Multitasking - Meta Essence Gacha in Marvel

Third Person P.O.V.

Some of the "X-Girls" of the Xavier School are waiting in the front garden because today is the day that they are gonna visit the woman who made Illyana's costumes.

"But is it really okay for us to go? Isn't there like… a lot of secrecy around Eidolon's people?" Jubilee asks the group in general, but it is Illyana who answers with an uninterested tone, like they are worried over nothing.

"It's okay. It was Edna who asked to arrange this, and she doesn't care about any secrecy."

"Edna, huh? Real name?" Kitty asks with interest

"I think so… didn't Google it or anything." Illyana shrugs

"I am gonna do it right now. Do you know her full name?" Kitty takes her phone, but she only goes as far as unlocking her screen when a dark portal appears nearby, and Cassandra steps out of it with Rover on her heels.

"Shadow!" Kitty jumps to hug the hero. "And hello to you too, Rover!" Then she goes to rub the monster dog's head. "Aren't you handsome?" She doesn't look bothered or scared of the creature that can blast the whole area into dust.

The dog seems to enjoy it too, closing his six eyes slightly while wagging his tail.

The other girls greet her too… Almost all the female X-Men from Jean's age bracket are going, with a few exceptions like Rahne Sinclair(Wolfsbane), Sooraya Qadir(Dust), Lorna Dane, Polaris, and Magneto's daughter, who started frequenting Xavier's mansion in a way to bridge the gap between the groups. Mostly to get away from her father.

There are many reasons for that, some are shy, there are already a lot of people going, even Ororo, who was invited, refused to let the "girls have their time". Even though the girls really consider her part of the group. And she said that she loved her outfit.

The ones that are going are Illyana, Kitty, Jean, Jubilee, Rogue, Tabitha Smith, Paige Guthrie, and Laura Kinney.

"Anyone more?" Cassandra asks in a calm voice while looking around.

The X-Girls are already thinking they are overstepping, but Shadow doesn't seem to mind, even looking like she is expecting more.

"Yep, that's all." Kitty answers.

"Let's go then." Shadow nods and presses a button on her wrist, and a dark portal starts swirling close to her.

"Already? Wait! Can't you give us some heads up?" Kitty calls her "I'm a little nervous…" At this point, Kitty knows Cassandra well enough to understand that the girl doesn't talk much and has the bad habit of thinking that everyone understands her few words or even her complete silence.

Maybe is Eidolon's fault… he understands her complete silence.

That is also the reason why she surprisingly gets along with Laura.

After Kitty said that, Shadow looked at her like she was a little dumb. Heads up for what? "No…" And she enters the portal.

"..." Kitty stays rooted in her place before Paige laughs

"C'mon! Let's go." Paige, aka Husk, is the first to move to the portal

"I just wanted to make sure that I gave a good first impression…" Kitty mutters

"That is not a job interview, Kitty." Rogue rolls her eyes and walks to the portal, too.

"Am I wrong?" Kitty asks while the rest enter the portal

"No…" Jean shakes her head with some amusement. "But relax a little."

"Illyana said that this Edna woman speaks her mind… If she roasts me, I'm gonna cry."

......…..

The girls and dog cross the portal to arrive in a very plain room, the wall apparently coated in some kind of metal, and a single double door in front of them.

Shadow approaches the small panel on the side and presses some buttons, then the walls scan everyone in the room, and only after that does the door open with a tss.

"As expected of Eidolon, the guy is careful…" Tabitha, aka Boom-boom, comments after watching the green light that passed through her body.

"Lax…" Shadow comments

"Lax? This one is lax?" Jubilee asks, and Shadow just nods before walking through the door.

What they found on the other side is just a very long corridor illuminated by a line on the ceiling.

"There's still a corridor and the security is lax, she said." Paige comments

"A very straight corridor…" Jean observes "I guess there's something in the end to attack us." She suggests while looking at Shadow.

Once again, the hero nods "All around." He uses her finger to gesticulate to the ground, walls, and ceiling while making a circle.

"..." Now they are looking at those plain metal walls differently.

Knowing about Eidolon's "always prepared" nature, they can safely guess that it is not anything easy to deal with.

" 'Lax' she said…" Someone chuckles.

What they don't know is that the security on this part is really lax. This route will hardly be the one that an invader would choose, all because Edna is not keen to hide herself.

There's a higher chance of someone just dropping on her mansion from above. The X-girls' jaws would hit the floor if they knew about everything that could emerge from the ground in Edna's garden.

Finally, they reach the end of the corridor only to find an elevator waiting, big enough to fit all of them comfortably.

"I bet it's for big people, like the Hulk or Gignatomachia…" Kitty says while looking around the spacious elevator.

"Did you guys notice that you can't feel if it's going up or down?" Rogue asks

"I thought I was trippin'!!" Paige exclaims

They can feel that it is moving, but not in which direction. They also didn't have time to figure that out because the door opens, and now they are greeted with something more than a sterilized aesthetic.

They found themselves at a high point, even though they can't be sure if they are not underground. In front of them, there is an invisible staircase that is stuck on the wall and would bring them down to a very aesthetically pleasing room. There are statues, plants, a small waterfall, and many other things that would give the impression of a "purposeful chaotic place". It looks like a cave, but it is still modern.

"This is a rich person's house." Paige comments

"That's true…" Illyana confirms with a nod

"There you are! I was waiting for all of you!" Suddenly, a nasally excited woman's voice greets him, and they look to the side to see a diminutive woman wearing glasses and with a bob cut floating in a high-tech chair.

"Hello, Edna." Illyana shows a rare true smile, very different from her usual smug/scornful expression that she shows most of the time. It seems she has a good impression of the small woman.

"Oh, darling~ How have you been? Is the costume we made serving you well?" Edna turns to the blonde girl with a fond smile, like an aunt who loves to spoil her niece.

"It's cool… I didn't have a lot of opportunity to test it for real, but I love it." Illyana answers with a nod.

"I'm glad this way… You are so young. I will have some words with Eidolon if he puts you in danger!"

"Ugh, I'm not made of sugar…" Illyana rolls her eyes

"I know that, darling." Edna says softly "But the universe is unpredictable, and you have an unnatural disadvantage in experience against most of the evil around."

Illyana huffs in a little annoyance but doesn't talk back. She is not inexperienced, but she also can't argue that she has a lot of untapped potential. That's what Eidolon said to her.

Eidolon didn't treat her like a fragile, stupid kid, or tell her that she isn't ready… he said that she can be even more ready. If she is good now, imagine her at 15, trained by him.

That is how he curbed her tendencies while everyone else failed; he didn't point out her weakness(her age, something she can't change), but talked about her strength.

Now she is more obedient to him. After all, she is a pre-teen with teleporting powers… if she wants to go somewhere, she will go. Most people can't stop her, and everyone else has failed to convince her.

Edna also talked a little with Shadow before finally turning to the X-Girls.

"And here are the girls I was dying to meet!" She jumps out of her hovering chair and climbs the first steps of the staircase to greet them. "Look at you all~ So naturally beautiful! Models can't hope to reach your knee!

"Ah, stop~ Hehe." Kitty giggles

"No, I will not~ Haha." Edna replies with a small slap on Kitty's side, matching her energy. "Come, come, I will get to know all of you better when we are settled in very comfortable velvet chairs." She starts walking down the staircase, her hair jumping with each step while urging everyone to follow her.

"She looks nice…" Jean comments "Very friendly."

"Not crazy like Harley Quinn."

"Don't lick my face, you mutt! You are making my hair sticky!" They watch Edna push Rover away. "Here, some treat."

......…..

"Whoa! Look at those! Is this a white and gold Eidolon suit? Damn it! So cool!" Kitty says, her loud voice slightly muffled by the glass she is pressing her face against.

"It's like a Premium Version."

"I want to see him on that…"

The girls walk through a wall full of hero suits on display. They can obviously recognize most of them, even with some variations, but some they have never seen.

"This one is from that new Static Shock guy… I prefer this black and gold." Kitty says

"Black and gold and electric powers… Like Ororo." Jean comments

"Coincidence, huh?" Tabitha says

"Maybe he is another nephew of hers, like Spyke." Jubilee half-jokes

"Isn't this just a white suit?" Kitty passes through a normal, seemingly expensive, but normal three-piece suit.

"That one is just a black dress with some green."

"This one is just pants."

"Maybe it's for someone like the Hulk."

"And this one is a little revealing.

"Oh, Murasaki has so many variations!" Kitty goes to fangirl over the many samurai outfits of Saeko. "Look at those exaggerated samurai shoulderpads… So cool~"

On the side, Paige comments while looking at a certain costume "Who is the Witch Goth Chick that wears this?" She points to the display with her thumb.

"Raven." Shadow says with a calm voice.

"Raven?" Kitty turns with a confused expression

But Shadow does not give any more information.

"Do you guys like my work?" Edna asks while getting close to them. She just arranged for a lot of chairs to be brought to this room. "Eidolon is also pretty capable, but sometimes he goes too far and sometimes he goes too small. Like that one? It's his original suit, you know? Look at that atrocity!" She points with a pen.

Everyone turns to look at the suit displayed close to a ninja variant of Eidolon's suit.

It's just a plain black full-body suit, no skin exposed.

"It's… a little plain." Kitty says slowly

"Can he even see through this?" Tabitha asks

"He is Eidolon, he can see through anything." Paige answers

"It must have been a prototype." Jean guesses

"Or something inconspicuous before he went Hero." Rogue completes.

"You two are right. It's his first one, and apparently, he didn't plan to become a hero so soon… So he needed something more to become a symbol!" Edna strikes a pose with her hands extended to Eidolon's actual suit. The black and white suit that everyone in the world knows, "And then he puts a mantle over it… bleh. Why hide greatness?" She stops and makes a disgusted face.

The guys laugh at her antics before Edna continues. "Now, enough about that big doofus, time to talk about you all… I have to say something that was stuck in my throat for a long time…"

"?"

"That lemon yellow is a crime! How could you all wear that?? It would give me hives just by touching that!" Edna shot dramatically a forearm over her forehead in suffering "And with black nonetheless? At least change the tone!!"

"Well, it's the Professor's favorite color… they already existed and are useful. We just changed a little, keeping the colors because we are a team." Jean explains with a small smile. She doesn't mind the yellow, but she doesn't think black is her color.

"Yeah, yeah… time to grow out the kid pajamas. Let's get into some real costumes. Something that will bring all of your good qualities forward! Something iconic! Something heroic! Something… sexy~" Edna wiggles her eyebrows. "Are you guys eighteen?"

The girls laugh, and Kitty answers "No, only Jean, that will be eighteen next year."

"Then I will hold back a little, but don't worry, I can make you girls sexy without becoming vulgar." Then she smiles conspiratorily at them "If you want, I can even project some fun versions of your hero costumes to some special boy~"

"..." Now this interests them. What girl would not want some "secret weapon" to use in the bedroom? Especially in the peak of their teen hormones, but they are obviously embarrassed to say that loudly.

"Even Lady Jade asked for some interesting costumes…" Edna says with a seemingly casual tone, the gossip was caught by them.

The girls gasp at the gossip. "Tell me more!" Kitty approaches Edna

"No, no! Trade secret and customer confidentiality! I can't do that." Edna shakes her head "But I can show some examples while we design your super-suits… You know, seeing some pre-made examples. Do you know that Lady Jade even asked for a risqué version of the Eidolon costume? He doesn't even know about them… Wanna see Gladiator Slave Eidolon?" She challenged them with a raised eyebrow

More gasps "You are my goddess!" Kitty puts her hands in supplication

"I know, darling. I know."

......…..

At the airport, Eidolon and Iron Man are waiting for the authorities to take the villains while having some small talk.

"I mean, I did all the work, so why are people cheering more for you?" Tony Stark shows a joking, disgruntled expression. He is still wearing his Iron Man armor, but the visor is raised to show his face.

"Just fruits of the goodwill I cultivate all the time." Eidolon replies calmly, right arm raised to answer for his fans' shouts.

At their feet, Blizzard and Firebrand are tied while waiting for the agents to come and take them to the Raft.

"By the way, while you are fighting, I was checking around…" Eidolon turns to Stark. "You know, to see if there are any hidden enemies or traps, and I found some suspicious people watching and streaming your fight somewhere else. A lot of spy organizations and governments, but one in particular, went to the Hammer Industries Headquarters and AIM."

"Hmpf, very in character for Justin Hammer to send someone to do his dirty work. Can't he even wear the suit?" Stark scoffs "But I need to admit that those things are very interesting…" He praises while looking at the villains.

"Those guys are very smart on their own, so I think they are the ones who designed it."

"That makes more sense. Mr. Hammer can sew his own underwear; how would he be able to miniaturize a thermal converter and generator?"

"In the end, it all just speculation… Try to interrogate the two later. I don't think there's a lot of honor between villains." Eidolon says "This technology doesn't look like something made in a garage… It will be worth cutting a deal with those thugs to get the mastermind."

"True." Start nods while looking at the villains again. The power suits don't look like something made on a low budget. He knows a lot about that; he built his first armor in a cave, after all.

He also had a close encounter with a low-budget power suit, provided by Ivan Vanko.

"Taking the opportunity that I met you, does Dr. Banner still live with you? Is he at your house now?" Eidolon asks Stark.

"Seriously? 'Taking the opportunity'? Can't you just come to have a chat sometime? And what do you want with Banner? Is fun? And here I was about to invite you to my Halloween party…" Stark shakes his head

"Sorry if I made you jealous." Eidolon rolls his eyes ."But I want to talk with Dr. Banner about something, very important."

"Well, the guy is migrating between the Avengers Tower and the Baxter Building because of his cousin. But he must be at the Avengers Tower now, we are doing a very fun project You are not invited, by the way." Stark says, the last part in a childish way "It's secret"

"Is it some sort of armor to deal with the Hulk?" Eidolon asks with a calm voice

"...what? How? What the fuck?" Stark sputters "Do you have bugs at my place? Are you and Fury buddies? Do you two exchange notes with each other? Share some wine while watching us and jerking-"

"It's just a little predictable." Eidolon interrupts him "And what I want to talk with Dr. Banner is about the 'Hulk Problem' too."

Between murmurs of "I'm not predictable" Stark asks "What? Do you have a weapon that can deal with the big guy in your arsenal?"

"No… I was just going to suggest to him some therapy." Eidolon says in an even voice

"..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" After processing Eidolon's words, Stark releases a belly laugh. "I'm going with you! I need to be there when you tell him this… hahaha!"

"No. It will be counter-productive…" Eidolon deadpans.

........

In another part of the planet, another body controlled by Eidolon drops with incredible speed from the sky. He lands roughly on the ground, cracks and circles spreading. A little out of character for anyone who knows him, but he has a reason for that.

This seemingly inconspicuous forest houses a hidden lab of Mister Sinister, a lot of the trees, rocks, and even animals are hidden pieces of technology to guard the perimeter. So he just destroyed everything with his landing.

Not satisfied, this Eidolon without a mantle, raises his leg and stomps on the ground. The crater of his landing spreads even more, the ground sinks, and the hidden lab beneath starts being revealed.

BOOOM

Then a huge explosion engulfs him, an explosion big enough to destroy city blocks, a pillar of fire rising high in the air, reaching the clouds.

Whoosh

But a wave of his hand is all he needs to disperse the fire, smoke, and ashes.

"..." Eidolon looks down with a calm gaze, checking if anything escaped the explosion. No, everything was destroyed.

That is the main reason he just went down in a very high-profile way. That is not the first hidden facility that self-destructed with his arrival. At this point, he is just arriving to make it self-destruct. The stomp was just a way of saying "getting over it and do not waste our time".

"I can do this all day…" He says loudly in case Mister Sinister is hearing him "Let's see how much longer you can keep with it."

BoomWhoosh

Then he takes flight again, breaking the sound barrier easily.

Another reason why he is going in a brutish way, instead of his normally careful modus operandi, it's that he is secretly getting the information he needs with his powers beforehand.

The dumb-head way is to mask his real investigation.

Mister Sinister is also pretty capable and determined. When Eidolon tried to invade one of his servers with his Technopathy, the whole place exploded, too. The guy doesn't hesitate.

Eidolon didn't plan to start this goose chase against Mister Sinister.

He was happy to let the guy alone for more time, after all, Time is his friend.

In long-term schemes and even in fights, the more time passes, the more the chances of Eidolon winning would increase.

This was reflected in his last big fight with Annihilus. Eidolon had ways to try to end the fight soon, but if they failed, he would give an opening. So, as always, the two fighters start by probing each other.

Eidolon can probe his opponent's strength and weakness and adapt his fighting style. He can even learn during the fight. He also has virtually infinite stamina and willpower, being able to keep his top shape for a very long time.

The longer any fight lasts, his chance of winning equally increases till it becomes certain. Why risk some heavy injury trying to overstep, right?

The same can be said about all those villains plotting against him in the dark, about all the threats and crises that he knows will happen. He can try to end things before they start, but the unpredictability of the consequences and the fact that he can get even more ready than his opponents hold him back.

He has been in this hero business for less than a year, and Sinister has been in the villain business for a century. He is not that confident that he can uproot all of Sinister's plots if he doesn't prepare thoroughly.

But now he can at least do a lot of damage to the man's plans.

His recent travel to Miles's universe gave him some impossible-to-obtain information. If before he would be able to only make a small dent in the villain's plans, now he can really hurt the guy.

It will be great if he can really kill the villain once and for all, but the alternative is making the guy go into hiding for even longer.

Giving him even more time to prepare and get stronger.

It was an exchange dilemma; before, it was not worth it. Now, putting on the balance, destroying a huge quantity of the villain's assets weighs more than making Sinister wary of him and complicating a future crash between the two.

If he were only to destroy half a dozen labs and be done with it, he would not act. Now he is serious… so serious that he didn't even call anyone to help and treat this as a "learning experience". That is how serious he is.

This Eidolon then feels some eyes on him and looks up while flying at high speeds.

He then changed directions, flying out of the planet in an instant and then going through a Satellite, destroying the thing in an instant and going down to the atmosphere without even slowing down.

"The planet has a limited space…" he says while flying down at hypersonic speeds, he enters a mountain and suddenly he is in a hidden facility, grabbing the neck of a clone of Sinister "...and you are trapped here with me."

BOOOM

...........

'Such an annoying guy… That is the other reason I was procrastinating in dealing with him.' Eidolon thinks while multitasking with his other mantle-wearing body 'Maybe I was hoping for a Death Note… Would it even work in this universe?' He would probably not use it because it worked; he would attract the attention of Lady Death.

He complains about doing hard and boring work, but he doesn't take shortcuts. He cheats, though. When it's safe.

The hero then turns his attention to the people nearby while still controlling the body, traveling around the world and frustrating Sinister's plans.

"Teleportation is pretty handy… I will try to replicate with technology." Stark comments after Eidolon helped him, Pepper and Happy quickly go to Tony's Malibu mansion.

"You should first put some precautions against teleportation in this place." Eidolon comments "And any other place that is important."

"That is a good idea." Stark points out, walking out of his armor before pouring himself a drink "But without knowing how to do it, I can't know how to stop it. I have a lot of detection, so I will be warned if anyone invades."

"Is scary to think that someone can just walk into your home…" Pepper comments before she looks a Eidolon "Oh, I'm so sorry, Eidolon. I didn't mean like that!" She panics a little.

"It's okay. It's a natural line of thought." He waves her off, not offended. "Statistically, I bet people without teleportation powers invade most places. Wasn't this place invaded by S.H.I.E.L.D., like a dozen times?"

"True. Anyone can do anything with the right tools…" Stark surprisingly comments, "Some people are just afraid of the ones that are born with those tools. It makes little sense, really. Normal people can do evil, just not as easily."

"There are a lot of conspiracy theories that are true, but I'm not gonna bore you all with that… I'm going to visit Dr. Banner now." Eidolon says

"Oh god, please find him on the Avengers tower, the cameras will record you telling him to go to therapy. I want to watch that moment." Stark laughs

"I'm gonna disable the cameras…" Eidolon deadpans

"Hey, don't use your tools to destroy my fun!" Stark shouts, but Eidolon has already disappeared.

......….

Back in Edna's underground atelier, the girls are all having a good time, laughing and eating snacks while Edna shows them some costumes.

"That Eidolon guy is a little cheater; he can go to many alternative universes with an advanced timeline and check all the costumes your variants wear. So we can start with a lot of options." Edna comments with some begrudging mirth

"It's like those variants of us that we found on Limbo, right?" Kitty comments

"Never thought of using interdimensional travel to check outfits." Jean shakes her head with a smile

"I support that, I want to be the most dripped out of Jubilees."

"Work smarter, not harder, right?" Illyana says

"Yes, it can give a lot of ideas and spare time." Edna says "But some are downright awful… Look at this one of Invisible Woman."

After pressing a button, a 3D holographic projection of Invisible Woman with a very… exaggerated risqué costume appears

"Pffffft" Paige literally spat after seeing that

"That is a bikini!" Jubilee shouts

"It's worse than a bikini…" Rogue comments slowly, her eyes wide.

"That is not family-friendly!" Tabitha laughs

"There's even a window boob in the shape of a four…" Jean says slowly, horrified

"Is that universe a hentai version?" Kitty asks

Edna smiles widely and deviously "Ah, so you all can laugh… So you don't mind if I show the alternative versions of you, right?"

"NOooooooo!"

They continue to have a casual good time before they start talking about some slightly more serious business.

"First of all, does any of you have any specifications? Problems that you want to deal with?

The first to say something is Paige. "Well, I tagged along because I wanted to see if is possible to solve my issue of needing to get naked every time I use my power."

Paige, aka Husk, has the ability of Transitional Omni-morph. She can change her body composition into anything, matter and energy. In some way, it's like she has the powers of the Thing, Colossus, Sunspot, and a lot of other metas in her kit.

The downside? She goes through the gross process(her own words) of shedding her skin to reveal her changed body underneath. No clothes ever survived her transition.

"Hm, a problematic power really… Almost like my natural enemy…" Edna comments thoughtfully while looking at her file, but then she stands up in her seat and declares proudly "But that is what makes this interesting! I accept this challenge!!"

The diminutive woman drops the raised keyboard on the armchair in her lap and starts typing quickly.

"Let's keep the design aside and think about how we can circumvent the destruction of your clothes… We have some options, like Bleeding Edge technology, but I don't think Eidolon will allow us to use it." Edna mutters while typing frantically "Self-healing fabric can work, but not as fast as you need, and if it slows down your transition, it is useless! A super suit enhances someone, it ndoes ot hinder!!!" She shouts the last part with pride in her voice

The passion for the craft exudes from Edna with a lot of intensity. "We can start with a two-phase prototype. Any choice of accessory? No, it will be a bracelet then… No, it will be two bracelets!"

After going through the specifics, Edna starts designing the suit. Using Paige's favorite color, red. But some wear yellow and black to pay homage to their school. Everyone accepted having some details in yellow, at least.

There's always a yellow X somewhere in their new design, maybe on the belt, the shoulders, or even criss-crossing the whole torso.

Edna finishes his typing with a dramatic going down of her index finger. "It will be something like this!".

Another 3D projection shows a female form, which they can guess represents Paige, standing still with her newly designed red super suit covering her body. Another press of a button, and an animation of her suit liquidifying and flowing to her wrists before solidifying into two loose ring bracelets appears.

"That is handy." Paige's comments impressed.

"It's technology similar to Eidolon's actual super suit. But he can control it with his mind. We will need to establish a password for you to transform it. Normally, it goes with you writing a pattern, and the smart atoms will change shape." Edna explains

"Eidolon uses that?" Kitty asks

"Yep, he can transform in an instant. "Edna answers off-handedly

"Do you know him? Like… personally?" Jubilee asks curiously

"Ah yes, you would never see his civilian identity and me interacting, but I know him. "Edna continues with a casual tone.

"Sometimes I forgot the guy has a double life…" Tabitha laughs a little "To me, he is just Eidolon all the time."

"Hoho! That is not far from the truth… he is more 'Eidolon' than… you know…" Edna laughs.

At this moment, someone appears carrying a tray of tea.

"She knows him too… but don't ask her anything." Edna points at the woman, who is none other than the girl Hector brought from the One Piece world, Baby 5. Now called Quinn.

Baby 5 has deep-rooted issues… Like Edna said, she can't say no to anyone. Hector starts dealing with that, becoming the most important person; his orders are absolute, and no other person is able to surpass him in her heart and mind.

With that, he gave her specific instructions to ignore orders from others.

Then Hector gave her to Isabella. Baby 5 worked as a maid for some time before they noticed that it was a little counterproductive to her development.

So Hector, after a long explanation on how he is not abandoning her, put Baby 5 under Edna's care.

The objective? Give the woman some confidence…

"Why are you slouching, girl? Walk confidently! You are beautiful! People should be glad that you are in their presence! It's a gift in itself! You don't owe anyone! They owe you!" Edna slaps Baby 5's thighs and butt with a rolled magazine.

"Kyaaah!"

"Fight back! Get angry!" PahPah

"..." Amidst the chaotic scene, Baby 5 finally put the trail with tea down and moved away from Edna, running away almost.

"Haah She is a good girl. Such a sweet child… I love her." Edna relaxed, any signal of aggression disappearing from her. "Thank you for the tea, darling!" She says casually that the previous scene almost looks like a fever dream.

"You're welcome!" Baby 5 shouts back but doesn't get closer, leaving the room.

"..." The girls have strange looks in their eyes, except Shadow and Illyana, who are already getting their teacups.

"She has a very deep trauma, abandoned by her parents and all that… now she feels that she needs to please everyone. She literally can't say no. For real. A lot of people took advantage of that, before Eidolon swept her off her feet and is helping her now." Edna sighs, "Do you know how hard I tried to remove that maid outfit from her?" She shakes her head.

"That is awful." Jean says, empathizing with the woman.

"Indeed."

"Does that mean that if I ask her Eidolon's identity-Omphf!" Paige couldn't even finish her sentence before getting a blow from Kitty on her stomach. "Okay, sorry! It was a joke!"

"I don't think you would be able to get that information from anyone, darling. Even from her. Eidolon spent hours and hours going through things she needs to keep a secret and not do. Covering all loopholes and all that. He helped go along away on healing…"

"Eidolon really does more than punch villains and rescue cats from trees, huh?" Tabitha comments

"Girl, only if you knew~" Edna drawls. "Anyway, let's continue. What about you, Jubilation?"

Jubilee groans at the use of her real name "Ugh… I like my coat. I don't mind the skintight super suit underneath, so I would like to ask you to make a super-resistant coat." She doesn't try to correct Edna and says her desire

"No capes!" But Edna denies her request

"But… but is a coat…"

"No coats either!"

"But Static Shock wears one…" Kitty tries to reason

"Grrr! That is Eidolon's bad influence…" Edna growls "Alright, you can ask Eidolon later. I will allow you to insult my art this time. Only because I like you, darling."

"Thanks, Edna." At this point, they are used to Edna's intense personality, so they just go with the flow.

"Don't thank me, I'm hurting you by allowing that…" She sighs dramatically, making the girls hold back a laugh.

......

"Excuse me? Can you say that again, Eidolon?" Bruce Banner was so confused that he removed his glasses and wiped them clean before putting them on his face again. Maybe he needs all five senses to understand what Eidolon is talking about.

The Black-clad hero found Banner in the middle of some projects, nothing so important that the scientist couldn't stop to give Eidolon some time.

"You didn't hear it wrong." Eidolon says calmly, leaning on a table in Bruce's lab. Simultaneously going through everything, even some protected files "I want you to do some therapy." He crosses his arms.

"No offense, dude. But therapy will not work on my problem. I tried." Bruce scoffs

"No normal therapy, indeed. But I'm offering someone equipped to deal even with a problem the size of the Hulk." Eidolon says

"..." Bruce doesn't appear convinced. After so many failed attempts, from therapy to esoteric tai chi sessions… his faith in external help hit rock bottom.

"Have faith in me then." Like if reading his mind, Eidolon speaks "You can't continue like this, Dr. Banner. As a time bomb… You're alone before, but things have changed. A whole plethora of new methods you can try is available for you now. The first I want you to try is… Superhero therapy."

"Superhero therapy?" Bruce repeats, amused.

"Yes. I really want the Hulk Issue to be solved, for everyone's sake. But before jumping to drastic measures like separating you two in some way… I think we should try therapy." Eidolon declares with conviction.

"I don't know…" Bruce shakes his head.

"Try for the people that you care about… your cousin… Betty…" Eidolon delivers some low blows. "You need to do something to repay their faith in you."

"I'm doing something!" Bruce replies, almost incensed, but he calms himself quickly and turns to his computer.

"..." Eidolon watches Bruce ignore him for some time before talking again. "I don't think something to kill you would be approved by them…"

"..." Bruce turns around slowly. "Wouldn't you do the same in my place?" He asks with some defiance

"On your place? I already do that." Eidolon chuckles

"..." Surprises appear on Bruce's face

"Heh~ Do you think I only make contingency plans for others? No… The thing is that it is not so simple to create something to stop me in case I am mind-controlled or simply evil." Eidolon then uncrosses his arms and points at Bruce "So the contingency plan against Eidolon is you."

"..."

"And Thor… All of the Avengers, and other hero groups, even the SCP. Everyone." Eidolon reveals "Being strong alone is not enough and not the ideal. I want everyone to grow in their strongest and ideal version of themselves… Normal people and heroes alike."

Eidolon's eyes change a little, gaining a sharp glint. "Make no mistake, Bruce. If needed, I will kill you… But I really don't want. Do you want me to do that?" The threats send a shiver even in Bruce, the man who is prepared to die, and even welcomes it. The hero's eyes then soften a little. "Now put yourself in my place… Do you want to kill me? Or any of our friends? Jennifer?"

"...no."

"Yeah… yet I will do it, man. To keep the world safe, I'm willing to make the hard decisions and do what no one wants to do… But I want to try everything else first. I want to give everyone a chance… but it's hard when you don't give yourself a chance, Bruce." The change in the way Eidolon is addressing him is visible.

From Dr. Banner to Bruce, he is asking as a friend.

"Let's try everything possible, Bruce… I know that failure hurts, but there's still hope." Eidolon says strongly "Give yourself another chance."

......….

In a hidden place, a villain is contemplating.

Mister Sinister sits on a bio-technological dark throne. If Eidolon were here, he would need to concede defeat and admit that Sinister is more edgy than him.

The dark clothes and big tattered cape, with a long neck protuberance behind it. The throne is pitch black, filled with tubes that go everywhere around the room. In truth, it goes beyond that.

Mister Sinister is connected with all of his clones, with all of his laboratories, with everything that he created. He is everything. He would never allow control to slip from him.

And at the same time, he is completely detached from it… His face is impassive while he stares from above his interlocked fingers at the many screams signalling his losses. His clones dying, his facilities beyond destroyed, his projects lost…

But that is all inconsequential in the face of his true objective. He wants to understand everything about meta powers and genetics… After that, evolve or create the strongest being. The greatest human.

Right now, he is in a dire situation, but an opportunity exists… If only he could acquire a small part of his pursuer… just a small sample.

He is playing a very dangerous game of chess, sacrificing his pieces just for this small victory. His conviction is unwavering while his years of hard work are destroyed before his eyes.

But after everything, he is still failing…

Eidolon is dealing with anything he is throwing at him, dodging all his attempts to acquire something from him, never letting his guard down.

It annoys Mister Sinister how perfect the hero is… It's ironic, really. What he searches for is literally in front of him, against him… but what annoys the villain the most is that it did not come from him!

He didn't make Eidolon! The strongest human should be created by his hands; he must be the forefather of humanity's road to its full potential!

His ego doesn't allow him to accept Eidolon. His years of hardwood would be for nothing if something completes his objective before him.

He can't be perfect… He can't be the final step on evolution that he seeks.

In truth, Mister Sinister knew Eidolon's weakness very well… A malicious glint appeared in the villain's red eyes, and he commands something with his mind.

Eidolon is a hero… that is his weakness. he cares about the people, about the lessers… Can a human care about a monkey at the same level as another human? Impossible!

True empathy can only be reserved for those who are equals.

Mister Sinister just attacked this one weakness of Eidolon.

......…..

Paris, France

It was just a normal day in the peaceful "capital of love" of the world.

The peace was broken by a big object suddenly appearing out of thin air in the middle of the busiest area of the capital. The place where locals and tourists alike walk in great quantities.

The seemingly teleported object immediately attracts everyone's attention and is equally quickly identified. How could they not? It practically screams bomb.

It's cartoonish evil, shaped like a nuclear warhead, with a countdown… To be more obvious than that, only if the word "Bomb" were written on it in shining letters.

The most worrisome thing is that the countdown does not give the people any chance. Only ten seconds… now seven…

Many can't comprehend the sudden change of the situation; things were peaceful 5 seconds ago… And now they are about to die. But panic is a disease that spreads quickly.

When the ones with the quickest minds understood that they just fell victim to something supernatural in nature… They shout, run, fall to the ground, cry… or all of it.

The other follows the example… Chaos ensues…