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"Hello, Mr. Rosh! Wow, I honestly can't believe I'm finally meeting you in person. This is just... wow, it's so exciting!"
The moment May Parker stepped fully into the room, her voice practically bounced off the walls. She was a flurry of nervous, high-energy excitement, flashing Rosh a bright, completely starstruck smile that made her look way more like an enthusiastic fangirl than a typical client.
"Thank you, Ms. Parker. It's a pleasure," Rosh replied, offering her a smooth, polite smile as he extended his hand.
As they shook hands, Rosh couldn't help but notice just how much the Marvel Cinematic Universe baseline had upgraded Aunt May in this world. Currently in her mid-thirties, May was, by any definition, absolutely stunning. She clearly took immaculate care of herself; her radiant skin and effortless, elegant style gave her the kind of striking vitality you'd expect from a woman in her early twenties.
Looking at her, Rosh's mind took a quick, highly amused detour into a bit of internal gossip.
'Wait a second,' he thought, screaming internally. 'Is there actually something going on between her and Tony Stark in this timeline, too?'
In his memories of the original timeline, Iron Man and May Parker had shared an immediate, almost flirty chemistry the second they met. Given Stark's notorious track record as a billionaire playboy, it wouldn't be the least bit shocking if sparks were already flying between them behind the scenes here.
"So, you're the 'Sun God' Rosh? You look a little different from what I imagined."
Before Rosh could dive deeper into his Tony Stark theories, a high, piping, distinctly childish voice cut straight through his thoughts.
Rosh blinked and glanced down. Standing right next to May was a pint-sized kid who barely reached his waist. The boy had his chin tilted all the way back, his head cocked at an extreme angle, and his wide, hyper-focused eyes were staring directly up into Rosh's face like he was trying to look at a skyscraper.
He was a literal squirt. The Peter Parker standing in his office right now was only about ten years old, a total kid whose emotional and mental maturity levels were nowhere near those of the web-slinging hero he would eventually become.
'Sun God?' An imaginary row of thick, black anime sweat-lines practically formed across Rosh's forehead. Where on earth had that ridiculous moniker come from?
"Well, you know how the media is, Mr. Rosh," May explained quickly, a light, sheepish blush creeping up her cheeks as she noticed his bewildered expression. She waved her hand dismissively. "You're constantly turning into a localized beam of pure light and tearing across the New York skyline, so... naturally, the internet ran wild with it. But please don't mind him. Peter has been utterly obsessed with you for weeks."
She reached down, gently patting the boy's shoulder. "Oh, right! This is my nephew, Peter Parker. Peter, come on, say hello properly."
"Hello, Mr. Sun God, "Peter perfectly mimicked the serious, formal posture May had used earlier. With hilarious, deadpan solemnity, he thrust his tiny hand forward, waiting for a professional handshake.
Rosh couldn't help but chuckle softly at the kid's sheer intensity. He leaned down slightly, meeting the boy on his level, and shook the miniature hand.
"Hello, Mr. Parker," Rosh replied smoothly.
Rosh had to fight to keep a straight face as he gripped the kid's tiny hand.
Peter was trying so incredibly hard to look like a serious, mature adult, but the exact second their fingers locked? The mask completely broke. A look of pure, unadulterated excitement exploded across the boy's face. He looked like he was literally vibrating with a mountain of barely contained energy, his eyes wide and sparkling.
The kid looked like he'd just won the lottery, found a legendary cheat code, and met a real-life superhero all at the same time.
"The absolute second Peter found out I had an appointment here to look at Devil Fruits, he practically begged me on his hands and knees to bring him along," May said, letting out a soft, slightly embarrassed laugh.
She offered Rosh an apologetic look, nervously smoothing her skirt. "I really hope he isn't being a total bother, Manager. But honestly, what kind of aunt could say no when her nephew gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet his absolute hero?"
Rosh chuckled softly, waving off her concern. "He's no trouble at all, Ms. Parker."
Despite the kid's glaring main-character energy, today's actual client wasn't Peter. It was May.
Now, if Rosh remembered the original timeline correctly, May Parker didn't exactly get much screen time or any flashy superpowers. She didn't fight aliens or wear high-tech armor. But she was, without a doubt, the most important person in Peter Parker's entire life. She was his rock, his emotional foundation, and the literal blueprint for the hero he would eventually become.
And in Rosh's system, that kind of cosmic importance translated into a surprisingly massive amount of Luck.
Sure, her destiny points didn't quite rival the universe's true heavy hitters or god-tier protagonists, but she easily had enough to earn a VIP spot on Rosh's list of valuable clients. And at the end of the day, Luck was just another form of currency. Rosh was a businessman, and he never, under any circumstances, turned away a profitable deal.
Before today's meeting, Elizabeth had already reached out to May to break down the weird, mind-bending concept of Origin Points and destiny-based credit. Naturally, the explanation had left the poor woman completely scrambled at first. After all, having a mysterious secretary call you up to explain that your literal fate has a measurable, tradeable value isn't exactly a normal Tuesday afternoon conversation.
But the exact moment May realized she could actually buy a legendary Devil Fruit without needing to cough up millions of dollars in cold, hard cash? Her entire attitude flipped upside down.
According to Elizabeth, May had nearly fallen clean out of her chair.
And honestly, who could blame her? Right now, Devil Fruits were the hottest, most obsessed-over topic on the entire planet. Information about them had spread across the globe like wildfire in a dry forest. Even elementary school kids knew their names, memorized their abilities, and went to sleep dreaming about getting their hands on one.
Unfortunately, dreams were a whole lot cheaper than reality.
The Parker family lived a totally modest, middle-class life in Queens. Buying a Devil Fruit through normal, conventional means would have been an absolute statistical impossibility for them. Even if May sold their house, emptied their savings, and pawned every single thing they owned, she still wouldn't have even come close to the baseline price tag.
But Destiny credit? That changed the entire game. And once she found out that even the legendary Captain America had used the exact same system to make a deal, any lingering doubts she had vanished into thin air. She had booked the appointment almost instantly.
As for the kid...
Rosh shifted his gaze back down to the pint-sized Peter Parker.
The boy's personal Luck reservoir was in a completely different, godly league compared to his aunt's. If Rosh cashed in on Peter's destiny right now, the payout would be astronomical. The only real problem was his age.
Right now, Peter was still just a ten-year-old kid. His body was still growing, his bones were still developing, and his DNA was in a state of flux. Handing a high-tier Devil Fruit, whether it was a reality-warping Paramecia or a physically demanding Zoan, to a child whose body wasn't fully baked yet carried way too many dangerous risks. The unpredictable side effects could completely ruin his potential.
It was a million times safer to just let the kid grow up naturally first. There would be plenty of golden opportunities to sell him a fruit later down the line when he was ready to swing from skyscrapers.
"So, I'm your big idol, huh?" Rosh said with an amused smirk, reaching over to casually ruffle Peter's messy brown hair.
The future Spider-Man immediately stiffened, throwing his shoulders back to look as tall as possible.
"That's kind of unfortunate for you, kiddo," Rosh teased, casting a dramatic, sweeping glance around his pristine desk. "I don't actually keep any candy or sweets in here to reward that kind of fierce loyalty."
Peter's jaw dropped slightly, and he immediately puffed his cheeks out in total defiance.
"I don't want any stupid candy!" the boy declared loudly. He threw a tiny, dramatic fist straight up into the air, his eyes practically sparkling with determination. "I want a Devil Fruit! I'm gonna become an awesome ability user just like you, Sun God!"
Rosh threw his head back and laughed. "Oh yeah? And why exactly do you want that kind of crazy power so badly, Mr. Parker?"
Peter didn't even pause to think. He answered with the absolute, unshakeable confidence of a kid who knew he was right.
"Because it's awesome!"
Rosh opened his mouth to reply.
Then, he slowly closed it again.
He had to admit, it was a powerful argument. A completely flawless, unassailable piece of logic. After all, how on earth was a grown man supposed to debate the bulletproof reasoning of a ten-year-old whose entire worldview was built on the fact that having superpowers was just objectively cool?
Even the all-powerful Manager Rosh had absolutely no counterargument for that one.
"Alright, Peter, that's enough. Stop bothering Uncle Sun God," May laughed, a light blush dusting her cheeks as she gently caught the over-excited boy by the shoulders and pulled him back to her side. With Peter successfully reined in, she took a deep breath, turning her full attention to the real reason they had traveled all the way from Queens.
Almost instantly, a look of intense, biting anticipation filled her eyes.
"So, Manager," she began, fidgeting slightly with the strap of her purse as she tried, and spectacularly failed to hide how fast her heart was beating. "Ms. Elizabeth mentioned over the phone that I have some kind of... allowance? Based on my profile? Would you mind telling me exactly what we're working with here?"
"Of course," Rosh replied smoothly.
Truth be told, he had already pulled up her cosmic status the very second she crossed the threshold of the building.
"Congratulations, Ms. Parker. Your destiny account currently contains exactly one hundred Origin Points."
May blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. "One hundred? Is... is that a lot?"
"Correct. And yes, it is," Rosh nodded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the desk. "For a bit of reference, a single Origin Point is directly equivalent to one kilogram of pure gold."
He paused, intentionally letting the weight of those words hang in the air to let them sink in.
"So, looking at your current balance, your fate is effectively worth one hundred kilograms of solid gold bullion. Based on today's market values, you're looking at roughly six to seven million dollars."
Silence, complete suffocating silence, slammed into the room.
May froze solid. The expression that took over her face was so entirely comical that Rosh had to actively fight the urge to laugh. It looked exactly like a computer screen freezing up mid-render; her brain had clearly encountered a fatal system error and was desperately trying to Ctrl-Alt-Delete its way back to reality.
"One hundred kilograms...?" she repeated, the words coming out completely mechanical, like a poorly programmed robot. "Of... of gold?"
Rosh gave a slow, confirming nod.
Every single drop of color immediately drained from May's face, leaving her a ghostly shade of pale. For an ordinary, hard-working person trying to scrape by in New York City, six or seven million dollars wasn't just a nice little bonus. It was life-changing. It was life-defining. It was the kind of astronomical wealth that could completely rewrite a family's history for generations.
Suddenly, May felt incredibly lightheaded. Her knees wobbled, threatening to give out beneath her right then and there. For a fleeting second, Rosh genuinely wondered if he was going to have to catch his client before she fainted dead away onto his rug.
A few agonizing seconds passed before May finally managed to steady her breathing and anchor herself to the floorboards. She cast a cautious, incredibly paranoid glance around the luxurious office, checking the corners as if S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were about to bust through the windows. Then, she leaned in close across the desk, her voice dropping into a frantic, conspiratorial whisper.
"Manager..."
Rosh instantly got a horribly bad feeling about where this conversation was heading.
"Hypothetically speaking... just between us..." May swallowed hard, her eyes sparkling with a completely different kind of desperation.
"Is there any way I could just skip the whole Devil Fruit thing entirely and... I don't know, withdraw the Origin Points?"
Rosh stared at her, utterly speechless.
"I mean actual, physical gold," May rushed to clarify, her hands gesturing wildly. "Or cash! Honestly, a direct wire transfer or cash works completely fine too!"
For the first time in a very, very long while, the almighty Manager Rosh found himself completely tongue-tied.
Throughout the entire history of the Home of the Devil Fruits, countless people had walked through those doors begging, pleading, and bargaining for absolute power. Some wanted the strength to level mountains. Others wanted global fame. Some wanted bloody revenge, and a few even chased the pipe dream of immortality.
But this? This was a historic first.
May Parker was the only client in existence who looked at a golden ticket for a miraculous, reality-defying, god-like superpower and immediately asked if she could treat the establishment like a celestial pawn shop.
After a few beats of stunned silence, May finally realized the sheer absurdity of what had just flown out of her mouth. Her eyes went wide as saucers.
"Oh my God," she gasped, burying her face in her hands as a mortified, breathless laugh escaped her lips. "Look at me. I am so incredibly embarrassed. Please, please pretend I never said that."
She waved her hands frantically in front of her face, trying to physically brush the comment out of the air. "I was just thinking out loud! Seriously! I was totally joking."
She paused for a millisecond.
"...Mostly joking."
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Next Chapter: The Fruit That Changes Spider-Man's Tragic Destiny
Next Next Chapter: From Buyer's Remorse to the Ultimate Jackpot
Next Next Next Chapter: Nick Fury's Ultimate Contingency
Visit my P@tr3on or K0‑fi ''Isopuff'' page and unlock +20 extra chapters and daily updates!