkly for a moment. Outsmarting Shaw was not easy, by any means, but she'd done it before. Shaw believed, to this day, that his lover had died saving his life. Which meant, he had no reason to watch out for Lourdes if Emma called on the favour the would-be black queen owed her for getting her away from Shaw and his growing madness.
Arthur was going to be her secret weapon. She'd even make sure he enjoyed it.