Recruitment

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

Betad by morde24, OoalGown, Hermes, Priapus, Old man of the mountain, Marethyu and TheDonFluffles

The Gamer's Guide to Conquest, Remastered

Chapter 05: Recruitment

— Jessica Jones —

The outcome of the fight became even more undeniable as she once again swung at thin air, Alucard simply being too fast for her to hit.

She was faster than a normal human, but it wasn't her strongest point compared to her strength and endurance, and her enhanced speed just wasn't enough to hit Alucard as he dashed forwards again, seeing the opening her missed swing had left.

She thought she was fast until she watched him move, just a blur she could barely follow.

Her minidress was long since gone, the thin material proving too fragile for this kind of fight, leaving her fighting in nothing but the thinnest of purple thongs, giving the crowd a second show to go with their entertainment as her tits bounced.

Flying back into the arena wall with a grunt of pain, she thanked her lucky stars that he'd put his blade away quickly because the cut on her side proved he could have killed her if he felt like it. Instead, the smug vampire was just playing with his food.

Picking herself back up, she spotted Kilgrave in the crowd, looking furious and perhaps even scared at how easily his toy was being dismantled. He made a lot of bets on her success, and while he'd probably get his way anyway it was nice to inconvenience him even a little.

But she knew how he thought, he probably already had plans to try and control Alucard, not that she could warn her opponent.

Nah, there's no need. Kilgrave has a neat little trick, but it won't work on me. I've already worked out how he's doing it after all.

And now he was in her head, of course he was. Fucking Vampires.

Dhampir actually. This is actually kinda boring, I feel like I'm outright bullying you. Not that I mind bullying people but I'd prefer not to do it to someone's puppet. It takes the fun out of it.

Trying to attack him again, unable to stop herself, she gave him a genuine frown at his bored tone. Well, she was so sorry her being turned into a fucking slave was boring to him. She'd just free herself so he could enjoy beating her up more right now on the spot.

Nah, no need. I can do that myself.

Before she could even respond to his claim, he was on her, showing that he'd been holding back the entire time as he suddenly sped up, pinning her against the side of the arena by her throat.

As she went to fight back, unable to ignore Kilgrave's demands, his hand started to glow with a golden light that quickly flooded through her entire body, much to the surprise of the audience.

Tossing her back into the middle of the arena, he stalked around her with a grin, looking like a particular sadistic cat that had found a mouse to play with.

But as she rose, she realised she felt no compulsion to attack him, her eyes widening in realisation.

As she went to speak, he closed the distance again and landed a vicious uppercut on her chin, knocking her into the air.

Not that she flew far as he grabbed her leg and swung her over his shoulder, smashing her into the ground with a laugh.

Careful, you don't want your master to realise he needs to crack the whip, do you? I purged his virus but you're not immune to it.

Freezing in understanding, she quickly schooled her expression as she rose, not wanting to give Kilgrave a reason to realise she was free.

She could try and run, Kilgrave would assume she'd come back to his side like he ordered and that would give her a head-start.

Charging Alucard again, with control of her body returned to her, she didn't bother feeling bad about attacking her potential saviour as he easily dodged it.

Sure, you could run but he seems like the obsessive sort, and his little trick probably makes him quite influential so hear me out. Let's kill him.

…just like that?

Why not? He's a villain, I'm a hero if you squint hard enough, and it's not like anyone is going to miss him. Heroes are supposed to make the world a better place and I think this world will be brighter without Kilgrave in it. I can enchant something for you, to stop his trick from working, and then we can pay him a visit. If you're too squeamish I don't mind offing him myself.

Fuck no, Kilgrave's ass was hers.

Great, so it's a date.

A date? He had a weird idea of what a date should be like, especially as he kicked her across the arena again.

Nah, it sounds like a fun first date to me. Just me, you, and the rapidly cooling corpse of your psychotic yandere stalker.

Well, when he put it like that…

Anyway, this is still boring so stay down this time.

Before she could react, he was on her again, grabbing her from behind as he put her into a chokehold.

To keep up the facade that she was still following Kilgrave's orders, she did her best to fight him off but he was simply stronger than her, and with the awkward positioning she couldn't dislodge him as her vision started to darken.

He let her go before she actually passed out, but she got the hint as she stayed down, eyes closed as she heard the crowds cheer for Alucard's victory.

Nor did she move as she was carried out of the arena, taken to places unknown.

"Erm, Sir… you aren't supposed to be in—,' a female voice said, cutting off.

"There's a lot of things I'm not supposed to do, like take part in an illegal underground super-fight club, but I seem to end up doing them anyway. Now be a dear and fuck off, would you?" Alucard's smug voice replied, making Jessica force down a snort. "What, did I stutter? Leave."

The slight growl to his tone almost made her shiver, and she wasn't surprised when she heard the sound of someone rapidly leaving the room which prompted her to open her eyes, seeing Alucard smirking down at her, making her sit up on the bed they'd put her 'unconscious' body on.

"So, let's talk about Kilgrave," Alucard said, giving her a smirk as she clenched her fist.

Kilgrave had made her life hell, it was the least she would do to make the very short amount of time he had left just as unpleasant.

— Wilson Fisk —

'Alucard' was as strong as he expected, perhaps stronger, given what he knew of Kuro's heritage.

Kuro was a greedy, horny teenager from what he'd been able to learn, not the hero people thought Alucard was. Frankly, that made Kuro perfect for what he wanted, a super-muscle that could be controlled.

Money, drugs and women were easily acquired and Kuro would be worth the expense, especially if he could find a way to truly control the Dhampir.

"Have Kuro sent up to my room, I wish to speak to him," the cold voice beside him said, making him force down his reaction.

That made it all the more aggravating that Kuro was going to be stolen out from under him, as he turned and made eye contact with the White Queen, seeing her staring back at him coldly.

"Of course, I'll arrange for him to be sent up to you," Wilson said, showing none of his anger though he was sure she knew anyway.

Not that it mattered, even if he thought he could deal with Frost, she was the White Queen of Hellfire and he was just a pawn for now.

Turning on her would be the last mistake he'd ever make, they'd destroy everything he had worked so hard to build, destroying decades of work in a matter of weeks at the most.

"Good," Emma said simply, rising and walking away to her private suite in the mansion above his fight club, leaving him as he frowned.

Frost was dangerous, half the Hellfire club saw her as nothing more than Shaw's arm candy, but he knew there was a dangerous mind inside that pretty little head.

Shaw obviously thought he could control the prideful ice queen, but as he watched Emma walk away, Fisk decided that he wasn't getting dragged into that inevitable war.

He needed Hellfire for its connections and resources, especially if he wanted to fulfil his vision of ruling the criminal underworld of not only New York but the entire world. Playing the part of the pawn in this game between king and queen didn't feature in his plans.

Sending a message to his underlings to invite Kuro up to his office, he went back to watching the fights.

He needed super-powered followers if he wanted to have any hope of taking over New York's underworld; supervillains and heroes were becoming too common for him to be able to pull this off with regular manpower alone.

He hadn't given up on Kuro just yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't still going to watch out for other candidates.

— Kevin 'Kilgrave' Thompson —

Jessica was taking too long.

Pacing around the room he had acquired, he scowled to himself.

The fact that Jessica had lost so completely had cost him a lot, and sent a shiver of fear through him.

He had assumed Jessica was strong enough to hold her own against any other super-powered fighters, but clearly his pet wasn't anywhere near as strong as he had thought.

It both scared and excited him, the fear caused by the chance that these incredibly powerful people might be able to resist him, and the excitement brought about at the idea of having them at his beck and call.

A part of him wanted to cut his losses and run, but he had never failed to control anyone before and his pride wouldn't let him accept a loss.

As the door to his room opened, he turned and glared at Jessica as she walked in.

If he hadn't been drinking, he might have noticed the danger sooner but he had long since gotten used to seeing Jessica as a harmless pet.

Still angered by his losses, he walked towards the already almost naked Jessica, wearing nothing but one of the thongs he liked.

Honestly, he was surprised that had survived the beatdown Alucard had given her, but it didn't really matter as he went to slap her.

He knew it wouldn't actually hurt her, that was the nice thing with Jessica, it was almost impossible to accidentally break her.

The first sign something had gone terribly wrong was when she caught his wrist, staring at him with undisguised hatred.

The second was the way she immediately crushed said wrist, a scream of pain leaving him as he tried to pull his hand out of her vice-like grip.

"Don't worry about him screaming, I've put an auditory illusion over this room. No one will hear him," a voice said, Alucard coming into view as he simply faded into existence next to Jessica.

As Alucard calmly closed the door, he turned back to them with a dark smile, but Kilgrave didn't have time to worry about the vampire as Jessica's fist slammed into his face.

He wanted to try and tell her to stop, to put her back in her place, but unfortunately for him even if his power could work on her, the way her fist shattered his jaw entirely made sure he'd not be giving a single command.

— Jessica Jones —

Staring down at the barely breathing Kilgrave, she paused and looked at her blood-covered hands, before turning back to Alu- Kuro, who was leaning against the door just watching.

Kilgrave tried to speak, but all that came out was a pained whimper as he curled up into a ball.

She thought she'd enjoy this more, but looking back at Kilgrave she just sneered in disgust at how pathetic he really was behind all his bravado.

"Oh, not enjoying your revenge?" Kuro asked, making her scowl.

"I'm done with him, he's not worth my time," Jessica said with a frown. "You said you off him if I didn't want to?"

She could see the fear in Kilgrave's eyes as he whimpered again, Kuro stalking towards him. It shouldn't have, but she felt her pleasure grow at the sight of him cowering on the ground.

"Oh, it'd be my pleasure," Kuro said calmly, as Kilgrave tried to crawl away desperately, his limbs too broken to get far as Kuro yanked him up. "Any goodbyes or shall I get rid of this trash?"

Kilgrave turned to her, his jaw trying to move as his eyes stared at her pleadingly.

"Fuck no, do it."

Like hell she'd save him after everything he'd put her through.

Not hesitating, Kuro immediately bit down on Kilgrave's neck, making him thrash in pain and panic as she watched coldly.

He'd caused so much pain and suffering, it was only fair that he got to feel the same before the end as he grew paler, Kuro draining him dry without stopping.

He deserved this, this was justice. Kuro was right, this world would be a better place without Kilgrave in it. He joked about only being a hero if you squinted enough, but she'd say removing this scum was pretty damn heroic.

"Juhsicca!" Kilgrave managed to beg, his words mangled, his body already unhealthily pale as Kuro extracted every last drop.

"See you in hell," Jessica said simply, watching her rapist grow still, Kuro waving his hand as a weird black portal opened.

Looking through it to the wasteland on the other side, she watched impassionately as Kuro tossed Kilgrave through it into a pool of lava, the broken and drained body vanishing instantly.

As the portal closed, she felt a mixture of happiness and worry. Well what the fuck was she supposed to do now?

"Well, that was something. You got any ideas what you're going to do now?" Kuro asked, wiping away the blood around his mouth.

"We just killed someone," Jessica said with a strange calm, making him blink.

"We killed a mind-controlling super-rapist, I'm pretty sure that's a good deed," Kuro said with a shrug.

Hero or not, he was kinda a sociopath wasn't he? Oddly enough she didn't mind that as much as she should.

Because he was right, Kilgrave's death was very much a good thing.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do now," Jessica admitted, looking down at her bloodstained hands again as Kuro calmly approached them and gently took them into his, a soft glow covering them for a moment as the blood vanished.

"That's fair, today has been full of surprises…" Kuro said, trailing off as he frowned for a moment before he shrugged. "Here, you can crash at my place while you decide what the fuck you're going to do now, I have a spare room. Don't eat my ice cream and we're good," Kuro said as he held out a key.

"Why?" Jessica asked, making Kuro blink and scratch his chin.

"I'm gonna be honest, 90% of what I decide to do, I do on a whim. I don't really have a reason beyond 'fuck it, why not?'. You can just tell me to fuck off and go your own way if you want, I won't mind," Kuro said easily, making snort again.

Hesitating for a moment, she stared at Kuro intently before she grabbed the key out of his hand.

She would probably regret this later, but with Kilgrave gone she could crash at Kuro's place for a couple of days at least before she worked out what she was going to do next.

"Oh, and before I forget," Kuro said, moving closer and placing his palm on the cut she had from his sword, a soft white glow coming from where he was touching her as the pain quickly subsided.

As she went to thank him, he started to speak again.

"Also, are you going to get dressed? Not that I mind the view…"

Looking down at her mostly naked body, except her now enchanted thong, she rolled her eyes and covered her breasts with her arm as she went to grab some clothes.

She was definitely going to regret this.

— Kuro Tepes —

I absolutely have ulterior motives for helping Jessica, and it's not even just me wanting to dick down the kinda-emo girl.

It's probably gonna be a fairly slow process given what she just escaped, but I will have her under me.

But also, she's strong. I kicked her ass because frankly, her reaction times are shit, and I'm half convinced that's because she was being controlled, but she might actually be stronger than me at the moment.

She certainly hurt when she hit me, she actually managed to break a couple of ribs but I just healed them midfight. It hurt like a motherfucker, but meh I can take it.

Not more powerful of course, but physically she is very impressive in more ways than one. I need minions myself and Jessica has basically been served up to me on a platter, so I'll happily take her.

I'll also take the power I just gained from draining Kilgrave, something I frankly didn't know I could do.

[Command]

You can imbue your words with power, forcing those who hear them to obey your commands, limited to short sentences.

Heading back to the arena, I start scheming about how I'm going to make Jessica my adorable little enforcer as I watch the next round.

I don't know who Kraven is fighting, and it seems I don't need to bother learning his opponent's name as Kraven puts his spear straight through their chest.

That spear kinda scares me because it's imbued with magic, and magical weapons can seriously hurt a vampire.

We heal from anything aside from silver, fire and magic which means I need to be more careful when dealing with shit like that.

It's easy to get cocky with how easily I've beaten pretty much everyone so far (with the exception of Dad), but a well-placed hit with that spear could kill me as easily as it killed that idiot.

"Excuse me, Mr Alucard?" someone says, bringing me out of my thoughts as I turn to face one of the tournament staff. "The boss would like to speak with you."

Already? I expected to have to win a couple more rounds first, but I'll take it.

"Then lead the way," I say calmly.

Time to meet the Kingpin, he's put so much work into building my criminal empire after all.

— Wilson Fisk (The Kingpin) —

As 'Alucard' walked into his office, he mentally sighed, seeing that his men decided to let the extremely fast teenager keep his sword.

He didn't blame them, the boy had an aura of menace around him that clearly affected his men. If he was honest, it even affected him as the almost glowing red eyes stared at him, though he'd never show weakness by reacting.

"Ah, I see my men found you. Please, take a seat," Wilson said calmly gesturing to the chair in front of his office. "Do you drink?" he asked, pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

"I do," Kuro said calmly as he sat down, accepting the second glass without concern, watching Wilson take his own seat. "I was told you wanted to speak with me," Kuro said, taking a sip.

"It's been a while since someone accepted a drink from me without worrying that it was poisoned," Wilson said with a chuckle. He liked it when the people he was dealing with knew how dangerous he was.

"I'd probably be able to smell it, my senses are far better than yours. Of course, if it managed to go unnoticed, then I'd also probably survive since my kind are extremely resistant to poisons," Kuro said easily. "Plus, even if it could affect me… I would resist it enough to have time to kill you and get out of here before it dealt any real damage," Kuro continued with a slight smirk, a dark look in his eyes.

It seemed like Kuro understood what he was doing, and had no qualms about returning the favour. Unfortunately Kuro's casual confidence that he could kill him and escape, even if poisoned, made his idle threat quite a bit more effective.

"Impressive, you have quite the luck to be born with such power," Wilson said calmly, not showing any fear at the claim.

He knew he was physically weak, even in as good shape as he may be, he was strong but this tournament had shown him how easily he could be killed by someone with powers. Kuro's ability to kill him wasn't particularly special.

"It certainly has its benefits," Kuro said with a shrug, clearly waiting for him to continue.

"Do you know why I arranged this tournament?" Wilson asked, making Kuro nod.

"You're paying too much for it to be about money. I'm sure you're making plenty of profit but that's not the main purpose. You're looking for super-powered recruits," Kuro said easily, making Wilson nod with a small smile.

Smart kid.

"Correct, I have plans that require more powerful employees, unfortunately I'm not the only one looking for recruits today," Wilson admitted. "I feel like I should apologise to you, because you've gained the attention of a rather… troublesome woman."

"Oh? Troublesome women are one of my favourite things," Kuro said with a lazy smirk, making him chuckle. "Probably for all the wrong reasons."

"Then you'll love Miss Frost, she's a high-ranking member in an organisation I am a member of," Wilson said, watching as Kuro's eyes immediately narrowed. "She has asked me to send you to speak with her in her room."

Was that recognition in his eyes? He hid it well but he definitely knew the name.

"Interesting, you think she wants to recruit me?" Kuro asked, leaning back in his chair with a furrowed brow before he smiled.

"I do, our organisation has a lot of… infighting, it's mostly political but sometimes the fighting is quite literal. I believe this is one of those times," Wilson admitted. "I have no desire to get pulled into Miss Frost's schemes, but she isn't a woman I can say no to. I simply want you to understand that while she is undoubtedly going to make a very enticing offer, her schemes are certainly more dangerous than my own if she truly is planning to do what I believe she is."

He was treading a fine line, but Emma had annoyed him and he saw no problems with making her life a little more complicated. If this also made Kuro look more fondly on him and more likely to join up (or even just do some mercenary work for him) then all the better.

"I see, thanks for the heads up. I take it she's waiting for me already?" Kuro asked, making Wilson nod.

"I have someone ready to take you to her room. I wish you luck, because Miss Frost isn't used to being told no," Wilson said, watching as Kuro downed the rest of his glass before smirking.

"A lot of people aren't, they're always so surprised when I just do whatever I want anyway," Kuro said with a grin.

Well, perhaps he needed to wish Miss Frost luck instead. He wasn't going to because he didn't like her, but the point stood.

— Kuro Tepes —

Miss Frost, as in Miss Emma Frost. The organisation mentioned has to be Hellfire, Fisk isn't a mutant after all.

Oh my goals just expanded considerably, why bother taking over Fisk's gang when I can take over such a larger and more powerful organisation?

I don't know why Fisk decided to warn me, but he's probably just expanded his lifespan considerably since he's taken my eye away from his operations.

I don't know what Frost is up to yet, but I can find out. A lot of this is going to depend on how experienced this Emma is, she sounds like she's already the White Queen but that doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.

Who is the other Queen, and the Kings? This is all information I don't have because Hellfire didn't exist in the MCU, this world is clearly a merge of several different marvel series so I can't rely on any information I have, because I could make incorrect assumptions with faulty intel and that could fuck me over hard.

Marvel is a dangerous place, I can't be making mistakes like that.

I realise I'm saying that as the guy who told Grayfia to get on her knees and start sucking if she wanted my help, even knowing she could kill me with ease but the point still stands.

…I miss Grayfia and the other DxD girls. I know they're fine and I'll get back to them eventually but it still infuriates me that I was taken away from them against my will by a dumb bitch with daddy issues.

Fucking Shiro, take care of your kids (or at least deal with the problematic ones before they become my problem).

Following the minion who was waiting for me, I'm led into the mansion proper, spotting Black Widow still playing the trophy wife as I head through the foyer, spotting her watching me out of the corner of my eyes.

Giving her a flirtatious smile, she returns it as she blushes. She's a very good actor, if I didn't know she was a spy I'd truly believe she was some rich fan wanting to bag a 'hero'.

I'll have to get her number before I leave here, because if Shield is going to be spying on me, I might as well enjoy it.

I fully plan to play every side for all they're worth, I'm greedy like that.

"Just this way, sir," the minion says as I turn away from Natasha, heading upstairs.

The workers here are clearly scared of me, more so after seeing me fight, so I guess Intimidating Stature is doing its job. It has its pros and cons but it is apparently better to be feared than loved.

I'd rather be feared by the men and loved by the women, but I'll settle for being feared by all. This world doesn't know it yet, but a Dark Lord walks amongst them and they'll learn just what that means for them in time.

Pushing down the urge to give off an evil cackle, I head to the room Emma is waiting for me, ignoring the minion as I let myself in instead of waiting to be 'announced'.

I like doing little things like this to make it clear I don't follow orders that well, she summoned me and I was tempted to just wander off out of spite but this could benefit me enough that I decided to play along. That doesn't mean I'm going to make this easy for her.

As I enter the room, a pair of icy blue eyes turn to me with a raised eyebrow as her eyes narrow ever so slightly, a wine glass in one hand and a book in the other which she puts down as I enter.

Lounging on a large chair, she very much matches the Emma Frost I remember from the comics in the best way possible.

I've noticed that a lot of girls here have 'comic book' good looks, almost unrealistic beauty compared to the girls of the world I grew up in.

Emma Frost is no exception, the body of a supermodel and a confidence that's well deserved is shown in her chosen outfit.

Her entire outfit is completely white of course, because why wouldn't it be? Not bothering with any bottoms, she has simply decided to wear a small white thong and a pair of stockings that reach above her knees, her long legs mostly on display. Her top isn't much better as the tight corset does more to draw attention to her considerable cleavage than to cover anything.

The fact that she's also wearing a fur-trimmed cape only adds to the image.

"I see you're as impatient as your father," Emma starts, making me smirk and raise an eyebrow of my own.

"Oh, you've met the old bastard?" I ask, making her laugh slightly as she gestures towards the couch opposite her.

"Fortunately, no. My organisation attempted to recruit him since he is incredibly powerful both in terms of personal strength and wealth. He might be richer than me, he certainly owns more businesses. Vlad demanded we immediately give him both the 'King' positions and when we refused he attacked one of our European branches, killing everyone," Emma drawled, making me snort. "We decided he wasn't suitable for our organisation after that, I'm hoping that you're more reasonable."

"Hellfire, then?" I ask, watching her eyes widen briefly before she nods calmly. "That sounds like him, he's never been the most reasonable man."

"I take it you know of our organisation then?" Emma asked, making me shrug.

"I know the basics, but not anything that specific. Father doesn't think much of you, to be honest," I say.

He's never mentioned them, but who are they going to check with? It doesn't surprise me that he decided to demand they immediately put him in charge, and he probably wasn't even offended when they refused.

He also prefers to be feared rather than loved, and frankly he enjoys killing people. They probably approached him while he was bored.

"Yes, we noticed that," Emma deadpans.

"Don't take it personally, he doesn't think much of most mortals," I say easily.

"Yes, that seems to be a common theme amongst immortals. Regardless, that's not why I asked Fisk to send you to meet with me," Emma says.

She's met other immortals? Interesting.

"Yeah, he said something about that. So, why do you want to recruit me and what makes you think it's worth my while?" I ask.

— Emma Frost —

Kuro certainly shared some of his father's arrogance, or perhaps it was just confidence in this situation.

"Before I answer that, how much do you know about mutants?" Emma asked, making Kuro nod easily.

"Quite a bit, I would hope. Especially considering I am one, amongst other things," Kuro said with a snort. "I'm pretty sure my mother is a mutant, given what little my father has told me about her and my own 'x-gene'."

Kuro was also more informed than she expected, she figured he'd have heard of mutants but the fact that he knew what an x-gene was and that he believed himself a mutant was certainly interesting.

"And what is your power, if I may ask?" Emma asked, making him laugh.

"I would think you already know that. Is it unnerving?" Kuro asked, making her narrow her eyes.

"Is what unnerving?" Emma asked, taking the bait.

"Not being able to read my mind, I imagine you get used to knowing what everyone is thinking," Kuro said simply, making her freeze for just a moment.

"So you are a nullifier then, I thought as much," Emma said, decidedly not answering his question which hit far too close to the truth.

Still, she was right about his power and that boded very well for her hopes.

"As far as I've been able to tell, I'm a big fuck you to other mutants. Normally it wouldn't be that impressive but then I'm also a Dhampir mage so I kinda hit the power jackpot," Kuro admitted.

She could see what he meant. Being able to nullify powers alone wouldn't be that powerful on a mutant who was limited to a more baseline strength, but on someone who had such strength and speed, he was a mutant's worst nightmare.

He'd take away their powers while his own remained perfectly active.

"I can certainly see that. As you possibly know, Hellfire is a society of the world's more upper-class individuals, the rich and the powerful. It's mostly old money, and the Tepes family is very old money," Emma started, immediately realising that Kuro already knew this. "I am the White Queen, one of the four royal positions. Technically three at the moment, as the seat of Black King has been empty for quite a while."

Thanks to Selene, she had her plans for that seat and it had helped Sebastian grow so powerful, whether she intended it to or not. With no Black King and an indifferent Black Queen, he had little competition other than her and he'd made sure to put a leash on her so she couldn't challenge him.

Or he thought he had at least, that was his mistake.

"So you're right, I do want to recruit you. As a Queen, I can have a Knight. It's a fairly high-ranking position, and while there would be members above you, you'd answer only to me," Emma explained, seeing Kuro's eyes narrow slightly, a tiny sneer crossing his face.

He didn't like that, much like his father he didn't particularly take well to not being in charge. She didn't need telepathy to be able to work that much out.

"For the most part, I'd be happy to leave you to your own devices, though you would be expected to act as my bodyguard when required and attend the Hellfire meetings by my side," Emma continued. "As for what is in it for you? Power, wealth, women. I'm sure you have all three anyway, but I assure you, Hellfire takes all three to levels far beyond that. You'll also find me a very grateful and flexible employer," Emma said, giving it a flirtatious smile as she said 'flexible'.

He was attractive enough, and taking him into her bed would give her a different way to control him. She'd seen his gaze on her body, he wasn't even trying to hide it but she changed into her 'White Queen' outfit for a reason. She didn't particularly like that Shaw forced her to wear it, but she couldn't deny it was useful when it came to situations like this.

Plus, calling it employer sounded better than mistress or boss, especially for someone as prideful as Kuro.

"Is that so?" Kuro said with a knowing smirk.

"It is, I have a penthouse apartment being prepared for you as a signing bonus, your own apartment is far too mundane for a man like you after all," Emma said, admitting she'd already looked into him.

It was impressive how quickly Hellfire could arrange something like a multi-million dollar apartment when she needed it.

"So certain I'll accept?" Kuro said with a laugh, making her nod.

"I'm not the type of woman who accepts failing, I want you and I intend to have you," Emma said, once again flirtatious as Kuro chuckled. He knew what she was doing but it didn't stop him from enjoying it. "I spend most of my time running an Academy for mutants in Massachusetts- don't worry I don't expect you to move. I do have a student who can teleport people, but I'm unsure if you can disable your power and allow yourself to be teleported when I need you, but we can come to an arrangement that suits us both. I don't need you by my side every day after all," Emma said, fishing for information.

Kuro caught on, but after a moment of pause he shrugged.

"I think I could learn how to temporarily suppress it in time, but for now? No, I can't. That said, I'm still a mage and teleportation isn't that complicated," Kuro said with an easy shrug.

She had no idea about how true that was, but his magic was just another reason she wanted him working for her.

She needed any and all advantages she could get her hands on, because as much as she hated Shaw, she couldn't deny he was dangerous. Even without his mutant power, he was smart and well prepared for any and all betrayals.

She wasn't the first to try and take him down,but she intended to be the last.

"Excellent, as I said, I can be very accommodating. You'll be able to do whatever you want without worrying about me looking over your shoulder, and you'll be very well rewarded any time I do need you," Emma said.

"I can't deny it's tempting, I take it there's no going back if I decide to join?" Kuro asked, making her nod.

"Yes, that is one important point. Nobody gets to just quit Hellfire, once you are a member there is no way to leave the club," Emma admitted, making Kuro hum in understanding.

"I expected that much, secret societies don't usually look too fondly on people leaving," Kuro said calmly.

"Very true. So, here's my offer. Become my knight, and aside from the Penthouse, you'll be given a bank account that gets an extremely generous amount paid into it every month and access to the many benefits of being a member of Hellfire," Emma said, giving him a somewhat lewd smile. "We have no end of actresses, musicians and supermodels who would happily warm your bed to further their career. Hellfire has connections in just about every industry and complete control of more than a few. Hollywood is practically our territory."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Kuro chuckled.

"Just think, you could be watching the latest blockbuster, and with a single message, you can call the lead actress to give you a private showing or have a chart-topper musician perform a solo for you. Models and even athletes are no different, Hellfire is very influential even if most of these women have never heard its name. We prefer to act behind the scenes after all," Emma said, and she could tell he liked the idea.

It was good he had a libido, because truthfully she knew very well how insanely wealthy Vlad Tepes was, perhaps even better than Kuro himself.

Vlad liked to turn powerful women into his 'brides', and had been doing that for centuries. He didn't quite rival Hellfire itself, but it was far closer than anyone in Hellfire wanted to consider.

Frankly, he scared them for more reasons than just his power and willingness to kill anyone who mildly annoyed him. He was one of the few who had the potential to damage their control of dozens of industries if he decided he wanted to.

Oddly enough, the only other one she could think of was Reed Richards, for very different reasons. Reed had the potential to devastate just about any industry he turned his frankly terrifying intelligence towards, but thankfully he showed little interest in actually going into business.

It was rather amusing that the Baxter Foundation was eternally on the brink of bankruptcy due to the incredibly expensive experiments that Reed performed almost non-stop, leaving the finances to his wife.

Hellfire had funded quite a lot of his experiments just to make sure he never bothered deciding he needed to use his intellect to make money.

The oil industry had paid a lot to make sure Reed didn't get any ideas about making power free, and a great many other industries had done the same.

Reed Richards, truly the world's smartest fool.

Other groups might be able to pose the same threat as Reed and Dracula, but she couldn't think of another single person who posed such a threat.

Stark was a potential problem but he understood the status quo as a businessman himself. He was also too busy playing hero to be a real threat, especially not while Hellfire had a hand in the world security council which guided Shield.

"Fine, you convinced me. Father might not think he needs Hellfire but I'm not quite as prideful as him, most of the time," Kuro said with a smirk. "I'm in."

"Excellent, I'm glad we could come to an agreement," Emma said as she rose and walked towards him, hips swaying as she approached.

Offering her hand, Kuro smirked.

"I do have one condition, though," Kuro said, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Oh?" Emma asked, ready for him to demand she slept with him. She wouldn't be thrilled about it since she intended to seduce him on her terms, not on his, but it was worth what she was gaining.

As he gave her a grin, her eyes were drawn to the fangs on display.

"I want your blood," Kuro said simply as she paused.

"Would this turn me?" Emma asked, making Kuro shake his head.

"Not unless you drank mine afterwards, and even then there's a ritual that needs to be done, I promise you there's no major side effects," Kuro said, making her frown.

"And the short term?" Emma asked.

"…blood loss?" Kuro said with a deadpan tone. "You'll probably feel lightheaded for a few hours, oh and my bite is something of an aphrodisiac. Apparently it's to stop the prey from resisting," Kuro admitted, making her pause in thought before she shrugged.

"Very well, I can accept that," Emma agreed, watching as he rose. Tilting her head, she couldn't stop the slight whimper when he pulled her against his muscular body, one hand wrapped around her waist as he closed in and placed his lips to her exposed neck.

He didn't bite immediately, kissing her neck briefly before she felt two sharp pin pricks, almost immediately feeling a flood of arousal as she bit down a moan. He didn't even drink from her for that long as he pulled back, giving her a slight smirk as he licked up a slight trail of blood that had escaped his mouth, leaking from the side of his lips.

"You taste delicious, Miss Frost," Kuro said with a grin, still holding her against him as she returned his smile.

"I'm glad you enjoyed my taste, I certainly wouldn't mind letting you taste me more in the future, we'll be working together very closely after all," Emma said flirtatiously. "Now, would you like for me to arrange for someone to help you break in your new bed?"

"I take it you're not an option?" Kuro asked, giving her a long look as she laughed.

"I'm tempted, my dear, but I have work to do tonight. Don't worry, there will be more than enough time for us to become more acquainted in the future," Emma promised, moving over and grabbing her tablet.

"Then why not, I might as well enjoy my new benefits to the fullest after all," Kuro said, making her nod approvingly.

"Exactly, that's the spirit," Emma said, switching apps. "Now, who is in New York today? Let's see…ahh, Taylor Swift is available, Emma Stone, Katy Perry, Beyoncé- Jennifer Lawrence isn't in town but she's close enough and I've heard she's rather freaky, Emma Watson, Anne Hathaway…" Emma continued, showing Kuro her tablet.

Kuro didn't know it, but he was the key piece in her plan to truly take over Hellfire, Shaw was living on borrowed time.

And for that, she'd pay a great deal.

— Kuro Tepes —

Hellfire having so many celebrities at beck and call doesn't surprise me and Emma clearly isn't bluffing because each 'profile' she goes to has several nude pictures that were clearly professionally done.

But some of these actresses played characters in the MCU.

Natalie Portman is there, but I also checked and Jane Foster exists and looks like Natalie Portman.

I am confusion.

Either way, I do think I'm going to enjoy my new position, and whether Emma knows it or not she's just become an important piece in my plan to take over Hellfire.

Also I actually have a venom, it's what gives off that aphrodisiac effect, I also have an Eromancy spell that makes my fluids addictive.

Venom is fluid after all, and while I only made it slightly addictive, it's a start.

— Bonus Scene — Selene

Sometimes, fate itself blessed her.

After so many years of planning, Emma just happened to blunder into her precious tool and decided to recruit him into Hellfire?

Completely bypassing her own plans and speeding everything up, Emma had no idea what she was playing with, and Selene had no plans to inform her fellow Queen. It was actually ideal for her, Emma's little scheme had the potential to work out better than her own plans.

Emma obviously wanted to depose Shaw, and that worked fine for her own goals. Shaw had served his purpose well, but he was always going to be a temporary ruler.

Still, he had some uses left. He'd make a good first test for her weapon. She needed to be sure Vlad hadn't blundered raising their son after all.

…if that buffoon had ruined her plans after she spent decades planning this and then nine months carrying the brat so she could give birth to him the natural way, she'd find a way to actually kill that fanged fuck.

Of course if she tried to kill him again, he'd probably think she was trying to flirt with him.

Fucking Vlad.

— New Skills —

Racial

[Telepathy]

As a Dhampir, you can read the surface thoughts and desires of lesser beings, and project your own thoughts into their minds.

Superpowers

[Command]

You can imbue your words with power, forcing those who hear them to obey your commands, limited to small sentences.