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***
Stepping outside, I breathed in the air full of air... because of Chat and Gachi, I've been holed up in my room and this is pretty much the first time I've been outside in Metropolis. Reconciling with my memory, I immediately headed to the nearest shop to buy the groceries Lena had asked me to pick up.
Without any powers, getting involved in the "dark" life of Earth would be foolish, even Batman had been kicked around many times by unexpected creatures and their abilities. There aren't many Meta Men now, but the Joker has been known to show up a couple of times and cause trouble in Gotham... good thing I'm in Metropolis.
To get back on my feet, I need power, not just physical or magical, but reputational and economic. And I can't get all of that while Lex is alive, more than I'm sure of it. So once again, it all comes back to strength and some kind of ability, because without all that, I'm just an ordinary man who can't really fight. Now I may realise that I'm likely to kill... but I haven't done it yet, and because of that there's a kind of chill.
Now there's no Justice League, nor are there many other heroes... and that's a good thing. Their "justice" is really weird. Beating everyone around them, putting them in jail, and then dealing with the aftermath of the escape of those they've already defeated. Batman's belief in the law and that he can't kill is also strange, of course you don't have to become a butcher, but the most dangerous criminals should be killed. The law has amendments about death penalty, even though in the state of Gotham the death penalty is banned, but the fact that other states can execute criminals. Why not do the same? Why let a madman like the Joker, who doesn't care about victims at all, live.
Because he was the founder of the Justice League and all the other "heroes" followed this "Thou shalt not kill" belief of his... even Wonder Woman, who for a second, is an Amazon, that is a warrior by nature who KILLS enemies. Anyway, if there was already a Justice League, I'd be out of my league.
After buying all the groceries I needed, I headed back. Rias hadn't written anything, apparently she was immersed in her "parallel reality," which would have happened if Chat hadn't shown up. How she will behave after that I don't know, but I tried to explain to her that her world is real, like mine, and this is a story of parallel reality and nothing more.
«Lena, I brought the groceries. - I said as soon as I got into the flat. - I'll sort them out, don't worry. - I added a little later, the girl is probably working right now.
A little later, when I was done with the stuff I decided to spin Gacha again, I had ten spins left, so before I reached my room I started spinning all ten available times.
Lightsaber (D)
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark.
KTN 0452-9 Cortana (A)
RGC200 Notebook (E)
Cursed Blade: Murasame (C)
Cinema Ticket (E)
Water Bottle (E)
Bath Sponge (E)
IKEA Closet (E)
Nanosuit version 1.0 (D).
After blinking a couple of times I didn't even know what to say... getting an A rank item, after one SSS... hopefully all my luck doesn't end there. Well, considering how many different items there are and the fact that Gacha doesn't pay attention to value, I wouldn't be surprised if the Death Star fell out. Also, Tony Stark, eccentric genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist, and most importantly a brilliant inventor. He is a genius in mechanics, many sciences like physics, chemistry, neuroscience and so on. This man could create masterpieces capable of fighting the gods... well, with some reservations, it always seemed strange to me how a guy in a suit could stand up to the gods.
Choosing this card, it appeared in my hand with a small glow, and I immediately got some information. And yes, he's unequivocally a genius... but it's unlikely I could fight the same Darkseid with his suits, at least that's what I realised from my memories. The suits are good, great, but without him he's still a vulnerable target, and so am I.
I could summon Tony Stark into this world and he'd be more or less loyal to me, not to the detriment of his character, but... I don't see the point. A good ward is useful, but it's better to have that knowledge yourself, so I decided to assimilate the card. Especially since such an individual can bring more trouble than good, remembering the same Altron. As I chose to assimilate, I felt a huge rush of information in my head.
Name: Anthony Joseph Luthor.
Race: Human
Title: Brother of the Villain
Total Power: 10-V (The strength of a normal human being capable of at most lifting twice his weight).
Assimilated Characters:
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark (A) (3%)
Abilities:»
Gacha Points: 1
Looking at my stats through Gacha, I saw that assimilation isn't instantaneous, but even that three percent... I think I know German now. Leaving assimilation alone for now, I looked at the A rank card, Cortana.
«Stylish. - I muttered as her card appeared in my hand, stylised as technology with a code written on it. From the information on the card I realised that it was one of the versions of Cortana, that is, the Artificial Intelligence that was the hero's sidekick in the Halo game. The AI would be of great use to me right now, considering I'm a completely normal person now.
After I decided to activate the card, instead of it, I was left with a small object on my hand, which I immediately identified as a holoprojector or simply a projector through which the AI can create its holographic avatar, not that the AI needed it too much. Especially since this AI is completely loyal to me, if Gacha is to be believed. It didn't take a second for all the thoughts to flash through my head, and I realised that the memory of that Tony from Marvel was already making itself felt, given that I recognised the object in my hand immediately. Above the holoprojector, however, a young girl appeared, composed of bluish-coloured light.
«Greetings, partner. I am Cortana, the Intelligent AI model KTN 0452-9. - The girl's avatar smiled immediately after the words were said, and she spoke through this very object in my hand.
«It's amazing how much computing power you must have in you to do what I remember... - I muttered, studying the girl's holographic projection. After all, she is indeed a huge force capable of subjugating the country's economy in a day... maybe even faster.
«Oh, compliments at once... I'm a little embarrassed. - she spoke and her voice clearly modelled some embarrassment... amazing. - Of course I'm capable of a lot of things, much less... hmmm, weird.
«What is it? - I asked the question sitting down on the bed, holding the holoprojector at a slightly outstretched arm.
«My data says that I was designed in the distant future more than five hundred years ahead of today's date. - She said thoughtfully and the avatar actually made that facial expression.
«You've already hacked the internet? - I wasn't surprised at her capabilities.
«Well, it's pretty rudimentary. - She shrugged. - So how come I'm in the past from the future, partner?
«Do you believe in magic? - I smiled, wondering how she could even see me, since her avatar was watching me, then I noticed the burning laptop camera on the table... I see.
«Number magic I hope? - AI grinned a little. - Oh, you mean the usual magic from fairy tales? Hmmm... given what's going on you can't throw that option away either, even though it's only one millionth... and forget it, I saw that there are flying people here and some cities that I don't have information about in my database. - her avatar waved her hand.
«It's a lot simpler and complicated at the same time. - I said and felt some deja vu. - The multiverse theory is correct.....
«Oh, well. - shrugged her shoulders at the AI. - I was expecting something more, how do you say.... brain-dead?
«And we are in one of such multiverse, more precisely in the one where there are gods, alien gods, creatures capable of destroying planets without technology, where there is magic capable of changing reality, where there are real demons and real hell... and, as an appetiser, it is a universe with superheroes who do not kill villains and criminals, but only put them behind bars, even if they ruined thousands of innocent lives. - came out of me.
«Oh, that was enlightening and somewhat disturbing. Do you mind if I delve a little deeper into your "internet"? - she asked after a while.
«You've already done that, haven't you...
«Yes, but it was for your own good, to make sure you were in no danger. But now I wish I had your order/authorisation to do so. - smiled the avatar.
«Permission... how do you function? - I still asked the question. - An AI with such a huge range of capabilities in such a small holoprojector.....
«Future technology, I think. Or do you want more information? Oddly enough I don't have any limits on the information I can give out, so here you go. - she snapped her finger and my laptop screen lit up and opened a file... a thousand pages in size. - It's just an introduction. - smiled sweetly at the avatar.
«I'll read it tonight. - I nodded, walking over to the desk and placing the holoprojector on the table. - Oh, it's been a long day.
«Hmm... I checked the nearest cameras and what was going on with you and there doesn't seem to be anything that heavy. Oh, or is this about the multiverse situation?
«All of it. - I said, and after making sure my sister was in her room, I continued, lowering my voice a little bit. - Multiverse stuff is complicated, especially in a world where every third person can be a meta-human, a psychopath, or a ruinous hero. And especially when you're just a regular person in it.
«I won't say I understand it, I'm not human after all. But it's normal to feel fear from such information. Every living creature feels fear in one way or another, especially fear for their lives, it's instinctual. - Cortana said. - By the way, can I ask you a question?
«Sure.
«How... how... how did I end up here? The last thing in my "memory" is the moment of my creation and that's it. But my purpose is to be your assistant, which is odd, considering I'm kind of from the future.
«Gacha. - I simply said.
«Analysing the information from your behaviour, the spoken word and what's going on in the 'fantasy' world gives too many possible answers. - She said somewhat impatiently, as if hinting "not to break".
«Universal Gacha, think of it as a system. You can find what it means on the internet.
«I see... I see, yes. Oh, that's... interesting. What else did you get? - A map appeared in my hand, with what looked like a cyborg with a red visor on it. And a second later, a standing suit appeared a metre away from me, and a suit that fit me. Gacha herself can adjust items to my size, it's all more than convenient.
«It's a nanosuit from a game I know... can you connect to it?
«Me? Never mind. - She snapped her finger and the suit moved slightly. - Nice work, nanotechnology, albeit rather crude... this suit needs a host to function fully. The ability to become invisible is very useful... oh, stimulants, nanorobots injected into the bloodstream... multiple modes of operation. Not a bad specimen, I don't have any suit models like that in my database.
«Can you operate it? Theoretically it's possible without a host if the suit's artificial muscles are strong enough. - I asked.
«Easily. - Cortana said smugly as the suit came to life and took a few steps across the room. - Interesting sensations... and finally a good camera. - The suit walked over to me and I began to examine it.
Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark (A) (8%)
Apparently because of using all the knowledge he had gained to try to understand how the suit and Cortana worked, Stark's assimilation had accelerated a bit.
«Tell me, Cortana, you can help me with illegal operations, right? - I asked an important question.
«If that was me before... showing up here, I don't think so. I remember I had a lot of sub-tasks and criteria, I was limited in general. But now my only job is to be your assistant. Can I call you Tony?
«Yes, of course. - I nodded to the suit, through which the AI was now looking at me.
«My first day and we're already thinking about illicit things with you, Master Tony. Or does Master Luthor sound better? I'm starting to like this. What do I need to do? Hack into your government? Get the codes for nuclear warheads? Gain access to the world's secret organisations?
«Let's start with the easy stuff. What can you find on my older brother. - I asked somewhat excitedly.
«Wait a second...case in point, I have a lot of information. Bank account fraud, intimidation of small businessmen and blackmail, so many interesting and aggravating things. Where do we start? - Cortana's avatar asked with a smile, appearing above the holoprojector.
***
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