April 2023 - Q&A Session (Part 1) (Patreon)

Hey guys 👋Here's the first part of the Q&A session with the characters. Like in the previous one, Part 1 will focus on the non-ROs characters. I'm still working on the ROs' questions and answers 😁 It'll be coming soon along with the other side stories.

Hope you guys enjoy this one in the meantime as I work on Part 2 🥰 Let me know what you guys think below in the comments or in the patreon channels in Discord!

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LUKA & JACKAL

Luka and Jackal are sitting on the same plush sofa they sat on during the previous interview. Both of them are leaning close to each other as they converse hushedly.

Luka: “I hope there won’t be any… sexual activity-related questions for us again.”

Jackal: “Don’t worry, just leave it to me like last time.” [grins cheekily]

Luka: [coughs quietly, cheeks flushing pink] “Well, just make sure not to divulge too much. Just answer the questions as straightforward as possible.”

Jackal: “Aww, what’s wrong? Are you embarrassed?” [pokes at Luka’s cheek teasingly]

Luka: [sighs] “Of course, I am. Not really fond of people knowing too much about my private life, especially my sex life. Why are they so interested in the first place anyway?”

Jackal: [shrugs] “Maybe they’re just a bunch of horny—”

Suddenly, the door opens and the Interviewer walks in. Immediately, both of them quiet down.

Interviewer: [sits down on an armchair] “Hello again, Mr. Morozov, Mr. Zhang.”

Jackal: [glares at the Interviewer] “Jackal is just fine.”

Interviewer: [raises arms placatingly] “Alright, I’m sorry about that. I meant no offense, Mr. Jackal.”

Jackal: [mutters under his breath] “There’s no need for the Mr, but whatever.”

Luka chuckles quietly in amusement, leaning back and settling his arm behind Jackal’s back.

Interviewer: [shuffles and scans the stack of papers in their hands] “Well, I don’t think there are too many questions for the two of you compared to last time.”

Luka’s sigh of relief can be heard in the quiet room.

Interviewer: “First question, what do you like most about each other?”

Jackal: [jabs his thumb in Luka’s direction] “His money and his family’s protection, duh.”

Luka groans and the Interviewer frowns.

Interviewer: “We all know those are not serious answers. C’mon, the readers wanna know the truth and this is a tamer question too compared to the ones you had to answer.”

Jackal: “The real answers are not as different, anyway, but fine… His handsomeness, his power, his wealth, and his dorkiness at times. What’s more to love?” [shrugs] “Oh, there might be one more thing: his d—”

Luka: “Alright. For me, it’s his cheekiness and his cuteness.”

Interviewer: “Cuteness as in handsome or… adorable?”

Luka: “Both. What are you implying? That he’s not adorable?”

Interviewer: “Uh… I don’t think I see what you see.” [sweats nervously] “But I can understand the charm. Anyway, moving to the next question, which of your partner’s behavior annoys you sometimes, and what makes you think, ‘Well, that was hot’?”

Luka: “Same thing. His cheekiness and attitude can get on my nerves a bit sometimes, and also his stubbornness.”

Jackal: “Hmph, didn’t hear you complaining about my ‘cheekiness and attitude’ last night.”

Luka: “Tyoma!” [flusters]

Jackal: “Anyway, for me, it’s his cheesiness. Yes, can you believe that this tall and intimidating head of the Russian mafia can be this cheesy?”

Luka: “I’m not being cheesy! I was just trying to express my feelings to you genuinely.”

Jackal: “Exactly! Cheesy.” [grin teasingly] “Everyone knows that you express your feelings in bed. Now, that’s hot.”

Interviewer: “Anything else you find hot about Mr. Morozov?”

Jackal: “Oh, yeah. When he acts all business and cold, and when he executes someone.”

Interviewer: [clears throat nervously] “Uh, Mr. Morozov, how about you?”

Luka: “Hmm, whenever he uses his power. I gotta admit it’s sexy.”

Interviewer: “But his power involves blood— You know what, I’m not even going to ask further.”

Jackal: [shrugs] “Your loss.”

Interviewer: “Next question is for Luka. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about raising two kids?”

Luka: “Other than Ash and MC being such adorable little kids, it’s the… merriness of it, I suppose. There were rarely dull moments with those two running around. The compound was livelier. I miss that.” [sighs wistfully]

Interviewer: “How about your least favorite thing about it?”

Luka: [chuckles] “The shenanigans. Those two always knew how to get in various troubles. So, yeah, I don’t really miss the headaches. But, I’m even more worried about them now that they don’t live with me.”

Jackal: “Aww, such a sweet and caring uncle.” [elbows Luka playfully]

Interviewer: “Indeed. Well, I only have one more question for you here, Mr. Morozov.”

Jackal: “Well, well. Look who’s famous, huh.”

Interviewer: “As we all know, you’ve been raising both MC and Ash for a long time. How would you react if Ash were to say that you’re a father figure to them?”

Luka: “Did they… Did they really say that?”

Interviewer: “I’m not really at liberty to say, but let’s say they do say that?”

Luka: [smiles softly] “Well, it’d certainly be… nice. But… I don’t know whether I deserve that… If only I did better, made the right decision… Maybe MC and Ash wouldn’t need me as a father figure…”

Jackal: [takes Luka’s hand in his comfortingly] “Are those all the questions?”

Interviewer: [checks the paper in their hands] “Uh, yeah. That’s all the questions for the two of you. Thank you for coming.”

THOMAS

Thomas sits down on the plush couch, bouncing one of his legs nervously as he steals glances at the door. After a minute of silence, the Interviewer finally steps in.

Interviewer: [walks over to the armchair and sits down] “Sorry for the wait, Mr. Wright. But don’t worry, this won’t take long.”

Thomas: “Am I in trouble?”

Interviewer: “Oh, no, no. You only need to answer a question that got sent here for you. It seems to come from a secret admirer. It says, ‘Thomas, will you marry me?’ and they added a diamond ring emoji at the end.”

Thomas: “Uh, what?”

Interviewer: “The secret admirer asked whether you want to marry—”

Thomas: “I heard you the first time. Sorry, I just needed a bit of time to process what I just heard.”

Interviewer: “Oh, take your time, then. Well, maybe not too long though. There are still a lot of people waiting for their turn.”

Thomas: “Hmm… I’m flattered by the proposition but I’ll have to decline for now. I’m not ready to settle down yet and I still have my career to focus on. Once I’m set enough, then I’ll consider marriage. So… Sorry, whoever you are, my secret admirer.”

An idea suddenly enters the Interviewer’s mind, a mischievous little smirk forming on their face.

Interviewer: “You know… I heard some rumors speculating that MC was the one who sent this question…”

Thomas: [chokes and coughs, before leaning forward in interest] “Really?”

Interviewer: [shrugs] “Well, it’s just a speculation. But would your answer be different if it were MC?”

Thomas: [glances around the room anxiously] “Uh, yeah. I’ll accept. Only with their uncle’s and grandfather’s approval, of course!” [quickly take a peek behind him]

Interviewer: “Immediately? Just like that?”

Thomas: “What do you want me to say? Getting to marry MC is as close to winning the jackpot as one can be. Actually, better than a jackpot, considering their family’s power… Wait, this is all confidential, right? It stays between the two of us?”

Interviewer: “Oh, yeah, yeah. Don’t worry.” [subtly stops the voice recorder app on their phone]

Thomas: [sighs of relief] “That’s good, that’s good. Is that all then?”

Interviewer: “Yup. Thank you so much for coming.”

Thomas: “No worries.”

THE VOICE

The Voice sits gracefully and cooly on the couch, still wearing their mask and voice changer. They’re not ready to reveal their identity yet.

The Interviewer walks in.

Interviewer: “Oh, you must be…” [check the notes in their hand] “The Voice.”

The Voice: “The what…?”

Interviewer: “The Voice. You know, the name that most people know you as.”

The Voice: “Huh, I didn’t know. Is it because of the whole voice distorter thing? Or is it because I’m like the spokesperson for the Nemesis Project?”

Interviewer: “You know what. I’ll be honest, I’ve never thought of the second explanation you gave there. So, I’m going to assume most people also don’t and just call you that simply because the voice distorter is your most distinguishing feature. For now, of course.”

The Voice: [sighs] “I don’t know why I expected a degree of critical thinking from the public, but fair enough. Although, it still makes me sound like one of those singing competition shows they air on TV.” [chuckles]

Interviewer: [cackles] “Sorry, I’m just picturing you actually singing on stage with your whole getup and voice distorter.”

The Voice looks at the Interviewer in amusement—which is not really visible because of the mask.

Interviewer: [laughter dying down] “Ah, sorry, sorry. I should be more professional.” [clearing throat] “The questions for you actually have something to do with your name, so it’s interesting that you kinda brought it up yourself.”

The Voice: “Is that so? What do they want to know? Of course, I can’t reveal too much, I hope you understand.”

Interviewer: “Yup. No worries, just tell us what you’re comfortable letting the whole world know.” [looks down at the paper in their hand] “So, the sender wants to know what your actual Supervillain name is. Is it Nemesis? Or are you just sticking with ‘The Voice’?”

The Voice: “Supervillain?” [scoffs] “I suppose anyone going against the superheroes instantly gets smacked with that label.

Interviewer: “Well, to be fair, what you’ve done so far can be considered terrorism. But, I’m not here to debate philosophy and morality with you.”

The Voice: “As expected, most citizens of Elysium City are so afraid of challenging the status quo—Although a minority is just simply powerless to do so, the majority are just content with their lot in life and just accept the system as it is, no matter how corrupt.” [sighs] “But, as you say, I’m not here to try to convince or recruit you. I gotta be honest, Nemesis does have a nice ring to it. I think it suits me very well.”

Interviewer: “Well, most of the news outlets still call you ‘The Leader of the Nemesis Project’. I think you’ll get the ‘Nemesis’ moniker soon enough.”

The Voice: “At the end of the day, I don’t really care what they call me. I have so many other more important things to concern myself with. So, if you want to call me ‘The Voice’ or ‘Nemesis’ or some other name you have in mind, I couldn't care less.”

Interviewer: “A person of focus and dedication, are you? Well, thank you for the… enlightening talk and for your time.”

The Voice nods quietly.

GRANDPA

Grandpa sits on the armchair comfortably, elbows resting on the handrest and hands steepled. Claude, his trusted and loyal valet, stands at the ready behind the armchair.

The Interviewer steps into the room, stopping for a sec as they notice that their usual seat is taken.

Interviewer: “Excuse me, but that’s my… Never mind, it’s okay.”

The Interviewer sighs as they walk over to the couch and plop down.

Grandpa: “You have questions for me. Speak. And make it quick.”

Interviewer: [gulps before quickly shuffling through the papers in their hands] “Uh, yes, sir! First question is: what’s your favorite thing to do with your grandchild?”

Grandpa: [face softens considerably] “One of our favorite things to do was storytime. They would either sit on my lap or sit on the carpet with Ash and listen to stories I read them or told them. Ah, but that was years ago, back when they were still a little kid. Now that they are practically an adult, I doubt storytime will be happening again.” [chuckles wistfully] “But, I cherish the memory and I enjoyed it while it lasted.”

Interviewer: “That’s actually so wholesome. You can still do storytime with MC, you know. But instead of reading or telling them stories from a book or myths, you can tell them real life stories instead, experiences, maybe reminisce on the past?”

Grandpa: “Hmm…. I have talked about my experiences with them before. After all, they might be useful when they decide to step up as the new head. But reminiscing… I haven’t done a lot of that with them. I don’t want to accidentally… reopen old wounds.”

Interviewer: “That is a valid concern, but if I were MC, I’d love to occasionally hear stories about my father, especially in his youth. It feels like I’m getting to know him more. But of course, MC might feel differently about it… So, yeah, take it with a grain of salt.”

Grandpa: “Thank you for the word of advice. I’ll consider it. Now, what’s the next question?”

Interviewer: “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Lemme see… It simply says, ‘How often did you ZOOM with MC?’”

Grandpa: “ZOOM? What is that?”

Claude leans down and whispers something in his ear.

Grandpa: “Ah, it’s the… video call thing where you see each other’s faces. Pretty often, actually.”

Interviewer: “How often, if you don’t mind.”

Grandpa: “Well, I don’t really keep a track. Do you, Claude?”

Claude: [nods, pushing his glasses up] “Yes, sir. Around 1 time per month at the very least. Usually 2, but there were times when there were more.”

Grandpa: “Well, there’s your answer. Anything else?”

Interviewer: [turns the page] “Uh, nope. That’s all. Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Morozov.”

Grandpa only grunts in response as he stands up from the armchair, Claude quietly trailing after him.

VIKTOR

Viktor plops down on the plush couch, leaning back and rhythmically drums his fingers on his knee, eyes glancing around the room leisurely.

The door opens and he turns his head to see the Interviewer stepping in and walking towards the armchair in front of him.

Viktor: “Soo, how bad is it this time?”

Interviewer: [takes a seat] “What do you mean?”

Viktor: “You know, the questions.”

Interviewer: “Oh!” [quickly scans the papers in their hands] “You actually only have one this time.”

Viktor: [perks up] “Really? That’s good, that’s good.”

Interviewer: [cringes a bit] “But the bad news is… It’s kind of a hard-hitting question, if I may say so myself.”

Viktor: [deflates immediately, groaning] “Urgh, I have to, do I? Fine, bring it on.”

Interviewer: [clears throat] “Alright, so the question is: why didn’t you just copy MC’s powers during the last fight?”

Viktor’s face scrunches and he turns to stare out of the window instead.

Viktor: [sighs] “There are more little intricacies to my power. When I copy someone’s power, there will be minutes when not only their powers will be disabled, but both I and them would be weakened as well.”

Interviewer: “Ah, so your ability has some power-nullifying property. That is interesting.”

Viktor: “Only temporary though, as my body adjusts to the power I just copied. But that’s not really the main reason why I didn’t try copying MC’s powers. It’s more of the other side effect for both them and me. They just used their power over the limit for the very first time in their life and it rendered them so weak, they couldn’t even stand on their feet. I didn’t want to risk weakening them even more. Who knows what might happen to them? Plus, I’ve never tried copying a young kid’s power before.”

Interviewer: “Oh… That makes sense. Have you ever thought how different things would turn out if you just took the risk?”

Viktor: “...Yes. But still, if I were there again, I probably wouldn’t even try it if there’s a chance that MC can get seriously hurt.”

Interviewer: “Understandable. Well, I probably shouldn’t keep you here any longer though, especially after such a downer discussion like this.”

Viktor: [gives a tight-lipped smile] “Thanks, appreciate it.”

Viktor gets up in one swift motion and quickly makes his way to the door.

YVETTE

Yvette fidgets a bit as she sits on the plush couch. Reaching into her handbag, she pulls out a compact, checking her makeup on the mirror and making sure they are still perfect. She jolts a bit as the door clicks open and the Interviewer walks in.

Yvette: [putting the compact back in her bag] “Oh, are you the interviewer? Where are the others?”

Interviewer: [sits down on the armchair] “What others?”

Yvette: “Well, you know, the camera and production crew and stuff, silly.” [giggles lightly]

Interviewer: “Oh! This is not really a professional interview like that.”

Yvette: [frowns slightly] “So, it’s just you and me?”

Interviewer: “Yup.” [checks the papers in their hands] “Don’t worry though, there are only a couple of questions for you, so it shouldn’t take too long.”

Yvette: [sighs as she leans back] “Fine. Lay them out then.”

Interviewer: “First one: If you had the opportunity to change the past, what would you change?”

Yvette is silent for a minute or so as she contemplates somberly, crossing her arms in front of her as if giving herself a comforting hug.

Yvette: “For one, I’d definitely not do the thing I did to MC and Viktor back in the comic book store. And maybe, I would’ve tried to keep in contact with both Viktor and MC instead of cutting them both off after MC’s birth…” [trails off]

Interviewer: “And…? Anything else?”

Yvette: [sighs] “I would probably give more thought to Viktor’s offer of settling down and creating a family with him and MC.”

Interviewer: “You’ll seriously choose them over your life of fame, right now?”

Yvette: [fidgets] “Well, I said I’d give more thought, not that I’d accept it right away. But having seen what this life of fame has led me to so far, I’d seriously consider the offer. I know it might seem impossible for me, but I like to think that I get a bit wiser as I get older.”

Interviewer: [nods slowly] “People can change and all that stuff. I won’t ask you to explain what made you rethink your choice in life, so I’ll just move on to the next and last question. If you could tell Viktor one thing right now, what would it be?”

Yvette: “I—I miss you and I’m sorry. You made great points that I should’ve considered and thought about more years ago.”

Yvette’s brown eyes start to tear up and she reaches into the bag once again to grab a pastel pink handkerchief and dab it below her eyes carefully so as not to smudge all the makeup.

Interviewer: “I’m sorry for the sensitive questions, and thank you for answering them anyway. Uh, I have no more questions for you, so feel free to leave… or stay here for a few minutes if you want to.”

Yvette: “Thank you. I think I’ll stay here for a bit if you don’t mind.”

Interviewer: “Of course. I’ll give you some privacy.”

The Interviewer gets up and walks over to the door, opening it and closing it behind them as quietly as possible.