Digression.
- As if you need my permission," Petra snorted, and then asked a question. - What are you doing here?
- My girls noticed you bored on the roof, so I thought I'd keep you company," Pluto replied with his hands and sat down next to the girl.
- ...
- What, nothing to say?
- Are you up to something again?
- Come on! How can I? - The man asked grudgingly. - I just wanted to chat and see what decision you've made.
- I don't have an answer yet.
- Good, then let's just talk. How are you doing?
- Like soot," Petra said grimly.
- Why is that, hmm? - Pluto inquired sympathetically, tilting his head sideways.- I've had to rethink a lot of things after what I've seen.
- It's good," the man said with satisfaction, looking at the setting sun.
- What's good?
- The fact that you've finally seen the truth and let go of your illusions. It's good to be a hero, but I think it's better to do what you have to do. And that often requires getting your hands dirty. Okay, so that's why you're sitting there sour?
- How did you figure that out?
- First of all, no more of your stupid jokes.
- Hey!
- And secondly, I can see it in your face," Pluto finished merrily, playing with his cane.
- Ha-ha, how funny. And this man (by the way, man or what?) is talking about my idiotic jokes.
- What's wrong with my jokes? - with a look of offended innocence asked the interlocutor. - I laugh at them, so they are good.
- What conceit...
- And as for race, I'm mostly human. Is this answer satisfactory?
- It only raises more questions, - Parker said and was silent for a couple of minutes, collecting her thoughts. She didn't want to talk about her worries, but she had already realised that Pluto would get his way and get the information he was interested in. - I've seen a lot of things in the last few days. Even things I never thought I'd see. And now I don't know what to do.
- It's normal," she assured him in a calm tone, no longer playing the role of a jolly man. - The main thing after the collapse of reality, to create a new one. And I'm ready to offer it to you.
- Are you recruiting for the Dark Side? Do you have any biscuits? - Parker asked snidely, trying to hide her emotions. Only by the man's cheerful snicker, she realised she had failed. Again he read her mind! Definitely need to find a remedy for telepaths!
- I'm not a mind reader.
- Pfft!
- And yes, this is recruitment. By the way, I have biscuits too. Ahalay-mahalay, - said Pluto and on his palm, right out of the air appeared a chocolate biscuit. - Here you go.
The girl looked suspiciously at the confection. The spider sense was silent. Yes, and he could have killed Petra without such tricks. The heroine was able to realise this in the intervening time.
- What's stopping you? Take it, it's not poisoned.
And setting an example, Pluto took one round and began to munch it with gusto, closing his eyes with pleasure. Giving up, Parker lifted the bottom of her mask and tasted the deliciousness.
- Mmm!
- Tasty? - Opening one eye, the man asked.
- Yes!
- You bet! They have the best seasoning, after all, - said Pluto authoritatively, taking a second cookie.
- And what is it? - the girl asked with interest. It would be useful to learn how to make such biscuits.
- I won't tell you that. You're still a little girl. When you grow up, you'll understand.
- Pfft, I'm an adult.
- Whatever you say. So what about joining the Dark Side of the Force? You already tried the biscuits.
- I don't want to join the ranks of criminals.
- Not even to stop those crimes? - Pluto asked in an ingratiating tone.
- Is it possible to stop people from committing crimes?
- Yes. But that's not a conversation for the street.
The girl was silent for a long time before she finally made up her mind.
- All right. Let's talk off the street.
- Great! - Pluto said contentedly and, jumping to his feet, held out his hand to Petra. - Grab the precious diamond of my heart. I'll be there in no time!
- Interesting compliments you have ...
The heroine listened to her Sense again, but other than some potential danger that always appeared in this man's presence, there was nothing. Standing up, she gingerly took hold of his hand.
- And so, first things first, we need to blow. If you don't blow, no miracle will happen," the man said authoritatively, shaking his cane.
- Blow the joint?
- I'm all for a healthy lifestyle," Pluto admitted and took a big breath of air. - Poof! Bang-tibidoh!
The next second, they were in a nightclub.
- Whoa! Boss, are you with a guest tonight? - came a pleasant, chesty voice from behind. Turning around, Parker spotted a tall woman who seemed to be named Natalie.
- Yep. Would you please ask Gaby to make a couple of cocktails? Something non-alcoholic for our honoured guest.
- Okey!
- Let's go Weaver," Pluto called out to her, waving his hand. - I don't think it would be good for you to be seen by visitors.
The girl had no choice but to follow the man. Leading him, into a dark-coloured VIP room. There was a table in the middle, and a comfortable even looking couch around it.
- Wow, this place is expensive.
- Of course it is! Yesterday's Promise has the best! - he said proudly, sitting down on the sofa. Petra sat down opposite him.
- Boss, I brought it! - Cortez said cheerfully, entering the room with a tray full of drinks and various snacks. She was followed by Abi and Natalie, who were also seated.
- You've made a lot of food fast," Pluto said as he put a salmon canapé in his mouth. - Hmm, not bad.
- Thank you," Gabrielle said, sitting down next to the heroine. - But I had prepared this earlier. And for good reason, as it turned out.
- Right. All right, let's get started, Spider-Girl.
- Let's do it. What's your plan?
- Do I look like I have a plan? - With a raised left eyebrow, a smirking Pluto asked.
- Yeah," Petra replied.
- Exactly," Abi echoed her, taking a bite of one of the appetisers.
- Definitely! - Nata shouted.
- I think so too," said Cortez, embarrassed.
- Ugh! - the man said with a playful indignation. - You've ruined such a reference! And you, as my employees, are supposed to support your boss in everything you do!
- I'm sorry," all three subordinates of Yesterday's Promise said penitently.
- Okay, forget it. I don't understand why you're sitting here.
- It's interesting," Natalie answered for all of them. - Can we sit with you? We'll give you moral support, so to speak.
- Who's interested? But okay. Yes, I do have a plan. Well, not just me, but the organisation I belong to.
- What is it? - Parker hurried him up.
- There is a certain kind of energy, - began to explain Pluto leaned closer to her. - It's called Light. The essence of this energy is that with its help it is possible to transfer all people to a new level of development. It will give mankind a chance to defend itself against all sorts of alien invaders. But that's not the point. The Light is also able to elevate people spiritually and "put their brains in place". Simply put, to achieve the paradigm of live and let live.
- It sounds too fantastic," Petra said.
- Perhaps, but the Light exists," said the man and a clot of glowing something appeared on his hand. At that moment, the heroine's senses froze, as if not knowing how to react to this substance. At the same time, the girl herself felt a pleasant warmth and power contained within this thing. - What do you think?
- I don't even know what to say," Parker said in a hoarse voice, suppressing the urge to touch the Light.
- If you give it to each person and talk to him heart-to-heart, you can achieve the impossible. That's what the Light is for. And I am ready to give it to you. As they say - it is better to see once than to hear a hundred times. Well, is it interesting?
- Come on, - said the girl, without feeling any danger.
Pluto stood up and pressed a clot of Light into Petra's chest under the anticipatory glances of his subordinates. The next moment she felt as if a metaphorical mountain had been lifted from her shoulders. All worries, resentments, fears, and so on were eased, allowing her to breathe fully.
- How was it? Is it cool?
- Y-yeah.
- And that's just a small part of it. When the Plan is complete, all humans will receive so much Light to finally banish all the rot and filth from themselves.
- Then how do your actions fit with these words? Why do you, with such a purpose, kill people? - Petra asked, trying to catch the inconsistencies.
- The forest is chopped down, the chips fly," Pluto answered calmly, shrugging his shoulders. - You see, not everyone is going to like the actions of our organisation, so we have to get our hands dirty. And if it were some good people, then I would accept the complaint. They're not. Believe me, these are the kind of people who have no place to brand, so I don't see any problem. And I'm not doing all this for high ideals, I'm doing it for the future of my family. I don't want to live on a planet where a superpowered psycho could appear at any moment. I'm sorry! There already is!
- Who is it?
- The Sentinel," the man said with pleasure as he surveyed the crowd.
- But the Sentinel is a hero! The strongest of them all! - Petra was outraged.
- Yes. And at the same time the strongest psycho. Sentinel was once a drug addict. Then she was given a serum that gave her superpowers. As a result, her ability to control reality gave birth to a second personality, the Darkness. And now that darkness is destroying everything Sentinel holds dear. Now, imagine what someone who plays with reality like plasticine with a specific problem in their head is capable of? And for that matter, the Dark One isn't the only one. There are many more monsters like her. That's why I don't want those guys around.
- That's just your words," Petra said stubbornly, not wanting to believe such a thing. But something inside the girl spoke about even a tiny, but not zero probability of such a thing. And that made it scary.
- Mm-hmm. You don't want to believe it. But the point is, even without them, anything can happen to our loved ones. And there's enough common thugs on the streets. That's to say nothing of the conflicts of states that are going on right now in Latin America, for example. Don't you want to live in a world where they're not threatened? - In the tone of a tempter's serpent, the man asked.
- ...
- And by the way, I have a question. If something happens to your family, will you drop your mantra about a fair trial? You'd get revenge, right? And don't lie.
- ...I will," she admitted quietly, her head down. She had, for the first time, answered that question for herself as well. After receiving the Light, it was easier to admit such a thing.
- Which was what it took to prove. But don't worry, no one is blaming you. We're the same way. Right, girls?
- We are.
- Mm-hmm.
- Sort of.
- There! - said Pluto with satisfaction, saluting his cocktail glass. - That's what I'm talking about! But you gotta admit, Spider-Girl. It's better not to take revenge, but to live in a world where such a thing won't be necessary. And we can achieve a similar result. Now, answer the question, first of all, to yourself. Do you want to just fly around the city, getting the empty admiration of people or do something really useful for the Earth and your family?
- I'm not doing this for the admiration of people.
- And for what? - Pluto interrupted her, leaning back on the back of the sofa and looking at the girl carefully. - I've been watching you, and I've made a certain psychological profile of you. To simplify it, you were probably a battered schoolboy and now you try to compensate for it by recognising people. You're not interested in anything else. A bunch of the time you just fly around the city and save a few people a day, even though there are a lot more attacks like this all over the city. It doesn't make any sense until people change, you know? You could use your skills to help all the people of the planet. Somehow you created these web shooters and the web itself. So you've got brains. But no, dicking around has become like a drug to you. Except one day you lose, and your enemies find out about your loved ones, and then something bad happens.
- Я...
She tried to object, but she couldn't. The bloke was right. In recent days, Petra had to rethink a lot of things and recognise what the heroine had not even thought about before. The man was silent, tasting the appetisers, giving the girl a chance to decide.
- ...What would I do if I agreed to join you?
- Pretty much the same thing. Except that the organisation will develop a more effective way of helping people, if that's what you like. And when the time comes, you'll be on our side. And of course, we'll protect your family. I won't even talk about a formal job.
And Parker agreed. Pluto's words had an unusual conviction. Perhaps because he himself believed in what he said. Even the Light he had received strengthened his faith.
As soon as the girl said "yes", the man created something like a parchment with a glowing text from the air and called it a Contract. It spelled out the responsibilities of both parties. As Pluto himself explained, they would now have to fulfil their part of the contract under penalty of punishment. Having carefully read the text itself, Petra found nothing criminal, except the inability to tell anyone about the organisation's affairs and obeying orders.
- Don't worry, the Contract is a mutual thing. I, for one, as the Head, am obliged to stick to the Plan for the elevation of the people. If we don't, we'll get all kinds of penalties, up to and including the loss of all powers and death," Pluto explained. - And no one will order you to kill people. Rather, you will be our trump card.
The spider sense was silent, and the girl, having gone over all that had been said in her mind, signed the contract.
End of retreat.
- Well done, darling! - I said, looking at the Spiderwoman. - Now here's what you should do next. First, finish school, go to university and get a job with Kyle Smith.
- W-what? W-just like that? - asked the heroine with a phonation of fear.
- Come on, what are you so worried about? We're kind of already on the same page, Petrusha. And yes Smith works for our organisation. It's called Refraction, by the way. Don't be so shaken up, - advised the Weaver, who didn't know what to do.
- 'So you've been at it from the start...
- Yeah. And don't worry, even if you refused, I wouldn't harm your family in any way. It's not like I'm some crazy person. I'd just erase the memory of our conversation and that's it," he said cheerfully, saluting her with a cheese stick. - Hey, Gaby, that's a good one. Do it again sometime, okay?
- Okay, boss.
- You try it too, sweetheart," Parker said to the hovering woman. - It's good stuff.
She sighed heavily, took off her mask and began to eat, drinking her cocktail. The ladies stared at her intently, and Nat called her cute, causing embarrassment. I can only agree with that statement.
And a little later, when Petra had already calmed down, I quickly told her what was going on. I also promised to provide some blueprints with the simplest of our technologies, to increase the effectiveness of heroics.
When all matters were resolved and the girl departed for home, I began to sip my drink with pleasure. Recruiting a heroine to my side wasn't easy, but it was pretty cool. Now I should think about the next "victim", hehehehehe!
Attention! The rank of the title Rising in the Shadows has been raised!
This is most likely due to the importance of recruiting Spiderwoman. Hmm, it's definitely worth it.
- Abi, give me my twenty," a satisfied Nat demanded from my right hand. - I was right and Spiderwoman agreed.
- Here you go," the woman said and handed over her bet.
- By the way, darlings, what have we got on the Profaci case? - I asked them, distracted from the feeling of triumph.
- We've already found some interesting information that can be leaked to Jessica to bite them a little bit from the law, - Abi reported. - We'll also kill one of the trusted gangsters who was on the case. And just to be sure, we'll carve a rabbit sign into his forehead.
- All right. (chuckles)Whoever needs to know already knows the PMC is working for Spectrum, so the message will be clear. If Profaci gets bottled up, I'll just make a Distortion out of his men and turn the monster on the former boss.
Well, I'm done here, so I can get on with other things. Namely, creating a special sarcophagus for Benjamin. Its purpose will be to enhance his friend's abilities and mitigate the backlash. Something tells me that such a thing will be needed soon...
It was a bit of a hassle, but it wasn't too much of a problem. Now we have to wait for the end of the build. In the meantime, I'll create books for the guys.
- "Yohi, let's create the Purple Tear and Black Silence books. Do I have enough Light for that? I also want to strengthen them further due to dangerous enemies."
- The amount you have in your soul is not enough," the AI replied instantly. - You need to add three more units.
One unit equals one ampoule. Well, I'll do it if I have to. I teleported three vials of Light from the warehouse, absorbed it and waited.
Both books were created from some of the strongest mercenaries in the universe I was pulling technology from. At the very least they were not inferior to the books the girls had received.
Tear was a woman with an innate ability to travel between dimensions and the ability to see those very dimensions. And her combat strength was quite high.
Black Silence was not an easy mate either, although he had no special abilities. But he had great skill and an arsenal of weapons hidden in his pocket dimension. And in the end he was able to kick the crap out of a lot of opponents, which kind of hints at that.
I think Benji and Dan can defend themselves with these books. And I think we should call them out.
- "Guys, come to my place. I have something for you," I mentally told them over our connection.
They didn't have to wait long and within minutes they were in my office.
- What's wrong Kyle? - Daniel asked, holding a glass of coffee in his hand.
- I made you some self-defence books. Here, take these.
- Hmm, Black Silence? Interesting name.
The boys took each of their books, and quickly tuned into them and absorbed them.
- Oh, fuck..." Benji hissed, clutching his head. - Oh, man...
- Yeah," agreed Dan, who had gone pale. - I thought nothing would surprise me after Ruki's attack.
- I should have removed the memories," I said, annoyed. - I'm sorry.
- It's okay. It's probably a good thing I saw it," Ben said suddenly, rubbing his temples and adjusting his glasses. - Now I know what the future holds.
- I agree. I don't want to see it with my own eyes.
- That's exactly the scenario we're working on right now, Dan.
- I know. But it's better to drink it down.
And the guy activated his E.D.D. and Benjamin's copied E.D.D. in the form of a monocle over his right eye. He then swiped his hand over his mug, which was on my desk as I devoured the book, causing the container to fill with a rich chocolate-coloured liquid.
- Are you using my E.G.O. to create coffee? - Ben asked suspiciously, looking at the sorcery.
- Yes!" Daniel confirmed happily, sipped from his mug, and clapped Benjamin on the shoulder. - That's a cool ability you have, mate!
- To think of using it to make coffee..." he grumbled, adjusting his glasses. How he did it, I don't know. It must have been a skill that came with time. - If I were a religious man, I'd call you a heretic and try to burn you for such sacrilege.
- Ha-ha-ha-ha! Then I'm lucky! - said Dan, taking a sip of his drink.
- We'll have a theological debate later, okay? - I asked the boys, humming cheerfully. - You'd better try to use the powers you've got.
Daniel was the first to do it. He materialised a glove with a pocket dimension attached to it, a black double suit, which gave serious protection, and a straight black sword. He gave the weapon a few skilful swings and returned it to the vault.
Benjamin, on the other hand, concentrated, wrapped himself in purple-coloured energy and made several teleportations around the office.
- Wow! Cool! - Dan admired, not forgetting to take a sip.
- But it's a little tricky so far.
- You'll have time to get used to your new abilities. It'll be easier for you to use your E.G.O. now that your body is stronger.
- We'll have to test it out.
Having agreed to test the tests later, I didn't want to delay the guys and let them go. I gave the secretary the task to search auctions or collectors for the possibility of buying more tea, which so interested Gerda.
Now it was time to get a new Singularity. This time the choice was the ability to open anything, as opposed to the previously obtained blocking technologies. It wouldn't be unnecessary for sure.
- "Yohi, let's Status!"
First and last name: Kyle Smith.
Age: 16 years old.
Race: Human?
Titles: Oddity III, Rising in the Shadows IV, E.G.O. User II.
Physical Condition: Healthy.Psychological Condition: Healthy.
Energy: 100%.
Chosen World: Project Moon.
Knowledge acquired: Singularity J Corp, Singularity M Corp, Singularity K Corp, Singularity L Corp, Singularity W Corp, T Corp, several packets of information.
Special abilities: Merging with the Infinite Eternal, controlling the power of desire and feelings, E.G.O. A Star Called Sun, creating books out of creatures, ?????
Well, now we can get down to time-related technology. Carefully, of course, but still. We'll need defences in particular. And time manipulation in the main complex will not be out of place.
- "Let's do F Corp now. It's about time we got our hands on a super-opener."
- Data will be received in 7 days, 5 hours, 8 minutes.
Perfect. While the information is rocking, a new Yonsim should be made. I didn't get to see parallel realities the first time I made this gimmick. Rookie's fucking henchmen screwed the pooch. Then Daniel told us what he'd seen. And what he heard got me interested. But then a lot of things came up that made me shelve the idea. And now I had the opportunity to pursue it in peace.
Having loaded the collector with the task, I began to wait for the end, reading reports on the work done by the organisation. But no sooner had I properly immersed myself in the dry lines of the text, than a confused mental speech of the head of one of the bases located in Africa, named Grace Taylor, burst into my mind.
- "Head! We are under attack by the blacks! They are armed with shooting spears and other strange but too serious technology for Earth! We haven't had time to properly entrench ourselves yet to repel this attack without serious casualties! And they're also shouting something about Wakanada! Um, Wakanda!"
- "I'll be right there," I replied to her on automatic. - Hold on for a few minutes!"
Here we go. What's it to them?!
***
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