Volume 8: The Fourth Impact Chapter 96: A Happy Family - Cheers, Family
26 hours after the fusion was completed, at 7:50 p.m. in Osborne Tower, the entire floor where the conference hall was located was dead silent.
This floor is under martial law tonight for unknown reasons. Even the elevator is set not to stop on this floor, and all the stairs are completely blocked by mechanical locks.
It is basically equivalent to isolating this layer.
This kind of thing has basically never happened in the Osborne Tower in the past, so the staff who remain in the tower in this new world are all very curious.
But no one dared to turn on the surveillance on that floor to get a glimpse of the truth.
Because the order to blockade was passed down directly from Lord Norman Osborn. As the former absolute leader of Osborn Tower, one of the poles of the New World and a despot who was destined to conquer and rule the world and even expand his influence to the stars in the future, the authority of the old Green Goblin was absolutely untouchable, at least in this tower.
But even if someone really came to check the situation, risking the Green Goblin's anger and being thrown into the Forbidden Forest to feed the dogs, they would definitely be greatly disappointed.
There's no conspiracy, no cult rituals at night, or even any scary, spooky horror elements.
This floor was brightly lit, with balloons and streamers decorating both sides of the corridor. In the large conference hall at the end there was a large banner and a large round table.
Mason, wearing a chef's hat, was standing with his hands on his hips, looking at the seven-layer cake in front of him that was as tall as a person. He was very satisfied with what he had made with his own hands.
Although there was no special water clone separated to be a chef at the beginning, the main body Mason felt that he might be able to play the role of Chef Mason.
Even though he has been traveling back and forth between different worlds and fighting against different enemies, he has never given up cooking.
"Just a few more embellishments and it'll be done."
Mason opened the mold behind him, picked up the already shaped chocolate doll and placed it on the top layer of the cake.
These dolls were also made by Mason himself, and they are the images of his avatars, including an engineer dressed as a bat, an alchemist dressed as a wizard, a forger dressed as a miner, a paramedic in a white coat, and so on.
Each one is shaped very delicately and forms a circle on the top of the cake.
"grass!"
Just as Mason was finishing the cake, a came from outside the large conference hall that was decorated as a birthday party, and the earliest inscription master who arrived was hiding at the door and peeking around.
After confirming that he was on the right path, he shouted:
"Whose birthday are you celebrating, you bastard! Don't tell me today is Ciri or Harley's birthday. Hey, everyone is so busy, how can they have time to help your sister... Eh? What's that thing on the cake?"
The guy shouted, walked forward, took a look, and then stood there in a daze as if he was struck by lightning.
No matter how strange the clone's personality was, he could always understand when he saw the dolls listed on the cake. The inscriptionist wearing an Isu-style robe bit his lip.
He glanced back at the smiling subject, Mason, and said:
"Is this prepared for us? But today is not the day you created us, so how can this be called a birthday? Although I am indeed very touched, I must point out your mistake!"
"Today is indeed not the day you were born."
Mason took off his chef's hat, changed back into his windbreaker while in the water, and put on the hat next to him. Then he said to the inscriptionist:
"But you are the ones who have your own independent lives. I think today's commemoration should be more important to you than being molded into a human form from a ball of water, right?
What about others?
Not here yet? "
He looked down at his watch. There were only two minutes left until eight o'clock. Then there was a noisy sound in the corridor. From a distance, he could hear the engineer's hoarse voice shouting:
"Asshole! Asshole! I thought there was some surprise, but I didn't expect that they called us over to celebrate the birthday of some random asshole! Damn it, I don't even know him, why should I spend my time to attend that asshole's birthday party!
Don't let me catch him!
Otherwise I will give him a good kick in the ass."
"Well, we still have to give the subject some respect, even though I think this is a waste of time..."
Others echoed.
It was obvious that this group of curly dogs were very unhappy that the sudden gathering interrupted their work process. Among the people who came, only the jeweler and the collector followed at the end and did not participate in the complaints of the main group.
The former knows the truth, while the latter is simply socially phobic.
"Come, help!"
Mason rolled up his sleeves and said something to the inscriber who was wiping his tears next to him. The two of them pushed the huge cake and turned off the lights in the conference room.
When the other distracted gods walked in cursing, the wild phoenix Fox, who had been prepared, suddenly appeared and sprayed a mouthful of phoenix fire on the huge candle in the center of the cake.
As the fire lit up and the phoenix's feathers of light fell, Kevin, who had been rehearsing for an entire afternoon, coughed a few times, turned around, and created a dozen hot girls in cool clothes dancing on both sides in the firelight.
Carrying the big gourd on its back, it transformed itself into Elvis Presley, grabbed the microphone and sang "Happy Birthday".
You know what, although Kevin doesn’t like to talk and always shows off his superb acting skills in pantomime, his singing is really good.
All the clones were stunned by this scene.
They stared in amazement at the main character Mason pushing a big cake and standing in the light feathers sprinkled by Fox's wings in front of them. The inscription master next to him had cried like a fool and couldn't even utter a complete sentence.
They all inherited Mason's character.
Although they are different in some details, they are all emotional people, the kind who can't help crying .
Even the most noisy engineer shut up when he saw the vivid figures on the cake.
The inscription master next to him was waiting for his compatriots with red eyes. He had quietly grabbed the knife that Mason had just used to make the cake, and held it in his hand like a dagger, glaring at these bastards who couldn't read the air.
What are you still standing there for?
Cry!
Cry for me!
If you don’t cry well, I will kill you!
"Depend on!"
The engineer who originally said he would bring his family but ended up coming alone cursed and covered his face and said:
"You're going to die if you're being so sentimental. We're all water people, bastard. You'll die if you cry too much."
"You can't stand it?"
The main body Mason looked at the group of silent clones in front of him and shook his head. The surprise was enough to this extent. After all, he was not a professional in this field, so it was enough to get the idea across.
He picked up the pocket beside him, lifted up the "crystal hearts" with the water flow and sent them to each clone, saying:
"Come on, put it into your body. This energy core made by cutting the Infinity Stone can restrain your water flow and complete the cut with me on the physical and mental levels.
Unless you are unlucky enough to be shot to death and even your core is destroyed, you will no longer need to rely on me to survive in this world. But even if you die, you will be reborn in my place.
This is what I promised you.
From now on, apart from sharing manufacturing skills, everyone is an independent individual.
Put it on quickly."
Mason urged:
"After putting it on, I made a wish, blew out the candles, and ate cake. After that, I had to go back to Gotham. Gordon was furious because I hadn't been home for so long.
I can't escape the family dinner at ten o'clock tonight. I heard that Dr. Leslie will also be there. Barbara keeps urging me, and I have to pick up Emma on the way."
"Fuck, is this so realistic? Can't you let the feeling of being touched linger a little longer?"
The blacksmith cursed and pushed the engineer who was wiping his tears. The latter curled his lips, took out a startup key that was very similar to Fenrir's armor from his waist, and handed it to Mason.
He said:
"This is a gift from the forger and I to you..."
"Hmm? Didn't I send it before?"
Mason patted the pistol on his waist in surprise and said to the engineer:
"This gun is great. And what's with this gift? Why are you giving me a gift all of a sudden? Wait! I didn't notice it just now. Why do you all have gifts in your hands?
All for me?"
"Um."
The alchemist lit his pipe, took another look at the cake in front of him and the crystal heart core floating in front of him, and sighed:
"Everyone kept it a secret from you in order to give you a surprise, because the incident with Void Mason made us realize that the relationship between you and us is not simply that of the main body and the clone.
There is a deeper bond connecting you and us.
Everyone decided to take advantage of this auspicious day of the integration project to give gifts to show their attitude.
Mason...
Our existence all stems from you. We are like a family. Even outside the manufacturing industry, our relationship is by no means full of exploitation and uncertainty as others think.
What I'm saying is that in your story it's not just Batman finding his family, you're also finding your own family in the process.
Closer than the clones, more real than that little bitch Madeline, a family with more seamless boundaries than Emma.
I just didn’t expect you to be so decisive.”
"yes!"
The enchanter curled his lips and said:
"I thought you would at least defeat Mephisto and Old A before doing this, but you shamelessly attacked us and caught us all off guard.
It’s hard to give this gift now, as it seems like a transaction.
But it’s not.
We don't want to make this a transaction between you and us. We're all Mason, right? We're meant to look out for each other."
"I don't think it matters. As long as the intention is there, it's just a matter of going through the motions."
The tailor grinned and handed Mason a folded set of clothes. He said:
"Just think of it as a gift between family members. Mason gave us freedom, and we give back with our hearts. May our strength always be with you.
I made this set of clothes together with the enchanter and the inscriber.
Based on the principle of the anti-Phoenix cloak from last time, you no longer have to worry about unexpected energy attacks even when wearing armor.
It can also heal your life and help you resist the invasion and pollution of nothingness on the spiritual level. Most importantly, it is made according to your favorite style, so wear it out boldly. "
"After all this time, you're just giving me a piece of tattered clothing. How insincere."
The engineer commented disdainfully:
"Look at what the forger and I sent out. We got X-metal! The Universe Master Power Armor is no longer a three-minute-long item.
As long as you want, you can wear it even when sleeping or going to the toilet. I also made an overload slot for the power armor, which perfectly matches the Heart of the Star Emperor.
That is the MAX level invincible mode!
Combined with the two, there are very few things in this universe that can hurt you."
“And this.”
The blacksmith opened the box in his hand, revealing a full-coverage helmet in it, very similar in style to the power armor of the Lord of the Universe, dotted with ruby nodes.
"I used the remaining X-metal to make this helmet for you. This way, the last defect of the Universe Master Power Armor has been made up. Except for the inability to fly and the lack of teleportation function, it is almost perfect.
But after putting it on, you don’t need to fly anymore, the whole sky, the earth and everything in the world will make way for you!"
"Well, I don't have anything good to give you."
The jeweler shrugged, took out a replica of the Infinity Gauntlet and handed it over, saying:
"Let's use the more stable charged version of the Infinity Gauntlet as a gift. This time it will never break in the middle of the process. It will remain stable until you complete at least one super energy release.
It can be reused. It can be charged with Star Devouring Energy or Star Emperor Heart."
"I...I don't have anything to give..."
The lonely collector blushed, lowered his head and said:
"But...but the materials of the things they gave were all given to me...so, it can be considered a gift from me...If you don't mind...my skinning knife...can...be given to you, and you can use it...as a throwing knife!"
He held out the black skinning knife from his belt.
That thing was in the style of a bat knife, with dragon skin cord wrapped around the handle. It was simple and elegant and really suitable as a throwing weapon.
Mason looked at the gift in front of him, a big smile appeared on his face and he accepted it all. Finally, he turned his head to look at the paramedic. He was wearing a white coat and was already clasping his hands together to make a wish.
After noticing Mason's expectant look, the paramedic spread his hands and said:
"I really don't have anything to give you. How about I give you a free physical examination here? Or give you half of your medical card or something?"
"Forget it, forget it. Your field is really not suitable for giving gifts."
Mason waved his hand, looked at the clones in front of him, and said:
"But I accepted your gifts, so you should accept mine too. Let's start, guys, and complete this separation ritual. The subordination between the main body and the clone is not the way a family should get along. I hope you can enjoy your life, just as you wish me a happy ending.
bring it on.
Let us truly become a family.”
As he watched, the clones grasped the crystal core hanging in front of them with both hands and placed it into their hearts in a rather horrifying way.
Just like a stone being placed in the beating of water waves, as the energy constraints of the crystal heart took effect, the body of the clone first melted into water and then took shape again after a brief beating.
Mason closed his eyes as well.
He could feel himself losing control of his clones, but he could still feel their presence.
As for the changes on the spiritual level, they were not completely isolated as he had imagined. He could still feel the emotions of his clone. Just as the alchemist said, beneath the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness, there was a deeper force connecting them together.
It's like a bond or an emotional tie.
Just like family members cannot read each other's minds but still choose to trust unconditionally and return the trust of others, that is a more reassuring feeling than having one's life and existence completely controlled by another person.
Only a free personality can shape true emotions. After all, there can never be friendship between slaves and their masters.
“How weird!”
The engineer covered his head and screamed:
"I can't feel you anymore. I don't know what you're thinking. Damn it! Now I can't hear you scolding me behind my back.
Um, maybe that’s a good thing?”
“I can’t feel what everyone is thinking…”
The alchemist touched his heart and felt the crystal core beating in the water. The unfamiliar touch made him feel a little at a loss, but the next moment, he raised his head and looked at the others, at Mason.
He said:
"But even if I can't feel it, I can be sure that I can trust you without reservation."
"My concerns were misplaced."
The jeweler took the Mason's hand in his left hand and the alchemist's hand in his right hand, and he said:
"We don't fall apart just because we have independent consciousness; something deeper has bound us together.
The induction between hearts is only an auxiliary, but we can be united without it, even more united than before, because the seeds of trust have already been planted.
It is bearing fruit today.”
“We are a family.”
Mason shrugged, smiled relaxedly, and said:
"Whether you believe it or not, I have never worried that you will leave me..."
"Well, who are the four assassination-type Masons for?"
The hat suddenly asked Mason a question in his mind, causing the captain to curl his lips. He picked up the table knife and cut the cake amid Kevin's singing, Fox's chirping, and the booing of his clones, while saying in his mind:
"Shut up, you jerk who can't bear to see others do well! Look at the Mason family in front of you, how touching they are."
