Chapter 180: Alienated Kiss, Secrets of the Artifact
Metro City – North District Ruins
Lady Fortress's eyelids fluttered, struggling against the sharp lights of Metro City that cut through the night.
Her body felt heavy, sluggish—almost foreign.
Even in the cool night air, sweat formed on her skin.
Slowly, she opened her now delicate eyes as her pupils shrunk at the brightness. The first thing she saw was the night sky and its stars peeking through the hazy smog of the city.
Everything was… quiet.
Unlike before. Unlike the moment when her chest was torn open, her heart ripped out with brutal force. Unlike the suffocating pain that came before the void swallowed her.
Then it hit her.
『My heart—MY HEART!』
Panic flooded her system like a crashing wave. She ran her hands across her body, her fingers shaking as they frantically searched for a gaping hole—a wound, a scar, something to tell her she wasn't imagining this.
But there was nothing.
No wound. No pain. No missing heart.
Her hands stopped at her bare chest, feeling only the smooth, unblemished skin she was used to.
『I'm… fine?』
Her eyes lowered.
She was naked, resting on a blanket that was spread out on the rooftop's smooth floor. A spark of confusion crossed her face as she slowly pushed herself to her feet. Her instincts kicked in, and her body responded on its own—her weightless form lifted slightly off the ground to hover just inches above it.
Still disoriented, she turned, scanning her surroundings.
The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning.
She was standing at the edge of a high-rise rooftop.
And below her…
The North District was in ruins.
Flashing lights of emergency vehicles painted the destruction in eerie shades of red and blue. Police squads and rescue teams worked tirelessly, shifting through rubble, lifting boulders, and pulling out whatever—whoever—they could salvage.
Some bodies were whole. Some… were not.
One look, and she knew exactly where she was.
North District.
It wasn't as bad as the East District had been after Red's attack, but that was only because, this time, the Hero Agency actually sent a significant force to contain the threat.
But still… devastation was devastation.
And then there was the question that clawed at her brain like a beast hungry for answers.
Mega Man. Super Scott.
She was sure they weren't defeated. The fight shouldn't have ended like this, not with the destruction contained, not with the police back to being somewhat relevant.
Her brows furrowed.
"… Was Mega Man from this Earth able to defeat that evil Nightwatch… or was it something else?"
"Something else."
The voice sent a shock through her system.
It was a familiar voice. A dangerous one.
Lady Fortress spun around, fists instantly raised as her killing intent flared like wildfire.
But then she saw him.
Scott. The one she knew… if you could call it that.
Seated at the other end of the rooftop, shoulders slumped as he stared down at the broken city like a man drowning in the weight of his own thoughts.
The sight of it made her pause.
He didn't even flinch at her reaction.
Didn't even bother to defend himself.
The moment stretched, suffocating.
Then, Scott sighed. A deep, tired sigh.
His voice, when he spoke, was quiet — like he was speaking to himself more than to her.
"… Still uncomfortable around me, huh? Just hearing my voice is hard for you, isn't it?"
He exhaled sharply as a very bitter chuckle escaped under his breath — the amount of mental and physical damage that his evil variant had caused was almost irreparable.
"Not that I blame you."
His fists clenched. His head lowered.
And still, he didn't look at her.
Fortress felt something twist in her chest.
Guilt? No, it wasn't quite that. Just… something.
She hesitated, then hovered over to his back and just stood there awkwardly.
"I… I'm sorry about earlier."
She tried to sound firm, but the words came out softer than she intended.
"I just—well, you have the same voice and all, so I wanted to be careful."
Her fingers fidgeted at her sides, and for some reason, she found herself twiddling her thumbs like a nervous child.
Still, no response from Scott.
She swallowed and pressed on.
"I, uh… I don't really know what happened after I died. Can you… fill me in? Did the Hero Agency stop all this? Or… was it you? Did you find a way to stop them?"
Silence.
"Where are they now? Are they back in their world, or are they still here somewhere?"
Her pulse quickened as her mind spiraled through endless terrible possibilities.
Scott finally spoke, but his voice was distant. Detached.
"They're gone."
She blinked.
"… Gone?"
Scott let out another long sigh.
"And you're alive again."
He ran a hand down his exhausted face, his sore shoulders sagging even further.
"That's all that matters. Nothing else."
Nothing else?
Fortress felt her fingers tighten against her arms.
That simple statement confirmed it. She had really died.
This wasn't some dream.
Wasn't some nightmare she could wake up from.
Her hand instinctively went to her chest, fingers tracing over the skin where her heart had once been torn out.
"… So… uhm…"
She licked her lips.
"How did I come back? Did you get my head back in time for Blue Atom to save me? Or was it Mega Man? If anyone could pull something like that off, it'd probably be those two."
She gently rubbed at her chest, trying to recall the unbearable pain she had felt when Mega Man's massive hand had punched straight through her small body.
It was a memory that sent shivers down her spine.
But at the same time…
It was a lesson. A reminder to get stronger.
She looked back at Scott, eyes sharp.
"So… what was it?"
Scott still hadn't looked at her. Not even once.
His eyes remained locked on the ruins below—there was still nothing to read from his expression.
Then, finally, he exhaled and muttered:
"It was thanks to your Cortian biology. Your dual-phase physiology. Green stars."
Her eyes widened.
Scott kept going, his tone hollow.
"Apparently, they can regenerate you. Even if all that's left is a bone fragment."
His voice was quiet. So damn tired.
But Fortress—she lit up.
"REALLY?!"
She took a step forward as excitement burst through her like a shot of adrenaline.
"How the hell did you get a green star?! Those things are super rare, LIKE one-in-infinity rare! If you actually managed to acquire one, then we should—"
"Fortress."
"Wait, wait, no, I know! Maybe there aren't green stars here, but in the other world they exist, right?! Maybe even in abundance with the way you were casually able to get it in just a few hours, right?! We should go back and—"
"FORTRESS!"
Scott's voice boomed through the rooftop, strong enough to break through steel.
Fortress froze.
Her breath caught, and for the first time, she actually stepped back.
Scott squeezed his eyes shut as his trembling hands covered his face entirely.
"… We can't get the green star back."
Her throat went dry.
"… What?"
Scott inhaled sharply as his fingers gripped his forehead.
"I had to sacrifice something great… I had to sacrifice everything to create that green star."
His voice was strained.
"And it was just a single-use."
His breathing grew heavier.
He slowly lowered his hands, staring blankly ahead.
"… I wasn't strong enough to conserve some of the powers I got from my awakened genes to… to… sigh~ I would've used it to save all these people. To fix this entire place."
His hands curled into fists.
"… How many people died?"
The question suffocated in the silent atmosphere.
And like before—Lady Fortress had no words.
Nevertheless… she had to do something.
Lady Fortress hovered a little closer, hesitating for just a second before finally sitting beside Scott. Her eyes lingered on his shoulder—her hand twitched, almost reaching for it, but she pulled back and looked away instead.
She hated this.
Why was it always so awkward around him? It wasn't like she hadn't spoken to men before.
Puffing up her chest, she took a breath, pushed away her doubts, and turned back to him.
"… You must've been through a lot."
She spoke very softly.
Frankly, her voice was steady, but her fingers still curled against her knee.
"And as much as it's terrible what happened to all these innocent people, and… the fact that your face was the last thing they saw…"
She winced. That came out harsher than she meant.
"It's painful, yeah, but what I really want to know is… how do you feel right now?"
Scott took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he rested his arms over his knees.
"… I don't wanna talk about it…"
His eyes never left the ruined district below.
He still couldn't look at her — he still couldn't bring himself to look at anyone.
Fortress nodded.
"Sure. That's fine…"
She sighed.
"I can't say I know how painful it feels. I haven't been in your position. But… I'm here, if you need anything."
She swallowed.
"Maybe, uh, a shoulder to cry on or—"
She suddenly glanced at both her shoulders, counting them like an idiot.
Scott finally turned to her as his pale-colored lips twitched into a small smile.
"… Did you seriously just count how many shoulders you had before finishing your sentence?"
A laugh burst out of Fortress before she could stop it, and she covered her mouth, snorting slightly.
"Uhm… of course! Who knows? Maybe green stars have some super weird side effect that gives me extra shoulders or something else… extra, kek."
Silence settled between them for a moment before she awkwardly scratched the side of her head.
"… Okay, that was kind of a super inappropriate joke. I'm not great with those, y'know."
Scott chuckled.
"Yeah… you don't really seem like the best at anything fun-related. Something I've kinda gotten used to since watching your hero career here on Earth."
Fortress blinked, eyes widening slightly.
"Wait… you've been watching me?"
Scott nodded, staring at the dark horizon.
"Yeah. I've been watching a lot of hero content for a long time now… guess I've always been obsessed with heroes and the idea of keeping their duties sacred. My life's always been a sad one. I wanted to be saved from it."
A soft expression crossed Fortress' face.
"… So that's why."
Scott just nodded again, still lost in the city's wreckage.
Then, without even thinking, Fortress placed her small, soft hand over his.
Her fingers gently interlocked with his own.
Scott stiffened slightly. The way she held his hand… it was filled with something deeper than just comfort. There was passion—real, raw emotion. He could feel what was in her heart just from that touch alone. And he knew this feeling. Many women in his life had expressed it before.
… But did he really want another woman in his life?
Not when things were this messy?
Scott turned to speak—
But Fortress acted first.
She moved in and kissed him, fast and hard, like she wanted to eat him… like she was afraid she'd lose the courage if she hesitated even a second longer.
Scott's eyes went wide.
… Mmmhnnn ❤️
It was a sloppy, highly inexperienced kiss—her lips trembled against his, her body shook like she'd committed some great taboo. He wanted to pull away, to question what the hell she was doing, but… his eyes slowly closed, and instead, he matched her energy.
Their lips pressed tighter. Their tongues hesitantly met, moving with more and more passion.
Her small body pressed against his as her arms were quick and desperate enough to wrap around him in a tight hug, and without thinking, Scott pulled her in closer as his hands gripped her delicate butt as they deepened the kiss.
He didn't even know when he'd gripped her "there" so hard that he was slowly lifting her off her sitting spot.
When they finally pulled away there was a trail of thick, slimy saliva that connected their lips.
Fortress' face was redder than the flames that had burned through the North District. Her wide, confused eyes stared into his as her petite chest rose and fell rapidly.
Scott was just as stunned. He didn't move, didn't blink.
"… I've never done this before."
Fortress muttered, looking away.
"I've been so occupied with trying to represent my planet, trying to be the hero humans expect me to be… I forgot I can actually do things like this with them."
She swallowed, her fingers curling against her lap.
"… So I'm glad it's with you."
Scott didn't say anything. He was just… looking at her.
Then, suddenly—
"… Your breasts are really small, but you've got really active nipples, like bullets."
Fortress froze.
Steam practically exploded from the top of her head as she looked down and realized—
She was completely. Freaking. Naked.
She could even see how hard and red her nipples had gotten just from that kiss alone.
Her tiny hands flew over her petite chest as she shrieked—
"KYAAAAHHH! I forgot I'm naked!"
Scott let out a short laugh.
"Well… wouldn't be the first time."
Fortress shot him a glare, puffing her cheeks.
"Hmph! So you really did lie when you said you didn't see anything… psssh—jerk!"
Scott just shrugged, grinning. "Kinda."
Rather than get mad, Fortress just smiled and swept her golden bangs behind her ear with a small, shy laugh. It was… weirdly adorable. Scott actually felt his cheeks warm up slightly before he quickly looked away.
Fortress knocked her feet together and muttered—
"Uhm… My birth name is Kara. Kara Negrid."
Scott smiled. "Scott McQueen."
Their eyes met again.
"… Nice to meet you."
━ ━ ━ ━
— Somewhere far in the North District —
In the depths of the destroyed Nero Labs, buried beneath mountains of debris, The Artifact suddenly trembled. The alien cube — Isaac had secured and Super Scott was madly in search of — hovered above the ruins and spun at impossible speeds.
Then—
CRACK.
A blinding flash burst from its center.
And some stepped out of the shattered relic.
It was a petite, naked woman with messy white hair and smooth blue skin.
She looked like some alien goddess.
She stretched, let out a loud yawn, then cracked her neck.
"Oooo~!"
She suddenly squealed as her entire face lit up.
"Time to find this galaxy's most available bachelor!"
She was acting like she hadn't just been sealed inside a 26-dimensional cube a few moments ago.