5 An (Un)normal Sunday

The early morning starts with Wilhelm wiping his sweats off his forehead and planting the shovel to the ground, seemingly contented at the renovated small garden next to the sole tree of the backyard, where he uses it to bury the children's remains, which were all scattered in several places. Surrounded by a variety of lilies, eight small crosses made by gluing two pieces of wood together.

Calida, who is squat-sitting next to Wilhelm, probingly tilts her head and touches a cross. A searing-like nose emits from her finger, giving off some smoke. Showing no sign of pain, Calida retracts and stares at a piping-hot cross-shaped engraved on her finger, before it heals.

Wilhelm chuckles light-heartedly, patting her head. "Careful now. You still have a soul of a demon; demons and crosses do not really go well together."

Calida nods. The girl has reverted back to the 8-year-old body, no longer in the teenage appearance, because according to her it represents her state of mind more accurately; which makes sense in some level, since she is a new person born from two beings, practically and mentally a kid.

Adam enters the backyard through the backdoor with a wooden plank in his hand. Calida waves at him, who returns the gesture with a smiling face. He makes his way to the garden before proceeding to set the plank before the crosses.

"What shall I engrave, sir?" Adam inquires.

Wilhelm hums, pondering for a moment. "Let us go with, hmm... Here lie eight souls who were too pure for this world. Yeah, that should sound good enough."

Bobbing his head, a laser head emerges on the suit's index finger as Adam begins engrave the words on the plank with pinpoint precision. Soon, the neatly-written words materialize on the light wooden surface, prompting Wilhelm to smile warmly.

"Well, at least this is a somewhat proper resting place for them." Wilhelm places his hand on Calida, getting her attention as she tilts to him. "Come. Breakfast is ready, lass."

A scaled tail suddenly pops out of Calida's back, wagging excitedly despite the impassive face. They always say, "food fills the belly and the heart," for a reason, after all.

=

"Find anything related to the group Elizabeth mentioned yet?"

Wilhelm takes a bit out of a piece of soup-soaked freshly-baked bread, savouring the gentle sweetness of stewed tomatoes and oxtails. Next to him, Calida blissfully nibbles a piece of butter-spread bread, with her scaled tail wagging happily side to side. Sitting opposite them, Adam presently is having his attention to the laptop screen, his eyes glowing slightly.

"I've found nothing so far, sir, unfortunately." Adam shakes his head. "Since his deals with whoever wanted the children are off the record, there's not much to find."

"Figured." Wilhelm heaves a sigh, folding his arms. "Even his second-in-command knows nothing of his little side job. A dead end, huh?"

"I'm not so sure about that, sir." Adam says, prompting Wilhelm to raise a brow that tells the A.I to continue. "F.B.I has been taking note of an unforeseen increase in number of missing children gone missing in Bronx, mainly homeless and poor ones. And guess what? Miss Elizabeth's old lover used to kidnap homeless and poor children in Bronx, according to his message history."

"I see," Wilhelm remarks. "Does S.H.I.E.L.D know about this as well?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D also notices this, but it isn't big enough for them to personally send their agents."

"Understandable." Wilhelm agrees with a nod. "They have more important stuffs to take care of than some missing children, as cruel and upsetting as it sounds. How about the F.B.I?"

"No, sir. They have other priorities. Their force is stretched, and they don't have the time."

"Well, so it is up to you and me then, old friend."

"You do not include me, Will?" Calida inquires suddenly with a tilt of her head, calling Wilhelm by his nickname. "Are my strength and skills not adequate to fight alongside you?"

"Until my nanomachines finish recalibrating, you can pretty much kill me 9 out of 10 times if it were not for the fact that they do not allow me to die," Wilhelm deadpans, before he sighs and places his hand on her head. "You focus on being a normal kid, Calida. Not to mention, you are going to draw too much attention to yourself, which is not a good thing."

Calida remains passive, yet her tail droops a little. The thought of letting a child fight does not seem to sit right with him, although he is well-aware this Calida is far from one.

"That being said, I may ask for your help when the time arrives. Is that all right?"

In turn, Calida nods and wags her tail.

"Are you going to investigate this tonight, sir?"

"As much as I want to, it does not seem to be a good idea," Wilhelm reasons with a frown. "I have... this hunch that this is a part of something bigger. I need to get the suit fixed first; start arming myself properly. I cannot rely on Bones all the time, and the nanomachines are not at their best state."

'A wise choice, partner... It never hurts to over-prepare... The antique shop beneath is going to be a good place to stock up your arsenal... We have several good-conditioned swords to try...'

"Who the bloody hell even uses sword to fight these days—" Wilhelm pauses as he recalls the Earth he and Adam are in right now. "Oh, right. A world of superheroes and villains. Of course, some will use sword here. How could I forget that? But I am more of a machete guy, to be frank."

'That is manageable... Even though, I still recommend sword...'

"Now to the more important question," Wilhelm continues, "just how are we going to find military-grade parts and materials to fix the suit without raising any suspicion?"

"I can order what I need from the deep web. But it might take time."

"And S.H.I.E.L.D is also a no-go. They will probably use it as a leverage against us."

"...Perhaps we can purchase what we need from Baxter Building?" Which Wilhelm blinks and curves a brow. "It's a headquarter of a group of superheroes called 'Fantastic Four'; the media named them by the way. Aside saving the day, they also research and invent a lot of things. I could try contacting them and ask to purchase the materials there. They should have spares."

"You think they will even sell them?"

"I did a quick research. Personally, I believe they're willing to sell to us if we are transparent enough about what we'll do with them. They're still brilliant superheroes, after all."

Wilhelm nods, pondering his options. "Very well. Contact them and see how it goes."

"I understand, sir."

"In the meantime—" Wilhelm continues, turning his attention to Calida. The girl is smiling blissful as she finishes her portion of stew, satisfied, before she turns impassive again when she notices his gaze, more precisely at what she is wearing "—you and I are going on a shopping trip."

"...What's wrong with my dress?" Calida looks down to her dress.

Needless to say, the current state of her dress leaves much to be desired after the fight.

"Everything, basically," Wilhelm answers with his eyes flattening. "I swear to Christ, people are going to question, and possibly call the police on me if they ever see you."

Calida tilts her head in confusion, but decides not to question any further.

=

It feels odd. The feeling that the city you know is still there, appears the same as how you remember it; yet at the same time, it seems so different, especially the atmosphere. Sure, he visited New York a few times during work and is not that familiar to the city. Nonetheless, now that Wilhelm finally has a chance to breath after two hectic days—which he doubts would last long—he can explore Manhattan to his heart's content with Calida. His old job did not allow him to stay in one place for long.

Aside the not-so-pleasant smell, his Earth's New York and this one are pretty much the same things. Well, aside several landmarks he is sure never existed in his Earth, they are similar. That being said, the overall atmosphere between the two are vastly different; something about the ways that the people talk and walk, occasionally glancing, as though expecting some sort of danger to happen?

Wilhelm cannot tell. Is this how it is to live in a world of superhumans and godlike beings?

His Earth does have superhumans too, with Wilhelm being one of them. But they mostly stay hidden, seen as myths, rumors instead. Most of the public knows nothing about them. Yet, here the fact you could possibly die because you are caught up in a fight between two super-beings seems... terrifying; all the more when they do not give a damn about collateral damages.

All of a sudden, Wilhelm starts to feel bad for normal folks. Hell, even the more when he is starting to realize at least a dozen or more was hurt when he fought Calida yesterday.

Collateral damages. Those words make lives sound so insignificant.

Speaking of Calida, at first Wilhelm was not sure how he was going to bring the girl out, since many would recognize her immediately since him in his Spirit of Vengeance form and her face are all over the Internet and newspaper, and if they do not recognize her yet, the state of her dress will definitely bring a butt-load of misunderstandings.

He definitely does not look forward to explaining to the police why he does not dress Calid properly, and the nature of their relationships.

Thankfully, with a little something called magic, Calida turned her hair into white, for some reason, and eyes into a piercing blue, resembling the sky. She also put an illusion on her dress, transforming into any normal looking dress anyone can find out there. No horns and tail either.

As the duo explores New York during the day, Adam would stay behind and fix the damages which Calida and Wilhelm caused to the roof and the floors yesterday. Needless to say, the A.I is certainly not amused, a little annoyed as well.

As for Calida herself, she is an interesting girl. She fell in love with his VMAX immediately after she sat on the passenger seat, visibly happy, and she can stomach a lot of food. Like, A LOT!

The breakfast buffet diner they went to because she was still hungry, they banned both of them after she chucked down a portion food that could feed two families in one week. Wilhelm was certain he lost his appetite when he saw the mountains of plates stacked on their table; and them stares... Might as well feed her a whole pig each meal from now on.

That, and Calida is certainly not like most girls who are into pretty clothes and dresses at the age. It took Wilhelm a while to explain to her humans have something called proper clothing. Though, he could tell it still confuses her. Hell does not really have a dress code, and everybody wears anything they like. She prefers practicality over aesthetic, generally. The girl still chose a few dresses for special occasions, parties and such if they ever happen.

Calida goes with a black dress and stockings, along a light jacket.

At the moment, Calida and Wilhelm are sitting on a bench in Manhattan Mall, with the girl enjoying an ice-cream cone, chocolate and vanilla flavored, while the man is reading the newspaper, looking for anything else going on. On the front page, a photo of him in the other form during Abomination's submission and a photo of him fighting Calida yesterday, with the title, 'Hero? Villain? Or monster?' and a rant about him being a threat to the society. The newspaper is from Daily Bugle.

Eh, he was called by worse names.

"Are you still thinking about yesterday, Will?" Calida asks abruptly. He looks to his side and already sees her staring at him intently.

"...Is it that obvious?"

"To some extent." Calida tilts her head. "Is it because what I did, or something else?"

"Something else." Wilhelm lays the newspaper on his lap, exhaling. "I am thinking about Elizabeth, and that boy, and the rest of the children. It is just that this is a different Earth, but same shit."

Calida blinks. "Different Earth...? You're from a different Earth, Will?"

"We did not tell you yet?" Wilhelm remarks, as Calida plops her head to confirm. "Well, Adam and I are from another Earth. One that has no superheroes nor villains. No beings that could destroy the planet if they wanted to, or superhumans. The latter is officially stated so to the public."

Calida makes a sound, and smiles. "Don't worry. I'll keep this as a secret, Will."

Wilhelm simply ruffles her hair in response, messing it a little. "I know you will."

Calida slightly pouts, eliciting a slight chuckle from him. "Why're you thinking about them?" Calida continues, curiosity evident on her face. "Isn't it better to move on...? There's nothing you could do to them. She made the choice to risk her humanity for the old Calida. What's done, can't be undone. That's how it always is."

"I am aware." Wilhelm nods, exhaling one more time. "Though, looking back at yesterday, I cannot help but feel conflicted. Even till her end, Elizabeth did not accept the boy as her son; and he seemed to accept the fact so easily."

Calida notices Wilhelm slightly clenches his hand, wrinkling the newspaper.

"...Did it bring back bad memories?"

An image flashes through his mind. A woman does not appear to bat an eye, coldly closing the door of the house that was once his home, as a much, much younger version of him being dragged away by men dressed black while he helplessly called for her.

"Nothing seems to escape you, does it?"

"I know I'm not in position to say I understand how you feel, nor I'm any good at consoling others." A soft and smooth hand places on Wilhelm's, squeezing lightly and assuredly. Wilhelm looks to the girl, seeing her face softened with a genuine smile. "But don't you guys always say that anything that happened in the past is simply the past? Let it stay that way and focus on your present instead."

Wilhelm looks to Calida, says nothing for a moment before he laughs.

"Getting lectured by a child." Wilhelm sighs, grinning. "What have I become?"

"I'm not a child." Calida pouts. "I'm choosing this form to present my state of mind better."

"Technically, still a brat, right?" Calida puffs her cheeks even more, prompting Wilhelm to mess her hair. "That being said, I am glad to see you start to show more emotions."

"I'm getting accustomed to expressing myself on my face more."

Nodding, Wilhelm's H.U.D rings a small bell, getting his attention as Adam sends a message to him, which he quickly reads through. "Looks like I will have to meet them in person," he muses. "Fantastic Four wishes to meet the 'brilliant' mind behind the armored suit and the advanced A.I. Christ, what did he say to them anyway?"

"Are we going to Baxter Building now?"

"If you like to come with, sure. It is a short walk from here anyway."

Calida nods. Wilhelm folds the newspaper and stashes it in the shopping bag. The duo starts making their way out of the mall. Walking through the streets and taking in the sights, Calida suddenly stops in her track, with Wilhelm follows suit. He raises a brow, watching the girl suddenly raises both arms up in some sort of a gesture. It does not take him to realize what she wants, as Wilhelm picks her up by her armpits and places her on his shoulders, giving her a shoulder ride.

The way she slightly swings her legs while holding tightly to him, humming delightedly, momentarily makes Wilhelm forget she is someone who is more than capable of killing him. The world works in a mysterious way, truly. Then again, who would have thought she was the one who kicked his sorry ass yesterday, when she looks no different than any kid right now.

As the duo reaches the main road and is about to take a turn, Wilhelm halts as he receives a call all of a sudden, from Adam. He soon connects.

"Sir. We got a problem," Adam informs gravely. "The Baxter Building is being attacked."

Just as the A.I says, an explosion occurs in the distance, eliciting cries and screams as many begin to run for their lives. Taking the turn, Wilhelm raises a brow, as the top floors of the 30-story-ish building are on flames. Before he realizes what is happening, he notices... something is approaching him from afar with great speed. He squints his eyes.

"Hey, Calida," he starts flatly. "Is that a... butt coming right at us?"

"Yup," Calida replies with an equally flat tone.

Wilhelm sighs exasperatedly, and hands the shopping bag to Calida. "Get home first. I am going to have a word with whoever bloody wishes to ruin my day."

With a wordless nod, Calida teleports back to the house with her clothes and stuffs. Knowing he has no other option but to catch the owner of the butt, since there are still civilians around him, Wilhelm braces himself, nanomachines covering his arms...

...only for the said butt, belonging to a woman by the by, to crash into him in his face and send both of them to a nearby building.

If it was possible, this could have been one hell of a way to go.

But life always seems to have ways to screw him over, one way or another.

=