Arc 53 - Alice

People were watching the battle between two beings who are no longer humans. One with the power of a god and the other half demon and half angel. They were confused as to what was going on because all they could was ‘CLANG’ but they could not see anything. The fight was happening at over a Mach speed.

“Um… what is going on?” A bystander asked in confusion.

“No idea. I thought they were just talking like old friends.”

They could only see a small darkness moving around extremely fast.

CRACKLE!!

Thunder could be heard. However, it was not as powerful as the earlier one.

A few seconds later, Eddie, the Norse God landed where Nazar and Alice was.

“Ooh. It’s Norse God.”

“He is so cool.”

“He is definitely going to stop whatever is happening.”

Even though Nazar and Alice were ‘fighting’, no left the are. They just stayed and watched.

When Eddie arrived, both Nazar and Alice stopped fighting.

Nazar landed next to Eddie and Alice a little further away.

“Man, how did you keep up with my magnificent skills?” Alice said as she swung the sword in her hand.

“I just watched a few Samurai anime.”

“...?”

“What? This is a fair match.”

“This… this is the greatest tragedy. I… I am losing to a guy like you.”

“Also, you don’t have magnificent skills.”

Alice’s shoulders drooped.

“What the hell is going?” Eddie asked as looked between Nazar and Alice in confusion.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just a figh--”

He immediately raised his sword to counter Alice’s attack.

While moving faster than the speed of sound, Nazar and Alice exchanged blows.

“How can counter all my attacks?”

“You are just swinging it right and left. So, it’s not hard to counter.”

While they exchanged a few blows, they found themselves to be floating miles above the ground.

They stopped exchanging blows.

“Against angels and demons, I am just too powerful. But against other species, I am pretty weak.”

“Well, I am pretty powerful-- Oh, that is so cool.”

While Nazar was talking, Alice had unleashed her wings. The wing to her right side was white and the one to her left side was grey.

She flapped her wings and charged towards Nazar.

As she charged, her sword vanished.

“When it comes to speed, I am pretty slow due to these wings.”

“Can you not fly without them?”

Nazar’s sword vanished too.

“No, I am even slower than this without the wings.”

“Then I will go easy on you.”

“Don’t you dare, you bastard!”

Nazar dodged all her attacks with pretty ease while having a mocking smile on his face.

“See, you cann-- why are you smiling?”

“Did you forget that I can use magic too?”

Before he could even think, a few explosions appeared around him from nowhere.

Those explosions were more powerful than he had ever faced. It was so powerful that it made him nearly lose his consciousness.

Nazar started to fall towards the ground.

However, Alice caught him but his eyes were closed.

“Hey, Nazar. Are you okay?” She said in a worried tone. She slowly slapped his face a few times. “What the hell?”

She placed her fingers on his wrist to see if his heart was beating.

“I-it wasn’t even that stron--”

Nazar opened his eyes and his eyes were lit up with red energy. As soon as he opened his eyes, red energy beams shot towards Alice, thrown her away.

As the energy beam hit her, her clothes started to catch fire.

“What the hell, you bastard?”

However, she took control of the fire and it was gone.

Nazar laughed.

“Did you really think that was going to take care of me?”

“Ah. My clothes are fucked up because of you. Now I have to buy new ones.”

“Wait, I thought you made those clothes using your powers.”

“What? No. I cannot do something like that. I came to Earth a few times and purchased it and then took it with me.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. Not everyone is like you, you know?”

“Of course, no one is like me,” Nazar said with his chest puffed.

“I hate you so much.”

“Anyway, if you came to Earth a few times, why did you not visit me?”

Alice thought for a minute.

“It was not this Earth. It was another Earth. Somewhere in the multiverse.”

“Oh. I see...” Nazar seemed rather disappointed.

“Sorry...”

“Ah? Why?”

“Well, you know, I got close to you for my own goals. And--”

“I know,” Nazar replied with a smile on his face. “I knew that from the beginning… but you gave me what I needed the most back then and it means everything. I loved you more than my own mother and so many times I wished that you were my real mother.”

“Still, I wanted to say sorry. Its… it’s just I kind of feel bad for using--”

“Well, the stakes were high, so it does not really matter.”

“I really wanted to fight a worthy opponent, but now I don’t feel like doing so.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

“It all turned into a gloomy conversation, so I lost all my motivation to fight.”

Nazar sighed.

“Why did you beat the crap out of Norse God?”

“Well, I thought he can be used to draw you out.”

“Oh.”

“Nah, just kidding. I just felt demonic magic and followed him. He was acting a little weird, so I tried to stop him. But when I punched him hard enough, he was knocked out and the demonic magic went vanished.”

“Wait a second, what do you mean by ‘weird’?”

“It looks like you didn’t ‘save’ him completely. There still a little darkness left in his mind.” She paused for a second. “So, just keep a close eye on him.”

“Okay… but why the fuck did you start a fight with me when a guy with powers of Norse Gods is on the loose?”

“Oh, but he is fine now. And if I were to pursue him, his ‘dark side’ might come out again.“

Nazar sighed.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“I just came here to say ‘sorry’ to you. And to tell you something.”

“...”

“Be careful. Demons have taken an interest in you.”

“First Lucifer and now demons. Am I that attractive?”

“...?”

Alice just looked at him confused for a little while.

“No. You are uglier than goblins.”

“You have no idea how much that hurts...” Nazar said slowly.

“To be honest, I came here for a different reason. I came here to get rid of everything that belonged to my father and the projects that he was involved in. And the projects you were involved in.” She paused for a second. ”So, pass me all the data. I need to destroy it.”

“...”

“Please. It's not just for your own good, but the good of others too.”

“Solace, give her everything and get rid of all the digital data.”

- Okay, Master. -

“Thanks.”

“But I think some other people will have the physical copies of data.”

“I took it away from all the scientists I could track.”

“Some of them are dead...” Nazar said slowly.

“So, do you know anyone who might have physical copies of the data?”

“Laura once mentioned that her parents had a copy of their research or something like that.” Nazar paused before continuing. “I have removed most of the unnecessary memories.”

“Idiot.”

“Okay, let’s go to her house.”

Alice nodded as they vanished into thin air.

Italy:

Laura was watching TV while her brother was in his room.

Her brother slowly left the room, without making any noise.

He slowly and carefully approached Laura. She was not paying any attention because she could not see him or hear him.

His hand lit up with energy. It was pale blue energy.

He raised his hand and slowly moved his hand towards her neck.

However, before it touched, the doorbell rang.

As Laura immediately got up, her brother, Marco turned himself invisible.

He clicked his tongue, but she did not hear him.

She approached the door and opened it. She found Nazar and Alice, but she did not know who Alice was.

“Nazar?” She said with a puzzled look on her face.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes?”

“Did your parent have any physical copies of their research or any other data from the experiment?”

Laura thought for a while.

“Why?”

“Well, I used to work on that experiment a long time ago and now I want to destroy all of it before more people are hurt,” Alice said.

“Why did you not stop earlier?”

“Because I died before I could stop it.”

“...?” Laura looked confused. “Um… but--”

“She is a half demon and half angel,” Nazar said.

“...”

“So, did they have any?” Nazar said.

“Yes. I will see if it is still around,” Laura said as she turned around. “Come in.”

Nazar and Alice walked through the door.

“It’s weird,” Laura said without turning back.

“What is?”

“You always teleport everywhere, so I found it a little weird why you would show up in my front door.”

“Well, it will be weird to teleport into a stranger’s house without an invitation.”

“Hmm… never thought you were that considerate.”

Laura was looking through some stuff in the living room.

“I didn’t know there was something half demon and half angel around.”

“Well, I just found out too.”

“No offence, but can you really trust her?”

“I am basically his mother,” Alice said.

Laura froze in her place. She slowly turned around and looked at Alice and then Nazar.

“Just kidding. I got close to him for a mission and he thought of me as his mother.”

“...”

“Anyway, Nazar, why is she not surprised about the whole demon and angel thing?”

Laura went back to searching for the papers.

“Because I already told her about Zerathos and Bur’goth.”

“Oh?”

“She used to be my employee.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I used to have hundreds of superpowered individuals under my hand, but I never really used them. And then they left as soon as they got the chance. No loyalty at all.”

“Well, you did scare them,” Laura said.

“Well, I am better off without them. I have a new group now and a fucking spaceship.”

“...?”

“Since when?”

While Alice looked confused, Laura spoke casually.

“I just turned my base on the moon to a spaceship. And asked a few aliens to join my superhero group. Cool, right?”

“What can they do?”

“Hmm… Let’s see. One of them is like Punisher and Captain Atom combined. The other one is slim Doomsday. The other one is an elf. The other one is thin and tall Hulk but weaker. The other one is basically Morgaine le Fey. The other one is basically Wonder Man.”

“Let me guess, you made that shit up.”

“I am not joking. I asked them to join, but they have not given me an answer yet.”

While the conversation was going on, Laura’s bother, Marco was standing next to Nazar and no one noticed him. He was invisible.

“Most of them attacked me or Earth first, but all of sudden we trust each other now-- Alice, why do I see stars in your eyes?”

“Ah. You made friends. I am so proud of you.”

“And can you stop pinching my cheeks? I am not a kid anymore.”

She stopped pinching his cheeks.

“You know what the most fun part of pinching cheeks is?”

“No?”

“When they try to speak, they cannot make out the words properly. So, its super cute… but not in your case.”

“Well, I have many powers so a sound based power is not unusual.”

“Found it,” Laura said as she picked up a few files. “I think these are all the ones.”

She handed the files to Alice.

“Thanks.”

“Now, let’s go,” Nazar said as a small circle appeared beneath him and Alice.

However, something was wrong. The circles vanished while Nazar and Alice did not.

“What the hell?” Nazar muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Laura asked.

(I… I couldn’t feel my powers for a second.)

Two small circles appeared beneath Nazar and Alice once more. These two circles work as portals.

“It’s nothing...”

Both Nazar and Alice teleported out.

As they left, the invisible boy had a smile on his face.

(So, I can mess up his powers.)

England:

Nazar appeared in his house with Alice.

Both Aria and Emma gave him a confused look.

“Why is it that you always bring some unknown person into the house before telling us?” Emma said.

“True. First, it was Ms. Milk Tanks and now her.”

“Ms. Milk Tanks?” Nazar said as he tilted his head in puzzlement.

“Aria means that woman with black hair and big chest.”

“Oh, Laura.”

“So, who is she?”

“This is--”

“I am Alice.”

“I-I could have said that too.”

“And you must be Emma?” Alice said as she pointed at Emma. “I saw when you were very little.”

“Y--”

“No, it is not Emma. She died a long time ago. It brings back painful memories.”

“Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t want to bring back--”

Nazar laughed.

“I am not dead. I am alive. What the hell is wrong with you, Nazar?”

“Oh, you bastard.”

As Alice said that, she punched Nazar in his chest.

- Damage contained. -

“Thanks, Solace.”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

“Why the confused looks?”

“What was that just now?”

“I installed something in here a few days ago. Just in case for a day like this.”

“What does it do?”

“Basically, if someone were to punch me with superhuman strength, the impact will damage the surrounding areas. So, Solace is containing the damage by creating something around the small area around me.”

“I really thought you were an idiot.”

“I am smarter than you, Emma.”

“It was so funny that I forgot to laugh.”

“Oh, shit. I forgot about Eddie. I need to tell him abou--”

“Don’t tell him about it. It will probably hurt him mentally,” Alice said.

“But I still need to clear the misunderstanding of today. I should tell him that we were just joking around. Is that alright?” Nazar paused before continuing. “And can you not mention demons or anything like that, please? He has a bad history with them.”

“Okay.”

Nazar waved his hand and Eddie appeared.

“Ah? Just what the fuck is going on?”

“Calm down, Eddie. She is just a… um… what are you to me exactly?”

“Um… uh… acquaintance?”

“Yeah, let’s go with that.” Nazar turned around back to Eddie. “So, just to make sure, we were playing around. And she is not an enemy.”

“You guys are weird...” Eddie said slowly with a disgusted expression on his face. “Anyway, couldn’t you just tell me this some other time? I am being late for a date with my girlfriend.”

Nazar’s smiling face was turned to that of disgust.

“You have broken your code of honour as a nerd.”

“Huh?”

“In my book, there is a rule that says you should never be in a romantic relationship. You are a failure as a nerd-- wait, I saw some of your memories and I didn’t see anything about your girlfriend?”

“Oh, we started dating after I returned from space.”

“Damn, you work fast...”

“Do you want to know how we met?”

“No.”

“Okay, so we used to work together. In that awful place, she was the only one who was helping me. So, while she was helping me, I fell for her.”

“Wait, fell for her? Did you fall off a bridge? Or a roof?”

Literally, everyone facepalmed.

“It’s just something people usually say. It does not mean falling over literally. It means falling in love.”

“Oh.”

“When I found out that I fell in love with her, I tried to get close to her but I had anxiety issues and I was physically disabled. I thought that if she rejects me, she will feel really bad, so I thought I should not tell her.”

Nazar listened carefully.

“She came to my house a few times and helped me with things. So, when my house was burnt down, she visited me in the hospital. And that is where I told her how I felt about her. As she heard that, she left immediately.”

“Then?”

“Shut up, I am going to tell you. Where was I?” Eddie thought for a second. “Oh, so when she left. I felt really bad and wanted to end it all. This proposal was one of the many reasons I wanted to end it all, mind you. But then that woman came and gave me powers.”

“I see.”

“When I returned from space, I found a letter in my house. Even though my house was supposed to be burnt, but for some reasons, it was perfectly fine. Anyway, in the letter, she said that she felt the same way. So, I went to her and told her about how awesome I had become. And then we made out. And now we are dating.”

Nazar slowly clapped.

“Who the hell came up with this terrible script?”

“It’s not a script. It is my life story. And it is beautiful.”

Nazar slowly shook his head.

“Anyway, it's not as bad as yours. You are into dress up.”

“Dress up?”

“Yes. You made your AI wear a maid uniform.”

“Maid uniform?”

“Maid uniform?”

“I saw it too,” Alice said.

- I also have a bunny costume, a -- -

“Solace, shut up,” Nazar shouted out.

He lowered his gaze.

“It is--”

He looked up to see a horrible sight in front of him.

“Wait. Wh-why the hell are you three grinning for?”

“Heh… I wonder,” Alice said.

“New ways to bully you.”

“New ways to make fun of you… wait, isn’ that the same as bullying?” Aria looked confused.

“Eddie, help me. You are a superhero, aren’t you?” Nazar said as he moved to a corner.

“I am not helping supervillains.”

“Solace, please.”

- I am sorry, Master. It is time for me to betray you. -

“Nooo--”

“What the hell is going on?” Mary asked as she entered the living room quickly.

“Ahem… nothing?” Nazar said.

“You know, how much noise you guys are maki--”

Mary trailed off. She saw Alice.

Alice waved her hand slightly and said, “Hi.”

“I-I thought… Nazar said you were dead?”

“Oh, it’s a long story. I will you later.” She paused. “Anyway, sorry for all the trouble I have caused you.”

“Anyway, the whole house is soundproof. So, don’t worry about people hearing anything.” Nazar said.

“I need to go,” Eddie sounded impatient.

“Then go. I am not holding you back,” Nazar said immediately.

“I cannot. This suit was supposed to have teleportation built into it, right? But it is not working now.”

“Solace?”

- The suit was created under pressure, so you had not placed any forms of protections on it. Due to his thunder, most functions of the suit are not working. -

“Oh.”

Nazar’s eyes lit up with yellow energy and fixed Eddie’s suit.

As soon as he did it, he teleported it out.

“Now, then, who is hungry?” Nazar said with an excited expression… but it soon vanished when everyone ignored him.