Eric arrived at Bozo’s bottomless bar and walked to the side door.
The flap opened up, revealing the eyes of a security guard. “Password?”
Eric chuckled. “Open sesame.”
Eric casually pushed the door down with immense force. He had stockpiled some energy from D.
Eric walked in and was quickly surrounded by security. Among them was a short man with a scarred face.
The man spoke. “It seems we have a rather rude unwanted guest. Tell me, are you suicidal or just stupid?”
Eric chuckled “just stupid.”
The man smiled. “Show this stupid guest of ours the finest hospitality.”
One of the men stepped forward.
Eric spoke. “Fair warning, I would surrender if I were you.”
The man scoffs.
Eric shrugs. “Well, I can't say I didn't warn you.”
The man breathes plasma at eric, which eric instantly absorbs.
Eric grabbed the man and broke his neck in one motion. One of the other men stepped forward and tried to strike eric. Eric quickly grabbed the man by the face and released all the plasma he had absorbed into his mouth, melting him. One by one, eric killed the numerous guards.
Once all the guards had died, eric approached the scarred man. The man didn't appear to be even slightly afraid.
Eric towered over the man. “Now that the unpleasantness is over, we can get down to brass tacks.”
The man chuckled. “I'm afraid that the unpleasantness has only begun. I require your services, johnny.” a tall skinny man appeared next to eric before he could even react.
The man looked toward the club owner. “You got the money?” the man spoke with a thick Boston accent and loudly chewed bubble gum.
The club owner nodded. “Of course I do. Just take care of this guy.”
Johnny looked at eric and smiled. “This ain't nothing personal. Just business. And johnny quick is the best in the business.”
Jonny threw thousands of punches in a single second, and all of them were absorbed by eric.
Eric used the energy and directed it to his arm, and he struck the ground with enough force to knock johnny off his feet. As johnny fell to the ground, eric grabbed his neck and broke it.
The scarred man started to sweat.
Eric sighed. “Anything else?”
The man nodded. “Yeah. Me. They always say that if you want something done well, do it yourself. With my power, I’ll destroy you.”
Eric thought quickly. “Looking at his general demeanor, I can guess he has a destructive power. Perhaps, energy blasts or telekinesis.”
The scarred man lifts eric into the air. “I’m gonna get every penny of what you cost me back in blood.” he says cruelly.
Eric continues to think. “So it's telekinesis. Or it could be blood manipulation.” just as eric is about to strike back, he is flung into the floor hard. The impact didn’t harm him, but he was being pushed to the ground for the moment.
Eric thought again. “Gravity manipulation, perhaps?” as he thought about it, the chairs and tables began floating.
Eric was getting annoyed. He joked in his head. “Maybe his power is whatever I’m thinking it is.” just as he thought, all the chairs fell to the ground, and the pressure pushing down on him dissipated.
The scarred man looked terrified. “How did you figure out my power?”
Eric looks at him with judgmental eyes. “That’s your power? You have the power your opponent thinks you have? That’s fuckin weird.”
The scarred man chuckles nervously. “I’m sure we can come to an understanding.”
Eric laughed. “That is why I’m here, and I came to offer you a deal.” eric pulls his hood down, revealing his face.
The scarred man is shocked and confused. “Primarch? But how you had no powers?”
Eric smiles. “Had being the key operative. I want to make a deal with you, Mikey. I’ll unite all the underground fighting rings in the city under you, and in exchange, I get 50% of the profits. Originally it was 20%, but then you tried to kill me.”
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The scarred man calmed down. “You could have just asked instead of killing a quarter of my men. Before I agree, I need to know if you have a proper method to clean the money. I don't plan to go down because you got sloppy.”
Eric grinned. He always knew Mikey was a proper businessman. He showed him the website, and Mikey was pleased.
“It sounds like a deal, kid. When can I expect you to be finished taking control of the other four clubs?”
Eric laughed. “It's already done.”
D walked through the door carrying a bag. He threw the bag to the ground in front of Mikey, and four severed heads rolled out.
D spoke. “The remaining members of the other four fight clubs have all sworn loyalty to you.”
Eric chuckled. “This is d. He's quite skilled. He's saved my life numerous times and ended it on more.”
Mikey shook D’s hand.
Eric’s smile faded. “There is something you should know.”
D’s grip tightened.
“If you ever try to fuck me over, well, show him d.”
D punched a hole clear through Mikey’s heart.
Mikey collapsed to the ground as his consciousness faded, only to reawaken moments later.
Mikey was covered in sweat. “What…what happened? Some illusion power or something?”
Eric cackled. “I can see why you would think that, but no. you died.” eric handed him the heart D had ripped from his chest. “You see, my friend here can bring the dead back to life. It's quite the parlor trick, and unfortunately, it has the downside of only working within 3 minutes of a person's death.”
Mikey looked awestruck. “Why are you telling me this?”
Eric motioned to the heads. “D show him what happens after 3 minutes.”
D complied and cut his finger. A single drop of blood dripped into one of the severed head’s open mouths. Within moments the entire body had healed and stood up.
It spoke frantically. “Where is the light? I must find the light. I have to get the light to stop the encroaching darkness. Please TELL ME WHERE THE LIGHT IS.” the man kept ranting like this for a few moments before his body began to glow for a moment. “Is this the light?” the man said just before fading into dust.
Mikey was horrified. “What on earth was that?”
D explained. “I don't know for sure, but after 3 minutes pass, the person is usually insane. They turn to dust shortly after. And unless you want that to happen to you, you'll do only as you are told. Is that clear?”
Mikey nodded vigorously. “I understand.”
Eric and D left. Mikey had a mental breakdown.
Eric used D’s connections to various underworld brokers to make them offers they couldn't refuse.
Over the next few days, eric had managed to take over the drugs, weapons, and prostitution rings. He would always offer the same deal—completely eliminating all competition in exchange for unwavering subservience and 50% of the profits. By the time he was finished, the entire city of new san Francisco belonged to him.
But this was only the beginning.
After eric had finished tying up all the loose ends, he received a call from Nathan.
Nathan spoke with seriousness. “The meeting is in the abandoned shopping center, and they said to come alone. Eric, these people are dangerous, so don't act up.”
Eric chuckled. “I own this city, it's my home. And it's about time they started paying rent.”
Eric did as instructed and went to the long-abandoned mall on the city’s edge. He walked in and was quickly ambushed from behind. They put a bag over his head and tried to shove him into the back of a van, and he was having none of it.
He removed the bag from his head and looked at the man who had ambushed him. “I’ll get in the van if you want, but if you think I’m putting that dirty ass bag on my head, you’re a fuckin idiot.” eric stepped into the van and laid down. After about an hour of driving, he got bored and slept. The other men were shocked by his nonchalance.
Eric awoke to the sound of the van door opening and shouting.
“What the fuck? Why isn’t the bag on his head?”
“Look, I tried, and he nearly broke my arm. Besides, he was asleep for most of the ride.”
Eric got up and walked past the two men.
The one who opened the door ran after him.
“Wait, you can’t go yet. You have to put these on.”
The man was holding handcuffs.
Eric laughed and let the man handcuff him.
Eric chuckled. “Okay, is that all?” the man nodded.
Eric was guided through what seemed to be a highly advanced military base until he came to a large door.
The man who had guided him stopped. “Through there are the leaders of the resistance. Treat them with respect.”
Eric ignored him and opened the door.
Inside were only three people. One was a tall, lanky man with silver hair and dull grey eyes, and the other was a short red, headed woman. The final person was a small but fit man with even darker hair than eric’s.
Eric walked in and closed the door behind him.
The skinny man spoke first. “We have heard your offer, and I’m afraid-”
Eric broke out of the handcuffs as if they were made of wet toilet paper and sat down. “The offer just became a demand.” eric spoke with an authority only kings held.
Eric pulled a cigar out of his pocket. Eric never used to smoke because he wanted to be in peak condition, but since he had met D, he had taken up the habit. He summoned a little fire he had absorbed and lit his cigar.
The other people in the room had shocked expressions, except for the skinny man, whose expression remained unchanged. “We were under the impression that you had no powers.”
Eric smiled and puffed the cigar. “You believe many things that aren’t true. You believe I have nothing to offer you. Clearly, you don't need the money. And with the size of your operation, you don't need any more manpower. But I can tell you what you need. An ace.”
The redheaded woman looked confused. “An ace?”
The skinny man explained. “He means a trump card. What makes you think you can be our “ace,” as you put it?”
Eric explains his power.
The other two leaders are awestruck when eric explains what he can do.
The redhead was in disbelief. In contrast, the dark-haired man was skeptical.
“If you have such a powerful ability, why do you need us?
Eric speaks frankly. “I don't. Working with you will reduce how long it takes for my inevitable ascension. If you’re worried, I’ll become a tyrannical despot like my shithead father; worry not. I don't particularly care about governing the world. The knowledge that I own it is enough for me. Once I own it, the only real thing I would do is funnel money into technological advancement and space travel, as both have stagnated for too long. But as for the laws and economic system, do whatever. Make it a horrid dystopia or a wonderful heaven on earth. I couldn’t care less.”
The resistance leaders bickered among themselves for a while before coming to a decision.
As usual, the skinny man spoke. “this isn’t something we can decide alone. We need to contact the patriot.”
The redhead typed on the large monitor, and a face shrouded in shadow appeared.