Vincent Hall stared greedily at Jessica Jones's back as she slept.
He reluctantly tore his gaze away to check the System notifications.
[Detected intense desire for salvation from Jessica Jones: +40,000 Desire Points.]
[Detected immense gratitude from Jessica Jones: +50,000 Desire Points.]
[Detected explosive passion from Jessica Jones: +150,000 Desire Points!!!]
Last night, he had harvested 240,000 Desire Points from Jessica alone.
[Detected shock from Zebediah Kilgrave: +30,000 Desire Points.]
[Detected mortal terror from Zebediah Kilgrave before death: +300,000 Desire Points!!!]
The death of a super-powered individual netted him 330,000 points.
Total Harvest: 570,000 Desire Points.
Combined with the ongoing terror from the "Ice Demon" legend circulating in Hell's Kitchen (+280,000 points from the terrified populace), Vincent came to a conclusion.
Fear and Lust were the highest yield crops.
Ordinary people provided limited points. Superhumans provided multipliers in the hundreds. The stronger the target, the tastier the harvest.
[User Profile: Vincent Hall]
Wealth: 487,750,000
Desire Points: 6,470,000
Abilities: Ice-Ice Fruit (Mastery+), Psychic Immunity (Passive+), Hydro-Kinesis (Mastery+)
Skills: Baji-Mizong Art (Transcendence+)
"Instant kills yield short bursts of terror," Vincent analyzed. "Kilgrave yielded more because I tormented him psychologically before flushing him."
He leaned down and kissed Jessica's cheek.
He left a note on the nightstand:
Gone to school.
Next to it, he left the address of his new Long Island estate.
With Jessica's detective skills, she would figure out what it meant. It was an open invitation. A safe house.
They were friends now. Or rather, friends who had shared a life-altering trauma bond and some very intense cardio.
Vincent's physique was now superhuman, nearing Jessica's durability. And he had Hydro-Kinesis.
Everyone knew that if a man could control fluids, he could control everything. Sensitivity, stamina, lubrication.
Vincent glanced at the soaked sheets in the corner.
Hydro-Kinesis was a cheat code. It was exponentially more useful in the bedroom than Mera ever let on in the comics.
Heh heh heh.
He left a stack of cash on the dresser.
Two superhumans fighting (and f...ornicating) had destroyed the bed frame. Someone had to pay for it.
He left the hotel reluctantly.
Before leaving, he used his Hydro-Kinesis to cleanse himself and his clothes, removing any trace of scent or DNA. It was better than a dry cleaner.
He couldn't let his little girlfriend Gwen smell another woman on him.
Even though they hadn't crossed the final line yet, their relationship was heating up. Especially now that Gwen was becoming Spider-Woman, her curiosity about him was insatiable.
But her new powers also meant she was distracted by fighting crime. Just like her father, she had a justice boner.
Vincent drove to school, parking his Lincoln.
He was lost in thought about his powers. Ice is just solid water. Switching states between liquid and solid is the key to unlocking the next level of power. If I can master the phase change, I won't need Awakening to rival an Admiral.
Thump.
He bumped into someone in the hallway.
"Sorry, Vincent," Peter Parker mumbled, picking up his scattered books.
"No worries, Peter."
Vincent smiled. He had stolen this boy's girlfriend and his destiny.
Peter's books had a paper sticking out of them. It was covered in complex formulas.
Vincent's eyes narrowed. The Decay Rate Algorithm.
So Peter had found his father's research. He was likely already in contact with Dr. Connors. The Lizard was coming.
"Vincent!"
A sweet voice cut through the noise.
Gwen Stacy walked down the hallway, her smile radiating pure sunshine. Every boy in the corridor stopped to stare.
"Gwen."
Vincent stopped.
Gwen walked right up to him and, with natural ease, looped her arm through his.
Crack.
You could practically hear the hearts breaking across the hallway.
"Oh my god, Vincent and Gwen are together?"
"No way! The Ice Queen actually picked someone?"
"It's the Asian kid? Vincent Hall?"
"Well, he is rich and handsome... damn it."
"Big news. The biggest news of the year."
The gossip generated a ripple of Desire Points (Envy/Shock).
[+10... +40... +500.]
The +500 came from Peter Parker.
Vincent glanced at him. Peter looked devastated, staring at Gwen's hand on Vincent's arm.
Vincent almost felt bad. Almost.
To the school, Vincent had been invisible. Now, he was the main character. He had secured the crown jewel of Midtown High.
Gwen basked in the attention.
Actually, she was marking her territory.
Since becoming Spider-Woman, she was more confident. She hadn't forgotten that Julia (the cheerleader) had eyes on Vincent. And Hannah sat way too close to him in class.
She was declaring ownership.
But there was another reason. She had gone down to the garage this morning, and Vincent's car wasn't there. And all weekend, his apartment had felt empty to her heightened senses.
"Spill it," Gwen whispered, tightening her grip on his arm. "Where were you this weekend?"
Her arm pressed against him, soft and warm. Vincent's mind wandered for a second before he snapped back.
"I bought a estate in Long Island," he whispered back. "12,500 square feet. Private beach."
"What?!" Gwen's eyes went wide. "12,000 square feet? Where did you get that kind of money?"
"Since you're my girlfriend now, I'll let you in on a secret," Vincent smirked.
"I have a second job."
"Male model?" Gwen teased.
"Author."
"What? You're a writer?" Gwen stared at him, impressed. "What did you write?"
Vincent shook his head mysteriously. "You do not want to know. But I can tell you this... that one book made me $44 million."
He admitted his success but kept the title hidden. If Gwen read Fifty Shades, she might never look at him the same way. Or maybe she would look at him exactly the way he wanted.
Better to keep the mystery. It drove her crazy.
"Hmph. I didn't want to know anyway," Gwen huffed, letting go of his arm and walking ahead.
But she was smiling.
Vincent didn't chase her.
The spider was already caught in his web.