I sat, couched in the background of the world, watching everything happen at its own pace. I tried very hard to avoid steepling my fingers because I had this feeling that I was on the verge of turning more dark and broody than was safe for my, or anyone else's, sanity.

Even after signing all those damned non-aggression treaties, the world hadn't stopped trying to crawl up my ass. Some chuckleheads were still afraid I’d make a bid for world domination and/or the destruction of all life on earth. Others, the more ballsy amongst, had taken that non-aggression treaty as a sign that I’d be open to some kind of alliance.

Earth’s World Government had lost its mind and expanded the DPA’s Office of Cosmic Artifice to a perplexing degree. Increasing the umbrella of things we handled to an extent that made the DPA itself seem to become near redundant.

Even the bloody House of Antipodes was getting in on the action because I had several voicemails from their people that seemed to insinuate that one or two of their people would be quite happy to retire and leave the multiverse in my sturdy hands. If that seems strange to you, it really shouldn’t.

Once one reaches a certain level of personal power, influence, and wealth, everything else becomes more of a “hobby, if there’ is no compelling personal reason to pursue it. Other things like leaving behind a legacy, gaining enough power to ascend to the higher planes and greater realms of the cosmos, or simply hanging with the grandkids and seeing how the fam was doing, took priority. If you’ve ever had a hobby that you were into, but weren’t totally in love with, then you know how easy it is to eventually want to pass that shit on to some other sucker.

In other words, the House of Antipodes’ Misters Gray and Black, had both either apparently grown tired of the role, or they simply felt that having me hold the position suited their goals more than holding the position themselves would.

An alternative explanation would be that people simply tended to get twitchy when they saw a whole lot of power not tied down to something, or controlled in a way they understood.

I blamed it on the brainwashing that the leaders of yore placed on their populace. There were far too many stories and adages that equated the mere possession of power with megalomania and malevolence.

There was no better way to keep the people docile, and harmless, like telling them that only bad people cared to accumulate power. Or that power was best left sitting in an attic or hidden in some mine, or tomb, or pyramid, where any Tom, Dick, and Harry, can find it. Rather than say, in the hands of someone reasonable, responsible, and trustworthy.

However, the natural consequence of this was everyone and their grandmother getting twitchy once they came face to face with real strength. Worrying about the potential for tyranny and abuse for power.

Anyway, I wasn’t having anything to do with that mess, so I was hiding out on Uhrwerk. Living amongst the people. Bouncing from channel to channel as I played the role of a spectator and Non-player character in the Channel’s grand game of doors.

Margot was left in charge of our offices on the Earth because she’d mostly been shielded from the media scrutiny thanks to the efforts of the Seth family and myself. While those who were in the know were aware of her, there was much less trepidation about what she’d done, because few people actually knew about it. After all, Uhwerk was still a secret as far as the general public was concerned.

I would still pop in from time to time, but ultimately I was planning on laying low for the next few decades. Which would hopefully be just long enough for the world to stop worrying about what I was up to.

*************************************************************************************************************

“So what do you think?” I said. Looking at was essentially an expanded country cottage that had been turned into an apartment complex and restaurant and then transplanted to an urban setting, where its rustic charms would stand out more.

“I love it,” said Cassandra. Smiling warmly. The kaporka woman’s furry ears twitched happily as she looked the building over.

“How about you, big guy? What do you think?” I said. Turning my attention to the blue-haired fellow who stood with his arm around Cass’ shoulder.

“....Its...b-, b-, beautiful!” said the man. Bawling like a baby while Cass soothingly rubbed his back.

My good friend and former landlady Cass, was one of those who quickly came to the earth’s defense during the Terran assault. She fought under her old guise, as the Three-Eyed Queen. Using her formidable strength to defend the people of Prospero.

Unfortunately, Cass was also one of the attack’s victims. While she was busy saving the lives of others, her home was amongst those properties that ended up being destroyed by the Terran fleets.

I found out pretty quickly because of the whole nigh-omniscience thing. Also, we’re friends. Also, two of her kids work for me. Also, I still went over to her place every couple of days or so, just to shoot the shit. So honestly, it would have pretty weird if I was all “*Gasp* what happened to your house/diner, Cass?”

I could have just magicked her house back out of its burned up, crunched up, completely ruined state, but that wasn’t what she wanted.

Apparently even if it didn’t make as big an impression as my one-side, shock, and awe, the annihilation of the Terran Forces, those of our people who were able to stand and fight made a pretty good showing for themselves. A pretty good, pretty public showing.

The point being, that Cass had ended up sort of outing herself. Ruining all her efforts to hide, and making all those years of working for Inoue Clan pointless. Of course, she could have let that downed spaceship fall on that daycare, but I don’t think she’d have been able to live with herself.

While the CRUS, the China-Russian Unified State, hadn’t made any moves yet, and I now had the clout to step in and make sure they never made any moves in regards to her and her family, Cass had wanted a different solution.

I don’t know how she found out about Uhrwerk. Actually, that’s a lie, it was probably me. Give me a good cup of coffee and a baked treat and I’ll never shut up. (Assuming I like you enough to open up to you in the first place.)

With her life on Earth basically reduced to ash and gravel, she decided she and her new boyfriend, Dave would rather start up afresh, in a place where there were no governments keeping an eye on them, and no bounties on their heads.

Who the hell’s Dave you say? Come on, guys. You know Dave. The handsome, half Spanish, half French-Canadian, fellow, with the silky, dark blue, hair? Dave...Dave-Dave. Has a thing for tattoos, homebrewed beer, and unicycles? I introduced him all the way over in Chapter Sixty-Six….

Wait, did you actually go and look? Naturally, I was bullshitting you, friends. (The description was accurate though...Dave Fitzgerald doesn’t just like unicycles. He fetishizes them, and according to Cass, there's a certain one that might or might not have made it into their bedroom activities.)

Dave Fitzgerald is a fairly new character in this cosmic-horror sitcom that I call a life. Dave was a big fellow, around six foot five. Broad Shouldered and built like a line-backer. He was an older gent, with one of the finest mustaches I’d ever seen.

He and Cass met because he ran the Restaurant Supply Store that Cass switched to after the last one was shut-down by an infestation of moody teenaged devil-beetles.

According to Cass, he was less of a new friend and more of an old friend that she knew from before when her life was more complicated, filled with explosions, and sexy. I got the sense that she and Dave might have a thing back in their days as a Costumed Hero and Villain.

She recognized some of his tattoos and realized that he was one of her old nemeses, the Bionic Flamingo. He was a machine-kin and a superhuman. Using his powers to become a villain, who the CRUS, and man other nations in the world government, quickly developed a sizeable hate-boner for, despite never purposefully killing anyone.

The two former-operatives ended up bonding about being wanted people, and things built from there.

Now almost a year later, they’d moved in together, and they’d kindly allowed me to help them set up a new house/ place of business for them. As well, as letting me hook them up with a fresh start in an entirely new reality.

They were happy with the arrangement, and I was even happier than they were. I don’t publicize it much, because it’d be like begging to get exploited, but I secretly sort of live for this kind of thing. I like seeing people happy. I think I was probably maybe made/created/born/ with that explicit purpose. It was the core reason behind my peculiarity. It's just part of being an entity with the innate power to make good things happen simply by being present.

It's sort of like how the angels ended up socially and culturally developing into a species of archetypal good, because they're biologically designed to want, and need, a certain level of systemic stability, and global benevolence.

It's also maybe a bit similar to how fallen angels, and demons, evolved to need, and crave, a certain level of environmental chaos and negativity. The development of my ability to create calamities came with a new and frankly frightening hunger for people's fear, carnage, and despair. Which is another thing I generally don't publicize, because nothing good would come of it.

The point being, that being able to help my friends made me feel good. It made me feel like all the bullshit I’ve been through over the eons, and getting as powerful as I am, was worth it.

Cass and Dave insisted on trying to pay me, but I quickly pointed out that there was literally no set monetary value for what I was doing, so they should just consider it a gift, and maybe treat me to some coffee and snacks if they still felt like they owed me.

I made sure they knew that if any of their kids, whether it was Cass’s kids, or Dave’s kids with his ex-wife, ended up wanting to immigrate over the Uhrwerk, I’d absolutely be on board with making that happen.

I’d also set up a system that would hide what was happening from Terminus Earth’s myriad mortal and immortal authorities so that Cass and Dave could visit and be visited by their family on earth with no problem.