Allen returned to his room after finishing the conversation with Batman, pretended to be surprised, and immediately closed the stream, saying he'd notify if he discovered the cause of what happened.
Tony closed his laptop, pondering carefully about what he had just seen.
"Another world... I already felt pressured knowing that many things in my world lacked sense, and now I've discovered that there's another world, and that world is precisely DC."
Tony rose from the couch and walked to his bar. He was about to drink a shot but hesitated as he glanced at the glass. He wasn't in the mood for drinking.
"Jarvis, what did you find?" Tony asked, opening a holographic screen displaying the new model of his armor.
"Sir, young Allen Walker disappeared from his apartment inexplicably for seventeen minutes, the exact time he was live streaming."
"Was it real?" Someone like Tony, with an eye so trained in technology, knew what could be done currently and what couldn't. What was happening before him wasn't holograms or CGI. Yet, he needed confirmation from Jarvis.
"Sir, I have something to report. I couldn't access young Walker's computer or his phone. I hacked a nearby drone to confirm Allen Walker's absence."
"What?!"
Tony nearly stumbled upon hearing that. Jarvis could easily access Pentagon files but couldn't get into Allen's computer.
Allen's system would sneer if it heard Jarvis' statement. An artificial intelligence trying to hack something she modified? Good luck with that, it would take you ten years.
"Not only that, sir," Jarvis paused and continued, "All information regarding Allen Walker that was previously accessible has been encrypted."
"Jarvis, can you access that information?"
"I've been trying for over six hours without success. It has a security level so high that I can't even analyze the surface."
"Hahaha... it seems like Allen got into something too big..." Tony Stark looked out of the window as he relaxed. "Jarvis, the world is changing, and changing fast. The existence of mutants was just the beginning. Doctor Banner and the Abomination were a warning. More things are starting to happen, perhaps some supernatural."
"Sir... what do you plan to do?"
"I'm not sure I can do it alone." Tony sighed but suddenly felt a slight ache in his chest, though he didn't show it.
"Sir, your health..."
"I know..."
"Sir, are you considering the Avengers initiative?" Jarvis asked, knowing that Tony didn't want to discuss the subject.
"I don't know. Being under an organization like SHIELD is madness. They are dogs that obey the higher orders"
"So, will you try to form a team yourself, sir?"
Tony remained silent. He remembered the incident with the Abomination. There were people seeking to create more Hulks. What if it had worked? What if there were more creatures like Doctor Banner? He could handle them all. No, Tony knew he would be torn apart by them.
"How long will it take for our own world to stop being normal and become like DC?"
"Sir... after reviewing so much hidden information, I can confirm that it was never a normal world."
Tony knew what Jarvis meant. Mutants have been existing in stories for years; it's only a matter of time before their numbers are too significant to conceal.
Tony grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
"Sir?"
"Cancel my appointments for today, Jarvis. I have something to do."
Tony was not originally a hero, not a very kind person, or anything like that, but this more active Tony Stark in his role as Ironman had a reason.
This has a reason.
===
Allen ended the stream tired and slumped in his chair.
"That was forced, really forced. I doubt half of them believed the story, but this is just the beginning."
"You're quite positive considering your obvious shortcomings," Wednesday spoke from the bed in the room. She was reading a book. Allen didn't sleep in the RGB room; it was just a decorative bed, but Wednesday seemed to like it.
Allen looked at her, finding it adorable that, due to her doll-like size, she had to use both hands to turn the page. She wasn't tiny, measuring almost two feet, but she was still very small. Although apparently, she could change her size.
Allen smiled at this but didn't mention it to avoid making her angry. Wednesday seemed calm and only asked Allen for books, a place to decorate with spooky and dark stuff, and lots of torture tools. She's definitely a cute girl.
"Even so, I don't think the world will focus much on me, I'm not the only unusual thing in my world."
Allen wasn't as stressed as many might think. It's not as if he were the first human to gain powers or supernatural miracles and have it show to the world.
[Host, would you like to know your impact on the world?]
"Go ahead, system," Allen leaned back in the chair, releasing all his nervousness and relaxing.
"During the streaming, your viewers increased to five hundred. Several clips are circulating and going viral. I estimate that in your next stream, there will be more than three thousand people, but the opinion is mostly skeptical, so expect many haters."
Allen wasn't surprised, as he had sensed it. Is DC a real world? No one would believe that; DC is a company that monopolizes superhero comics and series without any competition.
"It's also being said on social media that it's a promotion for a new DC live-action movie, but they haven't reacted to this rumor yet."
Allen doesn't have a good impression of DC's live-action movies, they are bad, with a few exceptions. That's a fact.
Allen chuckled at the thought of something. When people find out for sure that DC exists, what will happen to the company in his world? Will they sue for copyright to an entire world, or will it be the other way around?
Thinking about that, Allen remembered feeling a strange sense of incongruence now that there were two different DC worlds.
Allen doesn't recognize the stories and lands where events took place; he searched his memory and couldn't identify where he was located in the stories he saw. Of course, he found similar stories, but they were different in several aspects.
"It's difficult to explain," Allen sighed and leaned his elbow on his chair.
[Host, I'll tell you straight: don't rely on the comics you know. While there are records of those worlds, you might not find anything according to the comics you're familiar with.]
"What?! How is that possible?!" Allen jumped out of his chair immediately. Even Wednesday stopped reading to listen to the system.
[I checked all the comics and any material used in DC stories in your world and found only twenty-six Earths in your comic multiverse.]
"Yes, there are only twenty-six..."
[Allen... I have records of at least fifty-two different DC Earths.]
"What?!"
Allen's face turned pale. One of the fundamental pillars of his confidence when going to DC was that he could predict what would happen if he managed to identify the Earth and story he was in. But if what the system says is true, his knowledge won't be of any use.
Let's explain a little about DC's history in Allen's world.
DC emerged as the first comic publisher with Superman as the flagship. Many people complained, saying that Superman was only a copy of Captain America, who was a real person in the world.
DC denied it, which led to many lawsuits, but it was determined that Superman had nothing to do with the late Captain Steve Rogers.
But many people remained dissatisfied, so in response, a poorly cooked publisher released Captain Rogers' stories, with the legend "This is a real hero."
At first, this publisher's sales crushed DC, but over the years, a problem arose: lack of creativity.
Captain America was a real person who existed, and they couldn't invent more than what he was, while DC continued to release more and more original characters.
In the end, and unfortunately, the publisher went bankrupt due to the lack of original material and vanished, with its downfall, the only competitor of DC had disappeared, and they monopolized superhero comics.
Originally, DC planned a multiverse of fifty-two Earths where their artists would create their stories, but after losing competition pressure, they decided to have only twenty-six, and those were enough.
That's the story of DC in Allen's world, meaning the DC story in Marvel and the reason for there being only twenty-six canon Earths.
(A/N: There are fifty-two Earths in our reality)
Allen sat with his face covered and a serious expression, realizing there were at least twenty-six DC Earths of which he knew absolutely nothing.
"You're overthinking it..." Wednesday said in an indifferent voice, looking coldly at Allen.
"What does it matter if there are a hundred or a thousand? Just become dominant and powerful enough so it doesn't matter..."
Allen's eyes widened in surprise and disbelief. Was Wednesday worried about him?
"Don't be mistaken. If you die, I'll probably die too, or maybe stop moving... helping you is self-preservation," the girl blinked with her jet-black eyes and that distinctive aura of darkness.
Allen shook his head and smiled. The nervousness had vanished with just one sentence from Wednesday.
"Thank you..."
"..." Wednesday didn't respond and continued reading her book. "Don't thank me; it's unpleasant."
"Now, how can I make the best use of my resources?" Allen opened the profile tab with an improved mood. Wednesday glanced at him discreetly.
- Allen Walker
- 19, 500 credits
- Skills: Bullet Time - green, Boost and Override - green
- Equipment: Neuralyzer - Blue
Allen had credits, but without some upgrades in the store, he wouldn't find good things, and it wasn't worth spending too much.
With two fragments, even if he used them in the store, it was unlikely he'd find anything as powerful to face an evil version of Superman or something like that.
Allen knew he was lucky; he could have appeared in the middle of a war against Darkseid or in front of Ultraman (an evil version of Superman) just to be killed.
"How many tickets did I get, System?"
[You earned a total of twenty-five golden tickets... during the stream, you managed to awaken many emotions in your viewers. Congratulations, Allen.]
Allen would be happy if these tickets were just possibilities; there was no guarantee that anything good would come out.
"Hey..." said Wednesday as she closed her book. "Can these fragments be used to improve the rewards?"
[Yes, they can, but you would need many fragments to level the store to the point of getting really powerful things.]
"I'm not talking about improving the store..." The gothic doll turned with indifferent eyes, then got off the bed and changed into her human-sized form.
Allen was mesmerized by the girl's beauty. She might lack many things that only a real woman has, but in terms of pure beauty, she's perfect. She was designed to be beautiful.
Of course, Wednesday was already beautiful as a human, but now she simply took Allen's breath away every time he saw her in that form.
She descended from the bed with her eyes fixed on Allen and slowly approached. Her bare feet barely made a sound on the wooden floor. Her movement seemed ethereal, as if she were floating, and her eyes, usually cold, seemed to gleam.
Allen, who was still sitting, didn't understand what Wednesday planned to do. She approached and took his chin, a clearly provocative and dominant move that took Allen by surprise.
"You don't want to die, do you?" with a softer voice than usual, Wednesday brought her face close to Allen's ear. "You have to combine the fragments with the golden tickets..."
A whisper similar to a demon's spell penetrated Allen's ears. There was no seduction or flirtation, but Allen felt a chill run down his spine.
He didn't respond with words; he felt an impulse and took the girl by the waist and kissed her without saying anything.
Allen felt with his hands the almost unreal softness of Wednesday's body. It was very real and didn't feel artificial at all. The only difference with a real woman would be the weight and body heat that Wednesday lacked.
One would expect Wednesday to refuse and try to kill Allen, but she let him kiss her. However, she didn't participate in the kiss; she just remained motionless as Allen introduced his tongue.
For a moment, Wednesday had an impulse to respond but didn't. Allen broke away shortly after, unable to understand Wednesday's way of thinking.
She touched her lips for a moment, as if verifying something. "Interesting..." then she turned back into her doll form and went to read again.
Allen remained dumbfounded for a moment, not knowing what to say. Finally, he left the room with the excuse of going to the bathroom.
He entered the bathroom and took a cold shower.
After that awkward moment, Allen went to his room.
"System, can you materialize a ticket like you did with the chests?" Allen asked while drying his hair with a towel.
[Yes, Wednesday Addams's idea has potential, but remember, you only have two fragments, and I can't assure you the results will be better than if you invest them in improving the store.]
Allen thought for a moment; he has to protect his life because Mary Jane and Wednesday depend on him. It's not like before, his life is not just his now.
Allen decided to give it a try. In front of him, a golden ticket appeared, floating, with a soft aura of light surrounding it. Allen took the ticket and took one of the destiny fragments.
The feeling of having two such mystical objects in his hands was indescribable. Allen decided to put them together, willing the ticket to absorb the fragment.
"System, one question, is this going to explode?" Allen let out his cowardly side for a moment.
[It's almost certain it won't]
"What a relief... wait, almost?!" Allen almost decided to cancel everything when he heard that.
[Just do it, Host.]
The system's voice sounded impatient; it seems she's curious to see what happens too. Allen decided to give it his best shot, and with a blinding flash of light, both objects touched.
Allen closed his eyes, and when he opened them, the golden ticket now had an iridescent color, a mix of various colors.
Having experience in gachas, Allen knew this only meant one thing: he had won the bet.
"Oh yes!" Allen shouted while holding the ticket.
It's time to get serious with real power. Allen doesn't know if it will be good or bad, but it definitely won't be as weak as he is now.