Chapter 61: 57. Like a Detective Comic

The [Freak] was out of his element. Stuck in a motel until more permanent arrangements could be made. This was going to interrupt his mom’s work. And so much had been lost. His home. His collectibles. At least he still had his mom. His mom could’ve been lost.

Jay shuddered, feeling scared. More scared than he’d felt in a long time. It was hard to smile and put on a brave act. It was hard to throw most of his AP into Perception and ignore the safer options of his System profile.

All he could do was wait outside of his motel room as he hesitated and feared what could’ve been and what should be done.

“Hey, kid, you shouldn’t be out,” barked a disgruntled man appearing from around the hallway corner.

Jay blinked blearily, feeling confused until his 30 Intellect kicked in.

The Champions were under more disruptive observation now.

The approaching man was a joint-op agent. He wore a trench coat like he was a supporting character in a dark and gritty street-level comic.

Jay glanced up at the flickering ceiling lights. They were tinted yellow. The casing had dead bugs in them. Something about that image spoke to Jay.

“Huh, it does feel very noir,” Jay said aloud.

Not his usual genre, but he’d watched a few anime shows that liked the detective-type atmosphere. And, obviously, there was the old Batman cartoon from the late 90s. That version of Batman was more psychological and dark than people gave it credit for.

“The kid’s not paying me much mind,” the first joint-op agent said to his buddy that came after him. “Should I just push him back inside?”

“Chief said to keep a watch of ‘em,” the second agent told the first. “If he’s inside. He’s being watched.”

Jay barely knew Senior Agent Cabana of the Multiverse Preparation Committee. But he already missed the stalwart woman of secrecy and professionalism. She had saved his mom from the first assassination attempt, and now she was busy untangling the mess the MPC had become when Commander Steele and other evil double agents sprung their attacks yesterday.

The job of watching over the Champions had been handed to the lower echelon of three-letter agencies. All in a few hours, the FBI, CIA, NSA, and perhaps some other agencies banded together as the Champion Watch Group

How they managed that so fast, Jay didn’t know.

But he was pretty sure the government couldn't allow a dozen super magical teens to run free. Teens who could easily kill hundreds of professionally trained warriors while going around without oversight was a big no-no in America.

The government encroaching so egregiously kind of grated against Jay’s Floridian sensibilities, too. Floridians liked to have their weirdness be as unregulated as possible, especially outside of Southern Florida.

Then again, these guys didn’t really know better, did they? Jay figured the Champion Watch Group, or CWG for short, lacked the depth of info the MPC had. The CWG probably had second-hand stuff they must’ve gotten from their own spying efforts. Not much from the direct source.

“Alright, kid, back inside you go,” said the first CWG mook, putting a hand on the [Freak’s] shoulder.

He was trying to handle Jay roughly, too. As if Jay was a mere little guy everybody could shove around. Which was a thing before having a System and becoming a Champion.

“No,” Jay said, grasping the man’s wrist. Jay’s [Omen Bearer of the Apocalypse] Title kicked in. The System Title spread its intoxicating influence to choose violence throughout Jay's mind.

Mook One tried to resist Jay by yanking and pushing. But he moved the [Freak] very little.

Jay’s 20 Strength wasn’t the most impressive compared to other Champions, especially the [Fighters]. But 20 Strength had this unique System-design. It dictated Jay as being too strong for a significantly weaker creature to physically manipulate him without huge difficulty. 

Physics–such as Jay’s weight–had to take a hike and treat Jay as the bigger and badder guy.

Thus, Jay easily shoved Mook One into the wall. There was still some struggle since 20 Strength wasn’t that far above human limits, but these lesser agents weren't very in-shape guys. And Jay could lift more than half a ton. Close to three-quarters.

When Mook Two tried to intervene, Jay shoved him back just as hard. Both men stopped struggling and gaped at the [Freak].

“I need a breather,” Jay said. “And a smoke.”

Tonight was really bad if he needed a smoke rather than a drink. Cigarettes were nasty in Jay’s opinion. But that nastiness drew him when he was feeling awful vibes.

“Okay, okay, just let me go,” pleaded Mook One.

Jay released the man.

Mook One and Mook Two shared uncertain looks. They looked at Jay like he was a wild animal.

“How the heck did you do that?” asked Mook One.

“No,” Jay said. “Don’t bother with the questions. Don’t even bother being friends with me. Follow along, escort me where I want to go, and shut up.”

Mook Two swelled with anger.

Jay’s eyes glowed like a silver-gold and purple neon sign, pulsating with barely contained magical power. The divine left eye made the men nervous like they were in trouble with a higher authority. The freaky right eye gave the men the impression that up was down and sanity was insanity.

“Smokes and a lighter,” Jay said deeply, the air rippling from his request.

Once outside, Jay lit his first cigarette of the night and drew a draft. He let Perception off its leash. The ashy flavors, the burst of nicotine, and the throat-raking rawness of tobacco burned Jay fiercely. His nostrils hurt like they were snorting noxious smoke from a forest fire. His brain got an overload of sensations his 30 Intellect was ill-prepared for.

His 20 Resilience came surging forth. It was normally an overlooked Attribute. Something Jay barely paid much attention to since he wasn’t a tanky person. But Resilience existed for this reason and smashed back the invasive substance of tobacco and nicotine. 

Compared to a normal human, Jay was certainly more fit, hale, and robust despite his lithe frame. His immunity wouldn’t be easily daunted even if Perception made the act of smoking hypersensitive.

It was an interesting experience. And the temptation to indulge it for the rest of the early morning was strong. But his divine eye was still trembling. It requested him to do the work that needed to be done.

What could that be? Jay was starting to have a clue, but he didn’t like it.

Jay paced around the wet motel parking lot, blowing stacks of smoke behind him. A dozen CWG agents sat in their vehicles or stood on the street corners. They were waiting for the magic they must’ve heard about through second-hand sources. They were waiting to see what made the kid a killer of two hundred-plus assassins. And some high-tech military-grade robot dogs.

Jay was waiting for his whims to make a decision. To take the safer route or the risky route.

Safer Route–use his Free AP for Health and Chance.

Risky Route–use his Free AP for 100 Perception.

Jay stopped to look at his motel room window. Kleo was inside with his mom, keeping her company and guarding her. He couldn’t shake the fear.

“Let’s play it safer this time around,” Jay said.

He placed +5 AP in Resilience and +4 AP in Poise. Then he moved +5 AP to Conviction and +4 AP to Discovery.

Once the AP was slotted fully, Jay felt the trembling in his left eye increase through his skull. Like mini-tremors. It was shaking up his sense of the narrative–the metaphorical side of his gravity Perception. Checking his Statuses, he made a shocking discovery.

 

Health Status: [500/500 HP] Stamina Status: [610/610 SP] Mana Status: [1172/1210 MP] You are reading story The Gravity Freak of Dungeons and Monsters: System Portal Fantasy at novel35.com Chance Status: [x10/x10 CM]

 

Jay had never seen his Chance Modifiers at full capacity before. Depending on the story influences at play, his Chance could be up or down at random.

His [Precursor of the System] Title suggested he had the whole weight of his System and magic at his disposal now. He could fully employ Chance to help with the mystery behind his divine responsibility. All he needed was to make his intentions known.

For minutes, Jay searched for the right thing to do. He paced around the parking lot for a while, sparking a second cigarette. He kept pacing, skipping lightly over puddles reflecting the motel lights.

He stopped when the right thing, the words, found him. It rose from inside of him. It felt like a song wanted to come out. It was magic from within and beyond. It was a power that touched on divinity–something spiritual.

“Dead flies and neon signs, it’s a noir type of time,” Jay said, puffing smoke as he freestyled an incantation, not knowing why or how he could do such a thing. “No dirty lies or bloody ties, I want a partner that fits the vibe, Call of the [Freak].”

His Chance x10 dropped to Chance x8.

A gravity wave of magic rolled out from Jay’s form. It was mostly translucent except for a tiny tinge of purple on the edges.

The wave shook all the vehicles in the parking lot without setting off their alarms. The CWG mooks standing around staggered back. Some mooks fell over in surprise. They felt the magic combined with Jay’s freaky nature.

An excited onrush of whispers stirred from the joint-op agents

“Holy snickerdoodles, that bastard in the NSA wasn’t pulling my leg about this magic stuff.”

“This is some boogeyman-level cryptid, and they’re barely keeping it hidden.”

“And they said an assignment in Florida was going to be standard human trafficking.”

“That kid needs to be in a lab and under a microscope ASAP.”

“What the hell is our nation feeding these Floridians?”

“Not feed, drink. It’s in the water, man.”

“They lost a bunch of experimented gators out here in the eighties, I heard.”

“Kid got mutated from the gator water, I bet ya. Don’t drink from the tap.”

Jay smiled from the CWG agent’s reactions.

He didn’t expect his Call to roll out so overtly. Though, it might be more of Jay’s fault than the Chance Status. He was an audacious and egotistical [Freak], and making moments big and theatrical was his thing. Which led to Jay moving from the motel parking lot to the low motel rooftop with one [Moonwalker] jump. His first ever Skill felt natural to him now. Like taking a simple step.

The CWG agents freaked out even more.

Jay paid them little mind as he sat on the rooftop edge. He lit his third cigarette of the night. Waiting for a response from up here felt right to Jay. Like he was empowering himself with his theme. Adding more to the likelihood that someone would respond to his Call.

His phone rang. He picked up.

“It’s Bat,” Emily said from the other side of the line. “Monkey?”

“Yup,” Jay confirmed.

“Was that you with the first Call?” Emily questioned. “I’ve been wanting to contact you, by the way. Wasn’t so sure until that pushed me over the edge.”

Jay hummed in thought.

His use of the Chance Status hadn’t directed the Journalism Prez to his whims completely. She was already set on this course, so Chance hurried things along.

Jay was glad. It would be creepy if Chance had total puppeteering involved.

“Do you mind being part of my story?” Jay asked, throwing caution to the wind and going all in as a weirdo. It was that type of night.

Surprisingly, Emily played into the bit. “What’s the angle?”

“I got something personal that needs looking into. And it’s noir style.”

“That’s my jam, Monkey, but I doubt you can stomach it,” Emily said cryptically. “Even if you’re feeling like a moonless night now, you’re still sunlight to my shadow.”

Holy wow.

She wasn’t holding back.

It was a little scary since this was a Divine. She’d destroyed dudes online when she caught them saying less than savory things toward the Queen or any of the Divine Four. Emily was social media dangerous. And more. At least in their high school. But as another Champion of their Pantheon and fellow dungeon crawler, Jay figured she had a whole different side of danger added to her. Something that wasn't his enemy. And she was answering the Call.

“For the moment, I don’t mind holding hands with the cynical and bleak,” Jay said like he was in a crime drama, “if you can endure my wisecracking comedy.”

Emily paused, drawing out the suspense. She had a good sense of theatrics. Maybe journalism kids understood reality was often stranger than fiction. They knew how to play their part like being on screen.

“It’s about time one of the Divine invests in knowing you more.” Another pause. “But it’s hours before school. The timing is awful.”

“If it helps sweeten the deal, I’m taxing cigarettes from the CWG for annoying me,” Jay said. “They can’t resist since their mooks. Makes for a good racket if you want in.”

“In that case, I’ll be your supporting dame.” Emily chuckled for a beat, a welcomed sound. Then she got serious. “Where and when?”

In for a penny.

In for a pound.

Jay’s divine eye trembled harder than ever. His brain rattled. Shakily, he looked down past the orange glow of his cigarette and summoned a light into his palm. His [Guiding Light] Talent was one of the most basic spells every Champion had. It pointed in the direction he needed to go.

“My house,” Jay grunted. “Make it quick.”

“I’ll be there in a jiffy. Bat, out.” Emily ended the call.

Jay dropped from the rooftop and slowed his descent. He barely disturbed the puddle he landed on. His sockets remained dry.

He took his cigarette from his mouth and pointed the orange ember at the nearest CWG agent gawking at him. “Do I fly? Or will you drive?”

The CWG mooks escorted him in one of their nondescript black sedans.

He had no idea what he would find back at home hours before school. He had to go even if he didn’t want to see it. And despite discluding Mike and Lilith, having a Champion guest star felt right. He wondered what it would be like to pair up with Emily of Team Divine, a scary [Medium] with necromantic powers and one of the four meanest girls in his high school.

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