Arthur placed his pyjamas under the pillow and straightened the bed sheets. He had just finished tidying his room from last night.

He had come back through his front door with his civilian clothing on. He doubted any neighbours would question him for being out late. It wasn't exactly a secret that the Brit spent nights away, though most pegged this to noisy neighbours and not... drinking...

Having returned to his home, he had put his white suit away with his other one-time-use suits, while putting the Rose of Britain, Time Turner and Spider Amulet amongst his souvenirs from other interesting escapades, most of which involved supers.

Unlike most super villains, Arthur wasn't entirely sure what to do with stolen goods. Keep them? Throw them away? Sell them?

He knew most villains sold their items and gained money that way, however, Arthur had a secret life to keep secret; Kirkland suddenly becoming loaded wasn't exactly inconspicuous.

After Arthur had put his gear away last night, he had taken out any blue-prints, lists or plans to do with that evening, placed them in a bin and lit it. He, of course, kept some notes, but most of them had to be destroyed. He knew that there was a chance someone might discover his tiny little secret, so he always destroyed everything he deemed disposable or unimportant.

Arthur walked back into his kitchen and put the kettle on again. He would probably receive some more calls during the day. Feliciano and Kiku had already called him. All supers involved with Kirkland, knew that he'd been attending the Rose of Britain thing last night. Francis may call him and complain about how Arthur deliberately avoided him, but that would probably end with a "heated" debate on whether or not it was in reality Francis' fault they barely saw each other anyway.

Arthur started cleaning his bin, removing the black smoke stains left from last night. He wasn't sure what the Magician should do next. His more secretive project was still running, but that was a slow-paced plan that would take months before it finally came into fruition. He'd already been at it for two months, after all. He'd have to wait a while longer...

He sighed. He knew there was still a lot of work to be done before he could call himself the most feared villain of New Pond City again. While the populace (including most super villains) would peg him as a guy not to mess with immediately, the Great Dragon and Cold Bite were not going to be so easy to convince. They would challenge him, act as rivals, if not enemies. As if being up against two powerful supers wasn't bad enough, they had a bunch of super-powered henchmen to back them up.

Ugh, how I hate gangs... Arthur thought, reusing his old mug for tea.

So first things first, destroy the gangs. The best way of doing that was by removing their respective leaders. But both were strong men and in a fair fight, the Magician would lose. When dealing with Cold Bite, Arthur could probably rely on his smarts, but with the Great Dragon, that wouldn't be enough.

In an unfair fight it would be even riskier, with the two probably going overboard with cheating.

Arthur stirred his tea.

So, if he wanted to take down the Dragons and the Frozen Stars, he'd have to weaken the gang's loyalty to their respective leaders and pick up a few team mates to take the two down. He paused, thoughtfully.

What were the reasons for the gangs?

Oh yes, Jeanne Ofarcher. The new head of police was responsible for bringing a lot of super villains to justice. Most super villains she caught were given the death sentence, but the luckier ones got lifelong imprisonment and the luckiest had the possibility of actually leaving the prison... eventually.

The sudden realisation that they could get caught and given the death sentence had frightened a lot of super villains into joining gangs for protection. So Arthur would have to deal with her at some point. This problem would preferably be something for his future self to deal with.

The gangs also existed because of that power vacuum he had left when he "disappeared". That unfortunately got filled by two super villains that were gang-oriented.

Well, he was back now, so super villains had an alternative to gangs... However, Arthur couldn't promise them protection... Or could he? He had sabotaged a lot of plans before, for both villains and heroes. Sometimes he'd sabotage them without their knowledge, sometimes with. He supposed he could sabotage Ofarcher, but that would require a lot of time and patience and almost always keeping a tab on her...

The Whisperer refused to give information about non-Supers, which meant that relying on the Whisperer for anything would be pointless.

He sighed and walked into his living room.

All right, Ofarcher really had to be a problem for future self.

A lot of villains were also forced into joining gangs. No doubt, if he continued making appearances, he too would eventually be forced to join a gang...

Black Ninja was an obvious guy to be forced into a gang. He could easily be fished out, with some outside help. First, someone had to make Kiku aware his blood had more metal in it than most. After that, all they had to do was deactivate those nano-bots and Kiku would be a normal guy again, without a self-destruct button.

Oh. He had referred to Shiro Ninja as Kiku again. Arthur groaned and sat down on his sofa, looking at Geraldine's bowl.

"Well? What do you think Gerry?" Arthur asked, looking at his goldfish. Geraldine seemed to look back at him.

"Do you think I'm getting too personal with the supers or not? I'm on first-name basis with them and also refer to them as such in my head! What if I start... You know... Stop hating supers... The whole reason for the Magician would completely cease! I... I still hate supers with a burning passion, but what if... I'm wron-"

Arthur stopped himself from finishing that sentence. He knew that if he ever finished that thought...

He couldn't. He wasn't ready to admit something like that, nor was he ever going to be ready. He simply... He had to direct his grief somewhere, and if not hate...?

"No, I won't think like that, you're right, I shouldn't!" he exclaimed, as if Geraldine had told him all this. Geraldine swam around her bowl.

"But this doesn't change the fact that I have in fact befriended... Them. What if I find myself unable to be their opponent one day? Or if I drag them down with me? I mean, not that it's bad being a bad guy, it's just an alternate lifestyle... Sort of... But they're them and I'm me; this kind of thing isn't meant to work unless someone changes. And hell if it'll be me. And what if they reveal their secret identity to me? Or worse, learn my secret identity? Or even worse... Learn all my secrets? Like... Like the Fourth of July... I..."

Arthur silenced and sat down. Geraldine seemed to look at him curiously.

"I don't like thinking about these things." he finally said after a while. "... I have never regretted in my life, nor am I going to start now. I have no regrets. But what if... What if I do start regretting... Was it a bad idea to, even if accidentally so, befriend them? That would be my first regret... You agree, don't you?"

Arthur looked at the goldfish, massaging his forehead. Geraldine swam around her bowl several times, before facing the Brit again. Arthur smiled.

"Oh, so you think it wasn't a bad idea, huh? So you think it was ingenious, huh? So you think I shouldn't regret anything, huh? Well, I suppose not. I should stop over-thinking everything and just go with the flow. Focus on the gangs for now, right?"

Arthur softly touched the bowl with his fingertips and the goldfish swam up to them.

"I see, that's how it is. You're right, I should focus on the Magician. If things get too complicated, focus on one goal. I've been doing that for years now, I have no reason to stop."

Arthur moved his hand along the bowl. The goldfish followed. Arthur looked the fish over, using the Sight.

"Oh, Gerry, what's that? My favourite girl's hungry? Well why didn't you say anything? I'll go get you some food then."

Arthur went and got the goldfish food. He would never admit it, but he really liked having a pet. It gave him something to talk to and also sort of gave him company. He felt less alone and could be completely open to the creature. Well, sometimes he wouldn't be... But... That had absolutely nothing to do with him being unable to admit things to himself!

He came back and fed Geraldine.

"Oh, now you want to know what I was thinking about?" he asked, watching Geraldine swim around her bowl to get her food. He leaned back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling.

"... I figure getting Blackie to join my cause will be easy enough. I don't know much about Blue Hands. Both the Great Dragon and Cold Bite are bastards, so I'm sure a lot of their gang member will gladly rebel if they know someone's got their back... Maybe the Whisperer will help me? No, he's a neutral... Even in a battle to restore order... He wouldn't help. I need more information on Blue Hands though. That's a definite trip to the Whisperer either way. I guess I can also ask him his opinion on... Oi, Gerry, are you even listening?"

Apparently, the goldfish wasn't. She swam quite happily in her bowl, ignoring her owner completely. Arthur didn't mind. It was just a fish after all.

"Such cheek! I feed you, I clean you and this is how you repay me!" Arthur said playfully, tapping the glass gently. Geraldine remained undisturbed. Arthur sighed and got to his feet.

Essentially, the Brit would either end up organising an all-out brawl between the leaders of two huge super-powered gangs and their lower members or have the two officially defeated and arrested by Jeanne Ofarcher and/or the Dream Team... Also, how would he get Kiku to realise the reason why Yao was-

Arthur's doorbell rang.

Irritated that his train of thought had been disturbed, he walked over to his door and looked through the peep-hole. It was Francis.

Oh fuck.

Francis had seen Arthur leave last night with "food poisoning". It was too soon for Kirkland to suddenly be better... Arthur looked at himself. Neat, tidy, dressed. Didn't look particularly ill.

Oh, bloody fucking hell.

Arthur quickly ran up the stairs, practically tearing his clothes off and slipping into his pyjamas again. He quickly threw on his dressing gown and dishevelled his hair, rubbing his eyes with a lot of force until they felt weird. He splashed cold water onto his face and didn't dry his hands. He threw a blanket around his shoulders and then ran down the stairs, slipping into his slippers.

He slammed the door open.

"What the fucking hell do you wa- Oh. It's you." Arthur said, "tiredly". He mentally checked himself for bad posture and a hand massaging his supposedly aching stomach. Check on both.

"Bonjour to you too! I see you have woken up with the sun shining and all~!" Francis replied, frowning at Arthur's vulgar language. Then again, Francis could understand the Brit's grouchiness. He probably did feel worse than crap, after all.

"So, do tell why you decided to come by when you're fully aware that I am sick."

"I came to see how you doing and if you need help!"

"And you just happened to be in the neighbourhood?" Arthur snapped.

"Don't be daft, I made time to come over!" Francis replied. He gently pushed Arthur aside and entered. "And I brought coke! That should help with your poisoning!"

Arthur blinked in surprise, not used to someone simply inviting themselves into his home. Eventually, he snapped out of it and crossed his arms.

"Frog, I am in no mood to entertain the likes of you today. Can't you go fuck with someone else? And don't you have work today?"

"Non, not until this afternoon." Francis replied, unaffected by Arthur's rude attitude. If you could get used a punk Arthur at high school, you could never go back to being un-used to it. He placed the coke on the kitchen table, frowning as he looked around the room. "Ah, it is good that I came. No coke to be seen anywhere!"

"Were you even listening to me?"

"Désolé rosbif, but I do not like the sound of your voice, so I tune it out." Francis replied offhandedly, looking through the shelves.

"Where do you keep your glasses?" he asked.

"Top cupboard, to the left."

"Merci."

Francis poured some coke into a glass, then looked through some drawers, eventually finding a teaspoon and using it to stir it.

"Don't worry rosbif, I will leave you be when I know you are well looked after. Anyway, do you feel any better from yesterday?"

"No. I just want to curl up and die. You have no idea how unbearable this is. I feel like I have to be sick again, but I've already thrown everything up..." Arthur trailed off. What else did you usually feel when suffering from food poisoning? Fever? Dizziness? He couldn't actually remember, since he hadn't suffered from something like this in years.

"Here, stir this." Francis said, handing Arthur the glass of coke. "Remove as many bubbles as you can, so that it doesn't disturb your stomach too much. It'll help settle it down, oui?"

"... How will drinking coke help?"

"It is an acidic drink. I think that summarises it enough." Francis simply replied. "Do you have any bread? Seeing as you were sick last night... Do you know what caused the food poisoning?"

"... I had chicken for lunch yesterday. I think I must have undercooked it. Or something." Francis looked him over in disbelief. What was so surprising about the Brit under-cooking something?

"Hm... Well, this evening you might be well enough to eat something again. Do you have a toaster?"

"Francis, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself." Arthur grumbled, crossing his arms. "All I need is some rest and to remain undisturbed."

"Nonsense, if you knew how to take care of yourself, you would have had those monstrosities checked out a long time ago. But seriously, do you have some kind of eyebrow condition or something?" Francis replied, searching for bread in the cupboards, but not finding anything.

Arthur ignored the insult about his eyebrows and lay down on the sofa, realising that someone with food poisoning wouldn't be standing around for such a long time. Luckily, Francis failed to notice that Arthur had been standing for a suspicious amount of time.

"Fine, fine. I shall not bother you any more." Francis said, looking through Arthur's fridge. "Ah, you have no bread."

"Ugh, just go away. I'll buy some later."

"Cher, you are in no state to go shopping. I will go and buy some for you."

"Whatever." Arthur moaned. He looked at Geraldine, who was in turn, looking at the Frenchman.

"... Did I miss anything last night?" Arthur asked, poking the glass of Geraldine's bowl. She turned her attention to her owner and swam up to the fingers. Francis visibly stiffened. This made Arthur want to smile, but he had to pretend he had no idea what was happening at the moment, so he could rub it in their faces tomorrow.

"Nothing worth mentioning..." Francis lied, looking away, at the coffee table opposite the sofa. "Rosbif, you should drink the coke." Francis said, noticing Arthur hadn't touched it. The Brit closed his eyes and curled on the sofa.

"Don't want to drink." he said, slightly childishly. "Stomach hurts."

"Trust me Arthur, this will make you feel better." At this, Arthur looked up at him. The two rarely referred to each other by their first names, usually using insults instead. Francis really and honestly wanted to help him. Sighing, Arthur picked up the glass and drank some.

"Can you go now? Go get bread or something." Arthur replied, closing his eyes as if he wanted to sleep.

"All right cher... Hey, don't you want a pillow or something?"

"No. I'm fine. Just let me rest." Arthur grumbled, using the blanket to cover his head. Francis sighed.

"I will be back soon. Good to know you're all right."

Arthur peeked through his blanket and looked Francis over with the Sight. The Frenchman was avoiding the Super community. He was being blamed for letting the Rose of Britain get stolen, as he had been present the whole evening. He visited Arthur because he really did want to know how he was doing. He also was avoiding talking to some of the Supers.

Francis left the flat, leaving Arthur alone again. The Brit sighed out loud, kicking off the blanket and getting out of his dressing gown. It was far too hot to be dressed like that.

It was going to be lunch in an hour and with "afternoon", Francis probably meant going to work at three. Visiting the Whisperer would probably have to wait until morning.

Arthur stretched himself and walked upstairs. He had a good half hour until Francis returned with bread. That was enough time to quickly write an article for the New Heta Papers.

Arthur was not amused. As if having to pretend being sick wasn't bad enough, the twins decided to drop by for a visit. More like, Alfred dragged Mattie with him to see how Arthur was doing. He didn't know how it happened, but everyone involved in Kirkland's social life had somehow learnt that Arthur was suffering from food poisoning.

As Mattie and Alfred had both witnessed Arthur's cooking before, they had decided to come over and make dinner for him. Arthur really couldn't understand why though.

At first, the Brit didn't mind, as the two were, much like everyone else, shaken up by what had happened last night, what with the Magician and all, but now Arthur was starting to regret letting them in...

They were watching a horror movie, the name of which the Brit couldn't remember. However, he was fully aware of an extremely clingy Alfred, who had at first been hugging his brother for dear life, until Mattie made an excuse to leave and so, switched over to squeezing Arthur to death.

In the film, the last character screamed in horror, having realised that all her friends had been killed by the monster and that she was the last one left. Then a suspenseful chase followed, as she ran away from the creature. She did so successfully and now found a way to escape the haunted castle. But just as she left the place and thought she was home free, the monster appeared again and killed her. Cue end credits.

Alfred screamed hysterically. Arthur choked, which prompted the American to loosen his grip on him. Still, Alfred continued screaming and started becoming hysterical. Arthur sighed.

"Alfred." he said.

No response.

"Alfred."

Still no response.

"Alfred."

"Y-yeah Artie?"

Arthur briefly wondered how the adorable younger brother in his memories had become... This.

Wait. Artie?

"I told you, it's Arthur. Not Artie or Art or Arts or any other dumb nickname you can think of. It's Arthur. And can you please let go of me now."

"O-oh, sorry dude. I was, just um... J-just protecting you from the monster, is all..."

Arthur looked at him confused.

"... Why would I need protec-?"

"HOW'S YOUR STOMACH?" Alfred quickly shouted to distract the Brit. It worked, as Arthur was too stumped to continue bugging the American.

"Uh... It's fine, thank you. I don't feel so sick any more."

"Ha! That's great!" Alfred said, smiling. The American was still shaking slightly. "Just in time to go back to work, huh? What are you working as, again?"

"Freelance for New Heta Papers." Arthur replied, sitting up and pushing Alfred far away from him. "Did you really need to hug me to near-death? I swear, I think I've got some bruises..." Arthur muttered, annoyed. He was pretty sure Alfred had at one point lost control over his super strength. He was quite honestly surprised a rib hadn't broken.

"Oh, heh... Sorry about that..."

Mattie entered the room, having heard the film ended, in his hands a tray of long overdue snacks.

"I'm back with the snacks! Oh! The film ended? Ah, too bad, never mind, eh?" Mattie lied, smiling. Alfred noticed nothing. Arthur did. The Canadian had spent the second half of the film in the kitchen, reading a book, rather than watching a horror film with a hysterical Alfred and being squeezed to death. Sneaky. Clever.

Mattie didn't turn out too bad.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss anything worth mentioning." Arthur replied. Alfred smiled nervously.

"Bro, d'you think we should go home now? I mean, the sun is setting and all..."

"Hm? Afraid of the dark Alfie?" Mattie asked innocently. Alfred shook his head.

"N-nah, but I think we should stop bothering Arthur now, I mean, he's better now, so..."

Arthur contemplated what to do. On one hand, he could say "Oh, I don't mind you being here." and thus make Alfred stay until it was dark outside, boosting his irrational fear of ghosts that had already been boosted the the film... But the problem with that, is that the American might refuse to go home.

It had happened before.

Unfortunately.

Arthur decided to side with Alfred, rather than risk having the twins stay overnight at his place.

"I would like to get some work done, so I wouldn't mind you two leaving early." Arthur spoke up, folding his blanket.

Mattie frowned and thought for a moment, before agreeing.

"Well, I suppose. I've got some college work to work on anyway..."

"It was lovely of you to drop by though, it's much appreciated." Arthur said, as he followed the two to the door.

"Any time bro~" Alfred said, smiling. The two put their shoes on and jackets.

The three bid their goodbyes and Arthur was finally left alone at his home again.

"Finally." Arthur said out loud, walking back to his living room. "Can you believe it Gerry? A whole day wasted by them! Now I've been put back a whole day in plotting!"

Geraldine wanted feeding again. Arthur gave her some food pellets and sat down opposite her, head in hands and frowning.

Right. Where had he last left off?

"I think the first thing I need to do is talk to Blackie. But I need to do plan how I'll interact him, I do have to appear like that all-knowing Magician he knows. And I need to confront Blue Hands, learn more about him. What I currently know about him is that he has two sisters and likes sunflowers. That's not much to go by... I'll go visit the Whisperer tomorrow."

Geraldine continued swimming around in her bowl.

"Well, good night then young Lady." Arthur said after a while. He got up and went to his bedroom. He pulled out some paper and placed it on his desk, picking up a pencil. Once it was sharpened, he started plotting.

Killing the Great Dragon and Cold Bite was out of the question, so Jeanne Ofarcher would be an important component, as well as Black Ninja, whose record the Magician was going to clean...

fsdflkjalögjlöafdewiorpyxdfn, 86 reviews at Chapter 13? I love you guys so much. ^.^

Not much excitement going on here, just making it clear where the Magician now stands with his enemies, why I added Geraldine to the story and what he's going to do next...

And also, it really does help to drink coke if you've been sick (i.e. throwing up). It's acidic, which helps kill bacteria in your stomach. ;)

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!