Super Sales on Super Heroes 4
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Book listing
Chp.1
Chp.2
Chp.3
Chp.4
Chp.5
Chp.6
Chp.7
Chp.8
Chp.9
Chp.10
Chp.11
Chp.12
Chp.13
Chp.14
Chp.15
Chp.16
Chp.17
Chp.18
Chp.19
Chp.20
Chp.21
Chp.22
Chp.23
Chp.24
Chp.25
Chp.26
Chp.27
Chp.28
Chp.29
Chp.30
Chp.31
Chp.32
Chp.33
Chp.34
Chp.35
Epilogue
Authors Note
Super Sales
On
Super Heroes 4
By William D. Arand
Copyright © 2022 William D. Arand
Cover design © 2022 William D. Arand
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means - except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews - without written permission from its publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2022 William D. Arand
All rights reserved.
Dedicated:
To my wife, Kristin, who encouraged me in all things.
To my son, Harrison, who is always an optimist.
To my daughter, Amelia, who always offers a smile and a laugh whenever she sees me.
To my family, who always told me I could write a book if I sat down and tried.
Special Thanks to:
Bill Brush
Sarinia Phelps
Travis Ledlow
Nyx Wylder
Niusha Gutierrez
SOVEREIGN VERSE NOVELS(In Suggested Reading Order):
The Selfless Hero Trilogy(Arand):
Otherlife Dreams
Otherlife Nightmares
Otherlife Awakenings
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Dungeon Deposed Trilogy(Arand):
Dungeon Deposed
Dungeon Deposed 2
Dungeon Deposed 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Fostering Faust Trilogy(Darren):
Fostering Faust
Fostering Faust 2
Fostering Faust 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Super Sales on Super Heroes Trilogy(Arand):
Super Sales on Super Heroes 1
Super Sales on Super Heroes 2
Super Sales on Super Heroes 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Wild Wastes Trilogy(Darren):
Wild Wastes
Wild Wastes: Eastern Expansion
Wild Wastes: Southern Storm
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Remnant Trilogy(Darren):
Remnant
Remnant 2
Remnant 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Monster’s Mercy Trilogy(Arand):
Monster’s Mercy 1
Monster’s Mercy 2
Monster’s Mercy 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Incubus Inc. Trilogy(Darren):
Incubus Inc
Incubus Inc 2
Incubus Inc 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Swing Shift Trilogy(Arand):
Swing Shift
Swing Shift 2
Swing Shift 3
Omnibus Edition(All Three)
Right of Retribution Trilogy(Arand):
Right of Retribution
Right of Retribution 2
Right of Retribution 3
CULTIVATING CHAOS NOVELS:
Cultivating Chaos(Arand):
Cultivating Chaos
Cultivating Chaos 2
Cultivating Chaos 3
Chapter 1 - Root Cause Analysis -
Felix blinked, lifted a hand, and rubbed at his eyes with his wrist.
It didn’t seem to really do him any good.
Sighing, he leaned back in the chair, moving away from his desk and the work he’d been doing. The light terminal in front of him held a very detailed report on everything that’d gone wrong with Legion as a company.
From the beginning start-up with him and just a handful of Heroes, using their points to make gold, and buy a pawnshop.
It hadn’t been any of his actions originally that’d caused them problems.
At least, not any of the actions he’d taken as a CEO.
What’d caused them the biggest headache during the early days of Legion had been owning Kit Carrington. The Telepath known as Augur.
The Heroes’ Guild had been desperate to free her and use her to fight Skipper. They had gone so far as to attack Legion constantly and even blow up a school.
Hmph. Though to be fair, if it wasn’t for all that they did to stop us, I wouldn’t have had all the opportunities I did.
Or the chance to really bond with Eva the way I did.
So… definitely was an oversight on my part, but it wasn’t the real problem. At least, not in the end. That was correctable.
Looking at the screen, he found it was right where he left it. In the dead center of the monthly profits and losses back during that period of time.
There were incredible gains that they had made. Pushing themselves ever higher at almost every turn.
“That was when we did the best,” he muttered to himself.
“Dear?” asked Andrea.
“Darling?” Adriana said at the same time.
“Love?” Myriad prompted.
Turning his head, he looked toward the couch that sat in his personal office.
The Powered mercenary who he’d picked up during that time frame was seated there in all three versions of herself. Or more accurately, the three Elex sisters.
They all shared a similar look between them.
Three sets of blue and green mismatched eyes that always held a love of life in them gazed back at him.
Even Myriad had put whatever demons she’d had to rest since returning to the fold.
Andrea reached up and tucked some of her dirty-blond hair behind an ear and tilted her head to the side. Adrianna’s brown hair and Myriad’s black hair were just as short, and actually cut in the exact same hairstyle.
“Oh, just… going over the final report I had put together,” Felix murmured, swiveling in his chair to face them. “Felicity did most of the heavy lifting for the data and analytics and put in her own thoughts.
“It’s my turn to review it and add whatever I see fit. Didn’t mean to say anything aloud.”
All three Elex women gave him a broad smile at that.
“Nn!” said Andrea, nodding her head quickly. “Work later, come pet us. Pregnant Seconds deserve petting. More petting than any Other or Prime.”
Adriana and Myriad didn’t respond to her words, though both of them just stared at Felix. Adriana had a flirty smile on her face, while Myriad had raised an eyebrow.
He still found it rather surprising that Myriad had snuck back into the city after they lost the HQ in Wal. The servers going down had brought her around to find out what’d happened.
Or more accurately, to find out why Felix had stopped writing to her.
Which he
hadn’t, there’d just been an issue with his email settings.
“You know, it’s good to have you all with me,” Felix murmured rather than responding to Andrea’s request. “Any Others we need to retrieve? Are there any more of you running around out there that I need to get back? Call me selfish, but I want all of the Elex girls.”
All three women looked thoughtful, looked at one another, and then back to him. He was certain they had some type of ability to talk to one another that they’d never let on about.
“No,” they said in unison. “We’re all here.”
Nodding at that, Felix turned back to his desk.
Standing beyond it was Felicity.
At some point, she’d snuck out of his bedroom that was joined to his personal office and had joined him.
She was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. She looked incredibly casually dressed and quite comfortable with herself.
Not to mention, she was beautiful and well-suited to such clothes.
It seemed to him that her pearl-gray skin tone made her clothes all the brighter in contrast. Her dark eyes and pitch-black hair certainly added to that belief.
Raising his gaze, he found her smiling at him.
“Good morning,” she murmured to him. Then she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips, her hand coming up to gingerly caress his cheek. “You snuck out without even waking me.”
“An Other took his place! We thought you’d sleep longer if someone was in the bed!” Andrea cheerfully provided from where she sat. “You were so cuddly and warm. We didn’t really know what to do.”
“I realized that after I got a handful of you, Andie,” Felicity said in a dry tone, turning her head to look toward the Elex girls. Then Felicity gave Felix a wink and stood up.
“Huh? Oh. Oh! Is that why you got all handsy with us like Felix does? You were a bit rougher than him. Be softer next time,” Andrea asked.
Felicity looked somewhat surprised at the words and grinned.
“What?” Adriana asked, turning to look at Andrea before the Elf could say anything.
“Here!” replied Andrea in a loud whisper that everyone could hear. “Take seven. She has the memories of it and what Felix did to her yesterday morning on the couch!”
Adriana nodded her head quickly as an Andrea materialized out of the Andrea on the couch.
She stood up, turned, and then vanished into Adriana.
A few seconds later an Adriana Other stood up off the couch, stepping away from Adriana, then moved into Myriad.
Another couple seconds passed before a Myriad Other bounced off the couch and returned to Andrea.
“I… okay then,” murmured Felix and then went back to the report. In the years since knowing the Elex women, he’d learned one thing.
Don’t try to understand it, just move with it.
He did wonder for a moment about the fact that they were sharing an Other between the pregnant Seconds, considering that they were being so paranoid about that only a month ago.
“Oh, you’re just being soft, Andie. It wasn’t that rough, Fell,” Myriad said, reaching up to touch her own breasts experimentally.
“Maybe some pinching next time, Fell. Just a bit,” Adriana finished, leaning back against the couch and crossing her legs.
Felicity nodded her head, then gave it a shake, before finally looking back to Felix.
“I thought I wanted some of the Elex fun, but I’m not sure I have the patience,” she remarked in a concerned tone. “Or… the stamina, maybe.”
“They’re a lot of trouble. Especially Adriana when the mood strikes her, I’ve found. But they’re all worth it,” Felix answered conversationally as his eyes started to flick through the report again. “Faith is definitely needed to make sure they’re all taken care of.”
“You do get a little Miu-y sometimes,” Myriad murmured, turning to look at Adriana, though there didn’t seem to be any judgement in her words.
“Don’t lie, Ria. We all know you like when I share those Others with you,” Adriana said defensively. Then she looked at Andrea as if daring her to say anything.
Andrea only nodded and didn’t look up. She was busily working away at what appeared to be troubleshooting an issue with a pistol. Pulling back the slide while pointing the gun down toward the floor, she peered into the ejector.
“I… I’m going to have to really think about my previous statement,” Felicity said in a whisper, then went and got a chair. Dragging it over to where Felix sat, she set it next to him. Sitting in it, she rested her left hand on his thigh and looked at the display.
Felix smirked as he kept reading through the financial results.
Then he sighed and flicked to the next section. It was one he didn’t actually want to get into because he knew this was where he’d started to make mistakes.
“I wouldn’t blame yourself,” reassured Felicity from beside him. “There was no way of knowing that running for government in Tilen would do that. There’s no way anyone could have known about that kind of result.
“Skipper was too off the rails. Too random. No one ever managed to pin her down on an expectation.”
With a grunt, Felix read through what was written.
It was more or less what he expected.
The period of time when they moved to Tilen, took over and hired through high schools, and finally became somewhat of a government functionary.
This time, he was able to note several points where profits dipped and almost became non-existent. As well as periods when there was a clear lack of funding in their bank accounts.
“It’s like… looking at every single instance when I decided to get involved in the government, or politics,” Felix grumbled and pointed out a few points. “It just… every time I stepped up to a stage, it got worse.
“Whenever we kept a low profile, behind the scenes, we were fine. I just kept pushing it all up to the top though. Making a target out of myself. Then Legion by proxy.
“It was never Legion that was the issue. Just me.”
Felicity let out a slow breath that sounded like a balloon being deflated. She didn’t argue with his statement, she just squeezed his thigh in response.
“Even when Skipper invaded and I got ripped into Tilen with Eva, it was all because I’d painted a giant target on me,” Felix continued, his voice rough and angry. Then he flicked the report further along. “And this whole period is all because of me. Almost no profits. Constant losses of people. Bleeding out reserves almost as fast as we replenish it.
“If it hadn’t been for Vince and everything he gave me, I’d have lost it all right there. Without everything that came from Yosemite, from the Dragons, Elves, Dryads, to you, Legion would have been ground down to nothing.”
Shaking his head, he sighed and closed the report completely. He couldn’t look at it anymore. There was too much frustration and far too many issues to realistically sort through without him getting emotional about it.
“Is that so?” asked Felicity while leaning forward. It forced her out of his periphery and more into his view. Her gaze was hard and her eyes were fixed on his.
“I mean… yeah? Kit was deeper into her own head than she’d ever been inside anyone else’s. Lily was doing what she could for me, but I’d already locked her out.
“Same goes for my poor Beastkin over yonder. All locked out.
“You had to forcefully break your way in, then break me open, until I finally… until I finally stopped breathing my own farts.”
Felicity grinned at that and wrinkled her nose. She reached up with her right hand and cupped his jaw, then gently patted him. The hand on his thigh squeezed again.
“You say the best things in the worst ways. You really are a turd, dear. It’s a good thing that you’re worth the effort and I love you as deeply as I do.
“Also, I’m pleased that you feel that way and think of it so,” whispered Felicity, her eyes moving back and forth across his face. “It’s wonderful to know you view me so hi
ghly, my sweet little Ixy.”
Blushing at the pet name, Felix did his best to pretend he hadn’t heard it. Instead, he cleared his throat.
“Well. Anyway, I kept pushing. More politics, laying waste to our enemies, and forcing Legion to be a target by my own actions,” continued Felix. “To the point that deities were acting against me, until I got locked on a different plane. Right up to causing an enemy to rip apart an entire government and use me as the tool to do it.
“Wal wouldn’t have fallen if it weren’t for me always pushing everything to the front. It’s like… like watching everything falling apart and realizing I was the one who caused it all.”
“You were also the one who built it all,” Felicity reminded him, her hand still on his cheek. She hadn’t moved away from him at all. “May I remind you that Legion is growing again? We’re also bringing in fresh recruits here and there who we can scavenge from the old world.
“Those missions to bring back resources aren’t just material in nature. There are people, as well. They almost immediately accept as soon as Legion is mentioned. Your Legion.
“Your Legionnaires. You built all of it. So much so that Vince—that aggressive and chaotic warlord—wanted nothing more than to heave all of the government onto you.
“He’s quite happy now as a military resource. Very happy to simply lead his own forces and let everything else be handled by you or Elysia. Where the military arm of the Legion of Yosemite rolls to him, in which he passes it to Petra. Which of course all of it is still just called… Legion.
“Could just anyone have done that? I know I couldn’t have done it. I know how to manage what you’ve built, but I couldn’t have gotten it to where you did.”
Felix couldn’t help himself and felt his mouth curl into a small smile. His eyes dropped down to the desk in front of himself as he considered her words.
“She’s right, of course,” stated Miu. She’d been in the corner this entire time. Simply staying in his presence.
Ever since her death, zombification, then return to the living, she’d become less insane.