Markus can admit that there were plenty of times in his life that he had been taken by surprise, and most of those surprises fucking sucked. The most obvious one being the delivery package for the Platinum Chip that he had undertaken for House through Victor. That one ended up with him being ambushed by Fucking Benny and his goons, robbed for all his shit, shot in the head twice, before being buried in a shallow grave.
Others were surprises that he may have brought upon himself due to his own curiosity and his need to obsessively explore secrets and hidden places for interesting shit to find or collect.
Like the incident at the abandoned Brotherhood of Steel Bunker that led to him being captured by Elijah and dragged into the Sierra Madre Casino Heist and almost dying multiple times with little to no resources in hand.
Or that one time he got kidnapped by the mad scientists of the Think Tank and was forced to undergo a surgery that removed his heart, brain, and spine for whatever reason beyond him. Though now that he remembered that incident, he remembered a story that Kai-Ming shared with him called the Wizard of Oz in which three characters were trying to get a heart, brain, and spine. So, Markus couldn't help but wonder if the Think Tank took that theme way too far.
There were also those many incidents in which he would walk into a settlement or place under trouble that had some serious shit going down and needed purging or saving. Like Primm for instance with those Convicts. The Tribal Village with the Cazadores. Most of the godforsaken Vaults, and more.
Markus would also not forget the one time by pure accident he ended up finding out about the White Gloves' small number of cannibals. He really did not want to deal with the vast majority of their people again. Especially since they kidnapped several others before he got involved with finding Ted.
But this was different though. This was a confession of love from Ai, a woman that he had spent the most amount of time with aside from Kai-Ming. And he would admit this was the first pleasant surprise he had in existence, and Markus also couldn't help but feel flattered that Ai felt this way about him.
Romantic Love, it was something that Markus did not get into, as the circumstances for his case was rather complicated.
He had been with many women before in the past, but that was for physical pleasure, never anything else. The closest woman he was with emotionally intimate with was Cass, but he genuinely didn't feel anything for her in the romantic sense or could see himself married to her.
Ai though?
Ai is different, she was someone that annoyed him with the way she acted, especially how fake she presented herself to be.
But now though?
He couldn't imagine himself without the company of Ai after all the time that they had spent together. And the time that Ai and her kids spent at his home, were genuinely some of the fondest memories he built in recent time.
The text he got from Ai about Hikaru made his heart freeze, it was the first time he felt scared, not scared as in this was going to be a painful experience like his other misadventures. But it was the first time he felt scared for someone else and was almost close to panicking.
The only other time he felt closest to this way was when Ulysses took ED-E from him at the Divide when they were almost at the Missile Silo. But that wasn't fear since ED-E was surprisingly capable, rather it was worry.
And now here he was left stunned in surprise as Ai confessed to him, and taking a look at Ai's…lovely face. Markus can easily tell that Ai was not fucking with him, she was telling him the truth.
She loved him. She wanted to be with him.
And Markus cared for her more than a mere acquaintance, more than a companion, more than a friend, something new that he has never experienced before.
Ah yes, that's right. Markus believed he had found himself falling in love with Ai as well.
Intellectually he knew that this was not the ideal time to have what Shirogane and Kaguya call a "Doki lovely relationship" or whatever they meant by that, but considering how they leaned in to each other, probably something to do with relationships. Especially since there was now an active threat after not just Ai, but also Chika as well.
He knew that it would have been better to simply ask to wait until the culprits for both cases were dealt with. It would not only be safer for him, but also be safer for Ai, Chika, and their families. Without the specter of death hanging over them, it would be far easier to get into a relationship that way without any troubles.
Intellectually he knew better.
But Markus has always been guided by his heart and his gut instinct more than anything else.
As such, he knew this was the choice that he wanted to make, the choice that though it would be the wrong move to make in this current environment. It was his choice to make.
"I accept." Markus said softly to Ai as her eyes shined brighter than ever before as a smile formed on Markus's face seeing that shine on her face. "I don't know where our relationship will take us, but I will say this." He said as he gently took Ai's hands into his own hands. "I think this is my first time falling in love, and I will no doubt make some mistakes." He assured her.
"Markus." Ai breathed out as their fingers interlaced with each other.
"But I swear that I will do whatever it takes within my power to be the best possible boyfriend until the circumstances or situation changes." Markus assured her as Ai looked a bit put down by that as she started pouting and Markus raised an eyebrow.
"You're supposed to say you will never stop being the best possible boyfriend and nothing else~!" She pouted at him.
"I prefer to be as realistic as possible." Markus retorted in a calm tone as Ai paused and nodded at that, in begrudging understanding.
"Well either way, you're mine now." Ai said as she leaned in and kissed Markus on the lips this time and Markus took the kiss as he enjoyed the warmth of Ai's mouth, and the way her soft lips felt against his own lips and the feel of her tongue digging into his mouth.
"Eww! Please stop this!" A shrill voice coming out of Ruby's mouth was heard as both adults stopped to turn around to see Ruby covering her red face with her hands, while Aqua was looking to the side but also looking red as well. Ai suddenly looked kind of sheepish as she kind of forgot that her kids were there when she confessed to him.
"Sorry about that kiddo." Markus said as he struggled to not let panic show on his face by keeping the best poker face he had on. "But when a man and woman like each other or love each other a lot, sometimes they got to show physical affection." Markus explained calmly, even as Ruby and Aqua pouted at him with the cutest glares he saw.
"You didn't have to do that here though." Aqua said with an annoyed tone on his face. "Couldn't you do that elsewhere?" He questioned as Markus shrugged at him. "Don't shrug at me!" Aqua retorted at Markus.
"Ah, Aqua don't be mean to Markus." Ai said as she went over to her son and pulled him up into a hug. "Mama is now dating Markus now and I would be upset if the two men in my life that I love do not get along with each other." She said cooing over Aqua as he turned red at how Ai was treating him. "Besides, he might become your stepdad in the future!" She said cheerfully.
Neither Aqua or Ruby looked ready to accept that as they stared at Markus in disbelief at the possibility of him becoming their stepdad. "Ai, I do not think both kids are ready to have me be in their lives for a while." Markus commented casually to her as she blinked at that. "It usually takes a while for kids to get used to either having another parent in their lives or getting one they never expected to begin with." He added in.
"And you know that how?" Ai asked curiously.
"I read." Markus answered back as Ai nodded at that.
"Okay, on to more important things, like us becoming a couple!" Ai said as she seemingly teleported into Markus arms with a joyful smile on her face. "So, when do you think you can take me out on a date Markus?" She asked tenderly.
As much as Markus wanted to do that, he had to be the realism guy. "Sorry Ai, but we can't do that right now." He said apologetically as Ai looked sad at that, as he quickly added in. "It's not because I don't want to or anything, but considering the circumstances of our situation right now, I do not think it's safe to do so." He warned her.
Ai's eyes widened as she remembered what was going on before she sadly nodded. "I suppose that makes sense." She sighed out as both Aqua and Ruby looked at her in confusion. Before she gotten back her cheer. "But I'm assuming that the stay at your home is now a full time offer?" She asked shyly.
"That is a given, there is no place safer than mine at the moment for you to stay." Markus nodded at her as Ai did a side fist pump that only her kids can see. "Besides, because of my status, people are going to have a harder time trying to figure out where I live and stay." Markus pointed out to her as Ai nodded while Ruby looked confused, and Aqua started to figure something out.
"Ah, I don't think Ichigo will be happy about that though." Ai commented in thought now that she thought about it. "He already isn't happy about the fact that I am spending so much free time with you or that you know about my precious little angels." She said motioning to Aqua and Ruby as they smiled at that. "He's worried about the kind of potential blackmail material that you could dig up to throw us into a massive scandal of some kind that could tank B-Komachi's fame and fanbase." She explained as Markus nodded at that.
"Well, if that's the case, once he calls either me or you. Worst case scenario, I'll be telling him to drink his own piss if it comes down to it." Markus said as Ai snorted in amusement at how blunt Markus sounded at that. "Unlike you, the old man doesn't mean that much to me in the grand scheme of things. In fact, I think he would be pretty low on the priority list of people that I care about at the moment." Markus added in before he looked thoughtful. "In, fact I would have to say that I'm kind of indifferent about him all things considered." He said to Ai's amusement.
"So, our stay with Markus is being extended then?" Ruby suddenly asked as Ai nodded at her as Ruby gained a conflicted look. On one hand, since Markus was going to be Ai's boyfriend that means there would be less time for her. But on the other hand, Markus was actually pretty cool. Not to mention he was also very fair to her and would most likely not let Ai spend less time with her and Aqua…mainly her though. Since she was the one that mattered and cared the most about this.
"Indeed Ruby." Ai nodded at her daughter. "There are currently some…outside issues that cannot be solved at the moment, and for our safety, we will continue to stay with Markus for the time being." Ai explained as carefully as she could to Ruby. There was no need for Ruby to know that her biological father was now some kind of robot murderer out to kill herself and used advanced high-powered weapons from Markus's world.
There was no need to give Ruby or Aqua any nightmares at this point, Ai knew that Ruby and Aqua were already having a hard time sleeping when that one stalker found their home.
"Right then, that reminds me." Markus spoke up to Ai as she turned to him. "There's that topic we got to discuss with the others now that my show and tell is done for the most part." Markus said to Ai as her smile faded away.
"Do we need to go and discuss it right now?" She asked Markus with a tired look on her face. "Can we not just put it off for a little bit longer?" She asked Markus, who simply shook his head. "Fine then." She sighed out as she and Markus picked up the kids and dropped by the Student Council Room to keep them safe before making their way to the others. All to discuss the matters about the synths.
As Markus and Ai left Aqua and Ruby to stay in the Student Council Room under the care of Yu and Miko, Aqua couldn't help but furrow his eyes a bit at what he heard. From the sounds of it, it seems like the matter involving the Stalker on Ai's person evolved into a far more serious case than either Markus or Ai thought possible. And that worried Aqua, since that would mean Ai would be in far more danger than he would have preferred.
But the only who could actually do anything about the danger that Ai is in is Markus himself. And Aqua knew from the photos that Markus took, especially that one photo where Markus was standing triumphantly over a giant demonic looking monster with claws that look like it can tear through rocks and metal with ease, that Markus is very capable of fighting off enemy threats, or at least is competent enough to know how to hunt down his enemies.
Still though…that concerned look that Markus shared with Ai was something that left Aqua worried, especially when Markus and Ai were meeting up with other people to discuss the threat. Usually, a single stalker or someone aiding a stalker wouldn't be call for concern for calling help or to discuss something. But the fact that Ai and Markus needed to talk with others told him something in his gut that something big was going to go down.
So even as Aqua did his best to relax with Ruby and Frill, he couldn't help but feel a sinking sensation that something bad was going to go down.
And this incident would be a far bigger mess than simply an attempt on an Idol.
Hikaru groaned as he felt something twitching inside himself as he felt movement, as he struggled to open his eyelids and slowly but surely found himself waking up in the back row of a car. Blinking out the glitches in his eyes he looked up to see his compatriot driving the car, though he seemed covered in paint for reasons unknown to him as he then looked back and noticed Hikaru was up. "Ah, you're up, that's good." He said to Hikaru before he turned back to focus on driving.
"What happened?" Hikaru questioned as he slowly lifted his shirt to see severe damage done to his torso. "All I remembered was finally reaching Ai, but the next thing I know is seeing that guy that you were supposed to clean up coming bursting in with a shotgun and blasting me seven times and then smashing my head and knocking me over the railing hitting the ground." Hikaru said in annoyance as he seemingly glared at his companion.
"We failed." Hikaru's companion said to him. "That Outsider was far more skilled than I had expected…or perhaps the FEV Virus mutated him into such a monster, I do not know for sure." Hikaru's companion shrugged. "All I know is that he was strong enough to straight up lift me and threw me down a flight of stairs, and that was after he threw paint in my face, shoved a can on top of me before doing so." He said calmly, but the way that he was tightly gripping the wheel told Hikaru that he was anything but calm about it.
"And here I thought, we could have dealt with the issue of Ai knowing about us…well more specifically me." Hikaru sighed. "But at least a minimum of four people know about us now." Hikaru stated as the man looked absolutely incensed by that. "I do not think Upper Management will be pleased with us, considering how much effort we spent into cleaning up and erasing our traces and now all of that is for vain." Hikaru noted.
"No, we're lucky in that regards, the Outsider will only come off as crazy for the time being, and Upper Management managed to get enough people to start watching the narrative. But we can no longer be as callous as we were now." The Man countered before he turned to Hikaru with disdain. "But for all of my processing power, I fail to see the logic of you picking an actor as your disguise." He said to Hikaru. "It was difficult enough getting you adapted to being able to act on the same level as he did." He said to him.
"I told you before, Hikaru had severe trust issues, meaning he had little to no contact with most people, and most of the people that he was close with either died or distanced themselves away from him. Meaning he had little to no human contact, and being a struggling actor means he will naturally be away from the screens for reasonable amount of time." Hikaru explained to him, as yes, he was not the original Hikaru. Rather he was a duplicate who took his place, for the reasons alone he listed, Hikaru was an ideal candidate to take the place of.
"Perhaps." The man snorted. "But that actor was a vile little monster in the making, I have no doubt he would have become a psycho or a serial killer in the making." He said to him. "After all, what kind of monster sends a clearly mentally disturbed man after a doctor in hopes of killing a woman in childbirth?" He questioned.
Hikaru snorted at that. "His trust issues that I mentioned earlier makes it difficult for him to bond with other people, but at the same time, it also makes him completely obsessed with those that manage to get his trust. Meaning for someone like him, someone like his Ex or whatever is someone he's completely obsessed with to in an extremely mentally unhealthy extent." Hikaru replied.
"So, it would seem." The man grunted as he then parked the car. "We're far away now, we can report to Upper Management without worry." The Man said as Hikaru nodded as he dug onto the ground to pull up a laptop. As he opened it and turned it on and started prepping the call, the Man got out and looked around before nodding before getting back into the car as Hikaru made the call to Upper Management.
Soon the call went forward and though the screen was black, both Synths knew that someone was on the other end as a distorted voice was heard. "Report." Upper Management demanded.
"Failure." Hikaru spoke up. "Both the Idol and the Outsider remain alive at large, operations within this part of the city may be compromised." Hikaru reported to Upper Management.
Upper Management was silent before it spoke up again. "How did a simple Idol manage to avoid death from an armed unit that was authorized for Laser Usage?" Upper Management questioned. "Furthermore, what is the status of the laser gun?" It questioned as both Hikaru and the man winced as the man took over from here.
"She had help, I assume from the Outsider and some of his friends." The man said. "Furthermore, the laser weapon was…lost." He said with a small wince as he heard something break on the other end of the call. "We assume the Outsider managed to pick it up and took it back with him to study." The man said.
"…Nira." Upper Management addressed the now named man, who winced at being addressed. "Are you reporting that not only was the mission a complete failure in every sense of the word. But you also somehow managed to lost a laser weapon system that is extremely difficult for us to produce. But now you're saying that you somehow lost the weapon in question to the one person who may be able to properly use it?!" Upper Management questioned, sounding less and less pleased with what it was saying as both Nira and Hikaru paled a bit. "Is that what I am hearing now, correct?"
"…That is correct." Nira reported with a now shaky tone in his voice.
"…Were it not for how lacking our numbers are right now, I would have deployed a Courser." Upper Management stated as both Nira and Hikaru lost any bit of composure they had at that moment. "But, considering that we are making progress on our main operation, I will delay judgement so here is your current mission." Upper Management said as both Hikaru and Nira looked less worried now. "Find the Outsider, destroy him at all cost, purge the Idol if possible, do not bring any more attention to us." Upper Management ordered.
""Understood."" Both Nira and Hikaru said at once.
"Excellent, considering the security breach we have, Nira, you are to delay all of your operations and focus on finding a way to deal with the Outsider." Upper Management said as Nira's eyes widened at that.
"Did you say…all operations?" Nira said nervously.
"All Operations, no exception." Upper Management stated.
"Including the one operation involving the…Tojo Clan?" Nira asked nervously.
"As we are right now, we do not have the ability or the means to subvert power from the Tojo Clan, they are both powerful and high in numbers. However, our analysts tell us that the Tojo Clan is weakening over time, the debacle in Kamurochō, Daigo's control over the Tojo Clan is nowhere strong enough to prevent issues from arising. Their financial trouble and infighting mean we can delay dealing with them for the time being. And it's for the best, they started asking around about us." Upper Management explained.
"Still though." Nira couldn't help but ask. "Wouldn't that give them more time to start looking into us and cause another security breach that we would need to clean up?" Nira questioned as he did make a good point, the Tojo Clan, even with its issues, was still very much powerful and could easily become a massive threat to their goals. Perhaps even more of a threat to them than the Outsider given enough time and investigation.
"The Tojo Clan do not have time to worry about supposed small time crooks." Upper Management stated. "The Omi Alliance is making their move." Upper Management said for added clarification as both Nira and Hikaru couldn't help but feel their eyes widened at that. "That is why we felt it best to delay the operation." Upper Management calmly added in.
Nira nodded. "Understood, the Outsider will be our main focus with the Idol as a secondary focus, we shall see that they're dealt with." Nira assured.
"You two better, because remember Nira, despite being a Commander, you can be replaced by anyone that's more competent, and if you waste resources at a rate that it becomes too costly. Then a Courser will come." Upper Management warned before ending the call.
Both Nira and Hikaru stayed silent after the call ended. "So, it seems that Upper Management is displeased with us." Nira said as calmly as he can.
"No shit." Hikaru said with a sigh as he then leaned back on the seat. "Looks like we're in trouble for the time being." He grumbled. "Well once I get myself patched, we can start working on a way to deal with Ai and the Outsider." Hikaru said as Nira nodded as they then drove off to get Hikaru fixed up.
Once he gets fixed, they will deal with both Security Breaches as soon as possible, for both of their sakes.
"Say girls, there's been something on my mind for a while." Takamine spoke up to the other girls of B-Komachi as they paused and turned to her, while the rest of them were enjoying some private time at a Manga Café reading manga at the place. The girls all had their personal favorites but some of them were enjoying some long-time running series like One Piece, Detective Conan, or even reading some series like Bleach. But once they heard Takamine spoke up they all turned to her.
"What's been on your mind?" Watanabe asked as she paused in her reading of Fairy Tail to hear what's been bothering Takamine.
"Maybe it's just me, but…have you girls noticed how different Ai has been lately?" Takamine pointed out as the other girls blinked at that question as they began to think about it. "I could be wrong for all I know, but I felt that Ai's been feeling a lot more…how do I say this? Genuine!" Takamine said as the words came to her. "I feel like Ai's more genuine with us nowadays." She said enthusiastically.
"Is that so? I don't really see that much of a difference in the way Ai goes about things." Ari commented to her. "But then again, I don't actually spend that much time with her either unlike you, Watanabe and Nino do." Ari said to Takamine.
"Actually, now that you mention it." Watanabe pointed out. "I think Ai is acting a bit different from the way she normally interacts with us." Watanabe commented. "If I had to describe her attitude, I think she's happier than normal." Watanabe explained to the others, who looked interested.
"Well, you two know her better than us, so the question is, what do you think is the catalyst for this change in Ai?" Kyun asked the girls as they looked thoughtful at that. Ai was a pretty difficult person to try and understand at times, there were plenty of times where they had gotten into spats with Ai due to her unquestionable talents and her personality being kind of off putting at times. They remembered the way that Nino exploded at Ai due to her jealousy but Ai just kept smiling.
"Well, if you're looking for a catalyst, then I think the answer is very obvious." Meimei said to the rest of the girls with a triumphant look on her face.
"Is it though?" Ari asked.
"Oh, it totally is!" Meimei said.
"Then who is it?" Kyun asked as Meimei looked put out by that.
"Isn't obvious?" She asked them as both girls shook their heads while Watanabe and Takamine looked like they got an idea. "Think about it, who do we know that's been spending time with Ai lately?" She asked them as both Takamine and Watanabe got it now.
"You mean Markus?" Takamine gasped out as Meimei nodded at that.
"You mean Markus is responsible for the way Ai is right now?" Watanabe questioned.
"Of course! Markus is the only new person that Ai interacts with on a casual basis. And even then, Markus drops by to pick up Ai to go on their outings to spend time together as friends." Meimei said excitedly. "But I don't think they're at the friend stage, rather…I think Ai wants to go beyond the next stage." She whispered to the girls as they all look excited.
"You mean to say that our darling Ai is now a girl in love!?" Takamine said in excitement as Meimei nodded enthusiastically.
"They do say that a girl changes when she falls in love, and Markus is, once you get past the fact that he doesn't smile a lot, and that he wears some rather conspicuous sunglasses. He's actually rather handsome in a rugged built sort of way." Watanabe commented as well in excitement.
"Oh my, that's a love story in the making! Think about it, the famous star in the entertainment industry with a low-class handsome worker!" Ari nearly squealed out.
"But Ai can't be with Markus though." Kyun pointed out as that put a damper in their happy mood. "As much as I hate to point it out, but Ai is an idol, and we're under contracts and clauses to not get involved with scandal invoking news." She said to them as she frowned. "But I must admit, the idea of Markus with Ai is something interesting, but in Ai's current situation, she can't pursue him. Or if she does, she would have to keep it a secret."
"Perhaps, and maybe it could be a scandal, but…" Takamine admitted before she gained a smile on her face. "I've been working with Ai as part of the Founding Four of B-Komachi, and for the most part, it seems like Ai feels close to happy when she's on the stage. But now, we're actually seeing her happy when she's not on the stage, I want to support that." She said to the others.
"Ai is my friend too." Watanabe chimed in as she gained an excited smile. "I can't help but think that Markus is good for her life. I always got the feeling that Ai was some kind of doll just going through the motions, but now though? She feels genuinely alive to me more than she ever has been." She said to the others.
"I am an ally of love, so of course I will support Ai's love, and if they do end up in a relationship, then we just have to do our best to support and cheer for her from the side and help hide it!" Meimei chimed in as love is important to a girl, and she also thought that Markus and Ai made a cute couple together.
"I want to see this livelier Ai more often as well, so let's support her." Ari said with a casual smile. "Besides, I'm actually kind of curious as to how those two will be like in a relationship." She added in. And after her words, the girls turned to Kyun to see what she will do.
Kyun looked annoyed at them. "Oh, come on, why wouldn't I support a fellow girl in love? Sure, we got those contracts, but life is too long to not have some fun, besides considering how private Ai is about her life, and how private Markus likes to keep to himself. I don't think those two, once they get together, will have a hard time hiding it." She said as the other B-Komachi Girls smiled at the support.
"Well then, to Ai's potential love life!" The Girls all said as one.
In a different location, where a simple yet sharply dressed man was sitting on a bench enjoying the Tokyo sunset. He remained silent as he remained relax and calm, even as the sounds of a bird flapping its wings and making noises was heard behind him. Before it suddenly stopped, and the man, the Seer that Markus and Ai had visited, had decided to turn around to see who it was and smiled at the sight.
A young girl in a black and white school uniform with long white hair and brown eyes, that remained open in such a state, that if it was most people. It would have disturbed them and take a step back from the unsettling child. "So." The child soon spoke. "I see that you found yourself here now this time around." She said to the Seer.
"So, it would seem, but I can't help but enjoy the sun setting from here." The Seer smiled as he motioned to the sun. "Look at the way the sun's reflection sparkle in the waters and the ripples within the waters creating a small rippling effect." He said to her as the child made her way to the Seer and sat next to him.
"It looks nice." The child admitted. "But can you change your current look? I can't stand the way that you look like. It just doesn't fit you." She then complained at the Seer, who simply look amused. "I mean it." She huffed.
"Very well then." The Seer said before like magic, the once sharply dressed man was replaced by a man wearing a trench coat over brown suit, wearing a warn brown fedora, with a custom white magnum holstered by his right side. "Now is this better for you child?" The Mysterious Stranger spoke to the child who nodded at him. "Excellent, now then, little hatchling what is it you wish to talk to me about?" He questioned.
"I have several." She admitted. "But the most pressing one is, are you responsible for that man appearing into this world?" She asked seriously as the Mysterious Stranger raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about the one who interacts with that Idol, the one known as Markus Redgrave, are you responsible for bringing him here?" She asked.
"Markus's own luck is rather bizarre at the best of times." The Mysterious Stranger said. "But I may have tilted the odds so it favors him ending up here instead of somewhere else in the multiverse." He admitted to the child who blinked.
"And why would you do that?" She questioned curiously. "Don't get me wrong, I am glad since he did protect the mother of those two. But I'm curious as to why." She spoke.
And at that, the Mysterious Stranger lost his smile, which unintentionally sent chills down the child's spine. "Tell me Crow." The Mysterious Stranger said addressing by his official title for the child, who flinched at the name. "Have you been aware of what's been going on recently? Specifically, the troubles that were going on with Markus and Ai?" He asked.
"You know that my power only allows me to perceive the living, but outliers like Markus are outside my ruling due to being outsiders." Crow pointed out before she grumbled in. "Not to mention you're also my senior in the whole supernatural power stage and the likes." She muttered petulantly as the Mysterious Stranger smirked as he began patting her head, causing her to pout.
"Then you should know, that Outsiders are in this world, and they're stirring up trouble and that is not something I can simply allow to go unchecked and unchallenged." The Mysterious Stranger said firmly to Crow. "Markus's appearance is important, because with him in check, those other Outsiders will no longer go unchecked and unchallenged." He explained to her.
Crow lowered her head. "So that's why he was brought in, to right the scales." She commented. "As expected of the Man regarded as a Guardian Angel by many, while being an actual Angel." She commented.
"That and I don't like sad endings." The Mysterious Stranger added as Crow turned to him, as he snorted. "Don't look at me like that, you know I hate endings where the good people die and others are left to pick up after the pieces, in shit ways or not." He said to Crow. "While Ai's death was supposed to happen or as one of my colleges like to say. "Canon Event."" He said making a mockery of the concept. "I personally value free will and the ability to make choices."
Crow couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess that's something. But from here on out, all we can do is simply watch right?" She stated rather than asked.
The Mysterious Stranger nodded. "It's all up to them now, but if I was a betting man, I would place my bet on the Wildcard." He said in his own way to assure Crow. A way to assure his pseudo trainee to place hope on Markus to win.