Mage Among Superheroes

The problem with super tech was that it didn't always work. Any sort of modification might make it completely nonfunctional even if returned to precisely its previous configuration- and that was without considering intentional sabotage. I had also experimented, and I could turn super tech into piles of junk- not by smashing it but by using Dispel. It wasn't efficient, because Dispel wasn't even efficient for pure magic as a generalized spell, but it still worked. Without the super, super tech was not tech. It was just stuff.

Anyway, that was pretty much how recent interactions with the Neon Void had gone. We could figure out some of what the stuff did, but certainly not all of it. The one thing of note was that Neon Void super tech seemed consistent yet was also produced in quantities no individual would be able to keep up with. Unless someone could make a super tech factory, but the current understanding was the Neon Void had multiple super tech people working together.

-----

Over the course of the last week, Midnight and I had been Scrying Iron Shell and Flasher on and off, trying to catch them off guard somehow. It wasn't as serious of a push as with Handface, though not because they weren't a danger. They were a wider spread problem than with just Midnight and myself, so exhausting ourselves wasn't a great idea. Besides, they had pretty good Scrying anchors and stuff. Our efforts were mostly to probe for any weaknesses that we could take advantage of later.

Did I want to throw Flasher into the deepest pits of hell never to be seen again? Of course. But I hadn't even been to any of the hells so I had no idea how I could get him there. Then there was that whole issue with Dimensional Anchor and shoving people through portals.

Fortunately, I didn't have to think about that all the time. There were plenty of other people to think about solutions too. Besides, Midnight would be somewhere extra safe for the next few days- on Celmoth. Considering that the Bunvorixians appeared able to reach Earth just fine, being home with his family was about as safe as Midnight could get. We barely ever got attacked there and I never felt unsafe.

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Sometimes I went to Celmoth with Midnight. This time, I didn't. Just because we were buddies that wanted to be around each other most of the time didn't mean that extended to all of the time. Besides, Doctor Patenaude thought it was best for me to try spending some time away from Midnight when I knew he was safe, but still couldn't feel him.

Familiar Bond extended quite a long distance, but not interplanetary or anything like that. All I could feel was that Midnight was, not anything else. It was fine though. Totally and completely fine.

Today I was hanging out with Izzy, just chilling at a coffee shop. That was the sort of thing that normal people did, apparently.

"Tell me about the crazy stuff you've been up to," she said.

I pondered for a moment. "I don't think there's been anything crazy. Just tests and stuff."

"Now I know there's something," she said. "Your tests always produce impossible results here."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe they're things that were supposed to be possible everywhere. I'm not doing anything wrong."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying that you are. Only that everything you get up to is weird somehow."

"You were with me a couple weeks ago when we met Rocky," I countered. "That was pretty normal."

"Running into a stone griffon during a walk in the woods isn't normal," Izzy said. "Especially not here. Plus the portal definitely wasn't normal."

"We're still not sure why it's like that," I admitted.

"See? Anything else?"

I pondered. "I learned Basic Energy Mastery."

"See, I still don't get how any of that stuff works. I don't have magic, so…"

That was a good point. Unless magic using classes were inherently better, that didn't quite make sense. "I've been working with Barbro and Punk Monk on that kind of stuff." This was public, so using their real monikers might not be appropriate. Even if for the most part we shouldn't be overheard.

"What about… the fighter?" Izzy asked.

"Well, same thing. Unfortunately, I'm not any of those classes so I can't really feel it. There were some ideas about weapon group masteries for him, though."

"What does that mean?"

"Skill transfer for something like… all swords."

"Thats ridiculous. Many are completely different! If you asked me to pick up a claymore I wouldn't suddenly be an expert."

"Well, not without Sword Mastery," I said. "You have stuff for shortswords, right?"

"Just a little," Izzy admitted. "I didn't get into real fights that much and there aren't a ton of sword dojos in the city. Or rather, none of the right kind."

She made a face.

What did that one mean? Her eyes were unfocused… or she was looking at her status screen. "Something weird?"

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"Well, I have been keeping in shape. I've been getting natural upgrades for unarmed combat stuff."

"Too bad I don't get any."

"Can't you?" she asked.

"I-" I thought about it for a moment. "I'm quite certain that classes lock people into a broad category. Mage is very much not a weapon class. Hold on one second." I pulled out my phone and sent off a message. I got a quick reply. "Spellshot gets weapon skills."

"You have one of those in your company?" Izzy asked.

I shook my head. "Nah, just met a guy."

"I don't remember much about the class, but it is a hybrid spellcaster. What do they give up?" Izzy asked.

"Most utility options, I think? I don't think we can go into detail thought unless this guy joins up."

"You think he won't?"

"I think he's working for Ethus," I said. "So we couldn't necessarily trust his loyalty."

"Hmm. Well, I tried to get some sort of mobility mastery but so far it's nothing."

"You need a few things in the same ability tier I think. Or two extremely compatible abilities. Like Enhance."

"I don't have an endless list of options like you," Izzy said. "What ability tier range do they need to fit into?"

"I think the top end of the cutoffs are 6 and 13. Though I'm still guessing at that one until I get Advanced Energy Magic."

"Oh. That means the best things I have are… not fun to train."

"Why?" I asked.

"They require me to put myself in danger."

I pondered for a moment. "I thought you liked fighting."

She nodded. "It's a good way to mitigate stress. But that doesn't mean I want to try to dodge things when I'm not looking or avoid explosions."

"I bet we could make that fun."

-----

Izzy wasn't interested in training any of those things, but she did bring me to a local gym. It wasn't one focused around supernatural sparring, just one with a proper fighting ring. Seeing us climb into a ring, a woman nearby commented, "I think this is the biggest weight class disparity I've ever seen."

I shrugged. "I might even have a chance to win."

If I was using magic, I could win- with just defensive spells and Haste. Even that wasn't guaranteed. It may have seemed unfair, but it was actually quite reasonable. Because in a real world scenario, a scout like Izzy could make the optimal choice- not fighting. I could spend all of my mana on Haste to keep chasing after her, but before I broke magic it would have been a fruitless endeavor.

Being more than twice as tall as your opponent was a great benefit in a fight. It gave increased reach and striking power. However, there were some drawbacks. Like the fact that my fists were pretty much useless.

If I took a low stance and aimed downward, I could keep my balance and potentially get my arms near Izzy. Alternatively, I could go for kicks.

I started off with the former, but Izzy could dance around me with pretty much no chance to stop her. She wasn't trying to win so she only punched vaguely towards my kidneys a few times, not even enough to break my Force Armor.

I spun around, hooking my leg. That seemed to have been what she was waiting for, as she charged my leg. She easily bent under my attack, even though I aimed it near her midsection. She elbowed the back of my knee and toppled me over. She didn't have the mass to take me down any other way unless she shattered my kneecaps or something, but she could let my body topple itself.

We repeated the process a few more times. I knew better than to try to grapple her- trying a hold was basically just putting myself in an awkward position for nothing. We fought a handful of rounds, after which it was clear she was far more focused on knocking me down than trying to win through other means. With both of us avoiding blows that could be dangerous, there were only so many options. It was still fun, though.

"Wow. I can't believe you lost to a little girl." I tilted up my head from my position on my back to see the individual in question. It was just some kinda-muscled guy. Nobody I needed to pay attention to.

I picked myself up. The guy was still saying stuff, I think. Izzy looked pretty tired. "That was fun. The position for sparring opponents is still open if you need extra cash."

As I slipped between the ropes, Izzy scurried after me. "I thought you might want to keep fighting."

"Well, it's decent training but like this it isn't really worth any experience," I pointed out.

Izzy just nodded. She looked quite content with how much we'd done, and she'd probably moved four or five times as far as me. We were just walking along when a fist appeared beside my ear. Along with Izzy's arm, wrapped around the meaty wrist.

I took a step away as I twisted, taking in the picture of Izzy with one foot pressed against the man's face, one against his neck, and his arm along the length of her body- tilted off to one side because of her position. "If you try to touch my friend again you'll be taking all future meals through a straw."

I hadn't even heard the guy step up behind me. Of course, I also couldn't feel him since he was completely irrelevant. Not a speck of power in the guy.

The man grabbed at Izzy with his other hand as he flailed his arm. "You b-"

She shoved off snapping back his head and sending him toppling backwards. She did a side flip and landed smoothly on her feet. "If he makes another move I can legally break all his teeth, right?"

"I think we're supposed to disengage." We could easily leave, so I turned to do just that.

"Ugh, fine."

Izzy followed along beside me.

I did hear the man cursing as he got up. This time I was listening for his steps, too. It was the material of the gym floor that kept him quiet, I thought. There was a rather panicked looking employee in front of us. "Behind-!"

Well, if he was going to try to punch someone in the back of the head once, he was the kind of guy who would do it twice. He really didn't like being ignored. Probably because it reminded him of how pathetic his life was.

I was fine with letting him hit me in the back of the head. I didn't feel any impact so I determined that Izzy was less fine with that option, especially with the snapping sound. The gym employee flinched, so whatever happened probably looked pretty bad.

Well, I wasn't much for third chances anyway. Turning around, I saw the guy screaming wordlessly and clutching his arm in pain. It looked fine, except for the way the elbow was facing. Izzy looked between me and the man's jaw, then back to me. I subtly shook my head. Some people thought it was excessive to break all of a man's teeth if they weren't currently attacking, so it was better she stopped. Izzy just crossed her arms and huffed.

We had to hang around for a bit for the police to arrive. It was going to be really awkward for him when the people in jail found out he lost to a 'little girl'. If anyone complained about Izzy using her 'powers', I'd truthfully swear she didn't use any for the part where she messed up his arm, though few people could say with a straight face that it would have been unreasonable. Especially after attacking someone from behind twice, with witnesses. Technically the witnesses had nothing to do with the retaliation, but it was a pretty good sign of an idiot.

Aside from the time spent dealing with the cops, it was a pretty good afternoon.