Chapter 10 (Patreon)

“You know, these aren’t too bad reheated.”

“See? I told you - the Bayside Bistro is un-fucking-challenged, mark my words!”

CHOMP.

I chuckled through a mouthful of food, eyeing the cheerfully chewing Cassie thoughtfully. The smell of melted cheese, sizzling pepperoni, and buttered bread filled the compact bunker - a tantalizing smell that had my stomach rumbling in spite of the fact that we were actively chowing down on the pizza bagels.

Cassie and I were lounging comfortably on a pallet of worn quilted blankets and throw pillows, two paper plates stacked with reheated, pizza-y goodness placed between us. I’d felt bad when I got back, actually - the tired little hacker had fallen asleep at her computer while waiting up for me, and me approaching the door had apparently triggered some sort of motion detection software she had installed. I wouldn’t have been able to get in without her waking up regardless, but I still felt pretty bad.

I was late coming back because of one wily, nosy ass Thinker, after all. Walking her to the bus stop and shooting the shit had taken a little longer than I’d expected, but I didn’t regret the conversation we had. It was inane drivel, just some bullshit casual talk that she’d probably forget about later that night, but it gave me a bit more of a feel for the real Lisa and not what I remembered from wiki pages and online stories.

My take on the infamous ‘Tattletale’? She was curious to the point of it possibly being a detriment to her own safety. She was obviously playing some sort of game, but it was a subtle one outside of her inquisitive stares that I figured was her prodding for answers from her power.

Was I worried about her, though? No. Call it overconfidence or simply the self-assurance of a man who knew his strengths, but I had nothing to fear from the Undersiders if they tried anything. I wasn’t completely certain if my Second Sight allowed me to see through Grue’s darkness, or if Regent’s nervous system bullshit was countered by his Shard not being able to perceive me with my hater blockers on, but the only heavy-hitter they actually had was Bitch since Taylor shouldn’t have met them yet. Her dogs were the only real threat I could see challenging me if I went all out against the team, and unluckily for them I was a wizard.

You do not want to fuck with a wizard who has both intel and prep time unless you, yourself, have a wizard. Especially when I had actual spells now.

Then again, I had doubts that Tattletale would sic her little criminal crew after me. The true threat in their corner, surpassing Bitch’s mutated good boys, was Coil. If anything, she’d probably want to manipulate me into helping her take him out. However she planned to do that I had no fucking idea, but it was something to keep in mind. And speaking of Coil-

“Hm…awfully introspective over there,” Cassie observed, stifling a yawn behind her hand. After smacking her lips and grabbing another bagel, the girl fixed me with a narrow-eyed stare. “And I doubt you’re pondering the mysteries of Bayside Bistro pizza bagels. Penny for your thoughts, oh wise one?”

I brushed a few crumbs off of my hands and lied fully back onto the quilts, clasping my hands behind my head. “Sure, if you got the cash,” I replied, bemused. “You hidin’ pennies in your panties now, Cassie? Tch, lemme see.”

She jerked back with a flush, bagel clenched between her teeth and hands scrambling to cover the front of her lacy black panties. I was being nice, too; I hadn’t even mention the way that her nipples were poking through the thin white fabric of her crop top, or the way it rode up just enough over her belly-button to reveal the fact that it was pierced. “Shtop bein’ a pherv!” Cassie demanded through a mouthful of cheap ‘Italian’ cuisine.

“Stop talking with your mouth full.” I shot back, turning on my side to face her with an entertained tilt on my lips. I idly scratched my lower back as I watched her furiously chew while shooting daggers at me.

Gulp.

“Whew. Fine,” she huffed, carefully adjusting her ankle’s position on one of the throw pillows. “But no doing that dumb thing where you avoid questions by throwing me off. You’re not as sneaky as you think you are, you know.”

I blinked up at her, meeting her stubborn gaze with my own tired one. “Oh really?” I asked lightly, the amused smirk still resting on my lips.

“Really.”

“Really really?”

“R-really really!” Her eyes twitched in annoyance.

“Damn, two ‘reallys’ huh? Tough crowd.” I sighed, closing my eyes and wondering how to approach the conversation. Despite my teasing and avoidance of the subject, I wasn’t against clueing Cassie in on my nightly outings. She wasn’t someone I would probably ever want to bring into the field, but she really was like my Barbara Gordon - or, rather, she would be once we got my currently charging smartphone properly equipped. The issue lied around the amount of information to give her.

I couldn’t exactly say that I knew a ridiculous amount of information about most of the major players in Brockton Bay, and that I’d been thinking about the best way to take some of ‘em out. That would bring in questions that I specifically did not want to answer. Plus, in the unlikely chance that her hermit ass actually met Tattletale, revealing that I knew Lisa’s Cape identity was just asking for trouble. My little hacker didn’t have the same hater blockers that I had.

Maybe partial truths were the best way to go. Plus, we could get some things handled that I’d been planning on taking care of in the morning. We were both already awake, after all.

Opening my eyes, I narrowed my gaze at the impatiently waiting girl, stopping her fidgeting in its tracks.

“Fine.”

“What is it? You weren’t thinking about some evil shit, were you? You make me wonder sometimes.” She watched me warily, a smudge of pepperoni sauce staining the corner of her lips. The sight almost made me break my serious facade, but I persevered.

“I was thinking about some of the heavy hitters in the Bay, and how I’d handle ‘em if they decided they wanted a piece of Avalon’s heroic ass. I still wanna knock the nazis off the map, but the odds of me getting that done without others hopping into the mix is low.” I shrugged my shoulders - or, shrugged as much as I could while lying on my side.

“...I see,” Cassie breathed, her own face becoming thoughtful as she absorbed my words. “So who are we going after first? Are we still doing the ‘smash and grab’ plan against random Merchants? Which, by the way - was a really good haul.” She closed her eyes and nodded twice, seemingly proud of my accomplishments.

I blinked at her, temporarily ignoring the last part. “‘We’?” I winced, frowning. “Listen, Cass, I don’t think you-”

She cut me off quicker than I could even get out a full sentence. “Nope! Nuh-uh. Not listening. Jay, if you think I’m letting you do this whole ‘vengeful vendetta’ thing on your own, you’ve got another thing coming. Like my foot up your ass. I wasn’t kidding when I said that I’d support you from the beginning.” Her face was deathly serious as she glared down at me, and I couldn’t resist the half grin that formed on my lips.

The pizza stain was still there.

“Relax,” I chuckled, leaning forward a bit on my elbows and swiping my lightly across the corner of her pouty red lips. “I’m not saying you can’t help. Just…stay here, let me kick the doors in. You can help me a lot more from a distance. As long as that’s understood, we’re good.” Sleight of Hand, the minor ability that the Grimoire offered to me earlier at the pawn shop, was fairly straightforward with its description - I basically gained the skills of a talented street magician, with all the dextrous hand movements and illusionary tricks that came with it.

More importantly in this situation though, I was able to slide my thumb across the pizza sauce and swipe it away before Cassie’s brain even had the chance to register my skin against hers.

She sputtered when she realized what happened, but I was already licking the tasty sauce off of the pad of my thumb. Her eyes widened and gleamed, and the previously frustrated flush on her pale skin darkened to a more rosy hue. “J-Jason! That’s…germs, you freak.” She stared down at my lips and swallowed nervously.

This time I actually snorted. “Germs? What are we, ten?” The sauce was a little cold, but overall not bad. A solid seven.

“You- Ugh, focus Cass! Cape stuff!” Cassie shook her head sharply and lightly smacked her warm cheeks with both hands - something I noticed she did quite often around me. “Freakin’ tease…anyway, I can agree to that. I prefer to stay back and gather intel, make super illeg- I mean useful programs, and find stuff out with my super cool hacking abilities. N-not that I can’t stab a bitch.”

The short hacker pantomimed stabbing someone with a knife, quite clumsily might I add, and I simply nodded my head to make her feel good about herself. “So badass.”

She grinned, sheepish. “Your smartphone should be ready by the morning, too. While it was charging, I turned it on and installed one of my personal eSIM, as well as connecting you to the provider I use. Everything else should be cleared off.” Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the memory of something, and I winced.

“You saw dude’s dick pic?”

“Blech. It was like a fuzzy pink pig in a blanket.”

We both shuddered.

“I’m sorry you had to see that…but thank you. Feels nice to have someone in my corner.” I gave her a warm smile - or as warm as I could make it. Seeing just how much she seemed to preen at the praise, I figured I’d try something that had been on my mind for a little while now. The affection-starved brat routine reminded me of an ex, and from what I remembered about girls like Cassie, they enjoyed positive affirmation to an almost ridiculous degree.

I leaned forward a bit more, satisfied when she didn’t instinctively move back, and gently ran my hand through her silky black hair. The scent of her blueberry shampoo still lingered in the air, and I immediately caught a whiff when I moved in closer. Lowering the volume of my voice, causing it to become an almost gentle and intimate whisper, I patted Cassie on the head.

“You’ve been a very good girl. Keep up the good work, Cass.”

She froze, her dark eyes wide like a deer caught in the forest by a large predator. Her body seemed to shudder beneath my lidded gaze, and I watched as she bit her lip and looked away.

…

“Eeeee!”

I had to lean away as the red-faced girl suddenly shot to her feet, practically hopping on her one good leg as she made a mad dash for my phone. It was charging peacefully on her computer desk, and she sweeped it into her hands before making a beeline straight to the bathroom. It would’ve been amusing if it hadn’t happened so abruptly.

“Ineedtopoopimsorry!”

Her voice was high-pitched once again, though I was starting to suspect that it was her actual voice as opposed to the low, throaty pitch she used while pretending to be ‘cool’. I only managed to catch a few seconds of her butt jiggling with her bouncing stride before she disappeared through the doorway.

A privacy curtain fell a second later, accompanied by the sound of water running. I hadn’t even noticed that there was a curtain in the bathroom - she definitely hadn’t used it before. And why was she showering again when she already-

‘...Ohhh.’

I chuckled wryly, falling back on my ass. Maybe I did tease her a little bit too much.

Well, it wasn’t like I was the type to get embarrassed about things like this. Sexual desire and arousal was completely normal, and masturbation was just a facet of life that most people participated in. Hell, I’d been extremely tempted when I woke up this morning but my willpower to resist the urge was probably a fair bit stronger than your average man-turned-teenager.

Still, the thought of Cassie, only a few dozen feet away, rubbing herself to the thought of me was quickly trying that flagging willpower. It was only Day 2 on Earth Bet and I was acting like a horny teen.

Which, I guess I technically was now?

Fuck it, topic change - magic. The Grimoire was waking up once again, tossing its hook into the sea and aiming for a certain mote of light. At this point, with my experience with reeling in different abilities, I felt as if I could sort of feel where the hook was going. It wasn’t as clear as being able to predict or understand the magic before it reached it, but I was able to get a feel for what type of magic it was aiming for. In this moment I was getting a feeling of Benevolence; something that would assist me in a supplemental and supportive fashion.

When the Grimoire finally wrapped around it, I knew I was right on the money.

Gauldur Amulet (The Elder Scrolls - 200 CP): A powerful amulet crafted by Archmage Gauldur and stolen by his three sons, the Gauldur amulet is a useful asset to anyone. It greatly enhances the health, magicka, and stamina of the wearer.

And it was finally something I recognized! The Gauldur Amulet was a pretty basic piece of gear from Skyrim in comparison to a lot of the magical equipment you could find or enchant there, but a flat boost to my health, magic, and stamina was not something you simply took for granted. So far the Grimoire had been pretty stingy when it came to actual magical items, so I was already tempted to take it purely to say I had a magical fucking necklace. The bonuses that came with it simply made me feel good about using a small portion of my collected charge.

The Grimoire yanked the mote of light into my soul at my behest, and I smiled at the warmth that settled in alongside the other pieces of arcane delight. “I wonder how it works without any numerical stats to increase…” As far as I was aware, after all, I didn’t have a reference for my ‘health, magicka, and stamina’.

There was only one way to find out.

Reaching inward, I called upon the magic item and willed it to appear on my lap. It did so immediately, falling onto my leg with the quiet clatter of carved wood and old bone. The amulet wasn’t the prettiest sight, but it certainly appeared mythical. The amulet itself was made from some type of petrified wood, carved with what I could only assume were Nordic runes. It was attached to a slim leather cord and accompanied by what appeared to be polished teeth of varying sizes. Over-all it wouldn’t be winning any beauty contests, but what was a mythical mage without his weird and oddly designed magical trinkets?

Without any further hesitation I slipped the amulet over my head, allowing it to rest comfortably against the middle of my chest. The wood was cool to the touch, and anticipation had me clenching my toes.

A few seconds passed.

“...Nothing chang-”

A sudden shock, like that first sip of McDonald’s Sprite, shot through my spine like lightning. It wasn’t painful, however - it was…invigorating. Energizing. My flagging energy felt like it was suddenly topped off by a double shot of espresso, and the minor aches and pains that I’d been feeling after a day of kicking ass suddenly faded away into nothingness. My mana core flexed and shuddered, that medium-sized pond becoming even larger as magic flooded my chest from the amulet.

This was…a lot cooler than what it did in Skyrim. Fuck you Todd, why not give the Dragonborn immersive and euphoric power-ups too?

“Alright,” I grinned, the onrush of magic and energy making me excited to do some more experimentation, “Let’s finally do some fuckin’ magic.”

Half naked and cheesing, I settled myself into a meditative pose and whispered the activation phrase for Second Sight. Immediately, the Winds of Magic made themselves known to me - or, at least, the back of me. There was always some evidence of the Aethyr around, but possibly because of the bunker’s isolation from the rest of the city, there wasn’t much energy in my immediate vicinity.

The only outlier that caught my eye was a small, almost unnoticeable wave of Red Wind that seemed to be emanating from the bathroom, drowned out by the loud sound of water impacting concrete.

I looked away, feeling heat rise in my neck. ‘Focus dumbass.’

The Winds of Magic wasn’t something I could just fuck around with willy-nilly. One mistake could literally blow me and the bunker up, and it was especially important to take it seriously since this was my first attempt at harnessing the magic. That thought made me realize that practicing with said magic inside of an enclosed and very important space like this probably wasn’t the greatest of ideas.

‘Fuck it. I need privacy and security, and this is all I have. Forgive me if I kill us both, Cass. In the odds that we get a second chance in some freaky anime fantasy world, I promise I’ll find you.’

Emptying the external thoughts from my mind, I focused my attention on the thin Winds around me and inhaled.

Then I exhaled.

Tingles began to spread along my skin, sprouting tiny goosebumps that tickled, but I was no longer focusing on extraneous stimuli. Meditation was something that I’d done a fair bit of back when I was an angry teenager, so the breathing techniques came back to me instinctively as I settled down into the sensation of the Aethyr. Channeling the Winds was something that was taught differently by each college of magic, but the overall method was widely the same outside of those who practiced Qhaysh.

Of course, as per Omni-Disciplinary Mage, the potential for High Magic was there, inside of me, but I knew better than to even attempt that sort of spellwork before first becoming familiarized with the eight Winds.

So, instead of dwelling on future possibilities, I went through my breathing techniques again and channeled the tenets of Hysh - White Wind of Magic - through my mind. Light was purifying and illuminating, hopeful and safe…everything that Earth Bet wasn’t. I didn’t see myself as some paragon of virtue or selflessness. Hell, I considered myself a greedy asshole that valued his own personal freedom way too much. I was selfish, manipulative to a fault, and a sexual deviant to boot.

‘But even still,’ I thought, feeling Hysh brush over my shoulders like a protective shroud, ‘I would do anything to keep those I care about safe.’

I really would. I was greedy and selfish and rebellious and quite possibly a mortal danger to society itself, but a lot of the hurt I put out was to keep others protected. Mostly. And maybe that was enough.

Actually, nah - fuck it. That had to be enough.

The language of the High Elves came to me then, as if pulled from the deepest, most intimate part of my soul. Eltharin. My voice, although low and quiet, seemed to fill the entire bunker in that moment as Hysh practically preened before my call like a noblewoman offering her hand to dance. The spell that I wanted to test, Dazzling Brightness, was simple enough in effect. A burst of light to temporarily blind foes - effective, efficient, and to the point.

When I finished the incantation and threw my hand forward, feeling the White Wind snake down my arm and surround my skin in a shining raiment of radiant white light, I did something rather…stupid in that moment.

I didn’t close my eyes, believing in the sunglasses that I’d taken to wearing religiously.

The burst of bright, all-encompassing white light that exploded from the tips of my extended fingers like a magical flashbang easily pierced through the lenses of Cassie’s hand-me-downs. I let out a startled and pained yelp, squeezing my stinging eyes shut and throwing the sunglasses to the floor. They clattered onto a half-empty plate of cold pizza bagels.

“Damn it!”

I groaned, the energy boost from my shiny new amulet immediately fading away as a pounding headache began to knock against my frontal lobe. Collapsing onto my back, I just lied there for a couple minutes, rubbing my eyes and trying to blink away the black dots in my vision.

At least…it worked? Outside of me getting hit with friendly fire, the channeling and incantation went well. I hadn’t expected Eltharin to come out of my mouth so seamlessly, but it seemed the perk gave me a bit more than just a connection to the eight Winds of Magic. In spite of the ache in my eyes, I found myself actually excited to try out more spells. I had to take things easily, of course; rushing my understanding was much more foolish than flashbanging myself, and I didn’t want to try anything that was too complicated before figuring out which Wind I wanted to focus the crux of my learning on for now.

It was probably around 2 AM, but I did not want to sleep. What sort of mage would I be if I rejected magic for cuddles?!

“Uhhh…everything alright? Why’re you squinting like that?”

I turned my head, still blinking rapidly to recover my vision. A hazy form that could only be Cassie was making her way out of the bathroom, drying her dripping wet hair with a fuzzy white towel. She was wearing an over-sized Linkin’ Park t-shirt that stopped at around knee-level, and the sight gave me pause.

“Huh, didn’t know they existed here.” I muttered to myself, giving her a half blind once-over. “Hold on, you actually showered?”

Cassie pouted, tossing the damp towel at me. It only made it halfway across the floor before hitting the ground - a testament to the spicy hacker’s overwhelming physical prowess. “Duh. Any cool and mature woman has to clean up after pooping, obviously. Now what happened to your eye?” She half-limped closer, presumably to get all grabby with my face and check my retinas for spontaneous detachment or something.

I waved my hand dismissively, giving her a broad grin.. “Don’t worry ‘bout that right now,” I said, gently yet firmly guiding her back down to the pallet of quilts. “The question I wanna know is this; Do you wanna get your ankle healed?” I waggled my fingers and my eyebrows in synch.

She grimaced at my expression, leaning away, before the meaning of my words seemed to kick in. Her exaggerated frown immediately gave way to shock. “Jay, no way your bullshit powers gave you-”

“Yessirrr,” I cackled evilly, rubbing my hands together. “I’m gonna heal the fuck outta you. Panacea who? Avalon’s all we need, baby.”

“Please don’t say it like that you dirty cheater. And stop laughing!” Cass blanched, wiggling her butt against the quilt as she tried to inch away from me. I caught her by the calf.

“Let me touch your fucked up ankle, weirdo.”

“No!”

A tug in my soul grabbed my attention for a moment, and I smirked at the amazing timing. Perhaps it was a waste of a tiny bit of charge, but I was in a funny mood. Things were looking up, I had actual magic spells, and a beautiful girl actively wanted to stay with me through it all. Say what you want about depression, but all of these things combined would temporarily cure it for just about anyone.

Character Song (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - 50 CP): You get your own special song! For 50 PPP, you just get an instrumental tune. In either case, you can make the song play around you whenever you wish; you can choose whether or not other people can hear it. This purchase may mix with other perks and the like; for instance, you could use your theme as a song for Jumper Pearl Voice, and your own song will be included in an AMV featuring clips of you for the Multimedia Set.

Yoink.

Music began to play around the two of us, the volume tuned just the right amount to be striking without becoming overpowering. Cassie froze, her body becoming stock still as she stared, wide-eyed and suspicious, right at me. “Why is there boss music playing?”

“...Are you ready for your doctor’s appointment, Ms. Cassie?” I ignored her question, my smirk turning positively wolfish.

“I hate hospitals,” she replied instinctively, still dazed and confused by the sudden catchy background music.

“I know. Just be still.” I closed my eyes and began channeling the White Wind.

“Wait, what are you muttering? Is that Russian? ...Why am I glowing? Jay, I don’t kno-...oooh. Ohhh~...”

I swallowed, watching Cass collapse back and let out a high, satisfied moan as warm white light bathed her entire body in its glow.

'Yeah...I fucking love being a mage.'

__________________________________

Perks Received:

Gauldur Amulet (The Elder Scrolls - 200 CP): A powerful amulet crafted by Archmage Gauldur and stolen by his three sons, the Gauldur amulet is a useful asset to anyone. It greatly enhances the health, magicka, and stamina of the wearer.

Character Song (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - 50 CP): You get your own special song! For 50 PPP, you just get an instrumental tune. In either case, you can make the song play around you whenever you wish; you can choose whether or not other people can hear it. This purchase may mix with other perks and the like; for instance, you could use your theme as a song for Jumper Pearl Voice, and your own song will be included in an AMV featuring clips of you for the Multimedia Set.

850 CP Remaining.

[spoiler=A/N]We can get up to some fun things now that our boy has actual spells to play around with! Weapon Magic is great and will definitely be one of his most consistent sources of DPS, but it's very straightforward with what it does and it was his only source of magic attacks. Actually connecting to and learning more about the Aethyr is going to open up a lot more options.[/spoiler]