Preparations I

Gwen froze in place and her whole body stiffened like a deer staring down a car's headlights.

She looked up at him and her eyes grew even wider.

For a moment, it felt like everything around them just stopped.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out right away.

"Gwen?"

Scott still didn't know how to react.

Gwen's face turned a deeper shade of red and her breath quickened. She shot up straight, holding the boxer shorts in front of her like a shield as her heart hammered in her chest.

"I-, It's not what you think! I… I swear!"

She stammered in such a high-pitched voice.

"I'm just, um, smelling them, y' know, to see if they need to be washed! Yes, that's it!"

She pressed the fabric against her nose again, taking another sniff- this time, more dramatically.

"See?"

She somehow fought the urge to enjoy its scent.

"I just wanted to check, like, a… a responsible housemate!"

Her eyes darted around, desperate to find an escape from the mess she'd found herself in.

"How dare you accuse an innocent angel like me of something so indecent!"

She let out a small squeak and shook the boxer shorts in her hand with a bit too much enthusiasm. The words tumbled out of her as she struggled to suppress the moan of enjoyment rising in her throat.

Scott blinked.

His eyes were still wide.

But now, they narrowed with suspicion.

"Wait… so you' re telling me…"

He pointed at her.

"…that you're smelling my… gym shorts to see if they need washing after a serious exercise?"

Gwen's face turned bright red as she trembled.

『Why's he even making such a big deal out of it?! Any guy would be glad that he has a pretty girl sniffing his boxers and doing questionable things with his tank top, right? RIGHT?!』

She opened her mouth, ready to explain, but no words came out. Instead, she just stood there, clutching the boxer shorts like some embarrassing trophy. Any sense of composure she had was gone, and all she could do was imagine the universe laughing at her misfortune.

Scott looked like he couldn't decide whether to laugh, shout, or just walk away. His mouth opened and closed a few times, like he was struggling to find the right thing to say.

In the end, he cleared his throat, still staring at her with a look that screamed, [Are you serious right now?]

"Well… I gotta admit, Gwen, you've got an… interesting way of handling laundry…"

He sounded very dry.

Gwen squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment and her body shook slightly.

"Shut up, Scott. It's not funny."

Scott raised his hands in fake surrender.

"Alright, alright. Just… please, never do that again."

He turned his back to her and adjusted the towel around his waist as he sighed.

Gwen huffed, still clutching his boxer shorts as she stood frozen in place.

"This is what I get for trying to be responsible…"

She looked away in shame.

Scott walked over to the counter and picked up his facial cleanser, acting like nothing unusual had just happened. He squeezed the tube without a second thought, pouring a good amount into his hand.

"There we go…"

Looking over at Gwen, he saw her still standing there, frozen like a deer in headlights, holding his boxer shorts as if they were some sort of ransom note.

"Sure, Gwen…"

He said, sounding very nonchalant.

"You're being responsible, I get it."

He flashed her a sarcastic grin.

"While you're at it, you should also return my tank top. You know, the one you 'borrowed' last night. Might as well wash that too, if you're going full-on responsible housemate mode."

There was such heavy mockery in his voice.

Enough that Gwen could feel it.

It was clear he hadn't just said that on a whim; he was completely sure. Her eyes widened in shock. She froze for a moment, then quickly glanced down at the clothes in her hands, as if they had suddenly come to life.

Her cheeks turned a deep red.

『He knows about the tank top…』

She could barely keep up with her own thoughts as she stood up with the items in hand, her palms sweaty.

She forced herself to look at Scott.

"I'll wash them, but not because you told me to!"

She blurted out very defensively, trying to salvage what little dignity she had left.

Ignoring her attempt to save face, Scott just shrugged.

"Whatever… just make sure they're clean when I get 'em back, okay?"

He leaned against the counter, casually washing his face with the cleanser.

It was the best way to avoid the current awkwardness.

Gwen turned to leave, gripping the boxer shorts and his tank top in her hands, but as she started to walk away, her brain did a mental double-take.

『Wait. His phone… will he notice it's gone?』

She could feel the weight of it—Scott's phone was wrapped up in the tank top.

She cursed herself silently.

『He's gonna notice. He's gonna fuckin' notice!』

Just then, Scott's eyes went to the corner.

"Stop…"

Scott's voice broke through her thoughts.

Gwen's stomach dropped like a stone as the blood drained from her face. Her legs froze in place, and she turned, already ready to apologize before he even said anything.

"I-, I didn't mean to take it, I swear! I just wanted to──!"

But Scott cut her off, not even looking at her as he threw a small laundry bag at her. The bag collided with her face with a satisfying thwack, and Gwen's heart nearly stopped in surprise. Her nostrils flared in frustration, but she knew better than to raise a scene right now.

She really wanted to shout at him.

Her face was turning bright red, and she could almost feel steam coming out of her nostrils. But she held back, knowing that if she lost her temper, Scott would probably bring up her suspicious sniffing of his gym clothes.

『Damn it!』

She knew he was aware of that & used it to his advantage.

Scott smiled smugly at Gwen.

"Those ones are really sweaty…"

If only he knew he was tormenting Gwen with a good time.

She let out a long sigh as her breath escaped through her nose like hot air slowly leaking from a balloon.

With a strained smile, she picked up the laundry bag.

"Fine. I'll make sure to wash every single one of these."

Scott didn't even glance over as he applied the cleanser to his face.

"Good girl. Don't sniff 'em all in one place… kehahaha!"

"Son of a…"

Gwen's stomach did a backflip, and she couldn't help but feel a strange warmth spread through her chest at his praise.

Was she into that stuff?

『Whatever…』

There was no time to linger on it.

『I'll show him…』

Gwen's face squeezed like a crumpled piece of paper.

However, Scott wasn't interested in knowing why.

"Now scram. I'm about to strip."

He said in words not quite as kind as before.

Gwen's eyes went wide and her mind briefly flashed to the thought of seeing him naked.

『A naked Scott…』

The thought alone made between her legs hot.

"Okay!"

She tried to sound casual, but inside, her mind was spinning with a thousand perverted thoughts. As she walked toward the door, though, something strange stopped her in her tracks.

She couldn't resist the temptation.

Slowly, carefully, she peeked around the door frame.

There he was—Scott, towel wrapped around his waist, looking at himself in the mirror, unaware of her prying eyes.

She saw his bare back as he lowered the towel.

Her breath jammed in her throat, and for a brief moment, Gwen allowed herself to indulge in the view.

And then, just as she thought she had the perfect angle to see everything, Scott turned and instantly caught her from the corner of his eye. His face contorted in disgust, and before she knew it, the bottle of facial cleanser flew through the air, aiming directly at her.

"CRAZY BITCH! GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Gwen barely managed to shut the door in time and the bottle crashed against the wood with a loud thud. She pressed her back against the door then let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

『Damn it, damn it, damn it!』

Her face was on fire, but not from embarrassment…

Oh no, from pure, unfiltered frustration.

『I was so close! Fuck it, I wanted to see his peen so bad. With the way he looks I'm sure he's packing!』

She bit her fingernail as she leaned against the door.

『Next time, next time I'll do more than see it, tch!』

---

Hours later…

Gwen was in her room, lying on her bed with Scott's clothes scattered around her like a crime scene. She buried her face in his gym clothes, inhaling the familiar musky scent that sent waves of weird comfort through her.

But that wasn't the reason she was there.

No, she had his phone, and she was determined to find something—anything—to confirm her suspicions.

She flipped through his Chirper, Chatterbox, and Instaflick accounts, looking for anything that hinted at another woman.

The Miss Mercury chats that should've been there weren't.

She frowned.

『Nothing? Not even a hint?』

But then, a smile spread across her face.

『So he really is clean. Maybe… maybe I'm actually his number one choice.』

She let out a little sigh of relief as she relaxed.

She was about to throw the phone aside when suddenly, the front camera snapped a picture of her.

『SHIT!』

The flash hit her like a bullet, and before she could do anything, a caption popped up on the screen:

[Desperate childhood friend looking for serious attention, jeez (－‸－)]

Gwen's entire face turned a shade of red that could rival a tomato.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

She shouted as she scrambled to delete the photo.

But it was too late.

The phone locked itself and shut down.

"Haha, I'm fucked…"

Her hands froze.

She stared at the phone for a moment, then tossed it across the room, feeling both anger and shame.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK──!"

She grabbed her hair, pulling it in frustration, but all she could think about was that damn caption, taunting her, mocking her every move.

---

Scott leaned back in his chair with a satisfied grin spreading across his face as he looked at the TV-TW wristwatch on his arm.

It was synced with his phone, giving him full control over it.

He gently tapped the device's smooth surface, and on the small screen, Gwen's flustered, red-faced panic appeared. She looked like a helpless rat trapped in a corner, holding her phone as if it might blow up at any second.

He found it amusing that Gwen was so panicked about the possibility of a third woman in his life. He also liked how determined she was to uncover the truth, even going as far as sneaking into his room and stealing his phone to find answers.

Or maybe it was the fact that, all along, she'd been trying to seduce him while they were staying here, hoping to get him to act on her advances.

『I'm not clueless about how she feels, not at all. I've known since the moment she came back. But honestly, I think I've always known that Gwen liked me, even back when she rejected me. I figured if I told her I liked her too, maybe we'd actually be something. But this is Gwen we're talking about. She's almost two years older than me, but she can be so childish. If I tell her how I feel again, it'll just give her more reasons to doubt herself. She has to figure out her own feelings for me and tell me how she really feels. I'll be more than happy to accept her when she does.』

Regardless, he was enjoying it all.

Especially the caption he'd written to tease her.

[Desperate childhood friend looking for serious attention, jeez (－‸－)]

It was just too good.

"Perfect…" he muttered under his breath.

This would keep Gwen off his back for a little while.

She'd be too embarrassed to bother him for at least a few hours.

He stared at her embarrassed face in the holographic image from his high-tech wristwatch.

Oddly enough, he couldn't stop smiling at her beauty.

『I swear, I need more normal women in my life. Seriously, the guys on Threadit all say that if their girl isn't crazy about them, they don't want her. But I bet they haven't met Gwen or Miss Mercury, have they?』

He turned off his wristwatch and focused on the scattered weapon parts on his workbench.

Scott rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Alright, time to get back to work."

He pushed himself off the chair.

He was in Grace's husband's workshop, a place he rarely used, so it was a cluttered mess of disassembled tech, tools, and unfinished projects.

On the table in front of him were parts of Shockstrike's cybernetic arm, still shiny with oil, and plasma turrets from the E-Porner incident.

He leaned in closer to examine the parts closely, like a hunter sizing up his prey.

"Let's see… I'm definitely finishing the Taser Knuckles and Shock Gloves by tonight."

Scott muttered, already starting to move parts around.

"But this Vibroblade… hrmm, this one's gonna take a bit longer… probably until I get back home."

He grabbed his shirt from the back of the chair and quickly pulled it on.

He glanced back at the workbench with narrowed eyes.

『Time to make some real progress.』

He reached over and grabbed a pair of safety gloves that slid on with ease.

Then, he picked up a small green chip with a pair of tweezers and held it up to his eyes. The chip had survived the explosion that had vaporized Shockstrike's body. Luckily for Scott, Shockstrike's cybernetic arm had been strong enough to survive the blast.

Scott frowned slightly as he examined the tiny device.

"The arm held up well, huh? Too bad I didn't get any answers from Shockstrike before he… well, went boom. But this chip… I'm sure there's something useful on here. Should have information on Black Mechanica."

He paused and rubbed his chin again as he carefully placed the chip under a magnifying glass.

"The only problem is… the blast probably short-circuited it. Gonna need to run some reflow soldering to fix it, but I don't have my tools with me."

His eyes shifted toward the corner of the room where his gear was packed away.

"Looks like that'll have to wait. Damn."

Scott set the tweezers down with a soft clink and reached for a syringe on the table. The liquid inside was a rich brown color, and the label read LPV-7 in bold letters.

"Great. Another mystery…" he sighed.

He held the syringe up then turned it in the light.

"I told the System to run a scan on this thing, but it's still not giving me anything."

He spoke to the air, half-expecting the System to answer.

"Any luck?" he asked, a little hopeful.

The voice of the System's robotic voice answered:

[Scanning complete. 40% of data retrieved. Preliminary findings indicate that it's a product of pyrolysis.]

Scott raised an eyebrow at this.

"Pyrolysis? That's the heating of organic material in the absence of oxygen, right?"

He shook his head.

"So what's in this syringe… probably not something I want to inject, huh? Like poison or something?"

[Probable. Initial traces suggest high levels of wood content. LPV-7 is definitely a bio-oil compound.]

Scott's lips twitched into a smile.

"Bio-oil, huh? So this stuff is made from organic material, probably some kind of plant-based extract. I don't know, but something doesn't sit right with me about this. It's not just normal bio-oil, though, is it?"

[Not normal. High concentration of cellulose suggests a highly specialized formulation. Unknown applications.]

Scott squinted at the syringe.

"Hmm… well, if it's not just normal bio-oil, then it's something else entirely…"

He leaned back on the workbench and quietly tapped his finger on the surface as the gears in his head turned.

"Wait… Elena. I don't want to believe all that vampire nonsense exists, but she kinda looked like one."

He froze mid-thought.

His eyes snapped open.

"Elena… Shockstrike… Black Mechanica… Is it possible that they actually have a way to kill or poison her? This bio-oil… wood… shit… wood's a vampire weakness. Could this stuff actually be a weapon against her?"

He was well aware that incorporating fictional weaknesses into the real world was a gamble, but this wasn't the usual vampire stuff. Something about this bio-oil felt different. And if what the System said was true… there might be something lethal hidden in that syringe.

Scott set the syringe down carefully, then grabbed his goggles from the table and slid them over his eyes.

"Alright, enough of this. Time to get to work…"

He reached for his tools.

His mind, however, wasn't entirely on the weapons he was building anymore.

With a final glance at the syringe, he made a decision.

"System, make an announcement for the stream. Tell everyone I'll be going on a little hunt at 8 p.m. tonight. They need to be ready."

The System's voice was almost too prompt.

[Understood. Stream announcement has been prepared.]

Scott nodded.

"Good. Now, let's get to work on these new combat tech upgrades. Bring me everything you know on nanomechanical actuators and electroshock technology."

[Affirmative!]

Right away, the System flooded him with a bunch of screens showing detailed information and blueprints for different kinds of tech he could create using the parts he collected from his last two encounters.

With that, Scott rubbed his hands and breathed out softly.

"Wonderful…"

━ ━ ━ ━

In Emma's spacious living room, the four of them—Emma, Nadia, Jenna, and Marcus—were gathered in front of the enormous flat-screen TV, battling it out in the newest edition of Turbo Racer X.

It was their way of relaxing after a long day, and things were getting pretty heated.

Marcus sat on the edge of the couch, completely focused, clutching his controller tightly like the game's outcome really mattered. His little racer zipped around the track, dodging obstacles with ease and leaving the AI drivers in the dust.

Jenna wasn't far behind, though.

"HAHA! I'm on your ass now, kid! Better not choke now!"

She leaned forward, her grip on the controller so tight her knuckles were turning white. Her car swerved and darted through the crowded track with incredible accuracy, sticking close behind Marcus, just barely missing her chance to overtake him.

"As if I'd lose to an old hag!" Marcus laughed loudly.

Jenna raised an eyebrow but didn't break her focus.

"Oh, you've got a smart mouth, huh?"

With a flick of her thumb, she activated her car's boosters and sent it rocketing past Marcus in a blur of flames and sparks.

"Mama's winning tonight!"

"What the──?!"

Marcus yelled, watching Jenna's car streak ahead.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the couch, Emma and Nadia were in shambles. Their cars slammed into walls, flipped over barriers, and somehow managed to fall off the track entirely, despite being in last place.

Tears streamed down Nadia's face as she gasped for air between fits of laughter.

"I-, I can't even see where I am anymore!"

Gripping her controller like it was a lifeline, Emma screamed as her car was overtaken by yet another computer-controlled racer.

"HOW IS EASY MODE THIS HARD?!"

"Skill issue…"

Marcus quipped without looking away from the screen.

The final lap ended in a dramatic finish.

Jenna's car crossed the line in first place, complete with a dazzling fireworks display on the screen.

She jumped to her feet with her arms raised in triumph.

"YES! I WIN!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs before doing a little victory dance.

Emma scowled and gripped her controller tightly.

With no warning, she hurled it across the room.

… FWOOOSH!

It sailed through the air like a homing missile and smacked Marcus square in the face.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?!"

Marcus yelled, rubbing his cheek.

"I didn't even win! Why'd you hit me?!"

He spun around to glare at her.

Jenna and Nadia stared at Emma, their mouths slightly open.

"Emma…" Jenna said.

"…that was… kinda too much." Nadia completed.

Emma crossed her arms then pouted. "Well, he made a stupid face, and I thought I'd adjust it a bit."

Jenna sighed and patted Marcus on the head.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll get you the limited edition premium pack. The one with the chrome skins and DLC."

Marcus's eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Definitely…" Jenna said with a wink. "But first, go grab us some water. Chop-chop."

"On it, ma'am!" Marcus grinned and ran off to the kitchen.

As soon as Marcus disappeared, Emma flopped back on the couch and grabbed her phone.

She opened Chirper, scrolling through her feed mindlessly.

But then she stopped and her heart skipped a beat.

Pinned at the top of her feed was a post from Nightwatch.

[@NightwatchOfficial: The hunt begins at 8 p.m. Stay sharp, Meteor City.]

The comments below were a chaotic storm of reactions:

[Finally! Been waiting all week for this!]

└ [Same, I'd sacrifice my son for more Nightwatch content!]

└ [Such a valid answer!]

[Hope you donated those crime-stopping donations to charity like you promised, Nightwatch!]

└ [Of course he did! Are you trying to call my glorious king some kind of thief?!]

└ [Holy glaze 💀…]

└ [I swear y'all call anything glaze these days…]

└ [Sure buddy, zip his pants when you're done (¬､¬)]

[Bro, it's 7:45. WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO FOR 15 MINUTES?!]

└ [I just beat my meat…]

└ [Naw, recreational meat beating is crazy work 💀]

└ [Might as well beat my meat while my wife's in giving birth since she won't let me go catch the game.]

└ [Bro does NOT have a wife 😭🙏]

[You're still in Meteor City, right? Not like we can keep up with all your moves, but just curious.]

[Lmao, what do we even do today? Sit around and watch some streamers talk about their lunch for 4 hours? Boring.]

└ [Yeah, sure thing, Karen (ㆆ _ ㆆ)]

└ [Bro has probably only watched The Peak's streams]

[#NightwatchLive > every other lame superhero stream out there!]

[Bet this is a setup for merch promos. 🙄]

[Bro, this is the only superhero livestream that's worth anything. The others are just a bunch of promos and ads. Cringe.]

---

Emma's thumb hovered over the comments section and her eyes darted across the screen.

Her mind was almost chaotic.

When she finally looked up, she noticed Jenna and Nadia staring at her, smirking like they knew exactly what was on her mind.

"What?" Emma asked defensively.

"Nothing…" Jenna said, barely hiding her grin.

"We're just waiting for you to say it," Nadia added, leaning back with her arms crossed.

Emma's brow furrowed. "Say what?"

"You know…" Jenna gestured vaguely. "That thing. The 'I'm-not-desperate-but-I'm-absolutely-desperate' thing."

Emma scowled as her face turned red.

"Do you two honestly think I'm going to superspeed across Metro City, cover a 350-mile distance to Meteor City, and scour every street and alley looking for some guy I barely know?"

Without hesitation, both Jenna and Nadia nodded.

Emma groaned loudly and stood up.

"Well, you're absolutely right!"

Jenna burst out laughing, nearly doubling over, while Nadia clapped her hands.

"You're so predictable!"

Jenna said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Go get him, girl!" Nadia cheered.

Emma grabbed her jacket and stormed toward the door, muttering under her breath.

"Stupid friends. Stupid Nightwatch. Stupid… sexy, attractive vigilante jerk."

As the door slammed behind her, Jenna and Nadia exchanged a look, then dissolved into laughter.

"Think she'll actually find him?" Nadia asked, still giggling.

"She's Emma," Jenna replied, shrugging. "If anyone can pull off something this ridiculous, it's her."

━ ━ ━ ━

Note: Unforgivably long chapter, I'm sorry (｡•́︿•̀｡)

Also, LPV-7 was mentioned in chapter 22!