The door to Raizer's childhood bedroom clicked shut, sealing them into a space that felt entirely too small for two people who usually spent their lives pushing others away. The walls were covered in faded posters of vintage cars and old scholastic achievement certificates—remnants of a life that felt like a fever dream compared to the blood-soaked stones of Orario or the shattered glass of Harlem.
Jessica stood by the window, her silhouette framed by the moonlight reflecting off the South Dakota plains. She didn't look like a 'Super' anymore. She looked small, her shoulders hunched as she stared at the dark horizon.
The warm welcome had lowered her barriers. And the safe, enclosed space let her grieve about it.
"It doesn't stop, Raizer," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the hum of the crickets outside. "The silence out here... it's worse. In the city, there's noise to drown it out. But here, I can still hear his voice. I can still feel the way my own hands felt when they weren't mine."
Raizer sat on the edge of the bed, his tie finally discarded. He watched her, his senses picking up the erratic, jagged rhythm of her pulse. She wasn't just tired; she was haunted.
"I don't know how that feels," Raizer said, his voice dropping into that low, resonant frequency that always seemed to ground the air around him. "I can't comfort you. If that's what you're looking for. But I can listen. It's the one thing I can do without liking it."
Jessica turned, her eyes red-rimmed. "Why am I really here, Raizer? You're not the type to bring a stray home just because your mom asked. You're too... willful for that."
Raizer looked at her directly, his eyes steady. "You're right. I brought you here because I'm an 'Abnormal' now. S.H.I.E.L.D. is watching me. The world is watching me. And eventually, someone is going to realize that the easiest way to beat a King is to threaten his kingdom." He gestured toward the floor below. "My mother. She's isn't just a part of my world; she is my entire world. I brought you here to be the guard she doesn't know she needs."
Jessica blinked, a cynical smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "So I'm the security system? I'm the 'plus one' bodyguard?"
"Why not protect her yourself?"
"Because I'm me. A personal defect I'm proud of."
He let his words seep in while Jessica scoffed at him.
"Moreover, you're the only person I've met who knows exactly what it's like to lose everything. You also have a bit of strength," Raizer said. "While you're in this town, you watch her. In exchange..." He paused, his expression turning solemn. "I give you my word. I will ensure your past stays in the past. If the law or the 'heroes' come looking to put Kilgrave's crimes on your tab, I will handle them. You've had enough pain, Jessica. I'll make sure the rest of your life is balanced. And I will be depositing a cheque in your account every month. Worth $20,000 monthly."
Jessica stared at him for a long time. She saw the truth in his gaze—not romance, but a cold, hard contract of mutual protection. Somehow, she felt that this was the real him.
"Deal," she whispered, reverting back to her P.I. days, "I'll watch the lady."
That night, the King slept on a thin rug on the hardwood floor, while the most feared P.I. in Hell's Kitchen took the bed.
.
.
.
Raizer woke up at 5:30 AM, his internal clock tuned to the rising sun of the Dungeon. His back ached from the floor, and his room smelled faintly of Jessica's cheap shampoo and the old dust of his youth. He dressed silently, glancing at the bed where Jessica was sprawled out, snoring softly; a sound that suggested her nightmares had finally retreated for the night.
He slipped out and headed to the kitchen. The smell of frying bacon and fresh coffee hit him like a physical wave. Eleanor was already there, humming a tune as she flipped pancakes with practiced ease.
"Good morning, sunshine," she chirped, not even looking back. "I figured you'd be up early. You always were like a rooster, even when you were five."
Raizer sat at the small breakfast nook, watching her. "Morning, Ma."
Eleanor slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms and wearing a smile that was entirely too bright for the hour. "So... how was the 'good towels' experience? I didn't hear any screaming, so I assume you two survived the night."
Raizer took a slow sip of his coffee, deciding to lean into the fiction. "The towels were fine, Ma. Jessica liked the bubble bath. She's... she's a great girl. We're very happy."
"Oh, I'm sure you are," Eleanor said, her smile widening into something mischievous. "You're so happy that you looked like you were going to a funeral during the entire party. You're so happy that she looks at you like you're a confusing math problem she can't solve."
Raizer paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. "What do you mean?"
Eleanor chuckled, pulling up a chair opposite him. She reached out and patted his hand, her eyes softening but her voice retaining a sharp, playful edge. "Raizer, I carried you for nine months and raised you for eighteen years. You think I don't know my own son?"
"Ma-"
"Stop it," she laughed. "I know she's not your girlfriend, you silly boy. She's far too cool for you, for one thing. And you... you're far too stiff to be dating anyone without making a sheet of defects about them first. And reading those defects, you will naturally drop the idea of dating them."
Raizer felt the air leave his lungs, "You... you knew? From the beginning?"
'Damn, did just waste so much effort for a lie?'
[That's what you focus on? Host, you truly have your priorities correct.]
"Since the moment you stepped out of the car," Eleanor said, unbothered by the sudden gravitational shift in the room. "The way you stood three feet apart. The way you look at her with 'professional respect' instead of 'young love.' It was obvious. You're too much of a robo to fall in love, my stupid boy."
Raizer lowered his head into his hand, a flush of genuine embarrassment creeping up his neck. "Then why? Why the party? Why the 'married' banner? Why the interrogation and making us share a room? You put us through hell yesterday, Ma!"
Eleanor leaned back, a look of pure, unadulterated triumph on her face. "Because, Raizer, you didn't call me for days. You moved to the city, got some big-shot job, and became 'too busy' for your mother. I saw that video of you on the news, standing in front of that green monster like you were waiting for a bus. I knew you were caught up in something dangerous."
She poked his chest with a finger. "This was my 'Payback,' Raizer. You ignored me, so I decided to make your 'return' as awkward and uncomfortable as humanly possible. Call it a late fee on your filial piety."
Raizer stared at her, completely stunned. He had been completely outplayed by a woman in a floral apron.
"You're terrifying," Raizer muttered.
"I'm a mother," Eleanor corrected, standing up to clear his plate. "And don't worry. I like the girl. She's got a lot of sadness in her eyes, but she's tough. She fits in better than you do, robo."
She walked toward the sink, but stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "But seriously, Raizer... keep the 'married' act up for the neighbors. I've already won a fifty-dollar bet with Mrs. Henderson that you'd bring home a beauty. If you blow this for me, I'm telling everyone about the time you got your head stuck in the banister."
Raizer sighed, his shoulders slumping. He looked at the empty hallway leading to his room. "Understood. But if you do tell them about that, explain that I got out by myself too."
[HOST!] The System appeared, its text pulsing with digital laughter. [I have to record this! You just got owned by your own mother! This is better than the Dungeon!]
"Shut up," Raizer whispered, rubbing his temples.
A few minutes later, Jessica shuffled into the kitchen, looking significantly more rested but still wearing her trademark scowl. She looked from Raizer's traumatized expression to Eleanor's beaming face.
"What did I miss?" Jessica asked, grabbing a piece of bacon from the plate.
"My mother is a mastermind," Raizer said flatly. "Probably Megamind in disguise."
"I like her already," Jessica replied, crumping the bacon. She looked at Eleanor. "Is there more coffee? And can I borrow a hammer? The headboard in Raizer's room is loose."
Eleanor's eyes lit up. "A hammer? Oh, I like this girl! Raizer, go get her the toolbox. And Jessica, honey, tell me more about your job. I'm sure my son lied about everything you do."
Jessica caught Raizer's warning look and gave a slow, wicked grin. "Oh, I've worked in many places, Eleanor. You wouldn't believe the trash I have had to clean up back in my day."
Raizer stood up and walked toward the porch. He needed air. He needed to be away from the two women who were currently dismantling his sanity faster than any supervillain ever could.
The rest of the day was a surreal exercise in being a ghost in his own home. Raizer, a man who had commanded the respect of gods and the fear of monsters, found himself relegated to the role of 'the guy who moves the heavy furniture'.
He spent the afternoon on the sidelines, leaning against the weathered fence post of the porch, watching an impossible scene unfold in the garden. Eleanor and Jessica were knee-deep in a flower bed, weeding and laughing. It was a sight that defied logic: the hardened, cynical P.I. of Hell's Kitchen was currently listening with rapt attention as his mother explained the precise nutritional requirements of a South Dakota peony.
Jessica seemed different here. The tension in her jaw had eased, and for the first time, the dullness in her eyes was replaced by a quiet, focused calm. Every time she accidentally applied too much strength and snapped a weeding tool in half, Eleanor would simply hand her a sturdier one with a wink, never asking why a city-girl had a grip like a hydraulic press.
"She's good for her," Raizer murmured, taking a sip of lemonade. "And the mother... she's good for Jessica."
[HOST!] The System flickered into his periphery. [You look like a discarded NPC. Your 'Main Character' meter is dangerously low. Shouldn't you go out there and flex your 'King' gardening skills.]
'I'm enjoying the silence,' Raizer thought back. 'And don't add 'King' as if it is a suffix for some ranking system.'
As the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the vast plains in hues of bruised purple and gold, Eleanor emerged from the kitchen carrying a small, wicker basket lined with a checkered cloth. The scent of warm vanilla and brown sugar wafted from it.
"Raizer, honey," Eleanor called out, wiping her hands on her apron. "I need you to do me a favor. Take these home-made cookies down to the edge of town. There's a woman living in that old ranch house past the creek. She's a bit of a recluse, but she's been a good neighbor."
Raizer straightened his back, his slacker instincts prickling. "At this hour, Ma?"
"It's only a ten-minute walk! And besides, she likes them while they're still warm. Her name is Ajak. Just drop them off and be polite. Don't give her that 'audit' face of yours."
Jessica looked up from the garden, a smudge of dirt on her cheek. "Need company?"
"Do you think I like company?" Razier asked, taking the basket.
He set off down the dusty road. The air was cooling.
As he walked, he felt the familiar sensation of a 'Presence'. This wasn't the jagged, messy energy of a Super, nor the frantic static of a psychic. It was a deep, ancient, and terrifyingly stable vibration. Similar to the Gods of Orario but weaker and distinct.
He reached the ranch house. It was modest, standing alone against the vastness of the South Dakota sky. A woman was sitting on the porch in a rocking chair, staring at the stars as if she were reading a map only she could see.
Raizer stopped at the gate. He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. The King's Aura met the woman's presence in the middle of the yard, creating a localized pressure that made the air feel thick as honey.
The woman turned her head. She had a face that looked like it had been carved from the very earth itself; timeless, maternal, and incredibly weary.
"My mother sent cookies," Raizer said, his voice carrying the weight of his own hidden power.
He let out a long, heavy sigh as he recognized the signature of her presence. He had hoped for a town of humans. Instead, he had found someone who had been watching humanity since the first fire was lit.
'Ajak, I should have known by that name itself,' he thought, shaking his head.
The leader of the Eternals smiled, her eyes reflecting the starlight. "And you are?"
"Not seen the video? I'm famous," Raizer held some pride in his tone when he spoke.
"Not really interested in the internet. But by the looks of that basket, you must be the son Eleanor is so proud of, Raizer, am I right?"
Both of them felt that the other wasn't a normal person. But they maintained the surface-level peace, not throwing hands immediately.
Raizer didn't offer a handshake. He simply stepped onto the porch and placed the wicker basket on the small side table next to her rocking chair. The scent of the cookies—sweet, buttery, and undeniably human—seemed like an insult to the cosmic gravity radiating from the woman before him.
"She's proud of the version of me that knows how to fix a leaky faucet," Raizer replied, his voice a low rumble. "Of course, you can connect the dots between her and me. I'm like her first, defective copy, if you had say."
Ajak reached out, her fingers brushing the checkered cloth of the basket. Her touch was light, but Raizer sensed the sheer density of her life force. She wasn't just a biological entity; she was a conduit for something vast and ancient, a living battery of cosmic energy that had been humming for seven thousand years.
"Eleanor is a wise woman," Ajak said softly, her gaze shifting back to the horizon. "She values the things that last. A roof that doesn't leak. A son who returns. In the grand design, those are the only metrics that truly matter. I tend to forget that... often."
"Most people forget that," Raizer corrected. He turned to leave, his boots creaking on the wooden boards. He had no desire to peel back the layers of an Eternal's secrets. He was on vacation, and 'Cosmic Architects' were definitely not on his itinerary.
As he kept walking, he felt it; with his senses attuned to the vibrations of the planet, it felt like a prophecy. He felt the deep, tectonic hum beneath him; not a vibration of the crust, but something much deeper. Something growing. And very much alive.
It was connected to Ajak behind him, which was why he could feel it so easily.
Raizer finally turned his head above. His eyes weren't the warm, exasperated eyes of a son anymore. They were the cold, dark eyes of the adventurer who had stood at the bottom of the Labyrinth and stared into the abyss until the abyss blinked.
Ajak watched him walk away into the darkness. His back, defenseless, was threatening and deadly in itself. She wondered silently if they would truly be able to complete their 'mission' on this planet.
When Raizer returned, the lights in the kitchen were still on. He walked in to find Jessica and Eleanor sitting at the table, a deck of cards spread between them. Jessica was currently losing a game of Rummy and looking like she wanted to eat the deck.
"You're back late," Eleanor said, looking up with a smile. "Did you and Ajak have a nice chat? She's a lovely woman, isn't she? So calm."
Raizer looked at his mother. He felt the coldness in his chest begin to thaw, replaced by a fierce, silent resolve.
"She's a neighbor, Ma," Raizer said, walking over and ruffling his mother's hair, much to her feigned annoyance. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"Good," Eleanor chirped, fixing her hair. "Now, go wash up. There's pie left, and Jessica was just about to tell me about the time she 'restored' a statue by hitting it with a mallet."
Raizer sat down, clearly deep in thought. But as his mother placed a slice of apple pie in front of him, his heart settled into a quiet, domestic rhythm.
'Man, I don't why but I feel something is missing...'
[Me?]
'Fck. It should have remained missing forever.'
[Nah, I'm never leaving you alone, host! You and me, we're going to the ends of hell and collecting unpaid dues from Mephisto himself!]
Somehow, this system was the only existence Raizer could tolerate... To a certain extent.