Super Sales on Super Heroes 4 -CH2- (Patreon)

Chapter 2 - First Pick -

“Well, let’s talk details first. I know I’ve got your attention and that you’re eager. It wouldn’t do for me to take advantage of you since you’re more akin to a partner to me,” explained Runner with a shake of his head. “Let’s take this somewhere else first. We won’t be gone long, maybe an hour. You can decide what to do from there.

“And yes, before you ask, you could return here afterwards to consider what to do or say goodbye. While there’s a time limit involved in the mission, it isn’t exactly immediate, either. We’ve got a day or so before I’d need an answer.”

“No need to give me such considerations,” Felix stated firmly and a shake of his head. Gesturing with his hand he made an almost chopping like motion. “I accept, send me with instructions. Now.”

Runner looked unsure as he considered Felix’s words. Then he shook his head and sighed.

“No. We’ll talk it out first. Come on, let’s go. We’ll hash it out, then you can make your choice. It won’t take long but it’s worth it for you to hear me out first,” disagreed Runner. Then he stood up and made a small hand gesture to get up.” Well? Shall we go?”

“Yes. Can I take anyone with me?” Felix asked, already knowing that everyone in the room would literally demand to be with him where-ever he went.

In fact he knew for certain that the Elex women were likely already contacting their Primes and Thirds to let them know what was going on.

“No. We’ll only be gone for a single second for them. It’ll be as if we never left. Now… shall we?” prompted Runner.

“Yes.”

Felix stood up with a nod of his head.

Then was suddenly somewhere else.

It looked a lot like a living room of sorts. One that looked quite lived in with even children’s toys spread out and discarded.

Alot like what he’d seen from his nephews and nieces in fact. Where things would just tumble out of their hands as something else caught their attention.

“Sorry, sorry,” Runner apologized and waved a hand at the room. “I… well… once you have kids, you’ll understand. I swear I cleaned up this morning when I started the day.”

Runner gestured to a couch off to one side and then walked over to it. He picked up what looked a lot like an action figure and tossed it onto the nearby coffee table. Then he sat down and gestured to a recliner in front of him.

Taking the seat Folded his hands into one another and then leaned forward.

“Just send me,” he repeated. He really didn’t care.

All he wanted was Kit and Lily back.

“Stop. I get it,” pleaded Runner with a heavy sigh. “I get it. I’d be doing the same thing you are if I had a similar chance. I’d say the same thing you are.

“But I need you to listen to me. This’ll be a bit different and also the same. My request is probably the simplest answer I can give you. I need you to take over the government in the country I’m dropping you in.”

“Take over… as in, be a king?” asked Felix, his interest suddenly resurrected.

Resurrected and now clamoring for information.

A chance to rebuild Legion into what I had wanted. Not what I did with it, but what it should have been.

What it should have been without me shoving it into a place it never should have been.

“In whatever fashion you felt was best. So long as you could reasonably say that your choices, your decrees, would be law,” elaborated Runner. “King, CEO, emperor, god, prime minister, whatever you like. So long as you were in charge.

“That’s the request. How you do it, is entirely up to you and on you. Though… from what I can see from here, it feels like you’ve been contemplating how you’d do it again if you had the chance.”

Felix was doing his best to wrestle his mind to the conversation. He really needed to be paying attention to what he was being told.

“Okay,” Felix managed to get out with a modicum of control. He’d already been beyond willing at the mention of getting Kit and Lily back. Now with what his benefactor had offered the situation had only become more of a need to Felix. “What’re my limitations? Last time I had deities pushing on my points in a way I felt was entirely unfair.”

Runner nodded his head, winced, then shook it.

“No limitations. There’s no gods at all. They’re all long dead. Killed by their own worshipers. Summoned, slaughtered, and doled out as artifacts,” answered Runner. “Your power will be in full swing. Nothing to hold it back but your own imagination.

“Though I can tell you right now, the world won’t present you with the same options it did previously. Your upgrade power will still certainly be there, though it won’t be exactly the same.”

“How so,” asked Felix, hoping to get some clarification.

“I’m not entirely sure, but from what I can gather, you might need extra bits and bobs to complete an upgrade. I think.

“Kinda guessing here but I’m pretty sure thats the change. Everything else should function the same.”

Extra bits and bobs? Hm.

That could be problematic depending on what exactly it is.

“Do you mean—”

“I don’t know,” interrupted Runner with a shrug of his shoulders. “Sorry, just trying to save you the hassle of not getting an answer. I really don’t know more than what I said. I’m admitting ignorance.”

Frowning, Felix stared at Runner for several seconds before finally nodding his head. If that was really all he knew, than so be it.

“What else do you know then? What other limitations would I be hitting? Any roadblocks I’d need to plan for?” asked Felix. He’d turned the corner from simply wanting to accept to wanting to know everything.

“You can only take three people with you when you go. You really will be starting over for the most part,” warned Runner. “You’ll be able to come back when you’re done, of course. Once you’re in control and at the right time you’ll be able to direct the flow of events. Make it so a portal could be built very quickly.

“Oh, and anyone you bring with you might end up changed. This world is and isn’t similar to your original one.”

“Changed. Changed how?” prompted Felix when Runner leaned backed in the couch and stopped talking.

“Uh… oh, an example then. So if Felicity went with you, she’d be permanently turned into a human, lose all her magical powers, and become quite ordinary.

“Though someone like Miu wouldn’t be as bad off. She’d lose her super powers that weren’t hers at birth, like all those shadow assassin things, but return to how she was when you first met her.

“Or at least, that super power. She’ll still be Miu and… well… insane. Though I won’t deny, I’ve always had a soft spot for the ones that are a bit cracked. You should meet my wife, Minxy.”

Processing what he’d been told Felix really didn’t like what he’d heard.

“Can I get a list of what would happen to everyone I could bring with me?” inquired Felix. “I wouldn’t want to bring someone just to have them irrevocably changed. And it’d be permanent, right?’

“Yeah, it’d be permanent. Any change made to get you all there, couldn’t be undone. Just as you ended up changing when you stepped onto Legion planet, by the way. You just didn’t notice the changes since there were so many points of congruence.

“The world I’m sending you to has a lot less of those. A lot fewer things that it can simply adapt to. It has far more variables that’ll be simply forced on you.

“So yes, Felicity would permanently become a human. Miu would lose her wraith-like powers. You could theoretically change them with your own power once you got back, but… that’d be very expensive to do so. Prohibitively so.

“And before you ask, I don’t get to change what things cost to you. That was assigned by the world and… and the… and the guardian spirit who guides it. I can do many, many things. Act in many ways. But the worlds you’re inhabiting are not… ones I can truly meddle in. Not freely.”

“Could you move me and my people to a world you could actually meddle in?” asked Felix in a sudden fit of curiosity.

Runner’s face clouded up in thought as he considered the question.

“After I kill Zeus, or that man you met made of static, yeah. I could,” admitted Runner. “Could fix anyone you brought with you to the new world as well. Wouldn’t be an issue.

“Assuming… well, assuming we won. If we didn’t, then… there ya go. It’s a war of overgods, I suppose you could say.”

Hm.

It’s a lot to risk.

Would Felicity even be the same after that? Is part of who she is mentally part of her Elven heritage?

“List?” Felix requested for the second time.

“Ah, yeah, sorry, here. There will probably be a few changes that don’t appear on that paper, but they’re minor and hold no consequence to you,” mumbled Runner, making a finger flick motion toward the table. A piece of paper appeared there.

Picking it up, Felix began reading through it quickly.

Reading over the list several times Felix felt like he got the gist of it and set it down. Looking to Runner he couldn’t help but smirk.

“So many Campbells. Seems like Vince is trying to repopulate a city by himself,” he remarked with a shake of his head.

“Your brother is very in touch with his desires,” Runner laughingly said. “I rather like his approach. But yes, he has a much higher… body count… than you do.

“Nothing wrong with that by the way. I keep trying to keep my own down but events conspire against me.

“Now… questions?”

“Dragons, humans, and Beastkin aren’t changed. Not really, at least,” murmured Felix with a gesture of his hand to the paper.

“Yes. Dragons died out with dinosaurs but they existed,” admitted Runner with a shrug. “The Beastkin didn’t actually exist in this world, but there was a reasonable precursor race that had a few very similar genetic offshoots. It’ll work well enough to modify them. Dryads exist but are more on the ‘Nymph’ side of their heritage here. Won’t change much for them.

“As for Elves… there’s never been Elves there. Not a one. Or Dwarves. Honestly, this world is very mundane. Extremely so.

“No magic of any type whatsoever except for some faith abilities. No powereds. No mythical creatures really outside of a few one offs.

“It’s all science. All technology. Big on physics and natural laws. Not so much on the theoretical stuff. I wouldn’t expect to be fielding energy weapons any time soon.

“At least… until after the day of awakening. When supers start to show up.”

“I figured that’s what this… date… was. Something akin to a world altering event that would shift everything.”

“Yup. Awakening. The day people start to develop powers and abilities. Some of them get magic like… ah… magic like powers.”

You were going to say Lily.

Weren’t you?

Runner coughed into his hand, then looked around as if he were trying to figure out something. Apparently he didn’t want to admit he was reading Felix’s mind right now.

“It’s alright. I’m not upset about it at the moment. I can get her back. You said that this would lead to her. Didn’t you?” pressed Felix.

“I did,” confirmed Runner, not meeting Felix’s eyes. “And it will. This will directly lead to getting Kit and Lily back. Ryker… err… Uncle… set it up that way.

“Once the Guardian Trials are activated a bunch of other things will trigger across the planes and worlds. It’d be much more difficult without it going live.”

“Right… so my job is to take over the government of where-ever I end up. I need to do it… by a certain date?” asked Felix and lifting up his hands. He’d ticked off two fingers already.

“Not by the date, no. You’ll probably want to have influence by that point, though. It’d help. As for the Awakening itself, it’s about two years and twenty-two days off. You have some time to work with.”

“Yeah… need to have influence by a certain date. Is there a date I actually need to get this done by?” Felix asked.

“Ah… about six years. Give or take several months. Like I said, this isn’t a sprint. Somewhat of a marathon.”

Felix held up a third finger. Then a fourth before he’d even gotten to the next point.

“Six years is my time frame. I can only take three people. Those I take could be, and would be, irreversibly changed.”

“Yeah, that’s about right. Those are the salient points you’ve got there.”

“No going back and forth, right? Nor can I take anything with me?” asked Felix.

“It’s… yeah. One way trip until completion. I might be able to make some changes on the Awakening day, but it’d be really limited in scope and size. It’d cost me too much to let people go back and forth or send a fourth with you.

“And no, nothing with you. Just your bodies. Even your clothes won’t be going with you. You’ll literally appear without anything.”

Felix stared into the middle space between himself and Runner as he thought on that. He needed to be incredibly picky with who he brought with him.

He needed power. Needed survivors.

Those that had willpower to push through things that would driver weaker people to their knees.

“Eliminate everyone from Vince’s side from the list. I wouldn’t feel right taking one of them,” murmured Felix, still staring into nothing. “Then… get rid of the Elves.”

He really didn’t want to leave Felicity behind. Having her with him would make his life infinitely easier.

Except he wasn’t sure of that. There was no guarantee that the change in race wouldn’t mess with her. On top of losing her magic as well.

Not to mention… I think I’d need her to stay behind here and act as my proxy. I’ll be gone for years and… well… she’s the only one I’d trust.

She can act in my stead and carry out what I’d do. She was already doing a great deal of the heavy lifting for me.

“Done and done,” reported Runner.

“Check off Ioana and Felicia. I couldn’t bear to take one and not the other. Those two are way too happy with one another for me to separate them. I’d feel like a tool-bag.”

“Also done. By the way, I should make one point very clear in this. If you take Andrea, and either Adriana or Myriad, they’ll all be combined. By five same Others, that includes the different iterations of the original Andrea Elex. So if you take an Elex, only take one. It’d be a waste of a slot otherwise and they’d be forcefully combined. Even if they were a Prime.”

With a grunt, Felix shook his head.

He couldn’t deny he’d considered taking all three Primes and all of their Others with him. In a way they were most certainly his ace in the hole.

He could have easily started banking things up and expanding her ability to make more Others.

“Any other last minute points of note?” grumbled Felix.

“Slavery is completely outlawed here. On top of that, with no magic to back up contracts, there’s no way for you to legally own someone there,” Runner offered up helpfully. “You’ll have to earn your points through other means rather than owning people.

“Oh, and I completely forgot one detail. Your power doesn’t reset at midnight. It’s more like a bank account rather than a daily limit. Your daily amounts become deposits to that account if unused.”

Several ideas flipped through Felix’s head as he considered that. He didn’t think it’d be too much of an issue.

“Well… own anyone outside of the three you bring with you. You’d own them, of course. For everyone and everything else you’d have to obey the laws of the land,” finished Runner.

“I’d own… them? Hm,” mused Felix, instantly thinking about the dragons. “Remove Adriana and Myriad. As well as Eva, Edith, Erica, and Jessica as well.”

“Okay. That leaves you with Andrea, Faith, Goldie, Kris, Miu, and Victoria. Not to mention the other Dryads and Dragons in your bodyguard team,” summarized Runner. “And yes, you could take all Dragons with you. Though they can’t really hide their horns or… well… scales. No magic, remember?

“They’d look as they always do in their human version of themselves, in a human only world. You’d have to get up some points to modify them a bit before you could really go into public with them. I like the direction though. Easily can shape change into their Dragon form as they like of course.”

“Fine… fine. Okay. Andrea and Goldie then to start with,” finalized Felix with a nod of his head. With those two at his side he’d have a great deal to work with.

While Andrea could do many things simply because of her others, she also had a great deal of generalized knowledge. After having done so much through so many Others, her ability and experience were incredibly high.

Goldie could be his powerhouse. Kris would likely be far too “dragon like” in her personality.

There was no way he could forget walking in on Goldie happily altering his clothes as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

He also distinctly remembered her taking on modern military weaponry, including tanks and helicopters, and actually coming out the other side mostly intact. Or at least intact enough that she could regenerate the rest.

“Amongst those left then is… Faith, Miu, and Victoria. Not sure what I’d do to be honest.”

Felix could only agree with that sentiment for a few seconds before he realized that wasn’t quite true. Miu and Victoria were mostly interchangeable.

If Miu was being reduced down to her original power set then she’d be on parity with Victoria.

“Faith… or Miu slash Victoria,” murmured Felix.

He knew he’d already have some issues with Goldie as she tended to be somewhat of a walking sex-dream. Doubly so when she decided to get cuddly or warm-hearted with him.

If he added Faith into that mix, he’d have to really work at keeping himself on track. On track and not stuck in a rut.

A rut of rutting Faith and Goldie, that was.

“I mean maybe I’m just the horn dog in the room, but I’d take Faith. She’s lovely. Very lovely. Would definitely help with what magic she has to keep Goldie and Andrea going,” interjected Runner. “Not to mention… well… she’s almost just as good as Miu. Since she’ll be reverted back down to where she originally was with her powers.”

As soon as Runner mentioned Miu being given her original powers, Felix had a stray thought. One he knew would work but he needed to smother it.

He began to think earnestly and hard about Faith. All the things he’d done to her, and what she’d done to him. Over and over in his mind, running it around repeatedly

“Yep, Faith it is,” Felix said aloud with a nod of his head. “No need to send me back. You can just put me, Goldie, Andrea, and Faith on that planet.

“Well, after you make sure they’re willing to go with me. I wouldn’t want to just yank them along without getting their permission. Can ya do that?

“Let’s get started. You can just let Miu and Felicity know what happened and where I’m going.”

All the while, Felix kept thinking about absolutely having his way with Faith and Goldie. Endlessly throwing those thoughts into the open space of his mind.

“I… okay. Right, then. I can do that,” agreed Runner. “I’ll check in with the selected and let the others know. Alright.”

Runner shook his head, then made a shooing type of motion toward Felix.

Then the next instant he was in a open field of grass wearing his very on birthday suit.

At least Goldie, Andrea, and Faith were all nearby, wearing their own birthday suits.