Stars, stars, and more Stars, Part 2.

______________________

New York.

In the newly founded headquarters of The Light Enterprises, an unusual trio—in the eyes of the ignorant—sat in an office, with a mesmerizing view of the city to enjoy.

Aragorn—in contemplation—looks at the Twin Towers in the distance, lost in thought, while Natalia is signing paperwork to finalize the transfer of her CEO position to Aragorn. 

"This came sooner than expected."- Aragorn commented.

"You can only blame yourself, the Madame, and our Goddess."- Natalia said without lifting her face from the paperwork.

"Weren't you planning to take back this company anyway? This way works better for all of us."- Fury adds.

"I know, but I'm dealing with Umbrella Corp and N-Tek. I didn't want to add more to my plate."- Aragorn complained.

But the other two didn't take the validity of his complaints seriously. With two AIs and a boundless mind like his, he would have to be an idiot to be overwhelmed by muggle work.

"Seraph is the one managing N-Tek."- Natalia knew that the blue princess was taking N-Tek under her wing because of the new contracts signed with Stark Industries.

After the sudden death of Obadiah Stane by the largest lightning ever registered in Los Angeles, the position of CEO fell into Virginia Potts' hands, understandably the girl was not ready for this role, but being the childhood friend of Anthony Stark and knowing about Seraph's existence she possessed the only two requisites needed for the position. 

Trust and complicity...

Seraph was the real mind behind Virginia Potts, you could crassly say that she was a puppet of the blue AI, but the truth was factual and in this case, it was that Virginia Potts was not capable of handling the position... yet.

She was learning, and in Seraph's words 'She would be ready in a year or two', but for the time being she would be handling the position behind the scenes.

Seraph took advantage of the situation and instructed her to contract with N-Tek regarding the new line of mobile devices and personal computers that her father was launching. 

Since she was also managing N-Tek for Aragorn there were no unexpected problems and everything moved swimmingly. In less than 3 months, the two industry giants set up a manufacturing chain capable of supplying the eastern coast of the USA.

This was in an attempt to help Stark Industries grow towards the new objective Stark was aiming for... Space Exploration.

Needless to say, their stock numbers plummeted like cryptocurrency, and Virginia Potts was mocked by all for having Stark Industries—the weapons manufacturer company—diverge into the mobile industry—which was not prolific at this time.

Seraph had Virginia Potts buy those shares so that Virginia could acquire some controlling power to her name. Most of the shares that Obadiah couldn't take to his tomb ended up in the hands of his replacement... How ironic.

Since the money Virginia Potts used to buy these shares came from Stark's personal pocket, in a way the company's power was centralized in his hands. 

"I know, but still... Either way, I prefer your pregnancy over my free time. I can't wait for your son to be born."- Aragorn commented while resting his rainbow eyes in her now swelling belly.

For the past months every time he did so, his eyes switched to golden stars.

"Thanks! We can't wait either... Which is why I'm retiring now."- To the public eye she was stepping down from her position due to old age, and her daughter—Natasha Romanoff—was going to inherit the position from Aragorn in a few years. Because Natasha Romanoff was 'studying' abroad and would return in 3 or 4 years...

Yes, this was the fake persona that Aragorn was making for Natalia, but now he believes that eventually, Natasha Romanoff is going to meet an unfortunate accident and an unexpected death because he can't see Natalia lowering her living standards to those of Earth and leaving behind Halo.

"This move works to prove dickhead Pierce and his tentacled ass that I can control you, so, as I said, this works for the three of us."- Fury added.

The Light Enterprises was known to be internationally funded by Aragorn Abner, who was an American—on paper—and this company's headquarters were in New Zealand. Which was not something the American government appreciated since all the money it paid in taxes was flowing to a foreign power. 

Obviously, there was nothing they could formally do, all of the company's paperwork was in order, and the only connection it had with the USA was the nationality of its funder.

Spark was very diligent when setting and jumping through all the legal mess and political hoops of it, it was tiring and chaotic but Aragorn was very clear about it, he didn't want this company paying taxes to the country with the biggest concentration of squids.

Actually, none of his companies did, which annoyed his mother country and Hydra even more.

It was only recently that Aragorn started to move 'inland' and set N-Tek on American soil. Hydra and the USA seeing the amount of money that was going to flow their way became even more desperate to bring the other cash cows in his name to America.

Pierce used this opportunity to 'test' the influence of Fury on Aragorn Abner, so he ordered Fury to control Aragorn into bringing The Light into America.

"There's something I don't understand, Fury."- Aragorn said.

"About?"- Fury asked.

"I understand that Pierce is the secretary of the World Security Council, so why is he officially acting in the interests of the United States of America? Shouldn't he be neutral because he is part of the WORLD Security Council?"- Aragorn asked.

He knows that Pierce is acting in the interest of Hydra, not the USA, but this time the order came to Fury from Secretary Pierce, not High Commander of Hydra Pierce.

"Some politician bullshit, that is! It's a known secret that each member of the WSC will act with their country in mind, it just so happens that there was little resistance from the rest of the council because the majority of them are squids."- Fury huffed in displeasure.

"Huh!... That's mildly interesting, and I... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..."- Aragorn stopped talking midway and focused on something in the distance.

"Enemies?"- Fury asked, grabbing his walking cane and loading a few spells, ready for whatever terror the dragon was observing.

"No... Just someone who shouldn't be here."- Aragorn saw in the distance a girl of small stature, brown skin and eyes, and curly black hair coming out of a star-shaped portal and enjoying a footlong sandwich on the rooftop of a high-rise building.

She sat at the edge of the building, swinging her legs and listening to music on her smartphone, which shouldn't exist in this universe; he was barely starting to commercialize those.

"I'll leave you guys, be back in a moment."- Aragorn jumped to the left of the girl, in a squatting position to bring his face to her level.

But the girl didn't notice him, she had her eyes closed and was tunning with headphones on, full volume.

When the song ended and she opened her eyes to select a new one she saw the new addition to her side.

"Kyaah!"- She shrilled in a high pitch.

She scooted over to the right in a hurry.

"Who are you?!"- She shouted, a consequence of the high volume of her music and the surprise guest.

Aragorn removed her headphones and made them float to her pocket with his telekinesis.

Which only worked to terrify the girl.

"Hello, America Chavez. What are you doing in this universe?"- Aragorn asked in a lower tone compared to her previous scream.

"..."- She slowly stood up and jumped from the building. 

As she fell she opened a star portal and closed it after going through it.

In a dark alley, she flew upwards from a portal that opened in the floor, and then she fell to her feet once the gravity canceled her momentum, she had to open another portal because she hadn't mastered her ability to fly.

She speedwalked and then opened another portal.

She kept doing this until she arrived at her temporary 'home'. A dilapidated building.

"What the hell was that?"- She voiced out.

"That's what I want to ask."- Aragorn said.

"Kyah!!!"- She screamed and backed away until she hit the wall and made it crack.

"Why did you run?"- Aragorn asked with visible interest. 

"Who are you?!"- She demanded like a scaredy cat. 

"Aragorn, and you?"- Aragorn said flatly.

"... America Chavez."- She answered.

"I knew that."- Aragorn deadpanned.

"How did you do that?"- She asked while surreptitiously eyeing his horns and swinging tail... Well, not really, she was staring without an ounce of shame.

Aragorn teleported from one side of the room to the other.

"Like this."- He said.

He had allowed her to portal a few times because he was analyzing how the inter-dimensional energies in her operated. 

'Star Portal acquired!'- Aragorn thought.

"..."- America Chavez didn't know what to say. 

It's not that she didn't know that other people could teleport or warp. 

Nightcrawler, Blink, sorcerers, and many others were perfect examples that she had seen before. She even knows about the warping technology in Reed Richards' hands.

But this was the first time that she had seen someone follow her after portaling out of sight.

She is not aware of any sort of trail that her portals may leave, but even then, the speed and precision with which he followed her was enough to startled her.

Same as how for a telepath an unreadable mind was a matter of concern, for a teleporter an inescapable enemy was the stuff of nightmares.

"So? What are you doing in my universe?"- Aragorn understood when he saw her that this was the dimensional intruder that Yao detected on the day of the Green Door, yet he didn't know why or how she ended up here.

It's not like this place had any form of connection with the main reality, or her for that matter. That was assuming that she came from the main reality, but she probably didn't.

"I... How did you know my name?"- America stopped herself from replying and pointed out to incongruity in his manner of greeting.

"I know stuff, deal with it!"- He was not going to explain how he knew her name now, was he?

"... I don't know how I ended here. I was training, testing my limits, and then I walked through one of my portals, it looked the same as always, but when I stepped on the other side I was suddenly exhausted and I passed out. Later I found myself in this universe."- She confessed.

"I see… Why are you still here?"- Aragorn assumed that either one of his co-workers interfered and sent her here, or unknowingly she tested the furthest distance she could travel through the Starling Highway.

"I'm better now, but still feel tired when I try to return."

"Instinctively or physically tired?"- He asked for clarification.

"Instinctively. It feels like when you're gonna jump over a distance that you recognize is too big for you."- She found herself lowering her guard as they spoke.

"Ummmm…"- Aragorn stared at her and his eyes switched colors a few times.

America understood that he was looking at something by the movement of his slitted pupils.

"It's related to your soul, you 'bruised' it, somehow…"- Aragorn informed her.

"My soul?"- America asked.

"Yes, your soul. These eyes of mine can do more than just be pretty, I can see souls—among other things—and your's took some damage. By the way, nice soul!"- Aragorn gave her a thumbs up and a 'charming' smile.

"Ehhh… thank you? I think?"- Was it a compliment? Should she be worried? She didn't know.

"Your inter-dimensional energy control comes from the Trinity of Self."- Aragorn made a simplified projection of how her soul appeared to his eyes.

It looked like an America Chavez-shaped blob of light with a few smudged patches.

"Ehmm, what's the trinity thingie?"- She asked.

"The Trinity of Self is what makes you, America Chavez. Your mind, soul, and body. Your powers are mostly related to your spirit—the overlap of mind and soul—but your body plays the part of the amplifier."- He explained.

"..."- She appeared visibly confused.

"Complicated?"

"... Yes, I don't understand."- She admitted.

"Let's see... Imagine you want to go to the movies—I know you're not 16 but let's say that you are—you drive your car to the movies like a cool teenager with a car does."

"... And?"- She asked.

"That's it! It's not that complicated! In this analogy, the 16-year-old America Chavez is the overlap of your mind and soul, and the car is your body."

"You can definitely walk to the movies with just your 16-year-old body like a lame teenager, but using your car is better, cooler, and faster, right?"

"Hehehe! Right."- She said finding some entertainment in his antics and the projection he was using to exemplify his analogy.

It looked like an anime America Chavez, but the world was doodled. When she is not driving she becomes a doodle, when she is driving she looks like a high-quality anime character.

"So in the case of this analogy, imagine that 16-year-old America hurt her eye, she can't drive her car because she lost her sense of depth perception so now she's gotta walk, but to make matters more tragic she lives super far away from the movies, so since she is not a crazy teenager she won't walk to the cinema, she will have to wait for her eye to heal and then she will recover her groove and will be able to drive a car like a cool teenager. Do you understand?"- He asks with a smile.

He found her expressions while paying attention and trying to understand funny.

"Yes, I understood that I have to wait for my soul to heal before returning home."- She said.

"Yes, you've got it! I don't know your soul's recovery rate, so I can't give you an estimate at the moment... By the way, America, how old are you?"- He knew she was young, younger than 16 at least.

"I'll be 14 in four months."

"Ugh! How have you been providing for yourself these past 5 months?"- Aragorn was getting a feeling of how things were going to play out.

"When I woke up, a nice couple had taken care of me after I portaled into their living room. They own a pizzeria, so I told them to help me out, and in exchange, I would take care of the deliveries. I made some cash from that but then I left because I was afraid I would be reported as a mutant."- Which would have probably happened.

"You're not a mutant but I see your point..."- Aragorn said.

"..."

"..."

They let a silence form between them for a few seconds. One was thinking about how to deal with the kid, and the kid was trying to find a pattern in the change of colors in the eyes of the other.

"Well... I can't let you run around this place unsupervised, this reality is not as peaceful as it appears, and coincidentally there's a group of extra-dimensional devils on the hunt for energy-rich individuals, like yourself. So you're coming with me, okay?"- She wouldn't be enough to power up a ritual like the one the Council of Red needed, but he preferred to avoid avoidable tragedies.

"... Do I have a choice?"- She grumped.

She didn't want to follow the stranger in front of her. Not because she was afraid, but because he was a stranger after all.

"Nope! Consider yourself kidnapped."- Aragorn gave her a grin.

"... Fine! But only because I clearly can't escape from you!"- She whined.

She also felt a good vibe from the 'stranger' so she was not that reluctant to follow him.

"Sure, sure. Let's go."

Aragorn enveloped both in a barrier and then jumped to the office he left.

"This felt different than my trick."- She commented.

"Oh, you're back. Who's the caramel girl?"- Fury asked, suspiciously eyeing America.

Everyone and everything could be an enemy! Never Forget!

"She is the dimensional intruder Yao mentioned. Meet America Chavez. America, these are Natalia and Fury."

"..."- America remained silent for a second staring at the pair, then she rested her eyes on Natalia and after a few seconds said:

"Black Widow? With cat ears?... and a tail-four tails?"- She followed the swaying black tails from side to side.

"..."

"..."

Fury and Natalia found themselves baffled about the little girl's knowledge.

"She stopped being Black Widow in this reality a few years back, she now works for me. Do you recognize the pirate?"- He asked with a mocking grin at the surprise of the other two.

"... No... But I know the name Fury. But the Fury that I know is a white man, though."- She said pensively, with a hand on her chin.

Aragorn found her as a very expressive girl.

"Depending on the reality this might be the multiversal counterpart of the Fury that you know, or this could be the son of your Fury. There are other options, but these are the most likely ones."

"A white me? That takes whitewashing to the next level! But the fact that he is famous means that I am the superior Fury! What sort of super spy is known even to a little girl?!"- Fury criticized his counterpart.

"What about me girl? Was I part of a superhero group?"- Natalia knew of 'The Avengers' because Aragorn had mentioned it. 

"Yes! You are a famous heroine back home but without the cat additions."- America said with sparkling eyes, like those of a fangirl. 

"You're an inspiration to other girls like me, a woman with no powers, battling among gods, aliens, and demons."- America went fangirl on Natalia.

"See that?"- She asked Aragorn with unconcealed mirth.

"..."- Aragorn rolled his eyes.

"I'm an inspiration."- She affirmed.

"Technically it's not you."- Fury said. He was trying to convince himself that he was not the super spy who was famous in another universe, so he was projecting on Natalia. 

"Besides, you have powers in this universe."- Aragorn rode Fury's wave and started to discredit Natalia.

"... Shut up, idiots! You're just jealous you don't have counterparts and yours appears to be not that good at his job!"- Natalia attacked Aragorn and Fury respectively.

"Touché."- Aragorn yielded.

"I can't deny that I've always wanted to meet another me."- He confessed.

"Don't look at me, I'm a great super spy. I even do magic! I bet I can bend that inferior Fury in a sec."- Fury grinned.

"... They are not how I pictured them."- America added.

Seeing her idol—Natalia—and a respected figure like Fury, arguing like children left a mark on some of her expectations.

"Did you ever meet them?"- Aragorn inquired. 

"No. I have powers but my adoptive parents didn't want to support my 'heroing', so I haven't made my debut, even less meeting some of the other heroes."- America said with a sheepish smile.

"Understandable."x3- The three adults said simultaneously.

"Ugh! Not you as well."- American whined in displeasure.

"Immature brat."- Aragorn said while extending his forked tongue in mockery to America.

But instead of displeasure, she showed curiosity about his tongue.

If Aragorn had been reading her mind he would have heard her question about how the man with the serpent tongue was not hissing like in the movies they usually do.

"America, have you ever owned a pet?"- Natalia asked before America could react to Aragorn's childish provocation.

"Ehmm, yes, I did. A cat."- America said with visible uncertainty about the abrupt question.

"Come here, girl. Let me show you something."- Natalia called her over to her side of the desk.

America walked to Natalia, as the latter lifted her blouse and exposed her swelling belly.

"*Gasp!* You're pregnant!"- She didn't expect this. 

It's not that Black Widow's infertility was common knowledge, but she had one of the longest records in the hero market and she had never been seen pregnant or with descendants, so there were a lot of crazy theories and conspiracies, rumors and gossip, but the bottom line was that 'Black Widow doesn't have children'.

"I am. Come here, let me show you something miraculous."- Natalia extended a hand to America and brought their hands over to her belly.

In her free hand, a magic circle glowed in existence, and an imperceptible sound wave softly hummed over her belly.

"He likes this."- She smiled and answered the questioning look on America.

And the results were instant. 

"Oh! He… He kicked!"- America exclaimed in a joyous tone.

"I told you he liked it."- Natalia motherly smiled.

"Now picture this, America… How would you feel if your pet decided one day to take a walk on the highway?"- Natalia kept her motherly smile but something else could be seen in her eyes.

"... Eh?"- America couldn't follow how the previous mood led to this somewhat somberness.

But Natalia ignored her bafflement and continued.

"How do you think I would feel if in the future my baby boy decided to go around putting his life at risk for the sake of strangers?... Strangers who would not care for my baby as I would, strangers who would turn their backs on him if the circumstances allow it, strangers who wouldn't be as altruistic to my boy as he was to them, strangers whose life I would take, a million times over, if that meant to grant my baby boy a single minute more…"- The coldness in Natalia's eyes and the warmth in her smile were an unnerving dichotomy.

"..."- America understood what Natalia was saying and kept to her thoughts.

"How do you think your parents felt about your 'hero' career life choice?"- Natalia finished and set her blouse and outfit back in order.

Leaving a stunned America in silence.

"You don't have to take it so seriously, America. You can do whatever you want, it is your life and yours alone… but beware of the impact that your choices have on your loved ones before it's too late and they are no longer around; finding yourself lonely and deprived of their love."- Aragorn said.

"... I… *Sigh* Okay, I'll keep it in mind."- Dejected, America said.

"How about trying to be a hero while you're here?"- He added, with a smile.

"I can?"- Doubtful, she asked. She thought that they wouldn't like it if she did, not after what Natalia and Aragorn said.

"Yes, but you'll have something like a babysitter with you. If it makes you feel better you can call it a trainer."- Aragorn grinned at her frown.

"Who do you have in mind?"- She asked.

"Probably Jean Grey."- Aragorn would feel better if his problem-seeking padawan had a teleporter next to her.

"... I don't know her."- America said after some thought.

"That's because she tends to die in other realities."- Aragorn somberly said.

"Red? The planet-ending, galax-wiper, beyond omega mutant Red, tends to die in other realities?"- Fury asked.

Now he was afraid to ask about the number of times his puny black ass dies if she dies so often.

"She either dies, is not born, or takes everyone down with her. As far as I know, there are less than a dozen or so 'successful' variants of her, but it's probably even less than that number. The thing is that the ones that survive are tremendously powerful and more often than not, they end up as hosts to the Phoenix Force."- Aragorn explained.

"The girl tends to start with a bad hand, doesn't she?"- Natalia asked.

"That's the case. She was going to destroy this universe before I intervened."- Aragorn elaborated upon the tragedy of her life.

"Now, I don't feel so sure about this trainer."- America said with a faltering smile.

"Eh, don't worry, America. Jean is someone I've been training for 3 years now. She is an omega-level mutant. Her powers are of the psionic inclination, I hope that's not a problem for you?"- Aragorn said in inquiry and looked into her feelings to confirm.

"No, that's okay… But can she help me improve my mental barriers?"- America asked after she confirmed it was not a problem.

"You have mental barriers?"- Fury asked, trying to understand how a civilian was aware of what a mental barrier was.

"That's interesting."- Natalia added and looked with interest like a cat does when it plays with its catch.

"Yes, there are some tutorials online for that, it's common knowledge, here take a look, I downloaded a few for my training."- America brought her smartphone forward and played a summary clip about mental barriers and how they worked.

"..."- The three adults were left dumbstruck. 

Not because of the information in the video, but because of the speaker in it.

"... You know him?"- America asked after noticing the disconformity in their looks.

"We knew him, America."- Natalia answered for the rest.

"Xavier was a fool in this reality, a control freak if you may—which is ironic coming from me—the type who wouldn't in a million years give free advice that could be used to resist his powers."- Fury added. 

"He is no more, America. But so far the advice your Xavier gave seems pretty solid. It should help with a street-level telepath, which appears to be the objective of the video. Jean can help you train to get a better base for your mental protection."- Aragorn nodded in approval at the content in the clip.

Mental shielding for a non-psionic being will never be enough to actively protect from the assault of a strong telepath, but it should work in enhancing resistance and preventing stray thoughts from being broadcasted. 

"Okay… Can you help me find a place to crash? I sort of don't wanna sleep with the rats anymore… No matter how good of a company they have been."- America said with a twitching smile.

"You're awfully relaxed with us, are you not?"- Aragorn implicitly mentioned the lack of guard she presented ever since they arrived at the office.

"... Ehm, yes(?)... Now that you say it… Why?"- America assumed a contemplative mood.

"I think it's because I have a weird feeling about you, something like: This guy can't be an enemy. There's also her…"- America tried to explain what she's been feeling ever since she met Aragorn, and pointed at Natalia.

"Me?"- Natalia asked.

"She is your fan and you're a pregnant woman."- Fury knows how in general the presence of a pregnant woman can be disarming.

"That!"- America agreed.

"Give us a few minutes, America, and after we are done signing some paperwork I'll take you to Jean's place on Earth."

"Ok!"- She agreed but inwardly she was thinking about the strange phrasing Aragorn used. 

"You can take my seat, girl. I will be leaving first…"- Fury stood up and as he walked to the door he said in all seriousness:

"One last reminder, don't speak about what you know of your Earth to anyone other than the people he approves of."- Fury locked his eye on hers and waited for her to nod before exiting the room.

With a somber atmosphere left behind due to the 'Fury Stare', Aragorn and Natalia sped up the paperwork signing, and got their business out of the way.

"By the way, where are Irina and Yelena?"- Natalia asked as she was getting ready to depart.

"Yelena is training Johnny Storm… for reasons not apt for minors to hear."- Aragorn scoffed and America pretended not to hear while keeping her ears peeled.

"~Huhuhu!."- Natalia laughed softly at the unprofessional attitude of Aragorn's personal maid.

"And Irina is here. She's had a breakthrough with her fire magic after she grew her fifth tail so currently she spends most of her time next to me, but in the mirror dimension practicing her sorcery."- Aragorn made a window to this dimension.

On the other side, a bunny girl wearing a singed black tank top and scorched black running shorts was floating with a blue flame in her hands that seemed to be transitioning to white.

"*Uh-oh* I haven't gotten mine!"- Natalia lamented and swung forward her four tails.

"Don't worry, Natalia. Yelena, Irina, and Kitty have an advantage because they were fighting non-stop for months while we were moving refugees. You'll get there, eventually. The real walls are the jumps from 5->6 and 6->7."- Aragorn encouraged Natalia.

"Right… The first wall is to reach the Omega level, the last to grow a divinity seed… Yeah, I think I'm still far from the 5->6... By the way..."- Natalia.

"Yes?"- Aragorn asked.

"Will we get more beautiful as we ascend?"- Natalia sheepishly asked.

"... Really?"- Aragorn said in disbelief.

Natalia at least had the decency of looking away.

"America, come here."- Aragorn signaled at the girl who was standing by the window, acting as if she had not been eavesdropping since the beginning.

"Me?! Ah! Yes, I'm going."- She was slightly startled but she managed to act like was not paying attention before... flawlessly. 

"America, I want you to observe Natalia. Full attention, like if she was that bitchy friend who is always passive-aggressive and tries to compliment your defects while subtly placing herself in a higher standing."- Aragorn had America stand a few feet away from Natalia, and even went as far as to levitate her so that she could be at her height.

"Tell me, America, can you find a single flaw in her?"- Aragorn stood with his face next to America, and they both stared and observed the blushing catgirl.

"..."- America scanned her face with unmatched intensity.

"..."- Aragorn's eyes were like a multicolored disco ball, as they blurred while observing Natalia.

"..."- America lowered her gaze to Natalia's body and decided to look away before she took too many hits to her self-confidence.

"None, Mr. Aragorn. She is purrfect... Hehehe!"- She laughed at her own joke.

"Do you hear that Natalia? You're purrfect. How can you become more beautiful than absolute perfection?"- Aragorn made fun of her question and ambitions.

"Can you two please stop it?"- Natalia tried to hide away her blush.

"You just met today and now you're banding together to bully this poor pregnant lady."- Natalia joked.

"*Humph* Anything will be taken badly if you phrase it like that."- Aragorn quipped.

"Bye, Natalia. We will see ourselves out."- Aragorn waved goodbye.

America ran quickly to Natalia and hugged her in gratitude. She would never forget her previous words.

She then ran to catch up to Aragorn and asked:

"Shouldn't we portal there?"- She was confused about why they were walking out. 

"I was seen getting in, I should be seen getting out."- Aragorn explained.

"What about me?"- America questioned.

"I'll make you invisible, just walk next to me in silence while I take us to the car."- The silence was not necessary but Aragorn was too lazy to further elaborate.

In such a way, they made it down to the parking floor and Aragorn had a driver take them to his mansion... Or Jean's mansion, depending on who you're asking.

One hour later, they arrived.

"Woah! This place is something else."- America exclaimed when the mansion came up.

A Georgian mansion, with a symmetrical stone facade, large multi-pane windows, lush gardens, and mature trees which frame the property.

"You live here?"- She excitedly asked.

"No, this is a front. To the rest of the world, we do live here. But we only commute from here. I'll show you our place later."- When you have earned more trust, Aragorn thought.

The front door was opened by Harry Hart.

"Welcome, Ms. Chavez, Aragorn. My Young Lady awaits for you."- He held the door for them, and then guided them to Jean.

"*Psst!*"- America called to Aragorn's attention.

"Why does it sound like this is not your house and you're not welcome here?"- America whispered.

"... Why, indeed."- Aragorn flatly answered.

America looked at him as if trying to understand a piece of contemporary art.

"My Lady. Ms. Chavez and Aragorn are here for you."- Hart said before sinking into the shadows.

"What?!"- America jumped a little in fright.

Jean, contrary to the high-class reception they received, was lying on her belly in her underwear and a tight green shirt, on a large velvet sofa.

"Nice ass."- Aragorn flatly pointed at her dress code.

"There you have it."- Jean quipped. 

"*Sigh* What's going on with you?"- Aragorn arched an eyebrow in questioning.

"Phoenix said that the Goblin Force was nearby."- Jean as she spoke deflated.

"... Shit."- Aragorn floated to the other large sofa and discarded his clothing except for his boxer briefs and assumed a similar mood to Jean's.

"... What's going on?"- America asked, trying to ignore Aragorn's semi-nudity.

"Another end of the world."- Jean answered emotionlessly.

"..."- Aragorn nodded and brought three buckets of ice cream down from Halo. One for each.

"You can take the free sofa, girl."- Jean said and she brought one of the buckets to her with her TK.

"Shouldn't we do something?"- America said. 

She moved to the free sofa and debated whether she was expected to lay in her underwear like the other two.

"This is the first step of the process."- Aragorn said and floated the last bucket to America.

In the end, America settled for removing her shoes and jacket but keeping her clothes since she was surrounded by strangers... possibly mental strangers... and the three ate ice cream as they got to know each other better.

___________________________

Okay, this is the missing part of the chapter.

The next chapters will probably be filled with action! The thing is that writing action scenes is complicated, so bear with me, please. 

I know I don't update with regularity but I try to compensate by updating bigger chapters.

Thank you for your support!