"Quiet. He's right" - Tattletale interrupted. - "He really did kill Lung. But there's something else. Ow!"

Tattletale clutched her head and groaned.

"Listen up..." - I began to outline my demands.

But before I could continue, Taylor ran up behind me with a helmet on her head.

"The Magnificent Bee is here to punish evildoers!" - she declared, striking a 'heroic' pose. In reality, she looked like a drunken clown at a children's party.

Angry bees buzzed around, causing the Undersiders to tense up far more than when they encountered me. They knew well what could happen when facing this 'heroine'. They had been 'investigating' this case, and Tattletale had been trying to track down the 'victims of bee justice'. Bitch's dogs bared their teeth and growled, showing their impressive rows of teeth.

I sighed in resignation and continued my speech.

"Undersiders, you have two options. Either you become my subordinates and act for the city's salvation, or I'll kill you all. Let Lung, rest in peace, be an example of what happens to those who oppose me. Now get lost, I'm not in the mood for chit-chat."

"You stole our money from Lung" - Grue accused.

"Ha-ha! Since when is it yours? You're at fault for arriving after me. Moreover, I generously solved your problems with Lung, which you got into of your own stupidity. And what do I get in return? Baseless accusations and extortion? I'll crush you."

To underscore my words, the insects buzzed twice as loudly and started to 'patrol' right next to the villains' ears, making them despair at the thought of what would happen if the whole swarm began to sting.

"We're leaving" - Tattletale commanded.

Grue looked at her, nodded in agreement, and the whole circus troupe retreated into the darkness. Moments later, Taylor's legs suddenly gave out, and she fell disgracefully to the ground. Luckily, no one saw it.

"Well, have you had enough heroics?" - I smirked. - "If that dog had attacked you, it would have bitten your head off in a second. No bee could stitch it back on."

"I... I... got it..." - she stammered.

"Get up and let's go. Your job is not to strut around in a tight costume, but to quietly and modestly help from the rear."

"But I want to..." - Taylor trailed off, struggling as always to understand what she really wanted.

"Do you want fame, honors, and adoring looks from boys in tight suits?" - I voiced her secret thoughts.

"I... I..."

"Enough, let's go. You can dream about it in the bathroom at home. We've done enough for tonight."

We got to the car and drove to the civilized part of the city. On the way, it finally dawned on me that although my shard seemed to have been replaced, I still perceived the world directly, not through sight. I had gotten so used to this way of perceiving that I had long forgotten it could be different. Actually, I had always had this ability if I could use magic or psionics. Maybe it's somehow connected. Or perhaps I managed to transfer some qualities of my previous 'passenger' to the shard. In any case, it required some investigation.

When we got home, we decided to have a little snack. Nighttime adventures worked up an appetite, and a couple of sandwiches before bed helped calm down. Taylor was cooking, and I sat at the table, figuring out how my new shard worked.

"Dad, I don't recognize you lately" - Taylor began another heart-to-heart talk. - "You're turning into some kind of monster."

Stolen story; please report.

"Some kind of monster? Like this?" - I clarified, activating my newly acquired shapeshifting ability.

Lung needed to 'go into a battle rage' to activate his power. But I could control the shard with willpower. Within a couple of seconds, I turned into an anthropomorphic crocodile with a phalanx of sharp teeth.

Taylor turned around at that moment and saw me.

"A-a-a-a-a-a!!! A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!!!! A-a-a-a!" she screamed, seeing the monster.

"Don't scream, not at home. And no screaming at home" - I calmed her.

"Dad?" - Taylor stared at me with wide eyes.

"Who else were you expecting to see here?" - I responded, returning to my human form.

"So, you're a cape too?"

"You only just figured that out?" - I smirked. - "And didn't the training to develop your superpower clue you in?"

"Well... I didn't really think about it."

"It's clear that thinking isn't your strong suit. Alright, enough talking. Serve the food, or I'll eat you."

I transformed into a crocodile again and licked my lips predatorily.

"Not funny!" - Taylor said, placing a plate of eggs with bacon and cheese sandwiches in front of me. But she moved a little farther away just in case.

"Since I've turned into a monster, it's funny to me. Ha-ha."

We had dinner and went to our rooms to get some sleep.

Over the next couple of days, I trained my new shard, bringing it to peak form. With its help, I could now transform into a fire-breathing humanoid crocodile. In this form, my clothes would 'miraculously' disappear and reappear after I reverted. It was very convenient. Another feature was that when I transformed, I didn't just become a monster but also got armor made of a durable metal covering my body, which was already protected by tough scales. And this 'death machine' was covered in fire, capable of melting... tin. Unfortunately, the fire's temperature wasn't very high. But I learned to control the fire and direct its streams at the enemy with just a wave of my hand.

The most important aspect of this ability was that after transforming, I could continue to grow, turning into a Godzilla-like creature. In a deserted area, I managed to reach a height of fifty meters, and that wasn't the limit. With such dimensions, I could eat an Endbringer like a sardine. Another positive side of this werewolf ability was that initially, Danny was quite a weak guy. But if I activated the transformation by only ten percent, it turned my body into an ideal for any bodybuilder—ripped muscles, no fat, and a hundred kilograms of muscle mass.

On Tuesday evening, I conducted a deal to acquire three containers loaded with rare metals. Here, my support came from replicators disguised as humans. The 'sellers' of this cargo were eager to get the money without giving anything in return. I took the form of a three-meter crocodile looming over the pathetic humans, baring my sharp teeth. The villains were impressed and promised they could supply any amount of materials as long as they were paid in cash.

After that, the replicators finally got to work properly. The first thing they did was implement several of my long-awaited projects.

The most important was creating nanometer-sized replicators. Until then, the replicators used blocks five millimeters in size. They couldn't be made smaller. But with rare earth metals, I could create real replicators as intended.

Once the needed number of small replicators was created, I... implanted them in my brain and made them create a neural network, allowing my brain and computer to merge directly. Now I no longer needed a smartphone or headphones to receive messages from the replicators. Not to mention my reaction speed, thinking, and data analysis abilities increased dramatically.

The third program point was developing high-tech armor for me and my subordinates. At the moment, Taylor was my only subordinate, but that would soon change. This armor not only protected against most weapons but also slightly enhanced the wearer, with built-in targeting systems, night vision, and communication. In addition to the armor came kinetic weapons like a rifle capable of piercing a light tank. For especially trusted subordinates, a 'paralyzer' was developed, able to knock out or even kill almost any cape with a directed energy pulse.

In general, my technological capabilities skyrocketed, and now I could only hope that no techie would be able to hack the security system embedded in the suits, weapons, and every block of the replicators. Precedents like the Simurgh completely did not please me. Of course, with a high probability, the Simurgh's ability to intercept the control of tech devices was based on 'replacing' the source of the control signal from the tinker’s shard to herself. But the possibility that she could directly influence technology shouldn't be dismissed.

On Wednesday morning, I went to the Dockworkers Association. There, the entire core 'team' greeted me.

"Danny? You’re almost unrecognizable" - Kurt said as he approached me.

"Yeah, I asked a cape I know to add some muscle" - I replied, showing off my impressive bicep.

"Capes?" - My conversation partner didn’t seem thrilled by this news.

"Yes. Do you really think we have a chance to change anything without some kind of miracle?" - I asked.

"Well, if you think about it, a miracle is pretty much what we need."