[Edward POV]
One day before Thanksgiving.
Sitting by the pool while Barbara and Willa splashed around in the water, I watched as one of my duplicates finally dissolved, bringing memories flooding back.
'I hope she adapts well with her new parents', I thought quietly.
I had started the Guardian Angel website for anonymous reports of sexual abuse—anyone afraid to speak up, especially those still under the control of their abuser.
When a complaint came in, whether from the victim or someone who knew, my duplicate would go directly to the scene.
These days, I could split myself into a thousand copies, each lasting about an hour. That was enough. All of us had the sharingan, so they could confront abusers and verify situations themselves.
"Edward! Come on! Join us!" Willa called out flirtingly, while fixing her triangle shaped blue black bikini.
"I'm just going to admire the view for now." I smirked at her. She blushed and tried to spray water on me.
For victims abused by guardians, my duplicate enacted immediate punishment—showing abusers literal hell, trapping them in nightmares, then safely escorting the victim away.
Many victims never submitted reports. Abusers often isolated them. So I screened foster parents before they adopted, ensuring no one would harm a child.
I even placed a safeguard in their minds, making it impossible to abuse in the future. In a way, I was playing god. After traveling the otherworld, I have less and less reservation in doing so.
At the same time, I visited prisons, hypnotizing inmates to ensure no innocent person suffered for crimes they didn't commit.
When I found innocents, my duplicate would track down their prosecutors and judges, guaranteeing freedom for them within days.
The thousands of stories overwhelmed the entire country, and people were all searching for the one who did it.
Most people pointed their fingers at me, however I have a really solid alibi with the girls staying at my house.
People believed it was Obama working hard to clean up the system. In reality, it was me.
At first, I hesitated to interfere with free will, but evil made it a different story. Many judges resigned voluntarily, replaced by honest ones. The corrupt were gone, the rot purged from the institution.
Still it would take a lot of work before all of them were purged.
"Hey! This is freaking crazy news!" Haley walked hurriedly to the pool barefoot.
"What is it?" I asked, curious.
She showed me her phone screen, and a vague picture of a well known pedofile was choked with one hand by a masked man, 20 feet up in the air.
"There's a superhero in the world!" She said excitedly.
I smiled softly and acted dumb, "Thank god. Now, the attention will finally be taken off me."
I let the reporter who was following the story get a glimpse of me on purpose.
By establishing the existence of the supernatural agent of justice, it strikes fear into the heart of the people in this country, and also worldwide.
It meant that sins weren't going to be judged after they died, but rather right here in the world.
Together with the 2012 world ending prophecy, it made a lot of the religious people prayed consistently to avoid the judgement.
"Edward, are you sure it's not you?" Haley asked, narrowing her eyes at me suspiciously.
I acted taken aback and said, "I was with you girls the whole time. When would I ever get the time to fly out there punishing evil-doers?"
Barbara climbed out the pool and threw her wet blonde hair back as she joined the conversation, "You might not be the one who did that, but you can be the one who created him."
I snorted before I asked, "Is there another theory online?"
Barbara grinned hard and said bouncily, "People know that the cure would give people's super strength. They said that it was the mixture of the alien DNA and the supersoldier serum from Peter Kotsiopulos– You know, the CIA director who still hasn't been found yet–"
She sat next to me and leaned closer, pushing her wet skin onto mine, "Like, the guardian angel is born because of these two things mixed together."
"So if he has alien DNA, then… he's Superman? Which will make you…" Willa said while pointing teasingly to me, "Lex Luthor?"
"Points to Willa for having a deep knowledge of comic book lore. Except Superman is born a Krytonian. This is like, Superboy instead of Superman." I said geekily, which made all three girls roll their eyes.
"Even someone as hot as you cannot escape making a girl get the ick when you talk about comic books." Willa teased.
"Really? I should do that all the time since I basically have to poke the girls with a stick to remove them from me." I said as I tried to stand up, but Barbara pushed her body onto mine.
"Where are you going nerd?" She flirted roughly. "We're not done with you yet!"
Willa joined in and said, "Yeah! Give us everything in your pocket!"
I turned to Haley who was enjoying it and said, "Really?"
"What? It's a fun thing to watch." Haley shrugged.
I was enjoying my days with the girls at the house while my duplicates were doing all the hard work in the world.
"This better not awaken anything in me." I muttered as the girls were sucking on my neck.
…
-Duplicate Edward-
The gates of Neverland stood tall, marking the start of a city that looked almost unreal. The town was built near Los Angeles, in the Mojave desert area.
The entire town was surrounded with 50 feet walls.
Streets were lined with stone houses built in a European style, six or seven stories high, with gardens on the rooftops and small lawns behind every building.
Children ran freely through the streets, laughing as they passed bakeries, fruit stalls, and fountains. The air smelled of bread, flowers, and fresh vegetables grown inside the city itself.
It was like the lockdown never happened here in this town.
Teachers who had lost their jobs in the outside world now taught here. They sat with their students in shaded courtyards, speaking about history, math, and art.
Elderly people who were victims of the nursing home scandals where they were kidnapped from their houses were also there, passing down wisdom to the children.
Androids moved quietly in the background, carrying food, checking on people's health, and keeping peace in the city.
No child under eighteen went hungry. Adults ate cheap but good food. No one rushed, and no one feared losing their home.
Everywhere, people could walk. Families lived close to markets and schools. Musicians played in the plazas. Farmers brought baskets of fruit and bread to share. It felt like the whole city was breathing together.
At the center of it all stood the church. Its tall spire caught the light, and people gathered there every day, kneeling and praying to the God of the Sun.
The doors were always open, and songs echoed from inside, not about pain, but about hope and strength.
At the end of the hall sat the man they followed. He had white hair, a mask covering his face, and sunlight shining on him through the stained glass. He didn't ask for money or gifts.
He didn't keep women for himself. He let their worship come because he knew it pushed them to live better—to study, to take care of each other, to stay strong.
He wasn't a god. But to them, he was the reason the city existed.
That man was me– Edward Newgate, in disguise.
"Rise Priest." I told the woman who wore nun-like clothing to stand up.
Vivian stood, hands folded, eyes bright. "Lord, the county sent a letter. They want to send people to Neverland—an inspection. They say it's about taxes."
I kept my voice low. "Taxes?" I said. "They'll always find something to call an inspection."
She swallowed. "They say we're exempt for religion, but they want to make sure our records are in order. They don't get to walk inside without our say."
That was true. Neverland let no stranger through the gates without our invitation. The walls were high by design.
The city was private. On paper we were a religious sanctuary with the right to limit visitors. In practice, that meant auditors could ask for documents, but they could not march troops through the alleys.
I built this city using my illuminati network, just a few weeks before. It was just after I returned from the Zomworld.
Since the people I saved had nowhere to go, I built this town for them. Using my sharingan, I made sure that the entire process went by quickly.
To get the religious exemption was not an easy feat.
Flattening the ground, building the walls, I used my strength to do that. By separating myself into thousands of people, it was like the entire city was built using the might of ten million extremely skilled workers.
That's why a lot of the government officials were salivating about the city right now. They wanted it for themselves.
I let the hall breathe. The worshippers weren't shaken in the least by the topic.
"Just let them come in. They will not be able to see anything more than what I let them see." I said with a lazy gesture.
Vivian breathed heavily before she kneeled on the floor again.
The truth was already buried neat and legal. The children came with signed papers. Guardians signed them. Social workers filed transfers.
Everything looked tidy in the files—exactly as it should. No one outside would see the hands that moved the pens. And with the pandemic in place, no one really knew there was a new city in the Mojave desert.
Still, I did not pretend there would be no consequences.
They poke and prod when they don't understand. If the auditors dig too deep, questions follow. Questions become hearings. Hearings become headlines.
(Based on the Blacklist tv series. The religious city setting there)
Currently, there are a hundred thousand people living in the city.
That was the true danger. A hundred thousand was not a monastery, not a small retreat, not even a commune hidden in the mountains. It was a metropolis behind walls.
For comparison, the Vatican had less than a thousand citizens, mostly priests and officials. Salt Lake City, built by the Mormons as their sanctuary, had started small in the desert and took generations to reach what it was.
Even the Amish communities only numbered in the tens of thousands, scattered across states.
But Neverland? It had appeared in months. A hundred thousand people, gathered, organized, and sealed off under one faith. In the eyes of the government, that wasn't just unusual—it was alarming.
A hundred thousand was enough to sway elections. Enough to create an army if armed. Enough to build an economy that didn't depend on Washington or Wall Street. Enough to become, in every way, a state inside a state.
When everyone left me alone in the temple, I finally sighed and slumped on the throne.
"Good God. Why did I start this?" I muttered in frustration.
At first, I needed a place to keep the victims out of their abusive households, but now it had transformed into a genuine place of worship.
When the pandemic was over and the lockdown was lifted, I was sure the place would become a huge problem for the U.S. government.
The worst part was, I didn't want it to become this big, but someone made it impossible for that not to happen.
Sage came by happily as I sat on my throne and handed me another list. "Here you go. Now go on, do what you always do."
I sighed as I took the list from her.
As the Guardian Angel website was limited, Sage brought me the list of victims who needed to be saved by hand. She brought me the list almost hourly.
Sage—the old gods—was more excited about this than I was. I asked if anyone from Afterlife Corp. would stop me or try to intervene, but she said they were all too busy to care about it right now.
I sighed and whispered, "I really hope nothing bad comes of this."
…
[Real Edward POV]
"You want ME to investigate the Guardian Angel?" I looked at General Beckman, the CIA director, with disbelief.
The old lady nodded and said, "If he is truly working with Peter Kotsiopulos, then we fear a supersoldier army hidden somewhere in the world. Right now, we can't pinpoint the location of these superpowered individuals, but I believe you can do it."
She added, "Of course, this is not volunteer work. You would be compensated greatly by the U.S. government for it. I'm not talking about direct cash compensation, but in terms of government contracts."
I grinned and propped my head with my hand, looking at her lazily. "You know every single one of my subordinates is pissed with you guys."
She nodded, gulping slightly, and said, "I'm aware of that. That's why I proposed to the upper executive to let you handle this matter. By my rough calculation, the government contract work would bring your company around fifty billion dollars of profit in one year. This is the olive branch I'm prepared to give you to mend the broken relationship between you and us."
"Hmmm…" I crossed my arms and leaned back, furrowing my eyebrows in thought. "I'll think about it and discuss it with my people first, then I'll get back to you."
"I'll need a decision after Thanksgiving. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a turkey to slaughter for tomorrow," she said, suddenly wearing a farmer's hat while still in her military suit.
She cut the feed, and I laughed slightly.
"Pay me fifty billion to investigate myself? Like, that's the greatest deal in the world."
I called Robin, and she objected to the idea of mending the relationship with the U.S. government.
She felt they were too fickle and not trustworthy at all.
So I decided to reject the general's offer after Thanksgiving.
"Hey, Eddy! Your cousins are here!" Barbara called from afar.
Amy and Maggie came to my place, but both of them looked at me with sheer disgust.
"What?" I asked, confused.
Amy pulled her eyes away and said, "I'm telling Grandma."
"???"
I used the rocket instead of my portal to go to Wisconsin. I would be back Thanksgiving evening, so I could celebrate the holiday with my family and my "friends" back home.
"Grandma, you need to tie him up in the field until he learns his lesson," Amy told my grandma the second we arrived at the ranch.
My grandpa just looked proud of it, but my grandma was set in her ways.
"Edward! You need to pick one!" Grandma scolded me on Thanksgiving, hard but not unkind. I didn't hate it.
I also noticed that Grandpa was coughing a lot, sometimes secretly.
My dad and Frankie came by, and my aunts and uncles too. I played with the twins—Uncle Aaron's sons—and then checked on Grandpa later that night.
We didn't have turkey; instead, Grandma made braised ribs for Thanksgiving. It took fourteen hours to prepare.
"Are you all right?" I asked Grandpa as I volunteered to rub seasoning into the raw ribs.
"I'm fine, Edward. Never felt better," he replied, dodging the question.
I narrowed my eyes. "You know I'm better than most doctors in the world, right?"
He smiled. "I'm really fine. I thought I had the plague, but the test kit said I'm negative."
"Have you gone to the doctor?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said confidently. "They said I'm fine."
He wasn't lying. It might be the cold air—Wisconsin was already snowing, and Grandpa was seventy-eight.
"I'm going to check on you anyway," I said firmly.
He smiled. "Do what you want."
I scanned him with my scanner and felt with my chakra; he really was okay.
"I told you," he said before coughing again. "I think it's just the cold air."
"I'll check your lungs next. I think it's time for you to consider moving somewhere warmer," I said.
He waved me off. "I'm not going anywhere."
I tried to change his mind, but he was stubborn.
Ace—the black panther—came by and nuzzled his leg.
"Ace, are you hungry?" Grandpa asked affectionately as he rubbed the fur around Ace's neck.
Then he turned to me. "Edward. This is my home. This is where I was born, where I got married, and where I'll be buried. I'm not leaving this ranch, so you can stop worrying about it."
"I'm still going to worry." I said with a sigh.
Finally, it was Thanksgiving. We ate together as a family.
It was a completely normal Thanksgiving with no drama, except for my Grandmother completely targeting my dysfunctional romantic relationship.
I played in the snow– buying Amy and Maggie inside the snowman, and then rode my house in the snowy field.
Amy took some epic pictures of me riding the black stallion, which was then sold to the Variety magazine for about 1 million dollars.
Before I went back to LA, I had a talk with my grandpa.
We were watching Frankie and my dad from the porch, my grandpa sat on the lazy chair while I sat next to him.