Neon Mass: Infernal Nights 3 (Patreon)

The rest of the day had me doing research and reading up on the world I’d apparently agreed to come to. Much like the demon tailed corporate looking douche had said, the majority looked like it was pulled from Cyberpunk 2077, with Night City, Arasaka, Nomads, Militech, etc. But there were a couple other megacorps that had a stake in the pie, the biggest of them being Vought.

While Vought didn’t have a monopoly on supers, capes, or whatever you wanted to call them, they did have the most of them, and the Vought capes tended to be the most powerful. The most powerful one was, you guessed it, Homelander. But that didn’t mean as much as it used to, not since cybernetic augmentation became commonplace. It was dealt another blow roughly ten years ago, when alien ruins were discovered on Mars. Much as it pissed off the Earth-based megacorps, none of them got first pick at the ruins or the opportunity to study the tech.

Mars was independent from Earth, the sheer distances involved meant that no one really wanted to bother trying to enforce it. That was before the ruins were discovered, and the first piece of tech that was reverse engineered allowed ships between Mars and Earth in a matter of weeks, not months. Now it was down to a matter of days. That was without considering the impact that biotics and eezo-based tech had on combat.

As I delved deeper into the research, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement mixed with fear. I had always been a lover of science fiction and the idea of superpowers, but the reality of it was far more daunting. The thought of being in a world where people had abilities beyond my wildest dreams was both exhilarating and terrifying.

But, after a few hours, the research was set aside, and I stood to stretch my back and roll my joints. My neck gave a satisfying series of cracks, though the skin along my spine pinched again. With a frown, I slid a hand under the back of my shirt to feel around. Huh, there was a cybernetic implant either over or outright replacing my spine.

Well, if what I’d read was accurate, I wasn’t likely to be taking Compound V anyway. While Vought were the only ones who knew how to make the stuff, enough had been stolen by other megacorps or found its way onto the black market that the super serum was something of an open secret. Including the effects it had on people who were heavily enhanced with cybernetics, the two didn’t play well together.

The best result I’d seen was a guy in New York who before taking Compound V was roughly thirty percent cybernetic, and the end result of taking a single dose of Compound V was zero cybernetics, but zero powers. Not even the general, all round physical hardiness that almost everyone who’d taken Compound V and survived had. So given how I had a rather large number of cybernetic implants, even if most of them were “off” so to speak, I wasn’t going to be flying around like Superman.

As I stood there, lost in thought, the door to my room opened, and in walked the ponytailed and tattooed Jack. She looked me over for a few moments before she spoke, “C’mon, let’s see what you’ve got. Freckles and J said you’ve apparently got biotics, so I’m going to be running you through the paces.”

I nodded, saying, “Lead the way.”

Jack led me to a spacious training room, equipped with various exercise machines and holographic projectors. As soon as we stepped inside, she turned to face me, a serious expression on her face.

“Alright, newbie,” she said, cracking her knuckles. “Let's see what you can do.”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm the nerves that had started to gnaw at my stomach. I had never used my biotic abilities in a combat situation before, hell the only time I’d used them was in retaliation against Junker Queen after she used my ass, and I wasn't sure how I would fare against someone as experienced as Jack. But I had to try. I didn't want to be a liability to the team, especially not in a world where danger lurked around every corner.

“Okay,” I said, squaring my shoulders. “What do you want me to do?”

Jack gestured towards a holographic screen, which displayed a variety of targets. “I want you to use your biotics to hit each of those targets as quickly and accurately as you can,” she said. “Don't worry about holding back - the walls can take it.”

I nodded, focusing my attention on the targets. I closed my eyes, feeling the hum of energy coursing through my veins. It was a feeling I had felt, but only noticed now that I was actively feeling for it. If I had to make a comparison, it was like feeling your breathing. Sure, if you focused on it, you could feel the air filling your lungs, but by and large it was something you just did.

Opening my eyes, I felt the rush in my body as I threw my arm out, aiming at one of the holographic targets. Tiny pinpricks of power flexed and throbbed inside my body, and a small ball of blue shot from my arm. It slammed into the target, the image not changing, but the metal frame it was surrounding shot straight up like a bullet.

The bullet description was rather more accurate than I'd anticipated, as it slammed into the ceiling, and even when the blue glow faded, it remained embedded where it was. Jack and I both stared at it, her eyes wide and a grin spreading across my face.

I admit, a large part of me was picturing doing that to my shit landlord from before waking up here. Seriously, I always paid on time, you don’t need to ride my ass for the week leading up to my rent being due.

“I admit,” I said after another minute of the target frame not coming down. “I was not expecting that.”

Jack’s gaze turned to me, her eyes sharp and focused. She pointed up at the target frame and said, “I know three biotics other than me who can impart that much force to a target, none on their first try. You're easily one of the most powerful biotics out there.

I grinned, feeling a sense of pride swell within me. It was the first time I had ever used my biotic abilities in something approaching a combat situation, and I had managed to impress someone as experienced and powerful as Jack.

“Thanks,” I said, trying to hide the excitement in my voice. “What's next?”

Jack gestured towards the targets again. “Let's see how you handle moving targets,” she said. “I’ll program them to move randomly, and you'll have to hit them as they come into view.”

I nodded, feeling a sense of anticipation building within me. As soon as Jack gave me the go-ahead, I threw myself into the exercise.

The next few hours flew by in a blur of movement and energy. I pushed myself to my limits, honing my biotic abilities, practicing so they would reach the point of feeling like an extension of my body. I wasn't there yet, not even close, but by the end of the session, I was exhausted but exhilarated. I had never felt so alive. As Jack and I made our way back to my room, she turned to me, a look of approval in her eyes.

“You've got potential,” she said, clapping me on the back. “Just remember - biotics aren't everything. You still need to know how to fight with your guns.”

I nodded, a bit too tired to say anything. At the moment, I was just wanting to get some sleep. I could shower in the morning. Jack chuckled, before turning around and leaving. I entered my room and collapsed on my bed. Sleep now, shower and more training tomorrow.

[hr][/hr]

My general plan for the day lasted through until breakfast. The shower was fine, nothing out of the ordinary there, ‘cept the brands on the soap and shampoo were ones I didn’t recognize. I may have spent a bit more time than strictly necessary staring at my reflection in the mirror, but you would too if you’d gone from being in your 30s, about a hundred/hundred fifty overweight to early twenties and jacked. The spiky, tribal tattoos wrapping around my upper arms and torso were pretty sweet looking too.

Primping aside, the issue came when I popped one of the “bacon flavored” bits that Amy had offered me as I walked to the kitchen. Now, anyone with a functioning set of taste buds knows that the red, fake “bacon bits” offered at cheap salad bars feel and taste nothing like the real deal. Those bacon bits were a gourmet ingredient in comparison to the shit that Amy gave me. Which is how I ended up in the current situation.

That situation being hunting through the cupboards, drawers, fridge units, even the freaky vending machine things to get the supplies for me to make some food from scratch. Or, well, sort of scratch. It was all heavily processed crap that back before I wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole, but it was what was available, so I made do.

The stove top and ovens were all effectively new, as apparently the closest that anyone here did to cooking was pushing buttons on the microwave or coffee machine. Fortunately, there were plenty of pots and pans I could use, as I used the mix of various canned foods to throw something edible together.

When I looked up, the four women were all staring at me, eyes wide with a mix of surprise, curiosity, and more than a little hunger. Mind out of the gutter, not that kind of hunger.

“What?” I asked, spooning up a bowl of what was basically a meat-less chili mash.

“How the fuck did you make something that smells that good?” Jack asked, staring hungrily at my creation. She made no argument as I handed her the bowl I’d already spooned up, digging in almost as soon as it left my hand.

“Well I had to make do,” I said with a shrug, spooning up another bowl and handing it to V. “You guys didn’t really have much on the shelves, so I just threw some stuff together. It’s not going to be that great, while it’s not true that you need high quality ingredients to make a good meal, there is a limit to how good something can be with canned goods.”

By this point, everyone had a bowl except for me, and Jack had just about finished hers. I quickly got myself a serving and pushed the pan closer to the four, just in time for Jack to toss aside the bowl and just eat straight from the pan. Huh, apparently she was hungrier than I’d been expecting. Wait, didn’t biotics have a higher caloric requirement? That’s probably it.

Breakfast was quiet after that, except for the noises that the women were making. Seriously, I appreciate the vote, but some of the various sounds were just lewd. When the food was finished, I put the pan in the sink to soak (it was enameled, so I didn’t worry about rust), and was pulled back to the training area by Junker Queen.

“Right, Jack said you’re a good bit stronger a biotic than she was expecting, but that’s not what we’re gonna focus on,” she said with a roll of her neck. “Freckles has gotten a read on some of the kit ya got installed, and we already know about the wrist rocket ya have. What we’re gonna be doing is tryin’ ta get a bead on the rest of them.”

“I have a bad feeling about how you plan to do that,” I drawled, tensing the muscles in my legs in preparation for whatever it was she would do.

She just grinned, the red gauntlet over her left hand opening up, arcs of electricity coursing between the different sections. My arms, spine, sternum, and legs all felt a tug towards her hand, but I was able to resist it as her massive ax flew from a rack on the side of the room to slap into her open hand.

Fighting Junker Queen in melee was… difficult, to say the least. Not only was she strong and surprisingly fast for her size, but she was a lot more cunning and crafty than she looked. She’d use her magnetic gauntlet in brief moments to throw my balance off ever so slightly. The fact that every blow was made with the flat of her two-handed ax was the only reason I wasn't dead a dozen times over.

I wanted to use my biotics, but that wasn’t the focus of this training session. The focus was on figuring out the cybernetics I had. After nearly half an hour of getting the crap kicked out of me, I finally managed to trigger one. I felt a pulse from the implant over my spine, and everything shifted.

It was like the world suddenly shifted into slow motion, and I was the only one moving at normal speed. A swing that would have seen Junker Queen’s ax connect with my side was avoided, moving back to avoid it before coming back in, my fist cocked back. Despite my earlier avoidance of using them, I felt that activating an implant was reason enough to use my biotics. As my fist moved, twisting in the punch to give it additional momentum, I used a brief pulse of energy from the nodes in my body, briefly doubling the mass of my fish right before it slammed into Junker Queen’s gut.

Time resumed its normal rate, and Junker Queen’s eyes bugged out as she doubled over from the force of my punch. She lost her grip on her ax, falling to her knees and heaving like she was about to puke. She held a hand up, coughing and gasping.

I took a step back, letting her recover, and after about half a minute she looked up, “Ya punch like a bull, ya know that? Fuck, damn near thought I was gonna chunder.”

“Thought you were going to what?” I asked, holding out a hand to help her to her feet.

“Aussie slang,” she answered, straightening up and stretching her back, but not taking my hand and remaining on her knees. “Means vomit. Now, I had a bet with V ‘bout how you were gonna do. Congrats, ya won.”

“Uh huh,” I drawled, getting an odd feeling about where this was going. Not a bad feeling, just odd. “And what, by chance, did I win?”

She grinned, her teeth shining white, as she answered, “A bit o’payback for yesterday.”

I didn’t need to ask for clarification, it was obvious what she meant. Even without the sight of her pulling her shirt off and letting her breasts bounce free as she said that.