First encounters of the fourth kind.

"Mrs. Kikuno." I reached out to her, "A word please."

She looked me over and her eyes twitched with a certain amount of recognition.

Was I already famous?

Did she read about the Beast's attack in whatever passes for a newspaper for magicians? Or....is it something else.

Did she see something about me in the future.

"Just make it quick." She said, heaving a sigh.

"You're dying-"

"From the cinnabar poisoning? I know." She said, lifting her hands to show me her wristwaches.

"That's why I made these to keep me safe. Anchor my mind to the present."

I frowned.

That response was weird. Too informative. Too straightforward for someone she was meeting for the first time.

"You know me?" I asked, tentatively.

"I know of you. Jane Chatwin sent me a memo." She explained.

Ah, of course. The only two time witches on Earth are bound to have some contact with each other.

"Then you know that my presence here is causing your watches to fail?"

"Yes. The resonant frequencies of your world, wherever it is... they are too disruptive to my flow, this world's flow of causality. And you have worsened it with your actions. Which is why I came here in the first place."

I raised an eyebrow.

"To a Welters game?"

Wait, did she know I was going to be in the Welters stadium?

Nah, that can't be right?

I have anti-tracking charms woven into my personal warding.

"No. To Brakebills. The Welters...it was a whim. I was on the Welters team in my time at Brakebills. Figured I'd see how they'd been doing." She said.

"Fantastic spell, that one. With the Bjorn's electromagnetic and Atsuko's spectral refraction. I haven't actually seen anyone pull on the mirror world for something like this. It was interesting to see. While I can...." She smiled faintly, mournful.

"Not going to ask me to leave?"

"Will you?"

I shook my head.

"Then what would be the point? Besides, I don't own the world. You're free to come and go as you please." She said bluntly.

I liked that.

She was a straightforward and sincere person who cared about nothing but her work.

No fuss, no muss, no tricks.

"I don't think your son shares that mentality." I pointed out.

In the show when Penny and Marina from timeline 23 had come to timeline 40, causing Sonia's condition to worsen, he kidnapped the two and trapped them in a cage to send them back home forcefully.

Not a bad person, just filial. And I can understand.

If something like that happened to my mother I'd do the same. Worse even.

"Ah, Daniel. He's a good kid but a bit too emotional." She sighed, "He tried to get me to stop my work. He can't see the value in it. A whole new discipline. The command over space and time that it would give magicians! We could solve all of the world's problems." She said with enthusiasm.

"And all it would require is your sacrifice." A voice came from behind us.

I turned around to see a man in a patchy beard and sunken eyes clutching a cube.

"Daniel?" Sonia guessed.

"Hi mom." He smiled, waving at her, "And you must be Jay Walker." Daniel turned to me, not worried in the least to see me on alert.

Something was wrong with him but I couldn't out a finger on it.

"You need to leave. And I know you won't. So I will make you." He said, casting a shield on the stadium door, locking everyone in to prevent interference.

Smart.

But not enough to stop me.

Immediately, I pulled out my pistol to fire at him, but he wasn't surprised. Before I could even raise the gun, it cracked.

"Wha-"

Boom!

The cartridge exploded, melting the flesh of my bones as it sent me flying back, while the forcefield around me kept the explosion contained, leaving the hallway and Sonia in it unharmed.

I could hear her shout now. It was dull, and my ears were ringing.

"Daniel! What did you do?" I made out barely.

"What I had to...." He said, stomping over to me.

I looked to my side and saw Yue unconcious on the floor beside me. She was standing by my side, clutching my arm and while I took the brunt of the explosion she didn't make it out unscathed either.

The right side of her face had fallen off, her skull visible and cracked as the blood pooling and my guts splattered all over the floor.

I could feel a pair of footsteps closing in on the floor.

It was Daniel.

This bastard!

How dare he hurt Yue?!

Yue was mine. And no one hurts my things and lives!

I burned with rage and swept out with my psyche force, connecting to Daniel and channeling a stream of pure static data straight into his brain, sending him reeling to the floor on one knee.

The cube fell from his hands and I smiled.

I couldn't keep it up for long. It was a first strike initiative sort thing. A fast, sharp attack to disorient the enemy before a finishing move.

And even though it ended as fast as it hit, it wouldn't matter soon.

With a twitch of my finger, I shot out a spell.

Spectral Avalanche!

A massive column of spectral blades sprouted from the ground cascading down the hallway towards him like a tidal wave, while he was still distracted.

But they didn't reach him.

Sonia Kikuno stepped forward, casting a shield spell and tanked the blades as she dipped to the floor, grabbing Daniel, helping him up.

He shook his head and stumbled to his feet, his eyes dizzy and glared at me, but my hands were still numb from the massive spell I had put out and I was already losing so much blood I couldn't counterattack.

Not this fast.

Not until I regenerated some more.

I coughed weakly as I felt the regeneration beginning to pick up.

"I'd say I'm sorry it had to come to this...." He said, looking over me, "But I'd hate to lie to a dying man."

This punk!

I glowered with all the ferocity I could muster but I was already out for the bidding. Thankfully, I still had my forcefield on, as well as the Emerson's Alloy.

So while his spell could affect the gun, it won't affect me.

I gloated in satisfaction and waited to see him fail before I get enough blood flowing to kill him.

But then something happened I didn't expect.

With a flick of his wrist, he cast a probability spell before snapping his fingers and pulling at something.

Suddenly, I felt my forcefield generator short circuit and the forcefield flickered before coming down.

What the fuck?

How?!

Before I could do anything, he was onto me.

Gingerly he lifted the Emerson's Alloy from my right coat pocket as if he had always known where it was and tossed it aside, before he pinched his middle and fore fingers and cast a spell I knew. It was a cow butchering spell, used in Maykop ritual sacrifices to crush the brains.

Boom!

The door to the stadium blew off it's hinges, the spell Daniel had used to shut people in shattering to pieces as Eliot and Margo ran out.

"Daniel, Come!" Sonia grabbed her son and twisted a knob on the stoppard ready to escape as he cast the spell on me.

And just like that everything went black.

.

"Motherfucker!"

I switched consciousnesses to my monster clone instantly, as a boiling rage swept through me.

Daniel Kikuno!

I was of half a mind rush back right away and kill him before he became a real threat, if he wasn't one already.

But thankfully, the monster clone was on some mega seed juice and I controlled myself.

There's no point in going back.

If he's smart, he'll have already left, either to escape my counterattack or believing that he had accomplished what he came to do.

If not, it's still not good to reveal my secret weapon, just in case he's watching to see what happens.

Especially after he has already revealed my immortality.

Still, how did he decimate me so easily?!

I'll admit I have gotten sloppy after becoming immortal....but there's no way that was natural.

I sulked.

I knew there were spells to control technology in this world but no one used them like this. Besides I figure the circumstances regarding my weapons would be too difficult to cast on, given that their design was from another world and their tech level was high.

And yet, to think he put me down so professionally.

He was almost too prepared. It can only mean one thing. He must have practiced in simulation for this fight.

There was a spell the protagonists used in the show. It used enchanted rune coins to simulate different futures.

I thought they were rare but then again, for a multiverse traveler like Danny boy, it wasn't hard to get some.

Honestly, I was expecting him to have already achieved godhood before he came here.

But seeing that he had to use magic and preparation, maybe he just recently became a multiversal traveler and only came back to the oast to prevent his mother's demise by killing me.

Or maybe that's what he wants me to think so I underprepare for the next offensive.

Not that I will.

I always overprepare to a ridiculous degree.

His tricks won't work on me a second time!

Or maybe he's not trying anything smart and this is an occam's razor situation?

Who knows!

This was my first time fighting another multiversal traveler so maybe I'm over thinking this....

I checked on the traveler clone and found Eliot and Margo hunched over it, trying to help.

Aww!

They really are good friends huh?

It was already healing fast enough and I could feel the brain regenerate fully, meaning I can turn off the pain now, so it was safe to return.

Returning before would have been excruciating as the pain switch is in the brain and with a half recovered brain, I'd have to lay there and feel the itchiness of the regeneration and the pain of my body setting itself back together all the while I felt everything.

Nope. A big fat nope to that shit.

But now, I could do it. So it's time for some damage control.

Switching off the pain sensors in my brain remotely, I returned to the traveler body, waking up a gasp.

"Hwaah!" I groaned, and the voices became clearer.

"Jay! Jay!" Yue cried, her tears mixed with blood falling into my nose casuing me to snort and sneeze.

I reached out to her and pinched her cheeks.

"You're going to choke me with those tears." I joked, and Yue hugged me tight, sniffling.

"Hey..." I patted her back softly, "Hey. It's okay. I'm immortal. You know that, remember. We talked about this."

"It doesn't mean I don't feel hurt seeing you in pain!" She pouted, "Baka!"

I kissed her forehead.

"I'll be fine." I assured her, turning to Eliot and Margo.

"Please tell me you caught the bastard..."

"No. They're still looking for him. But it's like he disappeared. I only saw a glimpse of it but I think he teleported out." Margo replied.

I heard a pop and a crackle as my new finger finished regenerating on my right hand that was blown off.

I gripped my hand, seeing if there was anything stuck inside.

Thankfully, everything was fine.

Good.

"Yeah. But don't worry. I know where to find him. Let's go." I said, getting up slowly as my guts retracted back into place and my skin began to regrow over my stomach lining at a visible rate.

"You might want to get some new clothes on before that." Margo pointed own below.

The explosion had burned up all my clothes

And let's just say, I was in need of a wardrobe change.

I cast a spell on my forcefield generator and fixed it back up, and used holographic layering tech to simualte clothing, wrapping the forcefield around me.

"That is so neat." Eliot exclaimed, "Can you make one for me?"

"Aside from the detox liver I'm making? No. Not for free. The materials cost a shit ton."

"How much?" Margo asked.

"Don't know. I just stole them. But they were kept in pretty secure lockups so they must be worth a pretty penny." I said.

"You're fucking with me right now aren't you?" Margo huffed.

"Oh please. If I was fucking with you, you'd know." I teased.

"You've got guts, for a guy who's naked under all that."

"Everyone's naked under their clothes. Doesn't stop them. Why should it stop me?" I grinned.

"Yeah. We get it. You like to streak." Quentin snarked.

"Not as much as you like to be friendzoned." I shot back.

"Oof. No need to kick him in his privates." Eliot chuckled.

"Haven't you heard the phrase, 'A nutshot for a nutshot makes the whole world impotent.'?"

"Wow. Which wise man said that?" I played along.

"Yours truly." Eliot bowed and I clapped and Yue snorted with laughter.

Alright.

Enough horsing around.

"Let's go!"

________________________

MC gets blown, and not the good way.

Another multiverse traveler is in the game now and the rules of play just changed for the MC!

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