Buying My Way Through the Multiverse

A few hours earlier, down on the Alabama interstate, the shadow clone had finally gotten the green light from the traveling survivors.

The clone climbed into the driver’s seat of the Earthroamer and started leading Abraham’s people straight down the highway toward the Atlanta prison fortress. Abraham decided to ride directly in the passenger seat next to him, letting someone else from the convoy take the wheel of his vehicle.

”Nice rig you got here, kid,” Abraham said, looking around the loaded cabin as they drove. ”You must have a hell of a group backing you to be rolling around with this much gear.”

”We do alright,” the clone replied, keeping his eyes on the open road. ”You guys will see for yourselves soon enough.”

They made casual small talk for the rest of the journey, and it took them a little over four hours to finally make it back to Georgia. The moment the convoy rolled through the gates, Eugene was escorted down to the lab to meet with the Jenners, while the rest of the survivors were led away for a full tour of the massive base.

It took Dr. Jenner and Candace little to no time to find out the truth about Eugene. They quickly discovered that while Eugene was undoubtedly a very smart man, he had absolutely no real idea about a cure for the virus. The scientists simply sighed in disappointment and escorted him right out of the laboratory.

Gray’s clone was waiting in the hallway and spoke to him directly. ”Look, Eugene,” the clone said, leaning against the wall. ”You need to come clean to your group instead of dragging out the inevitable. If what you were looking for was just a safe place to live, you’ve already found it here. We can take all of you in.”

Eugene scratched his cheek, heavily weighing his remaining options, and finally gave a slow nod. He tracked down his group in the courtyard, took a deep breath, and started talking to them. He actually came clean about the massive lie right then and there.

”I am not a scientist,” Eugene stammered out, his voice shaking. ”I do not know the cure. I... I lied to you all.”

The moment the truth came out, Abraham completely snapped. ”You son of a bitch!” he roared. He stepped forward and threw two heavy punches straight to Eugene’s face, knocking him flat into the dirt.

Abraham raised his fist to strike again, but Rosita rushed forward and grabbed his arm, pushing him back. ”Abraham, stop! Stop it, he’s done!”

Members of the Council witnessed the entire blowout from the steps. But after the clone briefed them on exactly what had happened, they decided to just let it go. Eugene was quietly escorted to the infirmary to get his face patched up, leaving the rest of the group standing in the courtyard, looking completely lost. They had been driving for months with a grand purpose, and it had all just turned out to be a total lie.

Gray’s clone approached the stranded group and offered a reassuring helping hand. ”You guys are all more than welcome to stay here. The doors are open.” He then looked directly at Abraham and Rosita. ”And if you want it, I can offer you both a seat at the table.”

Abraham frowned, wiping sweat from his forehead. ”What the hell do you mean, a seat at the table? We don’t even know you.” Abraham continued, ”And why the hell would you offer us a position like that?”

”This isn’t the only base we have,” The clone simply shrugged his shoulders. ”We also have another secure fortress up in Virginia, and we need highly capable people to help handle the logistics and leadership up there.” The clone continued, ”And we have our ways of knowing people, and you guys seem trustworthy enough.” He pointed back toward Rick and the rest of the Council members standing near the entrance. ”Go talk with them. If you guys just want to stay and live here, you’re more than welcome. And if you want a seat at the table, tell them Gray sent you and to move you to the Virginia base.”

Abraham looked over his shoulder, his eyes landing on the council. ”And how would I even get there?”

The clone smiled, pointing a finger directly toward the new train station. ”With that right there.”

Without another word, the clone turned around, walked inside Gray’s empty house, and dispelled. The real Gray, sitting back in Virginia, suddenly felt a massive rush of memories and experiences hit his brain, letting out a satisfied smile as he absorbed how the encounter had played out.

After the chaos at the manor, Gray spent the remaining hours of the night high in the sky, keeping an eye on Sebastian through his map and Wraith Sight. He watched as the guards rushed the screaming prick to the hospital, where the doctors patched up his shoulder wound and set his broken fingers.

Not long after, Pamela burst into the room, frantic and pale, to check on her son. After hearing the guards recount exactly what the mysterious armored man had done, and how effortlessly he had bypassed their security, Pamela started having serious second thoughts. She realized the intruder could have killed her son if he wanted to. Now, she was backed into a corner. She had the option to make things right by exposing her son’s crimes and throwing him in a cell, or she could try to cover it up. But looking at the bloody state her son was in, she had a miserable time coming to a conclusion, and it was clear she wouldn’t be getting a single wink of sleep.

The next morning, Gray opened his system shop and bought a basic Transformation Technique. Since a few people in the Commonwealth had already seen his face, he transformed his features into a completely different person and casually strolled back into the massive city to keep exploring.

He walked the busy streets, waiting for any public announcement or to see if Pamela would try to pull something. At this point in time, she had already purged and arrested at least 80% of the corrupt officials on the blackmail list he had handed over to her. But if she ultimately chose to shield her son from justice, Gray was ready to finish the job himself.

As he walked past the lower-sector apartments, a new thought crossed his mind. ’Hell, if she ends up not doing it, I could probably just get rid of every single corrupt official and upper-class elite in one night. Then I can buy more Synth bodies, make them look exactly like those people, and have JARVIS completely take over the entire city from the inside...’

Thinking about it that way, it was honestly the most efficient option. It would instantly put the Commonwealth’s massive population and infrastructure under his automated network without any messy rebellions. Still, he chose to be patient and wait out the remaining hours of his 24-hour ultimatum to see exactly what Pamela would do.

While Gray continued touring the city and trying different kinds of food, he knew the community ran on actual US dollars. He simply bought a bunch of cash from his system shop to pay for anything he wanted from the vendors.

Eventually, his mind wandered back to his fight with Frieza. He kept getting his ass beat. He had tried to transform into a Super Saiyan, but not having a reliable way to trigger his rage was becoming a real problem. He kept thinking about it, knowing he was not breaking his limits as fast as he wanted to. If only he could do what Broly did in the movie, just keep getting stronger and stronger to the point of matching Goku and Vegeta in their God forms, and once he transformed into the Legendary Super Saiyan, even Blue Goku and Vegeta were no match. Hell, even Golden Frieza took a massive beating from him.

So, Gray opened up his system shop and started looking at his options. He found something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

{Limit Breaker (OPM} (50T Gold)

Gray started thinking about Saitama. The man was always bored, and nothing ever lasted more than a single punch. If an enemy did manage to survive, Saitama would just continue to grow stronger and stronger, completely outmatching them again and again until he eventually won. He was pretty much a joke character who was simply not allowed to lose. Gray could technically buy that right now with the gold he had saved, but after finally feeling the thrill of getting stronger and actually having someone match him in combat, he opted not to buy it. Even if it meant he could potentially lose in the future, and even without knowing what world he would be traveling to next, he wanted to keep the challenge alive.

He continued looking for less overpowered options and decided to keep it within his same power kit. That was when he found it.

{Legendary Saiyan Limit Breaker} (700B Gold)

The limit breaker alone was more expensive than his normal Saiyan physiology, but if it worked the way he thought it did, it would make it so he could adapt and match Frieza the next time they fought. Gray simply tapped buy. He felt the warm energy spread quickly through his body, and a confident smile formed under his disguise. He absolutely couldn’t wait to get back into his Training Dimension to try it out.

Gray kept his ears open as he walked the crowded streets, waiting for any public broadcast or announcement about Sebastian. When the afternoon rolled around and the speakers remained completely silent, he knew something was wrong.

He decided to actively track the kid down. Gray walked over to the Commonwealth hospital, but the room Sebastian had been in was completely empty. He then used his Jumper ability to blink near the Milton estate, piercing the walls with his Wraith Sight, but found the massive mansion entirely deserted. Not even Pamela was there. For a second, Gray thought they might have actually packed up and fled the city, but knowing how much the Miltons craved power and influence, it seemed highly unlikely they would just abandon their throne.

Finally, his map flagged a massive cluster of movement on the very outskirts of the city. Dozens of armored Commonwealth guards were setting up a tight, heavily armed perimeter around an isolated, secure building.

Gray walked over to the area, blending into the shadows of the tree line. His vision sliced right through the reinforced walls of the structure, instantly locking onto the two familiar silhouettes inside. Sebastian was pacing furiously, gesturing wildly at his mother. They were locked in a heated argument.

Apparently, Pamela had moved her son to this hidden safehouse to protect him from the 24-hour ultimatum. But Sebastian was completely blind to the danger... he was aggressively demanding that his mother deploy the entire military force to hunt Gray down and make him pay for his broken fingers and shot shoulder. Pamela, looking completely exhausted and stressed, kept telling him it wasn’t that simple. She had already ordered her top investigators to dig into every single database, and absolutely nobody in the city records matched the description of the armored man. He wasn’t even a registered resident of the Commonwealth.

”Then how the hell did that guy get in here?!” Sebastian roared. ”He bypassed our guards, he got me shot, broke my fingers, and you’re telling me he doesn’t exist?!”

Gray saw that only the guards were posted outside the perimeter. He smoothly dispelled the D-rank transformation jutsu, equipped his heavy blackened armor and Nazgûl mask, and simply teleported right inside the building.

Hearing what Sebastian had just yelled, Gray replied from the shadows of the room, ”Technically, yeah. I shouldn’t exist.”

Hearing that deep, distorted voice, both Sebastian and Pamela’s faces went completely pale. They had honestly thought that by packing dozens of armed guards outside, they could finally be safe. But they hadn’t heard a single door open or a window break, and yet their worst nightmare was standing right inside their hidden safehouse.

”How did you get in here?” Pamela asked, her voice trembling. She quickly looked down at her watch and added, ”The twenty-four hours are still not up. So why are you here?”

”Well, you see, I had been looking forward to hearing this guy had been brought to public justice,” Gray said, taking a slow step forward. ”But imagine my disappointment when I find you and him over here trying to hide from me.”

”No, it’s not like that! This was just going to be his form of imprisonment,” Pamela pleaded defensively. ”He would be under house arrest-”

Gray cut her off instantly. ”House arrest? For murdering innocent people?” Gray continued, turning toward the shivering son. ”Seems like a slap on the wrist, don’t you think, Sebastian?”

Sebastian kept his mouth shut, staring at the floor and not daring to look up. ”I didn’t kill anyone,” he murmured quietly. But since it was such a large, empty space, both Gray and Pamela heard him perfectly.

”See? He says he’s innocent, and there is no actual proof of it!” Pamela pleaded, desperate to protect her family. ”Just the files you gave me, but how am I supposed to trust those?”

”You seemed to trust them just fine when you got rid of the other corrupt officials,” Gray pointed out. ”But now that your son is involved, you suddenly don’t trust them?”

As Gray walked closer to them, Pamela panicked. She reached into her coat, pulled out a handgun, and aimed it directly at his head. ”Stay back!” she yelled, her hands shaking violently as she gripped the weapon. ”Don’t come any closer or I will shoot you!”

Sebastian, seeing that his mom actually had the intruder at gunpoint, let his arrogance flare up again. He started goading her, yelling, ”Shoot him, Mom! Kill him! Everything started going to shit the second he showed up. If you kill him, everything goes right back to normal!”

”Yes, Pamela, listen to your son,” Gray said, mockingly tilting his head. ”Go on, shoot. I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Gray stopped walking and looked directly into the barrel of the gun. Pamela struggled internally for a tense second, her jaw clenched, until a loud gunshot finally echoed through the building.

She had pulled the trigger, aiming to shoot Gray right in the face.

Gray didn’t even flinch. He simply snapped his hand up and caught the bullet cleanly out of the air. Having trained his reflexes and physical body to handle the hypersonic speeds of Frieza and Captain Ginyu under heavy gravity, catching a standard firearm bullet was child’s play.

Gray slowly opened his palm, showing the astonished Miltons the flattened piece of lead resting harmlessly in his hand.

”Bad choice,” Gray whispered.

Pamela dropped her weapon, the metal clattering loudly against the concrete floor as she stumbled backward. Her hands shook violently, her face completely pale as she stared at Gray in absolute terror.

”What... what are you?” she stammered, her voice cracking. ”You’re a monster...”

Gray simply shrugged his shoulders beneath his armor. ”Yeah, some people might call me a monster. Especially bad people.”

He slowly walked forward, starting to monologue as his deep, distorted voice echoed through the empty concrete room. ”I wasn’t even supposed to be in this world in the first place. But after being granted this kind of power, I decided to use it for the betterment of mankind. Since the world had already gone to shit and all, I wanted to leave this place better than how I found it. But you... you did the exact opposite. You actually had the power to help people and make things fair. Instead, you kept the old ways alive, making the rich thrive while the poor suffered. And if they ever dared to rise up, you would make an example out of them to keep everyone else in line, right? You see, I had some free time, and I found those disgusting labor camps... it seems like your kind gets a hard-on for enslaving people.”

Pamela’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, horror gripping her chest as she heard his words.

”You said you wanted proof, right?” Gray continued. ”Then look at this.”

Gray pulled up his system interface in his mind. He wanted a power to torment sinners, so he searched the shop and purchased the {Penance Stare} from Ghost Rider. Reaching up, he took off his mask, exposing his face. He walked right past Pamela and closed the distance to Sebastian.

Sebastian started thrashing around in pure panic, wanting absolutely nothing to do with the guy who had just caught a bullet out of the air. ”Stop! Get away!” He yelled out, but his struggles meant nothing against Gray’s Saiyan strength. Gray simply grabbed him by the throat and hoisted his heavy body high up into the air, forcing the kid to look directly into his eyes.

Gray activated the Penance Stare.

Instantly, Sebastian’s entire body went rigid. He began to thrash violently and scream at the top of his lungs as the supernatural power forced him to feel the absolute, raw pain of every single innocent person he had ever gotten killed. He shrieked in agony for a long moment before his voice cut off and his limbs went completely limp. Pamela watched in utter horror as her son’s eyes looked like they were literally burning on fire from the inside.

Gray simply opened his hand, letting Sebastian’s lifeless body drop and hit the concrete floor with a heavy thud. ”See?” He said casually, turning his gaze back to the mother. ”That only works on those who are actually guilty.”

Pamela looked up, her breathing ragged, only to be met directly with Gray’s fiery, glowing eyes.

”You see, I didn’t really want to involve myself in this place,” Gray explained, his posture perfectly relaxed. ”Just thinking about the sheer logistics of running a city this big gives me a headache. But I couldn’t just walk away. It seems it’s just not in my nature. So, yeah, I tried to help by giving you all the tools and blackmail you needed to get rid of the corrupt ones on your own. But once I saw those labor camps... I had already made up my mind. I just wanted to give you one last chance to make things right. Thanks for letting me know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Gray locked his eyes onto Pamela and activated the Penance Stare once more.

Pamela instantly gasped, pinning herself against the wall as she felt the crushing, agonizing weight of everything she had ever inflicted on innocent souls. Every political assassination she had ordered, every kidnapping, and the brutal torment of the forced labor camps where people were worked until they dropped dead, she felt every single bit of their suffering crush her soul all at once. Within seconds, her heart gave out, and she died right there on the floor.

Gray looked down at the bodies of both the mother and son lying dead on the floor. Satisfied that justice had been served, he activated his Jumper ability and instantly teleported high into the open air above the Commonwealth.

Floating in the clouds, Gray opened his system interface. He bought thousands of printed paper files. Each sheet contained ironclad, undeniable evidence exposing every single crime, murder, and corrupt act that the wealthy elites in the rich zones had committed. He released the massive stack, making the thousands of files flutter down from the sky like snow, landing directly into the hands of the poor residents and passersby in the streets below.

Gray planned on sending squads of JARVIS’s Synth droids later on to secretly infiltrate the city, protect the peace, and help the lower-class citizens stabilize the infrastructure. But for now, he hoped the common people would use this evidence to rise up, dismantle the remaining elites, and actually choose good, honest leaders for themselves. He turned around in the sky and flew back toward his base, ready for whatever came next.