When the weekend finally came, Marty found himself in the parking lot of the local mall. After a short time, a van that was driven by a familiar maid pulled up and parked next to him. From it came all the girls, plus Amanda.
“What a big building,” Morgan said as she exited the van.
“It’s the biggest mall in the area,” Amanda added as she exited behind her. “This one is my… Ah!” She exclaimed while she pointed at Marty with a look of surprise on her face. “Marty? What are you doing here?”
“I’m their guardian,” Marty replied as Shiro and Cali, who wore matching white and black outfits, took his hands.
For a couple of seconds, Amanda gave him a slight scowl. “Aren’t you spending a little too much time with the three perverts?”
“I am, but what does it have to do with... I, I see.” Marty replied as he exaggerated feigned ignorance. “We haven’t known each other for very long, but they took a liking to me, so I decided to take care of them.”
Amanda relaxed slightly as the smile on Shiro’s face and the look of contentment from Cali abated her worries.
“You should be thanking him,” Anna interjected. “If it weren’t for him, we would not have been able to come. Typically, Offworlders require more time to integrate before they’re allowed into society.”
“Seriously?” Amanda asked, surprised. “Well, thank you. Let’s go.” She says with a smile as we make our way into the mall.
...
For the next hour, Amanda proceeded to give the girls the grand tour. Marty didn’t do much, but he was pleased to watch their curiosity at things he had always taken for granted.
“What are these?” Cali asked as she pointed at the legs of a mannequin in a window.
“I think those are called kneesocks,” Marty replied.
She continued to stare for a couple of seconds until the end of her dress began to turn to black dust as it shortened and her socks elongated to make a black version of what was on the mannequin.
“That was incredible Cali!” Amanda said after she gathered herself. “How did you do that?”
“I’ve always been able to do that,” Cali replied bluntly contrasted by the cuteness of her head tilt.
“I’d say we should probably try not to stand out, but our party composition doesn’t allow that,” Marty said with a sigh as he had noticed all the agape eyes around them.
They continued for a short while before they came to a store that specializes in women’s clothes. Marty opted to stay outside the store and fiddle with his phone to pass the time. After about 10 minutes had passed, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a ghost from his past. A young lady with short and curly brunette hair walked nearby with her friends. They seemed to be at the mall to kill time together. She saw him but didn’t recognize him for a few seconds. Her friends noticed something as they both looked at Marty as well. After they had whispered to each other for a couple of seconds, they began to make their way to him.
“Hey there.” One of the brunette’s friends said with a hint of seduction. “Would you like to keep us company?”
“Sorry, I’ll have to pass,” Marty replied bluntly as his eyes remained glued to his phone.
“Come on,” the other began. “What could be better than hanging out with three pretty girls?”
“Hanging out with four or five.”
“Let’s go,” the brunette said as she pulled them.
“Fine.” One of her friends said with a sigh. “I just thought you liked the look of this guy.”
“The past tense appropriate,” Marty replied. “Isn’t that right, Sam?”
“Oh, so you know him.”
“We were friends,” Sam replied softly.
“Were, huh?” Marty replied with a sigh. “That’s fine then, given that everyone just decided to ignore my existence.”
“... I’m sorry.”
“You just contradicted yourself.”
“Come on, Sam,” one of her friends interjected as she grabbed Sam’s arm. “This guy’s not worth our time.”
*Ding Ding Ding*
The store alarm went off as Shiro came out in a sprint toward Marty. “Marty, do these make me look cute?” She asked sweetly and innocently while she took a pose to show off the blue ribbon in her hair next to her ear and the one tied to her tail.
“Nope,” Marty replied deadpan. Her face went a little sad as he broke into a smile and placed his hand on her head as he began to pet her. “You were already cute, to begin with. That makes you cuter.”
“Shiro! You are not supposed to leave the store with items before you pay for them.” Amanda lightly scolded.
“That’s quite alright.” A female employee said as she came out of the store, followed by the other girls. Her expression and the emotions Marty felt made him a little unsettled.
“I’ll pay for them,” Marty said with a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda began when she saw the three young woman near him. “Did we interrupt something?”
“No. Goodbye.” One of Sam’s friends said with an angry expression as the three of them turned around to leave.
“Who were they?” Amanda asked after they were out of earshot.
“No one. If everything is settled in the store, how about we go and buy cell phones.”
“But I want to show them a couple more stores.”
“Fine,” Marty replied with a sigh.
“My balloon!” A young boy exclaimed nearby as his balloon began to float away. In the next instant, Shiro darted toward it, jumped on a nearby chair to a table. From there, she jumped up a stall, up to a support pillar, and used her momentum to launch herself at the balloon. In one swift motion, she snatched up the balloon, landed on her feet, did a forward roll, and stopped just a few feet in front of the young boy. She looked up at the balloon and then at the boy before she extended her hand with the balloon out to him with a smile. Slightly dumbfounded, the boy hesitantly took the balloon just before his mother began to pull him away. The look of panic on her face was clear for everyone to see.
“Don’t worry about it,” Marty said as he knelt next to Shiro and took her hand. The look the boy’s mother gave her had upset her.
“If she is afraid of you, be a person that is not someone to fear. However, I think she’s more afraid her son would be Abducted if he associated with us. Don’t worry about it.”
Shiro nodded her head as they both noticed that the boy had turned around. He had begun wave at her with a smile, unbeknownst to his mother.
“Say, Marty.”
“Yes?”
“Can I have one of those?” Shiro asked with sparkles in her eyes as she pointed toward the balloon.
“Of course,” Marty replied with a chuckle after a momentary surprise.
“Yay!” She exclaimed as they made their way to a nearby stall.
...
“I’ve never had cold sweets before,” Morgan said as she held a bowl of frozen yogurt after they had finished their shopping.
“If you don’t hurry up and eat it, it won’t remain cold for long,” Marty teased.
“Shut up and let me enjoy this,” She replied just before she took a spoonful quickly anyway. “It’s so good!”
The others all nodded and mumbled an agreement as were fully immersed in their own.
“Say, Marty, what type of girls do you like?” Amanda asked, which practically caused Morgan and Caelia to bite through their spoons.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“It helps if they are cute, but ultimately, I like the type of girl who loves me.”
“I love you!” Shiro said without missing a beat.
“Thank you,” Marty replied as he gave her a quick pat on her head.
“That seems vague.” Amanda continued with a look of interest. “Were there any similarities in your past girlfriends?”
“I can’t exactly say I’ve ever had a proper girlfriend.”
“Really? Oh right. Didn’t you say that you had a fian-... I’m sorry. I just remembered.”
“It’s all right,” Marty replied as Amanda put her head down. After a couple of seconds, she looked back up as she tried to figure out what to say next. “Ah!” She exclaimed as she pointed at Morgan. “I just remembered why I thought your hair color look familiar.”
“Really?” Asked Morgan confused.
“That’s because it was a painting of her sister,” Marty replied as he found no reason to the charade.
“I see, wait. That means you went to the same world that they were a part of?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just say so?”
“Because I don’t want any unnecessary attention. My intelligence puts me in the spotlight too often anyway.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” She continued before she took a bite of her yogurt. Just after she did so, her eyes shot open again. “But wait, if she is Morgan sister, then wouldn’t she also be a princess? How on earth did you manage that?”
“Well, I was given status quite quickly.”
She looked at Shiro glued to his side. “Wait, if Shiro so attached to you, does that mean you were The Hero?”
“… Aren’t you supposed to be an airhead?”
“How rude!” She continued flustered. “Then how strong are you? If you’re training Shiro, you must be at least as strong as her, not an F Rank.”
“He’ll spar with the four of us, and we can’t beat him.” Caelia finally admitted.
“Seriously?” Amanda retorted with a look of surprise and slight panic. “You girls are all ranked B. That means he has to be around Rank A if not higher, not F!”
“Keep your voice down,” Marty casually said as he had noticed more stares than usual. “Aside from the level of ability, there’s no difference between the two classes, and I’d rather not be separated from them.”
“That’s nice. So you can beat all four of them?”
“No, it always ends in a draw because they cover each other so well, and I can’t hurt the girls I love,” Marty replied with a soft smile.
Caelia and Morgan both froze up, and not from the frozen yogurt.
“That was… Blunt.” Amanda replied, a little surprised. “Wait. Caelia, does that make him your…” Caelia nodded her head as Amanda looked between her and Martel. “But…”
“What? You’ve never heard of a harem before?” Marty asked quietly as he softly returned Shiro’s hug while she beamed with an innocent and happy expression.
“Does that mean that all of you…”
“I’m not!” Morgan interjected as she stood up and banged her hand on the table.
Much to her confusion, at some unseen signal, all of them began to laugh.
...
“Do you girls mind if we go to the bank across the street before we leave?” Marty asked them as they prepared to leave the mall. “I’d like it if the Offworlders learn how our banking system works.”
“That’s fine by me,” Amanda replied as the other girls all nodded in affirmation.
In a short amount of time, they arrived at the bank.
“Girls, wait in the lobby for a bit. I’m going to go to the restroom, withdraw some cash, check the trust fund, and then we can go home.” Marty said as he went to the bathroom.
Just as he began to wash his hands, he heard something that made his heart sink.
*Bang bang bang bang* “Everybody, move to the far side of the bank! Any funny business and I’ll start shooting people!”
“Don’t do anything stupid, girls.” Marty prayed under his breath. He was grateful that there were no cameras in the bathroom, so if he needed to reveal his real strength, he wouldn’t risk observation. He silently opened the door just a crack as he extended his consciousness, which he had only recently learned. He had opened the door as he had found it to be more challenging to pass through solid objects. He closed his eyes and focused as he began to experience something similar to an out of body experience. His vision became something a little more ghostly as his consciousness slipped through the door. Through his mind’s eye, he saw a group of individuals who wore nylon masks as they led individuals to the back of the bank. Thankfully, Amanda had taken control of the girls and had them all comply. Given that Marty had already introduced them, the girls knew how dangerous guns were.
Marty brushed his consciousness up against Amanda’s and met with the wall of mental force. He kept his conscience there for a couple of seconds as he began to divide his attention to the other girls. Finally, her mental wall began to lessen, and he slipped into her consciousness.
[Don’t react Amanda.]
[Oh, thank goodness.] She replied with a sigh in her mind. [I learned to protect my mind thanks to that pervert, so it was a reflex. I’m glad I remembered that he said you also have that ability too. Can you call for help?]
[The silent alarm tripped, and I sent a couple of text messages so don’t attract attention to yourself.]
[That’s going to be a problem, the big guy has a decent amount of Ki so I wouldn’t be surprised if there is another Super among them.]
[Oh? That makes my job easier than.]
[What do you mean easier?]
[…]
[Marty?]
[Sorry, trying to keep the other girls calm, and talk to you, is taxing.]
[What!?] She mentally shouted. [How can you communicate to more than one- ... You know nevermind. Tell me what I-]
“Check the bathrooms.” The largest of the robbers told another who promptly made his way toward the restrooms.
[Marty.]
[I know. Don’t worry about me; try not to draw attention to yourself.]
“Be careful with this group,” the leader of the robbers said to the others. “We have some SUPERs mixed in.” He continued as he looked at the group of young ladies.
“Really?” Another asked as he followed his gaze. “Not bad, there is even a maid.”
“Get over here, manager. How do we get into the vault?” One of the robbers asked while the manager stared at him in defiance. “Let me ask again, how do we get in the vault?” He asked with authority as his hand burst into flames near the manager’s face.
The manager’s eyes grew wide, and his face went white. “I’ll tell you,” He said hoarsely.
“Good. You go with him.” He said as he pointed to another robber. “I need to stay here in case some of our guests get rowdy.”
It was about then that Shiro turned her head to see who cried behind her. It only took her a second to recognize the mother and son who she retrieved the balloon for earlier. The mother was white as a ghost and trembled.
“It’s going to be okay,” Shiro said gently with a smile on her face as she patted his head.
“Knock that off.” One of the robbers snarled as he made his way toward Shiro. In response, Caelia shifted her position to get in between them.
“Are you trying to play the hero for the catgirl?” He asked her to which she did not respond. “You know, you are rather pretty.” He continued with a perverse smirk visible even with his face masked while he took his finger to lift her chin. His smile disappeared to anger as she turned her head defiantly. “You bitch,” He said as he took the butt of his gun to strike her face.
In that instant, Cali, who had previously disappeared as soon as the trouble had begun, reappeared next to Caelia. Her fingers met the butt of the gun, and it appeared as though she cut through it like butter as the parts where her fingers touched the gun turned to dust. In his momentary shock at her appearance and the lack of impact from the thrust stunned the robber just long enough for him not to notice the foot of Shiro, who had used Caelia’s shoulder as a vault. With the thump of a kick empowered by Ki, the robber was sent several feet back as he screamed in pain while his teeth flew across the room.
“Shit, there was another one!” One of the robbers exclaimed in panic as he pointed his gun at Cali and the people behind her. The same moment he pulled the trigger, a torrent of flame seemed to appear from the other’s hand.
Just before he could pull the trigger, Cali let forth black dust to blanket the space between them. As the bullet entered the shield of dust, they disappeared. Anna immediately shot toward a robber at the side with so much power that the floor slightly caved in. In an instant, she smashed his gun between her hands then immediately thrust her pointer fingers toward his chest. As soon as they touched, the robber began to spasm as electricity could be heard until he collapsed.
The fire never reached as far as the bullets. It shot off to the side and collected in the palm of Morgan.
“Crap! She can control flames!” the firestarter exclaimed as the other robber emptied his magazine.
“I see,” Morgan replied with a serious expression. “It would appear you can only create and direct flames.
In the next instant, she fired a bolt of fire toward him and exploded it just in front of him, which caused him to fly back. Next to him was the gunman who was also sent back by Caelia and Cali in staff form. All was quiet while everyone’s attention went to the leader of the robbery.
After a few seconds, he began to laugh. “Well, at least I don’t need to split the money with these weak fools,” He said after he recovered. “If you want things done right, you have to do them yourself.” As he spoke, the amount of Ki he exerted began to increase. He began to smile as Ki Rank 8 was indeed very strong.
His smile turned to one of confusion as he noticed that all of the girls began to smile. Momentarily confused, the robber took a second to realize that their eyes were not on him. When he turned around, he saw a man dressed in black casually stroll toward him with a shotgun under his arm as he dragged a body with the other.
“Such a pain,” Marty said as he let the body drop to the floor. “Where did I put it. Here it is.” He continued as he pulled his ID from his pocket. “By the power invested in me by the United States and the United Nations, I hereby place you under arrest.”
The robber laughed at his statement. “You and what Army?”
“That Army,” Marty said as he motioned to the girls. The robber froze as all the girls, at that moment, raised their Ki to their highest level. He could hardly believe what he felt. The Golden-haired girl’s Ki was not as impressive as the others as it was only Rank 5, but what worried him were giant fireballs in her hands. The brunette-haired girl appeared to have nothing special up her sleeve, but she had a respectable Ki Rank 7. The Crimson-haired girl had an impressive amount of Ki was also Rank 7, and she held a black staff, which he knew to be the little girl dressed in black. What worried him most was her Ki Color changed from blue to magenta, and her skin turned bronze. However, his skin began to crawl as he felt the little catgirl’s Ki. She had just as much Ki as the other, but the pressure it gave off was so different to the point where he felt primal fear.
“Will you surrender peaceably?” Marty asked him. “Or will we have to do this the hard way?”
In that instant, the robber knew who he should fear. As this man clad in black spoke to him, his eyes became red, his irises vertical, and what appeared to be sideways eyelids blinked. But that was not all. Even though he had barely exerted any KI, the pressure directed solely at the robber was the strongest and heaviest he had ever felt. In all of his fighting experiences, he had never come across anyone like him. Sweat began to pour from his skin as his face became white. “I surrender,” He said as he put his hands in the air and got on his knees while he lowered his Ki.
“Very good,” Marty said as he put his hand on the robber’s shoulder. “You aren’t the big fish you thought you were” *Smack*.
The next thing the robber remembered, he was restrained by some very futuristic equipment.