146 Hi, Princess #146

"Carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, particle pollution, and sulfur oxides..." I muttered to myself as I stood on top of a high-rise building in the middle of Old Gotham after taking a deep breath.

It was incredible how one Archetype power changed my respective so much. I already knew how polluted Gotham's air is and had a rough idea about the chemicals responsible for said pollution.

However, with the first Archetype power, Chemical Analysis, I received from the Chemist class, I knew the exact portions of each gas and the countless ways it could melt a regular person's lung under prolonged exposure.

[Chemical Analysis: the innate ability to identify and analyze chemicals. It enables the user to detect acids and their level of acidity, chemicals or substances associated with poison or harmful effects like mercury, and also measure any foreign chemicals present up in the air]

It was honestly astonishing how people in Gotham are able to live beyond their fifties, but that's evolution for you. Enough gradual exposure to a specific hazard over more than one generation, and boom. The locals are suddenly more resistant.

It was by no means perfect, and there were cases of people getting respiratory system diseases, but not nearly as many as there should be, considering how the air seemed to hate humans with a vengeance in Gotham.

I imagine people here would develop complete immunity in a couple more generations the same way humans evolved into having expanded lungs after living in the mountains, but you get the idea.

Pollution; make bad. Evolution; make good. Unga Bunga.

Still, the Chemical Analysis power would definitely come in handy as it would help me in future projects. It would also allow me to identify poisons in all forms, which was a godsend.

I lost count of times where a villain used an undetectable chemical to beat supposedly undefeatable heroes like Flash or Superman in the comics.

It's always the fucking undetectable chemicals that get you, like that one odorless hallucinogen the Joker used to make Superman kill Lois Lane in Injustice or that tasteless, colorless poison that Cheshire uses.

Now, I'd be able to see that shit coming from a mile away.

'The other power isn't bad either...' I smiled as I brought up the system interface and read through the second Archetype power I received. Yes, I did get two powers because of the accumulated levels.

[Metabolism Manipulation: the innate ability to control the user's and others' metabolism (through prolonged physical contact), the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms]

If my understanding is correct, then this power would allow me to do all kinds of shit, like increasing my body heat, enhancing my healing factor, manipulating my enzymes, and much more.

It opened so many doors and had so many possibilities.

It was a superpower on its own. Unfortunately, it was reliant on my Chemistry skill, which is still level one currently, meaning I wouldn't be able to try any of that shit anytime soon.

In any case, the accumulated level increase had given me 54 stat points, and I already had 10, leaving me with 64. I invested 20 into each of my three stats, and this is what I ended up with;

Name: Grayson Whitlock

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Archetype: (The Mad Scientist level 5)

Class: [Thief (level MAX)] [Fighter (level MAX)] [Acrobat (Level MAX)] [Programmer (Level MAX) [Gunman (level MAX)] [Mechanic (level MAX)] [Duelist (level MAX)] [Artist (level MAX)] [Scholar (level MAX)] [Linguist (level MAX)] [Chemist (level 16)]

...

Stats:

Body: 180

Mind: 180

Spirit: 180

Stat Points: 10

.....

Skills:

[Brawling (level 50)]

[Crime (level 49)]

[Acrobatics (level 32)]

[Computers (level 50)]

[Gun Mastery (level 27)]

[Mechanics (49)r]

[Medieval Weapons Mastery (14)]

[Art (5)]

[Knowledge (9)]

[Language (6)]

[Chemistry (1)]

....

Perks:

[Dormant Metahuman]

[Silent Step]

[Eidetic Kinesthesia]

[Superhuman Stamina]

[Perfect Recall]

[Accelerated Healing]

[Energy Detector]

[Energy Concentration]

[Augmented Reality Vision]

[Energy Conductor]

[Enhanced Durability]

[Empathy]

[Energy Manifestation]

[Metallurgic Intuition]

[Ricochet Intuition]

[Body Language Analysis]

[Worldwide Access]

...

Archetype powers:

[Network Crash]

[Code Manipulation]

[Personal Computer]

[Machinery Scan]]

[Machine Control]]

[Machine Morphing]

[Chemical Analysis]

[Metabolism Manipulation]

...

'Not bad...' I mused, nodding as I read through my status screen before dismissing the system's interface. I had my complaints about the damned thing, but seeing the numbers increase with your hard work wasn't a bad feeling.

I dare say I even grew to like it at some point before I realized it, but that's neither here nor there.

I wasn't nearly as powerful as I liked to be, but that would come in time. I'd get there someday. I'd impose my will on this world, make it my bitch and change it to my liking.

"Not before dealing with Waller and the religion though, but first..." I muttered to no one in particular, chuckling as I shook my head and dived towards the ground head first to swing away.

It was on my way, so I might as well check on Mark while heading back to the hideout, and it's straight back to work from there.

...

East End

I adjusted the hood covering my face as I looked at the apartment complex's entrance, smiling as I noticed Mark sitting on a bench in his post like usual, seemingly in good health and a better mood.

I was ready to leave when a little girl, roughly 8 or 9 years old girl walked out of the guard booth at the entrance and locked eyes with me before turning to Mark.

"Daddy, look! It's your friend from TV!" the little girl said, excitedly pointing at me, and I had the urge to curse as Mark immediately followed her finger and noticed me.

"Hey, Mark," I awkwardly greeted as I approached Mark, who quickly returned the greeting with a friendly smile as he picked up the little girl and put her on his lap.

"Hey, kid. It's been a while. How come you didn't drop by and say hi to your old pal recently?" Mark asked, giving me a suspicious look as he raised an eyebrow at me, and I immediately understood his words.

"It's not like that, man. You know the kind of mess I'm in right now..." I said, sighing as I shook my head. "You've got a family, and I didn't wanna bring you more trouble than you needed," I added, scratching my head.

"Relax, kid. I'm just pulling your leg. It's good to see you're still the same, though," Mark said with a light laugh, waving the matter away as he gestured with his right.

"This is Leah, by the way. My daughter," Mark remarked as he put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You wanna say hi, princess?" he asked as he pinched Leah's cheek.

"Hi, princess," Leah said with a cheeky grin as she slapped her father's hand with her right and waved at me with her left, causing Mark to chuckle and me to smile.

"I only wish, but I can't even pretend when the real deal is right in front of me," I said, smiling as I got on my knees. "How about a treat for her royal highness?" I added as I ceremoniously offered a piece of chocolate to Leah that I conjured from my inventory.

Leah turned to her father, looking for his approval, which he gave with a nod, prompting the little girl to gleefully take the chocolate as I got up and turned to Mark.

"Is it bring your kid to work day or something?" I asked as I tilted my head, gesturing towards the little girl enjoying her treat on Mark's lap with my chin.

"Well, starting last week, every day is bring your kid to work day," Mark replied with a shrug as he patted his daughter's head. "My wife, Jannet, finally got her GED and is now taking vocational school in cosmetology, now that we're doing a bit better financially," he added with a proud smile.

"So now I'm stuck catering to princess Leah's whims every day," he concluded, not sounding annoyed at all, what with the broad, genuine smile splitting his face as he looked at his daughter.

"That's good to hear, man..." I said, getting infected by Mark's smile as I gave him one of my own. "I hope it works out, but I have to go," I added, sighing as I scratched my head.

"You know how it is. The more I'm around, the more likely... you know..." I concluded, getting a nod from the security guard before I turned to walk away.

"You take care now, dude," I said, adjusting the hood to better cover my face before waving the security guard goodbye without looking, and he replied with a simple you too.

...

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