Round One, Fight!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, OoalGown, Hermes, Priapus and TheDonFluffles

The Gamers Guide to Conquest

Chapter 04: Round One, Fight!

It turns out dad has a lot of swords, like holy shit where did he even get this many swords?

Well, I already know the answer to that question. He is indeed old, likes fighting, and has a general mindset of 'if you kill someone, you get their stuff'.

"Take your pick, boy, I have no use for them anymore and it's been too long since they last tasted blood," Drac says with a proud smile as I go over the various types.

I started with a smaller sword, but I realised something. I have super strength, which means I can easily wield a greatsword in one hand, since weight isn't a factor.

A big sword gives me reach and looks cool, and it's not like subtlety is really an option given how quickly my secret identity got blown, so why not go all out?

I don't want one too big because then it's just unwieldy and annoying, but after some searching I found one that appeals to me.

A large dark grey sword with a deep red inlay on the blade itself, a red gem embedded in the cross-guard.

The moment I grip the black handle, the gem jumps to life as it starts to glow, causing a blood red mist to start coming from the blade. It's painfully edgy but it's also incredibly thematic for a vampire anti-hero.

"Ah, that one. It was used by some fool who thought his mastery of blood magic meant he could take me on," Dadula says, pausing for a moment. "He couldn't, but at least he made some nice things for me to loot."

[The Thirsting Blade]

A blade crafted by an ancient vampire and master of Hemomancy. This blade stores the blood of its victims within it, allowing the vampire or blood mage to feed or fuel their magic. Wounds caused by this blade bleed far more than normal and cannot be healed through mundane methods.

An ancient vampire who mastered blood magic, and dad calls him 'some fool'?

And he still wonders why I'm so hesitant to fight him?

I can't use blood magic yet, but I'm sure I'll be able to learn it sooner rather than later, so having a sword that can keep a store of blood for me is rather useful, besides I still need to drink blood myself so having a supply on hand will be useful.

"Nice, his loss and my gain, thanks dad," I say as I give it a few test swings, watching the trail of bloody mist it leaves behind dissipate after a second or two.

"I'm sure countless pathetic mortals will meet their end by your new blade, it's so nice to see you finally show some interest in the family business," dad says as he pats me on the back with enough strength to make me stumble forwards before I catch myself. "Now, we just need to get you properly attired."

"Oh?" I ask, looking down at my jeans and t-shirt. "I think the casual look suits me."

"Bah, 'casual' is fine when you're relaxing, but you're going to be representing the Tepes name in this tournament, you need to dress for the occasion," dad lectures as he hands over a package. "I had this made for you in preparation for such an occasion."

I like my casual wear, but dad has helped me out so I can at least humour him as I open it up and pull out a pair of black trousers made from some strange leather.

"Dragonhide makes good leather, nice and fire resistant, hard to damage as well," dad adds, making me pause.

Where did he find a dragon?

Actually I don't want to know.

There's a pair of black boots as well, made of a similar material, but the final piece is what catches my eye.

Pulling out the long red trench coat, I stare at it with mixed feelings.

It looks like it's matrix meets vampires, a deep red with some golden decorative accents, reaching down to just below my knees, and it doesn't seem to close.

"No top?" I ask, taking off my t-shirt and putting on the long coat, moving my arms around in surprise at how light it is.

"Of course not, keeping your chest bare while you slay your enemies always thrills the wenches," Drac advises wisely, which makes me nod in agreement.

That's as good a reason as any.

It's so edgy, the outfit and the sword combined is just too much, which is why it's perfect. It goes against my love for casual outfits, but it does suit my lazy needs since it's just a pair of trousers and an open coat, and more importantly it'll help me fit into the 'cape' scene, where ridiculous outfits are expected.

Because as silly as I feel in it, it's a hell of a lot better than spandex.

No mask, bare chest and a big fucking sword will send one hell of a message to anyone who sees me, and I intend it make sure everyone sees me.

This tournament is the first step in building a reputation to match my father's, and he's right about one thing.

I need to dress for the occasion.

"Thanks, dad," I say simply, making the ancient warlord beam at me.

"Make me proud boy, if you won't fight me yet at least destroy the worthless mortals and remind them that they aren't as high up in the food chain as they think," dad says proudly.

God this is a weird relationship, but I can't say I mind it.

"I will, it should be fun," I say, making him grin, his fangs glinting in the light.

"Excellent, now grab that sword of yours and follow me, it's time to make sure you know how to use it," Dracula says, drawing his own sword as I freeze.

Oh no.

— Later —

Everything hurts.

My warfare mastery skill makes me talented with all forms of weaponry, but while I'm talented, Dracula is a master with centuries of experience.

He's also considerably stronger and faster than me, which just makes me all the more determined to not get into our 'battle to the death' any time soon.

After a thorough ass kicking, he finally let me go (but not before making me promise to win the tournament), and I have a few hours to kill before the preliminary round of this little tournament.

I've gone over the rules carefully, and using any superhuman gift is perfectly within them, so I should expect to not be the only super-powered participant.

Which should be fun? Or painful, it'll depend on who exactly I end up fighting.

The important part is that they've already paid me for signing up, just from me agreeing to take part. And they've paid me a lot.

I'm not rich, but I definitely have enough to be comfortable for a while (even without the money I confiscated from all the muggers I've been attacking).

The fact that they sent it to my bank account without ever asking for my details is probably as much a threat as it is a bonus, plus by paying me early I can't change my mind without giving them a reason to hunt me down.

I have no problems with pissing off the Kingpin, or rather, while I am planning on it,I'd rather do it on my terms not over a fairly paltry sum (and it is paltry in the grand scheme of things).

That said, I have already spent some of the money on the essentials. I lost basically everything I owned when the big fuck off leviathan landed on my old apartment, so I've spent some time replacing them all.

A new wardrobe, a better bed and mattress along with some other furniture, a much bigger tv, a very good computer, the newest games console, a lot of games, some very good headphones. You know, just the essentials.

I also paid for delivery and installation, because I certainly wasn't doing it.

Shopping is fun when you're loaded, because you get to laugh at the dumbstruck looks on the employee's faces as you just keep adding to your purchases.

Plus, the saleswoman who was serving me was pretty hot, and she was very helpful in seeing to all my needs.

I still need to corrupt people to get my quest complete, so stoking her greed until she had dollar signs in her eyes was just logical.

It was purely for leveling reasons that I talked her into joining me in the changing room, giving her a nice big tip for all her help.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, with a few hours to spare I decided to spend it preparing for my upcoming fights the best way I knew how.

By playing Tekken, which is basically preparing if you really squint at it.

Look, I've been through a lot lately and I've fallen behind on my actual gaming. There's a load of releases I haven't had a chance to play, and while the games here aren't exactly the same as the ones from my original world, they're close enough that I can work with it.

I fully planned to spend the entire time before the first round playing games, but after an hour or two a call pulls me away from beloved games.

Normally I'd take offence to this, but I won't say no to an opportunity to further my corruption of Peter's hot aunt.

But really, how many times is Ben Parker going to almost die?

— May Parker —

"I- I don't even know what to say at this point," Kuro admitted after a moment as she rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "How bad does his luck have to be to get hit by a car, after being shot twice in three days? Are you sure this isn't deliberate?"

"The driver had to swerve to avoid a young boy who'd run into the street, Ben wasn't even on the road," May explained as Kuro sighed, his hands already glowing as he ran it over Ben's chest. "He'd barely even left the house."

"Someone up there wants this man dead apparently," Kuro said with a chuckle, even as the golden light encompassed Ben. "He'll be fine, all things considered he got off lucky, just a few broken bones, and one of his ribs had pierced a kidney. Nothing I couldn't fix, just let him sleep, and make sure he has a big meal.

Giving Kuro a grateful smile, she let out a sigh of relief before she paused.

The last time she saw Kuro, he'd just cum in her mouth after they'd finished fucking in the Feast storeroom, and seeing Kuro turn to her, she felt her cheeks flush slightly.

"Thank you, Kuro. I don't know what we'd do without you," May said as they left her and Ben's bedroom, making him chuckle.

"Die, evidently," Kuro said with a dark chuckle, making her shiver slightly at the reminder of how close they'd all been to certain death. "You're welcome."

She didn't know if Kuro meant the undertone of 'you owe me your life' but she definitely felt it as they reached the dining room.

"So, I take it that Peter's in school?" Kuro asked innocently as she immediately tensed up, seeing a mischievous look in his eyes.

"H-he is," May started, immediately confirming her suspicions as Kuro moved towards her, pulling her against him as his hand cupped her backside, gently groping her through her jeans.

"K-Kuro, No. Ben is just a couple of rooms away," May said quickly, making Kuro grin even as he unbuttoned her shirt.

"He won't wake up for a few hours, we could be right there on the bed next to him and he'd not wake up," Kuro said dismissively as he removed her shirt, her bra quickly unclipped as she raised her hands and caught it, stopping it from falling.

"L-last time was a mistake," May said quickly, making him chuckle even as he undid her belt and slipped his hand into her jeans, under her panties as he dragged his middle finger along her slit, immediately pulling his hand back and holding it up, raising an eyebrow at the way it glistened. "Y-yes, I find you attractive, yes I enjoyed our mistake, but I'm a married woman, happily married," May said defensively.

"Hm, is that so?" Kuro asked, making her nod quickly. A part of her hoped he'd ignore her and take her anyway, but she tried to suppress that little voice even as Kuro smirked. "That's entirely fair," Kuro started, sending a tinge of disappointment through her as he let her go.

"G-good, I'm sorry to disappoint you but we shouldn't have done that last time, we certainly shouldn't go for a repeat performance," May said as she grabbed her shirt, making Kuro chuckle.

"I suppose you're right, it would be wrong of us," Kuro started, watching her put her shirt back on. "But I don't particularly care," Kuro said, clicking his fingers as her newly fixed clothes vanished, reappearing in a pile on the floor as she yelped in surprise at her sudden nudity, a shiver of arousal running though her at his tone and the look in his eyes.

"K-Kuro," May started, making him grin as he moved forwards and kissed her roughly, making her back up against the dining room table as she felt him push his tongue into her mouth.

Her own hands moved against her wishes as she clutched his t-shirt, moaning into his mouth as he groped her backside again.

Breaking the kiss, Kuro smirked at her as she gasped, staring up at him hesitantly.

"Sure, it's 'wrong'," Kuro said mockingly, pulling his t-shirt off and tossing it aside as she glanced down at his muscled chest, yelping as he pulled her against him, her hardened nipples brushing against his chest. "But why should we care? You want this, you don't want to want this, but you do, I definitely want this, I want you," Kuro said, making her gulp.

He was right, she didn't want to want this, to want him, but God help her she did.

"So, let me help you with that little moral issue you have," Kuro said, smirking at her. "You owe me, and I'm collecting. I'll heal you and your family, as often as you need, but not for free and you've run up quite the tab," Kuro said with a low growl as she immediately caught on to what he was doing.

Her 'morals' were getting in the way, so he was taking the choice out of her hands.

"I-" May started, trailing off immediately as Kuro clicked his fingers again, making his jeans and boxers disappear, his thick shaft slapping against her stomach.

"I want you, and I get what I want," Kuro growled, his tone sending a shiver of pleasure through her body. Why was she enjoying this so much? "You can say no, but who knows what could happen in the future, and next time you need my healing, I might just say no myself."

She didn't believe him, she didn't think he'd refuse to heal someone in need because she turned him down, but that was the trick.

He was giving her an excuse, beyond her own wants.

"I- O-okay, if that's what you want, you can have me, we owe you that much," May agreed, making Kuro grin at her with a hungry smile.

"Good girl," Kuro said, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder as he headed back towards the bedroom, making her eyes widen as he tossed her onto the bed, right next to Ben.

"W-wait…" May started even as Kuro moved onto the bed, mounting her as he spread her legs and grasped his cock, slapping it against her mound. "Not here."

"Oh, are you saying no to me?" Kuro asked, grinding his shaft against her dripping slit as she froze. "He won't wake up, and I want to fuck you right here, to make you mine right next to your husband."

As she went to respond, he lined himself up and pushed his hips forwards, a moan cutting off her words as he slowly sunk down onto her, his fat cock filling her inch by inch.

"Wrap your legs around me," Kuro ordered, making her slowly obey, her legs wrapping around his hips as he started to thrust into her, hard and fast.

The sound of their slapping flesh and her moans filled the room as she glanced at Ben, praying Kuro was right, that he wouldn't wake up and see her on her back, letting Kuro have his way with her.

"He's out of it, don't worry. I planned on fucking you so I… took lengths to keep him asleep," Kuro admitted with a grin as he pounded her into the bed, making the entire bed creak with the force behind his thrusts, leaving her unable to reply as she let out a loud moan, climaxing around his cock as he fucked harder and deeper than anyone had ever managed.

God she hoped Kuro was right, because she couldn't stop this even if she wanted to, clutching the quilt beneath her as she came over and over.

Despite her earlier complaints, as she felt Kuro pull out of her, she let out a whimper of disappointment and tried to pull him back in, but her strength was incredibly weak compared to his and he easily broke free of her attempts, flipping her over and onto Ben, on her hands and knees hovering over him as Kuro moved behind her and thrust back into her.

Looking down at her husbands face as Kuro fucked her, she immediately came again even as the shame and embarrassment hit her.

This was so much worse than just getting fucked in a storeroom, Kuro was fucking her in her home, in the bed she and Ben shared while Ben was still in it.

How would she face him when he woke up after letting this happen? After enjoying it so damn much?

Caught up in her pleasure and doubts, she didn't even notice as Kuro sped up, beyond just cumming again, not realising what it meant until Kuro grabbed her hips with a grunt, looking over her shoulder she saw the pleasure on Kuro's face.

Realising she was about to be creampied, her eyes widened as she tried to move forwards, Kuro pulling her back onto his cock.

"W-wait, I'll finish you with my mouth again," May bargained, making Kuro chuckle as he leaned forwards, his larger body covering hers.

"No."

With that one simple word, he slammed forwards and let out a primal grunt, her eyes widening as she felt his seed spill into her waiting womb, painting her insides white.

She should have been offended, insulted at his lack of concern for her wishes.

Instead she let out a muffled scream, covering her mouth as she climaxed again, harder than any of her previous orgasms, feeling the warmth of his seed inside her.

As Kuro pulled out of her, she rolled back onto her back, panting as she looked down at her stretched cunt, watching as his sticky white cum started to slowly leak from it.

"A good start, but we have at least a couple more hours before Peter gets home and sleeping beauty wakes up…" Kuro started, making her eyes widen as he immediately mounted her again, leaving her no time to complain.

— Kuro Tepes — Later —

Eromancy is as useful as ever.

Strip

Removes the target's clothing or armour, placing it in a pile next to the victim.

I should definitely hit Iron Man with this at some point just to see what happens, because this doesn't seem to have the restrictions my old version had.

But all good things come to an end eventually and while messing with May is fun, I had to leave her to get cleaned up before Peter got home.

Thankfully, Eromancy still has some cleaning spells to get rid of the smell and mess we made, because I don't want to have to try and explain my rendezvous with his hot aunt.

But now, it's time to get ready. I have one hell of a show to put on.

Also, I want more money, and winning this little tournament is going to help with that.

It's for a good cause, because I want a much nicer penthouse apartment and more importantly one where I can have a far better internet connection.

There was some lag earlier and that's unacceptable. It turns out I can't get a new connection set up because my landlord is an asshole even with my modified curses.

When I leave this place I'm cursing the ever loving shit out of him and the apartment.

Yes, I can be that petty. Anyone who dares come between the Overlord and a stable internet connection will pay the price.

I've been thinking about my long term goals for a while. I want to make a name for myself and possibly take over New York's crime scene, but my end goals are rather simple.

I want money, so I can get either a penthouse or a mansion, along with staff to take care of my needs and all the luxuries I could ever want. I love my tower but it doesn't have an internet connection and I've been going without for too long.

I want women, because if I'm going to be stuck in Marvel, I might as well enjoy the one good thing this setting has, hot women.

Oh, and I want to kill Thanos because I don't want to get snapped or have any of my (future) girls get snapped.

So I also need immense power to survive this stupid setting, which is inevitably going to pull the unwanted attention from groups like Shield and Hydra…

Which is actually one group at the moment now that I think about it.

So, get laid, get paid, get strong enough to murder Thanos.

This tournament can help me with two of those, maybe three depending on how hot the female fighters are.

It's called multitasking. I'll build a bigger reputation for myself, get some income and possibly find some new recruits.

I can't pull my usual dark lord shenanigans on this world, I'd end up dead in a week at the most, but that doesn't mean I can't adapt my tactics.

The Kingpin is usually a powerful figure in the criminal underworld, and while I don't know how big or well connected his organisation is yet, I do know he's recruiting super-powered individuals.

Why else would he bother with this tournament? It's basically try-outs for his gang, to see which of us are worth the effort of trying to recruit.

So either he's trying to adapt his gang to survive in a future filled with heroes like the Avengers, or he's got a plan that needs some serious muscle.

I'm going to win this tournament to impress him, to make him desperately want me in his organisation, and if his offer is good enough then I'll join up.

While I'm a part of his gang, I'll learn as much as I can about his organisation, his resources and his people. I'll test the waters and find his weak spots until I know enough to overthrow the Kingpin.

I might even let him keep his fancy name (and more importantly his life), because he's very talented and if I can keep him in line, he'd make a fine Dark General, doing the tedious work as my puppet crime lord.

But for that to work, I need leverage over him because while I could use Evil Presence and crush his mind… it'd crush his mind.

Sure, that's fine if I want a dumb brute to punch things or do manual labour, but he's no use to me with his brain leaking out of his ears.

Besides that? New York usually has twenty different super-gangs at any one time in the comics, and that's a conservative estimate.

I imagine the Kingpin plans on wiping out his rivals.That's usually how he works, and that means I can use him to get the interesting people and resources from those gangs.

Worst case, I start my own gang and join the fray, using my enchanting to supply my future minions, maybe crafting some curses to keep them loyal.

It wouldn't be hard to make a curse that only activates if the victim tries to betray me.

But all the scheming in the world won't help me if I don't take the first step, and checking my watch I smile to myself.

Looks like it's time for the games to begin.

— Emma Frost —

Being the White Queen of the secretive Hellfire Club wasn't as glamorous as the fancy title would suggest.

Unlike her counterpart, Selene the Black Queen, she was more of a trophy than a true ruler of Hellfire. Selene had long since killed the Black King and nobody had managed to succeed in taking that vaunted seat.

Many wanted to call themselves the 'Black King', but those who tried always ended up dead. Selene didn't even bother hiding that she was killing those she deemed unworthy most of the time, her power was such that nobody could really challenge her.

But she had no issues with Selene, the ancient mutant and sorceress played her own games and cared little for the day to day running of Hellfire.

Her problem came in the form of her male counterpart, Sebastian Shaw, the White King. Her bane.

She was the CEO of Frost International thanks to her father's accident and sister's incarceration. The Headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy, the best school for mutants (no matter what Xavier thought) and the White Queen.

But as long as Sebastian drew breath, she was forced into the role of trophy and pawn for the powerful and extremely dangerous man.

His apparent immunity to her telepathy made him difficult to deal with, but it was his own powers that made him such a threat.

Without the ability to affect his mind, she was no match for him and he knew it. She had no doubt Shaw knew she wanted him dead, but he was arrogant and perhaps more importantly he saw her as useful.

He'd used her telepathy to his considerable benefit over the past few years, and while she had benefited as well, she was very much in a gilded cage.

She could use Hellfire's resources to do just about anything, as long as Shaw permitted her to, and he enjoyed reminding her of this fact.

Whether it was countermanding her orders for seemingly no reason than to 'put her in her place', or it was him dictating what she could wear to the Hellfire meetings.

Often a white corset and a matching pair of very tight leather trousers, boots and a cape, unless he was feeling particularly cruel in which case she lost the cape and trousers, attending the meeting in nothing but her corset and a thong.

She knew he wanted her, she didn't need to see into his mind to work that out, but for now he'd limited himself to looking and only occasionally touching, a grope or spank here and there.

Perhaps Shaw thought she'd truly snap if he forced her into his bed, or he liked building up the anticipation, watching her grow more nervous every time he called for her, but it had bought her time.

It didn't stop him from occasionally ordering her to dance for him, or even for the other men in Hellfire who were by all rights her subordinates.

She also knew he could cause her some serious trouble by revealing her telepathic abilities. The members of Hellfire took their secrets seriously and they'd want her dead if they knew she'd sifted through their minds, even on Shaw's orders. They knew she was a mutant, but they believed she was just a telekinetic, most of them convinced that her powers were barely better than parlor tricks.

The Queen position had been mostly ceremonial until recently, Hellfire having very much been an old boys club, but Selene had changed that and they didn't like it at all.

She lacked the power or infamy to gain the same untouchable reputation Selene had, but that was something she planned to change very soon.

Which is what brought her to Wilson's little tournament.

Wilson Fisk was just a pawn in Hellfire, though with his ambition and talent he'd probably rise to knight or bishop if his plans came to fruition.

He sold his soul to Hellfire for the resources to create his gang, and they'd collect if he failed to establish the crime syndicate he had promised them.

It was the connections he made in Hellfire that meant that the local authorities were mostly ignoring his actions, Mayor Osborn pulling some strings.

Norman had recently risen to the rank of Bishop himself, but the shadows she'd seen in his mind put even her on edge. His son's condition was playing havoc with him, and his desperation grew with every failed treatment.

Wilson knew he'd need super-powered individuals to succeed in his plans, and she could admit that this little scheme wasn't a bad idea at all.

Appealing to their greed to get them hooked, he'd acquired quite the roster for his tournament. The fights would help work out which of them were truly worth his time.

He'd used Hellfire's connections to arrange everything, which gave her an idea. She'd claimed she wanted to watch out for any mutant participants, and that she thought watching the fights would be entertaining.

She was even telling the truth, partially.

She was always on the lookout for mutants to recruit into her Academy, though it was difficult thanks to Xavier's cerebro giving him such an advantage when it came to finding mutants.

The issues their race was facing had led to a very uneasy truce between her Academy, Xavier's school and Lensherr's Brotherhood. They couldn't risk losing any members to infighting after all.

And she did think this could be an interesting way to spend the night, but her real goal was to find someone to recruit as her bodyguard.

She couldn't openly recruit people without making Shaw act, but a single bodyguard wouldn't draw too much attention.

He was already cautious of how many mutants she had at her academy, and she knew he had spies among them.

She needed a single, exceptional individual to make into her weapon against him.

As the many participants showed up, she carefully reached out and scanned each mind, wanting to know as much about each fighter as possible.

She found some unpleasant surprises in the process, writing some of the fighters off entirely for either not being strong enough or having too much baggage.

The assassin Elektra was a possibility, but she had no interest in adding this 'Hand' to either her enemies or worse, the people she owed.

Examining each contestant, she started to write this off as a lost cause as she found none who met her needs before she paused, spotting a young man in a long red coat with his bare chest on display talking to one of the organisers.

She hadn't noticed him at first, because she'd been searching with her mind, not her eyes.

She recognised him of course, how could she not? Kuro Tepes, or Alucard, the maybe Avenger, son of Dracula, etcetera.

She'd been more than a little surprised to hear that Dracula was very real, Selene had seemed darkly amused by his presence in New York. She'd been more surprised to hear that Hellfire had tried to recruit Dracula long before her time, but when they wouldn't give him both titles of White and Black King immediately, he instead attacked them for the insult, killing an entire European branch before leaving.

It made sense that they'd try and recruit him in truth, aside from his pure physical power, the man was ancient and hadn't been idle over the years, allegedly owning countless businesses through his turned 'brides'. Vlad Tepes was probably richer than her.

She'd been curious about his alleged son, but with her own issues she hadn't had time to give him or the Avengers much thought to be honest.

She had no desire to tangle with such a group of 'heroes', and Hellfire didn't want the attention of Shield. They had an inside woman who helped keep Shield's attention away from Hellfire.

Pamela Hawley, member of the World Security Council, and pawn of Hellfire. She was born into the club, her family having been members for generations, and while she wasn't thrilled about it, she helped ensure Fury didn't look too closely at them.

So what was Tepes doing here?

It took her a moment to realise something else that made her eyes widen in shock, staring at the entirely normal human standing beside him.

She couldn't read him either.

She recognised the man as one of the organisers, and she'd read his mind earlier in the day, remembering the lustful thought he had of her, but now she got nothing at all.

It wasn't until Alucard walked off that she could suddenly sense his mind again, hearing his fearful thoughts directed at the large vampire, or should it be dhampir?

Following Kuro's progress, her eyes narrowed In thought as she felt the minds of those he passed by disappear while he was close to them, reappearing once he left.

Waiting until he stopped, she reached out with her telekinesis and attempted to lift a nearby water bottle, her eyes widening as her powers failed her.

Leaning back, she watched Kuro head deeper into the building, no doubt preparing for his fight, with a hundred questions and no answers.

How was he blocking her power? More importantly, exactly what else could he block?

Smirking to herself, she headed for her VIP seat at the underground arena, already making plans to have Fisk send Kuro up to her room later.

She needed more information, but she might have just found her secret weapon.

If Kuro was here, he was interested in wealth or maybe he just enjoyed fighting, she could work with either if he proved as worth her time as she hoped.

As the White Queen, she had plenty of ways to entice him into her employ.

Everyone had their price, he'd be no different. She just hoped he was more reasonable than his father.

— Kuro Tepes —

My look obviously attracted quite a bit of attention as I arrived at the incredibly busy manor just outside the edge of town.

A lot of the people here are dressed like they're going to the theatre, fancy suits and expensive dresses, but you can easily spot the other fighters among the crowds of rich idiots who probably paid good money to see a bunch of capes beat the shit out of each other.

I immediately notice one person who stands out like a sore thumb among the snobs, a bearded man with black hair wearing nothing but some tanned hide trousers and a vest that seems to be made from some kind of animal skin, perhaps a lion's hide. Sensing my gaze, the man locks eyes with me as he sharpens a spear, giving me a challenging grin.

"I have never hunted a vampire before," he says with an accent I vaguely place as either Russian or Eastern European as I return his grin. "Werewolves, yes, but never a vampire."

Hello Kraven, is it time for our pre-fight trash talk?

"Dhampir actually, and you'll find me harder to skin than your usual prey. You humans are so confident, thinking you're at the top of the food chain. Today you'll learn just how low you really are," I reply with a smile, revealing my fangs which makes him laugh.

My tone is deliberately arrogant, the typical haughtiness you'd expect from a cliche vampire. It comes easier than I expected, not sure what that says about me.

"A dhampir, all the benefits of being a vampire with few of the weaknesses, yes? I've done my research, one should always learn their prey's abilities," Kraven says, making me nod in agreement. "Kraven, the name of the one who will claim your head."

Killing isn't against the rules here, but they said to avoid it where possible.

"Alucard, and by all means, good hunter. Take your best shot, it will be entertaining to watch the despair grow in your eyes as you fail," I retort, getting a pleased laugh from him.

"We shall see, little dhampir, we shall see," Kraven replies calmly, going back to sharpening his spear.

I'm pretty sure it's for show, because I don't know what metal that thing is made out of, but it doesn't look like it needs sharpening.

Also, I can sense the magic coming from him and his weapons. It isn't his magic but it is there all the same.

Enchantments on his spear, and some kind of alchemy affecting his body. It looks like Kraven the Hunter got an upgrade or two, this could actually be pretty fun.

Wandering the mansion while I wait for the fights to start, I mingle and socialise, answering a few questions here and there.

'No, I'm not an Avenger.' is the phrase that leaves my mouth the most, but then the Avengers are very new so it makes sense that they'd attract so much attention.

Oddly enough, hearing that I'm not a superhero and just killed aliens because they attacked my homes seems to put a lot of people at ease.

Which says a thing or two about the type of people the attendees are.

"So, you just decided to help out?" one of the attendees asks, an incredibly attractive blonde woman with honey brown eyes, maybe a decade or two older than me.

"My street was exploding, I took offence to some weird lizards destroying my home. After killing the ones on my street, I decided to just join the fray," I admit with a smirk. "Sure, I met Captain America but I saw him for all of a couple of minutes before we split up, and I never met the others," I explain to the group that's formed around me.

"They never asked you to join? You saved as many people as any of them, you'd think they'd want you on their team," she says again, making me give her a fanged smile.

"Perhaps my more sanguine thirsts put them off, it's not like I'm particularly hard to get in contact with," I say with a shrug. "I neither know, nor particularly care."

"Would you join them if they asked?" one of the men asks, making me turn to him. Smart of her to guide the conversation so she didn't have to be the one to ask questions like this.

But Observe is the spy's worst enemy and Miss Romanoff has no counter for my particular brand of bullshit.

— Natasha Romanoff —

Having her face known to the world wasn't as much of an inconvenience as it would have been a decade ago, the photostatic veil she was wearing allowed her to wear a face that was designed based on Kuro's apparent tastes.

"Honestly? I couldn't say," Kuro said as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I respect the Avengers, truly I do, but I've never excelled at taking orders and frankly I'm not a team player. I simply do as I please, I always have and I always will."

So another Stark then, but with magic and a need to drink blood instead of technology and a desire to drink in general?

Fury wouldn't be happy about it, he liked soldiers he could count on to do as they were told. It was why he liked her so much, but Kuro hadn't given a flat no and that was something she could work with.

Going to speak, she was cut off as one of Fisk's men approached, getting Kuro's attention.

"Sir, you are up to fight in the first round and it's almost time. Can you please make your way to the arena," the man said, making Kuro grin in anticipation.

"Starting off strong then? Excellent. Ladies, gentlemen, enjoy the show," Kuro said with a mocking bow as he turned and followed the organiser.

Well, she was already here so she might as well use this opportunity to gather Intel on both Kuro and the other participants.

— Jessica Jones —

Heading into the arena, she could only pray that her opponent was strong enough to survive the upcoming fight.

With Kilgrave's orders whispered into her ear, she had no way of preventing what was about to happen, just as she had no way to prevent him from having his way with her for the past month or so.

She didn't know what Kilgrave wanted from this ridiculous tournament, but she could guess. The prize money alone was enough to set him up comfortably for a good long while, but money was never a problem for Kilgrave.

No, he wanted something much more valuable. Why settle for having one super-powered slave when he could gather an entire harem of them?

He said he loved her but the twisted fuck didn't know the first thing about love, and she certainly didn't love him no matter how many times he made her say it.

As she stepped into the arena, bright lights shining down on her, she looked down at the stupid purple minidress he'd forced her to wear.

How was she supposed to fight in this without losing it and giving the entire audience a show? After a moment, she rolled her eyes. She wasn't.

As the door at the other end opened up, she reconsidered her earlier statement as the tall, muscular young man with messy black hair and a pair of almost glowing red eyes walked out, a massive blade sheathed at his side.

She hoped she was strong enough to survive the upcoming fight, she wasn't willing to die unless she could take Kilgrave with her.

Drawing his sword, her opponent gave her a fanged grin, a red mist starting to form along the blade.

But as much as she didn't want to be here, she'd been ordered to beat her opponent within an inch of their life.

She could hear the announcer talking in the background, but she blocked it all out as she immediately rushed forward towards the grinning figure, lunging towards him in an attempt to smash the grin from his face.

"Heh, you're a feisty one, aren't you?" he said as he easily sidestepped the punch, confirming her suspicions.

She could move at inhuman speeds, and he'd done the exact same to avoid her attack.

"Well, these people came for a show, let's not disappoint them."

— Bonus Scene — Selene Gallio

It was satisfying to watch a decade long plan start to come to fruition.

Dracula showed a surprising amount of paternal affection considering his track record with his other children, which had forced her to alter her plans around the beast, but it was entirely manageable.

A lot had gone into Kuro's birth, the creation of her perfect tool. Xavier and Magneto were children playing leaders, but the future of the mutant race was neither in Xavier's sickening cooperation, nor Magneto's supremacy.

She would be the one to guide their race, and Kuro was the method she would use to achieve that goal.