Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Spinning Mana Bolt has reached lv 2

“Fascinating,” he said. “Can you show it to me again?”

“Sure,” I answered, “but can that be later? Heavy shots like that take it out of me. I still have some other spells I can show you.”

“Spells, really?” Eve asked.

“Nothing else fits,” I said, raising a hand and producing a Mana shield. It was about the height and width of a police shield and completely see-through, just like my other creations. “I can also change the shape.”

Feeding mana to the construct, I made it smaller and shaped it into a round shield, like the kind Vikings would take into battle. With a flex of mana manipulation, I pushed the skill even harder, trying to form a semi-dome, almost. It required me to sacrifice a ton of durability to make it more encompassing.

“I’m beginning to see why you reached out,” Eve said.

“He’s kind of like you, but worse,” Rex laughed, and I let the shield go. It dispersed into near-invisible motes of blue light.

“I also got one more trick up my sleeve, but I’ll need some space.”

Eve and Rex moved back, and I spun on my heel and drove a fist into the wall, activating Power Strike. The metal wall groaned on impact, and I lost 5 HP from the stunt.

Power Strike has reached lv 2

It packed enough force to cave a regular human skull in. Or, at the very least, crack it pretty badly.

Rex whistled. “Hell of a finisher.”

“Thanks,” I said. “So, what do you all think?”

The members of the Teen Team shared a look. I expected Rex to be the first to speak, but it was Eve who had the honor.

“You definitely have what it takes,” she began, “but being a hero isn’t something you take on lightly. There are real risks, trade-offs, and sacrifices you’ll have to make for people who will never know your name or the lengths to which you’ve truly gone to protect them. Your cooking can heal people. You can make a real difference by staying alive and helping teams like ours and superheroes signed with the GDA.”

“Wait just a hot minute!” Rex said, looking at me like I’d grown a second head. “The ‘magic’ in your magic brownies lets you heal people?”

I tapped my chin. “I thought I mentioned that.”

“That is unprecedented,” Robot said, his eyes cycling through a few colors as he looked me up and down. I assumed he was scanning me somehow.

“That is what I said,” Eve said.

“It diverges from all recorded superhuman abilities, technological and esoteric abilities we’ve ever recorded,” Robot said, some fervor slipping into his voice.

“Eve said the same thing as well,” I said.

“I would very much like to observe it at work,” Robot said.

“I’ll happily volunteer,” Rex said, stepping up. “Still got this nasty kink in my back from our throwdown with the Lizard League.” He rubbed his lower back in what I thought was an exaggerated manner.

Producing my Tupperware dish, I handed it to him. “Knock yourself out.” I paused slightly to gather my thoughts. “And there’s more where that came from, obviously. Robot can observe all he wants, and you guys can have fresh food that can heal you; all I want is help becoming a hero.”

Eve frowned slightly at my words.

“I did give it some thought before I approached you, you know," I smiled at Eve, “and my mind hasn't changed. If anything, meeting you guys just made me more confident in my choice."

"Which is?"

"I don't have to choose. You just told me that Robot has patents licensed to multiple corporations, and I bet you probably have built a few other bases for other superheroes and helped out a few low-income communities. I see no reason why I have to limit myself to the kitchen or the streets.”

Rex chuckled as he popped a brownie into his mouth. “He’s got you there, Babe—hmmm. These aren’t half-bad.” He straightened up, adjusting his posture slightly. “My back feels amazing. Oh man, everybody is going to want a piece of you when they find out.”

My excitement turned to worry immediately. Of all the things to derail my plans, I didn’t think Rex’s big mouth would be it. My eyes swiveled from Eve to Robot. Either of them could give me up as well. Eve might do it unknowingly, but Robot… He wasn’t above turning on me if it benefited him. Or at least, that was my impression of him.

“Don’t worry,” Rex grinned, throwing his hand around my shoulder. “Of course, we won’t go spreading it around. That’ll mess up our relationship with the only supplier in town.”

“Of course,” I said, giving him a deadpan look. “But in exchange for hooking you up with magic munchies, I want training and some gear.” I looked at Eve. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“It’s not,” Eve said.

“I’ll be happy to provide training also,” Robot chimed in.

“Yeah… me too,” Rex added quickly when he noticed his other teammates had turned to him.

“Great, so all that’s left is to convince Kate,” I said. “I, somehow, get the feeling that magic brownies won't be enough to convince her.”

“You’d be surprised,” Eve said with a smile.

And she was right on the money.

It turns out recovery was a major issue for Dupli-Kate. Her entire powerset made it anathema for her to keep wounded or sick copies of herself alive. Since the memories and sensations are shared between their minds, so are the feelings of weakness. Fighting was hard enough when you had to deal with constantly dying.

My cooking offered her a way to heal her clones wounded during sparring and potentially keep her copies alive for longer in high-conflict scenarios.

It was all fascinating stuff, really, all of which I managed to deduce in between the brief breaks I got from getting my ass handed to me.

Yup.

Kate volunteered to train me as payment for my miraculous cooking. I came to regret accepting her offer near-instantly as a roundhouse whipped into my jaw and sent me flipping.