A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my Patreon for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!
Jason comes semi-clean and learns more than he wanted to in the process.
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Fuck it.
"Before we consider doing that, there's something I have to tell you dies."
Fletchette and Parian both pause, looking a little confused by his sudden somber tone. Jason hesitates for a brief moment, because really how do you even start with something like this? In the end though, he just steels himself and speaks.
"As I understand it, I'm what you would call a 'grab bag' cape. Specifically, the PRT would designate me as a Trump. I have a lot of weird powers and one of those powers has made me privy to certain information I shouldn't have."
The two female capes share a look at that, Fletchette's lips curling down into a frown as she looks back at him.
"Do you… already know our identities?"
Huh? Jason has to think for a moment before realizing that that is how this would all look from their perspective. He quickly shakes his head.
"No, I don't know your identities. This power did tell me about Parian's love for rope bondage ahead of today, but nothing beyond that."
Parian squirms a little, said rope bondage still covering her naked body. Jason gets the impression that she's probably blushing under her porcein doll mask. Fletchette, meanwhile, crosses her arms over her naked chest and huffs.
"So then… what did you find out?"
Looking between the two of them, Jason sighs. In for a penny, in for a pound.
"Thomas Calvert, the current PRT Director… is a hidden parahuman."
As he expects, the female capes react with shock, though Parian's is noticeably more muted. The rogue is stunned, but Fletchette… Fletchette is incredulous.
"What?! Director Calvert is a parahuman? How could you possibly know that?"
She has the good grace to flush when he gives her a distinct look, ducking her head in embarrassment.
"R-Right, sorry… power interaction, you already said. Still…"
Jason just shakes his head.
"That's not all. The power that gave me this information isn't just some parahuman detector. Its primary purpose is to find things that are hidden… including hidden enemies. The only reason that I was looking as closely at Director Calvert as I was… is because he showed up bright red to my power, marking him as someone who wants to do me harm."
It's tough because Jason wants to tell Fletchette and Parian enough for them to make informed decisions, but he doesn't want to give away everything. Fletchette is still a member of the Protectorate, after all.
"Someone who wants to do you harm… what does that mean, exactly?"
Jason hums as he considers how to answer that question.
"… Its not an exact science. I'm pretty sure that the power doesn't just detect people who know they're my enemies but also detects people who would be my enemies if they knew of me. It picks up on gang members and the like who I've never interacted with before."
Taking in a deep breath, Jason continues.
"Still, not everyone in the PRT Headquarters was red to me, so I obviously don't think that it's an organizational issue. And neither you nor Armsmaster have been marked as my enemies either. That combined with the fact that Calvert is hiding a parahuman ability makes me think there's some grand conspiracy at work here. A vilin is behind this, pulling the PRT Director's strings."
There. He thought that was a pretty good expnation for the 'conspiracy' part of his knowledge. He didn't want to tell Fletchette and Parian exactly how his power worked, or that he was constantly getting new rolls and new feats that gave him more power. Given that he only really knew he'd uncovered a true conspiracy due to a feat, that meant he had to come up with a reasonable expnation that didn't expose everything to the two women.
Still, there was every possibility that he sounded like a crazy person right now. Maybe he should have run this all by Taylor or the others before-
"I believe you."
Wait, what? Jason blinks in surprise as Fletchette looks at him, grim determination etched across her lower face.
"Everything I've seen of you so far tells me that you're a man of upstanding character, Portent. I don't think you would lie about this kind of thing… and I watched you take down those thugs and Hookwolf so I don't think you're delusional about your powers either. If your abilities mark the Director as both a parahuman and an enemy… then we have a huge problem on our hands."
Damn straight they did. However…
"We need to tell someone. Armsmaster, maybe."
Yeah, he was afraid she would say something like that.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea. We don't know what Calvert's power actually does. What if he has a Master Power and he's been working his way through the Protectorate since he became Director? What if he has a Thinker Power that lets him see us coming from a mile away?"
From the way Fletchette pales, its obvious she hadn't gotten that far. Jason isn't surprised. Someone like Fletchette, who had joined the Protectorate as a Ward and grown up within that system… well, her first instinct would be to expose the problem. Only after would she start considering the ramifications of attempting to do so.
"Shit…"
Jason nods, gd that she's seeing things from his perspective now. Then, Fletchette does something that he's not expecting. She reaches up and removes her visor, exposing the rest of her face to him.
"I can't prove I'm not Mastered… but well, here I am, cards on the table. My name is Lily and I can't imagine Calvert would want me exposing my true identity to random independent heroes if he DID have any hooks in me."
That was a fair assumption, Jason reasoned. Of course, seeing Lily reveal herself, Parian reaches up and removes her mask as well.
"And I'm Sabah. I have no memory of ever meeting the current PRT Director, but I can't say for certain that something wasn't done to me all the same."
Startling, Lily whirls on her girlfriend.
"Sabah, you didn't have to-!"
But Sabah, in what seems like a rare show of defiance for her, cuts Lily off.
"No, but I wanted to."
Lily looks chagrined, even as Sabah ducks her head with a blush, her moment of defiance over just as quickly as it showed up. Looking at them both, Jason swallows thickly. He wants to trust them, really he does… but his paranoia was through the roof when it came to Calvert. He's told them a lot, but revealing his own identity feels like a huge step.
And then an idea hits him.
"I… might have a way of testing you both for Master Effects, actually. But it would require you to trust me. Implicitly."
Lily and Sabah exchange a look with one another for a moment before turning back to him and nodding.
"We trust you."
"What do we have to do?"
Wow. Admittedly, Jason probably shouldn't be surprised that they're so willing to leap without looking. After all, they'd not only trusted him to py out their perverse sexual fantasies with them, but they'd also trusted him about Calvert AND with their identities as well. In the face of all of that, Jason is a little overwhelmed. But there's no point in fretting. He just needs to make sure to prove that their trust isn't mispced.
"Okay. Right. You'll both feel something washing over you… just don't resist it, please."
Pulling the Staff of Magnus out, Jason draws from the power stored within it and casts his first Major Necromancy Spell. Or rather, in some circles this would be considered 'Soul Magic' he supposed. There was a lot of overp between Higher Level Necromancy and Soul Magic. At the lower levels, Necromancy had more in common with Blood Magic, being all about the flesh and bones of the corpses one was using for the craft.
However, at the higher levels where you wanted to start creating intelligent undead, you might want them to have their souls. And at the utmost highest levels of Necromancy, you had the idea of Lichdom. Now, five years of tutege in Necromancy did not give Jason the keys to Lichdom or anything like that. Nor does he think he would want to become a Lich even if he knew how.
But he could do this much at least. Reaching out with his magic, he casts a spell that effectively creates a tether between him and the souls of the two women in front of him. Both Lily and Sabah gasp, no doubt feeling the spell taking ahold of their souls. They could resist quite easily as it so happened, usually you're supposed to knock the targets unconscious before trying this and even then, it's possible to resist it.
They trust him though. They trust him and they don't fight it, giving Jason unrestricted access to their souls after just a moment for the connections to form. He could do anything to them from this point. But obviously he's not going to. He just needs to make sure that they're free of any outside influence besides his own. From their souls he's able to access their minds to check to see if Calvert or anyone else has Mastered them.
That's when he finds it. He's not looking for it. He's not expecting it. But… he finds it all the same. Its… its insane. He stares, uncomprehending for several long moments before he starts to process just what he's looking at. He can't believe his metaphorical eyes. This was-
"P-Portent?"
Blinking, Jason is pulled back to the real world for a moment, just to see Lily and Sabah looking at him worried. Lily raises a finger and points at his face… more specifically at his nose.
"You're bleeding."
Now that she mentions it, Jason feels it dripping down from his nose onto his upper lip. Reaching up, he wipes the blood away with a grimace. Then, he pulls back from their minds and ends the tethers to their souls, letting out a shuddering gasp as he metaphysically retreats back to himself.
"Are you… are you okay?"
At Sabah's earnest worry, Jason can only force a smile onto his face as he nods.
"Yeah… I'm fine. And I have good news too. Neither of you are under a Master Effect from Thomas Calvert."
The words taste ashen on his tongue, admittedly. Because while it's true that he found no signs of influence from that man or any other parahuman on Lily or Sabah's minds, it's also not entirely true that they aren't Mastered. However, given what he just saw… it's possible every single parahuman on Earth Bet might be Mastered in the exact same way.
Jason almost wishes he didn't know what he knew now, but it's too te. The information is in his head. The genie is out of the bottle. He has now seen the source of parahuman powers and… it's honestly incomprehensible. And yet, he comprehends it. Jason now understands the true nature of the Corona Pollentia.
The Corona Pollentia existed to contain the connection to the powers themselves. Without it, Jason wondered if a human being's head would simply explode whenever they triggered with parahuman abilities. Because triggering, as he now understood it, seemed to open up a tiny, pinprick portal contained within the Corona Pollentia to somewhere else. Some-THING else, specifically.
Powers weren't just powers. They were mountain-sized interdimensional organisms on the other side of that tiny little portal in every parahuman's head.
Feat Achieved: Uncover the true nature of 'Parahuman Abilities'! 100 Points Earned!
Jason manages not to flinch, even as the Feat he just earned confirmed it. He technically has enough points saved up to buy his Banked Power now, however previous experience has taught him that purchasing said power will just result in a bunch of rings spawning in front of him. He'll buy it ter when he doesn't have company. Speaking of which…
"Oh thank god. Well… that's good news at least, even if the rest of it is still shit."
While he's wrestling with the truth of what he just unintentionally learned, Lily is relieved. And to be fair, she should be. It's not like she knows that he's keeping things from her. Unfortunately, Jason isn't sure telling her… or anyone else what he just learned is for the best. Not least of which because his soul tether allowed him to see exactly how these… alien powers are effecting their hosts.
He needs… he needs to focus back on the present. He can deal with the shit he just uncovered ter. Right now this is about Thomas Calvert. And with Lily and Sabah confirmed clean of any would-be influence from the PRT Director, Jason lets out a sigh and reaches up, removing his mask and revealing the rest of his face to the two girls as he smiles wanly.
"My name is Jason. It's a pleasure to meet you girls properly at long st."
Lily and Sabah both perk up at that, with Lily in particur seeming to drink in his visage for several long moments.
"Damn. Pretty handsome. But then, already knew you had a strong jawline, heh."
Jason blushes a little bit, only to blink in surprise when Sabah makes the first move, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around one of his arms.
"Will you come have that shower with us now. You look like you could use it."
Lily is quick to join her girlfriend on his other side, grabbing his other arm as she and Sabah both press their naked bodies to his sides.
"Sabah is right, we're still all pretty messy… and we can talk about what you just told us afterwards. For now, let's go get cleaned up yeah?"
On the one hand, Jason isn't sure how he can properly appreciate a shower with the two beautiful women when he's still reeling from what he just learned. On the other hand, maybe it's exactly what he needs at this point.
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The Vote:
[X] Yeah okay, take a load off in the shower with Sabah and Lily - 91%[ ] He's learned way too much just now, he needs to be alone to figure shit out - 9%
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A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.
Jason's current banked points:
300 Celestial Points
Jason's current banked power:
= A Collection of Magic Rings (300 Points)
Jason's current powers:
= Fsh Air (Gained in Chapter 1= Transformation Pendant (Gained in Chapter 4)= Keen Eye (Gained in Chapter 4)= Blood, Death, and Demons (Gained in Chapter 6)= Alchemical Prodigy (Gained in Chapter 8)= Staff of Magnus (Gained in Chapter 13)= Bind and Seal (Gained in Chapter 17)= Hero of a Hundred Faces: Everyone's Leader (Gained in Chapter 20)= Minor Regeneration via Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 23)(Taylor got Major Agility, Vicky got Major Intelligence)= Restraining Order (Gained in Chapter 25)= Focus (Gained in Chapter 28)= Scarborough Fair (Gained in Chapter 30)= Chaos Magic (Gained in Chapter 36)= Major Regeneration via Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 40)(Taylor, Vicky, and Amy all got Minor Regeneration)
