......….
Eidolon P.O.V.
"Hell Lords are incredibly powerful demons, each in control of their own version of 'Hell'. In some cases, it is a hellish, dark dimension, and in others, it is exactly a 'bad afterlife'." I explained to both Illyana and Raven after the blonde girl made her proposal.
Never thought Illyana would touch the subject first, but here we are. This is proof that she is more perceptive than people give her credit for. Illyana is not the most academically inclined person, but she is not stupid.
Just by observing her surroundings while we are here in Limbo and hearing the talks, she understood what Belasco's absence created and what it means. A power vacuum that is not entirely advantageous to us.
"They are the demon Big Shots and, frankly, the main culprits behind any big invasion that can happen on Earth." I continue "And those hellish dimensions will be a constant threat to us forever if we don't deal with them. So, before choosing violence, I will try to put them under our control or put reliable people in those positions." I explain this long-term plan of mine. "There is also the fact that Hell needs to exist; we can't simply destroy it."
"So it is like what you are trying to do with the monsters." Illyana speaks
"In some way, yes. Coexistence before eradication."
"For how long did you have this plan?" She asks while looking at me intensely
"It only took form when I recently visited the real Hell and got involved with some high-level demons." If she asks, I will answer honestly, "If you are worried that I was raising you for that since the beginning, don't be." I shake my head. "I was training you because your life is already written to be hard, and you have a lot of potential. I just wanted to prepare you for that. You are just one of the many Hell Lord candidates that I have in mind… Raven here is one of them, too."
"I am?" She is discovering it now, too.
"So, Illyana, do not think that this is your obligation or anything. It is just one of the many paths you can take… In truth, I will not allow you to start working on it until you are older." I say
"But I will do it…"
I raise my hand to stop her. "I am glad that you are on board, but even so… Use your teenage years to think about it more. Like how other teens think about their future careers."
"It is a big fucking career." She scoffs humorously
"Yes, it is." I chuckle, "I did not plan to talk to you about it till you're older, and I noticed that you had some inclination for the role, but now that you showed interest, part of your training will be directed to that."
"Like… politics and stuff?" She shows a slightly disgruntled expression.
"A little… but more like leadership training and increasing your critical thinking a little beyond only increasing your fighting prowess. It will let you see whether you like where this training is going. Expect more field trips in the future."
"I can accept that." She nods. I knew that Illyana likes when I took her around to do field training.
"I am gonna give you an example now. Before we go back to Earth." I extend my hand and open a portal to the three of us.
They follow me to emerge hundreds of meters above a bustling city, and we are standing on a transparent platform so that we can look down on them.
"If you are really gonna go on this path, Illyana, the first thing I want you to understand is your (possible) future subjects." I point down at the inhabitants of Belasco. "As a kidnapped person, I would not blame you for having negative feelings for the Limbo in general, which extends to the people living here."
"More or less… I am not a kid. I will not be angry at everything." She crosses her arms and huffs "But I am not gonna lie and say that I care about them."
"Understandable." I nod before adding. "But not ideal. It will be better if you rule properly."
"Don't I just need to keep them on a leash?" She frowns "To not attack us and everything."
"That is the main objective, yes. But remember what I said? Violence is not always the best way to do that. If you, as a ruler, are able to make it unnecessary for demons to attack humans, then this way, the war between the races will end for good."
"... I see." She shows a contemplative expression
"Ruling properly will not only be good to them, and to humanity as a whole, but to you too."
"Me?"
"Yes… The position corrupts, Illyana. Do you want to slowly erode into something like Belasco?" I inquire with a challenging eyebrow
"That is never gonna happen." She replies almost angrily, clearly offended by the implication.
"No one ever expects their morals to deteriorate, so you should always watch out for that. You are not a bad girl, Illyana, I know this." I pat her head. "Look down on that city again… See? Beyond their strange appearances and some strange habits, it looks like a human city."
"...yeah." She admits, while watching the demons go with their lives
"They are obviously more… what is the word? Savage, maybe. The environment made them less civilized than us, where the big fist makes the law, and it is understandable that you will need to play by the rules of this world and govern with a strong fist… But deep down, you should remain the good girl you are." I say some words of encouragement.
There is a real danger of Illyana falling onto the dark path, like… a very real chance of that happening. I will do everything in my power to prevent her from becoming a villainous version of herself, but in the end, it will be in her hands.
I can be a little annoying with the lectures, but if it can help a little down the line, it will be worth it.
"The last lesson of today, Illyana, is the difference between the cliché evil demons and the ones that are redeemable. Do you know the easiest way to tell them apart?" I ask
"Ehh… You said that some are pure evil and others are like magical aliens, but… maybe the appearance… No, they are all too different anyway. Does their magic have any difference?"
"In many cases, yes… But there is a simpler way… it is how they reproduce." I reveal.
"..." Illyana's scrunched face almost makes me laugh, but I hold back a chuckle to continue the explanation.
"Look down again, look… those demons have families. That is a great way to know if something is naturally evil. An existence without the concept of family is almost certain to lean toward the bad side(with exceptions, of course). The demons from Hell spawn naturally; they don't connect with anyone in the early days of their lives, and because of that, their only purpose is to feed on the suffering of other people." I explain "And yes, some can reproduce, but that doesn't change their feeling for their offspring, and then it is a coin toss if the half-demon born of the union will be evil."
"Family is really that important?" She asks curiously
"Absolutely, even the lack of it affects us greatly. You should read Lord of the Rings later, there is a reason why Tolkien made the Orcs simply spawn." I pat her shoulder. "Of course, it is not because some have family and care about them that they are good, but at least they are closer to humans this way."
I give her some seconds to absorb my words. In the end, only her own life experience will matter; my words are just laying the foundation
"If they can care about family, they can care about more things… if someone guides them." I finish the lecture "Open a portal back to Monster Metropolis. In the future, I am gonna tell you two more details about my plan of having my own Hell Lord group."
"You two? I never agreed to it." Raven speaks
"That is okay. There are other candidates, and you will have time to think." I don't plan on making a move as big as that for at least ten years, and I can always get another demon character from the Gacha.
Obviously, during this time, I can prepare the terrain by reducing the opposition's forces and finding allies in this universe.
But obviously, Raven is one of the best options even when considering the whole Omniverse, so I will try to convince her.
"But don't you think it would be a good idea? Instead of just doing reactionary hero work and then waiting for the next time demons invade, we can solve this issue once and for all."
"..." I know that my words reached her.
She is basically the main person responsible for the demon invasions that her team needed to deal with. There is no way someone like Raven doesn't feel guilty about it. I can even imagine her thinking that it would be better if she didn't exist.
As Illyana opens the portal back to Earth, I speak "But don't fret over it too much, you two have a lot of time. For now, let me worry about keeping things safe."
"What if I want to lessen your burden?" Illyana turns away from me while saying that
"..." Is she embarrassed? Cute~ "The young ones should be the ones without burdens." I smile and ruffle her hair. "Again, don't worry, I will make sure the world will be intact till you grow up."
"Hey!" She fights my hand, but I win, and in the end, her hair looks like she is in the middle of an electrostatic charge.
"You know… I am still surprised you are actually a respectable hero." Raven comments dryly from the side
"...I am still gonna take it as a compliment." I turn to her, and she passes me before crossing the portal. Is she smiling? Cortana, replay my memories.
......…
We arrive at the plaza of Monster Metropolis without a hitch. Some monsters look at us curiously, but they make no move.
"Are you gonna call the rest?" Illyana asks
"A quick telepathic message was already sent. They are gonna meet us here." I speak before sitting on the fountain's edge.
As we wait, Illyana doesn't want the silence, so she talks a little more.
"Today was a busy day, huh? Are you gonna chase that Ananym and Goblin Queen?" She sits at my side
"Yes, but I am not that hopeful. They can be at any dimension now." I shrug
"Are you gonna kill them?"
"Talk first."
"Of course." She scoffs
"If what Sadurang told us is accurate, that Ananym doesn't have a good relationship with her father… she could be an ally." I comment
"Are you serious?" She looks disbelieving
"What?" I can immediately guess what she is thinking, but I want her to say it
"She is Belasco's daughter. She helped that woman release demons on us!" She argues
"Being someone's daughter is not a crime." I answer calmly "And it doesn't look like she was targeting you guys. It was nothing personal, just business. The X-Men were merely unfortunate collateral. She probably got what she wanted from the Goblin Queen, so there is a chance she is not our enemy… but I still need to see it by myself."
"But…"
"Illyana, as you grow, you will meet the most unlikely allies in your journey… no need to brand everyone as an enemy from the get-go. There is a chance this Ananym hates Belasco as much as you." From what I watched with [Moody Blues], the chances are very high.
"I doubt it." She huffs
"Then think about it more rationally. It would be like removing a pawn from Belasco."
"Killing her would have the same effect."
"But if we add her to our side, the damage is doubled."
"..."
"Turning an enemy into a friend is a hard thing to do, but it is an incredible superpower." You need a main character level of charisma to do that, and a little luck. "And in this world, many first impressions are not that good… We always end up fighting… My advice is to keep an open mind, just in case."
"We will see about that." She doesn't look convinced, but whatever…
If I remember well, she is destined to be part of a group of magical teens of dubious origins. So one day she will understand what I am talking about. I doubt their relationship went smoothly.
In the next minute, the X-Men start arriving, surprisingly together. They probably met as the streets converged in this place.
Everyone at least has a small bag in their hands, while some of the girls have many more, and they are big too.
"Eidolon! Welcome back!" Kitty waves
"How is it in Hell?" Jubilee asks humorously
"Pretty good, but it's not really Hell." I answer.
"We fought a dragon god." Illyana brags
"Seriously?" Jean has to make sure Illyana is not joking
"Yes." I answer
"Eidolon said that he will make me some boots with the hide and scales that fell off." The blonde girl happily reports to her brother
"That is… cool." Piotr is unsure about the strangeness of the situation, but in the end, he says the simple truth while matching Illyana's enthusiasm.
"I will give them to you after Edna designs them." I speak "Don't worry, I will make sure they are edgy." I assure her with a teasing voice.
"A quick trip, huh? And you ended up fighting a dragon god after yesterday's battle with the original vampire." Jean comments with an amused smile
"What can I say? My life is exciting." I chuckle while standing up. "So, what do you guys think about the city?"
"Strange." Scotts talks first
"Bizarre." Spyke nods
"Strangely normal too." Kurt shrugs
"It is very different, but not that much… it is like a foreign country." Jean tries to explain better.
"Where everyone is wearing cosplay." Kitty adds.
"They are similar to us as they are different." Bob comments
"The food is yucky." Paige points
"Seriously? I liked it." Jubilee turns to her
"The locals looked at me like I was an animal that escaped the zoo."
"Better than the ones that looked at me like I was filet mignon."
"The ones that I met are nice."
"I was hit on by some monsters, but they are not the hot kind of monsters."
"Some of those monster girls are cute…"
I chuckle while listening to them "It seems everyone has their own experiences, that is expected. But overall, how is it? Any trouble? Would you come back?"
"Overall positive…"
"Yeah, it was different but cool."
"Even the bad/strange things are kinda interesting."
"It is not like they attacked us."
Their answers are different, but it was an overall positive review. I am happy to see this.
"Then there is hope." I smile "Ready to return to the Institute?"
"Ah, Eidolon, your money." Kitty remembers and offers me the currency I gave her.
The rest do the same, and I end up with my hands full of money.
"It's for you guys to use everything…" I sigh "Whatever… take the rest, Illyana." I telekinetically remove all the gold from the many pouches and pour it into a bigger one.
"Okay~" Illyana replies like it's no big deal, as if I am only giving her some change instead of tens of thousands in gold.
"Is that okay?" Jean watches the exchange, confused
"Just some pocket money." I wave her off.
"I already have a lot of money that he gave me in my trunk, and those strange currencies too." Illyana informs them
"Whattaheck? I also want to be Eidolon's sidekick if the salary is this good." Tabitha exclaims
"That is too much money for a kid." Piotr says with a little worry.
"Just in case she needs it." I shrug. "She also has some fake documents and other items… it is a Vigilante Kit of some sort."
"My name is Isadora in my fake passport, and I am Brazilian." Illyana chuckles
"Tip: Brazilian passports are used a lot by criminals and spies because anyone can look Brazilian. If you guys want, I can prepare some for you all." I offer
"I will take it." Kitty laughs
"Better to have it than not have it, I guess." Rogue shrugs
Seriously, every hero needs to have a kit with essentials just in case things go south. You never know when you are getting yourself into another place or a bad situation.
Even I, with all my contingencies, ended up in another universe once.
After hearing them talk a little more about their experiences, I opened a big portal to the garden of Xavier's Mansion, and they crossed through it.
"Are you not coming?" Jean turns to me after noticing that I am standing still beside Raven.
"I still have things to discuss with Shiklah. You can stay for a little longer if you want to talk with me." I suggest
"I will take you up on your offer." She nods after thinking for a moment, choosing to step away from the portal.
We waved our goodbyes, some of them giving us strange looks because Jean stayed behind, especially Scott and Rogue, but no one said anything.
"I am going home." Raven also declares as she starts sinking into her shadow.
"Bye." I say
"Nice seeing you, Raven." Jean also says "Appear more."
"..."
"If you don't appear more, I will start telling fake stories about you to smear your character." I speak
"You…"
"Better appear often to make my lies obvious."
"..." She glares at me the whole time while she sinks to the ground.
"You are bad." Jean shakes her head, but smiling
"She is not so much of an introvert that she hates other people; it is just that she doesn't know it yet." She is a tsundere. "If I make it like she is being forced, she will appear, but she also secretly likes having an excuse to go out."
"I know how it is… Don't worry, we like her."
"Thank you. Now, walk with me, Jean." I turn on my heel, and we start walking back to Shiklah's palace. "Tell me what is on your mind?"
"...what did you discover about this Other Me?" She immediately goes to the main point.
"As you know how to defend your mind and are the person with the most interest in this issue, no harm in telling you… But please keep it a secret, I don't want Madelyne Pryor to know how much I discovered about her." I nod. No harm in allowing one person of the X-Men in the loop.
"Madelyne Pryor?"
"It is how she calls herself now… Or Goblin Queen. Apparently, she is not only an alternative version of you, but a clone of an alternative version of you. And it seems she really wanted to move out of this identity and be more than a clone of 'Jean Grey'."
"..." Jean shows a strange expression
"Are you… pitying her?" I turn to her, and I'm surprised after identifying the strange emotion. Really now?
"No… I mean, I'm not entirely sure. Imagine existing just to be someone else. I do not know enough about her to have my opinion…" Jean hesitates "I obviously don't like that someone with my face and powers is potentially doing some evil around in the world, but… I don't know. Maybe that is why I want you to tell me what you discovered."
"..." I give her a long look while we walk side by side
"...what?" She looks uncomfortable under my gaze
"You are a good person, Jean Grey." I nod
"Eh?"
"You have no idea how much I despise the idea of a clone of me existing. I can barely stand my alternative versions in other universes, and if one appeared here, I would attack first and ask questions later." I confess "And that is because I know that I am not… well, let's say that I don't trust myself too much." I laugh
"Worried that an evil you would cause a lot of trouble, huh?" She understands me pretty well
"You have no idea." The chances that another me can have cheats like the Essence or even memories of their past lives in the real world… Ugh. "I am not gonna pull a Highlander and kill all others because 'there can be only one', but yeah… I prefer not to get close to other Eidolons, and I would appreciate it if they did the same."
"I can understand that. It is still too much for me, too." Jean sighs "What situation… The things she could be doing now…"
"Don't worry, I am gonna stop her." I assure Jean "The other you has issues, but whatever she is planning, it will not go far."
"What do you think she is planning?"
"Probably becoming queen of Limbo, or any other similar dimension, right now, she must be going around to check on alternate versions of her former allies to see if she can still use them and convince them to join her cause." I shrug "But again… Omega-level telepath, maybe she doesn't need to convince everyone."
Jean grimaces at the implication that Madelyne is brainwashing people around the world. "That is what worries me… I don't know what I would do if I were evil, but probably nothing good."
"I know what I would do if I were evil, and maybe that is why my prejudice is greater than yours." I joke to lighten the mood
"Haha…" She laughs weakly "I also feel that I have something dark in me, I just don't know it yet… maybe it is what scares me."
"..." Well, it scares me too… The Dark Phoenix. But I am not gonna tell her that, so I just scoff and continue in a joking tone. "You? This cinnamon roll? Please… You literally exhale sunshine and rainbows." I roll my eyes exaggeratedly at her
"Ah!" She gasps in fake outrage "Then you don't know me, Eidolon. I am dangerous! Very dangerous…" She tries to state seriously, but the corner of her lips is twitching
"You couldn't hurt a butterfly." I shake my head in denial
"You would be surprised." She crosses her arms
"Scary… I will try to remember not to anger you then."
"That would be wise." She nods, satisfied.
We laugh a little and talk more about Madelyne Pryor, but eventually we arrive at the front gate of Shiklah's palace.
"I will say my goodbyes here… no need to insert myself into your business." She says
"You are just escaping before I do more boring politics." I accuse
"You figured me out." She raises her hands in acceptance
"Hmpf, when I have to do some exciting hero thing, I am not gonna call you…" I fake petulance.
"Considering what can be considered 'exciting' in your life, I think I should be grateful not to be included." She drawls
"Your loss." I shrug condescendingly and open a portal to the Xavier Mansion.
But before she goes through it, I talk a little more seriously.
"Jean…"
"Hm?" She turns to me
"It doesn't matter what she does… I don't want you blaming yourself for anything."
"..."
"It will not be your fault in any way." I speak with all the conviction I could muster.
It can look like dumb assurance, but you never know… This is unexplored territory. It would not be weird for people to start questioning their own existence and sense of self in this situation.
At least, people would be like 'Would I be like this if I were raised differently?' Multiversal shenanigans suck…
"Okay… thank you, Eidolon." She eventually nods with a small smile.
"And if you see me punching her in the face, do not take it personally… You know how those hands are rated." I make a little joke
"Hahaha! Yes, E for Everyone." She laughs, more relaxed than her former tense self. I think I accomplished decreasing her worries. "Bye, Eidolon."
"Bye, Jean." I nod at her and close the portal when she is finally fully on the other side.
Now I can go back to business.
Funny how this time no one tried to stop me as I walked inside Shiklah's palace. The only thing that is preventing me from simply teleporting to Shiklah is that I am bringing my people to me.
First, Selene, who was on standby, and then the other two I had been preparing since the beginning of my talk with Shiklah.
"Sir…" Selene emerges from a portal with a small bow of her head
"Those two are a little complicated, so you are allowed to deal with them in any way, including calling me to beat them up." I warn her as I prepare the two to come.
Those are recently summoned characters that I spent some time "educating". One of them is not that bad, but the other… the other was probably the most disgusting character that I have summoned.
His saving grace is that he is strong and can do the dirty work, while he is already used to being subservient to someone strong.
I enter the throne room of Shiklah with Selene closely behind me.
"Already back?" She looks at me, surprised, shooing away some attendants at her side
"I need to drop off your helpers." I say
"Oh. I am curious to meet them." Shiklah smiles
"Good luck with them…" I say before opening the portal to bring the weirdos.
Two portals open at my side, and my new summons steps out of them.
They are very different, but with two similarities: they are both monsters and have an insect theme. Well, one of them is apparently human, while the other is a monster, but you really can lump the two together as monsters… The "human" is the most monstrous of the two anyway.
A masculine and a feminine silhouette appear before they emerge in front of us… Tommyrod and Mosquito Girl.
"Finally, I can stretch my wings~" Mosquito Girl says with a seductive stretch, almost moaning as her limbs tremble.
"..." Tommyrod is completely emotionless, but those bizarre eyes are looking around, and it is impossible to know what he is thinking.
"This is Tommyrod and Mosquito Girl; they are pretty strong, and you can use them as you see fit… with some obvious exceptions." When I saw Shiklah eyeing Tommyrod, probably imagining that as a male, he would be easier to manipulate with her charms, I decided to warn her, "Don't even try. The only thing you will gain from your troubles will probably be having his eggs poured into you(not in a fun way) and becoming an incubation ground for bugs."
"...what?" Shiklah looks at me strangely
"It is as disgusting as you think." I give her a look of 'don't ask for details'.
"That is mean… It would be her honor to become a breeding host for my bugs." Tommyrod gives us a creepy smile
"Behave… Unless you want to go through your 'baptism' again." My eyes move to him, his whole body shivering.
I instilled fear in him in every possible way I could. This arrogant bastard couldn't even think of raising his voice against me without his whole body turning on him; that is how traumatic I made his "baptism".
I never went this far with a summon. He is not only a psychopath like Macht and Johan, or a murder hobo like Uvogin… He is also fucking unhinged.
I reminded him that he only exists now because his "Disgusting power is useful to me, but not enough that I would assimilate it". He is alive just because of those two things.
Every leader needs not only an attack dog, but also a monster…
"Remember what I told you guys… Listen to everything Death Dealer and Shiklah say unless it goes against my instructions." I stare at the two with the coldest eyes I can show, exerting pressure on their bodies and minds. "I will be watching… If you fail this first mission… I don't need you for a second one."
Tommyrod bows his head and doesn't dare to look me in the eyes.
Surprisingly, Mosquito Girl, literally a monster predator of humans, is easier to deal with.
"Yes, sir." She says, a little fearful but putting on a strong front.
Despite their instincts and mental issues, they are all sentient creatures that can understand orders… that is what I am counting on. And if they get out of control, well… The first victims will be monsters anyway.
Then I will consider this little experiment a failure and be even more careful with whom I summon in the future.
As much as I want to give them a second chance, I know that there are not many monsters in this world who have never attacked a human, so they are not innocent. Especially the high-level ones that they will be in contact with through Shiklah.
I turn to the Succubus Queen. "They will follow most of your orders. Remember what we talked about… it is better to use them for a single, swift, and ruthless display of strength. Choose wisely who will be the sacrifice."
"I have some people in mind… I can't imagine them getting in the fold." She smiles
"Try to make it work, Shiklah." I speak seriously.
"Believe in me, I want this to work as much as you do." She nods seriously for once. There are only advantages for this woman if she follows my plan.
"I am giving you a lot of time of advantage over Dracula, your future political opponent, don't waste it."
"Oho~ Aren't you nice?" She smiles coyly
"Hmpf. At the moment, it is to my interest that the 'Progressive Party' be the strongest." I explain "When things settle, I hope a balance is formed."
This system is used in most of the world; there is no way that it will not work here while I am supporting it from the shadows.
"I will not fail."
"You'd better… because in the best-case scenario, you will be replaced by someone else, and in the worst…" I turn around without saying.
She knows what the worst-case scenario will be.
Completely tyrannical oppression of the monster race… or genocide.
I now address Selene. "Keep an eye on things here, Death Dealer. Let Shiklah do her thing unless she does something stupid… I trust your judgment to know when to act. Don't hesitate to call for me either."
"I will keep all in mind, sir."
"If those two step a millimeter out of line, report them, and I will come to dispose of them." I gesture to the two insects with my thumb "Seriously, they are not important, just trash."
"..."
"Well, that is all… I expect good things from our little project. Don't rush it; we are all immortal after all… Rome was not built in a day." I address everyone "I will see you when I see you."
With this last subtle threatening goodbye, where I remind them that I will pop in at any random time to check on things, I teleport away in a cool way.
There is someone that I still need to check on today… Whoa, what a busy weekend.
.......
"Hi, Wanda." I greet the chaotic woman as I teleport inside her cell/room.
Wanda Maximoff is sitting on her bed, the covers pulled to her waist, while she is watching TV. Reactions to my battle of yesterday are being shown, and she has a smartphone in her hand.
"Did it ever enter your mind that I may be changing? If you teleport here and I am naked, I am hexing you." She deadpans, but there is no real heat in her words
"Do you even change your clothes?" I retort
She telekinetically hurls a chair at the back of my head, but I grab it without looking and disperse the red, chaotic energy coating it.
Putting the chair down to sit, I smile at her. "Don't think I didn't notice~."
"What?" She looks confused
"Yesterday, during Halloween night, you escaped."
"..." She stiffens
"Well, well…Don't worry, I am not gonna snitch on you or anything, but I am a little hurt." I put a hand over my heart. "I asked you to go out on a date so many times, and you rejected all of them, just to go alone. Is my company that undesirable?" I joke by acting hurt.
"...it is slowly becoming." She replies curtly, but I can see the joke for what it is.
"Ouch." I laugh. "But tell me, why the sudden change of heart?"
"Exactly that. It was sudden, just a spur-of-the-moment decision…" She shrugs "Just to take a breath of fresh air."
"That is good." I say so genuinely that it catches her off guard. "You should go out more."
"...I will see about that." She looks away.
It seems she is still not that confident about living in society; the fear of her own power is overwhelming to her. Yesterday was a special case because Halloween is kinda the day when "everything is allowed". No one would pay attention to her appearance or to anything strange happening around her.
"The world is changing, Wanda. It becomes a better place for you, and it will be waiting for you when you want to give it a chance…" I grab her hand slowly; she doesn't push away. "And if you want, I will be helping you at every step."
"..." She looks at me and then at our hands. "You should use your time to help other people who need it more." She turns away again while removing her hand from mine.
She looks at the TV, showing a scene of me exchanging blows with Varnae.
"And you are always embroiled in some shit, huh?" She comments to change the topic.
"Part of the job." I shrug
"And about getting hate on the internet? Is it part of the job, too?" She smirks while shaking her phone.
"Oh, it already started? Haha, tell me how they interpreted my actions as something bad, please?" I chuckle. You are doing something wrong if you don't have some haters.
"There are some bad things said about you, but the most interesting one is… Let me see…I was reading some comments about how you beat that vampire woman." Her smirk widens, holding a laugh
"Elizabeth Báthory?" I tilt my head… I can already imagine what they are saying. Seriously? Still on that?
"Yeah, that one! Haha! Some idiotic women are saying that you are deliberately brutal and cruel to women."
"..." Oh my god "Did they see how I treated Varnae?"
"That is what the comments defending you said! Hahahahaha!" She burst out laughing "But then some said that you never offered the same grace you offered at Varnae and Dracula."
I shake my head. "So they choose to ignore the fact that she just tried to sexually assault me. I didn't even kill her as she deserves."
"Yep, the comments defending you for pointing that out and calling your haters hypocrites, saying that if the situation were reversed, they would want an even worse fate on Elizabeth."
"They are so focused on looking for something to paint me badly that they are defending a killer and abuser of women." I sigh "Elizabeth Báthory can be considered worse than Dracula in some way."
"I don't envy your life." She looks very amused at my predicament
"Well, it is what it is." I eventually shrug
"Does that not annoy you?" She asks curiously
"You get used to it. They take things out of context, isolate them to make it worse, and run with it just to justify their hate and attack me. What can I do? They don't even want to argue, just stay in their little echo chamber of hate with other people that will indulge in their fantasies."
"Sounds exhausting…" She comments
"Yeah, they are miserable." Exhausting to them. I live rent-free in their heads. "All of that just because I gave men some counsel on how to defend themselves from the evil women who can do them." I am still baffled at that.
"Ah, yes, that interview…"
"Like, I can protect women from the physical violence men do to them in a pretty straightforward manner, but against the most common type of abuse that women do with men… Things are not that simple, so I just tried to warn them of the danger, but some women took that as a personal attack."
"Maybe it was a personal attack because they are the evil women you are warning men about." Wanda points out.
"Makes sense." I admit
"Did you even consider just stopping after seeing all of this nonsense?" She asks "Frankly, those people don't deserve you."
"Not gonna lie and say that the temptation didn't reach for me, but I would never stop just because of something this small." I shake my head. "Words can only hurt you if you open your heart to them. Those people are either ignorant or have ill intent. Why should I listen to them?"
"I see…" She makes a pensive expression "I don't think that is a life for me. I would not be able to ignore them."
"To each their own, but maybe after experiencing it, you will create some resistance to it." I suggest "If one day you want to help people, I can give you some costumes to hide your identity, and you can try. And if you don't like it, just stop, and it is over."
"Hmmm… I… I will think about it…" She says hesitantly. Her lack of confidence is vexing but, at the same time, understandable. I am glad she didn't outright refuse, though. We have come a long way.
I still think one day she will enter the World of Superheroes, but the problem is how her first step will be… The future may depend on this "first impression". It would be catastrophic if Wanda decided that she was cut out to be a villain or something.
"Then why not do a test drive?" I suggest "Wanna help me locate and deal with a witch?"
......….
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