With the strongest forces on Earth subdued, Alex only needed to wait for the satellites to arrive and start carpet-scanning the planet for any traces of Infinity Stones. Considering how wary the Stone Thief was when Wanda was close by, Alex had deduced that Asgardian Earth should still possess its Infinity Stones. Of course, without Hela and Loki continuing to raise hell, Alex wasn't sure how long the stones would remain, which was why he was in such a hurry to deploy the satellites to collect the stones.
While waiting, he brought Susan to an interesting place known as an ice cream parlor.
"If you bring that story up, I swear, I will make you regret it…" Susan said with a dark expression as Alex stopped in front of The Creamery.
"I was banking on the creamery innuendo, but thank you for reminding me," Alex said. "How would you like to make this a kinky role-play with a leash? You know, just to make sure you don't suddenly try to break up with me for this, mister…Creamery person. I'll cream you all you want later tonight."
"I will bite you," she said, gritting her teeth.
"A disobedient pet role play then," Alex nodded. "Fine, I'll prepare your punishment for later to—"
Before he could finish his words, Susan grabbed his hand and actually bit it, mumbling, "I fold you…"
Alex looked blankly at Susan before looking around at the pedestrians who were now staring at Susan, before he turned back to the blonde.
"This only gives me more of a reason to leash you, Sue," Alex said. "Now be good and let go. Don't make a scene here."
"Fuck it," she freed his hand and looked at him challengingly. "Put a leash on me. I'd like to see just how thick your skin is."
"You sure about that?" Alex asked, a smile appearing on his lips as he glanced at the teeth marks all over his hand.
"Chicken?" She asked.
"Honey, I have an assistant with whom I specifically do this kind of pet play at least two days a week," Alex said. "And yes, occasionally other people may or may not view certain things in a very limited capacity."
Susan's eyes widened when she saw Alex pull out a collar and leash from one of his jacket pockets. It was a generic pink collar with a tag attached to it that read 'pet'. With its girth being on the thick side, it covered more than half of Susan's throat and would be impossible to hide without a turtleneck.
"May I?" He asked, opening up the collar and gesturing to Susan's throat.
"…" She looked at the collar before looking back at Alex, switching to the collar again. The blush on her face grew more prominent as she continued looking between Alex's face and the collar that he was holding in his hand. To say nothing of the pedestrians all around them, Susan was feeling mortified right now. Worse, she felt that her pride was on the line here. Worse yet, there was a budding hint of anticipation within her heart that directly made her abdomen tingle.
Damn my perverted mind… He can probably sense that this situation turns me on, can't he?
The next time Susan looked up at Alex, her eyes carried a hint of anticipation within the mortification.
"You'd better get me the biggest sundae these guys have after this," Susan grumbled before raising her hands and gathering her hair to raise it, exposing her neck. "If I don't like it, you have to find me the best damn ice cream in the city. By yourself, no cheating."
"What a high-maintenance woman," Alex said with a playful yet gentle look in his eyes as he put the collar around Susan's throat and wrapped the attached leash around his palm until it was short enough that Susan had to walk right beside him; otherwise, it would tug on her collar.
She gulped and looked at the surrounding pedestrians consciously. If before, she and Alex were only getting some looks, now, some people had even stopped with somewhat amused expressions, enjoying the show.
"L–let's go," she said, seeming to lose all of her previous aggressive momentum as she grabbed the hem of Alex's jacket and looked down, making herself smaller.
"What? Worried someone might record you?" Alex asked, glancing at a few people who had pulled their phones out in his peripheral vision.
"W–what?!" Susan panicked and looked up, only to see a man pointing his phone right at her. "No, I-I'm not doing this. Fuck no." She instinctively tried to turn invisible, but felt a sense of resistance and realized that Alex was blocking her powers. In her panic, she went for the next direct solution and was about to take off the collar.
As she raised her hands, intent on getting rid of her collar, a hissing sound caught her attention, followed by loud sparking all around. Her eyes widened as she saw everyone's phones spontaneously burst into flames. Whether they had been pulled out or were inside people's pockets, every single phone's battery essentially exploded.
Susan was too stunned to react and had her hands hovering in front of her chest when she felt a tug on her collar. Looking at Alex, she saw his expressionless face glancing back at her with a hint of impatience in his eyes.
"S-sorry, master…" The words instinctively escaped Susan's lips as she looked down, the heat in her abdomen only increasing as she processed just how far Alex was willing to go. What she didn't realize was that this wasn't an isolated incident. To make sure that the situation couldn't be traced to him or Susan, he had selectively set fire to almost all lithium-ion batteries all over DC. What Susan saw as a somewhat overbearing supernatural protective incident was branded by the planet as an act of terrorism by unknown enemies.
The somewhat embarrassed yet kinky Invisible Woman had no idea about the sheer scale of the situation as she was led into the ice cream shop while wearing a dog collar.
"The next time you try to take off your collar without my explicit permission, I will put you in metal restraints and turn you into modern art for our living room," Alex said flatly. "Is that understood?"
"Yes, master," Susan nodded docilely. "Please don't turn me into a houseplant."
"I was thinking more like an erotic statue, but we could go for a vibe that's closer to nature," Alex said thoughtfully. "The vines could serve as your restraints."
"My sundae…" Susan mumbled with a slightly distraught expression as she looked at the smoking computer on the cash counter.
"It's fine," Alex said. "They're still taking cash."
Leading Susan to the counter, Alex didn't respond to the cashier's questioning look.
"Do you guys have a signature sundae?" He asked before glancing at Susan. "Preferably something with chocolate as the primary ingredient."
"…I'm sorry, sir," she said, taking a bit of time to respond, unable to look away from Susan's collar. "What's a sundae?"
"For the love of…" Alex winced and noticed Susan's frozen expression. "You know, you put things on ice cream like chocolate syrup or nuts."
"We sell syrups as well… Would you like a side of syrup with your ice cream?" The girl seemed unable to comprehend Alex's concept.
"Best ice cream place in DC, he said," Susan mumbled from the side. "Put a collar on, he said… It'll be fun, he said…"
"I'll make you your damn sundae, Sue…" Alex glanced at Susan before turning to the woman again. "Just give me two scoops of chocolate and two of strawberry in four separate cups. And a big empty glass."
"It's not the same…" Susan mumbled from the side as Alex ignored her and placed his order. They would have to wait a few minutes, so Alex led Susan to an empty table for two.
"Are you sulking?"
"I was promised a sundae for all this humiliation…" She said with a pout. The collar was still prominently on display on her neck, with Alex still holding the leash.
"How am I supposed to know that sundaes don't exist here?" Alex said. "Did you see her face when I told her about putting things on ice cream? She looked at me like I'd committed a crime."
"Something has to be wrong with this world. Has no one ever thought of putting something on ice cream?"
"They've had the thought," Alex said. "It's just that, coincidentally, everyone who has ever had that thought chose not to pursue it."
"What an odd place…"
"This is nothing," Alex said. "As far as I've observed, these forty Earths are mostly identical, without too many differences. It's only some simple things that are different, like Washington DC being in Washington state, instead of, you know, DC… Or this ice cream thing, or the absence of superpowered people. Going deeper into the multiverse, we could find all sorts of inordinate stuff like people made of ice cream."
"That sounds like an interesting reality."
"You can't eat those people," Alex shot her down. "That would be considered murder. Or worse, cannibalism. Their food would probably look like humans, though."
"How would the anatomy of an ice cream man even work…" Susan pondered.
"If we ever start travelling the multiverse, I will capture one for you to dissect."
"What, no!" She looked mortified. "Don't kill those poor ice cream people."
"You were just thinking about eating one of them," Alex said, amused.
"You still owe me a sundae."
***
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