"So, The Beyonder dumped you here, mixed you up with a guy named Max, told you to mess around because he can't do it himself, and left you… just like that?" Galacta summarised, looking ready to give up for the day.
"Pretty much," I shrugged helplessly.
She sighed loudly before turning her look to Steel. "And what is he?"
"Steel is an Ultralink. They're…," I tried to come up with the best way to describe Steel's people. "You know the Symbiotes of planet Klyntar? Basically that but as Bio-Technology and permanent."
While Galacta's face scrunched up, probably recognising the species I was referring to, Steel looked confused. "What's a Symbiote?"
"Eh, not something pretty. In fact, sorry for comparing you to one," I apologised sincerely to Steel. "Anyway, Galacta-"
"Just call me Gali," she cut me off.
"Gali," I corrected before continuing. "Can you… help us settle in? We just need a place to stay and someone to trust."
"And you believe a girl that knocked you out for no reason and held you by the throat is the optimal choice for that?" Steel asked sarcastically.
"Hey, I didn't mean to do that," Gali complained.
"Steel, Gali isn't a bad person. I promise you we can trust her," I vouched for her, knowing her only goals was to live peacefully and not be hungry.
Steel sighed and did a 'give up' motion with his hands. "I guess we don't really have anyone else."
"Gee, I feel so special," Gali commented sarcastically.
"But who is she?" Steel ignored her and continued looking at me. "You know her but I don't."
I looked at Gali who just sighed before shrugging her shoulders, basically giving me permission. "You know how the Alphalink devours planets for energy, substance, and materials?" Steel hummed a 'mm-hmm'. "Well, she's basically like that but as an organic who doesn't want to do that and wants to live peacefully."
"Alphalink?" Gali questioner.
"Eh, imagine you or Galactus but as a giant alien ship," I summarised, though she did frown when I brought up Galactus.
"I see. So, she doesn't WANT to hurt people, even if she needs to," Steel summarised, placing a hand on the bottom of his screen. "Hmm… I guess that deserves some respect." He admitted.
"Anyway, what do you say, Gali?" I steered the conversation back to my request for her help. "Look, you don't need to help us, I get that, but I'd really appreciate it if you could, and I promise to pay you back in anyway I can."
Gali kept looking between me and Steel, her arms crossed and her finger drumming on her elbow. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke up again.
"Alright, I guess we can exchange help," Gali stood up and placed her hands on her waist. "I'll help you fit in to this universe and settle down, and in exchange you'll offer me your Turbo Energy to feed me and keep me from going hungry."
"That's great!" I cheered, jumping to my feet.
"BUT!" Gali raised her finger, stopping me in my tracks. "I have a few conditions. For one, you don't tell ANYONE about me or whatever knowledge you have about the Multiverse. I don't want any leads to be traced back to me, and I definitely don't want anything to mess up with one of the better off universes out there. Two, whatever hero life you have planned? Keep. Me. Out. I keep a low profile and I like it that way."
"Alright, sounds fair," I agreed immediately. Her terms were honestly pretty reasonable. "But, I kind of have a couple conditions, too. For starters, you can take as much Turbo Energy as you want from me, but you can't take any from Steel. He needs it."
"Let me guess, he's mind is an energy construct that would go out permanently if it goes out once?" Gali asked, making both me and Steel blink.
"Uh... How did you know that?" Steel asked.
"I may live on Earth but I'm not as primitive as Earthlings are," Gali gloated, crossing her arms.
"Anyway, my second condition is that, while I won't involve you in any hero activity or life, I might as for your help in specific situations. Like asking how to deal with technology that uses cosmic energy or something like that," I explained.
Gali thought it over for a second before shrugging. "Alright, that sounds fair."
"Hey! What about me!?" Steel drew our attention. "I have conditions for you, too!" He was obviously speaking to me more than Gali.
"Alright, go ahead," I offered him.
"First, never keep me out of the loop. I don't like secrets being kept from me," Steel started. "If you know something about what we run into, you talk about it. Okay?"
"Okay, that's a deal, if you agree to my own condition," I said before looking at him with absolute seriousness. "When we start hero stuff, you absolutely cannot use 'Turbo: Super Mode'."
"Aw come on!"