Sorry for the long wait.
I wrote this whole chapter in third person. I'm considering switching to it from now on but I'm not sure yet.
Chapter 10:
Two days passed after Valerie cured Harry and his father. Two days passed since they took down that dark wizard and stopped him from torturing and killing them all.
Valerie never did find out who the guy was though. Her Observe skill didn't work on the dead. His identity and why he specifically targeted the Osborn family would remain a mystery for now.
Valerie had spent the past two days going through a pretty standard routine. She'd get up early every morning and have breakfast with the Frost family before heading off to school. There, she would meet with her friends and pretend to pay attention in her classes. She had a feeling she was going to bomb her future tests, but she hardly cared about academics at this point anyway. She hardly cared about school at all outside her group of friends. She knew that her future did not lie in academics.
Norman Osborn had set up a Swiss Bank account under her name after healing him and his son. Valerie now had 10 million USD in her own account. A smile crept across her face whenever she thought about all that money. It wasn't exactly life changing, because she was already living a life of luxury thanks to Wilma Frost, but Valerie appreciated having her own accounts nonetheless.
Valerie had also been doing some physical training the past two days to try and raise her Strength and Dexterity stats. She was aware that leveling up wasn't the only way to increase her stats and she wasn't afraid of exercise… She just didn't particularly like it. Regardless, she spent a few hours in the Manor's gym to try and raise her physical stats.
Valerie Tepes (Mutant-Dhampir Princess)
Class: Gunslinger (9/100)
Sacred Gear: Grail of the Night Queen
Lv = 5 (640/1000 XP)
Health = 4050 (Constitution x 100 + Lv x 10)
Health Regeneration = (Constitution Per Minute x 10)
Mana = 450 (Intelligence x 10 + Lv x 10)
Mana Regeneration = (Wisdom x 10 Per Minute)
Stats:
Constitution = 40
Strength = 55
Dexterity = 43
Intelligence = 40
Wisdom = 35
Charisma = 56
Perks:
Gamer's Mind
Gamer's body
Observe
Commanding Voice
Skills: Blades 1, Guns 1, Blood Magic 1
Valerie had been moderately successful with her training. Both her Strength and Dexterity rose. Although, not at the same rate. Raising her Strength required lifting heavy (to her) weights until her muscles burned. Raising her Dexterity required running herself ragged on the treadmill for extended periods of time. She was not a fan of either, but she especially hated the latter.
At least she didn't have to exercise alone…
Valerie had noticed that Emma Frost tended to use the gym at the same time that she did every day. Emma also tended to always pick the treadmill that was directly behind Valerie. Emma always picked that spot so that she could stare at Valerie's ass while the beautiful dhampir jogged. Not that Valerie minded Emma watching her…
Hitting the gym definitely had its benefits. Valerie was proud that she wasn't a total weakling anymore! She could now lift 55 kg (120lbs) and she could now run at a speed of 43 kph (26mph). That was faster than most Olympic athletes. With a couple more points in Dexterity, Valerie's speed on land would become superhuman. She couldn't wait to even the odds the next time she encountered an enhanced opponent.
Daredevil had clearly been superhuman himself when he beat the crap out of her. He was so fast that she couldn't even fight back at close range. She wanted to return the favor as soon as possible and get her damn magic gun back!
Beyond all that, the other thing she did with her free time was to properly investigate this world. The Internet existed here and she made liberal use of it to try and figure out the Marvel timeline. It was pretty obvious to her that she was not in the MCU. The world was somewhat similar, but there were some major key differences.
For one thing, mutants didn't even exist in the MCU until phase 4. For another, in this Universe Tony Stark was Antonia Stark. That definitely threw Valerie for a loop. There was no billionaire-playboy-philanthropist in this universe. Antonia still made weapons of war and was the CEO of Stark Industries, but the woman was a lot more private about her social life compared to her male counterpart in the MCU. Antonia had also been missing for months now in the Middle East and was presumed dead. If the woman was still alive, then Valerie knew she should be found any day now and the plot of Iron Man–er–Iron Woman 1 would start soon after. Unless the entire timeline was completely fucked because of the butterfly effect from Tony being a woman of course…
Valerie was hoping that wasn't the case. Either way, Valerie made a mental note to keep tabs on when Antonia made it back to the US. Valerie could make even more money by offering to heal the woman. The Dhampir was also planning on investing some of her millions in Stark Industries if the stocks ended up tanking.
November 5, 1993:
On Friday morning, Valerie rolled out of her bed with a tired yawn. She had been up a bit late the night before. She checked her phone to see if she got any messages the night before. She had been busy, and had set her phone to silent.
2:03 am, Jessica J: Hey, cutie! Are you still awake? Thinking about your sexy ass ;)
2:10 am, Jessica J: Guess you're asleep :( Guess I'll have to have fun by myself. I'll be thinking about you…
7:03 am, Jessica J: Please ignore those texts! I was drunk and I'm so sorry!
Valerie laughed at the drunk texts Jessica Jones sent her the previous night. She wasn't offended since she was the one who asked Jessica for her number in the first place. After getting her own phone, Valerie had texted Jessica her number two days prior. The super powered detective had occasionally been texting her back since then.
Valerie wanted to set up a proper date to hang out with Jessica, but her weekend was already booked by Liz and Jean. Jessica was also hesitant to hang out with Valerie due to Valerie's newfound fame. Jessica preferred to stay low profile and Valerie was currently anything but that. The Dhampir understood that Jessica was afraid of the world finding out about her super strength. Jessica was rightfully afraid of being captured and experimented on…or worse.
The bed shifted next to Valerie and she looked over. With a slightly tired yawn, Wilma Frost sat up next to her. The sheets slid off her voluptuous figure, and gave Valerie an eyeful of what she had enjoyed the night before. Wilma was the reason Valerie was up late last night…
"Good morning, Wilma." Valerie leaned in and placed a quick kiss on the older woman's lips.
"Good morning, beautiful." Wilma replied fondly. "I hope you're not too tired from last night. I wouldn't want you falling asleep during your classes later." She said with a teasing smile.
Valerie still found herself blushing when the older woman called her beautiful. She was a sucker for praise and compliments. Especially when they came from people she was fond of. "I should be alright." Valerie smiled back. "I can nap during my first period class. I'm pretty sure our substitute has been trying to flirt with me anyway and won't care." Valerie told her.
Wilma raised an eyebrow at that. She chose not to say anything, because she was in her 40s and sleeping with an 18 year old girl herself...
Although… Wilma wondered if she was even physically 40 years old anymore? Valerie told Wilma that her blood was supposed to also increase the lifespan of whoever drank it. After drinking it, Wilma definitely looked years younger, and physically, she felt like she was in her 20s again. Wilma wondered if Valerie's blood would work more than one time on a person? If that was the case, then wasn't Valerie, herself, the secret to immortality?
Wilma would have to remind Valerie to keep that part of her power hidden. If being able to heal any disease or injury on the planet made Valerie valuable, then Wilma couldn't imagine how unbelievably valuable Valerie would become when the elites of the world found out she could grant immortality. Wilma was well aware of how the people in power thought. They would stop at nothing to get their hands on her younger lover.
"If your new teacher tries anything with you, just let me know. My lawyers will tear her to shreds." Wilma said protectively. They'd known each other less than a week, but Wilma suspected she was already falling in love with this girl next to her. Wilma knew there were other people interested in Valerie, including Wilma's oldest daughter, but she didn't really mind. She had tried the monogamy route with her soon-to-be ex-husband and that didn't work out for her at all. She was perfectly content and happy just having a part in Valerie's love life.
Valerie smiled at Wilma's protectiveness. She wasn't sure that sueing Natasha's fake identity would work out though. Valerie was pretty sure SHIELD Agents operated above the law. They could probably have any lawsuits immediately dismissed.
[Or Natasha would just burn the identity and disappear for a while…] The System added.
Valerie had her first tutoring session with Natasha Romanoff on Wednesday. The tutoring session took place after lunch and lasted an hour. The session was less about math, and more about Natasha subtly getting Valerie to answer questions about herself. Natasha was a very engaging conversationalist, and Valerie had almost found herself slipping up a few times. By the end of the session, Natasha had changed her tactic and decided to not-so-subtly flirt with Valerie.
[You're lucky she only started doing that in the last 10 minutes. You were a blushing mess by the end of that 'tutoring' session…] The System added with a laugh.
'I know. Natasha Romanoff is just too sexy.' She thought back. Valerie would need to be more careful around the sexy spy in the future.
"Ready to start the day?" Valeria asked Wilma.
Wilma sighed. "I'd rather stay here in bed with you some more, but i suppose so…"
Valerie grinned at Wilma. She decided to give her beautiful older lover a small show. Valerie stood up from the bed and started to stretch. Of course, she was completely nude as the sheets draped off her. Valerie blatantly pushed out her chest as she raised her arms above her head. Her breasts bounced on her chest as she did so. She followed that by turning her back to Wilma. Valerie bent over and touched her toes to stretch out her long legs. She could practically feel Wilma's eyes intensely locked onto her backside.
"You're such a tease, Valerie." Wilma said as she felt herself growing excited again.
"I'm going to take a shower. I definitely need one after all the fun we had last night." Valerie said with a teasing wink.
"I think I'll take a shower with you…" Wilma smirked at Valerie.
Valerie giggled while giving Wilma a sultry look. "You didn't get enough of me last night?"
"Of you? Never." Wilma said, causing Valerie to blush again.
"Come on then~" Valerie said over her shoulder while she sauntered over to the bathroom. Wilma hopped out of the bed and immediately followed after Valerie.
…
Emma Frost never thought the day would come when she would be so jealous of her own mother. Emma had also been up late last night. She had once again been watching, through her mother's eyes, as Wilma made love to Valerie for hours on end.
The psychic feedback made it so Emma experienced no less than 6 consecutive orgasms last night before her mother and Valerie exhausted themselves. Emma's sheets were soaked by the time they went to sleep. That's why Emma was surprised when she started picking up intense emotions from her mother again…
"They're still going?" Emma muttered to herself in near disbelief.
Emma's fingers drifted between her already moistening lower lips as she decided to once again slip into her mother's mind and spectate. Like her own mother, Emma was quickly realizing that she may be a bit of a nymphomaniac. Emma slowly started to finger herself as she watched Wilma and Valerie in the bathroom.
…
Wilma absolutely adored kissing Valerie's body. She loved leaving possessive love marks all over her younger lover's otherwise flawless skin. They always healed quickly–unusually quickly–but Wilma enjoyed looking at them while they lasted.
"Yes, Wilma! Please don't stop!" Valerie cried out in bliss. Wilma had Valerie pinned against the shower wall as warm water trailed down both of their naked bodies. Wilma was passionately kissing Valerie's neck while her fingers pumped in and out of the girl's love hole. The erotic noises Valerie was making only encouraged Wilma more.
"You're so beautiful and perfect. I'm so lucky to have met you~" Wilma said in between the loving kisses she planted on Valerie's neck and collar. Valerie trembled in her embrace under her loving ministrations. Wilma's finger was massaging Valerie's inner walls, directly over her G-spot.
Wilma knew Valerie quite intimately at this point. She knew exactly how to move her fingers in a way that made Valerie scream.
"Fuck!" Valerie cried out in pleasure. Her arms wrapped around Wilms instinctively to hold herself up as she felt a powerful orgasm building. "Wilma… It feels so good!"
Wilma loved hearing Valerie moan her name. Her fingers started pumping even faster in and out of Valerie's dripping pussy. She could tell Valerie was close to her release.
"I'm cumming~" Valerie cried out in pleasure. She was always amazed at the things this woman made her feel.
Wilma stopped kissing Valerie's neck and instead stuck her tongue in the younger woman's mouth as Valerie came undone. Wilma loved passionately kissing Valerie through her orgasms. She loved it when Valerie moaned into her mouth. Wilma's tongue dominated their kiss as she felt Valerie's tight pussy squeezing down on her finger.
When her orgasm passed, Valerie's legs went weak and she slumped down with a blissful expression on her face. Wilma giggled as she smiled down at her lover. She lovingly stroked Valerie's wet hair before she gently grabbed the back of it.
"Since you're already down there, would you mind…?" Wilma trailed off while spreading her own legs where she stood. Valerie's face was currently directly in front of Wilma's pussy anyway.
Valerie nodded and leaned her head forward. Wilma shuddered as she felt the beautiful blonde girl start to lick her aching lower lips.
"Yes. You're such a good girl aren't you, Valerie~" Wilma moaned as she felt Valerie's tongue lick her clitoris.
Valerie, of course, couldn't respond because her mouth was currently busy. Valerie had discovered that, as a Dhampir, giving oral was actually a very enjoyable experience. Her taste buds were no longer the same as when she was human. It was no exaggeration that Wilma's juices tasted like literal nectar to Valerie.
Valerie latched her lips around Wilma's clitoris and started to gently suck on it while flicking it with her tongue. Wilma shuddered above her and let out a long drawn out moan. It was music to Valerie's ears. She wanted to hear more!
Wilma gently grabbed the back of Valerie's head with both hands as her breathing picked up. Valerie was getting quite good at eating pussy. "Oh God! That's it! Right there!" Wilma cried out in bliss. Valerie plunged her tongue inside Wilma's love tunnel. Valerie was currently tasting Wilma's everything.
"I'm cumming!" Wilma's breathing picked up as she threw her head back and let out a final loud moan. Her legs, on both sides of Valerie's head, started trembling as she came from her lover's amazing tongue. Valerie never stopped eating her out throughout her entire orgasm.
When she came down from her high, Wilma let go of Valerie's head and steadied herself against the shower wall. She had almost collapsed from the pleasure. "Thank you, Valerie. That was an amazing way to start the day." Wilma said blissfully.
Valerie stood back up and placed a quick kiss on Wilma's cheek. "It sure was. Unfortunately, we have to stop now and actually shower. I will be late for school otherwise." Valerie lamented while kissing Wilma one more time.
"I suppose you're right." Wilma said while kissing Valerie back. She reached over to the soap and started lathering her body with it. "I have a bunch of paperwork to finish up by the end of the day anyway. My soon to be ex-husband should be coming back from his overseas trip in a couple days. I want the divorce and lawsuits I filed against him finalized by then." Wilma said. She couldn't wait to kick him to the curb and take back everything that was hers. It would be even better if he ended up in prison for life after what he did to her only son!
"That's great. Just remember that my offer is always on the table." Valerie reminded Wilma that she was more than happy to simply shoot the man and be done with it all.
…
An hour later…
Valerie had learned from the previous days. She had the limo drop her off at the back of the school. Away from any prying eyes. The media was still out front of her High School every single day, trying to get an interview with her. Her fame had not reduced even a little bit as time passed. If anything, it seems to be growing for some reason.
Valerie was thankful that the media had not yet found out where she lived, despite the fact that she showed up to school everyday in a Frost family limo.
Valerie thanked the driver as she got out. She made her way past the bleachers and towards the school's back entrance. Students weren't really supposed to enter through here, but the faculty had made an exception for Valerie during these times.
She stopped walking when she heard sniffling nearby with her enhanced senses. She searched for the source, and discovered Penny Parker sitting by herself on the bleachers. Valerie was immediately concerned.
The tiny brunette was crying in the stands with no one else around. Valerie walked up the bleachers and made her way over to find out what was wrong. "Hi Penny, are you alright?" Valerie asked in concern as she sat down next to her friend.
Penny wiped her eyes and hiccuped. "Hi Valerie." I'm ok." Penny lied unconvincingly.
Valerie frowned. "That's not true. What happened? Did Peter do something?"
Penny nodded.
Valerie grimaced in annoyance. Peter had been really getting on her nerves the past few days. Hw never missed an opportunity to make snide remarks or comments in class. Valerie asked Penny what happened between the two of them.
Penny clenched her fists. "Peter is such an asshole! He didn't even remember that today was our birthday!" Penny explained in disbelief. "When I asked him what type of cake he wanted, he told me to fuck off and that he didn't have a sister! I d-don't know what's wrong with him anymore." Penny finished with a sad whisper.
Valerie's eyes widened. "It's your birthday? Why didn't you tell me? I would have gotten you something!" Valerie felt like a bad friend now. Sure, Valerie hadn't known Penny very long, but she already knew that Penny was the type of loyal friend she wished she had in her past. Penny went against her own twin brother to defend Valerie after all.
Penny shook her head. "I didn't want to make a big deal out of it." She turned to Valerie and smiled. "Besides, this has already been one of the best weeks I could ask for." Penny added.
Valerie tilted her head. "How so?"
"I know it's kind of sad, considering we're graduating this year, but I've never really made any friends here at Midtown High. Peter and I mostly just hung out together. It was us against the world… And then he changed and it was suddenly just me against the world." Penny explained and Valerie nodded along. Penny continued, "I didn't really have any hope of making new friends. I was actually surprised when you accepted my offer to sit together at lunch." Penny said with a soft smile. Penny had never been part of a friend group before, nor had she ever had any kind of significant other.
Valerie was surprised to hear that last part about Penny never having dated anyone. She wrapped an arm around the smaller girl and hugged her. Penny was actually a very cute girl all things considered. Sure, she wasn't a knock out beauty like Jean Grey or Liz Allan, but Penny Parker definitely had her own charms. Penny had the slightly nerdy girl next door look that Valerie knew a lot of people were into.
"It's ok, you've got me now as a friend. Liz, Harry and Jean too. I'm not too sure about Mary Jane though…" Valerie finished with a small laugh. She was still on the fence about Mary Jane. Valerie really wanted to like the girl because she knew Mary Jane would grow up to be a badass journalist. As a High Schooler though, Mary Jane wasn't the easiest girl to get along with.
"MJ will come around eventually. She takes some getting used to, but she and I were best friends in elementary school." Penny explained. "Peter ruined that when he tried to ask her out in Middle School." She added in annoyance.
Valerie shrugged. "As long as you're happy…"
Penny leaned into Valerie happily. "I am. Thank you, Valerie. Thanks for caring. This is already turning out to be a great birthday!"
"Still, though, we should do something special." Valerie suggested with a wide smile. "Something exciting! This is your 18th birthday right?"
"Yes." Penny replied. "Something special? What do you have in mind? I'm fine with anything really. Maybe just a small party with our friends?" She suggested.
Valerie thought about it for a moment before she grinned. "We'll do that too, but before that, we should do something with just us. Tell me, Penny, are you afraid of zombies?" Valerie asked. A plan was already forming in her head.
Penny shook her head. "No, I love zombie movies! Horror is my favorite movie genre. Monster movies especially!" Penny said enthusiastically. She had her own monster movie collection in her bedroom.
Valerie smirked. "Is that so? How do you feel about Vampires?" She asked Penny curiously. Valerie was still hesitant on telling anyone what she really was.
"Vampires? Vampires are really cool!" Penny said cheerfully. "If I had to pick a monster to be, it would definitely be them…"
"Interesting…" Valerie remarked, mostly to herself. "Why don't you skip your afternoon classes and I'll take you somewhere exciting instead. I promise you'll love it." Valerie told Penny.
[Wait… you're taking her with you?] The system asked Valerie.
'I don't see why not. You said this is a low level one right?' Valerie asked for confirmation.
[Yeah, it's hardly even dangerous except for the final boss. Even that will be a pushover considering how much firepower you have in your inventory.] The System added.
Valerie figured it would be fine to take Penny along then. The first dungeon was apparently a low level zombie dungeon to get the Gamer acclimated. The zombies were slow moving and not really a threat to someone who was properly prepared. Valerie might have lost her magic gun temporarily, but she still had dozens of guns in her inventory, along with hundreds of bullets.
Valerie also had her new blood magic to test out as well. She had more than enough means to keep Penny safe.
Penny smirked at Valerie. "I've never cut class before! You're making me become a bad girl." She said with a playful giggle.
Valerie scoffed. "Hardly. Aren't you the valedictorian by like a mile? I think you can afford to skip a class or two." It was no secret in the school that Penny was the top student. The number two student was apparently Gwen Stacy, but that girl hadn't shown up the entire week so far.
Penny nodded with a grin. "Yep! I've already got a bunch of colleges lined up with scholarship offers too!" She was one smart cookie.
"See, you'll be fine. After lunch, I'll show you something special that no one else has seen before." Valerie told her.
Penny was intrigued. "Is it your Mutant powers!? Am I going to find out what they are? The whole internet is still speculating on what you can do." Penny said. She really wanted to know what they were.
"You'll just have to wait and see." Valerie said slyly. She didn't want to spoil the surprise.
Penny pouted cutely. They stood up and started heading towards their first class.
…
–Lunchtime–
Peter Parker sat by himself in the corner of the school cafeteria. He could only sit with Flash so many days in a row without punching the bigoted jock in the face. Peter didn't hate Mutants like Flash and his posse. He only hated one specific 'Mutant.'
No…
Hate is not enough for what he felt for Valerie Tepes. Peter loathed her. Valerie Tepes was nothing but a monster! Peter knew that to be true better than anyone.
He was disgusted that no one else could see it besides himself. Especially his twin 'sister.' Peter scoffed at the thought of her. He didn't have a sister. He wasn't even supposed to be here. Something had gone horribly wrong, now he was stuck in this place that wasn't his true home.
The target of his ire entered the cafeteria and interrupted his thoughts. As Spiderman, all of his senses were far above normal humans. Even across the loud cafeteria, he could hear everything that was being discussed.
"Did you guys know it was Penny's birthday today?" Valerie Tepes enthusiastically asked everyone at the table. "We have to celebrate!" They all looked surprised by her declaration.
"Penny…" Liz whined. "Why didn't you tell us!? I would have gotten you a present!"
Penny giggled. "That's what Valerie said too. It's fine, I didn't want to make a big thing out of it. Maybe just a small party or something?" She suggested.
"We can have the party in my penthouse." Harry suggested. "My dad will be fine with it. He loves parties. I can order pizza and cake. You all can invite anyone you want too."
Peter noticed that Harry had been looking much healthier lately. He wasn't sure what the cause of that was, but he wasn't happy about it. He would have preferred if Harry ended up biting the dust early without Peter having to put him down first. Peter wondered if Valerie had something to do with it? He wouldn't put it past the bitch to spite him like that by healing another person he hated.
"That's a great idea, Harry!" Liz exclaimed. "I can't wait!"
"That sounds fun. I haven't been to a normal party in a while." Jean Grey added. "Text me your address." She said to Harry who pulled out his phone.
Penny smiled widely. "Thanks Harry, and everyone! I'll text my Aunt May after school! She said she was going to take off work early tonight."
"That's great. I've really wanted to meet your Aunt May." Valerie said.
"What about Peter…?" Mary Jane asked. "Is he coming?"
Peter smiled to himself when MJ brought him up. 'Oh, MJ… Are you worried about me?' He thought fondly while reminiscing about the past. MJ was the best…
"…We don't want him showing up and ruining the party." Mary Jane said bluntly. "He's a total buzz kill!"
'What the hell, MJ!?' Peter immediately felt crushed. He couldn't believe she of all people actually thought that about him.
Valerie snickered at Peter's expense. "You know, I wasn't sure about you Mary Jane, but that's the best thing you've ever said!"
Peter clenched his fists and anger hearing the monster laugh at his expense…
Mary Jane shrugged. "I only said what everyone else was thinking."
"Peter won't be able to come anyway. He's still grounded for months. Aunt May told him under no uncertain terms that he is not to leave the house after school." Penny explained and everyone at the table sighed in relief.
Peter clenched his fist in anger! Here he was miserable and alone, and these people were going to go off and have a happy party!? Peter wasn't going to let that happen. 'Aunt May' might have grounded him, but she had no say over Spiderman.
Spiderman could go wherever he wanted…
…
–After Lunch–
After lunch, it was time for Valerie to show Penny her surprise. Of course, that involved Penny skipping her afternoon classes. The others in their friend group found it amusing that Penny had never skipped a single class in her life.
"I don't know what you two are up to, but don't cause too much mischief before the party tonight." Liz teased them both as she headed towards her afternoon classes.
"We'll see you guys later." Valerie waved to them as the cafeteria started to clear out. She turned to Penny.
"So, what now?" Penny asked. "Are we going to leave school? I've always wanted to ride in a limo."
"You'll be riding in one later, but for now, we don't have to actually leave the school grounds. We just need to find an unused room." Valerie said while looking left and right down the hallways.
"I know a couple of empty rooms." Penny said. Valerie followed after Penny as she led them to the closest one. "This used to be a science classroom, but there was some fire damage and the school hasn't got the budget to fix it yet. The door is locked though." Penny said while trying to turn the handle.
It didn't budge.
"That doesn't matter, I have a key." Valerie grinned and pulled her Dungeon Key out of her pocket. It was jet black, and looked like it came directly out of an old movie. "Here you go, why don't you try it." Valerie handed the key to Penny who took it from her skeptically.
Penny thought Valerie was pulling her leg but decided to play along. Penny took the large key and pushed it towards the lock it was obviously not compatible for. To her shock, the lock morphed before her very eyes and the key slipped right in.
The locked classroom door opened, but it didn't lead inside the classroom. It didn't lead anywhere inside the school at all. There was a flash of light, and a second later, both girls found themselves in an artificial dimension.
"Welcome to the dungeon!" Valerie exclaimed while holding her arms out.
"D–Dungeon!?" Penny squeaked. "Like from a game?"
"That's sort of a way to think of it. Here you can defeat enemies that will drop various rewards. The essence of the enemies taken down here will also flow into each of us, making us slightly stronger." Valerie explained. Penny wasn't a Gamer so she couldn't actually control which of her stats would increase. According to the System, Penny would see an equal increase in all her stats instead.
"That's crazy!" Penny exclaimed while looking around. They were standing in a residential neighborhood that she didn't recognize. It was eerily quiet all around them.
"Here you go." Valerie handed Penny a pistol along with a few extra clips of ammunition. "You said you liked zombie movies."
Penny's eyes widened in shock. She'd never seen a gun in real life, let alone hold one! She held it nervously, afraid it could go off at any second. "Why are you giving me a gun!?"
"Grrrrrrrraaaaaggghh…" The silence around them was broken. A disgusting growl echoed from nearby!
Valerie whistled and Penny squeaked again. A lone zombie started slowly walking towards them from out of a nearby house. Its flesh was rotted all over, and one of its legs didn't even seem to work as it hobbled forwards with hunger in its eyes.
Penny didn't know what to do. Was this really happening right now?
Valerie poked her friend in the shoulder playfully. "Come on, Penny! How often are you going to get the opportunity to shoot an actual zombie! It's your birthday, go for it!" She encouraged her.
"You want me to shoot it!?" Penny exclaimed in disbelief. "It's a freaking zombie!" She was half wondering if this was actually happening right now, or if she was just in a dream?
Valerie smirked at her. "I know. It looks crazy real, doesn't it? That is not a guy in a costume. This is real and you don't want it biting you, so shoot it." Valerie told her again while making playful finger pistols towards the zombie. Valerie knew that Penny needed to unwind and what better way was there to do that than to shoot some actual zombies?
"Ok then…" Penny shakily pointed the pistol at the zombie that hadn't made it very far with his limp. She'd never fired a gun before, but she knew how to aim from video games. It helped that the zombie was barely moving.
BANG!
{+10 XP}
"Good shot!" Valerie said in appreciation. Penny landed a perfect headshot first try. The zombie fell over dead, before it exploded into moats of light!
"Are those gold coins?" Penny asked while she walked over towards where the zombie fell. In its place, two gold coins sat on the grass. Penny daintily picked them up and stared at them in disbelief. "They're real… I can't believe it."
Valerie recognized those coins as Galleons, the magical currency from Harry Potter. "Happy birthday, Penny. There's more zombies where that one came from. A lot more!" Valerie gestured all around them. Hearing the gunshot, more and more zombies started pouring out of the woodwork. Valerie pulled out her own pistol and cocked it back. "Let's have some fun and make some money."
"Ok, Valerie." Penny was hesitant at first, but she quickly got into it. Shooting zombies in the head was surprisingly cathartic and they weren't really that dangerous with how slow they were. Valerie also never seemed to run out of bullets either. Every time they ran out, Penny watched her friend reach into some kind of pocket dimension and pull out even more guns and ammo! Penny was fascinated by the power and wanted to know how it worked, but she would ask later. She was having too much fun!
The two of them spent the next couple hours blasting away at them all. By the end of it, Penny was smiling brightly and had completely forgotten about all the drama with her brother from the morning.
BANG BANG BANG BANG…
…
–Outside Midtown High–
"Hey there, Captain Stacy. Here's your coffee." One of his officers handed him a cup of coffee.
"Thanks, Mark," George Stacy said while taking a sip. "I hope the circus outside this school doesn't last for much longer." He commented while looking at all the crowds and reporters crowding the High School parking lot. They'd been here for days at this point. Captain George Stacy was the police officer in charge of keeping them all out of the school. He and ten other officers from his precinct.
"How's your daughter?" Mark asked in concern. "I heard that she was sick."
George sighed. "Yeah, she had a really bad reaction to a spider bite and has been in bed all week. I took her to the hospital, but there wasn't much they could do except give her some antibiotics to help Gwen ride it out." George's daughter, Gwen Stacy, actually went to this school as well. He didn't like seeing her so sick, but part of him was glad she had dodged this crazy school week.
George, and the other police officers outside the school, had to arrest over a dozen people every single day this week. All of them were trying to sneak inside to meet the in/famous Valerie Tepes. Unfortunately, the Mutant girl's beauty attracted quite a few creepy fans. One creep, they arrested the day before, had shown up at the school with a bottle of chloroform and six rolls of duct tape in his trunk. He was sent straight to jail of course.
"Heads up." Mark nudged George's shoulder and pointed at someone approaching. It was another creep.
George grimaced. A very tall man wearing a red trench coat, yellow sunglasses and a floppy red fedora was slowly walking towards them.
George and Officer Mark stepped in front of the man and held their hands out to stop him. "Woah there, buddy. What are you doing here? And what's your name?" Officer Mark asked a bit nervously. Something about this man in red unnerved both of them. Both of them had their hands on their guns, but thankfully they didn't need to draw them.
"Hello... You desire my name, humans? I am Alucard." He said with a wide grin. "As for what I'm doing here, my daughter goes to this school. I'm just here to pick her up." Alucard told them casually. He tried to walk past them after saying that, but they stopped him again of course.
George and Mark exchanged looks of exasperation. "Let me guess," George said sarcastically. "Your daughter is Valerie Tepes?"
Alucard nodded with a wide grin. "That's some mighty fine intuition, Officer. You are right. I'll just be heading inside now." He said and attempted to stroll past them for a third time and head inside the school.
"I don't think so." George said while pulling out his handcuffs. "Sorry, sir, but I'm going to have to place you under arrest. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law." George said as he placed handcuffs on Alucard who was looking at them in both surprise.
"Why am I under arrest!? Is it a crime in this country to see my own daughter?" Alucard asked them as they tightened the cuffs.
"Nice try, pal. We all know that Miss Tepes is not your daughter." George said while they led the handcuffed Alucard over to a squad car. "You're the third guy today who claimed to be her relative. We New York cops aren't stupid!"
Alucard sighed and let them place him in the cop car. "My master will be most displeased about this arrest, but I made a promise not to harm any regular humans." He lamented out loud.
"Uh huh, whatever you say, pal." Mark said while they shut the car door in Alucard's face. A moment later, the car started driving off to the nearest station.
"Man, where do all these freaks keep coming from?" George asked out loud.
"Who knows, Captain… Who knows…" Officer Mark shrugged. "At least it's the weekend."
"You can say that again."
XXX