Canon Fodder

CHAPTER 399 SECURITY

“Okay, I think I found it,” I said. Opening my eyes I looked at Matilda who was keeping watch. I had been focusing on the people discreetly leaving until I found what we needed. “We will need a few things first though,” I admitted. 

“Like what?” 

“Like 2 tickets,” I said. “There is another security checkpoint down below for the special event.” I searched the people moving in the ballroom and found a man and woman that were heading the right direction. “Come on.” I started walking to intercept them. Matilda followed, grumbling under her breath as I took charge. Making a B-Line for the people I shot a streak of a Spark at an unsuspecting man close to them. 

He yelled and fell to the ground as if I had scripted it. Drawing everyone’s eyes to him I moved to my targets and found the 2 tickets in the man’s back pocket. Stealing them easily I waited for Matilda with my elbow out. She took it and we walked in step toward one of many exits. 

“What the hell was that?” She asked. “How did you do that to the guy?”

“Another power,” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“It would be good to know your capabilities in case this gets ugly,” she said through clenched teeth. I missed what she said, studying her cleavage. “Hey, pay attention.” 

“Sorry, what? Get ugly? Yeah, this is going to get ugly. There is a whole new group of security down below,” I said moving to the elevator. Another couple of people walked in with us. We smiled at them and quieted as we moved down a single level. 

Once the doors opened the secret event was revealed. Large double doors guarded by 8 people there were women this time. All were in suits and ties, but these people were much more dangerous than the guards above. 

“What do you mean new security?” Matilda asked as we walked behind the other couple from the elevator. 

“These people are highly trained. I can barely sense they are there. I can’t even feel them breathing.” Their Spiritual Energy was still there, but weak as if they were suppressing it somehow. All of these guards had twisted, almost deadly energies about them. “I think they might be assassins.”

Matilda frowned, studying them with her own sensory powers. “Or ninjas,” she whispered. 

I wanted to question what she meant by that. About to ask her to clarify, I stopped as I was asked for our tickets. I passed it to a beautiful woman behind a small podium. The deadly ninja assassins behind her pretending not to watch us. They were ready to attack at any moment. 

“Very good, please take your seats,” the receptionist said, passing us 2 cards. “The event will start soon.” I nodded and noticed the cards we got were related to seat position. We were in 22J and 21J. We made our way through the lines of throne worthy chairs. Close to the edge we weren’t as blocked in by other patrons as most. 

People around us whispered to one another behind their hands. In front of us was a large stage with a red curtain blocking the view. There were a few raised podiums around the edge of the auditorium-like room, with some familiar faces sitting there. 

“That is the Hellfire Club,” I said, pointing for Matilda. I recognized Sebastion Shaw and Obadiah Stane sitting front and center as well as a few others I had noticed at the club. I guessed they were running this whole thing in cooperation with whoever was in charge of the ninjas.

“There’s Kingpin,” I mumbled, he was on the opposite side on a smaller raised podium. Killgrave and Jessica Jones no longer behind him he just had a normal looking bodyguard behind him. I tried to guess who the new bodyguard was, but had no clue. There were too many villains out there to even try. 

“Know anyone else here?” Maddy asked. She didn’t bother to look around, her face straight ahead I could feel that she was rather nervous, but was trying to stay calm. 

“I don’t…think so,” I said. I was surprised Tony Stark wasn’t there. A few faces I thought I recognized in the crowd I didn’t want to try to guess. Emma Frost walked in from the back and moved to the Hellfire Club’s seats. She whispered something to Shaw then to my horror locked eyes with me. 

I turned away, hiding my face behind my hand. She continued to stare at me, her Spiritual Energy saying she recognized me. But instead of saying something to Shaw she walked up to the front stage and moved behind the curtain. 

I let out a sigh of relief, but wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Jessica Jones had known this was an auction, and that was it. The tension in the room began to build as the time ticked away, some of it leaking into me. Matilda’s own nervousness began to increase. Then out of the blue she turned her head to face someone. 

I followed her gaze. She was staring at a beautiful dark haired woman. Tan skin, Asian descent, black dress, legs that peeked out of a slit in the dress, and cleavage that didn’t leave much to the imagination. I was immediately reminded of Chun-Li from Street Fighter with how muscular the woman was. She was standing near the edge of one of the doors, talking into a radio. Scanning the room she then turned around and walked out. 

“Who was that?” I whispered. 

“An old friend,” Matilda mumbled, her Haki a mix of regret and anger. 

“An old girlfriend?” I clarified, starting to get the picture.

“What makes you say that?” Matilda asked, stiffening in her seat just slightly. 

“Well it’s obvious by your reaction. Let me guess…the ninjas are part of the Foot,” I said.

“You mean Hand?” She asked. Her Haki now alight with questions on how I could know that. 

“Shit, yeah, that’s what I meant,” I said. The Foot were the bad guys in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was a play off the Hand which was Daredevil’s enemies. “The Hand is a very famous ninja clan. I’m guessing that’s who is guarding this place.”

The Hand were common enemies for Daredevil, and in most canon they were led by Daredevil’s love interest, Elektra Nachos….or whatever her name was. Though Demoness was genderbent, it appeared Elektra wasn’t. I would have been annoyed she was into women, but from the signals I had been getting she wasn’t against a man. 

“You really do know a lot,” Matilda mumbled, annoyed.

“I don’t know your history with them,” I said. She appeared to be rather knowledgeable of them. I wondered if maybe she had spent time with the Hand or something. 

“And you won’t,” she said, leaving it at that. I wanted to push, but left it. The lights in the room dimmed and the curtain began to draw back as Emma Frost walked out onto the stage. Walking out in her stripper worthy outfit she had a wide smile as she spoke into a microphone. 

“Ladies and gentleman, thank you for attending the auction tonight,” Emma said. Her voice was low and sweet, like listening to someone ready to rip your clothes off because they were so desperate to have you. I decided at that point that I didn’t care what it took, I would be getting closer to Emma Frost. 

As I had daydreams about what she looked like under the white, which wasn’t too far of a stretch of the imagination, she continued on. “Tonight is a very special event. Hosted by the Hellfire Club, and other private individuals.” I guessed she meant Kingpin who liked to stay as a silent ruler of the city, but I doubted he had control of the Hand. Maybe they were controlled by some other big name in the city.

“First, let us begin with invitations to the Hellfire Club,” Emma said. Another woman pushed a cart out and 5 black cards with intricate designs on the edges were shown. “Shall we start the bidding on the first for $1 million.” 

“Fuck me,” I mumbled as the price quickly rose to $2 million.

“Whole other world,” Matilda noted and we waited. The invitations were gone in a few minutes and I wondered how the hell I thought $3 million was a lot of money. The last rich life I had taken over was the Chaebol in the Manhwa Smut world, and I doubted even he could keep up with these people. 

The auctions continued on, waiters and waitresses moving through large gaps between the seats to give people more alcohol. They bid and bid and bid. First a set of jade dragons said to give power to those in need were sold for $60 million. Then a bench said to be owned by Queen Elizabeth was sold for $500,000. Each item had a rich history and story behind it. 

Emma was a perfect auctioneer. I could feel a psychic haze over the air. Subtle but obvious to me. Instead of directing people to bid, it was actually directing people to hate. More than one person got in a bidding war with another, driving up the price so high it made people clap when it was finally concluded. Thankfully I didn’t have the money or will to own any of it. But I did notice Matilda itching to raise her seat number now and then. 

At least she knew she didn’t have a chance of winning anything. I could tell that the agitation of an ex, being somewhere without her suit on, and all of the tension in the room was getting to her. I couldn’t help but put my arm over her shoulder.

“Calm it down,” I mumbled. “This is an everyday thing for all these people. We need to be more discreet.”

“Easy for you to say,” she whispered out the side of her mouth. “This is why I prefer my neighborhood. I don’t put myself out in the open like this. I don’t know how you’re so calm.”

“Training,” I said. “And it helps to know you can kick the ass of everyone here…most everyone anyway. It’s best to put on a mask,” I said, remembering back when my sister Evelyn taught me to seduce the Mizukage. “We are playing a part. Pick someone around you, and do what they do. Every nose scratch, eye roll, yawn. Just copy them. And soon you will become them. Playing the role of someone who is used to this sort of thing is the easiest way to fake it.”

Matilda frowned but I noticed her sensing around the area. Her ears perking up she began to fidget less. Focusing on someone I guessed was 2 rows behind me Matilda did a good job of mimicking them. It was some heiress or rich girl. Bored by the whole event she slouched in the chair and played with her purse. 

I let my Observation Haki wander around the room as the auction moved toward jewelry. This gem was said to have been smuggled out of the mines in someone’s stomach. This necklace was made by the late great Vinglevoss, who we all know only made 211 pieces of jewelry and each is stamped with a number. This happens to be number 67, which got people excitedly talking and bidding higher. 

Matilda kept mimicking different people, distracting herself with the game of it. I began to focus outside the room with my Haki. The auditorium we were in was surrounded by 2 hallways. Guards patrolled everywhere and continuously dragged pieces to be shown from the back. I was starting to get bored and ordered a drink as it kept going. 

After a good 2 hours I noticed a change in the venue though. Some people began to get up and walk out the back. No real signal given as to why, Demoness and I stayed behind. Abruptly about half of the people left the room. 

That was when the really fun part of the auction began. First was a missing Jackson Pollock painting. Recently liberated from a European collection it appeared we had gotten to the illegal side of the event. The people that left apparently knew about this stage and decided they didn’t want to be a part of the bad things that these people were buying. The area began to get darker, giving more anonymity to the bidders. Yet somehow Emma was still able to see every ID and catch every bid. 

“$33 million for the original prophecies of the Cult of the Phoenix,” Emma said. I was caught off guard by the name, curious what the hell that meant but I was more surprised as they wheeled people out in chairs. 

There were 3 of them. Each drugged up, in blindfolds, and practically naked. I wasn’t terribly surprised this was happening in the illegal part of an auction, but I was surprised that I recognized 2 of them. 

Alex Summers and Lorna Dane sat side by side in the wheelchairs. Lorna’s green hair, and Alex’s strong chin were distinct. The person beside them was a pale girl with dark hair that I didn’t recognize, but all 3 were people I needed to save. 

“Normally we don’t handle such events here,” Emma said. “But special circumstances lead to opportunity. All 3 of these individuals are bonafide mutants from out of state.” I had heard Lorna and Alex were working with Cyclops, but I wondered what the hell they could have gotten themselves into to get captured within a week. 

“The first lot is the girl on the right. She is said to be extremely lucky. Now let’s start the bidding at $200,000,” Emma said, acting like she wasn’t affected about selling people. “Yes, A4,” she said, that was Kingpin’s number. I had assumed he supplied the mutants based off what Demoness and I heard, but it seemed he didn’t. “Oh 12-B, $250,000. Do I hear 3?” 

My heart began to pound in my chest as they continued on. Last time I had been a part of this sort of thing I let Luffy be the force of good. But there was no Luffy here. A few people in the crowd were sickened, but most were excited to see an actual slave auction. I chewed my lip, thinking quickly on what to do, but there was really only one answer. 

“Get out of here,” I mumbled to Matilda as I took my jacket off. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, fear in her voice. 

“Saving them,” I said. “I’m not about to-”

“Weston, you have no idea what these guards can-”

“I don’t give a shit,” I said. “I’m saving them. Now. Get out of here. This is my fight.” I threw her costume to the empty seat next to her as I put my hoodie on. 

I had received another Hero Costume reward with my last quest. I designed it much like the one in My Hero Academia. A black hoodie made of a water resistant exterior, comfy inside, black pants, armor plating throughout all of it. The pink turned Watanabe heart at the bottom right corner of the hoodie and upper right corner of the pants it was simple and to the point. 

As I discreetly changed my clothes and Matilda mentally flipped between helping and stopping me I received a quest. 

That sealed the deal for me. Storing my clothes in my Inventory the bidding on the lucky girl was wrapping up. “Get the fuck out of here,” I said to Matilda and summoned Tabi. 

That 2 tailed cat became a bright blue light in the very dark auction room. “I need you to get big. Spit fire everywhere. I don’t care, but cause chaos.” Tabi didn’t hesitate, ballooning outward her small cat form became the size of a horse, then the size of a massive bear. Her body pushing chairs and people out of the way as she grew it wasn’t long until she was spitting fire out everywhere. 

That was my cue, running forward I jumped to the stage. I felt the psychic reach of Emma as she backed away, but pushed it back. “Don’t,” I ordered, sticking my hand up. She gulped and stopped, stepping away. I grabbed the handcuffs of each of the prisoners and broke them. 

Ducking down under the first ninja star I continued to break the restraints on the mutants as masked ninjas ran out from behind the stage. Ripping out the IV needles in the prisoner’s arms I turned to the masked men and women. 

“You think you’re ninjas?” I asked, feeling more than confident. “What a joke.” I shot out 8 streaks of Sparks from my body. They connected with 6 of them. 2 jumped back but I was on them both. Nen all over my body I hit them each, breaking a leg for one and shattering the jaw of the other. More ninjas poured out and Demoness joined me.

I turned to see that the people in the crowd were yelling and screaming. Tabi had taken to the distraction well. Setting alight people and furniture alike, the rich of the city streamed out of the auditorium as fast as they could. 

Demoness blocked 2 other ninjas that came up and I was preparing to grab the prisoners when the bosses appeared. Not the crime bosses like I expected, but the ninja bosses. Both were women. One I assumed was Elektra from Matilda’s reaction. Long black hair, tight leather red top over the black dress, it felt armored. 

The other was familiar as well though. Instead of formal attire she wore a deep blue leotard. Her hair a very dark purple she had dark skin and an Asian look as well. 

“Who the hell are you?” Elektra asked. 

“You can call me Bastard,” I said with a smile under my mask. I extended my Haki out. There were a lot more ninjas and guards coming. This was turning into a pain in the ass, but I had to deal with them all. 

The purple haired girl behind Elektra surprised me as a bright purple blade appeared out of her hand. “Fucking Psylocke?” I asked, surprising her. Another mutant, I cursed my terrible luck and quests. But this was my Viltrumite form, of course the quest would be hard. 

I jumped forward coating my body in Nen, Haki, and Sparks and punched Elektra. She dodged smoothly, trying to kick me in the side, but I blocked it and sparks ran into her. She cried out as Psylocke attacked, her eyes angry as she slashed her purple blade at me. I dodged it with ease and stepped back. 

Aware of everything around me I dodged more and more ninja stars as Demoness finished up her fight and joined me. We began to push Psylocke back and I activated Timeflow. Moving toward her in a fluid motion I punched her in the face with all I had. I felt her teeth rattle and she flew into the back of the stage as Demoness blocked Elektra from attacking me. 

I moved over to the trio as the ex-lovers fought. “Tabi!” I yelled. The cat stopped spitting flame at the entrance and sauntered over to me like she had all the time in the world. “I need you to carry these 3.” 

“I can’t fit through the doors if I do.” 

“Then 2. I’ll take the other,” I said. She hissed but didn’t fight it as she shrunk down to 6 feet tall. I grabbed Lorna and Alex and threw them on her back. Throwing the last girl over my shoulder I still didn’t know who she was, but it didn’t matter. Elektra and Demoness fighting it out. I threw a Spark at Elektra and it hit her square in the chest. 

She stiffened and fell to the ground as Matilda turned and began to follow me. “Thanks for staying,” I said. 

“I’m regretting it,” she said as men with guns ran into the room through the back entrance. 

“Me too,” I said, using my Timeflow I ran forward as the guns were shot at me. Speeding up my time the bullets hit the floor far behind me and I was among them. Kicking and punching my way through them all. As my Timeflow ended the last man fell. 

Demoness skidded to a halt next to me. I heard an audible gulp as she studied me. Surprise and to my enjoyment some lust leaked into her Haki. I gave her my best smile.

“We can kiss later,” I assured, causing her to stammer. 

“Weston, I’m regretting helping you,” Tabi said. 

“Sorry,” I said, running to the door, pushing other people back. They were all touching so I sent a Spark into one and the electricity shot into all of them. Convulsing from the power we ran to the elevator, but I wasn’t about to fall for that. Taking us down the hall I found the stairwell that the guards had been using. 

Running up I knocked a few more people out, the girl on my back all the while. When we got to the 1st floor I ran us down another hall then corridor, through an office and out a back window. We hadn’t met anyone else during our exit and once we were outside I had all 3 passed out prisoners off Tabi as we recovered. 

“Why do interesting things keep happening around you?” Matilda asked, no amusement in her voice. 

“Just lucky,” I said with a shrug, unsure where to go from there.