Sidequest Complete: Save the train passengers and stop the hostage takers!

  As a reward, you gain experience, 100 Base Points, and five points for Agility.

  Congratulations! You have leveled up. You are now level fifty-three. As a reward, you gain forty Stat Points and 100 Base Points.

  That felt pretty good to the Boxer. He hadn’t leveled up since his fight with the Inevitable at the end of the summer, and he’d been worried he’d stagnated.

  He examined his character sheet, and ignored the Base Points for the moment. The Boxer had almost 4,000 and was saving them for an emergency. The Stat points he decided to assign right away.

  Thanks to Scarlett, he had six stats: Strength, Power, Charm, Agility, Smarts, and Constitution. While they all came in handy, he was mostly focused on Power and Agility, since many of his abilities were impacted by one or the other. And he had another goal in mind.

  Jack wanted to fly. Really fly, not like the ability he used during the fight on the train. And that ability required him to have 500 Power and 500 Agility. His Power was currently higher, so he dropped all forty points into Agility, which, when combined with the reward, brought him to 295 and almost even with his Power at 300.

  Most likely he would receive another ability at level fifty-five, but that wouldn’t give him enough time to earn the Stats he needed. Even getting there by level sixty was unlikely, unless he received more rewards like the quest he completed.

  But he was determined to try.

  At the moment, he had other concerns, as he reached his class right before it was supposed to start. He slid in and moved gracefully to his seat at the back.

  He received a frown from the professor standing at the front of the room. She was a gorgeous Japanese-American with bright-green hair. Professor Nora Nakano was both a renowned expert in cosmic rays as well as a retired super hero. The frown was because she was also his advisor, and he’d only barely made it in time, which he knew she didn’t like. But she let it go without calling him out in front of everybody, and he settled in to listen to her enlightening lecture.

  When it finished, an hour later, she dismissed the class, but not without adding, “Mr. Jenkins, please see me in my office.”

  A few of the other class members snickered, and he even noticed a couple of envious stares from some of the men. Nora didn’t have many one on one sessions with students, so they were clearly jealous of his time with her.

  He left the classroom and met her at the office. “Come in, come in.” She sat behind her desk. The room lacked decorations, but had one wall covered with science books. The Ute leaned back and yawned. “Excuse me.”

  “No worries,” Jack said. “I had a late night, too.”

  The green-haired professor gave him a knowing look. “Mhmmm. I bet. Now, I wanted to check in on you now that classes have started. How are you doing?”

  “Pretty good, I think. I definitely feel like I’ve learned a lot since I started.”

  “Good. But I more meant after everything that happened with the Institute and your friend.”

  Right. That. Jack grimaced.

  Over the summer, he’d interned for the premier scientific company in the world, called the Institute. It was owned and run by Roger Oaks, who happened to be the father of his best friend, Dean Oaks.

  Unfortunately, Roger was running experiments on himself to give himself super powers. Only people around during the change or their descendants had powers. And Roger Oaks wanted power both for himself and for the prestige, so he took big risks.

  Jack was, in fact, one of only two exceptions that he knew of before Roger. Well, three, if you count the Powered Protector, who had been the person with Jack’s powers before he died. The other was a scientist from the Institute who accidentally created an explosion that gave her some powers. She became the Mechaharpy, a deranged villain determined to change the world.

  Roger, though, managed to give himself unstable powers. With the help of Sienna Ferrand, he could contain the powers. But during a fight with the Boxer, he lost control and destroyed the top few floors of the skyscraper they were in, apparently killing himself and Sienna, as her alter ego TIme Piece. It took a miracle to survive it, and the Boxer only did because of his Soft Landing power.

  Since then, Jack had only rarely seen Dean. He was worried about him, but he knew better than to force it.

  Realizing that he hadn’t responded, Jack nodded. Nora only knew about his friend and the internship, not his secret identity, so he kept it brief. “It’s tough. I think I’m doing alright, but it’s not easy.”

  “No, it never is.” She reached across the desk and patted his hand. Her skin was warm against his, and he gave her a small smile in thanks. “Hopefully, it will get smoother, if not easier.”

  When she leaned back, she became more serious. “About your class work.”

  “I turned in everything, didn’t I?”

  “You did, but you need to take this seriously, Jack. This is the forefront of scientific advancement. What we do here could open the door to understanding the universe like never before, and even other dimensions. We’re Einstein, Watson and Crick, Curie, working at the edge of what is known and unknown. You have so much potential, more than most, but it always feels like your mind is somewhere else.”

  “It is,” he said without thinking.

  She chuckled at his honesty. “Girls, I assume?”

  ‘Girls’ was right. Well, women. Jack was in fact dating multiple women, including both Cattarina — who went by Felicity when she wasn’t in costume — and Marina. They all knew about each other and called themselves the Jack Pack. And while it turned out that dating six women was a pretty big time commitment, the real problem was his secret life as a hero. Saving people, protecting the City, that took priority. But he didn’t want to tell Nora that.

  “A little. I just feel pulled in every direction, and it doesn’t get easier with my job and classes. I love this research, but what do I do with it when I graduate?”

  “Whatever you want. There will be other companies, other research fellowships, all of whom would love to have you. You could stay here and get a master's or doctorate, and work in academia. Or, hell, you can just enjoy knowing more about the world and deliver pizzas for your whole life.”

  He laughed, happy at least that he no longer had to shlep boxes of ‘za around on his bike. The City Level work didn’t pay well yet, but it still covered more than that did.

  “I guess, in a lot of ways, I feel like a fraud,” Jack said.

  “How come?”

  I can’t tell her it's because a lot of my knowledge comes from the fact I regularly talk to a being from another dimension. Although Nora would probably lose her mind if she found out.

  “I just kind of stumbled into this, you know? And I do like it. But I liked game design. And I do like my current job.”

  Professor Nakano nodded knowingly. “Well, you can do great things, Jack. You just need to decide what those things will be, and put your whole heart into it. And, you know, you aren’t stuck with your first choice. I was a hero for a while, and took night classes to fill the time and find a spark of excitement that didn’t involve punching someone through a wall.

  “And I fell in love with physics and the cosmic. Leaving that life behind was hard, but I don’t regret it. It was a phase, a chapter, and now I am exactly where I want to be. So don’t worry too much. Okay?”

  Jack nodded. They spoke for a few minutes more, and then she sent him home with even more reading to do.

  ***

  After the meeting with Nora, Jack decided to take a detour through the gaming department. He hadn’t heard from Dean in a while, but knew one of the hot design classes was letting out soon, so he figured he might catch him there. But Dean wasn’t in the class, and Jack didn’t see his friend anywhere in the building. Calling it a loss, he walked out front to hear a surprising voice.

  “Jack!”

  He turned and smiled, seeing Peggy running over to him. She was a gorgeous woman with brunette hair and bountiful curves. He’d met her when he saved her from a robber while she worked at a pizza place, and Jack only knew her as Pizza Girl for a while. Now they were dating, and she was a part of the Jack Pack. They both knew each other’s real names, although she still enjoyed going by Pizza Girl.

  She tossed her arms around him and gave him a big kiss.

  “Hey,” he said when they pulled apart. “What are you up to?”

  “Just got out of class. Wanna walk me home?”

  “Sure.” They held hands and walked across the campus.

  “Wait, this isn’t the way…” she paused and then laughed. “Sorry, I’m still getting used to it.”

  Their home was on the top floor of a University building. The Knuckleheads had it as a base, and thanks to Jack’s connection to Scarlett, he’d turned it into a much more interesting place to live and work. While Peggy lived there, the odd dimensional powers of the cosmic being meant that her apartment was still on the other side of campus, but she could enter it from the base as well. It still felt like magic every time Jack did it.

  “I feel you. I have trouble wrapping my head around it. So, what’s new?” he asked.

  “Ugh, not much. I am already over my math class.”

  “Why? Why are you even taking one?”

  Pizza Girl rolled her eyes. “Oh, it’s one of the requirements for my degree. Most people take it Freshman year, and I just put it off forever so I could get an easy one.”

  They reached the building, and walked up the stairs through the double doors. Turning, they went down a rarely used hallway filled with long forgotten bulletin boards covered in dusty flyers, where an elevator waited to take them to the top floor. Jack hit the code to go up while they chatted. “What’s the class?”

  “Math in Movies.”

  Jack laughed. “That’s a real class?”

  “Yeah. But there’s way more math than movies. I figured we’d just watch Beautiful Mind a bunch, you know? We haven’t even watched a single movie yet! So rude.”

  “I’m sure you’ll survive.”

  “Maybe I have a smart boyfriend who can help me study?” She glanced over at him and bit her lip.

  “Do you think we’ll get much studying done?”

  “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

  The elevator chimed, and Peggy dragged Jack off. Not that he resisted. They half-walked and half-ran to his room. The door barely closed behind him before she was kissing him again. He ran his hands up her side and under her shirt, feeling her warm, soft skin. She shivered in excitement.

  She reached for his belt, unclasping it. They broke apart for the bare minimum to strip their clothes off, and then Pizza Girl flopped onto the bed.

  “Wow,” Jack said, taking her in.

  Somehow she looked better than ever. Her large breasts swayed with her breath as she lay on her back. He felt himself hardening, and saw Peggy’s eyes glance down to his member.

  “Mmmm,” she moaned. “Come here.”

  He climbed onto the bed, straddling her chest. She held her breasts together while he slid his hard cock through them. Their soft embrace felt incredible.

  “That’s it,” Peggy said. Then her mouth was occupied, sucking the tip of his cock whenever it pushed all the way forward.

  He enjoyed the tit job for a few minutes, and Pizza Girl was working hard to lick and suck the tip. “I’m getting close,” he warned.

  “Yes,” she moaned.

  He felt the wave of the orgasm approaching, and as he started twitching, Pizza Girl sucked the top of his cock into her mouth. He exploded, feeling wave after wave of cum shoot into her, and she greedily sucked it down. When he finished, she smiled up at him.

  “Yum,” she said.

  But Jack wasn’t done. The other side effect of his powers was a decreased refractory period, and Jack wanted more. Judging by the look in Pizza Girl’s eyes, she wanted the same. He slid back and grabbed her, flipping her over. With his increased strength, it was easy to move her, and she giggled as he did.

  Now face down and ass up, she wiggled her rump at him. Jack slid a hand down her cheek, feeling the firmness.

  His softening cock started hardening again. By then, he’d waited long enough, so he thrust forward and buried himself inside the woman’s hot slit.

  “Oh, god, Jack! Yes!” Peggy screamed out.

  Her walls clenched down on him as he worked in and out of her. She pushed back, adding even more force to every thrust. They moved in tandem, both loving every second of their time together.

  Jack reached around and felt for her clit with one hand, and grasped one of her breasts with the other. He rubbed, softly at first, but increased the pressure as she started panting.

  “Jack! Yes! Jack! I’m so close.”

  “I am too.”

  “Cum with me! Cum inside me! Please, baby. I want it!”

  Who was Jack to refuse such a polite request? He felt his own orgasm approaching, and then Peggy screamed out. “I’m cumming! Yes! Ohhhhh!’

  Her walls tightened around his shaft and pushed him over the edge. He felt the pleasure increase and explode as he emptied himself deep inside of the Pizza Girl.

  “That’s it! Yes, yes, yes!” Peggy twitched and shook as her own orgasm rocked her body. Then they both fell to the side, and Jack wrapped his arms around her.

  “That was spectacular,” he said.

  “Yeah.” She snuggled into his arm. “I love you, Jack.”

  “I love you, too, Pizza Girl.”

  She shivered and gave him another kiss. Then they both relaxed in the afterglow, not a care in the world.

  Chapter three

  At some point during their cuddle, Jack drifted off. He found himself in a small sitting room. It was nicely appointed, and a window on one side showed a view of a countryside that Jack thought of as England — rolling green hills, trees, the occasional sheep. In front of the window was a low day bed.

  Sitting there was a gorgeous woman. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, even though Jack knew that was far from the truth. Her full lips complimented her round face, all framed perfectly by her shoulder length hair. She wore a light green summer dress, and had the confidence that Jack associated with old-timey movie stars — totally assured of herself and her place in the world.

  “Hey, Scarlett.”

  This was the Game Master. She was a cosmic being from the sixth dimension, and the source of all of Jack’s powers. And she’d also become one of his closest friends. He thought she felt the same way about him.

  “Jack. Good to see you.”

  He walked over and sat next to her on the day bed. “It’s been a while.”

  “I know! You never visit.”

  Smiling bashfully, he tried to explain. “It’s been busy.”

  “I saw. Good work with Pizza Girl. I think she really liked that one.”

  He rolled his eyes. Scarlett was something of a horndog. Her people had been almost totally wiped out by a dangerous creature known as the Destroyer, and she wasn’t sure if anyone else was still alive. And, to continue, the person she was bonded with needed to have kids of their own. That would bring another of Scarlett’s people into the world, bonded with the new child until they both became adults. Of course, Jack wasn’t at all ready for that phase of his life to start. But he was enjoying the current one, that was for sure.

  “I liked it, too.”

  “I’ll say.” She bumped him with her shoulder, and he had to laugh.

  Putting his arm around her, he felt her lean against him. “I should come by more often. I know you’re always with me and can send messages, but I do like seeing you.”

  “Me, too.”

  They sat like that for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company. But then he needed to get back to the real world, since he was just taking a nap during the day and had more to do.

  ***

  After waking up, Peggy excused herself to go do some actual studying, since they both knew nothing would be accomplished together.

  Jack had a few hours to kill, and started working on his own homework, but his heart wasn’t really in it. It didn’t help that his increased Smarts made it a lot easier and faster to read and process the information. There was no way he would have caught up with his Physics major if he didn’t have his powers.

  KNOCK KNOCK

  “Thank god,” Jack whispered. “Come in!”

  The door opened to reveal a tall, blue woman. “This a good time?” she asked. “I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “No, please do.” He closed his book and turned to face her.

  The Blue Battler was their team leader, and she’d been a member of the Knuckleheads longer than anyone else. Most heroes on the team either left when they graduated or were recruited onto City Level teams. Her real name was Luna, and outside of the costume, they both avoided using their superhero identities.

  “Did you need something?” he asked.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to do some training with me.”

  “Oh? I’m free. What’s the occasion?”

  The Knuckleheads had an official team practice three times a week while school was in session, but everyone was encouraged to work out on their own as well. Jack hadn’t been the best at it, but he also had the cheat of gaining power from Scarlett.

  “Well, I want to work on some moves that require more strength, and you’re the only one that can really hold up to me.”

  “What about Marina?” The demoness was pretty strong herself, although much of her power was related to her mental abilities.

  Luna shook her head. “She’s not really at our level.”

  Jack nodded, and realized he hadn’t checked Luna’s own growth in a while. He activated his Scan ability and checked out her character sheet. It translated her current status into the language of the game, even though she didn’t have a character sheet of her own.

 

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