.......
Third Person P.O.V.
After taking the Stepford Cuckoos for "trick-or-treating", Eidolon brings them back to Emma's mansion. Their bags are full of candy, and they are exhausted after the long night, so he is carrying them all in his arms.
"How is it?" Emma stood up from her chair when she saw him suddenly appearing in front of her. She is wearing a white nightgown that doesn't hide much.
"As you can see… a success." Eidolon chuckles in his knight armor, gesturing to the sleeping girls "Everyone loved them. Got a lot of candy."
"With my looks, they are obviously destined for success." She says smugly before moving forward to try to take a girl from his arms.
"You can let me put them to sleep… I want to." He says gently
"Okay then." She follows him as he walks to their room. He just appeared here to warn her, and she can join him in putting them to bed. "You can put me to bed later, if you want."
"Nice try, but you are a little grown-up for that." He dismisses her immediately.
But she doesn't take offense, she just laughs with her hand, she doesn't mind his coldness. Emma Frost is playing the long game now.
........
New York
In the Avengers Tower, the giant holo-screen replays the previous exchange in slow motion.
Everyone can watch the vampire lady approaching him, mouth open and fangs bared, aiming at the front of his mask. Her hands are also approaching each side of his head, aiming to turn his face for the kiss or bite on his lips. Just some inches away…
They can also see the exact moment where Eidolon's eyes turn from the camera to her, narrowing dangerously before glinting, going from the stormy grey to an orange-gold.
Boom
Then it happened so fast that even the slow-motion camera couldn't capture it perfectly. It appears to be a headbutt delivered at hypersonic speed.
"And now it is proven that I won the bet." Shego says smugly
"Damn, she really wanted a piece of him." Jennifer laughs while slapping her knee.
"Who wouldn't?" Darcy asks
"Not if that is the result…" Helena says that when the screen finally goes back to the present, Eidolon is now coldly standing over the vampire.
Elizabeth Báthory seems to be struggling, hunched on the ground while wheezing loudly. When she looks up, her hair disheveled, she stares at Eidolon to ask a question
"What have you done to me??" Her voice is raspy, some burns appearing around her neck and chest, and there is even steam coming from her mouth. Her hands hover around those burnings, afraid to touch them.
"It can be translated to 'Ripple', it is a technique where one can harness the power of the sun through breathing exercises… and because it allows one to generate sunlight through their own body, it is incredibly lethal to unliving creatures of the night like yourself." Eidolon starts explaining coldly "When you tried your sneaky move, I just breathed it into your mouth, and now your lungs are burning. The Ripple is probably spreading to your heart, and from there it will make your blood boil."
Elizabeth stares at him, still breathing hard, the burning spreading on her previously unblemished skin.
"That is what you gain by trying to kiss me without even paying for a coffee first." Eidolon jokes, but his tone is still cold.
"This… This… This is rubbish!! Something like this shouldn't exist!!" Elizabeth says hatefully, struggling with every word
"Said the undead creature. It is okay to be a monster, but you become really unlikeable when you reveal yourself as a hypocrite." Eidolon rolls his eyes. "At least I needed to train the Ripple. You just turned and became like that, no effort at all. I prefer the hard way, though. Despite not making anyone immortal, the Ripple not only allows you to use life force with the power we absorb from the sun through breathing, but also helps retain the life force, prolonging the youth, allowing you to control your own body in supernatural ways, healing, and many other unique applications… It is one of my techniques that I plan to teach humanity in the future. It is not only for fighting, after all, but it also increases everyone's quality of life."
In the Avengers Tower, the people are watching that exchange with interest.
"So there is something like that? That is cool! I want to try!" Darcy says to the others
"Hmpf, do not get happy so fast. That guy's notion of things is skewed…" Shego scoffs "It is not because he said 'everyone can learn' that everyone can learn…"
"A mystical technique that can do all that is pretty difficult." Helena adds
"To put it in perspective, how difficult it is… learning something like that is to karate, as abstract algebra is to the multiplication table." Harley raises her finger to explain.
"So you guys can't use it?" Natasha asks with interest.
"Hell no. He tried to teach us, but we are not Shadow." Shego rolls her eyes
"You are just lazy…" Eidolon heard the talk and turned to the camera "And you are underestimating how much effort people would put in something that would genuinely better their lives. The only reason I can't spread the teachings is that it would do more harm than good because of how humanity is right now."
"Damn, because of a few people, we can't have nice things." Jennifer sighs in understanding.
"It is like my energy source." Stark says "I would love to share, but we all know how it would be used first." He points at Captain America, who raises his eyebrow at him.
"Hey, don't point at him!" Peggy complains
"Just making a point, grandma! Geez~" Tony raises his arms
"I am going to kill you!!" On the screen, Elizabeth suddenly shouts while clutching her chest in pain.
She focuses so that she can put her hands in the ground, and her shadow shifts, and from there, two big undead dogs jump, jaws full of sharp teeth opened wide to bite Eidolon.
Whoosh
But he simply grabbed them by their necks as if they were stuffed toys.
"You shouldn't shout if you are gonna make a sneaky attack." Eidolon comments offhandedly while choking the dogs that whine in his grip.
The closest breed they could be is a Doberman, but they are too monstrous to be normal animals. They have no fur, exposing the bloated muscles beneath their grey skin; some pieces of said skin are missing, showing some muscle fibers and even bones.
"Poor creatures…" Eidolon sighs apologetically.
Bzzt
His hands are enveloped in a golden light mixed with some orange electricity. The dogs stop struggling and go completely still… after that, it doesn't take long for them to simply dismantle like they were a fragile sculpture of sand, chunks of their pieces falling and becoming dust.
When there is nothing more of them, Eidolon turns to Elizabeth coldly and says
"See? Something like that… Very effective." He then approaches his still shining hand to her head.
Her face morphs into one of terror as his hand hovers over it, wincing at the light cast on her pale skin.
"..." But Eidolon stops, his eyes looking at the camera. He cancels the ripple in his hand and straightens himself.
"He was about to eliminate her, huh?" Natasha asks lightly. No one needs to answer because it is pretty clear what he was about to do.
On the screen, instead of killing Elizabeth, he looks at her with disgust.
"Still haven't removed such a weak Ripple from your lungs? Geez… Have you never been in a threatening situation?" He sounds half disappointed and half angry. "Hah, I bet not. Probably just bullied humans and monsters weaker than you, huh?"
Then he stomps on her solar plexus.
"GAH!" Elizabeth releases a gasp when air is forced from her lungs violently. Not only the air, but the ripple is also expelled with an ugly sound, static electricity appearing on her breath.
She falls to her knees, breathing hard, but the burnings on her torso and neck stopped growing.
"By the way… is this who I think she is?" Eidolon turns to look at someone outside the screen.
"She introduced herself as Elizabeth Báthory." Selene stepped forward to report
"It is what I thought…" Eidolon turns again to Elizabeth
"Hey, isn't that…" Reed starts saying.
"...that old legend of an evil noble woman that kept herself young by bathing in the blood of young women. Elizabeth Báthory, the Blood Countess." Eidolon completes while using the tip of his foot to raise Elizabeth's chin to look at him
Her gaze is hateful, but mostly fearful, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth as her burning wounds slowly disappear.
"Did you really kill a lot of young girls for it?" Eidolon asks, his voice with a strange reverberation
"Yes…" Elizabeth answers without even thinking
"How many?" Eidolon narrows his eyes, his voice still carrying an extra reverberation.
"I lost count…" Now Elizabeth noticed that there was something wrong "Wha- How? What have you done to me??"
"Just a power of mine that compels people to answer honestly… Not as good as the Lasso of Truth, but good enough for some interrogations when the opponent is weak." Eidolon shrugs.
"Hmpf!" As Elizabeth heals, her confidence returns. "So what if I used some low-level girls for my baths… It really worked, didn't you think? They should be grateful their small lives had some use at the end." She gives him a bloody smile, arching her back to show her cleavage.
"..."
"I have to say, you are the first man in centuries that impressed me so much. Even more than Dracula…" She holds the tip of his foot and moves away from her, but in a slow, non-threatening way
"See? See?? I am telling you, guys! Every fucking time!!" Shego points at the screen, fully vindicated
"It is a defense mechanism…" Natasha presumes. "When everything fails, you can always use your looks against men."
"Did you even do that?" Darcy asks with a conspiratorial smile
"A lot." Natasha confessed with a sly smile on her own. "Always worked at least to distract them for a moment… except for…"
BamCrack
On the screen, Eidolon suddenly kicked Elizabeth in the face, forcing the back of her head to hit the wall behind her.
"...him." Natasha completes, staring at the screen.
"That guy really doesn't know how to treat a dame." Johnny Storm shakes his head
When the dust settles, it is possible to see that Eidolon not only kicked Elizabeth's face, but he also precisely kicked her teeth. His foot is halfway inside her mouth, pieces of her pointy fangs falling, and her jaw is dislocated.
The previous beautiful, noble face is twisted into a monstrous visage as she processes the pain, anger, and humiliation of the moment.
"I am sorry… It is just a reflex to smack a mosquito buzzing in my ear." Eidolon says coldly while looking down on Elizabeth.
"Hehe~ It is because of things like this that you are accused of being a misogynist." Shego admonishes him, but she can't hide the satisfied smile on her face.
"She literally tried to sexually assault me and see other women as tools and cattle… I am the one on the women's side here." Eidolon defends himself off-handedly, not really caring about his reputation. "Should I show how much of a feminist I am?" His eyes show a hint of amusement.
""""No!!"""" All the women of the SCP answered at the same time, remembering the horrible scene he had performed some time ago.
"..." The ones who do not understand the joke look confused
"Now I am curious…"
"Just forget about it…"
"It is too painful."
Eidolon chuckles on the screen "Okay, I lost too much time already… Tell me what you discovered so that I can act accordingly." He turns to Selene "Ah, by the way, this is Death Dealer, she works for me." He introduces Selene to the camera
He turns to the other two "And that is Blade and Moon Knight… they also work for me." He points at them with his thumb.
"In your dreams." Blade replies with a side glance
"Eidolon, you scoundrel! Last time you tricked me!!" Moon Knight approached the hero.
"Oh, well, you left in such a hurry, and I couldn't even warn you that you let that thing fall." Eidolon replies innocently
"I didn't! You exchanged it with a fake one!"
"How do you know it is fake? You just stole that thing… Do you even know how to use it?"
"Khonshu said."
"What Khonshu knows?" Eidolon scoffs
"He is a god!"
"So is Thor, and he doesn't know how to make pasta."
"Hey!" The god of thunder protests "But it's true…" He concedes "But my skills on a barbecue are godlike." He laughs
"This guy here is the avatar of a God, by the way." Eidolon explains "Khonshu, do you know him, Thor?"
"So you think I know all gods… check your prejudice, my friend." Thor points at Eidolon with faux disappointment.
"Don't you?" Eidolon gives him a look
"..."
"..."
"Well… Khonshu, yes, I met him some centuries ago. Another avatar of his, to be exact." Thor averts his eyes. "But I don't wanna talk about that trip to Egypt…"
"I hear dyou had your ass kicked in Egypt once. Was it because of that?" Eidolon's eyes shine while he laughs
"No, it was not! I was a beast even with my old axe, Jarnbjorn." Thor defends himself. "Unstopabble."
The rest of the Avengers and other people look at him strangely. "I never lost in my youth." He says to Jane.
"Hmm, I am gonna ask your friends when I go to Asgard again…" Eidolon says, suspicious.
"They can't confirm… I was travelling alone." Thor coughs in his hand.
"Convenient." Eidolon scoffs
The banter of the two stops when Moon Knight speaks again "You are the one who brought me here, right?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Eidolon feigns innocence. "Why are you even here again? I can understand Blade there…"
"Ah! Dracula owes me money!!" Eidolon successfully distracts him.
"Oh, how much?" Eidolon asks, there were never any details about this feud between those two characters in the comics.
"Eh… Now I do not remember the exact number…" Moon Knight pauses
"..."
"Or when this started…"
"..."
Everyone understands the type of personality this guy has very quickly, rightfully guessing that he is a weirdo.
"But it's about the principle!"
"I see…" Eidolon decides not to argue with him and goes back to talk with Selene. "So… what did you find?"
"It is exactly like predicted, maybe worse." Selene starts in a professional tone "There are various installations where they are experimenting on humans to cure their vulnerability against the Sun. I saw living humans being drained and discarded corpses-"
Not only Eidolon, but everyone in the Avengers Tower watched and listened, their expressions hardening. But none like Eidolon's. His eyes get sharper and darker with every word heard, pupils moving around to check the truth of what Selene is talking.
When she finishes, even through the screen, the other heroes can feel the pressure coming from him. His eyes look around the fallen monsters and Elizabeth Báthory, and some are certain that he is gonna kill every one of them.
But then he sighs and facepalms, and he seems to deflate, the pressure dissipating with his sigh.
"And I was putting so much effort into coexistence… but there is always someone to screw our hopes." He says tiredly, almost venting as he turns to the camera "Maybe this camera thing was a good idea in the end. With some transparency and a clear explanation, my plans can be salvaged."
"Plans?" Tony asks
"Recently, I came into contact with the leader of one of the biggest monster factions on Earth, and I forced them into a ceasefire."
"Forced?" Captain America asks
"Ceasefire?" Peggy asks after him
"Told them not to target humans in any way to not sour the relationship between the two groups, envisioning a future path of coexistence where monsters would be able to walk normally between us." Eidolon gives the small version.
"Like what you are doing with the metas… extending the olive branch, Eidolon?" Natasha probes.
"I am still kinda shocked that there are really monsters like vampires and werewolves." Jane says
"You are dating a Nordic god, woman." Darcy replies with a roll of her eyes
"Nothing in this age should surprise anyone anymore." Hawkeye says
"I don't know… I think there is a lot to surprise us out there." Natasha gives her own two cents
"To answer Black Widow, yes… Despite the many differences, I still believe that coexistence is possible. We have a lot more in common, live on the same planet, we can hold a conversation and practically all monsters are once humans or their ancestors are, at least." Eidolon continues "The biggest problem is that they see humans as prey, but that can be solved too. There is not a single race of monster that needs to kill us to stay alive, even vampires and succubi just need to 'drain' us a little in their own way to survive."
"Drain… Hehe~" Stark laughs with the boys
"And it is completely possible to provide them with their necessities without harming humans." Eidolon says, ignoring the laughs
"I know some people who would volunteer as sacrifices to the succubi!" Stark raises his hand, receiving a glare from Pepper. "I say that I know someone… I am not volunteering myself." he protests
"I do." Wonder Man raises his hand, receiving a shake of the head from the women and a laugh from the men.
"I am in the military… My body is dedicated to keeping the peace." Rhodes speaks righteously "Take me to the succubi, Eidolon." More laughs from the boys
"You guys can't take anything seriously." Susan shakes her head "And shut up, Johnny!"
"What? I didn't even say anything!" He protests
"But I know that you would…"
"This issue is delicate and full of nuances, maybe I should make a video explaining before it hits us, or write a book, but in the future it will become a real trouble that I am trying to soften beforehand." Eidolon explains "The question is: Who should we extend the hand of friendship to and who should we treat as enemies. Yes, I know that it sounds bad, but that is reality… There are certain races out there that are completely incompatible with humanity." He shakes his head.
The hero extends his hand. "I am a pretty tolerant guy, but even I am distrustful of the demons from Hell and many alien races… especially the Skrulls. This doesn't come from any biased prejudice but from observation and experience."
From his hand, some holographic images of those species appear. "As I said, there is too much to talk about, and it is better to leave it to the future, but as a heads up to soften the blow… Some races externally look nothing like us, don't speak like us, but it is still possible to cultivate some friendship, like this one."
He shows a Ul'lula'n as examples "Pretty friendly people despite how they look, believing in the autonomy of all species, even the ones weaker than them and preservation of their uniqueness."
He then points to a green Skrull. "On the other hand, there are those guys here that can literally shapeshift into us, but they don't respect anyone but themselves. Every race is just another animal for them to absorb. Ugh, I don't want to poison anyone's opinion, but I really need to warn everyone. It is a life and death issue after all, better to be safe than sorry. Things can be better in the future, but right now you all should keep a safe distance from monsters, demons, and aliens…"
"Even though holding a conversation with them is possible, the problem is that the other party is not willing to see us remotely as equals… Humans are prey, toys, cattle… Exhibit A." Eidolon points at Elizabeth. "In a certain way, we couldn't even blame them for thinking like that… it is a mix of their nature and years of conditioning, and humans also hunted them in the past. Especially demons from Hell. Seriously, I believe that it is still possible to coexist with monsters. The people in this castle are just the bad apples of the whole society of monsters. I have some monsters in my group, and they are good… Death Dealer there is a vampire, by the way." He gestures to Selene "And Blade too. A Dhampir, to be more exact. And they hunt vampires and other monsters to keep humans safe."
"I have my own personal business with vampires… I am not doing this to protect anyone." Blade says on the side.
"..." Eidolon looks at him before turning to the camera "He is the type that doesn't want people thinking he is a good guy so that he can brood alone in the darkness."
"Stop spreading your bullshit, man!" Blade says angrily
But it's too late, the people watching have already taken Eidolon's words as the truth. Even if Eidolon is messing with Blade, they will act convinced just to mess with Blade too."
"I see."
"I know the type."
"You are a little like that, too, Eidolon."
"Shut up. Anyway, different from the race of outsiders that are incompatible with humans, there is still hope for the human-monster relationship… And that does not come from some misguided empathy, no. Believe me, I will always prioritize humanity, and if there is no hope, I would personally massacre every single monster living on this planet. I do not bet with human lives against bad odds." His eyes are hard, cold, and unforgiving. "It would even be the easiest solution. No need to think, no need to put some work, just a cleanse… But the easiest solution is rarely the best one. It would be a waste to simply erase part of our culture… let's be honest, monsters are kind of cool when they are not killing humans."
"Yeah."
"I have to agree."
"The world would be a little more boring."
"With strange aliens out there, why shouldn't we have our strange people down here too?"
"Said that, they need to conform to our rules. And it is not even too much to ask for… 'Don't kill us', Oh! So difficult! Even Thor, the God of Thunder, acts properly here, so why do much weaker people like you think they have the right to treat humans as lessers? Huh? I am asking you…" Eidolon steps on Elizabeth's face.
The woman looks furiously but keeps her mouth shut.
"It is because you are evil, and there is no relation with being a vampire… You're simply evil. You killed young women to keep your beauty even when you are not a vampire, right?" He asks, voice once again gaining a certain reverberation
"Y-yes…" She is forced to answer truthfully, even if it will get her killed.
"See? It is the individual that is evil… Like any group, there are bad and good people. Unfortunately, in the vampire caste system, the evil ones are on top, commanding the rest. The problem comes when the other race can't even understand that what they are doing is wrong… For example, an alien race that thinks strength is everything and their courtship is working by a man subjugating a woman through force. It sounds weird to us, but to her it is only natural, their offspring will be strong… Now, imagine an alien of this race comes here, and tries to push down a human woman…" He explains
People are starting to see his point.
"Okay… this is really much more complicated than it initially looks." Rhodes says "It is not like taking refugees from another country…"
"It is from a completely different scale."
"I don't want to be an alien racist, but it seems to be the safest path." Wonder Man comments.
"Maybe if we try to teach them…" Susan suggests
"Teach what? So, we are just gonna say our way is right and their way is wrong?" She-Hulk argues "They are not gonna listen to that easily."
"And keeping humans safe should be our priority."
"With the infinite possibilities of civilization in the universe, I think it's safe to assume that we can't get along with everyone." Reed sighs "And not only are we incompatible with half of them statistically… many of those are destined to be our enemies if we meet them."
"And even the compatible ones may see us just as inferior people to be conquered." Tony shrugs
"Like the Chitauri…" Johnny points out
"It is us against the universe, then?" Steve shows a complicated face
"It is pessimistic way of life, but it is reality… We just haven't seen it before." Eidolon says on the screen
"And there are a lot of potential allies in the vast universe too." Thor declares with a big smile "Like Asgard!"
"True, it is worth taking the risk…" Eidolon says and removes his foot from Elizabeth's face to put his own face close to hers "You are very lucky that I am strong, strong enough to take the risk and just capture all of you today, hoping that one day you guys are gonna get in line."
He straightens himself again and releases a sigh while running a hand through his hair. "I think I spoke too much, but maybe five minutes of talk can save us a lot of trouble in the future in the form of some misunderstanding." He remembers the Skrull invasion and how they integrated into Earth, invading peacefully in the guise of coexistence but dominating everything from the shadows.
He can already imagine the protests against him when he does something, humans that he protected from domination, defending the enemy. The headache is forming before it even happens. He needs to mentally prepare himself to just not give up on the human race.
It is also a thin line he is treading… at the same time that he doesn't want to instill fear and hate of the alien races in everyone, he needs to warn humanity of the dangers and risks.
"It is something everyone needs to see by themselves… We are gonna try, maybe be betrayed, fail… But that is why I am here. To prevent us from going extinct if we make a mistake." His eyes shine. "Time to start acting… starting tonight."
He addresses the whole room of monsters "I am taking everyone under custody for crimes against humanity… Depending on how things progress, you all can be released in the future when relations between humans and monsters get better. Don't resist." He declares, leaving no room to protest
"Oooh, it is starting~ Now we can see him in action!" Darcy leans forward excitedly.
It is notable to see the shift in posture from Casual Eidolon to Serious Eidolon.
Despite the previous display of power, some monsters still stood up against him.
"...it is not because I said that I will try not to kill you all, that it will not hurt." He shakes his head.
Amidst the thousands of monsters, some special ones move forward. Each of every species, a Frankenstein monster(he thought there was only one of them), a centaur, a werewolf, and a mummy.
Each of them looks stronger than the average of each race; the werewolf is bigger, the mummy is wearing some gold accessories, and so on.
"Those are Dracula Howling Commandos." Blade informs while walking forward
"Howling Commandos?" Not only does Eidolon look at him strangely, but Captain America also raises some eyebrows. "Any relations with the group of World War 2?" Eidolon looks at them again, "No, they are not 'monster-fied' clones of the soldiers or anything like that…"
"I don't know anything about what you are talking about… but it was indeed founded a little after that war, apparently to hunt Dracula's daughter. She is the one who told me." Blade explains
"Lilith?"
"You know her?"
"Only by name." Eidolon shrugs before turning to the camera "See? I forgot to mention that, but even Dracula's daughter is cool with humans. It is really from individual to individual…"
"I would not say that she is a good person..." Blade comments "Better than most vampires though."
"So Dracula just stole the name, probably after seeing it in a newspaper or something…" Eidolon guesses.
"He even steals intellectual property and copyrighted domains… that man is a shameless thief!" Moon Knight exclaims with righteous anger.
Eidolon gives the white-clad hero a look before turning to look against the monsters rallying behind their leaders. He is also a little annoyed… His grandfather was part of the Howling Commandos, so seeing an evildoer make a mockery of the name like that…
"Okay, I will end this in 2 minutes and go back to the party-"
"No!" But Shego interrupts, "That would be boring! Play with them a little!"
"..." Eidolon pauses mid movement.
"Yeah!" Harley chimes in. "If monsters have a caste system where they respect the strong, you should make a display of strength to subjugate them."
"The best show of strength is defeating them instantly…" Eidolon says with a deadpan voice
"But that would be boring!" Shego repeats "Give us a show!"
"You know what you should do?" Harley speaks again "You should turn into a monster and beat them on their own game."
"..." Eidolon sighs loudly. "What kind of backseat gaming is this?"
"Don't be like that! It makes sense! The whole schtick about you being able to understand everyone because you can be on everyone's skin… If coexistence can happen, it will be because of you acting as a bridge."
"..." Around Harley, everyone looks at her with strange expressions. "She is kind of making sense."
"I hope you take it as a compliment, girl. But I already forgot you have a PhD and all that…" Jennifer jokes
"Hahaha! It is okay!" Harley waves her wrist dismissively before turning to the screen, at Eidolon. "See? Do it."
"..." Eidolon is still sideglancing at her.
"Pleaseee~" She whines like a child.
Eidolon sighs again, pupils finally moving away from her pouting face. He looks at some monsters and notices a particular type "I am so gonna regret it when the fanarts start appearing…" He facepalms and sighs once again.
In the next moment, his body starts growing.
For dramatic purposes, Cortana moves the camera to show the muscles of his back bulging and his tight sleeveless shirt ripping apart, then it moves to show Blade and Selene.
Even through the mask and the sunglasses, it is impossible not to notice the surprise in their postures
"Damn!" Moon Knight is more vocal.
They also slowly start looking up and up, a growing shadow being cast over their bodies.
The big reveal comes from another micro-camera behind Selene and Blade, from a lower point of view looking upward to show a full body shot of Eidolon's transformation.
"A werewolf?" Helena almost laughs
"Nice choice!" Harley claps "The coolest monster!"
"Well, if he turned into a vampire, how different would it be anyway?" Pamela asks with a scoff
"Why is he kinda…?" Darcy starts, looking at the screen attentively, but stops herself when she notices the people's gaze on her.
"Psychologically, that is pretty common. There is nothing wrong with that." Harley consoles her with some pats on the shoulder, but it doesn't seem to ease the stares on her.
As they said, Eidolon used a fusion of different powers(quirks and devil fruits) to turn into a werewolf.
His werewolf form is much taller and more muscular than any other around them. It is a good four meters tall, of pure muscle and covered in white fur, the same as his hair, a little longer in the back of his neck. From the transformation, only his pants remained, riding up to the middle of his ankle, which now has the standard backward shape of a dog's leg.
Werewolf Eidolon looks around a little before speaking, his pupils settling into a sharp red.
"Not that you will be able to see it… But I am about to start." His voice is a little gruff and feral, but his tone is still Eidolon's indistinguishable polite one.
Whoosh
His bigger body didn't lose any speed; he disappeared from that spot and reappeared in front of all the monsters. Cortana had a camera ready for that.
He didn't attack at first, just stayed in front of the biggest werewolf of the group, to show off the difference in size and majesty, and assert dominance. Even a little hunched over to look down, Eidolon is twice the size of the brown werewolf from Dracula's elite.
The werewolf almost recoiled in front of his presence.
"Look at the Alpha showing who is the boss." Darcy made a comment that made Eidolon cringe and wince. The women who know him laughed hard because they understand that he just took some mental damage from that. They know he is cringing inside enough to not sleep tonight.
So to distract himself from the mental pain, Eidolon grabs the head of the werewolf in front of him. His big transformed hand covers the whole skull of his enemy, and he uses him to beat everyone around with a swing before throwing him in a random direction.
Bam
A path is open after the werewolf was thrown, hitting everyone in a straight line.
After that, it is like an unseen storm hits them. The watchers can only glimpse at some white blurs of Eidolon's eye-catching werewolf form appearing before an attack is delivered, raising wind and sending enemies flying.
It is like the saying "a tiger amidst a flock of sheep".
The monsters have no chance; the camera moves around trying to follow Eidolon's moves, but they can only see the aftermath of his attacks and the enemies being defeated.
Even though the whole place is starting to crumble, flying slashes hit the war, carving claw marks, and enemies also leave their body imprint, either by the shape of their resistant bodies or with their blood.
There is probably a hierarchy among those monsters; some must be much weaker than the others, but it is impossible to distinguish when they are fighting Eidolon. They are all equally helpless.
"Damn… scary…" Pepper comments
"If werewolves could move like that in movies, no one would have a chance." Ben says
"Now this is the spirit of Halloween, giving a scare even to monsters." Harley laughs
"Is there a Halloween Spirit? Like the Christmas Spirit?" Johnny asks around
On the screen, the camera shakes around as the place falls apart, and even the ceiling is coming down. The screen shows a particular random vampire looking lost, eyes darting around. Suddenly, he seems to notice something and robotically turns to the side.
The camera turns with him, to show Eidolon in his werewolf form lying on the ground while staring at him like a wolf ready to pounce on his prey, and what is intimidating about all that is that Eidolon has grown… His bare teeth are as big as the vampire's, like sharp longswords. His full body should be at least 15 meters tall now.
Then he opens his, now giant, mouth and starts sucking in… A strong wind pulls every rock and every monster inside his mouth, they disappear like they are entering a black hole.
"Is he eating them?" Pepper asks with some worry
"Probably just putting them in a pocket space inside his body." Shego explains
"He talked about his stomach being a pocket space before." Stark points out.
It doesn't matter how they tried to escape or hold in something, eventually the place is squeaky clean. Only Selene, Blade, and Moon Knight are safe behind Eidolon's wolf form.
RumbleRumble
The place trembles violently, and Eidolon raises his wolf head to look up.
"Hold tight." he says
Whoosh
In a moment, he grabs both Blade and Moon Knight in his giant hands, and Selene jumps on his neck.
Flexing his legs for an instant, he goes through the ceiling just to reveal that they are like at the end of a giant abyss. Magic traps start flaring, trying to bury this whole place with everything inside.
"A definitive trap so that no one can escape… You guys really pissed them off." Eidolon comments and starts jumping from wall to wall, his claws hitting the magic traps to slow down the destruction. "There is magic to make this place bigger than it looks… if it collapses with us inside, it will not be pretty." He says something worryingly, but he looks very calm.
Blade and Moon Knight are thrown on his back, and he starts climbing this giant, collapsing abyss with his four limbs. The hole looked like it stretched forever, but he moved equally quickly, dodging the attacks while jumping from side to side.
"That is like a super action movie…" Wonder Man says
Finally, he reaches the end, and a huge magic circle opens to block his path. A last lock to keep him inside this death trap. Eidolon makes a last jump to propel himself upwards, and then he quickly spins on himself, so fast that his body looked like a white disc, and he threw several giant silver flying slashes that cut the last lock.
He then stops spinning in that direction to spin in the other way, pretending to penetrate the barrier like a screw.
He speeds up, crashing against the last line of defense and finally emerging on the other side. A quick movement of the camera revealed that he had arrived outside. He stopped spinning and jumped in the air once to land on a very tall tower.
"Ugh, I think I am gonna puke in my mask…" Moon Knight says with an unsteady voice while grabbing on Eidolon's fur.
"Better on it than in my fur." The hero warns with a side glance.
Blade and Selene have not shown any nausea, so he dismisses them.
The camera moves to show a panoramic view of the whole area, it spins around Eidolon at the top of the tower, and shows the huge fortress below him.
"Wow, that place is big." Ben Grimm says in awe
"It is kind of beautiful in a dark way." Alicia says by his side
"Vampires are monsters, but they got style." Janet adds
"Too bad it's probably gonna be destroyed." Eidolon comments while looking around
"Why? That is basically a historical site… Can you protect it?" Jane Foster asks
"You guys aren't seeing, but this place is basically Auschwitz." Eidolon replies, the camera showing his side profile, Selene is on his shoulder, while grabbing his face fur to steady herself. "But yes… Maybe I just control myself a little." Eidolon agrees
With his two hands, he grabs both Blade and Moon Knight and brings them close to his face. Each hanging by their capes between his claws.
"I am gonna deal with it, you guys can go now." He says while staring at the two very close to his muzzle.
"I am not going anywhere before finishing my business with Dracula." Blade says stubbornly "And put me fucking down! Don't manhandle me!"
"Yeah! That pale leech still owes me money."
Eidolon rolls his big eyes and lets them go, but while they are falling his blows a little, sending the two flying to a nearby rooftop, but he obviously controlled his strength. Both Blade and Moon Knight are athletic enough to land safely.
"Whatever… Do whatever you want." He says before his big eye turns to Selene "I will send some help to you, capture everyone you see, and rescue the victims. I will discreetly send some clones too."
"It will be done." She nods seriously
"So it is a competition! Who gets to Dracula first wins!" Moon Knight declares while rolling his shoulders.
Eidolon scoffs loudly "Getting to him? He is the one coming to meet me…"
After saying that, he takes a deep breath and throws his face to the sky and releases a howl to the moon. He is not only making a loud sound, but the howl is also carrying his strong Conqueror's Haki and encompasses the entirety of Dracula's Palace faster than the speed of sound.
Cortana also shows off her camera skills by capturing the moment in a wide frame, showing that his howl moved the clouds covering them, creating a giant hole that revealed the full moon that shines on Eidolon's white fur, giving it a silvery glint.
"That makes a nice desktop wallpaper." Tony says "Jarvis, save it! This can be sold in merch."
The camera changes then to show the destruction that the howl is causing. It created such a strong gust of wind that is almost blowing Moon Knight and Blade away; in truth, Moon Knight used it to glide away.
The whole fortress trembles, the buildings start cracking and crumbling, as constant shockwaves hit it. And the most impressive of all… The howl forced the wards and magic circles around to flicker into existence before cracking and dissipating completely.
The fog and clouds that would magically protect this place from sunlight are blown away. The gargoyles and other pieces of formations are destroyed, and the ground even moves a little like weak waves.
"Just from the sound alone?" Natasha asks, impressed.
"When he doesn't need to care about collateral damage…" Shego comments, a little too proudly.
"Doesn't he want to preserve the place?"
"He can always restore it later."
When Eidolon finally stopped, the fortress that previously was in perfect condition looked like it had seen three wars and at least a natural disaster.
"Now here they come…" Eidolon speaks, and like on cue, people start leaving the buildings.
It is like he just kicked a mix of a beehive and an anthill. Vampires and other monsters fill the ground and the sky, moving like shadows. They almost cover the whole fortress with their bodies.
"That is a lot of vampires." Tony says, surprised
"Not all are vampires, some are just ghouls or weak thralls… And this place has existed since the 15th century; five hundred years is more than enough to collect this many people." Eidolon says to answer him "If vampires are not so elitists, there should be much more… An entire country of them."
"Cheers for that, then." Tony raises his glass.
"And here comes the big guy…" Eidolon alerts them.
From amidst the sea of monsters, red mist starts rising and covering a certain wide rooftop. When the red mist coalesces, a figure walks out of it.
He is pale of skin and hair, but his eyes and armor are blood red, while his cape is as dark as the night. He has two big circular gold earrings in his pointed ears and a long sword at his waist. His features are carved into an uninterested scowl even after what happened with his palace; he looks aloof and unbothered.
"Is that Dracula?" Natasha asks
"Not all like the stories…" Ben says "Like the black hair slick back, the aristocratic clothes and the V-thing behind his neck… that part of the cape… what is the name?"
"A stand-up collar." Natasha answers
"That!" Ben points at her
"He looks a little like Eidolon…" Susan tilts her head
"Hey!" The hero looks offended at the camera
"I mean… just a little… White hair, presence…" Susan stutters to explain himself.
"You look like a vampire, dude, in a hot way. Accept it." Jennifer comes to her rescue, "This Dracula could very well be your father."
"First of all, my father is the exact opposite of that unfriendly white statue there. Second, it is Dracula that looks like Eidolon."
"Didn't he come first?"
"Are you speaking about yourself in the third person?"
"It doesn't matter. It is who is stronger that makes the rules." Eidolon retorts "And I am not only Eidolon."
"We are making progress with that in therapy." Harley nods happily.
"Fair, you are also the only guy that can rock the man-bun or ponytail, Eidolon." Darcy defends him,
"Thank you." He accepts the compliment graciously
"What in all nine Hells is happening here?" Dracula's voice cuts through the area. He doesn't speak loudly, but his words travel far; his tone is not angry, just slightly annoyed.
"Look at him acting cool even when he is about to have his ass kicked." Eidolon chuckles
"Act even cooler than that, you can't let him win you on that!" Harley goads Eidolon.
He shakes his head and starts decreasing in size.
"Don't change! You are handsome like that!" Harley protests
"Are you gonna turn into a dragon now?" Helena asks him with a teasing smirk.
"There is no reason to use another form… There are other flashy ways of fighting." His voice can be heard, but his camera changed to show his back.
He goes back to looking human, completely shirtless and with his hair loose.
"Ooh~ Back muscles… Nice!" Darcy whispers "Jarvis! Save that too!"
"Don't tell Jarvis to save stripper photos on my storage." Tony protests with a huff
"If only the camera turned a little…" She-Hulk says, tilting her head almost like
"Do you really think you would be able to see his face just because he doesn't have his mask on?" Shego turns to her "You probably would see a blur…"
"Or turn to stone." Helena adds
"Or forget a second later."
"Is he a cryptid?" Ant-Man asks with some humor
"Just shy." Harley laughs
"Is there something on his shoulder? It is censored…" Natasha narrows her eyes and leans forward
"Oh! Is that a tattoo?" Johnny asks after noticing too.
"Hawk eyes, huh?" Pamela gives Natasha a look
"No, that is me." Clint raises a hand
"..."
On the screen, Eidolon starts creating another sleeveless tight shirt, the camera showing it growing from his waist and covering his skin from very close up. It showed his abs and pecs till the last moment that settled in his face.
"Stop making it a thirsty trap, Cortana!" Shego complains
"Shush~" Some of the women stop her.
"Continue what you are doing, Cortana." Darcy urges the AI.
But the show was over when Eidolon covered his nose with the half mask.
"Oh, those idiots stole the march." he comments, and the camera shows Blade and Moon Knight jumping Dracula.
Eidolon turns to Selene and gives her a nod; the vampire immediately understands and jumps down too.
"I guess I can clean the rest of the vampires while they keep Dracula occupied and I rescue the victims…" He holds his chin between his fingers while pondering
At the same time, the thousands and thousands of monsters turn their sights on him, all confident that their master can deal with the other intruders.
"Want my help, friend?" Thor offers with a smile
"Nah, it would be overkill, but you gave me an idea… I can use electricity too and make it flashy." he answers with a chuckle. "If you guys want a show… I can give you a show."
He extends his hand and pulls a woman from a portal. "Come, Nevan. A song will be enough to wipe them out and return to the party. It will be the opening performance of the night."
......….
In another part of the palace, Joshua the Nosferatu walks into a secret room in panic. This is the same one that threw Selene into the trap, and now he is running here.
He hurries inside after the wall moves and kneels in front of a small altar that has a strange jar on it.
The jar is thick at the base and thin at the opening; it is dark and dirty, with rustic images all over it. It is like it was made by a caveman and polished by someone during the Renaissance.
"Master! We need to run! The whole place is about to crumble!" Joshua approaches, kneeling and reaching for the jar with his long, bony fingers, trembling. "We can always restart the plan, let's–
"Don't panic, Joshua." A voice comes from the jar, and something inside stirs and shines.
"M-Master..?"
"The wise minds can always benefit from tempestuous times, while the fools lost the chance because they are paralyzed in fear. You're a fool, Joshua, but I am not." The jar says "Every person of interest is here, we have the sacrifices, blood paints the land crimson, and the full moon shines in the sky… The conditions are perfect."
"Master…"
"Take me to the battlefield above…" The voice reverberates from the Jar. "The time for my resurrection is upon us."
.......
A.N.: Hello There
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