"Is that all you've got, boss?" Jessica provoked, saying the last word a drawl.
"If I gave you my all, you'll be walking away with a limp."
Jessica seemed to understand that as she attacked again, her teeth clenched.
She lunged low this time, aiming to grab him around the waist. Will sidestepped and hook her head under his armpit. At the same time, his legs tripped her using her momentum.
But Jessica managed to stabilize herself this time. Immediately, Will let go and punched her in the solar plexus, followed by several more punches.
The superhuman girl began to dodge and counter now, while also ignoring the damage caused by the Will's attacks.
'She also has higher reflexes and agility. Definitely some comic Jessica in her.'
Will blocked a few of her hits, but he felt like his hands break. Then a kick came which blew him back several meters despite blocking it.
Jessica smirked. "Sorry, I thought you could handle it."
She looked at Will intently, as if expecting something. And sure enough, his hair was blown up once again. Veins popped out over his already bulging muscles.
[Iron Will]
Will's body was aching. But, he couldn't stop. All skills needed to be trained to a higher level. Especially Iron Will.
The nanofiber launchers on his wrists were activated, covering his hands with Nano fibre fluid which quickly solidified.
Strength was put in his feet and Will footwork became unpredictable, as he swayed from side to side. He feinted twice before going for Jessica's cheek with a right hook.
As she instinctively put her hand up for defense, his punch hit her. But, it had no power. When Jessica lowered her hand, she only saw the same punch headed for her unguarded ribs.
The sound of fabric tears was dampened by the huge sound of the body shot that contained Will's full power, plus power he had the percentage he had managed to absorb through Jessica's series of counter attacks.
Jessica was slid to the left for several feet this time, the hardened nano-fibre glove adding insult to the injury.
She got up, gasping in pain.
Will discard his damaged t-shirt, revealing his muscles which were just starting to contract back to their original as the Aura faded.
"Sorry, I also.... thought you could handle it."
"I thought you didn't have powers?" Jessica asked, lifting up her t-shirt to see a slightly reddened area. "That punch could have killed normal humans."
Will shrugged. "You're not the only one who's undergone enhancements."
He sat down and leaned his hands back. "Let's take 5."
"You want to fight more?"
Will grinned. "Of course."
…
Helen looked at a bruised and battered Will and sighed for the umpteenth time.
"Seriously? Is your name Bruise Will?" She looked angry and helpless at the same time. "It has been almost a week. When does this stop?"
She has the right to be angry. After all, for the past few days, Will has been sparring with Jessica non-stop.
Will shrugged. "When I get my own healing factor."
"You talk as if you would definitely get it. Seriously, stop hurting yourself trying to fight a superhuman."
"You're getting a willing test subject for the Healing pod. Just relax and enjoy your research. You know there, no permanent disadvantage. In fact, this method seems much better than the Reconstruction Pod, right?"
Reconstruction Pod's principle was simple. Take Will's best cell tissue, optimize it further, and replace the average tissues with its copies.
That successfully distracted Helen as she looked at Will's data over the past week. shook her head.
"I still can't understand how that's happening. The 'enhancement' through Regeneration Pod can't go beyond the peak human limits, which you have already almost reached. But even if this process is slower, there seems to be no downward trend at all."
"Meaning I can theoretically keep getting stronger indefinitely."
'Love this skill.'
Of course, it was all because of the skill [Saiyan's Masochism].
Along with the usual 10 seconds temporary burst, it also 'has a certain degree of permanent strengthening effect.'
There is indeed a strengthening effect, but it's not supposed to be worth much. After all, once you get injured, you obviously have to heal before continuing the process.
Will has found a bug: The Healing Pod, made after the Kilgrave incident when Will realized he and his companions might get injured often in future.
Using it, he can quickly heal after getting injured and then continue taking more hits. Basically, it's his senzu beans.
Will could now fully sympathize with those poor Saiyans who were called masochistic just because they wanted to get stronger.
After all, if fighting and getting beaten makes you stronger, which rational person wouldn't do it?
"It's ready. You can go in."
Under Helen's operation, the Healing Pod was opened and Will slowly eased into it, every joint aching.
The process started and he was submerged in a liquid and needles were inserted into all the injured parts of his body. The regenerative elements of the lizard serum stimulated rapid cell growth, while the nanobots controlled the process and gave it direction.
The process was similar to Regeneration Pod and Reconstruction Pod, but they were no longer replacing cells, just accelerating the body's natural healing process.
After a while, the process was complete. While he was not as good as new, he was still doing pretty darn better compared to his previous condition.
"There are still risks in this, you know," said Helen. "Even if we extract it right after using it on targeting parts, the components of lizard serum are still highly unstable. It'd be better if we perfected it first"
Will sighed. "That's why I'm holding back. Don't worry, I'll perfect it soon."
He took a bath and settled into a chair next to Helen, checking his work emails. That's when he found something interesting.
He had sent down instructions to recruit a female instructor who is capable. Unexpectedly, among the list of applicants the company had vetted, he found an interesting profile.
"Natalie Rushman, huh?"
In front of him was the profile of a beautiful woman, red hair framing her face like firelight to porcelain. Will wouldn't really have caught it, but that face was too similar.
Black Widow was trying to infiltrate his company.
It seems that he has already attracted the attention of the shield. Revolutionary Healing Tech, and the tech division of Oscorp. Of course Fury wants to infiltrate.
Will filed this information away for now. But he did save that number on his phone.
This action could not be hidden from Helen, who was working on an adjacent computer. He threw him a disgusted look.
"Can't even blame you. She's too beautiful. Of course, a lustful monkey like you won't miss the opportunity," she said sourly.
Will was caught with milky white substance on his pants. He could only let Helen taste it to make her believe it was yogurt.
"She's a high level spy from shield," he said, opening a folder that contained Black Widow's pictures in her signature tight black outfit.
"Looks more like a cosplay to me. And why are you keeping pictures of her?"
Well, sometimes women are just unreasonable.
After completing his work, Will went out, heading for home. But before exiting the building, he first put on a wig. Actually, it wasn't a wig. It was a Psychic blocking helmet, made into a wig. It looks like Will's original hair, except longer.
On his way, he found Jessica sitting alone at the edge of the park, looking at the families taking a walk or playing ball.
Will sighed. Recruiting teenagers is not easy. Especially those whose families were recently deceased.
He gave Iris several instructions. Then, he honked two times, causing Jessica to look back.
"Get in," he waved.
Jessica looked at him quizzically but then shrugged, leaving the bench and approaching him.
"What's the matter?"
"We have somewhere to go," Will said seriously, looking ahead.
Jessica immediately checked her equipment. Seeing all weapons, she also decisively jumped into the seat of the open convertible.
The engine roared and the car sped away.
"Where are we going?"
"Confidential. Put this on," He said, giving her a wig which had pinkish purple hair.
Jessica first glanced at Will's new long-haired hairstyle, and realizing it actually looked great, she also regathered her relatively short hair and put the wig on.
Instantly, it automatically adjusted itself, covering her head to look her original hair.
Will glanced at her and nodded in satisfaction.
"Your alias now is Jewel," he said. It was her Superhero identity in the comics, with the same pinkish purple hair color.
Jessica nodded. "Copy that. What's the mission?"
It seems that she has been paying attention to the classes.
"You'll know soon," said Will, putting on his glass.
[Dumbest Disguise]
Jessica glanced at him but then did a double take, blinking her eyes.
"You look…" she paused. Of course she couldn't say you look completely different. Because Will looked almost the same. Yet somehow, it was almost impossible to recognize him.
"You take one too. It would be troublesome if we're recognized," he said, giving her another pair.
Will shifted the gear and the Pagani sped up, going superspeed. With [Mind Boost] running at a low intensity, driving can be extremely fun.
Jessica quickly put on her seat, despite the fact that she was superhuman. But as the car smoothly weaved through the traffic, she actually began to enjoy it, secretly grinning.
A while later, she looked at the stadium with a dubious look.
"Britney Spears Concert?"
"Yeah, the mission is guard me while I have fun here."
He has read Jessica's information. She didn't always used to be so cynical and rebellious. When her parents were alive she used to be really into pop music.
She used to enjoy concerts with her parents frequently.
"... Seriously?" Jessica looked unamused.
"Seriously. Do you think I can bring my bodyguards here? Besides, I thought teenagers love Britney Spears."
"I definitely don't. It's… childish… and pointless."
Will shrugged, heading for the entrance.
Booking was already done through Iris. He told them his fake id (Harry Parker) and got in smoothly. Jessica followed while muttering under her breath, looking like she would be anywhere but here.
They shuffled through the crowd and finally found their seat.
But the moment the lights dimmed and the bass rattled the floor, her foot started tapping almost against her will.
Will didn't call her out. He just leaned back, watching the crowd's energy wash over her, the way the glowsticks and neon strobes made her eyes widen despite herself.
When Britney burst onto the stage with a hit from Jessica's teenage playlists, he caught the faintest smirk tugging at her lips.
By the third song, Jessica was on her feet with him under his urgence. She didn't scream like the fans around her, but along with him, she swayed, clapped, and even mouthed the words she claimed to have outgrown.
Will just smiled, letting her have that moment.
He was glad she could still let go, still be a teenager for once. And when the final confetti rained down, Jessica seemed to realize her actual purpose, a guilty look flashed across her face.
She quickly became serious, looking around vigilantly, as if trying to make up for it.
Will didn't mention protection at all, neither did he mention her break in character. The whole time, he was standing a bit ahead of her, not looking at her all.
So, the girl thought she might have gotten away with it.
As they left the venue, covered in sweat and confetti, Jessica suddenly stood in front of him, looking vigilantly at a strange group of people.
It was the parking lot, with relatively less people around. In front of him were three individuals whom he recognized at first glance.
One was a sexy woman with chocolate skin and white hair, a beautiful red head, and a guy with a strange red visor on his eyes.
'Fuck... am I cooked?'
Why the hell were X-men here?
If their appearance wasn't a dead give away, the massive aura he could sense from each of them made it even more obvious.