Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, The boys, or Anything else I reference.
Chapter Six: Making Offers
(Voughtland, New York)
"Welcome all to Voughtland." The announcer said from the podium.
According to the system his name is George.
George wore a purple hat with a v engraved on it. His eyes hidden behind dark shades.
"I cannot believe this place." Clover said. "It is like someone decided to cram every genre in one place."
Clover's outfit consisted of a purple sleeveless shirt that tied itself to her neck under a purple collar, and matching pants.
I am wearing a white hoodie with purple highlights, black pants, and purple sneakers.
"This is a world where a corporation run superhumans." I said as I walked through the amusement park. "They want customers to spend as much money as possible."
I could smell the scent of buttered popcorn, chirping of birds, and chatter of people.
'Staus of our target?' I texted.
'She has just begun performing her eight-o-clock show.' Tech-12-1 returned.
"You want to watch Crimson Countess sing?" I asked Clover.
Meredith Gordon is hired by Vought to sing a musical about the history of Payback and Soldier Boy all the way from his public backstory to his final mission. It occurs five times a day. One show in the morning at eight to ten, another from eleven to one in the afternoon, another at two to four, and one at night at seven to nine.
"Is it any good?" Clover asked.
"No, it is not." I answered.
It was not that she was bad at singing. I had to watch recording for research. It is the whole story is made up. Soldier Boy did not row up in hard times moving about on the Philadelphia streets. his father was one of the wealthiest men in the state at the time. Soldier boy fought in WW2 but not as much as they say and after Soldier Boy was taken down by Payback and the Russians in Nicaragua the world was told that he died saving the world from a nuclear meltdown in Ohio.
"Then not really." Clover said. "If I had to choose, I would prefer seeing which of us can win the most games here."
A screen popped up.
[Quest Alert]
[Quest: The V games]
[Objective: Beat five games at Voughtland]
[Reward]
250 XP
Clover Affection 15 points
Accept: Y/N
"Alright that sounds fun." I said as I started looking.
We would have two hours to burn.
As I walked past stalls, I saw plushies of Vought teams. I saw a plushie of team impossible, The commander and Jetstream, the G-men, Nubian Prince and more.
Some stalls were selling plushies of villains as well.
"Which one do you want to start with?" Clover asked.
I looked to the map and felt as my internal one was updated. I closed my eyes and scouted the locations.
After making my decision I walked to the basketball game.
I walked over to the counter faced the man running the stand.
The man had black hair that flowed back like a mullet and ended in spikes. his muscles pressed against is purple shirt. his face looked tough like he should have been a bouncer outside of a nightclub.
"I would like to play." I said.
"Six dollars." Chester said.
I placed six dollars down and picked a ball from the middle.
Looking at the hoop I could see that it was shaped more like an oval than the regular circle. Not illegal but more difficult than usual.
I felt the wind blew through my purple and white hoodie Clover designed and picked up a ball. I dribbled the ball to the area and took my position behind the equivalent of the three-point line.
This game made me wish I had taken Midorima's form. Atsushi Murasakibara's special skill had been with dunking. He used his height to spin the ball to increase is momentum and slammed the ball in a dunk that rattled the hoop.
As I aimed the ball I could see a trajectory form in my vision. It seems another feature of the system I am using. The book I was given stated that my system could adapt based on the situation.
It seems like this is what it meant.
I noticed my position is off, so I adjusted until I saw the hoop glow green. I bounced it a couple of times before I jumped into the air for a shot. I took my shot and watched as the ball flew through the hoop and made the basket.
The sign above the basket lit up.
"Congrats." Chester said.
"Which plushie do you want?" I asked Clover.
"That one." Clover picked.
She picked The Commander.
"Want to try again?" Chester asked.
"Sure." I said as I placed more money down.
I wanted to get the rest of the team since it would save me time on sculpting the teams' images.
I repeated the shot and made three more times. Unfortunately, it did not count towards the quest.
"Here." Chester said with a grin.
We moved through the area collecting tickets as we played.
"I want to play that." Clover said pointing.
The game is to throw bean bags into a hoop. This is an older game, so it had a different lineup. It consisted of The Seven before A-train joined. It consisted of homelander, Black Noir, Queen Maeve, lamplighter, The Deep, and Marathon Man.
The man running this stall is a fat man wearing a red shirt with circle at the top and small red lasses. his hair looked purple and cut sort.
"Okay." I said and I put the money down.
"Here." Carter said and handed Clover and I a couple of bags and we took our stances.
I aimed for high points while Clover chose smaller ones but faster.
Afterwards we walked off with a Nubia plushie.
We moved to a different game.
We stood in front of the Vought memory game. A sign said Match the face and win the prize.
"Match the face and win a prize." The man named Alan running the stall repeated with a grin as we approached.
The man had straw-like brown hair and wore a green bandanna and red shirt. his face looked rough and almost as if the cheeks were sunken in.
"The game is about matching a Vought hero card to its double." Alan explained.
Fifty cards for twenty-five superhumans.
"Let's see wo remembers things better." Alan said.
Alan pressed a button, and the cards flipped.
"Five seconds to see." Alan said.
After pressing the button again, the cards flipped back.
I tapped a card and revealed it is Nubia.
"I want the third one to the back." I said.
"Are you sure?" Alan asked.
"Yes." I said pressing the button and the card revealed Nubia.
"Your turn." Alan said turning to Clover.
Clover moved to point at a card, and it revealed Moonshadow.
"I want top row and fifth card on the right." Clover said and moved her finger.
"Congratulations." Alan said.
We looked at each other and knew the game is on.
0-0-0-0-0-0
I gestured at Clover, and I moved to sit at a table.
I looked at the screen.
[Quest: The V games]
[Objective: Beat five games at Voughtland]
Status: Cleared
[Reward]
250 XP
Clover Affection 15 points
Affection 35/100
"Can you tell me about these plushies?" Clover asked as she placed the stuffed toys on the table. "Apparently, some of these guys are a team?"
"Okay." I said. "During the past eight decades of experiments Vought has had had plenty of people apply to become sponsored by them. It is a difficult process as they are judged on cost-effectiveness, popularity, and marketing. A way around the difficulties of selection is to form a team."
"Really?" Clover asked.
"The company is always curious to see if a group will bring profit long-term or if they are a quick fad. Some catchy gimmick that would increase sales. If needed the company would be willing to bring in new members." I explained. "Team Impossible are a group of supes from the Nineteen-Eighties that defended the city of Dimmesdale from emergencies. It was formed by The Commander, Jetstreak, The Spartan, The Grifter, and The Zealot. They fought against the criminal organization helspont. The organization led by crime lord Silvio "Silvermane" Manfreddi.
"Sounds good so far." Clover said.
"My research says the truth is that they mostly worked in the private sector for wealthy clients. Their first mission had been for team impossible to rescue a client that had managed to get trapped in their own laser security grid.
"How did they start?" Clover asked.
"The Spartan was after Silvio Manfreddi for killing his father. It was recommended to him by Vought he ally with other superhumans to bring down Wilson Fisk. So, the team was called in from other cities. Eventually Silvio Manfreddi was defeated but in process the team broke up." I said placing the dolls from the basketball game down. "The commander remained in Dimmesdale with his wife Jetstreak and protecting the city. According to my research they currently have two kids."
"What about this one?" Clover asked moving a doll of Nubia.
"This is Nubia. A member of the G-men." I said. "A team that consists of supes with powers that make their lives difficult and ostracized from normal society. The comics claim they have been collected and are taught to control their powers to make a difference in the world."
It is not like the Red River Institute as those are children that activated their powers at a young age and were left because of either parental neglect or caused the death of their parents. This facility gathered the children that activated their powers in their teenage years.
The school was also founded by John Godolkin.
"What is wrong with it?" Clover asked.
"After I accomplish my plan next week I intend to look into it." I answered.
"Are there any you are curious about?" Clover asked.
"Right now, I am curious about their therapist." I said bringing up a picture of Susan Marks.
"What about her?" Clover asked.
"A few former patients of this lady have turned to crime." I said with a scowl.
"Were they criminals before seeing her?" Clover asked.
"Yes." I answered.
"How is that her fault then?" Clover asked.
"I do not trust therapists." I admitted.
Danny's memories of Penelope Spectre made me distrust the practice. Especially one hired by Vought.
Who knows how messed up she was making those supes?
I received an alert from Tech-12-1.
I shifted my phone to a screen view of the apartment complex. Police cars are parked around the area.
"Come out you bastards!" A-train yelled. "I am here!"
"You won't find her like that!" Fugan yelled as he jumped down from above.
The blue glow signified he was already using his power.
"You. Why did you take Charlotte?" A-train asked.
"Our boss wants to know how good we are and tasked us to take down heroes. We figured that we would start with you." Fuan lied.
"Really?" A-train asked.
"You should be flattered." Fugan said. "It seems you have gotten famous enough for our boss to take notice."
"Let's see how your boss feels when you are full of bullets." A-train threatened.
Police officers started getting out of their cars.
"I would not do that." Fugan said shaking his finger. "This is between you and me. It would be no fun if the police interfere."
"Why should I care what you think?" A-train asked.
"Listen to this." Fugan said displaying his phone on speaker.
"Reggie help me!" Charlotte screamed.
"My brother is currently watching over Popclaw. The room they are in is filled with explosives. he is holding a deadman switch. If you want the police to interfere then my brother will have to let go and have the room explode. It will also happen if you try to open a door without defeating me." Fugan lied.
"Bastard." A-train cursed.
"That is the spirit." Fugan said as he raced to A-train. "The only time you can use your power is when you are fighting me."
A-train ran at Fugan and punched him.
Fugan's head turned with the force.
Fugan grabbed A-train's extended arm and returned a punch to his stomach.
A-train tried to get some distance, but Fugan moved faster than before. A-train gasped for air as he was caught off guard.
I paused the video.
"How is it going?" Clover asked.
"Seems to be according to plan." I said then paused.
A notification appeared on the system.
"Is something the matter?" Clover asked.
"That is yet to be determined." I answered.
I brought up the screen and turned to the screen.
[Quest Alert]
[Mend the Misfortunate]
The screen displayed a new yellow circle.
That means it is a possible ally. If so, the circle would turn blue. If it became an enemy, it would turn red.
"Looks like I have someone I need to talk to." I said.
0-0-0-0-0-0
I walked to the science adventure park of Voughtland. It dealt with futuristic adventures, science fiction monsters, rocket rollercoasters and science facts.
The path led me to a stage. On the stage I found a group of three supes standing in poses as the audience took photos.
A man with red hair dressed in blue and white, a woman with long purple hair in an orange and yellow costume and one eye, and a man with sort blond hair in a white suit.
"This is certainly a surprise." I said as I look at a group of people that belonged in a time far more distant.
It made me wonder if these appearances are natural or if V forced certain people to appear in these experimental worlds.
"Do you know these three?" Clover asked.
"The Terrific Trio. A team consisted of Cloberella, Captain Yesterday, and Superking. It is a team from Queens, New York." I said typing in my phone quickly. "That explains this. This is a promotional display for a Vought movie."
I showed her the upcoming movie. Captain Yesterday vs Dr. Steelheart.
"Why did you have to come here?" Clover asked.
"Because it looks like Cloberella is in need of assistance." I said.
My vision shifted and I saw her figure glowing in gold.
I wondered if I could make this Leela a space pilot. Danny had wanted to be an astronaut, and I had curiosities about space. Eventually I would explore but I was still thinking of a crew to build.
"Now let us present some scenes from Captain Yesterday vs Dr. Steelheart." Their manager Martin Sugar said as he walked around the area near the stage.
As the supes walked to the stage exit the curtains fell, and clips started showing scenes from the movie.
The visitors took their seats.
"Do you want to follow her?" Clover asked.
"I would like to but that is not why we are here today." I denied as I shook my head. "We can look into her later. Crimson Countess should be on break. Let's go."
Clover moved to hold my hand.
"You can talk to Crimson Countess, and I can follow Cloberella." Clover said looking me in my eye. "Today has been fun but I want to complete a mission."
"Okay." I said. "You can follow her, but I am going to give you some help."
I took a selfie with my phone and then used the rat talisman's power to animate it. "I grant you the power of the ox and the monkey. Keep an eye out for Clover."
As they walked off, I traced a hair tie in the ground and animated it. Murasakibara's other skill is intimidation. the intense feeling he can give. Like he is capable of crushing you into the dirt.
Now would be the time I need it.
I walked off.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Move out of the way." I demanded of the guard.
"This area if off limits" The guard said.
"[Brain control]" I cast and froze the guard.
My eyes glowed with heat vision,
"What are you doing?" the guard said.
I commanded him to do fifty pushups. I walked past him and the fence into the workers trailers.
I walked to the trailer Meredith stayed in. the outside looked like ow it would be expected to. Broken down porch, windows with the screens i need of repair, and white stripes travelling across the trailer in need of painting.
Telekinesis unlocked the door, and I walked in.
"Hello Meredith." I said as I found her near the kitchen pouring a cup of tea.
"Who are you?" Meredith asked as she turned around from the sink.
"I work for someone interested in your history in Payback." I said.
"Tell your boss to read a book." Meredith said as she moved to hold her cup. "Leave or I am calling security."
"[Brain control]" I cast stopping her in her tracks.
"What?" Meredith asked.
"I can't have you throwing that cup or worse starting a fire." I said. "The boss knows the official story is a lie. That you and your fellow team members betrayed Soldier Boy in Nicaragua to Russia. The boss wants the truth. he wants to know why."
"Why?" Meredith asked.
"The boss thinks you have potential." I said walking into the right. The room she slept in/used for streaming. It seems like he has plans and believes you can help him achieve his goals.
"Soldier Boy was a monster. I am glad he is dead." Meredith said.
"We both know that he is not dead. The Russians are keeping him captive." I said. "They have since the eighties."
"You cannot let him go free." Meredith said. "If you want to know our history than you can know how terrible he was."
"I know he cheated on you countless times." I said. "Beyond that I do not know what makes him so different to any other supe out there."
I could say I know he mutilated Black Noir but that was during the betrayal and so it was hard to hold it against the man.
"Do you know how I joined Payback?" Meredith asked.
"No." I answered.
"To join the team, Benjamin made me get on my knees and blow Tommy, Earving, and himself." Meredith said.
Tommy Bluth the male half of the TNT twins, Earving Smith alias of Black Noir, and Benjamin Samuels alias of Soldier Boy.
"I will admit I was not expecting that" I said.
"Yes. Benjamin said that if I wanted to join I would have to get on my knees. Benjamin was a perverted son of a bitch." Meredith said.
"You dated him after that?" I asked.
"My manager at Vought told me that it was in my best interest." Meredith said. "Benjamin apologized and said that sometimes he goes too far for a joke."
"I take it that he went too far a bunch of times?" I asked.
"Yes, he once told gunpowder that he was to meet a criminal informant at a bar. Her name was Lesley Bean. What Benjamin did not tell gunpowder is the club was known for serving lesbians. It ended in a lot of violence." Meredith said.
"On one hand I can see ow it would be funny. On the other I can see how it would end up with broken bones." I said.
"Worse." Meredith said. "We lived in terror of the man. Any time a member of the team had an opportunity to leave he made sure that it never happened. Benjamin ruined Earvin audition for Beverly hills Cop. Beat him down till e was bleeding and threatened us to make sure it would never happen again."
"So, when Stan Edar told you of a plan to take him down you said yes." I said.
"Obviously." Meredith said. "Vought found him to be a liability."
"How would you feel about getting revenge on Soldier Boy." I asked
"Why would I want to do that?" Meredith asked.
"You sing songs about this man. You sleep in a trailer filled with pictures of him." I said.
"You have lived with the man's shadow over you for decades. If you tell the boss that your requirement for joining is for Soldier Boy to die, then I believe that he would work it, so that outcome is a certainty." I said.
That is the best I could offer from this position.
She should want to help. The first thing Soldier Boy does after he is set free by The Boys is to come after Meredith. She burned to death right in this trailer after telling Soldier Boy how she felt. The only man tat noticed something happened to her is one of her fans on the Vought porn site.
"What does your boss want?" Meredith asked.
"You would have to call him to find out. I said takin a pen and paper with telekinesis and writing a number for Oroku Saki down.
"Enjoy your next show." I said as I moved to walk out of the trailer.
0-0-0-0-0-0
As I walked back to the park proper, I noticed a teen walking around sneakily. glancing over his shoulder a lot.
The teen had a long nose more like a snout, teeth the size of erasers, fingers sharpened like claws, and a wiry frame. he had short orange-brown hair.
Ian Ferrera LV 1
I decided to follow him invisibly.
I watched as a shadow grew into a large circle. Ivan and a bunch of other kids stepped out of it. Some I recognized from the college. Others are just baseline people picked up from who knows were.
I pulled out my phone.
"Remember nobody says a word." Ivan threatened. "The tickets I gave you will get you on any ride free without needing to pay."
It is not surprising that people would break in. Tickets cost two hundred dollars a ticket. Still, it seems that Ivan found a way to hack into Voughtland systems.
This hinted at potential.
Keep an eye on this group. I texted Tec-12-1.
I walked off.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
(Ardsley, New York)
"Welcome back." Mugan said as I walked into the house.
"Good work." I said as I walked to the bookshelf.
"Charlotte did some very good acting." Mugan said.
"Have Sam and Alex returned yet?" I asked.
"Those two used the portal to go shopping in Italy." Mugan said.
"Alright." I said before I ran down to laboratory.
I wanted to do some research.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
(Jitter's Coffee hut)
I stepped out of the portal and faced my digital duplicate. I released the animation, and the duplicate vanished into fragments. I left the bathroom and found Clover sitting at a table.
"Hello." I said to Clover as I walked to her table.
"Hey." Clover said. "Is Crimson Countess in?"
"Yet to be seen." I answered. "What has our target been up to?"
"Right now, she is taking her anger out on a punching bag." Clover said pointing up.
I turned my head to see the gym window across the street.
"We will give her fifty more minutes to work out her stress. After that you can go inside and inform her that someone wants to talk to her." I said.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Hello." I said as I walked up to the woman leaving the gym.
Leela when out of her costume wore shades over her eye. She looked at us in her standard outfit. A tank top, black pants, black boots, and with her hair in a ponytail.
"Get lost kid. I am not in the mood to autograph anything for you." Leela said with a scowl on her face.
"I am not looking for an autograph. I work for a man that looks for talent. Those in need for help." I said.
"Listen I do not have time for this." Leela said. "I am not looking for a new manager nor am I interested in starring in supe porn."
"No. I did not mean porn. I work for a man that wants to help supes that are in unfortunate circumstances." I said as my eyes glowed from the pig talisman.
"Really?" Leela asked as she lowered her shades looking into my eyes with her singular one.
"Yes." I said. "Let's walk and talk."
"How can your boss help me? A one-eyed freak?" Leela asked.
"There are a lot of solution the boss can take. All you need to do is tell him." I said.
"Do these solutions come with a price?" Leela asked dubiously.
"I will not say no. however if you really need help can you turn the offer away?" I asked as we approached Leela's car.
"How would I contact him if I am interested?" Leela asked.
I pulled a piece of paper I scribbled on the table with the number for Oroku Saki.
"Here is the boss's number." I said handing the paper to her. "Come on Clover."
We started walking and I turned invisible.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
(Blue Valley, Idaho)
I walked through the town that held the Red River facility.
It seemed like a town smaller than Amity Park. Only one elementary, middle, and high school. the movie theater is a drive-in, malt shops, and no coffee store franchises.
I paused between sidewalks as my phone rang. Looking at the number I saw it coming from Tech-12.
"Yes?" I answered.
"Meredith Gordon is trying to reach you. Shall I connect?" Tech-12-1 asked.
"Give me a minute." I said before using the rabbit talisman to run to the top of the library, take a photo animate it with the rat talisman and transform it into Michael and myself into Oroku Saki. "Go ahead."
"Hello." Meredith said.
"Yes." I said.
"Your man paid me a visit today. Told me to call you. Meredith said.
"Michael? yes. I am with him right now." I said. "Say hello Michael."
This is where my puppet manipulation skill came in handy.
"I am surprised to see you called tis soon." Michael said.
"I on the other hand have been waiting for this call." I said.
"What do you want?" Meredith asked.
"I want secrets. You have worked at Vought for decades and must know some important people." I said.
"Most of the people I know are dead or gone." Meredith said. "If I did know anyone wort a damn, would I be working at Voughtland?"
"You still know people. The ones that are not taking your calls. Those are the ones I want." I said.
"Really?" Meredith asked.
"I believe that we can do a lot together. You help me and in return I can use my people to help you." I said.
"Your man said you can kill Soldier Boy?" Meredith asked.
"Michael?" I asked.
"Yes, boss I did tell her you could do that." Michael answered.
"I have my ways." I said. "All you have to do is agree."
I smiled as I saw one of my targets walking down the street.
Derek had the ability to transform into any animal. The downside is that when he physically shifted his mind shifted along with it. When he turned into a snake, he had the instincts of a snake and slithered off, when he had turned into a gorilla he could be distracted by a banana, and so on and so forth.
This would save me a lot of time.
"I agree." Meredith said.
"Great. Michael will be your contact. If you have any questions, he will be available." I said as I hung up the phone.
A screen popped up.
[Quest Alert]
[Quest: Forge a harem]
[Objective Forge a harem of at least ten supes]
[Restriction: Cannot be animated by Rat Talisman]
[Time Limit: End of Year]
Current 0/10
Reward
13,000 EXP
1,000 bonus for each supe over limit
Deep Sea Scale
2 Legion of Superheroes Rings
Rare Candy
Full Incense
Roar Spell
Focus Blast Spell
Accept Y/N
I hit yes.
Now done with it I transformed Puppet Michael into a Jigglypuff.
I ran down the street to the record store Derek Logan (Kingdom) stood outside of.
"Hello Derek." I said calling out not to scare him.
"Who are you?" Derek asked.
"I am someone interested in helping those screwed over by Vought." I said.
"What do you mean?" Derek asked.
"That can be explained later. I am here because I want to help you gain control of your power." I said.
"Nobody can help me." Derek said.
"You say that, but I believe differently." I said as I cast E-Emergency to summon Duplicate Michael.
"What is that?" Derek asked taking a step back.
"Jigglypuff sing." I commanded as I placed it on the ground.
"Jigglypuff." Jigglypuff said.
I flew into the sky to gain distance.
I waited five minutes before I floated to the ground and saw Duke sleeping in the form of a rabbit. I placed a hand on Duke. A screen popped up.
Do you wish to heal this man?
Y/N
[Imagine how you want to heal this man.]
I selected no and removed my hand.