LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 40: After Party
Chapter 40: After Party
Benjamin led Wanda and Pietro to where Magneto and Charles were.
As they approached, the two naturally turned to them.
Charles’ expression was one of curiosity while Magneto looked at him warily.
Charles first spoke.
“Captain Freed. Are you enjoying the party?”
“I am. How about you? Have you tried dancing with your legs again?”
Benjamin teased and Charles laughed.
“Hahaha! I’m already too old to join you young people dancing.”
“How can you say that? Look at Captain America. He’s probably older than you and he’s still showing his dance moves there.”
Benjamin pointed at Steve who was awkwardly dancing to the tune while the others around him laughed.
Charles was smart enough to know that he wasn’t wanted. It seems that Benjamin needed something from Magneto.
Getting the cue, Charles looked at Magneto with a cautionary gaze and then left.
“Alright, I think I’ll give my old bones a go then. Hahaha. It’s nice not to wheel around again!”
Benjamin smiled as he watched Charles leave. He knew that Charles understood him.
Magneto also realized something from Charles’ gaze earlier and was confused about what Benjamin wanted of him.
He then saw the two figures with Benjamin and was curious about their expressions.
Benjamin didn’t say anything but turned to Wanda and Pietro instead and nodded to assure them.
Wanda took a deep breath and finally spoke.
“My name…is Wanda Maximoff. This is my twin brother Pietro Maximoff.”
“Yes?”
Magneto was still confused.
Just as Wanda was about to slowly talk about it, Pietro, who was too nervous, suddenly broke down and shouted.
“You’re our father!”
“...”
“...”
“...”
Benjamin and the others were speechless.
What a way to just rip off the bandaid huh?
Wanda, who was preparing her words, don’t know what to say now.
As for Magneto, he was too dumbfounded to say anything yet.
After a minute of no reaction from him, Pietro asked nervously.
“Uhh…so…p-pops? Anything to say?”
Magneto finally snapped out of it and spoke.
“This…is this true?”
Wanda nodded and turned to Benjamin.
“It was Ben who told us.”
Magneto turned to Benjamin to confirm. Benjamin nodded and showed him a folder with a few files inside.
“It’s true. I can show you DNA test results and all that if you want.”
Magneto took the folder with his shaking hand and opened it.
He saw the matching DNA tests, Wanda and Pietro’s history, and such.
“Natalya…so it was her…I knew I recognized that Maximoff name…I…I didn’t know…”
Magneto muttered weakly.
He kept reading and reading but didn’t find what he wanted so he lifted his head to look back at his newly-found children.
“Your mother…where…is she…?”
“...We don’t know. In fact, this is the first time we knew our mother’s name. We only knew that we were adopted just earlier.”
Wanda answered softly.
Magneto crumbled and knelt down on the ground while Wanda and Pietro hurriedly caught him.
As the three embraced, Magneto’s repeated apology rang in their ears.
“I’m sorry…I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you…I’m sorry you had to go through all that without me…I’m sorry…”
Away from them. Charles was eavesdropping slightly sighed and went away. He felt that he shouldn’t continue eavesdropping on them anymore.
Benjamin saw him moving away and rolled his eyes.
That guy really needs to fix that habit of his…
It took a while for them to calm down and take a seat on one of the log benches a bit away from the party.
Benjamin handed them each a drink from the punch as they were thirsty after crying.
Pietro spoke first.
“So…can you tell us? What exactly happened? Do you know where our mother is?”
Magneto sighed and answered.
“I’m afraid there’s not much to tell…I met your mother here in America roughly 25 years ago and fell in love. For a period of time, I wasn’t Magneto but just Erik.”
Magneto looked at Wanda and smiled.
“You look very much like your mother, Wanda. She was just as beautiful when I met her.”
He then sighed again and shook his head.
“Sadly, we were separated from…something. I don’t quite understand it myself but one day, she just…disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
Magneto nodded.
“Yes…that’s the only way I can explain it. I didn’t even know she was pregnant at that time. I tried so hard to look for her for years but…I couldn’t find her.”
Wanda quickly turned to Benjamin for an answer.
“Ben! You found out we were adopted right? Could you find who handed us to the orphanage?”
Magneto also looked at Benjamin with a bit of hope in his eyes.
However, Benjamin shook his head.
“Sorry. Everything I know is in that folder. The orphanage only knew your names and last names but didn’t know who dropped you off there. I tried reading their minds but that part is blank. Someone erased their memories of that time. And memories don’t disappear that easily. You might think you forget things but it is still there in your mind. Not even Charles could erase a memory like that.”
“How can this be…”
Benjamin smiled and patted Wanda’s head.
“Don’t worry. No news is also good news. There’s still a chance for your mother to be alive. One day, we’ll definitely find her.”
“...Thank you, Ben.”
Wanda smiled.
At the side, Magneto’s eye twitched slightly.
All of a sudden, all his fears of Benjamin were gone. Instead, it was replaced with anger.
Is he flirting with my daughter!? Get your hands off her! My daughter won’t marry anyone until 50!
Well, he only thought of it and did not say it out loud since he wasn’t a match for Benjamin…
Benjamin saw Magneto glaring at him and chuckled.
“Alright. You guys talk some more. I’ll go away now.”
That’s it. Walk away! You can’t date my daughter just yet!
Magneto thought but didn’t say again.
After leaving the three, Benjamin looked around and saw a lone figure leaning on a tree, watching the party from a distance.
It was Mystique.
Curious, Benjamin approached her.
“Why aren’t you partying?”
“...I don’t deserve to be here. I’m not an Avenger, X-Men, or an EPD. I’m just waiting for Erik to leave.”
Benjamin chuckled and shook his head.
“I’m afraid he won’t be leaving.”
“Huh? Does this mean you’re going back on your words? You promised his freedom!”
Mystique instantly shouted.
“Relax. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Benjamin shrugged and pointed at Magneto who was talking with Wanda and Pietro.
“Those two are his children. They just reunited so I don’t think he’ll be leaving any time soon.”
Mystique’s eyes widened in surprise and shock.
“His…children!?”
“Yes. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff.”
“Wanda…Pietro…”
Mystique’s shocked face slowly melted and turned into a relieved smile.
“I see…that’s good…Erik finally has a real family now…I’m happy for him.”
Mystique turned to Benjamin and smiled.
“Thank you, Benjamin Freed. For giving Erik peace in his heart.”
Now that Magneto has reconnected with his children, there will definitely be some changes in his actions.
He won’t be like a madman anymore and chased after suppressing humans and reigning over mutants.
He will finally return to the man that she had chosen to follow in the past…the real Erik Lensherr.
Benjamin smiled and looked back at the party.
“So. How about joining the EPD?”
“Huh?”
“Or are you going to continue this Brotherhood thing?”
Mystique fell silent for a while before shaking her head.
“No. The Brotherhood has already separated when your EPD started to gain popularity. All that’s left are really just some criminals hell-bent on destruction. Without Magneto in it anymore, there’s no reason for me to remain there.”
Mystique extended her hand toward Benjamin.
“It would be my pleasure to join, Captain Freed.”
“Welcome to the team, Mystique.”
“You can call me Raven. It’s my real name.”
“You can call me Ben too.”
The two smiled and shook hands.
Benjamin pointed back at the party and turned to Mystique.
“So. Now that you’re part of the EPD, do you still think you don’t deserve to be here?”
“Nope! I’m going to the dance floor and show those fools what real dancing is all about!”
Mystique laughed and ran to the dance floor as she started a dance-off with Charles and Steve.
Benjamin chuckled as he watched them.
At this moment, another figure approached Benjamin.
It was Nick Fury.
“So…I hear you’re a God now?”
“God of Nature. Well, I can control Nature basically. Tell me if any country faces a natural disaster or drought. I’ll be able to fix it immediately.”
Nick clicked his tongue in amazement.
“Now I see what you mean by ‘We have you’. I didn’t think you’d be more powerful than Captain Marvel.”
“Speaking of, any news on her yet?”
Nick sighed and shook his head.
“I’m afraid she’s gone radio silent. She hasn’t sent any reports or replied to any comms for a while now.”
Benjamin nodded.
“Tell me when we should start worrying. I’ll see if I can help.”
“Alright, boss.”
Benjamin chuckled.
He didn’t think he’d live to hear Nick Fury calling him boss.
Though he only said it jokingly, it was quite a surreal feeling.
After Nick left, Natasha approached him and asked.
“What did Fury want with you?”
“Nothing. I also asked Carol’s status but it was still radio silence.”
Natasha sighed.
“I wonder if she’s doing okay? I’m getting a bit worried.”
Benjamin patted her head to reassure her.
“She’s strong. I’m sure she’ll be okay. Unfortunately, we don’t know where she currently is. Otherwise, I can open up a portal and go there immediately.”
After chatting for a while more, Natasha held his hand and dragged him to the dance floor to start dancing.
Rogue and Storm also joined them soon after.
Then they quietly slipped off the party as Benjamin opened a portal directly to the bedroom.
Natasha, Rogue, and Storm followed him to the bed and started some drunken sex.
…Well, it was only the three girls who were drunk but that didn’t mean Benjamin can’t play along.
The following day, Benjamin had planned a housewarming party but since they just had a party last night, he postponed it to another time.
Opening up the TV, Benjamin saw the news still displayed about the events that happened yesterday.
While the rest of the world didn’t know how the fight with Apocalypse ended, they all knew how the EPD had helped them deal with the rogue criminals that appeared in their area at the time.
This sped up the talks of EPD going global and soon, branches of EPD appeared all over the world.
The EPD system itself also changed to accommodate this which helped a lot of those countries that didn’t have a lot of enhanced people.
Mission and rewards.
Basically, any EPD member can take on a mission to go to such and such and be rewarded for it.
The reward can be money, equipment, or anything really. Benjamin chucked most of the miscellaneous things he got in the Gacha here as others may need them
Well, he didn’t include the Recovery Pills and other special items.
Rankings were also started which ranked the members based on their abilities.
The more missions completed, the higher the rank is as well.
The ranking is there to categorize the powerful heroes so they can be assigned to more dangerous missions but it was inevitable that discrimination will rise from this as well. Benjamin is keeping a close watch on this situation.
The world entered a new era of superheroes.
During this time, Benjamin was also quite busy.
He spent the day managing the EPD and making sure no one tries to corrupt this new force and by night, he manages a company with Felicia to create the VR gaming pods.
Felicia named the company Freedom…because of Benjamin’s last name being Freed…She didn’t mind that her name wasn’t included in the company name as she only wants the title of CEO of Freedom…
Also because she says it's easy to create slogans out of it. She even named the gaming pods as FreeDome…cause it’s shaped like a dome…well, an elongated dome.
[Buy FreeDome now for only $799.99!] is what she would say and laugh about it since it’s like saying that they are selling freedom to the people.
Well, the public mainly calls it FD now anyways.
Felicia is also now one of the head leaders of the Thieves Guild and Ophelia continued to consolidate her position as Madame Hydra.
Felicia had successfully turned the Thieves Guild into a Robin Hood type of organization. Benjamin asked how he managed to convince the other leaders but she wouldn’t tell him and said it was a woman’s job to keep secrets.
As for Ophelia, she continued to send Hydra agents to all parts of the globe under the guise of ‘infiltration’ but really it was just to send help to these countries and places that lacked manpower.
Of course, the Hydra agents still think they are on a ‘mission to conquer the world’ but…they’re all just convenient volunteer workers really.
Well, eventually they will probably realize it but that doesn’t matter. By then, Benjamin and Ophelia’s manipulation of them will have taken over.
Benjamin didn’t just send them out just like that after all. He placed a slow-acting spell on them so that as time passes, their…chaotic mentality, so to speak, will slowly change to goodness.
It’s a minor brainwashing spell where the effect only shows up after several years so it isn’t used much but it was effective on sleeper agents to turn good.
Regarding the VR game that Benjamin made with Tony’s assistance, it has also spread worldwide and everyone and their grandmothers are playing it.
Who wouldn’t? After all, they get a chance to live in a new world where they have powers and such.
Statistics show that crime rates went down a lot after the release of the VR game.
Those criminals who can’t help but commit crimes out of instinct or maybe entertainment found new ways to entertain themselves.
Why be a petty criminal in the real world when you can…commit crimes in the game and have powers!?
And you won’t even be caught in the real world for it!
Of course, there are still some new rules made for the game which will prevent harassment and rape, or other such things so if they go too far, they would still be apprehended for it.
Well, the game’s system itself already prevents most of those from happening though but still.
As for the game’s AI, Benjamin used someone very suitable for it…Ultron!
He wanted to fix humanity? Well fine, he can do it in the game as much as he wants! Naturally, he was restricted to only remaining in the game server and is unable to get out.
Be that as it may, Ultron actually behaved itself the moment it woke up so there wasn’t much of a problem.
A month had passed just like that.
Including the reward from defeating Apocalypse, he had gained a total of 920k MP…but no more free gacha pulls.
The reason is that he is no longer able to gain it as a reward for quests after he had gained his first Gold rarity drop from it.
From now on he needs to spend MP to pull from the Gacha which Benjamin absolutely disdained from doing.
…He knew the System is just baiting him to spend points after now hoarding a grand total of 1,844,000 MP!
He is now an MP millionaire!
“...Maybe I should pull…it’s just 1k per draw…”
Benjamin was constantly torn between spending it in gacha or saving it for a super powerful ability…
The Infinity stones themselves cost 10 Trillion MP a piece but for the less powerful items or abilities…no, it’s not worth it yet.
In the end, Benjamin decided to save it in case of an emergency.
Anyway, he is about to complete the Harem quest and gain the Soul Stone from there.
[Harem Points: 82/100]
Only a bit below 20 points left…
Benjamin didn’t get to work on this for the past month since he was too busy with other things.
In fact, he didn’t manage to complete a lot of missions either since he was mostly working on the game itself.
Today was a bit important. That’s because today’s the day Susan goes to space with Reed and the other members of the Fantastic Four…well, they aren’t the Fantastic Four yet but it’s about to happen soon.
Benjamin, or anyone else for that matter, wasn’t supposed to know it since they were using a private spaceship to launch.
He only knew it since Susan told him secretly.
[I’m about to head to space using the spaceship Reed built. Wish us luck!]
[Good luck. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure none of you get hurt.]
[Including Reed?]
Benjamin smiled wryly.
This woman…it seems her feelings for Reed had already disappeared…Benjamin can only pray a silent condolence for Reed Richards.
[Even Reed. Now go and reach for the stars.]
[So cheesy.]
[You like cheese.]
[I do. Alright, I got to go. Bye.]
Susan chuckled silently and hid her phone as she went out of the locker room to meet the others.