What you we don't do for friends and upgrades

"So, these are respectively Minty, John and Changying, new employees that will represent us in high level personal and important missions." Aki introduced. "This is Melissa, she's the big brain and meanest bitch with a heart of gold around, and this is Elizabeth, police lieutenant and mean bitch with a rock of pure greed in place of a heart. They are going to tell you what you can do to best use your abilities while around. I'll leave your revised manuals and starting resources in your rooms, so check that later." Said Aki, not stopping his advance towards the door for a moment during his speech, banging it shut and running away the moment he stopped talking.

"I just hope he doesn't go blackmail the mayor." Sighed Melissa.

"Why not? Pretty sure he can do just that. Also, he just texted me to tell you to go suck a dick. You're gonna need the distraction." Plainly said Minty, not much interested in her surroundings.

"He improved again, didn't he? Well I know who to call, so no worries on my side, you have anything Eli?" She rolled her eyes and asked the shorter woman.

"Not really, going to need some help with the paperwork and Intimidation though. Anyone wants to go to the station?" She asked, getting a silent nod from the serious John and leaving with him.

"Well, she's definitely going to dual cultivate him." Commented Melissa, getting a questioning look from the Asian beauty and a nod from the uninterested ginger. "The part about greed wasn't much of an euphemisms." She explained, the girl now understanding perfectly. "She'll go after you two next, so I suggest keeping her intentions in mind while deciding about it. Back to more work related matters though, There are a few things we need to sort out. One needs a good alchemist and the other just some pretty face that can easily work as muscle."

"I'll take the alchemical production one. No need to bother with, I can see where it is." Pronounced Minty while directing herself to the door and then the correct way towards the cauldron room.

*****

"Ben! How's your black ass doing after so much lead was shat out of it?" Greated psyco 1.

"Good enough that it seems like someone used magic on it." Lightly smiled the big man while grasping the other guy in a half hug.

"Should i explain to you that there is actually a fifth power in the universe that can subvert all other four to create an entirely new set of reactions and laws depending of it's concentration and the amount of energy disponibilized into the new non-constant?" He smiled while following his friend.

"Wait, you're serious?" He stopped and looked behind his shoulder.

"Oh, i am, and have proof, but your best bet would be that your misterious sister has some other kind of power, becuase you lucked out, got kinecticism, and somehow were born on earth, planet which does not posseses a fart of anything that can help you." He grinned and guided the much taller man.

*****

Running into the second crying girl running from the same direction, Melissa decided to quicken her step towards the alchemistry room.

"What do you think you're doing?" She icily said towards the red haired woman stiring a cauldron with her back towards her. There was a small twitch in her arms as she held the rim of the big magical pan, like she wanted to throw it's contents towards the weaker woman, but the fae who was supposed to be able to lift the entire building from the floor didn't seem to be able to muster the streght no matter how much she tried.

"A potion, is what i would be doing, if none of your fucking wenches tried to distract me every five seconds." She gnarled over shark like teeth that seemed to be ready to burst with the pressure being exerted over them while half turning her head to glare at the current target of her anger and aura.

"I don't know who you are and i don't care. Keep dealing with my people like that and i will see that you get what you asked for." Melissa didn't much change her countenance as she looked at the murderous stare with her own.

"I'm but a slave to a petty madman, there is nothing you can do that hasn't already been done." Minthy scoffed.

"The way you talk, it makes me realise how far away from humans you really are. There is no way Aki already showed you how sadistic and twisted he can be." She shook her head and left after ordering everyone else present on the room to keep their distance.

*****

"How the fuck did you convince me to this again?" Asked the man with a lot of needles in his torso.

"The three Ps, protection, proffits and personal." Smiled Aki as he used a fake telekinesis to pierce both his and friend's hand together with a needle he'd reinforced. "Plus persuasion and bit of Perry the platipus technique. Prepare yourself to dual cultivate in the most painful way possible." He said with a smile, not leaving time for the other man to murmur any comic befudlement.

*****

"And why are you here?" Asked the naiad watching netflix and eating ice cream from the pot towards the child who silently sat besides her as she waited for the current vile concoction to cool down. Unnescessary considering how high an actual flame would have to be to cause her any disconfort, but a good enough excuse to watch more episodes of 'Casa de papel'.

"Master said cultivating near you would be more efficient." Said the emotionless voice of the little boy, Juny, as Aki had taken to calling the adorable kuudere.

"He lied." She grumbled between two spoonfulls.

"Likely, but i have nothing to lose." He said before meditating with his eyes open.

"Don't talk to me and you can..." As she was about to dismiss the strange child, she received a message on her phone and felt a compulsion to read it, meaning it was problably Aki's. Surprise, he messaged her to talk and get to know his apprentice. Even decided what she should ask first. "Boy, your master ordered me to ask you why do you want power." She rolled her eyes and turned towards him while pausing the episode.

"To kill my egg donor and protect my father." He imediatly answered. If his concentration was shaken he didn't show.

"You mean your mom?" She asked with a raised brown.

"That thing isn't my mother. I have none." He coldly said while slightly turning to her and then back towards the wall next to the TV.

Minthy stopped for a moment. The kid was just as strange as Aki, and she truly didn't know how to react to what he said. "Ice cream." She asked.

"I don't need pity."

"Well no, but everyone needs ice cream." She replied his cold response with a shrugh. As Juny turned to her he imediatly tried to scoop a bit of the icy juiciness with his hands before realising that was a bad idea, getting a strange look and making the fae take the ice cream with her as she got up to get another spoon.

*****

"And you mean i passed out for half an hour after that pillar of golden light appeared, so now i can take bullets to the face and live?" Ben asked, more to himself then to his friend, who'd shot him four times withouth any damage to his body already. It was a surprisingly convincing experience, but when the bullets suddenly started slowing down to a visible speed right in front of his eyes it was kind of imposible to refute he now had magic.

"Half of it is you affinity and half is because i altered your body to that of a cultivator at pawn stage. Used a lot of energy, but it's effective when you consider how your life is going to become for the next while. I'll do it to the leader as well. You're going to have some dificulties because of your former lacking foundation, but over time you will see how this is the all for the best. Now, if you could pretend there's a bomb in your head until we convince your sister not to kill me..." He sagely explained while he helped the taller man with getting up from the cold floor before suddenly being kicked by the blurry figure that appeared by turning the reinforced door into scrap metal.

*****

"And you mean there's a way to do that without sacrificing one's virginity and an elaborate ritual fueled by several expensive or even mythical ingredients?" Asked the stunningly beautiful woman with long legs and bronze armor while frowning and biting her lips.

"As long as you have the energy, a stable patient and a good grasp over the basics of 'proper medicine', than yeah." Aki explained while doing air quotes.

"Basics of what 'proper medicine'?" she glared at him. There wasn't any effect.

"Too hard to explain even for me, but you should get an idea in two months and a half. Before you ask, shit is going to hit the fan. A whole sewer of it." He explained, and her cute face frowned a bit more.

"Dude, that's my sister, could you stop?" Asked a less cute man while also frowning.

"Hey, I have the best of intentions, ok?" He exclaimed while throwing his arms up with a smirk while looking at his friend.

"I couldn't give less of a shit if I tried." She exclaimed. "I'm literraly done with having an amorous life for the next century and have too much to do anyway. More importantly, Ben we're leaving." She said, more calmly this time.

"She means the city." Aki clarified, making his friend's eyebrowns shoot up. "And that's a terrible idea." The return of her frown was quite audible since it came together with a growl. "Do you even have a doctor that would know if i did something wrong with him? I know i didn't, but there's no garantee some external agent won't cause a problem in his forcefully raised cultivation." He smirked.

"Then i'll just kidnapt you." She stated with a dry tone. He imediatly armed himself with his armor, a shotgun and a combat rifle, releasing his full powered aura.

"I will always be trying to escape. Can you even keep me contained?" He chuckled as she realized his power was not much lesser away from her own. "Do you even know how I progress?" He questioned. "Though I am the kind of man to actively look for someone to serve as a 'husband', that does not mean I am weak."

"Then you suggest I leave my little brother with you?" She asked with murder in her tone.

"It wouldn't be any safer for him to go with you unless he stays by your side 24/7 and even then there will be a risk. No, my intentions might not have been selfless, but I wouldn't let a friend get hurt over some materials." He explained over the gruff voice his armor allowed for. "But yes, that is my suggestion. It is not like you were always here to protect him, and just the fact you are armored means you were called over because of the energy wave with none of his guards being confident on saving him." He elaborated, getting much of the situation right. Said guards had been told to keep waiting outside, but they were still prepared for a quick extraction and ambushing.

"Ok, could you two stop talking like i'm not here?" Asked the shielded Ben, who was still resisting the pressure from what little aura could pass from the surroundings.

"Sorry dude, but your sis isn't ready to explain the magical bees and birds to you and has had a lot of stress already, it's easier this way." Aki said with a tone that would have been normal if it didn't sound like it was coming from a demon. "And honestly, your opinion right now isn't something that would matter, since, to sumarize, if you go to your ancestral home you will be hunted down for existing, and if you stay, you will be hunted down by more shady individuals that want your blood and anus for the before mentioned ritual that would give parts of your affinity to a group of people or a specific individual. Neither of those people are below in influence or power as to your sister or me. The diference is that people don't know what to expect from me, and while i don't have formations, i do have a lot of ways of killing randos at warrior level." He smirked after lowering his helmet, making the woman in front of him groan. "Since you're here anyway then spend some time with your brother! Want a drink? Ice cream? Magical drugs?" He sugested as he summoned his offers.

Instead of accepting anything, she turned to her brother, told him to get her a six pack and ploped down on a beam bag that appeared as she fell. She also had a pipe for smoking whatever the fuck it was that she put there.