All-Star Ōtsutsuki 34 (Invincible/Naruto OC-SI) (Patreon)

The capacity of my eyes had increased, if not by all that much, again. Whatever stressors I’d been under in that fight, between the Viltrumites and injuries I’d taken from Battle Beast, had pushed me to innovate and force my abilities to that natural brink. It wasn’t lost on me that every time I’d had my capabilities advance so far, it was under the right triggers for it.

IE, being forced to be more creative, more daring, and more brutal. Or maybe the accurate way of describing it would be the fact that I was forced to dig deep and use all of my powers in concert with one another. It hadn’t escaped me that Thokk had played crucial, if unwitting, roles in my progression so far.

Perhaps I was just secretly terrified of cats. Superman had kryptonite, I had inhumanly terrifying lion-men as my weakness.

Whatever the actual causes were, the results were incredibly welcome. My eyes had a very tepid increase on the range, just a few hundred miles, by my reckoning. Which would have had any Hyūga spitting blood if I’d described it like that. They would have murdered no small number of people to possess eyes that potent, but for me, being able to see an area the size of North America was practically the expectation.

The other quality that had advanced, from the eldritch science of progression my Byakugan were operating off, was the nature of my emotional sight. Before, I could generally see what people were feeling at a remove. That was useful, insofar as I could get a rough idea of how to guide conversations along. Now?

Now, it felt like that entire process was streamlined, the results of the sight in question being drawn further into my targets. The best way that I could describe it was as if the actual capacity to strain someone’s thoughts had been refined. I wasn’t at the level of outright telepathy yet, but those vague emotional conceits had been further developed into something more concrete.

Case in point, here I was meeting with Captain Nyxis after the battle. Back on the same ship that’d transported me here, as we did a bit of a debrief. On the surface the man was as placid and neutral as ever, as he sat on the other side of the meeting table. Beneath those gentle waters, though, his emotions were hardly as restrained.

Looking at me with his dark eyes, I could see deep undertones of intermingled fear and awe. Considering that I could rip apart this ship with my bare hands in under a minute, I didn’t think he was unreasonable for experiencing that. Physiologically, I was a fundamentally heightened existence from him.

… There that arrogance came again. It was something that’d been creeping up again and again in the aftermath of the fight, but I was trying not to think about it too much.

“Once again, I do have to thank you,” Nyxis stated, the pale alien giving me his most diplomatic smile. “Without your efforts, I fear that our Coalition forces would never have been able to push out the imperial auxiliaries.”

“It was my job,” I said, smiling softly. “It isn’t like I could have let you get torn apart by the Viltrumites they had hiding in the wings.”

“To think that you slew three of those monsters…” More of that vitriol entered his mind, despite how pleasant his tone was. True, black curdling fear and red anger, tinting the alien’s thoughts.

“I’d hesitate to call it easy.” Even if it was. But I didn’t want to give this guy even more reasons to fear me.

He nodded. “Understandable. I’d like to also apologize for Thokk’s actions. We hadn’t expected him to be so… aggressive, but the division commanders on the ground informed him about the entrance of Viltrumites into the atmosphere. From there, it was a bit out of our hands.”

“Don’t worry. You’re not the man I intend on holding to account,” I assured him with a smile. Not that any true mirth seemed to reach my eyes in that moment.

Allen and I would be having some words. Perhaps Thaedeus too…

“I see…” Nyxis nodded, looking a little perturbed by whatever expression came over my face. Perhaps I did a worse job of hiding my vaguely violent intentions than I’d thought. “Well, trust that we’ll be keeping the two of you separated for the given moment.”

“The sentiment is appreciated.” Thokk and I had an agreement now, and frankly, I didn’t think he was going to break it. Some dark part of me was even excited to pit myself against him. But I didn’t think that tricking him twice would go over so well. If there was diplomacy to be found, it required me to follow through.

Hopefully, he’d end up getting thrown into a star or something. We lived in a superhero universe, though, and I was coming to understand many of the decisions that I made had consequences that went further than the tropes I’d come to expect. Only time would tell if anything went awry from it.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” I asked, snapping myself out of my swirling thoughts.

“Not particularly. We’ll be heading back to Talescira in a few days after the mop-up operations are complete,” Nyxis explained. “Without the support of their Viltrumite masters, the auxiliaries are losing their nerve.”

“I can imagine,” I huffed in distant amusement. “Well, I’ll be meditating for a bit and taking the express way back in a day or so. There’s things I’ve got to discuss with your leadership.”

It probably wouldn’t take that long for me to heal up if I channeled my chakra toward the process. My reserves were low at the moment, but taking the time to do literally nothing but exist and meditate would help bolster them in due time. Between those two objectives, all I’d have to do is sit down and properly concentrate to get back in shape for the jump.

“You can portal that far?” The captain asked, blinking in surprise.

“My species can, yeah,” I confirmed with a shrug. “It’ll be easy once I’ve rested up a bit.”

Once more, I could see a swell of awe in his emotions before he nodded sharply. “R-Right. I should leave you to it.”

With our meeting done, I made my goodbyes and headed back to the personal quarters that I’d been presented with. Nice enough for the most part, but ill-used, for all that I’d actually needed to sleep or bathe. Still, that didn’t mean the privacy wouldn’t be useful for actually meditating and clearing my mind.

There were a couple of things that I wanted to interrogate about myself, as I hovered in place over my bed. In the lotus position, I rested my Byakugan’s range and began to look inside. Or rather, look at how I’d felt during the fight, which had me so willing to do this level of introspection in the first place.

From the moment things had begun to get heated, dangerous, whatever you wanted to call it, I’d felt a familiar shift overtake me. That thrill for battle, the lust for conflict, the violent contest for supremacy. It was baked into my bones, I suspected, no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise.

The reality was, I enjoyed it. Some part of me, the human that I’d been, would have been horrified at the thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of deaths that I’d personally had a hand in. How much I’d relished the power I held over the Viltrumites, as they fruitlessly tried to kill me. It’d been intoxicating, an immense amount of power and freedom in the realization that Nolan was the exception amongst their kind.

It was also a problem. That slippery slope toward sadism could start innocently enough and would probably look much the same to just enjoying your own power over others. At the end of that path lay only madness and destruction.

There was the chance that I was overthinking this. Perhaps it was natural to enjoy exerting your power, to know that the things you feared didn’t hold the sway you’d initially believed they did. It was reasonable to presume anyone getting over their personal demons would react in such a gleeful way.

I just didn’t know if the battle-hungry person I turned into was really who I wanted to be. I’d have to think on it some more, and perhaps meditate until I discovered the answer. 

Just looking at my own emotions and untangling the adrenaline from the things that were already inside of me took more time than I’d believed. By the time I’d opened my eyes again, several days had already passed. Another thing to try and get on top of, I suppose. Time slipping through my fingers, without me noticing in the first place.

After making a brief goodbye over the communications systems to the captain, I used my newly recovered reserves to make a portal all the way to Talescira. This was the first time I’d made one from such a distance away, and the dip was noticeable but manageable. Maybe 5%, if I had to put a rough estimate to it. Given that I was literally crossing however many lightyears in an instant, I felt like it was worth the expenditure as I walked through the portal.

Just like that, I was back in the skies of Talescira. And I had some bones to pick with a certain Coalition leader.

Thaedus was alone when I created a portal directly into his office, hands behind my back as I hovered through. No, I wasn’t trying to purposefully aura farm, but I’ll admit that I did look pretty cool in my robes, squinting down at the man. To his credit, he was unflappable enough to take my sudden arrival in stride.

“Genji,” the man greeted, eyes squinting my way. “We’ve received reports of your victory in your designated sector. Allen is still fighting his conflict, and it will likely be some time until he’s returned. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Is it a pleasure?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Because it feels like the Coalition fed me into a meat grinder and hoped for the best.”

His emotions were remarkably self-contained. He wasn’t feeling much of anything, besides maybe the faintest hint of shame. It was well overpowered by his personal resolve, though.

“I’m sure it may feel that way, but the decision was entirely impersonal. We had an idea that the Viltrumite forces may be present. Yet obviously not in numbers that were high enough to prove a true threat.”

“Your intel was correct,” I admitted, thinking about the three Viltrumites dispatched. They certainly bruised me to a certain degree, maybe even bloodied me, but not to any real extent. “Most of the damage was done by my own specific allies, who should know that I had bad blood with Thokk.”

“It was worth the tactical risk for the actual payoff that we’ve received,” he demurred, not particularly daunted by my stare. “If there truly are fifty Viltrumites left in the universe, we’ve taken several off of the board. That constitutes an incredible percentage of the empire’s remaining strength.”

The worst thing was the fact that I could tell that he entirely believed every word that he said. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I didn’t know. But it was clear that whatever sense of admonition that I might have been expecting just wasn’t there.

It was all I could do to sigh and stare at the man with no small amount of exhaustion. “I’d expected some sort of contrition, I’ll admit.”

“I’ve made far worse choices,” Thaedus gravely intoned. “And if you truly were capable of defeating Viltrumites, then the request was valid.”

The me that had just arrived on Earth, all those months ago, would have died. It wasn’t even a question in my mind that’d be the case. I’d just been stacking so many advantages lately, that I had the power to spare to survive it.

“I’ll keep that mindset noted for the future,” I grunted, glancing over at the man carefully. “Though, I think I’ve had enough of Coalition space for now.”

Beneath the glitz and glamor of the science fiction wonderland that I’d found myself in, the realities of politicking and dealing with people remained the same. There was a reason why I’d done my best to keep all of that at a remove on Earth. Dealing with it in space was just all of the things I disliked.

“While your absence is a shame, the removal of several Viltrumites does open up ways to press the empire,” the bearded man admitted. “For that you have my thanks again.”

“I’d like a little more than thanks,” I said. “Any chance we can get a technological package for Earth? The more advanced the better.”

“Much of it might not be craftable with your current level of progress.”

“Then include the tools we need to make in order to make the other tools or tech in that database,” I stated. “More than just the support we’d be owed for handing you those weaknesses, too.”

“... It’ll be done,” he intoned, inclining his head.

“Kinda surprised I didn’t need to negotiate there…”

“I can see where my actions have caused a mild rift to form between us. However, I also have no intention of letting sour feelings continue to fester if I can manage it. If it means that I merely must pull some strings to smooth the ruffled feathers, then let it be so.”

At the very least, I was feeling better about the situation. And I’d accomplished more of the objectives that Cecil had been so keen for me to accomplish while I was out here. The GDA maintained dominance in their field chiefly because of their stranglehold on technological progress. Bringing in more novel databases would probably push forward the already existing flourishing of advancements even further.

“Then I guess I’ll wait back in my penthouse for the items to arrive.”

Creating a portal, I was almost through it before Thaedus’ voice came at me again. “Wait.”

“Hmm?” Glancing back at the man, I saw him looking at me with his careful eyes. “What is it?”

“Should another crisis strike the Coalition, can we count on your aid?”

Honestly, I did have to respect the sheer shamelessness of the request. If you reached a certain level of political power, I guessed that was just something that came with the job. That didn’t mean I answered the question immediately, eyebrows furrowing together as I gave it some pensive thought.

“...It’ll depend.”

“On?”

“Whether or not you can pay the price. Freebies are over if you expect me to wipe out the existential problem that’s been plaguing your people for thousands of years. But if you guys can make it worth Earth’s while… then I guess we’ll have a deal.”

I didn’t wait for a response before I flew through the portal and found myself back in the empty penthouse that’d been designated for my use. By and large, I did mean what I said. I’d come into space expecting the same altruism that I demonstrated on Earth to mean something, but my goodwill wasn’t quite abused, but it wasn’t appreciated to the fullest extent, either.

If we, and I meant myself and Earth in that use of we, were going to have fruitful relationships with the Coalition of planets, that meant there needed to be firm lines in the sand. That was on me for not really realizing that at first and trying to be my usual, good self. However, it was evident that sort of notion wasn’t appreciated out here in the void.

That was fine. It just meant I had to temper my expectations and actions accordingly.

A few hours later, there was a database I was assured could work with relevant Earth-based output and input systems sitting in my hand. Filled to the brim with as much information that could get the relevant industries or concepts across. It’d likely take years before any of it was applied widely, but I hoped it’d be a nice present for Cecil and Rudy on my return.

With that final bit of business completed, I concentrated and made a portal across the vast distance back home. Without much aplomb, I was gone.

Something in my chest unclenched when I saw Earth. That blue dot, so full of life and simple problems, that I hadn’t seen in what felt like ages. If there were truly emergencies, they would have called me back. I knew that, logically, but that didn’t keep me from feeling relief as I hung in the orbit over the verdant world I’d called home.

It might not have been my original Earth, but I’d made the decision to protect it. That meant something more to me now, especially after having fought above the skies of a truly alien planet. I wasn’t perfect, but I’d do my best to prevent the same from occurring over the orbit of Earth. That resolve didn’t make it feel any less satisfying to drop back into the atmosphere, my precious cargo stowed away into a storage scroll.

And without much surprise, I was already being hailed by the communication piece in my ear.

“Is that you, Genji?”

“Do you know a lot of pale white aliens, Cecil?” I asked, smirking as I drifted over the North American continent.

“You’d be surprised. It’s a big galaxy out there, and Earth’s popular.”

“I’ve seen a bit of that myself. Though, I do feel like I should ask if anything has happened during my absence.”

“Honestly? Nothing major. Some trouble with Invincible, admittedly, but it solved itself relatively quickly. Things have been quiet, or at least as quiet as they could be.”

That was good. I’d been worried that things couldn’t manage in my absence, but if that was the case, perhaps there could be longer absences if I didn’t need to fret that the world would collapse in my absence. “That’s good,” I breathed out, taking a crisp inhale of air. “I’ve got a bit of a care package for you as well.”

“Oh?”

“Well, besides the three Viltrumites I ended up fighting, along with Thokk—"

“—Exuse me—"

“I managed to get a lot of technological goodies for your eggheads to start slavering over. Bonafide alien technology, translated to the best of their ability into English.”

“... Maybe we need to send you out into space more often,” Cecil commented.

“Please don’t. The politicking was stupid and wore me down more than the actual fighting.”

A snort escaped the other end of the line. “Fine. And don’t think I missed that point where you were talking about having fought three Viltrumites. Or that lion-faced bastard.”

“The Viltrumites are dead. I’m starting to think we’ve actually overestimated their species, actually, by using Nolan as a baseline,” I admitted, thinking over my own mistake on the matter. “Don’t get me wrong, they were basically stronger than anyone on the planet. But not as strong as Nolan.”

I paused. “Or maybe I’m stronger by that much. I’m unsure which is which.”

My initial thought was that they were not as mighty as I’d feared. But with multiple gates open, senjutsu, and the Strength of a Hundred seal enhancing my actions… Maybe, just maybe, I was the one who was a little too busted for them to deal with. What a haunting realization to come to!

Given that I loved cheating to bits, though, I wouldn’t feel bad about it. Not when our opponents were genocidal maniacs hellbent on conquering the universe. The alternative was that I didn’t use every trick I could reach for to bludgeon them to death.

“Come on in and we can do a proper debrief.”

“You’re not busy?”

“For this? I’ll make the time. My schedule can always be cleared for Viltrumite nonsense.”

“Fair. I’ll be there shortly.”

Like I said, it took fundamentally no time at all to end up in the GDA’s base, walking toward Cecil’s office. Most people didn’t even flinch at my sudden appearance these days, which was nice. It was good to see that they got used to my presence, even if I also suspected the GDA had their own means to detect my portals by this point. Then again, my paranoia could be whispering to me at this point.

Whatever the actual reality of the matter was, I found myself in Cecil’s office, where the man briskly teleported inside as I entered.

“Cutting it close.”

“I still showed up, didn’t I? The staffers get the database fine?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “They apparently had a USB connection, which was weird, but I’m going to chalk it up to technology exchanges.”

“Allen was given some very basic forms of our technology when he was here, so that’s likely where it came from.”

“Ah. Well, as long as I can get a copy to bring over to Rudy, I’m happy.”

He gave me a nod, even if his lips twitched toward a frown at the notion. “I can agree to that. During your absence, he’s really come into his own.”

“That’s good to hear! Though, you said there was something minor that happened with Invincible while I was gone?” I wasn’t taking responsibility for Mark, and he wasn’t a true student, seeing as he couldn’t inherit vast swathes of what I could do. That didn’t mean I didn’t feel even the slightest twinge of responsibility for someone I’d dumped this much time and effort into training.

At those words, his mouth soured. “Yeah, that was a real clusterfuck. The man you pulled out of the Mauler lab ended up coming back, ranting and raving, and sending him to alternate realities. He ended up having to kill him to defeat the guy.”

I blinked, genuinely, truly surprised that Mark of all people killed someone of his own volition. He was one of the men that I considered to have enormous amounts of restraint, compared to most superhumans. Just the fact that so many Maulers had died, let alone the myriad people in that warehouse, back then tore him apart visibly. Actually becoming a murderer…

“Damn,” I grunted, rubbing my jawline. “He’s fine besides that, though, right?”

“There were some friendly temporally displaced travelers that sent him back after it was all said and done. But we don’t have a body, so I’m a little leery about just calling him dead for sure.”

“If there’s no body, they’re not dead.” I’d learned that much from reading comic books and manga. Even my efforts to positively destroy Omnipotus were looked at with a grain of salt. If the guy somehow survived that last explosive tag, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

“Outside of that notable event, however, much of it’s been fine. Sinclair’s made some significant progress on the current generation of Reanimen as well.”

Ah! I knew I was missing something!

“Speaking of the Reanimen-Puppets, I actually ended up bringing back three bodies of the Viltrumites that I’d thought. You think we could apply the process to them?”

For the first time since I’d met Cecil, there was a singular and gleeful smile that was on his face. “Shit, kid, why didn’t you warn me Christmas came early?”

 “They’re certainly… damaged,” I conceded, thinking of the actual wounds that had been made to the various bodies. Neither I or Thokk had been incredibly mindful of preserving them in the heat of things. “One of them is missing a head.”

“I’m sure we can work around that,” he assured me, a grim look of satisfaction entering his eyes. “How’d it happen?”

“Well, I got involved in politics and representing the earth, as you asked.”

“Yeah. And that somehow turned into fighting three Viltrumites?”

“It did when they had an almost pinpoint-perfect, aggressive push into Coalition territory. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have said it was planned for my arrival.” I paused, bringing up a hand to rub my chin. “Maybe it was. I think they might have an intel leak.”

That got more consideration and concern to enter Cecil’s gaze. “You didn’t give them any of our or your capabilities, did you?”

“No. Outside of knowing that we can defend ourselves from Viltrumites, to at least some degree, they don’t know the specifics.”

“Good. For as much as I’m thankful that the Coalition has gotten around to sharing their toys with us, I’m not exactly keen to put all our eggs into one basket. Not yet, anyway.”

Which was the smart move to play. I think if Cecil really needed to do it, he wouldn’t even quite be unwilling to come to an accord with the Viltrumites. It wasn’t a move I would be the most interested in, personally, but that was because I could fight three of them at once. If the rest of their population came at once, though…

Well, that’s a very different proposition. In the theoretical sense, if we had to wargame a scenario out between myself, Invincible, the Guardians, and the Reanimen-Puppets, I could estimate we’d handle ten of their remaining population. Presuming they were around as strong as the Viltrumites I’d fought a few days prior, and there wasn’t any notable variance in their power.

If they were around Nolan’s power individually, or stronger, I’d say the actual likelihood of victory shifted a bit. Unless I was willing to get a bit tricky with my tactics. Coming to terms with Viltrumites, on some level, would leave a bad taste in my mouth. But I did have some faith that Earth could change them for the better.

It did so for Nolan… at least to a degree. That might just be wishful thinking on my part.

“Admittedly, I didn’t think I was going to end up fighting three Viltrumites when I got there. Or Thokk,” I said, wincing at the phantom pain at where his mace had struck me. “But we came up with a deal.”

“A deal?”

“If we’re both alive by the end of the war, we’re going to settle things properly between ourselves. Mostly because I just told him I’d keep running if he tried to force me into things.”

“Wonderful,” Cecil drawled, the sarcastic tone in his voice making it precisely clear how he actually felt about the matter.

“Listen, I didn’t have many better ideas, and there was a war on!”

He waved his hand. “It’s not ideal, but you’ve been getting stronger, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Picked up some new tricks.”

“Then you should be able to win, handily, if it comes down to that. I’ve got faith in your capacity to kick someone’s ass, at least.”

That might have been the nicest thing Cecil has ever said to me. It really warmed the cockles of my heart. “Thank you, Cecil!”

He gave me a smirk and a nod. “For now, think you can spin off one of your clones for a debrief? It’ll be a long one, since we’ve got xenopologists chomping at the bit to tear apart whatever you can tell us about the aliens you interacted with. Culture, governmental structure, the works.”

“I can do that,” I confirmed, making a clone step out of my body with ease.

“Where to?” It asked.

Cecil stared at it in mild wonder, though no real fear or concern hued his emotions. At this point, I got the feeling he was inured to the most insane things that could happen in his line of work. “Down the hall, to the right, over by the reception. I’ll send someone over to pick you up.”

“Gotcha,” the clone confirmed, turning on its heel to walk away.

For myself, I could only arch a brow back to Cecil. “I’ll probably be heading off to go check in with the Guardians myself. If there’s nothing else…?”

“There shouldn’t be. And if there is, I’ll be sure to let you know. Good work out there, Genji.”

With a nod toward the director, I created a portal and stepped through, leaving his office and heading straight into Rudy’s lab. Given how rarely it was occupied by anyone but himself, that was how I was expecting it to be. I visited, and Kate did, but unless there was a reason for it, most were daunted by the technical array inside of it.

That was, to be frank, how I’d expected it to be. Either completely empty, with Rudy off on a mission, or with him in the middle of some experiment or innovation. The presumption on my part, I would concede, was a little bit arrogant. To imagine the notion that there was absolutely no way anything of note could be happening there.

Entering into the space, Byakugan blaring, I received an eyeful of my own misunderstanding and arrogance at work.

It wasn’t quite the beast with two backs, because that was a statement that assumed only two participants. There were actually four, three of them being copies of the same person… so was it technically still the beast with two backs? A theoretical, philosophical question, I guess, as I glimpsed the surprised tangle of limbs who had not been expecting my sudden appearance.

Wide eyes in their compromised positions immediately turned my way, and I blurred back through a portal into the rec room for the HQ, eager to escape my own failings. Should I have, perhaps, knocked on Rudy’s door or entered somewhere else in the base first? Probably. Did I learn a lesson about giving Rudy and Kate privacy?

Yes.

Yes, I did.

Frankly, I was just as shellshocked as they were when they found me not too long after. Rudy in a state of dishevelment, despite the fact that he also looked like a different person. Not in terms of his appearance, but I wasn’t sure if I had ever actually seen this man this relaxed. It’d been like there was something wound tight in the intellectual, and it’d been quite thoroughly unwound in the aftermath of… what they’d been up to.

Kate, three of her, dressed in their jumpsuit, seemed to be positively glowing. There was perhaps a little hint of shame in her mind, embarrassment, but not that much. As they entered the rec room, since I had no doubt Rudy had employed his own eyes to track me down, the mood was incredibly awkward. So I chose to break the ice first.

“I-I’m for presuming to enter your lab without permission. That… wasn’t cool of me,” I said.

“No, no, it’s…” Rudy trailed off, glancing at Kate with a little smile on his face. “This is new. Very new. The whole thing was so impromptu, I can’t blame you for not expecting to walk into it.”

“Still, privacy is something I should respect,” I added, glancing at Kate. “Especially between you and your girlfriend.”

“It’s no big deal. Not the first time someone’s walked in on me,” Kate admitted, grimacing at the memory. “I should probably stop jumping people’s bones around headquarters…”

“That would be ideal. Give Rudy a good time off base, perhaps.”

Rudy sputtered. “I’m right here!”

“I know you are,” I smirked. “That’s what makes this teasing worthwhile.”

“He’s easy to fluster, right?” Kate grinned.

“The easiest.”

Rudy, getting increasingly flushed, glowered at the two of them. “T-This was an accident!”

“Oh? So you don’t intend on repeating anything we did?” Kate asked, giving him a gimlet stare.

“... I never said that.”

A laugh escaped me, as I made a portal beside me. “I’ll leave you two alone. Maybe to get the proper private time I interrupted.”

With another portal I was gone, out over the skies of Chicago. Despite the situation, I was genuinely happy for the two of them. They deserved happiness, and in our line of work, you had to take what you could get, when you could get it. If there was one painful fact that was resounding in my mind, it was the knowledge that Rudy of all people managed to get a girlfriend before I did.

“I really need to get my life together…” I grunted out, flying through the Chicago skyline.

Author’s Notes

It’s time to head back to Earth. We had a fun few chapters of romping around in space, but there’s matters that require his attention and focus, so he’s going to be off handling that stuff. Next chapter is an Anissa interlude, as she tries to fit in on earth.

… With mixed results.

Largely, I think we’re trucking along, and finally three season 2’s material after that chapter. Which feels slow, but honestly, we’re going at a pretty brisk pace as I only handle things that are objectively in sight of Genji for the most part. Everything else just happens offscreen.