Chapter 75: 69. Tuesday Tangles

Jay was parkouring across rooftops before Tuesday sunrise.

He hadn’t slept much last night. He'd tried sleeping with his short sword tucked under his pillow as a strange comfort. Having a sword with a magical edge had made him mindful not to slash the motel sheets and mattress. But that had been it. Nothing had helped him rest.

All that restless energy had pushed him out the door, leaving Kleo to watch over his mom again.

He held the sword as he flipped over a gap between apartment complexes. He stayed close to the edge facing the Downtown’s rain-slicked roads. Buddy One rode her agency-approved motorcycle down below as his tagalong.

The poor girl veered and skidded close to a few collisions. She had no choice but to keep up as he moved faster.

While Jay vaulted over air conditioning units, bounded across scaffolding bars with the lightest steps, and swung himself around flag poles with one arm, he used his willpower to keep [Moonwalker] and his other Skills–passive or not–under the surface. He even drew back his Gravity Affinity, taking note of Brit’s subtle control of her Holy Affinity yesterday. He hadn’t delved too deeply into Affinity control in and of itself. Jay had multiple subtle powers running in the background, after all. As an example, suppressing his Affinity turned off his Mental 3D Gravity Mapping. That made him feel partially disabled without that extra sense.

It was kind of creepy. But Jay figured it was good to explore his world mundanely every so often. It gave him a sense of greater nuance for his plain Attributes.

Without his [Freak] powers, all Jay had to rely on was his current Attributes with Perception reduced for comfort. Even while limited, the smell of drenched asphalt and cement filled Jay’s nostrils with high aromatic details. The crunch of rooftop gravel under his sneakers–the feel of water-laden air rushing by him as he soared during a big leap–the taste of freshly baked goods pulled out of the oven from an early morning bakery–all of those sensations tested 30 Intellect’s ability to filter and extract without overstimulating him.

Then Jay slowed down as he neared the corner of his destination. He dropped from the rooftop edge of a pharmacy and bounced off an awning. He landed in a perfect crouch on top of a parking meter like a proper thief character in a platforming video game.

Buddy One slowed down with an air-blubbering rumble. Her slick crotch rocket came to a stop in front of Jay as he leered at her. Slowly, Jay lessened his willpower’s tight hold on his powers, allowing his Affinity and Skills to breathe. His right eye, the purple gravity one, twinkled merrily.

His Stamina was down to 324 from 650, but it was rising steadily while he rested on the parking meter. He had pushed himself to leap some large gaps. He had done so with only one arm to help vault or whirl himself around poles. Quite the workout. And he had needed it. Running across rooftops felt right. It felt good. Just like the times before the System, back when some of the jumps would kill him if he screwed up. That taste of danger and exhilaration made him feel alive.

Buddy One walked shakily to Jay before leaning against a sidewalk palm tree. She was still shaking as she gave Jay an annoyed sidelong glance.

Jay waggled his eyebrows.

“You’re so mean,” she claimed.

“Am I really?” he asked, acting surprised.

“You had me go through dirty alleys to keep up,” she complained. “I splashed through dirty alley water. I can smell the cat pee.”

Jay nodded. Cat pee smelled way bad. “Did you get a good recording of my moves?”

“Maybe, I dunno, I was too busy trying not to crash,” she said. “I feel like someone better than me should be here.”

“No,” Jay said. A tiny gravity ripple traveled with his voice.

He started considering that as his graven voice. It had the taste of Conviction without heavy Chance involvement. Definitely an Affinity move he must’ve developed on his own or thanks to Kleo.

It made Buddy One stiffen and feel uneasy. Like she was trifling against a force more determined than her.

Jay beckoned her closer with a flick of his hand. He grabbed the lapel of her coat once she neared. He tugged her lapel up so the CWG could hear him clearly through their embedded mic.

“I’m starting to like Buddy One,” Jay declared. “I think I’ll take her as my permanent CWG agent. Or simply take her.”

Jay chuckled with a slightly unhinged tone in his voice, his right eye glowing even brighter. The purple light pulsated on Buddy One’s horrified face.

He could tell she was planning on jerking away and hopping on the bike to escape him. Then she glanced at the gleaming short sword in his other hand. She should know it was made of a special material–real magic metal–even though it was Basic Quality. The lowest magical item quality was still better than mundane material.

She would know the sword could hack her in two without much trouble even though Jay wouldn’t do that. But her stormy emotional gravity was probably making her think of all the things he could do to her. It didn’t help that he was elevated above her on top of the parking meter. She was in the throes of great fear underneath him.

Jay was less scary and unassuming while people looked down at him. For her comfort, Jay dropped to the ground. That didn’t work out as he’d assumed. She yanked away and ran for the bike. Jay [Gravity Grasped] her lightly, returning the CWG agent to his side. She stood trembling, sweating profusely while holding back tears.

Jay’s right eye dimmed. He started to feel bad. He might’ve taken things a little too far.

He bagged the sword and raised his hands as a sign of peace. It took Buddy One twenty minutes to calm down. Then Jay walked her casually to their pre-dawn destination. He was going to have breakfast with Mike and his mom.

***

“Here you go, dearie.” Mother Zhou piled salt and peppered eggs with diced veggies onto Buddy One’s plate. Jay raised his plate for seconds, but Mother Zhou coldly ignored him and paid Buddy One more attention. “Are you feeling better now?”

Buddy One looked up with wide girlish eyes, her face stuffed with breakfast. She chewed quickly like a blonde chipmunk before answering. “Yes, Michelle. I really appreciate the hospitality.” She smiled brightly. “Maybe I can share some with your CWG rep–”

“Don’t fret over him, he’s fine outside.” Mother Zhou smiled tensely.

Jay tried to get her attention again by holding his empty plate higher. Mother Zhou drifted away. She left in her wake the frostiness of an ice queen.

“Give it some time,” Mike whispered to Jay as they sat at the dining table. “She’s mad you didn’t snitch on me for having magic powers.”

Jay shrugged. There was nothing that could be done when faced with Mother Zhou’s wrath than to wait it out. She had even ensured that every plate at the dining table received a small portion of breakfast. The majority was left in the kitchen of the Zhous’ temporary apartment. She’d insitered on getting them seconds and thirds and that they should stay seated at the dining table.

At least Jay was getting some food. The Zhous’ CWG rep must've pissed off Mother Zhou royally to not get a scrap.

“It’s such a terrible thing that Jay made you cry, dearie,” Mother Zhou said sweetly as she drifted over again. She planted a single sweet bun on Jay’s plate while plopping multiple sweet buns on Mike's and Buddy One’s plates.

Jay glowered but kept his mouth shut.

“I feel so embarrassed,” Buddy One said. “He’s such a handful.”

“I know this as truth,” Mother Zhou said. “I helped raise him.”

Jay opened his mouth to speak.

Mother Zhou gave him a look that shut him up. He had way more Conviction than her. But she was a woman of conviction for a long time. To break her would do way more damage to her than it was worth doing. And she was his friend’s mom.

Jay bowed his head and took the treatment even if it rankled.

Mother Zhou planted a second dumpling on his plate. Then a third right when Jay ate the second.

When Jay looked up in surprise, he saw Mother Zhou’s coldness transition into a cautious but motherly warmth. She was his second mom in a sense.

“Is Jhara okay?” she asked gingerly.

Jay shook his head. Last night hadn’t been restful for him or his mom. But it wasn’t on his mom that Jay couldn’t sleep. He was dealing with something, and he didn’t know what or why.

Mother Zhou placed the bowl of dumplings down and moved in between Jay and Mike. Her fingers combed through their hair and scratched the back of their heads. It felt really nice. She always knew where to hit the right spot, making Jay’s eyes flutter in happiness.

“Boys,” she said softly. “This is all scary. I know Jhara loves it even if it’s… not what I think is best for her.” Mother Zhou sighed. “But what about me? Can’t we return to our lives before? Can’t I have my boys back to normal?” She rubbed the backs of their necks gently. “Can’t we leave behind this nonsense with agencies? With assassins? And with that damn girl and her Multiverse?”

Even though the last point was a bitter one, Jay leaned into Mother Zhou’s affectionate touch. When Jay’s mom had worked mostly around the clock before full-time writing, Mother Zhou stepped in to watch over Jay if Lilith’s dad wasn’t available. Jay felt like he had multiple parents to cover for the weaknesses of the Luckrun family. They all had met at daycare, after all.

Mike extended his hands over the dining table.

A spark of blue electricity licked between Mike’s fingers. A bright bluish light the size of a pencil point coalesced in between his palms. More magical electricity thrummed between Mike’s hands as the mana particle brightened and stabilized, turning the little apartment into a blue light show blackened by the giant shadows of Mike’s fingers.

“I cannot go back,” Mike said in simple enough Chinese that Jay could understand. “I’m too invested now.”

Mother Zhou retracted her hands and drifted away frostily. Jay missed her touch, but he didn’t go out of his way to seek it–following Mike’s tried and true example of ignoring her. Mother Zhou had to be treated like a cat sometimes.

Buddy One stared in awe at the mana particle, her stuffed face slackening. Jay made the mistake of not limiting his Perception enough. He shuddered. The high-definition details of Buddy One’s food falling out of her mouth was not a pretty sight.

***

Jay and Mike spent the morning talking and getting ready for school. Mike’s clothes fit Jay just fine even though Mike lacked the depth of hoodies Jay had once owned. Mike had one hoodie that was old and faded, but it was a favorite of his. It depicted a cartoon version of the Monkey King. A fitting top for Jay to wear.

Mother Zhou warmed up again. She ensured a CWG agent would take food plates to Jhara and Kleo at the Luckrun’s chosen motel. She offered Jay to have the Luckruns move in with her and Mike, but Jay turned down the offer. Staying at the motel was personal for his mom. Even when traumatic.

Sometimes, Jhara’s nature was a mystery to her own son. He’d learn to ride the waves of his mom’s mood rather than battle it. It was not a good idea to battle his mom.

Or the she-devil would lash out.

Before they departed, Mike ran over a list of precautions his mother would take if any deadly problems cropped up. Jay could tell Mike was tempted to take his mother to school with him. But Mother Zhou was a fiercely independent and hard woman. She would not give up control easily.

Jay remained silent on the issue as Buddy One traded her motorcycle for a nondescript sedan with another nearby CWG agent. The boys didn’t talk during the ride to school. Jay would occasionally check on Mike’s spherical concentration of gravity. It was densely controlled all the way to their destination.

“See you later, Buddy One,” Jay said.

“No you won’t,” she said under her breath. “I’m gonna get transferred.”

The corners of Jay’s mouth twitched, wanting to smile. He held back as Buddy One drove away at the upper-speed limit. His brief good mood flattened. He glanced over at Mike’s serious expression.

Mike’s glasses were in his hands instead of on his face like usual. He wore a thoughtful frown. The river of high schoolers and faculty flowing around the two might as well not be there.

“I’m a little concerned,” Mike admitted. “Maybe I should be at the apartment instead of here.”

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Maybe he shouldn’t have taken YoAnna’s offer. Maybe he should’ve denied the magical powers and the promise of traveling the Multiverse–something Jay could guess was running through Mike’s mind.

“We need,” Jay said, “to be here.”

“Why?” Mike asked.

“The school arc is a quiet challenge,” Jay said, feeling distant, feeling somewhere farther away, feeling madness come in small waves. “To fail will stain the white crusade, tarnish the gold grandeur, and weaken the black strength. And the Champions will tear themselves apart.”

Jay covered his face. His right eye, the gravity eye, shone painfully. Students and faculty passing between the lion statues faltered as they regarded Jay. But they didn’t approach. It took a moment for his gravity whatever to settle down before he uncovered his face.

Mike donned his glasses and regarded Jay critically, back to being Second Nerd. Hints of blue glimmered around Mike’s brown irises.

“I barely glimpsed it,” Mike said. “But I saw magic concentrated on the frontal lobe near the eye stalks.”

[Mages] perceived and understood the essences of magic better than other Classes. Hailey would be great at it with her 50 Perception and 50 Intellect. Mike had higher Intellect and more than enough Perception to still trace magic. Going as far as to see inside of Jay's head, even.

“What does it mean to have magic concentrated there?” Jay asked, feeling hazy after he’d snapped back into himself. Where had he gone? Hadn’t this happened before?

Mike frowned. “Future premonition or divination comes to mind.”

“But that’s what [Eye of Venerated Madness] should be doing,” Jay said. One of its three perks was an active ability that let Jay see a second into the future before an observable event.

Mike took a deep breath, preparing himself for an in-depth explanation.

“Jay, I believe you have several layers of time-related and space-related magic working around each other, separate or not,” Mike said slowly. “Gravity’s considered the weakest of the four fundamental forces, even if it’s theorized as not truly a force. But it supposedly has widespread influence. And when I mean widespread, I mean just about everything should have gravity. Could that include magic? Perhaps. So, your multiple time-related abilities, your spatial gravity sense, and anything else space-time related might just fall under whatever else your Affinity or the System decides is within your reign of power.”

“And what does all that boil down to?” Jay asked.

“That depends,” Mike said. “How much physics do you know? General relativity? The mysteries of quantum gravity? The STEM branches can help you better grasp what you’re in for as a Gravity [Freak]. Even if magic twists and remixes our known science.”

Sighing, Jay headed into school, Mike falling in step behind him.

“I think I gotta take School Arc more seriously, then,” Jay said.

“What would that look like?” Mike asked, sounding very curious.

Jay spotted the basketball captain and his goons. They saw him in return. Their eyes widened with fright before they fled from Jay. They disappeared into the background again. They weren’t his problem anymore, and that felt right.

Now to tackle the next problem.

“It's time for me to actually study,” Jay said as they entered the school foyer with little to no struggle. Teens and adults alike moved out of the way of Rooftop Weirdo and Second Nerd.

***

Either by a stroke of genius, luck, coincidence–or through YoAnna’s manipulations–Jay learned he got booted out of his in-person math and science classes because of overcapacity. His counselor transferred him to Physics and Astronomy as online classes. Some seniors wouldn’t have any STEM classes if they rushed those classes early. Jay had delayed them, which might work out for his new educational pursuit.

Those classes were his first two on Tuesday, too. Students with online classes could use their class period time in public places all around the school. They just needed to check in online and take care of their assignments and labs. Spare laboratories in the science building were also available for students like Jay with online STEM.

Jay chose the smaller of two libraries on the far side of Central as his hangout spot. It was nestled against the school garden, hobby farm, and greenhouse, so the library windows looking out had a nice view of nature and agriculture.

The library exuded the school colors, emblems, and mascot lions like every other building. But it had a more youthful flair from the librarian’s personal touch, such as painting a huge mural on the ceiling merging the fantasy of faeries and unicorns with rockets flying through the starry universe and comic-book illustrations of big alien monsters breathing fire. Looking up while sitting in one of the many beanbag chairs strewn about was fun.

Jay shook his head slowly and returned his focus to his borrowed school laptop. Last week, his eyes would glaze over during a teacher’s lecture. Now his 30 Intellect powered through the monotonous parts. It remembered the vital points and allowed Jay to briefly pay attention to something else or multitask. That helped greatly when the physics teacher went on a long and unnecessary sidebar, affording Jay a moment to read another passage from one of his new books.

The Basic Gravity Principles

Gravity is Space-Time

Quantum Mysteries: Gravity

“Dry reads,” Jay muttered, putting one of the books aside. “But they’re still interesting.”

More interesting than the physics lecture. Should he just read ahead in his classes? Or keep paying attention to the lectures even if the teacher was terrible at explaining the math and equations? Jay would have to ask one of his top-scoring nerd friends–being smart was new to him. He didn’t know how to be efficient about it.

He looked over to a nearby table where a pair of troublemakers napped. The Junker Twins had the same math and science setup as Jay, but their online math was different. They didn’t seem to be taking that seriously.

Rick woke to answer his phone. He talked business about drugs, weapons, or whatever with the O'Kelly Patriarch. The dad sounded like a big deal. A head guy down in Junkside.

Then Rick hung up. He went back to napping as if it was okay to have a phone conversation about criminal business at the library during school hours. A perfect example of how untouchable the Champions could be.

Right next to the twins sat Dennis. He looked absolutely miserable as he stared at his laptop screen. He’d often mumbled to himself, repeating whatever he was trying to imprint in his mind. Even if he got a small boost in Intellect from his rank up, it wasn’t enough to make a difference like Jay’s 30 Intellect.

Jay checked the class list for his Physics class. Ah, Dennis was in it. Jay clicked his tongue. After a while, the live lecture ended and left the students to their own devices. They could goof off or get work done. Online classes could be great if you do your work ahead of time.

Jay gathered his stuff and moved over to the table with Dennis.

“Hey,” the [Freak] greeted.

Dennis grunted a halfhearted greeting, his mind obviously burnt out. The disinterest Dennis had in this stuff reminded Jay of his old self. The [Freak] chuckled as he slipped into a seat next to the [Fighter].

“Want help?” Jay asked.

Dennis snapped out of his daze, blue eyes regarding Jay as his savior. “Please.”

“Let's call this thanks for you being my hero yesterday,” Jay said, organizing his stuff.

“It was nothing special." Dennis ogled Jay’s selection of books. “Dude, you’re going hard on math and science for your, uh, you know what, huh?”

“Might as well take full advantage of the school arc,” Jay said. “How’s football?”

Dennis’s emotions grew heavier and shiftier. “All right. I’ve gotten better at controlling my Strength. Just gotta pretend the defense can take me down or the running back can get by me sometimes.”

Jay recalled Dennis’s position on both sides of the line. Tight end or tackle for the offense. Defensive end or linebacker for the defense. Jay didn’t go to the games. He’d heard through second-hand sources that Dennis would play back to back when the team was down or needed a big play to win. He would pull through for the Central Lions again and again–maintaining his nickname as Superjock.

“Why?” Jay asked.

Dennis became still and thoughtful, not pretending to confuse what Jay was asking. The emotional gravity hanging over him was growing larger.

“I don’t know what I want,” Dennis said. “I feel bad thinking I’m letting go of everything I’ve worked for. Or my dad had me work for. I was supposed to become D1, then go pro.”

“But dragonslaying swords and elven princesses sound more awesome,” Jay countered softly.

“It’s not really my dream,” Dennis muttered, his emotional gravity increasing more than ever before. “My little brother loved that stuff.” Love with a ‘D’ at the end. “Dad never cared. But I’ve always listened when my little brother talked about it. And I’d imagine it, too. It kind of rubbed off on me a little. But that was his thing, not really mine.”

Jay sat with Dennis, feeling the heaviness of Superjock’s emotions pressing down on them both. Jay didn’t turn away or flee from these heavy emotions. He had brought them out of Dennis, so he should bear the burden of them with the guy.

“Let’s do the physics stuff if that’s okay?” Dennis asked.

“Sure,” Jay said. “What’s your next class?”

“Astronomy.”

Jay smiled.

He helped Dennis work through their Physics homework together. For a brief moment, Jay thought about having Mike pay up on a bet they made a while ago. But Jay figured flexing his 30 Intellect would make him more confident in his own developing smarts. It was a little uncomfortable going from an average student that had to struggle or cheat to pass the hard stuff to a good student keeping track of lectures and reading dry informative STEM books simultaneously. He felt slow and unprepared while helping Dennis, too.

But Dennis treated Jay like he was the most marvelous nerd to grace the Superjock’s day. They managed Physics together, and in the spare time they had before having to check in for Astronomy, they got ahead and finished the classwork and homework for that, too. By then, the Junker Twins woke up.

“Is it time for the show?” Rick asked groggily.

“What do you mean?” Jay asked.

“Astronomy teacher. Crazy hot,” Tim said.

“And she knows where to put the cam for the best angles,” Rick said. “I greatly appreciate her artistry.”

Dennis nodded.

Jay, Dennis, Rick, and Tim checked in for astronomy on their individual laptops. Then Jay got to see for himself that–yes, indeed–the astronomy teacher was crazy hot. Her excellent camera angle positioned at chest height had all of his attention–and she was really good at lecturing, too, so it was educational for multiple reasons.

The four boyish Champions had a rowdy–but library quiet–good time. Jay could tell Tuesday's STEM blocks were going to be some of his favorite periods.

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