10 advance chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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(Angel's P.O.V)
Today was the day I was leaving for Infinity Island.
For context, 2 days had passed since the Interview. And with the new hires proving their competence, I could finally focus on moving forward with the main plan.
Most of the issues needing my full attention were taken care of, or in the process of.
For starters, Black Widow wasted no time in taking over my underworld operations and establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with, freeing up Shade, who had been kind of the overseer, for more important duties.
Namely attending to me.
On the other side, Christopher had used the time to establish himself as the new CEO. With his transition into power being on the front page of the Daily Planet newspaper.
Apparently he had connections there. And with me owning a part of the Media Outlet, it only handed me more power over what they published to the masses.
To add to that, his face being seen by the Mafia was not an issue anymore. Not after making that Black Widow's first mission.
When Shade added me the report from her yesterday, it said, 'The targets are swimming with the fishes. They won't cause trouble for you anymore Young Master.'
Good Lord that woman doesn't waste time.
So Christopher was free to do as he liked without worrying about his daughter's safety. And he was now working on restructuring the company and paving the way into the new direction I wanted to take it.
I can't wait to see the changes he's enacted once I'm back in a week or two.
As for Arya, she had moved into the Mansion part time. The plan was for her to spend a week with Candie and then spend the Weekends with her family.
Apparently, the arrangement was not an issue as her Husband was a disabled War Veteran, who was more than happy to look after the kids while she worked.
The fact that her annual salary would put some CEO's to shame did a lot to convince him.
Besides, they needed the money to save up for college and buy their house. And maybe a prosthetic for him.
Note to self:- Remember to have Ivo check up on creating a special prosthetic for him. More than money, gratitude went a long way to inspire loyalty.
Speaking of Ivo, this is where I hit the first snag. His progress on fine-tuning the Fatherbox was slow.
The Fatherbox will be useful when dealing with the Light, so I allowed him to take his time with it. There was no point in rushing something so important.
Not to mention, that wasn't the only thing on the Professor's plate.
I had left my watch at his lab for him to upgrade it's functions so that it would work on Infinity Island. A place that was completely off the grid. There was a reason why getting there was hard, it didn't show up on the GPS. And that was due to it's top of the line security.
The other thing I had him working on, well...that's a surprise.
So with everything going on, and everyone pulling their weight, the only thing on my mind was the Lazarus tournament. And by extension, an audience with one of the most influential men on the planet, Ra's Al Ghul.
An audience that will hopefully lead to an alliance of sorts.
But if that fails, well...removing Ra's and his League of Shadows from the picture is also an option.
Though one I was hesitant to use as that would no doubt lead to a premature clash with the rest of the Light.
The Plan was to take over, not to abolish.
-0-
To see me off, my entire estate was standing below the steps of the mansion.
The staff members, carefully picked out by yours truly, were in formation behind Arya and Bane, dressed in black and white uniforms.
The former, meaning Arya- I had elevated to the position of butler.
And Bane still had his bodyguard duties to perform, which he was so far excelling in. Though he still wore his Lucha Libre mask whenever he was on the compound.
And then before them was Candie, with a petulant glare on her face. Teddy was held to her chest by its neck. Like a chokehold.
Yikes, I wouldn't want to be that Teddy Bear.
I knelt down to her height, reaching out with my hand to rub her head, only for her to use her powers and smack my palm away.
I smiled helplessly.
"You've been getting better with your powers."
She harrumphed and looked away.
"I've been practicing. I can float now."
[A little]
She added telepathically.
I nodded. Shade usually kept watch on her and occasionally informed me of her progress.
Her telepathy was actually catching up to her telekinesis. Scary. Telepaths were broken if they knew how to use their powers smartly.
"Look, I get why you're upset."
I tried again,
"But I'll only be gone for a week or so. Maybe two Max."
"Then why can't I come with you?!"
She demanded.
"You're worried I won't be safe but I'm not weak. I can protect myself! I've gotten really good with controlling multiple things at the same time! I can burst apart an entire crate of watermelons easily and dent metal! If I try hard enough I can even shred it apart like a sheet of pap..."
"Scandal."
I called her by her real name and immediately she went quiet, eyes turning to stare at the ground.
"You're being difficult."
I continued sternly.
"This is not a matter of strength. You're still a child."
[So are you...]
She added, speaking into my mind.
She was right. And wrong.
Clearly my abnormal lifestyle had rubbed off on her. And treating her like a normal kid would only backfire. And if there was one thing I didn't want, it was to have a strained relationship with my sister.
I stood up, shrugging off my coat and handing it over to Shade who was by my side.
"You're right."
I replied, surprising her.
"You're about to turn 5 in a few weeks. When I was your age, father challenged me to show him what I could do."
I felt Shade turn my way,
"Young Master...you don't mean..."
He trailed off, staring at me with a look of disbelief on his normally blank face.
"Calm down Shade. I would never go that far."
I appeased his worries.
My little sister was now looking between us curiously.
"What is it?"
"Let's make a deal, Candie. If you can land a hit on me, I'll allow you to come with me. But..."
I proposed, only for her to immediately cut me off.
"I'm in!"
She yelled excitedly, throwing Teddy onto Bane's face.
"Watch Teddy for me, Lu-lu."
"Lu-lu?"
I snorted at her nickname for Bane.
The supervillain grit his teeth, apparently not finding the name funny.
"Death is more honorable than this indignity."
"Please abstain from such dreary talk in the presence of the young mistress, Mr. Bane."
Arya admonished him.
He looked ready to tear her head off her body but the glare she kept giving him, proved too much and the Lucha libre wearing supervillain sighed,
"Si, Mrs. Arya."
He replied, looking like he'd swallowed a bitter lemon.
The little bit of laughter that escaped me ended when her stern glare turned my way. Unfortunately for her, I'd been stared down by worse.
"Enough talking. Let's fight!"
Scandal cut in impatiently, a blue aura covering her body.
"Fine."
I cleared my throat, spreading my hands out and forming balls of fire that orbited around my body.
"Don't think I'll go easy on you, little sis."
Everyone wisely gave us a wide berth.
The concern of doing this in the open, under the risk of prying eyes, was non-existent as the property covered many acres.
And every member of the Staff present was specially chosen by me or Shade. And were loyal.
With a war cry that was more adorable than intimidating, Candie ran...no flew...wait...
It was a combination of the two, a sort of gliding that allowed her to leap the distance between us with a few steps.
But still, attacking someone with Pyrokinesis with a head on rush was naively stupid.
Under my control, 2 fireballs sailed forward on a collision path with where her next step would land.
Before contact, they exploded with a loud pop and a flash of blinding light.
Of course the power packed in the fireballs was lessened considerably, more for show than posing any true danger. I wasn't my father. I wouldn't be cruel to my sister even if she was slightly annoying.
Surprising, once the light faded, I lost sight of her.
My instints warned me of an attack coming from my side, and a sidestep allowed a huge rock covered in a blue aura to pass right by where I was.
Where did she even get such a big rock?
My question was answered when the rock stopped in place and shattered into numerous stones, peebles and gravel, gathered from the ground below the mansion's stairs.
Smart girl. But it wasn't enough.
My fireballs exploded with an impact that pushed all the stones, gravel and sand away.
And with a quick motion, my hand snaked out and grabbed Candie's leg, before her heel, which was covered in a great amount of telekinetic aura, could land on the top of my head.
"Got you."
Ice climbed up her entire leg and body, Immobilizing her.
Every time she sent a burst of telekinesis to try and shatter the ice, I just created more ontop, increasing its mass until I was holding up a chunk of ice with only her face revealed.
"I-im n-not d-d-done yet!"
She stubbornly stated, her teeth chattering due to the cold ice.
At my raised eyebrow she sighed,
"F-fine. I co- conce-de-de b-big brother."
I tapped the ice and it cracked and split apart from around her body, allowing her to smoothly float to the ground.
She released a wave of telekinesis that pushed away the cold air.
With a jerk, Teddy left Bane's grip and landed in her chokehold. I feel like she was taking out her loss on the poor Teddy bear.
"It's not fair, you cheated."
Cheated? What's she talking about?
Figuring that she was just salty about losing, I went to rub her head only to stop and instead reach out for a handshake.
The surprise on her face was picture worthy. But watching to see if I was serious, she reached out and shook it.
And that was when I used it. The Ex rank skill that all big brothers have to learn out of necessity.
"That was a genius move, Scandal!"
I shamelessly and honestly, complimented her.
"You used your telekinesis to push away the impact of my fireballs and then took advantage of the smokescreen produced, to levitate high into the sky, ensuring that I wouldn't see you without looking up."
"And then you launched the attack you were planning from the start and targeted my left. Even if I had wanted to search for you in the sky, I would be hardpressed to counter the rock."
"But that wasn't all, the rock was made up of many peebles and stones. And when I evaded it, you turned it into a makeshift grenade to distract me from the real attack coming from above. I'm impressed sis. Very impressed."
"Really? You mean it?"
The delight on her face was immeasurable, and her earlier sour mood was replaced by pride.
And that was the trick ladies and gentlemen, positive reinforcement. Or in simpler terms, praise.
The others joined us, with Arya clapping her hands with a smile directed Candie's way.
"That was an excellent showing young mistress."
Candie's face brightened up even more, turning her chin up.
I made eye contact with Shade and with a smile he bowed his head.
Okay. Now, time to leave.