Gacha God: Change (ch. 29) (Patreon)

I hummed a tune as I entered the Cave of Wonders, thoroughly pleased with myself. I had a hot date coming up. I was going to wow her with the 2.0 version of my ATs, and I had a new thingamajig. It let out a hum as I flicked it into the air, watching it radiate light that cast away the dark shadows of my cave, before it fell into my waiting palm. No idea what it was, and I didn't have much interest in finding out. I just knew it looked kinda neat and I found it somewhere interesting.

"Where to put you, I wonder?" I asked myself, my eyes flickering over my various prizes. Guns, drugs, money, comic books -- eventually my gaze landed on the Scepter. A weapon that I won off of a god. The red gem was plenty neat, but I'm not sure I should put them together. The gem didn't have that coolof a story attached to it. Flicking the gem into the air, I considered starting a jewel pile, but those were best reserved when you had a couple of jewels to start with. Otherwise it'd just be a shiny rock on the ground.

It was a question worthy of consideration, I thought, flicking the jewel up again, but it seemed to pale in comparison to a far more pressing concerns.

What to wear for my date?

"No Face May King is a must," I decided, the coat was necessary for some parts of the plan to make sure we could steal everything. Everything else was up for debate, though. Should I just go with the normal Audacity attire, make a statement that it was a casual date? Or dress up a bit to make my intentions clear? It was a tough decision, I decided, frowning to myself as I looked over what I had. Not good enough. Nowhere near good enough.

Flicking the gem up again, it caught my eye as it seemed to flash with power. It only lasted a moment as it spun above my palm, and by the time it landed, the light was gone. The effects, however, not so much. The clothing rack that I had set up suddenly began to change. The cloth stretched or shrunk, holes were smoothed over and color was restored or changed entirely. All of a sudden, the clothing that would have been at the bottom of a bargain bin appeared top of the line, not only that, but they looked like the kind of clothes self important blowhards wore because they were proud of paying triple the price for a brand name.

"Huh," I muttered, looking down at the red gem. "That's convenient." And disappointing as I realized what the gem was. Reality manipulation. Not really sure at what level, but I wasn't really interested in finding out. "But ew," I tossed the gem over by the scepter, it bouncing off the wall to land at the base of the pedestal.

Reality manipulation was lame. It was like a shit version of mind control, except worse, because it sucked the fun right out of everything. Playing a video game with cheat codes could be fun for a time, sure -- limitless money, invincibility, the power to control-alt-delete every single obstacle in your way so you only got the highs? It was good fun if that's all you cared about, but I didn't. You could only appreciate the sunny days when you had rainy ones, you could only really appreciate the good when you experienced the bad.

It was the journey that mattered, not the destination.

The thrill of the chase? Why bother when you could snap your fingers? An incredibly rare artifact of immense power? Not only did the loot pale in comparison, I could make dog shit something more awesome. The slightest difficulty or minor setback? Wave my hand and it vanished like smoke in the wind. That's not what I wanted. That's not the kind of life that I desired. I was living exactly how I wanted to already.

Reality manipulation was a lame as shit power and I would have none of it.

"Saved me a shopping trip, though," I said in appreciation, going through my new clothing. It was nice. Very nice. I set aside some outfits for the evening that would go well with my jacket. It was as I did so that I heard someone approaching and that person happened to be Peter. Looking over at him, I saw that he had a nervous expression and carried a small orange case in one hand. I knew that look in his eyes. "Here for the Divine Water?"

Peter hesitated, considering backing out as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair while taking a bracing breath, "Yeah. If you don't mind, of course." He added, but he knew that I didn't. It sounded like he was half hoping that I would tell him no.

"If it's what you want, but why do you want it at all? You know how much it sucks," I told him, making him look away. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. It's none of my business, really, but if you don't need to take it…" why would you, went unsaid. I drank the water because I was stupid and stubborn. Pain was just pain to me. Even still, I had only drunk two cups of the stuff because it sucked all the ass. Even with the benefits it offered, I wasn't exactly knocking the stuff back on the regular.

In response, Peter held up the orange case. "I don't want to just be a guy in the chair," Peter admitted after a moment. "I mean, don't get me wrong, it's fun! It's great! Really -- I'm working with Gravitonium and vibranium and a bunch of other awesome stuff, but… when I look at it, I have so many ideas of what I could do with it, you know? I look at you and Mr. Stark and I… I think I could do that too." Peter confessed, and I hadn't realized that he had felt stifled. He had his projects and gadgets, and that seemed to be enough for him.

I understood where he was coming from. It could be fun, for a time, to watch someone else play a game, but sooner or later, you'd want to get your hands on the controller yourself. It was fair.

"So, you got some super juice?" I asked him, sending a smirk his way. He seemed surprised that I wasn't… I didn't even know. Trying to talk him out of it, I guess? Maybe someone else would, but not me. If Peter was sure it would work, then it'd probably work. If it's what he wanted and he was willing to follow through, then who was I to say no?

"Sorta?" Peter answered, sounding like he was caught flat footed. "It's… well, it's a little complicated to explain, but it's going to really amp up how much bio-electricity that I produce. I have a whole bunch of designs that would let me harness it. Along with the battery pack from your ATs, I can harness a lot of power from just a little bit." Peter explained, and I just nodded along, grabbing the Divine Water.

"Need any Gravitonium or vibranium?" I asked, and Peter perked up.

"Are you sure you want to share any of that?" He asked me, like he fully expected me to hoard it all. Maybe someone else would, but not me.

"Sure. I'm used to sharing my stuff," for better or for worse. Everyone has their strengths growing up. Some were outright powerful, others had powers with extreme utility. I was in the middle, and the siblings that I hated the least got their pick of the litter, so to speak. Of course, back then, giving away a sword that was in function a WMD meant a lot less since I had about a dozen. "If you feel like you can use it, just let me know. And if you make something cool with it, I want some too."

Peter sent me a lopsided smile that promptly slid right off of his face when I cracked open the Divine Water. "Right, thanks Sebastian. And… thanks, Sebastian," he repeated, opening the orange case before he started stripping down to his boxers. I unfolded a cot for him to lay down on and by the time it was ready, I saw Peter filling up a syringe filled with a fluorescent blue liquid. After taking a seat, he lined the syringe up and filled his veins with it, and I saw them glow briefly.

Taking a cup of the water, I passed it over to Peter, and he took a bracing breath. I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, giving him a small nod. "Down the hatch," he muttered with no excitement and a lot of dread, tipping the cup back and draining it in a big gulp. Laying down, he immediately started to sweat before his face contorted into a grimace.

He didn't scream this time. The first time, he had been completely and utterly unprepared for what he signed up for. Now he had a much better idea, but even still, he wasn't fully prepared. Or whatever he just shot up was having an even greater effect than the Divine Water by itself. Peter gripped the aluminum poles of the cot with white knuckles, and I learned a thing or three about how much electricity he was producing when my leg brushed against it to give him some water. A pop filled the cave, and I felt my leg go numb for a second.

That was some serious oomph. And it only grew as the hours went by. Peter's sweat soaked hair started to rise, and when I saw him gasp for air, a small line of electricity sparked in his mouth, vibrating the air with a dull hum. But, the intensity seemed to be connected to the pain, and as it lessened, so did the effects. Five hours later, Peter was left exhausted on the cot that was now soaked with black sweat.

It was another two hours before Peter managed to rouse any strength, lazily opening his eyes. "How are you feeling?" I asked him, handing him some water.

"It sucked worse this time," Peter muttered, taking a deep drink from the bottle. "But I feel stronger. I think the Divine Water did more than just integrate the power. I think it made it stronger while it was at it," Peter remarked to himself, looking down at his hands before a small bolt of electricity sparked between two fingers. "I shouldn't be able to do that."

I chuckled, "I suppose something working too well can be its own problem." I remarked, finally standing up and popping my back. I was not made to sit still, I decided, doing some stretches. "You have a way to test your power out?" I asked him and Peter nodded.

"It's a wand thing on my desk. Could you…?" Peter asked, and I nodded, leaving the cave and heading to his desk. It was easy enough to find, but as I did so, I found a notebook that was open. On one page was a costume design -- red, blue, and white. Big bug eyed mask too. On the other page, however, were some things that Peter was designing. And it was there that I saw Peter was intending to do more than just build equipment. Some of the designs called for invasive surgeries.

He was going to incorporate technology inside of him, run by the shitloads of bio-electricity that he now produced. A lot of it went over my head -- Peter was brilliant in a way that couldn't really be compared to, but when I saw that some of the designs meant replacing parts of his spine… I realized smart didn't exactly mean wise. Even if the ideas did seem cool. In terms of gadgets and tools, I saw a pretty sizable spread.

Gloves and shoes that would harness static cling to let him stick to walls. Ball bearings with trace amounts of Gravitonium that he could manipulate with electricity, giving him sweeping control over an area of effect. And a few others of note. It was all fascinating to see, even if it did mean that Peter had been counting on being given some Gravitonium in the first place. Not that I minded -- so long as I had enough to fill my lava lamp, I didn't mind spreading the love.

Leaving the book as it was, I headed back to see Peter managed to sit on the edge of the cot, dragging a towel down his face. I tossed the wand to him, and without looking, he caught it.

He seemed surprised by it. "That was weird," Peter muttered, frowning lightly. "I… it felt like… I don't know," Peter failed to describe it as his brow furrowed.

"Like a third eye opening?" I offered, curious as to what it was too. This was pretty exciting.

His lips pursed, "Sort of? I feel more aware of things around me. Like I can see them even though I can't." He settled before he pressed the wand to himself and waited a moment. Then his breathing hitched and I peeked over his shoulder -- 10,000 volts. Almost to the dot. "That's too much."

"More than you were expecting?"

"Way more," Peter admitted, clearly a bit nervous. "I shouldn't even have half of that. A third of it was my extreme estimate. Ten thousand volts is enough to seriously injure someone. I don't think I should ever drink more of that stuff -- I'm not sure how much it would increase."

Peter and I were very different people even if we were friends. To me, that sounded like an excuse to gulp down more Divine Water until I could shoot lightning bolts from my fingertips. "Your call. You should take a day, Pete -- rest up and recover before you start testing out your new powers. See your upper limits and fine control. More reliable data, that way." I pointed out to him when he started to argue. "And maybe take a shower. You stink."

That got a shallow smile from him, "You're right. On both accounts. I can smell myself," he admitted. "What will you do?" He asked me, and I just smirked.

"I got a hot date!"

…

The British museum was silent as a grave as I stalked through the halls. My hood was up, letting me approach the one security guard on duty that was nose deep in a book. Reaching out, I pressed a slip of tape on the back of his neck, making him flinch ever so slightly before his head dropped. A chemical compound that Peter whipped up that knocked people right out. The one downside being that it was based off a person's DNA.

With him asleep, I rolled him back a bit to make room so I could slot in a thumb drive, allowing Ned to take over the security systems with ease. One by one, I saw the loop establish itself while the security alarms were snipped. "You're good," Ned told me after a moment. "Have fun! I'll… look after Peter. Make sure he doesn't hurt himself with his powers," Ned told me, an odd note in his voice.

"You're the best, Ned," I told him, offering reassurance. I knew that with Peter, the dynamic of the group would change. Until now, Peter had been behind a desk, building neat shit for me to use. Now, he would be out there with me or doing his own thing just as much. I wasn't surprised that Ned felt a little left behind. "I'll see you later," I told him, getting a 'see ya' in return. I stood there for a moment, considering things.

I didn't want Ned to feel like we were leaving him behind. He was doing great work as a hacker, he was half the reason what we did was possible, but I could understand that wouldn't register with him -- what was hacking in comparison to shooting lightning from your fingertips, or flying? A lot, but it wouldn't make him feel… special, for lack of a better word. Mundane in the face of the extraordinary.

"He has that spark of magic," I mused, pushing my hood back and rolling the security guard in place. Maybe that spark could become a flame with the right tutelage or item. I would need to reach out to a sorcerer, and the most stable group of them was Kamar-Taj, but I wasn't entirely sure if it was a good idea to approach them for… family related reasons. I couldn't imagine that they would be particularly happy with my entire existence.

I decided to put a pin in it and walked into the dark museum. It was pretty creepy when no one was there, with only dark statues standing guard. Reaching the central point for where the plundering would begin, I opened up a portal before I took out the Golden Scarab. The scarab flew to the portal and, for once, appeared somewhere convenient, letting the portal connect directly to the Cave of Wonders.

"Neat trick," I heard a silken voice muse from above and looking up, I saw Felicia looking down at me, perched on top of the rafters. There was a smile in her voice that hadn't quite masked her surprise. I had no idea how long she had been here, but I suppose what mattered was that she was here.

"You didn't think that we would be carrying everything out in a U-Haul, did you?" I asked her, approaching the exhibit that contained the vibranium. With a glass cutter, I carved a wide hole into the surface and used a suction cup to remove the glass entirely. Reaching in, I grabbed hold of the vibranium axe, then the war club, before I smacked the two together. They hummed, the rust evaporating from their surfaces. Nice. I tossed them into the Cave and saw Felicia had made her way down to the ground. "So, did you settle on what you wanted?"

To that, she simply chuckled and linked her arm with mine. "I think I should do some window shopping before I decide," she said, her bright blue eyes dancing with amusement. "How about a tour?"

"It would be my pleasure."