When Jacob and the girls finished testing the energy shield, Cogman appeared and called them for breakfast.
Jacob stayed behind, sitting on the grass. "Go ahead, girls. I got a little stronger this morning, and I want to see what changed in my body."
Allison and Lydia nodded, not bothering him, and went inside the mansion, still talking excitedly about their new ability.
Once they were gone, Jacob smirked. 'Now, let's use the rewards I've been waiting for.'
'System, merge the Deadpool healing factor into my body.' He commanded in his mind.
[Are you sure, host?]
'Wait—are there any side effects? Like… will my face turn ugly or something?'
[No, host. There are no side effects.]
'Then merge it.'
[Please brace for the pain. The merging will be complete after ten minutes.]
'Wait, what pai...'
Before he could finish the thought, agony ripped through him. Every cell in his body tore apart and reconstructed. Jacob bit his lip hard, enduring the torment in silence.
Ten minutes later, it finally ended. His clothes were drenched in sweat, but the vitality surging through his body was unmistakable.
'That pain was worth it.' He thought with a grin. 'Now I'm nearly impossible to kill. Even if I can't win a fight, I'll survive to take revenge.'
He pulled the True Dragon's Blood Essence from his pocket dimension and drank it. This time, there was no pain—just a warm, comfortable feeling that spread through his body and lasted for about a minute.
Jacob clenched his fist, feeling the raw strength coursing through him. 'I'm so much stronger than before. Let's shift and see what's changed.'
He took off his hoodie and began to shift. Black scales covered his entire body except his face, which only had a few scales on his cheeks. His eyes glowed golden, his ears became pointed, and two dragon horns emerged from his head. But the change didn't stop there. His body grew taller, from 1.8 meters to 2.2 meters, and became bulkier. Two powerful black dragon wings burst from his back, and a scaled dragon tail unfurled behind him.
Jacob was pleasantly surprised by the sheer power he felt in this form. 'I feel incredibly strong—like, really strong. I thought having a tail would be awkward, but it feels just like an extra limb. I can control it with ease. But more importantly… I finally have wings! Let's try to fly.'
With a powerful beat, he launched skyward, a shockwave blasting the ground where he stood. In moments he was soaring high above the Beacon Hills Preserve, wind rushing past him at exhilarating speed.
"Yeeeeeaaah!" Jacob shouted with unrestrained joy, streaking through the sky. "I feel so free!"
He broke through the clouds, flying above them in the bright morning sun. Taking a deep breath, he unleashed his fire. A massive funnel of flame roared from his jaws, stretching more than two hundred meters before fading away.
Jacob laughed. 'Now that's what you call a fire breath! And my fire has changed, too—it's much hotter than before. Now, let's try my lightning breath.'
He opened his mouth. A crackling ball of lightning formed, first the size of a basketball, then swelling until it was five times larger. With a mighty roar, Jacob unleashed the lightning breath.
Unlike before, when the lightning sphere simply shot forward, this time a thick beam of lightning blasted out while the ball remained at his mouth, shrinking with each second. The beam carved through the clouds, traveling so far that Jacob couldn't even see its end before it finally faded away.
The glowing ball in front of his mouth finally dissipated, leaving the air tingling with static.
Jacob's grin widened. 'That was incredibly strong… this is true dragon power.' He thought. 'Now… I wonder what kind of breath my earth element gives me. Maybe that drop of dragon blood awakened something new.'
'System, show me my status.'
[Status:
- Name: Jacob Alexander (16 years old)
- Species: Human/Dragon
- Abilities:
1. Pyrokinesis
2. Electrokinesis
3. Geokinesis
4. Magmakinesis
5. Fire and Electricity Immunity
6. Standard Shifter Abilities
7. Poison Immunity
8. Passive Charm
9. Dragonborn Shout (Fus Ro Dah) (Skyrim)
10.Dragon Fire/Lightning/Lava Breath
11.Storm Call (Skyrim)
12.The Quen Sign (The Witcher)
- Weapons & Items: Banana Peel (Mario Kart), Defective Lightsaber, Defective Invisibility Cloak, Excalibur Knockoff, The Joker's Laughing Bomb ×20, A Can of Popeye's Spinach, Mirakuru (Arrow – DC Comics) ×7, Senzu Beans ×3, Expired Senzu Beans ×8, Spatial Ring ×8, Memory Neuralyzer (Men in Black), Replica Katana Shusui (One Piece), Glock 45, S&W 500 Revolver, Alien Wrist Blaster (Cowboys & Aliens), Arc Reactor (MCU), Hand Grenades ×10, Quen Scroll ×7.]
Jacob's eyes lit up. 'Magmakinesis… Lava Breath. I definitely didn't have those yesterday.'
He closed his eyes and focused. A moment later, molten lava bubbled into existence above his palm, glowing red and hissing with heat.
"Cool!" Jacob muttered, grinning. "Now let's try the breath."
He took a deep breath and, with a roar, unleashed his Lava Breath. A torrent of superheated molten rock shot from his mouth, traveling nearly fifty meters before splattering and raining down in a devastating shower of fire and stone.
'It's insanely powerful.' Jacob thought. 'But damn, it eats more energy than fire and lightning combined. Still worth it.'
He turned and began flying home, diving below the clouds at incredible speed. But just as he was about to arrive at his mansion, he realized with a jolt that the lava hadn't disappeared. It was going to fall on the trees in the Beacon Hills Preserve and start a fire.
He quickly flew back to the preserve, but he was already too late. Flames burned the trees, spreading fast.
"Damn it!" He cursed, landing hard inside the inferno. With a sweep of his arms, he drew on his fire control, forcing the flames to die down. He manipulated the lava, solidifying it into hardened rock until the last ember faded away.
He sighed in relief. 'I should be more careful next time.'
Just then, he caught the terrified heartbeat of something nearby. Jacob turned his golden eyes toward the sound and spotted a coyote with glowing blue eyes staring at him in sheer terror.
A slow, wolfish grin spread across his face. "Well… hello, beautiful."
The coyote whimpered in fear and bolted away.
With a powerful flap of his wings, Jacob caught up and scooped her into his scaled arms. She struggled wildlyand and bit his arm, but it was like trying to bite stone.
Jacob bared his fangs in a grin. "Do you really think I'll let you go after finding you? Be a good girl and become my mate... I mean, come home with me. Damn! I sound so creepy."
Then, without thinking, Jacob let out a monstrous dragon roar. The coyote's eyes rolled back in her head, and she fainted in his grasp.
Jacob blinked. 'What's going on? Isn't she supposed to turn into a human? Or do I need to be an Alpha to force her to shift?' He tilted his head, frowning. 'And why is she so scared anywa…?'
Then it hit him. He looked at his scaled hands, his wings, his horns. 'Right. I'm in my hybrid form. Even if I'm not releasing my aura, some of it still leaks out.'
He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Oops. I almost scared my future wife to death." His grin widened. "But this works too. I'll take her home like this, let the girls get used to her, and let her get used to us. There's no rush."
Jacob carried Malia in his arms and flew back home. He landed in the mansion still in his hybrid form, wings folded tightly behind him, and walked into the kitchen.
Inside, Allison and Lydia were already done with breakfast, giggling as they tested out the new phones Cogman had built for them.
Both girls froze when they saw him. Their eyes widened, and in seconds they were circling him, touching his wings and the scales along his arms.
"Can you fly?" Lydia asked in awe.
"Yes." Jacob said with a grin. "I just came back from my first flight."
Allison smiled. "Then you have to take me flying."
"Me too." Lydia chimed in.
"I'll take you both after school." Jacob promised.
Cogman looked first at Jacob's form, then focused on limp coyote in his arms. "Sir, do you want me to cook that? I doubt it will taste very good, but..."
Malia shivered violently, fear radiating from her small body. Jacob snapped. "Shut up, you idiot. She's already terrified enough."
Allison and Lydia raised their brows in unison. "She?"
Jacob sighed, shifted back into his human form, and sat at the table. He placed Malia carefully on his lap. "Yes, her. This isn't just a coyote; she's a werecoyote. A girl, judging by her scent. For some reason, she's stuck in this form and has probably been living alone in the woods for years."
"And why did you bring her home?" Lydia asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I won't lie." Jacob said honestly. "I'm very interested in her. But I don't know how to turn her back into a human. So she'll stay with us until we figure it out. What do you girls think?"
Allison frowned. "I don't like it. But… there's nothing I can do about it."
Jacob looked to Lydia. She snorted and turned away. "I'm not talking to you today. Allison, let's go to school."
But as she moved to leave, Jacob caught her hand. "Come on, I know you're not that angry. So, tell me, what do you really want?"
A mischievous smirk tugged at Lydia's lips. "I want you to watch The Notebook with me."
Jacob groaned. "Again? We just watched it a few days ago."
Lydia pouted. "You don't want to? Then how about we watch Titanic?"
Jacob shouted dramatically. "No, no, no! There was plenty of space on that damn door for both Jack and Rose! I refuse to watch that trash again. It makes my blood pressure spike. Fine! We'll watch the stupid Notebook."
Lydia pumped her fist triumphantly. "Yes!"
Jacob shook his head, smiling despite himself, then turned to Allison. "And you? Want me to sit through some boring romance anime with you too?"
Allison smirked and kissed his cheek. "No. Just be nice when my parents come over tonight after school."
"I will." Jacob promised.
"Good." She kissed him again, then turned to Cogman. "Drive us to school, will you? We're going to be late. Jacob still needs to eat and shower. He smells like sulfur."
"As you wish, my lady." Cogman replied smoothly.
Lydia wrinkled her nose. "Jay, why do you smell like sulfur, anyway?"
Jacob leaned back with a grin. "Because of my new ability."
He told them about his lava breath, his magma control, and how he had nearly burned down the woods.
Lydia smacked the back of his head. "Idiot! Last time you almost destroyed the forest with lightning, and now lava? Can't you think before testing your powers?"
Jacob gave a sheepish smile. "I'll try to be more careful next time."
Allison shook her head, tugging Lydia toward the door. "Alright, let's go. We're already late."
After the girls left with Cogman in the Rolls-Royce, Jacob looked down at Malia in his lap. "I know you're awake." He said gently. "And I know you can understand me."
Malia slowly opened her eyes and stared at him. Jacob smiled softly. "I will not harm you. I was just trying to help you shift back to human form earlier when I roared at you, but it didn't work. You can leave if you want; I won't stop you. But even if you leave, you will always be welcome here."
He gently placed her on the kitchen floor and stood up. "You haven't eaten human food in a while, have you? You can nod or shake your head to answer."
Jacob pulled two ribeye wagyu steaks from his pocket dimension, cooked them, sliced them into pieces, and set them on a plate on the floor. "Here. Try this. It's wagyu steak. People say it's the most delicious meat in the world."
Then he sat at the table and began eating.
Malia hesitated for a moment, then cautiously walked to the plate and devoured the steaks. When she finished, she barked at Jacob.
He chuckled. "What? You want more?"
Malia nodded eagerly.
"All right, I'll make another one." Jacob said.
Malia barked again, and he grinned. "You want two?"
She nodded once more. Jacob quickly cooked and plated another round of steaks.
Afterward, he went upstairs for a shower, changed into fresh clothes, and returned downstairs. Malia was waiting near the front door. Jacob opened it and said. "You can leave, but like I said, you're welcome here anytime. You can even stay with us until we figure out how to turn you back into a human."
Malia barked happily, then sprinted off, leaping over the perimeter wall and disappearing into the woods.
Jacob sighed, shook his head with a smile, and climbed onto his bike, riding off to school.
To be continued… 😊