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  1. PREVIOUS CHAPTER Pt5 An average jet can span the US continent in about five hours -- the official record is 64 minutes, held by an SR-71. The Batplane has probably done it in less, but there aren’t any stats to support it. There were several heroes capable of flying coast to coast under their own power -- any of the Green Lanterns, J’onn J’onzz, Wonder Woman -- but few who would win a race with the original Superman (who once flew fast enough around the Earth to reverse time, remember) much less one of the New Supermen, especially one with the right motivation. Like massively swollen balls. Like massively swollen balls that desperately needed release. Still, a phenomenon like that wasn’t likely to go unnoticed (the speed, not the balls -- not from space). There were several satellite tracking systems that picked up on a biological object speeding across the country -- one of them was LexCorp’s. Once the object was identified as one of the Earth paranormals -- one of the New Supermen -- most systems catalogued but ignored it. Not Luthor. Not with what he knew. There was only one reason the DC Superman was flying to San Francisco with that kind of speed. Luthor pressed a button on his desk. “Have Dr. Teng come to my office,” he said plainly. There had better be a good explanation. ********************************* “WE NEED MORE SUPERMEN!” Bizarro whined in his raspy, cow-like voice. He was fucking Tucker, now in the Super-Sling, his own balls swollen to the size of oranges, covered in the dust coming off Bizarro like sweat. Each thrust was like a clap of chalk-filled erasers, little puffs of dust adding to the mist in the air. Tucker was sucking his buddy McGrath’s cock as McGrath floated above him in a 69, greedily sucking Tucker’s meat in return. McGrath’s swollen, oversized, infected balls covered Tucker’s eyes, so all Tucker could do was breathe the scent of McGrath’s dusty sac, making him even hornier. Stupider. Above the two of them floated Zelinski, holding on to the top chains of the Super-Sling while he slow-fucked McGrath’s leaking hole, the ecstasy on his face made it clear this was a dream cum true. How long had he fantasized about getting into McGrath’s ass? Honestly, how long? He couldn’t remember. Thinking was no longer his strength -- not that it ever was, really. “MORE SUPERMEN,” Zelinski agreed, the only one able to talk -- the others tried, but instead giggled with their mouths full. In a push-up position on McGrath’s back as he continued to fuck the deputy, Zelinski leaned forward and kissed Bizarro full on the mouth, soaking himself in the clone’s infected spit and dust -- the same dust that gave Zelinski this incredible high. This mind-fucking incredible high. Was Bizarro getting dustier? Was that possible? Zelinski may have realized it, but he couldn’t understand it. For him, more dust meant more high -- more sex. More balls. He had no idea that the clone may be degrading. And there was a crash from downstairs -- the plate-glass window on the balcony smashing. All four of them looked up. “MORE SUPERMEN?” asked Bizarro. From downstairs, a deep, resonant, masculine voice. “TUCKER?” Tucker turned his head to look, continuing to lick the head of McGrath’s cock like a lolly. He laughed. “THAT SOUND LIKE…” A massive man appeared in the doorway, bigger than any of them, the biggest of all -- the sheen of the tattooed S-shield on his mighty chest glowing in the dimness, otherwise dressed only in tiny red gym shorts that were clearly struggling to contain his oversized package. Even through his anger, the obvious shock and surprise were evident on his face. “MAX!” Tucker squealed, clapping his hands together with McGrath’s cock in his mouth. “ME LOVE MAX!” Bizarro turned to face him just as Max back-handed the clone across the room -- the “pop” of Bizarro’s cock obvious as it came out of Tucker’s ass. Bizarro slammed into the wall (the one with the Roman Cross on it), creating a huge cloud of dust. He sank to the floor. “WHAT AM HAP…?” Max was on him just that quick, sliding into a hip throw and taking Bizarro to the floor. The two of them began wrestling, though it was clear Bizarro had no idea what was happening -- he was reactionary, not aggressive. Even in his limited experience, guys who started out angry and rough ended up horny and desperate -- something was wrong. Tucker in the sling and McGrath in a 69 above him, both watched the wrestling match while idly sucking the other’s cock. Zelinski kept inside McGrath’s ass, but definitely slowed his pace, confused by the action before him -- was this some sort of prelude to fucking? His entire front side covered in dust, Max had Bizarro in a full-nelson, locking the clone up from behind -- he pressed himself into Bizarro’s ass. “Ready to fuck, clone?” he growled, slamming his hips against Bizarro. “You ready for a REAL cock?” “NO!” shouted Bizarro. “ME NO…” But Max didn’t listen -- without further ado, he shoved his cock (the biggest of all the New Supermen, remember) into Bizarro’s ass. Bizarro screamed, a weird mix of pleasure and pain -- it was clear he didn’t want the invasion, but he wasn’t trying to get away, either. Max began thrusting, shoving the clone face-down into the floor to get a better angle. The three Super-witnesses could see Max’s own balls swollen to nearly the same size as Bizarro’s. The two sacs pendulously swung together with each of Max’s thrusts. At first, it just seemed like an aggressive fuck, like the hard poundings McGrath used to give before he became a big, dumb bottom. Long-dicking him, almost all the way out, slamming back in -- Max began speeding up, appearing almost like a piston, mechanical and purposeful, little puffs of dust rising from the clone’s ass like smoke from an engine. Bizarro couldn’t help but moan, a low, bovine sound. “You like that, clone?” Max growled. “You won’t for long…” Wrapping his powerful arms around Bizarro’s torso, Max easily lifted the clone into an upright position, pressing its face into the wall with the Roman Cross, fucking it even faster, the mass of Max’s glutes and hamstrings standing out with each thrust -- the clone began to shake like it was sitting on a washing machine in the spin cycle. “N-N-N-N-N-N-N-NOOOOO!” The faster it vibrated, the more dust that came off -- Max stood in an ankle-deep pile already, aside from the front side of his body being nearly coated in it. It was as if Bizarro was turning into white sand. “Gonna cum, clone,” Max barked. “Enjoy….” He thrust in deep and deposited his load -- and those oversized balls of his produced copious amounts, more and more and still more cum. The creature’s eyes rolled back in its head, and Bizarro began to cum as well, a dry, dusty stream of thick, mulchy ejaculate. He moaned in a voiceless ecstasy. They began to shake together, the New Superman and the clone, each of them continuing to cum, both their hips bucking with instinctive need, but something was happening to Bizarro. It was collapsing, dissolving, literally turning to dust. Like a sculpture made from the whitest sands of the most virgin island, eventually the lack of moisture caused collapse. The longer and harder Bizarro came, the less of the creature there was. Before their eyes, it became a pile of chalky sand at Max’s feet. Max turned to the rest of them, this three-hundred pound beast, his muscles pumped, his balls still swollen, the tip of his huge dick dripping, his translucent “S” still glowing oh his rounded, muscular pecs beneath the white powder that had been Bizarro. Max sneered. “Who’s next?” *************************************** Together, they watched the man in the video open a secure cabinet and remove a small container, where he read the label and then dropped it into his lab coat pocket. Turning away from the cabinet put him face first to the hidden camera -- his identity was clear. The video looped over and over, showing the theft and the identity reveal. Lex Luthor leaned back in his chair, putting his hands together and tenting his fingers. “So, Dr. Teng,” he said calmly and quietly, “would you care to explain this?” Teng shifted in his chair, beads of sweat on his forehead. Finally, he took a deep breath and spoke. “It was communicable to humans,” he said. “Excuse me?” “The Bizarro Virus,” Teng said, gaining confidence as he went. “It was targeted to have a specific effect on the New Supermen -- who, as you know, are humans given the powers of a Kryptonian, not Kryptonian themselves. Although the activation of the virus required the presence of the New Supermen’s altered DNA -- meaning Bizarro could infect only them -- once they’re infected, though, the New Supermen become communicable to normal humans…” A moment of dramatic silence, begging for Luthor’s “...So…?” “So, in an effort to avoid a major pandemic, I chose to take action.” Teng sat tall and still in his chair, though his heart pounded in his chest. Again, the forced drama was almost annoying. “And you…?” “I infected one of the New Supermen with the antidote.” The silence between them was now tense for a new reason: the truth was out -- clear and plain -- there was nothing to do but acknowledge it. And pay the price. “I see,” Luthor said, finally. “That puts you in a rather… tenuous position.” “I was aware there would be consequences.” Luthor grunted. “In my defense,” Teng offered, “there is little doubt that had there been a large-scale infection the cause would’ve been traced back to you and LexCorp.” Luthor’s eyebrows raised. “Me?” he asked. “I’ve done nothing but discover a rogue scientist in my employ -- AND a thief.” His eyes indicated the looping video. “For all anyone knows watching that video, you could be stealing the virus yourself, intent on unleashing it on an unsuspecting populace. What a monster!” Teng was unreadable. “You wouldn’t do that,” he said. “It would indicate you’re developing viruses here at LexCorp. That’s a secret you don’t want getting out.” Luthor leaned forward, forearms on his desk. “Well then, perhaps we’ll have to find a more… internal way of dealing with you.” Without missing a beat, Luthor pressed a button and some little device on the top of his computer monitor turned and released a powdery dispense directly at Teng’s face. It made its way in his mouth and up his nose before he even reacted to its happening. “What the…?” Luthor leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “There you are, Teng,” he said. “Your virus.” “What?” said the doctor at the beginnings of panic -- he could already feel his dick come to life in his pants. “No!” Luthor pressed another button and two security guards entered -- they were wearing face masks. “Take Dr. Teng to one of the sub-basement holding cells,” he quietly commanded. “Make sure he gets plenty of… stimulation.” As the two security guards escorted him out of the room, Teng tried to maintain his dignity, but it was hard to ignore the way his balls were flopping around in his pants, getting bigger and bigger. He had no final words for Luthor -- all he had was the knowledge that he’d done the right thing. He’d saved humanity. Now if he could just deny his own, maybe he’d save his intellect -- if he could ignore that incessant tug on his balls. ***************************************** Although a good ninety percent of the time their positions were reversed, Max did occasionally fuck Tucker. The circumstances had to be exactly right -- and most of the time, it was about what Max wanted -- but it did happen. Tucker had these long, rounded muscle-bellies, so his ass was bubbly, thick and spectacular -- the kind of ass that could (and did) stop traffic. It was the reverse of the big-dicked bottom, the top with the perfectly fuckable ass. And Max was going at it in a mix of desperation and rage that made him look like a true Alpha, just hard, masculine fucking. McGrath, who’d been floating above Tucker in a 69-position, pushed himself upright, straddling Tucker’s neck, his balls nearly smothering his Texan buddy. McGrath dumbly watched Max fuck, having never had this perspective before -- McGrath was usually the Alpha, certainly not the witness, and the action held him rapt. Tucker, for his part, rolled his eyes back in his head, leaking copious amounts of pre-cum, which Zelinski kept trying to sneak in and lick until Max would slap him away. “ME AM FUCK!” Tucker moaned, muted by McGrath’s balls. Max’s own balls swung like pendulums with each thrust into Tucker’s hole. “Gonna cum, fucker,” he said. “This better work…” And he pushed in deep and released into Tucker, his orgasm deep and powerful -- he felt like he pumped a gallon of cum into Tucker’s ass. Tucker bucked his hips and shot himself, spraying all over McGrath’s torso -- McGrath, giggling like an idiot, wiped Tucker’s cum off himself (mixing it with the powder that still covered them all) and licked both from his hands. Pulling himself out of Tucker, Max was about to wipe himself down when Zelinski suddenly appeared before him, kneeling, licking his cock clean. “You next?” Max asked, as Zelinski cupped Max’s swollen balls. “I gotta fuck all three of ya…” “ONLY ONE ME!” Zelinski snorted, laughing at his own joke. Max sighed. “Fucking idiot,” he mumbled, pushing Zelinski’s face to the floor, and started fucking him down-doggie style. In the sling, Tucker shook his head and sat up, disoriented and confused. “Wha…? What happened?” he asked, looking up at McGrath, whose balls were inches from his face. “Frank? What’s going on?” “TUCKER FUCKER GOT FUCKED!” “What…?” “Hang on tight, babe,” Max said, picking up his pace on Zelinski’s ass. “Let me finish fucking these guys and I’ll explain everything.” Tucker shrugged. “Okay…” he said. “How’d our balls get so big…?” ************************************************* NEARLY A WEEK LATER McGrath got off-shift as usual, but rather than change in the department’s locker room, he flew to his house instead. These gigantic balls he had now, he hadn’t gotten used to them yet, and it made him uncomfortable in front of the other deputies. The way they stared. In private, of course, he loved them! He loved the way they contributed to his whole hypermasculine appearance, truly making him a “super” man. He loved the way they swung when he fucked and the copious amount of cum they produced. But having balls the size of oranges was something he couldn’t hide -- they forced Frank into a spotlight where he hadn’t yet learned to be comfortable. In his bedroom, however, he liked the lighting. Removing his uniform, leaving the compression shorts he wore in place, his huge nads tested the strength of the material as they stretched the pouch out of shape. McGrath couldn’t help but hit a few poses in the mirror -- a front double-bi then an ab/ thigh, which thrust his package forward, his already mind-blowing cock emphasized by its two swollen back-up singers. If he wanted a pair of posers -- and he did -- he was going to have to have them specially made. The idea of someone measuring his balls for gear turned him on more than a little bit. He slid on his Jed North gym shorts -- the short ones, the ones his legs exploded out of -- the ones that made his not-so-secret groin into a public spectacle, and his usual Sooners t-shirt, that made no secret of the incredible rest of him, either. It was Friday. And though he hadn’t seen Zelinski since… well, since everything that’d happened (he unconsciously stroked his balls), he still wanted to keep their... date. McGrath didn’t remember much -- what he did remember was hazy and dreamy -- from when he was under the spell of the virus (what Max called a virus), but what he did remember was a sense of sexual freedom and giddiness, a naive and completely unrepressed expression of his true sexual self. Everything had been easy and guilt-free when he hadn’t known better. Being stupid actually educated him. As he flew to San Francisco -- the southerly route over the desert (he’d learned his lesson) -- he went over it again: Lex Luthor had created this Bizarro-creature and infected it with a virus that would turn the New Supermen into over-sexed Bizarro clones. (This was the second time Luthor had attacked them through their sexuality -- what was it with that guy and kinky superhero sex?) Of course, they lacked the evidence to trace it back to Luthor -- the scientist who’d given Max the cure had disappeared, as well -- so all they could do was press on until his next crazy plot. That it had left the four of them with these ridiculously oversized balls, turning them into even greater sexual icons than they’d been, was the best part of the irony in Luthor trying to destroy them in the first place. Fuck you, you rich bald fuck! And just like that, the bay loomed before him. And before he’d even had the chance to take in the view, he was landing on Zelinski’s balcony. The door had been fixed, of course -- not that McGrath remembered breaking it, exactly -- but he was even happier to discover it wasn’t locked. Before he even had the chance, the door slid open, revealing Zelinski in just some fancy pink jockstrap, his own monstrous balls barely held by the cotton webbing. “Well, well,” Z said, leaning against the door jamb and crossing his arms, “look who’s….” He was interrupted by McGrath pulling him in for a kiss. Not that he tried to fight it -- he didn’t -- he just melted into McGrath’s big arms and enjoyed a moment he’d fantasized about since they’d become New Supermen. When the kiss finally broke, the two of them looked into each other’s eyes and McGrath said, quietly, “I wonder if we might try something different this time? I wonder if… uh… you might let ME ride the super-sling…?” A smile slowly broke out on Zelinski’s face, full of deviltry and desire. “Oh… yes,” he said, punctuating it with a kiss. “Yes, yes, yes. But FIRST….” He stepped into the house and motioned McGrath to follow him. As they walked to the bedroom, McGrath pulled his t-shirt off and threw it aside. As tempting as Zelinski’s hot little ass was in that pink jock, McGrath knew it was his own ass that needed the attention. The playroom was clean, meticulously clean -- the leather shone and the metal sparkled -- it didn’t even smell the way McGrath was used to, like old sex and cigars. It was like Zelinski had had the room detailed like a fine car. Zelinski opened the case he kept his dildos and toys in (it looked like a road box) and pulled out one of two gallon-sized glass jars he’d stored in there. They were stuffed full of a white powder. McGrath looked at him suspiciously, his eyebrows pushed together. “What is that?” Zelinski smiled. “It’s Bizarro,” he said. “The dust that came off him, anyway. I… gathered it all together after everybody left. If I remember correctly, it packed quite a punch.” McGrath’s cock was already getting hard -- it remembered correctly even if his brain didn’t. “Are you kidding?” he asked. “Really?” Since they’d become New Supermen, their metabolisms had altered so that drugs and alcohol had no effect on them. If there was something that could get them high… Zelinski flicked his eyebrows. “Let me cut us a couple lines and I’ll show you. It’s fucking hot as fuck.” And McGrath, who’d never done cocaine before -- he’d only seen it in movies -- and who’d missed beer more than he cared to admit, anxiously took the rolled up dollar from Z and snorted his line right up, like he’d done it a million times. From the way it hit him, he knew he’d be likely to do it a million more. “FUCK ME,” he giggled, letting intellect go for a moment, and embracing idiotic pleasure. “FUCK ME FRANK-HOLE!” And Zelinski was more than happy to do just that. He even sprinkled a little Bizarro on his cock and gave McGrath a booty bump. They fucked the entire weekend away -- it surprised no one to learn they became a couple soon after that. None of the New Supermen, anyway, though they were a tiny bit jealous -- pretty much everybody wanted one of the other of them. And they pretty much all assumed that McGrath was the top and Zelinski was the bottom. But they’d be wrong. *********************************************** FIVE DAYS LATER Discipline. That’s all it took. Discipline. Deep, deep in the sub-basements of the LexCorps Tower (he didn’t know how far down), he’d maintained himself for at least ten days (he didn’t know if he was right about time -- he had no clock, no window for reference, nothing but the non-stop porn that played on the video screens). He assumed the meals were regular -- unless they were purposefully trying to mess with his sense of time, too -- so ten days seemed right. Otherwise healthy, Teng’s gonads were the size of basketballs, swollen and painfully tender. “That’s a lot of brains,” he mumbled to himself, trying to be humorous, trying to fight off the abject horror, though it was getting harder and harder. He wouldn’t cum -- he wouldn’t allow it of himself. It just took discipline. Ten days. How big would these things get before he finally gave in? They’d all find out together. Teng took a deep breath and settled into his meditation. Discipline.
  2. Absman420

    THE NEW SUPERMEN: BIZARRO pt4

    PREVIOUS CHAPTER Pt4 Tucker McGee had a lot to be thankful for in life, but it all started with his overactive pituitary gland. He hadn’t been a big child, nothing that would make you look back at his baby pics and say, “you can see where he gets it,” but once his pituitary gland kicked in, once the growth hormone started being produced, Tucker’s life changed dramatically. Seemingly overnight, Tucker… thickened -- it was the summer his mother nearly gave up on buying clothes for him, he outgrew them so fast. And once the Middle School PE teacher saw him -- once the football coach saw him -- football became part of Tucker’s life. (Understanding that in Texas, this was known as the “father’s fantasy” track, so he had nothing but patriarchal support.) Tucker loved football -- and football loved Tucker. It was easy -- he just had to push guys to the left or to the right or just knock them on their ass, depending on the play. It was fun. And the bigger he got, the easier it got -- and the more fun it became. He started to get off on it. So he applied himself and began lifting (and eating) in earnest -- he took to both like a fish to water (water with food in it). It wasn’t until he was in college that he started juicing -- his frat brothers introduced him -- and that bumped him another notch. He graduated college at 275, proud of his round, hard roid-gut (he called it his tortoise-shell) and his impossibly massive legs. Tucker was simply mass personified -- he wasn’t sloppy bulky like some offensive linemen, he was thick and hard. When people saw Tucker coming, they got out of his way. He played pro-ball for a couple of years -- but it was for Buffalo and he’d hated how cold it was there, so he opted to come home to Texas and join law enforcement. Again, a perfect fit -- he thrived in that environment. And then to be recruited to be one of the New Supermen! For Tucker, that was perhaps the greatest honor of his life, better than any sports award or superbowl ring -- he eagerly accepted. The transformations were significantly more dramatic for most of the guys than it had been for him -- or at least, that’s what he thought. At 6’4”, Tucker seemed to harden, but he lost none of his curves. It was like his bulk became solid muscle. Still with the impossible thickness, but he didn’t have the stereotypical “superman” body, the pretty abs and lean hips. He didn’t care -- he’d always liked his gut, now as rock hard as the rest of him. Tucker’s other secret weapon was his Texas Horse Cock. Uncut and thick, Tucker won the lottery there, too. Sure, he’d pretty much beat his balls to death with steroids, all atrophy and ignorance, but at least genetics had balanced that loss with ample dick. If he hadn’t been a cop, he joked to himself, he could’ve easily been a porn star -- and that was true. Tucker did like to fuck and he did like to fuck for an audience. That discovery happened in college, too, at a frat party -- he and his buddies had chipped in for a prostitute and they were all taking their turns -- when they saw how big his cock was and how well he used it, they’d all started jerking off watching him. And Tucker realized he was getting off on them watching him more than he was with the actual fucking. That’s when he knew he could be a porn star! He didn’t define himself by his sexuality. He liked fucking women well enough -- he liked fucking men, too. He liked fucking. Dominating. But the thing about being with a guy was the possibility of Tucker getting fucked, too. He preferred being the top, but sometimes he felt like taking a dick, too -- it was a completely different experience. Not often, but often enough that it mattered. He also found relationships with men easier, too -- probably from being such a frat boy. Once he’d become a New Superman and women were pretty much out of the picture, Tucker found identifying himself as gay was a lot easier. And then there was Max. And he was surprised how easily and naturally he’d fallen for Max, how well they fit together, how comfortable it was to be with him. The big, muscular lug had won his heart and he was planning on sealing the deal with an engagement ring on Max’s birthday. That Max understood -- and encouraged -- Tucker to play with the others, so confident in their relationship as to bely jealousy, made Tucker love him all the more. It didn’t even qualify as a “long-distance” relationship, either -- though Tucker worked in Houston and Max in DC, they could fly to each other’s homes in less than ten minutes. That was faster than some people who lived in the same city! Tonight, though, it wasn’t a Making Love with Max he was looking forward to, it was one of those no-holds-barred, all-out Man-Fucks with Zelinski instead. Tucker sure wasn’t pretty enough for Zelinski to date, but that sweet little bottom loved Tucker’s thick cock. Tucker was Zelinski’s Go-To when Z was looking to be serious about getting dicked. He’d heard -- through the grapevine -- that Zelinski was trying to get serious with Tucker’s buddy Frank McGrath from Oklahoma. Tucker knew about McGrath’s ugly little divorce and his difficulty adjusting to his new sexuality (or at least the expression of it). They’d tried to play together a couple of times -- and though McGrath had enjoyed tag-teaming Max’s ass, he wasn’t able to do anything orally and could barely touch anybody else. In Tucker’s view, it was a shame -- McGrath had an ass that deserved some dick -- it was even more of a shame that alcohol didn’t affect them anymore. Maybe after a few stiff drinks, McGrath would’ve found some courage. Whatever. McGrath was Zelinski’s problem -- Tucker had his own man. Not that that was stopping him from flying to San Francisco after shift to pound Zelinski’s super-hole. When -- finally -- his beat was up (and after he filed some necessary paperwork on the computer at super speed), he changed clothes, gym shorts and sleeveless t-shirt emblazened with a rainbow-unicorn and the word “butch,” and brushed his teeth. He quickly texted Z. “OMW,” he wrote. The reply was a smiley-face emoji, a flexed arm emoji, a peach, an eggplant, then some spurts. Tucker shook his head, chuckling to himself -- his dick shifting a little in the jockstrap he wore beneath, making him remember to throw on a cock ring -- Zelinski was a trip. Tucker locked his front door and flew west, looking forward to the fuck. ************************************* In San Fran, the sun wasn’t completely down, casting a few last colorful rays over the horizon. As much as he loved Texas -- and cherished Houston -- there was nothing like the mountains and the way the lights of this city appeared out of nowhere. It just said “romance’. Not that he was here for romance -- he was here for fucking -- still, it was hard not to get caught up in the scenery. Landing on Zelinski’s patio, he saw that the balcony door was shattered and destroyed, not even a blanket or a piece of plywood over the hole. (Hell, Zelinsky was a New Superman -- he could fix that door in seconds if he’d put his mind to it.) Was there a problem? Was it part of some “scene”? He entered without worry, glancing around for anything suspicious -- as he got deeper into the house, he noticed some kind of… dust in the air. Didn’t matter -- he was suddenly too horny to think about it, the outline of his cock becoming obvious beneath his gym shorts. God damn, he was ready for some action! (He’d already forgotten about the door.) Tucker hadn’t realized he’d been this horny -- and it was getting worse by the second. He’d fucked Max just yesterday, but it felt like he hadn’t gotten any in weeks -- his balls felt heavy. Literally, his dick was starting to lead the way. He knew the way to Zelinski’s playroom even without his dick -- but his dick, like a good dog, was eager to lead. It was dark, but he could still see enough. There was Zelinski’s “Super-Sling”, but the body laying in it wasn’t Z -- WAY too big to be Z… “Frank?” Tucker asked -- it couldn’t be. “McGrath?” The big muscle-beast stirred, giggling in his low-pitched voice. “TUCKER FUCKER!” he said, letting his head roll back. “FUCK ME!” Something sounded… wrong about his voice, like he was tripping. Tucker stepped up between McGrath’s thick, muscular thighs, McGrath’s legs up in the stirrups. He’d known McGrath had a big cock, but look at the size of those balls -- damn! Was there some sort of powder all over him? It was too dark to tell… “What’s up, buddy?” he asked, pulling his t-shirt off and lowering his shorts, leaving himself in only the jockstrap, distended as it was by his own thick piece of meat. (A suddenly very excited piece of meat.) “Finally want to get fucked by a man?” Standing between McGrath’s legs, Tucker reached forward and grabbed McGrath’s tiny nipples. (There WAS something all over him -- what the fuck?) As he did, McGrath raised a hand and blew fistfull of powder into Tucker’s face. He pulled back in reaction, still breathing most of it in. And before he could react or strike out, the rush hit him. It had been years since he’d done any kind of drugs -- not just that, as a New Superman, drugs and alcohol weren’t supposed to affect him anymore -- but even before becoming a lawman, Tucker had only done coke a couple of times in college. And whatever this stuff was put that buzz in a (very) distant second place. This was incredible! FUCK, he was horny! McGrath giggled like a stupid idiot, wiping his hand down Tucker’s face, leaving a white streak in its path -- Tucker licked McGrath’s palm as it traveled over his mouth. More of it! More! “FUCK ME, TUCKER FUCKER,” McGrath said, a dopey smile on his face. “ME NEED COCK.” “Oh, I got a cock for you,” Tucker growled, pulling his big rod out of his jock. “I been wanting to give this to you for a long time.” McGrath looked at it, drooling. “FUCK ME!” he begged, shifting his massive body in the sling, waving his ass. “GIVE… COCK…” Tucker snorted, spitting on himself to lube up -- he had to lift McGrath’s massive balls to get to his hole. But once he had, Tucker put the head of his dick against McGrath’s virgin bud. “Gonna turn you into a little bottom bitch,” Tucker said. McGrath blew another load of powder into Tucker’s face. Tucker simultaneously inhaled and shoved. Fuck!!! “FUCK!” McGrath yelled. “YES!” “Take my big fuckin’ cock… bitch!” Tucker said, balls deep already. He slowly began thrusting. McGrath’s eyes rolled back in his head, leaving the dumb smile across his face -- ecstasy. “OHHH…. FUCK…” McGrath moaned. “Yeah, you like that,” Tucker kept mumbling. “Now that you got one inside you, you’re gonna be a bottom bitch…” “TUCKER’S BITCH,” McGrath laughed dumbly. “SO FUCKIN’ STUPID!” More powder -- this time it wasn’t McGrath, tho. Floating down from above came Zelinski, until his package was right in front of Tucker’s face. “TUCKER FUCKER!” Zelinski said. Zelinski was covered in the same weird powder that McGrath was, mixed with dried-on cum. Big, orange-sized balls in Tucker’s face -- he couldn’t resist, burying his face in Zelinski’s ample package, licking the delicious powder and addictive cum like a man with a hunger he’d never known he had. Zelinski wrapped his legs around Tucker’s head, burying the big lawman in his smell -- Tucker didn’t care. Fucking and licking and thrusting and the dust and the lusty high and the stupid moans that filled the room. And then there was someone else. Tucker didn’t know who -- Tucker didn’t care who -- just that there was suddenly someone behind him. Taller -- hard cock -- muscular arms reaching around Tucker’s torso -- white -- dusty -- so fucking horny! “ME FUCK!” the guy behind him said, sliding his not insubstantial dick into Tucker’s ass. It was almost too much stimulation. Zelinski’s balls in his mouth -- Tucker’s dick in McGrath’s tight hole -- some guy’s cock in Tucker’s butt -- the perfect set-up, but they couldn’t find the rhythm. Tucker couldn’t think how to coordinate them -- fuck, he couldn’t think at all. It all felt so good. “ME CUM!” the guy behind him said, way too soon, as if he were some inexperienced teenager incapable of controlling himself. “ME GONNA CUM!” “No,” mumbled Tucker. “Not yet…” The guy fucking Tucker suddenly thrust in deep and let go -- Tucker could feel the guy’s cum filling him, spilling down the insides of his legs. So much — it didn’t seem like it would ever stop. The guy didn’t get soft, tho. After his impressive orgasm, he stayed hard, staying inside Tucker. “NOW YOU…” he whispered to Tucker. “NOW YOU GET STUPID…” Tucker was only half-listening, he was thrusting like a man on a mission, showing what a man who could squat heavy was capable of doing -- a Superman -- to McGrath’s stupid tight hole. He felt like he was wearing ball weights -- he could feel a definite tug on his nads. He could feel them swinging. They felt like they were getting bigger. (And for a guy who’d atrophied his nuts years ago from steroid abuse, this was a welcome change.) Then he had a moment of clarity -- of realization. He remembered noting the size of McGrath’s balls when he’d first seen him in the sling -- he was sucking these massive nads of Zelinski’s -- oranges! -- were HIS getting bigger, too? Why…? “Oh, fuck,” Tucker moaned. “Gonna shoot…” McGrath laughed. “BRAINS…” he snorted. “GIVE ME BRAINS!” Zelinski laughed like a hyena, high-pitched and hysterical. “GIVE HIM ALL STUPID BRAINS! ME CUM, TOO!” And he shot a geyser all over Tucker’s face -- it tasted like the powder. Liquid lust. Big balls -- big loads. So fucking hot. Tucker drove deep and unloaded, surprising himself with the intensity of the orgasm -- it just went on and on, seemed like forever. Tucker couldn’t keep track of time -- he’d never had an orgasm like this. As he emptied into McGrath, Tucker lost his legs for a second and slumped slightly forward, leaning on McGraths rock-hard abs. McGrath raised his hands in triumph! “NOW ME GOT ALL BRAINS!” he shouted. “ME AM SUPER-SMART!” They all laughed -- Tucker, too. He wanted to make a joke, but he couldn’t find the words. “WHERE ME BRAINS?” he asked, concerned, looking around. Chuckling, rolling his head back, McGrath said, “YOU BRAINS AM NOW IN ME ASS!” Tucker sunk to the floor, looking directly into McGrath’s asshole. “GIVE BACK,” he whined. “GIVE BRAINS BACK!” He started eating McGrath’s hole, trying to suck his cum out. McGrath clenched his ass. “NO WAY, TUCKER FUCKER. ME AM SMARTEST NOW!” “WE AM ALL STUPID,” the guy who’d fucked Tucker said. Tucker looked up from McGrath’s tasty hole to see the guy -- a big, muscular guy who looked like the original Superman except covered in baby powder. And those ridiculously big balls. “ME AM BALLS!” Tucker shouted joyfully, grabbing his own package and waving it like show-and-tell. “ME AM BIG STUPID BALLS! TUCKER FUCKER AM BALLS LIKE YOU!” “SEE? YOU AM STUPID LIKE US! WE MAKE ALL SUPERMEN STUPID! HORNY AND STUPID!” They all sang. “HORNY AND STUPID! HORNY AND STUPID!” “ME AM BALLS NOW,” giggled Tucker, cradling his sac as he continued to rim McGrath. They fucked until Tucker was just as covered in dust as the rest of them. ******************************* Tucker’s boyfriend, Officer Max Malone, the New Superman for the District of Columbia, had just come off-shift and was trying to chill by binge-watching “The British Baking Show” in his Adams Morgan loft when there was a knock on his door. Strange. Why didn’t the doorman call up? With his x-ray vision, Max scanned the front door and saw an unarmed man standing there -- he seemed normal, if not slightly agitated. No threat that Max could detect. Max, dressed only in a pair of old gym shorts, showing not only his massive musculature, but the translucent S-shield adorning his chest, clearly identifying him as one of the New Supermen -- the biggest of them, frankly -- opened the door, knowing how intimidating he looked. He was easily a foot taller and a couple hundred pounds heavier than his visitor, an Asian man dressed in a suit and a lab coat. “Can I help you?” Max said with the steely-resolve of a patrol officer, crossing his arms before his massive pecs.. “Officer Malone,” said the man, “I am Doctor Teng.” He raised his hand then -- Max thought it was to shake -- and blew a handful of white powder in Max’s face. TO BE CONCLUDED
  3. Absman420

    THE NEW SUPERMEN: BIZARRO pt3

    PREVIOUS CHAPTER Pt3 “As you can see from the satellite photos, Mr. Luthor, the clone has made contact with one of the New Supermen -- intel identifies him as Sheriff’s Deputy Frank McGrath from Oklahoma, recently divorced, conservative, graduated cum laude from OU. He put up a struggle, but fell victim to the Bizarro Virus within minutes -- note the significant swelling of the testicles, indicative of infection. Whether the infected Supermen become carriers themselves or just victims remains to be seen. The two were last seen flying west -- trajectory has them aimed at San Francisco. We assume they’re targeting the New Superman of that city, one Matthew Zelinski, proudly gay, liberal, engages in regular sex with multiple partners within the Supermen ranks -- one could accurately call him the ‘company slut’ if one had that sort of sense of humor. If they manage to infect him, we might have a significant outbreak on our hands.” Luthor sat back in his chair, looking up from the photos. “And isn’t that the point?” he asked bitterly. “Isn’t that why I’ve spent millions of dollars on this project? I can’t seem to kill them -- the very least I can do is turn them into the hyper-sexual idiots I think they are.” “Yes, sir. However, as you can see, the original clone is breaking down. The dust that covers McGrath is evidence of the cellular degeneration of the clone’s Kryptonian DNA. Our scientists suspected something like this would happen -- as noted, there has been little success in cloning Superman in the past.” Luthor sighed, tenting his fingers. “How long do we have?” he asked. “That’s a good question, Sir. Right now, we estimate between 48 and 72 hours before complete cellular breakdown. There are… variables…” “I just want them all fucking dead,” Luthor said with quiet intensity. “Why is that so hard?” “Sir, this is our most successful attempt so far -- it’s only a matter of time before…” Luthor held up his flat palm, signalling an end to the conversation. “Keep me updated,” he said, dismissively. Dr. Teng sighed -- he knew when he’d lost. “Yes, Sir,” he said, and left Luthor’s office. Luthor stared out the window at the setting sun. “I just want them all fucking dead,” he mumbled. “Why is that so hard?” ************************** After his shower, Zelinski allowed himself to air-dry before putting on a scanty little white silk thong and snapping selfies for his IG faithful. Though the smallest of the New Supermen -- both in height and muscle-size -- he had the best ass by far! (At least, that’s what everybody said -- and what his selfies confirmed.) There was no slut-shaming Zelinski -- not even at all. He’d gotten over that a long time ago. He enjoyed sex -- he enjoyed sex a LOT -- and he was extremely good at it. Some men had hobbies -- some men spent a lot of time at the gym -- Zelinski had sex. And now -- thanks to being a New Superman -- there was no disease he could catch, nothing communicable to stop him from playing raw. It was fucking bliss. Literally. He’d set himself up early as the go-to Superman for no-strings sexual relief, once they’d realized they couldn’t have sex with normal people anymore. He had no problem with the concept of fuck-buddies and sex-for-the-sake-of-sex -- emotional baggage was for women and selfish bottoms -- Zelinski didn’t the mistake of mixing sex with romance. (If he hadn’t been such a good cop, he figured he’d make a great gigolo.) Of the fifty or so New Supermen, he’d fucked with over thirty. Of course, he hadn’t been expecting McGrath to come along and emotionally sweep him off his feet. “Damn straight boys,” he thought. “Making me develop feelings and shit.” He LIKED McGrath -- liked his personality, his dry sense of humor, the brainy interior wrapped in the rough Oklahoma cowboy -- and he knew McGrath liked him, but just couldn’t break through the sexual-labels barrier that seemed to divide them. It was frustrating, though tolerable for the moment -- who knew how long that would last? Why couldn’t McGrath just swoop in, take Zelinski in his arms and kiss him like a God damn MAN? Damn straight boys. Okay, who could he fuck to take his mind off McGrath? He picked up his phone and opened the New Superman App. Scrolling through the profiles, he saw McGrath’s buddy Tucker McGee online. The Houston-Superman, Tucker was another cowboy-superhero -- he was also in a relationship with Zelinski’s friend Max Malone, but Zelinski thought they were open about play. (If he was online on this app, he was looking to play, regardless of his relationship status.) Tucker was a whole different kind of hunk from McGrath, similar Stetsons or not. Tucker was all-beef, thick waisted (if he weren’t a New Superman, one would say “roid gut”), big, round muscles and curved, sloping lines. Where McGrath was a force on the football field, Tucker was an obstacle. Strong and single-minded, Tucker was slow to anger but quick to action, painfully loyal to his friends. Although his cock wasn’t as big as McGrath’s, Tucker wouldn’t tucker out for hours -- and also unlike McGrath, Tucker would kiss. And kiss great! (Zelinski figured the biggest reason Tucker and Max were together was because they both liked to kiss so much.) And frankly, Zelinski could use a little lip-love right now. He texted the big Texan through the app. “Hey, Tuck -- feel like a fuck?” It wasn’t even a minute before he heard back. “Little Z! What’s up, my friend?” “My ass is up -- in the air! Could use some of that Texas tea…” “Sounds like someone’s horny.” “Help a bud out?” A slight pause. “I go off-patrol at 22:00 my time -- 8pm Pacific, right? -- I’d be happy to swing by. I could use some wild fuck.” “Beautiful! See you then! I’ll be in the Super-Sling!” He sent Tucker a pic of his ass in the white thong, as well. A beat before the response. “Don’t get me all hard while I’m on patrol. You suck!” “See you soon.” With a smirk, he tossed the phone down on his dresser. As it hit, he heard the “thump!” of someone landing on the balcony. It couldn’t be Tucker already, could it? He had at least an hour and a half before he could expect Tucker... unless the fucker had sped counter-clockwise around the earth and turned back time! Chuckling to himself, he flew up to the top of the stairs, where he could see the balcony door. Standing there silhouetted in the slanted rays of the setting sun was McGrath, shirtless, the sparkle of his S-shield reflecting the light. Was he covered in some kind of powder? McGrath reached up and fumbled the door, accidentally breaking it off the track and shattering the glass. “OOPS!” he said, giggling. “What’s up, cowboy?” Zelinski asked, from the bedroom door, keeping his distance. “Don’t know your own strength?” “ME AM HORNY,” McGrath said in some kind of odd, brainless voice. What was going on? Was this some kind of weird roleplay? “Who are you pretending to be?” Zelinski asked, adjusting his dick in his little white thong. “Doing some kind of Bizarro thing?” “ME AM NOT BIZARRO,” McGrath laughed, stepping into the room. He walked clumsily toward Zelinski and took him into his arms. “ME AM SUPER HORNY,” he said, and kissed Zelinsky full on the mouth. So much went through Zelinski’s mind so quickly he barely had time to process it all: where had this kiss come from? Since when did McGrath kiss? Was this roleplay enacted so McGrath could emotionally allow it of himself? Was there powder all over him? What was that weird taste? As soon as he thought that, he got hit with a wave of drug-induced euphoria that he hadn’t felt since his days doing “tina,” a rush of sexuality and need and a cocaine-like level of horniness that didn’t seem to abate. He loved it! Zelinski began licking McGrath’s face -- more, he suddenly thought. More! He became aware of his erection when he pressed it against McGrath’s own rock hard cock -- he loved it! Whatever was going on, it was hot as hell. Better than drugs. McGrath giggled through their kiss. “SLUTTY SUPERMAN,” he said, continuing with this Bizarro-thing. Zelinski didn’t care -- whatever. He was so horny. Slutty. And then, McGrath did something REALLY out of character -- he slid down to his knees, wiping a long streak of powder onto Zelinski’s rock-hard abs, then he greedily took Zelinski’s cock in his mouth. Zelinski gasped, reaching down and grabbing McGrath’s dusty hair, one hand pushing McGrath’s mouth down onto his cock, the other snorting and licking the powder he got off McGrath’s body. He was flying -- not literally. He was just so turned on… so horny… McGrath’s sloppy mouth on his cock and his muffled giggles. Roleplay. Whatever. Zelinski could play along. “Yeah,” he moaned. “Suck me, Bizarro…” McGrath barked out a laugh, nearly spitting out Zelinski’s cock. “ME NO AM BIZARRO,” he laughed. And then suddenly, there was someone behind Zelinski -- someone tall and heavy. Thick, muscular arms wrapped around him -- Zelinski could feel a hard cock pressing against his ass. The big arms that hugged him were covered in that same white powder. Zelinski began wiping himself against the creature’s muscle, licking and snorting. “HIM NO AM BIZARRO,” the voice behind Zelinski said. “ME AM.” And with that, the guy shoved his cock into Zelinski’s (very) ready ass. Ecstasy. Booty-bump ecstasy. Though neither of the brutes were particularly skilled, the high of the powder kept Zelinski from being critical. On his own, he could create a rhythm between the inexperienced cock and the sloppy mouth -- he knew how to control a couple of dumb tops -- so it didn’t much matter. It was so good! His every fantasy centered around McGrath kissing him, taking his cock. And now, there he was, kneeling before Zelinski, his hulking shoulders and bobbing head -- he was gripping the base of Zelinski’s balls in his very familiar grip -- he wasn’t a straight boy anymore. And then, like a teenager unused to having sex, the brute behind him was ready to cum. “ME SHOOT!” he announced, then slammed his cock deep into Zelinski’s ass. Before Zelinski could ask, “Already?” he was flooded by the guy’s load -- so much cum, it began leaking down his inner-thighs -- more kept coming, but came nowhere close to abatement. “Bizarro” must have some big balls, Zelinski thought in his ecstatic high. He found that funny and almost laughed. Stupid thought. And then something -- no, he was too high -- it felt… It felt like his own balls were growing! McGrath made a pleased sound. “BRAINS…” he mumbled, stroking Zelinski’s sensitive balls, and renewed his sucking with a growing passion. “Bizarro” stayed inside him, still hard, and renewed his thrusting. “BRAINS,” he repeated, giggling. “GIVE HIM BRAINS!” “Those are my balls,” said Zelinski. So… close… “BRAINS IN BALLS NOW,” the guy laughed. McGrath pulled them hard, stretching the balls away from Zelinski’s body -- they were nearly the size of oranges -- and that action was what made Zelinsky fall over the edge and cum. And cum. And cum. He quickly flooded McGrath’s mouth, rivulets of cum dripping down and creating paths in the powder on McGrath’s neck and massive pecs. He looked ridiculously sexy and oh, so stupid… When McGrath made eye-contact, a dumb-fuck grin on his face and his cum lipstick, Zelinski started to giggle. “NOW YOU SEE,” the creature fucking him said. Zelinski pointed to McGrath. “YOU LOOK STUPID!” he said, breaking into peals of laughter. “HA!” McGrath said, standing. “ME SWALLOW YOU BRAINS -- ME SMART NOW!” With that, he kissed Zelinski deeply, passing a mixture of cum and liquid powder back and forth between them. “YOU… AM… SMART!” Zelinski said when the kiss broke. “NOT!” How the three of them laughed. And then continued their desperate, clumsy fucking until they (and the whole playroom) were coated in the powder coming off Bizarro, like three children who’d gotten into Mommy’s beauty supplies. They lay there in a triangle, licking each other’s swollen balls, worshipping the size and taste. Bizarro Balls. Brains. “WE NEED MORE SUPERMEN,” Bizarro said, assessing the situation. “MORE SUPERMEN AM WAY MORE FUN.” McGrath teased. “HIM FUCK SUPERMEN!” he said, pointing to Zelinski. “HIM FUCK LOTS SUPERMEN!” Zelinski laughed. “ME WANT FUCK THEM ALL.” Bizarro gasped excitedly, like he’d made a common discovery, the kind that forms friendships. “ME TOO!” he said, and they high-fived. Not to be left out, McGrath said, “ME TOO TOO!” (He laughed to himself -- he was so smart since he’d swallowed Zelinski’s brains.) “SUPERMEN COME,” Zelinski explained. “SUPERMEN COME SOON. COWBOY SUPERMEN. AM YOU PAL…” he said, kissing McGrath and licking more powder from him. “TUCKER FUCKER!” McGrath said, delighted by his rhyme. (So smart…) Zelinski laughed along with him. “YES! TUCKER FUCKER! YOU AM SO SMART!” “ME WANT TUCKER FUCKER. ME ALWAYS WANTED TUCKER FUCKER.” “TUCKER FUCKER AM SOON! HOT COWBOY FUCK!” Bizarro interrupted. “HOW WE GET HOT COWBOY FUCK?” “ME KNOW! ME KNOW!” McGrath said, hand in the air, dancing excitedly. He was so fucking smart now. “ME GOT PLAN!” “YOU PLAN AM STUPID!” “SURE AM! BIG STUPID PLAN! YOU SEE! WE GET TUCKER FUCKER GOOD. LISTEN, STUPID SUPERMEN...” They moved to their places before they forgot and lay in wait, jerking themselves in anticipation. They were so smart. NEXT CHAPTER
  4. Absman420

    THE NEW SUPERMEN: BIZARRO pt2

    PREVIOUS CHAPTER Pt 2 McGrath, the Sheriff’s Deputy from Oklahoma, was smoking a cigar while he fucked his buddy Zelinski in the “super-sling” that Zelinski had mounted in his San Francisco playroom. McGrath had been a big man before becoming one of the New Supermen -- corn and beef fed they said of the male stock in that region -- but since his transformation, he was one of the biggest men alive. (Really only two or three bigger.) Thick, brutish muscle, he was large before he’d played college ball for the Sooners, when he really bloomed to peak size (what he’d thought was his peak, till his transformation). But McGrath maintained a GPA that allowed him to graduate cum laude -- unlike most inside linebackers, he had the brawn AND the brains. With a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice/ Law Enforcement, McGrath knew what he’d wanted to be long before football had come into the picture. And he loved being a lawman. He loved the badge and the power and the sexual fantasy that accompanied the job. How many women had big, hunky, Deputy McGrath seduced in his time with his muscular ass and husky thighs stretching his Sheriff’s uniform to the max? And again, McGrath had been well-equipped before becoming a New Superman. From simple observation in the team locker room, McGrath knew his cock was one of the biggest, too -- probably only two or three bigger. His wife had loved it -- and he’d loved giving it to her. And honestly, if there were a down-side to being one of the New Supermen, it’s that he wasn’t able to fuck women anymore. He’d tried it with his wife -- her riding him -- but it wasn’t enough. They both liked down-and-dirty too much. And he knew that if he’d pounded into her the way he used to, he’d simply crush her beneath him. So their sex life foundered. Who knew that it was more important to her than their marriage? (Their marriage had never stopped HIM from fucking around on the side.) Whatever. It’d been going stale, anyway -- and he enjoyed his role as Superman significantly more. Besides, fucking Zelinski’s tight ass was nearly as good as any pussy he’d ever had, including his wife’s. More, Zelinski liked it even harder than she ever had -- he could really cut loose and not worry for a second about damage or safe words. McGrath still considered himself straight -- he just took advantage of opportunity. He couldn’t fuck women anymore, so he fucked men -- he had to fuck something, after all. But he wasn’t gay -- he didn’t suck cock. He’d touched a couple of the other New Supermen, nipple play and stuff -- he’d gone so far as to kiss his buddy Tucker -- but he wasn’t gay. He didn’t DESIRE men -- he just fucked them because there was no other choice. And Zelinski was a great fuck (plus he could take McGrath’s entire cock), so a couple times a week McGrath flew out to Zelinski’s San Francisco loft and dropped a load or two. Zelinski was exactly the type of guy McGrath preferred in a fuck-buddy -- he was grateful and adventurous and playful, but not demanding or clingy or caught in the mire of romantic feelings. They got together -- they fucked -- they went their separate ways. McGrath wished he could’ve had that kind of relationship with his former wife. That Zelinski had gone so far as to make this “Super-Sling” only emphasized his commitment to giving all the New Supermen the sexual outlet they needed -- the ones who’d remained single, anyway. Some of the New Supermen had gotten together into “relationships”. McGrath knew that his buddy Tucker had paired off with Max Malone -- McGrath had played with them a couple of times, but he wasn’t into all the kissing and shit, so he finally gave up on them as anything other than friends and instead spent his sexual time with Zelinski. It was better (for him) when relationships were clearly defined. And nothing more clearly defined him as a top than the pounding he was giving Zelinski now while McGrath smoked a cigar, wearing only his work boots and a black baseball cap reading “DEPUTY” in block white letters. McGrath’s thick handlebar mustache and his perpetual five o’clock shadow gave him the look that every bottom fantasized about as their ultimate Daddy -- at least, that was how Zelinski lived the moment. He had the same Tom of Finland fantasy every time McGrath fucked him. McGrath pumped to a fever pitch, his breath hitched, and he shot his load deep into Zelinski’s hole. “Fuckin’ hell yeah,” he groaned, exhaling a plume of cigar smoke. “Take that shit.” It didn’t last long -- McGrath’s orgasms never did -- before he was pulling his generous dick out of Zelinski and wiping it down. He noticed Zelinski just lying in the sling, catching his breath. “You gonna cum?” McGrath asked, as he cleaned himself off. Zelinski sighed contentedly. “You gonna help?” he asked with a smirk. McGrath snorted. “You know I ain’t gay, Z. I don’t do cock.” Zelinski laughed as he started beating off. “Says the guy who just fucked my ass.” McGrath turned back to face him. “And fucked it good,” he said, reaching in to grab Zelinski’s balls. With a firm hand, he squeezed the root of Zelinski’s sac until he heard a moan. “That what you like, you little homo?” he growled. “Yes, Sir,” Zelinski moaned, jerking himself hard. “Yes, Daddy…” “Shoot your load, boy,” McGrath ordered, sucking on his stogie with his free hand. “Shoot it now while you’re all full of Daddy’s cum.” And Zelinski did, blowing a load that landed across his throat and chin. Fuck, he loved these straight dudes. He screamed as he let go. McGrath smiled. His job here was done. “So,” McGrath said as he slid his underwear back on and Zelinski floated up out of the sling, landing by his cum towel, “we still good for Friday?” Zelinski chuckled. “We’re good anytime you wanna give that big cock, my friend. I fuckin’ LOVE that dick,” he said, wiping himself down. “I just wish I could get you to love mine.” McGrath shrugged his massive shoulders. “We are who we are,” he said, zipping up his black cargo pants. “Look, Z, if I were gay, you would…” “I know, I know… I’m not trying to make a thing out of it -- I’m just sayin’...” They stood there awkwardly facing each other, the sexual pull between them undeniable, but McGrath just couldn’t do it -- he couldn’t kiss Zelinski. Instead, he gave him a Bro-Hug. “Look, gimme some time…” McGrath whispered in Zelinski’s ear. “There’s no one else I’d want to do this with…” Zelinski smirked. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” he laughed. McGrath pushed him away. “Fuck you,” he said playfully, and reached for his shirt. “Yeah, you will,” Zelinski said, heading toward the bathroom. “On Friday. Have a good flight… daddy.” McGrath wanted to throw something at him, but he knew his super-strength would be more destructive than playful, so he flipped Zelinski off instead (to Zelinski’s laughter), stubbed his cigar butt out and slid his t-shirt on -- the word “Sooners” stretched across his chest. He heard the shower come on, so without a formal goodbye, McGrath stepped out onto Zelinski’s balcony and flew off toward home. He’d done this flight a thousand times -- he could almost do it blindfolded, From San Francisco, he flew Easterly, though he preferred a more Northerly flight path over Nevada, Utah and Colorado, rather than the more direct Southerly pass over Arizona and New Mexico (and part of that shithole Texas). He liked the scenery of the Rockies versus the desert -- there was plenty of flat and boring in Oklahoma, thank you, give this man the mountains. But then, just as he was flying over Glen Canyon National Park in Southeastern Utah, just as he was settling into a post-orgasmic, blissful, trance-like flight (listening to a Tim McGraw album on his headphones), he was hit directly from beneath, unexpectedly, by what seemed like a missile -- it momentarily knocked the wind from him. “What the actual fuck?” he asked no one. Looking around for what hit him. Tim McGraw sang about being humble and kind. Then it hit him again, this time from behind, and drove him -- at super-speed -- down onto the ground before he could get his bearings. It was a person -- a man -- it was a some-ONE, not a some-THING. Someone with super powers. McGrath forced himself up from the ground and back-handed the guy off him, knocking him about twenty or thirty feet back, where he landed in a puff. Regaining his feet, McGrath noticed a white, chalky dust on the back of his fist where he’d hit his adversary. He wiped a bit with the fingers of his other hand and sniffed it. And he was suddenly horny. It hit him like cocaine -- that’s what it reminded him of, this white, chalky dust -- except drugs weren’t supposed to affect him anymore. And what… was the guy covered in it or something? Why was McGrath’s dick hard? The guy stood, shaking off McGrath’s wallop. He was a gigantic thing, six-four, six-five, close to three hundred pounds of muscle -- simply massive -- dressed only in a Superman compression shirt and a pair of over-stuffed red speedos. To look at him, he COULD be the actual Superman, he looked so similar, except for the fact that his skin lacked pigment and his hair was a disheveled mess -- he was a white as a snowman. Glancing at the powder on his own hands, McGrath wondered if the guy was covered in it… or if he was producing it somehow. Whichever, he had a shit-eating grin on his face -- he looked like an idiot. He HAD to be coked out, McGrath thought. (Although, horny as he was, McGrath couldn’t help but notice the guy’s huge, swollen ball sac, big to the point of being uncomfortable, causing Macrath to inadvertently lick his lips.) “All right, pal,” he said, in a ready-stance, “what the fuck is goin’ on?” The monster laughed, a big, fool’s laugh. “BAD WORD!” he said, pointing. “YOU NO AM SUPERMAN! YOU AM BAD WORD!” “Are you okay?” McGrath asked, warily. “Are you on something?” “ME WANT ON SUPERMAN! YOU NO AM SUPERMAN! YOU AM BAD WORD!” Casually, McGrath pulled the Sooners tee over his head, revealing his own heavily-muscled torso, and the metallic S-shield that was tattooed across his mighty chest. “I think you’ll find me a worthy substitute,” he said, putting his hands on his hips. “YOU... AM... SUPERMAN!” the thing said, as if discovering something new. “ME WANT FUCK SUPERMAN!” “What…?” And then, with a burst of super-speed, the creature was on him and knocked McGrath onto his back. “ME WANT FUCK SUPERMAN,” the thing said, and it began kissing McGrath, over and over again, like someone who’d never kissed an adult before. The dust that came off the creature -- that coated the creature? -- McGrath could smell it -- taste it -- it WAS like cocaine. Horny cocaine. As he wrestled with this creature, he got more of it on himself… in himself. He could feel the thing’s erection pressing against him. He could feel his own pressing back. What the fuck…? “YOU AM FEEL IT NOW!” the creature rasped, as if his throat were dry, too -- or he didn’t know how to whisper. “YOU AM HORNY SUPERMAN!” Lifting up into the air, McGrath tried to flip the creature over his head, but then ended up slamming them both into the ground on their backs, raising more dust -- he couldn’t break the thing’s hold. Admittedly, he wasn’t used to wrestling (seriously) with guys that had strength equal to his own -- even in his daily work as a deputy, he rarely came across anything that required his full strength. Sure, every now and again he’d lift a car, or a tree blocking the road, but nothing like this. “ME AM SO HORNY FOR SUPERMAN!” Without even trying to, the creature easily flipped position and scissored McGrath’s head with its massive quads -- its over-sized balls right in McGrath’s face. Impossible to breath -- everything smelled like sex and horny energy. He was having trouble fighting back. The creature squatted and t-bagged McGrath, his grapefruit-sized balls flopping to either side of McGrath’s face, smothering him in ecstasy. He reached up and grabbed the thing’s quads, perhaps in an effort to pull himself off the ground, instead he put himself deeper in the creature’s sac. He didn’t care. The way he was feeling right now -- he wasn’t caring about much of anything. “YOUR COCK AM SO HARD!” the creature said, grabbing it. “YOU AM SO HORNY!” McGrath drew in a deep breath, moaning -- his face was covered in powder, giving him the look of someone hit too hard by a makeup poof. He wiped it off and licked it -- he wanted it straight from the source. “Yeah, gimme your cock,” McGrath panted, desperately. “I need that cock... ” “ME FUCK SUPERMAN,” the creature said, laughing his stupid laugh. “ME MAKE SUPER HORNY!” “Yeah, fuck me,” McGrath heaved, his desperation growing, pulling his pants off. “Put it in me!” “ME FUCK YOU!” the creature said, playing with its own dick, sliding a dusty finger into McGrath’s hole. “ME FUCK YOU STUPID!” It was the creature’s balls that were swollen, not its cock -- McGrath’s own was significantly bigger -- but McGrath had never had any cock at all, remember, so his virgin ass was going to be feeling it no matter what. Except something about the dust coming off the creature wasn’t making him feel much of anything other than lust and need. He felt its cock against his hole, pressing for entrance -- and briefly, he thought it might hurt, but he didn’t care -- he didn’t even care if it made him gay -- he just let it in. He needed it. And it was ecstasy from the moment it was inside. The creature clung to him, humping him doggie-style, but wrapped around McGrath’s muscular torso, one hand in McGrath’s mouth, so that McGrath sucked on the creature’s fingers, licking the candy-coating straight off. He felt nothing but idiotic bliss as the creature’s enormous balls slapped against his hamstrings. “ME CUM NOW!” the creature roared. “ME GIVE SUPERMAN BIG LOAD!” And then he did -- he slammed deep into McGrath’s muscular ass and filled him with cum, every ounce those giant balls could produce. Liquid ecstasy. The creature stayed inside him, reaching around and grabbing McGrath’s rock hard cock. “NOW YOU,” the creature growled in his ear. “NOW YOU GET STUPID! HORNY AND STUPID!” McGrath’s balls started to swell, as if they were filling with the creature’s ejaculate. McGrath held his package, moaning, the weight of his nads increasing -- the sexual charge growing right along with them. The creature jerked him with rough, clumsy strokes, but McGrath was so blissed out it didn’t matter. He was moments away from shooting -- moments away from losing all control. He felt so fucking good! “SHOOT, HORNY SUPERMAN!” McGrath, unable to help himself, threw his head back and yelled, “YES! FUCK, YES! HORNY SUPERMAN SHOOT!” And then he did -- this huge, blinding, stupefying orgasm. His big, swollen balls pumped out ropes of thick, white jizz. More and more -- every little bit of him. Even as the last drops dribbled out -- a line like thick, white snot descending from the open tip -- McGrath’s dick remained semi-erect. He continued to play with it, licking the dribs of cum from his fingers as if discovering the taste. He was nearly covered in white powder, making him look like a bodybuilding clown. For no reason, he found that funny and started giggling. The creature chuckled with him, pulling his cock out of McGrath’s ass -- there was a tight “pop!” that made them both laugh out loud. “YOU AM STUPID!” the creature said, delighted. “YOU AM STUPID NOW!” McGrath laughed -- a big, braying, bovine laugh. “ME... AM... STUPID!” he said, smiling, looking around. “WHERE… WHERE BRAINS GO?” The creature laughed, smacking McGrath on the ass. “YOU SHOT ALL YOUR BRAINS OUT, SUPER COCK! YOU AM STUPID NOW!” The two of them looked at each other for a moment, trying to comprehend, then they broke out laughing and they hugged. “STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!” they sang and danced around each other, big balls flopping and cocks dribbling. They awkwardly kissed, suddenly reminding themselves they were horny and desperate, covering each other in the powder. McGrath felt a new kind of need — the need to pass it on. (Not that he was in a position to articulate it.) “WE NEED FUCK MORE SUPERMEN!” he said with a smile. (Okay, maybe he could articulate it.) “HORNY…” The creature vigorously nodded. “YES! MAKE MORE HORNY SUPERMEN!” “ME NEED SUPER COCK!” The creature looked around. “WHERE AM MORE SUPERMEN?” Putting his hand on the Creature’s mighty chest. “ONE SUPERMEN,” McGrath said with seriousness and intensity, as if this were taking all his concentration. “TWO SUPERMEN,” he continued, touching himself. “WE AM TWO SUPERMEN!” he laughed, clapping childishly. “YOU AM SO STUPID,” the Creature laughed. “WHERE MORE SUPERMEN AT?” “ME KNOW! ME KNOW!” McGrath jumped up and down with his hand in the air. “THERE AM MORE SUPERMEN IN SAN FRANCISCO! SLUTTY SUPERMEN!” “ME LOVE FUCK SLUTTY SUPERMEN!” “YAY! MAKE SLUTTY SUPERMAN STUPID, TOO!” Again, they danced joyfully together. “WE MAKE ALL SUPERMEN HORNY AND STUPID!” They cheered, then stood there looking at each other blankly. “WHERE WE GO?” “SLUTTY SUPERMEN’S HOUSE, HORNY STUPID!” McGrath laughed. “RIGHT! ME NEW AT STUPID! NOT GOOD LIKE YOU!” They laughed together, hugged and kissed again. “LET’S GO!” Holding hands, they flew off. NEXT PART
  5. demon577

    5 roommate crushes you

    before starting this story I want to point out that he has fetish and violence, this is my first real story and I do not speak English, thank you for your understanding, I speak on behalf of the little person who looks like me. Chapter 1: the presentation your name is Quentin, you were 30 years old is loved muscular men and you were gay, but you were so shy that you have never met, you look only through pictures, you like their muscles that makes them dangerous because it looks like bullies , you often had dreams or muscular men forced to touch kiss their muscle before you crash, unfortunately you knew that in real life nobody does, because you could die or be disabled, but you continue to te masturbate while looking at pictures or videos imagining that he uses their muscle to crush you. You lived in roommate with 5 handsome males each had something special, He had Tom Tom was a 35-year-old policeman, He also had Eric Eric is a well-known footballer who makes girls crack like men. you also had Ben, a wrestler who was extremely hairy everywhere, because he loves these hairs because he could torture with these smells and sweat, it looks like a gorilla, even these buttocks were filled with hair which keeps some smell of farts, the hairs were deep and like a huge forest, he had several takes prefers like taking Cross Rhodes to make feel his armpit or facesitting to make his ass feel is sometimes he fart with facesitting, his wrestling outfit was a simple wrestling slip with boots like randy orton, he loves so much that he always stayed in his outfit and he never changed it. you also had David, a university student David was a tyrant, he likes these biceps and hurts his biceps, he also likes to be admired. If he sees that someone likes his biceps, he will show him very close, because it will hurt him with his biceps, once in school a guy asked him if he can touch his biceps, he accepted When he's finished, he stuck the guy's head into the biceps crack and then he flex hard to hear the bones in his head crack and the man screaming at the power of his biceps. the last roommate is called ridder Ridder was a porn star ttbm hardcord black. all these men always come back in their uniform, because he was obliged to wash them at home, so he leaves in uniform and returns in uniform except ridder who always stay at home, because he filmed these plans in this room, you fantasize on all your roommates when they are in uniform or not, but you were so shy that you try to look at them discreetly even once you have looked through the lock ridder make love through the lock, but what you do not know not all of these roommates were aware, so that from time to time he fucks little poses in the living room, the only thing you knew is that all 5 was very domineering and competitor is also all very brutal like tyrants, but for the moment he leaves you alone. Chapter 2: The divine intervention one day the god decides to have fun and especially to realize your dream, he throws a flash on the house that will change the lives of everyone in this house because everyone becomes invisible so no one can be dead and no blood , but everyone had something special, you had remained normal except that you were spongy that means you could be flattened and you take shape, ditto for the other direction, you can be enlarged but after you take shape but in all the cases you continue to have pain, but the other 5 have them a lot more because they had an unbreakable steel body, he also had a super-strength, with a one-piece tight-fitting suit, and he had all their body that had changed already it was all huge everyone was a little bigger than their penis and he was becoming like gods of muscle because he was very muscular and huge but everyone sees himself a little different, tom had a lot pecs more develop than the others, eric had thighs and legs more develop than the others, Ben had huge buttocks and much more develop and muscular than the others, David, as you can imagine, gets the biceps much more developed, very strong, very hard and muscular than the others, and finally ridder had eight packs like boards to wash super develop and a penis even bigger and longer and harder than the others. The only worry is that he had to eat more protein each person eat for 8 people, and he became more brutal and dominant, he also became a superhero, but he also continues their normal life except that he receives new outfits for their size and set aside because too dangerous even ridder spanked less plan because all these partners was too scared except you who at that time became their slaves and you were so small that they do not pay attention to you in the house and accidents happen often except that you do not mind. Chapter 3: Ben's accident by the time it happened you were sitting on the couch in the middle and Ben had come to sit on the couch when he develops these garment and boot get torn and falls to the ground and Ben loses balance on the couch, he does not notice your presence but see that the couch saw his waist and his ass was like a tight chair, he did not feel that you were stuck in his ass then he starts to laugh when he sees his ass Huge and enormously muscular, he wanted to test several things already he starts to scream and loose a huge stink bomb, for him it was funny because it stank a lot but for you who was in his ass was horrible, you try to screaming but these muscles mask the noise and in addition you could not even move because of the hairs then ben gets up and pats her ass and he feels that his ass was two ultra hard mountains, he decides to see that force and he squeezes all these forces her ass, you scream s pain until your bones crack then you finish flattened and Ben laughs again because he saw, because it was very strong except that these hairs hold you well in place, then ben turns to pick up those clothes tear on the he sees his ass in a mirror when he is bent over, he laughs again then he decides to see how and the depth of his ass he puts it open his ass in front of the mirror and there is a little mouth be, because he you sees in his ass still alive then for a minute he says "you are there quentin, I hope you enjoyed" and then he gets up again still in these buttocks he calls others when all 3 roommates were there he says "what did he do well" said with a smile "look who wanted to play" he bends to show you to the other and you could see that they were all smiling then ben get out of her ass and throw you in the middle.
  6. remerting

    Mr. Incredible VS Dr. Grow

    This was part of a collaborative roleplay I had with Arribous that we never finished. I found the whole thing to be hot and well written and I've always enjoyed Arribous' writing style. Hope everyone likes it. The scenario features a would-be villain attempting to sap away Mr. Incredible's super strength only to find that things go awry. Contains hyper, macro and some sexual scenes. "SO! Mr Incredible, we meet at last!" Bob heard the voice emerging from the darkness of the large, echoing room. His arms and legs were stiff, stuck in place as he felt suspended in air. Dramatically, fluorescent lights flickered on as the interior was lit, showing the warehouse in its entirety with shelves stacked against walls and a man standing before him. The figure wore a black jumpsuit with leather straps wrapped around his body. Bob turned to see what was restraining him as he noticed the two generator-like machines to his sides, buzzing loudly as they work to keep him trapped. Both wrists and ankles had been latched to metal plates with a noticeable blue energy surrounding them. He was left with both arms raised over his head, as if he had been shackled in some kind of dungeon. "What a pleasant surprise it is seeing you here. I didn't think you'd be so foolish to just waltz right through the door but now here you are, hands tied by my magnetized machine. I applaud your efforts." He didn't remember how he'd ended up like this, it was supposed to be an easy job that he could handle on his own. All he remembered was arriving at the warehouse...and then he ended up here. He knew his head was killing him, the middle-aged hero groaning and pinching his eyes closed as the ringing in his ears started to fade. "Ugh..." he groaned, shaking his head. He tugged at his restraints, testing them, finding that since they weren't physical objects he could overpower, he was stuck here. He sighed, hanging his head, an annoyed expression on his face as he looked at this...interesting individual. "Who're you?..." he grunted, not familiar with this person "Why I am Dr. Grow of course and you my friend are the very enticing Mr. Incredible. I've kept my eye on you for some time now." The masked villain said as he gave a slight pinch to his mustache. "Your superior strength is a fetching trait I hold much respect for. I'm almost jealous of it. I AM jealous of it." He turned away, giddy at the reveal of his master plan. "Brains aren't enough for me anymore. What I want is what you have." Bob sighed, furrowing his brow. He didn't have time for this, this was some two-bit hack that the police force shouldn't have any issue with. "You don't think a gym membership would have been easier than capturing me?" he said with a smirk, not particularly concerned. He didn't think this guy had much up his sleeve that could hurt him. "Oh believe me Mr. Incredible. What I have will make gyms obsolete! BEHOLD!" With a dramatic turn, Dr. Grow revealed his weapon. "This my burly friend will be the end of your super days: The Drain Gain!" The small ray gun was sleek and appeared comically canon to weapons of science fiction. "This little tool will suck the brawn right out of your body, harvesting your heroic muscle so 'I' can live in your shoes." The slightly-pudgy superhero was more curious than he was afraid, there was no way that this guy could drain his super-strength, right? Even if he got smaller, he'd still be able to draw upon his massive strength reserves whenever he needed to. He let the wannabe super villain boast about his device, remaining silent and waiting for an opening, his eyes darting around the room behind his mask as he looked for anything that could help him escape. "But why explain it when I can just show you." Giggling maniacally, Dr. Grow had switched the device to the first setting, aiming the Drain Gain at Bob with glee. "Any last words before I make you obsolete?" Bob grimaced, gritting his teeth a bit. "Once I'm out of this thing, you'll regret what you're about to do," he cautioned him, despite knowing it'd fall on deaf ears. "Do your worst." With the pull of a trigger, the weapon blasted a ray of green energy at the helpless hero, encompassing his form in an emerald aura that tingled his skin. Dr. Grow, smiling wide, looked on with excitement, desperate to spot the effects taking place. The process was slow and hard to notice but unbeknownst to Dr. Grow, his choice weapon was having the opposite effect. Even to Bob, he was convinced the alien sensation was taking a toll to his powers yet his figure sluggishly swelled. Bob grit his teeth as the ray hit him, expecting something painful...but he cracked an eye open when he didn't feel a blast of pain, only a strange tingling feeling working its way through his muscles. His suit creaked softly as the mass beneath it began to slowly expand outward, the hero instinctively flexing his muscle as best he could, given his position. The metal clamps around his calves and forearms were starting to feel rather tight. Slowly, Dr. Grow's smile was beginning to sink. At that point, the growth was noticeable to him. Bob's biceps had started to slowly swell closer to his face. His visible lats were wider, thick thighs even thicker, chest size growing, pushing out more. Something was wrong. Releasing his finger from the trigger, the growth had completely halted as the Doctor had disappointment written across his face. "Uhhh...give me a second here." Bob snickered, looking down at himself, his pecs having grown a bit thicker, his biceps tugging against his suit a bit. "Heh. Seems your little toy there might actually be useful. I think it grew me bigger...Maybe you need to turn it up some, maybe it'll work then," he said with a coy grin, hoping that the maddened doctor would go along with it. Maybe he'd get strong enough to break out of here. "Be quiet you! It's just a bug, nothing more..." As he examined the gun, Dr. Grow noted the setting set properly to drain. Perhaps down the line, his configuration functioned in the exact opposite. Switching the setting to gain, his confidence returned once again. "Now Mr. Meathead, watch as your new muscles suddenly vanish!" The beam struck him just the same, and the same effect happened. His muscles slowly swelled, his body getting thicker, wider, heavier...but since the machine was calibrated to only hold someone of his mass and not a larger person, his levitating bindings began to wobble, starting to let him drift down towards the ground. Seeing his opportunity, Bob grinned and began to struggle with the restraints, trying to do whatever he could to get out of the field's effect! "No! Stop!" Dr. Grow's attempts to remove his finger from the trigger hadn't stop the gun. The trigger was stuck in the active setting. No matter how hard he attempted to point his gun elsewhere, the stream was already too familiar with Bob's body. The magnetic machine was starting to groan. The added weight of Bob's mass was overloading it's field of influence. Bob was looking quite beefy now, his frame tumbling forward out of the machine's stasis field, falling to the ground and getting to his feet. Now that he was free, he quickly plied his strength to rip off the shackles around his wrists and ankles, freeing him from the device's grip permanently. But still that beam continued, his shoulders widening, his pecs flaring out in front of him, his glutes more defined and thicker beneath his suit. He grinned cockily, reaching up to flex one of his arms, grunting approvingly. "Whoof. Nice...don't suppose this is permanent, eh?" he chuckles, rubbing his arm. Prying the trigger with both of his fingers, the device finally went off. Now that his focus was on Bob, he stood stunned to see the hulkish hero, seven feet tall, almost seven feet wide. The sudden burst of brawn and beef had left the doctor scared. The moment was so perfect and now his plans had been thwarted on his own accord. And then there was Bob, holding his attention captive. The silk-like red suit stretching enough to show a hint of skin. The "I" insignia adorning his chest was pulling across his hefty breast. Even his black tights had a noticeable heft between his thighs. Dr. Grow was not only afraid, but intrigued. Bob took advantage of his opportunity, lowering his arms and flexing his biceps against his chest with a grunt and a broad grin. "Grrrh! I'd say that's a hell of a little toy you got there, doc! I think it about doubled my mass...look at me, heh," he chortled, relaxing his muscles and idly bouncing his thick pecs, a near-hypnotizing motion for the doctor. "What do you say about pumping me up a little more, eh? Even me out some? You've got scientific curiosity, right?" "Don't think this is over!" Dr. Grow said with a shake in his voice. "Just because you're some Adonis with...flawless arms and chiseled abs...and..." His concentration kept falling victim to the perfect physique he had crafted. "Laugh now, because I'm still going to drain you of all of that." The Doctor was lying of course. Even he knew that his weapon had no effect to suck the powers from his adversary. That still didn't stop him from holding his ray up and pulling the trigger, knowing well of his defeat. He might as well enjoy seeing his victor become even more irresistible. Bob ran his hands down his abs, touching every finely-contoured line, rumbling his approval. "Mmmmm. Even got rid of my pot belly too, heh. It might even help my hairline grow back," he chortled, raising his arms up and flexing, flaring his back out as wide as it could go. It was during this flex that he was struck with the beam again, which made him laugh deeply as he felt his body start to swell outward in every direction, gaining height and muscle and even more mass between his legs, the crotch of his suit stretching and deforming around his swelling manhood! "Rrrrghh, that's it! Keep it comin'!" he barked, his voice growing deeper and louder as he grew. Two feet was added to the glory of Bob's body before Dr. Grow stopped his gun again. The sheer arrogance of his nemesis toyed with his libido, drawing his enthusiasm towards his form. He approached Bob timidly, still pointing his weapon at him. "You like that don't you? You like being my lab rat." The doctor stood a few feet from his manly creation. He could see damp spots below the shoulders and around his chest. The smell of man was unavoidable, even at his distance. That suit; amazing that it still managed to keep itself around the curves of each bulbous muscle. He was even more amazed at how the ray was affecting the hero's member. The outline of his cock and balls had made his junk so apparent in the black speedo. His Drain Gain was never intentionally made to affect such an area but to the amusement of Dr. Grow, he wasn't complaining. Bob's hands reached up to grope and heft his newfound pec-shelf, a manly grunt of approval rising from his throat. "Hrrnnfh...I like getting bigger, and stronger. And you seem excited to give that to me. Maybe...you always wanted me so big and huge and hung, eh?" he chuckled, reaching a hand down to shamelessly grope at his package, the soft cock as thick as his wrist and so long it was forced to curve forward and below his nuts inside the stretchy confines of his suit. Sweat was starting to pool under his suit, soaking into the water-resistant fabric, beads rolling down his face as he panted and groaned under his newfound bulk. Dr. Grow almost pawed at his figure, fixated on giving it a touch. He was still frightened, fearing his worth drain with every blast, yet he still wanted to fire at him. "Tell me big boy, how desperate do you want to grow?" "Hahaha," Bob laughed, turning to the side for a side-chest pose, grunting as he flared his incredible pecs outward, tensing his bicep against them. "You say that like there's any outcome aside from you blasting me again. But I'll humor ya. I wanna GROW. REALLY huge," he grunted, his voice carrying a lot more presence now. "Give it to me." The desire for growth almost worried him more but his attitude suggests he doesn't take the villain serious enough. Nervously, Dr. Grow replied: "First, you kneel." Bob chortled, shrugging his massive shoulders. "Heh, yeah, why not?" he grunted, a little caught up in his growth himself. He dropped down to one knee, still looking down at the shrimpy doctor, though not quite as much as he had been a few moments ago. "I'm waiting," he grunted in mock annoyance, the heat from his body radiating off him like sunbeams. Dr. Grow's heartbeat was racing. He was actually complying to his demands. "Raise up your arm", he asked, hoping the loyalty was still present. It was never really there to begin with, Bob was just playing along so that he could grow bigger. He raised his arm as bidden and flexed, the bicep peaking up enormously, so tall that he could rub his knuckles on the top of it! "Hah, like this?" No reply was made. The glorious mountain of arm was a sight to behold, yet the bothered doctor had his interests below it. He crept closer to his pit, breathing heavy of its aroma. The already sweaty face of Dr. Grow was moistened further by the damp surface of the lat. He only continued to close in further towards his body. If Mr. Incredible can enjoy his newfound size, why couldn't the doctor? Bob grinned wolfishly as he realized what the doctor was getting so worked up about, the scent radiating from his pits, cascading down the inside of his suit, his man-stink leaking out despite the tight elastic contours of his suit. "Heh, you like my smell, doc? Y'know, it'd probably be a lot stronger if I grew big enough to rip out of this thing. But it can take a lot of stretching, so I'd have to get pretty damn big." "And big you will be, once I'm done with you..." The doctor leaned into Bob's side, face pressing against the cavernous contours of his pit. His tongue rolled against the fabric, the musk unbelievable to his senses. One hand caressed the side of Bob's chest, grazing against the protruding nipple under his suit while his other hand felt the lumpy surface of his flaring back. Above him was the mass of Bob's arm, still dripping on top of the wimpy doctor. "Grrhh...yeah, get a taste of a real man," he grunted, tensing his fist and flexing his bicep and lat and pec as strong as he could, the exertion causing the sweat spot to spread further, his musk invading the doctor's nostrils even more fully, he felt Bob's incredible, spicy male-scent reach into his lungs and brain! "Mmmnf, lick my pits more, taste my manhood little guy!" Dr. Grow obliged, lathering every inch of Bob's pit with his mouth. While he tasted the super beast, his arm reached for his ray gun again, unleashing another wave of growth while he savored the salty taste of man. Bob closed his eyes and groaned low in his throat as his nine-foot frame began to swell and bloat upward and outward once again, his muscle creaking beneath his suit as it grew bigger, thicker, stronger. He didn't even know how this might interact with his powers, but he had no doubt it'd make him exponentially stronger! His free hand reached up to heft his pecs, fingering the meaty nipple beneath the suit with a groan, sliding his palm down his bulging 8-pack of abs, feeling the Adonis belt he'd grown under his fingers...he was getting so BIG now, he had to be more than twelve feet tall, looking like he weighed two tons of musclebound brawn! The suit was still holding, but who knows how long that'd keep up. Stopping his ray gun again, Dr. Grow dismounted from Bob's soaking pit, stepping away as to fit every inch of sweat soaked muscle into view. Mr. Incredible was a titan. It was amazing how much room had vanished from his presence. Seeing his deep red suit turn pinkish, stretching from how much muscle it had retained inside only made the doctor tingle. All plans of sapping the hero's muscle were burned away by the villain's libido; the results were just too good. There was still so much room in the warehouse for him to continue and he saw no reason to stop soon. Still, he enjoyed toying with Bob. Any power he had over him was dictated by him giving Bob power. He was all too excited to continue his game. The hulking blonde superhero grunted, flexing his biceps against his chest, leaning his head back against his swollen traps, a broad and eager smile on his face. "Mnnnf. How do I look, Doc?" he snickered, raising both of his monster biceps and flexing them with a growl, the twin peaks of muscle forcing his forearms to bend outward. "Look at me...look how WIDE I am, haha! I feel stronger than ever!" Indeed, Mr. Incredible's physique was pushing to freakish levels. The enticing flexes and soaked suit only played with the Doctor's composure. "Yes, you've certainly grown quite a bit, but you're still too weak, wouldn't you agree?" his eyes fixated on the knee hanging clad member. Bob nodded eagerly, smiling brightly and relaxing from his flex, looking down at the doctor and looming over him, now more than double his height and hungry for more. "Oh yeah. I could stand to be a LOT bigger. I dunno what kinda freaky beast I'm gonna grow into...but I can't wait to get there and find out!" "Then you'll be a good little hero and let me... inspect your changes." The doctor's voice was breathy and dry. He crept closer to the heaving mound of cock, wrapped snugly into the distended leathery tights of Bob's suit. The member had grown to half the doctor's size with the leg holes extending on the sides to show the pink skin wrapped away by his red suit. The pouch was incredibly moist and musky and the smell only intensified the closer he came to it. From his perspective, he could see Bob's face slowly falling into obscurity behind his pumped up pecs. Both of his hands caressed the bulge, tiny in comparison to its magnificence. The balding demigod moaned happily as he felt those tiny hands on his massive dick, grinning from ear to ear and reaching forward with one of his huge hands, gripping the doctor's back and shoving him closer, pushing his face into the incredible bulge between his legs, smearing his face with the sweat pooling beneath his suit. "Yeahhh, how's that feel, little guy? How's my muscle-sweat smell?" he grunted, getting into his status as a growing beastman. It was impressive and divine in its shape. Dr. Grow could only imagine it unsheathed from its restraints but settled to see the outfit pushed to its limits. His hands attempted to lift the meat from its underside but his strength could not compare to its weight. Eagerly, Dr. Grow hoisted himself on top, feebly trying to climb on top of the manhood, pushing his weight against the thick bulge. He could feel his feet shifting as they slid the skin underneath the fabric. The hero's bulge was so big that it was enough of a platform for the smaller man to stand on top of as he balanced against the hulk's body. Bob chortled at how into this the doctor was getting, reaching down with his monster arms and pulling the little fella in to his abs, burying his face in the stretched-out bit of the suit that crossed the divide between his pecs. The doctor was in complete rapture. Half of his very being was scorched in the heaty embrace of his captive. His face could very well sink in between the crevice of the behemoth's chest. He craned his head upwards to catch a glimpse of the ripened man, lost in the handsome smug smile he had with masked eyes half way closed. It was hard to focus on such an amazing jaw line when the hero's breast continued to obscure it from sight. Dr. Grow widened his embrace until his hands glided far enough to caress the beefy nipples wrapped in red. It took the entire span of his arms to finally reach such a prize but that only excited him to realize just how immense the man had become. Bob groaned and instinctively bucked his hips gently at the touch of his fat, swollen nipples. His eyes pinched closed and he moaned softly, his smug grin getting even wider. "Nggghhfff...yeah...squeeze those super-nips, doc. See if you can even dent 'em!" he chortled, flexing his pecs against the doctor's frame. Just as Bob claimed, they were as tough and thick as the rest of him, it was like trying to squeeze a fleshy can of soda that was filled with lead! Much to Bob's ego, the grip of the doctor proved just how weak he really was, showcasing the comparison of just how mighty he's become. One flex of Incredible's chest swallowed up half of Dr. Grow's face, snaring him in walls of clothed, sweaty flesh that dumped the intoxicating alpha stench into the doctor's olfactory senses. Truly he has created something divine and despite Bob being so easily capable of snuffing the villain out, the doctor was rewarded instead with peak masculinity. The hulking hero groaned with bliss as he felt his chest muscles so easily engulf the normal-sized man, a hungry grin crossing his face as he pondered what to do next. His fingers were too thick to use that device that the doctor had, so he needed the little guy to cooperate with him. His man-stink seemed to be intoxicating to the little man...he wanted to grow more, so he needed the doctor to slip further and further into unthinking bliss. To that end he relaxed his chest and hoisted the doctor upward, leaning forward to press his lips to the much smaller man's own, growling as his tongue hungrily invaded the little man's mouth, stamping his masculinity and superiority into his face forever. So much force had entered into Grow's mouth. His hero was eager for more and communicated his hunger in a way that awarded the doctor further. With his face meeting with Mr. Incredible's, Dr. Grow had to lay belly-first across Bob's vast chest just to be drunk from. His noodly arms wrapped around the bullish neck, thrilled to be experiencing such a lust not only from himself but from his experiment, his guinea pig. He could make him as big as he wanted to and still he would beg for more. Happily, the doctor aimed his gun behind the giant's head and dosed him yet again as they continued to kiss. He felt the fabric beneath him stretching and creaking as it turned a lighter shade, the suit growing tighter and tighter across the hulking giant's frame. But if it bothered him in any way, he didn't show it, groaning in bliss as he began to expand outward once more. His voice grew deeper, his bones creaked as he grew taller, and the tongue filling the doctor's mouth expanded slightly. His head was growing but nowhere near the pace the rest of him was, his proportions were becoming freakier and freakier with each subsequent dose! Another ton and a half of muscle was added to his godlike body, swelling up past 14 feet in height. His man-stink rose into the air like heatwaves off of asphalt, filling the doctor's lungs with every breath he took. Dr. Grow had to part mouths, coughing as the intensity of Bob's hot breath was almost too much. As the ray stopped, he noticed just how much his position had been rearranged, his flat body balancing 90 degrees against hulking pecs instead of the previous slope. Knowing this, the doctor was all too eager to see what had become of Mr. Incredible. The middle-aged, balding hero chortled deeply when he looked down at the little man laying on his chest, reaching up to grab his lab coat with two fingers and hoist him up, leaning forward and placing him on the ground at his feet, allowing him to look up in wonder at the demigod he'd created. He couldn't see anything below Bob's eyes thanks to the huge shelf of his pecs, and the superhero was all too eager to make his head vanish completely with a simple flex of his titanic pecs, his body so wide that there was no way Grow could reach both of his nipples at once now. "Hahaha...Whaddya think, doc? Am I big enough yet?" he gloated, raising his arms to flex his biceps, the deep armpits soaked with sweat. "Nnghhh...pits feel all bunched up...must be a lot more hair in there than there used to be..." The doctor was dumbfounded. the sheer width of the titan was inhuman to say the least and the suit he wore, still clinging for dear life, hid almost nothing. Every freckle and hair follicle could be seen with only a hint of red shrouding it faintly. Dr. Grow had to keep stepping back just to keep the godly man in full view. "Amazing. You must show me more." Bob grunted, lowering his arms and pawing at his crotch, which had also grown disproportionately huge compared to his height. The gigantic shank of flesh in his suit had to be at least five feet long, and looked to be completely soft as well, his balls each the size of his bicep! "More..." he groaned, his eyes half-lidded, flexing his bicep against his pecs to rub and squeeze his nipples, his suit growing more and more soaked with his scent. "Believe me. I want more too, but I want to experience you my way. I've only seen you from the front but what are you hiding from the behind?" "Hehehe...there's more than you can see, doc. Check this out." His body sloooowly turned in place, each footfall shaking the warehouse around the two of them, making the ground beneath Grow's feet shake and rumble. He gradually turned his monolithic backside to the curious doctor, raising his arms and making his lats flare out as wide as they could go. "HRRRNNGHHH...YEAH...Check out this power, doc!" he roared, his back surging to more than ten feet in width! "My my, how much you've grown. I guess every part of you is perfect... well almost." Dr. Grow drank in the view, his eyes treated to a helping of Bob's beef. With his massive legs spread wide, the doctor couldn't help but keep his focus on Bob's low swinging balls, dangerously close to riding against the floor. Even more impressively was the ass. Luscious and fat yet still powerful and rippling, the two glutes were in a constant state of squeezing the life out of the black spandex that were strung between the boulders, each one having grown higher over the waist that even Mr. Incredible's lower lumbar was nearly unviewable by the enclosure of lats and cheeks. "Oh my..." Bob snickered, wiggling his ass in the air for the doctor's enjoyment, flexing the two gigantic, mountainous glutes together. "Grrhhhh. I could crush coal into diamond between these, haha! Anything you want flattened?" he asked with a cocky tone, squatting down to let his titanic nuts rest on the ground. "Nghhff...feel so heavy hanging from my crotch like that..." "Your ass is something to behold my guinea pig." Dr. Grow started to walk back towards Bob, as to gain a better view of his rump. The heat intensified with each of his steps. No doubt the entire warehouse was a sauna of stench, windows clearly retaining droplets of moisture in the air. "In fact, there's one last thing you can do for me and after this, I'll give you the fix you so deservingly need." Bob chortled, lowering his arms and attempting to look over his shoulder at the doctor, but his traps were too damn huge to make it possible! "Heh. I dunno if you can give me what I need at this point, doc. But I'll humor ya. What's that little thing ya need?" "Lay yourself down so I can experience that luscious rump of yours. After that, I'll make sure that damn suit comes off of you, and then some." The hero grunted, squatting down further, letting his knees impact the ground with a massive earth-shaking FOOM that rattled some of the sweat off the windows. His suit was fitting him like a second skin at this point, nearly transparent from being stretched so much, his body coated in sweat and man-fur that he hadn't had before. He laid down on his front, laughing as his pecs propped him up so much that he was forced to rotate his torso to the side, hiking his ass into the air to let the doctor explore it. "Heh. Try not to get lost in there, little man." So much mass had shifted with such a change in posture. With Bob having no space below him, his titanic nuts pressed out between his legs, right before reaching the prized booty. The doctor could see it now. The older man's crack had been loaded with blonde salt and pepperish hairs, barely concealed from the red suit. It was almost time to be rid of that obstruction but first, Grow climbed on top of Bob's ballls and graciously mashed his hands against the hulking glutes. He could feel the hair trapped beneath the suit crackling and grinding up against itself as he manhandled Bob's glutes, the man-stink just as strong here as it was everywhere else, a mohawk of fur ready to burst out from between his glutes the moment the suit was torn from his body. The hero flexed one glute, then the other, like a wave filled with steel. "Hahaha, you know, guys my age usually get a prostate exam, you up for the task, doc?" he teased, reaching back to grip his glutes tightly, pulling them apart as much as he could, exposing more hair and even more man-smell. "I'll give you something better." With a new air of dominance, Grow lowered his head into the enclosure, hoping almost to please Mr. Incredible as much as he was pleasing himself. He felt in control yet a part of him still enjoyed the idea of being Bob's bitch in the end. Deeper he went. Grow was slack jawed and ready to feast from his god. His tongue readily lapped against Bob's pulse. Even through the suit he could taste Bob's incredible manly essence, coating his tongue like an oil and overwhelming his senses, making him feel warm and hard as a rock atop the weathered hero. "Grrhh...that you eatin' my ass, doc? Hard to tell with how tiny and weak you are," he grunted matter-of-factly. Bob's words fell on deaf ears. Grow can tell he was speaking with command as his powerful words almost vibrated across his body. Nevertheless, the doctor kept swiping his tongue, drinking in the moment he would never experience again. With a grunt, Bob let go of his ass cheeks, letting them gently enfold the doctor between them, feeling his mass and power and warmth and sweat and stench surround him, temporarily trapping him in this musky jungle of flesh and fuzz, surrounded on all sides by glute muscle! What Bob hadn't expected was that familiar rush of growing energy coming from his ass of all places. As euphoric as having every inch of his body caressed by man-flesh, the doctor grew Bob further, letting the walls part away as to let him breath for air. Slipping out, the doctor fell out past the testicles and onto the floor, gasping and smiling as his arm was still extended, dosing Mr. Incredible more, sealing their deal. The hulking superhero groaned with delight as he felt his body swelling upward and outward, he was growing wider faster than he was growing taller! But he didn't mind, his rock-hard member throbbing as it reached up to his chin, the middle-aged hulk laughing as he raised his arms and tore the roof of the warehouse in half with a single motion, bending the metallic roof like it was made of aluminum foil. He took a big breath of the fresh air outside, now more than 50 feet tall, laughing with a steadily-deepening voice. "Haha! Yeah, that feels AWESOME, doc! Keep going! I'm gettin' so damn BIG and it feels better the bigger I get!" It was finally happening. The paper thin fabric that squeezed against the ever expanding musculature of the hunky hero was finally tearing. Rip by rip, the red uniform was giving up its endeavor to keep Bob remotely covered. The first to go were the black tights, their defeat obvious by the god cock that Bob had, nearing a size to his own body. Dr. Grow could only gawk at how much mass the titan was gaining, though the ray gun was proving to be less potent as Bob's dense muscles needed more and more energy to grow on. His sudden burst of size slowed down a bit as the tiny man below held his arm out to keep it going. He giggled to himself, smiling and licking the salty sweat that poured down on him as he was under his creation. "You hot monster..." left his lips whisperly, but unbeknownst to the villain, Mr. Incredible just so happened to hear him. All of the superhero's senses and powers were seemingly amplified by the ray's energy, not just his size and strength! He laughed as he turned to face the doctor, casting a shadow over him thanks to his massive pecs, his gigantic nipples pointed straight down due to the heft of his chest, leaking big drops of sweat as the hot sun warmed him up even further, the thick tangles of chest and armpit fur giving up big splatters of his sweat. "Grrr, that's right, doc! A hot monster that you created! I feel UNSTOPPABLE now!!" he roared, flexing a massive bicep, making the rest of his suit tear off, the peak of his muscle so tall he could press his palm flat against it! Dr. Grow stood up in shock, amazed to see the giant so high up hear him so vividly. As his finger left the trigger, stopping the growth temporarily, a large thin shedding of super suit had landed on the doctor's head, the smell so intoxicating and addictive, he was almost hesitant on even taking it off. His super beast was fully nude, drenched and clearly horny now, his mammoth chest inhaling and exhaling as though he had just finished a brutal work out. Citizens outside could be heard panicking at the sudden emergence of a 100 ton man attempting to look down at his tiny acolyte. Out of all the chaos ensuing, Grow could only say one thing: "Wait...you can hear me?" "Yeah!" Bob said with a grin. "Why, should I not be able to? I can hear all kinds of stuff, doc. Every part of me feels stronger. "Why'd you stop with the gun? Don't you want me even BIGGER, a more POWERFUL monster-freak for you?" he asked with a cocky expression, bouncing his massive pecs, sandwiching his freakish cock between them and starting to pec-fuck himself. Supposedly the ray gun had given the monstrous man some newfound power, another unforeseeable mistake thanks to Dr. Grow's incompetence at villainy. "Well... you'd want that wouldn't you?", he said, choking on his own words, although deep down he too wanted his experiment to take on magnitudes of size. "Besides, why the hurry? Why not show me just how much you love your new size. The city has so much to offer."
  7. Guest

    INFINITY BREAKERS - PART 02

    ***DISCLAIMER***. If it gets complaints, I will move it to the Member+ Section. This series involves a 16 year old. There is sex, but there is also Age Progression and the 16 year old becomes a man in the beginning of this over all story, so it is essentially a regular story. Just a Warning and a Precaution I wanted to take. ***DISCLAIMER*** Part 2 The MIND – Part I Johnathan’s face was a strange mix of fear, amazement, and a bit of excitement. This man, this hero, his hero, that he admired and the whole world wanted to be like has shrunk down to a size even smaller than himself. “H-How?! I-Is this how you looked before you got your powers?” He lifted his hand out, needing a touch just to see if this was actually real or not. He placed his hands on the teen’s chest in front of him. It was flat, flatter than his own. Sliding his hands around this “HERO” he thought he new and adored, and wrapping them around his sides to support himself as he leans over him, to get his face closer to this new discoveries own face. “Wow… after seeing how amazingly manly you were, you’re actually pretty fucking cute like this too…” He smiled down at the now regressed “Hero” to teen. He realizes a large sphere, blue in color, rolled over from their weight on the bed and bumped the outside of his hand. He remembers it popped out of his “Hero” a few moments ago. He manipulates his hand away from the teen under him, and plucks the ball from the sheets; holding it up to the light, examining its slick shine before returning his gaze “What is this?” he asks, drying it off a bit on his shirt, his hand still wet with particles of the sphere from picking it up. “I-“ the teen with his back on the bed had to stop himself. His voice was so much higher then what he was as The Alpha. “I’m going to need that back, stud. He reached up toward the ball, but Johnathan pulls away a bit. Johnathan moves his other hand to push the smaller guy’s legs apart, spreading them so he could get even closer and in control. “That’s not to be messed with!” the former “Hero” swallowed hard as he tried to plead with the slightly larger teen. “That’s the Mind… The Mind of a Hero!” He gazed at the sphere with wonderment being held above him out of reach. He needed that back. “Come on Johnathan… Sport… Stud… Look at us! We’re close to the same size now! We can still have fun, then I can go back to how I was. Just, be gentle with that. You don’t know how to use it or what you are doing…” Johnathan pulls his band back farther up, making it even harder for the teen to touch the sphere, and uses his other hand to grab the teen’s wrist that was reaching up, pushing it back down and holding it firmly to his sunken chest. He gazes back at the ball, then back at the fallen, raising an eyebrow, a sly cocky grin sweeps on his face. “Mind of a hero…” he relishes on how easy it is to now hold his “Hero” down, a sharp contrast from the moments before. He goes back to the shrunken man’s old plea. Fun… “Oh we can still have fun alright… But how would something like this give you power?” he asks, getting turned on slightly, he grinds his stiffening cock into the smaller mans covered cheeks, noticing the lump in the “Hero’s” tights was now even smaller than his own. “This to me look’s like just a Jawbreaker.” He noticed a bit of the sugar sludge on his hand. He swaps the ball into his other hand, bringing the sweet sludge to his lips. He has to be sure it is what it looks like as he pushes his tongue to his hand and licks the sweetness clean, making his “Hero” watch in utter horror. That one lick changed everything. A *SPARK* ignited inside of Johnathan’s brain… a *SPARK* that he could already tell was going to change his life, and the Universe FOREVER. Whispers, very faint began to push out inside of him. “Hello?! Who else is here?!” he began to look around the room, questioning as they began to grow, get louder, clearer… Lick the ball, our New Master… we will help… The old hero looked up at Johnathan. He knew how the chain of events started. He heard the voices. He knows the steps and how this was going to turn out if he didn’t stop it soon, he knew that the teen above him would soon be a VERY big man. “Stop, Johnathan,” he pleaded, practically begged as he placed his hand on his holder’s wrist holding him. “You’re a virgin, right kid? I was too before I became a hero. I’ll help you, I’ll be with you, I promise. The birds and the bees, positions, everything you need to know, just give it back and you will learn from me.” Johnathan’s eyes went wide with a thousand yard stare as the initial HIT of the MIND hit him, the voices filling his head. He notices a bit of sludge on his other finger tips from when he tried to wipe this “MIND” off with its wetness earlier. Yanking his hand up, dragging his so called “Hero” up with him. He brings his finger to his lips, licking them clean. More gates open up inside his MIND, filling him with new thoughts, insidious thoughts of power and lust. He heard the fallen “Hero’s” words faintly, bringing him back to reality. “Everything I need to know…” He looks down at him letting his hand drop slowly and lowering the body attached to him back onto the bed. “I think this thing right here will do that just fine…” He starts to grin, but it turns into a cocky smirk. I thought comes into his head, possibly an Ultimatum for this “Hero” that the world made everyone worship. “Hmm… Unless…” His grin got wider. “Unless you can get me to cum faster than I can work through this Jawbreaker!!” The former “Hero” watched as Johnathan raised the Jawbreaker, The Mind, above both of them. He tilted his head back, and watched in horror as the sphere was pushed into his mouth, closing shut. Johnathan leaned back over the hero. “Start teaching, sir…” he teased, grinding his crotch up against the “Hero” as he interlocked both sets of their hands and pushed him against the bed. The “Hero”, with the last bit of strength he had left, managed to roll them both over so he was on top of Johnathan, kicking the last remnants of his loose fitting uniform off, his leg tights. His body now exposed completely as he pushed his hands into the waist band of Johnathan’s short tugging down. Johnathan laughed, watching this “Hero” literally try as best as he can to get to his cock so he could get himself to cum. He humored him, lifting his ass up off the bed slightly, to let the puny “Hero” slide his shorts off. He slurps on the sweetness, rolling the MIND around on his tongue, as the voices slowly begin to return to him. He sees the “Hero” now checking out his 4 inch dick between them, and the MIND can also see what Johnathan can as well. Now that’s a NIIIICE COCK… Not like the three inches our last Master had… The Jawbreaker, slowly melting down, creeping more and more into Johnathan’s very being. A small warmth begins to spread throughout him. The MIND beginning to become one with Johnathan. The old “Hero” grabs Johnathan’s 4 inch dick, it slowly begins to inflate in his hand, as he starts pumping it, twisting it, with different motions and movements to get this teen to shoot his load. This is a real ALPHA… The voices continue as a Shock to the brain causes Johnathan’s head to smack into the bed, it was like a punch to the face. LANGUAGE… in a matter of seconds he is fluent in all of them, even alien ones not yet known to man on this world. Don’t ever use this word new Master… Johnathan saw the word the “Hero” said. That gave him this opportunity of a lifetime… On second thought… Let’s just Erase it from Master’s vocabulary… This Master doesn’t deserve to EVER be small… “OHHHHH FUUUCK!” Johnathan moans in approval. His cock getting more rigid and harder from what they are telling him. “Fuck… that word… the one you said…” he finally sees a plaque on the wall near them. Andy… the “Hero’s” Name. He grins. “Yeah that word, Andy… The one that made you this weak piece of shit? This MIND Jawbreaker just gave me all the words in existence. My Vocabulary is better than any fucking Dictionary in the entire Universe, but they made sure to not give me THAT word… If I get all your “POWERS” they are mine forever.” Andy looks on, scared. He doubles down intensifying his hand job skills as the stroking and the voices just amp up the coming orgasm even more for Johnathan. “I’ll make you fucking cum Johnathan!!!” Johnathan begins to chuckle. “You better make me cum, Andy… and fast! This thing is melting faster than I expected, it wants me as its new Master.” He reaches forward, stopping Andy’s cock jerking momentum, and places his hand on the head, rubbing his hair, before sliding it to the back, gripping his skull, and pulling him closer to his cock. Small amounts of sexual prowess start seeping in, soon a big wave will flourish inside him. Johnathan pulls Andy’s head to the shaft, as he guides Andy’s hand that is still holding on to his meat and angles it upwards to Andy’s lips. “Part your lips, Andy. I think I want to see what getting head feels like.” He smirks as he pulls Andy’s head closer. Andy moved his mouth over Johnathan’s cock just as fast as he was being pulled towards it. He needed to get this guy to cum and he needed to cum before any more power went to him. His efforts caused Johnathan to shudder. It’s the first time he’s ever had a warm, moist mouth and tongue glide over the surface of his penis, and it was electrifying. “Oh… OH FUCK!” His cock went rigid. He felt his testicles churn and shake in anticipation of the cumming lurch. “I CAN’T… PLEASE… MIND!!!!” Oh you ain’t fucking cumming Alpha… His moans softened a bit, his dick still rock hard, Andy had to look up for a minute. Those voices in Johnathan’s head, music to his ears… him… ALPHA… that was what everyone used to call the teen in front of him on the floor who had his swollen, hard cock down his throat now. He looked up, and said out aloud to the voices… “Soon…” Andy was afraid of what the MIND was telling Johnathan, but Johnathan could literally hear the MIND moan inside of him, his saliva glands secreting more just to wet the Jawbreaker enough to give him another dose of knowledge. Johnathan’s head smacked hard against the bed again, but so did his body… it felt like he was hit by a semi-truck. SCIENCES… PHYSICS OF THE BODY… MOVEMENTS FOR WORK OUTS… The continued working of Johnathan’s cock…. All these new things he has gained in his knowledge. Everything was bringing him again back to the brink. Knowing how his body can move. Knowing how to eat right with the sciences to grow even BIGGER. Knowing the proper motions in his workouts to really help his fit teen body grow… His balls start to pull up… he feels his first load about to push its way into the passageways leading into his shaft. “Oh God… Fuck… NOOO… I’M GONNA CU-“ Yes… Let’s give him THAT as a TRAIT… HOW TO CONTROL AN ORGASM… Andy was excited. He finally succeeded, as he sucked a bit harder he noticed the cock in his mouth stopped its pulsing. It was as if it was on a massive edge. And Johnathan, the teen who’s cock was in his mouth began to laugh. “Mph… HAHAHAHAHA! Oh yes…” his balls resting in his sack as they pull to their normal hanging spot. “You are DONE Andy.” Andy stopped sucking, looking up at Johnathan confused. “But you haven’t came yet. What do you mean?” “You see, the MIND truly loves me, Andy. They gave me a gift. Now I won’t cum unless I choose to.” As he spoke more waves entered through him, he moaned, but his cock stayed true. CONFIDENCE… SWAGGER… Johnathan pushes himself up on the bed, placing both feet on the ground firmly, and opens his legs wide, pushing Andy onto the floor between them. He grabs a hold of his cock, stroking it, as he arches his back and true Alpha mind status floods in. Johnathan’s spine cracks, shifts, as it becomes perfectly aligned as he reaches what should have been his maximum growth at this stage in life, 5 FEET, 4 INCHES. His lower torso rearranges as he finally is able to have a 4-pack all the time without flexing in his stomach muscles. And his chest pushes out slightly more. He grins wide, hand flicking his cock back towards Andy, so it swings out and drips pre all over the floor and partially splattering the teen’s face in front of him. “This power, Andy… it is… intoxicating… I’m learning so much…. Much more in seconds than most men do their entire lives.” Johnathan pats the spot next to him on the bed, now HIS bed, letting Andy know to come back up. Andy slowly got up, Johnathan extending his hand to help him sit down on the bed. “You still haven’t made me cum, Andy. I honestly doubt you will be able to now either…” Andy looks down, Johnathan puts his hand under his chin and lifts it so they are looking directly at each other. “Not with just your mouth at least.” He winks, grinning, and motions for Andy to turn around. Andy slowly slides up the bed. Scared, but also a little turned on. His own 3 inches hard as he gets into doggy position. Take your place, Our Alpha… The voices egging Johnathan on, his cock practically drooling more and he lubricates it completely with a couple quick hand strokes. He sucks down on the MIND. His back arches as he moves closer to his conquest as a new set of knowledge becomes clear to him. PLEASURE… SEXUAL POSITIONS… DOMINATION… HOW TO REALLY FUCK… His mind fills with endless possible ways to take that spread ass right in front of him. To truly make it his own personal Fuck hole. It excites him just looking at Andy, down on all fours, his head turned looking back at his soon to be “HERO” Johnathan dips a bit, right behind Andy. He reaches down and grips the ass in front of him, his hands knowing exactly where to go as he holds him steady and pulls Andy’s cheeks apart, exposing his hole. “Oh fuck… its beautiful Andy.” His hips sliding forward, his abs crunching slightly, as he presses his hard cock between the ass cheeks and begins a slow grind, spreading his pre all over the opening of the hole. Andy’s hole flutters in anticipation. He feels the engorged, dripping tip rub around his hole, waiting for Johnathan to push himself in. Let’s give him more gifts…. The head is not Alpha worthy… Johnathan chuckles a bit. “You guys are fucking right! It ain’t fucking Alpha worthy!” Andy doesn’t know what Johnathan is talking about now, but as he said that, Johnathan looked down at his dick, ready to be plunged into Andy as he watched it flare up, and expanding into a fat bulbous mushroom tip. “Mmmm fuck, this is going to feel soooo good! Not just for me, Andy, but for you now too…” Now it’s fitting of an ALPHA… Johnathan grins at what was just given to him and pushes forward. Pressure begins at the opening of Andy’s hole when he realizes what Johnathan was just given. Andy moans, Johnathan moans as Andy’s hole is forced open for him and it literally pops into place in the virgin cavern. Johnathan tugs back slightly to see if his cock would be coming out easy, and it’s as if his cock is now vacuum sealed inside of Andy. Only way it will be coming out is if he literally forces his cock free. “Oh Fuuuuuuck!!!!!” he moans as he sinks his cock in deeper. Give him thoughts of power… of battle… it will truly not just make him a beast on the battleground, but a titan in the bedroom… More Knowledge starts to flow… ATHLETICS... STRENGTH OF THE BODY AND MIND... EVERY TYPE OF FIGHTING KNOWN TO MAN... STANCES... POSITIONS... WAYS TO CONQUER EVERY BATTLE... Johnathan grunts… his teeth grinding into the Jawbreaker inside of his mouth. He feels it begin to slightly dent inward… OOOOOHHHHHHH IT’s COMING!!!!! ONCE IT BREAKS WE ARE TRULY HIS!!!!! Johnathan shifts his body into a better position, to truly slay the ass that he was inside. His hands sliding along Andy’s sides as he slowly shoves himself deeper. “Fuck… you feel like a virgin too, Andy… I bet you fucking were before you got your god body.” Andy blushes as Johnathan smirks and moans out as his cock still tingles from the subtle growth it just went through, supporting the already intense feeling of his cock getting wrapped up in this hot and tight ass. As all that knowledge fills his head, he starts changing how he fucks every dozen or so thrusts; humping harder here, gripping Andy’s body in different positions and speeds in other instances. Eventually he pulls Andy’s arms backwards and starts bouncing Andy’s ass off of his hips, sending him forwards, before yanking him back down to the hilt of his dick as he pounded relentlessly into the hole he was in. Andy begins to learn from his movements, as he arches his back to give him and Johnathan even more support in this passionate, yet dominate fuck session. Never has he been on this end before, always was he the one doing the fucking. Each time he’s pushed forward and pulled back in a little more of Johnathan’s shaft slide’s in until there is almost the sound of thunder as skin hits skin as. “FUCK, JOHNATHAN!!!” Andy moans, he grins. It hurts as, but Andy really wants it to feel good for himself cause he already knows his time is over. Things he was experiencing he had knowledge of, but never thought of doing them to his partner. They were wrong… Sex is about love and passion… There was still passion here, but it was something else other then love… Johnathon pulled Andy all the way in when the voices spoke again… How would you like more, Master? They weren’t just egging him on, they were feeding his ego. Making him what he could only dream of. A Hero, but with possibly a body of some of the biggest villains in the comic books. They were giving him the rise he not just needed, but wanted. Help him slightly… He can truly be the WORLD BREAKER… Every muscle and fiber inside of Johnathan flared out to sickening proportions, then returned down to the size they were. “OH Fuck…” He felt it inside him… his organs…. His skin… his teeth… That should be enough till you get The Power… Strength is now 3 TIMES that of a normal man… Break Us, ALPHA, and we will give you what power we have left. Johnathan groans out lewdly from the increase in strength, yanking Andy even harder towards him as he slams his cock all the way deep inside the ass in front of him. His grip around Andy’s waist becoming even more tight and restrictive. Andy turns around to see a slight increase in Johnathan’s muscle definition to signify his new, incredible strength. “Oh Fuck… Oh Fuck… OH FUCK YEAH!” he roared, the voices driving his desire to dominate Andy even further. He looks down to Andy’s face who is already looking his direction. Grinning evilly, “Time to fucking break you…” speaking both about Andy and the MIND Jawbreaker. He uses his new strength coursing through his body… CHOMPS down, splitting the remains of the ball in half. Andy is fearful, it seems like the sound is heard across the Universe of that sphere BREAKING in this new Young Alpha’s mouth. Johnathan feels a sudden rush of knowledge and power, everything coming into him at once, and he can’t help but to draw Andy in close and tight in a crushing hug as he ROARS from what he now knew… “GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR FUCKING POWER…” Again, talking to both Andy and the MIND… To Be Continued…
  8. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 30

    (Apologies. Computer is broken, and my chromebook only works. But it doesn't factor in formatting for some reason. Please go to this link for a better format:https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eLv1MVpxATbWSxxwiIsDaoVVz_KjQJALkH4sN5HAukU) Chapter 30: The Epic’s End Marvelous Man slowly descended towards the ground; his arms still embraced in a loving hug around the renewed imp. Digz continued to cry like a child with the feathery arms clutching the hulking bodybuilder’s jacket. There was a lingering bitter taste in his mouth, as he remembered what he said to the bone familiar minutes ago. Rather than letting Digz believe the horrible events to be a nightmare, the inspiration god slammed the truth back into the bone imp with two words. It was such a cruel thing to do, but Marvelous Man knew it was for the best. Still...that does not mean he should not console this grieving familiar. He spoke up, “I’m sorry I said that, Digz, but it’s not possible to be...innocent anymore. You need to know that you did a lot of bad things back then and even about an hour ago.” Digz looked up at Marvelous Man with tears streaming down his feathered face and snot dripping off his beak. “B-But! That wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! I-I-I’d never do all those horrible things,” he sputtered. The inspiration god nodded, “You’re right. You wouldn’t. I saw some of your memories, and I know you’re a very kind imp. And you were sick for a long time. And I can’t imagine how it must have been to be in pain like that...But I can kinda know what that’s like to be in so much pain that you hurt everybody...even the ones you care about...” “When my parents tried to cage me for what they thought was my own good, I tried to push my pain onto them. It felt really good to get that release, but I hurt them very badly...almost killed them too. It’s something I wish I could forget, and I know you want to forget too,” he continued. Gently landing on the ground with a soft patter, Marvelous Man set down the bone imp. The hulking bodybuilder then knelt down on his knees, while he reached into his black jacket’s pocket. Marvelous Man hoped his dad, Apollo, had predictably left an item he needed at this moment. He then felt the soft accessory his mind had called out to. Immediately pulling his hand back out, he held a pink, silk handkerchief. The musclebound superhero began to dab Digz’s eyes and feathery cheeks with the handkerchief; soaking up the tears. He then wiped away the snot from Digz’s nostrils and offered the bone imp to blow into it. Right after cleaning Digz, Marvelous Man placed the used handkerchief back into his pocket and pulled out a small water bottle. The musclebound superhero unscrewed the cap and held the plastic bottle in front of the sobbing familiar. He spoke softly, “Here. Drink this. It’ll help you calm down.” The bone imp grabbed the water bottle with both of his feathery arms and drank the bottle’s contents with heavy gulps. His sobs then died down, as he continued drinking the water. When there was none left in the bottle, he gave it back to Marvelous Man. Tears started to stream down his eyes again. “What’s wrong? You okay?” asked Marvelous Man. Digz whimpered, “It’s just that...That was the first thing I’ve tasted in so long. I can’t remember the last time I drank water...and...And it’s so delicious! “And now I’m realizing...I don’t hurt anymore! I don’t feel anything! I don’t feel like I’m burning anymore! I just feel the sun...and it’s so warm!” he rambled. The flickering embers of hate and anger held towards Digz in the inspiration god’s heart had now been washed away by a wave of empathy. Marvelous Man could only guess that the centuries of being incomplete had kept the bone imp incapable of eating...or even enjoying the simple things in life most living beings had taken for granted. More than anything at the moment, Marvelous Man wished he could use his power to take this pain from Digz. It was too much to watch the familiar become overcome by such little pleasure that it wept again. Marvelous Man then noticed a new glass string forming on his left pinky. Following its length, the string of inspiration extended over and connected with Digz. The inspiration god could hear the new seed he had planted in the bone imp’s heart. Marvelous Man accepted the glass string with his heart and tuned in to it. The glass string seemed to play back a thought of a realization Digz just had. Digz voice echoed, “I am finally alive again, and I’ll enjoy every second of being alive!” Marvelous Man’s mind immediately focused back into reality, as he noticed Digz running away from him. He was about to speak out when he saw where the familiar was running towards. It was the corpse of Alden; laying a small distance from the two beings. The dead body was still wrapped in the red cloak and glowing from the inspiration god’s supercharge. The Mana Stone, still lodged in the body’s chest, no longer pulsated with maddening power. In seconds, Digz arrived next to the deceased king and knelt down. The familiar wiped tears from his eyes and looked down at his former partner. He caressed his feathery arm against Alden’s glowing face, as Marvelous Man walked up next to the bone imp. “I’m sorry, Alden. I wasn’t a good imp at all to you. B-But! I’ll make it up to you! I’ll carry out all three of your promises!” said the familiar, “But you’re part of me now, aren’t you? So I won’t be truly alone. We’ll do it...together.” Digz leaned over and nuzzled the side of his white, feathery head against Alden’s forehead. A second after, he raised his head and stood up. The bone imp then turned to Marvelous Man and seemed to be looking past the hulking bodybuilder. “They’re coming to kill me, aren’t they?” he questioned. Marvelous Man turned around to where he supposed Digz was staring at. He spotted superheroes from different organizations and police officers slowly approaching; some just landing from their flight to join in with the group. Marvelous Man then turned back and saw another crowd of do-gooders encroaching closer to the two. The musclebound superhero looked down at Digz, “I’m not going to let that happen.” The familiar sighed. “Even if you could, they’d just lock me up somewhere where I’ll never see the light of day again. And then they’ll start cutting me up. Seeing what I’m made of. Because without a master to bond with, I’m not really an imp anymore...am I?” he replied. Marvelous Man got down on both of his knees; attempting to be at eye level with the bone imp. Despite the effort, the hulking bodybuilder was still a head taller than Digz and had to look down. He fired back, “Even if you aren’t, I’ll still do whatever I can to protect you! I’ve come so far to help you. I can’t let your new life end like that.” The bone imp stared up at Marvelous Man. “Even if you have to become the next Skeleton Lord to protect me? I know I can merge with your bones and give you my power,” said Digz. Marvelous Man hesitated. He felt shocked by such a proposal, while his mind tried to foresee what would happen if he accepted. Calculating the possibilities within the near future, it would most likely not be an easy life for the musclebound superhero. He answered, “Yeah, I would. If that’s what it takes to protect you, then yes. They can’t hurt you, if you bond with me.” Digz gave a soft smile. “You’re right. They wouldn’t. But that would be too selfish of me to taint your life like that, Marvelous Man,” he remarked. The bone imp continued, “If we did merge, you would be ostricized by everybody else. Nobody would trust you, and you’d probably be hunted down by the other heroes. So it was a nice thought to have for a few seconds, but no. I’m sorry, but I can’t do that to you. Not to the one I already owe my life to.” The hulking bodybuilder raised his large hands. He reached out to grab the bone imp but immediately stopped upon noticing something strange. The glass string connected to his left pinky and Digz was no longer visible. Observing Digz, the inspiration god saw that there was no glass strings connected to Digz at all. Not even the ones Digz negatively inspired were no longer existing. “Wha-Digz? Wha...What’s happening to you?!” questioned Marvelous Man. Digz smiled, “Wow, you’re really perceptive. It’s only been a few seconds, but you’ve already noticed.” The musclebound superhero stared back in bewilderment. Digz glanced down at the ground and began to rub the feathered ends of his arms together. “Yeah, when you looked away, I took the Pilgrim Cloak and left behind a clone to talk to you. So I’m still here...Just not, here here. If that makes any sense,” explained the bone imp. He continued, “I’ll find someone else that’s as worthy as you. But I promise you that we’ll meet again one day.” Marvelous Man turned his head to Alden’s deceased body. The glowing corpse no longer had the fur-lined, red cloak the bone imp referred to. The musclebound superhero remembered that the cloak was special and could mask one’s presence from supernatural and magical sight...even a god’s. By now, the bone imp could be anywhere and the inspiration god would be unable to track him with the glass strings. Marvelous Man snapped his head back towards Digz, as he heard the familiar speak again. “Can I know just one last thing? Is Marvelous Man your real name?” inquired Digz. Marvelous Man slowly responded, “Ummm, no. It’s not. My real name is actually Justice Starr. With two Rs. But, uh, you can find me on the penthouse of the Piscelemartie luxury apartments.” Digz smiled, as his body seemed to ripple like a water drop falling into a puddle. “I’ll remember that. Thanks, Justice. For, well, um, everything, heh. You believed in me and helped me, and I need to repay you for that.” he said. The bone imp continued, “I’m sorry for knocking away your golden ocarina. I know this can’t replace it, but I’m hoping it’ll be good enough until you find your ocarina. It’s something I saw from one of the musicians back at Alden’s castle. So...until we meet again...see you soon.” The bone imp turned completely white, as he began to fold into himself. In seconds, a white, woodwind instrument stood where Digz’s clone just was. Marvelous Man instantly recognized the musical device as an oboe; similar to a clarinet but the head looks like it has a small straw plugged into it. The musclebound superhero bent down and picked up the instrument. To Marvelous Man’s eye, it was designed with all the tiny details an oboe would have. He could play this device with no problem and emulate soothing notes. It was a kind gesture Digz did...but it could not cover up the sadness Marvelous Man felt for the bone imp. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Three months had passed into the winter season, and Justice was now laying on a pink beanbag. He stared up at the sky blue-colored ceiling of his therapist’s office. It felt calming to stare at it, but that is probably why such a color has been painted in a therapist’s office. The hulking bodybuilder stated, “...Annnd, yeah. He turned into an oboe, and that’s the last I saw of him. The D.A.B. came and took away the Mana Stone that was lodged into King Alden’s chest. But then the Nemesis Branch came in and took the stone. The Director was pretty pissed about that. And I think the only thing the D.A.B. was able to get was Alden’s dead body...Oh wait, that’s right. The Arkos Division took that for studying.” Justice heard a female’s voice speak back to him. “And that’s when you decided to see a therapist cause of what your friend, Gemini, said,” she said Justice looked over at the woman who concluded his story to the present. It was his therapist, Magnolia Theramin; a dark-skinned doctor that usually dressed business-casual. He nodded, “Yep. Sorry about bringing this all up again. But I kinda like talking about the whole thing once in a while, cause then I discover something new...And it sorta helps me feel a bit better.” Dr. Theramin leaned on her armchair and rested her head on a propped hand. “It’s fine, Justice. This is all at your pace. If it makes you feel better to just go over with entering the real world and fighting the Skeleton Lord, it’s fine. But let’s not dwell on the past too much. Alright?” she said. Justice smiled, “Heh, right. I’ll try to keep that in mind.” “So,” said Dr. Theramin, “Did you discover something new?” Justice sighed, “Yeah...I realized that...I really don’t know anything about Gene. Like, sure, I knew his past, but...did I really know him? Ya know? I mean, he doesn’t even know my real name...which really shows how little we understood each other. Cause the only thing we have in common is how lonely we feel.” “And I...I put him on a pedestal and thought he was all these awesome things. And even after we stopped dating, I kept seeing him as...something beyond a person. Not like with Gem, man, I knew him. Cause Gemini and I hung out every chance we got when I wasn’t working. But with Gene, we just went on a few dates and worked together...I just know that Gene likes to go to Toto’s when he’s feeling homesick,” he continued. The hulking bodybuilder stared back up at the ceiling; trying to mentally articulate the next words he would be saying. Justice spoke up, “Did you know that after work, he has sex with his dorm neighbors that are feeling the most frustrated and then locks himself in his room? He spends the rest of his free time in his room and hardly ever goes out. The Director told me that he gets swept up in so many emotions that even after calming down those around him, he still has to go back to his room to decompress. And he goes to Toto’s when it’s not enough and feeling homesick.” “And when I think about it, having the power of empathy must be pretty insane. I mean, feeling everybody’s emotions but hardly ever your own? I’d have to become a stone monster to get through the day, but he still tries to be calm and friendly with everybody. He tries his best to let the emotions flow through him, but he’s got his limits...At least, that’s what the Director tells me,” he rambled. Dr. Theramin nodded, “That reminds me, how goes it with Gene? I understand that after the Skeleton Lord incident was resolved, your relationship with him has been strained?” Justice sighed, as he could feel himself sinking deeper into the beanbag. “Still strained. We work great together as a team, but I don’t feel anything from him anymore. Like that thing I said a few seconds ago, he’s become a stone monster since I denied him the vengeance his people deserved...I don’t blame him. I’d be angry too if I was in his position,” answered the hulking bodybuilder. He continued, “I’m doing what I can to give him the space he wants, but it’s just...hard. I really want things to go back to how they were, but I get that it’s not possible. He’s my best friend and...ya know?” The therapist leaned forward and gave a gentle smile. “I’m sure he’ll come around. The best thing you can do to show your love is just give him time and let him know that you’ll be there when he’s ready to open up to you again,” she advised. Justice nodded. While it was unfortunate his friendship with Gene had become soured, he did not regret helping Digz. But it was still tough to feel the burden of isolation that the Totochtin prince heaved onto the hulking bodybuilder. He knew he could probably inspire Gene to accept him, but it would most likely backfire if the bunny demigod did not consent to the supercharge...And it would not feel morally right. The overly-muscular man forced himself to switch his mind onto something else. There was one thing Justice wished to discuss. He spoke up, “Yeah, about that. I think I’m ready to open up. I mean, not to you, cause I’m already doing that. Heh. But to someone else. Um, has he…?” Dr. Theramin picked up her phone from her pocket and began to text, while she replied. “My receptionist texted me about fifteen minutes ago, while you were going over everything that happened,” she said, “Are you sure you’re ready?” Justice opened his mouth to immediately answer her question, but it stayed in a slack position. His mind could not help but think back to everything that happened between the two and started to wonder...Is this okay? “I...I don’t know. I mean, I want to do this! But...is it really alright?” hesitated Justice. The therapist placed her phone back into her pocket. She then looked at Justice and smiled. Dr. Theramin stated, “As far as I can tell, both of you made mistakes. But you two did your best to forgive each other, move on, and form a deeper bond of understanding. And when you were at your lowest, he supported you and advised you to seek help. It sounds like a lot of growth on both your ends." A soft knock resonated from the room’s only door. The therapist slowly stood up and walked towards it. As she did so, Dr. Theramin turned her head to Justice. “Justice, what you need to remember is that after everything you’ve been through, you deserve to be loved. I know it might not seem like you should, because others weren’t so lucky. But it’s not wrong to be happy, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed for wanting to be happy and fall in love. It’s fine to choose to be happy,” she pointed out. Dr. Theramin shrugged, “And if it doesn’t work out, then oh well. It just wasn’t meant to be, but at least you experienced this relationship. And don’t forget that there will always be someone out there to love you. Just make sure to be open to them and keep looking for that one person.” Upon reaching the door, the therapist placed her hand on the door. “So. Are you ready?” she asked. Justice leaned back his head and took a deep breath through his nose. He deserved this. He shouldn’t force himself to be sad...I choose to be happy. The hulking bodybuilder opened his eyes, “Yes.” Dr. Theramin smiled, as she pulled down on the door’s handle. The door swung inwards and revealed the bulky Soulem, Gemini. The Soulem(Look up his alt names) greeted with an awkward smile and a wave of his hand. “Ummm, hi? Justice texted me and said that he needed me to be part of his session with you.” informed Gemini. The therapist nodded, “That’s correct. He has something he needs to say to you. Please come in.” As the bulky Soulem entered the office, his eyes instantly drew down to the large, muscled man sitting in a pink bean bag chair. Gemini’s mood rings flashed from white, to grey, and then sky blue. “Never thought I’d see you in one of those,” he smirked, “...Are you stuck?” Justice looked away, “Yeah...I sunk too deep this time, and I can’t roll out. This stuff is literally quicksand for heavy people.” Gemini giggled as he walked towards the overly-muscular man. Stopping in front of the trapped Justice, the bulky Soulem bent down and held out his white, rubbery hand. “Need a hand?” he offered. Justice stared at the hand, “It’s not gonna pop off when I grab it, is it?” The bulky Soulem scoffed; his face appearing unamused with the mood rings flashing green. “Not with parts this expensive,” Gemini remarked. Justice smiled and grabbed the Soulem’s hand. With some strained effort from Gemini, the hulking bodybuilder was helped out of the bean bag. Justice was grateful for the assistance, but he could not help but feel embarrassed at how his large size had become a hindrance to another mundane situation. In past sessions with his therapist, he would ask Dr. Theramin to leave the room for the overly-muscular man to process his emotions and what they talked about. It was an absolute lie to save face for what he had to do next, and Justice was not sure if the doctor had caught on. He’d spend minutes thrusting around on the bean bag chair like a flipped tortoise until he finally escaped the chair’s grasp. He would have rather opted for a chair or couch, but the furniture in the room seemed fragile and incapable of supporting his humongous mass. Lying on the ground was not an option; he was big, not ill-mannered. Justice looked down at Gemini, “Thanks for the help. So, uh, yeah. I’ve been talking it over with Dr. Theramin, and I think...No, I’m ready for the next step. And I thought it was a good idea that she kinda supervise the whole thing.” The hulking bodybuilder looked away. The logic he had when planning this was now crushed by a new realization. His heart beated rapidly, as embarrassment flushed his mind. The words began to tumble out of his mouth. “But now I’m just realizing that it was kinda stupid to do that. But, ya know, it, uh, seemed like a good idea at the time. Cause what I’m about to say next is really personal,” he rambled. Gemini’s mood ring turned white, “Oh, is this one of those sorry confessions? Cause, I know we did some stuff to each other...Though most of the shit-throwing was done on my end, but we for-” “Ummm, no. No, that’s not what this is,” interrupted Justice. The overly-muscular man’s eyes flicked repeatedly down at the carpeted ground and back to Gemini. The beating of his heart ringed in his ears, while his thoughts were rapidly echoing in his mind before multiplying to the point of becoming white noise. He stammered, “Uh, sh-should I, uh, stand or just kneel down...Ummm...Yeah. Yeah, I’m just gonna get down. That feels right.” Kneeling down onto one knee, Justice slowly grabs Gemini’s hand with soft gentleness. The hulking bodybuilder brought the Soulem’s hand in front of himself, as he stared up into his best friend’s cybernetic eyes. He could see Gemini’s mood ring flashing into multiple colors; most of them being grey. “Gem...We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. And lots of misunderstandings of how relationships work and love and stuff. And like you said, we’ve been able to patch them up and our friendship is stronger now. We’re no longer able to get to that level of friendship that we once had...because now we’re above it,” he said. Justice continued, “And when my friendship with Gene was fractured, I felt so alone cause he was one of the first friends I made here in the real world. But you were there for me, Gem. You always are. You supported me through what I’m still going through, and you even supported me then when I had that crazy idea of saving King Alden and Digz. And back when I was trapped in the dome...when things were tough and I needed to focus on something to get me through...it kept coming back to you.” The hulking bodybuilder kept his eyes locked onto Gemini’s. If he looked away for even a second, the courage he had built up would instantly crumble. His hands trembled, but they held onto the Soulem’s hand even tighter. “Gem...I love you. I always did. And now I think I’m ready for a relationship. I’d like it if it could be you. So if you’re still...or ya know...If you still have some feelings for me...Will you go out with me?” he confessed. Tears began to form at the corners of the Soulem’s eyes, as his mood rings flared to rose red. Seconds passed, as Gemini stared back at Justice. He then broke into a smile. The Soulem replied, “Heh, ya know, I was just starting to get over you. Or at least, been trying to. And I was fine with just being friends. But this...This is...more than I could ever ask for.” The liquid tears streamed down Gemini’s cybernetic face. A sniffle escaped his nose, as he placed his other hand on top of Justice’s. “So yeah. Yes, I will date you. Always yes,” he replied, “But if you think about it. With how much we intimately know each other, we’ve pretty much been boyfriends this whole time. Only without the label.” A tear escaped Justice’s eye, as he felt only elation to Gemini’s reciprocation. It was all too much. With everything he had been through, it all felt like it was fitting in perfectly. All for this moment; it was worth it. Justice giggled, “Haha, yeah, you’re right. I mean, I think I’m moving pretty fast on this, but yeah. We’re pretty much boyfriends.” “Just without the sex,” added Gemini.” Justice laughed, “Yeah. That too.” The two stared back at each for a second. None of them said a word to each other, but Justice could feel what Gemini wanted to say. And then he heard it. “I love you, Justice. I love you so much,” confessed Gemini. Justice smiled, “Me too.” The Soulem leaned down and placed his lips on top of Justice’s. The hulking bodybuilder closed his eyes and kissed back. The sound of a wet kiss emanated from the two’s romantic gesture, as the they locked lips together for a couple of seconds. It felt like electricity was coursing through Justice; flexing every muscle in his body at the extreme euphoria. Justice was not sure if the feeling was due to his happiness, or because he was being electrocuted from kissing an android. But it didn’t matter. Everything was perfect. Gemini then stood up straight and lifted his hands to gesture at Justice. The overly-muscular man took notice of the movement of their clasped hands and stood up; towering over the Soulem as usual. “So…” started Gemini, “Since we have plenty of time to date...I was thinking that maybe...just for tonight...we just skip straight to the fucking? Bro?” Justice giggled, “Hehe, sure.” The hulking bodybuilder paused, as his eyes became wide. This was the exact situation he needed supervision on. Justice then looked over to Dr. Theramin. “Uhhhh, is that okay?” he inquired. The therapist shrugged, “This relationship should go at your own pace. As long as both of you are in absolute agreement and really want it. If either of you aren’t, then I suggest you take it a lot slower. Otherwise, go nuts.” “Just not here. Get a room somewhere else, cause I have other people to help today,” she continued. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Justice sat on the king-sized bed in his bedroom; trying to look sexy while waiting for his boyfriend to appear. He did his best to set mood: closing the curtains, dimming the lights, and setting the oil diffuser to lightly scent the air with aromas of rose and jasmine. The hulking bodybuilder made sure to flush his insides and lube his hole with the slippery lube, Unicorn Cum. The overly-muscular man felt excited...and a little scared. He was finally going to have sex and lose his virginity to the one he loves. The reality of it happening was so overwhelming, that Justice almost felt like running away. And with every passing second, he was beginning to consider it. His thoughts were then interrupted, as the door to his bedroom opened. Stepping through the doorway was his boyfriend, Gemini. The Soulem walked with a sexual swagger, as he arrived at the foot of Justice’s bed. The mood rings on Gemini’s face was a rose red, but it sometimes flickered to dark red or pink. The Soulem smiled, “Hey.” “Hey,” replied Justice. Gemini pulled at the bow’s string of his zaffre mokko fundoshi; undoing the bow and causing the fundoshi to drop towards the ground. With nothing left to cover the Soulem’s nethers, Justice could only stare at the sexual present beginning to inflate. The ball sack and shaft of Gemini’s penis was black and had the same texture as his muscular cords. The head of his dick was a rubbery white, and his penis hardened to a size and girth that could be considered slightly above average. Every bit of his succulent crotch was human shaped, but it still looked robotic. Justice finally looked up at Gemini, “...So...ummm...do we need condoms? I didn’t really think about it until just now. But I think there should be some in one of my drawers.” Gemini shrugged. “I can, if that’ll make you feel better,” he answered, “But Soulems can’t catch STDs.” “Oh...okay. Yeah, no, I mean, it’s fine. You don’t need to put one on,” said Justice. The bulky Soulem smiled and proceeded towards the bed. At the foot of bed, he slowly leaned onto the giant mattress with his knees on top. Gemini came to a halt and stared at Justice’s eyes with a calm look on his face. “Are you ready?” he said, “I’ll start slow before I get to banging your brains out.” The Soulem’s cybernetic penis twirled; spinning and emitting a noise similar to a power drill. Justice’s eyes became wide, as he saw the intimidating presentation. A small, chilling fear ran up the hulking bodybuilder’s spine. Just what in the hell was that dick capable of? Trailing his eyes back up to Gemini’s, the overly-muscular man saw his boyfriend flexing the metal eyebrows in a rapid fashion. Justice could only see the seductive attempt as exceedingly cheesy, humourous, and slightly charming at the same time. The tension in his massive body became slightly relaxed at the robotic face, as the hulking bodybuilder smiled. He replied back, “Y-yeah.” Justice looked over to his right side and grabbed a small pillow next to himself. He then placed it beneath his lower back; propping up his buttocks and crotch. The overly-muscular man lifted his thunderous legs to allow his robotic boyfriend better access. At the same time, Gemini crawled onto the king-sized bed and made his way toward his boyfriend. He could see his lover’s donut-shaped asshole, as his glowing blue tongue licked his lips. The bulky Soulem then arrived at the hulking bodybuilder’s exposed rear, and grabbed the meaty legs. Gemini aimed the white head of his dick against Justice’s lubed asshole and pressed against the plump flesh. His mood rings flashed to dark red, as he pushed his cybernetic penis into Justice. It was not an abrupt thrust, but he also did not slowly ease it in. At that moment, only the gland had entered. Justice’s eyes went wide. He could feel Gemini inside of him. But for some reason, the tip of the sexual entity in his anus felt foreign. Then...an all-too familiar feeling shot through his confusion, while panic amped up his heart rate. “Oh gosh! Get out of me!” he exclaimed. Gemini’s face flexed a confused look with mood rings at grey, “Wh-what? What’s wrong?” Justice needed to get away. He couldn’t let an accident happen right now. “I need to poop right now!” he shouted. The Soulem’s mood rings changed to white. Gemini spoke calmly, “It’s alright. You’re fine. This is completely nor-” “LET ME OUT, I’M GONNA SHIT!!!” yelled Justice. The overly-muscular man yanked his right leg from Gemini’s grasp and immediately gave a powerful kick to the bulky Soulem’s silver face. >>>>>>>>> Gemini squatted down; waiting outside next to the bathroom door. He rubbed the side of his metal face where Justice kicked and caused him to fall back. The bulky Soulem then looked up towards the doorway, as the bathroom entrance creaked open. Justice slowly stepped from out of the bathroom. He peered towards his left and right before looking down and spotting his robotic boyfriend. His eyes immediately looked away. The hulking bodybuilder admitted, “...False alarm.” Gemini nodded. “Yeah, it’s normal for first-timers to feel that kind of sensation when they get penetrated. But I didn’t think that’d happen to you,” remarked the bulky Soulem. He continued, “I mean, I’ve seen the toys you used. You abused your asshole to the point a hotdog could just fall in. So why’s my dick any different?” Justice leaned back against the bathroom doorway and sighed. He thought it over for a few seconds before speaking up. “I don’t know. I never had anybody else use my toys on me….well, when I was conscious. I pretty much blacked out when you rimmed me last time. So I guess since I never surrendered control to someone else, that’s probably why my body freaked out….Does that make sense?” he replied. Gemini stood up, “Yeah. But you freaking out is on me. I didn’t go slow enough for you.” The Soulem began to bump his fists together, while his mood rings changed to pink. “Hey...we could stop for tonight, if you want. This is all a lot for us both to take on. We could just put on a movie and cuddle,” he suggested. From Justice’s perspective, it was always cute to see the Soulem’s nervous tick. The overly-muscular man bent down and kissed his boyfriend’s metal forehead. The forehead had a metallic feel against his lips, but it was as warm as human body temperature. Justice’s lips also felt an odd sensation of the metal being slightly malleable; making the texture seem almost soft. He answered back, “No, it’s fine. I really want this.” Gemini gave a soft smile. “Alright.” he said. >>>>>>>>> The two were back on the enormous bed. Justice laid against it, and Gemini positioned over the hulking bodybuilder. Justice’s throat ran dry, while his heartbeat raced. He did want this, but it was still scary. Gemini’s mood rings became dark red, “I’ll go a lot more slowly this time, okay? Let’s just relax and have a bit of fun. I’ve got data on a whole bunch of foreplay, so there’s some things I want to try out.” Justice nodded. “Uh, sure,” he spoke. The bulky Soulem leaned down and pressed his lips against Justice’s. It started off as a soft smooch before the next kiss went deeper. Their tongues embraced one another before wrestling; not trying to dominate but rather playfully fence one another. One’s tongue would push into the other’s mouth, as the invaded tongue would coil and lightly press back until the other tongue relented seconds later. Both lovers moaned at such sexual combat, as Justice’s mouth and mind felt like they were rolling in an electric cloud that embraced and shocked their pleasure nerves. Justice became distracted for a brief second at how he did not notice it until now that Gemini’s spit tasted like strawberries. Minutes were lost on this back and forth play until Gemini broke away from the French kissing. The bulky Soulem began to kiss down the left side of Justice’s neck; nibbling and sucking at the skin with every wet smooch. The hulking bodybuilder whimpered with ecstacy at the erotic maneuver, while his body squirmed. Gemini’s kissing detoured for a moment; moving onto Justice’s left shoulder and giving it a playful bite. Justice groaned at the blissful bite. The robotic boyfriend then resumed his route trailed his kisses onto the overly-muscular man’s gargantuan pectorals. Gemini grabbed onto both bountiful pecmeats with a tight grip and flicked his glowing, blue tongue against Justice’s large nipples. He would switch over to the other nipple every few seconds and nibble to break up the predictable pattern. Justice was paralyzed with pleasure, as his toes curled at the assault. His body felt electrified at the aggressive manhandling, and his uncontrollable reaction to Gemini’s foreplay was to moan deeply. He had never experience anything like this before; the pain and pleasure becoming one and drowning his conscience into a lustful madness. Gemini then continued down Justice’s cobblestone abs; flicking his tongue like a snake every now and then. When the bulky Soulem arrived at the crotch, he parted away the hulking bodybuilder’s meaty legs. He sucked and licked the crevice between Justice’s inner thighs and groin. The overly-muscular man screamed in bliss, while his penis leaked pre-cum like a faucet. He had never been touched by anyone there, and the sensation was hard to describe. It was like being tickled. But instead of cringing with uncontrollable laughter, it was a shock of pleasure that short-circuited the lower half of his body. Seconds after, Gemini ceased further play. He sat up and watched Justice regain stamina; the heaving chest and rapid short breaths coming to a slow. The bulky Soulem then picked up a pillow and gently nudged his beefy boyfriend. He stated, “Flip over.” Justice obeyed without question; his mind suffocated in a fog of lust. His humongous body felt drained, and it seemed like a giant effort to simply roll onto his stomach. Yet, he still hungered for more carnal fornication. “Fuck…” he moaned. As he managed to turn over onto his belly, Gemini slid the pillow beneath his groin. His ass raised into the air once again from the pillow’s support, Justice’s hole twitched in anticipation of Gemini’s second act. The bulky Soulem leaned down and began to lightly lick Justice’s plump, donut-shaped hole with his glowing, blue tongue. What started as horizontal motions soon became circular rim plays. With each lick, the fat lips of the hole became wetter. Justice moaned from the interaction; a humble treble compared to what the hulking bodybuilder experienced earlier. Gemini changed tactics; plunging his glowing tongue into the moist hole. Justice’s head perked up, while a gasp escaped from the beefy boyfriend’s mouth from the surprise intrusion. Gemini’s tongue then dragged itself out before spearing right back in. The flickering effort of the blue tongue continued this movement for nearly a minute; eliciting a wet suction noise from the fat asshole’s rim. The sensation to Justice felt odd. It was another tickling feeling, but it felt comfortable. And the tongue that slid in him compared to a thick, malleable finger that easily conformed to his anus and love canal. It was a nice break from the intensity he had been experiencing; humming with satisfaction at the pleasant stimulation. Minutes passed for the patient rimming before Gemini sat up straight to switch things up. The bulky Soulem brought up his right white hand as high as he could reach and then swung it down. The rubbery hand slammed into Justice’s right butt cheek; resonating a near thunderous clap and sending ripples across the gargantuan bubble butt. The hulking bodybuilder’s legs twitched at the surprised assault, while a guttural moan bellowed out of Justice’s mouth. It was an obvious painful experience for Justice, but it was just as pleasurable. He found the feeling comparable to a strong static shock, and a tiny part of him wanted more. Gemini bent down towards Justice’s plump asshole again and extended his glowing tongue. Instead of diving his licking appendage at the moist hole, it descended onto the back of the overly-muscular man’s hairless ball sack. Another gasp escaped Justice’s mouth, while the rear entrance quivered. The bulky Soulem swirled his blue tongue on the dark-skinned sac; licking up the bits of sweat collected on there. Gemini’s face appeared as if it enjoyed the mix of Justice’s body, sweat, and tinge of manly musk. He flicked his tongue about and eventually covered the backside of the balls with his viscous, cybernetic saliva that suspiciously resembled thick and stringy lube. Gemini then slowly dragged his tongue up but stopped just before it reached the prized ass; making a brief stop at Justice’s taint. The smooth taint had a swollen appearance like a balloon had been inflated beneath the skin. He bit into the sexual fruit with a wide bite; gnawing but never breaking the skin. Justice shuttered from such beastial action. The robotic boyfriend then continued upward. Reaching Justice’s pleasure hole, Gemini’s tongue wasted no time diving in again. No expressive noise arose from the hulking bodybuilder this time; now familiar with the tickling sensation. Removing the element of predictability, Gemini did not stop at the enticing location and continued ascension. His blue tongue was dragged from out of the soft hole until they reached the top of Justice’s massive ass. The bulky Soulem waggled his tongue at the crevice top; causing the overly-muscular man to immediately feel as if he were about to urinate. Gemini pulled back once again and raised his left arm. Striking it downward, the rubbery hand slapped Justice’s left butt cheek. A booming clap echoed from the clash and caused the meaty rear to quake. Justice screamed, “Oh, FUCK!” The bulky Soulem dived down into Justice’s ass, as he extended his glowing tongue to the fullest length. Face planted between the gargantuan cheeks, he rammed his tongue directly into the plump asshole. As Justice sucked in to gasp from the sudden intrusion, Gemini began to hum. It was a hum that no human could possibly replicate with their own mouths. The intensity of this hum shared a similarity to a small, rattling engine. With such a powerful application, it vibrated Gemini’s tongue with a near-violent intensity. Justice’s ass trembled at the power; fluttering against the sides of Gemini’s face. Justice felt like his soul had been ejected into a dimension of lustful madness. He had never grasped a sensation like this in his entire life. Part of him wanted it to stop, but the other wanted it to go on forever. Minutes passed of drowning in pleasure before he was awoken by an arousing pain. The sound of thunderous slaps echoed from his buttocks. It was a magnified sound, because Justice felt the pain emanating from both of his cheeks. Gemini had struck them both, and such repetition was causing Justice’s ample bottom to feel it becoming raw from the aggression. Nearly over the edge to cumming, the spanking had brought him back. “Gah! FATHERFUCKER!!!” he shouted. Gemini leaned on top of Justice’s mountainous back and could only reach halfway up the giant man. His cybernetic dick hotdogged between his boyfriend’s humongous ass; nudging against the donut-shaped asshole with teasing humps. The bulky Soulem then slid across the back’s muscley ridges, as he dragged his wet tongue across. The hulking bodybuilder was a panting mess. Completely powerless to move; much less to speak a complete sentence. His heart pounded in his ears, and his dick was leaking precum all over his sheets and abs. It was all too much. He needed to orgasm. He needed to be filled! As Gemini arrived at the upper half of his colossal boyfriend, he placed his head on the left side of Justice’s. He gave the overly-muscular man’s left ear a quick lick and then a nibble. Justice could only mutter a small moan in response. The Soulem whispered, “So are you ready now?” “FUCK ME!” huffed Justice, “PLEASE! FUCK ME! FILL ME UP!!!” Gemini grinned, “As you wish. Now flip over.” Standing up, the bulky Soulem grabbed the hulking bodybuilder’s shoulders and guided the muscley boyfriend to turn over. Justice wordlessly complied and used what little strength he had left to switch the front of his body into facing up. His thick penis flopped about; flacid but twitching with urgency. The lower half of his back was now on top of the pillow and propped up for Gemini’s convenience. Gemini then placed his index finger on top of the fat lips of Justice’s anus. He tapped the plump parts for a second before making a swirling motion. His finger started on the rim before slowly descending inside, while he continued to twirl his digit in a counterclockwise movement. Right when the Soulem’s index finger completely sunk into the pumped asshole, Gemini looked at Justice. “Does this feel okay?” he questioned. Justice sighed in arousal, “Yeah…” The cybernetic boyfriend smiled. “Good. That’s just my finger. I’m gonna put more in to prep you. Let me know if something feels wrong,” he said. Without waiting for a reply, the bukly Soulem inserted more fingers. He slid his middle finger into the soft hole and sunk it all the way in. Gemini waited a few seconds to gauge his boyfriend’s reaction to the input, but Justice showed no negative reaction. He then slid in his ring finger...No reaction. Pinky...no reaction. The anal ring’s elasticity seemed to have no limit or even a hesitation of tightness. A devilish smile widened over Gemini’s face. He pushed his thumb in. The pumped hole had no trouble swallowing it. Justice moaned, “Oh, gosh...How many more...fingers...you gonna put in me?” “Sorry. Got curious” giggled Gemini, “I’ll try double fisting you later. Let me give you the one thing you’ve been waiting for.” Pulling his entire hand out, the stretched asshole elicited a wet slop. Gemini then wiped the lube-covered hand on the silk bedsheets before grabbing Justice’s ankles. The bulky Soulem hoisted the meaty legs onto his shoulders, as he positioned his hardened dick at the sexual entrance. The cybernetic penis carefully nudged at the wet, gaping anus; taking things slow to prevent a repeat of the first penetration. With no sign of resistance, the white head of the dick slid in. Gemini stopped further movement and looked up at Justice. He inquired, “I got the head in. Can I keep going?” Justice held up his hand, but it immediately drooped back down. With no energy left for body movement, he had to resort to attempting to speak. “Hold on...Okay. Go ahead,” he said. Gemini proceeded the penetration, but he made sure to take his time. Every few seconds, he would ask Justice about comfortability with the length he just inserted. Justice would simply to tell him to keep going. With all the carefulness the bulky Soulem was exercising, Justice became accustomed to the cybernetic dick inside of him. He was fine after Gemini’s white gland first slid in and settled in his love tunnel, but he wanted to be careful. Right when the overly-muscular man felt Gemini’s rubbery belly pressing against his balls, he instinctively knew that he had made it to the hilt. He felt full, and it felt so right. Gemini asked, “You okay?” Justiced nodded. “Yeah, now bang my brains out!” he said. Gemini grinned, “You got it, bro.” “INITIATE FINAL FORM,” he continued. Justice felt his boyfriend’s dick beginning to change. It became longer, wider...and it shapeshifted into something else? Gemini’s dick felt like it was poking in all directions! Leaning up, the hulking bodybuilder tried to see if he could observe just what was going on inside of him...And then his eyes went wide. He spotted a blue light illuminating beneath the skin of his abdomen, and there seemed to be something stirring in that spot. He could see a slight bulge poking up beneath the skin. The only way Justice could word this experience was fucked up freaky. His mind immediately snapped out of his lust fog and went into full panic mode. He exclaimed, “Wh-what the hell is that?! What the shit, man?! Are you impregnating me?! Converting me?! WHAT?!” Gemini snickered. “No, it’s not that,” he said, “I wanted my dick to get really weird, so I got a bunch of accessories to my dick when I got my upgrade.” The Soulem continued, “Basically, I can make my dick grow as big as those dildos you usually put in yourself. Though I could go bigger, heh. I can also get my dick to change its shape a bit like growing dull spikes or those pearl implants. And not to weird you out, but I can make it act prehensile.” Justice’s eyes flicked down towards his stomach. He was beginning to calm down, but he had one more concern. “I’m already weirded out. And the glowing?” he inquired. Gemini smiled, “I thought it’d fun and help set some mood lighting if I could get my dickhead to light up. Gotta say, it’s kinda sexy seeing your belly light up like that. But, ya know, I can do more than just blue if it’s making you uncomfortable.” “You want yellow?” he rambled. The blue spot shining beneath Justice’s stomach changed to yellow. Gemini continued, “I can also do green, or just, basically, any color.” The yellow was now green. “Oh! I can do a strobe or rave mode. This dick can also play songs too!” the Soulem bragged. The green now became a multitude of colors constantly flashing into other spectrums at a random sequence. At the same time, the muffled sound of techno music played in his abdomen. The heavy beats the song vibrated his innards, and it felt oddly pleasurable. As Justice opened his mouth to say something, techno music blared out of his mouth at crystal clear quality. The overly-muscular man immediately shut his mouth. He could have sworn that the music was related to some sort of desert storm, but he was frazzled by the bizarre event to be sure. Gemini’s eyes widened, “Oh! Sorry! I’ll turn it off! Didn’t know that would happen…” The vibrating music became silent in Justice’s abdomen; leaving only the rave lights to remain. The Soulem’s mood rings switched to pink. “Soooo...I guess I might have went overboard on the weird part...Do you still want to do this?” he sheepishly asked. Justice opened his mouth again and paused. A part of him still thought music might shoot out of him, but there was thankfully only silence. He replied, “I mean...that was a lot to throw on me, but...Yeah, sure. I still want to have sex with you, Gem. But gimme a heads up next time. Like, one surprise is fine, but you gotta tell me ahead of time when it’s more than one.” Gemini nodded. “Sorry. I’ll make sure to do that next time...So you ready to meet the gods?” he said. Justice tilted his head, “...Huh?” The bulky Soulem began to smile sinisterly, as he guided his boyfriend’s hands onto the handlebars on his hips. The mood rings on Gemini’s face flared to dark red. “Cause this dick is the dick that will pierce your soul into the heavens!” he declared, “Hold onto my love handles!” Justice gripped the love handles, “What do you mea-AUGHNMNGUH!!!” Gemini’s dick spinned. It drilled through Justice’s anus; constantly hitting the hulking bodybuilder’s prostate and sensitive innards with its dull spikes. His massive legs trembled, as his mind tumbled in a kaleidoscope of bliss. The bulky Soulem watched his boyfriend’s eyes rolling backwards. He then began to make humping motions. Slowly pulling out then immediately slamming his dick back into Justice. Minutes passed, as Justice tried to maintain any sort of consciousness. He kept drifting back and forth from the insane pleasure he was experience. But he then drifted back into the waking world when his body realized it could not hold back any further. The pleasure had pushed him over the edge. His dick pissed a clear liquid that sprayed all over his torso. Gemini instantly ceased any further movement and drilling. His mood rings flared to yellow. “Woah, what the hell?! Are you pissing yourself?!” he shouted. Justice gasped, “N-no. It’s n-not piss. Just seminal fluid and water.” “...I squirt whenever I have an anal orgasm. I know it looks like piss, but it’s not,” he explained. The overly-muscular man dipped his shaky fingers into the fluid before holding it up towards Gemini. He encouraged, “Look, give it a smell. It doesn’t smell like anything.” Gemini stared at the wet fingers, while his mood rings changed to purple. Seconds later the mood rings then shifted to white. He shook his head and held up his hand. “That’s okay. I just looked it up online, and you’re right. Sorry about that. I kinda never bothered looking into it, cause I was more obsessed with fucking you,” he admitted. Justice grabbed a folded towel next to himself, “That’s okay. Did you want to finish up?” The bulky Soulem smiled, as he stared at his boyfriend drying up with the towel. His mood rings shined rose red. “Sure,” he said. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Beams of morning light peered through the bedroom windows. Justice’s eyes slowly opened, as he detected the scent of bacon being fried. Looking on the other side of the bed, he noticed an empty space of where his robotic boyfriend slept the previous night. Rolling out of bed, the hulking bodybuilder slowly thumped his naked self towards the kitchen. His asshole felt on fire from any slight movement he made; a reminder of his hole being destroyed by Gemini’s transforming cock. Justice gazed up at the framed photos of his family on the wall, as he passed through the doorway. The overly-muscular man wondered if he’d ever see his parents again. A slight pain panged in his heart at the thought. Things did not end so well when he last encountered his family. His mind flashed back to Sunnysville where he literally fought his family, and it felt devastating to remember the terrible things he said to his parents. He also recalled how he made Ares’ limbs explode, and the intoxicating numbness of using the Soul Venom. Justice still could not bring himself to call his family...but it seemed to be the same from his family’s end. Months had passed after the Skeleton Lord incident had been resolved, and he still had not received even a text message from them...Was this their punishment? The hulking bodybuilder shook his head. He will find the courage one day to get in touch with them again. But right now, he wanted to see the love of his life. Justice deserved to be happy. Entering the kitchen area, the overly-muscular man spotted his boyfriend in front of the gas stove. He smiled. It was a pleasant sight to see; one where Justice hoped he would see more of in the future. The bulky Soulem had his back turned; naked and frying bacon with some other delicious-smelling breakfast. Gemini hummed a tune, while he swished his hefty buttocks in the air to the rhythm he sang. Justice yawned, “Good morning.” The robotic boyfriend partially turned to the hulking bodybuilder and grinned; his mood rings flaring to a sky blue. “Morning!” greeted back Gemini, “I’m frying some eggs. You okay with the yolk intact?” The hulking bodybuilder nodded, “Sure.” Sitting himself down at the wooden dining table, he scratched his neck. Justice watched Gemini grab an egg from a nearby egg carton, crack it against the countertop, and break it open over a heated pan. The yolk gave off a sizzling noise, as it came in contact with what smelled like hot bacon grease in the pan. He then heard the Soulem speak up. “So I was thinking that if you ever made up with Gene, it’d be cool if we all had a threesome together. Or, ya know, I’m down with him just smashing you,” said Gemini. Justice’s mind drifted back for a moment to what Gene had said to him back then. He was no longer able to feel the bunny demigod’s feelings; as if Gene had become a stone-cold statue. The bridge of friendship between the two had become damaged, but not destroyed. There was still hope that things can turn around like it had with him and Gemini. The overly-muscular man cocked his head, “You sure? I don’t think you really mean that, cause I’m pretty sure you’re the jealous type.” Gemini shrugged, as he used a plastic spatula to push currents of hot bacon grease onto the egg. “Eh, I have your heart now, and that’s all that matters. I mean, sex can be a form of affection, but it’s not love...And cause I think it’s hot to see you get fucked by other guys,” he reasoned. At the same time Justice smiled at the reply, he heard a knock coming from the front door. The hulking bodybuilder did not bother to look at a clock when he made his way to the kitchen this morning, and it now dawned on him that it might already be passed ten. Justice mentioned, “I think that might be the mail. I’ll go check.” The overly-muscular man slowly made his way over to the penthouse entrance; careful to take small steps unless he wanted to feel the full pain of his aching asshole. Within the span of almost a minute to arrive at the door, Justice then pressed a button on a plastic panel next to the doorway. An image immediately appeared on the panel; displaying a camera’s view of a red-haired woman in a grey power suit standing on the other side of Justice’s door. Justice recognized the woman as the lobby manager who was usually stationed at the reception desk. Whenever packages or letters, that seem of personal importance, arrive at the Piscelemartie luxury apartments, the staff take it upon themselves to hand deliver the item to a resident. It seemed over the top for the employees to do this sort of thing in Justice’s perspective, but he appreciated the gesture. Justice unlocked the door and began to pull it open. Right in mid-swing, the hulking bodybuilder remembered that he was still bare of any clothing. He then instantly stopped the door, as it neared a quarter open. Peaking his upper body into the opening to greet the employee, Justice kept his lower body hidden behind the door. “Uh, hi, Amber. Good morning,” he awkwardly smiled. Amber gave a slight bow, “Good morning to you as well, Mr. Starr. I get the feeling that you are busy with something at the moment, so I shall be brief. I’m here to hand-deliver a letter to you that seemed of the utmost importance.” She held out a letter envelope in front of the overly-muscular man. Justice motioned his hand over to the envelope and gently grabbed it. “Thanks, Amber,” he said. The lobby manager smiled, “You’re most welcome. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Justice returned with a smile as well, while he nodded and closed the door. With the unpleasant conversation over, the hulking bodybuilder let out a sigh. He then made his way back to the kitchen; distracted by the enticing smells. As the overly-muscular man arrived back at the kitchen and sat down in his seat at the dining table again, he looked at the white envelope grasped in his hand. It was addressed to him, but the address’ state blurred from ink smearing. The sender’s name was written as Solomon Apeloko; address’ state also blurred from ink smearing. Turning the envelope over, he noticed that the flap was closed by a wax stamp seal. The image on the seal was a tower, and the wax seal had a mixture of colors that contained: white, black, and red...Was this a calling card of who he thought this was? Peeling back the wax seal, he opened the envelope. Justice then reached his hand in and pulled out a single sheet of folded paper. The hulking bodybuilder unfolded the letter and began to read; briefly taking note of the beautiful penmanship. Justice then gently smiled. Gemini walked towards Justice and set a plate of breakfast down in front of his muscular boyfriend. His mood rings shifted to white, as he watched the overly-muscular man’s face relax with relief. “Who’s it from?” he asked. Justice looked up, “A friend.”
  9. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 29

    (Apologies. Computer is broken, and my chromebook only works. But it doesn't factor in formatting for some reason. Please go to this link for a better format: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1R8WWx8MvIxRU8nSxn7mZH-uN57X-uUMQPnXDH8NsHvY) SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI Chapter 29: Second Win(d) The mighty muscles in Marvelous Man’s thighs bulged with godly power. Pushing off, the white bone disk beneath him shattered from the super jump. The inspiration god flew towards the Seraphim at such an incredible speed that he was already halfway there! As he soared, his illuminated body left behind a large trail of a multi-colored aurora. It looked as if he was painting the northern lights into the blackness. Marvelous Man’s eyes flicked up at a large object charging towards him. It was the wheeled underling, Throne. It spun with ferocity in front of the musclebound superhero; attempting to intercept him. The inspiration god did not hesitate to confront the minion. Switching his focus to the white wheel, an image immediately popped into the hulking bodybuilder’s head. It was an animation of a mannequin attacking a giant wheel. Marvelous Man did not question the thought and immediately implemented what he saw in his mind. The musclebound superhero used his flight power to flip himself forward. Right when his head and front half faced up, Marvelous Man extended his legs to point at the Throne and crossed his muscular arms over his massive pectorals. The hulking bodybuilder then opened his meaty legs at a wide angle, while he controlled his flight power to twirl his titanic body at a blurring, counterclockwise rotation. Marvelous Man looked like a human blender; his lower body acting like blades. At the point of physical confrontation between the inspiration god and the Throne, Marvelous Man’s legs were the first to strike. His heels caught both sides of the Throne’s rim; with one pinning against the top and the other at the bottom. The bone wheel’s movements were immediately halted, and its body now became trapped in the tornado-like spin. Marvelous Man bent his knees; pulling in the enemy closer with his feet acting like the claw of a crane game. The hulking bodybuilder maneuvered the Throne against the heavy bulge in his bikini, while he slithered his thick legs in a tight constriction through the wheel’s spokes and around the rim. Using his flight power, his rotation came to an instant stop. Everything performed perfectly as the inspiration god imagined, and it was time to execute his killing blow. Reaching up to his head, Marvelous Man grabbed his golden wreath. The musclebound superhero’s desire to cut was now absolute, and he slashed at the captured Throne with his laurel. The speed of his strike was like a master samurai; swift without hint of hesitation and incomprehensible to the normal eye of when the blade hit. As his arm swiped to the other side of his body, Marvelous Man released his golden wreath to extend the attack into a combo strike. The golden projectile flew away from the two combatants before changing its direction. It curved back towards the fighters; spinning like a furious buzzsaw. Boosted by Marvelous Man’s super strength, the weaponized laurel returned back in less than a second. The golden weapon sliced through the Throne’s center; the focus point where the wheel’s bird legged-shaped spokes clasped onto each other. Sawing through with no sign of delay, the spinning laurel repeated the same process. It zoomed forward for a moment and then swerved back at the Throne. The spinning projectile targeted the back of the angelic rim and sliced through effortlessly. The inspiration god pulled back his arm and punched with all his might. He battled cried, “RAH!!!” With the major points that held the Throne together now severed, the top half of the white wheel slid off from powerful punch and flew off into the whisping blackness. Marvelous Man released his legged clamp over the bottom half of the Throne and continued onward. “Such wonder!” cheered Alden. Marvelous Man looked to his right and shouted, “AH!” Gliding next to him was the ancient king, Alden. The musclebound superhero had forgotten about the spirit; causing his eyes to bulge in surprise upon spotting Alden. He then saw the ancient king point forward. “Sheeth your nerves, for the next trial is upon us!” declared Alden. Marvelous Man turned his attention back to the Seraphim and could see it readying the next strike. The bone angel flapped its sharp, outer wings; releasing a flurry of its deadly, white feathers. The feathers aimed themselves towards Marvelous and shot towards him. In mid-flight, the feathers expanded into the shape of poles. Wanting to avoid the same outcome Marvelous Man first encountered with the rocket missile-sized poles, he dove down. Marvelous Man moved downward but slightly angled himself towards the Seraphim to make some distance progression. The barrage of poles flew overhead; completely missing the hulking bodybuilder. Seconds ticked by before Marvelous Man heard the many whistlings of the bone projectiles completely pass over. The inspiration god changed his trajectory and aimed back up towards the Seraphim. Marvelous Man then saw the Seraphim flap its sharp, outer wings again. The musclebound superhero was prepared for abrupt evasive maneuvers, but he noticed the feathers reacting differently this time. Instead of shooting off in one heavy stream, the feathers transformed and torpedoed off in a widespread attack. There was no area to retreat towards for dodging the attack, nor an object to hide behind. Marvelous Man would have no choice but to endure the wide salvo. The hulking bodybuilder immediately halted his flight. Curling up into a ball, Marvelous Man placed his large hands over the back of his head and neck in an effort to minimize damage. He was aware that his new form would immediately heal him, but he would rather take the less painful route against an unavoidable attack. The wide onslaught of the bone poles had reached him. Marvelous Man could feel the assault raining down on his back, hands, and part of his head; painful for teeth gritting but not enough to elicit a scream. The inspiration god was unsure, but it seemed like his body had gained an increased durability on top of rapid regeneration. Not a bone in him was breaking or even dislocating. Seconds later, the wide strike had ended. Marvelous Man looked over himself and noticed no bruises or lasting damage on himself. He then glanced up and saw that the Seraphim’s attack had slightly undone his progress. The inspiration god spotted his aurora trail in front of him and came to a fast conclusion that he had been thrown back by the massive assault. Marvelous Man realized being able to take a hit would not be enough to reach the Seraphim and save Digz. He would have to use his creativity to gain any sort of headway. Tracing the glass string from his wrist back towards Alden, the inspiration god looked up. He could see the spirit staring back at him with eyes full of anticipation, and an idea sprouted in his head. He called out, “Hey, King Alden! Can’t you summon your guardians to help me out? Could you please get them to distract Digz?” Alden’s eyes widened in realization. He then turned to the Seraphim and pointed his ghostly finger at the angelic monster. “Ah, yes! How careless of me!” announced the king, “To arms, my guardians!” The black essence heeded to the spirit’s call and drifted towards him. The whisping blackness then collected in front of him; swirling into four different masses. Immediately dispersing after forming, four figures were revealed. The electric tribesman, Zareb, with his magical axes. The vengeful hunter and the Skeleton Lord’s right hand man, Itzcóatl; armed with a bow. A white horse with a beautiful mane. There was also an armored knight that wielded an elegant glaive polearm. Alden commanded, “Go forth, my guardians! Crack the shell my imp hides within!” Itzcóatl drew back an arrow on his bow. “Gladly, master! I always wanted to slay that annoying bird,” he replied. All three Skeleton Lord Guardians and the horse charged forward. Even though none of them had flight abilities, according to Marvelous Man’s memory, they were able to fly through the essence-contaminated air at speeds faster than the inspiration god. They all screamed and neighed their war cries; making their statement that they were giving it their all. Marvelous Man felt hopeful about the situation; things were finally turning around. As the guardians and steed were within striking distance, they held out their weapons and proceeded to slash, shoot, and stomp. They all immediately disintegrated back into black essence. Alden confessed, “...Huh...whoops. I forgot that their souls are still tethered to Digz’s. Many pardons. That one is on me.” Marvelous Man’s mouth gaped for a moment at the whiplash of events before he snapped back to the task at hand. The musclebound superhero flew forward; leaving behind his aurora trail. He had managed to gain back the distance he had lost and was already halfway to the Seraphim. The sharp feathers on the Seraphim’s outer wings vibrated, and Marvelous Man was aware of what was to come next. The white feathers extended, while it simultaneously thickened to morph durable fists on its ends. The fist-shaped bone feathers launched volleys of themselves at the hulking bodybuilder like streams of missiles. Another idea popped into the inspiration god’s head with the same mannequin doing a maneuver one would realistically deem as idiotic. There was nothing else Marvelous Man could think of in the seconds the bone fists were about to reach him. The weird thoughts from his new form did not fail him the first time, he hoped what he had was not a beginner’s luck. He charged toward the onslaught coming towards him. Just as the missile punches were about to reach him, Marvelous Man pulled up slightly and performed a backflip. The thrust of his action lifted the hulking bodybuilder over the violent volley with just barely a thumbtack length between the two. With the dodging successful and the backflip coming to a full rotation, the musclebound superhero landed with both feet on top of the feather. Marvelous Man had his feet positioned like a surfer, and he gave a slight laugh at the absurdity of what he had done. Activating his flight power for propulsion, the inspiration god sped down the bone feather’s length like a skateboarder grinding down a stairway rail...But in his mind, it was more like a spiky, blue character in a video game he used to play. More fist-shaped feathers launched at Marvelous Man. The musclebound superhero held up his beefy arms; relaxed and ready to fight. At the point of confrontation, Marvelous Man began to parry and swat away the punches by using the defensive martial arts, Aikido. He continued moving forward unhindered, as his bulky arms waved about like water. The fists then adapted to the situation by striking together in pairs of three. The power and size was beginning to overwhelm the inspiration god’s fighting style, but he had one last trick left. Manipulating his flight power, Marvelous Man strafed to the right while continuing forward propulsion. He began moving in a corkscrew motion down the feather’s length with both feet still planted on top; leaving behind a spiral aurora trail that wrapped around the bone feather. He was so close now! Only one-third of distance left to go before reaching the Seraphim! The Seraphim launched the rest of its fist-shaped feathers simultaneously at Marvelous Man. His eyes bulged at the unavoidable attack and held his arms over his face; bracing for the inevitable impact. The white punches collided into him and forced him back. Through the mass of fists, the musclebound superhero saw the Seraphim zooming farther away from him. As the white feathers reached the end of their strike zone, they halted their pushing. Marvelous Man was flung back by the finished attack and immediately tried to counter the overwhelming kinetic force by activating his flight power. His thrown trajectory slowly stabilized until his flight power managed to bring himself to a full stop seconds later. The murder of puttis that had flown in a circle like vultures dived down to Marvelous Man. They began to peck at the hulking bodybuilder with their crow-shaped skull heads; unable to pierce him but were capable of annoying him. The musclebound superhero then swatted a few away and caused the rest to retreat. The inspiration god’s frustration grew, as he saw he was sent back to where he started. Ideas continually poured into his mind, but they all would have the same result...Except for one. Marvelous Man looked up at Alden. “King Alden! I need you trap Digz in a memory. His memory! Anything you can think of. Can you do it?” he requested. The ancient king nodded, “I shall try.” Alden waved his hand up at the smoky blackness that encased the ceiling of the pocket dimension. The essence reacted to the gesture and swirled before becoming flat. The manipulated essence had a curved shape; similar to a planetarium’s interior ceiling. The voice of a small boy then echoed it. “I wish to help my father move the dead bodies to their graves,” he said. One of the puttis exclaimed, “Kenelm?!” A line of white light appeared on the center of the curved ceiling. It then expanded until it encompassed the rest of the flat ceiling. Light showered the entire area for a few seconds before dimming down. Marvelous Man could see the light now adjusting to an image of different colors and shapes. The image seemed to be interior of a wooden architecture with little room. Sunlight cascaded through a window on the left and an open doorway on the right. In front of the image was a young boy, who looked no older than twelve, staring back. He was dirty from head to toe and wore ragged peasant clothing that looked to be from the medieval ages. The boy had blond hair and blue eyes that were shaded to a nearly silver hue. He smiled an innocent grin of excitement; exposing a missing tooth amongst the rows. It became obvious to Marvelous Man that this memory was being portrayed through the past Digz’s eyes. “Wow! It really worked! My very own imp!” shouted the boy. The boy bounced on his toes and giggled for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. He stood up straight; trying to appear authoritative. He pointed at himself, “Oh, right! My name’s Kenelm. I’m your master. And you’re my imp...ummm...What should your name be...ummm…” “What kind of imp are you?” he inquired. A putti amongst its group spoke up, “I’m a bone imp.” Marvelous Man looked at the puttis and realized that they were responding to the image. The inspiration god then remembered the name Digz was sensitive to, Kenelm. If the boy’s name is Kenelm, then the young one was most likely the familiar’s first master! It seemed Alden was successful in not only playing back a memory of the bone imp’s but also entrancing the lesser monsters to quote whatever Digz had said in the past. And if that were the case, then the Seraphim should trapped in the memory as well. The musclebound superhero flew towards the Seraphim, as the image above continued to play Digz’s earliest memory. Kenelm tapped his cheek, “Ummmm...then...I’ll call you Digz! Cause you’ll help us dig graves and stuff! My father is the groundskeeper for a graveyard, and I made you to help him!” As Marvelous Man covered a fourth of a distance towards the Seraphim, the memory ended. The image in the curved ceiling faded into black, and the bone creatures awakened from the enthralling memory. The eldritch angel flapped its sharp, outer wings; releasing its usual blast of feathers. Instead of flying forward this time, the white feathers shattered to piece itself together into different creatures. Groups of thrones emerged from the assembly as well as several murders of puttis. Upon formation, the angelic monsters charged at the inspiration god. Marvelous Man immediately called out to Alden. “I need another memory! Quick!” he shouted. The black ceiling became bright again; projecting a memory from the bone imp’s past. It was the same small house Digz was birthed in, but the perspective of the past Digz was now entering the home. At the same moment the memory displayed the setting, the Seraphim’s underlings began to show hesitation in their movements. Marvelous Man was able to easily sidestep from the angelic monsters, as they became entranced to the memory. The bone lackeys then moved in such drunken motions that the hulking bodybuilder barely had to move away from the sluggish attacks. A putti spoke up, “Kenelm? Are you in here?” “Yeah, I’m here,” replied Kenelm, “Do you need something?” Digz’s vision turned to his left upon entering the house and saw his master. The young boy appeared to be a year older and was sitting in a chair. Kenelm was reading through a book within the rays of sunlight that peered through the open windows. The putti stated, “I’ve finished putting the last of the bodies to their final resting place. Your father wants you to go to the village and purchase some bread.” “Sure. In a minute. I’m almost done with this section,” said the young witch. During the playback of the memory, the inspiration god took advantage of the hypnotizing situation. Marvelous Man flew through the crowd of lesser angels; zipping about them effortlessly. None of the bone monsters were able to touch the hulking bodybuilder that soared close to them. The trail left behind by him looked like an aurora web that trapped the creatures. In seconds, the musclebound superhero arrived on the other side of the angelic mob. The Seraphim was now slightly closer to him, but Marvelous Man had to take care of one thing before he could go any further. Kenelm continued, “Magic is so amazing. Once I graduate from my apprenticeship with our neighbor witch, I’ll be able to help out father even more than ever! Maybe I could help out the village too and make us lots of money!” The putti hummed. “Maybe. But I think I’m more than enough to help your father and bring in some coin. Besides, I think he just wants you to keep running the grave business. You don’t have to help everyone just cause you can do a little magic, you know,” he remarked. Kenelm looked down at Digz, “Yeah, but I don’t help because I have to. I help cause I want to. And seeing all those dead bodies we put to rest makes me wonder...Did they have a happy life? Or at least a happy end? If I can, I’d like to help out any way I can to make sure their life was happy and their end had meaning. Because one day...that’ll be me in the ground too...” Flipping around, Marvelous Man faced the group of monsters that attempted to chase him in a drunken sway. The musclebound superhero held up his thick hands together as if it were a gun, while the bone creatures bounced into one another. Concentrating his thoughts of cutting, the inspiration god pointed his finger gun at a Throne on the far left of the angelic swarm. It was not necessary, but it felt right to do this action and for what he was about to say. “BOOMERANG SNIPE!” he roared. A whirring noise whistled in the shadowy world for a moment before a golden projectile sliced through it and came back to saw into it several more times. Completely decimated, Marvelous Man pointed his finger gun at the next monster. Despite the magical wreathe not in his grasp, it still obeyed the inspiration god’s thoughts no matter how far away it had sailed off into the whisping blackness. The lethal laurel spun through each monster’s weak points successfully; rapidly killing off every lesser angel with its buzzsaw attacks that Marvelous Man aimed his finger gun at. In seconds, only a putti was spared. It floated aimlessly amidst a graveyard debris of its brethren. The musclebound superhero then turned back to the white Seraphim and took off. In the memory, Kenelm held out his book at Digz. The inside of the pages were scribbles of magical facts and runes that were incomprehensible to inexperienced magic users like Marvelous Man. “Oh, look at this! I found something interesting,” he grinned, “Do you remember the spell I used to create you? I noticed there’s a symbol here that limits how much of my soul I can put into you. I think if I get rid of it, I can put more of my soul into you and increase your power! Wouldn’t that be amazing?” The putti commented, “...I don’t think that’s a good idea.” As the projected memory faded to black, Marvelous Man managed to fly halfway over to his objective. The inspiration god flicked his watery eyes up at the curved ceiling and then towards the Seraphim. The giant, eldritch angel began to stir; appearing to have awakened from being entranced and now taking notice of the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man then noticed its sharp, outer feathers vibrating for another punch attack. Once those feathers launched and stretched towards him, he would be sent all the way back. Starting over for a fifth time would not be acceptable, and he needed to win now by any means. “King Alden, I need you play a traumatic memory! The most saddest one you can think of!” he shouted. Alden slowly waved his hand, “My apologies, Digz. But I must.” The curved ceiling lit up with another memory; causing the Seraphim to predictably halt its movement. From the usual first-person perspective, Digz was inside the house and sitting on the edge of his master’s bed. He was busy manipulating floating skeleton hands to sew a torn cloth together. The memory showed he lacked the dexterity to complete the action with his own limbs, because his arms were white avian wings that lacked proper hands for the task. During the playback, Marvelous Man continued his journey. He hoped that this memory lasted long enough for him to reach the Seraphim. Taking a quick look back, the inspiration god spotted the last putti taking chase in a slow, dazed fashion. It seemed able to catch up to Marvelous Man but incapable of attacking. The sound of a door swinging open was immediately followed by it closing with a loud bang in the memory. Looking up, Digz’s eyes turned to the house’s door. Pinning against the closed door was his master, Kenelm; appearing slightly older this time and gasping like he had been running. The young witch’s clothes were tarnished with blood that seemed to originate around Kenelm’s stomach. The skeletal hands controlled by Digz fell onto the ground with a scattered clink. The bone imp ran up to his master. “OH MY GOSH! KENELEM, YOU’RE BLEEDING!!! WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!” screamed the putti. Kenelm gasped, “The king...just decreed all magic...illegal. Those who are...caught are...put to death. The king’s knights came and...found out about me...I got away...but...they got me good...and I don’t...feel so good.” “Um, uh, uh, um, c-come over to the bed and lie down! Y-you’ll feel better!” sputtered the putti. The young witch staggered forward in slow, small steps, while he clutched his stomach. Droplets of blood splattered onto the floor with every movement. By the third step, he lost his balance and fell forward. Digz held out feathery arms and caught Kenelm from crashing onto the wooden floor, while the putti gasped a small oomph from the catch. Kenelm wheezed, “I don’t...I don’t think a rest will help, Digz. It’s getting harder...to focus...and I feel cold...I think...I think I’m...dying.” “Wha-N-No! Please don’t say that! Please don’t say that you’re dying!” exclaimed the putti. The memory’s image became blurry; as if it were being submerged into water. Kenelm replied, “I’m sorry, but...I think I am...I don’t want to...but I think I am. And when I die...so will you.” The putti remained silent as Kenelm’s gasping slowly died down. Seconds after fully catching his breath, the young witch spoke up. “Digz, help me get to the middle, please.” he said. The putti whimpered, “O-Okay…” Marvelous Man was getting closer to the Seraphim. He only needed a few more minutes before he was within reaching distance. As the inspiration god flew, he kept his face focused on the eldritch angel but could hear everything the memory and putti said. His heart became torn; wanting to face the unfolding tragedy yet needing to press on to complete his personal mission. Marvelous Man wished he could jump right into the memory and save the two...but he was well aware that such a feat was impossible. The memory’s perspective rotated back towards facing the center of the house. Through the watery vision, image slowly drifted to the center while stopping every few seconds. As they got closer and were about to pass the post of young witch’s bed, Kenelm spoke up again. “Put me down by the bed,” he commanded, “There’s something we need to do.” The bone imp obeyed and set the young witch down; propping the boy’s back against the bed’s post. Digz then brought up his white feather arms to wipe away the water vision and managed to make most of the memory’s image to become clear again. As this happened, Marvelous Man lost the will to keep looking forward. He just had to see what happened. The musclebound superhero struggled to peek over his muscled shoulder and stare at the memory, while he continued towards the Seraphim. “I need you to help me with one last spell,” he said. Holding out his left hand, it then began to glow with mana. Kenelm traced a small circle that immediately turned into a magic circle with runic symbols inside and another circle beneath the symbols. The young witch stretched his fingers outwards for a moment; causing the magical seal to enlarge to the size of a hula hoop. Waving his left hand down to the center floor next to himself, the magic circle followed and hovered above the wooden floor. He mumbled, “Perush.” The magic seal then embedded into the planks and instantly disappeared right after. Smoke drifted up from the sizzled, wooden floor, as the ground was now scorched with the same design as the magical circle. “Spices and herbs were only needed to make your body, so I don’t think we need that. Digz, I need you to stand in the middle circle,” he muttered. The image moved towards the inner circle of the magic seal before turning around to face Kenelm. The putti replied, “Okay. Is this some sort of revenge spell or curse?” The young witch looked away. “Oh...I guess I should’ve done that instead. It’s a spell I always wanted to try, cause I changed some things,” he remarked. Digz’s eyes looked down at the magic circle; staring and rotating about to look at all the symbols. He then pointed his feathery arm and looked up at Kenelm. The putti mentioned, “Um, Kenelm? Are you sure this’ll work? There’s a lot of gaps where the symbols should probably be...Hold on, a second ago, you said something about spices and herbs were only needed to make my body. Why would you say something like that?” The putti paused for a moment, as Kenelm’s eyes became watery. “Wait, is this...the spell that made me? I remember you saying something a while back about removing some symbols and...No...No, Kenelm, you can’t! Please! You’ll die if you give me the rest of your soul!” screamed the putti. Marvelous Man knew what was to come next and looked away. He returned his focus back towards the eldritch angel. Tears streamed down Kenelm’s face, as he placed his left hand onto the pyrographed wood. The magic seal immediately lit up. He sobbed, “I don’t want to die either...But I want you to live even more! If my soul is alive, then you’ll still be alive. And if I put it in you, you should be able to live a lot longer!...A lot longer than the time I have left...” “My wish is that...you stay alive and help people...help them be happy. And also...please restore magic. It needs to be shared,” croaked Kenelm. The curved ceiling became flooded with white light before it faded to blackness; ending the memory. Throughout the entire playthrough and all the way to its conclusion, Marvelous Man gained all the ground he needed. As the Seraphim seemed to shift back into awareness, the inspiration god was only a second away from touching it. Reaching into his pocket, the musclebound superhero pullet out a paper talisman. It was the same talisman given to him by the Director and Puzzles for the purpose of separating Digz’s symbiotic merge from the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man now had a new purpose for it. He charged his hand holding the paper with mana, as he soared down at the Seraphim. The inspiration god roared, “POSSESSION EJECTION!!!” Marvelous Man slammed the paper onto the top of the Seraphim’s casket, as the talisman fed on his mana. Upon contact, the magical paper activated and caused cracks to appear beneath it. The fractures instantly spread throughout the Seraphim; causing the angel to have the same fragility as a vase covered in hairline cracks. The Seraphim immediately shattered into millions of white debris; echoing the sound of bones breaking. Marvelous Man’s eyes furiously scanned the scenery, but the blackness of the pocket dimension seemed to disguise the bone imp’s location. The spectral hand of Alden’s came into view; causing the hulking bodybuilder to briefly look up at the ancient king now floating next to him. “There!” pointed the spirit. Following Alden’s direction, Marvelous Man then spotted the corrupted imp. Digz floated motionlessly amidst the wreckage; appearing like it was underwater. The musclebound superhero wasted no time and flew towards it. Tracing a circle with the same mana-conducted hand, he filled the magic circle with thoughts of the symbols for the only spell he knew. He chanted, “Iggzel Ponsfortuna! Through the sea of reality, gather the shattered soul. Place back what once belonged and seal into a whole. I beseech the power within the one I mend to reach for salvation. DIVINE SOUL RESTORATION!!!” Marvelous Man arrived at Digz’s location and immediately grabbed hold of the imp’s shoulder at the same time he finished his incantation. The magic seal activated with a blue glow and materialized the star that was able to absorb Digz’s essence. The whisping blackness funneled into the star in the shape of a whirlpool, as the incomplete familiar started to move. The corrupted imp slowly nudged about before its body jolted in attention. Raising its feathery left arm, the nearby floating bits of bone flew towards and collected at his feathery ends. The pieces then instantly formed into a white wand, as Digz curled his feathered extremities around it. Whipping it in front of himself, the incomplete familiar aimed it at the hulking bodybuilder. “Let! Go!” shouted Digz. The wand disintegrated into black essence; causing it to flow into Marvelous Man’s star. The musclebound superhero noticed the ghostly hand of Alden stretched out from his left side. Digz’s body seized from further movement. The corrupted imp blurted, “A-Alden?!” The ancient king gave a soft, sad smile. “Yes,” he said, “But it is time for you to stop. Let us help you.” Alden turned to Marvelous Man, “Marvelous Man, please hurry. I can feel myself drifting back, and I will not be able to provide assistance again if you fail this opportunity.” The inspiration god was aware of the situation, but he was unsure of what to do. He was pouring the same extreme amount of mana into the spell as he did last time. All he could do was wait and hope that this small circle would channel the blackness in this dimension into the tiny star seated in the center of the magical seal… A thought came over him. He had the unlimited energy to pour as much mana into a spell just like the spellcasters he supercharged for maintaining the magic dome over the ghetto. Perhaps it was not the energy needed to power spell, but the size of the spell. His thoughts then immediately recalled what the musclebound superhero had done a minute ago. During his flight towards the Seraphim, he peeked over his shoulder to watch the dying Kenelm enact a spell. Marvelous Man threw his spellcasting hand upwards while continuing to feed his mana into it. The magical circle and its star followed the motion and shot up in a curved arc. As it soared higher, the inspiration god’s aurora aura stretched out and seeped into the circle’s rim. The musclebound superhero stretched his mana-charged hand as wide as he could and hoped this would work. The magic seal reacted to the gesture and expanded; the symbols and circle width growing wider. The magical circle continued to grow until it completely encompassed the curved, black ceiling. The color of the magic seal shifted from its usual blue to the radiant ever-changing colored spectrum of Marvelous Man’s aurora. The tiny star within the spell became augmented by this effect; shining with greater intensity and enlarging to the size of a giant beach ball. The tornado effect that funnelled into the star dispersed; stillness existing in the space for only a second. The magic seal then emitted a soft hum that gave off the tone of something nearly incomprehensible that is celestial, benevolent, and...inspirational. It sounded similar to a glass harmonica in Marvelous Man’s perspective; a long, glass instrument ribbed to elicit soft sounds when given a wet touch. While the hulking bodybuilder continued to stare at the magic circle, it seemed as if the spell had become supercharged now that it was absorbing an even greater amount of unlimited mana. It was like...the spell had evolved and became a god itself. A black fleck of something wafted into the hulking bodybuilder’s vision. Then he saw a couple more float up. It was hard to determine the shape, as they seemed to resemble natural objects the would tussle into the wind. Cherry blossoms, snowflakes, leaves; each of the flakes appeared to mirror one of those three. Each passing second, more and more of the flakes fluttered up towards the bright star. It was a wondrous sight to behold, but Marvelous Man needed to see where they were originating from. Looking down, the inspiration god spotted a hole at the bottom of the pocket dimension. Sunlight peered through the opening like a focused laser. The hole then began to expand; breaking down the whisping essence and compressing them into shapes of snowflakes, petals, and leaves. As the amount of black flakes drifting up to the spell’s star increased, so did the hole’s speed of breaking down the smokey world. It was as if the spell was now uprooting the whole scenery rather than sucking it in bit by bit. The bottom of the pocket dimension completely dissolved within seconds and revealed the bottom half of a human skeleton that appeared to be standing in a cityscape. As Marvelous Man stared, he was interrupted by the spirit’s comment. “This...this is no spell. Not a wonder like this,” gasped Alden, “With such power, could this be, a miracle?” Marvelous Man looked back up at the ancient king next to him and could not seem to find the words to reply. The decay of the artificial world had reached rapid acceleration, as the entropous hole had now reached the sides. The three were practically bathed in the mass ascension of the flakes, which nearly veiled Digz and Alden from his sight for a few seconds. As the breakdown reached the upper sphere, the conversion of flakes ceased. The spell seemed to alter its absorption, since there was no longer a large mass to dissolve. The whisping essence hanging above the magical circle then drained into the star like a sponge absorbing a small puddle. With nothing left to obscure their surroundings, the blue sky revealed itself through the openings of the skeletal human torso. Marvelous Man looked around him and noticed two things. They were now floating in Skyway City’s inner city. The area appeared to be close to the Barticle Troy Mall, and the scenery showed signs of intense damage. Buildings smashed, cars on fire, and streets clawed into gapes; smoke rose from the destruction. The hulking bodybuilder spotted superheroes and police officers amidst the carnage, but he was so high up that they looked like ants. Marvelous Man then saw a couple of them were in flight at his altitude; floating a cautious distance from where the musclebound superhero hovered. The other thing he noticed was that the human-shaped, giant skeleton was not moving. It seemed to be stuck in mid-stance with its arm pulled back to ready a catastrophic swipe. It occured to Marvelous Man that he was too late to stop Digz causing disaster to the city, but at least he halted any further destruction the giant skeleton was about to commit. The magical circle then bellowed a deep, resounding ring that sounded like an old church bell. The echo nearly reached the decibel of deafening and vibrated through Marvelous Man’s overly-muscled body. It felt powerful but it was more of a comfort than domination. His ears did not feel hurt, and his soul almost seemed to...sing with that single ring. After the spell’s chime died down, a loud, bone-breaking crack reverberated around the inspiration god. A large fracture traveled throughout the giant skeleton’s body with smaller cracks branching out from the fracture. The cracks interconnected with one another to create an unquantifiable amount of fragments as big as Marvelous Man. The white fragments then began to shiver; as if it were alive and trying to break away from the gigantic skeletal mass. Marvelous Man spotted a bone fragment above him successfully free itself. The fragment immediately transformed into Digz’s black essence for a moment before shaping itself into the form of a unicorn. The majestic steed was completely black, and its mane danced like a ribbon in the air. The mystic equine stood on its hind legs for a moment, while it whinnied. Landing back on all fours, the unicorn took off into the air with a light gallop. The black creature did not fall, but it instead seemed to be running on an invisible staircase. It galloped on the air in a circular direction and began to climb up towards the magical circle’s star. The inspiration god then noticed a small amount of other fragments free themselves, transform, and follow after the first black unicorn. At the same time, the fragments at the top of the humongous skeleton transformed and stampeded down towards the star. The rate of black unicorns birthing themselves and following after its team steadily increased until every part of the skeleton, including its inner layers, charged into the star. Marvelous Man was dazzled by the spell’s ability to break down the entire monster and absorb it in a beautiful fashion. It truly was a miracle for a spell to go beyond its programming. Right after the last unicorn entered into the star, seconds ticked by with nothing happening. Marvelous Man grew worried, as he stared down at the dazed Digz. The spell still needed the last of Kenelm’s soul to completely heal the corrupted imp. And the more time that went by, the more the other superheroes and police officers would gain the courage to close in and kill Digz. The inspiration god stared up at the magic seal, “Come on...come on…” He then realized that since Digz’s original master died centuries ago in another country, it would take longer to gather particles of that soul than it was to gather the black essence. It is unknown as to where they currently are, or what they are being pulled from. Even if the spell were bigger, it would probably still need time to find it. The incomplete familiar snapped back at attention and began to struggle against Marvelous Man’s grip. “No! Let go! I’m not going to die! N-Not like this!” screamed Digz. The magical circle emitted a soft hum, as Marvelous Man tried to keep a steady grasp on the corrupted imp. The hum resembled the calm vibrations of a Tibetan singing bowl; a metal bowl that provides a pleasing sound upon brushing the rim. For a moment, it seemed to calm Digz into nudging against the hulking bodybuilder’s hold. Alden spoke up, “I understand...I’m ready.” Marvelous Man looked over at Alden and elicited a small gasp. The ancient king was staring up at the star and began to dissolve with small pieces slowly breaking off of him. The bits of the spirit transformed into little balls of light that gave off a comforting glow similar to fireflies. The inspiration god traced the balls of light traveling up and then entering into the star. Marvelous Man snapped his gaze back at Alden, as his eyes widened in realization. The neverending tears that flowed down his face was now of sadness rather than overly emotional inspiration. “No...N-No! Not you! You can’t be the one to fix Digz! Don’t sacrifice yourself! Not after I just saved you!” he exclaimed. Alden gave a small smile, “Marvelous Man. I know that my otherworldly destination is not a good place. It does not take a seer to know that.” “...That is why I will do this. I can still do one last good deed before my oblivion, and that is to answer this spell’s call. I must at least try to restore some amount of my kingly honor. So please, let me have this. I do not need salvation. Instead, give me redemption,” he continued. The inspiration god gritted his teeth; trying to maintain a mask of composure. It felt like he was failing all over again...But...this time...he could actually save a life. There was no way Marvelous Man can resurrect Alden, and it made sense to use the ancient king. But...it still felt like failing. He tried to speak up, but his throat felt dry and inflamed. The hulking bodybuilder choked, “...Alright...” Alden bowed. “I am forever in your gratitude. Thank you,” he said. The spirit floated over to Digz. The incomplete familiar immediately stopped moving and seemed to stare at the ancient king, as Alden stood in front of it. He spoke gently, “Very soon, you’ll feel better, Digz. I promise. I will become part of you and will be with you forever. But before I do, three promises you must keep.” “The first is that you must keep living. Do not waste this second chance at life, because you will now be free of this pain and anger you burden yourself with. The second is that you will try to find happiness while making amends for the tragedies we caused. There will be plenty of time to right the wrongs, but never turn down the opportunities of being alive,” rambled Alden. “And third,” commanded the ancient king, “Do something nice for Marvelous Man.” Immediately after, Alden completely disintegrated into little orbs of light. The small spheres floated up into the spell’s star and was absorbed into the radiating mass. As the last ball of light entered the star, Marvelous Man noticed Digz beginning to transform. The black essence seeping out of Digz as well as his entire, broken body compressed into one long, black ribbon. The silk ribbon fluttered about in Marvelous Man’s hand; still trying to be free. Staring at the black ribbon in his grip, the inspiration god was unable to fathom why Digz and the essence kept transforming into objects that had nothing in common with each other. But he knew there was no time to dwell on that, and he knew what he had to do next. Marvelous Man released the ribbon. The black ribbon flew up into the air; dancing in swirls. It’s silky sheen shined against the sun, as it climbed higher and closer to the magical circle’s star. Upon it reaching and passing into the star, the ball of light pulsed. A halo of light rippled from the star; shattering the magic seal in the process. The bright ring continued to travel outward, as it slowly faded into nothingness. Right as the halo disappeared, the star began a slow descent. Marvelous Man then spotted something else happening to the bright sphere. It was breaking apart. From atop the star, the brightness hardened and broke off into tiny, glass-like fragments. Each piece of the falling light became bigger, as the star’s structure continued to fall apart. With the top layer broken off, the inspiration god spotted avian-like feet poking out. The shattering continued until there was nothing left; revealing a small being in a black dress. The being seemed to have white, feathery arms poking out of the sleeveless dress. Marvelous Man was unable to see who the being was, because its face was being obscured by the dress’ black hood. But more than anything, he was sure it was none other than Digz. Marvelous Man held out his arms, as the being’s slow descent drifted closer to him. The being then landed in his arms; its size no larger than a small child or imp. The hulking bodybuilder drew back the dress’ black hood, as he nestled it gently close to his bulky chest. It was a white imp that had three horns atop his head. The animal shape it resembled was a crow with a cute beak, and there was a red ribbon bow tied around the neck of the dress. The imp looked adorable in Marvelous Man’s eyes. This was Digz’s true form. Digz’s eyes slowly opened; revealing crimson red irises. The bone imp stared up at Marvelous Man’s weeping face for a moment before gazing at the scenery around him. The two said nothing, as Digz slowly turned his head back to facing the inspiration god. The bone imp spoke up, “...That wasn’t a long nightmare I dreamed?” Marvelous Man looked into the imp’s red eyes. It begged him to say no; to not put any of the guilt on the poor familiar. The musclebound hero did not want to hurt Digz, because the bone imp had been through so much. And now that the familiar was of sound mind...it felt cruel to deny Digz of any innocence. “It wasn’t,” he answered. The light in Digz’s eyes was crushed, as they widened in disbelief. His eyes became watery, and the hiccup of a soft sob like a child escaped his beak. Grabbing Marvelous Man’s black jacket, he stared up at the inspiration god. Streams of tears rapidly rolled down his face. He cried, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’msorryI’msorry!” The bone imp continued repeating the words through his sobs and rising every octave. Realization of the terrible things he had committed was reflected through his tears. Like a child’s uncontrollable cry, snot leaked from his beak’s nostrils. As he reached the point of screaming, Digz buried his face into Marvelous Man’s chest. “I’M SORRY!!!” he wailed. Marvelous Man hugged Digz.
  10. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 28

    (Apologies. Computer is broken, and my chromebook only works. But it doesn't factor in formatting for some reason. Please go to this link for a better format: https://drive.google.com/open?id=157k72Sd4Vm4ESc4TXvUvLPS_9Zdny0DNi10Kmkp2P-4) Chapter 28: Defined Within Darkness Outside of the sealed ghetto, the grand ballroom conjured by Puzzles began to dissipate. The last invading ghoul stood dazed, as a gold-plated fist crashed into its face. The ghoul exploded into dust upon impact; its damage threshold much lower than Sugar Skull’s. The golden fist then placed itself on the owner’s hip, the cybernetic eight-armed hero, Octomentist. The prosthetic hero stated, “That’s the last of ‘em. So what now?” Director Doug fixed his blue tie, as he approached Octomentist. Pattering behind him with little footsteps was his smoke imp, Puzzles. “We will resume on standby until the team we have sent in have vanquished the Skeleton Lord,” replied the Director. Octomentist frowned, “And how do you suppose they’ll do that? I fought the guy with two of your men that are inside the dome right now. We threw everything at him, and he just kept regenerating back like it was nothing.” Puzzles spoke up with his artificial Russian accent. “That would involve separating the imp inside of the Skeleton Lord. It is heavily assumed that our target is housing a corrupted imp inside of him that is providing such wild power. We kick the imp out of the host, the imp dies. After that, the Skeleton Lord can’t do anything,” he debriefed. Octomentist inquired, “And they’ll be able to do that cause…?” “A spell we entrusted to Marvelous Man. We’re aware that he lacks the proper experience to cast the spell itself, so we gave it to him in the form of a paper talisman. And with our employee, Gemini, giving him the basics of channeling mana, all he has to do is slap it onto the Skeleton Lord and activate it,” answered the smoke imp. The Director spoke up, “And let’s hope he’ll be able to do just that. The containment dome is reaching its limit.” Octomentist pursed her lips together as if in thought. “Yeah, that’s something else I’ve been wondering. You guys have your own Mana Stone, right? Why aren’t you using that to keep the shield stable with all those undead banging against it?” she said. Puzzles adjusted his glasses, “That is a big no. The Mana Stone we have in possession helps power the seals that keep the other terribles from invading our dimension and cage them too.” Director Skye added his perspective to his familiar’s statement. “Plus, it really helps cut down on our utility bills,” he commented. Octomentist sighed, “Wow, okay. I know you guys get the lowest amount of government funding, but I didn’t think it was so bad that you had to use a legendary artifact just to keep the lights on...At least we have the Nemesis Branch to fall back on if the shit really hits the fan.” The sound of a thick structure cracking boomed behind the group. As they turned around, they spotted the dome fractured like an eggshell that sprang from the top. The magical and scientific force field then shattered; revealing a sillouette peeking out of it. The sillouette stood up straight and revealed itself to be a giant skeleton. The skeleton had a human anatomy, and its sized rivaled a skyscrapers. In its skeletal abdomen beneath the ribs sat a large sphere that filled and rested on its pelvis. The sphere was a black ball of swirling darkness; giving off an ominous impression that it was waiting to give birth to something evil. The giant monster’s skull stared up into the sky before it unleashed a horrid scream. The skeletal giant continued to scream for five seconds, while everybody in the vicinity covered their ears. Once it finished, its jaw immediately clamped. The humongous skeleton then snapped its skull towards the city and proceeded forward. The sides of the force field dome shattered upon contact with monster. “It appears it already has and sprayed right into our mouths,” remarked the master witch. He shouted, “ALL NON-COMBATANTS RETREAT! EVERYBODY ELSE PREPARE FOR ENGAGEMENT!!!” The tent behind the group fluttered, as Gemini ran out of the entrance. Staring up at the giant skeleton, his jaw dropped open. The Soulem then took a step back and clutched his hands over his chest. “Justice,” he murmured, “Please be safe.” >>>>>>>> Marvelous Man floated within the darkness he was forcibly pulled into by a giant skeleton arm. The moment he had arrived, he was immediately assaulted by a rain of skeletal fists for over a minute. He held up his muscular arms in an effort to mitigate some of the damage. His vision blurred, as the hulking bodybuilder tumbled through the black miasma but was able to see a few details. He was surrounded by Digz’s whisping essence that was so dense that not even light from the outside could break through it. The space around him seemed to be infinite, as he was flung around but never seemed to reach the end of this dark territory. The musclebound superhero then came to realize that he seemed to be trapped in a sort of pocket dimension made from the condensed essence. There was a spot of bright light within the void, but the muscle demigod had no time to focus with the oncoming bone attacks. “Alden!” said a voice. The barrage of skeleton punches came to a slow for a few seconds before stopping. Marvelous Man then steadied himself with his flight power and looked up. He focused his sight on the glowing spot the musclebound superhero saw earlier. The glow shined with an intensity much similar to Marvelous Man’s supercharges; most likely the supercharged corpse of the Skeleton Lord. The muscle demigod flew closer to the glow and spotted a small silhouette hovering next to it. With nobody else sucked into the essence-filled world, Marvelous Man concluded it could only be Digz. He could hear the incomplete familiar sob. The corrupted imp spoke, “Please...come back to me...I need you…” Marvelous Man immediately realized the opportune chance he had been given. Digz had switched attention from pummeling the muscle demigod to grieving over its master. Now was the perfect time to activate the spell he had been practicing to end the battle once and for all. The spell he received from the Bruja after telling his life story as trade. He channeled mana into his right hand, as Marvelous Man began to enact the next steps needed to properly cast the spell. Extending his right index and middle finger, the muscle demigod rotated his wrist to trace a circle in the air. The mana then followed the motion and created a magic circle that glowed a purple hue. The inside of the circle was completely blank, Marvelous Man proceeded with the next part of the instruction. Marvelous Man remembered back when Gemini instructed him on casting the spell that he needed to get every part of the circle and its layers one-hundred percent correct. If there were any slight inaccuracies upon activation, the least that would happen was nothing. The worst would be a possibly lethal explosion. The hulking bodybuilder made sure to burn the formula into his memory by pretending it was similar to creating an intricate calligraphy; rather than mathematical like Gemini implored to see it as. The musclebound superhero thought with great intensity of the symbols, runic and otherwise, needed to fill the circle’s interior and which specific area they were meant to be placed as well as any additional circles. The magic purple circle seemed to detect Marvelous Man’s focus and materialized the symbols and additional circles that was seen in his head. The spell then flashed to blue; notifying that it was ready to be activated by his mana. Spell at the ready, he slowly crept closer in the black space. The sounds of weeping grew louder, while Marvelous Man held his breath without thinking. The passing seconds were stretched into hours by his tension and fear, but he continued to concentrate maintaining the magical circle he conjured. All that mattered to Marvelous Man was following Gemini’s instruction of touching a physical part of Digz to complete the incantation’s requirements. He then arrived behind the grieving Digz; silently floating unnoticed. The hulking bodybuilder briefly peered over the incomplete familiar’s shoulder and saw it trying to do channel its black essence into the deceased body. The supercharge light that enveloped Alden’s body shone with such intensity that the whisping blackness fizzled into nothingness upon contact. The musclebound superhero was unsure if this was some sort of resuscitation or merging, but there was no time to dwell on it. He needed to act now and end Digz’s miserable existence. Marvelous Man gently reached out with his left hand. Drifting his meaty hand downward, he aimed his appendage at Digz’s feathery left arm. The hulking bodybuilder relaxed his massive body and drew a shallow breath through his nose; preparing his attack. At the same time, he began to channel his mana into his larynx for the oral part of the incantation. Marvelous Man felt his bulky physique primed and launched his plan. Whipping his left arm forward, he grasped the corrupted imp’s feathery arm and simultaneously fed his mana into the spell. The muscle demigod immediately began the incantation. “Iggzel Ponsfortuna! Through the sea of reality, gather the shattered soul. Place back what once belonged and seal into a whole. I beseach the power within the one I mend to reach for salvation. DIVINE SOUL RESTORATION!!!” he chanted. The complex magical circle began to shine; reacting to the incantation and feeding on Marvelous Man’s mana. The black miasma stirred, as a bright light materialized in the form of a star from the center of the magic circle. Marvelous Man then noticed the whisping darkness drifting toward the light in the form of tendrils. This even affected the dark essence leaking from out of Digz’s corrupted body. It was almost as if the magical light was acting as some sort of vacuum; dragging the parts it identified as Digz into a vortex the essence could not escape from. The spell was working! A white pole made of bone shot out from the dark mass and sailed over the incomplete imp. The projectile immediately struck Marvelous Man’s forehead before splintering into bone debris, disintegrating into essence, and then sucked into the magical circle’s light. During the bone’s reabsorption, the muscle demigod’s vision blurred. He nearly lost his focus with maintaining the flow of his mana into the magic circle, but his grip on Digz remained strong. No matter what the incomplete imp threw at him, the musclebound superhero had to hold onto the feathery arm to complete the spell. “Let me go!” exclaimed Digz, “ Let me go right now!” A torrent a bone poles rained down on Marvelous Man from above. His hulking body became racked with immeasurable pain with every projectile exploding into pieces upon impact. But he continued to hold on with every ounce of his will; clenching onto Digz’s arm and keeping the spell alive. The magical circle continued to suck in the miasma despite the ongoing attacks. Marvelous Man knew that at the rate the spell was going, it could take hours before it had absorbed the black world and gathered the missing pieces of the incomplete imp’s soul. The muscle demigod would have to give off as much mana as he possibly could in order to increase the vacuumous power. The hulking bodybuilder gritted his teeth, as he increased the flow of his mana. The bright star residing in the center of the magical circle grew brighter, as the many tendrils began to combine into one swirling whirlpool being drained into the star. It looked like the color-inverted image of a black hole. Marvelous Man then began to feel slightly winded with a growing numbness in his fingertips and toes; the same pins and needles sensation he had experienced from the Skeleton Lord’s mana drain. With the corrupted familiar’s onslaught and the enormous amount of mana the hulking bodybuilder gave off, the toll of these factors had already started to take. His stamina dwindled, but he needed to persevere. Digz shouted, “Let go!” A giant column of bone the size of delivery truck shot up beneath Marvelous Man. The column impacted against the musclebound superhero with the force of a bullet train. With no time to be aware of the oncoming attack, the muscle demigod lost his grip while being forcibly ascended. The black miasma high above him stirred, as another bone column of similar size ejected out of it. The descending column fell with the same intense speed as its rising counterpart that had the hulking bodybuilder splayed on top of it. Spotting the incoming object above himself, Marvelous Man activated his flight power. His massive body slid across the surface of his pushing oppressor. As the upper half of the hulking bodybuilder’s anatomy drifted over the edge, the two bone columns immediately collided with one another at the same time. Within the moment of impact, a thunderous boom reverberated in the miasma pocket dimension. The muscle demigod noticed his body lurching to a halt before continuing forward, as the two columns shattered into smaller pieces. Marvelous Man flew a small distance before stopping. He then looked down at his legs to inspect what ceased his movement for a moment. The musclebound superhero noticed his black boots covered in a layer of white powder with bits of bone debris embedded into the surface. Marvelous Man attempted to wiggle his toes, but he could not feel any sensation whatsoever. The hulking bodybuilder then noticed his right shoulder had a searing pain. Pressing on it with his left hand, he felt the pain explode and a space to where his shoulder joint should have been connected to. Marvelous Man yelped from the pain. There was no time to do a proper diagnosis, but he assessed two things: a dislocated shoulder from the first bone column that interrupted his spell, and fractured toes that most likely had been caught in the collision. Digz had put so much power into the attacks, that it was reaching Gilgamesh’s bone-crushing strength. It seemed to Marvelous Man that the corrupted imp no longer cared about conserving its energy to continue its dying existence. “Stay down and become my battery again! Or I will pummel you until you are completely broken!” shouted Digz, “I don’t know what this is but don’t think I’ll let you use it!” Marvelous Man stared down at the incomplete familiar. The muscle demigod felt confused by the last part he had just heard until he saw it. In front of Digz was the glowing star created from his spell. Though it shined brightly, it seemed to become dimmer with each passing second. Digz attempted to touch it with his feathery left arm, but the star reacted by sizzling the limb. The corrupted imp drew back his arm and hissed at it. Marvelous Man’s eyebrows furrowed. If he could just get back to the star and reactivate the spell while holding onto Digz, it would all work out. The musclebound superhero needed to do this, because of the numbness in his limbs. The numb feelings in his feet and hands had spread up to his elbows and knees; making it clear he only had enough mana to complete the spell he had set in motion. Marvelous Man was not sure if he had the mana to start up the soul restoration spell from the beginning again if the star died before he ever got to it. That star was his last hope of making everything right, and the muscle demigod had only one shot to do it. Using his flight power, he moved onward towards the star. His vision narrowed at the shining objective, and Marvelous Man wished he could have had super speed at this moment. Digz muttered, “So be it, cursed wretch.” Deep in the black void underneath the corrupted familiar, fragments of white bone materialized. The bone shards drifted upward like a stream of leaves carried by the wind. As the white fragments reached Digz, they began to collect above him. The collected shards formed into a cone-shaped roof before they continued downwards at a curved angle. The assembled fragments then took on the shape of an egg, as it encased Alden’s glowing corpse and the incomplete familiar. Once the shell had reached underneath the two, the last of the white shards sealed the bottom of the egg. The egg cracked; echoing like any normal egg that had been rapped against an edged surface. But the cracks on the egg were not random. It seemed as if the cracks moved with purpose; outlining multiple rectangles squeezed together. The patterns and shapes seemed to resemble feathery wings but with a sharper, angled outline. The egg then shuttered for a moment before its shell shifted. The egg shell unraveled itself and revealed underneath the glowing carcass of Alden. The Skeleton Lord’s body appeared to wrapped with his own red cloak from underneath his boney chest down to his feet. His arms were propped up crossed over his chest with elbows tucked underneath the swaddling cloak. It was as if he were posed for a dignified burial, and the casket he laid in was the monster itself. The casket was made from the same white bone material that had formed the egg, and the unraveled parts of the egg that had looked like wings to Marvelous Man were actually wings. The outer casket had three pairs of sharp angel-like wings that extended in every direction. As for the inner casket, it had a two pairs of wings that appeared softer, feather-like, and a smaller size comparable to a swan’s wingspan. Both pairs were layered criss-cross over the other that covered over parts of the glowing, deceased Alden. One pair of the feathery wings covered Alden’s face with only the mouth revealed, while the other covered his feet. In Marvelous Man’s perspective, the creature resembled a creature from the mythological video game he played back in Sunnysville. It had similar features of a type of angel known as a Seraphim. The Seraphim flapped all six of its sharp, outer wings; causing a flurry of its white, angular feathers to eject. The flat feathers flew towards Marvelous Man and began to expand into cylindrical columns the size of rocket missiles. Noticing the transformation, the hulking bodybuilder performed a barrel roll. His massive body moved in corkscrew motion into the storm of columns, while he rotated clockwise. The first row of bone columns flew by the musclebound superhero; nearly grazing him from only a fingertip away. He was not as lucky upon flying midway through the onslaught. The next row managed to hit Marvelous Man. The muscle demigod experienced blunt force trauma firstly on his left pectoral. The impact left a large, blue bruise on his pecmeat and halted his corkscrew maneuver. He was then instantly assaulted simultaneously in three other places: his right knee, the center abdomen, and the right side of his ribcage. His colossal body flung backwards from the tri collision, as the hulking bodybuilder felt cracks vibrate in his body. Marvelous Man coughed up bile before using his flight powers to steady himself and dive beneath the onslaught. He managed to slow down to a stop and float in the upright position, but his mountainous body stood in a crouched manner that strained to resist huddling into a fetal position. The muscle demigod could feel his nerves trying to scream pain into his brain; despite the adrenaline trying to smother it. With the rest of the storm of bone columns sailing over him, the musclebound superhero had a few seconds to register the damage he took. His right leg had a harder time moving, which meant the knee had become dislocated when disregarding the mana-drained numbness. Most likely, a dark bruise had begun appearing on his abs; just like on his left pec. And he had now began drawing painful breathes, so that meant a couple of his ribs on the right side have been fractured...But his left arm still worked. Marvelous Man pushed forward towards the glowing star; aware that he was already halfway there. It did not matter how damaged his bulky body had become, as long as his left hand was intact. He just needed that one hand to hold onto Digz...wherever that corrupted imp was. The musclebound superhero was aware that he needed to grasp Digz’s real body for the spell to work, but he hoped just grabbing part of the Seraphim would be enough. The pillars that had completely missed Marvelous Man immediately shattered into white shards upon Marvelous Man pursuing the star again. The bone shards collected themselves together and snapped into place like a puzzle to reform into a new shape. The bone pieces shaped themselves into a set of creatures that resembled another type of angel, from Marvelous Man’s video game, known as the Putti. The celestial critters consisted of only two things: a head and a pair of angel wings. The feathery wings were smaller compared to the Seraphim’s inner set and seemed comparable to a crow’s wingspan. The white wings were attached to the sides of the head and flapped vigorously. The head itself was a white crow skull with the size of an adult human head and held an abnormal feature on top. The top of its head had a set of three antlers lined up in a row. The antlers were flat and smooth like Saturn’s ring. Its left and right antlers curved in a circular angle, while the center extended straightward. All three antlers managed to interconnect at a certain length that made the antlers look like a sort of angel halo was lodged in the putti’s forehead. The murder of puttis flew towards Marvelous Man and caught up with the musclebound superhero in seconds. They began to peck at him with ferocity while spouting many things at the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man held up his left arm to shield his eyes. “Murderer!” one cawed. Another crowed, “We were just fine! Only us two! You took him away from me!” “DIE. DIE. DIE!!!” screamed a third. A fourth exclaimed, “I’m so alone! Give him back! I want things back the way they were!” “You can’t do anything right,” hissed another, “Your healing killed the only other person we ever loved. Give up!” The puttis continued to harass Marvelous Man, while he flew closer to the star. The pecks never pierced the muscle demigod’s skin, but their words stabbed his heart. He tried to ignore what the puttis said, but some of it felt true to him. As he approached the point of only a quarter distance left before reaching the star, the Seraphim flapped its wings again. The feathers that fluttered from out of the sharp wings floated in the miasma-contaminated air for a second before they exploded into white shards. The bone debris immediately collected itself together and reformatted into a new shape. The end result appeared to be the shape of a wagon wheel. The white wheel had spokes that took on the guise of long avian legs. At the center of the wheel where the spokes met and linked together, all the bird-like legs had avian feet with sharp talons that clenched onto one another. It were as if the legs were holding onto each other for their lives. On the outside of the wheel, there were eyes carved onto every available space of that white rim. Every eye was similar but slightly different due to every eye after it appeared to have its eyelid creep to a closed blink before eventually opening up again. Each of the eyes were incredibly detailed to the point of them appearing to be alive despite the lack of color. The wheel began to rotate on its own; quickly accelerating to a ferocious spin. The eyes seemed to actually come to life through the rotation. It was like a filmstrip moving fast enough for a picture to be perceived as moving. No matter from which section of the wheel one stared at, the eye would be seen as coming to life by blinking and staring back at the observer. The wheel then sped off towards Marvelous Man. The musclebound superhero was unable to see the oncoming enemy, as he was still being harrassed by the puttis. Reaching Marvelous Man in seconds, the white wheel zipped underneath the hulking bodybuilder before its trajectory led into a collision with him. The multi-eyed wheel then shot directly up and tackled itself into Marvelous Man’s bruised stomach. Marvelous Man’s massive body lurched into a halt, as he was hoisted on top of a spinning wheel. The air escaped from Marvelous Man, and pain from the attack on his bruise shocked his brain into momentary paralysis. The bone wheel did not falter in movement during its attack; its rotation continuing at the same furious speed before impact. The pain of the intense grinding felt like sandpaper scratched against his skin by the most powerful sander power tool in the world. It grinded into the muscle demigod for a few seconds before it began movement again. The wheel moved backwards; going up Marvelous Man’s meaty torso and over his face. Without anymore body parts to roll over, the white wheel flew away. Marvelous Man clutched his sides; nearly huddling into a ball over his reddened, abraised abdomen. The spinning wheel then changed its direction and looped itself back toward the muscle demigod. Hearing a whirring noise, Marvelous Man looked up in time to see the wheel coming right at him. The musclebound superhero quickly raised his left arm to block the incoming attack at just the right moment. The bone wheel collided into Marvelous Man’s golden bracelet; sparks flying from the wheel’s savage grinding against the unyielding jewelry. With his super strength strong enough to keep the monster temporarily at bay, Marvelous Man stared at his enemy. He could see the eyes carved onto the wheel’s outer rim blinking and gazing right back at him. His eyebrows furrowed at the white wheel. The monster had features similar to another type of angel he had seen in his mythological video game, a Throne. Thankfully, this celestial creature did not carry the expected characteristic of his usually has, which is being on fire. Marvelous Man was aware that his body was not in a healthy enough condition to engage in any sort of combat with the Throne nor the puttis. Only his left arm was of fighting-capable status, but it was set to only defend. Trying to use his golden laurel to fight would leave the musclebound superhero open long enough for any attack from his multiple enemies. As he continued staring at the Throne, he noticed the angel’s rotation. Acting quickly, the muscle demigod leaned forward. Marvelous Man positioned his beefy body to lie flat in the air, while he took in a deep breath to ready for what he was about to do next. In one single motion, the musclebound superhero bent his head down, lowered his blocking left arm, and used his flying power to push forward. Now nothing held back the angelic wheel. The white Throne immediately trampled over the hulking bodybuilder, but the damage done to Marvelous Man was minimal. At the same time the Throne used the muscle demigod as an improvised roadway, Marvelous Man moved underneath the bone wheel. The musclebound superhero rode with the Throne’s rapid downward rotation to passively bypass the wheel and launch himself towards the dimming star faster than he could usually fly. The distance between the muscle demigod and the star drastically warped; no longer feeling like a crawl but more of a leap towards his illuminated objective. Marvelous Man held out his left hand openly in a readying attempt to grasp part of the Seraphim. Once he landed next to the star, the musclebound superhero would have to hold on with all his might. He then charged his voice box with mana and began to recite the spell’s incantation to activate the magic upon physical contact with the Seraphim. And even though his right shoulder was dislocated, his could still move his fingers. The muscle demigod gestured the magic circle and focused on the symbols for the spell. He was not sure if he had to do those parts again, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The feathers of the Seraphim’s outer wings wiggled for a moment before it stretched out and curved towards Marvelous Man at wicked speeds. At the ends of the extending feathers, its flat, sharp edges began to bulge and morph into the shape of a clenched fist. The musclebound superhero’s focus narrowed only on the dimming star; incapable of seeing the Seraphim’s attack. Marvelous Man chanted, “Iggzel Ponsfortuna! Through the sea of reali-AUCK-!!!” One of the fists from the stretched feathers punched Marvelous Man’s throat; ceasing the incantation. The magical circle hovering above his right hand instantly disappeared, as his concentration was destroyed. Hundreds more fist-shaped feathers launched at the muscle demigod like streams of missiles. No matter which direction a couple of fists sent him flying, another flurry would follow the musclebound superhero with incredible speed and barrage him into another direction. After each feather made its punch, it would retreat back into the sharp wings before launching again. Marvelous Man tried to defend with his working left hand, but it would be easily parried away by the onslaught of punches. Even if he managed to, he simply could not block every fist that assaulted every part his humongous body. As the hulking bodybuilder was flung back to near out of range from the Seraphim’s attack, the Throne appeared from behind Marvelous Man and momentarily grinded its wheel into his back. Not giving the muscle demigod a chance to scream, the Throne then immediately pushed the muscle demigod back into the frey of fists waiting to barrage him. The feathers from the sharp outer wings launched their fist-shaped ends at Marvelous Man and began their torrent of violence at him again. Damaged, dizzy, and struggling to breathe, the hulking bodybuilder had no more strength in him to lift his meaty left arm or even curl up into a ball. The musclebound superhero was flung about like a ragdoll, while blood dripped from his mouth and nostrils. His enemies seemed to sense their victory over the muscle demigod, as the Throne did not bother to toss Marvelous Man back at the Seraphim once he was thrown out of range of the white fists. He drifted further away, and his vision and mind soon stabilized in seconds. Marvelous Man saw the star in front of the Seraphim flicker...and then fizzle...and finally die; dissolving back into Digz’s essence. That was it...nothing more he could do to save the corrupted imp. Not enough mana to create a new spell and push it towards completion. And from the feel of his throat, his windpipe had been bruised to a point that uttering a few words would become a struggle. Verbal incantation to activate the spell would be impossible. Taking it all into account, his personal mission had become a complete failure. Marvelous Man could feel a blackness growing in him; a pit that wanted to suck him in and his will to fight. The musclebound superhero tried to focus on the backup plan he hoped he would never have to do. He would have to kill Digz. Physical confrontation is no longer possible, since the muscle demigod allowed himself to be bashed into a bruised and broken matter from trying to heal Digz. Using the talisman the D.A.B. provided him would be useless to use at this moment. That left one of his two last options for neutralizing the incomplete imp. The hulking bodybuilder slowly lifted his heavy left arm, while his mind thought back to his first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. His twitching hand reached into his black jacket’s pocket and pulled out his golden harmonica, Duskbell. The muscle demigod’s illumination ability was bright enough to disperse the black essence, but it had a limited range. Marvelous Man remembered that limit when he had tried to illuminate the graveyard ground and failed, and it was unquestionable that this pocket dimension exceeded that range...Unless if he were to supercharge the light. When Marvelous Man supercharged the graveyard ground, the light it gave off had a greater intensity than his usual illumination to cause the whisping miasma and its solid forms to completely dissipate. The supercharge also had the perk of unlimited range. If he were to supercharge the blackness swirling in this pocket dimension, it would undoubtedly be destroyed. Digz needed that essence to remain in his barely physical form. If it was no longer available, the corrupted imp would have to merge back into Alden’s body in order to survive. But the Skeleton Lord’s corpse had become supercharged by Marvelous Man’s power which denied the Digz’s whisping blackness from entering. So there was now a higher chance the corrupted imp would not be able to go back into the dead body after ejecting out of it. With both crucial elements for survival disabled, the incomplete familiar would be like a flame suffocated by a candle snuffer. Marvelous Man’s trembling arm brought the golden harmonica up to his face and began to rightfully position the keyholes towards his mouth with his meaty fingers. Since his hand was completely completely numb from the amount of mana he had used, he had to be careful with his finger movements. One wrong manipulation of his thick digits would cause Duskbell to tumble out of his grasp and become lost in the world of darkness. Seconds had past in the silent blackness until he finally maneuvered his golden instrument into facing the correct direction. The muscle demigod brought Duskbell to his lips. A small white figure swooped in front of Marvelous Man’s eyes and collided into his hand. The golden harmonica was knocked out of his left hand and fell into the whisping essence beneath, while the white object moved unhindered at the quick impact. Flicking his eyesight from the lost Duskbell and up at his attacker, Marvelous Man noticed that the creature was Digz’s putti. “No! None of that!” it cawed. The putti’s ascent came to a stop, as it joined a murder of its kind. The puttis flew in a circle like vultures; staring down at their prey and waiting for the time to attack. Marvelous Man realized that was probably why they did not bother attacking when he was locked in combat with the Seraphim. The creatures were there to pick away at and disable whatever tricks the musclebound superhero had left. The black pit within the muscle demigod’s heart grew bigger. It swirled at the tips of his toes; inviting his soul to fall in. Marvelous Man tried to brainstorm on the other ways to activate a supercharge. His bruised windpipe was incapable of singing, and there was not a single artistic thing he could with his left that did not require materials that were not presently available. In the next couple of hours, his body would regenerate for a second wind of supercharging the black miasma...But what of the outer world then? There was no telling the destruction that was currently happening at this moment. The ghouls from Limbo could have broken out of the dome within the hours he spent recovering in this pocket dimension, and Digz might be rampaging on the outside at the same time inside against Marvelous Man. So then...what could he do? Marvelous Man realized he only had one other last option he was able to do in his state. He would have to activate his Soul Venom and unleash it on the incomplete familiar. There must have been some wound or culmination of smaller wounds Digz endured before it became the corrupted imp it currently is. The musclebound superhero could only hope that after killing Digz, he would pass out from exhaustion and hurt nobody else. He could never forgive himself if the Soul Venom, that would taint his soul, caused him to stay awake and rampage against the rest of the world. Letting all their past wounds consume them like he attempted with his parents...and nearly succeeded. Tears began to well up in his eyes at the futility of his situation. In his mind, he saw himself at the black pit again. He leaned forward and fell. The despair was so crushing; greater than the physical pain he currently and recently experienced. No matter what he did, the moment he refused to do what was expected of him and follow his own selfish pursuits, it always resulted in failure. He should’ve followed Director Doug and Puzzle’s plan of killing Digz and the Skeleton Lord rather than saving them. And the result of doing so caused Alden to die and Digz to follow soon after. It was inevitable no matter how much he tried to prevent such a sad end. Just what was the point of his power? It’s supposed to heal. But the moment it was truly needed, it killed the one Marvelous Man tried to save. Some hero he was. So powerful, but so incapable of doing anything. A Rank-D hero from the start that could only act as support. Every time he tried to do something on his own, it always resulted in failure...It would have been better if he listened to his parents and just stayed inside Sunnysville...But that’s just it, isn’t it? He will always make the wrong decisions and hurt those around him. His own existence is complete poison! His own enemies were right. It was better that things always stayed the same. If he did not live in this world, things would have gone better. Justice would have suffocated emotionally in Sunnysville, but he would have somewhat been happy. There has been nothing but pain since becoming Marvelous Man and leaving that town. “Now’s not the time to be lying down, hero! You still draw breath. Get up! Fulfill my dying request!” said a manly voice. The descent into the dark pit jerked to a halt, as Marvelous Man’s eyes flicked to the voice he heard. It was King Alden! He no longer appeared skin and bone with misery hanging on his face. He looked like the painting the hulking bodybuilder saw in Digz’s past. The king was decorated in all of his royal accessories, and his body had a slight plumpness with bright peach skin. The royal highness was literally glowing and seemed slightly transparent. The putti above them spoke up, “Alden?!” “It can’t be! You’re dead! We have your body!” said another. Alden became distracted by the voices and peered up. The muscle demigod croaked, “Wha-...How?” Alden looked down and smiled. “I know not the forces, whether it be you or a higher power. But I was pulled back here during my descent,” he replied. Marvelous Man was not sure, but he supposed it could have been the soul restoration spell. It was supposed to gather the pieces of soul bestowed to Digz that was lost eons ago. Since the the corrupted imp and Alden had been fused for so long, their souls might have become related to one another. But the muscle demigod was unsure of that hypothesis, because he is not a practitioner nor knowledgeable about magic. Were it not for the situation he was currently in, Marvelous Man would have freaked out from seeing an actual ghost. Alden roused, “Now, get up. You said you would heal Digz, and I have yet to see that.” Marvelous Man swallowed. The pain in his throat felt like it was burning, but he gathered the strength to utter words in his now raspy voice. “I can’t...Too broken...and I hurt all over,” he replied. The king sighed, “Why are you still pretending to be a star child? I know you are more than capable to put yourself back together from such simple flesh wounds. I’ve felt the power you hold!” The muscle demigod felt confused by such a statement. Did Alden think he was just lying around and not being powerful for the fun of it? “Even if I could...what good would it do? I’ll just...keep fucking it up...I’m a fatherfucking mess. I can’t do anything right. I couldn’t even...heal you,” he sobbed. The royal highness exclaimed, “But you did! And so much more! You helped me let go! I came to the realization that in letting Digz enable my sadness, I enabled his madness. Digz might have been the one to kill my family like you said, but...He is still precious to me! I don’t want him to be in pain!” “Do you remember what you said to me? You said you wanted to inspire me, and that is what you did! You are so much mightier than you think you are!” he continued. The musclebound superhero felt an emotion stir in him. It was the same one he felt when stop the Skeleton Lord before the confrontation with Gene Lightfoot. The emotion that felt like his true self contained within the dam of his heart. But it was very weak, and the agonizing doubt had towered over it and had already begun to devour it. Marvelous Man fretted, “But...even with the power that you said...I still had to get my friend’s help to defeat you. I couldn’t do anything big. I’m still too weak…” “Then learn from this and remember what you’ve experienced! Know what it truly means to be utterly helpless and refuse to remain that way! There is no shame in relying on your friends for help with the bigger things. But if you wish to move onward and be capable of fighting battles by yourself, then take the opportunities of this world and make it your own! It is foolish and naive to expect to become powerful without effort or have the world stoop to your level!” Alden raved. He continued rambling, “When I first pacted with Digz, he was only capable of moving corpses. And now look! He’s able to create creatures from his own imaginations! Though I must say, he’s always had an obsession with angels. I suppose it came from the time he spent with his original master.” “What?” said Marvelous Man. Alden lectured, “Just remember that you must accept the responsibilities of making the choice to become stronger and anything else you have done in your life. The changes you make will no doubt become hard and even unbearable at times. And even if it’s a change caused by the fates themselves, accept the consequences for what they are and make it your own! “The only time when you have truly errored in your ways is if you do not do anything and struggle to keep things the way they are! Good or bad, you are your own agent of chaos. And you have helped me realize that! Accept the reality of what you have done and learn from it!” he babbled with passion. Marvelous Man felt enraptured by the king’s words. Somehow, it was the words he had always needed to hear. Always remember the past but never try to stay complacent within it. Choose the path you know and feel is right but be ready to deal with the outcome. FIGHT THE STATUS QUO AND BECOME SOMETHING MARVELOUS!!! The dam in his heart that tried to contain his true emotion began to leak through the cracks once again. It was barely able to contain this geiser of a feeling. He felt like his heart and his body was about to burst. The word of this emotion was at the edge of his tongue, and it felt like it was from something even the royal highness had just said. “Look!” pointed Alden, “Look at your hand!” From the corner of his eye, the muscle demigod noticed a glow. Marvelous Man lifted his left hand up and gazed at it. The same glow from earlier that slightly whisped like his Soul Venom, but also contained some of the warm light from his supercharge, radiated from his hand. The trail of mysterious ray looked like an aurora and left behind a multitude of colors. It began to travel downward of his arm, but then Marvelous Man noticed something peculiar tied to his wrist. “Such a beautiful light,” added the king. The hulking bodybuilder brought his meaty wrist closer to his eyes for a better inspection. It was a glass string that neither felt tight or loose, but...just there. It was so transparent that it was nearly invisible, yet it had a shine that was noticeable to the muscle demigod. Marvelous Man curled his fingers towards it for a curious touch. Upon contact, that felt like grazing another person’s fingertips, a shard of what seemed to be glass materialized in his hands. He rasped, “Wh-what is this? Glass?” “Glass? I only see light, Marvelous Man! Embrace it!” cheered Alden. As much as Marvelous Man wanted to question the royal highness’ perspective, it felt more important to do as Alden said. He stared into the shard, and it responded by lighting up like the bright screen of a smartphone. The shard began playing a film, but it only seemed to last a second before the reality around Marvelous Man warped. The musclebound superhero felt as if he were being transported to the scene shown on the glass. Marvelous Man stood in the abandoned subway where the homeless community was slaughtered and served as the second encounter with the Skeleton Lord. The hulking bodybuilder just somehow knew this was when the ancient villain retreated from the battle. But instead of stationed in the center like last time, he was placed to the right of the passageway the Skeleton Lord exited into. He stared into the opening where the battle was fought and spotted himself floating beside his teammates at the time, Gene and Octomentist, and staring back at him. The past Marvelous Man shouted, “Wait! Why are you doing all this? What’s the point of doing all these terrible things?!” The current Marvelous Man looked towards his left and found the Skeleton Lord ebbed away into a veil of invisibility. For some reason, Marvelous Man could still see the supervillain. The musclebound superhero then noticed a glass string protruding from the red cloak and extending all the way down to his past self. Somehow, Marvelous Man knew that this was the moment a seed had been planted in the ancient evil. The seed, a passing thought, said, “What was the point of doing all this?” The muscle demigod then heard Digz within the Skeleton Lord whisper the answer, while the supervillain repeated it. “When one has the power of a god and their purpose has turned to ash, the only thing one can do is burn the world itself,” said the Skeleton Lord. The vision within the past had ended, and Marvelous Man was back floating in the miasma-infested pocket dimension. He released the glass shard from his hand; causing it to float up. Looking back at the glass string, he now noticed that it stretched and tethered to Alden’s spirit. The pressure of the geisere in his heart intensified. In Marvelous Man’s perspective, that was the first time he had affected a change within Alden. It might have been small, but it was the start that led the ancient king to give up his evil ways and cease living. Marvelous Man then noticed another glass string tied to his forearm, as the aurora continued traveling down his muscled arm. His eyes followed the string, but it seemed to have extended somewhere outside of this pocket dimension. Out of instinct, he accepted the new string with his heart instead of his eyes. This caused an echo of a voice to appear in his mind. Aphrodite echoed, "Yes, but I love you on a greater level than everybody else. A mother's love is powerful, and you will always be my baby." That was the moment Justice changed his mind about how he felt about his parents after learning the purpose of his birth. If his mother never said that back in Sunnysville, the hulking bodybuilder would probably have begun to really hate his parents. The feeling in his heart grew stronger; the geiser still pushing but needed to hear more. Looking up, he noticed a glass string tied to his pinkie. The muscle demigod allowed the string into his heart; excitement slowly building up in him for the surprise of either good or bad. “Feel better?” echoed Marvelous Man. Gene echoed back, “Very much so. Thank you.” That was the first time Marvelous Man awakened to infatuation. After the first fight with the Skeleton Lord, the musclebound superhero would join the D.A.B. for the sake of befriending Gene. He would then grow that infatuation into love for the Totochtin prince. Marvelous Man then noticed another glass string tied to his elbow, as the wavy light on his arm continued over his bulbous bicep. He accepted the string with his heart and listened for the voice. Gene echoed, “It would not be right to you nor me. Perhaps if we kept doing the dating it could turn out exactly how you wanted. But such a thing would only result in hurting us in the end. That is the time that is wasted for trying to grow something that cannot grow. I am sorry Marvelous Man, but I cannot force myself to be the something that I am not.” Marvelous Man could never forget that event. Gene had become realistic about their situation, and it caused the muscle demigod to realize his misunderstandings of what love is. It was painful and eye-opening, but he gained a friend in the end. Their bond with each other was so strong, that the rabbit demigod gave up the vendetta against the Skeleton Lord to avoid fighting Marvelous Man. The eagerness to hear more overwhelmed him more than the uncertainty of his situation. He wondered for a moment on the possibility of hearing more than just simply looking for the strings and closed his eyes. Relaxing his body, Marvelous Man focused his mind on the strings. He at first could feel the ones he had already saw attached to his left arm, but then sensation of the glass strings expanded. The muscle demigod felt glass strings tied to nearly every part of his body that seemed to entwine naturally onto him rather than a forced, uncomfortable bondage. He could practically picture the whole scenery in his mind. In a confused sense, it seem to Marvelous Man that his body served as the source and a receiver for something. The strings he saw in his head felt real, and he tried to embrace it as real...And that’s when a torrent of voices echoed in his mind like a shout in an empty chamber. It was the voices from his past; his friends, family, enemies, and even himself. He could hear each and every one, and they all exchanged conversation that was meant for him or others. Some were encouraging, others insightful, and there were also those that were hurtful. In Marvelous Man’s perspective, it was almost like hearing a song. And at the end of this emotional song, he heard the voice of the one he truly cared for summarizing what he heard. “My point is, your very existence makes all the difference and don’t you forget it. The positive things you provoke in people may be small compared to what you expected, but it all carries the same weight. Even if it’s as small as being their friend or even getting someone to try a new thing. And superhero or not, your existence inspires change in the people around you,” echoed Gemini. Marvelous Man’s heart exploded; the emotional geiser pouring out and flowing throughout his entire being. The aurora light immediately coursed over the rest of his massive body and then merged, as he came upon a realization. His entire anatomy was outlined in illumination that shared the same color as the aurora. Opening his eyes, tears streamed from them nonstop while gazing at the spectacle before himself. The musclebound superhero could see glass strings tied not just to himself and stretching outward, but also to Alden’s spirit and even the Seraphim! He could see the glass strings connecting towards all three beings in the pocket dimension and beyond the whisping essence like some sort of cosmic web. It was like gazing at a piece of abstract art that was infinite, beautiful, and maddening. His immense body began to radiate its own auroras that streamed upward and seemed to curl like the brushstrokes of the Starry Night painting by Vincent van Gogh. Marvelous Man’s physical wounds immediately responded to the illumination. Dislocated limbs were set back into to place, fractured bones sealed back up to their original state, and bruised skin became a smooth, healthy brown. The hulking bodybuilder felt every damaged piece moving around inside of him, but it was not painful. He briefly wondered if this was what Sugar Skull experienced when supercharged. It all made sense now. This feeling that he now experienced was his true self. The celestial element that was unique only to him. His mother, friends, and even Marvelous Man himself had been saying what he had been all along. The seed to love, art, and passion: Inspiration. Marvelous Man instantly understood that the glass strings he could see were also physical manifestations of inspiration, and it gave him a greater understanding of his celestial element. Inspiration is more than just changing or improving. It is the culmination of pain and bliss that act as fuel for the spark of new ideas and perspectives. But most of all, inspiration is the gift from existing. No matter how small or big the differences one made in the other’s life, they all carried equal value. Every life matters; regardless of one’s own perspective of self-worth or even someone else’s opinion about yourself. You are important to my existence. We are all connected, and that is the true art of life. The hulking bodybuilder situated upright, as Alden stared with marvel in his eyes. A smile broke out on the ancient king’s face. He exclaimed, “I knew it to be true! Tell me, what sort of god are you? Pray tell, what do you preside over?” Marvelous Man stared down at his hands; watching the colored, illuminated outlines radiate tiny auroras. Droplets of his never-ending tears pattered onto his wrists and palms, as he realized his throat had been healed and could answer the question. The musclebound superhero felt his voice both bellow like thunder and whisper like a calm river. “Inspiration,” he stated, “That is my celestial element.” Marvelous Man continued, “I finally understand what you mean, and what everybody else have been saying. The ideas and thoughts I am having...it’s overwhelming both my mind and soul. So many infinite possibilities of good and evil that this element can cause. No matter where I look, I see beauty from this collage of chaos. And...I just want to do so much art to supercharge others! To fill them with inspiration to do something marvelous with their lives or even plant a seed in them to try something different!” The Inspiration God’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, is that what I’ve been doing this entire time when I supercharge my friends?! I’m literally energizing them with my essence when I do something artsy or inspirational or whatever! I wonder if I can do it by just flexing my muscles? Can that affect me too and put me in this...super soul form or god form or whatever?” he rambled. One of the puttis crowed, “Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible!” “Stay broken! No more of that flashy stuff!” raved another. The king flicked his eyes above him and stared at the murder of puttis circling above the two. He then looked over to the Throne and Seraphim floating in anticipation before he turned back toward Marvelous Man and tried to speak gently. Alden interrupted, “Great deity, I know you’ve just had an incredible breakthrough, but I beseech you to please turn your attention to my imp. He needs your healing, please.” Marvelous Man looked up and turned to the spirit. His eyebrows then raised, as he remembered what he needed to do. The Inspiration God realized that without a goal or something to express himself with, he would be caught up in his many thoughts or spectate in wonder at the glass strings. The hulking bodybuilder switched his weeping gaze to the other bone angels and furrowed his brows. He then struck an exaggerated fighting pose. “Sorry! You’re right! I got lost in my thoughts,” said Marvelous Man, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it right this time! Any chance you could give me a boost?” Alden stroked his chin, “Let me see…I think I might still have some influence over his essence.” Waving his spirit arms in a wide, circular motion, the whisping blackness drifted over to his arms. The dark essence followed the motion of his arms and began to materialize into bone. As Alden finished his motion, the white bone had formed into a large, flat disk. “Here! Quickly make use of this! I fear you will have only one chance to make use of my assist, as I feel my being drifting back to where I am to be damned!” he exclaimed. Marvelous Man looked behind and noticed the disk. He then used his flight powers to perform a backflip and landed on top of the disk. The ancient king placed his palms on the back of the disk and aimed the Inspiration God at the white Seraphim. Alden thrusted, “Now, fly.”
  11. Guest

    INFINITY BREAKERS - Part 01

    So I am putting a disclaimer here before anyone reads this. If it gets complaints, I will move it to the Member+ Section. This new series involves a 16 year old. There is sex in the later parts, but there is also Age Progression, so this teen becomes an ADULT. Just a Warning and a Precaution I wanted to take. This is also based on an RP I am currently working on with Nostson. It is still not complete but we are making sure it gets to completion so this amazing EPIC can be told in full. Currently Have enough for 4 parts... and TWO of them are already written. Anyways... Please Enjoy this twisted piece of fucked up fiction for your jerking pleasures... INFINITY BREAKERS Part 1 The Alpha The Alpha, the Universe’s only sole Guardian, is out patrolling his local city. It’s a daily thing and if he didn’t do it, well it just left it up to the local authorities. What set him apart was he had powers normal heroes didn’t have. Strength 10 times a normal human. And Super Speed. Everyone loved him, he was an all-around Hero that everyone wished they were him as well. After he just stopped another bank robbery, heading out to his next location to patrol, he noticed a teen, 16 years of age. Sizing him up 5’3” 140lbs. A nice athletic build. He was a fine specimen that in a few years when he was truly a man, He’d be one hell of a stud. The Alpha’s inner mentality made his stomach churn a bit. You see, The Alpha wasn’t always this 6’6” 345lb shredded beef of muscle. He used to be just as small as this teen, but we will get to that later. The Alpha flew in low, landing right behind the teen, pressing his first up along the wall above his head. “How’s it going sport?” He tried sounding cool, flirting in his own way as best as he could. He looked down at the teen over his pecs, as the teen looked up from his phone, giving the kid his hero’s smile. The teen watched as the fist actually punched a hole into the side of the building, bits of debris fell at their feet, a couple of pebbles and dust landed in his hair. All he could do was gawk at the massive body so close to him, eventually he saw the handsome face, smiling back. “H-hello sir!” he couldn’t find the words, his Hero was right in front of him, larger then life. “I-I’m doing fine! What are you doing here?” The Alpha placed his large hand on the teen’s shoulder, his palm fully enclosing it as he made his way to the other side of the teen’s body, bending down a bit so they were eye level. “I just finished up here, when my eye caught you! You’re a pretty handsome kid!” He took a second to adjust himself before giving him a wink and a grin. “How would you like to come back to The Alpha’s home?” The Alpha kept smiling as he brushed the dust off of the top of the teen’s hair, but in reality it was just an excuse for him to get another touch of this kid he had a crush on. The teen gasped a bit from the touch, his own hand coming up to brush against his hero’s forearm, feeling the raw power of his real life champions thick and veiny muscle. He blushed from the words, even more that this muscled powerhouse had any interest in him, and even stopping by to give him a smile and a wink. “W-why thank you, sir! You’re the most handsome guy around though! W-why would you invite me?! I-I mean, yes! Of course I want to come!” The teen continued to get flustered as he was given this once in a lifetime opportunity. The Alpha took that as his OK. In one quick sweep he spun the teen around, lifting him off his feet and scooping him into his arms. “Sorry, Sport!” He pulled a cloth out of his back pocket, tying it around the teen’s. “I can’t let you see where home is right now. So where this as a precaution and we will get there safely!” In seconds, The Alpha lifted off the ground, and took off, holding the teen close to his body, making sure even with breaking the sound barrier, the teen was safe. In mere minutes later, they slow down as The Alpha comes in for a landing, He places the teen on a chair, “Security System: Lock Down!” removing the blindfold from the teen’s eyes as giant metal shutters began closing around the entire room. “VOICE RECOGNITION COMPLETE!” the animatronic voice echoed throughout the giant room as the last shutters slid over the windows, blocking the sun completely from their views. *CLAP-CLAP* Light’s begin to turn on and illuminate the building. The teen look’s around. High Ceilings, lots of computers and electronics, even all the new and latest gaming gadgets. His hero was a gamer too! On one side of the room sat a kitchen. The other a bedroom, with a very large bed, much bigger than a King. “Wow… this is like… the room of my dreams! But why do you have all this stuff? Aren’t you busy being a hero?” The Alpha slowly pulls his gloves off, tossing them aside, followed by pulling the spandex top off his upper body. His chest glistened with sweat as he took a seat at the foot of the bed, looking over at the teen. The teens jaw dropping again from the site of his pumped body. “H-Holy fuck…” he mumbled as his body faced the hero. The Alpha pats the spot next to him on the bed as he lifts his leg up, pulling his booted foot into his lap and removing the boot, exposing his large size 15 foot. He does the same with the other boot, tossing it aside. “A hero has to have fun every now and then, doesn’t he? It gets lonely some times. The teen stepped closer, his knees threatening to give out as he approached the hero, looking away from his face, glancing down to see those massive feet and legs. He almost ended up stumbling over the massive discarded boots from not paying attention, stepping over them and making eye contact just before he was right in front of him. “Is that why you invited me then?” “Come closer, stud! I don’t bite!” He makes a chomping sound with his pearly whites. “Unless you want me to?” He winks before letting out a hardy heroic laugh. The teen backs up a bit as the hero leaned forward and pretended to bite, blushing in embarrassment as he heard the deep laugh. He slowly moves closer towards The Alpha again, sitting on the spot he initially patted, looking over at this large, muscle man’s body, seeing the thickness of his pecs and even his abs from this angle. “I-I think I’ll pass on the biting…” he was slightly confused. The hero turned to face the teen a bit. “Don’t be shy! I was once small like you! You have no need to be embarrassed in front of me.” The hero noticed the teen checking him out. Taking in everything that made him the hero. He lifted his arm up, flexed it. The bicep peaked up, perfect symmetry. “Go ahead. Touch it!” The Alpha gently takes the teen’s hand into his own, placing it on the warm rounded surface. He gives it a little flex, making it harder. “What’s your name, kid?” The teen can’t really believe what his hero was saying… he was once small like him? He watched as his hero moved his hand along his bicep. His own hand shaking a bit, but he slowly calmed down after he felt how gentle the large man was. He tried gripping the bicep, squeezing it a bit harder. Moving his second hand up on that one massive peak of hard flesh. “Oh god… I can’t even budge your arms!” He shouted excitedly, and got even more excited as his hero raised his other arm into a double bicep pose. “M-My name is Johnathan, sir! And what do you mean you were once small like me?” The Alpha watched as Johnathan continued to feel up his arms with his hands… It’s practically a worship session, which he had not hand in quite a long time, especially not from someone so HOT to him either. His own cock, stirring a bit as he got lost in the feeling. “Mmmm… A guy doesn’t just get to be like how I am, Johnny Boy… Powers… this much strength… I’m the only one like me in the entire Universe…” The Alpha lifted Johnathan up, spun him around and pulled him into his chest. “I used to be just like you a few years ago. Hell, I was even a teen! 16 to be exact…” getting lost in the feel, The Alpha ran his beard against Johnathan’s neck. His breathe warm. Pecs heaving on Johnathan’s back as he wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. “Will you be mine, Johnathan?” Johnathan blushed again as his hero gave him such a cute nickname, then snapped back to reality as hid idol he just met told him all this stuff about himself. “W-WHAT?” stammered out before he was man handled and forced into the hero’s lap. “I mean, how can I say no to you, sir?” he was being overwhelmed by everything that was happening so quick. He tried to clear his mind for a second. Thinking back to what The Alpha had told him. “You were once 16, like me. H-How did you become so…. So massive? So Powerful? So…” he took a second to swallow his fear of what he was about to ask. “S-Sexy?” Johnathan blushed as he reached up to rub his hands along the massive forearms, knowing even if he didn’t want to be there, in his heroes arms, there was no way he could move the arms holding him with his strength alone. “My power was inherited, little one…” The Alpha continued his story, kissing the teen’s neck, reaching his hand into his sexy young stud’s shorts. Johnathan blushed a bit, letting out a light moan as the large hand moved down his core and into his pants, his hands gripping onto The Alpha’s wrist as things began to move faster, not sure where things were going to go as he had never done this before with anyone, his own cock beginning to grow erect. “I mean one day the world was in complete chaos, the next I show up… seems kind of ironic don’t you think but I did clean up the mess…” His hand gripped around the shaft, 4 inches, getting harder. “Mmmm, fuck… bigger then mine used to be… and the same age.” The Alpha was lost in his own thoughts. “Fuck !&@&*$&(!*&#*(!)!*&!” The word made no sense, but the next moment changed everything. The Alpha began to breathe hard, trying to catch his breath. *THUMP* A large ball falls onto the floor, rolling away from them. “WhAt HaVe I dOnE…” The Alpha’s voice was slowly changing pitch. His shadow looming over Johnathan was beginning to shrink, and the teen felt it too. Johnathan’s back begun to sink back into the hero more. The pec’s that were once supporting him began to retract. *THUMP* Another ball… *THUMP* *THUMP* Multiple ones all bounced to different corners of the room. All different colors and some of different sizes. Johnathon snaps back to reality as he heard that strange word and the balls start to bounce. He felt movement from behind him and the higher pitch voice was beginning to worry him. “What the…” not even sure it was the same man behind him anymore, he holds the arm in front of him tighter, suddenly realizing that they are much smaller and not holding him as tightly. Johnathan turned around, just in time to see The Alpha’s body falling back onto the bed, one more ball rolls around the bed as his heroes body writhers and shrinks to even smaller sizes. “Oh my god, what’s happening to you?!” Johnathan hops over the hero’s body, leaning in over him. The hero continuing to lose size as the teen stares down. His limbs retracting inward. His torso and spine compacting. His muscles deflating. Johnathan watched as the hair on his exposed chest retreated back into his skin. All of the hero’s manly appeal wasted away and reverted back to a more boyish charm as he devolved and shrank. His body reaching Johnathan’s size, before slipping even smaller as he returned to his original 16 year old self. His super hero tights were now loose, his cock no longer bulging outward as it had also returned to its old 3 inch pencil dick size. The Alpha gave one final *GASP* as his memories of the things he had done stayed, but his genius intellect pushed his way out of his head, creating a large jawbreaker, that rolled itself right into Johnathan’s hand that was still watching in utter amazement as his hero became a 5ft 120lb wimp… To Be Continued…
  12. musclepaul

    MUSCLEMAN and the Golden Gate Bridge

    Hi Just an idea i have been mulling over. Not done much writing before so comments and suggestions welcomed. MUSCLEMAN and the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE Lifting bridges was not new for Muscleman. As he looked out over the huge expectant crowd he flexed his muscles under his uniform. Once again the engineers had built a framework of metal and all he had to do was deadlift the bar then curl the entire Golden Gate Bridge. As always, Muscleman was supremely confidence had could do it, after all he had recently done the Brooklyn bridge without any issues. The problem is no one told Muscleman the weight difference and Muscleman had failed to ask. Whereas the Brooklyn weighed just under 15,000 tons, the Golden Gate weighed 60 times that, coming in at 887,000 tons Muscleman strutted out onto the specially built stage. Cameras focussed on him as he turned and smiled and flexed. Although clad in his unmistakable uniform of just gold posers, there was no doubt that the 6'3 320lb was all muscle – pumped, ripped, tanned and shredded. The ultimate definition of muscle perfection. Muscleman never missed the opportunity to be a showman. When he defeated Thor in the world famous epic armwreslte contest he toured the world for a week doing mock armwresle contests with anybody who wanted a photo opportunity. When he defeated hulk in the superhero powerlifting competition he had a full article written in Powerlifting weekly. The Hulk power lifting contest had been a calculated risk for Muscleman. Whilst the man of steel was confident the could win the bench press, he knew had little chance of defeating the Hulk in the squat (have you seen the size of those quads Muscleman kept on saying to himself) so it would all come down to the deadlift. And that is exactly how it turned out. Muscleman won 2 out of the 3 events, those quads of Hulk are simply insanely huge and powerful, and could squat a weight too great even for Muscleman to match; but the man of muscle had won the overall event and that was all that matters. when he defeated Hercules in the full Nelson challenge he went on tour with the WWE for a week to wrestle. No - Muscleman never missed a photo op. And today he was going to save the iconic Golden Gate Bridge by curling it up so engineers could insert new supports to stabilize it after the recent earthquake. Once again, the entire world would see Muscleman as the ultimate superhero; the ultimate saviour. Muscleman looked out at the huge crowd. NBC were sponsoring the event and they had their news anchor as live compare. Muscleman could hear the words in the background but wasn't really listening. He heard the words he was waiting for "ladies and gentlemen I give you MUSCLEMAN, THE STRONGEST BEING EVER TO HAVE WALKED THE PLANET". He walked to the bar, which looked like a simply oversized standard barbell, but this was connected to the entire Golden Gate Bridge. He took several deep breaths, bent down grabbed the bar and started to lift. That is when he realized he was in trouble. He expected it to be heavy but not this heavy. He always knew that his arrogance would one day be his downfall, but he never expected it today. He slowly lifted the Bridge a few inches off the ground, getting the bar to his knees but his entire body was shaking and straining like never before. Muscleman, for the first time ever was grunting and straining and roaring with the effort. Muscleman was sweating. The more he struggled the more he roared and sweated. He couldn't understand what was wrong until-from the back of his mind he replayed the half listened to words from the NBC host. The Brooklyn bridge had weighed just short of 17 000 tons and the Golden Gate just shy of 887,000 tons. If only he had done some research Muscleman lamented, then the world would not be witnessing the failure of Muscleman. He gave one final almighty roar and managed to complete the deadlift phase, but even he accepted that curling the weight was a total impossibility for anyone, Muscleman included. He dropped the bar and the entire ground shook as the weight of the bridge went down, Muscleman stood humbled and humiliated. The only solace Muscleman felt was that new knew for certain that no other superhero could have done better. This was far heavier than the powerlifting competition he had recently won, and his nearest challenger, the Hulk had lost that event. Although Muscleman may have felt humiliated, the huge crowd cheered like never before. Although he was always the favourite of all the superheroes, the fact that he attempted something in public which he failed at gave him a human aspect which many thought he was missing. The fact he gave the lift everything he had plus more improved his standing. The challenge provided two things for Muscleman. Firstly the feeing of being humbled by what others saw in him and the second was a driven desire to do better. It was then that Muscleman saw Kyle in the audience. Kyle wasn't supposed to be out of the compound let alone walking the streets of America without supervision. What most people don't realize is that the United Nations, along with a select number of major governments, scientific companies engineering conglomerates sponsors the Center for Human Enhanced Super Strength (CHESS).
  13. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 27

    (Apologies. Computer is broken, and my chromebook only works. But it doesn't factor in formatting for some reason. Please go to this link for a better format: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1DGN7pA7jDcsd0dxHC-ezmJnp4NlUo1mdY5QMq2t2KU4) Chapter 27: Wrath of the Al-Miraj - Part 2 A screaming pitch of silence rung in the superheroes’ ears with daze visible in their eyes. The Leviathan’s roar had only flung back the hulking bodybuilder, but it caused noticeable damage to the rabbit superhero. As Gene attempted to steady himself, blood lightly trickled out of his human ears. His body vibrated, as the ground shook with increasing strength of something drawing closer. Eyes focused forward again, the bunny demigod saw the Leviathan ready to swoop its sharp jaw at him. Rolling away to his left, the Totochtin prince managed to dodge the monster’s lunging head. The Leviathan skidded to a stop; instantly noticing failure of chomping on its target. Gene had no time to focus on the Leviathan, as the screeches of the armored zombies pulled at his attention. The rabbit superhero ducked beneath a swinging sword and parried away a black axe with his crimson bracer. Marvelous Man, at that same moment, managed to steady himself and looked down at the ensuing conflict. He spotted the animated corpses had begun their assault on Gene again. The musclebound superhero then noticed that the undead army no longer appeared reduced from Gene’s decimation. Instead, it appeared the mob had regained its lost numbers. Marvelous Man scanned the area and noticed something amidst the pool of whisping essence. Body parts of the rotting soldiers were being forced back into place by the blackness; animating them again and forming the darkness into combat equipment. Back at the ground, the barrage against the Totochtin prince was unending. There was no small period of recovery or even time to think. The moment he countered an attack from the zombie army, Gene had to dodge a charging Leviathan that nearly ate or trampled him. This would be followed by the Skeleton Lord galloping towards the bunny demigod and trying to slice him with the glaive. Then, the combo would start over again in a different order; preventing any means of predictability for the rabbit superhero. No matter what Gene did, the outcome for him was more pain and wounds. Overcoming an assault from any of the three types of enemies would leave him with shallow gashes on the exposed areas not covered by his armor. Flinching from any pain or reacting too slow to an enemy strike would cause an attack to succeed. Shapeshifting to rabbit form was no longer a viable option, as skeleton arms would then sprout from the field of blackness and pin Gene down for his enemies to strike at that vulnerable moment. The lethal blows would cause the crimson armor to activate the magical defense mechanism and divide the Totochtin prince into two clones of himself to avoid that damage. And if any of those twins failed to properly defend themselves, the division on that clone would commence once again. The only way the Genes would be forcibly fused back together again depended on one condition: to exist for a full two seconds without dividing again. Marvelous Man soon noticed a pattern of the clones existing two seconds longer for every time the clones were divided into a new set. But upon merging is when the bunny demigod would have to pay the price for avoiding the receival of fatal wounds. Hideous bruises sprouted all over his body, and blood dripped from his mouth and nose. Marvelous Man grabbed his magical patch, “Gene, you need to get to out of there! Get to higher ground or something! You’re not gonna win if you keep fighting like this!” The Totochtin prince seemed to acknowledge the muscle demigod’s advice, as he turned and ran away from his enemies. The Leviathan chased after the rabbit superhero with the rest of Alden’s undead army following behind. As Gene approached a tall business building, he performed a front flip. The bunny demigod landed feet first on the building wall; the crimson claws of his feet armor slightly dug into the concrete layer. Gravity obeyed the Totochtin prince, as Gene stood up. He did not fall nor tilt towards the ground; standing straight and rigid like the wall had become the floor and vice versa. The rabbit superhero took off and ran with graceful agility. While reaching a third of the way up the building, the Leviathan scaled the wall as well. The monster’s claws dug into the structure and windows; rupturing the side with every propelling movement. Gene shapeshifted into his armored rabbit form, as the Leviathan drew closer with its gaping maw. The bunny demigod pushed off with his super strength; zipping upside the business building in a crimson blur. He scampered farther up with the spacial gap between himself and the Leviathan growing wider. Reaching the top of the building with seconds to spare, the rabbit superhero hopped over to the center of the roof. The rooftop’s area and the business building itself had the spatial width of a small baseball field; perfect to house the fight between Gene and the Leviathan without either running out of room and falling over. The Totochtin prince reverted back into his human form, while the rumbling vibrations of the pursuing Leviathan grew stronger. He then swiveled about; facing himself towards where the enemy would be arriving at. His fists began to glow blue; charged with mana. Clasping his hands together in front of his chest, the bunny demigod started folding them against one another. He gestured his hands into a hand sign before immediately manipulating his fingered digits into another sign. On his final hand sign, his pinkies and ring fingers intertwined one another, and his thumb, index, and middle fingers pressed against each other. A runic symbol then appeared above his fingerless gloves, as his crimson armor glowed with the sound of a person hushing briefly passed over the armor. A second later, the symbol and the glowing vanished. Gene’s hands fell to his sides with open palms before taking a deep breath and exhaling it. The monster showed no sign of slowing down, as it drew closer to the top. Marvelous Man watched the Leviathan shoot into the air; high above the building’s roof. It landed with a thunderous stomp and its tail drooping over the edge. The ground beneath the white beast fractured in multiple directions, yet it still held itself together in spite of the massive impact and weight. The Leviathan charged with its toothy maw gaping wide open and drooling black essence. Gene leaned forward. He raised one arm with a clenched fist and tucked in the other. In Marvelous Man’s perspective, the rabbit superhero looked as if he were paused in a mid-punch that was ready to release another. The monster stampeded closer, but Gene did not move. Upon contact, The Totochtin prince divided. Marvelous Man’s eyes bulged. Instead of two clones, it was now three! Two of the Genes appeared on either side of the rampaging Leviathan, while the third materialized above the beast. The two clones on the ground rotated their bodies to face the white monstrosity, while striking with their fists. The two Genes punched rapidly with both fists; their arms becoming blurred amidst their barrage. “FURO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO-RO!!!” they battle cried in unison. At the same time, the third clone in the air twirled his body. As he repositioned himself at a horizontal angle, the clone linked his hands together with his crimson-spiked elbows pointing outwards. His spinning upper body landed on top of the Leviathan’s neck and plunged one of the spikes on his elbows into the monster. With the giant bone monster in motion, it allowed the third clone to use the beast’s kinetic force in accelerating his own rotation speed. He moved like a buzzsaw carving down the Leviathan’s spine; using the spikes on his elbow and forehead. The Leviathan could not react in time to the Genes’ surprise attack and could only continue forward; helpless to the Totochtin onslaught. Every punch and slice from the clones created massive craters that birthed incalculable cracks all over the monstrous body. By the time the white beast completely passed by the Totochtin clones, its entire being was completely covered in fractures. It looked as if it were cracked porcelain ready to fall apart at the slightest touch. As the Gene clone in the air fell towards the ground after running out of Leviathan to spin on, the other Totochtin clones reached out to him. One clasped onto an arm, while the other grabbed the armored ankle. The three clones blurred; fusing back into one Gene Lightfoot. Landing feet first, the bunny demigod shifted into his rabbit form. The armored bunny haunched down before rocketing off with the use of his super strength. As the Leviathan came to a slow upon nearly reaching the other end of the roof, the crimson missile closed in from behind it. The white rabbit pierced into the Leviathan without difficulty and caused the gargantuan beast to freeze in its tracks at the sudden intrusion. Immediately after entering, the bunny demigod exited out of the monster’s mouth. Gene then changed back to his human form, as he landed close to the edge of the rooftop. The hole the Totochtin prince had made in the Leviathan’s back-end widened; pieces of that area breaking off. The clattering sound of fallen bone chips began to collect in larger volumes, as the shattering had completely collapsed the back-end and continued up to the head. Seconds later, the Leviathan was no more. Only a massive pile of bone fragments remained. Gene lurched forward and grabbed his stomach. His breathing had become slow and heavy. Blood streamed down out of his nostrils again. Marvelous Man gripped his D.A.B. patch, “Hey, are you okay?!” “...I will be requiring the healing after this fight,” telepathically replied Gene, “Please be ready to do the supercharge on me.” The muscle demigod nodded, “U-understood!” “Have you located the Sugar Skull? I have not seen him before this fight began,” questioned Gene. Marvelous Man answered, “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him either. B-but I know he’ll be alright!” “I will have to trust your word on that. What is the Skeleton Lord doing?” said Gene. The musclebound superhero shifted his gaze. He then spotted the centaur climbing up the building wall. Alden’s horse legs dangled in the air, while the spider leg limbs on the Skeleton Lord’s back did all the scaling and hoisting the rest of the body. Alden was nearing the rooftop; giving Marvelous Man only seconds to talk. The hulking bodybuilder stated, “He’s scaling the wall with his spider legs and almost at the roof. Gene, just what is that armor doing to you when you divide?” “When I avoid the death and return my wrath by the multiples, my body will then be burdened by the multiples. It is a flaw Gemini did not have time to completely correct,” stated the Totochtin prince. A white spider leg made of bone clung onto the cracked edge of the rooftop. One by one, more appeared and joined the limb without disrupting the fractured structure. The spider legs slowly hoisted the Skeleton Lord up and drifted him over onto the rooftop. The white centaur was placed down with a light clomp. Slowly trotting forward, Alden’s gaze fixed onto the back-turned Gene before drifting over to the pile of what was once the Leviathan. He then stopped upon reaching the center of the rooftop. The Skeleton Lord huffed, “Why...why can’t you just die?!” The Totochtin prince shuffled about at a tired pace; turning to face his enemy. Upon completing his rotation, Gene let out a small sigh. He then slowly wiped the blood coming out of his nose. “I return the statement back to you,” he retorted. Alden reminded, “Feh. Cursed wretch. You have only pricked me twice in the chest, Totochtin. A simple patchwork for Digz. Whereas, you look no different than the undead cur I send after you.” “It is only a flesh wound. I can still continue this fight. And I shall prick you many times more,” said Gene. The centaur extended his right arm to the right, “You can try, but I am well aware of the limits of your witchery armor, Totochtin. You cannot outlast a god when every division pushes you ever closer into death’s embrace.” The polearm weapon he held in his extended right arm evaporated into black miasma; dissipating into the essence-contaminated air. The Skeleton Lord opened his hand and stretched out the palm, while the pile of bone chips began to stir. The white mass then flowed, like a stream of leaves dancing in the wind, over to the exposed palm. The pieces of bone swirled above the palm; growing bigger and rotating faster with every bit collected into the swirl. After all the fragments of the Leviathan had been collected, the whirling mass now matched the centaur’s large height. It was flat and spun faster than a table buzzsaw at max speed; becoming a disk of destruction. “I. HAVE. WON!!!” he proclaimed. Alden swung his extended right arm to his left side with abrupt force. The whirling bone disk responded by launching itself at the Totochtin prince. Gene made no effort to move, as the destructive disk spun closer. Right at fatal contact, the bunny demigod divided out of the way with two clones appearing at the left and one clone on the right side of the deadly projectile. The disk continued forward; flying off of the roof’s edge and moving upwards. Clenching his fist, the Skeleton Lord brought his commanding arm back to his right side and tucking against it. The disk of boney mass ceased its height climbing and flipped itself onto a horizontal angle. The spinning mass then released a volley of bone chips at the Gene trio clones; its firing and sound effect similar to a helicopter minigun. The bullet-like projectiles shot in streams of two in an effort to gun down both sides where the Genes stood. As the clones divided into triplicates, the bone shards pierced into the ground. Clouds of grey dust wafted into the air from the flooring damage; creating a smokescreen over the shot Genes. The Totochtin clones’ division began to circle around the Skeleton Lord, which was then followed by the hailstorm of bone particles and smokescreen. With every passing second the disk fired, it grew shorter from using its mass as bullets. The discharge soon came to an end, as the disk-like bone mass used the last of itself at the ever-multiplying bunny demigod. The entire rooftop looked like it had been replaced with a meteorologist’s digital representation of a hurricane, and the Skeleton Lord stood in its eye. Silence stood next to Alden, while the smokey field around him echoed with tiny debris splinking everywhere. Four Gene clones dashed from out of the smoke; two appearing in front of the centaur with the other two from behind it. The clones spun, as they lifted their legs and aimed the spike on the back of their achilles tendon at the foe. With no time for Alden to react, the Genes successfully punctured their spikes into the sides of the centaur’s horse body. Cracks rippled throughout the white horse section, while the smoke from behind the Skeleton Lord stirred again. Leaping out in a frontward flip, another Gene emerged from the debris cloud. He kept his right leg stuck straight out while hugging the left during the flip. As the revolution of his rotation came to completion with his head facing up, the clone released his left leg. The unbound leg swung downwards; releasing the pent up kinetic energy at the top of the Skeleton Lord’s horse rear-end. Marvelous Man recognized the acrobatic move as the Webster Axe Kick. The axe kick slammed its armored heel down on top of the equine rear end; piercing the crimson achilles spike through the hide. Fractures shot through and connected with the previous cracks in less than a second. The horse part of the centaur immediately shattered; revealing underneath Alden’s bone-encased legs. With nothing holding up the Skeleton Lord, the ancient king fell. The white spider legs attached to his back extended downwards, as his knees touched the ground. Boring into the ground, the arachnid limbs immediately lifted Alden back onto his feet. The two Gene clones in front of the Skeleton Lord began to rapidly punch the ancient king. At the same time, the three Genes from behind Alden rushed in. The lightning-fast fists aimed themselves at the torso, as the three Genes began aiming their crimson-knuckled barrage at the Skeleton Lord’s back. The bone armor that protected the ancient king could barely withstand the intense close-combat onslaught. Yet it remained thick enough for its entirety to not crumble nor allow Alden’s peach skin to be instantly unearthed. Chunks of white bone flew into the air, as the sound of breaking concrete resounded from the assaulted armor. The spider legs made of bone raised itself out of the ground and began whipping about. Thrashing in a circular motion, all of the arachnid limbs successfully lashed at the Gene clones. The Totochtin copies could not divide at the nonlethal attack and were flung back into smoke debris. The attack may have stopped the clones from further bombardment, but the damage the rabbit superheroes incurred at chipping away the bone armor left Alden’s frail, Mana Stone-fused torso to become exposed. As its powerful sweep came to a stop, it caused a burst of wind to blossom in the vicinity. The gust pushed away the dusty smoke clinging to the rooftop; unveiling a mob of bunny demigods armored in crimson. Every available space on the rooftop had been taken up by a Gene clone and resulted in surrounding the Skeleton Lord. Their rage, sadness, and anger multiplied in one spot at such an intensity that Marvelous Man did not just feel it; he could taste it. His eyes watered uncontrollably with tears, as his tongue tasted an extreme saltiness mixed with a sour stronger than any lemon he’s ever tasted. The muscle demigod’s jaw seized into a tight clench; foam beginning to form at the mouth. Marvelous Man’s stomach felt as if it had twisted into a new shape that squeezed but prevented any bile from coming out. Gravity seemed to magnify on the muscle demigod’s massive body, while his spirit felt like it was about to implode. It took every ounce of his willpower to recognize these emotions as not his own and to focus on his thoughts on the things he loved. If the musclebound superhero did not, he would have screamed cries of insanity at the intense emotions pressured into himself. And while he tried to think of his parents, friends, and his love for being a superhero, there was one person that easily crept into his thoughts that seemed to sooth the deafening madness within himself. Gemini; the Soulem that made his life enjoyable and would have even if Marvelous Man wasn’t a superhero. During Marvelous Man’s attempt to stabilize, the Genes made their move. A colony of crimson-armored rabbits leapt at the Skeleton Lord with blinding speed. Their horns pierced Alden’s unguarded flesh; the chest and back. White rabbits hung from where they stabbed, while the Skeleton Lord did nothing. It seemed as if the ancient king had become paralyzed by the intense pressure of emotions the Genes radiated. The white spider legs swung themselves over Alden; swatting away the armored rabbits embedded in him. As the bunnies were swept away, humanized Gene clones from multiple directions charged in. The Totochtin clones seemed to be enacting Blitzkrieg tactics; unleashing a quick bombardment of punches and kicks before fleeing back into the crowd. The spider legs were the first to go, as they exploded into splinters of bone. The armor came next; chiseled away to reveal the frail man inside. Despite the immense gravity of emotions weighing down the Skeleton Lord, Digz’s response to the oncoming attacks remained unaffected. The bone armor that was chipped away had rapidly regenerated and began to sprout white tentacles in an attempt to keep the Gene clones at bay. The humanoid Genes continued to pour in, and those that were not whipped away quickly dismantled the Skeleton Lord’s tendrils and armor. The moment Alden’s peach skin was shown, an armored white rabbit would rocket towards the skin and pierce it with the crimson horn. The bunny demigod would then be swept away by the Skeleton Lord’s tentacle, and the armor would grow over the gaping wound just before blood could seep out. Marvelous Man’s eyes began to focus on the fight scene, as his mind and emotions finally stabilized. He witnessed the tables had finally turned with Gene winning! The Skeleton Lord will finally die, and the Totochtin prince will have avenged his fallen ancestors...But one thing seemed to constantly bubble up to the surface of the musclebound superhero’s mind. Before the bunny demigod had engaged in battle with the ancient king, Marvelous Man offered help to Alden...and Alden had tried to accept that help until Digz interrupted followed by Gene. If the muscle demigod allowed Gene to kill Alden, that would be the end of it. An easy end to the difficult journey of defeating the Skeleton Lord. But in his gut, he knew...Marvelous Man knew that it would haunt him the rest of his life. What if? He had the power to help someone; make a literal change in that person’s life. And to not give that help after it had been asked for...what was the point of everything he had done so far? The hulking bodybuilder grasped his D.A.B. patch, “Gene...you need to stop.” There was no telepathic response from the Totochtin prince, who was now consumed in the heat of combat. Marvelous Man flew towards the rooftop conflict, while he pleaded with the rabbit superhero. “Gene, that’s enough,” he said. No answer. A patch of flesh was exposed on the Skeleton Lord’s shoulder and was immediately stabbed by an armored rabbit’s horn. The muscle demigod was halfway there. Marvelous Man called out, “Gene! Stop!” Nothing. A white tendril from the armor whipped down at the crimson-horned bunny; swiping it away. Immediately after, a Gene clone leapt forward and punched the Skeleton Lord’s crow skull helmet. The bone headgear shattered; exposing Alden’s catatonic face that was drowned in the Gene clones’ immense emotions. The Skeleton Lord was flung onto the ground by the punch, as Marvelous Man was now above the two. The muscle demigod dropped down and landed crouched on his knee between Gene and Alden with his hulking back facing the fallen Skeleton Lord. “ENOUGH!!!” shouted Marvelous Man in both voice and thought. The Gene clone in front of the musclebound superhero froze in his tracks, as his face showed only shock. The emotions weighing down on Marvelous Man and Alden had ceased. The ancient king coughed up blood, as he gasped for air like he had been held underwater. The clone spoke up, “Marvelous Man, what do you think you are doing?!” “I-I’m stopping you,” replied the muscle demigod, “King Alden is down. You’ve won. So let me help him now.” Gene gritted his teeth, “Won? I have not won! I will be the victorious when he is dead! That is what I have decreed for his fate, and it is what he deserves! What gives you the right to defy me?!” Tears began to well up Marvelous Man’s eyes. He knew his friend was in pain, and he could see it in the Totochtin prince’s eyes as well as feel it. The Gene clone mob that encircled the three began shouting; questioning Marvelous Man and commanding him to move. Marvelous Man did not want to stop his friend, but… “Because I’m a hero! I have to help those that accept my help, Gene. What else am I if I don’t?! Especially all those things I said to King Alden. Please...I don’t want to fight you over this…” he said. The Gene in front of the hulking bodybuilder trembled, as his eyes began to water. Marvelous Man reasoned, “I know you don’t have a lot of time left before you do that merging thing. Let me supercharge you, and let me help them.” Streams of tears flowed from Gene’s cheek. “Get out of the way, Marvelous Man. Let me do this,” said Gene. Marvelous Man replied, “I...I can’t...I’m sorry.” “I AM WARNING YOU! I WILL NOT BACK DOWN! MOVE!!!” shouted Gene. Marvelous Man choked an answer back, “...No…” “Break me if you have to,” he said, “But I can’t stand by and ignore someone that tried to take my help. They’re all in pain, Gene. I have to try and help them...I know I can...” As his tears flowed down his cheeks, the musclebound superhero could feel the heartache from the Gene clones. “Damn you, Marvelous Man. I can never raise my fist against you,” he sobbed. “But know this,” continued Gene, “He will betray you, when he gets the chance.” Marvelous Man tried to speak, but there was a knot forming in his throat, and it had become hard to speak. The hulking bodybuilder resorted to nodding his head at Gene, as he pondered his next thoughts. He would have a difficult time trying to sing in order to activate his supercharge, so he would have to make do with playing an instrument. Reaching into his black jacket’s pocket, he pulled out his golden harmonica, Duskbell. Puffing into the musical device, he played. The song consisting of long notes that were akin to the blues genre playstyle. As he played the sorrowful song, the light within himself fed on the music. The light extended itself through the rooftop floor and traveled forth in all directions. It enveloped the fallen Skeleton Lord and every Gene clone, as it reached the edges of the roof in seconds. The Gene clone in front of Marvelous Man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Opening his eyes again upon exhale, he then turned to his other clones and extended his hand. The crowd of clones began holding each other’s hands, as they all walked forward towards the center of the rooftop. Approaching the Gene standing in front of Marvelous Man, they stopped. The Totochtin clone that stood the closest to that Gene extended their hand and took grasp of his. A flash of air bursted from that Gene, as the clones were pulled by an unseen force into that Gene. The clones merged together into that Gene; layering into him without any sign of collision. Seconds later, there was only one Gene Lightfoot standing in front of Marvelous Man. As the bunny demigod turned around, a sputtering cough emanated from behind the hulking bodybuilder. Alden spoke, “With such power like this...are you truly a star child?” Marvelous Man turned to the ancient king. “Huh?” he said. The Skeleton Lord coughed, “I cannot remember how long it has been since I’ve had so many thoughts. A-HACK! To wonder about so many things and explore it all at once. It is exhilarating...and terrifying.” “...And now I wonder...has it all been worth it? The killing and torture just because I was miserable? Shifting the blame onto others? In the end, I don’t feel any better about what happened to my family. I had only delayed the one truth I did not wish to gaze at,” he continued. Alden wept, “It was time to let go. Holding onto what was left of ourselves poisoned everything we ever thought and ever did...at least it was for me. If I had just let go of these burdens and stopped forcing myself to live, I could have been with my family again. And all this time, Digz, it had never occured to me that you were unwell. It is only now that I look back and see how obvious it was...I never thought I would say this, but...” He paused. “...You were wrong,” gasped the ancient king. Alden closed his eyes, as his glowing body relaxed. Marvelous Man’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Huddling over Alden, the muscle demigod gave the ancient king a light shake. Marvelous Man called out, “King Alden?” No response. Placing his index and middle finger on Alden’s neck, the muscle demigod called out the light within him to diagnose the ancient king. Marvelous Man’s heart dropped. “Wha-? N-no...Oh, no no no no no…” he uttered. There was no pulse, and no detected signs of life. Alden was dead. Even though the ancient king was fully healed, all Marvelous Man did was create a pretty corpse. His lips whimpered, “Damnit, no! NO! Don’t die on me! You weren’t supposed to die! That’s not how the supercharge works! I-I was supposed to save you, and-and we learn a lesson or something!...Not like this. It shouldn’t have ended like this…” He failed to save the one person who needed his help the most. It was all his fault. He should have stopped the fight earlier. Before it ever started. He should have tried harder to help...WHY DID YOU LET THEM FIGHT?! YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ACTION!!! YOU CHOSE WRONG!!! A child-like scream pierced Marvelous Man’s ears. Jumping back, he could hear the scream emanating from Alden’s dead body. Black essence leaked from the corpse as a sludge-like substance that bubbled. Marvelous Man had forgotten about Digz. The corrupted imp was now alone and did not have much longer to live now that the host body has died. A strong gale of wind howled above the superheroes, as the essence-covered sky began to warp. The dark miasma swirled, as it transformed into the cone of a tornado. The moment the teammates looked up, the tornado had zoomed downward and touched down onto the deceased king. The two held their arms up as bits of the rooftop debris was blasted into their faces. The Totochtin prince screamed over the shrieking tempest. “What is happening?!” said Gene. Marvelous Man squinted at the tornado for a moment before his eyes expanded in horror. He spotted through the tornado a giant skeleton arm with a hand big enough to grab a human being. It flexed ready to pounce at them. The musclebound superhero turned to Gene, “RUN!!!” Shoving with all of his super strength, Marvelous Man pushed the rabbit superhero off of the roof. Gene sailed through the air with arms and legs flapping like a ragdoll. He gambled on the supercharge to quickly heal any wound and combine with the bunny demigod’s durability to increase Gene’s survival rate against the fall. Time seemed to slow down for a brief moment. The intake of breath into Marvelous Man’s lungs seemed to go on forever, while he watched Gene’s face overwritten with a shocked expression. The hulking bodybuilder then felt the giant skeleton fingers wrap over his bulging arms and sinking into his carved abdomen. Time returned to its normal rate, as his body was yanked backward. His vision blurred at the scenery seeming to stretch forward. Before his sights had become blanketed with darkness, he saw Gene turn into a speck. “I hope this isn’t the end,” he thought.
  14. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 26

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eqjWfB4b_07LHxWembdHX54HFLU-teVlGdeD46sGXsU) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eqjWfB4b_07LHxWembdHX54HFLU-teVlGdeD46sGXsU) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI Chapter 26: Wrath of the Al-Mi’raj - Part 1 Marvelous Man stared across at the man his team had been looking for. But now the musclebound superhero stood alone with no one to assist against the Skeleton Lord. And while Marvelous Man held great fear in his heart upon being in the presence of his enemy, he could not help but feel a newfound pity. The red cloak with white fur lining was still worn by the Skeleton Lord. However, Marvelous Man noticed how the ancient evil’s past self truly differed. The cloak was clung with patches of dust and dirt, and no longer opened to display the majesty’s royal guise. Instead, it had curtained around the entire body with the hood obscuring the face. But even without the hood, it was still hidden by the horse skull he wore as both a helmet and a mask. A passing thought in Marvelous Man’s head wondered if the king still had those bright emerald green eyes or if it had turned into a dull moss green. The Skeleton Lord spoke up, “Well, well. I am surprised that you had decided to come back, Marvelous Man. But then I suppose that’s just how heroes are. Have to hold onto that virtue of stubbornness until you’ve won the day and saved the princess. Or prince if that’s your fancy...Sadly, I no longer have either of those.” The hulking bodybuilder gulped. He knew if he attempted to take on the Skeleton Lord by his own, he would surely lose...or worse. Marvelous Man had to stall until his friends could arrive to help. He spoke slowly; carefully choosing his words and attempting to humanize his foe. “Because of the Royal Burning, right?” he replied. The ancient evil’s hood gave a slight tilt to the side, “...And how do you know about that?” The Skeleton Lord looked up. “...Oh? And he saw everything that happened?...I see,” he said. The supervillain turned back to Marvelous Man, “Did you find what you were looking for? Because I did.” Lifting a part of his red cloak, the Skeleton Lord revealed his skinny body. His skin shared the same peach color as his hands, but the body betrayed the healthy color by having only skin and bone. Alden’s skeletal frame was clothed only with simple breeches; dark brown and held up by a tattered rope belt. The belt itself seemed to be linked together by a miniature human skull that drooped on top of the groin. Marvelous Man’s eyes were then drawn to a spherical object protruding from the supervillain’s chest. It was an orb that appeared to be made from a black rock and smoothed expertly with no sign of misshape or rough edges. The stone had multiple engravings of unknown origin to the musclebound superhero, and its size compared to that of an average adult fist. It pulsed with a dull, purple light while half-embedded in the left side of the Skeleton Lord’s chest. Bulging veins collected and connected around the ball; as if it were feeding into the orb...or maybe the other way around. The muscle demigod took a step back at the horrified spectacle and gasped. It was undeniable that the Skeleton Lord attained the item Sugar Skull bartered the location of when Marvelous Man and the half-alive ghoul were in Limbo. He then clutched his hand on the D.A.B. patch attached to his black jacket’s shoulder. Activating its telepathic communication ability, the musclebound superhero broadcasted his thoughts. He hoped it would reach his teammates; despite the area being contaminated by Digz’s essence, which would interfere with both technological and magical means of communication. He called out, “Guys, the Skeleton Lord found me, and he’s got the Mana Stone too!” “Repeat, I’m with the Skeleton Lord, and he has the Mana Stone!” he said. Marvelous Man’s eyes flicked at every angle he could possibly see while standing still; trying to quickly identify the new area he stood in. From what he hastily analyzed, the hulking bodybuilder had been guided by Digz’s essence to walk right into a temple. The place had been long abandoned, like every other structure in the ghetto, and had become a structure of complete disarray. The walls and marble columns were cracked; appearing so brittle it could fall apart from a single touch. What little furniture here had been tossed onto its backs, broken, or had been stolen with empty bolt slots to serve as evidence that it had once existed. Paintings of the deity the temple paid patronage to were either torn from its frames or chipped off the walls from age and vandalism to the point of being unidentifiable. There were several doorways scattered throughout the room in front of himself, but they did not appear to lead outside. He spotted a faint light casting his dim shadow from behind; most likely the entrance, but no way to confirm until he turned around. The muscle demigod continued his telepathic broadcast, “I’m in some sort of temple, and it’s really old. I’ll try to talk him down. I think I can get to him. DO NOT ENGAGE.” “...Not exactly,” hesitated the muscle demigod, “He showed me enough...Alden, did you know that it was Digz who caused the Royal Burning?” The part of the red cloak that was held up had been released. Drooping back down like a curtain, it resumed hiding Alden’s body. The Skeleton Lord exclaimed, “That’s KING ALDEN to you, hero! And do not tell me your lies! My familiar had already shown me what he had witnessed. You cannot win me over with such empty words!” Out of instinct, Marvelous Man raised his hands with open palms like the characters he had seen in movies that try to calm a person down with body language. Explaining Digz’s deceit had predictably failed, so the musclebound superhero had to reason with something else. “R-right, King Alden. King Alden, you really shouldn’t do this. I mean, aren’t you getting tired of this? We do the same thing every time. My friends and I stop you every time we find you, and then you run away. Just...when does this end? Cause when we stop you this time...you’re going to die. We’ll have to kill you...King Alden,” he said. The Skeleton Lord paused, “...And maybe it would be better that way.” “What? No!” the muscle demigod replied, “Nobody has to die today...not even you. You could run away right now and...well...I don’t-” Alden interjected, “And hide away until I turn into dust?! No, star child. I have no interest of doing that. Not after all I’ve done. This cycle is all I have, and I’ve come too far to just give up. You must kill me where I stand now or perish.” The words within Marvelous Man’s head rattled about; failing to form a coherent sentence to verbally subdue the Skeleton Lord. No matter what the musclebound superhero said, it continued to be the wrong answer. Brushing the topic of Alden’s family or Digz’s affiliation with the person known as Kenelm was definitely out of the question. There was one more thing he could try to deescalate the situation. “Look, just...let me help you, please. I can’t bring back your family, but I can help Digz. He’s not well, and I’m a healer,” he pleaded. The muscle demigod continued, “Digz is a corrupted familiar. It’s why his essence is constantly bleeding out, and why he needs so much energy. Please...King Alden. Let me help.” Alden stood still in silence for a few seconds. “...Why do you still wish to save us, star child? Has our painful past renewed your bleeding heart? Because you can cease that look of pity from your eyes!” spat the ancient evil. Marvelous Man looked down, “I don’t pity you...Well, that’s not completely true. I feel a bit sad for you, but...I’m more sad about the stuff that caused you to turn into this. You were a good person that was compassionate and surrounded by so much love...but then you became as corrupted as your bone imp.” “And well, the more I think about it...the more I realize how alike we are. I could’ve become just like you when I found out that my life was a lie...And I was going to be sucked back into that lie because it made those that I loved feel better. And I nearly killed them and probably would’ve gone on a rampage just like you,” he remarked. The hulking bodybuilder took a deep breath to relax himself. The act of admitting his true feelings made his heart tremble as well as his titanic body. He felt like his whole being was about to shatter from a single touch, but the words would not stop flooding from his mouth. Marvelous Man looked up at Alden, “But it was those same people that helped me come back from that dark place, and I apologized for what I did...And I still do. They inspired me to be a better person...just like how I inspired them to let go of me and trust that I’ll be okay. You were inspired by somebody in a dark place, and they dragged you down with them.” The muscle demigod extended his hand. “So please, let me inspire you to be better, King Alden. Let me heal Digz. He’s been in so much pain that the only way he knows how to feel better is to hurt others, and I know you’ve felt that way too. Please, King Alden...let me help,” he said. The tip of Marvelous Man’s extended hand began to glow; slowly extending itself down the digits. His eyes turned toward the glow, as he experienced a feeling he had not felt before...No, that was incorrect. It was a feeling he had felt before, but it was a dulled version compared to what he currently felt. The emotion was something he had experienced during his childhood to do nice things for his family and the town of Sunnysville. That feeling back then was like a tiny spring trickling out of the cracks of his heart compared to what he felt now; a geyser ready to explode. What he experienced felt...right. It felt like this was “him”. The state of being he was meant to be. The musclebound superhero knew this emotion had a name. Something that he had just said that described it completely. But there was no time to dwell on this discovery. King Alden hesitated, “...Can you...fix my pain as well?” The muscle demigod smiled, as he started to walk towards the Skeleton Lord. His heart became elated at this positive response. Seeing the very person defined as an absolute evil show such a change towards redemption caused the feeling and glowing to increase. The glowing in his hand continued down his arm. As it became more visible, the glowing took on a peculiar shape. It shined like Marvelous Man’s usual illumination or Supercharge, but it had a different color and slightly whisped like his Soul Venom. “Not exactly. I can make your spirit stronger. And it’ll help you come to terms with the pain, so you can heal on your own. Just take my hand, and I can help”, he calmly said. As the hulking bodybuilder came closer, the Skeleton Lord leaned back. Alden slowly extended his right hand. The skinny arm trembled; causing the limb to almost look like a peach-colored blur. Fully extended, it was only a few steps away from making contact with Marvelous Man’s. “And please,” requested Alden, “Help Digz. He’s all I have.” A spider leg made of bone lashed out from beneath the Skeleton Lord’s cloak. The boney limb slashed at Marvelous Man’s hand; swatting away the glowing palm. The musclebound superhero immediately halted from moving any further. “Digz! What are you doing?!” he exclaimed. Hurried little thumps echoed, as a white rabbit bounded underneath Marvelous Man. Passing between the massive legs of the hulking bodybuilder, the bunny leapt forward. The rabbit then twirled in the air; turning to have its feet facing the Skeleton Lord. The rabbit instantly dropped its guise and shapeshifted into the Totochtin prince, Gene Lightfoot. Gene kicked with both legs; impacting against Alden. The Skeleton Lord tumbled backward, while more spider-like limbs ejected out from under the red cloak. The bone legs quickly landed on the floor before skidding to a halt; catching the king from landing violently on the ground. With the surprise attack complete, the rabbit superhero fell towards the temple ground with his face looking at it. His arms instantly positioned in front of himself; bracing for the flat collision. Landing with a suppressed bam, Gene rolled to his left until he was on his back. The bunny demigod swept his leg in a counterclockwise motion, while he lifted his body up. With his feet landing on the ground, it gripped the floor. The Totochtin prince pushed up; springing his body upright and situated back into fighting position. Marvelous Man spoke up, “Gene? W-wait, let me help him! I almost got through!” Gene kept his eyes focused on the Skeleton Lord, as he opened a pouch on his utility belt. His fingerless gloves then began to glow with a red runic symbol. “You almost did, but he has rejected the help. I have allowed you time for your compassion, but it has expired. I will now commence the end to this monster,” he stated. The muscle demigod could feel rage and hate with a hint of sadness radiating into him. Realizing that Gene had unknowingly broadcasted such emotions, the memory of what the Totochtin prince had requested from Digz popped into his mind. The hulking bodybuilder inquired, “...You saw terrible things, didn’t you? From that question you gave to Digz about wanting to know if the Skeleton Lord was...ya know, the culprit to your people’s hiding away thing.” Gene nodded. “Please stand back. I will not be requesting the assistance, nor do I wish for you to be caught in the battle. If you find the Sugar Skull, do not let him do the intervening. There will be no need to do the supercharging to me,” he commanded. Marvelous Man obeyed; taking several steps back until his own back pressed against the temple’s wall. The musclebound superhero wanted to calm his friend down, but the seething rage he felt terrified him. It was a possibility that if he tried to stop the Totochtin prince, the rabbit superhero would have resorted to violence. But Marvelous Man knew he would only take part in the fight to heal his teammate and nothing else. Gene raised his left hand into the air, “Alumeir! Armor bathed in the blood of my enemies, I invoke the wrath of the Al-Mi’raj!” The silver balls shot out from Gene’s pouch and flew above the Totochtin prince. Forming a circle row, the shining spheres began to spin at an intense speed. The projectiles changed into a blur as its color shifted to a crimson red. The crimson material immediately dispersed; rocketing in a curved arc towards the bunny demigod. As the red objects collided into Gene, the searing sound and sight of steam instantly arouse from the rabbit demigod’s flesh. The buildup of sudden steam completely enveloped the Totochtin prince for a second before it instantly parted as if a gust exploded within. Gene stood in shining crimson-colored armor; decorating certain parts of his body. His shin and feet were armored in a set of greaves that resembled the claws of a humanoid dragon, and a spike stood on top of each of his achilles tendon. The kneecaps were covered in a smooth, crimson metal layer. The stripe across his right thigh and his crotch area, along with the waistband, were now shaded in the same red as his armor. His knuckles were encased in the red metal, and his forearms were now covered in crimson vambraces. The rabbit superhero’s elbows were armed with a red spike, and a sharp plate of chest armor covered his chest and shoulders. And on the top of his head was a crimson metal headband with a swirling unicorn horn sticking out of it. It was an armor that screamed of purpose for only attack with barely any regard for defense. “Please give Gemini my thanks,” he said. The spidery legs made of bone adjusted themselves to allow the Skeleton Lord to lean upwards and face his attacker. “Totochtin,” said Alden, “I was wondering when I would see you again. I promised that the next time we met I would ask you a very important question that could save your race. Do you remember?” Gene replied, “I remember.” The Skeleton Lord sighed, as he stood up straight. “I suppose it is pointless to ask now, since it is obvious where you stand. But I might as well keep to my word,” he said. Alden asked, “Will you join me, Totochtin? Become mine. Let me drink your lust energy, and I will spare your people. The Totochtin race can flourish once again and would have no need to hide from me.” The Totochtin prince’s reply was instant with no sign of hesitation. “The answer is no, Skeleton Lord. Instead, I will bring just for my kind. On behalf of the Totochtin race, I sentence you to death,” answered Gene. Marvelous Man felt it was peculiar to see the Skeleton Lord suddenly change mood. It appeared as if Alden had resigned to just being a villain. The Skeleton Lord sighed, “I have been alive too long to hear that phrase one too many. Pray tell, what is your name then Totochtin? Perhaps the potential threat your kind had will come to fruition now. But if not, I want your death to be somewhat memorable to me.” The Totochtin prince crouched himself into his fighting stance. “I am the Totochtin known as the Gene Lightfoot. Prince of the Lightfoot tribe. Combat specialty: the hand-to-hand,” he announced. In one instant motion, Gene shrunk into his rabbit form and rocketed towards the ancient king in less than a second. It was all one crimson blur that left the Skeleton Lord with no time to defend against the bullet-like speed. At the moment of impact, the bunny demigod pushed himself off of Alden and landed on the temple floor with his back faced towards the enemy. Gene did not take a moment to stop and continued to follow the motion by turning a sharp left while running. As he faced the Skeleton Lord, the bunny demigod shifted back into a crimson blur that fired off at his enemy. During the brief moment Gene had landed and turned around, Marvelous Man swore he saw crimson-colored armor plates on Gene’s rabbit form. But the Totochtin prince did not stay still long enough for the musclebound superhero to confirm. The Skeleton Lord’s boney spider legs struggled to stabilize their master, as the ancient king was flung backwards from the blow. And just as his body was situated upright, the rabbit collided into his chest before bouncing off again. Alden was thrown back again, but he skidded to a halt faster than before. By the time Gene was scurrying for a third strike, the Skeleton Lord had already recovered. As the rabbit faced him and torpedoed towards him in a crimson blur, the ancient king lashed with a pair of his white spider limbs. The Skeleton Lord had correctly timed his counter, as the boned arachnid legs slammed against the nearly invisible attack. The bone appendages then immediately broke off after the successful counterattack. Gene was propelled back towards the temple floor by Alden’s swat and bounced on the ground. He then tumbled onto the floor for a moment before recovering himself on his feet and clawing into the ground for an immediate stop. The bunny demigod ceased movement with his eyes locked onto the enemy; his nose twitched with rapid intensity. The muscle demigod confirmed his thought, as he looked at Gene. The armor the Totochtin prince donned on was able to morph into an armor that was made to suit a rabbit rather than shift into nothingness when Gene changed shape. The bunny feet had the same armored claws as the bunny demigod’s human form, and it had dug into the flooring to assist Gene’s braking. The back and hide had multiple crimson-colored armor plates linked together to supposedly prevent any inhibited mobility from the defense it provided. The plating also had blades sticking out from the sides; most definitely for injuring someone that was not completely fortunate enough to dodge Gene’s rabbit tackle or would try to harm the rabbit superhero. Atop Gene’s rabbit head was a crimson helmet that held the same twirled unicorn horn and what is most likely the common form of attack Gene would use in the rabbit form. Marvelous Man then noticed claw marks razed across the floor from Gene’s landing as well as the bunny demigod’s leaps. He judged, by the deep incisions on the temple flooring, that the Totochtin prince had used super strength. The markings had similarities to when the hulking bodybuilder would use his own super strength to perform super jumps. When combined with Gene’s lightning reflex and light body weight, the rabbit superhero would have no trouble shifting one’s body to flip and land feet first. The Skeleton Lord wheezed with difficulty. He clutched at his chest, while the sound of porcelain breaking echoed from his chest. Chips of white bone smeared with blood then sprinkled from the cloak to the ground with tiny tinkling sounds. He coughed, “It appears my chest plate was not enough to stop your attack. I’ll remember to make it thicker.” Spreading from the toes up to his head in an instant motion, the Skeleton Lord became enveloped in a white cocoon of calcified bone. The cocoon then expanded; growing to a size slightly taller than Gene Lightfoot. As the encasing reached its tall proportion, it took shape. The body morphed to mimic the muscular cords of a human body; bare of any skin. His head shifted into the shape of a crow skull, while three short horns sprouted on top. The eye sockets on his head glowed white within and focused on Gene. The Skeleton Lord bowed while spreading his arms out like a gentleman. As he bent forward, Alden revealed an exact replica of himself standing behind. The copy turned left and walked over to stand next to the original. At the same time, a second copy revealed itself from behind the first one by turning to the right. The Skeleton Lord then stood up straight, as each one held out their choice of weaponry. The left copy armed itself with a set of short-handed axes; the same kind enchanted with electricity and wielded by the Skeleton Lord guardian, Zareb. The right copy was equipped with the guardian knight’s glaive polearm. In the original Skeleton Lord’s right hand, grasped between the middle and index finger, was a white wand. Marvelous Man’s eye shot wide open. He quickly grasped the magical D.A.B. patch on his jacket’s shoulder. He hoped at such close distance that his ally could hear the telepathic message. “Gene, watch out for that wand!” he thought, “It can stretch out and hit you!” Reverting back into the human form, Gene charged towards the Skeleton Lord’s left copy. The left duplicate had taken notice and responded by clanging his axes together. The runes carved into the axes glowed a bluish hue, while electricity began to discharge from the weapons. At the same time the left copy was readying his attack, the original Skeleton Lord and the right clone moved away. The original used his spider leg bones to crawl up a column, while the right copy took a step away from the left duplicate. The left copy then swung his short-handed axes from both sides; causing lighting to shoot out towards the Totochtin prince. Gene continued to run towards the electrical arc without any sign of uncertainty. Upon reaching collision point with the bunny demigod, the bolt then changed its direction. The lightning bolt angled itself further up; funneling itself into the tip of Gene’s unicorn horn. From Marvelous Man’s perspective, it was as if the horn acted as a lightning rod. With both fighters within striking distance, the left copy made the first move. He lunged forward with all eight of the spider legs sticking from his back. As the pointy ends of the bony limbs dove towards the rabbit superhero, Gene vanished. But it was the complete opposite if one had the spectator’s view like Marvelous Man had. The muscle demigod saw Gene had shifted into the rabbit form; shrinking underneath the copy’s attack. The armored bunny scampered unharmed towards the duplicate, who only stood two hops away. Upon reaching the foe in a second, Gene morphed to his human form. In one instant motion, Gene rose from the ground during the change. He held out his fist above himself, as he continued to ascend at blinding speed. The crimson-knuckled fist then uppercutted the underside of the clone’s chin. Gene shifted his body; twisting his rising motion into a spiral. In slow motion, the increased intensity of the uppercut resulted in cracks branching from the area of impact. The cracks crawled over the crow-shaped skull with smaller cracks spreading from the larger ones and weaving into the others. It even stretched far enough to reach the tip of the beak. As Gene flew above the foe, his fist effortlessly pierced through the skull. The duplicate’s crow skull shattered in every direction; littering the air and floor with bone chips and dust. The rabbit superhero twirled in the air before gracefully landing with his back turned to the beheaded left copy. A hollow thump echoed behind Gene, as the decapitated foe fell backwards. Marvelous Man drew a sharp breath, while his heart skipped a beat. His body could not react fast enough at the sight he was about to witness. By the time he would have channeled energy into his badge to communicate, the tragedy in front of him will have already occurred. The muscle demigod wondered why did he watch Gene rather than having kept an eye on the environment. A black blade dove into Gene’s left side. With the rabbit superhero distracted, the Skeleton Lord’s right copy attacked with deadly silence before Gene had time to notice and react. As it pushed into the bunny demigod, Gene had become instantly...displaced. It was as if the bunny demigod was standing in front of a mirror. The Totochtin prince divided into two exact copies of himself; dividing out of harm’s way. The Gene clones were faced back to back with just enough space between each other for the incoming harm to pass by without a scratch. With no flesh to stab, the right copy’s weapon sailed between the two rabbit superheroes’ ample buttocks. The black blade no longer posing a harm towards them, the two grabbed hold of the pole with only one hand. The Left Gene with his right, and the Right Gene with his left. The Totochtin prince duo then leapt upwards; twirling towards the Skeleton Lord copy and raising a leg in the process. Once fully elevated above the pole, their lifted legs swung in unison at the enemy’s crow-shaped skull head. The crimson-armored legs collided on both sides of the crow head simultaneously; resulting in the same incalculable fractures as the other beheaded duplicate. The cracks stemming from both sides of collision reached out and interweaved with each other. A heavy crunch resounded from the skull before it splintered in dust and tiny bone debris. With nothing else in the way, the armored legs crashed into each other...but there was no sign of clashing against one another. The crimson claw feet had instead merged; becoming one armored right foot. As the rest of Gene’s twin bodies collided with each other, they fused into one. By the time the bunny demigods landed, they stood as one Gene Lightfoot. A memory in Marvelous Man’s mind flashed back to the fight between the Director and Gilgamesh. There was a spell Director Skye used when Gilgamesh swung a sword at the master witch. The Director called it a space fracture spell that temporarily divided an offending object to miss its target. He remembered the master witch saying that the spell should not be used on living beings...which Gene completely was. Glaive polearm still in hand, the rabbit superhero twirled it until it was positioned like a javelin throw. Gene looked up at an empty ceiling; his eyes and twitching ears scanning for the original Skeleton Lord. A second later, the Totochtin prince’s eyes and ears locked on at a certain area above himself. He then chucked the weapon, which immediately dissolved into whisping, black essence. The Skeleton Lord’s voice echoed, “Do you really think I would involve myself in repeating the same counter? That is one repetition I refuse to be trapped in.” Marvelous Man still could not see Alden, yet he could hear roughly where the voice originated from. The musclebound superhero then came to the conclusion, that the Skeleton Lord was borrowing the power of invisibility from another guardian. The Aztec man that has yet to appear with his bow and arrow, Itzcóatl. Gene hopped backwards with urgency. Immediately after, the spot he stood in ruptured with a muffled stabbing sound. The area had been gouged with an invisible weapon; leaving behind a small hole that resembled a bullet hole. The Totochtin prince then began to twirl; spinning, bowing, and leaping about like a ballerina. Every movement Gene made would then cause puffs of tiny debris from the flooring to emerge immediately after. It almost seemed as if he were performing a dance, were it not for the ballistic-like holes appearing on the floor. It took no brain power at all for Marvelous Man to understand the situation. It was obvious that the Skeleton Lord was using the bone wand to attack. Alden tried to extend the weapon and stab Gene, but the bunny demigod would hear it in time and gracefully dodge it. Gene suddenly changed his pace, as the appearance of the holes became more rapidly. The holes also seemed to multiply. Two at a time it would show up and soon was followed by three. The rabbit superhero’s smooth skin began to show signs of damage; shallow slices and nicks against his exposed arms and the sides of his abdomen. Even his pants started to have ripped seams. Marvelous Man’s mind was beginning to understand the pattern of this attack. Most likely, with the help of the Mana Stone, the Skeleton Lord was creating multiple wands to float around and attack from different angles. The Totochtin prince was fast, but he could only handle so much with Alden’s wands attacking. And with the attacks so minor, the crimson armor’s defense mechanism was not activating. The muscle demigod hypothesized that only fatal or highly damaging blows would cause Gene to divide out of harmful assault’s direction. The rabbit superhero then ceased movement. The look of stonewall determination solidified in his eyes before it shut. Gene raised arms; angling them in different directions. Immediately after, sparks burst from the crimson vambraces on his forearms. Pieces of a narrow, white spike materialized; flying away from the exact point the sparks emerged from the vambraces. It appeared as if the pieces were bone that broke off from the wand and bounced off the crimson armor. Gene swiftly rearranged his arms in a different angle; causing the same effect. The bunny demigod had instantly found another countermeasure to the invisible attack, and it made Marvelous Man’s heart sing with hope. The dance began again. Waving his arms and legs about, Gene had successfully countered the unseeable barrage by using the armor on his limbs to block. Every motion he performed made him look like a living firework, while the floor became littered with broken pieces of the bone wands. As Marvelous Man watched the rhythmic performance, his ears caught a low growling sound. He then turned to the noise he began to hear; directing his attention towards Gene’s recently defeated foes. Looking over at the Skeleton Lord’s decapitated copies, he noticed that the bone corpses had stirred. The bodies had shattered into multiple pieces and rapidly moved about. He could see some of the pieces had rebuilt itself into a wolf skull; as well as most of its body. A sense of urgency flooded him, as the muscle demigod tightly gripped his badge. “Gene! The Skeleton Lord is doing something to his copies. I think they’re reforming into something different!” he mentally spoke. The rabbit superhero quickly opened his eyes and crouched down before launching himself in the air. He sailed backwards; initiating a backflip in the process. At that same instance, the area he had squatted on was immediately filled with holes. As he landed on his feet spaces away from the Skeleton Lord’s invisible attack zone, Gene spotted a fully built wolf skeleton lunging at him. The bone wolf had its jaws gaped wide open like a crocodiles. Its teeth seemed larger than a normal canine’s, and every fang looked sharp and ready to slice through flesh. The size of itself nearly matched Gene’s height, and its eyes held the same glowing white orbs within its sockets. Shrinking down to rabbit form, the bunny demigod scampered underneath the bone wolf that sailed over him. As he fully crossed beneath the humongous canine, he shapeshifted back to his human form. At the same time, the bone wolf snapped its jaws at air before landing on the ground and skidding its body to turn around. Another ravenous snarl echoed in front of the rabbit superhero, while Gene transformed. A second fully-formed bone wolf leaped at the Totochtin prince with the same vicious teeth ready to tear him asunder. Eyebrows furrowed, Gene reached out with both hands. His left hand caught the snout, while his right grabbed the lower jaw. The crimson claw armor on his feet dug into the ground; unrelenting to the force of catching such a large and fast object. The bunny demigod slammed the wolf’s maw shut with several of its teeth cracking and shattering from the super strength. The skeletal minion whimpered, as it hung limply in Gene’s grip. Gene bellowed a scream of exertion, while he lifted the captured canine by its jaws. The wolf that had missed the rabbit superhero charged at Gene again. Its mouth opened wide to snap at the Totochtin prince’s exposed lower back. In one motion during the lift, the bunny demigod shifted his feet to help turn his entire body to face the first canine attacker. Skeleton wolf still in hand and raised into the air, Gene slammed it down at the other wolf. The ground beneath the charging canine fractured and slightly caved in, as the bone wolves were forcibly collided into one another and then into the floor. Both skeleton creatures gave off a sharp cry from the harsh impact. The wolf that had been bludgeoned by the captured wolf was splayed nearly flat into the ground. The bone wolves were visibly defeated, but Gene’s arms flexed again for one more attack. Gene raised the bone wolf trapped in his grip by the snout. He then whirled the skeletal minion in a downward circular motion as if he were playing gold. The captured wolf collided with the downed canine; launching it into the temple wall. At the same time, the rabbit superhero released his superhuman grip on the wolf he had turned into improvised weaponry and sent it crashing into the other. The two bone wolves rammed into each other again and against the wall; causing the temple’s wall to immediately crumble. Dim daylight bled through the gaping hole with a size large enough for two Marvelous Mans to step through at the same time. Upon seeing the two bone wolves tumble into the outside, the bunny demigod shapeshifted into his armored rabbit form. Marvelous Man watched his teammate scurry over the hole to the outside and realized the battlegrounds has now changed. The hulking bodybuilder then turned towards the temple’s open entrance stationed behind himself made his way to the grayed outside. The armored rabbit’s head twitched in multiple directions, as he landed in the open area. Whisping darkness blanketed the entire ground and throughout the rest of the visible vicinity. It was impossible to distinguish if Gene was on a road or a concrete area for passersby to walk on. Only the business buildings and stores could be seen above the essence-ridden field, but they were only visible within a certain distance before the black smoke in the air devoured them into obscurity. The blackness on the ground had a depth that rose up to half of the bunny’s size; nearly swallowing the morphed demigod. Shapeshifting back to his human form, the Totochtin prince ran towards the center of the opened area. The high-piercing screech of a horse echoed from the temple’s hole, as Gene reached the center point. He then immediately spun his body to face the whinnying threat. The sound of heavy horse gallops reverberated from the hole, while Gene crouched into fighting position. A giant figure burst through the hole; causing the gaping wound on the building to widen further. The dim light that barely illuminated the captured ghetto revealed the Skeleton Lord in a new form. The upper body still had the same bone armor with a horned crow skull head and spider legs attached to the back, but it was now rooted into the neck of a white horse. Armed with his guardian’s glaive polearm, Alden had become the mythical centaur. The Skeleton Lord continued to charge forward with the hooves rumbling like thunder. Gene darted toward the ancient king; his body huddled close to the ground like a swift ninja. The space between the two rapidly shortened with the fighters only seconds away from contact against each other. The bunny demigod jumped. His arms positioned to deliver a devastating punch, while the Skeleton Lord raised the glaive with both hands into the air to prepare a deadly swing. At that same moment, Marvelous Man appeared from around the corner of the temple in time to see the released violence. The pool of whisping essence beneath Gene erupted, as an object breached to the surface. The object reached out to the Totochtin prince; grasping the crimson-armored ankle. Its white grip around the metal began to bubble as if it were being boiled. Revealing itself to be a skeleton arm; birthed from the lagoon of darkness to only hinder the rabbit superhero. The skeleton arm yanked on the leg; successfully upsetting Gene’s balance to fall forward with arms flailing about. As the bunny demigod was pulled towards the ground, the centaur unleashed his attack. The ornate polearm was brought over the Skeleton Lord’s right side and swung in a counterclockwise motion. With such a motion, the glaive’s black blade sliced upwards at a diagonal angle to the left. It almost seemed to glimmer, as it approached Gene’s throat. Blade against neck, the crimson armor activated the defense mechanism. The Totochtin prince divided again. The ornamental glaive cleaved through only emptiness, as the division repositioned Gene in midair. Two Totochtins appeared, and the distance between the two were wider in order to dodge the blade. With the space fracture spell activated, the Genes’ leg were no longer in the skeletal grasp. During the fall, the bunny demigods’ fates had splintered. The left clone had transformed into his armored rabbit body and landed with a small thump. As for the right clone, his left shoulder collided with the Skeleton Lord’s horse half. The division was enough to avoid the attack, but it did not compensate for the centaur’s wide mass that charged towards them. The impact caused Right Gene’s body to momentarily twirl uncontrollably until his body faced the opposite direction and the ancient king passing through unopposed to any lightweight obstacles. As Right Gene fell face first into the whisping blackness with a muffled whump, the left clone twitched his head towards his fallen copy. Reverting back to human form, Left Gene ran over to his clone. While he did so, Alden had slowed down to a simple trot and turned to face the rabbit superhero clones. Left Gene squatted down; extending a hand to the other that began to slowly get up. Before the left could help, the space between both clones collapsed. The Genes were slammed together and merged. The result from such suddenness resulted in a lone Totochtin prince standing at the exact point of the fusion. He then winced in pain, as the bunny demigod placed his right hand over his left arm. The centaur ceased further movement; appearing to observe the injury that has yet to be seen on the rabbit superhero. Gene then released the hold over his arm and turned to resume the battle with his enemy. At the same time, the eyes of Marvelous Man and Alden’s widened. The Skeleton Lord’s glinted with curiosity, while the hulking bodybuilder’s were filled with fraught. Colors of yellow and purplish red bled within the Totochtin prince’s perfect skin to form a wide bruise on top of Gene’s left bicep. Marvelous Man’s tried to wrack his brain with any sort of explanation, but it only came out as questions. Were the Gene clones forcibly combined because of a time limit or because of injury? Are the injuries to the clones transferred back to the original or is there a side effect that takes a toll on the body with more than one division within a certain time frame? How much mana does it take to create these divisions and for how long could Gene keep it up? And what of the Skeleton Lord? The muscle demigod’s gaze shifted over to Alden. The anxiety in his heart began to climb at the thought of Gene’s safety now compromised. He wanted to intervene and assist in the fight as usual...But he had to let his friend fight it out until the situation became life-threatening. The centaur held out his glaive with the black blade pointing up at the blanketed sky. Slowly, he banged the bottom of the polearm against the black miasma-covered ground three times. Each time the weapon rapped against the hidden concrete came with a thunderous boom that bellowed throughout the ghetto. Upon the last bang, neither combatants moved. Seconds painstakingly passed, as the two stared at each other with intensity during the standoff. A ravenous screech emanated from a nearby building. Marvelous Man looked towards where he heard the noise and spotted an office building. One of the windows belonging to the structure shattered, while a large object passed through it. Landing with a slump into the pool of whisping darkness, the object immediately began to move and push itself up. The muscle demigod instantly recognized what it was. Oozing. Festering. A corpse raised from the dead and in servitude of the Skeleton Lord; carrying the bloody runes painted on them by their master. A cold shiver ran down the hulking bodybuilder’s spine, as his mind flashed back to the memories of dead bodies during his kidnapping and their reanimation within the escape through Limbo. With the passing weeks since Marvelous Man last saw them, it had become more bone than decomposing flesh. The field of Digz’s essence extended a black tendril to the animated corpse. Slithering up the zombie’s leg, it swiftly encompassed the rotting entirety. The dark tentacle then stretched and solidified into black equipment. Its body became adorned with medieval armor, and its hands equipped with a sword and axe. Fear rose within Marvelous man, as he knew what was expected to come next. More windows shattered from the building, and more of Alden’s zombies came pouring out. The echoes of shattered glass began to spread; undead springing from other buildings. The musclebound superhero lost count of how many of the rotting servants were heeding to their master’s call. But it was enough for him to guess that the ancient king had the size of a small army at the beckoning. Standing amidst a crowd of the undead, he had no choice but to activate his flight ability. Marvelous Man flew upwards enough to be out of the zombies’ striking range before looking down at the spectacle about to commence. The corpse mob charged towards Gene. With blood-curdling screams, they raised their weapons in the air. It would be only seconds before the death that circled around the bunny demigod would close in. But the Totochtin prince showed no sign of fear, nor could Marvelous Man feel Gene emanating that emotion. Shapeshifting back to his rabbit form, Gene torpedoed off in a crimson blur. The armored bunny pulverized through a row of the Skeleton Lord’s zombies. As he landed, he swiveled his body and aimed in a new direction at the undead horde. Gene pushed off with his super strength again; leaving behind another line of decimated rot. As the armored rabbit landed again, a group of skeleton arms shot out from the pool of whisping essence. The arms surrounded the bunny demigod from every direction and proceeded to wrap themselves around Gene without hesitation. The skeletal limbs boiled at the touch but were immediately layered with another set of bone arms before they were brittle enough for the rabbit superhero to break through. Gene attempted to struggle from the bondage, but only his head shook. His body could not move under the layers of limbs that held him down and had constantly replaced itself with fresher bones before the ones beneath weakened. With the bunny demigod bounded onto the ground, the armed zombies attacked. The animated corpses with swords thrust their weapons towards Gene’s exposed rabbit face. Dividing out of the blade’s way, the bunny clones appeared on the outer sides of the bone huddle that had restrained him. Black swords and axes swung down at clone’s faces at that same moment; causing Gene to divide again into a set of four. Before the corpse soldiers could strike for a third time, the Totochtin princes retaliated. Each one attacked in a different way; rather than in unison. One transformed into his human form and unleashed an uppercut. Another charged forward to create another row of obliterated undead. The third shapeshifted and parried off the dark weapons with his crimson vambraces. And the last also morphed but rolled away from the confrontation. A second later, the clones of Gene were pulled back together by an unseen force. The collision and emerging of the original Totochton prince in human form took place behind the huddle of bone arms. As a new set of bruises bled onto his right arm, he leaned forward and coughed into his hand. The zombie army made no attempt to attack at this moment of vulnerability as if they were heeding their master’s command. The Skeleton Lord made no movement; only watching what would happen next. The bunny demigod wiped his mouth with his hand. He then flicked the hand he coughed into at the ground. Flecks of blood could be seen; flung from his hand and into the pool of blackness. Marvelous Man wanted to be shocked at the cost of using space fracture magic on one’s self, but he spotted something stirring out the corner of his eye. Looking over towards the rubble caused by Gene creating a giant hole in the temple wall, he saw the bone wolves lying amidst it. The bone wolves had shattered once again and were piecing themselves together into something different. They were combining into one large creature; taking on lizard-like features. He grabbed his D.A.B. patch for telepathy, “Gene, he’s doing something to those bone wolves you beat! They’re becoming something big...really big…” The Skeleton Lord slammed the back-end of his glaive onto the ground; reverberating the ominous boom. “Come, Leviathan!” he shouted. The reformatted skeleton creature arose to Alden’s summoning call. Fully complete, it stood as large as the enormous fuel trucks Marvelous Man had seen in action films. It was not like its previous incarnations that were hollow with simple skeleton constructs. The massive monster was made of bone, but the construct’s physical appearance mimicked an organic being to a lifelike degree. Its armor-like scales molded around muscles that pulsed underneath. The Leviathan had the head of a dragon that drooled Digz’s black essence; cascading seamlessly into the pool of whisping darkness. Its lengthy body had a serpent-like shape with a long, wide tail that was perfect for swatting or swimming. The legs beneath its gargantuan body was a set of four; bulky, clawed, and hunched ready to pounce. The Leviathan roared; booming louder than any thunder. The vibrations of such a detonative resonance shook the scenery like a miniature earthquake. Most windows in the surrounding buildings that were not already broken had now shattered, while the rest shivered violently. Gene held down his white rabbit ears against the blast. Marvelous Man could not hold his own against the sonic, as he was briefly pushed back by such bellowing pressure. Marvelous Man reflected on this moment. The capabilities the Skeleton Lord had shown with just one Mana Stone was terrifying. He easily reformatted skeletal pieces into new structures while fighting the agile Gene Lightfoot and did it within seconds. His imagination for using his bones seemed to be unlimited now. If he were to attain the second Mana Stone, he truly would become a god-like being.
  15. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 25

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cK8OXhmhId7vR6__T1V-oUhFEAllGz0aY9m4Q2op-fE) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, NO NAME, & ENGLISCE NAMAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, NO NAME, & ENGLISCE NAMAN Chapter 25: The Royal Burning Dim sunlight cascaded through the glass windows; illuminating the structure Marvelous Man stood in. It seemed to be a hallway within a castle, and from the muscle demigod’s deduction, styled from England’s medieval era. The walls were completely comprised of stone, and the floors were made out of old wooden planks. As the hulking bodybuilder shifted about to survey the new area, the floor beneath did not groan under his massive weight. He then continued further down the hall and noticed on his right a painting. The size of the canvas was bigger than the musclebound superhero; its height nearly touching the ground and ceiling, and the width stretching slightly beyond Marvelous Man’s immense shoulders. It was the painting of a family clothed in royal attire. The family size consisted of a king, queen, an elder princess, and a young prince. The entire family carried the same neutral facial expression with cheeks flushed in a rosy color and eyes an emerald green. The tapping of gentle steps echoed behind the hulking bodybuilder. Turning around, he spotted a man walking towards him. The man appeared exactly same as the king in the painting; complete with royal gowns and a golden crown atop the head. But the most distinguishing features to Marvelous Man was the cape and skin. The cape was the exact same shade of red and lining of white fur as the Skeleton Lord’s. The skin was a deathly pale white; the same as the ancient villain before Sugar Skull’s poison. But instead of having the physique of just skin and bones, this king still seemed healthy and slightly plump. Marvelous Man then noted that despite this king having a more meaty figure, this ruler seemed much older and with sunken cheeks than the royal highness in the painting. It was obvious to the muscle demigod who this king is...Or rather, who this king used to be. Marvelous Man bowed at the king, “Uh, hello!...Your highness!” The king said nothing, as he continued moving forward. With the gap between this royal majesty and the muscle demigod coming to a close, Marvelous Man looked up from the bow and immediately stood up straight. Making way for the king, the hulking bodybuilder shifted his weight and braced his back against the hallway wall. The king passed by without flicking an eye towards the musclebound superhero. Marvelous Man then mentally questioned as to why this person was not staring at him. Especially since he appeared to have broken into a castle and is a muscled giant nearly scraping his head against the ceiling. Marvelous Man flung his arms out with urgency, as he felt his sense of balance being temporarily misplaced. He knew there was a wall behind him, but his senses perceived the muscle demigod to be pinning against thin air. Leaning forward, he regained stability over his massive body. Marvelous Man turned around to discover, the cause. The wall he turned to face appeared to lose shape; slightly dissipating into the same whisping blackness as Digz’s essence. A second later, the affected parts of the wall his body had touched morphed back to its original shape. Marvelous Man’s mind then flashed back to minutes ago when he asked Digz a question and was instantly swallowed by the black fog. He remembered what Digz had said about Gene being spirited away to a memory. The musclebound superhero connected the dots and deducted he was in an illusion similar Puzzles’ smoke illusions; though appearing much less stable than the smoke imp’s when confronted with physical contact. He realized he could walk out of this memory at any time...But that would waste the golden opportunity he was given to understand the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man chased after the king, who was now reaching the end of the hall and entering another room. The hulking bodybuilder entered in after the Skeleton Lord’s past version; ducking his head underneath the doorway out of instinct. He then gazed about at the new room he stood in; the furnishing giving the area an identity to be some sort of war room. Weapons of different shapes and sizes hung against the walls. On the other side of the room was a fireplace still lit with some logs. The soft glow from the fireplace illuminated a wooden table in the center of the room. Atop the furniture was a map; sprawled out and completely covering the tabletop with miniature figures on the map. The king shuffled over to the fireplace. His eyes watched the wood inside of it almost completely digested into ash by the fire. The past Skeleton Lord spoke up, “The healers should have finished painting the runes on our volunteers by now. It should be fine to begin our ritual now.” Marvelous Man heard a familiar voice reply; sounding as if it were held underwater. The musclebound superhero tried to locate the emanation but could not seem to place the echo’s origin. “We do this every week, yet I see no reason as to why we take these precautions. They’ll eventually die, so let me just drink in all their mana. It’s not like the people will leave,” said Digz. The voice echoed as if it were in Marvelous Man’s own head, rather than bouncing around somewhere in the room. The muscle demigod gave up trying to find Digz and decided to focus his attention on the dialogue. The king chuckled, “But they can. Or worse, turn traitor. We have many enemies that would love to see me killed and seize my kingdom...Though I suppose many, many, many have tried already. Hm, I’ve lost count of all the times I have been stabbed and poisoned for you to put me back together.” “The point is, one that has grand responsibility over the lives of their people must project themselves as salvation. Many would follow or go as far as die for their ruler, if the ruler appears to be the ultimate answer to all their woes. And if all they have to do to guarantee their safety is for one day out of the week to allow a selected hundreds for their mana to be drained, then it would seem like a fair trade,” he continued. Marvelous Man walked over to the past Skeleton Lord, while the conversation continued. Digz hissed, “They will turn on you one day because they want my power. You’ll see! You should never have told the people about how you obtained the power over bones.” The king sighed, as he continued to stare into the fire. “Such the optimist, you are. I know you want to avoid reliving the same event that had befallen to Kenelm, but it does not mean that it will happen to us, my old friend. Our subjects are loyal to us, lest they have some radical ideal of heroism that somehow makes us the evil ones,” he remarked. Digz harrumphed, “Then I shall observe your so-called subjects before we begin.” The scenery around Marvelous Man exploded into whisping blackness. A second later, the detonated darkness reversed itself. Digz’s essence sucked back into place, but it seemed to reformat itself into something new. Grass and mud materialized on the ground, and small huts made of sticks and straw appeared near the muscle demigod. A fog, similar to Digz’s fog in Marvelous Man’s current era, had taken over the scenery and clouded any other structures in the distance. Digz then materialized his incomplete form in front of the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man did not know how, but it seemed as if the corrupted imp faced his nonexistent head towards one of the huts closest to the Skeleton Lord familiar. Digz’s voice rumbled from the blackness rising out of his neck. “I know you’re there! You cannot stop the ritual my dark master is about to commence,” he boomed. Silence drifted in the fog for a second before the stirring of footsteps echoed. The sounds of multiple people drew closer to Marvelous Man. From out of the fog revealed what appeared to be a small troupe of adventurers; led by a woman in silver armor. The leader brandished her sword at the imp, “Still thy words, evil creature! I will not tolerate your tauntings any longer. For we heroes shall triumph against your Skeleton Lord.” “Now tell us where your king resides in the castle, so we may slay him. Lest all your jeer has been naught for distraction, and your dark master is not as powerful as you say he is,” continued the leader. Digz voice became catty, “Oh, I have no intention of telling you that. Lest I make things too easy and assure my lord’s defeat. That would make me a traitor. But I suggest you make your choice immediately. For we begin now.” The incomplete imp cackled, as the scenery exploded once again into whisping darkness. As before, the blackness sucked itself back into place and reformed the area into something new. The brick walls of the Skeleton Lord’s castle appeared around Marvelous Man, while Digz emerged in front of the muscle demigod once again. The area seemed to be in another part of the castle but more well-illuminated due to the oil lanterns lining the walls. With a flick of his feathery wrist, a wand made of bone emerged out of thin air. The corrupted familiar took grasp of the wand before making his way down the lit corridor. He playfully tapped the white wand against the walls, while his bird-like feet softly echoed against the wooden floor. Marvelous Man made sure to follow the creature; not wanting to be left behind and accidentally leave the memory. With nothing else happening but the incomplete imp wandering around corners of the castle, he had a moment to think. He had assumed he was going to be viewing the Skeleton Lord’s memory, but what he had seen led to a different conclusion. His train of thoughts soon came to an end, as Digz slowed his pattering footsteps. Digz came to a stop upon turning into another branch of the castle. Marvelous Man spotted a room in front of them that seemed to be a room for solitary activities. A small fireplace on the side of the room was lit with a strong fire; crackling loudly. At a table in the center, there sat three humans draped in royal clothing: one of them appearing to be a queen, an elder princess, and a prince. Marvelous Man noticed the three individuals looked exactly like the family painting he had seen earlier, but their skin had the same ghostly paleness as the Skeleton Lord’s. Marvelous Man’s eyes then took notice and drifted to the figures huddled around the royal family. It was a small squad of armored skeletons that looked similar to the skeletons the muscle demigod fought in the first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. They were equipped with the same kind of foreboding, black armor but appeared to look more durable and had a dark shine to it. As Digz waddled into the room, the bone soldiers, standing between Digz and the royals, faced their heads down towards the corrupted familiar. The minions stepped aside; creating a pathway before resuming their sentry position. The royal family looked over to where the incomplete imp stood, as the skeletons’ armor clanged from movement. Immediately standing up, the queen extended her hand outward in an attempt to shield her children. “Have you come to torment us some more with your vile words, imp? I hope you come with new material, as talks of our worthlessness and your ‘gift’ of immortality to us have become stale,” said her majesty. Digz chuckled, “My, is that wit I detect? You sure have acquired quite the gumption, since our previous encounter.” The queen’s face showed no emotion; frozen like a plain doll. Marvelous Man wondered how long she and her children endured Digz’s harassment. “Only because I realized that you will take no further action beyond the threat of bringing harm to my children were I to speak to my husband about what you have said to me. Beyond that, you cannot truly hurt us,” she said. The incomplete imp replied, “And I’m sure you would like to keep it that way. But I’m here to give you what your family has always wanted.” “Which is?” questioned the queen. “Freedom,” answered Digz, “To be broken of the shackles of this accursed life. That is what you and your children want, yes? I know of how you three are miserable with existing the same way for centuries.” The royal highness’s face broke into confusion. Her feet slightly shifted backwards. She inquired, “And what sort of trickery do you play now?...I see...But know that inflicting pain on others will only relieve your own for a brief moment. I suppose Kenelm would be most disappointed in how pitiful you have made use of the gift he had bestowed to you.” Digz pointed his bone wand at the queen. The white item extended itself; immediately reaching the Skeleton Lord’s wife. The pointed end stopped just before it could puncture her throat. “Mother!” shouted the children. The incomplete imp shouted, “DO NOT SAY HIS NAME! How does a wench like you even know of him?! Alden has never talked to you without my presence! I’ve made sure of that!” The queen’s face morphed back into her frozen, neutral expression, and her eyes becoming cold once more. “It is true that I cannot speak to my husband without your supervision, but I have my ways. Perhaps you have forgotten already of my own power that lent to our victory over this kingdom,” she stated. Digz retracted his wand, “Hmph. Reading the castle’s past might have given you excellent gossip, but it does not help you control the future I have prepared. Now come. Let me direct you all to your freedom.” The corrupted familiar turned away and proceeded out of the room. The skeleton soldiers from behind the royal children and queen nudged the family forward. Marvelous Man followed the group exiting from the room and down the twisting corridors of the castle’s hallways. The musclebound superhero had a clear idea of what Digz’s relationship was like with the Skeleton Lord and the rest of the family. He then wondered what the incomplete imp’s talk of freedom was but became fearful that it was nothing more than an insidious conclusion. In his heart, Marvelous Man continued to hope it was not the outcome he supposed it could be. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The travel through the stone architecture continued for minutes before stopping at a set of doors. Marvelous Man noticed that the doors stood taller than himself and had a set of large, metal rings as the knobs. Two of the skeleton soldiers stepped forward and pushed open the doors. As the doors groaned to a stop, a spacious library revealed itself to the group. The row of armored skeletons behind the noble family pushed the relatives inside. The three royals stumbled forward before regaining their steps. Turning around, the family faced the incomplete imp and the small troupe of skeleton warriors. As the mother began to mouth words, Digz’s soldiers retrieved the oil lanterns hanging on the walls. The skeletal minions then threw the lanterns; shattering glass and oil against the rows of books, furniture, and the entrance. Flames of red and orange were born instantly from the spilled lantern oil and began to feast on wood and paper. The family stood paralyzed with their eyes gazing at the growing fire about them, while the skeleton soldiers closed the library doors shut. Muffled screams echoed from behind the wooden doors; pleading for help. One of the armored minions stepped forward and placed their skeleton arm through the door’s large, metal handle loops. Digz swished his bone wand at the soldier; causing the arm in the door’s handle to break off from the skeleton. The detached arm then gripped its other end to form a loop and chain the library doors from opening. Marvelous Man’s eyes bulged at the inhuman treatment. He reached out to grab the skeletal chain...but his hand phased through smoke instead. The hulking bodybuilder’s eyes began to well up with tears. He knew that this was an illusion showing a past memory...but he could not help himself. Marvelous Man wished he could have been there to save that family; regardless of how impossible time magic was. The skeleton soldiers departed from the scenery in different directions. Some of the boney minions stopped at the wall-mounted lanterns; only to pick it up and smash it on the wooden flooring. The bushes of flames grew throughout the hallways and seemed to be extending throughout the castle with the armored skeletons’ assistance. The scenery then exploded into smoke before reforming into the war room the Skeleton Lord resided in. Marvelous Man looked about, but could not find the incomplete imp. He then heard the room echo with Digz’s voice. “ALDEN! COME QUICK! WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” shouted the familiar. The Skeleton Lord looked up from the fireplace he stared at. He called out, “What?! Where?!” “The castle! They’ve set it ablaze to smoke you out!” replied Digz. The Skeleton Lord scurried over to a window from the other side of the war room. As he did so, eight spider-like legs made of bone extended beneath the king’s robes. Two of the boney limbs lunged at the window; shattering through the glass and anchoring onto the outer brick wall of the castle. Alden commanded, “Get the skeletons to escort my family to safety.” The skeletal spider legs hoisted the Skeleton Lord through the window. Marvelous Man gave a slight gasp, as the scenery yanked him outside the castle and floating high up in the air. Had this been real and the hulking bodybuilder not transformed, the fall of five stories would most certainly have crushed and killed Justice Starr. Upon dangling the king outside by the boney limbs, the white spider-like legs scampered across the wall. Black smoke could be seen pouring out of the other windows alongside the brick siding. Marvelous Man had difficulty spotting the difference from the fire’s smoke and Digz’s whisping essence blanketing the kingdom. Even high above, the muscle demigod could not see the sky nor sun. “I can’t feel them anymore! I fear they may have been attacked by the invaders already!” lied Digz. As the Skeleton Lord darted around a corner and reached the front of the smoking castle, the wall he crawled on exploded with a deafening boom. Five of the boney limbs broke from the king’s body; splintering off with chunks of bricks that were big or had been immediately blasted into dust. Marvelous Man could almost feel the sudden burst of wind and heat buffeting against his own smooth skin. Seconds of falling towards the ground quickly drifted by, while the three intact spider leg bones struggled to grasp at the air. Out of instinct, Marvelous Man raised his arms in front of his face in an effort to brace against impact. Alden slammed into ground. His body immediately sprayed the area with bits of his blood, while a wet crunch echoed from him. With barely a second passing, his body began to put itself back together. Bones snapped back into place and sinew reverting to where it previously was, while the Skeleton King slowly stood up on his knees. Chains made of shining light streamed from the fog. The animated links circled around the reforming Skeleton Lord before instantly squeezing in a tight ensnare. The three remaining spider limbs made of bone had no room to struggle, as they were pinned against Alden’s body by the chains of light. When the king gasped from the tight restraints, a small projectile ejected from the fog. The object was a grey slime that slapped against Alden’s mouth; sealing it shut in what Marvelous Man supposed was to prevent verbal spells. The muscle demigod then heard the Skeleton Lord speak again, but it carried the same echo as Digz’s voice when the incomplete imp was not visible. The voice of the Skeleton Lord screamed, “Digz! Release me from the binds!” “I can’t!” shouted Digz, “The magic in the binds prevents me!” Marvelous Man then realized the two were speaking to each other telepathically. It was now obvious that Digz could not be seen, because the incomplete imp had fused back into Alden. The musclebound superhero briefly wondered if Digz was lying about the magic binds due to the wicked betrayal that had happened earlier. A small group of humanoid figures exited the fog; revealing themselves to be the wandering heroes the corrupted familiar provoked. Marvelous Man saw that the group was still being led by the woman equipped in silver armor. He then noticed that behind the female leader were two men adorned in robes that covered their faces. The muscle demigod could see only the mouths were not covered and were constantly whispering towards the Skeleton Lord. It became apparent to Marvelous Man that the two were most likely wizards uttering incantations to maintain the magical chains. The leader spoke up, “Skeleton Lord! Your vile ways ends tonight! No longer shall you prey on this town!” The king tried to scream urgency, but it was muffled from the slime covering his mouth. The female knight looked down at Alden and gave a look of disgust. She then trudged towards the binded Skeleton Lord, while reaching for a sword tied to her waist. The leader drew the weapon from her scabbard; the blade gleaming like moonlight. “Digz!” mentally shouted the king. The incomplete imp replied, “I’m trying, but the spell is too strong!” The knight raised her blade. “Stealing the mana of this kingdom just to feed your own self-preservation. Such a sin is unforgiving, and such a sin you have sown. I take no pleasure in ending you. Only justice,” she said. The armored leader continued, “Your people put their trust in you, and you repay them with a devil’s deal. A deal to gift you the power to raise the dead. Tis not a wonder that the people frantically sing praise of you. Lest they be found disagreeing with you, killed by your hand, and raised for your appalling undead puppetry.” The Skeleton Lord conversed with his thoughts, as his eyes widened at the knight’s words. “What is she talking about Digz?! She knows only fragments of our ways! She misunderstands our people!” he exclaimed. Digz replied, “...Does she? I fear we have been betrayed.” The tone of the knight’s voice rose. Her body shifted to execute a swing with her sword. “And as for that demon every person here refers to as an imp,” she said, “They shall-” A white spike made of bone torpedoed out of the Skeleton Lord’s cloak. The spike collided into the leader’s face; echoing the collapse of her face with bone crunched and flesh shredded. With the force of the projectile lodged into the knight’s destroyed face, she flew backwards. She then landed limply, as her body tumbled to a stop upon reaching the feet of her wizards. Blood slowly oozed from around the bone spike. The group of heroes froze, as the wizards’ incantation became choked from shock. The chains of light that incapacitated the king shattered; pieces of the chain glittered in the air before fading. One of the boney spider legs attached to the Skeleton Lord extended itself towards its master. The limb then wiped away the slime sticking to Alden’s mouth with only a stroke. At the same time, the other skeletal extensions wedged themselves into the ground. The two spider legs pushed; assisting the Skeleton Lord into the air before placing him onto his feet. A second ticked by, while nobody made an attempt to move. Spikes made of bone erupted from the chests of the adventurers. Marvelous Man gripped his hands. Even if he could go back in time, he could not have prevented their deaths. The source of their deaths came from columns of bones erupting from the fog behind the heroes; immediate and unseen. Digz voice quickly echoed, “...I managed to overpower their binds in time!...What luck!” The Skeleton Lord stood in silence. His head then cocked in acknowledgement, as his eyes became horrified. “My family!” he exclaimed. He turned to the castle now heavily engulfed in flames. Black smoke escaped from every opening in the stone home. Marvelous Man’s heart sank at the scene before him. He wondered how long Digz had planned this deception for everything Alden loved to come crashing down in one fell swoop. The king shouted, “I...I don’t see them anywhere! We must go back inside to-” “No, we can’t!” replied Digz, “The fire has grown too big, and we’d surely perish if we tried to go in there! I can’t bring you back if there’s nothing left of you. Especially if my totem has been destroyed!” Alden fired back, “The cloak can protect it! Now come on!” The Skeleton Lord charged towards the burning architecture. “The Pilgrim Cloak only shields us from enchanted sight and cannot be taken off by others. That doesn’t mean the cloth is indestructible!” reasoned the corrupted familiar. The king said nothing, as he arrived at the castle entrance doors. A row of bone columns fell from above with a sharp whistle and landed in front of the Skeleton Lord; barricading the doors from him. Alden slammed his hands on the barricade. He screamed, “What are you doing, Digz?! Open the way!” “Alden, please! Listen to me! When I said I couldn’t feel them anymore, I wasn’t just talking about the skeletons...I can’t detect your family anywhere…” said Digz. Tears began to stream down the Skeleton Lord’s cheeks, while his lips quivered. The king continued to slam against the bone blockade. He exclaimed, “No, no, no, NO...It can’t be...Have to get in there!” Digz voice rose in an authoritative tone. “Look at this castle! It is completely engulfed in flames! They couldn’t have survived this, and neither will we if we sprint in there!” stated the incomplete imp. Alden sunk to his knees, “Then...then...you can bring them back! Right here, you can make them rise from the ground! Right? You said a long time ago about being able to resurrect, and, and…” The corrupted familiar sighed. His voice became softer. “Only when they’ve binded their soul to me, remember? None of your family members wanted their existence linked to my totem. Not even you. We never even gave time to testing it on your steeds,” corrected Digz. He continued, “I’m sorry, Alden. They’re gone. If they were in my presence as they perished, I could have saved them. But I didn’t see their disappearance until it was too late.” “No…”whimpered Alden, “What did I do wrong?” Marvelous Man now realized that this was the Skeleton Lord’s turning point. When the king had hit his lowest point and had nothing else to live for, he would believe anything just to feel better as any other person would. And for the Skeleton Lord, what Digz would say next would become the lifelong goal. The obsession that has killed so many people. Digz replied, “...You have done nothing wrong, Alden. It was everybody else that is.” “We were so happy having everything stay the same. You’re like a god! Your family had immortality, and you protected this kingdom from all invaders. This was our own corner of the world,” he continued. The muscle demigod felt as if the corrupted familiar had been practicing these very lines. Down to even the volume he used on certain pronunciations, Digz made his words seem they were of the gospel...And Alden drank it all up; his face dawning with the newly tainted enlightenment. The incomplete imp spat with disgust, “But then those ‘heroes’ came and ruined everything! All for what?! For glory?! For wealth?! Just because of what we can do, that makes us evil? What pathetic ignorance.” The Skeleton Lord nodded, as he wiped streaks of tears going down his face. The flow of his tears came to a halt, and his eyes seemed to become emotionally withdrawn. “Then...why didn’t our people stop them? If there was any doubt about our evil...surely the citizens would have corrected them, right?” he questioned. Digz did not reply, as seconds awkwardly ticked by. Alden gritted his teeth, “Why would they let them set fire to my home?! Why would they let those...heroes just walk right up to my home and destroy my family?! Do they still hate me deep down? WHY?!” The unseen familiar spoke up. “...I-I’m not sure anymore...Even though I said many negative things in the past, I just wanted to keep you aware of possibilities. I came to thinking the same as you because I believed you knew your people…” he answered. The king gripped the ground, “...You were right...You always are.” “Feared our power, jealous of it...It doesn’t matter. They have betrayed us. They’re not my people anymore. They have burned away all the benevolence that I had,” he continued. The Skeleton Lord commanded, “Digz! Begin the ritual! Take everybody’s mana until there’s nothing left! Those protected by the blood runes will eventually die, since there will be no one to care for them in their time of recovery.” The incomplete imp replied back in a tone that poorly attempted to hide a twisted glee. “Of course. I’ll make sure to exact our revenge on those bastards!” he suggested, “And then we start our coming.” “Our coming?” said the king. Digz replied, “Yes, our coming. We’re not going to sit here till we turn to dust. We will make ourselves known and make the world burn! And when the whelps wonder why death will be arriving to their doorsteps, all they will know was that the Royal Burning was the cause of humanity’s fall! No one deserves to be happy! Only death!” The scenery in front of Marvelous Man began to fade. The whisping darkness that had swirled around his muscled mass began to bulge about, as light started to flood the muscle demigod from above. Looking up, Marvelous Man noticed the black fog Digz had cocooned him in was becoming shorter. It was definite that Digz had answered Marvelous Man’s question about the Royal Burning...but the response seemed to lead to more questions. The musclebound hero’s heart sank, as he realized he had gained no new insight to help win the battle without violence. What he had learned was only the surface of deeper things that led to this tragic event. The Skeleton Lord had depended on Digz so much, that simply speaking of the corrupted familiar’s deception would not be enough to change the ancient king’s mind. Marvelous Man wished he had more time to think of what he could say, but the curtain of darkness descended faster than he could put together a new plan. Upon the fog dropping beneath his face and no longer limited his eyesight, his eyes stretched wide at what he saw. A chill ran down his back with flashbacks of his abduction playing in his mind. The red cloak Marvelous Man had seen too many times screamed into his retinas. The present-day Skeleton Lord, in all his skinny, withered glory, stood a small distance away. Next Chapter
  16. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 24

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Z51Gh7qvdbt2g0xxPepOhEizpaHRkVtVWEauhe_3hS4) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: SPECTRI, LORD TUTORIALS, THATCHINESEPERSON, & JAINA Chapter 24: Dancing With the Fiend Marvelous Man stood in front of the fog; staring at the whisping darkness curl about. Every few seconds, a pair of hands would lash from out of the fog. The hands would then slam into a magical barrier that caged the creatures from within. Runes, magical circles, sticky note talismans, and even enchanted items were plastered all over the barrier. The musclebound superhero drifted his eyes downwards to the rows of cubic-shaped machines placed around the outside of the affected ghetto area. Every cube had a large Arkos Division logo engraved on the side with a cable branching out from each machine to a gadget-decorated cable. The new cable projected a film of light; covering over the magical layer. The scenery in front of him caused his mind to drift back to his jacket’s pocket. His large hand fidgeted with a silver key in the pocket. He could feel every groove and the keychain attached to it, an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top. The itching temptation to use the key came back harder than the night of his first encounter with the Skeleton Lord. He wondered if it was the right thing to turn down his parents’ invitation to stay in Sunnysville...where it was safe and nothing changed. “Ugh, I do not envy what you’re about to do,” said a female voice from behind. Marvelous Man turned around to face the voice. Standing with all eight cybernetic arms crossed was Octomentist. The hulking bodybuilder immediately noticed that the prosthetic superhero now held a slouched posture compared to her usual power pose with the back straightened. He nodded, “Oh...yeah.” Octomentist lightly bit her lip, as an awkward second ticked by. “I never did thank you, did I? For helping out at the Arkos Division headquarters. I was out on patrol when it happened. And then you showed up a few minutes after I got there…” she said. The multi-armed heroine continued, “I helped try to clear the rubble, but you were the real hero. You actually got to save lives...and that was the first time I actually felt powerless. And that’s never happened to me, ya know...Is it fucked up that I kinda wish I was back in that tunnel fighting the Skeleton Lord, and our only way to save those people was to euthanize them?” The muscle demigod’s mind flashed back to the tunnels during the second battle against the Skeleton Lord. His stomach twisted at the blood, the terrible things the ancient villain said, killing the Teratoma...and first experiencing the power of his Soul Venom. To reflect on those memories for a second more might cause him to vomit. “I don’t think so. But it’s not exactly something I want to go through again,” replied Marvelous Man. Octomentist nodded, “Right..yeah, sorry. That was a dick thing for me to say. But I do mean it when I say thanks for what you did. You’re the greatest hero in my book.” Marvelous Man smiled. His heart gave a soft flutter of joy before wondering how long this nice attitude would last. “Thanks,” he said. The prosthetic hero smiled back, “So go get ‘em, Marvelous Man. I’ll just be manning the front over here. But just so you know, after this, it’s back to you being called Naked Justice.” “Yeah...I figured,” Marvelous Man giggled, “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Octomentist pointed with her golden thumb over to a tent painted with runic symbols; housing the musclebound superhero’s other team members. The flaps of the tent parted ways, as Gemini exited the temporary structure. The bulky Soulem appeared to be heading over to Marvelous Man’s position. “I’ll be over there if you need anything,” she said. The muscle demigod nodded, “Sure.” The multi-armed woman departed from Marvelous Man, as she passed by Gemini. The Soulem arrived in front of the musclebound superhero in a few steps; mood rings glowing in the color yellow. Gemini stood still, while gently pounding the rubbery, robotic fists together. The mechanical being seemed at a loss for words before finally speaking up. “Um...hey,” said Gemini. Marvelous Man replied, “Hey.” The Soulem gave an artificial cough to clear his throat. “So I thought that we should go over one more time about the spell you got from the Bruja,” he said. Marvelous Man responded, “Sure. But don’t I just have to touch the imp when I cast the spell?” “Yeah, but you need to touch a solid part of the imp,” corrected Gemini, “You can’t just use its own foggy essence, since the spell would basically be grabbing air. That essence could easily escape the spell, and then you’d give away your own element of surprise. So make sure you’re grabbing the imp’s physical body when you cast that spell.” Marvelous Man frowned, “Well, can’t you modify the spell to suck in some of the essence to hold it in one place?” Gemini lurched his head back, while his face displayed a mix of horror and disgust. “Whoah, no! That spell is already complicated enough as is. I literally can’t tamper with a thing on that spell. It’s airtight and any mods on that thing will cause an entirely different reaction!” exclaimed the Soulem. His voice grew soft, “Besides, I only understand bits of it...the spell itself is...impossible. And while that should scare me, what scares me more is who you got it from…” “...I didn’t have much of a choice, Gem...I needed to end all of this. Doin what we usually do didn’t stop the Skeleton Lord. He always got away every time. And the only way I feel like we can actually win this time is if I upped my game and did something crazy,” explained Marvelous Man. Gemini sighed, “Let’s just...get this over and done with. I just hope the Bruja doesn’t come back to bite us in the ass. If she has access to that kind of magical knowledge, I don’t even know what she’s capable of if she ever tries to hurt you…” “She’d probably just send Sugar Skull instead,” remarked the muscle demigod. The Soulem smirked, “Right. Why bother wasting magic when you can just send an immortal lackey to do the dirty work for ya.” His cybernetic eyes flicked down at the ground before returning to look back at Marvelous Man. Gemini’s mood ring then transitioned to a rose red color. “Look, I gotta head back, but I just wanted to say...good luck out there. And please...come back safely. Alright?” he said. Marvelous Man smiled, “Thanks. I will. And it’ll be fine. I got Gene and Sugar Skull to watch my back.” “Would’ve been nicer if we had an A-lister like the Director,” frowned Gemini. Marvelous Man shrugged, “He has to help with keeping the barrier up...But I do think it’s kinda weird we couldn’t get help from anybody else. Everybody seems busy with their own crisis. Even the Nemesis Branch isn’t helping out cause we’re somehow not dealing with a A-rank villain or above.” “What a bunch of assholes,” huffed Gemini. The accent of a Southern gentleman emanated from behind the Soulem, “Mr. Yin and Mr. Marvelous Man. So glad both of you are here. This makes things easier for our final talk before we begin.” As Gemini turned around, Marvelous Man spotted the Director walking towards them. Accompanying a few steps behind Director Doug was the master witch’s familiar and the musclebound superhero’s teammates, Gene Lightfoot and Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man could feel a sense of nervousness wash over himself with every closing distance between himself and Gene. His eyebrow then perked up in confusion. “Hey, wait. Where’s Fairuza?” he asked. The Director answered, “She’s been reassigned to keep an eye on our wards, since it is a guarantee that she cannot gaze into the fog nor keep a connection with you three. I’m afraid the moment you and Gene and Sugar Skull pass through, you’re all on your own. We won’t be able to pull you out either, so you better not hold back. Do what you have to do to make this stop.” Director Skye’s eyes seemed to intensify their gaze into Marvelous Man’s, as he said his next words. “Marvelous Man, are you sure you want to go in there? Your healing abilities would be invaluable in assisting the troops out here should the barriers fail. You don’t have to do this,” he said. Marvelous Man’s mind lingered back to his meaty hand still in his jacket’s pocket. The jagged teeth of the silver key poked at his thumb. There was still time to run away from all this, and every part of him screamed it...But what if he could win? The muscle demigod hesitated, “Honestly...I kinda don’t want to go. I’ve never done anything as...intense as this before. But you said a while back that I was one of the people capable of handling the Skeleton Lord. And I need to be there for my partners to patch them up.” “Oh-ho ho! Thank goodness!” exclaimed Sugar Skull, “Because Gene would have really died out there if you didn’t come along. But I’d be okay. I can regenerate.” Silence weighed heavily in the air, as Sugar Skull’s spinning, yellow flower eyes flicked back and forth. None of the company appeared amused at the comment. The ghoul quickly thrust a hand into his sleeve before pulling it out immediately. “...And look! I have the new devices the Bruja made. Whaaaaat. Presenting the Bruja’s magical gadget, the Benighted Badge. Now we match each other!” said the Limbo being. He held out his hand; uncurling his fingers to reveal what rested in his palm. Everybody leaned forward to see two objects glittering on the ghoul’s palm. They looked exactly like the brooch Sugar Skull had always worn; a weeping closed eye. Puzzles called out from below, “What is it?” The Director frowned, while Marvelous Man realized the smoke imp was too small to see what the ghoul was holding. The Totochton prince and the muscle demigod picked up the pin jewelry; holding it up for a closer look. Director Doug then scratched his beard. “It looks to me like they are copies of Sugar Skull’s brooch,” reported the master witch. Sugar Skull replied, “Exactly. They do the same thing my brooch does. We’ll be able to pass through without any of the other ghouls seeing us.” The half-alive ghoul looked over at Marvelous Man. “Oh...but, you can’t do any supercharges or getting bright,” he said, “It’s easy to cover up sound, but your light can’t be, uh, suppressed when it’s bigger and brighter than a flashlight. Bending that much light without blinding you would have taken longer to make.” It was a huge handicap to what Marvelous Man could do. Supercharging his allies was something the muscle demigod felt made him indispensable to the team and helped turn the tide of a battle. But he knew that as long as the brooches worked and cloaked his team from immediate danger, he would be fine with limiting his abilities. The musclebound superhero nodded, “That’s fine. Could I still do normal healing? I still have to use some light, so I can heal.” “It’s not a problem. The gadget should be able to hide it,” answered Sugar Skull. A slight weight lifted from the hulking bodybuilder’s shoulders. It felt good to know that he could help support his teammates in some way. Marvelous Man was already aware of how much his combat ability paled in comparison to his companion’s and even the Skeleton Lord’s. The ghoul chimed, “I think we need a speech. This is the part where we’re about to do something dangerous and need some, ummm...encouragement!” “Here’s one,” said Puzzles. The entire cast turned to look down at the smoke imp. He stood with a silver zip lighter in one hand, and a glass bong, sized appropriately for his single paw, in the other. Flicking open the lighter to spark a flame, the familiar then lowered the flame onto the bong’s herbal-stuffed bowl. Puzzles snapped the lighter shut, “Don’t die.” Director Skye smiled at the smoke imp while flexing a single eyebrow up. “The Reefer Ballroom?” he questioned. Puzzles replied, “You’re combining your defense magic with the lesser spellcasters and some force field projectors from the Arkos Division. Even with all that, those ghouls are still getting through. You honestly think my Cuban Room can stop them, Boss?” “Containment isn’t working, so I shall impede,” concluded the smoke imp. The master witch looked over at Gemini, “Duly noted. Now, Mr. Yin, I heavily implore you to vacate this area. Seeing as how I am now lowering a part of the barrier. Monsters will most definitely be scurrying from out of my artificial opening, and I would hate for you to be caught in the midst of combat.” Mood rings on the cybernetic cheeks flared yellow, as Gemini’s eyes dilated. The Soulem instantly turned towards the tent and began power-walking. “Nope! Don’t have to tell me twice,” he exclaimed, “GoodLuckMarvelousManOkayLoveYouBye.” Director Skye watched the Soulem dart passed Octomentist and into the tent before reaching into his pocket. Pulling out a cell phone, the master witch dialed a number. He then placed it next to his ear, while it rang once before being answers. He announced, “This is Director Douglas Skye. I am authorizing the deactivation of your force field generators for ninety seconds...Yes. Begin now.” As the Director ended his call, the small humming noise from the force field projector cubes started to die down. The thin layer on top of the magical barrier eroded; starting from the top and making its way down. Within seconds, the projected force field from the Arkos Division had completely deteriorated. Director Skye placed the phone back into his pocket and held up his hands. The master witch’s hands then began to glow blue with magical energy. Gesturing with his hands, a magical circle appeared. “When I’ve created an opening, all of you must charge through. Do not worry about the monsters that get through, Puzzles and I, as well as the other heroes and police officers, will dispose of them. It is highly likely we will lose communication with y’all, so please be aware that you are all on your own once you three enter. Gene, you will be the field leader for this mission,” stated the Director. Gene pinned the brooch to his shoulder’s strap, “Understood.” A hole the size of a baseball appeared on the magical barrier above the magic circle. The hole then moved; splitting into both horizontal directions. While the incision on the barrier continued, Puzzle pressed the top of the glass bong to his lips and took a long inhale. When the gap reached a certain wideness on both ends, the ends of the gap made its way down. The very end of the whisping fog seemed to drool from the artificial outline that appeared wide enough for three men to charge in at the same time. Puzzles disengaged from the glass bong and exhaled a big puff of marijuana smoke; cascading to the concrete ground. The white smoke flooded in every direction, as it grew higher. Marvelous Man quickly fumbled about to pin the brooch onto his black leather jacket. In seconds, the bong smoke swallowed everyone. The last thing Marvelous Man saw, after successfully pinning the Bruja’s brooch, was the dissection of the magical barrier coming to a stop upon contacting with the terrain. Marvelous Man’s eyes blinked. He turned about; trying to absorb his new surroundings. The hulking bodybuilder was transported in what appeared to be a grand ballroom. The walls and furniture were adorned with the colors of gold white, and the paintings and decorations had a pastel color to them. Memories of art and architecture taught by Apollo allowed the musclebound superhero to surmise the ballroom was an eighteenth century Russian palace in the rococo style. He stood with his teammates amidst a crowd that were watching people court and dance. The citizens within the lavish ballroom were dressed of higher class Russian fashion from the eighteenth century; possibly even royalty. Marvelous Man could hear an orchestra composed of string and woodwind instruments. The muscle demigod was aware Puzzles could concoct illusions through smoke, but even the sound of violins and flutes playing nearly convinced himself of traveling through time. The hulking bodybuilder also spotted the Director amidst the dancers and had continued to channel the spell. The dancers twirled about Director Skye, yet never seemed to make any accidental physical contact to the master witch. Before questioning the scenery, his attention snapped to a commotion on his left. Ghouls and monsters from the fog had charged through a wide, opened doorway; screaming and snarling. The citizens and the scenery slightly warped, as smoke was channeled from them. Puzzles’ smoke reached out in the form of gentle vapors, as it funneled into the nostrils and mouths of the enemies. The Limbo creatures slowed to a stop; their eyes fogging in confusion. The residents within the ballroom that were closest to the stupefied foes sauntered over to them. The dancers guided the ghouls onto the main floor and danced with them, while the viewers petted the monsters like they were adorable dogs. More Limbo beings clamored into the ballroom and were quickly pacified. “Go now! Go!” commanded a deep Russian-accented voice from above Marvelous Man. A figure, blurred in grey and blue, fell from up high. It then collided onto the head of one of the dancing ghouls. The object that had landed came into focus as Puzzles with his dagger sunken onto the top of the inhibited ghoul’s head. The ghoul immediately disintegrated into dust, as Puzzled fell towards the ground. Gene spoke up, “My teammates, we must make the haste, while we still have the time.” The rabbit superhero ran towards the opened doorway with the purple ghoul following behind. The muscle demigod stared at his compatriots for a second before snapping out of his surprised daze and gave chase. As the three made their way closer to the doorway, the dancers and bystanders immediately stepped out of the pathway like water being parted. “Turn on the brooch with magic now!” shouted Sugar Skull, “The ghouls will attack us the moment we pass through!” Placing their hands on the Bruja’s magical item, Gene and Marvelous Man’s hands glowed blue with magic. The glowing immediately died, as the magic channeled into the weeping eye brooches upon passing through the doorway. Ghouls from the fog continued to pour in, but they weaved around all three allies without even passing a glance. The whisping fog crashed into the team’s faces; blackness obscuring their visions. The trio came to an immediate stop; their eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden darkness. Regaining enough sight, Marvelous Man noticed the countless, monstrous Limbo beings had continued to charge passed the hulking bodybuilder and his friends. His muscles, flexing into cords as hard as rocks, relaxed back into its natural round, firm state. With the danger temporarily alleviated, Marvelous Man’s body realized it had stopped breathing for over a minute. He gave a loud, sharp gasp before immediately coughing; the bleach scent of Limbo’s air hung heavily in the fog. The musclebound superhero bent down, as his throat continued to hack. The rest of the team flinched at the sudden noises given off by the hulking bodybuilder. The spinning, yellow flower eyes in Sugar Skull’s sockets transformed into red exclamation points. The purple ghoul stared up at Marvelous Man. “Wow, that actually gave me a fright!” commented Sugar Skull. Gene spoke up, “Marvelous Man, are you well?” The muscle demigod held up his index finger to indicate towards his teammates. Seconds later, Marvelous Man stood up straight. He looked down at the rabbit superhero. “Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t realize I was holding in my breath until just now,” he answered. Gene’s white rabbit ears twitched about, “I must do the commending, Sugar Skull. The Bruja’s magical jewelry works as you have said.” The purple ghoul turned to look at the bunny demigod. The red exclamation points in his eye sockets returned to its spinning flower form. “The Bruja is the real deal. After all, she struck a deal with your, uh. What’s the word I’m looking for? It’s predecesor in Spanish...Oh, haha. Predecessors. It’s why all the Toto’s restaurants act as the entrance to the land of the living when I leave Limbo,” replied Sugar Skull. Gene frowned, “I do wish to continue the talk regarding your master’s connection to my people, but we all must make the haste to defeat the Skeleton Lord.” The Totochin prince proceeded forward with the two party members immediately following behind. The howls and groans of the Limbo monsters echoed unseen throughout the streets. The line of sight for Marvelous Man could only extend as far as ten steps ahead before being swallowed by whisping fog enveloping the crew. With the unsettling feelings being forgotten the ghetto usually radiated and enhanced by the Skeleton Lord’s creepy fog, it became a tempting thought for Marvelous Man to fly his teammates over to the Skeleton Lord’s dwelling. It would have been faster, but the plans set days before the three went into the fog said otherwise. It was agreed that the trio would have to traverse the fogged area by foot at walking speed. Sugar Skull had pointed out that even with the Bruja’s magical items, the Skeleton Lord could still detect them. The safest strategy would be taking slow movements to avoid drawing sudden attention on themselves should the ancient villain return on the estimated date. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As the team drew closer to the Skeleton Lord’s hideout, the streets became more spacious. There were still ghouls roaming about, but the majority of the Limbo creatures were loitering at the barriers surrounding the ghetto. The ones that Marvelous Man were now passing by were the naked ghouls he had seen before in Limbo; lying on the ground with the same surrender to despair. “Hello, Totochtin,” said a voice from behind the group. The group instantly turned around to face the person addressing Gene. A figure stood in the middle of the road; its height as tall as an imp. The being wore a dress covered in tatters, and the ribbon bow encircling the neckline had eroded with its color faded. It’s head and right arm no longer existed; replaced with whisping essence bleeding out and blending into the fog. It’s other arm seemed to be avian, as the limb was shaped like an arm but was compiled of tattered feathers. The creature turned to Marvelous Man. A voice then emanated from it; sounding as if it were under water. “You must be Marvelous Man,” it said, “Your shape is much like Gilgamesh. A giant man of muscles. So it’s not hard to figure out.” The smoky figure turned to Sugar Skull, “And you must be the Bruja’s ghoul. My master has been wanting to see you again to pay back all the torment you have given him.” As the demigods opened their mouths to reply, Sugar Skull interrupted them. “Don’t acknowledge him! If you do, he’ll be able to see you!” exclaimed the purple ghoul. Gene pointed out, “I believe there is none of the point to doing that. He identified us by the shapes of our bodies.” The creature spoke up; pulling the team’s attention back to itself. “I can’t hear you, but I know you’re talking about me. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice something I couldn’t see but was still taking up space in my own essence? Reveal yourselves to me, or I’ll get nasty,” it said. The trio remained frozen at the threat. Marvelous Man gulped; trying to build some courage within himself. The musclebound superhero needed confirmation first before he did anything else. He then took a step forward. He announced, “Yeah, I’m Marvelous Man. Are you the Skeleton Lord’s familiar?” “That I am. And will the others come forward as well? Or shall I have them skewered?” said the imp. Marvelous Man finally had his suspicions confirmed. To see an incomplete imp firsthand was...more disturbing than Puzzles could have described. He could only feel sadness for the imp; imagining how it existed for thousands of years in a constant state of pain and rage. The muscle demigod wanted to activate the spell immediately to put the imp out of its misery. But he knew what Gemini had said to him earlier. Now was not the time; not when the element of surprise had been lost. Marvelous Man would have to wait until another chance arose. Gene acknowledged, “What is your name?” “I am Digz,” replied the incomplete imp, “And what is your business here?” “We wish to defeat the Skeleton Lord,” answered Gene. Digz cackled, “He’s not here...yet. The Skeleton Lord will return soon.” The smoky familiar crooked his shoulder; seemingly staring at Sugar Skull. A sharp object shot out from behind the familiar. It screeched through the air in less than a second before making the sound of flesh being impaled. Marvelous Man turned to his half-alive friend. He could see an arrow sticking out of Sugar Skull’s left shoulder. The purple ghoul staggered back a few steps, as Marvelous Man noticed Sugar Skull wielding the signature black glock. The Limbo being’s eye sockets were completely covered in television static noise. “...You sneaky fatherfucker,” said Sugar Skull. Digz remarked, “I just said that I could see Marvelous Man’s shape. You honestly thought I couldn’t see you about to use your gun superpower?” “Well, yeah,” giggled Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man hurried over to Sugar Skull, while feeling the emotions of fear ebb from Gene. Placing his hand next to the wound, he fed the light within himself memories of his mother cooking his favorite breakfast. The muscle demigod then grabbed the arrow with his other hand, as his light began to heal the traumatized area. He spoke, “I got you, Sugar Skull...This is gonna hurt.” “...Hey, Marvelous Man. Remember that dickhead ghoul in the diner who told you that he was embracing life now that he could feel pain? Could you take my gun, go back in time, and shoot him in the fucking hea-AAAAGH, FATHERFUCKER!” exclaimed Sugar Skull. The musclebound superhero held the arrow in his hand; detached from the purple ghoul’s shoulder and dripping with crimson blood. Marvelous Man could not help but feel a small amount of cynicism despite seeing his friend in pain. His eyebrow flexed upward, “I’m sorry, but...I’ve seen your abdomen being disemboweled before. How was that arrow much worse than this?” “You ever had a paper cut before?” fired back the half-alive friend. Digz spoke up, “And now I wonder what I should do to the lot of you.” Marvelous Man thought quickly. He knew that Digz would not harm Gene, since the Skeleton Lord has use for the Totochtin prince. As for the hulking bodybuilder and the purple ghoul, Digz would have found them disposable. The musclebound superhero still needed more time to stop the ancient evil, and he needed to know more about the Skeleton Lord to find the weakness for defeating the supervillain. “Tell us about the Skeleton Lord!” he blurted out, “I mean, we hardly know the guy. We’ve come this far. Could you please answer our questions about him?” Sugar Skull chimed in, “I’m with him on that! Besides, I’m sure the Skeleton Lord would like to see us one more time.” The incomplete imp said nothing. Seconds ticked by, while whisping, black smoke continued to flow out of its neck and shoulder. Digz then shrugged. “I don’t see why not,” it answered. A small sigh of relief escaped from Marvelous Man’s lips. He could feel Gene’s emitted emotions become calmer, as he spotted Sugar Skull’s sockets returned back to displaying the spinning, flower eyes. Digz held up a feathery finger, “BUT! You each get one question. And before I can answer them, you have to defeat the guardians.” The imp snapped his fingers. The blackness behind Digz stirred, as three figures stepped through. They walked past the whispy familiar; revealing their identities upon drawing closer to the heroes. Leading from the center was Zareb and wielding his pair of short-handed axes. He clanged his axes together; causing the runes etched on the weapons to glow and spark electricity. Appearing on the electric tribesman’s left was Itzcóatl. The vengeful hunter pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and nocked it onto his equipped bow. On the other side of Zareb was a knight geared in a suit of polished silver armor. The knight shifted into its fighting stance; armed with an ornamentally-decorated glaive polearm that had appeared in the second confrontation with the Skeleton Lord. Sugar Skull yanked up his gun and aimed it at the knight. Pulling the trigger, an explosive bang went off. The knight’s helmet became slightly dented, while the sound of ricochet echoed from it. “GAH!” screamed Marvelous Man. A sudden, sharp sting rippled in Marvelous Man’s sculpted abdomen. The hulking bodybuilder grabbed at his stomach; crouching nearly at the ground from the pain. Sugar Skull’s yellow flower eyes transformed into a yellow-and-black-striped caution sign displaying an exclamation point. The half-alive ally looked at Marvelous Man, “Sorry! I didn’t think he was bulletproof!” Sugar Skull’s body gave an abrupt shake, while the sound of pierced flesh resounded from beneath him. His eyes fizzled from the caution sign back into the television static interference screen. Turning back to his armored opponent, the knight had appeared at a closer distance to the purple ghoul. He then looked down; spotting the knight’s glaive protruding through his abdomen. Blood started dripping from his mouth. The half-alive being coughed, “You know...when a guy stabs my guts...it’s usually from behind. Gahahaha...What? It’s funny.” The knight shifted his legs; hoisting the purple ghoul into the air. Sugar Skull screamed in midair. “MM! Tag in! Tag in!” exclaimed the half-alive teammate. Marvelous Man looked up at his skull-headed friend. He spotted Sugar Skull being lifted up before an arc of blue and white light crashed into him. The hulking bodybuilder’s muscles seized; painfully cramping everywhere while feeling a tingling sensation. In his scattered thoughts, he knew this had to be Zareb’s electrical attack. Gene watched Marvelous Man become too paralyzed to save Sugar Skull, while the knight proceeded to slam the purple ghoul over his head and into the ground. Crouching down, the rabbit superhero immediately pushed off with his legs. The Totochtin prince flung himself into the air with his back bending backward. As he performed his backflip, Gene quickly dug his hands into his ball pouch. His body then completed the twirl while still in the whisping air; now faced again towards the fight. The bunny demigod yanked his hands out and unleashed a fistful barrage of silver balls. The shiny projectiles rained down on Zareb; piercing into the electric tribesman and the ground around him. Blood splattered from the impacted damage Gene had caused, but the spheres were not thrown hard enough to completely pass through the enemy. The lightning guardian discontinued the electrical attack and recoiled from the silver ball affliction, as Gene landed. The Totochtin prince brought his hands close to his face and clenched them into tight fists. A yellow runic symbol appeared; glowing on top of his fingerless gloves. The silver balls lodged into electric tribesman exploded out of the enemy and the concrete ground; blood and debris blasting into the air with a misty and dusty consistency. The shiny spheres shot towards Gene. Before the magical projectiles pulverized into the bunny demigod, they stopped at only an arm’s length from Gene. Free from the electrifying shock, Marvelous Man ignored the pain and reacted. The musclebound superhero pushed himself up. With the arrow’s obsidian head covered in Sugar Skull’s blood still gripped in his hands, he threw it like a dart. The arrow flew towards Zareb and punctured into the lightning guardian’s abdomen. Zareb froze. At the area of the arrow’s impact, a wave of deterioration spread. As Sugar Skull’s poison expanded, the affected parts flaked off into a whisping, black dust. Marvelous Man quickly turned to the knight and activated his flight power. Pushing off with his massive legs, the hulking bodybuilder flew. The polished knight took no notice of him, as the armored guardian was only focused on the pinned Sugar Skull with back turned. The musclebound superhero wrapped his arms around the knight’s torso and flew up. With the silver knight unaware of the muscle demigod’s attack, the ornamental glaive slipped from the guardian’s grasp. Marvelous Man immediately spun his body, as he gained altitude. By the second rotation, the muscle demigod released his hold over the armored guardian. He shouted, “NGYAH!” The silver knight flung helplessly in the air like a ragdoll, while Marvelous Man took off his golden wreath. The laurel weaponry appeared sharper; reflecting the muscle demigod’s intent. Spinning his body, Marvelous Man threw his boomerang wreath with an underhanded throw. “SLICE AND DICE!!!” he battle cried. The golden headgear shimmered as it whirred through the air like a buzzsaw. A second later, the spinning projectile caught up to the airborne enemy. The boomerang laurel sliced through the knight’s midsection without hesitation. Gravity then took hold of the armored guardian, as the golden wreath returned to Marvelous Man. The knight broke apart into two separate pieces; bisected horizontally at the wreath’s passing impact. Before the silver knight reached halfway down, both parts of himself exploded into the same texture as the whisping fog. At the same time, the glaive pinned into Sugar Skull had dispersed into the same blackness as the fog. There was now only one more guardian for the team to combat against. “Gah!” he exclaimed, “...What the-?!” Marvelous Man felt a sudden, sharp poke in his massive glutes. Rubbing his left bubble butt cheek, he could feel a small hole in his American flag bikini. He then looked down and spotted an arrow clattering onto the ground. It was the same kind of arrow that had struck Sugar Skull earlier; the head of arrow shaped out of sharp, black obsidian glass. The muscle demigod gaze about the area but could not find the most likely assailant, Itzcóatl. Gene gestured with his hands again by creating a swirling motion with his index and middle finger at the floating spheres. This caused his gloves to glow with a different runic symbol. The silver balls in front of the Totochtin prince morphed; each of them extending a stem of itselves to two other spheres to create a silver bolas. With the magical command complete, a set of three bolas floated in front of Gene. The bunny demigod grabbed two bolas; one in each hand. Gene began twirling them, while he turned around until his back was facing his allies. The rabbit superhero’s eyes scanned the area, and his white rabbit ears twitched. He then released both bolas; flying off towards his right. The bolas spun, as they continued their flight. The grouped projectiles then stopped in mid-flight; wrapping around an unseen object. Upon binding, the object immediately revealed itself as Itzcóatl falling onto the ground. With one of the bolas tied around the legs and the other around the torso, the Aztec guardian was unable to move. Sugar Skull slowly leaned up. With the black gun still in his grasp, he hurriedly dipped the front end of the weapon deep into his opened abdomen. The purple ghoul grunted at the self-intrusion but did not hesitate to immediately pull out. He then aimed the blood-soaked glock at the bounded vengeful hunter. Pulling the trigger, the bullet’s impact against Itzcóatl’s shoulder was instant. His mocha-shaded skin as well as his clothing began to blacken and spread rapidly from the point of injury. The dispersal of Sugar Skull’s poison overtook the sneaky guardian in seconds before sharing the same fate of disintegration as his other villainous compatriots. Marvelous Man gently landed onto the ground upon spotting the battle had ended. He then rushed over to Sugar Skull’s side. Kneeling down, he placed his hands on a part of the purple ghoul’s clothing that had not yet been drenched by the toxic blood. The muscle demigod’s mind drifted to a memory about Apollo indulging a young Justice with baking and decorating a wedding cake. The light within Marvelous Man fed on the positive memory and feelings; illuminating the hulking bodybuilder’s large hands and beginning the healing process on Sugar Skull. A watery voice called out, “Well done, well done. I didn’t think the fight would end this fast. Hmmm, too bad we couldn’t include Gilgamesh in the fight. He would have really fucked you guys up...What did you do to him anyways? I can’t summon him back to me.” The Totochtin prince faced towards his allies. Standing steps away from the aiding teammates was the incomplete imp, Digz. The whisping darkness continued to pour out from the stumps of the missing head and right arm. “Gilgamesh has been detained. We have taken the precautions to prevent any of the attempts to do the escape,” replied Gene. Digz giggled, “Spoilsport. So how did you find Itzcóatl? His steps are too quiet for your hare ears to hear.” “He allowed himself to be filled with the anger after failing to attack Marvelous Man,” stated Gene, “Now, enough of the stalling. We have fulfilled the terms of your conditions. Answer our questions!” The incomplete imp sighed, “Fair enough. Ask away.” The Totochtin prince paused for a moment, as Marvelous Man finished healing the half-alive teammate. The hulking bodybuilder then helped Sugar Skull to stand up before the two faced the Skeleton Lord’s familiar. The eye sockets on the purple ghoul defaulted back to the spinning flower eyes. “...Did the Skeleton Lord speak the truth about himself being the cause as to why the Totochtin are split into the multiple tribes? I wish to know the horrors he had wrought upon my ancestors,” demanded Gene. The fog surrounding everyone reached out; encircling around the bunny demigod. The vortex of blackness covering Gene remained thick; rendering the Totochtin prince unseeable to those outside. Marvelous Man screamed, “Gene!” The rabbit superhero did not reply. Marvelous Man’s heartbeat beated rapidly in panic, as he heard Digz speak up. “Oh, he’s fine. Just spirited away to a memory. So go on. Ask your question,” said the incomplete imp. Sugar Skull stepped forward, “Alright. What is your backstory? I want to know how you came to be right up to when you met the Skeleton Lord.” The whisping fog stretch and embraced the purple ghoul in its swirling mass. Marvelous Man stared at the familiar. He was now alone again with nobody to call out to for help...and it terrified him. “I...I want to know...H-how did…” hesitated the hulking bodybuilder. Marvelous Man stopped and took a breath. Now was not the time to show fear and urinate on himself all over again. Marvelous Man was on a mission. He needed to get answers and cause the incomplete imp to lower their guard. The musclebound superhero started, “What is the Royal Burning? I want to know.” The black essence slithered over to Marvelous Man. It slowly rose up; covering from the feet and working its way up. As the whisping darkness reached his head, Marvelous Man held his breath. For a brief moment, there was only blackness. Next Chapter
  17. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 23

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JX5N5YR3mCkmGdXVfn0mOuc9jtpLuAp9solb8ZxW3yc) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & SPECTRI All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JX5N5YR3mCkmGdXVfn0mOuc9jtpLuAp9solb8ZxW3yc) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & SPECTRI Chapter 23: The Skipable, Nonsexy, But Informative Chapter The soft tick of a clock seemed to echo heavily in the Director’s office. A week had passed since the explosion at the Arkos Division headquarters, and Marvelous Man had managed to finally reserve some private time with Director Skye’s familiar, Puzzles. The hulking bodybuilder sat across from the smoke imp in one of the luxurious chairs that were comfortable but could barely contain the musclebound superhero’s size. Puzzles stood in a similar chair, but his attention was catered elsewhere. The smoke imp leaned over the arm of the chair; reaching out. Marvelous Man’s eyes drifted to the end table next to Puzzles’ chair. It was a cherrywood furniture that housed a silver drinking tray. On top of the tray was a glass set of scotch drinking glasses that bore a resemblance to a tulip flower. Seated at the end of the tray was a crystal scotch decanter with a stopper shaped to look like the head of a wild unicorn. The decanter held within a foggy, honey-colored liquid; giving the muscle demigod a slight salivation in the mouth. Pulling off the crystal stopper and laying it on the tray, the smoke imp lifted the decanter with both of his tiny paws. He gently angled the luxurious container to control the amber content into a slow flow; careful to not spill a drop. Puzzles remarked, “Now, I’m not sure why you wanted to have a private meeting with only me and not the Director, but it’s not like he can come anyways. Bossman is busy securing the barriers that’s quarantining the slums filled with the Skeleton Lord’s fog. Every day, it keeps deteriorating at a faster rate cause more of those Purgatory bastards keep coming through. Trying to knock down the walls Bossman is constantly repairing...Eventually, we’ll have to rely on the shield generators the Arkos Division lent us as our second line of defense.” As he filled the glass halfway, he halted the pour and placed the decanter back onto the tray before corking it closed. The smoke imp picked up the cup with both paws that began to glow blue. The magical energy seeped into the glass; resulting in a tiny magical circle to appear onto the front of the cup. From within the cup, a small sphere of ice began to form in the amber liquid. The magical circle then faded into nonexistence seconds after, while the ice ball completely materialized. “And all the available hands that can cast a ward have been sent to take care of the persistent fatherfuckers that have been trying get through the subways, sewers...and now newly dug tunnels to seal up. At this point, we’re just playing whack-a-ghoul with band aids,” he commented. Puzzles offered the drink, “Ambrosia?” Marvelous Man racked his brain for a nanosecond. Outside of Greek mythology, was ambrosia another word for an alcoholic beverage? It was probably a city lingo he had not heard yet. The hulking bodybuilder was not completely aware of all the customs the real world had compared to Sunnysville. He considered that he needed to make more friends who were more cultured with the sophistications of Skyway City. “Um, no thank you. I shouldn’t drink while on the job,” he said. Puzzles scoffed, “This isn’t bourbon. It’s apple cider...Non-alcoholic apple cider.” “It’s known as the Bardsey Island Cider. The most luxurious and rarest of its kind. It is the only original of its apple kind, and only one naturally grown tree is left somehow intact in the Whales country. That’s why I like to call it ambrosia...And that’s probably why I should have led with that before offering,” he informed. Marvelous Man spoke, “Oh...Well, sure then. I’ll give it a try.” Leaning forward, the musclebound superhero extended his bulky arm. While accepting the glass of iced cider with just one meaty hand, the glass the seemed huge in Puzzles’ hands now dwarfed in Marvelous Man’s. The muscle demigod then brought the cup to his face; detecting the scent of lemons from the foggy liquid. Marvelous Man sipped on the cider, as the smoke imp poured another glass from the crystal decanter. “Wow, it’s pretty sweet!” bulged his eyes, “...But why does it smell like lemons?” Puzzles fed mana from his hands into the newly-poured cup of apple cider; ice manifesting within to swirl into a spherical shape. “That’s just how it naturally is. Part of what makes it so special,” he answered. The smoke imp sat back down onto the chair’s cushion; sipping on his cider. Given the furniture’s size compared to Puzzles’, his small stature made himself look as if he were about to fall in between the seat’s crevice. Marvelous Man felt that what should be an adorable scene was offset by the smoke imp’s naturally judgy expression due to the cat-like features that could not be hidden behind his tiny glasses. Combined with the Russian accent Puzzles seemed to voice on purpose and his usual cold, direct attitude, the familiar gave off the aura of one associated with the mafia. He spoke, “You should know that the Bossman extends his thanks. You helped a great deal this past week. Saved a lot of lives. That supercharge of yours is really something. Bossman has just started helping out with the warding, so there’s no need to supercharge him yet.” Marvelous Man thought back to what had transpired right after the explosion at the Arkos Division headquarters. As ordered by the Director, he left to assist in finding survivors at the wreckage. The muscle demigod used his supercharge ability to flood into the rubble; resulting in people found either buried alive or perfectly preserved. Civilians, scientists, emergency services, and even the heroes extended their tearful thanks for being the main reason as to why the victims and loved ones were able to survive. But for the ones that would have a dignified opened casket before the burial...the people receiving those bodies flared grieving anger at the musclebound superhero. It was all too much for Marvelous Man, that he eventually became numb to those emotions. After the fact, he had to go and report back to the D.A.B. headquarters before being sent out again to assist the magic users. Marvelous Man used his supercharge to empower the witches and other spellcasters weaving defense spells of different elements and properties to quarantine the monsters within the fog. Through the many hours of supercharging his allies, he had began to notice odd characteristics of those recently exiting the power-up cycle. The magic users exhibited depression, irritability, and a desperate need to be supercharged. Pangs of guilt echoed in the muscle demigod’s mind, as he exited his personal flashback. “Umm, thank you, sir,” he nodded. Puzzles started, “So...why did you want to speak with only me?” “...I wanted to ask you about imps...or familiars...What’s the right word for that?” hesitated Marvelous Man. Puzzles answered, “Both. We are technically called familiars. But due to our size and cuteness, the common man and today’s mainstream refers to us as imps. I’m fine with being referred to as either.” The smoke imp sipped his luxury cider. “And let me guess, you thought because I’m an imp, I know everything there is to know about imps, yes?” he accused. Marvelous Man could feel a slight shiver run down his back, as it seemed as if Puzzles’ crystal blue stare went right into his soul. There was an awkward tension filling the air, and the musclebound superhero wondered if he had touched a nerve. He then gave a dry swallow; knowing he needed the information to help himself figure out how to proceed in the coming week. He meekly fidgeted, “N-not really. Gemini said you didn’t like kids nowadays summoning their own familiars. He thought you would’ve like more imps showing up, and...I wanted to know too...And I thought if you had a reason why you didn’t like it, that you knew something Gemini didn’t know.” “Well, of course he wouldn’t. He’s studying the scientific properties of magic and the frequency that creates magical energy. Or mana, if you want to get technical,” replied the smoke imp, “Imps are more of a magical creature or just a creature in general.” Marvelous Man looked down, “Oh. So, ummm, would it be okay if you told me why?” Puzzles stared at his glass cup; the cider already half gone. “...Do you promise not to laugh? And to not pity me?” asked the smoke imp. Marvelous Man stared up at the familiar, “Uh, yeah. I promise.” The familiar licked his lips at the droplets of cider residue. “Alright. You know what a familiar’s purpose is, yes?” he quizzed. The hulking bodybuilder tilted his head, “...Kinda? Isn’t it to serve the witch that summons them until they’re dismissed? And like, they help power up the witch or something, right?” “What?! No! That is completely wrong! You raised in a fucking cave or something?! Next you’ll tell me that witches eat children,” exclaimed Puzzles. The smoke imp gave a soft sigh. He then reached into the inside of his suit’s jacket; searching for something. “Sorry...I will start...from the beginning,” he mentioned, “But you were right about one thing. Us imps are summoned to serve our masters. But I prefer the word, assist.” In Puzzles’ tiny, cat-like paws, he held a long cylindrical device. The device seemed to be a thin vaporizer pen; the mouthpiece and battery end casted in silver and a glass chamber connecting in the center of the two. It seemed to be an artisanal piece, as it took on the shape of traditional Japanese smoking pipe with a bronze Eastern dragon looping up and down the shaft. The smoke imp took a long drag on his vape before exhaling the vapored smoke into the air. Rather than immediately dissipating, the smoke continued existing. It then began to collect itself together into a round shape; forming into a cloud. The familiar held out the pipe towards Marvelous Man, “Would you like to try it? It’s pink lemonade.” “Oh, uh, no thanks. But thank you,” he replied. Puzzles shrugged, “More for me.” The smoke imp puffed on his vape pipe a few more times, as Marvelous Man sipped on the cider the hulking bodybuilder was given. Like the previous vapored smoke, Puzzles’ exhales were absorbed into the pink lemonade-scented cloud. The familiar then placed his vape pipe on his lap and took another sip from his glass before starting the lecture. “So as you know, every living organism has the potential to cast magic. Those who follow the path of mastering magic, or at least a type of magic, are known as wizards. But that sort of category changes the moment a person, wizard or not, summons a familiar. Those who do are permanently labeled as witches,” he explained. The smoke imp continued, “And in the past, familiars were summoned to compensate a witch’s weakness in battle. You do great with attack spells but never bothered to learn defense spells? You summon an earth imp. And if it were the other way around, you summoned a fire imp. The familiar you summoned to assist you should only be one of the four main elements to make sure your fights don’t go fuck-up sideways: earth, fire, wind, and water.” Marvelous Man frowned, as his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Wait,” he said, “Aren’t you a-” “Yes, I know. I’ll be getting to that soon,” interrupted Puzzles. He clarified, “I know I made it sound easy when summoning your own familiar, and it actually is. The hard part is getting the imp to become the element you need. After you print out your magic circle and put together the ingredients and recite the incantation, you have to make a wish to complete the ritual. That wish will shape the imp into becoming whatever element it has to, so it can fulfill your desires. The easiest workaround for that is just to wish the type of familiar you need. So all that sort of knowledge had been secretly guarded by magical academies and families specializing in only magic for generations...And then some fatherfucker posted that info all over the internet for any twit with half a mind to use.” “And when new information is put out on the internet that any person could perform with just the junk they have lying around the house, it’s a definite that kids will do it. First, it’s the high schoolers who just want to show off their magical abilities and look cool with an underling to carry their books or do their homework. Then, it’s the middle school kids who want to imitate the high school kids to feel cool. And after that, it catches onto the elementary school kids who’ll do it for the same reasons and also have someone to play with,” droned the familiar. Puzzles took a hard sip of his nearly empty cider glass, while the pink lemonade-scented cloud began to darken. The sweet-smelling cloud then echoed a small clap of thunder. He gritted his teeth, “And then...AND THEN, A TRADING CARD GAME POPS UP OUT OF NOWHERE FOR KIDS TO USE WITH THEIR FAMILIAR! So, so, not only do a bunch of minors summon familiars with wishes that twist them into elements outside of the four main or turns them into objects, but now there’s this magical card game that projects harmless hard-light holograms to enable the idea of having a familiar be fun rather than a responsibility. We are weapons, dammit! We were created to fight! Not become a cute pet that teaches lessons of friendship and shit! If we’re not even one of the main four elements, WE’RE JUST USELESS GARBAGE THAT CAN’T PROTECT OUR OWN MASTER!” A bolt of lightning escaped from Puzzles’ cloud; striking the crystal decanter. In an instant before being struck, a runic symbolic flashed on the decanter’s surface. As the lightning bolt crashed into the enchanted decanter, the crystal container remained intact but could not handle the bolt’s force. The decanter was knocked over by the lightning’s booming power; causing it to tumble onto the ground. Upon landing on its side, the glowing runic symbol finally faded. Cider poured onto floor; its puddle growing larger by the second.. The smoke imp rolled his eyes at the liquid contents dripping onto the floor. “...Shit,” he sighed. The smoke imp tucked his glass cup between his legs before waving his paw at the mess. The stormy cloud responded by gliding down towards the crystal wreckage and completely enveloping the affected area on the floor. Rotating his wrist, Puzzles then clenched his fingers into an underhanded fist. The familiar followed up this motion by waving away at the cloud; causing the sweet-scented vapor cloud to float back to its original position. As the cloud drifted above Puzzles, Marvelous Man noticed the spilled cider no longer existed. The only evidence of such a mess was the lonely decanter laying on its side. The muscle demigod inquired, “If it’s okay for me to ask...ummm, what did the Director wish for?” Puzzles said nothing, as he retrieved his vape pipe from his lap. The smoke imp took a quick puff before exhaling the flavored vapor at his cloud. He then stared at the Director’s cherrywood desk that was seated at the front of the wall-sized window. “...He wished to escape,” he said. Puzzles explained, “Doug came from a very privileged life. He was born into a family whose only legacy was being powerful witches. And the moment he was able to speak full sentences and have enough coordination to draw a rune, his parents forced him into learning magic. By his tenth birthday, they figured out his talent for defense spells and prepared the ritual for my birth.” The smoke imp took another puff on his vaping device. “And since by family tradition you have to say your wish with an honest heart, his parents drilled into him on how important it was for him to have a familiar that can do the attacking for him. He didn’t even need to say anything fancy...just…‘I wish I had a fire imp’,” he spoke. Puzzles looked at Marvelous Man with sad eyes, “He was only a kid and spent a lonely, early life only practicing magic. He just wanted to play with the other kids he saw from his window from time to time…And then I was born...His wish was the first words I ever heard.” The familiar sighed, as he used the end of his vape pipe to play with the ice sphere in his glass cup. The ball of ice rolled around; lightly hitting the sides and emitting a soft tinkling noise. “From then on, I worked my ass off. Trying to master my element and use it in ways nobody expected. Learning to use deadly weapons to slaughter anybody that refused to die by my smoke. I did whatever I could to compensate my natural ability and be a useful attacker. And by some miracle, we’d managed to become a Rank A superhero...Heh, imagine that…” he disclosed. Puzzles paused, “...But you know, back then, I deeply wished that by killing myself, his soul would be restored and could wish for a proper fire imp.” Marvelous Man’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion before relaxing a second after. In a weird sense, the muscle demigod understood the smoke imp’s perspective. Born with a purpose but without the complete qualifications to pull it off; thereby making it difficult to fully contribute to the people they care about. It’s an excruciating existence that Marvelous Man could empathize. His mind then noticed another part of what Puzzles had just said. It was an odd mention that drove him into confusion once again. “What do you mean by restoring the Director’s soul if you died?” he questioned. The smoke imp ceased his use of the vape device with toying the melting ball of ice. Puzzles nodded, “Right. I forgot to mention that. And that’s another thing I have to correct you on. It’s not so much a summon, because you’re creating a familiar. Other than the wish, the main ingredient to creating an imp is to offer a piece of your own soul. The amount required won’t affect your health. Instead, it’ll just reduce your magical ability, since your own soul is the well of mana you draw upon.” “The amount of time it’d take to fully recover and have your magical ability at a hundred percent is about ten years, give or take. And since ten years is a lot of waiting, some people in the magical profession would rather stay as a wizard,” he continued. Marvelous Man frowned. It started to make sense as to why Puzzles found distaste in children creating familiars outside of the purpose of combat. An interesting thought then came to the musclebound superhero. He asked, “Do you think I should get a familiar? I think that’d really help me out in the fight against the Skeleton Lord.” The smoke imp puffed on his vape pipe, as his eyes wandered up. He then hummed in a thoughtful tone. “You’re a demigod, yes?” he questioned. Marvelous Man nodded, “Yeah.” “Then no. Outside of trying to teach it to master its own element in less than a week, and I can’t believe we couldn’t think of a better plan that didn’t hitch on that purple ghoul’s, it would really affect your performance. Your powers are supernaturally-based, since your parents are gods. That means that your healing ability is linked to your own soul. You get a familiar, and you could cut down on healing time or even how much you can heal. Your team relies heavily on your healing and supercharging them. And who knows if that would take away your bulletproofness. So don’t do it,” Puzzles answered back. Marvelous Man replied, “Oh, okay.” The hulking bodybuilder sipped on the rest of his cider. One of the avenues for finding an easier way to defeat the Skeleton Lord might have been closed off, but there was still one more route to pursue. While Marvelous Man wanted to feel disappointed, the luxurious apple cider’s delicious flavor seemed to override any negative emotions he tried to have. “So then...what about incomplete familiars?” he inquired. The familiar slowly cocked his head, “Is this about what you said in the report? You detecting an incomplete familiar within the Skeleton Lord?” “Uh, yeah. That’s right,” answered Marvelous Man. Puzzles paused for a moment, “Bossman did take into consideration what you said...but...what you described is an impossibility. Familiars don’t come out incomplete...at least when you use the spell to create one...” The hulking bodybuilder’s eyebrows furrowed at Puzzles’ remark. “So wait,” said Marvelous Man, “You’re saying you can use the imp summon-...the imp creation spell to do something else?” Puzzles nodded, “Since the moment that spell was made, everybody who used it figured out they could use it again to extend the life of their familiar.” “You see, we might be shaped by their wish. But we are created from the soul and bounded to it for as long as it lives. So you can kill us, but we would just reconstitute hours later next to our master. But if our master dies, we die. And for some witches close to death, that is a hard fact to accept,” he stated. The gears in Marvelous Man’s mind began to turn. It was becoming obvious at how grim being an incomplete imp was. He concluded, “...Do you think Director Doug would do that for you?” Puzzles’ eyes went wide; as if the muscle demigod said the most hurtful thing ever. “He would never! He knows what happens to those who try! And I’d never let him if he wanted to...Even if I somehow came out complete, living without him...It defeats the very purpose I was created for...It’s scary to even think about it. It’s possible for him to actually do it, since he’s not like those in the retirement homes,” he said. Marvelous Man’s eyebrow raised in confusion, “Retirement homes?” The smoke imp paused for a moment, as his eyes shifted away from visual contact with Marvelous Man’s. “Remember how I said it’s kids that are the first to create imps for the sake of fun rather than actual combat? Suppose your grandchild comes in one day, and they brought their imp to show off,” he proposed. “And then you’re hit with a thought,” Puzzles said in an excited tone, “‘a being I can create that will love me unconditionally and properly take care of me until I expire? Where can I find that spell?!’. And for the next couple of years, everything is great.” His voice then sounded ominous, “But then one day you’re too old to get out of bed. Too tired to even put a puzzle together with your familiar. And when it finally hits you that your imp will die when you do, it terrifies you. You still want a part of yourself to live on and be happy long after you die. So with the slight modification to put the rest of your soul into the familiar, rather than the other ingredients to make one, it seems like a fool-proof plan to have your imp continue living...Except for the part to make sure there’s still continuous energy to shove the rest of your soul into the imp which helps acts as a seal...And when that happens, you die before the spell is finished...And the imp…” Puzzles body trembled for a moment. He then took a short breathe; a successful attempt to cause his nerves to calm down. The smoke imp swallowed before continuing. “The imp turns into an middle school volcano project. So the imp is permanently incomplete. Their essence spilling out all over the place...Their form unraveling...And the only thing left in their damaged minds is only pain and rage. Their pitiful existence doesn’t last long...A few minutes at most. But the destruction they cause is immense...and sad,” he finished. Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide, “...Holy shit…” The familiar paused. His eyebrows furrowed together, as his lips pursed outward. “Yes…” he said, “It might be impossible for an incomplete imp to survive, but if it somehow contained itself by bonding with someone...I’m not sure, but...maybe?” “Huh?” spoke Marvelous Man. Puzzles concluded, “Other than killing the Skeleton Lord with force, we could also try to cast some sort of separation spell. That imp you detected could be the source of his power. If we cleaved them apart long enough, the incomplete imp would die off...I’ll have to notify the magical researchers about this.” The familiar placed the empty glass cup onto the chair’s cushion before placing his vaping device back into his coat. His body then shifted into his smoky form; drifting off the chair. Marvelous Man’s eyes followed the smoke flowing towards the door. As the grey smoke arrived at the room’s exit, it reconstituted back into Puzzle’s normal body. Fully formed to his cat-like body, he reached out his paw to the room’s exit. His hand glowed with magical energy for a moment before the energy flowed into the door. Reacting to being fed with mana, a runic symbol briefly appeared on the door. As it faded, the door handle turned. The office door swung wide open by itself; fanning the smoke imp’s fur with a small breeze. With the way opened, Puzzles stepped through into the hallway. He then turned to face Marvelous Man. “You can go ahead and let yourself out. I trust you won’t take anything. Dismissed,” he said. Marvelous Man called out, “W-Wait! Um, why did he name you Puzzles?” The smoke imp stared at the hulking bodybuilder for a second before shrugging. “He was ten.” he answered. With no other questions, Puzzles waddled off towards the elevators. Marvelous Man turned his attention up at the cloud the familiar had left behind; noticing a change out of the corner of his eye. With Puzzles no longer in range of the sweet-scented cloud, the pink lemonade-flavored cumulus dissipated. The muscle demigod knew he was not needed to supercharge anybody else for at least an hour; leaving him to sit there with his thoughts. It was a lot of information to take in, but it was becoming apparent on what his next move should be for defeating the Skeleton Lord. Incomplete imps were tragic beings that needed to be put out of their misery, and the imp existing in the Skeleton Lord’s body had only prolonged that agony. If Marvelous Man killed the now-mortal Skeleton Lord, the incomplete imp would die. If the imp were separated from the Skeleton Lord’s being with a separation spell provided by the magical researchers, then the imp, and probably the ancient supervillain, would die off from its essence bleeding out. Both options were viable and needed to be done to ensure victory...but the musclebound superhero felt there should be a third way. The choices now were too grim for him to stomach at the moment. Marvelous Man dove both of his hands into his black jacket’s pockets. He rummaged about for a second before finding what he wanted. Pulling out with his right hand revealed a smartphone, while his left retrieved a business card made of papyrus paper. His eyes then shifted back and forth; typing a phone number seen from the business card. With the number typed out, the musclebound superhero pressed the send button. He held the phone up to his ear; hearing the receiving end ring. After three rings, he heard the click of someone picking up his call. He spoke, “Hello? Is this the Bruja?...This is Marvelous Man, and...Sugar Skull told me about your deal...Yes, ma'am. I’m ready to tell you my story.” Next Chapter
  18. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 22

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RMBwDf7UPA6P6UR9YNSBADC-9ObDd7aj3TdkN4uYk2Y) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, SPECTRI, RANSIS, & IREEAN IREEAN GO AWAY All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RMBwDf7UPA6P6UR9YNSBADC-9ObDd7aj3TdkN4uYk2Y) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, SPECTRI, RANSIS, & IREEAN IREEAN GO AWAY Chapter 22: Two of Cups Pink cherry blossoms danced in the warm breeze, as the door to a roof access was wedged open. Sunlight illuminated the robotic figure stepping onto the simulated Japanese high school rooftop. The Soulem, cladded in a zaffre-colored fundoshi and red rectangular glasses, slowly trudged towards two muscled men hugging beneath a cherry blossom tree. Gemini coughed, “Um, hey guys.” Marvelous Man and Gene broke their embrace from each other. The musclebound superhero could feel himself blushing at being caught hugging the Totochtin prince. He wanted this intimate moment to stay private; especially from it being crashed by his soured love interest. As he and Gene looked back at Gemini, he saw the Soulem avoiding eye contact with mood rings flushed pink. “Sorry to interrupt, but the magical researchers need to talk to you,” said Gemini. The Soulem reported, “Something about upgrading your silver balls...which I’m pretty sure isn’t a sexual euphemism, but it could probably go both ways with you involved, heh.” “Yes, I can see the humor in your insinuation, Gemini. Thank you for telling me. I will take the leave.” nodded Gene. The Totochtin prince began his walk towards the simulation’s exit. As he passed by the cherry blossom tree, he stopped in his tracks. Gene turned around to face Marvelous Man. The rabbit superhero smiled, “Remember the wisdom I have imparted, Marvelous Man. You must make the effort to bandage it up. And when you are ready, I will happily partake in the fruits of the intercourse with you.” Marvelous Man could feel his body emit an extreme amount of body heat, that it felt like his own flustering was cooking him alive. He and Gemini watched the bunny demigod continue walking towards the rooftop access door. As Gene approached the door and exited through it, Gemini slowly shuffled about to face the musclebound superhero. The Soulem said nothing, while avoiding Marvelous Man’s eyes. The hulking bodybuilder did the same. “So…” hesitated Gemini, “This is awkward…” Marvelous Man replied, “Uh-huh…” The muscle demigod felt like this was his moment to say something. To make the first move in repairing their relationship. But...could not find himself to say anything. Every part of him wanted to either curl up into a ball or fly away. He then heard the Soulem speak up. “There’s...kinda a lot I want to say, but it’s actually hard to figure out where to start. Which is kinda funny...ya know, cause I got a computer mind and all. So it should be easy to figure it out...Sorry, I’m yammering,” said Gemini. He continued, “I guess I should say congratulations. After thinking it over, I’m glad you picked Gene. He’s...a lot nicer than how I’ve been. And I know he can make you happy, since he can detect emotions and all. I don’t even really know the guy, so I can’t just make off-handed assumptions about how he truly feels about you…” “Oh, no. It’s not like that,” corrected Marvelous Man. Gemini held up his hand, “Sorry, Justice. Please just let me finish. Before I lose the guts to say all this...or I might go back to being how I was,” The bulky android paused for a moment before taking in a deep breath. As he released his held breath, his shoulders sagged. Gemini then began to lightly pound his fists together; knuckles against knuckles. “...You were right. I was being a Dickasaurus Rex. I’m sorry,” admitted the Soulem. He explained, “And the more I look back on what I did with you, the more I realized how fucked up I was being. I forced my feelings on you and bullied you. And that’s not real love...and that’s not what a true friend does. Back in Sunnysville, I tried to understand your life...but I didn’t ‘get’ you. Ya know? Hell, I was being such an ass with Gene. Bet he didn’t even know what was really going on, huh?” Marvelous Man shook his head, while Gemini stared up at him. In the space of a nanosecond, a thought whispered in his mind. Was it wrong that he never said a thing to Gene about his relationship with Gemini? “No, not really,” he replied. Gemini walked towards the cherry blossom tree and laid his back against the bark. His cybernetic eyes briefly wandered up at the tree’s pink canopy before flicking back down at his hands. The gentle pounding of the bulky Soulem’s fists against each other continued. He sighed, “And then...after you called me out on my shit. It didn’t exactly click, cause all I felt was broken...inside. I ran back to my dad. Hoping to fix my pain. But all he did was try to explain love and stuff. That it’s not like those movies and books and whatnot.” The fist pounding ceased immediately. Gemini grasped his elbows as if he were hugging himself, while mood rings on his cheeks turned a deep blue. Teardrops began to form at the edge of his eyes. “And that’s when I got the call about your...disappearance. You were gone for two whole days, and...it was...I was terrified. I couldn’t stop thinking about you, and whether you were alive or not. So that’s when I thought about if you never came back. I just...I’m not sure if I could handle that. Just a world without you, Justice,” said Gemini. He paused to wipe his eyes of the tears. The Soulem smiled, “And then a miracle happened! You came back. It was at that point that I realized it didn’t matter if we weren’t boyfriends. I just wanted to be with you. I-in your life, I mean. Being friends with you was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Stepping away from the tree, the robotic being gazed up into his overly-muscular friend’s eyes. The bulky Soulem’s mood rings flashed to rose red, while his face became serious. His arms shifted; one drooping down while the other held onto the relaxed elbow. “A-an-and! I know that all that stuff I did and how it hurt you...I know we can’t ever go back to being how we used to be. Things are different now, and I get that...but that doesn’t mean we can’t go back to being friends again. Maybe not on the same level, but we can still try to get close to that, right?” Marvelous Man felt stunned at what he heard. His friend’s disposition seemed to have flipped on the opposite side of the spectrum. The muscle demigod knew his friend was right...but he could not help but feel guilt at what happened. It was a mix of both feeling like he enabled his friend to have bad behavior and also hurting Gemini’s feelings. The hulking bodybuilder smiled, “Yeah, I forgive you. And I honestly do want to be friends with you again.” The Soulem’s mood rings flashed the color of sky blue. “Great! But, uh, just so you know...I’m still a work in progress. I’ll still be an asshole, but I’m trying to be better. Just call me out on it, okay? Can’t keep using my new body as an excuse for what I do,” grinned Gemini. Marvelous Man nodded, “I will. I’m just glad we could patch things up.” “But, ummm, Gene and I aren’t a couple,” he corrected. Gemini’s mood rings became grey, “Huh?” “He broke it off with me,” said Marvelous Man, “He realized he couldn’t love me the same way I loved him...it was for the better. I’m pretty sure I’m the one that’s supposed to have a broken heart, and, uh, I still kinda do. But I think he was more broken up about it than I was.” The bulky Soulem paused for a second; his face projecting dumbfoundedness. Gemini’s mood rings shifted to white, “Oh...You okay?” “I think so. He said some things that put it into, uhh, perspective. I wasn’t any better than you when it came to love,” sighed Marvelous Man. He mentioned, “Plus, I kinda went through some traumatizing shit that having a wrecked love life isn’t so bad.” The robotic being looked away. “Oh, right...the kidnapping,” recalled Gemini. Marvelous Man slowly nodded, “Yeah, that...and some stuff that happened after…” “Did you want to hug it out and cry about it?” suggested the Soulem. The musclebound superhero smiled, “Naw, I’m all cried out right now. And I think I sorta reached some state of numbness...again. If that makes sense. But...I think I could use a close friend to talk about all this heavy stuff.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “Wow...that’s some heavy shit right there,” remarked Gemini. The two friends sat at the bench beneath the blooming cherry blossom tree. Marvelous Man stared out at scenery beyond the roof’s metal fence. He sighed, “Yeah.” “But why do you call your opposite healing power a poison? I mean, you know what it means, right?” commented Gemini. The muscle demigod looked down at his friend. A part of him wanted to explode in the frustration of being questioned. Apollo had trained him in the ways of medicine and drilled into him the many facts of what is poisonous, toxic, venomous, etc...But he knew it would not do good to be so volatile at a newly repaired relationship. Marvelous Man’s eyebrow flexed in confusion, “Uh, yeah, I do.” “Just saying, it’s more of a venom than a poison, cause you’re directly inflicting it on someone,” said Gemini. Marvelous Man corrected, “That’s only when you’re injecting it into someone. Mine is more like...a secretion.” “Eh, having that dark power stab into people’s eyes to cause mental trauma sounds more like a venom. Besides, it sounds cooler,” shrugged the Soulem, “Oh! You should call it, Soul Venom!” The hulking bodybuilder giggled. He had missed moments like this. Events where he and Gemini just hung out as Justice and Gemini to talk about random things. Stupid things. Things that were childish but always had an odd depth to it. Even if it came down to talks of what color would they want grass to be. Or if the fetishism of creating a Soulem version of oneself and having sex with it is masturbation. Marvelous Man hummed, “That does sound cooler.” Seconds ticked by in silence. Neither being moved, as cherry blossom petals danced in the breeze. The mood rings on Gemini’s cheeks slowly changed to purple. “So...you have a unique celestial element, huh? And it’s supposed to help you win against the Skeleton Lord?” questioned Gemini. The muscle demigod nodded, “Yep. But it was more like I had a better chance of winning if I figured it out what it was.” “And it’s a virtue type of element, sooooo that’s gonna be harder to figure out,” noted Gemini. Marvelous Man sighed, “I guess. And it’s connected to my parents’ own celestial elements. My mom said it was a seed...whatever that means.” “So we got war, love, and...light? Or is it medicine and athletics?” said the bulky Soulem. Marvelous Man replied, “Heh. My dad just considered himself as complex. But I saw him as more of an art god when I tried to put a label on him.” Gemini’s mood rings flashed orange. “...How the hell are supposed to figure it out with such a mixed bag like that?! War isn’t even a virtue! It’s the opposite if it were trying to be in the same category somehow,” he grunted. Marvelous Man shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe if we tried to see the good side of it, it’d make more sense.” “And just what positive aspect do you see in war that isn’t connected to the profiteers of it?” said Gemini. Marvelous Man looked at the ground, “Well...maybe...I dunno...passion? Like, people only go to war to protect the ones they love and their nation. And love is, like, a chemical reaction for people to fight harder or just keep going at something regardless of difficulty. And it’s when it gets harder that a person refuses to give up.” Gemini looked at his friend with a stupefied look for a moment before staring out at the scenery. The color within his mood rings shifted back to white. “It’s so weird how you have such a unique perspective to things. It even shows in your fighting style. Well, either that or you just like being super extra...But even though what you said is a complete stretch, I wouldn’t say you’re wrong. True virtue is being able to give your own positive feedback no matter the challenge. Kindness instead of wrath and whatnot,” he replied. The Soulem continued, “So something that is connected to love, passion, and...art. Feels like it should be something super easy to figure out. But it’s like when you’ve looked over something you didn’t feel was important that when you really need it, it’s just not there. Sooooo...I dunno, soul? Since the soul can be linked to emotions and all. Seems like that’s what it is given how your powers seem to work with the venom and supercharge.” The muscle demigod thought about what his robotic friend said. It almost sounded like it had made sense...but his instincts told him that was not the answer. “Naw, it doesn’t feel like that’s what it’s supposed to be,” frowned Marvelous Man. Gemini sighed, “Well, shit.” The uncomfortable silence made its way back; filling the void of unsaid words. Marvelous Man felt he was going in a spiral that was slowly going down to an unfortunate end. Every time he tried to find a way to break from the pattern or forget about it, the feeling would always pull him back in. Ugly and numbing emotions would creep back in; never doing anything but always making themselves aware since the second encounter with the Skeleton Lord in the subway. It had been easy to immediately ignore such nasty things back then. But after his confrontation with his parents...the emotions had now started to pounce on the musclebound superhero. And with every second he was aware of them, they would gnaw at the core of his optimism. Marvelous Man needed to be rid of such things. He gambled everything on his friend. If not being about to exterminate the vermin feelings, then at least Gemini could help take some weight off of the negative emotions. His lips trembled. “Have you...ever wished you didn’t exist?...Or maybe...that people would be better off without you? Maybe even the world?” he asked. Gemini immediately glared up at the hulking bodybuilder. His face was completely flabbergasted, while his mood rings flared a bright yellow. “WHAT?! NO!,” exclaimed Gemini, “Justice, why would you say that?!...What’s-are you alright? Bro, where’s this thinking coming from?” Marvelous Man looked away, “It’s just...I don’t know...something I’ve just been thinking about for a little while...maybe even more since shit went down…I know I try to stay happy, but it’s been getting pretty hard right now. All I feel now when I’m alone and just thinking is guilt.” “ And...well...It’s cause it feels like all I’ve done so far is make everything worse for everybody else. And now...that feeling of not being able to shake off the bad stuff just keeps coming back. It’s like, it doesn’t feel fair that I’m alive when so many people are dead. Even when they’re not completely innocent or something, I’m not sure. I’m going through a lot of stuff so fast my head is just flying off and I don’t know how to feel anymore other than considering...not...existing,” he continued. Gemini placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Bro, are you feeling like that right now?” “I guess…” shrugged Marvelous Man. Gemini spoke, “Take a deep breath right now, okay? Just do it.” It was an odd request from the Soulem, but the hulking bodybuilder complied. Taking in a deep breath of air, his meaty pectorals slightly expanded. Marvelous Man’s pecs then deflated back to their normal state upon exhalation. The muscle demigod could not explain how, but it felt as if the stress he was carrying had been slightly relieved. “Now listen, it’s okay if you want to think that, but don’t ever believe in it. We can’t stop the thoughts we have and should just go through all the, ya know, processes of it. But it’s dangerous if you give thoughts like that the power to become truth, okay?” lectured Gemini. The Soulem continued, “I know a lot of crap went down. And whether you were part of it or not, it still would’ve happened. Those homeless people still would’ve died back at the subway and the crack den, but you were able to stop the Skeleton Lord from causing more harm. Hell, Gene is still alive cause of you. Oh! And those people at the park too! They would’ve bled out if you weren’t there.” Marvelous Man thought back to those events the Soulem listed. His friend was not wrong. Things could have gone a lot worse if he had not been there to heal his friends and the innocents. And now that he thought about it, if he had not been kidnapped by the PB&J Gang, the Skeleton Lord might have arranged Gene to be kidnapped instead. “I guess you’re right,” he nodded. Gemini spoke up, “Yeah, I am. I mean, you even managed to befriend Sugar Skull and bring him into the D.A.B.! Who else but you can do that? Though I think he might not be happy right now with Puzzles ‘stern talking to’ if ya catch my drift.” “And even if you weren’t Marvelous Man right now, you changed people for the better as Justice. Look at your parents. They’re...well...the stories always projected them as batshit insane gods, but you talk like they’re overbearing parents that love you too hard!” he exclaimed. The Soulem threw his hands up, “That’s a complete one-eighty if I’ve ever heard one! I know you said and did some things to them, but I’m sure they’ll come around if you give them some time.” Gemini paused for a moment; his mood rings turning pink. “And, well...I met you by chance. We became great friends, and you helped awaken me by being there for me. Maybe things didn’t turn out so well after that...but in the end, we made up...just right now though, heh…” he babbled. Gemini sighed, as his mood rings turned white. “My point is, your very existence makes all the difference and don’t you forget it. The positive things you provoke in people may be small compared to what you expected, but it all carries the same weight. Even if it’s as small as being their friend or even getting someone to try a new thing. And superhero or not, your existence inspires change in the people around you,” he said “But look, I’m no therapist, and I really think you should see someone about this. I’m currently pulling therapy articles from the internet for what you’re probably dealing with as we speak, but all I’m doing is putting a band aid on the situation.” Immediately after Gemini’s speech, the entire simulation shook with the intensity of a strong earthquake. While lasting for only two seconds, the quake was vigorous enough to upset the Soulem’s balance. Gemini fell forward, as an overly-muscular arm reached out to him. Marvelous Man leaped upward and swept his arm around his robotic friend; catching Gemini in the process. Steadying the Soulem upright, the musclebound superhero’s thoughts shifted from concern of his friend to the quake. His mind quickly pieced together that there must have been some outside force to cause such shaking. “What just happened? Was that an earthquake?” he said. Gemini held his fingers against his head, “Not sure. Give me a sec. Scrolling through social media.” The Soulem’s metallic eyebrows furrowed. His eyes seemed to look glazed over, as he streamed through data. Seconds after, he blinked his eyes back into focus. Gemini’s face expressed only horror, while the mood rings flashed to a bright yellow. “Oh my gosh...no no no nonononono…” he muttered. Reaching into the brown satchel strapped over his shoulder, Gemini pulled out a glass smartphone. He tapped on its glowing screen a few times before holding it up next to his face. The Soulem turned away from the muscle demigod; pacing back and forth in a frantic motion. He mumbled, “Come on, come on, come on! Please, oh, please pick up.” Gemini came to a sudden stop, as his face was instantly washed over with shock and then relief. “Dad! Oh my gosh. Thank goodness, you’re alright! Why aren’t you at work today?...You got the flu? Oh, thank fuck that happened...S-sorry, Dad. I-I’m just really scared right now, but at least you weren’t at work today...It’s-I’m, uh, not sure how to say this dad. There was an explosion at the Arkos Division, and it was so powerful that it just shook the D.A.B. headquarters right now...No, I’m fine…I love you too, dad...” he rambled. Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide upon hearing Gemini’s side of the conversation. He felt himself nearly reacting to what he heard, as a telepathic message interrupted him. The musclebound superhero heard his field analyst’s voice. Fairuza announced, “Gene, Marvelous Man, please report immediately to the Director’s office. If you spot Gemini on the way, please bring him. I tried contacting his phone, but it’s busy.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> “Seven minutes ago, an explosion occurred at the Arkos Division headquarters,” reported Puzzles, “It is not yet certain if it was an act of terrorism, but it was most definitely an attempt to distract us heroes.” “And the reasons as to why we know this is because at the same time of the explosion, our magical alarm wards placed around the Skeleton Lord’s fog had detected a spike in activity. A monster and two humanoids with undead features have been seen exiting the fog. A, uh, pardon the term, skeleton crew of drones and police officers placed there have been able to stop the intruders. Recordings of the intruders have yet to be released.,” he continued. Director Skye sighed, “We were lucky so few appeared. Any more than those three, and we definitely would have to send over some body bags.” Sugar Skull shuffled about in one of the office’s cushy seats. “What happened to the invaders?” questioned the ghoul. Puzzles pawed at his tablet, “They were immediately killed. The humanoids were armed with firearms. Once they aimed their weapons at the police, law enforcement attacked in self defense. The monster was also killed. Assumed to have been caught in the crossfire of bullets. Let’s see...no bodies were found. Upon death, the suspects had instantly disintegrated and left behind a distinct bleach odor.” Sugar Skull concluded, “Which is what the creatures of Limbo smell like. Uh, ummm...OH! Guaranteeing that the fog really is a gateway for the Skeleton Lord to exit through.” Marvelous Man felt both of his hands being grasped, as he felt nausea begin to overtake him. The surprising, tight sensation caused his queasiness to recede. Within each hand, the muscle demigod held Gene and Gemini’s hand. A warm, rubbery feeling in one clutch, and a soft hand that emitted flecks of anger underneath concern in the other. Elbows on the desk with fingers intertwined over each other, Director Skye leaned forward. He closed his eyes momentarily, as he exhaled a long, audible sigh. His eyes then flicked up at the team members; scattered about in either seats or standing in the center of the room. “Without collecting all the conclusive evidence, it’s too early to arrive at that kind of destination...Sadly, I am inclined to agree with you, Mr. Skull. I cannot ignore such a coincidence to occur soon after our earlier meeting,” said the master witch. The soft closing of a book echoed in the tension-filled office. Marvelous Man looked down to see Fairuza recently finished running a magical scan with her book. The field analyst had an apprehensive look on her face, as she shifted in her chair. Fairuza slowly raised her hand into the air, “Director Skye, sir, I’m afraid I have some more bad news. It’s about the explosion at the Arkos Division headquarters.” “...And what foreboding information have you discovered?” said the Director. Fairuza disclosed, “Multiple casualties discovered so far, and the explosion caused half of the facility to collapse. It’s unsure how many more are buried underneath the rubble. Survivor injuries has ranged all the way to critical. Medigel they have present had been greatly reduced due to the explosion and only have a handful on hand. Paramedics arriving soon.” Fairuza swallowed. She had a pensive look on her face. Her eyes gazed downwards as if she were carefully choosing her next words. “I was able to scan the area and find the login information of a security guard for their cloud’s security feed...They will no longer be needing it. Um, in any case, I’ll be accessing their cloud right now. Director Skye, where can I broadcast?” she finished. The Director’s hand began to glow blue with magic, as it casted multiple gestures at his wall-mounted paintings. What had been colored brushstrokes on the canvases were now a black screen with a runic symbol illuminating in the center. With the magical alteration complete, the master witch pointed at his modified painting with an opened palm. She gave a slight bow, “Thank you, sir.” Setting her yellow book on her lap with the front facing down, the mystical field analyst placed her index finger upon the center of the hardcover’s back. The tip of Fairuza’s finger began to softly radiate with magic. She then traced her glowing finger in a circular motion; causing the back book cover to shine a small magical seal. Fairuza then lifted the cover; revealing a square gap sliced into the page. A glint of a shiny object gleamed from the tiny chasm, as it rose up into view. The object exposed itself to be a crystal sphere made of an indigo rock that was freckled with white patches all over. The rising then stopped, as a pedestal made of paper could be seen holding the crystal ball. The crystal ball seemed to be perfectly sized for Fairuza’s palm, as she cupped her hands around it. Fairuza’s hands glowed a faint blue before the magical energy seeped into the indigo-colored sphere. The mystical field analyst stared into her crystal ball, as the enchanted painting’s image across from her flickered. With the runic symbol on the canvas completely dissolving, the login page of a website took its place. Fairuza continued gazing into her magical sphere, as the blank boxes of the login page had begun to fill with text. Everyone but Marvelous Man turned to the screen. The musclebound superhero kept switching attention from the screen back towards the mystical field analyst; confused by the interaction of magic with technology. Marvelous Man bent down to whisper at Gemini. “Ummm…” he asked, “So how is she…?” Gemini explained in a hushed tone, “There’s a computer chip in her merlinite crystal ball. And with the runes grafted inside the ball to interact with the chip, she can affect technology. But the magical capabilities of that can’t hack the government or anything. It’s more like a magical universal remote.” The mystical field analyst slowly exhaled. Her hands slightly trembled, as the skin stirred. The moving skin split open; revealing eyeballs flickering about before focusing on the orb. Marvelous Man flinched at the sight, while everyone else continued casting attention towards the painting. “NGHUH!” reeled the musclebound superhero. Gemini clarified, “She’s fine. I guess the inside of her crystal ball is laced with spells to multiply her consciousness. I wonder what it’s like to look at 4 different screens with one mind...FYI, each of her eyes are a copy of her mind. Can’t imagine what her migraine will be like after the fact.” Seconds passed before Marvelous Man managed to force his gaze away from the disturbing eyes breaching from Fairuza’s hand. Turning his stare towards the magical painting, he spotted a new update to the canvas. The screen had transformed into four different camera feed screens; each one fast-forwarding through a timeframe before skipping to another scene. Marvelous Man tried to watch, but the images moved faster than he could comprehend. Fairuza continued scrying her crystal ball in silence. After a minute had flown by the fast-paced images turned to black. The eyes on her hands then began to shut; withdrawing into her body. With the last magical eye closed, Fairuza looked up from her crystal ball. “It wasn’t an accident,” she said with a neutral tone. The Director inquired, “By whose hand?” “A man in Aztec-styled clothing. Putting him on screen,” Fairuza replied. It had been too much of a coincidence to think someone else would be running around in such a specific style. Marvelous Man kept his mouth closed; it was obvious who it would be but did not want to assume. The musclebound superhero continued watching the black canvas, as he gripped the arms of his jacket. The black painting changed its image; shaping into another recording. The camera feed showed two lab-coat workers standing in front of two glass pillar-like containers with unrecognizable technology attached to parts of it. The glass structures held two figures within; obscuring their faces by huddling down with their faces casted at the ground. As the scientists were making their rounds with checking on the computers attached to the containers, an unseen force pulled one of them back. The yanked scientist then bent himself backwards; standing on the tips of his toes as if possessed by an evil spirit. The neck’s left side of the attacked scientist then split open, as blood started to spurt from the wound like a sprinkler. The other scientist stood in motionless shock at the scene in front of her; unflinching even after being bathed in the splatters of her coworker’s blood. The male scientist was then released from the invisible grasp and landed flat on the floor. As it happened, a figment began to materialize next to the downed scientist. It started reconstituting as feet; tanned as dark as mocha. The building blocks of the visible being continued construction of the legs with the edges of a red cloak that was outlined with teal. As the materialization created a red-knotted loincloth with a teal outline, the musculature of the mysterious being appeared to be slim like a professional athletic runner. The man came armed at that time, as a bow and quiver came into visibility and slung over the shoulder. The entirety of the head and face was covered; topped with a snake-shaped wooden headdress like in the Aztec illustrations Marvelous Man had seen in world history textbooks. Sugar Skull crossed his arm, “So the watchdog has come to collect.” The video paused, as the Director looked towards the Limbo being. “You know him?” questioned Director Skye. The ghoul nodded, “That’s Itzcóatl. He’s one of the Skeleton Lord’s guardians and right hand man. He showed up at the Skeleton Lord’s newest hideout when I rescued Marvelous Man. He’s a hunter that hides in the fog like a shark.” “And to make him more annoying, he can become, ummm, invisible. The Bruja also told me his quiver is enchanted to make copies of his arrows. Haven’t fought him yet but seeing this shows he’s probably the most deadliest out of all of them,” added Sugar Skull. The rabbit demigod released his hand from Marvelous Man’s, as he turned to face the ghoul. Gene frowned, “But how did the Itzcóatl manage to invade the Arkos Division headquarters? The building should have been warded to detect the magically invisible.” As Sugar Skull opened his mouth, he was interrupted by an electronic voice. “Not if that guardian’s power is supernaturally-based rather than a mutation. They’re a superhero company based on only science. And because they’re so sure their machines can detect and quarantine magic, that they refuse our help or even do basic warding. It’s why their supernatural captives keep breaking out, and their machines are very limited at detecting the various frequencies magic has. Until it’s figured out what the base frequency of magic is, they can only detect the handful of spells or supernatural powers made public,” sighed Gemini. Puzzles spoke up, “Fairuza, continue the footage.” Everybody turned their attention back towards the magical painting, as the security recording resumed. Itzcóatl pulled out a dagger with a black blade that appeared to be made of obsidian glass. The guardian pointed his weapon at the injured scientist before switching the dagger’s attention to the female scientist and then towards the glass containers. The footage did not seem to have any audio recording capabilities, as the female scientist nodded while mouthing a reply. With shaky hands, the female scientist placed her face in front of one of the containment unit’s computers. The device appeared to be an apparatus designed for eye-scanning identification. Upon completing the process, the Arkos Division worker typed away at the keyboard. The glass container reacted to the input by melting a rectangular doorway on the side of itself. The female scientist then ran to one of the drawers lined against the wall and opened it. Pulling out what she needed, she scurried over to her bleeding partner. While the worker was applying what appeared to be a salve from a soft tube onto her partner’s wound, the prisoners within the confinements exited the two glass containers. Marvelous Man recognized first one; Zareb, the African guardian of the Skeleton Lord who commanded electricity with the twin axes. The other was a knight, who was defeated before the musclebound superhero arrived at the scene. Zareb raised his hands into the air; his hands wiggled about as if it were calling out to something. Black smoke similar to the fog ebbed from his forearms and flowed into his hands. The whisping miasma then shapeshifted into Zareb’s iconic axes. Clanging them together, the runes grafted onto the enchanted weapons glowed. Lightning emanated from the magical axes; shocking nearly everything in random arcs before striking the recording camera. The camera feed became black, as the lightning shot into its eye. “My best guess is that Zareb, the Skeleton Lord guardian with the lightning axes, caused some sort of negative reaction with his continuous voltage and...triggered an explosion. Until we know more, that’s all I can say,” reported Fairuza. The Director questioned, “And who is the knight? What exactly can he do?” “Other than wielding a glaive-type lance, I don’t know, sir. But he’s not as dangerous, if he was captured so easily,” replied Fairuza. “Not unless he wanted to be captured. Same goes with Zareb,” said the master witch, “And what about our guest?” Puzzles stated, “Gilgamesh is still on ice, Boss. Not taking chances with this one. He’s tried a couple of times to get out whenever he’s been thawed for questioning, but our wards have made sure to keep him caged. We’ve also made sure to enchant the time capsule spell he’s in with a curse to put the freeze on anybody that didn’t undo the spell properly.” “Good. With the Skeleton Lord’s muscle out of the game, it’s made things easier for us. Double down on invisibility jamming spells. I do not want that ghastly rat getting in here at all,” said Director Skye. Puzzles bowed, “Yes, Boss!” “Gene, you go to the fog entrance and be on standby. Until we get barriers up, you’ll be the first line of defense against the invading ghouls and all those Limbo monsters,” commanded the Director. Gene nodded, “I acknowledge.” “And take Sugar Skull with you. Maybe this time, he can actually benefit us,” added the master witch. Sugar Skull placed his hand over his chest, “Ah. I’m touched.” “Marvelous Man, I need you to head over to the Arkos Division and help the injured folks with your healing abilities. Use that expansive healing of yours. The supercharge one. If anybody is alive under the rubble, it could be their only life support until they’re rescued. Gemini, you go with him. See if you can dig up any information in regards to...well, anything. I suspect you and your father’s relationship with the A.D. could give you some leeway in attaining such,” ordered Director Doug. “Yes, sir,” said Marvelous Man and Gemini in unison. The musclebound superhero felt pride course through his body, as he remembered what Gemini said to him earlier. He might not be able to save everybody, but he can make a difference in saving some lives. It was time to focus on what he can do and give it his all. Director Doug leaned forward; fingers interlaced with one another. A bead of sweat began to form on the master witch’s brow. He gave a quick sigh before looking up. He declared “Mark my words, people. This is only phase 1 of what is about to come. Dismissed.” Next Chapter
  19. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 21

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1va_QP1NSQgduxt4gKPKujgkOQdP790ShBojSOWz6x6c) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & SPECTRI All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1va_QP1NSQgduxt4gKPKujgkOQdP790ShBojSOWz6x6c) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & SPECTRI Chapter 21: Insight Stepping through the exit of Sunnysville, Marvelous Man arrived back into his apartment from the closet door. The muscle demigod pulled the key out of the lock before closing the door behind himself. He gazed at his living room, as he turned around. It was still dimly lit with the light bulbs set to low and no sunlight in sight. Marvelous Man slowly made his way back to his bedroom. He glanced at a clock while passing by that had read half past three in the morning. His parents had no doubt kidnapped him soon after Gene fell asleep. Seconds had only ticked by in the real world, while the musclebound superhero got his rest in Sunnysville for however long it took before waking up. Opening the door to his room, he spotted Gene sleeping beneath the covers of his bed. Marvelous Man quietly undressed himself, while kicking away his articles of clothing to a side of the bedroom. The hulking bodybuilder then took soft steps towards the empty side of the bed; slipping underneath the sheets upon arrival. Marvelous Man laid his head against his pillow and turned to Gene. The Totochtin prince was in a deep sleep; giving off a small sigh with every few breaths. The white rabbit ears were relaxed and tucked behind Gene’s head like a sleeping rabbit. Marvelous Man continued to stare at his superhero partner, as his eyes slowly drifted back to sleep. >>>>>>>>>>>>>> The musclebound superhero awakened hours later, as the beams of morning sunlight cascaded through the bedroom windows. Gene stirred from slumber soon after Marvelous Man rose from his bed. As the two got ready to leave, they hardly said a word to one another. Both were preoccupied; Gene mentally contacting their mystical field analyst, Fairuza, and Marvelous Man texting. Marvelous Man could feel Gene emanating emotions of uncertainty but decided to question the bunny demigod after the meeting with Director Doug. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The two superheroes stood in front of the Demonic Authority Bureau headquarters. Marvelous Man stared off into the distance, as Gene leaned next to the entrance. Gene spoke up, “Who is it that we are doing the waiting for?” “A friend,” answered Marvelous Man. The musclebound superhero continued to watch the many people passing by the headquarters; heading down wherever the sidewalks took the citizens. Marvelous Man’s squinting finally broke into widened eyes, as he smiled. He then began waving his bulky arm at the public. He exclaimed, “There he is!” A skeletal ghoul dressed in a purple suit strolled towards the two with a relaxed gait. Sugar Skull appeared to have a cocky grin...though Marvelous Man could only sense it, since the limbo being had no facial skin or muscles. As the skeletal ghoul drew closer, Marvelous Man could hear Gene almost whispering at him in a hushed tone. “I would like to remind you that Doug will not be the pleased,” said Gene. Marvelous Man frowned, “Yeah, but this is important. We need to work together if the Skeleton Lord comes back. Besides, Sugar Skull saved my life, so Director Skye should be able bear him just this once.” Gene paused. He continued staring at the ghoul walking closer to them in a flamboyant style. The Totochtin prince stifled a giggle. “I cannot say the same for Puzzles,” smirked Gene. Marvelous Man grinned, “Heh, I bet he’s gonna flip. What do you think he’ll do?” “He will most likely stab the ghoul,” said Gene, “How did you manage to get the Sugar Skull’s phone number?” Marvelous Man replied, “He gave me his card a while back.” Upon the ghoul’s arrival, Marvelous Man exchanged hugs and pleasantries with him before heading inside the headquarters. Employees silently gawked at Sugar Skull, as the trio made their way towards the elevator. The limbo being made sure to flirt with every D.A.B. worker he passed by; giving out his business card with each one. From the people who looked at the cards, most wore a disgusted look on their faces. Others simply appeared to be intrigued. Arriving on the fifth floor, the three made their way towards the office of Director Skye. Marvelous Man allowed his friends to enter the room first before ducking inside. He made sure to tuck his head down to avoid banging his forehead against the doorframe. As he shut the door behind him, the air felt as if it had become heavy with tension. The musclebound superhero looked across the room to see his higher commands staring back at the trio. Director Skye was stationed behind his desk, and Puzzles was perched on top of the wooden furniture with an electronic scroll in his hands. The Director’s eyes were full of displeasure, while Puzzle’s was engulfed in fury. The smoke imp immediately tossed the electronic scroll onto the desk before standing up. Puzzles flashed his sharp, white fangs, as his hands began to glow a soft, blue light. He hissed in his thick, Russian accent, “YOU!” Sugar Skull stepped forward. The ghoul threw his arms up; his body language intentionally trying to draw attention towards himself. His purple teeth chattered in delight. “ME!” he shouted. A mystical rune appeared in front of the smoke imp’s hands for a brief second before shattering. In its place were a set of daggers; automatically settled in Puzzles’ grip. The hilt of the bladed weapons were striped in white and blue. The silver blade was accompanied by two smaller blades pointing out to the right and left; perfect for catching attacks. Puzzles leaned forward with his legs bent in preparation for a big leap. The Director calmly called out, “That’s enough, Puzzles.” Puzzles hesitated before slowly turning his head towards his master. His eyes, still clouded with fury, sparkled with confusion. “We do not attack invited guests...even if we were the ones who did not hand out the invitation. Until he instigates with ill intent, we simply cannot do harm against the Bruja’s ghoul,” stated Director Skye. Puzzles pointed his dagger at the ghoul, “HE is no guest, Boss! That is a thief! He has already done ill intent! We let him in once, and that fatherfucker steals one of our archived magical relics!” Sugar Skull took another step forward towards the witch and familiar. “I was actually borrowing, little imp. I gave it back,” countered Sugar Skull, “Besides, the Bruja did ask nicely with the promise of returning it. Even tried to pay with info. But you all said no, and I had no choice but to take it...Sorry, I mean borrow it.” As Puzzles opened his mouth to fire back, the Director spoke over his familiar. Though strained with little patience left in the tone of his voice, Doug tried to speak calmly in his Southern gentlemanly accent. “And what, pray tell, do you want to ‘borrow’ this time?” he said. Sugar Skull held up his index finger, “Actually, I’m here to offer my services and, uh, disclose important information. I didn’t want to come here at all either, but I can’t refuse my friend’s request when he needs help...And cause I need to kill the Skeleton Lord.” The Director and Puzzles paused before their eyes slowly shifted towards Gene Lightfoot. Gene’s eyebrows flexed in confusion, as it transformed into realization. The Totochtin prince shifted uncomfortably, as Gene stared back at the higher commands. “No, I am not the Sugar Skull’s friend! Why do you all think such the things?” replied Gene. Everybody else replied in unison, “Well…” “He’s made sexual advances on nearly every staff member he passed by. On the first day he came in before he stole our relic. You are the most likely to befriend him, because you never turn down sex,” stated Puzzles. Gene bit his lip. The rabbit superhero appeared to want to protest, but he then sighed with resignation a second later. Emotions of confliction emanated from him but lacked any intensity to emotionally influence the people around him. Marvelous Man spoke up, “Ummm, actually...he’s my friend. He’s the one who rescued me from the Skeleton Lord.” The Director looked up at the musclebound superhero. His left eyebrow lifted with curiosity, as he folded his hands in front of his mouth. “And I suppose there’s a long story to your great escape,” remarked Director Skye. Sugar Skull screamed, “GAH! Where did you two come from?” Marvelous Man watched the half-alive ghoul flinch back, as he recoiled in surprise from the scream. Tracing his eyesight towards the source of what frightened Sugar Skull, he saw two people sitting in the black lounge chairs against the office walls. Amidst the commotion with the Limbo being and Puzzles, Marvelous Man and Sugar Skull took no notice of the other guests in the room. Seated in the comfortable furniture was Fairuza; clutching onto her book whenever a stressful situation arose. In the other chair was Gemini. Flashbacks appeared in Marvelous Man’s mind at the memory of yelling at his friend, destroying a relationship, and then getting kidnapped by the PB&J Gang. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The master witch crossed his arms. Sugar Skull was in the midst of explanation before the Director interrupted. His eyes glinted with irritation, as his next words seemed to wretch out his mouth like a painful vomit. “So let me try to understand that last part. After you escaped into Limbo with Marvelous Man, you bargained the location of a Mana Stone in order to get away?” gritted Director Skye. Sugar Skull nodded, “That is correct, yes.” Puzzles pointed his dagger at the ghoul. Bloodlust raged in his eyes, as his fangs flashed once again. The glasses resting atop his nose began to fog. “Can I stab him now?!” snarled the smoke imp. The Director sighed, “Sadly, no.” “He gave away a Mana Stone, Boss! That kind of relic doesn’t just recharge energy on its own, it also multiplies a caster’s magical output! And he gave it away to a doomsday supervillain!” exclaimed Puzzles. Marvelous Man looked towards the ground; slightly hunching down. The guilt he had felt back in the pocket dimension diner came flooding back. He now wished that he had never been rescued, as it broke his heart that his superiors appeared intensely stressed. The hulking bodybuilder immediately perked up, as he felt something grab his hand. Looking over, he spotted Gene’s hand wrapped around his own. Marvelous Man could feel the bunny demigod’s calming emotions slowly rinse his guilt away. He could still sense small bits of anxiety in Gene’s broadcasted emotions, but the compassion was still sincere. The musclebound superhero stood up straight without realizing. Director Skye rubbed his temples, “Noted. But we got Marvelous Man back. And at the very least, Limbo is no easy place to cross. From what I remember, Limbo has different time zones reflecting eras of the people sent there during such eras. That said, Sugar Skull managed to buy us some time to prepare. Question is, how long?” “About two weeks at the very least. But best case scenario is that we’ve got a month or two. He might have the compass, but he could still get sidetracked or lost in a maze or something,” estimated Sugar Skull. The musclebound superhero’s mind glimpsed a film of memory. He remembered the hidden art fixture that could only be used with a certain glass marble. His wish for a happy ending hanged on his next words. Marvelous Man speaks up, “B-but that’s only if he can get back, right? Sugar Skull was the only one with a way out, so there’s no way he can get out…” Fairuza raised her hand before speaking up. All eyes had turned to her. “Well...actually...There’s more than one way to get out of Limbo. Sugar Skull just had the easiest. It’s most likely the Skeleton Lord will exit using the fog he created in the slums,” explained Fairuza. The hulking bodybuilder could feel his heart thump loudly, as his blood felt like it had become ice. He hoped that he would not hear what he was most likely going to hear. Marvelous Man just wanted this nightmare to be buried and left for dead. He hesitated“...You mean the fog that’s supposed to go away once the Skeleton Lord is trapped in Limbo?” “I’m sorry...but...no. No change in the fog has been reported since you’ve escaped. The fog could be feeding on an external power source. But due to its vast size, it’s hypothesized that the fog is still somehow connected to the Skeleton Lord. With that connection, he could somehow use it as a way out. Um, by the way, I’m glad you’re back and alive,” said Fairuza. The gravity on Marvelous Man’s heavy body seemed to have increased a hundredfold. His knees felt ready to give out, but the musclebound superhero held onto what will he had left to save face. The Skeleton Lord was soon to be overpowering and has a way back to return. He had barely survived when encountering the supervillain’s weakened state; doom was the only thing Marvelous Man could see in his foresight. Gemini jumped into the conversation, “We’ve tried to disperse the fog, but it seems to have a mind of its own. Wind magic and other such spells had no effect on it. Not even the tech from the Arkos Division could suck it up or blow it away.” “The magical researchers have managed to analyze the fog, and we discovered it’s actually essence. Ya know, life energy and such. No such records exists of such a phenomena, and the energy just refuses to be absorbed by anything. I’m not exactly sure what the fog is capable of, since it destroyed all the probes. But like Fairuza said, it’ll probably be used as the exit from Limbo,” he continued. The Director leaned back in his chair, “So we have two weeks to either think of a way to destroy the fog or stop the Skeleton Lord. And without hard evidence that the Skeleton Lord is an A-lister supervillain, we can’t call on the Nemesis Branch for help...makes me wish I had the absolute authority to label a threat level without evidence.” “Probably for the best we don’t, Boss. Don’t want to get hit with a discrimination lawsuit by some D-lister,” commented Puzzles. The master witch sighed through his nose, as he grunted with closed lips. Director Skye circled back to the topic, “That would definitely be unfortunate. So! We need some solutions, people. We are sitting in a pot ready to be lit, and the only people capable of handling this Skeleton Lord is in this room.” The ghoul gestured his hands to look like guns; pointing them at the master witch. “I’ve got you covered, Boss!” chimed Sugar Skull, “The Bruja is, ummm, enchanting some items to let two people other than myself travel into the fog, well...mostly undetected. Plus, it’ll decrease the accuracy against any attack that’s supposed to hit them. With it, we can go into the fog and kill the Skeleton Lord before he tries to attack the D.A.B.” The Director tapped his fingers together, “Not the best idea at the moment. But just to humor you, how long will this enchantment take?” “About two weeks,” said Sugar Skull. Gemini sputtered, “I’m sorry, but are you shitting me?!” “This is some very high magical stuff. It takes a week to make just one.” shrugged Sugar Skull. The smoke imp’s ears twitched. His eyes pointed towards the ground; bouncing left and right as if lost in thought. “Wait, why did you say the Skeleton Lord would try to attack the D.A.B.?,” questioned Puzzles, “You only gave him the location of the Mana Stone in Limbo...but then Boss interrupted you to repeat the...YOU DAUGHTER OF BLIGHT! YOU SET US UP!” Daggers raised, the witch’s familiar shifted itself back into his leaping stance. Smoke could literally be seen steaming out of his cat-like ears. “Sugar Skull, I do believe you should fess up. My patience with you continuously throwing people under the bus is melting faster than an ice cube on a black top. Did you give away the location of the D.A.B.’s Mana Stone?” frowned Director Doug. Sugar Skull crossed his arms, “I did. And I’d do it again to save Marvelous Man.” Seconds ticked by, as all sound in the room seemed to have ceased. The Director slowly inhaled a long breath through his nose before letting it all out in an equally long nasal exhale. His eyes seemed to grow cold and distant; as if he were trying to suppress and intense rage. The master witch’s left hand glowed with a blue hue, while flicking his wrist in a circular motion. A runic symbol flickered on the office door behind Marvelous Man for a moment before disappearing; causing the door to slowly swing open. “Everybody but Sugar Skull, you can all leave now. We will reconvene tomorrow with hopefully some new ideas to take care of this problem. In the meanwhile, I will have...a little chat with Mr. Skull here. Dismissed.” said Director Skye. The spinning, yellow flowers in Sugar Skull’s eyes transformed into red exclamation points. He turned to Marvelous Man; appearing to be silently begging for help. Marvelous Man could only look away with shame. The D.A.B. members obeyed without question; power walking as fast as they could towards the office’s door. In such a hurry, Marvelous Man nearly bumped his head against the top of the door frame upon ducking through the opened door. As Gemini was the last person to exist, the door instantaneously shut itself behind the Soulem. The sound of a cat screeching echoed from the office, as a loud thud reverberated after the feline screech. At the same time, the shoulders of the exited D.A.B. members flinched. Gene turned to his partner “Marvelous Man. Do you have the moment? I would like to talk to you about something important in the training room.” “Um, yeah. Sure.” immediately nodded Marvelous Man. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> At the basement level of the D.A.B. headquarters, the two partners stepped out of the elevator. Marvelous Man noticed that Gene was definitely not being his usual talkative self. The morning of almost no verbal exchange could have been due to everybody being busy with something, but the Totochtin prince did not even utter a single word during the elevator ride down to the training room. Marvelous Man could not help but feel uneasy at what was going to happen next. The only thing the musclebound superhero could feel from the bunny demigod was a sense of trepidation. As they continued, the two came to a fork in the pathway. The left path branched off to a set of doorways leading into the training room. As for the path on the right, it led into the control room that altered the state of the training room. Gene gestured at the training room doors, “Could you please head into the training room? I will join shortly. I must do the calibrations in the control room first.” “Okay,” said Marvelous Man. Complying with his friend, the hulking bodybuilder continued onward towards the left path. He made sure to duck his head, while opening the door to the training room. Marvelous Man’s heart thumped with nervousness; he hoped he was not somehow being led into a trap. The inside of the training room was empty; as it usually is. The interior stretched to the size of a baseball field and was completely matted with white tiles. Marvelous Man remembered a brief explanation on his first day in this room about how each tile carried an enchantment. The enchantments not only absorbed attacks, but could also create a temporary pocket dimension with unlimited space. And with some combination of science, the training room could print three dimensional objects with certain levels of intelligence to create artificial danger. While walking towards the center, the tiles began to hum. The tiles then flipped over one by one to reveal a color. The colors did nothing at first until the amount of flipped tiles multiplied to an insurmountable count Marvelous Man could not keep up with. Nearly at completion, the colors had begun to coalesce with each other. The mixtures began to form shapes, brightness, and sound. The shifting continued, while Marvelous Man began to notice a design pattern of the new world around him taking shape. It was daytime, and the muscle demigod was now standing on the rooftop of a building. The edges of the rooftop were fenced off; the reasons as to why seemed obvious. Marvelous Man then spotted pink cherry blossom petals drifting in front of them as well as its sweet scent. Turning around, he spotted the origin. A plot of dirt was somehow established in the center of the rooftop with a gigantic cherry blossom tree sprouting out of it. It casted a shade nearly big enough to encompass the whole rooftop. Beneath the tree was a small wooden bench; big enough to only seat two people. The scenery reminded the hulking bodybuilder of scenes from dating sim games and romance animes. Marvelous Man heard the sound of a squeaky door and turned his head to see a rooftop access door stationed further behind the tree at the other end of the roof. The opening door revealed Gene, as the Totochtin prince stepped through. Gene carried his usual calm smile, but his eyes betrayed it with unease. Marvelous Man waved, “Hey, Gene. This is...nice.” “Yes, it is,” replied Gene, “Like your people’s saying, I have taken a page out of the book. I have researched from the outsider media that when one wishes to confess their true feelings that could mend or break the heart, one must do it on top of the high school building. Also, the cherry blossom petals must be involved. Unfortunately, I do not have the time to request access to any of the high school's rooftop. So I borrowed this setting from the co-worker that likes to do the roleplaying in here.” “Uh-huh…” said Marvelous Man. Gene motioned to the bench, “Please, let us do the sitting.” The muscle demigod nodded and followed his friend back to the bench beneath the cherry blossom tree. His heart thumped with excitement, as he had seen enough anime to know where this going. The wooden bench gave a slight groan, as the hulking bodybuilder tried to gently adjust himself to the seat. With the bench being of a small size, Marvelous Man was in close proximity of Gene with their knees touching each other. His body flushed with intense body heat. The musclebound superhero felt like he had turned into a human furnace; not even the breezing winds helped cool him. Gene stared out at the expanse beyond the rooftop’s fence. His lips curled slightly inwards; the bottom of it being bitten. Seconds passed by, while Gene appeared to be lost in thought. “...I wanted to talk about the last night…” he spoke. Marvelous Man looked down at Gene, “What about last night?” “The last night...in your exhaustion, you said something very profounding. I realize now that you have none of the recollection due to the fatigue, but you meant every word,” explained Gene. Marvelous Man hesitated “Oh...uhhh, wh-...what did I say?” “You told me that you loved me,” answered Gene. The hulking bodybuilder’s eyes bulged, “Oh…” Marvelous Man’s thoughts were screaming into an invisible void. Howling at how he could have done such a thing. He could not remember saying that and felt embarrassed due to it. His large hands gripped the edge of the bench; fighting the urge to run or fly away. He then saw Gene turning to look up at him. “I deeply apologize! I do not mean to cause you any of the embarrassment,” said Gene, “I honestly enjoyed you saying that. My people have said that same thing to me, but...the intensity of the emotions in your words were far greater than any Totochtin ever uttering it.” The Totochtin prince continued, “It was like the many lovers in the outside world. I have sampled it before and found it rather cute. But to be given that emotion directly...it was scary. I never had any of the troubles of trying to recreate the same emotions I feel from others in order to bond well with them.” Gene stood up before stepping in front of Marvelous Man. The bunny demigod kneeled down on knee, as he slowly reached out. Gently grabbing the hulking bodybuilder’s hand, he held it out between themselves. “I am sorry, Marvelous Man. But I cannot love you the same way you love me,” he said. Marvelous Man blinked, “...Huh? Wh-what?” “I...I tried to say it back to you last night. That I loved you...but I could not. I was unable to match the same level of the magnitude that you did with the sharing of your true emotions,” explained Gene. He continued, “We must stop the dating. I realize now that I was treating your feelings like a game and was doing the ‘leading you on’. You saw the dates as more than just a fun activity. They were the bonding exercise that had the hopes of eventually causing me to see you the same way you see me. And perhaps...there were times when it came to the close of that. But it was never enough. My ideals of love. My culture kept me from aligning to the same level of how you feel about me.” This was not what Marvelous Man wanted. Gene was supposed to love him back! Then they would become lovers and have a happily ever after. He needed to save this. It was all he had left! “Th-then! We, uh, we should keep dating! Maybe, m-maybe…” stammered Marvelous Man. Gene shook his head, “It would not be right to you nor me. Perhaps if we kept doing the dating it could turn out exactly how you wanted. But such a thing would only result in hurting us in the end. That is the time that is wasted for trying to grow something that cannot grow. I am sorry Marvelous Man, but I cannot force myself to be the something that I am not.” Marvelous Man froze. The last part of what the Totochtin prince said had shaken a recent memory back into focus. He had said something similar to his mother; causing the goddess of love to question him what was the difference with what he was doing in the real world. ...Was he no different than his parents? Trying to contain a person they loved and assuming everything else will fall into place in exactly how they wished? He had experienced the receiving end of that thinking first hand, and he hated it. Treated as an object with no will of his own. He was no toy. And just because someone loved him gave them no right to tell him how to act, feel, or was entitled to only them...and neither was Gene. “Holy shit...I think I get it now…” realized Marvelous Man. Gene’s face flexed in confusion, “What?” Marvelous Man cupped his other hand around Gene’s. His mind flashed back to all the dates and interactions with the rabbit demigod. It was so obvious now! Was he just stupid or willfully ignorant of all the signs of their compatibility? Gemini pointed it all out, but he had refused to connect the dots...It appeared he was both. “I’m...I’m sorry too, Gene. I should’ve known better. You’re right. We’re great friends, but...we’re just not meant for each other. We’re too different in a lot of ways with almost nothing we can be on the same level with. Being able to empathize your loneliness shouldn’t be the only thing we have in common. It shouldn’t even be the only similarity we share! And you weren’t forcing yourself to be something you’re not…I was. You were one of the few good things that happened to me since I got here, and I thought we were sorta meant to be since you were the first guy I felt attracted to. And I guess deep down, I was also afraid of losing you,” he admitted. Gene stood up, “Marvelous Man...you will never lose me. You are the kindest outside man I know. I may have been the frustrated that we never had sex, but I treasured more that you wished to understand me.” Bending down, the Totochtin prince kissed Marvelous Man’s head. Tears began streaming down his cheeks, as he closed his eyes. “I may not be able to love you, but you will always be my favorite,” said Gene. Marvelous Man felt tears welling up in his eyes, as he felt a flood of sadness drowning his heart. He looked up to see his friend crying. The muscle demigod’s eyebrows flexed in confusion. He smiled, “Why are you crying? It should be me that’s crying.” “Because I could not make you the happy, Marvelous Man. I failed. Everyone else I have ever tried to befriend, I could easily make them the happy by feeling their emotions. But I failed you. You are my first. And I had none of the other choices but to reject you for your own happiness. I’m sorry,” sobbed Gene. Marvelous Man stood up and hugged Gene, “Don’t be. It hurts a bit that we can’t love each other like lovers, but we can still love each other as friends. Being your partner and being part of your life. That’s enough for me to be happy with you. It’s scary, but...I think I’ll eventually find someone. Someone that I could love, and they’d love me back. Someone I can be honest with...and even tell them my real name.” “Marvelous Man is not your real name?” sniffed Gene. The musclebound superhero sighed, “No. It’s not. It was a real Dickasaurus Rex thing for me to do...I was kinda afraid you wouldn’t like the real me. Marvelous Man is more interesting. Less emotionally unstable...And he wouldn’t have run away if you actually said that you loved me back.” “It is the shameful that I could not meet the real you. It could have been the fun. But..I am sure someone else loves the real you,” said Gene. Marvelous Man dryly swallowed, “There was someone...but I burned that bridge with him. He was being an asshole, but...I’m guilty of also leading him on. I don’t think we could even be friends again after I yelled at him and broke his heart.” Gene hugged back. The muscle demigod no longer felt Gene’s sadness. He instead felt a comforting love; a love that is felt between family and friends. “I am sure he wants to be the friends with you. And it might be the hard, but you must try to take the first step and forgive him. It is alright if you do not wish to do it now. But you cannot wait forever. Time can heal the wounds, but you must make the effort to bandage it up,” consoled the bunny demigod. Marvelous Man sobbed, “Thanks, Gene.” The two embraced each other for an unknowable amount of time. It had felt like eternity beneath the forever-blooming cherry blossom tree, as the two bathed in each others' emotions. Sharing love. Next Chapter
  20. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 20

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PejxLG1r2y7HI0n1i62CksC6gC2HVhceyfvBkAkGnSY) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, CHARLIE LORD, JAMIE CHAPMAN, JOHN LARSON, PETRA, & CREEP All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PejxLG1r2y7HI0n1i62CksC6gC2HVhceyfvBkAkGnSY) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, CHARLIE LORD, JAMIE CHAPMAN, JOHN LARSON, PETRA, & CREEP Chapter 20: Soul Venom Seconds ticked by, as Marvelous Man’s heart rate began to accelerate. His mind swirled with confusion. Gazing about his childhood room, the muscle demigod remembered going to bed back at his apartment with Gene laying next to him. Marvelous Man looked over at the other side of his wide race car bed. The Totochtin Prince was nowhere to be found. Everything he had experienced could not have been a dream...right? Gazing over to the bedroom door, the hulking bodybuilder spotted a set clothes fitted onto a plastic hanger that hung over the doorknob. Marvelous Man instantly recognized it as the clothes he tore off under emotional duress on the day of his birthday. The day he was told he was a demigod created to be a superhero to fight evil in the real world for the glory of his parents. Marvelous Man slowly inhaled air through his nose and began to plan. Feeling shocked was not getting him anywhere. The thing he needed to do was get dressed and head downstairs. He can figure the rest from there. Rolling himself off of the sloshing waterbed, the musclebound superhero slowly thumped his heavy body towards the door. Marvelous Man picked up the hanger of clothes and detached the clothing from the plastic tool. While pulling the clothes off, he then noticed that the articles of clothing appeared to be brand new instead of stretched to its max with tiny holes. Marvelous Man mentally confirmed to himself that the clothes were most definitely new, as he struggled to equip each garment. The golden thong was very snug in the front compartment and did not droop down like it had done so during his years of wearing it. He only had one golden thong and was one of his prized possessions that made him feel special. The white tank top clung too tightly to his meaty pectorals and took several attempts before successfully pulling it over his pecshelf. The white straps seemed to almost be pressing into his blimpy pecs. Due to it being used for the first time, the tank top was not able to stretch far enough to cover his navel. As for the jean shorts, the shorts’ sleeves seemed...shorter than he remembered. It almost appeared to be a pair of daisy dukes on his body after his thunderous thighs stretched the sleeves’ fabric to a near paper-thinness. The back part of it had not been worn enough to be loose and mold around the bodybuilder’s massive, round posterior. It instead clung over the top of the enormous globes and collapsed in between his meaty buttocks; causing the bottom half of his beefy derriere to spill out of the jean shorts’ sleeves. It was also unable to cover the golden thong’s waistband sprouting out of the crevice of his buttocks and gliding over his waist. While Marvelous Man squirmed about to put on the last familiar but new clothing, he noticed his golden bracelets. He tugged at the jewelry and remembered how they seemed permanently attached to his wrists. It was the one element that the musclebound superhero felt grounded him in his own questioning sanity. The proof of him unlocking his powers and being released to the real world. The muscle demigod turned to his left and faced a wall-mounted mirror that was scaled to his size. Concentrating, he activated his flight power. Marvelous Man slowly rose up until the tips of his toes were touching the ground. Then there was no touching. Marvelous Man hovered with only a tiny gap between him and the floor. The musclebound superhero smiled with a big grin while continuing to levitate further up. He really had left Sunnysville and become a superhero! Seconds later, his head collided with the ceiling with a low thud. Marvelous Man grunted, as he grabbed his head at the slight pain. Lowering himself down to the flooring, the hulking bodybuilder considered whether he should transform or not. Marvelous Man then came to the conclusion that it could be bad if he was discovered with his superhero outfit on. He had a sneaking suspicion as to who kidnapped him back to Sunnysville. But if he was wrong, they would probably attack him immediately without a chance for him to talk. Marvelous Man guessed that if Gene were here at this moment, the rabbit superhero would treat this as an investigation before jumping to the conclusion of fighting. The musclebound superhero derailed his train of thought by wondering if he was more of a detective rather than a superhero. He was after all put on an investigation squad to scout and gain info about the Skeleton Lord. Superheroes in the comic books he read usually punch stuff to solve the problem. The only thing to understand about the enemy was to figure out where to punch and with what element. Only the powerless folks or brooding superheroes did investigations...which led right back to where to punch and with what element. Taking another breath and staring into the eyes of his reflection, Marvelous Man psyched himself up enough to start going downstairs. He just needed to play along as the powerless Justice Starr in order to figure out what was going on. >>>>>>>>>>> Everything in the house looked as he remembered. From the creaking of the wooden stairs to the smell of the house...before it was subjugated by the flood of rotting muffins. Though gone for only a few months, it felt like years had passed. Nostalgia flooded Marvelous Man’s brain, as he stared at the family photos hanged on the stairway walls. Each photo had its own gimmick: ugly Christmas sweaters, ancient warriors, wild west, and etc. The scent of frying bacon grew stronger, as the hulking bodybuilder reached the bottom of the steps. It reminded him of his mother’s cooking: greasy, delicious, and full of love. Papa Ares did make bacon sometimes, but they usually ended up nearly burnt. Apollo would faint at the suggestion of bacon and just offer up some sort of avocado wheat toast with a grapefruit. Marvelous Man could hear the tinkling of silverware and plates echo across the hall. Passing through the foyer and into the dining hall, the muscle demigod experienced a sense of deja vu. Seated at the dining table were his fathers, Ares and Apollo; eating breakfast instead of sitting underneath a Happy Birthday banner with serious faces. As he stepped through, Ares was the first to look up and notice Marvelous Man. Ares smiled, “Morning, son! Didja sleep well last night?” Marvelous Man eyed his Papa with suspicion. There was no need to act ignorant. He could already tell his parents were the real deal. Unlike normal people or the robot citizens of Sunnysville, his parents gave off an atmosphere that one could tell the Starr parents were different. Though that has now been realized with the fact that Marvelous Man’s parents were Greek gods. “Yeah, I guess I did...Ummm, why...what am I doing back here in Sunnysville?” questioned Marvelous Man. Apollo turned his attention from the breakfast plate towards Marvelous Man upon hearing his son speak. His fashion this time consisted of a yellow polo shirt with a blue sweater tied around the collar and light khaki pants. The only other thing to perfect this ensemble would be a croquet mallet in his hands. Ares scratched his scars, “Uh, what do you mean, son? You’ve always been in Sunnysville.” “...Are you seriously trying to gaslight me?! I know I’ve lived out in the real world, and it wasn’t a dream! I’m still wearing the bracelets you guys gave me,” pointed Marvelous Man. Apollo retorted, “I think the bigger question is when did you get so perceptive.” “Since you guys told me the world I lived in was fake. And also finding out how different the real world is for a couple of months does that to you. Especially when you find out public bathrooms come with bidets,” said Marvelous Man. The door from across the dining room opened. Carrying a tray full of pancakes through the entry was Marvelous Man’s mother, Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love seemed radiant even with her apparel of sweatpants and a simple, white t-shirt. Upon spotting Marvelous Man, Aphrodite smiled. She spoke, “Justice! Good morning, sugarplum. Did you have a good night sleep? I made pancakes.” “Mom, why did you all drag me back here?” inquired Marvelous Man. Aphrodite moseyed towards the dining table before setting the tray onto it. She looked up at Marvelous Man with a smiling but puzzled look. She replied, “Whatever do you mean, sweetie. You mean back home?” Apollo rolled his eyes. “Forget it, Aphrodite. Two seconds in, and he already figured it out,” he sighed. Marvelous Man exclaimed, “Am I going to have to break something or will you people just answer me already?!” “Justice, please. Use your inside voice,” spoke Aphrodite Marvelous Man glared at his mother. Fingers clenched into fists, his patience had evaporated. He did not want to play games anymore and allow his parents to manipulate him any further. Ares spoke up, “We did it to protect you, son. After you disappeared for two days from our sight, we thought the worst had happened...we thought...the Skeleton Lord killed you.” “And when you came back, we were relieved that you were still alive...But then we became more afraid than ever,” continued Aphrodite. Marvelous Man frowned, “Why? This is what you all created me for. You wanted me to be a hero, and I did that. I even came to enjoy that.” Nobody replied. Silence hung in the air for seconds. Apollo cleared his throat. “The fact is, Justice, we didn’t realize how much you dying affected us. Or would,” said Apollo. Marvelous Man shook his head, “But isn’t that what’s going to happen to me? If I go off to fight, I have a big chance of dying. I mean, Papa, you’re the God of War. Isn’t this something you’re used to? I’m pretty sure you all had kids before me. What makes this different with me?” “Because you’re different. Everything about you is different. Your birth. This place. Everything,” replied Ares, “In Sunnysville, we were cut off from the world just so that we could keep a close eye on you. We didn’t have any duties to uphold. We just had to be...human. He continued, “And you became our world, Justice...We are beings that will last forever, and knowing that you are only temporary...how can we move on when you’re gone?” Aphrodite moved closer to her son; edging by with careful steps that could stand on eggshells. Tears had begun to form in her eyes. “And when I heard your cry with my mother’s love...Calling out to me. I wished with all my heart that I could come to you, but I could not find you. The last of when I saw you was after your heart had been broken,” she said. Apollo bit his lip, “We didn’t realize it until now, that you had become the source of our happiness. So we brought you here in the hopes that if we could just have everything stay the same, you would be safe and happy until you were an old man and not slain in your youth by some nightmare monster. And if you somehow gain immortality, then good news! We can stay in this paradise forever!” The need to smash something began to rise. Marvelous Man almost felt himself getting ready to run back towards his room and rip off his clothes. He clenched his fists even harder to suppress the old habit. “You’re kidding, right? Do you have any idea how much this place fucked me over?!” he ranted, “I wasn’t allowed to talk differently with other people, cause the other people aren’t real! No compromise at all. I could only act a certain way or I wouldn’t be able to get anything done. And it is so hard to just be myself with real people. I still think sometimes that if I don’t say something predictable, nobody will talk to me,” Seconds ticked by in the piercing silence before Apollo turned to Aphrodite. “Guess we shoulda waited those three days for the social programming, huh?” mentioned Apollo. Marvelous Man’s jaw dropped, “...YOU COULDN’T WAIT THREE DAYS FOR THE ROBOTS TO START ACTING LIKE PEOPLE BEFORE LOCKING ME IN HERE?!” All three gods shrugged at him. “Eh…” they said in unison. Apollo answered, “I mean, we thought you’d be fine.” “WHAT?! You shoulda just left me with a human family!” exclaimed Marvelous Man. Ares replied, “We did with the others. But you’re a special case cause of...you know.” Marvelous Man stared at the God of War; his eyelids drooped with an aloof demeanor. “I don’t have time for this. I’m leaving,” he huffed. As the hulking bodybuilder turned towards the door, his mother clutched her chest. She followed her son through the entrance with the other gods steps behind her. “YOU CAN’T!” shouted Aphrodite, “If you go, the Skeleton Lord will kill you!” Marvelous Man stopped, “...You don’t know that. Me and my friends will probably beat him. And if you really feel that way, you can stop him yourselves.” Ares slammed his fist against the house; causing the structure to momentarily tremble. “It’s not like we don’t want to! But even if we could find him, we’re not allowed to harm him,” he said. Marvelous Man sighed, “Fine. Why?” “Us old gods swore an oath that our divinity could only be used to assist heroes against those we contend against. And since we’re incapable of breaking oaths, that means we can do diddly-squat about the Skeleton Lord. And if someone were able to break it, that would free the rest from the oath and cause all out celestial wars. Mass destruction and even the world being destroyed in the process,” clarified Apollo. The muscle demigod turned to his parents. Marvelous Man frowned, “Then...assist me! Give me a power up or an upgrade or something!” “You’re safer here. That is your assist,” stated Ares. Marvelous Man exclaimed, “The fffuck it is! I’m going to stop the Skeleton Lord with or without your help. I’ll learn magic or get a familiar to do magic for me or just buy a gun if I have to. Cause apparently, I’m rich as hell and can buy a death ray gun for all I care.” Aphrodite watched her child trail in the direction of the loan office where the exit to the real world hid. She leaned forward to initiate chase, as Ares placed a hand on her shoulder. “Leave him be, my sweet. He will cool off once he realizes he does not have the key,” reasoned Ares. Marvelous Man then leapt into the air and proceeded to fly over the neighboring houses. The three Greek gods stared on, while their eyes grew wide. “Well, shit. He’s still transformed...which means that he could transform back into his superhero outfit and retrieve the key. Did we really just forget that?!,” said Apollo. The God of Art held out his hand. Light began to concentrate in his palm before extending itself. Upon reaching an appropriate length, the light shattered to reveal a golden bow beneath. Apollo held the bow in front of himself and began to pull the string. A bolt of light materialized; nocking behind the golden string. He sighed, “Whatever, I’ve got it covered. Hindsight, you are a bitch.” “Apollo! He’s our son!” shouted Aphrodite. Apollo clicked his tongue, “Girl, it’s fine. It’s just a stun arrow. Nasty, but he’ll live.” Releasing his grip on the string, Apollo’s arrow launched. The arrow of light sailed through the air with a slight curve. Marvelous Man continued to fly straight with no awareness of the projectile, while the arrow homed in. The light-based weapon collided into Marvelous Man’s back; causing the musclebound superhero to seize in the air. The hulking bodybuilder appeared frozen in a twisted pose, as Marvelous Man fell. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The rattle in Marvelous Man’s head came to a slow. The last thing he remembered was taking flight and heading to the pocket dimension’s exit. Then he felt a shooting pain pierce into his back and immediately dispersed throughout the rest of his massive body. The hulking bodybuilder’s muscles clenched in paralysis and felt his senses going haywire. For a brief moment, he could not tell what was up or down until he collided into the ground with a brief thud. Marvelous Man pushed himself up. He knew that now was not a time to rest. His parents most likely did something to him to cause his fall, and they will catch up soon. Giving his surroundings a quick scan, it appeared he fell into the backyard of one of his neighbors. The spacious, fenced property had only grass and a tire swing tied to a fully-grown oak tree. Marvelous man released a sigh upon noticing his parents were not in sight. With only seconds to act, he ran behind the oak tree. While taller than the muscle demigod, the tree was not wider than his massive shoulders protruding from behind. Marvelous Man was aware that if he were to stand a sliver of a chance to get to the loan office, he needed to be fully armed. The musclebound superhero placed his golden-jeweled wrists on top of one another and held them above his head. “MarvelousMuscleMagic,Metamorph!” fast-talked Marvelous Man. The muscle demigod floated in the familiar vacuum, void of all existence, where all his transformations took place. His clothes shattered off of him with the appearance of stained glass; refracting its colors into the void. Silver paint from an unseen assailant began whipping at his gargantuan body. The paint slapped between the meaty globes of his buttocks and over the ridges of his waist. When the silver paint slapped the bodybuilder’s sexual meat in all directions, his sack and penis bounced about. A silver thong fully materialized on Justice, as the last stroke of silver paint brushed against his waist. White paint then appeared only to give a simple dab onto his forehead and belly button; materializing a diamond-like rhinestone as a bindi on his forehead and a larger rhinestone that covered his navel. As the transformation dimension dispersed, Justice landed back behind the oak tree. The hulking bodybuilder took no time to for a break and repeated his transformation stance. He chanted again, “MarvelousMuscleMagic,Metamorph!” Transported back to his transportation dimension, Justice floated in the vacuous void. The thong and jewelry he had just been equipped with had immediately taken on the consistency of dried paint. The paint cracked and fractured throughout; encompassing both thong and jewelry. Flakes of the cracked equipment broke off and floated up into the void. When the muscle demigod had become nude again, the familiar, multi-colored ribbons of bondage reached out from the beyond. The ribbons bound around his limbs; squeezing his large pectorals and bubbly glutes. Completing their enrapture, the ribbons became Marvelous Man’s signature outfit: black leather jacket, black leather boots, American flag bikini, and a golden laurel wreath. Marvelous Man landed on the ground, as he was released from the empty space he transformed in. With time to spare, the musclebound superhero considered his options. Flying was definitely not something he wanted to try again with his sniper dad. Fighting should only be a last resort when one’s papa is the God of War. Rather than staying in the backyard to stand his ground, the hulking bodybuilder vaulted over the fence. Stealth was going to have to be the winning mechanic against beings that easily overpowered him. As he touched over on the other side of the fence, Marvelous Man’s heart sank. He had landed in another backyard with plenty of wide space, and in the center of it stood his parents. All of the gods’ faces were devoid of emotion. Apollo was armed with his glowing bow, Ares had his arms crossed, and Aphrodite had her hands clasped over the other against her chest. “Well, you sure shrugged that off faster than I thought. Let me guess, healing factor?” said Apollo. Marvelous Man frowned, “Yeah.” The God of Art’s eyes drifted; scanning Marvelous Man from top to bottom. “Convenient and chique,” commented Apollo, “Though, I don’t know about your current fashion sense. Not judging, just thought you should know.” Confused at his dad’s criticism, Marvelous Man looked down at himself. The clothes he wore before his double transformation had reappeared. Only this time, he sported the daisy duke shorts underneath his battle bikini and the white tank top underneath his black jacket. The waistband of his golden thong peeked out of the jean shorts; complementing the ridiculousness of his outfit even further. He really wanted to question the logistics of how he ended up looking like so, but there was no time for it. Marvelous Man held up his index finger, “Hold on. Give me a sec.” The musclebound superhero planted his foot into the ground and delivered a kick with his other as high as he could. Marvelous Man gave a kick that was almost perfectly pointing up; only off by a few degrees. He could feel the jean shorts tighten around his pelvis when kicking. The muscle demigod realized at that moment how much of a hindrance any pants-like variety was in combat. He was shocked at how his bikini actually served a purpose at allowing more flexibility and less drag to leg movements. Without hesitation, he grabbed hold of his shorts and began tearing at it. The hulking bodybuilder ripped the shorts from different angles until the clothing fell to the grass in shreds. All there was left underneath the American flag bikini was the golden thong showing off its waistbands above the bikini’s. It might have seemed like such a hasty decision to do, but Marvelous Man was in no mood to take the time to peel off his lower garments. He wanted out. “Okay, now I’m ready,” he said. Aphrodite pleaded, “Please, sweetie. Don’t do this. You can’t beat the Skeleton Lord. Don’t think that you have any chance of defeating us.” Marvelous Man did not want to openly admit he could not overcome his parents with force. But maybe with logic… “You can’t fight me, anyways. Papa said you all swore an oath that you can’t contend against others by your own power,” he reasoned. Ares cracked his knuckled, “Not if you’re under our divinity. We can do whatever we want with those that worship us or are our blood.” The muscle demigod gritted his teeth; frustrated out how his luck was turning out. With no choice but to fight, Marvelous Man took off his golden wreath. He tried to calculate in his mind of how to attack. With Apollo focused on the rules of combat due to the god’s divinity with athletics, it would be best to engage the God of Art with dirty tactics. Ares was a god that used violent bursts to quickly overpower opponents and should be countered with unorthodoxed methods and use defensive martial arts like Aikido to redirect the powerful strikes. No active approach was needed for Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love would most likely just watch the whole skirmish. “Do you really intend to fight us, Justice?” said Aphrodite. Ares frowned, “Back away, my sweet. The boy has made up his mind.” The God of War and Apollo parted away from each other; moving closer to Marvelous Man in a diagonal angle until the two gods were standing at the bodybuilder’s left and right side. With a flick of his wrist, a wooden spear materialized in Ares’ grasp. Ares and the God of Art readied themselves in their fighting stances. “Just so you know, the kiddie gloves may be on, but it’s still got thorns to hurt like hell,” mentioned Apollo. Marvelous Man set the trap, “How could you guys do this to me and say that you love me? Am I just a disappointment to you all that you’re trying to hide?” Both gods preparing to fight Marvelous Man hesitated; lowering their stances and weapons. Their faces softened with hurtful looks in their eyes. “No, that’s not it,” broke Ares, “We’re doing this to-” Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath at Ares before twisting his body towards Apollo. Activating his flight powers, the musclebound superhero dove as close to the ground as he could without touching. He dipped his right hand down and clawed into the earth while closing the distance between himself and the God of Art. Marvelous Man could see Apollo’s eyes widened at the surprise attack; unable to properly react. At the very same moment, the golden wreath Marvelous Man threw had sailed over to the off-guarded Ares. The projectile concussed against Papa’s head with a loud ting. His eyes fogged with daze, as his head reeled back from the attack. Upon reaching close range with the God of Art, Marvelous Man flew up and swiped with his dug hand to unleash a volley of dirt. The earthen spray flew against Apollo’s body and flung into the god’s eyes. The God of Art recoiled in pain at the literal dirty attack with a brief shriek. Marvelous Man twirled in a counterclockwise motion, as he rose above his dad. Completing his rotation, the musclebound superhero brought his left leg down in a diagonal axe kick. The back of his boot’s heel connected against the side of Apollo’s neck; crumbling the God of Art into the ground. Marvelous Man lunged his body forward and followed the velocity of his kick into another spin. Finishing the revolution of his spin, the muscle demigod dove to grab Apollo by the yellow collar. With Apollo in his grasp, Marvelous Man flew towards the dazed Ares. The muscle demigod spun in the air to his increase his attack before throwing his dad; shooting Apollo through the air like a human-sized missile dressed for a day at the country club. Ares was still staggered from the projectile attack but was beginning to edge towards recovery before the God of Art slammed into the bulky war god’s chest. The two gods careened into the wooden fence; splintering it into pieces. Marvelous Man turned to flee, as Ares was toppled over with Apollo on top. “You were never a disappointment!” shouted Aphrodite. Marvelous Man paused; switching his attention to where his mother stood. Aphrodite continued, “We are so proud of what you accomplished even though you were so limited. But now it’s time to come home and live a safe life. You’ve earned it, Justice. We can even bring both of your lovers here if you’d like. I’m sure Gene would like it here, and you said you’d be fine if Gemini was with you.” His heart rate kept racing, and nearly every fiber of his being was telling Marvelous Man to run. But a big part of him still wanted to talk this all out; hoping that words can settle the battle without violence. His shoulders slouched, as he thought about the compromise. “...I’m sorry, mom. I can’t do that to them. I’d love to...but you’re forcing them to live somewhere they don’t actually want to be at. You of all people know what happens when you force someone to love a person. It’d be like that,” said Marvelous Man. Aphrodite fired back, “How’s that any different from what you’re doing in the real world, sugarplum?” Marvelous Man opened his mouth to ask what she meant, as three wooden broadswords fell from the sky. The swords pierced into the ground in front of the muscle demigod; severing the path between himself and Aphrodite. Marvelous Man jumped back from the sudden obstruction, as he heard Ares manly voice echo. “It’s an insult to your enemy when you turn your attention away from them, son. Either keep fighting or run away!” shouted Ares. Marvelous Man quickly inhaled air through his nose before following it with a sharp exhale. Stepping towards the wooden weapon stabbed into the ground, the musclebound superhero grabbed the sword in the center by the hilt. Marvelous Man lifted the weapon from the dirt with ease. He then turned to face his fathers, while pointing an open palm towards them. A golden glint shimmered for a moment behind the gods. Apollo looked up at Ares, “So is he trying to signal a timeout or-ACK!” The boomerang weapon that had hit Ares earlier had come whirling back. It struck the back of Apollo’s head; ringing out a blunt tung. The force of the blow knocked out the art god’s balance, as he fell to the ground once more. Marvelous Man leapt forward while thrusting the wooden broadsword in a piercing strike. As he soared towards Ares, he activated his flight powers. The hulking bodybuilder straightened himself like a plank with both hands gripping the sword’s hilt. He then began to rotate; spinning with such ferocity that he looked like a blurred, black drill. The God of War frowned and immediately dropped his spear. Flicking his hands into a grasping motion, a wooden sledgehammer appeared in his grip. The head of the weapon had a size that was often seen in comical shows, yet it held a menacing flair when wielded by a war god. Ares swung the hammer over his head in a slow, methodical fashion; as if timing his swing. Once the drill form of Marvelous Man was only a second away from boring into Ares, the God of War slammed his sledgehammer down. Ares had correctly evaluated his time to strike; connecting the weapon against his son. The wooden sledgehammer’s blow struck Marvelous Man’s back and sent the muscle demigod slamming into the ground. The earth beneath cracked from the intense power, while spraying a gust of dirt and air in all directions and jostling his braided hair. The breath in Marvelous Man’s lungs escaped him, as he gasped and groaned for it to come back. His spine was racked with pain, and he swore he heard a small pop when being smashed with Papa’s sledgehammer. He wanted to get up and keep fighting, but his body would not listen to his semi-conscious mind. Marvelous Man summoned all the willpower he could to keep awake; hoping that his healing factor would activate soon. “It was a good try, son, but you’re fighting against me in my own element. I always win when it comes to senseless violence. But I suppose if you had been honorable, you would have just loss to your other father,” commented Ares. Apollo slowly stood up, “Or maybe...just not fall for Ares’ provoke with the wooden sword he gave you. The man might be dense in everything else, but he definitely has a hands-on experience with being tricked into doing something careless.” Silence held in the air for a few seconds. Marvelous Man could not see it, but he guessed that Apollo realized Ares was glaring at the art god. Apollo would then realize that Ares was still holding a large, wooden sledgehammer. “Well, I still stand by what I said,” said Apollo. Ares grunted, “Hmmm, so what do we do now?” “Drag him back home, I guess. After that, well...we’ll just get a hold of Hephaestus and see if he can break off those bracelets since they’re enchanted to stay on Justice. And once that’s over, this world should smother his powers back into being base talents,” suggested Apollo. The quiet had settled in once again in the passing seconds. None of the gods moved, as Marvelous Man slowly motioned his shaky hand into the depths of his jacket’s pockets. His mind filed through every possible thing to think of that could turn the tables in his situation: a weapon, a potion, or even a magical device that assists with fleeing. Nothing materialized against the tips of his fingers. The feeling of betrayal swelled in his heart, as he realized his parents never bothered to give him the things he truly needed in the battle against evil. They talked about keeping him safe, but it seemed that his heroism was still a game or entertaining story to them. Just like those superhero comic books where the hero was never truly in any danger thanks to the status quo. Was he nothing more than some kind of pet? Like he was a teacup-sized dog meant only to fit in and accessorize a purse? Apollo spoke up, “Well? This is the part where you pick him up. Chop-chop.” “It’s just that…” paused Ares, “Are we really doing the right thing? We’re stealing away his chance to a fight he wishes to take part in. He could still win.” Apollo sniped, “Last time I checked, he was no longer your little soldier after you caused his precious knee to dislocate. And did you forget the part where you told us Gilgamesh crushed his hands? Nuh-uh, I am not putting my baby through that.” “No, no. You’re right. But...then what would change your mind?” asked Ares. Apollo bit his lip, “Mmmm...Maybe if he found out what his divine element was, I’d be more at ease. It’d definitely give him the edge in battle. Having us three as his parents really muddied it up into becoming something else entirely. I scanned him when he was unconscious but can’t figure out for the eternity of me of what it is. All I know is that there’s a...dark side to his power that…-” The two gods continued to babble about Marvelous Man, as the muscle demigod himself slowly regained his strength. Anger began coursing through his mind. How dare they...How dare they look down on him! They do not take him seriously enough that he is not disclosed about divine elements?! He fought with everything he had, and they still dared to withhold information that could have helped him?! The bundle of emotions that flooded through him was like the day he found out the truth about Sunnysville and his bloodline and destiny...He had enough. Inching forward with every painful nudge, he managed to move his recovering body towards his fathers. Marvelous Man reached his hand out and grabbed Ares’ exposed ankle. The muscle demigod could feel the floodgates of his heart open. The toxic he held back surged into his gripping hand; emanating a whisping darkness whispering its dark secrets. Another kind of poison had also seeped into his tongue, but it was a toxin that lacked any supernatural power. Marvelous Man could feel his mouth moving on its own, yet he did not care. “You’re all...a bunch of Dickasaures Rexes,” he gritted. The dark aura flared, as its whispers grew louder. The poison scanned the war god’s leg; detecting the lengthy list of injuries the limb had encountered. Marvelous Man became aware of the leg’s history, while his heart grew number. He wanted to push all the pain he was feeling onto his own family. Marvelous Man continued, “You all knew I had some power in me that could help me against the Skeleton Lord but didn’t say anything?! I’m risking my life out there when all you want to do is keep playing house?! FUCK THAT!” Ares looked down at Marvelous Man with a stupefied expression. The dark aura seemed to feed on Marvelous Man’s words; growing big enough to encompass the muscle demigod. The grass underneath Marvelous Man wilted into black, as it released a foul stench of rot. Its own lifetime of being trimmed had caused it to crumble into tiny black bits. “Wha?” said Ares, “Son, we-” “SHUT UP!!!” shouted Marvelous Man. The whispering poison seeped into Ares’ ankle. Traveling into the cells of the God of War, the darkness whispered its final secret before vanishing. The limb of Ares instantly reacted with extreme hemorrhage, while the muscle and skin tissues collapsed. The war god’s leg exploded; spraying Marvelous Man with bits of celestial blood. With a sudden imbalance to Ares’ body, the God of War immediately fell. As Ares fell backwards, Marvelous Man stood up. He looked down at his father with a cold stare, while Ares looked up with confusion. The musclebound superhero knew he should have felt bad for destroying his father, but all he felt was justified payback. He then felt his poisoned tongue move on its own again. Marvelous Man spoke, “Before you actually became a good dad, I wished you would just die. Especially on the day you caused my leg to dislocate.” The muscle demigod felt an electrical sting coursing through his left shoulder. Turning towards the source of the damage dealer, he spotted Apollo standing a small distance away. The God of Art was wielding his bow of light, as his trembling hands held another arrow nocked at the ready. Marvelous Man instantly put together that the God of Art jumped back and attempted to shoot another stun arrow. “That’s no way to treat your son, dad. But I guess to you I was just another art piece just to stroke your own dick of how great you are. No different than being treated as a weapon by the cripple over there,” he commented. Even though Marvelous Man was numbed from feeling any empathy towards his parents, he could feel a rush of euphoria flowing through himself. It felt so good to let his mouth run and tell all the hurtful secrets he had suppressed for so many years. The muscle demigod felt satisfied at knowing he could hurt his parents with more than just physical wounds. Apollo stated, “That’s enough Justice. Stop this right now, or-” “Or what?! You’ll kill me?! You can try! I just wonder if you’ll cry for me at my funeral. Hmph, probably not. You’ll break your face, since you can only express bitchiness,” spat Marvelous Man. The poisonous aura fed on the remarks and expanded itself towards Apollo. As it snaked towards the art god, the grass caught in its path wilted and crumbled. Apollo’s eyes took no notice of the whispering toxin; focused only on the bitter son. Marvelous Man continued, “You know what pisses me off the most? You two never said you’re sorry. For any of this! ‘I’m sorry, kiddo. We didn’t realize how much we were fucking you up by not letting you talk to anybody. We’re sorry that your whole life was a lie just so that we could feel relevant again. I’m sorry that we’re just selfish assholes who don’t give two shits about anybody other than the person in the mirror!’” Within range of the art god, the darkness pounced on his feet. The whispering poison traveled up beneath the khaki cuffs of Apollo’s legs; sinking into the cellulars. The whisping, black aura scanned the legs to only find a brief medical history of battle and athletic damage done to the limbs. The toxin whispered its final secret before vanishing and activating the past wounds. Underneath the pants, Apollo’s legs blackened with bruising, while the achilles tendon muscles in his ankles snapped into pieces. The God of Art fell onto his knees; whimpering in pain. “And just so you know, I would rather die out there than live in here for the rest of my life. If you even call it living. I’ve only realized after a couple of months how sad my life was. The highlight of my life around here is bodybuilding and assisting firefighters,” said Marvelous Man. He paused, “I’m terrified of going back out there with all that confusion and death...but I can’t stay here. Not after finally feeling freedom and talking to people.” Apollo held up his bow of light and immediately drew back an arrow. Knocked against the string, the arrow grew bright with the intensity of a spotlight that it looked nearly like a football made of light. “Go ahead, dad. Do it. Put me down like some rabid dog,” hissed Marvelous Man. The whisping aura still extended towards Apollo launched itself further up the God of Art. Traveling up Apollo’s body at swift speeds, the poison reached the art god’s face and dug into his eyes. Apollo immediately recoiled at the intrusion; dropping his bow in the process. Marvelous Man could instantly detect the many mental traumas suppressed within his father. Some of them were recently unvalved from the hurtful things the hulking bodybuilder said. Marvelous Man knew he would usually be curious about what the traumas were, but he was more interested in breaking Apollo. He activated all of the suppressed traumas. The darkness piercing into Apollo’s eyes looked like streams of tears to Marvelous Man. The art god’s eyes seemed be staring past the muscle demigod; his eyes clouded in black. The fear in Apollo’s face had now transformed into anguish and pity. He admitted, “You really are a monster. I tried to set you on a path of good. Having you focus on bodybuilding for discipline. The boy scouts for instilling morals. But...I guess...you really can’t fix something that was destined to be born broken.” “And what scares me so much is that even if you destroy the world. Destroy me. I’ll still love you, Justice. Somehow, out of all the children we’ve had, you’ve had the most profound effect on me. And it’ll never go away,” continued Apollo. A voice shouted behind Marvelous Man, “IT’S ME YOU WANT! I AM THE REASON WHY YOU WERE STUCK HERE FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS!” Turning around, the muscle demigod spotted his mother closer towards him. She had her hands clasped together against her chest; trembling with increased vigorousness with every step she took. Marvelous Man looked down at her, as Aphrodite was within an arm’s length of her son. “What?” said Marvelous Man. “Yes. I did it, sweetie,” she said, “We all were supposed to move back to the real world right after you graduated school and transport you when you fell asleep in our moving van and let you slowly discover that you’re a superhero. And then we would have had to let you go...But I was selfish. I loved you so much that I wanted you all to myself and keep playing in this illusion. Those two didn’t put up a fight when I requested it.” The hulking bodybuilder stared in disbelief, “...That’s it? Then why the sudden change of heart?” “You were dying, sugarplum. I could sense the love in you was withering. And my love...just wasn’t enough for you anymore. You might not have noticed, but I did. It’s why we had to let you go...Why I had to let you go,” said Aphrodite. She gave a short laugh, “But now, I’m doing it all over again. Trying to make you into what I want. Hoping that we can go back to how everything was, cause I was so happy and couldn’t face a reality where you died...But that’s wrong. What I want and what you want are two different things. And I...we need to realize that we must be willing to let you go if we truly love you. Let you find actual happiness and fulfillment rather than forcing ours onto you.” Marvelous Man extended his hand to place it against the side of his mother’s face. The dark aura radiating from his whole arm danced about Aphrodite’s cheeks. It almost looked as if the muscle demigod was caressing her with love, but his eyes betrayed the action from the gleam of his cold, hazel green eyes. “You’re a terrible mom, and you’ll never escape that,” he said. The poisonous darkness lashed out; diving into Aphrodite’s eyes. The Goddess of Love shuddered, as Marvelous Man detected his mother’s suppressed mental traumas. Activating them all, the toxin took on the similar appearance of whisping, black tears streaming from Aphrodite’s eyes. Immediately after, the dark poison flowing from the love goddess’ eyes had faded into nothingness. Aphrodite continued staring into the bitter son with unwavering yet wounded love, but the goddess had none of the side effects Apollo was experiencing. Marvelous Man could no longer sense any of the suppressed mental trauma. He then realized it was not because there was no suppressed traumas to activate, but because his cursed assault against his mother was extinguished. Aphrodite was untouchable to his poison. The goddess’ eyes twinkled with enlightenment. “I understand now,” she said. Marvelous Man shouted, “Wha-?! How?! I poisoned you! WHY AREN’T YOU BROKEN?!” Aphrodite lightly grasped the hand Marvelous Man held against her face. Gently bringing the enormous hand down, she place it against her bosom where her heartbeat pulsed. The Goddess of Love then placed her hands over his and cradled the hand with tenderness. “The same as how you were able to resist Gene’s influence,” she replied, “Apollo isn’t like me. He can’t resist soul poisoning.” Lifting her wrist with slow grace, she brought her hand close to Marvelous Man’s chest. The Goddess of Love lightly prodded her index and pinky finger against the musclebound hero’s meaty pecs; aiming it where her son’s heart beats. “But your soul has been poisoned too, sugarplum. And it’s my fault you ended up like this. I’ll fix you right up, sweetie,” stated Aphrodite. The love goddess flexed her wrist like a martial artist’s lightning-fast jab. Her middle and ring finger curled against her palm while pressing into her son’s immense pectoral. The rest of her fingers were splayed out on top, as a ring of golden light radiated from her hand. As the ring continued its disperse, it blasted away the whisping, dark aura encompassing Marvelous Man’s body. Marvelous Man’s massive body seized, while his head flexed upwards. The hulking bodybuilder took in a giant, desperate breath as if he were breathing for the first time. The numbness within his heart subsided; gone was the sadist need to inflict any sort of pain on his family. He could feel warmth flooding into his soul, and a lingering sense of pain that was beginning to grow. Looking down, the muscle demigod spotted his mother with a hopeful look in her eyes. “M-mom?” he said. She smiled, “Yes, sugarplum.” “Did I just…?” said Marvelous Man. Slowly turning around, he spotted the result of his poisonous power. The memories of his handiwork done only seconds ago bubbled up into his head. Marvelous Man wanted to stop it, but it became clear in his mind. It felt so distant, because the Marvelous Man he himself knows should not be capable of such terrible actions. Ares was sitting up and staring at Marvelous Man. The war god had only one leg; courtesy of the muscle demigod lashing out to hurt Papa. Apollo still knelt with the poison streaming from the eyes and coursing into the art god’s mind. He remembered that it felt so good to break them; especially with Apollo’s mental trauma. Marvelous Man gasped with his hands over his mouth, “Oh my gosh! I...did this…” “Yes, but don’t worry. I’ll take care of Apollo,” said Aphrodite, “And Ares will eventually grow his leg back. It’ll be alrigh-.” He teared up, “It’s not alright! Dad was right...I am a monster…” Aphrodite immediately grabbed her son’s thick wrist and pulled it back to her. Marvelous Man was unable to resist her sudden boundless strength and was caught in a bending position where the mother’s eyes were gazing into his. She spoke sternly, “Listen to me! You are not a monster. We were the ones who pushed you into acting like this. You did what you had to, because you just wanted to live your life. And it made you as detached as we once were to the preciousness of a mortal’s life.” Marvelous Man was unable to process what his mother was saying. He hurt his own family. The ones he loved. He began trying to look back at his fathers. “I-I-I gotta go and help them. I can heal them,” he said. Aphrodite replied, “No. Go. Leave this place. I’ll help them. Those people and your friends need you more.” “Bu-But...I don’t think I can anymore. I couldn’t even beat my dads without having to use that dark power of mine. And you saw what it does to me...And, and you’re not going to be around the next time I get out of control with it. I can’t touch it ever again...not even for the Skeleton Lord,” hesitated Marvelous Man. Aphrodite spoke, “Sweetie, there’s no one more afraid of you losing than me. But I know that deep down, you will beat the Skeleton Lord. And the answer finally came to me as to why. You need to understand your own self-worth and love it. Love being you. Not just Marvelous Man, but also as Justice. Both have equal value for existing.” Marvelous Man’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I...I don’t get it. Is that supposed to be a hint or something? For my divine element?” he questioned. She nodded, “Yes. I don’t know what it is, but it is something marvelous, sugarplum. I know that it is a seed. One that is overlooked but important and is connected to your fathers and I.” Tears formed in her eyes, as the Goddess of Love kissed her child’s forehead. “But just know that even after all this, we all still love you. Now go. I love you so much, sweetie...be careful,” she sobbed. Marvelous Man wept, “I love you too, mom.” Jumping up into the air, the musclebound superhero activated his flight power. He took off towards the loan office. Next Chapter
  21. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 19

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FT9X9Wx4bW29svnPKChd_XCwbpN8dSgMDeSzhPd-KHw) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & JOHN LARSON All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1FT9X9Wx4bW29svnPKChd_XCwbpN8dSgMDeSzhPd-KHw) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & JOHN LARSON Chapter 19: Orpheus Time had become irrelevant. The moment Marvelous Man’s eyes creaked open, he could feel his giant body encased in the sensation of pins and needles. He would then black out seconds later. The musclebound superhero had no idea how long he would remain unconscious and lost count of how many times he drifted back into the black slumber. In his current drifting back to consciousness but eyes still sealed shut, Marvelous Man could hear a door creaking open. Panicked steps then followed after the opening; stamping its way closer to Marvelous Man. The stepping noise stopped upon arriving next to the muscle demigod’s head. Marvelous Man heard a fumble of cloth before the sound of a camera shutter going off. “What the hell did he do to you, Justice?” said a smooth, Latino voice. Marvelous Man felt a warm hand lightly jostling his bulky shoulders. The man whispered, “Marvelous Man! You’ve got to wake up! I’m here to get you out of here!” The musclebound superhero recognized the Hispanic voice and felt a small surge of energy; a spark of hope. Marvelous Man concentrated to force his eyes open with all his might. The eyelids slowly creaked open, as it quickly adjusted to the residual candle light in the black room. Staring up at the speaker, it was someone Marvelous Man did not expect but felt renewed invigoration of joy. It was a ghoul dressed in a purple suit with giant flower petals formed along the suit’s neckline. The Hispanic ghoul had a skull for a face with decorations painted all over the bone surface. Adorned in front of his spinning, yellow flower eyes was a pair of childish 3D glasses; a thin cardboard frame with plastic sheet-like lenses separately colored red and blue. “Sugar...Skull?” croaked Marvelous Man. The ghoul nodded, “That’s right. I’ll free you in a second. I just have to hope these bones are alive.” Sugar Skull reached a hand into his other sleeve for a brief moment before pulling it back out. In the ghoul’s grasp was revealed to be his butterfly knife. Flicking it open, the unsheathed silver blade glimmered in the dim candlelight. The Limbo being immediately stabbed his side without breaking eye contact. “I bet you’re wondering how-NGH, I got here. I’ve been, uh, staking out this place for a while. That’s the word for when you’re professionally stalking somebody, right? It’s stake but not the cow kind,” he rambled. Sugar Skull withdrew his knife; the blade now coated and dripping in his poisonous ghoul blood. Turning to the bone bounded to Marvelous Man’s left wrist, the purple ghoul slashed at the middle section of the wall-mounted bone. It was a swift strike that left only a small nick on the bone with a droplet of blood on the slice. He continued, “So I figured that Skeleton Lord bastard would come back to this part of town. It’s been searched through by the cops, and I don’t think they’ll come check again. Turns out, I was right. I spotted the PB&J Gang bring the Skeleton Lord here. Had to use an insect drone to spy on him, since he’s invisible to any magical sight.” The binding slightly vibrated, while the dark blood began to seep into the cut. Starting at the incision, the bone immediately disintegrated into dust. Marvelous Man’s left arm flopped onto the ground with a soft thud upon release and causing his head to lean towards the left. A smoky darkness rose from the pile and stirred about it; as if it were trying to reassemble the bone dust. “And when I saw you being dragged in here, I wanted to save you. I really did. But I couldn’t stop the PB&J Gang without causing a, uh...ruckus. It would not be good if the Skeleton Lord caught me too,” sighed Sugar Skull, “Plus, the Skeleton Lord has an invisible scout keeping an eye out, and both of them didn’t leave this room for two whole days. ” The ghoul proceeded to the bone bounded to Marvelous Man’s left ankle and slashed it. Immediately after the blood from the butterfly knife soaked itself inside the marrow, the binding decayed into dust. The hulking bodybuilder’s left side fell onto the ground with a loud thud, as there was nothing else to keep that side propped up. As Sugar Skull looked back at Marvelous Man’s glazed eyes, he pointed at his flimsy 3D glasses. “Oh, yeah. That’s why I’m wearing these. They’re the Bruja’s X-Ray glasses. Not going to let the invisible fucker get the drop on me. Well...that and the fog,” he said. Sugar Skull rushed to the Marvelous Man’s bone-secured right ankle and sliced at it without looking. The bone reacted in the same way and crumbled into tiny debris. With only one binding left on the muscle demigod’s right arm, his naked, meaty buttocks was now completely touching the floor. Marvelous Man hoarsely spoke, “...Where are they?” “Skeleton Lord’s phone died. So they left to get it recharged. Hold on. Almost forgot,” replied Sugar Skull. Reaching his unarmed hand into his other sleeve, Sugar Skull pulled out his smartphone. Seconds passed, as his thumb flicked about the phone’s screen. The small sound of an insect’s buzz emanated from underneath the hulking bodybuilder. A large horsefly appeared from behind the lifted part of Marvelous Man’s heavy torso; buzzing around the musclebound superhero’s head in an annoying fashion. After a few more laps around the cranium, the fly flew over to Sugar Skull’s phone-holding hand and landed on top. It crawled its way into the flower petal-shaped sleeve’s opening, as its wings slightly fluttered and hummed. The ghoul then placed his phone back into his magical sleeve. He stated, “Just to be clear, I do not use my fly drone to spy on people in the bathroom, okay? I am a gentleman, and I will respect a person’s privacy. But outside of that...it’s free game, ahahaha!” Marvelous Man wished he had the energy to roll his eyes. But he was still thankful that Sugar Skull showed up and was still rambling and cracking perverted jokes as usual. The muscle demigod would have been more afraid if the ghoul was not being humorous at all. As Sugar Skull walked towards the final bondage on Marvelous Man’s right wrist, the ghoul paused. The musclebound superhero felt his heart skip a beat. He was not sure how, but he knew his purple-suited friend was frowning. Despite the ghoul not having any facial muscles or skin on the skull head. “Fatherfuck!” hissed Sugar Skull. Rushing towards the last bone binding, he slashed with an uppercut stroke. The bone dissipated into dust, as the rest of Marvelous Man’s naked torso landed on the floor with a quick thud. Sugar Skull flicked his butterfly knife; sheathing the blade. Placing the weapon back inside his sleeve, he immediately pulled his hand out with a new item in his grasp. A box of band aids. The ghoul stated, “I can’t carry you, Marvelous Man. But this should give you the boost! Magical adrenaline shots.” Sugar Skull ripped open the box and pulled out a pair of pink, heart-shaped band aids. Pulling the paper tabs off the bandages’ adhesives, the ghoul slapped the big band aid hearts over Marvelous Man’s large nipples. The band aids covered the wide areolas; making it seem like the bodybuilder’s soft, brown nipples were replaced with pink hearts. Marvelous Man’s eyes shot wide open, while his heart rate spiked into rapid rhythms. The muscle demigod felt like he could do backflips for miles. He immediately sat straight up. “Ohmygosh! Thankyousomuchforsavingme,SugarSkull!” he yammered. Rolling backward for momentum with his legs tucked in, the hulking bodybuilder then thrusted his legs up into the air. Marvelous Man used the sudden force to lift his heavy body into the air while using his hands to push off the floor. He leapt into the air, as his feet slammed back onto the ground. He executed the kick up perfectly and landed standing straight up. The muscle demigod lunged at his rescuer with a bear hug. Sugar Skull could only grunt, as the air was squeezed out of him. Marvelous Man leaned down and planted a wet smooch on the ghoul’s purple teeth. Upon kissing, the musclebound superhero could feel his lips touching up against...lips that were not visible to the naked eye. It was not something Marvelous Man felt questioning, because he felt like an invincible god at the moment. The hulking bodybuilder’s sexual muscle strained with renewed vigor; nestled between Sugar Skull’s thighs and nearly lifting the ghoul. Sugar Skull gasped, “While I am extremely turned on by this...we don’t have time for sex. We need to go...now.” Marvelous Man immediately released his half-alive friend from the crushing hug. He tried to think, but it felt like the thoughts were moving at light speed. His mouth could barely process the words he wanted to say. “Right. Rightrightrightright. Rrrrrright!...What’s happening?” he said. Sugar Skull coughed, “I spotted the invisible scout! The Skeleton Lord is coming back!” “Shit fatherfucker! We gotta get outta here!” Marvelous Man shouted, “I know! I’ll punch the wall and fly us out!” The ghoul picked up the box of band aids and placed it back into his magical sleeve. Pulling his hand out, he had another item in his grip. A small, silver handgun with tiny, silver lyre harp decorations soldered onto the sides shimmered in the candle’s light. Sugar Skull aimed the gun against the side of his head. “We can’t. It’s a death sentence for you, if we try to escape that way,” he replied. Pulling the trigger, the gun went off with a loud bang. Sugar Skull’s head jerked away from the gun in reaction to the shot. On the other side of the skeletal temple where the supposed bullet was supposed to exit, a flurry of shiny butterflies erupted from the ghoul’s skull. The rims of their wings were outlined with a dark color, but their wings were completely transparent. The cloud of butterflies flew around Sugar Skull for a moment before fluttering towards the wall behind the ghoul. Landing on top of the whisping dark wall, they created a thick layer that almost seemed to smother the darkness they were standing on. They all continued wiggling about the wall until they were on top of one another to form the shape of a doorway. Once completed, they appeared to look like a door-sized glass window filled with countless hairline fractures. Their transparent wings no longer showed the darkness they were settled on top of, but it instead shared the image of another world filled with grey. Sugar Skull waved, “Follow me! It won’t be open for long!” The ghoul ran into the portal made of butterflies. Upon contact with the insects, his body phased through the butterfly gathering. The insects made no motion to move out of Sugar Skull’s path; only giving their wings a slight flutter at the ghoul’s touching proximity. The Limbo being appeared on the other side of the portal wings without any signs of alteration on his body. Turning around, Sugar Skull motioned his friend to follow. Marvelous Man charged without hesitation and leapt at the butterfly portal. He braced himself for any resistance but met none upon impact. It felt more like he walked from a musty room into a world that seemed to have combined that room’s scent with the smell of bleach. The muscle demigod gave the gray world a quick scan, as Sugar Skull ran off. It looked no different than the ghetto Marvelous Man had repeatedly visited. Abandoned, rotting architecture with cracked, black road pavement filled with potholes; unlike the ghetto’s aesthetic of being forgotten, this world carried a sense of hopelessness and despair. Vehicles had occupied parts of the road, but they had rusted over and fallen apart. The sky had been blanketed in dark, grey clouds, and specs of dust and ash danced forever in the air. With nothing alive in the vicinity to provide noise, Marvelous Man could only hear the piercing noise of absolute silence or one afflicted with tinnitus. “Come on!” shouted Sugar Skull. The musclebound superhero complied and followed after his friend. The two ran; turning onto roads and into alleys. Sugar Skull slowed down only for a moment to place his silver dimension portal gun and his X-Ray 3D glasses back into the magical space of the ghoul’s flower-shaped sleeves. Every so often, Marvelous Man would catch glimpses of other resident beings they sprinted past. The inhabitants of this world had human-like qualities, but they still appeared off-colored...like a dead person. Only the fully clothed ones were meandering about with firearms and close-combat weaponry strapped to them. Whereas the naked beings were lying around and refused to look up at Marvelous Man and his ghoulish friend. Marvelous Man could hear a horse’s high-pitched whinny echoing from behind him. As a cold shiver ran down his bulky back, the thundering sound of an equine’s gallop began to draw closer to the hulking bodybuilder. The surge of fear coursed through him; energizing himself to run faster. He called out, “Sugar Skull!” “It’s not too far! Almost there!” encouraged the ghoul. Even with all the distance the two had managed to cross, it felt as if Marvelous Man was barely moving. He could hear the horse’s gallop closing in. It felt as if the unseen animal was only a block away from them. Marvelous Man then heard a raspy voice from behind him; projecting with loud authority. “Abandon this idle flight, Marvelous Man,” said the man, “You do not have the strength to flee from me!” Marvelous Man dared to glance behind himself. Galloping around a building corner, the Skeleton Lord rode upon a fully-fleshed horse. The steed was black and carried a heavy, round muscular physique to inspire an intimidating and regal aura of its rider. The red cloak billowed in the wind, while the distance between the musclebound superhero and the Skeleton Lord came to a close. Activating his flight powers, Marvelous Man vaulted himself towards Sugar Skull. He reached out with his bulging arms and swept the ghoul off the ground. Cradling his friend in his strapping arms, the muscle demigod took flight into the cloudy sky. As the musclebound superhero gained the altitude to surpass the buildings’ heights, he felt something tug around his ankle. Unseen to Marvelous Man, a chain made of interlocking bones had constricted about his meaty leg. The bone chain yanked; abruptly pulling down the muscle demigod with a force greater than his levitation ability could resist. The buildings seemed to grow from his perspective, while he fell. Sugar Skull slipped from Marvelous Man’s grasp during the capture; the ghoul seemed to be almost floating in the air. The hulking bodybuilder crashed into the cement with a large smash. Air was pressed out of his lungs, while his mind felt like it was bouncing around like a pinball. Marvelous Man was too dizzy to move, and he could feel the adrenaline rush from the heart-shaped band aids on his nipples beginning to fade. Seconds after, he could hear his skull-faced friend landing on the ground with the mix of a wet splat and a bone-breaking crunch. The Skeleton Lord slowly trotted on his horse, “You see? A fruitless endeavor.” Marvelous Man could hear the horse’s clops coming closer to him. The brain ricocheting around in his head came to a slow, as he realized his recapture was nearly imminent. Taking a deep breath to gather his strength, he slowly sat up. The musclebound superhero looked at his leg to see a chain created by bones wrapped around his ankle. His eyes trailed the lengthy whip back to a bone club; clutched in the skinny fingers of the Skeleton Lord. “Now come. I have further use for you as my battery,” spoke the Skeleton Lord. He gazed at the grey world about him, “Let us leave...whatever this place is.” “It’s...Limbo. But you’d know it as Purgatory,” said Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man looked behind and saw Sugar Skull slowly standing up. His body appeared jagged; joints and bones broken multiple areas. Small snapping noises emanated from his mangled frame, as the broken and disjointed parts of himself slowly pieced itself back together. The ghoul flexed his jaw in multiple directions; eliciting small popping sounds. The Skeleton Lord replied, “Ah, I was wondering who the snake in my garden was. The peculiar ghoul named Deathshade. Trying to relieve me of my prize, hm?” The spinning, yellow flower eyes in Sugar Skull’s sockets wilted into nothingness; blackness resumed full custody of the ghoul’s eye holes. He stood up straight, while the last of his broken body parts had finally mended. The ghoul shrugged. “Actually, I was trying to kill you. But I guess in the end, yeah, I wanted to take back my friend. So I’m guessing you leaving the house was just a trap,” said Deathshade. Marvelous Man felt terrified and confused. Was that the name his half-alive friend refused to disclose him? “It was...of sorts,” answered the Skeleton Lord, “You shrouded yourself well from my sight, that I could not see who was trespassing on my grounds. But I noticed a pocket of empty space when I released my fog. I did not see the point of pursuing you until I left to fix my glass tablet. And when I felt you stir, well...I could not resist finding out who dared to storm my castle.” Deathshade clicked his tongue, “So...where’s your scout hiding? I know he is, as you say, shrouded. So am I going to have to wait for him to attack me, who will very much die. Or will he show his face, so we can continue this, ehhhh...diplomacy?” The Skeleton Lord paused for a few seconds before uttering a high-pitched shriek. Marvelous Man felt like his blood had turned to ice upon hearing the ancient evil’s wicked laughter. “Rest assured, I did not bring my guardian here with me. Though I must say, I did not at all expect your birthplace to appear so dejected. And yet, I am not surprised,” said the Skeleton Lord. The supervillain questioned, “So tell me, ghoul. What have you to barter for the star child’s freedom? Have you come to offer your life for his? Because while he would appreciate the gesture, you have even less worth than a pig’s piles of excrement.” “I can offer you power. I know the location of two Mana Stones. And those are worth so much more than the life energy you have been sucking from Marvelous Man,” haggled Deathshade. The Skeleton Lord inquired, “And where are the stones?” “Here in Purgatory, and the other is at the D.A.B. headquarters. I even have a magical compass for you to find it,” responded the ghoul. The Skeleton Lord paused, “...Present it to me.” Slowly reaching into the purple sleeve, Deathshade pulled out a small, black compass. The dial within the device spun; its North indicator adjusting to new surroundings. The ghoul tossed the compass at the ancient evil without hesitation. Reaching out with a free hand, the Skeleton Lord snatched it from the air. “Do we have a deal? Or are we going to fight? It might take me a while, but I will kill you. And that is a promise I can keep,” warned Deathshade. The supervillain held the magical device with an open palm, as the device’s dial slowed to a stop. With a flick of his wrist that had the bone whip in his grasp, the white chain uncoiled from Marvelous Man’s ankle. The Skeleton Lord closed his hand over the compass, “Hmph. I would be a fool to test my...reimposed mortality that you have so graciously gifted me. Take Marvelous Man. I will not commit harm to either of you. But know that you have only delayed my inevitable wrath.” Marvelous Man pushed himself up; not wanting to be any closer to the Skeleton Lord than he had to. The hulking bodybuilder ran over to Deathshade’s side with a slight hobble. His body still ached from the slam, but he needed only a few more seconds for a full recovery over the superficial bruises. Behind the horse-riding Skeleton Lord, animalistic noises screeched. It was a holler of beings that lost their humanity; yellings of blind fury that scared Marvelous Man. “Alas, I cannot say the same for my undead compatriots,” remarked the supervillain. A mob of rotting, animated corpses spilled from around the corner the Skeleton Lord came from. The dead husks stampeded over each other; almost appearing to mimic rushing water coursing through a canal. Marvelous Man instantly recognized the moving carcasses. Rugged. Bloated. Oozing. Marked with bloody runes. The unfortunate corpses that had the fate of meeting the Skeleton Lord; left to decompose on the floors of a tucked-away townhouse. Deathshade reached into his purple sleeve, “Well, I only have one thing to say…” Pulling his hand out, the ghoul held in his grasp a golden grenade. The explosive had tiny mirrors glued on to imitate a disco ball. Looping his finger through the grenade’s pin, Deathshade squatted with his purple rear end nearly touching the ashed concrete. “Uhn!” he grunted. The Limbo being yanked the pin from the explosive. Immediately after, the ghoul jumped up. As he landed on the sole of his maroon boot with his other foot held up like a flamingo, Deathshade spun in a festive fashion. He stopped himself after completing the first revolution; striking a dynamic pose. When assuming his flamboyant stance, he flung out his arm towards the Skeleton Lord. The special grenade was in that arm’s grasp, and it launch into the air upon Deathshade instantly opening his hand. The ghoul exclaimed, “Boogie!” The shiny grenade bounced on the ground near the Skeleton Lord, while Deathshade turned towards Marvelous Man. Grabbing the musclebound superhero’s hand, the ghoul fled with his colossal friend in tow. The golden explosive finished its bounces and rolled against up to the hoof of the Skeleton Lord’s horse. The supervillain did nothing but stared down at the mirrored bomb. In the seconds the friends had escaped and the raging zombies pursuing them were close to passing by the ancient evil on his steed, the grenade exploded. Blinding lights of multiple colors blasted from the explosive, while the deafening music of disco thundered. The zombies flinched from the concussion to their sight and ears. The muscular, black steed whinnied and stood on its hind legs in fright; causing the Skeleton Lord to fall onto the dusty ground. While outside of the disco grenade’s blast radius, Marvelous Man could still hear the funky beats of the music vibrating his massive body. The song sounded like it could be fun to dance to...were it not for it for the situation he was currently in, and the disco music being weaponized to disorienting levels. The hulking bodybuilder held onto the ghoul’s hand, as he was led down another winding path of the concrete jungle. “There’s our exit!” shouted Deathshade. Marvelous Man looked ahead to where his friend was directing his attention towards. A small distance away against a wall was an art decor resting on top of a brown end table. It was a clay sculpture shaped like a leafless tree. The tree art piece was blended with so many colors it did not have a major color to set the tone. On top of each of the branches were tiny cups that housed a little glass marble on top of it. The sculpt itself was so full of vibrant life, that Marvelous Man could find few words to describe it other than immaculate. The muscle demigod then noticed a yellow table runner cloth underneath the sculpture that held the same symbol as Deathshade’s brooch: a weeping closed eye. As the two arrived in front of the sculpture, Deathshade relinquished his hand from Marvelous Man’s. He dove his hand into his magical sleeve for a moment before retrieving a glass marble with multiple colors streaming inside of it. Grabbing Marvelous Man’s large hand again, Deathshade held out the glass marble he had in his hand. On the side of the sculpture sat a cup on a branch that was empty. The ghoul then placed the glass marble on top of the empty cup. Marvelous Man stared down at a steaming cup of coffee that sat on top of a restaurant table. It had a roasted aroma to it that had a hint of sweetness to it. The hulking bodybuilder then wondered why he was looking at a cup of coffee. Moreover...what just happened? A man’s voice spoke up, “Marvelous Man?” The muscle demigod looked up from the coffee and saw Deathshade sitting across from him on the other side of the table. Feeling an ominous and awkward chill from looking into the ghoul’s empty sockets, Marvelous Man looked around. They appeared to be in the booth of a diner with absolutely no customers other than themselves. There was a window next to the two, but Marvelous Man could only see blackness upon peering through it. “...Where? Wait, what just happened? Weren’t we just at that sculpture?” he said. Deathshade nodded, “We were. And now, we’re here. We’re in a pocket dimension that’s between Earth and Limbo. And when we leave this place, we’ll be back on Earth.” The ghoul paused, as he looked down at his steaming cup of coffee set in front of him. “You know how when divers get the bends, they’re put in those...uhhhh, decompression chambers? It’s like that for me. I can be gone a long time in Limbo trying to find lost artifacts for the Bruja, and I just sit here to process everything that happened and...balance myself. Thinking about my family helps. Well, that and I jack off in the corner, hehe,” he said. Marvelous Man hesitated, “...And we got here...because of that sculpture? I think they’re called, the Tree of Life? From Mexican art.” “That’s right. The Bruja has at least one in every time zone in Limbo. But I’m the only one with all the marbles, haha...sorry, to get out. And even if someone did managed to get one from me, they wouldn’t be able to find a Tree of Life,” replied Deathshade. Marvelous Man flexed an eyebrow, “How?” Deathshade tapped the brooch pinned to his purple suit. Marvelous Man remembered the cloth underneath the Tree of Life sculpture had the exact same symbol as Deathshade’s brooch. With time spent between the two so short in the past, the musclebound superhero never had a chance to ask about the brooch’s symbol: a weeping closed eye. “This symbol isn’t just the Bruja’s calling card. It’s enchanted by her to cause, uhhhh...how do you say ignorancia? Oh...right, hehe. This brooch and the symbol at the sculpture broadcasts ignorance. The harder someone tries to find me or the sculptures, the more invisible it is to them. It also affects cameras too. So don’t worry. Nobody from Limbo or the Skeleton Lord is getting out through there,” he explained. Marvelous Man frowned, “Yeah...what were those things back there? They didn’t really seem to care…” “They’re ghouls,” sighed Deathshade, “And believe it or not, those are the nice ones. Most of them only care about themselves and will probably try to murder me to steal what little soul I have left to prevent...well, a spiritual rotting. It’s what happens when you lose the will to live. Cause if you rot enough, then you become a monster. And it won’t be long before the ones lying on the ground we passed by will change into monsters. The ghoul scratched his chin, “Hm, it’s a good thing the Bruja chose me to be her servant...because I’m not sure what would’ve happened to me if she didn’t…” Marvelous Man watched his friend sip coffee. The muscle demigod felt at a loss for what to say next. There was so much to process between the span of being rescued from the Skeleton Lord’s clutches to escaping Limbo. Marvelous Man then remembered something. “Hey, wait. How come we didn’t just use that silver gun you had to get out of Limbo?” he inquired. Deathshade sat his cup down, “The Orpheus is just a one-way ticket into Limbo. It’s kind of a security thing like with the Tree of Life. If somebody was dumb enough to get that gun and use it, then they’ll be trapped if they don’t know another way out of Limbo.” The hulking bodybuilder looked at Deathshade’s empty eye sockets again. Even though this was a person he could trust, it still felt scary to see nothing in those bony slots. Marvelous Man changed the subject. “So...Deathshade, huh? I’m guessing that’s what the bad guys call you?” he said. Deathshade nodded, “Yep. Guess I might as well tell you that I know your secret identity is Justice. Oh, wait. Is there nothing in my eyes? Hold on.” Marvelous Man wanted to feel shocked from his secret being known, but he was still overcome by the shock and numbness from the sudden chain of events. The muscle demigod then changed his attention to watching his friend. Placing his hand in front of his forehead, the ghoul brought his hand down. As his hand passed his eye sockets, the emptiness was gone. The spinning, yellow flower eyes had been restored; easing comfort back into Marvelous Man. “There. Just keep calling me Sugar Skull. It’s what I want my friends to know me as,” said Sugar Skull. He continued, “So now that we both know each other’s secrets and won’t tell anybody else, I think we really need to talk about the real issue with the Skeleton Lord. Also, FYI, don’t worry about your secret identity thing. Most people won’t figure it out that you and Justice are the same.” “The thing is...I was supposed to tell you what I know about the Skeleton Lord a while back. But I got distracted and was sent to try to kill the Skeleton Lord again. I messed up the first time, but at least I took away his immortality. Sooooo, I guess you call that a silver lining...if it wasn’t the main reason why the Skeleton Lord is careful now and more, ummm, cloak and dagger,” recalled Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man looked away to remember, “Was that why you were at Toto’s? To talk to me? I saw you when I was on a date with Gene Lightfoot.” Sugar Skull’s flower eyes shifted to the left and right before focusing back towards the muscle demigod. “...Yyyes? Anyways, the Bruja wanted me to help you guys out and tell you everything she knows about the Skeleton Lord...since I didn’t kill him when he woke up,” bobbled the ghoul’s head. Marvelous Man flexed his eyebrows, “Wait, shouldn’t you be telling the D.A.B. about this? Why me? I mean, you could’ve told Gene this info to him instead.” Sugar Skull stared down at his coffee. “I know I act like a fool, and that’s just how I am now. Embrace life for what it is and have fun. Especially when a witch brings you back to life halfway just so that you can taste and fuck and feel pain again. Nobody at the D.A.B. trusts me or would pay attention to me. They’d just kick me out before I say anything, cause they think I’ll steal something from them. But you...you’re the first person that trusted me and even apologized for profiling me. When I look into your eyes, Justice, I see an honest and trustworthy man,” stated the ghoul. His purple teeth chattered, “As for Gene, well, we’d just end up fucking our brains out, and I’d totally forget what I was supposed to tell him, GAHAHAHA!!!” “That does sound like you,” giggled Marvelous Man, “So what can you tell me about the Skeleton Lord? How come there’s no history about him?” The ghoul replied, “That’s because of the Bruja when she was a young witch, uhhh, millenias ago. The Skeleton Lord killed a lot of people back then and tried to commit genocide to the Totochtin. Traveling all the way from Europe, to Africa, then to South America. After he was finally captured when crossing over into Central America, the leaders of the past realized the damage he had done. The Skeleton Lord’s tale would be passed down through every generation like other tragedies in our world histories. And if that big bad ever got out, he would be able to feed on that fear. And humanity would enter dark days again.” “So the young Bruja created her first spell. She turned her familiar into a sort of black hole that sucked up all written records and memories from the weak-minded people that had heard of the Skeleton Lord. This helped erased the Skeleton Lord’s history. So that if he ever woke up, he did not have any power over anybody. If nobody could fear him, then he could be kept weak...well, until he found another power source. We didn’t know that he had the ability to drain energy...or could turn flesh into energy,” continued Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man muttered, “So that’s why the D.A.B. had no records of him. Then do you know why he’s trying to destroy the world. Like, what caused him to become bad?” The ghoul held up his index finger and opened his mouth. As he was about to form words, Sugar Skull paused. His spinning, yellow flower eyes transformed into pixilated hourglasses before shifting back to flowers as he talked. “I...don’t know. The Bruja only got involved after the Skeleton Lord started his rampage. Because it was after that she became an info broker. When she casted that spell of hers, anybody that knew the Skeleton Lord before he turned bad was already dead. So all she knows from bits of records is that he was a peaceful king back around the twenty-eighth century BC...maybe more. But then something called the “Royal Burning” happened, and he became batshit angry,” shrugged the ghoul. The musclebound superhero chewed at the inside of his cheek. It was useful to know why they know nothing, but it still felt like no useful knowledge to combat the Skeleton Lord had been gained. There was one thing Marvelous Man needed to ask. He questioned, “Then do you at least know how he’s able to avoid us?” “Oh, yeah. That’s simple. It’s his cloak. The thing has been enchanted to hide from any magical detection or magical sight. I never had a chance to pull it off. It would make finding him so much easier. But it would be even better if he just went in places that had cameras, cause that cape only affects magic,” said Sugar Skull. The bodybuilder’s mind flashed back to his second encounter to the Skeleton Lord. Gene had flung the supervillain across the underground room by grabbing onto the red cloak. The cloak never came off and instead pulled the Skeleton Lord with it. After that, the ancient evil became a pulping mess after splattering against the concrete wall. Marvelous Man mentioned, “Gene sorta tried to pull it off of him. But it was stuck to him like it was part of him...or something.” “Eh, if I had to guess, it’s also enchanted to be bonded to the skeleton douchebag. I wonder who could have done that. Multi-layered spells aren’t easy to pull off, you know,” suggested Sugar Skull. Marvelous Man sighed, “Okay...ummm, what about his bone powers? You know how he’s doing that?” “No idea. The Bruja just figured that was part of his ability or some magic artifact he’s got hidden underneath his robe,” shrugged Sugar Skull. The muscle demigod rustled his hair in slight frustration. He felt like he was running in a circle of paradoxes; answers that led to more questions with no real resolution. Marvelous Man did not ever see underneath the Skeleton Lord’s red cloak no matter how close he was...but he did scan the supervillain. Marvelous Man inquired, “What about a familiar? If he had a...bone imp, could he do it?” Sugar Skull froze. Cupping his chin, the spinning flower eyes changed into pixilated hourglasses. The few, black pixels of sand poured into the bottom before the hourglasses flipped onto its opposite end. As the hourglasses flipped again, they changed back into their cartoon flowery form. “...Maybe? It’s possible, that he could be a witch. He did paint those runes on your body, after all,” he speculated, “But magic and familiars aren’t my, ummm, forte. I’ll ask the Bruja when we get out of here...And after she pelts me with a thousand sandals, she’ll definitely want to see the pic I took of you. May I ask why he painted that stuff on you?” Marvelous Man thought back to his capture. Even though it was recent, it felt like it happened a long time ago now that he was in a literal safe space. Yet the memory still sent a chill through the hulking bodybuilder. “It...was some sort of...He called it a safeguard. To make sure that the last drop of energy was still in me,” he shuddered. Sugar Skull placed his hand over Marvelous Man’s. The muscle demigod could sense the ghoul giving a gentle smile; despite having no facial muscles. The ghoul spoke softly, “It’s alright, Justice. You’re safe here. He can’t get to you. And he’s too busy finding the Mana Stones, so he won’t be looking for you anytime soon. I want you to know that you’re a hero by surviving that shit you went through. Okay? It doesn’t matter how you got in. All you should care about is that you got out.” The hulking bodybuilder nodded his head, while he swallowed his dry throat. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes after feeling his friend’s tenderness, but willed it to stay down. His memory flashed to the moments ago of Sugar Skull bartering for his liberation. “Can I ask you something? I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but why did you save me? You should’ve fought the Skeleton Lord. I mean, you said it yourself. You would have won. Or you could have just left me in that house until you found the perfect moment to get the jump on him. Gene and the others would have found me...eventually,” said Marvelous Man. Sugar Skull placed his other hand over his friend’s, “Maybe when I was human...But all you need to know is you may not be my family, but you’re still my friend.” Hearing his half-alive friend give an immediate reply, the walls sealing up the deep feelings in Marvelous Man’s heart crashed. Tears silently streamed down his cheeks. The hulking bodybuilder closed his eyes to stop the flow, but more came flooding out. The ghoul pulled napkins from the dispenser sitting on the table. Sugar Skull placed the bundle of napkins into the musclebound superhero’s hands. The cartoon flowers spinning in his eye sockets transformed into a shallow pool of water; looking ready to spill out of the skeletal holes. “It’s okay, pal. Let it all out. But, uh, you might want to hurry, because I’m going to start crying too. And then we won’t be able to get out of here,” he said. The muscle demigod quickly dabbed his eyes with the napkins before moving it down his face. They felt scratchy and cheap against his cheeks, but they were absorbent enough for his tears. Marvelous Man sniffed, “Sorry.” “It’s fine. And your friends from the D.A.B. wouldn’t have been able to save you anyways,” mentioned Sugar Skull. The musclebound superhero frowned, “...Why?” Seeming newly distracted with the change of subject, the pool of water in the ghoul’s eye sockets changed back into spinning flower eyes. Sugar Skull pulled a smartphone out of his flower-shaped sleeve. He flicked through its contents as he spoke. “You remember what I said about the fog? Hours after he drained you, he did this,” he said. The ghoul held the phone’s screen in front of Marvelous Man to watch. It was a news clip video from an anchorwoman reporting a mysterious fog that had appeared in the ghetto area and filled its entire streets. Robotic and magical drones were sent inside of the fog, but none made it back. Footage from outside the fog was shown. It looked like the Skeleton Lord’s whisping darkness, yet it was extremely concentrated that not even sunlight could break it. After the video ended, Sugar Skull placed it back into his magical sleeve. Marvelous Man looked down at his coffee, “So it’s my fault that he did that.” “Don’t say that. He would have eventually gotten to that point without your energy by sending one of his victims to trick more drug addicts back to his house,” Sugar Skull immediately replied. Sugar Skull resumed his explanation, “But back to what I was saying about the fog, I think that fog is just a...ummm...oh! Defense mechanism! That’s the word! I think it’s just a defense mechanism to keep heroes out before he does something big. So since the Skeleton Lord is stuck in Limbo, the fog should be gone too. So even if your superhero friends knew where you were, they couldn’t get inside without risking their own lives. But hey, we can plant a trap, while he’s gone!” “Yeah, I guess,” sighed Marvelous Man. The ghoul reached into his purple sleeve, “One more thing. The Bruja is interested in learning about you. If you tell her all about yourself and how you came to be, you could use it to trade for any info that isn’t...publicly available.” Sugar Skull pulled out a business card and slid it across the table. Marvelous Man picked it up for a closer look. The card itself looked like papyrus paper and had aged ink printed onto it: “La Bruja: The Witch of Pages”. Printed underneath the name was an email address. “So are you ready to head out?” said the ghoul. Marvelous Man slowly inhaled air before releasing it in a sigh. Seconds ticked by, as he stared into space. He looked at his friend, “Yeah, I’m ready.” The Limbo being shifted from the diner booth and stood up. He then offered his hand to Marvelous Man, while he stared at his friend. Without hesitation, the hulking bodybuilder accepted the hand and stood up as well. As Sugar Skull led Marvelous Man to the diner door behind the booth, he spoke up. “By the way, you should really get your stomach checked at. Unless you’re into having a jelly baby bun in the oven. Not judging, just thought you should know, since I saw it with my X-Ray glasses,” mentioned the ghoul. Upon reaching the exit within a few steps, Sugar Skull gripped the door. The sound of a bell jingled, as he opened the door. Marvelous Man stood in a large room that rivaled his penthouse. Strewn about the area was many potted plants that seemed to be of varieties not native to United States soil. All the ones that appeared to tropical or jungle floral had unique shades of colors; causing the room itself to become muted to the lively plants. Across the room was a set of windows outlooking Skyway City. The outside was dark with the night sky, but the streetlights from below battled against the night with its own illumination. A familiar voice spoke up, “Marvelous Man?” Turning to his right, the muscle demigod spotted a naked Gene Lightfoot peering over a black leather couch. The rabbit superhero seemed to be squatting over a man that was seated on the couch and underneath Gene. It appeared that Marvelous Man had interrupted the Totochtin prince’s intercourse session. “H-hi, Gene. Um, where are we?” said Marvelous Man. Gene jumped up; leaping off of his affair’s dick while propelling over the couch in a front flip style. Upon landing, he dashed towards Marvelous Man. The Totochtin prince spread his arms open, as he was within hitting distance of his missing teammate. He then clasped them around the hulking bodybuilder’s waist; squeezing in a hugging embrace. The rabbit superhero exclaimed, “Oh, how I have missed you, my friend! I was terrified of your well-being! There was the recordings on the security footage of you being dragged off by the PB&J Gang. The D.A.B. and I tried to rescue you, but the dangerous fog arose once we discovered you had been the kidnapped.” Marvelous Man hugged back his naked teammate. He could feel the bunny demigod emitting feelings of genuine relief, happiness, and a hint of sadness mixed with guilt. The musclebound superhero felt his own twinge of guilt; thinking that it was his fault Gene felt this way. Gene backed away, as the Totochtin prince’s white rabbit ears twitched. “Please do not feel the guilt. It is not your fault such things happened, and it is right that I feel the terror if my good friend has become the missing. But what I am feeling right now is the relief of you appearing here in the Toto’s,” consoled Gene. After hearing what the Totochtin prince just said, Marvelous Man came to the conclusion that they were on the top floor of Toto’s. He remembered how Toto’s was a resting place for the chosen Totochtin, and the top floor was reserved for their sleeping space. The bunny demigod gazed at his friend’s humongous body from top to bottom. His face flexed a confused expression. He questioned, “Why is your body marked with the red? Is this the Skeleton Lord’s doing?!” “It...Yeah, it is,” nodded Marvelous Man, “And I really want to explain it all, but I’m just so tired right now. These magic band aids on my nipples are losing their magic stuff, and I’m feeling ready to crash after having my energy drained a lot and being chased through Limbo.” Gene grabbed his forearm, “I understand. Would you care to take rest here or at the D.A.B.?” “Actually, I’d really like to just go home,” sighed Marvelous Man. The Totochtin prince replied, “Then if it is alright with you, I would like to accompany you to keep watch over your health. And when the tomorrow comes, we will go to the D.A.B. and report the events that befell you.” “Umm, uh, yeah, sure. I’d really like that, actually,” smiled the hulking bodybuilder. Gene spoke, “Then before we depart, I will call the Director to tell of your escape.” The rabbit superhero turned to where Sugar Skull stood at. As Gene talked, his face morphed into a confused expression. “Sugar Skull, I assume it was you who-...?” he said. Marvelous Man looked down at his side to where Sugar Skull should have been standing. It was only empty space. The musclebound superhero began to theorize that the ghoul had some magical device to teleport somewhere or become invisible...until he spotted the Limbo being by the couch where the stranger having sexual intercourse with Gene was still seated. Sugar Skull looked down at the naked man, “Hola. You know what’s better than one penis?” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> A flight back to his penthouse apartment with Gene in his arms and a shower later, Marvelous Man felt ready to collapse on his bed. He began to approach his humongous bed with slumping grace, as he noticed Gene lying naked on top of the sheets. If he had the energy, the muscle demigod would have become fully aroused. But instead, Marvelous Man accepted the current scene in front of him as intimate and romantic. It was like looking at a breathing statue made of cocoa marble in his perspective. He then wondered if he would always see Gene like this every time they went to bed together once the Totochtin prince became his boyfriend. The hulking bodybuilder fell face first onto the other side of his bed with a loud pomf. He then sighed before rolling onto his back. It felt nice to have the silk sheets rubbing against his naked skin, and it was another sign that he was too tired to get sexually aroused. Willpower to stay awake fading, Marvelous Man closed his eyes and sighed. He spoke up, “Thanks for staying over, Gene. But you don’t have to sleep in my bed, you know. I have another bed you can sleep in...or a couch.” “I will sleep nowhere else but by your side, Marvelous Man. As I had said back at the Toto’s, I wish to keep watch over your health and to do the comforting for you. However, it is also custom in my country to do the sleep in the same bed with those that provide us shelter or invitation. It is considered the rude if we do not, because it shows we do trust our host and neither do we like the host,” replied Gene. Marvelous Man giggled, “Is this your way of saying you like me? Heh.” “I do. And I always have,” smiled the bunny demigod. The musclebound superhero yawned, “Well, I always wanted to say that...I love you.” The consciousness in Marvelous Man’s head blackened. His head tilted to the side, while he gave a slight snore. His massive chest heaved with every breath he took, as his body finally relaxed after two days of capture and torment. Gene Lightfoot looked down at the sleeping behemoth. His eyebrows flexed in confusion, as his mouth pursed at the process of forming words. The Totochtin prince then took in a sharp to speak. He immediately stopped. “Mm…” frowned Gene. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sunlight cascaded through the windows, while the scent of frying bacon wafted in the air. Marvelous Man stirred in his bed sheets upon noticing the enticing smell. The mattress underneath him wobbled like water and nudged the hulking bodybuilder like he was a gigantic piece of driftwood bobbing on top of an ocean. It then occurred to Marvelous Man that the mattress in his apartment never wobbled. The only kind of bed that did was the waterbed in his old bed. Opening his eyes, the muscle demigod sat up. He looked about; taking note of the familiar room he was in. Marvelous Man had awoken in a large, red race car bed that had been fitted with a waterbed mattress. Strewn about the room was a collection of things the musclebound superhero recognized: an entertainment center with a retro gaming console, martial art belts of every color framed on the walls, bodybuilding trophies cluttered all over the dresser. It was his old room. The one he grew up in as a child until being released into the real world. The last place he wanted to be in. The gilded cage. Sunnysville. Next Chapter
  22. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 18

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OusqXuu_0KVzTlvVXsHdaYyqEm87JNuWHQUy71lLuxM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & MAXIM All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1OusqXuu_0KVzTlvVXsHdaYyqEm87JNuWHQUy71lLuxM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD, DONALD MORGAN, ANDREW L, & MAXIM Chapter 18: Reunion Two days had passed since Gemini visited Justice’s hometown, Sunnysville. During that period, the two only met during debriefings at the D.A.B. headquarters regarding Gilgamesh’s interrogations and fieldwork. It was always an awkward tension Justice could feel between himself and Gemini. And it seemed to increase whenever Gene talked to him in Gemini’s presence. He wished he had the answers to resolve the situation, but the crossroad of choosing “the one” had been difficult. It came to a point when he questioned if he even loved Gemini or Gene and was not just lusting after them. Thankfully, the past few days had been a helpful distraction. Currently transformed and located inside of the Barticle Troy Mall, Marvelous Man twirled into the air. The musclebound superhero activated his flight power to stay airborne for a few seconds; dodging a bolt of lightning crackling into the ground where he once stood. The floor splintered into fragments that briefly flew into the air. In retaliation to the electrical attack, Marvelous Man threw his golden wreath at the caster. The golden wreath whistled in the air, as it whirled itself towards the attacker. The assailant knocked it away with his weapons; a pair of short-handed axes with magical runes etched on them. Spurts of electricity arced through the axes, while the etched runes glowed a soft blue. Upon failure of striking the assailant, the wreath sailed back to Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man caught the projectile and stared down at the foe. The magical axe wielder was a man who looked to be about as young as eighteen. His skin had a pigmentation so dark, it was nearly black. And his body had a trim muscle tone that bulked at his back and thighs like an Olympic wrestler. The young man wore a hunter green loincloth with two leather belts. The brown belts crossed over each other in an x-pattern and sagged at his hips . It had a loop on each side as a means of acting as the short-handed axes holsters as well. Adorned on his shins and forearms were bracers made of zebra pelt, and his footwear consisted of simple, brown sandals. The young man shouted, “Come down and fight me, coward! Or is your fear of a Skeleton Lord guardian that great?” The Skeleton Lord guardian clanged his magical axes together, while he glanced about. The etched runes on the enchanted weaponry glowed a brighter intensity of soft blue light. Electrical discharge dances around the axes with more frequency, as the weapons’ blades vibrated from the loud clash. “Your so-called heroes are afraid of Zareb the-...where is everybody?” he said. The Barticle Troy Mall was completely empty; emphasized by Zareb’s comment reverberating the vacant building. Other than the Skeleton Lord guardian, the only people on the first floor with him were Marvelous Man and Octomentist. Zareb’s eyes shifted about in search of a supposed audience. Marvelous Man called out with his thoughts, “Gene, he’s figured out we got everybody evacuated. I think he’s gonna make a break for it. Is it ready yet?” “We require a few more seconds, Marvelous Man. Gemini is applying the final parts,” telepathically replied Gene. The electrical tribesman glared up at Marvelous Man before looking down at Octomentist. The female superhero, draped in her red kung fu gown, held all eight of her cybernetic arms up in a battle-ready position. Zareb flexed a confused eyebrow while seeing Octomentist transform her golden arm into a golden tendril. Octomentist then whipped her golden tentacle-like arm in an underhanded motion. The tendril darted towards Zareb; moving downwards before curving up the moment it got close to touching the ground. Upon reaching its target, the golden tentacle coiled around the electrified axe in the supervillain’s left hand. the tendril tightened, as Octomentist immediately placed one of her chrome-plated arms on her transformed Gold Arm. Any electricity emanating from the magical axe traveled down the conductive golden limb; only to be absorbed by the prosthetic superhero’s Lightning Arm. Zareb tugged and chopped at the golden tendril with no success. Seeing the Skeleton Lord guardian momentarily distracted, Marvelous Man flew towards the villain for an opportune surprise attack. As the musclebound superhero raised his legs for a dive kick, he instantly realized he reacted in the wrong way. He could see it all unfold in slow motion. Zareb released his caught axe, while simultaneously waving his other electrified axe in an upwards motion. An arc of magical lightning released from both axes and reached out to one another. Upon connection, the tethered axe reacted by leaping towards Octomentist. It spun like a buzz saw; wrestling away from the golden tendril’s bind. The magical axe zipped past Marvelous Man, as it drew closer to the eight-armed superhero. Releasing her Lightning Arm’s clasp over the Gold Arm, Octomentist raised her chrome arm in attempt to block. The tendril form of the Gold Arm retreated back; trying to reshape itself into a more defensive attire. The speed of the whirling axe was far greater than the Gold Arm’s shapeshifting and collided with the superhero’s Lightning Arm with a loud clang. The chrome arm had saved her twice at the same time, as it had immediately absorbed the axe’s extra discharge it gave off. The impact of the enemy’s weapon threw Octomentist backward; causing her to land on her back. As for the axe, it pierced into the ground next to her head. Marvelous Man was distracted by the commotion and miscalculated his diving kick. His legs pounded into the ground only a finger’s length away from the Skeleton Lord guardian. Tremors from the error travelled up his legs; making it momentarily feel as if his overly-muscular limbs had stepped onto a sword’s blade until it rammed into the hilt. The vibrations and shattered flooring caused Zareb to stumble back and nearly lose balance. Distracted by the blundered attack, the electrical arc connecting the two magical axes lost focus and completely severed. Zareb spat, “Cursed wretch.” The Skeleton Lord guardian turned around and proceeded to flee towards the mall’s exit. Marvelous Man activated his flight powers; his legs too shaky from the impact to do an on-foot pursuit. At the same time, Octomentist stood up. Her face looked unamused, as she sharply exhaled through her nostrils. The disk in her right shoulder socket rotated her set of chrome-plated right arms, until it located the correct cybernetic limb. She then placed the chrome arm, that was known to Marvelous Man as the Gravity Arm, on her chest and activated it. A dark aura emitted from the arm; causing Octomentist to become weightless. Leaping forward before the nulled gravity completely took over, she aimed another cybernetic arm behind her. The arm was none other than her Air Arm and activated to jet a stream of compressed air out of her palm. Octomentist reacted at the same time by assuming her body in a more aerodynamic position through leaning forward. “Gene!” shouted Marvelous Man’s thoughts. Fairuza telepathically replied, “It’ll be up in 3-2-1-!” As Zareb was about to pass a row of columns, a paper-thin wall of rainbow-like light materialized between the white columns. The electrical tribesman collided into the flimsy sheet of light as if it were a solid wall. His face and body looked as if he had smooshed up against a glass panel. “Magical barrier successful. Subject is now contained. Well done, you two!” said Fairuza. Marvelous Man flew towards the trapped Zareb, but was cut off by Octomentist. With the Air Arm providing propulsion, the eight-armed superhero zipped past Marvelous Man before he could accelerate. Octomentist crashed into Zareb’s back in less than a second and tumbled to the floor. The electric tribesman slid down to the floor after the sudden compression; momentarily knocking the air out of his lungs. Zareb then pushed himself up, while using his axe as a prop. At the same time, Octomentist deactivated the Gravity Arm and Air Arm; ending the martial artist’s ability to fly. The prosthetic superhero then braced for landing and rolled herself back onto her feet. With all eight arms flexing into an intimidating pose, she was back to being battle ready. As Marvelous Man began to catch up to the two fighters, Zareb held out his axe. The magical weapon shot out its bolt of lightning in an attempt to reconnect to its fallen twin. Sailing past the two superheroes without interference, the electric bolt bonded with the axe stuck into the ground. The Skeleton Lord guardian then pulled back the electrified axe in his hand; signaling the other one to react. The musclebound superhero turned to watch the magical axe yanked itself from the floor and flew back to its twin. It began its usual spinning motion; slicing through the air at such a rate that the blade blurred. While flying back to Zareb, the electrified weapon slightly altered its course. The axe flew a wide distance around Marvelous Man; keeping outside of the hulking bodybuilder’s reach. It then began to curve itself towards Octomentist’s exposed back, and Marvelous Man was helpless to stop it in time. Marvelous Man screamed, “NO!!!” The Skeleton Lord guardian grinned ravenously, as the mystical axed was nearly an arm’s length away from murderously grinding into Octomentist’s back. The eight-armed superhero took a step forward and immediately spun around in a counterclockwise motion. Reaching out with her Lightning Arm, she perfectly timed her revolution and grabbed the electrified axe by the handle. As she completed a full rotation, she swung the magical weapon into Zareb’s right shoulder. The electric tribesman sank to the floor once again with the electrical current between the axes cutting off. “Daughter of blight!” he cursed. Dropping the magical axe in his hand, Zareb flinched in pain. The Skeleton Lord guardian rose a shaky hand towards his axe-embedded shoulder, as the blue light emanating from his enchanted weapons died. Streams of blood slowly seeped from the wound; drifting down the midnight skin. Octomentist huffed, “Shut up. It’s only a flesh wound. Just be glad I didn’t decide to hit your arteries after trying to pull that boomerang shit on me.” The prosthetic superhero turned to look at Marvelous Man. “Hey, Naked Justice. Before you patch him up, let me just do one more thing,” she requested. While twisting her waist back towards the wounded Skeleton Lord guardian, Octomentist formed her hands into a fist. She struck Zareb with four chrome-plated right hooks with each attacking different areas of the enemy’s left side: the temple, ear, cheek, and jaw. Upon quadruple impact, the electrical tribesman slumped face first onto the ground and into unconsciousness. Octomentist shook her right hands, “Okay, now you can do it.” Marvelous Man silently hovered over to the unconscious Zareb and landed next to the foe. He commanded the light within himself to flow to his hands in preparation for healing. The light within him obeyed and began illuminating the bodybuilder’s meaty hands. Placing one hand next to the wound, Marvelous Man placed his other on the magical axe’s handle. The musclebound superhero took a breath to brace himself for what he would do next and began to feed his light. He recalled the happy memories of Papa Ares giving him ice cream and cookies for breakfast the day after Ares caused him to dislocate his knee. Pulling out the weapon with a quick yank, Marvelous Man commanded his light to begin healing. The light complied and extended itself over the wound. Seconds ticked by as the wound slowly sealed itself up, and the bloody stream came to a gradual stop. With the job done, the hulking bodybuilder deactivated his power and stood up. “He’s stablized for now. I didn’t heal his concussion, because I’m pretty sure he’d wake up before we could contain him,” he reported. Marvelous Man called out with his thoughts, “Gene, can you turn off the barrier? We got the guardian.” “I acknowledge,” telepathically replied Gene. The translucent barrier began to dissipate, while Octomentist fished her chrome hand into her belt pouch. Pulling it out a second later, her hand revealed a flat device within its grasp. The eight-armed hero then pressed a button on the gadget’s center and tossed it onto the unconscious Zareb. Upon landing, the device beeped before fastening itself on the back of the Skeleton Lord guardian. The machine began to leak metallic threads that lengthened and coiled about the enemy. Footsteps from beyond the pillars could be heard, as the expanding threads had completely mummified the enemy. Once bundled up, the device emitting the metallic threads beeped again and emitted a dark glow similar to Octomentist’s Gravity Arm. The bounded being then floated off the ground and hovered at the same level as Marvelous Man’s knees. Octomentist smiled, “Thanks for the assist, Naked Justice. It’s always interesting when I’m teaming up with you. Gotta say that you are just a magnet for weird. Well, see ya.” As she began to leave, one of her chrome arms reached out to grab the levitating perpetrator. She silently dragged the detained subject behind her, while the echoing footsteps grew closer. A thought crossed Marvelous Man’s mind. “Oh, hey. I think we need him. He’s related to the Skeleton Lord case that you helped us with last time...well, him and the knight your team caught yesterday,” spoke up Marvelous Man. The musclebound superhero thought back to yesterday’s ordeal. Marvelous Man and his team received an order to investigate a new supervillain that had appeared in the city. It was a man in an overly-decorated knight armor wielding a glaive polearm with designs similar to the weapon used by the Skeleton Lord. The supervillain proclaimed its loyalty to the Skeleton Lord while attacking civilians. There were no fatalities, but many were injured with sliced wounds. When Marvelous Man and the others arrived at the scene, the knight had already been defeated by Octomentist and was being transported back to the Arkos Division headquarters. Octomentist stopped, “Big man, I’d like to help you out, but I can’t. Arkos Division needs the wins it can get if we want to get some more funding.” “Oh, please! Arkos Division has their finger in nearly every technological pie. I know they can recoup any loss of funding the Nemesis Branch steals,” said a male electronic voice. The two superheroes turned their heads to spot Gemini and Gene walking towards them. The Soulem was now garbed with a few more accessories for field duty; a pair of red-framed glasses and a brown messenger bag with the D.A.B. logo printed on it. Gene frowned, “And to reiterate Marvelous Man’s statement, we need him. The D.A.B. and the Skyway City police need that guardian for questioning in regards to his relations to the Skeleton Lord.” “And the police can question him when they get their subpoena. But for now, he’ll be kept at our headquarters where we can keep him safely contained,” coldly replied Octomentist. Gemini’s mood rings transformed to orange. He rolled his eyes, “Let’s not dive into that bullshit, alright? You guys can only handle all the sci-fi stuff. Every time you guys tried to put the supernatural or magical shit in your prisons, it would pretty much literally blow up in your faces. I should know. I’ve witnessed it a couple times.” The Soulem pointed his white, rubbery finger at the encased perpetrator. “He’s a magical being, okay? We really need him. You can poke and prod the knight all you want, but this one stays with us. Or did you not notice the lightning bolts coming out of him?” stated Gemini. Octomentist snapped her fingers, “Thanks for reminding me. I gotta confiscate those axes. Huh…” As the eight-armed superhero moved to search for the magical axes, she paused. The others looked to where she gazed and spotted the rune-etched weapons already disintegrating into the usual black smoke the Skeleton Lord used for forming weaponry. The axes had already decayed halfway; any attempt to preserve them would be a fruitless endeavor. “Well that takes care of that,” she shrugged, “Look, I was the first on the scene here, and that gives Arkos first dibs. I can’t deny you guys from visiting him, since the D.A.B. is involved with the police this time. But that doesn’t mean I can hand him over. If you don’t like the rules, take it up with a congressman.” Marvelous Man could hear Fairuza speaking into his head. “Unfortunately, she’s right. We’re going to have to let her go with this one,” reported Fairuza. The men said nothing. Marvelous Man could not argue at all, since he had no idea what the rules and bureaucracy surrounding the situation were. With nobody to question Octomentist, the prosthetic superhero left with the bounded suspect in tow. Marvelous Man consoled, “At least we saved the day.” “Yeah, but one of our leads got taken away,” complained Gemini. Gene crossed his arms, “Marvelous Man is correct. What is important is that we saved the day and mitigated any further disaster to the fellow civilians of the grand shopping mall. We still have the Gilgamesh locked in our headquarters, and he is by far the worst of the three.” “Yeah, I guess so,” sighed Gemini. Gene frowned, “However, I do feel the worries at how easily these recent victories were achieved without the help of higher ranked individuals. If their purpose was to strike fear into the common man of Skyway City, they did not try hard enough.” “I am also bothered that there might be another guardian biding their time to appear again. I will immediately return to headquarters and review our previous encounter with the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man, perhaps you should see if any of the evacuated civilians need any medical attention,” he continued. Marvelous Man nodded, “Yeah, sure. I can do that.” The bunny demigod turned to Gemini. “Gemini, I believe you can help us by requesting the police to submit the subpoena for visitation rights. We must question the other two guardians the Arkos Division have incarcerated at their headquarters,” suggested Gene. Gemini looked away, “That’s not what I’m here for, but whatever. You’re apparently the boss, I guess.” Marvelous Man glared down at the Soulem, as Gene frowned. “Because you are new, I will excuse your rudeness for now. Be advised that you should be kinder to your teammates, and you WILL respect a man of the royal Totochtin lineage. Do you understand?” stated the Totochtin prince. The musclebound superhero could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise, as the noticeable tension between Gene and Gemini grew. It was a conflict between the two men he loved, but he could not bring himself to decide on a side to pick. The Soulem’s digital eyes dueled with the bunny demigod’s for a moment before flicking away. Gemini sighed, “Fine.” The Totochtin prince did not reply to the bulky Soulem’s impolite response and proceeded towards the mall’s exit. The hulking bodybuilder and his Soulem friend said nothing and continued to watch Gene leave. The sound of Gene’s footsteps echoed heavily in the empty mall. Once it seemed that the rabbit superhero had left the building, Marvelous Man turned his gaze back towards Gemini. The embarrassment Marvelous Man felt towards Gemini’s remarks was now replaced with anger. The color on Gemini’s mood rings had returned back to white, as the Soulem looked up at Marvelous Man. “THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!” roared Marvelous Man. The husky Soulem slightly cringed, as his mood rings had flashed to yellow. His eyes narrowed in surprise to Marvelous Man’s outburst; as if Gemini were a deer caught in the headlights. He hesitated, “Wh-what? I’m not his robot butler. He can ride my dick for all I care. Besides, he should be respecting me. I’m the one that drew the symbols incantating a barrier. All he did was use his energy as a power source.” “Don’t act like that’s what this is about! I’m okay with you shitting all over me. I deserve some of that. But not Gene, alright? You don’t get treat him like that,” said Marvelous Man. Gemini fired back, “He doesn’t treat you right either! You’re just another conquest for him. I don’t get how you can still love him. I’m the better choice!” Marvelous Man stared down at Gemini in bewilderment. He opened his perfect lips before pausing. He could feel another emotional tirade bubbling up along with his eyes becoming flushed with tears, but he did not want anybody to witness it. Remembering his D.A.B. shoulder patch kept him telepathically connected to his other team members, he slid his jacket off. As his black leather jacket hit the ground, the bitter taste of his true feelings came tumbling out. “...What happened to you, Gem? You got that new body, and it changed you for the worst. You’re so mean and selfish now whenever you don’t get your way...What happened to my friend, Gem?” he teared. He continued, “I thought...I thought I could make this work. I get that you’re dealing with new emotions and stuff. So I thought that I just wait it out a bit for you to come to your senses, and then we’d figure out this...complicated stuff. But you’re being a dickasaurus rex, man.” “Wha-no! Don’t say that…” said Gemini. Marvelous Man snapped, “But you are! How can I know that you’re right for me when you keep pressuring me to choose you. You kept talking about trying to understand me a couple days ago, but I don’t think you really get me. It’s hard for me to choose...But I think you’ve made it easier for me.” Gemini could only gape at Marvelous Man’s lecture, as his mood rings shifted to blue. Marvelous Man looked at the ground before turning away from Gemini. The musclebound superhero headed further into the mall; trying to get further away from Gemini seeing tears ready to stream down. “Justice…” whimpered Gemini. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thumping his colossal body around a couple more corners, Marvelous Man began to slow down. He felt he had put enough distance between himself and the Soulem and started to look for a place to sit. Spotting a wooden bench a small distance away, he lumbered towards it. The hulking bodybuilder sat himself down on the bench and hugged himself. Marvelous Man wiped his cheeks; removing the streams of tears moving down his face. He felt so many sensations when saying how he felt about Gemini. It felt toxic and blocky. His mouth was feeling wet and bloated, while his throat felt lumpy and dry. Marvelous Man told himself he needed to calm down. He reasoned that the people outside of the mall might need his healing powers, and heroes don’t have time to cry when people need help. A voice spoke behind him, “Hey, slag. Been a while.” Marvelous Man froze. It was a familiar voice that he had not heard in a while. It was deep, male voice that carried a stereotypical cockneyed accent. It was a voice that came from none other than his first and humiliating encounter with a supervillain. Spring up from the bench, Marvelous Man quickly spun around. He glared at the last person he expected to see today. He confirmed, “PB&J Gang…” “Yeah, that’s us. I see you’re trying topless style this time,” smiled the peanut butter villain. Marvelous Man took another look at the sandwich spread foe. The first time they met each other, the PB&J Gang were five sentient creatures that would fuse into one being. The leader of the gang was a round, rectangular being made of peanut butter. Its underlings were four gelatin beings that took the color and flavor of different fruit jams: Strawberry, Grape, Blueberry, and Raspberry. They were currently combined with the leader as the torso and head, and the jam-like followers taking the form of the limbs. With the peanut butter leader being the head, his face was fully formed to look like a carved jack-o-lantern with a soft yellow light glowing within. It also had small horns pointing out of its head; dull but still menacing to viewers. Yet, there was something odd about the PB&J Gang that Marvelous Man noticed. Marvelous Man inquired, “Hey, wasn’t there five of you?” The peanut butter leader frowned. It was obvious to anybody that the combined version of the PB&J Gang appeared to be incomplete. They had the legs, but there was an arm-shaped jelly limb missing from the merged person. “Yeah, Strawberry’s been taken...And it’s why I’m here,” he sighed, “I really didn’t want it to be like this, but...I don’t got a choice in the matter if I want him back...Really sorry about this, mate.” Holding up his grape-flavored jelly arm, the PB&J Gang clenched his only fist. The gelatin being then motioned his fist to open as if it were trying to mimic an explosion. The sandwich spread supervillain said nothing as seconds ticked by. Marvelous Man took up a fighting stance, “What’re you…?” A gurgling noise echoed from the bodybuilder’s stomach. Marvelous Man could feel something beginning to build up inside of himself. It felt like he had just eaten a light lunch. But then it started to change; feeling the light lunch become a full meal. The pressure in his stomach increased to the point of overeating pain starting to develop. Marvelous Man hunched over to grab his abdomen. “Ack! Wha-what did you do to my stomach?!” he gasped. The PB&J Gang slowly walked towards him. His face was not exhibiting any pleasure at his actions. He explained, “Do you remember when we first met, mate? My crew and I were having our jollies robbing the bank, and you showed up trying to be all big and impressive. I graped your face, and you swallowed some of it. Now luckily, you never bothered to get yourself checked. Which made tracking all the easier.” “And funny thing about our biology, we can force ourselves to grow. So we never get digested. All this time, you had a piece of us in you, ya slag. We’re like that myth about gum staying in you for seven years. Only we can do it forever. And what you’re feeling right now, that’s us growing way faster than you can digest,” continued the PB&J Gang. Marvelous Man’s stomach groaned louder, as the hulking bodybuilder could feel his belly start to expand. His own abdomen was beginning to slightly swell against his arm. Marvelous Man then felt a sensation of something coming up his throat like acid reflux. He could taste grape jelly in his mouth. The musclebound superhero shouted, “...!!!” Marvelous Man stood there shocked before trying to scream for Gemini. Nothing he tried to yell was being vocalized; as if someone pressed the mute button on his voice box. The bodybuilder gripped his throat, as he realized the inside of it was still coated in grape jelly. Now standing only a step away the muscle demigod, the PB&J Gang thrusted an underhanded punch at Marvelous Man’s swollen belly. A surge of purple gelatin erupted from Marvelous Man’s mouth, as the overly-muscular bodybuilder fell to the ground. He laid there; crippled in pain. “Can’t let you call out your friends, Naked Justice. At least not yet. When I get Strawberry back, then you can call out to your friends with your spells or communicators or whatever. I’m beggin’ ya. Just play along for now,” said the PB&J Gang. Marvelous Man’s eyes widened with renewed hope. He thought as hard as he could to mentally call out for his teammates. Realization hit immediately upon realizing that he left his jacket on the other side of the mall. It was the only thing that carried the D.A.B. magical communicator patch. The only solution to that problem would be to clasp his golden bracelets together, transform into Justice, and then switch back to being Marvelous Man with a new black leather jacket equipped. It was a risk that could work...if it was not for his transformation being voice activated. Hope crashed into the pits of his jelly-filled stomach with full comprehension that there was no way out of this situation. The PB&J Gang enlarged their purple gelatin hand big enough to pick up an adult human. Wrapping his wet fingers around Marvelous Man’s hulking body, they only managed to grip half of the giant anatomy. The sandwich spread being lifted the muscle demigod before laying the front side of the bodybuilder onto his peanut butter back. The overly-meaty limbs of Marvelous Man sunk into the peanut butter substance like quicksand. Marvelous Man panicked and tried to thrash about; fearing complete engulfment and suffocation. As he tried to struggle, it only increased the pain in his stretched stomach. The overstuffed belly had limited his movements and caused his mighty arms and legs to be incapable of budging effectively within the thick entity. In a last ditch effort, the muscle demigod activated his flight power. He managed to gain some lift, but the peanut butter back reacted to the escape attempt by flexing. Clenching down, the smooth peanut butter surface had transformed into a muscular back filled with deep valleys and large cords that any muscle enthusiast would be jealous of. Marvelous Man was being pulled down once again; feeling like light unable to escape the immense gravity of a black hole. The PB&J Gang sighed, “Settle down, mate! I’m not trying to kill ya. Just trying to keep you from escaping. I need you alive anyways if I want to make the trade.” Marvelous Man ceased his movement. There was something interesting about what the PB&J Gang had been trying to tell him. He wondered who was holding their friend at ransom. With his body relaxed, Marvelous Man slid deeper into muscular, peanut butter back. The sinking finally came to a halt; just as the bodybuilder’s inflated gut was pressing into the muscled backside and the connecting joints were about to be immersed. The muscle demigod was glad that he was no longer being merged into the supervillain. But the situation was now incredibly uncomfortable due to his overstuffed stomach. Locked into place with the PB&J’s hard, muscular back pressed heavily against his belly, it felt like he was being punched at an excruciatingly slow pace. “Oh, right. I guess I better tell you who’s making me do this,” mentioned the PB&J Gang, “It’s that new guy that’s been on the telly for a bit. You and the D.A.B. have been fighting him. Calls himself the Skeleton Lord.” Marvelous Man’s eyes grew wide again. The sandwich spread supervillain continued, “Yeah, he’s one fucker I don’t want to tangle with again. The crew and I didn’t know it was him when we tried to prank him. Thought he was some homeless guy. Turns out he’s got that weird power with that black smoke and making bones just shoot out of him. He was able to do other stuff that I never seen anybody else do, but I don’t even know how to describe it.” “...But the one thing that’s got me proper scared is that he said he knows how to kill us for good. And I can tell that he is a man that doesn’t see the point of lying. I ain’t taking that chance with my own kin,” he finished. Marvelous Man’s heartbeat pounded at a rapid pace. The Skeleton Lord had a motive but kept doing things with no decipherable pattern to it. Marvelous Man thought back to what Gene had said about the previous guardians being too easy. If there was a fourth guardian or any sort of intelligence he could gather about the Skeleton Lord, this might be his only chance. The PB&J Gang turned to the mall’s alternate exit, but then paused. He scratched his chin, “Now that I said all that out loud...it’s probably better if your friends find you faster...I’ll just leave a trail. They should be smart enough to figure it out. Plenty of cameras here to spot us anyways.” The sandwich spread supervillain resumed marching towards the alternate exit while leaving behind a gelatin footprint with every step. Marvelous Man felt a drop of renewed hope that everything would work out. He could also feel that the growing grape jelly within him had reached his intestines and were inflating to max capacity. The bodybuilder was glad he had practiced with extreme-sized sex toys, as his body was accustomed to feeling full in the bowels and being extraneously stretched there. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After being transported outside the mall, Marvelous Man was snuck into the sewers through a large manhole. The muscle demigod obliged to the PB&J Gang’s request and illuminated himself to light their way. He lost track of the many turns his sticky captor made, and he was at a loss of what part of the city he was in. Time seemed to drone on, as the nasty stench within the sewers faded from Marvelous Man’s senses. While being carried to the Skeleton Lord’s location, the hulking bodybuilder endured the PB&J Gang’s ramblings on the many mischievous adventures the gelatin supervillain had. Every now and then, the PB&J Gang would go back to how they met the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man eventually managed to put the small tidbits of information together and came at a conclusion. The PB&J Gang had stumbled upon the Skeleton Lord huddled underneath a highway overpass by a drainage system. They attempted to steal the Skeleton Lord’s cloak out of sheer dickery. The ancient evil did not find this action humorous and retaliated. The Skeleton Lord had been feeding on the rats in the area and was able to sever the Strawberry arm from the combined PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord held Strawberry at ransom and had them do two things. The first was to find an area full of misfits that would never attempt to contact any police or superheroes and use it as a new hiding place for the Skeleton Lord. And the second was to bring Marvelous Man to the new hiding place. With the end of the journey seemingly near, Marvelous Man noticed the PB&J Gang turning towards a metal door and not another tunnel. The sandwich spread being pushed open the door to reveal another tunnel. Upon crossing over to the new area, Marvelous Man considered they were no longer in the sewers. A stale breeze flowed past muscle demigod, as he observed a set of metal tracks lined across the tunnel. The PB&J Gang then walked down the dimly lit tunnel before turning into a clearing. Marvelous Man gasped at the familiar surroundings. The clearing was a concrete dome stained in splatters of dark red. Lined against the walls were rubles of the makeshift homes destroyed by Marvelous Man’s encounter with the Skeleton Lord. Lines were beginning to connect in the musclebound superhero’s head, yet no solid conclusion could be found. The Skeleton Lord’s new hideout was somewhere in the ghettos outside of the Ridgemont subway station. But for what purpose would the Skeleton Lord come back to the area the supervillain was discovered at? The gelatin being continued moving through the clearing and up the stairs. Upon breaking through the subway entrance, daylight casted itself on the two. The buildings before them were just as Marvelous Man remembered them; forgotten architectures rotten and gored of most of their interior. The PB&J Gang wandered further into the ghetto, as Marvelous Man kept watch for any suspicious activity. Chunks of time passed, as the supervillain meandered through the many bend and turning into different streets. The PB&J Gang finally came to a halt, as the gelatin being looked at the structure in front of the two. It was a two-story townhouse that was hidden behind the alley of two boarded stores. It barely had any blue paint left on its ruined husk, and whatever windows that were not broken had cracked panes. The air surrounding the structure not only carried the scent of a dead home but also its residents. “Brace yourself, mate. It’s really ugly in there. The sods been feeding but hasn’t dealt with disposing the scraps...you’ll see what I mean,” said the PB&J Gang. The sandwich spread supervillain twisted the knob and pushed forward. As it fully opened, Marvelous Man could only see blackness inside without any signs of light or electricity. The stench of decaying flesh and wood increased, as the PB&J Gang entered the townhouse. Marvelous Man could no longer handle the foul odor and began to lower his face closer to the peanut butter back. The hulking bodybuilder was slightly alleviated by the gelatinous being’s peanut butter scent mixing in with the rotting stink. Activating his illuminating powers, Marvelous Man’s light carved through the darkness to reveal the source of the death stench. The muscle demigod spotted corpses of humans and transpecies propped against the walls and flurries of flies buzzing about. As his captor moved through the house to a set of stairs at the end of the hall, Marvelous Man could see that the dead had different times of death. Some had recently died with colors still flushed on their skin, and others were past rigor mortis and had begun to bloat and leak rotting fluids. The PB&J Gang muttered, “And this is why you don’t do drugs or let supernatural things into your body.” Marvelous Man looked at the limbs of the corpses they passed by, while his captor proceed up a staircase. He observed syringe injection scars and crudely-made magical seal tattoos on the forearms. There were also runic designs painted in red on the skin; some cracked but still recent. A memory of what the PB&J Gang told him earlier about the Skeleton Lord’s first ransom demand lit up in his mind. “Find an area full of misfits that would never attempt to contact any police or superheroes and use it as a new hiding place for the Skeleton Lord”. The musclebound superhero had seen enough crime dramas to figure out this townhouse’s recent purpose before becoming the Skeleton Lord’s new hideout. Reaching the top of the steps, the PB&J Gang now stood in the hallway of the second floor. There were three doors; one on the left and right side and one at the end of the hallway. The doors on the sides of the hallway were open, but the door at the end remained closed. Realizing the Skeleton Lord is most likely behind that door, Marvelous Man’s heart rate began to escalate. It dawned on the musclebound superhero that this was his last window of opportunity to escape. Every instinct in Marvelous Man told him to run, but his resolve was stronger. The muscle demigod remained still, as his captor carried him through the hallway. The PB&J Gang’s pace was slow and seemed to drone on for eternity. Yet it was only the span of seconds before reaching the end of the hallway. Placing a grape jelly hand on the knob, the PB&J Gang slowly opened the door with a low creak. The noise of cartoon sound effects softly echoed in the air. The walls and ceiling were covered in the same whisping black smoke the Skeleton Lord expels. Barely cutting through the darkness was the dim orange light of a lit candle; resting on the ground. Marvelous Man could see a molded mattress nearly turning black and lying dangerously close to the flaming candle. There was also a human-like figure slightly depressing into it; dressed only in a red cloak with a bulging hood. Marvelous Man’s breathe ceased, as he came to a realization of who it was. The Skeleton Lord did not pay the two any attention upon entering his room. He appeared enamored with a smartphone in his hand; the screen’s light shining against the red hood. As he swiped his peach-pigmented index finger across the phone’s screen, the device played another soundbyte of cartoon noises and kids cheering. Seconds continued to pass, while the PB&J Gang stood there. “...H-hey, boss? I brought him,” spoke the PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord’s boney finger paused in midair, as the robed man looked up. Even with the phone’s light shining into his hood, darkness continued to obscure his face. The Skeleton Lord then laid his device onto the moldy mattress before standing up. He spoke, “My apologies. I was distracted by the glass tablet. The technology here is much intriguing. It really feels like yesterday for me when the common man rode on horses and not those self-driven chariots.” “But I digress, one should always knock before they enter. It is, after all, quite rude to barge into one’s room. Especially with royalty, such as I,” continued the Skeleton Lord. The PB&J bowed, “Uh, er, r-right. Sorry...my lord.” “That’s better,” replied the Skeleton Lord, “And even better is that you accomplished all that I tasked you with. You faired completely better than my other three guardians.” He sighed, “And I hear that in these times it is the third that is supposedly the charm. Though perhaps the fourth will fair better. Well, since I am in a most excellent mood, how would you like to be my fifth guardian?” Marvelous Man swallowed. This confirmed what Gene Lightfoot had been guessing. There was a fourth guardian ready to be let loose. The only problem was that he was not sure which one it was. The muscle demigod remembered in the previous fight with the Skeleton Lord, the supervillain was armed with a scythe sword and shield, a glaive polearm, and a pair of short-handed axes. The fourth weapon the Skeleton Lord used was probably used briefly before being disarmed and never registering in the heroes’ heads. “Please, m-my lord...I appreciate the offer. I really do...But...I just want my friend back, please,” declined the PB&J Gang. The Skeleton Lord scratched his chin, “Hmmm...I’d normally kill you where you stand after you slapped away my most gracious offer...BUT! We did have a deal. And a king must always honor their word. Besides, I could always find you again whenever I please.” “Allow me to secure the cargo first, and then I shall release your compatriot into your care,” he stated. The Skeleton Lord waved his hand. The whisping darkness covering the walls and ceiling stirred, as tentacles of the same material sprouted from it. The black tendrils reached out and ensnared Marvelous Man’s massive body. The ceiling tentacle cupped underneath the massive pecs, as the corner wall tentacles looped around the thunderous thighs and grappled over the mountainous shoulders and hairless armpits. Once secured around the colossal bodybuilder, the whisping tendrils pulled. The muscular peanut butter back trapping Marvelous Man showed no resistance; releasing the muscle demigod without a sound or any peanut butter residuals on the meaty limbs. After lifting the musclebound captive out of the PB&J Gang, the tentacles around the shoulders and thighs began to retreat back into the smoky walls. The wall tendrils that were returning to their dark source loosened their grasp; only to gently slide down the overly-muscular extremities. As the tentacles that traveled down Marvelous Man’s legs, it then encountered the leather black boots the musclebound superhero wore. Without any signs of resistance, the whisping black tentacles effortlessly stripped the footwear from the muscle demigod’s milk chocolate skin. The wall tendrils then reasserted their grip around Marvelous Man’s wrists and ankles, as the leather boots fell to the wooden floor with a dull thunk. The only thing left now clothing the hulking bodybuilder was the golden wreath and bracelets and the American Flag battle bikini. The ceiling tentacle, wrapped underneath the watermelon-sized pectorals, rotated Marvelous Man; situating the muscle demigod to face front towards the ceiling. It then dragged the muscle demigod to the center of the room and hanged the bodybuilder superhero at the Skeleton Lord’s waist level. The ceiling tendril released its hold over Marvelous Man’s torso and completely returned into the ceiling’s darkness, while the wall tentacles retreated further into the wall corners. With the wrists and ankles still restrained by the wall tentacles, the gargantuan limbs were pulled along with. Fearing his ligaments would be torn off, Marvelous Man attempted to struggle. His heavy body wiggled about, but he came to an eventual still seconds later. Right when his body parts were stretched at the maximum, uncomfortable point of feeling his joints dislocate, the tentacles ceased their retreat. Marvelous Man was suspended in a spread eagle position; his limbs bounded with no room to bend. The Skeleton Lord held a finger up to his unseen chin; appearing to plot something nasty if Marvelous Man could see his face. The ancient evil waved his hand and the wall tentacles reacted. The black tendrils attached to the hulking bodybuilder’s legs began to move sideways, while pulling the meaty legs further away from each other. Marvelous Man was confused at such an action, but it then became apparent as to what the supervillain was trying to do. The Skeleton Lord was trying to test the muscle demigod’s limberness just for sadistical fun. His overly-muscular legs easily spread apart but came to a thankful halt once Marvelous Man’s limbs were positioned into a perfect split. The Skeleton Lord must have realized any further could do severe harm to the musclebound superhero and ceased the whisping, dark tentacles movement. “Hmmm, impressive,” the Skeleton Lord murmured, “I would not expect a gargantuan star child to have an acrobat’s flexibility.” Marvelous Man’s frustration and fear increased, as he was tossed from one helpless state to the next. He wished he had Gene’s ability to turn this frightful situation into a sexy one. The musclebound superhero consoled himself that he could still turn the tables by activating his illumination power as a means of escaping the Skeleton Lord’s dark elements. The Skeleton Lord mentioned, “Ah, yes. I had almost forgotten about your illuminating abilities. You may not have your golden ocarina in hand, but I would be a fool to not take the precaution.” The man cloaked in red snapped his fingers. The whisping, dark tentacles shattered, as it revealed underneath its layer solid bindings made of bone. The lingering hope Marvelous Man had once again sunk back into his jelly-filled stomach. The only thing the superhero’s light could do now was reveal what specific white shade the bones probably had. “And with my requirement fulfilled...” announced the Skeleton Lord. Waving his boney hand into the air, the Skeleton Lord caused the whisping darkness in the ceiling to stir once again. A noise similar to thunder lightly rumbled, as an object fell from it. The object fell in front the PB&J Gang and crashed with a wet splat. Marvelous Man barely had time to glimpse at it, but it appeared to be a sort of gel-like substance. The PB&J Gang squatted, “...Strawberry? That you?” The object lunged at the sandwich spread being’s left shoulder; springing like an alien blob. Upon contact, the gelatin creature shapeshifted into a left arm that fitted perfectly into the peanut butter shoulder. The PB&J Gang petted the new arm. “It’s alright, love. You’re safe with us now,” he said. The PB&J Gang looked up at Marvelous Man, as he began to back away. Even though Marvelous Man could only see the gelatinous being from an upside-down perspective, the musclebound superhero could still see the frown and sadness in his eyes. He waved at the bodybuilder, “Well...I’ll let myself out. Have a nice chat, Marvelous Man.” The PB&J Gang then fell to the floor; shapeshifting into a large puddle of mixed jelly flavors and peanut butter. The shapeless mass immediately flung itself out of the room and out of Marvelous Man’s sight. With the only “ally” Marvelous Man had in Skeleton Lord’s presence gone, he slowly turned his focus back to the ancient evil. The panic in his heart had risen again. “Ah, that’s right. I had not been given the pleasure of learning your name...or the Totochtin’s for that matter. So the star child has been entitled the Marvelous Man?” hummed the Skeleton Lord. As the muscle demigod swallowed in nervousness, he realized something. The grape jelly coating the inside of his throat had receded back into his bloated belly. And the overeating pain he had been feeling during the transportation capture had also faded; he no longer had his overfilled stomach literally weighing him down. Even though Marvelous Man had been bounded and stretched without room to wiggle, he still had some sliver of chance to escape from the Skeleton Lord’s clutches. Marvelous Man answered, “Yeah...it’s what I call myself.” The Skeleton Lord walked around Marvelous Man; tracing his fingers against the rippled, muscular mass. The hulking bodybuilder shivered from the ancient evil’s touch. It felt cold and dry, and the fingers gracing upon the smooth skin tickled Marvelous Man’s nerves. And every time it seemed the supervillain’s body was about to collide with one of the bone fixtures attached to the musclebound superhero and the wall, he simply phased through it like a ghost. It was as if his own bone powers could not affect him in any negative aspect. “Hmm, such a vague name. It’s as if you are trying to convince yourself that you’re special,” he commented, “Ah, but that is not an implied insult towards you! Merely, that if someone other than you had chosen to inherit such a name, they would be such a pathetic being.” As the ancient evil rounded himself in front of Marvelous Man’s head, he stopped. The Skeleton Lord reached out with his skinny fingers and placed them upon the muscle demigod’s golden laurel wreath. He lifted the Olympian ornament from Marvelous Man’s temples with gracious ease. The Skeleton Lord held it up to his face, as he glided his fingers upon the wreath’s smooth and sharp edges. “But you...you carry it quite well. You are special. You are marvelous. You are not the strongest fighter in your party. No, your party members have made that point quite clear. YOU are the most important member. You are the healer. You help your comrades continue to fight with renewed vigor. And you assist them in areas they are weak in and unknowingly push me to my limits. I can never use my common bag of tricks with you around. Without you, they could never hope to contend with me,” he continued. Even with the Skeleton Lord so close, Marvelous Man could still not see the supervillain’s face. The bulky horse skull bulging underneath the red hood seemed to be casting its own shadow to mask any facial features. The muscle demigod did not dare use his illumination ability; for fear of angering the Skeleton Lord and most likely resulting in a quick death. Marvelous Man questioned, “And that’s why you had me kidnapped?” The Skeleton Lord tossed the golden wreath to the side of the room; curiosity apparently sated. The laurel ornament clanged onto the ground outside of Marvelous Man’s visuals. He slid a hand back into his red robe. “Mm, well, no. I wanted the Totochtin. But when that pathetic sap creature bargained for your capture instead and saying how easy it would be for them, I took the chance. Getting rid of you would make things flow much more easily. To think that all those legions of wizards and priests, and it was you that hindered me the most,” answered the Skeleton Lord. No matter what, the only thing the Skeleton Lord obsessed over other than the world’s destruction was Gene Lightfoot. Marvelous Man was aware of how after their first encounter, the Skeleton Lord seemed to have a soft spot for the Totochtin prince and never used lethal harm on Gene. He still could not figure out if it was due to Gene’s power or libido that caused such reaction. He shuddered, “So you’re going to kill me?” The Skeleton Lord cackled in a high pitched shriek. With no room to flinch, Marvelous Man could only react to the shrill noise by flexing his meaty pectorals. “I will admit, the idea did cross my mind. But no, I will not kill you. You have a mighty body that seems to mend itself. Even after Gilgamesh crushed your hand into an unusable lump. Itzcóatl made sure to report that after witnessing your other encounters with my guardians,” said the Skeleton Lord. He continued, “My intention with you is to use you as a wellspring of power for me to draw upon. Tell me, has your generation created a device for such empowering circumstances? Or do things like the glass tablet still need mana or soulbindings?” “...You mean a battery?” said Marvelous Man. The Skeleton Lord mused, “Battery?...Battery, battery, battery...a funny name, but it also sounds simple. Yes, you shall serve as my battery. I am still not at my fullest of forms and require more energy. I might not be able to attain lust energy from you, but there are other ways I can obtain what I need from you.” He knelt down to Marvelous Man’s ear; his breath spraying a putrid warmness. Marvelous Man’s head bent away in a futile attempt to keep any sort of distance between the supervillain. The musclebound superhero could sense the disgusting lips almost touching. “And while I would love to, su-su-su-su, sip on your fear, fear energy is but a droplet. And when my name was known to all living, I drank oceans,” slurped the Skeleton Lord. Standing straight up, the Skeleton Lord walked towards Marvelous Man’s burly arm. His exposed hand dragged across the muscle demigod’s shoulder, while his withdrawn hand came out of the red cloak with a curved knife crafted of bone. He declared, “Let’s start with your blood.” Marvelous Man’s eyes went wide, as he struggled. With his extremities bounded, the hulking bodybuilder could only sway his hips about in a feeble attempt to move away. The only thing that moved from the squirming was the bulge in his thin, battle bikini; lewdly flopping around. He knew now was not the right time to escape, but he did not want to be cut. Lowering the bone knife, the Skeleton Lord dragged the blade across Marvelous Man’s inner forearm. The overly-muscular superhero closed his eyes and winced; bracing for pain. As the knife slid down the forearm, it could only press into the skin without actually breaking it. The Skeleton Lord held up the bone knife for a closer examination upon discovering the failed incision. Marvelous Man slowly opened his eyes; wondering if the deed had been done. He expected it to really hurt, but it felt like he was being cut with a child’s plastic butter knife. Looking over at the supposed cut, he then breathed a sigh of relief. “It appears that without Gilgamesh’s strength, I cannot pierce through your baby-soft skin. Though I should not be surprised, since I failed to impale you the first time we met,” sighed the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man’s eyes flicked with confusion, “I’m...sorry?” The muscle demigod was not sure how to take the Skeleton Lord’s comment. It could be worded as a compliment, but the supervillain said it with a disappointed tone. And with Marvelous Man’s innate sense to help people, he could not help but offer an apology. “It’s alright. Though I do appreciate you being a good sport about this,” said the Skeleton Lord, “I’m afraid with your constitution, turning your blood into energy is out of the question. And you would most likely be resistant to flesh absorption magic. Alas, I suppose we will have to resort to the backup plan.” Marvelous Man held his breath. He desperately hoped the backup plan did not involve killing him. What the hulking bodybuilder did hope for was just being raped by tentacles and milked for lust energy like Gene probably would have been if kidnapped first. At this current point, Marvelous Man wished for anything but death. “And that entails having your life energy drained. You’ll barely be able to wiggle a finger, but you will still live and be stuck here as my battery,” explained the supervillain. The Skeleton Lord looked away, “I am sure he will survive. We perfected it on...what did they call themselves? Drug addicts? He can heal himself. It will be fine.” Marvelous Man glanced at where the ancient evil was staring at but saw nothing. The musclebound superhero now felt uneasy. The Skeleton Lord was already crazy for trying to destroy the world, but it became more apparent of how mentally unstable the supervillain really was. “Itzcóatl!” called the Skeleton Lord. A man’s voice immediately responded. Marvelous Man could not see him but knew the stranger came from behind the Skeleton Lord. He replied, “Yes, my lord.” “Bring me the bowl,” commanded the ancient evil. Turning his attention back to Marvelous Man, the Skeleton Lord resumed turning the muscle demigod into a living battery. The Skeleton Lord walked towards the hulking bodybuilder’s waist while dragging his unarmed hand over the valleys of muscle. Marvelous Man shuttered from the cold, tickling sensation. As the ancient evil reached the bodybuilder’s waist, he crept his molesting hand across the cobblestone abs and underneath the American flag bikini. The Skeleton Lord then grabbed the battle bikini’s side and yanked it up. With the bone knife still in his other hand, he held it underneath the gripped elastic fabric. The Skeleton Lord tugged the blade back with a quick jerk. The threads of the bikini showed no resistant; cleanly cut through by the bone knife with a quick ripping sound. With one part of it cut, the supervillain reached over to the other side of the bikini to repeat the procedure. The result was the same, as the Skeleton Lord began to peel away the sliced battle bikini in a almost ceremonious fashion. The last remnants of Marvelous Man’s clothing fell to the floor without making a sound; leaving the musclebound superhero exposed with his super package drooping in the air. Marvelous Man would feel humiliated if he were not used to having his clothes destroyed. The actual humiliation he had been feeling was being captured and helpless to the Skeleton Lord’s desires. The supervillain chuckled, “I thought it was possible you were stuffing your briefs, but I have been proven wrong. This is surely another reason if anyone else were to inherit your name as the Marvelous Man, hehe. Most impressive as a display of manhood...but I highly doubt you could sow your seed into a woman with a club such as that. And with a man of your stature, the babe would surely kill her in childbirth.” “Thanks...I guess,” said Marvelous Man. The muscle demigod felt at a loss for what to do. The Skeleton Lord’s actions felt confusing and terrifying. Struggling to prioritize, Marvelous Man tried to focus on what needed to be done. He needed more information for Gene and the D.A.B., and he needed to escape. There was no way he could fight the Skeleton Lord on his own. Unless...he tried to poison the Skeleton Lord with his own dark ability. He could keep the ancient evil incapacitated by reactivating every wound the Skeleton Lord had. It may be damaging to the superhero’s psyche, but it was the only thing he could think of. But with Marvelous Man’s current predicament, the supervillain would instantly see it and kill without hesitation. The Skeleton Lord might not be able to pierce his skin, but the supervillain might be able to do other things to kill him without damaging hulking bodybuilder’s epidermis. The most probable time to strike would have to be right when the draining begins. The only problem to the breakout rides upon the Skeleton Lord’s assistant being in the presence of the energy drain. The unseen man might have an ability to stop or kill the musclebound superhero. Marvelous Man figured that would have to wait until the opportunity arises. The overly-muscular superhero spotted something materializing next to the Skeleton Lord. The figment had transformed into a man with skin shaded as dark as mocha. His clothing was simple: a loincloth with a knot formed at the front and a hoodless cloak. Both fabrics were colored in red and outlined with teal. The colored apparel reminded Marvelous Man of the Aztec paintings of its people illustrated in the high school textbooks. Adorned on his head was a wooden headdress mask carved to look like a snake. In his hands, he carried a blue kitchen bowl. He spoke, “I have brought the bowl, my lord.” “Wonderful,” said the Skeleton Lord. The bone knife the ancient evil wielded dissolved into a whisping darkness before dissipating into nothingness. Turning to the Aztec-like man, the Skeleton Lord dipped his index and middle finger into the bowl. The supervillain stood there for a second before swiveling his body back towards Marvelous Man. Marvelous Man could see the dipped fingers coated in a red liquid, as the Skeleton Lord began applying the substance. It appeared that the supervillain was drawing something on him. Feeling that he was now on good relations with the supervillain, the musclebound superhero figured now was a good time to begin the interrogation. He gathered the courage to speak up, while the Skeleton Lord was busy finger-painting his massive body. He started, “So...is he your fourth guardian?” “Itzcóatl? Yes, he is. He is the vengeful hunter and my most loyal guardian. The other three joined me out of fear, honor-bound, and misguided whimsy that became shame. But Itzcóatl joined me for the sake of bloodlust,” clarified the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man felt it was a good start. This could be useful for Gene and the Demonic Authority Bureau to know, but it might not be enough to devise a countermeasure. He had to press on for more information; especially with the guardian’s ability to reappear anywhere. He questioned, “So what can he do? Teleport?” “It would be a godsend if he could. But alas, no. It is a tad more basic for a hunter like him,” hummed the Skeleton Lord. It did not seem like Marvelous Man would get anymore answers regarding Itzcóatl. If he persisted, the Skeleton Lord might lose his good favor. It was time to change topic. The hulking bodybuilder inquired, “Oh...what are you painting on me?” “I suppose it would not hurt me to tell you. I am scribing runes on you to act as a sort of...safeguard. When there is only the last drop of your life energy in you, this will activate and protect you. I do not wish for you to die an early death, after all,” said the Skeleton Lord. He looked away, “Yes, I’m sure I’m doing it right. The last few survived before we ended their miserable existence.” Marvelous Man thought back to what the Skeleton Lord said earlier. The supervillain managed to perfect something by the implication of testing it on the drug addicts. His thoughts then turned to the corpses downstairs. All the dead bodies seemed to show signs of drug abuse and probable supernatural magic for hallucinogenic purposes. There was also the recent runic designs painted onto their skin. Had they been guinea pigs for perfecting the runic safeguard? “Uh, okay. So how are you doing that bone stuff and all of this? I don’t see you using spells or magic circles. So how do you do it?” asked Marvelous Man. The Skeleton Lord moved towards Marvelous Man’s head and began to apply the red substance on the superhero’s face. The scent of the liquid paint became apparent to the muscle demigod, while the ancient evil drew runic symbols. It smelled like iron; a pungent odor that caused Marvelous Man to instantly recognize what the red paint truly was. Just like in the abandoned subway, it was blood. The supervillain replied, “That. Is a secret.” Marvelous Man was not sure how much time he had left before the preparations for his energy drain were complete. He could feel the blood on his upper body and face still wet on his skin. The hulking bodybuilder began to feel frustrated, as the Skeleton Lord moved towards his legs. None of the answers he could get did not give a direct answer towards a weakness or an element the D.A.B. could use to their advantage. Once Marvelous Man escapes, the ancient evil will flee to another location and become impossible to find. “Then...what destroyed your purpose? That’s what you said to me last time, right? What caused you to want to...turn the world into ash?” he said. The Skeleton Lord froze. Slowly turning to stare at Marvelous Man, the musclebound superhero felt a fearful chill coursing through. He hissed, “Do you think you could save me? That by trying to understand me, I will weep seas of tears and change my ways? Hmmm?” A tentacle grew from the ceiling of whisping darkness and lashed out. It coiled around Marvelous Man’s neck; strangling with the crushing strength of a python. The hulking bodybuilder tried gasping for air but could only gurgle. “All those priests and shamans that came alone in an attempt to consult me...saying the same thing. And I told them all the same thing. I. DO. NOT. CARE. I refuse to accept any change! I refuse to let my family go! I do not care that my power perverts the cycle of life and death! I was happy when everything stayed the same!...I wasn’t alone,” he shouted. The Skeleton Lord continued, “Time magic is impossible. No god, devil, or otherworldly would accept my requests. And you so-called heroes. You heroes were the cause of everything to fall apart! Always chasing and killing anything to bring glory to your name! You all made me like this! You destroyed my world! My happiness! My family!!! So that is why my purpose was destroyed! That is why I will destroy all existence!” Marvelous Man continued to struggle for breath, while his bounded body shook. He could hear his heartbeat throbbing in his head. The world felt like it was being enveloped by the Skeleton Lord’s darkness. “...My lord,” said Itzcóatl. Seconds past before the smoky tentacle relented. The tendril retreated back into the darkness covering the ceiling, while releasing its grip from around Marvelous Man’s throat. The hulking bodybuilding coughed; flooding his lungs with as much air as he could. The Skeleton Lord turned back to the overly-muscular legs and resumed painting runic symbols. The supervillain cleared his throat, “My apologies. My...passions carried me away.” Marvelous Man did not dare speak again after regaining the his breath. He allowed the Skeleton Lord to carry on painting in silence for the next few minutes, as the musclebound superhero started his escape plan. Marvelous Man closed his eyes; focusing on his fear of death, his helplessness without anybody to save him, and the hatred he wanted to feel towards the Skeleton Lord. He could feel the poison within him stirring. It wanted to feed on the negativity and hurt those who hurt the muscle demigod. After the painting was completed a minute later, the Skeleton Lord walked over to Marvelous Man’s head. He placed his bony fingers around the bodybuilder’s cranium; gripping the head gently. The Skeleton Lord slowly exhaled, as the fourth guardian placed the bowl of blood on the ground. A green aura began to glow from the Skeleton Lord’s hands and vibrate against Marvelous Man’s skull. Seeing the light, the musclebound superhero figured the draining had begun. Now was the moment to strike! Marvelous Man commanded the blackness within him to strike. The poison obliged and fed the harbored negativity. His head glowed its own dark, whisping aura; whispering its dark secrets in a hushed voice. Upon contacting the Skeleton Lord’s glowing hands, it analyzed the ancient evil’s medical history. Whatever element was helping the Skeleton Lord to be easily mended after suffering obliterating attacks had now disappeared. He was now lethally vulnerable. Mortal. The history of the supervillain’s injuries was endless. Many times did it receive deathly blows and reactivating those old wounds would instantly kill the Skeleton Lord to the extent of being atomized. There was also mental trauma, but few had healed or remained repressed. Something else caught Marvelous Man’s attention. Within the Skeleton Lord, there existed two more beings. One was a horse, but it seemed to be anchored to the equine skull bulging underneath the supervillain’s red hood. The other seemed broken at a first glance, but a continued look at it revealed it was incomplete. The strange entity seemed to have the quality of a familiar imp but it was still different. The musclebound superhero needed the poison to analyze it more; it was an odd curiosity. Marvelous Man then felt a tingling sensation in his head; similar to a pins and needles tingling whenever there was low blood circulation. The musclebound superhero cursed at his error. He had been distracted for too long that his energy was already being drained. Marvelous Man commanded the poison to reactivate all of the Skeleton Lord’s old wounds. The muscle demigod felt no response from the blackness; only the increasing tingling sensation traveling down his neck. A terrible realization hit the hulking bodybuilder. The poison he sent out had been absorbed into energy for the Skeleton Lord. As a last ditch effort, Marvelous Man commanded the light within himself to shine as bright as it could. He could feel the pins and needles tingling now encompassed his humongous pectorals, while the light obeyed. The light glowed, but it too had become affected by the supervillain’s energy drain. Its brightness was less intense than the room’s candlelight. The muscle demigod’s illumination could only keep lit for a few seconds before being absorbed; fueling the Skeleton Lord even further. With his last window of opportunity shut before him, Marvelous Man felt at loss of what to do now. It became harder to breathe, as his meaty chest was now paralyzed and can no longer heave or flex. The draining process has currently spread the tingling sensation over his abdomen; shallowing the bodybuilder’s breathing even further. The muscle demigod’s body gave off one last act of reflexive defiance against the energy drain. It engorged its sexual muscle with as much blood as it could. The defiant penis throbbed with life; straining to reach the ceiling and flexing its large veins hidden underneath the skin. As the energy drain passed over the rebellious erection, it could only momentarily stand proud before crumbling and losing all vigor to the Skeleton Lord’s hideous action. It would now only take seconds before the hulking bodybuilder’s overly-muscular legs to be taken over. Marvelous man’s thighs flexed wildly in a sad attempt to shake off the drain’s progress, until the paralyzing effect had fully struck. “I had expected your giant body to have double or perhaps triple the amount of energy a common man would have,” spoke the Skeleton Lord, “But you...you have so much more. I had expected a rich well and have found a lake. I wonder if the legendary Mana Stones had this much power in them?” Marvelous Man could not reply even if he had wanted to. His vocal cords had long been overcomed by the nefarious energy drain, and the pins and needles sensation had now reached his toes. The mighty superhero was now completely powerless. Too weak to move any muscle, and the dwindling hope of being rescued had been buried. “Rejoice, hero. For I will not have to prey on any miscreants outside of this city’s security for sustenance. I only need you for energy. Be happy at your newfound purpose, my Mana Stone. My battery,” taunted the Skeleton Lord. The hulking bodybuilder stared up at his captor; trying to catch a glimpse at the Skeleton Lord’s face. The ancient evil still had the red hood casting a shadow and shielding any sort of facial recognition. Marvelous Man tried to feel furious at how he could never see the supervillain’s true face, but his senses began to skew. The room felt like it had started to spin, while his mind felt dizzy. His vision began to blacken; just like when he was strangled. Sweat perspired all over the muscle demigod’s body, while his skin had taken on a clammy texture. The painted runes began to glow a dim red light that slowly grew in intensity. Marvelous Man struggled a final thought before losing consciousness. He prayed, “Papa, mom, dad...I’m sorry. I failed. I’m so scared...I don’t want to die here.” Next Chapter
  23. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 17

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ttWgu6jKoc52k89119nNB9i67VQz9vzRdVRrizgSR1I) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ttWgu6jKoc52k89119nNB9i67VQz9vzRdVRrizgSR1I) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN Chapter 17: The Cobwebs of Sunnysville “Wait, that’s it?” frowned Gemini. Justice nodded, “Yeah.” “Just walk on through?” inquired Gemini. Justice answered back, “Yeah...I thought you said this was dimensional magic. You know how it works, right?” “Well, yeah, point A to point A2 instantly, but what we’re about to do is teleportation magic. Point A to point B...Assuming that…Sunnysville is in this realm...right?” hesitated Gemini. The Soulem stared into the closet that had the silver key in it. With it finally opened, Gemini was able to look at where the destination of the magical closet led to. His eyes laid upon the drab, white interior walls of the CashIThere loan office; the building that held the entrance and exit to Sunnysville. “Why does the other side look like the inside of a sad office building?” he questioned. Justice explained, “Well, my parents didn’t want me to accidentally find the door that led outside of Sunnysville to this apartment. So they hid it inside of a loan shark office, cause it’d be the last place I’d ever want to explore. But even if I did find it, I still needed the key to get through it. So I’m not sure why they hid it…” “Not so much the sharpest tools in the shed, huh?” remarked Gemini. The bodybuilder thought back to the childhood he had with his parents in Sunnysville. He remembered how they loved to overkill with dramatics, which caused them to overthink certain issues. The thought of his tenth birthday sprung to his mind. He wanted a bike, they gave him a motorcycle. Papa Ares included a helmet and joint pads for safety. Reflecting back on that event, Justice was now glad he was too small to get up on that motorcycle. He loved his parents dearly, but none of them are gods pertaining to intellectual features. His father, Apollo, might have been the exception for his deity over medicine and art, but his brightness was not the kind that helps one understand math problems. As for Ares, using weapons and a passion for violent outcomes does not at all require a brain cell. Justice’s mother, Aphrodite, causes the lower body to do the thinking; a skill she can pull off even in sweatpants and a moth-eaten t-shirt. Justice smiled, “I mean...huh...now that I think about it, they overspecialize so much in their areas that they have almost no foresight...and maybe common sense. I guess that’s what happens when wisdom isn’t their defining characteristic, heh.” “Same could be said about you,” sassed Gemini, “Welp, let’s head into town then. Lead the way in, slave. Now mush!” Gemini jostles the Dragon Pearls™ cord as if he were cracking a whip or the reins of a dog sled. Justice sighed, as he rolled his eyes and smirked. He wanted to tell Gemini to quit it, but the third wish would remain active until the Dragon Pearls™ were completely out of his bowels. Instead of feeling frustrated, his heart palpitated at the excitement of showing Sunnysville to his friend. The musclebound slave grabbed the silver key from the closet door; not wanting to be accidentally trapped on the other side when they closed the portal door. With no pocket to place the keys in, Justice kept it within his grasp. Strolling through the door with his ankle bells ringing, the hulking bodybuilder led the bulky Soulem through the dimensional doorway. It felt weird to walk into another world in such a casual manner and arrive in an area that was completely dull and empty. As Gemini closed the door behind them, the Soulem shivered. “Whoah,” said the Soulem. Justice looked back, “What’s wrong?” “I just got cut off from the wifi. Can’t access the cloud or anything. It feels weird to not have information at my fingertips. I’ve only felt like this during the few minutes I was first activated and when I transitioned to my new body,” answered Gemini. Justice asked, “Umm, do you want the password for the city wifi here?” “I’d very much like that. Thanks,” replied Gemini. Justice spoke, “It’s ‘flamingchariot’. One word, all lowercase.” He continued thumping his musclebound body through the empty hallway; echoing the jingling ankle bells on his gold-plated slave ankle cuffs. The two walked towards the end of the hallway and came to face with a door. Opening it, Justice strode through and arrived in the lobby. It looked the same as when he first came to this loan office. A place that reflected broken dreams and false hopes. A place that had metal bars on the windows, old black gum grouped with mysterious stains on the dark blue carpet, and the aged fluorescent bulbs with moths circling about it like sharks. Justice figured such a scenery would be the picture definition of shithole. Heading to the lobby’s counter, he spotted the miserable-looking clerk. She sat behind the white counter, reading a magazine with a lit cigarette in hand. The unkempt woman looked up at Justice; her hair still messy enough to serve as a bird’s nest and her coke-bottle glasses completely cracked. Upon eye contact through the counter’s bullet hole-riddled glass divider, she took a long puff of her cigarette. She exhaled in a deep, cracked voice, “Fuck off. Can I help you?” Justice flexed his eyebrow at the absurdity. He had forgotten how crass the clerk was. Saying nothing, the bodybuilder placed the silver key on the counter. Gemini stared at the messy clerk, while his mood rings switched to the color orange. “Well, aren’t you such a ray of sunshine cunt,” commented Gemini. As Justice turned away, the unkempt woman went back to reading her magazine. The bodybuilder smiled at Gemini’s remark; feeling happy that his friend came to defend him. He then remembered that his friend was defending him from a fake being who could only say one thing. Gemini frowned, “Mmhmm. Better check that attitude of yours next time.” “It’s fine, Gem. Let’s just go,” said Justice. The bodybuilder continued making his way towards the entrance with the Soulem following behind him. Pushing open the door, Justice strode outside. He looked about himself and noticed how odd it was that the location of a loan office was dark even during the day. Gemini huffed, “What a bitch. You don’t have to take that, you know.” “I know, but it’s okay. I think she was put there to keep me away from the portal if I ever got curious,” replied Justice. The Soulem remarked, “Then I dunno why she’s still got that attitude if you’re already using the portal. Then again, if I looked at her, I’d stop giving a shit about what I say to people too.” “It’s just how she is,” said Justice. The musclebound slave looked up at the sign of the CashIThere loan office. A few of the dull, yellow neon letters were still burnt out that made it seem like it was displaying “shIThere”. Justice smirked at the lit sign; causing Gemini to follow the bodybuilder’s gaze and transforming the mood rings to a shade of light blue. Apollo tried his very best to make the scene in front of Justice unapproachable yet a tad comedic. Gemini smiled, “Heh, shit here.” “Yeah. Or shit there,” spoke Justice. Gemini giggled, “Well, it’s definitely shit.” “It is,” said Justice, “Come on, I gotta show you the rest of Sunnysville. It definitely looks better than this.” “Let’s hope,” grinned Gemini. As the two began their walk again, Gemini looked down. The Soulem stared at the bodybuilder slave’s globular buttocks. It was inflated with so much muscle and fat, that it wobbled like two giant water balloons with every step Justice took. Gemini’s digital white eyes lingered on the glutes for a moment before descending onto the Dragon Pearls™ sticking out of the bodybuilder’s pumped anus. The color of his mood rings changed to black, as his eyes drifted to the three exposed orange orbs. Gemini would have to issue five more commands before the entire sex toy can be taken out of Justice’s rectum. The Soulem ordered, “I wish you couldn’t stop preeing!” Gemini yanked the cord that was attached to the silver ring on his finger. The fourth crystal ball exited the slave’s virgin hole with a loud, wet plop. Justice gasped, “GAH! FATHERFUCKER!!!” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Upon leaving the dark zone that held the CashIThere office, the two were immediately embraced by the sunlight Justice was familiar with. The duo continued their walk upon the sidewalk, while they took in the sights. Justice’s dark skin could feel the warm rays of the bright sun, and the cool breeze gracing against it. Another normal day in Sunnysville where the temperature was perfect, and it only rained on Mondays. “Gotta say, the weather here is kinda tropical. It feels nice,” mentioned Gemini. Justice nodded, “Yeah. It’s always perfect here.” The bodybuilder stopped in his tracks, as he felt the Dragon Pearls™ inside of him tug like an anal leash. Looking behind himself, Justice spotted Gemini gazing at the property on their right. “Guessing that’s Sunnysville’s high school?” pointed Gemini. The overly-muscular slave followed to where the Soulem indicated. Next to the two was an open football field, yet the Soulem finger was not aimed there. Across the sporty landscape was a large grade-school campus. The architecture stood three stories high and was made up of three buildings interconnected with one another. Planted next to the education facility was a large sign colored in yellow and orange. Printed on the sign in giant letters was, “Sunnysville School. Proud home of the Flaming Chariots”. Underneath the words was the school’s mascot; a being made out of wooden wheels with eyes covering the outer rims. The wheeled abomination was also embalmed in fire. Justice answered, “Yeah. But it’s also my middle and elementary school. It’s a small town, so all the schools got made into one big building.” “Huh. So how’d an angelic Throne get turned into a mascot? I get why it can be called a chariot, but it’s just inaccurate,” inquired Gemini. Justice explained, “A long time ago, I entered in a school contest for redesigning the flaming chariot mascot. And since I was playing this one game that had a whole bunch of mythological characters in it that you can summon, I found Throne in it and got the idea to use it for the contest. I ended up winning, and that’s how it became our school mascot.” The Soulem looked up at Justice; his mood rings now becoming gray. “Huh? But you didn’t you say you were homeschooled?” said Gemini. The sound of a school bell rang in the air, as Justice was about to reply. Students then poured out of campus building; heading to their respective homes. Justice spoke, “Come on. Let’s go. I want to get out of here before Greggory shows up.” The Soulem followed Justice’s lead, as they resumed their walk. The sidewalk the two walked on drew closer to the school before coming upon a split that one led towards the school and the other leading to a street crosswalk. “Who’s Greggory?” he asked. Justice sighed, “A childhood best friend I would hang out with from time to time. We did stuff together but never really talked.” “And he’s still in high school?” questioned Gemini. The bodybuilder replied, “He never graduated.” Greggory was another thing from Justice’s past he did not want to think about. Another android from Sunnysville that was incapable of socializing. He was another object in Sunnysville that Justice thought was a person. The moment Justice decided as a child that they were best friends, it was a role Greggory never stopped playing. It was another role Justice was trapped in. As Justice began to set foot on the crosswalk, he heard a young boy’s voice calling out to him. “Hey, buddy! Let’s hang out!” shouted the boy. The musclebound slave muttered, “Shit.” Looking down the concrete sidewalk leading towards the school, Justice spotted a young boy in a simple white t-shirt and jeans running towards him. The boy looked to be about the age of a high school teenager and waved at him while running at a speed faster than any normal child could possibly run. The child’s running pattern was almost like a machine running at top acceleration and was unhindered by the hefty backpack attached to the school boy’s back. “Holy hell, he can run. I’m guessing that’s Greggory,” commented Gemini. The teenager reached the massive bodybuilder in seconds. He immediately stopped exactly one step away from Justice and looked up at overly-muscular slave. The child showed no sign of exhaustion, and no sweat could be seen running down his white skin. The school boy smiled, “Hey, Justice, buddy. Let’s hang out. We can go to the mall and play at the arcade.” Every part of Justice wanted to talk to Greggory; as if he were reacting to a muscle memory. But he knew that it would just be taking part in a lie. Justice willed himself to ignore the teenager and look back at Gemini. He knew that as long as he did not make eye contact or say its name, the android would not respond to whatever he said. “J-Just ignore him. He’ll probably go away if we keep walking,” he said. Gemini frowned, “What? No. That’s rude, dude. He’s your childhood best friend.” “I don’t want to,” gritted Justice. Gemini commanded, “I wish you’d talk to him!” The Soulem yanked on the Dragon Pearls™. Another orange orb popped out of Justice’s wet rectum with a loud plop. The musclebound slave bent forward, as his muscles seized. He could feel his insides feel more vacant, while the pleasures of having his hole stretched electrified his hulking body. The bodybuilder’s bulge twitched, and its wet spot began to drip manly fluid at an increased rate. “NGH!...Hi, Greggory,” compelled Justice. Greggory chatted, “So you want to hang out?” “Maybe next time,” answered Justice. Greggory smiled, “Okay. Catch you later then. I’m gonna head home and eat my veggies before doing my homework and telling my parents that I love them.” The fake best friend turned robotically towards the crosswalk and took off. It continued to run at the same charging speed when it first approached Justice. “That’s an odd thing to say. What is he, a Saturday morning cartoon character for five year olds?” remarked the Soulem, “And I’m kinda surprised he never looked at me once. He just had laser-eye focus on you with those creepy blue doll eyes of his.” Justice muttered, “I guess…” “I’m kinda more surprised that he didn’t say anything about what you’re wearing. Or even that you’re leaking pre. Seriously, you’re leaving behind a snail trail with your own goo,” said Gemini. The musclebound slave did his best to ignore his situation but was still completely aware of the predicament. The silver spandex pouch with the golden letters “IT” printed on was nearly soaked. Over the span of time it took to walk from the loan office to the Sunnysville school, the wet blotch on Justice’s sexual package had grown far enough to reach the golden cock ring. The pre-ejaculate that had gathered at the tip like a dewdrop had now dripped every few seconds like a leaky faucet. Whatever strands or drops of pre that did not collide with Justice’s enormous thighs or feet would leave trails of large, raindrop-sized liquids on the sidewalk. Justice reasoned, “He only notices when I say yes or no, or when we do something together.” “Weird,” frowned Gemini. The bodybuilder huffed, “So, is there anything else you’re gonna force me to do, Master? Cause I’d like to show you my old home.” Upon hearing the comment, Gemini’s mood ring changed to black. “Ohhhh. I like the sound of that,” cooed the Soulem. Gemini ordered, “I wish that you’d address me as Master, and that your name and pronouns are changed to Slave.” The husky Soulem yanked his hand back as if he were starting up a lawn mower. Slave’s donut-shaped hole emitted a squishy plop, while the sixth ball of the Dragon Pearl™ toy came out of it. Slave moaned at lower octave, as the bodybuilder lurched backwards. Slave’s spandex-encased pouch twitched; increasing the rate of precum drops to resemble a faucet partially turned on. “That’s two wishes!” Slave grunted. Master shrugged, “The Dragon Pearls™ beg to differ. I guess conjunctions are a loophole, since they combine two sentences into one.” The hulking bodybuilder turned to Master and squinted down at the Soulem. “...Slave hate you so much,” frowned Slave. Master grinned, “Hey, at least I didn’t use that for my eighth wish. That would’ve really fucked you over, since the last one is permanent.” Slave rolled his eyes before turning around to face the crosswalk. Part of him did enjoy being controlled by Master, but it was still humiliating. Slave knew that telling the Soulem how the slave felt would arouse the Soulem even further. “Just don’t wish for something that would make Slave’s life difficult. Slave don’t want it to affect Slave’s ability to fight,” said the bodybuilder. As the two crossed the road, Master’s mood ring returned to white. He inquired, “Oh, yeah. That reminds me. Where did you get that name from? Marvelous Man, I mean.” “Slave’s parents kept saying they wanted to make Slave a marvelous hero. It stuck to Slave, and Slave thought it described Marvelous Man’s powers perfectly. And since Sl-...Marvelous Man found out that he is not as super as he thought he was, being marvelous is fine,” explained Slave. Master smiled, “Ah, looks like you found a loophole in my wish, heh. So what is your rank? Well, Marvelous Man’s rank.” “Rank-D. But it’s fine. Marvelous Man has accepted it. He might not be the best fighter, but he can be the best supporter. He likes it now, because he is more useful in other ways that other supers can’t,” said Slave. Master nodded, “That’s cool. Being able to heal is very rare. That kind of ability really helps cut corners on healthcare funding for all our heroes. Probably won’t be long until the Nemesis Branch tries to recruit you. It’s pretty much the golden ticket of superpowers.” “They kinda already did. But they told Marvelous Man to come back to them when he becomes a C-Rank,” mentioned Slave, “So if healing superpowers help cutting costs, are magical healers in demand?” Master sighed, “Eh, not really. Healing magic is rarely picked up as a magical profession unless you live in a low-income area. Why learn how to incantate a complicated spell on the battlefield when a soldier with basic first aid can bandage themselves up or use Arkos Division’s medical gel or whatever cure-all brand they’ve invented.” “So why not make healing potions or magic beans or something?” questioned Slave. Master exclaimed, “Ha! Only the D.A.B. bothers to keep up that practice. Ignoring the time it takes to make it, it can get pretty costly getting the materials and energy from the arcane practitioners to mass produce it for lots of people. Once again, why bother going through all that when you can science the problem with a bunch of machines with a handful of scientists and engineers.” With the way Master framed the usefulness of magic, why bother even having it in the first place? Slave knew if magic is truly outdated, then the Demonic Authority Bureau would have died out a long time ago. Slave wanted to believe that there is some reason magic is bothered to still be used. “You’re kinda making it seem like magic is…ya know, obsolete,” commented Slave. Master replied, “It does. But there are some things that magic can do, that science can’t. Kinda like you.” “Plus, magic is still used a lot in the middle and low-income areas. Ironically, it’s cheaper for them to use it than to try to purchase medicine or whatever. Some have been able to improvise with whatever they got around the house, and the magical researchers have been losing their shit over that,” continued Master, “There’s also a current rise in witches with the high schoolers and younger kids, cause magic is trending as the cool new thing to do.” Slave thought it seemed like such an odd thing for children to get into. As Slave thought about the only witch the massive bodybuilder met so far, Director Skye, Slave realized something. The reason why minors would become witches is more than likely because of the fluffy, impish perk that came with it. “Slave has a rough idea of why they would probably become witches,” said Slave. Master spoke, “Hm. Hey, do you think you could ask Puzzles more about it? I heard that he’s pissed about all those kids summoning their own familiars, and I want to know why. I thought he’d have liked to see more imps running amongst the populace or something.” “Sure, Slave guess,” said the slave. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The two continued their walk around town, as Slave explained the locations. All the stores were still functional but had thick layers of dust covering the shelves and displays. Only the objects the androids were programmed to interact with were the only clean ones. Master had made efforts to talk to the robots, but they continued to ignore his existence. Slave made the effort to distract the Soulem, but Master’s mood ring would eventually flicker back and forth with purple and orange. The Soulem stated, “So it only rains here on Mondays.” “Yeah,” nodded Slave. Master frowned, “That’s weird.” “I mean, it was weirder to Slave that it rains whenever in Skyway City,” said Slave. Gemini paused, “...That’s how it works anywhere in the world.” Slave did not reply, as Master looked up at the clear, blue sky. “Ya know, I’d ask if there’s some weather magic happening, but there’s something else permeating in this whole town. It’s like...magic but not magic. And it smells like rain too,” spoke the Soulem. Slave flexed an eyebrow, “You can smell magic?” Master tapped the tip of his large, silver nose, as his mood rings transformed to the color gold. “Yeppers. I had my nose modified to smell not just the normal stuff. It picks up on magic’s unique frequencies, and then my brain translates it into scent. So things like curses would smell like rotting meat to me,” explained Gemini. Slave grinned, “That’s probably the third most surprising thing about you today.” “Oh? Was the first my sexy new body?” flirted the Soulem. Slave giggled, “That was actually the second. Slave knew you’d eventually get a new body, but Slave did not think it would be so sexy.” “It was actually finding out that you were Chinese,” recanted the bodybuilder. Master’s mood ring color transitioned to gray. “Huh?” he said. Slave reasoned, “The Director said your last name is Master, right?...You know what Slave mean. Isn’t it Chinese?” As the best friends turned into a culdesac neighborhood, the color of Master’s mood ring became white. “Ohhhhh. Yeah, my dad is Chinese-American, so I identify as that too. Especially when my dad brought me back to China for a family get-together for the Chinese New Years. But nobody has ever questioned that, even though my last name is Yin,” answered Gemini. Master inquired, “So I’m guessing you’re a mixed race or just pure black?” “Slave mean...Slave think Slave Greek even though Slave black,” shrugged Slave. Looking ahead, Slave spotted a structure he spent a better part of his life in. Slave noticed the painted colors fade with age, as the hulking bodybuilder drew closer. It was a three-story house that was painted in coats of red, pink, and yellow. Any other person would have seen it as a life-sized dollhouse with no coordinated colors. Slave pointed, “That’s Slave’s home.” “Huh...not as luxurious compared to your apartment. Do any of your parents still live here? Cause your house...has not been well-maintained,” remarked Master. The two arrived in front of aged house, as Slave placed a hand on the old white picket fence stationed in front of Slave’s old home. Slave could feel splinters ready to prick his skin; a sign of being weathered down without any recent history of repair. Looking down, Slave saw the grass grown to shin-engulfing heights with spiky weeds poking out. Seeing such sights reminded Slave of old lady Judy’s lawn. It must have been a jungle by now. Slave then also spotted a trail created by the greenery being beaten down many times; leading from the old, wooden gate to the house’s front door. Slave frowned, “No. They left when Slave did.” “Hello there, neighbor!” said a man. Glancing up, Slave spotted an anthropomorphic moose standing in the lawn next door. The moose was dressed in khakis and a sweater with glasses. It stood there doing its usual routine every afternoon; watering the lawn. Slave could feel the old habit taking over. Slave waved, “Hi, Mister Wilson.” “Lovely weather, isn’t it. So swell,” spoke James. Slave nodded, “Yeah, it is.” The hulking bodybuilder turned to the gate and opened it. Leading Slave’s friend onto the grassy path, Slave could hear the Soulem call to Slave. “Wait, that’s a transpecies! You said you didn’t know they existed! There’s one right over there! Your next door neighbor!” accused Master. “He’s not transpecies,” said Slave, “He’s not even a real person.” The Soulem huffed, “What does tha-GAH!” Slave spun around upon hearing Master scream. The Soulem was hunched over; attempting to balance itself from what he just tripped on. “I’m okay...the hell did I trip on?” said Master. Slave gazed down at the object protruding onto the path. Slave could see a flat tire with rusted spokes. Squatting down with the wet spandex package touching the beaten grass, the massive bodybuilder parted the grown grass. The slave replied, “It’s...Slave’s bike.” Master looked at the object. The golden cruiser Slave once rode was now covered in rust. Parts of it, including the handles, had broken off some time ago and had become lost in the sea of grass. Slave left it on the lawn the same day the hulking bodybuilder left Sunnysville after discovering the new powers. Slave wondered how much time passes in Sunnysville. “Geeze, it’s rusted all over and broken into bits. How long did you leave it out?” said the Soulem. Slave answered, “A couple months ago. Right before Slave moved to Skyway City.” “Dude, just what the hell is going on. Nobody here acknowledges my existence, the store interiors are covered in dust, and your old house is the only one that looks like nobody has been in for years. And, my gosh, I can’t even connect to the cloud or usual servers. I’m only finding tidbits of history and current events. There’s not even a year available on the internet calendar! I’m wracking my mind thinking you used to be part of some cult, or you’re from another dimension, or if this is some weird playground kind of deal. You just...You need to tell me now, bro,” said Master. Slave could see the stress and confusion in Master’s eyes. The pain in Slave’s heart upon seeing it felt like a hundred knives stabbing into it. The musclebound bodybuilder tried to carefully ease the Soulem into Sunnysville and its culture, but it was obviously not enough. Slave knew what Slave had to do. The bodybuilder started, “Slave…” “Okay, I’m no longer entertained by this. I wish my previous wish was nulled. Speak normally,” commanded Gemini. The Soulem walked past the slave, as he pulled on the cord of the Dragon Pearls™. The seventh orange ball plopped out of Justice’s hole with a soft, wet noise. Justice groaned from the stretching pleasure, and an increased vacancy within the bodybuilder’s bowels. The glistening pre-ejaculate gushed with an increased flow from his wet, spandex package onto the grassy path. Gemini spoke, “Now c’mon. What’s really up with Sunnysville and all the people and stuff.” Justice paused. He tried to think of the best way to explain it all, but nothing came to mind that sounded acceptable. The musclebound man took a breath and braced himself for the anger Gemini would most likely react to. “Sunnysville...isn’t a real place. It exists in a...I guess you’d call a pocket dimension? And like I told you earlier and before we came here, none of the people here are real,” explained Justice. Gemini frowned, “I thought you were being a total edgelord. Like, because nobody got how you felt and stuff, that they didn’t seem like real people. Or they just seemed happy and well-adjusted all the time.” Justice shook his head, as Gemini’s mood rings transformed to purple. “Naw. They’re all just androids that Hephaestus made. But he did such a rush job making them, that they don’t have any social programming in them. They’re like NPCs. They only say one thing or only say or do something different if you say the right thing. If you don’t follow the script, they freak out. Let me show you,” he replied. Gemini inquired, “Wait, do you mean a guy named Hephaestus or the actual god of fire and blacksmith?” Justice ignored his friend and turned to face his next door neighbor. “Hey, Mr. Wilson,” he called. The moose replied, “Hello there, Justice.” “This is my best friend, Gemini.” pointed Justice. James Wilson immediately reacted like old lady Judy upon hearing Justice speak off-script. His eyes went wide and gazed through Justice. Justice knew the person was not real, but it still hurt the bodybuilder to see it happen. Justice felt the old guilt of hurting a Sunnysville resident when not playing the specific role. The moose spoke, “INPUT CANNOT BE DESIGNATED. DIRECTORY NOT FOUND.” Gemini’s mouth gaped open, as he saw the anthro moose reply. “...Holy shit,” he said. Justice nodded, “Yeah, and I think they only recognize me and my parents as people. I guess that shows how little time Hephaestus had when making all the townsfolk here.” “Oh, and about that other question you asked, it’s the actual god,” he replied. Gemini paused, “Oh.” Justice attempted to give eye contact with his Soulem friend. Filled with so much awkward feelings, it resulted in him staring at the grass. The musclebound bodybuilder clenched his hands, as he forced himself to continue talking. “Yeah...I’m...actually a demigod...or something close to that, I guess. I’m the child of Ares, Aphrodite, and Apollo, and they created me to be a superhero to represent them. And the reason why all three of them got together to make me was to increase my chances of survival, since supervillains are as powerful as them now,” he explained. Gemini spoke up, “That’s...pretty cool. So what does that have to do with you living in Sunnysville?” “A lot, from what my parents told me. It turns out that people who are born with more than one...divinity, I think you’d call it, are pretty powerful. But they have a tendency to become...psychotic and have a short life expectancy,” said Justice. Gemini noted, “And you have three…” “Yep. Three gods that gave me a sliver of their essence to give me life. I mean, I shouldn’t be alive right now. My parents guessed that one of the outcomes would be me literally exploding,” nodded Justice. He continued, “But since I didn’t, that just meant that I would probably go crazy and try killing everyone. So they put me in this pocket dimension and watched over me for over twenty years. The other shoe hasn’t dropped yet, but who knows. I somehow turned out right, and that’s why they let me out.” “Sooo…” hesitated Gemini. Justice interrupted, “What’s kept me stable? I think that it’s cause the essences I was given canceled each other to a weakened point that limited my powers. Kinda why Gilgamesh was stronger than me. But I like to think that it’s cause my parents loved me and tried their best to raise me right. There’s a lot of factors, but I just know that I’m unique and still alive.” “...Shit,” said Gemini. Justice sighed, “Yeah.” “Being here with only your family to actually socialize with and the rest of this world being fake, and you didn’t even know it...Must’ve really fucked you up,” commented Gemini. Justice looked up at the sky, “Especially with nothing ever changing, I guess it did. If it wasn’t for our friendship at stake to distract me, I’d probably be freaking out about your new body. I know I would’ve had a meltdown.” The bodybuilder slowly drew in a long breath; his pectorals lifting upwards. He then let out a quiet exhale, as he remembered something else. The musclebound slave mentioned, “Hm, ya know, I didn’t even know superheroes or magic existed. I just thought they were comic book stuff.” Gemini stared up at his friend with his mouth agape once again. The husky Soulem threw his hands up in intense bewilderment. “...Why?!” questioned Gemini, “It defeats the very purpose of making you into a superhero! Unless...they weren’t trying to inspire you to leave.” Justice shrugged, “Who knows. I’ve forgiven them for what they did to me. Don’t get me wrong, I really wanted to be angry and destroy everything here. But...They were just doing what they thought was right. They didn’t know any better. And I still love them. It might’ve been lonely here, but at least they were always with me. Plus...I’m also afraid I might never come back if I go off the deep end.” “And it makes no sense when I say this that...I hate this place, but I still love it here. It’s predictable here. Familiar. No fights. No stores suddenly closing. And nobody is changing. I can still remember some happy memories here, and all the good times I tried to create...I never realized how suffocating it is to live here,” he continued. Gemini inquired, “Well...did you ever come back here when the real world got too much to handle?” Justice thought back to all the times he laid in bed; staring at the silver key. How every time he passed his closet, the temptation of magically using it would eat at him. But every time it did, all he had to do was think back to his experiences in the real world. All the new friends he was able to make, and all the new things he was able to try. “This is actually the first time I’ve been back, since I came to the real world. It was always so tempting to come back here whenever I was upset at something. But deep down...I knew that if I ever came back here, I’d probably stay here for good. And if it wasn’t for you, Gem, I’d also stop being Justice,” replied the bodybuilder. Gemini cupped his chin, “...Yeah, I guess compared to how Marvelous Man is a blank book, you could be whatever you wanted.” “Pretty much. Anyway, let’s head inside. I’m kinda hoping my family have some leftover cookie cake slices in the fridge,” said Justice. Gemini sighed, “Okay.” Heading to the front door, the Soulem placed his hand on the knob. Gemini swung it open without hesitation, while the color of his mood rings changed to green. The husky Soulem immediately recoiled; clutching at his mouth and nose. “Oh my gosh! What the hell is that smell?!” he choked. As Justice began to lumber over to his friend, he was hit with a foul stench. It smelled like mold and rotting fruit. The musclebound bodybuilder staggered back from the vomit-inducing scent. He dared to peek at the entryway and spotted small objects covering most of the ground. Some of the objects were mashed into the ground, while others were still round. One thing Justice was certain was that they were all engulfed by fungus. He coughed, “I think those are Mr. Wilson’s muffins.” Gemini clamped his hand back onto the doorknob and pulled with abrupt force. The door slammed shut; closing off the waft of disgusting odor. “Why the fuck is your house hoarded up with his muffins?!” gasped the Soulem. Justice panted, “He...leaves them in my house...every Friday. But since…-” “Yeah, I get it. Nobody was around to eat them and they got this bad...Does this dimension exist out of time or something?” interrupted Gemini. With the nasty stench out of his lungs, Justice was able to stand up straight. He tried to remember what his family said to him about Sunnysville. The bodybuilder recalled, “I think so. My dad said this place is like a hyperbolic time chamber.” Gemini turned to the overly-muscular slave, as his mood rings became purple. “So, like, ‘a year in here is a day out there’ sort of thing?” he surmised. Justice shrugged, “I guess. That was the best answer they could give me.” “Wow...they really treated you like a tv dinner. Just stuck you in here and set it to nuke. Presto-chango, they now have their superhero ready to fit in with the modern times,” commented Gemini. The Soulem motioned his hands as if he were performing a magic trick. He fluttered his hands about to express a flashy explosion. The herculean slave giggled, “Yeah, I think that’s how it was when it started out. But I know that my mom for sure stopped thinking about that the moment I was born. Probably my dad too. I remembered that he told me that I was the most perfect baby he’s ever seen. Which is the biggest compliment, since he’s...hehe, a pretty big narcissist. And for Papa-” “I’m guessing that’s Ares?” said Gemini. Justice nodded, “Yeah. He kinda put me on a spartan regimen where I was constantly exercising every day and was taught about war tactics. But when he pushed me too hard and caused my knee to dislocate when I was nine...I think that was when he realized I was his kid and not a soldier. Since then, he’d spoil me and train me at my pace.” “But that’s when my dad, Apollo, had to become the strict parent. He’d try to teach me about discipline of the self when performing art or bodybuilding and tried to teach me values by putting me in the boy scouts.” he continued. The Soulem laughed, “Pfff, hah! Boyscouts?!...Actually that does make some sense about you. Such a damn gentleman all the time.” The musclebound bodybuilder smiled. It felt relieving to talk to someone about his life, and it was with someone he trusted. He did not expect Gemini to take everything so well, but it was nice to see his friend still accepted him. With such a secret no longer a burden, a calming euphoria washed over Justice. A thought crossed his mind that if he was trapped in Sunnysville with Gemini, he’d be alright with such a predicament. “It’s all I know,” shrugged Justice. Gemini looked up at his friend, while his mood ring color became sky blue. He smiled, “Welp, we can’t go in there. Anywhere else you want to show me?” “Hmmm...wanna go to the beach?” suggested Justice. Gemini nodded, “Sure, I’m game for that.” The hulking slave took lead; heading towards the beach with Gemini holding onto his anal leash. Justice thought it was nice to be the one who knew things instead of feeling like a cultural imbecile. “It’s too bad we couldn’t go inside, so I could show you my room. My walls are racked with bodybuilding trophies and all my martial art belts and stuff. Got some classic video games too,” he mused. Gemini teased, “I bet you had a race car bed too.” “I actually do. King-sized and with a waterbed mattress,” grinned Justice. Gemini remarked, “...That’s awesome.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The sky had started to take on an orange hue, as the sun began to set. Seagulls could be heard cawing; mixing with the sound of clear, blue waves crashing onto the sand. At this time, the fake people always playing on the beach were packing up to go. On the black boardwalk, a level above the sand, the two were leaving an ice cream cart with delights in their hands. Both of them carried a waffle ice cream cone with a large scoop of strawberry cheesecake flavor. As the best friend duos licked and bit into their treats, they settled onto the edge of the boardwalk. “Oh my gosh. This is so weird!” exclaimed Gemini, “Not the ice cream. It’s so fucking delicious. But even though this is my first ice cream, I get, like...a nostalgic feel from it. It’s both a new and reminiscent feeling I’m getting from eating this.” Justice watched his friend’s black tongue lap at the ice cream and its cheesecake chunk contents. He could not help but be confused at what he was seeing. “So I know this is going to be really obvious when I say this, since I ordered for you. But you can eat now?” he asked. The Soulem shrugged, “Yeah. I have an organic converter in me that burns food into energy. That way, it’s the first reserves I’ll use up, so I won’t have to plug in that often. Plus, it’s pretty therapeutic for Soulems. Helps us take part in the social interaction of human meal time, and it feels really nice to chew and taste.” “Oh...does that mean you poop now too?” said Justice. Gemini smiled, “Nnnnope! Unless, it’s a fetish thing, I don’t got that porthole installed. And cause I’m one-hundred percent top. But yeah, my organic converter creates no waste other than a vapor exhaust.” Justice flexed an eyebrow in confusion, while licking his ice cream. “Meaning?” he said. The bulky Soulem held up his white finger to signal his unavailability to give a verbal answer at that moment. Having finished all of the ice cream exposed above the cone, Gemini began to bite into the waffle cone. He rapidly bit into the cone and chewed his mouthful contents; finishing the sweet snack in seconds. After swallowing the last of it, Gemini paused. A second later, he emitted a loud belch. The Soulem smiled, while flexing his eyebrows several times. He held up his hand to display his face; signifying the answer to Justice’s question. The bodybuilder grinned, “Hehe, that’s cool.” “Not as cool as you,” replied Gemini. The Soulem’s eyes went wide and immediately looked away. His mood ring color had now flashed to pink, as Gemini stared intensely on the ocean in front of the two. He swallowed, “I just wanted to say...I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting like a sexual predator. And that I got angry at you. I get it now. The ignorance and stuff.” Gemini formed a fist with both hands and began to lightly pound them together. “And...I need to come clean about something else. My upgrade was supposed to be a surprise for you, because...I wanted to tell you something...That...you were what caused my awakening,” he admitted. Justice continued to bite into his ice cream at a slow pace. He could feel his heartbeat rise, but he did not want to confirm to himself what his trepidation was about. The Soulem continued, “And as you know, awakenings for a Soulem can happen from experiencing lust or love or other complex emotions. And after you were showing off your silver thong, I felt a thirst...B-basically, I was horny. But...later, after I realized what I went through...I still couldn’t get you out of my head.” “I felt this need to...be...with you. It wasn’t about sex anymore. For the first time, I actually felt lonely not living with you and having to go back to the D.A.B. to recharge and stuff. And I wanted to do more with you. To...hear you laugh. To see you smile. To hold you when you cry...To hold your hand and feel the very atoms and heartbeat of you...I realized that...that…” he hesitated. The husky Soulem stopped bouncing his fists together and gripped the edge of the pavement. Gemini slowly turned his face to Justice with the mood rings emitting a rose red color. A clear lubricant began to collect on the edges of the Soulem’s digital eyes. He confessed, “I love you.” Blood thumped in a deafening rhythm in Justice’s head. He could feel his manhood inflating and straining against the spandex that encased it. He felt happy...then scared...then something else. A spring of different emotions converging at once overwhelmed the bodybuilder’s psyche. Without realizing it, his body reacted to the sudden emotional stress. Justice scrambled to stand up; dropping the ice cream in the process. Taking a leap forward, he attempted to sprint as fast as his musclebound body could move. As he managed to take two steps forward, the Dragon Pearls™ magically bound to his pumped anus yanked on the ring attached to Gemini’s finger. The Soulem was immediately dragged across the ground. “OW. OW. OWWW!!!” cried Gemini. A second after being pulled onto the pavement, the silver ring came off of Gemini’s digit. The overly-muscular slave instantly froze in place; stuck in a running pose. The bulky Soulem pushed himself up and stomped towards the inanimate Justice. Gemini’s mood ring transformed to orange. He shouted, “Fatherf-BITCH, DID YOU JUST TRY TO BOLT ON ME?!” “I’m sorry,” whimpered Justice, “...I didn’t know what to do, and I just freaked out...it’s what I do when I’m really mad or stressed. If I was Marvelous Man, I could’ve handled it better...” Gemini exclaimed, “Maybe just say that you’re not into me?! I mean, it sure as shit would’ve hurt a lot less than being pulled across the pavement! Which, by the way, not cool, bro!” Justice remained silent, as the Soulem finally caught up to the musclebound slave seconds later. Gemini walked around Justice and stationed himself in front of the hulking bodybuilder. Justice could not look his friend in the eye and remained staring at his mammoth pecshelf. “...I couldn’t say that to you...because...that’s not how I feel. Being here with you...I felt...happy. I didn’t feel trapped. And you tried your best to understand me. It’s...one of the reasons I like about you...You’re an ass for being honest all the time, but you listen to me. You actually want to know me other than how much I can lift or if I’m a top. I feel like we have a lot of similarities, and it’s nice to know that I don’t feel like an outcast when I’m with you,” said Justice. Gemini huffed, “Thennn, why not just take it slow, and we, ya know, date.” The hulking bodybuilder wanted to immediately say yes. His voice began to rise in agreement, but the image of Gene Lightfoot instantly materialized in his mind. His heart felt torn. He wanted to be with Gemini, but he was giving his work partner a chance at love. The idea of keeping such a fact secret from the Soulem popped up. But doing such a thing would eat at Justice’s conscious for the rest of his life. “I would...but...I’m already dating Gene,” answered Justice. The Soulem frowned, “Wait...that illiterate bunny man? Fffff-of course you would. Who wouldn’t with all that erotic emotion he is literally emitting.” “Hey! Don’t say that about him! Of course he can read, and that’s not why I’m seeing him,” spat Justice. Gemini pointed at his head, “Uh, no he can’t. Those rabbit ears of his only translates oral language. Anything wrote down is chicken scratch to him. I should know, I was the one who was told to set the language on his electronic scroll to his native language. But surprise, surprise. A country that is closed off to outsiders, and its language that isn’t widespread, isn’t available on any digital format.” Justice thought back to all the times Gene did not or refused the opportunity to read. There was the time the bunny demigod did not use their personal scroll to review information sent by Fairuza. Then there was the first date the two had. The rabbit superhero looked perplexed by the English menu at the Toto’s restaurant and decided to order whatever Marvelous Man chose. At the art museum, Gene asked Marvelous Man to read the placards out loud...Even though it added up, Justice felt it was still not a nice thing for Gemini to say. The hulking bodybuilder looked at Gemini. Realizing his friend was a robot, Justice figured there should have been more than one way to fix the language issue with Gene’s digital scroll. “But…” said Justice, “Can’t you just modify-” “I’m not that kind of Soulem, dammit! I don’t have the mind of a computer programmer, and I can’t ‘ghost’ myself into the coding! Just-fuck. Getting off track. Just...why? Why are you into him if it’s supposedly not for sex?!” shouted Gemini. The overly-muscular slave thought back to the personal interactions with the bunny demigod. Gene was a super strong superhero that had an abundance of beautiful physical features. But the rabbit superhero never let his powers inflate his ego and approached everything with gentleness when it did not involve lewd practices. He always seemed calm and happy but never hid his sad and pained side whenever he interacted with Marvelous Man. The only times he was truly angry was upon witnessing any injustice. He was a model superhero in Justice’s eyes: flawed, empowered, and kind. Justice explained, “He’s...a nice guy. He cares about the people nobody wants to pay attention to. And he’s really strong too. But I also understand his pain. That he has to be here to find better things in life, but nothing ever feels like it can be a second home. He might seem shallow, cause he likes sex...a lot. But he’s much deeper than that. People don’t care to know more about him once they get what they want from him...which is banging him. We’re different in a lot of ways, but we’re able to share our frustrations together.” “I’m sorry, Gemini. I didn’t think of you in a romantic way until now, cause...I was just happy with the way things are. But…” he continued. Gemini proposed, “Then date both of us. I’m...I can do a polyamorous thing. I mean, you got a big enough bed to fit all of us and stuff.” It sounded like a perfect fantasy in Justice’s mind. His giant memory-foam mattress with all three laying naked on it. He’d be sandwiched in between his two lovers with Gene on his right and Gemini on his left and holding both their hands. The threesomes they would have would be legendary, and he would be able to share his love with both of them. But whenever he would give Gene attention, he would feel those mood rings burning into his back with a radioactive green. “It wouldn’t work out. I know you’d get jealous. Wouldn’t be right if I put you through that,” sighed Justice. He requested, “Just...just give me two weeks. By then, I’ll have it figured out.” Gemini paused. His eyes darted left and rights, as if he were mulling over what Justice had asked of him. “Did he even say he loved you? Or at least like you?” questioned the Soulem. The hulking bodybuilder thought back to all of his interactions with Gene Lightfoot. The only reason the bunny demigod went out on a date with Justice, was because Gene thought it would be fun. They shared tender moments together, and the Totochtin prince said he was on the same best friend level as Director Doug. And the kiss the two had...was it really only Justice that enjoyed it? He hesitated, “I mean...we ha-” “Answer the question, Justice. Yes or no?” interjected Gemini. Justice paused, “...no.” The Soulem huffed, as he turned around. Back facing Justice, Gemini crossed his arms. His body lightly swayed about for a few seconds before facing back to Justice. The Soulem’s face showed resignation, while throwing his arms up in an exaggerated fashion. “Fine. Whatever. Have your two weeks. But don’t expect me to be surprised, if I’m not as receptive to when you finally come around. I’m only agreeing to this, cause I love you,” he said. Justice dryly swallowed, “I’m sorry. I really am. This is the first time I’ve ever had to deal with this…with love and the complex stuff, I mean.” “Yeah, yeah. Join the club. Let’s just go now. I’ve learned your origin story, so let’s get out of this town simulator.” frowned Gemini. Justice’s eyes darted about, “Ummm, I’d like to, but I kinda need you to...ya know.” “Oh...right,” said Gemini. Walking around the petrified, musclebound slave, Gemini stopped behind Justice’s basketball-sized glutes. The bulky Soulem leaned down and reached underneath the perfectly round buttocks. He grabbed an orange sphere that was dangling outside of the bodybuilder’s donut-shaped hole and stood up. He commanded, “I wish...that you couldn’t remove a tattoo I put on you.” Justice looked over his shoulder. “Huh?” said Justice, “That’s a weird thing to-GYAH!!!” Next Chapter
  24. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 16

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O52F8UJS70fDmrK2gYawUXBtklu8IEUwpOdaOZrPuoM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O52F8UJS70fDmrK2gYawUXBtklu8IEUwpOdaOZrPuoM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN Chapter 16: Wrongs, Rights, and Rimming? Marvelous Man’s reality felt like it was becoming undone. He had been careful to balance his two different lives without raising any suspicion from his friends and teammates. Adrenaline kept accelerating his heart rate with the sound of pumping blood raging in his ears, and it took every ounce of the musclebound superhero’s will to keep his breath steady. There were plenty of questions racing through his mind, but one statement drowned out the inquiries: SHIT!!! In one huge reveal, Gemini now had a new body that was exotically erotic and masculine. Apparently, he had also been employed by the D.A.B. to act as the team’s new member as a technician. But the one thing Marvelous Man hoped would not happen is Gemini recognizing Justice in his alter ego. The probability of that happening at this very moment can be compared to pulling a pin out of a grenade and not exploding. Gemini had just subtly outed Marvelous Man, while offering a handshake. There was no other choice but to keep playing along in order to keep up face. Marvelous Man accepted the handshake; gripping it with caution. The muscle demigod could feel Gemini squeezing hard enough that it felt like his hand was going to turn into a diamond. This would become the second time today his hand would be crushed. He strained back a smile. Marvelous Man stammered, “R-really? What a coimidam-I mean, coincidence.” “Yeah, I bet,” grinned Gemini. The Director sipped his glass of sweet tea before continuing. “Marvelous Man, I’ll need you to debrief Mr. Yin here about our current situation with the Skeleton Lord,” Director Skye ordered,” As for you, Gene, I’ll need you with me when we start interrogating our petrified guest. I supposed he will respond better with you in his visual vicinity.” “Understood,” bowed Gene. Director Doug turned to Fairuza. He drawled, “Fairuza, I’ll need you to help record our interrogation. Maybe you can find something whatever Gilgamesh spills to get us a better idea about our skeletal problem. Especially with how he is associated with that fiend and how he managed to keep his youth.” “Yes, sir. Of course,” replied Fairuza. The Director smiled, “Splendid. Now if y’all excuse me, we still have about two hours left before our guest thaws out, and I will be taking my lunch.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Being dismissed from Director Skye’s office, Marvelous Man and Gemini made their way towards the elevator. Neither said a word, but Marvelous Man was too aware of the tension between them. It was seconds after they entered the elevator and it closing behind them, that he tried to break the ice. “So…” said Marvelous Man, “uhhh, as the Director told you, we’re dealing with the Skele-” “Why didn’t you tell me that you’re a superhero?” interrupted Gemini. Marvelous Man paused, “I...am a superhero. Is my outfit not cl-” “DON’T! Bullshit with me, Justice! I know it’s you. I have facial recognition software like every other Soulem!” exclaimed Gemini. He continued, “I mean, at least have the decency to put on a mask or something. You can blend in with the crowds of other giant black bodybuilders in this city, but that can only fool human eyes.” The muscle demigod said nothing. Marvelous Man stared down at the ground; incapable of making any eye contact with his Soulem friend. The elevator dinged as it passed the fourth floor. “When we first met, you told me you were a trust-fund baby and was in between jobs,” recanted Gemini. Marvelous Man answered, “...That wasn’t a lie...at the time. After I met you that same day, the D.A.B. hired me to become a full-time hero. Before that, I had just got my superhero license and was patrolling as a hobby.” “Oh...Still, why didn’t you tell me? I thought we were friends...maybe even best friends,” frowned Gemini. The husky Soulem’s mood rings turned to a deep blue. Marvelous Man looked up at his best friend. It struck a chord in his heart to hear someone openly validate their friendship with the bodybuilder superhero. “We are! It’s just that...I mean...I wanted to protect you and my loved ones. I don’t want my enemies to know about you and hurt you, Gemini,” explained Marvelous Man. Gemini looked at Marvelous Man with a face of bewilderment, while his mood rings turned grey. He exclaimed, “What kind of fatherfucking logic is that?! Did your understanding of the world come from an old-timey comic book or something?! I ‘supposedly’ have close relations to the you that is Justice fatherfucking Starr. Because of that, I have to know your superhero alter ego, so that I can prepare myself in the event that your well-known enemies try to get the drop on your civilian life by targeting me.” The elevator dinged again, as it passed by the third floor. Mood rings flashing red, Gemini crossed his arms. “You’re doing more harm than good. You’re not helping. You’re just being selfish,” he lectured. Marvelous Man’s vision began to turn murky, as he could feel something building up in his eyes. He clenched his fists. He was a superhero. Superheroes do not cry. They must be a symbol of unwavering strength. But…the fear of losing the only friend Justice had and the sadness of betraying Gemini’s trust felt more painful than Gilgamesh breaking his entire hand. He choked a whisper, “...I’m sorry…” Gemini stared into the muscle demigod’s eyes. As he did so, the Soulem’s mood rings’ color shifted into white. His hand slowly drifted to Marvelous Man’s until it hesitated halfway. Changing direction, Gemini placed his hand on the bodybuilder superhero’s bulging shoulder. “...I care about you, Justice. You’re the only friend around here that I have, and I barely know you. Please...tell me the truth. Just everything...anything at all...Please,” he sighed. Marvelous Man closed his eyes to prevent any seeping liquids. He could barely hear the elevator’s ding of descending passed the second floor. The musclebound superhero sobbed, “...Okay.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Soon after Marvelous Man calmed down, the two relocated themselves at Marvelous Man’s apartment. Marvelous Man did not leave as Justice earlier that day, so the he had to enter the premise through the roof access. The muscle demigod then fished a silver key out of his pocket while making his way down the steps. “Ya know, I think this is the first time I’ve been on your roof. We should go swimming on your roof’s pool before fall sets in,” mentioned Gemini. Marvelous Man nodded, “Yeah, sure. I’ve never dipped in there yet.” “That’s a shame. Too much time taken up from superheroing?” inquired Gemini. Marvelous Man answered, “Yeah, and cause I spend all my free time hanging out with you. You kinda had a fragile body back then, so that’s why all we did was walk around the mall and watch anime.” The Soulem’s mood ring flashed to pink, while he flustered. “Oh...Well...thanks for being considerate,” replied Gemini. The muscle demigod smiled, “No problem.” Marvelous Man then stopped in front of his living room closet. He briefly remember his first time arriving in the real world through there. While the process of going to another world felt somewhat magical, crossing over and arriving into the real world was so instant and tame. The bodybuilder superhero place the silver key into the door’s lock; jangling an ice cream sundae with a cherry on top keychain attached to the silver key. “Soooo, are you gonna tell me who you are and stuff? Cause I assumed you brought me back to your apartment, cause you’d feel more comfortable dishing it here...did I really just say that?” said Gemini. Marvelous Man turned to Gemini, as the Soulem’s mood ring changed to white. He spoke, “I do, but I have to show you something first before I can explain everything about me. I promise it’ll make sense once I do. Just let me change before I show you.” Raising his arms above his head, the muscle demigod placed his golden bracelets on top of the other. Marvelous Man chanted, “Marvelous Muscle Magic, Metamorph!!!” The bodybuilder superhero was instantly transported into his transformation void. After having to do it countless times to maintain his double life, he no longer dreaded it. The feelings from the transportation and assailing on his erogenous zones were at first annoyance, then numbness, and finally accepting it and enjoying the teasing pleasures. His heroic outfit exploded like shattered glass; leaving his musclebound body floating nude in the void. This was then followed by silver paint slapping at his glutes and groin. His muscular globes jiggled in every direction, as silver fabric began to form. Once the hulking man’s silver thong fully materialized, the transformation vacuum collapsed. Justice landed gently on his large feet. Taking a breath to appreciate the pleasurable transformation, Justice could feel his sex at half mast. The bodybuilder looked at his handsome Soulem friend and noticed the bulging movements in Gemini’s zaffre fundoshi. Justice’s mouth began to water, as his thoughts wondered about his friend’s robotic penis. He then realized that Gene’s hypersexuality was starting to seep into his personality. “So...you have to say that every time to transform?” coughed Gemini. Justice sighed, “Yeah. At first it was kinda embarrassing to say, but I got used to it.” The musclebound man attempted to change the subject in the hopes of distracting his thoughts and changing Gemini’s dark red mood ring. “Did I ever tell you where I came from?” asked Justice. Gemini lightly nodded his head, as his mood ring’s color turned into purple. The Soulem recalled, “Yeah, you said you came from Sunnysville?” “Uh-huh. And I want to take you there. It’ll make sense once I show you, I swear,” said Justice. Gemini’s mood ring flashed grey, as he gave Justice a confused look. He replied, “Oookaaay...Like, right now? What, we gonna use teleportation magic or…?” The Soulem tilted his head, while his eyes gazed upon the silver key in the closet’s lock. His mood ring immediately shifted to a purple. “Wait a sec! Are we gonna walk through your closet like that magical wardrobe?!” inquired Gemini. Justice could see the curious giddy in his friend’s digital eyes. The bodybuilder replied, “Ummm, I’m not sure what you’re referencing to. But yeah, we’re gonna be walking through my closet.” Gemini’s white eyes dilated like a cat enraptured by euphoric catnip. “Oh my gosh, dimensional magic?! I am going to flip if you’re telling the-uhhh...wh-what are you doing?” stammered the Soulem. During Gemini’s flabbergast, Justice had bent down in an attempt to take off his silver thong. He continued to slide it down his tree-trunk thighs while looking up. The musclebound man noticed his robotic friend’s mood ring began to constantly fluctuate between pink, grey, and dark red. He replied, “Hm? Oh, I’m just taking these off. Nobody in Sunnysville is real, so it doesn’t matter if I’m naked. You can take yours off too, if you want.” “I’m, uh, I’m good,” said Gemini. As the Soulem watched his overly muscular friend pull the silver thong down to the ankles, his mood ring color shifted to black. A wicked smile crept on his silver face. Gemini spoke up, “Soooo, if you’re not gonna wear anything, mind if ya let me dress you?” The hulking bodybuilder stood up and kicked away his thong. He then looked at the husky android with a puzzled face; unsure if he heard his friend right. “Huh?” said Justice. Gemini pressed, “Just saying. It doesn’t matter if you’re not wearing anything, since you said the people aren’t real...which is a really weird thing to say-Sorry, getting off topic. But c’mon, let me dress you. It’s not like you can be embarrassed.” Justice had never seen the Soulem’s mood ring take on a black hue, but he knew it could not be good. His instinct told him that something was amiss and to say no. But he felt like he would be letting down his friend again if he refused. The bodybuilder already hurt Gemini’s feelings once today and did not wish to do it again. “Okay,” he sighed. Gemini replied, “Great! I’ll be right back!” As the beefy Soulem’s mood ring color changed to light blue, Gemini ran to Justice’s bedroom. Justice tried to shake his unease. It seemed like an odd idea, but it could be fun. He wondered if he had the will to refuse whatever Gemini wanted him to wear. The worst thing the Soulem could do is make him wear his buttplug. He then told himself it would not be so bad, since they are only touring Sunnysville. “Dude, did you buy some anime replica sex toy?” shouted Gemini. Justice flexed his eyebrows in confusion before his eyes bulged at a faint memory. A while back, he thought it would be fun to purchase sex toys from the internet that were shaped like props from famous television shows and movies. There was only one that caught his eye that was quite similar and came at a hefty price. And after purchasing it, he forgot about trying it out; leaving it to occupy a corner of his room. Gemini continued, “Dragon Pearls™ anal balls? Some kind of Chinese knockoff? Oh wow, yeah, instead of stars, it’s got Chinese characters, heh. Geeze, it’s heavy! What is this, fourty pounds?” “Shit,” muttered Justice. Exiting Justice’s bedroom, Gemini lightly jogged back to his bodybuilder friend. He was carrying several objects in his hands, but there was something else that would catch anybody’s attention. Slinged over his shoulders and around the back of his neck were eight orange spheres interconnected with a white string. The crystal-like orbs were bigger than softballs and had red Chinese characters planted in their centers. The Soulem’s devilish smile was even wider than before, and the color of his mood rings were constantly phasing back and forth with dark red and black. Evil seemed to be dancing in Gemini’s eyes; sending a chill down Justice’s spine. Justice quickly reasoned, “Those aren’t clothes.” “Neither is your Marvelous Man bikini, yet you wear it in public cause it technically clothes your immense dong and balls,” shot back Gemini. The Soulem whined, “C’mon, broooo. You said you’d let me dress you. I mean, are you not able to fit this in you?” “I can...but I don’t want to,” replied the bodybuilder. Gemini continued griping, “Justice. C’moooon. Please? You seriously gonna take back your word?” Justice did not need Gene’s ability to sense the sexual hunger radiating out of Gemini. He knew it was going to be awkward getting pleasured by his best friend. The bodybuilder briefly wondered if all Soulems with supposed functional sex organs were as perverted as Gemini was starting to become. Knowing that he would never hear the end of it and probably hurt their friendship, Justice knew what he had to do. “Fine,” sighed the hulking bodybuilder. Gemini beamed, “Yes! I brought some lube if you need it.” “I don’t, but it’ll make this go a lot faster. Just let me clean myself out first,” said Justice. The overly muscular man thumped his way over to the bathroom. His thick cock loudly slapped against his thunderous thighs with every step. Gemini called out, “Maybe you should get a spell tattooed on yourself, so you can stay permanently clean. Unless you’re like, ya know, some sort of supernatural being or have an artificial colon.” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The bulge in Gemini’s zaffre fundoshi pushed against the fabric with furious determination at a chance to be fully erect and free of the tie-string loincloth. In one hand, he held a bottle of Crack Addict lube and the Dragon Pearls™ in the other. The Soulem’s mood ring color flashed an intense dark red, as he stared at the erotic sight in front of him. Splayed open was Justice’s rear end. The bodybuilder stretched his legs open into a perfect split; resting his exceedingly meaty legs on the couch. With nothing to keep his massive bubble glutes together, his virgin hole was left exposed for the Soulem to behold. “Well? You gonna do it or not?” said Justice. Upon Justice voicing his impatience, Gemini shook his head to relieve the carnal daze in his eyes. The Soulem replied, “Huh? Oh, yeah! Sure. Just, uh, give me a second to lube up.” “Just put it on the balls. My ass doesn’t need the prepping,” said Justice. Gemini nodded, “Yeah, I can tell. It’s already got a gape. But, ummm, how’d you get it to be so puffy? It’s like a donut.” “Anal pump. I’ve been using it for...huh, it’s been years, but I actually lost count, heh. But I had to get a new one when I moved here,” explained Justice. Gemini exclaimed, “Damn! How are you not a sex obsessed being if you buy all these sexy clothes and sex toys?! You don’t bother eye-banging every guy we pass by when we go to the mall and stuff.” “I still do. Just not with every guy. And I just feel that all my sex stuff should be kept home in my own privacy. But if I was still in my teens, I would’ve let you bang me without question, hehe,” stated the bodybuilder, “But what about you? You’re trying to put a toy in me and keep staring at my hole.” The Soulem sighed, “Sorry. After my awakening and getting my new body, the moderators for my upgrade said that I’d have a hyper interest in sex for the next week or so. So it should go away soon.” “Oh, right! I totally forgot! Congratulations on your awakening! I guess that’s why you got a new body, huh?” said Justice. He then paused for a second as realization hit him. The musclebound man spoke up, “Ohhhh, so that’s why it’s also called robo puberty!” “Yeah...so I’m really sorry if I keep drooling whenever I look at you. It’s just that...your body is really hypnotizing. Especially your asshole,” licked Gemini. While Justice was used to people flirting with him, it was different to hear his best friend complement the sexual appeal of his body. It sent a tingling sensation that aroused his man meat to twitch and harden. Gemini has made comments about his body before, but it was usually about his bigness or strength. However, his Soulem friend’s new statement roused a new hunger in Justice that felt like it could only be sated with more of those sexy comments...or maybe more. Justice hesitated, “Oh. It’s cool. But thanks for saying that. Ummm, can you put it in me now?” Gemini said nothing, as his eyes kept staring at Justice’s pillow-like bussy. He walked towards the bodybuilder’s hole, as if he were in a trance, and kneeled down. The Soulem slowly leaned forward until his face planted against the stretched buttocks. With his nose pressing against the soft, donut-shaped anus, Gemini’s nose inhaled the manly scent. “Fffffuuuuuck…” exhaled the Soulem. The musclebound man flexed an eyebrow in confusion. He felt something odd, but it was not a feeling of penetration. Opening his mouth, Gemini’s black tongue rolled out. It looked almost like a normal tongue until it began to flex and undulate like a worm. As it slithered in the air, the wet tongue started to glow a soft neon blue. The glimmering, blue tongue wriggled its way onto the bodybuilder’s perineum; tasting the smooth, chocolate taint. Floundering about, Gemini’s tongue layered the soft area with Soulem saliva. The blue muscle was still not satisfied, and trailed down the perineum’s line. It met its unfortunate end, as it collided against the couch. Justice sharply gasped, “G-GEM?! Wha-” Tilting his head up, Gemini snaked his glowing tongue back into his mouth. The Soulem’s silver lips brushed against the overly-muscled rump’s. With them perfectly aligned, Gemini’s face pressed further into the exposed buttock. Justice could hear a wet smooch, as the bulky android puckered and kissed several times. “Wh-what are you doing?!” moaned Justice. He could feel a tickling sensation on his anus, but it was hard to describe. It was wet, and it felt so good. It also felt teasing, and he wanted more but not knowing what it was scared him a bit. He could also feel a big object pressing against his thick rear. The object felt smooth and metallic, but it was warm instead of the expected cold. He briefly wondered just what Gemini was applying before a new sensation took over; melting his ability to move or resist. Gemini opened his mouth, during the mouth to anus make out session, to allow his glimmering, blue tongue to squirm out. It swirled over the pillowy rim of the entrance in slow, clockwise motions. Upon completing a rotation, Gemini would return back to kissing. He would smooch the hole’s lips a few more times before releasing his blue tongue in the opposite direction. With the pumped rim now thoroughly wet, the Soulem’s tongue went into a new direction. The blue tongue slowly slid into the gaping hole. It burrowed deep into fleshy tunnel like a worm without a hint of defiance from the muscle ring. It squirmed in every direction before returning into the metallic mouth. Immediately after, the glimmering appendage darted right back into the bodybuilder’s rectum to taste the virgin meat and explore every part of it. Justice laid on the couch in his perfect leg split; moaning in ecstasy. The tickling, pleasurable sensation now traveled inside of himself. He was powerless to stop Gemini’s unseen action, as he could no longer form a coherent thought. The bodybuilder was now mindless; lost in a lust fog with his eyes rolled back into his skull. The senses in his head spun, and he could no longer tell what was up or down. Pleasures of electricity zipped across his spine; twitching every muscle cord in his body. He whimpered, “Gem…” Gemini stood up. His robotic erection strained against the zaffre fundoshi and lined up against Justice’s pumped, wet hole. The Soulem looked down and reached for the drawstring of his mokko fundoshi before stopping midway. The bottle of Crack Addict lube and the Dragon Pearls™ were still in his hands, and his mood ring color switched to grey. His eyes darted about as if he snapped out of his trance and wondering what just happened. Keeping silent, Gemini quickly doused the orange anal balls with the sex lubricant brand. The color of his mood ring during the lubrication changed to yellow, before fading back to dark red upon finishing. Dropping to his knees, the Soulem placed the bottle of lube on the ground. He then grabbed the crystal orb on the end of the white string, and placed it against Justice’s gaping hole. The donut-shaped entrance widened upon the lubricated Dragon Pearl™ pressing against it. As the hole enveloped the orange orb, it accepted it with a soft, wet shlop. Justice grunted in pleasure from being stretched and filled. The gaping orifice then twitched as if it were a mouth hungry for more. Gemini carefully proceed with the second orb; resulting in the same outcome. The bulky Soulem continued to shove the rest of the crystal balls into Justice’s plump opening. As he slid the last ball in, his hand accidentally slipped in. Justice moaned at the sudden fisting, while Gemini playfully rolled his hand about. Smirking, Gemini pulled his wet hand out with a loud plop. All eight orbs were successfully fed into the hungry hole. The only evidence of such a feat was a ring attached to the anal ball’s white string; hanging outside the pillowy rim. Gemini stood up and gazed upon his handiwork. A shiny, orange glint shimmered from within Justice’s virgin chasm. Gemini’s eye wandered about Justice’s twitching body that was still paralyzed by the onslaught of euphoria. His mood ring transitioned to black. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Justice opened his eyes. He felt full and surmised that Gemini successfully inserted the Dragon Pearls™ into him. He then wondered how he ended up on his back, as the ceiling and the top of his pectorals now stared back at him. There was also something clung around his neck, but it did not matter at this moment. The bodybuilder remembered his anus was being tickled and then lost his sense of self and time. As he tried to recall the event, Justice then felt an intense itching on his hole. Trying to sit himself up, Justice spotted Gemini. The husky Soulem stood in front of him; holding a bag of shiny objects. The color on Gemini’s mood ring had now went back to being white. “...How long was I out?” hesitated Justice. Gemini smiled, “Long enough for me to put on the finishing touches of your new outfit.” Justice positioned himself to get up before noticing something else. “Why am I still doing the splits?” he asked. Gemini shrugged, “You looked really sexy doin that, so I split your legs again after I flipped you over. You’re surprisingly flexible for a super buff guy. It wasn’t even a struggle to get your legs to do it.” “Years of gymnastics and yoga,” answered Justice. Gemini flexed a suspicious golden eyebrow. He inquired, “Between all the bodybuilding?” “I had a lot of free time back in Sunnysville,” shrugged Justice, “Anyways, let me see what you did before we go.” Breaking from his split pose, the hulking bodybuilder placed his legs together and stood up from the leather couch. Justice thumped his heavy body back towards his bedroom and could hear a jingling of bells that he could not identify its origin. He could feel the anal balls wiggling inside of him with every thunderous step he took. Justice mentally admitted to himself that although it was weird to feel so much stuffed into his body, it did feel pleasurable and sexy knowing he took it all in. As he approached the bedroom door, he could not ignore another sensation he had been feeling since he woke up. Justice’s hole itched and twitched with an intensity that needed to be scratched. It was greater than its usual urges to be stretched and filled. Justice thought the anal balls were enough but figured it might have increased his endurance to take on more. As he reached down to pet the sexually-hungered mouth, the bodybuilder heard his Soulem friend shout. “Oh! That reminds me,” said Gemini. Dropping the bag of shiny objects, the bulky android ran to the musclebound man and stopped within touching distance. Gemini grabbed the Dragon Pearls’™ ring, hanging out of Justice’s anus on a white string, with one hand and placed the other on the bodybuilder’s wide back. He yanked as if he were trying to start up a lawn mower. Gemini commanded, “I wish you wouldn’t touch your hole until the Dragon Pearls™ are completely out.” Immediately after Gemini said his wish, Justice’s hole began to bulge against an object trying to exit. An orange orb was pulled out of virgin rectum with a wet plop ringing in the air. The bodybuilder gasped at the sudden stretch and partial loss of fullness. Electricity danced in Justice’s body, as the musclebound man was now paralyzed by the pleasurable shock. Before Justice had time to breathe, Gemini yanked the white string again. “I wish that you can’t take off the outfit I put on you until the Dragon Pearls™ are completely out,” added the Soulem. Another crystal anal ball popped out of donut-shaped hole. Justice’s body was assaulted by the multiple sensations but managed to gain enough willpower to do one action. The musclebound man held out his arms and braced himself against the doorframe. In the act of doing so, Justice sacrificed the power in his legs. The bodybuilder sagged to the floor, as his overly-muscular legs could no longer stand. Justice’s rear end poised up upon reaching the tiled ground; held up by the anal leash grasped in Gemini’s fingers. The bodybuilder shuddered, “F-Father...fucker...Wh-what did...you do...that for?” Gemini playfully tugged at the Dragon Pearls™ string. The orbs did not react this time; causing Justice’s round, muscle rump to be lifted higher up. Squatting down, the bulky Soulem slid his white, rubbery index finger halfway into Justice’s pumped hole. He then twirled in finger in a slow clockwise motion; eliciting wimpy moans from the hulking bodybuilder. Gemini licked his lips with his glowing, blue tongue, as his mood ring flashed to dark red. “Just testing it. Apparently, this anime knockoff sex toy is a magical object,” he replied. Justice moaned, “What?!” Even though he should be angry and having many different emotions about this situation, Justice felt himself sinking back into the lust fog. All of his emotions were being drained by Gemini toying with his hole. Justice wanted to fight back, but a bigger part of him wanted to give in. Especially since the itching sensation on his anal lips was finally being relieved a little bit. “Yeah. I’m surprised you didn’t look at the booklet in the box. Or at the very least, read the description info on whatever site you bought it from. But I guess when you have all the money to burn, things like that or even the price won’t deter you,” said Gemini. The Soulem rambled, “Basically, the Dragon Pearls™ are a mind control device that isn’t labeled as a magical mind control device, cause those are illegal. Not to mention, they would have been cancelled out by the magical mind control disruptors placed all over the city to prevent mind hacking. But this enchanted sex toy uses lust energy and can only compel a person once they give consent to have the balls put in them. So it would be really hard for a terrorist to use it against the president or something.” “Anyways, once they’re in you, I’m able to give you eight commands, but I have to start it with ‘I wish’. And every time I command you, I have to pull out a ball for it to work. Don’t worry though, I won’t make you do anything rapey like having sex with me. But apparently, the eighth command is permanent, and all the previous ones are temporary depending on how much lust energy was absorbed,” he continued. Justice could not believe what he was hearing. He thought to himself that he really needed to pay better attention to the description info before he bought something on the internet. No wonder that sex toy had all those zeroes. Gemini explained, “So I’m just gonna say in advance that I’m really sorry about all this, and that I don’t have much control over myself. I’m just super horny right now, and I just am now realizing what a sadist me and my dad really are. Sooooo, while my inhibitions are really low, I’m just gonna try to enjoy this as much as possible. Consider it payback for keeping a secret from your best friend that could have explained why we couldn’t have hung out all those times you were heroing before I got my upgrade.” The hulking bodybuilder tried to sigh, but it ended up turning into a moan. Gemini was not going to let it go even after Justice apologized. He then figured it was better to play along with Gemini’s role play, to keep his best friend happy. But when Justice has hit his limit, he will stop pretending to be deceived by the husky Soulem. “Fine. But...why does...my asshole itch...so much?” asked Justice. The Soulem smirked, “Grabbed a bottle of Crack Addict from your room. It’s that irritant lube that makes ya itch wherever you apply it to. Must be driving you pretty wild, huh, bro?” “Yeah...Can I get up now?” said Justice. Ceasing the finger twirl on Justice’s hole, Gemini uncoiled the white string that had wrapped around his finger from the action. The Soulem then slapped his hand down on the bodybuilder’s massive, round glutes; causing the skin and fat underneath it to ripple like a stone tossed into a pond. Justice moaned loudly from the buttocks assault and again from Gemini leaning down to give the donut-shaped hole one final lick with his glowing, blue tongue. He replied, “Now you can.” Justice remained face down for a few more seconds before collecting enough strength in his massive legs to stand up. At full height, his hands remained braced against the doorframe to keep his body straight. The bodybuilder then opened the door and slowly thumped his mammoth-sized body into his bedroom. Other than the anal balls inside of him moving, he could now feel the two orange orbs outside of him slapping against the back of his tree-trunk thighs. It was almost as if he had a tail. Finding the many wall-sized mirrors installed on the wall, he stood in front to gaze at his appearance. He became perplexed at what he saw, and realized he really needed to pay more attention to what he bought. The outfit Gemini made him wear was technically allowed for public dressed, but it was on the same level as Gene’s dating wardrobe. A gold-plated slave collar was now adorned around his neck. It had a short-lengthed chain linked to the front of the collar and drooped down into the cleft of Justice’s colossal pecs. Justice spotted his ankles had also been arrested with gold-plated slave cuffs that had small bells linked onto the sides. Focusing on his crotch, he noticed his hefty family jewels had been fitted through a golden cock ring that had been lined with a stretchy fabric. The shiny, metallic silver spandex housed his sexual fruits and stretched to a skin tightness that every detail of his manliness can be seen. The shiny spandex had the word “IT” printed in large, metallic gold spandex, so that even his crotch spelled out that he was bounded to a submissive, sexual servitude. Justice’s eyes were finally drawn to the last of what Gemini put on him. Shimmering on his belly button and his forehead were body jewelry rhinestones. They were white and sparkled like diamonds. The one on his belly button was the biggest of the two; completely covering the fleshy depression with a circular shape. As for the one applied onto the center of his forehead, it had a diamond-shaped rhombus figure to it. More than likely, these rhinestones were the final pieces, since that is what was most likely in the bag Gemini held when Justice woke up. “Am I supposed to be some sort of sci-fi slave prince?” guessed Justice. Gemini shrugged, “Something like that. I just grabbed what I thought would look sexy on you.” Justice looked in the mirror again to take in his new appearance. There was something exciting about wearing such an outfit, and it was starting to grow on him. It felt as if Gemini had awakened something within him. He always knew he was a power bottom but did being subjugated turn him on? The musclebound bodybuilder felt that Gemini would be the only one he could trust with such a thing for now; even though the Soulem was being a perverted pain at the moment. Though part of Justice relished at how dominant Gemini was over him. The overly-muscular man poked at his forehead rhinestone. “Well...I don’t completely hate it. I’m kinda liking this bindi. And the belly button one is...not bad,” he said, “By the way, how strong is this adhesive? It’s not budging at all.” Gemini stated, “It’s supposed to stay on you for a week, so I’m guessing it’s pretty strong stuff. So unless you want to rip off some epidermis, you probably shouldn’t try. Oh, and it’s waterproof and heat resistant, so a shower ain’t gonna make it come off.” Justice frowned as he played with his metallic spandex-encased bulge. The fabric felt smooth to his fingertips, and he was finding it fun to jostle it in his hand. He then spotted in his wall mirror a wet spot starting to develop on the silver spandex. “Fine. At least I can take off the cuffs and collar when you get those Dragon Pearls™ out of me,” remarked the bodybuilder. Gemini then mentioned, “Oh, yeah. One last thing. I stuck a whole bunch of different-colored rhinestones on your back.” “What?” said Justice. Gemini grinned, “Yeah, I arranged it to look like the Gemini constellation. So that’s my brand on you for right now to show that I own you, heh. But I’m not feeling it right now, so I’ll probably try something later that’s more noticeable and more me.” “Fine. Whatever. Is there anything else you added?” huffed Justice. Gemini pursed his lips, “Hmmmm, nope. That’s it. But let me just do one last thing.” Grabbing the white cord sticking out of Justice’s hole, Gemini yanked it. “I wish that you can’t move unless I’m wearing the Dragon Pearls’™ pull ring or holding onto the string,” he commanded. Another wet plop emanated from Justice’s hole, as another orb popped out. The bodybuilder gasped at the sudden stretch, and its sensation coursing through his musclebound body. It might have been pleasurable to feel and relieved some of the itch, but it also felt humiliating. Justice exclaimed, “Okay, that’s it!” The muscular man reached behind himself and grasped at the sex toy’s cord. Relaxing his bowels, Justice tugged at the Dragon Pearls™. The bodybuilder expected his hole to be stretched multiple times, but nothing happened. He adjusted his grip on one of the orbs and jerked at it again and again. The outcome was the same; not at all budging and locked within his rectum. “The hell? I’m relaxing all my ass muscles. Why isn’t it coming out?!” he said. Gemini smirked, “I did just tell you about a minute ago that you bought enchanted Dragon Pearls™. I even gave you that whole spiel on how it works. Only somebody commanding you can pull them out one at a time.” “I thought you were just roleplaying or something. It’s just too crazy for something like that to exist,” replied Justice. Gemini sighed, “Says the guy that bought an anime knockoff replica sex toy.” Justice said nothing while releasing his hold over the orange orb. The bodybuilder then attempted to touch his itchy anus; his fingers reaching out to the affected area. Justice’s hand stopped in its tracks just as it was about brush against his asshole. It was as if there was some magnetic field that repelled his hand away from his hole. “Dammit,” he muttered. As Justice gave up, the bulky android’s mood ring color shifted to black. Gemini spoke up, “Allow me to demonstrate wish three.” The Soulem relinquished his grasp over the Dragon Pearls™; slapping against the bodybuilder’s overly-muscled thighs. He grinned, as Justice’s body immediately seized like a statue. Gemini’s hands began to wander over Justice’s wide, wing-like lats, as he leaned forward to kiss the musclebound man’s mountainous traps. Even though Justice could not move, he could still hear and feel the wet smooch applied to his skin. The bodybuilder then wondered how the Soulem’s metallic lips were warm, wet, and somehow tickled his skin. As Gemini finished his kiss, he squatted down. The husky Soulem moved himself in front of Justice and looked straight at his friend’s metallic spandex bulge. Extending his glowing, blue tongue, Gemini licked at the bulge’s wet spot that now had a raindrop-sized manly residue leaking through the shiny, silver bulge. “Mmmmm. Sweet. Just like you,” flirted Gemini. Justice felt his cheeks burn. He was not sure if it was from either being flustered at the compliment or being humiliated at his paralysis. “...Thanks...can we go now?” he replied. Gemini sneered, “Don’t want to have sexy times with your best friend?” As the Soulem stood up, he dragged his glimmering tongue over the silver bulge. It then slid across the cobblestone abs and into the crevice of Justice’s mighty pectorals. All evidence of such an act was a trail of the Soulem’s saliva on the hulking bodybuilder’s skin and the newly polished navel jewelry; shimmering in the bedroom light. Gemini then changed his attention to the watermelon-sized pecshelf. He softly bit onto Justice’s left pec multiple times, as his hand molested the other. Chocolate pec meat spilled through the white, rubbery fingers of the hard grip. Justice could only moan at the titillating action and groaned even louder once Gemini switched to the bodybuilder’s nipples. Justice gritted his teeth. It was very hot but also weird to watch his friend make love to his chest. He wanted to ask when Gemini started to have sexual attractions to him, but there was something else he needed to say. Justice could not let himself get lost in the erotic euphoria and excitement from being dominated. The bodybuilder gathered his willpower and thought of the most unsexy thing he could think of. Pickle peanut butter sandwich. “I think that’s why it seems awkward to me. You’re my best friend, and...I dunno...I still feel bad about what happened, and I need to show you the real me. Please?,” he answered. Gemini instantly ceased his erotic activity upon hearing his best friend. He looked up at Justice’s eyes, while the color of his mood ring changed to white. The Soulem frowned, “Sorry. You’re right. I’m getting so easily sidetracked right now, but...I do want you to show me more than anything, dude. I want to understand.” Next Chapter
  25. EcchiMultiverse

    Marvelous Man - Chapter 15

    All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zNSigi8v1eclG3AQv803GITT-d8kviEnOkwfLV47aXQ) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN All comments and critiques are welcomed here and on my Google Docs(https://drive.google.com/open?id=1O52F8UJS70fDmrK2gYawUXBtklu8IEUwpOdaOZrPuoM) For other chapters, I will post them on here later. But you can find the archives on my FA and Tumblr with pics included. FA: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/ecchimultiverse/ Tumblr: http://ecchimultiverse.tumblr.com/ For first looks and more illustrations, check out my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ecchimultiverse First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS: CHRISTOPHER FLOYD & DONALD MORGAN Chapter 15: Spells and Muscles Days past since the date, and Marvelous Man was feeling optimistic about his relationship with Gene. Whenever there was free time after investigating supernatural occurrences or daily patrol, the two would hang out. The choice of activities were aggressively engaging with little time to talk: usually dancing at clubs or sparring in the D.A.B. basement floor’s training room. It was patrol time during the afternoon hour, and the musclebound superhero was chatting away at his cell phone. His bunny partner, Gene, walked next to him during the conversation. Although the Totochtin prince was looking away, there was a good chance Gene could hear the entire conversation with his white-furred rabbit ears. Marvelous Man grinned, “Yeah, we gotta watch the season finale together! I can’t wait for you to get back. When is that, by the way?” A familiar electronic voice echoed from the superhero’s phone. “Some time today. They’re doing last minute checkups to make sure my tuneup is alright. But I really don’t think they need to record it all. Buncha perverts,” answered Gemini. The Soulem paused for a moment. Gemini spoke up, “So whatcha doin?” “Just...walking around,” hesitated Marvelous Man. While it was not a lie, the answer left a bitter taste in Marvelous Man’s mouth. He never explained to Gemini that Justice Starr lived a double life as Marvelous Man. Every opportunity that seemed like the right time to admit such an important detail, he would reason himself as to why he should not. After all, he signed that agreement with the Department of Metahuman Registration that they did not have permission to publicly disclose his real identity. He signed it to protect his loved ones...who are gods… Gemini replied, “Cool. Maybe you could pick me up some ice cream for when we meet up again. Dunno what flavor, I’m not really picky at the moment.” Marvelous Man flexed his eyebrow in confusion. “Can you even eat ice cream? I don’t remember you having a mouth,” he questioned. Gemini hesitated, “Uhh...I’m just feeling a craving. You know how I’ve got my dad’s personality and subconscious crammed into me. It’ll be fine...I’ll just watch you eat it, and, wow, that sounded so creepy when I said that out loud…” “It’s okay. Lots of people have that voyeur fetish, but it’s usually with watching a cute Asian girl eating stuff,” smiled Marvelous Man. Gemini exclaimed, “HEY! I’m the one that’s supposed to be witty, not you!” “I guess you’re rubbing off on me then,” shrugged Marvelous Man. Gemini huffed, “Yeah, whatever. I’ll text you later when I’m out. See ya later, dude.” “Okay. Bye,” nodded Marvelous Man. Ending the call, the muscle demigod placed his smartphone back into his pocket. Marvelous Man continued to smile and sighed with content, while his partner looked up to him. Gene spoke up, “A close friend of yours?” “Yeah. He was one of the first friends I made when I moved here. Uh, right after I met you, I mean,” nodded Marvelous Man. Gene smiled, “There is no need to be the nervous, Marvelous Man. I am not one to easily incite jealousy. It is good to have the other friends. Especially the ones that can put the gleam in your eye.” Marvelous Man looked down at his work partner and opened his mouth with intention to complement. The ground rumbled with low vibrations, while the sound of explosions can screaming can be heard in the distance. A recognizable tingle at the back of his mind could be felt; the blue D.A.B. patch on his black jacket’s shoulder had been activated. With the patch now acting as a magical psychic communicator, he could hear his field operator, Fairuza, speak directly into his head. “Lightfoot, Marvelous Man, please respond! This is a high alert command from the D.A.B. Headquarters!” called Fairuza. Gene crossed his arms and projected his thoughts. The rabbit superhero responded, “I can hear you, Fairuza. What is the situation?” “An unknown supervillain has appeared in Trevorstone Park a few blocks away from your position. He appears to be armed with a shield and an oddly-shaped sword. Subject seems to be at least a C-Rank due to signs of super strength. He’s been seen attacking and wounding civilians, but no confirmed casualties,” reported Fairuza. Gene nodded, “Understood. Does your magic book know the name of the supervillain?” The bunny demigod immediately looked up at Marvelous Man. “Let us make haste, Marvelous Man,” he said. Without saying a word, Marvelous Man nodded and took off running with his partner. The Totochtin prince led the charge, as they dashed towards the source of the panic and destruction. With the commotion in earshot, it would take the team minutes to arrive. Fairuza spoke up, “I've just about finished analyzing them, and...wha-that just doesn’t make sense! I’m checking a few more times to make sure, but...the identity and story of our supervillain is the ancient Sumerian royal hero, Gilgamesh. He’s a demigod king from thousands of years ago...” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Arriving at the Trevorstone Park entrance, Gene continued his sprint. The rabbit superhero zigzagged through the trees; leading to what Marvelous Man guessed was the causation of emotional distress. The running came to its final end when Gene led his partner towards a clearing. Marvelous Man gasped at his surroundings. The grassy plains with concrete sidewalk was littered with civilians and law enforcers lying on the ground. They were splayed about; bleeding, broken, and some barely conscious. In the center of the disaster stood a man almost as big and muscular as Marvelous Man himself. His long, black hair was kept braided; as well as the beard that surrounded his square face. The man known as Gilgamesh had dark bronze skin with a carpet of black hair matting all over his muscular body. His muscles had an impressiveness much different from Marvelous Man. They were lean and hard that exuded a lifetime of hard labor and purpose. Whereas Marvelous Man’s appeared inflated from a lifetime of dedication to exercise as a means of showing off power and sex appeal. Gilgamesh’s stomach was the only part of him that appeared inflated; stuffed with so much muscle that he had a permanent bloated appearance. Adorned on his hard body was golden jewelry, and on his head was a golden circlet. Every part of him sparkled with golden light that commanded one to awe at his muscles and nobility. The golden jewelry never covered but curved around his angular muscles, and his large golden necklace strewn over his wide shoulders lightly bounced from his flexing pectorals. The Sumerian king appeared to be nearly naked if one were to not notice the jewelry serving as his only means of clothing. As for the covering of his manhood, he wore a lewdly-designed codpiece shaped like a bull’s head and forged with gold plating. It was only big enough to hold what appeared to be his immense package, and barely covered his trimmed pubic bush. And the only thing tying the codpiece to his body was a golden chain; bedecked with glittering gems. It seemed as if he used a glamorous necklace to serve as the codpiece’s chain and thong. Gilgamesh appeared to have done everything he possibly could to show off his regality, godhood, and sexual allure. Gilgamesh turned to the superheroes and smiled. “Ah, the Totochtin and the star child. It has been a while, since we last fought,” he greeted. Gene and Marvelous Man glanced at each other for a second before looking back at Gilgamesh. The only person to ever call them that was the Skeleton Lord. Marvelous Man did not dare move to assist the injured; not unless he wanted the dangerous foe to attack with his back turned. Gene spoke, “My apologies, but I do not believe we have met.” “Uh, yeah...And are you Gilgamesh, the royal hero?” inquired Marvelous Man. Gilgamesh frowned, as he became silent. In that moment, his eyes flooded with pride, sadness, and then regret. The light in his eyes died immediately after flashing through his emotions. He replied, “...I have not been called either in a long time. Neither a king, nor a hero anymore...Aye, I am Gilgamesh. And I fight for the Skeleton Lord.” Marvelous Man’s stomach felt it had been stabbed after hearing those words. The Skeleton Lord has resurfaced but has sent a powerful demigod lackey in his stead. Thankfully, he had Gene to outnumber their foe. “Now come, heroes. Allow me to instill fear into you, so the Skeleton Lord may feast on it,” bellowed Gilgamesh. Brandishing his weapons for the superheroes to see, Marvelous Man recognized the familiar armaments. The Sumerian held a circular war shield welded with bumps and intricate designs, and a scythe sword now glittering with blood on it. It was the weapons the Skeleton Lord used when the villain called... Gilgamesh was not just any lackey. He was one of the Skeleton Lord’s guardians. Gene ordered, “Marvelous Man, you must heal the injured. I will fight the guardian.” It seemed that Gene had also understood how dangerous their enemy truly was upon seeing Gilgamesh’s weapons. “R-roger!” nodded Marvelous Man. As Gene charged towards the opponent at full speed, Marvelous Man evaluated the wounded lot. There were too many to heal one at a time before any of them became deceased, and they were scattered all over the place. The most obvious choice would have to be supercharging his light and channeling it through the ground in order to do one massive heal. The musclebound superhero reached into his pocket and pulled out his golden harmonica, Duskbringer. Applying it to his lips, he began to play an energetic song filled with many bouncy notes. Marvelous Man could feel his light feeding on the music; slowly growing to the point of supercharge. Squatting down like a sumo wrestler, Gilgamesh placed the knuckles of his sword-wielding hand on top of the grass. He immediately raised his tight, muscular buttocks high into the air; the jeweled chain thong pressing into his skin even deeper. His leg muscles tightened for a moment before launching Gilgamesh’s fuzzy body forward. The ground beneath him crumbled upon his liftoff; leaving behind a small crater with dirt and grass being flung into the air. He flew at a speed that was beyond faster than Gene's. Gilgamesh then stretched out the arm that held his scythe sword. Gene’s eyes widened at Gilgamesh’s explosive agility, and the acknowledgement of what he is incapable of reacting in time for. Gilgamesh’s outstretched arm slammed into Gene’s chest; knocking the air out of Gene’s lungs. Upon being hit by Gilgamesh’s clothesline attack, Gene’s legs lost their footing to stabilize against the charge. The Totochtin prince spun into the air, while Gilgamesh continued his uninterrupted velocity towards Marvelous Man. As Gene landed back first onto the ground, the Skeleton Lord guardian slammed his arm into Marvelous Man for another clothesline attack. As a result of the bodybuilder superhero’s tall stature, the flying attack impacted against Marvelous Man’s abdomen. Gilgamesh’s arm had Marvelous Man hooked onto him; carrying the muscle demigod until the golden guardian crashed into a tree. The tree cracked from the massive muscle collision. Splintering into two, the broken top half landed in between the fallen enemies. Gilgamesh lost grip over his weapons, causing them to clatter onto Marvelous Man’s side during the fall. Activating his flight power, Marvelous Man immediately lifted himself off the ground to face his enemy. The golden guardian slowly stood up as he laughed. It greatly annoyed the muscle demigod that his foe would be laughing from causing great harm and destruction. Gilgamesh grinned, “I learned that trick from you, star child. I had never considered the strength in my legs to push myself at speeds my foes cannot even predict. But I suppose I need to practice my landing first before I challenge beings greater than you.” Marvelous Man flew forward, as he thrusted an overhead punch with all his might. Still smiling, Gilgamesh caught the fist with quick ease. The air shook with immense vibration as the impact of a sonic boom burst between the clashing hands. Marvelous Man watched the vibrating air tussle Gilgamesh’s hairs. Even with all his strength, it was not enough to cause this Sumerian demigod of strength to flinch. He was fighting a force that was leagues beyond his own strength. Momentarily lifting up Marvelous Man into the air, Gilgamesh turned away and slammed the bodybuilder superhero into the ground in front of him. Marvelous Man’s breath choked out of him, from the front of his body smashed against the dirt. The Sumerian demigod still had Marvelous Man’s fist in his grasp. “I was ordered to do no harm to the Totochtin. Well, nothing too damaging that wouldn’t allow him to perform,” spoke Gilgamesh, “But you? I can crush.” Immense pain exploded in Marvelous Man’s hand, as he could hear the crushing of bones vibrate into his eardrums. He screamed in high-pitched anguish and nearly blacked out from the ghastly pain. Gilgamesh released his broken hand; mangled into disfiguration. Turning away from the broken hero, Gilgamesh walked towards his fallen weapons. The golden guardian bragged, “You might be wondering why the Totochtin is so special. Why he gets the special treatment from the Skeleton Lord and not you. It’s cause he can produce countless amounts of lust energy. Something the Skeleton Lord overlooked until now. And being a man of sexual prowess, it will be up to me to milk it, so the Skeleton Lord can focus on other things. Now while I usually prefer the company of women, a hole is still a hole.” Marvelous Man could hear every word Gilgamesh said; despite being in blinding pain. He needed to stop this monster before he harmed more people. Before he hurted Gene… He had no choice. Marvelous Man needed to use the poison. It did not matter if using that dark power would hurt himself. He was already in enough pain, and the bigger regret would be not using it to save someone he loves. Marvelous Man commanded the blackness within him to rise and feed on his agony and the pain of being useless to help others. He wanted to inflict this misery onto his foe. Marvelous Man’s other unbroken hand began to glow with a whisping, dark aura. All he had to do now was touch Gilgamesh, and reactivate every damage the Sumerian ever took in his life all at once. “Stand down, Marvelous Man. Bossman and I have this,” a familiar voice whispered. There was only one person who addressed the Director with such vocabulary and spoke in a deep, Russian accent. The musclebound superhero truly wished he was not hallucinating from the extreme pain. Marvelous Man wheezed, “Puzzles?” A furry imp in a cobalt business suit walked past the fallen hero. He turned to look down at Marvelous Man with his crystal blue eyes and gave a gleaming smile. Marvelous Man shivered at the sight; to see something so unusual as seeing Puzzles smile and one that looked like a cheshire cat grin. “Da,” said Puzzles. As Gilgamesh finished retrieving his close-combat arms, Puzzles began to disintegrate into smoke. Puzzles’ smoke form floated away right, as the golden guardian turned to face Marvelous Man. Gilgamesh’s face gave no evidence of ever spotting Puzzles, while walking back to the beaten hero. Putting his trust into the smoke imp, Marvelous Man commanded his whisping poison to deactivate. Gilgamesh smirked, “I will say that I respect you. You are so much weaker than the Totochtin, but you’re very resourceful. You’ve managed to find ways to compensate for what you lack. And that light you cast when you play your metal ocarina really irks the Skeleton Lord. It really forces him to use his more powerful attacks, since your light is bright enough to destroy his dark spells. So I commend you for being able to corner the Skeleton Lord so much.” A southern, gentlemanly-like voice called out to the Sumerian demigod. “Pardon me, evildoer. But you wouldn’t happen to be Gilgamesh, would ya?” he drawled. Gilgamesh looked towards his left. Standing next to the broken tree stump was Director Skye and Puzzles. The golden guardian replied, “Aye. That is me. And who are you?" “He is Director Douglas Skye. Head of the North American Demon Authority Bureau. Master Witch of the Defense Arts," spoke up Puzzles, "And I am his familiar, Puzzles. But I will not be attacking you today.” Director Skye looked down at the smoke imp. “Why’s that?” he asked. Puzzles stared back up at his master. The smoke imp shrugged, “Fighting an ancient hero is part of your imposs-I mean, improbable bucket list, Boss. I’m sure you’d want to try to fight him with your own strength to see who’s stronger. But I’ll still help support you, boss. Just no sneaky attacks from me. Besides, you’ve been cooped up in your office for so long. You need to blow off some steam.” “I really do...Are you sure you want me to take him on my own?” said the Director. Puzzles scoffed, “Unless you want me to join in, Boss. But all that hairy musclehead can do is hit really hard, so there’s nothing to worry about. And if I had to fight him as well, then it would be overkill.” Gilgamesh bursted out laughing upon hearing Puzzles’ boasts. “You make such amusing insults, creature. But your master is no match for me. What good is his magic if his spells focus only on defense?” he said. The Director smirked, “Would you like for me to educate you?” The golden guardian switched into his battle stance. He held his sword out; pointed at Director Skye. “By all means, witch. Enlighten me,” laughed Gilgamesh. The Director slowly pulled off his cobalt business suit’s jacket. Grabbing it by the collar, Director Skye tossed his jacket into the air with a light amount of effort. The jacket climbed in the air for a second before reaching its peak altitude. As the cobalt suit jacket hit its point of incline, the Director raised his hands into the air and began to gesture in a circular motion. His hands glowed with the movements, while a magical circle filled with sigils and runic symbols appeared below the jacket. Upon the jacket’s descent and passing through Director Skye’s magical seal, its motion came nearly to a halt. It was still falling, but it looked like someone played its action on slow motion. The Director stopped his gesturing and hand glowing once he saw his completed spell. Looking back at his opponent, he pointed up at the jacket falling in slow motion. He declared, “Before my jacket hits the ground, I shall defeat you. I will be very embarrassed if I don’t, because I just had that dry cleaned.” Director Doug then held out his hand; as if he were grabbing something. A runic symbol, glowing with a bluish florescence, appeared on his palm. Immediately after it emerged, the rune stretched itself. It reformed itself into a long, tube shape that continued to glow blue. Upon reaching a certain length, Director Skye grabbed the tube. The magical light instantaneously shattered like glass and left behind a silver baton in the master witch's grasp. “I think you’ll need something sharper than that thin club to beat me, witch” laughed Gilgamesh. The Director smirked, “Oh, this isn’t a club. It’s my broom.” “I see,” smiled Gilgamesh, “And do you plan to defeat me by dusting the dirt off my codpiece? Director Skye fired back, “Actually, I was planning to stick it up your ass and sweep the floor with it.” “Decapitating you will be most gayful,” said the golden guardian. Leaping forward, Gilgamesh raised his scythe sword for downward slash attack. The Director calmly stood still; smiling without a care. The Director exclaimed, “Bring it, fatherfucker. HECATE!!!” Gilgamesh brought down his sword at the master witch, as he landed. At the moment where Gilgamesh’s blade cleaved through the Director, it instead split in half. The blade looked as if it were caught in a illusionary prism that caused one side of the blade to stick out to the left and the other blade pointing right. It continued its downward swing without even grazing the Director’s fabric. Flabbergasted, the golden guardian held his weapon up to his face and stared at his weapon. The blades were no longer two and had returned to its original form of being a single, straightforward blade. “What madness?!” said the Sumerian demigod. Director Doug explained, “That’s a space fracture spell. Causes a small rift for objects to be split in two. Great for dodging vertical attacks and projectiles. But I suggest you never do it with horizontal or diagonal attacks. Oh, and try not to use it on people. Big objects tend to get permanently cleaved in half. And it's as messy as it sounds.” >>>>>>>>> As Marvelous Man watched Director Skye in amazement at the master witch’s magical performance, he could feel Fairuza communicating to his mind. “Marvelous Man, are you there? Do you read me, Marvelous Man?” called Fairuza. Marvelous Man thought back, “I’m here, Fairuza.” “What happened? You were screaming before the Director showed up,” questioned Fairuza. Marvelous Man answered, “...Gilgamesh broke my hand. I can’t move it at all, and I’m in a lot of pain.” “We’ll have it looked at when the Director finishes up. In the meantime, you need to get up. The paramedics can’t get close until the supervillain is subdued. And those innocent people are dying, Marvelous Man, and you’re the only one that can save them,” Fairuza reminded. Marvelous Man acknowledged, “...okay. I’ll try to...supercharge the area to heal them all at once.” Using his other unbroken hand to steady himself, Marvelous Man attempted to push himself up. The ache in his body from being smashed into ground was slowly dissipating, but it still felt unbearable to the musclebound superhero. He groaned from the pain, but he needed to get up. Lives were depending on him, and superheroes must answer the call of duty above their own needs. Marvelous Man continued to remind himself about his sense of duty as a superhero as motivation. Slowly lurching up, the muscle demigod managed to upright himself and sit on top of his legs in a seiza position. Marvelous Man quickly scanned the area around himself before spotting his harmonica. Duskbringer laid next to the broken top-half of the tree, but was out of the muscle demigod's reach. “Can you still play your harmonica with just one working hand?” asked Fairuza. Marvelous Man sighed, “I can, but I don’t have to play it to supercharge my healing. I just need to make art. Will Director Skye be alright?” “He’ll be fine. He’s a Rank-A superhero, so don’t worry about him. Just focus on helping the injured,” replied Fairuza. Marvelous Man nodded, “Right. Sorry.” Taking a breath, Marvelous Man cleared his throat. He began to softly hum before vocalizing into a gregorian-like chant. The light within him began to feed on his music. >>>>>>>> Gilgamesh swung his scythe sword in a horizontal strike in an attempt to hit the Director. The Director made no attempt to cast a spell, while Gilgamesh’s blade sliced through the air. Upon contact with Director Skye’s body, the scythe sword cleaved through. The Director’s body severed in half from the slash, but not a drop of blood escaped from the master witch’s bisected anatomy. The Director continued to smile even after experiencing such devastating damage. Director Douglas’ detached top half floated for a second before his whole body exploded into smoke. The smokescreen dispersed into a wide spread in an effort to stunt Gilgamesh’s perception. Unbeknownst to the golden guardian, the smoke had masked his eyes from seeing a magical seal glowing beneath himself. Sliding across the ground as if it were an ice rink, the Director silently glided from behind Gilgamesh. He then tossed his baton-like broom into the air, causing it to twirl. Director Skye caught the other end of his silver broom and held it like a baseball bat. The Director leaned forward and swung at the back of Gilgamesh’s right knee. When the precisioned blow connected to the joint, it made a pinging noise one would hear when struck with a metal baseball bat. The Sumerian demigod’s powerful stature immediately crumbled, as he fell onto his left knee. Upon this happening, his right leg bent but kept anchored in place to keep Gilgamesh’s back straight. Like a figure skater continuing their flow of motion, Director Skye used the momentum of his strike to twirl. He spun in a counterclockwise motion to a complete revolution and struck with his broom again. The blunt weapon reverberated with another ping, as it battered the left side of Gilgamesh’s jaw. With the gold guardian’s balance upset once again, his right foot lost its grip on the ground as if it were standing on ice. As Gilgamesh slipped and landed with his back onto the dirt, the Director disappeared into the smokescreen upon finishing his blitzkrieg. “Kinetic friction nullifier spell. Makes any surface slippery. Although now that I am saying it all out loud, magic sure has gotten more sciency,” lectured the Director. Puzzles called out, “And what you just hit was my Shado-I mean, Smoke Clones. I can conjure semi-solid illusions with my smoke.” The Sumerian demigod attempted to stand back up; gritting his teeth in the process. As the magical circle beneath Gilgamesh’s feet and the smokescreen disappeared, he spotted something else. The ground was being enchanted with light, and it was spreading. Looking for the source, Gilgamesh pinpointed it to Marvelous Man; sitting in seiza position with eyes closed and singing in a gregorian-like chant. Copying Marvelous Man’s signature move, Gilgamesh squatted down in a sumo stance with his glutes hefted in the air. He flexed his leg muscles to quickly charge power for another launch. “POSEI MAGUM!” shouted the Director. Gilgamesh looked to his left and saw a shimmering spectacle shooting straight at him. With the shiny object in such close distance, the golden guardian had no time to react. The casted spell instantly enveloped him upon contact; forming a giant bubble around the crouching Sumerian demigod. Running toward the bubble-encased Gilgamesh, Director Skye held his broom up to his face. He then placed an open palm next to his other hand gripping the silver broom. As his hands glowed with magical energy, he glided his open palm across the baton-like broom’s length. He then slid his palm beyond the broom’s shaft; resulting in another enchanted display. The short-lengthed broom briefly flared with magical light, as it immediately extended itself. The broom’s glowing ended abruptly upon reaching a vast pole length that is suitable for one to use as a bo staff or a supposed broom. The Director jumped; quickly maneuvering his newly-formed broom beneath his groin at an upward angle. The back end of his broom bursted with a pinkish fire; accelerating Director Doug beyond his running speed and gaining a small amount of altitude. Twisting his body into a counterclockwise spin, the Director changed his grip and pulled the broom from under himself. As the boosting flame on his broom extinguished, Director Skye came to a full rotation. The Director gripped his broom like it was a baseball bat, while descending back towards the ground. Upon landing steps away from Gilgamesh, Director Doug skidded towards the crouched man. Dirt flew into the air, as the crouching man was now within the master witch’s swinging distance. The Director then swung with an underhanded strike; hitting the bubble Gilgamesh was trapped in. The bubble instantly bounced high into the air from the blunt attack; regardless of Gilgamesh’s weight in muscle mass and golden jewelry. As the bubble-encased Gilgamesh flew into the sky, the Director placed his broom underneath himself. A mass of smoke followed behind Director Doug’s back; reforming into Puzzles upon landing on top of the broom. The silver broom blasted off with its pink fire blazing at full power. Jetting off into the upper atmosphere, Director Skye directed his magical broom to follow the bubbled Gilgamesh flinging through the air. The Director and his familiar caught up to the bubble within seconds. Raising his hand up, it began to glow while gesturing a spell. A translucent veil with a purple hue appeared in front of the broom. It umbrellaed outward; shielding the Director from incoming winds. And although the barrier was made of magic, its entirety was structured with a blockade of hexagons that interlocked together like a honeycomb. Charging into the enchanted bubble, the flimsy structure popped rather than bouncing again. Director Doug continued his flight; ramming into Gilgamesh’s abdomen. The silver broom did not expectedly penetrate the golden guardian's skin, as the honeycomb-shaped magic positioned itself in front of the pole. With the broom pushing speeds in the hundreds and the enchanted veil too wide to grip or reach around to grab the master witch, Gilgamesh remained pinned onto the magical barrier in a spread eagle position. The Sumerian demigod’s weapons were nowhere to be seen on the pinned man; knocked out of his hold by the sudden blow. The Director continued to calmly smile, as he changed his broom’s direction to accelerate upwards. The master witch flew higher into the troposphere; breaking through the clouds and entering the stratosphere. All the while, Gilgamesh could only scowl at Director Skye with his eyes. His face unable to express as it remained smooshed against the veil. While ice crystals began forming onto the beehive-like barrier, Gilgamesh’s body smoked from the evaporating crystals melting from his body heat. The broom’s pink flame extinguished itself; preventing the three from climbing any higher heights. Loosening his grip, Director Doug slid down his silver broom just as Puzzles dissipated into his smoke form. The Director then reestablished his hold once again before completely falling off his enchanted flying device; clasping onto the broom’s end. Director Skye held out his left hand and gestured a spell. He soon ended his motioning incantation by waving upwards in a clockwise motion. A small hexagonal barrier appeared on the Director’s right side. Unlike the one he used to pin Gilgamesh beneath with, it was an individual hexagon rather than a combination. More magical hexagons emerged into existence on Director Doug’s left side. They materialized above each other; creating a pathway in a clockwise motion until reaching high above Gilgamesh. The Director planted his feet against the vertically-angled hexagon on his right side. Briefly squatting against the magical shape, he pushed off. The broom swung with his motion, as Director Skye landed his foot against the floating pathway he conjured. Continuing his movement without hesitation, he began to run upwards against the panes of hexagonal pieces. The end of the Director’s broom pinning Gilgamesh with the magical shield rotated until he was positioned underneath the silver broomstick. Reaching the end of his improvised path, Director Skye had situated himself into a handstand position while pushed himself on top of his own broom. The small cloud of smoke, surrounding the middle of the staff during the Director’s acrobat, shot up towards the master witch. As the smoke being darted upwards, it reformed back into Puzzles. Both the smoke imp and Director Doug held out their hands to each other in one synchronized action; grasping each other upon contact. With the help of his own projected velocity, Puzzles pulled his master up with little effort. The Director bent his legs down, as his upper body was lifted by his familiar. No longer upside down in that moment, Director Skye released his grip from Puzzles' tiny hand. The Director landed feet first on the top of his broom with cat-like grace. As he peered out to the sky in front of him, Puzzles gently landed on his shoulder. With nothing to keep them afloat, the three began to descend back down towards the clouds. Puzzles spoke, “And what floor would you like to get off on, Boss?” “Ground floor,” replied Director Skye. As Puzzles pretended to push an imaginary elevator button, Director Doug gestured another spell. His hands glowed, while smashing his fist against his open palm. An explosion of ice erupted from all over the Director’s body. Large obelisks made of ice extended outwards, with Director Skye, Puzzles, and the broom encased in the freeze flash. Gilgamesh’s eyes bulged. The golden guardian raised his fists and slammed it back down onto the honeycomb-patterned barrier in an attempt to shatter it. The veil glowed from the hits, but it did not break. He continued the vain attempt, as their descending speed rapidly accelerated with each passing second. Upon reaching terminal velocity within seconds, the glowing ground drew close at speeds too fast to see any details. The three crashed into the light-enchanted earth; resulting in an explosion akin to a bomb and vibrating the entire park that even shook Marvelous Man’s posture. Smoke from the impact plumed into the air, and the only thing that could be seen of the crash site to an outside eye was a crater spanning a wide circumference. The smoke debris briefly parted; revealing Puzzles leading his master out of the crater’s wreckage. The two watched their step, so none of them could accidentally walk on the shards of ice littered within the crater. As the two exited the newly-made hole, the smoke closed into the gap they were denied of occupying. Director Doug held onto his broom, as both of them looked down at the smoking crater. Puzzles sighed, “He’s still alive, Boss.” “I suppose he still would. Marvelous Man is still healing the injured folks, so I must apply a gentle touch to this matter,” huffed Director Skye, “Irregardless, I am having fun.” Puzzles frowned, “That’s not a real word, Boss.” “And you’re not Russian, yet you still talk with that accent,” mused the Director. Noises began to stir within the hole. The sound of Gilgamesh’s footsteps crunched amongst the rubble, as the cloud of dust dissipated to reveal the Sumerian demigod standing up straight. Director Skye shouted, “I gotta say, you got a hell of a chin there! I’m gonna have to mark you as a Rank B then.” “Hmph, that star child used the same tactic against the Skeleton Lord. It’s not impressive to use your weight to crush your enemies. But I will admit something, witch, that really frightened me. To fall out of the sky like that. And it really hurt,” remarked Gilgamesh. Walking out of the rubble, the golden guardian no longer appeared amused. His hairy body was covered in dirt and bruises, but did not appear to have any serious damage on his muscular frame. Director Doug smiled, “Good. Now to continue with your education, I used a bubble spell that allows one to be bounced away upon any blunt contact; regardless of one’s weight inside the bubble.” “After that, I pinned you on a beehive barrier spell. And fun fact about that spell, you can summon the pieces individually rather than a whole set. So you could use it as a platform or flip it onto its side and use it as a projectile. But I think I made a good choice, since your body seems to have a high level of...imperviency,” he continued. The Director dragged on, “And finally, I used a basic ice encasement spell. We were so high up, I could draw in so much more moisture than is needed to make that spell. I made it a hella big, so it would be really heavy in the hopes of crushing you. Sadly, that did not work. But, my, was it spectacular.” Gilgamesh’s face became neutral upon hearing Director Skye’s lecture. There was a small pause after the Director finished, that he smirked for a second before giggling. The giggle then transformed to a bellowing laugh. “You most certainly enlightened me on the usefulness of defense magic, witch!” guffawed the Sumerian demigod, “Have you anything left to say before I pound you to death with my bare hands? I would decapitate you, but I seem to have lost my weapons while being adrift in the sky.” Director Skye held up his index finger. “Just one,” he replied. The Director looked down at his smoke imp. He requested, “Puzzles, would you please prepare the Cuban Room for our guest? We need to wrap this up, and I am parching for some sweet tea.” Puzzles looked up at his master, as he reached inside of his business suit’s jacket. “Certainly, Boss,” he smiled. The smoke imp then retrieved a large cigar and a silver lighter from his cobalt jacket. Flipping the lid off of the lighter, it ignited a small, red flame. Puzzles quickly lit the dark brown cigar, before putting the tobacco product in his mouth. He then proceeded to take a deep inhale, as he snuffed the lighter's flame and placed it back into his pocket. Director Doug curtly bowed, “Now you may try pulverizing me.” Gilgamesh’s eyes glinted with acknowledgement of what the battle’s outcome will be. He nodded before charging forward. The golden guardian sprinted as fast as he could while screaming out his battle cry. Every step he took vibrated a heavy thud, as he drew closer. Within a few steps of Gilgamesh reaching the master witch, Puzzles blew out the cigar exhaust he had been dragging. The dark gray smoke stretched itself outward like a wall; bordering between the golden guardian and the heroes. Without a sign of hesitation, Gilgamesh charged into the smoke. The cigar fog enveloped the Sumerian demigod and immediately transformed. The smoke reshaped itself into an interior location. Gilgamesh now stood inside a wooden hallway with an antique Victorian design. The walls were bare of any windows and were instead draped with red curtains. The golden guardian’s mouth was agape in surprise, as he looked at both sides of the hallway. On his left was a dead end with a tall, wooden grandfather clock stationed where a doorway should be. The clock’s ticks and tocks echoed throughout the hallway; mixing with another noise that sounded like wood crackling in a fire. On the right side of the hallway was the source of the fire crackling sound. A lit hearth, at the end of the hallway’s right side, radiated the Victorian hallway with warmth and yellowish light. With his face changing from shock to curiousity, Gilgamesh thumped towards the grandfather clock. He stood in front of it and studied it closely. The wooden clock had a simple design with grooves and an etching of a pine cone on its top frame. Inside of it, its golden pendulum swung in syncro with the clock’s ticks. “Welcome to the Cuban Room,” drawled the Director. Gilgamesh instantly reacted to the Southern gentlemanly voice; turning around to face the master witch. At the end other end of the wooden hallway, a red armchair now existed in front of the fireplace. The armchair faced the hearth and had a man sitting in it. The man seen only from behind had auburn hair like Director Skye. His pale, white hand rested on the chair’s arms and held the lit cigar Puzzles had just smoked. The Sumerian demigod muttered, “Is this pathetic illusion supposed to stop me?” Gilgamesh slammed his fist against the wall. Rather than exploding into smoke, the wall resisted the golden guardian’s strike. “That it is. I did tell you that I’m a Master Witch of the Defense Arts, didn’t I?” said the Director. Gilgamesh frowned, “That was the familiar who said it. And you are not the witch either.” The supposed Director Doug said nothing, as he brought the cigar to his face. Seconds pass by until a loud exhale resounded from his location. A long plume of cigar smoke blew into the air above the alleged master witch, as he rested his cigar hand back onto the red chair’s arm. “Does it matter?” he replied, “You still have to beat me to get out of here. So go on. Pulverize me.” The golden guardian slowly stepped forward; as if expecting more tricks. He kept walking towards the other end of the red-curtained hallway, when his face then contorted in confusion. As he reach the middle of the wooden hallway, his progress seemed to have come to a halt. He was walking, but he was not moving any closer to his destination. Gilgamesh changed his motion into a sprint, but the result was the same. Looking down, the Sumerian demigod could see the floor beneath himself moving like a treadmill. The floor shifted in the opposite direction Gilgamesh was trying to go and increased its speed when Gilgamesh did so. “I’m waiting,” teased the auburn-haired man. Gilgamesh gritted his teeth, as he kept trying to push forward with no foreseeable result. The supposed Director Skye laughed; echoing throughout the wooden hallway that drowned out the grandfather clock’s ticking sound. Sections of the hallways in front of the golden guardian began to rotate like an inverse rubix cube. Walls had been rotated into floors and ceilings and vice versa. At the end of the hallway where the assumed Director and the fireplace sat had now been rotated up to the ceiling. Gravity had no effect on them, and even the smoke drifted down to the ceiling floor. The grandfather clock’s noise began to override the laughing, as it chimed its hourly clock strike noise. Soft bells rang in the air, as it caught Gilgamesh’s attention. Turning around, his eyes widened upon gazing the hallway behind him. As the clock bellowed its haunting lower-toned bells, the architecture started to become undone. Segments of floor, ceiling, and wall broke off and flew into a black void that became more visible with every breakage. Eventually, even the wooden grandfather clock was sucked into the nothing. Face filled with panic, Gilgamesh pushed himself to run faster, jump, and even lunge forward like Marvelous Man’s signature move. Every effort he did caused either himself to not move forward or the fireplace-end of the hallway to extend farther out of his reach. He dared to look back and could see the Cuban Room’s dismantle growing closer to him. He shouted, “It’s not real! IT’S NOT REAL!!!” The ceiling right above Gilgamesh splintered into many pieces. The Sumerian demigod dared to glance up. Within the black void above him stood a giant Puzzles glaring down at Gilgamesh. The smoke imp was the size of skyscrapers, and his eyes glowed with pure white. The familiar's horns had a devious point and seemed to be the size of a small house. When Puzzles spoke, it was as if a giant with a Russian accent talked. “DOES. IT. MATTER.” said the giant Puzzles. Gilgamesh froze, as a burst of light flashed around him. When the flash immediately died down, a rectangular prism of light encased his hairy body. None of the golden guardian’s muscles twitched, and neither did his eyes stir. Puzzles blinked at the frozen Sumerian demigod. The Cuban Room instantly vanished into smoke; fizzling out of reality. What was a smoky existence now returned back to the glowing park before the Sumerian demigod was transported. The petrified Gilgamesh floated above the park’s grass that had become enchanted with a sunlight quality. Puzzles waddled up to the prism of light. He glanced his eyes up and down the muscular man before turning to his right. The smoke imp looked towards his master, who stood with his silver broom in hand. He questioned, “The time capsule spell? I thought you would have done the sex cocoon spell. Much easier to cast.” “There’s no damn way I’m casting that spell. Unless you want to open him up from the cocoon and get hit with sex stink,” retorted the Director. Puzzles frowned, “Fair enough. At least you casted the spell to capture him off the ground. Would have been a real pain to move him if the dirt got caught in the time capsule. So how much time do we have before he thaws out?” Director Skye squatted down to analyze his handiwork. Surrounding the time-frozen Gilgamesh was a magical seal carved into the ground. Its sequences of runes and shapes within the circle was more complex than the light-conjured magic circles the Director created. “Well, it was a rush job, but I managed to get it all right. Should buy us at least three hours at most,” stated Director Doug. Puzzles nodded while reaching into his business suit’s pocket to pull out a smartphone. The smoke imp spoke, “I’ll call somebody to pick this up and get everybody here treated. Oh, and don’t forget your coat, Boss.” “Shoot!” spat the Director. Director Skye took off running. His face held panic that most likely was due to the possibility of his cobalt jacket becoming dirty. A voice called out, “Puzzles?” Facing to the voice behind himself, Puzzles spotted Gene limping towards him. The bunny demigod had his hand placed over his chest, and his white rabbit ears were drooped down. “Bossman and I came over to deal with Gilgamesh. You’re welcome,” said Puzzles. The rabbit superhero glanced at the time-frozen Sumerian demigod before looking back at the cold-eyed smoke imp. Gene asked, “And what of Marvelous Man?” “He’s fine for the most part. His hand is broken, but he managed supercharge the area to heal everybody. Let’s just hope you don’t let him get killed next time. Healers of his caliber are rare. Don’t fuck it up again,” answered Puzzles. The bunny demigod became silent. His head bent down in shame, and his eyes became incapable of visually connecting with Puzzles’. Director Doug shouted, “It got halfway to the ground! Goshdang, I sure am getting rusty!” >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> An hour after the incident, the team assembled back at the D.A.B. building. Marvelous Man and Gene were exiting the elevator on the fifth floor. As they walked towards the Director’s office, Marvelous Man kept staring at his hand. It was the hand that was broken by Gilgamesh’s crushing grip, yet it now looked as if it was never harmed. Marvelous Man flexed his newly-healed hand. “Are you in pain?” asked Gene. Marvelous Man looked at Gene, “Huh? Oh, no. It’s fine...just amazed that it's fixed already. There’s not even a scar or anything.” “Yes. It is most fortunate to discover that you have the healing factor. Given enough time, you can recover from any wound,” noted Gene. Marvelous Man sighed, “Yeah...just wish I could’ve regenerated faster.” Gene said nothing, as the two continued down the hallway. Marvelous Man then spotted their field analyst, Fairuza, standing in front of Director Skye’s office door. As if on cue, Fairuza turned to her team and waved. “Hey, you two. Ready to head in?” smiled Fairuza. Marvelous Man shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I’m just glad it’s not gonna be as awkward as the last time we all got called up here.” “I feel the same,” nodded Fairuza. The sorceress knocked on the Director’s door. Seconds ticked by, until it was opened by Puzzles to usher them in. Fairuza was the first to cross into the office with Marvelous Man following in behind her and ducking underneath the doorway. As Gene finally entered, the smoke imp closed the door behind the three. Inside the cobalt-carpeted office, Director Doug sat behind his cherrywood desk. He calmly smiled while sipping on a cold glass of sweet team. Marvelous Man immediately noticed there was another person in the office, as Puzzles’ smoky form glided back to the desk. An android was sitting was sitting in the black lounge chair propped against the wall. Despite his mechanical design, his stocky body almost looked soft. A great majority of the android’s torso consisted of black synthetic muscle that appeared to have a rubber-like quality than a metallic kind. These black muscle cords also appeared on his biceps and along the inner and outer thighs. His abdomen had a white, gelatin-like layering that seemed similar to soft, fatty tissue; giving the android an athletic gut. The white layer had as well traced over his fingers, toes, groinal region, and even on the underside of his pecs. It was peculiar to Marvelous Man that the android also had rubbery nipples, the size of pencil erasers, that were colored with a blackish hue. Any place on the android that did not require the sense of touch or was not an erogenous zone was plated over with a silver cover. The silver plates had golden outlines for what seemed to be an aesthetic purpose. Curiously, there was also a silver plating on the android’s hips that had handles welded onto them. As for any clothing, the android was sorely lacking any. The only garment he wore was a drawstring mokko fundoshi that covered a generously large package bulging against the fabric. Keychained to the mokko fundoshi was a pink Japanese amulet, that had the astrological symbol, Gemini, printed onto it. Marvelous Man could not help but think that this Soulem felt familiar; especially since the android had his fundoshi and nails colored zaffre. The android glanced up at Marvelous Man. The Soulem’s silver, metallic face had a neutral expression, but the mood rings on his cheeks immediately flashed from white to red. The android’s large, silver nose sharply inhaled before letting out a huff, while his white, digital eyes looked away. The Soulem had sections of golden blocks plated to his head in an attempt to appear as his beard, mohawk, and even eyebrows. He also had a zaffre-colored Phillips screw studded onto his chin. “So,” started the Director, “Capturing Gilgamesh was a success. But he’s still on ice for a few more hours before we can start interrogating him. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find out his connections to the Skeleton Lord and how we can use that to our advantage.” Director Skye looked at Marvelous Man. “As for you, Marvelous Man, great job on healing the civilians. They and their loved ones extend their thanks to you and request that you meet them in person. Now, I told them that you’re a bit busy at the moment trying to help other people and assisting our heroes to fight the bad guys. So it’s up to you if you want to visit them on your off-time. But I suggest you keep your head low if you don’t want to, cause you’re most likely gonna be newsworthy for the next week or so,” he said. Marvelous Man nodded, “Uh, yes, sir.” The Director sipped his sweet tea. “Now, onto the elephant in the room. You three make a great team, but y’all need to up your game a bit. I don’t know why, but fate keeps tossing you right at the Skeleton Lord. And each time, we are in the dark about who he is or what he can do,” he drawled. Director Doug continued, “That’s why I’m sorry to say this, Fairuza, but your magic isn’t cutting it. For some reason, he’s invisible to magic detection and even your analyzing abilities. And that is why I am including a field technician in your group to help study our foe and science his ass. He’s a noncombatant, so make sure he doesn’t get in the midst of y’all’s crossfires.” The Director pointed an open palm to the sitting android. “So until this Skeleton Lord issue has been resolved, meet your new teammate for future missions: Gemini Yin,” introduced Director Skye. Marvelous Man’s eyes widened in surprise, as the Soulem stood up. Maybe it’s a complete coincidence that another Soulem’s name is Gemini? Gemini held out his hand at Marvelous Man, as his voice spoke in an electronic yet masculine tone. He gritted his teeth into a smile, “Hey, bro. You must be Marvelous Man. Ya know, you kinda look like my friend, Justice.” Next Chapter
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