Chapter 188: Worthless Extra

[Third Person's PoV] 

Home Universe: 

Back in the Quantum Platform, where Tony and Melissa had first disappeared, all was quiet and empty.

Suddenly, a ship materialized out of thin air, growing in size before landing with a heavy thud. A few seconds later, Tony and Melissa stumbled out, clinging to each other like a pair of drunkards.

Melissa tripped over her own foot and tumbled forward, dragging Tony down with her. Both groaned as they lay on the ground, swaying slightly.

"Ughhh, let's not take any more multiversal trips," Tony mumbled, shielding his eyes from the bright light.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Melissa said weakly. "Tony, I swear my insides have been completely rearranged…"

"Really? Then I guess the trip did my job for me," Tony quipped with a tired smirk.

"What?" Melissa asked, too dizzy to immediately process what he meant. A second later, she groaned. "There's something seriously wrong with you."

Thanks to their enhanced bodies, what should have taken hours to recover from lasted only seconds. Before long, they were both on their hands and knees, pushing themselves upright while holding their heads.

"How come we didn't feel any of these side effects when we went to that other universe?" Melissa asked. "Why now?"

"I can answer that," Friday's voice echoed through the lab. "It has to do with the Quantum Anchor. While time passed for you both, you still traveled back to the moment you first left. What you're experiencing now are simply the side effects of your journey through the space-time continuum. These effects didn't occur before because your first trip was triggered by the Quantum explosion which simply knocked you out of the effects. This time, however, you actively traveled back and fought against the natural current of space and time."

"There has to be a way to lessen the impact of the side effects… That was torture," Melissa sighed.

Meanwhile, Tony shook his head and stepped to the side. "Wait a minute, I need to make a call."

Melissa watched in confusion as Tony pulled out his phone, tapped on it a few times, and then held it to his ear.

"Tony? Is something wrong? It's unusual for you to call me," Howard's voice came through the receiver.

"Yeah, can you check on Mom and make sure nothing happens to her?" Tony asked with a sigh.

"What? What are you talking about—"

Before Howard could finish, Maria's voice rang out in the background.

"DON'T GET MAD?!" she shouted, her voice carrying so loudly that even Tony winced.

"Bye, gotta go," Tony said quickly, hanging up.

Turning to Melissa, he handed her his phone. "If they call back, tell them I'm on a business trip to Paris and won't be able to contact them for a few years."

Melissa looked at him in confusion before breaking into laughter. "Oh right! You're grounded. I forgot about that. Hehehe."

"They're going to call back within the hour," Tony said, growing more anxious. "Tell them I left the state and that not even you know where I went or when I'll return."

"Tony, I'm not lying to your parents," Melissa scoffed.

"Come on! I'm your boyfriend—help me out here! They're going to kill me!" Tony pleaded.

"I don't get why you're so terrified. I mean, what's the worst they could do?" Melissa said, shaking her head.

Tony stared at her in disbelief. "What's the worst they could—? I don't know, freeze my accounts?! They're still my legal guardians, meaning they have total access to my funds. That's trillions of dollars they could take away just like that!"

He then looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Not to mention… I've never been grounded before. This is a first for me, and I can't help but feel a little nervous."

Understanding his situation, Melissa gave him a soft look before patting his back. With a confident smile, she tapped her chest and said, "It's alright. We'll take this punishment together. You won't be alone."

"Seriously?" Tony asked, his eyes wide like a puppy's.

Melissa smirked and pinched his cheek. "Of course. After all, we're partners." 

"By the way!" Melissa suddenly said, lifting a finger. "There's something I've been curious about but forgot to ask you."

She glanced around before leaning toward Tony's ear and whispering, "I know you said this world is based on a manga, but... who's the main character?"

Tony stared at her in disbelief. "That's seriously what you want to know right now? I have a guillotine hanging over my neck, and you're asking about the main character?"

"Yes! And I'm curious—what's my role in the overall story?" Melissa said, looking at him intently, her eyes burning with curiosity.

Tony sighed. "It's Midoriya."

"WHAT?! HIM?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Melissa exclaimed, half astonished, half amused. "That's hilarious!"

"And the female lead?" she asked, barely holding back laughter.

Tony scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Well… I suppose that would be Uraraka."

"Pfft! Hahahaha! Get out of here, are you serious?" Melissa burst into laughter, even snorting. Then, pointing at herself, she asked, "And what about me?"

Tony hesitated. He simply looked away and didn't answer.

"Tony?" Melissa's expression faltered at his silence. She reached over and grabbed him by the collar. "Who the fuck was I, Anthony?"

"You… technically don't have a manga appearance," Tony admitted. "You were more like a supporting character introduced in the movie. You were created as part of the work—All Might's quirkless niece, who got along really well with the main character because you both loved heroes, All Might, and were quirkless like Midoriya used to be."

Melissa dropped to the ground on all fours, her eyes dimming as she sank into depression. "I'm a fucking nobody…"

"Do I at least appear in other works? Like, the second movie or something?"

Tony scratched his head. "No, not really. Your appearance was mostly a one-time thing. Though… you did show up in a single small panel at the very end of the manga, just to confirm the movies were canon."

A single tear ran down Melissa's cheek as she banged her fist on the ground. "I'm worthless. All I got was a single panel…"

Tony hesitated before adding, "Well… if it makes you feel any better, you were really well received. People unexpectedly loved you. They were actually happy to see that one little panel of you."

Melissa looked up, her eyes regaining their sparkle. "Are you serious? You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

Tony shook his head. "No, seriously. You were really well received, all things considered. I think it's because—even though you were quirkless—you weren't worthless. Cough Cough Unlike Midoriya Cough Cough—sorry, something in my throat," he said, clearing his throat.

Melissa sat up with a small smile. "I see… so I was liked. That's… not a bad feeling."

She clapped her hands together in a traditional Japanese gesture of gratitude. "Thank you to everyone who liked me."

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