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DMA - B2 - Chapter 22 – Visiting the hospital and a barbeque
🕑 Added 2024-11-21 14:55:01 +0000 UTCChapter warning: body modification.
Jace is going to be replacing his skin, his bones, and having a few other changes made by the good doctor (nothing explicit, and the descriptions are tame compared to some of the dark stuff I’ve written before for Echo’s Evolution.)
This is your heads-up if you’re not a fan of descriptions of body modifications – skip the chapter! Another one will be dropping today to pick up the main narrative.
The main narrative is unchanged by what occurs in this chapter, except for the key takeaways below:
· Quinn sends an apology letter to the party to try and get on their good side.
· Jace replaces his skin with Leviathan Skin (increased durability and pressure resistance), his bones are covered with Adamantine, and the nanites in him are accelerated by Jonsar so that they ‘transmute’ his organs faster.
· Jace has gills added so that he can breathe underwater and communicate like how Shhiv did in the pool back in Chapter 75 of Book 1.
· The group has a barbeque and Quinn begins to socialize, tries to be friendly, and starts to mend relationships.
>>>---<<<
//////////////////////////
[Hey everyone, Quinn here.]
[I want to apologize for being a bitch.]
[I know I am hard to be around, and that’s partly because I’ve been on my own for so long. I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, and this apology is part of that.]
[I’ve leveled up so that I can keep doing the same thing I’m doing for you now on Earth, on other worlds. So I’ll keep being your information gatherer, grabbing maps, managing comms – the whole deal that a Webwalker normally does.]
[I hope you will forgive me for being the way I was. If you are doing another family-style dinner later, I’d like to come and join in.]
//////////////////////////
“Well, that is nice,” Ollie quipped as Jace walked into the hospital. “She is trying to be a more likeable person.”
Jace shrugged, “I’m ambivalent about her, honestly. Yeah, she’s helping out right now, but I still can’t forget that she betrayed me a few months back.”
“Ah, well, trust is hard-earned, I suppose. Except in Priam’s case, right?”
Jace frowned, “That’s different.”
Ollie nodded, “I suppose it is.”
Jace walked into Jonsar’s waiting room and put in his name. About ten minutes passed before the name Flicker was called, and he went over to the operating theater/office that Jonsar Velicole, Tier 4 Planet Doctor and Exoplanet Surgeon, occupied. The green, slime-covered man was sitting in his chair next to the slab-like, steel table. “Welcome. Go ahead and lay down.”
Jace did as he was told and looked over at the physician, “Tell me a bit more about your proposal.”
Jonsar grinned, “See, this new NICIF in your body should enable you to replace all your body’s components. Organs, bones…everything except your brain.”
“What are the risks?” Jace asked.
“Well, you would normally be vulnerable to magnetism or electricity-based effects, but thanks to your innate Cosmic Power’s nature, it would have to be a massive amount to affect you in the slightest. I saw from your records that it happened when an Aspirant stacked a lightning trap and basically fried your nervous system for a few moments.”
“I’m a bit hesitant,” Jace replied.
“Why? You don’t even have blood anymore, and the nanites are already slowly strengthening your form.”
“What now?”
Jonsar pulled up a visual display that hovered above Jace. He could see his ribs that were slightly discolored a dull, metallic grey. “They’re already working on changing your physique. I’d rather make the nanite’s job easier by giving them Equipment to alter instead.” He rolled away and opened a large cabinet on the wall. Removing several items, he rolled back over to Jace and laid them out on a small operating table.
“I’ve got a Tier 4 magic-world skin we can replace yours with. Leviathan Skin – it’ll be much harder to pierce, puncture, slice, or abrade. Plus, you will still be able to feel sensations thanks to the nanites.” The slab of flesh he held up was a cool, steel color with traced, gold and silver arcane patterns, just like his prosthetic arms.
Jace felt a slight relief from his concerns. Good, so I could still feel Shhiv. But he was still not convinced. “Is that skin like Equipment? Does it have a special Skill?”
“Not that level of rarity,” Jonsar replied. “But it will enable you to survive pressures just like if you were underwater. If you’re interested in breathing underwater, I can add gills onto your body. Fleshcrafting is a Skill of mine.”
Jace let out a slight, barking laugh. “Shhiv would probably appreciate that.”
“Whom?”
“Oh, erm. My girlfriend.”
“Ah. So, I would be correct in assuming you’re sexually active?”
Jace blushed, “I mean, that’s a bit personal-”
“I’m your doctor. Don’t hide things from me, and I can help you more effectively. No need to be embarrassed.” Jonsar leaned back, “Species?”
“Churkun,” Ollie replied as he floated above Jace.
Jonsar nodded, “Well, I can use Fleshcrafting to make your…anatomy…more closely align that of your partner, if you choose. I can always reverse it, later, if you desire to revert the changes. Adding gills and the appropriate channels is easy enough as well. In fact, the Leviathan Skin would take the change very easily.”
“You mentioned everything inside me. Bones, organs…even my skull?”
Jonsar nodded and held up a finger that glistened with the green goop of his physique. Getting up, he walked over to another cabinet, opened it, and returned with a multiple-gallon jug. “Liquid Adamantine. It doesn’t count as Equipment, but effectively I can ‘paint’ this onto your bones, and it will replace them with the hardest metal possible from a Tier 5 magitech world.”
“And the organs?”
Jonsar frowned slightly, “Well, I think I just accelerate the nanites’ job for that. I don’t want to shove brand new organs in you when your body is already well on its way to doing that thanks to the NICIF.”
Jace chuckled, “What about being able to breathe fire or acid?”
Jonsar shook his head, “I could implant such an organ, but it would make eating and drinking far trickier since you don’t have the right size throat.” He stood up, “So, I’m offering Leviathan Skin, Liquid Adamantine, and Fleshcrafting to give your body the ability to breathe underwater and…interface, with your current partner more readily.”
Jace took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “10,000 Stardust?”
“Yup!” Ollie replied.
Jonsar nodded, “Correct.”
“Before I say yes…adding the Adamantine to my bones, and replacing my skin; that stuff is going to lower my soul energy thingy, isn’t it?”
“Soul energy whatnow?” Jonsar replied.
“Ollie, can you explain it?”
Ollie tapped Jonsar’s temple, and the man straightened up slightly as he rapidly read aloud – which Jace had noticed on a prior visit. After a few moments, the man frowned slightly, “Well, yes, it would reduce that coefficient.”
Nerfing the Archmage spells-turned-Skills even more, Jace thought. “How much will this increase my survivability?”
Jonsar let out a breath, “Well, based on the information X and Ollie have provided, I would say substantially.”
Jace looked up at Ollie, “Thoughts?”
“X approves of all the changes,” Ollie replied. “And you can use Equipment Boons in the future to replace your skin or bones if you want to. But…these changes will be good for you. Just make sure that when we are on magic or magitech worlds and come across things that give Spells-”
“Give them to Priam,” Jace finished. “Yeah. I figured that would be the best way to do it.” Jace laid his head back. The thought of being able to swim alongside Shhiv without having to come up for breath was enticing, and the whole Fleshcrafting thing to help facilitate their amorous activities was the last little bit of convincing he needed to push him over the edge of deciding.
“Let’s do it.”
Jonsar grinned, “Perfect! Let’s strap you down and get this show on the road! One hour – but I’ll want you unconscious.”
“Ollie?”
“It’s safe,” Ollie replied. “X has a lock on this room. No one can get in without their permission.”
Jace nodded, “Alright. Let’s do it.”
Jonsar’s hands glowed a vibrant green, and the world went black.
>>>---<<<
“All done!” Jonsar said.
Jace felt groggy, but Jonsar tapped him on the forehead and all of the fog lifted from his mind. Ollie popped back into existence. Jace felt…good. Extremely good. His breaths came more easily than before, and he felt…more solid, was the best way he could put it.
Jonsar took the straps off of him and went to the wall as he talked, pulling down a wall-length sheet of metal that turned into a mirrored surface. “Leviathan’s Skin has been installed, as has your Adamantine Skeleton. I accelerated the nanite’s work as well, and your organs have all been completely adapted and…nanitized.” He chuckled, “I think I just coined a new medical term.”
Jace sat up, “What’s that do?” he asked.
“They’ll function more efficiently and be far more difficult to harm.” Jonsar replied. “Come on over, take a look at the new you.”
Jace got off the slab and walked over. Jonsar had stripped him down, and his equipment was in a pile behind him. The person he saw in the mirror was definitely him. The face was the same. The eyes were the same prosthetics. His teeth were a slightly silverish color, and ever-so slightly sharper as well. “How’d that happen?”
“The nanites,” Jonsar replied. “Shaping the Adamantine as it was applied.”
Jace nodded and kept examining his body. His skin was slightly darker in color; a light grey that looked rougher but felt the exact same as his old skin to touch. He could see the ever-so-slight slices along his neck, and holding one open slightly, he saw the slightly pink flesh underneath. All along the skin was the very faint swirl of silvery-astral-blue that signified his Cosmic Infusion being at maximum Rank.
“Those pink slits would be the gills,” Jonsar said. “They only open when you’re underwater, and will block off your mouth and nose from taking any air in. But, you can still expel air from your mouth to speak underwater, just like the Churkun species.”
Jace scanned the rest of his body. Still muscular, toned, and when he reached his equipment downstairs, he was somewhat surprised at the lack of change. “I thought you said you’d be making me a bit more compatible with Shhiv.”
Jonsar chuckled, “Ah, well, when the – to use the scientific term – arousal occurs, you’ll notice some changes. But I didn’t want to change functionality too far from what you were used to already.”
Ollie flew over to Jace and floated around Jonsar, “You are the best, doctor.”
“I know it,” Jonsar replied with a grin. “Now…payment?”
“Right,” Ollie tapped his Cosmic Power symbol, and Jace saw the flood of bright blue Stardust fly into the man’s palm. “Pleasure doing business.”
“Likewise,” Jonsar replied as he looked at Jace. “You’re fully prosthetic and artificial, now, save for your brain. And I do hope that the other changes are valuable. You can swim and breathe underwater down to near-abyssal depths. Oh, you’re fairly heavy, though, considering your prosthetics. So, just be aware, you’ll move slower when swimming than someone who is not as heavily augmented.”
Jace shook his hand, “Keep an eye on my logs, would you?”
“I was already asked to do that by X. I’ll be keeping an eye out.” The doctor stood up and made for the door, “Once you’re dressed, let yourself out. I’m going home. Have a good one!” The doctor left the room.
Jace went to his equipment and put everything back on. The clothes felt just slightly tighter around his chest, but as he slowly adjusted, he realized it was because the cloth was snagging ever-so-slightly on his new skin. Well, it’s done, he thought. And I don’t feel much different.
He looked once more at the mirror after getting fully dressed and kitted up. He looked intimidating, for sure. The eyes along with the slightly grey skin, and the general ‘assassin’ look that his armor gave off; combined with the prosthetic limbs, one might describe him as monstrous in appearance. A predatory, menacing figure that you would not want to meet in a dark alley on a stormy night.
Ollie led the way out of the building, and Jace walked through the warping streets of Khrox before arriving back at home. Going up to his apartment, he went into it before using the hygiene station, switching out to some casual wear.
There was a knock on his door, and he went over to it. Sliding it open, he saw Priam who recoiled ever-so-slightly, “Oh…your soul energy coefficient is…a lot lower.” Priam leaned in closer, “And your skin is different.”
Jace nodded and welcomed the bunny-boy inside. They went to the table and sat down. “I replaced my skin and bones.”
“Yeah, you’re at 6% soul energy, now.”
Jace glanced at Ollie, who was floating just above his shoulder, making little splashes in nebula-like-water that manifested around him. “What’s that mean for the Archmage spells?”
“5-mile radius if used on a world like Earth,” Ollie replied. “If you went back to Nihilethelea, then it would be able to affect a 10-mile square area. It would be 1% if not for Priam using his Soul Warden’s Writ previously.”
Jace grimaced, “A lot less powerful, also, I’d guess,” he muttered.
“Yup,” Ollie replied.
Priam smiled, “It’s all good! But that does bring up something I wanted to talk about.”
“Go for it,” Jace said as he leaned back in his chair.
“I want to go to a magic world after we are done on Earth. I want to get more spell-based Skills,” Priam replied. “Fernaid is Tier 5, so I don’t think we can go to my home world and bring down Wricen the Indomitable for a while. Once we get Advanced Classes and our Ascended Power. Because if we hit level 100, we are considered Tier 5, and then when we get our first level of Advanced Class, we count as Tier 6.”
Jace nodded, “Alright. After Earth, we’ll visit a magic-world. Can Bloopa do some research on prospective worlds we could visit? Ones that Xera has problems cropping up in for The Cosmic System?”
Priam looked up at the mass of shapes that was floating in the air near Ollie. The Pulsar Priest nodded, “She says ‘yup’. She’ll handle it.”
There was another knock at the door, and Jace opened it and saw Shhiv’s smiling face. She instantly reached in and grabbed him, pulling him into a hug. “You’re back and you didn’t immediately come say ‘hi’?”
Jace chuckled and pulled away a bit before giving her a kiss on the cheek, “I had to visit Jonsar at the hospital.” He gestured to his neck, and Shhiv leaned in before gasping slightly. “Yup, I can breathe underwater now.”
She clapped her hands excitedly, “We are so going swimming later!” She looked past Jace and saw Priam, “Oh, hey! You’re here too.”
Priam waved back, “Yeah. We were going to do a family meal.”
Shhiv smiled, “Oh, Greg said he wanted to do something called a barbeque down at the recreation floor.” She looked at Jace, “Bring your swimsuit!”
>>>---<<<
Greg was dressed in swim trunks with a large apron on that read ‘love your grill like you love your woman’. He was busy flipping steaks when Jace and Shhiv got off the elevator, holding hands as they approached.
Missy walked over with a pair of beers, “You both look great together,” she said with a smile. She had lost some weight since working out with Shhiv, and was sporting a fancy swimsuit with flowers and frills, towel wrapped around her waist.
Jace accepted the beer and took a sip. The cool, bitter flavor washed down his throat before slightly warming his cheeks. My tolerance sucks, he thought briefly before the warm flush faded. Oh. Right, increased metabolism. He chuckled, “I like the taste, but looks like I can’t get drunk anymore.”
Greg looked over at him, “You did something to your skin.”
“New skin,” Jace replied with a slight smile.
Shhiv took a sip of the beer and grimaced for a moment before making a disgusted face, “Bleh! That’s revolting.” Jace and Greg chuckled as Missy handed Shhiv a fruity alcoholic beverage instead. “Much better,” the shark-woman replied. “And that meat smells delicious,” she said as she walked over to watch Greg grilling.
The elevator pinged behind him, and Jace saw Priam walking over with his swim trunks on. The bunny-boy’s fur was all poofed up, and he joined Shhiv over at the grill, “Mmm this smells tasty.”
Jace went over to the large, suspended water cube, and set his beer on a small table nearby. Well, time to test out these new gills. He instinctively sucked in a breath of air before diving in. Okay. Try breathing. He opened his mouth, and tried to take a breath.
He could feel the water sucked into the gills on his neck, and he felt the soothing, cool sensation as the water flowed over them before it exited his mouth. “This is awesome!” he shouted, and it came out slightly distorted. But he could talk underwater. “So cool!”
Shhiv came over, set her drink down, and dove in. “Isn’t it nice?”
Jace nodded as he swam up towards the surface, “Want to try that game out again? Now that I can actually breathe in here.”
“Sure! But you’re going to lose.”
Jace smiled, “You’re on!”
>>>---<<<
Quinn got out of the elevator. She had received Greg’s message about having the family meal on the recreation floor and treating it as what he referred to as a ‘grill out’ but what she translated as ‘barbeque’. The man was standing near the grill with Priam, and the two were chatting about different types of beers.
Missy was sitting under a sun lamp that replicated the sunlight on a beach. Jace and Shhiv were swimming in the pool, and Quinn was shocked to see the two actually stop mid-game and passionately make out underwater. Okay…weird. She walked over to Greg and Priam, “What’s for dinner?”
Greg looked up and smiled, “Steaks. And nothing else.”
Quinn raised an eyebrow, “We can make almost anything thanks to Xera’s interface. And make it to perfection.”
Greg chuckled as he offered her a beer bottle that she accepted. He flipped over one of the steaks with a satisfying searing noise that hissed out. “Nothing beats grilling some meat. Sure, it might not be perfect, but you gotta admit; having a pool day is a welcome, small reprieve from our work.”
Quinn sighed. Be kind. Play nice. Don’t be a bitch. She nodded and smiled slightly as she took a swig of the beer. “Oh, this is weak ABV,” she said. “One second.” She went over to one of the integrated panels on the walls of the room, and used the innate mechanism to produce a far more potent beer. She brought the bottles over and handed them to the boys, “Try this stuff. It’ll put hair on your chest.”
“I already have fur though,” Priam said as he eyed the bottle, took a sniff, and then a swig. His eyes almost instantly went glossy, “Oh…wow! This…mmm.” He took another sip and sat down on one of the nearby chairs.
Both Quinn and Greg laughed and clacked their bottles together in a toast.
>>>---<<<
The small get-together drew to a close after everyone had eaten and relaxed a bit. Shhiv dragged Jace back to her apartment, only stating that she wanted to “test out all of the new changes,” as she put it.
Jace didn’t argue against her, and to his pleasant surprising their coupling was far easier than previously. And performing amorous activities in her floating-cube-of-water bed was quite the experience. Not necessarily his preference, but something different from their prior amorous encounters.
He ended up falling asleep in her arms, and breathing underwater felt perfectly natural.
Not a single thought of the people he had killed, the megacorporation he had brought down, the changes he had wrought on his physique seemingly on a whim – none of that mattered.
The only thing in that moment was the woman beside him.
Comments
EsZeus
Good summarize at the beginning :) thankful for that
