On her way home, Susan stopped at a corner to check her phone screen. Susan used her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Then her eyes slowly blinked as she looked at the new contact on her phone.
People around her stared—not just because Sue was a beautiful girl who naturally drew attention, but also because she had let the light turn red twice while staring at her phone.
She spent a few minutes like that before putting her phone away and continuing to walk.
...
Once home, She got down to work.
Her aunt worked late to support her, and the least Sue could do was help out around the house. She tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail and started cleaning. She did everything in silence, working efficiently and methodically—almost like a perfectionist. She moved furniture to make sure there was no dirt left behind, lifted the rug, and even mixed various cleaning products in a bucket to create her own custom formula for tackling stubborn stains.
If this were a crime scene, not even the best forensic team could find a single clue to incriminate her (not that it matters). Susan looked at her work with satisfaction, took off her rubber gloves, and went to the shower.
Johnny usually went out with his friends if he wasn't training, so Susan often got home first and was left alone...
Susan opened the bathroom door, stepped in, and locked it behind her.
She placed her phone on the counter. Before going any further, she looked at her phone again, opened the messaging app, and typed a phrase. She stood still for a minute before finally sending the message.
Then, she began undressing. Her fingers loosened her clothes, and one by one, each garment fell to the floor. The delicacy and slowness of her movements seemed almost seductive—but there was no one there to watch.
She stepped into the shower.
This was the kind of Sue who took her time as if counting each second. But that wasn't always the case...
"I… asked for his number… but why?"
Sue still couldn't quite understand her own actions. Though it wasn't the first time she had asked for someone's number, she would always end up realizing she had nothing to talk about. No reason to even send a message. So those numbers would eventually be forgotten. That was one of the reasons Sue had trouble making friends.
After showering, she walked to her room wrapped in a towel and dried her hair. She kept glancing at her phone now and then as if waiting for a notification to pop up. Sue shook her head and looked at the trash can filled with all the printed pictures of Allen she had taken earlier.
"…"
Sue got up from her vanity and walked to her desk. Her towel came loose and fell, but she didn't care. Sitting down, she plugged in her phone and searched through her gallery. Among many pictures of her mysterious new friend, she picked one where Allen was biting into a sandwich.
This time, she didn't cover her room with it. She used a chair and stuck it to her ceiling.
As she lay down on her bed—still without putting any clothes on—she stared at the image without ever looking away.
...
The next day, Susan went to school as usual.
It was a little chilly, so she wore a scarf. Before heading out the front door, she checked her phone and saw a new notification from Allen.
– "Sorry Sue, I've been busy. I haven't read the book you recommended, but judging by the synopsis, it sounds great..." –
Susan reread the message a couple of times before smiling and continuing on her way. Of course, she left a reply for Allen.
– "Don't worry, I didn't need long to know you were a lazy cat... See you at school." –
Without waiting for his response, the girl walked out of her house in a great mood...
...
Allen squinted at his phone. He had just been insulted.
"What's up?~"
Gwen twisted in his arms. The two of them were still in bed after a passionate night. Allen shook his head and checked the time—it was already time to get up.
Even though Gwen protested, Allen picked her up and carried her to the bathroom to shower—though what happened in there was inevitable.
Once in the dining room with Gwen and MJ, they were joined by Natasha, who looked half-asleep. Allen got up and caught her before she could collapse.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just that Fury flooded us with paperwork. You know, there's a wave of superheroes fighting all over the place." Natasha wrapped her arms around Allen. "Even if they're not hurting civilians, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s workload has doubled!"
MJ spoke while spreading butter on her toast. "Natasha, have you thought about becoming a field agent again?"
"MJ!" Gwen elbowed the redhead, who groaned.
Natasha remained silent, but Allen hugged her, making her look at him.
"You left the field because you were afraid something would happen and you'd leave me alone. Then I didn't want you to go back because it was dangerous. But now… I can protect you all the time... if you want to be the Black Widow again…"
Natasha placed her fingers on Allen's lips before he could say more.
"My silly little man~ In that world, life and death were constant. Most of my missions were practically suicide, and I still accepted them because I truly didn't care about living." Natasha stroked Allen's cheek. "I won't lie, sorting files and writing reports is boring as hell. But I know it's worth it because now… I have a place to come back to. You are my place to come back to."
"Thank you…"
Natasha and Allen touched their foreheads together in silence.
Gwen and MJ didn't dare say a word. Both girls were blushing, because the atmosphere was so sweet it could've frosted a cake. This scene was far more embarrassing than watching Allen and Natasha kiss.
...
Allen left the apartment with both girls following him, but Gwen and MJ stayed quiet, still embarrassed by what they had just witnessed.
Allen, for his part—and like the shameless bastard he was—laughed and wrapped an arm around both girls' waists.
"Don't be jealous…"
"This time it's not that!" MJ squirmed.
"You seriously don't feel even a little bit of shame, do you?" Gwen averted her gaze, caught between embarrassment and scorn for the incorrigible womanizer.
"…!"
Gwen's and MJ's spider senses flared at the same time. Allen, meanwhile, calmly looked up at the sky.
"Oh..." A heavy transport truck was falling right on top of him. Without hesitation, he stopped it mid-air with his telekinesis. His eyes followed a red figure flying at full speed, clearly responsible for the attack.
"Allen!" Gwen called out to him, but he smiled back.
"Don't worry. It's just an invitation…"
He let go of both girls' waists and vanished.
...
Wanda Maximoff is the Scarlet Witch. She has always been the Scarlet Witch.
But in this world, she was still quite young. Thanks to Magneto—now imprisoned—she was able to start using chaos magic and eventually became quite skilled.
This red-haired girl has many different origins across Marvel stories, but in this world, she is Magneto's daughter, alongside her brother Quicksilver and her sister Polaris. They were all involved in the mutant war that ended in Allen's absolute victory. However, instead of being hunted into extinction as their father had predicted, people's perceptions of mutants began to shift...
Of course, all of this was due to the exposure Allen had given them. Naturally, some dangerous mutants who had once been Magneto's allies ended up in jail, but not her.
Wanda was highly sensitive to magic, and even though it was just for a moment—and she wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been nearby—there he was. The man who had imprisoned her father, the one who had become the target of her vengeance.
(A/N: Allen used the spell so that no one would discover his identity every day)
Wanda couldn't control her rage toward him and threw a truck at him—but immediately went pale, realizing what she had just done.
"Leaving so soon?"
"...!"
Allen appeared in front of Wanda, floating silently. The girl knew she had lost. How could she dare attack this man?!
"I know you... You're Erik's daughter."
Hearing her father's name made Wanda furious.
"Don't you dare say my father's name!"
Wanda created red spheres and hurled them at Allen over and over, but he dodged them without effort. Seeing this, Wanda attempted to control Allen's body with her magic—how ridiculous!
Her magic shattered the moment it touched Allen's body.
"Damn it!" Wanda's body lit up as she created more chaos orbs. "CHAOS!"
Allen extended his hand, halting Wanda's attack, and with a slight clench of his fist, destroyed her magic entirely. Wanda looked at him in disbelief. She had let anger take over and made the worst mistake of her life... now she was just going to die.
Wanda loosened her fists and swallowed all her frustration—but death didn't come. Instead, there was silence.
"Girl, are you angry about your father?" Allen looked at Wanda. The amount of hatred she felt toward him was immense—but it made sense. He had taken her father away.
"Angry?" Wanda gave a twisted smile with tears in her eyes. "I hate you. I hate you so much because you destroyed my family."
"Your father was going to get all mutants killed... and that organization—"
Wanda cut him off. "THE BROTHERHOOD WASN'T JUST AN ORGANIZATION. IT WAS MY HOME, OUR HOME!"
"Even if you say that, the fact that he was going to release a bunch of dangerous people across the world doesn't change."
"I know! I'm not trying to justify us, but where else could we go?! I can't live a normal life when every couple of years a congressman pops up who hates mutants!" Wanda wiped her eyes and looked at Allen with a miserable expression. "I don't care how long it takes. I don't care if I have to sell my soul to the devil—ONE DAY, I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"
"You know if you say that, I can't let you go," Allen replied, his face showing no mercy.
"Tsk." Wanda bit her lip and tore her clothes, revealing her chest and abdomen, wearing only a bra. But in her eyes was a defiant look that said, "Kill me, I have nothing left."
Allen didn't attack Wanda or lay a hand on her. The girl averted her gaze and flew away in frustration.
"..."
2B – Master, are you okay?
Albedo – That bitch. I'll teach her to respect Allen-sama.
Esdeath – It was really hard not to kill her.
The girls complained—it was only natural. Allen had every right to be angry. It was Magneto who picked the fight until the end, and it didn't make sense for Wanda and maybe Magneto's other two children to hate Allen like this.
"..." Allen remained silent. Though Wanda's appearance was unexpected, it made Allen reflect on how many people must hate him right now. He wasn't perfect. He had made mistakes—some more harmless than others. While he didn't care if people like Joker or Amanda Waller hated him, some people didn't even deserve what Allen had done to them, even if it had been an accident.
Allen remembered he had been putting off his responsibilities in Atlantis for years...
"I can't keep running forever…"
Allen shook his head and returned to Gwen and MJ, then headed to school with them.
Once at school, the three of them split up—they didn't have a single class together that day, which was a shame. MJ clung to Allen, throwing a tantrum about not wanting to separate until Gwen dragged her off.
Allen waved them goodbye with a smile.
"...?"
Feeling an intense gaze, Allen turned around only to see Sue silently staring at him. She didn't greet him at first—just watched him. A piercing, quiet gaze. A girl wrapped in mystery and darkness.
"..." Allen wasn't sure if she had seen him with Gwen and MJ, but it's not like he was hiding anything. He took a step forward and smiled. "Hi."
No matter the darkness surrounding this girl, Allen would always take a step forward without fear or dislike. Sue's eyes widened as Allen got closer—and then she smiled.
"Hi~"
After a friendly greeting, they both walked to their classroom.
Allen entered his first class with Sue. Even though there were more seats available, the two sat together. There were some giggles and teasing from the other students, but Sue silenced everyone with one terrifying look.
Allen glanced at Sue but didn't say anything. Sue noticed this and gave a faint smile before turning her attention to class.
...
When the class ended, neither of them got up right away. Sue leaned back and looked at Allen with an amused smile.
"You're really good at pretending..." Sue said with a mocking grin.
"Pretending what?" Allen raised an eyebrow.
"That you give a damn about this class."
Allen gave a slight smile. As he'd often said to himself, he was living his life backward. At this moment, more than preparing for the future, Allen was staying in this stage to be with his "girls" and see them happy.
"Sue, you're very perceptive," Allen replied lazily, and Sue's eyes lit up.
"So it's true," Sue stared intently at Allen. "People who don't care about this kind of stuff are either idiots who just want to party nonstop… or they've already got life figured out. So tell me, Mr. Allen, which one are you?~"
Sue extended her hand to reach Allen's—probably intending to tease him.
But Allen stood up, ignoring the annoying girl, and headed to his next class.
"Heh."
Sue let out a small chuckle, then picked up her things and followed Allen since she also had that same class.
...
Once again, the two sat together. This seemed like it would be just another class until the classroom door opened—and what happened next left them speechless.
The person who entered left everyone in silence—especially Allen...
===
A/N: Sorry if this is a bit of a short chapter...
More chapters on patreon: Patreon.com/_Aizen