1.5
After I finished cleaning up, I went into the den thinking about finding something to read until it was time for Jeff and Dominic to show up. Maybe I would find something by Mercedes Lackey or a good romance.
Instead I found a brand new laptop sitting there on top of the desk, silver finish gleaming. I sat down, opened it and turned it on, listening to the quiet hum as it booted up. When the user screen came up I checked to see if I needed a password to access it and was relieved to find it open so I didn't have to try and guess. Luckily the system wasn't too different from the one I used back home.
I quickly pulled up a web browser and set about searching for information on the Brockton Bay cape scene. I checked for local news then stumbled of that website that is always in fanfictions, Parahumans Online. I had to set up a email account first, but I managed to make myself a PHO account under the name Otome_Goddess_15.
After that it was actually surprisingly easy to find out that yes Brian was still a mercenary right now and Bitch aka Hellhound was spotted here for the first time just three days ago. Uber and Leet, however, started out as minor rogues about a year and a half ago before they were confirmed as villains just five months afterwards.
So they've been villains for over a year. . .
If I can get them to team up with me, I wonder if they'd go along with my magic theme?
I continued searching through threads on Brockton Bay capes and looking up a bit of cape law, but trying to read it just made me want to scream. I really hate trying to read legal jargon.
Signing off PHO and noting that I still had about an hour until my company was due, I did a search for cape law lawyers and found Quinn Calle. I bit my lip and stared at the contact button at the bottom for a moment before clicking it with a sigh. The page that link brought me to had a phone number and an email. I clicked the email and sent of a short request for an appointment something in the next couple of days if he could fit me in.
I figured that if I was really going to do this team thing I'd need contracts and contacts both of which I would probably be able to access through Mr. Calle. He could probably also help me to 'legally' sponsor a hero team and get a hold of potential team members like Grue.
I was surprised to get a reply not even ten minutes later with an appointment for two pm the next day if I was available at that time. I typed up a confirmation but pause of a name to place on my appointment and sit back to think, I could go see him as myself or I could go in costume.
However, I don't currently have a costume, and if I'm going to put myself out there as a superhero sponsor I think it would be better to go as myself. I signed off with my new name and sent it.
The next time I looked up from the laptop was when a knock came at my front door. I clicked the mouse a couple more times to set the laptop to power down before going to open the door.
"Jeff," I smiled up at Blue Eyes as I pulled the door back. He was dressed casually in t-shirt, jeans and sneakers and carrying three pizza boxes in one hand and bag with what looked like a carton of ice cream. "Come on in. The living room is on the right and you can set everything down on the coffee table."
"Sure," Jeff grinned, sweeping past me to set down his stack of pizza boxes. He then turn back towards the door still holding the ice cream. "This places looks awesome by the way."
"Thanks, but where's your friend?"
"He's coming. He's just being slow."
"Fuck you, I've got a bruise the size of a basketball on my hip. I can walk as slow as I want," I turned to back to the still open door.
"That is Dominic," Jeff waved towards the sexy, if a bit skinny blond with shoulder length hair standing awkwardly in my doorway holding a cardboard box. He was also dressed down in a smart-ass t-shirt and jeans though he wore sandles. If he buffed up a bit he'd look like a super hot Californian surfer boy.
"Dominic Borders," he nodded at me.
[Random Event: Awwwkkkwwwaarrd]
[You have met a possible love interest. Not the most socially adept person, he's actually much friendlier if you can put him at ease.]
Okay, well that answers that question.
"Call me Dom," the blonde adds as he carries over the box. I looked in to see a game system I didn't recognize and some games.
"Sure, and you can just call me Skylar," I decided against trying to shake his hand instead turning my attention to where Jeff was digging through the pizza. I just caught the movement of Dom's shoulders relaxing out of the corner of my eye so I decided to just go with the flow.
[+50 points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
Huh. . .
"Do want a plate or are you gonna just eat out of the box?" I asked, amused as Jeff wriggled his eyebrows at me and took a giant bite out of the slice of pizza he was holding.
I snort and turned to speak to Dominic, "Dom would you like a plate?"
"Um, no I'm good," Dominic continued pulling out wires and hooking up the game system to my TV without even looking up, "Thank you for asking though."
"Oh, I also brought ice cream. I can put it up if you want," Jeff held up the bag I'd seen a moment ago.
"Here, I'm getting me a plate any way," I take the bag then open it to see what flavor he got. "Oh, chocolate! You're my new favorite person."
Jeff laughed.
[+10 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
Uh, did I miss something?
How - Why- Never mind, I'll think about it later.
Still, I felt amused as I headed to the kitchen, putting the chocolate ice cream up. I then pull down a plate for me and I pile up some cans of coke from the fridge on it to take back to the living room with me.
"Coke?"
"Yeah, thanks, you can just put his there next to his pizza," Jeff sat in front of my couch on the floor with the coffee table pulled back. I chuckle before sitting down to his right, snatching a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza for my plate. I took a bite as the gaming device came on with a short beep and the small hum of working electronics.
Dom finally stepped back with a small flourish, "Ta-da, all done."
"You're cute when you're showing off," I smile at him amused as he sits on Jeff's other side with a small blush. He still doesn't look directly at me though.
[+50 points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
"He's always cute like that," Jeff teased Dominic patting the blonde on top of his head. Dominic snorts slapping his hand away.
"Like you have any room to talk, Mr. Gallant Knight on the Shining Steed."
Jeff's face most have burned him with how flushed it got in just a split second. "Nope, we agreed never to talk about that again."
"You said we'd never talk about it again, I never said anything." Dominic grinned wickedly. It was really kind of hot.
"I want to know now, if it makes Jeff blush like that." I laugh leaning closer.
[+10 points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
"Well," Dominic began smiling and looking me in the eyes for the first time, his eyes were a slate gray, "It all began when Jeff here decided-"
"Tiddly-winks!" Jeff cried out triumphantly.
"Fuck," Dominic looked at Jeff with huge puppy eyes, "Really, dude?"
"Well, I could of brought up the Marshmallow Incident, but I thought that might be over doing it and really mean."
"Shit," Dominic pouted, looking back at me, "And that was the end of story time."
"But! Now I really want to know!" I pout at Jeff too. "You can't just tease me like that!"
"Nope, not working."
"Well, shoot." I turn back to my plate and Dominic starts digging into his own pizza while Jeff laughs and starts the game, running through some sort of options menu.
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
Now I'm going to have to try and figure out how to get those stories later.
[Random Event: Awwwkkkwwwaarrd has ended.]
[+100 exp]
[A charming demeanor causes your CHA to go up by 1.]
I begin eating again as Jeff and Dominic start the game. Jeff's character seemed to be some kind of werewolf or shape shifter and Dominic's was a something with fangs and claws that he kept warping out of shadows. They were playing as a team against a bunch of different kinds of monsters that looked like something out of a Final Fantasy game.
I'd never seen anything like this game before so I'm going with a Earth Bet original.
I finished eating and cleared away the left over pizza as they argued over the best way into the castle they had to infiltrate. Sitting down on the couch when I came back, I cheered them on and laughed as they goaded each other on. A couple of minutes later they were both cussing out the game after they died in a boss fight.
"Fuck, man. Where did that last bomb even come from?"
Jeff sighed, leaning back to rest against the couch while Dominic was flipping through the menu options again. He looked up at me and grinned, "You're not bored just watching?"
"Nah, you two should have a comedy show. I'd watch it." I teased.
His grin dropped a bit but he chuckled, "I've heard that before."
Oh, well, I guess that was a check for them being Uber and Leet. I bit my lip and try to think about how to bring up powers. I actually really liked these two, but if I tried to wait to bring up my Power Manipulation and that I knew they were capes. . .
I just don't see that going very well at all if they found out later.
"Hey, are you okay?"
I looked back at Jeff and took a deep breath, "I have superpowers."
All three of us froze before both of them were staring at me and I grimaced looking away. I swallowed hard and felt one of them take my hands.
"Skylar, it's alright, look at me."
I turned back to find Jeff sitting next to me with concern clear on his face, "Sorry, I don't know how to say it, but . . . I know you're both capes."
[-50 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has decreased.]
[-50 Points]
[Relationship with Dominic has decreased.]
"What?" Dominic drew back and Jeff grimaced, letting go of my hands.
"I can't help it," I felt my heart squeeze at the anger in Dominic's voice, I never did well when someone I liked was angry with me. "I'm a trump. I can feel you like an itch at the edge of my mind and with skin contact my skin tingles."
Jeff sighs, "Then yesterday?"
I shook my head and felt my face warm as I blushed, "I was so out of it when we met I had no idea what the tingle meant and I only figured it out later at the hospital. That comment about your eyes, while true, but not what I was going to say at the time. I really did have a concussion, you know."
Jeff chuckled and Dominic's shoulders relaxed again.
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased.]
"What can you do?" Jeff asked curiously. Dominic's eyes also looking back up to meet mine.
"I can pretty much do anything with powers, create, copy, alter, destroy, share, steal, nullify. I'm probably break the PRT's rating scale." I shrug, "I think the only real limits I have are time and imagination."
"Fuck." I blink at the duel audio of both guys talking together.
"That's fucking hax," Dominic says to me before turning to Jeff, "Fuck man, that's some fucking grade A+ bullshit. How the hell did you manage to fucking stumble onto the most over powered person in the fucking world?"
I burst into laughter at the stunned look on Jeff's face.
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
Jeff relaxes and laughs too, while Dominic still seems pretty awed by my revelation.
"So, uh, want to work together?" I asked.
Jeff and Dominic exchanged a look, Jeff shrugged and Dominic glanced back at me. "Is that you wanting to join us? Or are you asking us to join you?"
"Well, I wanted to make a superhero team, so I guess I'm asking to join me." I look back at them carefully, "You're Uber and Leet, right?"
"Damn," Dominic shook his head, "How did you figure that out?"
"Well you didn't seem to fit anywhere else," I shrugged. "You're too young to be any of the local Protectorate heroes, too old for the wards. Jeff isn't white enough for E88, neither of you are Asian, I'm pretty sure you not drug addicts, and the only guys in Fauntline's crew are case 53's so that leaves Uber and Leet."
"Huh," Jeff looks slightly impressed. "And you still want us on your team of superheroes?"
"Yes," I look down at my hands before looking back at them with a sly smile, "What girl wouldn't want to team up with hot eye candy like you two."
Jeff laughs so hard he falls off the couch and Dominic looks away with a blush turning his face a bright red.
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
"Besides my team members get perks," I grinned and held out a hand to each of them, "Who wants a power up?"
Then they were both staring again before Dominic spoke first with a bit of desperation in his voice, "You'll fix my tinkering?"
I grab his hand with a soft smile, and in less than a second I'd replaced his power with a shard-less copy and tweaked it to destroy the black box restrictions. I watched his eyes widen in wonder as he seemed to lose himself in his mind for a moment.
Then he was up, whooping and jerking Jeff to his feet to make him dance around, so happy the air practically hummed. Then he was back, pulling me into his arms.
"Dom? Wa-"
He kissed me.
. . . Brain rebooting. . .
Oh. . .
I swallowed, wow, that was certainly passionate. . .
Jeff was howling in the background, rolling around the floor and Dominic's face was so red I wondered if he'd burst a blood vessel. But I could feel my face on fire too.
[+100 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+200 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
Oh, that's a lot of points.
I cleared my throat and stepped back from Dominic. "You're welcome, I guess. . ."
"Sorry," Dominic looked wide eyed, face still red, "I shouldn't have kissed you without asking first."
I giggle, "Well, as long as you ask next time. . ."
Dominic's face which had started to regain it's original color flushed red again as he tried to stammer out denials. He stumbled back into Jeff and fell down.
Jeff wheezed as he struggled to breathe through his laughter, "Help. . .dying. . . ha ha. . . can't. . . breathe. . ."
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Jeff has increased]
[+20 Points]
[Relationship with Dom has increased]
I look down the dorks taking up my living room floor and smile. I guess this means they're my dorks now.
"Come on, we can talk more in the dining room, I want ice cream."