1066 bnn
Chapter 12: Returning to Reality
With my core group of followers gathered around me, I tapped my Existence Manipulation power and tore open the fabric of space and time. A glowing blue portal appeared in front of me, sparking and crackling as streamers of white lightning played over its surface. I stepped into the dimensional anomaly and strode forward. Following in my wake were the six Pokolyptian women most dear to my heart, all of whom had chosen to accompany me of their own free will. Well, 'chosen' might not have been the best term… They had pretty much forced me to let them tag along using a variety of different means.
I emerged on the other side of glowing rent in the fabric of reality, once more entering the city of Brockton Bay. I looked around the ally that I had first appeared in when I'd arrived here. It had been nearly five years from my point of view since I'd last set foot on Earth Bet. From the perspective of the people in this quantum reality, however, it had been only a few days since I'd debuted as the independent hero PomPoko, and only seconds since I had 'left'... not that anyone even knew that I had gone elsewhere.
I stepped to the side, making room for my entourage to follow me through the portal. Lydia stepped through first, followed quickly by the twins, Jenni and Junni. The nearly identical women skipped through the glowing eldritch fissure in step with one-another while holding hands, joyous smiles on their face at the prospect of finally seeing a brand new world after having spent a lifetime in the small paradise dimension I had created with my powers. Lispeth and Allie emerged together a few seconds later, walking side by side as they glanced about curiously. Selene came through last, bringing up the rear; she'd had a hard time saying goodbye to our children, and the gentle natured woman been giving some of our older girls a few last-minute hugs and kisses. Honestly, I had the same problem... I was going to miss my children terribly while I was away; I just hid it better than Selene.
With the last of my inner circle present, I closed the inter-reality gateway with a thought, sealing the portal to keep Pokolyptia safe from foreign invasion. I had 'frozen time' before I left Earth Bet (more like isolating myself from the timestream), and I was gratified to see that the passage of time was still at a standstill from the perspective of myself and my companions. With another thought I resumed the normal acceleration of the universe, letting the passage of time once again affect me and mine.
The girls looked around in all directions, taking in the new world around them. Lydia was running her finger over the brickwork of the building that made up one side of the alleyway while Jenni and Junni stared at an overflowing dumpster with shock and disgust etched on their beautiful teenage faces. Predictably Selene had glommed onto me, wrapping both of her arms around one of mine and pressing herself against my side tightly. The softly spoken tanuki morph leaned her head against my upper arm and stared at the cars moving down the road just outside of the alley we stood in, a look of curiosity and elation on her face.
Bored, Allie had parkoured up the walls of the buildings on either side of the narrow alleyway. She was crouched down on the corner of the taller building's roof and was looking all around, her sharp gaze taking in everything. Her hungry eyes drank in the city around us, a look of wonderment pasted across her gorgeous features as she whipped her head from side to side eagerly. I smiled at her antics; Allie was always looking for something to do, and she was easily bored between pastimes. She had been looking forward to this trip for years, and the white haired Pokolyptian was determined to have an amazing time on her 'vacation'.
Lispeth was gazing up into the night sky with a look of shock and wonderment on her face. Thanks to my own telepathy, I knew that it was the thousands of sentient minds all around us that had entranced her, rather than the stars above our heads. The little telepath's mental magic was busy lightly touching each of the minds within her range and giving each of them a quick peek, identifying them and adding each sapient mind's unique 'flavor' to her mental database. She wasn't invading anyone's privacy… Lispeth was merely marking the people around her so that she could quickly and easily recognize any of the minds if they came into her range at a later time. This was something of a habit of hers, as it made identifying and keeping track of the people around her ridiculously easy.
"As fascinating as this alleyway is, I think it's time we got moving," I said, humor present in my voice as I swept my head around to look at each member of my little harem.
Lydia nodded, and the twins tore their eyes from the vile mess all around us. A quick telepathic <OK.> from Lispeth quickly followed. Allie jumped down from the roof, making a perfect and completely silent three-point landing just behind where I stood. Selene responded by squeezing my arm and pressing her enormous milk filled breasts against me even harder than before. A light blush spread across the healer's cheeks as she tore her eyes from the passing vehicles on the road that ran perpendicular to the alleyway we were ensconced in. Selene was definitely excited to be here… and in more ways than one as the faint whiff of her arousal attested.
"To where do we travel, my Lord?" asked Lydia, shifting into her 'professional soldier' mode. I had absolutely no idea where she had gotten that… Pokolyptia didn't even have soldiers. The others looked to me questioningly, waiting to hear where we were going. Well. Now that her warehouse home was in another dimension, I should probably seek out Kerako and let her know about her change of address. I chuckled under my breath… it was kind of funny that my creation of an entire race of superpowered beings and the universe that they inhabited had begun as a simple home renovation project.
"We're going to find my crime-fighting partner, Kirikawa Kerako. When I created Pokolyptia, I used her warehouse and the land it was on as a base to craft the rest of the Universe from, so I need to let her know where her home and possessions now reside." Lydia blinked, before smiling sweetly and nodding in understanding; every Pokolyptian knew who Kerako was, and how their whole world was crafted from the little fox-girl's dwelling. The rest of the girls were looking at me curiously, waiting to see if I was planning to elaborate on the thought that Kerako didn't know her home was host to a whole other world.
"Remember, no time at all has passed in this dimension since I left... For Kerako, and everyone else on Earth Bet, it will have seemed like I was here the entire time… even though I spent nearly five years with you all in a completely different quantum reality. I plan to tell Kerako, and maybe a few others about my absence. Let's keep that information under wraps though in front of others, unless I bring it up first." Nods, murmurs, and telepathically generated thoughts of agreement answered my statement.
I had previously tagged Kerako with my 'Recall' power, so it was the work of less than a second to get a read on her location. She was currently flying through the air, on a trajectory that would take her back to the warehouse in less than twenty minutes, so long as she maintained her current speed. I would need to get moving so that she didn't find the now-empty warehouse and freak out. If I remembered correctly, then she was probably still going to be mad at me for my abysmal treatment of Taylor during the girl's trigger event.
It had been several years since that had happened from my point of view, but thanks to my perfect memory I could recall details like that with supernatural clarity. I had done some heavy reflection and soul searching over the years... and in retrospect I had acted like a callous asshole by letting Taylor's mistreatment and her subsequent trigger happen without intervening. With the wealth of power I possessed, it wouldn't have been any kind of hardship to simply recreate the power I'd copied from her, or even to make a better one. And yet I had still allowed her to suffer, out of some misplaced idea that the superpower she would receive from the Queen Administrator shard might somehow possess special qualities or attributes that I was incapable of matching with my prodigious Trump abilities.
I had made two major mistakes in regards to Taylor... The first was ignoring my conscience. I had watched her being harmed and suffering without doing anything about it until well after the fact. My second mistake was putting the 'Queen Administrator' shard on a pedestal. In the web novel 'Worm', Taylor's power had allowed her to save the Earth. All of the Earths, even. I had doubted my own abilities to the degree that I decided obtaining a power from the QA shard was important enough to allow Taylor to come to harm under my watch.
I wasn't perfect… not by a long shot. I knew that there were countless people being harmed in the world, and that I was doing effectively nothing to help them at this time. I could be saving or improving lives all around the globe if I chose, averting tragedies and righting wrongs. I didn't feel bad about that… well, not too bad, at least. I had a plan to help them someday, which would handily make up for my neglect right now… but for all I knew, I might die before I could carry it out. The difference between Taylor's situation and all of the people I wasn't helping was that I knew what was going to happen to Taylor ahead of time. I could have easily prevented her from coming to harm, and despite that I hadn't done a damn thing.Shit… I had wanted the 'locker incident' to happen! It was a bad call, and I felt bad. And rightly so; when Kitsune had confronted me about what I'd done, it had made me feel about two inches tall. There was nothing to do for it except to move forward. And now that I was back from my working vacation, it was time to make things right with my friend and superheroing partner. I hoped that she would be able to see past my errors in judgement and forgive me. Kerako was a good kid who needed a lot of help... I certainly didn't want to see our burgeoning friendship ruined due to my lapse in judgement.
"Alright, I've spotted her. We'll be flying, so everyone stick with me in the air. If we're approached by anyone else with powers, then it will likely either be a member of the Protectorate or the vigilante group 'New Wave'. They're both hero groups, so we should be fine. In the unlikely event that we encounter a villain, I'll take care of them while you all continue on to our destination."
"Of course, Lord," replied Lydia, her eyes filled with love and devotion. The others nodded or spoke their assent, and my group and I quickly made our way into the air. Unless they had a chakra bloodline that allowed for levitation, most Pokolyptians tended to use their magic to fly. Tanukis like Lydia, Selene, Junni, Lispeth, and myself flew by "flapping" our tails up and down like a bird beating its wings while infusing our uber-fluffy rear appendages with mana; this generated lift and thrust, allowing us to fly. Kitsune girls like Allie and Jenni spun their twin fox tails like helicopter blades using their magic when they flew.
As a result of these different methods of flight, Tanukis tended to be slightly faster fliers, but we needed a bit of a 'runway' to takeoff. Well, not me of course, but other Tanuki morphs did. Kitsune morphs, on the other hand, were VTOL capable and could effortlessly hover in place. They tended to burn a little more mana than Tanukis when they flew, and they were a tad bit slower on average, but not significantly. Both styles of flight were dependant on our tails and looked awesome as fuck in my opinion.
The seven of us ascended gracefully into the air, the kitsunes in our group taking off vertically while the tanuki girls and I got a slight running start. I could have risen straight up, but Selene was still pressing her bountiful breasts into my left arm as she held onto it tightly, and I didn't quite feel like dislodging her. Never one to be outdone by her sister-wives, Lydia had claimed my right arm, pressing her own sizeable assets against me as she held onto it tightly, sandwiching me between the two wonderfully buxom tanuki women. The three of us took off together, rising into the air steadily and easily catching up with our fox-tailed companions. Junni trailed us as we took off, following the three of us into the air until we met up with the others.
I led the way through the skies with a girl on either side and the other four trailing behind. Ever the jokesters, Jenni and Junni had grabbed little Lispeth on either side, imitating Lydia and Selene's hold on me, sensuously rubbing and grinding their lush teenage breasts against the littlest tanuki's childlike body. They giggled madly when Lispeth gladed as them balefully, her bright yellow eyes actually glowing as she berated them telepathically. When the twins didn't let go right away, the smaller girl manifested two enormous paper wings in less than an instant using her chakra bloodline. Smirking evilly, the little tanuki-morph swatted the two jokers hard enough to launch the pair several dozen meters to either side. I shook my head ruefully; those two always pushed things just a little bit too far. I knew from personal experience that they actually loved it when they went too far and someone 'put them in their place'. My eyes glazed over for a moment while I recalled all of the times Jenni and Junni had been 'bad girls' and I had to 'punish' them… unsurprisingly, there were lots of incidents like that between me and the pair of nearly identical twins.
I slowed down a bit and shook my head to clear those thoughts from my mind as the twins flew madly through the air to catch up with the rest of us. I resumed my previous speed as they re-joined the group, rueful grins on the gorgeous redheaded girls' faces. I caught a glimpse of little Lispeth from the corner of my eye. She had chosen to keep her paper wings and was now using them to propel her way through the sky with the help of a low-level wind technique, rather than tanuki magic. Lispeth looked at the twins with a smug grin on her face, visibly pleased at getting one over on them. The rest of the girls were smiling along as well, no one brighter than the twins themselves. Jenni and Junni were just plain fun to be around; the pranks they liked to play were always harmless and they never sought to embarrass or belittle anyone. Our spirits lifted by the two jokesters antics, we continued on to our destination in a more sedate manner.
As the warehouse neared, dawn began to break. The formerly dark sky filled with streamers of red and gold that splashed against the wispy clouds on the horizon as the sun rose. All of the girls were staring at the sunrise in fascination; they had never seen a real Earth sunrise before, just the movements of the miniature star that I had created to warm and light Pokolyptia. Lydia and Selene cuddled against me snuggly as they stared, both pairs of nipple rock hard as they stood transfixed by the beautiful sight. Even I had to admit that this particular sunrise was especially lovely this cold January morning. The rest of my harem slowly descended to the roof of the warehouse, looking around curiously and talking amongst themselves. It looked as if we'd arrived a few moments before Kerako showed up.
The womenfolk and I eventually sat down on the roof of the empty shell that I had left in place of the original building. I sat on the flat plan atop the building cross legged, and the rest of my girls either settled in my lap or leaned up against me so that we could all cuddle up and enjoy the pretty show in the sky while we waited for Kerako to get here. It was nice to be eight feet tall and proportionally large... all of my girls could snuggle up on me at once. Shortly the dawn broke, heralding the arrival of the person we had come to meet.
I watched Kerako's distant form grow larger as she approached, moving through the air using the high-speed flight power I'd given her. The girls on my lap hopped off of my lap as I began climbing to my feet. Levitating into the air a few feet so that I would be visible, I waved at the fox-girl as she moved ever closer to the roof of the warehouse that she called home. In a burst of intense speed Kerako, landed right in front of me, a questioning look on her face at the presence of so many strangers. Smiling, I stepped forward to greet my diminutive partner.
"Kitsune! It's good to see you," I told her, taking care to use her cape name. From my point of view it had been nearly half a decade since I'd last seen the small asian girl, and I had missed her quite a bit for someone I'd only known for a few days. Kerako was looking at me warily, her eyes darting to the six Pokolyptian women lounging on the rooftop behind me; I purposely prevented telepathy and my other super-sensory powers from reading her, as I didn't want to invade the young girl's privacy.
"Hi Poko-ni," she chirped. "Who are they?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of my inner circle. I gave my partner a sly smile.
"Oh, them?" I asked, my eyes darting in the direction of my harem. "That's my harem." I told her. Kerako smiled and nodded happily before the bomb I had just dropped on her fully penetrated her consciousness. When she understood what I'd just told her, the little fox girl did a real life double-take, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at me incredulously.
"WHAT!? You're married to all these women? When did you get a freakin' harem, ni-san!?" shouted Kerako wildly, her arms flailing like a cartoon character's. I could see a large, swollen vein appear directly over her left eye. The prominent blood vessel began to twitch madly as she stared at me in surprise. The young girl's face held the perfect mixture of shock and incredulity; I couldn't help but laugh at the face she was making. Kitsune frowned, before giving me a searching look, waiting for my answer.
"Well, it varies for each of them. Lydia and I have been together for almost five years, and Allie and I almost that long," I told her. The girls in question raised their hands as I named them.
"Selene and I got together about four years ago, and Lispeth about two and a half…" I said, tapping my chin in thought. The same vein as before was pulsing in morse code now, and little Kerako's face was rapidly turning a very vivid shade of red. My tiny partner stared at me with anger on her face as I casually told her about my many lovers, who I had apparently failed to mention when we joined forces a few days before.
"The twins, Jenni and Junni-" A boisterous "Hi!" was shouted out in stereo by the nearly identical girls as I gave Kitsune their names, "-and I have only been an item for just under two years."
Kerako looked over the small group of gorgeous women on the rooftop, chewing her lower lip in thought as she slowly cooled down. She turned to look at me with a unreadable look in her eyes, before returning to the girls. Finally, she nodded once and smiled. Before I even knew what was happening, Kerako was right in front of me, with her little foot extended. She had just kicked me in the shin... and hard, too! The foxy junior heroine had just enough super strength that I felt a small, sharp sensation of pain when her kick landed, causing me to yelp out loud.
"Ow! What in the hell was that for!?" I cried, wincing at the rapidly fading pain. The hint of discomfort from Kerako's kick only lasted a second, but it did hurt. I realized that I really wasn't used to feeling pain any more, because I would have barely even felt a little love tap like that back when I had a crumby mortal body. Well, a similar kick that was proportional to my human durability, anyway; the little teen's attack would have sheared off the bottom of my leg and turned it to mush if I was still mortal. Kerako smiled sweetly at me as I rubbed the spot on my leg where she'd gotten me.
"That was for not telling me that you were married… Or that you have SIX WIVES!" she yelled, the pretty young girl's face contorted into a scowl. "Plus, I'm still mad at you for being a big dummy-head and letting Taylor get hurt," she finished with a pout. I frowned; I had hoped that she would be over that by now… But I guess it had only been one night since the locker debacle happened from her point of view.
Lydia was looking at Kitsune like she was some rare breed of animal, studying the young teenager intently. I could tell that my first consort wasn't exactly happy that the kid had just given me a kick, but it was clear that annoyance wasn't the only reason that she was staring at Kerako. I would have to ask her later what the odd look she threw my sidekick was all about.
"I'm sorry, sweetie," I told her honestly. "You are completely right... I messed up bad. I should have rescued Taylor as soon as I knew what was going on. I promise that I will never do anything like that again… I don't think I could live with myself if I did…" Kerako studied me intently for a second before visibly deflating. The raven haired fox girl took three quick steps forward before launching her small body into my arms, tears streaming from her eyes. Smiling, I wrapped my arms around Kerako as caught her, hugging the little superhero close. The young fox girl buried her head into my chest as she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me back as hard as she was capable of.
"It's ok," she whispered shyly while looking up at me through her long, wet eyelashes. Sniffing a few times, her tears quickly faded and she dried her face off on my kimono. When she was once again back to normal, Kerako shot me a wicked smirk.
"Now, tell me all about this 'harem' of yours, Poko-ni... and why one of the girls you're doing 'that' with is even younger than I am." Kerako was giving me the stink eye again as she said that last part, though I was pretty sure she wasn't actually angry. At least she was giving me a chance to explain this time before doling out another dose of minor physical violence. That was something, at least.
Shaking my head in amusement, I created an oversized sectional sofa that was large enough to seat us all. I smiled as a few of my girls gave me nods and looks of gratitude as they seated themselves on the comfortable looking piece of furniture. Smiling, I plopped down with Kitsune in my lap and began to tell her all about the artificial universe full of magical tanuki and fox girls that I had created using my powers. All told, the explanation took hours, as my little partner demanded that I expand upon details after detail, her eyes lighting up merrily as I told my story. By the time I was done, several hours had passed, and we'd eaten two meals over the course of my impromptu oration.
. . .
. . .
At the end of my retelling, we ended up taking a trip to Pokolyptia so that Kitsune could get a good night's sleep in her dimensionally relocated home and begin to get acquainted with the new world that she had decided to reside in. A day later the girls and I emerged from the permanent portal that I had installed in the husk of the gutted warehouse. I congratulated myself for creating the compressed time effect inside of Pokolyptia; even though less than a day had passed in Earth Bet, we had lived through more than four full days inside of the tiny quantum Universe that I had built.
I had explained everything that I could to Kerako, including the fact that I hadn't seen her for nearly five years from my perspective, even though from her perspective I had been gone for less than a day. To her credit, the barely teenaged girl had immediately apologized for kicking me in the shin earlier, visibly ashamed at having attacked me for something that had happened years ago from my point of view.
Kerako was almost embarrassingly contrite for basically calling me out as a pervert earlier, when she'd noticed how young Lispeth looked… at least once she'd learned that the tiny telepath was actually in her mid twenties. Interestingly enough, the two small girls got along astoundingly well, despite Kerako's earlier accusation. Since nearly the moment they met, Kerako and Lispeth were as thick as thieves, the little fox girl whispering and signing while the older, yet younger looking telepath sent my crime fighting buddy shielded tight-band mental communications. I think it helped that Kerako was fluent in sign language, something that few Pokolyptians were willing to invest time in learning since Lispeth was the only person who actually benefitted from its use. After Kerako's nap, Lispeth had offered to let my sidekick copy a few low-to-mid rank wind nature techniques that she was proficient in using her Sharingan. Kerako hadn't ever used elemental attacks before, so she was effusive in her thanks for the opportunity.
Kerako had also opted to be converted into a full Pokolyptian once the girls had acquainted her with all of the benefits. In addition to her normal powers, my sidekick would gain the ability to use Kitsune magic, as well as an indefinite lifespan. The teenage foxgirl had also been surprisingly excited by the prospect of becoming dual-gendered, as all Pokolyptians girls are, when Lydia had informed her of that particular detail. Frankly, it surprised me as well; I hadn't thought that unassuming little Kerako would be interested in growing a fully functional set of retractable male genitals… I guess it just went to show that you should never make assumptions about people, especially when it comes to sex.
It took a little over ten minutes to convert my heroing companion into a true Pokolyptian. I used a modified version of the process that I had developed to create the first group of Pokolyptian girls. I began infusing Kerako with mana and resequencing her genes while she stood in an isolation field, her body held in suspended animation for her own safety as I worked. I didn't need to add Chakra to her makeup, as she already had it… Hell, Kitsune had been the source of mine and the other Pokolypyian's Chakra.
I had to perform Kerako's treatment process more slowly and carefully than I had the other girls, as I was modifying an existing person instead of merely building one from scratch. I definitely didn't want to harm the cute little nuisance who had generously given me a place to stay and the pleasure of her company when I first arrived on Earth Bet. Even after so short an association, little Kerako was already dear to my heart, almost like another daughter. The thought of accidentally hurting her made me feel sick to my stomach. Thankfully, the process went off without a hitch; I would never even have attempted it had I thought it would go otherwise.
When I was finished 'upgrading' Kerako, I dropped the isolation force field. Completely unnecessary smoke billowed out of the tube dramatically as the raven haired kitsune girl stepped forward, conveniently shadowed from view for a moment. The rest of us were sitting on a copy of the comfy sectional that I'd created earlier, and my girls were watching the show with rapt attention. Kerako took a step forward into the light. Sitting beside me, Lydia was on the edge of her seat as my young partner tiptoed into view… and the stacked greenette nearly face-faulted when she realized that the kitsune morph looked exactly the same as she had previously!
"My Lord, why is Kerako's physical form identical to that which it was previously?" asked Lydia. Her voice was full of confusion.
"Yeah!"... "Yeah!" echoed Jenni and Junni in stereo.
"I'm curious too, Beloved… Why does your apprentice still have slitted eyes and real fox ears, instead of human-normal eyes and hair in the shape of ears like the rest of us?" Selene whispered directly into my ear from her place next to me, her huge breasts tickling my ribcage as she stuck to my side like a limpet. I scratched my head at all the questions, a single thought rolling through my head.
'Man,', I thought, 'I'm sure making a lot of couches these days!' Placing my ruminations on hold, I turned to address my wives.
"There's a very good answer to that question," I told them. Six beautiful faces leaned forward to hear my next words. "It's because Kerako's current appearance is generated by a superpower that she is keeping active… This is not her actual appearance. Kerako, can you please turn off the Changer power I gave you a few days ago?"
Kerako smiled as she disengaged the Kitsune-based disguise power that I'd made for her at her request the other day. Suddenly, a stunningly beautiful teenager was standing in front of the sofa the rest of us were lounging on, her pearly white teeth gleaming as she shot us a sunny smile. The raven-haired girl struck a pose, clasping her hands behind her back and spreading her feet wide apart while she thrust her chin into the air proudly. I smiled at the results of the gene resequencing I'd given the teen. Kerako's appearance was similar to what she'd looked like previously… only better in every way that counted.
The little asian teen was curvier now. Her tight little body sported a round bubble butt and a pair of pointy, cone shaped c-cups capped with big puffy nipples. Her assets were clearly visible through the thin white shirt she was wearing, which was at least one size too small for her torso, thanks to her transformation. Kerako's face had changed as well; she was still noticeably herself, but her features had been adjusted slightly, refined and made perfectly symmetrical by the genetic resequencing and transformative magics that I had just finished employing.
Kerako now had the trademark tufts of hair on the top of her head that looked like fox ears, though hers were smaller than average. She also sported the slightly lengthened canine teeth that were common among Pokolyptians, and a set of three thin whisker-like facial markings on each cheek that perhaps a third of kitsune girls sported. Kerako's dark eyes had also changed from their previous black color, magically shifted into a startlingly gorgeous shade of indigo. Looking over the still-posing girl, I smiled and began clapping, shortly joined by the rest of my girls. The process of fully transforming Kirakawa Kerako into a Pokolyptian had worked perfectly.
As I watched Kerako stand in front of me proudly with her twin raven colored fox tails waving playfully behind her, I realized that this young girl was just as beautiful as the other Pokolyptians women in the room. Kerako fit in with the others well enough that she would be able to walk down the street in Pokolyptia and no one would bat an eye at her. My eyes opened wide as the little sweetheart licked her lips, running a tiny pink tongue over lush, plump lips. I felt my heart begin to beat slightly faster, and my pants began to get just a little tighter than they had been a moment before.
"So? How do I look, Poko-ni?" asked the teenage girl shyly. As Kerako stared at me intently, I could suddenly tell that she was incredibly nervous. Giving her a wink and a smile, I conjured a full body mirror with a lazy wave of my hand. The new Pokolyptian girl immediately turned to look at her own reflection. The teenage neo-kitsune morph spent so long staring at herself in the mirror that I began to worry that there was something wrong. Just as I was about to ask if she was alright, my train of thought was interrupted by a flying ball of sobbing, dark-haired kitsune girl slamming into my chest at super-speed.
"I love it!" cried Kerako as she hugged me tight enough that I could tell she had a Brute rating. "I'm so pretty, now! Oh my GOD, my eyes are so gorgeous! And with legs like these I would look so good in a dress…"
Jenni and Junni shot up from their seats when Kerako mentioned clothes, their eyes alight with glee. Sharing a wicked grin with one another, the twins grabbed Kerako and dragged her first off of my body, and then from the room, giggling all the while. The beatific smile on my sidekick's face never faded as she was frog-marched from my living room as Jenni and Junni started to talk about how good she was going to look in this outfit or that. Lispeth got up trailed behind the twins and their latest 'victim' silently, a blindingly beautiful smile dancing across her face. The tiny telepath appeared all-too eager to be a part of her new friend's makeover, despite not showing much interest in that kind of thing in the past. Lispeth must really like the little asian girl, I realized. Kerako was incredibly lucky to have a friend like Lispeth… once the mute tanuki girl gave of herself to someone, then she was loyal to them for life.
I smiled at the heartwarming sight; it was absolutely wonderful to see my family treating Kerako as one of their own. The women who I'd taken as my wives might be quite different from one another, but they all had at least one thing in common; each and every one of my girls was both generous and innately compassionate. Time and time again, I have found myself inordinately pleased with the group of wonderful, amazing girls that I had chosen to surround myself with. I only hoped that being with me made each member of my harem as happy as I was due to their presence in my life.
Lydia, Selene, and Allie remained behind with me in the main living room of our massive home, chuckling as Lispeth and the twins drug Kerako off to play dress-up with her. I turned to look at the three incredibly beautiful women, all of whom were sitting very close to me on the sofa. Lydia and Selene were, predictably, snuggled up against each of my sides with their big breasts pressed up against my body. As my body began to heat up, I shot the girls on either side of me a smouldering look, before turning to direct my lustful gaze at Allie.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and equal portions of love and intense carnal desire for the trio of incredibly sexy women flooded my being. As I wrapped my arms around Lydia and Selene, pulling them close, I knew immediately that I wasn't going to be able to get anything done until I addressed the powerful need that was growing within my body by the second. My cock began to throb powerfully in my hakama pants, and my huge scrotum began to plump as blood filled my massive reproductive organs.
The sweet, delicious smell of fertile pussy assaulted my nose as my wives bodies began responding to my growing arousal on an instinctive level, Lydia's over productive ovaries priming themselves to drop an one or more eggs due to my presence. Allie and Selene, as always, were already pregnant; both of them had pleaded for me to inseminate their tight pussies immediately following the delivery of their last sets of children. Like a good spouse, I had happily and extremely eagerly complied with their wishes.
All of my girls could read me like a book by this point, so the trio of beauties knew exactly what was on my mind as soon as the large, toothy smile broke out on my face. I sighed in bliss as Selene and Allie slipped down to the floor and begin removing my hakama pants, while Lydia stood up to undress, slowly swaying her wide hips back and forth erotically as she began to languidly remove her clothes. A single thought popped into my head as a pair of gorgeous, lustful faces descended on my exposed lower body.
'Damn, it's good to be me!'
. . .
. . .
As I exited the warehouse that contained the portal to Pokolyptia, I smiled. Not only had my day been productive, it had been fun as well. My eyes darted to little Kerako, who was floating through the air several yards behind the rest of our group. Her eyes were glazed over, and a big, dumb grin dominated her face. I suspected that Lispeth and the twins hadn't just helped her try on clothes back there. From the way she looked, I suspected that they had also helped pretty little Kerako get acquainted with her new body in other, more pleasant ways. And that was exactly as it should be; Junni, Jenni, and Lispeth were all in love with me, and I with them... but I didn't own them. We were all free to take as many or as few other lovers as we liked, and no one would suffer hurt feelings for it. Pokolyptian culture was awesome like that.
In our society, people in long term, committed relationships generally had sex with people outside of their relationships whenever they wished, and generally without any ill feelings from their partners. This wasn't something I'd engineered deliberately, but rather a natural consequence of promiscuous sex having absolutely no negative consequences for Pokolyptians. They were all selectively fertile, nearly insatiable, and were completely incapable of contracting diseases, sexually transmitted or otherwise. Really, it was surprising that there were any monogamous Pokolyptians at all. The few kitsune and tanuki morphs who kept to single partner weren't exactly looked down upon, but they were seen as just a bit odd… sort of like how the average American from my Earth thought that vegans were strange for not eating meat. It was delicious, so why not do it?
It had taken me a little while to get used to that aspect of Pokolyptian culture, but it wasn't exactly difficult, mostly thanks to my powers. The fact that Jenni, Junni, and Lispeth had probably fucked my cute little sidekick retarded didn't bother me in the slightest; quite the contrary, in fact. I was very much looking forward to hearing about it from Lispeth and the twins when we were together in bed later... Just the thought of hearing about my wives' latest adventure with sweet little thirteen year old Kerako was causing my manhood to begin swelling with desire. I quickly mastered myself and cleared my mind. There would be time for such things later.
The other members of my party had emerged from the warehouse and followed me into the sky as soon as I started rising into the air. We had been in Pokolyptia longer than I'd initially intended; I'd only wanted to stay for a few hours, but it had taken far longer than I'd thought it would for Kerako to see the sights and become familiar with the dimension of Pokolyptia. I'd also become a bit distracted by my subjects eagerness to welcome me back home after my 'long trip'...
I'd been gone all of two days, local time, but nonetheless there were quite a few Pokolyptian women who had insisted that they had sorely missed me. A few dozen extremely enthusiastic 'greetings' later, and I'd realized that over a day had passed in Earth Bet. On a completely unrelated note, I was now expecting another five or six dozen children exactly six months from now, Pokolyptian time. Funny, that.
It really was hard to keep track of dates and times when you were immortal and self-sustaining… especially when you were distracted by a mob of beautiful, insatiably horny women begging for your attention. I was lucky that I'd realized the time when I did; my scheduled meeting with the PRT was coming up soon and I did not want to miss it.
"Alright, ladies, this is where we part ways," I told them. "I'm expected at the PRT building in a little under an hour, so I'm going to head over there now. Kerako has very kindly offered to show you the sights and introduce you properly to this world. I hope that everyone has a good time. I'll probably be back tomorrow or the next day, as they said something about Master/Stranger testing. If they allow me to, I'll call Kerako's phone later to let you know. If the testing doesn't allow for phone access I'll send a telepathic message to Lispeth." I smiled at the small brown skinned woman, who gave me a stunning smile in return. I grinned at the adorably little girl, who also had the same radiant glow that Kerako possessed. They had definitely been up to something together, and I couldn't wait to hear the details.
I turned to stare at look twins. "Be good while I'm gone," I warned them with a wink and a smile. Jenni and Junni giggled at my light teasing.
"Have fun, Beloved," Selene whispered. The sheer erotiscism generated by her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Selene pouted adorably from her place wrapped around my arm, clutching the limb even tighter than she had previously, as if letting me go would cause her real physical pain.
I took the beautiful silver haired tanuki morph into my arms and gave her a long, deep kiss, gently massaging her enormous tongue as we sweetly and lovingly made out. Selene was the only woman in Pokolyptia who had a larger tongue than my own, and during our lovemaking she used to devastating effect on my enormous sex organs. When we broke apart, I wished the panting, flushed beauty a good day, adding that she should make sure and have fun with the rest of the girls. Lydia immediately took her place in my arms, and I repeated the farewell gesture, grasping her generous body and laying a lingering kiss on her full lips. The luscious mini-giantess nibbled lightly on my lower lip as I pulled away, whispering both a farewell and an extremely explicit promise into my ear as she walked back toward the rest of the group, swinging her hips as she strode away.
I had Jenni and Junni to contend with next, and like everything else in life, the beautiful redheaded sisters wished me a goodbye together. Jenni pressed her mouth against mine and initiated a searing, tongue filled goodbye kiss, ravaging my mouth furiously as Junni sucked and nibbled on my neck from her place right next to her twin sister. The two of them swapped places as I was groaning in pleasure from the two troublemakers' sexy, over the top actions. After swapping places with a seal-less replacement technique, one of their specialties, Jenni took a turn working over the other side of my neck as Junni took over furiously making out with me. Just as I was about to lose control and tear the clothes off of their lithe bodies and take them right then and there, the two brightly blushing girls broke away, giggling as I stood rooted in place, panting in frustrated lust.
God damn, the twins were sexy little teases. They were really going to get it when I returned from my appointment... which, I suddenly realized, was almost definitely the reason they had just riled me up like that. I forced my body to calm itself just as Lispeth hopped up into my arms, wrapping her arms and legs around me as I held her up by those plump little asscheeks of hers. My littlest lover gave me a huge hug as she connected to my mind, sharing with me the intense, nearly overwhelming feelings of love and sexual desire that she felt for me. Using the link that Lispeth had already established, I rained my own intense love for the dainty beauty down upon her. Her iridescent yellow eyes filled with intense emotion, Lispeth gave me a long, hot kiss on the lips, our tongues dueling, before suddenly hopping down, her entire being seemingly filled with frustration. Lispeth walked away with a quick wave as she headed over to talk with the still blissed-out Kerako, her eyes zeroing in on my sexy young teenage partner.
I smiled as Allie sauntered her sexy self over, the last of my harem to wish me a goodbye. The stacked teenage goddess slipped into my embrace and hugged me tightly, causing her huge milk filled jugs to pancake on my broad, muscular chest. I groaned as the pointy caps of her big baby feeders began to leak, soaking first her shirt and then my kimono as she whimpered in pleasure; her tits were astoundingly sensitive. I leaned down and captured the 'Top Breeder's' lips with my own and began kissing the white haired girl fiercely. I groaned into her mouth as my sweet, freshly pregnant wife returned my oral assault with interest, the smell of hot teenage pussy filling the air as we necked. When it was time to part, Allie took a moment to caress my groin with her small, soft hands as she disengaged, stroking my semi-erect manhood through my pants as she stared into my eyes lustfully. The white haired teen leaned forward and whispered her desire for the success of my outing, before slipping away to rejoin the others.
"Goodbye and good luck, my Lord," Allie whispered into my ear as she squeezed my cock as hard as she could, before quickly releasing the burning hot long of flesh and scampering away before I bent her over and took her on the warehouse's rooftop in front of everyone.
"Thanks, Allie," I replied, shoving my lust aside as I prepared to depart. The long, tortuously stimulating series of goodbyes finally at an end, I lifted off the ground and soared into the air toward PRT building.
Halfway to my destination, I realized that Armsmaster hadn't told me if I was supposed to meet him there or at the Protectorate base on the converted oil rig out in the bay. Since he hadn't specified the location of the meeting, it was probably because he expected me to show up in the same location we had been at when we setup the meeting in the first place; namely, the PRT building.
I shrugged; if Armsmaster wasn't present at the PRT building when I arrived, I could always teleport across town to the rig. It's not like it would be any trouble for me to do so.
I touched down about a block from the PRT building and walked the rest of the way there, as I didn't want to kick up a fuss by approaching too close to a secure government location while flying through the air. There were a pair of uniformed PRT soldiers at the door, each of them wearing the organization's signature riot armor and carrying a honkin' big assault rifle. Their helmets lent the pair a degree of anonymity... at least from people who weren't me. As soon as they were in range of Existence Manipulation, I could observe them all the way down to the subatomic level if I cared to. The troopers tensed up a little at my approach, and the larger one on the right clutched his gun a little bit tighter. I gave the pair a reassuring smile, inclining my head to them.
"Howdy, folks, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of your acquaintance before. At least, I didn't see either of you the morning before last, when I transferred a few of Brockton Bay's many wayward souls into the custody of the good Captain Smythe." I chuckled softly. "I'm PomPoko, an Independant hero, and I'm here for an appointment. Armsmaster requested that I go through power testing and a Master/Stranger screening so that I can get cleared to upgrade and empower the Protectorate and you fine upstanding PRT guys." I winked at the female soldier on the left, enjoying the blush that I could see her sporting beneath the tinted glass of her helmet.
"Just one moment sir, I have to check with control," replied the woman in a slightly sharp-sounding contralto voice. I nodded to indicate that I understood. She spoke into her radio softly, and shortly she received a reply. The door buzzed, and the male soldier opened the door for me.
"Please proceed to the front desk, sir. Armsmaster is waiting for you there," he told me. I gave him a friendly nod and walked inside, ducking down to avoid hitting my head on the top of the doorframe. One of the perils of being almost eight and half feet tall is having to watch out for things like that… especially in places like this. I figured that the PRT would take a dim view of me busting up their immaculate building with my superhumanly dense skull.
I saw Armsmaster standing next to the reception counter as soon as I was inside; it looked like he'd been waiting on me. The Tinker appeared to be reading something on an impressively thin tablet computer, but beneath his helmet his eyes were firmly fixed on me. He stared at me, unblinking as I approached, his face an inscrutable mask. I resisted the urge to pierce his thoughts with telepathy, as I didn't want to invade his privacy. I took care these days to to avoid immoral actions like that, both for the benefit of other people and for myself. I had no desire at all to become an uncaring monster that indulged its every whim at the cost of others; such a path would literally destroy me, killing off the person I am to fuel the creation of a monster the likes of which the world has never seen. I wasn't going to do that to all my wives and kids… they deserved better from me.
Once again, I reminded myself that I was a person first and a God second. Everyone deserves compassion and consideration just as much as I do, and for all of my power, I do not have the right to use it to take away other intelligent being's freedom of choice in most circumstances. This was part of what my Humanity, Perspective, and Compassion powers did for me; they acted as my conscious in situations where I thought about using my powers on those who had done no wrong, when there wasn't a clear and present need. These powers helped me to make the right choices… to put my desires in perspective, while reminding me how I had felt and seen the world when I was still entirely human… It was an aid that helped me to act compassionately toward those who did not command the might of the cosmos as I did.
I dismissed my uncharitable desire, leaving Armsmaster's mind firmly unmolested.
"Good morning, Armsmaster," I said cheerfully while inclining my head to the power armored hero. He returned my nod curtly.
"And a good morning to you as well, PomPoko," he replied in a near-monotone. "Please follow me to the testing area." I did just that, ducking under the doorframe leading into the hallway. Even though the ceilings were fairly tall in here in the PRT, for some reason they insisted on putting up short doorways, just like everyone else. Ducking through undersized portals was a very minor annoyance, only remarkable due to the frequency I had to do so… and yet somehow I never quite got used to it.
Pokolyptia didn't have short doorways. I'm just saying, is all. Fifth world problems, amirite?
"Thank you for agreeing to come in for testing today," said Armsmaster as he lead me to our destination. "It's an excellent first step toward building trust between the Protectorate and yourself." He paused for a moment, walking ahead of me in silence. From the contortions of his face I could tell that he was trying to find a good way to broach another subject with me. From his demeanor, I doubted it would be one that the Protectorate member was going to enjoy bringing up.
"Are you still adamant on remaining independent?" He asked abruptly. "After discussing your powers with the head of the PRT here in Brockton Bay, I've been authorized to offer you some very lucrative incentives, were you to change your mind. The protectorate is prepared to offer you a very healthy cash advance, as well as a more generous salary than new Protectorate heroes typically receive." I shook my head with a smile, sighing quietly.
"I apologize, Armsmaster, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to decline. I am extremely happy to cooperate with both the PRT and the Protectorate, but I value the freedom to act as I see fit far too much to join your fine organization." I said. I chuckled gently before continuing, my tone of voice jovial.
"I would be a really bad fit for the Protectorate," I told him confidingly. "I seriously doubt either you or I would be very happy, were I to join up. Besides, with me voluntarily cooperating you get nearly all of the benefits that you would have were I to join, without having to pay me," I joked. Armsmaster raise his eyebrow.
"You plan to empower PRT soldiers and 'upgrade' Protectorate heroes for free?" he asked incredulously. I nodded as we entered a large, gymnasium-like room filled with testing equipment.
"I do," I told him seriously. "Thanks to my power, money has very little meaning to me these days."
"I see," said Armsmaster tonelessly. I followed Armsmaster, ducking through another doorway. "We have arrived," he said, his voice even more wooden than it had been before. I frowned slightly. For someone who was supposed to be stoic, Colin Wallis was quite the temperamental gent.
Thanks to the various passive empathy powers I had in play, I could literally feel the jealousy radiating off of the parahuman standing beside me. I realized my mistake almost instantly after my hasty words. Being a Tinker, money was the lifeblood that fed his power. How many times had Armsmaster had to scrap projects, or scramble to find alternatives for parts and materials that he couldn't obtain due to a lack of funding? As one of the longest serving Protectorate Tinkers, I could only imagine he had run into problem like that a lot. Once I was cleared to augment existing capes, I promised myself that I would take care of that little issue for him forthwith.
"I'm sorry, Armsmaster; I honestly didn't mean any offense. Being a Tinker, I understand that resources and currency are extremely important to your ability. It's also something that I can help you with... once I'm cleared to, of course." He nodded, declining to reply to my statement verbally. I was happy to see the unhappy look slowly work itself free of his face.
As the Tinker and I finished up our conversation, a pair of labcoat wearing scientist-types stepped into the room. The first person through the door was an older caucasian woman with dyed red hair who looked like she was in her early sixties. The laugh lines on her face were especially pronounced, and a radiant smile crossed her face when she saw my power armored companion.
"Ah, Armsmaster! A pleasure to see you, as always," exclaimed the older woman. Her companion, a youngish man in his early-to-mid twenties, looked up from the tablet computer in his hands to give Armsmaster and I a nod before returning to whatever it was he was reading. Armsmaster gestured to me as he spoke to the woman.
"Doctor Carmen Miralda, this is PomPoko, the independent hero whose powers we will be testing today. PomPoko, Doctor Carmen Miralda, the researcher who will be conducting your power assessment," Armsmaster explained, introducing us to each other. The Tinker turned back to Dr. Miralda.
"I trust that you have read the briefing on PomPoko's powers?" he asked her seriously.
"Oh, yes!" she replied, giving the heroic Tinker a saucy wink. "How exciting! If the information on his parahuman abilities report is accurate, then we might be looking at the next Eidolon… or Scion, even." The researcher looked me up and down, appearing to assess me while sporting an infection grin. I couldn't help but smile back at the friendly seeming older woman.
Miralda was extremely tall for a woman, I noted; the good Doctor was a little under six and a half feet tall, and quite fit, especially for someone her age. I resisted the urge to blink as she continued to stare at me, still wearing a big toothy grin. Finally, the scientist chuckled and turned away abruptly and began walking across the large room we were standing in. The young man with the tablet turned to follow her, staying two or three feet behind Miralda as the woman moved forward quickly with long strides.
"Follow me, please," she called over her shoulder, "We have a lot of work to do!" Sighing, I caught up with the researcher, Armsmaster trailing behind me. She led us over to a device that looked like a cross between a dentist's chair and an MRI machine. It had a large salad bowl looking headgear hanging from a rack on the side of the chair, with scores of wires leading from the top of the strange looking cap into a computer interface on a nearby workbench.
"For our first test, I'm going to have you empower our first volunteer; Dr. Jack Lindsay," she said, gesturing to the dark haired young man reading the tablet, "...while I observe what effects, if any, the process has on his brain. The goal here is to see if your Trump power causes any mental side effects." I nodded to indicate that I understood.
"Sounds good, Doc." I replied. "What powers do you want me to give him?" I asked.
The young man put his tablet into one of the cargo pockets in his pants and then looked up to stare at me intently. I returned the intense look he gave me with a smile on my face. Jack Lindsay was an asian man of medium height with a large bushy mustache and a poor complexion; his face was greasy, and pockmarked with innumerable acne scars. I could feel both fear and excitement radiating off of him in equal measures.
"I'd like a healing power, if possible," replied Jack. I could feel his excitement an anticipation rise incredibly high as he made his request. "I'm a medical doctor, so a healing power like Panacea's would be amazing." Wow, this guy really had no idea what he was asking for, did he? I was not going to be giving this fellow unlimited touch-range biokinesis, that was for sure. I barely knew him, and the potential for abuse was horrendous with an ability like that.
"I'm sorry, but as I've not yet sampled Panacea's power I can't give you a copy of her ability. I'm confident that I can give you something quite similar, however. Would you prefer a power suitable for mass 'fire and forget' healing from long range, or a short-range power that offers detailed analysis of the patient's biology and the ability to do fine detail work, like Panacea can do?" I asked him seriously. Jack went incandescent with excitement upon hearing my words, and he replied to my question almost before I had finished speaking.
"Can I get both?" he blurted out in a cracked voice. I nodded to him, smiling.
"Sure, I can do that. I haven't yet found a limit for how many powers I can give someone... though I haven't really pushed that particular aspect of my power. I can also do a thing where I roll multiple powers up into a single package, since it makes it a little bit easier for me to manage them that way. Let's get you all hooked up to that machine; while you're doing that I'll put together a neat little 'Healer package' so that we can do this all scientific-like." I winked at Doctor Miralda as I said this, causing the merry scientist to smile.
The female researcher worked quickly and efficiently, seating Dr. Lindsay in the brain monitoring machine and fitting him with the strange-looking headpiece. While they were busy, I worked to assemble a comprehensive suite of healing powers suitable for a medical doctor. I tapped my chest several times, creating sub-powers that, while individually weak or limited in their capabilities, would allow for an enormous degree of power and flexibility once combined.
I started by making a biological mapping ability similar to Panacea's, but more powerful and versatile. It was capable of sensing living organisms either singly or in groups, and in as much or as little detail as the user of the power wished. Next, I created a cognitive enhancement suite that included increases to the user's multitasking ability, cognition speed, memory, deductive reasoning, the five basic senses, and learning speed. I combined the first two powers after enhancing them with PM, and then enhanced the combined powerset once more. My philosophy was that if I wasn't squeezing every ounce of strength out of a power that I built, then I simply wasn't trying.
After preparing the Thinker subset, I put together a ranged regeneration power that could affect large groups of people, for situations where rapid, indiscriminate healing was needed. This would be an excellent ability for triage situations, as it would allow the wielder to stabilize a large group of wounded without stopping to assess their individual conditions. Next, I created, boosted, and melded several component abilities that together created something approaching Panacea's biokinesis power. I limited it to humans and their internal and external flora and parasites, and placed several restrictions that would prevent the user from creating horrifying monsters or superbugs. I certainly didn't want to see someone using a power I supplied to become another Bonesaw.
These amazing healing abilities would do Dr. Lindsay no good if he was was too dead to use them, so I included copies of the major superhuman regeneration and superhuman durability powers from my library. I threw in a copy of the matter/energy engine as well, and integrated it into the growing package in such a manner that biomass generation would be well within the suite's capabilities. I made sure that each of the component powers had been made as potent as possible with Power Manipulation before assembling all of the pieces into a coherent whole, subtly tweaking and integrating every single component for the greatest effect as I added it into the mix. Another application of PM to the end result to further boost the healing ability's potency, and I was finished.
When my attention returned to the here-and-now, I saw the other three occupants of the room staring at me. I suppose I had been a bit out of it while I was building the Healing suite, but that was no reason for them to be rude. I hadn't taken too long, had I?
"Sorry about that; I tend to focus all of my attention on my power when I work," I told them sheepishly.
"Fascinating," said Carmen Miralda. "Having observed hundreds of parahumans over the course of my career, I would be willing to bet that your power has a Tinker component. Your actions just now were a the very definition of a 'Tinker fugue'," she explained, while making notes on a tablet computer that she had somehow produced.
"You are correct, Doctor," I agreed. "I can see and manipulate powers, so if I want to get the exact results that I'm aiming for from a complex powerset, there is a bit of work that first has to be done. Simple powers are easy, though; a touch is all I need to create one, and after that I can transfer or modify it at range." I explained. Armsmaster looked at me oddly as I explained a few details of my power to the room. His face was all scrunched up like he'd just attempted to eat a whole lemon, peel and all.
"I hadn't realized that you were a Tinker as well. It must be nice to be able to exercise your power without needing to build tools first," he said. I snorted.
"You had better believe that I needed to create tools before I could do anything fancy." I told him. "I can work with powers virtually, but I had to create a huge suite of Tinker and Thinker powers to do the really interesting, really fine work. I absolutely could not have built a complex ability like the one I just put together for Dr. Lindsay just now when I first got my power. Back then, I was basically gluing pieces of the different powers I'd copied together and hoping that that the finished product would do what I wanted it to."
Armsmaster gave me an assessing look, and I felt a significant amount of the jealousy and tension that he had been directing at me evaporate. It seemed that discovering I was something like a Tinker had caused him warm up toward me a bit… or maybe it was just the fact that I had needed to work to get to my current level of power, rather than simply having it handed to me whole-cloth. If I had known that, then I would have given him a clearer idea of my abilities during our first meeting.
"Fascinating," repeated Doctor Miralda. She shook her head as if to clear it, and then the older woman tapped a few keys on the computer in front of her. The monitor that was sitting on the workspace next to the Tinkertech mind-chair thingy lit up, displaying a map of James Lindsay's brain.
"We're live and recording on this end," said Carmen Miralda, her eyes never leaving the monitor. "Please let me know when you are ready to empower Dr. Lindsay."
"I'm ready now," I told her. "Do you want me to try and integrate the powers into him as slowly as possible, so should I do it quickly like normal?" The female researcher paused for a moment, before replying.
"Slowly, I think; there's a chance that we'll get more useful information that way. If you're ready, then please proceed on my mark." I nodded. Doctor Lindsay and Armsmaster were staring at me intently.
"Mark!" Carmen eagerly called out.
"I'm transferring the power now. I'll tell you when it's finished." I slowly pushed the Healing suite into James Lindsay using PM, taking care to transfer the power over as slowly as possible.
The nebulous energy construct that made up the my newly made healing power extended a tiny tendril of itself over to Dr. Lindsay. Finding purchase in the human's (soul? aura?), the tendril of the power attached, and minute amounts of the suite of medical abilities began to slowly migrate from my aura to the Doctor's. Armsmaster was looking over Doctor Miralda's shoulder, both of them staring at her screen intently as I worked. Five long minutes later, I felt the last bit of the healing power detach from my aura and crawl over to James. My ethereal 'power manipulation' sense felt the power lock into place, finishing its integration into its recipient.
"Done." I told the group of observers.
At my words Dr. Lindsay, who had been holding his eyes tightly closed the entire time, opened them. As everyone in the room looked on, the acne scars on James Lindsay's face slowly closed up, his skin clearing until his complexion was smooth and completely unmarred. In seconds the bags under his eyes also faded away, leaving the youngish man looking like a million bucks.
I stared at the medical professional critically; he nearly glowed with an aura of health and well being now, far more vibrant than his previous sad-looking self. For his part, Dr. Lindsay didn't seem to be aware that his regeneration had healed all of his old injuries. The power I had given him had also made the man six inches taller, and his muscle definition was much better than it had been before his empowerment. The young doctor slowly turned his head to stare at Miralda intently, his eyes growing wide and unfocused over the course of a handful of seconds. Slowly, a horrified look came over his face.
"Carmen," he said slowly, "You have bowel cancer." The scientist whipped her head around to stare at the medical doctor, who was still strapped into the chair. The previously excited and jovial woman appeared to be stunned beyond belief.
