Chapter 6

Have I ever mentioned how off-putting it is when you feel a part of your anatomy change? If I haven't then now you know. It may have seemed as if I was already used to it, but the truth is that it's still weird only to a minor extent. For example, having arms and legs is something I'm already used to. But when concerning a 'change' in most areas such as the horns on my head, the fur spread across my entire body, or the fact that I have three toes. The latter was the one that only put me in a minor amount of disorientation for a second. Because as it was an odd experience, it wasn't anything life-changing.

These were the thoughts in my head as me and my cartoon themed partner climbed into the 'PRT' issued van.

I had let Peacock in through the back before I myself moved toward the seat next to her. The seats were beige in color and they were comfortable to boot. I looked forward to also see the driver's seat and passenger's seat being occupied by two people, with one being unfamiliar to me.

The driver in question was wearing a uniform of sorts, if the black helmet and vest is any indication. But his face, from what I could see, was that of a caucasian male, which answered the unsaid question of his gender.

The person next to him was Miss Militia, a person that I'm familiar with as long as she's around. With only a few words to the driver now properly named 'Richard', we pulled out of the school campus to head to our newfound destination.

It wasn't until we were in routes of traffic in the midst of a city that I decided to try the settings on my powers again.

With a thought and a slight closing of my eyes, I once again was aware of the 'pause' option. Only difference was that it had its little short menu instead of me having to delve deeper into commands to reach it. At first I found this odd as I don't remember setting it to such, until I remembered that the system 'saved' the selected options of my choosing. While that is incredibly helpful so that I save whenever I happen to forget, I still need to eventually set it to where the option is available to me through manual access so that it doesn't save at an inconvenient moment.

Believe me when I say Skyrim taught me and my brother such a lesson about how annoying autosaves can be...

After I hit the pause button and watch it become labeled as unpaused, I delved once again into the 'console' commands that were shown to me earlier. The only thing I took notice of was that there was apparently a list of games that were currently 'Now playing'.

\NOW PLAYING:

-SKULLGIRLS

-UNDERTALE/

'Now that's interesting. Wonder if I could add even more to these than they imply.' I thought with a hand cupping my chin. If what I'm thinking is correct, then theoretically I should be able to use any other game at the same time I'm using another.

But there are most likely going to be issues that can't be avoided if it works exactly like a normal video game. Outside of mods or hacking said games in the first place, I can't simply assume that I have an unlimited access to every game at one time, but that's not to say that those limits even exist to begin with. But if there's a chance that it does, I may possibly "Crash" either myself, or the universe depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. I believe if it was something simple, then I may just be able to get away with such things in the long run. Cheat codes always work, so I don't have to worry about that screwing up anything.

The safer option for me right now would be to play it safe and not clutter the menu with active games on hand. 'Cause right now I have no idea if I'd be able to restore any damage that occurs because of my carelessness.

So with that decision in mind, I didn't mess around any longer with the games already out in play, and opted to explore a bit more around the menu.

What I found was slightly surprising, as it was more diverse than what I'd originally believed. At first I was simply expecting to find other means of changing up the 'gameplay' in some form or another. But apparently it could go into an even further detail than that. What would normally take coding and proper design, is now simply ignored in place of my imagination. I find that I could edit different options now that I'm a different character, such as, changing looks or genders, changing the way their original attacks function, and hell, there's an option to add another games genre into the mix on top of what I already selected.

For example, I could summon up another avatar by creation or selection and give them abilities based on other video game franchises. Like say if I selected someone like Cloud from FFVII and I edited his moveset to have the inclusion of magic, abilities, and other techniques from games like Tales of Symphonia or even Sonic if I felt like it. And if I wanted, he could still keep other techniques like his Limit Break, Omni-slash and other moves that were originally his.

Hell, why even stop there? With my level of control, I could most likely break the system with all that I could accomplish. And technically this also means that I could give other people abilities if I wanted. But I don't know if that's welcomed around here, I'll probably have to check for that and make sure in case I want to do so with any new friends I happen to make here.

But until then, I'm settling on making myself a different kind of ability that I'll permanently stick with so that I'm not a complete jack of all trades. But now that I think about it, it'll still happen no matter what I do since I have another set of powers as well. But what could I give myself that I know that I'll always stick with? While I'll definitely be spawning different items from various games, none of their playstyles seem to fit with how I operate besides FPS, RPG, and the Fighting genres. Others like racing or platforming would most likely be used if I found anything for them to be used for, or if I'm just screwing around.

The only real benefit I see myself keeping as a permanent ability would be the 'Gamer' ability in question. As it covers all of my bases in any particular situation if I'm prepared, and I do need to improve on my chakra...

'Welp, it's settled.' I thought in a bit of excitement. I had moved to the genre style of play and activated the "RPG" genre.

\RPG SETTING HAS BEEN APPLIED. SAVING/

'Speaking of stealing...' I thought with a maniacal grin on my face as I mentally moved to add more games into the mix in order to be included. After all it was an opportunity to gain even more power, and possible means of defense.

\GAME(S) ADDED:

-TALES OF SYMPHONIA

-TALES OF XILLIA

-TALES OF VESPERIA/

\ARE YOU SURE WITH YOUR ADDITIONAL CHOICES? (YES)(NO)?/

'What can I say, I love these games. Plus the techniques are pretty badass if you know a great deal about them.' I thought in a bout of eagerness as I mentally hit the 'Yes' button to confirm each of my choices.

\SELECTIONS CONFIRMED. NOW INSERTING 'GAMER' FUNCTION./

As soon as those last words were read by me, I was welcomed to the sight of a completely new screen that I recognize that's different then the one I normally see. It was still in it's own box that signifies that it's a notification that I could see but the coloring was present on the box itself as it was a nice black and blue in the background while the text was in its normal white color. The only thing that I had to edit was my name when then game refers to me when I look at my status. But at the same time, I know records of this girl aren't simply going to change just because I'm driving the wheel now, so I made sure to leave her name in too.

What I ended up with is this:

The system input now recognizes you as a fellow gamer! We know that this is obviously of your doing, but in our eyes your still one of few who possess such an ability! Due to this, please take note of the new abilities and stats that are available to you!

Name: CJ (or Taylor Hebert)

Title: None

Level: 3 (?) Next Level: (?) EXP

Stats:

HP: 210/210

MP: 100/100

STR: 7 (∞)

VIT: 9 (∞)

DEX: 5

INT: 12

WIS: 9

LUK: 3

Stat points: 0

Money: $0.00

First thing that stood out immediately was that the game had both my nickname, and the name of the girl I'm now in possession of like I'd intended. Oh, trust me when I say that I've tried remembering my true name ever since I told them how I wasn't who they thought I was. But at the same time, I was at least thankful for the fact that the game system (or possibly ROB) was generous enough to slide that little piece of knowledge for my benefit. Although I'll probably never figure out my old name no matter how much I stand around to think about it. Because every time I try to even think about those I know saying my name, it's as if there was a unexplained censor that specifically blocks out that part of the memory. When I try to remember the times I wrote my name, my memory seems to blur the image which prevents me from deciphering it to have a better understanding.

So in short, trying to do so at this point would be nothing but a waste of time. So until further notice, I'll have to make due with the fact that my nickname will be my new alias for the rest of my days here. With that settled I scoured the screen to look for my desired skills, but found none.

'What? No skills list or anything like that? How the hell am I supposed to do magic now?' I thought in irritation at that little tidbit. To be frank, that wasn't what I was expecting at all. I was simply thinking it would function the exact same way the typical 'Gamer' ability did, but instead it looks as if I was handicapped in some way. However it was when I noticed another sort of tab off the top corner of the screen in front of me. Mentally clicking the well hidden pop up, I was surprised to see that the menu in question was the exact same way it was for the very games I listed, albeit slightly jumbled and me being the only character shown without anyone else. Interesting how it also was showing my original(?) body with casual clothes being a black t-shirt with a triforce symbol and my fox ears all. Hey, they even have my old bluetooth headphones as a part of the picture! Which I'll be needing back when I get a phone at some point. And thankfully the normal options such as saving, skills, and artes (thank god) were still around as usual. But it's also with the inclusion of every other option the games had all together, such as how Tales of Symphonia 2 has the option of capturing monsters or how Xillia has the Lilium orb to tamper with your stats.

All together in one menu for me to access on a whim, but the stat points are something I'm not normally given in these games. Even Lilium orbs don't go to those kind of lengths though. But it was seeing my stats for the first time that utterly shocked me to silence for about ten seconds. I did nothing besides breath and stare at the unreal number I expected to see in any RPG I've played.

'Well... that's odd...' I thought in large amounts of confusion when I noticed both strength and vitality had an infinity symbol next to the both of them, which didn't make any sense to me. I moved my arms to my sides in the unmoving vehicle and let my head move back in relaxation whilst also opting to close my eyes.

I don't really get the gist of what's happening as I've never truly tampered with the setting itself. I mean, if I had wanted to cheat, then I'd use the leveling system from 'Inflation RPG' to crush anybody with ease. So I don't remember anything that could even give me such a bullshit amount of attack points.

But the only thing that gives me a hint of any kind was the infinity symbol in question, so I guess that means it was somehow... influenced.

'Ohhh. Now I understand what happened.' I thought in understanding. I figured that the reason for this was because I was still using Asriel's abilities and what ever else he was capable of, which includes his infinite attack and defense stat. But even when I had played the game I thought it was simply trying to intimidate the players into dodging even more, especially given the fact that your still level one even though it's technically the end of the game. So I can't really tell if it's doing the same thing here or if it's actually as it says and I can basically put any amount of power that I want into any physical attack. And then there's the fact if even most of his attacks are now affected by my intelligence stat and any other buffs I might get later down the road!

"Ugh, you know what? Fuck this, I'll deal with it all later. I'm sick of thinking hard about it." I grumbled to myself as I closed the status/notification window.

It kind of goes to show that I'm an action kind of player more so than anything else, but RPG games are still a blast for those like me as long as grinding isn't because of the kind of quests done, but the enemies faced in my opinion. I may not be strong in terms of planning out something besides basic maneuvering, and I may be more of a person that follows a plan rather than make my own, but overall I think I'm gonna wreck house with this alone. So for the time being my invincibility stays.

It's also funny that some of my friends that played Undertale actually thought that Asriel was too fast to hit. His stat also included infinite defense for a reason, I already figured it was because the only reason the game states 'Miss' is due to how very ineffective your attacks are to the point where it basically and wordlessly says "You might as well have missed with the good that did."

So with that amusing thought in mind, I turn all the way back to the options and went to move the mental cursor over the button reading as 'unpaused', and clicked to allow movement once more.

It was also the very next moment where I experienced an odd sense of whiplash. Actually no, I can't say that because there was no outside force besides myself that felt it. Or would it still count? Bah, I don't know I'm no physics expert.

As far as everyone in the van was concerned however, they didn't have as to any clue of what happened as they opted to stay silent and look ahead toward the oncoming traffic.

'Man, pausing everything to a crawl is surprisingly useful when I'm given freedom of movement and other options to fuck up someone's day. I wonder if there's a range limit on it however, 'cause I doubt ROB would let me cheat things that aren't apart of how my power is expected to be used. Then again I can just used something else from other games to pick up the slack when that happens.' I thought to myself whilst pondering the other uses of my abilities.

'Come to think of it, don't I have some other powers I'm NOT using?' I thought with a hand on my chin as I tried to recall what I could do once again. I already know I have chakra and some other powers for when I was randomizing the powerlisting site, but it was just I know there was more than that cause I remember there being two. Problem is, I don't know what they're labeled as. But as far as I got, it has some involvement with tech, but I don't know what that does for me, because I sure as hell ain't no Tony Stark. But that still begs the question of what DOES it have to do with technology. Could I manipulate existing ones by making them better, dismantling them, or even copying them?

'Ah! What am I doing? I said I'd do this stuff later, but I don't have anything else except questioning where I am.' I thought in self-aggravation whilst mentally shaking my head.

"So," I blurted with no control over my own mouth. And when no one made a move to add anything, I continued "Until we get to wherever it is that we're going, can we answer some of my unanswered questions in the meantime?" I had asked her.

Damn it all! I at least wanted to have a bit of time to think! But I guess my brain wanted something else to satisfy it's needs. Not that I can blame it, it's not like I can test all of my theories here, so I guess in the meantime we'll be playing a game of answering my unexplained questions.

She turned to face me for a moment, pondering the question until she nodded her head, deeming it harmless for the most part.

I clapped my hands in appreciation "Cool, cool. Now first question, where are we and what state?" I first asked.

"Brockton Bay, New Hampshire." she answered without missing a beat.

'New Hampshire, huh? That's probably one of the most random places to be dropped into.' I thought to myself before I shook my head and pressed on "Anyways, next question. You mentioned that you and Kid Win are a part of a group of heroes. Who're they?"

She gave a smile while she simply replied "We're part of an organization known as the "Proctectorate", but Kid Win is part of the Wards program that we've established."

Naturally, I catch that detail "Wards program?" I say in a confused tone.

She nods "Yes. The Wards are heroes like any other member of the Proctectorate, but it's a program for those who've triggered and developed powers at a young age. Our youngest member Vista, is the youngest at her current age of twelve." she said with a smile, if the way her mask moved is any indication.

'Christ, she's younger than my own brother! If this whole getting powers by traumatic events happened back at home, I guarantee the apocalypse would've been at everyone's doorstep, if not, by the next two weeks. This world's definitely got some shit going on if what I'm hearing is correct.' I thought with an inward grimace at the idea. I shook those negative thoughts out of my head once more before moving back to getting as much info as possible.

"Next question, while you guys are the heroes, who're the villains in the city? And if you could, what's their deal?"

She seemed to think to herself for a few seconds before replying "We have a great number of Parahumans around the city, but a majority are with one of the three gangs. They're as follows: The Empire 88, the ABB, and the Merchants. Each of them operate differently when concerning themselves and others. The Empire 88 are mostly referred to others as 'Neo-Nazis', which means-"

"I know what you mean by that. Please continue." I stated politely. It wasn't really hard to figure out really. As soon as the word "Nazi" was involved, I had already planned to kick their asses at a later date. I just need to keep a mental note of that so that I don't forget.

She raised an eyebrow at that, but continued nonetheless "...Well, the ABB operate under the same ideology, but in the name of those born with Asian ethics." I nodded my head in understanding but didn't interrupt as she continued "Last but not least, we have the Merchants. This particular gang specializes in the use and dealing of drugs, and more than not they'll force others to become addicted as well. In a sense so that they won't be able to live without it, and will join of their own free will." she finished with a sigh escaping from her lips.

'Wow, what a bunch of arsehats. This is how they operate? And they all live in the same goddamn city!? What sort of fuckery is amidst if these fucking chumps are still around doing whatever they want?' I thought incredulously with a wide eyed look on my face after hearing such info. That was simply inexcusable if you ask me, and I'm beginning to wonder why this is still happening in the first place. If these guys or gals get in my way or go too far, then I'll be sure to thoroughly kick their asses.

No, I'm serious, how has this been going on for so long? Is there no other form of backup for this kind of situation? Man, this makes me wonder how the heroes are still around to begin with if they're outnumbered ten to one. There has to be more to this than what I'm thinking, 'cause there has to be a reason for this.

Immediately I ask "Okay, well what can you tell me about who's the most threatening out of each of them?" because as far as I'm concerned, it's nice to already know who you're up against for the most part.

"Well, for one there's The leaders themselves, then there are those under their chain of command who have powers as well, and finally those who don't have powers at all, but settle for being extra reinforcements should they ever need them. The leaders for each are powerful in their own right with the abilities they possess, with the strongest being Lung in the ABB, as his power allows him to grow stronger the longer he fights as well as manipulating fire. He's gotten to the point where he could take on our entire team and the Wards and still manage a victory." she began before she took a deep breath and continued "The Empire simply have a larger number of capes than both gangs combined, along with that they're the most organized, and they even have access to some tinker created weapons. The Merchants have a tinker who specializes in vehicles, which make it difficult to catch them due to them being used for getaways." She finished.

I, for the most part just stayed silent before I looked to the driver to see he was no different. I also looked to see Peacock fall asleep again, which shouldn't surprise me as I really should've expected this from her. I licked my lips as they were getting dry and I needed even the smallest form of a distraction from what I just discovered.

While she was talking, I was focused on the fact at how... competent they sound. By the way she put it, they seemed to be ready to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone who gets in their way. I mean, I thought they were a threat just by numbers alone, but now I'm hearing how much power they're really packing. Looks like I can't just simply walk around and wipe them out at my own leisure, and god knows how many people would get caught in the cross-fire. Until I gain enough skill in all of my powers, I can forget about getting rid of them as a whole. If I know how gangs run to the most basic degree, unless there's something else to what's going on, then obviously the gangs here probably can't even stand the sight of the other no matter who it is.

If I even want to gain a fraction of a chance of winning alone, then I'm gonna need to plan while grinding the hell out of myself so that I'll be at a level that no one wants to mess with.

But one word in particular just stood out to me. When she said 'Tinkers' I had gotten a small spark of... something when I thought about my two other mysterious powers. It answered the question of whether it had to deal with technology, but then she says one of the merchants 'specialized' in vehicles of all things. So does that mean that tinkers in general are as smart in tech, like advanced future machinery? Then again, that would explain how the hell Kid Win has a hoverboard. Which I'm no longer jealous of...

The ride to the base felt as if it were taking hours just to make it on time, and I was getting anxious just sitting without at least another game to play to keep me occupied. When I looked out the window at some point, I could see this 'Brockton Bay' for myself, and let me say that it feels like home in a familiar way. The way we pass buildings that one would probably grow to familiarize themselves with like a cafe or a library of sorts. I could also see the large amounts of graffiti that coat the walls and alleyways, only instead of them being impressive they look as if it was done a half-ass job and now looks like trash art instead.

But as we moved closer to the docks, if what I'm seeing is right, the more I begin to see the same style of clothing like I saw on those at the school. Red and green jackets for those of Asian ethnicity, and other signs for the other gangs. Seeing this I couldn't help but inwardly groan at my discovery.

'Oh, for FUCKS SAKE!' I thought whilst covering my face with my now furry palm 'They really are bigger than I thought they were. Geez, this'll be harder than I thought it would be. But from the looks of the henchmen, not all of them look too strong to deal with. But I'm gonna have to be at a way higher level before I start street sweeping them "Dynasty Warriors" style.'

It was when I was still blind to the world when I was brought out of my musings "We're almost there, we just need to take a ferry to get across to headquarters." Miss Militia had informed me in an neutral tone of voice. So me being the intelligent individual I am, responded accordingly.

"Ferry? Why do we need a ferry?" I had asked with a puzzled look on my face. To which she simply pointed towards the ocean, in which also gave me a view of something out in the distance that was surrounded by a forcefield. I couldn't get much on the building in question as it was pretty far out, but that still says a lot about it's size if I could see it from what seems like a kilometers amount of distance. But I was more invested in the fact that there was a forcefield to begin with, but I also remembered that apparently future tech isn't so beyond our reach if what I've seen today is enough proof.

'Although there's still no flying cars.' I thought in annoyance as one of my dreams in the future was once again no longer in my sight. Showing me highly advanced technology kind of gets me... confident, about what else is possible to invent once we got this far. But that's also why it just kills me a little inside when I'm seeing these things, but I find that just about everything else is the exact same as I've already known them to be.

It's infuriating as hell having to constantly see that happen.

After being pointed in the direction of the ferry, I plus the now awoken Peacock, made our way towards the ferry which didn't have many people surrounding it except in small groups. It surprised me that just anyone could get on to reach the heroes headquarters, but seeing as they're all civilians, I think it's safe to say that they're tourist of some kind. 'Cause there's no way that security's THAT lax around their own home base.

As for the civilians in question, they each had varying reactions upon our arrival at the ferry that was our only means of transportation. As we approached the ferry itself, others had opted to give us a wide berth and stare at both Peacock and I. Some had chosen to simply stare and mutter to one another while their eyes never left our forms for as long as we were walking, and others had chosen to take pictures with their cell phones. I wouldn't have minded so much if they had bothered to cut off the flash function, but now I feel like I'm having an early case of being flash mobbed. Nonetheless, we didn't stop to deal with it as we were headed for a ferry that was strictly for those who work for the PRT, and neither did we stop to answer some of the questions.

Although that didn't stop Peacock from making faces at the cameras every now and then. Even as we were already on board the medium sized boat, she still had the 'courtesy' to make a silly face which involved her pulling her mouth apart while she stuck out her tongue to blow a raspberry at the now dispersed crowd of people now that we've left the area.

She was still making that face at the edge of the ferry as I made my way to her. I went and pulled her hat down over her face as to obscure her vision, which caused her to flail in confusion until she lifted the hat herself and opted to give me a mischievous grin that once again reminded me that she had sharp as hell metal teeth.

"Hey! What was that for? I was just getting to mess with them some more! But now you've ruined the act!" she exclaimed quite vividly towards me.

I gave her a blank stare "While I can see that you were having your fun, don't forget that they're still coping with the fact that you look like a Saturday morning cartoon character." I explained.

She gave a snort at that "What!? How could you even possibly compare me to "Weekend Programs"! You should know that I'm someone that's worth watching on a daily basis twenty-four seven!" She exclaimed to me in a confident tone of voice whilst she had her hands on her hips.

I still had a blank look on my face, but this time I rose an eyebrow "What about people who have jobs or go to school? Plus you forget about commercial breaks, Miss PC." I deadpanned the reasoning.

"Please, who actually sticks around to watch commercials? They tell you to call to order, but who the heck actually bothers with that? Plus, the little rascals can just play hooky whenever it comes on." she voiced as if she were giving wisdom to someone younger.

I once again answered in a deadpan tone "Those who want the product obviously. Plus, 'Rascals' and 'Hooky', really?"

She just rose her shoulders and shrugged in response "I'm just expanding on our vocabulary."

I snort "To what, decades ago? Very few actually USE those terms on a regular basis."

She shook her head "Please. Like me, these words are timeless and will be forever remembered!" she exclaimed in pride at the end while puffing out her chest.

I gave her an odd look while I smiled "Timeless implies that you're old by any sense of the word. And for that matter, you're no older than me." i added while I pointed in her direction.

She just waved it off "Meh. Details, who needs 'em?"

"People who plan to actually put logical thought and reasoning into whatever normal activity they'll be doing?" I replied sarcastically.

She, for the first time, stood and gave me a blank stare "You realized that you used the words 'Normal' and 'Logical' in the same sentence when you referred to me, don't you?" she said in a deadpan.

All I could do was sit there in thought for a second before I turned back to her with a shrug "...Good point." I simply said.

After that we just fell into a silence that was only interrupted by the sound of the water hitting the boat. I didn't bother to move around as I expected this to be a short trip, and I was also to busy looking at the huge building in question. It looked to have several floors in it's height, but it shape was that of a dome of some kind with a sort of 'steel' look to it. It was colored in a gray design and nothing else, which made me question whether or not appearances were even a deciding factor in this place when it was being designed, but once again, what do I know, I'm no expert on architect.

We eventually pulled up to the docking port that was also being guarded by those who wore the same uniform as the driver in the van, they each wore black colored vests with helmets that cover some of their face for the most part. They were also clad in boots that reached slightly farther up the ankles more so than normal. Overall these guys would've seemed shady in appearance if it weren't for me knowing who they work for.

When we all got off the ferry and made it to the entrance of the building, I turned to Miss Militia "Can you remind me what we're doing here exactly? Because I don't think you really gave us any other details other than to test our capabilities." I said in curiosity. While I knew they probably wanted me to use my powers in some way, even I'm not dumb enough to believe that's all there is to it.

She turned to regard me for a moment before she replied "Well, after we test to see what you can do, we'll get to talk more about that as we reach inside the building. In the meantime, I suggest you be prepared for what may happen in the tests."

I nodded my head "Cool. I'm good with that." hell, I'd even say bring it on at this point.

I'm serious, with the stats I have, anything that involves physical strength will be a cake-walk for me. It'll also be hilarious seeing everyone's reaction after seeing how I can finish things... in... one... punch...

...Wait a sec, if I'm going by how stats are done, but I exclude anything involving speed...

...holy shit. By that logic... ASRIEL'S TECHNICALLY UNDERTALE'S ONE PUNCH MAN!

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but you know how life loves throwing everybody unexpected curveballs. Also I'd like to note that I have no idea what the PRT/Proctectorate HQ looks like in a visual aspect, but if anyone wants to correct me on that I'll happily go back and change it. Also remember that Video Game Physics are pretty fucking overpowered when you have an idea of what it can do, but it wouldn't be any fun to just be able to hack the system and go against everything without a care in the world. As you can also tell, things are getting at least a little better in terms of progression. But anything that seems like they're being ignored now ("Danny Boy!") I assure you that I haven't forgotten about them. With all of that said, I hope you're all enjoying this, and see you guys next chapter.