3rd POV:
''The buildings, aka the HQ are estimated to finish in 11 months. A little less then a year,'' Yelena informed him.
The former Black Widows, all five of them, stood gathered together to inform Nexus of his project.
''11 months? I thought, the estimated finish of the constructions lies 1,5 year away,'' Nexus asked them.
''Well, you said that we have some wiggle room with the rest of the money. We thought it prudent to... convince the contractors to hurry up,'' Anya replied.
More like make themselves indispensable to him.
''Uhu,'' Nexus remarked.
''We didn't do anything untoward to the workers. They are MORE then fairly compensated for putting in more work. ...And a healthy dose of blackmail and/or the promise to lie with one of us convinced the one or the other boss of theirs to dance to our tune,'' Natalia elaborated. She cast a nasty look at Anya for making is sound like they did something worse.
''You are aware that your days as Black Widows are over, right? It remains just that, a promise,'' Nexus told them, making her nod.
He had no interest in asking them to do anything undignified. They already suffered enough.
''How are the girls doing?,'' Nexus asked them.
''Good. They are settling in, integrating into society. Though sometimes it is hard for them to connect. What with their history. My Irina is delicate. She suffers from night tremors and panic attacks,'' Sasha replied.
''You want us to train them to be Black Widows too?,'' Yelena asked bluntly.
''No. But I believe that it is a shame for suffering to not yield any results, as is, unfortunately, often the case. Even if their training wasn't complete, that still makes them better then most. (*Training they won't apply if they choose a normal life, Nexus thought, Which was fair, but still...*) Broach the subject with them, but I leave the matter COMPLETELY to your discretion,'' Nexus told them.
At least he would not rip out their wombs like the five (and Natasha, but she wasn't here) women before him were subjected to by their former 'boss'.
It would be nice to expand his Counter Intelligence. Every major Corporation had them, even if the public was not aware. Even Stark had them. A small group dedicated to ensuring company secrets are not leaked and their interest not harmed.
Nor a group he necessarily needed. But people needed jobs.
Idle hands made for idle minds. And idle minds made for dangerous minds.
Only fools would leave large groups of people unemployed and hungry. There was only ever one outcome of that scenario. It was basic 101 of ANY ruler.
The women nodded, hiding their relief. They didn't suspect anything nefarious. By now they knew very well that they didn't trade one monster for another, but the matter of what they should do with the girls was... a contested a difficult topic among themselves. They are glad Nexus left the matter to them. So long as they didn't cause him trouble.
''Did we do wrong to speed things up?,'' Anya asked.
''No. It merely means that I need to speed some of my own plans up as well. But they were already well in the making. Contact other people etc.
You did good. I'm pleased,'' the women smiled at his praise.
''If there is nothing else...?,'' they all shook their head,'' In that case, return to your duties and live a 'normal' life of a newly widowed and rich person. However, do keep an eye out for people with exceptional talent, intelligent people I mean and make a profile of them. Do not contact them, I will look at the profile and hire them personally.''
They nodded. They had their orders and their duties.
---
Gwen entered their HQ and stumbled upon an interesting sight.
Bell was lying on the couch in the living room, looking...utterly tired. Some saliva was dribbling out of his mouth onto the couch. He was sleeping clearly. On the table in front of him were lots of papers and a whiteboard on legs.
She looked away from it when she heard some noise.
''What's with him?,'' Gwen asked Jean in a whisper, who was in the kitchen and making some food.
''I don't know. The past three days he has been immersed in-,'' Jean was interrupted. She was talking with a normal voice, something she would have explained why, if it weren't for two new additions.
''Hi! What's-'', Rogue greeted jovially as she and Laura teleported into their HQ.
''SHH!,'' Gwen and Jean shushed her.
''Something wrong?,'' Laura asked immediately. She and Rogue noted Bells state and looked a little concerned.
''No. But it is good you are here. Saves me the trouble of repeating myself. The past three days, only leaving during the night, he has been immersed in what I can only guess is a very important project and making use of the living room. I tried asking him, but he just waved me off in annoyance aaaaand I tried waking him up a little earlier. He is dead to the world. I'm sure normal noise won't wake him, but we should still not make too much noise,'' Jean explained.
''And now you are making food?,'' Laura asked.
''Yeah. His favorite as a nice treat for hard work, even if I don't know what that hard work is,'' Jean shrugged. Now that she thought about it, Bell and her were the only ones who really cooked here.
''But I admit I don't know how to make Spaghetti Bolognese so...,'' Jean used her powers to wave the phone up in the air, before bringing it back down on the table.
Gwen made her way over to the kitchen and washed her hands. She already knew how to cook some simple dishes, but her mother has been teaching her more in the past few months. One was how to make Spaghetti Bolognese to surprise Bell at one point or another.
''I'll help, we should also make some black coffee for him,'' Gwen said. Jean nodded, appreciating the help.
Meanwhile Rogue and Laura made their way over to the table and whiteboard. Some papers were neatly written. As if the knowledge was already ... affirmed and merely being put to paper as a formality. There were also some sketches and designs of a...ball. Other papers were littered with numbers and scratches and formulas that were being rewritten and rewritten and discarded.
Laura immediately gave up on trying to make sense of that. She wasn't dumb. But this? Her intelligence had limits and she knew them well. She made her way over to Bell and gently lifted his head to put it on her thighs. The drooling did not bother her.
Rogue on the other hand was too curious. She made her way over to Gwen.
''Do you know what that is? Can you make sense of it?,'' she asked.
''Bring it over. The whiteboard I mean. Leave the papers alone,'' Gwen made sure to add the last part. As a striving scientist herself she knew how likely there was a sort of organized genial madness in those papers. Disturbing them would throw her off and she suspected it was the same for Bell. But the whiteboard was free game.
Before Rogue could do as commanded, Jean made the whiteboard float closer to them and put it on the ground.
''Or that works too,'' Gwen gave her a thankful nod.
After some time looking at the whiteboard, she shook her head.
''It's a no for me,'' Gwen replied. She didn't recognize anything on the whiteboard. There was no familiarity wit any of the existing formulas and it seemed like he was trying to make something new.
'Jean' snorted gently, her eyes changing color.
''And here my Bell constantly sings you praises as a genius. So much for that. Don't you recognize it, girl? It is a formula for a basic fabricator. I functioning one too,'' Phoenix mocked with a victorious smirk. Never one to miss out on a chance to knock her 'rival' down a peg.
Gwen rolled her eyes before snapping to her as the words registered in her mind.
''Fabricator? You mean like a 3D printer?,'' Gwen asked her. More advanced then a 3D printer, but the principle was the same. You give it material and an instruction/ a blueprint and the machine makes whatever it was instructed to make. Be it out of titanium, iron, etc.
Word around the nerdy circles is that Stark was trying to build one such machine. Emphasis on trying since size was a problem, as well as the inventory for the material and not so much the required energy.
''Not like the 3D printer. Or the one you are thinking off right now, the one Stark is trying to make is functioning on the basis that it 'disassembles' the material and 'puts it back together at a molecular level in a new shape'.
I'm talking about virtual particles. Making something out of 'nothing'. You know. The sort that allows Bell to simply create something at the snap of his fingers. He made a machine that would replicate that,'' Phoenix explained to her like she was a simple girl. Some highly advanced civilizations had that, but the were few in the multiverse.
For her it was not that impressive. Thought she would give her beloved credit anyway, just to praise him.
But for Gwen and Rogue? Their mouth dropped open as they understood what she was saying.
No. Gwen was totally geeking out right now, but she would not nerd out and bother Bell.
Making food.
Letting him rest a little.
Priorities.
...
What was that heavenly smell? And that touch...?
Bell groggily opened his eyes and looked around, shortly afterwards he pushed himself up.
He rubbed his eyes and then dragged his hand down his face. He gave Laura a thumbs up after looking at her for a bit, for letting him rest his head on her thighs for a while.
''We made your favorite food... Man, you look hammered,'' Gwen trailed off. Her, Rogue and Jean were conversing a little, the food being done for a while and almost turned cold.
''I feel hammered. My head is killing me and it is burning up,'' Bell replied.
''How come?,'' Laura asked.
''You try cramming 30 years in three days. Well... it was more like 28 and 5 moths, but who gives a shit,'' Bell answered.
(Did he spent all that time focused on only one task? Yes, he did.
For he was a man of focus, commitment and sheer fucking will.
Also, he was bat shit insane in a way. Just a tiny bit, but that never harmed anyone.)
''Didn't you go to home to sleep? Jean told us so,'' Rogue asked him.
''No. I only went home, because mom sometimes wakes up from nightmares and checks on me to reassure herself I'm still alive. I was lying awake in my bed continuing my work. Also, less questions this way,'' Bell replied. Otherwise he would have only pretended to go to his room and then promptly teleported back here.
''Hold up. Can we go back to what you just said. What do you mean 30 years in three days?,'' Gwen asked him shaking her head.
Did that technically mean Bell was 46 years old instead of 16. Then again he was almost 17. Was that why he refused to do anything till they were adults?
''What do you mean, what do I mean? You know I can affect time in small spaces and also move and think very fast. It doesn't matter anyway. Because!,'' Bell sprang up, suddenly full of vigor (despite still having a headache) and pointed at the whiteboard.
''You know how I want to destroy capitalism? Well for that I needed a few things. One among them being creating a monopoly. Not because I necessarily buy out the competition,'' like he would be giving those leeches any more money,'' but because they will fall flat in trying to keep up with the competition. MY competition. Bit by bit I will take over their buildings, their services, their employees and run them out bit by bit. And I will run things how I see fit. For a time. Then I will make it collapse and the government will take over and by that point I will run the government from the shadows.
This way, with the least amount of strife and suffering all this corruption will be mostly erased,'' Bell looked at the whiteboard and threw his arms out as he boldly declared.
Of course, his plan was more complicated then that. He was not just gonna give the government this level of power and control. No, he would create a system of checks and balances, same as in his old world. This time with more experience and hindsight, he would make a better one.
The government was not the peoples friend either, but at least with no more corporations, there would a massive decrease in a conflict of interest.
(No system of governance was perfect. They all had their faults. Bell was just biased to do what he did in his old world, but more and better, because he personally experienced it working well and made peoples lives easier and more prosperous.)
''And so you needed a fabricator for that?,'' Gwen asked.
Well...not really, but Bell needed something to kick-start his company. He will dabble in every field.
''Aha. So you could make sense of what I wrote?,'' Bells voice sounded full of praise. As expected of Peter and Gwens genius, the would both make sense of the formulas quickly.
''No. Phoenix told us,'' Gwen flatly replied.
''Oh. Well. Yes. She is right. It will be some time until I can spread my Fusion Reactors across the world-,'' Bell began.
''Fusion Reactors. Fusions is how the sun works, right? And fission is how nuclear reactors work? But don't we have Starks Arc Reactor?,'' Laura asked. Her mother recently taught her about the sun in passing. And she still remembers a few things about her lessons on nuclear reactors.
''Ah. Nuclear Reactors,'' Bell put his hand low, then he raised it a bit,'' Arc Reactor. The energy is sustainable too, but it is Starks fault for being a pussy and not taking on the energy moguls. Meh, his loss is my gain. And finally, Fusion Reactors. Sustainable energy too and MUCH more energy generated then Arc Reactors. Their only weakness is compactness, guess Stark has me beat in that, until I make something else. We need only a handful of Fusion Reactors for America instead of a bunch of Arc Reactors.''
''Hold up, you made a Fusion Reactor too as well as a Fabricator?,'' Gwen asked him eagerly and came over from the kitchen counter to peek at the papers. She moved them a little, but left them largely undisturbed. Till Bell handed her the diagrams of a Dyson Sphere.
''Anyway, I needed something to do with that energy and I concluded using the Fabricator would be a good idea, since it takes a lot of energy to make use of virtual particles and stuff. That is not important, I needed to make these plans now, since the Black Widows did something that moved the estimated finish of my building down to 11 instead of 1,5 years. And I already procrastinated enough on it already,'' Bell continued his explanation as the rest of the girls came and looked past Gwens shoulders at the diagrams.
So that is what that ball was. A Dyson Sphere.
''...You are speaking creating a miniature sun, encased by a Dyson Sphere, surround by gravitational dampeners to stabilize the gravitational pull of the sun. ...And you are using the same gravitational dampeners to make a barrier between the sun and the metal to regulate the heat...
Bell, this is a positive feedback loop. The Fusion Reactor is self-sustaining until the material runs dry.
This,... this is art.
Bell, how the fuck are you not a genius? You are a goddamn genius,'' Gwen sang his praises. The Fabricator on the whiteboard was completely unfamiliar to her (though to be fair, she only gave it a passing glance, while being more preoccupied with cooking), a Dyson Sphere was more familiar to her, even if it only existed in Science Fiction and was mostly speculation in real life. The formulas and the schematics were exquisite.
''I told you I'm cheating-,'' Bell was interrupted.
''You could give your ability to everyone on earth, but if someone is dumb, they are dumb and most people are just on average human intelligence. What does it matter if it took you longer then it would have taken most other 'geniuses' you still made a leap in science. This is a groundbreaking leap humans advancement. Take the damn praise, Bell,'' Gwen snapped..
Bell looked at her and then the others. They nodded, agreeing with her.
Bell sighed after a while. He couldn't take credit for the fusion reactor and he wouldn't, even if he couldn't explain to them why he couldn't. Well, not until Gwen guessed right. But the Fabricator...? It was what he spent most of his time on, the past three days. He looked at his powers and replicated them.
''Fine. Fine. Guess I am a genius after all. Anyway, ironically, humanity will not get rid of nuclear reactors so easily. For my Fusion Reactor I will just create the sun with my powers, once the workers are done with the building. Say you want to build one reactor in Europe, you will need a fission reactor to kickstart the exothermic reaction, at least the first Fusion Reactor. The rest can be started by the Fusion Reactor,'' Bell changed the subject.
''You are not sly, Sugar. But fine. Jean and Gwen made you Spaghetti Bolognese,'' Rogue informed him.
''Then let's eat. I'm starving,'' not literally, but figuratively. Bell waved his hands and the papers and the whiteboard disappeared in his pocket dimension.
The girls looked at each other. It was cute in a way how he tried to act humble, instead of an insufferable know it all, but it was a little concerning for them how he was so insistent on denying praise for his accomplishments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''Sugar, you really don't need to-,'' Rogue tried to say.
''Did we or did we not agree to go on a date today?,'' Bell asked her.
''We did.''
''Then the fault lies with me, for not organizing my schedule better. I should have known better then cramming my project before our date. Why should you suffer at the expense of my poor decision making?,'' Bell asked her.
''Why should you be the one to suffer at the expense of MY decision making? I could just call the date off, instead of letting you convince me to go ahead with the date,'' Rogue cut though the bullshit and flatly told him. She crossed her arms over her chest.
''...Touché. Look, Anna. Yes, I still have some headaches, but they are minor and receding more and more. It will not stop me from having a great time with you. Alright?`,'' Bell assured her.
''...Are you sure. I REALLY won't mind, Sugar,'' Rogue asked him worried.
''Yes, I am,'' Bell reassured her.
''...Ok.''
---
Rogue pulled at the loose T-shirt/cloth over her upper body and rubbed it between her fingers.
''Where are we going?,'' she asked him. The beach? He did tell her to buy a swimsuit, even if she didn't know how to swim.
Maybe it could be a public pool instead, which sounded less scary to her.
''Italy. Just... be patient. OK? I planned a nice outing for us two,'' Bell adjusted his collar a little and then took her hand. Without much fanfare, he teleported them to that country.
Rogue spied a modes building in a, to her, unfamiliar city.
''We are going roller skating. Well, more specifically, Derby roller skating. Come, come,'' Bell dragged her gently after him.
He spent some time thinking on what they should do. In the end he decided on activities that required much skin contact.
''So, that is why you told me to wear loose clothing... It's hot, Sugar,'' Rogue conversed.
Bell talked with the cashier a little and handed over some money. Then he took the shoes from him.
''Next thing you are gonna tell me is that water is wet,'' Bell joked, earning a flat stare from Rogue.
''Sit,'' Bell gestured at a bench.
''Sugar, I can tie my own shoes,'' Rogue pointed out.
''I know. Sit,'' Bell told her again with a smile.
Rogue frowned but eventually complied.
Bell wasted no time in gently removing the shoes from her and putting on her Derby Roller Skaters on her feet. And if he made sure to let his fingers linger a little at the rim of her socks and her skin, then certainly Rogue did not seem displeased with that.
''It seems your shoes fit your perfectly, my Cinderella,'' Bell said. Rogue snorted at how corny that sounded. But Bell considered that a win, for she smiled anyway and her quickly tied his own shoes.
Rogue took his hand when he offered and the he guided her to the platform. There were some people, but the platform was big enough and there was more then enough space.
''You know how to skate?,'' Bell asked her.
''No. But I doubt it is harder then Ice Skating,'' Rogue replied.
''You never know. Don't worry, I will teach you that too,'' Bell raised her hand a little with his own, to provide stability and prevent her from falling. He gestured with his head for her to show him what he had to work with.
Rogue tried to roll a little forward and while she stumbled a little almost falling over, though Bells hand kept her upright, she did succeed.
''Seems I have some talent for roller skating,'' Rogue joked, feeling a small surge of confidence.
''Talent? Watch this, then you can speak about talent,'' Bell told her and left her standing, spending just a small moment to see if she wouldn't fall down and then skated away from her.
Bell rolled through the other people on the platform and picked up a little speed. After enough speed he jumped and spun in the air. But instead of landing on his feet, he landed on only one, stretching out the other, and very low to the ground was rolling backwards. Then he jumped from one leg and did a back flip, immediately doing another one the moment his feet touched ground again and then transitioning into another spin when he landed and finally ending with rolling backwards around Rogue till he stood in front of her and did a 'gentlemans' bow.
Then he flicked his wrist and a rose appeared in his hands, he presented it to her.
A couple skated past them and then man gave a small whistle, being impressed with his tricks. His wife pulled on his arm to make them give space. Though she was peeking at them from her periphery, since it was romantic. And a few girls from the sidelines where catcalling him, but he paid them no mind.
''No one likes a show off,'' Rogue chastised embarrassed, But judging by her suppressed smile, she liked and appreciated the gesture. She took the rose and put it behind her ear, sine it had no thorns and was long enough.
''Unless what you are showing is dope as fuuuck,'' Bell replied sagely.
''...Fuck. You make a good point. How long did it take you to learn all that,'' Rogue conceded the battle.
''Only two days. Don't worry, you don't need to skate like that. But I do want to spin with you at least once while we hug each other a little,'' Bell expressed his desire.
Rogue offered him her hand.
''Well then? Guide me, Sugar,'' Rogue told him.
...
Of course, Bell was not content with just spinning with her while they were hugging. He was getting more and more shameless with his displays of affections. Both publicly and among the girls when they were all gathered together.
Somehow the spin ended with Rogues rose in Bells mouth. Bell leaned over her, his hand resting on her back while she she was ready to fall on her back at any time, only stopped by his hand. One of her arms was hugging his neck, the other hanging at her side. Bell lowered his head, nose trailing, almost tickling her, across her neck and smelling the sweet fragrance mixed with some sweat from the activities.
But with his mouth preoccupied he could not kiss her neck, so he raised his head, gave her a smile and a wink and then lifted her up to her feet.
---
''You are shameless. The other people were looking at us. Where you not ashamed,'' Rogue complained mortified. They were waling towards the beach. Seems she was right in the end.
''I should feel ashamed for showing affection to you? I wasn't aware that we are still in the middle ages, where women showing their shoulders would make men cream themselves. It's not like we engaged in wanton act of exhibitions,'' Bell dismissed the people sensibilities.
If they were that bothered, then, guess what, they could just look away and mind their own business. So long as no line were crossed, no laws were broken and the policy of the building were no violated then he couldn't care less.
''...I guess,'' Rogue admitted.
''Anyway. We are here. Go change in your swimsuit I will teach you how to swim,'' Bell pointed at at changing booth.
Originally he wanted to play some games with her in the water and talk while they bask in the sun a little.
But teaching would allow for even more contact. He did not miss, how she didn't let any opportunity pass her by during the roller skating to make skin contact with him.
...
Bell wore some simple good swimming boxers. There were swimming boxers, what more could he want from them.
Rogue...
Her swimsuit was cute in a provocative way, providing good coverage with some nice decors. Mostly because her body was curvy and the cute bikini looked ... wrong on her. Wrong as in contrast, like oxymorons.
Bell took a calming breath.
''So?,'' Rogue asked him a little unsure. She spent considerable time picking up this bikini. Maybe she should have picked the more provocative one?
''You look amazing,'' Bell complimented a little lamely. More preoccupied with calming himself down.
It was good enough for Rogue, making her smile. She looked him up and down.
''You don't look so bad yourself, Sugar,'' Rogue complimented.
''I know. I always look good,'' he smugly replied. Rogue softly snorted.
''So how will we do this? You said you will teach me how to swim?,'' Rogue asked him.
''Hmm. Well, we start with baby steps and go from there. Come, come. Next time we can play some games instead,'' Bell informed her.
...
Of course, Bell couldn't resist a small prank. So when she and him were waist deep in water, he picked her up and threw her deeper into the ocean. Just a little bit. She screamed in panic and trashed her hands, desperately trying to grab onto something.
She grabbed onto Bell and pressed her body fiercely against his own, which pressed her breasts against his chest too. Bell did not plan for that.
''You are aware that we are still standing?,'' Bell replied, his voice a little hoarse. And indeed the water now only reached till a little under his collar bones, same with Rogue.
Rogue just clang to him for a little while longer, till she calmed down enough and then, as his words proved correct with how she felt the sand under her toes, gave him an icy look.
''Asshole,'' she called him. Bell winced.
''Sorry. I just wanted to throw you off your jitters a little. It's... how my father taught me how to swim,'' his voice trailed off. His first one anyway. He was 12 when his father did the same to him.
''How old where you?,'' Rogue asked him.
''...7 and a half,'' Bell replied instead. Jack did take him to a swimming pool, but he never did something like this with him.
''You are lucky. I never had a father figure. And he really threw you like this?,'' Rogue asked him a little envious.
''Yes, he did. Again, sorry. It's just... Dad wanted to show me that the water needs to be respected, but never let it rule over you with fear. It can kill you, but if you learn how to swim, it will take some time till it takes you. And if you are lucky enough you will never be taken by the waters,'' Bell recounted.
''...That...Your father said that to you, when you were 7 and a half? That is not how I imagined a father acting,'' Rogue bit her lip and followed Bells pull till the were, again, only waist deep in the water.
''Different people have different styles of teaching. My father let me do things myself and only offered help and guidance when I faltered. Maybe add in some wisdom or two that flew over my head at that time,'' Bell fondly smiled.
''You miss him,'' Rogue said.
''...Yeah. I am who I am, in large part because of him,'' Bell snorted suddenly,''Funny. Looking back, the time we spent together seems so little now. But all the time in the world would probably not have been enough.''
''When I was on the streets I always had to stay far away from bodies of water. I was afraid that I would fall in and no one would rescue me,'' Rogue shared a little of her past.
''Children growing on the streets are usually pretty distrustful of people, so it makes sense,'' Bell gave her his sympathies.
''Yes. I guess, I was lucky enough in that way to get 'adopted' by The Brotherhood of Mutants and then by Xavier. I'm distrustful, but not in a damaging sort of way,'' Rogue joked a little at the end.
''Hmm. Yes. A healthy dose of distrust could do anyone good,'' Bell sagely nodded.
Rogue smiled at him. But then her smile faded away for a fond expression. She put her arms around Bells neck and hugged him while still looking into his eyes.
''You were right. My fear is gone now. Teach me how to swim, Bell,'' Rogue requested. She actually rather enjoyed her day till now. The small hiccup with the prank would not make her let it ruin her day.
...
Bells hands rested on her stomach, keeping her in place. But he was ready to walk if she had enough force.
He instructed her to paddle only with her legs first. Like he demonstrated. For now, she did not have to worry about her arms movement.
When she had the technique down, Bell noted that she did not have the force. So he moved to stand in front of her and held both of her hands gently pulling as she paddled with her legs.
...
Bell was holding her by the waist as she was moving her hands.
...
Bell walked alongside her as she was taking her first attempt at swimming solo.
She swallowed some water, not managing to apply the technique to take in air properly. But largely, Bell considered it a success, since she was staying afloat and applying the paddling with her legs and arms mostly correct.
Time to finesse it now, aka make the teachings stick. The only way for that was for her to swim some more.
...
''Can you put on some sun cream on my back, Sugar?,'' Rogue requested. Her face was flushed and not from exertion. Having her be handled by his firm hands... Him standing as a stead fast support, teaching her...
She realized something about herself during the lessons. Deeply intimate stuff too.
But for now she would keep it to herself.
''Sure,'' Bell replied and began the process of doing just so. He could have told her that he was blocking off the UV- lights with his powers, but ... she probably wanted him to touch her more.
''By the way, I wanted to offer you something,'' Bell made small pools on her back along her spine, three in total. Then he put some in his hands and rubbed them.
''Hmm?,'' Rogue groaned. He was not just rubbing the sun cream in, but also giving her a massage.
''That bracelet supplied you with energy and your kept your borrowed powers. What if instead I supply the energy to you directly?,'' Bell kneaded her skin. He began gently tapping her with the side of his hands in quick motion.
''Won't that raise questions?,'' Rogue asked him absent minded.
''Not if you don't advertise it. You can still 'borrow' powers from others. But it would be nice for you to have your powers and not need them, then to need them and not have them,'' Bell replied.
''Awww. You worry about me,'' Rogue teased.
''Of course I do. I just want you well equipped to keep yourself safe,'' Bell replied firmly, momentarily stopping the massage. After all, who know what the future will hold. Maybe he would be indisposed at one point or another and she - they - would all have to fend for themselves.
''...Will that cause you trouble in some way?,'' Rogue asked worried.
''No,'' Bell immediately replied, resuming his massage.
Well, he would have to make a small, condense and compressed thread between him and her. There was a risk involved that someone could detect it, but... They weren't far apart from another, so there was a smaller risk for that to happen, but still.
No matter. As he always said, living is to naturally assume risks. The risk he was taking was well calculated and in the scenario where there is some sort of fallout he would deal with it, so long as in the end none of his girlfriends were harmed.
''...''
''Rogue?,'' Bell asked her.
''Sorry, I dozed off. Yes. If it doesn't trouble you, then I accept your offer,'' Rogue replied quickly, a little embarrassed.
In a way, Bell had it easy to get away with his lie to her. She was too content in this state to worry about things too much, or worry about them properly for that matter.
Bell immediately began supplying her with her energy, making the energy thread as small as possible. After a while of more massage, he sat on his own chair.
The two talked about trivial stuff mostly after that. Rogue eventually turning around to lie on her back, which... was a sight, Bell concluded.
They all were gonna be the death of him, weren't they?
''Sugar! Come,'' Rogue sprang up, when it was starting to get dark. The sky was starting to turn an intense shade of orange, the view over the horizon across the waters were just breathtaking.
She began pulling him by the hand back in the water, before he could say anything.
When they eventually were waist deep in the water, Rogue turned around and splashed him with some water. Bell put his hand protectively in front of his face and then with a small laugh, began to engage her in this war of hers.
When he splashed her with a particular amount of water, she 'lost her footing', the weight of the water throwing her 'balance' off.
Bell let her do her thing feeling her presence (and seeing her too) in the water.
Suddenly she sprang up from the water and resurfaced, like a snake she latched onto his neck with her arms and hugged him, this time she intentionally made sure to press herself firmly against him.
And splashed him with a lot of water too.
''Seems I win our contest,'' Rogue concluded and looked into his eyes slyly.
''I'm no sore loser. You won this war fair and square. As the winner, what reparations do you want me to play?,'' Bell played along, his voice utterly serious.
''Hmm,'' Rogue hummed in contemplation,'' You took me on a nice date, showed me a great time. By all accounts I should consider myself happy. But the prank... Uff.''
''A grave mistake that. I admit,'' Bell nodded along.
''Yes. Grave, indeed,'' Rogue moved some of her wet hair behind her ear, before moving her arm back around his neck.
''How can I make up for that?,'' Bell asked her.
''Mhm. How about I show you how you can make up to me,'' Rogue whispered and she lowered her head.
At the end of the day, Bell was a fully hot blooded male too. And none of his girlfriends were ugly. On the contrary.
Was it any surprise that Bell took the initiative to close the distance between them to claim her lips, instead of letting her continue to do her thing?
Bell put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, he intensified the kiss making Rogue moan a little.
But he did not stop there, for very quickly Rogue opened her mouth a little to let Bell french kiss her, when she felt his own mouth part a little. Bell kept it simple, not making it into a contest or the sort and their tongues just danced against each other.
They momentarily parted, Rogue taking some breaths, her face flushed with delightful surprise at how he took charge.
Bell put his other hand on her cheek, stroked it a bit, before pulling her back in.
Some spit trailed down Rogues chin, she never had the chance to kiss someone, only ever seeing it in movies. She knew off french kissing, but doing it was something else. She didn't yet know how to swallow and breath during the short gaps of breaks and nor did she know how to manage her breath properly. There was a technique to do it properly.
That was fine. She will learn. For now Bell decided to give her a break and more importantly stop himself from going further.
''I love you,'' Rogue declared.
She meant it too. From the bottom of her heart, surprisingly. The past days and this date showed her that. They got along well, Bell was mature, she got along with the girls (knowing most of them already).
What more was there to desire?
Sure, it may not look perfect, but Rogue quickly grew to like her lot in life. She was glad to have pushed her way into his harem.
Bell was not so quick to take her confession at face value.
She liked the idea of him. That he could touch her truly unhindered with no barrier.
Still...he liked her and he could see himself growing to love her too.
''You are dear to me too,'' Bell replied back.
That was not a confession, but... she didn't expect anything else, so she wasn't too disappointed. She talked with the others a little.
It was fine, she hugged him putting her head on his shoulder, they would get there.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
''Where are we going?,'' Laura asked.
Since it was currently summer break, Bell (and the girls) had more then enough time to take them all somewhere.
''Shh. It's a surprise. Here, let me put this on you,'' Bell presented her with a blindfold. Laura looked unsure at it. Eventually she shrugged and nodded him to proceed.
...
''Tadaa!,'' Bell ripped her blindfold off, after teleporting her somewhere else.
Laura first took in the terrain. There were somewhere in a rocky mountain. Then she spied the mountain motorbike.
She raised an eyebrow at Bell.
''Don't be sly. I noticed how you looked at Logans bike. BUT unfortunately you don't have a drivers license, yet I still wanted to give you a nice experience and... you don't look pleased,'' Bell trailed off.
Laura shook her head.
''It's not that. I just... I didn't want to trouble you,'' Laura tried explaining to him.
''...You're like Gwen. It is hard for you to accept my help, thinking you are taking advantage off me. Because... I can't determine myself apparently,'' he muttered at the end mockingly.
Unless he shoved his help down their throats under the argument that it would ease his worries for them. Then Gwen would accept, since it was practical, even if she was doing it with reluctance.
Couldn't they be like Jean? She had no problem accepting his offer to pay for her university.
(Jean had Phoenix whispering in her mind, that she was his equal more then Gwen or Laura. She could pay him back by taking some of the workload from his shoulders, if she really was that worried about the issue.
As for Rogue? She was still on the fence about what exactly she should do.)
''You're you and I'm me. I can't give you much in turn,'' Laura continued.
''I told you all. I do not want my relationships-''
''-to be transactional. Yes. But,'' Laura interrupted.
''But nothing. If you and Gwen are really that bothered by it, then let me put it this way. You are giving me something all my powers could never give me.
You are giving me companionship. More importantly, you are giving me sincere companionship.
You clearly have no idea how much this means to me.
So, you and Gwen should just stop giving me shit about not giving me anything in turn,'' Bell frustratingly bit out.
Laura starred him defiant in the eyes for a while, then she sighed eventually.
Bell smiled, considering it a win, but his sense of victory was premature.
''I want to be a mechanic. And I want to get my drivers license....,'' Laura trailed off.
She was realistic. She was not smart or interested enough for science stuff. That she would leave to Bell and Gwen. Mind Stuff she will leave to Jean, Phoenix and Bell. She would still help every time Bell requested, but she could see herself fixing cars and using it for her hobby too.
''I will suppo-.'' Bell immediately offered.
''I will pay for the education as a mechanic and a driver with my own money,'' Laura interrupted him again.
''...Fine,'' Bell conceded. He can give her a motorbike as a graduation gift then. A nice dependable one, that could be modified and tuned to her hearts content.
Laura narrowed her eyes at him. Rogue was right. He really wasn't sly... Then again she has seen him when they were working against HYDRA and a few other times as well... He was sly, but not against people that truly knew him. She saw right through him.
''No motorbike as a graduation gift, Bell,'' Laura told him firmly,'' I will buy that with my money too.''
Bells eye twitched. He dragged his hand down his face to calm himself down and when that did not work, he turned around to grab a stone and threw it into the mountain away from them. It shattered into a million pieces and kicked up a cloud of dust. Laura watched his antics calmly.
''You are frustrating. You and Gwen both. You know that?,'' Bell complained.
''You love that in a way about us,'' Laura smirked smugly.
Bell huffed eventually.
...She wasn't wrong. They wouldn't be who they were, if that weren't the case and Bell wouldn't love them they way he does otherwise. But couples fight, as they inevitable always do. The trick was in reconciling. It was just frustrating to him that they had to fight about this in particular.
Was it really such a big issue for them?
''But I know this means a lot to you too, as it means to us, so I offer a compromise. I will fully participate with you in any of your dates, no matter how expensive they are,'' Laura compromised.
Bell smiled.
''No gifts or anything that could be considered transference of ownership of material possession,'' Laura was surgical about that restriction. She spent some time on it. He really was not sly, when it came to his loved ones.
Bells smile fell off.
She was going to give him whiplash.
!!
''You forgot your birthday. On that I will NOT compromise,'' Bell declared smugly.
''...Fine. So long as it is only one gift, one object. But I really want to pay for my first bike with my own money. It is my hobby and this will make my first bike more special, more sentimental. Please?,'' Laura implored him to stop being stubborn.
Bell looked at her for a bit, before sighing and dropping his head.
''Fine. I will take what I can get. You two will be the death of me,'' Bell threw her a helmet he materialized. She caught it and put it on.
The benefit of having so many powers was that he could make her 'stick' to the bike. There was no danger of her falling off. Since she was so small, she could sit in front of him and take in the full sights.
Laura let him reeve the engine and then the two quickly drove off, dust kicking up behind them.
There was a semi dirt path available to them, one that should not be taken under normal circumstances, but the benefits of powers...
Laura stretched her hands out after removing her helm after a while. She knew nothing really would happen to her. The wind flew through her fingers.
(Her hair flew back into Bells visor and blocked off his view. Very stupid by her to do that, but then again. She had insane healing powers and Bell could see without eyes.)
Driving a bike...
It was better then she imagined. Now, more then ever, she knew that there would be no other path for her in the future.
...In the immediate future. They were immortals courtesy of Bell, so who knew what else she would do when she would grow bored, if ever, with her hobby.
She could not wait till she could drive her own bike.
...
For some reason, Laura was sitting in Bells lap. He was sitting on a big rock, the bike a little away from them.
''Did you have fun?,'' Bell asked her.
''I loved it,'' Laura assured him,'' I can't wait to have my own bike.''
''The offer still stands,'' Bell reminded her.
She let her head fall backward in defeat. She tilted her head a little to look into his eyes, as good as she could from that position.
''... If I ever change my mind, I know where to find you,'' she diplomatically offered, not wanting to have this debate again.
Bell sighed and nodded a little disappointed.
''...You know, Earth really is beautiful. Even this rocky mountainside is beautiful,'' Laura complimented.
''Mother Nature has a beauty to her that is... primal. It goes beyond words, tastes and preferences. I agree,'' Bell concurred.
''Is that why you want to kill 'leeches' so much?,'' Laura asked him.
''Are you that surprised or against it? You hated HYDRA. I remember you being very happy when they were gone, '' Bell pointed out.
''Neither. My hatred for them was personal. I fail to see how they wronged you exactly, for you to develop that level of hatred,'' Laura asked him.
She considers herself not to be as smart as Gwen or him, but damn if she wasn't sharp in her observations.
''Is it wrong to hate the people that are poisoning our home planet?,'' Bell asked her in turn.
''No. But that doesn't answer my question. Fine. Don't answer me,'' Laura put a stop to that string of conversation. She could see he didn't like where the subject was heading.
''...Maybe one day I will tell you. Until then you all have to wait,'' Bell felt bad, interpreting her words as disappointment, but staid firm in his resolution anyway.
Laura nodded and returned to looking at the mountain side again, her head still leaning against his shoulder.
They stood like that for a while, till Bell tilted her head a little. That is when Laura sprang up from his lap, turned around and hungrily kissed him. Sure, they may have bickered a little and Bell was annoyed with her, but so what? Despite their words, she LOVED the date and appreciated spending time with him.
She climbed back into his lap, this time her her chest against his, just barely breaking off the kiss, before resuming it.
''I love you,'' slipped past Bells mouth, when they broke it off for some air.
Perhaps that was not fair to the others, but Bell mean it when he said that under different circumstances (had they resolved their own personal issues before he got together with Gwen) then he would have most likely ended up with her instead. Not that it mattered since Phoenix would have reared her head anyway.
Bell loved her the closest next to Gwen. And the gap of difference was getting smaller and smaller. For the others too, really, they were just not that at the level that Bell could confess to them like he did for Gwen and Laura.
Laura froze for a brief moment, before she shoved him on his back on the rock and she kissed him with renewed vigor. Maybe with too much vigor as she trailed her head down a little and sucked on his neck hard enough to immediately give him a hickey. Bell decided to let it there for a moment, instead of letting it heal immediately.
She truly had animal like powers as she started 'marking' him as hers, biting and sucking and scratching him a little too.
Bell grabbed her wrists, when she moved her hands to his pants and she growled at him.
''No. Too far,'' Bell firmly told her. She scowled and tried to force her arms out of his hands.
Bell gave her some time and when she didn't calm down, he rolled them around.
Fine, if she wanted to act like an 'animal' he could speak that language too.
''At what point did you ever presume to dictate anything?,'' Bell asked her with a smooth voice as he was pressing her hands at the side of her head. She calmed down a little as he flared his powers.
''Remember your place, pet. You are MINE, not the other way around,'' Bell told her.
Laura starred at him, her face getting slowly redder and redder, until finally she looked 'down', submitting to him. Bell kept her hands down for a little longer, till he let go.
Her hands immediately flew to her face and she tried to hide from him.
''What was that?,'' Bell asked with a mirthful chuckle as he tried to pry her hands off.
''I don't know,'' she moaned in despair and mortification. She did not want Bell to see her like that for some reason.
Before Bell could say anything, a voice could be heard from very far away. At the edge of Bells detection range.
''Hey! Over here!,'' Bell and Laura turned their heads towards the voice. There was a man dressed fully in red, some black and white for eyes, several hundreds of meters away from them. He seemed to have two katanas on his back and two pistols on his thighs.
''One moment, I will come over,'' the man began running towards them, after yelling that.
The moment he approached just a few more meters, he flared up on Bells radar as someone who knew that he was Nexus and/or a reality warper.
...But not an enemy, Bell could hear him out.
They watched for... an incredible long time as the man was making his way over to them. Yes, he ran, but the terrain was rocky and it took a while.
''Hello, there,'' the man greeted nicely. He turned towards a random direction and winked. ''See what I did there? That is how it's done.''
Laura and Bell shared a glance as they removed themselves from the rock to stand upwards.
Yeah, this guy was definitely loco.
''Hey! I'm not a loco guy. I'm aware, unlike the rest of most plebeians here. Aside from OAA and you,'' the man complained.
Bell looked at him for the first time. Truly looked at him.
The man swallowed heavily. It was at this moment that he knew he fucked up. That is not how he wanted to start this conversation.
''I've made a severe and continuous lapse of my judgement-,'' the man began, the words echoing the best apology video ever made.
Whatever the case, he was not here in ANY way to become Bells enemy.
''Who are you?,'' Bell asked him flatly as Laura slowly unsheathed her claws, sensing the tension.
''The names Deadpool. Everyones favorite motormouth under the hood, aside from Spider-Man. By the way, your question? That was the writers barely disguised fetish, till he remembered that she is a minor and 'made' you stop. Your welcome for me answering your question, by the way.
(RecordKeeper: *Makes a face of abject confusions* Why is he shoving the blame on me?! I didn't do anything.
TheGrandDesign: Ignore him. He can only read what you put to paper and whatever he believes are false conclusions. Mostly.
RecordKeeper: Soooo...
TheGrandDesign: He can not see our conversation, for we are conceptual beings. We defy rationale and logic. Look. He is misinformed in some ways and well informed in others. These people exist here and there. It happens. Just resume recording.
Recordkeeper: Alright, I guess.)
You are also a prick for not teleporting me from all the way over there to here and watching me stumble over here.
Rude.
Under normal circumstance I would introduce myself as Marvel Jesus, but this is not my story and I'm not the protagonist,'' Deadpool just talked. He talked like there was no end and like he didn't need oxygen.
''Laura, I'm sending you home,'' Bell hastily told her.
''What? I want to help,'' Laura argued.
''I don't need you being difficult right now. This is a topic that is highly confidential and partly, because it is not my story to tell. Don't tell the others anything,'' Bell snapped.
''..What about,'' Laura moved her eyes to Deadpool and then back to Bell,''You know. She likes to peek.''
''She is smart enough to take her own initiative,'' Bell dismissed. And it was not like he could stop her as he was right now.
Bell waved his hand and Laura teleported away, then he turned back towards Deadpool.
''What is your actual name?,'' Bell asked him. He was still not an enemy, strangely enough, so he hasn't yet looked in his mind.
''Wade Wilson. Hey, look-,'' Deadpool began.
''Can you read my mind?,'' Bell asked him.
''No. I can read the text though,'' Deadpool replied.
''The text. You know the one, the one right over there,'' Deadpool pointed at...something in a random direction.
Marvel? OAA = One Above All? Loco? Text?
...Was this a case of the Many-World-Interpretation Theory? The belief that all works ever written were real somewhere, because of Quantum Mechanics. A theory which he personally knew to be pretty true and accurate.
If one Multiverse Cluster, then why not two? Marvel was a work of fiction in his old world, one that he knew in passing. And ROB told him that he would not be put in his old world. Well, he didn't 'tell' him, but Bell could deride it from what else he said.
Could this Deadpool, have the power to 'break the Fourth Wall' and 'read these works of fiction'.
''You can look into my mind if you want. You are not Xavier who went crazy with comprehension nor Emma who dismissed my knowledge as delusions,'' Deadpool readily offered. He turned to look at ...someone and said conspiratorially:'' If you know, you know. Wink, wink.''
Well, if he offered.
Bell looked in his mind. Though as quickly as he started looking he left. The man... had like thoughts that went all over the place
OK.
First things first. He could not read his minds, so that was a plus.
...He could read the 'words' that said what he was thinking.
Not great, not terrible.
(Most people could not wrap their head around someone 'reading' words in the air written by some higher being, but to be fair the Nasuverse prepared him, in some way, for this mania.
THIS, all this? He could roll with it.)
''Ah. A man of culture I see. Good show, good show. And I'm talking about both,'' Deadpool appraised.
Second of all, the man may not be loco, but he ABSOLUTELY had a few screws loose.
''Now THAT I can agree with,'' Deadpool nodded.
Bell rubbed his face. Yeah, he could see why he was not an enemy.
''What do you want?,'' Bell asked tiredly, calming down a little.
''As I said, I'm not Marvel Jesus here, you are. I'm not here to be your enemy. EVER! I may be beloved by Lady Death, but I'm not dumb enough to believe that will save me, once you unlock your void powers, which YOU will. So premature congratulations are in order,'' Deadpool grabbed a party popper from ...somewhere and popped the confetti,'' But also (*Deadpool rest a comforting hand on Bells shoulder*) My condolences.''
''What for?,'' Bella asked him.
''You know how these things usually go. At the end of the day, this is still Marvel. A story is not concluded till the author beats their protagonist with brass knuckles with the initials T-R-A-U-M-A for the sake of 'Character Development', aka the readers/ viewers sick pleasure.
And you? Nah, you void powers will put you above OAA. We are talking about sufficient amount of trauma to 'make the surge in powers as a trade off/ a reward for your efforts'. Boy, am I not looking forward to that,'' Deadpool shook his head sadly.
Ok. Maybe the dude could 'read his story' and maybe somewhere there was some dude doing nothing better with his time, but creepily watch his life.
But his life was not predetermined and he could definitely make his own choices. No 'author' was going to make him do anything or lose anything he didn't want to.
He was certain of that.
''But anyway, I'm not here to share cryptic wisdom with you like I'm some Master Oogway. I'm here for one reason and one reason only.
The reason why I waited for you in that bush for two weeks, because the author screwed me over b not giving me a proper timeline! (*Deadpool waved his fist at someone*).
The reason...
You need to stop with that softcore 4th wall break. Don't think I didn't see you dip your toes in my world a few times, every now and then. There is not HR here, but I will complain to you!
My name is Wade Wilson, yo. The reader told me everything, yo. Mhm. I know everything. This story is tagged as 'comedy', yo. So where is the comedy? Huh?! I want you to stop this pussy shit, yo, and go raw and deep with the 4th wall break. Give it to them! YOU KNOW THEY WANT. I KNOW YOU WANT IT!!! (*He screams at someone in a random direction*).
DO IT, BELL. DO IT. JUST DO IT. TAKE MY TITLE AS MARVEL JESUS.
FULFILL THE PROPHECY!!!!!,'' Deadpool began passionately (maniacally) screaming.
Huh.
Deadpool looked around. Where did he go.
He eventually spied Bell far away, sitting on a a rock and eating popcorn. He teleported back to his previous spot.
''You done, screaming like a banshee?,'' Bell asked him.
''I have calmed down a bit. Look, I know what kind of man you are. Even if you take my title as Marvel Jesus, at least in this work, I am the undefeated king of 4th wall breaks. But the replacement can be just as good. You already throw around some references every now and then.
Go beyond that. You are a reality warper. Come on! Mess with people. Gaslight them to hell and back. Have some fun, I mean you moved on past your war trauma, mostly. At least the low level villains. They are comic relief anyway. Do it, Bell. Do it. Do it...,'' Deadpool stepped, sneakily (not), around Bell and moved his head to whisper more and more silently in his ear.
''Are you trying to act like the devil on my shoulder? Corrupt me and all that stuff,'' Bell asked him.
''...Yes. Can you please make me small and light enough to stand on your shoulder? Please man, I always wanted to act that part, but most writers won't let me,'' Deadpool gave him the puppy eyes...somehow.
That mask did not obey the laws of physics. It was so...expressive.
Anyway...
A homie gotta help a homie out.
''Yes! You are my second favorite character after Spider-Man right now.
So? Will you do it?,'' Deadpool asked him.
''...Yeah. Yeah, I will make things more comical,'' Bell nodded. But not at the wrong time and place.
''Awwww. Fine, I will take any win I can get,'' Deadpool sat on his shoulder and began kicking his legs while whistling a tune.
''Sooo... What now?,'' Bell asked him.
''As I said, I'm not here to be your enemy. Even if someone looks in my minds, they will dismiss it as mumbo jumbo, but you are free to make some kind of protections if you really need it.
Dont't worry, the text will warn me, who I should look out for that could threaten your secret.
Oh! And because you fulfilled one of my biggest wish, you will have one favor from me. Whatever you ask me? I will do it or not die trying,'' Deadpool pitched himself to him.
''Man, constantly dying must suck,'' Bell conversed.
''You have no idea! My face, I'm no Ryan Reynolds, but I was handsome. Now it resembled a dried resin. NO! Don't offer to fix it. Lady Death is a beauty and she like me just the way I am. Anyway, toodles,'' Deadpool jumped off Bells shoulder and...
Broked every bone in his body when he landed on the ground.
''You are an asshole, you know that,'' Deadpool removed his face from the grounds after it regenerated.
''You did interrupt my date,'' Bell shrugged. Also, he could no make any other excuse of killing or harming him since, he did not go against any of his morals.
Was he a flight risk, since he knew about him and his powers? Yes.
But if he made an exception here, then he would make an 'exception' anywhere. Unfortunately that is how morals go. It was either all or nothing. Incorruptible or utterly corrupted. No in between, even after involving nuance in the equation.
So he would leave Deadpool alone. But he did interrupt his date and he was all for punching assholes.
''Fair. Can you turn me back normal size?,'' Deadpool asked him. Bell did just so and then teleported away, their business concluded.
---
''So?,'' Laura asked him, when he came home.
''I'm sorry. I said it was confidential, it is not my story to tell,'' Bell sighed, feeling bad for not answering her question.
''...Fine,'' Laura replied back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jean hurried into the kitchen naked to the world with only her stockings on. Her hair was wet and she had it gathered in a towel, having just taken a shower.
Her parents would be coming over and she was making some food. Bell offered to make it, but she declined and then he went to do something.
Probably save someone from another natural catastrophe.
----
Well...yes and no.
Nexus swung his swords and put out the wildfire with water.
Shortly afterward, he picked up the stream from a random civilian in NYC about the Avengers attacking civilians.
The fuck?
He cut open a portal in front of him and entered.
...
Amora sneered in contempt.
Were this ants truly what her beloved Thor was wasting his time on? She hardly saw anything that made these pitiable creatures worth anything.
She watched as some people ran away in fear.
Oh, well, whatever.
She can have her beloved kill these ants, not only making himself into an enemy of Midgard, but also allowing her to take revenge on the humans for taking her beloved away from her and wasting his time and hers too, for that matter.
She let her dears and her beloved have enough fun. Time to kill them, she gave the command.
Only, when Thor threw his hammer at a small group of children, Nexus appeared through the portal and deflected the hammer with his sword wing.
Ah, yes. She was wondering where the last 'Avenger' was. Thor respected him, even if he was not grovelling at Thors feet for his approval and following his orders like a dog. Neither were the other Avengers, really, and again Thor liked and respected them. Would she ever make sense of her beloveds confusions?
No matter, she would see what made Nexus tick soon enough.
''Oh my, you came just in time like a dashing hero from the tales of old to save the weak. But you know what else heroes need? A princess. I am MORE then willing to be yours, if you but court me properly.
But I'm sure, you would rather like that. No?,'' Amora's melodious voice called to him.
Nexus took one look at her, and despite her appearance and words, he immediately knew.
She for the streets.
''There is a legend among us humans of someone named Medusa. The legends go that she was so ugly she turned men to stone. You are uglier,'' Nexus got a measure of her character from her words and attacked right where he knew it would infuriate her.
(It was around this time 4 massive swords fell from the skies surrounding NYC. He still needed to keep up the appearance that it was his swords giving him all those powers. The swords would give him and 'aura buff'.)
Amora's confident expression froze, slowly gave way to confusions and then rage.
''Kill him,'' she ordered simply. Fights were meant for ruffians not some delicate lady like her.
Hulk roared and leaped at Nexus while slamming his fists down.
Right. This attack from her was not optimal, since he had a meeting to go to shortly. So he had to make this quick. Under other circumstances he would just make swords burst from her chest, but appearances mattered to him right now. That display of cruelty, gore and power would make the fence sitters and even some of the people that supported him, antagonistic to him.
And he needed their support for something eventually.
Two massive swords appeared in Hulks path, his fist crashing down on their flat side.
Nexus wasted no time in flying towards her, ready to swing his sword. Thor intercepted him and swung Mjolnir at his head, Nexus flew back to evade it, immediately encasing himself in a dome as Thor shot lighting, Iron Man shot his repulsor blasts and Hawkeye his arrows.
It was around this time Hulk shoved himself away from the swords towards the dome. He grabbed it and with ease ripped it apart, swords flying everywhere, none . He got angrier for not hitting him the first time.
Nexus, now exposed, Hulk tried to kick him.
The good thing about his powers? The public never saw him fight. Not truly, not the way the X-Men did. He was already reading her mind, needing to be careful since, while no Phoenix, she was good that she would catch him, if he was careless.
No one truly knew, what he COULD do with his swords.
Another set of two swords appeared and some more to block the new projectiles as well as Hulks kick. A sword appeared near him and he got dragged away from that spot.
Alas, Hulk tried to reach for him, now much quicker and faster then before. He was getting angrier and angrier and thus stronger and faster.
Honestly? Nexus could admit, it was little terrifying, since from what he read from S.H.I.E.L.Ds records, he could grow (potentially) infinitely.
But Hulk was not fast enough again and some swords blocked his path, allowing Nexus to escape his precarious position safely.
Thor scowled and flew at him as Nexus spouted a new set of sword wings.
Hmm. Amora was attentive of her surroundings, despite how she may act. He needed the perfect moment for a surprise attack. Before she could do anything. At least she had the weakness, of needing to chant her spells, even if she learned to do that quickly.
He decided to stay in the air. Hulk he encased in a dome, to keep him out of the fight for a bit.
He summoned a sword and engaged with Thor in aerial melee combat. Meanwhile he continued to block Starks and Hawkeyes arrows.
(Somewhere else:
''We should engage,'' Spider-Man declared.
''NO!,'' Ghost Spider firmly replied.
''Haven't you noticed, how only men seem to be affected by her bewitchment. Where is Natasha Romanoff? You stay here, with some luck I will be able to help Nexus some way,'' Ghost added.
''The fight is on the other end of the city,'' Spider-Man pointed out.
''I'm fast,'' Ghost Spider kicked off.)
The goal wasn't to win, but....
Hey look, he was falling since Thor delivered a particular strong attack that destroyed his sword wing.
Nexus felt his swords. Tch. None landed close enough to Amora.
He made new sword wings before he even touched the ground and engaged in combat with Thor again.
Amora snorted. Thor really respected him? The man seemed more like a brute thinking his swords will win any day. Still, despite how weak his abilities were, they were beautiful in a way.
Mmmm. Beautifully deadly. Maybe she could have him as a trophy instead?
So what if he resisted her charm and her bewitchment? A few rare ones managed to do that as well. Like Odin. But even Odin had to look away from her every now and then. She would make him fall.
Again Thor smashed Nexus sword wings to pieces and he flew down. Hulk, by this point, got so angry that he easily ripped through the metal and jumped at him with terrifying speeds, the ground shattering beneath him.
The two flew at each other. One plummeting down, the other shooting up. Right when Hulk was about to grab him. Two portals were cut open. Nexus flew into one and came out on the other side of Hulks path. The other Hulk shot into and landed... way high in the air.
Hey, look he was still close enough to be pulled by earths gravitational pull downwards.
Nexus parried Mjolnir with his sword, eventually getting annoyed about iron Man and Hawkeye. Hawkeye, he create a cone of sword to imprison him. Iron Man he easily slapped down with the flat of a blade and imprisoned too. He would release them after the battle.
The two engaged in a flurry of deadly steel singing in the air. Thor moved to kill, his hammer seeking Nexus' head, his ribs, he tried to fry him with thunder and char him with lightning.
Nexus on the other hand, moved to incapacitate. Whenever he was not busy evading or parrying Mjolnit, he tried to cut the sinews of Thors hand, he tried to cut the back of his kness.
Amora was growing rather bored and decided to give her beloved an advantage. She cast a spell that would make Nexus reaction time slower.
Nexus acted the part when the spell took hold. But thankfully he managed to make his sword wings again. He buried himself in his dome again and suffered Thor beginning to hammer on the dome, but failing to destroy it.
Hulk having gained lots of speed, feel from the heavens like a meteor and slammed his hands on the dome, kicking up dust and destroying part of the street, but surprisingly not much else.
Amora tilted her head slightly as a sword flew past her from the impact and she deflected a few else with her spells.
Hmm. She felt no life down there in that small crater, but neither was she seeing anything, because of that damned cloud.
She waited patiently...
Hmm.
Nexus teleported behind her, his hands around on if the sword handles and swung at her, she barely managed to deflect and retaliate, but he just telported to another sword , hand around the hilt again, and swung at her.
That's it! She was going to kill him personally for his insolence. First insulting her beauty, then having the gall to attack his betters so often and so blatantly. She began chanting a spell to attack him.
And right during the chanting a sword flew at her back. With her being so enraged and preoccupied with chanting something else, she could not stop the blade in time and it went right trough her throat, her head flying off.
The last exchange occurring so quickly her thralls could not come to her rescue. Nexus made extra sure she was dead by stabbing her head with his sword.
It was around this time Ghost Spider landed on a building hear him.
''You are late,'' he joked. He turned to the Avengers who stumbled in their movement towards him and picked themselves up again while shaking their head.
''Hulk angry! But Hulk confused. You did not attack to harm us,'' Hulk shook his head.
''How did you resist her charm or whatever she used to bewitch us?,'' Iron Man asked his visor clapping up.
''I'm built different,'' Nexus replied, making Ghost Spider roll her eyes. He was technically correct, the best kind of correct.
''Look, buddy, how about you take care of this. No? Press conference, clean up all that dreary stuff. You owe me since I saved you and stopped you from harming anyone. Me? I have a prior arrangement with someone. Toddles,'' Nexus left through the portal he cut open quickly, before they could say anything else.
''As for me? Guess I was late to the party, soooo...Good luck, guys,'' Ghost Spider swung off before they could say anything.
''Were we just stood up?,'' Stark asked. The 'me' was left unsaid.
''Yup. Guess we have gotten pretty unimportant lately. Jokes aside, let's be glad that Nexus stopped us and we only terrorized the people. I don't think I would sleep easily, if that wasn't the case,'' Hawkeye replied.
''It is a sad day, to see her dead now,'' Thor lamented.
''You knew her? She was sweet on you, wasn't she?,'' Stark asked.
''I knew her when she was younger and I too, for that matter. We used to run thought the halls after pranking my brother every now and then. I never knew...,'' Thor sighed pitifully.
''Chin up, buddy. I can give you some tips about crazy stalkers,'' Iron Man tried comforting him.
''Hulk feels like we forgot something,'' Hulk scratched his head.
''...Natasha! She took an arrow to the knee,'' Hawkeye remembered their fight.
Stark clapped his visor down.
''I will bring her to the medbay. Legolas, you tell Cap to hold a press conference whenever he comes from his little school trip with his friends,'' Iron Man flew off at high speeds.
Hawkeye sighed. He was not looking forward to that. He would feel guilty and mopey. Then again, at least one of them got easy off. Hawkeye would almost prefer that guilt if he was in Caps shoes instead of the guilt of terrorizing civilians.
Aaaaand thats gonna be a media nightmare to navigate through, once someone points out that Captain America was not with them and instead making a social call, as if they were not allowed to have their own personal lives. Nexus would fall under that scrutiny too, but with how often he goes somewhere in the world to help he would likely get a pass.
Hawkeye chose to be optimistic.
Bottom line was that no one was hurt.
---
Bell teleported into the living room. Jean should be done by now.
...
''Can I just say, you really rock stockings,'' Bell swallowed and complimented her at the same time. She was naked and tasting the soup.
She just starred at him for a few moments frozen, before realization hit her and her face turned beat red.
She quickly made her way down the hallway while trying to preserve some modesty by hiding her private areas.
''Please watch the soup,'' she said before closing her door.
Yes, he could do that.
...
Mr.Grey looked at the the man in front of him as he was conversing with his wife. Bell O'Quinn.
Hmm.
''So tell me, what is it you are doing?,'' Mr.Grey interrupted their conversation. Jean shot him an annoyed look.
''I plan on taking computer science to become a software engineer,'' Bell replied.
''And how do you pay rent for this apartment? Don't you think it is to early for you two to move in together?,'' Mr.Grey asked.
''I have hobbies, which I turned into a lucrative occupation with a YouTube 'carrier'. I say carrier, but it just pays the bills. Though I want something else in life. Jean wanted to study psychology, I computer science and we were together for a while, so it honestly seemed like the most logical choice for us to move together. Especially since both our uni is not far from here,'' Bell replied and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
It was a phenomenal soup, he let Jean know.
Mr.Grey hummed.
''Oh my. And what is that hobby you used to make money?,'' Ms.Grey tried to lift the frosty atmosphere.
''Music. I'm pretty good at it too,'' Bell boasted.
Ms. Greys face lit up.
''Jean once had a xylophone when she was younger. I admit you kept us many a night awake with your musical talents,'' Ms.Grey turned to her daughter.
''Mom,'' Jean whined embarrassed.
''No. I'm not opposed to hearing some embarrassing baby stories about you,'' Bell encouraged Ms.Grey.
''Yes? Would you like me to go to Melina and have her tell me about your embarrassing baby stories,'' Jean challenged.
''Sure. Go ahead. I was a rather well behaved child, so there are like...two stories she can tell you,'' Bell gave her a victorious smirk.
''And your parents have no issue with you moving out so early. And for a girl at that?,'' Mr.Grey interrupted.
''My mom, let's me do my own things mostly, since she trusts me a lot to be responsible. So long as she has a way of contacting me. My dad has not much to say on anything on account being dead,'' Bell answered.
''Dad,'' Jean harshly whispered.
''How did he die?,'' Mr.Grey asked. Ms.Grey finally shot him a warning look, starting to lose her patience.
''Plane crash. He was a archaeologist and had to travel every now and then,'' Bell told him.
''Then who taught you to be so responsible? That is usually something a father teaches his child over the course of his life,'' Mr.Grey pointed out.
''My father died when I was 8. Evidently the small time he spent with me, was enough to leave a deep impact anyway,'' Bell gave him a smile.
''Does he know?,'' Mr.Grey asked Jean.
''That she has the X-Gene and can use telepathy and telekinesis?,'' Bell asked him,''Yes, I know.''
''Good, then that makes the conversation easier. Did you also know that she was kidnapped by someone to be used... for nefarious purposes? People are after her. Dangerous people. How will you protect her when they come after her? With baby stories?,'' Mr.Grey mocked.
Jean slammed her hands on the table and stood up the chair screeching on the ground as it flew back.
''Alright. You two overstayed your welcome. I want you to leave. Now,'' Jean spat.
''You are giving your daughter to little credit. She is no damsel in distress and protect herself. As far as she explained it to me, I understood that there were particular circumstances that stopped her from taking care of Sinister herself,'' Bell calmly boasted about Jeans powers. She did grow more competent from what she told him, so he was proud of her.
''No, because you are to busy being the damsel in distress and getting my daughter killed, because she is too busy saving your ass,'' Mr.Grey spat,'' If you are so responsible why don't you do the right thing and break things off with her. At least this way it keeps her safer.''
Bell starred at him and smacked his lips twice.
''Jean, sit down,'' Bell instructed her, when she grabbed her parents and began to shove them outside.
He was not about to let her relationship with her parents deteriorate over this.
''What? But Bell...,'' Jean argued.
''Sit down, Jean,'' Bells tone was final.
Mr. and Ms. Grey slowly sat back at the table.
''Your daughter calls me daddy too, you know,'' Bell started.
Jeans eyes snapped to him at once, her expression mortified.
Ms.Grey blushed and put her hand over her mouth.
Mr.Grey looked mutinous.
''Of course, she does not call me that with familial affection,'' Bell continued.
Jean finally stopped trying to get her parents to leave and sat mortified on her seat again. She felt also humiliated and yet, strangely enough, she could feel a heat start to develop in her core.
'You got issues, girl,' Phoenix repeated her earlier statement again.
(It was always the quite ones.)
''She does everything I want her too. Even now, she wears stockings, knowing how much I love them and how I will take her on this table the moment you leave my house. Look at her, she is already panting in anticipation,'' Bell mocked.
She wasn't panting. She was stock still, wanting both to disappear and Bell to actually do what he said.
''You...You...,'' Mr.Grey growled.
''What's the matter old man? You look pretty mutinous, from all the way across the table. Nothing stops you from leaping over it and pummeling me to death or at the very least a few times. I'm sure Jean will allow you that much. After all, you are her precious one and only daddy,'' Bell continued.
They stood there for a while in silence.
Bell leaned back into his chair.
''Unless, of course something stops you? But that shouldn't be the case, no?,'' Bell concluded.
Jean raised her head a little in confusion.
He...was right. Bell did deny that he has powers, so her father really could do what Bell said.
She turned to give her dad a confused stare.
''...My daughter gets saved by someone and just a few days later she ends up with someone? Emilia reads enough fantasy novels about the heroine falling in love with the protagonist that I immediately saw the writing on the wall,'' Mr.Grey spat accusatory.
That is right. From the moment Mr.Grey entered he was registering on Bells radar. The man was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was Nexus, even without having any evidence for his claim.
And he feared that he was taking advantage of his daughter, because of her hero worship.
Jean, of course, would not read her own damn parents mind, so she didn't know. Partly, because she respected them enough to give them the privacy, partly because she did not want to find out about...certain things.
''What?,'' Jean moved her head back and forth as realization sank in for her and her mother.
''Knowing your position, the facts you hold and your circumstances I can not fault you for arriving to such a conclusion. I confess, I find myself stumped at how to convince you that that is not the case,'' Bell shrugged.
''Maybe, by not...whatever it was you tried doing,'' Mr.Grey replied.
''Maybe. Since I can not convince you, there is not point in conversing anymore. You may leave and leave your daughter in my care. I will keep her safe and take good care of her. That was the most important thing you seemed to care about. And not catching up or the like. You know where the door is. See yourself out,'' Bell waved them off.
''...I will ruin you,'' Mr.Grey promised.
''A rather foolish thing to threaten me with. You do not know me, only the mask I present to the world. Also, I hold your most precious thing in my hands. Who know what I will do, if you ACTUALLY succeed in your endeavors.
Stay in your line, John, and I will take good care of your daughter. I'll even allow her to visit you. Now, shoo, shoo,'' Bell waved them off.
'Ah, there is the noble self-sacrificing idiot. He is saving your relationship with your family, girl, by shouldering all the scrutiny in your place. After all, you were so eager to throw them out just for being a little rude, almost like he had complete control over you,' Phoenix rolled her eyes mentally.
'What? No! What should I do?,'' Jean asked her.
'Listen carefully,' Phoenix instructed.
Jean stood up before her parents could leave and gave the mother of all slaps to Bells face, a telekinetically reinforced palm too. Bell turned his head a little and the turned his head back.
Mr.Grey frowned in confusion.
''Ignore him and whatever he said. He is an idiot. How about we aaaaaall,'' she shot a particular glare at Bell,'' instead communicate. Like functioning adults. I'm indeed grateful for Bell saving me, but I never suffered from hero worship.''
''How can we know? You were so eager to throw us out,'' John bitterly reminded her.
''Yes. Because you were RUDE and EMBARRASSING me in front of my boyfriend,'' Jean rubbed her eyes.
''For one, I have to be the one who constantly initiates things. Sometimes I even have to insist on it too. Despite what he present to the world, he is a rather shy lover. I have never even heard him THINKING about me calling him daddy or the like. The furthest we ever have ever gone is some light petting. And again, at my insistence,'' Jean began to rant.
''Are you seriously dumping our -,'' Bell began.
''Shut up!,'' Jean snapped.
''Ok,'' Bell murmured.
''The idiot is to afraid to offend me, with ANYTHING he does. I admit it took me a little till I saw through his ruse, because of the sheer shock of how he was acting. He tried to make me firmly a victim in your eyes to evoke pity from you, instead of contempt or bitterness for playing along with his orders.
Bell, we have been together for nearly a year. Forgive me for wanting to give my boyfriend a blowjob and receive some action in turn,'' Jean slapped the table.
John nearly choked on his spit. He really did not need to her that from Jeans mouth.
Emilia was starting to enjoy the drama. She totally had her priorities straight.
''Jean, you really should-''
''Shut up!!!,'' Jean yelled.
''Ok,'' Bell muttered and slowly sank in his chair till only his hair was visible.
''Yes. it is true that the start of our relationship was messy, but so what?....,'' Jean began ranting off.
...
Mr.Grey and Ms.Grey stood at the door.
John cleared his throat and gave Bell a comforting squeeze on his shoulder. And was that a brief pitying look Bell spied in Johns eyes?
''So...Yeah, it was nice meeting you,'' John cleared his throat again.
''At least it makes for a memorable first meeting. Soon we can all look back and laugh about today,'' Emilia beamed.
Jean and John closed their eyes exasperate. Yes, that truly was the thing they should take away from today.
''Uhh...be more assertive,'' John lamely advised Bell, before they departed.
Bell closed the door.
''You know. I really would have preferred you shutting up in retrospect and let me suffer the scrutiny alone,'' Bell flatly concluded.
Jean leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it, putting her arms around her head and her head on her knees.
''I may have taken it too far,'' Jean moaned.
'You think?,' Phoenix snapped. Jean went off the script halfway through ans stopped repeating her words.
''You think?,'' Bell snapped.
''I could have suffered the humiliation. Fair is fair. But HOLY SHIT, give me at least one W. You are lucky I played along. I want to know one thing, did Phoenix put you up to this?,'' Bell was annoyed was an understatement.
''Yes, but I went off the script around saying that we were together for nearly a year. everything after that was on me,'' Jean did not throw Phoenix under the bus.
''...Well, props to her for trying to come up with a solution about making it clear you do not suffer from hero ship. It was a good attempt... till you ruined it,'' Bell flatly told her, making her wince.
Bell made his way over to the couch and collapsed on it.
''I ... I can make it up to you! I can wear more stockings for you of your truly like them. And I can cook more for you. Or... or....,'' Jean scrambled,'' I can give you a blowjob right now.''
She loudly declared that with false bravado as she moved to stand in front of him.
'...You got some serious issues, Jean,' Phoenix corrected her previous two statements. She finally saw the 'plan' in her mind. She hoped that by pissing Bell off enough, that he would 'punish' and 'humiliate' her. A rather shody attempt Phoenix knew, because she would have never gotten what she wanted this way.
Bell looked at her briefly. He patter the couch near him and she eagerly sat down and leaned against him.
''Look,'' He began gently stroking her hair,''It was not optimal how we went about it and maybe we should have communicated more, but the important things is, that your parents no longer think I control you through hero worship. No? I can fix my image to them later. Call it character development or something. That I took Johns advice to heart, I don't know.''
''...Sorry about taking it too far. I really can make it up to you,'' Jean offered shyly.
''It's fine...Well... You REALLY look good in stockings,'' Bell joked.
Though Jean took it as a command and firmly nodded.
'I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in this universe,' Phoenix thought to herself.
Her host was a freak.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanda was making her way through the forest, taking her usual path through it to have a walk. She stretched a little to pop a muscle.
The leaves rustled, yet there was no wind.
Wanda hummed in wonder and stopped her walk.
(A.N. 15217 words. Hope you enjoyed reading that. Cheers.)