You can never have too much Kyle

- Whoa! What the hell is that? - Kyle asked, with a strange locket around his neck that had five small wedge-shaped crystals of different colours embedded in it.

- It's a funny thing," commented another of my copies, with a wide brimmed hat and aviator glasses.

- ... - the sternest of all "present" with a scar running across his right eye, starting from his forehead and ending in the middle of his cheek, was silent. The look of the remaining eye must have cured constipation even in the most neglected case.

- It doesn't look like magic," another Kyle noted, waving a hand in front of the screen with what appeared to be activated spells.

There were six windows to parallel worlds in all. I decided to take my time and contact a limited number of other worlds. At the same time, I had to think of a special system that would "connect" us on a spiritual level, so that other Kylas wouldn't try to tear the windows apart out of surprise. That's why they're so calm now. They don't feel threatened, but united.

Each of my variations was different in some way. Mostly it was some element of image, but there were also physical changes, like the most pumped-up of us. The clothes didn't hide the muscles at all, but rather emphasised them. I think he would have easily topped any bodybuilder of the golden era.

- What's that supposed to mean? - asked the question just this very same jock.

- I organised it, comrades from parallel universes, - answered, having looked at each of them.

- And why? - Kyle, wearing a hat and glasses, tilted his head to the side.

- Interest. I found out that I have different abilities in parallel worlds, so I created a device to satisfy my curiosity.

- That's a lot of technology," one of the doppelgangers said respectfully.

- Thank you. So, maybe you can tell me what powers you have? - I suggested.

- Well, go ahead. I chose the Dragon Ball powers," replied the smiling big guy, and an energy aura flashed around him.

- Wow, your strength is already over 9000? - Kyle with the medallion asked him with a smile.

- I don't have this device, but I've taken out a sufficiently charged Hulk before.

- That's cool. I went the other way," Kyle said with pale skin and red eyes, holding his right hand up to the window. A second later, it turned black and began to transform into a huge thing with even sharp claws. - The Black Light Virus. I don't eat people, but I've already got a bunch of DNA samples from all sorts of mutants and superhumans.

- The physical is good, but the spiritual is better," said my doppelganger with that medallion. - I chose magic from the League of Legends and created the World Runes using complex rituals. The same Miss Doctor, even with the borrowed power of various deities, demons and other 'bitches', would not defeat me so easily. If at all.

- I was thinking of LoL magic, but I decided to go for the War Craft. For now, I've settled on the powers of the Titans. Once I get the hang of it, I'll move on down the list. But even now, I've already gained power that my father never dreamed of! - Kyle exclaimed cheerfully, dressed in his regular clothes, raising his clenched fist upwards.

- That's an interesting ability you have," said the hat-wearing doppelganger. - And I decided to pick this one.

And showed us an interesting arrow.

- Come on! What's your stand? - I asked with interest, moving closer to his window.

- My Wildest Dream* Requiem," he replied with a smirk, took off his aviator glasses, folded his arms crossed on his chest and bent to his right side. Behind him, a skinny robot-like humanoid, painted black and silver and partially covered in armour, immediately appeared. It mirrored its master's pose and showed itself in all its glory, after which it turned into something like a pair of viar goggles and attached itself to Kyle's face.

- And what could it do?

- Make the impossible possible while the glasses are on me. Like blow away a skyscraper with my breath. Or reach the opposite side of the Earth with a single step. Or you can hold a star in the palm of your hand.

- Wow! You can do that?

- Well, I can't do the latter yet, but I think I can do it in the future," the stand user confessed, slightly embarrassed. - In humanoid form he is also fast and strong enough.

- And what did you choose? - Black Light asked the one-eyed man. 

- I'm a cultivator,'' he wheezed.

- That's it?

- That's it.

- You seem a bit serious.

- ...

- Yeah. All right. What can you do, brother Kyle? - The jock came to me.

- I can control the light and do cool stuff from the Lobotomy Corporation.

- That's cool. I remember there was a lot of interesting stuff in there.

- Now, please tell me how you're doing. Who you're fighting, who you're friends with and so on.

We told each other how we were doing. I must say that the differences could be quite serious. Only my four friends didn't change. But the enemies were different. The mages made out with all sorts of otherworldly creatures, evil sorcerers and other stuff. Blacklight was killing Hydra. Super Saiyan fought space civilisations. Stand User clashed with secret societies like the Hellfire Club. And the cultivator didn't say a word.

- Bro, it's your turn now.

- I'm destroying the Hand,'' he replied briefly without going into details.

- Did the ninjis chop you like that? - Sayan asked him.

- Almost," he croaked hoarsely, grinning unhappily. - It was Aki. She nearly split my skull in two. I could barely dodge that time.

- What?!

- What was that for?!

- Holy shit!

- How did that happen?

I was as shocked as the rest of my copies. After waiting for the emotions to subside, the cultivator continued:

- She was killed by The Hand and then revived by brainwashing. Now she's the second Fist of those fuckers, along with the Punisher. The Beast himself drugged her up to her head with his power. Someone weaker would die from such demonic doping, but Igarashi's body allows her to survive such a thing without too much trouble. In her current state, with the addition of several serious artefacts, Aki can defeat even gods, even if not from the upper echelon of power. Especially after the numerous sacrifices to the Beast by the cultists. Right now, she's fighting against me and the remnants of her clan. We're at parity for now, but soon I'll reach a sufficient level of strength to wipe the Hand off the face of the Earth.

- Holy shit..." the arcana mage expressed our common opinion.

- How did they kill Aki? - I asked, surprised, to say the least.

- I was out of the house one day, and she decided to check on me and my mum. The s**t attacked at that very moment, timing it so that Aunty Naomi wouldn't be around. When I got back... Mum... was dead, and Aki's body had been taken," Kyle gritted his teeth and lowered his head. - Sometimes it only takes one shitty day to almost lose everything.

- P****z...

- Bro, you...

- I take it you're okay with them," the cultivator said, calming down a bit and looking at us again. - Take care of them. I don't want anyone else to go through something like this.

We fell silent, not knowing what to say. When you look at it, our problems weren't even close to his. Well, Hydra's got it in for us, or the cultists. So what if everyone close to us is alive and well?

I was about to give Kyle some kind of support, but I changed my mind. I scanned the mansion and felt my mum's aura in my room. 

- All right, you guys talk while I'm gone for a minute.

- Okay.

I teleported straight into the corridor outside Mum's room. She and I hadn't really crossed paths lately, even though we lived in the same house. It was a busy time for both me and her right now. The companies were taking up a lot of time and energy. And I was additionally busy in several places at once, flying around the U.S. to negotiate lucrative Contracts, solving difficult problems, or finding useful people. As a result, we might not see each other for days at a time.

I knocked on the door (I wasn't going to barge into a grown woman's room) and waited for someone to open the door.

- Kyle? Hello, baby," my mother greeted me as she opened the door. She hadn't even had a chance to change into her clothes. - Come on in.

- Hi Kyle! - exclaimed Lin as she crawled out of her hostess's body.

- Greetings, dear ladies. And mum, I'm a head and a half taller than you," I said grumpily to this radish, hugging her tightly, along with the booth, as soon as I entered the room. I won't let anyone lay a finger on them. - What kind of a baby am I?

- Yeah, yeah, you're a big boy. I'm sorry," Mum repented with an underlined seriousness that was spoilt by the amusement in her eyes. Lin nodded vigorously, trying not to laugh.

- 'Okay, we'll talk about this later. There's no time to explain, but there's someone we need to talk to.

- Who is it...?

I took her hand firmly and teleported to the basement where the device was switched on.

- ...same? Hmm? Wow, how many of my babies are here! - Mum marvelled as she looked at the screens with my parallel versions.

- Mum, I'm an adult," the other Kayla's said tiredly. Even the cultivator wheezed something similar.

- Ha ha ha ha! That's right! - Mum said with a wide smile as she looked through the windows to the other worlds. - Kyle, what are those things? It's like a copy of you, only with a few differences.

- In a nutshell, I created a device to communicate with parallel worlds. They're all Kyle Smiths living on other worlds.

- That's amazing! It's not often you get to see other versions of your child! - she exclaimed in delight, clapping her hands together. 

- Heh, we may be different, but every world's mum is probably the same," Kyle with World Runes said with a wry smile.

- Exactly!

- That's the truth, brother!

- Okay, Mom, the thing is, you and Aki were killed in one of the worlds. And that Kyle guy, I think he'd like to talk to you.

She, put her palms to her mouth and examined all my variations and almost immediately settled on the cultivator.

- My darling! - whispered Mum. She, unmistakably realising which of my parallel versions was exactly the one I said. Mum put her right palm to the window (while Lin put her left) and continued. - I wish I could give you a hug.....

The rest of Kyle watched this scene with breathless fear and yet relief at the same time. After all, it was their worlds that had no such p****ts.

- You know, after... Your death, I realised how much I miss your hugs, - admitted Kyle-cultivator, grinning unhappily and for his part also put both palms to the window. - If only that day I hadn't gone shopping for those damn things....

- Don't beat yourself up," his mum gently reprimanded him, tears in her eyes. - We can't know the future, so don't feel guilty. And that Emma thought the same thing. I know that better than anyone, Kyle. Just be careful you find yourself some nice girls and make grandchildren, or something tells me none of you have improved the demographics of the country yet!

The last accusation made us scratch the back of our heads at the same time and we squeaked a little. Still, here parents can be too obsessed with this matter. 

- Whatever you say," the cultivator said obediently.

- It's a shame we can't go to your world," Mum said sadly.

- I think it's a solvable problem," I said. - Based on my knowledge and the ability given to one of my friends, travelling to parallel worlds is possible. It will only be necessary to get some data and make the appropriate equipment.

And that was that. I promised to make the right gizmo and give my mum the ability to travel to a parallel world. It's a lot of work, but she's not a stranger to me. And not helping myself is a real bummer. 

In the end, I sent my mother to rest after a hard day, and I continued talking to my parallel versions.

- Listen, who was that red one? - I was asked by a stand user.

- That's Mum's E.G.O.. I run the Light for a reason. And by the way, I have an interesting proposition for you. How about a device that in a critical moment will give you the power of parallel versions for a while?

- Let's do it, - agreed Black Light. - It won't be superfluous.

The others answered the same. Eventually, after promising them to make similar devices, he warmly said goodbye. The cultivator was the last one left.

- Thank you for the opportunity to talk to Mum," he thanked, in a livelier voice. He even tried a normal smile. It was creepy, but it was progress. And his face. - I couldn't remember the last time I'd felt so at peace.

- You're welcome. And how could I not help myself? - I asked him with a smile.

- Hmm, really. I would have done the same thing.

- All right, see you later. I'm terribly tired for today... Or rather already for yesterday. I need to get a few hours of sleep.

- Mm-hmm. Bye and good luck.

Cut off the machine and went to the bedroom, where I fell asleep.

- 2008. The quiet, unremarkable city of New York," said a vaguely familiar man in a cap and moustache. - There are plenty of them in every country. Our case took place in a small pizzeria, with the telling name "Tasty and Pizza", where two lovers of this world-famous dish ran into each other by chance. The man got a "Hawaiian pizza with pineapple" and the woman ordered a "four cheese" pizza. Without further ado: the man died. 

This abrupt transition woke me up just as abruptly.

- Well, what a dream," I muttered, realising that it was a dream. - Kanevsky was the only thing missing to make me happy.

I looked at the time. The merciless dial showed nine hours, twenty-three minutes. How good it is that I am the boss, so I am not late, but delayed. 

Already sitting in the company office I was thinking over what I had heard from my versions and suddenly I remembered that the Hand had made not only Aki but also the Punisher as its Fist. And that was very dangerous. Fist is the strongest warrior of those fucking ninjas. Even Abe was weaker. And while we're at it, we'll have to deal with this lady as soon as possible.

After giving the proper orders to find Francesca Castle, I found out about Mactagert. The mutant had been found, and it was possible to try to talk to her, but I decided not to rush things. I had other things to attend to right now. Except that I had to deploy five fighters to protect her. Just in case. I don't want this world to reset.

And since there's a chance the Hand could be strengthened, I'll have Yamada decapitate the Yamaguchi clan. Oh, and some of my men have been freed, so now there's an opportunity to help with information, cover, and if need be, combat power.

- "Hello Ren..."

Backtracking.

The woman was glad to finally be able to start taking down the Yakuza. Even though she had her own personal motive, Yamada was sincerely loyal to her Boss, even without Contracts. Nothing, just a few more days and she would be able to exact her revenge.

- So, Gilsa, are you ready?

- Always ready," the woman replied hoarsely, patting her rifle. - 'As soon as you give the order, I'll slap that Shinobu Eiji.

- Then go ahead. It's time to end his protracted reign.

- Hmm, her weapon is cool, but how will she shoot that old man from half a dozen kilometres away? - Mari Igarashi asked Yamada sceptically.

The trio of women were in a small house located five kilometres from the Yakuza headquarters in Kobe City. Naturally their combined strength would be enough to storm the estate and completely annihilate the enemy's manpower, but the time for carnage had not yet come. Now was the time for a cleaner operation. 

- As soon as the Yakuza boss is on the street, he'll be taken down by Gilsa," Ren explained, shrugging her shoulders, which made her luxurious and poorly covered breasts sway. - Even more distance won't be a problem. We have technology that neither the Yakuza nor Ruka have ever dreamed of.

- It'll be interesting to see," Mari said, looking at the rifle in the crow's hands in a new way.

The wait wasn't long. During the days of observation and information gathering, the accomplices had learnt that Eiji dined at the same restaurant with traditional Japanese cuisine several times a week. And today, the man decided to stick to tradition.

- You see, as always, he came out at 11:45 sharp. Exactly like in the pharmacy, - said Gilsa, smiling. - Well done grandad, he made my job easier.

Making herself comfortable, she pointed the rifle at the Yakuza boss and activated the inbuilt Singularities. Waiting until the spatial rift appeared in front of the muzzle, glowing all shades of purple, she checked the readings on the built-in screen and smoothly pulled the trigger.

The bullet passed through the dimensions twice and hit Shinobu Eiji precisely, piercing his head along with the armoured glass.

- That was it. That's it, my little pie friend," Guile stated, switching off all the gadgets and looking at his boss.

- Good, - said Ren. - Now we just have to wait for Shinobu Eiji's burial ceremony. That's where we'll get everyone!

- What an interesting weapon," Mari remarked, looking closely at the rifle standing next to Guillet, who was covering her eyes. - It looked like magic, but it wasn't magic, was it?

- Exactly," Yamada confirmed, folding her arms under her chest. - "The technology used is called spatial disruption. That way you can sit a long distance away from the target without trying to find a good position. But that's just one variation of its use.

- Yeah, I hope no one else has one of those things? - Igarashi asked, shrugging her shoulders.

- Naturally, so you can rest easy. 

- That's good, because I'd hate to think that you'd get a lead shot at your head from three kilometres or more away. 

- I agree. 

- And by the way, I have one more question.

- Go ahead," Yamada said, in a good mood, anticipating the revenge to come.

- I don't specialise in covert operations, but wasn't it too easy to kill that old man?- Would you like to endure a lot of bloodshed and fight to the last man? - Ren asked with a chuckle.

- No, but it's still weird.

- There are several factors at play here," the woman began to explain. - This city is a long-standing fiefdom of the Yamaguchi. They can't even imagine that someone would come here, on their land, and kill their boss so brazenly. Without a declaration of war or anything. Plus, even so, Angie's entire travel itinerary is very well guarded. But they just couldn't take into account our options. It wouldn't have worked without the Singularity. That's the way it is.

- The important thing is that we have enough of those capabilities for the Hand now," Marie said, remembering the battles with the ninjas. - They were more dangerous than those scum.

- We'll find a way to deal with them, too. All right, let's get ready for the next stage of our plan.

-Yeah.

- Josephine, stop sleeping. We got to go," Ren said to the sniper.

- 'Yes, yes, boss,' Guile said grudgingly, obeying the order. - 'Why couldn't you let me sleep for a while? I've been up all night.

- Just be patient a little longer. You'll sleep it off at the base. And for all I know, crows can stay awake for days without losing their fighting ability.

- Having the ability doesn't mean you want to. And don't call me by my first name, okay? - the raven asked with a grin. - I can't stand it. Just call me Gilsa.

- Okay. Now let's go. Great things await us...

End of retreat.

After a while, Yamada informed me that the target had been eliminated. Now the plan enters its second phase. During this phase, all the high ranking yakuza gathered at the funeral of the past boss will be killed, and all the younger ones will be forced to swear allegiance to the new masters of criminal Japan. Those who refuse will follow their superiors. But I doubt there will be many of them. No matter how films and stories of varying degrees of truthfulness, the Yakuza with their honour are first of all criminals. And it is not worth expecting from them feats and self-sacrifice. At least not in large quantities and not under the threat of violent death.

- "Head, we were able to get information on Francesca Castle with Hokma's help," one of my subordinates contacted me.

- "Yeah, yeah. What's the deal with her?"

- "The thing is, she's in Japan right now with the remnants of her family. Has been for two days now. And, as we managed to find out, she dug up the body of her murdered husband and took it with her. She had help from some charlatan firm. We're finding out who they are now."

- "It all makes sense now," I said mentally as all the facts came together. - The hand can resurrect. That's what they promised the Punisher. Okay, there's no point in looking for the vigilante anymore. Although, who knows how the Hand got to her? I thought they were looking for someone they didn't know they were looking for. At least until recently."

- "That's right. We haven't taken down surveillance on Rookie's identified agents all this time. But when we checked Castle's phone, we found out that someone had called her and then Francesca rushed off to meet with one of our opponents' agents who had recently arrived in the US. The pay phone that contacted the Punisher, we were able to trace it to nearby cameras."

- "And let me guess. You saw either Carmen or Aurora?"

- "It was Carmen, the Head."

- "I see. Let's forget about Castle, then. Carmen only flaunts herself on camera when she knows it won't hurt or hinder her in any way. That's the impression I got. Let's focus on subduing the Yakuza and taking down the Hand."

- "Understood."

The subordinate 'switched off' and I thought about it. Even if the potential enemy is already far away, but at least we have information and at least we can prepare for this threat.

So my opponents have a new strong figure. A queen, perhaps, in chess terms. But that won't help them. They may win their battles, but I will not give them the victory of war. Nothing that doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

The main thing is not to doubt it myself, I thought, looking at the barely visible crack in the E.G.O..

Digression.

Carmen sat in the lotus position, going over various options for the future. Even though a pedantically laid out strategy and a colossal amount of effort had gone into creating the best path, the girl was obsessively looking for unaccounted for mistakes. Everything had to be perfect. Too much was at stake.

But suddenly a wave ran across the water surface of the future, distorting many options for the development of events.

- What?" Carmen asked in surprise, opening her eyes.

- Something happened? - Alexander was immediately alarmed.

- Yes and no... - answered the girl, deep in thought.

- How is it? - Lillian asked, lying on the sofa in Megan's arms.

- The future has changed.

- Doesn't it change all the time? - Yang joined the conversation, stroking White.

- I've set things up so that it's rolling down the mountain like a snowball," Reed explained, glancing at each of them. - No matter how things go, he's going to end up at the bottom sooner or later. Radical changes are no longer possible. I don't see the future the way many seers do. For them, for example, if the Star does something, the future suddenly changes. Out of the blue. I can more or less see all his most important actions, adjusting the result in small things. And now.

- What now? - Lillian hurried up, making herself comfortable.

- And now there is a whole new development. Until now, it didn't exist at all. And it's weird.

- Is this thing changing the future we want?

- No.

- Then don't worry about it. Let's join you," Megan suggested, waving her hand and activating her powers involuntarily, which took the breath away.

- I'll take you up on your offer.

- Alex, don't be shy, join us.

- But, the Holy Virgin...

- She doesn't mind at all!

Seeing that Carmen really didn't mind, the priest sighed and began to take off his clothes...

End of retreat.

The next three days were quite stressful. Already tomorrow, Yamada and the boys would deal with the yakuza. On top of that, there were smaller but no less important matters. And the company couldn't be left to fend for itself.

Then there's the Ancient's desire to chat. I don't know what the outcome of the meeting will be, but I had to prepare for any development. In general, the most desirable option is to make the mages allies. A less desirable option, but more likely - to achieve neutrality. And the worst option is to make them enemies too. That's when Mikola's gonna have some serious fun.

But now we should concentrate on the meeting. Taking the glowing medallion in my hand, I teleported closer to Sanctum Sanctorum and hiding myself with an illusion, went to the headquarters of the mages. It took me a couple of minutes to get there, and I took a look at the building as I went. It looked pleasant enough. The mark of Kamar-Taj, identical to the one on the medallion, stood out. 

As I approached the front door, I saw it open immediately. I was greeted by the Ancient One herself with two girls standing at her sides.

- Good afternoon, dear Ancient.

- Hello, honoured head. Or respected? - the woman asked slyly.

- Call it whatever you want. I won't take offence.

- I won't be offended. Then I suggest you go inside and enjoy the tea we grow ourselves.

- I'm very interested in you," I said as I entered the building. 

I hope everything goes well.....

***

patreon.com/posts/123003435