Super Sales on Super Heroes 5 -ch5- (Patreon)

Chapter 5 - Sideways -

Sitting down at the table, Felix felt drained.

Pulling the Legate’s helmet off he set it down in front of himself.

He immediately felt cool air rushing over his face and hair. He suddenly very much wanted to somehow put in something that might cool the interior of the helmet down.

Staring into the void, Felix just let his mind wander. Seeing nothing, hearing nothing, and letting his mind unwind from the knot it was in.

“I’ve prepared all the contract work that will be needed for tomorrow, Legate,” Tribune offered from the polycom in the center of the table.

“Oh,” Felix muttered then blinked several times. He shook his head and looked to the phone. “Thanks, Tribune. Anything I need to be aware of?”

“No, Legate. Everything fell within parameters,” reported the VI.

Felix made a short nod to that and began to look through the table.

He was so focused on nothing that he didn’t realize Faith was there until she was next to him, bent over, and looking into his face.

Her helmet was on the desk next to his own.

Already knowing what was about to happen, Felix turned to face her directly. She’d just move him to where she could access him better anyways.

In doing so he realized Alma and Carlotta were there as well. All three Dryads were looking at him critically. They were dressed in their Legionnaire armor but had removed their helmets as well.

Peering into his upturned face Faith was critically inspecting him. Her hands came up and she gently cupped his face in them.

Her fingers were slightly cool and dry. Like earth just beneath the surface.

Gently, carefully, she moved his head to one side, then to the other. Looking at his eyes from different angles.

Her fingers began to gently push and prod at his neck and just beneath his jaw. Messaging lightly at his skin and just beneath.

“He feels worn. Maybe the back and forth driving has gotten to him,” Faith murmured quietly. “We’ve spent a lot of time on the road lately going from Kansas to Alassippi and back again.”

“Very possible,” Alma allowed. “We divide up driving duties but we all spend more time behind the wheel than we’re used to.

“That and… well… he’s human. An amazing human that’s unlike any I’ve ever met before but… still a human.”

“A fair point,” Felix agreed. While he could do a lot, could change many things, he was still ultimately a human.

“Maybe,” Carlotta murmured as Faith gently peeled down his eyelids.

“Look up, dear?” asked Faith.

Felix looked up and found himself watching Alma.

She smiled at him and tilted her head to one side.

Faith leaned in and kissed him next, her tongue moving into his mouth for a moment, brushing over his own. Then she drew back.

Alma and Carlotta moved in and kissed him next.

“Imbalance in his diet,” Faith concluded. “A bit too much sugar right now.”

“Yes. More protein, less carbohydrates are needed,” suggested Alma, looking to Carlotta. “You tasted him last night. Was he off?”

“A little, not this bad though,” offered Carlotta. “Must be whatever he had this morning. It’s fine. Easy to fix.”

All three Dryads nodded.

“Alma, go get what you can from the fridges in the break room. I put all the left-overs in there,” ordered Faith. “Carlotta, can you go grab a number of water bottles. We’ll increase his fluid intake and that’ll help him flush everything.”

The two Dryads left quickly, leaving Felix alone with Faith.

“How’d we do today?” Felix asked her.

“Very well,” Faith answered with a smile. “We were able to identify everyone who would be an issue in one way or another. Given our recent… empowerment from Aunt Gaia we Dryads have been able to pick up on a bit more than we used to.

“I sorted them out further by ‘personality issue’, ‘foreign spy’, and ‘domestic spy’. They sent quite a few people from the government. Several from an agency called the CIA and others from the FBI.

“They were perfect for the positions they applied for, of course. Their resumes were also perfect. Everything about them was perfect. They even sent a young woman from each who was more than attractive enough to catch a man’s eye.

“They both applied for the secretary position. I of course started the process to hire all of the domestic spies. Only a few of the foreign ones and those were all the ones you said you wanted here.

“None of the personality issues though of course. Spies we can work with. They’ll do their best even. Nobody wants a bad attitude though.”

Felix laughed at that and felt better for asking her. This was precisely what he’d wanted to hear.

“Knew I could trust it to you, Faith Campbell. Grove-mistress,” Felix observed, looking up into the Dryad’s pretty face.

She smiled at him and wrinkled her nose a bit. There was a very faint glow starting in her eyes.

“Did you?” she asked.

“I did. I realized as much as I wanted you with me, it would be better having you handle the other group. There was just too much to do for just myself,” he admitted then he sighed. “I’ll also need to talk to my dear therapist at some point. Met this world’s version of my mom. Kit and Lily from this world will be arriving with the next group, as well.”

“I know. I already booked some time in your calendar to talk about it tonight, and then again in two days,” Faith laid out. At the same time she’s started to lightly run her fingers through his hair. Her fingertips grazing along his scalp. “We’ll be fine, dear. Just a matter of helping you to get the words and emotions out. Nothing wrong with it and you’ll be better for it.”

“Thanks. Tribune, how many listening devices got slipped into the interview rooms and lobby?” asked Felix.

“Twenty-six in the lobby, nineteen in the interviewing room that Dryad Faith was in, eight in the room you were in, Sir,” reported Tribune. “They were all disabled upon deployment.

“At some point they should be retrieved to determine the ownership of them. That would help understand who is actively interested at the moment.”

“Great, we’ll just need to make sure we don’t get rid of them all, actually. We’ll break all of the ones we don’t want listening it, only a few of those we want to, and leave the real impressively hidden ones,” Felix summed up. “The more they can see and hear, the less paranoia they’ll feel about the whole thing.

“We have to let them see some of it, so that they at least feel assured they can keep an eye on it in a way.”

“I do find this direction to be strange, Felix,” Faith confessed. “If we’re going to take over everything so our rules dictate what happens, that’d be a lot harder from a neutral position. One that’s behind the scenes.

“Won’t it? I’m not really that great with human politics let alone human politics in such an advanced world.”

“It’ll certainly be harder to dictate which way the world goes without being directly in control, sure. But It’ll be safer for us all as well,” answered Felix. “We just need to make sure we’ve got our hands on the steering wheel at all times. Guiding us along the track we want.

“When we reach the destination we want, it won’t even matter anymore. Even if they wanted to change the course it’d be far too late for them to do anything effectively.”

Faith clicked her tongue, sighed, and then shrugged her shoulders.

“Alright, Felix. Alright,” she said, clearly not quite believing him or his words.

“Sir, you’ve just received a message from Dragon Goldie on Legionnaire’s call,” Tribune interrupted him. “Your phone is currently inside your armor and you won’t be able to access it easily. Shall I relay the message to you, Legate?”

“I… yes, please, Tribune,” asked Felix.

“I’m sorry to ask for help like this, but I need you,” said Goldie from the polycom. It felt a bit robotic but Felix was surprised Tribune could copy her so well. “I’m afraid the situation with the dealers and suppliers are getting out of hand.

“I’ve been forced to step in to the situation more than I wished because there’s a turf-war of sorts that’s starting to get out of hand. I think a super is involved but I can’t confirm that.

“What I can confirm, is that I do need help. I can’t do this on my own and would really appreciate your guidance.”

There was a pop after that followed by nothing.

“How would you like to respond, Legate?” asked Tribune.

Thinking on the situation, Felix didn’t have an immediate answer.

If there really was a war starting up, it meant there was a major player moving in, or a power vacuum across the board. In either situation he’d likely have to change his plans accordingly.

“Tell her to come pick me up,” Felix said after a minute of consideration. “Effective immediately, Faith is the acting Legate in my place while I take care of this issue.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Tribune.

Faith blinked several times while staring at him. It was obvious she really didn’t know what to say to the sudden change in her rank.

“It’ll be fine. Just keep following the plan we laid out,” Felix said, patting her on the stomach. “Realistically you shouldn’t need to change anything. This was a massive build-up phase anyways. If you need anything just reach out and let me know.”

“Dragon Goldie has responded. She has stated that she is ‘on her way’, Sir,” Tribune informed him.

“Great. There we go then. Any questions or concerns?” Felix asked, watching Faith.

“I don’t want you to go,” she mumbled, her face turning into a pout.

Every now and then Faith slipped into a spoiled princess’ role. It was typically when she was disappointed or upset and needed him to fix it.

“Well, how about I help you get back to a good mood before I go?” offered Felix.

Faith rapidly nodded her head to that, though she was still pouting.

***

Goldie landed in the dead of night on the top of the association building.

The giant Golden, sparkling, and gold-chain wearing Dragon was an impressive sight to behold. Her bridal gold clattering and clinking as she settled down carefully on the roof.

Her golden eyes swung toward him and Felix simply hopped up on top of her. He’d leave his Legate armor in the Association for now. He didn’t want to be spotted getting onto Goldie, or on Goldie, while in the armor.

Right now she was registered as a Super Villain and terrorist.

“Oh my, thank you Nest-mate. I’m so glad that you think so highly of me,” purred the mind-reading Dragon.

Clambering up on top of the Dragon Felix got as comfortable as he could.

“What can I say, not everyone gets to ride a sexy and amazing Dragon,” Felix said. “No reason to try and hide how I feel about that from said sexy and amazing Dragon.”

Goldie laughed at that and then jumped into the air. Her wings began to beat and they ascended up into the sky.

“What’s the run down? I feel like you left a lot out. Especially if we’re going to have to figure this out,” Felix asked, holding as tightly to the Dragon as he could.

“I honestly didn’t. There isn’t much to say. I didn’t want to get too deeply involved as that isn’t our place as the supplier,” Goldie answered quickly. “It’s a massive war between the dealers and gangs to try and sort out who’s in control and how.

“There’s been a lot of deaths and it feels like it’s getting even worse. Spreading further and further. I heard some things on the news while I was out and about one day.”

“Really? Huh. I haven’t paid as much attention to it as I probably should have. What else do I need to know?” he asked instead.

“That’s really it. The remains of Zachary and David’s groups were merged together and they’re holding their own,” said Goldie. “They haven’t really lost any ground but they’re having to fight a lot more than they were.

“We’ll make less money of course simply because of that. What do you think we should do?”

Felix forced his mind away from the fact he’d missed Goldie and tried to get it working on the situation at hand.

To not think about the fact that he missed her smile, her voice, and just being around her. The way she would nuzzle and tenderly nip at him in a strange way after bed-play.

Instead he brought his brain around to the work they’d need to do, rather than Goldie.

He really didn’t want to get involved in this whole situation if he was going for the core issue here.

He also needed to force it to bend in the way he wanted it to though as he needed the income. There was no legitimate way to raise as much money as he’d had with drugs, than without.

Well, maybe this is a good opportunity to get the League of Villains started. This can become the backbone for it if I just push hard enough on it.

Force it to all become one organization all bound beneath the League.

Then give it to someone else and let them run with it and become the lightning rod. We can step into the background and just handle supply again. That’s all I really want to do.

Dealing with drug dealers is already bad enough but at least we’re changing it to a degree. Making it more commercial.

With regulation comes safety and we can at least start wrangling it. Pulling it somewhere more manageable.

You can’t stop people a lot of the time when it comes to vices, but you can at least redirect and contain it.

“Oh, that’s all very good ideas. I like it,” Goldie said with a laugh. “I really am quite flattered by the way, Felix. My nest-mate. My love.

“I know you said you missed me, I believed you, but I had no idea it was that bad. That you wanted to call me back to you if only to hold me. You’re such a romantic in the end.”

Felix rolled his eyes and tried to be as good natured as he could about it.

After losing Kit and Lily he’d promised himself he wouldn’t hide his feelings anymore. To bury them and pretend they didn’t exist.

“Yeah, well, I love you. I missed you. My big beautiful Golden One,” grumbled Felix. “Now, where are we going?”

“Home, first,” Goldie declared with a edge to her tone. “I’m going to capitalize on your feelings for me right now. Then we’re going to go to the landfill and clear it out.

“The people Edmund connected you with to operate it have been doing their job well enough so it’s time to harvest it. We’ll need the points.”

“Oh? What am I altering?” Felix asked.

“Found a Dragon bone,” Goldie admitted, her tone becoming quite serious. “One of Gaia’s people brought it to me. They formally gave it to me and I’m formally giving it to you.

“That means you can probably bring it back to life, right? You can’t own Alma and Carlotta, they’re people. Citizens. The Dragon never was part of a government. It’s bones are a lot like finding a tin-can on the ground.”

“A Dragon,” Felix whispered in surprise.

That’d help clean up the gang-war. They could become the contact to the League of Villain’s as well. Since I’d own them, that’d be a point increase and prevent them from betraying me.

Though… I’ll need to make sure they have the opportunity to decline it.

“Aunt Gaia? I’m sure you’re aware of my plans,” Felix called out as they flew onward.

“I am indeed Felix Otherworlder,” agreed Gaia.

“The bone you gave indirectly to me, you knew what I’d do?” he pushed.

“Of course. I’m well aware of what you’re going to do with it,” Gaia agreed once again.

“Will the Dragon be angry about it?” Felix asked. “Do they have a say so in this? I wouldn’t want to drag them back from death just to have to deal with an angry and unhappy Dragon.”

“She’ll be quite fine and is more than willing to go ahead with this,” answered Gaia. “Though you’ll have to help her acclimate to the world. She isn’t quite… up to speed.”

“Well, I’ll just plunk her down in front of a TV and tie her in to a line with Tribune. She can ask questions of her until she’s ready to go. This’ll work though,” Felix remarked in an off hand way. “Will she mind being used as an enforcer?

“I’ll need someone to keep the League of Villains in line. Someone to crack heads and generally be… not so kind.”

“Also not an issue and if anything that’ll work well for her,” Gaia replied. “She’s a Void Dragon. A Dragon without color. They’re a blend of all the colors and can be… quite… unstable until they mature.”

“Ah… teenager Dragon of some sort. Great,” lamented Felix. “Fine. This’ll work and it’s fortuitous. Yeah, fortuitous. This isn’t a mistake. It’s a good thing. A good thing that’ll work out well for us and… and… it’ll be fine. Fine.”

“A Void Dragon,” mused Goldie. “I’ve never met one. They were around briefly in my time but they didn’t last long. They didn’t have a Primordial to watch over them and they were hunted.

“Mostly by Reds who didn’t want another source of competition. They really are the wild ones amongst Dragons. It’s almost a shame their Maidens can be so lovely to look at, yet their personalities so terrible.”

“Not everyone can be a gorgeous golden goddess, my lovely one,” Felix remarked. “By the way, I think we should start adding a gold ring to your bridal gold for every Dragon Maiden you put into your Wing. Thoughts?”

“Yes,” she said without another word. It was a word that was more like a steel trap slamming shut. There would be no escaping from that expectation in the future.

Though she did begin to loudly pur as they flew on through the clouds and the dark night.