Sorry for the small break, yet again, I've had a fucked sleep schedule after a bunch of real life stuff, so, yeah! Besides, this little break also gave me a bunch of ideas related to Drecarios' nation and how I'm going to move forwards from here...
Anyway, please enjoy.
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It had taken 24 hours for the entirety of Italy, San Marino and the Holy See to surrender to my forces. There was little violence involved as the majority of the military was already starting to rebel against their own government. These 'rebels' joined my forces almost instantly and captured the entirety of the remaining combatants.
The Vatican had quickly called for peace throughout the country, asking for every Italian and Christian to set aside their weapons in the name of god. Their motives were purely survival-based as they could feel the wind changing directions. San Marino was won over simply by the fact that I owned the largest cargo company in the world and had spaceships... Intelligence was a strong trait in the leadership of the nation; at least when it came to survival.
A few hours after the last insurgents were rounded up and imprisoned, I landed my personal Fury in front of the Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Government and the personal home of the former Prime Minister. Wind whipped through the Piazza Colonna as tourists and Italians alike recorded the event from the sides of the square. The guards that were usually arrayed at the front of the building all stood without any weapons in their hands, their shoulder capes flapping in the landing winds.
"I don't know why you would want to lead a country like this Elsa, it's so ancient..." Tony grimaced beside me as he gazed outwardly at the large victory Column of Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
"One of my abilities is to get images and information from the past through touch... I figured I could see how they once looked and just repair them using my abilities."
I shrugged as his face lit up in understanding.
"That's great! So, when are you gonna do that...? Or are you going to kick the minister from his house right away?" The former play-boy asked innocently as Pepper sighed in the background. She had been speaking with Barriss and Rogue, who had decided to tag along for the ride. I figured me and Rogue could have a date, and possibly Barriss if she was interested and Rogue didn't kick up a fuss.
'Maybe I'm hoping for too much?' I felt the urge to shrug again at the thought.
"I'm going to kick the politician out on his ass, then I'm going to visit the Colosseum and repair that. After that I think I'll go speak with the Pope and his council, then I'll repair the Roman Forum back to what it looked like." I listed out as the unarmed Italian soldiers created a corridor between the Government building and the landing ramp of the Fury. I was minutely surprised at how well I was being received.
"Good plan, welp, I'm going to take Pepper and go have a date or something. I'll meet you at the Colosseum in half an hour?" He asked offhandedly as he helped Pepper out of her seat.
"Sure, I'll meet you there. If this shit doesn't take too long then maybe I could get a date in as well..." I murmured the last part of my sentence whilst looking between Barriss and Rogue. The former was blushing slightly, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear. Whilst the latter was staring at me hungrily, her gloved hands clenching and unclenching as she leaned backwards on her right foot.
"Lucky fucker." Tony snarkily responded before getting clipped in the back of the head by Pepper, who was also rolling her eyes.
Instead of laughing I coughed into my hand as I watched the billionaire get harassed by his own girl. Rogue apparently didn't care and was openly snickering at the duo whilst my apprentice watched on with a wicked smile on her lips.
"Well, let's go get this done..." I sighed out after a minute of watching the couple's antics. Barriss immediately arranged herself behind me, her lightsaber only a few centimetres away from her hand. Rogue followed her example and stood just behind me, but on the left instead of the right; where Barriss was standing.
Waving my hand I triggered the landing pad controls and took a confident stride forwards, projecting as much confidence as I could muster, despite the awed looks of the surrounding tourists and Italians. My girls followed behind me at the same pace as Tony casually strut down the ramp, gathering gasps and awed reactions as if they were coins from a Sonic the Hedgehog game... The world had thought Tony Stark was dead, well, now they knew he wasn't.
In moments we had entered Palazzo Chigi and were being harangued by numerous staff and advisors who had apparently already accepted that I was their boss and thus I was paying their bills... Tony hastily abandoned me alongside Pepper and took a side exit out of the building. I cursed him inside my mind as the officials all started harping on about Military destruction and if the company was being integrated with Italy, if that's what I wanted to call it... And on and on it went.
I didn't even get to meet the former Prime Minister as he had already been unceremoniously kicked out of his own residence and basically told to fuck off and never come back. The military was the next group of officials that I met with that harassed me about everything under the sun. They questioned the availability of my FR2s for border patrols and general military positions. Spaceships were asked about a whole lot and I simply told them that any ships I produced would be solely manned by my Droids for now. My idea was to maintain control of my technology until academies could be created for piloting, said tech was more common and proper measures were put in place to stop spies and espionage.
...
Half an hour later and we stepped out of the Palazzo, Barriss and Rogue looking utterly flabbergasted by the sheer range of topics and complexity of them. I chuckled as my newly appointed protection team spread through the side street, their firearms all drawn and their eyes flicking back and forth down the adjacent streets.
"Let's go to the Colosseum, I guess. After that we can spend some time at a café or restaurant... count it as a date?" I looked towards my apprentice and Rogue questioningly, a smirk barely being held back at how flustered the two of them looked at my question.
"S-Sure!" Rogue confirmed happily, her voice cracking for a second.
"I'd love that." Barriss stated calmly, though a small blush on her cheeks confirmed the feelings she was was experiencing.
Smiling at the fact i had just scored a date with two women at the same time, I winked at them and turned abruptly, tapping one of the Spec-ops guys closest to me.
"Yes sir?" He asked in full blown Italian, which naturally I understood.
"Bring a car around, we wish to go to the Colosseum." I ordered firmly as the man simply nodded and dropped his head down into his comm system, getting his guys to get one of the motorcades that was available to the former leaders of Italy.
Within a few minutes were were all lounging in the back of an armoured Maserati Quattroporte that had three seats in the back. The car itself was widened significantly in comparison to the normal variant and lengthened in such a way that six people could comfortably sit in the back.
We were soon on the move again as the protection detail quietly brought us towards one of THE main monuments in Italy. There wasn't too much traffic through the city today as many people were leery of possible conflict and the change of regime. It was a positive for us however as we reached the Colosseum in under five minutes, the motorcade coming to a stop just outside the entrance to the ancient structure.
The detail quickly cleared the surroundings before they opened the doors of the car. I hopped out and helped my two ladies in getting out, before turning around and looking up at the crumbling monument.
"Yeah, this really needs a fix." Tony commented from a twenty metres away, the protection detail standing in front of him, barring access to me, Barriss and Rogue.
"Haha, that is the idea Tony. Let them through guys, he's my best friend." I jested before commanding my detail to let him and Pepper past.
"Are you going to restore the Imperial Palace as well? Maybe that could be your new home, you'd just need to update it to facilitate electronic appliances, spaceships, internet connection and modern toilets..." He suggested to me casually as we slowly walked up to the exterior of the most famous arena in history.
"Pfft, only you would think of that Tony." I laughed as the man shrugged, a small smirk stretching upon his face whilst Pepper slightly shook her head, more in exasperation than anything else.
"Gotta say, I find myself actually liking the Romans. They're kind of like me in a way, they never really sat around on old stuff and instead just made new stuff over the top that was better..." Tony mused loudly, his eyes following the curve of the structure before snapping down onto the arched pillar we were standing in front of.
"In a way that's true." I agreed with him as I took a step forwards, my hand reaching out towards the pillar. "But I like to use the old in the new, makes things more interesting!" I chirped out as my hand slapped onto the ancient structure.
...
Vespasian, Emperor of Rome, stood within the Imperial Box of the newly finished Colosseum as the citizens roared their approval. His mother and father sat in the background as his sister and brothers happily conversed over the opening of the marvellous monument to Roman glory.
"My people! My people! This is a most glorious day, is it not!?" He shouted towards the tens of thousands of people who sat arrayed within the glimmering marble Colosseum. Shade, provided by covers over the top of the open ceiling, covered the vast proportion of people from the heat and allowed him to overlook the sheer grandeur of his accomplishment. The crowd thundered in their excitement as the sound of an elephant roaring joined the din.
"Hahaha, It truly is! Then let us commence, with, the GAMES!!!" He shouted exuberantly as the crowd once again boomed in celebration.
The end of his speech was the cue to start, a varying amount of slaves and gladiators being thrust out onto the sand stage down below. Soon the people of Rome were shouting for bloodshed and entertainment.
(Author note: Yes I know Vespasian didn't complete the Colosseum, it was his son Titus who did, but in this universe Vespasian was able to complete it under his rule, due to the help of Sorcerers and other powers.)
...
I exhaled as I finished sifting through innumerable historical moments, the entirety of the structure's design floating across the surface of my mind as I channelled my internal power reserves into restoring the monument to an ancient empire back to its glory days.
"Ohhhh!" Tony exclaimed as the entire building started gaining elements of itself back, the very air hissing as limestone, marble, Roman concrete and tuff was formed molecule by molecule all over the structure, all at once. Ruined segments that were left off to the side from a lack of knowledge of the original design were reduced to atoms and repurposed. Columns were reinforced, reformed and then polished off with Marble caps and given a glossy white shine. The ruined 'basement' level of the Colosseum itself was restored in perfect accuracy to when the structure was first built.
All of the seating arrangements inside were re-made and re-formed, the full height restored to the structure. The sand was added back. The roof was shaded once more. The gold was added to every part that originally house it. The Imperial box was fully prepared and refurbished, matching Ancient Roman styles... and finally the very exterior now gleamed a bright, imperial, white... The sun was finally shining on the Colosseum once more.
"Holy fuck... that's hot..." Rogue whispered to herself as she watched the final touches of the Colosseum come to fruition, her legs squirming a little. Barriss only nodded at her statement as she stared at me. I didn't know what she was feeling for certain, but it was something strong, since her presence in the force was volatile and quite flustered.
"That was fucking awesome! Come on, we gotta do some more!" Tony yelled out in excitement as he pointed towards Palatine Hill, the ruin of the Imperial Palace.
"I'll do the palace later, my personal reserves need some time to return and I want to take these fine ladies to a restaurant to have some lunch." I waved his enthusiasm off as my stomach rumbled.
Rogue was looking like a hot mess as she was flushed and excited all at the same time. My apprentice was no better as she was varying shades of blushing green at the prospect of a date. I could understand Barriss's reaction seeing as how she has never gone on a date or thought of dating given her past with the Jedi Order... But Rogue's response amazed me a little.
'Hasn't she ever been on a date before?' I asked myself before flashing a smile towards them both. Both of them grabbed onto one another and turned, heading for the car in a rush.
Turning back to Tony I saw him pout as Pepper gave me a knowing smile.
"Go ahead Drecarios, we'll be fine for a few hours... Hell, if this one gives me a proper date he may just be in a ~very~ good mood once we meet up again." She said with a hint of heat in her voice before dragging the billionaire away, who looked surprisingly spry and excited now.
I shook my head and followed my women into the car. All the while I forgot that the security detail was present and that they were gaping at the fully restored world monument that defined a large perception of their country's history.
"Porca merda!" One of the spec-ops personnel shouted before the rest swiftly rushed off to their posts once again, all of them brimming with excitement at the power of their new leader.
~~~
Sung Jin-woo watched this 'chat' as its members bantered back and forth between themselves. He was relatively new to the whole 'game' theme of his powers, but this didn't seem like a part of them... In fact, his game-like powers couldn't even acknowledge the existence of the chatroom. It made him nervous but also slightly excited.
He wouldn't speak with them just yet. He needed to observe them and see if they could be a threat... Lastly, he was much too busy trying to obtain the cure for his mother's mana problems. He sighed as he summoned his daggers once again, slashing at a small Demon Dog once again.
'What has my life become...?' He questioned the universe as he picked up his loot once again.
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