Gold Afternoon

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.

Betad by Malcolm Tent, Marethyu, Mike God of Lore, priapus, Old man of the mountain, Beans

The Guild of Gamers: The Tinker

Chapter 09: Gold Afternoon

– David –

After everything he'd done, all the heroism and all of the lives saved, this was how it ended. This was how Eidolon died.

"You have to understand that this was the best option," Rebecca said, defending her decision.

"You had Contessa kidnap me, you handed me over to fucking Zero, and look what he did to me," David spat out, making her nod.

"He removed your powers, but it was the only way. I didn't know it was possible; my plan was simply to kill you and make it seem like you'd retired," Rebecca admitted, showing the heartlessness that had guided Cauldron all their years.

And yet, despite the despair he was feeling, he couldn't argue with her decision.

It was him, all this time. He'd guided the Endbringers. He'd unwittingly caused the attacks just to satisfy his ego; Zero had just put a stop to the worst villain in history. He almost wished Rebecca had gone with her plan, let him die a hero, not knowing what he'd done.

"What happens now?" David asked, making Rebecca shrug. 

"That's up to you. The Endbringers will be neutralised in short order and no more will appear with the power in better hands. Eidolon is retiring, leaving the world in the hands of Hero's successor. Exalt will take over the Houston Protectorate; I've arranged for a body double to handle the last few appearances if you'd rather sit them out," Rebecca explained; she always did have a handle on things like this.

"And Scion?" David asked, dropping the million-dollar question.

"Not your problem anymore, barely mine either," Rebecca scoffed, both pausing for a moment as they considered how trivialised they'd been by the appearance of a single cape.

This was Zero's world now; he was just living in it. Oddly enough, that didn't sting as much as he thought it would.

Eidolon was dead, but maybe David could start to live again.

– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –

Leaving David to brood, she made a note to have Contessa keep an eye on him. He wasn't a blindspot anymore.

After Kyushu, after Leviathan fell, Zero had approached her. He knew far more than anyone realised and knew that David was going to make a new Endbringer that would try to counter Zero's tech.

She didn't want to believe it, so he casually dropped her real name, Scion, countless Cauldron Experiments, and the dimension their not-so-secret base was in until she realised he was dead serious. In their looting of Eden's corpse, they'd unwittingly created the Endbringers.

She'd decided to kill David immediately, but Zero had a better idea.

"It's done; Behemoth is dead," Kei reported lazily as if he was talking about the weather. "Tracking him wasn't hard, and with Eidolon's shard, I just forced him to the surface."

"And the Simurgh?" Rebecca asked, making him smile slightly.

"Dealt with, just got hit by the most powerful missile that the world has ever seen. Publicly, she was slain high in orbit. You can make the announcement; the world deserves to know the threat is well and truly gone, and the PRT could use the good PR," Kei offered, making her nod gratefully. Officially a project between the Guild and the PRT, but realistically, Zero did all the work (from his bedroom).

She knew the Simurgh wasn't dead, but then, why kill what you could use? The Simurgh was the greatest Thinker in the world; when that power was put to good use, it could be a game-changer. Unlike David, Kei understood the Shard he'd taken; he had the controls and could deal with the Hopekiller at any time. She would be Zero's Contessa.

While the world was still celebrating Leviathan's defeat, the entire threat had been dealt with. She knew people hoped he'd be able to do the same at the next Endbringer attacks, but it turned out Kei wasn't a patient man. Why wait for them to attack when you can go on the offensive?

"And Scion?" Rebecca asked.

"Will be dealt with; I have everything I need now. I can't tell you the details. If he uses his Path to Victory, he'll find out if anyone but me knows. Fortunately, he's a fucking idiot," Kei scoffed, making her nod in reluctant agreement.

The fact that Scion had a Path to Victory, and the only reason they hadn't already lost was because he just didn't use it, was a blow to her image of the enemy. They'd survived this long because Scion just hadn't used his best tool.

"And what comes after that?" Rebecca asked, making Kei shrug.

"Fix the rest of the world's problems, play more games, maybe propose to my girl," Kei said with a lazy shrug. "Scion is kinda just in the way, I have shit to do. I'm glad you were willing to work with me; I was getting ready to send a dimension-collapsing missile into your base, to be honest."

…was he telling the truth?

Looking into the tired blue eyes, she decided that, for once, she didn't want to know.

"I'll do my part; the PRT will be ready," Rebecca agreed, making him smile.

As the call ended, she sat back in her chair. She couldn't quite hide her nerves for once because if all went well, then Scion would be dealt with by the end of the day. All the plans they'd had, all the things they'd done, and it came down to some random teenage boy who'd really rather be on a virtual date with his girlfriend than saving the world.

Getting ready for the work that would come after, she paused as she got an alert. Scion had just vanished. The big golden bastard had just disappeared, popped like a balloon.

It was over, just like that. All their predictions, all their plans, and Zero just clicked his fingers and dealt with the biggest threat the world had ever seen.

Still, she had work to do.

– Kei (Zero) –

At the end of the day, killing Scion would never really be the problem. He's just some weird, depressed space whale, and the golden avatar he uses is just his vtuber model.

This entire thing came down to pressing a big red button and firing a lovely little missile into his space-house. The idiot probably didn't even notice he was in danger until I collapsed his entire dimension.

I wasn't joking with Alexandria.

Scion is strong, but I have way too many options to deal with him and an influx of points. 

So, the issue? Titans, Broken Triggers, shit like that which comes after the golden fucker is gone. The Solution? The same way I removed Eidolon's powers.

I am now a Power Tinker and a damn good one. Scion was the admin of the Shard Network; I just overrode his administrator privileges. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's the simplified version.

It also means I can stop that whole conflict drive, so powers stop pushing the users to just generally be a pain in my ass. 

"...Kei, you know I love you, right?" Lisa asks, making me nod with a yawn. What a busy day.

"Yup, where's the but?" I ask, making her give me a dirty look.

"Why is the Simurgh in our living room," Lisa asks, her voice raising several notes as I blink. Shit, I knew I had forgotten something; I probably should have warned her.

"Because I decided to keep her, she's useful," I say, making her pause.

"You have her under control, right?" Lisa asked, making me nod. With Eidolon's shard and the knowledge of how to actually control it, I had no trouble reprogramming her to fit my needs. 

Because I was sure as fuck not micromanaging the entire Shard network. Plus, the Simurgh is the precog, any issues that could pop up she'll see coming years in advance. Oddly enough, I think she knew this was coming despite being unable to see me. I've been keeping an eye on everything she's done, and I've removed her Master capabilities completely; no more Simmy bombs.

"Kinda wish you'd warned me before I went to get a drink and saw her just standing there," Lisa sighs, slapping my shoulder lightly.

"My bad," I say with a stretch. "It's been one hell of a day."

Sighing fondly, Lisa puts her head on my shoulder as we go back to watching our movie. 

Cuddling against her, I nod. This is the life, and soon, this will be my entire life. No more dealing with the grimdark that is Worm because there's not gonna be any grimdark left. 

– Sveta Karelia –

Taking a walk, she smiled to herself as the sun shone down on her.

The celebrations were still going on, of course. It didn't matter that the Endbringers had been taken down a month ago, people were still partying. Zero wasn't one of them; the world's saviour was a very busy man.

After all, it was less than a week after slaying the Behemoth and the Simurgh that he revealed that he'd worked out how to fix Case 53s. He could alter powers themselves, giving people much better control over their powers… or he could remove the powers altogether.

She was one of the first, along with other members of the Parahuman Asylum, and she'd made her decision so easily. She had her power removed, stripped away forever. She didn't want it; she'd have rather died than gotten that cursed body, but thanks to him, she was normal.

She could walk through the city without fearing that she'd accidentally kill someone; she could have a normal job. Of course, the charity that Zero set up was helping her reintegrate into normal life.

She checked her watch. Smiling, she changed directions and headed back to her University. She'd done the high school and college courses virtually with the White Rabbit, but she'd decided to attend University in person now that it was an option for her.

She'd even met Zero himself, or Kei, as he made no real attempt to hide his identity. It was only brief; he was too busy for her to take up too much of his time. It was funny; this was life-changing for her, life-changing for every Case 53, but she got the feeling it was just something on Zero's checklist.

He probably had a list titled 'things to fix' and he'd just crossed Case 53's off it. Just a box to be ticked, right alongside the Endbringers, the Slaughterhouse Nine and the Gray Boy bubbles. She knew some people treated the Tinker Jesus thing as a joke, but for her, it was as close to a religion as she had.

Zero was her saviour, something she'd never forget.

– Kei (Zero) –

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Watched Threads

♦ Case 53s Cured?

♦ Who would win, Gipsy Danger or Zero Requiem

♦ Eagleton Cleared by Zero and the Guild

♦ Zero and Oracle, the Ultimate Power Couple?

♦ The Sleeper Disappeared?

♦ Canary Exonerated

♦ Capewatch Patch Notes

Sitting at my PC, I smile to myself. My to-do list is getting smaller every day. There are some problems still around (looking at you, Yangban), but I'm getting there.

The Yangban have had their infiltration attempts driven back from Kyushu by the Brotherhood of Steel, but it won't stop them. They're getting nervous because the issues the world is facing are rapidly vanishing.

No Endbringers, major threats vanishing, and the rest of the countries are starting to thrive as my technology starts to spread out. The fossil fuels industry is basically falling to pieces in the face of my Solarpunk, but the cost of living is also sinking like a brick.

A large family can survive from having a single parent working thirty hours a week in one of the cities that have had my special touch. Brockton Bay is basically having to ward off people from all over America who want to move in.

But my tech is spreading out quickly; more cities are starting to get the Zero touch. It's started to reach Europe and South America now, though South America has a large villain and gang population that needs dealing with. 

So, the Yangban are watching all these countries getting powerful, becoming allies, and they're starting to sweat at how much they've been left behind. It's only a matter of time until they do something stupid, and I'll be waiting.

And while I wait? I have plans, so many plans. The Simurgh was the big middle finger keeping humanity chained to the Earth, crushing the dreams of space exploration, but I intend to bring them back.

– Taylor Hebert –

Heading into Winslow, she briefly stopped and just stared at the building for a moment. The neat, modern-looking school made her briefly smile as she entered the grounds, seeing how clean it looked.

The only graffiti on the building was a large mural of several members of the Brotherhood of Steel standing in front of a flag with their emblem, Zero's emblem, on it. Apparently, a kid from the lower years called Aisha had done it, and while she'd gotten in trouble, nobody wanted to take it down.

She was still hardly able to believe how much had changed over the past year, 

but that was true for all of Brockton Bay, wasn't it? She'd come here on the high-tech monorail, clean, free, and so efficient. She'd not seen a single crime or heard a single gunshot in months. Brockton Bay had won an award for being the safest city in America and was called the number one place to raise a family.

And everyone knew why.

This was where Zero first appeared; it was the place that had first benefited when he basically laughed in the face of the NEPEA-5 bill and decided he was improving basically everything about living here.

Brockton Bay, the place to be. Shaking her head, she smiled as she went to her locker. She briefly spotted Emma, but her former best friend didn't even look up from her phone. Emma had changed too, though whether it was for the better was up for debate.

Aside from basically being Zero's number-one fan, she'd become almost introverted. Her dad had talked to Alan, and apparently, Emma had become a complete White Rabbit addict, to the point where she didn't even want to come out into reality anymore.

Not that she didn't get it; her dad had gotten her one with his better pay, and it was a lot of fun. Actually exploring worlds she'd read about was unreal.

Apparently, Emma was some superstar online, but Taylor didn't know and frankly didn't care about that. She and Emma were done; it was better that way. Sophia was gone, nobody really knew where, and Emma seemed to be doing better with that psychopath gone. 

Their arguments had been legendary; Sophia had a real grudge against Zero for some reason, and Emma wouldn't stand for it. 

Meanwhile, she actually had friends now. On Lily's advice, she'd joined one of the school clubs that were forming now that the school had better funding, the literature club, to be exact. Sure, she wasn't as close to any of them as she had once been to Emma, but maybe that was for the best; if they backstabbed her, they wouldn't hurt as-

No, Lily had repeatedly told her not to think like that.

Speaking of funding, half the school's staff had changed in the past year. Several teachers and Blackwall had 'retired', and their replacements were greatly improved. The new headmaster was a bit of a hardass, but it was needed. 

The students were used to getting away with anything they wanted; the new staff didn't stand for that. People weren't thrilled about it being stricter, but grades had been improving, and some of the worst students had been expelled. No weapons or drugs were allowed on the grounds, which was technically always the rule, but now it was actually being enforced. Crimes would result in the BBPD being called, and the school had a whole new security system, so you'd get found out.

It meant Winslow, where she'd once dreaded to come to, was now a safe haven she looked forward to coming to every day. 

Of course, home life was doing better as well. Her dad was busy with work, Leviathan's death and Zero healing the bay meant that Brockton suddenly had a massive fishing economy, and shipping was starting again.

Plus, while the Brotherhood had fixed much of the city, the Mayor was pushing for every broken window and pothole to be repaired so the Dockworker's Association was back in business, well funded at that.

And Lily was clearly going nowhere; even now, she had a packed lunch in her bag made by her. She wasn't going to call Lily her stepmother, but she'd come to accept that relationship with some reluctance.

It didn't help that a full year of good meals, not having to hide in the toilets to eat, and getting some exercise on Lily's advice had put her in better shape; her hair was better, and she had better-fitting clothes.

Basically, she looked more and more like Lily, which made that relationship all the more odd. Fortunately, Lily made sure to keep any PDAs to an absolute minimum, so she had that going for her at least. Lily had even started to wear her hair differently for her sake; she was pretty sure her father was trying his hardest not to admit how similar they looked.

Still, Lily really was amazing. It seemed like she could do anything, had read up on every single subject, and was genuinely a nice person. Lily had done more to help her with her bullying than her dad ever had, mostly because Lily had taken one look at her and worked out something was wrong. They'd actually gotten a nice settlement, apparently straight out of Blackwell's retirement fund, which was now her college fund.

Not that she'd need it, given her grades and the new scholarships Zero was supporting. Apparently, the guy just had infinite money and was trying his hardest to throw it away; you couldn't go anywhere without running into some charity, program or something else he was pumping money into.

But then, he had killed all the Endbringers, so he'd probably gotten one hell of a bounty. What do you give the man who saved humanity? Whatever the hell he wanted, probably. His grandchildren could probably live comfortably off his bounty money.

…plus, the instant food-delivery app that she should uninstall if she wanted to keep her figure. And the streaming service, and the games. Yeah, he was so fucking rich. She probably couldn't even count that high.

Better him than her; the simple civilian life treated her better. 

She didn't want the kind of pressure that had to come with his life.

– Kei (Zero) –

"Shit," I say, sitting up. Lisa looks up, worried at my sudden exclamation. "I knew I was forgetting something."

"What's up, what's wrong?" Lisa asks, the sheets falling enough to expose her breasts and briefly distract me (which makes her smirk).

"It's my birthday," I say, making her blink.

"Wait, seriously?" Lisa asks. "Why didn't you say something?!"

"I forgot, I've had a busy day," I say defensively, making her stare at me in bemusement,

"Kei, we've been laying in bed watching Star Wars for six hours," Lisa points out, and after a moment, I nod. "We've only stopped for food and sex."

"Yeah, like I said, very busy," I agree as she laughs, which makes her breasts do interesting things. I don't care if I see them every day; they're Lisa's breasts, and they're great.

"Still, I wish you'd have said something. Getting you gifts is a pain, but I'd have thought of something," Lisa says with a fond sigh.

"Meh, I have what I want," I say with a shrug, giving her a kiss on the forehead as she cuddles against me, how better could I have ever spent my birthday? 

She gives me a fond smile, laying her head on my shoulder as I settle back down. But my girlfriend is a minx, and it isn't long before she decides to give me a present anyway, her head slipping lower and going under the covers.

Yeah, my life fucking rules.

– PHO –

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■

♦ Topic: Birdcage Emptied/New Laws for Serious Offending Villains

In: Boards ► Location ► America

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On July 16th 2011:

As the title says folks, the Birdcage is no more.

Due to a new creation by: you guessed it, Zero himself, it was decided that the Birdcage had served its purpose. Each Villain was individually extracted with Zero's help, and then depowered before being transferred to a regular maximum-security prison.

The PRT has announced that this will be the new punishment for repeat and seriously offending villains (their statement [here]), and I, for one, am glad to see this being done.

The Birdcage was said to be hellish, and yes, these people were the worst of the worst, but it is nice to have it retired. This also means we should see a sharp decline in major villains because they'll have their powers stripped away for their crimes.

One note, a single prisoner was unaccounted for (many were confirmed killed by infighting). It turns out that Glaistig Ulaine (or The Fairie Queen) could leave the Birdcage at any time and chose to do so before she could be depowered. Her current whereabouts are unknown, but please alert your local PRT if you see her.

(Showing page 1 of 145)

►ArchmageEin

Replied On July 16th 2011:

I'm sorry, did you just say the Fairie Queen walked out of the fucking Birdcage?

Aside from that, all around good; if we have the tech to do so safely, why leave powers in the hands of the villains?

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Some villains have even approached and asked to be depowered, such as Purity (formerly of the now-defunct Empire Eighty-Eight).

I'm not sure what deal she struck, but I know she was fully depowered and left to live a civilian life on probation.

►Glory Girl (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Woo, go Zero!

Also, the Empire's gone? Weren't they making a mess down in Texas?

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Kaiser tried making an example of some old black gentleman, who simply showed him Texas hospitality and shot him in the head with a powerful revolver. The gang never got the same control down in Dallas, and losing Kaiser was the final blow; half of them have been captured and depowered at this point.

►Iblis

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Yeehaw, chucklefuck

You go, old dude. Bye, bye Nazis!

Also, yeah, what the fuck do you mean the Fairie Queen could just leave whenever she wanted? She's been in there for years. I'd be scared, but Daddy Zero can handle her

►Chaosfaith

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Damn right he can, probably just bend her over and spank her if she tries anything

►Feychick

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Daddy Zero can bend me over anytime, whether its for spankings or something else

►Mr. Fabuu

Replied On July 16th 2011:

I'm telling Oracle.

►Feychick

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Bah, she knows most of the girls in the world are thirsting for her man, and a fair few of the guys as well.

Bitch won and she knows it. Have you seen her Instagram? They're so fucking lovey-dovey, she's rubbing her victory in our faces

Let us fantasise!

►Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Damn right, I won. You girls can look, but I'm always touching.

I don't care about some PHO messages thirsting for him. Do you know how many heroines and villainesses have sent him nudes? So many, and you would not believe me if I named some of them.

Also, yeah, don't worry about the Fairie Queen. We know where she is; she won't be a problem.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Post them! Drop the mega-cape nude collection! It's your public duty!

►Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Nah, it's funnier to leave you all scratching your heads wondering if the gallant heroine you like sent some truly filthy pics to Zero. Spoiler alert, she probably has.

►Deadman

Replied On July 16th 2011:

So, Zero's handling the Fairie Queen? Thank fuck.

►Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

Daddy Zero handles all, but atm he's just finished dealing with the Three Blasphemies. We know where she is, but she's not making any aggressive movements, so I believe the Guild is planning a diplomatic approach first.

But I have to go; my man needs a backrub and a meal after taking down those annoying bitches

►Winged_One (Wonderland Productions)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

They were annoying, but they won't be a problem anymore.

How sad for those governments using them as political assassins :p

►Valkyr (Wiki Warrior)

Replied On July 16th 2011:

And that's another major threat with their status changed to 'Zeroed'

Remember how they used to talk about the statistics for heroes surviving? I wonder if anyone is telling new villains the percentage chance of them getting personally spanked by Daddy Zero.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 143, 144, 145

■

– Amelia Dallon (Panacea) –

Riding Air Zero, she sipped her drink and watched the country go by.

Panacea was basically retired; Zero's medical bots were being deployed all over America and soon Europe and part of Asia as well, so she just wasn't needed. They could be everywhere and save thousands of people in the time it'd take her to do five.

But that didn't mean she wasn't still needed on occasion, usually thanks to some weird accident where her power could still be useful, and for once, she didn't particularly mind the PRT asking her to go check out a mess.

It had been a tinker fuck-up this time because not every tinker was motherfucking Tinker Jesus, and some overly ambitious villain had been experimenting on civilians. She'd saved them. Easily, in fact. 

Zero had arranged for one of his luxury transports to be left cooling its jets in Brockton, specifically to transport her. It was faster and far more comfortable than any PRT transport and more secure as well.

Apparently, the President and Chief Director had arranged for their own, and here she was basically given one without ever asking. Not that she was complaining; it was definitely travelling in style.

Strider had apparently retired when the Endbringers were gone; he'd done enough and decided it was time to call it quits. 

"We'll be arriving back in Brockton Bay soon, Miss Dallon," the velvety voice of the real reason she enjoyed these flights said, making her look up at where Chloe was checking something. "You did exceptionally well today; Zero's faith in you was not misplaced."

"Thanks, Chloe," Amy said, forcing down her blush. 

Chloe was the second most beautiful woman she'd ever seen; the incredibly leggy blonde that was Zero's personal assistant was a true bombshell. It helped that she didn't feel nearly as dirty to fantasise over Chloe as when she did Vicky.

Chloe just gave her a soft smile, typing away on a holographic keyboard. Chloe was probably a Cape; she'd been seen in a dozen places at the same time, but she supposed someone like Zero needed an assistant who could be everywhere at once with how busy he must be.

Wasn't he starting a fucking moon colony or something? Every time she heard his name, it was connected to something ridiculous and yet fantastic, like the recent clearing of the Birdcage.

Zero could remove powers; once upon a time, she might have secretly wished he'd take hers away, but not anymore. The worst offending villains were simply being stripped of their powers now, and the Birdcage had found itself emptied one by one; the worst villains in the world were turned into regular criminals and locked away in regular high-security prisons. Well, except one, but nobody knew where the Fairie Queen had gone. Seemed like she'd just gotten up and walked out of the Birdcage one day because that was a thing she could apparently do. 

Basically, with the Endbringers gone (she still wasn't tired of saying that), people had less patience for villains. They weren't needed anymore, so they weren't welcome to stick around and ruin a genuinely healing world.

Even the Protectorate had switched tracks, finding other uses for their powers. There would always be some crime, some lunatic willing to be the villain, but half the time, the heroes were doing humanitarian work now. 

Smiling to herself, she took another sip of her drink. Vicky was off helping after an earthquake in Peru, helping look for survivors and performing search and rescue. She was enjoying it, but Vicky was travelling so much recently that she was barely ever home. 

She missed her sister somewhat, but honestly, the distance was probably healthy for her, and Vicky still texted her constantly. Also, Vicky and Dean had broken up again. Distance did not make the heart grow fonder between those two, and Gallant was allegedly transferring out of the Bay, so who knew if they'd end up together again.

Honestly, Amy was done with that whole mess. She was washing her hands of it; she didn't want to hear about the endless break-ups and honeymoon phases ever again. Vicky was happy with her travelling anyway; she was taking a year's break before deciding if she wanted to go to college. It was driving Carol mad, of course, but that was just a bonus.

Oddly enough, with Vicky flying the coop every other week, Carol actually seemed to remember that she had two daughters and was kinda trying to be a better mom. Better late than never, she supposed.

Of course, Vicky also had her White Rabbit so they could see each other whenever they wanted. It had even pushed Carol to finally start using one of the VR headsets herself.

"We're just setting down now," Chloe announced, making her blink. She always forgot how smooth these rides actually were, having not even felt them land. Finishing her drink in a single sip, she checked her watch. It was getting late; she'd probably missed dinner. 

"Thanks for the ride, as always," Amy said with a stretch. 

"It was my pleasure," Chloe said calmly, swiping the screen and keyboard away. "However, it is already rather late. Would you allow me to take you to dinner? I noticed you didn't eat more than a single energy bar during the crisis."

Amy blushed at Chloe's wording, briefly misunderstanding, but she calmed her heart down and gave Chloe a grateful smile as her belly rumbled.

"I'd love that, thanks," Amy agreed, allowing herself to daydream that this was going to be a date as Chloe quickly arranged for a ride, guiding Amy into it.

– Hours Later –

Lying in the incredibly soft, unfamiliar bed, Amy stared at the ceiling in a mixture of shock and awe, her clothes scattered around the room. Next to her, Chloe's utterly naked body pressed against hers, still flawless despite the vigorous exercise.

Huh, she hadn't been misunderstanding. Oh crap, she put out on the first date… what would Vicky say?

…a tiny voice in her head that sounded like Vicky shouted, 'You go, girl!' the image of a tiny Vicky in a cheerleader outfit waving little flags around, making her briefly giggle before she shook her head. Yeah, that sounded about right.

After a day of healing and a night of action, Amy's body had had quite enough, and she felt her eyes drooping, cuddling against Chloe with her head between the older girl's large breasts, drifting off.

– Kei (Zero) –

"Did you get Chloe to seduce Panacea for a reason, or did you just want to watch some lesbian porn?" Lisa asks, making me roll my eyes at her teasing tone. 

"Amy is a ticking time bomb, just a ball of stress that was ready to pop before things started improving. Panacea is useful, so I'd like to keep her around and Chloe can make sure she's available for us when we need her. Besides, giving her a love interest who isn't her sister is bound to be healthy," I say shamelessly.

"It was pretty hot, though," Lisa points out, rewinding Chloe's perspective as I roll my eyes again. She's the perv in this relationship, I swear.

"If I wanted girl-on-girl action, I'd use VR and turn myself into one. But yeah, it's not bad," I admit with a shrug.

"Who has nicer tits, me or Amy?" Lisa asks with a smirk, making me sigh.

"You, obviously. Amy's are pretty nice, but yours are perfect, and also, I get to see them in person daily," I reply, making her nod smugly.

"Damn right, and don't forget it. Oooh, I have an idea~" Lisa teases in a singsong voice, making me raise an eyebrow. "You have Amy's model for Capewatch, right? I know those models are secretly very accurate. I want you to fuck me when I look like her."

I just raise an eyebrow at her. We've slept with each other in VR a lot, but usually as our characters, even if they are vastly different from our real bodies. My Gnome Artificer damn-near ended up crippled by her Orc Barbarian; death by Snu-Snu is a real threat. But this would be a new one; she's not used actual people's bodies before.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Lisa says, and I just shrug.

"Eh, why not," I say. "You're still hotter, though."

"Damn right, I am."

— Bonus Scene — Accord 

He had long known that humanity was on the decline, but when he'd tried to get the PRT to start to fix things, they'd all but laughed at him. They told him his plans were absurd, that they'd take too long, cost too much, and wouldn't work.

Now, Zero was doing what he had tried to do, and the world was worshipping him for it. The PRT could have solved world hunger, now they had missed out and Zero was the one to do it.

He wasn't bitter, quite the opposite given what Zero had done for him, his murderous impulses gone. He just found the PRT's foolishness amusing.

"Sir, Moord Nag's former men made another push, but the Brotherhood drove them back," Citrine reported, making him smile. The fools. They were so predictable without their boss protecting them.

"Well done, Citrine, continue as planned. One more defeat like this, and they'll break; don't let them get away," Accord ordered, looking over the map. Africa had long since descended into warring kingdoms led by powerful capes fashioning themselves as warlords.

The Brotherhood were reliable allies, far more than the usual thugs he was forced to deal with. Zero himself had taken care of Moord Nag and Ash Beast, but the rest? The rest were his.

Zero had offered him a position when he came to Boston, a better place to utilise his talents than a single city. Zero understood him, in a way the PRT never had.

His goal? A peaceful and thriving Africa, free of any would-be warlords or corruption. With his plans, Zero's tech and the Brotherhood's manpower, it would be a reality in short order.