Going Super Chapter 5

Written by happiest_in_shadows :: [Monday, 01 August 2005 11:00] Last updated by :: [Thursday, 23 May 2013 11:12]

Going Super Chapter 5

 

By: Happiest in Shadows

 

 

The story of a woman and her ever growing abilities.

 


Author's Disclaimer: This story contains scenes of violence, sex and general naughtiness. If you are a minor either beat it or lie about your age. Either way don’t get me sued. Mkay? I make no claim to any of the DC characters or trademarks used in this story as I don’t want sued by them either. This story was done with input from Animike and Anterion .


 

 

Kate felt a little awkward as she stood in front of her locker. Once again putting her uniform away only a year after rejoining the police department. It seemed kind of strange as she had been looking forward to rejoining them for such a long time. Now that was all changing, she was to be transferred over to the SWAT unit. While this still meant, she would be a police officer she wouldn’t be getting the regular assignments anymore. Now her task would be to deal with purely high risk situations. Mark still had some paper work to do to make sure things where official and she just might have to go through the testing period. This got a chuckle from her as she wondered what test they could really do on her. She hoped they wouldn’t make her dodge paint balls. Not that she couldn’t no she could move far more quickly then most bullets and especially a paint ball. It was just she would feel it was silly after all while a shot from a tank cannon had hurt like hell. It had not been able to kill her. At least not in a single shot.

 

Then there was the factor that she had become stronger and faster since that little test. Now she wondered if it would even be able to harm her. The thought tempted her to seek another test but the rational side of her mind told her that wasn’t going to happen. You don’t simply go to a military installation and ask to borrow one of their tanks or to shoot you after all. Still it would be such fun if she could give it a shot. Kate finally gave her head a shake forcing such idle thoughts from her mind. She finished packing away her equipment including her hand gun. As she did this though on impulse she pulled the weapon open. Taking a look at the bullets she realized that the where the same bullets from six months ago.

 

Every since she had gotten her powers she had no need to drawn her firearm. In truth the weapon was far less lethal then her own horrifically powerful fist. As she finished tucking everything away she finally walked out of the room that she doubted she would be seeing again.

 

SWAT had changed a lot over the years. With the arrival of super powered beings their job had become a lot more dangerous. Their equipment and training more specialized. They where now housed in a different building then the police force. This was in part in case the building just happened to be leveled. The threats where just getting so powerful that even with their efforts to keep up it was still wholeheartedly lacking. The type of military great equipment they would require would be over kill to say the least when dealing with common criminals. That said when dealing with the more powerful ones it simply wasn’t enough.

 

It was something that constantly frustrated both SWAT and the police force. The peoples desire to be protected but not willing to let them have the equipment they need. Saying that it was too costly and having to worry about being sewed when one was used on a normal criminal. It was a serious hindrance to them being able to perform their job. A giggle came from Kate. At least it had been a serious hindrance to them being able to perform their job. She had every intention of correcting that situation now that she had power on par with some of the more extreme threats. A wave of excitement lit up her entire body as she began to think of how the next villain would react to one of her hits.

 

It was true the media knew she was super powered. However, they didn’t have any idea about the entire story. Just how powerful she truly was. This brought back memories of her last work out of course she could remember it. Having been working out exercising with the equipment Jack and her father had helped develop for her. Her strength and speed and simply amazed even her.

 

She still wasn’t sure when it was going to stop by her strength increase seemed too most assuredly have a snow balling effect. Seeming to grow all the more quickly with every few moments it improved.

 

“Hey Kate, you about done in there?” Eddy’s voice got Kate’s attention as he pounded on the door to the girls locker room. Realizing that she had once again let her mind wonder off she quickly made her way out of the room and into the hall. Wearing her civilian clothing, she knew that wasn’t going to last very long though. Curiously she wondered just what her knew uniform was going to look like. “Well it is about time. Here is the paper work.” Kate gave a slight nod as she took the clipboard in hand. It detailed all the information that the new chief was going to need about her. She felt this was odd though as even though they had the information on computer and seemed to insist she bring paper work.

 

“All right. Well then Eddy I will be seeing you around.”

 

“You bet you will no more going into dangerous situations for me. Next drug house I come across we can just send you in. That way if there is an explosive we will find out once you come flying through the wall.” The look on Kate’s face could only be defined as stunned. As he openly announced what her knew job was going to mostly consist of. A few moments later she found her entire body convulsing with giggles.

 

“Well yeah I suppose you are right about that one. Seriously though take care Eddy I won’t be around to pull your fat tail out of the fire now.” Eddy simply chuckles at Kate’s comment. They had opted not to have a party for her after all she wasn’t really quitting. She would simply be dealing with the cases that better suited one with her talents. As Kate made her way out of the building, she found Jack waiting with the vehicle for her. While the city did indeed know of her abilities, she preferred to ride around when taking on the roll of a civilian. Anyway her normal close really couldn’t handle the speeds she could move at. Not that her special police uniform could handle her true speed either.

 

“I was thinking. Before we head over to your new station, what do you say to letting me buy you dinner. It had been a while since we have eaten out after all.” Kate flashed Jack an exceptionally wide grin in response to his question. It had been a very long time since they had eaten out. In part thanks to Kate’s appetite they where by now eating enough for a large family and then some. Though it was odd despite this there was no way, Jack could figure the food was providing enough energy for Kate’s body to continue to function. He had yet to mention trying to go without food for a while. Deciding that as long as she was working, it could be dangerous just incase her body happened to actually need it.

 

“Now are you sure you can flip the bill?” Jack grinned now as if quite proud of something.

 

“Kate as you recall your father has me on his research team’s payroll. I haven’t been going out either which means I have had plenty of time to save up my money. I am quite certain that I can pay for your dinner. At least one of them.” Jack felt he needed to include that last part. This was a special occasion after all and he doubted he could afford to feed Kate’s appetite for too long. Kate seemed to consider this for a moment. In truth she had gotten use to their cooking routine. She often got to take care of breakfast being the first one awake and needing the least sleep. While Jack would end up taking care of dinner.

 

“Maybe later on. Though to be honest if you are trying to show me a nice evening. I would much prefer if you made a special dinner for the two of us.” Jack couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief as he had wondered if Kate’s appetite could actually make his wallet thinner. The idea of preparing a meal for the two of them did seem like a much better prospect. Financially also he felt more relaxed in a small setting with Kate then with a lot of people. He had simply felt like celebrating.

 

“Well all right then but your celebration dinner is going to have to wait in that case. I am going to need time to prepare.” Kate gave a slight nod of her head and leaned over planting a quick kiss on Jack’s cheek. Leaning back in her seat Kate let her eyes drift shut. Even though she enjoyed spending time with Jack and didn’t mind letting him drive it still seemed far to slow for her taste.

 

By now though Jack and everyone that drove Kate anywhere have gotten use to the habit. She simply spent her time running around at such high rates of speed. That she couldn’t endure the comparatively slow rate in a vehicle.

 



 

“We are here.” Kate blinked for a moment as she looked up at the structure. The building was only three stories tall but it had a very solid look about it. The structure was not only the SWAT members station but it also served as a training ground. This instantly made Kate’s stomach churned as she once again had to wonder if they where going to make her go through the training exercises. She was more then capable of handling them which should be painfully obvious even with the small amount of power she had displayed before hand. Letting out a sigh she proceeded to climb out of the vehicle.

 

Jack followed shortly after Kate. There was a reason for him being there after all. As the person with the most experience with Kate he was acting as her doctor of sorts. Should the chief have any questions about her condition he was to do his best to answer them. Anyway he figured with as unique as Kate’s condition was anything he might say would sound at the very least reasonable. Also it made Kate feel a little bit better to have someone along with her. She still wasn’t use to having to answer questions about her cell’s make up. Especially since she knew even less about it then Jack did. She was a bit surprised though when he made his way to the back of the vehicle and proceeded to open up the trunk. “Hey what are you getting back there?”

 

“One of your spare exercise suits. If they don’t have any high strength material handy like what the police used to make your modified uniform. I figure we can offer this and just let them make some alterations to it. That way you could have an outfit that can handle more of your abilities without explaining why you need something that can endure such high speeds.” Jack had started to say Kate’s exact rate of movement but at over 3,000 miles per hour he didn’t really want to risk anyone over hearing him. Especially since as far as anyone else other then himself or Nathan. Kate was only suppose to be able to run 120 miles per hour.

 

How Kate wished that she could use more of her speed. Perhaps run 200 mph or maybe even 300 mph. It wouldn’t be giving away too much of what she was capable of doing after all not even 1/10 of her real speed. She had resisted this urge though. They had no desire to let anyone know that her power was still growing. Kate gave herself a quick smack to the forehead as she realized she had forgotten the one other group that knew something of the truth. The military knew she was much more powerful then what the media had knowledge of. The odd thing about this though was it seemed the more secrets they kept but shared with the armed forces. The more they where willing to help them. “Sounds like a plan.”

 

Kate let Jack lead her inside of the building though this meant she had to push him a bit.

 

Clearly he found the structure some what more imposing then Kate did. As they walked into the front door he was a bit surprised though as the atmosphere seemed relaxed. The receptionist gave the two of them a once over though she seemed to recognize Kate right away. “Ah Miss. Stonecutter we have been expecting you. Please follow me oh by who is your friend?”

 

“This is my doctor of sorts. He had been monitoring my condition to insure nothing is wrong.” The woman glanced over at Jack for a moment then seemed to address him.

 

“And have you found anything out?” Jack’s first thought way to say no but he quickly changed his mind. This was another good chance to help stabilize Kate’s reputation.

 

“Well we haven’t found any instability and her condition seems to be stable. We still run checks weekly though to make sure nothing is amiss.” The woman gave a slight nod and walked on.

 

Jack felt a little gelt for laying but he hoped that would start a nice rumor. After all they didn’t want people to know that Kate’s strength was actually growing at a preposterous rate as of late. A rate that made him thankful he and Nathan had designed Kate’s training facility with such variables in mind. He was a bit surprised though when he felt Kate’s breath on his ear as she whispered.

 

“Now why did you have to tell her I was stagnant? Couldn’t I have just been improving slowly?” Jack instantly realized just why Kate was taking issue with what he had told her.

 

“Now there is no reason to be a show off. Besides you want to keep it a secret.” Jack was a bit surprised by the rush of air that nearly pushed him over as Kate gave a slight puff from her lips.

 

Her lung capacity and strength having increased with the rest of her. Kate nearly blew him over though she intentionally avoided it. Chuckling Jack smiled as he strained himself up leaning forward and blew directly into Kate’s ears. The shiver that went through her entire body told him that despite her strength she was ticklish as ever and the little things that annoy people still worked on her even if he couldn’t hurt her. “Now none of that young lady or I will have to tickle your feat when we get home.” Kate gave a slight chuckling. They both knew the only way he could do that is if she let him. Still it was fun and at times she liked to let him have a little control so she decided to play along.

 

“Well all right. I guess it isn’t a good idea to be putting on such shows when we are hear.”

 

“Miss are you coming?” Kate and Jack turned their attention towards the receptionist who had re entered the room having noticed their lagging behind.

 

“Oh sure was just taking a moment to look around.” Kate proceeded to take the lead followed shortly by Jack. As they followed the receptionist out. Neither of them noticed the large amount of paper and other small items Kate had accidentally sent around the room with her little breath. Instead Kate found herself feeling a little let down as she followed the woman throughout the halls. While the exterior of the building seemed far more solid then the police station, the interior was a different story. The internals of the building actually being very similar to the police station. At first Kate was a bit let down but soon realized she shouldn’t be. Both of the structures had after all been constructed to serve similar purposes and probably by the same architect.

 

Also Kate began to notice the little details that she hadn’t been paying attention too earlier. The doors where clearly thicker and quite possibly steel lined, the people walking the halls tended to have a more imposing build. A build which in truth was very similar to Kate’s own and the locks where clearly made of different stuff. Nothing that would really delay someone on par with herself or beyond but still quite nicely built. She imagined the firing range would also be quite a bit more impressive. While the police station had a few high-powered rifles for rare cases. She couldn’t help but imagine the SWAT station may have some true assault rifles she could play around with. The fact that SWAT also took care of explosives was also an extremely promising thought and she wondered if she could show off a bit more.

 

When they arrived at the chief’s office, Kate noted how the door only had a small window.

 

It was clearly different from Mark’s upon the clerks opening it up and stepping into the room.

 

While the furniture was the same. The lack of any exterior windows and the computer on his desk spoke quite a bit. The equipment was superior to what the police had though Kate had to remember that this one institution operated all over the city. They where several police stations on the other hand. Kate didn’t get to much time to look around. “Ah so you must be Kate Stonecutter. I got a call that you where coming up so pleased to meet you.” Kate was a bit surprised when the man setting in front of her. His other all build reminding her of her father. Reaching out she took his hand in a hand shake.

 

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” Kate took a quick moment to glance down at the name tag on the desk. “Mr … Hangman.” The name took Kate a bit by surprise a fact that wasn’t lost on the chief who gave a slight chuckle.

 

“Yeah I got quite the name don’t I? All well my family is largely from out west and we have been involved in law enforcement for a while.” Kate gave a slight smirk wondering just how fitting the name was to the fellow in front of her. “Anyway I take it that clipboard is for me?”

 

Remembering the paper she had taken with her Kate gave a quick nod and handed them to him. “Yeah the chief said you would want them. I am kind of curious though why you didn’t just have him fax them?”

 

“Ah well called me paranoid but I have trouble trusting the internet anymore these days. With people like Livewire or some other freak out there I just can’t trust what it is sending me anymore. That and well with all the hackers out there. I simply like to receive a hard copy strait from the persons’ hand to make sure the information is accurate as possible.” Kate considered this for a moment when a mean grinned formed on her face.

 

“Oh and what about shape shifters?” The look the chief gave Kate a moment later was entirely priceless. Setting the pad of paper down he proceeded to lean over his desk a bit before cracking a smile. Speaking a rather humorous tone of voice he tried to scold her while fighting back his own amusement.

 

“Now listen here young lady. Don’t you dare go trying to ruin my trust in my eyes as well. They are enough things in this world that you can’t depend on as is.” There was a collective chuckle in the room as Kate quickly realized her new Chief was just as laid back as Mark. At least as far as she could tell at the moment.

 

“Anyway and may I know this young mans name?” Jack soon found himself being indicated by Hangman.

 

“Oh this is Jack he is my doctor of sorts. We thought that it would be a good idea to bring him along if you had any questions.”

 

“Doctor? Just what do you do?” Jack stepped forward a bit trying to adopt a more profession stance.

 

“Well I am not a doctor per say but I guess I am the authority of Kate’s condition. I was hired by her father to help keep tabs on Kate’s genetic structure and make sure it wasn’t going through any changes.” Hangman, seemed to think for a moment before gesturing with his hand.

 

“Please go on. I realized earlier on I couldn’t hope for a physical but this will do just as well. I was actually wondering how best to handle the situation.” Jack gave a slight nod.

 

“Well so far Kate’s genetic structure has been stable and her strength and speed have remained constant. The only side effect of whatever changed her body seems to be that her appetite has increased significantly. I have yet to confirm but have reason to suspect that this is do to her bodies greater energy requirements.” Jack knew at that moment he was laying through his teeth about nearly everything. Kate’s genetic structure was anything but stable and why she maintained a human form was anyone’s guess. While she could eat a great deal more then usual and often did he also doubted it was truly to meet her body’s energy requirements. After all at the moment he felt that even with as much as Kate ate it wouldn’t be capable of meeting her body’s needs.

 

In fact the only thing that he felt her body could be using that material for. A sudden wave of inspiration hit Jack as he glanced over at Kate. It was true that he was doubtful that the amount of food she was eating could sustain her energy needs. That said her body still couldn’t pull building material out of thin air. Could it? Assuming that it could and her current rate of evolution perhaps she did indeed to eat such a sustained amount. Perhaps not to meet her energy requirements but for her body to construct the complex compounds and elements that it required to function. The thought did seem quite possible however he would need to find some way of testing his theory. Perhaps if he could convince Kate to quit eating for a while her strength would quit growing or at a decreased rate.

 

The lunacy of the thought hit Jack a moment later. How in the world could he even think of asking a person to starve themselves just to test such a theory? Anyway their objective right now was to help Kate’s strength increase not to stop it. He didn’t know what consequences just a plan could have either. “Jack … Jack … Hey Jack anyone home.” Jack found himself snapped out of his current line of thought by Kate’s voice. Blinking for a moment he finally seemed to be truly looking at Kate and Hangman once again.

 

“Whoops sorry about that. I had a moment of inspiration.” The two of them gave a slight nod. A few moments later after Jack made no attempt to mention what he had been thinking about he finally got asked a question.

 

“And what you realized. Could it be harmful to Kate’s health or that of my men?” Jack was quick to respond.

 

“Oh no no. It is actually more likely to be beneficial then harmful. At least as far as Kate is concerned. I think I may have found a way to sort through Kate’s system and perhaps find out what began the change.” Hangman gave a slight nod to this. Though Kate knew better. Jack knew exactly what had instigated the changes that where going on inside of her body. No if he had figured something out or stumbled across a idea she felt it was something else. Still, she wasn’t going to push the issue at the moment. After all more then likely the only reason he hadn’t told her just what he was thinking. Was the fact that they where with some people who where suppose to be kept out of the loop as far as such things go.

 

“Well then. Do you think you could write me a report giving me some more details about officer Stonecutter’s condition?”

 

“Yeah that should be fine. Well so long as the patient doesn’t mind such information being given out.”

 

“No that is okay by me.” Hangman gave a slight nod and took a few moments to read through some of the paper Kate had given him.

 

“Now it was a some what sudden transfer so we haven’t gotten any special outfit made for you like at the police station. We considered requesting your old one but to be honest I kind of want you wearing our colors.” Kate gave a understanding nod hopeful that meant she was going to be getting a sturdier set of clothing. She quickly realized this was her chance to get her foot in the door so to speak and reveal that she had actually brought something that could be helpful.

 

“Actually my police uniform was a little lacking in what it could endure. So I was wondering if we could perhaps rework one of my exercise outfits.” Kate proceeded to bring out the bit of clothing that looked entirely too small for her form. Of course being one of her exercise outfits it looked entirely to small for her. The material having been designed so that it required a great deal of force to stretch it. So that it would hug Kate’s body quite snugly and avoid wind friction tearing it apart. However, as the chief didn’t know that he couldn’t help but stare at the outfit for a few moments.

 

“Don’t you think that is a little small? I mean it looks like it was made for a child.” Kate gave a slight chuckle to his respond. A child would more then likely have their bones crushed trying to wear the clothing and she knew it.

 

“Well it stretches you see. At least it stretches when I wear it. We designed it to cut down on wind friction that way I could run faster the wind friction slows me now.” Jack suddenly wondered if he was having a negative influence on Kate. The way that lie had rolled off her tongue was entirely too easy. Then again he supposed that on a superficial level at least the wind would indeed slow Kate down. Sort of how the wind could be said to slow down a train. At least Hangman seemed to buy it as he took a few moments to look at the outfit. Noting that it was a full form fitting peace of clothing.

 

“Well I don’t feel that it is exactly the right colors.” Kate gave a slight chuckle to this.

 

“Yeah I know. We where just thinking we could use a similar design and material. You would need to actually think of the look. I realize that I am just another officer however, I feel it would be best to have something that better suited my material. As I have no real need of any protective clothing. At least nothing of the level which what SWAT generally uses would provide.” Hangman nodded his head in agreement. While he felt, a armored piercing bullet would make it through Kate’s skin that would also make it through the body armor his men would be wearing as well. At least the majority of the time.

 

“Well would you be willing to have your uniform made as well? Kate gave a slight nod figuring that she could use some of the money her father allotted to her study. Anyway they had the money from the sell of her information to the military as well. Though must of that had been eaten up by the building of her work out facility. Actually she had suspicions that it had went over budget but her father wasn’t saying anything. “All right then. I will see what we can come up with as far as design goes. It might take a while I will need to consult with some people to just what image we are trying to portray. Most likely a lot of black.” Kate gave a slight chuckle having expected as much.

 

“That will be just fine.”

 

“Now that we have that out of the way. I am going to give these papers you brought me a more careful read through. We aren’t ready to have you start just yet and it might take a few days to get everything ready. Since well you are a special case. I doubt we will be ready for you tomorrow but you should still stop by. We can get your locker assigned, maybe a fire arm if you want to carry one for looks as I doubt you will be using them and a few other things.” Kate seemed to take this offer under consideration. While she didn’t mind carrying a gun she didn’t much care for the drag such a side arm caused. Not that it really slowed down her running speed. She simply didn’t like that it made her hold back more or risk tearing her outfit. Of course such a tear would leave a gap which would lead to more problems and she didn’t much care for the idea of running around the city naked.

 

“No thanks I think I would rather simply deal without the drag. Anyway I can about through something as fast as any bullet.” Kate and Jack knew that she could actually throw quite a large object much faster then any bullet had ever moved. Considering that she could run at hyper sonic speeds it was actually fairly easy to throw something smaller then herself and with a more aerodynamic design far more quickly then even she could run. Of course they preferred to conduct such throwing tests in areas that provided a suitable back drop. Normally a nice mountain to catch whatever Kate had thrown rather then risk it tearing someone or something important apart.

 

“Yeah I think I can see why you would prefer not to use a fire arm. Well anyway you two get out of here and I will let you know when we have come up with something. I may need to talk this over with the mayor of course. It is after all a some what unusual request and we may have to keep you in a standard uniform if it is felt it would cause a rift. Super powered or not you are part of a team.” Kate gave an understanding nod. She was still quite hopeful that she would end up with a better uniform then she had previously.

 

“All right then we will talk to you later.” As Kate and Jack left the room Hangman proceeded to hold up Kate’s work out outfit.

 

“Damn I hope she can wear this. Of course maybe we could trim out a bit?” As the thoughts ran through his head he imagined what it would be like to see Kate in the skin tight outfit.

 

He was glad she was so strong considering how the men would most likely react to such a lovely woman in such a outfit. She would need that strength to make sure they stayed in line. It got a low chuckle from him as he picked up the phone and began to make some phone calls.

 



 

“Well how do you think things went?” Kate leaned her head against Jack’s shoulder as he drove the vehicle. Her eyes remained close he had to avoid the temptation to look down her shirt and keep his eyes on the road.

 

“I think it well enough. Of course considering how shapely an officer you make I imagine that will be some what helpful in getting your request approved. Maybe tempt some young men into joining the police force and trying out for SWAT.” Kate gave a slight chuckle in response and proceeded to reach up to her neckline. Lightly pulling on her shirt she exposed more of her bountiful, delightful cleavage to distract Jack even further. Jack couldn’t help but notice it and wish he didn’t have to keep his hands on the wheel but felt if he ended up being too distracted and end up in a crash. Anyway most likely Kate would simply scold him and tell him to keep his hands to himself. It was kind of frustrating that even though she no longer wore her seat belt she required him to keep his on.

 

“You know it isn’t very polite to tease the driver.” Jack attempted to keep his eyes on the road though they kept snaking their way back to Kate. As he glanced at her he couldn’t help but notice the playful smile on her face.

 

“What is the matter? I am only trying to inspire you to get us home more quickly. I am feeling playful and I am not a working police officer at the moment so I can’t write you a ticket.” Jack couldn’t help himself the rest of the way home. Rather he found himself speeding the entire time. Even when he realized he was speeding and slowed down he would find himself rocketing along only a short time later. Kate of course kept her eyes close as despite this. The trip was horrifically slow as far as she was concerned. Oh how she wished she could show off some more of her abilities to the world.

 



 

Jack had to brake quite a bit harder then usual in order to bring the vehicle to a stop in time.

 

Pulling into the parking lot, he found himself fumbling with his seat belt wondering just what kind of play Kate had in mind. He hoped she wasn’t simply teasing him. He grew fairly confident she wasn’t when he took too long to get his seat belt off and she reached across. Took hold of the strap between her hands and simply tore it in two. He didn’t bother saying anything as he looked at the smile on Kate’s face. Simply climbed out of the vehicle and began a slight run towards the door. He felt a rush of air a moment later as he felt Kate breeze by. She was moving no more quickly then 60mph but that still made her a near blur when it came to passing him.

 

As he made his way over to the door, he couldn’t help but wonder what had caused this change in Kate. Then again she could be quite the tease and hard to predict. They also spent a good deal of time cuddling and fondling each other as well. Perhaps she had simply decided that it was time for them to move onto the next stage in their relationship. He hoped that was the case. Kate had actually been considering just that thought for quite some time. She had simply made up her mind while they where on their way home that it was exactly that time. Jack wasn’t the only one that was finding the restraint to be frustrating after all. As she waited for Jack to open the door she didn’t wait for him to step inside once he had done so. Rather she scooped him up within her arms and proceeded quite swiftly into the room. Giving him a light toss she sent him onto the sofa.

 

Jack landed softly enough and turned his attention to Kate. “Now don’t get excited to much. I am not quite ready to go all the way but still. I think you are going to enjoy this.” Kate proceeded to reach up and slip her shirt over her head. She contemplated tearing it to shreds but she liked the shirt so decided to spare it. As she did this she revealed a black silk bra that seemed to be having trouble restraining her massive breast. Jack followed in Kate’s steps removing his shirt just as she had. As the two looked at one another they each took the time to appraise the other. Kate’s muscles while cut seemed to be flowing together more smoothly then ever before. Though with each move of her magnificent body a different set would announce themselves ever so slightly.

 

Even in those areas that where completely relaxed she couldn’t completely hide her body’s development. Jack had come quite some way himself. While he hadn’t been pushing himself to add on extra weight he had done a wonderful job of toning up his body. His muscles had become fairly cut and his abs where fairly visible. His progress had more or less leveled off as of late and now he simply worked to maintain what he had developed. Still Kate was quite content with this. He had done what she asked and most likely was developing a fair amount of stamina which he was going to need. Reaching down Kate didn’t show her jeans the same mercy she had shown her sweater.

 

Rather she proceeded to slip her fingers into the denim and easily shred it. The button that held the material together popping out.

 

Jack’s face lit up at the casual display of strength and he couldn’t get out of his trousers quickly enough. As he did this, his arousal was quite obvious clearly anticipating just what the next step was. Kate couldn’t help but blush a bit herself. Being quite excited on her part she hadn’t actually gotten this far with a guy before. Having all ways called off the relationship when the guy had proven unable to control himself and endure her teasing. A few had actually needed a fairly stout punch to get them to back off. Jack watched Kate take the first step towards him though that was about all he could actually see as a moment later she accelerated and was right in his face in a blink of the eye.

 

A blink that he regretted making as it deprived him of a moment of gazing upon Kate’s spectacular beauty. Kate smiled and leaned forward a bit pressing her chest against Jack’s. Moving her breast back and forth a bit Kate ran the silken bra against his chest for a moment before stepping back. Reaching back she proceeded to slip her bra off exposing her wonderful breast. Her excited nipples standing out quite clearly. The site was quite wonderful as Jack watched Kate’s wonderful breast bounce. The fact that her bra was purely for show was plainly obvious as her breast needed no support. Starting to reach up he was surprised when Kate’s hand intercepted his own and pushed it away.

 

Reaching down Kate proceeded to place a hand just under Jack’s now quite toned rear. Lifting up she proceeded to cradle him. Bringing his face to her breast, he got the message and proceeded to suck on her breast. He knew from previous experience that he didn’t need to show any restrain in dealing with Kate. So he soon found himself not only sucking on Kate’s tit but also biting. Soon he began using his hands as well to message her breast. Squeezing with all his might.

 

It was amazing how her skin felt so soft and pleasant first however as he applied more pressure he soon found he could make no more progress the same as every time before. Yet it still amazed him.

 

Kate moaned lightly as she felt Jack message her breast. Looking him over she proceeded to reach a hand down towards his penis. Reaching into his underwear she took his shaft between her fingers and gave it a light squeeze. The action enlisting a moan from Jack as he realized indeed Kate had never went this far. With his building excitement he found himself squirming in her grip barely able to control himself. Deciding to take a chance not that he could do a great deal of thinking with his mind currently so distracted. Jack slowly reached a hand down towards Kate’s sex. Making sure she realized his attention he slowly slipped his hand into her silk panties.

 

As he worked his hand towards her sex his finger finally came in contact with her sex enlisting a sharp gasp from Kate. Slowly he began to rub his fingers against her lips while continuing to apply pressure to her breast with his other hand and suckle on her nipple. As he began to apply more force though he was surprised by what happened. He found himself unable to push past her lips. Though from Kate’s moans it was clear she was enjoying what he was doing. This still was quite the surprise as no matter how much force he seemed to apply he couldn’t make it past lips. “Having trouble?” Kate smiled down at Jack who looked up at her for a moment. Unsure of just what to do he simply relaxed as Kate settled him down upon the couch.

 

“Kate I don’t know..” Jack suddenly felt himself very concerned as he watched Kate reach down and slip her panties off. Moving on top of the couch she proceeded to settle down just over the top of him.

 

“Sush now and just trust me.” Jack didn’t say a word as he felt Kate’s hand reach down and take him by the head. Pulling his face towards herself she pressed his lips against her pussy lips. A slight moan coming from her as by now her juices where beginning to flow. At first Jack was unsure of just what to do but he soon caught onto what she wanted. Slowly he began to lap up what managed to make it past her lips. The whole time his raging hard on remained at attention though he felt some fear too just how far Kate might try to go. He didn’t really have much of a choice though but to trust her in the situation. As he licked her lips he was thus perplexed whenever he found his tongue actually able to journey inside of her sex. A slight giggle came from Kate at this.

 

“I had to learn how to get myself to relax.”

 

Jack quickly decided he would have to ask her about that one later on. However for the moment he had a more important task to take care of as he continued to explore Kate’s pussy. It was odd but it seemed that her body had changed in quite a few ways as he tasted her juices. The flavor was far from what he had expected and not at all unpleasant. Still as he stuck his tongue inside of her he couldn’t help but be some what concerned with what would have if she clinched herself shut. The fact that her pussy alone could fear off his tongue was both a exciting aspect but at the same time one that concerned him to no end. The thought of what could happen if they went even further was also there. As much as he liked Kate he didn’t care for the idea of his penis being ground to a pulp when she orgasmed.

 

As Jack made use of his tongue Kate found certain parts of his being inactive at the moment.

Finding this unacceptable she soon took hold of his hands and guided them towards her rear. While she wasn’t sure if he realized it his body seemed to know the routine and began to squeeze and message her buns as best his hands could. Content that he was now putting his all into it. She found herself messaging her breast with her right hand while her left once again found it’s way into his underwear. Taking hold of Jack’s shaft she began too gently message it occasionally squeezing slightly more tightly when she felt his release was nearing.

 

Jack could hardly believe what he was experience as he felt Kate’s hand working his manhood. He could hardly believe that someone who was suppose to have so little experience could show such self control. It was a constant reminder on how effective of a tease Kate could be.

 

There was a brief moment where he wondered if she could actually get up and simply leave him hanging. Surely though she couldn’t be that much of a tease. As he continued to lavish his attention on her, he had to glimpse up every once in a while to watch her powerful hands working her breast flesh. It was truly a sight to behold as he realized that his hands could never hope to put as much of a indent into those magnificent breasts as hers where. It was a strangely liberating thought though as he found himself growing even rougher with Kate. Using more and more of his strength knowing even at his best, his efforts could do no more then please her.

 

As Kate enjoyed Jack’s tongue, she could feel her orgasm building. She had already been quite excited even before they had begun but now she had to be careful to control herself. She wasn’t the only one that noticed this as Jack felt himself growing more concerned he attempted to pull his head away from her. Only to have her hand reach down and press his head quite firmly back against her crotch. Somewhat surprised by this he continued to use his tongue to please her though as her moans increased in pitch and her breaths became more rapid he grew more and more concerned. Kate’s juices where flowing quite freely by now and had actually managed to coat a decent amount of his face not exactly a unpleasant experience quite some what unexpected.

 

At last Kate’s body began to shudder and Jack thought to withdraw once again however Kate’s hand remained preventing this. As she came her muscle clinched down upon his tongue and a wave of fear ran throughout his body as well as a shock wave of pleasure. As the mixture of fear and excitement as well as Kate’s administration caused him to release. Soon he found himself bucking underneath Kate while her body shuddered atop his. As her sex clinched down upon his tongue, he was thus quite relieved to find it wasn’t torn off. Though he did get a mouthful of her juices and then some. It took some time but at last as they both came down Kate glimpsed down at Jack and let out a slight giggle as she looked at his face. Quite thoroughly coated in her fluids though he looked quite content for the moment. “Well now wasn’t that a fun step?”

 

It took Jack a moment to answer as he struggled to regain his breath. “Sure was, but I think I need to get washed off now.” Kate proceeded to look Jack over some what surprised by how much nectar her body had actually produced. A moment later a playful giggle escaped her and she settled back down upon his face.

 

“First you have to clean my lips then I will let you up. Though be careful if you bring me to orgasm again you have to start all over.” Jack didn’t really get a chance to argue not that he minded.

 

As Kate settled her crotch back down upon his face he once again began his ministrations though he hoped she wouldn’t require him to service her to for too much longer. He didn’t really want to admit it but he was actually quite spent by now. He suddenly realized why Kate all ways wanted him to build up his stamina and energy reserves over strength. If he was going to be in a relationship with this magnificent being, he was going to need all the energy he could muster.

 



 

Jack’s tongue felt quite numb having been forced to pleasure Kate for quite some time. If he hadn’t known better he would have sworn she had learned to control her orgasms somehow.

 

Every time he would nearly get finished she would cum again and he would have to begin all over again. Not that he really minded since Kate continued to tease and jerk him off the entire time. He had actually gotten off twice more though that was in part thanks to the amount of time Kate had spent on him. Now he was in the shower washing her fluids off wondering just how they where going to clean off the couch. He figured he would just get a steam vacuum. Of course he hadn’t minded the entire event rather he had quite enjoyed it. “So how often do you think we are going to get to do that?”

 

Kate smiled up at Jack as she held him in her arms. Even though she hadn’t allowed him to do much moving his energy was simply spent. He was currently cradled in her arms as she held him in the shower washing both of them off. A part of her regretted that she had chosen to bath with him as the water simply wasn’t hot enough for her taste. Still getting to bath with Jack made it worth it and she was currently considering alternating bath days. “Well I figure every other day should be okay. If you’re not fully recovered, I will just hold back on you. I need to get your stamina built up even more. After all mine sure isn’t going down.” Jack could only laugh weakly in response to Kate’s comment. It was quite true there was no way he could match Kate energy. He suddenly felt himself some what concerned.

 

“Did I last long enough?” Kate gave Jack a warm smile and a slight giggle. Lowering him a bit she proceeded to plant a kiss on his cheeks, forehead then lips.

 

“Yes you did sweety. Though if you feel up to it I wouldn’t mind if you sucked on my tit while I washed us off. You can stop once I actually begin soaping us up. Don’t worry I won’t make you put that tongue back to work for a while.” Jack smiled and proceeded to press his face into Kate’s warm breast. Lightly nuzzling her nipple for a moment, he finally began to suckle on her tit.

 

When he heard a moan, come from her he thought that he might have made a mistake. Upon looking up though and simply seeing that same warm smile he relaxed and continued to lightly suckle her tit. He didn’t want to give her too much stimulation after all she might become excited again. Kate was indeed quite content with Jack he had taken such wonderful care of her, saved her life, was helping to make sure she stayed stable, worked on his body at her request and proven himself quite a giving lover.

 

He had even respected her wishes throughout their entire relationship and not tried at least too much to force it any faster. Rather, he had simply allowed her to set the pace of things. She was quite glad she had taken things as far as she had with him. She was also glad that despite her body’s enhancements he had still been able to please her. It had actually been a fear of hers that her sexual appetite would grow just as quickly as her strength. Luckily while her sexual appetite had been indeed grown it wasn’t nearly as quickly as her other capabilities. She even felt that her sexual appetites might simply be the results of years of waiting that and she truly cared for Jack. Of course her strength allowed her to enjoy the experience all the more as she imagined after getting off as many times as she had she would be quite fatigued. Now she simply felt quite invigorated. “Hey Kate weren’t you worried for a while that you might tear off my tongue when you came?”

 

Kate looked down at Jack for a moment. Slowly a few giggles began to escape her lips until she broke out into laughter. Lightly shaking Jack who simply enjoyed feeling Kate’s breast bounce again him. At last when she settled down Kate used one of her hands to press Jack’s head back to her tit. “No, I wasn’t. Jack we have been living with each other for over a year now. In that time don’t you think I ever had to take care of certain needs?” Jack thought of this for a moment and finally simply nodded his head. Unable to answer her as her hand kept his head pressed to her breast. “I was fairly confident that if I didn’t crush my dildos I wouldn’t crush your tongue. Also I am pretty good and controlling how much strength I exert.”

 

Jack contented himself with this information though the reason he stopped asking questions wasn’t because he wanted to. It was because Kate wasn’t allowing him to move his head away from her breast. Absently he hoped this would indeed become a regular happening though he knew he would have to wait for his body to recover. Especially his tongue if Kate was going to require the same treatment of him that she had previously done. It made him lament that there wasn’t some type of exercise program for ones tongue considering how much use it was going to be getting soon enough. Kate was a bit surprised when she felt Jack’s hands pressing against her and hitting her a few times as if she was hurting him. At first she just stood there thinking he was just playing with her. She would find out the moment she let go that he was indeed playing.

 

“You know my tongue being this tired kind of makes talking a pain, I wonder what eating is going to be like. Blast I wish you could express milk to then I wouldn’t have to worry.” Kate gave a slight chuckle but none the less gave a some what rough push to the back of Jack’s head forcing it back against her nipple.

 

“Now Jack you shouldn’t struggle like that unless I am hurting you. Anyway if your tongue is that tired you should just relax and keep up what you are doing.” Even as she spoke Kate found herself thinking on the subject and couldn’t help imagine what it would be like if she could indeed breast feed. She hoped her body still had that function. She knew most likely it did as well the changes where altering her body quite heavily she only seemed to be gaining abilities instead of losing them. Well Jack could handle eating normal food for now and if his tongue really was that exhausted he could just drink some slim fast and soup.

 



 

Kate ran along at her rather slow pace of 120mph’s having let her house early. She had tuckered Jack out far more then she thought the previous day and he was still asleep when she had left. Having left his breakfast on the kitchen table she regretted not having anyone to eat with but she didn’t want to wake him. He was going to need to recover his strength after all especially she hoped for another round of playing by the next day at least. She now found herself headed towards the SWAT station. While she remembered them mentioning she wouldn’t be able to start work right away she at least wanted to play around with some of the equipment which she had been invited to do. Curiously she wondered what it would be like to be shot with a SWAT rifle as oppose to the police’s supply of fire arms.

 

Of course the guns weren’t the only thing she was looking forward to the stun grenades could be fun. Also she wondered if they would have any standard grenades handy as well. She knew they couldn’t harm her but it was always fun to show off. Kate’s smile seemed to disintegrate a moment later as she remembered that this was all a secret. Thus holding a grenade in her hand and letting it detonate would be entirely out of the question. There was no way she could be that powerful at least with the limited information she had given the media. A small part of her felt that she could inform the SWAT members of her true abilities but she knew better then that. It was bad enough that the military knew about it if a small portion of the military. If she went around letting every organization, she was part of in on the secret she would be found out.

 

She didn’t like it but it did seem like she was going to have to keep this all a secret a while longer. These thoughts made her somewhat nervous about leaving one of her exercise uniforms behind. If someone got overly curious and started working with the material, they would realize it was far beyond what Kate required. Plus there was the little matter of how uncomfortable it would be to wear if her strength was really that limited. True it wouldn’t squeeze the life from her like it would a normal person but it still would be quite unpleasant to wear. How she wished she or Jack had thought of that earlier but she chose not to worry about it. There was quite little she could do about it currently. Switching her mind to other thoughts she decided she would have to find a carrying back of some kind. Something that could handle her speed.

 

At the moment she found herself in her motorcycle racing outfit that she had bought previously. It was just as good as her police uniform for being able to endure her high speeds.

 

Actually it was better as she didn’t have to wear any excess material. Still she felt she would near a carrying bag of some kind for those days she wanted to bring a change of clothing. At least her current outfit solved her problem of what she was going to wear to work. She could just use the racing outfit on most days and pick up her work clothes from her locker. That is if she wasn’t stuck in a standard SWAT uniform. She truly hoped that wouldn’t happen there was no way the bulky material would be able to withstand even the speed she currently found herself at. There would be too much wind friction and considered how long she tended to run around she knew it wouldn’t last very long.

 

Well that wasn’t her call she resolved as she made her way to the building at last. It still annoyed her that she could easily turn the forty minute run into a 4 minute or less if she could use her real speed. Then again she doubted people would appreciate her lowering a sonic boom on them as she ran by. Though that also depended on just how loud the sonic boom would be. She wasn’t a very large moving object after all perhaps it would be all right. She soon resolved she would have to talk it over with Jack whenever she got home. It wasn’t something she could actually test herself as the one that would be braking the sound barrier.

 

Kate slowed to a light trot as she finally made her way to the main doors. Entering into the building the receptionist smiled at her and took a few moments to dig in her desk drawer. “Here you are this is what you are going to need while you are here.” Walking over to the receptionist Kate took the key from her as well as a few other bits of material. One of which listed the weapon that she would normally be assigned.

 

“I thought I wasn’t going to use a weapon.” The woman gave a slight nod of her head.

 

“Just a formality for now. We don’t know how you are going to be handled just yet. The chief is still talking things over with the mayor and a lawyer.” Kate blinked for a moment quite stunned by the last addition. The receptionist was quick to notice this and rushed to put Kate’s mind at ease. “They are so many things in this city you can be taken to court for. We like to avoid as many lawsuits as we possibly can. He is basically seeing if there is anything about your outfit that could get a lawsuit.” Kate gave an understanding nod though now she wondered just what they where going to do.

 

“Oh well then perhaps I will go and see if I still can even use a gun.” As Kate made her way out of the room, she took a quick glance to her right. As she did it didn’t take her long to find a layout of the building. The diagram wasn’t exactly perfect but it would allow anyone to find just what they where looking for. Her first thoughts where going to her locker room but she opted against that one. What she really wanted to do was going to the target practice chamber and get shot at. Making her way down a flight of stairs she had to remember to stop by weapons storage.

Opening the door slowly she walked into a glass lined. The wires running through the glass and simple thickness of it assured her that a bullet wouldn’t be traveling through it.

 

As she looked around she was surprised there was no one waiting at the window. Until a rather young looking man walked in a surprised look on his face. “Oh hi there. Sorry for that just stepped out a bit. I hope you weren’t waiting for to long. Well since your back here I will assume you come to pick something up.”

 

“Err yeah.” Kate couldn’t help but wonder about this places security at the young man’s relaxed attitude. She half expected him to simply slide a firearm under the opening.

 

“Great well then if I can see your card and get some id I will be … hey wait a minute haven’t I seen you before.” Well at least he was going to ask for some id ran through Kate’s mind. All well she might as well expect to be recognized. “Hey yeah you’re that super chick they had on tv.” Now Kate felt like coming through the glass and strangling the guy, the words super chick not mixing quite well in her head. “The one that wasn’t powerful enough to join any of the big groups so you stuck with us aye.” Kate blinked for a moment in all the time that she remained with law enforcement no one had summed up her choice in such a manner. Now she truly just wanted to ram her arm strait through the glass and grab him by the throat. Yank his tiny ass through and give him the beating of a life time.

 

“Yeah … I am the one they had on the news a while back. Kind of surprised you recognize me after all. After the first story they didn’t run a lot on me since well I am not one of the more powerful beings. You must stay glued to your tv quite a bit to remember that.” Kate felt a little better as she managed to get an insult of her own out. She wasn’t quite sure why she was getting so upset about her powers being insulted. Quite possibly her ego expressing itself more strongly then what she was used to. She was so proud of her body and what it could do. Now this little chicken hiding behind some bullet proof glass and wire was downing her. If he knew what she could really do she bet he would shut up.

 

“That is cool. So what brings you by here.” Kate started to reply but found herself unable to.

 

There was no way she was going to ask for a weapon considering the comments that could be made about her. She could just imagine it now, oh yeah I suppose with your strength level you could use a weapon or anything even similar to that would enrage her. Even if he didn’t make the comment the thought of someone making it was almost more then she could stand.

 

“Well I figured there might be some gun nuts waiting in here. I was going to ask them if they wanted to do a little target practice with me as the target. Who knows perhaps if you’re good enough shots they could get a nice show. All well since you’re the only one here though I guess I will be going.” Kate started turn to leave not wanting anyone to see the annoyance on her face.

 

“Hey wait a minute. Well you know if that is what you where wanting to try. I bet I could get some of the guys to show up. Why don’t you go on down to the targeting range and I will look for volunteers?”

 

“Sounds like fun I will head on down there.” Kate knew she shouldn’t be doing this as she walked out the door. She had told the media that certain bullets could hurt her and she had no idea just what they where going to be using. Still, she couldn’t get herself to back down. Her ego wouldn’t allow it. As she made her way into the firing range, she realized she must have been using some of her speed. The fact that she was the first one to arrive despite having yet to learn the lay out of the building told her that. Only hesitating at the line for a moment, Kate hopped over and proceeded out into the targeting range before turning to wait for the others. A short while later a group of males proceeded into the room and surprisingly enough one female. There was also the weasel from the armory. It was odd but even though Kate hardly knew the guy she was already quite upset with him.

 

“Well then are all of you ready to go.” A few of them nodded and took their booths. Kate noted that the one female officer set back instead of joining the others. As Kate looked them over, she wasn’t overly surprised to see a few shotguns and even some automatic weapons. Realizing they had brought out some of the good stuff Kate felt herself grow some what eager. At least they had opted for rifles instead of shotguns. A single bullet she felt she could realistically catch a hell of tiny beads where a different story.

 

“Before we begin, I was just wondering if you are going to be dodging.” Kate looked towards the armory guy.

 

“Well yeah I exercise the right to dodge or catch anything that is fired at me. This is supposed to prove how good of shots you are after all. It isn’t going to be very realistic if I just stand here and don’t dodge.” Oh how she wished she could simply stand there and catch anything that was fired at her. Considering her true running speed she knew that she could. None of the bullets would be moving as quickly as she was capable of running and considering the distance and how quickly she could move her arms. Oh how she wished she could just show off what she can really do. As Kate waited for the first shot to be fired she noted no one was arguing with her. This only left her to assume that things where about to begin. A moment later the sound of a bullet being fired got her ears. Instantly Kate saw the world slow down around her and the small peace of metal caught her attention.

 

It was odd though she didn’t hear the bullet as much as she could feel it being fired.

 

Looking towards the offender, she considered waiting for the bullet to reach her before changing her mind. Being careful to control her speed Kate allowed her senses to function at their full capacity. This meant the bullet seemed to be moving more slowly then a jog as far as Kate was concerned. Instead of waiting for it to reach her however Kate went to meet it. Reaching out with her hand she realized she had to be careful to make sure she didn’t smack the bullet back at the one who fired it. As she closed her fingers around the peace of lead, she felt it slam into the palm of her hand. The warm metal spinning for a few moments was an odd feeling as it slowly flattened out against her palm. Kate felt an odd such as surprisingly she found herself moving at normal speed after the threat had passed. The slight rush she felt was actually some what exciting.

 

Looking around she noted the stunned look on a few of the peoples’ faces. “What?” Taking a moment to consider why they might stare at her, a light chuckle came from Kate. “Did you not believe me when I told you who I am?” A few of the people who had arrived gave Kate stunned looks before grins formed on their faces. It seemed that may have been the case though if it was she would need to have a worry with the one that had fired. That of perhaps they simply where not 100% sure. In order to prove this Kate returned to her previous position in the room and proceeded to open up her hand revealing the peace of metal. As she held it up for the officers to inspect the reality of the situation seemed to come home to them. Some of the SWAT members began to look more nervous then before while others seemed to relax.

 

“Well lets let her have it.” A moment later nearly everyone that had been holding back a moment before began firing. It seemed instinctive that Kate once again found herself in her accelerated state watching the bullets come towards her. Kate’s accelerated state gave her time to observe this and more then enough time to respond to them that is if she could move her limb at their full speed. A, idea hit her a moment later as she found herself snatching up the bullets that would have hit her clothing. As they neared, she began to run backwards though she had to wait for them to reach arms’ length in distance. This gave her a few more precious moments that moving at her slower speeds she was able to snatch the bullets from the sky.

 

She continued this action actually managing to snatch all the bullets that would have hit her before she felt herself nearing the wall. Looking to her side, she waited for those few bullets that where not going to hit her slammed into the wall. Of course the SWAT members hadn’t quit firing and she could see the second wave of bullets on their way. Unable to back up she quickly moved along the wall. This time she didn’t have to catch anything as she was able to move out of the way entirely. This also gave her time to think it was odd but her thinking process didn’t seem to slow down at all as it had before. It seemed her body was fairly good at deciding when she needed her accelerated abilities. The only other cases were when she intentionally forced herself to speed up or slow down.

 

As she looked at those that where trying to shoot her she had to remember to begin dodging well before she had to. While her reaction time was far beyond what was needed she was keeping her speed low. Moving roughly 1/6th the speed of the bullets at least her running speed was. She had to keep this in mind while dodging, her arms where an entirely different matter. While she still held out on how fast she could move them she at least could move her arms more quickly then her running speed. Still she wondered if the people shooting at her would even realize if she moved things up beyond what the media knew she could do. Perhaps they wouldn’t realize if she began moving at 200 or 250mph? It was a good thing those firing at her where fairly good shots and good at team work as it didn’t give her much time to think of this.

 

Beyond the first few moments those firing at her seemed to develop a subconscious system. Each one taking a different area to keep their weapons aimed at and wait for Kate to appear or seem to be there. They also began taking randomly timed shots. Kate had to admit she had an unfair advantage though beyond what she would have if the media had accurate information. She was basically taking baby steps while her mind was working far faster. This gave her time to plan and realize where the bullets would be within the next few moments. Further more it wasn’t exactly a game of dodge ball. Slowing down for a moment Kate made this very apparent by holding out her hand. While after the beginning she had been dodging, she had almost forgotten she could also catch the bullets.

 

A steady stream of bullets slammed into her hand the metal spinning against her hand as it degraded. At first the action actually seemed to stun those firing at her despite what they had seen at the beginning. “What I didn’t say I would dodge everything. So long as you keep your ammo so spaced out I can just block the few bullets that would hit me. That said if you focus your shots at me then I can just move to another part of the targeting range faster then you can re aim your weapons.” Kate had a huge grin on her face as she finished speaking quite confident that her strategy would succeed considering the limited amount of attackers she had to deal with. Also, she all ways had her senses to call upon. Kate made it fairly obvious that her plan would work as everyone rushed to aim their weapons back at her. However, before they could even pull the trigger she had moved to another spot.

 

“Now come on I thought you where trying too win a show. You haven’t even damaged my clothing yet.” Kate’s words seemed to put some more spirit into the contest. Something that Kate enjoyed though now that she was only dodging when she felt she needed to things became far easier. There was also another problem as those firing at her found Kate’s energy seemed limitless while their ammo on the other hand was rapidly being depleted. This brought about another problem as their ammo supplies began to run dry each member of the team began to fire fewer and fewer shots. This meant Kate had even less she had to dodge or block making the game all the easier for her.

 

As she continued her game Kate was surprised when she suddenly felt a slight warmth. What made the moment a rather odd is it came from under her shirt. As she looked down she found out why there was a rather neat though some what large bullet whole in her shirt. Looking up she was perplexed until she noticed the female SWAT officer had indeed come into play. She had what was clearly a sport man’s rifle and had apparently been observing Kate’s patterns. The woman had a large grin on her face. Though she wasn’t in the room for the same reason as the guys where. She had been watching Kate’s patterns of movement and managed to pick up something of a path she used. It had simply been a matter of putting a bullet where she was going to be. The fact that Kate was focused on the guys and their rapidly depleting supply of ammo helped.

 

Kate hardly remembered the others in time to dodge the salvo of bullets that came her way. Apparently she had stood still longer then expected. As she dodged, she couldn’t help but worry that for just a moment she had used more of her speed then she meant to. Kate now found the shots coming all the closer as she tried to think on her previous patterns and make sure she took different ones now. While she doubted that the woman was really interested in the game she wasn’t going to take that chance. When at last the final round had sounded from the gun Kate actually felt relieved.

 

Looking around it seemed as if it had all taken hours. That wasn’t the case however as her eyes trained on a clock. It had only been a few minutes she had to remember how much slower things moved when she was in her accelerated state.

 

Reaching down Kate proceeded to stick a finger through the hole.” Well one of you got me.” The smirk on the female officers face told her she knew it was hers. “Hey what is your name?”

 

“Debra. I realize it is natural but your first thought is to go to the right too often.” Kate gave a slight snort though she didn’t find herself getting mad as she had at the weapons armory. Looking towards the men she noted they all seemed a little stunned at how quickly they had unloaded their clips of ammo yet been unable to hit her. At least with the stunned looks on their faces she felt they most likely didn’t notice any over did burst of speed.

 

“Well thanks for the information. So just what are you?” Kate watched as the woman climbed down from her setting spot seemingly entirely relaxed. Removing the clip to her fire arm and began to get things ready to be stored away.

 

“Sniper. So is this one of the ways you like to exercise.”

 

“Sure is. Care to help me later on? It is nice to have someone to train with.” Debra seemed to take this under consideration.

 

“All right, but if you want me to train with you we are going to a wider open plain. You move to fast to really target in such a confined area.” Kate titled her head for a moment.

 

“But wouldn’t the extra range make it even harder to hit me as I would have more time to react.” The look on Debra’s face told her that range wasn’t the only concern by a long shot. It seemed Debra had every intention of showing Kate just how predictable her movements really could be. Soon Kate found herself trotting after the woman having decided she would like to speak to her for a while. The men on the other hand could only look on. The whole in Kate’s shirt wasn’t in a particularly revealing area and it seemed their inability to hit her had done something to their egos. If only they had known just how far out of their league Kate actually was. Debra continued to keep quiet though she didn’t say anything to Kate at least until they made it back to the locker rooms. Following her inside Kate was surprised when Debra let out a slight huff.

 

“I have trouble talking in front of a large group of people. Maybe that is why I like being a sniper. A lot of observing with no interaction between the sniper and its target well until I pull the trigger then the interaction tends to be brief. Except, of course in your case and some others.” Kate gave a slight nod quite glad to see the woman lightning up now that they where alone.

 

“Yeah I imagine so. I am still pretty surprised that you where able to land a shot on me.”

 

“To be honest I was worried at first. This little baby packs more of a punch then what the others where using. It isn’t as good as my work rifle but from what heard on the news I didn’t want to risk killing out newest member.”

 

“Thanks.” Was the only response Kate could think of. She couldn’t let this woman know that there was no way her little sniper rifle was going to hurt her. If a tank shell hadn’t taken her out she was extremely confident that no little peace of lead moving at anything below mock 8 was going to have any chance of injuring her and especially not kill her. Kate felt her desire to brag about her abilities once again returning and once again she beat them down. Since getting her powers keeping these notions in check had proven the hardest fight of all. Of course doing this so often meant she had a lot of pent up energy she tended to let out in the gym. After having to hold back so many times during the day Kate was certain her work out would be quite intense tonight. It helped that Jack was all ways there to admire her progress.

 

Kate watched as Debra took the weapon apart and stored it away. Of course it seemed odd that she didn’t drop it off at the armory but kept it in her locker. Debra took notice of this and grinned. “Don’t worry I am not stealing anything. I like to go down to the range and do some shooting once in a while. I don’t like stopping by the armory though and the chief lets me keep the weapon handy. It isn’t exactly regular procedure but the chief feels it is okay.” Kate gave an understanding nod. Debra seemed to be able to handle her firearms better then most anyone else Kate had seen after all. Actually Debra seemed to be able to handle a gun better then anyone she had ever met.

 

“Oh no I wasn’t thinking that. So tell me how long do you think it will be before we can go have that little training session.”

 

“I can’t say just yet I will need to speak with some of my sniper buddies. I recommend you wear something fairly sturdy though. My friends tend to have much better aim then those you where dealing with today.” Kate realized why this would probably be harder then the firing ring despite the extra distance. Who knows perhaps they would be able to guess where she is going to move and just make sure a bullet was there waiting for her. At least it would help prepare her for other situations.

 

“All right. I guess I will see you around Debra.”

 

Taking off so soon?” Kate gave a slight shake of her head.

 

“No but I wanted to look around some more.”

 

“Well then I will just show you around. Of course there isn’t a whole lot to show but it should be fun to have someone to talk to.” Kate gave a slight nod and allowed Debra to lead her out of the room after getting everything stored away.

 



 

Jack could hardly believe the numbers he was seeing as he looked at the computer monitor.

 

Kate was in the exercise room at the moment working out with the high gravity spheres. She had come home from the SWAT station a short while ago completely pumped about something.

 

Though he didn’t know what that was when she told him she wanted a work out he wasn’t going to ask questions. Now though he could hardly believe how much she had progressed. Kate was currently setting on the special bench that had been designed survive the environment but making use of the same technology that each one of the sphere’s made use of. Except in the case of the bench it was pushing up instead of down. It was a good thing it had been designed in such a way as if it had not Kate would have shot strait through the floor and then some.

 

As each sphere she was currently working with was exerting 363 tons on either one of her arms. How she was curling so much weight was beyond Jack he had expected her strength to stop increasing before it had gotten to this point. He had never expected Kate to reach a point where she could support an entire building’s worth the weight with a single arm. His thoughts where taken back to the tank and how Kate had trouble lifting it above her head. Now she could not only lift a tank but stack several on top of it. It was truly an awe-inspiring sight. So much so that Jack had to triple check the computer monitor before he could believe what he was seeing.

 

He had never expected Kate’s strength to grow so fast. Now as he looked through the viewing window at Kate’s sleek muscular form he had to wonder how she could avoid braking everything she touched. Kate of course noticed Jack’s stair and welcomed it. As she curled the sphere her biceps swelling she proceeded to purse her lips into a kiss. Making a kissing action towards Jack she noted the large grin that cross his face. It truly seemed he was enjoying watching the show as much as she was putting it on. “Why don’t you come on in here? You have the computer safeties set don’t you?” Jack gave a slight nod though he took the moment to make sure before opening the door.

 

As he walked into Kate’s exercise room, he could swear he felt Kate’s strength radiating from her body. It seemed to stretch out from her being and encompass everything in site making it all appeared so fragile as if it was all a mist and the slightest puff from this lady could take it all away. He wasn’t sure if it was all in his head but it even seemed his own body became less and less real. A peal shell when compared to this wondrous being in front of him. Kate this whole time found herself eating up the attention and held one of her curls even longer then normal. “Why don’t you come on over and feel of this.” Kate gave a slight gesture towards her biceps and hand to suppress a giggle from the way Jack rushed over to her. As Jack reached out his hands he wasn’t sure of the entire situation.

 

Kate’s strength was so wondrous he felt like his hands could be snapped off simply by touching her arm. In reality this was quite true should Kate relax her arm then flex as quickly as she possibly could with his hands encircling them. However, as her current movements where very slow and deliberate the only thing that happened were his hands being forced apart. Jack knew that things had been like this for quite some time. That he had only been able to endure a small portion of Kate’s strength for a year now. Still the thought that the arm he was currently gripping could support a building’s worth the weight was remarkably exciting. “Mind if we try a little game.” Jack managed to hold his voice steady.

 

“What is it.”

 

“Well how about I try and distract you while you exercise.” Kate smiled but shook her head.

 

“Sorry sweety I don’t think that is such a good idea.” Jack let a sigh and nodded his head. It was true at her current level if he accidentally made Kate flinch and she hit him. Well that could put a very quick end in their relationship. Even a little tap would be enough to end his life and at the moment she was using all her strength to lift those weights. He could tell that at the current level it did require her to concentrate on what she was doing. “Of course they are a few things that you can do. Just as long as you stay away from my arms and don’t get your fingers caught between any of my libs.” Jack couldn’t help but grin as he backed away from Kate. Looking her wondrous form over he began to size up his options.

 

Slowly making his way around her, he took note of her work out clothing hugged her every curve. How the material fitted her like a second skin so much so that her nipples and pussy lips where clearly distinguishable. In truth her work out clothing looked more like it had been painted onto her body. “You know perhaps it would do some good if we cut some wholes in this material. Perhaps gave you some more ventilation. To be honest I wonder now why you never complained of being over heated.” Kate took a moment to reposition herself. Laying down on her stomach and setting the spheres on her feat.

 

“Computer increase the tonnage by 50%.” Kate gave a slight grunt of effort. “Lower it by 10%.” A moment later she seemed to relax a bit and began to pump the weights. Getting an idea Jack climbed on Kate’s back and proceeded to feel of her thigh muscles as with each time she would raise her legs her muscles would expand. “To be honest I haven’t really felt warm at least not like I use to when working out in quite a while. I guess my body has developed so that it can handle heat better.” Kate realized how silly of a response that was when Jack had actually designed her steam bath. Of course he knew her body was handling heat far differently then it use to.

 

“Hm still with you putting out energy proportional to what, you did when exercising as a normal human. I can’t help but think you would benefit if your skin could get some air to it.” Kate looked over her shoulder a moment as she watched Jack messaging her thigh muscles.

 

“Don’t forget my rear and I just think you want me to show more skin.”

 

“Do you mind?” Kate couldn’t help but laugh at the question. She hadn’t expected Jack to just blurt out what he was thinking. It was more then a little funny and from the grin on his face she could tell he didn’t mind her laughing. As Jack continued to message Kate’s thigh muscles he slowly climbed off her. Remembering what she had said about her rear he began to message her cheeks though his fingers couldn’t make much of a depression in them. Bending down he proceeded to place a few kisses on Kate’s firm rump.

 

“Of course not. Still can it wait until I am finished exercising?” Jack started to respond then took a moment to think about Kate’s question.

 

“Tell you what. Keep up what you are doing and I will be right back.” Kate didn’t bother responding as she watched Jack bolt from the room. Considering how quickly he was running she doubted he was going to take very long. Though she wondered just where he was running off to.

 

Jack made his way quickly down the halls wanting to return to Kate’s side. As he ran, he made a mental list of everything he needed. The primary being a cutting tool that could get through the material of Kate’s costume. He also decided that he was going to have to get a back of ice from the kitchen and perhaps a container of water.

 

Kate was some what curious to just what was going on when Jack returned with his items.

 

Looking at his hands she noted the cutting instrument he was carrying. The little blade looked like a carpenters knife though something about it told Kate it was used for cutting through things other then dry wall. “Now just what the heck is that?” Jack looked down at the three items he had retrieved. Realizing that Kate hadn’t seen the knife before it took him a moment to decide how he wanted to word it.

 

“Well while the layout is similar to a carpenters knife this little, baby was meant to cut through some of the materials used in setting up this facility. A few of the parts needed some cutting also this is what helped us with your outfit. It is so damn stretchy that it is hard to cut with a standard blade even with it being laid flat.” Kate nodded and watched as Jack walked over to her.

 

By now she had switched what she was doing and now was working on her legs lifts instead of her leg curls. Looking down at her Jack held out the pitcher of water and proceeded to dump a bit on it.

 

The squeal that came from Kate as the ice cold water met her heated up skin was something else.

 

He hadn’t expected her to react so strongly considering how little temperature normal effect her.

 

“My gosh that is cold.” Looking at Jack Kate noticed the thoughtful look on his face. “Is something the matter.”

 

“Oh no. Well I didn’t expect that to affect you really.”

 

“Jack I realize most things don’t affect me much but you poured that on my nipples.” Kate didn’t bother saying anything but proceeded to continue her exercise when Jack reached down and place his hands on her breast. Squeezing as hard as he could, he proceeded to message Kate’s breast. A few moments later he removed his hands.

 

“That warm enough?” Kate couldn’t help but giggle, having to stop her exercise for just a moment.

 

“Yeah but why did you quit?”

 

“Well I was just thinking when you return to the working in public. I once thought that we wouldn’t really need to modify your work out clothing if you decided to wear it out in public. I just realized recently that we need to make the areas over your breast and delightful lips some what thicker. Other wise well, we might as well paint your clothing on.” Kate grinned and proceeded to set up a bit. Lightly edging Jack away she looked down at her body. Taking note of how tightly her clothing held to her form. She had to agree with what Jack was saying. Slowly she found herself lightly chuckling at the situation.

 

“You are right. I guess I never noticed it before but I guess that is to be expected from something that is meant to fit my form so snugly.” Jack walked around Kate’s relaxed form until he was standing just above her head. Bending down he places a kiss on her forehead remembering her advice to stay away from her moving limbs.

 

“Don’t worry I will talk it over with your father and look into getting some extra materials. Then we will see what we can come up with. That is if your outfit is going to need extra material at all.” Kate gave Jack a curious look.

 

“I was thinking that we could cut out some of the material on the back of your outfit. That would expose some of your skin and allow it to breath more. Even if your body doesn’t really require it. It would at least save material plus I think it would look nice.” Kate slowly leaned back her legs once again beginning their pumping at full paste. As she did this her eyes slowly drifted shut as she considered the recommended modifications to her outfit and what she would like.

 

While she didn’t mind Jack’s recommendations she couldn’t help but think of some others. She knew she shouldn’t be such a show boat but as her power increased the desire to show off her body seemed to grow with it. Anyway with as tight as her outfit currently was, it wouldn’t be much of a difference if she showed a little more skin. Provided of course it didn’t cause too much of a drag. Not so much that it would slow her down but she didn’t want to risk the material being torn away by it.

 

At last Kate’s eyes drifted open as she thought of a question. “Sure that would be fine. Jack, I was wondering though could we perhaps strengthen the material while making it even tighter over all? So that perhaps we could make the design a bit more pleasing to eye. Also well I think it might be fun to show off some more of my body.”

 

“Ah is my super fem beginning to enjoy flaunting her body?” Kate turned her head lightly to the side for a moment as if thinking. Slowly turning it back she intentionally drew out her answer.

 

“Well yeahhhh. I suppose I am. It is just since these changes have start happening to me I have been and felt so much stronger and the work I push my body the better it becomes. I can’t help but want to flaunt it. You don’t mind to you?”

 

“No way. You know I love seeing you show off. Though I hope, you will save the really skimpy outfits for when I am around.”

 

“Of course.” Jack smiled and took a moment to plant another kiss on Kate’s forehead.

 

“So what due you want to try to show off that body of yours a bit more.” Jack was some what perplexed when Kate had the computer lower the tonnage on her weights and then took them in hand. She proceeded to lay back and begin her inverted bench presses.

 

“Well why don’t we start by playing around with this work out uniform? I have a few spares so I think we can play around a bit. We may not be able to add on extra attachments but we can see what cutting away some material does.” Jack gave an understanding nod and retrieved the cutting knife. “To begin why don’t you cut away the material around my legs. I really don’t know why you and my father had it put there in the first place.” Jack seemed to think on this for a moment.

It was a pretty good point.

 

“I suppose it was just us worrying about their being any air friction that might tear the suit apart.” Kate nodded but watched with great interest as joked pressed the blade down into her costume. He didn’t bother worrying about cutting her and continued to press down until it was clearly cutting through. He thin proceeded to move the blade around her legs cutting open the top portion of her leg covering. It was an odd experience for Kate as she felt the razor sharp blade pressing into her skin the whole time. She knew this was a requirement in order to cut the costume. It had been made simply too malleable to be cut by any other method short of stretching it to its extreme and tearing it. As Jack worked on making a clean cut it must have been the first time in his life he had wished Kate’s legs where less well developed.

 

The slight bumps her muscles tended to make was a slight annoyance and in truth he all ways worried about slipping with the blade. While it couldn’t cut through Kate’s skin, he knew that it would cut through a normal human without the least bit of trouble. At last he finished the cut and moved on down to near Kate’s food. “All right now where should I start here.”

 

“Just above my ankle it isn’t like I really need to wear shoes. Still despite letting bullets bounce off me I don’t like the idea of stepping in some much.” It was a amusing thought realizing that the only reason Kate even wore anything on her feet was she didn’t like the feel of stepping on certain things. Then again the only reason she was currently wearing close was for the sake of decency.

 

“Hey Kate, I just thought of something. Are you sure you want to limit the amount of material on your outfit?”

 

“Sure why not?”

 

“Well if you don’t like stepping in things. You do realize with the lesser amount of material your going to be smacking into an awful lot of insects.” The look Kate gave him told Jack she didn’t appreciate the revelation. As she considered this new bit of information, she slowed down her pace. When she finally began to lift her weights again, it was with an added bit of aggression.

 

“Yeah I am sure about it. Though I didn’t appreciate that little bit of information.

Considering how fast I am really moving at top speed if I can’t avoid them, I am willing to wager they will just vaporize before I even notice it. Still, if you think of anything else as revolting at that please sweety keep it to yourself.” Jack wondered if he might have really upset Kate but pointing out the more revolting side to her powers. When he looked up at her face though he found the same warm smile as always. Giving a slight nod he actually considered pushing his luck and trying to think of another draw back but decided against it. He enjoyed watching Kate flaunt her power after all. He didn’t want to risk something causing her to avoid it or even distract her from it.

 

“All right.” Finally getting to work on the lower part of Kate’s outfit he once again pressed the blade into the area just above her ankle. Bringing it around in a circle as he did this the now separate section began to shrink down though he needed to make one more cut before he could remove it from Kate’s leg. Placing the blade at the base, he slowly brought it up cutting a vertical line from ankle to the upper part of Kate’s thigh. The moment he finished Jack gave a slight start as he heard a rather sharp snapping sound. The material requiring far more then human strength to keep it stretched out. As it was removed and snapped back together the sound actually caught Jack off guard. “Dang wasn’t expecting that one.” Kate gave Jack a quick look over before answering.

 

“Be careful not to hurt yourself.” Nodding his head in agreement and removing the final leg pace Jack stepped back to look Kate over. Her black and red outfit was nice and in truth he felt that the removal of the leg section was an improvement at last as far as looks went. Looking at her arms he considered cutting them entirely away but decided he liked the gloves.

 

“Hey Kate how about your arms. I have to say I kind of like the gloved look though perhaps we could take out the finger sections. It isn’t like you are trying to hide your finger prints after all.”

 

“Yeah sure thing just as soon as I am done using my hands. I doubt you could cut the material off right now.” Jack nodded in agreement considering the amount of weight Kate was currently supporting. “Any other suggestions?”

 

“Well perhaps we could take off one of your sleeves.”

 

“Why just one?”

 

“Honestly I just like the look.” Kate couldn’t help but grin then gave her head a slight nod.

 

She didn’t mind if they tried to make her outfit be pleasing to the eye as well as functional. In truth they had already tried that simply by making the material more then one color. Jack knew Kate liked a red and black combo thus they had designed it with her in mind.

 

“We can probably get my outfit made later. I do like the idea but lets see what the chief comes up with first. It would probably be best if we went with whatever he decided on then if we ever get the chance we can try our recommendations.” Jack gave a nod of agreement before picking up the container of ice he had brought with him. Kate gave him a curious glance unsure of what he was about to do.

 

“You are lucky I can’t dodge while holding up these weights.” Jack grinned as he dumped the entire container of ice on Kate’s now exposed legs. He had wanted to put it on her back but opted for her exposed skin. Anyway he didn’t know if she had finished all her exercise that would require her to lie on her stomach. Chuckling to himself Jack set down and proceeded to watch the ice around Kate’s legs. Unsure of just what was going on Kate made sure to keep her legs in the ice while she continued her work out. While she didn’t know exactly what Jack was doing she figured it was some form of research. This proved to be quite true as Jack watched Kate’s legs he noticed something quite odd. The ice around her legs was evaporating at a rate far more quickly then what it should.

 

It took Kate a while but she finally noticed Jack periodically pushing more ice against her legs. “What aren’t they covered up enough for you?”

 

“Kate most of the ice has already evaporated and you only switched to your standard press a few moments ago.”

 

“Computer drop the weight to 3 tons.” At this Kate proceeded to set up each weight weighing nearly nothing in her hands. Looking down at the ice around her legs she could hardly believe how much had already evaporated. She was curiously as Jack reached out and gave her leg a few flicks when he didn’t seem to get burned he placed his hand entirely on it.

 

“It feels the same to me but the ice is not behaving normally. I think this is another aspect of your body we will need to research.” Something of a drawn out sigh came from Kate before she laid back and once again turned up the weight.

 

“This body of mine is sure full of surprises.” All Jack could do is nod his head in agreement as he began to dwell on just what might be causing such a odd reaction. Kate had no idea how much trouble her body could be. As thanks to the difficulty in injuring her it was also very hard to test her. Curiously he found himself wondering just what method would be the best.

 



 

Kate couldn’t deny the feeling of excitement she felt within herself as she raced towards the SWAT station. Jack had opted to stay home wanting to think on his findings with the ice and how best to go about testing the results. Kate had to admit to herself she was somewhat curious just what was going on. The ice had clearly been evaporating at an accelerated rate when touching her skin while this in itself wasn’t surprising the rate was far beyond what it should have been. Then when Jack had touched her skin he hadn’t felt any amount of heat that could be described as abnormal. Kate decided she would also need to speak to Jack about using such methods to run a test. She chose not to let that bother her though after all today she was going to be finding out about her equipment.

 

As Kate arrived at the station and entered into the lobby she quickly realized she had been running more quickly then she should have been. Comparing how long it had taken her to arrive at the station previously and now her current time. A slight giggle was the only thing that came from her as she realized this she was simply too curious to care. Finding out if she was going to be stuck in regular SWAT gear or have a special uniform was her top priority at the moment. The receptionist seemed a bit surprised when Kate more or less appeared in the lobby and gave a visible start. “I got a call saying the chief had reached a decision.” It took the woman a moment but she finally nodded her head. She never got to answer though.

 

“Hey Kate, I heard your coming to see the chief. So are you going to be joining us soon?” Kate looked over to find Debra holding sniper rifle a rather large grin on her face.

 

“Yup, off to some target practice.”

 

“Yeah a little. Well then why don’t you go ahead and get down there? He is in his office right now. Before you go though, me and my friends have just about settled on a date where we could go off at a wider open area. Then we can have that target practice we talked about before. I will let you know for sure by tomorrow if you are around.”

 

“Well I hope I am around tomorrow then. I am going to go ahead and see Hangman and find out how things went. Hangman, an odd name wouldn’t you say.” Debra rolled her eyes.

 

“I have to agree with you there, still you get use to it. Eventually you won’t think of it any differently then anyone else’s last names.” Kate simply smiled unsure if that was entirely true in this case, she didn’t say anything though as she made her way past Debra and down the hallways. As she came to the chief’s office, she made it a point to read the name on the doorway then shook her head. There was no way she could imagine herself ever getting use to such a odd name.

 

Hangman looked up from his papers as he heard someone knocking on his door. “Come on in.” As Kate entered the room he seemed to liven up a bit and began to shuffle some papers around clearly looking for something. “Ah Ms. Stonecutter glad to see you. I spoke it over with the mayor and legal department and we have a few uniforms that might suit you. It surprised me how eager the mayor was but it seems having an official enhanced life form on the books is something he rather likes the idea of. I guess being the first to get a super powered officer will help his political standings. Even if you’re not the most powerful.”

 

Kate had enjoyed the compliments up until that point, however the hinting at her powers limits once again was a stinging remark. Curiously she wondered if Hangman had spoken to the armory guy or if he just made the comment without thinking. Perhaps, it was just her and she shouldn’t be getting so upset every time someone made mention of her supposed limits. Her annoyance was considerably dampened however by the news of getting not one but several designs to chose from. “Well then may I see them?” Hangman gave a slight nod and produced a sealed envelope. As Kate opened it up and began to look through the designs she was somewhat surprised by what she found. A few of the outfits where fairly unique that or so generic that no one could say they where rip offs. A few of them including their color schemes where complete rip offs on the other hand.

 

Kate soon found herself making a pile of those costumes that she founds unacceptable and those that she did. “Well some of these are fairly revealing wouldn’t you say?” Kate glanced up at Hangman who visibly chuckled.

 

“Yeah I would have to agree. To be honest some of those uniforms really surprised me. I figured they would try to give you more of a conservative look. Oh yeah I almost forgot here is your work out clothing back.” Kate grinned as she took the outfit from Hangman who had to dig it out from a drawer. He most assuredly wasn’t the most organized of people she had met but then again a clean desk is the sign of a sick mind. Kate didn’t mind the more revealing outfits though she had to wonder.

 

“Is this really the type of image that SWAT is trying to portray? I was figuring my outfit would be meant to more conform to the outfit to show that I am part of the same unit.” The grin on Hangman’s face told Kate he appreciated her concern for SWAT’s image. The sigh that came after words however told her it was out of his hands.

 

“I appreciate the concern but this is the mayor’s call. It seems he would rather portray you as the city’s official protector more then as another SWAT member. I personally think the vast majority of these outfits stand out way too much. Does he even realize the danger this is going to put you in? If you get too much attention.” Kate’s previous anger faded away entirely as Hangman expressed concern for her. Reaching out she lightly patted him on the hand and once again began sifting through her outfit choices. At least she came to down quite similar to what she and Jack had cooked up. The finger covers where missing showing she made no attempt to hide her finger prints and the legs where exposed. What made it particularly appealing though for Kate’s purpose as the uniform was mostly grey with some black mixed in.

 

“How about this one?” Hangman took a moment to look at the drawing before shaking his head.

 

“Well it is your choice, though I have to say that I rather like that one.” Kate smiled and proceeded to put the image in one of her pockets.

 

“All right then. I will talk to my father about having the outfit made to my specifications. Then will I be ready to start heading out?”

 

“Actually we figured that the city would have the outfit made for you.” Kate was a bit surprised by Hangman’s response but quickly shook her head. She wanted the outfit made out of material that would really let her cut loose just in case she needed to.

 

“Don’t worry about it, anyway no point in wasting the budget on a specialty uniform. Just let us handle it anyway I imagine we have more experience making uniforms for super beings. Even if I am the only one.” Hangman, gave an agreeing nod and Kate didn’t give him a chance to put up more of a argument. As Kate dashed out of his office Hangman felt quite proud of himself, he had managed to get her to where one of the skimpier designs, kept himself from looking like an ass and showed concern for his officer. Looking in his desk once again he pulled out another envelope. Opening it up he looked at the more conservative designs for Kate’s outfit that he had been forced to remove for the sake of duty before letting her choose.

 

“Blah.” Was the only thing that came from him as he leaned back trying to imagine what Kate was going to look like. Too bad he hadn’t gotten her to choose one of the ones that showed off a bit of her stomach. Then again the material was so tight she imagined that her abs would still stand out quite nicely.

 



 

Kate had a huge grin on her face as she looked in the mirror. Her outfit had taken less time then she thought it would to prepare. Just over a week now that she had it however and found herself looking in the mirror she was more then a little excited. The grey and black didn’t exactly project a warm fussy persona but this was meant to be her SWAT uniform after all. Perhaps one day she would get to wear a uniform of her own make up and could use a brighter color scheme. For now she was just excited that she would be able to begin her work soon. Also she liked how this new uniform let her show off more of her body. “Now you keep in mind, even though you got a new uniform that lets you use more of your abilities well without being naked. You are officially at the same level you where when you spoke to the media.”

 

Kate turned her head in Jack’s direction who was now setting on her bed admiring her form. Playfully she stuck her tongue out at him. “Oh Jack you don’t know what it is like. Always having to hold back, wanting so much to show what you can really do. It is almost maddening some of the time that I am forced to move at less then 1/12th of my true speed. The fact that my strength and speed are still increasing as well sure as hell doesn’t make it any easier.”

 

“Well it might be true that I can’t sympathize with wanting to show off, but I think I can understand you better then you realize. Believe me Kate as much as I love watching you flaunt your power I would love it if you could show off more. Still your trying to keep as low of a profile as you can for the time being. Though I suppose, you can only do that for a limited time.” Kate gave a slight nod and looked towards the bed. On it set a newspaper detailing the latest exploits of the super friends and some events in New York. If Kate had heat vision, her eyes would have incinerated the paper as she noticed the tiny print the officer casualty list was in.

 

Jack knew it was a sore subject for Kate, he had over a year now to learn her feeling towards such events. The press would report the property damage and at times the civilian count, but it seemed as if the officers lost where simply swept under the rug. She knew it wasn’t the leagues’ fault but she just couldn’t stand how the light was taken from the police. Further more she felt that it only made the condition worse. By always rushing into save the day, the league had caused the public to develop the notion that they didn’t need to beef up the police force. Then the villains would attempt to match the leagues’ power and put standard officers further behind. It was a constant spiral that Kate could hardly bare. “I am sure that the men at the station are going to love your new outfit as well.”

 

Jack smiled as he Kate’s mind switched to more pleasant thoughts once again. The moment Kate turned towards the mirror he flipped the newspaper over. He didn’t want Kate to be dwelling on such things at the moment. She should be happy today, she had gotten her new costume, she was going to get all her official equipment and could finally begin work once again. Kate was pretty happy about this, especially since it meant she could start paying for her up keep. Well not entirely or really even a small portion. That was mostly her fathers’ doing, though Kate had gotten a pay raise since her switch it wouldn’t even begin to cover what she costed. Well except perhaps her food and the normal items she used. However, between her clothes, the facility, its power needs and everything else. No she knew whatever she chipped in as just a drop in a 10-gallon bucket.

 

It did let her feel a little better about herself though. At least on some level she was making an attempt to pay for her expenses. Perhaps once she was able to reveal her powers to the public she could really help pay for things. Snapping herself out of this line of thought she turned to her side, holding her hands together Kate proceeded to flex her arms. Watching as the muscles grew stretching material that could crush bones at least on the one arm that she wore any material. “All well I guess that is enough strutting my feathers.”

 

“Ah why stop?” Jack kept his eyes locked on Kate’s as she walked over to him. Leaned down and planted a kiss on his lips.

 

“I do need to get to work after all. Though speaking of work just what have you been up to.” A long sigh came from Jack.

 

“Trying to figure out new ways to test you mostly. Nathan and I are running out of ideas on ways to test the important information. We have given up on a simple blood sample. Your DNA has simply become far too complex to study all that is going on. It does resemble human in some ways still but not enough for me to make an accurate comparison and have any faith in the conclusions.” Kate proceeded to wrap her arms around Jack in a gentle hug. Lifting him from the bed she gave him yet another kiss.

 

“I am so lucky to have such carrying people in my life. Well then I am going to get off to work. It should be fun showing this off around the station.” Jack didn’t say anything as Kate set him back down on the bed. Watching her leave the room he could tell when she began using her super speed after walking out the front door. He could quite clearly make out the jump in speed as her feet tore up the ground beneath them. At last setting up he made his way back into his room, flipped on his computer and bringing up a few images of Kate’s cells he placed his hands on his forehead. The basic structure of a few components of Kate’s cells seemed familiar, and their location seemed correct. However, that was assuming they served the same function and didn’t only appear similar. There was also the fact that the sample he was currently observing was several weeks old now.

 

He had to resort to asking Kate to injure herself. This was something he didn’t like doing as it didn’t give the same precision as a needle also it required her to endure more pain then a needle would. Setting up strait he finally did the only thing he could do and went to making observations. Though he had to wonder what was the point of all this. The only thing he could really hope for was that one day he would look at Kate’s cells and they would be exactly the same as they had been the previous week. As he couldn’t begin to guess when they where going to stabilize.

 



 

Kate was quite proud of herself being able to keep her speed under control despite this being her first day of actual work. That is if they where called in to do anything. She hated to admit it but a part of her hoped for something too big to happen while the more rational side of her mind told her it was a very bad idea. In truth the less SWAT had to be called in the better off everyone was. If there never was a situation that had such a high risk factor. Of course the adventure seeking side of Kate could rest assured that would never be the case or at least she doubted it would be.

 

What was waiting for Kate outside of the station was thus quite the surprise. Debra and a few other people holding what appeared to be sniper rifles where already waiting outside. As Kate neared them, she slowed her speed to a trot. “We heard you where finally ready to start and thought that we would greet you.”

 

“Hey Debra. So are these the people who are going to be using me as a target?” Debra gave a quick nod and gestured to them.

 

“Yup each one of them is a sharp shooter like myself. I figured as it was your first day of officially being ready for service we could put you through something of a hazing. Even if you are looking forward to this I bet after a while you sure won’t be.” Kate grinned at Debra feeling the same rush to show off that she often did. Of course this lead to her old lamentation that she had to hold back.

 

“Well let me meet with Hangman then we can head off to were ever you have planned. Just where do you have in mind after all?”

 

“Sniper range of course, we use it jointly with the military snipers. It has plenty enough distance for practice.” Kate nodded and had to remember to hold back on her speed as she dashed into the building or she would have torn the door off. Kate was more then a little eager to meet with Hangman though as she ran down the halls she wondered if she should have waited for Debra to say something. Considering that she had known Kate was arriving she must have known something.

 

Well she wasn’t going to run back and start asking questions now that would just make her look even sillier. She would just stay her course and speak with the chief, let him get a good look at her outfit then be off. As her thoughts turned to her outfit and just where she was if it wasn’t for Kate delight in her power she would have felt very out of place. As she was now, she was simply too thrilled with her body and what it could do.

 

Hangman, was somewhat surprised when Kate entered his office wearing her new costume. He had known she had a fetching figure but this was quite unexpected and the way she carried herself was something else. “Mr. Hangman I was just dropping by to let you know that my uniform is in. Also is there anything else that I need?” It took Hangman a moment to respond as he had to keep himself from making a comment he feared he would regret.

 

“Yes I have all your information in and you are officially on active duty. I thought we could get you in without running any test however it seems that some would like a few ran. So I am leaving that task up to Debra. You probably noticed her waiting for you at the front door. I am surprised she didn’t tell you though. She seemed so happy to be able to shoot at you.” Kate rolled her eyes at the comment. At one time in her life she might have taken such a joke offensively but now she had begun regarding it as a game. Fortunately for everyone else she kept in mind that such comments may not be jokes for other people.

 

“And I don’t want to keep her waiting then. This is one of the few times that I have been looking forward to a test.” Hangman nodded as Kate ran out of the room. Curiously he wondered if this was really such a good idea. He had seen the tv reports and heard her speak about how most bullets didn’t hurt her. Still, there where not going to be using standard bullets in this test. Kate was fortunate that Hangman didn’t remember the news broadcast very well or her would have realized that sniper rifle’s ammo would be far too dangerous for her to use. That is if the limits she had given where her true ones. In all the excitement and months since the interview Kate had forgotten some of the details of the limits she had set for herself.

 

Debra smiled as Kate came back outside. “Well that was quick, I suppose the chief told you that we would be testing you.”

 

“Yes he did. So shall we get going. You just drive and I will follow behind I am kind of eager to get use to his new outfit.” Debra gave a nod at which time she and the others made their way over to a few vans. Kate waited for them to get out of the parking lot before taking off. She didn’t feel much like riding inside of a vehicle today though it meant she had to be even more careful of her speed.

 



 

Kate had to resist the urge to locate the snipers that would be firing at her. Currently finding herself standing within a rather wide open plain she had been instructed to try not to use her enhanced senses until the exercise could begin. Curiously she wondered what plan the teams might have cooked up in order to counter her supposed speed limit. Unlike at the station where the people had roughly worked together but had no clear plan. She felt certain the sniper team would have formulated a way to counter her speed even over such a wide range. Of course she planned on using the same trump card from the station on the range as well. She would just push her reaction time towards its upper limit. The bullets would then appear to be moving slower then even her true jogging speed giving her plenty of time to react.

 

She didn’t dare do that just yet however as she wanted to let the teams get into place. Other wise the wait would be almost unbearable as a few minutes could very well seem to be a few hours.

 

The entire world seemed to slow down a few moments later though Kate wasn’t sure why for a moment. She knew better though then to push herself out of her accelerated state, if her body jumped into it. Then there was something trying to hit her. Scanning the area she caught sight of the rounds heading strait towards her ever so slowly though. Even moving at normal speed she had plenty of time to choose a direction. Playfully Kate opted for the direct rout as the bullets had been aimed high to compensate for the amount they would fall in traveling where she was standing.

 

She imagined with their current path they would have normally hit her in the head. Moving towards the rounds she easily ducked under them allowing them to travel rather close to her back. The moment she had made this move though a few more rounds where fired at her. Looking to her left she hadn’t expected someone to have their weapon already trained in that direction. It didn’t help matters that whoever this person was had fired in a two round burst. All well she could just catch one of them and dodge the other. Kate barely remembered in time that no she couldn’t just do that. As she ran towards the bullets, memories of the press conference came flooding back. These rounds where most likely far too dangerous for her to catch with the limits she had given.

 

Falling to the ground Kate managed to roll under the secondary set of shots the whole time silent cursing herself. With the limits she had given she could probably explain away not being killed by the shells but she would at the very least be injured. This meant that unlike at the station she was going to have to avoid every single round if she didn’t want to risk someone getting curious. That is if she could avoid the rounds without dipping into even more of her speed then she had revealed to the public. Not a good situation to be me especially since this was probably planned.

 

Unlike with the police she actually had a chance of running into such well armed crooks with SWAT or even better. Kate felt her confidence level sink as she wondered if she could really get through this without getting shot a single time. From the way Debra had been acting she had this planned out. Of course she could avoid them if she used more of her speed but in the end that had the same effect as using too much strength did.

 

Kate’s action soon began to feel as if they took even her a long time to respond to. Panicking as a few other shots where fired at her Kate pushed off the ground sending herself into the air from her rolled position. A moment later she realized her mistake as she caught sight of Debra. Kate could move super fast and dodge easily while her feet where on the ground, but gravity effected her at the same rate it did anyone else. Now after using to much speed and far to much strength to push off the ground. The few moments it took her to fall back to the ground was enough for the bullets fired from Debra’s gun to reach her. Her feet barely touching the ground she felt the impact easily drive her weight back without having her footing. Kate was sent tumbling and all the weapons fired stopped right after. As Kate lay on the ground she didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t hurt except for her ego, it had taken only a few moments but she had already been taken out of the game officially.

 

If she just popped up entirely unharmed then it would be obvious she had lied to the reporters about her limits. Then again they where going to find out in a few moments when someone came to check on her. Faking an injury in this situation wasn’t going to help matters either. Unable to decide on just what to do she simply laid there wondering how they could handle damage control. She was surprised though when only one set of foot steps approached her looking over and up she found herself looking at Debra’s grinning face. “Just like I thought not a scratch on you. I thought something was up when you managed to avoid a few of those shots back at the station.”

 

“What you knew I was just holding back?” Kate set up a bit pretending to do it slowly for show. At least those that where far away could think she was hurt. Perhaps Debra would be willing to keep her secret.

 

“Yeah I thought as much at least. That is really the reason I went ahead and used armored piercing rounds in my gun. I figured if you lied about your speed you where fibbing about your endurance to so I decided to test you.” Kate was unsure just how to respond to that. Technically she should be upset that Debra had risked shooting her with an armored piercing round of all things. Then again even if her true limits were what she told the media she probably wouldn’t have died, just had a serious injury. At the moment though she didn’t feel griping at her was a good idea.

 

“How many others know?”

 

“Don’t worry I didn’t mention my hunch to anyone else. I just felt like testing you. I will keep your secret for as long as you do, after all if you haven’t been telling people I suppose you don’t want anyone to know.” Kate gave a nod and stuck her hand up at Debra. A moment later Debra took it and helped Kate to her feet though she didn’t really need it. Soon the two women, where making their way back to the other officers Kate covering a pretend injury.

 

“Well how did I do on the test?” Debra chuckled in response.

 

“You didn’t last nearly long enough to be honest but then again. You lasted a great deal longer then most people would out in the open with multiple snipers aiming at them. I figure we can give the chief a positive review with some advice.” Kate felt a little awkward as Debra helped her along. She didn’t much like the idea that here was another person that she had to trust. Then again Debra had figured it out entirely on her own. Then again if someone was going to figure out her secret, Debra was observant enough and had been in the right position. Kate made a mental note that she was going to have to be a lot more careful when dealing with such people in the future.

 



 

Kate sighed as she set at her desk working on a few reports. It had been a few weeks since she had went through her test and Debra had been true to her word. Actually the two of them where getting along quite well. With Debra regularly using Kate as a target, Kate had managed to weed out some of her jump impulse. She had to constantly be sure to make sure she didn’t go up other wise she would be vulnerable in the downward fall. It was one of the frustrations of her speed that now that she was paying attention to it she had to even watch it while running. This only made her curious just what was keeping her on the ground whenever she was running faster then any jet the military might have at their disposal. Even if she wasn’t aerodynamic in the least moving at such high speeds even, a slight incline should send her air born. She had mentioned this to Brian and while he was trying to think of a way to test such forces it was proving like so many other test more difficult.

 

At least she had been enjoying her job as of late, the ability to run into a building at inhuman speeds and immobilize people had made her an asset. That and she always lead the charge especially into high risk situations. While most still thought enough machine gun fire could kill her she was still far safer then any of them would be. Plus in most situations Kate was simply to fast for the attacker to raise the weapon to a firing position. This however had lead to a problem which she was currently writing a report on. Kate had an extremely hard time not braking peoples’ fingers and arms. That is when she was disarming them at super speeds it tended to happen. It was annoying for Kate since if she hadn’t been removing the weapons it would have meant they got a bullet wound instead.

 

The problem lay in that it was something knew. Now Kate found herself filing a report on why she should use a side arm in such situations. Her argument focusing on the fact that while she regularly ends up braking something having her use, a fire arm may end cause her to kill someone.

 

She wasn’t exactly stressing over the report though. Hangman had made it clear he just wanted something to show to the media should someone make a complaint. A, look I reviewed my officers report and this is still the best solution, set up. The only thing Kate hated about it was it was so boring and required so much time. This had given her a idea though, she would have to look into getting a high strength keyboard one that could handle someone typing at least ten times faster then a normal human. It would allow her to lapse into her accelerated state and while the time would seem to take as long it would still leave her more of her day.

 

With her current equipment she was quite certain she would end up pounding it into little bits if she tried such a tactic. Of course there was other reasons Kate wanted to get this finished, namely her work clothes. She had gotten use to it while at the police station but while setting entirely still simply typing she couldn’t deny how silly she felt. Especially since a few of the SWAT members where still getting use to her chosen attire. Kate would normally simply cross her legs or flex a biceps do something to tease back. However, she couldn’t deny to herself this was just a mask and she at times considered getting a more concealing outfit. She had originally spoke of showing herself as another member of the team but it was becoming increasingly clear that wasn’t going to happen.

 

She had been so excited about getting an outfit that would let her use more of her abilities without being shredded. She hadn’t thought about how she would look around the office. Of course she could slip on a normal outfit but the moment a call came in she would need to remove it. Normal clothing just wouldn’t last long enough especially thanks to the drag she created when she really ran. While she did keep her speed down when in public Kate could never resist pushing herself to a higher speed the moment she had some alone time. These speeds where often in excess of 300mph just in case she had to slow down. “Hey, and what are you doing?” Kate looked over to find Debra standing beside of her.

 

“Typing up a report. Care to read it?” Debra straitened up and gave her head a quick shake.

 

“No thank you. I don’t like reading them unless I have to. Unless of course it happens to be about a new type of weapon.” Kate grinned and continued to her work. “A couple of us have been talking and are curious just what is going to happen whenever our call isn’t to handle your standard humans. I mean now that you are here now. Originally it was try are best to hold our ground and hope someone arrives.”

 

“Well I hope to get it over with before anyone else can arrive or any of us get hurt.” The smile on Debra’s face told Kate she approved. Though the concern in her voice told her she worried.

 

“Just don’t go getting yourself killed. I don’t know what your limits are but they are some dangerous freaks out there. Though, I imagine you know what it is like to have to wait for someone to show up and lend a hand. After all you use to be a police officer, you didn’t even get the same equipment as SWAT.” Kate nodded her head in agreement. She would most assuredly have to show Debra just what she was capable of. It had been over two years since she began developing her powers and except for against Copper head she hadn’t really gotten a chance to test them out. That was in part thanks to her having to switch positions and the time it took her to refine her abilities. She had spent 6 month’s simply developing her strength after all.

 

Of course now that she felt she was ready she could feel the frustration welling up inside of her. A mixture of fear and excitement to show what she could really do. There was also some guilt there, as she had refused to hide just who she was behind a mask or anything else. The moment she came out with her full power she knew her family would be in danger and so would Jack. Of course during this time they had time to make plans for such a situation. One’s which her father assured her would provide enough safety though how she didn’t see. That was in part thanks to them not telling her just what they where and also her taking into account what she might be upsetting in the long run. “You know I am a little surprised no one has said anything about my chosen attire while I work.” Kate opted to take her mind off her current worrisome line of thought.

 

“Well who would? All the guys are keeping quiet about it as well they seem to enjoy the view. Of course I have to say you best be grateful for your strength over wise you would just be asking for someone to harass you. As you are now most of the fellas are worried if they grabbed your but you might bust theirs.” Kate couldn’t help but chuckle unsure if Debra was simply joking around or if she was serious. While if someone did get so bold she may very well respond in such a manor, she doubted anyone would.

 

“Yeah it also lets me avoid the armory department. I know I just talked to him once but I can’t stand the guy that runs it.” Debra simply chuckled in response to his comment. Unlike Kate she had to hear people talking about how Kate had dodged the bullets. It was actually one of the main reasons no one got to friendly with Kate at the moment. A few of the members had found it hard to believe they had an actual super powered life form in their station. That is until Kate had went down to the shooting gallery and proved it. Now they where rumors going around the station about just what this meant for the rest of them. Quite a few feared losing their jobs while others wondered if they might to be enhanced. It was a subject of some debate to whether or not her father’s company had developed the treatment Kate had gone through.

 

Of course this meant attempts to brake in had increased however none of them had been done by a truly competent person. At least not competent enough to make their way in as often these beings found out that indeed Nathan had no hand in Kate’s manifesting powers. The fact that Jack was officially studying Kate also helped things. As it made no mention of him being the one that treated Kate. This of course meant the only person that officially knew how Kate had gotten her powers was Kate herself and a supposed individual. It was all for the best as far as Kate was concerned though she had begun wishing she had taken the time to deceive the media into thinking even she didn’t know where her powers came from. The whir of a printer was actually a surprise to Kate as she looked at the machine. Realizing she had finished her paper in a half asleep state. “Hey Debra after I drop this by Hangman’s office do you want to go and get something to eat.”

 

“No thanks, I am going to go shoot some stuff instead.”

 

“Rifle?”

 

“Nope, I have been needing to work on my small arms for a while. I can handle a rifle just fine but my skill with a side arm is rather lacking.”

 

“Need a target?” Debra blinked for a moment then fell into a fit of giggles.

 

“You really do enjoy showing off don’t you.” Kate gave a bit of a pout and nodded her head. “Well you would have to move pretty slow for me. Normal human running speed at the most since I am practicing.”

 

“Ah that isn’t any fun, but it would let me work on not being knocked around a bit. So alright.”

 

“Knocked around?” Kate gave a slight nod and removed her report from the machine.

 

“Yeah I may be super strong but my body weight is the same as it always been. If I get hit hard enough, I can be sent flying for quite a distance.” Debra seemed to consider this for a moment then remembered at the range. How her shot had sent Kate air born. She hadn’t realized it at the time but if Kate had been flying she wouldn’t have been sent in the opposite direction. Kate’s reaction began to make a lot more since then Debra.

 

“Well then. I will see you in the shooting gallery my wonderful target.” Kate stuck her tongue out at Debra as the woman walked away. Suddenly she wondered if telling her that was a good idea as she imagined Debra would be looking for something high powered and armor piercing now. Kate simply shrugged and let out a slight laugh. Beginning to wonder if Debra was doing this as a friend or if she just liked shooting at people. Hangman was thus more then a little curious as Kate stepped into his office shaking with laughter. Looking at her for a moment as he took the report from her hands he had to ask.

 

“What is so funny. Is there something wrong with my office?” Kate shook her head and continued to laugh for a moment longer before settling down.

 

“No, but I was wondering. Have you known Debra to enjoy shooting at people?” Hangman blinked for a moment then joined in Kate’s laughter.

 

“No, I think you are the only person she has ever enjoyed shooting at. That and a few other freaks the bullets couldn’t hurt. Debra became a sniper to save lives actually.”

 

“How so?” Kate leaned over Hangman’s desk a bit giving him a wonderful view of her deep cleavage teasing him a bit.

 

“Well ahhh. You will just have to ask her. I don’t like giving away my people’s private information.” Kate gave an understanding nod, and proceeded to turn to leave. Not quite done with her teasing yet she put a little more sway into her steps then she normally would have. She had by now noticed Hangman’s gaze and at times liked to give him a bit of a show. When she felt, he was being a good chief.

 



 

Kate didn’t know how to respond right away as she found Debra. Looking at the hand gun she knew their where certain hand held weapons meant to kill a bear. However, what Debra was holding looked more like it was meant to kill an elephant. “Now hold it right there what the hell is that and are you trying to injure me or something?”

 

“Ah don’t be silly, if you took a sniper round there is no way this thing is going to hurt you. Anyway what it is, is a hand gun. We only keep them around for ballistic test really the recoil is far to extreme to be practical.”

 

“Okay and what do you shoot with that?” Debra proceeded to point the weapon at Kate.

 

“Other then you?” Kate chuckled and stuck her tongue out at the woman. “Bear or any big game you want to bring down. This is over kill even for that though.”

 

“Oh and where did you get it?”

 

“Confiscated weapon, where the crook got it I have no idea.” Kate opted not to ask anymore questions and proceeded to make her way over to where the targets normally where. Looking around she felt a little strange thanks to the lack of people practicing.

 

“You know this limited ground isn’t going to give you much practice.”

 

“Now no getting out of it you volunteered to be my target and to move at human speeds, so let us begin.” Kate rolled her eyes in response to this and took off in a run. Though there wasn’t exactly a great deal of cover the fact that Debra was standing in a booth helped. A moment later Kate felt the impact of one of the bullets against the very back of her head. Her weight being pushed forward it was more then a little embarrassing as she ended up face first on the ground her rear sticking up in the air. Figuring Debra would give her time to stand back up she was proven wrong whenever another round slammed into her though this time aimed at her rear. The impacted once again pushed Kate’s body forward though not as much this time.

 

Debra waited for Kate to hop up before firing her third shot. This time taking out one of Kate’s legs. It was kind of funny in all truth. Her shots weren’t hurting Kate in the least but they where able to nock her around so easily. Kate on the other hand was considering simply laying there and letting Debra hit her if she was going to get knocked around the entire time. While she could take a bullet with herself, braised Debra was intentionally waiting for the moment when she would be out of balance. It was frustrating to say the least. “Hey come on I need more practice and like you said you need to learn to take these shots.” Kate let out a resigned sight having her own words used against her.

 

As she stood up though she felt yet another bullet take her feat out from under her. Looking up now from her back she stuck her tongue out at Debra. “You’re a stinker you know that.” Kate nearly got a bullet in the mouth but was lucky to have her teeth close enough together to stop it. Looking at Debra for a second and pretending to scowl she spit the bullet out so that it impacted against Debra’s shoulder. Not hard enough to do any serious damage but rather a friendly punch.

 

Debra simply chuckled in response and opened up the revolver. “Hey I thought revolvers could hold six rounds.”

 

“Not this one, it just holds five. Still you know you really should have gotten back to running while I read reloading.” Debra was a bit surprised when Kate sprung up a moment later and went into a run. Though it was still at human levels, Kate was being sure to keep it at Olympic human levels. This caught Debra off guard and caused her to actually miss a shot. Of course by now Kate had begun to think Debra had been laying about needing help with her small arms and had actually been wanting Kate to volunteer. Now as Kate ran though she attempted to keep herself more grounded then she had been. Keeping her legs and body prepared for the sudden push the bullet’s impact caused against her. A moment later she and Debra where surprised as Kate felt an impact on her right shoulder. Shifting her legs the sound of Kate’s feet against the ground was quite audible as her body was pushed back. However, unlike before she managed to stay standing despite the imbalance of her weight. Further more when it was all said and done she had moved far less then she expected to.

 

“Woe, how did you stop. You where getting bounced around so easily before. I mean you even had a foot off the ground when I hit you.” Looking down at her feet this seemed to take a moment to sink in. Kate had assumed for a moment that she had both feet on the ground and managed to twist with the energy and while she had moved a bit. With one foot of the ground she doubted it could be because of her simply moving with the energy.

 

“I don’t know.” Making sure both feet where on the ground Kate opted to try a test of her own. She had been focused on keeping her feet on the ground before. Taking in a deep breath she tried to relax and focus on the exact same desire. As she did this, she felt an odd tingle in her body.

 

“Try shooting me now.” A moment later Kate felt an impact slam into her, this time she moved even less though it could have been from having both feet on the ground. Taking a moment she proceeded to check to insure that her legs where not tensed and while they remained on the ground she attempted to keep from bracing herself. “Again.” As the bullet slammed into her Kate kept her entire body strait. This time the impacted pushed her back even less. Now with the excitement building Kate went to clap her hands unsure of what was going on but liking it. Her hands never touched though as a bullet caught her and sent her flat on her back.

 

“Hey what happened I figured you would stay still.” Debra worried she might have upset Kate when she didn’t respond right away. However, after a few moments she noticed Kate’s chest shaking then her body began to convulse with laughter.

 

“Give me a second and I will tell you.” Standing up Kate proceeded to lift one leg into the air. “All-right shoot me one more time.” Debra fully expected the bullet to knock Kate flat on her back however, as it slammed into her Kate prevented herself from moving even an inch let alone falling … “It seems you helped me find out about something else my body can do. I don’t know how it is working but it seems if I focus on staying in the same spot I am extremely hard to get off the ground. I must have been doing this instinctively while running around before. The only problem seems to be if I am caught of guard like …” Kate snorted as she ended up laying flat on her back.

Looking up at a grinning Debra.

 

“Sorry I couldn’t resist. Anyway you where saying?”

 

“That I can prevent myself from being moved from a spot unless I want to be. Provided that I am focusing or in such a state that I do it naturally. I guess that means I am going to need to practice it. Care to help?” Kate got her answer from Debra in the form of the last of the five bullets impacting her stomach. Chuckling she simply lay there for a moment realizing that Jack was most assuredly going to want to know about this. She wasn’t sure how he would react of course. After all he was having such a hard time figuring out how to test other aspects of her body as is. Still that is what he was paid for and she was certain his irritation would be pure joy when he figured out just what was going. For now Kate figured she could simply work on her new skill with Debra’s help and confirm her findings.

 

As Kate stood up by now she had realized that if she stood still it would be too easy to focus. She needed to work on moving while maintaining this state yet not using her enhanced speed which put her in it anyway. Later on she would also need to test to see just how long she could hold the state. Taking off at a good run for a normal human, it wasn’t long after that she felt a bullet impacted with the side of her head right at one of her temples. As she found herself being pushed back, she managed to halt her movement though at an odd angle. She didn’t have time to celebrate though as the next two bullets that impacted her sent her the rest of the way over. Quickly standing up once again Kate felt somewhat odd scurrying around in such a odd manner. It was good practice for her though and it was allowing her to confirm her findings. “Hey Deb just how fast can you pull of those shots?”

 

Kate was impacted by the final two bullets in the gun a moment later. As she was, she could feel the difference in the amount of control she was forced to use. The two impacts coming so close together that they where able to force Kate over. “Pretty darn fast. So I am assuming this ability to hold your position I am working on. Isn’t all that strong right now?” A long sigh came from Kate as she stood back up.

 

“You just love answering questions with bullets, don’t you?”

 

“I will respond to that when I am finished loading my gun.” Debra gave Kate a rather playful smile which actually got a chuckle from Kate.

 

“Yeah it seems I can only withstand so much before I am over whelmed even with this trick. I have a feeling though I can improve that with practice. Which I see you’re about ready to give me.” There were no words as Debra quickly clicked the revolver back into place. A moment later she took aim the speed actually surprising Kate as up until them her aiming had been very accurate by quite deliberate. The shock was actually enough to force Kate into her accelerated state of being, at which moment she managed to gage just how fast Debra could truly fire that weapon. All the rounds where off in a matter of moments though the recoil of the weapon became obvious.

 

Kate realized that at least two of the five shots where going to miss her. The first being highly accurate while the other two where a little ways off the mark.

 

Kate considered dodging but opted to try to withstand the bullets in her accelerated state. This of course meant she had a some what lengthy wait at least in her perceived time before the bullets impacted with her. As they did so she didn’t move in the least however, her accelerated state seeming to allow her to delve into her ground ability far more strongly then when she wasn’t in it. As the bullets flattened against her skin Kate finally let herself fall out of her accelerated state.

 

“You’re better with a fire arm then you let on. You know that.”

 

“Yeah, hope you don’t mind but I really wanted a better target then a piece of paper that doesn’t move enough.” Kate rolled her eyes but none the less waited for Debra to reload her weapon to begin the game once again. At least now she had an idea of just how her new talent functioned. She would have to work on getting it to be as strong in her normal state as it was when she was reacting and able to move at super human speeds. Though as she remembered from the military testing even that could be over whelmed. Of course she wasn’t certain if this development was a new one or had been with her from the beginning and if it was she didn’t know how strong it had been previously. Standing up Kate and Debra continued their game, Debra working on her aiming skills while Kate attempted to keep from being knocked over.

 



 

Lazybones: “Hey and how is life treating you?”

 

Kate looked up at her computer. It had been a few weeks since she had begun working with Debra and she had made some improvement. She had made a fair amount of improvement since then though not nearly as quickly as she would have liked. Debra was now up to using high-powered rifles to force Kate backwards though in truth Kate had hoped she would be up to tank rounds by now. Not that she could really test that considering even SWAT didn’t have a tank handy and she doubted the military would loan them one. Currently she found herself talking to Jack over her computer.

 

The_big_titty_space_kitty “Nothing much, today has been pretty slow. We haven’t gotten a call in a while actually but I suppose I should be happy about that. How are the test going?”

 

Lazybones “Not as well as I would like. Why your body gives off so much energy to a system that is requesting it I have no idea. Further more this new staying power of yours is just about as frustrating. I have no idea what equipment I really need to test this.”

 

Kate grinned and leaned back in her seat. Considering what she should type. The thought of apologizing for her body being so complicated or rushing Jack did cross her mind. She pushed them aside though.

 

The_big_titty_space_kitty “All well, I am sure you will find out something eventually. Who knows perhaps all your troubles will one day when you some award.”

 

Kate’s attention was suddenly taken away from her computer as the intercoms came on and she heard the announcement.

 

A series of names where quickly called out and ordered to suit up. Kate’s name was the last to be called and she couldn’t deny the excitement she felt rush for through her body. She knew that this wasn’t really something to be happy about since it meant the situation had gotten that dangerous.

 

“Whoops spoke to soon, talk later got to go.”

 

Kate quickly shut down her computer and made a dash for the parking lot. Despite her delay the fact that she didn’t need to suit up made things a lot easier.

 

The fact that they hadn’t been order into a mission briefing only hit her a few moments later. This of course meant there was little time to talk about things and she would need to ride with the others. Kate would be riding with the others in such a case, to get some information on the way over. She was proven wrong a moment later though as a SWAT member ran outside and tossed her a hand radio. “No time go.” Kate got the idea and made a quick dash for the city turning on the radio she soon found out just what was going on and why she was in such a hurry. There was a altercation between the police and a cyborg or robot of some type and they wanted her out there quickly. The realization was oddly exciting despite the danger she might be heading into Kate couldn’t deny the rush. Perhaps now she would be able to really show what she can do. As the thoughts entered her mind Kate’s speed jumped from her standard of 120mph to easily 400mph, without her even realizing it.

 

Then there was the fact that this just may be her chance to save some lives. She had been doing this ever since she had gotten back to the police force of course. Still this was her chance to really make a change just like she had done with Copperhead. As Kate’s mind trailed back to that event, she couldn’t deny she had gotten a rush from it. Not just from facing off with such a dangerous criminal but with actually killing him. She didn’t like to think of it to much just why she had enjoyed it so much. Was it revenge for all the times such beings had simply batted aside the police, was it protecting people or did she do it for a more sadistic purpose. She couldn’t be sure then and she still wasn’t sure just why she had enjoyed the act so very much. Kate had to push such thoughts out of her mind it wasn’t the time for them. Luckily the radio got her attention, absently she was grateful she wasn’t running faster then radio waves at the moment.

 

“Kate, your task is to delay the target, I repeat delay the target.” Kate didn’t bother to respond instead she proceeded to simply switch the radio off. Hardly able to believe what she had just heard. The chief wanted her to simply delay the target? That meant he felt she wasn’t up to the task and most likely SWAT wasn’t. Even though she didn’t know who it was having the chief confirm her thoughts that it was once again a problem where they where expected too just by time. Until someone could rush in to save them, Kate felt a wall of anger build up within herself. A moment later a sonic boom shook the surrounding area as Kate hit mock five nearly 3/4's of her max speed. The only reason she didn’t jump to her limit in response is the desire to have some energy when she arrived on seen. She hardly even noticed the radio disintegrate within her hands.

 

Kate made the trip in less then a tenth of the time it would have taken her moving at her reserved speeds. Making her so far ahead of the rest of the SWAT members or anyone else that was not on the seen all ready for that matter. While the situation had by now moved away from its point of origin, it wasn’t hard for Kate to find her objective. The sound of gun fire and vehicles flying through the air lead her right to her target. The memories that came back to her upon arriving may very well been considered the worse of her life. A metal monster was tearing through the police like they where paper their bullets having no effect on it. Kate had been in the same position before, when she had just been a normal cop. This fear however as important as it gave her, a moment’s pause to truly look around. Though perhaps it would have been better if she hadn’t.

 

Eddy let out a low groan as he struggled to get up and out of harms way. However, this was proving to be an impossible task as his eyes began to clear. He had been near the incident when it began and thus had arrived before Kate. He had actually been the one to radio in what was going on though luckily he had gotten out of his car before he did this. As shortly there after another vehicle had landed on top of his. He managed to avoid getting killed however now that he had recovered enough to notice his surroundings he found part of his leg was trapped under one of the vehicles. It was miracle in itself that he had survived that however he wasn’t prepared for the secondary miracle as he felt a shadow move over him then a moment later the car was lifted. He barely had time to notice Kate before she had lifted him up then he found himself being carried away from the front line as it where.

 

Kate moved quickly though not any faster then what Eddy could handle. She could hardly believe what was going on. Up until seeing him she had felt raw anger building but now she felt something else. It was a calming moment though it didn’t make her any more peaceful. Making her way outside of the immediate danger area, she managed to find some emergency workers. “Take him.” The medical team seemed somewhat surprised when Kate suddenly appeared in front of them and lay Eddy down on the concrete. Kate would have loved to explain more but at the moment she had other priorities on her mind. The entire event only required a few moments so much so that Eddy didn’t even get to say thanks. Eddy wasn’t even sure it had been Kate that just saved him as the crew finally went to work.

 

Kate couldn’t define the feeling that was currently going throughout her as she dashed back to the combat zone. She remembered speaking to Eddy before she went to SWAT some weeks back. Their little conversation that they would see each other around. Well that had proven true however, she never expected to find him here. Why hadn’t she thought? He was a police officer. It was his job to go into harm’s way so why didn’t she think he would be there? Perhaps she had thought that her new abilities that would let her protect him? She didn’t know however, at the moment she knew one thing for certain. Someone was going to pay for hurting one of her friends.

 

He was enjoying himself, it had been a long time since he could last move around so freely. Ever since his last altercation with Superman his body had simply been to badly damaged. Luckily Intergang had saw fit to fix him up and even provided some improvements. Now it was just good to let the world know that he was back and could seek his revenge once again. At least eventually for the time that was going to have to wait as his first task was to pay back the money it cost to repair him. Now after having his fun he was finally ready to vanish from the seen. As of the moment her didn’t have permission to take on Superman or any of the justice league that might be able to take him down and even Metallo didn’t disobey Intergang at least not until his debt was repaid. His mind was taken from this thought a few seconds later.

 

Kate made no attempt to call Metallo down neither did she want to simply arrest him. That had been the police’s job her job was different on the other hand. The chief wanted her to keep Metallo busy then that was what she was going to do. Running at her full speed she had came up on the mechanical nightmare far more quickly then he was ready to deal with. A moment later he had felt the force of 778 tons slamming into the side of his head at over 4,000 miles per hour. The result of Kate’s punch being more then even he could simply ignore. If Kate had been thinking, she would have angled her punch upward to send him out of the city. As things where her punch was slanted down sending his body screaming through the concrete.

 

Kate had felt a wave of relief as her fist had connected with Metallo’s head. Wondering if that had been enough to take care of him. Such hopes where dashed to bits a moment later as Metallo raised up from beneath the streets. “Nice shot.” Was all the mechanical menace had to say before Kate felt his fist impact with her stomach. Luckily Kate hadn’t been trying to ground herself thus she was carried upward by the force of the impact instead of having to absorb in all. None the less the power of the punch surprised even her. Groaning in pain Kate managed to force herself back into her accelerated state so that she could try and evaluate the situation. She hadn’t gotten a very good look at Metallo but from what she saw her attack hadn’t even damaged him. While going by the pain in her stomach his punch had most assuredly damaged her. She did not like the way this fight was going already.

 

As Kate managed to twist her body back into a standing position before she returned to the ground her concerns where confirmed. There stood Metallo seemingly undamaged by her punch. Not exactly surprising when she considered that during his debut he withstood a bullet training slamming into him and didn’t even flinch. Plus there was something different his overall design had changed seeming more fluid then before. Kate’s first reaction was to take on a defensive stance however as Metallo moved towards her something became quite apparent. Metallo might be able to shrug off her punches but he was no where near as fast as she was. Kate quickly opted for a more offensive attack plan realizing that she would just have to watch herself.

 

Kate was fortunate that the punch had sent her nearly strait up as it allowed gravity to be the force to bring her down. Though this would have been far from kind to a human body compared to the punch she had taken it was nothing. It did give Kate a idea though as she once again closed the gap between herself and Metallo. Her fist came up to connect squarely right under his chin.

 

Instantly the pain in Kate’s gut felt much more bearable as she realized she did have one advantage of her opponent. She was much faster, this also helped her take the fight out of the city as Kate was able to accelerate to her full speed before hitting him. The force of the impact sent a shockwave through out the area and sent Metallo rocketing into the sky. Kate figured between the power and speed of her punch she had taken the fight out of the city. Quickly following behind Kate attempted to keep up with the flying form.

 

Kate’s first punch had annoyed him a bit however the second truly upset Metallo. He hadn’t had time to consider just how she had gotten so close to him so fast. Neither did he recognize the face but whoever this newcomer was she had just sent him air born. The flight giving him more then enough time to get more upset as he struggled to regain control. Suddenly wishing that he had opted for a little less muscle and taken something to enable flight. At least Kate’s punches didn’t hurt. They where just powerful enough to nock him away. Kate followed behind as quickly as she could realizing that by taking the fight out of the city she would be saving lives but also putting herself in more danger. However, this also guaranteed it would take longer for someone to interfere. She didn’t know how but she was going to recycle this tin man.

 

Metallo rolled a bit as he hit the ground his body easily absorbing the force of the fall. As Kate approached him from behind she focused in on the center of his back. Trying to find some weak point in Metallo’s defense she didn’t really know where to begin looking so decided she would hit every bit of his body and simply find it. Metallo was pushed forward by the force of Kate’s punch once again sending him plowing through the ground. Whirling around in an attempt to catch his attacker he was forced to the side when Kate delivered a powerful blow to his side.

 

Kate wasn’t about to risk slowing down the pain in her gut reminding her how bad of a idea that would be. Still as Kate continued to pound Metallo she found herself developing another pain. By knocking him back Kate managed to seriously avoid hurting her fist, however the more often she used this tactic the more her knuckles where beginning to hurt her. The whole situation was maddening she had been increasing her strength for over two years now and the only thing her punches seemed to be doing was hurting her.

 

Metallo by now was thoroughly annoyed with Kate’s attack. While he wasn’t suffering any damage at least to his knowledge, she had thwarted his efforts. He had meant to return to the bank and remove his deposit after having some fun now that she had sent him out of the city that was a bust. Further more she was making his escape all the more difficult not only by delaying him but now in the open he would have to travel much further to find a decent hiding spot. However, this wasn’t his main frustration no that lay in the fact that he couldn’t lay a hand on her. She was simply moving to fast and her impacts though seemingly harmless where managing to keep him from gaining any footing. Realizing he couldn’t match Kate in speed he quickly thought up an alternative.

 

Kate let out a slight gasp as she felt her fist ceased as she slammed into Metallo’s side. The impact dragging her and him along. Quickly realizing her plight Kate was grateful she had managed to remain in her hyperactive state. With one of her arms being held she began to make use of her legs and one free arm to attempt to dislodge Metallo’s group on her. Despite the rate of the impacts though she wasn’t able to brake free before she felt a quite painful impact upon her face. Made all the worse by the fact that this time she wasn’t released by had to endure the full force of the impact. Kate couldn’t believe the pain that ran through her body as she felt the impact she felt it a miracle that she didn’t feel any teeth get knocked out. The impact did however bust her lip. Still she couldn’t get free of her situation. Watching the world move in slow motion she knew the next impact wouldn’t be long in coming.

 

Kate’s wasn’t disappointed as Metallo’s grip held firm he continued to slam his metallic fist into her fast and chest. Each impact snapping her backwards. Kate continued to struggle through out this her fist and feet impacting Metallo far more often then his did her but seeming to have no effect. At about the 6th blow despite the pain surging through her Kate finally hit upon a idea. Slamming her free hand down into the machine’s extended arm she began to pound away at the elbow joint the glove that had been made to handle her speed and strength disintegrating as the impact began to make Kate’s own fist bleed. Metallo only felt her attacks where amusing at least until he noticed something. She had broken free.

 

While Kate hadn’t managed to make any serious damage on Metallo’s body with any single punch. Her rapid hits had indeed been affecting him though only slightly bending the metal.

Thanks to the number of hits she had delivered though it had finally managed to bend it enough to threaten the structural integrity. Coupled with the fact that she had been focusing on one of the joints while she had been being smacked around like a rag doll it had finally came off. Despite this victory though Kate wasn’t in good shape as she quickly retreated. Letting out a gasp of pain and spitting up some blood she could hardly believe she was still standing. Metallo had landed less then 10 punches on her through out the fight and she already was having trouble seeing strait.

 

At least she had managed to take off his arm though she wouldn’t get long to dwell on this slight victory. As the now enraged cyborg went to close the gap between them. His inability to feel pain and his own over confidence in what his body could endure had resulted in him not noticing how badly his arm was being damaged. Kate had just made the jump from pest to threat and he wasn’t going to let her get away with that. Of course Kate wasn’t about to stand still though and allow him to deliver any more of his punishing attacks to her either. This proved more difficult then Kate was use to, still being quite dizzy from the beating she had been taken only moments earlier. Her legs where wobbly but thankfully her speed advantage was great enough to make up for this. By now Kate’s body had begun to put out the needed endorphin into her system. Later she would be quite grateful that her body had decided she still needed this ability. She was sporting several bruises as well as a bloody lip.

 

As Metallo came at her Kate was sure to keep hold of his arm. As she avoided his charging for her. She finally caught on to just what had happened. Up until then she had been striking a different part of his body nearly every time. While this had lift a very slight dint one hardly even noticeable by even her eyes, it had done some damage. The difference between when she could move freely and when he had hold of her was she had been focusing on one spot. Hitting it as many times as she possibly could. The dints have eventually built up enough to threaten the structural integrity of his frame and she had broken free. She didn’t need to hit several spots hoping to stumble across a weak spot as it where she had to make a weak spot by pounding on a single area.

 

Any notion of retreating left Kate’s mind as she finally realized she could win the fight indeed. Desiring to finish the battle before anyone else could arrive Kate once again moved on her target though this time she had an extra advantage. Metallo felt Kate’s fist slam into his right side since she had ripped of his right arm it seemed the obvious choice for a attack. Before he could even react though Kate continued to pound him delivering hundreds of punches in the time it took him to move his arm even once. The endorphin and her anger helping her to blind herself from the pain of her knuckles. The blood coming from them after having struck such a solid object so many times. At first there was no real progress Kate could notice however after a few moments her fist clearly began to sink in deeper. Metallo’s armor plated side degrading thanks to the volume of attacks.

 

As Kate felt the metal degrading from the force and number of her attacks, it began to yield more and more with each following attack. At last getting the side of the dent to nearly that of her own fist Kate finally made use of the arm she had taken off. Ramming Metallo’s own arm into his side the scream of the super strong metal was horrific as the arm broke through making its way into the more delicate and vital internal components. Even without being able to feel pain Kate could tell he had been heavily damaged by the attack. Several of his operations shutting down as the attack damaged many of his vital systems, crushing circuits and wires. Not being quite finished yet Kate proceeded to take hold of the arm with both hands and pulled back with all her strength making use of every last bit of leverage she could get.

 

Metallo would have screamed if that function was still working as his chest area was torn open. A serge of electrical energy shooting out from him and into Kate as she maintained her grip on his arm. The intensity was such that she found herself thrown away from her opponent. When Kate finally recover from her fall and was able to set up she was surprised to see Metallo still standing despite the gaping wound in his size. Her fear only lasted for a moment as the machine toppled over. Groaning with effort Kate then proceeded to stand up and make her way over to Metallo’s prone form. “Damn you.” Kate was a bit surprised wondering where the voice came from then she took note of Metallo’s head.

 

“So you are still alive.” Kate looked down at the head realizing that she must have damaged the body too heavily for it to function while the head’s operations continued. Clinching her fist for a moment, Kate realized that he was no longer a threat. Still as she looked at his head she couldn’t help herself. Reaching down Kate with bloody hands took hold of Metallo’s head. Lifting him up she proceeded to wrap her arms around it.

 

“Well it looks like my assistance wasn’t needed after all. It seems you took care of everything just fine.” Looking up for a moment Kate was surprised when she saw the red and blue clad figure approaching her. In her current state her mind was so fuzzy it took her a moment to realize it was Superman.

 

“It wasn’t, but I am not done yet.” A moment later Kate began to tighten her arms around Metallo’s head. Even without his ability to feel pain it didn’t take Metallo long to realize what she was trying to do to him. The position of her arm the signs and sounds of her straining putting every last bit of effort she could into crushing his head was obvious enough.

 

“What the hell, stop that..What are you waiting for you’re a hero stop her.” Metallo was horrified to find himself calling out to the person he hated most in the world. However, upon realizing what Kate was attempting to do and that he was unable to defend himself he had little choice in the matter. Superman was unsure just how to respond at first not realizing just what Kate was trying to do. Upon this realization though he moved to help Metallo despite them being enemies. At least he would have as he drew closer though he had to fall back an action that surprised Kate as she worried he would interfere. Looking down at Metallo’s chest cavity she realized why. She had torn him open and thus there was nothing shielding his Kryptonite power source.

 

“Hey hold on, you beaten him there is no need to go that far.” Kate didn’t bother responding to the man of steel intent on her task. She wasn’t going to risk this metal monster ever hurting someone she cared for again or threatening herself. This had been the first time she had been seriously injured since gaining her powers and she didn’t want it to happen again. Just as Superman’s attempts to reason with her fell on deaf ears so did Metall’s protest and screams as his head began to cave in. The constant pressure on the weakest parts of the structure proving too much to handle.

 

“BACK OFF BLUE BOY THIS IS POLICE BUSINESS.” Kate’s voice held more then a little contempt. She had been the one to take him down and she was going to deal with him.

 

Superman for his part found himself torn between two choices. Kate was a police officer and he knew it. Also Metallo was a wanted criminal. Still could he really stand by and let her destroy him without a trial? There was also the matter of the kryptonite if he got to close to Metallo then he wouldn’t have the strength to stop her. Metallo’s screams seemed to blur slightly as a loud creak was heard. The first signs of his head beginning to cave in. Previously he couldn’t have screamed thanks to the momentary power serge when Kate broke through his chest, now it was simply that his internal speakers where being destroyed.

 

Superman didn’t have to worry about the moral consequences of not stopping Kate for much longer. As her arms finally began to meet one another the last scream was entirely gone and Kate was left squeezing a Metallo’s flattened metal skull. As Kate finished this act, she finally began to look around her general area. As she did, she couldn’t help but note the areas her blood had spilled. It was eating through the rock, stunned Kate’s mouth fell open in shock. She had never expected that to happen true it had been quite a few months since Jack had been able to get a blood sample from her. This was hard to believe though, turning her attention else where she noted the stunned look on Superman’s face. “What I figured you would be glad to have one less enemy.” A slight laugh came from Kate before she toppled over, the endorphin wearing off and exhaustion setting in. Her body had a lot of repairs it needed to do.

 



 

Kate’s entire body hurt her as she lay entirely still. Unsure of just where she was she wasn’t sure what had happened. The last memory she had was her fight with Metallo. Clinching her left hand for a moment she noted the soft material it grasped. She also noticed a short while later that something had a hold of her right hand. She thought of clinching her hand to see what it was but realized that wouldn’t be a good idea. She was glad she didn’t as she managed to force herself to open her eyes and look around. Setting to her right was check seemingly half asleep, looking around she noted that it was dark out. “Hey wake up.” Jack gave a slight start at hearing Kate’s voice.

 

“Kate? You’re all right.” Jack quickly wrapped his arms around Kate’s neck giving her as tight of a hug as he could. Kate chuckled in response to this though quite happy to see him. Her arm felt oddly heavy as she lifted it and placed it around Jack’s back. “Thank heavens, I was worried I might have lost you.” Jack was a bit surprised when Kate pulled him down a moment later and proceeded to place a kiss on his cheek.

 

“No I am fine, but how did I get here? Was it Superman?” Jack gave her an odd look then shook his head.

 

“No. A medical helicopter retrieved you before anyone else could. Superman was there but he was unable to get close to you thanks to the kryptonite. I don’t know all the details they called your father a little while after they brought you in then he called me.” Kate let out a long sight, actually finding herself grateful that the medics took her away and no one else.

 

“So how long have I been out?”

 

“Just a few hours, you really had us all worried. Your body is so different from a normal persons we didn’t know how bad the damage really was or how much blood you loss. It was really frustrating to the doctors since they couldn’t find a way to treat you.”

 

“Whaa I am out just a few hours and you are already worried sick? I figured I would have to at least be out for a few days.”

 

“Well pardon me for being a worrier.” Jack’s tone was teasing as he grew less worried about Kate. She most assuredly seemed to be doing well enough. “We simply couldn’t tell what condition you where in. Your heart beat, breathing and everything is abnormal since your body began to adapt so much and what I got from the paramedics a blood transfusion was out of the question.”

 

“How much did I lose and how did they even get me here? Was I bleeding?”

 

“Only for a short while after the paramedics arrived on seen. Luckily your body seems pretty good at healing itself. As if you hadn’t stopped bleeding they may not have been able to do much for you.” Kate nodded realizing they had probably tried bandaging her only to have her blood eat through whatever they had used. Removing her arm from around Jack she laid entirely back in her bed and once again closed her eyes.

 

“So is there anything to tell you what kind of shape I am in.”

 

“Physically no, but you may have some issues with the media. It seems news of your little altercation has already spread.” A long drawn out sigh came from Kate as she realized she would need to do some explaining. Not that it was really the media’s business but she wanted to try and keep a decent image.

 

“And the military?”

 

“Yeah I can see why you would worry about fibbing to them. Actually they seem as happy as can be about this.” Kate’s eyes flashed opened a rather stunned look on her face.

 

“What?”

 

“I don’t know all the details but according to your father general err crap I can’t remember his name. Put in a call congratulating you on your recent accomplishment. It seems that they aren’t really upset about the false information as if the news seemed to justify them buying the blood sample all the more. At least that is how things seem I won’t know until your father gives us a call letting us know how the meeting went.”

 

“Elaborate please.”

 

“It seems the military may want to offer you a position or at least invest more in your development depending on certain things. Your father is just finding out exactly what they want. Kate are you okay you look kind of pel?”

 

“Yeah I just feel really weak right now. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised about that though. Jack, you said the hospital really couldn’t do anything for me right.” Jack shook his head in the negative. “All right then how about we get back to my little gym. I don’t quite feel like exercising at the moment but I don’t want to stay here longer then I have to.” Jack couldn’t help but agree with Kate. Though he mostly wanted to get her out of the city before it was learned she had recovered. Kate felt a little odd letting Jack help her out of bed but she simply felt so weak compared to what she usually did.

 

“Jack could you let me have a quarter?” Not bothering to ask why Jack didn’t waste any time in fishing in his pocket. Though he was only able to locate a nickle he didn’t have to worry about disappointing Kate as she had no intention of spending it. Taking the bit of metal in her hand Kate proceeded to bend it until it had doubled over on its side. “Well it seems I still got my strength but damn I feel so weak.” Kate gave Jack a perplexed look when she heard him chuckling a moment later.

 

“Well Kate I imagine you pushed your body to its limits in your fight at least from what the medical report showed. Even if your body stopped bleeding, I imagine it will be several days before it is fully repaired.” Kate proceeded to glance over herself, not seeing any cuts or bruises from her fight she wasn’t sure what Jack was talking about. Then again she didn’t know how her body really worked either. A slight yelp came from Kate when she was suddenly lifted from the ground.

 

Surprisingly she found Jack had scooped her up off the ground. “Of course if you feel weak I don’t mind carrying you a bit. Though that weak is weak for you. I imagine you could still lift a tank.” Kate couldn’t help but giggle and wrap her arms around Jack’s neck giving him a slight kiss.

Before braking free and hopping down.

 

“No thanks, I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself. Anyway your arms where already beginning to shake. Just give me a moment to get dressed.” Jack nodded and started to leave the room as Kate located the spare clothes he had brought her. “Hey where are you going? You’re supposed to watch.” Jack quickly turned around in response to Kate’s scolding. Taking a seat on the bed he watched as she slipped out of her hospital clothes and into the ones he had brought. As he observed her powerful form he found it hard to believe she was feeling weak, her body seemed to be in perfect condition. Still he had been honest when he told Kate they had no idea just what condition she was currently in. He couldn’t help but think perhaps her current state was likened onto blood loss. Although her body had repaired itself on the surface it had a while to go before her energy reserves would be built up. “Jack I was just wondering, does anyone know I am here?”

 

“Well yeah, Kate you caved in the skull of Metallo. That is something to be pretty proud of that said they are a lot of people wanting to ask you questions. That said Hangman suggested you don’t speak to anyone about it until a few days later. He and Mark are working out a plan to first talk about how many lives you saved before risking the, well Kate you did crush his head.” Kate was a bit surprised at Jack’s reaction, she had thought he mind be concerned about what she had done.

 

“You don’t worry about it? That I intentionally killed someone.” Jack came up behind Kate and wrapped his arms around her.

 

“No more concerned then Mark, Hangman or your father. Especially your father and I, the only person we are concerned about is you Kate. We just worry that some snake lawyer is going to try to take you to court for this. Also we have other matters to discuss as well, maybe if you had taken on a small gang we could explain away you managing too win. With the limits you gave to the media earlier though there is no way you could have won against that monster. Lets not worry about that for now though. Lets get you home and see what Nathan has to say about the military tomorrow.” Kate gate an agreeable nod grateful that Jack hadn’t brought in the other concerns now.

 

She had just taken out a power house, one that was probably quite costly to repair. Someone, somewhere was going to be very upset about this.

 



 

“So how does your study of my daughter’s records and samples go?” Nathan looked across at General Mathews the same general Kate had met at the military testing ground. He had just arrived a short while ago though he had called far ahead. He had insisted on meeting Nathan face to face. Nathan didn’t really mind at least he hadn’t taken any action against them for giving false information. That said he just wished the man would have let him go see his little girl first.

 

“We have made little head way in figuring out just how your daughter’s current condition came to be. What complicates matters of course is her changing dna structure as I am sure you are aware.” Nathan gave a slight nod of his head and started to respond but Mathews cut him off.

Wait, first I want to assure you Mr. Stonecutter we do not plan to take any actions legal or other wise against you. Though you weren’t exactly being honest about your daughters limits we figured as much during the demonstration and since you saw fit to deceive the media. We have also confirmed that you where not the ones that original developed her abilities. I won’t ask you who since it is clear you don’t want to divulge that information.”

 

Nathan was a bit surprised he had figured Mathews would be somewhat upset but from the way the conversation was going he seemed quite pleased. “Then what brings you around?”

 

“Well since your acting as your daughters business consultant I figured I would talk to you first. As you are aware, the military had dealt with certain..meta human experiments. Which we have recently received a fair amount of bad press for thanks to a few of their escapes. However, in Kate there is clearly a super powered being that still seems to hold to her country. After all she continues to function with SWAT and follow most regulations.” Nathan knew Mathews was referring to what had happened earlier that day. Though no one other then Superman had seen it, what happened was fairly obvious. The indentations in Metallo’s head was simply to obvious to be anything else.

 

“I have to say the fact that you already know all this and don’t seem angry about it. Has me a little concerned.” Mathews actually cracked a grin at Nathan’s comment clearly finding it amusing.

 

“Well we where paying for you for the data and materials. So you false advertised a little bit? Like our commercials don’t say be an army of one, though in that respect is why we are here to talk about your daughter.” Nathan seemed to turn a bit sickly at that comment, something Mathews worked quickly to defuse. “Don’t worry we realize she has her limits. However, as I mentioned earlier our last projects with meta humans haven’t turned out well. So I am here to talk about a contract for us to find further research into Kate’s condition, done at your facilities and further develop her abilities.” Nathan didn’t find it surprising that Mathews had noticed Kate’s cells evolving they had given them a lot of data after all. He was surprised however by the offer of them helping out.

 

“I can’t agree to that without my daughter, after all she is the one..” Mathews waved his hand silencing Nathan.

 

“I am quite aware I need to speak with your daughter. No what I am talking about right now is your end of the deal. Would you be interested in working for us to further examine your daughter provided she agrees to our terms? In case you are wondering why I am asking you to research her is you already have the experience we don’t and she is more comfortable with her father I imagine then she would be at one of our facilities. Should you agree we can offer a reasonable budget as well as security. After all if your daughter plans on using her powers to protect people she is going to end up making some powerful enemies if she hasn’t already made some today.”

 

“Very true, all right if Kate agrees to whatever terms you have to offer I am in as well. At least after I get the time to look over a contract.” Mathews gave a slight nod of his head quite happy with Nathan’s answer. Now if he could just get Kate to agree to work with a different branch of the government things could turn out rather well. “Just what do you plan on offering my daughter though?”

 

“That all depends on what happens over the next few days. At the moment we are considering helping pay her legal fees as well as a generous salary.” Nathan considered Mathews words for a moment. Realizing that his daughter probably would be in some legal trouble. After all even if Metallo had been a murderous over powered psychopath Kate had killed him and there was always someone looking for some easy money. Not that such a trial would be easy.

 

“I am sure she will appreciate that, hey why does she get a generous salary?” Nathan finally found himself having the optimism to crack a joke. To this Mathews couldn’t help but laugh in response.

 

“Because we know she can deliver, your funding is considered fair based on the grounds we don’t know what you are going to be able to find out. Now our previous purchase of the original data that was generous.” Nathan and Mathews continued to joke for a while longer. It was odd but even though he was military Mathews had a very easy going way about him. This actually served to help people relax in his presence.

 



 

Hangman tapped his pin against his desk feeling rather frustrated at the moment. He was quite happy with what Kate had done to Metallo. Hell, if he could have, he would give her award for killing the sob. That was the problem though, she had gone so far as to kill him, even after she had immobilized him and no matter how much he approved he couldn’t just let that slide. It would not only put him at risk but the entire department as well, for safeties sake Kate would have to be prosecuted to decide innocence or not and he knew this. What he found himself considering is just how could he make sure the verdict came up innocent. It was already common knowledge amongst the team to put as good a spin on Kate as they could. Should anyone talk to them. “Damn it.” Hangman slammed his hand down on his desk, finding his hands tied at the moment. It wasn’t really his business, no the case would be handed over to the regular police. Hangman felt quite a bit better a short while later when he realized which officer that would be.

 

 

Mark was having to be selective for this one, only his “best” officers would be allowed to take this investigation. He regretted that he couldn’t have Eddy investigate the case, however of the moment he didn’t even know if Eddy would be able to walk anymore or even remain on the force.

 

He had already been handed the case though the incident had occurred outside of the city limits.

 

The fact that his department had been the one chosen to handle the case and the wording of the conversation told him Kate had more then him behind her. The over all objective wasn’t to prove Kate hadn’t finished Metallo of course. It was to find a way to justify it to make sure Kate didn’t get stuck with a criminal record or spend any time locked away for it. She was far more useful helping to protect the streets after all.

 

Searching through his files, he considered giving the case to a rooky someone who probably wouldn’t be able to pick out a great many details. That wasn’t going to happen though, he wouldn’t risk them putting a negative spin on Kate or the police station. He needed to choose an old pro, someone that knew how to put a good spin on things and leave out undesired facts. He needed someone that knew when it was best to let someone off. He needed someone like himself.

 

A huge grin formed on Mark’s face as he stood up from his desk, stretching somewhat. “Why not?” The question was directed towards the open air of course as he slipped on his jacket and started to get ready to head out. With Eddy currently in the hospital he couldn’t think of anyone else to investigate the case then himself.

 

His first stop would be by the SWAT station to speak with Chief Hangman, then he would head to where Kate was currently living and get her side of the story. He could then head down to forensics and tell them the story the body told. Not that he knew how to study forensics but he could still explain it to them. Anyway he doubted they really knew what they where looking into.

 

They didn’t normally study metal especially something like Metallo, nope this was most assuredly a unique case. Giving lots of room for interpretation of the evidence, he just had to make sure it was looked at in the correct light. Of course that light was whichever one made Kate look the best

 



 

Jack smiled as he watched Kate eating her breakfast. It was nice to see that she still had her appetite though he wondered if it was just because she could or she really needed the energy. It was just good to see her behaving like herself. They had gotten home over 13 hours ago at which time Kate had promptly fallen asleep. It had been sudden enough to worry Jack but he doubted she would appreciate waking up in the hospital. Which he had seriously been thinking of taking her back too when she slept over 8 hours. She had only been sleeping for around 5 or 6 hours and functioning just fine after words. Now that she was awake she seemed to be just fine.

 

So engrossed in their activities it took Jack a few moments to notice the phone ringing. Sighing as he drug himself over to it and lifted the receiver he wondered who it would be. At the moment he was expecting a reporter or someone else. They would want to talk about the recent killing. “Hello is Kate Stonecutter there? This is general Mathews of the USA army.” Jack had been about to ask if it was a reporter or a telemarketer. One he took a moment to look at the caller id he changed his mind quite swiftly.

 

“Yeah she is here, but she is eating breakfast at the moment. Could I take a message?”

 

“Will you two be around at say 3, today?” The question caught Jack off guard.

 

“Well yeah.”

 

“Good, I was wondering if I might stop by then. We have some business that we wish to discuss with Miss. Stonecutter and yourself Mr. Hunter. I hope this will be alright?” Jack didn’t really feel he had much of a choice at the moment.

 

“Yeah sure that would be fine.” A few moments to say good byes and the phone call was over. Standing there Jack realized he hadn’t even bothered to consult with Kate. As he walked into the kitchen and looked at her though finishing the last of her breakfast she smiled at him.

 

“So I suppose I need to get cleaned up for our company.” Nodding his head Jack watched as Kate finished off the last of her meal. Stood up and walked over to him. Scooping Jack up in her arms she made her way towards her custom bathroom. At first Jack was somewhat concerned Kate had forgotten what humans can handle. A few moments later though. After she had stripped him and herself. The fear was relieved as she adjusted the temperature. Kate was sure to keep it down to a comfortable level for Jack though she normally liked to steam herself when in her custom-made bath. Jack learned why Kate had chosen it a few moments later. Her shower had been made quite large in order to give her room to move around. So much so that it provided enough room for her to comfortably lay down.

 

Jack didn’t get to make any further progress in his love life then he had previously with Kate. Still it was quite a enjoyable experience and proved to be the most intense bath he had yet to have.

 



 

Mathews made his way towards what now served as Kate’s home and gym only escorted by one other soldier. One that he didn’t really feel was necessary but he did have to bring someone. At least the young grunt was good for lugging around his brief case and stack of legal papers Mathews had to keep handy for such meetings. Looking at the door for a moment, it took him a little while to find the door bell and push it. “I wonder how long it takes them to answer the door in a place this..” Mathews didn’t get to finish his sentence as the door was suddenly open and Kate was standing in it wearing a rather nice sweat and low cut blue jean shorts.

 

“General Mathews it is so good to see you again. So Jack tells me you wanted to discuss something with me. Please come on.” Kate stepped aside allowing Mathews to enter in followed shortly by the grunt. Kate’s demeanor catching Mathews off guard for a moment, he realized he shouldn’t be surprised though. Being super powered probably does give one a confidence boost.

 

What he wasn’t aware of was Kate’s confidence wasn’t just from her strength, rather her father had given them a call before Mathews had arrived. So she knew they where speaking on friendly terms at least for the moment. Mathews followed a few paces behind Kate glancing around the building.

 

It actually impressed him as though he couldn’t see the internal workings he had a idea of the quality of the structure. While the payment the government had given for the data and sample was generous that it could build such a structure was impressive.

 

Entering into the living room he noted the drinks setting on the table. It was fairly obvious Kate was trying to make them feel at home. Jack was already setting, while he had meant to be the one to answer the door Kate had taken off before he could protest. “Please take a seat.” Mathews nodded in Kate’s direction and proceeded to set down on one of the sofas the soldier that accompanied him remained standing. Kate proceeded to set down next to Jack. “So what do you want to talk to me about?”

 

“From our welcome I assume you already have spoken to your father. Well nice to see he didn’t tell you everything about our conversation. Miss. Stonecutter, I would like to ask you a few questions before we moved on. So that I can make a more informed decision about wether or not you would be suitable for the position we are offering you.”

 

“All right that is fine with me. Though I do exercise my right to not answer if I feel the question shouldn’t be answered and please call me Kate. Being addressed by my last name has always made me feel a little strange.” Mathews grinned and signaled for the soldier to bring his brief case over. Taking it from him and setting it on the table, he began to dig out a few sheets of paper.

 

“I would be glad to Kate. Now while we talk would you mind feeling out these forms?” Kate was a bit perplexed as was Jack when Mathews handed them the paper work. Looking through the first few questions, she realized that they where probably more suited to a mental profiler then Mathews evaluation. “Don’t worry I am going to ask you some simple questions by word of mouth. I just need you to feel those out as well.” Kate started to search for a pin when Mathews handed her and Jack one from his brief case. “Now Mr. Hunter or would you prefer Jack?”

 

“Jack is fine.”

 

“Jack, I would actually like to start with you. Now from what I know you are currently the one in charge of seeing to Kate’s physical health and trying to evaluate the exact cause of her condition is that correct?” Jack nodded his head in the affirmative. “Very well then, have you found anything else out? A simple yes or no answer please.”

 

“Yes but noth …” Jack was cut off by Mathews.

 

“No need too elaborate it isn’t really my job to decide how important or unimportant your finds may be. I am purely here to confirm you have found out something more. Now Kate at the moment you are currently employed by the government. Have you made any plans of going solo or perhaps joining with an organization such as the Justice League?” Kate simply shook her head no.

 

“Very well then, would you mind telling me why you haven’t considered this option?” Kate took in a deep breath as she considered the best way to respond to the question, she was going to tell the truth of course but she didn’t know how much of the truth would be too much.

 

“I don’t have any intentions of leaving the police force at the moment. Neither do I plan to leave in the future unless of course it was another law enforcement unit that would allow me to help in a wider range.” Mathews gave a approving nod allowing Kate a few moments to feel out more of the sheet he had handed her while he formulated his next question.

 

“If you actually where able to determine just what had given you your powers would you be willing to share that secret?” Kate grew silent but continued to feel out the form in front of her for a few moments more.

 

“Provided it could be given out safely and would be given to everyone or a very wide group. The reason I feel we have so many problems now is there are a few who are simply so much more powerful then others.” Mathews took a few more notes though Kate’s response wasn’t as military friendly as he desired he could live with it. She did have a valid point after all, though he didn’t like the idea of suddenly being in a world where all their military technology could become useless in a few years. Of course Kate actually knew where to find out how to make the compound that had given her powers. That said Jack had also told her how horribly dangerous it was.

 

“Fair enough. Kate you do realize that your going to end up in court soon. While I doubt many people will be upset over what happened there is most likely going to be a few. You’re not exactly a major favorite right now. So I was wondering just what do you plan on doing?” Kate didn’t really have to think about that one.

 

“I killed him pure and simple, that said I feel it was the right thing to do. I will argue my point and reasons in court as best I can and hope things go my way.” Jack couldn’t help but look over at Kate not liking what she had said even the least bit. He didn’t like the idea of Kate going to prison because she had killed a murderous monster. Mathews didn’t much care for it either though he had hoped she would be willing to be some what sneaker. He would still make his pitch about the military helping with her legal situation if they could and if she would come onto their project.

 

“Honesty is an admirable thing, though I have to admit in this case I feel it would be okay to be a little less then entirely truthful. Moving on, Kate you do realize that by taking the path you have you are going to make a lot of powerful enemies. This no doubt concerns you greatly as you refuse to hide just who you are. Just why haven’t you decided to hide behind a mask like so many others?” Kate grew silent for a moment trying to decide on just how best to answer the question.

 

“I can’t stand it when people hide behind a mask or anything else. I don’t want to be a vigilante that is on good terms with the police I want to be part of law enforcement. I know I endangering my family by doing this. Up until now we hoped to keep it a secret but I am worried the only reason I am not being bothered by reporters is perhaps the police are with holding the information on who took Metallo down?” Kate grew silent she had been wondering why no one had been trying to get in touch with her. Now she had a reasonable guess as too why since she had thought about it. Even though she wasn’t at the station, Mark was most likely protecting her as would others be. She would have to watch the tv later and find out for sure.

 

“We are glad you didn’t. All right I think that is enough interview questions those on the paper should tell us everything else we want to know. Kate, as you might have guessed I am not here just for small talk. Rather I came here to evaluate your mental state to the best of my abilities and decide if you would make a suitable officer as it where. As I mentioned to your father the military has for a while now been working with meta humans a few of witch you or at least the police have encountered. As you well know, such experiments have yielded less then the desired results.” Kate gave a nod of her head and looked up at Mathews signaling she knew what he was talking about but didn’t want to comment. In truth now that he had brought such events up, she wanted to punch him for it.

 

“Well you provided a unique chance for us, we would like to help you achieve higher levels of strength and speed by providing you with a law enforcement job. Since you are the only enhanced human, we know of that actually works with the government on such a level. We would provide you with a fair budget as well as a salary of your own if you would be willing to accept this offer. Now I imagine you are wondering just what I am proposing. You would be something of a special officer able to function freely in all states. As well as help secure military facilities.”

 

“So I assume you have a few genies still in their bottles that you don’t want out?” Mathews sighed feeling rather tempted to confirm Kate’s suspicion but not at the liberty at the moment.

 

“I am not at the liberty to tell you that at the moment. Still we feel it would be mutually beneficial. Further more we are willing to provide security to your family and close associates. Such as Mr. Hunter here.”

 

Kate looked over at Jack for a moment, while the military had enough trouble dealing with some of the more powerful creatures out there. They could at least provide better security then what Jack, Nathan and her mother currently had. “Also we would like to invest in further study of your condition. Keeping you on as the head of the project.” At the word you Mathews indicated Jack.

 

“It all sounds good, but could I talk it over with Jack and my father first?” Mathews nodded his head.

 

“Of course I expected you would want to do as much. Anyway I will need to have those papers you are currently feeling out checked over.”

 

“I was wondering just how would Kate be able to go in other states? You are the military after all not the police force.” Mathews turned his attention towards Jack who up until then had remained quiet through most of the meeting. At first it seemed Mathews might be a little upset however it became obvious the grin on his face was more him being smug then anything else.

 

“We have made arrangements with law enforcement before. Especially when it comes to deal with certain beings as well as technologies.” Jack half-expected Mathews to further elaborate considering how proud he seemed to be of these arrangements a few moments of silence showed that wasn’t going to be the case. “Now Kate there is two more things I need to talk to you about. One being your recent altercation with Metallo. Now as far as I know you actually killed Metallo after the fight had ended, in that you had immobilized him is this true?” Kate blinked for a moment unsure if she wanted to refuse to answer that question or not. Considering her options and the fact that she still most likely had a court date looming as soon as the police gave the entire report.

 

“I am sorry General Mathews but at the moment I don’t feel that is something I should be speaking to you about. Especially without a lawyer.” Mathews couldn’t help but grin Kate’s answer being more then enough for him. He had already gotten enough information that he was certain Kate had indeed killed Metallo after she had beaten him in the fight. He just wanted to see how much she trusted him at the moment as well if she would lie or not.

 

“Your answer is more then adequate. Kate I can’t confirm anything at the moment but should your paper work go through. We would like to provide our aid during your legal trials. After all should the project go forward with your agreement, we can’t have our operative in prison.” Kate wasn’t exactly sure if she should thank Mathews for the offered help or not. Deciding to be as tactful as she could in the situation without denying or refusing his help she tried to chose her words carefully as ever super powers or not.

 

“Assistance would be appreciated at least with the legal fees. Still I need to talk it over with Jack and think on your offer some myself. Before I can accept anything.” Mathews gave a slight nod and a moment later was handed the paper work from Jack and Kate. They where a mixture of legal questions in the forum as well as general questions to better understand Kate’s mental state.

 

Of course they had already done a background check on Kate long ago and Jack more recently.

 

Mathews simply chose not to ask Jack anything about his previous dealings with Lex Corp. If the paper work went through, Kate would have to go through a one on one evaluation with a psychiatrist later.

 

“Well then I finished with all my questions. Is there anything you would like to ask me?” Jack and Kate kept quiet for a while neither one really sure of anything they wanted to ask. Jack felt it would be best to talk everything over with Kate first before he made any hint at what he was even thinking of doing. Kate for her part was trying to decide if she wanted to bring Jack into this any further.

 

“I can’t think of anything.” Jack was the first to speak up. Glancing over at Kate he waited for her to decide if she wanted to ask anything or not.

 

“Nothing comes to mind at the moment. I will most likely have some questions for you later though. After talking things over with Jack of course.” Mathews gave a slight nod and shut his brief case before handing it to the soldier that had came with him. Kate and Jack where actually a little surprised at being reminded at the man’s presence he had been little more then a fly on the wall the entire time.

 

“Very well then, if you decide early you can call me at this number and if not we will be contacting you.” Mathews proceeded to pull a card out of his pocket, flipping it over he quickly scribbled down a number on the back before handing it to Kate. Somehow she suspected that it wasn’t the recruitment officer’s number as usually went on such cards. Kate stood up and proceeded to escort Mathews towards the exit. As she did so she was careful to pay attention to the soldier listening to his breathing and trying to not anything that was unusual. The only thing that really came to mind was his mechanical way of functioning. That was entirely unusual of course considering his position perhaps Mathews simply demanded a very strict kind of behavior from the lower ranked soldiers. Though such a thing would seem out of place Mathews seemed surprisingly friendly over all.

 

“So what do you want to do?” Jack looked up at Kate who was now standing in the door way. Kate made her way over to Jack as he seemed to think on the question, taking a few moments to mess up his hair.

 

“It seems like a pretty good deal. At least as far as I go. I don’t know just what they expect you to do though. Did the paper you where feeling out provide any information?” Kate gave a slight nod of her head.

 

“Yeah it was pretty much like Mathews said, though not as broad or as free as he made it out to be. I could operate in any state as pretty much the equivalent of a police officer or FBI agent. I would need the local police to perform certain activities of course. Also I am suppose to help secure certain military facilities should something go wrong. It seems they are putting quite a bit of confidence in my abilities. Of course it also listed a fairly large amount of things I couldn’t do at least without local governments’ consent. So what did yours say?”

 

“It didn’t get into much detail, as I would still remain a employee of InCon Ltd. Basically it detailed the funding the project would get everything else it seems is up to your father and his company to decide how it is used. It did list the information I needed to provide the military such as what my research findings show.” Kate gave a slight nod and bit down on her lower lip for a few moments.

 

“So what do you want to do? I have to say the offer is pretty darn tempting though I don’t know if I am quite ready to cover that wide of a region. Also to be honest I like the idea of the military providing extra protection. With what happened yesterday I don’t think it is going to be long before things are going to get hectic especially if I continue this line of work.” Jack nodded in his head in agreement looking down at the number. In truth he felt it would be a good idea to sign on with the military he was just concerned what that might mean.

 

“I guess this isn’t getting us anywhere. What we signed and read was just basic information we will have to wait until we get the job contract to be sure we want to sign on. You know make sure they don’t change the deal without us knowing about it.” Jack gave a nod of agreement after all they could indeed change the job description between today and whenever Mathews called.

“Well then, now that is settled how about we go and have some fun. I want to see just what condition I am in and I figure the best place to start is in the gym.” Jack didn’t bother nodding to approved but simply jumped up from the couch. Taking off in a dead run he began to make his way as quickly as he could towards the upstairs gym area. He didn’t get to make it there under his own power of course. Kate caught up less then a second later. Slipping her hands under Jack and lifting him into the air she cradled him as she made her way to the gym area.

 



 

Kate set in the exercise area wearing one of her spare exercise outfits. Jack in the mean time was setting in the control room watching the displays. While he would have loved to stay in the main room with Kate. It was more important that he insure her safety by keeping a close eye on the monitors and making sure she didn’t over exert herself. He remembered her mentioning that she felt weak earlier and since they where yet unsure if that was a feeling or not he felt it was best to be cautious. “Lets start off at 1 pound then have the machine double the weight every 5 seconds until it reaches 1,000 tons that is less then half I was lifting last time I checked.” Jack nodded and punched in a few quick keys, having disengaged the gym areas voice activation, while he and Nathan felt it was safe enough for Kate to work out with the computer under normal conditions they didn’t know how weak she truly was.

 

He felt that it was kind of silly starting with a simple 1 pound considering Kate had just carried him and at the moment she was set to work with a bench press. Still he was glad she was playing it safe. Though this did require him to be in the control room as the weights where set to work in certain ranges to improve energy efficiency and safety. So that if Kate accidently set it too high, the weights wouldn’t respond depending on the range. During the first minute it wasn’t surprised that Kate felt no strain at all. The two tons or so that was being exerted by the time the first minute was up was truly lacking. As the next 40 seconds begin to run down Kate began to feel the weight however it was still quite lacking as far as she was concerned. Jack carefully watched the monitor as it ready off the weight currently being applied to Kate’s hand. Glancing up occasionally he noted the total lack of strain on Kate’s face. As the machine wound up to 1,000 tons she finally began to lower and lift the weights.

 

Kate did this a few times before shaking her head. Turning to Jack. “Okay increase the weight by another 500 tons 10 tons every 5 seconds.” Jack simply grinned as he worked the controls. Kate for her part focused on feeling the pressure pushing down on her over the next 4 minutes. The growing wait began to become noticeable during the final few moments. As it grew to 1,500 tons Kate began to lower and raise the weight as she felt it leveling off. Normally this much force wouldn’t really bother depending on how many reps she did. The weight weighing in around 3/5ths of her max. Jack watched Kate carefully as she lowered and lifted the orbs seeming to focus intently on the task. “Okay same deal again.” Finally came from her, Jack didn’t follow Kate’s request exactly though. As he set the time and the rate of the increase, he added a few more seconds between each increase.

 

Kate found herself having to struggle with the weight as she felt it increase. She hadn’t told Jack but she had a lot more trouble at 1,500 tons then she had been letting on. Now as she struggled to keep the orbs aloft, she let out a noticeable grunt of effort at least it would have been if Jack was closer. Jack didn’t need to be next to her though to notice as Kate’s arms began to wobble. Unsure of just what to do he placed his hands on the switches preparing to drop the weight at any moment.

 

Kate continued to hold the weight up for a minute the whole time her face turning more red with strain. At last she felt it her arms beginning to bind as they where over powered. “Turn it off.” Calling out Kate was a bit surprised at the rate which the weights dropped in force. So much so she nearly sent them through the roof but was able to hold onto them at the last moment.

 

Jack quickly made his way over to Kate who was by now breathing rather heavily. “You okay?” Taking a moment Kate proceeded to nod her head a few times.

 

“So tell me just how much weight was that.” Jack started to answer but had to make another dash for the control room. Bringing up the computers’ memory he checked the last amount just before Kate had called out for him to stop.

 

“You where at 1,800 tons.” A rather loud impact nearly made Jack jump out of his socks thinking it was an explosion. A second later after realizing where Kate’s hand was the reality of what it had been shocked him. Kate had been feeling weaker then normal and expected she was but to actually hear someone tell her it sort of upset her. She had smacked the right side of her thigh when Jack had given her the bad news. Chuckling a bit Jack made his way out to Kate.

 

“You know you are one of the few beings on this planet that would be upset about not being able to lift more then that.” Kate glanced at Jack and quickly put on a mock pout.

 

“But I feel so weak, I want my full strength back.” Kate gave a light shrug though not nearly enough to throw Jack off as he proceeded to lean over against her. Patting her on the top of the head he also planted a kiss on her cheek. At last a long sigh came from Kate who proceeded to pull Jack around a bit so that she could kiss him on the lips. After letting Jack up for air Kate was once again smiling. “I guess that beating I was given, took a lot more out of me then I realized. All well a normal person would still be in the hospital well actually I suppose they would be dead after going through what I did. A normal person that took a proportional beating would be in the hospital.” It took Jack a few moments to respond as he remained dazed by the kiss.

 

“Yeah, that sounds like a valid possibility.” Jack wasn’t exactly sure what he was agreeing to. Kate had been kissing him then said something, unfortunately he had still been focusing on the kiss so he didn’t notice what she had said. Kate let out a slight giggle fully aware that Jack probably hadn’t noticed a word she said. She didn’t mind that though. Standing up she lifted Jack into her arms once again and made her way out of the room.

 



 

Jack was plain exhausted as he lay on the couch his head resting on Kate’s thighs. While she wasn’t feeling good enough to put her all into exercising she still had more then enough energy to exhaust him, it seemed. Now as he relaxed simply looking up towards Kate’s face, he was quite content though the view of her face was obscured by her breast do to his position. He was thus understandably annoyed when the door bell was rung. Looking around for a moment Kate seemed content to stay stationary until it was rung once again followed by a third time. “I guess with everything that has happened I should go answer that.” Jack groaned as he set up allowing Kate to stand. Instead of taking off in a flash though Kate waited for Jack to lie back down. Before lowering herself so that her firm rear was pressed against his face. “Back in a flash.”Chuckling Jack gave Kate’s denim covered rear a kiss before she straitened back up and took off.

 

Kate felt nervous as she made her way towards the entrance. She hoped it wasn’t a reporter, for the second time in the past while her luck held out upon opening it. Mark was standing in the doorway a rather impatient look on his face. “I swear you try and do some people a favor and they make you wait forever.” Kate blinked as she looked at Mark for a moment, a moment later he found himself wrapped in a hug.

 

“Mark good to see you, how is Eddy doing?”

 

“As good as anyone who may be losing part of their leg. He was more concerned about you actually when I told him what happened.” Kate felt a bit of guilt realizing she had yet to visit her friend.

 

“I am going to have to go and visit him soon. Still what brings you around and just what favor are you doing for me?”

 

“Before I answer that promise to let me finish and not hit me?” Kate blinked unsure of what Mark was talking about. If he was doing her a favor why would she hit him?

 

“Okay, now what is the favor.” Mark took in a deep breath considering how to word his next statement.

 

“The investigation to what happened to Metallo was recently handed to my department. Now before I go on could we go inside? I don’t want to speak about this in the open.” Kate didn’t say a word but gave a slight nod of her head. Stepping out of the way she allowed Mark to enter before shutting the door. Neither of them spoke a word more until they made it into the interior of the building. As unlikely as it was neither one of them seemed to want to risk anyone out of the loop to hearing what was to be said.

 

Jack was somewhat surprised when Mark entered the room. He didn’t get to set up though as Kate moved to hold him down too quickly. Feeling a little odd he found out why a moment later when Kate lifted his head, set down and placed his head in her lap. “So Mark I imagine you want to talk to me about the Metallo incident.”

 

“Only officially to be honest, well I do have one question. Kate did you kill Metallo intentionally?” Kate bit her lip for a moment and considered refusing to answer, still Mark was a friend and she felt he would understand her. She would need his help anyway and laying to him wasn’t the best way to get it.

 

“Yeah I did, actually he couldn’t even fight back whenever I crushed his head. I assume that killed him as I imagine it was where his brain as it where was.” Mark let out a sigh and gave a slight nod of his head. He had been expecting that answer, really he had only asked to see if Kate was going to lie to him or not. Now came the hard stuff deciding just how they where going to put a good spin on this.

 

“Kate I am in charge of the investigation into just what happened. Though no charges have been leveled at you yet. I can’t deny what happened in this case, it was simply to high profile and the damage is too obvious. Either you crushed his head after opening his chest up or you opened his chest up after crushing his head. In either case it is obvious that the fight had already been won when you went further.” Kate simply ran her fingers through Jack’s hair. Of course she knew all of this after all she had done it. Mark was simply setting up the equation as it where letting them see it laid out on the table so they could best decide how to solve the problem. Mark took his time explaining the state of Metallo’s body making it quite obvious that it was in to good of a shape to doctor.

 

“Well Mark what are you going to do? I dropped the potato as it where.” Mark seemed to grumble a bit.

 

“Sorry about that Kate. I didn’t mean to sound so negative. Believe me Kate we are on your side. I already plan on getting a statement from Eddy and every single officer you saved. We are also going to try and focus on those officers who where killed. Public opinion you know.” Kate smiled quite happy that her friends where still behind her. “You might have killed him but by no means should it be considered a murder. That bastard was deserving of death as anyone we have ever gassed or gave the needle to.”

 

“Too bad your not on the jury I could really feel relaxed.” Mark let out a sigh.

 

“Just be careful what you say to the media for a while. Proving your intent is going to be a major issue. Also be sure to attend the troopers funeral.” Kate gave a nod she hadn’t been thinking about it but she intended to do that anyway. In truth she didn’t like the idea that they where using something so important as part public relations. Still, she didn’t like the idea of going to jail either.

 

“I just wish this trial was a little more complicated is all. As things are now, the facts are pretty cold and hard simply staring at us. Well unless you want to say it was someone else who tore apart Metallo though I have to say I doubt anyone is going to believe that one.” Kate chuckled realizing how true that was. It was true if they where more factors in the case, then it would be easier to get her an innocent ruling. As things stood the fact that she had done it was painfully clear.

 

The only hope for her getting out of the situation was to claim her actions had been justified or she hadn’t been thinking strait. Self defense wasn’t a option as she had actually dealt the final attacks when Metallo was no longer a threat to her.

 



 

Eddy was bored beyond all belief as he set in his hospital bed. He hated day time shows especially soap operas but at the moment there was little he could do. With his foot in the condition he currently found it that is. Kate hadn’t noticed it by Eddy had nearly had his foot torn off.

 

Actually it went far beyond his food, he was lucky he wouldn’t be missing a good chunk of his leg.

 

As things where now he had a painful recovery to look forward to but at least his medical was covering him. The police had gotten exceptionally good medical over the last few years as well as life insurance these days without it you wouldn’t have no police. Still he regretted that his drugs would be taken away from him before long. Turning his head, he noted the iv that carried them into his system. Yes he would truly miss them when their wonderful numbing effect was taken away from him. To be replaced by some weaker peace of crap pills no doubt.

 

The sound of the room door being open brought him temporary relief from his boredom which would entirely vanish when his visitor stepped in. “Kate, how are you doing? I heard that you where pretty messed up I guess you heal up a little better then us normal folks do.” Kate smiled at Eddy as she made her way into the room carrying a rather large set of flowers.

 

“Good to see you Eddy. I am doing all right still a little weak and slow but other wise fine. You though, damn Eddy you look like shit. Haven’t they been feeding you?” Eddy chuckled for a moment knowing full well how true Kate’s statement was. He had even needed a little bit of blood thanks to what he had lost. Setting up a bit he was a bit surprised when Kate was next to him a moment later having forgotten just how fast she could move. Pressing her hand against his chest she forced him back down. “Now no need to rise up. I brought you a little something I figured you would enjoy and know it isn’t the flowers.” Kate bent down close to Eddy’s ear. “They are just the cover.” Eddy was more then a little curious what was going on as Kate seemed to listen to things for a moment. Making sure there wasn’t anyone within ear shot. A moment later she reached into the flowers which seemed to shrink a bit as she removed something.

 

“I would have been here earlier but the nurse said you had to stick with hospital food. So I left and got you this.” A moment later Kate had brought out a rather large container. Setting it down Eddy was delighted by its contents consisting of a rather large stake.

 

“Heck yeah real food.” Kate grinned and scooted Eddy’s tray over to his bed. Setting the plate down she took a seat a little ways off and began to arrange the flowers. Eddy didn’t disappoint Kate as his first response was to take a rather large bite out of the meat as if was the first he had in several days. “They might say the hospital food is nutritious and I do believe them but still there isn’t anything like a nice juicy hunk of beef.” A light snicker came from Kate as she waited for Eddy to force down some of the treat before continuing their conversation.

 

“Listen Eddy I am sorry about what had happened.” Eddy looked up from his food for a moment.

 

“Now just why should you be sorry? You probably saved my life, it would have been a while before any medical team could have gotten that off me after all. Then even if you didn’t save my life you at least saved my leg.”

 

“But if I had gotten there sooner you wouldn’t be in the hospital. I shouldn’t of held back my running speed at first.” Eddy chuckled for a moment. He didn’t find it surprising that Kate would be upset with herself for not arriving sooner. She was always getting upset with others for being lait after all. It was nice to see that she held herself to similar standards if not the same.

 

“Yeah and then he might have known what to expect. I am just happy to know that he won’t be bothering us again. Mark came by and told me about the condition they found Metallo’s body in. One heck of a number he got done on him.” Eddy noted the pride in Kate’s grin as he mentioned Metallo’s condition. He wasn’t sure if he should be worried that she was feeling good about killing someone even if they where a murderous monster. However, thoughts of how long and painful his recovery could be quickly took away any notion of scolding Kate. “You know, I can’t help but think how I am going to feel in a little while. It probably hasn’t quite sunk in yet but you had rid us of one nightmare at least. Well actually two if you count copper head. Those monsters won’t be coming back to haunt us.”

 

“Yeah, that is one thing I feel quite proud of. So what else did Mark talk to you about?”

 

“Not much, I wish he had been thoughtful enough to sneak me something in. He mostly had me detail the events leading up to the fight. You know you showing up and finding a very close friend in a dire situation, the blood that coated the ground. How I desperately needed the transfusion when I got to the hospital. The horrible pain I am currently suffering.” Kate snickered, specifically recalling they had only needed to give him a little blood. Meaning he probably had a fair chance of making it even without it. Then while, Eddy would most likely feel a decent amount of pain later. At the moment he wasn’t feeling an ounce of it, thanks in part to what they currently had pumping into his veins. “As you can imagine, I am going to be testifying how angry and distraught you seemed when you saw the destruction.” Once again Kate wondered if she should be happy Mark was doing this for her or worried that the police could be so one sided.

 



 

Kate couldn’t help but scowl as she set in the exercise room. She knew it hadn’t even been a week since she had begun recovering from the fight but she was still frustrated. It was taking her far to long as far as she was concerned to regain her strength. She was use to it building after all not staying still and most assuredly not decreasing as it had recently. She had to keep in mind that while she didn’t look injured her body was no doubt making repair at the moment and thus conversing energy. “Hey Kate it is about time for the conference.”Standing up Kate switched her mind to other things and made her way towards the downstairs. It was odd she should feel more nervous at the moment after all she was going to be on trial soon enough. Still having so many people behind her seemed to take away the edge especially when those some bodies where also in the police department.

 

Then they where a few such as Mathews whom she had to wonder about. He had mentioned helping out but he hadn’t gotten in touch with them lately. Today Mark was to give a press conference where he would discuss the police findings. As well as announce their suspect in Metallo’s demise. A snort came from Kate at the thought, it was plainly obvious who the suspect was going to be but it took a conference to make it official it seemed. Kate wouldn’t be attending today as officially she would need to be in morning not overly proud of what she had done. What made this all the more frustrating is the trial wouldn’t even be happening if it could have been passed off for self defense. As things where though she simply had to be taken to court.

 

That said it would also provide some protection in getting it over with soon. While the destruction was fresh in everyone’s mind, it would be easier to get an innocent verdict. If this happened, it would insure that no one could ever take her to court again. It was then best to get things taken care of when the largest amount of public opinion would be on her side. Also the fact that Eddy was still injured would help things. She didn’t like to think of it in such terms but if Eddy came in healthy they wouldn’t take his injury as seriously. Now if they showed him while he was banged up it would help in things. Also they could play up the recent police funerals to prove Kate’s actions where justified.

 

With these thoughts going through her head, Kate was surprised by what she saw when she walked into the living room. Jack was setting with a bowl of pop corn and to drinks set on the table.

 

Apparently he was even more optimistic about the court trials then Kate was. The fact that Jack could be relaxed because it wasn’t him on trial didn’t even cross her mind. He had been such a big help to her. “Hey Kate you think they will need to call in a expert in genetic alterations to prove your mental state is still human?” The question made Kate stop for a moment, shrugging her shoulders she proceeded to hop over the back of the chair landing next to Jack and nearly spilling his pop corn.

 

“I have no idea to be honest. I hope not. It wouldn’t be fun if I had to get regular mental exams to prove that I am still sane. Also I really hope we can keep you out of the public eye as much as possible.” Kate leaned over and proceeded to give Jack a kiss on the cheek.

 

“No arguments hear. As the weak little human here I would like to keep as few people knowing about me as possible.” Stilling some pop corn and the remote Kate proceeded to un-mute the tv which was already set at the press conference. She hadn’t noticed while talking to Jack but it had already begun. With Mark coming out and taking a few moments to introduce himself and welcome the press. As Kate watched it she couldn’t help but be grateful that she wasn’t there at the moment.

 

“As you well know there was an altercation between the police and the criminal known as Metallo. I am going to confirm that Metallo was seemingly destroyed during this altercation by a particular officer.” Mark grew quiet which proved to be a mistake as the moment he grew silent the reporters began with the questions. The first of which to be answered would be the name of the officer. “The officer in question is Ms. Kate Stonecutter currently with SWAT. She arrived on seen shortly after the incident was reported and proceeded to take the fight outside of the city. We don’t know the exact happenings as of this time, as only Superman was there to witness anything and even then he arrived after the fight was largely over. What we do know is that upon our arrival we found Miss. Stonecutter in critical condition. At which time she was rushed to a local hospital.

 

As for Metallo he was found with both his chest opened up and his head crushed.”

 

“Do you believe that it was Miss. Stonecutter that did this and what about her supposed limits. I don’t see how someone fitting the parameters we where gave previously could have done this.” Mark weighed his options carefully, he could state that her powers had increased over time.

This didn’t seem like a good idea though as he didn’t want to give away that information. No it would be better to say something else.

 

“At the time we where attempting to conceal Miss. Stonecutter’s full abilities from the public. This was considered the best course of action at the time as it allowed her to operate within our city without attracting to much attention. As far as to wether or not she was the one that finished of Metallo she is our number one suspect at the time. With the considerable opening in Metall’s chest cavity it is highly unlikely Superman performed this.”

 

“And what does the department plan to do about this?”

 

“After we have completed our investigation, we will be conducting a trial. As under the circumstances it is believed that Miss. Stonecutter may have used excessive force.” Jack grumbled a bit under his breath as he listened to the tv. He didn’t care for the press conference really as the reporters continued to pelt Mark with questions. What made him upset were the majority of them seem focused on what Kate had done wrong. His attention was taken away from the tv when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry sweaty the questions aren’t such a big deal. It is what ends up being reported. Come on why don’t we go and relax for a little while. Watching this isn’t going to help anything and it is turning into a real downer.” Jack didn’t protest as he felt Kate’s hands slip under him and lift him from the couch. As Kate stood up Jack quickly grabbed the remote and flipped the tv off, letting the device fall back down to the couch. He threw his arms around Kate’s neck and proceeded to place several kisses on it. “So what do you feel like, a nice shower perhaps or maybe some fun in bed?”

 

“Well you where just working out before we came down here. How about a nice bath? Besides if I am not at least a little slippery your can pin me too easily.” Kate grinned as she followed Jack’s request and made her way towards the shower room. Even if she couldn’t turn the water to anywhere near the temperature she liked it to be she considered Jack’s company to be worth the loss.

 



 

Kate felt a little odd as she read through the paper work. An officer had delivered them recently and they detailed the start of Kate’s trial. One of the things she felt was odd is she expected to have to spend some time locked up in a cell. However, they had decided against that and simply slipped a tracking device on her ankle. The little machine would let anyone know if she left the city. It was annoying as far as Kate was concerned but they had to put on a show of at least trying to keep tabs on her. The reason she wasn’t in a jail cell was made public during the press conference with Mark. Kate and Jack had simply stopped listening too soon. Apparently Mark had made mention that since there was currently no cell available to hold her it would be pointless to even try locking her up.

 

Of course this was also to help show she shouldn’t be locked up in the first place. Still, it felt odd being taken to court. At least she could be grateful that it was unlikely that no one would be stepping forward to help back up the prosecution. Metallo had been a terrorist before he became Metallo after all. She doubted anyone really wanted to be associated with him and that most likely included his lawyers. Still, she worried about just how serious the prosecutor was going to be.

 

Further more she worried about just whom her lawyer was going to be. “Hey Jack has my father said anything about whom he is getting to represent me?”

 

“No, he hasn’t gotten back to us on that one. Don’t worry though I bet it won’t be much longer.” A long sigh came from Kate who glanced over at the time. She had no doubt her father would higher her a good defense lawyer. Of course she also wondered what Mathews planned on doing. He had hinted at the military lending a hand in this case she just wondered how. They would get their answers to both questions some time later.

 



 

Helen was a truly stunning vision to behold. Even under her business suit her ample chest and firm rear where plainly noticeable. She was perhaps one of the military’s most deadly weapons at least as far as legal battles went. She currently found herself setting in Mark’s office reading through a few files. Her pretty little eyes never leaving the paper but she new Mark was staring at her. She was a far cry from the traditional crusty old goat lawyer. Having the intelligence and wits to make a wonderful lawyer. She also had learned to capitalize on her looks in order too win over juries. Currently she found herself wondering just why she was being given this case though.

 

Public sympathy would be on Kate’s side and she doubted there would be a judge even the least bit sympathetic towards Metallo. “So Mr. Stonecutter you said you thought you might plead Kate wasn’t in the proper state of mind?”

 

“Well yeah.” Mark instantly felt like an idiot it wasn’t anything Helen had said it was simply the slight smirk that appeared on the side of her face. Why in the world they would even try such a defense, she had no idea. Well this wasn’t exactly the case most people where use to having to handle either.

 

“Thank you for your time Mr. Stonecutter and for the information. I suppose I will go and talk to my official client now.” Mark felt quite odd as the woman made her way out of the room taking the files with her. He had hoped she would at least tell him what she planned on doing but do to her demeanor he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

 

Helen didn’t really know why she had been given this case. It should be easy enough for anyone to get Kate off. Considering who she had killed it was highly unlikely any jury would find her guilty. The fact that Kate had stumbled across a close friend just seconds beforehand and been involved in a life or death struggle made things even easier. Of course that would all involve dealing with Kate’s mental state. Helen had no intention of making use of this argument. She had already thought of one that would get Kate off without having to go into her mental condition at the time. Reaching into her purse she brought out her secure cell phone and proceeded to dial Kate’s number.

 

It didn’t take very long for Kate to answer the phone. Considering her current situation she couldn’t exactly go into work thus she had been spending her time at home. “Hello.”

 

“Hello, is a miss Stonecutter there?” Kate puffed out her cheeks in irritation, since the press conference she had been getting the occasional call from reporters.

 

“Is this a reporter or a telemarketer?” Helen couldn’t help but chuckle realizing the situation Kate must be in at the moment.

 

“No, my name is Helen Bales. Currently working for General Mathews and Nathan Stonecutter. So may I assume this is miss Kate Stonecutter that I am speaking to?”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that. I just get tired of so many calls I was actually thinking of taking out the phone.”

 

“That is quite understandable. I was wondering what would be a good time to meet with you?” Helen was hoping to get to speak with Kate soon but she wasn’t in a rush either. She had to drive to the city after all and thus felt she would be pretty tired by the time she arrived. Really she hoped Kate would want to meet with her the following day so she could check into a room and get some rest first.

 

“Well any time today is fine.”

 

“How about tomorrow? I just got through speaking with your father so it is going to take me a while to arrive.” Kate’s voice showed a fair amount of eagerness leading Helen to think she wanted to get this over with as well.

 

“Oh sure that would be fine. It isn’t like I am going to be leave. I would run out to meet you but I currently can’t leave the city limits. Do you know how to find where we are currently staying?”

 

“I am quite certain I do. Would you prefer if I called before I stopped by tomorrow?”

 

“No anytime will do, I hope to see you soon.” After a few farewells Helen and Kate hung up on one another. A moment later she dialed her fathers’ number to confirm what she had just been told. Though she didn’t like to think of herself as the paranoid sorts she couldn’t help but think it would be one way to sneak an interview in.

 



 

Jack hadn’t been expecting this. When Kate told him, her lawyer would be dropping by the previous day he had been thinking an older type man or woman. What he found setting before him though hardly looked like she was old enough to be out of law school. “Now Kate I believe I can get you off without any trouble to be honest. Your father mentioned that perhaps we could try using your mental state at the time for a defense however I feel that isn’t necessary in this case.” Jack and Kate seemed a bit surprised by this proposal.

 

“How so?” Helen smiled at Kate.

 

“Well while you could probably get off easily enough by arguing your mental state at the time and the fact that Metallo was such a dangerous criminal. That would call your mental health into question and may hinder your ability to participate in law enforcement. Though I doubt, the hindrance would be long term. I would like to get this over with and keep you from having to even go to a therapist. We are fairly lucky when it comes to Metallo’s condition as while he was never declared legally dead that is effectively what he was. Kate you didn’t kill anyone all you did was destroy a peace of machinery or a computer in other words.” Helen, couldn’t help but feel amused as a lock of shock and realization appeared on Kate and Jack’s faces. “No matter what the prosecution may be able to cook up under our current laws Metallo was already dead.”

 

Kate seemed to consider this proposal for a few moments. She had to admit Helen had a good point as far as that went. Every last bit of Metallo’s body had been replaced by mechanical parts, he had no working heart beat or any other organs for that matter. His organic body had expired long ago effectively rendering him dead in the site of the law. Still, she couldn’t help but worry. “What about his mind? I mean he was still a sentient being.” Kate’s response only served to amuse Helen all the more. While she considered telling Kate that it was really her problem, unless they changed the legal definition of alive it wouldn’t matter. She opted for another point of view.

 

“Just what makes you so sure that he was truly acting under his own decisions? After all the hardware was destroyed and there is no sustainable proof that Metallo even had a will of his own. While he did perform several acts seemingly by his own decision, this may very well have been an elaborate program.” Kate grew silent once again. While she couldn’t really argue with Helen’s point there was something about it she didn’t like. In truth Helen’s argument scared Kate more then a little considering what it could mean if she was proven innocent. Then again it did sound like the most likely method to get her out of her current legal troubles.

 

“It all sounds good, but I worry that by using such a argument you would bring into question if Kate was even alive.” Kate and Helen look towards Jack who was the first to verbalize Kate’s concern and his own. Of course such a ruling would not only apply to Kate but it could also apply to those in similar situations.

 

“Actually Kate at least from my knowledge still continues the functions of a living organism so it wouldn’t include her. Now as for those others they are going to have to get their own lawyer.” Kate and Jack kept silent for some time. Jack as he couldn’t think of anything really to say and he didn’t want to risk his opinion effecting Kate’s choice. Kate on the other had been considering if she really wanted to go with Helen’s argument. It was a valid one after all and it would keep them from needing to delve to far into her mental state at the time. Helen for her part simply kept quiet she had made her spin on the argument. Now she just needed to see if her client was going to accept it.

 

“All right. I guess that would be the best way to handle the situation. I have to admit it does leave a sort of bad taste in my mouth. Still, I want to keep people from prying into my life as much as possible. Hey Helen I was wondering you went to see my father first. Why didn’t you come strait to me?”

 

“Well your father is basically my employer in this situation.” Kate gave a slight nod of her head.

 

“That makes since, but I thought you where part of the military.”

 

“I defend the military in legal battles I am not actually a part of the service though. No asking me about the trials I have been involved in though. They aren’t exactly the ones that go to the public.” Helen could tell by the glint in Kate’s eyes that her comment had made her more curious then willing to back down. The fact that Kate managed to prevent herself from asking any further questions was a good sign in Helen’s mind. It meant she would try to pry into things she wasn’t involved in too much. “Now is there anything else you care to ask me?”

 

“Will we need any witnesses for the trial?” Helen gave a slight shake of her head as she spoke.

 

“No but I am going to go ahead and line up a few. I doubt I will really need any other then a scientist or two though computer experts. After all my first plan is to prove that you didn’t actually kill anyone. All you did was destroy a very advanced peace of machinery. Luckily this isn’t civil court other wise I may want to argue you had killed a man.” Jack and Kate couldn’t help but stare at Helen as the woman began to chuckle at her own comment. The distraction proved great enough that it took a few moments for Helen to realize this.

 

“Sorry about that. Just a bit of lawyer humor there. It is just financially speaking you would at worse be out 3 million if you had killed a man and it went to civil court and that is highly unlikely. Now if you where in civil court for destroying something that costed as much as Metallo must have.” A low whistle came from Helen. “You would be wishing that you had killed a man.” Helen finally gave a slight wave of her hand realizing that neither Jack nor Kate shared her particular since of humor. “Anyway enough jokes lets see if there is anything else we can come up with.” Kate and Jack where both quite thankful that Helen refrained from telling any more jokes for the duration of their conversation.

 



 

Kate let out a sigh as Debra drove them towards the court house. It had been decided earlier on that she should have someone take her instead of running there or wearing her outfit. Hangman had mentioned this to the SWAT members and quite a few had volunteered. They all wanted to ask her a near endless list of questions about the fight between her and Metallo. He had chosen Debra because he knew they got along well and that Debra knew when the proper time to ask questions came. Namely after the trial once the defendant had been proven innocent. Debra had also been chosen as it served as something of a show for the public. Saying that Kate had a SWAT officer keeping tabs on her. “You really like that you get an excuse to bring that thing with you. Don’t you?”

 

Debra proceeded to glance in the rear view mirror. A rather over powered sniper rifle set in the back seat. “Well I have to keep a suitable weapon handy incase you make a run for it.” Kate snorted in response. Debra knew good and well that such a fire arm would have no chance of hurting Kate. They both knew this after all Debra had been using Kate for target practice for some time. Helping Kate to refine her ability to keep grounded. There was also the matter that even if Kate couldn’t take a hit from the weapon she could easily out run the bullets. If she so chose to she could easily jump out of the vehicle, take off running and be so far gone by the time Debra got pulled over and even got to the back seat to fetch the weapon Kate would be long gone.

 

“Well I am glad that they don’t feel I need more concern then a single officer. It is nice to see that the police still trust me. To be honest I worried they would take my powers into account and require the trial to have some special safeguards.” Kate and Debra conversation fizzled out by the time they neared the court house. What Kate saw actually surprised her, from the way things had been going she didn’t expect a great deal of reporters. What she saw outside of the court house was quite shocking though. The steps where quite literally clogged with people. “Well this is unexpected.”

 

“How come?”

 

“There haven’t been many reporters calling my home. I thought it meant things where not all that big of news.”

 

“That is weird haven’t you been watching tv?” Kate shook her head.

 

“No. I haven’t been watching much of anything lately. I figured it would be better if I spent my time with Jack while I could.” Kate seemed to be hit by a realization at the mentioning of Jack’s name. “Wait he has our phone system hooked up with his computer system. He probably did something.” Kate wasn’t entirely certain of this though she was quite willing to bet Jack had a hand in keeping the phone calls away. “Well I will think about that later. See you later Debra I think I will take a short cut to the top of the steps.” Debra didn’t bother asking what Kate had in mind as she climbed out of the vehicle. Looking around Kate hardly even seemed to move. Yet a moment later was suddenly several yards in the air. Easily jumping over the crowd in its entirety and landing at the top of the stairs.

 

Kate couldn’t help but smirk a bit as a few officers glanced her way. Having been stationed to keep people from pouring into the court house. The stunned looks on their faces were simply priceless. She didn’t wait long to dash into the building though, she didn’t want to speak to any member of the press until after her trial was over. She would leave that headache up to Helen.

Especially since Kate had no desire to say something that might be used against her.

 

As Kate entered through the door, she remembered to hold up. A moment later an officer came walking up to her. “Miss. Stonecutter I take it.” Kate took a moment to look the officer over.

 

While she didn’t know the name, she did indeed recognize the face as the officer seemed to do to her upon extending his hand. “I realize this isn’t appropriate but I just want to say thanks for taking out that jerk.” Kate gave a slight wave of her hand.

 

“While I appreciate the gratitude, I am afraid I can’t comment on that tell after the trial.” The young man seemed to understand as he proceeded to escort her to the court room. In the mean time Debra found herself somewhat upset with Kate. As she made her way through the crowd, she wondered why Kate couldn’t have brought her along. After all she was supposed to be providing public security by watching over Kate. Well it wasn’t a really big deal, the only reason Debra was really there so they could legally claim they had provided extra security. She wanted to see the trial though.

 

Upon entering into the court room Kate took notice of Helen, Eddy, Hangman, Mark and a few others. Jack and Nathan where not going to be present at the trial however unless they should need to be called upon. Except for the military very few people knew about Jack and Nathan simply denied any knowledge of how Kate received her powers though that sure didn’t keep people from calling his company. It annoyed his secretary to know end but with all the free publicity especially since Metallo’s destruction it was well worth paying her extra to tolerate it. Kate turned her attention to the prosecutor at last. Normally she would have been concerned considering it was indeed an old pro. Allen Brice had prosecuted for then a few trials and was considering a fairly seasoned lawyer.

 

Still in this situation despite the evidence of what she had done Kate felt she had an edge. It wasn’t just that though. As while Helen was quite a bit younger then Brice the woman had a different air about her. One of assurance that put Brice to shame. As Kate approached her seat, she couldn’t help but glance over at Brice then Helen. There wasn’t any exact reason to feel Helen was the better lawyer it was just a feeling.

 

“You little show boat.” Kate grinned at Helen as she took her seat. It seemed the woman had heard the slight commotion Kate had caused outside. Helen simply leaned back in her seat and proceeded to check through a few more papers. Including a report on Kate’s past conduct at the police station and her dealings with difficult suspects before she gained her powers and after.

 

While she didn’t care for the fact that the injuries Kate had taken to inflicting had gotten more serious upon her obtaining her powers. Helen could easily point out that the criminals had also become more violent as a whole.

 

“Please rise for the honorable Judge Carter.” Kate looked up and couldn’t help but think history would look back on this day with a scowl. Carter was considered a fair judge by in large however he had lost a child when someone similar to Metallo had turned the city into a battle ground as well as nearly lost his own life. Of course by now Kate had resigned herself to the fact that if her friends where going to indeed look out for her. It meant the trial was going to be fairly corrupt just in her favor. That didn’t matter to much of course after all if Helen got her way then there would be no way she could be convicted or murder. A hand on her shoulder took Kate out of her musing as she realized everyone had been called to rise. Helen felt a sharp pain run through her hand as the shock caused Kate to stand up somewhat hastily.

 

Looking over and noting Helen was now rubbing her hand Kate leaned over. “Sorry about that.” Helen simply smiled and waved her hand that was currently sore. Kate had only stood up a few times faster then what a normal human could. It had stung quite a bit but she didn’t have any serious injuries. Taking a few more moments to rub her throbbing hand, Helen finally lowered her hand to her side and waited for things to get underway. It didn’t take long at all as the charges where read off. Helen couldn’t help but smirk as the charge of man slaughter was called out.

 

Instantly Kate felt a wave of relief, she hadn’t realized it but she had been far too nervous as of the past few days. She had worried the charge would be murder but realized how unlikely that was.

 

Even if they had both been normal humans they had been involved in a very intense fight before hand.

 

Helen was beginning to like this trial more and more. With the lack of witnesses to what had actually happened during the altercation. The only people that had seen what had happened and where currently on hand had only been saved by Kate. Thus, calling them to the witness stand would most likely be very bad for the prosecution. They didn’t really have to depend on that of course as they could simply bring in Metallo’s body for evidence. “I hope you don’t mind Kate but I am going to have a little fun.” Kate started to ask just what Helen was talking about when she felt a presence settling down beside her. Debra positively glared at Kate for the moment.

 

“I guess you’re fairly upset that I left you outside?” Debra gave a slight shake of her head.

 

Kate was somewhat perplexed how Debra had managed to get into the court room without disturbing the proceedings. Debra had managed to make her way in while Kate was dazed and right at the moment everyone was standing for the judge. The noise of chairs pushing against the ground had masked the sound of her slipping through the door way. Having to sneak in wasn’t why she was upset though. Debra had to get through the crowd of people outside a task even she found difficult. Debra realized she and Kate would have to talk later as Brice was called to the stand things where about to get started.

 

“I would like to call Kate Stonecutter to the witness stand.” Kate grumbled realizing that indeed there was a second witness to what had happened to Metallo. Herself, thus she was more then a little unhappy as she rose from her seat and made her way up to the stand. A moment later the bailiff came by and swore her in. “Miss Stonecutter would you please tell us in your own words what happened between you and John Corbin on March 11th of this year.” Kate wanted to strangle the prosecutor right away. She had thought he would make it easy on her but it seemed other wise.

 

He had already taken to using Metallo’s human name to humanize him to the jury. Well at least Metallo didn’t have a out standing record as a human being Brice could use against her.

 

Debra glanced around the room as Kate was questioned. When she had entered the room she couldn’t help but feel strange about something. She hadn’t been sure just what that was until she got a chance to glance around. There where surprisingly few people in the court room, a few reporters and the witnesses but not a great deal of people at all. Her gaze then drifted towards Helen.

 

“Few people here you have something to do with what?” Helen didn’t answer but gave a slight nod of her head. Debra didn’t bother asking what the reasons where, no need to speak to much and get the judge to pounding that hammer. As she turned her attention back to Kate and Brice. Debra found herself thinking on other subjects. Debra remembered how Kate had wanted to keep her powers a secret. It seemed reasonable to her that was why there where few people. While the cat was officially out of the bag that Kate was far more powerful then she had let on. No one knew just what her limits where though clues to that where sure to come out during Kate’s questioning.

 

The reason Kate had looked angry about being called to the stand. Was precisely that, she didn’t want the full limits of her abilities to be known. Helen found herself dwelling on her current situation. She hadn’t told Kate but part of her job was to keep the full extent of Kate’s powers from coming out. Now with Brice questioning Kate, Helen realized that he may stumble upon the information. Now she wished she had went first and gotten the focus off Kate and on the fact that John Corbin had been dead long ago at least in the legal since. Tapping her pin against the table.

 

Helen also lamented the fact she wasn’t in a military court as well as her position being unknown by everyone except Kate, Nathan and Jack. All anyone else knew she was a lawyer that had been hired by Nathan.

 



 

“So would you say you where angry when you found your friend injured?” Of course I was you stupid ass, was the main thought in Kate’s head as Brice questioned her. She kept that response to herself though.

 

“I was quite upset over it.”

 

“Angry enough to kill over it?” Kate did not like that question one bit. If she said yes, it could be argued later that she was no longer fit to be an officer. If she said no, it would be even harder to explain her situation. Kate by now had finished relating the story though she had left out certain details that she felt would give too great of a clue to just what her limits at the time had been. How Kate truly wished she could simply reach across and do the same thing to Brice that she had done to Metallo.

 

“The situation wasn’t that …”

 

“Just answer the question.” Kate gritted her teeth, realizing she should have known better then try to explain this. Of course he wasn’t going to let her get a word in that might help her case.

 

At first she thought Brice would take this trial easy making it an easy innocent verdict. Now Kate was learning other wise. It also made since why he had switched to man slaughter, the odds of convicting Kate on a murder charge were very low. Convicting for a lesser crime and making her spend a little bit of time in jail though was far more likely to happen. Helen felt the urge to come to Kate’s defense on several occasions but she kept the impulse suppressed let Brice go on all he wanted. So long as he didn’t ask any questions that would give away Kate’s limits. She realized a short while later that he most likely wouldn’t.

 

The fight between Metallo and Kate had been a very close one. Closer then Helen even realized, after all if Kate hadn’t picked up on how to get through Metallo’s armor she would have most likely been dead. The stress of being in such a situation would explain some of the reasons Kate had seen fit to finish him off. That could possibly gain sympathy from the jury. Helen felt that for the moment it would be best to make no objections and wait for Brice to finish. At which time she could simply point out the fact that Metallo was never actually living.

 

“Was Mr. Corbin a threat do you after you had torn open his chest?” Kate didn’t even try to reason now. She had taken to answering yes or no to the majority of questions. Her glance occasionally switching to Helen, who seemed entirely relaxed.

 

“No.” Brice didn’t say any more seeming content with himself for the moment. He probably planned on calling in the physical evidence later if anyone even bothered to debate it.

Kate felt a wave of relief thus when Helen finally had her chance to speak.

 

“You’re honor and the jury. What we have here is not a case of manslaughter or even a death.” Brice gave Helen a rather odd look to which she simply grinned. “John Corbin died many years past now of a virus. The only thing that my client destroyed was a very dangerous machine. A machine that was long over due for dismantling.” Brice seemed to sink into his seat slightly as Helen began to make her defense. As Helen began to make her case, Kate made her way back over to her seat. Setting down next to Debra.

 

“Do you know what half the things she is talking about are?” Debra was careful to keep her voice even lower then a whisper knowing that Kate’s ears where far better then a normal humans’.

Kate responded by shaking her head in the negative. Helen was currently busying herself listing the requirements for something to be considered legally alive. Also that to lack any of these would mean one is legally dead and Metallo lacked several of them. Brice on the other hand looked rather sickly at the moment. He had taken the time to line up testimony about Kate’s possible mental condition at the time and was quite ready to prove she had continued to attack Metallo after he was unable to defend himself. He wasn’t prepared to prove that Metallo was actually alive though.

 

While Helen seemed more then prepared to prove that John Corbin had been dead for several years and that Metallo was simply a very expensive very dangerous machine. Which meant every argument that he might be able to come up with would be void. Considering that the worse thing Kate could get charged with for destroying a non living object is destruction of property.

 



 

Jack paced nervously through the halls of what had come to serve as his and Kate’s home as well as Kate’s gym. He couldn’t help but be nervous about the trial. Though he had seemed quite confident when Kate was with him. Now that she was actually in court he couldn’t help but worry.

 

Not even being able to watch the trial on tv made things even worse then what they would be. It had been decided that the trial wouldn’t be broadcast no doubt Helen’s work or to be more precise the militaries doing. He couldn’t back up his suspicions but as far as he could tell they had no desire for the public to know her true limits either. “There you are.” Jack felt a wave of relief as he quickly spun around to find Kate standing just a few paces behind him. “You know one problem with this place is you can’t hear someone walking in. Well you can’t I can.”

 

“How is the trial going?”

 

“Quite well actually, it is too bad you can’t see Helen in action. That woman really enjoys her work well when it seems she is winning. I think I understand why she didn’t want the court proceedings to go public just yet though. Her basic argument may upset some, well I guess the term people can still be used. Jack considered this for just a moment. Not for very long Helen had told them what she was going to do earlier after all. At the moment he was simply concerned that Kate was doing well.

 

“Then you think you will be acquitted?” Kate gave a slight nod, a moment later Jack had thrown his arms around her. “That is wonderful, so how long do you imagine the trial is going to take.” Kate didn’t respond right away. Jack had been so calm when she had left, seemed so confident. That his current behavior actually surprised her. Not that she minded, a moment later Jack felt his arms pushed away. Then Kate’s wrapped around him pinning his arms to his side.

 

“It shouldn’t take very long. Helen is really getting into it and she hasn’t even called in any computer experts just yet. To be honest she has altered the nature of my defense and even the trial itself. At first it would have been the factual evidence of what had happened against me with my mental state and reasons at the time for my defense. Now it is the hard facts with me and Brice has to some how convince the jury that Metallo was really a living being.” Jack let out a sigh of relief and would have hugged Kate yet again if she didn’t have his arms pinned. Instead he leaned forward a bit and proceeded to plant a kiss on Kate’s cheek.

 

“That is good. Though to be honest I figured she would just bribe the jury.” Kate couldn’t help but snicker at this comment.

 

“Yeah, I suppose that is a possibility with my father along she would have that kind of bankroll. That is the one thing I think I will lament later on. Even after being acquitted and the evidence on my side. Some will always think that it was just another case of some rich old coot belling out his daughter.” Jack laughed and considered pointing out just how close this all was to a conspiracy in the first place. After a moment of consideration he decided it was closer to being a conspiracy then it was too not being one.

 

“Then I guess I don’t have to worry so much.” Kate nodded her agreement before switching her hold on Jack so that she was cradling him against herself. “So where are we going?” Kate didn’t bother answering as she made her way towards the gym. Setting in court so long had given her a lot of pent up energy. Further more she really needed to work out some aggression.

 



 

Kate felt quite relaxed at the moment. It had only taken a few days for her trial to finish and now the jury was off making their decision on the case. Helen had made a marvelous defense for Kate even using her connections to call in a few experts on robotics from star labs. While Kate was unsure if the engineer had been entirely honest to the possibilities of Metallo being sentient she didn’t really care. Currently she was having to fight the urge to stick her tongue out at Brice who was glaring at her. Just what his problem was she didn’t know. She imagined he simply hated losing a case far more then she had previously thought. That or perhaps that a lawyer as young in appearance as Helen had made a fool of him.

 

Helen for her part seemed plenty confident. She was quite certain she had gotten Kate acquitted and even if she hadn’t the jury would have to volt unanimously to convict Kate. This trial had actually proven to be one of her more enjoyable ones. While she wouldn’t admit it, she always loved running circles around other attorneys. Helen had to stop petting her ego for just a moment.

 

While the jury reentered the room and began to read their verdict. Even though Kate had been confident that she would be found innocent. She thought even her heart jumped a beat when the verdict of not guilty was handed down. A moment later she felt herself being patted on the back by Debra and Mark. While Kate had been expecting, this Helen was noticeably more surprised when Kate scooped her up in a hug. “Woe woe.”

 

“Thanks for the save Helen, I imagine if it hadn’t been for you we might have actually tried arguing my mental state at the time.” Helen took a moment to respond. She was use to her clients thanking her in large sums of money not in hugs. Of course the military had already provided the money so Helen wasn’t going to complain about the hug. Upon being put back down Helen took a few moments to straiten out her clothes.

 

“You’re quite welcome Kate. Anyway I imagine Mathews will be contacting you soon enough. Now that we know you’re not going to be headed to jail.” The only thing that put a damper on Kate’s mood was the look Brice gave her. She still wanted to beat the stuffing out of the fat bastard for giving her a hard time during the proceedings. Still that would just get her right back in court and she didn’t want that.

 



 

Jack couldn’t help but feel relieved as he packed his backpack. It had been a few days since the trial and he and Kate would be going on a slight vacation before conducting anymore business.

 

They had decided that they would go spend some time in the woods. Even though Jack wasn’t a nature person he was looking forward to this little trip. Of course he was being certain to bring a plentiful supply of modern conveniences such as bug repellent. The main reason he was looking forward to the trip despite disliking the out doors is it would be a perfect time for Kate to really flaunt her powers.

 

Kate for her part was busy loading up the humvee that they would be taking. She had no plans on using the vehicle to get to their exact campsite though. She and Jack would carry up the first bit of the supplies together. She would then make use of her speed to run back to the humvee and get the rest in a few trips. She had thought she would be back to work the moment the trial was over. That didn’t seem to be the case though. Kate was currently still something of a hot topic though rapidly cooling down. She just had to be patient until another major story broke then she would be forgotten. At least that is how she figured it. A clear sign that she was still thinking like a police officer in a world of super beings. Not yet fully appreciating that with the defeat of Metallo she had jumped from a police officer to part of that elite class even if she had no desire to belong.

 

Jack glanced over at the disconnected telephone. It had been his solution to people from calling after the trial wanting to speak with Kate about what had happened. Nathan, Mathews and a few others could now contact them on email alone. He had also set up an account for Mark to get in touch for when people would leave the property. Of course the police took a while to arrive but Kate took that time to give them tickets for trespassing and anything else could think of. Jack was sure how Kate was still able to write tickets but after talking with Mathews and Mark they had assured them she could. At least this camping trip would get them away from all but the most determined reporters and curiosity seekers. It was mainly the reason they decided upon the forest region they had.

 

Kate was going to take them both exceptionally deep into the forest by making use of her strength and speed. The idea was to take a path that would require even an experienced forester several days to travel. This meant the trip would be pretty much impossible for Jack of course. That was the reason Kate would only be carrying a small bit of provision on the first trip. She was also going to have to carry Jack a bit of the way. “Everything ready?” Jack heard Kate call out. Quickly finishing with the last of his packing he rushed to the door.

 

“Yeah, sorry about that I figured you would take longer.” Kate smiled and climbed into the passenger side of the vehicle. It was still dark out. Kate had begun preparations for their trip while Jack was still in bed and made use of her enhanced speed to get ready. It meant he only had one carrying case to actually prepare which mostly considered of a lab top with a wireless connection and a few other fun trinkets. As he climbed into the drivers, side of the vehicle he noted Kate had already shut her eyes.

 



 

The gentle rocking of the vehicle was quite a relaxing to Kate as she leaned against the humvee’s window. While she wasn’t certain of just how far they had went she knew they where no longer on the interstate. She felt the vehicle slow down sometime ago and the bumps become deeper though not that much more intense thanks to the decrease in speed. Jack for his part had to keep his mind on the park road that would take them to the regular camping area. “Hey Kate about how far is the camping site?”

 

“It shouldn’t take very long. They put it a little deep in the wooded area to give people the illusion they are really roughing it.”

 

“So says the one that doesn’t have to worry about the cold or bug bights.” Kate couldn’t help but grin in response to Jack’s comment. It was true, since her body had begun toughening up she had lost the need for such things as bug repellant. Let the mosquitos and other insects bite all they want at her skin there was no way they could get through. She didn’t have to worry about having a well enough made sleeping bag or tent either. Even if the weather dropped below freezing there was no way it would reach a level cold enough to bother her. Further more even stone had come to feel soft in her mind.

 

“Yeah, I guess I will have to be sure that I keep you warm while we are out here.” Jack couldn’t even put into words how much he liked that idea. It was really one of the few reasons that Kate had managed to get Jack to willing agree on a camping trip. He still hoped that they would find a spot where he wouldn’t be to uncomfortable. Of course in all truth Kate wasn’t demanding too much of him. The type of equipment that he had brought really meant that he wouldn’t be doing much roughing it at all.

 

“Kate just where do we park around here?” Kate’s eyes blinked open, the last memory she had was of her talking to Jack. Realizing that for the first time in a long time she must have dozed off for a light nap she took a few moments to stretch before looking around and responding. Jack looked to were Kate pointed seconds later and felt very relieved. The parking spaces had been planned with large vehicles in mind which was a wonderful change from the smaller spaces found in the city. This allowed him to easily park the over sized vehicle before climbing out. Reaching into the back seat he pulled out his light backpack while Kate slipped on a much heavier though not very bulky backpack of her own. “Well lead the way if you please.”

 

Kate didn’t have any exact direction in mind. As she looked off into the forest she simply chose an area that looked like it was used as a trail and made her way towards it. She didn’t worry much about getting lost. Even if they did. Kate wouldn’t have much trouble finding their way back. Just take off running in a strait line, smash through anything that got into her way and she would find the end in no time. Her thoughts where taken from this as she heard the sound of a spray bottle. Looking over her shoulder she realized that Jack was already spraying himself down with bug repellant.

 



 

Jack tried to distract himself as he followed behind Kate, mostly by trying to stare at Kate’s behind. Considering that he wasn’t a nature lover he couldn’t help but feel out of place. While he did consider the forest pretty he didn’t find it enjoyable enough to really inspire awe or give him reason for pause. Luckily he had an awe-inspiring vision leading him through the forest one that made the traveling all the easier. Kate couldn’t help but glance over her shoulder from time to time insuring that Jack was doing two things. One following her and two keeping his eye on the prize.

 

She didn’t really mind that he spent so much time looking at her assets so long as he remembered to look at her face while they where speaking. Well provided she wasn’t simply flaunting, whenever she exercised she talked to him after all. Still, during those times she had no desire for him to be appraising her face.

 

Jack nearly collided with Kate when she came to a stop a second later. At first he considered questioning her to just why she had stopped when he saw why. A massive tree and fallen over on the old trail. Just a minor annoyance he figured he would climb over it when Kate proved him wrong. Taking a few steps over to the tree Kate considered her options. She could simply shatter that section and walk on through. It would be a fun way to flaunt her power but not the best way. She could push it as well and plow through the trees up ahead with it. This was overly destructive to the environment so as much fun as it would be she pushed it out of her mind. Finally she walked over to it and proceeded to bend over. Jack took his mind from Kate’s rear and watched as her arms took hold of the tree. Its width proving too much for her to encircle with her arms.

Instead Kate settled for digging her fingers deeply into the over turned lumber.

 

Jack simply stared as Kate began to straiten up. The muscles within her body not even beginning to flex as the tree didn’t weight nearly enough for Kate to exert herself. The only sign of the tree’s weight was Kate’s feet sinking into the ground. Kate found her current task somewhat hindered by the tree’s size. Jack watched as Kate handled the tree first raising to a standing position her arms locked around as much of it as they could span. A moment later she removed her right arm from the top of the tree and quickly had it join her left at the bottom. A loud creak going through the forest as the tree began to bend. The fact that it hadn’t broke in two making Jack suspects it had only fallen recently. As Kate easily supported the lumber’s weight, she began to walk forward.

 

Kate proceeded to raise the tree above her head as she stepped forward. Each time having to lift her foot after it had been forced nearly three inches into the soft ground thanks to the great weight that was now coming to settle on her two feet.

 

“Stand back cuddly.” Jack had been so focused on the happenings before him that it took him a moment to respond to Kate. Quickly he ran a few yards back wondering just what Kate had in mind. Kate gave the tree a good push the inertia causing her feet to sink even more heavily into the ground. The tree rose a good ten feet into the air as if Kate had thrown it away. A moment later this proven to be false though as she had only given it enough of a push to slightly raise up. The sound of the impact wasn’t nearly as Jack would have expected. As the log came back down and slammed right into the top of Kate’s head. The tree let out a very loud snap as all that force coming to rest upon a single point caused it to snap in twain. A few bits of broken wood flew off in different directions, the reason Kate had Jack step back becoming clear. At first Jack found himself uncertain of just how he should respond to what he had just seen. The sound of Kate’s laughter answered that question as she took a few moments to push the two halves to opposite sides of herself.

 

“Well come on we have some more hiking to do.” Jack grinned and muttered the word nut as he quickly ran to catch back up with Kate who was by now walking but still laughing about what had just happened. The seen had proven such a distraction that he had actually forgotten just how much he hated being in the woods. Kate realized she was being needlessly destructive and that she was simply making their path easy to follow but she couldn’t help herself. Every time she would come to a branch that would have required a normal human to duck under she made no such efforts.

 

Pressing her forehead or whatever bit of her body happened to come into contact with these she easily kept her pace. The forces of nature not even able to slow her down. Jack didn’t mind of course as Kate broke off limb after limb it just made his journey easier going though he had to be careful not to trip.

 

Jack was quite surprised when his view of Kate’s rear was suddenly replaced by that of her head a short while later. Kate had been fairly accurate when she assumed she could simply bulldoze her way through the forest. However, as her foot came to rest upon a group of damp and slippery leaves that had landed on a root. She was suddenly reminded of the importance of traction.

 

Kate was quite surprised when she felt her legs come out from under her, having gotten distracted by her play. Fortunately Kate was able to catch herself before she landed though not in the expected way. Jack was quite surprised when he looked down and realized that Kate was still a good foot above the ground though her legs where no longer under her. “Kate um your floating?”

 

Kate didn’t respond right away as she just set there. Reaching down she attempted to place her hands on the ground where she figured she would have landed. When her fingers didn’t find anything, she let out a slight yelp. Despite all the surprises her body had given her this one was truly unexpected. Nearly as unexpected as when she found herself back on the ground moments later.

Jack didn’t know quite how to respond to this, he had been so surprised by Kate’s floating that when she ended back on the ground so abruptly he couldn’t help but be amused. Soon Jack found himself shaking slightly as he chuckled which ended up growing into open laughter. Kate didn’t know how to respond at first but soon joined in the laughter. As she stood up and began testing herself off. “Okay Mr. Science what was that?”

 

“Hey I thought my name was cuddly and I have no idea.” Jack seemed to think on this for a moment. “Do you suppose you are developing the ability to fly?” A huge grin formed on Kate’s face a moment later at the suggestion.

 

“Oh wouldn’t that just be wonderful. Do you think I might really be?” Jack scratched his head for a second.

 

“I can’t say for certain we will need to conduct a test. What say when we get to the camp site we try some experiments?” Kate gave an excited nod.

 

“Well in that case I am going to speed things up. Just follow the path of damage and don’t worry I will be seeing you often. Oh and cover your ears if you please.” Jack was uncertain of just what Kate was going to do but he took her advice. A moment later Jack realized why as he heard a sonic boom. Kate quickly dashed off in front of him easily braking the sound barrier. At first he worried he would have trouble finding where Kate planned on setting up their camp sight then realized how silly that was. The path of broken limbs and foot prints in the ground where very easy to follow. Especially considering the force, with which Kate’s feet struck them to propel herself at such speeds.

 

Kate in the mean time had speed ahead, being careful to keep in mind just how quickly she was moving. It was odd the forest seemed as it had died around her, nothing seemed to move except when she touched it. How she managed to keep her patience while in this state was a true mystery. As she made her way further into the forest, she was certain to check around Jack every time she passed him by. It was kind of fun really to walk to the campsite and back to the vehicle.

 

During each trip looking Jack over and noting how little progress, he seemed to be making. She even stopped for a few moments to watch how long it seemed for Jack’s leg to even to begin lifting up. Jack couldn’t really see Kate as she rushed by so quickly though he could feel her body causing the air to part. The fact that every few moments someone would run by him at hypersonic speeds great enough that if she even nicked him that it would tear his body apart was oddly exciting.

 

He was thus surprised when Kate shot by him a short while later but unlike the times before only moving at 100 miles per hour. Kate had already anything that she felt could be safely moved while moving at hypersonic speeds. Now she found herself simply trotting along as she had to carry their food now.

 



 

Jack was unsure of just how he was going to handle this situation. As he found himself at a rather steep bit of rock. He had followed Kate’s trail to it but now found himself unsure of just what he was supposed to do. There was nothing to indicate Kate had tried to go around it, which meant most likely she had been climbing it. “Stuck?” Jack gave a slight start when Kate suddenly appeared behind him a large grin on her face. “Our camp site is right up there. You would have to be pretty decent at rock climbing to make it up I figure.” Jack started to ask for some help getting up the rock but Kate didn’t give him time. Scooping Jack up in her arms he suddenly felt himself accelerate upward far more quickly then in any elevator he had been in.

 

Kate easily cleared thirty feet in her first jump, actually she could have cleared far more.

 

The thought of simply jumping to the very top of the cliff had occurred to her but she opted to take it in shorter jumps. At least while she was carrying Jack. Jack for his part found the ride to be something else. So much rock was going by so quickly. It was only a few moments before Kate had taken them up the entire height. “Here we are.”

 

“It seems I forgot to scream.” Kate glanced at Jack for a moment wondering what he was talking about. Then she realized just what she had done without thinking. Letting out a slight giggle she proceeded to lift Jack up a bit more and bend her head. Pressing her lips firmly against his for a few moments.

 

“What? I just assumed you trusted me enough that you didn’t have any fear.” Jack returned Kate’s smile though he did begin to fidget letting her know he wanted down. Kate complied a few moments later though she stood by until he had walked away from the edge. Jack froze up a few moments later as he quickly spun around to take a look at Kate. What he saw nearly made him fall over. Kate was standing in the red and black uniform that they had planned out. What stunned him though wasn’t the uniform.

 

“Kate what happened to your clothes?”

 

“Oh they burned up while I was running around.” Jack didn’t know how to respond to this.

 

He knew it was possible and very likely in all truth. As he considered this, he couldn’t help but wonder about the condition of their supplies. Looking over he wondered just how they had survived Kate moving at such horrific speeds. The wind friction should have torn them apart or even worse when she bumped into something. Kate followed Jack’s stair to their equipment. She quickly realized just what he was probably thinking. A slight chuckle came from her as she considered telling him what she had been doing but she resisted the urge. She would tell him that she had actually only ran at hyper sonic speeds while not carrying anything. Everything else had varied depending on what Kate thought it could handle.

 

“Ah to heck with that we have other things to test. Like just how you, where hovering a while ago and you can do it again.”

 

“Actually first you’re going to set down and I am going to set up the camping equipment while you watch. As I take the stakes and drive them into the ground with my hand and tighten bolts with my fingers that you would require a wrench to work on.” Jack didn’t even try to argue with that statement. As he took his seat and waited for the show the fact that he was actually eager to watch someone set up camp almost got a laugh out of him. Kate considered starting right away but noticed Jack setting down on a bit of grass. This instantly gave her an idea. “Let me get you a seat.”

 

“All right but after you’re done, I am going to prepare our meal.” Things had been nice and sunny before hand but a moment later they seemed truly bright. As Kate’s face seemed to positively light up in response to Jack declaration. He wasn’t going to just set around and let Kate do all the work after all it was her vacation as well. He was a bit perplexed though when Kate made no attempt to go for one of the fold-up chairs they had brought along. Instead she took a little bit of time to search around the area. Finding a nice big rock Kate slowly bent down and began to dig her fingers into the earth. Searching around she found the bottom of the boulder and slowly lifted it into the air. Jack was quite curious to just what Kate was doing but he didn’t bother to ask. He figured that she would show him soon enough.

 

Holding the bolder above herself for a moment Kate took in some breath and blew across it.

 

Effectively the rock was hit with the force of over 40,000 people blowing on it all at once. The dirt and clumps of grass that had been stuck to it where tore away with horrific force. While a single person’s breath really lacked in any powers the fact that Kate could exert so much on a single area was remarkable. Jack was grateful she standing a fair bit away and had the bolder held upward. He didn’t much like the idea of being blown off the side of the cliff. Kate slowly turned the rock in between her hands. Making sure to strip every last bit of debris from it before stopping. Looking over at Jack, she did her best to trot over to him. This proved difficult though as while the bolder didn’t prove to be a challenge for her to handle it caused her feet to sink more deeply into the ground then they normally would. Oddly this made it all the more exciting as Kate’s seemingly playful skipping and light movements would cause a considerable noise thanks to the force with which her feet impacted the ground.

 

Kate settled the heavy rock beside of Jack but didn’t let him set down right away. Instead she proceeded to dig her fingers into the stone. Jack watched as Kate’s fingers, fingers that had been grasping his hand a short while ago cut through solid rock as if was water. Kate’s hands easily shaping the stone into a familiar though somewhat crude shape. Kate couldn’t get the sides to match up perfectly as the stone would chip and flake when she didn’t want it to and she wasn’t exactly a sculpture. Still by the time she had finished she had managed to make a rather crude chair.

 

“Well I guess I can’t be good at everything.” Jack stood up and proceeded to walk around Kate’s handiwork for a moment. A moment later he settled down in it. Of course it wasn’t soft but at least it reminded him to keep his back strait and got him off the ground.

 

“You know Kate I don’t know if the forestry department would appreciate you carving up their stones.” Kate just chuckled, and proceeded to get to work on setting up the camp while Jack simply watched. It was amazing how she found a way to demonstrate her abilities at every task. If the task didn’t require her to make use of her strength she would simply make use of her speed. Her hands easily moving at least three times faster then what a normal human could. The knowledge that the only thing stopping her from working even faster was that the material might brake made the experience all the more enjoyable. Kate normally preferred pop tints and the like when she went camping now though she was grateful they had brought the sturdier stuff. It required much more time to set up of course which gave her plenty of chances to show what she could do.

 

At last she set up their little grill which much to Jack’s surprise drew a sigh from her. “I swear I think I like showing off what I can do a little too much. I wish we hadn’t brought the grill and instead brought some nice steal beams. I bet I could have bent them into a rather nice stand and we could have put it over a little pit for the fire.” Jack finally got up from his seat and proceeded over to wear Kate had been working.

 

“Yeah but I love watching you show off.” Jack didn’t bother comment on the steal rods though he figured that they would end up camping again. Kate proceeded to reach up and pulled Jack down a bit further so that she could plant a kiss on his lips once again.

 

“Well now what do you want to do?” Kate considered the question taking a quick look around.

 

“Ehh, not really sure to be honest. I would normally be still setting up camp. Well actually I would still be walking here or climbing if I was still human.” Jack took that to mean she didn’t really know what she wanted to do at the moment.

 

“And I assume you would have been tired out enough by your journey that you would simply want to set around right about now.” Kate let out a slight giggle. It was quite true, normally her camping trips consisted of more setting around and just being away from everyone then anything else. Of course the objective of this trip was the same she just had different factors to account for now. Kate’s mind got took away from such thoughts as she noticed Jack start rummaging through their cooking supplies. “I haven’t had much of a chance to ask. Do you still feel weak since your fight with Metallo?” Kate considered this for a moment, slowly raising her arms above her head as she did so. A moment later she flexed her biceps rising proudly from her arms.

 

“Actually I feel better then I ever have before. My strength is increasing once again so I feel great.”

 

“Then would it be all right if I conducted a test? Well other then on your levitating?” Kate gave Jack a curious glance, which he recognized as meaning asks away. “Well since your body has been improving itself you have been eating a lot more then a normal human. I would like to find out if you truly need to eat so much or if your just doing it because you enjoy the act. Because to be honest, with your body’s energy out put there is no way your eating enough to meet its needs.”

 

“Well I guess I could do some fasting but you have to join me. I don’t want to suffer alone.” Jack gave Kate an alarmed look. Clearly he didn’t like her counter offer.

 

“Oh no I don’t want you to fast. What I propose is. You simply eat as much as a normal human would and no more. While I don’t think your body is getting its energy from your food I still believe it needs raw materials to affect repairs and improve. Actually you may want to eat double what I do but keep it at that.”

 

“Oh and why double what you eat?”

 

“Well your body is always adapting itself and improving. I figure that requires more raw material then normal.” Kate seemed to dwell on this for a moment, she had been making a glutton of herself but that was in part a release for her. The fact that she no longer had to worry about dieting or eating too much saturated fats let alone carbohydrates.

 

“Okay I will play along.” Jack smiled and proceeded to put a few cans back. Until he had what he felt would be enough for three people. As Jack started to get the food items out Kate made her way over to the grill and began to start it. She didn’t get to turn the nob though.

 

“Hey, now you stop right there little missy.” Kate was a bit surprised as Jack’s voice actually sounded stern. She realized a moment later, Jack had announced he would be cooking the meals since she set up the camp. Well he wanted to do his share of the work so she could let him do that. Jack watched as Kate set down on the rock seat now. Grinning he went back to getting the pans ready. He wouldn’t be able to cook a gourmet meal out in the wilds but he would do his best to make Kate a nice early dinner. Anyway he really wanted to eat something, after all while Kate had found the trip to be exceptionally easy going he was a different story. Kate hadn’t made him climb the rock face himself but he had walked a good distance and worked up an appetite.

 



 

Kate found herself lazily picking at her food playing a little game. Normally when she had eaten she hadn’t bit down with her full force far from it in fact. Now with the smaller portions in front of her she felt obliged to squeeze every last bit out of it she could. Thus, every time she would take a mouthful. She was certain to chew carefully biting down with about half of the full force she could exert. Considering her strength was several thousands times greater then a normal human’s this amounted to a few tons of pressure on a very small area. She didn’t stop there though but had actually accelerated the rate at which she chewed. It was to the point now that if Kate’s entire body hadn’t been enhanced the sound would have been far louder then any car crash. With Kate’s teeth slamming into each other with over 4 tons of force and well over 300 miles per hour upon each impact.

 

It was funny but Kate could swear she felt her food vaporizing inside of her mouth as her teeth bore down upon it. Whenever she would swallow the paste she had created was most strange.

 

Jack for his part was taking his time eating as well, without any risk of the phone ringing, no research to conduct, no tv and only plans to spend a little while on the internet he had to make good use of his time and drag enjoyable things out as much as he could. “Hey Jack I just got a idea from playing around with that rock.” Jack didn’t know what it was the way Kate spoke or the mention of the rock but he had a horrific since of foreboding the moment the words left Kate’s mouth and reached his ears. “Oh come on don’t give me that look. I bet you will like it once you try it.”

 

Jack considered his options, he at first felt like asking Kate just what she had in mind. Oddly he didn’t feel that was appropriate for the situation. After all he trusted her and trusted her judgment. Anyway he didn’t have any ideas of his own. “Well all right I will try it, but if I seem overly distressed promise to quit.” Kate looked a bit surprised.

 

“You’re not going to even ask me what I have planned?” Jack gave a slight shake of his head.

 

“Nope, I trust you after all.” Kate didn’t bother commenting but continued to eat her food.

 

She would have to be careful not to scare him too badly at first now. Jack for his part was still feeling quite nervous but there was no way he was going to go back on his statement. However, he couldn’t help but chew every bite of food more carefully making sure their meal lasted as long as possible.

 



 

Jack was more then a little perplexed as he watched Kate lay down on one of their sleeping bags. It had been some thirty minutes after they had eaten and it seemed she was ready to begin the game. “All right lay on top of me.” Cautiously Jack did as he was told. Slowly settling down on top of Kate, he tried to keep his concern from showing when she lifted his prone form up. Kate moved Jack so that his stomach was just over her mouth. A few moments later she released and began to blow. A noticeable yelp came from Jack the moment Kate released her hold upon him. He didn’t end up falling on her though instead he proceeded to be lifted a few more inches into the air by the rush of Kate’s breath. Kate blew lightly on Jack realizing she shouldn’t use too much force or she may lose control. Making use of her arms she prevented him from drifting to either side and falling from the jet of air that currently suspended him.

 

Jack was to stunned to respond right away. Even though he had seen and felt the rush of Kate’s breath when she blew off the rock. Actually being suspended by the simple act of her blowing through her mouth was truly remarkable. What proved even more amazing was the duration of time she was able to keep him suspended. Kate had yet to see just how long she could hold her breath now as she performed her version of a breathing exercise she realized how great of a time that must be. Slowly she began to increase the flow lifting Jack up a foot into the air plus what he had been previously. As Jack realized what Kate was using her arms for he reached out and took hold of her hands. A moment later he was lifted even higher into the air the extent of both his arms and Kate’s.

 

Once Jack was up the full extent of their arms Kate slowly began to stand up. A task that proved somewhat difficult as she couldn’t release Jack’s hand. She wasn’t exactly skilled at controlling her breath thus he was wavering quite a bit. If it hadn’t been for him holding onto her hands, he most likely would end up tumbling over the side of the jet of air. Still as Jack found himself in the air suspended by Kate’s breath he felt his nervousness washing away. So long as she held onto him. At last though Kate found herself running low of breath, slowly she began to decrease the rate at which she was exhaling and let Jack drift back down to her. “Wow that was neat.”

 

“I figured you would like it, why even my breath can over power you.” Jack felt his hair thrown back as Kate lightly blew in his face far more lightly then when she had been suspending his body. “Too bad we don’t have some rope then we could see just how high up I could get you.” Jack felt both a chill and a rush of excitement run up his spine. The thought of such a display of Kate’s power was scary on one level but exciting on another. Further more just imaging how high Kate could lift him simply by using her breath was quite exciting.

 

“Perhaps later, I think I need some time to recover just from being a few feet in the air. So now when do you want to work on that levitating trick of yours.”

 

“Let me try just one more thing then we can. I want to figure out just how long I can keep from breathing if I don’t exhale.” Jack gave a nod of approval figuring that to would be an interesting test.

 

“All right when you want to begin?” Kate glanced and Jack’s wrist insuring that he had worn a watch.

 

“When your watch gets to 1:25 I will hold my breath. Start timing me after that.” Jack gave a nod and started to watch the time. Calling out to begin the moment the designated time was shown he was a bit surprised when he looked up. Kate had already begun holding her breath, he wasn’t sure if she had been watching the time as well or started earlier but he couldn’t ask. After all answering would require her to make use of some of her breath. It wouldn’t matter much either way after all. Then if he really wanted to know he figured he could ask her after the ten or so minutes it took her to require air. At least that his what he guessed her ability to hold her breath would end up at. He was to learn other wise quite soon.

 

Kate was bored to say the least. Normally when she held her breath she would avoid walking around too much to let her focus. That is when she had been normal. Now she found herself pacing around Jack who had finally set down upon the rock chair still watching the time. It had been at least 45 minutes since their test had begun and she still didn’t feel the need for air. At first it had been kind of neat that had been 15 minutes ago though. Forty five minutes of just waiting was enough to get on her nerves. Enough to actually take the majority of her enjoyment out of the finding. The only thing that really seemed to interest her now was the thought that she was so close to going a hour without even inhaling once.

 

Jack for his part was watching with quite a bit of interest. He found himself wondering if Kate’s body was somehow getting the oxygen it needed without her inhaling or if she was sneaking breaths. Then again if he was right and her body’s requirements had stayed the same while her performance had increased. Then perhaps she was going off stored oxygen inside of her lunges that is assuming she still had lunges. It had been so long since he had gotten a look inside of her body he truly wondered how differently her muscles and organs functioned then a normal human. Considering how strong Kate was he considered it quite possible that her lunges were actually storing compressed oxygen. Of course that begged the question how much air could someone store in 40,000 breaths’ strength? He recalled how easily Kate had held him a loft just by exhaling and how long. Considering the rate which she had been exhaling it seemed possible this could take hours.

 

Kate had been pacing for sometime now clearly trying to think of something to do while she kept herself from breathing. She was thankful that Jack provided a temporary moment of relief upon standing him. Jack made his way over to their camping supplies, opening the case he had been carrying he brought out his laptop. Carrying the little machine over to the rock chair and getting it connected to the internet he smiled up at Kate. “Why don’t you come over here and just play around on the internet for a bit?” Kate was beside Jack in a moment, she normally wasn’t so eager about playing around on the web but at the moment she needed something to do. Jack just chuckled and moved out of the way as Kate got seated. He didn’t get very far though as Kate quickly grabbed hold of him and pulled him into her lap.

 

Kate knew Jack had brought the computer along so he would have something to do when bored. Figuring that he was probably about as bored as she was since they couldn’t talk while she was holding her breath. Kate wasn’t going to simply let him wonder around. Jack wondered what Kate had in mind when she brought up a few humerus web sites and opened up word pad. “Thank heavens you decided to bring this along. You have no idea how frustrating it is just having to stand around. I would just give up but now I am worried that I am about done and I hate the idea of being so close to finishing then giving up.”

 

“Well you realize that you might have a few hours to go, further more even if you do find out what your current limit is it is probably going to increase in under a week.” Jack was perplexed when Kate proceeded to turn off the computer, something told him it would be a good idea to get out of Kate’s lap when she lifted the machine above her head. A second later Jack ended up on the ground as Kate exhaled ever so lightly just enough to push him out of her lap.

 

“Gee thanks for ruining my experiment. I guess I don’t have the patience for such a test.” It didn’t take Jack long to respond after the initial shock had worn off. His body began to convulse slightly and he held a hand up to his mouth. A moment later he was shaking with laughter thanks to the expression on Kate’s face. Kate just pretended to pout though she truly didn’t have the patience to finish the test. It had been at least two hours since she had started so she was content with the knowledge that if she needed to she would hold her breath for that long. She didn’t really plan on getting into a situation where she needed to hold her breaths that long after all. Anyway even with the knowledge that she could hold her breath for two hours it could tempt her to make some silly decisions.

 

“Well then when do you think we could get to see if you can levitate?” Kate wasn’t quite certain if she was up for any testing at the moment. Then again she also thought that perhaps Jack could think of some creative ways to test her ability.

 

“All right. Just what do you have in mind though?”

 

“Is there anything you can tell me? About your levitating anything strange.”

 

“Actually well I think it might relate to my levitating. A while back at SWAT I found out that I can actually ground myself as it where. What I mean is I can keep things that could normally move something of my inertia around rather easily from moving me at all. Debra and I have been working on it for a while now. With me being used for a target.” Jack wasn’t quite certain how he should respond to this. Kate had developed a new ability and she hadn’t mentioned it to him. “Oh and before you ask. The reason I didn’t tell you is I wanted to refine the ability for a while. Also you where still trying to figure out just why that ice responded to touching me so quickly.”

 

“Fair enough, I still haven’t thought of a way to test just why that happened. However, this levitating and grounding as you called it I think we can experiment around with. It should help that you have already been working with it as well.” Kate was actually a bit relieved Jack wasn’t upset.

 

She knew it would have been better if she told him what was happening when she first began to realize. After all it could have been affecting her health in some way. Jack simply realized that there was nothing to gain in becoming angry with Kate. After all it was her body and ultimately her choice whether or not he could even test her.

 

“Would you mind if I tested your grounding ability first? Since you have already worked with it, I want to get a feel for exactly what you can do.” Kate gave a slight nod. “All right what I want you to do is stand on your tip toes. I will then proceed to fondle. I mean I will try to tackle you.” Kate snickered as Jack pretended to slip up. He meant every word of his statement. Actually she might have been insulted if Jack hadn’t taken the chance to feel her up. Of course the sentiment only extended to Jack, anyone else may very well have taken a beating. As Kate stood on her tiptoes, she made sure to flex her leg muscles. Her wonderfully powerful calf muscles making themselves quite noticeable. Jack took his time taking in the site before him as he prepared to get a running start. He knew this wasn’t a very scientific test in any respect however he couldn’t resist the chance.

 

Kate took her time to look Jack over as well. Realizing that she hadn’t exercised with him in some time she wondered if he was still taking good care of his body. She was assured that he was when he finally took off towards her. She could hear his heart rate and lunge quite easily plus the speed he moved at showed he was at least doing some exercise. Jack impacted solidly with Kate making sure to drive his shoulder into her breast. This provided him some extra cushioning and it didn’t hurt Kate in the least. Her breast only giving for a moment, having just enough give to seem soft and pleasant to the touch. After that though they became far more solid then any object he had ever encountered. Kate didn’t move in the least despite being on her tiptoes just as she said she seemed to be able to ground herself. “Well now that is impressive.”

 

Kate just grinned and gave herself a slight bounce causing her breast to bounce in response.

 

Jack took his time standing up and walking around Kate. Wrapping his arms around her head, he proceeded to lean backwards in an attempt to pull her off balance. If Kate had been standing on her feet and braising herself he knew this would have been an impossible task for him even if Kate didn’t have her powers. Still with her on her tiptoes he was quite certain she wasn’t making use of her strength. Releasing his hold Jack finally bent down and wrapped his arms around the base of Kate’s legs. He had been exercising and though he couldn’t bench press 180 pounds he figured putting his entire body into it would let him lift at least that much. Heaving upwards he wasn’t exactly surprised when Kate didn’t move an inch or even wobble. Figuring, he had conducted enough tests he took the chance to give Kate’s rear a quick kiss. “You know as much as I like having my cheeks kissed. I prefer my lips.”

 

“Well I will have to keep that in mind. All-right Kate I have two more ideas. I want you to relax your grounding ability for a moment.” Kate nodded at which time Jack once again tried to lift her from the ground. This time he was actually able to get her up though not too far. “All right now try grounding herself.” Jack was able to squeak about between grunts of effort. Kate only waited a second before attempting to do so. Feeling the invisible strength run through out her body she didn’t notice to much of a difference but Jack sure did. Suddenly Kate felt light as a feather though when he pushed upward she didn’t move in the least. Without giving Kate a word of warning he quickly released his hold and moved away from her. Sure enough Kate remained in the same spot unmoving gravity seeming to not be able to pull her down.

 

Kate noticed what was happening a second later as she felt Jack’s hands release. Looking down at herself she didn’t know what to say. Jack was thus the first to speak up. “Kate do you think you can move now?” Kate seemed to focus for a moment. Having spent so much time training with Debra, she could control when her grounding ability kicked in fairly well and how strongly. She had not as of yet attempted to use it to move her upward or in any direction though.

After a short while she let out a sigh and gave her head a slight shake.

 

“I don’t think so but I can’t be sure. I have only been using it to stay in one spot not move myself after all.” Jack considered this for a few seconds. He didn’t exactly know how to tell someone to check if they can fly. Considering the situation for a moment, he finally struck upon an idea.

 

“All right why don’t you try to take a step then? Not to the ground mind you but into the air.” Kate gave a quick nod of her head and proceeded to move one of her legs into the air. As she went to set it down though she found herself unable to find a solid surface. This was to be expected of course since she was holding herself stationary in thin air. As she attempted to manipulate her grounding ability though she found the task to either be beyond or ability or at least beyond her skill level. In the end she only ended up feeling quite silly. “Well then one more idea. Why don’t you try to jump?” Kate was grateful she and Jack where the only two around considering how silly she felt. Still, it would be the best chance for her to test such an ability. If she did it inside, she may very well tear a hole in the roof if it worked.

 

It proved to be a needless concern though. As Kate bent her knees slightly and made a jumping motion she found herself just as stationary as ever. A few more tries and she finally let out a sigh. “Well rats I guess there won’t be any flying for me.”

 

“Not yet at least you are always changing after all. Still, this is fascinating. You seem to be able to prevent yourself from moving from a spot yet you remained connected to the planet. After all if you had truly stopped all movement then you would find the world moving around you.” Kate knew enough to already realize this, she just didn’t care for such a concept at the moment she wanted to be able to fly. Jack in the mean time was making his way around Kate. Having already completed this several times he wished he had brought some equipment to get some readings. Such things would have to wait until they went home of course. Anyway he didn’t feel like ending their camping trip early just yet. It would give him time to think of the most appropriate way to test Kate’s new ability. “Kate has this ability of yours ever been over whelmed or have you tested?”

 

“Yeah we did some testing. I don’t know how much it takes but I think it is proportional to my strength. The stronger I get the better I can ground myself. In this state I imagine it would take an impact almost as hard as one of my own punches to move me.” Kate’s reasoning was in part thanks to her experience with Metallo as well as her training with Debra.

 

“It makes since your body would need to develop such a ability. You where getting so strong that it would have eventually been hard for you to find appropriate leveraging to make use of your strength.” A moment later Kate fell back to the ground as she relaxed her grounding ability though now she was trying to think of a new term.

 

“Well since it doesn’t just keep me on the ground alone. What do you think would be a good name for it?” It took Jack a moment to realize exactly what Kate was referring to by it.

 

“I suppose I would call it inertia manipulation if that is what is happening. You don’t seem to be increasing your weight. Other wise you wouldn’t have been able to float like that. It just seems that you are better at staying at rest then most objects especially those with your mass.” Kate walked over to Jack a few moments later. Quickly lifting him from the ground she held him over her head. A moment later she gave a light jump sending herself into the air a good fifty feet where she promptly stopped. Jack who had at first been too stunned to respond let out a slight yelp once he realized just where he was.

 

“Well I suppose this will have to do for the moment. Now just what where you saying about my mass.”

 

“Oh don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t calling you fat quite the opposite actually. That is why it would be so easy for something too normally overwhelm your inertia.”

 

“You know you should have said so in the first place. It isn’t nice to refer to a woman’s mass without letting her know what you mean. We can jump to conclusions after all.” Jack couldn’t help but scowl a bit at Kate’s attempt at humor. Which of course meant she quickly stuck her tongue out at him. A moment later he felt them falling back towards the ground though at a remarkably slow pace. While training with Debra Kate had learned to relax her staying ability of sorts so that certain things could indeed push her. This had the effect of allowing the earth’s gravity to pull Kate back down to the ground. “It isn’t as good as flying. That said I bet I can still have some fun with this new ability of mine.” Jack nodded in agreement.

 

“It will save a great deal of energy as well. You can hardly begin to guess what it takes to power the entire room so you don’t sink through the floor while exercising.”

 

“I suppose you’re right, just don’t turn it all the way off. We need to find out exactly how much I can stand first after all.” Kate set Jack down a moment later and made her way over to the chair she had made a short while ago. Looking back towards her foot prints she once again lifted the now specially shaped rock from the ground. Unlike before though she made use of her staying power. Looking down at her feet she was pleased to see that despite the great weight she was now supporting her feet were not sinking into the ground.

 

“Well then I guess that means a few hundred pounds aren’t enough to trouble you.” Kate set the chair down and began to glance around the area.

 

“What do you say to us doing some hiking and seeing what else I can find to play around with?”

 

“All-right but I think it would be best if we found a river. It wouldn’t require you to damage the environment more then you already have missy. Let me know if you start getting hungry though or feeling weak. I still want to find out what effect eating normal amounts has on you.” Jack had to nearly cover his ears when Kate proceeded to pat her stomach. The force of the impacts being far greater then any car slamming into a wall. Normally Kate would have knocked herself backwards but now that she was able to prevent it she couldn’t resist.

 

“Will do.” Jack wasn’t sure if he should be aggravated due to his now ringing ears or delighted at such a casual display of power on Kate’s part. Whatever he should have been he found himself too fascinated by the display to be upset. The fact that such a simple act as patting her stomach with a proportional amount of strength to what a normal human would use. Meant Kate generated sound waves that put a building’s collapse to shame was truly remarkable. Kate took a moment to listen to her surroundings. A short while later she began to head off towards her west while Jack followed closely behind. He wasn’t quite certain where Kate was going but figured it had something to do with her wanting to show off her strength. Kate had taken Jack’s advice into account and listened for the sound of running water and now began to lead them towards what she hoped would be a decent sized river.

 



 

Jack was grateful he hadn’t thought to bring any swim wear to where Kate was heading. He didn’t exactly feel like getting soaked at the moment. Kate on the other hand was a different story. Her work out clothing also functioned perfectly in water which meant she wasted no time in wading into the river. As she did so she began to look over the large slabs of river rock that had been uncovered by the water over the decades or centuries. She found herself with quite the collection as she made her way through water that easily rose up past her chest. “Hey Kate. I just realized, this should give you another chance to work on holding your breath.”

 

“Killing to birds with one stone? Sounds good to me. After all for experiments like this action speaks louder then words.” Jack didn’t bother mentioning that he had a reason for wanting to test at the river. He had been curious if Kate had somehow been pulling in oxygen through her skin. Now with most of her body under the water it would be less likely this was a possibility.

 

Further more she planned on making use of her strength which would require her to exert more energy. Kate swam out the river a bit more before finally diving under the water into the darkness.

 

The river was actually crystal clear Kate had simply forgotten to keep her eyes opened. Still, having the human habit of shutting her eyes to keep water out. She remembered a second later and quickly opened them. The water wouldn’t have bothered a human’s eyes in all truth which meant it wouldn’t affect Kate’s at all. Swimming along Kate began to search around for something worth testing her strength with. There where quite a few large rocks found at the bottom of the river none of spectacular size though. Swimming over to a bolder that couldn’t have weighed more then a thousand pounds Kate was fully aware it wouldn’t really test her strength or even begin to. Still she felt it would at least provide a good chance for her to work on her staying power.

 

The only way Kate could define halting her movement was it felt like flexing a muscle. She just didn’t understand where it was or how it worked. Taking hold of the bolder and hefting it above herself Kate noted the extra energy the water required her to exert. Even though it was utterly unsatisfactory as far as providing her with a decent challenge went. As Kate played in the water, Jack had settled down on the shore line. He was grateful the coloring of Kate’s outfit was so bright as it made her quite easy to track. He had lost track of her for a moment when she dove down long enough to take hold of the bolder. However, as her lifting it instantly generated a decent disruption in the water’s flow. He was able to tell where she was.

 

As Jack watched Kate playing in the water he couldn’t help but ponder the question. Just how many times would Kate have dunked him during her play? He estimated at least three by now though it wouldn’t have surprised him if it was significantly more. Despite this a part of him wished that he could jump in the water with her. He took a notion to call out to her and find out just how things where going but he remembered that she was also working on holding her breath. Jack nearly jumped out of his skin a moment later when a massive bolder shout of the lake and flew into the air. Kate came up after it a moment later easily catching up to the chunk of rock having put more force into her jump then in her throw. A moment later just what Kate was doing became clear.

 

The moment Kate found herself within grabbing distance of the stone she quickly took hold of it. A second later she made use of her staying ability and proceeded to hold the rock in mid air.

 

At first Jack thought Kate was simply playing around. As she lowered the rock so that it was beneath her feet he was in for quite a surprise a second later. The stone slammed back to the lake with remarkable force sending up a spray of water that soaked Jack despite the distance between himself and the water. The shock wave being felt for a considerable distance and heard for even more. Kate shot up into the air even higher having used the rock to kick off of. A simple experiment which she found to have quite pleasing results. Jack took a moment to try and locate Kate, a task that proved somewhat difficult as it took him a while to realize just how far up she had went.

 

As Kate went past the clouds she wondered if she had put to much force into her little kick.

 

Kate could feel the air growing colder as she went all the higher and if she had been trying to breath she would have also noticed how thin the air was becoming. Jack had once again lost sight of Kate by now. Though he did notice a little spec that he figured was Kate. Cautiously he began to make his way away from Kate’s launch point for fear of where she might come back down. Kate wasn’t concerned with falling back to earth after all she could just use her staying ability to slow her fall and even if she didn’t the impact wouldn’t be able to hurt her even after reaching terminal velocity.

 

So she took her time to look down at the earth below and once again wished she could actually fly and not just jump to such heights.

 

Kate’s enhanced vision allowed her to see the land below her in great detail. She could actually see Jack very clearly. It wasn’t like telescopic vision though in that she wasn’t focusing in one a single area. Everything simply seemed so very clear even from far away and with so much to take in. Kate took a moment to note she felt as if she had quit falling which meant she had quit accelerating. As she found herself returning to earth she considered her possible choices for landing. She could either slow her fall, hit the ground or the water. Considering that she was showing off she opted for hitting the ground while moving at full force.

 

“Cover your ears.” Jack didn’t think to long on just how many people must have heard Kate’s voice. Considering the distance, she was away from him and how loudly she must have yelled for her voice to reach him. Instead he did as he was told which proved to be a very good choice a few moments later when Kate’s body impacted with the ground. The difference between Kate’s body and a normal human’s becoming all the more apparent. The impact would have turned a human into a pile of broken bones and flesh. Kate’s body turned the stones she landed upon into a pile of much smaller stones while she suffered no damage. Jack didn’t wait long to walk over to Kate’s giggling form.

 

“You know you where suppose to be holding your breath.”

 

“I still am silly. I just used some of the oxygen I already had in my lunges like I am now. I have yet to inhale.” Jack felt fairly silly a moment later. When he remembered how long Kate had held him in the air simply by exhaling. Jack didn’t bother responding but reached down and helped Kate to her feet. Taking a moment to jump back into the water Kate swam around for a few moments to wash off any dust that might still be clinging to her form.

 



 

Jack wasn’t sure about the wisdom of his most recent decision as he walked beside of Kate. As he found himself in his swimming trunks and a t-shirt. They had been in the woods for a few days now and where about half way through their vacation from society. Kate had finally convinced him to put on some swim wear and go down to the river with her. Now they where making their way along looking for something for Kate to play around with. The little section of river they where near simply didn’t offer anything that truly challenged Kate. Jack’s mind was taken away from walking as he felt Kate’s arms reach under him. Lifting Jack into the air Kate gave a slight jump and easily covered thirty yards. “This will be a much faster way for us to travel.”

 

Kate didn’t bother to tell Jack that the reason for carrying him wasn’t simply to speed up their trip. She had noticed how uncomfortable he was while walking thanks to his clothing no longer being suited for walking through the woods. It might have been different if they had been taking a raft but as they weren’t she simply opted to carry him. Jack sure wasn’t complaining as Kate proceeded to take a path over the river. Easily jumping from stone to stone. Her average jump would cover 10 yards. Jack figured this was meant for his comfort. If she wanted to Kate could have jumped far further however the acceleration needed to go to much further may have hurt Jack.

 

As the water became deeper though Kate found herself having to make her way via the shore as well though once again she could move far more quickly carrying Jack then walking with him.

 

As Kate made her way along she suddenly stopped upon landing near the remains of a camp site. “Hey why did we stop?” Kate didn’t respond right away but proceeded to set Jack down and feel of the ground. Jack took this time to look around and realized that they where not on the shore as he had thought at first. Kate had landed on a massive bolder within the middle of the river.

 

Curiously he made his way to the side and looked down. “Oh I think I know what you are planning.” What Jack found was that he couldn’t make out the bottom of the river despite the water being clear that day. Looking around he noted the bolder raising several feet above the water except near one of the ends. Which he imagined people would climb up on if they wanted to camp there.

 

This was exactly what Kate had been looking for while traveling the river. Jack heard a splash as Kate dove into the water a moment later and began to swim around. Kate took her time looking the massive rock over. As she did this, she noted some areas where more worn the others making her suspect the river was currently higher then normal. Swimming around she found this assumption to be correct as the bolder went out somewhat further then expected. It just didn’t seem it as those areas where currently under water. Jack was curious if he should jump off the bolder or not. He didn’t have to think long though before Kate came out of the water a short distance away.

 

Wrapped her arm around him and jumped over to shore. “Wait here I have a idea. You’re going to love this.” Jack didn’t even get a chance to comment before Kate had jumped back into the water.

 

“Some people are going to be wondering what happened to their rock.” Kate swam around the bolder a few more times. Getting down on her hands and knees she began to work her way under the stone not yet making use of her ability to ground herself. The massive weight thus forcing her hands and knees deeply into the soft ground beneath the stone. As she moved deeper she found the rock didn’t just reach to the bottom of the river but actually went under the base ever so slightly.

 

This was going to be quite a bit of fun. Jack could see the rock raising ever so slightly as Kate moved under it. It was clear she had yet to try to stand up though.

 

Kate felt her way along until she found the point where most of the weight seemed to be centered on her. Then she began first increasing her inertia to the point where the stone couldn’t force her under any deeper. As Kate began to stand up, she was delighted to find the old rock was just as solid as it seemed. She could hear bits of gravel falling off but over all the stone stayed solid.

 

Jack watched as the stone slowly raised higher in the water, how he wished that he could see Kate right now. Even when she stood up entirely though she was still hidden under the water. He didn’t have to worry. About not getting to see her for long though as she began to carry the bolder towards shore. Kate made careful use of her inertia control recalling how it seemed to work while running.

 

Every time she would place a foot on the ground she would focus on that one. Then after setting her opposite a little bit ahead she would focus her efforts on keeping that foot. This is how her body instinctively kept her on the ground while running and how she could keep herself from sinking into the ground while carrying such a horrific weight. She would wonder why she couldn’t use the same method while air born eventually for now though she just wanted to show off her new trick. Jack watched as the massive stone began to come out of the river as Kate made her way up the bank. As he did he found himself almost in shock. Jack did often watch the numbers on Kate’s exercise equipment and the power required. Still those where numbers without a visual aid. Now as he watched just how strong Kate truly was he was basically speechless. He would have to wait until Kate made her way from the water before he saw if she was truly straining or not.

 

At last Kate began to appear from under the water. Unable to control his curiosity Jack quickly slid down the side of the bank landing in the shallows. Kate had a huge smile upon her face as he quickly ran out to her. “Don’t come to much closer my hands are beginning to sink into the base of this thing.” Jack stopped a few seconds after Kate’s warning. Cursing under his breath, he made his way backwards wishing that he could get even closer. Kate was standing there in all her glory her muscles at last being required to come into play. Only in the slightest though. As while the weight did require enough of Kate’s strength cause her muscles to express themselves. Making her heart beat a little harder then normal. It seemed to be nothing more then a light warm up.

 

Kate looked up watching as cracks began to radiate out from her fingers. The bolder was indeed sturdy but it couldn’t take all of its weight focused on a single area for very long. Still there was one last thing she wanted to do. Slowly Kate began to lower her right hand letting all the weight come to rest on her weakest arm. A moment later after supporting the massive weight for a few more moments Kate gave it a light toss. Sending the bolder back to its original resting place though quite a bit worse for wear. The shockwave sending Jack falling back into the water. The moment he was able to regain his footing though he rushed over to Kate who was busy feeling of her now pumped muscles.

 

 

End Chapter 5