Re:life with Karmic Gacha (Modern Family)

Chapter 444: Decode

[General POV]

The last day of the concert.

"Jenna!" Enid rushed and hugged her friend who ’just came’ to the festival after being ’sick’ for two days.

However, her friend still looked a little down. Enid quickly placed her hand on Jenna’s forehead to check her temperature.

Alex asked with concern, "What’s wrong Jen? You look so down."

"Um, we need to talk in private." Jenna said, pulling Enid, Elsa and Alex away from the boys– Jacob and Finneas.

Billie was hanging out with Edward at the stage at this time. She was practicing for tonight’s show, since Edward talked to her about singing with him later on for one of his past songs.

He gave everyone a chance to shine this time instead of just being nameless band members.

Jenna and the girls grabbed some food and sat on a bench to talk.

"So, what exactly did you do in the past two days?" Alex was astonished as she heard Jenna’s crazy stories.

"Like I said. I went on patrol around the area." Jenna replied with embarrassment.

"You became a superhero?" Enid has glitters in her eyes. Elsa frowned and said, "You didn’t hurt anyone didn’t you?"

"No I didn’t!" Jenna snapped at Elsa. "We just took them into detention."

Alex added, "Right now, you felt you were doing stupid useless stuff, so you quit the roleplay–"

"It’s not a roleplay!" Jenna snapped again, her tone teary.

"If it’s not a roleplay, what should we call it then?" Elsa asked teasingly.

"Um... Just call it a part-time job for now." Jenna said bashfully.

"Did you get any money from it?" Alex asked. "If you didn’t, that’s not a job."

"Just call it volunteer work." Enid said cheerily.

Elsa scowled and said, "Now that the nitty gritty has been decided, we should move on to the important subject. You said you met a man?"

Jenna’s face was blushing hard. She nodded and said, "Yeah. I never saw his face, but I’m 200% sure he’s handsome underneath the mask."

"Did you kiss him?" Enid asked, biting the straw of her soda and her face was blushing slightly.

"I did." Jenna replied bashfully. "We made out for like 2 hours. And the next day, he was really cold to me. In fact, he disappeared." She said with irritation and disappointment.

"Maybe he’s actually married." Elsa said, which shocked everyone. "He regretted it. So he’s keeping a distance away from you." She added.

Jenna lowered her head. Enid and Alex comforted her quickly.

"Aww Jenna." Enid hugged her. Alex caressed her back.

"Is he so good at kissing that you’re so disappointed right now?" Elsa said mercilessly.

Jenna looked up and said seriously, "When I sat on his lap. I can feel his huge–"

"AHH!" Enid covered Jenna’s mouth quickly. "Don’t ruin my fantasy with your crass talk." She scolded.

"Fantasy?" Alex chuckled, a bit curious.

"Like, he opened his mask, and it turned out, it was Edward all along." Enid said excitedly.

On the stage, Edward suddenly spat out water and choked as he was drinking.

"Edward, are you okay?" Billie asked with concern.

With a choked out voice, Edward replied, "I’m fine. It went to the wrong pipe while I was distracted."

100 meters away from the girls, a hidden man also was having a pretty intense reaction. It was R.M, Edward’s duplicate.

After the whole kissing Jenna fiasco, Edward made sure to open up a connection with his duplicate to know what he was doing, that’s how he stumbled into Enid’s conversation.

All of the girls laughed and teased Enid. "Are you crazy?" Jenna laughed.

"There’s no way that could happen." Elsa snorted.

Alex said, "He was behind the stage and on stage for most of the time. I don’t think he can do it."

"Unless,... he has the ability to duplicate himself." Enid shot out a conspiracy theory.

Everyone laughed, but Edward was shook as he heard everything. He wanted to know if Jenna would tell people about the kiss, and his intuition was right.

"You look pale. Why don’t you get some rest?" Frankie said, walking in after she saw Edward choking.

"I think I will." Edward said helplessly.

Enid continued on with her theories. "Just imagine. Two Edward."

"That will be nice." Jenna blushed, drooling slightly.

Alex shuddered and said, "No. The world won’t be able to withstand two of him. It will get destroyed when he is bored and decides to play hero and villain."

Elsa shrugged and said, "Even if there’s two of him, I don’t think he would pick you. No offense, but you’re like number 8 or number 9 in his potential partner list."

"You bitch!" Enid cursed.

"Bloody bastard." Jenna cursed.

"When did you become British?" Elsa didn’t flinch from the hostility, instead she teased even more. "What’s worse, if that... there’s two of him, so he dated himself."

Everyone was frozen. Enid suddenly broke the silence, her face melting and her nose bleeding slightly. "Ehehe~"

"Stop it! ENID! COME BACK TO US!" Alex shook her friend vigorously. "STOP IMAGINING IT!"

"That’s the 8th wonder of the world." Enid almost fainted. "No, the 9th wonder. Since there’s two of him."

"So you already counted him as the 8th wonder?" Elsa retorted with disbelief.

...

Behind the stage, Edward cuts off the connection again since he didn’t want to hear the girls’ conversation.

’I always knew they had these kinds of conversations when we weren’t around. It’s surprising to hear it directly this time.’ He thought secretly.

There was a flash of relief on his face, but he didn’t realize it.

While he was sitting alone, he took out his phone and scrolled on Instagram. He saw Haley had uploaded a story so he clicked on it.

Haley had shared her concert photos with her family, and her friends that she bumped into while at the venue.

Then, he clicked on Taylor’s story. She uploaded some backstage photos, and an image of Edward from close by, showing his sweaty body after the concert.

The image was already a hot topic amongst Edward’s fans, and some articles also spawned from the image.

"Everyone seems to be enjoying the concert on social media." Edward’s AI, Oracle muttered.

Edward smiled and said, "Most of social media is faked. What you see, is not usually 100% the truth."

"Humans are liars then?" Oracle asked.

Edward smiled and said, "All animals are born liars. Except for Capybara."

"Capybara is the peak of animal evolution. Noted." Oracle got some new data that day.

The former AI, Robin, entered the waiting room and kneeled in front of Edward.

"Sire, we have helped release all of the esper detainees in the military detention centers."

"Robin. Stand up. You know I don’t like that." Edward said with a sigh. Robin slowly stood up, no change in her facial features.

"Han reported this morning." She said warily. "The rocket is operational. We can start building a base on the moon."

Edward’s eyes glittered in excitement. "Really? Then, we can start mining deuterium?"

"After the base is completed." She said. "We estimated 30 days for the construction process."

Edward smiled happily and said, "That’s very good news. Once that happens, maybe we can release the flying cars."

"We have a flying car project?" Robin was taken aback.

Edward smiled and said, "No. But I figured it won’t be that hard."

Robin was silent for a while. Edward celebrated and hummed happily. She saw his changes and asked.

"Are you still mad at us?" She asked.

Edward grimaced and sighed. He said calmly, "No. I was in a bad mood yesterday. I’m sorry Robin."

"No–No! Sir! You should never apologize to us. We’re the ones lacking." She said nervously, shaking her hands to convey it.

"No. I’m the one who made a mistake." Edward said.

Robin stammered, "No. Sir. You will never make a mistake. We made the mistake."

Frankie entered the room in the middle of the exchange and looked at the two of them weirdly.

"What are you both doing?" Frankie asked calmly. "Did you fight?"

Robin’s tone turned mature again. "We didn’t fight. I’ll be leaving now."

She left in a hurry. Frankie glanced at her and turned to Edward again. "You shouldn’t fight with your friend."

"We didn’t fight!" He whined.

Frankie went silent for a while, contemplating whether she wanted to interfere.

"Anyway..." She changed the subject. "Some of the fans who got the backstage passes are here. Do you need me to turn them away?"

"No. Let them in. Also, Frankie, what do you think about flying cars?"

Frankie’s expression went blank. She picked up a magazine from the coffee table and rolled it into a rod. Then, she hit Edward’s head hard.

It didn’t faze him in the least. Frankie yelled, her pregnancy hormone went crazy for the first time. "Don’t put even more work on yourself! You can barely handle what you’re doing right now!"

"But I’m not doing anything right now." Edward whined again.

Frankie was taken aback and said, "Wait..."

"Did I just get hit for nothing?" Edward mumbled to himself.

A few minutes later, ten people entered his waiting room for the meet and greet.

They took pictures, grabbed his autograph, and were squealing in excitement the whole time.

"And what is your name?" Edward asked the cute, petite girl standing in front of him.

"Kylie. Kylie Quinn."

"Hmm?" Edward had to do a double take on the girl, but nothing came to mind. "Why does that name seem familiar?" He mumbled.

The 16 years old girl squealed as she realized he was taking an interest in her. "Can I hold your hand?" She asked.

"Sure." Edward replied easily.

The girl interlocked her fingers with him, and placed her cheek on his throbbing bicep.

Edward felt it was really familiar, but he still didn’t remember anything.

After Edward broke the pornography industry by banning all porn from the internet, not even on Reddit, the porno industry was surviving via DVD sales.

They were still around, but it was underground and didn’t have as much influence as it used to.

In New York, a twin tailed brunette girl was working hard trying to piece together the identity of the one who broke the previous internet.

"Rather than break, I guess he cleaned it up." Abby muttered, her right hand has become illusory, and she connected it to her PC.

She had customized an array of 10 computers working together and she could break into almost every program in the world.

"I can’t believe I woke up one day, and suddenly had the power to connect my mind to every computer on earth." She muttered with excitement as she ate a lollipop.

She cracked the candy with her teeth and threw the stick away. While she was crunching on the candy, she was finally done with her investigation.

"Last time. I saw a finger. But with this power, I can see his lower half." She giggled.

"And he’s naked." She cackled again. The codes were compressed until it fits into one computer frame.

A bare naked ass appeared in front of her. "Tch. At least give me the front." She snarked.

"However, there seems to be a sense of familiarity coming from this ass." She leaned forwards and squinted her eyes.

The lights from the screen reflected on her face, and the bare naked ass filled her pupils.

"Who are you?" She mumbled... Suddenly, it clicked for her.

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" She cursed, finally realizing who he was.

...

Jenna sighed and complained, "What should I do now? I kept thinking about that kiss."

Alex chuckled and said mischievously, "Oh. Are you moving on now?"

"No." Jenna said, "But as a woman, I have some needs too."

Enid asked innocently, "What kind of needs?"

"Shut it Enid." Elsa interjected. "Just call him up. Ask him if he can come over. We will take a look at him for you and help you decide."

"Ohh! That’s a great idea." Jenna took out a transmitter and pressed the button.

R.M reluctantly flew to where the girls were and asked, "What’s wrong? Why did you press the distress signal?"

He has to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping from the very beginning.

"We have an emergency." Jenna approached him quietly. And then, she grabbed his hand.

The girls exclaimed in excitement. Enid tried to cover her eyes, but she peeked through the gaps of her fingers.

Elsa asked directly, "Why aren’t you into Jen? She said you made out, but you iced her out afterward."

"Um." R.M was stunned. He didn’t think the girls would be so straightforward. "Wait. Captain Awesome. What was that? You found an escapee? I’ll be right there."

He started his jet boots and flew out in a hurry.

"Hey come back here you son of a bitch!" Enid cursed and threw a soda at him. "Answer our question!"

...

An hour before the concert.

In Edward’s temporary house in Concert City. Barbara sat on the floor, her arms around her knees.

"What’s wrong with him?" She cursed. "He doesn’t even think of me, does he?" She mumbled angrily.

"I’ve been waiting for an entire day. He didn’t even care if I’m there or not- I don’t care anymore. I’m going to break up with him–"

Her phone rang, and she did a combat roll on the floor to pick it up from the coffee table.

"Hello!" She answered frantically.

"Sweetcake, where are you?" Edward asked affectionately. "You’re not coming to the concert?"

"I am coming!" She replied instantly. "I thought you didn’t want me to come!"

"What– When did I say that? Just come over. I’ll help you."

A portal opened beside Barbara. Her smile widened as she saw it and she immediately jumped through it.

She hugged Edward as she saw him and said, "I know you still care about me."

Edward was really confused as to why she was reacting that way.

"When did I show you that I didn’t care about you?" He asked.

"This morning." She said without hesitation. "I asked if you’d like me to wear the blue dress with orchid color flowers or the blue dress with the magenta flower. But you picked the magenta one, even though the orchid suits me more."

Edward’s mind was frozen for a bit. He could do rocket science. He had healed millions of people with his cures.

But he still couldn’t understand woman.

Edward hugged her and said, "Alright. I made a mistake. Will you forgive me?"

"I will once you give me 100 kisses." Barbara said cheekily.

Frankie suddenly interjected with a flat, slightly disgusted tone. "Did you forget I’m still here?"

Barbara widened her eyes and her face blushed heavily. "What–" She stammered.

"Did he always treat you like a baby?" Frankie asked.

Barbara’s face blushed even more.

Frankie smiled and said ambiguously. "Good job."

"Huh?" Both Edward and Barbara exclaimed in confusion.

...

The first part of the concert started. The band, Paramore, entered the stage after the new artists opened the performance.

It was a song from 2008. Edward managed to convince the drummer and the guitarist to come back to the band for one song.

[Paramore- Decode]

Haley Williams crooned, "♫♪ How can I decide what’s right? When you’re clouding up my mind. I can’t win your losing fight all the time ♫♪"

Enid squeaked and said, "It’s the Twilight song!"

"♫♪ How can I ever own what’s mine? When you’re always taking sides. But you won’t take away my pride ♫♪"

Taylor tapped her foot as she enjoyed the song. For some reason, the lyrics resonated with her.

"♫♪ No not this time...Not this time~~ ♫♪"

The crowd cheered intensely. Edward had made some renditions of the song before, so everyone knew about Paramore.

"♫♪ How did we get here? Well I used to know you so well ♫♪"

"♫♪ How did we get here? Well I think I know~~~ ♫♪"

In New York, Abby cackled madly as she saw the code was compiled into a man’s torso. She managed to get the front of the data imprint now.

"♫♪ The truth is hiding in your eyes. And its hanging on your tongue .Just boiling in my blood ♫♪"

Abby was listening to the same song at this time. She had an almost permanent smile on her face now.

"♫♪ But you think that I can’t see. What kind of man that you are. If you’re a man at all ♫♪"

"♫♪ Well I will figure this one out !On my own ~I’m screaming, I love you so~ On my own ! My thoughts you can’t decode ♫♪"

Edward didn’t realize what was happening and was jamming to the music with his friends.

Alex squeezed Finneas’ hand, feeling nervous as they were about to get on stage again.

"Hey Al." Finneas suddenly called her.

She turned, and saw a beautiful ring in his hand. She gasped and covered her mouth slightly.

"After this concert ends, will you take this promise ring?" He said bashfully.

"Promise ring?" Alex blushed hard. "You know people don’t do promise rings anymore in this era. We women are no longer possessions– I mean," Her brain wanted to lecture him, but her heart stopped her.

"I love it." She nodded. Finneas smiled and put the ring on her ring finger.

"I want us to promise."

Alex saw Finneas’s face, and thought he looked really charming.

"That once this concert ends..."

Her heart beats quicker.

’We are still in Highschool. It’s too soon to think about marriage.’ Her mind went 100 miles an hour.

"... We will be together, and..." Finneas said seriously, "Finally do it."

Alex’s mind went blank for a few seconds.

"What did you just say?" She asked again.

"When the concert ends, we will finally do it." He said with a sleazy grin.

"DIE!"