Mark of the Multiversal Pretender

"We're finally here! Come, I'll introduce you to my grandma." Stepping down from the bus, Leo and Buddy arrived at a wide space of nothing but green scenery.

Grasses, trees, plants and many more that are indescribable due to the lack of the author's vocabulary.

"This is amazing." Leo muttered, giving compliments to the farm.

"I know right, dad and grandpa really worked hard on this farm. Their sweat and blood paid off." Smiling, Buddy crossed his arms and replied, joining Leo in sightseeing the wide and beautiful landscape.

"We should hurry, this is the time my grandma usually wakes up."

"Wakes up? But it's already past afternoon?" 

"Yeah, I don't know grandma but she's usually awake at night and asleep during the day. It's kind of her routine along with my grandpa." Replying, Buddy shrugged his head and continued.

"I think it has a name, something disorder or like that. It doesn't matter, anyways, let's go."

***

"Grandma!" Arriving at an almost dilapidated farm house that looks like it wasn't being maintained anymore, Buddy casually walked inside while calling out for her grandma.

As for Leo, he was already spreading his senses throughout the entire house.

What shocked him however, was that he sensed an incredible life force on the second floor.

What's even more surprising, is that Leo's senses that are capable of giving him visuals besides the eyes, 'saw' that this someone was doing pull ups on a rebar attached on the door frame.

'Holy mother of Jesus!' Leo cursed in a holy manner, taking in a sharp breath as he quickly realized who this someone was.

It was Buddy's grandmother!

'Is she really Buddy's grandma? Or is there someone else in the house? No, I need to see this.' Cautious and alert, Leo watched Buddy through his senses as he walks upstairs and approaches the left section of the house.

As if it was alerted, the unknown figure in Leo's senses quickly stopped the pull ups and in speeds that are humanely impossible, jumped into the bed and hid under the covers.

"Grandma! Are you awake?" He heard Buddy barge through the room without a care, well it's normal since the door was open in the first place.

"Grandma?"

*Groan!*

"No need to speak so loud, boy! I'm just old not deaf!" Pulling her old and frail from under the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed, the old woman was scratching the inside of her ears with her pinky finger as she yelled back.

"Grandma, it's the same thing. When you grow old, your hearing becomes reduced. Anyways, come downstairs, I have to introduce you to my friend!" Buddy simply looked at her with a monotone expression, before changing the topic in a hurry.

"Friend?" Without Buddy knowing, the old grandma's eyes turned eagle sharp and cold.

"Yup!"

"Ohh. If it's a friend, surely it's a little girl right! Oh look at you Buddy, growing old and all. Already getting the girl." The grandma's eyes softened as she cooed Buddy and teased him.

"It's not what you think, grandma, he's not a girl!"

"H-He?! O-oh, I wasn't expecting that. W-Well, as your grandma, I accept you whatever you are, my sweet grandchild." For one second, the old woman's eyes turned from being soft and warm to pity.

"Huh what? No! It's not like that, he's already old, probably around the same age as dad." Knowing he was misunderstood by his grandma again, Buddy rolled his eyes and 'corrected', which turned out to be a mistake.

"Pfft! Alright, that's it! I'll meet this 'friend' of yours!" Without hesitation, the old woman quickly stood from the bed without the usual groans and painful grunts, as if she just turned back to her sixteens.

Grabbing a metallic baseball bat from her bedside, she rushed downstairs, all while Buddy was trying to stop her.

"Wait, grandma no! It's not what you think! God! How can you be this strong!" Pulling her arm with all of his might, Buddy gritted his teeth, wondering where his grandma suddenly gained the strength to become a walking tank.

***

Downstairs, the grandma's voice can be heard along with her footsteps as she walks down the stairs.

"Come here you fucking pedophile! You think you can trick my grandchild! I'll make sure to break every single bit of your bones before the FBI could even start the ignition of their car!"

Countless curses were thrown out of the old woman's mouth, contrary to her previously frail and almost dying image.

"Grandma! It's not what you think! He's my boss! I work for him and-"

Soon enough, both of them arrived downstairs.

Buddy's words suddenly came straight back to his throat while the old grandma stopped in her tracks as she raised her eyebrows in confusion.

As for why they stopped.

Who wouldn't be when they saw a very cute black haired child sitting on the couch with his legs cutely dangling on the edge of the couch.

*Klang!*

"O-Oh! So cute!" Slipping through her hands, the baseball bat fell on the ground as the grandmother quickly swooned over the black haired child and carried him in her stick and frail arms.

"Hello there, Buddy's grandmother!" Smiling with his lips, Leo resisted the urge to escape from this place.

Why?

Because the figure he senses doing pull ups and having large amounts of life force is indeed Buddy's grandmother! This old woman who looks frail and weak is not to be trifled with!

Thanks to this, the grandmother fell even more harder upon seeing the dimples on both of his bun-like cheeks.

"You are so cute! How about you call me grandma Vivian, instead yes?"

"Sure, Grandma Vivian!" The little boy complied and called out to the new name.

Meanwhile, Buddy's jaw dropped down on the ground. His mouth is wide open and even a tennis ball can fit.

"W-What I-Is happening?!" He muttered under his breath in shock. Not knowing what to say in this situation.

***

10 minutes.

That's how long it took for Buddy's grandmother to stop yapping and babbling her mouth about how cute he is and also about her 'good 'ol days' thing that almost every grandmother and parents always tell their children.

"How about you boys go upstairs to Buddy's room? While I'll prepare cookies and milk for both of you!"

With this signal, both Leo and Buddy were quick to understand each other with nothing but a single look at each other's eyes before they rushed upstairs.

*Thud!*

Upon the closure of the door, Leo quickly transformed back to his original form, no longer the beautiful and cute black haired child that an old woman no less than 69 in age swooned over.

"H-How did you do that!?" Buddy asked.

"It's quite complicated." Leo hissed, not wanting to open up his ability to replicate other people's appearance to Buddy who might turn into a supervillain any moment now if fate doesn't like change.

"I can't believe you can actually regress your age and turn back to your child form! That is so cool!" Like every single normal child in this universe, Buddy's reaction was pure excitement and amazement.

"...Yeah, actually you're right. I think it's indeed cool to turn my age back." Realizing that he could take advantage of his misunderstanding, Leo didn't bother to correct Buddy's wrong assumption.

"I know right! You're basically immortal!"

"Okay now. Let's put these things aside and talk about why we're here. Though I want to 'know' more about your grandmother but after everything she narrated everything earlier so far, I don't think it's a good idea. So, how about we focus on the real reason."

'Genesis, show the description again.'

[You've already read the text for the fifth time today!]

'I just want to make sure. Don't wanna embarrass myself in front of a kid who idolizes me after all '

[101 Laboratory version Capsule Corporation [Limited Edition] - A limited edition that can quickly turn into a small tent upon throwing on the ground. However, make sure to not judge based on the outside appearance. Thanks to the power of spatial technology that defies logic, the interior is 100x larger than the outside.

Due to it being a limited edition, the inside contains nothing but top-notch technological equipments capable of putting an entire world into a great war just to get a small slice of piece.]

A legendary draw that he got from a golden Gacha ticket.

This is the reason for Leo's confidence. With this, he could simply just throw it on the ground and bam! A top notch laboratory base that would make every country go into war.

With this combined with his upcoming Jimmy Neutron intelligence, he would be able to build almost anything.

Lightsabers, ray guns, Iron Man armor series and many more!

'With Buddy's help, I'd be able to make an invention and finally progress in Jimmy Neutron's template. I just need to kickstart the process in order to achieve the end.'

Quoting this in his mind, Leo continued.

"Since this is a farm house, there must be either a basement or a barn, right? We need a hidden place to build our top secret base of operations." Knowing a child's weakness, Leo quickly enticed Buddy with the thought of having a secret hideout.

Every single child loves having secret hideouts.

It makes them feel safe and away from the outside, making them live in a fantasy world they formed in their minds.

"We do have a barn, but it's quite far away from here. But! We have a basement...."

"I smell a 'But' coming." Leo squinted his eyes and said, the hesitant look on Buddy's face says it all.

"...But my grandma forbids me from entering it. She even locked it and kept the keys in a place I have no idea."

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 106 - Stealing someone else's hideout]