Ed Pov
After the scientists triggered the shutdown sequence and all the monsters melted into mush, I told them to set the ship down far away from the city. We're in a forest clearing now, trees all around us. Superman followed me, and we're talking just outside the ship.
"So… you want to take all the scientists?" Superman asked, clearly confused.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm going to get them a place to stay and run background checks on every single one of them. I need to see if they were actually slaves to MODOK or if any of them were working with him willingly. As for MODOK himself, he's going to my prison. That's the safest place for someone like him."
Superman crossed his arms. "And what happens after your background checks? Let's say some of them really were kidnapped, then what?"
"Well," I started, "if any of them were actually loyal to MODOK, they're heading straight to prison. No question. But the ones who were forced into this? I want to offer them a job. Vanguard can always use more scientists, especially with the kind of projects I've been putting off. I need help."
"And what if they say no?" he asked, eyeing me carefully.
I held up my hands. "Hey, don't give me that look. If they say no, I'll just send them back to their regular lives. I'll be disappointed, sure, but I'm not going to force them like MODOK did. That's not how I do things."
You're right, sorry. I know you won't do that, I'm just imagining what type of horrible things those scientists have to go through under MODOK, and I don't want them to be used anymore."
We both can agree on that Superman, and don't worry, I'll make sure all the good ones will be okay," I said
One Week Later
I'm in Sanctuary, sitting in the meeting room, eyes glued to the screen as files on all the scientists scroll past. It's been a week since the whole MODOK mess went down, and I've been working overtime ever since.
Not just me, almost every Vanguard member has been pulling weight on a global scale. The media? The governments? Yeah, they're losing their damn minds.
They're not just talking about the monsters. No, they're also freaking out about me, about the fact that I have an army of robots and a team of unknown-powered individuals walking around saving lives like it's Tuesday. It's made a lot of people nervous.
And they're demanding I hand MODOK over to them. "Let us bring him to justice," they say. But here's the thing, I already am. In my prison, he's secure. Locked up tight. Out there? With their systems? There's always a chance he escapes. The guy's crazy smart, smarter than anyone in their little justice departments, and that's not arrogance, that's facts.
So, I told them no. Politely. Respectfully. But firmly. MODOK is staying with me. Permanently. Until he changes his ways… which, let's be honest, I'm not holding my breath on.
Now about those scientists…
A lot of them were innocent. Like, really innocent. I ran deep scans, interviews, memory logs, everything. They weren't lying when they said he enslaved them. Most of them had been kidnapped and forced to work for him. And what they were forced to do? It's… bad. Real bad. Experimenting on innocent people, mutants, metahumans, and even animals. The stuff I read in their confessions made my stomach turn.
And now I have to figure out what comes next, for them, for MODOK, for the whole damn world.
Right now, the scientists are staying in my city.
The ones who didn't pass the background checks, the ones who actually worked with MODOK willingly, yeah, they're sitting comfortably in my prison. The rest? They're under close watch, but free. I've got eyes on them, and so far, no issues.
I've got a meeting coming up soon with the leader of the group. Yeah, they picked one. Elected a spokesperson to speak for all of them. Makes things easier for me, and it's someone they clearly trust. Someone brave enough to actually speak up while I was taking MODOK down. She's the one who figured out how to shut down the monsters with that kill-switch chip.
And believe it or not, I know her now… especially after learning her name.
Maya Hansen.
That's right, that Maya Hansen. The one you're probably thinking of. The genius behind Extremis from Iron Man 3. Well, part of it, anyway. The guy who helped her finish it? Aldrich Killian.
Still don't know if that guy even exists in this world, but I am looking for him.
Because if Maya's real, then who else from those events could be? And if she helped build something as dangerous as Extremis once… I need to know where her loyalties are now.
Meeting her soon.
I was still waiting on her to show up, so I figured why not kill some time and burn through those points?
"System, use points," I said casually.
"Activating Gacha," the system replied.
Agumon (Digimon Adventure) – [Summon] [Pet]
Bebop (TMNT 2016) – [Summon]
Rocksteady (TMNT 2016) – [Summon]
Conquest (Invincible) – [Summon]
Full Counter (Seven Deadly Sins)
Spider-Man Powers (Marvel)
Incursio (Akame ga Kill)
Overclock Quirk (My Hero Academia)
Rewind Quirk (My Hero Academia)
B'wana Beast Power (DC)
Power Sword (He-Man)
Devilmite Beam (Dragon Ball)
Amulet of Skip 9 Months – [One-time Use]
Looting (Charlotte)
Walter White's Knowledge (Breaking Bad)
Horace's Resurrection Power (Mighty Med)
Constantine's Magic Ability (DC)
Johanna Constantine (The Sandman) – [Summon]
Cure to Vampirism ( Vampire Diaries)
Immunity to Time-Based Powers and Events
Ability to See Ghosts (The Sixth Sense)
All-Speak (Marvel)
Immortals Power (Invincible)
Anivoice Quirk (My Hero Academia)
Not a bad batch this time around. Gotta admit, I actually like most of the abilities and powers I pulled. Still... I'm starting to notice a trend, and not exactly a comforting one. I'm summoning more and more villains lately. Kinda concerning. But whatever, I'm not sweating it yet. The failsafe is still active, so they can't hurt me even if they try. Probably.
Anyway, there was one item that had me raising an eyebrow.
"Hey system, what's the Amulet of Skip 9 Months?" I asked.
"All the host has to do is place the amulet on a pregnant individual. Within seconds, the baby will be born—completely skipping the entire nine-month cycle," the system replied.
"...Huh. Useful for Mary, I guess," I said, leaning back in my seat. "Still, I was kinda hoping it'd be some kind of time-manipulation artifact or temporal shortcut. Guess not. Oh well."
Now, back to the summons...
A Digimon? Always cool. Agumon's not my top pick, but he's solid. Reliable. And let's be real, having a fire-breathing dinosaur buddy is never a bad thing.
Bebop and Rocksteady? Classic dumb muscle duo. I'm curious to see how they perform. In the 2016 movie, they gave the Turtles a serious fight... but let's not kid ourselves, they're still mostly comic relief. Funny? Yeah. Dangerous? Debatable. But hey, they've got potential if I train them right. Or at least let them smash things and stay out of the way.
Conquest is probably the most dangerous summon I've ever pulled. I mean, seriously, his name is literally Conquest. Dude's not here to play hopscotch. He's either the second or third strongest Viltrumite, depending on how you rank Mark these days. Doesn't really matter. The point is—he's a monster. Insanely strong, brutally efficient, and absolutely terrifying in a fight.
But I'm not worried.
I'm stronger than him now. I know I am. And even if I wasn't? Still got the failsafe. Can't touch me.
Now, Constantine, this one I actually wanted. I'll explain why later, but for now, just know I've been keeping an eye out for the Constantine of this world. Haven't found him yet, but I'm pretty sure he exists somewhere. This version I summoned is a woman—Johanna Constantine—so that's going to be...interesting.
Still, she's magic-savvy, and now that I've unlocked the ability to use magic myself, she could be extremely useful in helping me master it.
As for that whole seeing ghosts ability? Not sure how useful that's gonna be right now. I mean, unless I bump into Deadman or some random spirit screaming for justice, it's kinda niche. But hey, better to have it than not.
Full Counter is a solid get. I just need to figure out which version I have—does it reflect physical attacks, magical, energy-based ones...or all of them? Really hoping it's all of them. That would be chef's kiss levels of broken.
And let's not forget the Spider-Man powers. Classic. Web-slinging, enhanced strength, wall-crawling—all good. But the real MVP? That Spider-Sense. You literally cannot get surprised with that thing active. Feels like cheating... and I'm absolutely here for it.
Incursio is a solid weapon. If I remember right, it evolves over time and adapts to its user, which makes it a perfect match for me. A living suit of armor that levels up? Yeah, I'm all in for that.
Now, B'wana Beast's power is downright wild. I can fuse two animals together to create whatever twisted, unstoppable monster I want. Basically, I'm walking around with my own personal Pokémon fusion machine. Honestly, I should check if the real B'wana Beast exists in this world—could be fun or dangerous, maybe both.
Looting is underrated. Five seconds might not seem like a long time, but if I hijack the right person? That's plenty. Especially if they've got powers—because yes, I can steal those too. Very useful, very busted.
Now… Walter White's knowledge? Yeah, hard pass. I'm not trying to become a meth kingpin. What would I even do with that? Open a mobile drug lab between battles? Nah, I'll let Heisenberg stay retired.
Devilmite Beam is a tricky one. In theory, it's strong as hell—can literally kill someone with a corrupt heart instantly. But the setup? Way too slow. Gotta get them to stand still and stare at me like it's a staring contest. Try pulling that on someone like Darkseid. Yeah, no thanks. He'll probably just blink and send me to another dimension.
The Power Sword though… that has potential. If it's actually linked to Grayskull, that opens some multiversal doors. I need to test that out—see where it pulls power from, and if it's channeling something beyond this reality. Could be a game-changer.
All Speak is lowkey one of the most useful powers. I can understand any language, human, alien, ancient, magical. No more awkward translation spells or needing C-3PO around. Big win.
Rewind Quirk, now this is broken. We're talking top-tier healing. I'm pretty sure I could straight up reverse someone's age with it. Injuries? Gone. Lost limbs? Fixed. Hell, I could probably turn someone back into a toddler if I wanted to. Not that I should. But I could.
And finally, Anivoice. Talking to animals is cool, but this quirk takes it further. Once awakened, I can control them. Imagine commanding an army of supercharged beasts like it's nothing. Lions, eagles, sharks—hell, even squirrels if I'm feeling petty.
As I was going over everything I just pulled from the system, Maya finally walked in. Time to get this meeting started. I wasn't the only one having important talks today—I wonder how Escanor is doing.
Escanor POV
"So let me get this straight," Alex said, arms crossed. "You're not originally from this world, and in your old world, you died?"
"Yes," I answered plainly.
"And you were brought here by the hero Arsenal… who just so happens to be that rich guy, Ed?" Karolina added, her tone mixed with disbelief and suspicion.
"Yes."
"In your world, you were a magical knight that died fighting a demon king?" Nico chimed in.
"Yes."
"And your magical power came from an actual god race?" Chase asked, eyes wide.
"And you didn't even have that power again until Arsenal gave it back to you?" Gert finished the train of questions.
"Yes," I said again, still calm, still composed.
"And you already knew about our parents… and why we're running away from them?" Molly asked softly.
"Yes… but I only found that part out later," I clarified.
"How?" Alex pressed.
"A demon detective," I said, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
That shut them up. All of The Runaways just kind of… stared. Silence. Processing.
You'd think I was the crazy one here.
It's only been a week.
One week since the monster attack tore through the city and completely wrecked my bar. And honestly? I expected these kids to start asking questions way sooner. But they didn't. Instead, they helped me clean up the damage, rebuild the place brick by brick—no questions asked. Just quiet understanding and effort.
But now that things had finally settled down, I sat them all down in my living room. They were gathered on the couch, surrounding the coffee table, looking at me while I explained everything. My past. My world. Who I really am.
Alex was the first to break the silence.
"Okay… I know we've been through some things, but this? This is just crazy. A magical knight? A demon king? Another world?" He said, eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"You think Escanor is lying?" Molly shot back, surprisingly firm. "I believe him."
Molly… she still had a cast on her left arm and a bandage over her forehead. She took a heavy hit during the chaos. I had Angela take a look at her—said she was healing faster than expected. Probably a perk of her powers. Still, hearing her defend me like that meant more than I could say.
"I'm not saying he's lying," Alex said quickly. "I'm just saying it's… a lot. Like, come on. A magical power from a god race?"
"I mean… my dad's an alien," Karolina muttered. "I guess we're already halfway into weird."
"I can control a dinosaur," Gert added dryly.
"You guys forget I have an actual magical staff?" Nico said, raising a brow.
"It's just science we don't understand yet," Alex insisted. "I still don't think it's really magic."
I looked at all of them. Really looked.
"Look… I know I broke your trust," I said. "Digging into your pasts. Not telling you who I really was. I don't blame you if you're mad. But I want to earn your trust back—however long that takes."
The look they all gave me… it was like I said I had a pet dragon living in the basement.
"Escanor," Chase said, shaking his head with a small smile, "we still trust you."
"You… do?" I asked.
"Of course we do," Molly said without hesitation. "After everything you've done for us? You nearly died protecting us."
"But I looked into all of your pasts," I repeated, guilt still weighing on me.
"We're runaway kids," Alex said. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took you that long."
"And we know you'd never hurt us," Gert added. "You literally threw yourself into hell for us."
"Think we didn't hear you yelling 'STAY AWAY FROM MY KIDS' at that monster?" Nico said with a smirk.
"STAY AWAY FROM MY KIDS!" Karolina repeated dramatically, mimicking me.
That broke the tension. All of them laughed. Even me.
I looked at them again, softer this time.
"I always wanted a family… especially kids. But I never got the chance in my old world. I died before I could even dream of it. But having you all here, in this place, helping each other… it feels like a family."
They smiled at me.
"We all feel the same way, Escanor," Molly said gently.
And in that moment… I believed her. I believed all of them.
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AN: Sorry for the late chapter thing, just been crazy.
I'm going to try my best to release the Ben 10 fanfic as soon as possible.