Holding onto the spear that had impaled him in the head, the Demon said, “That's a nice spear you've got.”
Sharon, who had just arrived, summoned the spear back, immediately teleporting it back to her from Kazann’s hand.
However, before Kazann could focus on her, the vibranium sword which Lex had been using came flying in at extreme speed as Lex hadn't completely lost his telekinetic hold on it. Just as the sword was about to hit Kazann however, he simply dodged this time and grabbed Lex by the throat.
“Do you really think your pathetic existence can survive me, mutant?” he asked as he squeezed Lex’s neck and broke it.
Lex however completely ignored it, as if pain didn't exist for him, because it really didn't, and directly impaled the vibranium sword into Kazann's stomach.
“It didn't work the first time… why do you think it'll this time?” Kazann said as he was about to remove the sword from his stomach, however Lex once again used a large amount of telekinetic energy and poured it into the sword, which amplified it further.
With a bang, the meat suit of Kazann exploded into tiny pieces, no longer able to heal or contain him.
“You think just destroying my vessel is enough?” A deep voice came from everywhere as a strange mark burned into Lex’s skin, only to heal almost immediately and any effects it might have had never even beginning to manifest.
Lex sat down where he was standing, his body completely healed and his clothes looking as if they had just been ironed when Sharon and the others reached him.
“That was scary man..” Ava said.
“Indeed, yet without you, this might have been too dangerous.” Angela added.
“Thanks for coming, Merlin.” Daredevil said as he too sat down on what seemed to be a broken car.
“We'll definitely need to take precautions for this. Demons are usually pretty petty and once they start targeting someone, they don't stop. And killing them only sends them back to wherever they crawled out of.” Sharon said.
“You seem to know quite a lot about Demons,” Daredevil asked.
Sharon however did not answer, just nodded. Her heart was still pounding, she had felt that she might lose Lex too just a few moments ago. She simply didn't want to process anything else, yet she remained calm outwardly.
Of course, Daredevil knew this, which is why he wanted to change the topic, decreasing the panic from Merlin's friend.
“Well, you guys handle the aftermath, I've got school tomorrow.” Danny replied as he took off.
“We should go too.” Sharon said.
“I'm sorry guys, I too can't help with the aftermath today… I'm new anyways, so seeya.” Lex said before walking away with Sharon.
“You alright?” he asked her as they moved away.
“Not really… you shouldn't have been so reckless…” Sharon replied, yet there weren't many emotions in her voice.
“Hey, you already know I can't die, right? Why worry?” he tried to console her.
“I've already lost someone who claimed to be immortal too..” Sharon replied, showing some emotion for the first time since the fight, but all Lex could feel from her was sorrowful rage.
Instead of going back to the hotel, they went towards the waterfront.
The city was still quiet at this hour. The roads had fewer cars, the cold morning air carried the smell of seawater and the sky slowly shifted from dark blue to orange as the sun began rising over the horizon.
Both of them sat near the edge of the waterfront in silence for a while, simply watching the waves move beneath the light of the sunrise.
Lex eventually wrapped one arm around Sharon and let her lean against him.
“I'll be more cautious,” he said quietly. “But you also gotta be cautious. Sure, you would be revived as a summon, but I don't want you risking your life either. Okay?”
“Not really…” Sharon replied almost immediately, though after calming down a little she just leaned into him more instead of arguing further.
The cold wind moved through her hair while Lex absentmindedly rubbed circles against her shoulder.
About a minute passed in silence before Sharon suddenly spoke again.
“I wanna meet my father… well, the alternative version of him in this timeline.”
Lex looked toward her for a second.
“Sure. How do you wanna do it?”
“Not immediately…” Sharon replied while slowly pulling herself upright again. “Just… I want to. I'll look into it in my free time. I just wanted to tell you.”
Lex nodded.
“Wanna go home?”
“Oh, did you get the keys?”
“Yeah, they left them at the hotel.”
After picking up the house keys from the hotel, they headed toward the penthouse.
Out of the three properties Lex had bought, this one was currently the most suitable for actually living in. It only needed some cleaning and minor repairs. Meanwhile, the mansion almost outside the city needed a ridiculous amount of work considering both its size and the fact that it had been abandoned for quite some time.
The last property was still under complete reconstruction and hadn't even properly started yet since Lex still wasn't sure what kind of design he wanted.
By the time they reached the penthouse, the sun had already fully risen.
Opening the front door, they found the house completely cleaned and decorated.
Most of the furniture still had white sheets covering it and the large windows had blinds drawn over them, leaving the inside dimly lit.
The light switch was still off.
A decorative “Welcome Home” board sat near the entrance and the moment Lex switched the lights on, soft music suddenly started playing from the television.
Sharon blinked.
“…That's actually kinda nice.”
“Well,” Lex looked around the penthouse before glancing toward her. “It's gonna be our home for some time now… unless you want your own?”
“Nope.” Sharon immediately shook her head before laughing weakly. “I would rather not live alone anymore… honestly I'm willing to live with a stranger at this point instead of living alone.”
“Well I technically am a stranger… no?” Lex asked while raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t even start.” Sharon rolled her eyes before pointing toward him. “You're like my saviour. You might not be a knight in shining armor, but you definitely qualify as a hero.”
She finished the last part with a small wink.
After settling down a little, they called the hotel to deliver their belongings to the penthouse and settle the remaining account.
Lex dropped himself onto the couch afterward while stretching slightly.
“I suppose since I'm being cautious now, I should probably summon a few more people and do the Gacha a few times.”
Then after a brief pause he looked toward Sharon again.
“But before all that…” Lex awkwardly scratched his cheek. “I thought it'd be weird before, but since you actually do consider me a friend now… here, drink.”
He lightly cut his finger and let a small amount of blood drip out.
Sharon stared at him.
“…Are you a vampire or something similar?”
Lex immediately looked offended.
“I'm offended you'd think that.”
That actually made Sharon laugh slightly.
“It's my ability,” Lex explained while holding his finger out toward her. “I can give you like a smaller version of my regeneration.”
He intentionally avoided saying immortality.
Sharon hesitated for a second before leaning forward slightly and sticking her tongue out.
The moment the blood touched her tongue, it got absorbed instantly.
Lex immediately felt the connection establish itself and allowed the blood to transfer the regenerative ability.
Of course Sharon already had something better than simple resurrection due to being a summon, but this was different.
This allowed regeneration without actually dying first.
At first Sharon didn't feel anything.
Then suddenly—
“I don't feel anythi— wohh…”
She froze.
A massive wave of energy spread throughout her body almost instantly.
Years of exhaustion seemed to disappear in seconds.
Her breathing steadied.
Her skin felt cleaner.
Her mind clearer.
Even her body suddenly felt lighter and healthier than it had in years.
It genuinely felt like she had finally gotten proper sleep after an eternity.
Sharon slowly touched her own face in disbelief.
“You're definitely a cheat…” she muttered while checking herself further.
She had even regained two teeth she had lost years ago.
The summoning itself had already repaired many things when reviving her, but it mostly restored her previous functional state. Essentially recreating the body she had shortly before death.
This however went beyond that.
“Wait…” Sharon suddenly looked toward him suspiciously. “Do I also get the ‘eat anything and somehow stay fit anyways’ perk you've?”
“I don't know… probably not,” Lex admitted. “That's more related to my peak body thing instead of regeneration.”
He leaned back into the couch while thinking about it.
“Though technically you could probably do something similar. Regeneration isn't really restoring old cells, it's more like remaking them. If you focus enough you might even be able to change stuff about yourself eventually.”
Sharon immediately narrowed her eyes.
“Is that how you shapeshift?”
“Nope,” Lex replied casually. “That's another part of the power.”
Sharon stared at him for a few seconds.
“How many powers do you even have…?”
Lex proudly pointed at himself.
“A reasonable amount.”
Sharon just gave him a flat look.
“Anyways…” Lex quickly changed the topic. “I'm gonna summon Donna. Is that okay with you?”
“Definitely,” Sharon nodded. “Since she's a heroine and probably comes from a world similar to ours, she's probably the safest choice.”
Lex took out the Donna Troy card along with the Background Creation Card and used them together.
{Searching for suitable Backgrounds…
As the character comes from outside the Marvel multiverse, a civilian identity has been created as a Photographer and if Donna Troy at any point reveals her powers, the background of her powers will be linked to magic and gods.
Note: The Background Creation Card only changes perception of the world, not the power system itself or actual origin of the powers. People may associate them with a power similar to this world, but it will not change her own power in any way.]
A faint light filled the living room.
Soon, a tall black-haired woman appeared in front of them.
She wore a black top and jeans with star-like designs worked into them while a glowing blue lasso rested in one hand. A sword hung at her side and a shield remained strapped behind her back almost instinctively, as if she had arrived ready for battle.
“This is it then…” Donna muttered quietly while looking down for a moment.
There was something heavy in her voice.
Like someone who had already accepted an ending.
But then her eyes moved toward Lex.
She stared at him for a few seconds before slowly closing her eyes.
When she opened them again, there was a small genuine smile on her face.
“Thank you…” she said softly. “Thank you so much for saving them.”
Lex awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“You're welcome… but it was my ability that did it. The deal and everything, it's done by the power itself.”
Honestly, he still had no idea who exactly he had saved or what sort of situation Donna had come from.
Donna however shook her head slightly.
“It's still your power,” she replied. “So I'll thank you.”
The softness in her expression slowly disappeared afterward as she straightened herself slightly.
“Now then, what is the reason for summoning me?” Donna asked. “As long as your tasks do not go against my morals, I'm willing to do them.”
To Donna this was an important moment.
The deal had already explained everything to her.
She was free.
Free to live however she wanted.
Free to leave if she wished.
Free even to embrace death again someday if she no longer wished to continue.
The only real restriction was intentionally harming her Summoner or acting against his interests.
“Well, the thing is…” Lex started explaining everything involving the Hellfire Club, the kidnapped girls and Jason.
Sharon occasionally added details from the events that had happened after her own summoning.
Donna listened quietly the entire time.
The more she heard, the more serious her expression became.
“Hmm…” she finally muttered while crossing her arms thoughtfully. “So you asked him to let someone else rescue the girls.”
Sharon looked toward her immediately.
“While I understand where you're coming from,” Donna continued calmly, “and considering he was just a civilian recently, I do agree that he shouldn't take unnecessary risks…”
She paused briefly before looking toward Lex.
“But I also won't sit by while two girls are possibly being experimented on or worse.”
The room became quieter after that.
“The Gacha can clearly bring me back to life,” Donna continued. “So I think we should have a second plan, especially since these X-Men still haven't acted yet.”
Sharon frowned slightly.
“I suggest that if nothing happens by tomorrow, I'll go in alone and try rescuing them.” Donna explained. “And if things go wrong, your power can simply bring me back.”
She leaned back into the couch afterward.
“That gives us room to take risks normal people usually couldn't.”
“While the plan is brave…” Sharon immediately replied, “it is also completely stupid.”
Donna raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Not only would it endanger the girls,” Sharon continued, “it would alert our enemies and possibly expose the secret of revival too.”
“How is that any better than leaving two little girls to get experimented on?” Donna asked back. “Or worse, eaten by a bunch of psychopaths.”
Despite disagreeing, her tone wasn't hostile.
“I'm not saying we should ignore risks,” Donna clarified. “I'm saying we reduce them while still following through with the rescue.”
Lex looked between both of them quietly for a moment.
Honestly, both had good points.
“I actually think Donna's plan can work,” he finally admitted. “But only after we power up a bit more.”
Both women immediately looked toward him.
“We'd also need to hide our identities somehow,” Lex continued while thinking aloud. “And Sharon, you wouldn't even have to directly join the fight.”
Sharon narrowed her eyes slightly.
“You could stay hidden and watch the area instead. If they try escaping, you'd follow them. And if we lose, you'd at least see what kind of countermeasures they use.”
“Lex…” Sharon interrupted him quietly.
There was already emotion creeping into her voice again.
“You promised to be cautious just a few hours ago. Now you want to walk directly into danger?”
Lex opened his mouth slightly before stopping himself.
Donna however spoke first.
“Sharon…” she said more gently this time while moving over to sit closer beside her. “I might not know you yet, but I can tell you've lost someone important not too long ago.”
Sharon went silent.
“And that's why you're being extremely cautious,” Donna continued. “Which honestly makes sense.”
Her tone remained calm the entire time.
“But you also clearly have a tactical mind. Right now though, I think you're thinking emotionally first.”
Sharon looked away slightly.
“And that's understandable,” Donna added quickly before she could react badly. “But if we put fear aside for a moment… what would your ideal approach be?”
For a few seconds Sharon stayed quiet while thinking.
“That depends on these power-ups Lex keeps talking about,” she finally answered calmly. “If we know what we're working with, we should more or less be able to save the girls ourselves without relying on the X-Men or the Brotherhood.”
Donna slowly nodded.
Then after a brief silence she suddenly leaned back into the couch with a small tired smile.
“Man… I'd probably need to learn all kinds of things again, wouldn't I?”
For a brief moment she suddenly felt strangely nostalgic.
Like the first time she had left Themyscira.