Chapter 12: Aleha Once Again

"BIG CHILL."

As the final transformation triggered, a wave of icy blue light swept over Nathan's body. His limbs elongated and grew sleek, his skin turning translucent and ghostly. Cloaked wings unfurled from his back with a shimmer of frost, and his red eyes glowed faintly against the shadows.

The Evolutionary Serum was safely tucked into his Space Ring before he phased through the lab's ceiling like mist on a cold morning.

Silent. Invisible. Untouchable.

He soared skyward, the Hydra facility shrinking beneath him. Cold air rushed past as he pierced through the layers of stone and steel to the surface, trailing frost in his wake. The moon glinted off his spectral wings as he circled overhead, scanning the surroundings.

He spotted Jessica quickly—sitting alone in a worn Jeep just outside the facility's perimeter, tapping anxiously at the steering wheel.

With a gust of frozen air, Nathan phased into the passenger seat beside her, solidifying just enough to make the cushions sink under his weight.

Jessica startled, hand darting toward a hidden blade—until she saw the symbol on his chest.

"Nathan?" Her voice was tentative despite the confirmation before her eyes.

He nodded, the transformation fading in a flash of green light as he returned to human form. "Yeah. It's me."

She gave a small sigh of relief. "So… what now? Got a plan?"

Nathan leaned back in the seat, stretching. "That depends. What do you want? You've got options. I could help you disappear, live a normal life. Or…" he glanced at her, eyes serious, "you could use what you've got. Become a Hero. Or go after Hydra—burn the whole thing to the ground if you want."

Jessica stared out the windshield, silent for a moment.

"I think… I want all of it," she said quietly. "Time to breathe. To live like a person again. After that?" Her eyes hardened. "I want to hunt them. Make sure no one else ends up like me."

Nathan smiled. "And the Hero thing?"

She gave a short, dry laugh. "I think I'd like it. Maybe I can stop someone else from going through what I did. That's worth something."

He gave her a thoughtful nod, then took out his new phone, calling up a holographic map with a gesture. "Alright then. Let's find the nearest Winterborn Hotel."

Getting out of the Hydra ruin wasn't easy. The place was buried in remote terrain, shielded from satellite detection and full of traps. But between Nathan's transformations and Jessica's stealth training, they navigated their way out without incident.

Finding a Winterborn Hotel afterward was child's play in comparison.

As the literal owner of the global luxury chain, Nathan had access to premium suites in nearly every major city. The hard part wasn't booking a room—it was convincing the desk staff that the dusty, underdressed young man with a faint alien glow in his eyes was in fact the billionaire he said he was 

Several calls and a biometric override later, Jessica had a private suite for at least a few months.

Standing at the glass window overlooking the city, she looked more at peace than he'd ever seen her.

"I don't think they'll search this close to the site," Nathan said, handing her a sleek, matte-black phone that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. "Quantum encryption, custom firmware, and a kill switch built in. If you're ever in trouble—call me."

He didn't mention the hours of delicate work(In Thought Acceleration) that had gone into it during his brief time as Grey Matter. Alongside the serum, he'd cobbled together six of these phones using salvaged parts from Hydra's labs. Quality varied—some were barely above prototype—but the best one? That stayed with him, of course.

Jessica took the device, her fingers brushing his. "Thanks. I mean it."

She slipped the phone into her pocket, then tilted her head. "So... what about you? Where are you going now?"

Nathan exhaled and gave a half-smile. "First? Food. Then? Sleep. Anything after that can wait."

It had taken them hours to navigate out of the ruins. Nathan was running on fumes, and Jessica—who hadn't eaten properly in weeks—looked like she might collapse from exhaustion alone.

Fortunately, the manager of the Winterborn Hotel had arranged a welcome feast as part of the suite's hospitality package. Unfortunately for him, he hadn't expected the two guests to demolish it like a pair of ravenous wolves at a banquet.

As Nathan inhaled his third plate of mămăligă with garlic sauce and grilled chicken mici, the manager stood off to the side, jaw slack, reconsidering everything he thought he knew about the elite.

So much for graceful elegance, he thought—then quickly forced himself to think about literally anything else.

The next morning—or rather, ten hours later—Nathan woke up in a ridiculously soft bed with zero back pain, a rare luxury in his line of work. For the first time in what felt like forever, he actually felt human.

He stretched, glanced at the time, and then noticed the en-suite bathtub like it was a holy relic.

"Yes," he whispered with conviction, and promptly sank into it for a full hour.

Steam curled around him, the warmth working away the leftover tension in his muscles. It wasn't a victory parade, but it was peace—and that was more than enough for now.

Just as he was drying off—

[Now that you've freshened up, I'd like to inform you the Display Shop reset approximately 5 minutes ago.]

Nathan groaned. "Ugh. Global reset timers. Nothing messes with my sleep schedule more than virtual time zones."

Still grumbling, he pulled up the holographic interface, water droplets still clinging to his hair, and checked the new arrivals in the Shop.

Let's see what the universe was offering today.

{The Shop

Everything can be bought here, as long as you can pay for it—and are lucky enough to see it on display.

Display reset in: 23:54:48

The Twelve Talismans

A set of ancient artifacts representing the Chinese zodiac. Each talisman grants a unique power to its bearer:

Rooster – Levitation and telekinesis

Ox – Super strength

Snake – Invisibility

Rabbit – Super speed

Sheep – Astral projection

Dragon – Combustion

Rat – Animation (bringing objects to life)

Horse – Healing

Monkey – Shapeshifting

Dog – Immortality

Pig – Thermal vision

Tiger – Spiritual balance

Price: The Luck of a Tier-3 Kingdom

---

Bephengzdogma, the Divine Scythe of Disorder

A black scythe with a crooked, eerie blade. It was forged by transforming the God of Frenzy, Aganzon, into a divine weapon. Bephengzdogma harnesses the Order of Falsification, allowing it to distort reality to force impossible attacks to land.

Note: Anchors above Low-Universe level can resist its distortions.

Price: 1.2 Fz of Faith Power

---

A Sleek Bracelet

A bracelet forged from the rarest materials in the universe. Stylish, elegant, and utterly useless.

Price: $200,000,000

---

Needle of Luck

A needle crafted from pure luck, once used to draw blood from Lady Luck's divine vessel. Pricking someone with this will grant them incredible fortune for a few hours—after which they'll exhaust all their stored luck and plunge into misfortune.

Price: A drop of your blood, sacrificed to an unknown entity

---

A Prophecy from Carlos

Carlos is a renowned prophet in his world. He will write a personalized prophecy for you.

Note: Any involvement of entities above planetary level will void the prophecy.

Price: $5,000,000

---

Aleha – The Last of the Darkest Void Phoenix

Summons Aleha to your realm. She will be bound to protect you for one year. She may hit you, provided it doesn't endanger your life.

Price: The dead bodies of a fake phoenix

}

"Raph."

[The Twelve Talismans and Bephengzdogma, the Divine Scythe of Disorder are currently beyond our means. The Needle of Luck carries unknown consequences due to its vague cost. Aleha's reappearance is unexpected, but her current offer is considerably worse than before—her return is inadvisable, especially given the lack of intel. Lastly, A Prophecy from Carlos is a waste of resources, as you may already qualify as a planetary entity, and this Multicross contains many such beings. Would you like to purchase the bracelet? It could serve as a gift or be resold.]

"I know, right? This time the Shop doesn't really have anything that piques my interest," Nathan replied.

Raphael, unfazed, used funds acquired by questionably legal means to buy the bracelet anyway.

---

Meanwhile, Nathan decided to wander the city. Bucharest had a lot of museums, but he wasn't in the mood for any of them. Instead, he spent some time at Parcul Natural Văcărești—a large wetland nature reserve right in the middle of the city.

And what was he waiting for, you ask? The next random teleportation, obviously.

According to the Traveler's Bag rules, he'd be teleported randomly once a day for three days. This was Day 2, and the teleport still hadn't triggered—despite him waiting over three hours like an awkward tourist with commitment issues.

Eventually, he gave up and returned to the hotel. That's when he made the brilliant decision to go swimming.

Even Raphael didn't warn him. Why? Because there was no threat involved—just sheer, unfiltered stupidity.

Which is why, as he leapt into the pool in a perfect cannonball formation…

He vanished mid-air.

---

Nathan blinked as he landed in a very cramped space. He barely had time to decide whether to transform or stay hidden when he heard voices just outside.

"Bebe, I'm telling you the truth! There was no one in the room! You know how loyal I am to you." A woman's voice—panicked and defensive.

"Then what was the noise, huh? You think I don't recognize your moans?" came the man's voice—gruff, angry, and getting closer.

Nathan's eyes widened just as the closet door was yanked open, revealing a bearded man in his thirties—rage practically steaming off him.

"And who the fuck is this, huh? If you weren't cheating—"

The woman's eyes went wide.

"What? I— I told him to jump out the window! Jack, why the hell would you hide in the closet?!"

She shoved past her husband to grab Nathan.

Then froze.

"Wait… you're not Jack! Who the hell are you?!"

Suddenly Nathan smirked

"Your boyfriend of course, did you forget you put me in the closet when your husband Jack came in? Who's this guy tho?" Nathan said, laughing inside.

"No, bebe, I swear I don't know him, he's lying. I don't even know Jack." The women pleaded.

As the man was fuming with anger, Nathan decided it was not as funny as he hoped and simply jumped out of the window and ran away.

"So Raph, where exactly are we?" Natban asked as he ran out of the house in nothing but beach shorts.

[Dawson City, Canada.] 

"Cool, that's why I was feeling so cool in the summer." 

Nathan then took out his clothes from the traveller's Bag which he had packed up in the Space Ring as always and put them on.

After going around the town, finding nothing interesting except a pack of vampires living peacefully by drinking the blood of the townsfolk, he decided to give them eternal peace and spent most of his time trying different transformations and practicing. 

He was able to complete his uneventful day. It was actually his first uneventful day since coming to this world.

As the day passed away, he once again found himself looking at the Shop.

{The Shop

Everything can be bought here, as long as you can pay for it—and are lucky enough to see it on display.

Display reset in: 23:59:39

Self-Destructing Sunglasses

Stylish shades with a built-in one-liner generator and a voice-activated self-destruct button. Popular among spies, assassins, and action heroes with a flair for drama.

Explodes in a cool way. Usually nonlethal. Usually.

Price: 50$

Captain Shinzo's Instant Beard Kit

Open the packet, slap it on your face, and count to ten. Voila—an epic, full beard tailored to your facial structure and emotional aura. Comes in Viking, Pirate, Sorcerer, and Retired Dad styles.

Price: 1 Year of your Lifespan.

Bag of Infinite Plastic Bags

Exactly what it says. You will never be short on plastic bags again. Comes with guilt.

Price: 1 ton of Ice

Duelist's Apology

A glove that forces a duel upon slap-contact. Both participants are immediately transported to a random, neutral battleground. The loser must genuinely apologize.

Note: Cannot be used twice on the same person.

Price: Forgiveness to your mortal enemy.

Anti Aging Bullet: Getting hit by this bullet will age you backwards by 10-20 years. Only the body will age back.

Price: A drop of Virgin's last Blood

Aleha – The Last of the Darkest Void Phoenix

Summons Aleha to your realm. She will be bound to protect you for one year. She may hit you, provided it doesn't endanger your life. Aleha is a good girl. She won't hit you too much.

Price: Dead Body of Eve the creator of Fake Phoenix.}

[Aleha is here once again.]

"It does say she's a good girl. What if it's just some cute bird?"

[I don't think it works like that. She's clearly able to affect the Shop to some extent—a Shop that can sell multiverse-level items. I think it's best if you ignore this entity for your safety.]

"Killjoy."

[The Self-Destructing Sunglasses seem like a decent item. You could give them to someone like General Ross. It's usually non-lethal, but if we're lucky, it might just become lucky.]

"Yeah… no. Knowing myself, I'd probably use it on myself one day and it'd blow up in my face."

[True. Captain Shinzo's Instant Beard Kit also seems too pricey for what it offers.]

"If I couldn't grow a beard myself, I might argue—but yeah, no. Add a no for the plastic bags, too. I could probably make a fortune selling them, but still… no."

[Understandable. Duelist's Apology feels equally useless. It forces your opponent to apologize, but that's about it. As for the Anti-Aging Bullet, it's not useful to you—and the whole 'virgin's last blood' condition is vague.]

"Yeah, like… do we have to kill the virgin or what?"