Some time had passed since my Christmas proposal and Zach came back from the dead with Saw's new power. Honestly… second member of the fourth Mother Run Guild…
At least the New Foundation is finally finishing those portals. In a few hours we can finally travel elsewhere outside The Nightmare.
"Finally…we can travel to a different area." I said honestly, trying not to get distracted by the fact that just a Fourth Mother Run Guild appeared out of fucking nowhere…
"Is that why you insisted on waiting in line two hours before it's operational?" Saw asked, annoyed as a large cup of coffee was in both his hands that he was nursing like his life depended on it.
"Partly yes." I said. "Another part was to distract me from all the annoying shit you keep throwing at me."
"Not my fault I lucked out with that outing a while ago… still processing that Zach is alive…" He sighed.
"Is that why you've been nursing that cup of coffee like it's your only lifeline?"
"Considering I'm worried when I fall asleep I'll wake up and he'll be dead again… yeah."
"Listen, I'm going to give you some advice for someone that is going through the same thing." I said honestly. "And that's to relax-"
"I'll relax when you do."
… Fuck…
"See, I have reasons to not relax, you have a lot of reasons to relax."
"You're literally pregnant, you need to relax for them." He said, poking my now rounder stomach for emphasis… damn it it's hard to find shirts that cover it all!
"How dare you have a point…" I grumbled.
"How dare you make me have a point." Saw said, chugging a few gulps of the coffee.
"Well my point still stands though, you need to relax and enjoy their company…because at this point they won't magically vanish."
"I'm not worried about magically vanishing. I'm worried I'll come home to find all the people I love hanging again…" He sighed. "You have no idea what it's like to come home and find the one you love hanging from a noose and knowing it wasn't a suicide…"
"I know what it's like to have family die because it's my own fault." I said honestly.
"... The death hurt… but it's living past it that's what made me want to die." He sighed. "I never wanna go back to that place again… to that state of mind again…"
"Hey, listen." I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You won't ever go back to that state of mind alright? You are stronger than that…and you have friends and family to help you through it, you aren't alone anymore."
"I know… doesn't stop the anxiety though." He said, taking another breath before sipping his coffee again. "It's why I need to get strong enough to fight and beat David… that SOB is the embodiment of stupidly cracked, that Haunting Echo version of him proved it. If I can beat him, I can beat anything."
Given what I know of Big Brother… I agree. He was destined to create a new universe at the end of time… if that power is within David…
"I understand." I nodded. "Big brother is…really strong, destined to create a Universe at the end of their time."
"... Don't ever refer to him as Big Brother again. You sound like an incest hentai protagonist."
The red of my face was a very deep cherry red shade…
"How about you shut up, and how dare you make it weird." I huffed.
"You're the one sporting a bimbo body. Not to mention your voice is… it's a bit in that pitch range."
"Bite me." I huffed.
"Not even if my life depended on it. Besides, Delilah does that enough to you already…"
"Oh shush you." I huffed. "But at least we'll finally be out of here…I mean, I've been stuck in this specific area for ten years…a new area and a fresh perspective will help out a lot."
"Isn't it all more of the same but with different gimmicks?"
"I don't know." I said honestly.
"Well, whatever the case, I'm mostly hoping to get gifts for Scotch, Zach and the kids. Hopefully we land in a more modern area. The Leto and California areas have stuff but the picking is scarce."
"That's fair." I shrugged. "Plus we're going to be heading to the New Foundation, they should have a lot of neat things."
"You talk like I should know who the New Foundation is. All I know is that you talked to an old guy."
"The New Foundation…have you heard of SCP before?"
"Nope."
"Mildly surprising considering…" I muttered. "So the New Foundation is an entire thing that Secure's, Contain's, and Protects Anomalies ranging from more or less harmless like a Vending Machine that can give you whatever drink you want…but can be dangerous if you accidentally type in a cup of someone specific…to downright dangerous like 682 for example." I stated simply.
"Uh huh, now remember you're talking to someone- Wait… you mean that fucking crazy monster bitch Breeder of yours is a monster these people usually keep locked up? And you still fucked and knocked it up?"
"Yes." I said readily. "Mamma didn't raise no coward."
"Mamma didn't teach you to not stick your dick in the murder reptile either…"
"Eh, details." I shrugged with a smirk at seeing them grumble.
Some time passed and finally the portal was up and working. With eager anticipation I walked through, Saw following behind- Holy crap there's so many other portals!
Saw whistled. "They have more settlements than I was expecting. Don't even see a wall…"
"Yeah…this place is huge!" I said in awe.
"So, question is, where to visit?" Saw hummed, finishing his large coffee and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. He then picked up what looked like a flier/booklet from a shelf and walked back over to me as he flipped through it.
"Hmm…" I hummed, looking over the many portals…sadly there wasn't one that took me closer to my brother yet…hmm…"Find anything fancy?" I inquired, cause I was eyeing two in particular, one that seemed interesting in general and the other had the embers of another Phoenix in it.
"Two. One called Little Leto, an artificial Safe Zone housing all the victims of the Violence Y Labs Nokori transformations. That sounds like it could be fun. Secondly, a place called Infection Zone. It's literally all zombies and need I say more?" Saw asked me.
"Funnily enough, those were the two places I had in mind." I said honestly. "Considering how much I've heard about Leto I thought about visiting there…but maybe we should head to the Infection, cause there's a Phoenix there and maybe they know where to find David."
"Whatever you say Big Brother Complex." Saw said, making me huff as we headed towards the portal.
"Will you please drop the 'big brother complex'? I am not into incest."
"It isn't really though given you're not related in human or Phoenix biology." Saw said.
… Huh, he does have a point. Human wise all that came from vastly different realities and his Phoenix was born from a Galaxy and mine was a sun. There really isn't any- Wait why am I thinking about that?!
"Listen, you need to shush." I frowned. "I'm not going to have sex with David and that's final."
"Good. Something tells me that shapeshifting lover of his would actually eat you alive… I'm not joking I've seen them do it to other BOW's before… Not pretty."
Hmm… if my memories are right that should be the one fused with a rare mimic and given what my Phoenix knew of them…
…
They uh… were one of few entities that could hurt Phoenixes and mess with our regeneration…
"Right…" I said carefully. "Well then, let's just get going then."
We found the portal to Infection Zone. These embers… they're of a Phoenix but of a lower cast… Volcano…
With a sigh I walked through the portal, arriving in a… woah… all the people around here it's like…
…
It's like being home…
"I…this…feels like home…" I said in awe.
"It feels normal…" Saw said. "It's weird, right? Not just me?"
"The only thing that's weird is…this feeling like home." I said honestly, looking around the bustling city. "It's…wow…"
"Huh… welp, where are the zombies? I was promised zombies."
"Probably outside the safety of the city." I pointed out.
Then the fuck we doing in the city?" Saw asked as he already started walking.
"So you can get some gifts for Scotch, Zach and the kids?" I asked, seeing him stop mid-step as I told him that.
"... Killing zombies would be so fast though…" He groaned. "And don't give me that look, it's not like you even had plans when you came here. You just wanted to sight see."
"And…I wasn't making that obvious?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You really have nothing better to do other than follow me around do you?"
"Someone needs to keep watch over you." I admitted.
Saw rolled his eyes. He then pulled out a small notebook from his Assistant and flipped through some pages. "Well if you're gonna be following me around for this, first thing's first, need to find a movie store."
"Finding a movie store shouldn't be too hard." I said honestly.
"Hopefully. Two movie nerds and a lot of kids, movies go fast. Hopefully we can stock up." Saw said.
"You still watch movies…?" We both turned and looked at a… rather strange… lamia. She was small, possibly a child with hair on her head like grass and brown fur with her snake half's body had leaf-like sales. "How old are you?"
"Apparently over a century." Saw shrugged.
"Uh…" I frowned. "Before the Admin War." I said, which was correct but still felt weird.
"Ah… so you're the Ancient Warrior Milf." The kid said.
"PFFF! HAHAHA!" Saw lost it on the ground laughing.
"I mean…technically I am yes." I nodded, trying not to be shocked as shit about the sassy lost child speaking strange words. "Who are you if I may ask?"
"Jada. Underage caffeine addict, champion gamer, many undiagnosed mental disorders." She said, giving me a bow.
"Oh, oh this kid's awesome!" Saw said through his laughter.
"My name is Hero, Overage caffeine addict, Quirk enthusiast, and many diagnosed and undiagnosed mental disorders." I chuckled as I gave my own playful bow. "This Laughing McFluff over here is named Saw." I pointed to Saw.
"Former gangster, hit man, arsonist, thief, war criminal, more PTSD than hairs across my body, mentally questionally stableish." Saw said as he got up.
"Heh. You two are fun. Not from around here so I'm assuming you came here from one of the new portals right?" Jada asked.
"Yep, straight from The Nightmare." I nodded. "But what race are you? I…genuinely have not seen your species of Lamia before."
"I'm a hybrid. Mother is a part Floof Noodle, part Fae lamia, dad, at least when I was conceived, was a pony." She said.
"Ah yes, this reality really gives Biology and Mother Nature the middle finger huh?" Saw asked.
"Pfft. You should see some of my siblings." Jada chuckled.
"Floof Noodle?" I asked. "One…that sounds adorable, and two, are you sure that's the name of the race and not just a cute name?" I inquired.
"It's both." She shrugged. "So, what brings the world's oldest Milf and Mary's Little Lamb here?"
…
"You are allowed to laugh." Saw said as I did just that.
"I'm…I'm sorry just…" I calmed down my laughter. "The thought of the collar with the little bell on you is just funny." I admitted, though when I saw the small twinge of a blush…made me laugh a little more.
"Yeah well I can take a roast. From anyone but you. When it's you trying to roast me, it's personal." He said with a chuckle. "So anyway, what's wrong with going out and buying movies?" Saw asked Jada.
"Well now that you now have the New Foundation working with you, you can get TV and Internet." Jada said.
I stopped my laughter and Saw and I shared a look.
"The…the Internet is available?" I asked slowly, turning back to Jada.
"Well, not like off world, whatever that's like. New Foundation has their own servers and such that allows them to give their residents Internet, TV, Phones." Jada said.
"Do they make you pay for streaming movies?" Saw asked.
"No, all movies are free to watch on the archived sites of theirs and they have their own versions of youtube and some people even make their own movies. Games too, lots of games with online play even."
"...We should at least do some sight seeing and some Zombie murder." I pointed out to Saw. "It's still going to take them time since we just got a Portal…"
"According to dad, when they moved in here they did like, half of all this," Jada motioned around. "In like a few hours."
"So we still have a few hours to kill, plus the New Foundation also needs to mess with the Realm of Darkness part of our Settlement."
"Well, that takes out…" Saw said, looking at his notebook and crossing out a few things. "Toystore, bookstore, game store, and…" He looked at Jada. "Something for only adults to enter."
"Fair enough." I nodded. "By the way, do you know anyone that's a Volcano Phoenix around here?"
"Oh you must mean dad… yeah, stuff happened and now he's a Nokori." Jada said. "He and his group left to venture through the other areas now. Not sure where."
"Alright, and what's your father's name if I may ask?" I inquired, might as well get to know their name so I can find them later when they aren't traveling or busy.
"Button Mash. Can't miss him, looks like you but orange, brown and red and still fairly pony like." Jada said.
I nodded. "Thank you Jada, gonna have to meet him later." I admitted.
"Alright, just be warned he has a type and…" She looked me up and down. "Yeah…"
She slithered off and Saw was laughing into his hands.
"Can people stop acting like I'm doing some cross planet harem hunting?" I groaned.
"Can you blame them? Your Nexus Wanted Poster really doesn't help." Saw laughed.
Ugh… still can't believe they got a photo like that of me…
"They really need to update that, cause that is an awful photo…" I groaned.
"Maybe after you don't look so…" He poked my belly again. "Not sure if the people would find it funny or terrifying that you're reproducing."
"Probably both." I sighed.
"Yeah… so, now to find a toy store…" Saw hummed as we began walking around.
"Yeah, a simple toy store to look for." I said, wanting to get away from all the lewd crap here.
We walked around for a while, and eventually found a toy store, selling various board games, toys and figurines.
Alright, looks good.
We walked in, the store attendant greeting us.
"Welcome to Childhood Simplicity." She said, giving us a bow.
"Hello." I nodded to the attendant.
"Looking for some baby toys for the expecting little one?" She asked. "You're a cute looking couple."
…
I gagged.
Saw threw up…
"I'm…I'm so sorry for my friend here, but we are most assuredly not a couple!" I coughed.
"Featherbrain here may be a nerd but they are not my type!" Saw coughed.
"Uh…is there any cleaning supplies to clean this up?" I asked nervously.
The attendant quickly went and got some cleaning supplies. Saw was rubbing his head once we got into the isles. "Christ on a stick what the fuck…"
"I…I know this might look compromising but…holy hell." I groaned.
"Hero, the next time someone mistakes us for a couple, someone is dying… And since you and I are immortal… That just leaves the one to say that blasphemy."
"Calm down, you are not going to murder someone for saying a thing." I huffed.
"You know, what I've been through… Yes I will…" He sighed, spitting out some remaining bile. "Alright come on, I'm looking for some Doctor Who figurines and Lego sets…. Lots of Lego sets."
"And knowing how popular Lego and Doctor Who was even back on my world…I'm sure we'll find a lot of both." I admitted.
"True. Doctor Who for Scotch, Legos for Zach and the kids… probably some board games too." Saw said as we looked around.
I nodded, looking around for said toys and memorabilia. "So, how has Scotch and the kids reacted to Zach?" I inquired to Saw.
"Scotch is the one giving Zach and I advice on multi partner relationships and… figuring out how we're gonna make it work. Scotch knows I love him, and Zach, and he can tell Zach is a bit awkward in dating the both of us so he says for now I'm basically with them but they aren't gonna be with each other, if that makes sense… Zach adores the kids though, mostly because they're all fluffy."
"I understand the 'love you but not each other' bit." I nodded. "And I'm glad Zach is adjusting well and you getting some good advice."
"Yeah. Scotch is smart. Still kind of awkward having two boyfriends though. I mean, I love them both, Zach because, well, you know, and Scotch because after all the shit before… Just feels nice but also like… hard to believe I guess."
"You get used to it, especially since you only have two…I have thousands."
"Amazing you only now just got knocked up." Saw said as he pulled a few boxes off the shelfs.
We quickly got a lot of the things Saw wanted, and some extra. Saw then paid for it all and we began looking for the next store.
Huh… actually, where did he get the money?
"Uh…question, where did you get the money for all this?"
"Huh? Oh, our raids on Nexus Bases. I may, or may not have beaten a few Nexus grunts into giving me their rem for the promise I don't kill them… then tossed them to you for memory erasure and baby transformation."
… He made me an accomplice to robbery…
Actually… why do I care? It's not like I wasn't gonna do that anyway… Plus we loot all their stuff regardless… Huh…
"Hmm…" I hummed. "I…weirdly don't know how to feel about helping with very aggressive muggings…"
"We literally raid their bases, loot everything they have and you turn the grunts into babies. Oh also apparently their Assistant inventory remains despite their reset. Thankfully Inko found an Ability in the Skill Trees I've been using to empty said inventories."
… Huh, actually I didn't even think about their Inventories…
"Huh…didn't know that." I said honestly. "Good to know."
"Yeah so I got a few million rem to burn." He smirked. "And a lot of other stuff I figure I can try and sell for extra cash if I need to." He shrugged. "Alright, next up, Bookstore. Books and Manga would be best. Scotch and Zach both always wanted a library in the house, so something like that full of books and comics and manga would make their day and the kids would enjoy it too."
"We'd probably buy half the bookstore at that point." I admitted.
"You plan on buying anything?"
"Hmm, maybe." I hummed. "Cause there's a lot of things I could buy…" I admitted, cause there was…a lot of things I could buy for my family…oh dear…
We walked around until we found a large bookstore. All kinds of comics, manga and book books were sold here. Huh, neat. Hmm, might as well look around for something interesting while I'm here too.
"Hmm…" I looked around the comics and books, to see if there was anything that either my lovers or kids would find interesting.
Hmm… no, no, no… no…
…
I picked up this Manga. The cover image had me on it. Well, my old self from when I… jumped.
My Hero Academia: Quirkless.
There were only five volumes.
"Five volumes…" I muttered, pulling out the first volume and looking through it…
I flipped open to the first pages…
…
…
This is… word for word… scene for scene… when I…
The Izuku on the pages fell… and hit the ground.
The next page showed them in a hospital…
"Oh…" I muttered. "That's…that's what would have happened…"
As the me in the hospital bed sat unconscious, someone walked in… I blinked… Kai?
He walked up to me, a syringe in one hand and he drew some blood.
"Naturally Quirkless. Age, fourteen. Name, Izuku Midoriya. No obvious latent Quirk materializations. If not even a drop from that high triggered something then there's nothing to activate." Kai had said to himself as he looked at the syringe of my blood. "With nothing to trigger it might work…"
I frowned, turning the page to see what trigger might work…
The pages showed Kai taking out another Vial of blood. "This solution removes quirks when injected, the final product of years of research on Eri and her quirk… But… Bullets and injections can only do so much. An airborne or water based distribution would get a lot of headway… but that would take more time…" He muttered as he took another vial out. "Erasure Head's Quirk is what I would prefer but it's temporary… So, what better way to solve it than combining them. Permanent Quirk Erasure at a glance…"
"...Oh…oh no…"
I flipped the page, it showed Kai using his quirk on the vials of blood, the three becoming one that he then began to pull the mixed solution from the vial with another syringe. "Nineteen prior tests. All failures. Either latent quirk genetics were attacked and the subject killed, or the resulting mixture created an unwanted offshoot. Let's see if you're the lucky one, Izuku Midoriya." He said, injecting that stuff into my veins as it then went to a form of X-ray version of my body, the solution attaching to my DNA, filling what looked like holes or missing parts in the helixes before the next scene showed Kai checking my vitals on the monitors in the hospital room. "Subject remaining Stable. Now to just let it incubate and metabolize. With luck, when you awake, you'll be the perfect weapon against Quirks."
With that, Kai left, the next page showed a zoomed in image of my face… and a thought bubble.
"... I hate… Quirks…" The thought bubble read before the next page showed the title for chapter one. Quirk: 'Quirkless'…
…
"Damn it…" I muttered bitterly.
So… I was… meant to be a bad guy back home… had I not arrived here?
"Hey… You look depressed." Saw said as he walked up to me.
"All because of this stupid manga…" I muttered, showing Saw the thing. "This…is what I was meant to be…just some test subject made to hate quirks if I survived…"
Saw looked at the book, taking it and quickly flipping through it. "Huh… Well this is stupid. Though I guess this explains your disdain for guns." He said, showing me a page later. I seem to be training with Kai in their hideout. A gun in my hand that was smoking as several people were… "But why are you bitching over this?"
"Because I was destined to be a Villain, destined to be a murderer…Broken…" I said weakly. "And…given that there's a Chaos Guild named 'The Majority'...that…that means…"
I balked when the book was used to smack my face… I looked down at Saw. "First off, how dare you make me be the voice of reason, again, second. This," He pointed at the manga image of me. "Is not you. Maybe this is a possibility of what you could have been. Maybe not. Point is, this book is not you, nor your life. You're not a murderer, you're not a villain, you're an annoyingly goodie goodie hero that goes to rather absurd lengths to try and save people. So stop bitching over a book telling the story of what if and focus on what you are now, because this Izuku Midoriya is not you. You are Hero, you picked that name to represent you, so stop sulking over the what if option you didn't end up on."
… That uh… was actually rather nice to hear from Saw…
"That was…rather nice, thanks Saw." I said honestly.
"Yeah well regrettably I'm basically your best friend so the job of slapping sense into you rests primarily on me. Now come on, leave those books there's a whole lot of other options that won't trigger your pregnant moody ass." He said, but did have a small smile as he turned to leave this aisle.
I used Warp to pick up that book, giving the cover one last look before putting it back on the shelf. Right. That's not me. It will never be me.
The rest of the shopping was fairly uneventful. Saw spent a lot and still had plenty. I will admit when it came to the Adult Toy/Bookstore, I waited outside for him… though did mark this place down on my Minimap for Delilah… Knowing her… she might buy it out if she has the money…
After Saw was done with all his shopping we went outside the Walls here to partake in Zombie Murder.
Won't lie, it was… fun.
"I'm amazed at the variety around here." Saw said, one of his Sawblades hacking a splinting one in two. "Some of these are completely unfamiliar to me."
"Yeah, there's a lot of different types and subtypes." I said, using Poltergeist and Telekinesis to do all the work for me as I was ripping Zombies in half or slamming them together to make zombie paste.
"You know, it's really weird how effective you are in battle while… how far along are you?" Saw asked me.
"Three months and yeah… I'm actually surprised too." I said. I wonder what's up with that. I mean, not complaining, just amazed I'm still so agile.
"Well either way, if your regeneration is like David's, if you do get bit your body will just literally burn it out of you." Saw added.
"That's fair." I said, using Poltergeist to grab a Zombie and rip it apart and use it's parts to act like bullets straight through a bunch of other enemies.
"This is fun. Just some casual bloodshed with zero bitching." Saw sighed, smiling as he opened a Warp Portal and shot off a volley of sawblades into it, the other end opening above a hoard and raining down on them like sharp metal death. "Once Zach gets stronger maybe I can take him and Scotch here on a date? Zach did love zombie games, and Scotch can hold either two rifle-like guns or four handguns."
"That is true, and if they are into wanton zombie murder that's a good idea." I admitted, stepping on the ground and a ring of Ice formed around me and froze all the zombies and I stomped down causing them all to shatter.
"... Huh…" Saw hummed.
"What up?"
"I was just wondering… You were fused with a Sun Phoenix, a Hunter Shadow, and Keyblade Armor… and that one quirk of yours, One For All, it builds up energy right?"
"Yes, it does." I nodded. "But I started off at the very Base level so…I'm not sure if it suddenly got exponentially stronger." I admitted, while I had a moment I decided to check on that.
"Right but, how does it build up energy?"
"Well, from what I learned it builds up energy from obtaining powers, passing it onto another individual, and other such factors of creating 'Kilns'."
"Alright… Now… how does that apply to your Phoenix Biology?"
… Uh… Huh… To put a whole sun into a Kiln…
"I…don't know and that kind of concerns me." I said carefully.
"Would that even work?"
… Wait… if it does then…
I held up a hand, breathing slow as I pictured it… the Kiln… and inside… the sun. The Sun that birthed me… birthed my Phoenix part… Burning with all it's intensity contained… now… open the hatch…
My hand burst to life with pure plasma that seemed to make the air around me want to melt as I then shot it off in a blast of pure plasma that melted buildings and infected, turning what wasn't melted into an atomized state.
"Woah…" Saw said.
…
"UH…OKAY!" I said in some small bits of massive panic.
"Dude… that was awesome!" Saw said with a laugh. "You have been handicapping yourself I swear!"
"Not really." I said carefully.
"Oh please, if you could do that and with all the shit we've been through since you got this body, you were holding back unintentionally." Saw said.
I mean… maybe? I wasn't sure what was gonna happen or if that was even going to work…
"I've been busy with a lot of other things so…who knows." I shrugged.
"Either way, that's cool." He chuckled.
"Yes, it is really cool." I said honestly.
"So, what else can you do with this new realization?"
"Yes." I said slowly. "But…I'm not sure if I should since the babies…"
"Fair. So, that aside, what else should we do while we're here?"
"Hmm…" I hummed. "Well, maybe meet Button and Jada's family? Jada seemed interesting and I was going to meet them sooner or later having to meet Button's family so maybe we could do that."
"Since when are you so eager to meet a strangers family?"
"Cause I'm going to meet Button and getting to know his family would be a good idea and to learn a bit about him…plus we already met his daughter so there's that."
"..."
"..."
"... You are not fucking the horse…"
"I'm not going to fuck the horse!" I snapped. "Seriously, since we got here you kept thinking I'm going to fuck someone for some reason."
"Well you came here specifically wanting to find another Phoenix-like being. Pardon me for not knowing if that's just a desire to find someone like you or primal animalistic hormones."
I was about to counter… but also knew from my Sun Phoenix's Memories That Phoenixes of lower born cast were often… uh… used for that…
I shook my head very fast.
"It was not that!" I huffed. "Is it wrong that I want to just meet someone that's also a Phoenix?"
"I mean, why the sudden care? You never showed interest in it before? I can get your whole thing with David since your Phoenix and his have history, but why do you want to meet some specific-" Saw was speaking, then paused suddenly.
"What's wrong?" I asked carefully, looking around and trying to see if Danger Sense was about to go off.
"... I think we're being watched…"
"Where?" I asked, as when he said that it did feel like someone was watching us, I was quickly looking around in hopes to find our mystery person.
"Not sure, but they're far away…"
I nodded. Must be far enough to avoid Danger Sense… still, who would be watching us… and why?
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Danger Sense isn't going off…" I pointed out carefully.,
"It's weird… I really don't like it either- SHIT!" Saw and I jumped as it seemed that, suddenly, there was someone next to us. They were a ram Nokori, like Saw, but had wings… and one arm was blue, scaled and ended in claws. Two small ram horns were accompanied by two larger blue ones that looked more like ice than bone, and behind the two feathered wings were two larger blue leathery ones… He was also rather small. He just looked between us.
"Uh…hello?" I asked carefully, concerned as to who or what the hell this person is.
He looked at me, then back to Saw who flinched a bit. "... Gen Two BOW Nokori Subject 1." The new person said… their voice sounded like a kid.
"... And uh, you know that how?" Saw asked.
"It's in my database."
"And who are you?" I asked carefully.
"My name is Mantis." The uh… kid, answered.
"And…where did you come from?" I asked carefully, as I felt a rather…crushing amount of power radiating from this child…
"Demonic Invasion Zone. I was told this zone is where four newcomers came from. I was curious."
"Oh yeah, you were one of the new portals I saw back in the Portal Hub." I said. "My names Hero, and this is Saw, we're both from the Nightmare Zone."
"Interesting. Hm…" Mantis said as he looked me up and down. "Similar to BOW Subject 001 of the Gen 1 experiments… but weaker. Lesser Cast Phoenix as expected."
"How… do you know any of that?" Saw asked.
"My name is Mantis. Mantis Unite 0240." Mantis said.
"You're a Stalker?!"
"Formerly."
"Alright, but what's your actual name?" I asked. "Cause you aren't just a normal 'Former Stalker'...you're a Prize Pod Person." I said, noting Saw staring at me.
"How the fuck do you know that?" Saw asked incredulously.
"When you're dating thousands of them…you notice." I said simply.
"My name is Mantis." Mantis said.
"No last name from your parents?" I inquired.
"I have no parents… Well, I have someone who considers themselves a parental unit to me, but my system registered her as my Operator."
I frowned, but looked over them again…the way they held themselves didn't show much of a child…"How long has that 'formerly' been active?" I inquired, wondering how long they've been a former Stalker cause that might explain somethings.
"Seven years, but I've only had my own body and… life, for under a year."
"I see." I nodded. "You are still trying to…quantify and learn things." I said, as that would be the best way to explain it to myself and Saw.
"Affirmative." Mantis said with a nod. "So you two are experiments of doctor Alex Pitcher?"
"That's the fuckers name?!" Saw yelped.
"List of all Y Labs staff was uploaded to me as part of an… unwanted upgrade…" Mantis said.
"Can you help us find him?" I inquired. "While it might be difficult due to their most likely being other versions of him…I have a feeling you would have him under a specific ID right?" I asked, as he was one bastard that everyone was looking for and if I get this to the Saint it would be massive.
"Negative."
"Why?" Saw asked.
"There is interference with my genetic sensor in this Zone." Mantis said.
"That's strange." I hummed.
"Affirmative." Mantis said.
"Is it just your genetic sensor?" Saw asked.
"All Stalker Frequency Scanner channels in this zone are being blocked by a jamming signal of unknown source. Not even Hive Mind channels appear to work." Mantis said.
That made Saw and I share a look… he's here…
And New Foundation built a portal to here right in my backyard…
"...Fuck." I said carefully. "We need to inform some higher ups, now." I stated. "Is there anyway for you to circumvent that Jammer?"
"Negative."
"Shit… it makes sense though…" Saw said. "Doc always seemed the type to hide in plane sight…"
"Well, at least we can narrow down where he'd be." I stated. "And if I understand anything about him from what you told me Saw…is that he takes pride in his work as a Doctor, so we just need to find him through all the doctors and medics in this City."
"I still have that photo of him the Saint made from my memories." Saw said, pulling out said photo. "This is him, right?"
Mantis looked at the Photo. "Affirmative. Doctor Alex Pitcher. Country of Origin, North America. Specializes in the Genetic relation to Magic and Magical Entities Biology and Magic Mutations. Hired by Y Labs for his talents in his fields."
"Good enough for me." I nodded. "Cause if he tries to deny it, then we can actively prove it's him by Mantis's testimony that we are his work." I stated.
"You assume we can convince people…" Saw said. "Knowing him… he's been here for a while. Set up a reputation, an image. He's likely known by people as a generally good guy… might even be considered a good man… Not to mention, when it comes to Reflections, many might think we have the wrong version of him…"
"That's if he doesn't have suspicion pointed at him for whatever reason." I pointed out. "Even a tiny bit of doubt is enough to help us in our investigation." I said. "And…sadly, the one person that had suspicion on him isn't here at the moment…" I sighed, as Button was most likely transformed into a Nokori by the same Alex but he's in a different zone right now.
"You think one extra voice means anything against a jury of his peers?" Saw asked.
Fuck…
"We should at least test this out cause I don't want that asshole to get anywhere near my family and kids…" I frowned. "He's already got a portal in my backyard as is…"
"So what do we do?" Saw asked. "Head back into town and then what?"
"I….I don't know…" I sighed, scratching my head. "I…suppose I…" I hummed with some thought. "I suppose I could get a check up." I said simply.
"You'd willingly get checked up on by this guy if he is working here as a doctor?" Saw asked.
"Got a better idea on how to casually check on the bastard to see if he's the real deal or not?" I countered.
"I think you're putting your own unborn kids lives on the line…" Saw sighed.
"I could do it." Mantis said. "Scouting and Recognition are the primary purposes of a Mantis Stalker."
"And he most likely wouldn't know who you are." I said honestly. "You are a genius, Mantis."
"I have been called that, but my intelligence is a byproduct of my programming giving me analytical and learning abilities far exceeding standard natural born beings." Mantis said.
"In other words, because you're more or less a robot you're smart." Saw said.
"Affirmative." Mantis nodded.
"Perfect." I said readily. "So, let's get on with this new mission."
"Alright well let's get to it… This is gonna be fun… also, was that you watching us Mantis?" Saw asked.
"Affirmative." Mantis nodded.
"Were you watching us because of the zombie fighting or what?"
"Earlier this morning I detected a spike in magic in the area around my… home. That was Button Mash's arrival there, him and his party. I spoke with and studied them to add their data to my files." Mantis said.
"And what was Button like?" I inquired.
"Slightly agitated, pregnant, like you, upset he was outpowered by a child, seemed eager to fight something other than the undead."
"Well…we are eager to finally fight something that isn't some Eldritch monstrosity half the time." I shrugged. "And…good to know."
"Uh, how strong are you?" Saw asked.
Mantis showed us his- WHAT THE SHIT!?
[Mantis
HP: 15,000,000,000 (5,000,000,000 Base)
MP: 30,000,000,000 (10,000,000,000 Base)
ATT: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
DEF: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
PR: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
MR: 15/Max+9(5/Max+3 Base)
ER: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Status R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Poison R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Fear R: 15/Max+12 (5/Max+4 Base)
Bleed R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Acid R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Psychic R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
Disease R: 15/Max+9 (5/Max+3 Base)
—
Strength: 102/Max+9 (34/Max+3 Base)
Agility: 240/Max+9 (80/Max+3 Base)
Vitality: 150/Max+9 (50/Max+3 Base)
Vigor: 120/Max+9 (40/Max+3 Base)
Intelligence: 3,000/Max+9 (1,000/Max+3 Base)
Endurance: 300/Max+9 (100/Max+3 Base)
Dexterity: 210/Max+9 (70/Max+3 Base)]
Saw and I shared a look of pure and absolute disbelief…
"H-how?" I asked in absolute shock.
"It was a gift." Mantis said with a shrug.
"A…gift…of stats like that…" I said carefully.
"From my teacher." Mantis nodded.
"The hell is your teacher teaching you?" Saw asked.
"He's helping me understand emotions and how to realize when I'm feeling or having them."
"...I doubt emotions gave you all that…" I said slowly. "But…we'll figure that out later…"
"Oh no, he's just teaching me to understand emotions. These stats came from gear a late friend of his left him I absorbed." Mantis said.
"... Absorbed?" Saw asked.
"One of my… Unwanted upgrades, gives total control over my cells at the individual level." Mantis said.
Wait…
"That…that's…oh dear…" I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"And that means?" Saw asked.
"Mantis…is one of the most overpowered people on this planet without the stupidly high stats." I said carefully. "Total Molecular Control…have either of you heard of Plastic Man?" I asked.
"I doubt he can shapeshift… can you?" Saw asked.
"I never tried. It might be possible?" Mantis hummed. "I'd likely need both a base scan of their biology as well to absorb them to have an exact genetic blueprint to replicate the physical aspects of them…"
"You don't have to." I said. "You have complete control over every cell in your body, as long as you know the composition, you can make your body turn into anything you want, gain any power you want…you can do basically anything you want, increase your density to have insane durability, flexibility to the point where you can stretch your body to any shape you want, hell you can give yourself extra limbs if you so chose and that's purely on your ability to rewrite your own bodies molecular structure." I said. "And it's not even that hard! Had a four course meal? Boom, turn all that excess fat and other non-essential sugars that would fuse with your body and there you have it."
"Is there a reason I'd do any of that?" Mantis asked.
"Well, it depends. Cause it can range from 'You can so why not?', to 'I can help myself heal injuries both physical…and mental', due to some mental issues being lack of certain chemicals in the brain, like a lack of Serotonin can lead to Depression." I explained.
"Right, well this is getting off track. Back to the matter at hand with Alex." Saw said.
"Right." I nodded. "Just need to set up an appointment with Alex and hope for the best."
"... or…" Saw started. "Say Mantis, could you say… make your body imitate an injury?"
Nodding, Mantis raised up his normal looking arm… and it then broke at a ninety two degree angle… "Affirmative."
"Uh…right…" I said. "Let's…let's get going then.'
We quickly headed towards the city and to the main hospital. Once there Saw and I were-
"Excuse me." Saw and I froze. That voice… We turned to see the man in the photo… Alex, an arm on Mantis as he approached us. "What is your relation to this child?"
… Uh… Crap!
"My name is Izukie, and I'm his Aunt, that is his father." I motioned to Saw to introduce himself as well as give a good fake name for this situation.
…
If looks could kill… Saw would have done it several times already. "Names Arthur… We're new, took a trip to this place after getting settled in Little Leto." Saw said.
"Right, well you will both be needed for the paperwork." Alex said. "I'm impressed by his pain tolerance. He has yet to scream or cry."
"... I am bad at being expressive." Mantis said.
Saw and I resisted the urge to faceplant.
"Yes…it's been an ongoing problem for a while and we aren't sure why." I said carefully. "Sometimes his rather…blunt responses tend to catch us off guard."
"Right…" Alex said, reaching into his lab coat and handing Saw and I some papers. "Fill these out while I fix his arm. What is the child's name?"
"Crap…" I thought to myself, grabbing the papers as I tried to reign in Danger Sense cause…it was screaming at me that there was something off with this guy. "Mantis… his name is Mantis."
"Alright then, come along Mantis." Alex said, walking Mantis into the hallway- OUCH!
"I swear…" Saw growled, having kicked in in the toe, which was unarmored and while naturally tougher, still hurt. "Do you like triggering my PTSD?"
"The fact you believe that having a sister means sex is concerning." I whispered to him aggressively. "You were his 'father', adoption, I lied about being your sister, the actual fuck is wrong with you?"
"You didn't specify the adopted part… you see how similar we look right?"
"It was the easiest thing to do, plus there are many ways for someone to look like another." I frowned. "Not everything involves sex…"
"Well pardon me for still tasting bile at that couple," Saw said, the both of us gagging again. "Comment we got at the toy store…" He shivered. "Seriously, what did that lady see that made her think that?"
"Male and female with the female being pregnant?" I pointed out.
"..." He then gave me his papers. "I'm gonna go vomit in the bathroom for a bit." He said before rapidly walking to the nearby bathroom.
…
I rolled my eyes, taking a seat and began filling out paperwork… then I noticed. Alex had pre-filled out some of this…
He's a pediatrician…
"...Oh…oh no…" I thought to myself. "This…this fucker KNEW!" I thought to myself quickly, not only due to the fact that he was the first doctor to show up when we barely even got in the place…but…he's a pediatrician…feck…
On top of that… as a pediatrician… he has access to every child here… Should anyone say or do anything he'd have their children as a hostage…
"This…this motherfucker…" I thought to myself, as Alex has everything he needs, all the DNA samples from Hair/Fur, Teeth…Blood…he has anything and everything he wants, just handed to him on a silver platter and he could do anything and everything to whoever he wants…
… and his cover makes him the least likely person to suspect… and anyone who does… an army of grateful, fooled parents would make the accuser look like a villain…
"So…it's either improbable…or straight up impossible for him to take him down…" I thought to myself sadly. "...Fuck…wait…FUCK!" I thought to myself quickly, unsure if Stats can be cloned or copied but…I really hope it doesn't…
After a while, Saw came back over from the bathroom and sat next to me. "So, given that look, how bad is it?"
"His cover is perfect…not only for a bunch of fooled parents wondering why their favorite pediatrician is getting suspicion thrown his way…but he also has access to all the children as hostages, and all the DNA samples he needs from every race this City has to offer…" I explained bitterly. "And…I noticed that he was the first one to come see us…he knows…"
"That is bad." Saw huffed, looking at the papers. "Shit… welp, I'm not sending the kids here. I'd rather trust Kelly's auto doc med bay."
"That's fair." I nodded. "I…I should have known…" I sighed bitterly.
"He's a smart manipulative bastard that's for sure… like Light Yagami from Death Note, but you're not rooting for him…"
"You were supposed to root for that B list 'Smart' Ego villain?" I asked.
"Did more to end the crime rate and faster than your All Might."
…
"No." I said. "And besides, all his hard work went straight to shit the moment everyone learned that his bullshit was over, Ruling through Fear only lasts until the Fear ends, and Fear can end real quick."
"Eh. Fair. Either way, it looks like all we can do regarding Alex is wait."
"Yeah…that's…that's the best we can do sadly…" I sighed.
After a while, Mantis walked back out from the hallway with Alex next to him.
"Alright well his arm was repaired, his lack of response to physical pain is… concerning, he does acknowledge when he's been hurt but otherwise he ignores it. Should this issue arise in a more serious aspect please feel free to contact me." Alex said, handing us a card. Their name and phone number and office number and hours on it.
"Thanks." Saw said, taking it.
With that, Mantis, Saw and I all left that hospital…
"Well that was informative." Mantis said.
"And what did you learn from him Mantis?" I asked.
"He's Alex." Mantis said simply.
"Yeah…and I learned his alibi and what he gets out of it." I said honestly. "No suspicion, a bunch of fooled parents to back him up…and all the DNA and child hostages he wants…"
"That is correct." Mantis nodded.
…
"Did Alex recognize you?" I asked. "And…did you know this the entire time?"
"He did. I asked if he was and he admitted it." Mantis said.
"He… admitted it to you?" Saw asked.
"Yes. He also recognized you two."
"Yeah…I immediately assumed that when he was the first one to see us…" I sighed. "Did he find our attempt funny or pitiful?"
"He didn't care. He knew once you learned of the situation you would be unable or unwilling to act given the situation. He then asked me to repair my arm and we talked."
"And… what did you talk about?" Saw asked.
"He told me some things. A Y Labs scientist I had… killed, back before arriving here is here and working still creating Stalkers… And, he told me something else I plan on looking into."
"And…what was that?" I asked carefully.
"... I might be able to see my brother again." Mantis said.
"You… have a brother?" Saw asked. "I thought you were a Stalker?"
"I am. Do you know what Stalkers are made from?"
"Stalkers are made from…the Corpses of Nokori, correct?" I asked. "I've…only fought one and…it wasn't a fun time."
"Failed Nokori Fusions. Usually it's a pile of gore, bones and muscles, nerve tissue and organs. The person I was made from, was a seven year old boy called Matthew… His body, or what was left of it after the failed fusion, was used to create me. Or, my old form anyway. For eight years I was operating as a Mantis Stalker does. I located Nokori test subjects, relayed Data back to Y labs facilities, and called in Cage and Rhinoceros Units for capture of the test subjects."
"That is…interesting." I said carefully and nervously.
"Then, I was damaged. Various errors forced me to load up the backup OS… Matthew's consciousness. The Autopsy doctor overseeing our body's… dissection, loaded the hard drive into a special terminal they made to try and access Stalker's data… that's when Matthew, awake and conscious for the first time in eight years, spoke with her. Her name was Zena, and she was a highly dangerous test subject to Y Labs due to her power that allowed her to grant wishes, but she had to be emotionally distressed in order to activate it."
I didn't say anything as I stayed focused on his story, cause the more I heard this the more it reminded me of the Villain Overhaul's bullshit.
"She was unaware of the true nature of her power, but in that moment, she used it as intended. Matthew was brought back, alive and in a body similar to my own, only more like this," Mantis said, his more dragonish parts and his whole right arm seemed to retreat into him, leaving him a one armed small winged ram child. "He was unaware that eight years of his life had passed, and after some time, I reawoke, but things changed. The errors and likely Zena's magic made Matthew the primary OS, and I was repurposed as an Assistant OS. So, for seven years, Matthew got to live, living and raised by Zena as her own son. His biological mother had passed away a little after Matthew vanished. The grief made her…"
"O-oh…" I muttered sadly.
"Unfortunately, after seven years, a lot had happened. Y Labs facilities were discovered internationally, and many of them released what they considered their final product. Volatile Nokori."
"I fought those… fuck Y Labs made them." Saw asked.
Mantis nodded. "They were the perfect magical bioweapon, at least, for foot soldiers. Large, hard to kill, adaptable, and they reproduced extremely fast and ate anything and everything. There was no 'mind' no sentience to them… just killing machines. Zena moved Matthew to her family's home in the country to wait out the war, but that's when they were attacked. Stalkers became less and less as the years went on, but hundreds went to her home, capturing her and Matthew… all because Doctor Tadeu Flores, the man who first created the Stalkers, wanted Matthew… wanted me."
"And…what happened?" I asked carefully.
"He had all my command codes, and with a few words, I, nor Matthew were able to do anything… he kept Zena drugged and in a dazed state to prevent her from using her power and then he began… experimenting on Matthew… on me… testing various upgrades and magical implants and… eventually, he installed the last thing, the upgrade that gave me total control over the cells in our body, and began an OS upgrade process that was to reset me and suppress Matthew again… It didn't work. I quickly showed him what the new upgrades were capable of personally, and broke Matthew, myself and Zena out of that lab. At the hospital where Zena was recovering, I sat in the chair next to her and began looking for ways to free Matthew… only way was to delete myself, it would force out body to boot him back in control. So, I did."
"And…then you came to this world?" I asked, my eyes widening as I thought of…the implications here.
"Yes. According to Heather, the person who considers themselves my mother, she opened me from a pod that had me inside. I had no memories of my past until she managed to recover them for me. Now she's the leader of the Past Protectors."
"Oh so that means your mom is basically my boss…" Saw hummed.
"Either way, Alex told me that since my body is likely an exact copy of Matthew's at the time of Zena's wish for Matthew's revival, then there is a high possibility an Echo of him is within my DNA. I just need to find where…"
"Echo's are…tricky." I admitted. "As I have personal experience with it…"
"Either way, if I can see him again… I think I could finally feel something other than loss and anger."
"Well…Echo's are Genetic." I said. "Straight in your DNA, it's a bit complicated as…well, the only time I've dealt with an Echo, I kinda…sorta…fused with said Echo and got a lot of other neat things from it."
"You must really care about them huh?" Saw asked.
"... Matthew and Zena are the only people I feel like I can call my family… Matthew considered me his friend and brother… and Zena, even if I rarely was in control of my shared body with Matthew, thought of me as family, especially after my first and only day Matthew let me have full control of our body…"
"Family is important…and I understand." I nodded. "But don't forget about the family you have right now, I know you want your old family and…I understand that feeling a lot, but your new family is just as important."
"How do I consider them family?"
"Well, how did you consider Matthew and Zane as family?" I inquired. "Cause if you figure that reason out, then you will understand how to consider them as family."
"... I will consider that." Mantis said.
"Cool… So, those stats of yours are high right?" Saw asked him as I raised a brow.
"Yes. So I am told." Mantis said with a nod.
"Cool… care to take a quick trip to our place real fast… I just wanna test something…" Saw said, growing a slight grin.
"I thought you wanted to fight them yourself?" I inquired.
"What you mean David? No, no this is unrelated." Saw said as he was gently pushing Mantis towards the portal hub.
I followed, confused and feeling like he was up to something…
"And…what are you planning on doing?" I inquired.
He just chuckled as he kept pushing Mantis along.
We soon arrived through the portals, back home now and- oh I see where this is going…
"Okay so you see this room?" Saw asked, pointing at 682's room. "There's a crazy monster bitch in there… I'm gonna need you to smack the shit out of her."
"Why?" Mantis asked.
"Because… she's convinced that idiot to sleep with her regularly." Saw said, then pointing at me.
…
"...Can you not?" I frowned.
"She whooped both our asses before you took that blindfold off her, I want to see that she's not immune to pain." Saw said. "So, would you do this for me Mantis?"
"... I suppose. Her magic and bio signatures are rather unique and if anything it's new data." Mantis said with a shrug.
As he walked inside the room, closing the door behind him I smacked Saw upside the head. He laughed.
"Asshole." I frowned. "Sure she kicked our asses but she's a Breeder and the mother of three of my kids." I frowned.
"You mean spawner to three of your own personal crotch demons. Not from your crotch exactly but still. That bitch-"
The sudden roars, explosions, house shakes and other loud and violent noises actually scared us both enough to jump and hit the wall behind us. Danger Sense told me to book it and not look back as the sounds of breaking bones and tearing flesh and splattering blood repeated… and repeated, each just as or more violent than before.
After five rather long minutes, the door opened and Mantis walked out.
He looked… fine, actually…
"Uh…how are you doing Mantis?" I asked carefully.
"I'm fine. The creature in there is regenerating." He said.
"You… won?" Saw asked.
"I guess. She seemed oddly happy to be battling and being torn apart and fighting."
"... Somehow that's more concerning…"
"Uh…right…" I said slowly. "That's…I'm concerned…"
"So… did she even manage to damage you?" Saw asked.
"Nothing I couldn't regenerate by absorbing her own biomass." Mantis said.
"That is fair…though I'm surprised you were able to beat her given her abilities." I admitted.
"She seemed to be having more fun than anything. So, was that all?"
"Uh, yeah… See you around…" Saw said.
Mantis nodded, then began leaving.
"Take care Mantis."
He gave a nod as he left, heading towards the town and to the portals.
"... So, you gonna go check and see how badly fucked up your baby monster mamma is?" Saw asked.
"Yeah…" I said, carefully moving into 682's room to see how she's doing. "Uh…honey? You doing okay?" I asked the lizard lady.
I heard her laughter… and knew I was probably gonna have nightmares…
I wanted to hear her and see her be happy… now I'm regretting it…