Dragon in Marvel

Sometimes I used to wonder where the plot armor of the heroes of my universe went. Because as far as I've seen... Jean was going to kill the X-Men plus the rest of the world, Wanda was going to kill the world, and Doom was going to kill the world. 

I'm seeing a pattern here... Maybe... I am their plot armor?...

This does not count the myriad paths that the butterfly effect could have taken with the Red Room.

Concerning this, I can't say that all of my actions have been positive with full certainty, but Noona said I've been doing a good job, so that could be counted as a guarantee that the overall score is green.

Point is... I think that some heroes still conserved their plot armor, even in this doomed reality. Why? Because as I was considering what to do with Mister Playboy, Noona contacted me and told me not to be so strict with him. 

'Noona... Why defend him? You know I'm right to guard Seraph from him, right?'

'Yes, but you need both the good and the bad for solid growth. Seraph is not like Spark, if you want her soul to grow, you need to allow her to make decisions of her own that could lead to unwanted results.'

'Aren't the problems that she is facing and will face in Krakoa enough for that?'- That was my plan for Seraph's development.

'In a way, but it'll take more than that. Besides, it's not like something bad is guaranteed to happen. She is one of the most advanced works of artificial life I've seen. You don't need to cuddle her that much.'- I know... I made her, and Spark helped. In terms of specs, you could say that, from the start, Seraph had an advantage over Spark.

'Does this have something to do with the possible future of Stark as Ironman?'- I thought this world was not getting an Ironman, I assumed he was going to die of something alcohol-related or that he was not going to make it out of the cave if he followed that path.

'No. It has to do with the challenge that Stark the 'manslut' will pose to our daughter's blossoming.'

'Heh... You're finally calling Seraph 'ours'?'

'It's not my fault that my dragon has a knack for spontaneously popping family relations out of nowhere. I'm a shy little Death whose only friend since ever was Phoenix, then you came into my sphere. Now I have a bunch of maids, a butler, Spark, Seraph, Gaea, and a Dragon toyboy to consider my family.'

'Toyboy? I'll have you know, my 'little Death', that I'm probably older than you!'

'I'm stronger so I'm the mommy and you're the toyboy!'

'Well... I don't mind you being the 'mommy'... I find that arrangement rather agreeable.'

'I'll go back to work, I only interrupted because I was coincidentally spying on my husband... I'll wait for you tonight... ~Boy.'

'I'll be there...Ma'am.'

"So... You're the embodiment of an Artificial Intelligence that has advanced to Artificial Life... You're also a baby AI... Your father, who hasn't stopped looking at me like a hawk looks at a hare, made you and your body... Right?"- Stark asked for confirmation while I, in fact, was looking at him like a hawk looks at a hare.

"Yep! Now! Enough of that! Do you really sleep around that much?"

'Why would you like to know, daughter of mine?'

'Father, don't you think that it is remarkable that his penis hasn't fell off?'

'... You have a point, he doesn't strike me as the responsible drunk that wears a condom.'- I wonder how many Starks are out there.

'Yeah, and the concept of safe sex is not as well cemented as it was in your universe, Father.'- Sadly that is the case, venereal diseases are running rampant around this time.

'That, actually, matches with the culture of some countries from my universe for this timeframe, the 90's'- I also know that for the genuinely impoverished, from my previous world, condoms were expensive, not that I think this could apply to the genius billionaire in the room.

"*Ugh*... I guess... I don't keep track. I'm a billionaire, young, attractive, single, genius, and charming. It's a no-brainer that when I'm drunk girls tend to swoon over to me."- There he goes with his narcissistic shit. 

"... You truly like yourself, don't you?"- No, my dummy daughter, that guy hates himself. He just masks it with the opposite behavior.

"What's not to like?"- It's Interesting how he managed to avoid the truth. 

Seraph can pick up lies as easily as I can. Once again the plot armor helped Stark.

"Father, is this what most human girls look for in a man?"- Seraph cutely expressed her confusion while pointing at Stark up and down.

Because the use of the internet is not as widely spread as it should be, limited information can be found on it. Since social media is not a thing yet, it's hard to find a way to study human behavior and social conduct with veracity.

While Seraph has access to psychological books and every other paper that you could find on the web, she doesn't have evidence of how humans act in society.

The sort of proof that could be found in social media... or multiplayer games. Where you see the real colors of humans, the colors they show when there's no one in front of them.

One could say that Seraph's knowledge of humans mostly comes from what we uploaded in The Grand Repository of Knowledge back in Halo. 

It's solid knowledge, but sometimes experience is better than theory, so I made her with innate curiosity, the desire to learn by experience is one of the results of her programming evolving, her way of being. I wouldn't change a single thing in her... even if now I have to deal with a shitty Stark.

She is precious the way she is. Naive, dummy, curious, and expressive. Very different from Spark, who resembles me.

"No, but most of the girls that surround him do. Just like most of the girls that surround you look for something else, and like most of the girls that surround me do as well. That's just the company that he associates with."- Though I can't sing praises of how most of the girls around me look for prime candidates like James and Rogers, and have a slight tendency for physical conflict.

"*Ugh*"- This time Stark has nothing to say in his defense. I think the older Tony Stark was more eloquent. Or It could be that the intimidation of having his memories tempered with is having him behave unlike himself, there's also the chance that this Tony is not like the others that I know of.

At least he is not evil Tony. That guy is a pompous asshole.

"Are you sure I can't keep him as my friend, Father? He is very interesting. I can also do wonders with the backup of his company. Didn't you receive the report on the advanced weaponry we found on our last 'expedition'? I could have Stark Industries level the playing field."

Seraph is talking about the energy-based weaponry that Hydra has been whipping out recently. Not as advanced as ours but advanced enough to make AK47s look like peashooters. 

It was frankly not surprising, considering that in the comics everybody had energy weapons.

"Fine... Honestly, Noona had already convinced me to allow this (Points at Stark) to be your friend. Something about challenges helping you with the growth of your soul."

"Lady Death did?"

"Yeah, you can thank her later... You can also call her Mother."

"... I thought you were both my Father and my Mother..."

"... She is your Stepmother."- Right?

"Yey! Tony, you should thank my mother for the integrity of your mind!"- If he gets to meet her before his death.

"Your mother? Is she like him? Whatever it is that he is..."- Oh. Now that he was reassured of his safety he is getting ballsy.

"... Sort of?"

'Can I tell him about you and Mother?'

'No. You should also find a way to stop him from talking about us the next time he gets hammered.'

'Oh... How?'

'Fear is the simplest solution. But friends don't threaten each other like that, so I don't know... He is your problem now, my cute and rebellious daughter, not mine.'

'Humph!'- Mental pouts are weird... Cute nonetheless. 

"You can help him with his tech, Seraph. Make sure not to go overboard, if you have questions about how much you can advance his tech you can ask for Spark's or my help."

"Should I focus on weaponry?"

"No. Just level the playfield and then go for space exploration. That's a sector we won't touch so if you can manage to upgrade his Arc reactor you could possibly dominate that sector in 5 to 10 years."- I'm assuming Baxter will be their major competitor.

"Hey! I've been listening to you talk about the future ventures of MY company all willy-nilly, Who are you to decide the future of my company?"- Stark complains... as if he has ever had the ability to decide the future of his company. Sometimes I can understand why Stane went scummy.

"Shush! Tony. The responsible ones are talking."- Ufff Burn! Good job Seraph.

"Excuse me. The one-year-old said what?"

"Isn't it more depressing if the one-year-old has to point it out?"- Yeah... It is.

"... I don't know how many friends you have, but this is not how it works! You're supposed to defend your friends not kick them while they are down."- This idiot... She has exactly 4 friends.

Beast, Rogue, Gambit, and Forge. The last joined Krakoa after the latest expedition. 

He was starstruck when he laid eyes upon her... That was after Jean cured his insanity, she did the same trick Cable did on one of his multiversal counterparts.

"Get him into rehab or something. His mind is the only redeeming aspect he currently has, we can't have him fucking over it with his drinking habits."- This is not the Tony Stark I wanted to meet, I wanted the witty one... Shitty Reality!

"What about my company, money, good looks, charming personality, and good genes? Those are some redeemable qualities if you ask me or anyone else."- This is sad.

"No... Just shut up. Stop sinking yourself lower."- I tell him.

Maybe this Tony was indeed supposed to die of liver failure or drunk in a ditch. This is a doomed reality and I wouldn't be so surprised if that was the case.

"Tony... those are all superficial."- Seraph looked at him with pity. To which Stark only answers by blankly staring at his new friend.

Honestly, those aspects are pretty damn important in a human society, just not to us.

Companies, money, good looks, and good genes are abundant in Halo. I won't say much about personality, because I don't find him charming and because my maids can be bitchy.

"I should go... I'm still missing about a quarter of a million refugees and we only have one more month to visit the remaining star systems."- We are good on time, but Kitty wanted to visit Xandar afterward. Carina also wanted to 'repay' her father who sold her to Taneleer.

"Ah! Father, before you go, I was using Brother Eye and was checking some of the visual filters out. I found alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays in South America. About 1,400 μSv/hour."- That's a lot... The radiation poisoning kind of 'a lot'.

"I double-checked with Skynet but most of the smaller hospitals in Brazil don't have access to the web. So I don't know if someone is trying to hide multiple cases of radiation poisoning or if South Americans are made with lead skin because I haven't found news of the cases."- That's fishy.

"... Where's the highest concentration?"

"Guarapari. Espírito Santo, Brazil."

"That place has always had high levels of background radiation, but not 1400 microsieverts high."- Stark said.

"It might be a mutant. Have the council look into it. How big is the contaminated area?"

"Winds played a part, so around 6000 km²."- Not that bad but undoubtedly worrying given the amount of population in the zone.

"WHAT!?"- Stark shouted.

"... Make it a priority. If it's a mutant, have them erase all evidence. I don't think they can afford any more bad press than they already have."

"Can I help them?"- She looked at me with hopeful eyes.

"No. Their suits can handle radiation. Only if they can't do anything about it, you can help. Or if they ask for help. Otherwise, it's up to them."- Hopefully they will ask for her help.

I know these guys are either idiots who are reluctant to depend on AI or idiots who want to do their job without depending on AI. Maybe they think that this is their responsibility and that they shouldn't depend on Seraph, maybe I see them as idiots because we are used to depending on Spark.

But, if you're drowning, shouldn't you try to reach for a helping hand?

"Is it a mutant council?"- Stark.

"Yes. It's a secret country, they are under my oversight. But I don't do much *Sigh*..."- They still have to suffer a bit more before Seraph is allowed to help them. Easy come, easy go.

"Hasn't Xavier noticed anything with Cerebro?"- If lots of people were suffering he should have easily found the agglomeration of minds in pain.

"Last week Hank updated it, so now it only detects what has been approved for detection. If he wanted to locate anything else then the approval of the council would be needed."

"Why?"- She means that if Xavier is looking for mutants then only the spots of the location of the mutants would appear, not the non-mutants, nor anything else, unlike in the movies.

"The psionic signal can be traced back. In the future, if other countries know that we have an unregulated machine capable of killing everyone we could earn their enmity, which we don't need. If a strong enough enemy telepath uses the psionic wave they could piggyback their consciousness into Xavier's mind. If a sorcerer aims at the psionic wave they could kill Xavier. Lastly, the privacy concerns coming from some of the telepaths that moved in."

That makes sense, unless you're Jean or me, you expose yourself whenever you do a psionic scan of that magnitude.

"When you talk to them try to hint at the possibility of using the machine before each outing. It's best to go well prepared."

"I told them so, but they said that we could alert the enemy beforehand if we do that."- Enemies create countermeasures for your advantage, that has always been the case, so I wouldn't find it unexpected if Hydra develops some sort of psionic field detection.

"That's also a risk... I don't have a foolproof angle for it. Just make sure they don't do anything rash, caution is either rewarded or not, but it's rarely punished."- I can appreciate their caution, especially in this world, I can see those cases Seraph mentioned happening.

Still, I don't know if it could get even more dangerous if they face an enemy unprepared.

"Okay! I'll get to it."- My cheerful daughter said.

I dispersed my clone and went back to tracking the Arcadia. That cat enabled the cloaking mode so I have to use the contract to locate them.

_______________

"So... Aliens... Those are real, huh?"- Stark asks as he processes what just happened.

Watching the horned man disappear by dispersing his body layer by layer didn't help much calming his nerves.

Normally he would have been concerned about the so-called 'Cerebro' that could kill everyone on the planet, but after finding out about the fully loaded SatNet that orbits above his head... aliens seem more interesting.

"Yes, lots of different species."- Seraph answered as she sent the new info to the council and ordered the X-Force to get ready for deployment.

She made a live feed of the spread and intensity of the radiation and uploaded it on the screens located in the training halls of the X-Force. This is in the hopes of them understanding the gravity of the situation.

"And... Umm, Sorcerers?"- Something which he finds even harder to believe.

"Yep! Those too. Every one of us is one."- Seraph said while pushing out her chest with pride.

"Every mutant?!"- Stark answered as he tried not to check her chest out. Something that was growing harder and harder as he calmed down.

Seraph's 'outfit' didn't help... If you could call shapeshifting your sexual bits off an outfit.

"No, dummy. I told you we are not mutants. I oversee the country of mutants but I'm not a mutant, neither is my Father. What I meant by 'us' was my family."

"So you are one as well? I thought you used technology."- Stark referenced the tech she used to open a portal. He was also associating Seraph's family with the secret overlords of the planet.

"I'm not old enough. Your soul must have met certain essential requirements if you want to cast magic, I'm a baby so I haven't."- Magic is one of those things that greatly attract Seraph's curiosity. 

"Could I become one as well?"- A normal question everyone would ask in his case.

"... Yes, you have great affinity. Like possibly among the top 10 on humans."- Seraph scanned him, something that Stark noticed when her eyes shined blue for a second.

"Of course. That's expected of me. Then... Can you help me learn?"

"Mmmm... I don't know."- Seraph said with a contemplative visage.

"Why? Do I have to pay you?"- A stupid question.

"No, idiot. I'm an AI. I can leave you on the streets and make do with all of your money and possessions. I could even collapse the economy of the world. I don't need your pesky money."- Seraph was annoyed about the materialistic way of his thinking.

"... Sorry, you're right. I want to learn. Why can't you help me?"- Part of his insistence stems from the fact that his mind was just recently taken hostage. Stark imagines that possibly with magic he could protect himself better.

"Because I don't want to teach you and I doubt any one of my sisters has the patience to deal with you, I also don't plan to waste the favors they owe me on you, Even if we are friends we've just met! Furthermore, I don't know if teaching you will lead to disastrous consequences, such as casting eldritch blasts left and right while intoxicated. And that's the most benign thing I can picture."- What if he summons a demon? What if he opens the mirror dimension and forgets to close it? What if he makes a contract with an extradimensional entity?

"Oh come on! I won't, I promise. But, how come you can teach me? I thought you couldn't cast."- He tried to steer the conversation in another direction.

"I don't need to be able to cast if I wanted to teach you."

"... So?... What do you say? Won't you help this poor handsome billionaire?"

"Mmm, okay. On one condition!"- She stopped him before he could start celebrating.

"Shoot. I'll have you know that I'm no coward and that no matter how kinky, I'm ready!"- This time he couldn't stop himself from checking her out as he loudly affirmed his conviction.

"Oh? Is this your so-called 'charming' personality?"*Crackle*- Seraph made sure to show her displeasure by releasing an arc of lightning between her fingers.

"*Ahem* Sorry, Seraph. That came out of nowhere. Just a bad habit."- He couldn't help but associate Seraph in his mind with her father when she went menacing like that.

"Right, I believe you."- She rolled her eyes at him.

"I can teach you, but you have to go to rehab and stop drinking."

"... No casual drinking?"- Is there such a thing as casual drinking for a recovering alcoholic? 

"No! Nil! Nothing! None! Nought! Zero! Nowt! Zilch! Nix! Nada!"

"Okay! Okay! I understand! No drinking!"

"Nor psychotropics!"

"I don't do those!"- He said in indignation.

"I don't think you even know what you do or don't do while drunk."- Seraph deadpanned at him.

"... Touché."- He said while gnashing his teeth.

"Yeah... I know you will stop... Ultimately... I can zap you with that collar, I can track you, spy on you, hear you, even see you! So from now on, I, Seraph Draconisfilia, your friend, will make sure that you get better! Alcoholism is a terrible disease. Be grateful that I will use some of my processing to monitor you 24/7, every day!"- His joy was so overwhelming that he couldn't stop touching his P-Link while looking at Seraph as if he was finally recognizing the real monster in the father-daughter duo.

Seraph, inadvertently, followed Aragorn's advice... Fear can help people change.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"- After so many nights, and sometimes days, of playing around, Tony may have escaped the fate of a Yandere fan stalking him, one of those crazy clingy flings... But it looks like he couldn't ultimately fully escape the stalking.

___________________

Nirn, Prima Multarum (Crown City of the Planet). {Latin. First of Many.}

Royal Palace.

"So how many?"- I ask in a feminine childish voice from inside my fluff heaven.

... Almost mine... Mindee is sharing with me. Initially, she had three tails and I had two, but since neither could be cocooned in the fluff with no less than four tails we opted for the current position.

She is straddling me {Like a baby does their parents, get your mind out of the gutter}, I'm hugging her and she is hugging me while Emma's tails cocooned us. I also grew a tentacle which I used to pet her scalp. Now she is asleep while chewing on my left ear.

"2.105.859 New Citizens. Most have been sorted out to their corresponding residences, baring special cases that need special conditions."- Emma answered with a big bright smile. I can also feel the happiness oozing out of her.

"Did you like the planets and stars I got you?"- I asked as I eyed out her new desk decor.

"~Hehehe. Yes, I liked them very much!"- She caressed one of the marbles as if it were her precious... It's a good thing Mindee is sleeping and she didn't witness her mother's Gollum mode.

"6 planets, 6 stars... There's also the Ark... I'm just not sure about the place I showed you, so I'll leave the decision in your hands."- In the comics, Xandar falls a few times so it's also a possibility to wait for their probable downfall and take possession of their turf.

The Skrulls are also nearing their end, and no one would miss the Kree if they were to be lost to the ravages of time.

"The Ark?"- Queen Fluff asked with interest.

I made a temporary link with her, one she didn't resist, and brought her to my mindscape.

'It's this'- I told her as I pointed at the representation of the Ark in my mindscape. It was a 1:1 scale.

'You can build this?'- She asked as she sat at the top of my draconic head as I took us to the Ark's surface.

'I already did. It's a little bit bigger than Saturn.'

'Is that Halo?'- She pointed at the center of the structure.

'Yes. I made them so that both could work together. Also, you can pick a planet from the ones I gave you to place at the center of the installation.'

'Why? Don't get me wrong it's awesome, but I guess it would be more energy efficient without a planet at the center.'

'Yes, but I made it so we could set up a magic circle for assisted casting between the three objects. Planet, Ringworld, and Ark.'- Not that I know why we would need so much firepower, but enough targets we have to spare.

'... I see... I will convene with my people and Spark about what to do.'

'There's no rush. If anything the Imperium is still underpopulated.'

'About that... I don't know how to increase the population further without having to move from battlefield to battlefield collecting people, and that's not very efficient. This time it only worked because you were taking charge of the operation.'

'I don't think you'll need to worry much about that.'

'Why?'

'First, Kitty will probably continue with her life as a Pirate, so she can keep bringing you people for a while. Second, many empires fall and rise, we will never lack places where we could locate refugees or willing migrants. Third...'- This is not fully planned so I don't know if I should tell her about this yet.

'Third?'

'This is not even half a plan yet, so don't quote me on this later if we do something different.'

'Sure'

'I was thinking about doing some 'Time Traveling' at some point, so we could collect some of the unfortunate souls meant to die and 'export' them to the Imperium at the moment of their deaths.'- Preferably kids and babies, that way there's no culture shock and we can instill our education in them... like the 'will of fire'.

'Why?'

'I have 3 monumental tasks that will probably take me about 100 years to complete, a century I don't have. I need to create a trustworthy magic system for void energy, I want to create a soul-bonded system to practice my split thinking, and I have to find a way to end with a Celestial and a fully intact planet after the emergence. I also wanted you girls to ascend to godhood before things start getting more dangerous.'- They would naturally reach said status, but they won't have time once reality starts to crumble, that is if Marvel follows the comic path.

'So, you'll take us to the past and we will collect people just before their deaths to take with us while we achieve divinity? I thought we couldn't time travel in our universe...'

'I can, and I can take you with me. The problem is that you'll be affected by the temporal reinstatement.'

'What's that?'- She asked as we moved into the Ark to explore the landscapes. There's no vegetation here, so it can be a little lacking sometimes.

'Let's say you go to the past and you change stuff, nothing will happen while you're temporally displaced.'- This is what inevitably happens when you go to the past. You change stuff.

'But when you return to your time, you'll be 'updated'. With the application of a few spells, depending on how much the changes affect you, you'll just get an influx of new memories. Nothing more dangerous than that.'- Normally her previous memories would be overwritten by the 'new' ones, sorcery can fix that.

And even if she gets caught in a paradox, as long as it's not related to her existence then my presence would take care of it.

'Now, what happens if while changing your surroundings, the history of your world, you end up changing something vital to your being... and you erase yourself?'- I asked as I looked at how pensive she was. 

'I don't know, because if I didn't exist then I wouldn't erase myself, so I don't think it is possible to erase yourself... I think?'- She tilted her head to the side in confusion, something her ears followed and her tails mirrored.

'It's a paradox. The universe- Nay, the Multiverse doesn't like those. So your whole existence is erased, permanently. Paradoxes are things from outside creation, from The Void, which have no place inside creation. A glitch in the design can't be tolerated.'- Myself excluded.

'But if what you say is true then no one could time travel, Master said that time travel was possible before you came, so there must be a way.'- Very smart, you are, my Fluff Padawan.

'Yes, there's a way... timeline displacement. Instead of moving back and forth in your timeline, you move to an alternate timeline and do your thing, after that, you come back to your origin timeline.'- Like what happened in the movies.

This is normally used when you want to gather information without changing your origin timeline.

'But that's not the same, you could never change your own timeline's past if what you say is true.'- Yes, similar to that Strange that killed his universe and couldn't go back.

'There are ways. You could have someone from another timeline change what you need from your own. You could just send your consciousness into your old self. Or you could create a Nexus event, those can overwrite reality.'- Like what Nathaniel Richards does or what Logan does in the X-men movies.

'Nexus events? Like the thing with celestial hosts?'

'Yes. You need to create an event important enough that the impact of it could cross throughout timelines and universes and ultimately affect your home timeline.'- But this is virtually impossible.

'Hah! Good luck with that... So we would be going to an alternate timeline of our universe, right?'- She doubtfully asks.

'No. This universe doesn't have alternate timelines, that's part of the charisma of a Doomed Reality. A place of no other possible outcomes, where there isn't and can't be any change. So there's only 'end'.'- That's why I think that something was wrong with the MCU before Loki fixed it. It was very similar to this doomed universe. 

I don't know if he has fixed it yet... But if he hasn't, then we could go there, that way the amount of alternate timelines that we generate won't be a problem if there's only one.

'Then... Huh? What's the plan?'- Now you're being silly, the answer is obvious.

'We travel to the past of another universe.'- I would need the coordinates from Noona.

'... That makes sense... Kinda... I thought other universes were other timelines.'

'Depending on what you're talking about those two terms could be interchangeable.'- That's generally the case because Time and Space are one weaved together, another timeline is just another universe.

'But normally, if you imagine reality like a massive tree, the trunk would be the Prime Reality (Earth-616) and the robust branches would be the different versions of it, the Universes.'

'These robust branches would diverge further into secondary branches, those are Timelines, which in turn could branch out further, those are supporting timelines.'- Like the one in Endgame when they travel back to gather the Infinity Stones.

'You could say that the Universes are Timelines of the Prime Reality, hence why both terms could mean the same but depending on the circumstances they are different.'

'I understand better with that analogy, but I can't draw parallels with it when we include dimensions and realms in the equation.'

'Hahaha! I can't either. Reality is ever-changing so It would be too easy if I could make a simple analogy that could encompass everything.'- Especially since there are multiversal dimensions and universal ones.

'How many people could we collect?'- Emma.

'How many people have died throughout history?'- According to some statistics from my previous universe, over the course of 192,000 years 109 billion people lived and died.

Obviously, we won't be able to get all of those, some souls belong to other pantheons or devils and there will be special circumstances, I also didn't plan to spend 192,000 years over there.

'... Are we making a heaven?'

'No, these people would eventually die and Noona would, in the end, still claim their souls. We are just moving them from their time of 'fated' death to our place and after living out their lives they'll just go back to the normal cycle of souls.'- It's a little bit more complicated than that but as I said before, this plan is not ready.

'Mmmh... Yes, this could work. Could we collect mostly kids and babies?'

'That's the intent, but we still need adults to take care of them.'- I'm good, just not good enough to nanny billions of kids at the same time.

'We could get the family nucleus with them.'

'Yes, we would need to keep track of them, like with a registry, so that we could pair the kids with their families once they all 'die', at least for the families that didn't die at the same time.'

'That's more reasonable... They'll probably worship us as their Goddesses and Gods.'- She smiled at this.

'That's another goal.'- Hopefully they can gather faith like the old gods once did, it should speed up the process.

'When would we do this?'

'Not yet, you'll need to get the planets and the Ark ready. Also, you need to stabilize your hold on your new residents, the last we need is a rebellion, so this is still in the air.'

'By the way... What's Jean doing over there?'- She pointed at the planetoid not so far from here where Jean could be seen trying to pull one of the moons I made towards her little planet.

'*Sigh* I can imagine, but let's go ask her.'- We moved towards Jean's planetoid.

'Jean, What are you doing?'- The Fluff said.

'Ah!- Oh, hi!'- She was taken aback but swiftly approached Emma to hug her in greeting.

'Hi, Jean. So... What are you doing here?'

'What do you mean? I'm sleeping here. While I sleep, when Phoenix doesn't call me to the Astral Plane I come here.'- She said it as if it was the most obvious outcome.

'You let her claim property of a part of your mindscape? Are you crazier than I thought?'- Fluff asked as she pointed at the speck of my mindscape that was imbued with Jean's psionic signature.

'It's ok. My mind is different than yours, she couldn't possibly do anything harmful to it even with all of the liberties she takes around this place.'- I answered as I touched one of the phoenixes floating about. They look like mini Senior Sisters.

'I also operate in a different way. Even if all of my mind were corrupted my soul would cleanse it. So this poses to me the same risk as taking a walk through New York does.'- The true owner of 'me' is my core self, that's why I let Jean practice her powers here.

'Yes. You're weirder and crazier than I gave you credit for before.'- The Fluff concluded. 

'You have no idea. I used to lose myself around here, nothing makes sense when Aragorn is not taming his mindscape and things turn crazy, so I claimed a spot after the first week of not understanding the ups and downs of this place. I also didn't know that by doing as much I was psyche overwriting Aragorn, but he let me do it so I assumed there were no problems.'- Yeah, there are no problems.

'You two are the weird ones. So, Why are you pulling that moon over here?'- Emma pointed at the comically small moon, small enough for it to be orbiting this planetoid... as if you needed to follow the rules of reality while in a mindscape.

'My place would look better with it! More importantly, Phoenix told me that I needed to understand fundamental forces for the next step in my training. This place; the part that I claimed, not that craziness going outside when Aragorn is not here; although a mindscape, follows the same principles of reality.'- Oh! That makes sense.

'You're training Gravitational Force...'- Emma.

'Yep! I'm supposed to get used to the feeling of using the creational aspect of gravity. Phoenix said that I would wield it when breathing life into the universe.'- Probably when she needs to terraform, create planets, stars, and everything in between.

Such are some of the responsibilities of the host of the Phoenix Force.

'It looks beautiful.'- Emma complimented Jean's work.

'Why, thank you!'- The redhead lighted up.

'Jean, Do you know what happened with the radiation case in South America?'- I haven't paid close attention to it because Spark or Seraph would inform me if they needed my help.

'That's both a tragedy and a mystery.'- Jean said in displeasure and sadness.

'First of all, everybody in the town and the outskirts died—about 175,000 people. The Brazilian government claimed that an unprecedented surge of gamma radiation was caused by radioactive waste, which had been 'coincidentally' disposed of in the sea during the Soviet era.'- She made a painful expression.

'Which is all bullcrap. Second, we know that the point of origin was from a hospital. Ms. Adler said that it was probably related to a radioactive baby she had a vision about. But she also said that the location and the timing didn't match so she wasn't sure.'- She expressed her confusion.

'Didn't match by how much?'- I asked.

'About a year.'

'It could be that the baby came out radioactive because one of the parents had something to do with radiation. Maybe what's happening now is related to the parents of the baby or the cause of the radiation in the parents and/or the baby.'

'You mean that the baby hasn't been conceived and what's happening now it's related to the prelude of their mutation?'- Emma asked in clarification. To which we nodded.

'Seraph thought the same... But now we don't know how to track what's going on. Seraph did record an increase in the ambient levels of radiation in the airport of Belo Horizonte, so we suspect that whatever caused the radiation poisoning is somewhere around that city, we just have no way of knowing who or what is it.'- The padawan huffed in frustration.

'Or if that is indeed the next target, the spike in the readings could be coincidental. Especially since the winds could have carried the radiation from Guarapari...'- I add.

'I don't think so because we did clean up the radiation after we were done, but it is possible that Belo Horizonte is not the next target as you said.'- Yeah, it could be that the causative was moved from that airport to another country.

'Do you know of any mutants with radiation-related powers?'- Jean asked.

'Yes, a few. But Seraph should have access to those. I'm guessing that so far none have matched our knowledge.'

'*Tsk* Ever since Phoenix has been showing me the ropes of my role as her avatar, the senseless loss of life has become harder to deal with, now I not only get sad and depressed but I also get livid and irate.'

'It might help you deal with it better if you try to find a sense to it. Maybe it is senseless because we haven't found its purpose yet.'- Fluff.

'Maybe. I'll try. Thanks, Emma.'- The padawan hugged the Fluff in thanks.

All I could think was: 'What a shitshow!'. It could be a 'character' that I knew about but with a totally different backstory, or it could be a weapon.

For all I know this could be neither.

'We will go back to the world of the waking, Jean. We should be back home by next week.'

'Okay! I miss Kitty and Kurt!'- So you don't miss me is what you mean... You'll get what's coming to you...

After Emma said her goodbyes we came back to her office. I returned to the Fluff heaven.

After a few minutes of bliss and listening to Emma work, she said:

"I should start charging you for this."- She brought her hand closer to lovingly caress Mindee's head. She didn't miss the chance to flick my nose, though.

"You can use the money you owe me to pay yourself back."

"That's nice, if I manage to charge you one million dollars a year I could repay my debt in about... 27 million years."- She sarcastically said so.

"I see no problem there, you'll live longer than that."- As long as I exist.

She could 'die' if she wants, but her soul will always come back to mine. Then it's simply a matter of bonding her to a new body.

I created the contract this way so that I could revive my maids in case of tragedy.

I own their souls and I don't plan to let a single one of them seep through my grasp. Not this time. I'm a dragon who learns.

"... That's... true... and terrifying."- She shuddered a little.

"Why though? You'll have me, your daughter, your friends... your family... with you. Terrifying is having to spend your undying life alone."- I can talk from experience... The shit my core self went through is horrifying.

I sent my fox some love and reassurance. It did wonders for her mood.

"You're right! I should think about how massive my empire would be by that time... Maybe it'll span across multiple universes by then."- She sent her gratitude and love back.

"If I can figure the trick for the multiversal barrier out, maybe we could visit other multiverses. Wouldn't you like to visit DC?"- I want to meet Harley and Batman. Those two were always my favorite characters.

"That's right! I was thinking too small! Why stop at a few universes?! Why stop at a single multiverse!?!"- Poor Aniki, his multiverse is threatened by the Fox with a power fetish.

With all the shouting from my fox, Mindee almost woke up, but soon enough went back to sleep when she couldn't resist my petting.

"You almost woke up my plushy."- I childishly said while faking a pout.

"... Aragorn, please go back to your grown-up self. I can't keep seriously talking to you in your loli-self!"- Loli isn't for everyone, after all.

She released us from our heaven and I floated us to the massive bean bag I keep in her office. 

I shapeshifted to my original humanoid self and kept petting my real-life plushy princess.

"You pamper her more than us."- Emma complained.

"It would be awkward as hell if I petted any of you while you straddle me. If I had to make a pick, I would probably choose James, that way no one dies at the hands of Noona. Sadly... Noona would question my sexuality. If you want the same treatment as your kid then either shapeshift into one or find yourself a man, or woman in your case."- Noona doesn't care how much I pet their animal parts, but, jokes aside, boundaries and respect are a thing.

"I'm sorry, I didn't intend it sexually. I never had a parent to cuddle me to sleep like that. However, I haven't found anyone who interests me beyond the sexual aspect. And I can't shapeshift. So envy aimed at my daughter is my response."- I knew that, but it's fun to mess with her zen.

Emma doesn't see me as a sexual interest, not really, or any member of my family for that matter. All of us being empaths is the reason behind this, you'll never mistake or miss someone's advances since we can feel each other's intent.

Poor James... He can't even fake obliviousness. The girls blast their interest for him at full volume. 

I've seen how they project their feelings at him whenever he is working out...

"I was just joking, Fluff. Don't worry, we will find you someone. The offer to raise someone to be your lover is always available."

"That's unethical."- Maybe under human constraints, but just like incestuous relations are accepted among the long-lived species and medieval times, certain taboos shift with time.

I've read enough stories about vampires having the hots for their mothers and/or sisters to have a clear picture of it...

"I was mostly joking... What happened to your family anyway? I know they were shitty I just don't know your side of the story."- I've known lots of versions of her family history, but not hers exactly.

"My father was an abusive, arrogant, self-serving, cold, domineering, sexist prick. My mother loved her prescriptions more than she loved her children."- That's similar to the comics.

"My older brother is gay and my father never accepted him. My older sister, Adrienne, felt her position threatened by Christian and me, so she did her best to manipulate our lives into hell."- That's similar but different.

"Thanks to her and my father, my brother got into substances to escape from his life, and my first love was sent to jail due to their machinations. My younger sister, Cordelia, further fucked up my brother's life by making sure to always procure the 'best' drugs for him."- I think her first love was one of her teachers.

In the comics, Adrienne films them kissing and then gives the evidence to her father. Then Mr. Kendall (Her first love) was fired and Emma was blackmailed by her father, Winston Frost wanted her to stop pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher and to inherit the company.1

"I asked my father to send Christian to rehab when things started to get dangerous for him... Behind my back, he sent him to an 'ex-gay' mental institution instead. My father decided to leave the family company to me, my sisters didn't approve so they both tried to kill me and Cordelia tried to have me raped by her drug dealer boyfriend."

"I killed both in retaliation, one after the other not even a day apart, and my mother took her life by overdose when she couldn't cope with the said fact. In her words: 'I can't live with this shame.', the bitch dared to blame me for her suicide."

"My father died at the hands of my brother after he went to visit him at the mental institution to inform him of my sisters' and mother's passings. Turns out that torture can drive someone as peaceful as my brother into a murderous frenzy. They said he was 'Too gay' so they had to try a different approach to his 'Therapy'."

"Time passed and my brother, eventually, got his shit together and took over the company. Around that time I was already on the run from Shaw. The last time Spark checked, he was doing fine."

"Yeah, shitty as I said. Did you try to reconnect with Christian? He didn't sound so shitty."- I can tell that she feels nothing for them, Heck! Her emotions didn't even fluctuate when she was narrating her past, but I wonder why Christian was included in the unholy collection of her family.

"Around the time I was on the run, I visited him and asked for his help, he sold me out to Shaw. He believed that I was responsible for his time in the mental institution. He heard from Cordelia that I was the one who suggested to Father about sending him there. I barely got out of it with my life when Shaw sent his group of 'Marauders' after me."- Those were probably lent to Shaw by Nathaniel Essex.

"According to Spark, Christian removed me from the family tree. I no longer see him as my family, same as he doesn't, not that he ever was much of a sibling to me; he simply was the lesser evil."

I can see why she loves us as her real family.

"As scummy as it sounds, I'm glad all of that led you to me. Although you could say that you had a terrible start, it's plenty apparent that what follows will only be filled with love, success, and fulfillment."- I for one don't know what I would do without her.

"I don't think I need to promise you anything cheesy like 'I'll make you happy' and such because now you are capable of getting your own happiness. But I can assure you that you will always have us, your family by choice and not the family you got by chance, in your life."- HeHeHe. Because whether you like it or not, I own your soul.

"~Heeh~ That's cheesy."- She said as she sent me her gratitude and care back.

"Bah! Shut up!... On another note, When are the Yautja arriving?"- I asked as I used my sight to peer through the palace's walls and observe a massive crowd enjoying the 'festival' on the streets.

It's not exactly a festival, Emma reached the limit of how far away she could push the date for the match with Yautja.

The news spread and Emma took advantage of the event to create a sense of unity. Hence the festival-like mood.

She plans to create a sense of belonging, similar to how sports work. You create teams and then the fans can be divided into an opposing band and a supportive side. Except here the whole planet will be on one side, the Shine side, and the Yautja will be on the other side.

Frankly speaking... No one likes these guys that much.

It's a miracle that no one has declared a retaliatory war on them.

Emma did say that they would remunerate her handsomely in the case that her nominee died in the death match. 

But I think that they only did that because they feared that I would kill them if they offended me by killing one of my girls.

Which I would definitely do.

It's not my fault that they somehow kept to their barbaric ways even after they reached their current level of civilization.

It's a mystery, it follows no logic. I can't picture how their civilization advanced to such a state if they kept killing their weak members in combat. Am I supposed to assume that all of their big brains were coincidentally born with big muscles as well? And that mysteriously they didn't hamper their growth as a culture by killing their numbers... on their own, willingly, cheerfully?

"They've already docked their ships. The 'fight' should start in half an hour or less. If that could be called a fight at all."- Yep... No one expects them to win.

"Ships? In plural? I thought only the brave soul that came to die and their entourage would come."- That's if they even bring someone else. 

"I did some propaganda, to have a bigger opposing side, so they brought about three motherships."- It's hard to create a sense of unity if the opposing side is pitiful, so, understandably, she tried to bolster their numbers.

"What did you tell them to get more of those funny guys to come over?"- They are pretty set in their ways.

"I told them that I would give them free pass to Earth and Nirn if they beat my warrior. They lost all reluctance once I mentioned that they could fight my combatant 3 times."

"Idiots."

"Idiots, indeed."

Why are they idiots? Well because they are fighting Kitty.

"Did you, at least, give them the cat's specs so that they may pose a challenge?"- Kitty won't be too pleased if the fight turns out boring, or our citizens for that matter.

"Yes. But will it matter? Kitty is skilled in sorcery, what's the point if they aren't?"- Emma dismissively asked.

"We could restrict the use of magic. Just biological skills and tech."- I suggested.

"If they have a psionic disruptor then they might endure a bit longer. Just a bit longer, no more than that."- That sounds about right.

"Won't the crowd be disappointed if the fight is merely lamentable like that?"

"Yes, they would. Which is why I asked Kitty to put up a show... She claimed three favors, one per fight."- She sent me her sadness.

"Don't worry Fluff, I can give you one favor of mine, you can get the other from Spark."- At some point, without us realizing, favors turned into the currency of The Crystal.

[They will be ready in 5 minutes.]- A message appeared from her P-Link.

"I have to go. Will you come with me?"- Emma.

"No. The cat wants to make an entrance..."

Saying so I moved to The Arcadia, which was kept in orbit above Prima Multarum.

"It's almost time, Kitty. Are you ready?"- I asked the cat that was lounging about in the mess hall. 

Kurt and Carina were here as well. Irina and Yelena are waiting for me at my spot in the coliseum, they are acting as ladies-in-waiting for Emma today.

"I am!"- She exclaimed.

"Are you going in dressed like that?"- She was wearing her pirate outfit.

"Yes. Although you gave me a maid outfit, ultimately this is who I am. A Pirate Captain!"- She spoke as if she had been sailing through the Cosmo since birth.

"The maid outfit has better defense and tech."- I made it for battle, this is barely protective by my standards.

"I know, but I read about the specs of my opponents, and if the Queen wanted me to put up a show I need to hold back in some aspects. Defense in this case."

"At least take your lightsaber with you."

"It's always with me!"- I know that. She sleeps with it under her pillow.

"Don't use magic, just your biological skills."

"Oh... What about for dramatic purposes?"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I planned to create some background explosions, or maybe a curtain of dust that would coincidentally hide the appearance of the heroine after a deciding clash, or maybe some sparks as our weapons clash. Just the basic stuff"- She is definitely putting up a show.

"Don't create unwarranted background explosion because your enemies might not appreciate the flare for the dramatic. You can make the cloud with your TK and your lightsaber will make sparks on its own."

"Oh! That's fine then. Do you think I should lose a limb or two to showcase the regeneration of our kind?"

"Kitty, Do you have to lose a limb to put up a performance?"- Kurt asked.

"It's needed. Besides, Why do you always make a drama about it? Haven't you seen us lose a limb or two on the battlefield several times by now?"- Since they had to fight while protecting refugees, and sometimes even the ravagers, they suffered a few 'maiming' injuries. Mostly due to carelessness or unexpected situations.

I wasn't babying them all the time. Since it was not needed they asked me for some autonomy while we were on the battlegrounds. It helped them greatly to refine their skills.

"Yeah, I have. But the fact that none of you seem to care about the pain is what confuses me."- To this, Carina nodded in support.

"You get used to it, and the real killer wounds are the type that eviscerates you. Regeneration takes a little bit longer with those."

"Really? I don't believe you. I've seen you cut your intestine out because 'it was getting in the way of my regen'-you said after a blaster hit you square in the belly."- Hehe, I remember his face when he saw that. 

"It was indeed getting in the way of my regrowing abdomen. I've heard from Natalia that headshots are not so bad, Should I go for a headshot instead of a limb? What do you think, Aragorn?"- This left Carina and Kurt perplexed.

"Go for a body hit, it might hurt more but you could lose the battle if they find a way to seal you. A crippling wound could be problematic."

"Ugh! I was afraid of that. Oh well, 3 favors are worth it for some light pain."

[It's your turn, Kitty.]- Spark said through her P-Link.

"Aragorn! Do the thing!"- Kitty enthusiastically shouted.

"Good luck, Captain."- Carina said.

"Break a leg, or maybe not, Kitty."- Kurt. He was probably left thinking about an alternate for 'Break a Leg.'. Probably 'Get shot in the gut.'.

I opened a portal and swallowed Kitty with me through it.

The other side was at cruising altitude, above the sector of the city where the coliseum was built.

I shapeshifted into my dragon form and Kitty took her 'rightful' position as my dragon rider, on the place where my atlas (C1) vertebra would be.

It is the only place on my upperside that doesn't have horns or spinal blades.

I assumed a size comparable to Ghidorah, the coliseum is big enough for that.

'Heheheheh! This is awesome.'- Kitty.

'I'm glad you're having fun!'

'You bet I am!'

'Make sure you don't die, it's a bitch and a half to revive you.'- Not really but I rather not find out how I would act if I saw her die, even if I knew that I could resurrect her.

'You can do that!?'- She asked.

'Yes, but don't tell the others, I don't want them going reckless just because I can raise you back from the dead.'- The only other ones who know are Yao and Jean. 

'Okay, I promise!'- Though, now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell her.

Mistakes were made.

*ROOOOOAAAR*

As we neared the arena, I roared as a greeting to the cheering crowds.

The crowd goes silent for a second, not much more than that, and then they shout in exhilaration. It is not every day that one gets to involve a cosmic entity in their 'mortal' activities, so the euphoria is understandable.

This event might be the first and possibly the only one of this kind. Although I'm not a true cosmic entity, for them I am.

Kitty jumped from my head and fell into a superhero landing right in the middle of the arena. She did some impact buffering with her TK on her knees, otherwise she would have Deadpooled the landing.

She casts a sound amplification circle and says:

"For the millions in attendance, and the billions watching through the galactic network, ladies, gentlemen, and non-defined, from Prima Multarum, Planet Nirn of The Fulgebunt Draconis Imperium, LLLEEEET'S GET RREADY TO RRRUUMBLEEEEOOOH!"

*RAHHH*- The crowd goes crazy.

I shapeshift back into my humanoid form and land beside Emma, who is flanked by my maids.

In her royal cubiculum, I could find the modern equivalent of a bisellium, which ended in the shape of a throne with a hard light splat, making it look like we had a shiny white screen at our backs. 

From the front, I bet we look very 'holy', or shiny if you will. 

'Did you like the entrance?'- I sent the girls while we kept an appropriate expression on the outside, what one would expect from the rulers of an empire... yes, a resting bitch face.

'It will do wonders to your image. I loved it.'- Emma.

'I have an image?'

'Master doesn't interact with the people, not even indirectly as we do, so the citizens tend to wonder who the mysterious entity that owns this empire is. By playing along with this event they will get a better picture of who Master is.'- Irina said in her pseudo-formal speech.

'Is that why you asked me to sit with you?'- I asked Emma.

'Yes, but mostly to solidify this picture in their minds. You and I, sharing this seat, at the same level.'

'Huh! I guess this will help you with the 'legitimacy' of your rule.'- I say.

'Yep, it should.'- Emma confirmed.

'I can't wait to see my face in the galactic network after this is done!'- Yelena, in glee, said.

'That's why I'm wearing my camera makeup today!'- Irina.

'You girls wear makeup? I thought you were perfect'- After the evolution, I was sure that they wouldn't need any sort of makeup.

'Heeh! We are perfect!'- Yelena said while sending me the telepathic equivalent of 'Look at what this idiot is saying.'. This maid can be a bully sometimes.

'Why, thank you very much, Young Master. But camera makeup is not about covering imperfections, it's about making you shine brighter, making you dazzling.'- Irina explained.

Now, I consider myself an expert in matters of the shine... But I can't understand.

'I don't follow.'- I confessed.

'What these girls mean is that, with the appropriate makeup, instead of concealing you aim to accentuate. You highlight and decorate your eyes mostly since that's the current trend for galactic royalty, but you could also highlight your facial structure. Not because you need it but because coloring can make you more... Dazzling.' 

I think I understand.

'So a thing of culture and not of necessity.'

'Exactly.'x3- I get confirmation.

The path to the Dao of Shine is endless, its extremity can only be sought after but never accomplished.

As we discussed more about the Shine the first match started.

The initiative was stolen by Ihj'Puht, the first Yautja opponent. He aimed his Blasterblade and released a burst of energy projectiles at Kitty's head and center of mass.

The cat fired up her lightsaber and she started to block and parry the energy discharges one after the other.

After 10 seconds of suppressing fire Kitty took her first step and dashed to her left. A trail of impacts and explosions followed her every step.

She changed between a fast-paced and slow-paced escape, to confuse her opponent. 

"Follow!"- She shouted and the ground behind her every step started to crack and break free from the confines of gravity.

Assisted by her TK, she began pulling pieces of ground trailing her. 

"Shape!"- The said pieces began to shape like discs and javelins. 

Ihj'Puht, assisted by his years of experience, recognized the danger and the objective of the cat's move.

He couldn't let her finish!

Under this belief, he activated one of his handheld vacuum imploders and after calculating the cat's trajectory he hurled it with all of his superhuman strength.

The aim was true! 

Just as the grenade impacted in front of the cat it imploded.

*Sccchlop*- A mysterious cloud of dust followed after the suction sound and the fate of the heroine was uncertain.

'She is putting up a better show than expected.'- Emma praised my cat's performance.

Just as the cloud was about to disperse, discs and javelins made of compressed ground shot out of the cloud.

Kitty's figure was revealed, and other than the loss of her pirate hat and trench coat she was fine.

"My turn!"- She shouted as she followed after the trail of her ammunition.

Purple lightsaber in hand she 'desperately' went after Ihj'Puht, to bring the fight to close-quarters combat.

*Boom* *Bam*- Impacts and suspicious explosions resonated through the arena as Ihj'Puht expertly evaded.

An evasion that was short-lived, because as he sliced the last disc with his Blasterblade the Yautja was in the cat's reach.

*Vroom*- The lightsaber cuts through his blade and with it, his arm falls down. 

Ihj'Puht recognizes the futility of the fight, but... How can he serve his glorious purpose if he is taken down without damaging the cat?

*Beeep*- An electronic sound is heard by those with supernatural senses.

And... *SCCHLOP!*

In an instant, a decision that could only be taken by these idiot guys or maybe a fanatic cultist, Ihj'Puht activated all of his remaining vacuum imploders.

Once again... A dust cloud covers the uncertain fate of the heroine.

'She is taking it too far.'- Yelena.

'Where is she getting this much dust from? The ground is cemented.'- Irina.

*Swooosh*- A totally not suspicious squall blows away the dust cloud and the cat is found with one knee and a fist down taking heavy breaths. A psionic shield flickers out after it took 'most' of the damage on her behalf.

The bloodied remains of Ihj'Puht painted the cat neon-green with a decent level of bioluminescence.

*RAHHH*- The crowd goes crazy.

'She ground down two big chunks of it at the beginning. She just kept them flat at ground level and had the pools of dust follow her.'- I say.

'That's unnecessarily genius.'- Yelena.

The second fight starts but this time the contender tries to take advantage of her 'tired' state.

'She just went through a life-deciding clash, she must be exhausted!'- That's what I imagine he is thinking.

Kju'Nss, the second contender, closes the distance with the cat behind a constant rain of blasts.

Kitty, in her 'tired' state, couldn't block all of the energy shots, and one hit her straight in the gut.

"AGH!"- Kitty shouts in 'agony'.

The crowd tenses at the 'inevitable' demise of the heroine. 

Kju'Nss grows confident and just as he arrives and tries to honor his opponent with death under his blade, Kitty surprises him by shooting her lightsaber straight through his head, she makes sure that the aim is true by buffing the speed with her TK.

*HUFF* *PUFF* *HUFF* *PUFF*- The cat tries to catch her breath. This fight 'certainly' took a bigger toll on her.

The crowd solemnly awaits for her recovery.

She stands up with apparent difficulty, and with a fist to the sky she shouts:

"NEXT!"- You could see the blood on her abdomen and even some of it trailing down the corners of her mouth.

She 'definitely' has some internal bleeding!- Everybody believed.

*RAHHH*- The crowd goes crazy after such a display of boldness and resilience.

Pl'Aiho, the last and strongest, praises her for the determination and honor she has exhibited in the previous battles and tells her about how his people will sing pieces about the valor of 'Captain Darth Kitty of the Sith' in her honor, but that this is as far as she goes.

Pl'Aiho introduces himself as 'Pl'Aiho The One Who Pierces', he fires up a flaming bident on his right hand and takes position behind the shield on his left hand.

On the holographic screens, we see "Captain Darth Kitty of the Sith VS Pl'Aiho The One Who Pierces".

Kitty is 'exhausted' but the fire in her eyes will never be extinguished.

Pl'Aiho drops a cube to the ground and a hemispherical domain of red light grows from it.

He explains that this was the only psionic disruptor that his kind could fabricate for this encounter after they received her specs, he also mentioned that she should feel honored that they considered her enough of a threat to prepare tools specifically designed to counteract her abilities.

She tries to use her abilities to no avail, the fire in her eyes is extinguished. Her somberness can be appreciated even through the screens.

Once more the crowd feels the heavy weight of the possible demise of the heroine.

Children can be seen crying and mothers are hugged by fathers... or their significant others, some people here have more than one sex, and there are some harems as well, this shit is confusing, and the fact that some multiply through asexual reproduction doesn't help either, the woke culture in the Imperium is both inexistent and nuts.

'Why is she so solemn?'- Emma asks in confusion.

'I restricted her use of magic, so, if I know her as well as I do, I can guess that she is worried about how she is going to continue with her special effects.'- To my answer, the trio deadpanned.

""KITTY, YOU CAN DO IT!""- A heart-wrenching shout of two voices is heard from the crowd.

Two voices that are clearly misunderstanding something.

The camera zooms in to two teenagers, one blue devil-like mutant and one pink Krylorian, immediately a story is built in the minds of the masses.

I push it further by sending a suggestion to the crowds, 'These must be her lovers!'.

The story roots itself in everybody's minds. Tears cover the faces of even the most macho tough big aliens.

The heroine is going to be torn apart from the loving arms of her lovers.

A thought, a shout, a plea, is born in the psyche of every single spectator: 'NO'

"COME ON KITTY!"- Someone shouts in Xandarian.

"DON'T GIVE UP!"- Another shout, this time in Kree.

"FIGHT! FIGHT!"- In Kymellian this time.

"FOR YOUR LOVERS!"- In Aylethian.

"FOR YOUR LOVE!"- In Betanian.

"FOR LOVE!"- In Meganian.

"FOR LOVE!" "FOR LOVE" "FOR LOVE"- The crowd joined in a repetitive outcry of passion and support in English, the official language of the Imperium.

'My Fluff, your objective of unifying your people under one banner has been fulfilled. I expect a reward for my efforts.'- I sent.

*Pff!* *Giggle*- Irina and Yelena were having a hard time containing themselves after they saw the confusion in Kitty's countenance and the rose tint in her 'lovers' faces... Well, rosier in Camilla's case.

Pl'Aiho starts a brief speech about how hard it is to be the one fated to split this inspiring young love, about how sad this makes him feel, but that nonetheless, martial honor shall prevail.

The tension rises, and the crowd can't hold it back anymore.

"FOR LOVE!" "FOR LOVE" "FOR LOVE"

Kitty decides to push forward after she receives the 'much-needed' support from her lovers and the public.

Lightsaber against flaming bident clash in a contest of wills, of fates, of DESTINIES.

'Shouldn't her saber cut through the bident?'- Yelena asks.

'I'm using my energy manipulation to nerf the lightsaber and buff the bident.'- If not then Pl'Aiho would have lost an arm or two by now.

Pl'Aiho punches the cat right in the face with his shield, the cat stumbles back. 

Pl'Aiho takes this chance and goes for the neck with a lightning-fast swipe. Kitty, at the last moment, defends with her left hand and the bident goes through.

"NO!" *GASP!*- The tension keeps rising and several teams of our first aid department are dispatched to make sure that we don't lose a single citizen today.

Kitty, in a show of determination and love, grabs the bident with her hurting hand and makes sure that Pl'Aiho can't retreat.

One tail goes for each limb and the remaining one goes for the neck.

When it looks like Kitty has claimed victory... her lightsaber 'malfunctions'.

'Your doing?'- Irina asks.

'It's for the drama. I bet they will make movies of this stuff.'- I answer.

Kitty, in a show of decisiveness and willpower, kicks forward with both legs and pulls backward both the bident and the shield with her hands and tails. She slams hard into the ground after losing her support.

The bident and the shield are sent behind her and Pl'Aiho rolls back to soften some of the hit.

Both warriors go back to CQC and trade blow for blow.

Kitty tries to outmaneuver Pl'Aiho by using different fighting styles and schools that she learned in the Learning and Training rooms.

Pl'Aiho shows his skills and experience by adapting to her tactic.

In a sudden display of her dexterity and adaptability, Kitty goes to the ground in four and jumps forward like a cat, faster than Pl'Aiho could react.

Each tail tentacles its way to each limb and Kitty secures her hold with her legs around Pl'Aiho's midsection. Her arms go up and the camera zooms in, a perfect shot of her nails turning into claws.

She swings down and cuts flesh, Pl'Aiho tries to futilely resist to no avail.

Swing, swing, and more swings. Pl'Aiho draws his last breath. 

Kitty falls down, atop her legendary rival, and the screen clearly announce her as the winner.

Medteams swarm the arena to help and aid the 'clearly' injured and exhausted cat.

They move her out of the arena in a stretcher after she received the 'much-needed' first aid.

The crowds are eating their nails, the tension in the air can be cut, and along the way, just before the cat goes out of the camera shot, from her stretcher she raises a fist to the sky in a show of victory.

*RAHHH*- People lose their shit and tears attempt to flood the colosseum.

The Yautja, in their dedicated cubiculum, can only admire such a show of honor, skill, willpower, and more importantly... Love!

{A/N:

This is it for the chapter! I said I was not gonna write any long chapters again, but here we have this monster. I will upload some pics, not too many, so if you got here and you haven't seen them I will upload them to this paragraph.

With this chapter, we end the Space arc, at least this bit, but there will be more on other volumes.

I took this opportunity to superficially explain the logic that I will be using for time travel, it's very consistent with the comic version of it but I also tried to match it to some of the movies.

The time-traveling stuff is a volume that will happen but it's not gonna be the next one... I think.

This volume still has about 2 or 3 chapters left.

Thank you for reading!

}