The Protagonist System

252 L’amour En Abondance Part Five

The first vineyard tour was everything I had hoped for. There were only two other people and they were only interested in staying at the main house and tasting the various vintages the vineyard had. Not surprisingly, Lisa had been tempted to stay there as well. When I told her the owner and I were going to talk shop and she would be bored listening to two old farmers comparing notes, she stayed at the house.

“She wasn't hard to convince.” The older man said in French as we walked away from the house towards the path that led to the first of the grapevine fields.

“We're just starting to feel each other out in our relationship.” I responded in French as well. “We haven't even figured out if this is just a fling or something we can build on.”

The older man chuckled. “I do not envy you, Monsieur Kent. The dating adventures from my youth are not missed at all.”

I chuckled, too. “Believe me, I know. I'll take it easy, even if I'm sure she's going to want to stick around for a while.”

He nodded. “You do not pressure her. Good.” He said. “If she chooses to stay, then it's solely her decision and will likely stick to it, through thick and thin.”

“That's what I'm hoping for.” I admitted. “If she declines, that's her decision as well.”

“You do not expect her to?” He asked.

“I expect her to enjoy her freedom while also having a secure home life.” I corrected his assumption and the older Frenchman laughed.

“She would be a fool to throw that away.” He agreed.

I was tempted to say that people could be foolish for no reason at all and didn't.

He saw it on my face, though. “You have the look of a man who has seen more than a man should.”

I nodded and didn't say anything else about it as we approached the first planted vine and I changed the subject . “Your crops are growing quite well.”

The older man smiled with pride and started explaining the hows and the whys of why he was having such success, which was exactly what I had been looking for. I started adding my own observations on trying to start the growing process back on my farm and he nodded and looked sympathetic, then he explained that new farmers always struggled to cultivate such crops.

I didn't feel as bad about my various failures after hearing that, then the man shared some of the secrets he had discovered over the years of his own work. I absorbed the knowledge as gospel and the man easily noticed my intense attention. He also seemed quite pleased that he had someone besides his wife and children to share his life's passion with.

Needless to say, I spent the entire morning with the man and helped him check over his entire farm as he taught me how to do that properly. When lunchtime arrived, he even offered me several cuttings and the name of the company he bought his fertilizer and various supplies from. I thanked him profusely, of course. His teachings would allow me to finally get my own crops on the right path.

We went back to the farmhouse and Lisa and I shared lunch with him and his family. That wasn't a part of the tour and Lisa looked appreciative of the offer, especially because they served more wine with the meal. She had only sipped as she spent the morning with the wives, so she wasn't quite drunk. She was getting there, though.

We left the farm after that and were enthusiastically told to come back to visit. Lisa seemed to like that idea and I drove us back to town to the hotel. She was in no condition to enjoy any sightseeing and I wasn't going to cast any magic around her and give away that I was anything more than what she had already seen. I would need to wait to see if things worked out between us before bringing her into my life fully.

Lisa took me to bed, eager to feel good while she was feeling good, and I wasn't surprised that she didn't enjoy it as much in her slightly addled state. With her mind foggy, she wasn't reacting like she usually did. That kind of put a damper on her happy mood and when I finished, she rolled over and fell right to sleep.

I could hear her disgruntled thoughts about how she expected for me to fail in keeping her sexually satisfied for longer than a few days. I knew she was only thinking that because she was a little drunk; but, it still hurt to know that she had expected for me to disappoint her and I had apparently met those expectations much sooner than she thought I would.

Now my own mood was dampened by that and I decided to take a shower to clean up, then I ensured she would stay asleep and left the hotel on my own. More than a few women gave me appraising looks as I walked by them and I ignored them. My thoughts drifted to last night when I made the arrangements with Princess Diana for all of the women I had rescued.

A touch of my clairvoyance power let me see the compound where all the women and teens were being settled into their rooms. I focused on Natasha Romanov and saw how she admired the strength of the Amazon that was helping her. I wasn't sure if dropping all those potential assassins into the hands of the Amazons was the best choice, not that I had any other choice at the time.

I probably could have kept them at the mansion if I wanted to stack them like firewood to let them sleep. Despite the size of the place, it couldn't physically house that many people comfortably. It also had a severe lack of bathrooms, according to all of the women that needed to go at relatively the same time and the lines to wait were like they were at most bars and clubs.

I saw a couple of young women that would grow up to become a hero and a detective, respectively. The metahuman was named Miriam Delgado and she had illusion-based powers. Jean DeWolff on the other hand was a normal human and would eventually go to the police academy and join the police force, becoming a detective focusing on rape cases and helping other victims.

I also checked on Sue and Renee, only to see them naked in bed and making each other feel good. I shifted my view from them and saw two Amazons standing nearby and giving them tips and things to try. A brief touch on their minds let me know it was to distract them and show them they could make themselves feel good without feeling guilty about it.

Renee doesn't consider that cheating? I asked myself and then remembered something I needed to do. I stepped around the corner of the building I was near and into an alleyway, made myself invisible, then took another step and appeared in the bedroom of Victor Zsasz. A quick mental probe let me know he was starting to unravel already, despite it only being a couple of weeks since his wife's kidnapping.

I didn't wake him and used him like a puppet as I had him check his will and I was relieved that he left everything to his wife. I had him write a goodbye note and walk out of his house, climb into his Most expensive car, and drive off. Once we were in a secluded area, I stored the car and tossed him into the sun.

I checked my watch and it was barely an hour after noon, so I had all afternoon to take care of things. I changed into my hero persona of Atlas, Greg's face and all, and stepped from the forest into Aunt May's apartment. I could hear her soft whimpers and held in my sigh at her being so lost without her husband. I was tempted, so very tempted to take her for myself, except there was no way she would agree to that so soon after Ben's death.

I checked the photographs to get a good image of the man and sat down on the couch as I used May's own thoughts about him to guide my own thoughts, then I used a brief touch of my clairvoyance power to check the next dimension over. He was dead there and the Parkers were alive, so no dice there. I checked the next dimension over and both Ben and May were alive, as were the Parkers.

This is going to take a while. I thought and settled in to spend the next few hours searching through the local multiverse for any signs of a Ben that had lost both May and Peter, which is what I needed to meet the requirements for him to fit into this life without too much trouble.

*

Ben Parker stared down at the old Mardi Gras t-shirt with a white skull on it. He had been cleaning out the shared closet and found the shirt, the thing giving him the idea that he had nothing left to live for and might as well take up his old service pistol to go and handle the gag members that had run over and killed his wife and nephew.

“You are meant for greater things than simple vengeance.” A male voice whispered.

Ben didn't bother turning around. “Why would you say that? May was everything to me.”

“Will killing them in return bring her back?” The voice asked.

“No. All it'll do is stop them from killing anyone else.” Ben said. “Isn't that enough?”

The voice was quiet for a moment before it spoke. “I will help you if you help me in return.”

Ben chuckled. “You just said I was meant for greater things and now you're going to help me wipe out a gang?”

A strong hand was placed on his shoulder. “I didn't say not to making them pay for what they did, just that you shouldn't be thinking in such small terms.”

Ben lifted his gaze to look at the tall man wearing a superhero suit that made him look like an angel. “Does that mean you're here to save me from my ruined life?”

“Yes.” The man said. “Consider this training. I'll provide you with what you need, give you some tricks and a few extras, then you can go and punish those bastards for denying you your happiness.”

“Punish them?” Ben asked and the man nodded. “Punishment. Yes, that's what they need. What they deserve. To be punished. By me.” He said and them grimly smiled. “The Punisher.”

“I'm Atlas, and this is will be the start of your journey on the right path.” Atlas said. “Depending on how well you do, your reward will be significant.”

“Reward? I don't want or need money.” Ben scoffed.

Atlas smiled. “I know. I'll be granting you your heart's desire.”

Ben frowned at him. “Unless you can give me my May back...” His voice trailed off as the superhero nodded. “You're not a necromancer, are you?”

Atlas barked a laugh. “No, I've intentionally denied myself powers like that. I could access them, though.”

Ben shook his head. “I don't want some twisted version of my love. It's her or nothing.”

“Agreed. She's too good.” Atlas responded and Ben nodded. “Let's get you started.” He said and waved a hand and made a bunch of military grade weapons, body armor, and close combat weapons appeared. “When you complete your mission, you'll get your reward.”

Ben stood up and smiled a grim smile again. “Show me what to do.”

*

Aunt May finally managed to stem her latest hysterical crying fit and sat up on her bed. She had barely put Peter down for his nap when she had felt overwhelmed again. She was now a widow, had bills to cover, rent to pay, and groceries to buy. She was also alone and had lost her only source of income with a toddler to care for as well. How was she going to work and take care of a child at the same time?

Before she could do more than sigh, a dark swirling mass of something formed on the bedroom wall. It grew and seemed like looking into the center of a storm, then a naked body came tumbling out of it and flopped onto the floor at her feet.

May stared down at the beaten and bruised body for several seconds, not even noticing that the portal had closed, then she gasped. “B-B-Ben?”

“M-May?” Ben asked and opened the eye that wasn't swollen shut. “He didn't lie. It's you. It's really you.”

“BEN!” May yelled and lunged from the bed and tackled him.

Ben felt what he had just gone through was worth it to have her back. Even her aggravating his injuries was nothing when compared to having the love of his life back. He hugged her as she cried and his own tears flowed as he silently thanked his benefactor for keeping his promise.@@novelbin@@

*

After delivering Ben Parker to his reward, I stepped back to the alleyway near the hotel. My danger sense tingled slightly, which meant that I was only kind of in danger, so I turned to where I felt I had to and stood there to wait.

A swirling golden portal opened up on the alleyway's back wall and Doctor Fate floated through, only it was a woman and the costume was quite form-fitting. The golden girdle was a nice touch and the blue tights underneath really showed off the space between her legs. Her breasts were braless and the blue top didn't leave anything to the imagination.

“You are an anomaly and shouldn't be doing what you are doing.” Doctor Fate's sexy voice said as the alleyway seemed to crack into multiple facets and I suddenly found myself inside the Mirror Dimension. “You are disrupting the Order.”

I figured I was in trouble and decided fighting wasn't going to help me here. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Ancient One.” I said respectfully and bowed. Surprisingly, the tiny eye holes in her golden helm widened, almost comically.

“You know of me?” Doctor Fate asked.

“Technically.” I hedged and her eyes snapped back to their normal size. “I know of a version of you that didn't become an avatar for the Lords of Order, despite her self-imposed task of fighting off any and all demonic invasions of Earth.”

Doctor Fate floated over and landed right in front of me, showing her height was the same as mine.

“She became the Sorcerer Supreme and spent decades establishing an order of sorcerer monks to fight demonic forces, based at Kamar Taj. She also had Sanctum Sanctorums built around the world on key leyline points for more powerful defenses and easier magical access for her students.” I explained.

Doctor Fate looked at me intensely for several seconds. “You are not lying.”

I glanced down at the feeling of magic and saw a ritual circle had formed around her hand. I looked back up at her face and smiled. “I have no reason to.”

She stayed silent for another few seconds before she spoke. “Establishing magical defences to encompass the entire planet had never occurred to me.” She admitted, almost reluctantly. “It would have made my job much easier if I had disciples to handle the smaller tasks and allowed me to fight the real threats to this realm.”

My smile grew and she raised a single eyebrow, which was reflected on her helm. “Perhaps we could sit for a while and can have a talk?” I asked and pointedly did not look at the Eye of Agamotto on the clasp of her golden cape.

“Are you an Agent of Chaos?” Doctor Fate asked and I felt another pulse of magic.

I gave her my best warm smile. “I've been trying to years to bring order to the world, except I only knew about half of it at the time. It was only recently that I found out there was a bunch of things I've missed and I'm scrambling to put things to right.”

Doctor Fate stared into my eyes for another few seconds, then she nodded and waved her hand to form two comfortable chairs. “We will sit and you will tell me what you've done and what you're planning to do.”

I nodded and sat, trying to not admire how demure she was when she took her own seat and crossed her legs. It was also a great view and I suspected she had sat that way on purpose.

“You may begin.” Doctor Fate said, her voice sounding amused, and she crossed her arms under her breasts to draw my eyes up from her waist.

Yes, she definitely sat that way on purpose to distract me, and it's working. I thought and started telling her a sanitized version of everything I had done up to that point and what I wanted to do in the future. Hopefully, when I was done, she would give me the same courtesy.