Chapter 141

"The supervillain known as Snowflame attacked a monthly transport of drugs that the New York Police Department had seized and was on its way to destruction."

Dio watched the news on the TV on the wall while sitting in a small café close to the Tower.

A woman with red hair and a fancy suit was presenting the news to them.

"Cocaine!!"

That image shifted to Snowflame, a man in a white uniform whose hair matched his uniform who stood on top of a truck that had flipped over while holding two white bags above his head as if to thank God.

"A few seconds later, Kírix and Aqualad worked together, attacked, and managed to defeat Snowflame without much difficulty."

The reporter's voice continued reporting what happened.

Dio couldn't help but laugh when he thought about Snowflame after the fight.

Snowflame got a black eye and a white nose from the cocaine he had taken before they got there.

The DC universe was a crazy reality, and there were thousands of beings with powers, cool, and others quite ridiculous.

Snowflame was in the second group. He had simple powers with super strength, super resistance, and the ability to generate flames.

Those are pretty cool skills, except for how he uses them.

Snowflame had to take cocaine to use his powers, and the more he took, the more powerful he became.

It's not only ridiculous but also dangerous since he didn't seem to be able to overdose.

This means that he could do anything if he had enough drugs.

"Kírix and Aqualad didn't stay to give interviews afterward."

The reporter concluded the news, and Dio's image appeared on the screen.

Dio hadn't changed much in these two years since the fight against the vampires in Gotham.

He had just grown a bit taller and let his hair grow a bit. Now it's hanging over his shoulders, and he liked just combing it back.

Dio took a sip of his coffee and thought about the last two years.

After everything here, Dio spent two months feeling like crap.

It was only after a suggestion that he decided to take six months off and relax on the beach or travel the world.

Dio would like to say it was a peaceful time, but there will be some trouble at some point.

So, Dio had to deal with some troubles during his vacation, but nothing as big as a biblical vampire god.

The funny thing about this was that these holidays made him be taken more seriously by the world.

After these "solo holidays," Dio returned to the Tower, and things continued as usual.

The hero's job never ends, but they didn't have any apocalyptic events during this time.

"Sorry for the delay; I met a friend on the way, and we ended up talking."

Vanessa apologized and sat in front of him.

Dio was at his weekly meeting with her and in a café near the college where she studied.

Vanessa had changed a lot in these two years, with her blue eyes and long brown hair dyed reaching her shoulders.

In short, she had gone from being a teenager to becoming a confident and independent woman.

She was doing very well in this new city.

At first, it was hard for her to be so far away from home by herself, but Dio was always there for her and sometimes took her to the Tower on holidays and another rest day.

Dio would return from wherever he was on vacation to spend these days with her, and after the first year, she finally adapted very well here.

After two years, her relationship with Julia, her mother, was finally cut off.

After two years, she cut off her relationship with her mother.

She decided to work with Cale Pharmaceuticals despite both Diana's and Dio's warnings, and the company was quite interested in all the information she had on Diana.

She also tried to pull her daughter to work with her from time to time.

The current attempt was through an internship at the headquarters of this city. Vanessa stayed away because Dio had already told her to.

"Shall we eat something? I'm starving."

Dio told her.

"Are you gonna pay?"

She asked him jokingly.

"Always."

Dio replied and stood up.

"What do you want?"

"Apple pie and a latte."

Dio nodded and went to the counter.

Well, the joke about money was that Dio had a lot of it now.

The precious stones he brought back from the underworld were worth about a thousand dollars after being sold through Robin, who did a lot to make it legal.

Which were spent during his vacation.

Since Dio can fly from one country to another, the most expensive things were the indulgences, food, and accommodations.

After having so much money in his pocket for the first time, he wanted more so he entered the underworld a second time after the holidays.

The trip wasn't as easy as usual.

The purpose of the trip was not to explore but to collect wealth and study the rivers to enhance his spells.

Dio was attacked, but he would tell that story another time.

Dio returned home two months later with an absurd amount of wealth that he was slowly selling to avoid raising suspicions about him.

Dio now had about three hundred thousand dollars in his account.

This was after sharing a small portion with Vanessa and helping some charitable organizations.

It's a silly amount for wealthy individuals, but for him, who was born into a home with nothing, it's the most beautiful number in the world.

After that, Dio avoided going to the underworld for a while.

"Here."

Dio said while placing a slice of pie and her drink in front of Vanessa, and he put the other slice on the opposite side of the table.

"So, any news?"

Dio asked and sat with his full attention on the pie in front of him.

"HMMMM!"

Vanessa mumbled.

"Swallow first."

Dio laughed at the scene.

Vanessa swallowed the bite of the pie and then took a sip of her drink before responding.

"We're thinking of traveling on vacation and going to a series of concerts in England."

When she said "we," she was talking about her boyfriend, whom Dio was still keeping an eye on constantly.

To be honest, the guy was nice, didn't use drugs, drank a little, and came from a good family.

"That sounds cool, have fun."

Dio told her.

After making friends, it makes sense for her to want to spend less time with her brother and his superhero friends.

"I will, after getting my passport; the damn bureaucracy is irritating."

Vanessa said that and took another bite of the pie.

"Just remember to take him with you."

Dio reminded her to be concerned.

"I will, I will!"

Vanessa exclaimed and raised her arm. There's a charm hanging—an ornament, a small black skull with red eyes on her wrist.

"I feel more at ease with you wearing that."

This black skull was something he made recently and used the underworld metal he found in his search for wealth.

It was the first time he created a magical item, and he only succeeded with the help of Koriand'r, who melted the metal with her power, and Raven, who assisted with her magical knowledge.

Dio was sure Vanessa wouldn't get hurt easily with this skull.

Dio knew he was being overprotective.

After spending years training with him and Diana and learning some magical tricks from Zatanna, Vanessa could defend herself well in normal situations.

However, it's the abnormal ones that worry him.

"You're still overprotective, even though you're the younger one."

Vanessa sighed.

"Van, when you start with no one, you kind of get paranoid about protecting those you gain later."

Dio explained as best he could.

"I understand, and I actually enjoy that sense of protection, but you really need to calm down, especially around my boyfriend; he turns completely white after every interaction with you!"

This wasn't the first time she'd brought up this issue.

"Men are idiotic and stubborn beings, so I have to remind him every time I see him that hurting my sister leads to serious consequences."

"Please, you're too kind. What would you do? Throw him into the underworld or something."

Vanessa teased him.

Dio was thinking more along the lines of ripping his soul from his body and selling it to a demon.

"Enough about me; how's the Tower?"

Vanessa asked.

"Right now, it's calm since Koriand'r traveled for a fashion show in Paris."

It may sound unbelievable, but Koriand'r was incredibly successful as a model to the point where she now had a wealth bigger than him.

She practically used it to buy all kinds of food and items she found interesting.

According to her, the amount of food she consumed every day was the reason why all her fellow models hated her.

It's not Koriand'r's fault; anyone couldn't help it if they're born with nine stomachs.

"Roy, Robin, and Aqualad aren't in the Tower; they're on missions with their mentors. Aqualad was called to Atlantica, and Kid Flash is running around."

Dio continued explaining the Tower's situation.

"And Raven?"

"The same or maybe worse. She hardly ever leaves her room unless she has to go on a mission."

Dio sighed.

Raven stopped interacting with other people as much as a year ago.

She stayed in the Tower most of the time and only went to help Dio if he asked. She also talked to Koriand'r a lot.

Dio managed to force her to tell him the reason.

Raven told him that she felt her father's presence and influence getting stronger, and constant meditation helped her fight against it.

The problem was that her empathy was throwing her off balance, and avoiding people was the only solution.

Dio was trying to find ways to isolate her from her powers, but it was not an easy task.

"Hmm, I'll visit her this weekend. It must be tough having to be alone for so long."

Vanessa sighed, a little sad.

"I'm almost always there. How is she alone?"

"You don't count."

Vanessa said it sharply.

They continued their lively conversation until their food was finished, and it was almost time for his next duty today.

"Do you want a ride?"

Dio asked her as he stood up.

"No, I want to stop by a store nearby before heading back to the fields."

Dio went to the cashier and paid with a fifty-dollar bill while leaving the change for charity.

...

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