Sell you a Bridge chapter 217

April 16th 2016 Doomhollow Hall 9:00 PM EDT

Dinner  was pleasant. Morana had a nice time getting to know Cassie and the two  of them arranged some time to go to the movies together in a few days. I  considered getting my strength stat bumped up with the points I had, I  could always use a good meal, but I decided to save every point for the  new power, and I didn't want to get a powerup in front of Nightwang the  nosy anyway. So I mostly just ate and acted civil with Superboy,  throwing the occasional jab at the bat brat.

Once they  left and Morana bolted off to tell her mothers about her new friend, I  got down to the serious business of NOT KNOWING WHAT THE FUCK MY NEXT  POWER SHOULD BE! I was at a loss. I had so many options. I mean, I  always had so many options, but usually my points range helps narrow it  down or I have some pressing need to meet. This was different. A  purchase this big was going to massively effect my abilities going  forward. I needed to think it over. To make sure that I spent the points  on something that could be useful in the long run.

My  three main possibilities then were as followed. Mobility. Some kind of  device or power that would let me travel with more people. My corridors  were absurdly useful, but I couldn't use them to travel with anyone but  myself, and that seriously limited my combat efficiency. Second, ACTUAL  combat efficiency. I could invest in a power that would let me fight  people head on. Some kind of attack ability.

The thing was  my existing abilities scaled, so I didn't really need any new ones,  except maybe a passive. Finally utility. I could get some new and  unusual power that could let me do something off the wall. That one  honestly seemed like my best bet, if only because I needed something to  act as a defense against higher level enemies. I had mental protection,  but it only worked on intrusion, illusions and other bullshit could  still fuck with my head. I opened my phone and flipped through. I needed  something defensive that would help me hang in a fight with the big  dogs, mental and physical both would be ideal.

I skimmed  through the list, trying to find something that would work, until I  finally stumbled on something...interesting. It was an email offering a  chance to buy a secret armored suit that was possessed by an underground  force that policed the world. It sounded like something I would have  heard of, so I decided to ask my resident expert on all things magical  and mysterious, Jim. It took me almost no time to find him, he spent  most of his time in the map room, and once I did I flopped down next to  him.

His monocle turned to regard me. "Evening Morgan,  what can I do for you? I trust the hero children managed to accomplish  their goals and leave? I don't much enjoy having such riffraff in my  home." He cocked his head. "Well, your home I suppose, but I've lived  here long enough to get attached, and places of leisure don't tend to  last very long when the League and their spawn are involved."

That  got a laugh from me. "No. Nightwang and his muscle have since departed.  I actually wanted to ask you about something. I was looking around for a  new power and I stumbled on something interesting. It's a suit of magic  armor, they attributed it to a secret society type group that protects  the world from monsters. Now the fact that its in one of my emails means  the armor is bullshit, but the group themselves might be legit, much  like keyblades do exist, despite the email I got this one from being a  lie. You ever heard of the Drood family?"

Jim's head  snapped up so fast his hat tipped over, wobbling precariously before he  reached up to pull it down on his invisible head. "You...you have an  email that mentions the Drood family? That is...unusual. They aren't  often spoken of in mixed company. Yes, the Drood's are real, though most  people think they aren't. I suspect the person who made that email is  among the happy oblivious many, lest they wouldn't have dared to make  light of them. They're...formidable, an incredible force of powerful  spies and assassins that secretly control the world as we know it."

I  raised an eyebrow. "Well then why haven't I heard of them. Or why have  you? I thought I was pretty clued in on the weird world, what with  Madame Xanadu and the Court and all that. What makes them so scary? And  if these guys are that low key why do you know who they are at all?" I  noted with interest that Jim sounded...afraid. Genuinely scared of these  people in a way I'd never known him to be afraid of anything. Jim  didn't do fear. He was about as casual as they came.

He  looked from side to side, almost as a matter of habit. "I was  once...friends, with a young lady who ran in the same sorts of circles.  This was in my younger days back in merry old England. Sweet Molly was a  pretty little thing, though terribly violent and extremely powerful.  This was back when I wasn't quite to laid back as I am now, and Molly  would wax poetic about the Drood's and their evils. Eventually we split  up, she was a bit too ruthless for me, but I do still remember the  stories."

He flicked a finger and conjured a pot of tea,  which he poured into a likewise conjured tea cup. He must have been  really spooked to need it. Jim was a huge tea snob, and insisted that  conjured tea was hardly worth drinking. He took a shaky sip. "The Drood  armor is the source of their power. A magical golden torc that hangs  from their necks. It protects them against magic and mind control and  can expand across their bodies and coat them in a strange liquid metal  that's night impossible to damage. It's terrifying magic."

That  sounded...perfect to be honest. "So you would suggest I go with that as  my next power up? Because it'll cost me most of my points. The million I  have saved up for this, though I'll still have another ten thousand. I  think I get some kind of discount because it's void related? I remember  it being more expensive, but when things get cheaper it isn't really  explained why, it just sort of happens."

Some  relation to the void made sense in context though. Clearly Jim agreed  because he gave a sharp nod. "Regardless, I suggest picking that one.  It's not actually invincible, but it's damn sturdy, and it should  provide a solid counter to The Reach and their scarabs." That was all I  really needed to know. Having a head on way to confront scarabs would be  a game changer for me. I'd had to lean hard on Morana and the Soulless  in our recent fights, and I had the sinking suspicion that things would  only get worse if I didn't address it.

I  walked over to the door, pulling it closed. I looked over at Jim. "You  looking to sit in on this? Sounds like it's going to be a big one and I  could use a spotter." I wasn't sure how this next one would manifest,  but I was guessing something that powerful wasn't going to be plug and  play. I was figuring I'd need some kind of initial connection or  something. I was guessing that connection wouldn't be fun.

Once  he confirmed he would help I hit the order now button. A thousand  dollars was taken out of my account to pay off the sale, but that was  literal pennies to me now, so I didn't bother to think about it much. As  always there was a knock at the door, and when I walked over and opened  it, there was a box.

I  expected the box to be big and fancy, but honestly it was mostly just  really shabby wood. There was no latch, no visible hinges, just a beat  up ragged old box. I set it down and Jim stepped away. "Alright,  sometimes opening the box is dramatic, sometimes it's fine and I have to  do something else to get this going, but either way I'd step even  further back because...here goes." I lifted the lid, staring down at the  box hesitantly, but this wasn't one of the dramatic ones.

Laying  on the beat up red pillow inside was...a necklace. Well, not really. It  was a torc from what Jim said, but I hadn't heard the term. The actual  object was weird. Some kind of open ended necklace slash collar made of  heavy spiraled gold. It looked like it would be uncomfortable to put on,  like I'd need to slide my neck through the opening. I hesitantly  reached down and picked the thing up, and nothing happened. I raised an  eyebrow at Jim, who just shrugged. I stared at it a bit...and then it  activated.

Or  rather, it started to PULL. Void energy started manifesting, drifting  off my hands, and I felt a suction as it was siphoned out of me into the  torc. The gold darkened, quickly turning pitch black, and when it did,  the torc melted. Tiny spears of black metal shoved themselves into my  skin, diving into my veins and tunneling through my body. They merged  with my blood, sucking the void energy out of every part of me they  could reach, and I had to choke back a scream as the metal wove itself  through my body until it was sated.

Then  it bubbled up through my throat, cutting off the sound of me shrieking  in agony, and exploded out the sides of my neck, reforming  into the  same torc as before. Pitch black and mixed with my blood, and from what I  could tell shadows and even some ectoplasm. Abyss Alloy had merged into  the object and was now part of it. I put my hands on the table,  breathing hard and riding out aftershocks of the pain.

Jim  whistled. "Well, I can see why you might have wanted someone along lad.  That was...distressing. Seems like whatever you are changed the torc  though. From what I know they're always gold. Black is new, though very  on brand for you. How do you feel otherwise?" He sounded fascinated,  which to be fair, I could understand. Hell, I was fascinated. I stood  there and stretched, making sure I had the range of motion I wanted.  Everything worked, including my neck. The torc was surprisingly  unobtrusive.

I  grinned at him. "I feel pretty good. Same as ever, a bit of metal under  the skin isn't much to someone with my vitality. I don't expect to see  the actual benefits of the armor until I manifest it, and I don't want  to do that in the map room. I have a feeling this'll take some getting  used to." I was just thankful for the Outer Body Training Technique. I  was pretty sure it would save me a ton of time and effort, not to  mention property destruction.

But  before that I needed some data to actually use it with, which meant I  needed to train. I had the perfect person in mind for a sparring partner  too. I wanted to see what my new armor could do against someone much  more powerful than I was, someone who, in fact, was probably more  powerful than anyone on this island. I reached out through our  connection and called to my daughter. I got a sense of joyful acceptance  through my heart and smiled. She did love to spar. Time to take this  new armor of mine for a test drive. I wanted to see what it could really  do.