After the girls left, Jack was left alone, well, alone with Ellis.

(You should keep an eye on that one, there’s something off about her.)

‘Who, Jenny?’

(Yes.)

Ellis seemed wary of Jack’s childhood friend, but Jack himself had always thought of her as a normal friend, though he had nothing to compare it to aside from what he saw in movies. He thought about Ellis’s words for a couple of seconds, but didn’t really pursue the subject.

‘If she was weird to a point that it got serious, I would have noticed by now.’

(You’d think so...)

Jack took a deep breath, and stretched, getting used to his new body. It didn’t really feel like his body anymore since the magical enhancement and losing an arm, and he figured he should get used to it quickly to avoid any accidents. Jack swung his legs off the bed, and out from under the covers, firmly planting them on the floor.

(You shouldn’t move yet, your arm isn’t the only thing that was hurt, you know.)

Ellis referenced the bandages that were wrapped around his torso with a trace of worry in her voice. Jack rubbed the bandages, feeling the sore muscles healing underneath.

“I’ll be fine, I just want to go for a little walk, nothing stressful, I promise.”

Jack stood, walked over to his dresser, ignoring the fact that his clothes had been changed for him, and began to change into something that would suitably cover up his injuries.

“So...”

Jenny and Val were riding in Jenny’s car when the conversation started.

“What is the relationship between you and Jack?”

On hearing Jack’s name, Val blushed slightly, but kept her composure, knowing the person next to her was not to be trifled with.

“Before I answer, I need information on how much you know about Jack’s current circumstance.”

Jenny did not expect demands from Val, but decided to humor her, curiosity overwhelming her instinct to dominate weaklings. Jenny gripped the steering wheel, and replied.

“I know he keeps on getting hurt, that he is hesitant to tell me about it, which probably means it is dangerous, and that you play a part in it all. I’m going to get answers though, he hates lying to me, so all I have to do is corner him.”

Jenny had very good reasons to dislike Val, but she had decided not to harm her, trusting her because Jack trusted her was a good enough reason in her mind. Val had gathered enough information to understand the basic relationship between Jack and Jenny, and made her decision.

“I will tell you about myself, however Jack’s story is for him to tell, and I will not share anything he may not want you to know.”

Jenny nodded in satisfaction, she had already made up her mind to glean the information from Jack later, and only had interest in Val’s story at the moment.

“My name is Valkyrie Number One, nicknamed Val, and I was sent to observe Jack for certain reasons. Recently we were put in a life-and-death situation where Jack could have left me to save himself, but didn’t. He stayed behind and put his life at risk to save me, losing his arm in the process, so now I owe him a life and an arm.”

There was a brief silence and Jenny thought she may have just heard an automated message due to the abrupt and informative explanation she just received. That’s when something occurred to her.

“I get the ‘owing him your life’ part, but I don’t really understand how you plan on paying him back for the arm...”

Val let a light smile cross her face, breaking free from the usual poker face she normally kept.

“I had spare parts.”

On his way out, Jack noticed Val’s suit laying across hit table with the back opened and facing up, and he stopped, staring at it for a couple of seconds.

(What is it?)

Ellis asked after several moments passed.

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‘I really want to try it on...’

Jack surprised himself with such a childish desire, but looking at his strong Val was when she wore it, he was curious how much stronger he would be if he tried it on. He stared for a few more moments before Ellis interjected.

(It’s too small..)

Jack’s dream shattered, realizing Val only came up to his bicep, and that suit could never fit him no matter how much he tried to stuff himself in. Jack sighed, and began to turn away when something caught his eye.

“What’s that?”

On the table, half-covered by the suit was an object that looked smooth and kind of resembled flesh. Jack reached over and picked it up, noticing it’s weight which was decently heavy, but light enough not to hinder him. Jack didn’t have to look closely to recognize it was an arm, not a normal arm, of course, but a robotic arm that looked like the real thing. Jack quickly thanked Val in his mind before attaching it to his elbow, after rolling back the sleeve that he was planning on using to hide his missing arm and pulling off the bandages, and watched as the mechanism wrapped around his elbow and fasten tightly to his arm.

To his disappointment, the arm hung limply at his side, he was still unable to control it. As he analyzed his new arm, he noticed a blue sticker stuck to the palm, with a picture indicating a certain spot on the upper part of the spine. Jack quickly removed the sticker, and ran to the bathroom, using the mirror to attach the sticker to the designated spot.

“Ow.”

After he attached it, a shock ran through his body, and reached the artificial arm, causing several blue veins to appear through the ‘flesh’. Jack focused on the arm, picturing a fist in his mind, and it responded, obeying his command beautifully and closing into a fist. Jack had a short celebration in his mind before holding his hand up in front of his face with a smile.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

“You said you were sent... who sent you?”

Jenny had arrived at her house, which wasn’t very far from Jack’s, and had brought Val in.

“I can’t tell you.”

Jenny expected this response, and, while she didn’t like it, figured pursuing the subject was pointless. She brought the girl into her room, planning to lend her some old clothes. After they entered,Val’s eyes grew wide as she recognized the room while Jenny just ignored her reaction and continued over to her dresser, and started digging through it.

“Why were you in his bed this morning?”

Val blushed and looked away.

“Its hard to tend to wounds with my suit on.”

There was a brief silence before Jenny returned to searching for clothes. A few moments passed, and she finally found some suitable clothes, then tossed them at the girl. She didn’t quite understand what Val meant, but also didn’t really care, she had something else on her mind.

“Your answer was pretty vague earlier, what did you mean by “spare parts”?”

Val was looking at Jenny with a clam expression, now even more wary about their conversation since seeing Jenny’s room.

“That is for Jack to tell you, however I am interested in your room.”

Jenny forgot her question, and immediately brightened up at the mention of her room.

“Like it? It took a while to get perfect, and I have to constantly update it, but it is very accurate.”

“Are you in love with Jack?”

The question came out bluntly, a hint of curiosity slipping into her voice. Jenny looked at her with a mischievous smile, and took a step towards Val.

“Why do you ask? Are you interested in him?”

“Yes.”

Val responded without any delay, matching Jenny’s gaze unfalteringly. Jenny stared for a while, her smile growing wider, and handed her the clothes she he’d picked out, and then stepped back to give her room to change.

“It’s not what most would call “love”, but I consider it love. I want him to be happy, and I will not allow anyone unworthy to steal his heart. So far I have been the only one that could make him happy, so I was going to marry him when he finished college.”

Val finished putting the clothes on quickly, though they were slightly too big for her.

“What about you?”

Jenny resumed the attack, approaching Val closely with deeply interested eyes.

“I...”

Val paused and considered the question, rubbing her chin with her hand.

“I owe him my life, so my life is his to do with as he pleases. I do not mind this, so I may be in love, but I am still uncertain.”

Jenny marveled at the calculated response, Val reminded her of Jack, and she was beginning to like her. She placed her hand on Val’s shoulder, and brought her face close, making sure there was no trace of lies hidden in her eyes.

“I have a proposal.”

Jack had spent about thirty minutes playing with his new toy, stopping only when Ellis decided to ruin his fun with logic.

(This is good now, but after you do another magical enhancement, this will be too weak, and will likely break if you try to use it in battle.)

Jack looked at his new arm in disappointment, watching the occasional electrical signal light up the skin with a light blue flash. An idea popped into Jack’s head.

‘How does the magical enhancement know my anatomy?’

Ellis paused, likely thinking about how to answer. While younger than Jack, she had a deeper understanding of magic, being born with it, and was even taught a couple of things from the other gods while learning to control her power.

(This is unprecedented, a human inheriting the power of a god without a blessing has never happened before, and will likely never happen again. That being said, from my limited knowledge, the magic scans your current biology, then it integrates itself into certain places, and enhances the area around it according to it’s purpose. Simply put, it scans you, then enhances everything in your body.)

“That makes sense, but how does it know the difference between my body, and the things that are just in contact with my body?”

If it just scanned everything, then his clothes would likely go through some sort of enhancement as well, but as far as he knows, only his body was effected.

(Your body has small channels that magic flows through, similar to veins and arteries.)

“Thanks, that was all I needed to know.”

Jack returned his attention back to the arm, and began to concentrate. Jack was almost immediately able to feel the flow of magic inside him, and his control of it had gotten exponentially better. He focused on the flow, feeling where it ended in his arm, and he opened his eyes, watching the veins of electricity flow inside the mechanical arm. Jack began to push the flow outward, expanding the flow and controlling it to spread into the robotic arm, making sure the magic lined up with the electrical current. A few moments passed, and pink light began to glow from the arm, replacing the electricity inside with a new form of energy, a magical energy. After several moments, the light faded, and Jack wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right arm, smiling in satisfaction.

“It worked.”

Jack could feel the flow of magic flowing through his body, and his new arm, accepting it as a part of him.