Please Don’t Interrupt My Sightseeing

[ Michael and Sebastian walked out of the alleyway and entered a plaza area 15 minutes after they began their stroll through Dark Paradise.

Unlike the alleyway, they were surrounded by overpowered people on all sides.

Sebastian was now holding the balloons with a huge smile on his face. He looked like a little kid strolling through an amusement park for the first time.

The only thing missing was an ice cream cone and a real teenager.

While everyone was still moving out of their way, there's a special type of person that always feels the need to prove they're stronger than the person making a display.

Three of those people walked out towards him from the side.

Seeing the Brawlers approach, Michael stopped walking and asked Sebastian to do the same.

"Would you lookie here boys! Look at this little billy badass acting tough because he robbed some newbies.

I bet he bought those weapons and paid big money to chop off someone's arm."

Grey sighed very loudly. "Please don't interrupt my sightseeing. I really don't want more blood on my v-neck. It'd look tacky af. I already look like I went to a tourist photo booth."

The men burst out laughing. "Can you believe the arrogance of this kid! He's staring down three seasoned veterans, and he still thinks he can slice us up.

Tell me, boy. Is that your brother? He looks way too happy to be traumatized."

As the Brawler said this, he was pointing his finger at Michael while bending over as if his sides were splitting.

Unfortunately for him, that was the worst decision of his life.

The crowd's eyes slowly glided from the man back to Michael.

Somehow the man's hand was unceremoniously flying towards the balloons at a slow melodic pace.

The man himself, alongside the rest of his party, watched this spectacle as well.

It wasn't until the Brawler realized that it was [his hand] being added to the balloons that the reality of the situation sank in.

"Look at you, Gary Gorelock! Just walking around casually with that naughty attitude of yours." Elise cried while bursting out into laughter in his mind.

"It took me four hours to get a 'don't fuck with me' display this dramatic, so I'm going to use it goddamn it." He responded with a tone ripe with indignation.

"You could at least say something like 'I think your testicals would look great on my balloons as well' or something dramatic like that. Don't you think that would be superb?" She giggled.

"You know what, that's not a bad idea."

As he had this conversation, he had already continued walking.

He was not standing still for more than 20 seconds before he moved his real body from the clone and cleaved the man's hand off.

To any casual observer, Michael was a god. ]

"You develop a horrifying image, and create demonstrations that reinforce that image." He explained.

The woman's eyes became dead inside. "You mean you add more 'balloons' to your display?"

"Correct." He stated. However, he didn't stop there.

"That's a horrifying image, but it's not something dramatic enough to hold back people that thrive on such images." He continued.

"It fills people with a sense of curiosity. 'Is that real? How did it happen? Did he pay for that?' and other questions start swirling around. That's why people want to test if it's legitimate.

You don't have to fight people once you have it. You just have to 'prove' it's legitimate." He concluded.

The woman sighed. "Tell me, Alyx. You make this sound simple, but how does one simply deprive powerful enemies from their limbs or weapons?"

"I stopped walking dramatically and made a scene out of it.

Elise recorded my image, so my clone sync wouldn't break while I walked up to one of the people under the cloak of invisibility and made a demonstration." He explained.

"From their perspective, they're watching you standing around.

Suddenly they're watching a new balloon being added to your display before their very eyes.

By the time people realize [what] is being added, you're walking away." He articulated.

"Well that's... just god fucking awful, Alyx. You know that?" She declared.

"Correct." He stated simply, as if her question was a serious inquiry.

"Doesn't that just make people want to kill you?" She asked, chuckling with a tone of darkness emanating from it.

"Kind of. Hypothetically speaking, imagine that you challenged a person covered in blood holding 'balloons' made of high-ranking weapons and a human limb.

Then 30 seconds later, you and your teammates watched as a human hand was added to the balloons. You look down and find out it's your hand or one of your teammates.

You have no idea what's happening, and you have to prevent yourself or your teammate from dying from blood loss. How long do you think it'd take for you to recover your anger?"

He asked casually, as if it was only logical.

"Heh, hypothetically speaking, eh?" The woman laughed sardonically.

"Hypothetically speaking." He reaffirmed.

"Tell me, Alyx. Hypothetically speaking, how many limbs would a person need hovering around themselves in Dark Paradise to get people to stop messing with them?" She asked with a cracking smile.

"Four? They have to be of different stages of decomp—"

"That's enough, Alyx."

"Okay."

"Was that the only way you could have walked around with immunity?" She asked with a bitter tone.

"No? But it was the [best] way of achieving immunity. Try not to forget that I was standing around 50 people at a time that could all kill Sebastian and I like twigs.

The Brawlers and Quirks challenging us were much stronger than Marion, let alone the Brawlers I fought before.

If it weren't for the fact that I was using oscillation manipulation to make me invisible and mask my sound, any of them would kill me instantly." He concluded.

The woman could only look at the table bitterly. She knew it was true, but his actions were far too disorienting.

He was weak and defenseless, yes. That said, he treated op villains like they were child disciples.

"I'm still having a hard time seeing this as acting." She stated in a resentful tone.

"If someone swung blindly in my direction, it would have killed me. I was right next to these people physically. I might be able to kill one, yes. But they would have instantly killed me afterward.

Once again, there's a difference between violence, which is a declaration of one's power, and power itself, which is the ability to back it up.

I was violence incarnate walking around, but I had very little power compared to those around me. That's the difference between myself and those I've been talking about." He explained.

Unlike all of the other times she was reminded that he was weak, this time, it filled her with a sense of pride.

Alyx Grey was weak in a world of the strong, and yet he won.

He proved that her situation wasn't helpless. So, she felt safety and comfort knowing that at least one person could live in an unfair and violence-stricken world and survive.

Most of all, the unstoppable man who eluded everyone for decades chose to talk to her.

He was joking and placing a strange level of trust in her.

He was even complimenting her for her talents when none of her superiors did.

She might be snappy, but that's because he put up with it. He was letting her nag him.

This charming man whose real expressions and emotions had captivated her heart chose her of all people.

That was the fact that she felt pride in.

Death balloons, human artwork, eh, don't sweat the small stuff.