Symbiote 0277: Departure

The celebration lasted long enough that Alex had to use the Time Stone to create a time domain around himself and Natasha so that they could be returning in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days.

{ «Status- Host #3»

«Name: Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) (MCU Earth)»

«Bonding Rate: 60%»

«Bonding Level: 4»

«Powers: Peak Superhuman Physique— Melee Mastery— Espionage Mastery»

}

Alex was happy that he'd already figured out the fix for the blood bond since doing it with Wanda, which allowed him to work one level at a time instead of steamrolling through both blood and skeleton bonds. Doing that had the first time had left Laura's physique with all sorts of compatibility problems that he had to deal with in the background. That was the main reason it had taken him so long to form the Organ Bond with her.

After finally returning, Alex and Natasha stayed in Ta Lo for a few more days, performing a few more experiments on Qi.

[In conclusion, I can extract her Qi once a day to provide me with half a unit of Bioenergy.] Alex told the Dragoness. [The rest of the day has to be spent passively recovering the lost Qi and I can repeat the process in twenty-four hours.]

[What about the effects of exercise on Qi regeneration? I told you that Qi always responds to the body's state.]

[I need to work on it more, but once I figure out the optimal training regimen for it, I should be able to bring down the recovery time to twelve hours. Physical exertion and sufficient nutrition work together to expedite the regeneration of Qi.]

[And the only way for you to extract Qi from the Qi core is sexual penetration?]

[Yes, I believe that considering the position of the Qi core in the body, it has some kind of a connection with the uterus, making penetrative sex the most viable option to extract Qi. Either that or stabbing my partner's abdomen directly.]

[Right …] The Dragones rolled her eyes. [So you're leaving today?]

[Both yes and no. My partner and Xialing are leaving. But I will leave a body in Ta Lo to help the residents integrate with the outside world. Plus, I still need to siphon your Qi to feed to my other partners. Natasha's Qi is far too inadequate for it to help me awaken another's Qi.]

[No worries. As long as you exchange it for Bioenergy. Now tell me about growth in Qi quality or quantity. Have you noticed any of that in her?]

[The time span is too short for any noticeable improvement. However, my system of repeated extraction and regeneration of Qi should increase both the Qi capacity and the quality in time. The only downside of my methods is that the bodily improvements that accompany the growth in the Qi Core's capacity won't be there.]

[That is integral. If the body becomes too weak to maintain the connection to the Qi core, there is a risk of it imploding, instantly killing the person.]

[No need to worry about that. I can directly use Bioenergy to enhance my host's physique. The only reason I even went for the awakening of the Qi core was to make it possible for me to extract Bioenergy from it.]

[I should feel disrespected, but Bioenergy is so superior to Qi that it's unfair. I cannot argue against that.]

…

"You are truly leaving." Ying Nan spoke with a hint of reluctance as she looked at Xialing's sleeping face. She was held up in Natasha's arms as the trip stood in front of the hall that many of the villagers were using as their temporary accommodation. It was midnight and only Ying Nan was there to see them off.

"It's time. Xialing isn't doing the best here. She's a strong girl and is doing her best to forget about what happened, but …" Natasha shook her head. "It's best for her to leave Ta Lo with us."

"I hope that you can take care of her," Ying Nan spoke helplessly. As much as she wanted to take Xialing away from these strangers, she had neither the power nor the resources to raise her correctly.

"Don't worry. We will care for her like our own daughter," Alex said with a smile. "On another note. A friend of mine will be arriving in the morning. Those of you who wish to leave Ta Lo and explore the outside world can talk to him. He will hook you up with the necessary resources like a legal identity and money. If you need anything, you can just talk to him about it."

"I am grateful for your assistance," She said with a small nod. "I know how difficult it must be for you to do so much for us."

"Don't worry about it. You're Xialing's aunt," Alex said.

Going by the slight shift in the woman's expression, she understood that she received this help because of Xialing's connection to her. After some thought, she smiled once again, "That only tells me how important my niece is to you."

"Should we leave?" Natasha asked, making Alex nod.

"Let's. Farewell, Ying Nan. You'll meet your niece soon."

…

"Are you sure you don't want to tell her about the time difference? Before even a week passes here, Xialing will be two years older. And that's looking if the time on this planet stays at the same speed. If it slows down, we can very well spend multiple years while a single day would have passed here."

"It doesn't matter," Alex said. "When Xialing returns, she will fulfill her dream. She will beat her father and take over the Ten Rings before integrating Ta Lo's forces into the —"

"Alex …" Natasha interrupted him with a pointed look.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I wasn't the one who filled her head with those things. It's her own ambition. As for integrating the Ten Rings Division into my personal force. That's also something she will naturally understand over time. As she grows up, she will slowly realize that there's more to her adoptive father than meets the eye. She will create a detective group with her friends and they will look for clues to uncover my true identity. I will write a teen detective novel about it if I feel like it."

"You do know that you make far too elaborate plans, right, Alex?" Natasha shook her head in exasperation.

"It's fun. My vivid imagination and sex are the only two things that keep me going, you know?"

"Just make sure that your little mystery novel idea doesn't hamper my Xialing's education. Not to mention giving her a fulfilling family. And don't you dare to disappear halfway through to give her character development, understood? We will be the ones developing her character by raising her correctly. Like parents should."

"It feels like it was just yesterday that you were refusing to even acknowledge your desire to treat Xialing as your daughter," Alex said with a reminiscing tone. "They grow up so fast."

"Shut it," Natasha said, looking away to hide the slightly embarrassed blush on her face.

"What will you do if she throws you with a, 'You're not my real mom!' line?" Alex said with emphasis.

"I know that already. I won't lash out at her if that's what you're concerned about."

"No, you're too controlled to do such a thing. But that kind of thing tends to leave a mark. Think about it, she's sixteen and has just come home from school, telling you about how she stole another girl's boyfriend. You sit her down to tell her how that's an immoral thing to do and she lashes out at you for trying to have a civil conversation with her. What then?"

"What's your point, Alex?" Natasha asked tiredly.

"I just want you to be prepared for such a scenario," He said. "For the sake of living an actual normal life, her suit will be even simpler than what the widows have. All it does is serve as protective armor in case of an attack. That and the whole custom clothes thing. But that's all. I will not be monitoring her like the widows either."

"We'll raise her right, Alex. She won't turn into a brat. Especially since she has a real goal in her mind that she wants to achieve. As long as we support and encourage her with it, there will be no need for her to rebel."

"I hope I had your optimism, Nat," Alex shook his head.

"That's why you're scared of having a child, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm scared. I'm downright terrified of raising a child when I might just be a pawn in an entity that's so far beyond me it's not even funny."

"It'll be fine," She said, extending her hand toward Alex and intertwining her fingers with his. "I'll be with you every step of the way."

Alex hummed in response and the duo continued walking through the peaceful forest in silence. They could've left through a portal earlier, but Natasha wanted to enjoy the scenery.

***

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