Chapter 53: 49. Playtime is Over

Gravity powers were the coolest.

Seriously, they were.

Jay hadn't thought that way when he first woke up as a [Freak]. He'd figured air magic would be better. Gravity was the reason why people couldn't stay up in the air normally, right? Jay lacked the physics know-how, but he was pretty sure gravity made flight difficult.

Then Jay got to see what magic was truly all about—taking physics and making it play nicely with his imagination. Which was why he and Kleo were skipping and flying around their small corner of the junkyard to see what mischief they could pull off.

A light sprinkle of rain blew in from the east. The nearest droplets in Jay and Kleo's path stopped falling, caught in the duo's purple glow. The droplets fell sideways with Jay as [Dance Floor Relativity] moved him and Kleo from one junk tower to another.

The raindrops caught in his aura shone like tiny neon purple gems. It made him an easy target at night. That stood to reason until he redirected [Dance Floor Relativity] to send the pair skimming closer to the ground.

He redirected the Skill again and again. The time between changing his Skill's fall path decreased gradually. He reached a point simulating low-altitude flight around obstacles, taking the sharpest turns he could manage.

It didn't always work.

"Gah!" Jay cried as he smacked his head on an old fridge and left a noggin-sized dent in it. He lost concentration. The wet ground zoomed up, eager to meet him for the half-dozenth time. Or it would've if it wasn't for Jay's little savior.

Kleo to the rescue!

"[Dance Floor Relativity]," his [Faerie] said, releasing a pulse of purple gravitational aura replacing Jay's lost one. Her aura wrapped around them and some spare raindrops coming along for the ride. Then she orbited into his torso and activated [Moonwalker] to help Jay reorientate himself without jerking in one direction or another.

"When I hit the ground, let's go back to some grasp-and-sling action," Jay said. 

Making a mistake was par for the course. It was a good way to transition into the next thing and keep the flow going. Just like b-boying. 

No matter what, keeping the momentum in play was king. And Kleo was game. She liked grasp-and-sling action a lot.

She released [Dance Floor Relativity] and [Moonwalker], dropping Jay on a gravel spot between small piles of thrown-away appliances.

Dance Floor Relativity leveled up to 11!

Moonwalker leveled up to 11!

"About time," Jay said.

It was harder leveling the Rank 2 Skills without adequate challenges. Seeing those go up made him ecstatic. He nearly missed the microwave Kleo wrapped in purple magic and yanked right to his head, though.

High Perception was a lifesaver. And his mental 3D Gravity mapping.

Without having to look at the [Gravity Grasped] item, Jay activated his half of the combo. "[Sling Assist]."

[Sling Assist, Level 2]: Any object or person flying into your personal space who doesn't resist your magic fully can be rapidly redirected around you, accelerated, and shot off in any direction. Your Perception and the target's dimensions and magical defense are accountable factors. Variable mana costs range from small to high. Leveling up improves acceleration speed and effectiveness.

A semi-translucent purple sphere appeared around Jay. The moment the microwave touched it, [Sling Assist] wrapped it in his magic and swung it around at an increasing speed. At the end of the rotation, his magic shot it like a cannonball. The microwave whirled end over end until it smashed to pieces against the same fridge Jay had hit his head on. Now the appliance bore another mark.

"Again," Jay ordered.

Kleo [Gravity Grasped] a rusted water pipe. The shape was oblong, but the principle remained the same. It flew at Jay like a missile. He intercepted with [Sling Assist] and watched eagerly as the pipe had its course corrected around him. Then it got slung off faster than the microwave. It speared through the fridge that had become Jay's bane and dummy practice.

Gravity Grasp leveled up to 4!

Sling Assist leveled up to 3!

"Wall me," Jay ordered.

"Yes, Master!" Kleo chirped.

Onto a new tactic. Sometimes movement wasn't enough. Offense wasn't always viable. In moments where Jay could bite it big, Kleo could be the difference between life and death. So, Jay used his familiar's [Gravity Grasp] on another pipe and sent it flying like a javelin at his chest. It was going to hurt if it hit.

Kleo wouldn't allow it. "[Graviton Wall]!"

[Graviton Wall (Familiar), Level 2]: You and Kleo can bring down a square and thin wall of gravity magic. Anything that passes through this wall will undergo a sudden burst of increased gravity scaling with your magic capacity. The wall will fall parallel with the direction of gravity you or Kleo are subjected under. Kleo can manipulate and intensify the wall by distributing more mana. Forming the wall is slower for the Faerie Master. Variable mana costs range from moderate to very high. Leveling up this Skill improves magic scaling and enhances Kleo's control.

A blurry, six-by-six purple wall fell in place in front of Jay. It scattered gravel and dirt from underneath it as raindrops caught in its wake hurtled down at a greater velocity. The pipe meant for Jay's chest touched the wall and tipped down before passing through. Jay had removed [Gravity Grasp] from around the pipe by then. It crashed into the dirt at his feet, spitting up more gravel rocks.

Graviton Wall leveled up to 3!

With the danger thwarted, Kleo cut off [Graviton Wall]. The junkyard returned to being a dark and menacing place. Only Jay and Kleo's glowy eyes served as lights. 

For now.

Jay pointed his hand over at the agents and [Gravity Grasped] his backpack, then his hoodie, spooking the pair. He handed the apparel to Kleo while he dug around his backpack and pulled out a pack of wet wipes to clean himself down. As he dug around some more, he flicked through his phone secretly and saw the signal was out. It hadn't been that way earlier.

He slipped the device into his pocket discreetly. He shared a snack and some water with Kleo. Then he donned the hoodie and put the hood on to cover his face, especially the heterochromatic eyes.

Kleo stopped using [Orbital Mastery] and docked inside her master's hood. Her wet body slid against the nook of his neck. Jay shivered as he slung on his backpack.

"You're stealing my warmth," he accused.

"Your warmth is my warmth," Kleo replied.

"Says who?"

"The guy who said having him as a master is the best thing that'll ever happen to me." Kleo dug her little feet into the hollow of his neck.

"Ack!" Jay reached up.

Kleo kicked his fingers away. "And I agree, so far," she continued. "Don't make me change my mind."

She poked his neck around for warmth like the brattiest little [Faerie]. It wasn't that cold, anyway. But Kleo's anatomy suggested she didn't hold in heat as easily as his body. It would suck for her to get caught wet in an ac-blasting building. Hence the hoodie.

"Do [Faeries] get sick?" Jay asked.

"Dunno," she answered. "Kind of hard with our Resilience."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to get sick," Jay said. "Soak up all my heat–"

"Like a vampire?" she cut in.

He nearly seized up when her little fangs pressed over his jugular. It didn't go any further, and Kleo erupted into laughter.

"Menace," Jay said, walking to the beat-up and piped-through fridge. It had seen better days at the junkyard before Jay and Kleo arrived.

"What do you think of our progress, Master?" Kleo asked, switching tracks. The humor was fun, that was their M.O., but their power exploration was essential to them both.

"If we tried to pull off most of the combination plays I have in mind," Jay said, "I would run out of mana fast."

Mana Status: [533/1100 MP]

Jay dug around his tactical bag of holding and pulled out two mana crystals. He absorbed them both. That was the most any Champion could absorb without accruing mana sickness–nabbing himself 400 MP at once. He needed to wait ten minutes if he wanted to absorb his last mana crystal. Or he let the mana restore itself on its own.

"If only mana didn't continue being a huge issue for me," Jay said.

"It won't be much of an issue if we keep it simple," Kleo said, sounding wise. "And use me for all the cool flashy gravity stuff."

"We need to test more before I start slinging you, Kleo," Jay groaned.

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"But it'll be awesome!" the [Faerie] whined.

From what Jay surmised after running a bunch of drills, Kleo could perform everything Jay could do, but at a smaller and more mana-efficient scale. The negative was letting her go far out of his reach. But that, too, could be circumvented with the nature of their combined magic.

Maybe in a more compact environment, Kleo would prove more effective. Jay would rather wait and see.

If there was a complaint to be had, [Graviton Wall] didn't seem to mesh well with Jay's creativity compared to the others. It was costly to use, even by Kleo's standards. It was stationary. It wouldn't move with Jay once planted. And it made him wonder how often he'd need a wall rather than pure movement.

Jay was sure the occasion might come up a few times. Yet, the Skill seemed to lack imagination if [Graviton Wall] was only good for deflecting downward. Jay and Kleo's other Gravity Skills could achieve multiple things or lead to the next maneuver, so [Graviton Wall] stood out as an odd duckling among the pack.

Maybe not as odd as [Horizondancer], but that Skill had the excuse of being a badass Super. One that should be reserved for the best or worst moments.

[Horizondancer (Super), Level 10]: You are the center of pivotal events, where your gravity holds precedence within a fluctuating range that's more than physical. At the apex of this Skill's power, slow time until its imperceptible from being frozen, affecting all except those you choose to retain awareness or those who play pivotal roles recognized by Chance. Expect exuberant mana costs dependent on the occasion. Using this Skill for lesser reasons will drastically hinder effectiveness, but it will heavily reduce the mana cost. It can only be used once in between short or long rest periods and cannot be used by your familiar. Leveling up increases effectiveness and association with Chance.

The get-out-of-jail card. Jay hadn't known gravity could affect time. He still couldn't half believe he had a time-stopping Skill. Technically, it didn't stop time, but the slight difference didn't seem to matter. This Skill was significant but couldn't be practiced. He could only use it when he needed it most. 

That placed a lot of pressure on him–or more like 30 Intellect him–to decide when best to throw down this trump card. Hopefully, it'd be for an excellent 4D chess move that made him look like a genius. Rather than him panicking like a chump and hitting the Skill to slip out of a stupid situation.

That shouldn't happen.

But….

Chance Status: [x1/x9]

"[Horizondancer] can still work," Kleo whispered. "It'll just be weaker. Maybe smaller."

Jay nodded slowly.

Kleo shifted around, her body tensing up against his neck. "They'll strike soon. I can feel the claws of tyranny closing in. Little by little."

"It's about damn time," Jay said with a lopsided grin.

All the waiting was getting him anxious. Although he should be thankful, the assassins had let him play around before they rudely interrupted his night. They were watching him.

Fat good that would do them. The assassins hadn't seen the superbly cool things Jay and Kleo had theory-crafted.

Nor would they have a preview of [Horizondancer], [Faerie Voice], [Cloak of Freakish Relativity], and [Judging Finger That Cuts Divinity]. Those Skills didn't need to be practiced. They just needed good enough reasons to be whipped out. Especially Kleo's special move. That one needed a fundamental reason to come out.

[Judging Finger That Cuts Divinity (Faerie), Level 1]–When in the presence of a foe with a significant amount of divinity, Kleo's power to judge, punish, and influence providence and calamity through magic and Chance dramatically increases. This amounts to an attack where Kleo unleashes a slashing line of power that hurts the divine foe, which can deliver critical damage that may hinder or slay. Beware! Judging and striking divinity will bring about resonating backlash that may harm or alter you and Kleo in unpredictable ways.

"I wouldn't hesitate if given the opportunity," Kleo said as they reread the Skill together.

Jay grimaced, hoping such a time wouldn't come.

Two hundred feet out, something unusual blipped on his gravity sense. His 30 Intellect helped leverage his high Perception, so Jay's senses could reach farther naturally. And when he concentrated on a specific sense and direction, he could work out the details of his target better. Kleo couldn't reach as far as him, but she was way better at paying attention to what was close up, anyway. And she had a killer reaction time.

While her Master was distracted by the strange quadruped creature closing in on their location, Kleo turned on the pair of agents. She moved to save Derek's life. 

She [Gravity Grasped] a small piece of sheet metal from under Caroline before she fired her pistol on unaware Derek. The gun went off still, snapping above Derek's scalp without hitting.

Caroline hit the ground with a small grunt, barely angry or shocked or anything. Her reactions were neutral and controlled, like a cold and emotionless machine.

Derek was the opposite, horrified by his near death. He forgot himself as he fumbled for his gun, giving Caroline another chance to shoot him.

But Kleo was out of her master's hood by then. [Orbital Mastery] was engaged, lighting her back with purple gravity thrusters while Jay became her entire world. The piece of sheet metal she'd pulled from under Caroline entered Kleo's personal space where [Sling Assist] held sway. Kleo whirled the makeshift weapon around like a discus and accelerated it back at Caroline.

Kleo's aim was off. 

Kleo wanted the neck. She struck the sternum instead and broke a bunch of human chest bones.

Caroline fell with a hard thump and stayed down.

Jay could feel Kleo's disappointment in not beheading the double-agent, even though that would've been hard with a rusted piece of sheet metal. Besides, Caroline's end would come soon unless she received help.

Jay grimaced, keeping his back to the dying woman as he faced the growing number of anomalies creeping closer. They used some hedge-like junk piles to cover themselves as they got closer. Jay was pretty sure these were very far from being human. And they weren't monsters either.

"What the fuck, brah?" Derek cussed. "She wasn't. She couldn't. But we've worked together for a year."

"And she's tricked you for a year." Kleo returned to the inside of Jay's hood. Her voice carried out from there. "She hid it very well. But in the end, she gave herself away right before she struck."

Caroline went as far as tricking Jay's emotional gravity sense. She had been that good. But she couldn't trick the tingles Kleo got when someone triggered her [Slayer of Tyranny] Title. And tyranny was coming out in full force tonight.

"So, Derek," Jay called as he carefully [Moonwalked] backward to the shocked agent. "It's nice knowing you're a little more trustworthy. And sorry about Caroline. But we can't let this force more idiot balls on us."

"Idiot balls?" Derek mumbled. "Like how you said the story is going to cripple you?"

"No, the story doesn't cripple me. My role, when influenced by the System, can get crippled. Depends on how the plot points intermingle," Jay corrected. "And right now, we can trust that my low Chance means bad news bears everywhere."

Jay needed to rework the plot somehow. Or Chance would royally screw him despite his greater powers against the assassins.

He grabbed Derek by the arm and led him away from Caroline's dying form and down a lane out of this section. It would take them deeper into the junkyard where stacks of rubbish grew taller. The darkness here was deeper. The slight iridescent display of light that shone through [Moonwalker] was all they had to hold the dark at bay. But it was little comfort when the two dozen hound-like enemies came dashing after them.

At the same time, Jay picked up flyers in the air.

"There's this one word my mom hates," Jay said, taking Derek's attention off his fear. "It's hard for her to say if she doesn't concentrate. It's a Haitian thing. And sometimes, I'll slip up, too. It starts with an R."

Behind them, the first four-legged, gun-toting attacker skidded into the same lane Jay's party occupied. He pulled Derek around the corner before it opened fire and filled the rainy night with a raucous roar.

"Robots!" Derek shouted.

"My mom would be so jealous of how easily you said that," Jay replied. "But yeah. Robots. Killer versions. Two dozen on the ground. And a dozen in the air, too."

A drone buzzed by and took potshots at them. Jay scooped Derek up by the torso and threw them aside. A bullet clipped Jay on the ribs and left negligible damage. Kleo [Gravity Grasped] and [Sling Assisted] the drone into another drone and knocked them down for good.

Sling Assist leveled up to 4!

They turned a corner just in time before the chasing robo doggos got a clear line of fire.

"What's stopping you from fighting them?" Derek asked between panting breaths. He could barely keep up with Jay even though the [Freak] was moving slowly for the agent. "If it's me. You can go ahead and fight. I'll just hide."

"Nah," Jay said. "Gotta play the long game when my Chance is this low. And you're a part of it, now."

"Seriously?" Derek asked. "Your odds are better off without me."

"Says, who? Logic or story?" Jay asked. "I'm not claiming you as the Peeta Mallark to my Katniss Everdeen, but if we want the odds to be in our favor, we have to give Chance a reason."

"How?"

Jay wasn't sure. The enemy hadn't come out with all of their evil plans. He was curious about the deep chud-chud-chud sound of helicopters approaching from beyond the junkyard and what that would entail. It seemed more like an invasive military force than a clandestine assassin order.

"Five malarkey that tonight's big bad guy is someone we've met already," Kleo said.

"No! That's not fair!" Jay whined.

But he agreed anyway since he couldn't turn down a bet.

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