Mark of the Multiversal Pretender

After saying his goodbyes and advising his little partner, Leo decided to take a small look at what’s currently happening in the world ever since the release of Super Macho Man’s true colors.

[We are now live in Super Macho Man’s hidden compound where the rest of his managing team are trying to escape!]

[Hundreds of the SWAT forces just recently barged inside followed along with our Elite Force Specialized in Powered Men.]

Bang! x20

[W-Were those gunshots just now? Gentlemen, we are currently hearing several gunshots from the inside of the compound. Could it be that the managing team is resisting and fighting back?]

“Now that’s interesting. The government is trying to wash their dirty hands when they were the ones who covered his specks of dirt in the first place.” Chuckling at the irony of the situation.

Leo scrolled a few more times on his phone before shutting the screen off.

So many things have indeed happened in the past few days. 

First of all, sponsorships have now increased their payment to the Superheroes who are sponsoring them. This is to avoid situations such as Super Macho Man who made his own Rival just to get a lot of money.

Second, a few laws were passed and some of them would permanently put a leash on every Superhero’s neck such as each Superhero must have an assigned Government Official to watch over them, it doesn’t matter who, as long as someone from the Government will keep watch on them.

Another law that was passed was the requirement that all Superheroes must undergo regular psychological evaluations. This law was put in place to ensure that each superhero would have a clean mentality and not a hidden psycho.

Despite the increased tensions between Superheroes, the Government, and the Public, many superheroes, especially the younger ones, were supportive of the measures. They felt that having a direct line to the Government meant they could more effectively coordinate responses to large-scale threats. However, the older, more seasoned Superheroes, like Downburst and Gazerbeam, viewed these laws as a restriction on their autonomy. Gazerbeam, in particular, voiced out that the government was trying to turn them into weapons they could control rather than protectors of the people.

“Turning Superheroes into their own weapons? So the Government took this opportunity to finally control all the Superheroes. With the reputation of Superheroes being tarnished thanks to the leak, the public became cautious towards them…”

Quick to analyze what the Government was doing, Leo felt like he needed to do something however, after a few seconds of contemplation, he finally decided not to. He already changed too much in this world and if he changed it more, it would be unrecognizedable.

In the end, Leo decided to let the nature take its course. Though if the world decided to end itself, he obviously wouldn’t stay idle. The entire month he stayed in this world almost made him feel like he was back home since out of all the worlds he visited, this world was the closest to his own.

So it's not wrong to say he developed a sense of home in this world.

Taking one last look at the horse stables where his laboratory resides, Leo smiled and used his Thunder God mark back on the Presidential Suite.

***

During the time Leo was gone, Helen was having a very bad dream. A nightmare as you call it.

In her dream, Helen was trying to reach and chase after someone. However no matter the distance or speed, she can’t seem to reach him.

“Leo! Wait for me!” She shouted to the top of her lungs as she watched Leo walk slowly away from her. Despite the slowness, she was unable to decrease the distance between the both of them.

Before she knew it, a woman appeared at the direction where Leo was walking to.

Helen could see the features of this woman. Lean figure with curves. Beautiful and glowing white hair that went past her shoulders, smooth skin that reminded her of a baby’s skin. What truly caught her attention was the shiny crown resting on the top of her head along with a few snow marks floating around her.

The perfect woman. That’s what went inside her mind upon seeing this woman with graceful features. By the time Leo reached the woman, Helen gulped her saliva in fear as the two of them held hands and started fading away in the distance.

“No. Wait! Stop! Leo, please! Please stop! Wait for me!!!” Just like that, Leo and the woman faded and disappeared from her vision.

At the same time, everything darkened, and she was finally out of her nightmare.

Helen’s eyes fluttered open and immediately, her hands scanned around the bed with her eyes still in a daze, trying to find the familiar warmth that she was hugging before falling asleep.

Feeling its absence, Helen’s sleepy eyes snapped open wide, she quickly went from lying down to sitting on the edge of the bed as her head flicked left and right, searching for Leo’s presence.

Seeing no one, Helen’s heart started beating fast, faster than the last time she ran a marathon during her high school days.

“Leo? Leo, are you there? Leo! Leo!” Standing from the bed, Helen frantically ran around the Presidential Suite, opening several closets, and bathrooms and even the storage room wasn’t spared by her search.

Minutes ticked by and Helen started getting more nervous and scared.

“He left me. Why? Was I not enough? Could it be he loves that woman more than me?” Going back to the bed, Helen breathed heavily, her eyes getting hazy and unfocused as she stared down at the floor, thinking of various reasons and asking herself countless What-ifs that would make anyone see her as a crazy woman.

Before she knew it, she felt her vision getting blurry and her cheeks getting slightly wet.

“Huh? What’s this?” Confused, Helen brought her hand towards her cheeks and felt the warm wetness of her tears.

“I’m crying?” She vexedly asked again, tilting her head in confusion.

“Maybe I was not worthy enough. I’m not beautiful, I’m not rich and I’m not even smart. I’m just someone blessed enough to have this weak power and fats.” Helen felt her mental mind slowly cracking, breaking, and shivering. As if any moment now she would collapse on the ground.

Fwoooshh!

She didn’t even register that someone just appeared inside.

Leo, who just got back, was suddenly met with a messy room that looked like it had just been robbed.

“Helen? What happened to the room? Why does it look like a typhoon just passed here? Helen?” Seeing Helen sitting on the edge of the bed, Leo’s eyebrows raised when he sensed her erratic and chaotic emotions.

“Helen?” Hurrying up, Leo crouched in front of Helen and saw her eyes were devoid of anything slowly gaining light the moment Leo touched her and raised her head to meet her eyes.

“L-Leo? Is that you?” Like a curious baby, Helen lifted her arms and touched Leo’s face, tracing his every facial feature as if she was seeing him for the first time.

“Its me, Helen. What happened to you? I was just gone for a few minutes and you look like you’ve been throug-” Just as Leo was about to finish his sentence, he sensed Helen’s muscles getting tense as she quickly jumped towards him.

Brimming with confidence, Leo didn’t moved and simply watched as Helen engulfed him like a Koala while burying her face on his chest.

We could feel the wetness spreading on his bare chest as he was currently wearing his Hawaiin shirt without buttoning up.

"Mmff… mmphh… you… mmff… left… mmph…" 

“Hmm?” Wondering what she was trying to say, Leo carefully lifted her chin and saw her face full of tears and snot.

“Calm down, Helen. Just tell me everything.” Caressing her cheeks, Leo wiped the tears from her cheeks and calmly said.

“Sniff! Sniff! I-I thought you left me. I woke up and….”

***

“So just because you had a nightmare, you thought it was real and I truly left you?” Leo smiled wryly. Though he felt like Helen was just overthinking. At the same time, he got wary, since Helen managed to accurately describe what Elsa looked like even without seeing or knowing her appearance.

This is like something that came out of a horror movie!

‘Is it someone messing or just it just a coincidence? No, this isn’t a coincidence, I could smell from miles away that this is something that someone could have done.’ Leo’s eyes gained a cold glint before disappearing and being replaced by a soft look.

“Look, the reason I was gone was because I was making preparations before we left this world temporarily,” Leo explained to which Helen nodded.

“Right, I forgot to inform my parents.” With the ‘disaster’ finally gone, Helen was no longer having a hard time breathing and it even felt like her breathing seemed clearer than ever.

After a few calls here and there, it was finally time to leave.

Taking Helen’s luggage into his storage ring, Leo and Helen stood side by side as a golden portal that started small and increased in size slowly circled in front of them.

“You ready?” Leo asked once the portal fully stabilized.

Helen replied with a nod and with that cue, Leo held her hand and stepped inside first, followed by a nervous Helen who still had a few dried tears on her face.

With unwavering determination and her love for Leo, the two of them were engulfed inside and the golden portal disappeared.

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 135 - Back again!]