The First Change

  I spent the next two days going from my house to the Rebellion HQ and back, discussing plans on how to infiltrate Immortalis’ mansion and the party he was going to have that day. They still very much didn’t trust me, but I didn’t exactly need their full trust in general. Convincing them to pursue direct conflict with the Celestials wasn’t easy, and it was never going to be easy in the first place. It’s not like the terrorists were weak; for all intents and purposes the Rebellion’s inner circle were a VERY strong group. Stronger than most of the top 20 heroes, even. But… they weren’t Celestials. It was pretty much an obvious result from the get-go; there is absolutely no way they could ever defeat the Celestials if they faced off one on one to the death in an open arena. Good thing fighting fair isn’t in the script. Neither mine, nor the Rebellions’. The Celestial Ten had one utterly fatal flaw, though, that I planned to exploit to its maximum potential. They were the strongest in the world, true… but that meant they had nowhere else to go. Stagnation. Creative dryness. Everything I was currently planning boiled down to one idea; to bash the Celestial Ten, wake them up, and force them to become stronger. That was the Rebellion’s entire purpose to me; being a mallet and nothing else. Making the Celestials as strong as possible was priority number ONE and that was final. It’s not that I disagreed with the Rebellion’s cause or was a huge fan of the World State, it’s just that I wanted to exclusively pursue the path that would let me escape my rotting jail, and everything else was but an afterthought. I lost all interest in politics a long time ago, especially since I wasn’t impacted by it at all; no matter who or what reigned, I would always be the exception - existing above the law and all that - thanks to my power.

  I was sitting on my bed, twiddling my thumbs while thinking about all of this while listening to the clock tick down slowly. I jumped forward in time a couple of hours, looking up as the clock struck 12, the bell ringing a few seconds later. I put on my best imitation of a smile, standing up and grabbing the mask, putting it on as I opened the door. “You’re here! Good, come on in!” I told Love Love with forced excitement, swinging it open and making her jolt backwards in surprise. She looked up at me with suspicion, looking around, behind me, and even giving the surrounding area one last glance, as if fearing that my hypothetical comrades were about to jump in out of nowhere and peel off her skin. That’s a very fair fear to have, all things considered. It’s annoying that I have to convince her I won’t do anything every damn time, though. I sighed and walked back into my house, leaving the door open for Love Love to enter at her own pace. “Y-yeah. I’m here,” she muttered slowly, as if in disbelief of her own actions, “What do you want from me?” she asked fearfully after a bit of hesitation, looking around my extremely normal looking house atop the hill, so strangely isolated from everything else. I turned to look at her with my arms open, sitting down on the couch and tilting my head. “Not much. I just want you to accompany me somewhere, and make you a proposal,” I answered with a shrug. She pursed her lips and closed the door behind herself slowly, raising an eyebrow while slowly regaining confidence after realizing I really wasn’t going to do anything to her, at least not yet. “I don’t get it…” she muttered, looking around once more, as if not understanding how someone with a house like mine had given her so much money. I sighed and snapped my fingers, bringing her attention to me. She pouted indignantly at the way I drew her attention, which I thought was a bit cute. I stood up dramatically, grabbing the sides of my mask. “This should explain things,” I told her in an exaggeratedly mysterious tone as I slowly and dramatically revealed my face, taking my mask off while staring directly into her pink eyes with my own pure black ones. This part never ceases to be amusing, at least. I thought in satisfaction, watching her pupils dilate fully as she took a complete step backwards, gasping audibly as realization finally dawned on her.

  “You don’t need to worry too much about it,” I assured her, placing the mask on the top shelf of my closet before walking over to the fridge and taking out a beer, throwing it over at her. She caught it instinctively, looked down at the beer and then quickly turned back up at me, her eyes still wide with surprise. “Y-You’re KRONOS!! Number One!! What the hell are you doing buying a strip dancer?! Are you crazy?! Wha-” she exclaimed bewildered, before I grabbed the beer off her hands and shoved it in her face, smooshing her nose a little and making her blink. “Do you want the money or not?! Stop asking so many questions,” I told her bluntly and with an exasperated growl. She pursed her lips and once more grabbed the can, taking a few moments to think before sighing and popping it open, taking a swig of the drink to calm her nerves. I rolled my eyes and walked outside while grabbing my keys. “Follow me, I’ll explain on the way,” I assured her, unlocking the car. Since the place I was going to didn’t require for me to be discreet, I had no need to take the taxi route and was as such free to use my own car. I nodded at Love Love to get into the copilot’s seat. A few minutes later, while driving, I took the opportunity to debrief Jessica on what the mission was… or at least the details I could give without jeopardizing my plan. “We’re going to one of Seven’s mansions,” I told her, looking over at her from time to time in the rearview mirror while she looked out the window in a trance. My words made her perk up, though, looking up at me nervously. “Wuh?? WHAT?? ME???” she pointed at herself, once more looking around in suspicion.

  “Love Love, you know what my power is, right? Don’t question it. I know what I’m doing, alright?” I told her sternly, my tone making it clear that I was getting frustrated with her meek attitude. She closed her eyes, deep in thought, before finally letting out a deep exhale and giving me a tentative yet hesitant nod, finally deciding that she’d just have to trust me and go along with whatever I was planning. “Good,” I sighed, finally arriving at the courtyard and parking my car outside the massive mansion’s gates, deafeningly loud music bleeding into the outside world while armed guards stood at the entrance - even if they were just for show considering who the host was. “Now listen, Love Love. I want you to act like nothing you’ll see is wrong. Just continue on as if you’re used to being eye-candy around the arm of some millionaire or other,” I stressed to her, looking at myself in the mirror and combing my hair a bit before stepping outside. Love Love hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped outside as well, turning on her heels to face me with pursed lips and a nervous expression before looking up at the looming mansion fearfully. “FINE!! Fine…” she exclaimed, grabbing my arm and putting on an overtly exaggerated feminine and ditzy facade, “But wouldn’t you pretty please explain this all to little old me later?~” Haaa… Should I even dare to demand things from him?? I really hope I didn’t just make him mad. She thought nervously, instantly regretting her words. The nerves are going to kill meeeeheheeeee~ Jessica continued to lament her fate.

  I approached the guards with Love Love stuck to my arm, waving at them as they quickly recognised me and eyed each other in abject horror. “Tell Immortalis I’m here,” I told them in an impatient tone, raising an eyebrow. The guards uttered a few things into their radios, got some messages back, and soon enough we were escorted to the front door of the mansion. I didn’t even get to knock on the front door before it was swung wide open by a wide eyed and excited Number Seven. He was wearing a semi-ellegant version of his usual outfit and in one hand had a bottle of vodka while in the other he was holding a woman who looked mildly uncomfortable. I smirked at him and waved hello, causing Immortalis to let go of the woman while shoving the vodka in her arms in order to shake my hand with both of his, laughing maniacally. “KEVIN!! You crazy bastard!! I have to say, I wasn’t actually expecting you to show up!!” he exclaimed gleefully, patting my back. His eyes then turned to Jessica, raising an eyebrow in surprise, “Oh?? And who is THIS beauty?! Kronos, don’t tell me you had a secret little affair all this time!!” he jokingly proposed, patting her head patronizingly before turning to look at me. I chuckled in amusement, pulling Jessica closer to me while giving Seven a cocky smirk, “I’m no taken man, John,” I retorted playfully, making Immortalis’ eyes widen in surprise and then narrow back down while smiling. “That so?” he responded inquisitively, looking at Jessica and then back to me before shrugging, “Color me impressed. I thought you to be all prim and proper with those things, One. Glad to be proven wrong, though!!”

  He wrapped an arm around my shoulders again, pulling me closer to him like we were best buds as he began to walk into the building, talking about something or other of no importance. I rolled my eyes and allowed him to drag me into the zoo the mansion had become, Jessica staring directly at him in sheer slack-jawed disbelief while still glued to my other arm, remaining silent. The entire place was filled to the brim with high society men and women from all over the world; the most corrupt politicians, the most depraved multimillionaires, and the most disgusting celebrities. I recognised quite a few of them from Empress’ secret hit list, too. It was a den of debauchery, in other words. This still remains one of the most pathetic sights I’ve ever seen. I thought annoyedly, glancing over to the table where a fountain of chocolate sat right next to a plastic bowl full of actual cocaine. The music was blasting so loudly I could barely hear myself think and the air was thick with the smell of alcohol, marijuana, and a variety of e-cigarette flavors. Everyone here was drugged, high, and drunk off their wits - and it was painfully obvious too. But as I looked back to Immortalis while he grabbed the vodka off the woman’s arms rudely and shoved it towards me, I could tell he wasn’t any of those things. I took a swig of the alcohol, the flavorless liquid burning my throat slightly before I wiped my lips and passed the bottle back to him. No matter how disheveled and crazy he was acting right now, I knew that deep down Immortalis was simply faking it. As a matter of fact, he’s hating this. I thought in amusement.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

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  Why isn’t this working?! Seven thought to himself in anger, watching as Kronos took a swig of the vodka and grinned at him, pulling the woman he had brought with him closer to himself while giving Immortalis a thumbs up of all things. Immortalis sighed, the sounds of laughter and screaming and crying reverberating through the mansion to unbearable degrees. John had thrown this party under the impression that he would enjoy it thoroughly. That he would indulge in debauchery and let himself go, enjoying the carnal desires of those too rich and powerful to be touched by the law. That he would form connections within the high society, and become even richer and even more politically powerful. So… why was none of this enjoyable?? He wasn’t getting drunk, no matter how much he drank. He didn’t get high, no matter how much substance he injected into his veins or snorted or smoked. He laughed along with those around him, but it was all fake and empty, all of it acting. The only part he had found success in was forming connections, but even that had been slow. And now that Kronos was here, he felt even more desperately the need to become one with this life of excess. To impress Kevin?! No!! I am beyond such things!! He thought angrily, turning around while trying to maintain his party animal facade and spread his arms, calling out to everyone inside the building.

  “GUESS WHO SHOWED UP?!” he screamed at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of everyone gathered to a grinning Kronos. Soon after, cheering erupted everywhere as people rushed to the entrance to say hello to the most powerful man in the world, even despite the worldwide controversy surrounding him currently. That’s simply the power of power. John thought to himself with a satisfied grin. It doesn’t matter if half the world thinks you’re responsible for the deaths of thousands, as long as you’re powerful enough. He took a step back and winked at Kevin cockily, as if he was doing him a favor, before turning around and parting the growing crowd to return to the couch he had been spending most of his time in. He sank down on it, yawning as two beautiful women approached him and sat at his sides, pampering him. Immortalis smirked, putting his arms around their shoulders as they giggled, thinking back on how the last two women he had employed had betrayed him less than a week ago. Since then, he had simply taken precautions to exclusively hire cripples instead - and the lower cost was an added bonus too. One of the women leaned against him and offered him rum while the other placed a blunt in his mouth carefully. Immortalis looked around slowly with narrowed eyes at the people gathered, noticing the scorching looks of some people fixated on him. The difference between high school and high society is practically nonexistent. He thought smugly, giving the people watching a nod and a grin as he took a deep puff of the blunt in his mouth and suppressed the urge to cough, before turning around and downing a shot of rum. It’s the same shit. The same social pressure. The same judgemental stares. The same cliques. Only even more intense, and a lot more destructive. He pursed his lips, watching as Kronos waddled through the crowd while the woman he had brought stayed glued to his side. He was mildly frustrated with how Zero had treated the rest of the Celestials a few days ago, acting on his own and then forcing the rest to just go along with it. But deep down, Immortalis admired that side of Kronos. That… untouchability. This is my area of expertise, though. I’ll rise the social ranks at record speeds, just like I rose through the hero ranks! All I need is time, something I’ve got in spades~ Even Kevin will eventually die of old age. He grinned confidently, finishing the blunt and tossing the remainder aside, one of the women scrambling to pick it up and throw it in the trash while the other one caressed his arm.

  He continued to speak to various people that approached him over the next couple of hours, never really leaving his couch other than to go get something to drink or go to the bathroom. It didn’t take him very long to frustratedly realize what was wrong with him, even as he spoke to a very famous actor about possibly having Immortalis cameo in a future film. It’s my power. It’s gotta be. He came to the revelation, shaking the hand of the man and sealing the deal. He acted as if he was slightly drunk and high, but the truth was that he was completely sober. The way Immortalis’ power - Everliving - worked was that any sort of “damage” Immortalis’ physical body took would start a five second counter, after which his entire body would return to an undamaged state. His power also had a passive application where extremely minor things would be instantly reverted without the need of ‘restarting’ his entire body. Examples of the active application were things like wounds, poisons, or death - while the passive effect applied for things like solar radiation, thirst, hunger, and any sort of microscopic isolated incidents such as cell death. Immortalis knew about the poison ever since he was tricked into consuming cyanide once, but only now did he connect the dots on why he never seemed to get drunk since awakening his power. My body must be recognising alcohol and drugs as poisons!! Fuckin’ hell. He noticed out of the corner of his eye as I approached him, moving one of the women next to Immortalis aside forcefully and sitting down in her spot, much to her and Seven’s surprise. John raised an eyebrow at the disrespect, “Hey, asshole, you’re on MY couch. Get your own one,” he hissed at me with disdain and even with a hint of a threat in his voice. I merely grinned, pulling down the woman I had brought with me and making her sit on my lap, making Jessica gasp in surprise. Immortalis narrowed his eyes, not liking one bit how lightly I was treating him. This is MY party, Kronos. You dare come here and mock me?! In front of everyone?! He began to open his mouth, but I quickly spoke first. “Hey, remember I promised you something really good?” I rhetorically asked Immortalis, capturing the young hero’s attention with a smug grin. Seven decided to swallow his pride momentarily, sighing and downing another shot of liquor. “This better be good to make up for the show you’re putting on right now, Number One,” he answered nonchalantly as a warning. Gotta remember I can’t go around calling him Zero yet.

  Before I could continue, though, a loud rumbling akin to thunder reverberated throughout the mansion as dust and debris suddenly erupted all around us, shortly followed by screams. Immortalis had to blink a few times for his mind to process what was happening, standing up from the couch while his eyes widened and bright yellow electricity crackled through the polluted air. People screamed and trampled over each other as chaos erupted throughout the place, the guests struggling violently to leave through the front door. Laughter erupted behind them, a silhouette standing in a massive hole that had been carved into one of the walls of the mansion. Seven looked around, pieces of wall laying around the floor with more than one person crushed under the bricks. His eyes narrowed as he realized what was happening, his gaze turning to the now gaping hole in his mansion and at the spiky yellow haired man standing amongst the debris. Alexander’s arms were spread open, electricity bouncing all around him through the air, his eyes glowing an intense light green. I also stood up and quickly took a step back, my own eyes widening while I hastily grabbed Jessica by the wrist, pulling her away from where my fellow hero was. My mind raced wildly, utterly baffled by what I was seeing before me. What the hell is happening?! Alexander?! Why is he here?! I thought to myself while gripping Love Love tightly, looking down at her as she herself looked around in distress with a hand over her mouth, the shock rendering her mute. I shook my head to snap out of my stupor, pulling on Jessica a second time, dragging her towards a stairwell where we would be able to hide unseen. This could be interesting, though. I realised, my brow furrowing, doing my best to remain out of sight of the rebel. A deviation from the script? Again?? I HAVE to see how this plays out.

  Seven’s crimson red irises began to glow intensely, gritting his teeth in genuine anger as he began to approach the electromancer, his hands in his pockets as if to maintain a nonchalant attitude. “HEY, BASTARD!!! What the hell is going on here?!” he called out to Alexander, who turned to look at him with a wide grin. “Oh! It’s you! Just who I wanted to meet!” the rebel replied immediately, electricity enveloping him slowly, “My name is Alexander!! It’s a pleasure to meet a Celestial like you, John!! Or do you like to go by Immortalis? Or Seven?? Anyway, I’m here to rip you to shreds, if you don’t mind,” the terrorist stated, his eyes narrowing with murderous intent despite his playful smile not diminishing one bit. Immortalis scoffed, gritting his teeth so hard they began to crack, his expression a cocktail of murderous rage and cocky confidence, his eyes narrowing in on the intruder. “Oh yeah?! Are you now?! Barging into MY party and killing MY guests… I don’t give a DAMN what your name is, you worthless piece of shit,” he hissed at Alexander, making the rebel raise an unimpressed eyebrow, “You just set me back YEARS of progress!! How long until people will trust a party I organize again, huh?!” the hero snarled at Alexander, pulling his hands out of his pockets and cracking them, approaching the electromancer with pure killing intent. Alexander sighed, scratching his chin in curiosity, “You’re not even mad that innocent lives were lost? You’re mad about your image? That’s kinda crazy, dude. Not that their lives were innocent in any conceivable way, though,” he chuckled, electricity arcing between his fingertips, his light green eyes sparking to life, “I can’t say I’m surprised, though, Number Seven. In fact, it would normally be my style to have a good old scuffle, man-to-man, but I think I can make a special exception for ya~”