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*****
"Success! Success! It has to work!"
Mike stared at the card in his hand and muttered under his breath. Every time he tried to enhance a card, he felt a little superstitious—like some ritual might sway the odds.
He had even attempted to use powers that could raise someone's luck or alter reality to influence the enhancement chance, but it had no effect. The success rate for card enhancement simply wasn't affected by any ability.
He watched several cards dissolve into points of light and merge into the one he held.
When the glow faded and the card in his palm remained intact, a smile escaped him.
It worked.
Name: Gilgamesh (Enhanced +5)
Ability description: Known as the "King of Heroes," summoned into the present as an Archer-class Servant during the Holy Grail War.
Note: Jack-of-all-trades, jack-of-all-trades—just a jack-of-all-trades!
The illustration on the card showed a tall youth in golden armor, blond hair, and red eyes, looking out with utter contempt, as if everything before him were ants—mere playthings in his palm.
This was the most highly enhanced ability card Mike had produced so far—though the single highest enhancement level still belonged to the Frost Arrow skill card.
Mike had run experiments on how enhancement amplified a card's power.
Each enhancement level doubled the previous level's potency. In other words, Enhancement +1 produced twice the original power; +2 was twice +1 (four times the unenhanced); +3 was eight times; and so on. At Enhancement +10, a card's power would be 1,024 times its base strength.
That was absurd—no, it was a terrifying, literally sky-defying increase.
Card enhancement wasn't limited to just skills, abilities, or characters; it could also strengthen the materialized weapons and items he'd originally obtained.
With this entire progression—
"So scary."
Mike murmured, satisfied, and pocketed the card. He decided to make something delicious tonight.
"Darling, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
He called to Raven, who was listening to mellow music and doing prenatal lessons.
Raven blinked, turned, and smiled. "Are you going to buy groceries? I'll come with you."
She switched off the music and moved toward the door.
Mike wrapped a coat around her and, despite Raven's mild protest, fussed until she looked like a cozy little bread roll. He nodded, satisfied.
"It's cold outside—don't catch a chill," he said, gently fastening a scarf around her neck.
Raven's lips curved into a small, happy smile. Her constitution meant a little cold wasn't a real issue, but she loved the way Mike took care of her.
She smoothed the collar of his black coat and slipped her arm through his as they stepped out together.
The new year had arrived.
After Christmas, Clark and the others had returned to work and school, and Gwen had gone back to classes. Life for Mike and Raven returned to a steady, calm routine.
Snowflakes brushed their faces, cool and sharp. Mike exhaled and tightened his grip on Raven's hand, cautioning her about the slick pavement.
Raven smiled faintly; passing strangers glanced their way with envy—and she felt warm inside. She had never imagined this side of Mike: gentle, tender. He was undeniably attractive—he had always been attractive. Even twenty, no—accurately speaking, more than thirty years ago, before he found Clark, she'd felt that pull toward him.
"What are you thinking about?" Mike asked, peering at her with those questioning blue eyes.
Raven's mouth lifted a little. "Nothing. I just feel… very happy."
She led a slightly bewildered Mike into the supermarket.
They shopped at the market they frequented and finished quickly.
"Hey, Mr. Kent—big things are coming, huh!" the plump Black cashier teased, glancing at Raven's belly while efficiently ringing up their items.
"Robin, your voice is still as lovely as ever. You really should be a singer," Raven said with a smile.
Robin, who had just graduated high school, grinned and winked. "I gave you the biggest discount."
She adored their approval—most of the other people who heard her dreams had only scoffed.
"Thank you, Miss Robin," Mike nodded.
Robin's eyes gleamed as she looked at Mike. "Mr. Kent, if you were twenty years younger you'd be the world's brightest star—the dream of women everywhere."
Mike chuckled. "Good eye. Bye!"
He picked up the groceries and was about to leave with Raven when—
Boom!
A violent crash heralded a man slamming through the supermarket doors. The glass shattered and he barreled inside.
He was at least 2.5 meters tall, shirtless—every muscle rippling with explosive power, a living sledgehammer. He charged like a beast straight for the register.
Mike raised an eyebrow. These days anything could happen—buying groceries could now mean running into a robbery.
But robbing a supermarket? Was it safer than hitting a bank?
The man smashed a cash register, dumped the bills into a bag, and lunged for the next till.
"Everybody clear out! Move!" he roared, eyes wild.
Mike was about to act when the air hummed.
A shockwave—an invisible pulse—erupted, and a shelf was sent flying, breaking apart and collapsing onto the man.
"Huh?"
Mike turned to the source of the wave. The woman wore a hat and a mask, with only her face visible; a special gauntlet covered her arm. She held her palm out toward the robber—and the force had come from her.
Mike peered beneath the hood and mask. Familiar features stared back.
A mixed-heritage face—beautiful—and an ability he knew: quaking shockwaves.
Daisy Johnson? Quake?
He remembered the name.
Of course, if she hadn't discovered her true origin, her current name might be—Skye.
Could she have awakened her Inhuman ability after the Terrigen mist incident? But her control seemed practiced—too practiced to be a brand-new awakening.
"Ah!"
The robber screamed and slammed his foot into the floor. The successive shockwaves pushed him backward, leaving a crack in the ground where he'd skidded.
Skye fixed him with a cold look and advanced; her shockwave strength grew.
The man's muscles rolled under the waves like surf. Realizing he couldn't beat her, he turned and fled with his bag.
"F**! F*! Damn b***!" he spat under his breath.
He'd chosen the supermarket because it seemed less dangerous, not expecting some meddler would be present.
The hum returned. Skye slammed both palms into the floor. The shockwaves shot out like jet thrusts, propelling her upward to intercept him.
"Go turn yourself in!" she said with icy calm.
"Why don't you go to hell instead!" he snarled, charging.
He feinted, sidestepped the wave, and swung a brutal hook at her temple. Skye raised her hand; a narrow shockwave burst from her palm, stopping his arm. She shoved hard, then drove him into the wall, shredding it with a surge of force. The man collapsed into the rubble, unconscious.
Skye exhaled and rubbed her forearms. She set her groceries on a counter, tossed cash onto the register, and left the market to the applause of onlookers. She landed on the roof of a nearby building and vanished into the night.
"How cool!" Robin breathed as she watched Skye's retreating silhouette.
But not everyone was thrilled.
"That's terrifying."
"First mutants, now Inhumans. What's happening to this world?"
"People with powers, and then they go and do criminal stuff—why don't they learn from the superheroes?"
"Most mutants left—so is this an Inhuman now?"
"Who knows. Doesn't matter—this isn't good."
"Mutants plus Inhumans? If that stirs up trouble, we're doomed."
"I wonder if we can develop powers…"
Hearing the chatter, Mike and Raven exchanged a glance and hurried away with their shopping.
Since the Terrigen Mist incident, more Inhumans had appeared—and pockets of people who still hated mutants had turned their resentment toward Inhumans. Some had simply redirected their hatred.
Inhumans—
If things kept going this way, their situation could mirror what mutants had endured before.
What would that lead to?
Mike considered it and felt a strange, uneasy curiosity.
…
Skye stood on the rooftop and watched until rescue crews hauled the unconscious man away. Only then did she relax and leave.
Because of the Terrigen crystals dumped into the ocean recently, more Inhumans were appearing, but the mist had also claimed lives. Ordinary people without Inhuman genes who came into contact with the Terrigen mist could turn to stone.
As for her, she had awakened before the Terrigen Mist episode—quite a while ago—and the way she'd gained her power was tied to her parents.
She was an orphan. Not long ago, her father had found her. Then they found her mother—an Inhuman and the leader of a small Inhuman settlement—the very group behind the recent Terrigen incident.
After that event, both parents were gone, and the Inhuman encampment disbanded. She, along with a few companions she'd met there, had formed a small team and gone searching for a mysterious place.
From what she learned from her mother, that place was called Attilan—the fabled city of the Inhumans. No one had definitively located it yet, but they wouldn't give up easily.
She looked up at the slowly turning Kent Star and felt a pang of envy. Mutants were fortunate—they had their own homeland. The Kents were idols to them.
She believed they'd eventually find their own home too.
…
Kent Star.
Erik and several mutants watched the model he'd been crafting—the blueprint to build the Kent residence.
It would be a palace—the only palace on Kent Star—sprawling and splendid, sitting at the heart of Kent City. No one would complain, because after all, Kent Star was the Kents' world.
Erik flicked his hand. Vast sheets of metal rose and formed a skeletal frame. Mutants moved into action—some controlled rubble, others pulled water, another unspooled a white, glue-like substance.
Within minutes, the structure took shape.
Erik nodded with satisfaction. "Rest for a bit," he told the others.
Using powers drained enormous energy and focus for some of them—and he had guests coming.
Erik brushed the dirt from his clothes, changed in a finished room, and set off for the café where he'd arranged to meet people.
They'd agreed to meet there.
Leaving the Kent family's downtown stronghold, Erik drove to a coffee shop on the adjacent street. Everyone who saw him greeted him warmly—smiles of affection and respect, whether mutant or human.
Yes: aside from mutants, a small number of humans lived on Kent Star—talented professionals from many fields. Many had joined FutureTech or X School before the White House incident, and some were families of mutants.
A server approached them—a being with deer antlers and the lower body of a deer, the upper half human—leading him to a pre-reserved private room.
"Thanks," Erik said with a smile as the doe-like waitress blushed so deep her hooves shuffled in embarrassment as she left.
Erik shook his head at the cuteness and opened the door.
Two people parted in the room and a low frown crossed his face.
Really? They'd waltzed in and shoved a plate of dog food his way?
Ouro—Ororo—stood, cheeks reddened. "This is the person I told you about—T'Challa. He's my fiancé," she said, shyly introducing them.
The prince and heir to Wakanda's throne.
T'Challa extended his hand to Erik.
"I heard about you from Charles. Charles said you wooed away one of his favorite students," Erik nodded. Then his brow furrowed. "Wait—did you just say 'fiancé'?"
(End of chapter)