Traveling Magic Shop Part 29 (Patreon)

"Where the fuck were you?!" Ralph demanded.

"Not here," Aisha replied sarcastically as she stalked toward her room, hoping the bastard would actually try something so that she'd have an excuse.

"Don't take that fucking tone with me girl!" Ralph snapped as he reached out and grabbed Aisha's arm.

"Let go," Aisha told him, feeling strangely calm about the entire situation.

"Your mother is working, which means we're going to have a conversation about respect and doing what you're told," Ralph said as he reached for his belt, planning on beating her ass until she did what she was told.

Aisha took a step back then kicked her mother's boyfriend as hard as she could in the nuts, obliterating any chance of him ever having children, shattering his pelvis and sending him sailing across the room into the brick wall.

"Keep it down!" the downstairs neighbor shouted as she banged a broom into the ceiling.

Aisha resisted the urge to shout something at the annoying bitch that liked screaming at people for making noise. 'So much for just breaking his arm,' she mused as Ralph slid off the wall and collapsed to the ground face first, revealing the fact that the back of his head looked like a broken egg and was leaking blood.

'Shit, they're never going to believe self defense,' Aisha complained, trying to figure out the best way to get the body out of the apartment and everything cleaned up before her mother got home and killed her for taking out the trash. She glanced at the window that led to the fire escape in the alley, wondering if she could toss the body in the dumpster without anyone noticing.

She jumped when her phone vibrated. She took a breath to steady her nerves then answered her phone quietly, not wanting to give her neighbor a reason to suspect that she was in the area on the off chance that the police actually investigated his disappearance, "Yes?"

"Did you get your stuff?" Rose asked, wanting to make sure her new friend hadn't run into any problems with her mother's bodyfriend.

"Hypothetically, do you have any spells to clean up blood or dispose of bodies?" Aisha asked, wishing she'd taken the time to learn a cleaning spell from the cards.

"What happened?" Rose asked.

"He grabbed me, I kicked him and he hit a wall," Aisha replied, trying to make sure she talked quietly enough that the old woman downstairs couldn't hear her.

"Have you called the police?" Rose asked.

"I'm black and this is the Bay, they'd arrest me," Aisha complained.

"Send me the address, I'll send Harry to make sure he's seen leaving," Rose told her, figuring she'd error on the side of caution even if she thought Aisha was probably wrong about the cops in this case.

"Thanks," Aisha replied then rattled off her address, almost wishing that she'd just gone to school.

"Got it, be there in ten, maybe fifteen," Rose replied, knowing she'd have to look up the address and explain things to Myst.

"Thanks," Aisha replied, glad that Rose hadn't asked more questions.

0o0o0

Myst glanced up from the magic book he was reading when the bell over the door rang and an attractive girl in her late teens or early twenties walked into the shop holding a flier. "Welcome to the Magic Shop, how can I help you?"

Cherie smiled at the man behind the counter, laying on the charm and trying to influence his emotions so he'd be more inclined to help. "That depends, can you teleport me across the country so I don't have to worry about my father?"

Myst checked the girl with his upgrade ability and sighed when he realized that the girl was a parahuman and that she had the ability to sense and influence emotions. 'Brown hair with a red streak and daddy issues, probably Cherish.'

Cherie frowned as her question caused the man to go from feeling generally cheerful to annoyed in the span of a couple of seconds, exactly the opposite of what she'd been trying for since she needed his help. "Let me guess, you can't help?"

"I can't teleport you across the country but I can send you to another world if you're willing to ditch this one," Myst offered.

"Even better," Cherie replied with a smile, not seeing a problem with ditching the world for a better version. "How much?"

Myst grabbed a bottle of cider from under the counter and upgraded it so that it would fix her mental issues or at least a decent chunk of them since anyone that would willingly join the Nine had subscriptions. "Fuck it, cards on the table, is your name Cherie?"

"How?" Cherie asked warily as she tried and failed to influence his emotions, trying to make him terrified of her so that she'd be able to get some answers.

"I run a magic shop," Myst replied with a grin as he set the bottle on the counter. "You're running from your brothers and you've convinced yourself that if you join the Nine, they'll have to leave you alone and you'll get to mess with people, how am I doing so far?"

"You'd have to be insane to join the Nine," Cherie replied, unwilling to admit that she'd been planning on joining up to keep her family from dragging her back home.

"No shit," Myst replied. "Either way, your plan is going to need some adjustment because the Slaughterhouse Nine are dead."

"How?" Cherie asked, annoyed that she could feel his amusement and satisfaction which meant he wasn't lying.

"The Siberian ran into a trump and someone tossed Crawler into orbit. The rest weren't particularly durable, just annoying to deal with," Myst replied with a shrug.

"I just want to get out of town without my brothers finding me, how much?" Cherie asked, not seeing a point in arguing about the Nine.

"Tell you what, if you give me two dollars for the cider that heals people, I'll send you on your way, no strings, no regrets or you can give me two dollars for the cider and you can strip for powers before you leave," Myst told her.

Cherie raised her eyebrows. "Strip for powers? That seems a bit unethical."

"You're a hedonistic bitch, you're not going to have a mental breakdown because I asked you to strip. You've done a lot more for a lot less but if you're going to act offended, you can drink the cider and jump worlds."

"Why do I need the cider?" Cherie asked as she walked over and picked up the bottle.

"The cider should kill any viruses or problematic bacteria," Myst replied, less concerned about spreading a plague as making sure the borderline sociopath got rid of some of her mental issues in case she ended up in a world where people weren't equipped to deal with parahumans.

"That's fair," Cherie admitted, getting the sense that he wasn't trying anything underhanded with the cider. She popped the top and took a drink then quickly finished it, finding it the best tasting cider she'd ever had. She set the empty bottle on the counter then pulled a five out of her jacket pocket and tossed it on the counter to pay for the cider, figuring she'd grab another one before she left. "What type of powers are we talking about?"

"Let's start with a mental shield so that you never have to worry about your family then you can pick out a costume for a defensive package," Myst suggested, feeling better about dropping her on another world now that she'd drank the cider.

"How long would the mental shield last?" Cherie asked thoughtfully as she slipped out of her jacket.

"It's permanent," Myst replied.

"Do you have any proof that you can give me powers?" Cherie asked as she tossed her jacket on the table.

Myst raised his hand up to chest level and snapped his fingers as he used his Pyramid Scheme power to give her a copy of his Flight and mental shield. "I gave you a weak flight ability as proof of concept, feel free to fly around the shop and test it."

Cherie smiled as she floated off the ground, finding the ability surprisingly easy to control. "I could get used to this, how long will it last?"

"Like I said before, it's permanent," Myst replied with amusement as Harry and Rose walked out of the game room looking annoyed. "What's up?"

"Aisha ran into some trouble with her mother's boyfriend, we're bailing her out," Rose told Myst as they headed for the door.

"Let me know if you need help," Myst told her, trusting them to deal with the situation.

"Always," Rose replied, glad that her dad always had her back.

Myst watched the kids leave then turned his attention back to Cherie who was flying around like a kid that had been dusted with pixie dust, looking like she was actually having fun. 'At least the cider seems to have helped, or she just likes flying.'

Cherie reached down, grabbed the bottom of her shirt and sweatshirt and pulled them over her head, revealing a lacey red bra. She tossed the clothes onto her jacket then started working on taking her pants off.

Myst glanced at the front door when he heard the bell ring, slightly annoyed that someone was interrupting a good show. He felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the figure's golden skin and white bodysuit. 'Fuck!'

"Scion?" Cherie blurted, surprised to see the most powerful hero in the world in person.

Myst glanced at the flier that Scion was holding, getting a really bad feeling about the lunatic's visit. "Welcome to the Magic Shop, how can I help you?"

Scion floated over to the counter and set the flier on the counter.

Myst couldn't help the sinking sensation that washed over him when Scion pointed at a picture of a familiar looking scroll. "Not a problem," he lied as he grabbed the adventure book from under the counter and set it on the table, doing his best to keep his hands from shaking or giving any other sign that he was trying to screw the abomination over. "Just open the book and select one of the options, that should reset the stock."

Scion opened the book then pointed at one of the choices randomly and vanished, one step closer to bringing Eden back to life.

Myst sighed in relief, a touch surprised that the bastard hadn't been running some type of social program or a power that told him that he was lying. He spun the book around so he could check the option that Scion had pointed at. 'War in Olympus? That's either really good or really bad.'

"What happened?" Cherie asked, surprised that Scion had vanished into thin air.

"No clue, he probably had to teleport to save a cat," Myst lied as he flipped the page in the CYOA book, wanting to make sure he'd actually trapped the bastard.

'Why the hell did the shopkeeper go from terrified to smug?' Cherie mused as she tossed her pants on the table. 'Some type of trap that he wasn't sure would work? Makes sense, he's a hero and the most powerful cape in the world, he'll probably be back.'

Myst glanced over the first couple of lines that described Scion's reaction to finding himself on Mount Olympus then focused on Cherie as she unhooked her bra. 'That should keep Scion from screwing things up as long as he's stuck in the book, assuming he can't teleport himself out.'

0o0o0

"Sorry," Aisha offered as Harry climbed into the Apartment through the window.

"Don't worry about it," Harry replied as he shut the window behind him.

"Friends help you move stuff, real friends help you move bodies," Rose offered, doing her best to view the guy the same way as the monsters from the dungeon she'd cut up for parts.

"Thanks," Aisha replied, wishing they'd stick around so that she'd have some people that had her back. "Where do we start?"

"Do you have a saw?" Rose asked and dodged Harry's attempt to lightly punch her shoulder.

"We're not using a saw," Harry replied as he used a cleaning spell to clean the corpse and the blood that had soaked into the brown carpet. He glanced at the dead guy's pockets to make sure he didn't have his wallet or keys on him then gestured at the corpse and turned into a stuffed pig. "We're magic users."

"Nice trick," Aisha offered. "How long will it last?"

"About an hour," Harry replied as he gestured and used a spell to clean the wall and the surrounding area, wanting to make sure that he hadn't left any blood traces on the off chance that someone investigated his disappearance. "That should give us enough time to drop you off at school and say some less than flattering shit to someone in the office so they'll remember his visit."

"There are a hundred things I'd rather do than school right now," Aisha complained.

"It's an excellent alibi and you only have a day and a half before the break," Rose pointed out.

"That's just about the only use," Aisha muttered as she headed for her room to change her clothes.

"I'll see you back at the shop," Rose told Harry as she opened the window, not seeing a point in walking out of the building when no one saw her walk in.

"Stay safe," Harry told her.

"I'll be fine," Rose assured him as she left. She turned invisible and flew up into the sky then headed for the shop, wanting to grab a shower and catch some sleep since Riley and the girls had kept her up most of the night with their giggling and stories.

0o0o0

Scion glared at the statue that reminded him of Eden, of everything that he'd lost and punched it, finding the action strangely satisfying since the strange location he found himself in was blocking his attempts to leave.

"Hey, asshole!" a man in a leather jacket demanded as he stalked over to where Scion was staring at a broken statue of Aphrodite.

Scion glanced at the man that was insulting him then continued walking away from the broken statue, seeing no reason to ask the man questions since he'd already scanned the area and found nothing of use.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Ares demanded as he grabbed the golden man's arm, wanting answers about why he'd destroyed his girlfriend's statue.

Scion raised his hand and used his stilling shard to blast the annoyance that had grabbed him, causing him to take a single step backwards. He stared at the man's jacket, confused by the lack of damage.

Ares blurred forward and slammed his fist into the man's face, sending him crashing into Hera's temple.

Scion staggered as he pushed himself off the wall that had survived the impact of what felt like a planet killing asteroid. He ran a couple of quick checks to make sure that stilling was working then blasted the man, rather confused when the beam didn't even damage his jacket.

"Why did you break her statue?" Ares asked, ignoring the light show that the creature was occasionally sending his way.

"Because it annoyed me," Scion replied, not expecting the man to understand.

Ares blurred forward and slammed his fist into the man's face then continued to pummel the shit out of him, each hit striking with enough force to level mountains and doing a remarkably good job of making sure he'd never insult his girlfriend again.

"Should we stop him?" Hermes asked thoughtfully as he watched Ares give the golden skinned man a beatdown like he hadn't seen for centuries, having no interest in pissing Ares off since the strange creature had started it.

"No, he smashed one of Dite's statues," Hephaestus replied as he absently conjured a metal folding chair and tossed it to Ares.

"I was thinking about the property values," Hermes replied as he watched the creature set a shrub on fire with a beam of plasma in his attempt to hurt Ares or at least stop him from beating his face in with the chair.

"They're on Hera's property," Hephaestus replied, not seeing a problem with letting Ares wreck his mother's temple or at least the grounds as nothing the golden man was using was able to damage the enchanted stone that made up the buildings and walkways.

"What's going on?" Aphrodite asked as she walked over to where her husband and Hermes were watching Ares beat the shit out of something.

"The guy with gold skin broke one of your statues and Ares took it personally," Hermes explained as he conjured a bag of popcorn.

Aphrodite glanced at her husband then went back to watching the 'fight', absently stealing some of Hermes' popcorn. "That explains why the itching stopped, the statue was cursed."

"Wasn't me," Hephestus replied when Hermes glanced at him.

"Hera got pissy," Aphrodite replied with a shrug. "She's still upset that I cheat."

"It's not cheating if I'm watching," Hephaestus muttered, wishing his mother would get over it or at least mind her own business.

Hermes frowned when he noticed the creature's soul leaving the body. "Should we tell him that it's already dead?"

"Probably, I want to crack it open and see what I can learn," Hephaestus mused.

"How long do you think it's going to take to put it back together?" Aphrodite asked thoughtfully.

"At least a week," Hephaestus replied thoughtfully.

"Perfect, I'll grab Ares and we can hit a couple of sororities," Aphrodite replied cheerfully.

"Take pictures," Hephaestus told her then added, "Of the girls, not Ares."

"No one needs to see that," Hermes agreed.

Aphrodite laughed then whistled at Ares. "Hey, let's go fuck some sororities and piss off Hera by making some more demigods!"

"Fuck yeah!" Ares replied then kicked the unconscious or possibly dead abomination in the nuts before heading over and tossing Aphrodite over his shoulder. He looked at Hephaestus. "How long do you need?"

"At least a week," Hephaestus replied, looking forward to getting a week of peace and quiet so that he could get some delicate work done.

"Excellent," Ares replied as he turned and left, figuring someone else could deal with the cleanup.

"You're crazy, you know that right?" Hermes asked with amusement.

"I'm aware," Hephaestus replied as he turned his attention to the golden body. "Can you do me a favor and steal the body?"

"Sure, but you're buying the drinks," Hermes replied as he headed over to grab the body, knowing that Hera would notice Hephaestus stepping foot on her temple grounds.

0o0o0

Taylor blinked as she walked into the shop and saw a naked young woman with the ability to sense emotions and control them dancing on one of the tables. She glanced at Myst who was standing behind the counter watching the woman with amusement. "Do I need to come back later?"

Myst turned and looked at the girl with a theater mask and black duster tossed over her Rogue outfit. 'We're going to have to find something to hide your hair and voice if you want to keep your identity secret,' he mused as he went back to swatching the show. "Nah, Cherie wanted powers and was short on cash."

"You try making an honest living while you're being chased by insane parahumans," Cherie complained, looking forward to ditching her brothers and starting a new life somewhere no one had heard of her family.

"Have you ever made an honest living in your life?" Myst asked.

"I spent a couple of weeks as a stripper when I turned eighteen," Cherie replied with a grin as she floated in the air and spread her legs, giving the embarrassed and interested girl a nice view of her pussy. "It was fun until my father freaked out and decided that I was trying to make enough money to leave."

"What powers have you picked up?" Taylor asked, trying not to focus on the naked girl and having a hard time. 'My projection might have a point about me being bisexual,' she admitted, deciding that she didn't care if they caught her staring.

"Flight and a decent brute rating. I had to let him spank my ass red for that one," Cherie lied, having fun messing with the embarrassed girl.

Taylor shook her head, fairly sure she was lying from the amusement she could feel from the strange young woman and finding herself checking her pockets for one dollar bills without thinking about it.

0o0o0