Chapter 5: The Otaku vs The Fixer
The morning after Mama Rose's rooftop conversation, Meliodas woke to find his theme song playing in his head again.
This time, it was something dramatic. Orchestral. The kind of music that played before a boss fight.
He toggled it off quickly.
'Note to self: Theme song knows when things are about to get intense. That's either useful or terrifying.'
He sat up, rubbing his eyes. Tandy was already gone—early training, probably. Miguel was hunched over his notebook at the common table, surrounded by files and coffee cups.
"You look like garbage," Meliodas said.
"You look like you slept on a mattress from the 1980s." Miguel didn't look up. "Which you did. So we're even."
Meliodas grabbed a cup of coffee—Mama Rose had left a pot warming—and sat across from him. "What's the plan?"
"Wesley." Miguel pushed a file toward him. "James Wesley. Age 42. Fisk's personal attorney, fixer, and attack dog. He's the one who makes problems disappear. If we can get to him, get him to talk—"
"He won't talk."
"Then we get evidence. Something on his person, in his office, anywhere that ties Fisk directly to criminal activity."
Meliodas flipped through the file. Photos of a thin, severe-looking man in expensive suits. Notes on his routines, his habits, his security.
"He's careful."
"Extremely. He never goes anywhere without at least four guards. His office is in Fisk Tower—basically a fortress. His apartment is the same." Miguel pointed at a photo. "But once a week, he visits his mother. Nursing home in Queens. Same day, same time, every week. It's the only time he's vulnerable."
Meliodas stared at the photo. An old woman in a wheelchair, smiling at the camera. Wesley stood beside her, his expression almost... human.
"You want to ambush him at his mother's nursing home?"
"I want to talk to him there. Civilly. Let him know we have evidence. Give him a chance to do the right thing."
"He's Fisk's right hand. He doesn't have a 'right thing.'"
"Maybe. But everyone has weaknesses. His mother might be his."
Meliodas thought about it. Thought about the charm warm against his chest. Thought about Tandy's warning, Mama Rose's eyes, the weight of everything he'd taken on.
"When?"
"Tomorrow. 2 PM. We'll be in and out before anyone knows we were there."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[NEW QUEST: The Fixer's Choice]
{Confront James Wesley at his mother's nursing home. Gain direct evidence of Fisk's involvement.}
Reward: 12 Destiny Shards
Warning: This will escalate conflict significantly.
---
That afternoon, Meliodas sat on the rooftop, watching the city.
His {Recharge} meditation was becoming easier. Two hours a day, quieting his mind, focusing on nothing. It helped. Not just with his powers, but with everything. The chaos. The fear. The constant pressure of being in a world he only knew from screens.
Footsteps behind him.
Tandy.
"You're brooding," she said, sitting beside him.
"I'm meditating."
"Same thing, different name." She hugged her knees, looking out at the skyline. "Miguel told me about tomorrow."
"Of course he did."
"He's worried. Thinks you're in over your head."
"I am in over my head. That's kind of my thing now."
Tandy was quiet for a moment. Then: "I'm coming with you."
"What? No."
"Not negotiable. You need backup. Someone who can fight, who knows the city, who isn't going to freeze up when things go wrong."
"Things might not go wrong."
"Things always go wrong." She looked at him. "That's kind of your thing now too."
Meliodas wanted to argue. But she was right.
"...Fine. But you follow my lead. And if I say run, we run."
"Deal."
They sat in silence, watching the sun set over Harlem.
"Tandy?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet. Thank me after we survive."
---
That night, the system pinged him with an update.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[NEW CYOA ITEMS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE]
[CURRENCY CONVERSION NOTICE: POINTS HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO SHARD VALUES]
Meliodas blinked and opened the menu. A massive list of new options appeared.
---
[NEW ITEMS — HERO SHARD PURCHASES]
Note: 200 points = 10 Hero Shards. Other conversions scaled accordingly.
---
[Storybook — Cost: 5 Hero Shards]
{A plain, ordinary-looking book that is enchanted to be highly impervious to damage but also features within its page an endless supply of any fictional story ever published in the modern world, so long as it is set in a medieval time-period and not science-fiction. Does not include instructional manuals or academic books to be learned from but is solely meant for fictional stories for entertainment purposes.}
---
[Pitcher of Eternal Water — Cost: 10 Hero Shards]
{Cold, clean water will flow from this pitcher each time you pour it. It'll literally never run out!}
---
[Hypothetical TV — Cost: 10 Hero Shards]
{Once a day, you can ask this TV a hypothetical situation and it'll begin playing a 30 hour documentary about all the events that may ensue. All of them. Asking it what would happen if you put on a t-shirt instead of a sweater in the winter could end with it showing you a documentary on how you froze to death in a freak snowstorm. Good news is, there's a built in DVR that'll record each documentary so you can watch them later.}
---
[Golden Scales — Cost: 12 Hero Shards]
{If presented with two options, these scales will show you which option will end up better for you. It'll answer any question, but sometimes the 'better' option is you getting killed quickly instead of slowly. Try not to use it in the middle of a fight.}
---
[Tree of Plenty Seeds — Cost: 10 Hero Shards]
{A pack of seeds that'll grow into a Tree of Plenty, a rare tree that is always full of different fruits each morning. The tree will be fully grown in 3 years after planting and will produce fruit daily after that. Everything you don't pick is erased at the end of the day. Every 5 years the tree will produce a golden apple which will grow into a new Tree of Plenty if you plant it.}
---
[Staff of Justice — Cost: 12 Hero Shards]
{Hoist this staff into the air, and shout the name of someone who you want judged. Whoever's done less bad things throughout their lives will be unaffected, while the person who's done more bad things will suffer a horrible bout of bad luck. The staff thinks in a very black and white manner, so watch out!}
---
[Witches Rejuvenation Pills — Cost: 12 Hero Shards]
{A vial of 500 pills, each one will reduce your age by a year when you take it. It'll refill once you run out of pills. Don't take more than your current age or you'll die!}
---
[Witches Diet Pills — Cost: 5 Hero Shards]
{A container with 1000 pills, each pill will take a pound off of your weight. Takes fat, not muscle. Container refills.}
---
[Daylight Ring — Cost: 5 Hero Shards]
{Allows vampires to survive in the sun without burning up. Returns to your hand if lost or destroyed. You gain the formula for making more, though without magic you'll need to outsource the crafting.}
---
[Moonlight Ring — Cost: 5 Hero Shards]
{Wearing it allows a werewolf to forego the moonlight transformation. Returns to your hand if lost or destroyed. You gain the formula for making more.}
---
[Transformation Control Amulet — Cost: 10 Hero Shards]
{Makes its wearer flat out immune to all attempts to forcibly change their form, whether those changes are internal or external. No effect or force will overcome this resistance while worn.}
---
[Magic Receptacle — Cost: 5 Hero Shards]
{Choose any item. That thing is now an excellent receptacle of magic. You may channel your magic into it freely, and it will hold immense amounts without suffering. You can change its shape any time without losing any of the magic.}
---
[NEW PERKS — 1 HERO SHARD EACH]
· {Armipotent}: Equally talented and skilled in a large range of melee weapons.
· {Strong Arm}: Wield two-handed weapons singlehandedly with same proficiency.
· {Battle Prediction}: Innate talent for discerning battlefield movements and predicting attacks.
· {Hyperawareness}: Incredibly honed senses, notice everything in your range without being overwhelmed.
· {Danger Sense}: Sense nearing danger, acute threats, and potential immediate danger. (Requires Hyperawareness)
· {Parry}: Successful parries transfer a quarter of attacker's force back through their weapon.
· {Immune System}: Robust immune system, adapt and overcome any mundane disease.
· {Keen Vision}: Exceptional eyesight, see far distances clearly, adapt to darkness.
· {Combat Trained}: Talent, skills and experience of someone with modest combat training.
· {Magnus' Blessing}: Blessed with large quantity of mana and affinity towards magic.
· {Strength}: Strength will be the pinnacle of your race. Body performs at peak with no strain.
· {Agility}: Body capable of reaching and maintaining great speeds, physical peak for your build.
· {Charisma}: Innate knack for making friends and swaying people. Even enemies gain respect.
· {Iron Will}: Unwavering willpower, maintain focus in hectic situations, higher pain tolerance.
· {Fortunes Favor}: Unnatural luck. More likely to get last-minute rescue or stumble upon valuables.
· {Prodigy}: Choose three talents. Gain 10 years of dedicated experience in each.
· {Second Wind}: Once per combat, completely restore stamina and heal any minor wounds. 30 min cooldown.
· {Dual Casting}: Dual cast a spell to overcharge effects into an even more powerful version.
· {Novice Affinity}: Cast all associated Novice spells for half magicka.
· {Apprentice Affinity}: Cast all associated Apprentice spells for half magicka. (Requires Novice Affinity)
· {Adept Affinity}: Cast all associated Adept spells for half magicka. (Requires Apprentice Affinity)
· {Expert Affinity}: Cast all associated Expert spells for half magicka. (Requires Adept Affinity)
---
[NEW MOUNTS — 10-15 HERO SHARDS EACH]
· {Nightmare — Cost: 15 Hero Shards}: Unique unicorn empowered with magicka. Much more durable and powerful than mundane kin, surprising intelligence. Heals from nearly any injury over time. Under night sky, capabilities doubled. During full moon, sprouts magical wings for flight.
· {Ghost Horse — Cost: 10 Hero Shards}: Summon or dismiss anytime. Requires no sustenance, tireless. Purely for transportation. Arrows pass through unhindered. Spells or melee weapons disrupt and dismiss it.
· {Atronach Horse — Cost: 15 Hero Shards}: Summoned elemental atronach shaped as horse. Can take three forms: Flame, Frost, Storm. Requires no sustenance, never tires. Summon or dismiss once daily.
Flame Atronach Horse Form: Shrouded in flames, excellent in combat. Controls flame to cause no harm to rider. Great waves of heat, scorching hooves.
Frost Atronach Horse Form: Molded with dense, solid ice. Great defensive ability, sturdy physical offense. Delivers freezing chills of frostbite.
Storm Atronach Horse Form: Molded from stone and tangible lightning. Decent defense, incredible speed. Delivers stunning shocks.
---
[NEW ACCESSORIES — 3-8 HERO SHARDS EACH]
· {Wanderer's Cloak — Cost: 8 Hero Shards}: Keeps wearer at comfortable temperature. With hood up, presence is unremarkable and unnoticed so long as you're not actively drawing attention or being sought. Helps ensure undisturbed travel.
· {Leech Ring — Cost: 5 Hero Shards}: Minorly rejuvenates health and stamina whenever you land an attack on an enemy, leeching it from them.
· {Blood Potion — Cost: 3 Hero Shards}: Special potion bottle filled with always fresh blood to sate a vampire's appetite. Refills once daily.
· {Sweetroll Plate — Cost: 3 Hero Shards}: Once daily, if laid or held flat, spawns a giant and divinely delicious sweetroll, fresh and warm.
· {Alchemist Kit — Cost: 5 Hero Shards}: Satchel with necessary tools and supplies for crafting potions on the go. Potions have better end results. Ingredients stored within preserved perfectly.
· {Compass — Cost: 3 Hero Shards}: Enchanted compass that points you in the direction of what you really want. Can struggle if too specific. Unreliable if uncertain. Can reliably point north.
· {Scrying Ball — Cost: 5 Hero Shards}: Small crystal ball. Gazing within grants an overhead view of any area the ball had once been within a radius of ten miles.
· {Meditation Gem — Cost: 4 Hero Shards}: Greatly increases mana regeneration and health recovery rate of whomever holds it during meditation.
· {Thief's Keyring — Cost: 3 Hero Shards}: Unique magical keyring that automatically creates a matching key for any lock you successfully pick. Stores maximum 10 keys.
· {Potion Guide — Cost: 3 Hero Shards}: Book filled with recipes for alchemy potions and various commonly known effects of ingredients and combinations.
· {Magical Tome — Cost: 4 Hero Shards}: Tome full of intricate notes regarding advanced magics, focused on any single specific field or type of magic of your choice.
· {Land Deed — Cost: 8 Hero Shards}: Legal document naming you as effective owner of a small piece of land. Guaranteed no one will make an overly big deal about it or interfere.
---
Meliodas's eyes went wide.
'There's so MUCH.'
He looked at his current shards:
Hero Shards: 6
Destiny Shards: 13
Broken Shards: 7
'Can't afford most of this yet. But some of those 1-shard perks...'
He scanned the list again.
{Battle Prediction} would help in fights. {Hyperawareness} and {Danger Sense} together would make him almost impossible to surprise. {Leech Ring} would give him sustain. {Second Wind} was basically a free heal.
But he needed to save for bigger purchases too. The {Atronach Horse} sounded amazing—a summonable elemental horse? Yes please. And {Wanderer's Cloak} would combine perfectly with {Indistinct}.
'Priorities. Wesley first. Then shopping.'
He closed the menu and tried to sleep.
{Restless Nights} made it hard without someone nearby, but Tandy was on the couch again. He could hear her breathing, soft and steady.
'Not alone. Good.'
He closed his eyes and drifted off.
---
The nursing home was in a quiet part of Queens.
Brick building, well-maintained gardens, the kind of place where families visited on Sundays and residents sat on porches watching the world go by.
Meliodas, Tandy, and Miguel arrived at 1:45 PM. Miguel stayed in the car—lookout, getaway driver if needed. Tandy and Meliodas walked toward the entrance.
"You sure about this?" Tandy murmured.
"No. But we're doing it anyway."
"That's stupid."
"Probably."
They walked inside.
The lobby was clean, bright, smelling of lemon polish and old flowers. A receptionist smiled at them.
"Visiting someone?"
"Mrs. Wesley," Meliodas said. "She's expecting us."
The receptionist checked a computer. "Room 214. Down the hall, take a left."
They walked.
Room 214 was at the end of the hall, door slightly ajar. Through the gap, Meliodas could see an old woman in a chair, watching television. And beside her, a man in an expensive suit.
James Wesley.
Meliodas knocked.
"Come in."
They entered.
Wesley looked up, and his expression shifted—recognition, then calculation, then something harder.
"You're the one from the warehouse," he said. "The swordsman. The Dragons have been looking for you."
"That's me."
"And you're... what? A mutant? A mutate? Some kind of enhanced?"
"Something like that." Meliodas stepped forward, hands visible. "We need to talk."
Wesley's eyes flicked to Tandy, then back. "About?"
"Fisk. The Dragons. The operations you're running." Meliodas kept his voice calm. "We have evidence. Financial records. Shipment schedules. Names."
Wesley was quiet for a long moment. Then he laughed.
It wasn't a nice laugh.
"You have no idea what you're walking into," he said. "Fisk isn't just a crime lord. He's an institution. He owns this city. The cops, the politicians, the judges—all of them. Even if you had evidence—which I doubt—it would never see the light of day."
"Then we'll take it to the media."
"The media?" Wesley laughed again. "You think Fisk doesn't own half of them too? You think anyone would print a story against him and live to see the morning?"
Meliodas's {Third Eye} flickered.
Red. Deep red. Not just hostile—dangerous.
But beneath it, something else. Faint. Almost invisible.
Blue.
'He's not completely loyal. There's doubt. Fear, maybe.'
"Your mother seems nice," Meliodas said.
Wesley's expression froze.
"Don't."
"I'm not threatening her. I'm just observing." Meliodas kept his voice soft. "You visit her every week. Same time, same day. It's the only time you're vulnerable. We could have brought an army. We didn't. We came alone, to talk."
Wesley stared at him.
"What do you want?"
"A way out. For you. For anyone else who's trapped working for Fisk. We have evidence. We have connections. We can protect you."
"You can't protect me from Fisk. No one can."
"Maybe. But we can try." Meliodas reached into his coat—slowly, carefully—and pulled out a file. Miguel's file. The evidence they'd gathered.
Wesley took it. Read.
His face went pale.
"This is... this is everything. Shipments, payments, names. How did you—"
"The Dragons aren't as loyal as you think. People talk when they're scared."
Wesley looked up. For the first time, Meliodas saw something other than cold calculation in his eyes.
Fear.
"If Fisk finds out you have this, he'll kill everyone you've ever met. Everyone you've ever talked to. Everyone in that safehouse in Harlem."
Meliodas's heart skipped. 'He knows about the safehouse.'
"We're aware."
"And you're still here? Still trying to take him down?" Wesley shook his head. "You're either very brave or very stupid."
"Both. According to my friends."
Another laugh, but this one was different. Tired. Defeated.
"What do you want from me?"
"Testimony. On record. Something that ties Fisk directly to criminal activity. Enough for a warrant, enough for an arrest, enough for something to stick."
Wesley was quiet for a long time.
Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small recorder.
"I've been documenting everything for three years," he said. "Every order, every payment, every name. Fisk doesn't know. If he did, I'd be dead already." He handed it over. "This is my insurance. My way out, if I ever got one."
Meliodas took it, stunned.
"This is..."
"Everything. Names, dates, recordings. Enough to put Fisk away for multiple lifetimes." Wesley's eyes were hard. "But if you use it, you have to protect my mother. She's the only innocent in all of this."
"We will."
Wesley nodded slowly. Then he stood.
"You should go. Before someone sees you."
Meliodas and Tandy stood.
"One more thing," Wesley said. "Fisk has someone watching the safehouse. I don't know who, but he's got eyes everywhere. Be careful."
"We will."
They left.
---
In the car, Miguel nearly screamed when Meliodas handed him the recorder.
"Is this—is this what I think it is?"
"Wesley's insurance. Three years of evidence."
Miguel stared at it like it was made of gold. "This is it. This is everything. We can take Fisk down with this."
"Not yet. We need to be smart. Find the right people, the ones Fisk doesn't own."
"That's going to be hard."
"I know."
Tandy, in the back seat, was quiet. Then: "He knew about the safehouse."
"Yeah."
"That's bad."
"Really bad."
Miguel looked between them. "What does that mean?"
"It means Fisk knows where we live. And if he knows, it's only a matter of time before he does something about it."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE KINGPIN CONSPIRACY — Part 3]
{Confronted James Wesley. Gained direct evidence of Fisk's involvement.}
Reward: 12 Destiny Shards
Total Destiny Shards: 25
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: Part 4 — Protection]
{Ensure the safety of the Harlem safehouse and its residents from Fisk's retaliation.}
Reward: 15 Destiny Shards
Warning: This will escalate conflict to direct confrontation.
---
Back at the safehouse, Meliodas gathered everyone.
Poppy. Mama Rose. Tandy. Miguel. Danny and Frank. Even the quiet ones who usually kept to themselves.
"We have a problem," he said. "Fisk knows about this place. About all of you. And he's going to come for us."
Silence.
Then Poppy: "How do you know?"
"Wesley told me. Right before he gave us enough evidence to put Fisk away for life."
Poppy's eyebrows rose. "You got Wesley to flip?"
"Long story. Point is, we have maybe days before Fisk acts. We need to be ready."
Mama Rose, knitting in her corner, spoke without looking up. "I can strengthen the wards. Make it harder to find us."
"I can reach out to contacts," Miguel said. "See if anyone knows someone on the inside who can warn us."
"I'll talk to Luke," Meliodas said. "He owes me one. And he knows people who can fight."
Poppy nodded slowly. "We'll prepare. Weapons, supplies, escape routes. If Fisk wants a war, we'll give him one."
Tandy looked at Meliodas. "You started this."
"I know."
"You got us into this."
"I know."
"So you'd better get us out."
Meliodas met her eyes. "I will. I promise."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[PROMISE MADE: PROTECT THE SAFEHOUSE]
{Ensure the safety of all current safehouse residents.}
Breach penalty: Loss of random class, trait, or item.
---
That night, Meliodas couldn't sleep.
{Restless Nights} meant he needed someone nearby, and Tandy was on the couch again, but even with her presence, his mind raced.
Fisk knew. Fisk was coming. And Meliodas had started this.
He sat on the rooftop, watching the city. Somewhere in Midtown, in that tower, a man was planning pain.
Footsteps.
Mama Rose.
"Can't sleep?"
"No."
She sat beside him, her knitting forgotten for once. "You're worried."
"Terrified."
"Good. Fear keeps you alive." She looked at him. "You did the right thing, child. That evidence—it could save thousands of lives."
"Or get everyone I care about killed."
"That too." She smiled, sad and warm. "That's the burden of being a hero. You don't get to choose the easy path. You only get to choose whether to walk at all."
Meliodas was quiet for a moment. Then: "Was your friend like that? The one you told me about?"
"He was." Her eyes went distant. "He walked into danger every day. Saved so many people. And in the end, it cost him everything."
"How do you live with that?"
"You remember them. You honor them. And you keep walking, because that's what they would have wanted."
They sat in silence, watching the stars.
"Mama Rose?"
"Yes, child?"
"What do you think I am? Really?"
She looked at him, her ancient eyes seeing too much. "I think you're something new. Something this world hasn't seen before. Not a mutant, not a mutate, not magic-born. Something else."
"And that doesn't scare you?"
"It scares me a little." She patted his hand. "But it also gives me hope. New things can change the world. If they're brave enough."
Meliodas smiled. "I'll try to be brave."
"That's all anyone can ask."
---
The next morning, Meliodas woke to the sound of his theme song again.
This time, it was triumphant. Heroic. The kind of music that played when the protagonist was about to face the final boss.
He toggled it off and sat up.
'Today, we prepare. Today, we get ready. And when Fisk comes, we'll be waiting.'
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[NEW PERKS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE]
[Current Hero Shards: 6]
[Current Destiny Shards: 25]
[Current Broken Shards: 7]
Meliodas looked at the list.
{Battle Prediction} — 1 Hero Shard
{Hyperawareness} — 1 Hero Shard
{Danger Sense} — 1 Hero Shard (requires Hyperawareness)
{Second Wind} — 1 Hero Shard
{Leech Ring} — 5 Hero Shards
{Wanderer's Cloak} — 8 Hero Shards
He did the math.
'Battle Prediction (1) + Hyperawareness (1) + Danger Sense (1) + Second Wind (1) = 4 Hero Shards. Leaves me 2.'
'Leech Ring is 5—can't afford that yet. Wanderer's Cloak is 8—definitely can't afford that.'
'But the perks... those make me stronger in a fight. And with Fisk coming, I need every advantage.'
[PURCHASES CONFIRMED: BATTLE PREDICTION | HYPERAWARENESS | DANGER SENSE | SECOND WIND]
[COST: 4 HERO SHARDS]
[REMAINING HERO SHARDS: 2]
The perks settled into him like pieces clicking into place.
{Battle Prediction} made the world different. He could see possibilities now—the way a fight might flow, the angles of attack, the tells before a strike.
{Hyperawareness} was overwhelming at first. Every sound, every movement, every breath—he noticed everything. But the perk kept it from overwhelming him, filtering the chaos into useful information.
{Danger Sense} was a whisper in the back of his mind. A constant awareness of threats, near and far. Right now, it pointed toward Midtown. Toward Fisk Tower.
{Second Wind} sat in his chest like a coiled spring, ready to release.
He felt... ready.
Almost.
---
Tandy found him in the gym, testing his new abilities.
"You're moving differently," she said, watching him dodge imaginary attacks.
"New tricks."
"From where?"
"Same place as the old ones."
She didn't push. She never did. That was one of the things he liked about her.
"We need to talk about defense," she said. "If Fisk attacks, he won't come alone. He'll bring an army."
"I know."
"So we need a plan. Positions, escape routes, contingencies."
Meliodas stopped moving. "You're good at this."
"I've been surviving on the streets since I was fifteen. You learn to plan, or you die."
"Then let's plan."
They spent the next hour mapping out the safehouse. Entry points, defensive positions, escape routes. Where to put fighters, where to put non-combatants, where to make a last stand if it came to that.
By the end, they had a plan.
It wasn't perfect. But it was something.
---
That afternoon, Meliodas went to see Luke Cage.
The laundromat was busy this time—actual customers doing actual laundry. Luke was in the back, lifting weights that would have crushed a normal person.
"Kid," he grunted, not stopping. "Heard you've been busy."
"Fisk knows about the safehouse."
Luke paused. Set down the weights. Turned.
"Explain."
Meliodas did.
When he finished, Luke was quiet for a long moment.
"You got Wesley to flip. That's... impressive. And terrifying." He ran a hand over his bald head. "Fisk's not going to let that slide. He'll come hard and fast."
"I know. That's why I'm here."
"You want my help."
"I want your connections. People who can fight, who aren't afraid of Fisk, who might owe you a favor."
Luke studied him. "You're asking a lot."
"I know."
"And you're offering nothing in return."
"I'm offering to take Fisk down. To clean up this city. To make it safer for everyone—including you."
Another long pause.
Then Luke smiled. It wasn't a nice smile.
"I know a guy. Name's Danny. Calls himself the Immortal Iron Fist. He's been looking for a reason to hit Fisk for years. This might be it."
"Can you reach him?"
"I can try." Luke pulled out a phone. "Wait here."
---
An hour later, Meliodas was back on the street, heading toward the safehouse.
Luke had made calls. Danny Rand was interested. So was a woman named Colleen Wing, who ran a dojo in Manhattan. And a man called Misty Knight, a detective with connections.
Help was coming.
But would it be enough?
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[QUEST PROGRESS: THE KINGPIN CONSPIRACY — Part 4]
{Ensure the safety of the Harlem safehouse.}
Allies Secured: Luke Cage, Danny Rand (pending), Colleen Wing (pending), Misty Knight (pending)
Reward upon completion: 15 Destiny Shards
---
That night, Meliodas sat on the rooftop, watching the city.
Somewhere out there, Fisk was planning. Somewhere out there, an army was gathering.
And here, in Harlem, a group of misfits and outcasts were preparing to fight back.
'This is insane.'
'This is also right.'
He thought about his old life. His apartment. His noodles. His anime. So far away now. So meaningless.
Here, he had purpose. Here, he had people who needed him.
Here, he had a chance to make a difference.
'Whatever happens tomorrow, I'm glad I'm here.'
He smiled at the stars.
'Now let's just hope we survive long enough to enjoy it.
---
[END OF CHAPTER 5]
---
Current Stats:
Name: Meliodas
Race: Human (Mutate — as far as anyone knows)
Class: Chitin Slayer + Knowledge Mage
Traits: Fit, Champion, Rush, Third Eye, Regeneration
Free Perks: Adorable, Smouldering, Well-Adjusted, Plot Armor, Conflicted Prediction, Theme Song
Purchased Perks: Pocket Space, Indistinct, Battle Prediction, Hyperawareness, Danger Sense, Second Wind
Items: Reflection, Moonsing, Siren, Mama Rose's Protection Charm
Hero Shards: 2
Destiny Shards: 25
Broken Shards: 7
Completed Quests:
· Tutorial: First Blood ✓
· Tutorial: Making Friends ✓
· Normal: Storage Sweep ✓
· Normal: Save the Journalist ✓
· Challenge: Information Network ✓
· Kingpin Conspiracy Part 1 ✓
· Kingpin Conspiracy Part 2 ✓
· Kingpin Conspiracy Part 3 ✓
Active Quests:
· Training Montage (12/100 hours)
· Knowledge Seeker (38/50 identifications)
· Wall Crawler (3/10 miles)
· Urban Explorer (8/20 locations)
· Meditation Master (10/30 days)
· Weapon Bond (Reflection 7/20, Moonsing 7/20, Siren 6/20)
· Kingpin Conspiracy Part 4 (0/1)