"Ha-cha, baby!"
Jack was looking into the mirror and testing the limits of his shape shifting again. As he practiced, he eventually figured out how to keep to another form. Exactly one other form, to be precise. Somehow, he only managed to figure that one and that was it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't appear in any other shape, but what a shape it was.
Maybe it was his upbringing. Maybe it was left over from his childhood. Maybe he had some sort of deep seated love for watching late night television and had seen one too many commercials for exotic figurines. Maybe it was implanted into his head when he learned that his name was the same as the Anti-Christ of this world. Regardless of the reason, when he thought about becoming his ideal superhero self…
He became an angel.
He turned around in the bathroom again and again, trying to get a good look of his wings. After a few days he became convinced that they were stable. He used to have short black hair and brown eyes. Now he had long, flowing blonde locks that framed his face and served to draw attention to his pale, baby blue eyes. His original body looks like he had lived every year of the twenty eight he had been alive, but in this form he looked like an eighteen year old track star, both youthful and devastatingly handsome. In fact, the face looked fairly familiar. It took him the better part of the afternoon to finally place it.
He suspected it was because there was this one kid who used to beat the ever living shit out of him in high school. The hair and eyes were different, but the facial structure was identical. It annoyed him to some extent, but he came to the conclusion he had some sort of hang up about the guy. He never got any sort of justice against Brian, so maybe borrowing his face was that revenge.
After all, he had a rather duplicitous plan.
~Become a superhero? Screw that noise!~ He thought to himself as he checked out his abs by counting them one more time, ~I'm gonna get what's coming to me, and I got a face nobody knows about! Brian here can have all the negative social consequences while Jack will be a nobody who lives a normal life.~ He looked into the mirror and practiced firing finger guns at himself, "Ha-cha, baby!"
He gave himself a wink, “You Sir, Are gonna get LAID!”
He scratched his baby smooth chin, then shifted back to Jack. The stubble had returned. It took a few seconds to switch back and forth, but he was getting the hang of it and doing it faster every time. Reverting to normal took no time at all. Switching to angel form could take up to six seconds, but he pulled it off in two in a pinch. He reverted to normal and sighed, “The only downside is this doesn’t last while unconscious.” He pointed at himself in the mirror, “Remember, No Sleep Overs!" He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "Bang 'em then kick 'em out!"
He teleported out of the bathroom and next to his bed. He had figured out quite a few powers he could pull off, but they were all horribly limited. He was amazed at how he learned how to teleport, but could only pull off about ten feet. Boosting his physical attributes was something else he figured out. How to be stronger, faster, tougher, "It's not the volts, it's the amps." He muttered as he thought about how his powers worked.
The problem was he couldn't do much. He got stronger, but maybe only twice as strong. He could move faster, but maybe only fifty percent faster. It was easier if he focused on something specific. He could run faster, but not always MOVE faster, if that makes any sense. Doing more than one thing at a time was extremely draining. He tried running faster and going faster at the same time and actually passed out after about twelve seconds. It took him an hour to recover the first time, and that’s how he found out he reverted back to Jack when he went unconscious.
He figured out how to armor his skin, create a force field, or even project the field to cover something else, but each version took up more and more concentration and… fuel. He figured out he had some sort of energy pool separate from the Monads. To put it another way, the Monads created the power framework, but he still needed gasoline to power the engine, and he had a rather small tank. He could switch up the framework fairly quickly, however. He could run faster, then switch to a force field, not that it was anything impressive, but he could do some sort of shield. He tested it the other night. it could take a solid hit from a baseball bat, but that was about it. He picked up his clothes and ported back into the bathroom.
As Jack, he got his suit and tie looking nice. He wanted to look his best as he went to visit his therapist. He needed to look like he was with it, yet powerless. He really wanted to stay under the radar if he was going to have fun at this. Jack needed to be a nobody, so Brian could party it up.
With that thought in his head, he stepped out of his apartment and walked straight into his next-door neighbor, knocking a bag out of her hands in the process.
"Oof!" The mousy woman exclaimed, "Sorry!" She was on the short side, light brown hair, light green eyes, short, thin, flat chested and sporting a pair of thick rimmed glasses. Jack assumed she was the equivalent of a gamer geek in his old world. The whole flipped gender roles was throwing him for a loop.
"Don't worry about it." Jack smiled at her pleasantly. He’d seen her a few times already, but she always seemed to be too nervous to talk. He remembered how pathetic his life was and how often he wished some girl would just see him for what he was, not for his appearance. In a way, she was like his old self in his old world. He had a soft spot for her, "How's it going?" He paused to bend down and help pick up the items that spilled out of the bag she had been carrying.
She panicked and moved her body to block him from helping, "No! I'll get it!" She seemed embarrassed by what had spilled out, and did her best to gather it up without him seeing. Jack backed off a step, not wanting to push it, ~Porn, most likely.~ He checked out her behind while she was bent over, "Ya know... you haven't introduced yourself. This is what, the third time we've met?"
She froze for a second, finished picking up her stuff then straightened up, “Fourth, actually.” She shouldered the bag and offered her free hand, "Myrtle. Myrtle Fields." Jack took her hand and shook, "Jack Cooper." She shook his hand while commenting, "Jack. God is gracious."
Jack blinked, "Huh?"
She let go of his hand, "Your name? It means God is gracious." She then pointed at herself, "Myrtle is a type of shrub."
Jack burst out laughing for a second then covered his smile with his hand, "You don't say?"
Myrtle's self confidence was instantly shattered at his outburst. She seemed to collapse in on herself and mumble something that Jack couldn't make out. Jack instantly came to regret his reaction. He paused to compose his thoughts then cleared his throat, "Shrub Fields, eh? I like it. Kinda cute." He rolled his hand in the air, “Sort of name you’d expect a faerie to have out of some old English play.”
Myrtle looked up at Jack with wide eyes and apparently took his complement well. Jack tilted his head to the side and just smiled back at her.
She eventually found her voice, "Really?"
Jack nodded, "Really-Really." He stared back at her for a few seconds longer than was proper, ~You know what? I think I'm going to bang you.~ He blinked and shook his head, "I wish we could talk longer. I need to get to my appointment. Can I get a rain check?"
Myrtle nodded and exclaimed, "I Like Rain!" She backed up a step and bumped into the railing of the motel complex they were living in, "Not going out in it, but watching it." She looked around for a few moments then added, "So maybe we can meet and talk and... uh.. stuff?"
Jack paused to briefly glance up and down her body then added with just a hint of suggestion, "And… stuff." He winked, "Catch you later!" Then turned and walked away. He enhanced his vision and glanced across the courtyard to the windows on the other side. In a reflection, he could see her blatantly checking out his behind. With a smirk he made sure to give her a little extra sway in his step, ~Do they like that here?~
Taking the stairs at two steps at a time, he sprinted out to the local bus stop to catch a ride to Caretaker's Plaza. Stepping onto the bus, he was greeted with standing room only. He grabbed the hang bar as the bus slowly made its way through the streets. A woman offered to give Jack her seat, but he waved it off, "I'm fine. Thanks. I want to stand. Good to stretch."
He wouldn't mind sitting, but the fact was the gesture was often just an excuse to hit on Jack. Frankly, he had higher standards. Then again, Myrtle wasn't his type, either, but he had a sympathy for her. Besides, it’ll be fun to rock her world.
That is what he was thinking when the bus pulled through an intersection and got hit midsection on the driver’s side by half a flying SUV.
"Ha-cha, baby!"
Jack was looking into the mirror and testing the limits of his shape shifting again. As he practiced, he eventually figured out how to keep to another form. Exactly one other form, to be precise. Somehow, he only managed to figure that one and that was it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't appear in any other shape, but what a shape it was.
Maybe it was his upbringing. Maybe it was left over from his childhood. Maybe he had some sort of deep seated love for watching late night television and had seen one too many commercials for exotic figurines. Maybe it was implanted into his head when he learned that his name was the same as the Anti-Christ of this world. Regardless of the reason, when he thought about becoming his ideal superhero self…
He became an angel.
He turned around in the bathroom again and again, trying to get a good look of his wings. After a few days he became convinced that they were stable. He used to have short black hair and brown eyes. Now he had long, flowing blonde locks that framed his face and served to draw attention to his pale, baby blue eyes. His original body looks like he had lived every year of the twenty eight he had been alive, but in this form he looked like an eighteen year old track star, both youthful and devastatingly handsome. In fact, the face looked fairly familiar. It took him the better part of the afternoon to finally place it.
He suspected it was because there was this one kid who used to beat the ever living shit out of him in high school. The hair and eyes were different, but the facial structure was identical. It annoyed him to some extent, but he came to the conclusion he had some sort of hang up about the guy. He never got any sort of justice against Brian, so maybe borrowing his face was that revenge.
After all, he had a rather duplicitous plan.
~Become a superhero? Screw that noise!~ He thought to himself as he checked out his abs by counting them one more time, ~I'm gonna get what's coming to me, and I got a face nobody knows about! Brian here can have all the negative social consequences while Jack will be a nobody who lives a normal life.~ He looked into the mirror and practiced firing finger guns at himself, "Ha-cha, baby!"
He gave himself a wink, “You Sir, Are gonna get LAID!”
He scratched his baby smooth chin, then shifted back to Jack. The stubble had returned. It took a few seconds to switch back and forth, but he was getting the hang of it and doing it faster every time. Reverting to normal took no time at all. Switching to angel form could take up to six seconds, but he pulled it off in two in a pinch. He reverted to normal and sighed, “The only downside is this doesn’t last while unconscious.” He pointed at himself in the mirror, “Remember, No Sleep Overs!" He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, "Bang 'em then kick 'em out!"
He teleported out of the bathroom and next to his bed. He had figured out quite a few powers he could pull off, but they were all horribly limited. He was amazed at how he learned how to teleport, but could only pull off about ten feet. Boosting his physical attributes was something else he figured out. How to be stronger, faster, tougher, "It's not the volts, it's the amps." He muttered as he thought about how his powers worked.
The problem was he couldn't do much. He got stronger, but maybe only twice as strong. He could move faster, but maybe only fifty percent faster. It was easier if he focused on something specific. He could run faster, but not always MOVE faster, if that makes any sense. Doing more than one thing at a time was extremely draining. He tried running faster and going faster at the same time and actually passed out after about twelve seconds. It took him an hour to recover the first time, and that’s how he found out he reverted back to Jack when he went unconscious.
He figured out how to armor his skin, create a force field, or even project the field to cover something else, but each version took up more and more concentration and… fuel. He figured out he had some sort of energy pool separate from the Monads. To put it another way, the Monads created the power framework, but he still needed gasoline to power the engine, and he had a rather small tank. He could switch up the framework fairly quickly, however. He could run faster, then switch to a force field, not that it was anything impressive, but he could do some sort of shield. He tested it the other night. it could take a solid hit from a baseball bat, but that was about it. He picked up his clothes and ported back into the bathroom.
As Jack, he got his suit and tie looking nice. He wanted to look his best as he went to visit his therapist. He needed to look like he was with it, yet powerless. He really wanted to stay under the radar if he was going to have fun at this. Jack needed to be a nobody, so Brian could party it up.
With that thought in his head, he stepped out of his apartment and walked straight into his next-door neighbor, knocking a bag out of her hands in the process.
"Oof!" The mousy woman exclaimed, "Sorry!" She was on the short side, light brown hair, light green eyes, short, thin, flat chested and sporting a pair of thick rimmed glasses. Jack assumed she was the equivalent of a gamer geek in his old world. The whole flipped gender roles was throwing him for a loop.
"Don't worry about it." Jack smiled at her pleasantly. He’d seen her a few times already, but she always seemed to be too nervous to talk. He remembered how pathetic his life was and how often he wished some girl would just see him for what he was, not for his appearance. In a way, she was like his old self in his old world. He had a soft spot for her, "How's it going?" He paused to bend down and help pick up the items that spilled out of the bag she had been carrying.
She panicked and moved her body to block him from helping, "No! I'll get it!" She seemed embarrassed by what had spilled out, and did her best to gather it up without him seeing. Jack backed off a step, not wanting to push it, ~Porn, most likely.~ He checked out her behind while she was bent over, "Ya know... you haven't introduced yourself. This is what, the third time we've met?"
She froze for a second, finished picking up her stuff then straightened up, “Fourth, actually.” She shouldered the bag and offered her free hand, "Myrtle. Myrtle Fields." Jack took her hand and shook, "Jack Cooper." She shook his hand while commenting, "Jack. God is gracious."
Jack blinked, "Huh?"
She let go of his hand, "Your name? It means God is gracious." She then pointed at herself, "Myrtle is a type of shrub."
Jack burst out laughing for a second then covered his smile with his hand, "You don't say?"
Myrtle's self confidence was instantly shattered at his outburst. She seemed to collapse in on herself and mumble something that Jack couldn't make out. Jack instantly came to regret his reaction. He paused to compose his thoughts then cleared his throat, "Shrub Fields, eh? I like it. Kinda cute." He rolled his hand in the air, “Sort of name you’d expect a faerie to have out of some old English play.”
Myrtle looked up at Jack with wide eyes and apparently took his complement well. Jack tilted his head to the side and just smiled back at her.
She eventually found her voice, "Really?"
Jack nodded, "Really-Really." He stared back at her for a few seconds longer than was proper, ~You know what? I think I'm going to bang you.~ He blinked and shook his head, "I wish we could talk longer. I need to get to my appointment. Can I get a rain check?"
Myrtle nodded and exclaimed, "I Like Rain!" She backed up a step and bumped into the railing of the motel complex they were living in, "Not going out in it, but watching it." She looked around for a few moments then added, "So maybe we can meet and talk and... uh.. stuff?"
Jack paused to briefly glance up and down her body then added with just a hint of suggestion, "And… stuff." He winked, "Catch you later!" Then turned and walked away. He enhanced his vision and glanced across the courtyard to the windows on the other side. In a reflection, he could see her blatantly checking out his behind. With a smirk he made sure to give her a little extra sway in his step, ~Do they like that here?~
Taking the stairs at two steps at a time, he sprinted out to the local bus stop to catch a ride to Caretaker's Plaza. Stepping onto the bus, he was greeted with standing room only. He grabbed the hang bar as the bus slowly made its way through the streets. A woman offered to give Jack her seat, but he waved it off, "I'm fine. Thanks. I want to stand. Good to stretch."
He wouldn't mind sitting, but the fact was the gesture was often just an excuse to hit on Jack. Frankly, he had higher standards. Then again, Myrtle wasn't his type, either, but he had a sympathy for her. Besides, it’ll be fun to rock her world.
That is what he was thinking when the bus pulled through an intersection and got hit midsection on the driver’s side by half a flying SUV.
