Despite the mind-boggling number of people I'd passed and healed during my 9 to 3 walk through the city, the pace had been spaced out enough that I only earned about twenty-five points from it.
Casual healing on the go just didn't rack up the points quickly—not like what happened later.
When I was being handed patients back-to-back in the park an hour later post pizza, that was different. Before I knew it, I had a surplus of an additional one hundred and thirty-five points, seemingly from just five hours of work.
People kept coming. How could I say no, even when they advised me to stop?
I was earning maybe one point for every ten to twelve people healed, going through them at a rate of one every five to ten seconds. It didn't take long before the gathering turned into an orderly but anxious near-riot.
Over a thousand people—maybe closer to fourteen or fifteen hundred—showed up.
By the end of it, I'd dropped Turtle Shell for the first time in… forever, feeling naked as hell, and was scraping the bottom of my ki reserves.
I won't lie, I was regretting the decision to push myself that far. The only reason I could sustain it was due to the rapid growth of my Shōki, the force of my righteous spirit that grew from my healing.
If it wasn't for my courage/willpower in Yūki carrying at the end, whooo. I almost passed straight out, honestly. Great training though and I helped a lot of people. Win fucking win.
A cool 174 Savior Points gleamed in the system log, practically begging to be spent. I'd additionally become a major national figure adding an extra ten, and a niche international figure was an extra four. Seems national gave a times two multiplier and an international gave times four.
Something itched like I should have noticed something. But I couldn't put my finger on it. Meh.
One weakness stood out, and fixing it seemed obvious.
Tail Mastery.
Despite being weirdly cheap—just 30 points, tucked under the "Advanced Powers" section that usually priced things closer to 100—plugging that hole was crucial.
Luckily, no one had found out about my kryptonite yet, and I intended to keep it that way.
Next up, I bought Controlled Great Ape for 80 points. No contest. I couldn't afford to be mistaken for a new-age Endbringer if I accidentally caught sight of the moon or if some cape's blast was loaded with Blutz Waves.
No sir, not making that mistake.
With 54 points left and an unfair circumstance, I spent half of them on Aura Suppression. I coulda gotten Power Suppression, but frankly, I had no interest in making myself weaker just to be convenient. It interfered with my warrior sentiments, honestly. I wouldn't be bothering with it unless I actively began breaking everything I touched.
Or maybe it was my pride. But that felt too Vegeta-y and was icky. I liked Vegeta. Looked up to his spirit. I didn't want to be him.
Regardless, it was apparent that healmaxxing my Shōki was way more effective training than I'd expected. In a single day, my well-developed Genki—the energy behind my physical strength and attacks—had nearly been matched by Shōki, which had tripled in volume.
The end result? My power level doubled overnight. Closer to 2.2 times, actually, but meh.
Was that why when Kami and Piccolo fused back in Cell Saga his power up and doubled? That his Shōki and Genki had returned to balance? Because you couldn't use Shōki without Genki outside of ethereal kami stuff like creation, from my current understanding. People gave shit to Kami for being weak, but dude could power the Dragon Balls of Earth AND managed the world. People didn't give him enough credit. Maybe he had the Shōki for it all, but couldn't manifest that into combat purposes like Piccolo.
Who knew? I certainly wouldn't without a deeper understanding of Ki. But the next Energy Control was double the original cost now sitting at 40 and I didn't feel like I really needed it yet.
Especially since I had to panic-buy Aura Suppression after waking up at 3 a.m. to the building faintly rumbling.
Turns out, my unsuppressed ki was leaking while I slept, recovering said ki. I wasn't good enough to keep it sealed in my dreams, so it became a necessary impulse buy.
And though I had only 34 points left—and really, I should've saved them for emergencies—I caved.
I bought Flight for 10 points.
No more clumsy pseudo-flight with crude temp foothold air-walking for me, thank you very much.
With just 24 points left that couldn't even fill an emergency role (maybe), I turned down a dozen propositions from the Protectorate.
Pitches for interviews, heroic brand building, advice for talking to journalists, making public appearances, etc.
All of it.
I told them, honestly, that the previous day had wiped me the hell out, and I needed a day or two to myself to mentally and physically recenter and adjust.
And you know, process the new power level. Whatever the number was now.
It was a fair request, and frankly, they had no power over me. They couldn't make me work.
Still, the civilian population wasn't exactly jazzed that the sudden miracle healer had decided to take time off. People had come from all over—just for a touch. And if the news was of any hint, more were coming.
I at least agreed to cooperate with some publicity stunt or another after some rest. I wasn't a monster. I just needed to recenter myself.
Still it was annoying ignoring the increased watch on me as I meditated and consolidated my power increase.
In the privacy of the 'private' training room (I was sure there were Tinker-cams used to keep eyes on it) I floated in the air as if gravity had lost its hold on me as I added to the mental meditation training by physically adding zero gravity imitation floating/flight to the mix.
"You ain't beating the angel allegations now, Tarnip." I heard Triumph chuckle above my head as I floated upside down above him. "Come down here and eat something."
"As an angel I have outgrown your mortal need for basic sustenance. Namu Amita~" I joked back, faux-serenely. "But for the sake of the argument… whatchu bring?"
"I've brought six burritos called The Meat Tornado just for your share. And five pounds of nachos covered in-."
My feet slammed just a bit harder into the ground than I'd intended as I performed a combat airdash, landing in the iconic Spiderman pose. I swear I'd figure out the afterimage tech (considering it was a step beyond just moving quickly, there was a trick to it) on my own, on god. I know at the very least I left a fuzzy blur behind this time.
"You had me at the meat tornado." I could feel my tail wag, damn dog-like thing.
I blinked at the buff brown skinned teen in a red mask that only showed a slit for eyes next to Triumph, who was wearing his lion mask over what I could only describe as golfer-casual.
"You must be Aegis." I stretched out an arm, hand closed for a fist bump. "How are ya?"
"Oh." He quickly bumped fists with me, smiling a bit nervously, "Good, sir. Nice to meet you, sir."
I snorted.
"From your build I'd guess you're what, fifteen? I could be an upperclassman in your school at this point, no need for sir just 'cuz I'm a legal adult. Reality is, I'm probably as much as a kid as you, just with Thinker-forced maturity at times. Hell, I borderline raised myself in the woods, y'know. Rather I'm gonna apologize if I say or do anything stupid or immature."
"Still, I just think it's amazing you've already helped so many people as a cape. All I can do is punch and take hits." Aegis rubbed the inside of his left thumb and index finger with his other thumb. "And Brute capes like me are a dime a dozen."
"Hey, I'd love a good brawl with ya sometimes then! No need to put yourself down. I mighta figured out ki healing recently, but at my core I'm a warrior. I'm sure as fellow Brutes we can learn a few things from each other."
"Oh, uh yes! That'd be great!"
Triumph pat Aegis's back with a good-natured laugh.
"See? I told you, Tarnip is just a chill guy. Also let's eat. You should watch him go, too. It's like watching a living cartoon. Or a hairless large squirrel."
"Ha ha" I sarcastically laughed as I checked out the bag.
The logo, Señor Papada, was written out in a playful, chunky font with some curvature for a playful flair. The bag had a logo of a mustachioed cartoon pig, not too dissimilar to Porky the Pig from Looney Toons, but visually distinct enough that the resemblance was only passing.
With a sombrero, a cravat, and a fork spearing a sauce topped burrito, the icon screamed of unhealthiness but promised a dedication to flavor.
And the smelllllll.
"Oh yeah. I got a good feeling about this. Hey Triumph, where'd you find this? All I ever seem to stumble across are delis and sandwich shops. I got enhanced senses of smell, but the best I've stumbled on was Indian and I didn't feel like sitting and eating that time. I've always wanted to try curry though, so another day for sure."
"Hey, don't worry, I'll give you a tour of all the smaller ethnic districts later. When you have supervillain Nazis in town, people of the same culture tend to band together to fend off gangs. Food culture gets focused in those pockets of town, too."
"Mmm. Apes. Together. Strong." I grunted out an acknowledgement as Aegis coughed into the bottle of water he'd just cracked open.
"Bro!"
I laughed as I let my tail tease between us with a wiggle.
"Monkey. Ooh ah ah."
The meal? Heavenly. But I wanted some fresh air, and with a little bit of permission from the powers that be, we were allowed onto the rooftop where the helicopter pad was and enjoy our meals outdoors. Being high up we were able to have actual fresh air, unlike the stagnant scent of urine and trash trapped on the ground level of the city.
Brockton Bay was no New York but it definitely had a public urination issue. Eugh.
Also some awesome PRT trooper hooked us up with two twelve packs of soda. Cola and Fanta.
I would have suspected with my inherited memories and mannerisms I'd prefer the cola more, but man. I just really liked citrus drinks. Was it the monkey part of saiyan-hood? Who knew?
Also Triumph and Aegis, despite having full head helmets/masks, could open up part of the jaw or take them off entirely just for eating. Pretty cool stuff.
"Okay, but seriously," I said between mouthfuls of burrito and nachos, "What idiot decided to name something the Meat Tornado and not expect it to be used as a finishing move name?"
Triumph raised an eyebrow, sipping at his coke like a heathen.
"You gonna suplex someone and yell 'MEAT TORNADO!' next time? If so bring me along so I'll take a pic to boost my PHO account numbers."
"Nah," I grinned, "I'm gonna hit someone with a mid-air somersault axe kick and shout, 'Taste the calories!' as I hit them like a descending god of cholesterol. That WWE stuff you sent to me is tastelessly fake and scripted, but their moves are fun. And viable if you're outclassing your opponent immensely."
Aegis tried not to choke on his drink, a fellow Fanta follower. His end in today's spar would be swift.
"Please don't do that in public."
"Yeah, no promises."
I flicked a stray glob of cheese off my finger up into the air, accounting for the crossbreeze, and caught it in my mouth, getting a laugh and claps from my fellow capes.
"Also, props. The burrito is 10/10. Grease saturation: perfect. I'm gonna be sweating beef tallow by the end of the day. Moisturized smooth and soft like a monkey's bottom."
Triumph beamed like he'd just been personally responsible for inventing burritos before grimacing about the crass comment I threw in at the end.
"Hey, I'm what we call a gourmand. Or at least my dad's assistant does a LOT of restaurant research for various meetings with different ethnic groups. And she really knows what's up when it comes to food."
We kept eating, sitting on the edge of the PRT helicopter landing pad like oversized pigeons. Below us, the city murmured faintly—cars honking, voices rising, sirens distant. Brockton Bay was ugly and proud. Kinda like my tail.
Speaking of.
I let it curl around my soda can and bring it up to my mouth. Mmmm. Sparkly orange.
Aegis tried not to stare.
"…That's so cool, but so weird."
"I'm offended," I said between sips. "This is a symbol of my noble people and my evolutionary superiority. And I'm using it for hydration. Bow before your advanced simian betters, human."
Triumph let out a wheeze.
We finished up. I inhaled the last burrito in four bites. It was mostly beans, cheese, and protein paste at that point, anyway. Good for a Saiyan body. Not so much for my sodium intake. Actually, how much sodium was ideal for a saiyan anyways?
"Ugh, I'm stuffed. You wanna finish my wings, Tarnip?" Triumph offered his food grade cardboard container, rattling it.
For a white boy, he could handle spice. I respected that as a Korean-adjacent/inheritor.
I nodded, tossing all three extra hot buffalo wings in my mouth, which to my Korean and saiyan sentiments weren't all that spicy, and if anything a bit too vinegar forward, crunching it down, bones and all.
The two Wards stared at me.
"What? It's good calcium."
"It's lowkey terrifying is what it is." Aegis cringed at the sound of crunching bone. "I know with my powers, I could do that, but I, y'know, don't."
"Your loss." I shrugged, standing up and stretching. "I could suck on bone marrow all day."
After popping maybe half my vertebrae, tail included, I turned to Aegis.
"So. You said you could punch and take hits. Wanna try that out? A little workout to pound out them calories?"
He blinked, his eyes visibility confused through the mask.
"Wait. Spar? Now?"
I rolled my shoulders with a grin.
"Best way to digest. Besides, I've been wanting to try punching someone who won't break instantly."
He looked at Triumph.
"Go for it," Triumph said with a smirk. "If he kills you, I'll avenge you. Maybe."
Aegis exhaled and stood.
"We should go inside for that."
"Naw, not like I'm gonna rip your head off. Plus I get the feeling you can fly, right? I can fly too. We're good."
"I don't think the Director will be happy about this."
"Sure, but it's a controlled spar that lets you and I both practice fighting while flying. We'll hold back. We're training, not fighting for real."
I didn't want to turn Aegis into a bloody mess, even if he could take it.
"Alright. Just don't hold back too much."
I laughed, performing a triple set of backflips towards the center of the H on the helipad, stretching my arms and body, twisting my torso left and right. It was playtime.
Aegis, despite being younger, was a bit more controlled, softly floating over to his side of the H, taking a deep breath and getting into a boxing stance.
The moment Aegis took a stance, I could feel him lock in. Either his Shard or his own mentality focusing everything on this fight, I tried to keep a straight face but felt my grin widen just a touch.
I may not have purchased Ki Sense, but with my newfound control, I could vaguely feel his energy and intent.
But my real senses were different. I could hear the air enter and exit multiple sets of airways. I could feel and hear his small orchestral band of mini-heartbeats—not out of fear, but anticipation. He was itching to prove himself. Test himself.
He wanted this as much as I did. Unlike Triumph who sought improvement for improvements sake…
Aegis had a warrior's pride.
I really liked this kid.
"Rules?" he asked.
"No killing, obviously. Try any flight moves you're curious about. And if you break a bone, you get bragging rights."
He nodded, a small swallow of saliva, the bone in the socket rolling his shoulders. His posture straightened, bones popping back into place like reloading a magazine.
I mean as a Brute he was always bearing arms, so-
He moved first—fast, precise. A quick jab to my shoulder, almost a feint, followed by a rising knee meant to catch my ribs, then flying up over to drop an axe kick from above on my spiky haired head.
You could tell he was somewhat classically trained in some basic martial arts. Nothing too fancy, but enough for him to experiment with what he found fun or interesting.
"Nice knee feint, but you're overswinging with the downward axe kick. Flying makes it weird, but-"
I tanked the shoulder blow, leaning into the blow to minimize impact force, tapped his knee with my palm and redirected it to the side. It was like trying to shove a steel girder—but with my strength and leverage on my side, it wasn't too difficult.
"- you gotta either fully commit to spinning or find a way to stop when you miss!"
I leaned to the side. Felt the air displacing as his shoe grazed my hair. Close but not quite.
"Good start," I said, "but mind your centerline. You're leading with it, but you want to lead with left or right. Both to minimize targetable areas as well as so you can twist to add impact. Like this!"
I spun up, a spinning knee getting blocked by crossed forearms. I could feel the bones bend and threaten to break.
"You block like that, you're begging to get your arms broken! Whenever possible, deflect! Just because you're a Brute doesn't mean you need to take hits! Hits slow you down! Entropy! Entropy! Stopping is death!"
My legs lashed out in a double hammer kick, sending Aegis flying back and to the side.
"Only be a shield when you have to protect a teammate! When your body can save a life! Use your edge whenever else! A bladed shield is still a shield, Aegis!"
He didn't answer—he twisted midair as he rode the momentum I'd given him, telegraphing a roundhouse kick before a beautiful pump-fake swinging his elbow around into my jaw.
That one connected beautifully, making me see faint stars for a split second. A genuinely well-earned blow.
I stumbled back with a low whistle.
"Oof. Solid. You pack more than I expected. Riding the momentum like that to bleed impact's also viable. Good shit! That's more like it!"
"I'm just getting warmed up," he grinned. "I can do this all day!"
Oh yeah. I liked this kid. Great unintentional Captain America reference. Especially with the whole shield thing from me earlier. Was the MCU a thing here?
I surged forward, ducking under his next swing as he flew past me like superman and tagged his midsection with a palm strike with a little experimental ki-boosting. I tried adding a little bit of a vibrating twist, inspired by Triumph's sonic shockwaves, but nowhere near using my full power.
Still, he grunted as he spun through the air for a moment.
"What was that? Felt a bit like Triumph hit me."
"That was the intent. His shockwaves are cool as hell, so I tried to see if I could mimic it."
"Frequency is probably too low. It feels like it, but it was just shaking me a bit, not like, damaging like his get."
"Ha! I'll show you damaging!"
We traded blows. Though I was far faster, I restricted myself with Turtle Shell to keep my speed within Aegis's limits. It wouldn't be training if it was just one person one-sidedly beating on the other.
And while it was from inherited memories, I had more actual combat training, probably. I knew more tricks and maneuvers, even if they didn't always translate well in mid-air.
We flew through the air, both testing what felt right and what went wrong as we'd point out what we thought looked awkward about the other's movement and attacks.
Sometimes whooping in excitement at a move that landed well, sometimes laughing out loud as we spun out like morons.
You know. Boy stuff.
Despite my advice being a bit more useful, rooted in more experience, Aegis had good instincts and was at least able to point out movements that he thought slowed me down or were just plain awkward, letting me also grow from the experience.
All in all, it was like fighting a very polite bulldozer.
And I was having fun, so wasn't that all that mattered?.
I certainly lacked the points to purchase Martial Flying Stance Adaptation but honestly, this was one of those skills that felt important to figure out a basic amount on my own first before purchasing more skill in it outright.
But eventually we were interrupted as a PRT trooper came up to the roof, and passing a message to Triumph that we were causing too much of a commotion.
So sadly that was the end of that.
Triumph leaned over the railing as we both descended, sweaty and smiling.
"So, who won?"
"It wasn't about winning," I called back. "But I'll admit, Aegis tanked me like a champ."
"And you learned anything, Aegis?" Triumph asked.
Aegis nodded, picking up one of the last Fantas, opening his mask, and taking a long chug before talking.
"Yeah. He doesn't go easy even when he says he will."
I snorted.
"That was me going easy. I matched your combat range, didn't I? You're just stronger than you think, bro."
Aegis smiled sheepishly.
"Thanks, man. Actually this felt good. And I'm not even bleeding my guts over the floor, but I feel like I've fought harder than I've ever done in my life. Also, y'know, I didn't realize how much just going almost all out could be so…"
"Cathartic?"
"Yeah, that."
We stood there for a second, both sweaty and smiling like lunatics, breathing in sync.
There was something honest about a good fight. Something clean.
"Well, anytime you wanna train again, let me know. I think we'll both get a lot out of it."
"Definitely."
And with that, we walked back toward the elevator, shoulder to shoulder. Warriors first. Kids second.
The six points I got for tempering and becoming a major goalpost didn't even really matter. Not even that I hadn't gotten a point for victory, since even though I'd limited myself to Aegis's level, neither of us had won. Or rather both of us had today.
"...Did you two just forget me?" Triumph whined, "There's too much trash for one guy here! You left everything!""Ugh. I shouldn't have agreed to this." I fiddled with my blazer.
It was borrowed, not fitted, so it didn't feel or fit quite right. Maybe if it did I'd be less fidgety.
"You'll do fine," Triumph said, clapping me on the back with his armored glove. "You've been given enough advice."
"You and I both know I'm not following that script. And I'm going to throw all their advice out the window the moment I stand on that podium."
"Yeah, I'm honestly a little worried. Still, you're a good guy, so I assume things will, uh, work out."
Since he was publically accompanying me, he was dressed to the nines in his full hero attire. I had to give it to the Protectorate, though. They used their funding for hero designs well. Triumph looked sick.
"Just keep it short, don't swear so much, and try not to look like you're about to blow up the podium."
"I only admitted to thinking about it," I muttered.
"Thought crimes can be more serious with superpowers," he replied, smirking.
"I 'spose."
I scowled, adjusting the blazer again. Thank god they let me wear a simple v-neck instead of insisting on a dress shirt.
I asked why I couldn't just wear my bodysuit and armor, as it was my actual cape outfit, but apparently 'armored alien man' wasn't the look PR was going for my first interview and public speaking. Especially since I was a rare unmasked hero that had a different appeal than was standard and they were getting way more pushy because of it.
The only thing worse than a bureaucrat was one that was passionate about their paperpushing. Especially in roles that would have been fine without one.
They'd given me a speech, and I'd memorized and repeated it back in verbatim, but that wasn't what I was planning on delivering today.
I used my tail to pull a small peak through the curtain, looking out to the other side.
The crowd was tightly packed. Citizens, reporters, some eggheads in formal suits and others in lab coats (for some reason), and there was enough security to make a dictator feel underdressed. Still I wasn't sure about it 100% as my ki sense wasn't well trained or upgraded via the system, but I thought I sensed a few familiar people in the crowd.
Still, it was an open plaza and I was the one in a small tent just shy of the podium, which really made me feel boxed in.
The cameras were already rolling and someone on their phone was probably livestreaming this to the PHO thread on me. Because that was a thing that existed now. What a fucking world.
I groaned again.
"Why does it feel everyone has more free time than I do? I'm literally an actual bum!"
"A bum that can heal near nonstop for hours. Maybe think about what consequences come with healing sixteen hundred people in a single evening next time." Triumph snickered at my distress, the traitor.
I hissed back like a cat, moping. I almost felt justified for the chaos I was about to invite soon.
"Hey, the cat jokes are my territory. Stick to your lane, monkey boy."
I rolled my eyes, sighing as I was signalled to the podium to a flood of annoying flashing lights.
The mic squealed briefly as I approached it.
"Y'all are lucky I'm not epileptic." I said simply, squinting slightly as a few people chuckled. Tough crowd. "I'm Tarnip, like turnip but with an A. No last name. My Cape name is Saiyajin. S A I Y A J I N. You might have seen me roaming around or maybe saw that little healing event. So… yeah. Sorry if you got stuck in traffic because of me."
Laughter rippled through the audience properly this time. I resisted the urge to use the Game Grumps yoda voice to go 'Mmmm. Relatableeeee joke!'
Triumph gave me a thumbs up from the side.
"I'm Case 53, as you can see," I continued. "I'm essentially a Brute/Thinker with a little Breaker mixed in, just that my Thinker powers realized some interesting stuff. But because of my Thinker powers I was fully cognizant, though immature and quite still a baby, when I was found in the woods at the age of what I estimate to be one year old. The guy that found me was a hermit of a Tinker that called himself Tinfoil Steve."
A nervous cough and some confused giggles. That was fine.
"That isn't a joke, oddly enough. But the first thing he did was take me in. Took care of me. Showed me both kindness and compassion. And even though he was lost in a tinkering session gone wrong four years later that didn't change my beliefs. The first action I'd ever witnessed in my life was the warmth of human compassion. It's what I believe in most to this day. I might have lived out my childhood in the woods like a modern day bigfoot, but I'm here now. A little ignorant, sure, but here to help."
A hand shot up in the press section. I pointed.
"Jenelle with the Bay Chronicle. Do you believe you can cure terminal diseases?"
I shrugged.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "What I can tell is that my healing ki refills the body's natural energy reserves and restores you to a baseline state. From what we saw two days ago in the park, it can restore degenerated damage, but if you've got it genetically it'll probably come back eventually. I'm not rewriting reality here. It's more like restoring a broken vase and filling it up. Fixing a vessel. If it's flawed, that flaw will probably show up again eventually."
That one got murmurs. A few more camera flashes.
Another hand.
"Can you explain how your powers work?"
"Well I'm gonna be very specific and technical with my answer here. My power itself, as a Case 53, is my Case 53 mutation. I'm real strong, bounce back from injuries pretty well, and I've got a mixture of various Thinker powers. Some of it's simple, enhanced senses in smell and hearing. But what you're all clamoring over is because of a developed invisible sixth sense that detects and gives me a grasp of a certain energy. That energy's the reason I can heal people. Lastly I have some Breaker powers I'm still figuring details out. For now I technically transform in the full moon like a werewolf. No it will not be a problem since I've figured out how to prevent it and control it."
I glared and waited as a flood of flashes and questions flooded, answering nothing with a blank face. Triumph looked both amused and horrified as this interview went along and I ignored pretty much everything that the Protectorate PR people had 'suggested' for me to say. Speech thrown halfway out the window.
Obviously they wanted me to just introduce and endear myself to the people, be polite and be semi-vague about my powers, not super up front. Certainly not bringing up things that I hadn't even told them about.
Just doing it my way. Rough, but to the point with full brutal honesty. The saiyan way.
"No, not elaborating further on the Breaker state right now since it doesn't matter to what y'all are actually here for. I really don't want to go on a different tangent because it's… it's complicated. But, back to the energy. I call it ki. But the truth is everyone has ki. I have it, you have it, everyone in this room has it. I can feel it right now, as I do all the time."
The room exploded into flashing lights and a thousand questions, grown adults acting like children to talk over one another.
I sighed, and let my ki aura amp and glared, sending a shockwave through the room that shut everyone up as the pressure in the air increased, various pens and small miscellaneous items beginning to lift off the ground from the ambient energy in the air.
"Are we all going to chatter like children? Or are we going to be civilized and ask stuff one at a time like proper adults?... Good."
I took a deep breath, suppressing my ki aura.
Here's to making myself untouchable via Cauldron. Hey, I'm gonna set myself up to make EVERY human able to add to the fight versus Scion, hopefully with proper full eradication via Hakai. I wasn't just going to ramble on this for no reason. My only concern were the villains that would eventually figure ki out, but then I'd take responsibility for that by eliminating them.
I felt ashamed that the thought of the fights to come excited me to my core.
"To sum it up, ki is easiest to explain as life energy or bioenergy. To manipulate it one must find harmony in their three base internal kis and mold it into usable manipulatable outer ki. Like I said, my Thinker powers were what made me able to sense and be aware of ki which exists in every living thing, plants as well. I've been using and experimenting with ki all my life. Sometimes coming to new epiphanies via power shenanigans, okay? Like the healing that's new to me."
The floodgate of questions opened up once more.
I could see Triumph rapidly whispering apologies into his helmet's earpiece. Sorry bro.
"So you don't need to be a Cape to use ki?"
"No. Everyone has it. It's a matter of learning to manipulate it."
"James Matterson of the New York Times! What are the three kis?"
"Until I decide exactly how to teach others to use it, there's no point in me telling you. What if someone does something stupid trying to grow certain aspects of their ki and hurt themselves? I have enhanced recovery from my Case 53 mutation. Normal people don't. Next."
"Why weren't you in your cape uniform while traveling through the city like when you first arrived?"
"I wore it under the sweats. Also I don't need to be drawing attention to myself while I'm just exploring the city, do I?"
"Do you not feel like it's disingenuous to disguise yourself when you're so powerful?"
"What kind of misleading question is that? You don't want some peace and quiet sometimes? Next."
"Mr. Tarnip! Why haven't you been patrolling and pressing against the gangs?"
"I don't even understand the current layout of the city, let alone how they're rooted in the cracks. Do you want me to accidentally start a gangwar without taking the city and the citizens into account? Dumb questions do exist. Next."
"Lemon Dewgrass of Arcadia Student Newspaper! Is your tail prehensile?"
I used my tail to lift the cup of water on the podium to my lips and took a sip. The cup never left my tail.
"Yeah. Next."
Questions ranged to healing limits, what I sensed, the details of how I translated what I sensed that was wrong into what the actual diagnoses were, etc. Since I ignored personal questions and questions about ki any further than what I'd revealed, everything was redirected into that.
Any ethical healing questions were met with my blunt admittance that I didn't much care about the ethics and if people came to me for healing I was going to treat it as implied consent and anyone who pretended otherwise afterwards was an idiot that I'd be ignoring in the future no matter how grave their condition got.
Which really put a nice bow on that. But we all knew there'd be some moron that would try something eventually.
People would be people.
"Alright that's all for questions. I'm already gonna get chewed out by PRT later for going far off script and saying things without discussing it with them ahead of time. I'm just doing what I think is right, and that's it. You can take whatever you want out of context from my actions, I simply don't care. But if you say dumb shit and don't get help from me later, don't be surprised. I'm pretty straightforward for a monkey."
That was when I felt something was wrong. Something that made the hair on my tail stand on end.
I immediately spent 20 of my 40 remaining SP to purchase Ki Sensing.
I didn't see the attack coming.
But I could sense a dozen ki signatures with three of them emitting a unique sensation I'd associated with Shards all barreling down the road and past the plaza edge at a breakneck pace.
And yet I saw nothing. Was I going craz-
That was when I saw the body of a pedestrian on the edge of the plaza being flung aside, spinning as they bled and flung to the ground, spilling a plastic bag with stuff onto the ground.
"GET BACK!!!" I let my ki erupt and Turtle Shell reinforce further as I leaped at the invisible ki signatures.
They were invisible. It was in their best interest in not giving that way, but they'd chosen to run into a pedestrian anyways. My empathy for my current enemy had dropped to zero.
"DON'T FUCK WITH MEEEEEEEEE!!!" I landed, anchoring my feet into the concrete, digging holes in the ground as I braced like a sumo and felt impact.
Mashed up against my face, the invisible surface of the vehicle flickered, a mess of panels like repurposed solar tech turned into light refraction tech. The crumpled front of the hood of the vehicle pressed around my body as I bent back, lifting the massive vehicle in the air, hearing panicked screaming inside as steel and aluminum groaned and creaked.
Now not invisible, windows began opening on the sides and I acted as I began to see black barrels extend.
"PUT THAT GUN FUCKING DOWN!" I shouted, jumping into the air, spinning to screams within and- "OR I'LL PUT YOU DOWN LIKE DOGS!"
I performed a back body drop that would make a pro-wrestler proud, slamming the vehicle upside down on the roof ignoring the screams inside and the flickering of ki in fear, one of the ki signatures slowly calming into blissful unconsciousness.
Like I said about pro WWE moves. Im-fucking-practical, unless you severely truly outscaled your enemy.
"You daft cock-sucker! You coulda killed us!" I could vaguely see behind slits in armored plating some dark skinned man inside scream out as he reached for his door. "You wanna die?"
I coldly grasped my right hand with my left, hyperfocusing ki, strands of teal-jade emitting with a high pitched hiss like a dozen boiling kettles.
This shitty hypocrite!
"Live by the sword," I pulled my hands apart, forming a slightly curved blade of ki, mostly shining white, but the core of it filled with denser teal-jade ki, "Die by the sword!"
Ignoring the panicked screams I carved the front of the armored vehicle open like a tin can, my left arm reaching in and pulling out the first person I could grab by the throat.
I turned my arm upside down as their chin met the bottom of my hand, shoulda thought of that, what with flipping the car upside down and all.
I wasn't planning on using gravity to snap their neck.
Yet.
So I dealt with the awkward grip for now.
"Cuogggh" She gurgled, wearing some sort of Harley Quinn-esque amount of makeup, probably for mask purposes, changing her appearance enough that it was hard to see her actual face. Her black thick mascara was running thick from the tears running down her face from both fear and asphyxiation.
Vaguely I felt like I should have recognized her, but right now I was too mad. Full Saiyan monkey at the wheel filled with impotent road rage. The human in me was forced to take a backseat. They ran over a pedestrian for no reason. They were invisible and with no other cars around, they could have avoided hitting that person. HOW MANY HAD THEY HIT ON THE WAY HERE ALONE?!
HOW MANY WERE OUT THERE BLEEDING OUT ALONE, COLD, SUFFERING?!
But the city was always a mass of people suffering random flags of darkening and sickened ki everywhere. I couldn't pick out anything specific and as maddening as that was right now…
The woman in my grip was fucked up.
Like her ki was darkened almost everywhere, her nerves and muscles were damaged, back misaligned from moderate scoliosis, a recent bruise on her face hidden by the makeup. Her teeth all leaked rotting ki, even her tongue and gums were faintly yellowed and dried up in places that shouldn't be.
"Hands of my bird!" A long leg kicked his door open, violent purple dash of something paint across the whole of the door, shooting him out and depositing him along the ground with a skidding motion. "You fucking piss-dick monkey freak!"
Merchants? Skidmark? The fuck were-
I raised my ki blade instinctively, deflecting it with the flat of the blade up and behind me, as Skidmark pulled out a glock and fired at me.
"The fuck? What Matrix shite is that?!" He cursed, shooting point blank at me again and again, screeching when after deflecting away all his bullets, his 'bird' still in my upside down grip (oh Squealer) as I did so.
The empty click mirrored the choked gurgle.
I dashed forward, pumping healing ki into Squealer to fix whatever the fuck was wrong with her as I front-kicked into Skidmark's gut, sending him flying back as he used two different layers of blue deflecting fields to readjust and land on his feet.
With another two layer field painted on the ground, the ejected magazine flew roughly at my groin. I gave it points for accuracy or luck, as I cut it in half.
Its bits scattered uselessly onto the ground.
I frowned. I'd definitely put enough force in that kick he should have been throwing up his past two days of meals.
I looked down to see a small purple field on the ground where he'd been standing as Squealer continued to choke in my grip, just enough slack to let her barely breath just enough to not faint.
"I see. You minimized the kick impact by launching yourself back. Alright. I'll just break limbs so even if you bleed away impact, you can't fucking run from me."
I hopped back as I smelt a familiar acidic mucus, drawing my attention from Skidmark and his ugly teeth.
It splashed on the ground, fizzling against the concrete plaza floor.
Speaking of ugly teeth.
"Slickjaw. Who let your ugly mug out of jail?" I asked with annoyance. "Is there bail for supervillains? Is that a thing?"
He was holding a bit of a low stance, his eyes flicking towards Squealer for a moment before focusing back on me. Bruh, I saved her from your mucus too, you don't need to look at me like I'm the villain.
"Sorry, but your little saint act's messing with business. We coulda sat back if you didn't cure our customer's fucking addictions." Slickjaw spat, spittle hissing as it dissolved concrete. "And there's money in our line of business, so you need-"
"Redline RUSH!!!" A crimson bioelectric coated blur appeared from the side, speeding in with force and power both enough to impress even me, flinging Slickjaw across the ground as he landed, superhero pose.
What was that, times six peak human? Shit, his amp had gotten stronger. Must be fucking hard on his joints though.
"Nice drop kick." I grinned.
"Thanks, Saiyajin!" Redline gave me a thumbs up. "Gotta move quick! I'm a one minute man!"
He blurred to payback Slickjaw for his previous defeat.
"You shouldn't be proud of that title!" I laughed, shaking my head. "And maybe aim for longer use of power rather than amping it more if possible!"
So that was him near the back. He was with the Clarendon High newspaper club as an advisor. Probably a young teacher. Hmmm. His students seemed to like and respect him, which was good. Earning the respect of teenage students who were all full of ego and angst was a difficult job.
"I goddamn wish!" Redline fired back blurring out of view to dodge more acidic mucus.
Well. I heard the click of a reload. Back to my fight.
I turned, my teeth gnashing violently once, twice, thrice, again and again until I turned to Skidmark who looked at me like I was a monster.
I spat out a glob of spit filled with eighteen pieces of lead, some of them having been shattered in half, as it all slid off my tongue and clattered onto the ground.
"That's fucking enough, trash."
I dropped Squealer, blurring forward at max speed, quickly stepping left before reversing my momentum to spin a roulette to the right and behind Skidmark like we were playing soccer.
That instant back and forth movement should have, like a fly suddenly disappearing from one's line of sight, lost an untrained and unenhanced eye.
As if I disappeared from his sight like a goddamn ghost. Eyeshield 21 Devilbat anyone?
His backdash field just made him bump into my chest, letting out a whimpering "...bugger-all.".
God he smelt like burnt cigars and sour lemons. Eugh.
My tail lashed out and tightened around his neck as it lifted him in the air.
Choking, he performed a most british-london accent of pulling out a knife and stabbing me with it, only for the chipped blade to slide off my cheek with no damage. My eye followed the edge of the blade without blinking and went back to him.
Then narrowed.
"Wai-"
His face slammed into the concrete as I dragged him by the face along the ground, feeling his hand and blade scramble against the ground and my tail, unable to damage it as my Turtle Shell bled ki rather than blood.
"Oh. And I told you that I'd break your limbs."
His knees snapped under my heel.
"Don't worry. I'll heal you up later as long as you don't crawl away." I spat coldly.
I walked over, towards Squealer, my blood pumping, looking and feeling like a primal god of war, cracking my neck as I approached the painted woman wetting herself and the ground as she stared up at me.
Shit, I was scary, huh? With my almost Vegeta-face that probably didn't help. That was both cool and annoying at the same time. I didn't want to be scaring everyone I helped. Mmmmrrrrr. Something to figure out how to fix later.
Damn my saiyan resting Vegeta-style bitch face.
I saw a Merchant finally crawl out of the flipped Tinker vehicle, shakily getting up and raising a shotgun towards me. By ki sense I knew Triumph was on the other side, apprehending the ones that had come out from that side.
At this point, there was no point in playing around.
I wasn't incapable of ki blasts. But like how Gohan had a rage-constitution and Broly had a power-mutation like Frieza, I also had a unique constitution that densened my ki, making my ki generally dislike separating from the whole.
Well either it was my constitution or the system attempting to keep me from fully using powers that I hadn't purchased one way or another. It really was just anyone's guess.
So I'd have to lob my blast as it was and… well I was kinda ass at accuracy with thrown projectiles. There was a reason I barehanded most things.
And I had this awesome warrior image going on that I didn't want to fuck up, so…
My SP reserve dropped from 20 to 10 (damn my Saiyan pride, fucking sucked shit) as I fired a low power ki blast, causing the gangbanger to bash back into the vehicle, leaving a cratering dent in the side.
Oof. I held back quite a bit too! How was that the overkill part? Shit.
Judging from my senses granted by healing ki, I'd shattered his ribs and put fractures in his spine. I'd have to fix that. But he'd live either way. It could wait.
Meanwhile a second light teal-jade blast shattered the shotgun next to him into broken pieces, leaving a hiss of steam and molten metal on the ground, the gunpowder of the shotgun rounds disintegrating before it could even ignite.
It was no Hakai, but ki didn't fuck around.
I leaned over Squealer, letting out a deep sigh through my nose, the pressure causing her clothes to rustle and press up against her with some force. She was dressed like someone in Japan had decided to star her in a doujin. A torn up mechanic jumpsuit that was tied off at her hips with a ratty white top that must have once been a stretchy undershirt tank top was shredded up to just under her bosom, exposing her lean from being underweight and not toned abdomen. And all of it was marked with smudges of dirt, dried blood, and motor oil with.
Thanks to my healing ki all her various drug injection scars and various burns were gone to smooth skin once more.
Even with her cake of a makeup job she… actually post healing she was like a six only because she was pretty damn curvy. A four for me because all that cake face made her look like a clown and the clussy meme did nothing for me.
Her eyes were a bit beady and while runny mascara wasn't my thing, I knew some degens were into that. Regardless, I'm focusing on all the wrong things right now.
I additionally ignored the addition of urine (bladder accidents happened, who was I to judge) and spittle drooling off her from choking like a gentleman. It was unfair since those were my fault.
"Surrender. Unless you want to be tossed around again."
There was a confusing scent that I didn't recognize. I frowned. Was… no. No way. I must be struggling to smell things properly from her motor oil, cheap perfume, and… well I said I'd ignore it like a gentleman. It wasn't odd for the body to have certain reactions when it was convinced it was going to die soon. I wasn't going to read into that crazy mess.
No sir.
Still she nodded, so that was enough.
I looked up to see Slickjaw being cornered by Redline, the indie hero Cape finally getting a barrage of rabbit blows in as he spun full circle around the villain. Yeah, get him.
Revenge you earned yourself was the greatest of joys for a warrior.
A final spinning uppercut like a shoryuken finished off the villain as Redline dropped into another hero-landing, looking bad-ass as shit. I heard a faint clack though, so he must have had a plastic knee guard on under his jeans.
I let out a long, slow breath as I felt warmth flood my heart, knowing that points were flooding in.
The plaza reeked of ozone, scorched rubber, gunpowder, and acid. I was just glad that the majority of the PRT that were here had focused on keeping the people safe and let me handle the majority of the fighting. It was so satisfying, even if they weren't exactly my equals.
Powerlifting and performing a wrestling move on a Tinker truck was more than enough endorphins to make up for the lack-luster rest of the fight. The soft clink of settling metal echoed from the overturned Tinker-tech truck. Honestly it was crumpled like a discarded soda can. I might have slammed that down a bit too hard.
Most of the people inside weren't powered. Hmmm.
Redline trotted over with a wave, the red biolightning faded into muted crackles around his arms.
He was still wearing the same pair of jeans I'd seen him in earlier in the crowd, even though it was clear he'd packed his leather jacket, gloves, and helmet somewhere and slipped it on to help fight.
"Hey! High five, Saiyajin!"
I slapped his hand hard enough to make his arm flap like a noodle.
"You did good, one-minute man. Nice uppercut at the end. Great touch."
"Street Fighter." Redline laughed, "Sadly we won't be getting many sequels. The branch of Capcom that managed it was in Kyushu."
"Bummer. I could have taken some combat inspiration from that by the sound of it."
"Eh, It's anime as heck, so not all of it's as realistic as it could be. Aside from your fucking hadoken like is that the ki shit? Teach me some of that."
"Later, later." I waved him off. "Now get outta here. I'm sure if you were in the crowd you came with people that might be looking for you."
"Oh, shit, yeah. Uh, here." Redline palmed me a scrap of paper with a phone number and PHO handle name. "If you even need anything, just gimme a call or message."
I pat him on the shoulder, sending healing ki through his system.
"Woah. Holy shit, I feel perfect."
"Go."
"Right! Later, Saiyajin!"
My healing ki must have given him a boost or reset his power timer, as Redline blurred off like the Flash.
Honestly with all the electrical shocks, in a way he might be closer to the Flash than Velocity.Oh shit! The first pedestrian!" I slapped my head, having forgotten about the initial victim that'd tipped off the fact that there was an invisible vehicle coming in. "Shit! Stupid ape brain monkey! Fuck!"
Their ki signature was… not gone but… something was odd. That familiar but alien addon to their ki signature. A Trigger Event?!
I skidded to a halt. A red haired boy, holding a broken arm, seemingly paused in time, floating above the ground by a fraction. The moment I arrived, it was like he began to move again, my hands reaching out to catch him before he hit the ground.
My healing ki immediately shot through his form, healing him back to full.
"Whoa. Was this what my dad felt?" He asked groggily, "You should totally warn of possible contact highs."
"If you have room for jokes, you're fine." I sighed, helping him stand up.
I recognized this kid, he'd come in with his sick dad. The one with all the cancerous bone growths and marrow. Hold up.
"Yeah, I'm… holy crap I'm fine! What hit me? I didn't see it coming."
I nodded.
"I healed you but you also… did something to keep yourself stable. Is that… new?"
"I, uh, yeah. That's definitely new."
I blinked and he was suddenly five feet away, picking up a plastic bag with a cracked photograph frame and an unopened pack of sharpies. His hands shook like he was still having trouble processing what had just happened to him.
Like reality had stuttered.
"Sorry, I was coming to see if maybe I could like, maybe get an autograph? I'm Dennis. Dennis Cogburn."
I'd healed Clockblocker's dad three days ago. And now he'd triggered from a different reason, his power manifesting in a slightly different manner.
That's the odd feeling I had that I'd missed something. There were no alerts of a change in fate.
"Hey, Dennis. Do you realize what you just did?"
"Huh? What'dyou mean?"
Nearby, Miss Militia was giving orders, her voice low and calm, PRT troopers moving like ants to contain the scene. A few were helping medics secure civilians who'd been caught in the blast radius of whatever that Merchant truck had barreled through. I caught her glancing at me once, as I talked to Dennis.
She'd noticed it too.
Something about the way they moved told me this wasn't just going to get swept under the rug. Cameras had been rolling. Livestreams were still live.
I'd put on a damn show overall, but least Dennis and I were far enough to the edge of the plaza that even if they zoomed in with 2000s tech it'd be blurry. Either way I used my large body to block Dennis from potential line of sight.
"Hey, I'd be happy to. Come by the PRT headquarters whenever. I'll tell them I'm expecting you at some point. For now, go home and take care of yourself, kay?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. You're right. Thanks." Dennis seemed to stutter in place. "Sh-should I like, join the Wards or something?"
"Maybe. That's up to you. Still, for now just make sure your dad knows you're safe, yeah?"
"Right. Yeah. Thanks again."
"See ya around, Dennis." I nodded, seeing him off as the young new cape ran away.
Fuck. Instead of others, somehow he was affecting himself. But how exactly?
For now, I calmed myself by distracting myself with my SP intake from this event.
Contribute to Growth of Civilization: Greater Evolutionary Path Ki, Prime. -Limited, Major. +20(-10)
Destroy a Rampaging Creation, Tinker, Major -Low Quality. +5(-1)
Disable Non-Powered Combatants. +1
True Mercy to a Villain, Minor: Squealer: +4
Vanquish a Villain: Squealer. +1
Vanquish a Villain: Skidmark +1
Prevent a Tragedy Instance, Minor. +2
Earn Victory. +1
Earn Victory. +1
Directly Altered Fate, Minor: Squealer. +4
Directly Altered Fate, Major: Clockblocker. +10
Inspire a Hero, Prime: Clockblocker. +10
Current Total: 59 Savior Points.
"The fu-"
A familiar ki signature, faintly frazzled, but steadfast approached me from behind.
"Triumph," I called, "What is it?"
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Your ki." I shrugged, turning.
Triumph wasn't smiling. More deadpan than mad, though.
"Don't say it," I said before he even opened his mouth.
"You absolutely chewed out our PR playbook and spat it onto the hood of a Tinker drugmobile in front of the entire city," he deadpanned. "What's there to say?"
"Sounds cool when you put it that way."
"Also… good job."
That caught me off guard.
"Huh?"
"Dragon's right. You're like a wildfire that's already burning. All we can do is help guide it, but we need to let it burn."
"You had a convo with Dragon?"
He shook his head.
"It's how she described you when you were going viral for all that healing two days ago. When she got pulled in by management for consultation."
"Ah. I'm not sure how I feel about being compared to a natural disaster."
"The alternative is a nuke."
"Don't hate me 'cuz I'm the bomb." I joked.
"You're an idiot." Triumph shook his head. "Once you figure out that ki stuff more, I'm getting lessons too, right? I wanna fly. Assuming you fly with ki, of course."
"Technically I call it Bukūjutsu, but yeah, flight sure. Demystify the Sky Dancing Art, why don't you."
"Sweet. Also Miss Militia's calling for you. She's as mad as she is impressed."
"Fuck."
"And a wrestling move on a giant Tinker combat truck? Fucking awesome."
"You know it."
We exchanged a low five.
"I'm sure it'll go viral. Get ready for people to beg for a WWE cameo. Assault's done two in his career ya know."
"I don't like this emotional rollercoaster."