My World My Justice Ch.32 (Patreon)

-Victoria Dallon, Glory Girl-

Victoria leaned comfortably against Dean at the PRT HQ entrance, enjoying the warmth of his body against hers as they waited with the assembled crowd. Today was transfer day—new Protectorate heroes arriving to bolster Brockton Bay's battered defenses after the ABB's rampage. New heroes always meant exciting things, and if she was being completely honest with herself, potential eye candy.

Though the timing could've been better.

She'd just heard through PHO that Amy had received a giant cake and an adorable teddy bear from True Might himself, complete with a whole public spectacle at the hospital. And her sister hadn't said a word about it. Not one word!

'Seriously, Ames? We're going to have a conversation about this,' Victoria thought, mentally filing away approximately fifty questions. 

What did he say? Was it awkward? Did Amy actually smile? Did she get his autograph? His number?

But those answers would have to wait.

The Wards stood in formation, trying their best to look professional, but Maple looking aloof and joyful kinda broke the image in the best way. Miss Militia was at parade rest looking like a soldier. Eraserhead looked like he'd rather be literally anywhere else but at least he wasn’t in his sleeping bag. And Dauntless stood front and center, the interim leader of Protectorate ENE.

'Still weird seeing him in charge,' Victoria mused. 'Good weird.'

The rumble of a heavy engine drew everyone's attention. A dark Humvee with tinted windows rolled through the security checkpoint and parked directly in front of the assembled heroes.

Victoria straightened, her curiosity overriding her comfortable position against Dean.

The front passenger door opened first. Out stepped a cape whose costume immediately screamed "Middle Eastern"—flowing white robes, a cloth wrapped around his head in a style Victoria vaguely recognized from her World Cultures class, and a simple full white mask. 

Dauntless stepped forward and extended a welcoming hand. "Welcome to Brockton Bay. Sere, I presume?"

"Indeed." The man's accent was a bit strange. He took Dauntless's hand in a firm shake. "Thank you for the welcome."

She studied Sere's costume. 'Those robes look cool, but one good yank and you're getting cloth-lined. Although maybe that's the point? Bait for close-range fighters?'

Moments later, the rear door opened, and Victoria's train of thought derailed spectacularly.

'Oh my god, he's hot.'

The man who emerged from the Humvee was tall—easily six-foot-five—with messy blonde hair. And fit. Holy hell, was he fit. Even through his costume, which looked more like casual athletic wear than cape outfit, she could see the definition of his muscles. The oversized zipper hoodie he wore did absolutely nothing to hide his build. A simple black mask wrapped around his eyes and forehead, leaving his strong jawline and warm, friendly smile completely visible.

He looked like a fitness model.

Victoria felt Dean's arm tighten around her waist.

Oops. She'd been staring. 

"Wait..." Victoria blinked, her brain finally catching up to her eyes. She leaned in close to Dean's ear, keeping her voice to a whisper. "Isn't Fat Gum supposed to be, you know... fat? Like, really fat? Round?"

She'd seen pictures on PHO and official Protectorate promotional material. The hero had been … spherical, built like a beach ball with arms and legs. His whole shtick had been his ability to absorb kinetic energy into his fat reserves. This guy looked like he could bench press a car and then run a marathon.

"Vicky..." Dean's tone was half-chastising, half-amused. "Maybe don't—"

"I'm just saying!" she hissed back, acutely aware that her force field had brightened slightly with her flustered emotions. "The pictures were very different! This is like... inverse catfishing!"

She forced herself to look away, trying very hard not to ogle the new Protectorate member while her boyfriend stood right next to her. Professional. She needed to be professional. She kinda was representing New Wave here.

'Think unsexy thoughts. Toiletnator. Math homework. There, better.'

Then a realization struck her. "Wait, wasn't there supposed to be a third transfer?"

Her question seemed to mirror Dauntless's confusion, because he glanced at the Humvee, then back at the two arrivals. "I was informed there would be three transfers arriving today. Is the third cape still in transit, or—?"

Fat Gum's face split into the widest grin. He laughed and pointed skyward with one hand. "Oh, you'll definitely want to look up for this one, Chief!"

Everyone's heads tilted upward in unison.

For a moment, nothing happened.

But then everyone saw it..

And Victoria's jaw dropped. 

"LEGEND?!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

-Daniel, True Might-

Here I am as the powerful and indestructible True Might, cutting a ceremonial ribbon with plenty of theatrical flair to officially inaugurate a new dog shelter.

And as soon as the oversized scissors click together, I'm immediately swarmed by reporters with cameras flashing from every direction like a strobe light show.

"True Might! Can you tell us about your vision for this facility?"

"How many dogs do you expect to help annually?"

"Is it true you're funding this entire operation out of pocket?"

"What inspired this charitable initiative?"

I just laugh heartily and thump my chest with one fist before striking another heroic pose for the eager cameras. "This noble sanctuary shall provide refuge for countless canine companions in need! No four-legged friend shall suffer abandonment or neglect while the watchful eye of justice oversees this great city!"

The cameras absolutely eat it up, of course. More flashes, more questions shouted over each other in an incomprehensible cacophony.

This whole initiative was Futaba's idea—part of her master plan to secure the loyalty and cooperation of the Undersiders, particularly Rachel Lindt, also known by Bitch or Hellhound depending on who's talking. Despite the girl's severe social issues and violent tendencies, she's apparently an exceptional dog trainer with genuine compassion for animals, especially dogs who was fucked over by the system. This state-of-the-art facility gives her a completely legal, productive outlet for that skill and passion. A place where she can train and rehabilitate stray dogs without constantly running afoul of the law or animal control. Transform her from a criminal into a productive member of society.

A good step for rehabilitation, hurray…

For Alec—or Regent, as he's known in his cape identity—Futaba simply gave him a fully furnished apartment in a decent neighborhood and a substantial chunk of money with minimal strings attached. Apparently that was enough to buy his cooperation and loyalty. The kid just wanted to be left alone to play video games and live comfortably. Simple enough. Don't know if that's really all there is to it, but Oracle seems confident in her assessment.

Brian, also known as Grue, is significantly more complicated. Futaba's still wading through mountains of legal paperwork trying to secure custody of his younger sister Aisha from their neglectful mother. That's what he cares about most, protecting his sister and giving her a better life, so that's what Futaba's working to deliver. And she's already working wonders because Brian has become increasingly cooperative with her plans since she's making far more progress in a few weeks than Coil had him dangling with false promises for literal years.

As for Lisa, the smug Tattletale with her know-it-all attitude, I don't know exactly what Futaba gave her or promised her, but apparently it was something the thinker wanted.

Either way, it's genuinely good strategic thinking on Futaba's part. I knew the Undersiders might become a significant problem down the line—not a city-wide existential threat on the level of Lung, much less an Endbringer, but definitely a persistent, annoying thorn in our side. Much better to have Futaba reel them in early and channel their abilities toward productive ends rather than letting them continue their teenage criminal shenanigans and eventually escalate into something worse.

Also another step taken care from preventing the dreadful queen of escalation.

Although I have to wonder—how much money does that shut-in actually have hidden away in various accounts? She mentioned hacking some financial systems and making strategic investments to build up her initial capital with some future knowledge, but still. The sheer amount she's spending on these various operations and recruitments is nothing to scoff at. We're talking millions of dollars here.

After finally extracting myself from the enthusiastic media scrum at the dog shelter, I head directly to the next scheduled location to open a soup kitchen, which involves the exact same ceremonial ribbon-cutting and extensive photo opportunity routine all over again.

I'm just handling the public-facing ceremonial duties for now—the smiling, posing, and inspiring speeches. Futaba's the one actually managing all the real operations behind the scenes, handling all the complicated numbers, logistics, staffing requirements, and endless administrative details. That's definitely more her area of expertise than mine, anyway.

But it's absolutely a step in the right direction for improving the city. And since I have so much money continuously flowing in thanks to the royalties from my merchandise sales—action figures, workout videos, t-shirts, posters, lunch boxes, the whole extensive commercial package—funding these charitable initiatives is more than financially possible. The money basically prints itself at this point.

Also, I don't really need that much money personally since I already have my own bank balance and the company credits.

Although I'm genuinely starting to miss fighting actual thugs and villains on a regular basis... There's still the Empire Eighty-Eight out there somewhere lurking, but they're keeping an extremely low profile at the moment. Hiding in whatever holes and safe houses they've managed to find.

Futaba's carefully considered the overall situation and concluded that with the PRT's significantly increased presence and patrol density in the city, combined with the loss of their heavy hitters, the Empire will eventually just slowly choke out and disband quietly rather than going out in some dramatic final blaze of glory. We can systematically capture the remaining stragglers one by one.

Which I reluctantly agree with, even though it's less satisfying than a climactic confrontation. Empires don't die in a blaze of glory like the movies; they die with a whimper.

But if the Empire or their neo-Nazi thugs start actively hurting innocent people or kill somebody just to vent their mounting frustration at their increasingly desperate situation, I will personally turn their entire remaining operation upside down and take them out for good. No mercy, no second chances. And Kaiser would be the very first target on my list for elimination as a threat.

I should probably make a clear public statement about that policy soon. Let the Empire's leadership know exactly where the line is and what will happen if they cross it. Kaiser would likely personally deal with any of his own troublemakers who get too aggressive, keeping everyone in line through force if necessary while he desperately and futilely thinks some way out of the massive mess they currently are in.

However, just as I'm mentally considering the best phrasing for such a public statement, my phone suddenly rings

I pull it out to check the caller ID, and sure enough—

"Daniel! Big news, huge news, get over to my place right now!" she practically shouts into the phone.

And she immediately hangs up without any further explanation or context.

This girl…

It has to be very important if she's that worked up and demanding I come immediately. I quickly check my surroundings, make sure no one's watching too closely, and slip into a nearby alley for privacy. I open a portal back to my apartment, step through, then immediately open another portal from there directly to Futaba's apartment.

"JUSTICE COMING THROUGH!" I announce dramatically as I step through the swirling portal into her apartment.

The otaku girl just giggles and spins excitedly in her computer chair. "The man of the hour arrives! Great work on the inauguration of the dog shelter and soup kitchen today, by the way! Seriously, amazing first steps to cement your public image even higher and really drive home that wholesome hero narrative."

She's already typing rapidly on multiple keyboards simultaneously, her fingers flying across the keys. "I've scheduled the grand inauguration of a new homeless shelter and transitional housing facility under your name for this Thursday evening, prime news coverage time. And then we're launching that educational scholarship fund for underprivileged kids next week!" She pauses, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Although I'm still workshopping a proper catchy name for that one. 'True Might Scholarship' sounds kinda boring, don't you think? Needs more punch. More... justice vibes."

She waves her hand dismissively. "Anyway, point is, keep up the wholesome good-boy image, okay? You're killing it so far! The forums are going crazy with positive coverage, approval ratings are through the roof!"

I just roll my eyes and cross my arms, waiting patiently for her to actually get to the real point of why she urgently summoned me here.

"Right, right, sorry! Anyway, Daniel, come look at this screen!" She beckons me urgently to her main monitor, practically bouncing in her chair with barely contained excitement. "You're gonna flip when you see this!"

I lean down to see what's got her so energized, and my eyes widen.

It's a high-resolution photo of Legend himself—the actual Triumvirate member—shaking hands with Dauntless in what looks like an official PRT press conference.

"Okay, so the official reinforcements list just arrived in my inbox! Although, I knew most of them, anyway." Futaba starts explaining rapidly, pulling up several files. "First, we're getting Sere. Might look pretty normal and unassuming in his costume, but he's actually a really solid, experienced cape who specializes in fighting organized crime and gangsters, which is exactly what we need right now to deal with the outside gangs still trying to establish a foothold here."

She pulls up another file. "Then there's Fat Gum who you should already know about, right? Although not that surprising we have a lot of Japanese capes already, they would probably be ecstatic to meet an old friend!. Cool beans all around, very solid additions to the roster!"

Then she pauses for maximum dramatic effect, her grin widening mischievously as she spreads her arms wide like she's revealing a grand prize.

"But the REAL big news? The absolute game-changer?" She taps the screen showing Legend's photo. "As you can clearly see with your own eyeballs, Legend himself is here in Brockton Bay! Not just visiting for a photo op—actually assigned here for a couple of months!"

I stare at the image, my mind trying to think what this means

I pull out my phone and type: 'A Triumvirate member?’

"Yeah, totally crazy right?!" Futaba rubs the back of her neck, her excitement barely contained. "An actual honest-to-god Triumvirate member assigned to our disaster of a city! And not just any member—Legend! The poster boy for heroism himself!"

She spins dramatically in her chair to face me directly, her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Now, here's the really important part that you need to understand," she continues, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Despite being affiliated with Cauldron—yeah, I know about that whole shadow organization thing, long story—Legend is genuinely one of the good ones. Like, actually heroic, actually cares deeply about people and doing the right thing. He's not in it for power or control or whatever shadowy agenda Cauldron has going on. He genuinely believes in helping people and making the world better."

She pulls up another file. "Which means he's potentially recruitable to our actual cause if we play this smart. Not recruit as in 'join our team' obviously, but recruit as in 'helping us to get a foot in with the rest of his team!’ Which then we can talk and even put some influence!.'"

She stands up and starts pacing excitedly, gesturing wildly with her hands. "Daniel, do you have ANY idea what we could potentially accomplish with this opportunity? If we can get someone like Legend—an actual Triumvirate member with massive influence and political capital—genuinely supporting us?!"

She whirls around to face me. "We could push through reforms that would normally take years of bureaucratic hell! We could get funding for programs that would never see the light of day! We could actually make systematic changes instead of just putting band-aids on bullet wounds!"

I think about it for a moment, then type: 'So what's the plan?'

"That's what we need to figure out!" Futaba grins wickedly. "I mean, they technically are supporting us but with him we can make this more public or something, I gotta think more about this but yeah we really REALLY cannot miss this opportunity!."

She taps her temple. "Lucky for us, you've already got that wholesome hero image going strong, and these charitable initiatives are perfect evidence of your commitment to actually helping people beyond just punching bad guys. We just need to leverage that properly."

I nod slowly. She's right—this could be a massive opportunity if we handle it correctly.

But it also means we need to be careful. Legend is still a member of Cauldron, although he's being lied to and manipulated. If I remember correctly, he doesn't know that all the Case 53 victims and a lot of fucked-up shit that's occurred across Earth Bet are directly Cauldron's fault. 

I know ignorance isn't a legal or moral excuse, but yeah, they absolutely did him dirty.

I write on my phone. 'So what's the current plan?'

Futaba shrugs casually, leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms above her head. "Honestly? For now, it's pretty straightforward and low-key. Nothing too complicated or risky. We just need to arrange a simple meet-and-greet with Legend and pose for the cameras together. You know—the strongest institution cape alongside the strongest independent hero, period." She makes exaggerated air quotes with her fingers. "Basic PR stuff. The public perception is what really matters here, and this would be perfect for that."

She adjusts her glasses thoughtfully. "Public image and messaging are incredibly important in our line of work, Daniel. Way more important than most capes realize, actually. The narrative we craft and control now will directly affect how people perceive and support our initiatives for years to come. It's all about building that foundation of public trust and goodwill."

She grins. "So having Legend's visible public approval and endorsement? That's basically gold-tier PR. It legitimizes everything we're doing and sends a message that even the Triumvirate thinks we're worth supporting. Plus, I'm absolutely certain the PRT wouldn't refuse this opportunity—they love this kind of good PR to wash the many fuck ups."

Well, I can definitely do that without any problems. Not too difficult, just show up, shake hands, make some inspirational statements about justice, let the cameras flash away. Standard hero PR stuff that I'm becoming increasingly accustomed to handling.

Then I suddenly remember something important. 'By the way, I haven't cashed in the mission reward yet from taking down Lung.'

Futaba's eyes widen slightly behind her glasses. "Wait, you didn't? Dude, it's been over a week since you dragon-slayed his scaly ass into the ground! That's kinda strange, not gonna lie. What's with the holdup? Got cold feet about something?"

'Do you remember the first major reward choice I got? It was either 50 credits or a Tier 7 dragon companion, right?'

"Yeah, of course I remember that." She nods, pushing her glasses up her nose with one finger and tilting her head curiously. "The choice should be pretty obvious though, right? Dragon companion sounds way cooler and potentially way more useful in combat than just a pile of credits. What's the problem?"

I shake my head firmly and type out my concerns. 'I really don't know that many dragon characters from various stories and franchises. And the ones I DO know from games and shows are either way too weak to actually justify being Tier 7, or... well, they're evil-aligned characters with serious personality problems and moral issues. So I was honestly thinking about just taking the credits instead and calling it a day. Safer bet all around.'

Futaba raises both eyebrows in surprise, then rubs her chin thoughtfully as her expression shifts to something more serious. "Hmm, you know what? You actually have a really valid point there, big guy. Dragon characters in fiction ARE kinda inherently problematic in a lot of ways when you actually think about it, either they're tyrannical overlords with god complexes, insane treasure-hoarding misers, or they have some other massive personality flaw or alignment issue that makes them a serious world problem."

She taps her fingers against her desk rhythmically. "But here's the thing—I've read way too much manga, played way too many video games, and consumed too many comics and fantasy novels over the years. I probably know way more dragon characters than you do across different franchises and universes. I just need to actually see the pictures and names in the full list to refresh my memories."

That makes sense. She is an otaku shut-in, after all.

I nod and open the company app interface. I navigate to the companion tab, apply the filters for exactly Tier 7 and Dragon species, then hand the device over to the eager otaku girl.

She adjusts her glasses professionally and begins scrolling through the extensive list.

"Alright, let's see what we're actually working with here..." she mutters, her eyes scanning rapidly. "Ooh, Monster Hunter dragon options, another Monster Hunter variant, oh that's cool—a monster girl version of one... Fable dragons, bunch of various Pokemon evolutions, hooooooh Tolkien dragons! Classic! And damn, there's even Dark Souls dragons in here too! That's a lot of variety..."

She's scrolling quite fast through the options, and I can recognize some of the passing character portraits as they blur by on the screen—some familiar from games I've played, others completely unknown to me.

Finally, after several minutes of review, she reaches the end of the filtered list and hands my phone back to me with a thoughtful, slightly troubled frown.

"Okay Daniel, I can totally see why you asked for my input on this decision," she says seriously, leaning back in her chair with crossed arms. "This is actually a way harder choice than it initially seemed because the overwhelming majority of these options would bring way more problems than solutions to our current situation." She pauses for emphasis, then adds emphatically, "And I'm INCLUDING the supposedly 'good' or 'heroic' dragons in that assessment, by the way. They've all got issues."

She uncrosses her arms and gestures expressively. "So realistically, if you wanted a more manageable and cooperative dragon companion, we'd have to look at lower tier options—like Tier 4 or 5—to find dragons with better personalities and fewer complications. But that would completely defeat the entire purpose of this reward. It would be a massive waste of resources and a huge opportunity loss, especially considering the absolutely insane scale of threats we're going to be dealing with in the near future when things really heat up."

'So what do you actually suggest I do?'

Futaba sighs deeply and takes the phone again and scrolls back through the list more slowly and deliberately this time, examining each option with critical eyes. "Okay, so... Crimson from the Ragna Crimson manga series initially seemed like potentially the most viable and useful choice compared to the various Arknights dragon operators on this list..." She clicks her tongue in obvious frustration, scratching at her long hair absently. "But the major problem is, I actually know her character pretty well from reading the manga, and Crimson would basically become like our own personal mini-Cauldron situation waiting to explode. She's highly manipulative, genuinely power-hungry beneath the surface, and by no means a good person underneath that attractive exterior and useful abilities. She'd definitely become a serious problem eventually when our goals and methods stop perfectly aligning with her own selfish interests."

She keeps scrolling through options, her frown deepening. "And then for the Arknights dragon options—which do include some really powerful and skilled dragons like Ling or Dusk who would be amazing in combat—we'd literally just be importing Oripathy disease to Earth Bet as a side effect of their presence, and that's an absolute hard no-go scenario. That crystallization disease would inevitably spread beyond our control and create a whole new apocalyptic medical crisis on top of everything else we're already dealing with. Complete disaster waiting to happen. And that's not even counting the very real possibility that because of their addition, Earth Bet's dimensional barriers might connect or merge with an entirely new alternate world leading to Arknights' Terra, which would open up a whole new can of interdimensional worms we're not prepared for."

She waves her hand dismissively at the screen, scrolling past several Dark Souls entries. "And don't even THINK about picking any of the dragon options from the Dark Souls series, no matter how cool or powerful they look. They're either completely insane from ancient corruption, irredeemably twisted by dark forces, or would require massive resources and constant supervision we simply don't have available to keep them stable and non-hostile. Total nightmare scenario."

Dammit. 

Futaba just slumps dramatically in her chair, shaking her head with obvious disappointment and hands over the phone to me. "Sorry Daniel, but... no. I really cannot in good conscience suggest or recommend that you pick a companion from this particular reward. The potential risks just way outweigh the benefits in almost every realistic scenario I can think of or model out." She looks up at me with an apologetic expression. "Just take the fifty credits instead. It's still a decent amount that you can use for other important things like talents or improving your defenses."

I nod slowly, fully accepting her well-reasoned analysis. 

I open the mission reward notification on my phone again and finally, somewhat reluctantly, select the option to accept the 50 credits instead of the dragon companion.

Rewards: 

Base Rewards: 25 credits 

Bonus Objective 1: 50 credits 

Bonus Objective 2: 25 creditsBonus Objective 3: 5 credits 

Bonus Objective 4: Performance Talent

Well, at least now I have lots of credits. So I can finally cancel and pay off that entire predatory loan they saddled me with at the beginning, and then I can start seriously looking for powerups.

I check my balance: 123 credits total.

Perfect. Time to get rid of that debt.

So I navigate to the loan management section and finish paying off the remaining 55 credits on my original loan of 150 credits... 

[Thank you for being a responsible contractor!]

[BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT…]

And those absolute bastards just automatically charged me an additional 10% early payment penalty fee for being a responsible borrower and paying it off ahead of schedule.

Fucking assholes.

So that leaves me with exactly 53 credits remaining.

Whatever. At least I'm finally completely free from that financial sword constantly hanging over my head. No more debt, no more interest accruing, no more obligations.

I type with obvious satisfaction: 'And I've finally finished paying off that stupid exploitative loan.'

"Cool beans!" Futaba grins enthusiastically, giving me an exaggerated double thumbs up with both hands. "Congrats on being debt-free, my dude! That's actually a pretty big accomplishment and weight off your shoulders! Now you can spend credits on actually useful stuff instead of just paying interest to corporate overlords!"

She spins in her chair excitedly. "So whatcha gonna buy with your newfound financial freedom? Got your eye on something specific, or are you just gonna browse the catalog for fun?"

I type out my response. 'I'm planning to look into template stacking options and then train the hell out of those new powers until I've mastered them. But I'm also saving a significant part of the credits for emergency situations and unexpected needs. Can't spend everything at once; that would be irresponsible.'

"Ooooohhh, power-ups and upgrades!" Futaba's eyes light up, practically bouncing in her seat like an eager kid. "Let me help you with that too! This is like, my entire area of expertise and passion! Optimizing builds, finding synergies, min-maxing stats—it's what I live for! Hand over the phone, big guy!"

I pass my device back to the eager otaku girl once more, and she immediately starts scrolling through the catalog.

It doesn't take long at all before she suddenly stops scrolling and whips the screen around to face me with an absolutely mischievous, shit-eating grin plastered across her entire face. "Come on, just look at this one! You're absolutely gonna love it! It's perfect for you!"

MR. JUSTICE!

And the accompanying picture shows a very short, extremely buff blonde guy wearing the most eye-searingly bright green and yellow spandex outfit with the single most ridiculous bowl haircut I've ever seen in my entire life. He looks like someone crossed a bodybuilder with a kitchen mop.

I just stare at Futaba with the most deadpan, unimpressed expression I can possibly muster.

"W-What?!" she protests immediately, already trying hard to suppress her laughter and failing. "He totally fits your whole theme! He's all about shouting 'justice this' and 'justice that' constantly just like you're forced to! It's absolutely perfect thematic synergy! And look at his ultimate ability—it's literally called '100% Justice!' How can you possibly pass that up?!"

She's grinning wider now. "Come on, at least look at the preview video demonstration before you completely pass judgment on poor Mr. Justice! Give the bowl-cut man a chance!"

She taps the screen enthusiastically, and a video preview starts playing automatically. It shows the same ridiculous bowl-cut guy getting absolutely battered and beaten down mercilessly by a much bigger, more intimidating cape who somehow manages to have an even MORE ridiculous hairstyle. The smaller Mr. Justice is taking hit after hit, clearly losing the fight badly and being completely dominated.

But then, just as the larger opponent winds up for what looks like a finishing blow meant to end the fight, Mr. Justice suddenly catches the incoming punch mid-swing with one hand. His entire muscular body glows with intense golden energy as he screams at the absolute top of his lungs with veins bulging: "ONE HUNDRED PERCENT JUSTICE!"

And he completely obliterates the other cape with a single devastating counter-punch that sends the guy flying so impossibly hard and fast that the shockwave nearly demolishes the entire bridge they're fighting on. 

And the video ends there.

"Amazing, isn't it?!" Futaba says enthusiastically. "And that ultimate move synergizes perfectly with his other signature ability called 'Golden Shield' to make his already nearly impenetrable defense even more absolutely unbeatable! The mechanics work like this—it lets him tank massive amounts of damage without serious injury, storing it all up, and then return every bit of it back to the attacker multiplied several times over! This might be jumping the gun a bit but that kind of ability could be really, really useful for you specifically against Endbringer-class enemies or other heavy hitters who rely on overwhelming force!"

Actually, I'm genuinely more surprised that the catalog even has these detailed mini preview videos and comprehensive ability descriptions with full explanations. I honestly thought it would just be basic static images and simple category tags, maybe a brief one-sentence description at most.

Futaba must notice my surprised expression because she sighs and waves her hand dismissively. "Yeah, okay, I'll fully admit it was partially a joke suggestion initially because of how absolutely ridiculous he looks with that bowl cut," she confesses with a somewhat sheepish grin. "But after actually taking the time to read through all the explanations and stat breakdowns and watching the full preview demonstration, I'm genuinely considering it as a legitimately good choice for your specific build. The mechanical synergy with your existing powerset is actually really solid on paper."

She scrolls down further through the options. "But there are definitely other solid and viable template options in the catalog we should carefully review and compare too before making any final decisions. And we absolutely cannot forget that the template stacking system caps any newly acquired power at only Tier 4 level initially, which means you'd have to invest truly significant time and effort training your new power if you want to push it up to match your current overall power level, which sits at Tier 8. That's a massive four-tier power gap to close through training alone, which could take months."

She taps the screen thoughtfully. "The Template Stacking upgrade item does help by jumping the starting ability level to Tier 5 instead of 4, but that's still a three-tier gap to your current level. Still a lot of grinding required to maximize the investment."

She hands the phone back to me. "So it's probably better and more responsible to think this major decision through very carefully over the next week or so, do proper research and comparisons, and make a truly informed choice rather than impulse-buying something that looks cool but might not fit your needs. This is an investment, after all."

"INDEED, NOBLE ORACLE!" I finally speak up, my voice booming across her small apartment. "I HUMBLY THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNPARALLELED WISDOM AND ENCYCLOPEDIC KNOWLEDGE OF ALL THINGS JUSTICE! YOUR SAGE COUNSEL IS AS VAST AND DEEP AS YOUR UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO THE RIGHTEOUSNESS!"

The otaku just grins widely and proudly, clearly pleased with herself and the praise. "You're very welcome, you wonderfully hammy bastard. Always happy to help."

Then I grab the phone back from her hands and quickly type out another message: 'I also got another reward from completing the Lung mission. Ten lootboxes. Want to open them with me and see what we get?'

"Ooooh, gacha mechanics?!" Her entire demeanor shifts instantly to pure uncontained excitement, her eyes going wide. "Wait, you said you got actual gacha pulls?! With mystery boxes and everything?! Hell yes, absolutely! Let's roll that gacha right now, baby! Time to pray to RNGesus for his divine blessing!"

That sudden reaction takes me back a little, but I quickly recover and reach into my pocket dimension to pull out the ten lootboxes, setting them carefully on her cluttered desk in a neat row.

"Let's go, baby! This is it!" Futaba rubs her hands together eagerly like a degenerate gambler at a high-stakes casino table. "RNGesus, hear my prayer! Bless us with your divine grace and mercy! Grant us favorable odds! We're going for that SSR rainbow pull! Pity system, don't fail us now!"

I don’t think there is a pity system…

She grabs the first ornate box with both hands and dramatically presses the activation button. It opens with a small explosion of colorful confetti and sparkling lights.

...A pair of plain white sneakers materialize. Size 7. Women's.

"Okay, that's a trash pull, but it's fine! That's just warming up the system!" Futaba declares, undeterred. "The gacha gods are just testing our faith! Next one will be better!"

She opens the second box. A bag of walnuts.

The third box. A literal pet rock with googly eyes glued on.

The fourth box. A 'World's Okayest Hero' coffee mug.

The fifth box. A kazoo.

The sixth box. Coupons for Fugly’s Bob.

The seventh box. A rubber chicken.

The eighth box. Socks. Just... socks. One pair. Mismatched.

The ninth box. A motivational poster that says "Hang in there!" with a cat.

The tenth and final box. A new leather wallet.

Suffice to say, we didn't get anything even remotely good, useful, or exciting from any of the boxes.

"Gacha is a scam," Futaba declares with absolute solemn sincerity, slumping dramatically in her chair as she stares with dead eyes at the disappointing pile of completely mediocre and useless loot spread across her desk. "It's always a rigged scam designed to exploit human psychology and prey on our hopes and dreams. Why do I keep falling for this? Why do I never learn?"

She picks up the rubber chicken and squeezes it, producing a pathetic squeaking sound. "This is my life now. Rubber chickens and broken dreams."

I pat her shoulder gently and consolingly, sharing in her gacha-induced despair.

At least we tried.

Sometimes the real treasure is the disappointment we share along the way.

Heh….

-----------------------------------------------

Bonus scene: The Fool’s gambit

-Max Anders, Kaiser-

Max's leg jittered frantically as he pressed his forehead against the cool surface of his desk, fingers tangled in his hair, pulling hard enough to feel the sting.

Legend was in Brockton Bay.

Fucking Legend.

Forget the justice-obsessed himbo with his stupid smile—this was Legend. A Triumvirate member. What the fuck could they even do at this point? What move could possibly matter against that kind of power?

It was extremely hard to keep Purity from fleeing.

He slowly lifted his head, his leg finally stilling as he slumped back in his chair. For the first time in years, he seriously considered disbanding the Empire entirely and retiring. At least that way he could save face, then quietly provide support to whoever took charge—or to whatever new gang formed under the Gesellschaft's sponsorship.

But his European allies already had him walking a razor's edge. He genuinely didn't know what else he could do to climb back from this abyss and regain their trust.

No. He'd never cared about that idiotic ideology. It was just a means to an end, one he could shed even if the loss set him back significantly. He could rebuild under a new identity, a new mantle. Yeah, that sounded like a viable plan.

Another knock at the door.

"Enter."

Max didn’t need to ask because it was always Krieg who came to his office these days.

Krieg stepped through, offering the crisp Nazi salute before extending a single sheet of paper.

Kaiser took it, his eyes scanning the text. His breath caught in his throat.

"And what do they want me to do with this?" His voice came out flat, carefully controlled.

"You have one week to reveal this information publicly and read the prepared speech," Krieg stated without inflection. "Those are your orders."

Orders. Since when did the Gesellschaft give him orders?

Although... Kaiser's eyes scanned the document again, his mind already working despite his exhaustion and a smirk curling in his lips. It had some merit.

This could actually work to their advantage… if played correctly.

Daniel von Arminius, son of Klaus von Arminius, Erster Kreis

Direct descendant of first circle of the Gesellschaft

True Might's real identity.