POV Rio
I awoke several hours after Ghost Rider had dropped us off at my home. I felt like crap, not really physically, but spiritually. But I was at least happy with the results of my little heist. Almost everything I got was absorbed for more inventory space, as I didn't have a need for them otherwise. The Box didn't give me much, but Slingshot Base gave me an immense amount of stuff to absorb.
When all was said and done, I was left with 900 cubic meters of inventory space, a bag that led to a Potato Dimension, the Skeleton Key, and that really cool coffee machine. The rest of the items just weren't worth keeping. I was immensely disappointed to find that THE NEVERENDING STORY was just an enchanted book that could create random dreams. My disappointment was immeasurable, and my day and possibly week are now ruined.
'No luck dragons for me... Sigh. Oh well, I'm sure I can find one someday.'
A part of me wanted to keep some of the items just to see if I could learn how to replicate them, but it wasn't worth it. Especially when I discovered what was in that super locked box. It was SCP 686. For the safety of the world, I destroyed it. Though I could honestly just make more with the coffee machine if I really want to study it. But I didn't see why I would. Sure, it was a strong curse and hard to resist, but it doesn't really give me anything else in terms of study material. There are easier ways to do what that stuff does.
But ignoring that strange find among many others, there was very little I would want to keep from the options. The only exception I made from Slingshot was a cat. The monsters were thinking of launching Jodie the Half Cat into the sun. Jodie was a purrrfectly normal cat save the missing back half of her body, which, from what I can tell, exists as a sort of Schrödinger's effect. Half of her exists, and the other doesn't. It's not even magic; she's a glitch in the universe. But she's a nice kitty and now lives in my house. Lucy seems to like her.
Speaking of new guests, the Unicorns have settled in very nicely, and we've been thinking of moving them to Africa as the continent still lies unclaimed for now. But that would have to wait for later, as they still needed to get a feel for Earth before we could do anything crazy. Tabitha had adjusted quite well as we made a nice little mini swamp for her to live in. She didn't even really need sustenance now that she was in a place with such strong mana. That was a neat side effect of having so many Unicorns living with a Nature Spirit of such power. The mana in the forest was on a level that I had no comparison to. The closest comparison was Limbo, but even that dimension wasn't as concentrated as the Everfree Forest.
This has led to a situation that I wasn't sure how to feel about. Before the Unicorns, Gaia Everfree was likely in the top 25 most powerful beings in the Universe. With the Unicorns, she was easily in the top ten. She has become so strong that hiding was basically impossible; the forest has become a beacon to anything magical. As such, I have noticed a whole lot of eyes on the forest as of late. Including a certain Peeping Tom with gold eyes. Now they can't see me, as I am immune to Divination, and that is what Heimdall relies on, but it is still annoying.
And speaking of annoying, my newest housemate has been a bit of a pest. I am the only one who can see her due to my Truesight, which means she is almost always around me.
"Are you thinking something rude about me?" Mal0 says with narrowed eyes.
"Put on some damn clothes already!" I shout for the umpteenth time.
"Yeah, yeah," Mal0 says with a dismissive tone.
Twitch
My eye twitches, and I return to resting in my bed. I was on bed rest until Lucy said otherwise. I tried to argue, but she could and would force me to stay in bed.
'One of these days, I will be strong enough. One of these days...'
I wasn't that upset that she was stronger than me, as she was a friend, and I knew that if I really fought, I could likely defeat her, but that would only be in a life-or-death battle.
"Whipshhh!" Mal0 comments while swinging an imaginary whip.
"I swear, I will find a way to seal you away!" I nearly shout at Mal0.
"Hah! Good luck with that. Even The Box only kept me there because my physical medium was trapped and my host was dead, but now that you are my host, I don't have to worry about my physical medium," Mal0 said proudly.
She tricked me. Plain and simple. It turns out that when I touched her computer, I became her new host, which has tied her to me. I can't get rid of her without dying. And while I considered resurrection, I was told that it wouldn't sever the link. Sealing spells don't really work against her, as she is not a ghost. She's a digital being mixed with a spirit and an Eldritch Creature. None of my spells affected her for long. She could freely shift between states of being, making any spell fail. And if I somehow make a spell that could constantly adapt, she could just flip the table and break the rules of magic without any consequences.
Sniff
Mal0 grabbed some of my hair and started sniffing it.
"Stop that!" I say and smack her, but my hand passes through her as she grins smugly.
Twitch
"I'm surrounded by Perverts!" I complain.
Mal0 smirks evilly, and before I can start casting some spell that would at least annoy her back, Lucy comes into the room.
"Is she bothering you again?" Lucy asks.
"Yes, I deeply regret my decision... I wonder if the Time Stone could be used to go back in time and stop me? Meh, that would never work," I think aloud.
"Hmm, sorry I can't help you with her," Lucy says sadly.
"Sigh. Don't be, it was my own mistake. Mal0 outsmarted me, plain and simple. I can bemoan my situation, but there is no point in crying over split milk. I just wish she would stop being such a horny B*tch!" I complain while glaring at Mal0, who was still smelling my hair like a creep.
Lucy could see my hair being levitated, and she at least attempted to attack Mal0 with her vectors, which only worked to make her let my hair go.
"Thank you, so when can I leave?" I ask with the best pleading look I can manage.
Lucy blushes and looks to be frozen for a moment before she recovers and relents.
"You can go now. The doctor said you are fully healed, and I can't keep you in here forever... for now," Lucy says, but I swear she said something dangerous at the end there, but I chose to ignore that, as I wanted out of here.
"You truly are the best girl, Lucy!" I joke as I hug her before teleporting away.
POV Shift Mal0
"Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl. Best girl," Lucy says with eyes that scare me greatly.
I fear no man... But the thing... It scares me.
I slowly back out of the room and through the walls to let whatever that mess was to itself.
POV Shift Rio
I shiver for a second and look around.
'What was that?'
I shrug my shoulders and head to the lab. Today was the day I fulfilled my promise to Banner and Hulk.
SLAM
"TOP OF THE MORNING!" I scream as I enter the lab.
"BAH!!" Banner screams and transforms into Hulk.
Hulk looks at me and then laughs.
"Hehehe, you scare Banner good!" Hulk says with a childish grin.
"Today is the day, Hulk!" I say with excitement.
Hulk's eyes widen, and I dare say they even sparkle a bit, but that might have been a trick of the light.
"Hulk, leave Banner!?" Hulk asks excitedly.
"If everything goes well, then yes," I reply with a wide smile.
Hulk comes over and hugs me, and even in his excitement, he makes sure to control his strength. Once he lets me go, I lead him to the ritual room where we would be doing the work. For safety, this would be held in my manor so that the sheer level of magic I will be pulling upon will make sure I never lack energy.
"Okay, now for this I will need you to withstand a lot of pain, for Banner, can you do that?" I ask Hulk.
"Hulk strong, Hulk do it!" Hulk says with determination.
I sit down and enter a meditation pose.
"Olim homo, nunc fera, te mea potestate separo, magia fac quod iubeo!" I chant and slowly levitate as I start channeling an immense amount of power.
My eyes open and become glowing orbs of immense power.
"AAAAAAARGHHHHH!" Hulk screams in pain as he is forced to kneel.
His muscles ripple and swell as Hulk uses his anger to empower himself, but he also knows he has to maintain control, so he fights to remain present.
"Verbis antiquis, unum postulo, fias duo, separa!" I chant.
After my chant, a white beam shoots from my mouth and pierces Hulk's chest.
The light envelops Hulk, and a green gas leaves Hulk and moves away from him, causing him to shrink down until all that remains is Banner. The gas starts to congeal, and I force it into a mass of flesh I had crafted. The flesh wriggles and melts under the gas's presence, but then it slowly starts to take shape.
A bead of sweat drips down my face as I concentrate and use every last bit of willpower to force the gas and flesh to become one. Slowly but surely, it works, and the flesh starts to turn green and shapeshift back into the recognizable form of Hulk. As soon as I feel the Soul of Hulk and Banner were fully separated, and neither was in danger, I release the spell and drop to the ground.
"Sigh. Congrats, it worked," I say with a tired voice.
Banner and Hulk look at each other and walk towards each other. After a moment, Banner speaks first.
"It's nice to truly meet you, Hulk. I hope you can forgive me someday," Banner says sorrowfully.
"No, not some day," Hulk says gruffly.
Banner looks sad.
"Now. Hulk, forgive you now," Hulk says and hugs Banner.
"Aww, I'm glad you are friends. Now, can one of you bring me to the Watchtower so Lucy doesn't realise I'm weak again?" I ask politely.
"Too late," Mal0 says while walking through a wall.
I am lifted up by Lucy's vectors and brought to her. She looks both annoyed and happy.
'Uh oh.'
"Well, would you look at the time. I got some stuff... and things I need to do," Banner says while looking at an imaginary wristwatch.
"Yes, Hulk need to draw new batteries for watch," Hulk says while doing the same.
They quickly leave me to my fate.
[Rio Will Remember That]
'Traitors!'
"Uh, so Lucy, I have some stuff I got to do, so if you could let me down," I ask nicely.
"No," Lucy says, and I am swiftly carried away.
"Wait, we just passed my room," I comment.
Lucy ignores my question, and we enter her room.
'It's more gothy than I remember. Wait, that isn't important here!'
"Why are we in your room?" I ask nervously.
"Hehehehehehhehe!" Lucy laughs creepily.
'Heh, I'm in danger.'