Chapter 62

Avalon (6:15 PM): Yo. Gonna be summoning a dragon above my new base. it’s totally safe but sorry for the headache, ttyl <3

Miss Militia (6:24 PM): Sorry Avalon, was debriefing the Wards. What do you mean you’ll be summoning a dragon??? As in ‘large, scaly, and dangerous’ dragon? For what purpose???

Miss Militia (6:25 PM): Avalon?

Miss Militia (6:26 PM): The PRT has been notified. Please send pictures and stay safe.

Miss Militia (6:30 PM): Pictures of the dragon. For PRT purposes. Miss Militia out.

I couldn’t keep the amusement off of my face as I stared down at my recently revived phone, the battery percentage at the top right flashing a mocking 9% to remind me of just how bad I was at keeping up with technology. Truthfully, with magical superpowers at my beck and call, browsing the internet and playing video games had taken a complete and utter backseat in my new life, and I couldn’t be more thankful for finally ‘getting a life’ -especially one as crazy as mine.

Cassie was more than hikikomori-core enough for the both of us.

“Hehe, you’re doing that ‘I’m so cool and sexy smirk’. Did Miss Star Spangled Panties text you again?”

And speak of the devil…

I tilted my head to the side, smiling as my nerdy little girlfriend ambled out onto the second floor patio, freshly clad in fuzzy pink bunny slippers, white pajama bottoms, and a crop-top Tinker Bell shirt. Her short black hair was still wet from her first ever dip in the Bathhouse, but Cassie seemed like a new woman - rosy cheeked and grinning with health and vitality. She looked pattered around the lounge chair I was reclined back in, and without a second thought, threw herself onto my lap.

A familiar scent of blueberry shampoo wafted up into my nose, and I breathed in the citrusy smell as Cass burrowed back into my chest.

“God, you smell good…”

Not-so-little Jason agreed with me too, judging by how I felt a long, thick movement in my sweatpants. It pressed itself against the pillowy softness of Cassie’s ass, and she gasped, then giggled at the sensation.

“What is with you? Getting a new girlfriend must make you extra horny or something, ‘cause today’s been crazy.” She shivered, the vibrations running straight down into the massive bulge in my pants. “I didn’t think Amy had it in her to kiss like that, but you know what they say about big titty goths…”

I raised an eyebrow, sliding my hands along her shoulders and sides until I could clasp them together on her soft, smooth tummy. “What do they say?”

“I don’t know, that they’re super fucking sexy dommy mommies? I don’t think Amy’s could ever be like that with you since you’re such a daddy-“

“You’re cringe.”

Cassie snickered, gripping my forearms and massaging the corded muscle there. “Hehe, but seriously - she totally controlled our kiss. And tugging on my hair like that… she’s less sure of herself in social situations, but I can see her stepping on me with seven inch black heels in the future. I’ll groom her into being our token gothic witch dommy mommy for sure!”

Her voice raised louder at the end, a crowing promise, and I quickly glanced back at the stained glass door that led out onto the patio. Just inside, I knew that Sherrel, Amy, and surprisingly Aisha were working on making dinner since the gremlin on my lap had completely burnt the pizza that she’d been cooking. I’d offered to help, but they’d kicked me out faster than I could even get the words out. 

Apparently being ‘OP’ made it so that they wanted to help pick up any slack in their own way, including making food.

Unexpected, but not necessarily a bad thing. Though I was pretty sure starstruck Aisha just wanted to stay inside to explore the rest of the palace. I’d shown them through all of the main rooms once they’d arrived, but there were still some spots we hadn’t seen, including a space behind the main staircase that led into a huge backyard surrounded by an endless forest.

Thankfully I didn’t see a head of frizzy brown hair peek out the door after Cassie’s exclamation, so I straightened back up and pinched my girl’s hard nipple through her crop-top. She squeaked, jumping slightly, but my other arm was already wrapped around her waist - she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Don’t say shit like that so loud, silly girl.” I sighed into her ear, an amused grin working my lips in spite of my words. “Amy’s a bottom, trust me. She just has a lil’ bit more spine than you when it comes to the bedroom. That woman has a lot of pent-up feelings.”

Cassie pouted, but her ass wiggled back into my hardness, a soft whine escaping her mouth. “Ughhh. I hate it when you insult me, but sometimes it gets me so frickin’ wet. What is wrong with me? Actually, don’t answer that-” 

“You’re a subby, masochistic, perverted NEET who gets off to her boyfriend fucking other women. So you’re ’prolly a cuckquean too, eh?”

Cassie's spine stiffened, her dark eyes growing wide in surprise, shame, and unsurprisingly, barely hidden arousal. “I-I…. DON’T know what you’re talking about. That’s really fucked up of you to say, Jay! The last part, not the subby masochist stuff. I’m self-aware enough for that.”

I didn’t need Hidden Intuition to confirm shit for me. I’d thought about it for a little bit now, taking certain reactions in mind and comparing them contextually to other little facts I knew about Cassie. The blushing whenever she saw me kissing other women, the pushing to seduce Amy, the way that she’d orgasmed so fucking hard when she knew Sherrel was taking my cock down her throat…

And now, the blubbering and half-hearted objections? I wasn’t dense.

“It’s okay, babe,” I chuckled, my hand drifting down from her nipple to rub itself across her tummy comfortingly. “Can’t say I get it, but that genre of hentai was hella popular to certain people on my Earth.”

The glare she sent me was equal parts horrified and embarrassed. “NTR is a trash fetish!”

“Miss Militia and I, discussing strategy after another villain attack. All the other heroes have already left the conference room, leaving me and her completely alone. The lights are dim, our bodies and minds are tired, but there’s a certain heat in her green eyes when she looks at me…”

Cassie swallowed heavily as my low voice trickled into her ears. Her skin was hot beneath my palm, and her voice trembled when she whispered, “J-Jason, that’s so not hot. At all. Nauseating is what it is.”

Cassie is folding. Cassie is aroused. Cassie is frustrated.

“After months of teasing,” I continued just as quietly, unable to keep the amusement out of my voice, “With us alone, she sinks to her knees in front of me. Her hands glides up my legs, over the black silk of my pants, and presses against my dick, gripping it roughly as she strokes up and down-“

“Why Miss Militia? I mean, I know I mentioned you texting her but…”

“Seeing how tight my pants are, she grips the waistband and yanks them down to my ankles. My dick flops down, hard and swollen with arousal, and she grunts as it slaps against her face. Precum dribbles out, staining her dark brown hair, and Miss Militia reaches up to firmly grasp-“

“Holy shit Jason, okay! Fuck, you win you win stopppp,” Cassie leaped out of my lap, turning around and jabbing a quivering pink-painted fingernail at me. Her cheeks were flushed, her tongue darting out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. “I’m a dirty fucking pervert who gets off to the thought of her man fucking other girls, you got me! So what?! You should’ve known that I was a degen when I told you I was okay with you forming a harem!”

“It ain’t a harem, and I dunno if you’ve forgotten, but that conversation wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows on either sides of the field, Cass.” It took a lot of willpower to not laugh at the embarrassed girl. She looked like a ruffled cat, her small chest heaving as she panted and glared blunt, plastic daggers at me. 

“Harem, polycule, sisterhood of the traveling fucking pants - either way, that’s not something most girls just let you toss on their laps like that, so obviously I’m not most girls.” Cassie crossed her arms, huffing as she turned away and stared out over the city. 

At the top of the palace like this, we were able to see the entirety of Brockton Bay - with no small thanks to the fuck-off mountain that I’d grown. I stood up to join her in absorbing the view, shamelessly ignoring the fact that my boner was quite literally threatening to pop a seam in my gray sweats. When my arm draped over her shoulder, my passive aura of Aqshy chasing away the minor evening chill, Cass narrowed her eyes up at me.

When met with my crooked smile, the righteous anger crumbled away into wryness.

She sighed, leaning into the warmth. “‘Cuckquean’ is a frickin’ gross sounding term. Super unsexy. I just… after everything we talked about, and what I saw in your eyes that night- I know I can trust you, and that you’ll love me and protect me and cherish me no matter what. Soooo… I don’t feel anxious about that particular fetish of mine, I guess? You make me feel wanted.”

I recognized the change in atmosphere for what it was. My face became stoic and attentive, the smirking and teasing shoved back into the vault. “So do you actually get off to the thought of me just fucking random chicks? I don’t kink-shame; I just wanna understand a lil’ bit more.”

The small smile on her face let me know that she appreciated the attempt. “Thanks for not judging. But hell no, I don’t want you fucking just any random chick. Obviously. That’s gross,” Cassie shivered despite the toastiness of my magic. “It’s… hmmm. This is going to sound hella cringy, but I find your dominance and attitude hot. Like, really hot. And you’re obviously sexy as fuck. So knowing that my man is being worshiped and thirsted after by hotties just- it turns me on a lot. Not to mention I’m bi, so seeing it is a different kind of arousing. It’s a… pride thing? As well as a sexual thing.”

“As in, ‘my boyfriend is so sexy and badass that all of these girls want him, but I’m still his number one’ type beat?” I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a bit confused but somewhat grasping the line of thought. I didn’t share it whatsoever, but from a super subby point of view, I guess it would make sense. 

Cassie nodded her head with a renewed vigor, an embarrassed yet lewd grin forming on her face. “Yeah! Like, I know I’m, um, a perv. But it’s also just really hot to see you turn these women into cum-filled pretzels. When you had Sherrel in that mating press and she was screaming like a fucking cow in heat, I honestly think I made myself squirt for the first time, like, ever. But it didn’t hurt because I knew you’d be there to cuddle-fuck me right after. You take care of me like that.”

My response was instinctive. “Of course. I’ll always take care of you, baby girl. No matter what. You know that.”

“I do,” she giggled, poking my side. “Which is why I’m comfortable telling you this, and letting myself feel this way. I know I have nothing to worry about, because were basically fucking married by now. I’m totally taking that ring as an engagement, bee tee dubs.”

I smirked. “That’s fine. Were you serious ‘bout having our wedding at Luigi’s Haunted Mansion? ‘Cause I can make that happen.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know, actually! Now that you can take us across the freaking multiverse, I’m sure I can think of someplace better- I don’t even like Luigi all that much. Lemme think about it.”

“Sure.”

…

“Ooh! What about-“

“Actually think about it, Cassie.”

She blew a raspberry at me, but the following comfortable silence proved that she took my words to heart. We stood there on the patio, looking out over the marble railing as the sounds of nature worked to fill in the gaps. Birds called to each other from the sky above, water crashed down into burbling, azure blue pools, and in the far distance, vehicles honked noisily at each other as mid-day slowly transitioned into night time. Down below on the beach, my spirits still worked tirelessly - only most of the scrap and refuse was gone, leaving only the larger husks of dead ships entrenched in the sea. 

Trainwreck must’ve been busy.

I was just debating throwing out a stupid suggestion like The Walking Dead when the door behind us swung open, revealing a freshly washed Sherrel clad in her usual outfit, except the front was covered by a lightly stained ‘I Got Big Meat!’ apron. A silver platter with a similarly shiny lid was balanced easily on one hand, and she pointed a spatula at us with the other. 

“Hey, lovebirds! The steakburger and fries are done, cooked to a fuckin’ nice crisp, so come inside and wash up if you wanna eat!” She banged the spatula against the lid, a proud grin on her lips. With the door wide open, the scent of freshly cooked meat, spices, and delightfully unhealthy grease squeezed out to overtake the patio.

Cassie’s stomach growled. Loudly.

“Uh… Wow, Jason, that’s craaazy,” the little fibber snickered, twirling out of my arms and sniffing the air. “It smells great, Sherr - probably why Jason’s stomach growled like a fucking hibernating bear.”

I snorted. “You’re a fucking child.”

“I’m older than you now, bucko. Now fill my mouth with meat, Miss Chef!” With a wink and a kiss blown in my direction, Cassie made a break for the door. Her hunger was only a partial excuse, considering the conversation we’d just had. She probably needed a bit of time to think about things too… like where she actually wanted to get married.

And just how easy it had been to talk about something that big this early on in a relationship. Heavy shit, right? 

Thank Goddess I didn’t sweat the small stuff.

“That girl… Anyways, you comin’ Jay? I made a lotta food - figured I’d, y’know, thank ya for this ridiculous fucking palace. Trainwreck paid for the steaks too, hehe.” Sherrel asked after watching the petite hacker squeeze past her, swiping her nose sheepishly with a thumb. Distantly, further in the palace, the sound of shouting and laughter appeared; she’d probably found Aisha then. Those two together were trouble.

The earnestness in her voice made me smile. In a burst of magic, I stepped into Sherrel’s personal space, the widening of her bottle green eyes the only reaction her body was allowed before I placed a soft kiss against the corner of her plump lips. Her knees knocked together at the unexpected action, the silver tray shaking, and I smoothly extracted it from her hand as I pulled back.

“After you,” I inclined my head, my smile widening. “And thanks for the food. Do me a favor and gather everyone out here after we eat, yeah? I wanna show y’all something before it gets too late.”

“Hmph. Yeah, I can do that.” Sherrel’s gaze flickered down for a moment, staring at my lips, before she shook her head. A hint of red touched her cheeks. “You wanna wear the apron? I bought it for ya since you asked me to pick up some cookbooks. It’s definitely fittin’. Not that my girlies aren’t givin’ you a run for your money. ”

That got a snort of laughter out of me. “I’ll wear it next time I feel like burning the place down, how about that?”

She giggled. “I’m lookin’ forward to being your personal taste-tester, then.”

Before I could unpack the potential double entendre, my… sorta-girlfriend sashayed back into the palace, pulling the apron off as she went. I stood there for a moment, my body tingling with barely contained energy as I watched her fat ass sway side to side in her ridiculously small booty shorts.

I was surrounded by sexy, nubile young women, and now we were all living inside of a mountain base that could double as a harem palace for some Olympian God. Something had to give, and fast, because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to go before humping every hot hole in my vicinity.

Except Trainwreck and Aisha’s, of course. Propriety and decorum, Jason. Propriety and decorum.

But for now, I just focused on filling my belly with good food, and my soul with good company.

________________________

Twenty-Five Minutes Later…

After a hearty and delicious dinner of steak smashburgers and salty fries, we all stood on the second floor balcony; me, Cassie, Amy, Sherrel, Trainwreck, and Aisha. After all the little cryptic hints and I’d been throwing at them over the past thirty or so minutes, the entire team was beyond curious to see exactly what I had in store that could trump the birth of a fucking mountain, and the palace dropped on top thereafter.

I was confident they’d be more than satisfied with what they saw.

“You’re grinning way too hard,” Amy observed blithely, resting her chin on her fist and narrowing her eyes at me. “You're getting off on keeping us in the dark, aren’t you? What a drama queen.”

After her own time in the bathhouse, she was wearing a lacy black nightgown that came down a bit further than normal, cutting off right above her knees. Despite her attempts at modesty, the gown still clung to her thick curves with a snug embrace, accentuating the large tits that I was quickly growing attached to. Like seriously, they were fucking insane - just the right amount of perk to not sag down too much, but with enough hang time to look delightfully natural and proportionate.

Plus, the freckles. I wanted to bite ‘em off.

Cassie leaned her head against Amy’s bare shoulders, yawning into her hands. “Ahhhh- Have some faith in the kid, Ames. Whenever he gets super chuuni like this, he usually does something pretty cool. ”

My right eye twitched. “I’m just standin’ here. How am I being ‘chuuni’? And who are you callin’ kid?”

“It’s the hair,” Aisha nodded sagely, crossing her arms over her fishnet-clad chest. “Half-up half-down dreads are hot, but the way it covers your eyes makes you seem edgier. I fuck with the vibe, but…”

Trainwreck grunted, taking a knee and pulling his helmet off. His face was as ugly and acne-scarred as ever, but he didn’t look away. “Looks gay.” 

“Well I think it’s a handsome style,” Sherrel frowned, plucking a lone fry from her plate and throwing it in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully for a second, taking her eyes up and down my body, before nodding once, resolute. “Big boss has good taste. Show some freakin’ respect, brats. We’re living in a palace ‘cause of this wonderfully edgy, hopelessly narcissistic, senselessly ostentatious bastard!”

I was being utterly defeated.

“First off - fuckin’ ouch, Sherr.“

She winked, unfettered.

“And second off; stop flapping your lips. I called you all out here after tonight’s dinner for one reason, and one reason only… To witness the birth of peak. Behold.”

It was showtime, and the best way to captivate a group like mine was to smack ‘em in the face with so much fucking awesomeness that they couldn’t form any sarcastic rebuttals. Before Cass could get out the barb that I absolutely knew she wanted to toss my way, I stepped towards them, my back facing their direction, and turned my full attention to the top of the palace - and the spacious, unclaimed real-estate lying therein. What could be more fitting of a perch?

Summoning forth the magic from my inner soul was practically second-nature now for me, and that easy familiarity came in handy now more than ever. It started as an icy, deep coolness that pricked at my chest like toothpicks, swiftly trailing down my body and settling within the tips of my toes and fingers. Within seconds it had grown from a frosty sensation to one that nearly felt burning, and I felt the bones in my jaw tense, my teeth beginning to click together, as that feeling sought to escape from me. From my body.

And the top of the building was its designated target.

The temperature plummeted.

“W-woah,” I heard Aisha wince, “What the fuck’s up with the central heating? Y’all pay the bills this month or-”

“Wait,” Uncharacteristically, it was Amy who cut her off. Awe and fear burned through the frigidity of our surroundings, bringing out a tremor that had nothing to do with the cold. “Up there. What the hell is that…?”

That, of course, being the massive, icy blue rift that my newest acquisition was clawing its way out of like it was a fucking magical space egg. I watched alongside the rest of my shocked audience, transfixed, as ivory talons the size of midgets beings carved shallow grooves into the smooth, unmarked marble of our palace’s rooftop. They clambered for purchase, clenching deeply into the stone once said purchase was found, and pulled.

The palace trembled, but held firm.

The rift did not.

It undulated and warped, sparks of arcane energy branching off the edges of the massive spatial tear as feet after feet after feet of long, gleaming, and scaled muscle pulled its way free of its magical containment. 

The Frost Dragon was fucking huge.

That much had been made abundantly clear from the size of its claws, but watching it slowly crawl onto the top of the palace like an oversized white, scaly cat made that spine-chilling realization much more real. Lung had been fifteen feet tall from temple to toes back when I’d pushed him to the limit of what I could safely handle, and he’d been a big fucking boy, nearing the size of Leviathan. Fighting him had given my human side a big ol’ case of tummy rumbles, even though the magical elven hero side of me had been confident and excited.

This dragon, though? Even the elven chuuni portion of my brain was telling me to move cautiously. It simply invoked that much of a presence with its sheer size, having to be near to or exactly thirty feet, and that was only taking into account its height. As it pulled itself fully from the portal, its massive, horned head dipped down low and staring me dead in the eyes, I could hear its lower body and tail swing back around the back side of the palace. The distant sound of smashed trees falling, funnily enough, reminded me of the execution of Kaiser and the Empire. 

The odd, random thought brought a small smirk to my lips as I stared up into the frosty blue glare of my brand dragon. It was so close that I could feel the mist drifting from the minute gaps between its hard-packed scales, and the icy breath huffing from its fang-filled maw. Personal space did not seem like something it cared for overtly much.

And was that Skyrim music I could hear playing quietly in the background?

I swallowed hard, pleasantly surprised at experiencing my first feeling of nervousness in weeks. “... Yo. You come here often, sweetheart?”

The Frost Dragon is unamused.

Did that mean it could understand English, at least?

“Holy fuck.” 

Surprisingly, it was Trainwreck who broke the silence first. The metal giant’s suit of armor creaked as he slowly stepped forward on large, clunky feet, easing up to my side in order to get a better look at the gargantuan maw of the silently glowering dragon. Its impossibly blue gaze shifted towards him for the briefest of moments before it seemingly dismissed the man on the spot, returning its full attention towards me. If he was offended by the colossal beast, Trainwreck didn’t show it. He simply stared.

But his action seemed to be the catalyst that spurred everyone else out of their respective shock.

“B-Boss, is that a fuckin’-”

“DRAAAGON!”

Aisha and Cassie’s voices, normally two completely different pitches, combined into one solid, shrill scream of raw, hyperactive excitement. The exclamation was so sudden that the Frost Dragon flinched backwards, its claws singing as they carved new designs into the marble ledge of the rooftop. Its wingspan was unbelievably huge, heavy gusts of wind buffeting down onto the balcony and sending plates and cutlery flying. Its movements were swift - much swifter than you’d normally expect from a creature its size - but there was no fear or aggression in its countenance. No warning bells rang inside of my skull. It never looked away from me, even as it reared back, as if searching for a command.

My pet dragon came pre-tamed. ‘Dominated’, the perk said.

This time, I was the one to break eye contact with my new companion. I turned around, raising my arms to catch both Cassie and Aisha mid-lunge. They huffed and grunted as I gently hit them with a clothesline, tucking their heads beneath my armpits and swinging them around with me to look back up at the dragon.

Quieter, more awed and contained in her surprise, Amy creeped forward, a bug-eyed Sherrel on her heels.

“This, my friends…” I smirked, lightly jostling the two girls tucked beneath my arms, “Is what I wanted to show you. My Grimoire gave me a motherfucking dragon, bitches. A Frost Dragon, to be specific-”

“Snowcone.” 

I blinked. “Huh?”

Cassie wiggled against my armpit, her hand tickling at my sides in an ineffective attempt to be released. “We’re naming him Snowcone, Jay. And he’s a fucking good boy. Who's a good boy? Snowcone issss.”

“I was thinking’ Frostmyre the Badass Frozen General, but Snowcone works I guess. Bee tee dub, if you don’t let me go, I’m totally gonna cum and it’s gonna be all your fault. You’ll feel weeeeird.” Aisha nestled her face into the underside of my bicep, her grin flush against my skin.

I snorted as I dropped her, and she easily landed in a lazy crouch. “Hehe.”

“What do you think, big guy? You vibin’ with Snowcone?” I raised my now free right hand up to the dragon, like one would offer the back of their palm for a dog to sniff. Hidden Intuition offered me no new insights, possibly because this was a strange beast with no discernible emotions or overt body language, but my instincts had never steered me wrong before. There was a definite connection there, between me and him. Not anything notably magical, but more of a mental and emotional bond.

One that I was starting to realize he felt as well.

Silently, like a breath of mist, he swooped back in, damn near bowing me over with the bulk of his snout. His scales were smooth and almost painfully cold, a frigid, bone-numbing coldness that numbed my hand on contact. To my surprise, when he nudged up into my hand, the strength in that one small, simple movement caused me to stagger back despite my own unnatural power. I blinked, widening my stance, and stepped forward to pat his snout again.

Snowcone snorted, and my ears pricked and burned as tiny icicles formed on its flesh.

“Oh my God he likes it, Jason. He likes the name!” Cassie whispered, genuinely overjoyed.

A finger prodded against my bicep, and Amy drew closer. “Mind if I…?”

Snowcone’s eyes darted towards the brunette, and she froze in place immediately, raising both hands in a passive, submissive gesture. Although she was clearly frightened of the draconic behemoth before her, there was also a nervous, authentic excitement - dilated pupils and slightly aggressive breathing being the most obvious of her body language.

Seeing a real-life dragon in the fucking flesh would make anyone excited, nevertheless a biostriker like Amy.

“Pay attention to everyone here, Snowcone. Memorize their faces and scents. They’re family, and under your protection. Understood?”

He huffed again, but this time, I was ready for the cold. I breathed out, strengthening my passive shield of Aqshy, and the frost turned to dripping water and hissing steam on contact with my skin. Foot-long teeth flashed as he licked his chops, swinging his head over to study each member of Invictus closely. Fortunately, he kept his breath to himself with each perusal, cautiously sniffing and licking at the air around their faces and hair. 

When he got to Amy, there was a notable pause. He gazed down at the damn near trembling brunette, and she met his glowing stare with a wide, yet determined one of her own.

“Heyyy Snowcone,” she said awkwardly, holding out a shaky finger. “My name is Amy, and I’m something of a healer. D-do I have permission to touch you? Not that you need healing, but I’m curious about your biology. I, uh, have never seen a dragon before.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Aisha snorted, and free from her prison beneath my arm, Cassie softly elbowed her on the hip. “Oof! Sorry, continue.”

Snowcone loomed over Amy for a second longer than was comfortable, an intelligence shining in his stare. Something that I’d noticed was that, although he wasn’t aggressive, Snowcone never bowed his head down to anyone but me. When he allowed me to touch his snout, he lowered his head down and even nuzzled against my palm, but for the rest of the team, he simply studied from on high, sniffed closely, and moved on to the next.

For Amy, while he didn’t bow his head like he’d done for me, Snowcone did ease down a bit more than normal, getting his frigid snout ever so closer to her shaky finger. 

I smiled. “Go ahead, Amy. He’s giving you consent.”

Amy glanced my way, her nervousness evaporating into warm, childlike happiness when she realized that she wasn’t, in fact, going to die for touching the giant mystical dragon. “Yes! I mean, ahem - okay. Thank you, Snowcone. It’ll be quick, and you won’t feel a thing… I promise. Your scales-”

Snowcone is impatient.

The observation was whispered into my ear a split second too late.

I opened my mouth, but Snowcone had already pressed his snout against Amy’s finger mid-sentence. 

There was an abrupt silence, and then…

Amy is amazed. Amy is inspired. Amy is overwhelmed.

I caught her just as her eyes rolled back into her head, and Snowcone pulled back with the most dragon-like look of confusion ever - furrowed brow ridges and everything.

It was as uncomfortable to look at as it was cute.

“Right,” I murmured, swaddling the unconscious girl in my arms, “Figured that would happen.”

Cassie was by my side not even a second later, all silliness replaced by the protective concern only a girlfriend could have as she peered down at frizzy-haired sleeping beauty. “Shit. Let me guess - sensory overload? Snowcone’s a big boy, and all that bio data...”

“Most definitely. She’s breathin’ fine… I think it was just too much foreign info at once. She’ll probably have a bitch of a headache when she wakes up, though. I’ll take her back down to the bedroom, tuck her in all nice and cuddly.”

I glanced back over at the rest of the group. Trainwreck was still enamored by the dragon, alternating between staring up at it and turning to glance over at us. Aisha seemed entirely unconcerned on both ends, her worried expression having faded away as soon as I’d confirmed that Amy was safe. Now she was slav-squatting beside Trainwreck, taking selfies of herself with Snowcone looming overhead.

Sherrel met my gaze when I finally glanced over to her, and it took only one look at Amy for her to nod her head decisively. “I’ll make Pancake here a lil’ drink I used to take for hangovers. Think I got some Advil somewhere too, should help with the noggin.”

What an amazing second-in-command.

“Thanks,” I smiled, before turning my attention back up to my new dragon. “‘Ight, boy - I’ll be back soon to give you the full rundown of our little slice of heaven, but for now… Stay. Put. You got that? No kidnappin’ princesses and destroying cities while I’m gone.”

An icy huff, this one powerful enough to send icy sparkles flying across the sky, was my only reply.

Aisha snorted. “We’ll watch him, Jay. Don’t be surprised if you come back out and see me flying on his back like fuckin’ Khaleesi, though - I was born for bigger things, bro.”

“Pfft. Yeah right. Stay safe, don’t put your hands through the bars, yada yada yada. We’ll be right back.”

Sherrel, Cassie, and I left, heading back inside to put Amy to rest and brew whatever sinful hangover cure my wrench wench learned in her youth. 

A few things happened.

The good news was that Amy was fine just as I’d guessed, except the post-dragon migraine was a different beast altogether, and she was practically bedridden for the rest of the day due to it. The hangover cure, which turned out to just be watered down tea and Sherrel telling her to ‘woman the fuck up’, did nothing to help. In return, though, she told me that she was now pretty fucking confident in creating her own dragon hatchlings out of crested geckos, so I guess there was some silver-lining there.

The what the fuck news was that we came back out to Trainwreck chortling, the fucking madman, and Aisha whooping on the back of a lazily lounging Snowcone. He kept to my orders, not moving from the rooftop, but how she got up there in the first place would forever be a mystery unresolved. Both her and Trainwreck refused to tell me. 

I had to heal the minor frostbite on her ass afterwards, which gave me some satisfaction - not because I touched her ass, but because she whined the entire time about it being so painful. 

Fuck around and find out, brat.

But, in the end, I was able to lay out the essential rules for our new groundskeeper, and all was well. Apparently PHO was absolutely blowing up because of the mountain, palace, and motherfucking dragon all appearing in the same span of 24 hours, but I refused to check. Being disconnected from social media was kinda fun, honestly. 

I could see why celebrities did it back at home.

____________________________

Time moves fast when you have more responsibilities and goals than just ‘rahhh, kill all villains’. Ironically enough, filling my days with more mundane work saw me checking the clock less, and checking the clock less meant nights often snuck up on me. Before I knew it, a week had already passed.

I didn’t even feel like I’d made that much progress.

Still, a few things of note happened over the past five days; things that I was quite happy to have actually gotten done. 

For one, our base of operations, officially dubbed ‘Palace Invictus’, was now cozy, productive, and ‘lived-in’. We’d spent the following day after Snowcone’s conception transporting all of our shit from the Sanctum to the Palace, which mostly ended up being Cassie’s shit since I kept most of my belongings in my Inventory. That had left our old home back with its former Endbringer bunker appearance, a nostalgic sight that had moved Cassie’s crybaby ass to tears. After discussing things more, we’d decided to leave it with a bevy of essential supplies for any future emergency scenarios.

As a result, my, Cassie’s, and Amy’s new master bedroom was a chaotic hodgepodge of three different themes that, strangely enough, seemed to mesh well into what Aisha had dubbed a ‘fantasy blend of magical bullshit’. There was a gaming den section dedicated to Cassie’s computers and magitech, freshly christened with brand new flatscreens, monitors, and gaming consoles, and a cozy reading nook near the window that Amy had laid claim to and immediately filled with two bookshelves, a potted plant that may or may not have been biologically tampered with, and an expensive bean bag so soft you’d think you were sitting in pudding.

Oh, and a coffee machine. Turns out she’d always wanted a coffee machine in her bedroom, but Carol had always said no. The bitch.

As for me, I hadn’t gone overboard. With Cassie and Amy basically taking care of decoration on their own, I was satisfied with my (as of yet) unused portal room in the closet. I’d chipped in with some cool personal touches, like getting this cool Japanese weapon rack to display my spear over the bed, but Cass already had the whole ‘NEET man-cave’ aesthetic down, and I could put any magical tomes in the bookshelves Amy (I) bought. Honestly, I was already living the old me’s dream by having magic and two bisexual girlfriends, so I wasn’t trying to look a horse gift in the mouth.

I was more than satisfied.

The other members had quickly settled into the new place as well, although Aisha made it clear that she’d only be staying in the Palace on weekends and Fridays. It had been somewhat… awkward the first couple nights, considering my new relationship and the fact that Sherrel was my ‘side bitch’ as she loved to put it, but the conversation hadn’t been as painful as I’d thought it would be. It wasn’t entirely painless, of course, but Hidden Intuition was a fucking cheat code at traversing the fickle and mystifying whims of women, and apparently Amy had already heavily suspected things, so I got off relatively easy for my greediness. 

There were terms, of course, but none I couldn’t handle. 

The Garage was well-stocked, Tinker projects were well on their way, and the Atelier was equipped and jam-packed with the best tools and machinery I could find on obscure hobbyist websites. I couldn’t fit a whole smithy inside that room, no matter how big it was, but I damn well could jam in everything else I needed to. With our progress steadily advancing the way it was, I honestly felt like Invictus was putting its best foot forward and rubbing its fucking heel in the shits. The fact that no one in the Bay could stop this glow-up, even if they tried, made it all the sweeter.

When I looked in on Amy happily walking between her new plants in the Garden, each caress making them shine brighter, or I saw Trainwreck fitting that big ass suit of mechanized power armor with even more torque and firepower, or I peeked into the Dojo and watched a passionate Cassie coach Aisha in the best way to cast a simple Firebolt spell, this warm sense of pride and accomplishment filled my body. Personal progress was great, and I loved the feeling I got whenever I received a badass new perk, but there was also something different about watching your loved ones advance due to your own power, teachings, and support. 

It was a heady, addicting feeling; one that I’d never gotten to experience in my old life, so I made sure to cherish it here.

That love for progression found me standing in the Atelier, arms crossed over my chest as I scanned my newest creations with a critical eye. Wood shavings covered my bare torso, splinters actively being pushed out of my skin from idly concentrated healing magic, but I paid the minor annoyances no mind. I’d only studied the art of woodcarving for a couple days now, mainly through online YouTube guide videos, and although I wouldn’t consider myself a master, or even an expert…

Staff of the Green (Epic)

A prodigal woodcarver’s first successful attempt at imbibing power into wood. Beautifully carved from the trunk of a Qhaysh-grown tree, this darkwood staff hums with the earthly power of the Green Wind. Ghyran will more easily, and safely, be attracted to and controlled by those attuned to this staff, and all spells cast through this staff will be more potent as a result of its Qhaysh roots.

Nature’s Longevity (Additional Effect): Those attuned to this staff are blessed by the Green as part of their eternal bond. Any minor wounds, illnesses, aches, and pains are passively healed over time.

The magical artifact hung from a metal rack above my workbench, an almost unnoticeable shell of life energy surrounding its polished black wood. Turned out that using Qhaysh to grow a mountaintop forest imbued the very trees with magic, and in addition to your crafting skill, the quality of material you use when creating Infused items directly impacted its ‘rarity’. The darkwood growing a bit deeper in the mountain had a decent luster to it, although digging into its bark was harder than I’d expected with my strength. 

What better wood to use than something dark, smooth, and magically-charged?

It was a long staff, precisely six feet, and looked pretty fucking good for one of my first ever handmade creations. I couldn’t claim mastery over woodcarving, and I had to discard two experimental pieces where I’d stripped the grain trying to go gung-ho on the detail work, so the final product was relatively simple. Carved to resemble the gnarled, twisting roots of some ancient magical tree, the Staff of the Green wrapped up into an impression that I’d steam molded around a moderately sized emerald cut into the shape of an egg.

Finding a flawless one large enough to suit my needs had been an exercise in patience, but Avalon clout was good for more than stroking my ego. All it had taken was one post on PHO, and 425 bands. Light work for this sugar daddy. I still wasn’t completely confident in understanding how my Infusions worked, but I’d been hoping for something to help Amy with her ascent into the world of witches and wizardry. It was like rolling for good modifiers in roguelike RPGs, cursed to get another item if your roll turned out shit.

Thankfully, on that third try, what I’d gotten was better than anything I could’ve hoped for. It would serve her well.

And as for her second gift…

Witch’s Mortar and Pestle (Rare)

The signature tools of any young witch with an interest in mastering the delicate art of alchemy, this mortar and pestle is made from Qhaysh-grown darkwood, significantly enhancing its connection to the Green. Any ingredients crushed in the mortar will find themselves enriched by the life energy ingrained in the wood, increasing the potency of any effects, positive or negative. 

It sat on the workbench, an ebony-black mortar and pestle made of the same wood as the staff. Magically, it was less impressive than the latter, but there were two paths Amy seemed excited to undertake - magic, and bioengineered herbology. Making her the tools that would help with both seemed more practical than trying to make a flying broomstick. The mortar had taken many tries to get right, but eventually I ended up satisfied with the outcome. The vine-like design around the rim was somewhat plain and unimaginative, but practice made perfect, and one didn’t master the art of woodcarving in mere days.

I was sure she’d like it, and that was all that mattered. And when she finally attuned to the staff, we could finally start her official Ghyran training; actual spellcasting, as opposed to the ‘feel it in the atmosphere’ Jedi Force bullshit I’ve been having her do in the meantime.

“‘Ight, let’s see. Gift wrapping paper…” I reached into the pocket of my sweatpants and opened up my Inventory - a neat little party trick I’d figured out. One mental browse and I was pulling a long roll of festive gift wrap, which I casually tossed in the air. It floated there beneath the power of my magic, plastic tearing off with an idle gesture of my wrist. I motioned to the staff first, and with a hum, it unhooked itself from the metal rack and flew into the wrapping paper, which conformed tightly around the dark wood. 

I’d just begun pulling out bows and tape when a deep, guttural growl rippled its way through the Palace. The workbench rattled against the wall, my bones vibrating beneath my skin as every remaining human instinct in my body warned me to either summon my spear and fight, or fucking die. The half-wrapped staff and wrapping paper fell to the table at my loss of focus.

It was only my own willpower that fought the baser, weaker instincts.

Snowcone is annoyed. Snowcone is wary. Snowcone is warning someone. Someone is approaching.

My eternal companion, the eternally amused whisper of Hidden Intuition, came to the same conclusion I did only fractions of a second faster than me. 

“Jay, we’ve got company!”

The door slammed open, and Cassie slid over the bronze threshold wearing nothing but pink booty shorts and a ‘I’m With Dumber’ off-shoulder top, except the arrow pointed directly up at her. She chewed furiously at a stick of chocolate pocky as she stumbled to a slippery halt in the middle of the Atelier, trying her best to look serious. It was a hard sell, considering her fingertips were stained brown and she was as barefoot as a newborn child, but I allowed the gravitas of the situation to stifle any of my usual jokes.

Snowcone had already been commanded to only hunt animals on the mountain, and to never hurt humans unless explicitly ordered by me. That didn’t mean he couldn’t warn us of intruders.

“What dumbass decided to sneak up the magical, dragon-guarded mountain?” I sighed, tossing my leather working gloves back onto the workbench. With just a mental command, Azyr was ushered from the atmosphere, bringing forth a stiff breeze that blew the sawdust and wood shavings from my skin.

I walked briskly towards the door as the shavings fell to the floor, and Cassie scrambled to keep pace with me.

“The Undersiders,” she replied through a mouthful of crunchy chocolate, reactivating her newly completed MagiLink with the cleaner backside of her wrist. As the visor lit up around her face, the sorceress clicked her teeth and slid her fingers across the space in front of us. The air wavered, bringing with it the feeling of what could only be Illusion Magic and the telltale bite of electricity, before a floating blue screen appeared before me.

With a burst of static, a video appeared. Three people; two women and one man, mounted on top of three huge lizard-like doggies. I recognized one of them immediately - the blonde girl in the purple spandex who was looking quite a bit paler than the last time I’d seen her, but the guy in the skull helmet and the muscular chick in the dog mask were new to me. Bitch and Grue, for sure, but this was my first time actually seeing them.

And they seemed like they were arguing about something, although the audio was muted.

“Y’know how Sherr and I started placing cameras and sensors around the mountain? Just to catch any idiots before they decided to sneak allll the way up to the Palace?” Cassie finished off her pocky just as we cleared the door, and she stared expectantly up at me as we hustled down the Right Wing and made for the main lobby. 

I hummed, nodding my head. “Yeah. Nice lil’ trick, by the way. How’s the new ‘Link?”

She grinned, a glint shining in her dark gaze. “Fucking. Awesome. But I’ll show it to you later - back to the stupidos outside in our backyard. So! The motion trackers caught them, and so did the cameras, but at first I thought it was just the usual wildlife that’s been spawning up here, you know? ‘Cuz of your wild Grrrrrr magic.”

“Ghur. The Chaos Gods’ll smite you if you fuck around like that. And why the hell are you suddenly using Spanish?”

“Sure Jan. Anyways, turns out it was three big ass monster woofers sprinting through our territory at friggin’ seventy miles an hour. They got close to the Palace before I could even check the footage fast enough! I swear I was gonna go out there and throw some Lightning Bolts out at ‘em, but, like, I was preoccupieddd…” Cassie tried to look away ‘guiltily’, but I knew her better than that. The anxious finger-fiddling couldn’t fool me either. 

I glanced down to the Left Wing as we reached the main lobby and  headed straight for the back exit. Distantly, if I focused my hearing and wiggled my ears just a bit, I could hear… muffled gunshots and screams?

“You were playin’ Call to Arms. That’s why you didn’t come out ‘til Snowcone growled at them.” I couldn’t keep the incredulity out of my voice if I tried. "Did you cover the fucking TV with a blanket to muffle the sound?"

Cassie immediately buckled. “Okay, yes, but Jason you can’t fucking pause online matches and I’m literally about to be Prestige 8!”

I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or strangle the nerd. “Cass, Snowcone could’ve eaten them.”

“I put bright yellow ‘Beware of Dragon’ signs EVERYWHERE, Jay! Darwinism! What the fuck are they even here for?”

And wasn’t that the Grade-A question? I told Lisa to get into contact with Iris, not approach my fucking home, but had I ever really expected that girl to fall in line and just follow orders given to her? Not really. Besides, it wasn’t like this was a horrible outcome either. It was still morning time, Sherrel was out doing Sherrel things, Trainwreck was down in the garage and probably hadn’t even realized anything was happening, Aisha was at school, and Amy-

Well, Amy hadn’t exactly said what she’d be going out to do, but she had seemed equal parts nervous and excited. With the experimenting she’d been doing with the limits of her powers, I wasn’t too nervous about the world's strongest biokinetic being out by herself. It was even better for me, since I could surprise her with her gifts once she came back.

Everyone being away this morning meant less headache-inducing posturing and showboating with the fallen villains. I could get them their pity money, pat Lisa on her tight little ass, and send them right back down the mountain. All hopefully with Snowcone not turning them into a Sub-Zero Fatality if they decided to get handsy.

“Just…” I breathed out an exhale, more annoyed that I was amused by Cassie’s antics than I was actually annoyed by them. “Next time let me know beforehand, silly girl. Now c’mon - let's see what they want. Maybe you’ll get to show me your new shit sooner than you’d think.”

Tension bled from Cassie’s body as soon as she saw my expression shift. She elbowed me lightly in the side, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. “Fine. I take the cute blonde in the spandex, you take Mr. Tall, Dark, and Bony?”

My lips quirked up. “What about Bitch and the dogs?”

“… Snowcone’s probably tired of eating deer and rabbits-“

“‘Ight, nevermind. Just let me do the talking, yeah?”

Shaking my head and ignoring my girlfriend/lowkey fiancée’s snorting giggles, I shoved open the backdoor and walked into what had to be the world’s most imbalanced Mexican stand-off. Three teenagers, two car-sized dog, and an Endbringer-sized Frost Dragon walks into a bar. Which one comes out alive?

Guess I’d have to find out.

__________________________________________

A/N:

And we're back! I needed a little break to get my head back on straight and refocus on the main point of this fic, which is to journey the fuckin' multiverse as a mage, but then I got food poisoning for like a week and ended up with all kinds of nausea, stomach pain, and crazy migraines.

I feel better now, though! And was able to write up this pretty chunky chapter, hehe. 8k words ain't that easy to write. Glaze meee.

I know some of you may have some questions, and I can promise you that a lot of them will be answered! Like wasn't Rachel supposed to come here alone?

Yes, she was. But she isn't the smartest, and Lisa wormed her way back in. You'll see how soon enough.

Also... PHO Chapter inbound soon, and it'll probably be the final one until the last few chapters of the Worm Arc.

Anyways, Shinobi's Guide chapter will be up within the next few days as well! These two fics will be my main Patreon fics, so look forward to that.

See you guys soon!