Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.

Betad by Mike God of Lore, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain

The Celestial Roulette

Chapter 24: Ascension

Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush) –

100cp granted, 100cp total.

As I'm finalising the contract with Faultline, the notification of more points makes me smile, even as my mind remains focused on my new power over boundaries. Newter and Gregor are understandably distracted by the influx of memories. Newter doesn't have any family, and Gregor's wife died years ago. His daughter was a pre-teen when he 'died', but that was several years ago.

With Boundary Control, sending him home or bringing her here would be child's play, but their world has no Capes, and Gregor wouldn't exactly blend in. Still, family is important to me, so I can easily facilitate a meeting between them. I've already removed the boundary between Gregor's daughter and my senses to make sure she's alive. Her aunt and uncle took her in, and she is now a young woman, not the child Gregor remembers. Her aunt and uncle have since passed, and she has no other family tying her down, so bringing her here is a possibility.

While I talk to Faultline, Mimi and Elle are chatting. Mimi is noticeably more enthusiastic about their reunion, but Elle is trying at least. She's giving Mimi a chance now that she's out of the Nine and trying to do better. I know Elle is only giving Mimi a chance because of me, just like when the Asylum staff used her to get Mimi to be more cooperative, but Mimi doesn't notice. Spitfire is with them, even somewhat bonding with Mimi. Hopefully, having actual friends will help Mimi in the long run.

As we finalise the contract (the extremely lucrative contract), which includes them providing security for my business, I shake hands with Faultline with a grin.

"Now, there's just one last thing to try. Time to see if I can make Gregor and Newter's lives just a little easier," I say, more confident in my chances now that I have both [Boundary of Reality] and the [Rod of Asclepius].

"You really think you can do anything about it?" Newter asks, making me chuckle.

"An hour ago? Maybe not, but my powers develop fast. Your daughter is alive and well, by the way. I took a peek into her Earth; your sister adopted her but has since passed away. She's almost twenty now, living alone," I explain, seeing Gregor's shock. "We can arrange for her to be told you survived later, but I can't send you back home looking like that. She has nothing tying her down, so once we've tried to fix you up, we'll look into bringing her here."

"You can just do that?" Faultline asks, even as I see the silent gratitude on Gregor's face.

"I've told you. In time, I'll be able to do anything. A little dimension hopping isn't even noteworthy," I boast, knowing that impressing (and intimidating) them will help keep them on my side. "Now, who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first; I don't mind being a test dummy. Can't have anything happen to Gregor when his daughter's waiting for him, can we?" Newter teases, making Gregor snort slightly as Newter steps forward. "So, how does this work?"

"If I recall, your issue with your power is that nobody can touch you, right?" I ask, making him nod.

"I don't mind the looks. I like looking exotic, but having anyone who touches me getting high as a kite makes dating a little hard, you know?" Newter jokes, making me nod as I focus, the [Rod of Asclepius] appearing in my hand. In the hands of a novice, this could do miracles, and I am far from a novice. I'm not sure it's even necessary, but the golden staff does lend a certain gravitas, pulsing with golden light as I examine Newter.

It doesn't take me long to work out how to help him because there's something wrong with his shard. It's practically dead, which makes me rub my chin. Well, I am the best healer in the world, and I can work with that. Healing alone wouldn't be enough for this, but I'm not just a healer, am I?

[Earthbones] and [Boundary of Reality] give me far more to work with, expanding my options and opening up new avenues. Newter's main issue is that he can't control when he's producing his hallucinogen; it's just a part of him. His blood, spit and semen all contain it, plus it's being secreted from his skin in small doses at all times.

So, all I need to do is give him an off-switch, right? Healing his shard as I go, I work on altering his very power, something that becomes easier as his shard recovers and becomes increasingly cooperative to the energy I'm pumping into it. I get the feeling all I've done so far is make his hallucinogen even more powerful as his shard becomes increasingly eager.

The knowledge I ripped from Manton means I understand powers far better now, and I know how Cauldron makes Case 53s. I suspect I could empower any Cauldron Cape like this, but that's something to think about later.

[Boundary of Reality] is truly amazingly powerful because I can simply decide that there's no longer a boundary between Newter and controlling his power, guiding his power to stop producing hallucinogens constantly.

"W-what did you just do?" Newter asks, making me grin.

"Gave you an off-switch and possibly made your hallucinogens a lot stronger in the process. If all went well, you should be able to control when and where your hallucinogens are being produced from instead of constantly making them. Though do make sure to have a bath and get rid of the remnants that are still on your skin first; it's down that corridor; my attendant will guide you," I explain smugly as I spawn a will-o-wisp to show him the way. "Gregor, you're next. I'm guessing you don't want to keep your looks?" I ask, making him snort.

"If possible, I would very much like to not look like… this," Gregor agrees, looking down at himself. His translucent skin shows off his skeleton; he's morbidly obese and has ugly snail-like growths all over his body. Newter looks different, but there's nothing wrong with different; Gregor just looks hideous. He speaks slowly, and he's a generally stoic kind of guy, but he can't hide the hope in his voice from me.

"Let's see what I can do," I say, getting to work. Gregor produces chemicals in his stomach and can project them through his skin. The reason he seems so fat is because his stomach is massively bloated to be able to manufacture the chemicals, and the reason his skin is translucent is because of how it was changed so he'd be able to send his chemicals through it.

…I don't know what the snails are for. They don't seem to do anything, which is just strange.

Well, first things first, let's get that dying shard fixed. This is much easier if the shard is cooperating. Secondly, how should I change his actual body? This isn't as simple as just giving Newter more control.

First, I put a boundary between Gregor and his power, and the change is instantaneous. If I wasn't ready, he might have died from the rapid changes and after-effects of his powers, but he doesn't even have a microsecond to realise he's in pain before I've fixed it.

Everyone gasps in shock as the monstrous Case 53 fades back into just some middle-aged dude. Only Gregor and I recognise his old body, but I've only done half of my job because while he's back to normal, he's also powerless.

…which means I can now just depower capes as I please. That is good to know.

If I give him his power back, it's back to being a giant abomination, which isn't acceptable to me. I suppose I could try to give him control over the switch to his boundary, but again, that's not ideal. The shift between human and Case 53 nearly killed him, and it would be extremely painful without me there every time.

So, the best way to go forward is to alter how his power works entirely. This takes far longer than I would have liked, but several minutes later, I step back with a satisfied smile.

This was the hardest change yet, but I think I did a pretty good job. Gregor now has a single 'inhuman' change, a new organ that his power helped me make. That organ, while far smaller, produces the chemicals he wants to make at a far accelerated rate, and then he has several 'veins' running through his arms, letting him excrete the chemicals from his hands. This has left the palms of his hands looking translucent, but outwardly, that's the only noticeable difference between him and a regular human. It was that or have him have giant holes in his hands, which wasn't ideal and somewhat body-horror adjacent.

A part of me considered moving this to a private room and then just puppeting Bonesaw since her power would have made this even easier, but I'm pretty proud of what I achieved. This has caused him to lose some of his durability, but after explaining everything to him, he agrees that it's a more than fair trade-off, especially since his chemical production has been boosted even further.

Faultline doesn't even try to hide her awe at how 'easily' I fixed Gregor, but then, from her point of view, this seemed much simpler. I had my accelerated power working overtime to pull this off so quickly.

"You realise that this will cause every Case 53 to head your way?" Faultline warns, and I just nod.

"I know. I'll have Dragon make an announcement and tell them to come to my clinic, warning them that anyone who causes too much chaos will be refused. Between Dragon and the PRT, setting things up won't be that hard," I say very optimistically. Having a legitimate avenue to contact and approach me should limit a lot of the trouble. "But that's my problem, don't worry. I don't expect you to hide Gregor away. Now, all that's left is his daughter, and we can call an end to this very productive day. I can open a portal for you to go and meet her, but their world has no cape powers, so Newter might have to remain behind. I wouldn't recommend going in your full cape outfit. Dragon can stay in contact with you for when you want to come back."

This is some personal shit that I don't need to be there for.

Faultline pauses before he reaches up and removes her helmet, giving me a small smile.

"Melanie. I look forward to working with you," Melanie says. Elle doesn't have a mask on, and Spitfire hesitates before she follows suit, taking off the gas mask she wears and giving us a nervous wave.

"Emily, nice to meet you," Emily says. "I think I probably should stay behind. We don't want to crowd Gregor's daughter."
Plus, Emily is too new for this. She likes her team, but isn't close enough to feel welcome in what is undoubtedly going to be a fairly emotional moment.

"Are you ready, Gregor? Should I even still be calling you that?" Melanie asks after a moment of realisation, making him chuckle.

"I don't mind, but my birth name is Jóhann. Either work; they both feel like my name," Gregor admits with a small smile. Like I said, he's stoic. He's incredibly happy but barely shows it. "I'm ready, or as ready as I'll ever be. Thank you, Sugar Rush. There are no words to describe what this means to me."

"You're welcome, Jóhann. Good luck. Elva misses you, but it's also been years for her; I can't predict how she will react," I admit, making a portal as he nods deeply and takes a deep breath.

He steps through, with Elle waving goodbye to Mimi before she follows him. Melanie gives me one last nod, following behind the pair. I send a message to Dragon, who happily agrees to guide and monitor them as I send a Gremlin through the portal and close it.

"Girls, I have work to do. Tell Newter what happened when he finishes his bath," I say to Emily and Mimi, getting a nod from them both, even if Emily is a little nervous about being left alone with Burnscar.

Feats Achieved: Fix Newter (100cp), Fix Gregor the Snail (200cp), Reunite Gregor with his daughter (100cp). 400cp granted. 500cp total.

So, Case 53's are another source of points? Very good to know. One more reason to set up a way for Case 53's to come to me. When it gets out that I can both restore their memories and modify their powers, I'll be in extremely high demand.

[Ornn's Forge] - 600cp, 100cp needed.

Congratulations, you've now obtained Orrn's forge! Well, a copy of it, unless you want to fight the God of the Forge for it. This literally mountain-sized forge, whose heat comes from the very heart of the planet, is the best place for crafting on all Runeterra. Assuming you have any idea of what you're doing, you can forge pretty much anything, using any kind of materials, even those that are normally impossibly difficult to work, and your creation will automatically be infused with power, making them the absolute best at whatever they're supposed to do. Which is the reason Orrn never forges weapons. See the Great Cauldron for an idea on what your creation could do.

Something tells me Dragon is going to love this, and me too, for that matter. Nth Metal ingots used in a divine forge are going to make some truly bullshit things.

Leaving the pair, I head back out into Earth Bet with a small smile on my face. Like I said, I have work to do.

Sitting on the top of a tower with my Stranger powers in full effect, I let [I Need A Hero!] guide me while I wait patiently for the right moment. I won't break the Unwritten Rules, but there are two capes I need to deal with.

The moment they put on their outfits and step outside, it's over for them. [Farseeing] made it clear how I need to take down the Empire and make sure it never rises again.

Victor and Othala are two cornerstones I need to take away: the man who can do anything and their healer. Kaiser is struggling to keep his gang under control, telling capes not to go outside, which is being received as well as you'd think with the likes of Hookwolf, Cricket and Stormtiger.

Purity took a chance after seeing how strong I was. She went to the PRT and joined them in exchange for them getting her daughter out of the city and away from their controlling father, and while she didn't quite unmask Kaiser, she made it clear that her ex-husband is well-connected to the Empire-88.

She was moved out of the city, and Kaiser is currently raging that when he needs all the power he can get. His strongest cape just fucked off out of the town, all while getting Medhall investigated for criminal activities. The Empire is already falling to pieces around him while he tries to grasp it tighter.

He has two allies out of the city to call on, and he's already tried to get them to assist him, given my presence in Brockton Bay, but neither wants to gain my attention. Unfortunately for them, they already have it.

Lisa is working on gathering intel on the Herren Clan since they are less actively criminal than the Empire or Gesellschaft, and as for the Gesellschaft themselves?

They think they're safe across the ocean from me; surely I wouldn't head all the way to the other side of the world to hunt them down, right?

Max Anders (Kaiser) –

Every morning, he woke up with a sense of dread, ready to find out what new bullshit Sugar Rush had cooked up overnight. How do you run a gang of villains in a city where a single man can stop every crime on the Eastern Seaboard with seemingly no effort?
That was the problem he was stuck dealing with, and he didn't have an answer. Hookwolf recommended that they kidnap Panacea, Sugar's girlfriend, but with New Wave back and better than ever, and Sugar Rush's sixth sense for when people were in danger, that was suicidal.

In truth, he was already preparing to leave the city and set up somewhere on the western seaboard, as far away from Sugar Rush as he could manage.

Getting out of bed, the world didn't even have the decency to let him brush his teeth and get dressed before it ruined his day, as countless messages waited for him from seemingly every cape in the Empire. He'd placed his phone on silent because he was sick of dealing with everything and just wanted one good night's sleep.

Picking someone, he called Victor and paused as his skill thief did not answer the phone. Then he tried Othala. Same result. Krieg, same. Stormtiger finally answered.

"What is going on?" Kaiser demanded.

"Sugar hit the fucking Gesellschaft. They're down; he got all their capes in a single fucking night," Stormtiger replied, making Kaiser freeze up. "Krieg, Night and Fog tried to flee when they got the news, but he grabbed them as well."

"What about Victor and Othala?" Kaiser demanded.

"I don't know. They were fine earlier, and I haven't heard anything about them getting captured, but they aren't answering either. Neither is Rune, and some of the boys saw her flying away," Stormtiger admitted, making Kaiser slump down as he rubbed his forehead.

They'd run. They'd heard the news and fled before Sugar could come for them.

"I'm calling a meeting; send word to every Empire cape. Attendance is mandatory," Kaiser said, not showing any of his despair as he gave his orders. Ending the call, he went through his messages and paused as he saw one, calling the number immediately. Why did his accountant want to talk to him?

"Max, we have a problem," the weaselly man said, making him mentally sigh.

"Sugar Rush?" Kaiser guessed.

"What? No, Kayden's information has reached the IRS, and they're auditing Medhall," the accountant answered, making him stare at the phone in confusion, which turned to rage as he let out a scream of frustration and threw his phone at the wall, destroying it with several spears.

Today literally could not get any worse. At least the remaining capes should be smart enough to stay low and not attract that overpowered bastard's attention, right?

…glancing at his trashed phone, he asked himself a simple question. Why didn't he finish checking the messages first? He had several messages from Hookwolf, but surely Hookwolf wouldn't be dumb enough to try anything-

…fuck.

Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush) —

Watching Hookwolf's claws fail to break my skin, I backhand the metal cape back across the street, using [Earthbones] to make metal extremely brittle. He doesn't even get to hit the wall before I caught up with him, tearing his metal form apart to get to the core.

I honestly didn't think he'd be dumb enough to try and defend his dog fights from Hellhound and her pack of Cerberus, but what do you know? He thought I wouldn't show up because I was busy with the aftermath of the Gesellschaft, and that was why I sent Hellhound to hit his little dog-fights.

He was very wrong.

My power dominates his, separating him from his power as I watch him slump forward, no longer producing metal as I glare down at him.

"You fucking-"

That's as much as he gets out before I've stuffed a comatose croissant down his throat, and he's down for the count. Moron.

That makes seven Empire capes tonight. Krieg, Night and Fog tried to flee when word got to them about the fall of the Gesellschaft. Victor and Othala did the same, but I gave them a nudge, and they left in their cape outfits as they tried to leave. They made it one street before I grabbed them. Rune just tried flying away and gave up when she found me sitting on her platform with her and, finally, Hookwolf.

Cricket, Stormtiger, Menja, Fenja and Kaiser himself. That's all that's left. Oh, wait, Alabaster. Eh, it's Alabaster.

The PRT were ready to take in all the captured capes, and I dropped them off at PRT branches in different states to make sure Kaiser can't get them back. Rune is probably going to get a plea deal and go on probation as a Ward, but I've washed my hands of them all. Victor and Hookwolf were Birdcage-bound after evidence of Victor assassinating Capes on Kaiser's orders came out (found by Overwatch and Dragon). Othala took a plea deal, and she's joining the PRT on heavy probation to get her husband a lesser sentence. If she slips up once, Victor gets transferred to the Birdcage, and she goes to jail.

I got my answer, anyway. Kaiser ordered Aunt Jess's death. Victor didn't do it, which is the only reason he's alive, but Kaiser? I hope he understands that this was the opening blow, the warning shot. I'm coming for him.

The Gesellschaft wasn't as hard as you'd think. They had some strong capes, but I just grabbed them one by one at super speed, using [Boundary of Reality] to appear behind them and abduct them no matter where they were. All the while, Lisa and Dragon tore apart their systems.

Feats Achieved: Dismantle the Gesellschaft (750cp), Capture Krieg (100cp), Capture Night (100cp), Capture Fog (100cp), Capture Victor (100cp), Capture Othala (100cp), Capture Rune (100cp), Capture Hookwolf (150cp), 1500cp granted. 100cp used for [Ornn's Forge]. 1400cp remaining.

And there we go. I knew the Empire would make a good source of points thanks to their massive amount of capes. I had hoped for more from the Gesellschaft, but oh well. Not bad for a night's work.

The Gesellschaft members have been handed off to the local authorities, with the PRT and Dragon helping handle things, so I didn't have to waste time dealing with them when I had other stuff to do.

Dragon really is a godsend, and despite the weirdness of having her under my control, I can't deny that she is absolutely essential to my goals. She speeds everything up and manages so much more than any one regular person could ever hope to do.

There's something on my mind, though, and it's a Pandora's box, even though I am hesitant to open it up. Firstly, with [The Horus Jumper, I am on the cusp of Godhood, basically demi-god in all but name, but it gave me an idea.

My entire family are connected to Bastet through the herb and have gained some minor divinity from the apple, and with my divinity and powers, along with Amy's help, I could make them into demigods. They'd gain my increased height and golden skin, along with a lot of other benefits. When I become a God myself, they can become part of my pantheon. I can even do the same with the trusted members of my team, Lisa, Sherrel, and maybe even Rachel, now that I have her eternal loyalty. Mimi is going to have to earn my trust, and Dragon is still artificial, so I don't know how to feed her an apple.

It's a rather final decision; you can't make gods lightly, after all,

That's the minor issue. The main one? [Skills of Miach] can heal anything, literally anything, except bring back the dead. The [Rod of Asclepius] allows even an amateur to do the same… but when you put them together? I could bring back Aunt Jess. I'm sure of it.

But once I put resurrection on the table, then things are going to go crazy at record speed.

[God] - 1400cp, 0cp remaining

Now this... this truly makes you something to stand out. You are an entity much like the Brothers, a God or Goddess in every way, the strongest thing this World has and that we know of. Your body is made of energy, and you are the God of a concept like Light or Darkness, also standing for something like Creation or Destruction and, as such, are attuned with its forces. What exactly your domain is, however, isn't as important as what you can do. You are immortal, can use magics far surpassing anything a human could do, create entire species or planets, grant Magic to mortals or even create powerful Relics like the Four Relics that would later make it to Remnant. You can also shift your body between the form of humanoid-shaped energy and a draconic form of some kind. Just by leaving, you could shatter a moon, and the entire Magic of an army would be nothing to you. Matter and energy are shaped by you; you could send someone to the afterlife and back with the wave of your hand, erase all life on a Planet, and travel to afterlives. Truly, you are a God.

Sometimes, I think my system thinks it is funny. My power skyrockets, my senses expand, and my body becomes immaterial.

'Oh wow, honey, I think you just became stronger than me at my peak.'

Bastet's awe is apparent, and my mind moves to Scion. He's still utterly unaware of anything, flying aimlessly, but immediately, I sense the truth about him. He's just a projection, the avatar in much the same way that Bastet uses Siberian.

I almost attack immediately before I hold myself back and retake my human form. Not yet; I shouldn't rush things just yet. [Farsight] no longer fails to path him, and the answers are laid out before me.

Watching Hookwolf get taken away, the God of Healing smiles softly. This world needs healing, and here I am.

Quest Section — CONCULUDED

Should Felix make his family into minor gods?

Yes

No

Should Felix make his team into minor gods?

Yes

No

Should Felix resurrect Fleur?

Yes

No

Author's Note: Man, writing on a new keyboard is always a pain, but on the bright side, I've updated from a decent laptop to a powerful dual-monitor pc. So that's nice. Tomorrow is my birthday, so I'm taking the day off.

I didn't want to have to make up a bunch of OC capes for the Gesellschaft when they were going down moments later. Normally, I reroll things that seem too bullshit, but lets be honest, Felix is on his victory lap.

Written: 16/08/2024

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The Advance Chapters

Diamond: The Celestial Remnant Ch10, The Supervillain Ch29, The High Roller Ch07, The Celestial Remnant Ch09

Plat: The Celestial Professor Ch04, The Gambler Ch14, The Illusive Mage Ch08

Gold: The Supervillain Ch28, Guide to Conquest Ch09

Basic: The Cursed Ch05

Quest: The Celestial Roulette Ch25-26, The Celestial Inquisitor Ch01-03

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