Bartholomew Lorne's Apartment.
Thanks to Jabir Ibn Hayan's global spanning spy network, finding out who's the one behind the whole social media uproar was painfully quick.
All Theo needed to do was ask Pani and she answered after 30 minutes. Naturally, they had to ask Jabir's permission to access the information, to which he gave an affirmative answer.
The culprit was the founder of the Allies of Justice located in their main office in Broadway. Her name really didn't matter nor was she a threat that needed immediate attention.
She was so irrelevant that Ms. Samantha volunteered to take her out because she had business in a nearby vicinity.
The founder will die from 'drug overdose' in 3 days. A common cause of death to the Broadway elites that had too much money and too much time in their hands.
'What of the riots?' you ask?
He really could not care less.
If the politicians of these 5 cities refused to allow their police to do their job, then their cities deserved to burn.
Sucks to be those citizens living in these cities, but if they were stupid enough to vote in those idiot politicians into power, then they got what they deserved.
He'll completely ignore the script of the Allies of Justice and let nature take its course.
Till then, Theo would have to endure the social media barrage.
Fun fact: He didn't even feel any inconvenience.
Never was he so happy to be completely uninterested in the whole internet market place.
This allowed him to focus on what really mattered.
Namely moving his base of operations to a foreign land.
Initially, he wanted to go to the Dictatorship of Wadiya in Alkebulan.
He already used one of its military bases as a target to test fire the BFG 1.0. Might as well finish the job right?
Ms. Samantha convinced him otherwise.
He was too flashy in the whole Zifang incident and going even bigger would probably push those who were already cautious about him over the edge.
No matter how powerful his faction has become, it was still a bug in the grander scheme of things. Getting squashed was a very real possibility.
As such, Theo decided on another target.
One that was not in any map and the genocide of its people would not even leave a footnote in history.
But most importantly, their deaths would have a tangible effect for the greater good of humanity.
He was speaking of the Norscan Warriors and their civilization that focused on raiding and pillaging.
He'll need to go to Nosferatu's realm where the Volsung clan has relocated and get their cooperation in order to enter the invisible isles once more.
That's for a later date.
Right now, he needed to cover his tracks.
Here's a question for the readers.
What was Theo's greatest weakness?
Him being human?
Close but not quite.
His overconfidence?
Correct, but not exactly.
The answer was simple.... his family.
Unlike most superheroes, he had no tragic backstory where his family was slaughtered by some lunatic.
His family was alive and well.... and could easily be used as hostages by his enemies.
This was a weakness he needed to remedy before he could do the big moves.
As such, he decided to do what was right and tell his brother exactly what was about to go down.
Naturally, Bartholomew Lorne was none to pleased.
His eldest brother was a kind and honest man that lived in peace. He was not like Theo who was drenched in the intrigues and violence of Vermilion City.
Thus it was to no one's surprise that Theo's reason for visiting pissed off the otherwise calm man.
At the moment, Theo was groveling in front of Barth.
He was on his knees, his head was on the floor and he looked like he was begging for his life.
Barth rarely got angry, but when he did, the death glares would make even the denizens of hell think twice of crossing his path.
Theo was terrified.
Unlike the monsters he faced in battle, this was a dread he could not shoot at or run away from. Thus making it 10 times more horrifying than it actually was.
Barth was so terrifying that even his wife, the aggressive tomboy Meredith Lorne, could not help but shiver in fright.
This was quite a bad episode for a woman who was heavily pregnant with quadruplets.
"Let me get this straight. You want me to abandon my life's work to move to Lord Nosferatu's realm along with our parents to avoid being targeted by your enemies?" asked Barth
"Yes brother. I'm leaving Vermilion City you see. I can no longer guarantee your family's safety. And its pretty much a guarantee that they'll use you to get to me." replied the still groveling Theo.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU GO AROUND STICKING YOUR NECK INTO OTHER'S BUSINESS?! BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPIDITY, MY WIFE AND YET TO BE BORN CHILDREN IS ALREADY IN DANGER!"
"I'm sorry!"
"SHUT UP! BECAUSE OF YOU-?!"
"Barth! Calm down!" Mary interrupted Barth before he could go into full nag mode.
Though shaking in rage, Barth took a few deep breathes until he finally calm down.
At this time, Mary spoke to Theo.
"Please understand where hubby is coming from Theo. The things we hear about you from the news are hard to wrap our minds around. While the likes of FNN are as reliable as the 3rd rate crap made from the Jade Empire, we cant help but believe it when there are no alternate explanations. Can you at least tell us exactly what happened."
"Sure. Ask and I shall answer." replied Theo.
Naturally, he was about to bullshit his way out of this mess.
"Good. Let me ask you about recent events. Why did you kidnap the Imperial Princess?"
"Because the former Zifang Emperor hired me to do so, and you don't say no to a guy like that. Besides, its not kidnapping if the Princess herself wanted to be taken away. If you guys want, we can head to my place and you can talk to her personally."
"Eh? For real?"
"Yup. We can go after our talk if you want." said Theo before taking out his phone. "Here's what Xiao Ning looks like right this moment."
The Lorne couple stared at a live video feed of Xiao Ning in her undies playing some MMO with a PC provided by Theo. A few seconds later, she began screaming at her team for being a bunch of noobs and told them to go suck their mother's tits.
"You have her in constant surveillance?" asked Barth.
"With her consent of course. She knows that the Jade Empire has put a bounty on her 'safe return' back to the empire. Not wanting to return to being another political bargaining chip, Xiao Ning entered into a contract with me. In exchange for a lazy shut in lifestyle for the rest of her mortal life, she provided me with info of the empire's internal power structure, political environment, etc."
"Isnt she getting the short end of the stick?"
"Oh, and she gets to stay with her new boyfriend Vivi."
""Oh."" said Barth and Mary in unison.
It was well known and well documented that Vivi's dick was nicknamed the 'Master Key' for its ability to enter any hole without any difficulty.
"*sigh*.... Another of his victims huh. How big is his harem now?" asked Mary.
"Including Xiao Ning, I think its about 72." replied Theo with his chest puffed.
As fellow men of culture, he was very proud of his friends accomplishment.
"I'll never understand this obsession with harems." said Barth. "Anyways, let's move on. What about the Eldorado Incident. That was the one that really got you in people's radars."
"Just like in Zifang. I was hired by the now President Miguel Baroque to clean up the drug infestation in his country."
"The way you said it, its as if you're a mercenary that will do anything if the price is right."
"It only looks that way because those filth in the media keeps hyping the most explosive incidents up. They conveniently ignore my more than 1 year partnership with the Ecclesiarchy to provide free cybernetics to any children with severe injuries. Or how about the public works my company has been doing over the years in many 3rd world countries. Did you hear about those?"
"No.... Cant say I have."
"That's exactly my point brother. You only know of the bad side of my misadventures because they're a spectacle. But those, along with the less bombastic projects of mine, are always guided by my one and only desire to make the world a better place."
"A-and how many people must you kill for that desire of yours?" asked the clearly unnerved Barth.
The thought of softening his convictions did cross his mind, he decided against it.
They'll find out soon enough.
Might as well hit them hard now rather than in the future.
"If it is the lives of the innocent, I will do my best to aim for a zero death run. It's physically impossible but that wont stop me from trying. If it is criminals, then I'd gladly sacrifice all of them."
"God... Do you know what you sound like?"
"A murderous monster. What of it?"
"So you're self aware. And you're fine with that?"
"Of course I am. I chose this path and whatever end it may lead me to."
"Even if you endanger your love ones?" asked Barth with a very scary glare.
He was probably thinking that this was a checkmate phrase that would make Theo doubt his convictions.
Unfortunately for his kind hearted brother, Theo was trained by the worlds greatest liar. He may not have 1/8 of Ms. Samantha's bullshiting powers, but he was still leagues above your average Joe.
He has long prepared a script to counter such a phrase.
"Yes. Even if I have to endanger you. Anyone who cant risk those whom they hold dear for their cause does not believe in said cause."
"Is that so?! We hold no value to you?! Are you that inhumane?!"
"When did I said you're worthless to me? Why do you think I'm making so much effort to get your family out of here before shit really hits the fan? I even convinced an extremely powerful person to escort you."
"IS THAT SUPPOSE TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!"
"Of course. This is Lord Corlo Nosferatu himself that's going to be your bodyguard you know? He's pretty up there with Omegaman in terms of power."
The couple collectively gasped.
The closest they got to such a monster when some superhuman crashed into their store in desperate attempt to escape Omegaman.
Sharing a god knows how long flight with one of the most powerful beings in the world was no laughing matter.
"Let's make this clear bro. While I do risk your life when I pursue my ideals, I do give you the best possible protection." said Theo.
"H-huh? While the whole Nosferatu thing does give your words weight, we have lived in this city for so long and nothing bad has ever happened to us. I doubt we ever needed your protection." replied Barth.
"Err..... Sorry to burst your bubble dear, but Theo is right. We've been under his protection for at least 5 months now." said Mary, much to Barth's surprise.
"For real?"
"Yep. For real. As far as I know, there's at least 3 5-man team observing us at any given time. The first time I met one of them was about 5 months ago when I was about to get mugged. I may have some kick ass cybernetics, but I couldn't move the way I wanted to since I was pregnant. Before anything could happen, one of Theo's creepy maids appeared out of nowhere and sliced the man lengthwise with those HF blades of his. A few more random looking people came in and disposed of the body before I could put a word in."
"Huh? You never told me that!"
"I thought it was one of Vermilion Cities many insanity so I thought nothing of it. But once I started focusing my awesomely amazing instincts, I realized that we have been at the receiving end of a fair number of murderous intent. And like clockwork, those murderous intent suddenly disappears in a day or two."
"As sis just said, your peaceful days is a product of the stalwart protection of my men. You were always in danger in this cesspit of a city, I just made sure that those dangers end up dead before they could do anything to you." said Theo.
"Hmm.... Did you do this to our parents as well."
"Of course. Even now, they have a secret escort that could fight a small war."
"Even if they're already in Nosferatu's realm? Isn't that a bit too much?"
"The dark side of this world is a horrible place my brother. The things these people can do to another human being is beyond disgusting. I don't care if you call me paranoid, but I am not going to let anyone of you experience what I have seen."
"I see.... At the very least, I know your love for the family is genuine."
"I have made no effort to hide that I love you guys very much."
"While I thank you for that, there is one thing I would like to make sure." said Barth with a serious expression.
Clearly this was another 'checkmate' statement.
Theo had a few guesses as to what it was, so he wasn't particularly worried.
"Sure bro. Lay it on me." replied Theo.
"What if I told you that I didn't want to leave Vermilion City. Would you respect my will?"
Theo internally danced with joy.
This was the best possible question Barth could ask. Because the answer would make perfectly clear how weak of a position his older brother occupied.
Theo followed his predetermined script.
"Since Sis has my cybernetics, I can simply turn it off. She wont be able to resist and she wont get hurt." said Theo in a cold and mechanical manner. "As for you, I'll drug you, tie you up and throw you in the plane. If you try to resist, I'll break enough of your bones to make you compliant."
"Y-you..... You know I'll hate you for that right?"
"If being reviled by my brother ensures that my future niece and nephews actually has a father, then its a small price to pay."
Barth flinch at Theo's perfectly crafted counter.
He is the disciple of the worlds greatest bullshitter! No way some mook can match him in a war of words!
"*sigh*.... Fine.... You win. How long do I got." said a defeated Barth.
"My company will completely pull out of Vermilion City in 5 days. You have 2 days to do what you need to do." replied.
"I see.... Not a lot of time..."
While Barth and Mary began talking to each other of what to do, Theo recieved a message from Lord of Vermilion.
'Lorne! The entire city is in a buzz and it's somehow related to you! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!'
"Well.... Shit.... Here we go again."