I didn't like the look in Homelander's eyes. The blonde man opened his mouth to say something while I tried to look professional while on the job. I was a security guard after all, and Vaught paid me to look intimidating in my uniform and watch security tapes. I was advised to interact with the heroes in the building as little as possible, and I didn't want to lose my job. Still, Homelander, mister psychopath himself, was looking at me.
He approached, and I regretted investing in Vought stock instead of saving the money from my first paycheck. I gave the best customer service smile I could force out and waited for an interaction that would make or break my short career working for Vought.
"Your August right, the solar battery guy, listen, my phone is nearly out of power, could you give me a little boost?" He grabbed my shoulder. "Come on, sport, be a team player."
"My powers don't work that way, sir."
I wasn't from this world, and instead of powers, I had skills and listed them as powers on my resume, which helped me get a job as a security officer at Vought after high school. My parents were firm believers in kicking their children out at 18 and being a super abled with no interest in the pagentry of being a hero rained on their parade. I also couldn't play in competitive sports or enlist in the military due to international law.
"So what can you do? I'm interested in your powers, they sound so E-friendly, and I have 15 minutes before I need to go up. So buddy, I'm going to spend them getting to know the new guy. Don't feel shy, you're the man standing between my rabid fans and my virtue." He turned his head to the side. "It's ok to laugh, you're acting a bit uptight."
I let out a breath and tried my best not to think about how easily a wrong move could cost me my job. In only two hours, my shift was over, and I could begin my second job; at least that one was more fun than standing around.
"I apologize, but my powers aren't complicated. I absorb energy from the sun and store it in my cells, my body adapts to hold that energy better, I can use energy to heal myself, and I can hold that energy in place."
"You can turn yourself into a god damn immovable object. Oh, I saw how you tried to sneak that one past us on your resume. He waved his finger back and forth and adapted to make yourself more capable of holding solar energy. What does that mean? I'm curious."
His eyes flashed red, and my partner Earl shrank back as the psycho blasted me with heat vision. I gave Homelander the most unamused look I could manage as white hot beams of energy burned holes through my uniform. His lasers cut off, and he smirked.
I picked up my radio. "Mr. Roberts, my uniform has been damaged beyond repair. Do we have any extras in supply?"
"Mr. Homelander, you knew he was going to be alright, didn't you?" The man had the gall to smile and enter the elevator.
"Have a great rest of your shift, gentlemen."
…
He hated the squishy, pathetic ants he was forced to interact with, but the news that one of his kind was taking up the post of a security guard was something he had to see. Madelyn didn't disappoint, a grouping of abilities that tied together, making August Rust a continuous motion machine. A little sunlight, and he did not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. He was adaptable to trauma and almost immune to thermals. His heat vision didn't leave a scratch, but of course, the green as grass super wasn't here to be in the spotlight. Stan Edgar signed off on August's employment contract, meaning August was against him.
Homelander wanted to rage and break things, slice normals in half with his heat vision, and throw them screaming into space. Oh, it would feel so good, but it was proof that Stan wasn't as confident as he thought. Stan had to use force, he was afraid, even if he didn't realize it.
August had been terrified the moment Homelander appeared, he was weak. When the time came, he would rip the traitor's head off and plop it on Stan's desk.
…
I folded my clothes and slipped them into my closet when I returned home. Then, I ate some Chinese takeout. The food wasn't needed, but Chinese takeout was comforting. If only the roaches weren't watching me from the shadows, waiting for a moment of inattention to dive into my food.
When I flipped on the TV, some ad about the seven blared and I hammered down on the mute button before my eardrums blew. I ate another bite before trashing the rest. With my first shift done, I opened a blue screen to look at my system.
It appeared shortly after I was kicked out of 18 the Co-op system.
I could go to other worlds and help other players if they request it. There were a few choices already.
Cell Games II Defeat Perfect Cell: DBS
It flashed in shining green and black spotted letters tinged with a platinum border.
Reward: Skill: Ultra Ego
Tyranid Invasion on Macragge: WH40k
Reward: Skill Ultra Marine Biology
Madara Fight of 6 Kage: Naruto
Reward: Skill: Six Path Chakra, Rennegan Eye Transplant
Madara's fight was far beyond my league, too. While I could tank fire-type jutsu until the cows came home, any offense was beyond me. The Rennigan Eye it offered was excellent, but not tempting enough for me.
I went down the list and found a reasonable choice.
Rize attack: Tokyo Ghoul
Reward: Tool: Quinque Black Widow
I looked further at the weapon.
Black Widow: A blood-hungry red blade that causes excessive bleeding upon contact and self-repairs using its reserves of human blood. Rize continues to hunger even after her death and transformation.
Such a weapon was going to be a problem, but I couldn't help myself. The thought of fighting Rize was too much. I needed this.
The mission didn't say I had to kill her, I didn't know the plans of whoever I was joining for the fight.
…
Life had been difficult with the honey system since he woke up in the world of Tokyo Ghoul as Kaneki Ken, with a power entirely based on his relationship levels with girls, he had to learn how to be a player or cap out quickly.
He had played it smooth, writing up a strategy with Hide planning around Rize's hunger and manipulating her into falling for him. When he gained the minor regen ability from getting her affection level to 25% he knew he was on the right track, but then he tried to double dip and get with Touka at the same time.
The street lamps passed by him as he hauled ass in the wrong direction. The construction site was the other way if he wanted to let Furuta drop steel beams on her, and save his life, he had to lead her the other way. The problem was she knew the alleys better than he, and he saw tear streaks on her face. He was slowing down and wheezing for breath.
A trash can flew out of an alley, tripping him and tumoring. Rize landed behind him and gave him a sad expression. "I didn't want this for you."
"I don't want this either."
Her lips twitched upward. "You made your bed, and now you are going to lie in it. Was it worth it talking to that waitress?"
"I didn't have a choice."
"There is always a choice."
"This wasn't supposed to happen to you." Her kagune rose deadly tentacles that would rip him apart.
There had to be something he could do that he hadn't tried yet as he struggled to catch his breath.
Then he remembered that in his starter set, he had a co-op token. He pulled the token out of his inventory and crushed it.
…
I stepped in front of a lashing of red tentacles and felt my red, white, and blue Homelander t-shirt tear from contact. My skin dented slightly from the onslaught but remained undamaged. The purple-haired fem fatal's eyes widened at my sudden entry. I look back at the black haired Japanese man behind me and catch the question.
Resolve the Conflict
Option 1: Kill Rize
Reward: Tool: Black Widow Quinque
Option 2: Mediate conflict
Reward: Skill: Rize Regeneration
Option 3: Kill Kaneki Ke
Reward: Tool: Centipede Sting Quinque
"Are you another friend of my former boyfriend?"
I noticed the tear streaks running down her face and decided to alter my tactics. Then I looked back at Kaneki to see that he was about ready to bolt.
Not my clowns, not my surface. He's the guy who thought putting his dick in a cannibal was a good idea. I'm just here to get paid to mediate their bullshit.
"If you run, then I'll take out one of your legs and let her finish you." I turned a glare at the woman. "This was my favorite shirt." I let it hang loosely on my body.
"Are you a dove?"
"Do I look like a rat with wings to you?" I shook my head. "Kaneki, be a pal and tell me what kind of system you have. Does it have something to do with your current conflict?"
It was a long shot. More than likely, Kaneki had a standard leveling system. But why try to romance Rize, and if she cared enough to cry over him, then she might be willing to talk things out. In canon, this was just another hunt, but the emotionally charged situation hit differently.
"I don't want to say."
I winced. "Is it that bad or that embarrassing. I'm guessing it has nothing to do with transactions or killing them. That leaves some farming system or a romance adjacent system."
By the look on his face, it was the romance one. "Not that this conversation isn't strange, but just because you can block my attacks with your body doesn't mean you will stop me from killing the cheater."
"Did he turn you in to the doves?"
"So you do know what they are."
I rolled my eyes. "They aren't important, the two of you are. You wouldn't cry over just anyone. You're Rize Kamishiro, the binge eater, you have a bit of a reputation even in our circles. So what's stopping you from telling him in no uncertain words that he can't see other girls without your permission and you're going to punish him for breaching your trust."
"You're supposed to be on my side."
I walked over to him, squatted down to his level, and placed my hands on his shoulders. "You shouldn't have screwed up if you wanted me to take your side. So what happened, tell it to me straight while we leave this alley."
Rize sniffed the air. "You aren't a ghoul, and you took my kakune full force. What are you?"
"He's a summon for Co-op. Rize, I need to come clean with you." I pulled the idiot off the ground, and Rize put her kagune away.
I pointed at Kaneki with my thumb. "He's a system user like me, only his growth is limited to the number of girls he sees. I'm guessing the more important the girl, the better. What would forming a relationship with your side piece get you?"
"Flight," Kaneki admitted without an ounce of shame.
I sucked my teeth. "That's a good one, but you don't exactly strike me as a harem king. I know a fellow introvert when I see one."
"Let's say I buy this. What makes you think I'll let go of his betrayal?"
I looked at her puffy red eyes.
Two men police officers approached, shining their flashlights on us.
"Excuse me, there was a report of a disturbance. Is this foreigner bothering you two?"
I gave Kaneki a look. "No, he's a mutual friend of my girlfriend and me. We were arguing, and it became heated."
"It's going to be ex-girlfriend if you don't do some groveling when we get home."
…
The police left us alone long enough to get to Kaneki's apartment. Rize gave a disgusted look at the piles of big girl burger wrappers. When she closed the door, there was no longer a reason to stall.
"We're system users think of it as a small super-powered club of people, each with a different method of growing in strength. Kaneki needs to form romantic relationships with various girls to move up in power. The deeper the bond, the more powerful he will become."
"So you cheated on me for power."
Kaneki looked away. And I started to get the vibe he was putting off. It wasn't the look of a man who gave up on his hot, purple-haired girlfriend.
"Systems punish their users if they aren't being used. It can take different forms, but if he isn't trying to be a player, his power will punish him." I said.
Taking no co-op missions would lead to trouble down the road. It was something I didn't want to deal with.
Rize was being unusually calm for a girlfriend who found out her boyfriend had to cheat on her.
"You aren't doing this again, you're going to do this responsibly, or we're through. That is, if you still want to be with me."
"More than anything."
"Then why didn't you tell me you had this problem? We could have figured something out."
My quest read thoroughly, even if they weren't done with their argument by a long shot.
"I was scared, I thought you wouldn't believe me, and I was waiting until after you told me you were a ghoul." Kaneki said.
"Well then, I'll excuse myself and let you two lovebirds make up in peace." I said.
I was back in the boys' universe a few hours later with a new skill on my list. My Co-op system had its upsides and downsides. I could hold four skills at a time, but once a skill was mastered, it no longer took up a slot.
Back home, I sat on my couch, propped my feet up on my coffee table, and watched the news. It was super this and super that for the most part. I had an early shift tomorrow, and I checked my phone to find a text. Madelyn Stillwell wanted to see me for some reason.
I hoped my 60k salary wasn't under threat. I needed my job, or I would do co-op missions until I ran into something I couldn't beat.