POV Rio Magic Clone
I take a deep breath and enter the holding cell my client was in. I had been using my Saul Goodman Template to help represent some of the villains and criminals that the Guardians dealt with as a way to help reform them and get them the care they need. My client today was an exhibitionist who has the villain name Stripperella.
"Ms Starlett, it seems we find ourselves right back here in this cell," I say with a slightly disappointed tone.
"Mr Goodman, I know I messed up, but if I can get another chance," Ms Starlett starts, but I stop her.
"You don't seem to understand the situation you're in. The Police and DA aren't interested in giving you another chance. They want to press Felony Charges," I explain while taking a seat.
"What?! Nononono! Felony, it was allegedly in public, allegedly!" Ms Starlett says with clear panic.
"Public or not isn't the issue. You've been arrested enough times that they believe you aren't changing, and this last incident might have had children involved," I reply calmly.
Ms Starlett goes pale as a sheet.
"Y-You can get me out of this, right? You're a wizard getting people off," Ms Starlett says nervously.
I really don't like the way she phrased that, but I keep my professional facade up.
"I talked with the DA, and they have offered you a deal. You can choose to take the deal or not, but I will warn you that if this goes to court, it's gonna be a very uphill battle. They have a good amount of evidence, and you have a history of revealing yourself. I won't say you'll lose, but if you do, you're looking at up to a decade in prison, and that assumes you last more than a month without being shanked to death," I warn bluntly.
"W-What's the deal?" Ms Starlett asks nervously.
"You'll be given a suspended sentence of 4 years, where you have to stay out of trouble, or you will go straight to prison. During this time, you will also be under modified House Arrest. You cannot go anywhere without a chaperone," I explain while showing her the document explaining the situation.
"What about work?" Ms Starlett asks.
"I might be able to help with that. I have contacts with a few different places. Places that might help with your desire to show off your body. Of course, I have people that run more mundane businesses that would be willing to give you a chance," I offer.
"What kind of work?" Ms Starlett asks with narrowed eyes.
"You can go into the Exotic Dancer industry. Or I can get you in contact with some people in the Adult Film Industry. Both industries, I think, would be a good fit for your desires, and it should hopefully keep you out of trouble," I offer.
"You want me to be a Porn Star?" Ms Starlett asks skeptically.
"Ms Starlett, I don't really care what you do for work; I'm just trying to keep off the street and out of prison. I would love it if I were out of work because there was no crime. And I would love it if you never needed my services again. And knowing your... Proclivities, I thought it best to open doors that might not have been so easy to find before," I say with an exhausted tone.
"Do I have time to decide?" Ms Starlett asks.
"The Deal is on the table for the next few hours. As for my offers, those are separate. You choose them or forgo them, and it won't affect the deal," I explain calmly.
It doesn't take long for her to agree to the deal, but she takes much longer to decide on my other offers. I don't push her and move on with my day. She had my number if she wanted to talk. Unfortunately, I had to deal with a far less ideal person next. Felicia Hardy. She had just recently been captured by Emma Frost as a way to show her abilities off to the Guardians. I don't hate Felicia, but I don't like dealing with a woman who likes to flirt as a way to defend herself mentally. But you gotta do what you gotta do.
POV Shift En Sabah Nur AKA Apocalypse
Sift
A few grains of sand fall upon my face, and I slowly stir.
'Has my plan finally finished?'
I entered slumber all those years ago to wait for the time when my gift would spread across the globe. Only then would my servants awaken me so I could harvest the seeds and ascend to my rightful place, but somehow I felt something was off.
'The sounds, they're too silent.'
I didn't hear the usual voices of lessers, which was odd. I vaguely recall having a disturbance before where many voices screamed in terror, followed by a uniform voice. But I thought that was just my servant doing his work to guard my temple.
I frown as I reach out and notice something else very off.
'Why was I awoken so early?'
I could instinctively connect to those with my latent gift, and it was from that I could tell that so few had truly awoken my gifts. And even then, many were devoid of my gift, from what I could tell. Something was wrong. Very wrong, as even my servants were gone. And there was a massive blank space in my senses as if an entire continent was devoid of life. But then it happened.
CRACK
I roll to the ground as several tendrils pierce the spot I was just lying on.
"Tsk. Of course it wasn't that easy," comments a voice disdainfully.
The tendrils slowly expand, and a new creature stands before me. I knew whatever he was, he wasn't human. But I didn't think he was a brother either.
'I need to run.'
I had just awoken and was far too weak to fight this kind of unknown foe. Not after I had waited for so many centuries.
"Don't bother running. You can't escape; I have made sure of it," the being comments with a look that I recognized far too easily.
I knew those eyes because they were the same ones I had. The eyes of a predator looking to feast, but I at least had one plan that could work, so I focused on restoring my brain-related powers.
BOOOOM
I released an energy beam straight at the foe. The energy beam hit dead center, but the creature didn't so much as flinch. That was fine, as it wasn't meant to harm them; it was meant to cause a cave-in.
With a loud crash, hundreds of tons of stone came crashing down as I swiftly moved through the stone unhindered using one of my powers. I knew it wouldn't harm that creature, but that was fine; I just needed some time to escape, and if that failed, then a bit of time to prepare the backup plan.
I surfaced a good distance away, but I had to dodge an attack instantly as the creature had appeared out of nowhere near me.
"I already told you escape is impossible," the creature said calmly.
It was at this point that I realised something important.
'He's cautious of me. He must be waiting for me to show more of my powers.'
But just as he was cautious of me, I was even more so of him.
We stared at each other and didn't make a move, but that was fine with me as I needed every second of prep time I could manage.
"Why has a Deviant come for me?" I ask mostly to stall for time.
"Deviant? Ah, yes, that is what those invaders call us. Or rather, what they called what I once was. For you see, I have evolved beyond those lesser brethren, and soon I shall be strong enough to devour the last of those invaders. Then nothing will stand in my way of perfection," the creature says with an unmatched hunger in his eyes.
I notice his coming attack, but I have done all the preparations I need. All of it came down to this final gambit. So I pretend to get caught by the attack and feel the draining start almost instantly. But he was a fool to think that he could absorb me.
My body is absorbed, and my mind covertly travels inside the creature.
"You think I am a fool? That I wouldn't notice your intrusion?" the creature comments.
His mind avatar appears before mine, and I can tell this won't be easy.
"I am En Sabah Nur, the God of all Mutants. Your body shall be the vessel of my rebirth," I say haughtily as I strike his mind with my will.
"I am the perfect lifeform, and this is my domain," the creature says as his mind avatar swells in size and power.
I am quickly forced on the defensive.
"You are not welcome here," the creature says as he grabs me in the palm of his hand and squeezes.
"NOOOOOO!" I scream in defiance, but it is futile.
Shatter
POV Shift ???
Shatter
As the mind of En Sabah Nur was shattered and I destroyed the last bit of his existence, I swiftly leave my mind space and move to leave the area. I faced a setback before from that invader, and I had no interest in repeating that experience. Only when I was suitably far away did I take stock of what I gained and smiled with satisfaction. Only to frown a moment later.
'It's still not enough to face him. How can he be so strong?'
Admittedly, I was possibly overestimating his power, but I was confident in my calculations. But that left me with a problem. I needed more power, but the sources I could devour were becoming quite slim, and those that I could target were more and more risky.
'No, wait, there is one way I can gain the edge I need.'
There were only three paths I could take if I wanted to face the invader. The first was to find that trident and use it to boost my power. I knew it was likely with some remnant of those fish people I ate. The second option was to attack those Mutants that cluster together, but that would be difficult unless I could target a few while they were outside. The last was to target the Guardians, but they were far more elusive and mysterious than those Mutants. I couldn't be sure how strong they really were, as nobody I had devoured so far truly knew much about them.
'Let's just go down the list until either I am ready to face that invader or I run out of options.'
Technically, I had a few other choices, but they dealt with magic, and I had basically no information on that, so I had to give up on that for now.