Of Dreams and Journeys, a Jumpchain Story

[Neko Arc]

(So this will be my second story and again it's for the Jumpchain CYOA. Hopefully I will be able to keep up with this one a bit better. One day I may return to my previous work but it's on hold for now. I am still not the most familiar with how this forum works so bear with me I probably forgot most of what I learned last time.

Again this was something I posted on 4chan. I will give a small warning ahead of time. While I wouldn't call the first two chapters bad I think the third and following chapters are where the story finds it's stride. I would update and expand the first two chapters but people have already read them and I don't feel like putting something where they would need to go back to reread mostly what they already have read.

Once again for the builds I have mostly just listed the selections if there are any questions about what they mean I will be happy to answer them. Well with that I think we can begin. I hope you all will enjoy my writing.)

Spoiler: PIcture

Prelude

It's funny… sometimes major events announce themselves in the smallest and most inconspicuous ways. It was an average day. I was doing what I usually do and wasting time on the computer and I decided to check the /jumpchain board on 4chan. It wasn't always the nicest place but still I frequented it for some reason that escapes me till this day.
It was a fairly average day on the board. There were some discussions about some setting I didn't give a damn about. There was a lot of shit posting too.
It would have been so easy to write that post off as just someone shit posting. Someone posted under the name of The Jumper.
"Greetings, I have finished my chain, gotten my spark and am now ready to fulfill the pact. I already settled my personal matters and am now ready to take requests. I am giving out chains, though do keep in mind I still have limits so it may take me a while to get to everyone. First come. First serve. Please post your desired first jump and build on the board. I already have an AI tracking everyone on the site. I will get to everyone who posts today. After that I am afraid I have other matters to attend to in other dimensions."
The pact he refereed to was the meme that once someone had gotten a chain and won their spark they would come back and give the rest of us chains. This being just an imagination game I don't think anyone really took it serious.
Still the board went crazy after that, a lot of people calling bullshit that the person mentioned they had limits. Other people just posted builds. I noticed a lot of victim girls in there I hoped as a joke. There were also a few questions but The Jumper made no response. So it seeming like fun I posted a build complete with warehouse and body mod based on a project I had done. I even included a picture of Rias from High School DxD to show how I wanted to look as a jumper.
Then… nothing, nothing happened after it appeared on the board. Not that I expected it to. Still it was amusing. People continued to post builds or argue over this and that but eventually it trailed off and eventually I had other things I had to do like meals and talk to friends on the internet. All in all it seemed a normal day.
It was many hours later I was getting ready for bed. I had done my nightly stuff and was in bed clothes. It was starting to get cold finally after a long and severe summer. I was about to climb in to bed when I felt something. It was something strange like a pressure on me that I couldn't even begin to explain. I froze.
There came a sound behind me of someone clearing their throat.
I spun around and standing at the foot of my bed was… a man. He wasn't just any man though; He was strikingly beautiful, no actually I would have to say he was superhumanly beautiful. He looked perfect almost angelic. He had long curvy blond hair that reached his shoulders, unnaturally deep blue eyes that almost seemed to glow in the light. His features though undeniably male were slightly androgynous, his features were soft like those of a boy band member. He was about average height and build. He wore strange garments. He wore what looked like silver colored armor over some sort of white suit with a flowing white cloak. At his side hung a sword and strapped to his back was some strange futuristic looking gun.
He paused for a moment taking a look at the room and then at me. "Well interesting place. I can see why you would want to escape to a chain so badly." He mused.
"Anyways." He continued as if he were about to go in to some practiced speech. "Hi I am Bill but you can call me your Benefactor if we go through with this. Before you ask who or what I am and what I am doing here. I am the Jumper who posted on the board earlier. You were the one that posted not only your chosen destination but your cosmic warehouse and body mod choices. I must say I appreciate that as it saves me some time. I'll cut to the chase as I have many other people to fulfill the pact with. I am here to give you a chain."
I tried to speak, my mouth would even move but somehow I was unable to make words.
"By the way I noticed you posted a picture with your Post is that what you would like to look like?" he asked. I blushed and nodded.
"Hmm nice choice Rias is cute. It will be fun if you ever head to High school DxD." He noted with a grin.
"Okay let's get to the most common questions, I am not the devil, I am not god, I have no interest in your soul and I am not watching you out of some perverted voyeurism. I personally am not here to judge what you do or what you become. The only reason I am here is because I have been one of you and know what it is to dream and desire a chain. I know what it is to feel the crushing despair of reality. No, you may not use any supplements besides the body mod and the cosmic warehouse and no you don't have to start in Pokemon to get them. Since you posted an alternate Body mod I'll allow that. So now that we got that out of the way do you have any questions?"
"Wow, I know I should but I think you covered it, we are just using the rules in the doc?" I asked.
"Well I am giving this, thing just stack you don't have to worry about diminishing returns or anything like that. My benefactor did it that way so I am giving that. Quicksilver only had that rule to limit the growth of the jumper and encourage a more diversified build. I don't care what you do so go wild and stack away."
"Umm alright I think that answers every question I had… so how do we do this?" I asked.
"Well first you shake my hand to seal the agreement." He said holding out his hand. I took it. His grip was strong, not crushing but firm. Suddenly I felt power that I had never imagined fill me and the world fell away.

 

[Neko Arc]

Spoiler: PIcture

Chapter 1 the first steps.
Jump # 1 Gargoyles
Age: 18
Gender Female
Background: Big Business (100)
Race: Human (0)
Location: Manhattan Island, New York
Perks:
*Tech Adapting (0)
*Pragmatism (0)
*Durable (100)
*CEO (100, Discount)
*Xanatos Gambit (300, Discount)
*Mechanist (100, Discount)
*Mad Biologist (300, Discount)
Equipment
*Money X 2 (0)

Nubee's body Mod.

Cleansed (0)
Greener Grass (0)
Adjustment - height 5' (0)
Sex - Female (0)
Intelligence: 5 (150)
Charisma: 5 (150)
Reflexes: 4 (100)
Stamina: 3 (50)
Coloration - Red Hair, Green eyes (0)
Endowment (50)
Rejuvenation (50)
Grooming (50)
Aesthetics II (100)
Diet (50)
Enhanced Senses (100)
Charm (50)
Memory (100)


Cosmic Warehouse

Utilities:
*Electricity (10)
*Heating/Cooling (10)
*plumbing (10)
Structures:
*Shelving (Free)
*Housing (20)
*Medbay (20)
Misc:
*Stasis Pod X 2 (40)
*Food (10)
*Free Space(30)


The first thing I noticed was I was splashing water on my face. My stomach was tight. I was nervous. I was in a bathroom; a private bathroom, my new memories told me as they flooded my head. I looked in to the mirror and for a second I was struck dumb by the beautiful woman staring back at me. I had wondered how exactly an anime character would translate to actual flesh and blood but the goddess staring at me wide eyed in the mirror informed me well. My hair was fiery red and flowed down past my shoulders. My features were soft and I would argue just about perfect. My bright green eyes were beautiful even widened in surprise. My body was shapely my chest was… huge and seemed to strain against the confines of the dress suit that I wore. I knew that my hips, thighs and rear I knew were all curvy. Except for my short height I would have made a great super model. I was about 5' and was often forced in to heels because of it because studies showed taller people did better. Though secretly I was proud of my short height, it made me look cute in my opinion.
As I examined myself I realized with dread the reason I was there. I was about to go in front of a room full of people and beg for money. I was a very small business owner and I was in the heart of New York. I was a very small fish in a very big pond. I had left the west coast with what comparably little money I could and now I was right in the heart of the financial center of the world. I had precisely 400k to my name. To do what I wanted I needed to make that 400 million or more. I was betting that 400 k right here and now. This was my sink or swim moment. Unfortunately investors wanted something for their money. I was about to enter a room filled with investors. Hell David Xanatos was among them. Sadly most were more interested in me than my ideas. I would make a wonderful employee for their much larger more established companies. Of course there were also people from the government… who would want me to make weapons for them. There was easy money to be had there, if I were willing to sell my soul and likely my ability to sleep at night.
I gathered my courage. What there was of it. I straightened out my hair and fixed my suit and skirt so that I was presentable and headed out of the bathroom. We were in an auditorium. I passed the people in the audience trying not to look at them. I was nervous enough.
They say everyone has a super power; everyone is a genius at something. In my old life thankfully I had an ability to stand in front crowds. I would be nervous and feel like I was going to die just before I went on stage but then I had the ability to channel that energy. That was something I had lacked in this life, I was actually a little proud to be able to bring something to the table.
So I got up in front of everyone. My heart beating wildly took a few deep breaths and went in to my song and dance. I had a few working prototypes a lot of slides of potential projects and a dream.
I cracked a few jokes, I made sure to smile and I showed what I had and hoped that it would be enough. By the end of the hour I was completely and utterly spent but I succeeded in giving the best show I could.
Unfortunately after the hour it was time to go down among the guests and meet them and talk to them. Sadly dealing with lots of people was not my forte in either life.
That part became a blur. "Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoyed the presentation… what, no I am not looking for a job but thank you." I don't know how many times I said those lines. People it turns out were very predictable in a way.
Things dragged on and the crowd started to clear out. Things were looking grim for me honestly. Then David Xanatos approached me and introduced himself, though he was well known.
"I must say you gave a brilliant presentation." He offered "Unfortunately this isn't going to turn out like you are hoping. I know from experience. This isn't too far from how I got my start in business. Look you have wonderful Ideas. I heard you aren't looking for a job and I understand but perhaps we can make a deal that would benefit both of us. You see my company could produce these items that you are proposing. We have the name, we have the facilities and workers to produce them. If I invested the money you are looking at a few years before you can make a reasonable bid at getting them to market as it will take that long to set up those things. So how about you sell your ideas to me. I will give you a very generous amount and in addition I'll even give you a share of the profits. I am thinking about 10%. I know it doesn't sound like much but as I mentioned my company can start producing these it months instead of years." He took out a check book from his pocket and wrote out a check. "I believe this is a fair offer." He said. I took the check and looked at it and tried not to cough at the amount of zeros.
This was the best I could hope for. I was thrilled "Hmmm well… I don't know." I began not wanting to look too eager.
"Sure you do. We both know this is the best option you have. This is probably what you were hoping for all along. With that money you can actually build a business and won't be tied down to these ideas. I have a feeling while they are brilliant they are far from your best work. So let's just cut to the chase. You can shake my hand here. I'll have my lawyers write up the contracts and you can be on your way. I know that talking to investors after such a long presentation was always the hardest part for me back in the early days." He said with a smile holding out his hand.
"Yeah, you got me this was what I was hoping for." I admitted and took his hand "Thank you." I said.
"You're welcome and I look forward to seeing what you do next."
I smiled "Thank you." I said. I considered it high praise from someone I greatly respected.
My next major move took a few weeks. My company largely existed on paper. This windfall of money meant I could change that. However I needed just the right circumstances so I spent a couple weeks acclimating myself to my new life and plotting another project as I looked and looked for the right company.
Finally I settled on Wesker Pharmaceuticals. It was failing pharmaceutical and Biotech Company. The CEO had gotten caught doing several ethically questionable things and wound up in jail while the companies worth plummeted. Now they were waiting and hoping for a larger company to buy them up or more likely buy up their resources.
When I showed interest the current CEO was overjoyed. I purchased it and its resources for a song though it still was a considerable investment for me.
Still I needed their labs for my next project. This would be a true test of my new skills and intellect. If I could do this money problems would be a thing of the past.
So I began. The process was long and mostly boring. It involved lots of starting, failing, and restarting but by the end of a month. I had… on paper at least cured most forms of cancer.
It's funny but while I found myself overjoyed at first, I soon felt intensely lonely. We were operating with a skeleton crew to keep costs down and keep privacy and I had done most of the heavy lifting myself. Also despite my newfound charisma, charm and beauty I was still by nature a loner. While I had plenty of offers for dates some from rather impressive figures… I was alone.
I had just found the medical holy grail and I was alone with no one to celebrate it and no one to help me weather the storm that was coming as a result.
When I released my findings to the medical world for peer review the first reaction was a collective "Bullshit!" I had come from nowhere to do something impossible there was no way this could be real it had to be a trick. Those cries died out though when my theories proved sound.
I knew things were going to get crazy but I had no idea how crazy.
Overnight I became a celebrity and house hold name. I had underestimated the power what a combination of looks and natural charisma could do. I was the new wonder kid of science and business. Wesker Pharmaceuticals renamed Raven Pharmaceuticals took off and me with it.
Suddenly I found myself invited to posh parties hobnobbing with the rich and famous.
It was at one of these parties that I encountered David Xanatos again. He congratulated me, he admitted that he saw that I was going to do big things but I had actually surprised him a bit. I thanked him again for giving me my start. We chatted a bit. During the chat he leaned in and warned me "While I think what you have done is great, there are others who may disagree. I believe you will be hearing from them soon." With my new social awareness I was guessing he wanted to say a lot more. I thanked him for the warning. After that he had to leave.
It was later that night I was headed to my Apartment. I had been a bit tired from the party, I was grateful for the stamina boost; I didn't know if I would still be on my feet without it. Dealing with people still took a great deal of energy for me. Especially when I was fake smiling and making small talk to a bunch of people I didn't know. I hated crowds and this place had been crowded. I was looking forward to kicking off my heels getting in to a baggy shirt and crawling in to bed. However I found 3 gentlemen in front of my door obviously waiting for me.
They all at least average height but broad shouldered, however they were wearing suits that weren't cheap. They were also in their 40's and 50s by my estimation. They weren't likely here to mug me, the security in the building was very good. However something told me I wasn't out of the woods as far as danger.
I forced a smile and waved to the men "Evening Gentlemen, waiting for me?"
The men stood up and nodded and the oldest looking one a man with silver hair wearing a hat stepped forward. He called me miss and then my last name. "We would like to speak with you about a rather important matter. Would you please spare us a moment of your time. The sooner we get this done, the better it will be for you." He said with insistence.
"Is that a threat?" I asked.
"No, not yet" answered the man, "In fact I believe we can be of help to you, if you will allow us, but please let's do this inside." He said taking off his hand and fiddling with it in his hands.
I sighed and headed to the door. "None of you look like you came armed and there is a security camera over there." I motioned with my eyes. "Not that I don't trust you gentlemen but… I don't trust you gentlemen."
The men nodded.
God I wish I had finished that project I was planning now.
I sighed and opened the door. "Please excuse the mess I wasn't intending to have company." I told them, letting them enter first.
I kicked off my heels "Well before we get started please take a seat, would any of you like anything to drink?" I asked decided to at least be a decent host even if the circumstances were… not good.
The eldest man smiled and took a seat "Drinks will not be necessary though I do appreciate you offering. Perhaps this won't be so bad after all."
"Well you gentlemen obviously came for a reason. Why don't we cut to the chase?"
The man gave a small chuckle and actually smiled "You know I like you. I think we are going to have a good relationship. My friends and I represent an… organization, you might say a gathering of powerful people." He began.
"Or an Illuminati?" I asked.
The man nodded "Got it in one. You have made quite a splash recently. Usually we like to regulate things. The world is much more fragile than most people believe and unregulated progress could lead to devastation for the world. Normally such a large step like a cure for cancer would require many steps up to it. It represents a great shift in the world." He elaborated.
"And quite the great shift in peoples pocket books I would imagine."
That drew a soft chuckle and grin. "Quite true you stepped on many of our members toes with that. However I believe that just shows how much promise you have. I believe you could change the world and will, with our help."
"You said this wasn't a threat but it could be. I am guessing if I work with you, you will help me, if I don't you will hurt me in some ways." I interjected.
His smile faded some but he nodded and took a breath "Well to put it simply yes. I would like you to work with us. We will not tell you what to do or even what not to do in most cases; however we would like you to keep us informed. If you work with us you will find that doors will just miraculously open for you. If you work against us… well we can make things very difficult for you and I personally would not like to see that. Such a brilliant person should be supported and nurtured, Congratulations on your Nobel Prize, He said with a wink."
"Me a Nobel Prize winner?, well I am honored. Well I'll tell you what; I'll keep you informed on what I am working on. I'll work with you" I told him.
That drew a genuine grin from the man as he stuck out his hand to shake mine. I forced myself to take it. It was not the time to make enemies if I didn't have to.
"Thank you I am glad to see that you are a reasonable young woman." He said. "By the way what will you work on next out of curiosity?"
"Oh next I think I shall grow my company a bit and work on a little pet project. Don't worry this isn't for the public but rather personal use."
He nodded "I see, well we try not to pry in to personal matters when it's not needed, so I'll wish you luck." He said as he and the other men got up.
After the men left I sighed. I was tired but I headed to my computer. I needed to buy some things for said pet project that had just been moved up in priority.
Since my pet project wouldn't be ready for a while I hired my own security service to fill the gap.
In the mean time I bought several companies relevant to my little project. It wouldn't be the first of its kind in this world but it would be mine of my design born of my blood, sweat and tears.
The work would take me a few months. In fairness it should have taken me years but somehow the tech stuff went much faster than it should. During those months I almost released a self-evolving AI on to the internet by accident. I may have not noticed that a camera I was hooking up for that AI actually had wifi capabilities that could be hacked by a clever enough AI. I combined the genetics of human and cat, I built a skeleton out of the hardest metal I could find, I designed artificial muscles that would grant Strength a great many times those of a normal human along with artificial organs that worked many times better than a humans.
In the end it all came together on a stormy night. I was alone in a lab I had set up. My creation, my masterpiece lay on a table with a blanket covering it. I carefully slipped the connection cable from the super computers to the hidden connection port on the back of the neck of my hard work. Then… I waited. Time moves very slowly when you are anxiously waiting for something. I watched a green bar slowly filling up as it crawled across a screen with the percentage. Considering the amount of data I was transferring it wasn't a surprise that I had a wait ahead of me.
Eventually the green bar was completely full. I took a deep breath and turned towards the table and… nothing. There was nothing. No movement.
I blinked and frowned. "What's going on, why aren't you getting up and doing … something." I asked as Walked over and pulled back the blanket.
The impossibility that lay on that table should have been striking. It was an actual cat girl. She had long flowing silver hair, a very curvy build with breasts equal to mine which were quite considerable. Her beauty was stunning, her features more perfect than any human could claim. However at that moment I was busy trying to figure out why she wasn't waking up.
I listened at her chest her artificial heart was beating sending blood to her organic parts. She was clearly breathing. I got up blinking not sure what to do when there was a blur and I felt myself thrown to the ground. For a moment I thought I was dead. If my creation had turned on me, she had several built in weapons and strength enough not to really need them, what's worse my reflexes were at peak human, she was so fast my eyes couldn't keep up with her. Then I felt lips upon mine and a tongue enter my mouth in a passionate kiss.


"Mmm I have wanted to do that for so long. I am glad I finally got the chance she said before licking her lips and gazing down at me with her large red eyes with a playful look. "Hmmm I ask you are you my master?" she teased making a reference to one of my favorite series and apparently one she had grown fond of.
I coughed as my cheeks heated up "Y-yes I am your master, now what are you doing?" I asked noting that she seemed in no hurry to get off of me. She was heavier than she looked.
"Well you're very comfortable it would be a shame to move. Besides you are cute when you blush." She teased. She caressed my cheek before pouting and finally moving off of me, her lack of clothing seemed not to bother her in the least; her pale alabaster skin was flawless. She stretched a bit before reaching down and offering me a hand up.
She gave me a playful grin as she examined me "you know I didn't realize just how beautiful you were seeing you through cameras. You smell is very nice too." She told me I am sure I was blushing again.
"umm here I have clothing for you." I said grabbing an outfit I had made for her. It looked like a standard maid outfit. "It has an ultra–light woven Kevlar mesh layer between the fabrics, it should protect you from high caliber gun fire and there are several gadgets in the pockets that should aid you in your task of protecting me." I explained.
She pouted a bit but took the uniform and examined it. "Very nice but don't worry I would watch the world burn before I let anyone harm a hair on your head." She said casually enough to send shivers down my spine.
I named her Nekochan. Nekochan teased me for my terrible naming skills but refused another name as she found it endearing.
I had several things that I wanted to do. I wanted to build some power armors for me and Nekochan because as I remembered there were some things that were especially dangerous in this world. However there were parts I needed that were simply not available right now. Well they were but I needed someone who could get them without it being shown I could get them. I had a few projects like that. So I was forced to wait. However I was not bored. That was not a problem I had.
Nekochan was eager for new experiences, she was also eager for me to have new experiences as she thought I had the tendency to be a shut in. Imagine that. So I spent a couple weeks fulfilling Nekochan's desires. I got to experience Nightclubs… which were loud and dark and overfilled with people. Nekochan however loved it, she danced, she dragged me on to the dance floor even though I didn't know how. I learned quickly but even though I was better about being around people than I had been it wasn't easy.
Also as a star… dear god I had people hitting on me right and left. I had celebrities that were at the club eager to have their names linked with mine. I had rich people young business people out for the same and of course young horny people eager to make me the next notch in their belt. Thankfully with my new social graces I was able to let everyone down gently.
Nekochan and I spent the weeks on a whirlwind tour of New York, from the biggest Water parks, to the finest shops, to the finest restaurants we probably hit them all. Most places were too crowded for me but I believe Nekochan had fun so I was happy… though I did have to stop her from luring beautiful women back to our bed room to share them. At my core I am kind of shy and not one to sleep with someone I don't know well or well actually don't have feelings for. Nekochan didn't share those feelings apparently. I had to disappoint a few top starlets and models as well as Nekochan. On a related note Nekochan has especially deadly puppy dog eyes. That's a weapon I didn't know I armed her with.
It took a while to acquire the components I needed for the armor. During that time I moved my business headquarters to a tower of glass and steel. It was just another skyscraper. It wasn't even that tall, it was in the shadow of Xanatos' ridiculous skyscraper with a castle on it a good amount of the time but it was mine and that made it special.
I also acquired a nearby private laboratory. It wouldn't be ideal to do heavy science stuff at my headquarters. I went about securing it as it would be the heart of my corporation where ideas became reality. I got the best security staff I could find. I had several robots that were equipped with big weapons. I figured anything short of the US military attacking me there I would be fine. I also had Nekochan who while untested should be quite formidable herself.
I got the components and began to construct the power armors. At the same time I got an idea for my next project. I would create a super nutrient enriched grain that would help to feed the third world and make nutritious food that didn't taste terrible. I called my contacts at the Illuminati. The gentleman that never gave his name had given me a business card that only had a number on it, it was completely blank except for that. When I explained what I wanted to do there was a long silence. "Well… I can't tell you not to do this. However you will be stepping on more members toes and there may be some fallout from it. Please consider that before you continue." I thanked him for his advice but told him I believed this was something worth doing. He wished me well and with that I began.
By my estimation the grain once created would take a month. It took a week to modify the seeds and another two to observe its progress. Preliminary tests were amazing. It looked like I would revolutionize food with this.
I released the preliminary findings to the world… You wouldn't think grain would be sexy or have a big impact. However it turns out that for my efforts and with the name recognition I had the story actually blew up. I had governments eager to buy from me before I had my first crop. They were vying for who would be first. Not just third world countries either.
As this turned out a bit more labor intensive than I had anticipated I was only able to get my armor started. Also trying to secure the seed to alter was… a pain in the ass. If this worked fulfilling my orders were going to be a headache.
We were close to the first harvest. I was in the lab overseeing that particular project along with Nekochan who was honestly bored out of her mind. "Ughh are you done yet?" She asked for the seventh time.
Like the previous times I answered "Just a few minutes more." as I continued writing on the papers on the clip board about my findings.
"All you have been doing lately is working. Isn't this boring, don't you want to get back out and have some fun?"
I shuddered as her and my ideas of fun were completely different.
She must have picked up on it "We don't have to go out and be around people. It can just be you and me. We can have a nice evening in. We can play video game, watch movies or make wild passionate love at this point I don't care but let's do something."
I winced "Alright, you win I don't have to finish this tonight." I said putting down the clipboard.
I quickly found Nekochan's strong arms around me as she playfully nibbled on my ear and neck "mmm you know it's early we can do all 3, especially the last one. Maybe even do the last one first… then a bit of the other two then finish up with more of the last one some more." She purred as her hands went ... places.
At that moment the last choice was starting to sound very good to me too but then came the sounds of the alarms going off throughout the lab.
I felt Nekochan tense against me and heard her give a low growl. "oh someone better be dead or they are going to be."
She withdrew her hands and was about to run off when someone ran in.
It was a worker, I didn't know his name his appearance was fairly nondescript but he looked terrified. "We are under attack!" He shouted.
"Oh good some people to work out my aggression on, this is perfect." announced Nekochan.
"Wait!" I told her before she could rush off.
"Do you have any details of who is attacking us?" I asked the man, he was a bit out of breath he must have run back here.
"A bunch of men in power armor, they are slicing through our defenses like they were made of paper you need to get to the safe room."
I nodded, "Alright find everyone you can and have them head to the safe areas. The cops should be here in a few minutes that should give them pause. Hopefully our defenses can hold till then. Nekochan come on we are heading to the safe room." I said walking over and grabbing the arm for my power armor and slipping it on. It verified my DNA and clicked on to my arm and powered up. Without the full suit it would have very limited offensive capability. I might get a few shots of the repulsers off before it powered down. They wouldn't be as powerful as they would be connected to the full system but it would provide me some defense.
"Are you kidding? I should be out there defending this place." She snapped back.
"They are likely here to steal data, some prototype or something along those lines. Those can all be replaced, they should leave the workers alone and most of the guards are robots. If they are strong enough to break through our defenses, I need you with me and don't want to risk you getting hurt or destroyed." I explained.
Nekochan looked a mix between shock and hurt.
"It has nothing to do with your strength, we don't know the exact strength of the attackers I have to assume the worst in such a situation." I said already heading for the Safe room.
Nekochan let out an annoyed sigh but followed along.
We headed to the safe room. The door was large, heavy and made out of steel, It reminded me of a bank vault honestly and I imagined it would be as tough to get through. Inside the room it was filled with monitors and computers through which I could observe the rest of the lab grounds. I could shut off various sections as needed.
As soon as the door closed I headed over to the monitors. What I saw was sadly pandemonium. I gasped when I saw the power armored men. I could see even from the monitors that there were a lot of them and they were in high end armors. Armors typically only the largest corporations or countries could afford. They were on the large and bulky side more made for durability and fire power than movement. They were 7 feet tall and armed with weapons that could damage a tank. There were over a dozen of them and it was pretty clear why my defenses had not held. They were destroying everything in their path. My stomach tightened a bit as I wondered if the defenses in the safe room would hold against them. At their current pace it looked like I would soon find out.
"Grrr I told you I should have gone to deal with them." Commented Nekochan with her arms crossed pacing back and forth.
I sighed "Just get ready in case they breach." I said fiddling with the armor on my arm. I had to set it to manually fire.
I used the controls to seal off the parts between us and the impending assault but it seemed to do little besides slow them down. Thankfully the police arrived and some split off to deal with the officers. I kind of felt bad for the police here as they were going in to a situation where they were greatly outgunned. Unfortunately for me 3 of the remaining Power armored thugs were continuing towards the back where we were.
It was a long wait but they made it to the bank vault like door. The room was rocked by explosions against the door and parts of it started to grow red with concentrated laser fire. With each blast my hopes that the door would hold faded a little. I had to chide myself. I felt like a rat in a trap of my own making here. Still there was nothing I could do now but wait and pray what I had on my side was enough. The door started to dent and distort.
I got to the back of the room charging up the repulse blaster on my arm as Nekochan got in front of me.
"No matter what happens I won't let them harm a single hair on your head." She shouted back to me, her finger nails were now extended in to vicious claws and her red eyes glowed giving her a slight demonic look.
It was a moment later one last heavy hit and the door began to crack right down the center. There came a thunderous crash and part of the door was blown in while the other half swung in. There was a lot of smoke but as it cleared it revealed the three figures in power armor. I wondered if this was how my jump ends.
The faces of the power armors were covered by bullet proof black glass giving them a sinister appearance despite the light blue paint job with white trimming.
The one in front pointed at me. "Hey looks like we hit the jackpot boys, remember we get a bonus if we take her out".
There was a white blur from in front of me as even with maximum human reflexes I could not follow what happened all I knew was that suddenly Nekochan appeared before the three men and suddenly all that the man was pointing at me was a blood stump. Things seemed to slow at that moment, the man now missing an arm dropped to the ground grabbing his stump and screaming, it looked like the other two were aiming large heavy rifle looking weapons at Nekochan, only for her to casually reach out and rip them out of their hands, that seemed to stun them for a moment, her hand became a blur and the man on the left fell with his head falling in a completely different direction. The last man started to back up. "You dare threaten my master and think I am going to let you live?" growled Nekochan. She became a blur and suddenly blood and power armor parts went flying I had to look away and when I looked back Nekochan was covered with blood and gore as she stood triumphantly over a mangled corpse half dressed in power armor. At that moment it was tough to keep lunch down so I looked away. Thankfully when I did I saw the police were entering and securing the building the attack was apparently over. I was guessing this was meant to be a quick in and out strike to get/destroy whatever they wanted. The cops though they would be outgunned here would only complicate things. That was a guess I had made and it looked like I was absolutely correct. Maybe it was foolish to bet on such a gamble but I had little choice.
"I'm going to go take care of the rest of these bastards." announced Nekochan her eyes still glowing red.
"It's alright the cops are here and should be by shortly." I informed her. She blinked then seemed to relax taking a deep breath she walked towards me "I am so glad that you weren't hurt." She said truly grateful with her arms out like she was going to hug me. She then looked down and realized she was covered in blood and gore. She sighed and let her hands drop. I reached over and petted Nekochan. "It's alright, you did well. You protected me." She relaxed and purred as she nuzzled against my hand.
A minute or so the cops finally made it to us. There were a half dozen officers with guns drawn that came upon us. Their eyes widened when they saw the remains of the men in the army.
"Jesus, what the hell happened?" said one.
I explained what happened, the amount of blood covering Nekochan made it quite believable. I told them everything had been recorded as I made it a habit of making sure things around my labs were recorded.
At first they wanted to take me in for questioning and take Nekochan in for examining as she had just killed 3 men but a quick call to the highest priced attorney I could find dissuaded them. I was allowed to schedule my discussion with the cops and since I had all the permits for Nekochan's weaponry and it became clear that these men had ill intent, the matter of if she was safe to be walking around was dropped for now. At least it was with them. However, for me… I had to have a talk with her about the worth of human life. The cops told me that it looked like my lab was a complete loss; a quick tour of the place pretty well confirmed it.
As soon as we got home while Nekochan headed to the shower to get cleaned up I pulled out a very special business card I had been given. It had been given by a man who never gave his name. He was my connection to the Illuminati. I called up and it took a few rings but I heard a familiar voice answer. The man with the silver hair seemed surprised to hear from me. I explained what I had been through. For a moment there was silence.
I explained I recognized the quality of the armors. They were not cheap and only a very large corporation or a government would have the money for it. I explained that the group seemed very methodical and well-practiced in their attack, they seemed to be professional criminals, and they also seemed very familiar with the equipment they were using. Such a group sure would be known to his organization.
From him I heard a sigh. I could imagine him rubbing his temples "First let me assure you my group as a whole had nothing to do with this attack upon you. You are seen as very important to our group. If one of us made such a move it would be unilaterally and unsanctioned by the rest." He also said he was aware of a group of mercenaries that did wear high priced power armor. They were like a freelance military. He gave me their name of the group. They were the Ronins. They were a very high priced mercenary unit, generally used as I had suspected by governments and big businesses for less than legal attacks on competitors.
He further told me he would put his ear to the ground to see if any of their members had indeed been behind this. Targeting the interests of another member in such a way was forbidden.
I thanked him for his help and hung up. I was glad he was going to help but there was no way I was leaving it up to someone else to respond to this attack.
It was a little after then that Nekochan returned from her shower. "Awww man I was all set to actually make you have fun and our night was ruined by those assholes." She pouted as she plopped down on the couch next to me and nuzzled up against me.
"Yeah say I wanted to talk to you about something." I told her as she slipped her head in to my lap and used it as a lap pillow.
"Oh what's up have you changed your mind about having a baby with me?" she asked with a playful grin. I coughed a little as my cheeks heated up. "No it's not that." I replied.
"Awww too bad, I really think you would make an amazing mother and it would be the perfect expression of our love." She purred.
I sighed and nekochan frowned looked up at me "Oh I see it's one of those talks. The not fun ones." She said sitting up.
"Kind of… I am a little worried by how casual you were about killing when those assholes as you put it attacked us."
She blinked in surprise "They threatened you! Of course I killed them."
"You didn't have to you could have disabled them and left them for the cops."
Nekochan took closed her eyes and took a deep breath as if to calm herself.
"Look, you want to save everyone and to you life is precious. I get that I do and I love you for it. It's one of your best traits. However there is something YOU need to understand." She stated bluntly
"What?"
She sighed and looked me in the eyes "You are the most precious thing to me and I would burn the world to a cinder to protect you. Other people would have just programmed me to love them, used me as a sex toy slash bodyguard and called it a day. You just programmed me to protect you and then spent countless hours with me while I was just an AI teaching me about the world, teaching me things I couldn't find in raw data like what it means to love, why music is beautiful and why you should try to be a good person. You became my first friend and then something more."
I was honestly stunned. She spoke of love often but I guess this was the first time she spoke of why.
"The only thing I truly want is to stand by your side, now and forever… well that and to make sweet sweet love to you and see how loudly I can make you moan my name but while I agree violence and killing should be a last resort usually. You are something special to me and I will not tolerate something threatening to take you away from me." She said emphatically
I hugged her and she hugged me back "So what did you find out about those bastards?" she asked. So I told her what the man had said.
I had a name it wasn't much to go on but I decided to hire a hacker. I also created an automatic profile of companies that could pull this off, that were in my local sphere of influence and who might benefit from me leaving the stage. I had a good idea of who had done it by the end of my search but it took me a couple weeks of searching to find a skilled hacker who didn't mind work on the down low. I sent them to work on exploring the Ronins and seeing if they could find any major companies that had hired them lately.
Through extensive searching on the dark web he was able to find their contact information and from that he was able to send a request with a hidden attachment. A day later he was able to get in to their finances. My independent search had narrowed the suspects to a handful but really there was only 1 that would benefit, they also turned up in the search for companies that paid the Ronins a huge amount of money through dummy corporations.
It was The Santomon Company that had paid for the attack on my company. Santomon was an agriculture and agricultural biotech company, they specialized in herbicide and genetically modified foods. They were bastards who even were trying to engineer crops so that they would produce no seeds so farmers would have to buy from them every year.
I thanked the hacker and gave him a nice suitcase full of money in untraceable bills as was the usual way of payment for such a service.
I then called my contact to the Illuminati again. I asked him how things were going with the matter we discussed previously. He told me that it was being dealt with internally. I reminded him that he asked me to keep him abreast of what I was working on. That drew his attention. I explained through various means I had managed to find the people responsible for the attack myself. I said I was going to take my pound of flesh from them personally.
I heard a deep sigh from the other end of the phone. He told me if I tried he couldn't protect me from the fallout and it would be much easier to let them handle it. I assured him that would not be necessary. Sometimes you have to make a statement for yourself. Sometimes you have to show everyone you can't be pushed around. He gave a slight chuckle and agreed with me. I asked him if the rest of his friends would stay neutral in this and he agreed. That was all I needed.
There are many ways to hurt a corporation. However I found that the most effective way was the pocket book. There were several steps I needed to take first though I visited my acquaintance Xanatos. He was rather surprised to see me. He told me he was grateful I had not been hurt in the attack on my lab.
I informed him what I had learned. He nodded not seeming to be surprised. He noted that he didn't think he could help me. I then told him my plan and as I did he got this grin that grew as I elaborated.
He asked me what I needed him for. I explained I needed to do the final part of my plan in complete secret. I already had the piece I need planned out but I need someone able to produce it. I even gave him the price that I was looking to sell it at. He raised an eyebrow when I explained why I was planning to sell my new product at a slight loss. He understood completely what I was doing.
I asked him if he was in at the end and he agreed.
This was going to take practically every free cent I had and was risking the future of my company. However I wasn't going to be bullied by some company. They had picked the fight now it was my job to finish it.
The first step of my plans was I started buying Stock of The Santomon Company. I made it seem I was trying a hostile takeover of their company. This forced them to buy up their own stock. I also had a dummy corporation though short selling their stocks (Selling stocks they didn't have in hopes that they could buy them back when they were much cheaper. It wasn't exactly a legal move but it was a necessity for my plan.
I let them think they had won by buying up all of their loose stock. That's when I started with the media barrage. Santomon had always had sort of an image problem in the press as mentioned earlier they were assholes. Their company was run as if by a super villain. So a few whispers to the right people and they found themselves in a whirlwind of controversy. Well a bigger whirlwind of controversy than usual. Really all I had to do was throw a few bucks at some media outlets and they ran new stories about the negative effects of their pesticides and the potentially harmful effects of their genetically modified foods. Nothing was really new I just made the stories main stream.
That's when I had Xanatos release the final piece of my plan. Not only had I been planning to release super grain but I had my own pesticide to go with it what wasn't as harmful as Santomon's and worked even better. We released it and it was a body blow to the company. Their stocks fell by 80% as people started to jump ship. The whole business fell apart. I was able to cover the stocks I short sold for pennies on the dollar making a huge profit and when Santomon went in to bankruptcy I bought up most of their assets. Also once Santomon was out of the picture Xanatos cranked up the price of the weed killer and made a killing. No put intended.
Everything destroyed in my lab had been insured so as far as money goes I had not lost anything. Time however was actually more precious than money for me and I had lost plenty of that, It took months to get the parts for my power armors again which except for one arm was destroyed in the attack. In foresight I had regrettably not shown for my armor I had actually grown a small patch of grain in my warehouse. I intended to bring in forward to other worlds. So I had something for proof of concept. I teamed up with another agricultural biotech company to produce it. Ironically if they hadn't attacked me I probably would have been working with Santomon. Though they were effectively dead, last I heard their CEO had gone nuts and disappeared. In some countries a CEO of a failed company was expected to commit suicide sadly this wasn't one of them.
The grain hit the market and sold insanely well. Even though I was only getting part of the profits I moved up in to the upper part of the Forbes 500 list. More importantly as the grain was remarkably hearty and able to grow in a wide variety of climates it helped to feed much of the third worlds and helped reduce the amount of global starvation.
I got many awards for my efforts including a Nobel Prize and… much to my chagrin my star power increased.
Between more parties and fake smiles I was actually able to build the power armors I had sought to make for Nekochan and myself.
Testing them out was fun… I learned I did not like flying. I had a natural fear of heights and I did not like going fast and it was both of those things combined. Nekochan however loved to fly. The suits were very powerful, they even boasted a crude force field that I engineered as well as the more standard array of weaponry, increased strength, flight built in sensors and Ai. It even boasted limited invisibility. I could say with confidence that they were the most advanced suits in the world.
Still after the attack on my lab I was glad to have them, they both folded up in to briefcases that I made sure was never far from our persons.
Things were looking up.
Then I got a call from my contact from the Illuminati. He said he had some important things to discuss with me and asked me to come to a parking complex at midnight. He asked that I have as few people with me as possible. There seemed a lot funny about this. I agreed because I felt I had little choice.
So on appointed date I took a heavily armored limo loaded with a few surprises as I went to meet the gentlemen.
The lights were dim and the parking complex was abandoned. There was another Limo waiting there presumably with my contact in it. Nekochan warned me there were several figures using cloaking technology around us. That confirmed this was a trap. Nekochan wanted to drive off, which made sense but I doubted our limo would make it. We had to turn this trap on the trappers. So I had a couple of life model decoys made, one for me and one for Nekochan. They got out of the otherwise apparently empty back of the Limo and approached the other limo. I watched through the eyes of the android as it cautiously walked over to the other limo. At first the door opened and the gentlemen from the Illuminati got out. Then someone got out behind him. It was the former CEO of Santomon with a gun against the gentleman's back
"Well I knew something was wrong but I never expected to see you here." I said to the CEO. He was an older man his face was wrinkled with age and his bald head had just a few hairs left up top. He was short and kind of stocky. He was dressed in a fine suit.
"It's nice to meet you in person. When you took everything that I valued from me, you did it from afar like a coward but I am glad I get to see you in person."
"You attacked me first. You are the one who was responsible for your own downfall." My copy answered.
"That's cute but you knew we were the one doing genetically engineered foods. You stepped in to our turf. I wasn't trying to kill then. It was a happy accident you were there. Unfortunately you survived."
"Well sorry to disappoint you, any last words before I have Nekochan here disembowel you." My copy asked and the copy Nekochan extended her claws.
"Yes, you see I am not the only one who has a bone to pick with you. You see the Ronins were rather upset that you killed a few of their men and they are here today to return the favor."
With that something fired out of the shadows and hit Nekochan. It seemed to attach to her there were sparks and she fell limply to the ground blood leaking from her mouth.
The Men in Power Armor de-cloaked. My copy bent down and checked Nekochan with a distraught look.
"Awww that's adorable you actually had feelings for your real doll. Well sorry I broke your toy. Don't worry you won't be needing her any longer." He said turning his gun from the gentleman to my copy and filled her full of led. She collapsed.
"Huh I thought it would be harder than that."
Our doubles having played their part Nekochan and I exploded out of the top of the front of the Limo in full power armor and began to fire. I took out their limo's tires disabling it. Nekochan's armor practically exploded in a barrage of missiles and energy blasts as she targeted the ronins around us, they in turn opened fire and all hell broke loose.
The CEO ducked behind the Gentlemen with his gun to the man's head "Stop or I kill him." He shouted.
I could read his heart rate was raised. He was terrified. "IF you kill him there is no reason to keep you alive." I shouted as I fired a cable past him.
"Oh that was a mistake say good bye to the old man." Said the CEO before the cable pulled back with the door of the Limo slamming in to him and sending him flying. I walked over to where he lay. He was reaching for the gun but I stepped on his hand.
"Oww… what the fuck are you?" he demanded looking up at me in disgust. "Oh I don't know just a young girl on a long journey, the smartest woman in the world or the wrong person to fuck with, take your pick, all apply." I answered before kicking him in the head with my armored foot.
I didn't have to turn around to see that Nekochan had taken out the Ronin soldiers. I walked to the Gentleman who was laying on the ground and rubbing his head I bent down and offered him my hand.
He looked up and took it. "Well you have my thanks. I did not believe he would stoop so low." He said as as he stood up and dusted off his fine suit. He looked over at the former CEO. He walked over and turned him around and rummaged in his inner pocket pulling out a pin.
"It may be a bit premature for this but. I really think you have earned it. I would really like you to join our number as a full member." He said offering me the pin.
I looked down at the pin then shook my head "I thank you but I don't think I am really of the material to join your club. I would rather just keep our relationship the same." I explained. I didn't really want to join any secretive cabal of rich people.
He blinked in surprise then smiled "You are as ever surprising. Well I will keep this in hopes you change your mind. I would suggest we leave here, the cops should be here soon and it's going to take a lot due to that idiot to cover it up."
"Alright I'll give you a ride." I told him and he thanked me. We grabbed the Life model decoys and tossed them in the trunk and headed out.
"Did you see how awesome I was?" Asked Nekochan excited, "Yes you were quite impressive." I told her.
We dropped off my friend from the Illuminati somewhere. He told us not to worry about this night's event things would be taken care of.
I would say things quieted down after that but… one day I woke up as a gargoyle, another time I accidentally caught Demon's broadcast and got turned to stone. I had to warn Nekochan what was going to happen. She was apparently immune but it freaked her the hell out. Honestly it was tough to get her not to try and hunt the "bitch" down who had turned me to stone.
As far as the Gargoyles went I didn't really have much interaction with them. That was by choice, it seemed to me things were dangerous enough as it was. Interacting with them only would add to the danger. I did catch a lot of footage of them on the roof top and such as I had cameras out there unlike most people.
I started collecting some "Mystical Items" as this world had magic and I very much wanted to get to know this world's magic. I collected several nick knacks until one day I had an old man in for some unrelated reason who happened to know a bit. He asked me about my collection and I showed him and he scrunched up his nose a bit. "Well these are fake, these are just minor things and these are actually cursed and you should get rid of them as soon as possible." He told me. Then he looked at one particular fist sized crystal set in gold. He told me "This should not be in mortal hands. Especially untrained hands it could cause a great deal of trouble." He said taking it and examining it.
I was dumbfounded, I asked him if he could teach me magic but he shook his head. He told me I wasn't really compatible with this world's magic. I asked him what his name was again. He told me it again, then he said in other ages he had been known as Merlin. He changed as he said that. "He told me it was my destiny to wield magic but not in this world and it was wisest not to mess with it because I lacked knowledge in it. Even for one who walks between worlds such as me I had accomplished a lot. He advised me not to get too full of myself or too ambitious. "There comes a time when one should sit back and enjoy the fruits of their own labors. Things are relatively peaceful now you would do well to rest and prepare for your next journey." And with those words he was gone with the item he said was dangerous.
I sighed and considered his words chocking it up to the old rule "You can't have everything." I decided maybe this was enough for now.
As far as my company went we expanded in to Robots and Power Armor, mainly so I could have stuff ready for the next world. By the end of the jump my warehouse was full of robots, gold, power armor, various tools and some experiments I wanted to take with me and of course one catgirl android maid and her back up ai and extra bodies.

 

[Neko Arc]

Spoiler: PIcture

Chapter 2 Unforeseen Consequences

Jump # 2 Batman the Dark Knight trilogy
Starting location: Uptown Gotham (0)
Age: 24
Gender: female
Origin: Upper Class
Perks:
*Obfuscating Stupidity (0)
*Why do we fall? (300, Discount)
*Trained by the league of Shadows (100)
*Unorthodox Skills (200)
Equipment:
*Money (0)
*Bat Car (100) I got a cool car!
*Jumper Manor (100, Discount)
*Jumper enterprises (200, Discount)


The first thing I became aware of was a gun waving in my face. It was small dark metal probably low caliber, a cheap throwaway gun, The man holding it was short probably a teenager he was wearing a ski mask he appeared Caucasian, had a thick 5 o'clock shadow brown hair apparently, Wide green eyes filled with fear as they darted around the store. "Anyone moves I am going to blow this woman's head off." He shouted loud enough to make me wince. He was breathing heavy, I noticed his two friends similarly dressed and holding guns were also breathing heavy, they were young, stupid and afraid. I had to act quickly or someone other than them were likely to get hurt. Around me were a half dozen customers in the upper class clothing store as well as 3 workers I could see, Each of the thugs had their gun pointed at a girls face, mine included.

The thug in front of me seemed to be the "Leader" as he shouted out, "Give me all of your money, jewelry and purses, and toss them on the ground.

They clearly hadn't planned this out well beforehand. Strangely the scene of what would happen next played out in my head, In this life I had been trained to fight, with my observation and planning skills I was also able to read peoples moves, It gave me some idea of what they were likely to do in a tense situation. Strangely I felt no fear only a deadly calm. I very slowly held out my purse and dropped it to the ground.

I had to do this in one smooth single motion. With his eyes dropping to watch my purse his gun and drooped a little and was not pointed directly at me. The world seemed to slow slightly as I moved as fast as I could, my hand darted out and plucked the gun from his hand, before he could react I fired two shots catching his friends in the shoulder making them drop their guns and drop to the floor and then as the man noticed the gun was gone I landed a heavy knee in his stomach bending him over before slamming and elbow in the back of his skull to knock him out.

All 3 men were down but my job wasn't done yet, I moved to grab the guns the gunmen had dropped and shouted out "Call the police." To the woman behind the register who was looking at me stunned as I kept the men covered with the gun.

My memories were still swirling through my brain as I was becoming aware of whom I was but thankfully my instincts from this life had kicked in first.

Things seemed to move at normal speed again as I took a deep breath and actually felt the adrenaline leave me. I felt tired. I called for the Limo to pick me up I was done shopping for the day

I was applauded and thanked by everyone not currently unconscious or rolling on the floor in pain. I dumped the guns on the counter. "When the cops come you can inform them they can contact my lawyers for a statement." I told her placing a card with my lawyers name and number on it, writing my own name for them.

"You're not staying?" the girl probably barely out of her late teens asks me wide eyed. I groaned "As much fun as it would be to spend hours with the police answering questions because 3 idiots decided to do something incredibly sloppy and stupid, I would rather not."

"Well umm… thank you… that was awesome, like the greatest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I was so scared and you just took them out like some movie action hero." I gave her a slight smile.

"Thanks but it wasn't much really." I told her and headed for the door. Likely it would take a few minutes for the Police to made it. Even in this a nicer part of the city, their response time wasn't good. Those actually interested in the job were overworked and honestly I heard a lot of them couldn't be bothered to give a shit any more.

When I got outside I found the limo waiting and got in.

"Wow Miss Raven, it looks like there was quite a lot of excitement in there." said Gary my driver for the day.

He was a stout man of average height. He had dark hair, eyes, and swarthy skin. He wore a mustache. He was an upbeat and talkative fellow.

I just sighed "Yeah a bit more than I would have liked."

"Wow imagines that just a few days back from your sabbatical to the Middle East and Gotham gives you her custom welcome."

I snorted "This city really is starting to decay. Someone needs to do something before this madness gets worse." I found myself saying. I couldn't help but wonder if the League of Shadows did have a point about this city being irredeemable. However I shook it off I could never approve of their methods.

"Yeah this place has really gone downhill, I am really sorry you had to come back to this." He said.

"So am I." I agreed. Inwardly at the moment I swore I would change things.

Who I was now was quite clear in my mind. I had been born to a well off family. My father had opened a robotics company and it took off. It wasn't as sexy as it sound mostly it was making specialized but necessary parts for manufacture. Anyways when I was in my tween years my parents had fallen victim to random violence from some dick head with a gun. I was angry, very angry. I was angry at the dick head, angry at the city, maybe just angry. I wound up falling in with a bad crowd. That's how I was introduced to the league of Shadows. They were overjoyed to take me in, to provide the substitute for the family I had lost, to train me to be a weapon. I was young and maybe a bit gullible I ate it up… until I found out they intended to destroy Gotham. It was something I overheard; I wasn't supposed to find out just yet. Whatever remaining shreds of common sense I had kicked in at that point and I failed out. My instructors were infuriated that I was holding back, that I wasn't eager to kill. Eventually I was handed my stuff and told to leave. To never seek them out again, forget what I had been taught. It was a small mercy they hadn't killed me but I guess even for them there was a lingering sentimentality. They still liked me even though they were sending me off. That was about a few months ago. I came home to find that the city had grown worse. I had already been toying with doing something. This was the last straw. I would fix the city my way. I wasn't going to wait for some guy dressed as a bat to show up and save the day. The Batman could fight from the shadows… I had a different battle plan. One thing was clear though we were both going to war.

It was a quick trip to the Mansion. My family mansion was a large, it always reminded me of a palace. It was actually modeled after the Wayne Manor apparently. It wasn't an exact copy but it was close. We actually were nearly close enough to be neighbors to the Waynes. Apparently my parents knew them before they died. Sadly Ironic they would reach a similar end.

The mansion had been maintained by a small group of faithful servants awaiting my return this near decade. Many of them I had grown up with and had been like family to me. When I had left… I hadn't cared if the place burned down I was angry and never intended to return. Now a bit older and wiser I was glad to have a place to return to.

The Guard at the gate's front was a recent but necessary addition. His name was Philip. He was a lean man of medium height and red hair, he had freckles and green eyes. He was one of a couple guards we had serving here. As we drove up he opened the gate for us and tipped his cap, I nodded to him and we drove on in.

Arriving at the Mansion proper I got out and was greeted at the door by Albert. He was a man of average height and build that was a lot shorter than I remembered, I remembered he used to have brown hair though it had turned grey and was receding now. He wore a suit, always that I could remember. Albert smiled "Ah good to see you home." He said then apparently read the expression on my face "Umm was there a problem with your trip?" concern was creeping in to his voice.

I sighed, "That's an understatement. I actually foiled a robbery. It sort of killed my mood to shop."

"Oh dear that's awful I am glad you weren't hurt, wait you foiled it?"

I sighed "Yeah … it was nothing major." I realized I didn't want to worry the old man.

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "Well I am glad you are alright, I do wish you wouldn't be so reckless though. Such matters are best left to the police."

I bit my tongue and nodded. "Yeah, your right, Say I will be having a friend over later tonight."

"Oh that's wonderful I shall inform the cook to set an extra place for dinner."

"Thank you." I said and prepared to walk away.

"By the way," he interjected "It's good to have you home." He told me. I felt my cheeks warm

"Thank you. It's good to be home."

I continued inside, I passed a few maids, again they were ruminants from when I was a child here. I greeted them warmly before heading on up to my room.

My room was large and largely filled with things from when I was a little girl. It was large, with a large canopy bed; There were shelves with stuffed animals and pictures of family about. It was… still strange. It felt like a little girls room, not mine. Not the current me. I… I couldn't move in to the master bed room. That was my parents room. It was still like it had been left. It was maintained by the maids as if they would return home any day. It was like a shrine to them. It was something sacred to everyone in the house and I couldn't bring myself to violate it.

One notable feature of my room was that my closet had a lock on it. That meant for me it was like a portal of sorts. I took a small mundane looking silver key out of my hip pocket. It was a little gift from my benefactor as was standard for a jump. I "Unlocked" the door and opened it. It opened in to a huge dark building complex instead of a normal closet that left me fumbling for the light switch near the doorway. With a click and the hum of the halogen lights above coming to life slowly my Warehouse was illuminated.

My warehouse was a large building filled with… stuff with two doors on the far end one at each side. On the left side of the building were 3 futuristic looking pods. Originally there had been 2 but at some point after I created Nekochan I found a 3rd​ one with her name on it. That was where I headed. There was a futuristic looking screen attached to the side of it. It asked me if I wanted to unseal my companions I told it yes and the pod hummed to life as the front began to lift and mist poured out revealing the rather shapely form of Nekochan. She was dressed in her maid uniform. I waited for her to do something, I noticed an eye flicker open for a moment. "Well… aren't you going to wake me with a kiss?" she asked. Despite myself I couldn't help but laugh.

"Awww well if you're not going to do it, I'll help myself then" she said and I suddenly found myself ensnared by Nekochan and my lips pressed against hers in a rather passionate kiss. It went on for a minute which I didn't mind.

When she finally released me she looked at me deeply and frowned. "You're tense, what's wrong?"
"Tense, I'm not tense." I said confused.

She sniffed "You're putting out tons of stress hormones. Even if I couldn't smell them I can read it in your face. What's wrong?" She demanded.

I sighed "This may take a while. Why don't you get some clothes put them in a suitcase, you are going to be a guest here. Also you might want to change your clothes too. It'll be kind of odd if you are dressed as a maid." I told her. She raised an eyebrow and then nodded doing so. Grabbing a suitcase and heading to the clothe section of the mess I had in my warehouse. It was actually much better organized than if I had just been doing it alone, it was in a fashion that looked like it made some sense, thanks to Nekochan's Insistence. Strangely she took her job as a maid seriously for someone so carefree.

I took a deep breath and gave her a short rundown of my life including what happened earlier at the store by the end of it her nose was kind of scrunched in annoyance. She sighed "So in this world you are Batman minus the costume but with all the angst." She more stated than asked.

I felt my cheeks warm in embarrassment. "Ummm I wouldn't put it exactly like that…" I began.

"But I am not wrong." She finished.

"Yeah pretty much" I admitted.

Nekochan looked annoyed with me about all of then then leaned over and whispered in my ear "Tonight I am going to tie you to the bed and screw all of that angst and stress out of you." I wasn't sure if that was a threat of a promise. Knowing Nekochan it may be both, and I was certain either way she was going to carry through with it.

"Well I guess that means my night is planned out for me. Anyways now that you have your suitcase and are dressed, you are going to have to sneak out and go to the front gate, tell them you are here for me."

She just sighed at me "Still trying to meet other people's expectations. I wonder if you will ever break free from that. Very well I shall be back in a few minutes." She said with a sigh as she headed for the window.

Though we were 3 stories up she opened the window and hopped down like it was nothing. Then she was just a white blur. The white blur hopped over the tall stone fence like nothing. I closed the window and headed downstairs to greet my guest.

Sure enough it was under 5 minutes and one of the maids who had gone out to greet the guest was walking in Nekochan trailing behind her.

"Um mistress, a Nekochan here to see you" she announced a bit uncertain. She seemed troubled by the figure behind her.

"Hey Nekochan…" I began.

Then I was tackle glomped by Nekochan. "Oh I missed you so much!" she said before planting a deep kiss on me right in front of the maid.

"My word!" uttered the shocked Maid. She was in her middle years, she had served from when my parents were alive, I know her well.

I broke the kiss and forced a smile wrapping an arm around Nekochan "Uh Nancy." I began addressing the maid by name "This is Kathrine or Kat or as she likes to go by Nekochan. She is my girlfriend." I explained.

"I-I see… I was unaware…" she stammered apparently trying to process all of this.

Nekochan just smirked.

"It's my fault I didn't really want to talk about it but I just found out today that she was moving to Gotham." I explained. "OH… and she will be staying with us for a while so could you prepare one of the guest rooms."

Nekochan actually pouted at that "Is that really necessary?" she asked. "I mean I could just stay in your room with you."

"Absolutely not" Interjected Nancy before blinking and blushing "I mean I will get the guest room ready for you immediately. Though might I have a word with the Mistress first?" she said motioning for me to follow as she walked away from Nekochan. I followed along.

Once she thought we were out of earshot "I know that it's none of my business exactly. You are an adult and may consort with whomever you wish but… Are you certain?"

I sighed and smiled slightly "I know she… seems well, a bit much but she is very nice once you get to know her."

"She is wearing fake cat ears and a tail. She wasn't in a minute before she was all over you like some sort of animal. I shudder to think what your parents would think of all of this." She said and then clasped her hands over her mouth.

I sighed. "You have kept this place immaculate in my absence." I started "You have my gratitude for that. When I left, I was a very angry young girl lashing out at the world and I probably wasn't the most fun person to serve. All that being said as you pointed out I am an adult now. I know Nekochan or Kathrine better than anyone alive. She may be rough around the edges but she is undying loyal and a true friend. I do hope you will get to see the positive side of her. However in the meantime, you will treat her with the same respect you would me. Also you will spread that to the rest of the household. She is a guest here and is to be made to feel welcome."

"Of-of course Mistress as you wish. How long will your girlfriend be staying?"

I thought a moment "She will be here as long as she wishes."

She bowed. "Very well then I shall prepare her room."

"Thank you." I replied with a nod, she quickly left to see to my orders.

"Boy she doesn't care for me does she?" said Nekochan walking up having heard the whole thing.

"She is just being protective." I explained.

She grinned "well you certainly are worth protecting so I can understand that." She said wrapping her arm around me "Soooo… I'm your girlfriend huh?" she said with a grin.

I coughed as my cheeks warmed "Yeah, considering what we do and our relationship I think it's appropriate."

"Ohhh so when are you going to make an honest woman out of me?" she teased.

I blinked and stammered a bit causing her to giggle "Oh don't worry, I am just teasing, though I would like to be married before we start having children."

I could only sigh and chuckle. At this point I was fairly certain Nekochan was only half joking.

Soon another maid came on to tell us that dinner was ready. Even though it was unnecessary she led us to the dining room where at a long table and impressive spread was laid out considering it was just two people.

Thankfully Nekochan was behaving herself. Mostly she asked about me and my past, nothing lewd. I told her about a happy childhood and an adolescence that I was not terribly proud of. Maybe I elaborated too much because at one point Nekochan got up walked around the table to where I was and hugged me. She said "You were young and very angry all people make mistakes, how about forgiving yourself?"
I was a little stunned and looking in to those big red eyes I could see she was serious. All I could do was nod and agree. I realized maybe I needed to rethink things. I hugged her back and told her I would try.

The rest of the night I had to set aside my plans as Nekochan made good her Promise/Threat. I was very sore and tired in the morning. I also got some weird looks in the morning. I had tried to keep it down but I guess it was hard to hide that, still I felt a lot less angry and a lot more relaxed. I still was bitter about my parents death, and about what had happened to Gotham but at least I wasn't alone. Also maybe I shouldn't have been surprised but it wasn't long before I heard whispers about Nekochan. It didn't take long for the help to figure out that those ears and tails were real. Things were a little tense for a while with some of them. Some were wary of her, though a couple seemed more intrigued. I left it alone and hoped it would sort itself out, I was busy.
I decided the next steps were two fold. I started to search for a biochemical company to purchase. I didn't have enough in this world to buy one yet on my own but I had enough squirreled away in my Warehouse that I could cover it easily. I couldn't afford a very big company but I could probably get one big enough that with a bit of expanding I could cover what I needed.

I also sent some blueprints for some fallout style power armor to my father's robotics company. Technically it was mine but I didn't really run it, it was ran for me. It was funny though I sent that over and an hour later I got a call back filled with praise and amazement. They were dumbed down from the ones that I had made in the past world but for this one where revolutionary. They confirmed they could make them and didn't think we would have any trouble selling them. It should represent a huge windfall for the company.

I needed money for my plans so that was good. It wasn't an exaggeration to claim I would be fighting crime with my wallet rather than my fists.

It took a couple weeks to Acquire the Biochamical company. It was moderate size, it didn't have many big accolades to their name. The next day I released the cure for cancer.

In the last world the reaction had been like a hurricane that washed over my life. This time as they were a lot further away it struck like a Nuclear blast. I was honestly shocked.

Forget being a celebrity I was deemed a national treasure. There were other countries trying to woo me in to moving their countries to work with gifts of money and freedom to work on what I wanted. I was a house hold name. I was getting marriage proposals from some people. I was discretely given a 24 hour protection detail which I am sure was not legal but apparently I had acquired quite a few crazy fans as well.

I was not the only one who received scrutiny in the following days. Nekochan became my constant companion and default personal maid and bodyguard. The problem is she didn't actually exist and that made the rumors about her crazy. Some thought she was the one who came up with the cancer cure, some thought she was an alien. Some thought she was nonhuman thing placed with me by the government for nefarious purposes.

Nekochan being Nekochan seemed to actively tease the people who asked her regarding these. Even once straight out admitting she was a bioandriod from another dimension created by another version of me for protection and companionship.

As far as money went I had loads of it coming in. Not only that but the government was almost so eager to help me they probably would have lined up dump trucks full of money in front of my place had I asked.

While this was going on it was revealed to me that some idiot had poisoned the Gotham water supply with a fear inducing toxin. I was asked to help and given a sample, it was actually tricky. Making an antidote was simple enough, making a chemical agent that was safe and if introduced into the water supply would render the fear toxin inert and safe was a bit harder however with Nekochan's help it was something I thought that was possible.

One thing about such delicate work is that it's easy to get caught up in it. One night found Nekochan and I in one of our labs leaning over a glowing monitor watching and desperately hoping that a chemical reaction played out the way that we wanted. If this worked then we would have a compound we could mass produce to counteract the fear toxin in the water supply.

As we watched simulated molecules bound together and shifted. I think we both drew in a breath ready to cheer when we heard someone clear their throat from about a dozen feet behind us. I turned around to find Nekochan already between me and the person who had cleared her throat protectively.

She was slightly on the tall side. Her features marked her as Asian with long flowing dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to watch us or particularly Nekochan with a mix of amusement and curiosity. She had a lean build but I knew just how strong and deadly our new guest was, she was heavier than she looked and had a lot of hidden muscle that I still wasn't quite sure where she hid them. She wore a red shirt under a black trench coat with jeans and black boots. She looked exactly the same as when I had left the league of Shadows.

"Well to what do I owe the honor Sandra?" I asked my old martial arts teacher. I hoped by using her name it would break the tension. I did not want to see Nekochan Tussle with this woman.

That drew a slight grin from her. "Heh, Your friend there is quite fast. It's strange though her movements are so crude. I suspect she hasn't had any formal training." She said crooking her head a bit. She wasn't hiding that she was sizing up Nekochan.

"Ummm so what brings you here?" I asked.

She frowned slightly and gave a soft sigh "Well first since you are no longer my student if you must address me it is Lady Shiva. Second I have been sent here to have a word with you… Though I must admit I didn't expect to find you with such a curious companion. The way she moves, those ears and tail are natural aren't they?" that was more of a statement than a question.

"Ah… well that is hardly relevant to this situation. What does the league of shadows want with me? Last I was informed I was persona non grata there."

Lady Shiva smirked and nodded "Yes, normally the stunt you pulled with purposefully failing out would have cost you your life. Had Ra's Al Ghoul himself ordered me not to I would have killed you myself for such a ploy. However he believed you had greater things ahead of you. I admit, it seems he was correct." She said her eyes not moving from Nekochan and Nekochan in front of me tensed up at the comment that she would have killed me if not ordered explicitly not to.

"Well it seems you have stumbled in to the league's business. I have been sent to stop you one way or the other."

"Alright, I have been quiet and listened to you talk politely but if you try and lay one finger on my master I will take your head, I don't care what relationship you had to her." Threatened Nekochan.

That drew a full smile from Lady Shiva as she just took a defensive stance herself and motioned with her hand to come.

"Nekochan Stop!" I ordered her "Lady Shiva, what business have I stumbled upon?" I demanded.

"It has reached our attention that you are trying to get rid of the toxin in the water supply. That is against the League of Shadow's wishes. We are willing to look the other way should you stop now and leave this city but otherwise I am afraid I will have to stop you here. Well after I finish with your friend of course."

"I see… well it seems like it would be a great problem if I should happen to disappear or turn up dead even for the league. After all it's in the name League of Shadows, It seems like it would draw too much light."

Her eyes narrowed "Do you dare to think yourself beyond the reach of the League of Shadows?"

I smiled "I do. You see presidents, world leaders all of them there are lots of them, however there is only one of me. If you killed me you would not only be robbing the world of the person who cured cancer but also whatever else I could do. As much as you hate Gotham even the league of shadows wouldn't want that. In fact I'll bet that you were sent here not kill me but to scare me. I'll bet the order to not harm me is still in effect. So instead of threatening me why don't you take a message back to Ra's Al Ghoul. Tell him Gotham now belongs to me. You may have seen it as Sodom and Gomorrah but I still see hope and I have already proven I can do what others can't. I am going to raise this city from the dead and clean it of its ills. Now I can't do this by simply snapping my fingers. However give me a decade; I'll make this city in to something great."

Lady Shiva's eye twitched and then she chuckled "I do not remember you being this arrogant and presumptuous. I should kill you just for that. Still you have become more intriguing. Very well, I'll take your message back to our leader. If he agrees to your terms then that is fine. Should he decide however that your time of usefulness has ended I shall return." She said and simply left. Just like that.

After she left turned to me annoyance visible on her face "What was that about? I am supposed to protect you. Why would you not let me stomp that bitch in to the ground?" she asked her voice flashing with real anger.

"First it was unnecessary I handled the situation myself, Second, I know her and how she fight, I am not so sure you could have won." I told her honestly.

Her eyes widened "What, she is only a normal human I could have torn her apart." She said in disbelief.

"I am going to give you a bit of advice because I have noticed an unfortunate tendency to look down and underestimate others. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOUR OPPONENT! I have seen her kill with a single strike, you may be faster and stronger and tougher than any human could be but you haven't been in many real fight. What's worse is you haven't been in any real fights where your very life was at stake. For her that's a daily thing, I have seen her do bullshit things that were like they were out of a comic book. I am not taking chances." I explained.

She crossed her arms and humphed. She was about to walk off when I took a peak over at the monitor and say the chemical compound we were testing had been successful in the virtual test.

"Hey it worked." I said motioning over to the screen. That caught Nekochan's interest as she looked over "Well damn, It did, that's awesome." She said relaxing.

"Are you really that upset about me not letting you fight Shiva?" I asked.

She sighed "I am just sick of you trying to protect me when I am the one supposed to protect you."

"We protect each other, that's how it works. We are partners in this jumpchain business." I answered.



She relaxed and turned hugging me tightly. "Partners eh? That does sound rather nice. I watch your back you watch mine. I must say you have a very nice backside to watch." she added with a giggle.



I couldn't help but smile. "Alright lets get back to saving Gotham." I told her though I will admit I was somewhat sad to leave her embrace, she was very soft and warm and her hugs felt ve

"Mmm alright, though I still say I could whooped that bitches ass." she said playfully.



"Maybe but that would have been declaring war on the League of Shadows and I would rather not. They fight like bastards. I would rather not have to worry about them slipping something in to my food or some other dirty trick."



Nekochan merely nodded in agreement.



That reminded me I had to go and fix what those bastards had done so I called in the fact that I had found a compound to negate the fear toxin in the water and e mailed it to the proper people so they could immediately start producing it. My own biochemical company would be one of the companies making the compound. Because this was an emergency the government had stepped in and requisitioned all the help they could get to do so.



Maybe due in part to the movie nature of this universe the government actually worked fairly quickly as within hours the compound was being produced and it would only be a couple days before the water supply would be safe to drink again. Something told me it would have taken my original universe weeks if not longer to do the same.



I won't lie… being a hero is a pain in the ass. The news broke that I had found the cure for the poison in the water almost immediately as the government was trying to calm the citizens of Gothan and really the rest of the country. My name was used to help calm people, I was a hero again and my phone nearly blew up. I would not stop ringing. It was late already and I had wanted to just crawl in bed. I lost track of how many times I said "I will release a statement in the morning." before I just handed the phone to Nekochan and asked her with her super human endurance to handle things for a while so I could sneak off to get a nap (or what actually happened I near passed out for the night).



I woke up the next morning to a rather colorful statement she had made on my behalf. Apparently the two of us had saved the city on our own and we were awesome. That's what she had said in several different ways.



I immediately when I got up and saw that ran to make a statement that, This had been accomplished with the help of many and that we were grateful to everyone in the scientific community who had pulled together to collaborate to make this possible. While Nekochan's statement had been kind of true, snubbing everyone else probably wasn't going to win me any friends in that community and I didn't know when I would need help on something. The scientific community it turns out could be petty (after all many of them were future super villains). Fun fact: Lex Luthor did exist in this universe and was an even bigger asshole than in the comic somehow. I am guessing that was due to the lack of a Superman to focus his anger and frustration on. Though he kind of already hated me because he had been the smartest man on the planet before I cured Cancer. Something he claims he could have done but just didn't get around to.



It turned out to be an interesting and busy day. By the end of it I just wanted to crawl in bed unfortunately it was then that Nekochan found a note on my pillow. The league had accepted my terms… sort of. I had exactly one year to clean up the city and if I didn't I would be held responsible for it. Fuck. Nekochan of course was enraged and interrogated all the maids and the security service, no one knew anything. She even interrogated the people the government was having watch me 24 hours a day. Of course as they hadn't known about Shiva's visit I didn't have high hopes they would have seen anything. She wanted to let them all go and replace them entirely with robots but I managed to calm her down. I would just have to preform another minor miracle.



It turns out miracles take a lot of work and money. I started a new business a security business hiring men who I had thoroughly background checked and equipping them with Power armor from my father's company. I also employed Drones that were controlled and monitored by an Ai that I created. I even donned my own power armor and led them personally a few times as a publicity stunt.



The city was still reeling from almost being destroyed by some nut poisoning the water supply so I was allowed to do this and my biggest problem was that I needed more men, more power armor and more drones because any business or rich private person wanted my services. This I had actually predicted and through it I was able to blanket the majority of the city with my forces. My Drones in particular monitored the entire city. Secretly they had facial recognition software and were connected to a database of wanted criminals.



A lot of criminals wound up being picked up by police due to mysterious tip

I also used my money to background check and then support political candidates who were both sympathetic to my efforts to clean the city and not in bed with the organized crime.



I also started after school programs and lobbied for tougher sentences for career criminals. I used hacking programs to locate dirt on dirty judges, politicians and cops and released that information forcing them from office. I also used the hacking program to steal the money of organized crime. In short I turned Gotham in to an Orwellian police state and the people loved me for it. There were a few people who bitched at me about civil liberties but as I did this at a time after we had just had a localized terrorist attack that could have been greater than 911 had I not stopped it, I got a pass. I was confronted at one point by a pushy reporter when I was rather tired and responded "If you don't like it, then leave." that became a motto for the city. I made maybe not the most friendly city but very safe one.



The Joker did show up in the city… and got shot in the face by one of my Security Forces. I had warned them ahead of time of a crazy man wearing clown make up, that he was insanely dangerous and needed to be handled with extreme caution. Nekochan had gone behind my back and privately put a shoot to kill order on anyone matching the Joker's description. It wound up one of very few black marks against my services. However in retrospect I couldn't say that Nekochan was wrong. While the guy who shot the Joker was publicly reprimanded. Privately he got a big bonus and was let off with a slap on the wrist and promotion once the noise died down about his actions.



At the end of the year I found a letter on my pillow one night. It was from Ra's Al Ghoul himself. He congratulated me on a job well done with Gotham. He told me I had turned one of most corrupt cities in the world in to a shinning example of what humanity could be and should be. I felt a little sick at his praise and it made me wonder if I had done the right thing. Then finally it dawned on me something that should have been obvious and Nekochan had been trying to tell me the whole time. I did the best I could, who cares if people thought. I had made the city a safer place and improved the world.



After that I took a nice long vacation in Hawaii. I bought a house there that I would retreat to when I needed to relax. Nekochan loved the night life there but I preferred the more quiet moments just relaxing with her on the beach. All in all I think Gotham wound up better off from my being there. For the rest of my time there I continued to keep an eye on Gotham to make sure it didn't become the corrupted cesspool it had once been. I also released several more cures and life improvements like cybernetics and robots to take care of menial labor. I introduced anti aging drugs and other things to improve the quality of life. By the end of my time there Nekochan joked I could have conquered the world and the people would have cheered me on. It might have been the case but honestly by the end I was tired and ready to go somewhere else.