Chapter 16 (Patreon)

“...Wow. I-...just, wow. How did you do this? The inside looks nothing like-”

“The outside? Yeah, I know - we get that a lot. The neighbors hate it.”

“And the furniture! The paintings, too! This is really high quality decor…”

I had to hold myself back from cackling like a witch as I watched Parian twirl around in the Sanctum’s dimly lit living room, her dark eyes wide behind the smooth contours of her porcelain mask. The cause for her bewilderment was understandable; after turning the bunker into the equivalent of a magical Victorian apartment, there was no ladder that led down into the living space anymore. Rather, in proper metaphysical fashion, the hardcoded security door led right into a short, decorated hallway that connected to the first floor of the Sanctum, leading us straight into the common area.

How that worked in spite of the outside still looking like a tiny Endbringer shelter, I had no fucking idea, but I was a sorcerer, not an architect. Magic was magic, and you had to either rock with it or get left in the dust. I chose the latter, because my momma ain’t raise me to come in last. Refusing to adapt got you killed.

“Cass is almost definitely taking a shower if she’s not out here lurking around, so make yourself at home and relax. Mi casa es su casa, ‘least until you piss me off.” I could distantly hear the shower running upstairs - the hermit had probably woken up recently.

“...Thank you, Avalon.” Parian turned from where she’d been examining some large, abstract painting of a fruit basket that was placed over the unlit fireplace. Her eyes were wide in equal parts weariness and appreciation.

“Don’t mention it.” I drawled, waving her off.

As I made my way towards the kitchen, shrugging my outer coat off and tossing it over my shoulder, I studied Parian curiously through my Second Sight. It was risky, some might say, to bring her back to my Sanctum. Some might even go as far as to say that it was downright retarded, considering the fact that I barely knew the woman and only had an inkling of her characterization from a community-ran wikipedia page.

To those people, I would say…yeah, you’re probably right. But, on the other hand, I was the one who dogwalked Hookwolf, saved her life, and saw the pure breadth of gratefulness and self-disgust in her eyes when she thanked me. In the short amount of time that we knew each other, we’d been through a lot…definitely more than your average acquaintances. I trusted Parian, I recognized the potential in both her skillset and powers, and I had no qualms about bringing her into the fold. Ultimately, though, this was Cassie’s spot before it was mine - I was just the mage who spruced it up a lil’ bit. If my hacker decided the dollmaker had to bounce, she’d have to bounce, but until then…

“You want a soda?” I called over my shoulder, yanking the refrigerator open and peering into its frigid depths.

“Um, just water’s fine!” In spite of her raised voice, Parian still sounded stiff and unsure. Clearly the chick didn’t know Spanish.

“Water machine broke, try something more flavorful. Matter of fact, I’ll bring it to you anyway.” I snorted, grabbing two cans of some orange fizzy drink Cassie had me buy a couple days ago. We still had an eight pack in the fridge, so I didn’t feel too bad cutting into our stash. The drinks were actually pretty good, tasting a bit like Fanta if it had a bastard lovechild with Sprite.

When I brought the drinks back to the living room, Parian was sitting at the edge of the sofa, straight-backed with her hands folded on her lap. Her masked face tracked me as I made my way to the comfortable spot beside her.

“I’m trying to cut myself off from soft drinks,” she protested weakly, accepting the proffered can and cradling it in her gloved hands. “New Year’s Resolution…”

I cracked my can open and took a long, deep sip. The cold, almost burning sensation of freshly drank soda lit a trail of fire down my throat, and I let out a satisfied grunt as I swallowed, my eyes closing shut in relish. “Ahhh, that’s the shit right there.”

Parian stared at me, unblinking. “Maybe I can drink a little bit? Not the entire can, but drinking just a sip or two after everything that happened today would be nice…” I couldn’t tell exactly where her eyes were wandering, but something told me that she was more locked in on the beads of condensation rolling down my can of soda than anything else.

I smirked, amused at her stubbornness. “You almost got hate-crimed by an oversized rust bucket tonight. Let your hair down and live a little, Parian.” I leaned back into the soft black cushions of the couch, propping my leather boots up on the coffee table and simply allowing my body and mind to untense from the day’s stress. Tiredness began to prick at the edges of my consciousness.

“...You’re right. Sorry for being so high-strung, I’m not trying to come off as ungrateful or cold. I’m just not used to…this.” She quietly popped the cap to her own soda, but made no movement to drink from the can.

I lazily turned my head towards Parian. “‘This?’” I inquired, blinking tired, half-lidded eyes at her.

“This,” she insisted, gesturing at the dark, cozy warmth of the Sanctum around us. “I…don’t really have any friends, college-side or cape-side. Being invited back to a client’s house after he saves me from a racist asshole is brand new territory, so I’m kind of hesitant, I guess.” She let out a self-deprecating giggle, her gloved hands gripping the can tighter.

“...Ah.” I hummed.

“I just hope that I’m not intruding, or that me freaking out afterwards made you feel obligated to treat me afterwards. I know you mentioned meeting your girlfriend, but I…”

“You don’t think I’m lying ‘bout having a girl, do you?” I tried to hide the teasing lilt to my voice.

Parian jumped, eyes widening as she twisted to stare at me. “No, of course not! I’m just- I mean, I was just saying that since you invited me-”

“Heh, chill - I’m fucking with you. I know what you mean.” I chuckled, idly raising a hand to brush a lock of hair out of my eye.

Her panicked stance froze, and though I could not see her expression through her mask, I had a decently confident feeling that the older woman was scowling at me something fierce. “Making fun of me when I’m laying my insecurities out on the table isn’t very nice, Avalon.” She pointed out, looking back down to her opened soda again.

“That’s the price of my friendship and protection - you gotta endure my shitty attempts at cheering up depressed cuties.” Her head snapped back over to me, and I winked lazily.

“Oh? And you do that often?”

“Mainly on my off days, when I’m not saving kittens from trees or curb stomping white supremacists.”

Parian inclined her head, a happy and entertained light shining brightly in her eyes. “Well, I’m happy that we met on your ‘curb stomping’ day,” she giggled, her tense shoulders finally relaxing. “...And thank you.”

I closed my eyes and waved my hand dismissively in the air - though it looked more like a tired flop of the wrist than anything. “You already thanked me, silly. I said it’s coo-”

“No,” she insisted, shaking her blonde tresses. “I said thank you before because you saved me, and I’m still grateful for that. But this time, I’m saying thank you for just…being here. For me. And for being my friend. It feels really nice to have one again.”

‘Ouch, right in the heart…’ I could already feel the rustic gears of my heart doing its little crank, pushing warmth through my drained body. I cracked an eye open at the sound of Parian fiddling with something, expecting to see her finally drinking her damn soda after five minutes of edging the can, only to flinch in genuine surprise at the sight that greeted me.

“Woah…”

She was no longer wearing her mask or wig, both accessories tossed and abandoned on the other side of the couch. Long, raven black hair fell down her back in thick, luscious waves, framing a gorgeous and heart-shaped face that would not have looked out of place in some of modeling portfolio. Parian, even in the dirty white frock stained with rust, was almost breathtakingly beautiful, with full red lips, large brown eyes, and an all-around exotic glow that had me staring, befuddled, for a few seconds longer than was probably proper.

“Holy shit…” I muttered, without really thinking about it.

There was a brief, reactionary silence that lingered for another moment or two, before she blinked and peered at me through her long, curly lashes. A small, amused smile formed on her pouty lips. “Staring is rude, Avalon…and you have a girlfriend, don’t you?” Curiosity and warning intermingled at the edge of her placid voice.

I blinked once. Twice. The hamster wheel in my head began turning again, and I gave Parian a sneaky glance. Two could play at that game.

“I do, and she’s hella adorable. If we’re adding on reasons why it wouldn’t work out; You probably like your women more plucky and heroic , right? Probably long, dark hair. Pretty skin.”

“Of course, especially when they have a little-.....w-wait, huh?”

It was her turn to stare in shock and confusion. I grinned victoriously.

“Knew it. Don’t underestimate the gaydar, baby. Cass is gonna melt when she sees you.”

“W-wait, that’s not-!”

Parian’s cheeks quickly began to heat up, embarrassment and nervousness fighting for dominance across her face. She clumsily lunged forward to stop me from getting up, but my reflexes were many times faster than anything she was working with - I was already walking towards the staircase, cracking my neck and rolling my shoulders ten feet away. My outer coat was left draped over the back of the sofa, leaving me in the silky black shirt that exposed my defined chest to the world.

Idly, I pulled at the loose fabric. It was stylish, but a little more revealing than I was used to.

“Yo, Cass!” I yelled, gently brushing my throat with tiny vestiges of Aqshy to add a clear resonance to my voice. The heat bolstered my vocal chords, giving my deep voice an almost demanding growl. “We’ve got company! I know you already saw it on the camera, you lil’ perv!”

Silence. The sound of running water had already quietened down, though. If I knew Cassie as well as I thought I did after our steamy week-long entanglement, she was probably lurking behind a desk, hiding online and studiously ignoring the fact that a stranger was in her home. That was fair, since she was very obviously an even bigger hermit than I had been back in my old life, but I genuinely felt like she would like Parian.

The woman in question peered nervously over the top of the couch, her face still warm. “Avalon, maybe-”

“I-I’m not a pervert, you weirdo! I…I just wanted to be cautious!” Cassie’s loud, annoyed voice cut the petite seamstress off, causing her to immediately pipe down with a muted squeak that she probably did not want me to hear.

Cassie’s voice was slower getting closer, though, and I held off on responding in favor of tapping my foot slowly on the ground and crossing my arms like a disappointed father. Considering the other night, I wasn’t that far off from ‘daddy’ anyway.

More silence, and it was in this minor interim that the Celestial Grimoire decided to come alive and toss out a heavy ass charge. I hesitated, but only for the briefest of seconds - because what it offered was worth its weight in hella gold.

Archmage (TES: Magic - 400 CP): While there are many mages who are masters of their craft, with a skill and understanding of their chosen School that would be difficult to match, few are as suited for the role of Archmage as you. Your magicka reserves are, quite frankly, monstrous, which is not helped by the fact that they replenish at an incredible rate. Yet it is not just power, but your management skills which make you a fitting candidate. You could effectively manage an entire college, or even a province spanning guild, and keep it running efficiently almost single-handedly.

I didn’t even blink as almost all of the charge that I’d built since the fight sloughed off to accept the perk. Magicka, mana, magick - whatever the fuck, it all came back into the same pool of magic in my core, and with that mote of light secured I had to bite back a hiss as my reserves grew at an almost painful rate. Within moments, it had grown many sizes larger than it was before. If it was a quaint pond before, the inside of my soul probably had more in common with a raging, magical waterfall now. I could practically feel my magic buzzing beneath my skin, ready and desiring release.

A dozen or so Gaster Blasters probably wouldn’t even put a dent in my tank now. And that wasn't even going into the second part of the perk.

It was in this rush of endorphins that I heard a door upstairs shut quietly - the sound came from the right side of the mezzanine, so Cassie’s computer room door. A couple of seconds later, the recently washed girl peered over the dark wooden railing, a small pout on her flushed face as she glared down at me. Her dark, silky hair was still dripping wet, and she was in her favorite oversized pink hoodie. I had to remember, in that exact moment, that I was impatiently waiting for her to reveal herself.

I started tapping my foot again.

“I’m being serious, jerk - I wasn’t watching from my computer or anything.”

Well, that was awfully and suspiciously specific. My foot continued to tap on the smooth hardwood floor, and I deadpanned.

Cassie’s stubborn resolve faltered. “W-well, I didn’t watch from my computer! I just heard voices and got a little skittish, so I figured I’d…listen a lil’ bit. To be safe, y’know? I’ve been living alone for months, Jay.”

I tilted my head. “Mhm. We weren’t even talking that loud for the most part. When’d you bug the new place?” I wasn’t mad, of course - this was still her crib. I was mainly just curious and a little impressed.

“Pfft, ‘bug the new place’,” she scoffed, her voice deepening to mock mine. “Respect your girlfriend, toots - I don’t need bugs. New app just dropped; it’s called iSpy, and it can backdoor your Bluetooth to broadcast whatever audio’s your microphone’s picking up straight to my phone. Worked on it all of…tonight” Her cracked resolve was magically restored, a proud smirk on her face as she leaned lazily over the railing. If she had bigger tits, it probably would’ve made for an impressive display - instead, I was more concerned with two things…

“First off,” I said dully, uncrossing my arms and holding them out just in case. “We both know you’re not the most nimble of chicks, so chill on the dramatic lean. That’s a twenty foot drop.”

She rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to respond, but I wasn’t finished.

“Secondly…where did all of that confidence come from? You were still spyin’ on us, perv. The proof is in the pudding. ‘iSpy’? C’mon bro…”

“You-”

Parian raised her hand slowly from the safety of the couch, clearly a little put off by the rapid display of emotions and deep familiarity going on between the two of us. I didn’t even need Intuition to proc that observation. “Uh, excuse me…’Cassie’? Did you say that you hacked my phone?” There was obvious unease in her voice, but I doubted Cass picked up on it.

“Huh?” she blinked, looking away from me and staring at Parian as if just noticing her for the first time. Her eyes promptly widened in awe. “Holy shit!”

I nodded my head sagely. “That’s what I said too.”

“Tch! I know you did,” Cassie clicked her teeth, tossing me a dismissive glare that lacked any real anger. Her attention was almost instantly drawn back to Parian, however, and she gave the woman a small, sheepish grin. “Sorry, I sort of…lost track of what you asked me for a sec. What’d you say your name was?”

She definitely knew her name, the shady minx.

“Parian,” Parian replied after a moment’s thought, before shaking her head and offering a hesitant smile. “But considering everything that’s happened tonight, including the whole ‘unmasking’ thing…you can both call me Sabah. I already know your name, after all.”

Both Cassie and I widened our eyes. Honestly, I probably should’ve expected it, considering - as she said - the whole ‘unmasking’ thing, but it was still a pretty big jump to go from a simple customer to ‘trusted friend’ all in the span of, what…two days? Then again, saving someone’s life and spending half the time with them utilizing a charisma-boosting magical ability was bound to incite some sort of accelerated trust.

Shit, they were both looking at me now. It wasn’t like I even had much of a ‘civilian identity’, considering I wasn’t even native to this world, so it wasn’t like I cared a lot about hiding it. Plus my mask literally covered like one-fourth of my face; if someone wanted to spot me out in a crowd, they probably could.

And I fucked with Parian. Heavy.

“‘Ight, we’re doing this then,” I smirked, reaching up and grasping my mask lightly with one hand. I thought about making the moment a bit more dramatic and cheesy, maybe playing some sort of music in the background, but Cassie was already making her way down the stairs and her face practically screamed ‘you’re lame don’t even think about it.’

“You’re lame, don’t even think about it.”

“Fuck you.”

Parian looked between the two of us, befuddled. “I…”

“He was thinking of doing something cringy I think, like playing a drum roll while dramatically taking the mask off.” Cassie’s voice was dull as she walked past me and leaned on the couch beside Parian, her arms crossed over her chest. “You can tell because he loses the whole ‘brooding hero’ facial expression and starts to grin like some sort of evil mob boss.”

I tried not to react to the delicious and wonderfully Cassie scent of blueberries and cream. I was supposed to be annoyed at her, damn it!

“Ohhh,” Parian’s mouth opened in a cute little circle as she looked up at me again. Something flashed in the dark pools of her eyes, and she smiled. “I can see it now. His face did the same thing when he asked me if I was okay, back at the mall - right before that one really cool line…”

“‘I’d hate to taint my first cape battle by slaughtering a bunch of punk nazi trash.’” Cassie growled, her face dark and smirking, before she relaxed her expression and let out a loud, highly amused snort that managed to sound both fond and exasperated. “He’s so fucking cool and scary, but he can be ridiculous at the same exact time.”

Parian looked over at Cassie, and it was like her eyes lit up. “I agree! Yesterday, when he was showing me his powers, Avalon decided to explain it by summonin-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” I cut in, pulling my mask from my face and stepping forward. A couple of locs fell into my face, freed from the restraining barrier of the opera mask, and I ran my hand through the tangled mess. “Jason here, newly unmasked hero revealing himself to his new friend Sabah.” I tilted my head at the woman in question and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way.”

If she was annoyed about being cut off, Pari-...Sabah did not show it. Instead, the fear that seemed to have plagued her before was practically fleeing in the face of a brand new glow. Something not broken or fucked up in my heart warmed at the sight; all mistrust and paranoia aside, it was obvious that she was just happy to be amongst friends again. Sure, she barely even knew Cassie, and I was a bit of a unique case, but being a woman who triggered partially out of loneliness, I knew that the happiness on her face wasn’t fake.

A bit restrained, maybe, but definitely not fake.

She couldn’t keep the smile out of her voice when she replied, “It’s nice to meet you too, Jason.”

“You can just call me Jay,” I shrugged, reaching into my back pocket and pulling out Cassie’s sunglasses.

“Mm, alright ‘Jay’.” Sabah murmured, seemingly satisfied with something as she nodded her head and settled back into her spot on the couch.

As I slid the sunglasses on and made my way around the side of the sofa in order to sit back down, I noticed Cassie practically shooting lasers at the side of my head with her eyes. For a moment, I wondered if the friendliness between Sabah and I bothered her - which would’ve been understandable, if she hadn’t already listened in on the whole ‘lesbian’ conversation - but then Hidden Intuition threw a little bone my way.

Cassie is miffed that you haven’t explained what happened at the Mall.

She was feeling left out. Adorable. Fortunately for her, after introductions, I had plans to approach the gigantic elephant in the room - or, rather, the beaten nazi in der kerker. The question was, how did I want to approach it? I could sit us all down and have a serious discussion about the whole thing, but today had already been pretty intense and I felt like playing with my girlfriend a little bit.

I chanced a glance at Sabah. The woman seemed satisfied with the comfortable silence, having nestled back into the corner of the couch with her can of orange soda once again held in her hands. She nursed it slowly, taking small sips as she looked around at the decor of the living room. She was ‘vibing’, as it were, and I doubted that she was the type to be squeamish or uptight around couples, so…

“Eep!”

The cool thing about being a mage like me? I didn’t shy away from the physical gains. Aqshy bolstered my strength and vitality magically, while Heroic Aptitude did so naturally - by making me just strong enough to be the hero that I have to be, word to Link. In this instance, my Zelda was Cass, so I allowed the Red Wind ruminating in the room to envelop my muscles and give me the little extra twang needed to reach back with my right arm and bodily pull her over the couch and into my lap.

She practically flew when I yanked on the front of her hoodie, landing softly against the top of my thighs chest first. Fortunately, I was starting to become rather skilled at manipulating the Winds pretty smoothly, one after the other - just as Aqshy enhanced my strength, Azyr softened her landing by providing a gentle, yet firm buffer of wind between my lap and Cassie’s stomach.

Instead of a grunt of pain or the sound of the breath being knocked from her chest, my small hacker gf let out a high, surprised yelp and wiggled like a fish on top of me. Her hoodie had ridden up a bit in her miniature flight, and the pale, jiggly expanse of her fat, panty-clad ass was bared proudly for the world to see. Or, at the very least, Sabah, who was staring with wide eyes and a flushed face. Her soda had fallen from her hands at some point, spilling across the coffee table.

“Oh my…”

“Jason!” Cassie whisper-screamed, embarrassment, mortification, and something else a little more spicy filling her voice. “The fuck was that for?! L-let me up!” Her voice was slightly muffled, by fault of being face down ass up, so I lightly smacked her right cheek in lieu of talking to the back of her head. The ass fat jiggled agreeably to my physical inquiry, and I nodded seriously.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. She’s been pretty discourteous today, hasn't she?”

I’d been talking, pretty sarcastically at that, to her ass - but much to my surprise, Sabah spoke up from the corner of the sofa; hesitant and unsure of any boundaries, but seemingly cognizant of the fact that the byplay was harmless and consensual.

“She did hack my phone…and most likely the mall’s CCTV footage, now that I think more about it.” Her voice was quiet, but there was a noticeable smile in there.

I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. Yep, it was small and tumultuous, but there was definitely an upturn of the lips.

Cassie wiggled stubbornly. Considering it was doing great things to her ass, I didn’t even bother stopping her. “Sabah, what the heck?! I-I mean, I did hack your phone, but I had to make sure you weren’t, like, a frickin’ Mormon or something!”

Smack!

“Eee!”

It was a light slap, but Cassie’s butt was apparently a drama queen. Sabah twitched at the impact, and her eyes widened even more. As entertaining as it would have been, I cinched down on Hidden Intuition’s almost childlike eagerness to dive headfirst into that one bodily movement. Sometimes getting secrets out the old fashioned way was more exciting.

“A Mormon? Really?” I smirked, returning my attention back down to the petite girl lying in my lap. “Lying won’t get you anywhere, babe. Ain’t that right Sabah? Just admit to your wrongdoings and we’ll tell you all about our exciting day.”

“Mmm, no!”

I wasn’t using my magical perceptive abilities, but I wasn’t a stranger to unique and salacious occurrences and something was telling me that I was hitting a very specific part of the woman’s brain with my actions here. There wasn’t much more than an idle curiosity in my gut, but if I remembered something correctly about Sabah’s more 'leather-focused' inclinations, she was a fan of spankings. More specifically, being the spanker.

When she smiled and spoke again, the dark-skinned woman had a noticeably more…composed tint to her voice. The shakiness all but disappeared, but there was still restraint there. Nervousness. Understandable, considering the suddenness of my little game, but I usually had pretty good instincts about this sorta stuff. I wasn’t planning on fucking Cass in front of our new friend or anything like that - going too far was how you alienated people. 

This had to be kept lighthearted and chaste.

“I think,” Sabah began, carefully turning away from her spilled soda and giving me - or, more specifically, me and Cassie’s chubby cheeks - her full attention. “That she needs to learn both patience and honesty. Lying is unbecoming.”

I nodded my head.

“It’s churlish.” I replied coolly, massaging the reddened flesh beneath my hand. The gold gauntlet probably didn’t help much, but judging by the labored breathing and half-hearted ‘no’s’ and ‘stops’, I doubted that she minded.

“T-the heck does that even mean?” Cassie grumbled weakly, turning head head just enough for me to see her scarlet red cheeks and glaring visage

SMACK!

“A-ah, Jay!”

“Impertinent.” Sabah concurred, her eyes now focused solely on me. Her eyebrows were beginning to raise.

“Contumelious, even.” I countered immediately, looking right back at her.

If Cassie was confused and flustered before, steam was beginning to pour out of her ears at this point. “Gu-guys, why are you-!”

SMACK!

“Eeee!”

Sabah’s flinched, and she glanced down at Cassie. Her composed coolness splintered, and a half-stifled giggle broke through. “M-malpart?” She tried, looking back up at me through amused, disbelieving little snorts.

“Close,” I grinned crookedly, once again rubbing comforting circles on Cassie’s ass. “It’s malapert, actually - proud of you for gettin’ that far, though. Three gold stars.”

This time she actually laughed, and if there was any lingering stillness or awkwardness wafting through the air, it was shoved away completely by the sound of Sabah’s twinkling, almost maniacal guffaws. Cassie made a ‘hmph’ noise and started wiggling like a dying fish again, so amidst Sabah’s laughter and my own amusement, I slid both hands beneath the prone girl’s armpits and easily lifted her into a sitting position in my lap.

“Finally-”

Cassie stiffened in my lap once she was settled comfortably, and I stiffened even more beneath her once the large, swollen bulge in my pants found purchase against her noticeably damp panties. My face didn’t shift - I already knew what I was getting myself into, and I fully planned on finishing what I’d started later tonight.

Belatedly, before Sabbah could notice her hesitance, Cassie hurried to finish her sentence. “Finally, I don’t feel like a freaking platter of sushi! What was that even for, Jay?” She turned her head, giving me a heated look. The pulsating clench of her pussy, felt like a heartbeat through my crotch, gave double meaning to that question.

I simply shrugged, guiltlessly.

“Hehehe,” Sabah’s laughter finally died down, and the woman gave Cassie an amused look. “It was simply fair play for your own meddling, is it not?” The foreign accent only heightened the Rogue’s charm, and as Cassie turned back to look at her I could clearly see that she was getting won over already. Honestly, the both of them were in dire need of genuine friendship and kindness.

“Hmph…I guess so,” Cassie grumbled, though a small smile was on her face. “It’s not like I necessarily hate being punished by Jay…not that I like it or anything.”

I lightly tapped my index finger on one of her squishy thighs. “Think about it like this; Sabah just saw you getting spanked, ass out in the wind.” I lazily turned my head to glance over at the seamstress, a puckish grin forming on my lips. “If that isn’t the tightest start to a friendship ever, I don’t know what is.”

“Very true,” Sabah nodded sagely, as if discussing the weather. “Plus, you actually taught me a few words, Jaso-...Jay. I taught myself English, so it is always nice to meet someone with such a good grasp on the language.”

It was my turn to look embarrassed. I wasn’t, actually, but it’d been a while since I faked humility and I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t always viewed as a cocky and conceited asshole. Even absolute superiority like mine needed the occasional breather.

“Shucks,” I simpered, rolling a loc around my finger and glancing away. “Thanks…”

…

“Erm…” Sabah coughed.

“Babe,” Cassie cringed, leaning away from me. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“What?”

“That.” Sabah said, pointing at me. I was still looking away, one finger wrapped around a lock of hair.

“Be me?” I feigned confusion.

“You know what she means, asshole,” Cassie snorted, thinking better of the distance she’d created and cuddling back into my chest. “The whole ‘humble’ thing falls really frickin’ flat when you do it.”

“It’s not natural.” Sabah agreed.

I sighed, dropping my hand and relaxing my ‘sheepish’ expression into my usual brooding glare. “Whatever. You wanted to know about what happened at the mall, right?” I asked the touchy girl in my arms, guiding a golden-clad finger through her damp head of hair. She was getting my shirt wet, but I didn’t mind.

“Mhm,” she murmured, her breath warm against my neck. “I already saw the threads on PHO - you’re kinda going viral on the Brockton Bay forum right now. Sorry, Sabah.”

Sabah smiled, though there was no bitterness in her expression as she watched us. “Don’t be. I couldn’t-...no, I didn’t help in the battle. As long as Jason wears my costume proudly and honorably, I’ll be happy.”

I could feel Cassie’s smile. “It looks really cool, by the way - I like the aesthetic. A bit…eye-catching, but it’s hot.”

“Thank you, Cassie.”

“No prob. Now, while I’ve seen what PHO has been saying…before I got suspended. Again. I don’t have much more info. Sooo…spill. What the heck happened to Plan Whatsamacallit?”

“Plan ‘Survive and Thrive’,” I corrected tersely, smirking at her snort. “And it’s still a-go…just expedited a lil’ bit. Didn’t you already see what happened, anyway? Miss ‘I Casually Hack Everything’?”

She leaned up to give me a glare. With her scent so close, and her awfully soft-looking lips mere inches away, I was tempted to go for a kiss…but then I remembered that Sabah was right there, and for some reason a kiss seemed more intimate than spanking her ass, so I resisted. For now.

“The audio was shitty, and I couldn’t hear what you guys were saying before Hookerwolf came in. I have my suspicions as to why he showed up, but…”

“H-Hookerwolf?” Sabah muttered dazedly to herself.

I nodded my head. “Point. We were discussing the trials of life and the pursuit of cleanliness before he showed up, offering to give us a shower-”

Cassie’s intake of breath interrupted my half-assed explanation. “Woah, Jason…too far. You’re a hero now.” she gasped, exaggeratedly loud. I rolled my eyes.

“Corny. Anyways, he was there for Sabah. ‘Prolly to gang press her into becoming a nazi. Kinda ironic, in a fucked up way, considering she’s a melanated queen.”

She blushed at that, offering up a hesitant smile. “He’s right. I refused their messed up offer months ago, and I guess they decided to knock out two birds with one stone. Thankfully Jason was the other bird.”

I winked.

“...Right,” Cassie hummed, shooting Sabah a considering look. “I’m not mad that you put Jay into danger, mainly because I know he’s been itching to beat up some nazis for over a week now. That doesn’t explain the absolute bullshit I saw you pull off in that footage though, mister.”

Her gaze returned to me, and she fully sat up, straddling me backwards in order to poke a long fingernail directly through the exposed part of my shirt, right into my chest. The flesh didn’t yield beneath her prodding, however, and she pouted. “What gives? I thought we were in this together? You know,” Cassie’s lip wobbled, and if it wasn’t for my heightened insight I would’ve thought that she was actually torn-up about the whole thing. “Planning together? Going through your bullshit powers. Strategizing, as a team.”

Sabah hesitantly raised her hand, and when we both turned to look at her she gave me a searching stare. “When we first met, you said that your main ability was ‘golden energy constructs’, with a few minor powers.” A dry, amused smile formed on her full lips. “I’m guessing that was a lie?”

As I stared at her, the smile slowly wilted. She backtracked quickly, “If that is overestimating our current level of trust, then by all means-”

I raised a hand. “Nah, that’s not it. I’m just wondering how to explain everything.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “Come on big guy, it can’t be that bad. We need to come up with a plan for the rest of the Empire, because knowing your crazy ass I’m betting you plan on taking the fight to them.” She held up her hands and began counting down fingers.

“You had, let’s see…the metal corroding power - that was new, the skull with the big ass lasers - fucking crazy awesome, that golden cage…”

“He also turned into some sort of flying serpent to bring us here,” Sabah helpfully added, a gloved finger pressed against her bottom lip in thought. “Though he didn’t exactly explain how it worked when asked.”

“Okay, we’re revisiting that later,” Cassie muttered, eyes wide as she looked back at me. “What are we missing?”

I paused again, hesitant. “Well, I got a robot now.” I offered weakly, scratching the back of my head.

“...A robot?” Sabah blinked, bemused.

“Show me.” Cassie demanded.

Well, I had to admit - I was curious about it, too. Connecting my soul to the mote of light that came right after my fight with Hookwolf and Cricket, I allowed it to materialize on the living room floor right in front of the couch. At this point, our raging teenage hormones were mostly tamed - for now - and Cassie turned around in my lap in order to watch as flecks of white light suddenly materialized in thin air, whirling around like a sand devil before coalescing into…

A hovering white robot, complete with two sleek, mechanical arms and a little orange light on its head. Whatever it used to fly, the engine was completely silent as it ‘stared’ at us the same way we stared at it.

The air was quiet, almost cold, before two girlish voices exclaimed together, as one:

“Oh my gosh…!”

“IT’S SO FREAKING CUTE!”

Cassie was the one brave - or foolish - enough to actually lunge for the thing. I could’ve stopped her, but nothing in the Grimoire hinted that it would harm me in any way so I simply let the girl have her fun. Plus, on the less compassionate and empathetic side - I kinda wanted to see what it would do.

The hacker was bigger than the Pod, but not by a huge margin - if I had to guess, I’d say that the machine’s body was about the size of her torso. Her arms wrapped around it’s rectangular metal chassis, and she squee’d as she rubbed her face against it.

“Can I keep him, Jay? Pleaseee!”

Sabah didn’t say anything, but the hearts in her eyes said enough. If I got rid of it, there would be hell to pay. Primarily in the form of the silent treatment and no sex.

Just as I was about to respond, the Pod suddenly twitched, and Cassie gasped as it floated upwards another foot or so - taking her a few inches off the floor.

“Tactical Support Unit Pod 084, requesting authorization to remove humanoid lifeform identified as ‘Chen Zhenyi’ from this Pod’s frame.” Its voice was loud and clear, ringing robotically through the suddenly quiet living room.

A few things happened at once.

Cassie immediately let go of the Pod, scrambling to her feet with ashen and pale skin.

Sabah flinched, but didn’t seem too perturbed - probably expecting a ‘robot’ to speak.

I, meanwhile…was confused. I’d expected it to speak, of course, but its words definitely threw me for a loop.

I glanced down at Cassie, who was staring at the floating robot with anger and puzzlement on her face.

“...Who the fuck is ‘Chen Zhenyi?”

Perks Earned:

Archmage (TES: Magic - 400 CP): While there are many mages who are masters of their craft, with a skill and understanding of their chosen School that would be difficult to match, few are as suited for the role of Archmage as you. Your magicka reserves are, quite frankly, monstrous, which is not helped by the fact that they replenish at an incredible rate. Yet it is not just power, but your management skills which make you a fitting candidate. You could effectively manage an entire college, or even a province spanning guild, and keep it running efficiently almost single-handedly.

Second roll failed due to lack of CP.